Twist Of Fate

Another Man

"Hey, you want to grab dinner?" Mason asks me, as I make my way down the bleachers. I look up, pulling the headphones out of my ears.
"Sure," I say. "But don't you want to celebrate with your teammates?" Mason takes a swift glance at the fading figures of the football players, as they make their way into the locker room.
"Nah, our celebrations are always the same. Attend a party at someone's house, have lots of beer, get wasted and then crash in a random bedroom. It's time for a change, don't you think?" I shrug my shoulders.
"Well, it's up to you. I was planning on having dinner down by the diner. We can go there, or somewhere else?" Mason offers me his hand, helping me off the last couple of bleachers.
"A diner isn't the best place to go on a first date." Mason smiles at me.
"Oh, no!" I say, hastily. "We're...I have a boyfriend."
"I know, Mus. Chill," Mason chuckles. "Harry Styles, what a catch, eh?" I nod my head. Harry and I haven't talked for a week now, and over the past two months we've become pretty distant. The amount of phone calls and messages have decreased. We're both just so busy with our lives. Me with my studies and Harry with his job. "So I'll change, and meet you in the parking lot. Okay?"
"Sure. I'll wait in my car. It's a silver Audi," I say. Mason's eyes widen.
"That car by the entrance is yours?" He asks, bewildered. I nod my head. "Cool! Rich family."
"Rich boyfriend," I murmur.
"Pardon?" Mason says, tilting his head slightly.
"Nothing. I'll see you by my car." The birthday present that Harry said would be waiting for me at home was an Audi. He and I argued for an hour over whether I should keep it or not. In the end, I hung up on him and decided to not use the car at all. However, when I got in to move it into my driveway...let's just say I fell in love with the car. The seats smelled so fresh and they're so soft. The steering wheel...I'm not even going to get into how soft the leather is. The music system is amazing, with One Direction songs installed in it. Harry added some other songs for me as well. Over all, I loved the present and now it's my daily partner wherever I go. Having a car really makes things simple. I don't have to rely on buses, taxis or other people to drive me around. Nor do I have to worry about getting to college late, if by chance I oversleep. A few people wave to me, as I stroll toward my car. I smile back at them. Once by my car, I lean against the driver's side door, and cross my arms across my chest.
"We made a fire," Niall's voice fills my ears. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Hastily, I fish my phone out of my bag and change the song. Just thinking about how far Harry and I have drifted apart makes me want to cry. Kate says I'm being melodramatic, but whenever I think of it, I don't feel like I'm being melodramatic. Everything's normal and I'm fine when I'm busy. However, whenever I even get two seconds to myself all of my thoughts drift in Harry's direction. All of the promises we made to each other about staying in touch, calling each other every night are now a pile of ashes. A huge, black pile.
"I'm here!" Mason announces, jogging over to my side. I take out my headphones, and smile at him. "Sorry I'm so late. The team..." He huffs and grins.
"That's okay, you didn't take that long." I assure him, turning around and unlocking the doors. "Are we riding in my car or yours?" Mason stares at my car longingly, and pats its side with his hand.
"Well, I would offer to drive you in my poor looking Toyota. But I really want to ride in an Audi. So can we take yours?" Mason asks me, desperation and longing clear in his tone.
"Sure," I chuckle. "Hop right in."
"Thank you!" Excitement is dripping from Mason's tone. He runs toward the other side and opens the door gently, as if it'll come out in his hand. Shaking my head at his love for my car, and his high level of excitement, I get in. Mason's eyes take in the interior of my beautiful and fragrant car. He stretches his hand toward the music system and then stops midway. "May I?" Mason looks at me for permission.
"Of course! Fulfill your dreams," I say. Grinning, he turns the radio on and sighs contentedly.
********
"That was a crazy-ass film!" Mason yells, sitting up.
"Yeah, it was." I say, laughing. "God, the last scene..."
"I missed it because I was watching you laugh. You have a musical laugh," Mason looks me straight in the eye. His eyes are filled with adoration, which makes me sit up and swing my legs off the bed.
"I'm getting more popcorn? Want anything?" I ask, grabbing the popcorn bowl off the bedside table.
"No, thanks. Come back fast, so that we can begin another movie." I nod my head, and head toward the exit of my room. Mason and I had a lovely evening. He took me to a nice restaurant and I had a pretty nice time conversing with him. So we both decided that we should make tonight a movie night. Hence, hours after we left the restaurant, Mason and I have snuggled up in my bed and are having a movie marathon, courtesy of Netflix. Humming, I enter the kitchen and take out a bag of microwavable popcorn. Mason and I have had a few lunches together at the cafeteria, with a bunch of other people. However, today was different. He's different. Mason's much nicer, funnier and he's not a dumb jock. In fact, he's pretty knowledgeable about the world.
"Who the fuck are you?!" Harry's voice thunders through my house. The empty popcorn bowl slips from my hands and clatters onto the ground. I turn around and race through the hallway and up the stairs. I stop in my room's doorway. Harry is standing near the foot of my bed, his back turned toward me. I think he has heard my footsteps because he turns around and stares at me.
"Who is this?" Harry asks me, raising an eyebrow. He jerks his thumb toward Mason. I clear my throat, and suck in a deep breath.
"Mason," I say simply. "What're you doing here?" Harry jabs his index finger into his chest.
"What am I doing here? What the fuck is he doing here?" Harry yells. "Mus, I come to give you a surprise visit and I find another man in your bed. How dare you ask me what am I doing here?" Oh, this is bad. Harry rarely calls me by my real name. In fact, I don't even remember the last time he called me Mus.
"Mason's a friend, Harry. You're reading this whole situation incorrectly." I keep my eyes fixed on Harry's, refusing to acknowledge Mason's presence. "Just like Gregg and Kate."
"That's fine, Bump because Gregg is gay and Kate is a girl. But this guy," Harry turns around and glares at Mason. "He's neither! Are you gay?" Mason's eyes travel between Harry and I frantically, before finally landing back on Harry.
"N-No," Mason stutters. A growl erupts from the back of Harry's throat. I swear he growled. He takes a step toward Mason and I rush to stand in Harry's way. I place my hand on Harry's chest, pushing him backwards. However, he doesn't budge.
"Stop it!" I yell. "Don't make a big deal out of this, okay? Mason's a friend. You're my boyfriend." Harry's eyes stay glued on Mason and then finally, they move toward me. His shoulders are tense, and his breathing is like a bull's. I turn around, but keep my hand on Harry's chest. "Mason, I think it's time for you to go." I say, feeling highly embarrassed. God, it's so rude of me to do so.
"Yeah," Mason says. "I'll see you after Christmas break?"
"In your dreams, asshole." Harry says, and I turn around to glare at him.
"Maybe sometime in between, if you're not going anywhere?"
"Yeah, I'll be here. See you soon," Mason heads past us and toward the exit of my room. I hear his footsteps descend the stairs and then I hear the front door open and shut. Maybe we shouldn't have had that last piece of conversation. But Harry embarrassed me and I just had to get back at him. God, I sound evil. Harry takes a step back.
"What the hell, Bump?" Harry says, pulling off his cap. "I don't...I don't like what just happened. I hate it!" I roll my eyes and sigh.
"Harry, nothing bad or hateful happened. He's my friend. A. Friend. And we just had dinner and then decided to have a movie night, that's it." I say and shrug my shoulders.
"Oh, so you had dinner as well? Well, this just gets better and better, doesn't it?" Harry moistens his lips and sits down on the floor. "Bump, I-I don't know what to say or do. This is not how I expected our night to go. I wanted to surprise you by coming here and then taking you with me, so that you can spend your winter break with me. And now I see this..." Harry scoffs.
"Don't be mad, Harry. He's just a friend. How many times do I need to tell you?" Harry gets up and shakes his head, resignedly.
"I'm not mad, Bumper. I can never be mad at you. I'm just disappointed and upset." Harry turns on his heels and heads toward the door. "I think I want some time alone. Tonight, tomorrow. I'm sorry I entered at such a wrong time." My heart clenches.
"Harry, please don't. Stay. Talk to me," I beg.
"I'm sorry, Mus. But I think we're done talking for tonight." Harry exits my room and shuts the door behind him. Shit! A tear streams down my face. God, no. I will not cry right now. I'm not at fault here, not at fault. Harry will go somewhere and realize that everything's fine and then he'll come back and...God, this is a mess!