Chapter 73

Hazel was not tired. It was probably because she made the stupid decision to drink Nico's coffee, hoping it would taste like shit, but it was wonderous, and she ended up drinking a full mug. She also forgot that Italians adore caffeine. Oops.

    So, she did what any rational human being would do at 2a.m.: Play a horror game with her brother and his friends. She didn't want to play the horror game; she wanted to thirst over various hot people and get Zagreus into a throuple. Unfortunately, Nico lacked taste.

    Still, she stayed there until the group failed to identify the possessed body, and someone was folded like a lawn chair. Then, she texted Frank.

screaming: do you have a healthy sleep schedule

why are you screaming?: yes but i forgot to turn of my ringer

screaming: oof sorry

why are you screaming?: meh, it's fine

why are you screaming?: wyd

screaming: trying to figure out what to do with my life

why are you screaming?: eat something

screaming: you fucking genius

    Hazel ventured into the kitchen and stared at the food available to her. She settled on a bag of Spicy Nacho Doritos. She smiled at the bag, but the bag crinkled. Betrayal!

    She had 15 seconds before Hades arrived at the scene. He looked at her and sighed. "That fucking coffee."

    Hazel nodded.

    "Is he up?"

    "Yes," Hazel said, having no problem ratting out her brother. "He's playing a video game."

    Hades hummed. "I never understood that stuff," he muttered. "Listen, don't tell your mother I'm up, she'll brag about it."

    Hazel knew a peace offering when she saw it, so she gave a mock salute. She brought the food of the gods up to her room and called Frank.

    "Hi," she whispered.

    "Hey," he also whispered. "How are you?"

    "I'm alright. You?"

    "I'm good. My grandma made egg fried rice and I benched my first 200. In pounds. Not kilos."

    "Oh shit," Hazel whispered. "That's really fucking heavy. I can barely bench the bar."

    "You just got a membership, Hazel. The fact that you can already bench the bar means that you're going to be ripped."

    Hazel smiled. "Yeah right. I could never be like you."

    Frank laughed. "I'm not ripped."

    Hazel had to pause for a moment. "Are you serious?" she sternly whispered.

    "Yeah. I'm what SZA was talking about in her SNL skit."

    "You can bench 200."

    "Still not ripped."

    "You have a healthy ratio," Hazel countered. "Besides, people who have, like, ultra-defined muscles never fucking eat. I like it when people know what they need. And also, SZA doesn't like men on steroids."

    Frank was silent for a moment. "You make a valid point."

    "I know." Hazel shoved a handful of chips into her mouth.

    "What made your day alright?"

    "Well," Hazel started, "it was kind of a rollercoaster. I was really happy because it's been three days and my hair still looks defined. My mom made me tea herself this morning. Her tea is god-tier, I swear. Then, Ms. Chau wasn't at school today and I ascended. But, I deleted every song by rapper-who-shall-not-be-named from all of my playlists and I feel a gaping hole in my heart that only eating chips could fill."

    "Ms. Chau being absent added 10 years to my life-span."

    "Same."

    They were silent for a while before Frank let out a gorgeously loud yawn. "I'm tired," he muttered, not expecting Hazel to catch on.

    "That yawn was beautiful."

    "Thank you."

    "And go to sleep."

    Frank laughed. "I'm fine."

    "You just said you were tired."

    "I yawned."

    "Because you were tired."

    "I'm not tired."

    Hazel sighed. "Frank, you can't stay up for me."

    "Why not?"

    "Because you need sleep."

    "Sleep is for the weak. I can bench 200."

    Hazel blinked. "Frank."

    "Hazel."

    "Sleep."

    "No."

    "Why?"

    "I like talking to you," Frank whispered. Hazel had to take a moment to recalibrate her brain. "Hazel?"

    "I'm here," she whispered. "That was just, like, everything." She paused. "We need to go out again."

    Frank choked but quickly recovered. "What do you want to do?"

    "Skydive."

    "Absolutely not. Actually, I don't even think we can."

    "Yeah, I'm pretty sure the age is 18."

    "Yeah, I just looked it up. Think of something else that also won't threaten mt life."

    "I don't know."

    "Wow."

    "I didn't mean it like that," Hazel laughed.

    "What about... horse riding."

    Hazel grinned. "I actually used to be a very passionate equestrian."

    "Seriously?"

    "Yeah, back in my day, when I was 13."

    "3 years is basically centuries."

    "It really is. Oh, maybe we can go to the boardwalk. They have that boba shop there."

    "Oh yeah. On Saturdays they have food trucks at the park too, we can have a mini picnic."

    "And there's this little hole in the bushes that, if you go through, will take you to a field with a ton of flowers. It's the only bit of nature New York has left," Hazel said. "We can bring a blanket and sit there."

    "Maybe look at the coulds," Frank mused.

    "Yeah," Hazel whispered. "I'd like that."

-

Leo spent his time in 1st period doing three things:

1- Admiring his handiwork

2- Brining in music stands from the *shudder* band room

3- Thinking about Jason Grace

    It had been almost two days since Jason asked him out. Leo was excited. Leo was nervous. Leo was experiencing a need to be around Jason all of the time.

    Fortunately, Jason seemed to have a similar idea. The day prior, Jason had waited for him outside their English class, even though the auditorium was across the courtyard. Then, they'd walked together to geometry, standing close together, their fingers brushing, sending small bursts of electricity through Leo's hand. It made his face go all red. He wanted to hold Jason's hand, but physical affection wasn't really something he had a lot of experience with. Much less romantic physical affection.

    So, Leo finished his batch of music stands and waded through the auditorium until he saw Piper talking to Annabeth.

    "I just wish he'd let me help him, you know?"

    "Trust me," Piper said. "I know. Hi, Leo."

    "Hello bestie bae."

    Annabeth snorted. "How can I help you, my constipated squirrel?" Piper asked.

    "Well, you know how I'm trauamatized?"

    "Yeah."

    "So, I want to make myself feel loved after whatever the fuck that was. How do I initiate hand-holding?"

    Piper looked at him. "Do you need therapy?"

    "Yes!"

    "Is this your way of telling us you need a hug?" Annabeth asked.

    "No, but I will accept one."

    "Hey, y'all," said the familiar voice of Shel. Leo turned to see her coming in with Sadie in tow. "We got a pass; what's going on?"

    Piper looked Shel over. "I am taking you away from this."

    Sadie cackled as Shel began to protest.

    "Shh, stop trying to resist," Piper whispered. "Go and sit the fuck down."

    Shel did not listen and instead rolled her eyes. "It's fine. What's wrong?"

    "Nothing," Annabeth said.

    Shel narrowed her eyes before turning to Leo. "¿Qué pasó? Puedes decirme."

    Piper groaned. "Stop it."

    Sadie smiled. "I will have to agree here. Shelby, move."

    After Shel was out of earshot, Leo looked back to Piper and Annabeth, tapping each of his fingertips to his thumb, then doing it in reverse. "I don't know how to ask Jason."

    "I think the universal signal is, like, purposefully brushing your pinkie and then you just hold hands," Annabeth said.

    So, that's what Leo did. There wasn't enough time on his walk (read: sprint) to his 2nd period, but once the bell rang and Leo's books replaced his calculator in his locker for the test come period 3, Leo stood next to Jason. They stood close.

    Leo drummed his other hand on his side, looking at the walls. There was a crack with a big stain. Water damage, it looked like. With his other hand, he brushed his pinkie against Jason's.

    Then Jason held his hand.

-

Today, Piper discovered, would not be a good day.

    Her mother was taking her dress shopping, and Shel was, once again, refusing to take care of herself.

    During lunch, Piper pulled Shel away. "Please."

    Shel sighed. "It wouldn't have been a big deal."

    "Shelby! Yesterday you were bawling in your car."

    Shel looked away. "I know. I'm sorry."

    Piper sighed. "Don't apologize, I just need you to be okay."

    "Yeah, and what about you?" Shel asked. "And don't beat around the bush," Shel said, meeting Piper's averted gaze. "I know that today's going to be complicated."

    "You're overwhelmed," Piper said.

    "So are you." Piper stayed silent. "How about this. If you tell me what you are feeling, I will give myself the weekend to recover. I swear."

    "You swear?"

    "Mhm."

    "I just don't know how to talk to her," Piper said. "She wasn't there for me, and I don't think she knows anything about me. I mean, clearly she doesn't if she wants to bond while dress shopping. Fucking dress shopping. I hate wearing dresses. But, you made a valid point when I was talking to you about it a few days ago. She was doing what I wanted and didn't know how to react. So I want to try and do what she wants, but I know I'll be uncomfortable and I don't want to suck myself in a field of guilt. It's my fault she wasn't there in the first place, I should do what she wants now."

    "Okay, uh, no," Shel said. "You were a child; she was an adult. She should have known that you needed a mother. That's common sense. Her not being a good mother at that time is no one's fault but her own, you understand? You don't owe her anything.

    Piper, you don't have to try on a single item of clothing if you don't want to; you aren't there to buy a dress. You're there because she said she finally wants to be present. You can set your boundary."

    Piper sighed. "You always come up with the best advice. I have a friend who needs a break but won't take one because they don't understand they don't need to prove themselves worthy of living. What would you say to them?"

    Shel rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

    "Not until you take your own advice."

    Shel looked up at Piper, wrapping her arms around her waist and nuzzling her head in Piper's shoulder. "Fine," she huffed.

    With the victory, Piper nudged Shel's head up, giving her a quick kiss. "Thank you."


hiii my violation beans

welcome to random tangents with gabby

so, like, it's been a hot minute

sorry

i have writer's block

i am depresso

i am anxious

these first two months are always a clusterfuck for me to do anything

and i know you are like, gabby have you considered looking at the chapter you just wrote

to which i say, it's fine

fr tho, i have fully accepted the fact that this version of shel and myself are the same person and that shel is just my self insert and just threw myself in there

i'm aware of my flaws i just don't want to change rn

anyway, i thought about changing my online name but at the same time, i'm so used to gabby

i also have no idea what name i'd use afterward

so i'm conflicted

anyway, i realized that my hazel is so weird from other hazels

and i don't think people realize that for the 30s hazel was fucking WILD istg

so, i emphasize that a lot, which really only happens at 12 am, when i wrote this chapter.

i think it's so funny how i would spend weeks staring at a blank page, but once it reaches 11 pm i can write a full chapter like it's nothing

WHERE WAS THAT WHEN I ACTUALLY HAD A SLEEP SCHEDULE

as i was saying, i think that hazel needs to be explored in AUs as someone who is wild by modern standards.

i also think that i cannot write frazel well, but here we are

in fact, 90% of this chapter was dialogue because the fics i have inspo for are all long bits of prose and i am now tired of it.

but, because i love you, here is an excerpt

Shel snorted before taking out her phone. Notifications from her latest GRWM continued to flood her inbox. She hadn't felt good about her impromptu makeup look, especially for a bar. That is what happened with Lavinia. It wasn't like Shel wasn't impulsive, compared to her siblings she was running wild in a field of daisies blowing in quiet and soothing wind, the sky above her perfectly clear. However, she needed a bit of time to prepare–a day was all she asked, and as much as Shel hated to admit it, cottagecare was only pretty from a distance. If she were to sit in those daisies, her current outfit of a tight, black, long-sleeve paired with a plaid red skirt, black pantyhose, and combat boots would stick out like a sore thumb. At best, Shel would wear paired pastels, maybe a hand-sewn white dress with a hair cap once or twice a year.

and it's just a lot of this because character establishment needs to be laid on t h i c k

as well as this from a different fic

Nico realized he'd made his late night sessions of getting food and not eating it while listening to music at full blast when he'd gone to the mess hall for the 3rd time. He also realized that no one seemed to trust him enough to be on watch at night. He supposed he deserved that.

    Nico grabbed a plate, asked for a half of a grilled cheese, got a whole ass pizza, threw away said pizza after eating only one slice, and scrolled through his iPod. He wished he could download more songs, since MCR had a single out and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus had an EP. But, computers were too risky. Nico was a lot of things, selfish being one of them, according to the whispers Nico overheard from Piper McLean. Nico figured it was true, but no matter what, he wasn't selfish enough to find a computer and sit there while multiple albums downloaded.

    He looked into the glass. Today it was filled with a clear, fizzy liquid. Soda. Ugh.

    He drank it anyway.

    He sighed and played Cancer. Today was pretty shit, and Nico knew that if he was patient, Mama would come blaring. Was the song about war? About death? Either way, Nico could relate. No matter what, it would be freeing.

because i love you, you can ask for context if you'd like <3

OH

happy new year

now it is 1:40 in the a.m. and i usually have a semi-healthy sleep schedule in which i lay in bed at 10 and do nothing but try to sleep but my body doesn't until 12 and then i wake up every hour. so i'm pretty tired rn

love y'all (y'alleth)

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top