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Chapter 29: "Lucky for you, I got all these daddy issues!" - Daddy Issues, Demi Lovato

"I can't wait to go to Naveah's house. It's going to be so much fun!" Lolo giggled obnoxiously loud, words navally and stuffed.

"I know right? It's totally going to rock." Natalie replied excitedly, hugging her diary to her chest. Although its contents were supposed to be secret, the book had the words 'DO NOT OPEN, IT'S A SECRET' written in bold font on the front and the book itself was a bright sparkly pink.

Mark and Mason had paid $12 each to watch this movie, Sunflower Diaries, and were now starting to regret the purchase. The acting and story quality of this coming of age movie was just horrific, but neither of them wanted to leave and waste their money. Still, the two of them had come for their date so it made the movie just a tiny bit better.

Mason mindlessly thumbed the side of Mark's finger as he continued to watch the drama unfold.

"Nothing is going to 'rock' today, Natalie." Natalie's dad stated as he awkwardly walked into the room. "You're not going."

"But we'll be right down the block!" Natalie argued heatedly, gesturing in the direction of the house.

"A mile is not down the block, young lady." Her father retorted immediately, making Natalie's mouth snap shut. "You are not going, Natalie, and that is final."

Mason sneaked a glance at Mark while Natalie stomped her way up to her room. He didn't expect to see much, Mark was a calmer movie watcher and usually kept all of his observations to himself with a bland face. But, to his surprise, Mason found Mark's brows drawn together as if he was upset. Mason wasn't completely sure why. Natalie wasn't the most likable character and if Mason had to guess, she would probably try to sneak out later.

Still, Mark had a visible reaction to the scene. Mason tucked away that bit of information for later.

A voice-over of Natalie saying some fake deep words played over a freeze frame of her smiling at her graduation. Mason sensed that the credits would start rolling and shot out of his seat eagerly. He was weaving through people as he raced out of the theatre, eager to be away from that abomination of a film.

Mark laughed heartily when he found Mason near the bathrooms a couple of minutes later.

"You really hated it, huh?" Mark asked through a chuckle, his hand landing on Mason's shoulder.

"If their copy of Sunflower Diaries gets mysteriously thrown into Lake Ontario, you can turn me in." Mason stated proudly, pushing his joined wrists towards Mark. "Honestly, if prison is the sacrifice I have to make to rid this earth of that disgusting movie, I'll do it."

The more Mason complained about Sunflower Diaries, the more Mark laughed. It was a correlation that led to a loud situation. As usual, they received weird looks in public. But Mark was used to it. He threw his arm over Mason's shoulder and leaned into him comfortably. May as well lay my claim if they're all looking Mark thought with a dark smile.

Mason remained oblivious, Lolo's terrible character design more important.

"They really moved like her hair was natural. Like, we all know it was a wig." Mason ranted, the image of her hair permanently etched into his skull. "Why the hell was she in the shower with it?"

—————

Mason had a pleased smile on his face as he ate another forkful of pasta. Mark had gone through the effort of making their dinner today, a simple pasta dish with penne covered in tomato sauce, with some grilled chicken placed on top. Knowing that Mark didn't often cook made the meal taste so much better to Mason.

They were eating at the kitchen table and talking quietly amongst themselves, despite the house otherwise being empty. Mark's parents were in the U.S. for some business and Jasmine was out. In fact, more often than not, Mark didn't find Jasmine at home. In the past week, Mason hasn't heard much from her at all. She'd been messaging him less and had not invited him anywhere.

Yet, Mason did not reach out. He was hanging out with Mark so often, he still kept busy. He assumed that Jasmine was simply busy. If he just waited it out, he was sure that everything would go back to normal.

"Was there anything you did like about the movie?" Mark asked hopefully, referring to their previous discussion. Mason smacked his lips a bit, as if he was both tasting his food and tasting that idea on his tongue.

"Nope."

Mark laughed, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Oh, come on. There has to be something." Mark pushed gently.

"Fine. I kind of liked the parent drama." Mason admitted shamefully. "I'm probably being dramatic but overbearing parents always strike a chord."

Mark's smile dropped slightly, his stare focusing on the table in front of him. Then, he chuckled darkly. "Tell me about it." Mason started at the clear sound of sadness in Mark's voice. Mason knows that most kids have some issues with their parents, but Mark seemed to feel a lot more than simple annoyance towards them. Mason had accidentally stumbled into some deep family trouble without meaning to. He could have shied away from it, switch the subject and ignore the pressing issue. But, Mason wanted to know what was wrong, or in the very least, make Mark feel better about it.

Mason nibbled on his bottom lip, trying to find a good way to approach the issue.

"But aren't your parents really chill?" He hesitantly asked, sinking further down into his chair as he spoke. Mark let out a mirthless chuckle, the sound anything but humorous.

"About dating, sexualities, and hobbies, maybe." He conceded in a soft tone. "But work? It feels like I'm talking to completely different people the moment money gets involved."

Mark had said a lot, yet Mason felt like he had only grown more confused.

"Why would your parents care about money? They have far more than enough." Mason said disbelievingly. He wordlessly looked around their kitchen which opened up to their living room and backyard. Mark got the message. Both of them knew that Mark's parents had enough to support him for the rest of his life. However, that's not how his parents looked at the subject.

"Mason, they don't really care," was Mark's simple answer. "My parents know what it's like to struggle to get by. I don't remember much of it but my siblings promise that it had been bad. So, to be safe, we are all expected to find our own path so we won't need to depend on my dad's money. That means that we can't just waste our time on silly little hobbies and actually get down to making money at some point."

"So that's why you're becoming a nurse."

"No, actually. I had to use my allowance for that one so they didn't know it cost anything. To them the typical nurses salary will not cut it."

Mason was floored. The Tylers had always seemed like such laid back and kind people. He never would have imagined that they were being so harsh behind closed doors.

"I guess that's the topic of a lot of fights then?" Mason guessed with a tight smile. Mark nodded silently as confirmation. As his silence continued, Mason realized that he was probably remembering one of those fights now. He wasn't sure if he could help, but Mason still rested his free left hand on Mark's. He had to hope that Mark received the message Mason tried to give.

And, to Mason's surprise, Mark actually opened up more. He complained about how much it hurt when they imposed their opinions onto him. That it feels like they don't care about what he wants but what they think he'll want. He feels like he has no choice, Mark admitted, like he owes it to them to do something great after they put everything they have into him.

Mason couldn't give him a solution, no matter how badly he wanted to. But he continued to hold his hand and hoped that was enough.

When Mark had said his fill, he surprised Mason by kissing him. It may have been a weird move, to kiss Mason after being so vulnerable about his problems with his parents, but it felt right to Mark. Mason had shown Mark, once again, just how wonderful he is. Mason had just sat there, the most caring expression on his face as he listened to Mark speak, and it was exactly what he needed.

Several words that were way too heavy for their relationship threatened to leave Mark. But he was the one who suggested their arrangement. Mark couldn't be the one to threaten it with the odd clustering of feelings that had steadily grown in his chest since their first kiss.

Mark used his lips on Mason to keep the words at bay and calm his raging heart. He wasn't sure if this method was sustainable, but he would use it for as long as he could.

——————————————————————

OMG, as I was writing about their date, I was like 'Wait, they can't go out to the movies. Corona!' Then I remembered that even if I put this universe in our world, the story would take place like two years ago, lol.

Anymay,

I feel like this was a very juicy chapter.

Plus, it's coming out the day after the last one so I feel extremely accomplished.

I hope y'all liked it (Damn, Georgia's getting to me)

Anyhay,

Vote, Comment, Share, Follow, anything else you can do with this book and I will see you next time. Bye!!!

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