#give me more hazel callahan fics

[emonopolyman]

hazel callahan has been infecting my thoughts… no one understands how much i need her. The loser nature. The strong vibe. The way she just appears…. she’s as weird as me- I need her.

This is a Hazel Callahan fan club.

[muntitled]

more dom!hazel would be so appreciated if u can hehe 🫶🫶

+ another anon who asked for a cleaning bruises fic

𝐁𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐬 & 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 | 𝐇𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐥 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐧

Hazel Callahan x fem!reader

Summary: "If I put my hands up your skirt right now, am I gonna find you wet?"

Warnings: Established Relationship, Hyper feminine!Reader, PJ as her own warning, Mentions of Bruises, Mentions of Violence, Cleaning Hazel's bruises, Domestic Fluff, Humor, Jealousy, Possessiveness, Smut (+18 Minors DNI), Dirty Talk, Mutual Pining, Fighting Kink?, Fingering, Dom!Hazel, Sub!Reader, Praise Kink, Degradation Kink, Overstimulation

Can be seen as a continuation of this fic but not strictly

Your afternoon had been almost perfect, with Hazel nestled between your open legs just a step lower on the school bleachers. Her head had been thrown back, with her curls running rampant against your skin and tickling your chest. You smoothed her hair down in vain intervals while she played with a loose string on the stitiching of your plaid skirt as she droned on and on about the unlikelihood of being enlisted as a bomb tech by the US Army.

"I don't really know where else I could use my particular set of expertise. What else could I do that won't ultimately lead me down the path of... you know, treason and terrorism?" You nod vaguely as Hazel continues her equal parts aloof and equal parts worrying rants. All while combining your fingers through her hair, "I mean, I just feel like World War III is probably upon us, you know-"

"Ugh, could you guys get a room?" You had been so enamored by Hazel's ranting that you failed to notice PJ at first. Her and Josie made their slow ascent on the bleachers until their shadows blocked your afternoon sun.

"Could you get a girlfriend?" The words had snipped off your tongue with harsh vexation as you instinctively cradled Hazel closer to your chest.

"Jesus-" Hazel had muttered, as she craned her neck up to stare at PJ and a disgruntled Josie, "Why are you trying to hijack my boob time?"

You had to reign in all murderous intentions as PJ grabbed hold of Hazel's forearms and forcibly dragged her up off the bleachers… out of your arms.

"You don't get boob time until we all get boob time. And need I remind you that you're going to be late for Fight Club," You heaved a very loud, very obnoxious sigh as you tilted your head backwards, letting the rays bounce off your pink sunglasses, "You guys should seriously get a room." Said PJ, "Stop giving the entire football team a show. Come on, you're setting us back like 69 years-"

Before PJ sunk her claws into Hazel completely, she bent down until her lips pressed against your cheek, and she whispered, "I'll see you back at my place, yeah?"

Your heart deflated at her confirmation that she was indeed leaving you for Fight Club, "Hazel..."

"Shh, shut up. Just say yes,"

But before you could wrack your brain for something coherent to say, PJ had already begun to make her descent off the bleachers, taking your girlfriend along with her.

You did not hate PJ, nor were you her biggest fan at the best of times. However, nights like tonight made your vexation grow to unimaginable heights simply because PJ is completely and utterly inescapable.

This evening, however, waiting for Hazel to get back from Figh Club, had been perfect. Etta James had been oozing through The Callahan's home speakers as you prepared the butternut soup- Hazel's favourite Post Fight Club recovery meal (although she hated admitting it, because she did not want to put you out of your way).

You are perfectly content, trapped in your web of make-believe as you prance around Hazel's kitchen, assembling your respective bowls needed for the soup. Mrs Callahan had let you in, as she always did after school, with a dismissive wave while she babbled into the receiver of her iPhone. Before she completely disappeared into the innards of her sprawling house, Mrs Callahan vaguely threw over her shoulder "Hazel is at her thing until 5 but I'm sure you've been made aware," and you were left in this great big labyrinth to entertain yourself.

Sex had been even more seldom, given that Hazel was rarely ever in any shape to commence any form of coitus due to the various bruises popping up in unlikely places. You wish you can safely tell yourself you despised seeing her bloody and battered state - that you gain absolutely nothing from Fight Club and that you most likely never will.

But you're staring dreamily into the pot of soup, and you're stirring and stirring, with your heart racing in anticipation of Hazel's inevitable return with her inevitable bruises smeared across her perfect little face.

You had not planned on cooking for anyone because seducing Hazel in her inevitably bloodied state was on the forefront of your mind, and Mrs Callahan had a very tempting bright pink apron hanging on the hook.

So perhaps you did do this all for her.

Perhaps you were waiting for her, to stride on through the foyer, nursing a streak of dried blood down her nose, eager to catch her reaction at seeing you so comfortable in her space while you rushed to swoop in and fawn over her.

This near perfect daydream might have actually manifested…

Were it not for PJ's loud and obnoxious voice bleeding into the kitchen from the foyer, accompanied by the heavy groan of the front door slamming shut. Your shoulders visibly sag as you empty the rest of the soup into your bowl just as the trio rounds the corner into the kitchen.

"Oh my God - soup!" PJ exclaimed rushing towards you with her gaze zeroed in on the bowl locked firmly in your hand. You had been so focused on keeping the bowl from PJ's incessant grabby hands that you failed to see the dazed, almost breathless look that sprinkled over Hazel's face who drifted slowly behind Josie despite this being her house.

Suddenly, every thought about the impending bruise she was facing due to not dodging a right hook earlier vanished from her mind like doves in the wind. Hazel's head was completely flooded with the image of you, in her kitchen, with your cute as fuck little skirt grazing just above your knee.

This almost did not feel real. Less than a month ago, no one barely blinked in her direction, but now...

So enamored was Hazel by your act of service, she nearly failed to catch PJ's innate need to flirt whenever you were in the vicinity.

"You look hot by the way," PJ had slyly said, still reaching for the bowl of steaming soup, which you only drew higher above your head.

"Sorry PJ, only people who make me cum get to eat my cooking."

"Is that an invitation?" She asked, leaning against the counter, "That sounded like an invitation."

Hazel cleared her throat, finally succeeding in having your eyes wash over her. "Can we probably not talk about you fucking my girlfriend, maybe, I think?" She said cooly, discarding her bag somewhere on the floor before making her up closer towards you. Her slouch was even more prominent and you swear the air in your lungs thinned as she brushed up beside you and muttered, "Hey,"

"Hey yourself." And Hazel's tummy instantly warmed as you discarded the bowl on the counter, turning to cup her cheeks in your hands as you observed her latest shiners acquired from Fight Club. Something sinister flashed through Hazel's mind as your big dark eyes scanned over her visage, eyeing the new bruise splotched across her eye and the horizontal laceration on her cheek.

"It doesn't hurt," She can barely find her words under the overwhelming feeling of your care and attention. Your scent is all encompassing, and before she ever allows for anymore of her arousal to stain her boxers Hazel attempts to draw her face out of your palm.

"Jesus, Hazel!" You squeal, pulling her head down closer to your height, until Hazel has to support herself with a hand on the counter behind you, "Please don't tell me you were sparring with anyone on the football team again!"

You hoped you succeeded in masking how turned on that thought actually got you...

Hazel's voice is deep and low as she replies,

"Jeff said that if I can at least dodge his left, left, right hook next time, I could probably be ready for the whole team." You breathe out and airy laugh almost the same time as her, the both of you silently aware of what the other was doing.

"Ugh, you're such a virgin." PJ mutters under a mouthful of soup.

"I literally have a girlfriend," Hazel mutters without looking away. Her gaze was nearly trapped in yours as she allowed you to pull her limp body away from PJ and Josie. "Come on, I need to clean you up."

And that's how you had found yourself, cross-legged on Hazel's bed with her leaning against the headboard like your Oh so compliant little patient. Her gaze is yet to waver from yours, in fact, cleaning the laceration had been utter hell, right up until this point because Hazel had taken to drawing various circles against the skin of your exposed thigh.

The skirt had ridden up marginally from your seating position, and Hazel seems perfectly fine toying with your various emotions.

"You look really pretty," Hazel breathed out as if those words were sitting heavily on her heart ever since you applied the wet gauze against her left cheek. You try to hold your composure, keeping a firm eye on the dressing of Hazel's wound as you say, "I don't really think I want you going to fight club anymore,"

"Tch'yeah okay," she snickers dismissively, "Hey, is this skirt new? It's hot- like 'gay 50s housewife' kinda hot," There's an edge to her voice that has Hazel sitting taller against the headboard before incriminatingly letting her hands drift just a little higher on your thigh. Your breathing becomes heavier as you fight hard to maintain your crumbling composure.

"I'm serious, Hazel," you had begun to whisper. Why had you begun to whisper?

"I don't wanna have to stitch you up every time-"

As soon as the gauze was plastered onto her cheek, Hazel's head was already melting into your chest, nuzzling at your open cleavage exposed by your Pastel v-neck as she says, "God, I love it when you mommy me,"

"H-Hazel," any warning you tried to inject into your tone gets fizzled out by the embarrassing moan that escaped your lips as Hazel's teeth dragged lightly against the skin of your chest. Her hands were restless, as if she was testing herself as to how far she'd allow herself to go so quickly.

You suck in so much air as Hazel's palm cradles the inside of your thigh and because you're cross legged, closing your legs is nearly impossible. "Fuck, I'm so turned on, right now," her voice cracks as she brings her face up from your boobs. Pressing a hand to your cheek, she tries and fails to bring your lips towards hers.

Hazel frowns as you say,

"You think it makes me feel good seeing you like this?"

You ignore the budding voice in your head echoing the loud and very obnoxious 'yes, yes you do like seeing her like this. You like seeing that reckless smile blossom onto her cracked and battered face. It gets you wet and you know it does-'

But your voice is full of fragile conviction as you say, "You think I like seeing my girlfriend beaten up everyday of the week?"

Hazel blinks once before she succinctly replies, "If I put my hands up your skirt right now, am I gonna find you wet?" An entire desert ecosystem is suddenly born inside your mouth, and you swallow thickly as your eyes evade Hazel's uncomplicated, piercing gaze. She tilts her head, smiles gone, simply waiting for your response.

"Do you want me to tell you what I think?" She asks before steadily closing the distance between you once more. Only, you're so terrified of being caught out, so utterly embarrassed at the thought of her finding out about the pool of wetness that had begun soaking completely through your panties, that you back away the closer she gets. Your slinking backwards only allows Hazel to crawl closer until she's hovering above you in the centre of her bed.

You have her undivided attention, and she has yours. Your eyes recklessly scans her face, every cut, laceration, and every old bruise buried under a new one has your lips turning downward as a small, almost imperceptible whimper forces itself out of your throat.

"There she is…" Hazel whispers with a palm cradling your cheek, "There's my needy little girl," You're quickly slipping into subspace right in front of her and Hazel is more than grateful. A single silver pendant dangles from her throat as she dips down, finally connecting your lips in a quietly passionate kiss. Your eyes immediately flutter shut, and so does hers. The both of you are utterly enamored by the sheer lust communicated by the intensity of the kiss alone.

"Fuck," Hazel curses, momentarily breaking apart to peel off her oversized graphic tee. You're watching your girlfriend in her sports bra with unbridled lust shining heavily on your pouty lips.

"Tell me you're wet for me," She says, "Please, Baby."

You're slipping deeper and deeper but you still have half a mind to lightly whisper, "Hazel, they're right downstairs-" She's already crashing her lips back down onto yours.

"Tell me you're wet for me," She murmurs against your lips, never being able to stray too far.

The hand that isn't holding her up, hovering above you, is once again, underneath your skirts, only this time, the tips of her fingers are dragging up against your inner thigh with no chance of stopping.

"Fuck, Hazel,"

"Is that supposed to be an answer?"

You're already pulling your own hips off the bed, seeking her hand out like a whore as you break the kiss only to whimper, "Yes, okay, fine! I'm so wet for you, Hazel- just, please!"

She watches completely fargone as you let your soaked panties meet her awaiting palm. Watching you grind yourself against her hand has Hazel's mind absolutely descending into lust.

"God, you're so beautiful," she says, before finally pressing her own hand against your soaked panties. She rubs in harsh, rough circles, eager to bring you to the very edge of insanity. She needed to see you fall apart for her again and again-

"Inside," You whisper, watching your girlfriend rub your cunt with bated breath. You're still wearing your skirt but you figure Hazel needs to fuck you in it to fulfil some sort of fantasy and you don't entirely mind. Not at all.

"Hazel, Please. I need you inside-"

"Fuck- you're such a slut-"

Your head immediately falls back against the bed as Hazel's movements against your soaked panties increases.

"You like it when I call you a slut, baby?" Your hips stutter upwards in vague response as you moan loudly into the air.

"Fuck- Hazel, I'm close- I'm so fucking- fuck," the orgasm sneaks up on you like a villain in the night and you're spamming underneath her, while Hazel continues to rub your cunt through the torrid sensation. Before you've ever even come down from your high, there's a knock on the door, and look towards it with slightly parted lips and blurry vision.

"Hey- you have no more soup, and I think you two are fucking in there so Josie and I are just gonna g-"

"Fuck off, PJ!" Hazel screams at the door, failing to hear the small little 'Okay, rude' before she's lifting your skirt until they're pooling at your hips.

"Hazel, what're you-"

"Another one, okay?" She nods encouragingly before shifting your panties aside and pressing the colds tips of her forefinger and middle finger against your soaked cunt. "You're going to give me another one. I wanna see if I can do it."

You can't even roll your eyes at her unnecessary display of pride because your eyes are rolling to the back of your head as she drags the essence of your arousal along your clit. "Fuck, you look so hot-"

"H-Hazel," the aftershocks from your previous orgasm rack through your upper body just as the oncoming tempest of lust gears you up for the next one. Hazel leans over you once more as she continues to rub at your clit, "Just one more, baby, I know you can do it. Show me, baby." It's downright evil, the effect her manipulation has on your body as you descend further and further into your lust.

"Look at how perfect you look," she says with a voice thick with lechery, "Fuck, you get me so wet to, baby," she murmurs before instinctive pressing her lips to yours once again, as if something nestled in her being, craved the touch of your lips against hers.

"You're gonna be a good girl for me?"

"Fuck- Hazel-"

"I'm right here, angel," she whispers, before bringing the tips of her fingers to your opening. Hazel is quick to slide her index and middle finger into your pussy until she's fucking you hard and deep. It takes a few short pumps for you to clutch mindlessly at her forearms with your vision slightly waning as you look up at your smiling girlfriend who watches you descend into your orgasm.

"That's it," she coos as you clench around her fingers, "You're doing so well for me, baby,"

"F-Fuck!" You stutter out as you fall into the depths of euphoria. Your mind is flooded with nothing but Hazel, all thoughts previously plaguing your brain is made null and void. In the end, you're just a beacon for her to release her frustrations out on. Even if it means overstimulating you until you become a noisy, helpless mess.

For a while, each other's heavy breathing is all you hear.

That is, until you hear a loud bump against Hazel's closed door, drawing both your attention.

"PJ-" whispers Josie with unimaginable frustration.

"Oh my God, they're definitely fucking-"

[jo6hny]

Graham - Hazel Callahan

Pairing: College! Hazel Callahan x College! Reader 

Contains: FLUFF, idiots in love, but i'm a cheerleader references, friends to lovers

Word Count: 2.16K

Summary: based off this request.

A/N: I kinda don't like this omg. anon please forgive me i tried my best :< i might revisit this fic if i get motivated sooo

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The atmosphere of Hazel’s dorm room was cozy. Not because it was small, but because it was home to all of her crazy and wonderful belongings. From your line of sight, you could see her skateboard propped against her drawer which was filled to the brim. Hazel’s room was a reflection of who she was. You could determine what kind of person she is just by looking at the state of her room. The thought made you giggle. 

“What are you thinking of?” Hazel asks as she untangles her hold from you. Both of you were laying down on her bed, arms and legs previously tangled. 

You shake your head. “It was nothing, really.” 

“Tell me.” She muttered, poking your belly over and over again. This elicits laughter from you as the ticklish sensation takes over your senses. 

“Alright, okay!” You exclaimed, catching your breath. “I was just thinking about your dorm room.” 

She raises her eyebrows at you. 

“And what about it?” 

“Well,” You start, waving your hands around. “It’s very you.”  

Hazel frowns at your admission. She didn’t quite get what you meant by that. You admire her as she contemplates on what to say next. You notice the freckles on her face, how it only appeared in the sunlight. How her hands were bruised. From fixing her skateboard, probably. How her hair looked like it had a life of its own whenever she laid down. 

“Anyway,” You interrupt her train of thought. “I have to go.” 

The brunette pouts and envelopes you into another hug. She smelled good. Like clean soap and laundry. She wasn’t wearing her signature citrus scented perfume today. This made you appreciate the hug more. You could feel your heart pound against your chest at the feeling of your best friend nuzzling her nose on the crook of your neck. 

“Hazel.” You whined, though you weren’t doing anything to let go of her. 

The brunette whines in retaliation. 

“Fine.” She huffs, loosely letting you go. 

You turn to her and envelope her face in your hands. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” You ask, your tone of voice sweet and caring. 

She nods, her eyes still full of sorrow at your departure. 

“Yeah.” She replies, sitting up so that you two were level. “Okay, I lo-” 

The brunette stops herself from finishing the sentence. Hazel bites her tongue and feels her heart pounding. She almost slipped up. 

“What?” You interrupt, eyebrows furrowing and pulse thumping. 

“I’ll text you.” She blurts out, avoiding your gaze. “That’s what I meant.” 

You nod, seemingly speechless. 

“Okay.” 

Hazel gets out of bed and takes your hand to escort you out of her room but not before giving you a hug again. 

“Bye, pretty. Text me when you get to your dorms, ‘kay?” She mumbles, nuzzling her nose on the crook of your shoulder as to memorize your scent. 

────────────────────────────────────────────

Back at your dorm room, your mind was occupied at Hazel’s almost admittance of her love for you. Well, at least that's what you thought you heard. I mean, how many sentences sound as close to “I love you” anyway? The thought made you feel crazy. It wasn’t like it would be the first time you’ve admitted your love for each other, anyway. Though the declarations of love you two shared was strictly platonic. That is until you both got closer to each other, when the both of you started playing between the lines of friends and lovers. 

Nowadays, neither of you uttered the L word. Not when the both of you had feelings on the line. And you weren’t delusional either. You knew that Hazel felt as much for you as you did her. She wasn’t as touchy or as sweet to her other friends as she was with you. No, only you knew about her and saw her at her most vulnerable. This to you was an admittance of her attraction to you. She didn’t need to say it, at least not now. You didn’t want to rush the girl either. It was better that she’d admitted it on her own. 

You do admit though, that you’d like to take control of the narrative sometimes. Just confess and have things over with. You dream of what it would be like to stop tiptoeing between the lines. You dream of tasting her lips and you wonder how well they’d fit with yours. You dream of molding your being with hers and finally feeling complete for once in your life. But you respected Hazel’s boundaries. Especially since PJ broke her heart. For now, you could only dream and be satisfied with what you had because something was better than nothing. 

Just then, your phone dings and reveals a message from Hazel herself. 

Girl Oppenheimer: i miss u already :< 

You: I lit rally just left, haze. 

Girl Oppenheimer: can’t a girl miss her bestfriend who’s also her almost girl? 

Your heart jumps at Hazel’s last message. She was teasing, something that she did often. Both of you would call each other girlfriends and wives but never fully face the exterior of your feelings with each other. 

You: no <33 

You: now stop bothering me pls i’m busy studying 

You weren’t. But you couldn’t keep on talking to her right now. Especially after she called you her girl. It affected you more than it usually would have. Probably because you were deep in your feelings a couple of minutes ago. 

Girl Oppenheimer: meanie :< we’re still on for tom tho ryt? 

You: ofc! 

Girl Oppenheimer: yay!!! see u <33 

Throwing your phone across your bed, you sigh. There was no doubt that your heart harbored love for the brunette. Love that was bigger than your heart and deeper than your soul. The desire to be with Hazel was strong and it’s gotten to the point that you’ve tried all sorts of hijinks just for things to get faster. Manifesting, praying, you name it. But at the end of the day, you respect her even if she frustrates the shit out of you sometimes. 

The next day went by smoothly, much to your delight. You’d thought that the day would have been difficult seeing as how you felt lethargic after all the overthinking last night. Lucky for you though, the day was too busy and you didn’t have the time to think about yours and Hazel’s complicated relationship. That is until the time for you two to meet came. It’s supposed to be just a regular hangout. Nothing special. Well, it was special to you because it meant hanging around your “lover”. You and Hazel have this thing where you pick out the dumbest and campiest movies on whatever streaming platform and spend the day just laughing. It was a simple movie night shared between good friends. 

Tonight, the both of you settled on watching “But I’m A Cheerleader”, a lesbian cult classic. The both of you watched this movie countless times before but never got tired of it. Safe to say that it’s a shared favorite between the two of you. Aside from this, you also loved teasing Hazel and how she looked a lot like Clea Duvall’s character, Graham. Except that Graham was way cooler than Hazel. 

“I'm Graham, and I like girls, a lot.”

“Hey, it’s you.” You teased Hazel as Graham appeared on the screen. 

“I do not look like her!” She protested, bumping her shoulder against yours. The two of you were huddled on her tiny dorm bed, with her laptop on your laps. Snacks were already eaten before the movie even started. This was how it usually went between you two. It was like a tradition. 

“Hey. Clea Duvall is hot. Why are you so offended?” You reply, bumping her back. Hazel looks at you with a hint of mischief in her eyes. 

“Do you think I'm hot?” She retaliates, moving her face closer to yours. She didn’t know where she got the confidence to do such a thing but watching Graham’s character be all confident and cocky had her thinking that if she acted the same, things would progress better between the two of you. 

Hazel blames herself for many things. Fucking her relationship up with PJ (not that she wanted her back), crashing her car on a tree, and being such a slowpoke when it came to your relationship. It wasn’t like she didn’t want you. She did, badly. But she’d made the mistake of telling you all about how hard it was to move on from her ex and it scared you away. On top of that, she also hates how awkward and dorky she can get whenever she senses you making a move on her. Which is why she’s decided that tonight was the night. No more dancing around. Tonight she wasn’t Hazel Callahan, she was Graham and she would make her yours. Or at least try to. 

“What’s gotten into you?” You ask, suddenly feeling flustered. 

Hazel took this as an opportunity to wrap her arms around you and pull you closer to her. 

The brunette shrugs. “Nothing, I just..wanted to know if you found me hot?” 

You scoff. 

“Of course I do.” You mumble, barely audible.

“I-I find you hot too.” Hazel stutters. She wanted the ground to eat her up right then and there. That was so uncool of her. 

You giggle at her failed attempt at being Graham-like. 

“You know I don’t mean it when I say that you’re like Graham, right?” 

The blue eyed girl shrugs. Her cheeks are heating up as she feels your hand fiddling with your hair. This was something you did when you were deep in thought. 

“Okay,” You add, wrapping your arms around Hazel as well so that both of you were in a hug. “Well, I think you’re cooler than her and I like you better.” 

“You like me?” 

Giving her a smile, you reply. “Of course I do.” 

“No, like..” She interjects, trying to make her point across. “Like like” 

“Like like?” You answer, heart beating louder than usual. This was it. The both of you are being forced to face the music. Lesbian romcom in the background ignored. 

The brunette nods. Mouth unable to conjure up words. The last of her confidence was long gone, but she wanted you more than ever. She was tired of feeling so scared. She was tired of not loving you with her whole heart. She wanted to be able to scream out how much she loved you without shame. Hazel knew in her heart that she’s fully capable of loving you now more than ever. 

You smile at your lover and scoot closer as you plant a soft kiss on her cheek. 

“I love you.” You whisper, staring into her blue eyes. There was no turning back from this. The friendship you cultivated for years is gone as you bare your heart. 

One breath and then two breaths and then three. Your words seemed to hang in the air around the both of you. 

“You don’t have to say it back, though!” You exclaim, flailing your arms around. Fearing that a mistake has been made, you scoot away from Hazel which made her scoot closer to you. 

“No!” She interjects, pulling you closer. “I love you too!” 

“What?” You ask, eyebrows furrowed. “No you don’t. What?” 

“What?” 

You shake your head as if to restart your mind and rid it of the jumbled words forming. 

“I mean, you do? I just can’t believe it is all.” 

Hazel nods, she seemed lost in whatever was happening. You felt the need to clear things up but you were lost too. This wasn’t how you envisioned things to be. Not in her dorm room, not with a stupid movie in the background playing, and certainly not with all the awkwardness. You’d envisioned things to have been more romantic; put together. But then again, the situation perfectly encapsulates Hazel and you. Awkward, weird, but ultimately charming. 

“I do.” She replies, hugging you tighter. “And I’m sure of it. Just in case you were wondering.” 

“I wasn’t…but thanks?” You wrap your arms back around her. The two of you are closer than ever and it feels just right. 

“It’s just,” She starts, racking her brain for what to say. “I know we’ve been having this weird situation and I wanted you to know that I’m completely over my ex and that I’m not stringing you along or anything like that and that my feeling for you is-” 

You cut her off, lips on hers. She tasted sweet, like the candy she ate before the movie started. And her lips were soft and plush. You couldn’t get enough and it seemed like she didn’t either. The movie was long forgotten as the both of you exchanged the enthusiasm of liplocking. 

“I love you.” Hazel said for extra measure. 

You couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face. “I love you too, Haze.” 

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tags: @academiareid @fictionalgap

[urfavoritegirlkisser]

ooh for hazel maybe a fic where hazel is fully oblivious to the fact that reader likes her and misses their very obvious flirting until someone makes a joke about the two of them

idk i feel like that’s something she would do lmao

Oh for sure, she is definitely very oblivious when it comes to someone flirting with her

Tags: Fem!Reader, Hazel is so oblivious, swearing, a smidge of angst and insecure!reader, use of y/n, slightly suggestive at the end but it's no big deal honestly, lightly proof read, girls kissing (giggling and kicking my feet)

"Friends Don't Look At Friends That Way" - Hazel Callahan x Reader

“Maybe we could go hang out at your place? You could help me study for Mr.G’s final” You say, lightly grazing your fingertips on Hazel’s arm while batting your eyelashes up at her.

“Didn’t he literally give us the test answers as a study guide?” Hazel says, oblivious to your flirtation as always.

This was the billionth time it feels like that Hazel has shut you down, and honestly, you’re sick of it.

You decide to try a different tactic, gently grabbing her hand and admiring her rings, “I just love your rings” you rub your thumb across them and let your other hand rest on her thigh.

“Thanks! Most of them were gifts from friends, and this one was from a cool thrift shop downtown” Hazel rambles on while you sigh as she continues to ignore your obvious attempts at flirting with her.

You genuinely thought all hope was lost…until you heard PJ shout from across the gym.

“Jesus! Get a room you two, have some decency for the rest of us and go fuck in the janitor’s closet!” the girl shouts and your face heats up as a deep blush settles over your cheeks

Hazel scoffs, “What? We’re just friends PJ, don’t be a loser” she says while laughing nervously.

It took all of your willpower not to crumble right then and there.

You’ve had enough of this, you weren’t going to put in all this effort for someone who just sees you as a friend. Sniffling as tears start to form in your eyes from embarrassment, you quickly excuse yourself and practically run out of the gymnasium.

Your feet carry you to an abandoned classroom, where you let yourself finally let out the sobs you were holding in. Of course Hazel didn’t feel the same, why would she? She was amazing in every way and you were just some loser.

You’re so consumed in your thoughts that you don’t hear the door crack open and Hazel slowly walk inside.

“Y/n? Are you alright?” she says in a near whisper, but it still makes you jump and quickly look up at Hazel while wiping your tears.

“Hazel, what are you doing here? The club meeting is about to start, you know how PJ is with people being late” you try to speak in a confident voice, but it comes out shaky and thick from the lump of emotions in your throat and you look away from her so she can’t see your tears.

Hazel shakes her head and sits down beside you, “You’re more important than a stupid meeting” she says softly, “Josie told me about your feelings for me”

You groan at her words and put your head on your knees, looking back at her with a sniffle, “I’m so sorry Hazel, I get it if you don’t feel the same way and I won’t blame you-” your words are cut off by Hazel grabbing your face and hurriedly pressing her lips to yours in a bruising kiss.

You shriek in surprise at first, but quickly kiss back, shuddering as you feel her tongue enter your mouth.

Hazel pulls you onto her lap, your fingers threading into her soft hair as her hands rest on your hips. You both pull away after a moment, pupils blown, breaths heavy as the both of you just stare at each other for a moment.

Hazel is the first to speak up, “I’ve actually wanted to do that since the first time I saw you” she says breathlessly while moving a hand up to cradle your jaw and gently stroke your face with her thumb, “You are so beautiful y/n, I would be lucky to be able to call you mine” she says with a smile that makes your heart melt

“And I’m sorry for being such an idiot” she quickly adds which makes you laugh

You kiss her softly, pulling away just enough so your foreheads touch and you can just live in this tiny moment the both of you have created.

“As long as I can call you my idiot, then that’s all that matters” you say before the both of you dissolve into giggles.

an - meant to post more today, but got hit with a wicked migraine, so I hoped you enjoyed. Go drink water you girl kissers.

[lily-fics-11]

The Girl Next Door: Chapter 1 (Hazel Callahan)

The Girl Next Door

Fic master post here (feel free to comment to be added to tag list)

You hadn’t been close with your neighbor Hazel for a few years. But you find her beat up in the locker room after fight club and all of that changes.

Chapter 1

You reunite with Hazel and clean her up after fight club

CW: mentions of blood and injury, allusions to violence, cursing, not beta read

You make your way to the locker room after staying behind at school to work on a group project. You forgot your hoodie in your gym locker, so you are grabbing it quickly before heading home. 

While you are at your locker you hear the door open and close. Someone else has entered the locker room, but you don’t think anything of it. 

As you go to leave you walk past the bathroom and you see someone standing in front of one of the sinks. She is facing the other way but you can see her reflection in the mirror. You notice that there is blood on her face and dripping down her shirt, paired with a swollen eye. You are obviously concerned and stop to take a closer look. Upon further inspection you realize that it is your neighbor.

“Hazel?” You call as you approach her. She sees you in the mirror and turns around. Why does she look amused?

“Hey!” She greets you like the circumstances are normal. 

“What the hell happened to you?” This wasn’t the best school, but you would never have thought someone would get attacked like this. 

“Oh this?” She looks down at her bloody shirt and shrugs. “I was just in fight club.”

“Who are you? Brad Pitt?” You are a little angry, what the hell is fight club and how did someone sweet and innocent like Hazel end up in it? You can’t help but feel bad for thinking that she looks kind of hot like this. 

“No, no, of course not. Some of my friends have started a self defense club, we call it fight club because we learn to defend ourselves by fighting eachother.”

You sigh and decide to save your questions for later and give in to your instinct to take care of her.

“Why don’t we get you cleaned up?” You suggest to her.

She shifts uncomfortably and scratches the back of her head. She avoids eye contact by looking at the floor.

“You don’t have to do that. I’m fine, really,” she protests. 

“I can’t just leave you here like this. I know we aren’t close anymore but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.” You mean every word. Hazel started to distance herself from you towards the end of middle school. You never knew why. You settled in with the popular crowd and Hazel settled in to her own niche. But it hurt you so badly and came right as you realized you had feelings for her. You have pushed those feelings down over the years, you’ve even had a girlfriend. But seeing Hazel like this, your old feelings are bubbling up to the surface. 

Her eyes just widen, surprised, as if you had been the one to push her away. She tries to hide it, but a smile starts to creep across her face. “I guess I could use some help cleaning up. It doesn’t usually get so messy, I swear.”

“Oh believe me, I’m going to need to hear more about this fight club. But right now we need to do something about all of this blood,” your voice is tender, you are not sure exactly what she’s been through today and you want to be delicate. 

You put your things down and grab a paper towel. You wet it and get closer to Hazel. As you reach towards her face she takes a sharp breath in. You aren’t sure why though, you haven’t even touched her yet. 

“I promise I’m going to be as gentle as I can, but it’s still going to hurt,” you explain. 

Hazel just nods and closes her eyes.

You begin to dab the wet paper towel on her face and the blood starts to come off. She winces with pain and says “ow” every once in a while, her eyes still sealed shut. 

“Why don’t you talk to me? It’ll distract you from the pain.” You are suggesting it for her, but also for you. You’ve really missed talking to Hazel.

She opens her eyes to look at you with a tense expression.

“Right, right. Good idea. Um… how have you been?”

“Well I haven’t been punched in the face recently, so better than you,” you laugh a little and she does too. 

“Fight club is great, for real. Yeah we get a little banged up, but it’s a safe space.”

You can’t help but laugh more as you echo “safe space.”

You expect her to continue to defend her new venture but she quickly changes the subject instead. 

“So, how’s your um,” Hazel pauses to clear her throat, “girlfriend?”

That takes you by surprise. You didn’t really talk to Hazel at all but you guess that it makes sense that she would know which lesbians are in relationships with each other. 

“Oh, we actually broke up. Last week,” you tell her shyly. It’s weird discussing your love life with someone that has your old feelings for her creeping up on you. 

“I’m… sorry to hear that.” Does she sound relieved? It wasn’t a secret that your ex wasn’t exactly the nicest to you, so that must be it. 

“It was for the best. Things weren’t exactly good between us,” you admit.

“You deserve so much better than her!” Hazel blurts out unexpectedly.

“I… thank you. That means a lot to me.” She just nods her head. 

You take a step back and her eyes widen, seeming to think it was her fault. 

“I’m done,” you tell her and you see a wave of relief come over her.

“What are we going to do about that shirt?”

“I’ll just change when I get home.” Hazel tells you. 

“No, no.” You protest and pick up your hoodie. You offer it to her “take this.”

Hazel’s eyes dart around nervously. “That’s, um, okay.”

“You are going to get your little fight club disbanded” you warn, “if anyone sees you walking around with blood all over you like that. It’s bad enough that you’ve got a black eye. Plus everyone is still freaking out about that girl getting beat up by the Huntington football player.”

Hazel takes a nervous breath and starts to pull her shirt off. Your eyes widen and you know you should look away but it’s hard to when she reveals her toned stomach and sports bra. “What are you…” you begin to question frantically. 

She cuts you off, “I don’t want to get any blood on your sweatshirt.”

You nod and finally peel your eyes off of her. You look away but leave your hand out so she can take the hoodie. 

After a moment she clears her throat and you look back at her. You can’t help but smile a little bit seeing your hoodie on Hazel. 

“I better get going,” she says and she starts to walk away. You step in front of her.

“Your eye is practically swollen shut. You can’t drive like that. I’ll give you a ride home.”

She freezes like a dear in headlights. She looks like she’s about to protest but she knows you are right. 

“But my car? How am I supposed to get back to it, get to school tomorrow?” She asks nervously. 

“I’ll just drive you to school tomorrow,” you tell her with a smirk. You can’t help it. The thought of getting to spend more time with Hazel excites you. She looks a little intimidated by how forward you are. She avoids eye contact. “I guess I’ll grab my stuff.”

[ieatstarsforaliving]

Salutations, Dear Sapphics <3

I’m your author, Bia. I'm a women-loving loser bisexual woman who is currently in gut-wrenching love with Hazel Callahan. And like the little poetic gay I am, I'm gonna write some fanfics in my free time. My requests are currently OPEN, and feel free to ask any questions, give me some writing tips/criticism, or leave a thirst comment. Click here for updates Or look below for my masterlist-

I'm currently writing trying to write:

Silks and Signs

Marvel AU - Spiderwoman!Hazel Callahan x Reader

Multi-Chapters + few special chapters

I need this so bad don't talk to me

The Grief We're Given

Hunger Games AU - Tribute!Hazel Callahan x Tribute!Reader

Multi-Chapters

You want angst? Oh I'll give you angst

www.RentADate.com

Fake Dating AU - Hazel Callahan x Actress(?)!Reader

Multi-Chapters

Y'all voted for this

And Historians Will Call Us

Historical AU - Knight! Hazel Callahan x Princess! Reader

Multi-Chapters

Yes I will be using clips from Willow LMAO

Singles and Specials

No AU, cute little standalone fluffy fics

Oneshots + Holiday Specials

Next Up: Christmas Special

And MORE TO COME...

These fics will include:

She/Her pronouns (unless requested otherwise)

Second person omniscient POV

Warnings above the writing (such as violence, smut, etc)

Note that:

English is not my first language

I will be taking my sweet time with these as I am a uni student, posting times will be irregular. If you have a problem with that, feel free to venmo me so that I can drop university

I will be starting multiple series' before finishing one for no reason

That is all.

- Bia <3

(Latest Fic Update: November 5, 2023 - Estimated Fic Update: December 18)

[mntalbrakdown]

FOOTNOTES

prequel

ੈ✩ liz, mexican, sagittarius , infj, romance geek

ੈ✩ i’d like if you used she/her pronouns. ( i dont rlly mind

ੈ✩ it would be cool if you followed @evil1iz (idk what i’ll do there yet).

ੈ✩  what’s on my cd?

ੈ✩ taylor swift, amy winehouse, radiohead, frank ocean, tyler the creator, faye webster

rules!

note that i write for the people i like at the time, i will stop liking them which leads to me not writing about them anymore 

i no longer write for:

sebastian stan, percy hynes white (never will i write about them again)

I will take requests for hazel callahan!

no one is allowed to copy, translate, or repost my work on tumblr or on any other platform without my consent.

i do not write: 

non/dubcon/cnc

a/b/o

incest/stepcest

mob tropes

ddlg or daddy kink

threesomes involving irl people (such as tom x harrison x reader, tom x zendaya x reader, etc.)

cop!au

self harm

priest! au

this blog is 18+. minors are prohibited from interacting with my explicit fics.

please don’t just serial like my fics without giving them a reblog or a comment. even something as simple as you keysmashing in the tags or using a few emojis motivates me to write more. it is very discouraging to put your heart into a piece of work for it to get 500+ notes and maybe only ten of those are reblogs.

lmk if you have any questions!

[cowboyshit]

PART TWO OF ?

Previously: one Next: three Ship: Hangman Adam Page x Female OC (Hazel Baker) x Matt Jackson Summary: It’s been two months since Hazel met Matt Jackson and Adam Page at the local rodeo, and while she hasn’t seen or heard from Adam again, she and Matt have been getting close. But is she ready for a relationship? Is that what’s developing between her and Matt? Rating: explicit Length: 24,516 words Warnings: unprotected sex

author’s note: and the monster of a fic grows bigger... I genuinely can’t believe how long this part became LOL that was absolutely not my intention. I know I promised last time Adam would have a bit more of a part in this addition, but it looks like his involvement doesn’t come until the next part! 

The soft drum of a horse's hooves hitting the airy, sand-dirt blend arena.

The pounding of her heart in her ears; blood rushing like white noise.

The change in the air as her horse leaned its weight to curl tight around the barrel - as close as they could get without touching it - and she held the reins out and reminded herself to breathe.

The roar of life coming back to her as they pulled away from the third barrel, headed straight for home as fast as her horse could manage, the roar of the crowd cheering for them, the wind tearing into her hair, threatening to rip the hat from her head.

The buzz of adrenaline after, leaving her feeling as if she could take on the world.

The smell of sweat that dampened her horse’s neck, withers, and armpits. 

Hazel gasped as she woke, jerking almost violently, as if it took a shock to crash her into reality. She startled both Carson and Callahan, her young golden retrievers, who’d been sprawled out and asleep, their bodies thrown with haphazard carelessness across hers. Callahan thumped his tail as he sleepily wagged it, wiggling and stretching up the comforter to get closer to her face. Carson grumbled with complaint and huffed, turning himself around and away from her, clearly upset to have his sleep disturbed.

“Sorry guys,” she mumbled, voice husky with sleep and mouth dry. She pushed herself upright, reaching for the cup of water on her bedside table and took a drink, setting it back down and noticing her hand was still shaking from the adrenaline she was left with after the dream. Tapping her phone screen to check the time, she saw she had three hours before she needed to get up for the day. 

“Hopefully I can get back to sleep this time,” she mumbled with exhaustion into her pillow as she nestled back into it, scratching Callahan gently behind the ears, knowing she’d drift in and out of consciousness for the next few hours, but not be able to get back to sleep.

*****

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 Morning wild filly 😘❤️ just woke up in Alpine. Got in late last night, didn’t want to risk texting you and waking you up.

TEXT TO: MATT 💗 Morning cowboy 🥰 you could have texted me, I was up pretty late last night.

“Morning, Rosie.” Hazel said groggily as she pushed into the office behind the counter, grabbing for her apron hanging on the wall.

“Morning babe!” Rosie’s sweet southern voice called from the back of the little pastry and coffee shop they owned together on main street. Hazel slipped back out of the office to the register, preparing the till for the morning and slipping the apron over her head as she secured it with a tie behind her back.

“You look like you could use a coffee.” Rosie’s voice turned sympathetic as she paused in front of Hazel, setting the milk she’d brought from the back fridge into the mini-fridge below the coffee bar.

“Yeah, I woke up again in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep.”

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 That dream again?

She frowned at the screen. How’d he know?

“That dream again?” Asked Rosie with concern.

“Yeah,” Hazel replied, but her voice was unfocused, eyes staring at his text message. 

“You… alright?”

“Huh?” She blinked and looked up to see Rosie peering at her quizzically. “Oh! Yeah, sorry. Matt knew I was up because of the dream, but I didn’t tell him that.”

“Well, so did I?” Rosie tilted her head and squinted at her. “You sure you didn’t fall and hit your head on the way here or somethin’?”

“No!” Hazel laughed with exasperation, “I expect you to know that because of how close we are. I mean, we’re practically sisters.” She flipped the switch on the espresso machine and inhaled as the smell of coffee filled the air. Nirvana.

She briefly remembered Matt’s excitement when he found out she owned a little coffee shop. Does that mean I get free coffee any time I’m in town? She fought a smile, shaking her head as she reached for a cup and began flipping switches on the machine to prepare her morning brew.

“Yeah, but so are you and Matt?”

“What?” Hazel spun around to face Rosie, who’d walked around to the front door to unlock it, flipping the sign to signal they were open and made her way back around the counter. 

“Oh don’t ‘what’ me. Not that you two are sisters, but y’all are close.” Rosie said with a knowing grin. “You two text constantly, he calls you at least once a week or more just to talk, and y’all have been trying to figure out a date you’ll be close enough to drive to meet up with him. You’ve been talking exclusively to him for the past two months.”

“I-”

“What’s his name in your phone?”

“What?”

“What did you change his name to in your phone.”

“Matt…”

“Matt with what?”

“With a heart! And now I regret telling you when I did that!”

“Y’all are practically dating at this point.” Rosie fixed her with a pointed stare, brows raised, and turned to help a customer who’d just come in, smile across her face. As she and the customer chatted, Hazel blinked and fought the realization that was beginning to dawn.

Dating? Matt Jackson?

No… they were just friends.

But how many times had their late night phone calls turned into soft moans and sinful promises, their hands stroking themselves while imagining they were finally with each other?

So…they were good friends.

But how many times had they texted late at night, both lowering down their guards, talking about how they each dealt with anxiety, with things they often kept close to their chest? Opening up about their fears? Their past? The things they grew from? The things they were trying to grow from?

He’d been the one who’d encouraged her to sign-up for lessons at a nearby barn to start riding again. He knew her passions, her dreams, her aspirations. He encouraged her to reach for them. 

She knew his. She knew how much he loved his younger brother, and how he could never do the rodeo circuit without him by his side. She knew how hungry he was to be on top; how many years the Jackson brothers had been PRCA Tag Roping World Champions, and how desperate he was to keep that streak running. She knew how much and how big he dreamed, and how he got in his head and just needed everything talked through to remind him how good he was at what he did. She knew things about him that he’d laugh and swear he’d never told anyone.

Fuck.

Neither of them had ever defined what their relationship grew into. The occasional texts just started becoming more and more frequent, and their conversations fell into long talks that felt like something clicked and they understood each other. She told him about her past relationship one night when she was up late and couldn’t sleep, and he was sitting passenger in the cab of the truck with his brother, driving all night to a rodeo a state over. She told him how Ethan had fallen out of love with her before she’d fallen out of love with him. She told him how blindsided she’d been the day she stumbled across messages between him and another woman he’d been seeing for the past year. She told him almost everything about herself and all those scars across her heart. Matt was just… easy to talk to. He was open and honest. He listened to her. The pair of them were natural flirts, too, and clearly attracted to one another, so of course they played around and crossed lines into intimacy more often than not.

“I am not going to be that girl who forces a label on the relationship,” she declared once Rosie had sent the satisfied customer on their way. “Plus, I don’t even want a relationship right now. Remember?”

Rosie glanced over at her and offered a little shrug, moving to pull the freshly baked lemon poppyseed muffins from the oven. The aroma filled the little cafe, mixing with that of the coffee as Hazel grabbed her cup, pouring a little cream and sugar and giving it a thoughtful stir as her thoughts continued to circle.

“I’m just saying that what we have right now works. We’re friends and we have a connection. I think if I tried to pin him down with the boyfriend title he’d balk, and I’d never see him again.” She laughed dryly and lifted the mug to her lips, trying a tentative sip to see how warm it was.

“Suit yourself,” Rosie said, “but I think y’all sound awful couple-like to me these days.” She smiled and winked. Teasing.

Hazel frowned back at her phone and shook her head, tapping out a reply, deciding she wasn’t going to linger on it.

TEXT TO: MATT 💗 Yeah, it’s weird that I always wake up with my heart pounding like that. Can’t sleep after. It’s not like it’s a bad dream or anything, but it just… it doesn’t feel like a great dream. I mean, it’s good but...

She sent it and trailed off, fingers hovering over the keys, trying to figure out how to explain what she was trying to say. Sometimes she didn’t have to, Matt just knew exactly what she was trying to say.

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 It comes with a lot of other stuff. It’s not just the dream itself that affects you. 

TEXT TO: MATT 💗 Exactly!

The only thing she hadn’t told him was the full story of why she left riding horses and her country-life upbringing. It was her one last wall still constructed around her heart. She had hinted in conversations enough that he understood it wasn’t a flippant choice. It’d been hard for her to leave the rodeo circuit and her western lifestyle behind, but she’d had to do it for a reason out of her control. Selling her horses and moving away hadn’t been her first choice, but it’d been her only one at the time and the best thing for her.

But those dreams she was having… 

Those dreams reminded her how much she loved it, and how much she missed it. It made her heart long in a way it hadn’t in years.

Hazel turned to help the next customers who came in, the flow picking up steadily as the townsfolk of Brimwood Creek woke up and people made it downtown, filing into their shop. She smiled at everyone and spent time chatting with regulars, checking in on their lives and how they were holding up.

Opening this little coffee and pastry shop had been a big leap for both herself and Rosie, who’d had to leave their regular day jobs to take the risk, but it was one well worth it. They both liked to open in the mornings and sometimes stayed through closing. In the beginning it’d been up to them to be there every day to keep it running smoothly, but after three years they were now established enough to hire a few part-time employees so they could handle other aspects of the business, or even just take a day for themselves.

Rosie, who’d always loved to paint and draw beautiful landscapes and design work, was able to display her work in the shop and sometimes sold a painting to a curious customer. They also painted the window with cute themed designs depending on the time of year, making it quite a charming little place to come have coffee and goodies and hang out. Its success was currently Hazel’s greatest pride and joy.

She had a text message waiting for her by the time she was able to check her phone a few hours later.

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 You know what that means, right?

TEXT TO: MATT 💗 No... Are you going to tell me you moonlight as a dream interpreter?

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 Hah hah. Smarty pants. No. It means you need to ride barrels again. Even if you do it just for fun. That’s what your heart is trying to tell you.

Her heart skipped a beat. She thought of it, of actually doing it again, and felt her breath catch in excitement and a dull, familiar ache of wanting spread across her chest. He was right…

TEXT TO: MATT 💗 You might be right…

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 I know I’m right. I always am 😉

TEXT TO: MATT 💗 🙄 shut up. The old lesson horse I ride on is not anywhere near capable of running barrels, so I don’t think I’ll be doing that soon.

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 Have you thought about getting a horse again?

She had, actually. It started when she was riding again, appreciating the advice and lessons given by her instructor, but frustrated she couldn’t do the things she wanted to do. She wanted the freedom and leisure abilities of owning her own horse. She wanted to be able to take a relaxing trail ride out in the fields and orchards after a hard day. She didn’t want to constantly be told: “Point those heels down! Post! Heels! Chin up! Point your toes! Heels down! Watch the reins! Post! Heels!”

And yes, she wanted to run barrels, just her and her horse again.

TEXT TO: MATT 💗 Yes I have, actually. I mean, my property is in the country, big enough to hold a three-stall stable, some turnout paddocks and an arena, plus there’s plenty of fields and trails to ride out there. I did some budgeting and it’d be tight, but I could afford the construction, and the cost of owning a horse.

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 Have you started looking at horses for sale around you? If you buy the parts for the build, my brother and I can help you build it all. Don’t have to pay labor. That should help a little.

Such a cowboy, always finding ways to save a dime. They’d just do it their damn selves, and when their neighbor or a friend needed it done, they’d do it for them too.

TEXT TO: MATT 💗 No, I haven’t, and don’t go making plans. Look, it’s probably just an itch. Like a midlife crisis but instead it’s a horselife crisis. I’ll probably get bored of lessons soon and be done with it all.

Even as she typed that message she knew it was a damn lie.

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 Well, either way, I’m going to ask around Alpine this weekend and see if anyone has a good barrel horse for a decent price for you. Keep it in mind.

A thrill shot through her, and she let herself daydream about it again. She’d been doing that a lot lately, dreaming of owning her own horse again. Going out early in the morning and early in the evening to look after it and all the hard work and care she never minded because the rewards greatly outweighed everything else. 

What would it be? A hot-headed little red chestnut mare, bold white blaze down her face? A quirky little black and white spotted gelding she’d have to give a little extra encouragement to get running? A stocky little buckskin who started to fidget in place the minute they saw an arena set up with barrels? Whatever the color, whatever the breed, she knew she’d love them just as she’d loved the horses she used to own. Sometimes she even let herself fancy finding a way to buy them back, but their families were happy with them and had been for eight years now.

TEXT TO: MATT 💗 You don’t think I’m jumping back into all of this too quick? I mean, it’s only been two months since even you and I met, you know? Now I’m riding again, we’re talking about building a barn on my property? Me buying a horse again? What if I decide this isn’t what I want in six months?

Three little dots appeared. He was typing. He was typing for a while. She was starting to expect paragraphs in his reply.

The dots stopped. 

Hazel frowned. They stayed stopped long enough for her to get a little more worried.

They started again.

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 Get out of your head, wild filly. ❤️

Strange… It’d seemed like he’d been typing so much more than that. She shrugged and rolled her eyes, letting herself smile at his little check for her to help her shake her mind up and stop spiraling. Hazel tucked the phone into her pocket and carried through the rest of her day helping out at the shop, drifting in and out of daydreams of owning her very own horse again (once or twice the sight of watching Matt build a stable for her horses, his shirt off, sweat dripping down his back, might have snuck in as well).

It wasn’t until late at night, when she was tucked in to bed, ready to fall asleep, that her phone chimed with a little text-message notification. She twisted to grab it from where it was charging and pulled it close, seeing the banner was notifying her of a text from Matt. 

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 I found someone who knows a trainer that has a little six year-old barrel horse for sale. He’s only gotten her running a 24, but if you’re not competing… or, hell. 24 would do alright at locals. I was thinking, even if you don’t want to go see this guy’s horse, you should still let me build that stable on your property, and that arena. With my brother and a couple of our friends helping out, it’ll only take us two weekends. I was thinking, too, I could come up the Friday before so we could go to the hardware stores and pick out the supplies. Maybe get dinner together?

Her heart started pounding and she read the message over again, slow, completely dismissing everything about the horse and only looking at those last two lines.

TEXT TO: MATT 💗 Are you using building me a stable and an arena to get in my pants? Bold move.

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 No! I am not doing that to get in your pants. 

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 I mean, I do want to get into your pants. 

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 But I want you to have that stable and arena ready, so when it finally gets in through your mind that you need to get a horse, you’re ready to go. I have the time right now to do it, but in three weeks I’ve got another round of back-to-back-to-back rodeos and work to do on the ranch. 

TEXT TO: MATT 💗 Why are you so sure that I am going to need to get a horse? How do you know you’re not going to put yourself out doing all this work and then I’ll never wind up buying one?

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 I see how happy you are after you get done at the barn. I see it in your texts, I see it when we facetime, I hear it in your voice on the phone. You light up, wild filly. You told me that your heart has always belonged with horses, and I can see that it does. So, what’s holding you back?

She was stunned. First everything Rosie had said this morning, and now this? When had they crossed this line into caring this deeply about one another? In understanding each other to this depth? She was always so guarded, how had he lowered those defenses? Did he even realize he had? 

TEXT TO: MATT 💗 Wow. Okay cowboy. You win. This next Friday?

TEXT FROM: MATT 💗 This next Friday. ❤️

*****

“Hey, you! How was the drive?” She was standing at the end of her walkway, Matt having driven up in his truck, climbing out of the cab to greet her with a grin. Her stomach was filled with butterflies at the sight of him in a t-shirt with some sponsor's logo across the front, nice fitting, dark-denim wranglers, one of his (many) champion belt buckles catching the early evening light with a sparkle, and black, slightly scuffed, definitely worked in boots. His long hair was tied in a low, loose bun, and he’d just set his cowboy hat back atop his head as he turned toward her and closed the truck door behind him.

“Wasn’t bad,” he replied, and reached between the distance they were closing to slide his hands on her hips and pull her more firmly in toward him. He tilted his head and looked down at her, half-smile on his face. She felt as though her heart stumbled in its rhythm and wasn’t sure if she leaned up or he leaned down first, or if they both did at the same time. All she knew was that their lips were touching, and she felt that spark between them, only this time it felt more monumental, packed with all the conversations and feelings they’d built up talking over the last two months.

Her lips opened as she gasped, and his tongue took the invitation without hesitation, sliding along hers. His fingers curled tighter over her hips, grabbing and pulling and gripping skin beneath the material of her denim jeans. A hiss of breath pushed hard out of his nose, and he pulled his head back, their lips disconnecting with a soft smack.

She felt dizzy, and her skin was tingling from where the rough hairs of his beard had scratched against it.

“You know how long I’ve been waiting to do that?” He asked. His voice had a low, rough growl to it that sent chills down her spine in the most thrilling way.

“Hmmm, about two months?” She said playfully, though her voice was still weak, brain still fighting through the pleasurable fog their physical closeness had filled her with.

A spark lit in his too-dark eyes, and the grin he’d had pushed a little higher into his bearded cheeks.

“Two months.” He agreed, slipping a hand around to the curve of her rear and giving it a smack, then a squeeze for good measure. She squeaked, which only made him chuckle. “We better get to the hardware store before they close. The boys would be pissed if they showed up tomorrow morning and we hadn’t gotten the supplies because we were too busy with each other.” He leaned down to give her one quick kiss, offered another little firm smack on her ass, then finally let her go.

It wasn’t until they’d climbed into his truck and started down the road that she thought to ask.

“Hey, who’s all coming tomorrow?”

Though she and Matt had gotten closer these past two months, she hadn’t exactly forgotten about a certain blond-haired cowboy. She’d done well at putting him out of her mind in the beginning, but then Matt sent her a picture from one of the rodeos he was at of him, Nick, Kenny… and Adam. 

Her eyes had been immediately drawn to Adam. Standing with his thumb hooked on his shimmering buckle, half-smile on his face, blond ringlet curls framing it like a mane beneath his cowboy hat. She’d stared at him in the picture, wondering what was going through his mind, and reliving their moments beneath the starlight together all over again. She hadn’t meant to obsess, and she’d tried to force herself to look at the rest of the guys in the picture, including Matt, and then closed it knowing if she kept looking, she’d find herself staring at Adam again. Her attention just kept pulling back to him no matter how hard she tried not to let it.

Then he showed up occasionally in her dreams; each one felt so real.

Then, late night googling brought up recaps of his rides from earlier in the year and the years prior, so she’d started watching them. Watching how he rode each unique, different horse with precision. She even saw the few times, early on in his rodeo career, where he hadn’t managed to stick the ride as well as he wanted, where his skill just wasn’t there, and saw the way he looked when he’d disappointed himself. She had a feeling he was the kind of person who punished himself more than anyone could ever do to him. Another thing she noticed were his improvements when he came back after a particularly poor ride, and how he seemed to take a lesson from every less-than-ideal ride he had. It was why he was as good as he was now, and there was no denying it. Article after article online talked of Adam as though he was fixing to be the next big thing in bronc riding. Everyone from experts to hobby-watchers claimed they expected to see his name in the top five rankings of the PRCA every year. 

There was something about him she couldn’t quite pull herself away from. Something that made her yearn and ache and wonder.

But that was just a secret little thing she did. She told herself it didn’t mean anything and that she was better off never seeing him again in person. If she was ever going to go watch Matt rope at a rodeo, she’d check the bronc registrants and make sure Adam wasn’t there before she went. Matt didn’t need to know, but they weren’t dating anyways, and Adam wasn’t anything to her, so there was nothing to tell.

Still, the idea that not telling Matt now meant Adam was going to show up at her house to help build tomorrow…

“Nick’s bringing Kenny and our good friend Brandon, you haven’t met him yet.”

No Adam. Like he would have said yes if Matt asked him to come help her, anyways.

“Okay, cool! I wanted to make sure I had enough places for everyone to crash.”

They’d discussed getting hotel rooms, but Hazel wouldn’t hear it. She had enough places to put them up, and they were here to do her a favor. She could be a gracious host for a night for the men who were going out of their way to help out like they were.

“Andrea and Rosie are coming too,” she said, “figured we could use all the hands we can get. I think Andrea will probably bring her siblings, too.”

She hadn’t told Andrea that Nick was coming, just that Matt was coming to help her construct stables and an arena. Hazel almost felt bad, she knew how few days off Andrea got, but the chance to trick her into spending all day with Nick was too great to pass up. She still remembered the way Andrea had blushed when she’d talked about Nick and, getting to know Nick better through her conversations with Matt, Hazel couldn’t keep herself from wanting to see them together.

“Sounds like we’re going to have plenty of hands. It’s going to be a piece of cake.” He grinned reassuringly at her before refocusing on the road ahead.

“I seriously can’t thank you enough for this, Matt.”

“I think you knew what you were doing when you bought a house in the country with all that property. You knew that was the perfect size for a hobby ranch, maybe subconsciously.”

“Yeah,” she agreed with a smile, “Maybe.” The reality of her being able to own her own horse again was coming even closer.

“Plus,” he started, turning the truck into the parking lot of the hardware store, “a few rodeos come near here, an hour or two away during the season. I’ll be able to come put my horse up with you instead of paying the fees to rent a pen at the grounds.” He flashed her a grin. “And I won’t have to get a hotel room, cause there’ll be a bed with a pretty girl to keep me warm there too.” 

“Is that so?” She managed, laughing and knowing she had to be blushing.

“Mhm,” he said, parking the truck and unbuckling his seatbelt, reaching to rub his palm over her arm, giving it a light squeeze. He winked as he pulled his hand away. “Come on, the faster we get all this taken care of, the faster we can go get something to eat.”

“I’m sure dinner is the only thing you’re eager to get to,” she said as she climbed out of the cab and joined him to walk toward the store.

“Ma’am,” he put a hand over his heart and peered at her beneath the shadowed brim of his cowboy hat, “I don’t know what you’ve heard of me, but I’m a good Christian boy.”

“Mhm.” Hazel fixed him with a pointed look. “Good Christian boy my ass.”

“Maybe you do know me too well,” He laughed, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her in toward him, sealing the sentiment with a kiss to the top of her head.

They made surprisingly quick work through the hardware store. Matt had enough experience to offer solid suggestions, and she wasn’t exactly building anything fancy and was more than willing to defer to his judgement. He and his brother had built and repaired enough fences and barns in their day, and he was happy to share stories of the mistakes they’d made that had her laughing as he did. They ordered the lumber to be delivered in the morning, hopefully before everyone arrived, and took the rest of the supplies home with them after stopping at a taqueria for dinner.

Things were easy with Matt. Much easier than she’d anticipated. These last two months she felt like she’d gotten to know a different side to Matt, maybe not one he often showed. The one who needed to look at his brother before a ride, needed his brother to nod his head to say they had it in order to push his anxieties away. The one who wanted to do whatever he could to help his friends succeed. The one who dreamed big, impossible things and then kept grinding until he achieved them. The one who made her laugh, who teased her throughout the night and smiled wide as she giggled, his dark eyes soft and warm on her face.

She would have thought two months was enough time for her to sort out her relationship fears, but it wasn’t. The level of their closeness scared her, and she worried any moment his touch got a little extra gentle, or his smile a little softer on the edges, that he might decide to address where their relationship had gone.

He never did, and she knew it was silly (and a little cowardice) for her to wait for him to. Matt didn’t have long term, serious relationships. He’d told her himself he’d always been so focused on his career he couldn’t take time away from it to date. Why would she expect his mind to suddenly change with her?

Why did she want it to? 

She didn’t want it to. 

Did she?

Hazel decided to do what she did best and put the thought out of her mind completely, choosing to instead enjoy the feeling of Matt slipping his hand around hers as they exited the restaurant and walked toward his truck. She wiggled her fingers between his and he gave her hand a little squeeze. The evening air was still a little warm, but significantly cooler than it’d been all day. It pressed gently around them as they walked over the streetlight lit sidewalk together. He skimmed the pad of his thumb back and forth over her hand before they reached the truck and he had to pull his hand out of hers, opening the door and smiling as she climbed in before he shut it.

The closer they got to her house the heavier the pressure between them seemed to become. They still joked and talked, slipped in and out of flirting, his hand reaching over occasionally to grab hers and hold it between them, but there was something mounting.

A knowing excitement.

A delicious rush of tingles.

Hazel looked out the window at the properties they were passing as the town fell away and they entered the country outskirts she lived on. They were nearly home. No other errands to run. Nothing else to do… just time to finally be alone together.

She glanced over at him and he lifted her hand to press his lips against it, then looked forward again as he pulled away from the stop sign. The music - old, classic country - crooned gentle from the low volume he had it set at; quiet enough to easily talk over, loud enough to hear when the conversation paused. Hazel focused on that, or tried to, but really she was feeling every gentle sweep of his thumb against her skin and only thinking about how nice his touch felt.

She thought of the late-night conversations, where they’d stumbled into primal needs and he’d growled what he’d do to her, with her, through the phone and made her eyes roll back as she trembled and convulsed in pleasure. Her heartbeat kicked up as he slowed the truck and pulled into the drive. The gravel crunched beneath the wheels as he stopped the truck and parked, turning off the engine and letting them sit in the quiet as it's rumble stilled.

“Hey,” he said, and she looked over at him, catching her breath a little. He really was handsome with that full, dark beard and thick, long hair. Her fingers itched suddenly to touch it, to run through the strands and finally take it out of the band he pulled it back in, but she knew she wouldn’t have to wait much longer.

“Hm?”

“In just two weeks,” he grinned and gestured to where they’d decided was the best place to construct, “you’re going to have the facilities to house your very own horse. If you decide you want to.”

There was no way to stop the smile that burst across her face. She glanced to where he’d pointed and imagined a little three-stall stable with three horses poking their heads over the half-doors and giving excited whinnies as she came to give them their morning feed.

“See?” He said, but his voice was softer this time, and when she looked at him she found he’d been watching her this whole time, not looking off at her yard where they’d be building. “That’s why I wanted to do this. That smile you get.”

His brown eyes were warm… so warm. They reminded her of the day’s sunshine broke through in early autumn, enough to chase away the coming chill and illuminate the changing leaves still clinging to the tree branches. That sort of warmth you just had to stop, turn your face up toward the sun and soak in.

She ducked her head and bit into the rising corners of her lips, blushing and feeling suddenly almost overwhelmed with how much he cared about her happiness. To go through all this trouble just for her? She blinked back the sudden sting of tears that wanted to rise from her emotions, and looked over at him, and hoped he could see how grateful she was, because just saying “Thank you, Matt.” Didn’t feel like enough.

“You’re welcome, Hazel.” He said, and she felt like he understood. He knew no man had ever gone out of his way for her like this, she’d told him that when she told him about her ex-fiance. He knew she kept quiet and grinded and never complained, and never took anything for granted in life, and that she worked hard to achieve everything she could even though sometimes she just wished she could have a little break.

Here he was, giving her that break. Him, his brother, their friends, and her friends. For the first time since her engagement broke off, Hazel sat stunned in the realization of how much love she now had around her.

Matt popped his door open and hopped out, leaving the bags of supplies on his backseat, as they wouldn’t need them until tomorrow, and went around to her side to open the door for her. It was a cute gesture, and one he seemed adamant on doing for her. They smiled at one another as she climbed out, and he immediately wrapped his arm around her with familiarity, tucking her to his side again as they walked up the walkway to her front door.

Their closeness was disrupted by two seventy-pound balls of gold and cream fluff in the form of Callahan and Carson being over-excited by having a new person in the house. They wiggled around him, crashed their bodies into him, and looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes that demanded love. Matt fell to their requests and rubbed his hands through their fur, talking sweetly to them and playing with them. They offered soft little barks and huffed as they play-growled and went into puppy bows before Carson took off and came back quickly with his favorite stuffed toy, demanding there be some tug-o-war and light fetch across the room. Hazel smiled as he played with them; there was something about seeing a man love on a dog that just made her heart soar. And when it was her dogs? Her… well, he wasn’t exactly ‘her’ man… but a man she was interested in? It was hard to get the smile off her face, even as she turned away and told him she was going to go use the restroom. The sound of Matt’s laughter and her dog’s playful, happy barks and growls followed her clear down the hallway and into her room.

Hazel glanced at herself in the mirror after washing her hands, noticing the way her lips couldn’t seem to help but stay smiling, and her brown eyes were so bright she could see what people meant when they called them beautiful. Like amber gemstones, semi-translucent orange-brown, lit through with the sunlight coming in through them. As she looked herself in the eyes, she found that daring streak, that one she liked to toy with and play with.

That one she had a feeling Matt was going to love.

She shut the water off the faucet and sent herself one last knowing grin before shedding her clothes and moving for the impromptu surprise she’d decided to give him.

***

“Hey,” she stood in the open entryway from hall to living area, where Matt was crouching down to rub Callahan’s belly. He glanced over and saw her - she’d changed into glitter-white lace lingerie, the sort of lingerie that was over-the-top with multiple straps and garter belts clipped to semi-sheer white stockings - and he rose slow, turning to stare openly at her. The hunger was clear across his face and it sent a warmth prickling across her skin, making her flush.

He took a slow, heavy step toward her while reaching up to remove his cowboy hat. Another step, and he chucked it toward the couch. Another, and his fingers were on the metal of his big, championship buckle, popping it open and pulling the leather strap through, leaving them hanging. The last step was accompanied by the soft jingle of the unfastened, clinking belt, and then he was close enough she could feel the warmth of his body rolling off him.

He looked her up and down slowly, appreciating the delicacy she was. His hands traced up the curve of her body, not allowing themselves the gorging of biting into her inviting skin; not stopping the path they skimmed until he ever so gently framed her face. Fingers under her jaw pressed her to look up into his eyes - dark, nearly black - before he lowered and put his lips against hers.

The kiss started slow and soft but quickly devolved into anything but. He bullied her body up against the doorframe and the squeak she made was muffled in his mouth. His tongue slid firm along hers, stroking, and his head turned to offer an angle that’d make it easier to kiss her. His fingers slipped off her neck in opposite directions; one into her hair, curling and cradling her head, wrapping around the dark strands and pulling with the faintest hint of pressure and control; the other went down, his palm brushed over the thin lace covering her right breast and elicited a small moan from her mouth, buried against their tongues. His greedy fingers slipped beneath the material, flesh on flesh, and rolled her nipple into a hard peak. He pinched that needy little nipple, making her moan again at the sensation. His hand slipped out only to slide along her sternum and press beneath the see-through lace bra and fondle her other breast, fingers rolling and pinching the nipple into matching, aching hardness the other was.

The buckle hanging off his belt bit into her stomach as he pressed his still-clothed body against her nearly nude one. He finally freed her mouth, allowing her to desperately gasp a breath, and immediately had his lips on her jaw, down her neck. She felt the pinch of his teeth gathering her tender skin, making her whine underneath him. A growled laugh in a hot exhale against her skin was her answer, as was the hand squeezing her breast and teasing her nipple leaving it to slide down her body. Her stomach tightened as his palm brushed the sensitive skin. His hips moved from grinding his hard bulge against her thigh to give his reaching fingers space. They played at the elasticity of her lace panties and then slipped below, easily finding what was warm and wet.

“There you are,” he groaned in her ear and nipped at her earlobe.

A louder moan escaped her kiss-swollen lips as his fingers played over her clit, winding her up.

“Feels good, baby?” He asked, and shifted to lean over her, so he could watch the faces she made as his fingers slipped a few inches into her slit and pulled her wet up to continue stroking her.

“Mhmm,” she whined, closing her eyes and clenching her jaw as her muscles tightened, pleasure shooting like lightning down her thighs and up into her stomach.

“Good,” he exhaled, and stroked harder. Faster.

Her fingers reached desperate to his arms, finding them large, solid things to find purchase on. 

“AhhHH! Matt!!” She cried out desperately.

“Yeah,” he whispered, beckoning her to let go.

“Matt!” Breath stalled in her lungs; his name was barely a strained whisper from her too-tight throat. She was too wound up from the tension that’d been between them since he arrived and the way he rubbed in hard, fast circles told her he wasn’t here to draw out her pleasure. He wanted her to lose herself to his touch.

“Yeah,” he pressed, winding his fingers harder around her raised, needy nub. “Cum baby,” he coaxed, like he’d done before on the other end of the receiver. Only now she could feel the warmth of his breath, the strength of his muscles beneath her hands, and with each breath she dragged in, she caught the faint hint of his woodsy, musky cologne. He invaded every one of her senses until she was nearly overwhelmed, gasping for air as though drowning, clinging to him as though he were her lifesaver in this turbulent sea of mounting delectation.

All at once, her muscles locked. A long cry followed by a whined expletive slipped from her mouth, and she came. The fat of her thighs squished tight together as though trying to become one, and she hunched inward, curling in on him. Her fingers held desperately tight around his biceps, and she felt each deep, desperate pulse inside her as it wracked through her body. The long stroke of his fingers matched the pulses as they slowly calmed and let her consciousness float back to earth.

Hazel sucked in a shaking breath, Matt’s fingers gently brushed her tender, swollen, sensitive nub and her eyelids fluttered open, eyes locking to his. They were dark. Black pools that reflected her flushed, glowing reflection in them. The pulsing between her legs crawled to a stop, and the tingles lingered in their wake. Her thighs unlocked and exhaustingly fell apart, slouching her against the doorframe. It was biting into her back, but she barely noticed. Couldn’t be bothered to move.

Her hands still hung on him for support. He still held her. He took his hand away from between her legs and gently set the line of her lingerie panties back comfortably right. Eyes locked with hers, he brought his fingers up between them and stuck them in his mouth, cleaning her slick off. His nostrils flared and his eyes rolled slightly back at her taste, making her whine and tremble with need in front of him.

His fingers popped out of his mouth and he moved back slowly, letting her hands fall to her sides as they slid off his biceps. He stood in front of her, chest rising and falling with each staggered breath he took. She glanced down his body and saw the bulge of his hard cock, clearly defined and trapped in his wranglers.

Bold, suddenly so bold and so needy, she reached to grab his jeans and tug him as she sloppily pulled the button out of its slot and ripped the zipper down. 

He grunted as her hand slipped into his boxers and curled around the weight of his rigid cock. He moaned as her palm rolled over the top, spreading the precum it leaked around the sensitive velvet skin of the head.

“Fuck,” he breathed hot over the top of her head, and one of his hands ran along her cheek, eyes still locked with hers even as she started to stroke his length and grip just enough to make him want. At her next stroke his hips pushed up greedily, forcing a faster pace, and a vein jumped in his neck as he blew a hard breath through his nose and moaned deep from within his chest.

His fingers found her hair, curled around the back of her head. He added a little pressure and she went, knowing, sinking down to her knees in front of him, still holding his rigid cock, it’s veins full and pumping blood, skin stretched. She looked up at him, and he looked down at her, and she saw the light bright in his eyes - how much he loved seeing her at this angle - and she kept her gaze his as she leaned forward and tapped the head of his cock against her pillow-soft lips. He sucked in a breath through his nose, lips pressed in a tight, thin line. Her tongue slipped past her full bottom lip and swirled over the salty, soft textured skin, tasting what had leaked desperately from the tip.

She bent her head forward, breaking their eye contact so her lips could stretch around his girth, leaning forward and sliding him over her warm, wet tongue. She started bobbing in slow strokes, letting the taste of him coat every inch of her tongue and his moans pour louder and louder over the top of her head. The sounds he made encouraged her, as did the way his fingers curled even tighter around her hair, just beginning to cause a little pain but not enough that she needed him to stop. While one hand kept on his cock, taking turns stroking when she popped her lips off his head to give her mouth a break, the other rested on his strong, still-dressed thigh.

“NnngghHazelfuck-” he barely bit up above her, his free hand joining the other in her hair, sloppily gathering the dark strands in his fists, letting her control the pace but clearly close to losing the battle not to control her, not to hold her as he thrust his hips and fucked her face.

Fuck, she was so wet. She could feel it, damp on the white-lace panties she was still wearing.

Relaxing her throat, she pushed him deep, and let herself choke a little bit. Let that soft inner lining of her throat squeeze tighter around his head and felt more precum leaking salty on her tongue as she pulled gently back. Flat hands on his jean-clad thighs let him know she needed a breath, and she popped off sloppy, spit coating her lips.

He pulled her hair back, tugged down so she’d be forced to point her face toward him and meet his eyes again. For a moment he looked at her - memorized how she looked with his precum and her spit glistening her kiss-swollen lips - and then he shook his head and released a shaky breath.

“Jesus Christ, wild filly,” he mumbled low, “you’re going to make me cum too soon.”

He gently unwound his fingers from her hair, massaging where he’d pulled a little hard, and then reached to grab at her shoulders and help her back up to her feet.

“Let’s go to the bedroom,” he whispered, ducking in to brush his lips over hers. The coarse hairs of his beard tickled her as he hovered for a moment, turned his head and sank into the kiss. His fingers curled hard around her, holding her to him as they kissed for just one hard, desperate moment… and then he let her go and stepped gently back, giving her the space to guide him toward her bedroom.

She glanced over her shoulder as he followed close behind, smile spreading to match the one he wore. They walked down the hall, not bothering to turn on any lights, blue-night shadows shifting across his face as they went. She pressed the door to her bedroom open, leading him inside. As she continued walking toward the bed, he lingered and closed the door quietly at his back. The pressure in the room felt as though it shifted. She turned, looking at him, still tasting him on her tongue.

What calm had briefly settled between them evaporated in a heartbeat. Matt moved in, boots making a quick, decisive path toward her. As he did, he pulled at the cotton hem of his shirt and lifted it off his body. Pushed the denim of his jeans along with his boxers down his muscled, brown-hair coated thighs, and stopped himself only to step out of his boots until he stood just out of arm’s reach, naked in front of her.

One last step. Their bodies near touching, but he didn’t put his hands back on her just yet. 

Lifting them to his hair, Hazel admired the shift of his work-earned muscles bulging along his biceps. He tugged the elastic hair tie from its hold behind his head, letting his dark brown hair settle gently down around his shoulders. He ran a hand through it, impatient and quick, and she caught the smell of his shampoo.

Hazel sucked in a hard breath. She ached between her legs, where he’d already stroked her to fulfillment.

Then, finally, his hands were on her, but for as desperately as he grabbed, fingers digging hard into her, leaving greedy red prints in their wake, he didn’t rip the lace of her lingerie. He popped snaps, unhooked clasps and pushed and guided the material off her body, as though excitedly unwrapping a gift. His lips were hot on hers once she was as nude as he was, his exhale buried in her mouth as he pushed hard and grabbed her against him even harder. His thick erection, still wet with her spit, pressed into her belly between them. She could feel it. Every needy, desperate, blood-filled inch. His mouth left hers, beard scratching her skin as he kissed down her neck and across the dip of her clavicle. He ran the flat of his tongue over her skin, dragging it slow as if to savor the taste.

She ran her hands down his nude front, over his firm barrel chest, feeling the few, sparse hairs he hadn’t shaved. Her hands continued down to his hips, where she curled her fingers and gently drug the tips of her purple painted nails along the slanted dips. He shivered and exhaled shaky over her skin, where he’d paused kissing and tasting, hovering over her. She trailed her touch further upward, never breaking contact, and reveled in the goosebumps that rose along his arms and the way he trembled with need underneath her touch, his cock twitching, precum leaking into her stomach.

A wide, firm hand came to her shoulder and pushed her back. The mattress brushed the back of her knees. She set her ass down on it, then pushed her palms into the comforter to wiggle her body back as Matt chased close behind, becoming a shadow over her, unwilling to break away from her for long. Her thighs fell apart invitingly, giving him space to push his hips between her legs as they settled atop her bed, him poised over her, his long, shiny dark hair spilling over his shoulders and around her like a curtain. She could smell his shampoo again.

He dipped his hips, and she sucked in a gasp as the velvet head of his cock traced between her wet pussy lips. He groaned gently and his fingers curled at either side of her head, slipping beneath the pillows and pressing hard into the mattress. He pulled his hips back and pushed forward again, only this time at an angle, so his cock found where she was drenched and neediest and sank a slow inch inside. She moaned.

Another inch.

Matt groaned and lowered to put his lips along on her jaw, up her neck, near her ear. Tingles swept down her body and made her velvet muscles clench around his girth as he continued filling her up steady inch by steady inch, until he was as far as he could go without testing her body’s boundary.

“Matt...” she exhaled underneath him, a needy whine in the back of her throat. She was asking him for something, begging underneath him, but even she didn’t know what she wanted. Faster? Slower? More? Less? To keep doing what he was doing, spreading her around him, sitting raw and unprotected inside her cunt?

Raw. 

She was smarter than that. They were smarter than that. She should push against his shoulder, tell him to pull out and put on a condom before they continued. Sure, she was on birth control, but why risk it?

Instead, she rolled her hips back, spread her thighs a little wider and hooked her legs around his hips. She pushed him in further, and he moaned and shook as another inch sank in, head buried to her cervix. He pulled his upper body back, lifting his hands from the mattress and gripping her hips, his cock sliding slow and wet from inside her.

That pace evaporated almost immediately as he pressed his fingers tighter into her hips and crammed all of his cock back inside, rolling into a rhythm that was nothing other than what it was: a good, hard fuck. The bed rolled with each demanding thrust, dark walnut wood frame creaking, headboard lightly tapping the wall it rested against.

Her mouth caught open and her back arched, pressing her breasts toward him as he held her up by the hips and built to something that almost seemed frantic and desperate, only half his cock pulling out of her pussy before he was shoving it back in. She moaned and cried his name, and he groaned and encouraged her. His eyes rolled back, then snapped forward, and his thrusts increased their pace toward further chaos. His biting fingers were going to leave bruises on her hips the next day, but she couldn’t focus on that. Only the sensations he was building inside her, the way he would fuck her harder for a few more strokes just to make her cry out and moan, then he’d grin down at her, clearly pleased at how he was affecting her. She couldn’t do anything other than grip the sheets and take generous thrust after generous thrust of his driving hips, crying out as the lip of his cock stroked teasingly at her g-spot.

Before the pleasure could mount enough to get her off, just when she was on the edge, toes curled, eyes nearly crossed, he dropped her hips back down and all but collapsed on top of her, chest heaving with desperate breaths and skin hot, sticky with sweat. They were only briefly uncomfortable as he moved shortly after, pulling himself off her body. She glanced with a puzzled expression as his cock popped wet out of her pussy but didn’t have to wait to ask why. He was already grabbing her, fingers curling around her arms, pulling her off the bed where he’d fucked the shape of her into her sheets, and turning her toward her vanity.

He must’ve noticed the mirror, framed in the same dark walnut as her bed, which was attached to her vanity when they walked into the room. It was large, tall, easily catching them both in its reflection. He set her palms flat on the edge of the vanity, his fingers brushing down her hands as he reached to grip his cock and shoved it between her legs with sloppy, needy haste. It was as though he couldn’t stand to be outside of her any longer than he had to be.

She gasped and moaned as he slid inside with ease; she was so wet; she could feel it coating her thighs and sticking to them both. Her eyelids fluttered open and she caught his dark gaze in the reflection in front of her. He rammed her harder when their eyes met, her breasts swaying and jerking with each thrust. His jaw was clenched, muscle jumping beneath his beard, vein visible along his neck, and his hands curled hard around her hips again, pinching into flesh as he pulled her forcefully back at the same time he thrust up hard.

“Fuck! Matt!” She gasped at their reflection in the mirror. It was driving her wild to watch him thrust behind her, to feel one of his palms slide and push almost angrily at her legs, his muscled, hairy thighs crowding in to hold them tight, forcing them closer together so her cunt would grip even tighter around his driving cock. The wet sounds of their flesh connecting filled the room with the rocking of the vanity, her little bottles and containers of cosmetics falling and clattering to the ground. He didn’t stop; she didn’t tell him to. They were trapped in that place, in watching each wild, passionate thrust send a ripple up the fat on her body, each stroke of his cock inside bringing them both pleasure, driving them further and further toward that edge they knew was within reach.

“FuckHazelI’m… Fuck…” He rammed harder, chasing nirvana, hunching over her back until she could feel the rough, short hairs of his dark beard scratch her cheek, his warm breath smearing on her skin. His body was a warm weight above her, the edge of the vanity bit almost painfully into the front of her hips, but all her mind could focus on was the wild pinnacle of pleasure she was about to crash off of with one… more… thrust…

“AHH! MATT!” She screamed, and her pitch echoed off the mirror her breath was now making clouds across the surface of.

“Fuck!” He grunted near her ear and drove her down onto the vanity, flattening her on top of it and jerking against her as he came. She came at the same time, though it seemed unplanned, as if their bodies finally couldn’t take it any longer and just happened to crash together. She twitched and cried underneath him, her cunt gripping and milking his cock and making him shake and groan even harder. Hazel could feel every hard squirt of his cum against her cervix, buried to his balls inside her as he was. And she felt how much it was, how it seeped from between their connected parts before he was even done coming.

Soon, their breathing was calming. Their locked muscles could uncramp, and he slowly lifted off her back with a weak laugh, muttering a gentle apology as he pried his fingers from around her hips where he’d definitely bruised her, and brushed her sweat-stuck hair away from her neck. She caught his expression in the mirror as he tensed, still buried hard and sensitive inside her. 

“God damn woman,” he managed, shaking his head as he met her gaze in the mirror, his hair dark and tumbling over his shoulders, strands sticking to the sides of his face. He gently brushed his fingers along the back of her neck, then slid his palm down her spine, tracing the length of her back. Hazel leaned on her forearms and exhaled, feeling weak and shaky all over.

“Was that worth the wait?” She wanted to sound sassy and playful, but she was so worn out it came out a soft, tired, happy sigh.

“Hell yeah it was,” he murmured, and grunted as he carefully leaned forward to kiss her between the shoulder blades. He reached between them and pulled his slowly softening cock from between her legs, letting it hang, satisfied and wet against his thigh. He reached for her arm and gently guided her upright, smirk picking up one side of his lips higher than the other as she wobbled slightly and tightened her grasp on his forearm to keep from losing balance.

“Shut up,” she said, but it lacked any bite. She was smiling too wide. “Quick shower?”

“Sounds great,” he agreed, but didn’t let her go before he had wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed a kiss against her temple, and then languid and soft across her lips. 

She smiled halfway through their kiss, and his mouth curled too, leaving them both looking with happy fondness at one another when he finally pulled away. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this happy.

“Come on, wild filly,” he said, sliding that arm around her waist so he could give her a light, but firm tap on her bare ass. “The sooner we rinse off the sooner I can hold you in bed.”

“You’re going to have to split the bed with the dogs, too,” she said, raising a brow as they started for the adjoining master bathroom.

“Not if I keep that door closed,” he said, nodding toward her still-shut bedroom door. “They can suffer a night on the couch so I can have you all to myself.”

Hazel laughed, and the sound bounced happily around the acoustics of the bathroom. 

“I’ll let you be the one to tell them that.”

*****

Though they spent the morning snuggled up in bed, naked limbs tangled, beard burn down her body as he sucked and kissed red marks over her breasts, and stroked slow and languid to enjoy every thrust together, the rest of it went by rather quickly. After coffee and breakfast Rosie and Andrea pulled up the drive, along with Andrea’s siblings in tow.

“I told some of the guys down at the stockyards what you were trying to accomplish here,” Andrea said as they stood by the level ground Hazel was planning on constructing the small stable at. “So we might get a few more hands to help.”

“That would be perfect,” Hazel replied with a bit of relief, worry on the edge of her tone. “I don’t know how he thinks we can get all of this built in just two weekends.”

“I’ve seen cowboys do crazier things,” Andrea laughed and glanced over at Matt, who was throwing a ball to one of Andrea’s youngest siblings, Daniel, with the intent to keep it away from Callahan and Carson, who barked and happily wagged their tails as they ran and jumped between them, trying to snatch it out of the air. Hazel felt something in her soften at the sight of him laughing, hair tied back in a bun, playing with the dogs and kids in the front yard. It was almost too picturesque. Almost too perfect. 

“So, y’all a thing yet?” Rosie asked as she joined Hazel and Andrea, following Hazel’s eyes to watch Matt as well.

Hazel stiffened.

“No,” she said, and a frown worked its way over her brow. A little panic wormed its way into her heart, and she gave her head a shake, pulling her eyes away from him. “I told you, we’re just friends.”

“Mhm,” Rosie said, sharing a look with Andrea that made Hazel roll her eyes. Whatever friendly wisdom she was about to bestow was cut off by the rumble of a large truck’s engine slowing and turning up the drive. Matt tossed the ball underhand to Daniel and waved at the driver, who Hazel immediately recognized as Kenny. Though she’d only met him once, he cut a pretty recognizable figure. Sitting passenger was -

“Nick. Oh my God. Hazel,” Andrea hissed through her clenched teeth, “You didn’t tell me Nick was coming.”

Hazel frowned and looked over at her.

“Don’t tell me you expect me to believe you wore that cute red top and that bit of make-up because you wanted to look cute for constructing my new barn. You knew if Matt was going to be here, Nick was going to show up too. I can see right through you.” She grinned as she teased, amused to see a little bit of blush creeping into Andrea’s cheeks.

“Shut up!” Andrea waved her hands in surrender and pretended one of her siblings needed something both to get her away from the conversation, and to distract her from Nick.

But Hazel saw the way he glanced immediately over at her before Matt approached him for a quick hug. She grinned and started over.

“Nick!”

“Hazel!”

He really had the sort of smile that if she looked it up in the dictionary, a picture of him beaming his pretty teeth would be right beside it. It was infectious and made hers spread and pick up into her cheeks. Matt was smiling too, as he looked from her to Nick and back again.

After she stepped away from a brief hug with Nick, Matt slipped his arm around her lower back and tucked her in so her hips bumped his thigh. Her breath caught at how perfectly domestic it seemed. How natural. How she liked his smell sharp in her nose, that shampoo he used, coffee, the little dab of cologne he applied that was just faint enough to intrigue her. When she glanced at his profile while he talked about what they had gotten at the store yesterday, explaining his plans to Nick, she stopped paying attention to what they were saying.

She knew she should - it was her barn and arena they were building - but she just kept staring at Matt. She reached up, fingertips skimming his hairline as she caught an escaped wisp of hair that’d picked up from the breeze and tucked it behind his ear. He slid his eyes to her - warm, bright in the morning sunlight - and smiled. It was a comfortable smile. A sweet smile.

One that reminded her of their late-night heart-to-hearts, where she kept having to switch to lay her phone on the pillow on speaker, because her ear was aching having been pressed against it for so long. Where she had to get her charger and plug it in to keep it from dying in the middle of their conversation. When had this happened to her? One minute they were just good friends, the next her heart was aching just as much as her thighs were.

Nick excused himself to help Kenny, and Brandon, who Hazel hadn’t yet met, and was talking to Andrea. She noticed Andrea change her posture a little bit as Nick approached and it made her smile.

“What is it?” Matt asked, sotto voce. He was still watching her, her fingers lingering their touch on his temple.

She slipped her hand away, but he still held her close.

“I was just thinking,” she glanced back over at Nick and Andrea, “Your brother. Do you think he might be into Andrea?”

Matt frowned and glanced from her, toward them, then smiled. “Yeah, he likes her.” His grin picked up a little higher and she trusted him to understand his brother’s body language quick enough to see it. He tilted his head toward her, and his eyes were hers again. “What are you thinking?” He seemed amused and intrigued.

“I was just thinking that maybe we should make sure they help each other on different parts of the job today.” She tried to sound innocent, but her grin was tilting in the corners and his was spreading wider as he watched it. 

Conspirators. 

“I’m sure they’ll work very well as a team together.” She shrugged.

His nod was a quick agreement. “Yeah, they look like they’ll have strong communication skills.” 

Hazel giggled.

“Matt!” Brandon - she really needed to find a minute to introduce herself to him - called up from down the drive and waved his hand. “Truck’s here with the lumber. Where should they unload?”

Matt slid his arm away from the small of her back and the loss of pressure and warmth and closeness almost made her frown. “Here we go,” he said, clearly excited to get the day started.

He, Kenny, Brandon, and Nick had already checked how level the ground was and started pointing and mapping out the perfect areas to build on, and what they’d need to do first. Matt jogged a step or two to close the gap in time before the driver backed into the driveway, waving his hands and nodding as he explained how he wanted him to maneuver around the vehicles in the drive and where they planned to unload the lumber.

Another truck pulled up, and Andrea waved with a smile, heading toward them as they found somewhere out of the way and parked. They were two older men, clearly cowboys by their denim shirts and work t-shirts, scuffed boots and slight bow-legged walk. That’s right, Hazel remembered, shaking her head and starting forward to greet them too, Andrea had said she’d told some of the guys at the stockyard cafe about what they were doing, and they’d said they might show up to help.

“Hi, I’m Hazel,” she introduced herself and reached for the handshake they were offering.

“Nice to meet you, Hazel. Ron.” He said. Hazel smiled and nodded, then turned to look at the second man and shake his hand.

“John. Andrea told me you and the Jackson boys are trying to get a barn and arena up for some horses?” She knew it had to have been at least partly because of Matt and Nick that some of the cowboys who ate at the stockyard cafe decided they’d come help.

“Yeah! Nothing too fancy, basic, sturdy construction. Matt’s got an idea in mind,” she waved her hand over toward where Matt and the boys were unloading the lumber. “Says it should only take two weekends.”

Ron whistled between his teeth. “That’s biting off a bit to chew.”

“I’ve seen shit built faster - oh, sorry ma’am.” John grinned apologetically toward her.

“Please,” Hazel said and waved a hand. “No offense. You might hear me say a colorful thing or two today if you stick around long enough.” They laughed and she nodded toward Matt. “Let’s go see if those guys need any help.”

A handful more people showed up, much to Hazel’s surprise, trickling in throughout the morning as they set to work on making sure the ground was level, digging post holes, mixing and pouring cement for the base, and getting everything in order. By early evening, the large group of twenty or so people - she couldn’t ever remember having this many people on her property - were exhausted, but happily chatting, having grown close throughout the day as they worked together. Carson and Callahan were happy too, having plenty of hands to pet them throughout the day, providing a distraction when anyone needed to take a quick break.

No one would allow anything but her gratitude, no matter how much she asked, so Hazel ordered up a generous amount of catering platters from a local barbeque restaurant and with a few makeshift adjustments to left-over lumber that’d be used to finish the construction, they had haphazard tables to set it all out on. Matt sent Andrea and Nick up to the store to get drinks, a couple styrofoam coolers, ice, solo cups, paper plates and plastic utensils. He turned and gave Hazel a little wink and a grin as Nick and Andrea set off toward the truck together. Soon enough it was an evening of people eating, drinking, chatting, laughing and admiring how much they’d accomplished.

A community.

She was lingering on the outside of the group - they’d started up her little bonfire when it got dark a few hours ago and plugged in the string lights she had up on her back patio - where she’d been helping clean up and put cans of empty sodas and beer away, watching everyone. A smile worked its way over her lips, but it was almost… sad.

It hit her then that this was something she’d been missing about this way of life. That this touched her heart with a kind of nostalgia that made tears prick sudden and hot in her eyes. She watched them, these kindhearted people who went out of their way to help a neighbor only from the goodness of their heart, not because they were expecting anything to come back to them. She continued smiling fondly, despite the rising tears, looking out over the faces of some people she’d just met today, and others she’d known for a long time, and she realized how comfortable she felt with them all.

She thought of everything she’d missed since she’d been gone, all the barbeques her large country-folk family used to have together. The late nights after a long show day, when she was exhausted but knew she couldn’t relax until the animals were cared for and bedded down properly. Those dinners at Denny’s that oftentimes went past midnight, feeling the grit and grime of dirt on her face from the day, laughing as she joked with the rest of her friends who’d competed too, or come along to support her, chucking fries across the table at each other.

All of it. She missed all of it.

“Hey, you okay?” Matt’s voice broke through the fog and when she blinked herself back into reality, she felt a tear slip down her cheek.

“Yeah,” she sucked in a shaky breath and looked over at him, smiling and lifting a hand to wipe at her eyes.

“Hey, hey,” he said with a soft whisper, moving in to slip his palms on her cheeks, cupping her face and turning it up toward him. He glanced between her watery eyes and softly shushed her as the pads of his thumbs skimmed her cheeks and wiped away the remnants of the few tears she hadn’t realized she’d cried. 

“What’s wrong babe?” He asked in that same quiet voice, the distant chatter and laughter background noise that seemed to fall even further behind.

“It’s nothing,” she started, and pulled her face from his hands, shaking her head. She couldn’t look at him when he looked at her with such deep, honest concern. Not when she was as vulnerable as she was right now.

“No,” he said, and his fingers curled around her elbow, turning her back toward him. His hand slipped to her back and he added pressure, guiding her into his arms. She stumbled toward him and swallowed back the lump that rose in her throat, slipping her arms naturally around him as his wrapped around her. She pressed her face against his chest and drug a deep breath that smelled and tasted like him. He rubbed his hand up and down her back, tucked his head against hers and squeezed his muscled arms comfortably snug around her body.

“It’s okay,” he whispered as her body shook with a sob she was trying not to cry. “You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.” He ran his palm up and down her back, squeezed her in a little tighter as a small, pathetic sound crawled up her throat at how much his comfort meant to her. “Shhh, I’m here Hazel. I got you.”

She didn’t cry, not the way she might have if it really was just the two of them alone. But she kept her face pressed against his chest, let herself breathe through the sudden damning ache in her heart that tightened her throat, and closed her eyes as she calmed the stammering, erratic beating of her heart. She focused on his smell, on the warmth of his body around her, of the strength in his arms she could feel around her, of the pressure he added to the gentle strokes up and down her back. With each second that passed by, she pulled herself back away from that longing and that sorrow, and only when he felt the tension leave her body did he pull his chest away and cheat his face down toward hers.

One of his hands came up and gently tucked her hair behind her ear. His fingers skimmed her cheek.

“Okay?” He asked with that same care and concern he’d shown in the way he held her.

“Yeah,” she said, and cleared her throat, nodding sharply as she drew a breath and pulled to step back out of his arms. “Yeah, I’m okay. Thank you.” Her voice was small, and they both knew she was, but wasn’t okay, but this wasn’t the time or the place for her to explain anything. What he’d done, holding there and being there with her, was exactly what she could have needed.

Hazel tried for a small smile and saw a little relief in the concern on his face when she did.

“Okay,” he said under his breath, then bent in and pushed his mouth on hers. It was soft. Their lips brushed, and they both melted into it, turning their heads to better adjust, and her heart lifted with the way his hands suddenly gripped tight and held her close to him. The kiss turned hungry, but wasn’t sexual, it was… deeper. A need to be as close as they could be after sharing a small moment together. A private place where they finally could kiss like that, when they’d been around people all day and could just flirt a little playfully, but never be as close as they wanted.

Matt’s tongue pried into her mouth and she made a small groan, opening her lips and slipping her tongue along his. His gripping fingers fell to her hips, massaging the sore bruises he’d left there before they curled around and both palms squeezed two handfuls of the fat on her ass. He yanked her body up against his and groaned when she slipped her tongue out of his mouth and latched her lips around his tongue, sucking playfully before she pulled back and broke the kiss. She could feel the growth of his erection as it started with how she was pressed up against him.

“Tonight is going to be torture,” he groaned. 

“Sorry,” she said with a laugh. It felt good to laugh, even quietly. “You know I couldn’t let them stay in a hotel.”

His brother, Kenny, and Brandon had traveled too far to go back home and rest up, so two would take the couches and one would take the guest bedroom. Unfortunately, that meant with the last night she and Matt had together, they couldn’t be as vigorous as they were the night before.

“I’ll get my hands on you still,” he muttered against her neck as he bent to press a kiss there, leaving little warm touches up her skin, the last lingering just below her jaw near her ear so the words he spoke were a whisper that tickled. “I’ll just have to cover your mouth to keep you from being too loud.”

A shiver ran through her as he leaned slowly back, eyes so dark, they no longer held the comforting honey-warmth she’d been looking into all day. Now they were hungry. Wanting.

The sound of boots scraping cement in an approach snapped them out of the spell they’d been pulled into. Matt didn’t let her go, though, only leaning back enough to turn his head and glance at who was approaching.

“Hey,” he said, lips turning in a smile as Nick came up, hands full of empty cans to discard of.

“Hey,” he said, and glanced between them, then bit down on a smile as he ducked around them and dropped the cans with a rattle into the plastic bag lined bins. “A few people are getting ready to trickle out. Things are winding down.”

“Alright, we’ll be over there to see them off in a minute.” Matt turned back toward her as Nick ducked off, back toward the crowd.

“I’m going to go splash my face,” she said, clearing the leftover emotions from her throat before slipping out of his arms and finding the night chill felt cooler than she’d anticipated.

“Alright,” he replied, and held onto her until he couldn’t anymore, until the grasp on their fingers broke softly away. She gave him another smile to let him know she was okay, and this one was a little bit higher than the last. He matched it with his own, then watched her walk inside before going to return to the people helping clean up, getting gathered in the groups they arrived and ready to go.

Inside, Hazel splashed her face with cool water from the sink in her restroom to erase any trace of her prior tears. She wouldn’t want anyone there to think she was upset, because she wasn’t, really. Her heart was full for the first time in a long time… and somewhere, deep inside, that scared her.

She knew how quickly that could all be snatched away.

She looked at herself for one more moment in the mirror and then nodded, wiped her face with a clean washcloth, and headed back outside.

Seeing everyone off, one group at a time, took a little time. Andrea was the last to leave, siblings piled into her car. When Hazel remembered to ask her if she and Nick had a fun day together, she’d had to bite the inside of her lip to keep her smile from spreading at the accusatory glance Andrea gave.

“I knew you were up to something!” She said under her breath, standing beside her car.

“You know you had an awesome day,” Hazel teased.

“Come on Andrea!” Daniel complained, cracking the car window down, “I need to get home so I can get on xbox,” he waved his phone, “Trevor and Noah are already on!”

“I’m using the xbox when we get home!” Shouted Anthony, the oldest of the bunch at fifteen, from where he was sitting in the front seat.

“Nu-uh, I called dibs!”

“Boys!” Andrea scolded, glaring at the car full of her younger siblings. “Daniel, roll the window back up, I’m talking to Aunt Hazel. We’ll leave when we leave.” 

Daniel groaned and rolled the window up, leaving their fighting to be muffled behind the glass as the kids started to argue again. Andrea’s eyes slid to Hazel, who was used to the chaos her friend lived in. She offered a supportive smile and Andrea sighed into one, too.

“Okay, fine. It was actually really nice.” She glanced over her shoulder to look where Nick was helping Matt, Kenny, and Brandon put everything up and get everything ready for tomorrow. “He’s really nice.”

“He is,” Hazel agreed.

“What about you and Matt?” Andrea asked, looking back at Hazel. “You two seem…”

“More than just hookup buddies?”

Andrea hummed her agreement and Hazel shrugged helplessly.

“I don’t know. I’m too afraid to ask him.”

“Do you want to be more than hookup buddies?”

“Yes? No? Maybe? Probably not?” Hazel stumbled helplessly through her half-answers and groaned, shaking her head until her dark hair was a curtain around her face. “I don’t know what I want.”

“I think you do,” Andrea said and when Hazel looked up at her, saw her eyebrows were pinched in a concerned frown. “I think you do want a relationship with him, because he’s more to you now than just a casual hookup. But I think you’re too scared to open up again, and hey,” she reached out and gently touched Hazel’s arm. “That’s okay. I remember everything you went through after Ethan. It’s okay to be scared, Hazel.”

“You’re right,” Hazel worked a sigh through her emotion-tight throat and shook her head again. “You’re right.”

Andrea pulled her in for a hug, gave her a little squeeze and smiled as she pulled away.

“Cheer up, huh? You got a really hot cowboy to come build you a barn so you can get a horse. That’s a win in Hazel Baker’s book if I ever heard one.”

Hazel laughed. “You got me there.” She stepped away so Andrea could get in her car and waved as she backed out of the driveway. 

The boys had done most of the clean-up by the time Hazel made it back up the drive. “Thank you, guys,” she said, “I could use you around here more often.”

“That sounded like a threat,” Brandon joked as they started toward the house, Callahan and Carson joining the group, tails wagging as Brandon reached down to give them both a little scratch behind the ear. Hazel grinned over at Brandon.

“Well, I guess that means we have to do a bad job tomorrow so she’ll kick us out for sure,” Kenny supplied.

“She won’t have to kick you guys out; I’ll do it for her.” Matt threatened as they walked into the living room. Nick snickered as Kenny mocked a gasp. Hazel shook her head at their banter.

She’d already set up the two long couches with a blanket and pillow each. Brandon and Nick had agreed to sleep out on them and didn’t bother with her apologies for not having enough beds. Kenny was shown the guest bedroom, where he’d take the bed. Then it was just her, Matt, and the dogs left to wander toward the room and softly let the bedroom door click shut behind them.

Matt’s hand reached out to brush the small of her back as she slowed her pace in front of him, purposefully leaning back to have his touch. He rubbed his fingers over her shirt, pressing the fabric to her skin.

Carson and Callahan trotted to their beds and laid down, seemingly satisfied to fall dead asleep within seconds. They’d had a long day full of plenty of stimulation; it’d been awhile since that many people had been over. Hazel and Matt were mostly alone in a house full of people, and the touch on her body was different than it was last night.

This time it lingered.

Savored.

Appreciated.

He stepped in behind her, sliding his hands over her wide hips, looping them around her body. He pulled her back against him and nestled his chin on her neck. A low breath leaked from his nose, a contented sigh to just hold her like this after a long day. Maybe too, to remember what holding her like this felt like when he was back on the road again in less than twenty-four hours. The more he paid attention to every detail the easier it’d be to close his eyes and remember being so close to her, holding her, when they talked on the phone as he traveled.

Then his hands gripped along her arms and he turned her to face him as he leaned back enough to fit her snug, belly to belly. He lifted his hands, framing her cheeks, and leaned down to melt his lips against hers. Hazel’s arms lifted between their bodies, sliding up his stomach and chest over that soft cotton tee he wore. She looped them around his shoulders and pulled herself up as she pressed to the tips of her toes, giving everything in herself over in that kiss. He responded, his hands back on her waist, massaging as he wrapped around her and closed her in, squeezing a little hard so she’d feel how strong he was for her.

Their mouths opened, tongues pressing along one another’s. Their breaths hissed desperate through their nose, not ready to pull apart, but lungs burning with a need for air. She pulled him tighter down. He squeezed her harder against him. His beard prickled against her skin.

They only broke apart once they couldn’t take it anymore and froze in each other's breaths, chests heaving as they drug in air they needed. Their eyes met.

What is this? 

His fingertips skimmed the hem of her shirt and then pinched, gathering the material and slipping it upward. At the same time, he nodded his head to indicate for her to lift her arms, which she did almost feeling as though she were in a daze, trapped in watching him care for her. He exhaled when her shirt slipped away, despite the fact he’d seen her nude the night before. Despite the fact she was still wearing her bra and it wasn’t anything pretty, either.

Was she reading too far into it?

He slipped his hands to her jeans and pinched, pulling the denim together to slip the metal button out of its slot. He pulled the zipper down slow, letting its sound drag over their ears. He gathered the material at her hips and tugged hard enough to pull it down her thighs, around her knees.

“Step out of them,” it was a gentle command and he helped her as she lifted her knees, pushing her jeans around her ankles where she could sidestep and leave them a pile on the floor along with her socks and boots. His fingertips skimmed up the sides of her thighs and stopped at the elastic of her panties. They curled around it, pulling the material slowly away from her body. He peeled them down and she parted her thighs so he could. His chin pointed to his chest and he groaned softly under his breath.

“You’re already wet for me,” he whispered, and showed her the damp spot on her panties. She nearly trembled.

He leaned in and pressed a kiss against the corner of her mouth. “Come on,” his fingers slid down her belly and pressed between her legs, “let’s go to the bed.” 

He followed her until the back of her knees pressed her mattress, his artful, stroking finger already circling her clit and making her struggle not to moan loudly. When she did, he shushed her gently and admonished. “Naughty girl, you don’t want them to hear you, do you?” He leaned close and whispered over her skin. He pushed her to sit on the bed, then crowded close so she’d have no choice but to crawl back and give him space above her on top of her soft, pale blue comforter.

He slipped two fingers inside her and switched the pad of his thumb to stroke her red, raised, needy nub. His fingers mimicked strokes, pulling and pushing in and out of her. He added a third and she had to bite the inside of her bottom lip hard to keep from moaning loud enough someone else in the house was bound to hear. He seemed to enjoy her reaction to him, smiling as he gentled the way he fucked her with his fingers and leaned down, kissing her mouth gently. Fully.

Then he leaned back and pressed his fingers in harder. Stroked the inside of her walls, curving and sliding over that elusive g-spot. Her toes curled and she shivered. Once he knew where it was, he grew almost eager to see her rendered helpless with pleasure he brought on her. Her thighs shook from how hard she’d clenched them, her fingers curled so tight into the fabric of the comforter they ached. Her hips bucked desperate against his hand, as if her caught-open mouth and arched back, wide-open hips and rolled-back eyes didn’t tell him how desperate she already was.

His free hands reached up and clamped down hard over her mouth and the hand inside her pushed in further, stroked deeper. Faster. She pressed the back of her head into the pillows and pushed her heels against the bed, every muscle in her body seized tight. His thumb swept that sensitive nub and the pleasure erupted inside her, making her thighs clamp hard around his arm and her body to curl in on itself. Her muscles squeezed his fingers as she moaned and squeaked behind his hand, barely muffled by it, her hard breaths pushing desperate out of her nose.

Matt stayed with her until her body stopped seizing. Until she shakily dropped against the bed and her thighs fell lazily apart, aching at how hard they’d just squeezed. He gently pried his fingers out of her wet and slipped his hand softly away from her mouth before pushing himself off the bed. He leaned down and kissed her, it was brief, but full of… something.

Surely the racing of her heart only had to do with the orgasm he’d just teased her into.

Standing back, he tugged his clothes away from his body with haste and let them join hers on the floor. When he pressed his knees into the mattress, he was naked, cock thick, veins standing out along its length and head red, desperately filled, a bead of precum leaking from the tip. It twitched as he let his eyes fall down her nearly naked body - just her bra was left on. Matt climbed carefully up her, the weight of his body dipping the mattress and rolling her gently toward him. He pushed her knees and she spread her legs wider to fit his hips between them, his hard cock pressing against her wet lips. His arms wrapped around her shoulders, palms pressing against her back. He enveloped her and sank his lips to kiss her as he pulled his hips back and his raw head made its way between her pussy lips where she was warmest and wettest. He sank in slow, stretching her around inch after inch until his head pressed just before hitting her cervix. He broke his mouth off hers and breathed shaky above her.

Still inside her, he took care to roll them on the mattress, pulling her up so he’d be laying with his head against the pillows and she’d be spread out on top of him. Her knees pressed at either side of his hips, and he rotated his and pushed them up, pressing more of his length deeper inside her. He filled her. A barely-hushed groan crawled up this out of his throat. He jutted his chin upwards toward her and kept his arms firm and securely wrapped around her as she laid out over his chest. Their hot, sweat-damp skin stuck together, but neither seemed to care.

They were too trapped in this moment, all too aware of every sound they couldn’t make, of how affected they were by one another. Their eyes met and he pulled one of his wide palms from her back so he could hold her face as he steadily fucked her. She could feel his strong abdomen clench every time he pushed his cock up inside her. She could feel her hips press down greedy on him, catching his pace and driving it quicker. She could feel how wet she was, how it coated their thighs. 

Their moans froze in their throat and leaked as desperate, sad little pants hushed in the air between them. Their skin stuck and peeled apart as she rode him. Her clit rubbed against his body with each stroke, and he’d dropped his hand from holding her face to wrap his arms around her again. He squeezed her tight against his body, nestled her against his broad chest lightly dusted with chest hair, and pushed his cock up hard and desperate inside her. They were chasing that frenzied end, where the pace was picking up, and they were struggling more and more with each glorious second not to scream out loud.

“Matt,” she whined, a whispered plea, her brows pinched tight.

“Yeah,” he groaned between his clenched teeth underneath her.

“I’m-”

“Come on baby-” He encouraged in a matching whisper, and her thighs locked down at the next sweep of her slick skin down his body, and his press up to fill her further. With his cock buried as deep inside her as he could be, her muscles seized, she cried out a little louder than intended, and shook on top of him as her orgasm rolled through her body. When the muscled walls of her vagina squeezed around his cock, Matt grunted underneath her and pressed his hips up a little higher - head of his cock squeezing against her cervix - and went completely still.

“Hazel,” he whispered on a heavy breath, eyes locked on hers. His body jerked and his brow pinched, hair a tousled dark mess around his face. She felt the heat of his cum empty inside her and only then realized they’d done it again. Fucked raw. Without protection.

She wasn’t sure whether it was a big deal that, when she looked at him coming off his high beneath her, she was happy he’d cum inside her. She liked the feeling of it. Of just them. A smile curled the tired edges of her lips and, when he saw it, a matching one slowly grew across his. He eased the way he’d squeezed her against him, but kept his arms still loosely wrapped around her, not quite ready to let her go. She leaned down, pressed her lips in a sweet kiss in the middle of his chest and turned her cheek to rest against him.

It was faintly uncomfortable, sticky and warm like that, him still buried up inside her, but it was also somehow comfortable too. Hazel listened to the soft thump, thump, thump, of his heart as it’s erratic beat calm, and felt hers slowing to match it. After he’d rested a few moments his hands started gently rubbing up and down her spine in slow, methodical strokes. They stayed like that for a little while, until they pulled toward the verge of falling asleep. Then, he sucked in a sharp, heavy breath to wake himself up and chuckled softly underneath her.

“Come on,” he ushered gently.

“No,” she muttered and snuggled in closer against him, enjoying the warmth radiating off his body. She was only then aware of how tired she was. Of how sore she was.

Matt laughed again.

“Come on, quick shower before bed.” He pushed her gently upward and she gave him a small, pouty glare which he grinned at. She groaned complaint as he gently pried her thigh off him and slipped out from between her legs, cock semi-hard and softly wilting. As he pushed himself off the bed, Hazel stretched naked atop the sweat-damp sheets. He paused by the bedside to appreciate the view, then quirked a brow and held a hand toward her.

“Let’s go, dirty girl,” he whispered.

She grinned at him for that one, then slipped off the bed, legs shaky as they were forced to support her weight.

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to walk right for a week,” she complained under her breath as they padded on bare feet around discarded clothes for the bathroom.

“Good,” Matt said, “that means you’ll be feeling better by the time I get here next weekend and can do it all over again.”

***

The second day went quicker than the first. The arena was built by the time they were done, much to her surprise. But, with just needing post holes dug and cement to harden, it wasn’t quite the construction the barn was. Eventually she’d turn the other half of her property into a turn-out paddock, but for now the arena could double as such. By the afternoon the barn stood as a frame with steepled plywood to make the roof, the skeleton of the insides built atop the cement-poured floor. Hazel stood inside it and whistled low under her breath.

“I can’t believe it. It already looks like a barn.” There were three stables that would have half-doors on hinges and a little room built off to the side for her tack and feed. Nothing was enclosed yet, that would come the next weekend, but for the most part she could already see exactly what it was going to be.

And she couldn’t stop smiling. She looked at the men who’d helped her and saw they were grinning, too.

“Thank you, guys. Really. I can’t thank you enough for this… I…” words failed her. She didn’t know how to tell them how much this meant to her, but they seemed to understand with how warm and kind their eyes were.

“Any time for a girl as sweet as you,” Kenny said kindly, opening his arms as she stepped in for a hug. He held her friendly, warm, and pulled away so she could hug Brandon and then Nick, too.

“We’ll have this done next weekend.” Brandon said.

“If we didn’t have to get back, we’d have it done by Tuesday.” Nick supplied.

Hazel laughed. “I can be patient enough to wait for a weekend.”

They stepped away from the barn, retreating toward the house so they could gather their things and get ready to hit the road. A biting sense of dread rose in her throat as Matt tucked her against his side. It wasn’t just Kenny, Brandon, and Nick who were leaving, but Matt, too. It had only been two and a half days, two nights, and she wasn’t ready to let him go. She wasn’t ready for the questions that would creep into her mind as distance pulled them apart. She wasn’t ready to not have his calm touch or his love-sweet smiles when she needed to look toward him for support. She wasn’t ready not to have his comforting warmth wrapped securely around her as she slept at night. She wasn’t ready for the spot in her bed, which he seemed to fill so perfectly, to be empty again.

But it didn’t matter if she was ready or not. This was the unfortunate reality.

All night and all-day Hazel had been mentally warring with herself on whether to address her feelings with Matt. He seemed more affectionate and warmer toward her the entire day, and she wondered if she was projecting what she wanted from him. They had felt closer after their moment the night before… and she saw the way his eyes caught on her and felt the way his touches constantly lingered, how he seemed unable to keep from reaching for her whenever she was close enough to touch.

Maybe he was just trying to touch her as much as he could before he was gone.

Maybe he liked her as much as she liked him.

After Brandon, Kenny, and Nick pulled from the drive and took off down the road, she couldn’t keep it in anymore.

“What is this?” She blurted out and didn’t mean to sound as panicked or confused as she did. Matt tilted his head as he turned to look at her and a light frown tightened the pinch of his brow.

“What is what?”

“This.” She said, then gestured between them. “Us.”

He didn’t melt. In fact, he almost stiffened. Her heartbeat increased.

Oh no.

“I don’t know, Hazel.” He said, his voice soft and troubled. He glanced away, tongue sweeping his lips. When he met her eyes again, she could have sworn she saw a little bit of pain there.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, and he firmly shook his head.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry about. It’s just…” He ran a palm over his face and exhaled a breath. “You’re the only girl I’ve been talking with these past two months, the only girl I care to talk with. I…” he reached for her then, as though he couldn’t confess these pieces of his heart without touching her in some capacity. “I care about you Hazel. I really do. Do you think I would do any of this,” he gestured behind her toward the construction of her barn and arena, “for a girl I didn’t feel anything for?”

“No…” she said and shook her head. “But are we… are we in a relationship?”

“I…” he slipped his hand from where he’d been gently holding hers. “Hazel, I can’t… I can’t be in a relationship right now.”

Her heart sank.

Fuck.

“It’s not that I don’t want to be,” he urgently continued. “Trust me. It’s just… the rodeo. I’m traveling constantly, plans changing frequently. We’re at a crucial spot in the season. If I miss one ride, it could wreck my PRCA points and take Nick and I out of the championship for the rest of the year.”

“I get it,” she said, but her throat was tight and it was hard to get the words out.

“Hazel,” he started, gentle, and she took a step back.

“No. You don’t have to say anything else, really.” She tried to smile, but it couldn’t curb the hurt in her eyes she was trying to hide. “It’s okay Matt. I was dumb for even bringing it up.”

“Don’t do that.” He said, and there was something in his tone that made her eyes meet his, and she saw a matching sort of hurt there.

And in that moment, it made her angry. Angry that he would be hurt, when it was his choice to not even try.

“Don’t do what?” Her voice snapped and she fought to keep from wincing at her tone.

“Don’t just brush me off like everything’s okay just because you don’t want to talk about something difficult.” His voice rose a little, stress pulling it tight.

This wasn’t how their goodbye was supposed to go.

“Well…” But she couldn’t think of what to say. She just started, then stopped, looked at him, swallowed the lump in her throat and looked away. “I don’t even know why I asked.” She added, teeth pinching her bottom lip so the pain would keep her from crying. Stupid. This was all so stupid. She shouldn’t have said anything.

“Hazel, listen to me,” he was gentle again. Trying. He reached and his fingers curled around her arms and tugged her toward him. She considered bristling, but decided to melt instead, and sighed against his chest. His arms came around her, his head tucked on top of hers. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He said. “You told me everything with your ex-fiancé and I… I don’t want to be the guy who hurts you after you just started working through all of that. My focus right now is on my career,” his wide palm ran up and down her back, “I would hate myself if I was the one who hurt you again.”

That’s not fair, Hazel thought, but pressed her lips together and didn’t say so.

“I care about you.” He said, and when she didn’t make any noise, he slipped his arms from around her back and gently grasped her shoulders. He pulled her back from him and peered down into her face. “Hazel, I care about you. More than I ever intended to, if I’m being honest.” He reached and tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear, then fell into holding her face. “You mean a lot to me.”

But he wouldn’t even try? Wouldn’t even see if just maybe, they could make things work? Because he didn’t want to be the bad guy if she wound up hurt? 

“Hey,” he said, and his thumb skimmed her cheek. “Earth to Hazel.” The sweetness in his voice just made her want to cry more.

“I think,” she said, clearing her throat and moving her head back so his hand would fall away from it, “It’s just been an emotional weekend for me. I got in my head about everything and confused myself.” She knew how to put her pain away, and so she started to do so, making excuses that sounded logical. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get all… you know.” She shrugged.

“You have got to stop apologizing for things that don’t need an apology.” He said, but his tone was a kindhearted tease, trying to help lighten what heavy, serious mood had just laid over them. “We are definitely more than what we intended to be, aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” she agreed, and maybe it made her heart hurt a little less to know he felt so too. Or maybe she was telling herself that to get through this goodbye.

“Look.” He sighed through his nose and reached to pull her in again. He left a warm, lingering kiss on her crown before he spoke again, and she felt the rumble of his voice in his chest, he held her so near. “How about at the end of this rodeo season, you and I talk about our future, alright?”

Six months.

“Until then, let’s just keep what we have, and if there’s ever a weekend between rodeos or a rodeo nearby, I’ll do what I can to come visit you, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, and tried for another smile. It wasn’t anything overly cheerful, but seemed enough to satisfy him to smile back.

“Okay.” He agreed, and leaned in to gently put his mouth to hers. She took a second to respond in turn, but then her lips were moving on his and she was opening them for his prying tongue. His arms held themselves strong around her, fingers stroking along the curves of her body as they kissed.

They broke apart and she found it a little easier to smile.

“If you think about it, I’ll be right back here in just a few more days.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Me neither.”

For a minute they were stuck in limbo, hyper aware of the minutes ticking down and the long drive he had back home. Aware that even though they’d settled for a moment, something had changed as soon as they broached the topic of the depth of their romantic relationship. He sucked in a sharp, sudden breath that swelled up his chest, as if waking up from a dream. 

“Okay,” he sighed the breath back out. “I’ll… text you when I get home?” His hands were pinching his hips. He looked at her and smiled, and this time she didn’t think it was unfair that his was pained too.

Goodbyes - no matter how temporary - sucked.

“Okay,” she agreed, her breath a little hitched; a little emotional.

“Okay.” He said and cleared his throat, nodding and moving toward his truck. There was a tense set in his shoulders, and she clasped her hands in front of her and wrung her fingers a little, just to have something to do with them. Her chest ached a little more and a little more every step he was away from her until, at last, he was pulling down the driveway with one last, sad look in his eyes and lifting his palm in a small wave. She lifted her hand to wave after him and didn’t move clear until she could no longer hear the rumble of his truck’s engine down the road.

The days passed by rather quickly and with nothing out of the norm. Hazel and Rosie ran the coffee shop during the day and every night her phone buzzed, Matt calling to check in, both of them sharing stories about their days. Certain moments, when they grew a little soft and a little more tender, would suddenly stretch themselves out and hold a new sort of weight. Hazel knew better than to talk about it, but burying it and ignoring it was getting harder every time. How she expected to spend another entire weekend with him and not feel more of those heart-racing feelings that scared her, she didn’t know.

She could feel her phone buzzing in her pocket, but her arms were full of a fifty pound bag of dog food, and she made a small noise of distress as she tried to balance it between her hip and the wall as she shoved the house key into its slot and turned the lock. The door flew open, she’d pushed it with too much force, and Callahan and Carson were right there barking and happily wagging their tails as they greeted her home.

“Hi guys, hi, I missed you both too!” She said, rushed but soft as she dropped the hefty bag down unceremoniously, making them jump and perk their ears at it before they went to investigate, tails wagging once again when they realized it was food. She grabbed her phone quickly from her back pocket, feeling as if she just slid to answer the call when it was about to click to voicemail.

“Hello?”

“Hey!” Matt seemed surprised too. “I thought I was about to get your voicemail,” he laughed a little dryly.

“Oh I know, sorry, I was carrying the bag of dog food in so my arms were full. What’s up?” She asked, then frowned as she noticed the clock on her living room wall told her it was barely three in the afternoon. She hadn’t expected to hear from him until the evening, like usual. 

It was Thursday, she’d be seeing him tomorrow night. Thinking that must be what he was calling about, she bumped the front door shut with her hip and walked over to fall back on the couch, deciding she’d put the dog food away when they were done talking. It felt nice just to sit down after errand running anyways.

“It’s about tomorrow,” he said, and Hazel smiled. She’d guessed right.

“Listen,” he started, and she felt a sudden prickle, something that finally tuned her into his tone. He didn’t sound excited. “A spot just opened up for Nick and I up at Dalton. Even second place there would get us enough points to push us up even higher on the rankings, and then with Broken Bow, Laton, and Pike’s, we’re almost guaranteed our spot in the Wrangler NFR.” 

The Wranglers National Final Rodeo was the rodeo. It was the season-ending championship event for the PRCA, taking place the second weekend of December, generally considered the world’s premiere rodeo. That was where the best of the best of the best competed. But only if you’d scored high enough in the rankings the rest of the professional rodeo season.

“Hazel, I’m sorry,” he started, and she shook her head as though to pull her out of a daze.

“No, hey, Matt, you don’t have to apologize.” Their conversation from just a few days ago was ringing in her ears. It’s just… the rodeo.

“Look, I promise, Nick and I will make it out there to finish your barn as soon as we get a break from rodeos.”

“Matt, it’s okay,” she hoped she sounded convincing. She didn’t want him to hear the disappointment that was sinking in her chest. “I get it, don’t worry. I wasn’t planning on getting a horse any time soon, remember?” She pinched the fabric of the couch, then idly plucked a dog hair off of it.

“I know, “ he sighed, “I know I just…” Didn’t want the rodeo to come between them when that conversation was still chasing the edge of every talk they had at night?

“I know.” She said softly between them.

“I’m sorry Hazel.”

“It’s okay,” she said, “you have to bring home that championship buckle to me at the end of the season, remember?” She tried to make her tone lighter than she felt.

“Yeah,” he laughed softly. “Yeah, that’s right.”

***

“Alright Rosie, I’m heading out!”

“See ya babe,” Rosie called cheerily from the back of the shop as Hazel waved goodbye at their employee working the till and stepped outside to her truck. She jingled the keys in her pocket and popped open the door, climbing up inside.

It was new - well, newer - she’d traded in her little Ranger and upgraded to a truck big enough to tow a trailer. Not that she had a trailer, or a horse, or even a finished barn.

It had been three weeks since Matt hadn’t been able to come back into town and finish building everything, going rodeo to rodeo all over the United States. She swore she didn’t mind, she knew he’d been doing her a favor in the first place, but she still had yet to tell him the plan she’d decided on. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t told him. She’d had plenty of opportunities, since they talked every day in some capacity be it a phone call in the morning, night, or text messages throughout the day. During any one of those moments she could have told him about the calls she’d made and the meeting she’d arranged to have that Tuesday afternoon, but she hadn’t.

The little bell above the door chimed as she passed over the threshold and the receptionist behind the desk smiled cheerily.

“Good afternoon!”

“Hi, I have a meeting with Jeremiah?”

“You must be Miss Baker.”

“Yeah, that’s me.” Hazel smiled.

“I’ll let him know you’re here, just have a seat and he’ll come get you when he’s ready.” She picked up the phone and tapped the keys, likely dialing his extension.

“Thank you,” Hazel nodded and sat down, noting how comfortable the waiting room chairs were. There was a little fountain happily bubbling away in a corner, and the room smelled faintly of sandalwood. She let herself admire the pretty marble tiling and how professionally clean everything was. This place had amazing reviews on google when she’d been doing her research which was why she’d chose it in the end.

“Miss Baker?” A kind male voice asked, and she glanced to see the man she’d talked to on the phone a few days ago smiling at the entrance to a hallway. She stood up and made to cross the room so she could accept his stretched out hand in a firm shake.

“Please, Hazel’s fine.”

“Hazel it is,” he grinned, and let her hand go, nodding down the hall. “My office is the third door on the right.” Then, as they walked toward it, he started their conversation. “You were saying you have a half-finished barn you need completed? Was it another construction company you worked with who did the prior work?”

Hazel shook her head as they stepped into the office. “No, my…” An awkward pause, she smiled, “my friends were trying to help me get it built, but they compete in the rodeo and, well, the season is picking up right now. We were going to wait to finish it in January, but I don’t think I want to wait that long.”

“That’s smart of you, especially if the wood was left untreated,” he said, sitting behind his desk and rummaging around for the file they’d started on her when she’d made the appointment. She’d sent them a ton of pictures they’d requested to try and get a quote together. “The rainy season will hit around October or November, and if that wood isn’t tarped up properly or sealed there’s a chance it could be warped come January. Safer to just get it done now.”

“And less of an eyesore,” Hazel joked.

He chuckled. “Yeah, definitely that too.”

“I might come into owning a horse before January too, so I’d like that barn to be finished.” She’d been talking to the contact Matt had gotten her a few weeks ago. They still had the little barrel horse available for her to come out and look at, but she said she wanted to get her barn done first. She knew she could keep it up in the arena, but she didn’t want to skip any steps.

“Well, the foundation work looks pretty sound from the pictures you sent. I won’t know until I get there of course, but I don’t see any reason why my guys can’t get this job done in a week.”

“A week sounds perfect.”

***

Adrenaline. It prickled down his arms; crawled up his spine; raised the hairs on the back of his neck. His horse below him shifted its weight, hooves pressing in the soft arena dirt. His heartbeat was picking up, it was the third ride of the night for him and Nick. The one that counted most. The one that made up for any mistakes on the other two, and could help round out one hell of a score.

It meant another win.

It meant more points on their total.

It meant one more spot up on the rankings.

It meant one more rodeo down until he could finally see Hazel at the end of the season.

Matt exhaled low and steady, transferring his reins to one hand and smoothing a palm down his horse’s already warm neck. He could always tell when they were getting closer to the run by sensing Matt’s mounting nerves, by the place they took as they made for the box, and by the sounds of the steer being loaded into the chute and the crowd starting to murmur with buzzing, growing anticipation.

“We got this,” he said, though to him or his horse, he wasn’t sure.

As he always did before a run, Matt glanced over at Nick. Their eyes met and Nick nodded. Matt nodded too and squeezed his knees, turning his horse toward the box. What nerves had been twisting and bunching in his stomach weren’t necessarily gone, but were suddenly easier to breathe through. He pulled back the reins, gently, and his horse backed up until it tucked into the back left corner of the box.

He reached for his rope, and flexed it in his fingers. A breath. He glanced toward the chute to see the little roping calf that was loaded, his horns specially wrapped to protect him when he was roped. Matt glanced at Nick to check he was loaded in the right back corner of his box, then glanced toward the man who held the lever to pop the chute.

He nodded.

The metal clanging of the chute opening felt as if it was right against his ears. In a lurching flash of orange-brown, the slender steer calf leaped free from the chute. Matt kicked his heels into his horse's sides and his horse leaped forward, all the coiled muscles that’d been wound tight seeming to suddenly snap free and stretch. Matt kept his balance with ease, core tight and boots firmly in the stirrups so he could concentrate on snapping that lasso through the air as quickly as he could. The loop sailed beautifully around the horns and he tugged, sitting his weight back hard in the saddle so his horse would pull up its gait and turn as the rope went tight. They pulled the calf to the left and Nick’s rope snapped from behind right on time, cutting through the air with a whistle Matt could hear over the background roar of the crowd.

The lasso slipped around the calves' back hooves like natural and he turned his horse, both men letting their ropes go slack at the exact same moment they faced one another.

The buzzer sounded.

The crowd cheered.

The calf bawled and trotted off toward the outside, followed by the pick-up man, safely stepping out of their ropes.

Matt was almost scared to look at the time as he started to pull his slack, free rope back toward him, looping it with quick practice and setting it over the saddle horn.

He couldn’t hold off any longer. He glanced up and looked to where their time was reflected.

The red glowing numbers on the board read: 4.9 seconds.

Their best time that night. Hell, that was their best time in weeks.

He broke into a grin and looked for Nick, nudging his horse to trot toward his brother. “How about that, huh?” He laughed, lifting a hand for a high-five.

“Not bad at all,” Nick agreed with an even wider smile and clapped their hands together.

The crowd cheered at their retreating backs as the announcer excitedly speculated they’d be certain to take the win tonight with that run. The screen replayed every second in slow-motion, pointing out every flawless piece of tag team action between him and his brother. Matt grinned over his shoulder at it, then twisted forward in the saddle, leaning to pat his palm happily against his roping horse’s neck. The rider he’d given his phone to hold held it up toward him and Matt leaned down to grab it, seeing notification banners across the screen and Hazel’s name.

The excited boyishness of his smile subsided into something warmer as he balanced back in the saddle and clicked his tongue, squeezing his knees and encouraging his horse in a languid cool-down walk back to the trailer. With his other hand he was free to cradle his phone and turn the screen up toward him, swiping across with his thumb and popping open the messages he’d missed.

He was excited to tell her he was pretty sure he had it in the bag. That they’d run a 4.9 second round. He could only imagine how excited she was going to be. That was something new for him. Matt actually found himself looking forward to Hazel’s reactions when he called her nearly as much as he did to the runs themselves. He’d even started daydreaming about bringing her along to the Wrangler NFR so he could have her there as he took home the final gold of the season.

Her messages popped up and he grinned down at the screen, body swaying gently in the saddle with every step his horse took.

TEXT FROM: HAZEL ❤️️❤️️ Hey! No need to worry about the barn not getting done until January! Surprise!!! I hired a construction company to finish the job at the beginning of this week. They said you guys made it easy on them. Look at how nice it turned out!! I upgraded a couple features, splurged a little, but I love it.

There were pictures too. A pretty three-stall wood finish barn, but they’d added small turnout paddocks and doors to the back of each stall. The roof was tiled now rather than plain plywood laid over wooden two-by-four beams for support.

It was nice. It was a good barn. The wood was finished, the handles on the stall doors glittered a pretty faux-gold, the trim was painted a nice hunter green…

His fingers clenched tight, curling around the phone as the muscle in his forearm tensed. His brow furrowed hard enough for an ache to spread across his forehead and his jaw clenched as his teeth pressed hard together. That was supposed to be the thing he did for her. She was supposed to be able to look at that when he wasn’t there and remember that he could come through for her on some things. That he could be there for her when he was miles and miles away.

She couldn’t wait four and a half months?

Why didn’t she tell him she was going to get it finished and pay someone to do it? He would have…

“With a five point penalty Colby Snow and Marcus Wright fall behind, putting the Jackson brothers one step closer to winning the night!” The voice crackled over the speakers, and a distant crowd roared their approval in return.

He wouldn’t have been able to do anything. He wouldn’t have told her he would skip this rodeo to finish her barn. He would have asked her to have a little patience in him. Didn’t she say she wasn’t in a hurry to get a horse? Why the sudden rush?

His chest stung with a heavy weight and he rolled his eyes in irritation, blowing a low breath out of his nose and swinging his leg over the saddle to dismount. One hand gathered the horse's reins, the other stuffed the phone back into his pocket, her messages left on read. Reaching for the halter still secured on the side of the trailer he looped it over his horse’s ears and swapped the bridle out, gently easing the bit from his horse’s mouth. He didn’t bother reaching for his phone again while he untacked and rubbed down his horse, using the physical activity to work through the tension that was wound suddenly tight inside him.

Halfway through, when he was just pulling the saddle and pad away from his horse’s sweaty back, his phone buzzed again in his pocket. He set the tack in a heap of leather, buckles and straps on the ground and pulled it out, seeing he had a message from her. His lips pressed into a line and he looked at her name on the notification, then chucked it lightly toward one of the two camping chairs that were set up nearby. It landed with a soft thud and he turned back to tend to his horse.

“Hazel’s calling you.” Nick said a few minutes later, his horse cared for and two bottles of cold water in hand. He chucked one underhand across the gap between them as Matt turned to look at him. 

Matt caught it and twisted the plastic lid off with a jerk, spilling a few drops on the ground.

“I know.” He said, and there was a bite in his tone.

Nick looked immediately both confused and concerned, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. They spent so much time together that a lot of times they only needed to share a look to communicate.

“She finished the barn.”

“Hey, that’s good, right?” Nick supplied helpfully, flopping down into his chair and shrugging.

“Yeah.” Matt said, and pinched his hip with his hand, exhaling heavy and shrugging. “I guess.” He walked toward the other chair, reaching to snatch up his phone. Missed text message, missed call. He jostled it in his hand, fidgeting a little, then turned to sit and look forward at their horses, postures relaxed as they were secured to the trailer. He shoved the water bottle in the cupholder so he wouldn’t have to hold it anymore and reached to tug his hat off, rubbing the palm slick with cold condensation down his dusty, warm face.

“I wanted to finish it for her.”

Nick had waited until Matt was able to get his thoughts out, and he hummed under his breath as if to signify that’s what he’d assumed must have been it.

“You got her started,” he pointed out, and didn’t talk again until Matt finally turned his troubled, dark eyes toward his younger brother’s watchful blue ones. “She wouldn’t have built that barn if you hadn’t suggested it. You can’t really blame her for being excited and getting it finished, deciding she doesn’t want to wait around for you to get done with the rodeo.” He waved his bottle around them, at where they were and what they were doing.

Matt’s face read clear as day that he didn’t like that answer, as true as it may be. He looked forward again and huffed a sigh from his nose. “When the hell did you get so wise?” He complained, “I’m the older one.”

“When the hell have you ever been the wise one?”

He rolled his eyes and saw Nick’s wide grin before chucking the plastic cap to his water bottle at him, which Nick caught. Matt grabbed his phone and flashed the screen back up at his face before unlocking and clicking her name, calling her back and bringing it to his ear.

“Hey! How’d your run go?” She sounded so genuinely happy for him, it was hard not to smile.

“It went good. It went alright.”

“Just alright?”

“We ran pretty well. Clean.” He wasn’t sure why he suddenly didn’t want to tell her how good they’d done or brag and let her fawn over him. Normally he loved doing that. “We have about another thirty minutes for everyone to finish out their rounds for the night and then we’ll know for sure.”

“I’m sure you guys have it.”

“Thanks babe.” He said, and the lightness in his tone sounded authentic even to his ears.

There was a brief, somewhat stretched pause and he knew what was coming before she spoke.

“Sooo… did you see the pictures?” Nervous, but clearly unwilling to let the call drop without talking to him about it.

“I did. It…” he trailed off, and thought about that way she smiled when the facetime camera was pointed at her after her rides and he got to ask her about them. While there was still a sour note in his belly, he dropped the tension in his shoulders and in his tone. “It uh, looks good.” He forced happiness he didn’t quite feel into his voice.

“Yeah?” She breathed a sigh of relief, and when she started to talk again she sounded excited. “I can’t believe it! I just stood out there staring at it for an hour after they left. I can’t believe I’m this close to finally owning a horse again.”

“Yeah, you are.” He smiled. “Hey, uh, sorry to cut this short, but I gotta go. I need to keep an eye on the scores.”

He didn’t.

“Oh! Okay! I’ll… talk to you later?”

“Yeah. I’ll call you or send you a text when I’m able to. Might not be until tomorrow depending on how late everything goes.”

“Oh, okay…”

“Alright. Bye Hazel.”

“Bye… Matt.”

***

Hazel’s phone chimed as she scooped the dog kibble into bowls for Carson and Callahan, who were excitedly tapping their nails on the hardwood floors, tails and bodies wagging in anticipation. She glanced toward it, sitting on the table, hoping it was Matt. He’d sent her a text late the evening before with a picture of his new buckle and the news that they’d won, but she’d already been fast asleep. With sleep still in her eyes she’d typed out her happy reply, congratulating him and asking him to pass her congratulations on to Nick, too.

She placed the dog food bowls down and stepped away from the rush of gold-fur bodies as the dogs crowded in to begin to eat. Scooping up the phone from the counter the smile she had slipped away as she noticed the sender was an unknown number, not Matt’s. She swiped to bring up the text message and her confusion melted away as she saw the recent back-and-forth messages. This was the number Matt had given her a couple months ago about the barrel horse for sale, she’d been talking with him at the beginning of the week about arranging a time for her to drive down and try the horse out.

She hadn’t had a chance to tell Matt yet, and the man’s ranch was only an hour away from Matt’s, which meant she could plan a little impromptu trip to visit him before he took off for the next rodeo.

The text message, however, took those plans away.

I’m sorry, someone came by to check Red out yesterday and liked him so much, they bought him on sight. I do know someone who’s been working with some youngstock for rodeo competitions. I don’t know if he’s got barrel horses, but you can give him a try. Tell him Bob sent you.

The number followed. Hazel clicked it and brought up a new message, trying not to feel the disappointment that was sinking her heart. Shopping for a horse was an entire ordeal, it wasn’t like she would have liked the horse the man had for sale anyways. All she could do was keep reaching out, keep looking around, and eventually she’d have a horse of her own again.

Hi, Bob gave me your number and said you might have horses for sale? I’m looking for a horse that might be able to barrel race. They don’t need to be trained, I used to train barrel horses. Just as long as they have it in them, I’d be interested in checking them out. I’m free next week depending on how far out you are from me.

She had just set her phone down when it chimed. She was surprised to see there were already messages back.

Hello, I’m available any day next week. I have three horses I’d consider selling, only one has barrel racers in her blood, but I think the other two could be pushed to it. I’ll send my address, let me know when you can make it.

The address followed, which she tapped into her map application. 

“Six hours away…” It was six hours in the opposite direction as Matt, which meant she wouldn’t be able to plan her surprise trip to spend time with him, but six hours was a doable day drive. If she left early enough in the morning she could get there by early afternoon.

How does Monday work for you? She typed back, watched the bubbles pop up…

Sounds great. See you then.

A grin broke out across her face. She clicked over to her contacts and tapped Rosie’s number, bringing her phone to her ear and unable to keep her happiness from her voice when her friend answered.

“Rosie! Want to come with me on Monday to look at a horse?”

“I would love to!” Surprised, delighted, Rosie pressed on, “That guy Matt got for you finally got back about that horse he had?”

“No, he actually sold it already, but he gave me a number for someone who has a few horses for sale and they said I’d be free to come out on Monday. It won’t be near Matt, so I’d love some company, if you’d be down for a little road trip.”

“Absolutely, babe! Count me in.”

Hazel grinned. “Awesome!” She was excited to take Rosie with her, to have her to talk with the whole way there and back, and to share that moment of looking at a new horse with her. It would have been nice if Matt could have met her at the ranch, or even getting to talk with him about it afterwards, but this would still be fun. “We’ll work out the details later. I think we’re probably going to leave in the morning.” She knew that wouldn’t be a problem, given the early start she and Rosie kept just to get the shop opened.

“Let me know once you have everything worked out.” Rosie said, and Hazel could hear the smile in her voice.

“Okay!” She promised, pulling the phone away and ending the call. Excitement bubbled up inside her and she danced a little in place before she felt silly and laughed, rolling her eyes and turning to glance out the kitchen window to where she could see the turnout pens behind the barn. 

One day - maybe soon - there’d be a horse there, too. Hers.

***

“We’re almost there,” Rosie announced, having glanced down at the phone which highlighted the map they were traveling down.

“Good,” Hazel said, spreading her fingers from where they held the steering wheel of her truck to work out the cramps. Six hours wasn’t awful, but toward the last two she’d felt like it was starting to drag a little bit. It’d be nice to get out, stretch her legs and walk around. Rosie agreed to drive them back, but they’d already marked out a couple nice hotels they wouldn’t mind stopping for the night at if need be.

She glanced down at the map too and saw their destination was just another thirty minutes away, tucked far outside the city among miles and miles of ranch property. All these wide open entrances with cattle guards spelled out each neighboring ranch that bordered one another, though there was a lot of acreage between them. Sometimes they drove for thirty or so minutes before they finally saw the next glimpse of a new ranch house, barns, horses and cows owned by someone else.

The road curved through foothills and the music crooned softly low, Rosie and Hazel singing along, taking turns or joining in to act overly into the words as they did. They often broke apart in giggles, but this time when Rosie broke away it was to gasp in awe. “Wait, is this it?”

Hazel looked at her phone and saw the map was indicating they were coming up close. She eased her foot off the gas to slow the truck down and glanced up to see what Rosie was looking at.

A curved ditch ran along a property with tall oak trees grown along its edge, which threw a cloak of shadows over the white-fence pasture which bordered it. There was a gravel-laid road that curved past the pasture, flanked by another on it’s left. Horses grazed among the tall, deep green grass, their tails gently flicking at their hinds in the late afternoon sun. They lifted their heads and perked their ears, turning to watch the truck that turned slow and steady into the drive and rolled slowly passed.

Hazel and Rosie admired how pretty the horses were in the front pastures.

“These must be the breeding mares,” she commented, noting the heavy swell of some of their bellies. “That one looks ready to foal any day,” she nodded over her steering wheel at a little bay roan mare standing by the hay feeder, plucking some hay free and chewing the strands as she watched Hazel and Rosie drive past.

“Aw, I wish we would have come when there were babies.” Rosie said with a sad sigh.

“Me too!” Hazel agreed.

At the end of the drive there was a ranch house to the left, a large open space ahead, a large barn, and an outside arena. There looked like there was another barn tucked a little further back, but the messages had said they’d meet by the main barn or the arena and he’d keep an eye out for her when she arrived. He’d promised to have the most likely candidate for barrels ready to be saddled by the time she got there.

She rolled the truck to a slow stop near the main barn and put it in park, turning the keys over and shooting an excited grin toward Rosie before she popped out of the cab. Her boots hit the gravel with a soft crunch and she glanced back toward the right-hand pasture she hadn’t gotten a good look at, so distracted by the pregnant mares in the other one. 

“Oh, I wonder if that horse is for sale,” she remarked, looking at the golden horse far off in the pasture. She was too far away to tell any distinct characteristics, but she had a pretty honey color that shone as it caught the dappled light filtering through the oak tree leaves.

“That one is so pretty!” Rosie said with a sigh. “That’s socks, right? Those markings on the legs?”

Hazel grinned and looked a little more closely at the mare as she picked up her legs and walked idly through the pasture, swinging her head down to continue grazing as she moved. “Yeah! Looks like she has two socks as far as I can see.”

A strange feeling crept into her stomach. She frowned and blinked at the mare. Why did she feel like she’d seen this horse before? There was just something that seemed somewhat familiar about her. As if sensing she was being watched, the mare picked up her head and turned her neck to look over at where Hazel and Rosie were standing.

There was a little white snip on her nose.

“Oh my god, I know that horse.”

“What?” Rosie said, blinking and whipping her head to look at Hazel.

But when Hazel turned her head to tell Rosie what’d just occurred to her, she caught sight of movement back at the entrance of the barn. The owner had heard her pull up and was coming out to meet her, as promised.

Only, when they’d been texting, she hadn’t thought of exchanging names. Hadn’t really cared. Now she realized maybe she should have, because she felt like all the air had been ripped out of her lungs. Standing not ten feet in front of her, stopped in his tracks, was none other than Adam Page. He was dressed down from when she’d last seen him. Now he was dressed in just a cotton t-shirt, wranglers and boots, with his blond hair pulled up in a high bun. One of his (she guessed many) championship belts caught the afternoon sun and glittered prettily.

They were just staring at each other.

Hazel could have sworn the whole damn world stopped spinning. She didn’t care how stupid that sounded; that was how it felt.

He started walking again, but each step felt slow. Was she dreaming? They always seemed just as real as this did.

He stopped in front of her.

“Hazel.” He said her name in a breath, and she wasn’t sure what sort of breath it was, or what expression was in those pale blue, pale green eyes of his.

Surprise. Anxiety. Excitement. Hopefulness. Worry. Relief.

All of it in his tone and across his face.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Hazel, now. No longer Miss Baker.

[lily-fics-11]

The Girl Next Door: Chapter 5 (Hazel Callahan, Bottoms)

Fic master post here (feel free to comment to be added to taglist)

The Girl Next Door

You hadn't been close with your neighbor Hazel for years. But you find her beat up in the locker room after fight club and all of that changes

Chapter 5

Now that you are an official member of the fight club Hazel is ready to teach you everything she knows.

Word count: 4.2k

CW: Profanities. Canon level violence. Car almost crashing. Mention of a bomb.

“You better not kill me Callahan!” The warning comes with a playful smirk as Hazel backs out of her driveway. 

“I swear I’m a good driver!” she laughs. That turned out to be an enormous lie. Hazel nearly gave you a concussion after slamming on the brakes as a yellow light turned red. You could have sworn she almost missed the red because she was looking over at you. But that is the type of wishful thinking that causes trouble. You see her wearing your initial on her wrist and you shake your head, reminding yourself that it doesn’t mean the same thing to her that it does to you.

In all honesty, flirting with death doesn’t sound so bad when sitting next to Hazel and dreaming about flirting with her. 

“I’m not going to let PJ get away with what she pulled yesterday.” Hearing that tugs at your heartstrings. The girl you love being protective? What more could you want?

Without thinking, you put your hand on her thigh when you tell her that she shouldn’t give PJ the satisfaction. Hazel looks over at you, her jaw dropping. You quickly pull your hand away. “Oh my god I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to…” as you look away to avoid eye contact you realize that there is a stop sign that Hazel does not seem to be aware of. “Hazel the road!” You yell at her in a panic and she slams on the brakes just in time to avoid driving right into a busy intersection. 

She looks over at you, afraid and ready to apologize. But it is just so damn cute and endearing that you start laughing. Her face goes from flustered to concerned. “I literally almost killed you!”

That makes you laugh even more. “What’s a few more bruises? Just drive, Hazel.” She regrips the steering wheel, her knuckles turning  white, proceeding with great caution. 

“I meant what I said about PJ. She’s not worth your time. There are more important things for you to focus on.” You tell Hazel before taking a sip of your coffee.

“Yeah, like you.”

Your heart stops for a second and you nearly spit out your coffee. “Like me!?” You exclaim, completely bewildered.

“I didn’t mean it like- it's just that- the thing about us is…” Hazel trails off for a moment like she has lost her train of thought. She takes a deep breath before continuing on. “I’m the one who introduced you to the club. It’s only fair that I fight you like I said I would. You’re a little behind, but I’ll teach you everything I know.”

“That sounds great Hazel, thank you.”

The rest of the car ride is awkwardly silent. Hazel is a yapper so that doesn’t bode well. Is she already regretting this? After arriving at school the two of you say “see you later” and part ways. 

___________________________

The school day drags on, monotonously and endlessly. Missing Hazel increases exponentially as time passes. The hope that she still wants anything to do with you is the complete opposite. As the hours pass you convince yourself that you’ve royally fucked up. 

Nerves have been building up all day, so when you get to the gym after school you are relieved to see that Hazel is once again talking to Josie and PJ. Hazel is glaring at PJ and she is glaring back, the conversation clearly heated. Josie is looking back and forth between the two like she wants to intervene but doesn’t know how. 

It’s not long before PJ yells “lets get a move on cuntskillets!” Hazel is unfortunately on the opposite side of the gym from you, leaving you unable to get close to her. Instead of stepping into the center like she did yesterday, PJ stands alongside everyone else and says “alright, how about Hazel?” PJ’s eyes scan the group for a moment before landing on you. “Get out there princess!” she orders.

You and Hazel step forwards but keep your distance. Based on your observations of Hazel’s other fights, she seems to be much more calculated then everyone else. She uses moves that seem to be some sort of martial arts, whereas the rest of the girls just start shoving and throwing punches. Unsure of whether or not to make the first move, the two of you begin to circle each other. Hazel seems a little hesitant so it only makes sense to take the offensive position. Without wasting any time you charge forwards. Before making contact as intended, she swiftly turns out of the way and you stumble to the ground to avoid knocking anyone down with the momentum. Expecting Hazel to take advantage of your tumble, you twist up and around as fast as possible. Having said that, she is still choosing to leave a fair amount of space between you. You opt for a slower approach this time, but she flawlessly dodges the punch thrown her way once she is within reach.

After locking in Hazel’s gaze you smirk and roll your eyes. “Defense Callahan? Really?” Her lips part like she is about to say something but she hesitates before sighing. “You don’t know what you are doing, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’m tougher than I look.”

Hazel shakes her head. “You need to learn what you are doing first.”

“Then give me a lesson, Haze. I’m a hands-on learner.” The taunt is paired with a wink. Adrenaline is fueling unprecedented confidence.

That earns you a smug look from Hazel. Her eyes are trained on yours when she gives in. “Fine. But I’m not going for your face. Unlike PJ, I know how to treat a pretty girl.” Before you can even process what she has said you are stumbling backwards after taking a jump kick to the chest. You smile, too focused on Hazel to be phased by the pain. She’s true to her word, not going anywhere near your face. All the same, she low key beats the shit out of you. Enjoying every second of it feels wrong. The euphoria is afflicting, but seeing her like this is invigorating. Fighting Hazel only makes you want her more. 

She delivers a punch to the gut followed by a roundhouse kick. Allowing no time for regained footing, Hazel sends you crashing to the ground with a swift leg sweep. Back flat against the ground, Hazel looms over you, straddling your hips. You try to sit up, hands reaching forwards, in an attempt to push Hazel off. But she catches your hands in hers and laces her fingers through yours. She lunges forwards, slamming you into the ground, arms pinned down above your head. A competitive drive is the only thing keeping your thoughts from wandering suggestively. You squirm around and try to break free, but Hazel’s grip is firm and she is a lot stronger than she looks. If you simply tilted your head up your lips would meet hers. You hold your breath and close your eyes, fighting the urge to steal a kiss. When Hazel whispers “so how did I do?” your eyes shoot open, face burning red

“I’m not quite sure I’ve got the hang of this yet,” you murmur. “We should probably do this again sometime.” You long for that moment to last but Hazel pulls away with a cheeky grin. She gets up before helping you to your feet and shaking your hand. There is a dizziness that could be from your head hitting the ground so hard or the inability to come to terms with the feelings brought on by this.

You make it through another fight somewhat successfully. Being matched up with Isabel was more of a level playing field. Sure she has more experience, but she somewhat lacks strength and confidence. The lighthearted nature of wrestling with your close friend was very helpful in taking the edge off after the more intense fight with Hazel. It was all giggles and smiles with Isabel. As much fun as it was, you couldn’t help but steal glances at Hazel. Her watchful gaze was both unnerving and exciting.

Even after cooling down from the second fight your heart was racing thinking about the drive home. This morning had been confusing. It was awkward. But you two had still had a moment. And the fight? It was intense, intimate, and in all honesty, a bit of a mind fuck. You can’t believe how bold you had been or that Hazel had matched your energy. For you the tension had been palpable. Had it been the same for her? For everyone else in the room?

When the meeting is over you scramble to get your things and busy yourself by joking with Isabel about your fight. The distraction is enough to allow a few laughs, but also for you to nearly jump out of your skin when you feel a hand on the small of your back. Your head snaps around to be met with a concerned look on Hazel’s face. “Oh my god, I didn’t mean to scare you, I’m so sorry!” She quickly removes her hand and steps away. The loss of contact leaves behind an empty feeling, the yearning to be near her only getting worse.

After saying goodbye you head out with Hazel. She starts talking about how much she is enjoying watching everyone improve and that she is hopeful these girls actually stand a chance at defending themselves if they need to. Although getting the gist of what she is saying, the details are jumbled around, the overwhelming emotions an unavoidable distraction. You slowly start to zone out, unaware and out of it until Hazel asks “are you ok?” after getting into her car.

You shake your head and blink rapidly in an attempt to get grounded back into reality. Without looking over at her you make the excuse. “I’m just feeling a bit dizzy, that's all.” Fortunately you are a much better liar than your neighbor, though you hate giving her anything but the truth. However, these are extenuating circumstances. 

Hazel gasps loudly. “I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you so hard.”

“That's not it, it's just that you um… you don’t need to apologize. It's all in my…” you stop and clear your throat, giving you enough time to shift your thoughts. Despite the apprehension you turn towards her so that she believes it when you assure her “I was the one who told you not to hold back. Don't worry about it Haze. If anything I should be thanking you, for presenting me with a challenge and politely avoiding my face.”

She bites her lip. “Remember what I said though. Even getting beat up can’t make a difference on a face like yours. But I’m still really sorry.”

You neglect to acknowledge most of what she just said in fear of taking it the wrong way. “Did you know you apologize a lot?”

Hazel takes a deep breath and covers her face with her hands. “I apologize so much because I feel like no matter how many times I say I’m sorry it will never be enough. I don't know if I'll ever forgive myself for hurting you.”

“Hey, Haze, look at me.” She uncovers her face and there are tears in her hurt, puppy dog eyes.

“I forgive you, I really do. And you said you would make it up to me right? All I want is for things to go back to the way they were.” Thinking about that makes your heart hurt. It’s not your true desire, but it’s the best that you are going to get. She nods her head. “I just want… yeah, that's what I want too.”

“Just be mine,” you nearly choke on the air in your lungs after realizing what just slipped out. You quickly try to recover. “Just be my best friend again.”

“I’ll be whatever you need me to be.” Every last breath gets sucked out of your chest. If only Hazel knew how you really felt, she would show some mercy and be more careful with her words. She would pity you, but spare you any extra heartache. After regaining your composure you tell her “we should get going, I need to ice my whole body.” 

You twiddle your thumbs, afraid of saying the wrong thing. You fear hearing more words that could be romanticized or mean something completely different for you than it does for her. After mustering up the courage, you change the subject.

“You know you actually seem to know what you are doing. When you're fighting. Where did you learn all those moves?” You inquire with genuine curiosity.

“Well I did tae kwon do for a little while but also Mortal Kombat.” Hazel explains.

“What’s Mortal Kombat?”

“It’s a video game.”

You chuckle. “Makes sense why I don’t know it. My gaming knowledge doesn’t go any further than the Sims.”

Hazel bites at her nails. “I play Mortal Kombat all the time. Do you have any plans Friday night? You can come over and we can play it. If you aren’t busy. And only if you want to.”

Your face lights up. “Friday? I'm free friday.”

—————————

The next few days go well. School work wasn’t too bad, no discernable drama, and more time spent with Hazel. You savor every moment with her, all of the car rides and getting up close and personal while fighting. Pinning each other to the ground is always the best part of your day. It is a little odd that all of your fights end that way, but you wouldn’t dare complain. 

On Friday when you get to Hazel’s house Mrs. Callahan is sitting in the room off the foyer. “Is that who I think it is?” she calls, getting up to greet you. “Hazel told me you two were friends again but I wasn’t sure whether or not to believe it.”

“Mom!” Hazel groans. Mrs. Callahan puts her hands on her hips. “What honey? Can you blame me? It’s been years!”

“We are leaving now.” Hazel tells her sternly and grabs your arm to pull you away.

When you get to Hazel’s room you guys get settled. Hazel sits in her gaming chair and you get comfortable in a bean bag. She passes you a PS5 controller. “I’m assuming you don’t know how to use this?” 

“That would be correct.” She angles her own controller towards you and starts pointing to the different buttons. There are some arrows and shapes? It is really hard to pay attention to what she is saying when you are looking at her hands. The silver rings on her fingers. How she effortlessly maneuvers different combos that mean nothing to you, but definitely get your heart racing. You don’t snap out of your daze until Hazel prompts you. “Think you've got it?”

You couldn’t repeat back a single thing she said but couldn’t tell her that. There was no world in which you clued her in on what had been distracting you, and even if she went over it all again the same thing would happen. “Yeah of course!” you lie with an enthusiastic nod.

Hazel loads up the game and a selection of characters come up. “Which one do you play as?” You inquire.

“I like to switch it up,” she explains. “Everyone has different special moves and I like getting to use them all. I haven’t played as Johnny Cage in a while so I think I’ll go with him this time.”

You scan the list of characters and declare “Sonya Blade looks like a baddie I’m playing as her.”

Hazel laughs. “What?” You question a little defensively. “Was that a bad choice? Should I pick someone else?”

“No, no. It’s just funny that you picked Sonya when I’m playing as Johnny. They were married and then got divorced. But they still love each other.” You are silent for a moment after hearing that. You had Hazel, only to a certain extent of course, but then you didn’t. You strayed away from loving her, but never too far.

“What a coincidence.” Your fake laugh is feeble at best. “I’m ready though, we can start the game.” After the game begins you start hitting random buttons, a futile effort. Hazel won rather quickly. She giggles. “I thought you said you were ready?” You roll your eyes with a smile. “I just need some practice, that's all. Start another round!” You demand playfully because you literally do not even know how to start a new round.

A seemingly endless cycle begins. Hazel beats you game after game with little to no effort. She eventually catches on that you might not have been getting everything she had explained earlier. You can only pray she doesn’t figure out why. “It seems like you didn’t get what I taught you before. But you said you are a hands-on learner right? Move over.” You abruptly attempt to shift over as far as you can while the bean bag chair is caving in. After failing to get very far Hazel plops down next to you. The two of you sink further into the middle, pressed up against each other. As much as you always hope to be this close to Hazel, you never actually know what to do when that fantasy becomes a reality. She sighs. “You aren’t even holding the controller right.” She reaches one arm around you and moves your hands into the correct position. This was definitely not how you imagined this evening going but you will be eternally grateful for the divine intervention. Hazel goes over the basics once again and then moves into the combos, guiding your hands into place for each one. 

After going over everything again Hazel takes her arm back from around you. It feels wrong, like you belong in her arms, but you push that thought out of your mind. She puts both of her hands in her lap. Looking down, she fiddles with her rings. Hazel clears her throat and you look over to her and temporarily lose yourself. You desperately search her beautiful blue eyes for something, anything, that might indicate she wants you that way that you want her. But she looks uncomfortable, and even a little nervous. Your hopes and dreams are like waves, rising up only to crash back down, over and over again. Hazel’s lips are so close to yours. It would only take a small slip to bridge the gap between them. “Do you want to try another round?” She asks. “I won’t play, I'll just talk you through it.”

“Um yeah. Let’s try that.”

Over the next couple of games you actually start to get the hang of it, with Hazel’s help of course. Eventually you don’t even need any tips or reminders. After you really think you’ve got it, you announce “alright, I’m ready to beat you now.”

“If you say so,” Hazel laughs and gets up, leaving you regretting your decision, wishing you had played stupid. Damn your competitive nature. Especially because you played for another hour and didn’t even win a single time. Stupid. Stupid! Your ego is hurting when you groan, “ok, I surrender. I can’t do this anymore.” That leaves Hazel looking very smug and amused. “It’s basically dinner time anyway. Is there any chance you would want to, um, stay for that? We could order a pizza or something. Or we could get whatever you want. If you want to stay.” She looks down at the floor before you can answer,

You can’t help the blushing smile on your face. “Pizza sounds great.”

“Really?” she looks back up at you, her posture straightening up.

“Yeah! We could watch a movie or start a tv show,�� you suggest with a shy smile.

Hazel blinks rapidly in disbelief. “You would want to start watching a show? With me?”

“Yeah, that way you have a reason to keep hanging out with me,” you tease her

A knowing smile spreads across Hazel’s face. “You couldn’t get rid of me even if you tried.”

“You say that now,” you begin, voice shaking before pulling yourself together to continue. “Just wait until I’m beating you up in fight club and in Mortal Kombat.”

“That's never going to happen. But I guess that means I’ll never have to lose you again.” Her words hit like a freight train that either came at the best or worst time, you aren’t sure which one.

You bite your lip. “You’re cheesier than this pizza is going to be Callahan. Keep it up though. I’ve missed it.”

Hazel looks away and scratches the back of her head. “Anything for you.” As hesitant as you are to believe her, there is no stopping your heart from nearly exploding.

Hazel orders the pizza and you guys stay hanging out where you were. Until the pizza arrives. 

She puts it on her bed and gets comfortable. There is no point in denying that you’ve imagined this moment, ending up in Hazel’s bed, in your wildest dreams. But the reality of this is terrifying. It’s like reaching out for something but never actually being able to grab it. You are filled to the brim with anxiety when sitting down on the opposite side of the bed, at the very edge. Hazel is lounging comfortably but you are sitting with your knees tucked into your chest, arms wrapped around them to try and provide a sense of security. You are looking at the tv when your hand reaches into the pizza box, only to accidentally graze Hazel’s hand. You don’t even dare look over at her, just at the box, so that you can see when it’s safe to reach over again. 

As time and episodes go on you start to relax. Instead of sitting as far away from Hazel as possible, in a state of disarray, you find yourself sitting with more ease in a spot that doesn’t come with the risk of falling onto the floor. 

Once you are done eating Hazel leaves to put the leftover pizza away. While she’s gone your eyes wander around the room. All the old pictures are still up on the wall, and she has hung up the picture the two of you took the other day. She’s got quite a few completed Lego sets on display. There’s a basket of yarn in the corner, Hazel has always liked to crochet. An extensive collection of trinkets is scattered throughout the room. Movie and video game posters are plastered on the walls. There is something small, with wires sticking out of it, sitting in the middle of her desk. It looks almost like a… bomb? You don’t give it much thought. This is Hazel Callahan: certified sweetheart. She would never do anything to hurt anyone. Well, unless they deserved it.

When Hazel comes back into her room and crawls back into bed she sits much closer than anticipated. Close enough to lean your head on her shoulder and for her to put her arm around you. No matter how badly you want that you can’t let yourself get any closer. Being close and cuddling had always been normal for your guys but that was before you realized you were in love with the girl next door. But your neighbor did sit close to you, and it’s nice to see that she is comfortable with you once again. However, it would only cause agony if the two of you were doing the same thing with completely different intentions. You watch the show, laughing, talking, and overall having the best time, though painfully aware of what you are missing out on. Time does funny things when you’re with Hazel, so when you get a text and see that it’s midnight it makes a ton of sense, but also none at all. It’s a text from your mom. “Are you staying over at Hazel’s?” 

Your face turns bright red. You were most definitely not going to spend the night with Hazel. The two of you are used to sleeping in the same bed but that was then and this is now. Wanting to sleep on the floor or in the guest room could raise suspicion. You clear your throat. “Wow, I can’t believe it’s already midnight. I should probably get going.”

Hazel looks over at you and seems a little disappointed. It pains you to see that look on her face. Unfortunately, you have learned the hard way that you need to protect your feelings before those of other people. She gives you a hug and you pull away rather quickly and get up a little awkwardly. Hazel’s dissatisfaction is evident. “I guess I won’t see you until Monday. Is it ok if I text you before then?” She asks hesitantly. You smile at her. “I’ll be looking forward to it.” 

[lily-fics-11]

The Girl Next Door: Chapter 7 (Hazel Callahan, Bottoms)

Fic master post here

Tag list: @avocifera, @academiareid, @fictionalgap @dynsdiary @sndixz @athenalive @lamoobsessions @eloud12

(feel free to comment to be added to taglist)

Sorry this took so long, I just graduated college, was briefly dating a new girl that I hung out with like 5 times in one week, and this chapter is longer than usual. Def not my best work either, but I hope you guys still like it!

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The Girl Next Door

You hadn't been close with your neighbor Hazel for years. But you find her beat up in the locker room after fight club and all of that changes

Chapter 7

You have some intimate moments with Hazel when you do her makeup, and even go on your first date. 

Word count: 5.3k

CW: Profanities, a little suggestive kind of? Changing clothes in front of each other and sitting on her lap to do her makeup, mentions of counting calories (nothing compared to negative body talk in the movie), not beta read 

A few days after your movie night you start teasing Hazel on the car ride home. “You still haven’t given me one of your sweatshirts like you said you would.”

“Shit, you’re right. You can come over whenever and pick one out.”

“I can pick it out?” You question with curiosity. 

“I’d give you everything you’ve ever wanted if I could.” She murmurs. 

You tuck your hair behind your ear and clear your throat. “Well I will keep that in mind, but for now I think I’m okay with getting to steal one of your sweatshirts.”

You pause for a moment and it’s silent.

“Wait, remember you said we would dress eachother up in our clothes? We should do that, tomorrow.”

Hazel peers over, looking you up and down. “Alright, I’ll come over to your house before school tomorrow so we can get each other ready.”

“Come over at 6:30.”

“6:30?” She groans, “You seriously take that long to get ready in the morning?”

You jokingly roll your eyes. “I’m going to need extra time if I’m going to do my makeup and yours.”

“You can’t wear makeup if you are trying to fully embody Hazel Callahan.”

You gasp dramatically, purely to be dramatic. “How could you do that to me Haze? I don’t want to look like a zombie!”

Hazel punches your arm softly. “Are you saying that I look like a zombie, because I don’t wear makeup?”

“God no, the way you look, it’s literally perfect. I, on the other hand, need it to look like a normal human being.” You bite your lip when you realize what you said. 

“Would you please shut up? If I’m perfect, that makes you extraordinarily flawless. There’s not a single girl at our school that could even try to compare to you. I can’t even think of any girl on this planet that is more beautiful than you are. I just wish that you could see yourself the way that I see you.” She takes a shaky breath, looking straight ahead. 

“I, uh, thank you.” It’s like all the thoughts in your head have been picked up and thrown around by a tornado. 

Hazel clears her throat. “I’ll still come over at 6:30, that way we can spend some extra time together.”

“You are going to wake up that early just to hang out with me?”

“I’ve already lost so much sleep thinking about… well I haven’t been sleeping well anyways. Might as well make the most of that extra time.”

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The next morning Hazel arrives at your house with your go to coffee order and favorite doughnut from Dunkin’.

“Hazel, you didn’t have to do that.” You could almost cry because she remembered this little detail and went out of her way to do something special for you. 

“I wanted to,” she assures you. 

“You treat me so well,” you murmur, gazing longingly at the girl you are in love with. 

Hazel puts her hands on your shoulders and her blue eyes bear into your soul. “You deserve the best, never settle for anything less than princess treatment.”

Your lip quivers when you whisper, “I hope I don’t have to.”

Hazel pulls away and crosses her arms without breaking eye contact. “I would never treat you… I mean I would never let anyone treat you badly ever again. As long as I’m around no one is going to hurt you.”

Having maintained a cautious mindset for so long, your brain refuses to process what she has said. Responding is completely off the table. “Well I guess we better get started, yeah? Put on whatever music you want. My phone is already connected to the speaker. My passcode is 3900.”

Hazel picks up your phone and scrolls through your music. “You got a text from Isabel, in a group chat with her and Brittany, do you want me to check it for you?”

You are about to say yes, but remember that you were telling them about how excited you were to get to wear Hazel’s clothes today. How it almost makes you feel like you are her girlfriend.

“No!” You shout at her.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to..” she stutters, her voice sounding weak and wounded. 

“No no no, that’s not it at all.” You explain more tenderly. “It’s just that- Isabel has been talking about something personal. Just want to respect her privacy.”

Hazel lets out a long breath that she must have been holding in. “Of course.”

She selects a playlist and locks your phone, placing it face down on the. 

“Which one do you want to wear?” You ask her, gesturing to the 3 different ensembles laid out on your bed. Hazel looks over the options and goes for the outfit you assumed that she would. It was the least girly of the 3, and the closest to something she would normally wear. A simple white tank top and some casual khaki shorts. Though the shorts are much shorter than anything she owns, and the tank top is rather tight, the outfit is overall within her comfort zone. You knew she would wear whatever you chose for her without complaint, but you wanted to make sure she was comfortable, while still making it clear that she isn’t in her normal clothes. That she is wearing your clothes, that she is yours. 

Hazel pulls a few articles of clothing out of her backpack. “I didn’t think to bring you options, I hope that’s ok.”

You giggle, “I trust you Haze.”

You turn away and start to pull off your pajama shorts, fully aware of what you are doing. 

Hazel coughs in a way that sounds like she is choking. “Do you want me to leave while you change?”

“Doesn’t matter to me. We used to change in front of each other all the time. If you want to leave though you can.”

“You’re right, I’ll just change here.” Her voice trembles.

You continue to change, but you hear nothing, which means that Hazel has not moved to start changing. Most likely because she was watching you change, just as you had intended. You allow your long t-shirt to cover up just enough while changing the clothes on your bottom half.

When you pull off your top, exposing your bare back, you hear Hazel start to shuffle around and pick up the clothes off your bed. However, you can feel her eyes on you and the thick tension in the air.

When you finish changing and turn around Hazel is already in her clothes and her eyes are glued to you. 

“Haze, you look great!” You smirk at her. She looks down at the clothes she is wearing and laughs. “Yeah I do look good. But not as good as you do.”

You glance at your reflection in the mirror and sigh. A white short sleeve button down under a tan argyle cardigan, paired with some loose fitting jeans. You two wear the same size clothes, but everything Hazel wears is oversized. Your clothes are mostly tight, and you know she is only wearing them because they are yours. “I do not look good, I look like somebody’s grandpa.”

Hazel pretends to be insulted. “Do I look like a grandpa to you?”

“You look good in this stuff, it just works. But me, not so much.”

“You would look good in a paper bag,” she casually throws out and then you watch her wince at what she just said. 

“You need to get your eyes checked.” You giggle, “sit down so I can do your makeup.” You gesture to your desk chair, and Hazel makes herself comfortable while you pick items out of the drawers and off the shelves. 

You stand slightly bent over, hovering above her when you promise her “I am not going to go crazy.” 

The first step is sculpting out Hazel’s dark eyebrows. They are already nice on their own so it wasn’t too difficult.

“For your face I’m going to use blush and highlight, is that ok?” You hum switching out the products in your hands. 

Hazel’s head turns to the side and concentrates for a moment. “I have no idea what that means.”

You smile as you cup her chin in your hand and she stares back in wonder. “The pink stuff and the shiny stuff. I’ll make it look as natural as possible.”

“I trust your judgment,” she mumbles, lost in your eyes. 

The brush delicately adds a sweep of color to her already perfect face. She looks unbearably adorable after dabbing a hint of pink on her nose. When switching out the blush in your hand for highlight you notice a twinge of pain in your lower back from hunching over. You stand straight up and place a hand where you feel the pain as you flex and stretch.

Hazel’s delectable lips curve into a frown. “Are you ok?”

“Bending over, it's just a little uncomfortable. I would move the chair and sit on my bed but i don't want to accidentally get something on my blanket.”

“Sitting down would be better?” Hazel inquires, looking around the room for a solution. 

“Yeah but it's probably easier to just stay over here.”

“You could just sit on my lap, right? Would that help?” She bites her lip, eyes wide and expectant. 

Help. Most definitely. In more ways than she knows.

You nod casually, trying to hide your excitement and play it cool. “That would actually help a lot, are you sure you don't mind?”

The way she looks you up and down hungrily makes you want to check your pulse because it can’t be at a safe level. “Mind? Of course not. It's ideal actually. I prefer to keep you as close as I can.” You nearly pass out when she says that. Scratch that, you nearly drop dead and ascend into another plane of existence. This isn’t a side of Hazel you are used to but damn, you are loving it.

You sit down on Hazel's lap facing her with one leg on each side of her and the chair. You shift a little to balance yourself properly  and she puts her hands on your waist to help steady you. “Don’t worry, I’ve got ya,” she chuckles. 

You bite your lip as your head spins and Hazel just smiles patiently until you tell her “I’m going to to do eyeliner now.” She nods her head along to the music.

You catch her chin in your hand to stop her from moving her head. Hazel’s eyes go soft and flicker between your eyes and lips. Or are you just imagining it?

“Close your eyes,” you tell her and she does. You needed her to do so in order to apply the eyeliner, but not having her beautiful blue eyes looking at you temporarily minimizes the urge to kiss her. 

“I’m just going to do a tiny little wing. I don’t want to bother with your waterline, it’ll be uncomfortable since you’re not used to it. Your eyes don’t really need any help standing out anyways.” Before switching from one eye to the other you stop to admire her divine features. As if she knows that you are watching her, and is trying to make you squirm, she licks her alluring lips. You feel like she’s inviting you into them but that’s not a signal you can risk misreading. You are so shocked that you drop the eyeliner on the floor. Hazel’s eyes open when she hears it hit the ground. You go to reach for it, but Hazel stops you. “I got it.”

She wraps one arm around you while her other reaches to the ground. She passes you the eyeliner and you mumble a thank you. Hazel then wraps her other arm around you and holds you tight around your waist. She closes her eyes again and you draw on the other wing. 

In preparation for her opening her eyes again, you take a deep breath before instructing her to do so. Hazel’s eyes flutter and they are looking right in yours, as if she knew where they were, through the power of your connection. You tell her to look up, so you can apply mascara, but she doesn’t do it right away. Her gaze lingers on your face, like she is studying your features before she has to look away. 

“I know that staying still isn’t usually your thing but I’m going to need you to for about a minute, is that ok?”

She looks over your face one last time before saying, “anything for you.” Then she looks up. 

“I’m going to be super careful. I promise I won’t poke your eye out.”

She runs her hand up and down your back before holding you tighter. “I know, I trust you more than anyone else.”

You carefully apply the mascara, leaving Hazel's dreamy eyes unscathed and well defined. 

“Do you have a lipstick color preference?” You ask, looking over at the vast collection. 

She looks over at the array of colors and she points at one. “That one that you had on that day, with the coffee cup.” Did she remember the color from looking at your lips or her own?

You are extremely familiar with the shape of Hazel’s lips, you spend enough time looking at them, though you wish to become acquainted with them in other ways. You effortlessly trace their shape with lip liner and then swipe the lipstick over top. The addition of color only draws attention to her lips and you hope that they don’t catch anyone else’s eyes. 

Wishing you could ignore it, every queer girl in school notices Hazel in the tight, low cut, tank top. PJ eyes Hazel like a predator stares down its prey. Fortunately, you get the chance to pick first at that afternoon’s meeting. 

“I think I’m finally ready for a rematch, princess,” you coo at PJ. And that was true, this wasn’t an impulsive decision driven by jealousy, though you aren’t above that. It’s been a long time coming. 

However, your rage has you quickly taking the offense. PJ dodges your first punch but your second one hits her square in the jaw and sends her stumbling backwards. Her eyes squint and her lip curls as she regains her balance. You just smile at her and it makes her even more angry. 

PJ charges at you and is met with much more force than she was expecting. Your hands are on each other's shoulders, trying to push down your opponent. You head butt her instead of continuing the power struggle. It hurts, but it’s obvious that it hurt PJ more when she looks dizzy, holding her hand to her head and says “fuck!”

You don’t show her any mercy, she’s pushed to the hard gym floor before she knows what hit her. PJ sits up on her hands like she is about to continue, but she just shakes her head in defeat. You have to bite back a smile as you pull her to her feet and she sneers at you. 

PJ spends the rest of the meeting glaring in your direction and in all honesty, it makes you feel great. 

At the end of the meeting Josie announced that tomorrow is going to be a bonding day. 

“You looked so pissed at PJ today,” Hazel laughs on the car ride home. 

You tuck your hair behind your ear. “I might have been.”

“Did she do something?” She sounds protective and ready to fight. 

Yes. “No. It’s just that she… she’s just PJ.”

“I can’t argue with that,” Hazel laughs, sounding relieved. 

“How do you feel about having a bonding day tomorrow?” You wonder out loud, the question for the both of you. 

“It was actually my idea,” she announces confidently. 

“Josie made it sound like it was her idea. Her and PJ are starting to get popular, well less unpopular, and it’s really starting to go to their heads. Like I get it, they are the ugly, untalented, gays, and never got any positive attention before now, but they need to get their egos in check.”

“I hadn’t really noticed it until you pointed it out,” Hazel mumbles. 

“They also don’t appreciate you enough,” you spat, disgusted by the thought of someone mistreating Hazel. 

“Maybe,” she whispers. 

“You deserve better, Hazel, the best.” The reminder is stern. “You should stay away from people like them. Stay close to the ones who treat you like the special person you are.”

“Well you do,” her puppy dog eyes are looking at you like you make the world turn. 

“Of course!” You put your hand on her thigh. “No one is more important to me than you are.”

“You really know how to make a girl feel like she’s the only one in the world,” Hazel laughs shyly. 

“That’s because you are.”

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The members of the fight club sit in a circle. You are sitting next to Hazel, and when she isn’t looking Brittany gestures for you to get closer to her.

You slide closer to Hazel and when she notices she moves her knee so that it's touching yours. She smiles at you and you return it, but you know you must be blushing hard. 

The discussion starts off a bit awkward, but it’s not too long before everyone gets comfortable and begins sharing. After Brittany vents, Hazel starts to share. She talks about what she has been going through with her mom and you are surprised, why hasn’t she talked about this with you? As sad as you are to hear about it, she is so cute when she talks about how happy she is to have made a bunch of new friends. Then PJ, being the dick she always is, cuts Hazel off. You keep your anger contained but you will not be forgetting about this. You put your hand on Hazel's leg to show her that you are listening and that you care about what she has to say. 

The meeting gets cut pretty short after an interesting story from Josie about juvie, that for some reason sounded vaguely familiar. You, along with several other girls, didn’t even get to share. 

When you go over to your backpack you pull out your water bottle to take a drink. You notice that PJ’s bag is right next to yours. So you ‘accidentally’ dropped the bottle, spilling out the full contents on PJ’s bag. You quickly grab your own bag and go to find Hazel. By the time you are standing next to her you hear PJ yell “What the hell! My fucking bag is all fucking wet!”

Everybody turns to look and Hazel notices the shit eating grin on your face. “Did you…” she questions and you just laugh. She starts to laugh too, but covers her mouth with her hand so that it isn’t obvious. You can still see it in her eyes though and it’s adorable. 

“We should probably get out of here, right?” You ask her and she just grabs your arm to pull you away, the two of you stifling laughter. 

As you walk towards your car in the parking lot you hear Isabel yell “Hazel! I have something for you!”

She tries to run after you and Hazel, but she ends up shuffling with little steps because of her high heels.

Isabel hands something small to Hazel and it’s a… Chili’s gift card?

“You mentioned craving chips and salsa the other day and I figured I would get-give this to you. Someone, um, gave it to me, but ya know, I’m watching my calories,” Isabel explains.

There is no way that anyone who has ever met Isabel would give her a gift card to a restaurant that didn’t have at least 1 Michelin star. And watching her calories? Yeah her mother was constantly pestering her about it, but she literally just had ice cream the other day. 

Hazel is so endearingly gullible that she buys it all.“Thanks Isabel, that’s so nice of you.”

Isabel can hardly contain herself. “You two should go together, wouldn’t that be like, so fun?”

“That’s a great idea. I think it would be a very fun d-“ Hazel pauses for a moment, “a lot of fun.”

After thanking Isabel again, you and Hazel get into the car. She starts fidgeting with her rings. “Would you maybe want to go out to eat tonight? I know it’s Friday so you might have plans or something but if you’re free…”

Isabel had said she had something fun planned for tonight, but you know now that she must have been referring to this.

“I would love to.”

“How does 7 sound? I can drive.”

You nod with a shy smile, though bubbling with excitement. 

You don’t want to assume anything, but this might actually be a date, so you are treating it like one. Preparing the way you would for any other date, you get started early to make sure everything looks perfect. You lay out a go to date outfit, one that you know you look hot in, and you do your hair and makeup the same way you always do, it looks good but also like you didn’t put too much effort into it. 

You are buzzing with excitement when you walk outside to meet Hazel. She’s already sitting in her car. Her expression makes it look like she feels absolutely defeated, but it melts away into a dreamy daze as soon as she lays eyes on you. 

Hazel puts on a playlist that she says she made just for the two of you, and it makes your heart flutter. 

As Hazel drives you notice her glancing over at you every chance she gets. It makes you wonder if something is wrong with your hair and makeup.

“What?” You ask her nervously.

Hazel raises one eyebrow and tilts her head to one side. “What do you mean?”

“Why do you keep looking at me like that? Did I forget to brush part of my hair or something?” You anxiously bite your lip.

“No!” she yells and it makes you jump a little.

“Not at all!” She says in a softer tone, trying to recover. “You just… you just look, like, amazing.”

You play with your hair to distract from the warm blush you feel creeping across your face. “Awe, thanks Haze. I just wanted to look nice I guess.”

“It’s just Chilli’s.” God, this girl is so oblivious. 

“I know, it’s just that…” you huff and decide maybe you shouldn’t say anything. “Never mind.”

“Cmon, just tell me,” Hazel groans dramatically to make you laugh. Then she pokes your arm. “You can tell me anything.”

“I just wasn’t sure if this was like, I don’t know, this is going to sound absolutely ridiculous, a date?” You cover your face with your hands because you are so embarrassed. 

“Hey, hey, it’s ok.” Hazel’s comforting voice reassures you.”I was scared to call it a date, but I really really want it to be a date.” You uncover your face as your jaw drops all the way to the floor. The anticipation is killing you until she finally says “so if you want this to be… it’s definitely a date.”

“For real?” You are practically bouncing up and down in your seat. 

“Yeah of course babe,” she smiles looking over at you, putting her hand on your leg. It makes you so happy that you aren’t even concerned about how that might make her bad driving even worse. 

You put your hand on top of hers for a reality check, to know that this is actually happening, and not a dream. “I can’t believe this is really a date.”

“Me either. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this?” Hazel really should be looking at the road more but you are enjoying her attention too much. 

“Probably not as long as I have.”

Her face is lit up by her smiling and laughing, she is shining like the sun. “I doubt it. Let’s just say it’s been a really long time. But no need to compete here, right? I know I’m winning either way.”

You nod in agreement. “Very true.”

The rest of the car ride isn't awkward per say, but you're both very nervous, in a cute way. Instead of trying to force a conversation while processing everything,  you take the time to appreciate the playlist that Hazel made, and sing along to the familiar songs. The songs that you don’t know are poetically sweet. 

This is actually happening. You absolutely wanted this to be a date, and you prepared by looking good. But emotionally? You never bothered to hype yourself up for this, like a FOOL. You start nervously picking at your cuticles. 

When the car comes to a stop you finally have the nerve to look back over at Hazel. She’s already looking over at you, her face is excited more than anything else, but she still has a death grip on the steering wheel. 

“Are- are you ready to go inside?” You ask, trying to keep your voice steady, looking at Hazel's white knuckles. She finally realizes what she’s doing and quickly places her hands in her lap and nods enthusiastically. “I’ve been ready for this for a long time.”

Hazel walks a few steps ahead so she can hold the door open for you, and when the hostess brings you to your table she pulls out your chair. 

You start looking down at the menu to see what you want. When looking up at Hazel to ask if she has any ideas, she hasn’t even picked up her menu yet, she’s just watching you, starry eyed.

You giggle and point to the menu “aren’t you going to look at that?”

“I’d rather look at you,” she mumbles and leans her head on her hand. 

You put down your own menu. “Oh come on Hazel, really?”

“I’m totally serious. I’m finally on a date with the most amazing, beautiful, girl in the world. How am I supposed to focus on anything else?”

You study her face, making sure that you can picture her like this from now on and forever. “You really are just the cutest human to ever exist.”

Hazel sits back up and drops both her hands to the table. “Me?”

“Yes you! Just look at you! You are so sweet and funny and compassionate and empathetic, just anything you could ever want in a...” The waitress cuts you off. “Can I get you guys anything to drink?” She asks and sets down a bowl of chips and salsa. 

It’s very difficult to even think about what you want to drink.  You almost called Hazel your girlfriend. No matter how bad you want her to be, you are happy that you didn’t. It’s too scary to say out loud, even though you’ve been married for years in your head. Verbalizing it would make it real, and real things hurt much worse if they don’t work out. 

Hazel is looking at you, clearly hanging on to every word you say, wondering how that sentence was supposed to end. 

“I’ll have a, uh, lemonade,” you tell the waitress without looking away from Hazel, your eyes wide and your lips slightly parted, dying to utter one last word that would change your life forever. 

“And for you?” It doesn’t even seem like Hazel heard that.

You smile awkwardly at the waitress and tell her “sprite.” She nods at you confused, “I’ll have that right out for you.”

When she is walking away Hazel finally notices that the waitress was there at all, and she looks a little embarrassed. 

She starts adjusting the collar of her shirt, even though it looks fine, so you ask, “do you uh, want an appetizer?”

You can tell she is still longing to continue your previous conversation, but you just aren’t ready for that right now. She doesn’t even bother to look at the menu. “I’m good with chips and salsa. But if you want something I’ll share it.”

“I don’t think I’m that hungry right now.” That’s because nerves are fluttering in your stomach. 

“Me neither,” Hazel smiles shyly. 

You shift around the way you are sitting to try and expel some of the nerves. Hazel mirrors you, moving around as well, settling with one knee tucked under her. You start to eat some chips and salsa, trying to collect your thoughts, before looking back at the menu. 

“I can’t decide between the honey chipotle  chicken tenders and the chicken bacon ranch quesadilla,” you sigh. 

“Why don’t you just get both?”

“I’m not hungry enough for an appetizer Haze,” you giggle, “I’m definitely not hungry enough to eat two dinners.”

“I don’t know what I want so we can just get what you want and share it.”

“Hazeeeeee,” you drag out, sounding almost a bit whiny. “Don’t be silly, just order what you want, I can flip a coin or something.”

Hazel slides her menu over towards you and looks away from it. “I just want you to have what you want. Besides, we always like the same things anyways.”

You place your menu on top of hers. “Fine, but you have to pick next time so that we are even.”

“Works for me,” she hums in approval. The two of you are just staring at each other, wondering where to take the conversation from here. 

Next thing you know the waitress is putting down your drinks and taking your dinner order. 

Hazel finally looks like she’s gotten herself together after your earlier conversation. 

“I can’t believe you dumped water on PJ’s bag,” she laughs after the waitress takes the order and walks away. 

“That bitch had it coming. I hate the way her and Josie brush you off, like they are better than you. They take you for granted, who do they think they are?”

Hazel bites her lip and looks down glumly. “I guess I’m just used to being treated that way.”

You cross your arms over your chest and sneer, “Well anyone that treats you like that has to answer to me now.”

Hazel laughs, even though you are very serious. “Are you going to beat up everyone that doesn’t treat me right?”

“Yes, actually.”

“If that’s the case I will punch your ex in the face if I ever get the chance.”

“That’s a deal.”

You wouldn’t call it gossiping, it’s more like discussing, when you start talking about the unfortunate relationship circumstances of other girls in the club. Like how does Isabelle put up with Jeff? Is Brittany single because she is too attached to Isabelle?

The rest of dinner goes well, and you listen to the playlist Hazel made on the car ride home.

She walks you to your front door and gives you a hug. With her arms still wrapped around your waist she pulls the upper part of her body away from you to take a good look at your face. Hey eyes wander over you dreamily until they stop on your lips. As she leans in you close your eyes, only for her to press her soft lips to your cheek. 

[lily-fics-11]

The Girl Next Door: Chapter 3 (Hazel Callahan, Bottoms)

Fic master post here (feel free to comment to be added to taglist)

The Girl Next Door

You hadn't been close with your neighbor Hazel for years. But you find her beat up in the locker room after fight club and all of that changes

Chapter 3

You attend your first fight club meeting and it causes things to go awry with Hazel.

CW: Canon level violence and gore. Sexual innuendos. Profanities. Angst that turns to fluff. 

You are on the edge of your seat, overwhelmed by anticipation all day. You have a few classes with Hazel, but you don’t get many opportunities to talk to her. You are painfully reminded of the way you two had avoided each other all these years when you found yourself sitting far away from her in every classroom. 

You share your plan to give the fight club a chance with Isabel and Brittany at lunch. The two cheerleaders share stories about the fights they’ve been in over the past few days with a reassuring enthusiasm. They tell you that they were thinking about dragging you along after they had officially tested the waters. They weren’t sure if fight club was your style of chaos or not, but they are excited for you to join. Though you can't help but notice that they are not quite as excited as Hazel. Your friends were surprised that you knew Hazel at all, which makes sense. 

Regardless of being too humble to say it out loud, you are seated atop the throne of the Rockbridge Sapphic Hierarchy. There were queer girls scattered throughout the spectrum based on physical appeal and societal contribution. PJ and Josie are on the complete opposite end of the spectrum from you, scraping the bottom of the barrel. Saying that Hazel was somewhere in the middle would be generous, though she by no means falls under the ugly and untalented category like the other founding members of the fight club. Her adorable face and easy going nature score her a lot of points, at least in your book. You do however understand that not everyone sees Hazel the way that you do. You tell Isabel and Brittany how you and this girl, that is so different from you, are neighbors, neglecting to mention the entirety of the situation. 

For the rest of the day you try to prepare yourself for a fight and spending time with Hazel. You are unsure which is the most daunting. After the last bell you take a deep breath before entering the gym. You immediately spot Hazel across the room in the midst of a deep conversation with Josie and PJ. She is still wearing your sweatshirt. You decide to put your stuff down and not interrupt. You barely have time to say hi to Brittany and Isabel before PJ gets everyone’s attention by yelling “alright bitches circle up!” You move quickly so that you can stand next to Hazel before someone else can. You can see her excitement when she tells you “you don’t even know how happy I am to have you here. I’m glad that we are spending time together again.” Your heart is racing from Hazel’s words even more than the anticipated violence. “Alright skanks, let's get started!” PJ screams and steps into the center of the circle. “I’ll go first,” she announces. She paces around the circle a few times before stopping in front of you. 

“Who am I to pass up the opportunity to draw fresh blood?” She asks, looking around at the rest of the group. An anxious lump forms in your throat. Hazel steps in front of you. “I told you she was with me” she practically growls at PJ, who doesn’t even acknowledge Hazel except for a push out of the way so she can get closer to you. The alleged delinquent looks you up and down hungrily. It’s like she can’t decide if she wants to kiss you or inflict pain. 

“I’m sure she can handle herself, isn’t that right sweetheart?” PJ coos. Hazel tries to protest while you are focused on PJ. “Little miss juvie doesn’t scare me. I can take her,” you declare confidently. 

Have you ever called yourself chaotic? No. Have you ever denied allegations of being chaotic? Also no. Do you shy away from chaos? Absolutely not. While Hazel is a true chaotic good you are more of a chaotic neutral. Your ambitions come first and your morality comes second.

You learned the hard way that you could not in fact ‘take’ ‘little miss juvie’. But you weren’t going down without a fight. The experience was exhilarating despite your struggle to hold your own. You make the first move, a simple shove.

“Is that the best you can do?” PJ taunts, disregarding your inexperience, before delivering a punch to your gut in retaliation. You start to double over in pain and PJ’s other fist meets your jaw in an uppercut. You stumble backwards and PJ takes advantage of that, kicking you in the face. You feel the pain seer across your mouth and cheek. “What a shame,” PJ continues taunting, “to defile such a pretty face.” As PJ regains her footing she looks at Hazel and asks “isn’t that right?” Murmured reactions buzz around you. You take PJ’s temporary distraction as an opportunity to dive towards her legs and knock her off her feet. Her head slams against the ground. Before she can take back the upper hand you clamber over her and grab her wrists. PJ has a smug look on her face as you pin her arms to the ground. You glare down at her and say, “I don’t go down so easy. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

You thought you were hot shit for about 10 seconds before PJ admits, “normally I would let a girl as hot as you do whatever she wants to me,” and knees you in the chest before declaring “but not this time.” You crumble to the ground beside her. PJ pulls you up off the ground, onto your knees, by your hair as she rises to her feet. She’s clearly trying to get inside your head as she continues to mock you. “You have overestimated yourself princess.” She circles you like a predator hunting its prey. As you attempt to get up she takes you out at the knees in one swift movement. She approaches and hovers over you. You are expecting a final blow but instead PJ leans in really close like she’s about to kiss you. You lean as far away from her as you can. Nevertheless she continues to get closer. When her lips are about a centimeter away from yours she grabs you by the hand and pulls you to your feet. Everyone applauds, signaling the end of the fight.

“I have to admit babe, I’m pretty impressed. I never thought someone so dignified could also be so scrappy” PJ confesses with a sly smile. “Really?” You scoff, not letting her get inside of your head. 

“Yes. But you’ve got a lot to learn. A pretty girl like you, I’m more than willing to teach you everything I know.” She offers with a wink. You roll your eyes at her. This wasn’t the first time PJ has flirted with you and could only assume that it wouldn’t be the last. Brittany is clearly the girl she has her sight set on but she treats you like a backup plan for when she is inevitably rejected by the very straight, out of her league, cheerleader. Not that you weren’t out of your league. The fact that you were also a lesbian caused her to be bolder than she usually is with others. However, this felt personal and you can’t tell if she wants you or wants to be you. You leave the center of the circle and PJ trades places with Josie, who looks around trying to figure out who she’s going to challenge. 

You take back your spot next to Hazel. She subtly inches towards you. She puts her hand on your shoulder and her lips get close to your ear, sending shivers down your spine. “Are you ok?” She whispers. You give her a nod and she searches your face for something, though you aren’t sure what it is. As she steps away from you she doesn't go far, staying much closer to you than she was originally. Her hand slides down your arm, finding itself in yours. Her hold on you lingers for a moment before she fully lets you go, as if she’s afraid of what might happen when she does. 

There are a lot of fights including a variety of match ups. None of PJ’s other fights get taken to the level that yours did, although she enjoyed getting pinned down by Brittany a little too much. You are very thankful that you only participated in one fight because you are aching all over. Everyone else seems to be handling the pain a lot better than you are. It must be something you get used to. Feeling a little dazed, the longer the meeting goes on, the harder it is to stay on your feet. Once the meeting has concluded the circle disbands and you collect your things. Hazel had taken off your sweatshirt before the meeting to avoid getting any blood on it. She puts it back on and timidly approaches you. “Want to walk out with me?”You just nod your head because your mouth and jaw hurt so much. Your silence seems to make Hazel even more nervous. 

As you push through the doors to exit the gym she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear and asks, “so, what did you think?”

You just laugh. “I think I got my shit rocked.”

“I know, I know. But you knew what you were signing yourself up for. You saw me after yesterday's meeting. I will admit that you were at a disadvantage. What I meant was how did it make you feel?” She starts to fidget with her rings, drawing attention to her hands, making you lose your train of thought. Hazel looks at you expectantly and you try to regain your composure as fast as you can. 

“I’m not sure why, but I think it felt… good? I was able to let go of my inhibitions. I felt the pain instead of my feelings.” Hazel playfully punches you in the arm, which is fortunately one of the few places on your body that doesn’t hurt. “Why do you sound so surprised?” She teases “I promised you. Pinky promised. You know that’s practically a blood oath to me.”

“There was definitely blood,” you begin, then mumble “but your promises don’t hold the weight that they used to.” You weren’t sure if you wanted her to hear that or not so you left it up to fate.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hazel questions. She’s not angry, just hurt. Her eyes grow wide with panic. 

“You know exactly what that means,” you snap at her. The fire of all your hurt and resentment burns through the feelings of longing and nostalgia. In rare form, Hazel is at a loss for words. She starts to break out in a sweat. 

“You know what, I am feeling pretty good and I’m not ready to let go of that yet. We are not going to do this right now.” You continue on, leaving her behind. You no longer hear Hazel’s footsteps on the linoleum floors. She’s stopped dead in her tracks. “Please,” she calls after you, her voice strained. 

“Hazel, I told you I’m not doing this right now.” You hear her approaching so you stop and turn around “You’ve been acting like nothing ever happened. Did you think I was just going to forget? Or did you forget because you weren’t the one that got left behind?”

Tears begin to well up in Hazel’s eyes. Her voice cracks as she tries to plead with you, “please, just hear me out, I promise I can explain…” You cut her begging off. “It’s not worth wasting your breath, Hazel. I promise.”

You turn your back on her as tears start to fall from your own eyes. You’re stomping away at first but you can’t get away from her fast enough as your heart breaks all over again. You start to run. It triggers an escalation in your physical pain, but that doesn’t stop you. You are too far into your own head to notice whether or not she is following you.

When you get to your car you throw your bag into the passenger seat and slam the door behind you. You don’t even bother to put on any music. You peel out of the parking lot and drive well above the speed limit while the effects of your injuries continue getting worse. You know that you probably shouldn’t drive like this, but you needed to get the fuck out of there. Once you are parked in your driveway suffering washes over you. Your head falls to the steering wheel and you begin to sob. You had never let yourself cry over Hazel before. Years worth of pain pours out of you, an agony far worse than any physical damage could ever cause. If she had punched you in the face it would at least only have left a temporary mark. There is nothing you can do but let the heartache eat you alive. You have tried to ignore it, but you are in love with Hazel. You wonder if she has any love for at all. If she did, why would she do this to you?

You have no idea how much time has passed when you hear a car pull up next to yours. You turn and see Hazel's car in her driveway. “Fuck!” You scream, balling your fists and pounding on the steering wheel. You sling your bag over your shoulder and make a break for it. You only manage a few steps before your fight catches up to you and you go down. Hard. You hear Hazel coming towards you repeating “oh my god, oh my god, oh my god” until she is knelt down at your side. You turn away so that you don’t have to look at her and she can't see your puffy red face.

“I know that you don’t want anything to do with me, but you need to let me help you.” You can’t stand the effect that she has on you as you weigh your options for a moment. You ultimately end up nodding your head in agreement. You are not sure you could even make it into your house on your own because your head is spinning from the pain and tears. You take a deep breath and turn your head towards her. Hazel’s hands gently move to your face, wiping away your tears and telling you that it’s her turn to take care of you. She puts your bag over her shoulder and wraps her other arm around your waist to help you up. Hazel brings you inside, and helps you get comfortable on the couch. 

“First aid kit?”

“Bathroom. Ice packs are in the freezer.”

It’s been a while but Hazel knows her way around. She rushes around your house and quickly returns with everything she needs. She warns you that she is going to have to get close to you before she kneels down in front of you, settling between your legs. She passes you the ice packs and you put them where you are feeling the most pain. 

“Do you have a hair tie?” She asks. You nod and hold out your wrist. Hazel takes the hair tie and tells you to turn your head. You oblige and she gently pulls your hair away from your face and into a ponytail. You hold your breath the whole time. 

You wince in pain as Hazel attends to your split lip and cheek laceration. That doesn’t stop the feeling of butterflies in your stomach when she touches your face. Your heart nearly stops when her fingers brush over your lips. Once she finishes cleaning you up she sits back on her knees and assures you that you won’t need stitches. You’ve had enough time to calm down so you tell her “you can talk.”

“Are you sure?” Hazel is very hesitant and a little afraid. 

“I’m listening.”

“I want to start off by telling you how sorry I am, and that I only did what I did because I thought that’s what was best for you. I never wanted to hurt you and I thought that letting you go would cause less harm than holding on. I was going through so much and I didn’t want to drag you into it. There were things I couldn’t talk to you about. Couldn’t talk to anyone about it. I had all these feelings… they were so strong… and I didn’t know what to do with them. I didn’t think that you would understand and it felt like I was going to lose you one way or another. So I bit the bullet instead of stringing you along. By the time I came to terms with things it was too late. You had already moved on. You had new friends and popularity. I know now that I was wrong. I was young and stupid and in-“ she pauses for a brief moment and mumbles “in deep.” 

She returns to her previous tone and assures you that “no one has ever been as important to me as you are. You never stopped being important to me. I haven’t gotten close to anyone else because no one could ever replace you. I’ve spent every day since I let you go regretting my decisions but I was also too scared to do anything about it. I hate myself for screwing up my one opportunity to have you back in my life. I’m not asking you to forgive me. All I ask is that you believe me when I tell you that I never meant for any of this to happen and I’m really, truly, sorry.” Hazel is the one crying now. She anxiously waits to hear what you have to say, clearly in distress. You take a moment to collect your thoughts. Your brain is in fight or flight mode, telling you to lash out, but your heart is telling you that it’s time to forgive and forget. So you turn to your intuition.

“I’m not going to forget what happened, but I do believe you. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t missed you” All these years the ‘why’ had cost you countless hours of sleep. You finally have an answer and it gives you a sense of peace. You trust Hazel. Not just because of her history of honesty, but because you know that she is a terrible liar. You needed to get your feelings out, though you should have known you could never stay angry at her. You are hopelessly in love with Hazel Callahan, the girl next door. The tears stop falling from Hazel’s blue eyes and they are filled with a new sense of hope. You reach out to wipe the tears off of her face and she smiles. She throws her arms around you and holds you tight. “I’m never going to do anything like that to you ever again,” she whispers in your ear. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you.” You pull away, arms still around her, your faces mere inches apart. A smirk creeps onto your face. “Anything?”

“Yes. Literally anything. Whatever you need and whatever you want. Now that I have you back I’m never letting go again.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

[lily-fics-11]

The Girl Next Door: Chapter 8 (Hazel Callahan, Bottoms)

Fic master post here

Tag list: @avocifera @academiareid @fictionalgap @dynsdiary @sndixz @athenalive @lamoobsessions @eloud12 @whoopsiedaisy460 @kittenchae

(feel free to comment to be added to taglist)

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The Girl Next Door

You hadn't been close with your neighbor Hazel for years. But you find her beat up in the locker room after fight club and all of that changes

Chapter 8

Synopsis: After resolving some miscommunication, things heat up with Hazel. Also between Jeff and Mrs. Callahan, and of course the bomb that gets planted under Jeff’s car.

Word count: 4k

CW: Profanities, mentions of cheating, heated making out, mentioning being turned on, one use of the word binge but not in reference to ed, a bomb and explosion

*Not beta read

@reiisstuff asked about seeing things from Hazel’s POV so I tried it out a little bit in this chapter, not sure if it went well or not (writing like this without a name is really hard lol) so let me know what you think :)

Hazel walks you to your front door and gives you a hug. With her arms still wrapped around your waist she pulls the upper part of her body away from yours to take a good look at your face. Her eyes wander over you dreamily until they stop on your lips. As she leans in you close your eyes, only for her to press her soft lips to your cheek. 

You open your eyes, feeling disappointed that Hazel hadn’t just kissed you right on the lips. She sees that on your face and looks terrified. She lets go of you and stumbles backwards.

“I gotta go,” she stammers and she takes off before you can explain yourself. 

Fuck. Fuck! FUCK! You really ruined things, didn’t you.

Pulse racing, you take some deep breaths and run a hand through your hair. Wanting to go after her is being weighed against not wanting to push her to talk before she is ready. You will reach out in an hour or so to see if she is up for it. 

Tears threaten to well up in your eyes. Hazel is hurt, and it’s your fault. Hazel ran away, and she may never come back. You push through the front door to avoid talking to your mom.

You go up to your room and flop down on your bed. You wipe the tears from your eyes and FaceTime Brittany, you know from the snap map that her and Isabelle are together. 

“Heyyyyyy bitch!” Brittany says when she picks up the phone. After she gets a good look at you her face drops. “Oh my god are you like, okay?”

“I thought you had your date with Hazel?” Isabelle asks in a more soothing tone. 

“I did. And it actually was a date. And it went so well. And then she kissed me…” the two of them audibly gasp. “But on the cheek, and she saw that I was disappointed and got upset. But I was only disappointed because I wanted her to actually kiss me.”

Brittany is the first to grill you for more details. “Did you tell her that?”

“No she ran off, I didn’t get the chance to.” 

“Oh noooo,” Brittany groans.

“You gotta talk to her!” Isabelle demands with urgency.

“I don't want to push her to talk if she's not ready.”

“Just, just, just… send her a text!” Brittany stutters before pulling herself together and suggesting that you say you want to talk, whenever it works for her.

You open up your messages with Hazel to type out a text. Before sending it you read it outloud so it can be approved by the council: I wanted to let you know that I had a great time tonight, I would love to talk about it whenever you get the chance.

“That sounds good,” Isabelle promises you.

You press send then throw the phone to the side and your friends question why they can’t see you anymore.

“Sorry guys, I'm just nervous.” You sigh without actually picking up your phone.

“It’s just Hazel,” Brittany tries to reason with you, “you guys have had like, way bigger drama than this before. And figured it out. Everything is going to be ok.”

You aimlessly play with your hair. “I hope you’re right.”

“Hazel isn’t like your ex,” Isabelle’s voice is soft and tender. She is the best at comforting people with her loving demeanor and understanding of emotions. “She’s not going to gaslight and blame you for everything.”

All you can do is echo her words. “Hazel isn’t like that.”

“Let’s keep you distracted while we wait for her to answer,” Brittany suggests. You and your best friends start to debrief about the latest episode of a show that you all watch. In the middle of the conversation your phone buzzes and you scream.

“Oh my god are you ok?” Brittany shouts.

“My phone buzzed,” you answer shyly, a little embarrassed by what may have been a slight overreaction. 

“Is it her?” Isabelle asks without acknowledging that you screamed like you were being stabbed.

You look at the notification and scream again. 

“I’m guessing it was her?” Isabelle chuckles, though she tries to muffle it.

You roll your eyes and get as close to a smile as you can under these circumstances. “How’d you know?” That elicits some giggles. “What do I do?”

“I would probs read it,” Brittany suggests teasingly, “but that’s just me.”

“That’s def better than screaming,” Isabelle nods in agreement.

You read the message out loud: having a bit of a rough night, stuff with my mom. If you still want to drive to the car wash together tomorrow we could talk then?

“TOMORROW? I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW?”

Brittany promises that her and Isabelle will be over to pick you up as soon as possible. They spend the night keeping you sane.

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You wake up an hour before your alarm after falling in and out of sleep all night. 

You are out on your front porch about a half hour early. Hazel comes outside just a few minutes after. Approaching tentatively, she takes a seat next to you, not too close, but also not too far. 

Hazel is the one to break the ice. “I’m really sorry about yesterday.”

“There is nothing to be sorry for,” you promise her.

Her palm meets her forehead and she mumbles “you didn’t want to be kissed.”

“That’s not it.”

“Then what was it?”

“I just wanted…” you bite your lip for a moment, in disbelief that you are really saying this to her, “more.”

“More? What does ‘more’ mean?” Hazel questions with her head tilted to the side like a curious puppy.

You nervously play with your hair. “I wanted you to actually kiss me, on the lips. I shouldn’t have reacted the way that I did, I should have been more respectful of your boundaries.”

Hazel slides closer to you. “Believe me, I wanted to kiss you. I’ve been dying to, barely even able to stop myself any time we make eye contact. But I didn’t know if you wanted me to.”

You giggle as you grab the girl you love by her shirt and pull her close. When her lips finally meet yours, after years of waiting, the kiss exceeds your expectations by miles. You expected sparks, but this is fireworks. Beautiful, brightly colored, and explosive. 

One of Hazel’s hands holds your face, her other arm wrapping around your waist. You keep her close to you, still by her shirt, but also the back of her neck. The two of you get lost in eachother, savoring the taste, binging like it’s your last meal. 

Hazel pulls you onto her lap, your legs straddling her waist. Your lips move together, you breathe at the same pace, your tongues explore each other's mouth. The world has stopped around you until you hear someone call “Hazel?”

The two of you disconnect to see Mrs. Callahan is laughing.

“Finally!” She yells. You and Hazel look at eachother with bulging eyes and red faces from the heat of the moment, along with the embarrassment.

“We were actually just leaving,” Hazel tells her mom, voice strained. She grabs your hand and pulls you to the car, practically running, to avoid having to talk to her mom. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hazel’s POV

My… not girlfriend and I arrive at the school parking lot early. We make our predictions about what we think everyone will be doing at the car wash. Isabelle already told everyone that she is going to be selling used panties to any weird old men that show up, she knows as a cheerleader that they love having their cars washed by teenage girls. Then there is PJ, who will be bitching about something while Josie tries to reason with her. Stella will put on her car convention smile.

I am absolutely exhausted, so when everyone trickles in and gets to work I sit down in the middle of the parking lot. My adorably supportive neighbor sits with me. PJ and Josie stand close by, unsurprisingly chatting instead of helping.

The ears of the cute girl sitting next to me perk up when Josie mentions that she is hanging out with Isabelle tonight. Isabelle and Josie in the same sentence is unusual, but I don’t have it in me to pay any attention.

I am so worn out that I groan in frustration. PJ’s head snaps around to look at me. “Hazel, what is wrong? Are you constipated or something?” She is clearly not asking because she is concerned, but because she is annoyed. 

“I’m fucking tired, my mom was up all night fucking the meathead.”

“What meathead?” PJ looks a little intrigued. I think it should be obvious that I’m talking about that one specific dude. He is THE meathead, leader of all the other meat heads. Josie notices PJ paying attention so she does too.

“You know, like, the guy.” No reaction. “He’s like the crybaby,” I look around at the three girls and they are still not getting it. “With balls,” I offer up but get nothing but blank stares in return. “He catches them and he… he throws them.” I’m trying to explain the sport that he and all those other guys with matching outfits and shoulder pads play, but it didn't help. “He’s like…” I pause for a moment to find the right words, “the main guy.” I can see the moment they catch on in their facial expressions.

“J-Jeff?” Josie stutters. “Is your mom hooking up with Jeff?”

“I just thought Jeff might be a safe word,” I admit sheepishly, I never made the connection. 

“Jeff is his name, you idiot!” PJ barks at me. My girlfriend, I mean best friend, almost jumps up at PJ but I put out my arm to stop her. I know she is glaring right now without even looking over, but I don’t like confrontation.

“I just get all the hot people confused, Jesus” I mumble. They all wear the same clothes, how am I supposed to tell them apart? 

We hear a yelp and all four of us look over in its direction to see what happened. Stella is on the ground, but she pops right back up and calls out “I’m good!”

“Looking good Stella!” PJ assures her before looking back and forth between my neighbor and Josie. “Are you gonna tell her?”

“Well she should probably hear it in person,” the beautiful girl next to me murmurs gloomily.

Josie sighs and bites her lip. “I’m going to see her tonight, I can tell her. It might be easier to hear it from someone less involved.”

Everyone nods their heads in defeated agreement. Josie and PJ go back to talking to each other. I lean over, not just because I want to get as close to this girl as I can get, but to say “I swear I was going to tell you about Jeff as soon as I got the chance. I was just distracted this morning.”

“Don’t worry about it Haze,” I’m assured with a sweet smile, “I was distracted too. Even though this will hurt Isabelle she's been through this before, and she might actually leave Jeff this time. And she is so much better off without him. I’m worried about you too. You’re mom fucking around with Jeff… I can’t even imagine how that makes you feel. And the fact that they did it all night and you had to hear it? Fucking disgusting. You are staying with me until everything gets sorted out.”

I look away from her when I tell her that I don't want to be a burden.

She puts her arm around me, and turns my face towards her with her soft hand. That earns a side eye from Josie and PJ. “Hazel, you could never be a burden to me.” I momentarily get lost in her honest eyes before I wrap my arms around her to give her a hug. 

“I don’t know what I’d do without you.” I admit with tears in my eyes. “I don’t know how I did it all these years.”

“I’m always going to be here. You don’t ever have to be alone again.”

After the car wash we drive home and I quietly go into my house to grab the essentials. Toothbrush, charger, school bag to get work done, that sort of thing. Just enough clothing that I can wear what I need of my own, and steal the rest like the love of my life is actually my girlfriend. 

After arriving next door we had lunch with her mom. With a push from the beautiful girl I finally got to kiss today, I explained everything going on at home. Having always been like a second mom to me it was so nice to have a maternal figure there to listen and reassure me. That really takes my feelings into consideration. 

When we are done eating and debriefing, me and my not girlfriend go upstairs to her room. 

I want her to be my girlfriend, of course. More than anything else, if I'm being honest. But I guess right now she is just my girl. At least I think so.

My girl gets comfortable in bed and I lay down with my head in her lap. She twirls her fingers through my hair and I get lost in her eyes the way I always do, entranced by her smile, basking in her presence. 

When she leans down and kisses me her lips absorb every thought out of my head aside from her. At first she is gentle, but soon enough I’m tasting her tongue. I breathe in her familiar scent and it’s intoxicating. She has flooded all of my senses and it’s a high that undoubtedly, no drug could ever match. 

She pulls away dazed, lips puffy, cheeks adorably pink. I sit up and climb over her to straddle her waist. I lean her back against the pillows and she licks her lips, watching me with starry eyes. 

I take a moment to admire her beauty, like I’m assessing a priceless work of art. 

“What?” She questions with a giggle that is basically a siren song to me..

I lean in and whisper “I just can’t get enough of you,” and she shudders from the feeling of my warm breath on her neck. I shift to hover over her face and she grabs me by the back of my neck to roughly kiss me. Her other hand tangles into my hair. 

We move in sync like our lips were made to be connected. She bites my bottom lip and I moan into her mouth. We start so eager, overcome with desire. It only continues to grow until we are both winded from having been breathing in one another instead of air. 

“I don’t want to move too fast,” I admit, trying not to pant. 

“Me neither, I want to savor every moment.”

I kiss my girl’s forehead and roll over next to her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her as close to me as possible.

We start binge watching a show together and I couldn’t ask for anything more in this moment. 

After dinner with her mom, the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen takes me outside to make s'mores, like we always used to. She knows it’s my favorite so she came up with the idea while trying to figure out ways to cheer me up. More kissing would have worked, but her thinking that much about it melts my heart. 

While we are snuggled up by the fire, the stars light up the sky, and the Crickets are chirping. 

That is until a phone pings, I thought it was mine at first but it wasn’t. Isabelle has texted the council saying “Jeff cheated again. Come to my place tomorrow at noon.”

The replies she receives are full of heart emojis, I loves you’s, and reminders that she is a baddie. 

When the phone gets locked I see a teary eyed reflection on the dark screen. I look over at the prettiest crying I have ever seen. “I just hate seeing her go through this again. She deserves so much better.”

I wipe some of the tears off her face and try to look on the bright side. “Maybe she will be done with him now.”

“I hope so,” she sighs.

As it starts to get late we get ready for bed and watch a sappy rom com. I get comfortable and she lays in my arms, holding me back just as tightly. She nuzzles her head into the crook of my neck. 

My beautiful girl falls asleep halfway through the movie so I kiss her forehead and close my eyes. I don’t fall asleep right away, I just live in this moment that I have been dreaming of for years.

We wake up tangled together and share soft sweet kisses before we realize just how hungry we are. We make pancakes for breakfast and make a huge mess in the kitchen. After cleaning up we part ways, her for Isabelle’s house and me for home. Hesitantly, I open the front door and am very relieved to not hear any suspicious noises.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your POV

You and Britany spend your Sunday curating the perfect revenge outfit for Isabelle, formulating a battle plan, and hyping her up. 

Isabelle is heated all of Monday morning as she preps herself to confront Jeff. She wants to do it at lunch, so everyone can see. Embarrass him the way he embarrasses her whenever he cheats. 

We have one last check in before Isabelle storms into the cafeteria towards the football table. Anyone or anything in her way gets pushed aside, capturing everyone’s attention. Her high heels clicking on the floor is the only sound to be heard, everyone has gone silent. The whole school watches her on her warpath, in awe. 

You and Brittany stay behind, but Hazel follows along as the eye witness. You can’t really hear what is being said until Jeff points at Hazel and yells “shut up nerd! I fucked your mom!”

Moments later Isabelle pivots back around and struts towards you and the rest of the girls in fight club. “I’m getting revenge,” she announces. “I’m gonna fuck up some football players and I’m buying a gun.”

A few girls throw out more ideas as you all follow Isabelle out of the cafeteria. Hazel, who is trailing behind, suggests “or what about, like… a bomb?”

Everyone stops dead in their tracks, too shocked to speak. Hazel continues oblivious to everyone’s shock. “Like a, like a super small bomb. I mean, they are really easy to make, and I can just… put it under his car, and it can be a distraction.” You're suddenly reminded of a suspiciously bomb-like device you had seen in Hazel’s room.

PJ is the only one able to put enough together words to reply. “Yeah Hazel, let’s do terrorism.” Hazel gives her a small nod of approval. 

The members of the fight club begin to disperse. Hazel puts her arm around your shoulders and asks “would you want to work on a project with me tonight, before the whole revenge thing?”

You start to panic because you have no idea what project she is talking about. “Wait for which class? When is it due? I don’t even remember being assigned a project!” Everything going on with Hazel must really be messing with your brain.

“Oh no, not a school project. Something more…” She pauses to scratch the back of her head and find the right word. “... recreational.”

“Haze, what does that even mean?”

“The bomb…” she says nonchalantly, looking particularly mischievous.

Your wide eyes stare into hers. “You aren’t actually going to make a bomb, are you?”

Hazel flashes an enchanting smile that you can’t resist. “Does Jeff not deserve it?”

“Fuck it, let's make a bomb.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After school you and Hazel build a fucking bomb. Just in her room, like it's completely normal. You never expected to be in this situation but watching her wielding this power kind of turns you on.

The bomb is rather simple to make, and Hazel already has all the supplies. Questioning that isn't even worth it at this point. You help out by holding wires and passing over tools. She is so hyper fixated, and you are slightly afraid of an explosion, so you don’t talk any more than necessary during the process. 

After sundown the fight club meets up at Annie’s house, she has a van that could (technically) fit everyone. She drives, Brittany calls shotgun, and everyone else crams into the back. You are the last one to get in so you aren’t even sure you will fit. The entire volume is practically occupied.

“Uh…” Josie says looking around for a solution. Her eyes land on your neighbor and she smirks, “you can just sit on Hazel’s lap, right?”

“Oh. Yeah. That’s fine.” You hear a few giggles and whispers, none of which are coming from PJ, who is giving you a death glare out of the corner of her eye. Hazel wraps her arms around your waist to keep you from falling over and rests her chin on her shoulder. All while looking over at PJ, to tell her to fuck off without actually saying it. You can’t tell whether it is you or Hazel that PJ is jealous of. 

The fight club spills out of the van and disperses to start their assigned tasks. You will be assisting Hazel with putting the bomb under Jeff’s car. She slides under like a mechanic and gets to work while you hold a box of tools. You become increasingly more anxious as time passes. Hazel had made it seem like it wouldn’t take too long when explaining the plan, and you can hear her cursing under her breath. You can’t help but imagine getting blown to pieces in front of Jeff’s house, but your undying love for Hazel keeps you by her side. 

“Like fifteen minutes…” Hazel says to herself before you hear a ticking that sounds dangerously like a countdown to an explosion like you hear on tv. Is this thing about to blow? Right now?

You fears are confirmed when Hazel starts yelling “FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!” as she scrambles out from under the car. She grabs your hand and drags you to start running with her. You hear a large boom behind you. You are flooded with the warmth of the heat being radiated  by the blazing fire. Looking back to see the burning car makes you feel like an actress in an action movie. A romantic comedy had always been desired with Hazel, but a little action doesn’t hurt. Anyone but Jeff’s car, that is.

Everyone piles into the van; you end up on Hazel’s lap again (even though you didn’t have to). Everyone cheers as Josie slams on the gas pedal, driving dangerously over the speed limit.