chloe = when you let your heart win

[MASON MIEL CAIN]

OUTFIT

Mason wasn't waiting up for Chloe, he was just watching tv, and not tired. That's what he was telling himself anyway. But truth be told, he was waiting for Chloe. Not like she had a curfew, or like he had nay sort of power over her life, but he couldn't help himself. And he wasn't sure which was worse, if she cme back devastated or didn't come back at all. He begrudgingly figured at least one of them should be getting some, but the mop head who'd driven away with her wasn't on his good list yet.

The guy was obviously important, given Chloe's nerves, and Mason didn't know how to feel yet. He disliked the guy on principle, still miffed by the wave-- not that he was entirely sure how to read that.

He'd made himself a frozen dinner and watched the game like a basic American male and waited. As the night wore on, he grabbed some pajamas, a gag gift from their dad, who was constantly pointing out the differences between himself, the intellectual, and Mason, the hands on type. There was a marathon of Mythbusters on and so he made himself a bowl of popcorn and waited.

Eventually, he heard a car and contemplated hiding away so Chloe wouldn't know he'd been up. But he stayed put until he heard the door open and looked up. Chloe was in a ridiculous and oversized sweatshirt that made him nervous that she might not have on anything else. She looked a glow... Mason cleared his throat and tried to stay calm. "Have fun?"

[CHLOE ALICE CAIN]

The night had been insane. The last thing Chloe had expected when going to meet Sam's grandmother was for the woman to point out the attraction between the two of them that they had both been blind to. That was exactly how it had turned out, though. Mormor, Sam's Swedish grandmother, had taken one look at Chloe an begun teasing Sam about his stupidity for allowing the girl to remain nothing but a friend. It hadn't occurred to Chloe to mind that that was all she was until the woman had pointed it out.

In the space of a few hours, Chloe had gone from spending the evening with her best friend to making out with him and calling him her boyfriend. While the turn of events had been surprising, it had certainly been enjoyable. Now that she'd returned home, though, the implications were starting to sink in. After kissing Sam goodbye, she skipped up the steps, careful to let herself into the house quietly. Once she made it to the other side of the door, though, she realized that her brother hadn't gone to bed. A bemused smile crept onto her face as she closed the door and turned to face him.

Clearly, the events of the evening had left her pleasantly glowing, and her brother had known her long enough to pick up on the change in her demeanor. Her initial reaction was to make her way to her bedroom without filling him in on the details. But her brother was trying to repair their relationship, and she owed it to him to try. Letting out a contented sigh, she wandered into the living room and curled up on the end of the couch. "I had a fantastic evening," she told him, grinning so hard her face hurt. "But you didn't have to wait up on me."

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[MASON MIEL CAIN]

Mason continued to keep himself together. Maybe they hadn't had sex, he'd just keep telling himself that. Maybe it was true? But maybe not. He knew he'd made her mad a few days ago and he didn't want to piss her off. "Well, I couldn't help it." He admitted with a smile. "I'm glad you had a good time." He said, and that was true. Chloe deserved to be happy. And if this guy made her happy, maybe he could come to grips with the whole idea.

"So,you gonna tell me anything about this guy?" Mason asked, trying not to pry too much. But he did figure he was entitled to at least the guys name and what he was like, right? Mason could guess a bit based on her sweatshirt, which he now understood as a sexual reference, which made him clear his throat again before shoveling some popcorn in.

The mythbusters didn't give him much of a reprieve though as they started they would be testing the effectiveness of the pull out method. Mason sighed and shook his head with a little chuckle. "And please tell me you're wearing something under that dress of a sweatshirt..." He said.

[CHLOE ALICE CAIN]

To his credit, her brother was behaving remarkably well for someone who had had to digest his little sister's becoming an adult so quickly. When he'd left, she'd been shy, awkward, and single. Now that he was back, she wasn't so shy, she was still hopelessly awkward, and she suddenly wasn't single at all. Biting her bottom lip, she suppressed a grin as Mason admitted that he couldn't help waiting up for her. Just days ago, she might have been upset by the thought, assuming he meant to treat her like a child. As it was, though, she was glad to have him here to talk to. Especially since his good mood seemed to be lingering.

She hadn't been entirely sure whether talking about her relationship with Sam was a good idea. It made it all so much more real. But Mason was probably the best person to help her hash things out. Blushing furiously, she turned her eyes up to meet her brother's. "His name is Sam. I know I told you that earlier. He's... um... well, he's pretty much amazing. He's basically been my best friend for the last few years. He's helped me get through some tough spots when... um... while you were gone. He's ridiculous and funny and always in a good mood, which definitely helps..." Biting her bottom lip, she glanced away from her brother, trying to figure out what else she could add. What was really pertinent in this situation? Holding her breath, she willed herself to spill the details of the evening.

Letting out a huge puff of breath, she hesitantly met Mason's eyes. "He grew up with his grandmother, and I went to meet her tonight," she started, anxiety bubbling in her stomach. "She told him he was stupid for letting me be just his friend for this long... And he... We... um... We realized that she was right. It was stupid..." Chloe trailed off, her eyes dancing around the room, and her fingers busy toying with her hair. This was the part where things got complicated and she didn't know what to say. Finally, she forced her eyes to meet her brother's, her gaze serious but surely betraying her anxiety. "I really like him," she murmured softly.

Maybe that told her brother what he wanted to know, but she wasn't entirely sure. Especially when she felt his tension increase as he registered the subject of the Mythbusters episode he was watching. Her eyes flickered toward the screen and she had just long enough to figure out what they were talking about before he demanded to know whether she was wearing anything under Sam's sweatshirt. Rolling her eyes, she let out a short chuckle. Of course her brother would be concerned about her sex life. "Because I've obviously become such a slut since you left," she retorted. Still, just to appease him, she stood and lifted the hem of the sweatshirt until it revealed the dress she'd left home in hours ago. "Happy?" she muttered, shaking her head at him and resuming her seat.

[MASON MIEL CAIN]

Mason smiled. He wanted to hate Sam on principle, but it sounded like he really did make Chloe happy. Of course he was sad but not surprised that she'd needed someone while he was gone, but he tried to just be glad that Chloe had found someone who had been good to her, helped her, looked out for her and loved her... He blushing gave it all away and he had to admit, it was nice to see her happy and not worrying about him, or mad at him.

The guy lived with his grandmother, that was a nice touch. He chuckled at the mention of the grandmother matchmaking them, usually it took an outsider.... Mason wondered if maybe Chloe could be that for him if he ever saw Caim again. He rather liked her and he had no idea what she was feeling at all--in fact, she'd been avoiding him. Chloe would make a good secret weapon...

Mason laughed at her comment, but was glad to see the dress. "I didn't say you were a slut, I'm still your big brother." If she were married he still would feel weird knowing she was having sex. That was just how it worked with siblings. Not that Chloe ever planned to get married-- which Mason felt mixed on.

"I'm glad he makes you happy Clo," Mason said with a smile, putting a strong arm around her in a side hug. The least he could do was be supportive. "And I'll try to be nice to him." he said with a chuckle. They both knew he was protective and doing surprisingly well here.

[CHLOE ALICE CAIN]

She wasn't entirely sure what to expect. After all, it had been five years since Chloe had had the opportunity to tell her brother about a guy she was crushing on. As her big brother, he could go either way, becoming fiercely protective or genuinely being happy that someone could make her feel this way. When he didn't immediately react, she found herself becoming anxious. While she could sense his emotions, she could never really tell when he might come out with something that would surprise her. As it was, though, she could tell that somewhere underneath his mix of concern and support for his sister was some kind of suspiciously crush-like feeling of his own. She was tempted to ask about it, but was promptly distracted by his question about the oversized hoodie.

It was surprisingly easy to be frustrated with Mason. She wanted to think that things would be happy, fun, and carefree now that he was home, but more often than not, they seemed to be finding things to frustrate one another over. Of course the biggest and most frustrating thing was the way he still treated her like the little sister he'd left behind. He did have a point, though. Regardless of how long he'd been gone and how much they'd both changed, he was and always would be her big brother. As such, he would probably always be a little freaked out by the idea that she was sleeping with someone, even if his only evidence was a hoodie so large that it covered the rest of her clothing. Shaking her head, she stuck her tongue out at him. "Yeah, yeah. Imagine how I feel. At least you can pretend you don't know I've had sex," she told him, giggling.

Cuddling against her brother, Chloe let herself relax enough to actually think about her feelings. Things had been such a blur since the first kiss she and Sam had shared on his grandmother's porch. She'd felt such a rush of emotions that she wasn't entirely sure she was happy until her brother pointed it out. Letting out a contented sigh, she offered him a grin. "You'd better be," she replied. "He's coming to my birthday party." After a moment's hesitation during which she wondered whether she ought to actually mention the crush-like feelings she'd noticed earlier, she added softly, "You know... You can bring a date, too..."

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[MASON MIEL CAIN]

Mason chuckled and covered his ears playfully, "Ah don't tell me these things." He teased. He knew she wasn't a virgin, but that didn't make him worry less. It almost made him worry more. In any case though, obviously he'd had sex but he knew he'd never flat out told her probably. Then again, his emotions had probably given him away at the time anyway. And he was far too old to still be a virgin.

Mason put his arm around her as she cuddled into his chest, thankful for a little love. They seemed to fight a lot these days, but nothing they couldn't handle. He laughed, of course Sam was coming to her party. He wasn't an idiot. He would have said something about the matter but then she slowly told him he could bring a date to her birthday party. "What?" He said first, a chuckle following. "First off, who on earth would I invite?" Secondly, who brought a date to his sister's birthday party?

Of course, i he could choose, he would invite Caim. She had stopped by and told him to meet up with her friends at the festival. That was a start right?

[CHLOE ALICE CAIN]

Chloe wasn't stupid. She knew that her brother didn't want to think about her sex life any more than she wanted to think about his. Even so, it was amusing to see him squirm. Chloe giggled as her brother clapped his hands over his ears as if he could keep from hearing what she was telling him. She shook her head, sending her hair cascading around her, and rolled her eyes. She'd missed this more than she'd realized.

The moment had gotten so comfortable that Chloe was almost hesitant to mention the feelings she'd picked up on. But whoever the girl was that had been making her brother happy had to know she was doing so, and if she didn't, it was about time she found out. Letting out a sigh, Chloe rolled her eyes at her brother's nonchalance. Obviously he knew that she could pick up on the change in his moods, so it wasn't as if she wouldn't have noticed enough to suspect that there was a girl involved. "You. Bring a date. To my party," she told him again slowly. "And I'd start by asking that girl who keeps you in such a good mood." There. She'd voiced her assumptions. Now she just had to hope he was willing to discuss it. Or at least feeling gutsy enough to consider asking the girl. As it was, though, he seemed to be feeling a little unsettled by the idea.

Frowning at him, she let out a little huff. "That's what I want for my birthday. For you to bring whoever this girl is to the party. You don't even have to tell her that it's for my birthday! Just tell her we're having some friends for dinner or something." Shrugging, Chloe offered her brother a hopeful smile. It could work, right?

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[MASON MIEL CAIN]

Mason knew she'd figure it out eventually and he sighed, licking his lips a little nervously. Then she went so far as t say that he had to give her that for her birthday. Mason chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, thinking what to say. Of course he'd love to bring Caim, have them meet, but wasn't Key younger than Chloe? Probably. Chloe would hate that. "There is a girl." he said, letting her know she did at least get that right.

"But you won't approve," Mason said with a grin, something was satisfying about knowing it would push her buttons. "Either way, I doubt it'll turn into anything." he said. They were both damaged and the age difference and the talk that would happen.. it hardly seemed like a good idea. On the other hand, maybe they needed each other.

"She doesn't know I like her in any case and its probably not a good idea to tell her..." Though the moment they had in the shop a few days before proved something was there.