Mason Maloney

When Sam suggested taking me over to his house after work on Saturday, I was all for it. What the two of us didn't anticipate was his whole family being home, looking at us confusedly as soon as we walked in the door.

"Who's he?" a young girl, about the age of six, asked quizzically, tilting her head to the side.

The girl's eyes were a striking shade of bright blue that looked like deep ocean water. She had beautifully curled dirty-blonde hair that fell just below her shoulders. The young girl was almost a complete replica of her mother, the woman I had recognized from the time she came into the bakery, Mae.

"This is my friend Mason," Sam introduced me, squatting down to be eye level with the girl. "Mason, this is my niece Lila."

I smiled warmly at the adorable child. "Hi, Lila."

She stared at me with a blank expression for a few moments, as if deciding if she liked me based on this one small interaction. I almost expected her to shy away, but instead a wide smile took over her face and she threw herself at me, hugging my legs tightly. I chuckled, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Lila pulled away and looked over at Sam. "He's nice, I like him."

Sam shook his head in amusement. "That's good."

Mae stood up from her spot on the couch and walked over to where we stood, a welcoming smile overtaking her face.

"I recognize you from the bakery," she said happily. A man, who appeared to be her husband, followed her with a blank expression. His features matched Sam's, making it obvious the two were related, though he was too young to be Sam's father.

"You two work together?" the man asked, looking between Sam and me.

Sam stood up at his full height and answered vaguely. "Yep."

"Well," Mae started, nudging her husband with her elbow. "I'm Mae and this is my husband, Jonah."

Mae looked back at the couch where a young boy sat, his eyes practically glazed over and glued on the TV. He looked to be about ten years old.

"Miles, don't be rude," she chastised her son.

"It's alright Mae," Sam started, touching her shoulder. "We don't need all these grand introductions. We're just going to go upstairs."

Before anyone could reply, Sam hastily grabbed my arm and pulled me along behind him. Sam pulled me all the way until we got into his room and he shut the door. This was one of the only times I had ever seen Sam uncomfortable. I left him standing by the door to go sit on his bed.

"You live with your brother?" I asked thoughtfully.

Sam still stood by the door, keeping his gaze away from me. When he did finally look at me I noticed his lips were pursed together with his eyebrows raised. He looked as if he felt awkward, though I didn't feel the same.

"Yeah," he answered blandly before coming over to sit by me on the bed, our legs touching.

I decided not to ask anything else even though I was dying to know exactly why he was living with his brother and his family. If Sam wanted me to know, he would have told me.

Sam let out a shaky breath, placing his large hand on my knee and staring straight ahead at the wall. I looked at the side of his face, taking in his sharp, handsome features. For the first time, I noticed a small, minuscule freckle that was positioned just by his left eye. It was the only thing that made his face not perfectly clear, but it wasn't an imperfection. It seemed as though there was nothing imperfect about Sam.

"Are you okay?" I asked him concernedly, placing my hand over his on my knee.

Sam quickly looked to me and swallowed a lump in his throat. "I'm fine, I just didn't expect my family to be here."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "They usually go see Mae's parents on Saturdays," Sam explained.

I squeezed his hand comfortingly and let a small smile curl on my lips. Sam's pout softened as he looked over at me through hooded eyes.

"Stop being such a baby," I joked with a quiet laugh.

He sent me a dirty look, squinting his eyes and pulling his hand away from me.

"I was just upset I couldn't be alone with you, but not anymore," Sam retorted, sliding to his right to put space between us.

"Don't be like that!" I answered, moving closer to him and throwing my arms around his shoulders.

"Let go of me," he let out blandly, staying rigid in my arms.

I rested my head on his shoulder. "No."

We sat there in silence for a few moments, Sam sitting still in my arms while I held him tightly. Sam eventually squirmed to try and free himself from my grasp, but I didn't budge. He gave up and went back to sitting still, humming a familiar tune. I picked my head up and stared at him in shock.

"You're humming Troye Sivan," I pointed out the obvious.

Sam nodded slowly. "Well, it is on your playlist."

"You listened to it?" I asked, still shocked.

Sam sent me a strange look. "That was the point of making them, wasn't it?"

"Well, yeah," I started, pulling away from him. "I kind of didn't expect you to listen to it though."

He chuckled, stretching his arms in front of him to crack his knuckles. "You have no faith in me."

Before I could reply, a timid knock sounded on the door. Sam and I jumped apart quickly just before Mae opened the door ajar and popped her head in.

"Hi, guys," she greeted kindly. "I made some lunch and Lila wanted to know if you would come down for some family game time."

Sam groaned aloud, throwing his head back in annoyance. Mae sent him a knowing look, tilting her head to the side in an almost chastising manner.

"She's just excited you have a new friend over," Mae explained.

Sam turned to me. "Lila gets obsessed with my friends."

I let out a hum of understanding, nodding my head slowly. "I'm down for some games."

Sam sighed. "Of course you are."

I laughed as he stood up and walked to the door, opening it widely to reveal Mae's petite body. I quickly got up to follow him, the three of us heading downstairs. Jonah appeared to be setting up a board game in the living room while Sam and Mae led me to the kitchen.

"Uncle Sammy!" Lila exclaimed from her seat at the kitchen table. "Are you going to play games with us?"

Sam smiled warmly at her and kissed the top of her head. "Of course."

Lila let out a cheer before sticking a french fry in her mouth and chomping on it happily, bobbing her head up and down.

After scarfing down some sandwiches and french fries, Mae directed us to the living room where Jonah had set up a game of Monopoly Junior for all of us to play. Apparently it was Lila's favorite family game.

"I wanna go first!" Lila exclaimed, picking up the roller blade piece and setting it at the starting point. "Mason can be the car since it's my second favorite," she offered, handing over the piece.

Sam let out an offended gasp. "I thought I got to be the car."

Lila shook her head exaggeratedly. "You can be the hat."

"What if I don't want to be the hat?" Sam argued seriously.

"You can have the car if you want it," I interjected, but was quickly cut off by Lila's yell.

"No!" she screeched. "Mason is the car, Uncle Sammy is the hat."

"Indoor voices please," Mae scolded lightly as she walked back into the living room with Jonah trailing behind her.

Lila let out a quiet, "Sorry Mama," before continuing to place the pieces at the starting point.

"Where's Miles?" Mae asked aloud, looking around the room.

"He doesn't want to play, honey. Leave him be," Jonah answered, placing a hand on Mae's elbow and shaking his head.

Sam let out a sigh before sitting next to Lila on the floor. I followed his lead while Mae and Jonah each sat on the couch across from us. Lila didn't wait any longer to start the game. She tossed the dice down on the game board and counted the dots facing up quietly under her breath.

"I move five," she said, taking her roller blade and tapping it on each of the five spaces she moved on. "Your turn Mason!"

I smiled kindly at her before taking my turn, moving five spaces just like she had before.

***

"You can't do that!" Sam screamed in my face. "Stop cheating, Mason!"

"I'm not cheating!" I argued, pointing down at the dice on the board.

"You didn't roll them enough!" Sam replied, picking the dice back up from the board.

I gave him an incredulous look and held my hand out for the dice.

"How does one not roll the dice enough?" I asked, annoyance seeping through my tone.

Sam glared at me and shoved the dice into my hand. "You just plopped them down to get the number you wanted."

"No I didn't!"

"Mason didn't cheat, Uncle Sammy!" Lila defended me, tapping Sam on the arm.

"Is he always like this?" I asked in an accusatory tone, looking toward Mae who was shaking her head at mine and Sam's previous exchange.

Mae nodded. "Oh yes. Sam is very serious about anything competitive."

Jonah nodded along in agreement while Sam let out a disgusted scoff, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Excuse me for wanting to win," he said with an eye roll.

Before I could reply, I felt the vibration of my phone in my pocket. I pulled my phone out to see that Nathan had sent me a text message, asking where I was.

"You have to go?" Sam asked, studying the look on my face.

I nodded with a tight-lipped frown. Lila threw her head back with a groan before scurrying over to me, wrapping her small arms around me.

"Don't go," Lila pleaded.

"Yeah, don't go," Sam agreed with a smirk, his white teeth nearly blinding me.

"Let go of him, Lila. Personal space," Mae chastised in a stern, yet soft voice.

Lila listened to her mother with a pout. I made sure to give her a hug before standing up, Sam following my lead.

"Thank you for having me," I said to Mae and Jonah.

Mae stood up and gave me a hug while Jonah barely glanced in my direction. Instead, he moved past me and started picking up the game with the help of Lila. I tried not to let his disregard of me bother me, but this was Sam's brother. I wanted him to like me.

Sam led me toward the front door, away from his family. His strides were small as he glided down the hallway to grab his car keys and a jacket.

"Your brother doesn't seem to like me much," I commented blandly.

Sam just shrugged. "It's me he's pissed at, not you."

"Why is he pissed at you?" I wondered.

Sam shrugged again before walking over to me. "He's just moody. Don't take it personally."

I nodded in understanding. I knew exactly what it was like to have a moody brother. The thought reminded me that Nathan would most likely be home when I arrived, none too happy about me arriving with Sam.

"I can walk," I told him to which he responded with a disgruntled look, his eyes squinted as they zeroed in on my face.

"It's too far," was his reply before he stepped closer to me.

"Nathan can't see you dropping me off," I reminded him with my eyebrow raised.

Sam sighed and placed his hand on my cheek, pulling my face closer to his. He stared into my eyes for a few moments before leaning in and giving me a chaste kiss, letting his lips linger before hesitantly pulling away. As soon as he pulled away I looked behind him to make sure no one had seen what we just did. Sam got the message and turned around to make sure the coast was clear.

"I'll drop you off a little bit down the road," Sam compromised, taking his hand down from my cheek and placing it on my hip.

I nodded, looking up into his soft green eyes. "Okay."

The two of us hurriedly walked out of the house and to Sam's car. It was noticeably colder than it was earlier in the day, causing me to shiver and hug my arms tightly to my body. Sam immediately blasted the heat when we were in the car. He plugged in his phone to the auxiliary cord and shuffled his playlist, an old rock song playing softly on the speakers.

"I like this," I commented, looking to Sam who was focused on backing out of the driveway.

"Yeah?" he answered back blandly, turning to face forward in his seat once we were out of the driveway. "Please tell me you know what it is."

I rolled my eyes but nodded anyway. "Of course I know Queen."

Sam chuckled, opening the window and sticking out his left arm while driving with his right hand. The wind blew through his hair and the orange light from the sunset illuminated the prominent features on his face. I didn't know what about driving one-handed made him look so attractive, but I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Sam looked so calm and free with a small closed-lipped smile on his face.

"You can drop me here," I told him once we crossed the tracks into my town.

He turned his head and gave me a brief, quizzical look before shaking his head.

"Still too far," he said, showing no signs of slowing down.

I knew better than to argue with him about it so I just leaned my head on the window and took a deep breath.

"So is Queen your favorite band or something?" I asked, changing the subject.

"My dad's," he answered quickly.

While I was aching to ask about his parents, I decided it would be best for me not to. Sam's life seemed slightly secretive and he didn't talk about himself much.

Sam drove me all the way to the end of my street, about a two minute walk from my house. I would have preferred for him to drop me off further away to be sure Nathan wouldn't see us, but Sam wasn't having it.

"Goodnight," Sam said softly, turning to face me as I opened the passenger's door.

"Night," I replied with a small smile.

Before I could stop myself, I grabbed Sam by the front of his shirt and put my lips on his. He immediately responded to the kiss, almost like he was expecting it. A few moments later, I hesitantly pulled away and let my lips hover over his for another few seconds.

"See you at work Monday," Sam said with a smirk.

I backed away from him and moved to get out of the car. "See you Monday."

I got out of the car and shut the door before waving to Sam. He waved back before putting the car into drive. I watched as he drove away until his taillights were no longer visible.

I sighed contently, kicking the rocks on the sidewalk as I made my way home, shivering as the icy breeze blew by.

**

Hello everyone! Thank you for all of your reads, comments and votes! I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

What do you think about Sam's family? Any theories about his parents?

Let me know!

IMPORTANT:
Also, my semester at college just ended so I'll be working at my job which means my schedule is going to change every week.

I will try my hardest to stick to my Wednesday and Friday updates, but some updates might be coming on different days when I find the time.

I'll still be doing updates twice a week, but they might just end up on different days.