"You're crazy." Fran shakes her head. "And I know crazy because I'm crazy."

"I-" I begin to defend myself.

"No, you listen here. I love you, but having Mason involved in your life will only lead to heartbreak multiple times. That boy is no good for you. Haven't you learned anything by now?" She emphasizes. 

"Damn, you didn't have to be such a bitch bout it." A part of me is hurt by her words, but I try not to let it dig too deep. 

"I'll be whatever you want me to be if it means saving you from that nasty boy."

"he's changed."

"Oh really now?"

"Yeah, I think so. The light in his eyes have changed." 

She bursts out laughing. "Did you just fucking say his light in his eyes have changed? That's some romantic bullshit you read in those damn books."

"Since when were you so mature?" I roll my eyes.

"Excuse me?" She snaps at those words.

"You hear me." I narrow my eyes. 

"You know what? I'm just trying to look out for you. I'm only trying to be your caring friend. I don't want you going through what I went to. In fact, I want you to do better and be better. I know you can do it. Why are you doing this to yourself!" She ends her tirade with a loud shout of frustration before sitting down on my bed and grumbling to herself. 

"Yo. You all okay?" I hear my brother Finn awkwardly knock on my closed bedroom door.

"We're fine!" Fran and I shout back in unison. Then, we look at each other and start giggling. I guess we realize how stupid it is to fight over some dumb boy.

"Girl, I know you're smart and independent. You know how to take care of yourself. Just be careful? NO matter how much you think he has changed, he can't have changed that much from his old ways."  She gathers her things. "I need to run to my internship. I'll see you soon?"

"Your internship? Since when?" I must have been way too busy with my life that I barely caught up with hers. All I know is that she's attending Parsons for fashion design in New York City. It's incredibly far away but I know she's going to do well. She last minute decided to secretly apply early. Unsurprised, she was accepted. I was a little mad at her for leaving me, but it is what it is. I'm proud of her. 

"Last week, one of the designers for a fashion show was in a car accident. I was going to intern and be their runner, but they decided they wanted me to be a designer. It's really rare, but I'll be working one on one with the head designer for their team. I'll also gone for most of the summer." She look sad, but I can tell that she's also very excited for this opportunity. 

"I'm so happy for you. I'm proud you're doing such amazing things!" I get excited for her and hug her in delight. 

"Thank you girlie. You the best too," she blushes and smiles. Then, she hurries out. 

I sigh and throw myself on my bed. I glance up at the stars on my ceiling. Once again, my mind and heart don't align. I find myself yearning for Mason but also wanting to run the fuck away from him. Still, I already decided. 

I'm going with my heart. 

I must be going crazy. 

Fran might be right. Still, I'm sticking with this decision. 

I turn my head at the sound of light tapping on my bedroom window. Of course, it's Mason. I. motion for him to come in.

"You should definitely keep this window locked." He reminds me again and again. 

"Then I would have to actually move to unlock the window." I frown at the concept of moving from my comfortable position. 

"It's just safer," he rolls his eyes at my laziness. 

"What's up?" I decide to change the subject. It's not like anyone can just easily climb up the tree and into my bedroom. The only person who actually climbs through my window is Mason. It sounds a little weird  now that I think about it. 

"I have a surprise for you." His smirk with a hidden agenda piques my curiosity. 

"Does it involve me getting out of bed?" I respond sassily. 

"You'd rather me get into your bed?" He winks teasingly. A little part of me swoons because he's quite hot when he's flirting. It takes me a few seconds to compose myself and come up with a smart response. 

"I think I'd rather not ." I say dumbly before getting up. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. You'll have to wait and see." He puts a finger to my lips and grins deviously. 

"I hate surprises." 

"I know." He's loving every minute of my torture. 

"You're the worst."

"Uh huh, sure," He nods and lathers his words sarcastically. "C'mon, let's go. Dress warmly." He adds as a second thought as he glimpses at my black leggings and oversized long sleeve. 

I walk into my closet and grab a soft, warm sweater. Putting on knee high boots, I ask, "I'm ready? This good?"

"Yep. Those are comfortable?" He glances at my shoes.

"Yeah." I narrow my eyes at him, my mind running through guesses at to what the surprise could be. 

"Careful." He grabs my hand and pulls me outside my window. With great agility, he lands softly onto the ground and looks up at me. I'm surprised at how easy he made it look. I'm also envious at his athletic ability. 

He looks really far below me. 

"I haven't done this in so long. I might fall." I hesitate. 

"Don't worry. I'm here to catch you." 

I slowly amble through the branches. Then, I feel something snap under my foot as I step on a branch. 

Fuck. Is this how I die?  I feel myself fall backwards and I try to reach for something to hold onto, but there's really just bark.

I'm embraced into Mason's arms as he catches me. "See? I told you I would catch you." Our faces are mere inches from each other as I glance at his face. I never noticed how nice and long his eyelashes are. 

"Ahem," I clear my throat to be let down. I can feel the fiery burn of the blush spreading on my cheeks.  

He pecks my forehead and puts me down. "You're welcome," he replies cheekily. 

"Thanks," I mumble. I'm a little embarrassed he had to catch me like some damn princess. 

"Shall we?" He holds my hands as we walk down the street. As we pass by his house, I notice the lack of his shiny motorcycle. 

"I sold it," he says as he notices my searching gaze. 

"Why?" It was his baby. I'm shocked he did that. 

"I really needed the money." He shrugs. "Plus, it was about time I started relying on more suitable transportations." His response almost makes me stop in my tracks. Wow, who would have thought these words were be coming from Mason Miretti's mouth.

"You and me both." He chucks at my surprised reaction. We stop to the passenger side of a black sports car. The car unlocks as he opens the passenger door for me. "Wait this is yours?"

"Yeah, this is a used 2016 Subaru. It was a lucky find when I came into one of my friend's shops looking for a car. With the extra cash I made throughout the odd jobs and from my bike, I had just enough for this car."

"Wow," I wonder in surprise. Then, I thank him for opening the door. The two of us drive for a while, talking and catching up. I tell him about my soccer recruitment camp this summer at Stanford. It's my dream school so I chose there instead of UCLA even though this is just a summer camp. This doesn't mean I'm guaranteed a spot since I have one more year of school. Then, we share our interests. From his music posters, I always knew he had a love for the 70s and 80s music. Time flies before I notice the car has stopped. 

"We're here." We get out of the car as I glance at up at the abandoned house. Parts of the outside is graffitied in colorful designs. Some of the artwork is creative while some are just crude. I turn to see Mason grabbing a bunch of stuff from his car. 

"You need help?" I walk over. He hands me a picnic basket and a blanket to carry. Then, he takes out a rather large telescope and old-fashioned film camera. 

"Where'd you get those?" I saw in awe. 

"I borrowed them from a friend." He shrugs. "Follow me, but be careful and watch your step."

The inside is a lot darker as the boarded windows cover some of the sunlight. The sun is setting already so I can't really see much inside. I follow Mason carefully, making sure I walk where he walks. He seems to be familiar with this place. 

"I'll go up first." There's a padlock on the attic door and he grabs a key to open it. He uses an old ladder to unlock the padlock. Then, he pulls on the door handle and a fairly newer set of stairs (compared to the rest of the place) unfolds onto the floor. He disappears for a bit before coming back down. He grabs my stuff and disappears once more before ushering me upward. 

We end up in a sort of attic but there's a gaping hole where the roof covers the middle. There's a bunch of small candles as I look around the place. It's old but comfortable. It looks like Mason tried his best to make it comfortable since it seems like this is his new hideout. The corner has some folded clothes and posters. There's a mattress and some other stuff. It seems like he moved a lot of bedroom stuff here. 

I turn around and see him shift a little bit. "Yeah, I moved some of my stuff here."

"Aren't you afraid of people breaking in or the house collapsing?" I listen as the boards creak from the wind.

"I've fixed it up and I'm slowly cleaning everything out. Nobody comes around here anymore. It's not even haunted, despite what everyone thinks. I also contacted the previous landowner couple, who actually still own it. They are a photographer and artist duo.  All the artwork outside and inside the house is mostly theirs. They would redecorate and tear things down inside and outside the place to fit their latest project. They don't mind me living in the attic as long as I don't disturb their latest projects. However, they've moved on to other things and barely use the place. I'll go more into details later." 

"Anyways," He stops himself from explaining anymore. He steps closer to me and shows what he is hiding behind his back. It's a box placed with a dozen roses. "Will you be my girlfriend?" 

"You're crazy." 

"Crazy for you," he winks. 

"And what makes you think I even want to be your girlfriend?" I look at him critically.

"I'll spend forever making it up for you, but I am very serious about you. I will show you through my actions. I know words don't really mean a whole lot of shit to you, so I will show you for however long it takes. We've known each other all our lives." He steps so close to me and places the roses on the ground before grabbing my hands. 

"I'm in love with you, Delany Green. It took me way too late to realize and tell you. I hope I'm not too late." 

"No." His face drops just a bit as he looks down and sighs. 

I tenderly lift his chin to look at me. "No, you're not too late." I can tell when he's being sincere. His eyes sparkle hopefully as he watches me carefully.

"I'll be your girlfriend." I smile at him. 

"Thank God." His smile grows a full-brown grin as he picks me up and swings me into a circle. Then, he pecks me on the forehead and lets out a whoop. 

"You're a dork."

"But I'm your dork." He never stops smiling. 

_______

A/N

They're together! I'm excited to write what's to happen after. 

Thank you for waiting :)

Happy holidays and I hope you're staying warm and toasty <3

Let me know how you like it! Comment your thoughts and opinions. 

Love all of you,

Lystra