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The moving days are finally over. As you placed your last box on top of the other in your bedroom, waiting to be sorted, you hear your mother call you from downstairs. She tells you that you have to come down immediately and join her in greeting your neighbors since you’re new here in this closed city. You took a deep breath before you let out a light sigh, silently agreeing to her conditions as you wipe the beads of sweat across your forehead. Just when you thought that today would be your rest day.
You stood in front of the newly bought mirror sitting in the corner of your room, stretching your shirt out to its original place and flattening the collars of your flannel. You rushed to sit on top of your mattress as you pull your sneakers under the bed, pushing it against your feet quickly as your nose catches the tasty fragrance of a newly baked banana cake fresh from the oven.
You hop on the few levels of your stairs, fully revealing yourself to your mother who is busy packaging her gift inside the container she made sure that is squeaky clean. You now both set off to lock the front door behind you and walk across the house that is just sitting right in front of yours. As you watch your mother knock, you can’t help but zone off with the silence as you examine the intricate details of their own entryway.
The color is auburn, it looks too smooth and it was glazed with so much thought. A thick and deep green laurel wreath hangs in the middle, and now the door is open with a short haired girl greeting you with a smile as she kindly took the cake away from your mother’s hands, asking you both to come in as she calls out for her own mother in their living room.
You and your mother were both greeted with more unknown faces sitting down in their sofa, but your eyes wandered around their hallway in amazement, your fingertips meeting the edges of their glossy white marbled narrow table positioned right before you make your way to the second floor of this fine residence.
“Do you like the design?” The question chirped right next in your ear that caused you to move your head sharply towards the direction of the voice, her eyes widened at the action before she lets out a chuckle in response.
“Oh! oh, uh... yeah.” You lied in between your gulps, arranging the hem of your shirt once again subconsciously as you lay your eyes in her blue orbs, eyes blinking slowly before you gave her another nod. “It, uh.... looks classy, I think.”
You wanted to shake your head in embarrassment so hard right now, how could you come up with such lame excuse?
But for some reason she knew immediately that you were nervous with the way you answered. She raised her saucer right in the level of her face as she takes another bite on the banana cake that is now sliced in her plate, giving you a warm smile as she continues to bob her head in every chew.
“Do you... do you like it?” You asked as your crumple the sleeve of your flannel.
“Yeah! You guys are a natural.” She says as she pushed her free hand inside the pocket of her pants. “Thank you guys for bringing this here today, by the way. Seems like you just moved here?”
As you watched your mother being invited to take a sit with the rest of the women who seems to share the same age including who you presume to be this girl’s mother, you finally reciprocated a reassured smile and gave her another nod.
“My name’s Hazel, it’s nice to meet you.” Hazel pulls out her hand to offer you a handshake, but you can feel your hands tremble while your heart continues to thump really hard inside your chest. You find it so hard to let out a word escape your lips, even moving an inch on where you’re currently standing. You have never been this close to any girl before—I mean, sure, maybe you stood next to your classmates whenever you would be paired for projects, but you didn’t seem to mind that case because your head was always out of the place, maybe because they weren’t facing you at all?
And because you like girls. How long has it been since you acknowledged that you are not like the rest of the others?
A simple tap from a girl is enough to send electric waves straight in your nerves, an innocent wrap of their arms around yours immediately makes you feel loved and trusted by them, a quick hi already makes your cheeks go red.
Everything that is currently happening was never a part of anything you envisioned that was going to happen today, but you still tried to be a big guy. Your warm cheeks and shaky hands are already visible at this point but you can’t just leave her hanging in the air, you need to make sure that you’ll leave a good impression with your neighbors once the greetings are done. “You have a beautiful name, it’s nice to meet you too!”
Her smile grew wider and brighter than it did earlier as she watches you say your name. You swear you could feel yourself blushing harder. “So does yours, actually. A pretty name for a pretty girl.” She said with confidence.
That’s all it took for you to completely lose it, but you had to continue keeping it together to not make things weird. As you continued to talk about what you could possibly like and what you might possibly like with each other to be friends, you couldn’t help but fall further in the hole with every answer that Hazel gives you. With the way the you look at her; the cupid might’ve shot your heart pretty good and it’s too late to pull you out from the reality. You are already wishing you could be in this moment forever.
As you took a detour in every corner of her house, you both finally made it to the staircase filled with pictures hanging from a thread. Each shot tells a story of how Hazel’s parents met, how they fell in love with each other and moved to this wonderful place they’re both currently standing on, from how they had her, up until today. While you made sure that you were looking in every picture that Hazel just pointed, it was her turn to watch you in awe while you are looking away. She never thought she would meet someone as nervous—an adorable, stuttering mess—yet a bold girl who has the prettiest smile she has ever seen today.
Having visitors over their house was never Hazel’s cup of tea before.
She just arrived at their home when she heard the knock. She was hiding herself away from the noise, blowing a raspberry on her bottom lip as she made her way towards the front door, visibly exhausted with the thought of her mother inviting more that she can cater at the end of the day.
As soon as she twisted the doorknob and opened it, she was taken aback by the girl standing in front of their porch. Her eyes were heavily fixated at the wreath for a moment before she looked at Hazel straight in the eyes, making Hazel shift her gaze towards her companion. She nervously called her mom to welcome them as soon as she ran to the kitchen, placing the cake that she absentmindedly took from the woman’s hands in the counter. Her daughter looked too pretty, Hazel swears she would’ve passed out if she wasn’t well collected enough.
With the way you run your fingertips across the edges of the polaroids, she finds herself lost in her own thoughts as your voice echoes in the distance. “Wow, you had a longer hair when you were little? And superhero themed caps?” You smiled widely as you carefully tugged the picture out from its paper clip on the wall. Hazel couldn’t help but stifle a laugh once she realizes what you’re holding. “Okay now, what does that mean?”
“No, no! I’m not laughing because I think it’s funny, alright?” You admitted genuinely. “I am laughing because I think it’s cute—look at you!” To this, Hazel pulls the picture away from your hands and shakes her head in defeat, hoping she could change your mind. “Alright, don’t tell me you didn’t have an interesting hairstyle when you were a kid.”
“No, but I had an... interesting experience,” You mumbled as you took a step forward and leaned on your knee to move closer towards Hazel. “I remember myself trying to be a little bit different. I guess? I tried this stupid hairstyle that I seriously thought was going to work.”
“And then?” Hazel asked.
“And then it all got tangled up!” You both chuckled, completely oblivious with how mesmerized Hazel is with you. “I was hiding behind this huge door of our cabinet that we had in our classroom, I used to be so tiny that I could fit myself inside so I hid there; I cut a huge chunk of my hair, kicked it underneath, and hoped no one would ever witness the huge section sticking out of my head.”
But you aren’t stupid, you already know what you’re feeling and so does Hazel. The both of you quietly stood there in the staircase for a few minutes before you cleared your throat and Hazel rubbed the back of her neck before smiling shyly.
“Do you wanna check out my room?” She asked once again.
As soon as Hazel twisted the door knob of her bedroom as sneaky as she could, she kicked it with the back of her foot, her left hand was perfectly placed on your back that carefully made its way in your shirt. Hazel’s blue orbs continues to flutter with all the butterflies flying in her stomach as she unconsciously lean an inch closer towards you every second, leading you further and further to her study desk.
You looked at Hazel in the eyes with the warmest expression as you wrap your hands on the latter’s nape that fell soon enough as you melt in every kiss that Hazel gives you on your neck. Shuddered whimpers desperately tries to escape your lips while Hazel’s soft yet warm, gentle kisses progressively goes down into your exposed chest as she unbuttons every section of your flannel. You tucked Hazel’s hair behind her ear when she reached the bottom section of your belly, just right at the top of your belt that perfectly keeps your baggy pants together in the position, heaving a deep sigh as she holds you by your waist before pulling you close to her.
“Are you alright?” Hazel asks this as you both stand in the middle of her room.
In the same area, you can see an old, dusty white telescope standing in the corner. There’s two bean bags in pink and green on the bottom; her backpack sitting on top of the first color and your flannel that was neatly thrown on the corner of the other. There are posters of her favorite band near her small bookshelf, and you are standing near her bed with a huge lamp lit on her bedside table that serves as the only light illuminating Hazel’s room. It is almost dark outside, the skies are painted in indigo blue like the cups holding your bosom. The temperature is also getting a bit cold for your liking, but nothing as good like Hazel’s presence who would be able to keep your warm.
You smiled at her, your hands now positioned on her shoulders before you nodded. Your eyes never left her sweet face as you brushed the pad of your thumb against her defined cheekbone. “Yeah, I am. What about you?”
To this, Hazel smiled back as if she’s getting drunk in every inch of you. “I... I really like you. Is that okay?”
Hazel was visibly surprised seeing you turn her frame around and lead her down to her own bed, watching you sit on top of her lap as you run your hands down her chest, but she didn’t say she didn’t like it. She placed her hands on your thighs, her smile growing bigger after you leaned down to give her soft, pink lips a quick peck before responding.
“Don’t even worry about it.”