Weddings, Pizzas & Paris | HIATUS

Five

Chapter Five

To those of you who haven't been to Hawaii, let me tell you straight off - it isn't what you will expect to see.

T.V. and other media portray Hawaii as all beach, women clad in grass and flowers, and sunscreen.

But that is only 5% of the island. The rest of it is actually pretty normal, like any other place in the world.

But I was still pretty excited. Haden had to go and meet Sarah and Mark that day, and I decided to tag along with him.

So there I was, standing in front of a villa along with Haden, which wasn't as big and furnished as our condo but it was still a cozy place.

"Okay, listen, cupcake. Don't say anything if she doesn't remember you, alright? Just stick around as my sidekick. Leave the crying for our hotel room." said Haden. I nodded.

"Right, here we go," said Haden. He walked up and rang the bell, before giving me a thumbs-up sign.

We heard shuffling from the other side, and seven seconds later - trust me, I counted - the door opened, and a cute guy with dark hair looked up at Haden.

For one thing, Haden was pretty tall, and another, this guy, who I'm almost sure is Mark, is a bit short for twenty-four.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Uh, hello, I'm Haden Skye, from the Mocking Jay," said Haden, introducing himself. "And this is my friend, Avery."

The Mocking Jay was the chain of seven star hotels which Haden worked at, and as I mentioned before, it was world famous and Haden took pride in being the inventor of their best dishes.

"Oh, Mr.Skye," smiled Mark. "I've heard a lot about you. Please, come inside."

He ushered us in, leading us into a spacious living room, which was spotlessly clean. Our living room was bigger, yes, but with five messy men plus one lazy woman who are not bothered to clean up results in a junkyard for a living room.

"Please, take a seat," said Mark. "I'm Mark Jeffrey, by the way. Just call me Mark."

I already knew that.

"Right. So Mark, our other chefs will be here tomorrow, so I'd like to know what you would want us to make, so we could get our supplies," said Haden. I'd never seen him on his job before, but let me tell you, ladies and gentlemen, he looks . . . . stupid.

He was currently talking to Mark as though he was my father and Haden was my boyfriend who I'd brought home. I was going to ask something about Sarah's whereabouts when I heard the door open.

"Mark, I'm home," said a voice. It was gentle yet strong, feminine yet rough.

"I'm in here," shouted Mark. "We've got guests."

I prepared myself for the ultimate face-off. This was it. It was now or never.

"A-Avery?"

I looked up. Before I could do anything, and trust me when I say anything, Sarah engulfed me in a bone-crushing hug.

"Avery, it is you," said Sarah, taking my face in her hands and smiling at me.

I grinned and hugged her again, but this time it felt wierd. When we were in highschool, she was way shorter than I was, so she kind of fit into me but now she was taller, and she wore heels, while I stood there in my Converse.

"Uh, Sarah...?" said Mark. He was very obviously confused.

"Mark, this is Avery," said Sarah, dragging me in front of her fiance. "She was my best friend since elementary school."

"Oh, pleasure." said Mark, smiling at me, but to me it seemed like he didn't particularly like me. I mean, of course. I was wearing stuff that looked like they'd been owned by thirty different people.

"Well, I think that's all cleared up now," smiled Haden. "I think we can get back to our discussion."

"Ah yes," said Mark, and they started off about what kind of food they wanted, while I stayed silent.

I didn't expect it to go like this. I thought maybe me and Sarah could sit and talk for a while to catch up or such, but I guess that kind of thing had passed. It had been seven years! I couldn't expect us to go back to gossiping like the old days, as much as I wanted it.

I got up once to pick up a call from Luke, but Sarah didn't seem to notice. It was almost like she didn't want me there.

Haden was done only an hour later, and I was ready to bolt out the door and run-slash-swim all the way back to New York.

"Thank you, Haden. We're glad you could do this for us." said Sarah, shaking Haden's hand.

Mark stood there smiling, a hand around Sarah's waist. That was so cute, I wanted to throw up. But everybody knew I wasn't a relationship kind of person, so I shouldn't be complaining.

"Yeah, so we'll see you at the wedding," said Mark, before closing the door.

Haden turned to look at me. "Leave the tears for the hotel, bird." he said.

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