𝖫𝗈𝗏౿ᑲ𝗈ოᑲ -𝖤ᥣꪱᜒ 𝖬𝗈ડƙ𝗈⍵ꪱᜒ𝗍ʑ

2.1

"So you might be wondering what the team does after winning a championship," Aisha announced, holding her phone up to record. "The answer: Victory nachos!" The group erupted into cheers and applause.

Seated around the table were Aisha, Demetri, Moon, Eli, and Hazel. Moon had apologized to Aisha after the party, and they had all agreed to move past the incident. Hazel welcomed Moon's presence, as long as she kept her distance from Eli.

"It was supposed to be a round of drinks, but the waitress wasn't feeling Hawk's fake ID," Eli leaned in, speaking in a hushed tone to Hazel. She chuckled, but then quickly reminded him, "Hey, don't talk about that. My parents follow you." Eli tried to suppress his grin but failed, looking at Hazel with adoration in his eyes.

Aisha concluded her video, saying, "Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Moskowitz. Anyways, until next time, no mercy bitches." She then joined Demetri, who was holding a nacho.

"It feels good to be at a victory party," Demetri remarked just as he was about to take a bite, but Eli swooped in and stole it. "Yeah, except you had nothing to do with the victory," Eli teased, munching on the chip. Hazel playfully intervened, rolling her eyes and pretending to be upset. "Give him a break, Eli. Not everyone wants to be a fourth-place karate prodigy," she teased, smiling.

The group erupted into laughter, and Eli sighed before wrapping his arm around Hazel's shoulders, pulling her closer.

"Then I take it as a belated party for the coding competition we won at computer camp. Remember?" Demetri reminisced, looking at his friends. "Demetri and Eli. Binary brothers," he sang in a robotic voice, eliciting laughter from the group.

"Hey, cool it with the nerd shit," Eli whispered to him, and Hazel noticed Demetri's smile fade slightly. She wondered if he, too, had noticed how much Eli had changed.

"Hey, where's Miguel? His wings are getting cold," Moon interjected, attempting to change the subject.

Eli and Hazel found Miguel sitting alone, away from the group. "El Sierpente, there you are," Eli greeted him, gesturing with his hand like a snake as they sat on either side of him. "This is how you celebrate a first-place trophy?" Hazel teased with a laugh. "Eli celebrated more than you, and he isn't even on the podium."

Miguel's voice was sad as he stared down at the table. "She blocked me," he confessed. Eli jokingly suggested, "So what do you do when blocked? You counterpunch. Maybe just don't hit her this time." Hazel shot him a disapproving glare and rolled her eyes.

"What, too soon?" Eli asked innocently. "Look, all I'm saying is don't give up," Hazel said softly, trying to comfort Miguel. "It's no use, I blew any chance I had with her," Miguel lamented. "Just give Sam some time; she'll come around," Hazel reassured him. "Or she won't," Eli interjected, earning another glare from Hazel.

"You're the champ now. Every girl in the valley will want you. You're like Drake. Enjoy it," Eli said with a chuckle, lightly hitting Miguel's arm as he stood up and walked back to the table.

Hazel patted Miguel's arm, offering a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. You're not," she assured him, eliciting a laugh from Miguel amidst his worries.

-

Hazel had planned to stay over at Eli's place, but it took some convincing to get her mom on board, who insisted she hadn't properly met him yet.

So, everyone was hanging out at the twins' place, which was great, don't get Hazel wrong. But she just wished for some privacy. Plus, they were all trying to cheer up a depressed Miguel, so it wasn't all fun and games. Demetri had managed to coax Miguel into playing Xbox, creating the perfect opportunity for Eli and Hazel to sneak away to her room for some privacy.

"God, as much as I like you, your brother will kill me if he finds me with my tongue down your throat," Eli said, pulling away just enough to get that one sentence out before he was hauling her back in for a kiss.

Hazel hummed, trailing kisses down his neck as she ran her hands up his stomach. "I don't care, he'd have to get through me."

"Shit, shit, baby, just... oh, who am I kidding?" Eli muttered to himself, cupping her face in his hands so he could pull Hazel in for another breath-taking kiss.

The blonde girl grinned against his mouth, pulling his t-shirt over his head. "Nobody, now," she told him, pushing him back onto the bed so that she could climb into his lap.

"Have I ever told you how gorgeous you are?" he asked, sliding his hands up the back of her shirt to fidget with her bra clasp. "Because, really, you are one of the most beautiful, ethereal, b--- mh!"

"Eli, less talking, more kissing," she said, sliding one hand down his abdomen, towards the waistband of his jeans.

Hazel understood it was Eli's first time experiencing something like that, so she wouldn't do anything without first seeking permission with a glance.

The sound he let out was nearly a whimper, and it had her grinning against his mouth, especially when he looked up at her like she'd already started.

"Hey, sis, where did- what the fuck!"

Miguel was standing in the doorway, cringing away from the scene with a hand over one of his eyes, and the other was squinted. He looked so fucking stupid.

"Hey Miggy," Eli drawled, cringing at the sound of his own voice.

"Eli, get your hands out of my sister's shirt," Miguel demanded. "Now!"

"Eli, keep your hands right where they are. This is what he gets for barging in unannounced!"

"I'm right next door, with all of our friends!" Miguel argued, still half torn between looking and not.

"I was a little distracted, Miguel. Like you've never gotten distracted with Sam," you said, rolling your eyes.

"Sam isn't my best friend's sister, plus we actually never got there." Miguel got shy.

Hazel rolled your eyes. "What did you need Miguel?"

"Right now I need to bleach my brain and my eyes. I needed the charger for---"

"Ask Yaya, i'm not giving you mine, you're gonna break it again. Now leave, before you see something else you don't want to see."

Miguel looked like he wanted to argue, but a small shift from Hazel had Eli making another noise, and Miguel slammed the door on his way out, practically screaming.

"He's going to murder me the next time we're alone," Eli muttered.

"Don't worry about him for right now, I think we were in the middle of something," She murmured, nuzzling Eli's jaw.

"You're right, what was I worried about?" he asked as you tugged your shirt off.

"Exactly." Hazel nodded.

Nothing too extreme happened that night. After a few minutes, Eli and Hazel joined Miguel in his room, and they all started playing some silly games after sharing a few jokes.