*Hazel's Pov*

HazelBagel✨🌺: Hey Caleb, we got kicked out of the rink. Sorry for ruining the date but hey we can still go to Sally's! We can just wait for you guys outside until the time is over. See you!!

I pressed send on the text message to Caleb and waited.

"Man, this is a load of bologna!" I grunted as I kicked a rock. We were sitting on a curb waiting for our dates.

"It's a big load of bologna." Asher mumbled as he kicked a smaller rock.

We were pretty quiet when Asher randomly blurted,"What do you see in him?" He squinted his eyes and shook his head.

I was caught off guard. "U-uh... I mean, he's a great guy. He's really nice and he can be funny..." I awkwardly trailed out of that sentence. "What about you? Sheyla's the worst. One of my friends literally had to punch her to get her to shut up and stop being mean."

He looked at the ground. "She's just... misunderstood." I scoffed and he looked up at me. "Really, she's not as bad as you probably think."

I looked at my shoes and didn't say anything else.

We sat there for a few minutes in boredom and frustration when I worked up the nerve to ask him something. "Do you want to do something while we wait for them? They still have...," I checked my phone for the time,"an hour and 20 minutes left." I turned to him with a cocked eyebrow.

He scraped the bottom of his shoe against the pavement and played with the silver ring on his middle finger. "You know I can't resist an adventure with you."

He jumped to his feet and smiled. "Where to, Princess?" He held his hand out for me and pulled me to my feet alongside him. I felt the silver ring when my hand was in his.

"Um... Ooh! How about we just play hide and seek tag out here while we wait. There's plenty of spaces out here!" I said as I looked around me.

"Yess!! Wow I never noticed all the places out here where you can hide. Kidnappers must thrive out here." I slapped his chest and laughed after he said that.

"Okay, you're it!" I yelled at him as I slowly stepped back. "Count to thirty-five!"

"Dammit." He muttered under his breath. He sat back down on the curb and hid his face in his hands. "One, two, three..."

I was tip-toeing around, looking for a place to hide when my eye caught the perfect place. I almost squealed before I realized that would give away my location.

"Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen..."

I tried not to make any sound as I went inside the alleyway. I was about to hop into the bin that homeless people use for fires at night when someone behind me whistled.

Aw darn, did he finish counting already?! He found me!! I turned around to face him. "You got me Ash-"

Except it wasn't Asher. "Um, hi?" I said, subconsciously taking a slow step back.

"Hey. What's a pretty girl like you doing in an alleyway all alone?" It was a man a few inches taller than me and definitely a few years older than me. He had a cigarette in his mouth and was wearing really dark clothes. His stubble was turning into a beard. He must've been at least twenty-five.

"I-I was um playing hide and seek w-with my friend and I thought this would be a good hiding place." I continued to slowly back away. He started to slowly walk forward.

"Hm, I guess the wrong person found you then, huh? Or maybe not." My back hit the wall behind me and he stepped within inches of me.

"Listen I'm just trying to play an innocent game of hide and seek. I'm not looking for any trouble." I said in a shaky voice but tried to keep it stern.

"But what if I am?" He leaned in closer but before he could do anything, I pushed him away as hard as I could and that got him a few inches away. For extra measure, I punched him in the gut with all my might.

He grunted in pain and clutched his stomach. "YOU LITTLE...!" He yelled as he swung at me. I screeched and ducked before he could hit me.

He chased me around the alleyway and quickly got a hold of the back of my shirt. He pulled on me and pinned me against the wall. "You're really gonna get it now, Princess." I struggled under his firm hands.

The man was pulled off of me by someone and got the daylights punched out of him. He fell to the floor and looked to be unconscious. "Only I call her Princess." Asher said with a venom so scary, even I was intimidated. And he was defending me.

He was looking down at the man and breathing hard. His head whipped to face me and his eyes frantically searched my body while he held my shoulders gently. "Are you okay?? Did he hurt you?"

I put my hands on his arms. "I'm okay. I used my super awesome fighting skills on him." I karate chopped the air.

He was trying to be serious but I could see the smile creeping out. He tried to hide it by touching his tongue to his top row of teeth and looking away.

"He did push me against the wall, though. I think it only kinda hurt because I'm always carrying so many things in my backpack. School's fault." I rubbed my back to comfort it. "How did you find me?"

"I heard some loud talking and you shrieked pretty loudly. I ran to the noise to see what was going on. What even happened?!" Asher asked with a scrunched nose.

I tried to recall all the events of the past few minutes. "I came back here to hide in that bin," I said pointing,"and I heard a whistle behind me. I thought it was you but it wasn't. He tried hurting me but somehow I dodged him and even punched him in the gut!"

"You sound like an excited puppy." He shook his head. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Hehe, me too." I looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks for helping me." I scrunched my face and added,"I mean I totally could've handled it myself in case you weren't there."

"Of course you could've! With those sweet fighting skills you were talking about, sheesh. The guy would be on the floor in a second." He punched at the air.

I lightly pushed his shoulder and rolled my eyes while laughing. "It was a karate chop, dummy."

"Right..." We were looking at each other and I don't mean this in any way, but I couldn't help but appreciate the electricity in his eyes. How many times had I thought that since meeting him?...

We both jumped when my phone beeped in my back pocket. "Oh, Caleb and Sheyla decided to leave a bit early!"

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Great! Let's go." He pulled on my arm but I didn't budge. He looked back at me with concern when he saw my face. "What's wrong?"

I pressed my lips tightly together before speaking. "Um, they decided to leave early... together."

"Well, yeahhhh. They're not going to come separately. Come on!" He didn't get it. He tried pulling my arm again.

"Asher, together. They're not coming for us. They ditched us just like our last double date. For each other." I stared at him until he got it.

"Oh. Wow, again?!" He put his hands on his hips and clicked his tongue. "I can't say I'm surprised. She kept telling me she didn't like double dates with you cause she got jealous. Apparently, we always leave them both mysteriously and never return."

"Caleb said the same thing to me. I mean, I explained why we had to leave! I guess leaving them both alone wasn't the smartest..." my phone beeped again. "Oh, he said we can still be friends, though. Hmm. I'm being broken up with over text."

"At least you got a text." Asher shook his head in disbelief.

I laughed and punched his arm lightly. "For some reason, I don't feel all too bad. I mean yeah it sucks, but I don't feel like crying or eating ice cream in bed while watching romcoms."

"Oh that's a daily thing for me." I cocked my eyebrow with a smile when he said that. "Kidding." He said with his hands up.

"I guess we can leave then." I let him gently pull me by the arm to his car. We got there and he entered through the driver side. I stood awkwardly in front of the passenger door. "Well, I guess I'll see you soon."

"Wait, Caleb brought you here and he left. I can give you a ride."

My eyes widened. "That's right! I can't believe I almost forgot my ride ditched me! I could actually use that ride, thank you." I smiled and got in.

He passed my his phone as he started driving and I searched through his playlist. "Aha!"

I set his phone down in my lap as I waited for the song I chose to play.

"She paints her fingers with a close precision
He starts to notice empty bottles of gin
And takes a moment to assess the sin
She's paid for"

He looked at me briefly with excitement on his face. "The Ballad of Mona Lisa?! I love this song!" He turned back to the road while singing along with me to the lyrics quietly.

~~~~~~~

"WHOA OH OH OH OH, MONA LISA
YOU'RE GUARANTEED TO RUN THIS TOWN, WHOA OH OH OH OH, MONA LISA
I'D PAY TO SEE YOU FROWN!!" Asher and I belted while dramatically dancing in his car.

He stopped singing when he parked in front of his house. I turned the volume on the music down. "We're here," he said, looking over at me.

I didn't want this day to end. Despite the horrible date, getting broken up with, and nearly getting beaten up in an alley, I had fun. I gave him an awkward smile. "Yeah, I guess I should go inside now."

"I'll walk you to your door. It's only a few feet away from mine." He got out of the car and raced next to me.

We arrived on my doorstep and stood there in silence for a few seconds. I looked up at him and smiled. "Well, bye."

"Bye, Princess." He said in a soft whisper.

I waved at him as I walked into my house. I hesitated as I stood in the door way and walked back outside.

Standing on my tippy toes, I planted a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for today... and for saving me from that guy."

He looked stunned but quickly regained his cool. "R-right. Of course! Anything for you."

I stepped backwards into my house while smiling at him. When I shut the door, I pressed my back against it and smiled at the ceiling.

"What are you smiling about?"

I looked down from the ceiling to see my brothers all on the living floor bundled in blankets.

"Oh! Um, I was just thinking about finally getting to go to bed." I looked at the tv in front of them. "Wait! Are you guys having a movie night? Let me join!"

I squeezed in between Cameron and Jason and stole some of their blanket. They both grunted in response but didn't try to take it back.

We all fell asleep there after watching all three High School Musical movies.

Today didn't turn out completely horrible...

A/N: Hey guyssss!!! I'm currently going through the week before finals which means crazy studying and wanting to die.😔✌️ But I still wanted to get this chapter out for you guys. Boy, this chapter was a rollercoaster. Are you glad Sheyla and Caleb ditched them or did you actually ship Shasher and Haleb? Ew what about that creepy guy in the alley? I'm kinda sad cause naming the titles is always one of my favorite parts but this is a continuation chapter so I had to give it the same name with just the "part two" difference. But aren't Asher and Hazel just huge cuties?!! Ugh I love them. Anyways, feedback motivates me more so if it isn't trouble please leave comments! I hope you liked the chapter!! Make sure to follow for notifications and announcements! Please keep reading and vote! Thank you!! Bye my lovelies!!!❤❤❤

---Your Smøl Bean, Gen