Hazel's POV
There's a few seconds after I ring the doorbell that I use to stress about if I'm at the wrong house, but that thought ends when the door floats open, and Linny is unveiled, wearing a rose gold dress with white flowers on it and a white cardigan that I think she probably knitted herself. I lose my breath for a moment while looking at her, enchanted by the way her skin sparkles, and I realize she has faint freckles on her nose.
"Is it too much?" she asks, glancing down at her dress.
I immediately shake my head. "No, it's definitely not. It's... I'm sorry. Apparently, I don't know how to talk around you."
That makes her blush and smile as she replies, "The feeling is mutual."
We stare at each other like the moon and the sun, linked together by some strange force.
Eventually, I remember myself and speak, "Uh, come with me."
I wave for Linny to follow, and she steps down her porch, her ballet flats clacking on the wood.
"Where are we going?" she asks.
"Somewhere special."
________________________________________
Buffy's POV
The minute Marty, Cara, and I step into the orthodontist's office, a woman in a lab coat and scrubs calls my child's name.
"Cara Driscoll?"
Cara spins around immediately to head back for the door, saying, "Not me. Can we leave?"
I take Cara's shoulders and turn them back around, replying, "It's not that hard. Would you rather get braces when you're a teenager?"
"That's when the peer pressure to be perfect is the worst," Marty adds on.
"Um, nobody pressures me, thank you," they snap back. "Why do I need braces? God gave me these teeth! Why are you trying to mess 'em up?"
"Cara, you grind your teeth at night, because they don't fit together properly."
"And once they're ground enough, they'll fit together! I don't see the problem!"
I let out an exasperated sigh and step back, muttering, "I can't deal with this."
Marty takes my place, going up to Cara to say, "Cara, what will get you to agree to get braces?"
Without hesitation, they answer, "A sword."
"Deal."
They shake hands, and my jaw drops, shocked that my husband just agreed to that.
But Cara is satisfied and goes over to the orthodontist while popping their knuckles and saying, "Alright, let's get this over with. I apologize in advance if I bite your hand off."
________________________________________
Hazel's POV
Linny looks out the window at the flowering trees as I put the engine to sleep. Pastel petals and baby green buds cover the branches of the forest to our right. My car sits silent on the edge of this side road that points out of town.
"Where are we?" she questions.
Rather than answer upfront, I pull my purse over my shoulder, get out of the car, and go over to get her door, withholding the secret a little longer. I hold out my palm for Linny to take as she climbs out of the passenger side, and I get a swirl of butterflies when she does. Carefully, I guide her down between the trees and bushes, making sure not to put her at risk of having her lovely dress torn, our hands remaining connected the whole time. Finally, we come to the place, a trickling waterfall wide as a canoe. It spills over stones and drizzles down a river, outlined by a ledge of giant rocks. The water swishes and swirls, spilling rainbows of light through its ripples.
"Oh my," Linny breathes, her eyes wide in wonder as she gazes around.
"I accidentally came here once when I got lost while driving, and I thought I should save this for sometime special."
She turns her smile to me, making everything sparkle even brighter for a second. Then the distant rumble turns her attention to the sky above the tree line, and she spots the shimmer of colours far away.
"Are those fireworks?" she asks.
"Yeah. I knew being too close to them would bother you, but this place has a perfect view without all the noise."
Linny's smile persists, her face flooding scarlet as she looks down and notices our hands still linked. I don't want to let go, but I have to when I recall something else.
"Oh, and one more thing," I say.
I reach into my purse and pull out two bottles of butterscotch soda. Linny accepts hers, her thumb brushing over the label while she examines it intently.
"Thank you," sounds her gentle voice. "I..."
She trails off quickly, finishing with just a deep breath and a smile. I move forward and sit down on the edge of one of the rocks, letting my feet hang over, and Linny comes to join me, not worried about her knee touching mine. We both place our sodapops on the stone, and Linny clasps her fidgeting hands in her lap. While I watch her, I notice the faint glow of the fireworks in her eyes, mixing with the blue like paint in water.
"You're staring at me," she whispers.
"Yeah, I am," I utter.
Her eyes flutter away for a moment, but they soon find their way back onto mine, and I get the courage to say what I've only thought up until now.
"Linny, I...don't want our first kiss to be our only kiss."
"Me neither."
My smile grows, and she continues beaming right with me.
After another moment, she breaks our quiet comfort to ask, "Would you like to be my romantic interest?"
That makes me grin even wider. "That's such a cute way to ask."
"So..."
I lean in and kiss her, creating fireworks that greatly outshine the ones in the sky.
________________________________________
Marty's POV
I carry Cara in through the garage door on my back while they giggle and exclaim, "Weeeeee!"
"I can't believe they had to use the laughing gas on them," Buffy says.
I set Cara down on the floor, and an angry look appears on their face.
"They played dirty," Cara says. "I would've won."
"Cara, you can't punch the orthodontist," Buffy states.
"Why not? Don't they get worker's compensation for injuries?"
They kick off their shoes and step onto the floor with bare feet.
"Woah. The tiles are so cold," they slur through their new braces.
"Okay, it's time for you to get to bed," Buffy says.
"Bed is stupid! Sleep is fake."
"Man, I wish that were true," I mumble. "Come on."
"No!"
"Alright," I huff. "We're just gonna—" I reach down and pick them up. "Okay."
"Nooooo!" they whine, but as soon as I start carrying them out of the mudroom, they change their perspective. "Oh my gosh. It's like a ride."
Brayden's POV
"Woooo!" my sibling cheers as my dad carries them past my doorway.
My bedroom is empty. I assume Andreas is probably out with Jayda doing whatever they do. I like it, because it means I can play my classical music while studying geometry which is more of a foreign language to me than actual foreign languages are. I do, however, get a break from homework when Kelsey calls my cell phone.
"Hello," I say.
"Did you see Linny's Instapic story?"
"What is it?"
"Check."
I put my friend on speaker phone and open up my Instapic. When I tap on Linny's icon, I see an image of her hand intertwined with Hazel's while the two of them sit on a rock in some obscure spot of nature.
"Is that a waterfall?" I say, examining the photo further. "That is so romantic."
"I know, right!"
"I'm so happy for her."
"Me too. Anyway, I've got homework to finish. Have a magnificent night."
"You as well."
She hangs up, sending my phone to the home screen. I would just lock it and continue my schoolwork, but before I can, I see the red icon on my messages app. I have a notification. I assume it's probably from Kelsey texting before she called me, but when I open it, it's not. It's something way more unexpected: a text saying one word.
Deion: Hey
A/N: I hope y'all enjoyed that. I'm going back to school this week, so I'ma try to get the next part published for next Monday, but please be patient with me. Only two more episodes left.