I've fallen in love

Mason McCarthy. 20. Sophomore. Hello, there! I'm Mason Michael McCarthy! Welcome to my blog. I'm starting out at Joie University this year and I can't wait to make new friends! So please don't hesitate to message me!

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He screamed at you?! Oh, fuck no. Shoey needs to ban him. We've banned people for less these days.

[Annie couldn't help the smirk that rose to her face.] She sounded more than good. She sounded blissed out. [The smirk only grew as Mason stumbled.] Yeah, I'm sure Del's taking good care of her.

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[Mason nodded slowly.] Henri too. Though he's much better at handling it than I am. And Schuy did ban him. He doesn't mess around with anyone feeling unsafe, but... especially me.

[He managed a soft giggle at that.] Good... I'm glad. He seemed to sad when we were rehearsing. And did so well last night.

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..."other two scary ones"? [Annie questioned.]

[She sighed gently at Mason's reveal.] ...Of course he was.

...Do you think she's okay? Should I call her?

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Honeyy and Kandie. [Mason answered easily.] They saw me fighting with him last night. And by that, I mean mostly getting screamed at cause I had the audacity to call him on it.

You said she sounded good, right? And I'm sure Cee knows what he's doing. I mean, to take care of h-- to deal with the-- you know what I mean.

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...What the hell is that supposed to mean?

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[Mason looked around.] I guess it doesn't matter now since it's over and I'm guessing she knows already. And the other two scary ones pulled it out of me last night. He was... cheating on her. The Russian, I mean. Obviously.

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Oh. The Russian guy. Is that what his actual name was? [Annie asked.]

I mean, clearly it's ex now. Lem would never cheat on someone she was still with. And Del would never willingly be the other woman.

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Mhm.

[Mason sighed.] That makes one of them.

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[Annie blinked.] ...Who?

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Lemon's ... ex? boyfriend, I hope.

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[Annie was not expecting a hug, but she accepted it all the same.] Uh. Yeah. Apparently Benji bought them a hou--

[She cut herself off when Mason said it wasn't important.] Uh... "alternative"?

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Of course he did. Who else around here buys houses for people. [Mason sighed.]

...Vitya. He... was not to be trusted.

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[Annie's eyes went wider when Mason put his hands on her shoulders.]

Listen. I don't... I don't know all the specifics, okay? But I got a voice memo from Lem--she doesn't really text much. Or... ever, really--and she told me that she and Cam weren't coming because they needed to finish checking out their new house and maybe try to work on moving some things in.

...Or, at least, Lem tried to tell me that, but she was struggling to get her words out because she was really dopey and drowsy. So Del took the phone and tried to say it for her--and did a... really bad job at trying to explain away why Lemon sounded so dopey and drowsy, [She added with a knowing, shit-eating grin.]

So... yeah. I'd say she's better.

There's very little Mom would miss work for. ...But I can think of one thing. [By now, Annie's grin was as wide as her face.]

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Oh. Em. Gee. Thank goodness! [Mason pulled Annie in for a celebratory hug, his shoulders relaxing for the first time since the night before.] Tha-- a new house?!

[He glanced back at the door, but shook his head.] Not important. That means either the song worked or she found out and Cee fixed it. Either way is much better than the alternative!

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Okay. Just... checking.

[Annie's eyes went wide then she quickly grabbed Mason by the hand and pulled him inside.] Ignore him, [She said to Mason, referring to Conner who was awkwardly curled himself into the ball in a piss poor attempt at 'hiding' himself at the shape of someone else coming into the room.]

I didn't just tell you that, okay? I got so excited that I forgot I'm not supposed to.

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Ignore who? There's no one in here. No offense. [Mason added quickly in Conner's direction before his full focus was on Annie. He reached out and put hands on her shoulders.] No, you have to. You really have to. I won't say anything, but if I have to keep knowing what I know if she doesn't know... I'm gonna puke for sure. Please tell me she's better because he's gone. Please, please, please!

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[Annie visibly stiffened.] We're not doing anything bad! We're just watching TikTok and cuddling, [She insisted a bit more strongly.] Just... don't tell Lem. If she knew I had a boy in our room, she'd freak out.

..."Okay"? Yeah, she's great. Better than she's been in years. They both are. Why?

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We don't do anything bad either? Usually he does Lavish's makeup and I talk at him.

...she is? Wait, which both?!

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..."Interrupt"? There's... Th-There's nothing to interrupt, [Annie insisted... very awkwardly.]

...But. Anyway. Lem's not coming tonight. And I got explicit instructions not to participate in any daughter shenanigans that would make Uncle Austin pull his hair out, [She only half-joked.]

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[Mason blinked.] I've been getting caught in Nova's room since way before I worked here... or there.

[He let out a short laugh.] That really cuts down on the fun. But... is she okay? She doesn't usually not come in.

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[When Mason knocked, there was the distinct sound of two higher-pitched male voices giggling followed by one of them shushing the other. After a brief pause and some rustling, Annie came to the door and opened in a crack.] ...Hello?

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[Oh, that's why the door was closed. Mason smiled and gave a little wave when the door cracked.] H-hi. I didn't mean to interrupt, I just... do you know if Lemon's coming in tonight?

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[Mason came back to work the next day with his stomach in knots. He had no idea if Honeyy and Kandie had kept quiet so he could do this himself. Either way, he hadn't actually seen or heard Lemon yet at all. Schuy was still in the security room, prepping for the night, but maybe he could at least figure out where she was.

He moved across the hall carefully and knocked at the door of the dressing room she usually shared with Annie. The door was closed, so maybe she was just hiding in there...]

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[Kandie reached over and smacked Honeyy's arm gently with her back of her hand.] Let him be. It's been a bitch of a night.

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[Honeyy rolled her eyes at Kandie but seeing Mason start to curl up was enough to get her to cool her jets.] ...Fine. ...Sorry, [She offered gently.]

'A bitch of a night' is an understatement. God forbid this place go more than 7 days without someone having a full blown crash out. [She mused.]

But anyway. ...Mason, we're gonna go find Lavish, alright? We've bugged you enough.

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Mhm. [It was all Mason could manage at the moment.]

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[Mason's emotional outburst didn't really phase Kandie much. She'd seen plenty of them in her day. She just leaned back and considered.] Huh, Chloe is Lee's sister. Interesting.

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[Mason's outburst didn't faze Honeyy either. God, this group had been through more than their fair share of dramatic bullshit.] Okay. First of all... pause.

You just made, like, three jumps that no one else did. When did I call you a stranger or say whether you did or claim you didn't know someone's name or say you weren't nice? I said "a girl" because that's how I talk, [She insisted, although she made a point to keep her voice level.] I've called that one--[She pointed at Kandie--] "a girl" like 5 times in the last 10 minutes and she's literally in the room with us.

You wanna get pissy at me for not being all that interested in suddenly brushing shoulders with the hellscape that is Lee? Sure. Be my guest. But don't put other shit on me that I never said.

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[Mason was too done to respond. He was starting to go into his catatonic mode, all the events of the night overwhelming him and sitting on his chest like a ton of bricks. He rolled himself over to curl into a ball on the couch.]

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She chose to vandalize something fragile that someone else cherished because that person had the audacity to find themselves. [Honeyy reiterated.] The only "story" is how much you're downplaying that shit. It was unhinged. And for no fucking reason. Just like everything else that bitch does.

[She turned back to Kandie again.] Anyone wanna stop beating around the bush anytime soon?

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I am not downplaying anything! I am pointing out that I already know what happened because I was there. And you're acting like a little narrator and calling one of my best friends 'a girl' like I'm a stranger. And even if she wasn't one of my best friends I still know everyone's names here because I an a NICE PERSON who cares about people! [Mason snapped. For caring about people, he was far past done with them tonight.] And it only keeps getting me hurt. So I am not helping you anymore.

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Does it sound like I know?

[Kandie's eyes shot back to Mason.] Rude.

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You're Miss Know-It-All. Don't get pissy with me because you got caught slipping, [Honeyy sassed easily.]

...Nice to who? [She asked Mason.] Because Lee doesn't believe in 'nice'. She almost broke a girl's ceramic pet because she had the audacity to change her name.

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First of all, Roberto was not almost broken. He was drawn on inappropriately with a Sharpie. [Mason explained.] I know this because Brandy's the best friend I've made here and I helped her clean him off with nail polish remover. But thanks for the story.

I've also made friends with Chloe. Chloe Zhang.

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[Kandie's brows drew together.] Wait... what? Do you know stuff I don't know?

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[Honeyy glanced at Kandie.] ...What the hell is he talking about?

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Some of us learn things by eavesdropping. [Mason said, glancing at Kandie.] And some of us learn things by being nice to people.