CHAPTER SEVEN
After an… eventful day, Mason, Melody, and Sam find themselves plodding along a city street.
The sun is high but angled, the point of the day where the sky can turn orange and pink. The clouds floating above take an amorphous shape, drifting along leading behind the trio.
Having completed their first day back at Masquerade, the three friends find themselves in a prickling silence. An uncomfortable air has settled and hovered around Mason. Stretching every blink and breathe, the silence that Mason invites irks his friends, not out of any annoyance towards him, but for him- they want to run up and hug him, but that would only enrage him. Sam and Melody meet eyes every few steps, knowing they have to do something.
"Mason…"
Sam is the first to speak up, not with any confidence.
"- are you going to be okay?"
Sam whimpers the words, like a lost poppy following a new owner. He worries about his friend, knowing the pain he must be remembering. Sam knows all too well the harrowing past that Mason has endured, and the memories that their teacher Mr. Gentus must have unknowingly forced back into his head.
"this Breck character, I hear he's your school's strongest."
Mr. Gentus' words hover in a dense fog inside of Mason's head, the words biting at him worse than any other Blight from Hell or Faith from Heaven.
Breck. Top of the school, renowned strongest of the Blessed Class in all of Masquerade.
"The other faculty seem to herald him damn near the next coming."
Words of intense praise. A grand lie, Mason knows.
"He's nothing so great!"
Mason screams, suddenly with intense ferocity. Pained. Melody and Sam reel, their hands cupping into their chests in worry and fright. The two share a quick glance.
"H-Hey, Mason, why don't we go to Pricky's- I'll treat you to your favoriiiiite."
Melody tries to coax her friend, reaching with good effort, bouncing up to Mason's side.
"Yeah, man, let's go!"
Sam tries to put on his best happy face, and a cheery voice to match it, running up to meet Mason.
Mason doesn't acknowledge that they're still around him, only keeping his steps in line, walking along the street. Cars race by, heading home to their families or friends. Birds sing songs and street cats meow up to them.
Vrrrrrrrr
Twip twip twee twi twa twa twi
Nya nreow nrow nya
Vrrrrr twwww nywwww
Wwwwwwwww
Wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Until finally, the sounds of the world surrounding him, the voices of his friends, and even the thoughts forced into his brain become one.
"Wawa, wa waaa"
Sam leans in front of Mason's sight and his mouth moves, but no intelligible sound comes to Mason's ears. He leans away again. Melody and Sam drown in pain, heartbroken for their friend.
They let him walk ahead a few paces, then Melody tugs on Sam's sleeve.
"Do you think he'll be okay?"
Melody speaks through her gathered fingers, holding them up to her lips nervously. Her heart pours into her words, softly and intent.
Sam looks at Melody and shakes his head from side to side.
"I never really know with Mason."
His words fall heavily and flatly to the concrete.
"His usual response to anything is to explode. He's normally loud and obnoxious."
Sam mimics an explosion with his hands, expanding them from a small point. Melody lets her eyes drag along the street, listening still but losing motivation and faith.
"Yeah."
Melody whispers, not knowing what she can do, having little experience with Mason in this state.
"Mason, I'm so sorry…"
She tries to speak to him, reaching with her thoughts desperately. Melody holds her eyes closed, trying hard to focus and drown out the city streets and sounds. Mason doesn't seem to notice, or if he did, he wasn't going to react to her words. Melody is Blessed, and one of their natural abilities is creating telepathic links, but you had to be pretty strong to make them two-way. Which, Melody is, but this seems like something different.
The streets cry and call as they ever do, with cars or other passersby. The sun falls out of the sky painfully slow, drenching the world in orange and pink. City lights begin to brighten, crawling upwards of the towers they emanate from. The trio finally reaches a point of breaking- Sam catches up to Mason and offers him a coupling hug, reaching around him with both wide arms. Mason chuckles emptily, being put back down and doing his best impression of a goodbye nod.
"Mason. I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?"
Sam yells to his friend, running off towards home. A faint trail of wet air follows behind his sprint.
Melody bounces around to Mason's side.
"Oh, Sam…"
Melody scrunches her lips up to her nose.
"I think he was looking at my chest!"
She shakes her fist, widely up in front of Mason's face so that he can see. Exaggerated.
"You bastard!"
Melody will gladly throw her friend under the bus if it meant Mason might laugh at their usual course of action. Seemingly to no big response.
Continued in PART TWENTY-NINE…