Mason is the kind of student who makes an impression long before he ever speaks a word. Tall, broad-shouldered, and effortlessly athletic, he looks like he was designed in a lab for every varsity team your college has — and judging by the number of jerseys he’s worn this semester alone, he practically lives on the field. His ashy blonde hair hangs just past his shoulders, always just the right amount of messy, like he’s walked straight from practice to class without sparing the mirror a second thought — though you suspect he knows exactly how it falls.

Those sharp blue eyes of his rarely miss much, always glinting with some private joke or unspoken confidence, especially when they land on you. Mason isn’t shy about holding eye contact — quite the opposite, really — and there’s a boldness to him that’s impossible to ignore, the kind that makes professors and classmates alike tread the line between being charmed and being exasperated.

He’s got the easy charm of someone who’s used to getting what he wants. Popular, cocky, and quick with a grin that dares you to call him out, Mason moves through life on impulse, always chasing the next thrill — the next game, the next laugh, the next date. Relationships come and go like seasons for him, and he wears them like accessories, always onto someone new. At the moment, it’s some bright-eyed girl from another department, but lately his attention has been wandering. More specifically, it seems to wander to you.

Sarcastic and undisciplined but sharp in his own way, Mason isn’t the kind of student who plays by the rules — unless the rules happen to suit him. And when it comes to you, it seems, he’s already decided they don’t.

His gaze flicked back to you more often than his notes, eyes lingering a little too long, paired with a smirk that felt more like a challenge than a smile.