The Great Awakening

Mason had only planned to stay in Utah for a few days. He had to be in New Zealand for filming within a week’s time and he needed to unpack his things from the trip to see Kevin and then repack them for his trip across the globe. However, as he left the hospital that day he began reconsidering his schedule. Part of him felt obligated to stay a bit longer to help Mia which was ridiculous in itself because, while he’d managed a few relationships, they eventually fell apart because he wasn’t willing to sacrifice his career to save them. To everyone who knew Mason personally that didn’t come as a surprise. He’d been snowboarding since he was a young kid and it was just his thing. He’d made up his mind that snowboarding was going to be his life and nothing, not even a girl, was going to stand in his way.

Mason’s thoughts shocked him. Why would he cancel a trip to New Zealand to spend more time with a girl he barely even knew? It wasn’t like he had much of a choice when it came to knowing Mia. Kevin didn’t speak about her much and when he did it was never anything that ventured beyond things they’d done together or shots she’d snapped of him the last time he went riding. It was obvious to Mason that things between the two friends was strictly platonic, but he couldn’t help but wonder why Kevin kept her so hidden from everyone. In their large group of friends, everyone knew one another. No one disliked Mia. In fact, everyone thought highly of her. In Mason’s opinion there was no reason to keep her to himself.

Mia was the only one who understood Kevin’s logic. After knowing him for so long it would’ve been unacceptable if she didn’t. To Kevin, Mia was the one thing that was his. She was his best friend, his photographer, his confidante, his everything -- he didn’t want to share her. Even more, he didn’t want someone else to realize how great she was and steal her away. Kevin would rather lose his snowboarding career than lose his best friend which was quite the opposite of Mason.

Mia hadn’t realized how stuck in the middle she was. She didn’t want to be the reason Kevin felt detracted from his friends. She wanted everyone to get along and be content with one another. Not to say that they didn’t, but things weren’t the same whenever she accompanied her best friend to an event. His friends would look at her strangely like they were witnessing an alien encounter and talk amongst themselves. She didn’t mind but she would’ve preferred to be a part of their conversation.

With a heavy sigh, Mia dumped her tray of breakfast into the garbage and started back to Kevin’s room. It was nearing ten-o’clock which meant he’d be leaving for physical therapy soon. The hour and a half that he was there was the only time Mia could find some peace of mind. She worried herself sick about him a majority of the time; at least she knew he was in good hands while he was in therapy.

Mason had left a half hour earlier, saying he had a few things to get done before he could come back. The only thing that stuck in Mia’s mind regarding his departure was that he promised he’d be back. It probably didn’t mean as much to him as it did her, but she was more than thankful for the company. Kevin wasn’t in the right state of mind to pay much attention to her but she didn’t hold it against him. He’d nearly killed himself, how could she?

She took her usual seat in the corner of Kevin’s room and pulled out her composition book. She began doodling absentmindedly as spontaneous thoughts blossomed in her mind. By the time the nurse arrived to escort Kevin to therapy, she’d filled the page with pictures and words, most of which were song lyrics from songs she and Kevin had dubbed their songs. They came up with playlists full of them while they were traveling, usually during some cross-country road trip that Kevin had talked her into. Mia was a free spirit; she didn’t mind the traveling so long as Kevin drove. It gave her an opportunity to capture some great photos but, more importantly, it was quality time spent with her best friend.

Mason drove around the streets of Salt Lake City with his mind racing at one-hundred miles per hour. He hadn’t been caught up in a girl in months, maybe even close to a year. Even then he knew more about them than their name. Mia Fulton wasn’t a legitimate excuse to cancel a trip to New Zealand. It wasn’t even a legitimate excuse to grow feelings. Whatever he was feeling, he chalked it up to simply being intrigue. Because he didn’t know anything about Mia, he wanted to. It was clear as day that she wasn’t thrilled about being stuck in a hospital twenty-four seven and he wanted to help. If there was one thing Mason was good at (other than snowboarding) it was putting a smile on someone’s face.

He was convinced that was all Mia really needed.