The first thing he did when he arrived in South Korea was to check his phone whether there was anything from Hazel.
Nothing. Not even a message on his Whatsapp telling him she was sorry for not coming. He saw she was online just an hour earlier but she didn't bother to leave him a message. It crushed him.
It was worse when he saw her IG posts of her and Jan having fun at their sleepover doing make-up and putting masks on their faces. He switched his phone off. After all these times, he thought their friendship had meant something to her.
He decided he didn't want to contact her either. It hurt too much what she had done to their friendship for the last couple of days and maybe he needed time to clear his mind. Maybe he expected too much from her and that's what's really hurt
"Are you ready? On three ..." Hazel said holding both Jan's hands facing each other.Jan nodded, they were standing at the edge of the dock protruding above the lake's surface. They were getting ready to jump."Don't let go, ready? One ... two ... three ..."They squealed as they jumped sideways to the water. It was a game they always play since they were little, to jump into the lake holding hands and stayed underwater until one of them was out of breath. Staying underwater is not as easy as it sounds, it took some effort to keep them from floating up.The more they do it, the longer they could stay down. The edge of the lake was not so deep, but holding each other's hands gave them a sense of safety knowing the ot
She stared at her phone contemplating whether or not she should text him first. He was the one kissing a girl, she shouldn't be the one to make the first move, she thought."Yeah ... but you were with Theo the night before he left, and you didn't show up at his house to say goodbye to him," Jan said."I did go to his house ..." Hazel was being defensive."But he didn't know that ... to him, you ditched him and then failed to show up the next day," Jan was laying on the bed beside her playing with her own phone."Look ... look ..." Jan tapped Hazel's arm, "He posted these on Instagram, have you seen them?" she showed Hazel the pictures Lee posted of his vacation in Korea.
"What do you think he's going to tell me?" Hazel asked Jan when they went out sunbathing the next day."Urgh ... if you ask me that one more time ... I'm going to drown myself in the lake ... no ... I'll drown you in the lake," she had one arm folded behind her head, sunglasses covering her eyes.They were laying on a large towel at the dock with their heads against each other."No, but seriously ..." Hazel had her phone in her hand and taking pictures of them with lollipops in their mouths."Yes, seriously ... I'm not lying when I say I'll drown you ... he's going to tell you exactly what you're going to tell him ... aawww ... but it's so romantic though that you guys decided to tell it in person, not a lot of peop
She spent almost every day with Theo at the lake house along with everyone else but ever since that letter she sent him, things were different between them. They were closer, more open about their feelings for each other.He became her best friend too and not just her brother's best friend. She can finally put her crush behind her, and put their friendship on a new level.Theo on the other hand was able to keep his feelings to himself, although sometimes he couldn't help make flirtatious remarks and got slapped on the back of his head by Max.The one thing he said privately to Hazel was, "Long after he's gone ... I will still be here ... I will be here for Thanksgiving, I will be here for Christmas, year after year until we're grey and old that is something I think we'll alw
"I'll be there in 10 minutes" His text came in. They've been texting each other since he landed at the airport. "I'm on my way there" she texted back. She told Claire and she was okay about it. Max had called her and texted her non-stop and somehow it made her feel better than before he left. "Bring the raincoat honey, it looks like it's going to rain," Claire shouted from the sofa, still wearing Max's T-shirt and pants with a cup of hot coffee. She grabbed the coat from the hanger and ran out the door. She remembered the last time she ran to his house and found him kissing Mischa. This time, she was sure it will be different.  
It was Lee who had sent her that note on Valentine's day. She was glad she kept it. She tucked a polaroid picture of them locking lips in her diary along with that note. Maybe he had always been in her daydream even before they even met. He was everything she had imagined having a boyfriend would be like ... and more because he was her best friend too. They spent the rest of summer together ... all the time. Hanging out with Jan and Kyle, hanging out at his house, at Hazel's house. Watched movies, making out, played video games, making out, watched BTS dance practice, making out. They went to the beach for a swim or for ice cream, going out on dates, they go shopping for clothes together because they like the same things. Their parents quickly noticed the change. They
Some people come into your life and light you up like fireworks. They show you how it feels to be exhilarated, to be joyful in every moment you’re together. He is my fire, and I’m his firecracker. Together we ignite. He’s my best friend, my love runs deep for him, and now that we’ve been together for almost a year, I don’t know how to live without him by my side. But today… he told me he’s leaving. I was lost for words, I tried to swallow them so they wouldn’t burst out of my mouth. How could he do that to me? I knew he’d been planning this for a long time, I just didn’t think it would pan out because … well because he loves me too much to leave… (cry emoji). I should’ve known, that dancing is his first love, and I will never be able to compete with his dream to be an idol. That’s what he’s leaving me for, a camp to be a South Korean Pop Idol. I mean … can you believe it??? People say it’s one of the hardest camps to join in the world, even harder to graduate from there and be an a
Even if someone has never heard the name Marlon Dean Reynolds, chances are, they've heard it at least once in the past couple of months.At just 17 years old, Marlon was a Youtuber with close to 26 million subscribers, but that's not why his name was mentioned so much in the news in recent months.He's the son of an A-List actor Joshua Reynolds and ex-supermodel Belinda Mayhew. Marlon started his own acting career when he was 11 years old following his father's footsteps, he started modeling when he was 15 following his mother's footsteps hence the 26 million subscribers on his Youtube channel with various content starting from his daily activities to his celebrity lifestyle to pranks and dangerous stunts he does with his older brother Eli and a group of his entourage.Those who still have no idea who he was, finally recognize him when his brother's death made national news.Eli was 19 years old when he fell to his death from their 18th-floor Goldstone penthouse. It was reported that
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