Chapter Five

Maybe he’s just waiting for the perfect time to make his move,” Ava muttered, flinching as she recalled the trick Mason played on them a few weeks earlier. 

Her hair had carried the horrible smell of spoiled eggs for an entire week!

Sophia sighed softly and said, “Alright, then we’ll be prepared when he does. 

For now, let’s enjoy our meal. This is the first time a girl hasn’t come running to us begging for help to get my brother back.”

Ava gave a small nod. Normally, masons who discard flings seize this chance to approach Sophia, trying to persuade her to speak to Mason on their behalf.

It was somewhat strange that no one had shown up yet.

Ava kept nibbling on her muffin when a slender figure appeared beside her.

It was Taylor, dressed in her cheerleading uniform.

“You two started eating without me?” she pouted, puffing a strand of hair out of her face.

Ava and Sophia exchanged guilty smiles. “Sorry, we were starving,” Sophia chuckled.

Taylor rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Anyway, have either of you finished the history assignment yet? I got stuck halfway through.”

Ava, being a top student and always at the top of her class, gave a nod. “Of course. I’ll share my notes with you after lunch.”

Taylor let out a sigh of relief and gave Ava a thankful smile. "Thanks, Ava, you're a lifesaver. I would've asked Mason, but he’s nowhere to be seen."

Sophia scrunched her nose in distaste. "Why would you ask my brother for help?" she said, pretending to gag.

Taylor’s brows pulled together. "Because he’s actually pretty good at history? He could probably rival Ava," she said with a small chuckle.

Ava frowned slightly. One of the many things about Mason that got under her skin was the unspoken academic rivalry between them.

Despite being known as a flirt, Mason always found time to study and still managed perfect grades. 

Ava had to put in extra effort to earn her A’s, while Mason seemed to do it effortlessly without even breaking a sweat.

What made it worse was how close they were in ranking Mason could overtake her at any moment academically.

"I'm not really in the mood to share my notes anymore," Ava said, her lips pressed into a straight line.

Taylor  chuckled and quickly said, “Sorry, it was just a joke, Ava, Well... kind of.” 

Ava rolled her eyes and went back to eating her muffin.

"Don't go asking my brother for anything, that’s gross," Sophia said, clearly disgusted. 

She didn’t want her close friends ending up like those other girls crying after Mason had his fun and moved on.

Honestly, it would be awkward and potentially ruin their friendship if one of them ever fell for his charm.

Taylor chuckled. “I was only messing around, Sophia. Relax.”

Mason wasn’t entirely convinced she was kidding. Lately, she’d noticed Taylor sneaking glances at Mason that made her uneasy. Maybe it was just a harmless crush. 

A lot of girls liked Mason he *was* the most popular and attractive guy at school.

Well, all except Ava, who wouldn’t go near Mason even with a ten-foot pole.

Sophia narrowed her eyes at Taylor and jabbed an accusing finger between her eyebrows. 

“You better be kidding, girl, or I’m cutting you off.”

Taylor shook her head and went back to eating her sandwich.

Moments later, someone called out Sophia's name. All three girls immediately turned toward the cafeteria entrance and saw it was a girl from their math class. 

Her eyes looked teary, and her lips were pursed into a dramatic pout.

Sophia let out a groan, already knowing what this was about.

“Perfect. Just freaking perfect. And I thought I might get a break,” Sophia muttered, turning away as the girl quickly made her way toward them. 

She slouched down in her seat, hoping to disappear but of course, the girl had already spotted her.

Ava snorted. “No lie, you weren’t exactly invisible.”

Ava let out a chuckle. “No wonder you haven’t seen him around, Taylor. Mason's  clearly been keeping himself very busy.”

The girl was Liz her name dropped into the seat next to an obviously irritated Sophia, who didn’t even acknowledge her. 

Ava almost pitied her, but honestly, she was just as annoyed. This clingy girl was about to ruin lunch for everyone.

"Sophia, Mason, he-he…” Liz blurted out, loud enough for half the cafeteria to turn their heads. 

The fury that flashed in Sophia’s eyes made Ava flinch, and Taylor  muttered, “Uh-oh.”

“Did he forget to mention he wasn’t looking for anything serious before sleeping with you?” Sophia snapped, pressing her hands to her forehead.

Ava honestly thought Mira might jab the fork into Liz’s hand if she didn’t remove her sticky fingers. Liz whimpered and quickly backed off. 

Sophia turned to her, eyes blazing.

"Then there’s no issue here. You knew exactly what you were walking into, so don’t come crying when things don’t turn out your way. 

If you’re going to cry to anyone, go find my brother. Now, kindly move, I'm trying to enjoy my lunch."

Liz’s expression hardened as she glared. “You’re just like him. You both suck.”

“Aww, poor you. Now run along,” Sophia said, dismissively flicking her hand. Ava had to bite her lip to keep from bursting into laughter.

Taylor on the other hand didn’t bother stopping her laughter and let it come out naturally 

Liz glared at the three best friends, filled with shame and humiliation, and got up and left.

“I can’t catch a damn break. Do I look like a therapist or my brother’s keeper!?”Sophia snapped and Ava giggled.

“Well..I can somehow picture it.” Ava lifted her hand and did a motion that showed her opening her hands wide. “Sophia the relationship therapist”

“You'd better shut it up before I stab you with this fork that I saved for my brother,” Sophia warned as she pointed the fork towards Ava who grinned.

Well, it looks like her best friend was in a murderous mood.