RED [BXB]

THREE

"How's Ethan, by the way?" Luke suddenly called out into the dark.

Mason shifted uncomfortably beneath the sheets. "I'm not sure. We don't really talk anymore."

"What? How come?"

Mason cleared his throat, his hand shooting up to fiddle with his necklace; it was a nervous habit he just couldn't seem to quit. "Just some drama. It's not really important."

Luke hummed thoughtfully. "Oh, okay," he didn't sound like he believed Mason's obvious lie, but he decided to drop it. After all, it wasn't his place to pry. "He still with Vincent?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Mason responded. "As far as I know, they got an apartment together in California."

Luke smiled. "That's nice. They're very cute together."

Though a little spiteful, Mason had to agree. The two were practically a match made in heaven. He'd known Ethan for a really long time, and he'd never seen him so caught on someone else before. Mason knew he had to move on; he was well-aware there were zero chances it would ever work out between him and his ex-best-friend. Still, it was hard for him not to feel a pang of hurt and disappointment every time he pictured his gorgeous Ethan happy with someone else.

He knew it was his fault their friendship got ruined, but Mason had so much pent-up angst and pain that he was a grenade waiting to detonate. He'd hurt a lot of people, but it was the only thing he could do; it was the only way he knew how to cope. It was a shame, though, that his best friend had to be caught up in the midst of it.

Mason had shoved the whole situation to the back of his mind, for thinking about it brought him too much remorse. Now that the door had been opened, unwelcome dark thoughts flooded his brain, forcing him to relive every moment. He shook his head feverishly, hoping it would rid him of the memories.

Luke stared up at the plank of wood supporting Mason's body, the only thing that separated them. From his position on the bottom bunk, he could see Mason's leg—he'd let it dangle off the bed—anxiously and rapidly twitching. Though he couldn't look at the boy, Luke practically felt the discomfort oozing off him in waves.

"You're bothered," he spoke.

He heard Mason scoff. "I'm not."

"You are," Luke insisted. "I'm sorry if I was too nosy. I'm trying to work on that."

"No, you're fine," Mason sighed. "Look, it's just—something happened. It was bad. Or, wait, let me rephrase that—I did something bad. And bringing up Ethan just makes me think about the whole thing, and—yeah, it's a mess. But it's not your fault." It's mine.

For a while, Luke didn't say anything. Mason almost thought he'd drifted off to sleep, but the boy was merely turning the words over in his head. Finally, he uttered, "Whatever it is, there's no use in crying over spilled milk."

Though Luke couldn't see him, Mason rolled his eyes. "Well, aren't you just so wise tonight?"

He laughed heartily. "Technically, we're in the early hours of the morning. But yeah, whatever."

"Would you shut up, Ginger? I need to sleep."

"Ginger?" Luke echoed incredulously. "You do know the red isn't natural, right?" His tone was condescending, words spoken patronizingly, as though he were explaining something to a small child.

"Yeah, but you're still a soulless spawn of Satan."

Luke couldn't really argue with that.

***

Surprisingly enough, rooming with Luke was not nearly as awful as Mason had been expecting. Sure, having his own space was great, but it, often times, got incredibly lonely. Especially considering the fact that Mason had no actual friends, being that he'd largely kept to himself and avoided most social events and interactions.

In his defense, he just really didn't like people.

Though he'd never admit it to the other's face, Luke was really fun to be around. He kept things interesting and shared Mason's sense of humor. But damn, that boy could talk. At times, Mason considered smothering him with a pillow, as it seemed to be the only way possible to shut him up. It didn't matter how many times Mason snapped or yelled at him; he just kept going.

One evening, about a week after Luke had moved in, Mason was faced with the same problem. The two boys were sitting cross-legged on the floor, Mason's papers and notebooks scattered as he attempted to go through his assignments. Try as he might, he just couldn't concentrate on the work, not with Luke yapping excitedly about God knows what. Mason struggled, with every bit of his sanity, not to slap Luke across the face with a thick, five-hundred-page textbook. He just wouldn't shut up.

"..and, there was this one girl with an emo haircut and the fucking darkest eyeliner I've ever seen in my life... Did you know me in middle school? Oh my god, I looked just like her, but without the boobs... Oh, wait, no, I was a fucking fat kid. I think my boobs were even bigger than hers... And then—"

Having had enough, Mason slammed the book shut, the force of the hit startling Luke into silence. Mason could practically feel his ears ringing, a silent hallelujah echoing through his mind. He didn't get to rejoice in the silence for long, though, because Luke was at it again.

"Finally!" he exclaimed. "You're done. Now, we can go do something."

"Yes, please, go outside," Mason begged, faking a smile. "Have fun, and—I mean it—take all the time you need."

Luke looked over at him distastefully. "Are you stupid? You're coming with me."

"I'm not going anywhere," Mason protested.

"Yeah, you are," Luke retorted. "I want you to meet my friends."

Mason scowled. "Why on Earth would I want to do that? You're already too much for me to handle."

"Because," Luke began, shooting him a pointed look. "You never leave the room all day. You're like an ogre."

When Mason showed no sign of approval, Luke rolled his eyes, heaving a heavy sigh. "Fine. If you come with me, I promise I won't talk for the rest of the night when we get back."

Mason's eyebrows rose to the top of his forehead, his interest piqued. "Wow," he whistled. "You want me to go that bad?"

Luke stared at him blankly. "Well, the offer's off the table now."

"Alright, alright, I'll go. But you better keep your end of the deal."

"And if I don't?" Luke stared up at him mischievously, a challenge dancing in his brown eyes. Mason eyes subconsciously dropped to Luke's lips, watching as he drew the plump flesh between his teeth.

With a sudden courage that was foreign to him, Mason replied breathlessly, "I guess I'll have to find a way to shut you up, then."