"Nope, I don't want to" Hazel Reyes was leaning against her black SUV and seemed to be texting on her phone, so she couldn't see Angel and Noa watching her in an almost frightening way. "It's not that horrible, she's super hot" The green haired had barely finished her sentence when the brunette gave her a chilling look. "Hot or not, she's a stupid bimbo who I clearly don't want to work with. I'm not even sure she'll move one of her fake nails to help me." Her best friend's jaw was almost touching the ground as it had fallen so much at the brunette's words, he really hated her, huh. "I don't want to go, and I don't want to give her my address. Actually, I don't even want to see her," Before he even finished his sentence, a hand fell heavily on his cheek, making his eyes widen, and making him almost lose his glasses. "Get your shit together, Angel! It's a duo assignment, due in two months. You can see her for an hour or two, and then she'll leave. Stop sulking like a kid and go before I shout her name loud and clear," Noa said, caressing his friend's cheek, which had taken a slightly red hue. Angel sighed then turned his head towards Hazel, holding back a jump when he met her gaze. "Let's go, big boy," the young woman said next to the brunette before pushing him in Hazel's direction. She stood up and smiled slightly when she saw the brunette cautiously walk towards her, it almost made her laugh. "So, I'm following you?" Angel nodded, without moving his legs, before the blonde arched an eyebrow, unconsciously asking him what he was still doing there. "Right," he whispered before walking towards his midnight blue pickup and unlocking it without saying a word to Noa. The latter smiled widely and proudly as she watched the brunette start the machine. "You'll do it, it'll be nice" Angel cut her off by telling her to shut up, making her giggle. The path was rather quiet, Noa was scribbling as best she could on her arm and Angel was driving, not stopping his glances at the car behind him. The idea of leaving Hazel in traffic and going back to his room had crossed his mind many times, but he knew that his best friend, next to him would have been able to get out of the car, find her and to guide her to her destination. "Promise to be good?" With the engine off, the two best friends turned their heads towards each other, Angel couldn't stop another sigh while the Asian grinned. A fist knocked gently against the driver's window and he turned to the blonde who was waiting, her eyes fixed on his. Her ocean gaze seemed to win over the desert in Angel's eyes and he would never have admitted it out loud, but at that precise moment, he would have sworn he was facing a real angel.
"Well, here we are, just the two of us" Angel's voice broke the silence that had settled since they entered the pretty house with brown walls, and after Noa left. Hazel couldn't help but stare at the place, the simple but adorable decoration raised the corners of her lips. She probably wasn't going to say it out loud but she really liked the brunette's house. "It's probably not as big as your kingdom but you'll have to get used to it," Angel said, in a dry tone. "I don't live in a kingdom," the blonde replied, putting her bag on the ground and sitting on it, facing the small table in front of the TV. With an arched eyebrow, the young man pointed to the dining table, higher and more pleasant to work on but his partner seemed not to want to move. "Nice," the brunette murmured before settling down in front of Hazel, who was smiling. "Do you mind if I put on some music? I need to work in a chill and pleasant environment, it helps me concentrate" The brunette took a sketchbook out of his bag without paying attention to his partner. He intended to ignore her all along but she made the task difficult by asking her all these things. "Whatever, princess," he growled in his beard, making the blonde roll her eyes. Even this pet name seemed denigrating in his mouth, she thought. Sweeping her hair to the back with one hand, she took out her phone with the other before diving into her playlist. Completely in her world, she failed to notice Angel's surprised look when he heard Mona Lisa's melody resonate in his living room, a song that he knew only too well and that he clearly didn't think was the rich kid' style. The latter began to scribble on a notebook that she had taken out of her bag at the same time as her phone. No words were exchanged, only the music was master of the play and it suited both. Hazel had no grudge against Angel, she didn't necessarily appreciate his behavior towards her but she knew that it was partly, no, entirely because of her boyfriend. She was his best friend's bully's girlfriend and the "rich, popular and probably arrogant girl", she knew that it didn't attract many people. She didn't necessarily understand the animosity he seemed to have towards her, but she - "Stop" The train of her thoughts stopped suddenly when the same brunette she was thinking of suddenly expressed itself, breaking the silence. "Stop what you're doing," he says again, his gaze fixed on the sheet of Hazel's notebook. Looking down, she felt her ears warm up when she saw what her fingers had decided to draw. "I was thinking and," Even before she finished her sentence, the brunette cut her off. "Then stop thinking" The oldest held back a sigh and tore the sheet from her notebook before rolling it into a ball and throwing it on her partner's face. "The drawing was pretty nice, I don't see what bothers you but yeah, anyways, keep it or throw it, whatever" This afternoon was going to be long. "Well, I guess you don't want us to make a portrait," Hazel spoke again after several minutes of silence. Angel held a sigh and leaned against the sofa, looking at the blonde with an annoyed air. He suspected that she would make such a simple proposal, probably to avoid working a lot. Just thinking about it, the brown rolled his eyes, which the blonde didn't miss. "Can I know what your problem is? I propose ideas, you refuse them, I don't say anything, you yell at me. What do you want in the end? I understand that you don't like me but you'll have to work with me, whether you like it or not so stop acting like a kid and just talk," she said suddenly, fed up by her partner's childish attitude. She was trying to stay calm, she was really trying, but Angel was infuriating, yes, infuriating. He raised his eyebrows, he didn't think she would talk to him this way. "It's way too easy to make a stupid portrait of anyone" It was the blonde's turn to roll her eyes. "It could represent much more than a stupid portrait. An emotion, a connection with someone, is much more than a vulgar drawing of someone on the street," she said, crossing her arms and keeping her eyes hard in the brunette's. He did the same and for several seconds, the two teenagers looked at each other without words, fighting with their eyes. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the door interrupted them, then Paige's cry of surprise. "Oh, Angel, can you come for a few seconds, please?" The brunette turned his head towards his sister, rolling his eyes as he heard the platinum blonde sneer, before frowning. "Angel," Paige repeated, a little louder and with a forced smile. Now in the kitchen, the black haired hit her older brother's forehead, who screamed in surprise. "What's your problem?"
"What is Hazel Reyes doing here? Hazel Reyes is like, the most popular girl in high school, she is absolutely great, amazing even, so why is she with you, in our living room?" The brunette frowned, without answering, his sister wondered what Hazel Reyes was doing with a loser like him. Nice huh, he thought. "We're working," he replied, rolling his eyes. "But why is she working with you?" The oldest sighed and then crossed his arms before answering his sister. "Paige, we're in duo for a project, that's all you need to know. Now can I go or do you intend to remind me that I'm not popular enough to do a simple work with Hazel Reyes?" The black haired frowned at her brother's attitude and then waved her hand, signaling to him that he could leave, which the brunette did quickly. "Now, can you propose something? We can't just stay there, looking at each other and whining. Well, you're the only one whining between us," she said, scribbling again on her notebook. Angel sighed for the umpteenth time before suddenly taking the platinum blonde's notebook, making her gasp. "W-What are you doing? You can't just take it like that," she murmured, loud enough for the brunette to hear it, but not enough to stop him. "Calm down, I'm not going to look at the drawings of your boyfriend, if that's what frightens you. I just need two blank sheets" Angel began to shake his pencil in order to make a rather simple drawing and after several minutes of silence, where Hazel was thinking about his last words, he turned the page before scribbling violently on the sheet, revealing all the lines of his previous drawing. "So?" Hazel smiled thinly and took the pencil from the brunette's hand before doing the same on two different sheets, but as the part where she was scribbling on the second sheet came, she began to create a certain shape, creating a drawing on another. Her partner's hazel eyes were so focused on the slow and graceful movement of her hands that he had a hard time realizing that the platinum blonde was waiting for his opinion. With his cheeks heated, he cleared his throat and then replied by straightening up awkwardly. "S-See? We got something," he said in a small voice, which the oldest didn't fail to notice. She frowned and stared at the brunette without saying anything, his fleeing look, his hands fiddling with the end of his hoodie and his slightly pink cheeks. Oh, he doesn't hate me that much, she thought, holding back a smile. "Now, we have to choose what we want to draw and what we want on top," she said with a smile, once again making Angel blush. He straightened up again and took a deep breath, and while he was trying to articulate an answer, the front door suddenly opened on Noa, snacks in hand and a big smile on her face. "Hiyah, break time!" The two teenagers face to face frowned but Angel quickly resumed before getting up, any pretext was good to avoid Hazel's look. She smiled at the newcomer and tapped the place near her, instructing Noa to come, which she did with a joyful step. "I brought back instant noodles, chips and cookies. I thought I absolutely had to make sure you were still alive and well, I was feeling lonely at home," she said, sitting cross legged and putting the snacks on the table, on the drawing sheets, the pencils and everything there was before. Hazel swept her hair backwards and smiled, tilting her head, a simple action that made Angel gulp. He scratched his neck while refraining himself from loudly exhaling a big breath of air. Damn, he thought before looking elsewhere. "Woah, you're sweating buddy, what's up?" The two young women turned to the brunette, who brutally got up to head to the kitchen, with burning cheeks and the noodles. "Fuck's goin on with him," she said, a cookie in her mouth, making the blonde next to her shrug with a small smile. Little smile that did not escape the green hair's gaze, who immediately turned to the blonde, ready to hear about all: the gossip. "What," the latter asked, knowing perfectly well that Noa had noticed the tension. Without commenting, the two young girls looked at each other, their eyes anchored in the other, the smirk on Hazel's lips and Noa's arched eyebrow. This situation made the host of the house, who had had time to cool down alone, confused. He was slowly approaching the table and as he sat down again in front of the Reyes girl, the latter and her best friend turned to him. "So, break time," he asked, looking only at the Asian.
The evening hadn't been very long when Elle had reminded the platinum blonde that they had a sleepover pending. With a smile on her face, Hazel had passed the entrance hall of the Olsen house while talking with the mother of her best friends, holding strongly the bag she had taken from home. "Elle made these pancakes that you love so much, and this time, Xander didn't complain and willingly helped her," the Olsen mom said with a smile and while Hazel was going to answer, another voice interrupted her. "Oh, so you're talking bad about me, Mom?" Hazel sneered when she saw Xander come out of the kitchen, a gourd in hand, where the platinum blonde knew perfectly well that there was no water. The dirty blonde was shirtless, a simple gray jogging that held on his waist and ruffled hair. "Never, darling, I said that you finally decided to help your sister" The boy's ocean eyes landed on his best friend and replied to his mother. "Obviously, I want to make Hazel as comfortable as possible, after all she's our guest for the whole night" His gaze hadn't left the girl's and as she was going to answer, Elle's voice interrupted them again. "Stop flirting with my best friend, Xander, don't you have other things to do?" He turned to his sister and smirked. "Actually, nah so you girls are going to entertain me all evening" Elle rolled her eyes and went down the stairs to take the platinum blonde in her arms. "We're so gonna get rid of him, don't worry," she whispered in her ear and then went upstairs again. "I hope you haven't forgotten your swimsuit because we're going to swim in the hot tub, like, right now," the dirty blonde said, gradually removing her clothes, revealing her body sculpted by pilates, tennis, basketball and badminton. "Linda, I always come to your house with my swimsuit, we always end up in the hot tub" Except when I join Xander in the middle of the night in an unexpected way, she could have added. The two blondes, dressed in red and brown two-pieces suit, went out again to the back of the house to join the hot tub. As soon as they arrived in front of it, the wide smile that had drawn on Elle's face quickly disappeared when she saw that not only it was occupied, but by Xander and his blunt whose smell attacked her nostrils. "X, can't you smoke somewhere else? Your weed stinks and mom is there," she said, in a calm and almost desperate voice. She couldn't take it anymore, he was much older than her and yet he acted like a child. "My lovely sister, mom went out urgently to prepare donuts for the birthday of her stupid friend who treats me like a junkie so... I think I can afford a little blunt in the comfort of our hot tub. And then, I'm pretty sure I've told you that I got nothing else to do but to spend time with you two" Hazel held a scoff and tied her hair in a quick bun before putting her foot in the hot tub, her gaze anchored in her best friend's, who was smirking at her. "Let's just ignore him, Ellie," she ended up saying, still without looking away, which made Xander exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. The feelings he felt towards the platinum blonde were platonic, but the effect she had on men was so damn strong. And he wasn't an exception. The young man's sister held a sigh and sat in the burning water with her best friend before closing her eyes and enjoying the heat silently. With a smirk, Xander stretched the joint towards the other girl's lips and she pulled a silent hit, making the dirty blonde laugh and at the same time making his sister open eyes suddenly. Caught off guard, Hazel held her breath, the destructive smoke in her lungs and her eyes wide open. "Haz, you okay?" Still without breathing, the Reyes girl nodded her head before raising her thumb, under the amused gaze of Xander, who was smoking his weed again. "Everything's cool," he finally said before turning his head again towards his best friend, who was about to turn red. Closing her eyes again, she didn't see her friend exhale and then suck the smoke again in a more relaxed way, nor hit her brother's shoulder. "It was a closed one, real close," mimed the platinum blonde to the oldest.
"Don't say shit, I don't even know what happened," was Angel's answer every time her best friend tried to find out more about his afternoon with the rich girl. She knew well that something had happened but she wasn't sure, which bothered her, she hated not knowing. "Angel, I hate you," Noa said, tying her hair in a quick bun and then leaving the kitchen, following the brunette really close. "I just want to know, I know that I interrupted something , the atmosphere was different and you were blushing like a fucking pre-teen" As she was going to continue, her best friend turned brutally towards her without warning her, which made their faces awkwardly too close. "Wow, Angel, you are way too close to my face, and to my lips. This is a no-no square for you and any individual with a penis between their legs," she said quickly, avoiding the brunette's eyes, who sighed before rubbing his face and stepping back. "You done? Am I far enough now?" The green haired looked at the space between them with disgust and then mimed with her hand to retreat further, which Angel did. "Nothing happened, I just... realized that she wasn't as stupid as she seems, and... she has good musical tastes..." With her arms crossed, Noa watched her best friend act like a thirteen-year-old girl denying her attraction to an older relative. Yes, thirteen-year-old Noa had an attraction to her much older but super hot rich aunt. "She smells good too" Without even thinking, Angel nodded and replied. "She does, like, it's really sweet and then I can still smell it in the room- What the fuck am I saying? You're confusing me!" The green haired rolled her eyes before jumping over the sofa to sit on it, bored.