he was pretty buzzed by this point, wandering around the party and greeting people like some kind of social butterfly for once. he had been asking people where laurel was and god help anyone who lied to him. it wasn’t long before he found her by the kegs, mindlessly filling her cup. his brows knitted together as he approached her. ansel knew he couldn’t completely control her life, but he couldn’t help but be concerned. there was just such a thin line between concerned and controlling. “uh laurel, how many of those have you had?”

Laurel let out a sigh at the sound of her brother’s voice; looking up at him through thick lashes, she shook her head. “Three,” she said simply as she continued to fill up her cup. She loved Ansel, she really did, he was her twin brother for godsake, but sometimes he was just too much. Like right now. “And this will be my fourth,” she said once she finished filling her cup, taking a long sip. 

mason and his friends had been planning this for weeks–and he didn’t even care if society members showed up. he was just trying to have fun, ride the high he had been on for the last few days. laurel was the main reason for his happiness, so having her flop into his lap only made his mildly buzzed smile brighter. “hey, gorgeous girl.” he grinned, kissing her head. “havin fun?”

Laurel hadn’t stopped smiling for days, the feeling of being in love so overpowering that it made her happy pretty much all the time. She was sure that in a few days, that gross happiness would ware off and she and Mason would go back to being the cynics they were, but for now they could have their fun. “Yes,” she giggled, kissing him quickly before pulling back. “Babe, this is amazing. There’s like, so many people here.” Okay, she was drunk.

ace fiddled with his cross necklace with his free hand, his other hand trying to scrape some dirt that had gotten on his white shoes.  it was something he was very particular about, but he should’ve known better than bringing them out into the woods.  he let out a huff of annoyance as he finally gave up on the stain.  he will just have to bleach them in the morning.  now, he took the black bandana wrapped around his neck and moved it up to hold back his hair – the mop on his head often got in his way when he tried to perform but he could never bring himself to actually cut the thing.  “do you have like a tide stick by chance?” he asked the person next to him as his mind wandered back to the stain on his shoe.

Laurel was texting Lana, wondering where her friend was--after their conversation the other night, she wanted to make sure the girl got to the party so she could have a good time. Hearing a voice, she looked up, pausing. “Actually--” she checked her fanny pack, nodding her head. “I do.” Smirking, she pulled out the tide stick, handing it to Ace. “Where’s the stain?”

Laurel was making her way through the crowd, talking to people and having a good time. She was never like this, but it was like she was on some kind of high, and with the beer in her system she was a social butterfly. Spotting Mason, however, she slipped away, plopping herself down in his lap. “Hi,” she smirked at him, licking her lips.

This bonfire was insane. Laurel was having the time of her life, drinking beers and hanging out with Mason and the band. She felt like a groupie, but that was what happened when your boyfriend was in the band. God, that sounded so nice. She lifted herself off of Mason’s lap, excusing herself to get a drink. She headed over to the keg, beginning to fill her cup when she spotted her brother, hoping he didn’t see her.

     lana really didn’t want laurel to pull back from the hug – two treacherous tears were making their way down her cheeks and she didn’t want laurel to see. she really didn’t want to pull her down from her high. lana quickly and subtly wiped her tears and listened to the story. he said it first, and he followed her, and he loved her, and they were happy. it was almost like the exact opposite of what happened to lana when she told a man she loved him – he’d gone off with somebody else, never said it back, and he just did not love her back. “honey, that sounds amazing, so lovely.” the blonde replied. she was genuinely happy for her friend, she deserved it. “i’m really, really happy for you.” the knot in her throat was choking her, but again, she swallowed it and smiled. “naturally i get to be the maid of honor, okay ?” 

Laurel was ready to continue blindly, but the common sense in the back of her head stopped her. Of course, she was over the moon; her last relationship ended so poorly, and she had spent so much time mourning that relationship that she completely missed the fact that she had fallen in love with someone else. It was crazy, but right now wasn’t the time for that. Laurel paused, tilting her head. “What’s wrong?” she asked simply, not accepting anything but the truth as an answer.

     lana tucked her hair behind her ears and pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. “where else would i be ?” she teased with a soft smile. lana remembered that smile, she had been wearing it herself not too long ago. “i’m so happy it was !!” the young girl was happy to see her roommate happy – just because she was sad, it didn’t mean that the whole world had to be, too. “what ?” lana asked, confusion clouding her features for a second as she digested the news. ‘i love you’ felt like a cursed statement to lana, three poisonous little words that perhaps caused the implosion of her informal two year relationship. three words that now made her feel hopeless. but then she remembered the way she’d felt when she said them, and she could only imagine how beautiful it must’ve felt like to hear them spoken back. and she was happy for laurel. “oh, god, that’s amazing !” she exclaimed with a smile and wrapped her in a tight hug, trying her best to keep her tears at bay. “i’m very happy for you two.” 

It was like she had blinders on. In a normal conversation, Laurel would’ve been able to pick up the queues that Lana was upset about something, holding back feelings or thoughts. She would’ve asked about them, pushed for an answer and tired to come up with a solution for her best friend. But right now, her mind was elsewhere. It was infected with love, and it’d take a bit for it to ware off. And right now, Laurel didn’t want it to. She smiled when Lana wrapped her arms around, hugging the girl back. “It was,” she said, pulling back. “He just.. said it. And me being me, I freaked and ran out and he followed me into the rain. It was like... something out of a movie, Lana. And when I said it back, it felt so amazing. I’ve never been so happy.”

     lana was watching the second sex and the city movie when laurel arrived. this was her fifth movie of the night, and she was eating her second bowl of cereal. she had done nothing but watch movies all day and she had eaten nothing but cereal all day. to say that things weren’t exactly looking up for lana at the moment would’ve been an understatement. “hey !” she greeted from her bed, not finding the energy to get up but not wanting to concern laurel. “how did it go ?” the young blonde asked her, managing to get out a gentle grin. “you look happy.”

Laurel jumped slightly when she heard Lana’s voice, turning around with a bottle of water in her hand, her smile still visible. “I didn’t see you there, sorry love,” she opened her water bottle, coming to sit on the edge of Lana’s bed with her smile still there. “It was... amazing,” she looked to her friend. “Lana, he told me he loves me.”

After her night with Mason, Laurel was on cloud nine. Never in her life had she been so happy, so content, and as she walked home she kind of floated. Heading into her apartment, she didn’t even so much as call out of Lana as she made her way to their fridge, looking for something to eat, unable to stop smiling.

god, her laugh. it was enough for him to fall right there. he didn’t even care how fucking cliche they looked, his heart felt like it was on cloud nine. kissing her for a few more moments until the lightning cracked the sky again, lighting up her features and making mason realize they should go. “c’mon.” he mumbled, pulling her hand and leading her back to the entrance of the building. 

Laurel smiled against his lips. She’d never been this happy in her entire life, and never thought she’d reach this level of happiness. After everything this past year, Laurel never thought she’d be truly happy again. And then there was Mason, and he lit up her world. At his words she nodded, grabbing her bag quickly and following him to her building. In the elevator, she kissed him, pulling away only to follow him to his apartment.

mason had to hold back every ounce in him that wanted to kiss laurel, knowing if he did he wouldn’t stop.he felt her calm down, one of his hands reaching down to grab hers gently. “i love you, laurel.” he repeated, the smile of reality creeping on his face. “i love you i love you i love you–” he ghosted his lips against hers, instead wrapping both arms around her and picking her up quickly, spinning them both around for a moment. 

Laurel couldn’t help the happy laughs that escaped her lips at Mason’s repeated words, especially when he picked her up and spun her around. Her hands rested on his shoulders, which wrapped around his neck when he finally set her down. “I love you too, so much,” she told him before leaning up, kissing him passionately in the rain.”

mason immediately brought his hands to her face, holding her gently. his fingers tangled in her now wet hair as his forehead rested against hers. if he was her calm, her security before, that’s what he was going to be now. “you’re more than enough for me.” he tried to reassure her. “i’m scared to. but i’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life….just trust me.” he pleaded, scared of her answer more than anything.

Laurel felt herself instantly calming down when she felt his hands cupping her face, her forehead resting against hers. It was like her heart beat instantly slowed, her blood pressure instantly dropped, and she was back to normal. No longer panicking. “I do trust you,” she whispered, looking up at him. “I love you too, Mason.”

“i’m too broken.” the words echoed in his head, the hollow of his chest. he knew she was crying, her breathing was a giveaway. he had been there for the panic attacks, her weak moments….now he was the reason she was crying. “you’re wrong, i’m not perfect.” he half shouted, walking to her and reaching out. “neither are you. we’re fucked up and damaged and broken. but i don’t want perfect.” he pulled her closer, the thunder above echoing even louder. “i want you.“

When Mason pulled her towards him, that was it. Laurel refused to fight him, refused to fight what she was feeling any longer than she already had. Looking up at him, the storm roaring around them, she knew what she had to do. “I’m scared,” she told him softly. “I’m scared I won’t be enough for you. I’m scared to open myself up like that again,” she admitted, voice cracking. “But I--” Laurel cut off, pressing her lips together. 

there were about four feet between mason and the girl he had fallen so hopelessly for. four awful, painful feet. he ran his hands over his face, rubbing the rain away and trying to formulate what words were going to make her stay. “yes i do! i’ll tell you a million times and i’ll just mean it more and more every time i say it. i fucking love you, laurel.” he was nearly pleading, the storm making his heart race even more than it would have been. “why don’t you believe me?”

“Because you shouldn’t!” Laurel shouted at him, throwing her bag to the ground. Tears were falling down her face, which weren’t visible due to the rain. There was a crack of lightening, which felt like it was right on top of them, causing Laurel to jump slightly. “I don’t deserve to be loved by a guy like you, Mason. I’m too broken!”

well, that certainly wasn’t the reaction mason was hoping for. feeling the emptiness from her getting up almost broke his heart, hearing her words was almost the final smash. “laurel, wait–” he spoke, voice rushed as he found something to put on. sweatpants would work, easy to slip on as he ran after laurel outside, the rain soaking them again almost immediately. “laurel please, can we talk about this?” he shouted over the thunder cracking above them.

Laurel stopped speed walking outside when she heard Mason’s voice, shaking her head and turning around. “No!” she shouted at him over the thunder, holding her backpack in her arms. “There’s nothing to talk about Mason, you don’t feel that about me. Stop kidding yourself, it’s not true!”