The next morning I sat hunched over my bowl of cornflakes. That's when I saw him. Mason.
He sat a few tables over, surrounded by a group of girls. Their laughter bubbled around him like a background track. He said something animatedly, arms gesturing wide, and two of them leaned in at the same time like they couldn't bear to miss a single syllable.
He grinned, teeth flashing, head tilted back with effortless charm. One girl touched his arm. Another giggled into her sleeve. I looked away.
I told myself I didn't care. And I was almost done convincing myself when a shadow passed over my table.
"Hey."
I looked up. Mason stood there, hands in his pockets, eyes on me, not the girls still orbiting his last joke.
"Hi?"
"They're loading us onto buses for the next activity after breakfast," he said casually, nodding toward the chaperones waving at the edge of the field. "We're going to that old climbing course outside the camp."
"Cool," I replied, already bracing myself for being squished between two loud strangers.
Mason scratched the back of his neck like it was nothing. "Would you... be okay with sitting together?"
I stared at him. Behind him, I saw a blonde girl freeze mid-laugh.
"Why?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "Are you suddenly allergic to attention?"
He smirked, unfazed. "No. Just figured I'd rather be next to someone who's going to roast me the whole ride instead of stare at me like I'm a limited-edition poster."
I rolled my eyes, but I could feel the corners of my mouth twitch.
"Fine. But I'm not holding back on the roasting since you offered."
Mason's smirk widened. "Deal."
He walked off without another word, leaving me alone again with my thoughts and my unfinished breakfast. It became harder to ignore the glares aimed like daggers. A few girls nearby were clearly talking about me.
After breakfast there weren't any busses in sight yet. Before they'd be here, I decided to grab something from the tent. Inside the tent, the air was thick, the tension was clear. I'd just stepped in to grab my jacket and my mp3, when one of the girls looked up from her phone with a smirk that made my skin crawl.
"Well, well, if it isn't the mystery girlfriend herself," she honed.
"I'm not his girlfriend," I replied flatly, without looking up.
"Oh, right. Just borrowing his entire wardrobe and hogging his time and attetion for yourself like it's no big deal," another girl chimed in, fake innocence dripping from every word.
"I saw him give you something again this morning, a note right?" Chloe added, lips curling. "What's next? His toothbrush? His last name?"
The tent erupted in a round of giggles. I clenched my jaw, trying to stay calm. I really didn't want to do this. I felt rage burn inside of me, but I had to hold my tongue and keep my head down.
"We get it," Chloe said, tossing her hair. "You're not like other girls. Mason likes that. But don't act surprised when he gets bored and goes back to someone who actually..."
"I'm not his girlfriend, nor am I having any idea's," I snapped.
Silence.
I looked up. My voice was low, even. But there was something in it that made the laughter stop.
"He didn't ask me out. He didn't confess anything. He didn't make any promises. So if you're looking for something scandalous, go find someone else to obsess over."
The words hung in the air like smoke.
Gabriella, who had been quiet near the flap, stepped forward. "Wow. You girls must be exhausted from all that stretching, you know, trying to twist reality."
Chloe's mouth fell open.
Gabriella crossed her arms. "Scarlett hasn't done a thing to any of you. You're just mad that she didn't even try, and still got his attention."
Mason had appeared outside at some point. He stood just beyond the tent, hands in his pockets, watching.
He didn't say a word.
He didn't deny it. He didn't correct them. He didn't even look uncomfortable.
Gabriella turned to him, her eyes sharp. "And you. Seriously? You're just going to stand there while they come for her? You give her your coat and your gloves, follow her around like a lovesick puppy, and then act like it's not your business when they drag her for it?"
Mason opened his mouth, then closed it.
"I thought you were better than that," she said coldly.
Then she turned back to me and gently tugged me out of the tent.
"Come on," Gabriella muttered. "You don't need to be around people who treat you like you stole something just by existing."
The bus was loud with gossip and granola bars.
Gabriella slid into a seat near the front, shooting me a quick look that read you good? I gave her a half-shrug and ducked into the back, pressing my forehead to the window. Mason's hoodie was still warm on my skin, even though I'd been trying to forget I was wearing it. No such luck.
A few seconds later, Mason dropped into the seat beside me like it was the most casual thing in the world.
"Hope this seat's not taken," he said, already stretching his legs across the aisle.
"Unfortunately," I muttered, "my imaginary friend was already using it."
He smirked. "Guess she'll have to scoot over."
I gave him a look. "Don't you have a fan club to entertain?"
"On break," he said. "Thought I'd risk emotional damage and sit next to someone who I promised was allowed to roast me."
"You're welcome," I said sweetly, staring out the window.
The bus pulled away from camp, the trees blurring past. Mason hummed along to a song that wasn't playing, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a mini bag of chips.
"Want some?"
I looked at him. "Why are you being weirdly nice?"
"I'm not. I'm just being strategic. You're less likely to mock me with a mouth full of food."
"Bold of you to assume I can't do both."
He laughed.
His leg bumped mine under the seat. He didn't move it. I didn't either.
A few seconds later, his pinky brushed against my hand. I didn't look down. Neither did he.
But slowly his fingers slid into mine.
He didn't say anything. Just held my hand like it was a secret. We were in our own little bubble of sarcasm and surprise affection.
When the bus finally screeched to a halt in a gravel lot by the woods, Mason let go of my hand like nothing happened.
The ropes course looked like it had been built in the early 1800s by someone with commitment issues. Wooden planks dangled from ropes, and a few metal beams looked suspiciously rusty. I tightened my harness and glanced at Mason, who was already posing like he was about to film a commercial.
"You gonna flex the whole way up or just halfway?"
"Just until you're impressed," he replied.
"So forever?"
"Come on," he said. "I'll only tease you a little if you fall."
"Nope. If I go down, I'm taking you with me."
"I like your spirit, terrifying. But admirable."
By the time we reached the top platform, the others were still halfway through the course, arguing about ropes and who touched whose helmet. We sat down on the wooden ledge, legs dangling, wind in our hair.
"Earlier," Mason said, "back in the tent, you really told them off."
I shrugged. "They were being ridiculous."
He laughed. "Chloe's face was priceless."
"She looked like she just found out she wasn't the main character," I said.
Mason smirked.
"And then there's you. Walking around like you're not charming when you literally roasted half the cabin into silence."
I looked at him.
"Are you flirting with me or giving me a performance review?"
"Why not both?"
I rolled my eyes, but the smile was already there. "You're impossible."
We both laughed.
Then came the shouting.
We turned just in time to see Leo zip-lining backward across the wrong section of the ropes course.
"Is that… on purpose?" I asked.
Leo spun in slow motion like a lazy tornado, yelling, "I GOT THIS!"
Then he smacked into a tree, with enough drama to make three girls scream.
"HE'S FINE!" someone shouted.
"Probably," someone else added.
A counselor started yelling something about insurance forms. Mason stared, wide-eyed.
"I think Leo just became a camp legend."
I blinked. "Should we… help?"
Mason shrugged. "Nah. He looks proud of himself."
Leo shouted.
"GUYS. I THINK I LOST A SHOE."
The shoe flew off mid-spin and landed on Mason's lap.
He looked down at it. Then at me. Then at the horizon like he was questioning all of his life choices. I burst out laughing. Mason held up the shoe like it was evidence in a trial.
"Okay," he said. "I take it back. You win. Camp is officially insane."