Bad Connection✔️

For I Can't Help, Falling in-..

We actually only watched 2 episodes of The Office before we decided to find a movie. His T.V. wasn't huge like most wealthy families have. It's bigger, but overall still smallish and quaint. His mom decorated the whole house to make it feel homey and modest. It doesn't have to smell like a peach candle to lighten the dark moods and chase away the sadness.

Mason and I talked about nothing for a bit, just random parts of our childhood and life, avoiding any sad parts and sticking to the best cartoons and what Disney movie was our life.

After about an hour of that, I felt a twist in my stomach while I watched him get up and grab a stack of movies he loved as a kid. It was an unfamiliar feeling that pushed its way too suddenly into my life. I know exactly why it's happening, and it's torture not being able to stop it.

It's because of how bright his smile is when he's laughing, or how the warmth of his voice soothes me in new ways I'd never known. Because just so abruptly, he was where I could go to find comfort. He's where I need to go to find home.

I refuse to believe I have feelings for Mason, though. It's completely impossible and way too cliché to even consider.

Friends can be engulfed by each other's beauty, too, right?

Mason brought the stack over and flipped through each of the plaster covers, rambling words I couldn't focus on about each one of the memories he had of watching them. I couldn't think about his words. I was too engrossed by the way his lips moved while he talked with a grin.

"We should go for a walk!" I yelled without warning, taking both of us off guard.

He glanced at the darkness past the window. "Oh, yeah. I forgot that was the original plan for coming here," he said, somehow distant even though he was sitting so close to me I could practically feel the heat from his body.

I nodded, standing up. A strand of hair fell from my bun and tickled my cheek. I pushed it behind my ear a little too quickly and felt my palms starting to sweat.

Why am I so nervous?

He stood, putting all the movies back in their places while I made my way over to the window closest to the door, looking past a few trees I could see something shimmer. A lake?

"Is there water close to your house?"

He nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "There's actually a smaller reservoir pretty close."

I looked at it for a bit longer, wondering how far away it was and if he was willing to walk the distance tonight.

"Can we go?" I asked, glancing hopefully over my shoulder at him.

A small smile played at the corner of his lips and he nodded again, looking oddly content.

"Sure, I haven't been in forever."

I smiled gently, spinning his words around in my mind as I moved my gaze back to the water.

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We finally got to the water. It was a lot smaller than the pictures I'd seen reservoirs be. The walk wasn't nearly as long as I thought it would be, and the trees were denser than expected.

The entire view of the water was beautiful. There's woods around the body of water that is painted different shades of green and brown around the dark pool in front of us.

"I never really came here when I was little," Mason said. "I came here a lot when I was about 14. It was a peaceful place to sit and read or work on homework. Not gonna lie, a lot of the woodsy pictures on my Instagram is from here. I made the captions seem like I was in the middle of nowhere while I was actually 15 minutes from home."

I laughed a little, glancing at him a few times before focusing on the view ahead of me.

The water is peaceful. It soothes my thoughts while the moon's reflection entices me.

I slip off my shoes and socks, sinking down to sit on the dark, earthy ground. Mason watched me and laugh, doing the same and taking the spot right next to me. His arm gently brushing against mine while he gets comfortable.

I ignore my stomach fluttering and the weird way my heartbeat jumped.

"I never had a place to escape when I wanted to be alone. I mean- I could run to my room, but all I had was to read and do homework. All I've ever been able to do was look out the window," I let out a sad laugh. "I guess I was a bit sheltered."

I could feel Mason staring at the side of my head but I chose not to look back. I couldn't. I'd never really confessed that to anyone before now. Why have I now?

"Well, now you can come here."

I almost smiled. He's right. I can escape here now. I nodded and turned my head to face him.

His eyes watched me warmly, looking all over my face like he was memorizing each detail. It made the pit of my stomach feel hot, my palms sweating again. It's too kind of a gesture to watch someone look at you with such admiration.

The light, romantic feeling shifted when Mason's gaze flicked down towards my lips for a second. I can't explain the emotions that ran through me while my eyes looked down at his, then back up to meet his focused look.

I can't explain the air, or even what was going on around us when Mason's head started tilting towards mine. He was slow, too slow. I could barely tell he was moving. I wasn't completely sure he had until our mouths were inches apart.

His breath mixed with mine, his eyes already closing. Can I handle this? Can I take on one more new change in my life? Can I deal with having to face my new feelings for Mason after this?

Can I handle losing him soon?

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