Chris and Hazel

'Did she come down for lunch?' Chris asked the housekeeper as he sat on the sofa in the living room returning from his office.

'No Mr. Finch. Ms. Hazel hasn't come down since morning' she answered humbly.

'Fine, let me go call her, you set the table' he said getting up.

He knocked the door of Hazel's room,

'Come in' a faint voice answered.

'Hazel' he called out opening the door.

'What?' she asked tossing to the other side in her bed not wanting to face him.

'You still didn't wake up?' he asked walking over to her bed.

'Nope, I don't want to' she answered angrily covering her face with her blanket.

'Stop being childish, wake up Haze! Let's go down and eat, it's already past 1:00 p.m.' he said trying to take her blanket away.

Hazel slowly got up and sat still on her bed looking at him with half-opened eyes.

'The realtor will be here soon; we have to leave soon. So, get ready, after we come back from seeing the houses you can continue to be angry on me' he said looking at her.

'Why are you bringing a realtor? Isn't his job just selling and buying houses, I just want to rent one' she asked confused.

'Well…this one helps in… renting too' he answered her.

'Fine…now get out, I have to get ready' she said getting out of her bed.

'Come soon, I will be downstairs' he said exiting the room.

'Sorry Mr. Finch, I am late' the realtor rushed inside the house apologizing.

Hazel and Chris looked up at him from the dining table to notice a man in his early thirties hurrying his way in.

'We will be ready in a few minutes Mr. Nicholas, wait in the living room' Chris said looking at the realtor.

'Ok Mr. Finch' the realtor said moving towards the living room.

'Are you done?' he asked looking at Hazel.

'Yeah' she said getting up from the table.

'I will just grab my purse from the room' she said sprinting upstairs.

'Careful' he shouted as she almost tripped while running up the stairs.

'Let's go' she said walking over towards the car where Chris and the realtor were waiting.

Chris climbed into the driver seat and was waiting for Hazel to climb in. She looked at Chris before opening the door; she quickly withdrew her hand from the knob and walked towards the backseat's door when Nicholas stopped her.

'Ms. Hazel can you please let me sit in the backseat, I don't feel comfortable in the passenger seat' he pleaded looking at her.

'Sure Mr. Nicholas' she said smiling slightly making way for him.

Nicholas turned to look at Chris and winked at him smiling, Chris nodded his head and smiled back mouthing the words 'thank you'.

Hazel climbed into the passenger seat as Chris started the car.

'You should've hopped in the first time itself, why do you have to act like you are angry?' he asked driving out from his driveway.

'I am not talking to you' she said turning away.

According to the instructions from Nicholas, Chris drove to their first destination.

'Is this a house?' she asked getting down from the car as a grand villa with splendid architecture stood in front of her.

'…ah…yes Ms. Hazel, it is!' the realtor answered trying not to panic.

'It looks like it's out for sale and I really don't think it is for rent' she said turning to face them.

Nicholas turned to look at Chris but Chris quickly avoided his gaze and said;

'Yes Nicholas, it looks kinda like it's not for rent' he said within her intuitions could kick in.

'Well…it is for rent, so rest assured' he answered managing to not sweat through the conversation.

'Let's go inside' he said leading them in.

'The house looks good and it is closer to office too but what about the rent?' she asked Nicholas once the tour got over.

'Well all the required details are in this file, just have a look' he said handing over the file to Hazel.

Hazel opened the file and went through the details.

'Chris? Can I talk to you for a sec' she asked signaling him over to the corner of the room.

'Hazel, what's wrong? You don't like the place?' he asked as they reached the corner.

'No, this place is awesome but the rent seems too…' she started.

'Is it high? No problem, I will ask him to take it down a notch' he assured her.

'Then I guess I will have to live here for free' she said looking at him.

'What?' he asked surprised.

'The rent is too low Chris, no idiot will rent out a place like this for such a low price, I think there is something wrong with this house that's why they are renting it out in the first place' she said looking around the place in doubt.

'…Okk I will ask him to show some other place then, don't worry' he said as they walked over to the realtor.

'Nicholas, maybe we can come back here after visiting a few more places' Chris said to him.

'Sure No problem, there are plenty more available' he said smiling at them positively.

As Hazel walked out of the house Chris stopped Nicholas and said;

'I told you to show us a few houses without giving rise to her suspicions but she is already suspicious right at the first house'

'But Chris, you asked me to show you the best houses in town at a low rent because you were gonna buy it without her knowledge and all the best houses are fancy like this and I can't help that' he defended.

'Fine, maybe take us to some apartment after this and increase the rent slightly, ok?' he said looking at him.

'Ok' he nodded.

'What took you both so long?' she asked as they reached the car.

'I was just asking him some questions regarding the house' Chris answered her.

'Ohh okk' she said getting inside the car.

'Here we are Mr. Finch' Nicholas said after a half hour drive.

They went up to the apartment in the eighth floor;

'This apartment is fine and the rent seems good too' she said walking out of the apartment with Chris.

'Hi, are you buying this place?' a voice asked.

Hazel and Chris looked up to notice a young man in his late 20's walking over to them.

'No just renting' she said looking at him.

'But…I don't think this place is…' he started.

Chris signaled him to not say a word standing behind Hazel.

'Okk…' the guys said swallowing up his words.

'Anyways I am Luke, I live opposite to this apartment' he said extending his hand to Hazel.

'Good to meet you Luke, I am Hazel' she said shaking his hand.

'Hope to see you soon Hazel, bye' Luke said waving at her.

'Bye Luke' she said smiling back at him.

'Wow, the apartment is great and the rent is okay plus I get to live opposite to a hot neighbor. SCORE!' she said smiling happily at Chris.

'Where is the realtor?' she asked walking inside the apartment.

'Mr. Nicholas, I will take…' she started.

'Let's look for another house' Chris said interrupting her.

'But I like the place' she protested.

'There will be better places' he said walking out.

'Chris stop being unreasonable! Why should we look further when I like this place?' she asked walking up to him.

'I don't like this place and I think you are deciding in haste' he said and entered the lift without waiting for her reply.

'I don't believe it! You rejected all the houses we looked for. Are you insane?' she yelled as they entered Chris' house.

'I just didn't like any place' he said sitting on the sofa.

'You needn't like any, because we aren't gonna live together. I should like them because I am the person who's gonna live there' she yelled at him shaking her head irritated and drained.

'Calm down, we will look for more tomorrow' he said switching on the TV.

'I will, you better not come! I am bone-tired just because of roaming around with for a day and I have had enough, I really can't imagine another day out with you' she said walking up to her room.

'Ed, stop laughing' Chris said, now for the third time in a row.

'Dude…no matter which house you get for her, she will have a male neighbor' he said catching his breath from laughing so much.

'Ed, I don't care about her neighbors, the problem is all the neighbors are hot and she is happy about it' he enraged.

'Well of course there will competition my friend' he said still laughing.

'Dude, stop laughing' he said again.

'What? He rejected five houses because you had a hot neighbor?' Charlotte asked repeating herself for the fourth time.

'Yes, yes, yes and Yes' Hazel said annoyed by her repeated question.

'My god!' she exclaimed laughing loudly.

'Char, stop laughing!' Hazel said sitting down on her bed.

'Really, what is up with Chris?' Charlotte asked trying to suppress her laughter.

'Dude, what is up with you? Neither you will tell her anything nor stop interfering in her life. Chris, why are you delaying further? Just tell her man' Ed said not being able to figure out his friend's mind.

'I know I should tell her. I also know you are kinda fed up because I keep dragging this matter too much but…to be honest I don't know how to tell her? Where should I start?

…I know I have to tell her from the beginning but first I have to know whether she still likes me because there is a difference between telling the truth to the girl who likes me and to the girl who liked me.

…Hazel is a good person and that's why she is still talking to me though she has lots of questions unanswered and she is someone who understands and that's what I am afraid of...' he paused.

'Dude, you are afraid that she will understand your point of view? Isn't that a good thing?' Ed asked confused by Chris' excuse.

'Is it a good thing? Just think Ed, you keep Ava waiting for six years and she has been holding onto you just for a word you said six years ago and then after six years of no contact suddenly you appear and tell her your point of the story and no matter how difficult your life has been she is definitely gonna get angry, at least for a second, won't she?' he asked Ed

'Exactly! But I know Hazel, she won't! Instead she will understand and that's the worst punishment I can ever get and she will think that she made me happy by forgiving me whereas I will be in a position where neither I can tell her that she was wrong nor live with it till the end. I'll have to bear the guilt forever and I am ready for that but it will keep troubling me every time I look at her and I don't want it to come in between our lives because after this I wish to give her only happiness from my side' Chris untangled his explanation to Ed.

'But you have to tell her' Ed replied thinking in a practical way.

'I know and that's why I decided that I will let her know the small details first then tell her the whole story' he told him.

'How are you gonna do that?' Ed asked after thinking for a minute.

'My girl isn't dumb, I know she already found out some stuff with the help of Ryan and Charlotte and now she is waiting for me to open up but before I do I have to make sure that she still loves me' he explained.

'…Ohh so that's why you keep dragging this' Ed said managing to crack Chris' plan.

'Actually yes…after all she is the only one I have loved and will love forever' he said with a smile on his face.

'He's just waiting for the right time Char, he's just afraid that I will end up hating him and that's why he's hesitating, but just see my reaction when he confesses, I will blast at him like hell and then after two days I will forgive him' she said giggling.

'I can see that you have it all planned, haven't you?' Charlotte asked laughing.

'Yup and this time he shouldn't expect me to forgive him in one go' she said turning serious.

'Whoa! That's unlike you honey!' Charlotte stated.

'I know, after all I waited for six years only because of a five minute conversation' she said sighing.

'What conversation?' Charlotte asked quickly.

'Hold back a sec, Chris did you just say that she waited for six years just because of a word you said? So you guys spoke after her confession?' Ed asked after Chris finished his side of the story.

'Well…' Chris paused, trying to find an excuse to avoid answering.

'Well that's nothing Char, now tell me how are things on your side? When are you guys planning to go to Ava's house to seek her parent's blessings?' Hazel asked managing to change the topic at once.

'Well things aren't going as expected Haze' Charlotte said her voice filled with despair.

'What's wrong, Char? Did your parents not accept?' Hazel asked concerned.

'Well not my parents but Ava's they are kinda the conservative type' she explained slowly.

'You mean orthodox?' she asked confirming.

'Yeah and they think that Ava is kinda rushing with her love life' Charlotte answered.

'I know Ava's parents, they are very sweet and I am sure they will love Ed once they get to know him' Hazel assured.

'But who will explain to them? They aren't ready to listen to Ava and I am not familiar with them and my big brother is too scared to go and start a conversation with them' Charlotte told her.

'So you guys met her parents?' Hazel asked as Charlotte statement confused her a little.

'No hon! This is just the impact of a phone call' she replied troubled.

'Why didn't you guys tell me earlier?' Hazel asked slightly angry at them for keeping it away.

'Are you insane? Do you really consider me as your friend?' Chris shouted at the top of his voice in anger.

'Chris you are my best friend' Ed answered him.

'Shut up! Best friends don't keep things from each other and you kept me in dark for so many days' Chris cried annoyed.

'I just didn't want to trouble you' Ed said in a low voice.

'So you have become that much of a stranger now? I keep calling you every single day and yet you tell me all this only when I ask?' he asked hurt.

'I am sorry Chris, it's just that I didn't know what to do, people only know that I have been dating Ava for a few months but no one knows that I liked her for two years now, in fact she herself don't know and now her father thinks I am not serious enough in this relationship, it just hurts man' he replied heart-broken.

'Ed, wait a sec' Chris said opening his laptop.

After a silence of seven minutes, Chris spoke out;

'Day after tomorrow, around 10:30 a.m., be ready to pick me up from the airport and probably I will be bringing Hazel too'

'Chris but…' Ed started.

'You don't have to go through this alone, ok?' Chris said interrupting him.

'Ok, I will be there and bring Rob and Aurora because when I told dad and mom they wanted to meet the kids' he informed Chris.

'Ok, bye take care' he said disconnecting the call.

'Shut up! I can't believe neither one of you informed me about this' Hazel shouted after Charlotte said that they didn't want to bother her with the problems.

'Sorry Haze!'

'Zip it! You know what? I am coming there, I just have to tell Chris and maybe I will bring him along because Ed needs someone too' she said decisively.

'…Fine hon! And maybe try bringing Rob and Aurora because I heard dad and mom tell Ed to ask Chris bring his kids sometime' she informed.

'Ok I will ask Chris, bye' she answered disconnecting the call.

Hazel rushed downstairs towards Chris' room and found Chris coming out of his room.

'Chris!' she called as he was about to reach out to her.

They stood facing each other in the living room and after a short pause spoke out at the same time;

'We have to go to Ed's'

'We have to go to Char's'.