Not Another Cinderella Story (lxngdon & MaryGold)

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M A S O N
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"That's horrid." Mason mumbled loud enough to be heard, speaking his mind a loud with no filter. And it was horrid. Harrison was horrid. It made sense why she'd ever start dating that repulsive asshole, though. As sad as it was, he couldn't see her going out with him any other way when she had half a mind. "They always are nice in the beginning."

He stared at the photo of Lainey and her family and smiled some. Whether they were wealthy or not, they looked truly happy in that moment. She looked truly happy, especially in contrast to know. He supposed that part of her must have gone missing when her boyfriend, Tristan died and she lost her capability to play tennis anymore.

He himself felt dampened to hear that, but he tried not to let that bother him too much. And he did not know what would be the more appropriate thing to say. "I'm sorry" wouldn't cut it even if he was and he was sorry.

"Where's your mum? I don't see her." He asked, frowning slightly, noticing her absence from the framed photo. Though he immediately regretted asking, if she wasn't in the picture it could only mean she wasn't there.

So, he tried moving on and erasing it with another question, "Where does your dad live now?"
 
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Lainey didn't know what it was that had made Harrison change. Was it the fact that she was so desperate to make him happy, to receive some form of validation from him, that he had become totally reliant on her devotion to him? Or was it because that he had won out against his dead brother, so he had grown bored of her? It could have been both.

Honestly, Lainey didn't care anymore. She was just glad to be gone, to be safe for the first time in years.

"My mother died when I was ten," she told Mason quietly, scratching the side of her nose. Lainey missed her mother Hilda horribly, like it was an aching pain in her chest. But like the real pain in her leg, she had grown used to it over time and it barely affected her anymore.

Though, sometimes, her longing for her mother would come forward again with all her other issues and she'd drown them in alcohol, like she had done for the last few years.

"She had cancer. My dad lives in Germany now," Lainey said, happy for the change of subject. "He doesn't leave much, only when Vasily and Piper drag him out on tour. Speaking of which, they'll be in town next week for Wimbledon."​
 
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Mason bit down on his bottom lip lightly, hearing what happened to her mother. Cancer. He couldn't imagine how painful that must have been on her and her family. And honestly, he couldn't tell if she had come to peace with it and moved on or not. She was a true mystery to him, though, it didn't take much to know she was still suffering.

"I'm sorry about your mother." He whispered barely above a breath.

He wished he could help her more somehow, and he would try. But, he himself would not to get himself together in order not to be a hypocrite. And he had been trying to put his pieces together for years now. He sighed deeply, glancing back to the photo of her family.

At the mention of her siblings coming into town, he sat straight up and smiled softly. "That's wonderful. You shall have to see them."

The reason why being s great amount due to what happened with her and Harrison. He doubted she'd tell them about her entire situation and what had occurred, but seeing them all the same would be good for her. Who knew how long it had been since she had seen them.
 
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Lainey pushed her thoughts of her mother out of her mind. She didn't need to dwell on the past, not when her future was looking so bright for the first time in years. Lainey finished folding her clothes and carefully slipped them away into the drawers her trophy rested upon.

"Yeah, I was worrying about ticket prices but they both got me VIP passes to the warm-ups, so I'll be able to watch them practice." Lainey was excited to see her brother and sister, but she was also sad, because she wasn't training with them.

"I ended up with two passes. I was meant to give one to Harrison, but ..." She shrugged and pulled the passes out of her bag. "He wouldn't have gone anyway."

No, Harrison had never been interested in her sport. He had patronised her for longing to play it after her injury.

"Would you like to come?" she asked Mason out of the blue, holding one of the passes, dangling from a blue lanyard, out to her friend. ​
 
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Mason did not know how much if a sports man he was when he was always more into music, but he did enjoy watching a good game when it came around. And Lainey was offering him a seat to one at the very moment. How could he refuse? He be an idiot to.

He nodded his head and took the offered pass from her hand, reading the seat position. "I would love to do nothing more. It sounds like fun."

He sighed, laying on his side and perching his head up with his hand. "The last live sports game I went to was for football." It was surprisingly fun cheering with the crowd and hind himself cheering for both teams. Of course, that had been years ago and he wasn't even ten at that time

"Thank you for the invite. I will try my very best to be worthy to have have brought along." He was joking, but he smiled genuinely sweet.
 
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Lainey smiled happy that he had agreed to come along. As much as tennis was her experience, she liked to share it with people, and doing so with Mason would be nice considering that Harrison had never given two fucks about anything that didn't benefit him in some way.

"That pass gets you into any game for the entire tournament. But I kind of need to work so I probably won't see all of them." She'd like to, but she needed to work for Mason so she could earn money to live on her own. She didn't want to bludge off him forever.

Even if she was starting to enjoy his company.

"I'm starving," she confessed. "Should we order dinner like you said?"

As if to back up her statement, Lainey heard her stomach growl.​
 
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"Oh! Of course," Mason chuckled softly and hopped onto his feet. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cellphone and looked through his saved contacts. He had saved most of his favorite restaurants there and so he easily found the one for Italian cuisine.

"What do you want? Or should we just order some kind of platter?" He asked, to be sure. His finger hovered over the dial button as he paced toward the door, but stopped in front of the door frame and turned to face her.

"I think I'm going to get some puttanesca for myself."

He pinched his lips and made a mental note to call Karoline. They may not be seeing each other right now because of her own ridiculous attitude, but she still had a right to know about Lainey's stay. And plus, if she found out on her own she'd probably find some dramatic untrue story to it too and explode.
 
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l a i n e y
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Lainey's first instinct was to ask to see the menu and then order the cheapest option available. And not just because that was what she had always done with Harrison -- no, because she had never had a lot of money. Even before Harrison, when she had a decent wage due to tennis, she would save it and never spend it as she was in the habit of not spending much money. All her savings had been blown to pay for her hospital bills.

But ... Mason was offering to pay for her dinner. And he was rich. And she could tell there would be some sort of disagreement if she declined so she rubbed her arm and gave him a small smile.

"I don't really mind, as long as I get some gnocchi. A platter would be nice. And maybe some garlic bread?"

As he went off to order, Lainey moved around her new bedroom, straightening things out and setting up her belongings. She didn't have much, but she plugged her phone in to charge on the nightstand and put her shampoo and conditioner in the shower, even though the most expensive of haircare products were already in there. She doubted she'd use them.

Throwing on a soft grey sweater, Lainey made her way out into the living room. It was so odd to be sitting in here as a guest and not a staff member. Well, technically, she still was a staff member. But she was more of a friend than a housekeeper.

And that was strange. Stranger than being free of Harrison.​
 
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Mason wandered into the living room only a few minutes after her. He glanced at her, not exactly finding it queer seeing her on the couch and not working. It was, however, different, though not an unwelcome difference. She was always working every time he saw her, naturally. So, he found it quite refreshing.

"The food should be here soon." He told her and crossed the room to where the kitchen lied. "So, you'll only have to starve a little bit longer."

Digging in the fridge, he sighed lightly and pulled out two cans of cola and a water bottle. He returned to set them down on the coffee table and joined her on the couch. He sank into his seat, rubbing his eyes gently. "Do you want to watch a movie or something? I have both Netflix and Xfinity so our options are pretty broad."

He picked up the remote and turned on the television.
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"I --"

Lainey was cut off when she heard the front door close. Her first wild thought was that the Italian place was here with their delivery but it had only been a couple of minutes, so that was impossible. Lainey didn't know who it could be, until the slim, perfect figure of Karoline came around the corner, her eyes fixed on her cell phone.

Fuck.

"Mason, I thought we could --" Karoline stopped, abruptly cut off when she looked away from her device to see Lainey sitting on the couch, her legs tucked up beneath her and looking at the model apprehensively, as if she thought this wasn't going to go well at all. Karoline looked flabbergasted, and she very slowly averted her gaze away from Lainey and to Mason.

"Are you fucking with me?" Karoline's voice was low and dangerously calm, but Lainey knew that voice. Harrison often had the same tone when he was about to explode.

"Please explain to me why she is here? I leave for eighteen seconds and I come home to find you with the fucking housekeeper? Unless you were fucking her the entire time, that's the only thing that makes sense to me right now."

"We --"

Karoline shot Lainey a filthy look, as if to say don't you fucking dare. Lainey quieted down at once.​
 
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"Karoline, stop it, please."
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Mason ran his fingers through his hair stressfully. He had planned to call his girlfriend later, but apparently, that was no longer needed. And of course, she had to jump to the same conclusion that he was cheating on her. Could he not have female friends without her accusing him of sleeping with them behind her back. It was rather upsetting to see how much trust she put in him.

He dropped his feet down onto the floor and off the coffee table. Reaching with one hand, he gave Lainey's hand a light squeeze to give her some sense of comfort. But it was short lasted, for he didn't want Karoline to get any more upset and yell at Lainey. So, he stood up and approached her.

"Kari, listen to me. This is not what you believe. And I can explain it to you if you'll allow me to. Just, please stop jumping to that conclusion."

He was being cautious with her, or as cautious as one could be. He placed a hand on the small of her back, ready to lead her out if the room and to one they'd both find privacy. Which would also be good for Lainey's case because somehow he was sure Karoline would keep blaming her for everything wrong.
 
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k a r o l i n e
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Karoline looked like she was about to explode when Mason squeezed Lainey's hand. But it was short-lasted so she didn't say anything, and instead grabbed Mason's hand and pulled him up the stairs and into his bedroom. There, Karoline dropped her bag on the ground and grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him closer and pressing her full lips down on his.

Karoline was very good at getting what she wanted out of Mason because she was beautiful, but also enticing in the way that she drew people in. And with her innocent-looking face and sweet temperament -- when she wasn't being psychotic -- people just wanted to give her what she wanted.

And Mason had always been smitten.

After a few seconds of passionate lip-locking, Karoline pulled away, dropped back to her normal height and bit her lip, looking up at Mason through her thick eyelashes.

"I love you." Not 'I'm sorry', because she wasn't. In Karoline's mind, she and her immature actions were completely justified. "If you send her home now ..."

Her hands traveled down his chest and the tips of her fingers rested on the waistband of his jeans.

"... I can make it up to you."​
 
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"Karoline, please. We need to talk." Mason murmured.

The singer inhaled a shaky breath, eyes closed, he took her hand and forced her to sit down on the edge of the bed. There was no way possible this conversation was going to go smoothly, but he couldn't give into her wants. Not this time. He had to have some control, some will power. If not for Lainey's sake, than for himself.

He ran his finger through his hair, slowly but surely regaining his composure. How was he supposed tp say this and not piss her of further? She had only just come back and he didn't want to lose her so soon again.

"I, um, was going to call you, but it was a lot." He paced the floor in front of her for a moment before taking a seat beside. "Lainey's staying here for a little while."

Before she could say anything, he quickly went on. Which was facile with the boost of anxiety he was starting to feel. He was being overly anxious, but he couldn't help it. He truly couldn't. "She had some major trouble at her old house and has nowhere else to go. She's my friend, I couldn't leave her."

He took both of her hands in his own and though it was difficult to look in the eyes, he did. Green met blue. "I know you don't like this, but please understand."​
 
k a r o l i n e
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Karoline remained perfectly still and perfectly silent as Mason explained the situation with Lainey. She kept an impassive look on her face, but on the inside, her brain was working overtime to try and find a way to get the housekeeper out, for good. She wasn't going to let some Hungarian peasant take her man.

"You ... you invited her to stay with us." Us, even though she had no legal hold on this house. She wasn't even engaged to Mason. The only things she owned in this house were her clothes and makeup.

Karoline knew she needed to tread carefully here, because if she pushed Mason too hard, she'd break him entirely and he'd push her away. And she needed him, but not in the same way he'd like.

Kari licked her lips and looked up at him, blinking her glossy eyes. "How long is she staying?" she asked in a neutral tone -- not pleasant or unpleasant, just mildly curious.

"And where is she staying? Is she still cleaning for us?" Us. "I mean, she can't just stay here and freeload. She could just be using you. It's not that far out of the realm of possibility."​
 
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"She's not using me." Mason could say that with confidence because he was absolutely sure of himself. After all, that occurred today, knowing and seeing what she had endured for years. Her personality said otherwise as well. He knew it since day one. They hadn't known each other too long, but he knew her.

He was glad that she was freaking out about the ordeal any longer. He couldn;t read her voice or face at all. Maybe it was the quiet before the storm? Whatever it was, he'd take it because he could use this call exterior she was putting on. "She'll be staying until she can get back up on her feet."

He ran his finger through his curled hair once more, trying his best to settle down. She wasn't angry anymore. Well, it looked that way. "She's staying in Margot's old bedroom." Margot. His sister. He wished he could speak to her now, she always knew the right things to do and say.

"And yes, she'll be working. She does have to make money." Of course, he;d prefer her to wait a few days before going back to work. With all she went through and she was still injured.​
 
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Karoline knew that there was no way she could get her own way here, not today at least. And despite the irrational persona she kept, she was intelligent. And very, very malicious. She knew how to get her own way.

And she knew that some things could take time. She was patient.

"Fine," Kari huffed, standing up and crossing to the dresser opposite the bed. She took out her dangly earrings, kicked off her heeled boots and shrugged out of her dress, leaving her in her bra and underwear, as if to remind Mason what he could be losing if he didn't tread carefully. "But she can't stay here forever."

Karoline crossed to the wardrobe, pulled out a pair of shorts and a tank top and shrugged them on, before returning to Mason and sitting in his lap as if he were her throne.

"I really do love you," she told him in a soft, kind voice. "I go crazy sometimes because I don't want to lose you. You know that, right? That I only want you?"

Lies. Karoline only cared about herself.​
 
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"Yes, of course," Mason tried offering her a reassuring smile with the nod of his head. His heart was not all there, and he was starting to wonder if it was ever there. And if Karoline's heart was truly there for him because he was uncertain if it was at times. Looking into her eyes, they weren't very empathetic.

He slid her off of his lap after a moment and stood back onto his feet. "She'll be here just until she has a place to settle in." He reminded her carefully, rubbing his fingers over his right scarred wrist. He no longer wished to pace the floor or have to be cautious with Karoline in fear he'd upset her again and she may storm out.

However, he was pretty damn proud of himself at his skills in handling the situation. Usually, he was the one who had to give in to her wants and needs, but not today. This time he had something - someone important to stand up for. And if he could have done it against Harrison, then it only made sense he succeed with his own girlfriend, right?

"I'm going back down," He doubted she liked to he was going back to sit with Lainey, so he quickly added, "I ordered Italian before you came over, the delivery should be here soon."

"Join us when you're ready." He pointed his thumb toward the door and exited, breathing in a happy gulp of air as he made his way down the stairs and into the living room.
 
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Lainey had put on The Conjuring and stayed quiet as Mason and Karoline disappeared, hugging her knees to her chest as she waited for them to come back. She kept her gaze on the screen, though her mind was elsewhere. No, how could she concentrate on the movie when there was so much more to think about?

As much as she disliked Karoline and her general personality, Lainey did not want to be responsible for their breakup. Even if it would be incredibly beneficial for Mason. Because she knew Karoline would find some way to make it her fault, even if Lainey had nothing directly to do with it.

And Mason had helped her so much. The last thing Lainey wanted was for anything bad to happen to him.

Mason came back downstairs and Lainey opened her mouth to say something but Karoline came down right after him, shutting Lainey up entirely. Karoline took Mason's hand, tugged him onto the couch -- as far away from Lainey as possible -- and sat in his lap, looping her arms around his shoulders and kissing him on the neck.

"You're watching a horror movie?" Karoline asked Lainey, closing her eyes and turning it away. "Can you turn it off, please? I get scared quite easily."

Lainey didn't know if that was true or not but she didn't want to start an argument so she turned The Conjuring off and handed the remote to Karoline. She took it and put Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on, which Lainey didn't mind. She liked Harry Potter.​
 
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Mason kept quiet seeing how there really wasn't much to say at all. Karoline wasn't exactly being kind or using proper etiquette with their guest. In her mind, Lainey probably wasn't even a guess, but an intruder. However, she wasn't being terrible or incredibly rude like before.

This was the best he could get, and he wasn't going to ruin it by complaining. And Lainey looked content with the movie too, so he sat back and watched until he heard the ringing of the doorbell. The delivery man had arrived with their dinner and an excuse for Mason to get up and go.

He dropped Karoline onto the couch swiftly, but carefully and left them to bring back their Italian meal. And to accommodate them all, the dirty blonde also added a few cold cans of cola to the table. Luckily, they had ordered the platter making it more than enough for Karoline too. It was pleasant to know she couldn't throw a fit over that.

"I'll be out for a little bit tomorrow," Mason said, hoping to spark a nonhostile conversation. He didn't quite fancy a silent dinner. "I'm going to practice and work on some songs with Ted at his house." Shrugging his shoulder he casually twirled his fork in his puttanesca pasta.
 
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Lainey happily leaned forward and scooped some gnocchi onto her plate from the platter, adding a small slice of lasange too, since there was a lot and Lainey didn't often get to indulge herself like this. Well, she hadn't been able to with Harrison, anyway. She set her plate on a cushion and tucked in.

Karoline, who had settled for some seafood fettuccine, settled into place beside Mason and raised an eyebrow at his statement. Lainey was starting to view the French model as a bit of a ticking time bomb -- she had no idea when Karoline would go off in a screaming fit like she had in the supermarket. She had no idea when she would lose her temper.

And Lainey had a suspicion that Mason felt navigating his way around his girlfriend was equivalent to walking on hot coals. That made Lainey sad, since that was how she had always been around Harrison. Until today. Until Mason had saved her.

"You working on a new song, sweetie?" Karoline inquired sweetly. Lainey was constantly surprised and slightly intimidated by Karoline's spectacular mood swings. Sometimes she was an angel, and others she was literally Satan. Lainey had no idea how Mason had put up with her for so long.

Karoline looked at Lainey. "Do you like Mason's music?" she inquired innocently.

"Yeah, I think it's great." Lainey was honest, but she didn't know if that was the right answer.

Karoline hummed and turned back to her food with a slightly satisfied look in her eyes. ​
 
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