The Square Root

Last night was fantabulous. Stephanie and Tristan had dinner and they started talking, flirting, and you know - all that jazz. I was smiling widely, glad of my accomplishment. I hope they work out and all that.

“What?” I answered.

“Damn, still mad?” Ryan asked.

“Don’t fuck with me,” I mumbled.

“I have a girlfriend, FYI,” he said jokingly.

Something inside me snapped. “Good. Now you don’t have to bother me,” I said and hung up on him.

The doorbell rang, so I walked to it and opened it to see a mad looking Stephanie. “I set you up on a date and you’re pissed?” I scoffed, letting her in.

“I just realized this morning. How do you guys know each other?” she asked me, sitting on the couch. “Nice place, by the way.”

“Thanks,” I said and sat next to her. “Remember when I told you not to tell anyone?” I asked her. “Still keeping that promise?” I asked her. She nodded. “Okay, don’t tell Ryan,” I said and she rolled her eyes. “Tristan’s my brother,” I confessed.

“Like half brother?” she asked.

“Nope. Like full, biological brother,” I said.

“How? He’s a Macintosh and stuff,” she said, her arms now uncrossed and she was turned so she was fully facing me.

“Well, I am too. I just take my mom’s last name,” I quickly said.

“Wait, so you’re the daughter of the CEO’s of Apple Inc?” she asked disbelievingly.

“I guess,” I frowned.

“Give me time to breath,” she said and sitting back on the couch. “So, you’re THE Hazelyn Macintosh?” she asked. I nodded. “No wonder you looked familiar,” she mumbled.

“You’re not mad? You’re not gonna tell anyone?”

She rolled her eyes at me. “You really think I would?” she smiled and hugged me. “Anyways, I’ll let you get ready. My brother said you were going to the dance and he seemed pissed about it,” she chuckled.

“He told me I couldn’t go,” I scowled.

“Why is that?”

“Because I told him that I wasn’t gonna go because I didn’t have a date, and then we talked the other day and I told him that I was going and he asked who my date was and got mad.”

She scoffed. “Whom’re you going with?”

“Kyle”

“Kyle Andrews?!” she basically screamed. I just nodded. She smirked knowingly at me. “Well, I’ll leave you now. I still have dinner with your brother,” she giggled. “Good luck girly,” she winked at me. “Thanks for yesterday,” she said walked out.

I went to take a shower and decided to not blow-dry my hair and wait for it to dry. I went to my fun room, blasting the music loudly and played my drums along to the songs.

At around 5, I decided that I should get ready so I got up and went into the closet. I picked out a simple dress, and wore jean shorts under for my cell phone and wallet. Yes I know, very unladylike, but I’m lazy, okay? Don’t hate.

Kyle picked me up at 6:30, going straight to the dance and had a blast. Kyle and I were dancing to a slow song, looking at each other and I felt him start to lean in for a kiss. My heart was beating so fast that I swear he could hear it through the music.

“Can I borrow Hazelyn for a second?” Ryan interrupted. I cursed under my breath and we both composed ourselves.. Kyle then looked at me and nodded, walking away. Then another slow song came on. SHIT. “Can I have this dance?” Ryan smirked.

“Nope,” I said walking away but he pulled me back by the waist. “Go dance with your girlfriend. No need to bother me,” I snapped at him. “I have my own date,” I said trying to pry him off me - but then again – he was exceptionally strong

He put my arms around his neck and he put his hands on my hips. “I'm sorry,” he apologized. “I shouldn’t tell you whom you can and can't go with.”

“Damn straight.” I retorted.

“Come on Haze. Don’t be mad at me,” he pleaded with his puppy dog eyes.

“Don’t do that,” I ordered.

“Why not?”

I sighed. “It makes you look like a bitch,” I half smiled.

“I’m sorry babe. Come on, forgive me?” he pouted.

I shook my head at him with a smile. I then leaned up to his ear to whisper ot him. “Call me babe one more time, Trisha will cut your balls off.”

“I like how it rolls off your tongue,” he teased. I smacked him behind the head, earning a laugh. “I haven’t talked to you in awhile,” he whispered in my ear.

“Mhmm,” I mumbled against the crook of his neck.

“How’ve you been?” he asked.

“Good.”

“Have you been eating well?”

“Yeah,” Lie. I forget to eat half the time.

“You’re lying,” he pointed out.

“No I’m not,” I said. How the fuck could he know?

“You just did again.”

“How would you know?” I asked pulling back a little to look at him.

“I just know,” he said, pulling me back again, and I rested my forehead on the crook of his neck. “You shouldn’t lie to me and maybe trust me more,” he whispered.

“Fine. I forget half the time,” I confessed.

“Better,” I could feel him smile.

“How’re you and Trisha?” I asked him casually.

“Good,” he said with a different tone in his voice.

“You sure?” I asked, pulling back to look at his face worriedly, and we started to walk slowly towards the side of the room, leaning against the wall people watching.

“Of course. But my mom kind of pissed me off,” he frowned.

“Oh? What happened?”

“She was being rude to Trisha.”

I sighed. “Give her time.”

“Yeah..” a few moments of silence were between us, listening to the song playing ‘Marry You by Bruno Mars’. “We still have to celebrate you know,” he said to me, pulling me closer to him by the waist.

“Yeah,” I said halfheartedly, playfully slapping his chest.

“What about Friday night?” he suggested.

“Sure,” I mumbled.

More silence between us until the song ended, and we just stayed that way – his arms around my waist and my head on his shoulder. “Can I get my date back man?” Kyle asked walking up from behind me, making me jump ten feet off the ground. Ryan and I both looked at each other, awkwardly laughing.

“Yeah sorry. And thanks,” he said, then giving me a final hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you guys later,” he said waving at us and walking off.

Kyle and I just danced a little more and we decided to head home early. “Thanks for coming with me today Hazelyn,” he said to me. We were both standing on the front door.

“You’re welcome,” I smiled at him.

“We should go out some time,” he suggested.

“Right. We should,” I smiled at him.

“Okay, goodnight,” he said, then stood there awkwardly as if there was a battle going in in his head before he leaned in to kiss me. I was shocked for a moment, and before I could pull myself together, it was over. I opened the door and walked in, closing it behind me, then leaning against it, biting my lip. I looked out the window when he left, and I squealed. “Best fucking night, ever,” I said and skipped up the stairs.

I went to school the next day,greeted by a kiss on the cheek from Kyle.
“Morning, Hazelyn,” he greeted.

“Morning.”

“How was your sleep?” he asked taking my books from me.

There wasn't any harm in telling the truth, right? “It was very relaxing,” I said, giving a soft chuckle.

“I have something for you,” he said stopping the middle of the hallway. He reached to his back pocket and retrieved a white rose, handing it to me. “Wanted to give it to you personally,” he said grinning.

“Aww. That’s sweet. Thanks,” I said taking it from him and smiled.

“Have lunch with me?” he asked. I just nodded and he handed me back my books. “I’ll see you later then,” he said and kissed my cheek before walking off. I went into the classroom and saw Stephanie texting.

“Hey you,” I said to her, still half daydreaming.

“You seem happy,” she said then looking up at me then saw that I was holding a rose. “Is that from my brother?” she asked, glancing at me.

“No, silly. It’s from Kyle,” I giggled. She looked a confused for a second, but quickly realized what I just said. “Why would you think it was from you brother?” I scoffed.

She shook her head at me, and smiled widely. “Tell me what happened last night!” she said and I told her about the whole thing except for my dance with Ryan. I finished right when the bell rang.

“Oh my gosh! That’s so sweet!” she giggled.

“Tell me about you and my brother!” I chuckled. And again, we spent Econ talking about her time with my brother.

Physics was awkward. I’ve been trying to talk to Ryan, but all he did was ignore me and ignore me. “What’s your problem?” I asked him. He didn’t say anything. I quit after half an hour of trying.

When the bell rang, I got out of my seat and went towards my locker. I would’ve thought that Ryan was following me but our lockers were right next to each other. Trisha came up to us and they just started a whole make out session right there in front of me against the lockers.

“Hey,” Kyle said from behind me, since I was still looking for something in my locker.

“Hi,” I smiled.

“Let’s go?” he asked. I nodded and he took my hand, leading me to his car. “What do you feel like eating?” he asked.

“Anything’s fine,” I told him. He nodded and we drove to Olive Garden. My heart sank. Stupid Ryan shouldn’t have brought Olive Garden. We took out seats and ordered.

“You sure you only want breadsticks?” he asked me. I nodded and took a sip of my drink.

“You’re quiet,” he pointed out.

“Sorry,” I chuckled.

“You okay?”

Damn, why’d he have to ask that. I'm not sure.

“Yeah,” I lied.

“Okay,” he said. Our orders came, and we started to eat. I reached for a napkin and Kyle spoke up. “Nice bracelet,” he said.

“Thanks,” I muttered.

The rest of the time was quiet, and we just talked about nothing at all. We both went to school and got there late. “Sorry,” I muttered when I got to PA late. I sat at the very back wanting some sleep.

What’s up with the sudden mood change?

“We have the Valentines day roses delivery,” I heard somebody say, but I ignored him. He was handing them out, and he called my name. “This is for you,” he said, handing me a whole bouquet with an envelope. I opened it, and there was a smaller envelope - maybe a 1 inch by one inch square. I opened it and there was a pink flower charm on it. I looked towards Ryan and he didn’t even bother looking my way. I sighed and clasped it onto the bracelet. I waited after class when I grabbed my stuff and went after him

“Ryan! Wait!” I called, and caught up with him. “Is this from you?” I asked him.

“No,” he said not even bothering to turn to me, and got in his car. “Don’t call me Ryan,” he said to me before he shut his door and without another glance, drove off.

“What’s up his ass?” I mumbled and walked to my car. I got home, and found my brother there. “What are you doing here, Nate?” I asked.

“Mom and dad wants us to fly to New York,” he frowned. “We’ll be leaving in 20 minutes,” he said and went back to watching TV.

“And Tristan?”

“Already there.”

“Can you tell them that I’m not feeling well? I have this huge headache,” I said. Half lie. I really wasn't feeling well and I wanted to be alone for some weird reason.

He frowned. “I got you excused from your classes for the rest of the week.”

“It’s fine. I’ll be fine here. You guys go. I’m really not feeling well,” I said. He nodded and got up, then put the back of his hand on my forehead.

“You don’t seem to have a fever,” he said.

“I don’t. Just a headache.”

“Okay then. I’ll see you by the end of the week. Just go stay at the mansion if you do get a fever,” he told me.

“I will. Thanks,” I said and went upstairs to take a shower and go to bed.

I woke up the next morning, not feeling any better – so I decided to stay home. Everything was so gloomy and depressing, I think it’s because of the rain. I hope its just rain. I got a text from Stephanie – worried that I was kidnapped since I was not in Econ nor French.

During lunch, I got a text from Mike that he and Drina were together. They said they’re taking it slow and they thanked me for dinner. They said they wanted to thank me in person, but I wasn’t in lunch yesterday and they called to check on me as well as thank me.

Alexa and John were together, and that was good. Kyle called me after school asking how I was and all that. I finally decided to go watch a movie in my room and later fell asleep.

It went on the same way for the next few days. I haven’t hard anything form my so called “bestfriend” because he was ignoring me. He tried to call me once Tuesday night, but I decided to ignore him. That’s all I got.

Thursday though, I was home, blasting music, and laying on the couch in my fun room, when the doorbell rang. I went downstairs to get it and saw Ryan there - soaking wet.

“Why the fuck are you ignoring me?” he snapped, barging into the house. I closed the door and slowly walked up the stairs. “Hazelyn! Don’t you walk away from me when I talk to you!” he snapped.

I glared at him. “Who do you think you are talking to me that way?” I snapped and walked the rest of the way up the stairs - walked into my room and slammed the door shut. I buried my head in my pillow and blasted my music. I was praying and hoping that he left, but secretly wished that he didn’t. After a few more minutes, I felt the bed sink down next to me and the volume of the music drop drastically.

“Hazelyn. God damn it, talk to me,” Ryan growled.

I sat up and glared at him. “Get out of my house damn it,” I hissed at him.

“Why are you ignoring me?” he asked softer this time.

“Now you decide to talk to me?” I asked disbelievingly. “You can ignore me, but I can’t ignore you back? Who do you think you are?”

“I’m not the one that was kissing Kyle after the first date,” he retorted. What? How’d he know? “I was here after the dance. I tried to make things up to you but then I saw you already had company,” he said through gritted teeth.

I didn’t have any energy to argue at the moment, so I said a simple “You should leave, I’m not feeling well,” I told him. He just stared at me for a few more moments.

“Are you losing weight?” he asked.

“Flattery isn’t gonna get you forgiveness” I said and stood up. “Leave,” I said pointing towards the door. He grabbed my wrist, which was pointing towards the door and immediately let go of it.

“You’re burning!” he said, walking closer to me, but I walked backwards. “Hazelyn, you’re SICK,” he said slowly.

“And you’re a jerk. Leave,” I said again, the energy slowly draining out of my body, then everything went black.

“Damn it, Hazelyn. Why do you not take care of yourself?” I heard him say out loud and I then felt comfort.

My eyes opened slowly after what felt like hours of sleep. “Haze? Are you okay?” I heard a worried voice ask me.

“Why would you care?” I mumbled, my words muffled by the pillow.

“Don’t be stubborn. You just fainted. Get up,” he sighed. I complied, and sat up against the backboard - my eyes still blurry. I felt a breakfast-in-bed table placed on my lap, and I opened it, seeing a bowl of soup, and a chicken sandwich on the table. “Eat,” he commanded.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked him.

“I don’t know. Just please eat,” he said, running his fingers through his hair and left the room. I ate the food with absolutely energy to argue, and right when I finished everything, Ryan came back with medicine. “Drink this,” he said, putting a pill on my palm and holding out a glass of water. I did as told and he took the table, leaving me in my room. I got back under the covers.

I woke up in the middle of the night when I heard thunder. I bolted up, sweating. “SHIT,” I mumbled.

“Are you okay?” I heard a raspy voice behind me, which made me jump out of bed and face the voice.

“Yeah,” I said.

“No you’re not,” Ryan said, rubbing his eyes. He was leaning on the backboard of my bed.

“What’re you doing here?” I asked.

“I wanted to get some sleep but I have to check on you every few hours and give you your medicine every 4 hours, so I decided to just sit here,” he said. “Then I fell asleep I guess,” he yawned. “Now, why are you awake?” he asked.

I sighed and sat back down on the bed. Ryan pulled my arm, making me get under the covers again but sitting up. I saw the lightning flash and closed my eyes tightly - pulling my knees to my chest. I was preparing myself for the thunder. “I’m kind of a bit scared of thunderstorms,” I mumbled. Then heard the thunder. I whimpered.

He quickly wrapped his arms around me. “Shhh… It’s okay. I’m here,” he said rubbing circles on my shoulder. “Go to sleep, you’re still really hot,” he said. I would’ve said something about how wrong that sounded but I just nodded and laid down. He was still seated up, and he laid my head on his chest. I’m not sure if that was his heart or mine that was beating like crazy. “Goodnight Hazelyn,” he said kissing the top of my head, and continued to rub circles on my shoulder in a comforting manner.

Ryan Jerome Dolciani, you confuse me.