Stuck

Holidays

Noah didn't sleep the whole night. He didn't do anything useful either. He was just sitting outside under the oak tree in his garden. He looked to his right to see Hazel's house, her garden blooming with all the colourful flowers of the season.

He knew she was not asleep either, her bedroom light was on. She would be sitting by the window for sure, and over-thinking.

He'd known Hazel for his entire life, their parents had been living in the same respective house since they were born. Their families had known each other more than 50 years, parents and grandparents. Hazel and Noah first met when they were babies, they shared countless memories together, some of which they remembered and some of which they didn't, their first walk, the first words, their first outbursts of anger, their first hug, and their first crushes.

They had an unbreakable bond, their relationship was based on pure love and trust, although they didn't have any romantic feelings towards each other.

Noah sighed heavily as he saw the horizon change to a dark blue, indicating the end of the night, but he still sat there, breathing in the pleasant breeze.

Suddenly he heard a door open, and instinctively turned around to see Hazel walking out of her house and heading up the street. He figured out she was heading to the lake, and he was right.

-

Hazel didn't sleep the whole night, she was awake just because she wanted to, and she knew for sure Noah didn't sleep either.

She was sitting by her window, thinking about her parents. They didn't have a good relationship with each other and they didn't seem to be comfortable with each other either. As a result her dad found a job in another city, while her mom continued working here. She was alone at home most of the times . Her mom comes late from work, and they barely talked to each other but she knew it was because she struggled as a single parent. 

She had spent most of her early childhood with Mr and Mrs. Foster and Noah. They knew her family situation, and she was at their place every night when her parents would fight and there were countless times when she would cry alone in the washroom, not telling anyone how much it bothered her.

She decided to forget about all of this and head towards the lake. It was a place where she would always go to whenever they wanted to calm themselves down.

She climbed down the stairs of her house and tiptoed her way out through the main door. Her mom won't bother looking for her, because she'll know where she would be.

Hazel saw Noah who was sitting under the oak tree, looking at her. The street light made his dirty blond hair look brown, his blue eyes glistening with the light hitting his face. They both smiled at each other, and she felt much much better. 

She had been feeling very strange around Noah these days and she was not liking this feeling. It made her look at him more than she would usually do and it made her want to talk to him more.

They both walked towards the lake together, talking about anything and everything. Hazel looked at Noah the whole time, and her heart fluttered when he held out his hand for her, as they reached the rocky part of the trail.

Suddenly Hazel remembered Ethan. She remembered how he made her laugh and smile. A smile crept on her lips and she laughed, which grabbed Noah's attention.

"We're here."

Hazel took a deep breath in, and settled down on the rocks by the lake.
Noah smiled looking at Hazel, and then turned his attention to the pair of swans, gracefully swimming in the lake.

Something caught Hazel's attention and she didn't want to sit there anymore. She thought she heard a truck from far away, which was wierd because no one came here. She came up with a lame excuse and left Noah, promising she will return in a few minutes.

Hazel got up and went into the forest far away from the trail and Noah.

∆°∆