AN. SOrry I've been gone for so long! But I want to give a special thanks to the amazing author Cuteypuffgirl! She has been very awesome and she Beta'd this chapter, and she says that she'll beta the next! If I could, I'd give her a huge drama queen hug right now! I love her stories and you HAVE to check them out! So, without the amazing Cuteypuff, I would not have this chapter so thank you SO MUCH! And if you don't go check her out, you should very well stop reading right now because I don't want reviewers who don't respect my favorite authors! So go check her out, everyone of you, and review her amazing, beautiful stories! But before I lose you all, please read tis chapter!
Coffee
Chapter Seventeen: Love You Like A Friend
Piper's P.O.V
I sit down in my room; my back against the wall.
I haven't been able to sleep all night. I know that Hazel was having a panic attack. When I went to go check on her a few hours ago, she was sobbing. She was also down on her knees, praying to the gods. It broke my heart. It was only then when I saw how much pain Hazel was in. I don't know how to help her with situation, or why I ever did anything in the first place.
Why do I even bother trying anymore? It always ends badly; it always ends with someone in tears. No matter what I do, it always ends up resulting in something bad.
I've tried a lot to make it up to her; I've done whatever I could to help Hazel, and yet nothing works. She's missing Leo; I know she is. Who wouldn't be missing the person whose fate was decided by them?
She is so young, but, nevertheless, strong. I don't understand. I feel a bit envious, I must confess. Athena must have filled her head with a lot of wisdom, because I would never have the guts to go through with this. Or - please don't kill me for saying this - but she might just be a little bit stupid, as well.
I mean, her plan so far is to go to the Doors of Death and keep the doors open until Leo comes out; or that's what she said last time I checked. She keeps changing her mind so much I just can't keep track of her! She is so much like Leo with an ADHD-esque mind; to be honest, I think his absence is influencing her. She gets really hyper sometimes, and can almost never make up her mind.
Well, I know that she has her heart set on saving Leo, no matter what. Oh, well, I want to save him too. He is my friend, and I've apparently known him longer than Jason. However, if it wasn't for Jason, Leo and I probably wouldn't be friends, to be honest, because that kid is just so ADHD, sometimes I don't understand anything he says. When he talks about his machines in his usual incessant manner, I barely understand a single word of it, but he sounds so enthusiastic about it, that I just nod along, because I if I ask him what that means he'll say it all again, but faster.
I don't know how Jason and Hazel can talk to him, but I've got to say, he has become my little elf friend – my only friend, at a time - and if Hazel hadn't had her heart set on saving him, I'd probably have cried until I'd choked to death. Except I know that Hazel is so resolute about saving him, that not even all the monsters from the Underworld could unnerve her. It's kind of scary, I have to say.
When I even mutter the word turn or something similar, she would immediately withdraw her spatha and I'd have to reassure her that I don't want to turn the ship around. It's been like that ever since Leo's death. Nonetheless, I don't mind. I've gotten pretty used to it; being the only one left – it's like I have no choice.
I am interrupted from my internal mantra when I hear a knock on my door. I get up and straighten myself, only to open the door to a quivering Hazel.
"Can I make a bed on the floor here?" Hazel asks, her voice hesitant. "I need someone to talk to tonight, and my room is a mess, so I don't think you could move your bed into mine."
"Sure, but my room isn't as clean as it could be either," I reply, looking back into my cabin and frowning at the chaos.
"Well, we could attempt to sleep on the deck tonight. So that way if a monster tries to attack us in our sleep and cough up our rotting carcasses, we could kill it before it can try," Hazel suggests.
"Alright," I say.
I take the sheets off my bed and run it to the deck, and then back to my room to get my mattress. I heave it onto my shoulders and Hazel takes the end. Both of us head to the deck and drop the mattress down after which I begin to make my bed. Hazel and I head to her room and she takes out her bedding, while I try to drag her mattress. Hazel soon returns and finds that I haven't even made it out to the hall yet; (gods, Leo buys heavy mattresses).
Hazel and I head down to the deck where Hazel begins making her bed. I jog back to my room and change into my bear-printed pajamas. Hazel passes me in the hall and I see that she's wearing one of the t-shirts I got for her. I smile. However, she doesn't, in fact her face looks more grief-stricken than usual. I look down at her hand where I see that Hazel holds a diamond. An actual diamond.
"What's that?" I ask, my eyes bulging at the sight of the stone.
"A curse," Hazel mumbles and throws it out the window, into the sea.
"Wait! That was a diamond!" I cry, surprised at her actions. She just threw a diamond into the sea.
"Piper, if I gave that to you, you'd experience horrible things, believe me. It's my curse," Hazel explains numbly, staring at her feet.
I'm hesitant and shocked, but I instead accept this and sigh. "Alright. Whatever you say."
Another pops up at her feet, glimmering and she, and I watch as Hazel throws it into her room. Hazel smiles and walks up to the deck. I'm supposed to follow her when my eyes catch sight of a curious shimmer coming from her room. Dubiously, I turn towards her room. My curiosity takes the better of me and I open her door.
My mouth nearly drops to the floor.
I feel paralyzed; shocked out of my skull, almost. I have never seen so much money in my whole life, and my father is famous! Everywhere I look, there's more than ten diamonds. Jewels lining the walls, the furniture, everything. It's crazy! It's like a mine!
I shut the door quickly. Hazel said that they were cursed. If I were to take one, then bad things would happen to me, right?
Quickly shutting the door, I scurry down the hall and on to the deck, slightly afraid that Hazel could find out what I did any minute.
Why are they here? I muse to myself. I haven't seen them until now, but why do they pop up out of nowhere? Why haven't I ever seen them before?
So many questions, so few answers.
I jog onto the deck to find that Hazel is already in bed, sitting up whilst braiding her hair. She finishes off with a hair-band when I finally grab her attention.
"Hey," I say."Want me to try doing something with your hair?"
Hazel looks up at me, her face dull. "Like what?"
"Well, I could dye your hair, or give you bangs, or..."
"Kill my hair?!" Hazel asks, looking alarmed at the thought of me dying her hair.
"No, no! Not dye as in die, dye as in to color something," I explain to her, attempting to calm her down.
"Oh, okay," Hazel says, relaxing. "Go crazy. But don't make my hair like yours, not that I don't like it, but it wouldn't be that noticeable with all my curls."
I smile and pull her to the bathroom. I gently put her head in the shower and turn on the water. Hazel's hair wets and I pull her over to the mirror after I then take scissors out of one of the drawers. I go to my room and pick up a chair from my desk, then quickly go back to the bathroom. Hazel stands there, looking bewildered.
I sit Hazel down and brush through her hair. I trim it and thicken it a little, then brush some of her hair in front of her eyes and snip it so that it lines perfectly with her right eyebrow. I brush the rest on the other side back. I puff her hair a little with my hands.
"And you have bangs," I tell her and smile. I dry her hair with a towel and Hazel stands up, looking in the mirror. She actually looks very beautiful with bangs. With her golden eyes and coffee-like complexion, gods, that girl is gorgeous.
Hazel smiles at her reflection. "Wow, thank you so much, Piper, I love it!"
Hazel looks extremely happy about it, even happier then I was expecting. I mean, even if I were to slap her in the face right now, and she'd still be all smiles.
"You like it that much?" I ask.
"Yes, but also . . . nothing good has been happening to me for a long, and something finally has," Hazel explains, her voice slightly breaking.
"Well, I'm glad I could help," I say. "And I like how you part your hair in the middle. I'm not a big fan of beauty for myself, but it really is fun doing someone else's hair."
"I bet it is," Hazel says. She then yawns, a long and loud one.
"You must be tired," I remark.
"I am," Hazel says. "A lot has been going on in the last few days."
"Yeah," I agree, aware of she's referencing.
"Do you think Leo will like it?" Hazel asks suddenly, her eyes wide.
"I'm sure he will. And if he doesn't, good for him, it's your hair," I reply. "We are talking about hair, aren't we?"
"Yes," Hazel says.
"I think we should go to bed. This'll be fun. Like . . . a sleepover! We've never done that before!" I say, the thought springing to mind.
"Well, we weren't as good of friends as we are now a while ago," Hazel says.
"Good point," I say. "Wanna play 20 Questions when we get on deck?"
"What's 20 Questions?" Hazel asks, her brow creased.
"It's where you ask the person twenty different questions and they have to answer. Do you want to ask me first?" I say. Hazel nods.
We walk onto deck slowly, and I watch as Hazel curls up on her bed. "Alright, question number one . . . hmm . . . when is your birthday?"
"July sixth," I instantly say. "Yours?"
"December fifteenth," Hazel says. "But it's my turn to ask you questions! You have to ask me later! You only have nineteen questions now."
"Okay," I say, glad she's got the gist of the game. I sit down on my bed and hug my pillow, resting my head on my knees.
"Who was your first kiss?" Hazel asks with a smile.
"Jake Thompson. Sixth grade. School play," I say, going back in time That kid was a jerk and he kissed me on a dare.
"Looks like you like Jnames," Hazel laughs.
"I guess," I say, a smile curling on my lips.
"Alright, what is your favorite animal?" Hazel asks.
"Eagle," I say. "It's a Cherokee thing. Eagles are mystical creatures, misunderstood, really."
"Leo tells me you have jammies with eagles on them," Hazel giggles.
"I'm going to kill him again," I mumble. Hazel laughs. Thank goodness, she sensed my sarcasm!
'What is your . . . favorite color . . .?" Hazel asks.
"I don't know, maybe a light purple or blue," I say. "Let's make it fifteen questions; I'm feeling a bit drowsy."
"Alright, how many questions was that?" Hazel asks.
"Well, if you include the one you just asked, it'd be five," I say.
"Alright, ten more," Hazel says. "What is your favorite season?"
"Spring," I say. "I love the flowers."
"Me too," Hazel says. "What is your favorite song?"
"Carry On by fun," I say, the tune playing in my head.
"How many people have you killed in your life?" Hazel asks. "I've killed myself and my mother."
This question catches me off-guard. "Er . . . just one person, I guess," I say, beginning to feel uncomfortable.
"Okay," Hazel says. "Have you ever considered moving to New Orleans?"
"I've wanted to visit. I've always wanted to see the parades and eat the food. Listen to the music. Maybe hop down the Biu like in the Princess and the Frog," I say.
"Why? It's a swamp," Hazel comments.
"I'll show you a movie in a few days."
"Alright," Hazel says. "If you could be a daughter of someone other than Venus, who would it be?"
"Aphrodite, and maybe Athena or Apollo," I say, "or Hermes."
"Cool, I'd be happy to be a daughter of anyone else if it meant I wouldn't have to have a curse," Hazel says.
"I see," I say. "Okay, five more questions."
"Can we make it...ten questions?" Hazel asks. "You can ask me whatever you please."
Hmm... Immediately, ideas begin forming in my mind. Who was her first kiss? Who has she liked? How much does she love Leo? Has she ever loved anyone else? Who was this Sammy guy? Does she like my mom? How does she really feel about her bangs? Is she against beauty or all for it? What was her favorite childhood book? Did it have romance in it?Were those ten questions already?
"Who was your first kiss?" I ask, starting with the first question on my list.
"Frank," Hazel says, almost a bit wistful.
"Okay," I say. "Who are all the people you've ever liked?"
"Sammy, Frank, and Leo," Hazel says. "I don't really pay attention to other boys."
"Alright, how much do you love Leo?" I ask.
"More than life itself, more than Venus has power, more than I thought was possible. Wow, I really do love him a lot," she adds, almost non-chalantly.
"Wow," I manage to say. "Have you loved anyone other than Leo?"
"Nope," Hazel answers.
"Who's Sammy?" I ask.
"He . . . he was an old friend," Hazel says. "He was a very good person."
"Alright," I say, although that didn't answer my question. "Do you like my mom?"
"Sure, I like love and I don't mind beauty," Hazel says. "Although she is slightly high maintenance, no offence."
"None taken Plus, I agree," I say. "How do you actually feel about your bangs?"
"I love them! I told you that already! I think they suit me," Hazel says.
"Does beauty matter to you?" I ask.
"Well, I like to look pretty, but it doesn't matter on someone else, it's who they are that matters," Hazel replied, her eyes glittering.
"I agree," I say. "True beauty comes from within."
"You're even more beautiful inside then, because you are one of the nicest people I know," Hazel says, grinning.
"Thank you," I smile. "You too, although you're still very pretty on the outside as well."
"You too, and you're welcome, and thank you," Hazel laughs. "Okay, next question."
"What is your favorite childhood book?" I ask.
She pauses before answering this. "The Princess and the Goblin," Hazel says after a few minutes. "Or Narnia, perhaps."
"I have never read the Princess and the Goblin, but I've read Narnia," I say. "Alright, did any of those books have romance?"
"Well, Curdy and Irene have a romance, I'd say. Narnia . . . not really, but the beavers in the first book were married," Hazel says, shrugging. "So, not really."
"I see," I say. "I think that's all the questions."
"Yeah," Hazel says, stretching her arms.. "I'm going to go to sleep now, good night, Pipes. Can I call you that?"
"Of course, that's what all my friends call me . . . Can I call you Haze?" I ask.
"Well . . . only Leo called me that . . . but sure, Leo was my only best friend, but you're my second, so, yeah," Hazel says, wearily.
"Well, then . . . I'll call you that occasionally, I guess. 'Night, Haze," I say.
"'Night, Pipes," Hazel says, and in a matter of seconds I can hear a quiet snoring coming from Hazel's bed.
After what seems like an eternity, I sit up. I'm comfortable and all, but I can't sleep. I look over at Hazel. She really is much different than I thought. I totally would have thought that she'd have kissed more people then Frank and Leo. Strange. And both her favorite books are magical, which means she dreams a lot, and likes mystery.
Well, Hazel's a hard person to read. But I can tell that she loves Leo and that she is in a lot of pain. I can also see Leo and Hazel's chemistry, it's very omnipresent.
In sleep, Hazel looks very peaceful. Her hair trails around her and the moonlight shines off of it. Her bangs float in front of her right eye. She looks a lot younger when she's asleep. She looks like a scared little girl. You can always see the real person when they're asleep; they can't lie about it. Hazel may be a child, but will do anything for people she loves. A little bit naive and stubborn, perhaps, but everyone is.
I'm snapped from my reverie, when I see her twitch a little. She cringes and she starts to shake her head. Small tears fall from her eyes and down er face. Her hands reach out for each other and she holds them tightly. Hazel cries out, yelling Leo's name. She starts to scream. She shakes her head and cries until she finally manages to sit straight up and look over at me.
"He – he . . . was dy - dying! I - I could have sa - saved him!" Hazel sobs, tears raining down her face, like waterfalls.
"Oh, Hazel" I say. I stand up and walk to her. I sit down on her bed and hug her. Hazel cries onto my shoulder.
"It's going to be okay, alright? We'll save him," I whisper comfortingly. Hazel doesn't answer. She just hugs me and cries. After a while, she lets go and e lies back down. She looks at me with wide eyes. "I don't want to dream about him dying anymore. Every time I close my eyes -"
"Shhh, just don't think about it. What is the most happy memory you can remember?" I ask.
"Well . . ." her voice is hesitant. "I was standing on this rock with Leo . . . he started to fall and I pulled him back up . . . our eyes locked. I almost kissed him. He was leaning in. I was leaning in. But we heard a voice," Hazel says. "I was so happy then. That was the moment that I realized that I really love him. That was the moment that I realized that Leo wasn't . . . someone else. That was the moment I realized that Leo just might love me too. Stupid, huh?"
"No, that's beautiful" I say, wiping a tear from my eye. "Really? That's your best memory?"
"Yes," Hazel says. "But every time I think of it, I see Leo dying falling to the floor and when it seemed like time slowed down . . ." Hazel eyes fill with tears again.
"I'm so sorry", I say, tears start to fall from my eyes. "I'm so sorry I hurt you. You never deserved that."
"You saved me, Piper. You saved me and now you want to save Leo. You did nothing wrong," Hazel says. "I just wish he didn't have to go so soon."
"Do . . . do you have a good memory that doesn't involve Leo?" I ask.
"Yeah," Hazel says, a small smile on her lips, looking up like me. "Tonight.You're a really good friend. You gave me the chance to be normal. I've never had a friend who'd do my hair and play childish games with me. Or have a sleepover. Making me feel like a normal teenaged girl."
"Really?" I ask.
"Yeah," Hazel says. "You are my best friend. You are such a good person. You're probably the only person who'd ever help me save Leo. I love him. I love you because you are my best friend, like . . .a best friend?"
"I love you too, like my very best friend!" I say, giving Hazel a long hug. She then detaches herself from me and goes back to her bed.
I watch as Hazel smiles and shuts her eyes.
Sighing, I go back to my bed, and the second my head hits the pillow; I feel a huge hand around my waist.
AN. Oh yes, I SO DID! Anyway, I need five reviews! FIVE! Or else no next chapter! I love you all! And remember to check out Cuteypuffgirl!
Coffee