ᴛʜɪʀᴅ ᴘᴏᴠ

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨

♛♛♛

The drive back home was silent but somewhat filled with wholeness.

Julius stayed quiet while she hummed to the soft music. With the wind streaming in through the single window, he held a single cigarette between his two fingers.

At last, they arrived home. Hazel immediately went to take a shower, while Julius took the opposite route and went to cook dinner.

Today's air was cooler, thicker, and heavier than usual. It could have been the storms and winds, but who knows; all she knew was that it felt cold.

After Hazel had dressed, her vinyl was absently playing away on her desk.

A copy of 'Wouldn't It Be Nice by The Beach Boys was the cause of her distraction, dancing and moving around her room like a helpless chicken.

It was her ultimate comfort song, where she had first picked it up from the 2004 movie '50 First Dates'—also one of her comfort movies.

The soft hum of the lyrics swarmed loudly all throughout the room, mending with her in happiness.

Amongst dancing and singing, Hazel had picked up on the habit of cleaning the mess across her floor. Clothes piling after each other, her arms moved swiftly to pick them up.

Something she didn't know yet was the man standing at the doorway just steps away from her, watching her with eyes of amusement yet so much amazement.

Stepping into the room, Hazel had then caught the sight of his looming figure.

Once he walked in, he was immediately noticeable; his physique was large enough to dominate the room, yet it was always overpowering the light; his darkness always veiled the light.

Hazel kept her grin intact as the tranquillity and exhilaration flooded through her body, and for some reason she didn't understand, she took his hand in hers and pulled him close.

"Happy times together we've been spending, I wish that every kiss was never-ending...oh, wouldn't it be nice..."

She seizes control and twirls her body around while lifting his arm into the air. Julius swapped dominance and now drew her by the waist and danced with her as if she was the only one who existed.

The moment was surreal in time. The laughter from the woman's soul filled the room with light. His face was expressionless, but his twitching lips revealed his contempt to what he was concealing.

The song ended with a final spin, and the young woman was flesh against the hardness of his chest. She was inhaling deeply and smiling as brightly as a child on Christmas morning.

Their eyes stay locked as another old-timer starts flowing through the record player.

'How Deep Is Your Love' by The Bee Gees. The tender harmony of the tunes mends with the tension they hold.

Out of nowhere, a throaty chuckle leaves the male's chest. The woman in his arms runs confused, her head tilts to present the confusion.

"What is it?" She asks, noting the way his eyes shone. Julius leans down, a smirk playing at his lips softly. "Nothing, Angel."

She huffs and begins to furrow her brows. "Tell me," she demands, sending his brows to quirk up slightly with surprise.

"You're just beautiful, that's all."

The tender brush of his lips frenzies her stomach to trigger with butterflies, blooming and fluttering throughout her reign.

"And that's funny?" She retorts calmly, those lips of his just too close for her aching ones.

"No," He begins, "I was laughing because of how...ideal it was. Us dancing."

It was her turn to chuckle, or giggle as she does. She was transparent with the idea that their moment seconds ago was like a movie scene. Or transparent to the sight that Julius' hardened exterior maybe have broken off for a split second.

Although she loves that it did.

"It was, wasn't it?" She leans closer but skids her lips to his cheek, pecking it more than once in different spots.

"Mhm." He mumbled. A throaty sound itched at the back of his throat, something between a groan or a hum.

Impossibly, he pulls her closer.

"One more," He whispers, angling his head to the other side so that her lips could fall directly onto his other cheek.

Giggling, her giggles fall through his skin once her lips were placed exactly three times on his cheek. His hum breaks in satisfaction, lazily he grasps her thighs and lifts her to his waist.

A swift repel of his heart breaks into motion and his lips fall to her cheek in grace as he whispers, "Thanks, beautiful."

A darker shade of red falls through her flesh, a duck of her head brings Julius to move them out of the room, the music still flowing through the air like fog.

"Dinners almost ready." He explains, the warmth of his body transferring to hers like a heatwave.

She hums as a simple 'okay' in response. She wasn't even curious as to what he's cooked up tonight, she knows whatever it is would be incredible.

Gently, he placed her down on a stool. His broad shoulders and back muscles plucked her vision from everything on sight, each stride he made swooned her more and more.

The man on the opposite side begins to pour the contents of the food into regular bowls, the steam fogging around him.

"Stir fry?" Hazel guesses, her stomach rumbling from the smell.

"Mhm," He pops his thumb into his mouth, sucking off the contents that landed on his finger. He moved to her front and placed the bowl on the table.

"Try." He motions to the food, and Hazel quickly picks up the fork and scoops up the delectable contents.

She blows at the steam and takes a bite of the dish. Tenderly she sighs with content, the food welcoming her tastebuds.

"It's amazing, Juls." Hazel offers him an appreciative look as she sets the fork down.

He chuckled leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead. "Good. Now eat."

Digging into the food, Julius joined in with her. They ate silently together.

Usually, their silence was comforting, as it was, though the music from upstairs still echoed through the walls, filling that comforting silence.

"My mother tried to call me again," Hazel mentions, wiping her lips with a napkin. Swiftly, she spins on the stool and comes chest to face with his empty expression.

"Did you answer?" He looks at her, folding his arms tauntingly.

"No."

Nodding in approval, he takes both empty dishes and stands to walk over to the kitchen again.

"They're only making you sad, Hazel." He explains, now back in front of her with his eyes lowered into protection.

"I know," She sighs and brings her knees to her chin.

Hazel's mother had been bugging her the past couple of nights, she knew they were drinking and that her calls were nothing of ignorance and selfishness.

Though, she couldn't help but think if she did pick up, just once, what would she say?

It had only been a week, her heart was nowhere near healing from them and the trauma they gave her, but it was slowly moving on.

That is, without them in her life.

"Hazel," He calls for her, the edge of hesitance lacing the voice that was imprinted in her mind.

Her hazel gaze flickered up at the man, embracing the silver that gave her life.

"Are you happy here?"

The question alone was ridiculous to her. Her mind scrambled with thoughts. Of course she was happy here. Happier than ever.

And so her thoughts spoke aloud.

"I've never been happier."

She stated this with her stance, her small form came off protective in front of his.

"Being away from that house and them has made me so much happier, Julius. I've dreamt of the day leaving that house and it finally happened, in the most unexpected way."

Somehow, Hazel's arms had ended up around him. Showing physically how much she truly is grateful for the home he gave her.

"Hazel, look at me." His words catch her off guard, and the fingers that lift her chin shock her more.

And then his gaze. The darkness that swirled around had made her nerves rise further. His narrowed eyes told her that whatever he was to say was going to be lethal.

"Promise me that if anything happens between us, you'll stay in this house."

She blinked. Her lips curled into a frown of confusion.

"It's paid off already, I'll put it under your name and it's yours. Just don't go back..." He breathes slightly less, the deeper tone and the slight rasp was what made her worried.

"Juls, what do you mean?"

Hazel's heart was beating frantically. She was sure, so sure that there wouldn't be anything to separate her from Julius. So the use of his words frightened her.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. It's hypothetical." He's quick to pull his hands to her cheeks, running his thumbs thoroughly over her skin.

"But I'm not going to leave you. I don't think there's anything you could do to make me leave you, Julius."

Every word fell from her heart. The tension somehow thickened, though Julius was the only one to notice it did.

"Don't say something you don't know of yet, darling."

She sighs a breath of frustration, the ridiculous thought of ever residing with Julius and the way he was constantly saying it as if he were serious...she was worried.

"Just promise me." He pulls some of her hair behind her ear, gently placing his touch back to her flushed cheeks.

"I promise." She says with no hesitation. Julius closes his eyes, slowly bringing his forehead to touch hers.

"Juls, you don't need to put the house under my name. It's your money. I can't do that to you—

"Hazel." He says sternly, his head backing away to face her again. "Money is money. I've got houses all over the world, this is nothing. It's yours, Angel."

Still, Hazel wasn't comfortable. It seemed she'd have to grow comfortable with this, seeing that Julius was completely serious.

"One day I'll pay you back for all of this." She smiles sadly, bringing her arms around his waist securely locking her heart with his.

"No baby," He rests his chin on the top of her head, embracing the light she surrounded her.

"Why are you so worried that I'll leave?" The question flew straight through her teeth without warning. Ever since this conversation had started, that was what swarmed her mind the most.

As Julius pulls away and Hazel follows, she could make out the hesitance in his body language.

The way he wouldn't look at her but behind her. Or the way his hands slowly removed themselves from her skin.

"I'm not, Hazel. It was just an if."

She frowns. There shouldn't be an if.

Before she could register a word any further, Julius turns around and takes her hand with his too.

"Come on," He speaks as he looks at her from over his shoulder. "We still have the night."

And with that, Julius leads them off through the house and into the dark.

♛♛♛

Depths into the night, Julius had somehow driven them far out of town.

They drove past buildings and fields of flowers, many of them. As they drove, the sky became clearer and clearer.

No more clouds but only stars and a deep, dark blue sky.

"What's your favourite thing to do?" Hazel speaks with her gaze wide and bright, beneath the moon's light.

"Being with you." His answer was as subtle as his voice was. As if the words were casual and said once a day. But to Hazel, they made her entire being jump alive.

"Where are we going?" Somehow she managed to peel her eyes away from the roads and look over at him.

In the dim light, his features were dark and difficult to discern. His grey eyes, on the other hand, were always a shade lighter than the rest of him. So she could recognize his looks when they connected with hers.

"Nowhere."

"So, we're just driving?"

He hums and she smiles.

Hazel loved that. Julius knew that she liked just driving in the night, music or no music but the sound of the wind enough.

She liked hearing the cars and the darkness. The night caressed her like the comfort of a blanket. It soothed her and her mind, it was her peace.

"It's pretty here," She mentions, indicating to the clear, night sky and the half-empty roads of cars with the illuminating red lights.

The fields too, filled with cut grass and hidden animals lurking around behind fewer trees that hadn't been cut down.

"Thought you'd like it." He mumbled, turning the car to the right. "Do you prefer the city?"

Hazel thought about her answer. She liked both. She liked the city because of the lights and the buildings, but too many people made her iffy.

And then she liked the town. It was quiet and peaceful and you could see more of the sky at night.

But, it could sometimes be scary from the lack of life in it. Most of the crimes that went on in their city were mostly inside their town, she knew that because of the news and obvious sightings.

"Sometimes...it depends." She answers.

"On what?"

She shrugs halfheartedly and takes one of his hands, placing it on her lap.

"Sometimes the town isn't so comforting. But the same goes for the city,"

He slightly raises a brow, the headlights of a car setting across his features gave her the view of his expression.

"Comforting?" He questions but says it more as if to himself. She hums and traces the ink on his hand.

"Like all those horrible crimes that go on in our town, it rarely happens in the city which makes it more comforting. Though, the town is still mildly pretty."

She looks back to the sky above, settling on the stars ahead. She hasn't realised how tense and how much colder it had gotten in the car.

Julius just kept driving, never uttering a word.

They drove past meadows and fields, broken down homes, and farms. And soon enough, Hazel's eyes had seen enough and they were on the long way back home.

"What did you do after your uncle died?"

Hazel's question came across as sensitive, despite her best efforts to soften her tone. She didn't know how else to express her curiosity, so she lowered her voice.

Julius appears to relax back in his seat as the car comes to a halt at a stop light. Her eyes flicker to their joined hands as she watches his thumb move over her palm, a sharp spark buzzing in her heart.

"Moved on with my life. I worked hard and travelled..." He looks over at her saying this, their eyes meet.

"Did you heal?" She asks softly.

"In ways." He said bluntly, his eyes darting back to the road to which he sped down only milliseconds later.

Hazel felt her heart sink a little for him. What he went through was horrible, and only as an innocent child too.

"You'll heal, don't you worry darling." He lifts their hands, pushing his plump lips between them. Hazel takes him for his word. She believed she would, one day.

The radio was turned up a little louder than its usual soft hum, the prestigious sound of a pop song playing in the background.

Julius lit a cigarette between his lips, the window on his side was down as the smoke blew away with the air.

As they got closer and closer to town, Hazel slowly began to part away from the world. Her mind and eyes drifted with the wind.

Though Hazel had managed to keep awake until settling home. Once Julius had parked the car, he and Hazel had taken leave up to their rooms.

Steps light and silence, comfortable.

Before she entered her room, which was just down the hall from his, a hand landed on her waist. Julius stood behind her, cold eyes lowered to hers. "Goodnight kiss?" He tilts his head with a smirk.

The girl could only blush, a streak of her hair fell beside her temple and Julius was quick to pull it back behind her ear.

He brushes her curtain bangs slightly, his hand now cupping her cheek as gracefully as he held her body against his own. Those invisible butterflies went feral again inside her stomach, taking claim upon her feelings.

Ever so gently, her lips had welcomed his. The warmth of his tongue glided through her mouth, the soft massage of his lips mending with her own. Sparks and more exhilarated through her mouth and down towards the ache in her heart.

A low groan fell from his lips as her hands raked through his hair, his own hands skidding under her short cardigan.

As their tongues merged and the feeling of their soft kiss tangled between their bodies, the woman pleaded her mouth away from his, completely transparent of breath and passion.

"Goodnight," She breathed against his mouth, her blazing hazel eyes staring down at it. Those red lips formed a twitch of a smirk, his own breath mingling with her own.

"Night, beautiful."

And with those words, he was completely removed from her frame steadily walking back down the hall into his room.

The woman was left stunned, hot and overall, happy.