The Square Root

I woke up in a familiar room but it wasn't exactly my room. I turned over and saw Ryan sleeping. Oh, right. I was at his house. I guess I fell asleep last night. Then I came to realization and woke up immediately, slowly getting his arms off me,so I wouldn’t wake him. When I’ve successfully done that, I went searching for my car keys, and silently ran to their garage. I sped home and quickly jumped in the shower, then changing into my outfit for school. Record time. I got it all done in one hour.

I arrived at my locker with 2 minutes to spare, and Ryan was standing there with three of his friends whom two I recognized as the guys that walked in school with him my first day, and the other one being Kyle. I opened my locker, grabbing my booksa nd when I closed it, I saw a granola bar in front of my face. “You didn’t have breakfast,” he said. I grabbed it and sighed.

“How’d you know?”

“You left late,” he chuckled. “Sorry, forgot the alarm,” he apologized. I shrugged and started eating it. He handed me a bottle of water, and I thanked him. “By the way, this is Heath and Daniel. They’re in the team. And I’m pretty sure you know Kyle,” he said wrapping an arm around my waist.

I swallowed my food and took a sip of water. “Nice to meet you,” I said holding out a hand. “Hazelyn,” I introduced myself. “Hey Kyle,” I smiled at him.

“Morning Haze,” he said.

“Hazelyn,” I automatically corrected.

“Right,” he smiled at me.

“I thought you didn’t have a girlfriend, Ry?” the guy I assumed was Daniel asked.

“I don’t,” he shrugged. Daniel looked at me. “This is my best friend,” he said and grinned widely at me then winked.

“Uhuh. Bestfriend my ass,” Heath chuckled.

“Hey Jr,” Trisha greeted walking up to us.

“Hey Trish,” Ryan said giving her a hug. “You now the guys,” he said to her. She nodded and smiled at them. I excused myself and walked towards my class.

“You know, we should hang out again some time,” I heard Kyle say from next to me.

“I think I’d like that,” I smiled at him.

“Cool, some time next week?”

“Sounds good,” I smiled and walked into the classroom. “Hey Steph,” I smiled as I sat down next to her.

“Hey, did my brother carry me up last night?” she asked.

“I doubt it. If he did then I would’ve woken up since I was sleeping on his lap,” I said.

“I ended up on my bed this morning,” she said confused.

I grinned. “It may have been Tristan,” I winked. She blushed. “Oh my gosh! Do you like him?” I asked.

She blushed even more and looked down on the table. “Shut up,” she mumbled.

“Fuck! You dooo!!” I squealed.

“Shut up! Oh My God!” she said putting a hand over my mouth. I pried it off me and she wiped it on her jeans. Such a handful of couples to set up!

“Fuck. Valentine’s is next week!” I boomed while I was talking to Stephanie after school.

“Yeah There’s a dance on Sunday,” she said, typing away on her phone.

Something popped into my head, which made me smile evilly. “I’ll text you later, I have to go do some stuff,” I said and grabbed my bag, running to my car.

“Haze!” Ryan shouted before I got in. I waited for him to get to me. He was grinning widely. “Guess what?” I just raised an eyebrow. “I asked her to be my girlfriend!” he told me excitedly.

“And…?” I said giving a small smile.

“She said yes!” he hooted giving me a huge bear hug.

“That’s good,” I said, but muffled since I couldn’t breath. I pushed him away. “I’m happy for you, we’ll celebrate later. I gotta go,” I said. “I’ll talk to you later,” I said and got into the car, leaving him widely smiling.

“Two couples done, two to go,” I chuckled driving to Beverly Hills. “I’ll come back on Friday afternoon to take care of anything else,” I smiled at them. They nodded and I went home to do homework. This is gonna be one hell of a week.

The rest of the week was all about the dance and sending roses and all that crap. They were going to hand out the roses on Monday, of course, for Valentines. I was so busy setting up and organizing dinners that I forgot that I had to celebrate with Ryan some time. But then again, he had been very preoccupied with Trisha.

He hasn’t been whoring around since they’ve been talking. Which is good. He hasn’t come over either, which made me spend my nights playing my drums and blasting music. He’s just been texting me to remind me to eat and to tell me to sleep, and of course wake me up in the morning. Classes with him are spent talking about Trisha and his plans for their dinner Saturday night. It has been getting annoying and weird, but he’s happy, so I just let him be.

Alexa and John had been okay, I guess. They’re going to the dance together. Alexa had been complaining about how John has her on lockdown and they’re not even together. I just told her to relax and breathe.

Drina and Mike … Well, I told them to meet me after school on Friday and they said they would. I told Stephanie that I’d pick her up Saturday afternoon, since she was staying at their parents’ house in Beverly Hills.

As of now, it’s Friday and I had all the plans in written form. I was ready to leave school to go to Beverly Hills. “Hey Hazelyn,” somebody said from behind me.

“Hey Kyle,” I smiled at him, holding a couple of folders.

“I was Ahm.. wondering,” he started, looking at me through his lashes. I made a gesture for him to go on. There was a hint of pink in his cheeks. So adorable. “Are you going to the dance this Sunday?” he asked.

“Probably not,” I frowned.

“Why not?”

“I don’t have a date and I really don’t wanna fly solo,” I chuckled

“So, you don’t have a date?” he asked hopefully.

“Nope,” I confirmed.

“So, you wanna go to the dance with me then?” he asked nervously.

“Yeah sure,” I smiled at him. I wanted to jump for joy at the moment.

“Seriously?” he asked, eyes widened.

“Of course,” I chuckled.

“Pick you up at 6:30 then? Since the dance starts at 7?” he asked.

“Sure, I’ll text you my address,” I smiled.

“Alright. I’ll see you then,” he said and jogged off.

I got into my car calmly and put the key in the ignition and drove out of the parking lot, making sure all my windows were closed before screaming my lungs out. “Oh my goodness. Did that just happen? Holy shit!” I chuckled to myself.



“Ms. DeLuca, did you need anything else?” a waiter asked me.

“Can you take off the huge bouquet on the middle of the table and just put a simple candle light?” I asked, looking around the private lounge that was dimly lit mostly by candle lights that surrounded the place, and dim lights. There was a table in the middle of it all. A very romantic setting. My phone rang, signaling that Mike was calling. “Yes?” I answered.

“Where did you want us to meet you?”

“La Dolce Vita. You know where that is right? I’m hungry, so yeah,” I said.

“Okay?” he chuckled. “You’re weird. But okay. We’ll be there in 20,” he said and hung up.

I smiled and took a seat outside. “So, this is for your friends?” the owner of the restaurant asked me with a strong Italian accent. He looked to be about in his mid 40’s and old enough to be my father, maybe even older. But he had the business aura coming from him. He reminded me of my father a great deal.

“Yup,” I smiled.

“That’s nice of you,” he said sitting in front of me.

“Thanks,” I smiled at him. “It’s a beautiful restaurant,” I complimented.

He chuckled lightly. “Thank you, we try,” he said. “Is there a special someone for you this valentine’s?” he asked me. I shook my head no. His eyebrows furrowed. “Oh? A lovely young lady like you?”

“I don’t really have time for it,” I smiled at him.

He gave me a slight nod then stood up. “Well, I gotta go. Duty calls,” he said straightening out his suit. “But I must remind you young lady. C'è sempre tempo per l'amore,” he said before walking off.

“There is always time for love,” I whispered the meaning to myself.

I sat there for a few more minutes, wondering how the man knew I understood Italian - until I saw Mike and Drina walk in. I motioned for them to come over and they approached me with a look of awe. “This is fancy,” Drina said uneasily.

“Yup. Let’s go,” I smiled at them leading them to the separate room.

“Where are we going?” Mike asked.

“Surprise,” I chuckled and entered the room.

“Is this where we’re eating?” Drina asked looking around.

“Uhuh,” I smiled

“Why are there only two seats?” Mike asked suspiciously.

“I have to go. My brother wants me home,” I said to them. “Enjoy your dinner,” I smiled at them and nudged Mike. He mouthed a thank you and walked towards the table, pulling the seat out. I quickly texted him telling him that I got the bill, and to not worry about it.

I went off to the mansion to set up tomorrow’s dinner. I went up to the Gazebo and had the couches pushed aside, and a table set up in the middle. Close to the set up at the restaurant, but I had rose petals spread on the floor.

When I was contented with everything, I went up to my room and changed into my pajamas. When I came out of the bathroom, my phone was ringing signaling a phone call from Ryan. “Yes?” I answered.

“Are you mad?”

“No, why?”

“You’re not opening the damn door,” he growled

“Relax tiger. I’m not home,” I told him.

“Where the fuck could you be, Hazelyn? It’s almost 9,” he asked sternly.

“I’m somewhere,” I told him, picking at my nails.

“Where are you?” he insisted.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m fine. What’s up?”

He sighed defeatedly. “I was gonna ask if you wanted to celebrate tonight,” he said.

“Next time. Sorry.”

“Alright, I’ll see you on Monday since you’re not going to the dance,” he told me

“Who said I’m not going?” I chuckled.

“You did,” he said confused.

“Well, I’m actually going. Change of plans.”

“Flying solo?” he chuckled.

“No,” I informed him.

“Who’re you going with?” he asked, his voice an octave lower.

“Kyle,” I said.

“What? Why?” he asked ridiculously.

“Because he asked,” I simply explained.

“And you said yes?” he asked, his tone furious now.

“Why wouldn’t I?” I asked, equally furious but confused.

“You’re not going with him,” he stated.

“You can't tell me what to do,” I told him and hung up.

How dare he try to tell me what to? Fucking ass.

I fell asleep listening to music and woke up around noon already. I quickly showered and got changed, did my hair and walked downstairs for lunch. “Tristan, you’re spending tonight with me,” I said when I sat down in front of him.

“Who said so?” he asked

“I said so,” I grinned at him.

“What’re we doing?”

“Surprise,” I chuckled.

“Dork,” he mumbled.

“Am I not invited?” Nate asked, sitting next to me.

“Nope,” I chuckled.

“Fine, I have a date anyways,” he laughed.

“YOU HAVE A DATE?!” I almost shouted.

“Hazelyn, what did I tell you about shouting?” he scolded.

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “But you have a date? Oh my, I should meet her,” I suggested.

“You’ll scare her away,” he glared.

“Fine,” I sighed. “Tristan, get dressed in something semi formal and be ready at 7,” I smiled at him and walked out.

“Are you and I going on a date?” he called back.

“Yup!” I chuckled and got in my car, driving to the Dolciani mansion. I got in front of the gate and didn’t know how to open it. I called up using the voice box.

“How may I help you?” A deep voice asked.

“Hi, my name’s Hazelyn DeLuca. Stephanie’s friend,” I said.

“Oh, Ms. DeLuca, Yes, certainly. I will open the gate,” he said and then the gate opened. I drove in and took the uphill road, parking in front of the garage in the large clearing. I got out and walked to the front door. I thought that knocking was just unreasonable, so I just walked in anyway.

“Who are you?” one of the maids asked. She looked about my age.

“Hazelyn DeLuca,” I said to her.

“What are you doing here?” she asked raising an eyebrow. Bitchy much?

“I’m here to visit Stephanie,” I told her and walked up the stairs towards Stephanie’s room. I knocked on the door and she shouted a ‘come in,’ so I did. “What are you still doing in bed?” I chuckled sitting at the edge of it.

“I don’t feel like getting up,” she sighed.

“Come on. We’re hanging out, remember?” I said jumping on the bed. Crap. It’s tempurpedic. Smart. “Fucking bitch. Get up!” I chuckled pulling her out of bed.

“Raincheck?” she asked hopefully. I shook my head at her and grinned. “We still have 5 hours,” she frowned.

“You have a point. I’ll give you 3 hours more. I’ll go run errands,” I said and got up, walking out the door and making my way to the back..

“Hazelyn?” a woman’s voice said.

“Mrs. Dolciani,” I said, walking up to her and doing a small bow.

“Laura, remember? Pleasant to see you again. Would you like to join me for some tea?” she offered. I nodded and followed her to the kitchen. “Christine, please make some tea and bring out some snacks,” she said to the girl that was bitchin’ at me earlier. She nodded and complied. She then led me near the pool, where there was a couch under the shade. “How’ve you been?” she asked me when we were seated on opposite sides of the table.

“I’ve been well, and yourself?” I asked, leaning back on the expensive white leather couch.

“I’ve been pretty good as well. I just wanted to thank you. My son’s been changing drastically,” she smiled at me.

“I wouldn’t take credit of that Mrs. Dolciani,” she coughed. “I mean, Laura,” she smiled. “I think you should give credit to his girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” she asked raising an eyebrow.

My eyes widened. Fuck. “I think you should ask him about that,” I muttered.

“Mom? Where are you?” I heard Ryan shout.

“Just in time,” I smiled at her.

“Hazelyn? What’re you doing here?” Ryan asked from behind me.

“Going out with your sister,” I said and stood up. “May I be excused?” I asked Laura.

“Certainly my dear,” she smiled at me, giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, then greeted her son. I waved goodbye to all of them and walked out.

~~Ryan POV~~

“Going out with your sister,” she said to me quite coldly. “May I be excused?” Hazelyn asked my mother. Wow, no wonder my mom likes her.

“Certainly my dear,” she smiled at her and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, then walked over to me and gave me a hug. Her eyes then landed on Trisha. “Trisha,” she said monotonously.

“Mrs. Dolciani nice to see you again,” she smiled.

“Have a seat,” my mom said, completely ignoring Trisha’s statement, and motioning to where Hazelyn was previously sitting. I was holding Trisha’s hand, so I made her go first, and I followed after her.

“Ma’am, the snacks?” Christine asked coming up to us, with a tray.

“Nevermind that,” my mom told her softly, and Christine nodded and walked away. “You are here for what purpose Jay?” she asked me.

“Mom, I just wanted to tell you that Trisha and I are back together,” I said squeezing Trisha’s hand.

“Why?” my mother asked quite coldly.

“Because I like her, mother,” I retorted.

“Okay,” she said and stood up, walking back inside.

“I shouldn’t have come here,” Trisha frowned, looking down on her lap.

“It doesn’t matter what my mom thinks, okay? It only matters what I think,” I said to her, kissing her on the lips quickly, then stood back up. “Come on, I’ll give you a tour of the house,” I said and we went on our way.

~~Hazelyn POV~~

I fixed everything up at the mansion, told Nathaniel to get Tristan to the Gazebo blindfolded by 7 sharp. He said okay, since I told him my plan and after the three hours that I’ve given Stephanie, I was up and running back to their place.

“Get your ass up bitch,” I said pulling the covers from her.

“I’m still sleepy,” she complained.

“It’s 5 dumbass,” I said and walked into her closet, picking out an outfit. “Take a shower,” I called out, and heard the door open and close. I picked out a green dress with a cream color fabric below the bust, much like a belt, and picked out crème colored heels and accessories. Half an hour later, Stephanie walked in her sweats, her hair wet. “Sit,” I motioned for her to sit in front of her vanity mirror. She rolled her eyes and complied.

“I don’t get why we have to fix my hair,” she said while I was pinning her curled hair up. I ignored her, then looked at my work. Satisfied, I pushed her into the closet and told her to change. “But you’re in sweats!” she complained.

“I’m gonna stop by at home and change,” I explained, and waited for her. 10 minutes later, she got out of the closet fully dressed. “Nice,” I smiled. “Let’s go,” I smiled and pulled her towards the back to my car.

“Is that a Ferrari?” she asked. I just nodded. “Wow,” she said and got in. “Where are we going?” she asked, when we drove out of their compound.

“I trust you enough to not tell anyone anything,” I said to her, ignoring the question and racing through the streets and drifting through the corners.

“What?” she asked.

“Just promise you’ll keep your mouth shut,” I sighed.

“I will, she said. “Now, will you tell me where we’re going?” she asked. “Your house is the other way.”

“Some place,” I smiled at her and pulled into the driveway of our mansion.

“Wow,” she said, looking through the gates. I parked the car out back, and put a blindfold over her eyes, dragging her to the garden. “There was no blindfolds in the plan,” she said trying to pry it off.

“Do you trust me?” I asked her. She stopped and put her hands on her sides. “Good,” I smiled, quietly leader her to the gazebo and I sat her down on the chair. “You can take your blindfolds off now,” I smiled, and took out my camera. They both took it off, and I snapped pictures. “Perfect,” I mumbled.

“Tristan?” Stephanie asked, at the same time Tristan asked “Stephanie?”. They both looked at me and simultaneously glared, stating my name. “Hazelyn”. They both laughed.

“Well, I’ll leave you two here and I’ll get going,” I smiled and walked off. I went to my room, and started watching a movie, when I got a text from Tristan. “Thanks sis.”

Job Well done, Hazelyn.