"all i know, is this could either
break my heart or
bring it back to life
got a feeling your electric touch
could fill this ghost town up with life."
hsmtmts seasons 1-4
ricky bowen x fem!oc
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after the rehearsal drama from the day, hazel trudged straight home, her weariness palpable. maintaining her 4.0 GPA was no small feat, especially with the added burden of this new, undesired extracurricular activity.
her house echoed with emptiness, her parents having gone out for a dinner celebrating their fifteen-year anniversary. they were almost never out of the house like this. seizing the chance for an early night's rest, hazel succumbed to exhaustion and was on the verge of closing her eyes when an unexpected ring echoed from the front door.
annoyed, she descended the stairs and swung open the door to find ricky standing on her doorstep. "i probably should've called you. i'm sorry," he apologized, immediately sensing hazel's bedtime readiness.
but his tear-streaked face didn't escape her notice. "it's okay. don't worry about it. what's going on?" she inquired, genuine concern marking her words.
ricky had been over at hazel's a total of three times in his entire life, so this obviously came as a shock. "can i stay here tonight?" he asked, vulnerability in his eyes.
"uh.. yeah. yeah." hazel immediately agreed with a hint of awkwardness, moving to the side to let him in.
"thank you. and could you maybe.. not tell manny i was here?" he softly asked. "yeah. no worries." hazel agreed for a total of five seconds before leaving the room. "i'm gonna go grab some pillows and stuff."
"thank you." ricky nodded.
_________________________
HAZEL, junior
*shakes head at cameraman*
_________________________
knowing how serious this could be, hazel immediately picked up her phone and dialed manny.
"how could you not tell me beth dies?" manny's voice dripped with theatrical sorrow, casting a melancholic spell as she picked up the call.
"what?" hazel questioned, utterly puzzled by the abrupt start in conversation.
"little women! we had a deal! no sad books on my reading list!" the brunette exclaimed, sprawled on her bed as she held the cell phone to her ear.
"wait, you're upset about a character in a book?" hazel asked incredulously, her initial confusion morphing into sheer annoyance.
"death in literature is serious business, hazel. it's a rollercoaster of emotions, and i was not prepared for the plunge," manny replied, feigning an overly dramatic tone.
"yes, yes, we can organize a full-fledged mourning session for beth later. but right now, i need your help with something else. it's important," hazel urged, steering the conversation back to the reason for her call.
"okay fine book buzzkill, what's up?" manny relented, her lips forming a playful pout as she dropped the book on her lap.
"ricky's at my house." hazel whispered, ensuring he couldn't overhear their conversation from the living room.
"what? why? is he okay?" manny froze, immediate concern etching her face.
"i don't know." she sighed, "he wouldn't really tell me.. i think something happened at home."
"if it's something with his parents, it can't be good. i should text him. that wouldn't be weird, right?" manny inquired, already scrolling down her contact list to find his name.
"no! don't do that." hazel's eyes widened, immediately whisper-shouting at her best friend. "why?" manny questioned, in a confused tone.
"because he asked me not to tell you." she explained, immediately snapping her eyes shut from guilt of telling manny about this.
"what? why wouldn't he want me to know?" the mendoza girl asked, a bit hurt. "that's what i'm trying to find out." hazel explained.
"check if it's something with his mom. he said she came back today." manny advised, remembering ricky's words from rehearsal.
hazel nodded, taking note of her best friends advice, "alright. i'll go talk to him. i'll call you back."
"okay, good luck. bye." manny hung up, going back to her reading, but she couldn't seem to care for it anymore knowing something was going on with ricky.
"hey so, what's goin' on at home?" hazel gently crept back into the living room, pillows and blanket in hand, "how long is your mom staying?"
"i don't.." ricky stammered, leaning his side on her couch. "uh, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." hazel shook her head, uncomfortably averting her gaze.
in that moment ricky immediately felt a wave of guilt, "i'm sorry hazel, i didn't mean to barge in on you like this.. and now i'm ignoring you and that's not fair, you didn't do anything it's just—" he flustered.
"i'm not manny." she concluded, knowing the mendoza girl was the only person ricky ever really opened up to.
"yeah." he sighed, "it's really hard.. to talk about it, you know? n-not with her, but anyone else it's like—"
"then why wouldn't you just go see her?" hazel softly interrupted, questioning him. ricky paused, pondering over their rocky relationship over the past few months, "you know why. i know she told you."
the ocean eyed girl grimaced, "she may have briefly mentioned.. a certain incident." he scoffed, "how do i manage to mess everything up?"
hazel sighed, her gaze momentarily diverted before locking onto him with a gentle but determined expression, "look, i don't say things like this very often 'cause it sounds weird, but... you're a really good guy, and i'm glad that we're friends." she smiled, "but you and manny need to find some way to work this out because i miss hanging out with you and big red."
ricky glanced back at her, a mix of gratitude and remorse in his eyes.
