The Romantics(22)

“Fine,” Gael snapped. He walked around the truck, opened the passenger door, and tossed his backpack in harder than he needed to.

“And, by the way, it’s mano a mano,” Gael said bitterly, as he slammed the door and Mason stepped on the gas. “Manna is, like, ancient bread.”

Mason shrugged, and then despite his decree, he didn’t say anything the entire drive to Gael’s house, which was thankfully only about five minutes.

As soon as Mason pulled into his driveway, Gael got out of the car and slammed the door without so much as a word of thanks. In classic Mason fashion, he didn’t take the hint. Instead, he turned the car off, got out, and followed Gael inside.

Sammy was sitting in her usual spot in the dining room with Piper. Upon seeing Mason, she adjusted her glasses, waiting to be clued in on any new developments in the Gael-Mason drama she’d so epically witnessed at his birthday dinner. Gael passed by without so much as a “Hi” and headed to his room. Mason followed.

Mason flipped on Gael’s Xbox and loaded up his file in Skyrim like nothing was the matter. He shot Gael a goofy grin as a rugged landscape appeared on the screen. This used to be their thing. Skyrim was Gael’s favorite video game (it reminded him of Lord of the Rings), and they’d spent hours taking turns upgrading their armor, slaying dragons, and defending themselves against thieving bandits.

Gael felt a brief—but deep—pang in his chest. He missed Mason. It was kind of like they’d broken up, too. But as soon as the feeling came, he pushed it away. Mason was trying so hard to act like things were okay. But they weren’t. And Gael didn’t really think they ever would be again. What Mason had done was completely inexcusable. It went against every rule of friendship. Every rule of basic human decency.

Gael laughed bitterly to himself: kind of like barging into someone’s home to play video games without being invited.

Mason’s Skyrim character ran through the woods, his attractive female servant trailing behind him. He shot an arrow at a wanderer, killing him instantly.

“You know you shouldn’t do that,” Gael said.

Mason shrugged. “Gotta get in my archery practice. Some must die in the pursuit of greatness.”

Gael sat down on the bed. “You can’t just go around killing people who did nothing to you.”

Mason gave him a side glance. “That never bothered you before.”

“Well, it does now.” Gael’s voice was loud, agitated. “That guy could have helped you. You, literally, just stabbed him in the back.”

He turned to Gael, and for a second, it looked like he was maybe actually going to say something more than his vague, “I’m sorry, dude,” but he didn’t.

Instead, Mason killed two wolves and a bandit before he spoke again. “The thing is, I need your help.”

Gael scoffed. “I am in no mood to help you.”

“Just hear me out.” Mason’s character headed into a cave, using a spell to light the way. “Things have been weird with Anika.”

Gael grabbed a pillow and punched it down. “Are you kidding me? You hijacked my afternoon and invaded my space to get advice about the girlfriend you stole from me?”

(Mason’s actions were kind of ridiculous. But what Gael still couldn’t wrap his head around was that everyone makes ridiculous choices when it comes to me. This wasn’t The Gael Show. He wasn’t the only one who had ever been in love.)

Mason paused the game, grabbed Gael’s computer chair, whipped it around, and sat down backward. He leaned his chest against the back of the chair and let his extra-long arms dangle at the sides. “She’s not a possession, dude,” Mason said, in a totally profound and un-Mason way. It almost made Gael feel like a jerk. “She’s a person.”

“Whatever,” Gael said. “However you want to say it, it was a pretty shitty thing to do.”

Mason picked at a sticker on the back of the chair. “I know. And maybe the longer you go without talking to me, the more I get just how shitty it was. But you’re the only one I feel comfortable talking about stuff like this with . . .”

Gael crossed his arms and kept his mouth shut.

Mason took a deep breath and swiveled the chair back and forth. “Just so you know, she kissed me, okay?”

Gael threw his hands up in the air. “I already told you, I do not want to hear about how you and Anika got together.”

Mason stared at his feet, then back up at Gael.

“Look, I should have told her to break up with you before even thinking about doing anything with me, but I didn’t, okay? And now . . . I don’t know, I guess I’m worried that she’s messing with both of us. Like what if she doesn’t care about me at all and was just using me to break up with you?”

Gael rolled his eyes. “Well, would you even care? Isn’t that the Mason goal? No one to tie you down?”

Mason crossed his arms and leaned forward in the chair. “The thing is, sometimes she doesn’t wear a freaking seat belt when she’s in my truck, and then I think about what if there are other times that she’s not wearing a seat belt, and what if there’s some sort of accident, and then what if she’s just gone, and . . . well . . .”

“What do seat belts have to do with this?” Gael asked.

Mason shrugged and mumbled, “I never worried about little things like that before. Half the time, I don’t even wear a seat belt.”