[ON HOLD] A Wonderland Of Misery (Solangelo AU)

Change and Wads of Cash

NPOV

"Don't freak out when you see your room!" Hazel called, hearing me come inside.

I was more exhausted than irritated. She had told me that our roommate was going to be a guy the night before - much to my disappointment - so my room was needing more reasonable furniture to accommodate him living here (I was NOT going to let a random guy room with my sister, no matter how much I was going to hate sharing a room).  

I groaned and walked into the living room, where Hazel was stretched across the floor. She was on her laptop again, doing who-knows-what.

"What did you do?" I asked, even though I was dreading the answer.

"I didn't have any classes today, so I took care of the furniture in your room. That was probably a good idea, because I just got off the phone with Will. The only flight he was able to get on was one for today."

She didn't even look away from the screen.

I didn't know how I was supposed to feel. Hazel was so calm about everything, almost like having a roommate wasn't going to bother her. Was that the appropriate response to this situation? By comparison, was I being a brat?  

Suddenly, I just wanted to be done with it. My anxiety was draining me, and I didn't have the energy left to complain anymore. 

"Okay, so do we need to pick this asshole-"

"Be nice. His name is Will, remember?" Hazel corrected, interrupting my sentence smoothly.

"Do we need to pick Will up from the airport?" My voice turned sour when I said the name. My tone suggested 'Will' was a curse, or something that filled me with disgust.

And I knew I was being immature, unreasonable. It was wrong to hate someone you haven't even met. I should wait to pass judgments, otherwise I'm being unfair. 

Hazel huffed. "I told him we would. He's never been to New York, I'm not going to make him try to navigate the city for the first time alone."

What about me? I thought bitterly. I had to. Being alone isn't that hard.

I was smart enough to keep that particular comment inside my head. Pointing out the past is a low blow, and Hazel still feels guilty about not taking a side. I didn't want to be harsh with her, to push her further away.

"What time do we need to leave?" 

"In about an hour. I thought we could take a taxi."

I nodded, appreciating that she wasn't going to make me take the subway. Cars are better - there's less people I have to interact with.

"Alright, I'm going to hang out in my room until then." I said. 

I turned back into the hallway, moving my hand along the wallpaper as I walked. But my hand paused when it reached my doorknob.

Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself of all the things that are going to remain untouched. The room will still have the gray walls, the door will still creak whenever it gets opened, the window will still be hopelessly jammed shut. The only difference is the furniture, and that's a smaller change.

I opened the door, trying too hard to be optimistic.

I wasn't surprised to find that the familiarity of the room was destroyed. Sure, the walls were gray and the window was shut.... but I was lying to myself about the furniture being a 'smaller' change. 

Two twin beds.

Two nightstands.

Two dressers.

There were two chairs at my desk, meaning for us to share the workspace.

And it was a slap in the face. My room wasn't mine anymore, part of it belonged to Will now.

I plopped on my bed, sighing. Laying there, I couldn't help but wish things were different. I imagined a different life for myself, one where I made better decisions.

I guess that's what regret feels like.

~

An hour later, Hazel and I were on the way to the airport. I stared out the window with rock music pouring through my headphones. Hazel and the taxi driver, who introduced himself as Coach Hedge, talked the whole ride. 

I was a little curious as to why he insisted two adults call him 'Coach'; however, I chose to remain quiet and avoid the conversation.

The car came to a stop. Coach Hedge gestured to the building. "This is as close as I can get you guys to the terminal. You can pick up your friend inside, it's just a short walk through those doors."

I snorted. Will wasn't my friend. 

Hazel shot me a glare. Be nice.

She shook her head, no doubt tired of my negativity. But she didn't want to start an argument in front of the driver, who was looking at me through his mirror with questions on his face.

I couldn't blame him. I didn't say a single word this whole trip. He probably thought I was sulking.

"Thank you for the ride." Hazel said, leaning forward and handing Coach Hedge a wad of cash. "Would you mind coming back to pick us up? Or waiting here? We have to run in and grab someone and a few bags, but it shouldn't take that long."

Coach Hedge looked at the cash again. It was a lot of money, Hazel probably got it from Hades. It made me want to roll me eyes.

"Yeah. I'll wait for you." He said, not wasting much time on the debate.

"Great! C'mon, Nico."

A/N ~ I'm so glad I finally got this chapter up omg

On a side note, I had to go to my little sister's Christmas Concert yesterday, and it made me realize that I try entirely too hard.

I mean, I don't have any friends at my school so I was hoping that I could make some at hers (we go to different high schools). I was desperate to make a good first impression, so I did my hair, wore makeup for the first time in forever, rehearsed what I was going to say in the mirror, etc.

..... and then I chickened out and didn't introduce myself to anyone.