How to Steal Mason's Heart

TWENTY – TWO

Time flew so fast I did not notice we were hours away before the play. Mom was sitting already in the theatre, in the front seat with her brown eyes looking proudly at me. I went to the backstage and she assured me I would do great, most especially I was always away from home and Jason and I were so immersed in this play.

Salve also dropped by Jason’s house to play the keyboard she brought since she had a car that could transport the slightly huge musical instrument to his humble abode.

My heart was palpitating loudly against my chest, almost going out of its ribcage whilst sweat beads trickled down my forehead. It almost destroyed my make-up but Cherry always did retouches. She was an outgoing person but she never initiated any conversations.

Blake and Mason were with Jason, occasionally giving pats and words of encouragement towards him. He would smile to them but they never touched his eyes. Courtney sat beside him, holding his hand. I stood awkwardly at the side lines, waiting for Cherry to finish putting some sort of powder onto my face.

“I am so excited for you, Alex!” Courtney suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere, wrapping her arms around me. I returned back the gesture, feeling slightly relieved.

Mason’s appearance suddenly loomed over me and Courtney disappeared in a breeze, winking cheekily at me. I rolled my eyes at her, raising my middle finger towards her.

“You look great,” Mason casually commented.

A traitorous blush escaped my cheeks, willing for them to disappear anytime. Cheeks were the number one causes of betrayal.

“Thanks. I guess I need to look good for this Winter Musicale,” I murmured a reply, taking a plush seat and Mason mimicked my actions as well, his breathing slightly steady while he was unnaturally too close for my liking. Goose bumps ran across my skin but it was barely noticeable if you were far away.

“Good luck,” he said, smiling lightly towards me.

It was a surprise we had been hanging out more lately. We would go to unknown places to us, we did extreme stuff like sky diving (even though Mason promised to never do something that was associated with heights) and of course he would bring a high-end camera with him. We took selfies occasionally but most of the time he would take pictures of what I was doing and I did the same to him. After all, my phone was still filled with Mason’s face. I did not regret taking them.

I chuckled, until Ms. Rosedale’s too sweet voice boomed in the theatre, starting out some introductions. I took a deep breath until a piano played in the background. It was my cue to go out as the curtains opened, my eyes searching for mother. She was giving me a thumbs up and smiled at me, my heart slowed down as I started skipping in the stage, smiling to myself as I loaded the bucket with water.

The tune was lively and I would give props to Salve. She was good in playing the piano and she told me that she wanted to go to Julliard after graduation. She was just waiting for her application letter to be accepted.

My voice let out a hum and then I sang all the words Jason and I had practiced for over the days.

Then the scenes shifted to our meeting, Oliver was wearing his worn-out clothes while Isabel was being her demure self, picking out carrots that were a day old from harvest. It was then I gazed into his blue eyes, really stared into them that I realized they were much more gorgeous than Mason’s. I knew Mason had a beautiful pair of eyes, but my breath hitched when I saw Jason’s blue orbs. I knew I was acting those out but I knew they felt real, striking straight into my chest.

My carrots fell just like it was in the script, our faces gazing at each other.

He looked at me intensely.

“Your carrots are on the ground, m’lady,” Oliver, or Jason’s role, cheekily said, winking at me. I rolled my eyes at him, picking the carrots lying on the ground. I started walking away but Jason grabbed my hand.

“Wait,” he said, “Can I get a name from a beautiful lady like you?” His eyes looked enchanted to just see me in my plain rugs with a smile pasting on his lips.

“How about you go home and ask your mother who I am?” I bit back a retort and the whole audience laughed. I loved Isabel’s role. One moment she could be sweet and dazed into a daydream but sarcastic at the same time in shy moments.

“Do you know who I am?” Jason replied, his eyes narrowing angrily at me. I guffawed at him, throwing a dirty carrot at him, his clothes stained with mud. “I am Prince Oliver, son of Queen—“

“Yeah, right. You seriously think I believe that?” I said and the audience had another wave of laughter.

The scene immediately moved to Oliver and Isabel hanging out together and then the scene where both their parents were hindrances to their love. It was kind of a Romeo and Juliet scene but this was an original play so cliché could never be avoided, not matter how much they wanted it to be original.

But the final scene was what my mind had occupied for the whole day.

Ms. Rosedale disapproved of us hugging because it would not be realistic for the audience since we were already a couple and most couples in movies, in a lot of plays kiss so what difference would it make if we would kiss?

But here was the thing. We were both sixteen-year-old teenagers who were inexperienced in the art of kissing and as much as we wanted to practice kissing, it would be awkward, given the fact Courtney was dating him and Courtney and I were best friends, no I wouldn’t do it.

I told Courtney about the kissing scene and she was fine with it although she told me she would quite get jealous if she would see it finally in the play, since we were both actors and we never had feelings for each other. I was kind of relieved to hear it from her. Jason and I were just being professional here and we wanted to deliver the play in success.

I was sitting on a cemented bench of the grave, my eyes spilled with tears (I didn’t know how I managed to cry), staring at Isabel’s mother’s name engraved on it.

Jason’s presence shadowed me and my head turned towards him, his blue eyes screaming condolences over the death of Isabel’s mother.

“Oliver,” I whispered towards Jason, immediately engulfing him into a hug and cried, my throat letting out a strangled cry. It wasn’t in any way attractive because I probably sounded like a dying walrus.

“Isabel,” Jason breathed, caressing my hair into his fingers. I slightly shivered from his touch. We broke the hug and stared into each other’s eyes, my heart beating wildly against my chest, my eyes automatically closing as we both leaned our heads towards each other.

Our noses collided a little, but we both tilted our head sideways in an unspoken manner and that was when our lips touched. His lips were soft, compared to my almost chapped one. His hands were already at the small of my back while my hands were on his hair, dishevelling it in the process.

I could hear claps and whistles and shouts from the background while Jason bit my lower lip, the music almost heading to an end. I almost let out a moan and bit his lower lip as well as he let out a low growl from his throat. I immediately pulled myself away, Jason’s lips swollen from the kiss, his eyes staring at me in a weird manner.

The curtains closed and I immediately looked away, an awkward silence hanging around the stage.

Jason said, “Wow, it is over.” His breaths were heavy but he held a relieved tone. I still did not look at his way. I only nodded and forced a smile to my lips.

“Yes, it really is,” I told him, taking steps away from him, my back facing his vision but he did not stop me which was a huge relief on my part. I was unsteady on my feet as I went to the backstage where mother was waiting for me. She hugged me, the warmth emanating on my body. I was probably cold and shaking but I later on I calmed down.

My mother wolf-whistled. “Hot damn,” she said, “The kiss was fantastically heated.”

I cried. “That was all you had to say? After singing like a frog.” I sent a light jab her way. “Come on, don’t tell me I have a horrible voice?”

She chuckled. “I love your performance, Alex. But the kissing scene was my favourite part. I didn’t know you could leave a man breathless on stage.” She winked playfully at me as I tried not to smile at her.

“Nah, it was our first kiss, mom,” I reasoned.

“Hey, your father called. I need to fetch him in the airport,” mother said, a rueful smile on her lips. “Go home early, okay? I don’t want you ending up knocked out from a motel.” She winked at that.

Before I could even retort, she was gone, trotting herself towards the exit of the backstage.

“Your voice is literally awesome!” Courtney yelled, flailing her arms at me. “Why didn’t you tell me you could sing like that?”

I shyly tucked a stray strand—even though my hair was majorly covered in hairspray—behind my ear. “Because I don’t want to?”

Courtney punched my arm. “Come on, Alex. I love your performance,” she said. “And I won in the Mathlete competition!” she exclaimed.

This time, I initiated the hug. “That’s great! You should probably treat me or something.”

“Wait!” she squealed. “What if we go on a double date?”

I raised my brows, a confused look thrown towards her. “I don’t have a date?”

“You have Mason, silly,” she teased. I gave her an eye roll.

“He’ll probably won’t approve,” I insisted but she was already sauntering her way towards Mason with a neutral look on her face. I changed in the dressing room with a pair of jeans and a loose black v neck shirt. As I went outside, the other cast were gone as well as Mason and Courtney.

Jason was standing in front of the dressing room I changed into. I almost stumbled on my feet but my reflexes were immediate to keep me upright.

“Goddammit Jason, you don’t scare a girl like that! What if a ghost is just around the corner?” I said sarcastically but he didn’t laugh nor comment another sarcastic remark.

My heart sank.

“Uh, Alex,” he said quietly but his voice echoed in the whole backstage. “About the kiss—“

“Why are we talking about that?” I cut him off.

“Because you might think anything about it otherwise,” he simply answered. “I don’t want you harbouring feelings for me.”

I gave him an astonished look. “What? It was just a kiss Jason. And I have feelings for Mason, remember?”

He nodded feebly but he looked like he wasn’t convinced.

“Why are we suddenly talking about the kiss? It’s part of the play—“

Jason’s lips connected on mine all of a sudden. My eyes widened whilst my heart almost went out of my ribcage. I pushed him away.

“What are you doing?” I asked him, making a large gap between the two of us. My breaths were ragged as I sent him an angry look his way.

“Just trying to see if you’ll respond to the kiss and making sure if you really don’t have feelings for me,” he answered.

“Well, it seems that I don’t,” I said, smirking at him. “Let’s probably go back to Mason and Courtney. They might be—“

“Mason took Courtney home.”

“W-what? Courtney even suggested having a double date tonight.”

“Well, there’s still school tomorrow so probably we’ll do that next week.”

“Yeah?” My voice asked.

“Yeah,” he echoed, with a serene smile on his lips.