Nothing's Fine

• 15: Pink •

"Thanks for walking with me, but you can go eat now," I said as Mason and I stopped outside the girls washrooms.

"It's okay, I can wait for you," he replied with a small smile. I shook my head.

"No, don't worry. I'm fine on my own." I wasn't sure how many times I'd said that before, but I knew it was frequent.

"Charlie," Mason said, making my breath catch in my throat as he stared into my eyes. "I'm staying, okay?" I nodded in response, slightly in a daze.

How the hell did he do that? I wondered as I walked into the bathroom.

As I stood in front of the mirror, a gasp escaped my lips. Strands of hair clung together curled and damp. Some managed to twist around pieces of spaghetti, while others stuck to my scalp and face. Simply put, my hair looked awful. The only bright side was that I hadn't bothered to style it this morning.

I stuck as much of my hair in the sink as possible, and worked my hardest to wash out the actively drying spaghetti and tomato sauce. As I struggled with my hair, I imagined myself putting Tiffany in her place. I wondered what her problem was and for a fleeting moment, wondered why she was so quick to leave when Mason showed up.

A few minutes went by and finally the pasta and sauce were out of my hair. I sighed as I brought my dripping locks over to the hand drier. I bent over and stuck my head underneath it. The warmth felt a little nice as it blew on my curls.

Eventually I made my way out of the bathroom, and somehow still felt surprised to see Mason leaning patiently on the wall across the hall, despite him telling me he would wait. I bit back a smile.

"Hey," he said as I approached him. "You alright?"

"Mhmm," I mumbled, stopping in front of him.

Mason took a step towards me, making me automatically freeze, unsure of what he was doing. He reached for my hair and I couldn't feel oxygen entering or leaving my lungs. He pulled his hand back and with it, a piece of spaghetti. My cheeks felt hot.

"You missed one," he said quietly. He was still so close to me I wondered if he could hear my heart rapidly beating inside my chest.

"Thanks," I managed to say, looking down. I let out a breath trying to calm my heart. "I-I have to check Emery's locker for that shirt, but you can go eat if you want." I glanced up to see Mason smirk.

"Are you trying to get rid of me, Charlie?" he asked. I laughed and shook my head. "I'm coming with you."

"Okay! Okay!" I sighed playfully. Mason smiled and began walking down the hallway. When we got to Emery's locker, I did her combination and searched it for a moment before finally seeing it. Immediately my eyes narrowed seeing the colour of the fabric.

"Pink? Really Emery?" I grumbled. Mason didn't hold back his chuckle but caught a look at my glare and immediately sobered up.

"Sorry," he said.

"It's fine," I muttered. "I guess it's better than nothing." I slammed her locker shut before we headed over to my locker and grabbed my leather jacket.

After going back to the bathroom to change, and then back to my locker to put my ruined shirt away, we finally made it to the cafeteria. Of course there were only fifteen minutes of lunch left and I was wildly annoyed.

"Aw, Charlie! Pink is such a nice colour on you!" Emery grinned. I gave her my harshest glare.

"Yeah, you're giving off this cute rocker chick vibe," Brenna chimed in. Talia nodded enthusiastically.

"Okay, not another word from any of you," I said, wrinkling my nose. They laughed but quickly fell back into their own conversations – Phoebe and Tristan, Brenna and Patrick, Talia, Emery and Mason... me? I found myself without much of an appetite and was quietly picking at my lunch.