Chewing into the sweet meaty sausages, Mason frowned as he eyed his phone. It wasn't even eight in the morning and he was up, eating and getting ready for the day.

Against the smart side of his brain that enjoyed sleep, Mason had the brilliant thought last night to get up really early in the morning so he could be awake for most of the day. However, he would be spending more of the day relaxing. He was going to be very relaxed if he slept the entire day. 

But, the benefit of being up so early was having his mother make him food. Her specialty was breakfast and Mason was not ashamed to bat his unusually long eyelashes and open his big eyes even wider to get the best that she could make.

With the large plate in front of Mason now, he liked to think that he was successful. His father was up as well, plate smaller than his, and was eating at a decent pace, unlike Mason, because he had knowledge that the clock was ticking.

He actually had somewhere to be so early in the morning, like his wife, and couldn't spend the precious time staring off into the distance while slowly chewing on a sausage. One could guess who was doing exactly as is being described. Mr. Moore did have time, however, to speak to his son and get an update on his new nursing program. So his question went as such:

"So, Mason, how has the program been so far?" He asked softly, taking a moment to wipe his mouth clean of the slight grease. "You've gone to two lessons, correct?"

Mason nodded, sitting up straight in his seat as he tried to bring his mind to the conversation and away from whatever daze he was in.

"Yeah. The classes have been really great so far. Mrs. Adams is even more amazing than you would think and I feel like I'm learning a lot." Mason quickly explained, a bright albeit tired smile coming on to his face. "It is also extra fun because Mark's my partner during activities."

While his father had been interested before, hearing that Mark was Mason's partner had him perking up, his brows raising up to his hairline. Mason wanted to laugh at the several folds of skin it created but became suspicious of the expression.

Mason's mother, who had quietly been checking emails all morning, joined in the conversation.

"Mark is your partner, huh? I didn't even know that he was attending the program too." Mrs. Moore commented, grinning as she ate her eggs. Mason frowned at her odd tone but shrugged. 

"I guess I forgot to tell you. But, yeah, he is. The partners were organized randomly and at first. I was paired up with this guy named Tobias. Then Mark came up, that was the first time I saw him there and the moment I found out he was going. He explained that we got switched and we were now partners." Mason quickly explained, not wanting his parents to think that he had asked Mark or anything. "They haven't been changed since."

"Huh." His father hummed, looking at his wife with a smirk. "How convenient."

When his parents began to exchange creepy looks, Mason got fed up.

"Okay, what is this about? Can you just come out and say it?" Mason blurted, cheeks puffing out from his frustration. His mom just shrugged.

"I just think that it's either a very convenient story, or Mark was pulling some strings in the background." His mother admitted, not seeming ashamed of her thoughts in the slightest.

Mason wanted to respond, but he was distracted by the thought of Mark working to get him as a partner, and the blush spread on his cheeks. Mason began to quickly stutter out a response when his mother started to grin righteously. 

"I really don't think that he did, mom." Mason sighed out tiredly, looking down as an attempt to hide his blush. "But even if he did, it doesn't mean anything. I'm his only friend there, why wouldn't he want us to be paired up."

"Oh come on, Mason. We both know how much you like that boy and we think that he would be a very nice boy for you." His father finally said, looking back at his wife who was nodding in approval. "It's a much better idea than looking for random girls and boys with your friends at those clubs-"

"Dad!" Mason yelled out. Desperate to stop his father from finishing his sentence. His father simply shrugged, his action and expression very similar to the one that his mother used minutes earlier. 

"I'm not lying. It is true. Isn't it honey?" Mason’s mother was once again nodding in agreement to the words falling out of Mason's father's mouth. "Mason likes to look for girlfriends and boyfriends while he is out club-"

Mason didn't try to cut him off this time. He simply stood and made as if he were going to run up to his room with his breakfast in tow. His parents laughed heartily, but his father no longer talked about one of the many ways Mason looked for new people to date. It was only when the opportunity arose, Mason told himself. It wasn't the worst way.

"Fine, fine. I'll stop bringing it up." His father vowed, one heart on his chest and the other raised to show three fingers pointed up. He never did convince Mason and his older brother Aiden to join, no matter how much he raved about the program. "Scouts honour. What are you going to do today, then?"

Mason shrugged, taking a bit of some of the omelette that his mother cooked. A smile came onto his face from the taste before he answered his father's question.

"Not much. I think I'm going to spend most of the day making a post for my second Instagram account." Mason told him, speaking around the food that he began to swallow. "I'm feeling kind of artsy right now so I think it would be a good time to make another one."

His father nodded his head while his mother lit up. She always loved Mason's little hobby. It wasn't much but as a lover of anything artistic, it made her happy to see her son finding a creative way of expressing himself. 

His father simply liked him doing something with his mind that involved him thinking at all. Mason knew that his father secretly feared that he and Aiden would grow to do nothing but watch videos all day and not engage their minds. Mason was simply lucky that his father thought that this counted as something remotely productive. 

Mason loved design and the way that colours and patterns could come together to create beautiful things. His second Instagram page was like an "aesthetic" account where he chose a colour palette for the month and posted collages, edits, anything that looked cool and fit the palette. He would usually end up creating a collage filled with photos that he found or took. 

And, as a fun bonus, Mason liked to find cool songs to play on top of the stuff that he posted. That lets him explore dozens of different genres and styles that he never would have thought to, as well as discover cool artists that aren't household names.

It could take him hours to days to create and finish a post, but the process was always fun and very satisfying. It was probably the moments where his father found him propped up in front of his laptop, clicking and working away for hours on end while he edited and stared, that convinced him that this was good for his son to do.

His mother regularly suggested that he found a career where he could use these skills, but Mason was satisfied to keep it as a hobby. The three talked over breakfast for a few minutes more before Mason's parents had to leave to get ready for the workday ahead. Nearly an hour later when the two left the house, Mason waved them off, not sticking around 30 seconds longer before he headed up to his room to work. 

—————

Mason leaned back with a sigh, staring at the two images in front of him. He was now met with a fork in the road, a dilemma that he doubted he had the mental energy to solve. He quickly reached for his phone, opening it to message the one person he knew he could always go-to for these matters.

You

Daniel!!!

Mason waited in front of his phone with bated breath, eyes moving all over the screen as if Daniel's reply could come from any nook or corner. Mason had to wait for nearly FIVE MINUTES but Daniel eventually replied, although he did do it sassily.

Danny Boy 😉😉

What u want!!!

Not so fun being on the receiving end huh?

Mason rolled his eyes but did his best to keep that attitude out of his response.

You

I need advice!

I'm making another post and I'm having trouble deciding which version I want to use.

Daniel was far more excited this time around and replied almost instantly.

Danny Boy 😉😉

You mean for M&M's corner? 

I always thought that you should have used that name for a show that you and Mark created together.

That doesn't really matter

Let me see the photos!

Mason smiled while he quickly sent the two versions to Daniel. Daniel seemed to love this type of stuff nearly as much as Mason did, and was always willing to share his opinion and help since he was an avid follower of the page.

He and nearly 500,000 others lived and died and lived again every time Mason posted, to the point where Mason had to wonder if he was that good or were people that simple. Not to mention dealing with how odd the internet had become.

The comments that people had put under these things were so odd that Mason felt the need to wash his eyeballs after reading the comments nearly every time. 

As Mason worked on the images for the next half hour, he continued to consult Daniel on details he had trouble deciding on himself. Mason sighed when he found himself texting Daniel for the fourth time.

You

Okay

I swear this is the last time I'm messaging you

Danny Boy 😉😉

Wut is it?

You

Should I cover the whole image with an orange hue to make it look more uniform or leave it as is?

I feel like leaving it keeps the integrity of the images more but I really like how it looks with the orange on top as well.

Mason quickly sent over the two images, nibbling on his nails as he waited.

Danny Boy 😉😉

I like it with the orange better. 

I feel like the vibe is better and will work well with the song that you picked.

That was all Mason needed to hear. He spent another twenty minutes finalizing the two photos that he would post, using the same song on both which was "Tell Me" by PJ.

The feeling of satisfaction rolling over Mason was heavy as he uploaded the images onto the account. A small smile appeared on his face when, in seconds, he started to see the notifications for likes on the photos.

Mason took a couple of minutes to read some of the first comments that came up. Such as, "This is so satisfying", "I love your posts!", and the ever classic "I love the way that you edit these photos. It is just so sexy and it really turns me on @M&Mscorner I wish you could fix me like that."

Mason almost wanted to reply to that last one with "In the words of the so talented PJ, I'm good." He refrained though because he learned from experience that one of two things could happen in response to his reply. The person would either die from embarrassment or flirt even harder knowing that Mason noticed their comment. It was simply better to ignore it and move on- oh hello~

Mason's attention was caught when he noticed that Mark had just liked his photo. And he commented on it. Mason eagerly read the message, biting his lips as he carefully looked over the words. 

"'This is dope.'" Mason whispered, repeating the words as if they were sent from the almighty themselves. His blissful happiness was short-lived when a thought suddenly dawned on him. "Oh my god, I forgot that he looks at these!"