Chapter Text
Hazel continued following Ravi wherever he went, ‘Maybe this might be a little... Stalker-Ish a little weird, but who isn’t a little weird?’ she asked herself. ‘Okay, maybe some people wouldn’t consider this just a little weird, but still, I’ve already done it so no turning back now,’ she said to herself again, she kept following him at every turn he made, and he eventually went into a small convenience store. Now, how would she get in there without him noticing her? ‘Christ...’ Was she really going to do this just because she was curious of a boy? ‘Yes? No! I don’t know anymore...’ She said to herself again. She rubbed her forehead in annoyance, and thought about it for a moment, she looked behind her and looked at the store again, she was debating whether she should just stop following him and go back or satisfy her curiosity and continue following him.
She eventually went into the store a couple of minutes after him, deciding to soothe her curiosity instead of just going back, she pretended to look for something she liked and while looking at what he was doing, she actually found something she liked, and it was a bit cheaper here, so, why not? She grabbed it and tried to buy it as discreetly as possible so that Ravi wouldn’t see her, but unfortunately for her, Ravi was Infront of her in the line, it was only the two of them after all. She tried her best to hide her face, looking anywhere else but him, trying to find something that would cover her face, anything she could do, she would... And it was all in vain, as Ravi turned around to see why the woman behind him was acting weird.
Ravi: “...Hazel...?” Ravi asked.
Hazel: “Uh... Ravi...? Haha... Didn’t see you there...” Hazel said, her voice shivering and scratching her head before finally looking up at him.
Ravi: “The guy right in front of you? I doubt that.” he said, sounding skeptical.
Hazel: “Uh... Ahem! This cashier sure is taking long, huh...?” She replied, wanting to end the previous conversation and move on to a knew topic, she glanced at the cashier and realized they was glaring at her. “Sorry...” She said quietly to the cashier, and he just nodded.
Ravi: “Hmm... Never mind about the last thing, since you’re already here, want to come with me on my stroll?” He asked, the embarrassed look on Hazel’s face slightly dissipated, still there, but not as noticeable.
Hazel: “Yeah... Yeah! Sure.” She said, trying to not show how happy she was that he suggested that, not only can she keep following him, but it also wouldn’t be weird anymore.
Ravi: “Okay then, I’ll wait for you outside after you buy your food.”
Hazel: “Sounds good.”
Ravi: “Okay then,”
Hazel got what she wanted and bought it, she went back outside and met with Ravi, he was sitting down on the concrete, he stood back up and they started their walk together. Hazel kept glancing at Ravi, but her never really noticed, even though she couldn’t make it any more obvious, Ravi talked about how he always took a walk around and told her that he always did because he wanted to remember all the things he did with Pippa while Hazel just kept nodding slightly, she seemed to be distracted, maybe it was because it was her first time walking through here and she was focusing on the beauty of the pond, and other than that, pretty much nothing else was talked about, it was peaceful. (I keep reusing this same sentence IK I just don't know how else to describe it bro T-T).
On the other hand, Pippa was spending late nights studying for school and spending even more late nights looking for anything to win against Max, that bastard. She wanted to get all these things finished with already to get back with all her friends again. ‘When will this case be finished and when will Max go to jail...?’ She asked herself. If the stress from her college wasn’t enough, then the stress of the case would definitely be already taking its toll. She has headaches all the time, dizzy, sleeping about 3 hours a day, she wasn’t enough to be called “healthy” at the time. (So like, this Pippa flashback isn’t really related to anything; doesn’t explain anything and it’s also earlier in time than Ravi’s POV, I just wanted to add it🤷♂️). ‘Finally!’ She screamed internally, she found something that would make Max seem like the killer in the next court date, now she just needs to find up all the responses he could make and how she can come back from at morning, it was already very late, or pretty early, it could’ve been both, it was 4 AM after all. She laid down on her bed and slowly drifted asleep.
After she woke up, she started getting ready, showering, tooth brushing, dressing up. She got her bag, she wasn’t really worried about much about school, she already did all the assignments and activities her professor's made her and her classmates do, but there was a presentation she had to do about the judicial system, she was scared that she’d get stage fright having to report her presentation in front of everybody and her professor’s, she was worried she’d screw something up, and she had to try her hardest not to, the sleep deprivation would definitely be a challenge, she sat at her desk, waiting for class to start while her classmates converse with their friends. She thought about Ravi for a moment. Then suddenly, her thoughts would be filled by him, she groaned, ‘Why think about him now? You had to leave him... to keep him safe, right?’ She thought to herself, but she couldn’t help but feel that longing again, that hole in her heart, she felt sad that she had to leave all her friends, but it’s to keep them all safe. ‘Focus. Now’s not the time to cry over spilt milk.’
She suddenly got snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a hand touching her shoulder. She jolted and turned around; it was one of the very few friends she made at the university, Chloe, they bumped into each other on the first day, and as it turned out, both had the same classes together, they saw each other often and became friends. Pippa didn’t tell Chloe about what happened, she still didn’t trust her that much, but she trusted her enough to think that she would never spread anything to anybody else, all the stuff that Pip vents to her whenever Pip was... Feeling. Anyways, Chloe looked more concerned than usual. Maybe it’s because she could see how stressed Pip was, maybe something else. Pip blinked, and stared at Chloe, it seemed as if she was in her own world just a few seconds ago.
Chloe: “You okay, Pip?” She asked in a concerned tone. “You’re looking pretty stressed today. Well, atleast more stressed.”
Pippa: “Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m okay, don’t worry.” She smiled at Chloe, reassuring her.
Chloe: “Are you sure?” She asked again, brushing some of Pip’s hair out of her face to see her better.
Pippa: “Yeah, I’m sure. I’m sure that I’m sure.” Pip said, feeling embarrassed.
Chloe: “Sure…” She giggled, watching Pip’s expression.
Chloe sat down next to Pip, whilst their classmates were beginning to calm down since their professor was gonna come in soon. Pip tried to ease her nerves because she was also going to show her presentation soon, Chloe glanced at Pip, noticing that she was worried about her presentation, Pip told her how worried she was about it a lot of times before. Chloe tried reassuring Pip and Pip smiled at her, appreciating the gesture but she was still a bit nervous. The professor then started teaching the class about the new topic they were having. Pip was listening intently while Chloe was distracted by… Something. Pip noticed that Chloe was distracted, and she looked at where Chloe was staring at… Some boy??? Pip grinned mischievously at the discovery, she found something that she could tease Chloe for. ‘Was he the boy Chloe couldn’t stop talking about the last few weeks but wouldn’t say the name of?’ She asked herself, probably. It eventually became time for what Pip was dreading the most, her presentation.