Walking on the eggshells

4

Mason

As the dawn came I found myself sleeping on the couch with the ice cream tub and the ceramic bowl, my head was somehow pounding and I needed time to get used to the direct sunlight coming from the window on the left. The smell of bacon and pancakes filled the kitchen and the living room, landing my legs on the cold floor I yawned, a chuckle echoed in my ears, turning around I saw Alex standing with his backpack.

"What?" I frowned, my voice husky from the sleep.

"Nothing, your dad just left. Go take a bath we're getting late for school.." he shrugged, not wanting to deal with the slight jump in my chest I did as he asked me to. Upstairs in the bathroom I washed my face with water and brushed my teeth, there was homework and so many other things I had to get it done. Like finding my car keys.

Taking the quickest shower in the history of showers, I pulled my brown t-shirt and jeans, brushing my hair as I turned around to pull my phone from the nightstand, like always. My face scrunched up as I realised my phone was in the car whose keys were missing. Taking the backpack from the study table I stepped down in the kitchen for breakfast.

Alex was already sitting on the couch watching something on YouTube. I quickly filled my plate with pancakes and bacon and ate my breakfast. Alex kept on laughing as the host of the show, he was watching said something hilarious. I was hearing the commentary but I didn't find it that funny to be honest.

"We have to leave early, I don't have my car." I mumbled, taking the last bite of the bacon that was on my plate I pushed it aside and got up. Pouring myself some juice from the carton in the fridge I drank the glass and kept the plate and glass inside the sink. Alex paid me no mind, he was busy laughing..

"Alex!" I emphasised on his name. He turned his neck to look at me.

"Uh..yeah?" He asked,

"I said let's leave, I don't have my car." Rolling my eyes I hit his head.

"Why, what happened to your car?" He asked.

"As if you don't know already." I took the keys from the cup and waited for him to get out of the house. Alex took his phone and backpack, coming towards me.

"I don't, what are you talking about?" He frowned.

"Last night you were drunk out of your mind, you lost my car keys!" Narrowing my eyes at him as Alex walked out and I closed the door behind.

"Why would I have your car keys, did I throw it somewhere?" Concern washed over his face, he bit into his luscious bottom lip, how I wish I could just taste them, know the feel of them against my own. But beggars can't be choosers right?

"I don't know, but I checked your clothes and they weren't there, why did you even take my keys in the First place?" I turned my face to him, as we passed the yellow school bus that was waiting in front of the house beside mine. There were three kids staying in that home, and there were a lot of children. Sometimes at night I hear frustrated screams of parents, yelling behind their kids. It honestly scared me sometimes.

"I don't remember, hell! I don't even remember taking them." He groaned.

"Why do you drink so much then when you can't take it." I mumbled. As we crossed the streets his shoulder bumped into mine. Before I had these feelings for him, that now seriously got on my nerves and made me feel like a pregnant woman with mood swings and hormones all over, no offense. It didn't matter. Before we slept half naked, like a bunch of guys on a sleepover. But after I started feeling this unusual feeling for Alex, I stopped.

As I was saying as our shoulders bumped I jerked away from him, as we stepped on the footpath of the other side of the street Alex came to know what I just did. I tried to pretend that it never happened and I was unaware about it.

"Why did you jerk away?" He asked,

"When, I didn't." I chuckled, s**t I freaked out.

"You honestly need to come clean Mason. You're hiding something from me and it's not fun anymore. Are you in love, or is anything wrong happening with you?"

"I'm not. And no." I said sternly. Last thing he wanted to know that I was in love.

As we entered the school grounds I saw students sprawled all over, sometimes I didn't like it. Alex was usually a people's person. I was too, until I started feeling depressed, by mostly everything. Ben and Martin were standing at the school gate, a girl was standing beside Martin with her hands on his built bicep.

"I don't remember anything from last night! Thank God nana wasn't home, or she would've whooped my ass real nice. In the morning I thought I'd end up on the streets." They all roared with laughter, Ben saw us and waved. Martin kissed the girl and she left us alone.

"Why did you take an Uber home, I thought you were supposed to drop Martin home." I frowned, there were days when I felt like talking and interacting just so I could keep my mind off Alex. Ben pulled his bottle of water and shoved in Martin's hand, who was trying to take it from Ben's bag.

"I have zero idea, but in the morning my phone was raided with messages saying, I was brave to call an Uber saying I'm Niall Horan and I wanted to go home." Martin choked on the water and spit it out on the ground. Some students stared at us and mumbled inaudibly.

"For real!?" Alex laughed, his perfect jaw could cut paper, because saying it could cut a diamond would be exaggerating.

"Yeah man, mum was yelling at me in the morning to do that." He rolled his eyes.

"Who gave us a lift then, I thought I lost your car keys." Alex turned to me, the sunlight was bright and shiny, it directly fell on us, but somehow, somehow it made Alex look more beautiful than any human had the right to look. The rays hit his face making it look sun-kissed, his eyes were beautifully brown and his hair were light and shiny.

"Mason! Mason! You're staring!" He shook me, his hands on my shoulder, I liked his hands on me at that moment, it gave me the warmth in my body I needed from all the emotional cold and feeling of loneliness..if that made sense.

"Huh..David. David gave us a lift, including Martin." I pointed at a direction, absentmindedly.

"Why isn't he here yet?" Ben looked around.

"I was calling you in the morning man, why didn't you answer?" Martin turned to me, I scratched under my eyes lightly pressing my lips.

"My phone is in the car and I'm hoping the car is parked exactly where we left.." I sighed.

"You lost the keys to the Mustang you so much love!" Ben jumped back, I took a step forward and stepped on his white shoes.

"What the hell man! Why did you do that!" He groaned. We all guys in the group had a thing for different things, for example, I loved my Mustang, I never gave it to anyone to drive, well except Alex and like an i***t he is, he drove it right into the streetlight, it cost me three months of my salary.

We do the most absurd things when we're in love, and we have the newfangled audacity to label it as cute. Some morons in love don't understand it and continue to do it. Some dimwits are woken enough to acknowledge what they're doing, and they stop or try not to repeat it more. But I was neither. No. Of course not. I love to be exceptional.

Okay, I was that imbecile that knew exactly what he was doing, I wasn't delusional. God forbid no. Deep in my soul and shallow in my head I knew it was foolish yet I did it, again and again and again and all over a lot again. But hey, in my defense I did it knowingly, and not subconsciously. Now that I come to think about it I don't know which is worst.

We all dispersed in our classes, as the bell went off. There was no sign of David, he wasn't drunk last night nor did he reek of alcohol, he smelled fresh. So I was certain he didn't have a hangover, and I kind of missed his quiet presence around me.

I pushed open the door of biology class and saw David talking to a boy in our usual place. My heart skipped a beat completely taking me off guard. Wow. I chuckled lightly. His lips stopped moving and his eyes moved to the corner of the sockets, and our eyes met.

"Hey." David smiled brightly at me.

"Hi." I put my bag down and sat on the chair. The guy in the blue shirt walked away after David nodded at him, he pulled his phone out from his pocket and showed me a picture he sent me.

"See I've already sent you." He widened his eyes, I didn't understand why he took the stupid report so seriously.

"David my phone is literally in my locked car, I don't know who has my keys." I sighed.

"We'll find it, don't worry."

"Good morning class, open your books to page number thirty seven, we're studying reproduction in plants." We all glanced at the teacher, he wasn't our teacher, he looked new.

"Excuse me where is Miss Olivia?" Someone from the front row asked the man, we didn't recognise him.

"She resigned, I'll be your new teacher for Biology, we'll interact after class, now open the new topic." He declared, leaving no room for argument.

Miss Olivia was a nice person but the tests she gave us in the class portrayed her exactly opposite to nice. She was brutal, but her intentions were innocent, I still had the test paper in my bag, if only I had known she would leave. I sighed sadly.

After the bell rang everyone from the classroom walked away, no one stopped to ask our new teacher his name. David and I wanted to stop out of respect but when he took his coffee cup and bag walking out of the class we shrugged and exited the class too.

Near the lockers David stood behind me, we both had different classes yet he waited for me to take my books and drink water, it was still time for lunch and I was starving already. David was talking to a girl behind me, and it was honesty a lot offbeat. He wasn't a kind of person that spoke that much. And I liked him for the environment of quiet he offered others.

The locker door slammed shut, I almost caught my finger in between the door and locker, jumping back behind I saved myself, I didn't mean to slam the locker. The principal of our school had this weird discipline in the corridors. He didn't like students slamming the doors and pulling out their aggression on non living things, the lockers.

"Hey you okay?" David asked, his hands wrapping around my shoulder so I wouldn't fall on the floor.

"Yeah, of course." I said in a hushed tone.

"Who was that girl?" I scrunched up my nose.

"That was Zia." He looked in the direction she left.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Ask away!" He laughed, David pulled his books and closed the door quietly, unlike me.

"Why are you.." I trailed off, looking up at the electronic bell that went off, the sound was ugly and loud.

"See you after class?" David raised his brow.

"Sure!" I smiled.

I had History and as usual I paid no mind, despite the teacher warning me yesterday, there are times when you hate the present and desperately try to look forward to the future, I was doing that because this all sucked! This wasn't my personality at all. I enjoyed people and hanging out, until one day I miraculously fell for Alex. I wonder what he would do if he came to know one day. God forbid that day.

The bell rang and everyone walked out, I had History class again and it was the last period, so David and the other girl who offered to do the homework with me weren't around. This crowd was totally different, all nerds.

Near the lockers Alex and David were talking about something when I approached them, David was listening to Alex as he spoke. I saw a glint of happiness on David's face as our eyes met. Or was it just me I couldn't really say, scratching my head I smiled at them.

"Martin was all over, that bastard got more marks than me!" Alex rolled his eyes.

"What do you expect, you know how much he despises when his father tries to act like the responsible parent in school." I scoffed. Honestly, no one tells Martin that but we hate that too.

"Of course. Good for him." David was back to being quiet again. Martin and Ben weren't in the sight, just as the bell rang we began to part ways, I had English class, so did David. Quietly we walked side by side to the class in the noisy hallway.

"Hey you! Mason!" Some girl from behind yelled my name, shocked I turned around to see a girl running towards me, I looked at David, raising my brow.

"What do you think?" I asked, she made her way to us pushing past a boy with glasses.

"Did you knock her up?" David said in kock seriousness.

"f**k you." I rolled my eyes.

"These keys!" She held my keys in her hand, I didn't know the feeling of happiness until now, it felt as though someone just kept heaven under my feet.

"How did you find these, jeez thanks." I snatched it from her hands, thinking she would change her mind in the next second.

"I saw your name written on it." She shrugged.

"Well thanks." I smiled brightly at her, scoffing she walked away. Turning to David I showed him the car keys eagerly.

"Let's go there after school and bring your bad boy home." He hit my shoulder.

During class all I could think was about my car and my beloved phone inside it, I missed them so much. Having no idea about what the teacher was talking about.

"It's hard, isn't it." David shuddered beside me, his voice filled with horror and pain. Turning my neck to him as I frowned in confusion.

"What?" I asked,

"It must be hard falling for someone you can't have." He stated, was that what the teacher was teaching us, another Shakespeare, William Golding or John Steinbeck? I pondered upon.

"It is. Even though it's awry and you're well aware you hope they might one day come to you. And if not, it's always worth it. For some f****d up reason." Getting up from my seat as I clicked my tongue.

"You sound like you've ran miles in those shoes."

"You can't come to imagine." I let out a humourless laugh.

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