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Nineteen: Family Barbeque
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2024-10-29 19:42:56When the doorbell rang, Hazel rushed to open it. She was nervously waiting for him to arrive so she could warn him about her cheeky family. They've been wanting to get to know him better because he was the one friend she ever mentions as often as she talked about Jan.
"Please don't mind them, they'll probably be asking a lot of questions ... they're so weird," she whispered to his ear.
He laughed lightly, "I don't mind, I'd love to meet them ... my mom told me to bring this for your mom," he was holding a bottle of Chardonnay.
Claire came over with open arms and gave him a warm welcoming hug, "Hi ... it's so nice to finally have you at our house ... come in, Lee, do you want to help out my husband with the barbeque at the back?"
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Tee Shirt Twenty: Road Trip
Edward borrowed his friend's car for the kids to go on the road trip, a Cadilac Escalade for Max, Hazel, and Jan, it was a generous loan. Theo and Peyton were going in Theo's car. Which Theo dread about because the Cadilac was such a cool car, he wanted to ride in there with them too."Max ... I'm trusting you with the car, okay? Straight to Goldstone Veranda Hotel ... that's near the arena where the concert will be, look it up in your GPS right now," his dad said holding the car keys.Everyone else had arrived at their house and was ready to go. Hazel was still doing her last-minute check to make sure she didn't leave anything behind. She could hardly sleep the night before thinking of how great the concert will be, seeing the real-life version of her cardboard cutout boyfriend since middle school.
Tee Shirt Twenty One: Roomies
"Are you ready?" Lee asked as he stood by the bed while Hazel stood in front of the bathroom door getting ready.She nodded, "Are you?""Okay ... on the count of three, one ... two ... three ..." Lee stretched out his arms to catch her.Hazel took small running steps toward him and then leaped to his arms. He caught her and lifted her up to the air."This is where you will try and grab the edge of the stage ... the bodyguards will try and catch you, you will use them as stepping stones to get to the stage ... do what you need to do, and then they will probably detain you for violating concert rules and then they'll take you backstage," Lee explained while still holding her up.
Tee Shirt Twenty Two: Peyton!
"Peyton, give me the tickets ... they're in your purse," Theo said when Max asked him about the gate number."What? No, they're not," Peyton unzipped her bag and rummaged into it."Yeah, I put the envelope inside your bag before we left," he insisted.Max had Hazel on hold on the phone waiting for the gate number, "Is there a problem?"Theo was watching as Peyton searched for it in her small Louis Vuitton bag."Why didn't you say something? I can't find it," she stressed."I did, I told you I put the tickets in your bag, you nodded, remember?"
Tee Shirt Twenty Three: The Night's Still Young
Jan was immediately on her phone looking for an event that's happening nearby. Kyle was looking at the street signs and an electronic map on the side of the street to find the nearest subway, or bus stop, or maybe an MRT. Lee was consoling Hazel who was still in his arm as they walk on the pavement. Everyone felt like they lost something that night, but none was feeling worse than Hazel. They knew they had to do something together to get rid of the aching feeling of losing their tickets at the last moment before the concert. They have to make it a night to remember. "Look ... there's a festival at a night park, it's not far from here, we can get there by MRT and then a 5-minute walk," Jan pointed to her phone.
Tee Shirt Twenty Four: One Night In Goldstone
A perfect night would be going to that concert with people that were close to her heart, watching Harry up close and personal, feel his presence, be in the same room with the person she admired her entire teenage years.A perfect night would be making that leap to the stage and took a selfie as he sings her favorite song and keeps that memory for the rest of her life to tell it to her children and grandchildren about what a perfect night it was.But sometimes, all we get is the substitute of perfect, something we absolutely need without even realizing it until much later. Most of the time, that 'something' is better, and all those imperfections were what it took for that something 'better' to take place.Lee's dimple was the star that lit up her dark sky. She kept poking her
Tee Shirt Twenty Five: An End To A Ridiculous Day
Theo spent the entire night feeling like crap. He was the villain that night, everyone felt somewhat annoyed by him even if they didn't say it out loud. He waited outside the arena for the whole concert thinking how things could've been different. If he didn't put the envelope in Peyton's bag, if he had kept it in his pocket, maybe it would still be there.Peyton must have had something to do with it, but why? He couldn't figure it out. That's why he snapped at her when she was trying to persuade him to go inside.What upset him the most was knowing how important that event was for Hazel and he fucked it up. How will he ever redeem himself from that? Especially when she already saw him as someone who has ignored her affections for years. It's not true, he wanted to tell her that, but how?
Tee Shirt Twenty Six: Going Home To Chestnut
It felt like a hammer was banging on her head in the morning at the breakfast buffet. Lee didn't look any better, he wasn't hung over but he only slept for a few hours when Jan and Kyle knocked on the door to wake them up. He covered his whole face with his beanie and tilted his head back on the booth."Hey ... wake up sleepy head ... get some breakfast, we'll be heading back soon," Kyle tossed a napkin at Lee."I just want some sleep," he grunted under his beanie."What were you guys doing last night?" Jan was curious.Hazel turned to Lee and pulled off the beanie from his face, "Oh ... you know, we emptied the mini bar and watched movies.""You choked me,
Tee Shirt Twenty Seven: The Thing About Theo
The last time she saw him was right before they left Goldstone. He could barely look at her when they separated at the parking lot. He got into his car all by himself, he didn't ask about the hotel bill that she'd spent lavishly on room service and the minibar, and he drove away.It left her feeling a little guilty afterward. Especially when she didn't see him around at her house for the rest of spring break. Max seemed to be busy with Mia and he never mentioned Theo all through that week except when he came into her room and gave her a pep talk."Is there something I should know about you and Theo?"She was taken aback by his question, she shook her head, "No, why?""You know why ... " he looked at her in the eyes
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