*Hazel's Pov*
I blew warm air onto my hands as I sat criss-cross applesauce on a huge rock. Asher invited me to his bmx practice. It was the last one before they closed it for a while due to all the snow.
Now that Honey and Connor were dating, they tagged along with Ivy and I. They were there for Connor and Eli and I was technically there for Asher, but not cause we were dating.
"Connor looks so cute out there!" Honey squealed. Connor flashed a smile from the top of one of the obstacles.
"Eli looks so hot!" Ivy said in a cat-like voice. Eli winked at her before doing a wheelie.
"Uh, you're doing great... dude!" I said in an awkward shaky voice to Asher. You know when you're friends with a person and you're normal around them but then you realize you actually like them and for some reason you start acting really awkward around them? Yeah that's what was going on.
Asher shot me a thumbs up and a smile that made him look like he was in pain.
After a few minutes, I couldn't handle the cold anymore.
"Asher!! I'm cold!!!!" I yelled out in exasperation over all the loud noise so he could hear me.
He sighed and pulled in next to me with his bike before finishing a trick. "I knew you'd get cold, so...." He reached into his duffel bag and pulled out a really fluffy and thick blanket. "I brought you this! And I just washed it so it smells extra nice, too."
My eyes lit up and I let out the biggest smile ever. "Thank you a million times!! Oh my gosh you're the best!!" I tackled him with a hug and he nearly fell off his bike.
"Woah!! Easy there. Here." He laughed and wrapped the blanket around me so I was in a burrito. Ahhhh, so warm!
I let him go back to his bmx tricks with his friends and cheered him on until the startling sound of the coach's whistle blew. "Alright boys, that's it for today. See y'all in a few weeks!" He grabbed his bag and ran to his car, tossing the keys for the bmx park to a random employee.
"Looks like you're locking up today, Jimmy." Eli said, patting the employees shoulder.
"Aw man." Jimmy said disappointedly.
Connor and Eli pulled in and picked their girlfriends up, giving them loads of kisses. Asher pulled up and we awkwardly smiled at each other and gave each other a quick hug.
"Good job out there... sir." I drawled our awkwardly and pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders. Sir? Did I just call him sir??
"Why thank you, madam." He said with a bow, eliminating the awkwardness.
I punched his shoulder and stood up on the big rock so I was a little bit taller than him. "You peasant!" I pretended to spit on the ground and raised my chin up. I was about to jump off the rock when he squatted in front of me.
"This peasant shouldn't let a fair lady like you touch the ground." He looked back at me for a quick second and grinned.
I felt a chill go up my spine from feeling flustered. I jumped on his back and he carried me on the journey to his car. I made sure to wrap some of the blanket around him too so he wouldn't be cold.
I could feel myself getting sleepy, so I put my head on his shoulder. His shoulder was very nice and comfy. I ended up falling asleep...
*Asher's Pov*
When we got to the car, I turned my head a bit to look back at Hazel. "Alright, we're he-" I stopped when I saw her eyes closed and her cheek squished into my shoulder. She fell asleep...
I stared, mesmerized. Her lashes looked so long and beautiful and her cheeks looked so soft and her expression looked so cute. I couldn't wake her up.
It took a lot of work, but I found a way to gently move her into the passenger seat. I put the blanket over her after putting on her seatbelt.
I smiled at her when I got into the driver's seat just because she looked so fucking adorable. I couldn't handle it!
I shook my head and drove out of the bmx park. We had to get home and get ready. Our families were spending Christmas together. I guess my parents became friends with Hazel's mom but we didn't really notice. We were too busy focusing on each other.
I wanted to play some soft low music just so the car ride wouldn't be too quiet and so I wouldn't wake Hazel up. So I played Cupid's Quiver by Cuco.
At a red light, I looked at Hazel and admired her beauty. She was just so gorgeous, I swear... A car honked from behind me and I realized the light turned green again. I coughed awkwardly and stepped on the gas.
~~~~~~~
I parked in my driveway and let go of the steering wheel. Glancing Hazel's direction, I sighed. I let my head drop on the head rest behind me.
I reached my hand out and lightly shook her shoulder. "Princess. Princess, we're here. Wake upppppp."
She started shifting around and her eyes opened. She lazily looked up at me and started rubbing her eyes. "Ughhhhh, my eyes feel so heavy."
I snickered and she squinted her eyes at me, but smiled.
"Well, I guess we should probably go get ready now. The dinner starts at 7:30 and it's 5:54. We need time to look our best." She wiggled her eyebrows at me.
I scrunched my nose. "Never do that again." I said as I opened the car door to get out.
"I was imitating you!" She yelled as she got out of the car.
I laughed as I walked around the front to meet her. "Not very well. Wait, I don't even do that!"
She giggled. "Yes, you do!" She lightly punched my shoulder.
"Pshh, whatever. Let's just go get ready and I'll see you at 7:30, Princess." I saluted to her and sauntered over to my house.
I didn't turn around until I heard the door opened. I snuck a glance to make sure she went inside, and then I went in.
I could smell the food my mom was cooking to take over to Hazel's house. It smelled so fucking good I didn't want to wait to eat it.
"Oh, hi Asher! What do you think?" My mom said as I walked into the kitchen and gestured to all the food she made.
"It looks and smells amazing, mom!" I gave her a kiss on the cheek and looked at everything in amazement.
"Great cause I need to get ready now. Oh, I also need to get Ava ready!" She took off her oven mits and ran upstairs. I followed after her and went into my room.
"What to wear, what to wear." I mumbled as I looked through the shirts in my closet. "Ah!" I whisper-yelled excitedly as I saw a white button up shirt in my closet.
I pulled off my own shirt and slipped that one on, making sure to leave the three top buttons unbuttoned. I slipped on some black dress pants with a belt and tucked in the shirt. After putting on some black shoes, I fixed my hair a bit so it wasn't too messy.
"Ready, Asher?" My mom asked, popping her head into my room a while later.
I glanced at myself in the mirror and looked back at my mom. "Yeah, I'm ready."
~~~~~~~
"Ava, careful. Don't drop the pot, you're gonna get your dress dirty." My mom said to Ava who was holding the pot of mashed potatoes.
I was holding the ham and green beans and my mom was holding the potato salad and stuffed bread. Jax couldn't make it because of college and work, so he was celebrating with his roommates.
We stood in front of the Ambrielles' door and my mom rung the doorbell. Ms. Ambrielle opened the door and greeted us.
"Hi! Welcome, come on in! Merry Christmas Eve!!" She gestured for us to go inside. We put the dishes down in the kitchen and she started greeting us all. "Hi, Ava. Your dress looks adorable!!" She patted her shoulder then turned to me.
She gasped. "Asher! You look absolutely handsome, oh my!" She pulled me in for a hug and squeezed tight. I just laughed and hugged back.
She started talking to my mom and I stood there with my hands inside my pockets, looking at Hazel's house. I got so used to just seeing her window I kinda forgot how the rest looked.
"So, Thomas couldn't make it?" Ms. Ambrielle asked, referring to my dad.
My mom pursed her lips. "No, his boss was keeping him in, even today!"
Ms. Ambrielle sighed in reply and turned her head quickly and yelled upstairs,"Hey, they're here!! Come down here, now!!"
One by one, everyone started walking downstairs. All the guys were wearing nice shirts and dress pants. They greeted us all when they met us at the bottom.
What really stopped my heart, was when Hazel walked down the stairs. She was the last one. She was wearing a slim white dress with little ruffles at the bottom, gold flats, gold long earrings, her hair was down, and she had the cutest makeup. I guessed she was wearing contacts because she wasn't wearing her glasses.
"Oh. My. God." I whispered under my breath as she descended down the stairs. Everyone was watching and she noticed when she got to the bottom.
A silly smile grew on her face as it heated up. "Uh, hi. Nice to see you guys." She turned to my mom. "Hi Mrs. Grey. Nice to see you again." She went to Ava. "Hi Ava! Gosh, I missed seeing your cute little face." She ruffled her hair. And finally she went to me.
She stopped right in front of me and clasped her hands behind her back. I looked down at her in astonishment. "Hey, Asher. You look really, uh h-handsome." She said and laughed awkwardly.
"You look gorgeous, Princess. I- I just, you look stunning." I kept my eyes on her.
Her eyes went wide and she looked away and smiled. "Ha, thanks!" She turned back to look up at me and we stared into each other's eyes for a beautiful, long moment.
That moment was interrupted when my mom exclaimed,"Well, let's get to eating! Heh?" She asked Hazel's brothers to kindly help her take the dishes to the island in the dining room. I grabbed the dishes I'd been holding before and helped take them over.
Once we were all settled at the dining table, Hazel next to me, we started passing around the food.
"Asher, can you pass me the green beans, please?" Hazel asked from beside me.
"Anything for you, Princess." I replied as I grabbed the big bowl of seasoned green beans and passed them over to her. Our hands lightly touched as she took it from me and I felt a little tingle in our fingers.
~~~~~~~
We were well into dinner and everyone was having their own side conversations. The only ones not really talking were Hazel and I. Heck, even little Leo was talking.
I decided to spark up a conversation. Or at least, some sort of playful, bickering version of that. I picked up some mashed potatoes from my plate, and flung it onto Hazel's. "Oops." I said with a silly grin.
At first she gave me a shocked look. Then I flung more onto her plate. "Oops, I did it again..." My grin grew even wider.
I was gonna go again but she grabbed my spoon and used it to fling a piece of chicken onto my plate. She tried hard to hold her laughter in so we wouldn't catch attention, her face turning pink.
I made an "o" shape with my mouth. "Oh you've done it this time." I grabbed at the spoon but she just shoved it into my mouth, nearly making me choke on it.
Her face went from pink to red. "I'm sorry. I panicked." She was laughing so hard yet so quietly I thought she might explode.
"Oh, now you're really gonna get it." I said wickedly. I scooped up a bit of mashed potato with my finger and booped it onto her nose.
She gaped at me for a few seconds and I was wondering if I crossed a line. I could tell she spent time on her makeup. I winced and prepared to apologize when her face slowly lifted into a wide smile.
"Oh no." I croaked. She grabbed a piece of chicken with her fork and rubbed it all over my right cheek, leaving some barbecue sauce behind with it.
Then it turned into a quiet, but crazy war. I picked up some potato salad, this time with my hand, and smeared it across her forehead. She smeared my other cheek with mashed potatoes.
By the time everyone finally noticed, our hands, arms, and faces were covered in food. We both made a mental note not to get each other's outfits because they were too nice to be ruined.
Our families looked at us in shock. And then they all started laughing.
"You two look ridiculous!!" My mom said in a fit of laughter.
"You guys look like ducks!!" Hazel's mom could barely get the words out because she was doubling over. Hmm, I guess adult humor took less than ours did.
One by one all the teasing comments came out. I think even heard a few from little Leo. That little sucker.
"Okay, okay, go clean up upstairs you guys. You're covered in food." Hazel's mom gestured for us to go.
Hazel and I glanced at each other and slowly lifted out of our seats. At the foot of the stairs, I stood back to let her go first, then followed.
We walked into the bathroom and I flipped the switch on. Hazel opened a cabinet and pulled some wet wipes out.
"Sit on the sink counter. I'll help you wash up." She said, a little embarrassed and nodded to the counter.
"Okay, but I'm doing you after." I said casually as I lifted myself onto the counter.
Her head whipped to face me at the speed of lightning and her eyes widened like a deer in headlights.
I realized what I said and my eyes widened and I let out a little gasp. "I meant I'll help you wash up after!! Oh my god!"
"Oh." She said quietly. We both looked away embarrassed.
"Well you better get started if you wanna get out before dinner ends." I said playfully to take away the awkwardness.
She laughed and moved towards me. My legs were spread open and she moved an inch into them, but not too far. Leaning in, she started wiping at my cheek.
She slowed down and just looked at my cheek after wiping a good amount of it off.
"Is something wrong?" I asked in a low voice.
"No, no, it's just... You have a little bit of freckles. I never noticed that before. T-They, they look really nice." Her mouth cracked into a smile.
I couldn't help but smile back. "And you have dimples. Huh, never noticed that either. They're really cute." I said in a gruff voice.
"Thanks." Her eyes twinkled as I stared into them.
She coughed and I was pulled out of my trance. "My turn." She hopped on the counter next to me and scooted me off.
When I got off, I looked at myself in the mirror. Hmm, she took everything off and I didn't even notice.
I grabbed a few wipes and moved in. She had her legs spread and unlike her, I walked all the way into them until my body was touching her inner thighs. I had to lean over her a bit because the counter was shorter.
She let out a shaky breath as I leaned in close to wipe her cheek. Her eyes didn't leave mine as I finished cleaning mostly everything on her face and arms. All that was left was her mouth.
My eyes flickered towards her lips and I almost lost myself, but I continued on. I brought the wipe over her mouth, softly. Everything was still and quiet for a moment.
We both subconsciously leaned in and I slowly pulled the wipe away from her mouth while moving my face closer. Our noses lightly brushed against each other and we almost kissed. We really almost did.
But we both pulled away before we could when we heard droplets of rain start to fall hard outside of the bathroom window. We looked away from each other and out at the dark, wet sky.
I moved my body away from hers and took a deep breath.
"Let's go check out the rain! Come on!" She whisper-yelled as she grabbed my hand and led me outside of the bathroom.
I followed her as we snuck past the dining room where everyone was still conversing, oblivious of the rain outside.
We made it out of the house quietly without anyone noticing and stood in the snow on her front lawn.
I looked in awe at the sight of the droplets making shapes in the snow. Hazel started laughing and kicking at the snow with her arms in the air.
I watched as she spun with her arms out which caused her dress to whirl and her hair to fluff up behind her. I started laughing too and joined her.
I ran to her and lifted her up off the ground, her body pressed directly against mine. She squealed and wrapped her arms around my neck. When I put her down we kept laughing and then she tapped my shoulder.
"Tag, you're it!" She ran away from me towards the nearest lamppost. I chased around her for a while, but considering she was wearing flats, I went a bit easy. I actually had to stop and catch my breath, though.
I stopped at the next lamppost which was about ten feet away from the one Hazel was at. I sat on the floor and she did the same. We talked to each other from that distance.
"You up for twenty questions?" I yelled out to her.
"Sure!"She replied.
"Okay! Me first! Hmm, oh. What do you wish you knew the answer to?" I clasped my hands as I waited for her reply.
She thought for a moment. "I think, I'd like to know how all this turns out!" I wanted to ask what she meant, but she went on. "My turn! Um, what do you hope never changes?"
I didn't hesitate. "This! Any of this, here!" Before she could ask me to elaborate I asked,"Who's the person you know you can depend on all the time?" She was my person.
"You! You've been the most amazing friend to me! The best!... But I think I kinda-"
I stood up and cut her off. "Stop!" She flinched and stood up slowly. I realized I yelled too hard and softened my voice a bit. "Stop! Just, ughh! Hazel, I don't want to be your friend! How have you not seen that? I'm fucking in love with you! I've loved you for so long! I've loved you for so long, even though it took me a bit to figure it out! You've been the best thing in my life for the past few months! You make my life so much more fun and meaningful! I don't even know what to do at this point! I don't even know if you feel the same way, but I need you to know, I think of you as so much more than a friend! I can't imagine being with anyone other than you!"
I started walking towards her. "That kiss we shared, I meant to do that! I don't regret it! I'd do it again!" I was getting closer and at that point, I could see the stars in her eyes. I could see how she was holding her breath. Once I stood directly in front of her, I said in a low voice,"I'm done with this 'friend' bullshit."
I pulled her in by her waist and kissed her. She gasped into my mouth before tangling her hands in my hair and kissing back. The kiss was hungry and passionate, yet soft and gentle. It was the best kiss I ever had and it was long overdue.
We both slowly pulled away and gazed into each other's eyes. Our bodies stayed pressed against each other and our breathing was shaky.
She laughed and looked away before looking back at me. "You dummy. I was going to say that you've been the most amazing friend but I think I see you as more than that." I just stared at her. "Asher, I feel the same way!"
I couldn't keep the smile from growing on my face. I lifted her up and spun her around. She giggled and I kissed her all over. I kissed her cheeks, nose, forehead, eyelids, and lips. I kissed her lips longer than anything else because I just the loved how soft they were.
I put her down and bent down on one knee, grabbing her hand in my own. "Hazel, will you be my girlfriend?"
"Yes!" She jumped onto me and we both fell back in the snow. I remembered the time in front of McDonalds when the exact same thing happened.
We looked at each other and laughed, pressing our foreheads together and giving each other a peck on the lips. I wrapped my arm around Hazel and she pressed into me. I had a girlfriend, and it was her.
She rolled off to lay down next to me. My arm stayed around her and she snuggled close to me. We looked up at the stars.
"I guess we both got the Christmas present we wanted." She said with a dreamy look.
I looked at her and scoffed. "What do you mean? If I don't see that kazoo I asked for in my gift from you, I will end this."
She rolled her eyes and smiled. "I didn't want to spoil it, but yes I got you the kazoo." My eyes widened with excitement and I kissed her repeatedly on the cheeks. "Calm down there. First, did you get me what I asked for?"
"Yes, I got you the avocado. But I also got you something else. Come on, let me show you." I lifted myself off the ground and helped her up.
We walked back inside the house and snuck past the dining room to the tree Hazel had in her living room.
I pulled a small, red velvet box from under the tree and opened it. Inside, lay a gold necklace with stars along the slim chain.
"Asher! It's- it's beautiful! Thank you!" She jumped up and down excitedly and I moved behind her.
"Lift your hair up." I whispered near her ear. She picked up her hair and I clasped on the necklace for her. I moved next to her as she admired the necklace.
"Come on, let's go back to everyone." I said and pulled her along with me.
We walked into the dining room, our hands in each other's. "Everyone, I have an announcement to make." I said out loud.
Everyone's conversations stopped and they all looked at us.
"Hazel and I are dating. We actually just started." I said sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck.
The room was silent for a few seconds and I grew nervous.
"FINALLY!" Our moms both squealed together. "We're going to be mother-in-laws together!"
"Woah, slow down there." Hazel said and I nodded aggressively. Though, I did like the idea of Hazel and I getting married someday.
"That was one hell of a wash up break." Jason said and Finn nodded. Hazel's mom slapped his shoulder and I just looked over at Hazel and laughed.
Everyone started congratulating us and we sat down to finish Christmas dinner.
I looked at Hazel next to me and squeezed her hand under the table. She smiled at me and squeezed back.
"You look handsome, Muffin." She laughed.
"I forgot about that nickname."
"I honestly did, too for a bit. But it's back and here to stay." She looked proud.
"Whatever you want, Princess."
[Hazel and Asher's Outfits]
A/N: HEYYYY!! I'M SO SORRY FOR SUCH A LATE CHAPTER!!! My WiFi was out for a few weeks and I couldn't publish the chapter. I hope you guys understand. I think this chapter and the length make up for it, though. This might be the longest chapter I've done dear lord! Are you happy Hasher/Ashzel finally happened? Did you like how they got together? Wasn't the present he gave her just so cute? Gosh it's so crazy. I've been writing this story for so long and it's wrapping up. Don't worry, this isn't the last chapter, but we're so close. Thank you so much to everyone who's stuck along with this story and read every chapter and supported me. You really mean a lot. Stick along for the next chapter as well though cause this isn't the end quite yet. Anyways, feedback motivates me more so if it isn't trouble please leave comments! I hope you liked the chapter!! Make sure to follow for notifications and announcements! Please keep reading and vote! Thank you!! Bye my lovelies!!!â¤â¤â¤
---Your author, Gen