funny enough news had spread faster than he’d expected , he’d broken up with his girlfriend - to some it came as a shock ( all things considering they had after all been making out on the halls the day before and things seemed fine to most of their mates ) - to some they’d already counted that they’d never last long , but they had - they’d been together since the end of sophomore year - until the beginning of junior . . . funny enough the weekend before the week of his eighteenth birthday. it came as no surprise , mason’s eyes were after some other girl after all , they’d been after her for a while now. nat or natalia , he hasn’t quite figured out what she likes to be called , all he knows about her is that the girl hung out with a different group , one that didn’t exactly fit his etiquette. losers , outcasts , geeks and nerds , everyone had a different term to call them by , some picked on them , some didn’t - but most of his mates did. he usually refrained from doing any of that crap , perhaps a comment would slip past his lips here and there , but he’d somehow reach out by the end of the day and apologise , something which his mates didn’t do. he walks down the corridor , adjusting the strap of his backpack , gazes on him as it was no secret , not just the situation with gabrielle or any of his past girlfriends , but also the fact that he would probably be celebrating his birthday - a house party , it was his eighteenth after all , so most of the people were eager to be invited , some even delusional - most of which were freshmen. his gaze however lands on anastasia blackwood , steps slowing as he walked , whiskey hues meeting her chocolate ones. he knows who she is , then again who didn’t ?? she might not belong to his clique but everyone knew her. straight a student , literature club and one of the writers for the newspaper. they share a couple of lessons , knows well enough how brilliant she is in class , just like he knows who her best friend is , natalia. lips curl into a smirk , winking at her as he said a quick ‘ hi ’ , walking past the brunette only to make his way towards their first lesson , one he ironically shared with her. he knows the only way mason would get her friend’s number was if he talked with her , befriended her. he had to prove a point , that he wasn’t a dick like most of his friends - and that’s what he was trying to do. he walks into the classroom , heading straight towards the brunette’s seat , only to sit down next to her spot , gaze flickering to the door from time to time - only for the previous owner of the place he was sat in to walk in. he knows they’re glaring at him , but it wasn’t like he gave two fucks - it’s just a chair in his eyes anyways , but then anastasia walks in - and he’s gazing at the front of the classroom again , lips now having curled into a grin. history was after all the only lesson which seemed to interest him. after the drama within his family , it was difficult for him to even bother with school. it was something everyone had talked about during freshman year. mason reaches out , digits tapping on anastasia’s forearm , hand sliding to rest upon her table as he got her attention. “ hey - again. ” he says , his brown hues flickering up to greet her own , teeth sinking into his bottom lip as he ignored whatever the teacher had to say. “ you should come to my party this saturday. ” he trails off , giving her a small nod as the grin upon his features only grew , one of the questions the teacher asked catching his attention. mason raised his hand as he kept his eyes on her , the look upon his features turning into a rather goofy one as he reached into his pocket with his free hand , grasping a hold of his phone. “ wouldn’t want you to miss out on it , and it’d be nice to see your face there too. ” he knows a few of his friends had their eyes on anastasia anyways. “ and - you could also bring that friend of yours - nat ?? yeah. ” he says with a small nod , handing her his phone this time - he wasn’t even sure if she was interested at all , but he’s playing his cards as well as he could , the flirtatiousness within his voice obvious. “ give me your number and . . . i’ll text you the address. ” his name is called out this time , but he doesn’t look at the teacher just yet - finds himself sending a wink in anastasia’s direction before facing the teacher , hand now falling on the desk as he answered the question , perfectly - only earning him a praise from the mr. finnik , which caused him to look at the brunette once more , a brow arched. “ so ?? ”