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Chapter 36: Two Men, One Chair

With the car rumbling softly underneath him, Mason bounced his leg up and down nervously. Mark's presence calm beside him helped but couldn't fully calm Mason's nerves. Mark was driving Mason to his house, not so they could fool around but so that Mason could see Jasmine. As twins, Mark and Jasmine alway celebrated their birthdays together. They got joint parties and a single cake with both of their names every year without fail. So, if one person couldn't celebrate, then neither could. This requirement had worked against Jasmine for the past four years.

Through one of his friends from dance, Mark found out about several issues that plagued those below the poverty line in North America and abroad. He became a bit extreme in the ways he tried to not use money frivolously. Mason almost laughed thinking about how he thought shopping at thrift stores and cutting his own hair was the only way to do right by the people in the world who had less. On the bright side, it got Mark into organizations that created shelter for the homeless in North America and clean water in developing countries.

Unfortunately for Jasmine, Mark was at his most extreme when their sixteenth birthday passed. Mark would have never been able to stomach the thought of spending hundreds, possibly thousands, of dollars on a single party considering all the things that could have been done with that money.

So, now that they were turning 18, Jasmine was looking to make up for the loss with a legendary party.

Because of how tense things were between them, Mason had been worried Jasmine wouldn't invite him. Mason had messed up pretty badly and she could think that his presence would ruin the event. So Mason was surprised when Jasmine texted him, asking that he come over to help organize it. Part of that surprise came from the fact that the party was months away but Jasmine was nothing if not extra. But more importantly, Jasmine wasn't going to let their fight and her grievances with him stop him from being involved.

Mason felt incredibly grateful. But also nervous. He wasn't going to be the only person there, he knew. Jasmine was getting together an entire team to plan this event. However, Mason feared the tense energy that would surround them the second he entered the room.

"Mason, stop freaking out." Mark sighed. His right hand left the steering wheel to grab Mason's knee and give it a comforting squeeze. "Jasmine hasn't necessarily forgiven you but she has calmed down. I'm sure things will be fine once we get there."

Mason tried to hold onto Mark's words instead of his own negative thoughts. The former was far more encouraging. After a few more minutes of driving, Mark pulled into his house. The large structure loomed over Mason, its presence suddenly intimidating instead of comforting.

"Come on." Mark told him as he stepped out of the car. The clinking of Mark's keys when he slipped them back into his pocket broke through Mason's stupor, waking him up. With a nervous breath, Mason exited the car and entered the house.

Jasmine decided to have the meeting in her room. The space was big and comfortable because of the carpet and bean bag chairs and she barely had to move a muscle. When Mason entered the room, she was laying on her stomach, her elbows propping her shoulders and head up at the foot of the bed. Her expression, relaxed at first, tensed when she saw Mason.

"Hey." Mason smiled, his lips and cheeks feeling tight. Jasmine mirrored his uncomfortable expression.

"Hi."

There was a pause as they looked at one another. Mark, who came into the room, first, looked back and forth between them, wondering how to get out of this mess. His approach was to act like nothing was amiss. He took one of two bean bag chairs, noisily sinking down into the foam.

Then, as if Mason wasn't even there, Mark sparked up a conversation with Jasmine about something funny their dad had told him the previous night while she was in her room. Mason took the other chair which was directly in front of Mark.

For the next fifteen minutes, the twins spoke among themselves. Mason turned to his phone to distract himself from the tension still lingering in the air. Under usual circumstances, he would have been talking with them. Now, he had to just wait until someone else showed up.

Luckily, it wasn't long before Daniel was coming through Jasmine's bedroom door. The white boy with short cropped brown hair had been their friend for years. He and Mark were the closest but he and Jasmine had a thing in the past so he also knew her well. His presence brought a wave of relief to Mason.

"Hey guys!" He grinned widely, deep set eyes scanning the room. After Daniel had greeted all of them, he scanned the room, trying to find a place to sit. He could just sit on the ground, it wasn't the first time someone had done it. But, Mason would prefer to be closer to Mark anyway and the bean bag chairs had plenty of space.

"Here, you can take my seat. I'll just sit next to Mark." Mason spoke up as Daniel was already squatting down. Because he'd already started, Daniel still fell to the ground but quickly stood up again.

"Thanks man." He said, sinking into the chair with a pleased sigh.

Mason practically skipped over to Mark who had already shifted to his right to make room for Mason. Mark left his arms where they were, stretched over the back of the chair, so the back of Mason's head met Mark's shoulder and bicep. Shifting further into the chair and thus further into Mark's side, Mason knew he made the right choice.

With Daniel here, Jasmine started talking to him, leaving Mark to Mason. The two of them didn't speak for a while. Mason put out his hand palm up on top of Mark's lap expectantly and Mark who had seen this dozens of times before was quick to put his right hand into Mason's. With his curly hair still brushing against Mark's arm, Mason began massaging Mark's hand.

Getting his hand massaged was a bit painful, but Mark always let Mason do it when he offered because he enjoyed the feeling of having Mason kneed the tension out of his palm and fingers. After a few minutes they started talking again, Mark theorizing about all the things Jasmine would try to get thrown into her party. But Mason kept his hand trapped between his, pressing between his fingers and down his wrist.

Jasmine already knew why they were so cuddly and while Daniel sent them a few curious looks every once in a while, he left them be. Their moment was interrupted later when Mark's mom, who Mason called Aunt Tania, entered the room with a tray of snacks. The plate had sliced apples, carrots, and peanut butter which Mark eyed with a hungry look.

"Hello." she smiled widely, handing the tray to Jasmine. The four of them chorused a series of Hi's and Thank you's as she left, warmly saying 'you're welcome' before she was gone. Mark quickly grabbed the tray from Jasmine, bringing it closer to Mason who grabbed a few apple slices and dug them into the peanut butter.

"Oh. Hey Santiago. Hey, Clark. Come in and take a seat, why don't you." Daniel grins warmly, drawing Mason's attention to the two men standing at the doorway. Clark looked relaxed, greeting everyone in the room before plopping down onto the floor. Santiago, however, was a bit more uncomfortable. He scanned Jasmine's room, taking in the large space before slowly dropping down to sit beside Clark, wearing a wide smile all throughout.

Santiago was first and foremost Clark's friend. Clark had introduced him to the group after they met on the subway. The station had been packed so full, one was pressed against another stranger from all sides and in the commotion, Clark nearly got pushed off onto the track if it wasn't for Santiago who pulled him back in time.

The tall latino man was incredibly kind and easy to get along with because he was constantly making light jokes. However, Mason always felt slightly iffy about his relationship with Clark. Clark insisted that he and Santiago were just friends, and Mason felt inclined to believe him since he was dating Liam. But, the way that their eyes would linger on each other when they thought the other wasn't looking seemed to be anything but platonic.

Still, Mason had to just trust that his friend knew what he was doing and wasn't leading anybody on.

Instead of immediately getting to the matter at hand, the six of them broke into separate conversations. The room was filled with constant chatter as people caught up with one another and told countless stories. Maybe Mason should have put some more distance between himself and Mark--three people in this room weren't supposed to know about their relationship. But he didn't want to move and Mark never suggested that he did.

Clark sent Mason a few knowing looks which Mason did his best to ignore. Acknowledging that most friends didn't sit with their sides pressed tightly together would ruin it, so if no one brought it up, the two of them wouldn't move.

Then, without much warning, Jasmine stood up and went to stand in the center of the room. With her typical flare, Jasmine explained the monumental importance of the party the six of them were planning and how amazing and awesome it would have to be. Then, she delegated roles to each person.

Daniel and Santiago were given the least responsibility and just had to send out the invites and follow up with reminders. Mark and Mason were paired up to handle the food while Jasmine and Clark dealt with everything concerning the venue.

Everyone in the room got to work for the next half hour. Mason and Mark looked at the notes Jasmine had given them for what she wanted the food to be like and caterers who were known to do have amazing food. After Jasmine felt that they had done enough work for the day, they went downstairs to play a few games on their family's PS. The hours flew by effortlessly, with the six of them playing round after round of Battlefield V. As the sun set outside and it started to grow dark, people slowly began to leave.

Clark and Santiago left first, Clark having to pull Santiago away from talking forever. Daniel left next, telling them to text him next time they wanted to hang out. Eventually, it was time for Mason to go. Mark was actually the one to bring up that he should get home before his mom became concerned. As Mark left to go start his car, Mason stayed behind. Jasmine was no longer looking at him, she'd already started cleaning up the mess they had left behind, assuming that Mason was gone.

"Jasmine?" Mason started, making her head spring up in surprise. "I just wanted to say that, uh, I'm going to do my very best to make sure this party is amazing for you."

Jasmine blinked silently for a moment, her brain processing the words. But more so what he said, the sincerity behind them made her smile.

"Thank you."

Mason gave a quick nod, then headed out the door.

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This is officially my 5th week in a row (yay!). I happened to go to a place with Wifi and thought I should use the opportunity to give this Chapter to you guys. I finished this chapter minutes before I published the last one but kept it for consistency, you know?

I hope you guys are having a great day, I know I am. And if not, I hope this Chapters lifted your spirits somewhat.

Anywho,

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

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