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"I didn't know I had options." The words temporarily stopped whatever train of though crossed Andy's mind. She kept her head facing her lap, but her gaze slowly drifted over toward him. Was she an option? Up until the night before, she never knew what was going on in Mason's head, and to some extent, she still didn't. She often thought the anger he often directed toward her stemmed from the thought that she could do better. But a large portion of that seemed to come from his hatred of Ajax, nothing more. But the kiss they shared changed everything.
Perhaps some of Mason's anger grew from somewhere else? A place where he saw her as more than a friend? Andy doubted that he considered himself as a better option compared to Ajax. Mason chastised her for being his friend and dealing with his shit nearly as much as he did about her being with Ajax. It was never easy knowing what he was thinking. He was an enigma, and unless he was plain with her, Andy often grasped at straws to get a sliver of an idea of how he felt.
When she mentioned just wanting him to find happiness, Mason smiled and reached over to take her hand. "Thank you." Andy returned his smile with her own before he continued. "Because I'm going to ask her to marry me."
Quickly, her smile turned to a sneer as her brows furrowed. Andy went to yank her hand away from him, but Mason's grasp tightened in a gentle squeeze. She looked back over at him to find the asshole grinning at, what he probably thought was, a clever joke. "You're such a jerk," she said with an exhausted laugh and a shake of her head.
"Andy, do Eve and I look like a happy couple?"
She was as good of a judge of that as Mason was of her own past relationship. "I... don't know. All I saw was her seemingly enamored by you." She shrugged her shoulders. "And the part where you mentioned spending the night with her." Andy sighed softly as she let her gaze drift toward anything but Mason. The thought of him and Eve having sex churned her stomach. But she said nothing. It wasn't her place. It was hypocritical enough for it to bother her the way it did.
"You haven't always been the easiest person to read. I know when you're upset," she laughed weakly. "You've never been scared to share that with me." The corner of her lips tugged back into a tight smile. "But, you've never told me what makes you happy."
"Honestly I think it will take a while until I'm even content with my life again." Andy saddened at the thought as her gaze fell to where he held her hand. She couldn't recall the last time he seemed happy.
For the past year she lived in a haze of depression and grief. It took her months to even pull herself out enough to realize a fraction of what was wrong or what she wanted. And in that fog she clung to Mason like a life line, yet didn't fully grasp his level of unhappiness. Some friend she was. Andy exhaled softly as her thumb lightly tapped his hand. "What would make you happy?" She asked before meeting his gaze.
After awhile, the heaviness of the conversation dissipated and Mason moved to his feet. He grabbed her bag and then offered his other arm toward her. "You ready to face the world again? This place is getting gloomier by the minute."
Andy smiled as she let out a relieving sigh. "I thought you were going to keep me on lock down until I recovered." She took a deep breath, preparing herself before she slid her arm around his. It took her a minute to get enough momentum to pull herself out of the bed with Mason's help. She felt like so wobbly, like one good gust of wind could knock her over. But she was determined to be ok. She wanted more than anything to be out of the infirmary. Even if that just meant bed rest in her own cabin while Mason, Daniel and Trinity worried over her like concerned parents.
They hadn't been walking long, or gotten very far with her slow poke ass, before Mason cleared his throat to continue the conversation. "Sorry for making you choose a side sometimes." Their paced slowed until they came to a stop and she looked over at him. "I know I've put you in some spots and it's not okay." To anyone else it might have seemed small, but to Andy, that made a world of a difference. Since she got to camp, she constantly felt like Mason and Ajax would constantly tugging at her, pulling her in different directions and forcing her to choose. It weighed heavily on her, for a long time. So, while it might have seemed like just another apology, it was so much more to her. She gave his arm a gentle squeeze and smiled in a silent 'I forgive you.'
Mason then leaned toward her, speaking softly into her ear. "I mean technically I've targetted Alex and all would be well if Ajax didn't get involved but...I shouldn't expect so much." She laughed softly while rolling her eyes and shaking her head. Of course, he couldn't leave it there.
Whatever smile might have been on her face quickly fell when she saw Ajax walking toward them sternly, with purpose. Andy felt her heart sink as he got closer and she saw the anger, and sadness on his face. One day. Just one day without fighting. That's all she wanted. But when he got close he didn't stop. There was no yelling or scolding. Without hesitation Ajax brought back his fist before throwing it forward right into Mason's nose.
The force sent Mason tumbling backwards and Andy along with him, until they both fell to the ground with a thud. Mason broke some of her fall as she half landed on him, but that didn't help it hurt any less as the collision triggered every sore muscle. She slowly sat herself up with weak arms that trembled under her own body weight. Once Andy managed to get to her knees, she looked over at Mason to see him bleeding heavily from his nose. "What the hell, Ajax!?"
"I should have done that a long time ago." Andy slowly closed her eyes as she exhaled. Her face showed the exhaustion and frustration at this endless feud that kept going in endless circles. "I'm sorry..." And then there was silence. She slowly brought herself to look up at him as she blinked back tears. Ajax lowered his hand to cup the right side of her face while his thumb stroked her cheek.
Then his hand fell and he walked away. Andy didn't move. She just knelt there in silence as she watched him walk away. Part of her wanted to call after him but she couldn't find the words. He was sorry? Sorry for what? For punching Mason? Not coming to see her in the infirmary? For taking his sister's side over hers? The questions flooded her mind but all she got was the retreating form of Ajax. And not once did he look back at her.
Andy looked back toward Mason. The sight of his bleeding and probably broken nose quickly brought her back to the situation at hand. "Oh gods," she gasped. She slide her hands under his head and gently lifted it off the ground. It took more strength than she cared to admit, but that was the last thing on her mind. She scooted closer and rested his head on her lap, keeping it elevated so he doesn't choke on the blood. Trying not to move him too much, Andy grabbed her bag from the ground. She pulled out the first piece of clothing she could find and gently pressed it to his nose.
After a long minute, she slowly moved her other hand cup the side of his face as she looked down at him. Andy blamed herself. Her emotions were all over the place. She didn't know how she felt about Ajax anymore and her new, more repressed, feelings for Mason confused her even more. If she wasn't a sinking ship that took everything down with her, this wouldn't have happened. "This is all my fault," she mumbled under her breath as a tear ran down her cheek.
"I didn't know I had options." The words temporarily stopped whatever train of though crossed Andy's mind. She kept her head facing her lap, but her gaze slowly drifted over toward him. Was she an option? Up until the night before, she never knew what was going on in Mason's head, and to some extent, she still didn't. She often thought the anger he often directed toward her stemmed from the thought that she could do better. But a large portion of that seemed to come from his hatred of Ajax, nothing more. But the kiss they shared changed everything.
Perhaps some of Mason's anger grew from somewhere else? A place where he saw her as more than a friend? Andy doubted that he considered himself as a better option compared to Ajax. Mason chastised her for being his friend and dealing with his shit nearly as much as he did about her being with Ajax. It was never easy knowing what he was thinking. He was an enigma, and unless he was plain with her, Andy often grasped at straws to get a sliver of an idea of how he felt.
When she mentioned just wanting him to find happiness, Mason smiled and reached over to take her hand. "Thank you." Andy returned his smile with her own before he continued. "Because I'm going to ask her to marry me."
Quickly, her smile turned to a sneer as her brows furrowed. Andy went to yank her hand away from him, but Mason's grasp tightened in a gentle squeeze. She looked back over at him to find the asshole grinning at, what he probably thought was, a clever joke. "You're such a jerk," she said with an exhausted laugh and a shake of her head.
"Andy, do Eve and I look like a happy couple?"
She was as good of a judge of that as Mason was of her own past relationship. "I... don't know. All I saw was her seemingly enamored by you." She shrugged her shoulders. "And the part where you mentioned spending the night with her." Andy sighed softly as she let her gaze drift toward anything but Mason. The thought of him and Eve having sex churned her stomach. But she said nothing. It wasn't her place. It was hypocritical enough for it to bother her the way it did.
"You haven't always been the easiest person to read. I know when you're upset," she laughed weakly. "You've never been scared to share that with me." The corner of her lips tugged back into a tight smile. "But, you've never told me what makes you happy."
"Honestly I think it will take a while until I'm even content with my life again." Andy saddened at the thought as her gaze fell to where he held her hand. She couldn't recall the last time he seemed happy.
For the past year she lived in a haze of depression and grief. It took her months to even pull herself out enough to realize a fraction of what was wrong or what she wanted. And in that fog she clung to Mason like a life line, yet didn't fully grasp his level of unhappiness. Some friend she was. Andy exhaled softly as her thumb lightly tapped his hand. "What would make you happy?" She asked before meeting his gaze.
After awhile, the heaviness of the conversation dissipated and Mason moved to his feet. He grabbed her bag and then offered his other arm toward her. "You ready to face the world again? This place is getting gloomier by the minute."
Andy smiled as she let out a relieving sigh. "I thought you were going to keep me on lock down until I recovered." She took a deep breath, preparing herself before she slid her arm around his. It took her a minute to get enough momentum to pull herself out of the bed with Mason's help. She felt like so wobbly, like one good gust of wind could knock her over. But she was determined to be ok. She wanted more than anything to be out of the infirmary. Even if that just meant bed rest in her own cabin while Mason, Daniel and Trinity worried over her like concerned parents.
They hadn't been walking long, or gotten very far with her slow poke ass, before Mason cleared his throat to continue the conversation. "Sorry for making you choose a side sometimes." Their paced slowed until they came to a stop and she looked over at him. "I know I've put you in some spots and it's not okay." To anyone else it might have seemed small, but to Andy, that made a world of a difference. Since she got to camp, she constantly felt like Mason and Ajax would constantly tugging at her, pulling her in different directions and forcing her to choose. It weighed heavily on her, for a long time. So, while it might have seemed like just another apology, it was so much more to her. She gave his arm a gentle squeeze and smiled in a silent 'I forgive you.'
Mason then leaned toward her, speaking softly into her ear. "I mean technically I've targetted Alex and all would be well if Ajax didn't get involved but...I shouldn't expect so much." She laughed softly while rolling her eyes and shaking her head. Of course, he couldn't leave it there.
Whatever smile might have been on her face quickly fell when she saw Ajax walking toward them sternly, with purpose. Andy felt her heart sink as he got closer and she saw the anger, and sadness on his face. One day. Just one day without fighting. That's all she wanted. But when he got close he didn't stop. There was no yelling or scolding. Without hesitation Ajax brought back his fist before throwing it forward right into Mason's nose.
The force sent Mason tumbling backwards and Andy along with him, until they both fell to the ground with a thud. Mason broke some of her fall as she half landed on him, but that didn't help it hurt any less as the collision triggered every sore muscle. She slowly sat herself up with weak arms that trembled under her own body weight. Once Andy managed to get to her knees, she looked over at Mason to see him bleeding heavily from his nose. "What the hell, Ajax!?"
"I should have done that a long time ago." Andy slowly closed her eyes as she exhaled. Her face showed the exhaustion and frustration at this endless feud that kept going in endless circles. "I'm sorry..." And then there was silence. She slowly brought herself to look up at him as she blinked back tears. Ajax lowered his hand to cup the right side of her face while his thumb stroked her cheek.
Then his hand fell and he walked away. Andy didn't move. She just knelt there in silence as she watched him walk away. Part of her wanted to call after him but she couldn't find the words. He was sorry? Sorry for what? For punching Mason? Not coming to see her in the infirmary? For taking his sister's side over hers? The questions flooded her mind but all she got was the retreating form of Ajax. And not once did he look back at her.
Andy looked back toward Mason. The sight of his bleeding and probably broken nose quickly brought her back to the situation at hand. "Oh gods," she gasped. She slide her hands under his head and gently lifted it off the ground. It took more strength than she cared to admit, but that was the last thing on her mind. She scooted closer and rested his head on her lap, keeping it elevated so he doesn't choke on the blood. Trying not to move him too much, Andy grabbed her bag from the ground. She pulled out the first piece of clothing she could find and gently pressed it to his nose.
After a long minute, she slowly moved her other hand cup the side of his face as she looked down at him. Andy blamed herself. Her emotions were all over the place. She didn't know how she felt about Ajax anymore and her new, more repressed, feelings for Mason confused her even more. If she wasn't a sinking ship that took everything down with her, this wouldn't have happened. "This is all my fault," she mumbled under her breath as a tear ran down her cheek.