How You Get the Girl - Mason Thames x Reader
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Pairing: Mason Thames x actress!Reader
Warnings: none, no use of Y/N
Word count: 2.1k
Who would've known Mason's celebrity crush would end up being his co-star in HTTYD?
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Bright studio lights shone over Mason as he sat on the dark blue couch, his right leg bouncing slightly as the audience settled. The Late Show set glowed behind Stephen Colbert, boisterous applause lingering as the cameras rolled for Mason’s interview promoting his most recent motion picture at the time: The Black Phone.
“So, Mason… the internet seems to love you!” Stephen Colbert exclaimed, pausing for an anticipatory effect.
Mason chuckled, “I guess so, I wasn’t expecting all this attention to be honest,” he looked around the room with a grin.
“You’ll get used to it, Mason. Now, the fans are dying to know: who is your celebrity crush? Is there someone out there special to you?” Stephen wondered. The crowd broke out in a joint ‘ooh’ sound, waiting for an answer. Mason fidgeted. He raised his eyes towards the ceiling, seemingly looking for a response.
“Oh man, I kinda don’t wanna give it away. What if I end up meeting her and she sees this?” Mason replied with a smirk on his face. He laughed at the audience’s restlessness.
“Alright! My celebrity crush, gosh… I’m sure everyone has seen the newest season of Stranger Things, right?” Mason continued, and Stephen began laughing.
“Yeah, I’d say my celebrity crush is the girl that plays Nine (009) in the show, she’s unreal,” Mason blushed as he responded, raising his eyebrows at the loud reaction of the crowd.
Stephen asked if he meant your name, and Mason nodded profusely.
Mason added, “Yeah! I honestly think I’ve had a crush on her since Season 3, which must’ve been aroun—”
—
You paused the old interview, giggling at Mason’s response. You had been tagged in multiple videos across social media platforms that reposted Mason’s 2022 interview. At first, you paid it no mind until hundreds of comments rumoring about the boy’s alleged crush on you piqued your curiosity. And you caved in to watching the clip when your friend, Sadie Sink, sent you the YouTube link with the message ‘looks like the black phone kid is into youuu👀👀’.
You found Mason’s answer to be funny and dorky, yet you were also secretly flustered. You had seen The Black Phone when it first came out alongside your Stranger Things castmates, taking advantage that you were all together during press week for the fourth season.
Furtively, you may or may not have saved a couple of edits of the protagonist on your burner account. That was a secret to be kept for yourself, though.
“What are you laughing about, baby?” Your mom asked, glancing at you as she drove. You two were going for a chemistry read for the How to Train Your Dragon live-action film. You’d recently received the audition invitation from your agent, and it would be an understatement to say you were ecstatic for it.
“Oh, it’s nothing, mom. Just a funny video Sadie sent me,” – you replied, leaning your head on the car window to feel more comfortable.
“What’s the audition today? I think yesterday was the chemistry thing?” Your mom, a bit cluelessly, asked. You chuckled at her.
“It’s the other way around. Yesterday I had the individual audition, today’s the chemistry read. I swear I almost burst out laughing when I had to pet a nonexistent dragon,” you responded, giggling at the memory of the scene you’d acted out the day before.
Your mom smiled, “You still did great, honey.”
You could see the road the car was driving upon, stretching across the highway as you neared the Universal Pictures headquarters. The beach palms above were a nostalgic sight you’d learned to associate with auditions and long days on set, and the clouds looked as if they were hand-painted, contrasting the bright blue sky. The overall scenery was hypnotising, and you found yourself nodding off, the buzz of the car lulling you to sleep.
—
Around six girls, all being shortlisted for Astrid Hofferson, sat nervously in the hallway outside of the audition room, you included. The cream-colored walls of the studio, coupled with the obvious nervousness of the room, and a general lack of decor, gave the hallway a sterile, hospital-like vibe. A few girls were reading through their lines anxiously, while others chatted with each other. One in particular, named Daisy, had been conversing with you for the past few minutes. She confessed she was a fan of yours, which you found quite flattering. Funny enough, she even asked if you knew Mason Thames had a crush on you. You shrugged it off and laughed. Your conversation was interrupted by the sound of the audition room door opening.
A red-haired woman with glasses stepped out of the audition room and called your name. You stood up as Daisy wished you good luck, and you waved at her goodbye. Although you were not as nervous as your first auditions, a bit of fear crept in as you walked through the door.
Just as you walked in, you saw that there sat a panel consisting of the casting directors and producers for HTTYD. On the other side of the room, you saw a boy with chestnut hair who had his back turned to you, as he was talking to one of the directors. You guessed that he must be the actor who would play Hiccup.
You approached him to introduce yourself, brushing through your hair softly with your fingers, stalling.
You locked eyes with the director and waved at him. He brightened instantly
“Hey! Perfect timing. Come on over,” he said, motioning you closer.
“This is Mason Thames–”
He turned to look at the boy beside him, a knowing smile tugging at his lips.
“Mason, I’m guessing you already know her. Come on, kids. I’ll let you two chat for a little, and then we’ll begin.” He patted Mason’s shoulder and walked away.
Your brain short-circuited.
Mason Thames.
Standing in front of you.
Playing Hiccup.
And you would – hopefully – play Astrid.
Knock on wood.
You crossed your fingers before you realized you were doing it. Then, you took a deep breath.
Mason stood in front of you, shoulders stiff, eyes wide, looking a little bit like a fish out of water. He swallowed as he tried to regain his composure, that’s when you realized he was nervous. You found it endearing, seeing Mason so distraught that you were actually there. Not that you were completely nonchalant, either. You just hid it better.
Decidedly, Mason was very easy on the eyes. He had youthful, dark hooded eyes, a chiseled jawline, fluffy brown curls you’d bet were soft to the touch, and— alright. Enough.
Be professional.
Snap out of it.
The few seconds between you two felt a lot longer than they should have. You and Mason exchanged introductions, brief and polite. Then silence settled again, thick with uncertainty and anticipation.
You looked him up and down before you could stop yourself. When you glanced down, you noticed it.
Birkenstocks.
You looked back up to Mason, quaking your eyebrow.
“Are you… actually wearing Birkenstocks right now?”
Mason smiled softly, looking almost sheepish “I figured if I’m playing Hiccup, I might as well dress like him.”
You nodded, furrowing your brows as you assessed his fashion choice, “Bold decision”, you said.
“So, you like ‘em?”
A smile of amusement crept on your face, “I did not say that! Full honesty, I hate those sandals.”
Mason’s face brightened at your smile, “Nuh-huh, I don’t think you do”, he teased.
“I’m saying you’re committed”, you threw back, mirroring his teasing tone.
He laughed, relaxing a little. “I’ll take that.” There was a brief pause in your conversation before Mason cleared his throat.
“Oh, by the way… I've watched your show. Stranger Things, I mean.”
You tilted your head, “Oh yeah?”
Evidently, you already knew that information. Still, you did not want to explain to Mason that you had just watched an interview of his from a year ago. That would be at least a bit embarrassing.
He nodded in agreement, “Yeah! You were really great. I actually binged Season 4 right on the day it came out.”
You giggled. Right as you were about to confess you may have seen The Black Phone thrice, a voice interrupted you.
The casting director, Kate, called both of your names and motioned you closer. As you approached her, you glanced upwards at Mason and took quick notice of his profile, and you smiled gently. This would be an exciting experience. You had a good feeling about this pairing.
—
Just as you had expected, the pairing between you and Mason went better than expected. A lot better.
Not only did you become best friends by the filming of the first movie, but now that you were filming the sequel, you were actually dating.
Being with Mason felt like warm hands and soft hoodies, like inside jokes and boisterous laughter no one else understood, like hot chocolate, and a lot of quality time spent together. From elaborate ice skating dates that ended up in sore ankles, to scrolling TikTok together while saving videos you would ‘someday film’, you two were actually up to anything as long as you were together.
Right now, for instance, you were doing the latter: cuddling together in Mason’s hotel room as you scrolled on social media mindlessly.
As Mason scrolled on TikTok with you laying beside him, he came across an old video of himself: A Stephen Colbert Show clip where he confessed you were his crush since 2019. He paused on the clip, cheeks blushing in embarrassment. He unintentionally groaned in bashfulness.
You lifted your sight from your phone, and instead locked your eyes on Mason. Instantly, you were curious about what it was that was flushing his cheeks.
“What are you watching, Mase?” You asked with a soft smile.
Mason snickered, “It’s that old interview about me… having a crush on you. Here, let me show you”
You started giggling, burrowing your smile on Mason’s chest.
“Ah! I remember that video very well”, you replied, stretching the ‘e’ sound of ‘very’.
“You do?” He asked, looking down at your face, cheek pressed against his warm hoodie.
Suddenly, an idea popped up in your mind, and you just had to execute it.
You pushed yourself up from Mason’s body, turning so you were hovering over him. Your eyes sparkled in a way that screamed mischief.
“Mase, hear me out.” You said seriously. “What if we… remake it?”
Mason frowned in confusion, “Remake the video?”
“Yep!” You responded, popping the ‘P’. Before Mason could move, you reached for his phone and replayed the TikTok. “An updated version of the interview”
Realization dawned on Mason, “We are not doing that-”
You giggled, lifting your eyebrows, “Oh yes, we will.”
He hesitated, a small smile tugging at his face, “Ok, so… If we were to film this – which, I am not saying we will — what would the transition even be?”
You leaned down just enough that your lips brushed, “to us.”
The blush on Mason’s cheeks spread along his face, and he groaned at you. “You’re actually evil.”
“And you still love me”, you wittily replied.
“I do, always have,” he declared. Mason glanced at your lips and stole a peck from you. Then, another one on your cheek. And on your other cheek. And your nose. And suddenly he was kissing all over your face while you giggled.
“Okay! Okay! Enough! We need to film this” You exclaimed, pressing your finger onto Mason’s lips to shut him up.
A few moments later, Mason’s phone was propped up on the hotel room desk as the teens finished up editing the video. On the screen, the old interview of 15-year-old Mason played as he confessed the identity of his celebrity crush.
“I honestly think I’ve had a crush on her since Season 3,” the audio played, and then it cut to the transition.
The other clip recorded you and Mason, cuddling on the hotel bed. Mason was holding the phone, focusing on both of your faces. He turned to look at you, and you two leaned in for a kiss. The camera captured it all, a bit shakily yet definitely noticeable. You and Mason pulled back from the kiss, grinning, and Mason left an additional kiss on your forehead before the video ended.
Once the two of you were content with the result of the TikTok, Mason grabbed his phone and wrote on the caption:
don’t worry guys, i got the girl
You chuckled as you watched Mason write, “What do you think of the video?”, you questioned.
Mason clicked the ‘post’ button on his phone, ready for the mayhem you two would unleash. Still there was nothing better for him than to see you happy, even when it meant filming TikTok trends about his cringeworthy moments from years ago.
He softly turned to look at you. He smirked. “Definitely worth it”.
And honestly? It was.