Who: Mason and OTA What: Random Where: Starbucks When: Saturday Warnings: Not likely Status: Open
Mason was coming up on four years in Madison Valley. It was still a few months away, but it was still significant. He'd been through a lot. Lexi and Hal had come and gone. Alice, Chloe. House, Cat. He'd been hit by a car, and learned to walk again. He'd battled alcohol addiction, and would battle that craving every single moment of every single day. He'd fallen into the drink so many times, but perhaps even more significant than four years in Madison Valley, he was coming up on two years sober, at the end of the month.
He didn't count the week he'd been a teenager against himself. He had no idea what battles he fought, normally, when that happened. And he hadn't continued to drink once he was back to himself. No. He considered the night he'd very nearly shattered Stiles' skull with a whiskey bottle as his turning point. Even though he hadn't drank that night, and he'd been sober for a few weeks before that, that was the milestone event that defined his decision to stop drinking once and for all.
That anniversary was in a week. That was why it was so prevalent in his mind. He sighed, scrubbed a hand over his face, and headed into Starbucks to get himself a drink. Coffee might be as addicting as alcohol, but it wasn't nearly as dangerous. He didn't behave erratically when he drank coffee, quite the opposite, actually. It calmed him down.
He nodded at the cashier, after he'd placed his order. "And I'd like to pay for the next person," he said, "because I'm in a good mood and want to pay it forward." He looked back at the next person in line, and gestured for them to give their order so he could pay for it.