ᴛʜɪʀᴅ ᴘᴏᴠ

𝘊𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩

♛♛♛

Hazel skipped through the field, noticing a wooden bench in the middle, which made her think what an odd place to install a bench.

She sat down and crossed her legs beneath her, looking up at Julius, who sat down next to her gradually.

"We can share," Hazel said as she placed the packet of 20 McNuggets between them. "The fries are mine though," She giggled, looking up at him with a glimmer.

"All yours," He spoke sarcastically, though it really just came out in a flat tone. Hazel smiled as she looked up to the evening sky.

"Are you excited to visit Pennsylvania?" She looked down at him as she spoke—referring to his next business trip.

Julius momentarily placed his arms behind the bench, sinking down in his seat and relaxing with his legs spread wide. "Changed it to Dubai."

His response was subtle; typically, he wouldn't reveal the location of his next 'death venue,' but he hadn't even considered it with her.

Hazel thought about his response. Dubai was a long way away—indeed, it was more than a long way away. She realised that one of her only friends was going to be far, far, away from her. "Wow." She pushed a nugget into her mouth while staring into space.

"For how long again?"

She knew for how long, she just wanted to hear his voice again.

"A week."

Her lips formed a pout. It was small, but it was present. Her chest was tingling with an unusual sensation. She'd never felt anything like it before, and given how little she knew Julius, it was strange how much she enjoyed his company.

She shrugged it off, dismissing it like so many other feelings she'd had around him in the previous.

"What is it that you do for work again? It must be a pleasurable job considering you get to travel all the time." She grinned and finally looked him in the eyes.

Hazel coughed—almost choked—simply because she was taken aback by the sight. The setting sun shone straight into his eyes, turning them from light grey to virtually white.

She was completely enthralled. She was so engrossed in her daydream that she hadn't even spotted him grabbing one of her french fries, and it wasn't until he popped it into his mouth that she snapped out of it.

She frowned and peered down at the half-filled cup of fries, the missing fry evident from its placement.

"These are off-limits, Juls." Huffing, she slid an inch away from him and crammed several into her mouth, knowing that the more she ate at once, the faster they'd vanish, keeping the fry-stealing man at bay.

As he leaned his head back, his eyes closed in on her, a cold expression on his face. "Juls?" He said the nickname with malice. As if it were some disease on his tongue.

Blushing, Hazel flicked her hair over her shoulder and shrugged lightly. "It's a cool nickname I came up for you." Casually, she replied.

Oblivious to the distaste the man had for the nickname, she continued to scoff down her fries until there were only her oily fingers and the cardboard cup left.

"Do you have a middle name?" Hazel asked, lifting one of her dark eyebrows up curiously. With an eye roll, he shook his head and began to dig into his pocket for something.

"I have one." She mentioned, watching his movements. Taking out a cigarette, she almost rolled her eyes looking at the stick that he seemed to use nearly every hour of the day.

"How many have you had today already?" She pushed her lips to one side, utterly concerned for his probably black lungs.

"What's yours?" He lit the cigarette, blowing the first puff to the side so it wouldn't get into her face. "What's my what?" With even more confusion, she stared right into his eyes.

"Middle name." He grunted, pushing his hair back with one hand—only to have his hair fall right back into his face.

"Oh!" She swallowed her bite and turned in her seat so she could face him—she always preferred talking to people while looking at them properly.

"Well, it's Rosalie but my older sister used to call me Rose." She giggled, thinking upon the memory. "Rose," He repeated as if to taste the word on his tongue.

A gentle smirk formed the corner of his lips, somewhat liking the nickname for the girl. Hazel curiously looked into his eyes, watching as the silver went a shade darker every time he moved out of the light.

"She doesn't call you Rose anymore?" Julius asked her, the sound of a loud motorcycle passed by, and Hazel was leaning in to hear him.

She squirmed uncomfortably and dropped the nugget she was going to consume. Eating was most definitely not in her mindset now.

"No." She replied quickly. There was no more explanation given. The air shifted suddenly, and only Hazel knows how much she despises tension.

"Do you play any instruments?" She abruptly changed the subject, now staring at her fidgety hands.

"Piano." He replied firmly. Her brows arched, a broad smile sweeping her lips. "Me too!"

"When I was younger, my parents forced me to play it, but after I threw a good tantrum, they had me leave."

"I only know the basics," She shrugged. Glancing up again, she met his gaze and smiled. "What about you?"

Exhaling the smoke through a small part of his lips, Julius glanced towards something behind Hazel. "Advanced," He shrugged looking back over at her.

"Woah," She hummed, tracing her thigh with small patterns. "What's your favourite colour?"

Hazel felt confident enough to ask him certain things now. Knowing that there both somewhat alike and somewhat not as much as mutual anymore, she was comfortable.

"Don't have one." He bowed his head down and leant forward, putting his forearms on his knees and slightly crossing them. "Your's Hazel?"

She stared up at the sky while answering, wiping her hands with a single wipe provided in the meal. "Red," She looked down, feeling his eyes on her.

"Like my hair." She grinned.

That particular answer had only the edges of his lips churning. Not even close to a smile but somewhat close to a smirk. Though it left as soon as it came.

Hazel had almost smiled again herself seeing that her reply affected him. "I want a dog." She blurted, looking over at the woman walking her Golden Retriever.

Sighing, Julius pitched the cigarette between his fingers—putting it out and dropping it onto the ground. Hazel watched and pursed her lips to the side. "Never had one?" He asked her.

Hazel had then sighed and stood up from the bench, picking up all of her trash and making sure to pick up Julius's cigarette, which he had so heartlessly littered to the bottom of the earth.

Julius glanced at her amused. His tongue was pushed to one side of his cheek as his icy glare pricked the back of her. "I haven't." Wiping her hands on the sides of her jeans, she answered.

She took a step closer in front of the man, slightly taken aback by his height. His height had just touched hers while she stood, despite the fact that he was only sitting down.

"And you?" She inclined her head to one side, one hand on her hip. She took a slight step back as he shook his head, standing to his feet.

"Shame. I had a pet goldfish before, I named him Bucky." Hazel rambled, her hands stuffed into the pockets of her jeans. "I don't like fish though. They aren't very long-lasting. Bucky died only a few weeks later, possibly from food poisoning."

A scoff came from her left side. Seeming to be amused, she snapped her head in his direction—having to look up at him to meet his gaze.

"What's funny, Juls?" Hazel asked with genuine confusion. Julius glanced over her features, starting from her eyes to her lips and then to her eyes again.

"Nothing, Rosalie." Distastefully, she scrunched her face up at the nickname. "I forgot to mention how much I disliked my middle name."

"Mhm," He smirked lightly. "When's your birthday?" She asked him the next question not before prompting another. "Oh! I forgot to ask how old you were as well. I mean you look young so I'm sure you aren't any older than me..."

"Twenty-two." He answered flatly. "Oh wow. So you're only..." Hazel began to count in her head how many years older he was than her, "—three years older. I'm nineteen by the way."

He glanced down at her, arching his eyebrow at her as she smiled towards the sun. Anonymous thoughts ran through her mind, all of which were about the man beside her.

"So, your birthday?" She quipped. "November 3rd." He now looked towards the clouds peering over the sun, blocking the sunshine—just how he liked it. "And you?"

"October 3rd." She grinned widely. He unintentionally ran his hand over his thick hair. "How funny," She laughed lightly.

The rest of the short walk was spent in silence. If you'd call it that, Julius and Hazel both felt a calmness.

The settling of the clouds seemed to be hiding the sun, and the pavement underneath them grew shaded as a result. His serene presence had also contributed to making this brief journey unforgettable.

In any case, it was a memorable experience. Going out with a friend who had listened to her and chatted to her without making her feel ashamed or unimportant.

"I'm grateful for you, Julius." Hazel sprung out of nowhere. They were back in his car, driving back to Hazel's little house.

The man was taken aback by the unexpected comment. And Hazel was well aware of it.

Hazel figured out a lot about him in the hour she spent with him. She was a keen observer, so you can bet she would have assessed him like an A-grade report.

Julius was for sure emotionless. Whether he was aware of it or not. His jaw would tick, clench or his hands would do something similar anytime he was feeling something. It was always the physical motions in his muscles, with no facial expressions or grunts or grumbles expressed.

For this instance, Hazel caught the glimpse of his jaw clenching—and it stayed clenched. "Why," He asked, well more like questioned. The tone of his voice wouldn't give away a single note of what was meant behind it—other than a hard, deep demand.

"You're the only person in a long while who has listened to me without judging." She spoke so softly that she didn't even know if she heard herself talk. Though, Julius heard every word of it.

"Elaborate." He turned a corner, which somewhat had caught Hazel's attention. The motion of his hand moving slickly around the leather steering wheel had her stomach fluttering.

"Well, often people don't like me very much. I've never really known why though." She sighed and Julius scoffed in response.

"They're fucked in the head then." He grumbled out darkly—only urging a gasp to leave Hazel's lips from the abrupt comment. "Juls!" She giggled, covering her mouth as she turned red.

He glanced across at her, his gaze lingering for a few moments on her red tomato face before returning to the road. And then, the finest smirk surged upon his lips as he managed to make the girl laugh.

Hazel looked over to Julius, a different kind of brightness shining through her eyes as the car fell silent.

Yes, she had previously expressed her gratitude for the man's newfound friendship, but now it was as if her feelings had been instantly shifted to a new type category.

A crush.

Hazel has only ever had one before. Reed Matthews was a small boy with glasses and braces, a brown mole on the right side of his cheek. At the time, Hazel was only seven years old, but wow did she like that boy.

She even offered once to cut and glue on his paper shapes.

Some say it might be too soon—but that's the whole point of crushes right? You hardly know the person yet somehow end up getting feelings or developing them for the person.

Hazel wasn't too concerned about it though. Just like usual, she would brush it off as nothing.

What Hazel doesn't realise is that every thought of him during the day would simply intensify her feelings. Those feelings, as well as the physical ones, would only make her crush grow stronger and more compulsive by the second.

However, for the time being, Hazel settles into the leather seat, which appears to have warmers coming from the bottom, warming her bottom and thighs as if it were her heater.

As Julius pulled into her street, Hazel began to have an unsettling feeling form in her chest. The time was particularly after 6 pm—meaning her parents would be home from work. And as they pulled up to her house, she was indeed correct.

Both cars sat inside the driveway, sprawled close to each other. Hazel wasn't ready to enter the home, to go back to her family. Mentally, she didn't think she could take another night of harassment.

With a sigh, she unbuckled her belt and reached down to get her school bag from beneath her. She twisted in the seat, clutching it to her chest, and faced the emotionless male.

"Thank you, Juls. I had a lot of fun." She gave him a half-smile as she looked up at him. He hadn't responded; instead, he was staring at her. He watched how her expression shifted and how she gripped her bag with both hands for dear life.

"You'll call me when you're back from your trip?"

He gave a single nod, his gaze sweeping back and forth between her lips and eyes. "Don't get yourself into any trouble." He cautioned, turning his head to one side and looking her in the eyes.

Her cheekbones were flushed with red, and she looked down sheepishly. "I don't get into trouble," Mumbling, she circled her finger around the gear handle.

"Sure," He slumped back in his seat, licking his lips. As she returned her gaze to him, she gave him a hollow grin. "You don't get into trouble. I don't want to see any bruises and life-threatening cuts on you next time." Hazel said that with much determination.

Julius scoffed and rolled his eyes. Luckily for Hazel, if it were any of his men saying that, they'd be dead before another breath was exhaled.

"Life-threatening." He mocked her words with a tilt of his head, lowering his grey eyes down at the road in front of him.

Giggling, she shrugged and unlatched the door. "I'll see you again soon, Julius."

He looked over at her for the last time and nodded once again. "See you, beautiful."

Before he could notice her face turning redder than usual, Hazel shut the door. Her stomach hadn't helped either; the butterflies had returned, and the crush she had attempted to ignore had resurfaced.

Oh, what have you done Haze?

Her subconscious scolded her.

Turning into the driveway, she dotted up the staircase and bashfully looked back over her shoulder towards him, just before entering the house.

As he waited for the girl to enter, he positioned his car in the middle of the road, window down. She turned around with a small smile and opened the door, waving her hand at him.

The car sped away, and Hazel closed her eyes as she leaned against the door, closing it behind her.

But, before she could think of anything, the crashing sound of glass shattering caused the spirit inside her body to jump like lightning.

Oh, shit.