[Dominic Weaver]

Surge The best part of “believe” is the “lie”. + SUPER POWERS!

Dominic had arranged for a small warehouse in SoMa. It didn’t look great from the outside, old, worn bricks and a rusting corrugated roof. On the inside it was even worse. The roof clearly leaked, there were large puddles across the floor, an oily sheen gleaming on the surface of the water. A dozen tall shelving units had been pushed against the wall, some of them still with half collapsed boxes on them. Dominic had bought up what was left of the lease from a man who looked like he had been sampling the last of the stock he had been keeping in the run down building. He’d paid in cash, and the man he had paid would have paid in cash, and so on and so forth until it was tracked all the way back to a shell company that was probably owned by a billion dollar corporation in another country. Dominic wasn’t accustomed to acting in the shadows, but he understood enough about the business world to find somewhere that couldn’t be easily traced back to him. Not that it would have meant anything to a serious investigator, but he wanted to make sure that no one else got onto his multi-million dollar idea before he’d convinced the other’s to come on board. “It’s nothing special, but it should do just as somewhere to test out our powers before we decide what to do with them.” He looked down at the damp floor, “although I recommend that you all make sure you guys are earthed before I do anything, I don’t really want to electrocute you guys after all…” He turned back to the others as they entered. “So, who’s going first?”

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[Mason Warner]

Training?

While Mason was certain that he could have continued to crash in Claire's small but perfectly comfortable apartment, he couldn't help but feel like he was taking advantage of her kindness by intruding into her small and private space. Instead, he'd been fortunate enough to shack up with Will who had the luxury of his own separate office. He'd also been lucky in convincing work that he would need to work from home for the foreseeable future following his horrific accident, which side-stepped the slight issue of his transparency for the moment.

Dominic had begun to set the dream into motion. Mason had almost heard something click into place - mechanical, clockwork - when it had come to his attention that an actual, real life base was in the works. It was even right in SoMa which was most convenient for someone whose options of independent (and honest) travel were limited to walking. Okay, so it probably wasn’t the glitziest of superhero-caves just yet, but Mason was feeling cautiously optimistic.

They were led in, positively buzzing with excitement. It seemed like Dominic was quite literally buzzing, but Mason was gradually getting used to such things.

He peered around at his surroundings. They were a little gloomy - the bricks were old, the roof was both rusty and had a leak, there was very little in the way of furnishings and the space wasn’t particularly large either. Thinking about it, it probably wouldn’t have passed his own health and safety checks had he been on an inspection job.

All this gave it a great deal of dark, gritty character.

It was perfect.

“Dude!” Mason exclaimed, spinning to admire the place further. “Dominic, this is great, exactly what we need.”

He shuffled his feet nervously at Dominic’s electrocution comment. “Uh, yeah… Please try not to kill us, it’s not good for our health.”

He hung back at the suggestion of testing. There was nothing he could think of to pursue his own power beyond continuing to stare at mirrors, angrily scowling at them in the hopes of intimidating his invisibility into submission for even just a few seconds. Unfortunately, it seemed to be incredibly stubborn, and was so far unrelenting in its activation.

Still, he was looking forward to focusing on the task at hand and helping the others to get to grips with their powers. There was still something childishly thrilling about the whole thing, which Mason was clinging onto like his life depended on it. This was going to be fun.

ψ

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Dominic Weaver + Mason Warner

Some time earlier Alice was late. She’d had a few days off from work, which was understandable given the fact that she’d been in a near fatal car accident. Not that her boss would be particularly understanding if she failed to turn up now that she was out of hospital. She needed this job, it wasn’t anything special, and it certainly wasn’t well paid, but it was just enough to pay the rent and feed herself most days. She’d almost fallen out of bed when her alarm went off, and rushed her shower, her hair was still wet as she locked her cupboard sized apartment’s door behind her. There had been no time for breakfast, other than to grab a piece of fruit on her way out of the door. Slinging the bag containing her uniform over one shoulder, she hurried down the corridor. Mrs Crabble appeared at the end, waving and smiling at the blue-haired teen as she approached before turning to her own door. Alice swung into the stairwell, caught her foot on Mrs Crabble’s bag, hidden by the corner, and lost her balance. With nothing to stop her fall she went straight forward, hands scrabbling desperately at empty air in an attempt to catch herself. It was to no avail, and Alice closed her eyes. She opened them again at the bottom of the stairs, hearing Mrs Crabble’s quavering voice calling her name. “Oh My Lord are you alright?” She sat up, wondering if she had somehow broken her neck in the fall. She didn’t feel like she’d just fallen down four flights of stairs, but judging by where she was she must have done. She remembered closing her eyes, and very soft impacts on her arms and body, but no actual pain. She looked back up to see the very worried face of her neighbour peering down the stair well. “I’m so sorry, I ddn’t think…” She waved up with a grin, “it’s OK Mrs Crabble, no harm done, just a quick fall.” “Are you sure…” Alice shook her head, “I’m fine, really, anyway, I’ve gotta run or I’ll be late for work!” She jogged out of the apartment building, reflecting on how lucky she must be to have escaped from that accident without a scratch, had she not been in such a rush she might have put two and two together right then… Alice had spent most of the day in the kitchen of the tiny greasy spoon diner that she’d worked in since high school. It wasn’t a great job, but they didn’t ask for much in the way of qualifications, and she could usually take away a little food when her wages didn’t quite cover everything. There were regulars as well, significantly more than there had been when Alice had first started, the quality of the food had climbed sharply when she’d started cooking instead of simply washing dishes. Now though, she smiled goodbye to Alexei and Patricia, and made her way out of the diner into the bright sunlight of the San Francisco afternoon. She looked about, pulling her phone out of her satchel as she did so. There was a text there from Dominic, with an address. She was tired, but the thought of that rejuvenated her and with a wide grin she set off down the street. She’d met up with the others outside of the deceptively small building, then followed Dominic in through the rusting doors, leaving an appropriate space for Mason to go first. She tried to resist the urge to blurt out her first thought, that this could be their batcave. She almost glanced sideways at Mason, remembering only halfway through the motion that she wouldn’t be able to see him anyway. ”I mean, I don’t have anything, so I guess it’s you or Mason up first…”

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[Dominic Weaver]

Surge The best part of “believe” is the “lie”. + Mason Warner + Alice Morrow

Unable to turn to Mason for his visual response, Dominic resorted to making the decision for him. It was effort enough to hold back right now, he was eager to see just what he could do. He took a few steps away from the others, checking the ground to make sure they weren’t all stood in one big pool of water. There was a large duffel left on the floor behind him, he glanced at it, but elected to leave it for now, whatever it was, he clearly didn’t need it. He picked a target, a teetering metal shelf that had been pulled away from the wall. It stood all on its own, as though abandoned by its fellows. Dominic shrugged his shoulders back and squared up to it like a boxer preparing for the greatest fight of his career. It was clearly a showman’s display, but that didn’t matter, for Dominic Weaver was nothing if not a showman. When he was happy with his performance, which would was just enough to entertain and engage, and not long enough to bore, he raised his hand. He was trying to remember how it had felt when he’d first launched a lightning bolt across his office. To say it had felt electric would perhaps have been clichéd, but it would have been entirely accurate, now all he had to do was conjure up that feeling once more. It took a moment, but he found that reservoir again, that bubbling pool of energy that seemed to sit in the base of his stomach. He coaxed it out, pulling it from his stomach to his chest, concentrating it there for a moment. He held it for as long as he could, but it was like trying to wrestle an eel, it writhed and struggled in his grasp. Finally he let it go, feeling it unroll down his arm into his fingers, striking forth as if it were a living thing. For a brief moment a twisting line of plasma linked him and the shelving unit. It illuminated the entire warehouse, silhouetting Dominic before them. The smell of ozone filled Dominic’s nostrils as he turned back to the others with a smirk. ”How about that eh?”

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[Mason Warner]

Training?

Positively giddy with excitement, Mason inhaled deeply and let out a cry of joy, whooping with all the enthusiasm of an over-excited football fan watching his team tottering on the cusp of victory.

“Dude! Dude!”

Mason found himself applauding, stifled it a few moments later in embarrassment. No need to get carried away. He was a full-grown man after all.

He cleared his throat. “That was very impressive,” he said in his most serious voice.

Dominic was impressive. In that one instant the whole world had stood still, frozen in the blinding light that he had conjured. Amidst the radiance he stood firm, shoulders square, arm out-stretched – a mighty shadow face to face with the pulsing electric glow. It was a devastatingly magnificent performance.

It was over as quickly as it had begun and Mason had had to blink furiously to get his eyes to adjust before he began his impromptu cheering routine. Even now as he tried to suppress his juvenile excitement Mason could still envisage the light show. His heart raced, clawing him temporary freedom from the imaginary – yet all too real – weight pressing against his lungs.

The abandoned duffel bag on the floor caught his eye, as it had Dominic, but he wasn’t quite interested enough in its presence to comment on it. Instead, he spun excitedly on his heels to face Alice and beamed. “I don’t believe for a second that you’ve escaped the doctor’s witchcraft, but all in good time. My moms always told me that the late bloomers were often the greatest flowers…

“Um, whatever that meant…”

He blushed. “Anyway, I don’t really know how to experiment. I don’t seem to have any control. Yet,” he added positively, almost entirely for Alice’s benefit. “What do you guys think I should do?”

Mason was feeling like a bit of a dead weight. He could only imagine how Alice felt. If only Claire were here – she definitely had work to do. It was awfully hard to measure up to Dom’s heroic brilliance but at least she could do something awesome. Being permanently, inexplicably invisible was turning out to be far more inconvenient than amazing. Still, he could keep trying. Something might eventually happen, right?

ψ

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Mason Warner + Dominic Weaver

Alice realised after Dominic’s display that her mouth was open. She slowly closed it. It had been awe inspiring, and Alice realised that up until this moment, she hadn’t quite believed what was happening. How could it have been real? Metal was bending against Claire’s skin and Dominic had turned into a human battery. How could it possibly be real, it was more likely that she hadn’t recovered from the crash and was still in a coma in the hospital. “THAT WAS SO COOL!” Alice was positively vibrating with excitement. As though she had a direct line to Dominic’s charge as well. It helped that her hair was beginning to stand on end from the static charge in the air. The collapsed cardboard boxes on the shelf had caught fire, faint flickering flames contrasting with the dirty yellow sunlight creeping in through the grimey windows. She smiled awkwardly in the direction from which Mason’s voice had originated. “Thanks, but I guess I’ll just have to be the cheerleader, I never got to be one in school, now’s my chance.” She sounded disappointed, but perked up a little when Mason asked what he should do. She pondered the problem. Mason had turned totally invisible, but he could pick things up without them being invisible. He would probably have already been trying to turn it off, obviously with no luck, but Alice wondered if perhaps he could make something else invisible, or even someone else… “How about…” She paused, trying to work out where Mason was stood in order to reorient herself. After a half second she realised it was pointless, and just spoke in the direction his voice had come from. “Maybe you could try turning something else invisible? Maybe it doesn’t have to be just you? Like Sue Storm could turn other people invisible, maybe you can do that too?”

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[Mason Warner]

Training?

There was no way that Dominic could be feeling anything other than utterly glorious right now. As if it were even possible, it seemed that Alice was even more ecstatic than Mason regarding the display of Dominic’s power. Her whole face was lit up with a wide-eyed, open-mouthed excitement. He found himself hoping even more fervently that she had some hidden power waiting to be discovered just so that she could inspire that same look in herself. If there was anyone of the group who would wield superpowers with the delight and awe that they deserved, it was Alice.

For the moment, it seemed like she was reserved to the spot of enthusiastic onlooker which, in fairness, she was doing a great job of.

“You gotta get yourself some pom-poms,” he insisted, shaking his own imaginary cheerleading accessories. “Cheerleading’s serious business.”

It meant more to him than she probably realised as she attempted to locate him with her eyes. Of everything that Mason had to adjust to, he was finding the lack of eye contact particularly difficult. It was just so unnerving to have everyone constantly looking through you as though you didn’t exist, like a cruel schoolyard prank. He’d get used to it, he was sure, but the ability and its side effects were still entirely new to him.

“Turn something else invisible?”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah, yeah, I should try that. My clothes go invisible, right? There must be something that makes that happen… Uh…” It was very hard to think of how to manipulate his power when it seemed to have a mind of its own.

Mason reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin, clenching it first in his fist and then holding his palm open with the coin pinched between finger and thumb. Theoretically, it was no longer in the bounds of his body and so should be visible now.

“Can you see it?”

He looked between the two of them and flipped the coin casually before catching it in his other hand. Again he held it up between his finger and thumb, this time concentrating on it with the same determination that six-year-old Mason had when he was pretending to be a Jedi using the Force. Frustratingly, it didn’t feel like there was any kind of control at all.

There was something there though, barely present. It felt like his hairs were standing on edge. Maybe a side effect of Dominic’s lightning bolt… Maybe something else.

Whatever it was, he couldn’t seem to budge it in any way. He looked hopefully at his companions. “Anything?”

ψ

[Dominic Weaver]

Surge The best part of “believe” is the “lie”. + Alice Morrow + Mason Warner

Dominic nodded in agreement, clearly Alice knew a great deal more about super powers, or at least those found in comic books. He had made sure to get to know the other survivors during their brief stay in hospital. It was no surprise that when she suggested something, it came from one of the comic books she had read. That said, it was also a logical progression. Mason didn’t have to be naked in order to be totally invisible, so how did he manage that, it was unlikely that his ability had its own sense of modesty after all, and he hadn’t demonstrated any ability to instantly pass it on by touch. He watched as a small coin flickered into existence before him. If this had been a movie he would not have been amazed by the special effects, but living it made it so much more impressive. He nodded in response to Mason’s question. “Definitely a coin. Need me to check if it’s real?” He smiled, humour in his voice, and then watched as the silver circle flickered through the air, catching the light from the high windows. He half expected it to drop and skitter across the ground, and was almost surprised when it instead halted in mid-air. It was held proudly upright. Dominic and Alice stared at it. Resolutely, something failed to happen. He pulled a face and shook his head. ”Still a coin. Not even a little bit ghostly…” He shrugged, and looked back to the now smouldering shelving. “How does your power feel? I mean, I can feel mine, it’s like a storm in my stomach. It wants to get out, I just need to give it a roadmap. I don’t think this is anything like just concentrating on something.” He shrugged and walked back towards Mason and Alice, or to where Alice was anyway. “Try and explain to us what it feels like…”

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[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Mason Warner + Dominic Weaver

The thought of Mason in a tight cheerleading costume, skirt, pom-poms and all was momentarily so funny that Alice laughed out loud. “You’re damn right. They’d have to match my hair as well.” She struck a pose, one hand on her hip, the other in the air, legs wide and expression deadly serious. Deadly serious for all of three seconds, then she started laughing again. “I’d need a name to shout though, something I can spell out for the crowd. You don’t hear people cheering for the moderately heroic person that saved the world. You’ve gotta have a proper hero name.” Alice was half tempted to reach out and test the coin at Dominic’s suggestion, then watched in delight as it flipped through the air before pausing, levitated once more. It was hard, because she didn’t know what it was like to have these abilities, but she was still in awe to see the comic books she loved come to life. She shook her head, disappointed on Mason’s behalf when his attempt apparently failed. “Sorry Mason. Keep trying though, maybe you’re just doing it wrong.” Admittedly, Dominic had phrased it somewhat more positively, and she winced internally at her unintended criticism. “What he said…”

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[Mason Warner]

Training?

Alice definitely suited the role of a (quirky, admittedly) cheerleader. Mason could even imagine the bright blue pom-poms, although the image in his head did come across as a little grotesque as he considered it further.

“Not too similar in colour,” he suggested with a grin. “Otherwise it might look like you were shaking decapitated heads.”

Then she casually threw out the notion of a "proper hero name" and Mason’s immature little mind was whirring once more. “Yes! I … We all need one, something amazing to go with these new abilities. You’ll be "Prom Queen" if you keep up this show,” he added teasingly.

His brainstorming for his own superhero title was interrupted sharply by the disappointment on Dominic and Alice’s faces.

“Oh.”

He looked down at the stupid coin and shoved it back into his pocket. It was upsetting to have let them down, especially after Dominic’s power had come so naturally to him. Maybe control over special abilities was reserved for those clever enough to understand them. Mason hadn’t even finished high school… no wonder he was so useless.

Dominic, however, was definitely far more intelligent, and Mason knew the value of taking advice from those cleverer than yourself. He might just know what he was talking about with all this “feeling” stuff.

Mason searched for that fuzzy feeling again, the one that seemed to spread across his entire body like an extra layer. It was so quiet that he hadn’t really noticed it until just now but it felt familiar somehow, as though it had been there the whole time.

“If I really think about it, it kinda feels like goose bumps.”

It was embarrassingly mundane compared to Dominic’s description. He closed his eyes, trying and trying to find that mysterious layer.

“It feels like I’m wrapped in super, super light saran wrap. I’m not sure if it moves or stretches but that could be-” He paused, grunting as he strained himself to try and mentally lift the layer. “Nope. It’s there, I just don’t know how to stop it.”

Mason laughed as an idea occurred to him, distracting him temporarily. “Hey, maybe I could be "Saran-Man".”

ψ

[Dominic Weaver]

Surge The best part of “believe” is the “lie”. + Mason Warner + Alice Morrow

Dominic took one, long look at where Mason's voice had come from, and simply said, "no." Then he grinned. They at least seemed to have joined his train of thought, they were still a few carriages back, but they were at least on the right track. Being mascots or simple celebrities wasn't enough, it would be a waste of this living comic book situation. The chances for publicity and sponsorship were endless, all they had to do was make sure they didn't actually get involved in serious crime. Stop a mugging, rescue a couple of cats from trees, and they'd be all over national news, probably even international news. At that point the world was their oyster. If they could pick a strong name then branding would be easy, sponsorship even more so. He could envision a costumed figure on a billboard promoting a major brand. Admittedly, Mason might prove trickier when it came to that side of things, but hopefully he'd learn to control his power. Dominic could imagine how frustrating it must be to be permanently invisible. "It's a cute idea, but I think you could come up with something with a bit more pizzazz. Plus I'm pretty sure Saran is still trademarked." He winked at Alice, "you'd be a great cheerleader, but I wouldn't listen to his ideas for names if I were you." He shrugged, "want to try again? You might have developed a power overnight? Notice anything unusual?"

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[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Mason Warner + Dominic Weaver

In agreement with Dominic, Alice shook her head towards where Mason should be. There was a smile on her face as she did so though. “I know there are some obscure super heroes in the comics, but Saran man is not one of them. Maybe you should go back to the drawing board on that one.” At Dominic’s question her mood dropped. The day had been so rushed, right from the start, that its fortunate beginning had since flown her mind. Nothing unusual happened to Alice, she got up, went to work, and then came here. If it weren’t for the fact that Dominic was throwing lightning and Mason was invisible to the naked eye it would have been just her average day. She shrugged awkwardly, “nothing unusual… was just… I guess a normal day…” She moved away a little, playing her fingers along one of the collapsing shelving units. She suddenly seemed very interested in the dilapidated building about them, and she hoped that Dominic would stop asking about it. She had been the most excited by the idea that they might have super powers, and she supposed all that had meant was that she was the only one who wouldn’t get any. No matter how unintentional it was, she still felt as though she’d been cast out of the group. She’d never been actively unpopular in school. She was weird sure, and had her run in with bullies as most slightly weird kids do, but she wasn’t exactly unpopular. She’d even had a date to the prom. Yet she’d never quite fit in with everyone else. This was just confirmation of that. She forced a weak smile back onto her face, doing her best to seem excited for the others. “I guess I was just unlucky…” She glanced to the space she thought contained Mason, ”… or lucky…”

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[Mason Warner]

Training?

Mason pouted in mock offence. “Well, at least Saran-Man’s unique,” he huffed.

He was quite relieved that Dominic had drawn the focus away from Mason’s ineptitude for the moment, and was equally quite excited to see if Alice had developed a cool power. Maybe it was laser eyes. Mason hoped it was laser eyes.

Unfortunately Alice shrank away from the question, the disappointment weighing each word of her response down like a dejected anchor. It made Mason feel entirely guilty for the amount of resentment he had for his own power – at least he had one. His ability bought him instant access to an exclusive, thrilling club that Alice just couldn’t be a part of until her own powers surfaced. Mason was sure that they would. He could practically see the laser eyes already.

Her pathetic little smile was heart-breaking and her next words hit a little too close to home, causing Mason’s heart to twist painfully. He guessed she was talking about him, saying that she could be lucky not to have any powers. Clearly he hadn’t covered up the negative side of his power acquisition quite as well as he’d been outwardly trying to.

“Well, Will hasn’t started breathing fire yet either, maybe the doctor’s medicine just doesn’t work the same way on everyone,” he suggested. “I mean, that’s okay, you guys could be our number one fans cheering from the side-lines while we do the dangerous heroic stuff. You could have matching uniforms, maybe get together a little cheer routine…?”

He was trying his best to cheer her up in one of the only ways he knew how – joking excessively about ridiculous situations. Laughter was the best medicine, right?

ψ

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Mason Warner + Dominic Weaver

Dom winced. There was a moment of awful silence. It was only a second, but it seemed to stretch for a lifetime. Alice whirled around, one hand still gripping the shelving unit. Her fingers had gone white under the pressure. Her eyes were wide, and for the first time since Dominic and Mason had met her she looked… angry. Her voice was raised, and the fury was carried in her tone. “I’M SICK OF BEING ON THE SIDE-LINES” She would have gone further, but was interrupted when the shelving unit tore itself from her grasp, soared across the room like a leaping bronco, and proceeded to explode against the brick wall of the warehouse. Alice stared at her hand in horror, then with gradually mounting amazement and wonder. She had done that. She’d blasted the shelves across the room, something that was testified to by the sorry pile of crushed and twisted metal on the floor by the wall. She was still staring at her hand, turning it over to examine the back. It still seemed like her hand, no different to how it had been this morning… ..this morning. She’d fallen down the stairs, a long way, and she hadn’t even been bruised. She should have been bruised. Alice realised that she had been staring at her hand for several seconds, and looked up to the other two. She suddenly looked awkward, and guilty. “Mason… I guess I owe you an apology. Sorry I… got mad…” She began to grin, her good spirits returning as she realised what this meant. She was almost bouncing with joy and excitement by the time she managed to get actual words out, although calling them that may be too generous. “OhmyGodIcan’tbelieveIgotapower!”

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[Mason Warner]

Training?

There was no laughter, not even a polite chuckle from Dom. With a horrified intake of breath, Mason realised that he’d said entirely the wrong thing.

He stuttered and stammered wordlessly for a second before freezing up entirely. The silence was awkward and seemed to stretch on for an eternity – and then some. There was nothing he could think of that could take back what he’d said and turn it into something else; his words had clearly condemned Alice to being locked out of their cool superhero gang, after all. Even a simple apology seemed wrong… not enough, somehow.

Maybe he could quietly slip away, unnoticed in all his invisibility. Leave her to cool down.

No, that didn’t actually work in his experience. That was how he’d lost Jane, by letting her have those long “cooling down” moments. He knew now that she’d actually spent them sitting and simmering with disappointment, resentment, anger, whatever – building them up over time until she’d decided that Mason just wasn’t good enough for her any more. In the end, after years of thinking about it, he decided that she’d probably been a little bit right about that.

Thankfully he didn’t have the time to put together any kind of plea for forgiveness because Alice Morrow was angry and she was not going to be quiet about it.

He winced, glancing to Dom for any kind of guidance, and tried his best to think of something, anything to say. And then, suddenly, he heard a groan of metal and only just managed to whip his head round in time to see an entire shelving unit fly across the warehouse and explode in spectacular fashion against the brickwork.

“What the-”

He blinked. Pinched himself. Lightly, then firmly slapped himself.

“ALICE!” he exclaimed delightedly, running towards her. “You did it, you did it!”

He kind of hoped that she picked up on the fact that he was getting closer from the way his voice carried, because otherwise she was about to get an even huger shock than he was intending. Planting himself directly behind her, Mason wrapped both arms around her and lifted her into the air. It was even easier than he expected and he laughed delightedly as he swayed from side to side.

“Prom Queen, Prom Queen, Prom Queen, Prom Queen…”

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