~Bird set free-Sia~

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'Break Up With Gemma, Because I will'

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AFTER DINNER, I HELPED mom clear away the plates, Chad and Gemma washed the plates, laughing wildly over different things, and the rest of us retired to our rooms.

Sebastian informed us that he would be going back home with his wife because of an emergency at Technex. So it was just Allie and Shawn who would be here.

I hung around to see if Shawn would say anything about what happened earlier, but he didn't. Maybe, I was just stressing over nothing, him helping me with my shirt was probably nothing to him and it shouldn't be anything to me after all in the course of our friendship, we've done some things which would colour my cheeks if I thought about them, and no, not what you have on your mind.

Shawn simply bid his parents goodnight and remained seated in the grey couch, eyes on his phone.

"What are you doing standing there like that?" He questioned, driving my thoughts away.

"I just spaced out for awhile. I'm just going to go up to my room."

He watched me calmly, and after stealing another look at his phone, he rose.

"Come with me." He said, walking past the stairs. Multiple questions ran in my head as I followed him.

Shawn pushed open a door and another one, then, he turned on the lights and stepped aside for me to enter.

This room was our 'lair' as Mom named it. Each time our families came here, Shawn and I would spend time in this tiny room and allow the adults talk about adult stuff.  

The furniture wasn't as dusty as they should seeing they haven't been used for over six months. I perched on the top of a table where some papers lay scattered over the surface.

Shawn was staring intently at when when my attention moved back to him.

Don't blush, don't blush. He's a player, he's a player. I reminded myself repeatedly, biting my lips.

"Where should I begin now?" Shawn asked, more like mumbled in an agitated fashion. He ran his fingers through his hair and gazed at his feet.

"Just start from anywhere, maybe somewhere, or maybe the first thing that comes into your head or-" I stopped when I realized I was ranting. We both laughed awkwardly and then a thick cloud of silence fell upon us alongside the realization that we had never had any awkward moment in our ten-year friendship, why now?

"Do you get this feeling each time I look at you?" Shawn asked, startling me out of my shell.

"No..." I drawled out. That was a complete lie. I felt something, I always did whenever he looked at me like I was the only person in the entire world.

That day when we bumped and fell on each other in gym class. The look in his eyes when he brushed my hair away from my eyes while mildly crushing me with his athletic body. Or the other time in my room when he told mom about me and the guys' friendship...

"Stop lying to me, Haze, stop lying to yourself." Shawn pleaded with a longing in his eyes.

Ignoring my heated cheeks, I guilty turned around, backing away from Shawn. It took a couple of minutes before I regained my sanity and dared myself to look at him again.

"I don't know what you're talking about Shawn, maybe we should just get some sleep and-"

Shawn moved as quick as lightning and the next thing, his lips were on mine. I froze in utter shock yet savouring the pleasant sensation that left my lips buzzing until he pulled away from me, breathing heavily with slightly pink cheeks.

I was completely drained of words to say. The kiss was mind blowing, it was simply perfect but then why did he kiss me? Was I dreaming? No, this is totally wrong.

"Hazel." He started, with guilty showing on his face.

Still burning with embarrassment, I ran all the way back to my room. Gemma had already changed into her Sponge Bob nightwear and was preparing to sleep. Allie was playing with her barbie doll house on the rug.

When I charged into my room, Gemma propped her body up on her left forearm. I jumped on the bed beside her and started sobbing uncontrollably.

"Haze bunny, what happened? Did something bad happen?" I almost reacted to the cheesy nickname but my friend wrapped her hand around me as I cuddled on my bed.

My phone buzzed. I could feel the vibration but wasn't interested in reading whatever text message was there. Gemma however helped me out.

"Haze, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. Winston dared me to kiss someone randomly before the day was over or I would spend the night outside. I'd rather kiss you than wake up frozen tomorrow morning, I'm sorry...what the fu*k Hazel?"

I almost rolled my eyes seeing the way Gemma's eyes bulged in their sockets. "He kissed you?"

"I guess we've already established that." I replied with a sigh.

Gemma watched me for a long time while my breath remained as fast as it was when my best friend kissed me.

"I think we have a big problem here and I saw it coming."

"What problem?"

Gemma sat upright. "You're falling in love with your best friend."

Embarrassed with the way she dumped the truth on me, my cheeks heated up. "Oh my God! No, Gemma."

Gemma waggled her brows at me with a grin. "Keep lying to yourself."

I laughed when she made kissy faces at me. "Haze plus Shawn sitting on a tree K.I.S.S.I.N.G-"

"Gemma-" I called, wearing the most serious face I could muster. Even Allie giggled at us.

"Yeah?"

"Refrain from calling me Haze bunny, would you?"

She smirked, she frigging smirked!

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THE NEXT DAY, WE all went down to the swimming pool to chill out, all except for my mother and Allie. She said she'd stay back to keep some things in order. Levi said he'd help her and stayed back too. After that day he showed me where his family died, he had been distancing himself from all of us. If the others didn't notice, I did. That was my hobby, noticing things.

My emotions were still raging from the kiss yesterday and I tactically avoided my best friend all morning up until now when we were walking to the pool in our swim wear.

Dad followed closely behind, talking to someone on his phone. In his other hand was a bag of snacks that would suffer our wrath later.

"Let's duck fight." Winston suggested after we had jumped into the pool one after another.

Chad grabbed Winston. "You're my partner."

Winston groaned and tried to shimmy out of his hold which was too tight. "Get away from me."

While they argued, Charlie chose Gemma. Shawn and I watched them get into position.

"Alright people, you know the rules. Try to-"

"Shut up, Hazel. We know."

I glared at Chad for silencing me in such a crude manner. "You idiot."

He flipped me the bird, getting shoved into the water by Winston. Instead of playing together, they ended up play fighting till Shawn suggested they split up. So it was Charlie and Chad, Winston and Gemma.

The last two won the game. Chad sulked and trudged back to the house. Gemma and I shared a look when Winston went after him.

What went wrong?

Charlie and Gemma tossed a rubber ball back and forth, yelling words at each other. Shawn and I were just seperated by the metallic handle of the steps leading downwards into the pool. But we did not say anything to each other. The air was dense with the heaviness of our unspoken words.

"I'm sorry." Those words demolished the silence.

I didn't look at him. I couldn't. "It 's no problem, Shawn, really."

"I messed up big time. I'm always messing up." His expression now that I was looking bordered on the line of sincere grief.

When a snuck a glance at my dad, he was watching us intently, only pretending to look down at his phone which was on the small table beside him. When he realized this, he scratched his head and shrugged.

"What happened has happened, let's put it behind us and move on."

"We can?"

"We should."

We remained seated on the pool's edge till Gemma and Charlie were exhausted and dad suggested we head back home to get lunch. One thing about the Ross' family is we never joke with food, like never ever.

While Gemma and I retired to our rooms, I might have caught Chad and Winston bickering in front of the movie room upstairs.

"What do you think is wrong with those two?" I asked Gemma when we were in our room.

She shrugged off her white kitten paw T -Shirt, hurling it into the clothes basket. "It's something, but I'm not allowed to tell."

I also stripped out of my clothes. "I'm guessing Charlie knows about this 'something' too."

Gemma kept mum. Infuriated at how secrets were kept from me, I stormed into my bathroom to wash off the chlorine from my body.

Lunch was rice and a healthy amount of tomato sauce, with a decent amount of fish for everyone.

"The company's turning seventy next week." Dad announced with food in his mouth while we were also digging in.

"Phil, don't talk while eating." Mom scolded him.

"Chad, Winston, Gemma...you're invited, Levi too." Dad ignored her.

My friends conferred among themselves. I was seated between my mother and dad at the other side of the table while my friends at the other. Chad, Charlie, Gemma, Levi, Winston and Shawn in that order. Allie sat to my immediate right and was calmly observing us.

"We'd love to come, sir." Gemma responded for all of them.

My gaze flickered to Levi. His eyes were glued to his plate, sometimes darting at some random place.

"Levi, do you like the food?" Mom questioned.

Levi smiled up at my mother. "Of course, Mrs Ross."

Mom snorted and dad gave her a look. "Call me Florence, I've always said that."

"Hazel, your parents are cool. Like, Jamie's won't even let me call them by their names." Winston admitted.

Jamie was his cousin from his father's side. Her family lived in Seattle and she was an English major in California State university. I only got to meet her once when we all went over to his place for dinner.

My dad flashed him a two-fingered salute. "Thank you, Winny."

We snickered at the pet name and he banged his head on the table. Thank God Charlie swiftly moved his plate away.

"Alright children. Me and my wife are up to our room. We have stuff to do."

I made a retching sound at the way dad waggled his brows at my mother.

"Oh my God." Gemma gasped, giggling. The boys just laughed when my mother slapped dad on his chest but her cheeks were red.

They left us teenagers to ourselves. Me and Charlie cleared away the plates to the kitchen, Levi relocated to the balcony overlooking the pool with his book and a pencil. Gemma, Shawn and Winston played air hockey in the game room, Allie played a game on Gemma's phone on a sofa close to the air hockey table.

"Thanks for letting us come with your family." Charlie dipped a plate in soapy water and ran the sponge over it.

"It's okay. I'm glad you guys came. It would have been really boring with just my parents." I rinsed the plate he dropped in my side of the sink and dried it with a napkin.

"Your parents boring? I don't think so."

"It's just boring not having someone my age around here."

Charlie nodded. "How about Shawn."

"Sometimes, his family has other places to be."

This vacation, his dad, Sebastian had some unfinished business to settle at his company and his mother too. That's why they had to leave earlier, asking Allie and her brother to stay behind with us while they sorted things out.

"Okay-" He paused.

Wait for it.

"What happened between the both of you?"

I stored the plates in the rack to my left. "We have issues. But we'll solve them."

"I just have one question to ask." Charlie was watching me closely.

"Ask away."

"You like Shawn, don't you?"

I gulped. "Of-of course, as a friend."

Charlie rolled his eyes and whipped me with another napkin. "No. You like him romantically. I knew it!" He punched his fist in the air.

Raising a brow at him, I wondered what he was excited about.

"I totally ship the two of you." He patted my shoulder and ran off.

All alone, I struggled with my thoughts. I like Shawn, I have a crush on him. And that kiss...dang. Shawn, what.have you done to me.

Someone entered the kitchen and I pushed my thoughts away upon recognizing Shawn.

Speak of the devil.

Our eyes collided and lingered together. My body was metaphorically set ablaze by his stare and the worst of it all was that I couldn't look away. His eyes were like a drug, so  addictive that a minute without it feels like hell.

"Hazel."

"My room, nine o'oclock tonight."

"How about Gemma."

"I 'll kick her out, don't worry about her."

After making a rapid exit from the kitchen, I channeled my steps to the library, intending to grab a book or two and lose myself in them.

I opened the door and then discovered I wasn't alone. I heard two voices. Thankful to the little protrusion in the wall, the owners of the voices were unaware of my entry.

"It's killing me, Winston." Chad was saying.

Chad and Winston? What were they doing in here?

Winson emitted an exasperated sigh. "Do you want me to break up with Gemma, because I will."

I placed my fist over my mouth, holding myself from revealing my fist and telling them off.

"No...I mean, I don't know anymore. Why did you start  dating her in the first place? To make me jealous?"

What the hell?

"I tried to run away from my feelings. They were too strong that I couldn't control myself."

Chad sighed. "I'm sorry."

"I forgive you."

And at this moment, I decided to peep at the two. Maybe, I wasn't hearing things well.

When I looked, their faces were just a quarter of an inch away. Chad's fingers were locked at the back of Winston's head and Winston's were on his face. Slowly, he leaned in and landed a heavy kiss on Chad's lips. Chad pulled Winston closer as he deepened the kiss, their lips moving in synch with each other.

"What the fuck!"

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Phew! I had been dropping subtle hints about the two. If you're observant enough, you would have picked them up.