Chapter Two

The Art of Arrogance

EncoreDeZiza
All Rights Reserved

2013

 

 

Chapter Two

 

“You’re gonna be fine,”

“Please don’t leave me with him,” She groaned, watching as he set her bags onto the ground.

“Hazel,” He sighed, those dark brown eyes matting hers, “You know I love you, but if I moved in with you, I would kill you.”

She groaned, waving her arms in the air dramatically, “You’re feeding me to the sharks here!”

He sighed, leaning against the car, “Just ignore him. How hard could it be? I’ll take you out, you can go watch movies and he’ll be at the bar… You’ll practically never see each other.”

“Chris!” She panicked, “Please…” And there it was. The low, warming pool of empathy that slowly poured into those brown depts. He opened his mouth, but was cut off when a heavy arm swung over her shoulder. She ground her jaw. Perfect, just perfect.

“Miss me?”

“Hardly.” She could practically see that arrogant smirk plastered over his stupidly attractive face. She could really benefit from a repeat of earlier. If only she had a table leg…

“Well,” Chris excused, tossing her bags in the trunk, “I’ll see you Saturday.” With that he swung his arms wide open and she grinned from ear to ear. She’d met Chris after the thing with Zach and Ayden. They’d been buds for the past three years. She tried stepping forward, but was stopped by Zach’s tightening embrace. She frowned, elbowing in the stomach. It resulted in him successfully tightening his grip. Chris’ smile wavered as he lowered his arms, his eyes shifting to Zach as they sparked with spite.

                “Okay!” Oliver yelled from the doorway, bounding down the steps. Zach released Hazel instantly and she ran over to Chris, wrapping him in a hug that he returned without hesitation. “Zach, Hazel,” Oliver called, Hazel turned around in Chris’ arms so she could see, “here are you keys, your phones, and money- this money is for cars and gas until you get jobs. We’ll pay for your bills- DO NOT throw parties.” Then he gave a grim, uncaring smile, handing them each wallets and phones, “The keys are inside. Have fun.” She turned back around, hugging Chris again as Oliver vanished into the building.

                                She pulled back, smiling broadly at him. His eyes lifted, landing on what she could only assume was Zach. Chris’ eyes shifted to hers again, sparking with revenge. Her grin widened in agreement and he lowered his head, placing his lips on her forehead. They stayed there for a moment until he move, “See ya Saturday!” He promised, untangling them. She leaned against the car, watching as they two boys exchanged death glares. Yep, totally worth having to burn her forehead… Scowling, Zach turned back around to meet her with a fierce glare before jerking open the door and slamming it closed behind him. She waited till Chris reached the door, turning back around and waiving, which she happily returned, before she gently tugged open the door, sliding elegantly into the seat and lightly closing it.

“Ready?” The driver asked, already pressing on the gas.

 

 

 

                “Hurry up!” The driver called. She paused to glare whole-heartedly at him before jerking her last bag from the trunk and scooping up the others. He set the car in reverse, nearly running her over as he sped down the road, trunk flapping in the breeze. Someone’s cranky… Noticing Zach was already at the door, she hurried through the small front yard and bounced up the steps just in time for the front door to swing open, revealing the fully furnished living room. She ignored it, letting her things fall to a heap on the ground as she kicked the door closed behind her.

Zach stopped walking then, abruptly turning to glare down on her, “House rule number one: Don’t bring your boy-toy around here.”

She smirked, casually leaning against the door, “Rule two: Don’t bring your one night stands here.” His jaw clenched before he forced an agreeable smile, “House rule three;” She continued, allowing her façade to drop, her tone lowering, eyes darkening as they narrowed in on him, “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Rule number four,” He countered, never breaking eye contact as he swept down to grab his bag, “There are no rules.” She smiled at her success as he trotted off; turning abruptly and she listened to three separate creaks of an aching floor before coming to life. Who did he think he was anyways? Telling her who could and couldn’t come over! What the hell did he care?

 

                As she ventured into the kitchen, she discovered that tiny, annoying voice in the back of her mind that whispered, ‘Maybe he likes you...’ She doubled over in laughter; hand on the fridge’s handle, forcing herself to breathe in and out, in and out. She’d only just composed herself when something vibrated in her back pocket; she jumped before pulling out her phone and answering as she jerked open the fridge. “Hello, you’ve reached the greatest person ever. How may I help you?”

“Hello, I was wondering if there was anyway you could share your greatness with me.”

She smiled, leaning into the fridge door whilst stealing out a frozen brownie, “of course I can! I’ve gotta warn you though, it costs.” She joked, eyeing the brownie. When it passed her little inspection, she shut the fridge and hopped onto the counter, swinging her legs.

“How much?”

She shrugged, “How much do you want?”

“You better not be selling drugs, Erickson!” Oliver yelled in the background.

“Busted!” Hazel sang, finally taking a bite out of the taunting blissful dessert.

“Keep laughing, I’ll just tell him who my ‘dealer’ is.”

“Damn… And here I was thinking I was getting rich.”

He snorted, “Yeah, rich in chocolate.”

“Really?” She asked, completely forgetting about the chocolate she currently possessed. “When?”

“You know it’s not even three,” Her eyes flickered to numbers on the oven. 2:56

“So?”

“I could come get you…”

She straightened, nearly dropping her brownie, “Would you?”

“Course!”

“Could we get some food?”

He laughed, “Hazel, you just ate three hours ago.”

She groaned, “But that was soooo long ago!”

He laughed again and she found herself smiling, knowing she’d won. “Yes, we’ll get food, now hurry up and unpack, I’m on my way.”

“See ya soon!” She chirped, he yawned.

“Mm.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She snapped.

“What?”

“You give me s**t for being hungry but its okay for you to be tired?”

“I said I was giving you food! Now shut up and be happy, woman.”

She laughed, “Okay, bye.” Hanging up, she ran over to the door, fishing for her wallet and grabbing bags. Her way of ‘tending’ to them was chucking them into the empty room and then closing the door.

 

                She made sure to bounce on every step as she made her way down stairs, making a sharp left, her sights set on the front door. “Where are you going?” She froze at the deep, velvety voice that rang with curiosity.

“Out,” She supplied easily, turning back around and walking to the kitchen, leaning against the fridge as she took in Zach (who was sitting at the table, eating.), “Hungry?”

“It’s been less than an hour and you already miss him,” He snorted, rolling his eyes, “You’re delusional.”

“You’re just prissy because none of your one night stands even think about you again. They don’t care. And I’ve found someone who does.”

“Caring is a weakness” He spat.

“Bonds make you stronger,” She argued.

“So you’re telling me that if I grabbed your beloved Chris,” he spat the name like acid before continuing, his face darkening at his words, “By the throat and slowly tore him apart in front of your very eyes- that you would benefit from that?”

“No. I’d benefit from the time we spent together. From the things he taught me.”

“He taught you nothing but pain!” Zach roared, chucking his plate across the room, she ducked as it soared past her head, colliding with the fridge and shattering upon impact.

“He taught me how to care again; he taught me that the world isn’t a disturbing black obis. He gave me hope.”

“And where was that ‘hope’ when your insides covered the floor?” He retorted sparks of flame and flecks of ash sparked from his clenched fists. Her eyes narrowed at the mentioning of that night. It was all his fault.

“Sleeping,” She replied coolly, surprised when her voice came out calm, steady, monotone. “Where I wanted him to be.”

“But you could’ve died! If it wasn’t for me, you would’ve died.”

“No,” she corrected, giving a sharp, humorless laugh, “If you and Ayden wouldn’t have been there, wouldn’t have yelled at me, I would’ve patched myself up and then covered my tracks. I wouldn’t have even blacked out. So think before you speak, because I’m not one of your nit-whit girl friends. I’ve got a brain and you bet your a*s I’m going to use it.” A lose, welcomed knock sounded at the door, making everyone tense before altering their train of thought. Hazel walked briskly to the door and tore it open.

 

                “Ready? Whoa!” He stopped, his cheery expression plummeting, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she promised, slamming the door roughly behind her, “You have perfect timing.”

 

XXX

 

“Much better,” Hazel sighed, leaning into the chair. She couldn’t help the broad smile that seized her lips at the sight of Chris’ sulking.

“Remind me again why we’re here?” He pouted, plopping rather clumsily into the booth, “I spent a lot of money on those reservations…”

She shrugged, rather carelessly, her eyes already raking over the buffet, “Then you should’ve consulted me. I’m a Pizza Hut kinda girl.”

“Can’t you just try to be normal?” He groaned. Her eyes snapped to his, she could feel the playful glint in them as she gave him her full, undivided attention.

“But you love me this way,” She pouted, sticking out her bottom lip. He opened his mouth to reply when a gust of freezing wind blew through the restaurant, making them both pause, eyes shifting towards the door. A man in his mid twenties stepped through the door, bringing an aura of desolence with him. Hazel narrowed her eyes, pushing her mind past the camouflage of his flesh and locking her jaw as his face sunk in, his eyes two empty black holes in his deteriorating skull. When she picked up on the smell of rotting flesh, she turned her head, nodding to an all-knowing Chris.

               

A woman walked up to their table, smiling, “What can I get your today?”

“We’d just like two buffets,” Chris replied politely, flashing a handsome smile to the blushing waitress. Hazel rolled her eyes, unraveling her fork from the napkin and examining the edges. The waitress trotted off, her heal clicking on the wood floor as Hazel’s eyes slid to the side, watching her target approach the booth across from theirs.  She felt her body stiffen, bracing itself for retaliation as she slowly brought a steady hand forwards, aiming for that rotting skull of his. It was just a distraction, but it’d piss it off, nonetheless.

                Her arm shot forward, fingers separating, allowing the fork to sail graciously through the air. Her eyes snapped to Chris as he whimpered in pain. She found his eyes cast downward and followed his line of vision, her lips parting in shock at what she found before flashing back into his, anger seeping through. He slowly lifted his hand and jerked the fork from it, glaring forcefully at her before mouthing the two words she didn’t want to here ‘Not here’.

                She spared him a look of pure defiance before hearing the familiar click of the waitress’ heals, giggling immaturely as she approached. Casually extending her leg, past the edge of the booth, Hazel flinched when the waitress plummeted to the ground, she was quick to reach out and scoop up a shoe with her toes, lifting her leg up and snatching it from her toes with quick, elegant movements. Meanwhile, Chris had gotten up to help the embarrassed waitress to her feet. She frowned, looking down at her miss-matched feet. “I lost a shoe…” She mumbled and Chris’ gaze shot up, zeroing o=in on Hazel and she faked innocence.

“That’s odd,” She agreed, pulling her eyebrows together, “Maybe it snagged on something?” Chris’ gaze hardened then. The waitress moved to her knees, peering under the table before standing.

“I can’t go around with one shoe…” The waitress pondered.

“No…” Hazel agreed, then she sat up straighter, letting her face light with false enthusiasm, “You could take the other one off!” She suggested, flashing a wide, dim-witted smile.

The waitress beamed, hurriedly bending to retrieve her remaining shoe. She set it on the booth next to Hazel before testing her new height, “Oh my gosh!” She squealed, “You are so smart!” She praised before turning and running off.

 

                Chris sat down, glaring, “What are you playing at?”

She flashed a cunning grin, “Nothing!”

“Ha-“ But he didn’t have time to finish, she’d grabbed one of the heals and tossed it like a dart, taking great satisfaction as it pierced through her targets eye, earning the attention of the entire restaurant as the man-beast leapt to his feet, roaring in anger.

                Not wasting anytime, Chris and Hazel rolled off their booths in unison, Chris landed in a crouched position while Hazel landed with a sort of flawless grace on both feet. The creature turned its caving face on her, opening its mouth to reveal it’s black-hole of a mouth and roaring again. She winked at it, flipping the table over with her foot before dropping to her knees. Just in time too, a ball of flame flew above their heads, hitting the buffet tables behind them as the citizens leapt to their feet, screaming. Chris’ head shot to the left, glaring at Hazel’s crouching form. She shoved her mind out, imagining the finalizing click of the doors locking- keeping everyone inside.

                                Retrieving the remaining heal, her eyes snapped forwards as their table caught fire. “You better have some bloody monster- repellant in there!” Chris yelled over the screaming, hysterical witnesses. She took the vile from her necklace and carefully removed the lid, letting two drops fall on the heal before screwing the lid as tight as it’d go. She smirked as it sizzled and bubbled from the poison. “You can’t-“

 

“Shut up,” She snapped before leaping to her feet and meeting the empty eye sockets of her latest game. “Hey there, I must say, I heal is a major improvement.” She hurtled herself over the table as he shot fire at her, she hit the ground with a heavy thud and rolled before jumping to her feet as a ball of fire collided with the wooden floorboards. She smirked, “I must say, I am rather disappointed in you, Darling, My gran-“ Her words were cut off  as a flaming ball of death was hurtled towards her laxed position, she dropped into a crouch, swinging the lead loosely within her fingers. “Oh honey, you’ve got some major rage behind that punch! Let me guess- Daddy issues?” On queue, Chris tensed, swinging the chair into the beast’s side, it growled and turned at the waist, flinging it’s little balls of fire at Chris as Hazel ran forward, thrusting the poisoned heal in it’s abdomen. It gave a final shriek before completely caving in on itself, the remaining parts turning to sand, blown into the vents by the ceiling fans.

 

                Chris stepped forward, holding his hand out and Hazel grabbed it, intertwining their fingers as she closed her eyes, wrapping a shimmering bubble over both her and Chris before letting confusion and a feeling of great loss sweep the room.

She opened her eyes and stepped forward, dropping Chris’ hand and approaching the people she’d previously brain washed. They were like robots, waiting for her cover story, for her command. She let her eyes sweep over them before landing on the barefooted waitress, “The kitchen caught on fire, the nice waitress with no shoes led all of you to the door and out to safety.” Chris cleared his throat, signaling for her to hurry. She let her gaze narrow on the waitress, “Your restaurant’s burning down and there are citizens inside.” She grabbed Chris’ hand roughly, “Save them,” She instructed before blinking, releasing them from her control.

                                With that Hazel dropped the locks over the doors and pulled Chris through the back door, and into the parking lot, blending in with the shadows- where they belonged.

 

 

               

               

 

                “I can’t believe it was dumb enough to show up in a public place!” She scoffed, fishing her key from her pocket, “What did it think? That we wouldn’t see it?”

“No,” Chris said slowly, leaning against the side of her apartment, “They probably thought you were wise enough not to attack in a public place,” She rolled her eyes, “It’s called tact, Haze. For example, we could’ve followed hi-“

She snorted, shoving her key into the lock, “No one died, it went fine.”

“It was reckless.”

“What’s new?” She retorted, shoving the door open to reveal Zach, some poor, innocent girl sandwiched between him and the wall. Hazel and Chris shared a look before she bravely strode forwards, opening the fridge and stealing a bottle of champagne.

                                “Do you mind if I borrow your boyfriend?” The girl asked, the smell of alcohol flowing freely from her open mouth.

“Yeah,” Zach pushed, bringing his face forward, and stopping only inches from hers, “Do you?”

“Nope,” She dismissed, popping the ‘p’. “But just so you know, he’s got herpes.” And with that, she shoved past them, snickering at the girls reply before slamming the door closed behind her,

“Baby! Me too!”

XXX

 

“We need some music,” Hazel slurred, unbuckling her seat belt.

Chris cast her a wryry side glance before returning his attention to the road, “If we get pulled over, th-“

“Shhhh,” She instructed, petting his face sloppily. Before turning over in her seat and grabbing the top of the window frame. She lazily pulled herself up before climbing on top of the cab, “HELLO WORLD!” she slurred, throwing her hands over her head.

“Hazel!” he yelled but his warning was ignored.

“I’M YOUR WILD GIRL!” She sang, moving her hips rather suggestively to the music playing in her intoxicated mind, “I’M YOUR CH-CH-CH-CH-CHERRY BOMB!”

“HAZEL!” He yelled, sticking his head out the window, “Get your a*s-“

                The approaching car slammed on its breaks, hearing the commotion, Chris retrieved his head and slammed the break pedal to the floor as his rusty old truck abruptly stopped, throwing Hazel into the bed. He pulled off, parking on the shoulder before throwing his door open and peering over the side in sheer panic, “HAZEL?”

                She waved her left hand dismissively whilst pushing up with her right, “Pff, I’m indestructible.”

“Indestructible?” he questioned, smirking at the effects of her intoxication.

“Yeah,” she smiled broadly before closing her eyes, “Cause I’m batman.” And with that she fell limply into the bed.

 

His smile wavered as panic began to sink down to his bones, “Hazel?” He called, leaping into the back and clapping in front of her unconscious face, “Oh crap…”

 

 

Author's Note:

                               Hey guys, so I figured I should clear some Chris stuff up. He and Hazel are NEVER getting together. I was going to at first, but then I changed my mind. He's simply an older brother figure. Nothing more, nothing less. Okay? So, yeah. And the reason Zach gets all MINE and possessive around Hazel (hense Chris and Zach staredown in this chapter and Zach's overreaction to Ayden in the first chapter) is because he told all of the guys in the coven NOT to even THINK about touching Hazel, because she was his. Ayden asked her out simply to piss off Zach, funny becasue she agreed just to piss him off too. None of them really liked each other, Ayden's just a Class A actor who loves to screw with people. So... Yeah, jsut thought I should clear that up.... 

:D Till Next time-ZI