Taking herself away from the boy's drama, Hazel decided to spend some time with Jan. It seems like their friendship had been taking the backseat ever since they both had boyfriends though not at the same time. But they never drifted apart. They don't spend as much time with each other didn't make them any less than best friends.It was a bit of a surprise for Hazel that Jan has got herself a new boyfriend and she didn't know anything about it until that day. Had she been so preoccupied with her own boys' drama that she had lost touch with Jan?"You know Finn, right? He hangs out with Marlon at school all the time," Jan said while scooping her double chocolate sundae."Finn McRaney? Senior? The one with a nose piercing?"Jan nodded with a smirk on her face."Not baaad ..." Hazel nodded along and took a sip of her milkshake.Jan had been hanging out with the popular kids lately, she had joined one of the school clubs where most of the members were the cool kids. They were in charge of s
The morning, when they came for Belinda, to take her to the clinic, was chaotic. Denton, the family lawyer, Dr. Seymour, the family's therapist, and a handful of nurses came to the house in a big white SUV similar to a luxurious ambulance. They brought papers to show Belinda that what they were about to do was legal and none of the procedures was against the law.She shouted at them, threw things at them, she called them "Motherfucking money eating ass kisser life-sucking assholes" as Marlon recalled the action. His mom can really put on a show. She ran around the living room trying to get away from her captors with a kitchen knife in one hand.There was one nurse who documented the whole event on video because they needed it for proof and also for examination and case study. Marlon stood silently in the corner as he watched everything unfold in the living room. The house staff was all there watching in horror. His dad was standing at the front porch smoking a cigarette, something he
After Marlon's 'MIA' saga, Lee was not the same. In the few days left before his departure, Hazel could feel he was keeping his distance from her. She realized she had pushed the boundaries of Lee's tolerance for accepting her friendship with Marlon too far."I'm having a family gathering on Friday ... maybe we can have dinner on Thursday?" Lee said when Hazel asked if he would like to go to Marlon's party. He made it clear, she wasn't invited to his family gathering.She didn't blame him, she would've done the same thing if the situation was reversed. But his leaving left a small space for correction, and she could not rectify it in a such short period of time. The damage was done and she could see it on his face but Lee was too nice to put it in words, he was done trying.Their time was reduced to meeting up after school for half an hour, a walk back home, and a sweet little kiss when they parted ways. Lee did not even invite her to go home with him anymore."I guess I'm going to th
The front gate was open. Three security guards stood by to check every car that was entering the premises. They could hear the music halfway through the path leading up to the house.The mansion was transformed into a party venue with lights and a sound system blaring to Kingdom come. It was dark inside with disco lights. The place was packed with people, she could only recognize some faces from school.Three trucks parked in front of the house, they were delivering food and booze. Jan said the trucks came and went the whole night the last time she was there. Everyone was holding a drink and they did not serve non-alcoholic drinks at all. Not even water.Once they entered the house, it felt different than her usual visit. Hazel thought that must be how it is if she were to go to a club. Some people stood here and there engaged in conversations, not that she could hear anything other than the loud trance music or EDM or house music or whatever it was.She reached into her bag and check
Soon after they finished eating, Finn showed up. Hazel begged Jan not to abandon her at the party, she had promised her parents she would be back around midnight and since Jan was the one who picked her up, she would prefer Jan to drop her back home."Sure, babe, no problem, I'll meet you here around 11.30, 'kay?" she winked. Her arms were tangled with Finn and the boy's mouth was on her neck. There was no way Hazel could persuade her to stay with her for a little while longer.Hazel looked around for a familiar face after Jan disappeared into the crowd. She couldn't find any, not in the pool area anyway. She didn't want to go into the dance scene, she wasn't drunk enough to dance on her own in public. She started to regret her decision to come in the first place.She picked up another cup, and another one with her other hand just in case, and walked over to the pool house where Marlon was. The sound of their laughter was intimidating, she was about to enter unfamiliar territory. Hang
Hazel realized that she never really looked around that house ever since she started going there. It was a huge place. She took the steps upstairs avoiding the crowds on the lower level because as the night got later, people got drunker, and they started misbehaving. She wasn't as sober when she walked into the house either.The upper ground was quieter. She found out why. They were using it to make out. They were all over the second-floor living room, the hallway, and even on the way up the stairs. It wasn't clear if they were in fact couples, some of them probably just met there at the party. Some went in and out of the doors in the hallway which she assumed were the bedrooms.Some of them were even her school friends, the straight-A's nonetheless. They must've been hammered and they didn't recognize her when she walked past them.She turned to the balcony that was looking down at the pool area. There was no one there. She finally found her place. She could see the same group that w
It couldn't have been more than ten minutes since he saw them talking on the balcony. He watched the other guys doing the funnel and when he looked up again, they were gone.There was a sharp prick in his chest that sets an alarm off in his head. His eyes widened and scanned the balconies, he was sure he saw them on the balcony right above the pool area. Where did they go?Mandy sensed his restlessness and landed a kiss on his lips, "What's the matter?" she asked when he turned away from her kiss."Did you see where Dennis went?" his eyes were wild and anxious."No ... who cares?"Marlon ran inside the house and hurried upstairs."Hey ... where are you going?" Mandy shouted.He was on alert, he looked around to see if he could spot them somewhere on the dance floor. His vision was too blurry to see in detail. His gut told him to run up the stairs as quickly as his drunken legs can take him. He wobbled on the stairs and pushed through the couples who were making out along the way."Haz
She woke up to the sound of her mom calling her name. It was a dream. But when she opened her eyes, someone was calling her name. The blurry shape became clearer as her eyelids opened all the way up."Jan?" she tried to remember where she was. The room was unfamiliar but she recognized the scent. "Marlon?" she saw him sitting on the floor by the bed she was laying on."Hazel ... are you alright?" Marlon took her hand and leaned closer to observe her eyes.She thought for a moment and furrowed her brows, "Did I fall asleep? Where am I?""You're in my room ... do you remember how you got here?"She could see the concern on his face, she searched her foggy brain for the memory of the moment that led her to that room. She put her hand on her forehead, "I just remembered I felt so sleepy ... I was with Dennis on the balcony ... I think he took me here because I could hardly walk, my legs were heavy ... I held on to him and ..." she shook her head, she was surprised she couldn't remember wh
Okay ... let me wrap this up for you ... I decided to finish high school at Pinehurst Valley because ... well ... because I wanted to be close to Hazel for another year at least. I've never had a friend like her before and ever since Eli ... she's the one thing that made my life seem livable again. We spent the rest of the summer in Goldstone with my dad's charity program. We worked with under privilege children in the nook and cranny of the city. We volunteered at the nursing home. Hazel loved that one because I had to perform every week for the elderlies, they loved my singing, apparently, they think I was adorable and reminded them of their grandsons. Made me feel less special knowing there are at least 7 kids that looked like me. The whole program went well. She got extra points for her portfolio. So did I. Though it didn't matter to me because I know I'm not going to Uni after this. I'm concentrating on my new channel which Hazel had agreed to help with. She loved that to
She finally came out of her bedroom looking fresh out of the shower. Her mom felt a heavy burden just lifted off her shoulder. Hazel was feeling better. There was still deep sadness on her face but she forced a smile and said 'Hi' and gave her a long hug. The day was getting dark and Claire's relief was short-lived because Hazel was on her way outside to meet the boy in a designer hoodie in his white Lamborghini who looked like he hadn't had a good sleep in days."He's been waiting for an hour," Claire said.She had turned on the light on their porch so the two of them can have a good talk on their new balcony swing. Claire poured a generous amount of red wine into her mug and peeked outside their window and saw the two kids embracing each other warmly."Hey, baby ... how are you doing?" he said and kissed the top of her head.She shook her head and started to cry in his chest."Oh ... I'm so sorry ...""No ... I'm sorry ..." she said and held her tears back. "I'm sorry I missed your
Claire was leaning against the door frame of their entrance with her arms folded in front of her. He waved at Theo as he climbed into his car with all his stuff in the backseat. The boy had been crying, she could clearly see it on his face. She could still remember what it was like to be young and in love and heartbroken. It was the best of times and it was the worst of times. Theo had told her everything. She appreciated his honesty though she was disappointed at the same time. But he was devastated, Claire knew that people sometimes underestimated how deep the emotional scar is for boys. Some men couldn't really recover from the hurt they feel in their younger years. It only goes to show how Theo really felt about Hazel. She wanted to understand the situation though she can see how much it had hurt her daughter too. She let out a sigh as his car drove further away from their house. Theo was going back to Gastonbury after many attempts to apologize to Hazel. She had closed her doo
The party was held at The Silver Tongue, the most exclusive club in Goldstone. As the son of an A-list celebrity, he spared no expense and went all out for the celebration. He booked the whole third floor for the event and invited everyone he knew in the city. Including Mandy and Dennis. As soon as Marlon and his entourage arrived, the party began in full swing. The music was loud and thumping, and the dance floor was packed with guests showing off their best moves. Marlon was the center of attention, surrounded by his friends, who were all dressed in the latest designer clothes and jewelry. The bar was fully stocked with top-shelf liquor, and bartenders were serving up creative cocktails in elaborate glassware. The party-goers were drinking and toasting Marlon's big day, and everyone seemed to be in high spirits. He wasn't in a particularly good mood that day, a big part of it was because he hadn't heard from Hazel since she went back to Chestnut. As if she had disappeared from t
Theo sat on his bed, his head buried in his hands. He couldn't believe the mess he had gotten himself into. He loved Hazel with all his heart, but he had lied to her. He couldn't even remember how it had all started. He left his girlfriend in Gastonbury because he knew he wanted to spend the summer with the girl that got away. The moment he saw her at the dance, he was instantly back to where he left off and his girlfriend just disappeared in the background. Grace ... her name ... his girlfriend. It was never serious with Grace. It was never serious with any of the girls he had been with after Peyton. Subconsciously, he was trying to move on from losing Hazel because he was too much of a coward to fight for her in the first place. He knew it would have to be Hazel. He had taken their relationship for granted for years, but they were just kids. One year apart from her had only made his feelings stronger and he had ruined it for the both of them when he couldn't stop himself from fa
It was a nagging feeling. That's what she had. It was bothering her and she couldn't ignore it any longer. Sure ... she needed to get her stuff to better prepare herself for the summer program. But Theo will only stay for so long and she needed to be with him, at least to explain in person how her summer is going to be.She wanted to stay in Goldstone, it was her initial plan before Theo came along. The nagging feeling told her to go back to Chestnut to see if their new relationship was going to last beyond that summer.She didn't tell him she was coming back, she wanted it to be a surprise. The minute she arrived, she went straight to Theo's house.He was surprised or more like shocked to see her. The look on his face was not what she expected. His eyes bulged wide, his face was drained of colors, and his mouth gaped open."Micky?" his voice was almost inaudible.She laughed, "Yeah ... who do you think it is? I wanted to ask you if you're surprised ... but it's pretty obvious," she r
He had planned to ask Hazel at the end of her stay in Goldstone, but he found himself asking her on the first day she arrived. The thought had been haunting him for weeks since he left Chestnut for his family therapy. The only thing stopping him from executing his original plan was his unexpected friendship with Hazel. He would consider anything not to lose what he had with her. Having her around made him feel excited and energized to do whatever it is he was planning to do. Being with her made it easier for him to forget how fucked up his family situation was. Every day spent with her was joyful. Even Dr. Seymour told him that he made huge progress since the last time he was in therapy. Marlon knew it had a lot to do with Hazel. He introduced her to his YouTube team and let her hang out when they were working on their next project. He wanted her to be interested. He wanted her to want to be involved. He wanted her to change her mind though neither of them had made any decision, Ma
She remembered the first time she arrived in the city of Neon Lights. This time she arrived in style, in a white Lambo with one of the most eligible bachelors in town. He was high, she was laughing, and the music was loud but Goldstone was louder. Hazel had underestimated how famous Marlon really was. It's different in Chestnut where she was used to him being her 'buddy', her celebrity friend from the Big City but Marlon never felt too big for her. In Goldstone, he's a Rock Star. People recognized his car. There were literally fans asking for autographs and pictures with him. She could hear people calling his name while they walk on the sidewalk. Eating out in fast food restaurants was not an option, they would have to go to Hotels or fine dining or have food delivered to his penthouse. "You should try going out in public with my dad," he said and put on his sunglasses at 8 PM. "Worse?" she assumed. He shook his head a little, "You can't," he tilted his brow. "He has bodyguards
Marlon took a drag of his cigarette while leaning on his car. He glanced at the pair after a while and muttered, "For fuck's sake." It's been 15 minutes since they said they were saying goodbye to each other and every time he looked over his shoulder they were kissing passionately on Hazel's porch. They finally stopped when Hazel's mom stepped out of the house. They hugged and her mom said something about not drinking, don't do anything illegal, and calling her once they get there. Things his parents never said to him. He dropped his cigarette on the ground and put it out with his Givenchy sneakers. "Drive safely, young man," Claire said to him when walking Hazel toward his car. "I mean it ... it's a fancy car, and I know what it can do ... but not while you're driving my baby," she tapped on his Lambo. "Yes ma'am," he gave her a two-finger salute. "How about we video call you all the way to Goldstone so you can see how slow I drive?" he teased her. "That's not a bad idea, actua