-Mason-

I should've never mentioned the gym's existence to Eric.

Anything would've been preferable to the sight of my best friend barging into Bennett's class unannounced only a day after the smoothie fiasco, curiously glancing around the court as if he didn't know exactly where he was.

I stopped jogging around the track and leaned forward on the railing, my left eye twitching at the sight. Eric had mentioned earlier that he was heading over to the campus' cafeteria to meet up with some friends, yet here he was, confidently striding towards Bennett.

Which, yeah, perhaps it was partly my fault for not questioning him a bit more when he didn't invite me to tag along like he usually did. I should've known better. And yet...

Nervously, I reached for my phone, my eyes widening at the awaiting, unread message from Eric that'd been sent just a few minutes prior. According to the text, he'd "spontaneously" decided to stop by my gym to visit me, which was complete and utter bullshit.

Perhaps I'd believe him a bit more if I couldn't see what he was actually doing.

Eric knew I kept my phone on silent, so he'd definitely been banking on the fact that I wouldn't see the message until it was far too late to barricade the main entrance. That scheming little—

I shot back a pretty straightforward text: REALLY, DICK???

He didn't even glance down at his phone as it vibrated against his pocket. And there was already such a menacing glint of determination in my friend's eyes as he approached Bennett, which had me helplessly reeling from upstairs. I glanced at the exit, wondering if I'd even be able to make it down there in time before he managed to embarrass me... or worse.

I couldn't hear much of anything, yet I did see Bennett smile twice. I was fuming by the time Eric actually started glancing around and noticed me glaring daggers at him from upstairs; he winced immediately, likely not having expected to be caught so soon.

Yet, the mischievous glint was back in his eyes within seconds, somehow shining with more intensity than before.

I immediately ducked when he waved up at me, cursing under my breath because I hadn't expected him to call me out like this. I sent back another text in all-caps: WHY WOULD YOU WAVE???

"Mason, is that you?" Eric called out sarcastically, loud enough that my heart momentarily stopped beating altogether. I cursed him under my breath, bracing myself before slowly peering over the railing.

"Eric! What are you doing here?" I asked through gritted teeth, forcing a smile for the sake of appearances. Bennett glanced warily between us before shyly waving up at me, seemingly confused about what the hell was going on.

' "Mason? Hey, I—I didn't see you up there."

I released a weak chuckle. "Yeah, uh, hey there! I was just—uhm, you know—warming up. How are you?"

I opted to ignore Eric's sarcastic thumbs-up, which quickly disappeared as he covered his mouth to muffle a laugh.

"Oh, I see. That's cool! I'm just busy with—" Bennett was cut off by the hitch-pitch sound of his own name being called. And within seconds, he was busily distracted once again, sparing me a single apologetic smile before heading off to ask the kid what was wrong. It was probably for the best, considering there wasn't a doubt in my mind that Eric was plotting something.

I grumbled under my breath, signaling for my menace of a friend to come upstairs and join me. At the very least he had the decency to seem skittish as he nodded his head in agreement, walking back out as quickly as he'd entered.

"I'm going to kill you, Eric," I muttered half-heartedly under my breath, locking eyes with the traitor as he peeked into the running track a few moments later.

Hah! As if hiding behind the door would save him.

I rolled my eyes, watching him nervously squirm as he waited for me to make it back around the track. It didn't take very long. And I wrapped a hand around the back of his neck the second I was within reach, forcing him to jog alongside me on the track. "You. Why?"

"You've been up here ogling at him, haven't you?" Eric asked, huffing under his breath when I tightened my grip. "Not gonna lie, it's a bit weird!"

I glowered at the empty track ahead, unwilling to agree with him even if he was unequivocally right. To be fair, though, I had attempted to keep my distance for today. Yet, all the treadmills had been busy... and I genuinely enjoyed jogging to warm up, so—

"I can see those little hamster wheels turning in your head while you try to rationalize why you're up here. Got anything yet?" Eric asked while patting my cheek, suddenly yelping when I shoved him forward and let go.

Eric nearly tripped, bursting out laughing as he regained his balance by leaning on the railing. "You know I'm right!" he taunted before bursting into a proper run.

I sighed, mulling over the best way to get rid of a body as he passed me once around the track. I tried to swat at him as he passed me the second time; albeit, by the third time I opted for putting out my foot to trip him instead, which he unfortunately jumped over quite easily. By the fifth lap, Eric was barely standing, though more so due to his own lack of stamina.

"Oh god, I really need to work out more," Eric muttered as he settled back into a jog beside me, coughing through ragged breaths.

I quirked up an eyebrow. "Nobody told you to over-exert yourself, dude," I replied before being dragged to a halt, snorting as he yanked at the hem of my shirt while keeling over... desperately trying to catch his breath.

"Really?"

Eric narrowed his eyes up at me, scoffing under his breath before coughing once more. "I—I haven't run in so long. What the hell! Am I supposed to be tasting blood right now?"

"For the love of—come on, let's go get you some water," I replied while yanking Eric's slumped body upwards.

"No, no! Save yourself... just leave me behind!"

"Eric! Get up!" I hissed under my breath, resisting the urge to chuckle at the ridiculousness of our current dilemma. "I'll—ugh—I'll buy you something to eat!"

Eric was up within seconds, coughing a final time before signaling for me to follow him towards the door. All I could do was follow suit, even if he did go the wrong way, actively ignoring the arrows on the track.

---

"You know what?" Eric chirped between bites of his food. "That picture they have on the site doesn't do him any justice!"

I quirked an eyebrow at that, wearily sitting across from Eric at one of the small metal tables set out beside the gym's Juice bar. It was out of the way and often left unattended after eight pm or so, but they made some pretty good smoothies and the racks surrounding the main counter were usually stocked full of decently priced protein bars and other nut-centric snacks. There were even some decently-priced loaded salads on the menu, although they typically only had a few shifting selections available on any given day.

Eric had snatched my wallet and bought himself a pineapple-coconut smoothie and one of those pre-made chicken wraps they kept in the small display fridge behind the counter. He'd also almost bought himself one of the expensive, logo-embroidered hoodies they kept folded up in the displays nearby, but I'd made him put it back.

"Is it even any good?" Eric suddenly asked as I took another sip of my green smoothie, furrowing his eyebrows in pointed disapproval.

I shrugged in response.

My parents would always make these kinds of smoothies for my sister and me growing up, so I wasn't remotely phased by the ominous, dark green hue of the drink. I'd taken to it surprisingly quickly. They were quite the health enthusiasts, but they'd never really forced us to partake in their hobbies or lifestyle choices either.

Still, I'd often found myself taking them up on their offers to go hiking or signing up for marathons out of pure curiosity, encouraged by how passionate they always seemed about their interests. Same with the type of smoothie I was drinking, which my mom had always theatrically praised as delicious years before I ever bothered to try it for myself. It wasn't even that bad, though it was definitely an acquired taste.

"By the way, you returned my mom's blender, right?"

Eric snorted. "Like they don't own three more... Please, your dad insisted we keep it at the dorm. He actually praised me for worrying about your eating habits, mind you!"

I narrowed my eyes. "I've seen you devour three large Meat Lover's pizzas by yourself."

"Over the course of a day! You always leave that part out!"

"Because that makes it any better?" I challenged sarcastically, fighting the urge to grin back at him. Sure, my best friend was a pain in the ass. But at least he kept things interesting. Without Eric, I'd probably be even more of a sullen introvert than I already was.

"By the way, doesn't Bennett have a nice ass?"

...actually, Eric could die for all I cared.

"I almost forgot I'm supposed to be angry with you!" I exclaimed, yanking the chicken wrap out of his grip just as he was about to take another bite. "Why the hell are you even here, dick?"

Eric hastily snatched the wrap back before forcing most of it into his mouth, probably aware that I was petty enough to devour the rest of it in front of him if afforded the chance. "I—I waghned dho ghewp—"

"Huh?"

Eric chewed with a ferocity I hadn't seen in a solid few years, dramatically swallowing the food down before clearing his throat. "I said, I wanted to help!"

"Yeah, you're helping so much right now," I muttered, overlooking the childish way he flicked a stray piece of lettuce at me.

Eric leaned back on his chair, suddenly looking rather pensive as he crumpled the sheet of parchment paper that his food had come enveloped in. "I didn't know Bennett was so cute, though. I mean, I kind of figured, but that headshot really didn't—"

"So, what? Suddenly you're... ugh," I grumbled, irately gritting my teeth. "Bennett's not going to be your queer awakening or—or... I don't know... some chance for you to experiment—hah?! Why are you looking at me like that?!"

Eric sat there with such a smug expression on his face.

"Phaeric knows you, Mason," Eric explained, pompously patting the metal table between us. "Phaeric understands your territorial patterns and pining instincts that border on possessive. You have nothing to worry about. Phaeric is no threat to you, even if Bennett does have a pretty nice ass."

I rubbed my fingers across my forehead, exhaling an exasperated sigh that seemed to leave me boneless in my chair. I didn't even have it in me to feel offended that he was trying to psychoanalyze me. Or that he couldn't stop thirsting after Bennett.

"I mean it! Phaeric is here to aid you, so stop your fretting!"

I sighed, somewhat curious. After all, he must have thought of something if he'd bothered to take the goddamn bus here, right?

"Fine, how?"

"Oh, I asked him to hang out," Eric mentioned nonchalantly.

I sat up, staring at my friend in disbelief. I opened my mouth to question him, only to shut it when I remembered that this was the same idiot who had once impulsively scaled the side of a three-story building because he thought a fledgling residing in a nest under the beam of one of the upper balconies looked like it wanted to jump off to its tiny, premature death.

We had to call the firefighters to get Eric down safely... like he was a goddamn cat stuck on a tree. Also, the bird knew how to fly.

"You asked him... huh?" I asked, a quiet fury of conflicting emotions stirring up within me. And yet, all I could do was sit there, floored by the news.

"I did."

"...what did he say?"

"Bennett?" Eric asked, flashing a grin. "He agreed."

Oh.

---

A/N: Thank you for reading. Please consider voting and commenting; I appreciate it immensely.