[009] the hazel express

                                 It's only when Ginger feels something cold pressed against her cheek that she properly wakes up, realizing that she was snuggled close to something. Or rather, someone. She blinks her eyes open, glancing over to see Hazel snuggled closer to her. Seconds pass before Ginger realizes what the two of them had done together and a smile creeps onto her lips. She couldn't believe that it happened. Although she had thought about it, Ginger almost thought that it wouldn't happen.

                                 But now that they crossed the line, the only thing left for them to do would be to keep going and see where the relationship could go.

                                Ginger planned on trying to climb out of bed without waking Hazel up. But at the slightest movement, Hazel just wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her in tighter. Ginger giggles, trying to move away from Hazel but her grip was a lot stronger than Ginger anticipated.

                                "Haze," Ginger tries to wake her up now, "I have to go pee."

                                "Five more minutes," Hazel groans.

                                "Haze!" Ginger whined.

                                All she gets is more groaning from Hazel before she finally lets go of Ginger, allowing her to grab her t-shirt to put on before making a run for the bathroom. When she finishes peeing and washes her hands, she sees something on her neck that's enough to make her gasp. Ginger has to make sure that she's not seeing things when she leans in closer, exposing more of her neck to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. But it was there clear as day - there was a hickey on her neck.

                                "Did you give me a hickey?" Ginger immediately asked as soon as she stepped out of the bathroom.

                                "Sorry," Hazel apologizes sheepishly. She looked so adorable that it was difficult for Ginger to stay mad at her for long at all.

                                "Holy shit, are you sure this is a first time for you?" Ginger couldn't help but tease.

                               "Yeah, I'm sure. I guess I got a little carried away," Hazel admits, shrugging afterwards.

                               "A little?" Ginger raises a brow.

                               "You're not mad at me, are you?" Hazel questioned.

                               "I'm not mad at you, Haze. A little shocked but not mad. It's hot actually. This is one bruise I didn't get from fight club," Ginger continued before she rushes towards the bed, climbing into bed so she could be next to Hazel.

                               Hazel smiles before she holds Ginger close to her again and the both of them kiss each other. It was all sweet and cute and adorable, making Ginger feel as though they were in a rom-com or one of those romance novels Isabel secretly read but pretended not to. As much as Ginger used to make fun of her for them, now she realized that her life was slowly turning into one of them.

                               And Ginger wasn't the slightest bit mad about it.

                               "Are you in a rush to go back home?" Ginger asked after the both of them pulled away from each other.

                               "Not really. I'll probably have to call my mom a little later, but I plan on staying. I was thinking, we could spend the day together. I mean, if that's alright with you," Hazel answered.

                               "Of course it is," Ginger quickly assures her, causing Hazel to smile in response. "What are we going to do though?"

                               "I have no idea. We'll figure it out though. But for right now, I'm hungry," Hazel replies, lying down on her back to get a little more comfortable.

                               "Me too. But I have no idea how to cook. Do you?" Ginger responded.

                                "Well, no. But I can make a terrific bowl of cereal," Hazel offered.

                                Ginger chuckles. "I guess I'll just have to take you up on your offer then. You sure you can tolerate an entire day with me?"

                                "Of course. I can tolerate forever with you," Hazel replies before chuckling. "Ugh, that sounds really cheesy, doesn't it?"

                                "A little but it's fine. You're so cute," Ginger answered, brushing some of Hazel's hair out of her face.

                                Hazel smiles. "Thanks."

                                Even though they didn't necessarily have to worry about running into Ginger's aunt anytime soon, they still got ready anyway (even if Ginger's bed was the most comfortable thing Hazel had ever lied on). Ginger even lent Hazel one of her spare toothbrushes (leaving Hazel to tease Ginger about saving them for one of her other girlfriends). But in the process, Ginger ended up stealing Hazel's jacket. It helped that they were both the same size.

                                "That looks a little familiar, doesn't it?" Hazel asks, a teasing tone in her voice, as she leaned against the wall and looked at her.

                                 Ginger smiles, twirling around to model Hazel's jacket and show off a little more. "You think so?"

                               "Yeah," Hazel remarked. "My mom might be a little confused when I go back home without my jacket. But once she hears that I have it to you, she'll forgive me."

                                "Have you been talking to your mom about me?" Ginger asks, her smile growing at the news.

                                "No. Well, a little. Maybe once or twice," Hazel admitted, scratching an imaginary itch on the back of her neck.

                                "Does she like me?" Ginger asked next. That was obviously pretty important to her. She really hoped that maybe Hazel's mom would be able to like her. Of course, they had to meet first but Ginger really wanted to make a good impression on her.

                                Most parents didn't seem to like her, mostly because of her... violent tendencies. But once you got past that, Ginger was everything a parent could ask for.

                                "Yeah. And she really wants to meet you but...," Hazel trails off, looking down at her feet while she struggled to find the words.

                                "But?" Ginger repeats, hoping that Hazel would continue the sentence.

                                "I don't want to bring you there and risk running into Jeff," she reluctantly confesses, glancing back up at Ginger to try and gauge her reaction.

                                Ginger frowns. "Why the hell would Jeff be at your house?"

                                "Oh... Uh...," Hazel stammered. She wasn't really sure how to explain it. Her mom was already gaining a reputation around the neighborhood after she and her dad split up. But a bombshell like this would only make her mom look worse.

                                "Haze, tell me exactly why Jeff would be in your house," Ginger takes a step closer to where Hazel stood, her tone calm and assuring. She wanted Hazel to know that she could trust her. But they had already reached that point. Hazel trusted her but she still worried about whatever judgement Ginger may or may not have towards her mom.

                                "Maybe because... my mom's been sleeping with him. For a while now," Hazel admits with a shrug.

                                "Your mom's been sleeping with Jeff?!" Ginger shouts.

                                "I didn't know it was Jeff at the time. I thought that was just one of her safe words or something," Hazel explained.

                               Ginger snorts. Only Hazel would think something like that. "Haze... you truly are special."

                               "Thanks? Is that a compliment because it feels a little like you're insulting me," Hazel furrowed her brows.

                              "I'm just messing with you. But seriously, why is your mom sleeping with a high schooler? And Jeff, out of all football players?" Ginger inquired, folding her arms across her chest.

                              "I don't know! I never asked her. That's not the kind of thing you ask your mom over dinner," Hazel shrugged.

                              "Does Isabel know?" Ginger asked, although she already suspected the answer to that. If Isabel did know, she'd be devastated. It was bad enough when he slept with her sister and flirted with older women, but this would truly destroy Isabel.

                              "No, I don't think so. I don't think anyone knows except for us," Hazel shook her head.

                              Ginger sighs. Now she felt more torn than ever. She was friends with Isabel again, so Ginger knew that she had to tell her. But Ginger didn't know how. Isabel seemed to be moving on but if she heard news about this, she wasn't sure how Isabel would react.

                               "That's why you haven't been wanting to stay home," Ginger replied. She knew her mom was bringing home multiple sex partners. But never in a million years did Ginger imagine that it could've ever been Jeff that her mom was sleeping with.

                               "Yeah. It's bad enough I have to see that jerk around school, but at my house? It's too far. I mean, how many times can two people have sex anyways? Don't they get tired?" Hazel frowns, glancing over at Ginger when she began to laugh. "What's so funny?"

                               "It's not as though you can talk, Haze," Ginger quickly pointed out. "You were pretty energetic yourself last night."

                              Hazel's cheeks turn red, causing her to hide her face. Ginger laughs some more before reaching out, grabbing Hazel's hands to move them away from her face. Hazel finally looks over at Ginger, pulling her girlfriend closer to her so they were only inches apart.

                                "I had a lot of fun tonight. You were really amazing, by the way," Ginger adds. Although it was pretty much unspoken, Ginger felt the need to tell Hazel that in case she was unsure.

                                "Really?" Hazel's eyes sparkled, a smile beginning to make its way onto her face.

                                "Mhm, ten out of ten. I took a ride on the Hazel Express and I never want to hop off again," Ginger nods, earning a laugh from Hazel. 

                                "You were amazing too. Like...," Hazel trails off, miming an explosion with her hands after that.

                                "I have something I need to tell you, by the way," Ginger adds, leaning in closer to where Hazel stood.

                                "What?" Hazel questioned, her voice barely above a whisper.

                                "I'm keeping this jacket," Ginger smirked.

                                Hazel snorts, realizing that her girlfriend was messing with her once again. "I have a lot more of those where they came from so you can keep it. How is it that you look better in my clothes than me?"

                                "It's a gift honestly," Ginger shrugs with a small smile of her own.

                                "What are we going to do about the Jeff thing?" Hazel asked. She was still worried about it and for good reason.

                                "I'm friends with Isabel now so I'll find some way to tell her. Or... maybe I'll get Josie to tell her. The two of them are getting close. I feel like Josie would be better at saying it," Ginger offered. Isabel and Josie were beginning to get close - after all, she saw the way they were talking to each other after their little therapy session during fight club.

                                 There was something brewing between them.

                                "I guess," Hazel shrugged. Maybe that was the better option.

                                "Okay, let's not worry about that right now. As much as I'm sure Jeff would love us to talk about him all day, I'd rather get on with my day. You have to make me that amazing cereal of yours," Ginger encouraged.

                                 "Right, I almost forgot," Hazel responded with a chuckle, immediately latching onto Ginger and hugging her from behind.

                                 "So you're just going to remain attached to me the whole time?" Ginger chuckled, taking a step forward only for Hazel to keep her arms wrapped around Ginger's waist and walk right alongside her. "Clingy much?"

                                "Can't help it. You smell nice too," Hazel replied, even going as far as sniffing her shoulder.

                                Ginger chuckles but she doesn't push Hazel away. Instead, she just walks out of the bedroom with Hazel still holding onto her. She didn't mind Hazel being attached to her - both literally and metaphorically. Ginger felt just as attached to her, more so that she couldn't imagine a world where she didn't have her around.

                                 Before Hazel came around, Ginger had been completely alone. But now, she was the happiest she had been in a long time. And she had solely Hazel to thank for that.

( 💥🥊👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 )

word count: 2097
notes: so i promised to update more frequently which was a lie... but this time, i really hope to update this one more frequently again! also peep ginger's new face claim! i love danielle but i feel like rain fits more so here's the new ginger!

edit: i literally changed it again lmao but sadie fits WAY more imo