Ivan's POV

A week had gone by since the incident happened and by then the entire school knew. Nate's classmates were more confused if anything, swearing they didn't know he was using. Ivan had no room to talk as he didn't know the man until the formal.

Mason leaned against the wall across from Ivan and sighed. "It's all my fault. I should have tried to call him. I should have gone and checked in on him when you told us. I should have done something." Tears welled in his eyes as he took a deep breath in. "Nate and I didn't get along but he was a great dude."

"Listen," Ivan said with a forced smile. "It wasn't your fault. It was more mine than anyone else." He reached his hands out, placing them on Mason's upper arms and rubbed them. "Don't blame yourself. No one could have possibly known any of this would happen. You and Vixen, both of you shouldn't be kicking yourselves."

"It's easier said then done. I should have done more. That girls screams... I keep thinking about it, Ivan. It haunts my dreams at night." Mason couldn't even look at him.

"Dolayla must be traumatised after seeing that. I really hope she isn't alone and has someone to talk to. You have me. Vixen has her friends. It's all just a sad event," he said. He pulled Mason to him and gave him a hug, rubbing his back. "It'll be okay Mas."

Mason shook his head in Ivans chest. "I need to be strong."

"Even the strongest warriors break down. It's okay. No one would blame you if you needed to take some time off school like Vixen, you know?" Ivan rubbed his friends back some more. He didn't know what to do when someone was upset or crying so he just tried his best to comfort his friend.

"No!" Mason pushed away a little. "I need to be here... at school. I can't function at home."

Ivan nodded. "Okay. That's okay. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable." He ran his hand over Masons hair, fixing it and making sure his hair was as perfect as it was this morning. "Now, what do you say, we hang out and have fun? Schools over, why not?"

Mason nodded. "Let's go."

–

Dark clouds invaded the skies, a rumble heard in the distance. Many stores were lined on either side of the street as far as their eye could see, some colourful and others were dull, grey buildings. They reached a baby blue shop named Meredith's Cafe, a large window with designs of a coffee cup took up half the space, a wooden and glass door rested next to it, a sign hung saying 'open'. They entered the store and the strong scent of the grinded coffee beans hit them almost immediately.

"I haven't had any coffee yet so this will be an amazing pick me up," Mason said as he looked around the medium sized cafe.

Only a few tables were occupied, leaving many empty. A few patrons stood by the counter, awaiting their orders, some men in suits. There were a few other students, some sitting at a table by the window, focusing on their laptops, workbooks open. The floor was wood and had Ivan wondering how they avoided making it scratch.

"I've had five already. One more can't hurt," he said, running his fingers through his hair. "Order whatever you want, I'm paying this time."

"I can't let you do that," Mason argued, facing him. "Just... Let me pay."

Ivan raised an eyebrow. There was no way in hell he was going to let Mason pay. "You paid last time and promised I would pay this time. We aren't arguing about this. I said what I said now quick. Let's order. The usual?"

Mason nodded and didn't say anything further. They walked over to the desk where a woman with her black hair pulled back into a ponytail stood with a big smile on her face.

"Welcome to Meredith's Cafe! My name is Cheryl, what can I get you today?" the woman said in a cheerful tone.

Ivan went silent for a few moments. For someone who worked in customer service, facing shitty customers he wondered how she was so happy and cheerful. If he was doing her job, he'd probably want to throw a punch at half of the people that had unnecessary complaints.

"Hi. Just a long black and a regular espresso please," Ivan said, giving her a small smile.

"Of course!" she chirped. "That'll be six dollars and forty five cents please. Cash or card?"

Ivan held his card up between his index finger and middle finger and smiled. "Card please ma'am."

Ivan quickly paid, gave her his name and walked back to Mason who had stood by the brick wall by the front window, almost daydreaming. The cafe wasn't much but it definitely had a cosy sort of feel to it. Booths with red leather seats laid along the walls with regular wooden table and chairs surrounded the middle area. Several paintings hung the back wall, a few by the other wall too. A big bench with the coffee machine, cash register and food items rested against the wall to the left.

"Thank you," Mason said, leaning off the wall and standing up straight.

Once their coffee was ready, they both walked to a table on the far corner of the cafe and sat across from each other. It was dark but they both enjoyed it. It had been their spot many times before when they would come to study. Ivan worried about Mason as he had barely ate during both their breaks at school.

"Do you have any idea what you want to do when we finish high school?" Mason asked, leaning his head to the side.

Ivan clasped his hands together and rested them on the warm wooden table. He took a while to answer. "Uh, I don't know. Maybe entrepreneurship or law or something. How about you? Do you know what you want to do?"

"Finance or accounting probably. Those are my top runners but it can change at anytime. Who knows, if you open your own business, I can always be your finance consultant or accountant. It'll be nice. Two best friends making their mark in the world, growing old together." Mason smiled and leaned his chin into his hand.

Ivan smiled as well, staring into his eyes. He truly cherished their friendship and how close they were. They had been friends since their primary school years and ended up going to the same highschool.

"It's quite hot, isn't it?" Mason asked as he slid forward a little in his seats then took his maroon jacket off, resting it on seat beside him.

Heat rushed to Ivans cheeks. He really tried to focus on looking at Mason's face, but he just couldn't. The skintight black tank top left little to his imagination. On his upper arm Ivan noticed a large tattoo, a skull with smoke coming out of its eyes and a gas mask over the mouth part, just underneath was a tattoo of some kind of compass design. It was a beautiful piece, but it had Ivan wonder how Mason could get tattoos at their age.

"Your tattoos, they're very beautiful," he complimented with a smile.

"Oh, these old things? Thank you. They really are stunning if I do say do myself. One of my older cousins is a tattoo artist. He does amazing pieces. I can get you an appointment if you want," Mason offered, crossing his arms over the table and leaned forward a little.

Ivan was gobsmacked. He didn't know what to say. It was a kind offer, but he wasn't ready for a tattoo just yet. Maybe in a year's time but definitely not now. "While I would love to, it is a little early for me to get a tat. Maybe next year though. Thank you, Mas."

"The offer stands whenever you are ready for it." Mason winked at Ivan, sending butterflies to fly around in his stomach.

He didn't know what it was about Mason but whenever he was with him, he felt nervous and excited. Being around Mason made him feel safe and like the world wasn't out to get him.

"Hey Ivan, can I ask you something personal?" Mason asked, his eyebrows pulled together as he dropped his hands, taking Ivans into his.

"Sure," he replied, taking a sip from his coffee with his free hand. "Shoot."

Mason nodded. "I've been thinking of this for a while I just never had the confidence to ask without offending you so, please take this as me asking as a friend with genuine care. You never mention your family, whys that?"

Ivan froze, his blood ran cold. He wasn't sure if he should lie or say the truth. What he was going to admit was probably going to hurt Mason further. "Um... You see, there is a reason for that and I'm not sure how well you will take it. I, uh, also don't think it's a topic to talk about in public."

"We've been friends for so long. Try me, darling. If it'll cheer you up, let's go back to yours then," Mason said, rubbing his thumbs along the back of Ivan's hands.

Ivan's heart stopped dead in its tracks. He felt weak, as if he was going to faint. "No!" He took a deep breath in and spoke again. "I mean, I don't think that would be wise."

Mason's eyebrows knit together, and he leaned his head to the side. "Why? What's going on Ivan?"

Ivan shook his head and took another deep breath in. "I mean, let's go to mine." He forced a smile. He had never brought anyone to his own place before, so he was kind of afraid. "I don't live far from here. Let's, uh, go."

"Darling, if there is something wrong, you can tell me, you know," Mason said softly, squeezing Ivan's hands gently.

Ivan nodded slowly. "No, it's fine. We can talk more when we get to mine."

–

They had silently walked to Ivan's small brick house. It wasn't anything fancy but it had to do with Ivan's current situation. A pebble pathway lead from the front gate to the front porch leading to four steps that were painted in white. The front door matched the stairs with a glass arch frosted window towards the top of it, a grey curtain behind it, matching ones draped over the two huge windows on either side of the door. The garden had been in full bloom, different flowers like roses and daisies decorated along the pathway and along the porch, a lemon tree planted neatly in the middle of the left side of the way. A garage matching the house rested next to the property. It was a decent place. He secretly hoped that Mason didn't mind it.

They made their way to the front door where Ivan unlocked the door and held it open for Mason to walk in then closed it behind him. He was nervous and didn't want his friend to judge him. The hallway was bare and he didn't think of decorating it with anything.

"Please, come in Mason. Just this way," Ivan said after a small while, his heart beating hard against his chest as he lead the way to the first room on the right where a huge white arched doorway rested. Ivan held his arm out, pointing into the room. "Please, have a seat."

Mason smiled and moved past him to sit on the black leather three seater sofa that sat on the wall by the doorway, facing the big television on the wall across from it. A small white painted wooden table sat in front of the chair, a black fur rug sat on top of the carpet invading the entire perimeter of the living room. Tall bookshelves full of books rested against the left side of the wall. A single seater curved leather chair sat on the free corner of the room beside the sofa.

Ivan walked in and sat beside Mason. "Welcome to my place. Do you want anything to drink?"

"We just had coffee Ivan. Relax." Mason smiled and faced him. "You have a beautiful place. This your parents place?"

Ivan swallowed the lump in his throat. "No. It's mine."

Mason went silent for what felt like an eternity. "Huh?"

"Listen to me, this is mine. My parents don't live here. This entire place is my own. I pay for it all," Ivan said calmly, trying to untie the knots in his nerves.

More silence.

"Say something! Goddamn it bro," Ivan said in frustration as he tried to take calm breathes.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't know," Mason said quietly, looking down at his lap.

Ivan shook his head. "No one does." He reached to the table, grabbing the purple candle on the table and a lighter then lit the candle, the scent of lavender filled the room within a couple seconds. "I do well to hide my situation. I don't need people to feel sorry for me." He forced another smile. "I guess this whole thing ties in to your question earlier. You... wanting to know about why I don't mention my family. I hope you have time to listen to everything in full. Please don't cry afterwards."

Mason only nodded and took Ivan's right hand between both of his. "Promise."

He took another deep, shaky breath in. "It all started when I was young, probably about ten at the time. The issue started with my father. You see, he used to do bad things to my mum which landed her in hospital, bleeding the very last time he hurt her. He was... very dependant on drugs so he was never around. Uh... We didn't know if my mother would wake up."

Ivan looked up to meet Masons eyes, his friend giving him a supportive nod with a tight smile.

"She woke up a week later but she couldn't remember who I was. The uh... police was looking for my father but he had run off without a trace. I had to stay with my aunt while we worked on getting her memory back. Of course my mother felt so bad about the entire situation. I wished I did more to help her back then. They... couldn't find my father and spent less and less time looking for him until when I was twelve when he followed me home. A man... my father grabbed me... I don't know what he was going to do but I was glad a cop was there and helped. So uh... My biological father is in prison," he said, staring down at Mason's hands on his.

"What a fucken monster bro," Mason commented.

"That's just my fathers side. As you know, I started working on and off almost three years ago. Mum didn't mind at first until she got married to Tim. My step dad is better then my biological father but he is no angel either. They never knew how much I had put aside from my jobs for my own savings. They thought I was only making ten an hour but I wasn't. Now, we're moving on to a little over a year and a half ago when I came out as bisexual to my parents. Mum slapped me, my step dad belted me on the back making me bleed, telling me how much of a disgrace I was and how much shame I had bought upon them. They kicked me out that same day. I didn't have anywhere to do so I stayed at a homeless shelter until I got accepted for a place and so here I am." Ivan shrugged.

"Oh darling, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that was going on. I could have helped you, you know. Hell you could have stayed at my place, we have a few spare rooms that no one ever uses anyway," Mason said, nudging him.

"You know I could never impose like that," Ivan said and shrugged again.

"Nonsense, you won't be imposing. You are my best friend and I love you," Mason said calmly, pulling Ivan in to a hug. "You've done so well with this place you know. If you ever get lonely in this house, you can always ask me to sleep over."

"I'd love that very much," Ivan said smiling as he rested his head on his shoulder. "You know, they absolutely flipped out more when I got on my motorbike and drove off? They were yelling and cursing me out. Now no one from my family speaks to me."

"They sound like the literal spawns of hell. I'm glad my parents are laid back and don't flip out." Mason rubbed Ivans back and sighed. "We should go riding again someday you know."

"We should. It will be fun." Ivan smiled and sat up properly. "Beer?"

Mason nodded. "You know I never say no to that."

Ivan promptly stood up and headed to the kitchen. So far everything was going well and his best friend didn't flip over what he had told him which was a good thing and relieved him. His kitchen wasn't spectacular either with the usual double sink, marble desktops, black cupboards that wrapped around the kitchen, leaving enough room for the large silver fridge by the entrance of the kitchen. A small window rested above the sink.

He opened the fridge, popped the beers out, grabbing the bottle opened with him then walked back to the living room to see Mason standing in front of the bookshelf.

"Massive booklover I see," Mason said with a smile. "Romance, fantasy, steamy books. I think there will be a lot we can talk about."

"You like reading too?" he asked, holding out a beer bottle towards his friend with a smile.

Mason nodded and popped the bottle open with his bare hands.

–

They had spent the past hour talking about books, their favourites and ones they hated. Ivan had learnt that Mason hated Fifty Shades just as much as he did. Mason was on his second bottle of beer while Ivan was still on his first. He has wondered how his friend was okay drinking all that alcohol.

"Thank you," Mason said after a while of silence.

Ivan was confused. "For? I haven't done anything."

"No, you have done a lot for me. I'm thankful to have you, Ivan. You've helped me more then you know through this mess." Mason took Ivans hand and kisses the back of it. "Theres still the whole mess of the police investigation that you don't know about."

He smiled. "That's what friends are for. I'll always be there for you." He moved closer to his friend and leaned his head to the side. "You don't need to rush in telling me these things you know? Take it all at your own pace." Ivan rubbed Mason's bare arm a little. "It'll be okay."

There was another small silence between them. Ivan's eyes wondered around the room then landed back on Mason. He couldn't help but think back to his childhood and how everything was. His mind always wondered to when he came out, how things would have been different if he didn't tell his parents.

Mason's hand rested on his cheek, making Ivan look up into his eyes. His heart was beating fast, almost pumping out of his chest. Then it all happened in slow motions almost like in the movies. Mason leaned forward towards Ivan and kissed him on the lips.