Chapter Text
Chloe’s POV
As soon as classes finish, we hurry to return to our dorms. Stepping outside the classroom, I’m surprised to find Hazel there, waiting for me. But this time, her eyes are heavy with sleep, glancing around tiredly as her hand covers a yawn.
“Hey, you should come with us to the dorm.”
I step closer to her, fixing the books in my arms. She straightens up at my voice and closes the distance between us. Once more, I put my hand on her chest, laughing as I stop her from getting too close. Hazel huffs and puts one hand over mine, keeping it there as she observes me.
“Hmm, why? Do you want me there?” she teases, a smirk forming on her face, and I roll my eyes. She could be so infuriating.
“No. I’m worried. Look at you.” I take back my hand and point at her with my finger. “You’re literally falling asleep as we speak.”
And proving my point, her eyes close and she stumbles a little forward, making me grab her shoulder to steady her.
“Besides, you’re still under the effects of the cookie. I don’t want to leave you alone until it wears off.” I frown, worried.
I grab her hand for a moment and motion for her to follow me. She does. Red joins us a few seconds later, having been speaking to Luis.
Hazel reluctantly follows, but her eyes are now wide open, and from time to time she glances my way, a weird look adorning her face. I raise my eyebrows at her and shift my focus to the hallway. She’s been like that since morning, so I’ll choose to ignore it.
Crossing the courtyard and walking for a few more minutes, we finally reach our room, Red opening the door and entering first before looking back at us.
“Make yourself comfortable, Hazel. You can take my bed. I’ll be leaving in a few minutes,” she announces, putting her stuff on her table before entering the bathroom to get ready.
Hazel nods and slowly makes her way toward the soft bed in the room, carefully sitting down and leaning back, her eyes locked on me.
I chuckle and make my way to mine, fixing my books on my night table before waiting for Red to step out of the bathroom so I can go and change my clothes. I’ll be staying here with Hazel until the spell completely wears off.
Returning to my bed, now in my sleep clothes, I see that Hazel has made herself more comfortable in Red’s bed. Her boots are discarded on the floor, and she has also taken off her vest, leaving her in her long-sleeved T-shirt. On the bed, her hands are sprawled at her sides, and she’s staring at the ceiling, trying to fight off sleep.
“Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up,” I reassure her, my voice soft.
Her head shifts, and Hazel stares at me silently, her chest rising with every breath. A moment later, her head moves in a careful nod, and she finally closes her eyes, breath beginning to even out.
When she’s fully knocked out, I finally let out a sigh of relief, tiredly grabbing my books so I can do some homework while she sleeps.
………………………………..
Four hours later, I’m focused on my books when I see her stir a little on the bed, frame hidden by the blanket. I saw her shiver about thirty minutes after she fell asleep, so I helped her by covering her up, hearing the adorable mumbles she made while still fast asleep. And as soon as she felt warm enough, the mumbles stopped, so I returned to my work.
Looking at the clock on my night table, I realize it’s already 6:00 p.m. So there’s a chance the spell might be gone already. My heart jumps at the possibility of seeing Hazel again, being… well, herself.
Lost in my own head, I suddenly feel my bed dip. Jumping, startled, I turn to see Hazel making herself comfortable beside me.
“Hey, princess.”
She’s staring at the amount of books on my bed.
“Why are you doing homework?” she says with so much distaste that I laugh, returning my focus to my writing.
“Well, some of us actually care about grades,” I joke, glancing at her and seeing her bored expression. “At least you finally cared about yours. Now tell me, now that the spell is gone, how did you actually do on your test?”
At that, Hazel smirks and then grabs my hand, making me drop the pencil. A complaint is about to leave my mouth, and I’m ready to scold her when she speaks.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says, her thumb caressing my knuckles as she smiles lazily at me.
I’m confused as I analyze her, looking for any kind of joke on her face. But I find none, so I sigh, brushing her hand away and grabbing my pencil again.
“So it hasn’t worn off yet. Great.” I grit my teeth, disappointed. There’s a frown on my face as I grow irritated, and the room falls quiet around us.
The bed moves as Hazel shifts, now sitting and scooting closer. She grabs my hand again, and I scold her this time.
“Hazel! You said you would behave!”
This contact is too much for me.
But I stop as soon as I turn to look at her.
She’s pensive now, grabbing my hand and tracing little patterns on my palm, but she’s smiling.
“Chloe,” she starts, shifting to look at me.
“What?”
I know my voice comes out angry, but she just takes a deep breath, then raises one hand and tucks a strand of hair back behind my ear. This time, she lets her fingers rest there, shifting her body completely toward me.
“Why are you angry?” she asks, a laugh escaping her lips, amused by my reaction.
I glare at her, and my cheeks warm. Brushing her hand off my face, I ignore her, looking to the side and crossing my arms.
“It’s nothing, Hazel. Let’s wait until the spell wears off. You still need to try not to touch me until it does.”
I’m about to stand up from my bed when she grabs my arm, soft but firm.
“Look at me.”
I don’t.
“Please?”
My heart begins to race when her fingers carefully shift my face to the side. Her expression is incredulous and full of amusement.
“Chloe, the cookie wore off a long time ago.”
I wait for her to tell me she’s joking, so I just keep my mouth shut. Because I don’t believe her.
“It’s true. I remember everything. Pink told you it would last hours, but it literally wore off as soon as I finished my test.”
She laughs, and I gape at her, my heart dropping. Then I push her, making her almost fall off the bed. Her laughter is louder now, and her hand is on her stomach.
“So at lunch, you were just messing with me?!”
She’s still laughing but straightens up.
“Damn, you’re strong.” She lets out one last chuckle and then smirks, raising one eyebrow as she looks me up and down, my cheeks warming unexpectedly.
“I was. I’m sorry.”
Hazel at least seems a bit apologetic, so I just shrug and then sigh, still irritated but glad that she’s fully back now.
“But…”
I look at her, knowing she’s going to say something embarrassing.
“I didn’t see you complaining.”
My heart races, and she moves her face closer to mine, humming lowly as she notices the red on my face. I glare at her.
“Shut up. You literally just caught me off guard. It was inevitable, that was all,” I lie.
Her head tilts, and her smile widens as she meets my eyes.
“Is that so?” she whispers, her eyes looking down briefly at my lips, and my heart jumps, my face full of disbelief.
“Hazel. What are you doing?”
I’m starting to panic as her hand rises and rests softly on my cheek, her thumb caressing my skin.
“I want to kiss you. Can I?”
My mouth opens a little, lost for words, and I feel myself growing insecure. I don’t know if this is a second effect from the cookie, and after what happened when she gave me the jacket, I don’t want to take any chances.
“Don’t do that,” I manage to say.
Hazel notices my change, and her eyes lock on me again, her brows furrowing.
“Do what?”
I glare once more, and my heart drops.
“For all we know, this could be a remaining effect of the cookie. So you should stay back.”
She’s confused, I can see it, her hand grabbing mine again.
“I’m not confused, Chloe. I just wanted to kiss you, that’s all.”
I bite my lip and look to the side, my gaze falling on the books.
She speaks again.
“Why do you think it would be weird for me to want to kiss you? I just do. I promise the cookie wore off,” she assures me, scooting even closer as one hand returns to my cheek.
I laugh humorlessly.
“I don’t think you do. I don’t seem like your type anyway.”
“My type? And to you, what would my type be?”
Her voice is low now, waiting for me to speak, but she puts some distance between us.
I groan, my heart dropping.
“I don’t know, probably tough girls?” I start, looking at her. “And I’m nothing like that. That’s why I think we should wait a few more hours until you’re sure the cookie isn’t making you make any decisions you’re going to regret later.”
My voice is bitter, but it’s best if we do.
She stays quiet for a second and then leans back, observing me.
“Chloe,” she starts, amused.
“What?”
“Have you seen yourself?”
I frown, confused and irritated, not understanding.
“What do you mean?”
Hazel keeps chuckling and then bites her lip softly, staring at me.
“You’re telling me that I would prefer tough girls,” she starts, her words careful and slow, assessing my reaction, “and it’s true.”
I nod and roll my eyes because, I knew it.
“But…” She leans toward me again. “That’s literally you.” She finishes.
And before I can open my mouth to retort to something that’s obviously not true, she continues.
“Hear me out,” she pleads, grabbing my hand once more.
I stay quiet.
“You…” Her hand cups my cheek. “Are really good at fencing,” she starts.
Turning to look at her, I see her smirking as she scoots closer again.
“Your dad literally trained you to fight,” her voice is amused. “You were incredible back at Wonderland, and sure as hell, I would have loved to see you being your evil self.”
That brings out a shocked laugh from me, my shoulders rising as I look at her, stunned.
“Yeah, right,” I say, and she laughs.
“It’s true, princess. I only heard what Red and Max told me, but damn, I’m so sad I missed it for, like, four seconds,” she groans playfully, and another laugh escapes me, my heart starting to calm.
“But this…” Her eyes lock with mine. “Is my favorite version of you,” she says.
My cheeks warm, and I stare at her.
“Yeah, I like tough girls. But I also love how kind you are.” She grabs my hand and presses a kiss to it. My lips curl into a smile, and my nose scrunches, embarrassed.
“Your temper, which you demonstrated just now,” she jokes.
“Hey!”
“And it pains me because I thought all this time I’ve been pretty obvious every time I flirted with you.”
I open my mouth.
“Wait, what? What are you talking about?”
She chuckles and moves closer, her nose almost touching mine.
“I’ve been flirting with you for months, Chloe, even in Wonderland. It’s a shame you had to realize it because of the cookie, honestly.” Her tongue clicks, and she tilts her head.
My eyes widen.
“You have?”
“Yes. I’m not just nice to everyone. Don’t you think?”
It might be. But all this time, I thought we were becoming friends only, and I decided to push my feelings aside because I thought I had no chance.
I was wrong, it seems.
Fixing my eyes on her again, I see she’s waiting for me to talk.
“I see. I’m sorry I didn’t notice. I thought I had no chance at all. And I didn’t want to take advantage of you because of the cookie,” I explain.
She nods and rests her forehead against mine, her arm circling my waist again. I can feel her warm breath on my mouth.
“If we’re being realistic, it was probably me who had the least chance with you. You’re just… perfect, Chloe,” she whispers, and my face contorts.
“I’m not,” I say.
And noticing my hesitation, she sighs, stepping back, her arms leaving me.
“You are, at least to me. But it’s your decision, princess. I will not kiss you if you don’t want me to.” She smiles softly and then starts to stand up.
My heart jumps, and I try to speak, but I just can’t. She’s disappointed, I can see it, her shoulders dropping. And suddenly, there’s a raw emotion in my chest, spreading and making my eyes water a little. My breath turns ragged.
I stand up and rapidly walk around the bed, feeling her eyes following every move. She’s biting her lip, and I feel my body start to burn as I notice the three unbuttoned buttons of her shirt and how it’s a little rumpled from how much she slept. Her belly is showing, and I catch a glimpse of those abs I always wanted to see.
Crossing the remaining space, I hug her, and her arms rise, hugging me back tightly. She smells amazing, and I just want to be in her embrace for a little while.
“I’m so glad you’re back,” I mutter.
I realize, that the emotion is relief.
She rests her mouth on my temple and then tucks her nose into my hair, laying careful, soft kisses on my head. The affection is endearing, and as I feel my chest contracting, I let her, rubbing my nose against her neck, feeling her shiver at the touch.
My heart jumps.
Despite how harsh Hazel is, she’s being perfectly soft right now, reassuring me.
“I am, princess,” she whispers, the words low.
I nod and relax, grateful that she’s here again with me.
Raising my head, I finally grab her face in my hands and kiss her, our lips moving slowly. She lets me set the pace.
I kiss her and kiss her, again and again, soothingly, and she’s warm, her lips moving gently against mine.
After what feels like minutes, we stop, and then she moves on to kissing my cheek, my nose, and then lays one last soft kiss on my lips.
“I should let Chessy know how grateful I am,” she suddenly says.
And I laugh, sharp and loud, exasperated, resting our foreheads together again.
“God, Hazel, can you not? You literally ruined the moment.”
She laughs.
“Can’t help it. My head is kind of a mess right now. You’ve ruined me.”
She’s about to dip her head and kiss me again when the door bursts open.
And, startled, I distance myself and turn to see Red standing there, with literally everyone behind her.
My face warms at their expressions, and I look at Hazel, her face flushed from what we were doing. But then she just smirks, winking at me.
I shoot her a glare.
“What…” Red starts. “The hell was that? Chloe. Explain yourself. We literally came to visit Hazel to see if the cookie wore off. And you…” She points at Hazel. “…were about to kiss her?!”
My heart races at the attention, and I turn to see Pink’s eyes widen, a smile stretching across her face.
“Oh my God, how adorable!”
I let out a sigh and finally speak.
“So… long story, guys.” I start. “It seems the cookie wore off, like, a long time ago.” I gesture at Hazel, and she just raises her hand, waving playfully at the rest. She then steps closer and puts her arm around my shoulders, kissing my head and resting hers against mine, looking amused at everyone else as their mouths gape.
“What?! Since when?” Red inquires, shocked, assessing Hazel’s arm on my shoulder.
I just look at her apologetically.
“Since before lunch, princess,” Hazel speaks at my side, already bored with the conversation.
I nod and turn to look at everyone.
“Yep. What she said. I just found out a few minutes ago.” My voice is a little irritated, but I just smile, remembering everything that happened afterward and squeezing the hand on my shoulder.
“And what happened after that? We literally found you two embracing, and Hazel was about to kiss you.”
My face warms, and I’m about to open my mouth to answer when Hazel beats me to it.
“That’s none of any of your business.” Her voice is firm, and then she distances herself, finding her boots and putting them on. After she does, she straightens up and steps closer once more, her hand resting on my cheek as she lays a soft kiss on the other one.
“I’ll see you later,” she whispers as she retreats her head. “Try to rest.”
And then she turns to everyone and starts scolding them, boredly telling them to leave. Everyone does, confusion on their faces but slow smiles forming. Even Pink looks back at me and gives me a little thumbs-up, grinning wide.
I laugh and nod, my skin burning up again.
Soon enough, it’s only me and Red.
We look at each other in silence, and then she practically runs toward me.
“Chloe! What the heck!” She hits my shoulder hard, and I wince.
“Hey! What was that for?”
“I knew you guys had a vibe. We all did. So, tell me, what happened?”
Her eyes are sparkling and mischievous, and I snort, starting to recount the last ten minutes.