Adam was hovering behind him, Mason could sense his presence. He made an annoyed sound. "Can you not?"
"I was only trying to help," Adam said with an infuriating grin.
"Could you maybe try to help from over there?" Mason snapped, turning his attention back to the unit he was sitting in front of and discarding the snapped syringe needle. His hair fell in his eyes and he shook his head to move it.
"Oh I have a spare one, just hold on."
Mason sighed as he opened a new needle and screwed it onto the body of the syringe. That part at least he had mastered. He angled the syringe a little differently towards the bottle. He was not going to ask Adam to repeat yesterday's lesson. He was going to remember how to do it himself. As he put pressure on it, instead of sliding elegantly into the bottle as Adam showed him, the syringe needle bent.
Mason froze. "What are you doing?" he asked.
Adam had returned to harass him once more, and now he was raking his fingers through Mason's hair. It was distracting to say the least. And curiously enjoyable. But there was no way he would give Adam the satisfaction of knowing that. Adam was known for being a joker and a huge flirt, but Mason felt like Adam liked to target him especially.
"Hair elastics aren't just for girls, you know," Adam said, wrapping one around the tiny ponytail he had made with Mason's hair.
Mason glared at him over both his eyeglasses and safety glasses. The hair elastic slid out and his hair fell back around his face. He took off his gloves and carefully turned them inside out, folding one inside the other. Then he threw them in the trash can. He picked up the hair elastic and threw it at Adam. It bounced off his shoulder.
"I'll tell you why it didn't work," Adam said.
"Why?" Mason said sharply.
Adam smiled. "Your hair isn't long enough. And it's too soft and silky. Just slides right out. Not like mine. Whole families of birds have been known to get lost in here. Have you considered a perm?"
Mason stared at him. Adam looked like he was waiting for the raucous laughter those remarks usually got from people.
"Forty-five degrees is what you want with the bottles," Adam said, tilting his head towards the unit.
"Right. Thank you," Mason said with the smallest amount of hostility he could manage. Mason took a new pair of gloves from the box and put them on, and turned back to the unit. He tried to decide if it was his biggest nemesis, or Adam.
Adam put his hands on Mason's shoulders, and leaned over to put his head close to Mason's. Adam's curls brushed against Mason's cheek, deliberately no doubt. "Don't worry, you've got this, buddy," he said in a low growl. That was unnecessary. Mason felt heat rise to his cheeks.
Mason took a breath and held it as he focused on the task at hand. He hated how easily the syringe slid into the rubber seal of the bottle at the angle Adam had instructed. Pulling down the plunger of the syringe, he drew 5ml of the liquid into it. Carefully removing the needle, he placed the bottle and the syringe down. He let out the breath he was holding.
"Perfect! See, I told you you could do it," Adam said, clapping him on the shoulder.
"It wasn't that hard," Mason said, allowing himself a small smile of satisfaction.
"Let's have a drink later to celebrate."
"I think I'll be busy later," Mason said. This wasn't the first time Adam had asked him to go for a drink. The one singular time Mason had accepted, there had to be at least thirty other people that Adam knew there. He had no interest in hanging out with Adam and his excess number of friends.
"Come on, you can't make me drink to your success alone," Adam said, putting on an exaggerated sad face. "You should be more sociable, Mason."
"I'm as sociable as I need to be," Mason said, intrigued by the implication that it would just be the two of them. But he couldn't give in so easily. He silently willed Adam to continue in his insistence.
"Oh come onnnn…" Adam said, evidently having run out of reasons.
Mason managed to hide how pleased that made him. "Fine, if it'll shut you up."
Adam's face broke into a huge grin. "I'll see you later."
Mason nodded and looked over his glasses at him. He waited for Adam to turn his back to leave before allowing himself a moment to smile and close his eyes.