Chapter Text
Chloe capped her green highlighter, having finished highlighting all the sections she needed. Moving to another page, she grabbed a pink one, but before she could uncap it, the sound of leaves being ruffled made her look up to see Hazel stepping from within the bushes.
“Well, that is a surprising sight,” Hazel said. A smirk began forming on her face as her gaze met Chloe’s. “I didn't peg you for the adventurous type princess, yet here you are deep into the woods.”
Chloe regarded her with an eye roll. “You can't say you didn't peg me for the adventurous type when only a few weeks back we went into Wonderland to save the Queen of Hearts. And we aren't that deep into the woods, you can literally see the school building from here.” She pointed to the left, where one could indeed see the upper towers of Auradon prep at a safe distance.
Hazel shrugged. “Fair enough, I suppose. Still, I didn't expect to find you here, and…” She trailed off, glancing around. “Alone at that. I know Pink is hanging out with the Smees, but what about Red?”
“She is on a date with Luis.”
“Oh, so she ditched you.”
Chloe gave her a deadpan look. “No, I already knew she had plans with him since she told me yesterday.”
Hazel nodded. “Alright, so you were alone and decided to come all the way out here just to…study?” She inquired, finally noticing the open books lying on the ground.
“Pretty much. I was going to study anyway, but since it's such a nice day, instead of being inside the library or in my room, I decided to make the most out of the lovely weather and come here, plus no one is around to disrupt me, so I have plenty of privacy, or well, I had.”
Hazel scoffed, crossing her arms. “Are you saying I'm disrupting?” Despite her posture, her tone only conveyed playfulness.
Chloe chortled. “You can be disruptive, but in this case, I was simply stating a fact about the lack of people around.” A beat passed before she added. “But enough about me. What about you? Why are you here and why isn't Max with you?”
“I'm here for the same reason as you, not studying, of course, but because of privacy. I like venturing here every once in a while to lie under the shadow of a tree and relax.” Hazel quickly explained. “As for Max, he is busy.”
“Busy?”
“Yes, busy.”
Chloe narrowed her eyes, expecting Hazel to offer her some sort of further clarification, yet after a few moments of silence, it became clear that was all the answer she would get.
“Alright, I hope you enjoy your time here then. I will continue studying.” Chloe said, offering her a tight-lipped smile before her eyes drifted down to her notebook, assuming the exchange was over.
Moments later, however, she heard Hazel speaking again.
“Actually, I would love to do just that, but I can't since you are in my spot.”
Chloe frowned, glancing at her again. “Excuse me. What do you mean by your spot?”
“I mean that I usually lie down under that tree.”
“Okay… I still don't see what the problem is, though? Even if this is your usual spot, there are dozens of trees around, so just go lie under one of them.”
Hazel scoffed and crossed her arms. “That isn't how we do things around here, princess. It was my tree first, so I have dibs on it. Do you think that just because you are royalty, I have to give up my place to you?”
Chloe could feel herself growing increasingly frustrated with Hazel's antics, yet she tried to remain calm.
“First of all, this isn't your tree, but a tree, and second of all, my royalness doesn't make me think anything. I just came here first; therefore, I shouldn't have to move just because you feel like it.”
Although her words sounded polite, Hazel knew she was working her up. The princess could have quite the temper, and she couldn't deny it was entertaining to push her buttons just to piss her off, so instead of relenting, even though she was exposing some good points, Hazel decided to press on.
“You aren't going to move then?”
“No, I won't.” Chloe quickly answered, leaving no room for doubt.
They glared at each other for a few seconds before Hazel shrugged.
“Okay, fine by me then.”
With decisive steps, Hazel walked towards Chloe, dropping beside her on the ground.
“What are you doing?” Chloe questioned, clutching her notebook.
“What does it look like I’m doing, princess?” Hazel retorted, leaning back until she was lying down flat, using her arms as a pillow. “You don't want to leave, and I don't want to go to another tree, so I guess we will be sharing.”
Chloe opened and closed her mouth, feeling flabbergasted by her behaviour. “Must you be so…”
“Yes?” Hazel raised a questioning eyebrow.
Chloe sighed. “Whatever, just keep quiet.”
Hazel nodded, closing her eyes. “Will do, Charming.”
At that moment, Chloe should have resumed her studies, yet she couldn't help but stare at her. So engrossed was she in her staring that she failed to notice Hazel opening one eye, catching her looking.
“Those books won't get read if you keep looking at me, princess.”
Chloe jumped. She opened her mouth to say something, yet she quickly closed it, finding herself at a loss for words. Awkwardly clearing her throat, she looked away, feeling her face heating up.
From her place in the ground, Hazel smirked to herself as she closed her eye once more.
At first, Chloe had trouble focusing, being too aware of Hazel's presence. Yet, as the minutes passed and the pirate kept her silence, Chloe stopped minding her, fully engrossing herself in her studies.
As for Hazel, she truly meant to just rest for a while, but as she lay under the shadow of the tree, hearing the faint ruffle of leaves as the wind gently blew, combined with the sounds Chloe made as she turned pages and wrote, she found herself being lulled to sleep.
Chloe didn't realize Hazel had fallen asleep until she concluded her study session, turning to her only to see the steady rise and fall of her chest and the relaxed expression on her face.
Seeing her so at peace, she found herself smiling, and although she didn't want to disrupt her, she thought it would be good to wake her up before leaving.
“Hazel,” Chloe called for her, gently nudging her.
She waited for a few moments to see if she would stir, but when she didn't, Chloe nudged her again.
“Hazel.”
This time, she got a response, as Hazel scrunched her face before opening her eyes.
She blinked a few times to clear her vision before her gaze found Chloe's.
“Hello, princess.” Chloe almost shivered over how raspy Hazel’s voice sounded freshly awake. “How long was I out for?” She asked, sitting up.
“Less than an hour and a half, since that is how long I spent studying.”
“I see. Are you finished?”
Chloe nodded. “I was about to be on my way, but it didn't feel right leaving you here asleep, so I woke you up.”
“Aww, was the princess worried about me?” She said, placing her hand over her heart. “I'm flattered.”
Chloe shook her head in disbelief. “Don’t let it get to your head, Hook.”
“I wouldn't dare.”
They shared a laugh before Hazel stood up.
Dusting off her clothes, she stretched a few times before extending her hand towards Chloe.
“Here, let me help you up.”
“How chivalrous of you,” Chloe exclaimed, earning her an eye roll as she reached for Hazel's hand. “Where are you going now?” She asked, letting go of Hazel once she was on foot.
“I will probably return to my room until it's dinner time. What about you?”
“Same, but first I need to make a quick stop at the library to return some of these books.”
Hazel thoughtfully hummed. “Well, since we are going to the same place. I suppose we can head out together.”
Chloe shrugged. “Sure, let's go.”
“Okay.” Hazel briefly glanced at the books Chloe was holding. “Do you want me to carry them?”
Chloe furrowed her brows. “Did that nap rewire your brain or something? Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?”
Hazel scoffed. “Just because I'm a vk doesn't mean I can't be nice from time to time, you know? There is more to me than just mischief.”
Chloe gave her an apologetic look, knowing she had misspoken. “Sorry, I wasn't trying to imply that you couldn't be nice, you just caught me off guard since I'm used to you joking around and trying to get a rise out of me.”
Although what Chloe said did sting a little, Hazel wasn't truly mad at her.
“Apologies accepted. Now, do you want me to carry your books or not?”
Chloe nodded, handing her the books.
The walk back to school was spent mostly in silence, yet neither was bothered by it, finding a certain comfort in each other's silent company.
When they reached the library, they stopped outside as Hazel handed Chloe back her books.
“Thank you for carrying the books and for walking back with me.”
Hazel waved her off. “Please, you don’t have to thank me for that.”
“Well, even if you think that, I still wanted to show my gratitude.” Chloe let a beat pass before adding. “Anyway, I'd better get inside and return this.”
“Yeah, you go do that. I will see you around, princess.”
Chloe smiled. “See you around, Hook.”
Having said their goodbyes, Hazel walked away as Chloe stepped into the library.
A while later, Chloe returned to her room, finding Red already there.
“Oh, Red, I didn't expect you to be back yet. How was the date?”
“It was great but…” Red narrowed her eyes. “What's up with you?”
Chloe frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you stepped into this room looking all radiant, with a big smile plastered on your face.” Red cocked her head. “Didn't you tell me you were going to study?”
“Yes, and I did.”
“Well, I know you like studying, but you can't possibly look like this because of it. Did something happen?”
Chloe's first instinct was to lie and say that nothing had happened, but if Red could tell her demeanor was different just by looking at her once, there was no way she could lie to her face, without her seeing right through her.
“Well, something did happen when I was studying. Do you remember how I said I had found a spot in the woods perfect for studying because of how private it was?”
Red nodded. “Yes, I remember you mentioning it. Why?”
“Unknown to me, I wasn't the only person who knew about such a place. When I was studying, I was surprised by Hazel.”
Hearing the pirate's name, Red's expression morphed into a smug one. “Hazel, you say. Why was she there?”
Chloe tried to ignore Red’s face, focusing on answering her question. “Apparently, every so often she will venture into the woods to lie under the trees and relax, her words not mine.”
Since she had just told Red who she had encountered, Chloe might as well give her a full recount of everything that happened.
As she revealed more and more things, the smug look on Red's face deepened, the only exception was when Chloe reached the part where Hazel had fallen asleep, since Red looked truly taken aback by it.
“Wait, Hazel fell asleep? The ‘I can't trust anyone but me’ Hazel?”
“Yep.”
“Huh, that's interesting…she must feel really comfortable around you then,” Red concluded. “Who would have thought? Perhaps your crush isn't that unrequited after all.”
Chloe blushed hard upon hearing Red say that. “I have no crush.”
Red rolled her eyes. “Sure you don't, Chloe, sure you don't. Anyway, continue.”
Although Chloe was tempted to leave the matter there, she still finished recounting her encounter with Hazel.
“So let me get this straight, not only did she leave you alone once she lay down, but she also fell asleep beside you and then acted all nice, helping you get up and offering to carry your books for you as you returned here? Yeah, she definitely has the hots for you.”
“She does not.”
“Yeah, she does.”
Chloe huffed. “No, she doesn't.”
“Yes, she d–”
“That's enough, Red.”
Chloe's tone left no room for arguing, so although Red didn't want to drop the topic there, she decided to stop pushing…at least for now.
“Okay.” Red raised her hands in defeat. “I won't say anything else.”
Chloe nodded. “Thank you. And now that I have told you what you wanted to know, it’s your turn to tell me about your date with Luis.”
“Fair enough. Okay, so first we went to…