Never Yours, Childhood Boy

After quietly being in love with Mason for six years, I decided it was time to tell him. Holding the necklace he had pointed out in a shop window three months ago, I invited him over to my place, fully prepared to confess. Halfway through, Mason abandoned me because of a phone call, turning me into an absolute laughingstock in front of everyone. Later, I found out the call was from his younger classmate. Everyone could see Mason had a thing for this sophomore, and somehow, I became labeled as the homewrecker. The next day, I cornered him. "You left me standing all alone in front of everyone." He blinked. "Could you stop being so dramatic?" In that exact second, my six-year crush was completely over. That night, I deleted his number and cut him out of my life for good. Yet when another guy confessed his feelings to me later, Mason gripped my wrist so tightly, begging and saying he regretted everything. "Hey, Mason, when are you getting here?" Clutching my phone, I asked in a playful, teasing tone, waiting for his response. A moment later, Mason's slightly indulgent voice came through the speaker. "Almost there. Ten minutes. What's gotten into you today? You've rushed me over and over. What, got a surprise for me?" "You'll see when you get here." I hung up right after saying that, terrified that if I stayed on the line any longer, he'd guess I was about to confess my feelings. I had known Mason for six years, and I had been hopelessly in love with him for just as long. I first met Mason back in high school when his family moved in next door to mine. Back then, I was chubby and constantly mocked by our peers, which left me deeply insecure. The first time I saw Mason, I instinctively hung my head, terrified he would laugh at me just like the rest of them. But he didn't. Not only did he not make fun of me, he actually chased off the bullies who were giving me a hard time. In that instant, Mason became a beam of light that illuminated my entire youth. For six years, I stayed right behind him, running as fast as I could just to keep pace with his footsteps. Now, we were about to graduate from college, so I finally worked up the courage to tell him how I felt. Looking around at the venue I had meticulously decorated, I could already picture his reaction. I truly believed this wasn't just unrequited love. Over all these years, the way Mason treated me had long crossed the line of ordinary friendship. That was the only reason I felt brave enough to plan this grand confession. Suppressing my racing heartbeat, I waited for Mason's arrival with eyes full of anticipation. Soon, a familiar silhouette appeared not far away. I recognized Mason instantly and sprinted over to him. Mason looked at me with a warm smile, and I couldn't wait to pull him straight to the center of the setup. He glanced at the surrounding decorations, and a flicker of hesitation crossed his face. Noticing his strange expression, I instinctively asked with concern, "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?" Mason forced a strained smile and shook his head. "No, Mandy, what is all this...?" He pointed toward the decorations around us, waiting for my answer. Blushing, I lowered my head, took a deep breath, and boldly looked into his eyes. "Mason, we've known each other for six years, and you've always taken such good care of me. I set this place up today because I wanted to tell you... I li—" "Ring ring ring!" A piercing ringtone cut me off mid-sentence. It was Mason's phone. Mason pulled out his phone, glanced at the caller ID, and answered immediately. "Hello, Natalie? What happened? Okay, I'm heading over right now. Just wait for me." The moment he hung up, without sparing a single glance for the completely lost and bewildered me, he turned and rushed off. I reached out and grabbed the hem of his jacket. He looked back, guilt flickering in his eyes as he stammered, "Look, Mandy, something urgent came up. We'll... talk later, okay?" With that, he yanked his jacket from my grip and strode away. I was left standing there alone, staring blankly in the direction he had disappeared. It took a long time for me to snap out of it. Staring at everything I had poured my heart into preparing, not a single piece of it had mattered. Feeling utterly hollow, I began packing up the decorations, a gnawing discomfort twisting in my gut. Just what kind of emergency could have made Mason so frantic? And... this "Natalie" he mentioned, who on earth was she?By the time I finished packing up everything alone, an hour had already slipped by. I took out my phone and dialed Mason's number. After a few rings, the call was abruptly declined. Staring at the black screen, I refused to give up and dialed again. This time, an automated voice told me the phone was switched off. I sent him several messages, but they vanished like stones dropped into the bottom of the ocean, receiving no reply. When I returned to the dorm, my roommates weren't there. I washed my face and collapsed onto my bed, utterly drained. A little while later, one of my roommates walked back in. Seeing me lying there, she asked with a puzzled look, "Mandy, did you and Mason have a massive fight or something?" I looked up. "What do you mean? Why do you ask?" She pulled her phone out of her bag, scrolling through it as she explained, "Well, I went to the aquarium with my boyfriend today, and I saw Mason with a girl. They looked super close. I even snapped a picture... hold on, let me find it..." She handed me her phone. The moment my eyes landed on the intimate pair on the screen, a sharp pain stabbed through my heart. In the photo, Mason was tilting his head, his eyes brimming with tenderness as he gazed at the girl beside him. The girl was wearing a long blue dress, one hand looped securely around Mason's arm while the other pointed at the jellyfish drifting ahead. They looked utterly perfect together. I had seen that girl before. She was an underclassman in Mason's department named Natalie. Mason had mentioned her to me once. He said she was exceptionally bright and that he really admired her. Back then, I hadn't paid any attention to the subtle look in his eyes when he talked about her. As it turned out, the clues had been there all along. I handed the phone back to my roommate. Taking it, she asked with deep concern, "Mandy, are you okay?" I parted my lips, my voice trembling as I replied, "I'm fine, Chloe. Around what time did you see them?" Chloe thought for a moment. "The aquarium opens at eight-thirty. I'm pretty sure I saw them around nine-thirty. Why?" Nine-thirty. I remembered clearly that Mason had taken that phone call at nine. That meant the person on the other end was Natalie, and Mason's so-called "emergency" was nothing more than keeping her company at the aquarium. Tears spilled uncontrollably from my eyes. Looking heartbroken for me, Chloe gently wiped them away. Once I managed to steady my breathing, I whispered to her, "Chloe, can I borrow your phone for a second? I need to make a call." Without hesitation, Chloe pressed her phone back into my hand. I dialed the number I knew by heart. This time, it picked up almost immediately. "Hello? Who is this?"Mason's voice drifted through the line. "Mason." Pretending to be completely in the dark, I asked softly, "I called you earlier and you hung up, and when I tried again your phone was off. Maybe I was a little impulsive today. I'm sorry, you don't have to take it seriously. Are you... done with your business over there?" Clutching the phone, I waited desperately for his answer. As long as he gave me an explanation, any plausible reason at all, I would force myself to believe him. Yet after an agonizing silence, Mason finally spoke. "Uh, Mandy, my battery died. I just plugged it in... uh..." He stammered awkwardly, sounding completely unnatural. "Mason, hurry up! The dolphin show is about to start!" A girl's clear, bright voice echoed distinctly into my ear, instantly shattering the very last thread of hope I held onto. "Mandy, I've got to run, something else came up. Talk later, bye." The call was ruthlessly cut off once again. Staring at the darkened screen, my heart plunged into an icy abyss. I forced a weak smile at Chloe to ease her worried gaze, telling her I was fine and that she didn't need to stress over me. The moment she stepped out, I couldn't hold back anymore. I wrapped myself tightly in the blanket, curled into a ball, and broke down sobbing. A wave of overwhelming grievance rushed over me. I couldn't understand—if he didn't like me, or if he already had someone else, he could have just turned me down cleanly. Why did he have to humiliate me like this? I cried until exhaustion took over, eventually drifting into sleep. By the time I woke up, the sky outside had already turned dark. Massaging my throbbing temples, I dragged myself up from the bed. The second I looked up, I caught the panicked, uneasy looks my roommates were exchanging. Sensing that something was terribly wrong, I asked them what happened. The girls glanced back and forth at one another before pointing at a phone. "Mandy, you... you should check the pinned post on the campus forum. It's about you..." A post? About me? Dread coiled in my stomach. I quickly grabbed my phone and opened the campus board. The top pinned post had been uploaded only two hours ago, but the likes had already surpassed ten thousand. I clicked on it. It was a video of me confessing to Mason this morning. The video was undeniably taken secretly. Because I was naturally introverted and hated large crowds, I had handled all the decorations myself without inviting anyone else. The angle clearly showed it was taken from a hidden vantage point, yet the footage was shockingly clear. Beneath the video, the original poster had added a loaded, insidious caption: "Accidentally stumbled upon the computer science department's golden boy, Mason, getting confessed to today. The girl is Mandy from Business Management, who grew up as his childhood friend. But looks like Mason turned her down in the end. Makes sense, considering word on the street is Mason already has a girlfriend—a cute sophomore from his department..." Beneath those words were endless, vicious comments. I scrolled through them line by line, each one cutting deeper than the last."Confessing when she knows he has a girlfriend? What a trashy homewrecker." "So what if you're his childhood friend? No matter how close you are, you're just a friend. Learn some damn boundaries!" "She's literally the textbook definition of a toxic pick-me girl. Didn't say a word for years, but the second he gets a girl, she rushes to mark her territory." "Thank god Mason rejected her. She looks toxic as hell just from the video." ... Most of the people commenting had probably never seen my face in real life, yet armed with a short clip, they projected the foulest malice onto me without a second thought. I tried messaging the original poster, but the moment I identified myself, they blocked me. Afterward, I attempted to defend myself in the comments section, but it only triggered an avalanche of worse insults and personal attacks. I had never been good under immense pressure. When bad things hit, panic always paralyzed me. At that moment, the only person I could think of who could possibly help me was Mason. As long as he was willing to step forward and clarify, all of this could be put to rest. With that thought, I dialed Mason's number without hesitation, but once again, it wouldn't go through. Desperation burning through me, I decided to go look for him in person. I crouched outside his dorm building and waited for hours until I finally spotted Mason walking back. "Mason!" I called out loudly. He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at me. I walked up to him, held out my phone with the post pulled up, and said, "You've seen this post, right? I genuinely didn't know you had a girlfriend. If I had known, I swear I never would have done that. Could you... could you please help me clear this up?" Mason took the phone, skimmed the post, and looked up. "I don't have a girlfriend. What is there to explain?" I froze, completely thrown off by his answer. "You don't have a girlfriend? Then just say publicly that you're single! That way, people won't think I'm some homewrecker trying to steal someone's man!" Yet Mason shook his head and flatly refused. "I can't say that. If I do, what happens to Natalie? She comes from a broken home and she's already so insecure and sensitive. If I clear things up for you, it's going to hurt her. I can't do that to her." "Wait... how?" My voice cracked. "How does clearing my name hurt her?" "Right now, everyone assumes Natalie is my girlfriend. If I suddenly come out and say I'm single just to defend you, what are people going to say about Natalie? She's fragile. What if she does something drastic?" I stared at Mason in utter disbelief, my voice breaking. "Then what about me? What am I supposed to do? Do I deserve to be dragged through the mud and harassed by the entire campus?" Mason looked down at me, his eyes filled with sheer disappointment. "Mandy, could you stop being so dramatic? They're just a few online comments, what's the big deal? Stop being so selfish, okay? Learn to think about other people for once."In that exact second, Mason's face suddenly looked like that of a complete stranger. My mind drifted back to high school. Back then, because I was overweight, people mocked me mercilessly, tagging me with all kinds of disgusting nicknames. I told the teachers, but all that ever earned was a few half-hearted, meaningless apologies from the bullies. And during my darkest, most helpless moment, Mason had stepped in front of me. He didn't just scare off those bullies; he constantly encouraged me, helping me slowly piece my confidence back together. It was clearly the same person standing in front of me, so why was he so completely unrecognizable now? He knew better than anyone how lethal malicious rumors could be. That was precisely why he couldn't bear to let his precious sophomore endure even a scratch. But what about me? Did I just not matter? "Mason," I said, my voice eerily calm. "We've known each other for six years. Even if we're just regular friends, you can't even offer a single word of clarification for me?" "Are you threatening me right now? Just because we've known each other longer, does that give you the right to hurt an innocent person?" Ha. What a noble, righteous little speech. I let out a bitter laugh, gave him a small nod, and turned around to leave without another word. It turned out everything had just been my own pathetic, one-sided delusion. Looking back on six years of loving him, I felt utterly ridiculous. Still, it didn't matter. At least I wasn't going to keep digging my own grave. Back in my dorm, I tapped the screen of my smartwatch. Maybe Mason had been right about one thing: I really was selfish. When I went to see him, I had a bad feeling things wouldn't go smoothly, so I had discreetly started a voice recording on my watch beforehand. I wasn't some saint. I wasn't going to set myself on fire just to keep someone else warm. I clipped a section of the audio and uploaded it straight to the campus forum. Anyone who clicked it could clearly hear Mason saying, "I don't have a girlfriend." Paired with my own straightforward explanation, a good number of sensible students quickly chimed in, confirming that Mason had never been in a relationship. Just like that, all the accusations painting me as a homewrecker crumbled to dust. The original video mocking my confession was quietly deleted shortly after. But internet sleuths on campus quickly dug into the poster's digital footprint and discovered that the account belonged to none other than Natalie herself! In an instant, public opinion flipped on its head. The people who had been berating me turned their fury onto her. Mason didn't fare any better. Everyone labeled him a two-timing player who wanted to have his cake and eat it too, turning him into the poster boy for toxic men. And that was precisely when Mason came looking for me. "Mandy!" He cut me off on my way back to the dorm after class. "You're the one who posted that recording on the forum, aren't you? Delete it right now! And make another post explaining that the audio was faked, that I never said any of that!" He blocked my path aggressively, speaking in that entitled, demanding tone of his. A whole month had passed since I last confronted him. During that entire month, he hadn't called me once, nor had he ever tried to see me. Yet the moment trouble hit his own doorstep, he suddenly remembered I existed. "Ha!" I let out a cold sneer. "Mason, could you stop being so dramatic? They're just a few online comments, what's the big deal?"