𝙸 𝙲𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚜

𝚂𝟹𝙴𝟷𝟶: 𝙰 𝙻𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚑 𝙱𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔

Inspired by Community S3E16: "Virtual Systems Analysis."

Hazel POV

They say time flies when you're having fun. Hazel always found that tacky, but now, she's starting to believe it. Her spring semester was off to an amazing start. She attended an amazing Valentine's Day dance with her new boyfriend, went to a collegiate-level basketball game with her new boyfriend, played an April Fool's Day prank on her new boyfriend, and even earned an A on the most recent biology lab with—you guessed it—her new boyfriend.

Hazel's never had a boyfriend before unless you count the long-distance relationship she had with Sammy, the boy she dated during her freshman year of high school. Sammy lived like two hours away from her, so they mostly just texted. Looking back on it, she's not sure why she thought that was a realistic choice for a first boyfriend.

So she doesn't count that. Frank, on the other hand, definitely counts as a boyfriend. He surprises her with candy, holds her hand in the hallways, and takes her out on fun creative dates.

If you ask her, time is flying.

If you ask Annabeth and Percy, time is dragging on. Percy can't wait to go home and see his mom, and Annabeth can't wait to do whatever it is she does during the summer.

Then, there's Piper and Jason. They're all business these days. Like, they only talk about ATP and enzymes and stuff. Hazel knows that a lot went down between them, but she thought all signs were pointing to them getting together any day now. That's not the case. She understands that Annabeth and Percy are too stubborn to admit their feelings for each other, but what could be keeping Jason and Piper apart?

Hazel really would like some friends to go on a double date with. She tried with Nico and his boyfriend Will, but PDA in front of her half-brother just isn't something she's comfortable with. A couple of weeks ago, she invited Annabeth and Percy out to dinner with her and Frank. Never did she imply it was meant to imitate a double date, but Percy said he had to call his mom, and Annabeth had to walk her cactus, whatever that means.

Although Hazel isn't quite ready to give up on her dreams of double dating, the year is coming to a close. There's not much time left to play matchmaker, and it's not like Hazel can just pick up where she left off. They'll all just be back at square one since summer is like a relationship reset.

"Give it back!" Percy shouts as he chases Annabeth into the study room.

"Catch this!" Annabeth throws something at Frank, which he catches right away because he's just that great at catching things.

He shows the object to Hazel—a miniature penguin made out of foam. Annabeth and Percy are playing keep-away with a stress toy. That's flirting if Hazel ever saw it!

Frank passes the toy back to Percy and the two take their seats.

Jason clears his throat. "Okay, thank you for that strong start to finals week," he says.

He's right. They're all here to study for their biology final, and the library is on quiet hours twenty-four-seven. Keep-away is probably not the best way to contribute to people's quiet study sessions.

"Can we get started?" Piper asks. "I still have no idea how to memorize these chemical equations. Like, I know what photosynthesis is, but all this other stuff?"

"Hell no," Leo agrees. He points his package of watermelon-flavored Extra gum at each member of the group. "Gum?" he offers. "Gum? Gum? Gum?"

Hazel takes a piece of gum and pretends not to be grossed out by how warm it is.