dollhouse (Dunbar)

twenty

That night, after I had showered and ate the takeout my father brought home, I was just settling down with my notebook to write when my phone started buzzing on the table.

I checked caller I.D. to see Mason's name and, glad for the distraction, picked up immediately. "Hello?"

"When was the last time you actually hung out with friends?" I thought to this afternoon, but decided that that couldn't count as an actual hang out.

"I'm not sure, why?" I went with a neutral answer, not sure where he was going with this.

"Pizza and video games at Liam's house tonight. You're coming."

I hesitated, not sure if Liam would want to be around me. "Thanks for the offer, but..."

"NO." Mason diced in immediately. "No buts. I'm picking you up in half an hour. Be ready."

The phone line dropped dead, and I sighed, picking up the pen once again.

***

True to his word, Mason arrived right on time. I rose from my seat on the porch and slid into the car.

"This'll be fun, I promise."

"Sure, Mase." I responded. "Are you sure Liam's up for this?"

"Yeah, he's the one who invited me over. He might not necessarily know that I invited you, but he wanted to hang out tonight." Mason looked at me, concerned. "Why, did something happen?"

I shook my head quickly. "No, nothing happened. It's just that I talked to him, er, earlier, and I think he might still be shaken up about the bonfire."

"Oh, yeah." Mason cast a look at my forehead, where I had finally been able to remove the bandage. The cut was gruesome, but not as bad as it first was, and the bruising was fading as well. "How do you feel?"

I sighed. "I'm peachy. It was just a little bump, no big deal."

"You're telling me that almost splitting your head open isn't a big deal?"

I huffed. "I'm okay, Mase. Really. How's that hunt for a boy going?"

The topic change proved to be totally effective, as he started lighting up about how he was flirting with some boy and that boy had definitely been flirting back, before his girlfriend came up and kissed him right on the lips. The tale carried through the car ride until we reached Liam's, as Mason parked in the driveway and concluded with a, "Don't think you're getting away from the topic of boys so easily, either."

Mason walked right in Liam's house without knocking. "Liam!" He shouted. "We're here!"

Liam was down in thirty seconds, hopping the banister on the staircase and sliding down. He stuck the landing and grinned at us.

I was almost confused at the transition. This afternoon I had seen a worn down boy whose legs could barely hold himself up, and here I was seeing a confident teenager who had never had an issue when it came to strength.

It didn't take long for us to get comfortable- Mason and Liam on the floor at the foot of Liam's bed, Xbox consoles in hand and competitive trash talk filling the air, as I sprawled on my belly on Liam's bed, picking at a piece of pizza. I had hesitated for a second about my bold placement on the bed, but had eventually just clambered on, figuring that no one really cared.

I had eventually lost interest in their game, and had taken to flipping through one of the books on his nightstand while passively listening to the discussion taking place below me. The book was actually proving to be pretty good when I heard something that caused my nerves to spike.