Meanwhile George and Mason arrived in a local park.

"Got damnit, Georgie, this isn't fair!"

She put a hand on his shoulder; it just seemed like the right move. "Fuck Rube - he can't stop us anyway." Then she added more softly, "Don't even worry about it; I mean, what's he gonna do?"

Mason looked into her eyes, "Rube can do anything." His brown puppy-dog eyes held genuine worry and George smiled one of her rare smiles, 90 of which were caused by Mason.

George thought of how she'd liked Mason since the first instant she saw him, a few days after she'd died.He was kind and funny and really really cute, but he hadn't done anything to make her think he was interested.And anyways, the last three months he had been fervently chasing Daisy, Daisy Adair, and she had lost hope (along with her virginity, to a living, rich boy named Trip of all things - whose father she'd also happened to reap. He never called her back they'd spent the night together).

Suddenly, two weeks ago, Mason had told her he liked her a lot and asked her out - Sure, their first date was a double-reap, but still...

Mason seemed to feel her thoughts and kissed her, bending a little. His lips were soft and he tasted like stolen strawberries. The kiss was long and passionate, and George just felt right in his arms.

"Eww," squealed a bratty little boy from behind them.

"Get a room," cried an even younger girl with him.

"Get outta here, you little snarkers!" Mason scared them off and resumed kissing George's smiling mouth.

"Well well well, isn't this precious?" Daisy sauntered up beside them, grinning from ear to ear.

George instinctively wiped her mouth.

"Jesus, Daisy, you followin' us? Rube put you up to it?" Mason was more than mildly angry.

"Calm down, my paranoid little friend. My reap is in this park in five minutes."

"Oh," Mason was obviously embarassed about his little outburst.

"But that was very sweet5," Daisy had to add. "Now I'll just run along and leave you two lovebirds-"

"Bye, Daisy," George pushed, emphasizing the 'bye'. Daisy sauntered off again, pleased as punch. George looked at Mason who was fiddling with his hair. She loved the way his fingers wiggled in his cut-off gloves, even though they made him look like a homeless person.

"Bloody hell, George, we shouldn't have told them anyfing."

George had hoped Mason would be a little more brave and just focus on being with her. The whole reason he'd sworn off drugs and alcohol, once again,was really for her, after all. She was in love for the first time (though she hadn't yet admitted it to Mason) and it was complete bullshit that she couldn't just enjoy it.

"Okay, what's wrong George?" Mason saw the annoyance in her eyes. "What'd I do?"

"Huh? Nothing; this is just such crap. Who does Rube think he is? If he started going out with Roxy, no one would be able to say anything."

"Disgusting," Maosn whined, entertaining the thought. "Anyway, let's not worry about Rube, like you said. He'll get over it."

Mason's lips cooled her simmering sense of injustice, replacing it with a different fire. She grinned again happily. She wanted to take Mason home with her, but she had to get to Happy Time within the hour.

'Damn,' she thought spitefully. "Mason," she pulled away slowly, "I have to get to work soon. But - I can give you a ride to your reap."

Mason licked his lips and shook his head. "It's not till six...but you should come over to my house tonight, say 9:30?" He gave her his sexiest sideways grin, the kind she couldn't resist, he'd discovered. George just nodded, deciding she had better walk away before she couldn't. She didn't even say goodbye, but stumbled stupidly backwards. She turned, red-faced, and Mason leaned against a tree, watching her walk away.

"I am so damn lucky," he found himself whispering.

Mason passed Daisy on his way out of the park; she'd already taken her daily soul, and the elderly Mrs. D. Fairchild followed her down the sidewalk.

"Well hello again, Mason," she said to him slyly.

Mason had no patience for her right now, "What do you want, Daisy?"

She tsk-tsked, "Mason Mason Mason, I just wanted to congratulate you. George is a very good choice; granted not as pretty as me, but beautiful nonetheless." Coming from Daisy, Mason wasn't sure whether to be flattered or insulted on George's behalf. He shrugged, resolving that it was as close as a compliment someone could hope for from her.

"Uh, thank you very much Daisy. That's quite nice of you."He thought for a second, "But what's with Rube? Why doesn't he-"

"Rube thinks you're a fuck-up so you'll definetly fuck up Georgia. He's worried about her...it's nothing personal." She looked Mason up and down and thought better of her last comment, "Okay, it's very personal. But if you can be good for her and if you keep your promises, he will probably get over it. But we all know he doesn't trust George to make her own decisions." Mason was sudden;y grateful for Daisy's chracteristic bluntness, her often brutal honesty.

"Do you I'll fuck Georgia up?"

Daisy smiled. "Yes," she told him simply, "most definetly."

"Thanks a lot." He sighed, "Bloody hell. So everyone's out to get us, then?"

"Well...you aren't exactly good-influence-of-the-year material. You have to prove yourself."

Mason glared at the ground. "This is stupid, damn stupid actually."

"Do you think Georgia is worth the trouble?"

He looked into her eyes seriously, "I really love her, Daisy."

"Love? Already?"

"Don't tell George - but I honestly truly do."

Daisy was suprised by Mason's sincerity. She thought maybe it had been a mistake to plant the hope in Rube's head that Mason would surely find a way to screw things up with George. She straightened and snapped to her reap. "Good luck, Mason." He smiled back, knowing she meant it.

He grinned a second time after a moment, "Thanks, Dais." They parted, both rooting for his relationship with George.