Love or Lust

Hazel swung the door open to reveal her old bedroom. It looked exactly the same as she’d left it as though not a day had gone by. The walls were decked with posters, mainly bands that reflected the personality of her 12 year old self. Since then she’d grown up of course and was now more into fashion and focused even more on her dancing career.

The minute she set her suitcase down, the bed was calling to her and she fell backwards onto it, closing her eyes, feeling suddenly tired after the flight.

“It feels like only yesterday that you were in here, blaring your music” Hazel sat up at her mother’s voice coming from the doorway.

“Those were the days” Hazel watched as her mum walked across the clean polished floor and joined her on the edge of the bed.

“It got awfully quiet after you and your father left”

Hazel felt a pang of guilt wash over her at her mother’s words. When they left for New York, her mum was left all alone in the house while they indulged in the high life.

“I’m sorry I never came here to visit”

“What’s done is done, let’s not dwell on what could have been” Her mother gave her a warm smile before leaving the room once more.



Dressed in something more casual – a simple skater skirt and warmer top – Hazel ventured out into Tempe the next day alone to see how the area had changed since her time in the quiet place. As she walked down the main street, a small smile forming at the corners of her pale pink lips, the familiarity swept over her. The place hadn’t changed that much. Aside from a few more cars racing down the street, more people filling the sidewalks and buildings that had appeared, it was still the same ol’ Tempe she could remember.

The music stored was still filled with teenagers eager to get their next fix, people were still going to the liquor store at this time of the morning and the old vintage shop that always smelled like old socks was very much open for business.

Not only was it still very much the same, this place were Hazel shared some of her fondest memories. Central Park saw Hazel have her first kiss in 3rd grade, the ice cream store where ‘the gang’ as they used to call themselves in their pre-high school days used to spend hours chatting and hanging out and cinema where her and the gang broke into one night to test the security, who definitely needed to upgrade their workers.

Tempe was always going to be the place Hazel truly called her home.

Leaving the prickling coolness of the street, Hazel entered the bookstore coffee shop situated on the corner opposite the park, now known as ‘Black Cat Café’. Waiting in the short queue before ordering a simple latte, Hazel sat down at a table next to the window with a perfect view of the hustle and bustle of the early morning rush as they all passed the shop. A man in a well-kept grey suit fast walking while talking on his cell phone, a mother bore a frustrated expression as she tried to control her screaming child, and an old couple walking hand-in-hand.

“Fascinating aren’t they?” Hazel snapped out of her trance and jumped at the sound of someone else’s voice near her. She turned her head from the window to the figure of a man sitting across from her, his eyes shielded by dark sunglasses.

For a moment she was somewhat shocked and had lost her voice, but quickly regained it. “Excuse me?” she questioned the man.

“The people outside” he said. Hazel could feel his eyes fixated on her, under the disguise of his shades. “It makes you wander who they are, what they are thinking, where they are going or what’s their story”.

Hazel observed the strange boy sitting in front of her. He work a simple red plaid shirt - perfectly defined collar bones just itching to be seen - typical Arizona fashion, decked out with a pair of old and faded jeans. His sandy blonde hair swept partially across his face over his sunglasses and thin face, he couldn’t have looked any older than twenty.

“I was simply staring at the sky” she replied bluntly.

“No you weren’t, I could tell by the look on your face and the crease in your forehead” he stated, rather in an obnoxious tone. “I know how to read people”

“Well, let me tell you…” she trailed off; it had slipped her mind to even ask for this guy’s name

“John” he said filling in the blank for her “John Cornelius O’Callaghan the fifth”

“Well John” she began again “I’m not the type of girl who can be ‘read’ by someone so easily”.

She knew he was trying to figure out who the hell she was, Tempe was only a small part of town and no doubt he seemed like the kind of guy that knew everyone. From what she could tell, he seemed like a guy who had a reputation, this was his way of testing out the ‘new meat’ in town to see if she was worth it.

“On the contrary” he flashed her a grin, one that would have been dubbed infamous in high school by all the girls who drooled over the jocks and attractive boys in school. “I have you all figured out”.

“Is that so?”

He simply nodded, leaning back and folding his slender arms across his chest.

“Well then John Cornelius O’Callaghan the fifth” Hazel said, rising from her seat. “Get back to me on the progress you’ve made, I might even give you a grade” she began to walk away from the strange boy she’d just encountered.

“Wait!” Hazel looked back at John. “You’re going to leave without telling me your name?”

“I thought you had me all figured out O’Callaghan?” and with that she turned on her heel and left the café, the bell above the door make its usual noise as the door closed behind her.