Always and Forever
A Frazel Fanfic
I lay in my cabin on the Argo II, listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the boat's exterior. The sound was rhythmic, and it relaxed me.
I could only think of one thing as I lay there. And believe me, this one thing was on my mind all the time. Hazel.
She was the most perfect girl in the world, with her cocoa brown skin and her curly, reddish brown hair. Her eyes were a stunning golden color, and they always seemed to sparkle with happiness. Her smile could light up a room, and my heart did flip flops anytime she smiled. Her soft lips, gently kissing mine…
Suddenly, jarring me out of my thoughts, I heard a quiet knock at the door. I glanced up quickly at the clock. It was midnight, so I knew I wasn't getting awoken to do my shift guarding the Argo II's deck. The midnight shift was Leo's. So why was someone knocking at my door?
I got up and walked to the door. I opened it quietly, and there stood Jason. He looked uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his neck uncertainly.
"Monsters?" I asked him warily, preparing to grab my bow and arrows and head up to the deck with him. He shook his head.
"No… I just walked past Hazel's door, and it sounded like she might be crying," Jason answered with a shrug. Immediate worry flooded through me, and I pushed past Jason, heading to Hazel's cabin.
"Thanks," I called over my shoulder. He nodded with a smile, and headed toward the back cabins to wake Leo.
I quieted my pace as I walked toward Hazel's door. Sure enough, I could hear her, crying quietly. I peeked into the crack in the door. Hazel sat, in her sports bra and sweatpants, balled up in her bed. She had a pillow pressed onto her face, trying to muffle the sobs. Seeing her cry made my heart ache immensely.
I knocked gently. "Hazel, can I come in?" I asked her softly. I heard her gasp quietly, and then some rustling noises as she threw the pillow she had been holding and straightened herself up.
"Sure Frank," she said, trying to make her voice sound upbeat and happy. But I knew better, as I heard her voice waver and crack. I opened the door carefully, and closed it behind me. Then I walked over to the bed, sitting down beside Hazel.
She ran her hands over her face, trying to wipe away the tears. "Hazel," I said, grabbing her hands, "What's wrong?" She squeezed my hands back.
"Nothing is wrong," she said, again trying to sound as if she hadn't been crying. She averted my gaze. I knew I shouldn't pressure her too much to tell me, but I also knew that I needed to comfort her.
I gently tilted her chin up, so that she was looking at me. "Please." "You know you can tell me anything," I told her. She stared into my eyes, and a tear rolled down her cheek.
"Frank… I just… I'm scared," she answered. "We're so young… we have so much life left to live." "With this war, I feel like some of us, or maybe all of us, don't have a chance of living that life." As she said all this, she tried to hold back tears. But suddenly, she burst into sobs.
"I don't want you to die, I don't want any of our friends to die… I don't want to die again Frank!" she cried. I pulled her into my lap, and she nestled her head on my bare chest. I could feel her tears running down me, but I didn't care. With one hand, I stroked her hair, and with the other I rubbed the small of her back.
Her words really hit me hard. I had thought the same things many times… many, many times. It just wasn't fair. The almighty, powerful Gods sent us, their half-blooded children, who have many more years to live, into dangerous battles and wars that most of the time, cost us our lives. How terrible could the gods be? Very.
"Hazel, I promise you, we will all make it out of this alive," I told her. A promise was a risky thing to make, especially with one of the lines in the prophecy being : An oath to keep with a final breath. She pulled back to look at me.
"Promise?" she asked.
"I swear on the River Styx," I answered. Her golden eyes began glowing with a flicker of hope again. She stared into my eyes for a minute, then sat up and kissed me. Our kiss was hard and passionate, as all our feelings poured out for each other.
We kissed for a long time. Finally we broke apart, gasping for breath. I hugged Hazel to me, stroking her hair. We stayed like that for quite a while, and I could tell she was getting tired. I gently laid her down on the bed, and stood up to leave.
As much as I wished I could stay in there with her, I knew that I would wait for her to make that call. "Goodnight Haze, I love you," I said quietly. She didn't respond, she just chewed her lip and looked conflicted.
I walked to the door, and just as my hand wrapped around the door knob, she stopped me.
"Frank… could you stay in here with me?" she asked. I turned around, probably a bit more eagerly than I should have. I was taken aback by her requesting this, as we had agreed to take our relationship slowly. But, I wanted to stay with her more than anything, so I knew I wouldn't deny her request.
"Of course," I told her. She smiled happily, and scooted over in the bed. I came over to her and lowered myself into her bed. She snuggled up to me, every part of our bodies touching.
We kissed again, more softly this time. Hazel's eyes began to grow heavy, and I scratched her back gently. After only a few minutes, she fell into a deep sleep. I watched her for a moment, relieved to see her completely relaxed after so many days of tension.
I fell asleep shortly after, and it was probably the best sleep I had ever had.
"Ah em!" I jumped, waking up quickly. At first I was confused as to where I was, but then I realized Hazel was in my arms, and I remembered sleeping in here with her. She too woke up, startled by the noise.
I looked at the door, and there was Leo, leaning against the door frame. He had an impish grin on his face. "I see what you all were up to," he laughed. I rolled my eyes, trying to stop blushing at the same time.
"Anyway, Zhang, it's five o'clock, your turn for guard duty until the rest of us wake up," Leo said. I groaned. I had completely forgotten about guard duty. All I wanted to do was stay curled up with Hazel, but I knew I had to get up.
"Thanks Leo," I growled, probably not sounding to grateful. He laughed.
Leo left the door frame, and I kissed Hazel gently on the forehead. "Sorry I have to go," I murmured. I stood up, and so did she.
"I'll come with you, I'm already awake anyway," she replied. I smiled.
"I gotta go to my room and grab a shirt," I said, gesturing to my bare chest. She nodded, and grabbed my hand as I left her room. She trailed along with me to my room. I wondered what she would do, as she was only wearing a sports bra and sweatpants, which would be pretty cold up there.
I opened up my closet once we got to my room, and grabbed a t-shirt. Not wanting Hazel to get cold, I gestured toward my hoodies. "Which one would you like?" I asked. She smiled, and pointed at a purple Camp Jupiter hoodie.
I handed it to her, and she pulled it down over her curly hair. It was way too big on her, but I could tell she liked it.
We headed up to the deck of the Argo II, hand in hand. It was still dark outside. The ship was quiet, except for Festus, who creaked and squeaked when we saw him.
"Hey buddy," I said. He whirred a hello.
I looked around. We were in the middle of the open ocean, and everything looked fairly calm. The sky was turning a lighter color, and I knew that soon the sunrise would come.
I looked around for Hazel, and saw that she had already scaled the guard tower and was sitting up there. I went up there as well, and saw that it would be the perfect spot to watch the sunrise.
I sat down next to Hazel, and she cuddled up to me. We sat there in silence, watching the sky slowly change colors. It was breathtaking, but not as beautiful as Hazel. I watched her as she watched the sunrise. Her eyes changed colors while she watched the sky, and the early morning breeze blew her hair.
And sitting there, right in that moment, I knew that she was my forever. I knew that I would always love her, no matter what. And I knew I would do anything for her.
She looked over at me as I looked at her, and she smiled. "I love you Frank," she said.
"I love you too, Hazel, always and forever," I replied.