QUIET, georgenotfound ✓

Quiet

THIRD PERSON POV.

It was the same every visit. Sometimes he was there, sometimes he wasn't. But Hazel Lauder always seemed to search for him each time it was her turn to buy the groceries.

He was there now. Today, he stood next to the juices, seeming to be deep in thought as his eyes flickered between the apple and orange juice. Hazel wondered if he was buying it for a friend, based on how indecisive he currently was.

The mysterious boy always seemed to wear relatively the same outfits. It was typical black, semi-loose pants and a dark tee, with either a TV show or a band imprinted on it. He had a sweater two sizes too big wrapped around him, giving him sweater paws (which Hazel thought was absolutely adorable). His ears were plugged with earphones, ignoring anything and everything around him, floating in blissful ignorance between the aisles.

She had begun noticing him almost a month ago. That day, he was at the register packing his groceries next to her. It would be laughable to say she was star-struck, but it wouldn't be far off the truth either.

It was true anyway— he was beautiful. He had soft, chocolate brown hair, which piled beautiful across his forehead. His eyes too, were a dark colour, but intriguing all at the same time. His fingers looked so delicate and soft, Hazel wondered what it would feel like wrapped around her own. She had yet to see him smile, but even without it, he was gorgeous.

"You saw him again, didn't you?" Kaia was Hazel's roommate. She had met her in their second year of university and they had been best friends ever since. Hazel opened her mouth to respond when the brunette quickly cut her off, "I can tell because you have this," she paused, circling her fingers around Hazel's dazed face with a slight grimace, "face."

Hazel scrunched her nose as she placed the groceries on the counter. "What face?" Her brows pushed together. "I don't have a face."

"You do, babe." She laughed, earning an eye roll.

"Do not."

"I'm not even going to argue on this because I know I'm right." Kaia declared in a smug manner. Hazel rolled her eyes again but Kaia continued to talk. "I don't understand why you don't just talk to him or something."

Hazel shrugged, "I dunno, he looks shy."

"Just try, maybe you'd be good friends," there was an obvious teasing tone smothered in her words. Kaia nudged her, "next time you see him, give him a small wave, a smile even."

Hazel didn't go back to the grocery mart for another two weeks due to her and Kaia's alternating schedule. She had asked Kaia if she had seen him last week but had received a laugh along with, "I don't go searching for cute, mysterious, nerdy men while shopping."

She walked into the store with a look of hidden intent. Beginning her shopping route as usual, she bought fruit, bread, dairy, and had reached the snacks aisle without any trace of the cute brunet. She couldn't help but feel slightly saddened that he wasn't present and attempted to shrug off the blue feeling. He was just a stranger anyway.

She paid for her foods and packed them in an efficient manner. Weekly grocery trips meant they only had to buy whatever they were running out of, and spend less money too. It was a system that worked well for them.

With her large black canvas bag slung on her shoulder she walked out the automatic doors, savouring the light breeze of the indoor air conditioning before the harsh rays of Orlando hit. Her apartment was an easy walking distance from the supermarket, and Hazel typically liked walks anyway. A bus drove by and she paid no attention to the long vehicle, not until it paused a few feet away and a familiar-looking boy walked out. She watched him briefly thank the driver as he stepped off, his head turned in her, or the store's, direction as he stood on the sidewalk.