Inside Neon's pocket were two movie tickets that he had bought a few days ago.

A few months ago at Treble's party, he received advice from Gaige.

"Is it a girl?" Gaige asked.

"Of course she's a girl," Neon pinched the bridge of his nose, "Anyway, she's a bit crude and annoying."

"Go on..."

"I wanna ask her out somewhere, like a movie or an amusement park. Anywhere would be fine; I just want to go somewhere with her," Neon continued, "Although she might turn me down by saying something like 'who would want to go anywhere with a disgusting son of a bitch like you?'."

"...WAIT, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HAZEL AREN'T YOU?!"

Neon hesitated, but judging how unpredictable Gaige was, he immediately spilled the beans.

"...You got me." Neon sighed.

Neon sat in annoyance as he watched Gaige vigorously laugh at him. She was rolling on the ground with tears coming out of her eyes laughing at what he just stated.

Gaige quickly got up and sat back at the couch. She stopped laughing and let out a sigh.

"Aren't you scared?" Gaige raised a brow.

"Of what?" Neon asked.

"Of being rejected."

"To be honest, it is scary," Neon chuckled, "If I get rejected again, then I might get depressed and not be able to recover for a while."

Suddenly, Gaige took out two tickets from her pocket and handed them to Neon, much to his surprise.

"Go for it, the girl deserves happiness too," Gaige shrugged her shoulders, "Valid until the end of the year... I was supposed to go with Flash but he doesn't like watching horror movies."

After that, Neon received advice from Gaige using Romance Comedy animes and Jojo references.

It was already December. Snow was pouring down from the sky and it was the last day of the semester, tomorrow being the start of winter break.

Neon was hanging out with Hazel at the college library as usual. However, this time the aura was different. Instead of silence, Hazel was furiously typing on her laptop while wearing a big grin on her face.

After getting closure, Hazel was back again with her shipping, much to Neon's annoyance. This didn't stop Neon from liking the girl. He continued to grasp his pocket, hoping to ask the girl out.

"Oi." Neon called out.

"Not now Nylon, I'm writing up fresh new ships." Hazel replied.

Neon sighed as he nodded and waited for Hazel to finish. She eventually finished and held her hand up, signaling Neon to speak.

"Well?" She said as she looked at Neon.

"Do you have plans for the winter break?" Neon asked.

"Glad you asked; there's tons of stuff to do!" Hazel replied as she started counting with her fingers, "I'm working part time at a local grocery, go shopping with Gaige and Ink, more shipping... OH and after that, SNOWBOARDING!"

"What about for Christmas?"

"I have to work. In any case, if you don't have any money, you can't really do anything, right?"

Neon wanted to use Christmas as an excuse to invite her to a movie, but his plan started to crumble.

"What about you, Neon? What are you going to do?" Hazel asked as she crossed her arms and legs.

"Well, I'll probably spend the whole break pestering my younger sister," Neon smiled, "And probably read a book or two."

"Oh my, your introverted hobbies have appeared!" Hazel grinned, "Being rejected must have been so hurtful for you!"

Hazel was rude, brash and sarcastic towards Neon. Yet, for a girl that was pretty much his polar opposite, he wondered why he was so attracted to her.

"Well now, aren't you single, Hazel?" Neon smirked.

"I'm different from you. If I wanted to have a boyfriend, I could get one any time," Hazel lied her back on the chair and placed both of her hands behind her head, "Right now, it's too much trouble, so I'm not going out with anyone. OH, maybe I should take the day off during Christmas and find a nice guy to spend it together with."

"Heh, goodluck you wank." Neon chuckled.

"Hah! Keep talking, you introverted son of a b*tch. Staying at home by your lonesome self and probably jerking off to Gaige suits you well!"

Neon got annoyed after hearing Hazel say those words so openly in public. Nevertheless, Neon thought she resembled the cuteness of a cat that ignores its owner and always gives him the cold shoulder because of how not very straightforward Hazel was.

"Well, looking for a guy is so bothersome... if only there was a guy within my reach..." Hazel said in a low voice as her cheeks slowly turned red, "...that had some spare time."

Hazel covered her mouth and looked away from Neon.

Neon stared at Hazel and tried to remember the term Gaige used. However, he could only remember the words "tsun" and "baka".

Neon snapped out of it and returned his mind to his objective; asking Hazel to watch a movie. He quickly reached into his pocket and grabbed the tickets.

"Hazel, you wanna-"

"YO! HAZEL!"

All of a sudden, Neon was interrupted when two girls came rushing to Hazel, giving her a big hug and started high fiving her. Neon pinched the bridge of his nose and scratched his head in annoyance.

"Oh hey!" Hazel greeted the two girls.

Bloody hell, I totally missed because of these broads.

Ever since Hazel came back to college, she started joining clubs and making friends, particularly the two girls who approached her.

"Oh my? Who's this guy over here?" one of the girls asked, "Is he your boyfriend?"

"O-Oh, this guy is..." Hazel hesitated for a bit until she let out a smile, "Just a friend. It's not like he's my boyfriend or anything."

"Really now?"

Neon's heart got struck a bit from what he just heard. He couldn't complain, as both of them held grudges to each other a few years back but still managed to make amends. Without a doubt, Neon was just an "acquaintance".

"Then you're single right?" the girl asked Hazel again, "You see, we're going clubbing tonight... and since you're single, maybe you should come with us and score a guy!"

"Besides, the guys there will be high class!" the other girl added.

"W-Well... what should I do..." Hazel sighed.

She turned to Neon, who had his arms crossed and a big smirk.

"Why don't you go? Didn't you say you wanted to find a guy to spend Christmas with?" Neon said.

Hazels expression somehow turned to disappointment as she turned away from Neon.

"S-Shut up... I would have gone even if you hadn't told me to..." Hazel replied coldly.

The words that came out of Neon were the opposite of what he was thinking. However, he did notice how hesitant Hazel was. It wasn't typical for her.

As library hours were coming to an end, Neon and Hazel packed their things up and started to leave the library. At the door were the two usually bid their farewells, Neon placed his hand on Hazel's shoulder.

"Goodluck mate." Neon smiled.

"T-Thanks..." Hazel replied, "Well then... see you later."

Hazel was the first to leave, with Neon going to the opposite direction. Little did the boy know, Hazel turned back to look at Neon with a worried look, but quickly turned back to her front.

As for Neon, he wondered what he should do with the tickets.

Later that evening in his dorm, Neon was in a round of Smash with Treble on his Switch, who was giving him the pep talk that he did not ask for, nor told Treble about it.

"I think it's safer if you seriously give up on this girl!" Treble exclaimed, who was unaware that it was Hazel, "Only dream about that kind of girl if you want to become an adult! They just want to experience pure love like on those Spanish soap operas! And then they'll switch guys as fast as you can say the N word! Which is Neslea Nesquik Chocolate Syrup!"

Neon wanted to ignore Treble, who he knew as a weird and energetic person, but somehow some of his advice could come in handy one day.

"I mean, look at my sister! Her relationship lasted so long even with the fighting and such, but that's because it's what the Author wanted!" Treble continued as he dealt the finishing blow on Neon and winning the round, "My point is, be careful when you're picking a girl to go out with! That's all, now excuse me, the toilet calls me."

Treble stood up and exited the room to do his business, leaving Neon contemplating on what Treble just told him.

He quickly thought of the people he knew that were in relationships. One being Ink and Big Mac, who had a set of personalities that go together well. Another being Gaige and Flash, who had weird personalities yet they had nice chemistry with each other.

Neon thought of him and Hazel, but realized how they didn't seem to match. He wondered if Hazel even saw him as a potential love interest. He wondered if he should just give up.

He wondered if the same thing will happen again.

Suddenly, there was knocking on their door. Neon headed to the door and wondered who could it be at this late at night. Much to his surprise, it was someone he knew.

It was Hazel, who was eating a cheeseburger and had a bored expression.

"Yo." Hazel greeted.

"Hazel." Neon greeted back.

Hazel examined Neon, who was wearing only wearing shorts and a shirt.

"You look like a f*cking slob." Hazel pointed out while still having the same bored expression.

"What's wrong?" Neon crossed his arms, "Didn't you go clubbing with your friends?"

"I bailed," Hazel explained, "There weren't any nice guys there."

"I see..." Neon stared at Hazel's cheeseburger, "You know, that will make you fa-"

"Say the word and I'll kill you!" Hazel said in irritation, "It's not your body, so don't go acting all high and mighty!"

"You'll start looking like grimace if you keep eating that."

"Give me a break, man! This is why people don't like you!" Hazel pointed out the middle finger, "And this is why Gaige busted your ass!"

Even with those words, Neon let out a victorious smirk. Hazel could only groan and glare at Neon, but cooled off after a few seconds.

"Hey umm, are you busy?" Hazel asked.

"Not really... Treble and I were just playing some smash." Neon answered, "Why ask?"

"Well then, I'll be waiting outside," Hazel replied, "If you're not out after ten minutes, I'll kill you."

After Hazel left, Neon went ahead and change to a more decent outfit. After telling an excuse to Treble and grabbing some applejuice from their fridge, Neon headed out and found Hazel sitting on the porch of the dorm.

"Thanks for waiting." Neon said.

"You're slow. It's been fifteen minutes." Hazel furrowed her brows.

"I had to think of a lame excuse to cancel game night with Treble," Neon replied as he gave the box of applejuice to Hazel, "Here, have this as an apology."

"OOOOH! How thoughtful of you!" Hazel's bored expression quickly turned to a smile as she quickly poked the straw on the box.

Neon watched from behind her as Hazel drank her juice. Wasting no time, he quickly popped the question.

"Oi, why did you bother coming all the way down to my dorm?" Neon asked.

Hazel did not reply as she kept on drinking and eventually emptied it. She threw the empty box to a nearby trashcan and stood up.

"Let's go wander for a bit." Hazel turned to Neon with a smile.

Although it was already night, the houses and buildings around them were filled with Christmas lights. The snow dropped from the sky and the two felt the cold December breeze. The two found themselves at a park near the campus.

Hazel was at the front while Neon followed. Behind her, Neon was still pondering a few things. He wondered if Hazel anticipates anything from inviting him out like this. He wondered if she had anything she wants to tell him.

Even if it was nothing, it was still fine for Neon. He was already satisfied Hazel came to his dorm, and that both of them can spend some time together.

"It seems like... no matter what I do, it just seems so... dull." Hazel spoke up all of a sudden, "Clubbing was pretty boring; it wasn't fun at all. I just somehow can't get into it."

Hazel stopped in front of a bench.

"Before I entered college, I thought that it would be a change of pace. After I got in, that wasn't the case at all," Hazel continued, "It's really dull. Back in highschool, I did stupid things just to fuel my hobbies. I'd stalk people, write stupid stuff on my blog, and did everything to preserve Gaige's relationship with Flash."

Hazel took out her phone and looked at her contacts. Neon could see the recent calls she did with Gaige and Ink.

"I talk with Gaige and Ink every other night. Once in a while, Ink invites me over so we can hang out, and those times are enjoyable," Hazel put her cellphone back on her pocket, "In college, people think shipping is fine and not cringe worthy; it's not that big of a deal... and yet, why..."

Neon did not expect this, nor did he expect Hazel's expression as she slowly turned to him, revealing a saddened look that was on the verge of crying.

"W-Why have things become so dull? P-Please tell me."

This wasn't the first time Neon had seen her so weak, but this time it felt different. It hurts him to see Hazel hurt.

"Oi, let's sit down for a while."

Neon and Hazel sat side by side on the bench as the freezing snow dropped from the sky. The two were silent until Neon noticed Hazel sniffling.

"Are you crying?" Neon asked in concern.

"Are you stupid?! Who the hell is crying?!" Hazel exclaimed as she wiped her nose, "It's cold that's why!"

This was the Hazel that Neon recognized; the strong one. No doubt that sitting together like this made the two feel naturally more at ease.

"Is something wrong?" Neon asked once again as he leaned near Hazel.

"...Nothing at all..." Hazel said quietly.

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing at all, and that's why it's so painful."

Neon thought, high school students are children. For the two of them, who were both in high school recently, Neon realized that he and Hazel had to draw a border that separated themselves from that time.

His boundary was easy to understand; ever since the day Neon confessed to Gaige and got rejected, he felt as if he had seen the world up until now as a very tiny place. After that, he was frightened, and the slightest things seemed like they would hurt him.

Even if Neon had thought that the people around him, Hazel included, as just stones on the side of a road, ever since he drew a border on that day, his sense of human relations had undergone a huge upheaval.

Neon was oblivious. He did not know if Hazel has come to that period. He had the feeling that she has come to another world and can't hide her confusion.

Neon clenched his fist; he was ready to say it. He mustered up every courage he had. His heart was beating fast. It was time to finally let it out.

"Oi, Hazel... wanna go see a movie?" Neon asked, surprising Hazel.

"What? I don't really watch movies very much..." Hazel replied.

"Won't you go watch one?" Neon smiled at her, "I happen to have these two tickets to see a movie... and I've been looking for someone to go with."

At last... he was able to say it.

"How about it?"

Hazel's sad expression slowly disappeared, as if she saw hope. She looked at Neon in the eyes, with the latter mesmerized by her own. Was it time for Neon to have a light that shined his heart? Or rather, was it time for the two to finally have their hearts entrust each other?

"No." Hazel replied with a cold glare.

Neon's heart stopped as if he had a heart attack. He was shocked from the answer and her cold expression.

"I hate that method of invitation." Hazel's cheeks started to go red.

Neon was surprised once more. Hazel looked away in embarrassment as Neon's cheeks also turned red. The weight on his shoulders started to lighten, and so did his smile.

"Hazel Evergarden, let's go on a date," Neon asked, "I won't make you bored.

Whether this will last a long time; or if their personalities are different; Neon didn't care, as he and Hazel were still young and immature. He was already happy, and he'll be even more happier it will work out in the end.

Hazel said to Neon that she had been bored lately, and Neon's mission was to drag her out from that boredom.

"...Really?" Hazel shyly looked at Neon.

"I swear it," Neon replied, "I don't want to see this dejected looking Hazel anymore."

"NOBODY'S DEJECTED OK?!" Hazel's expression quickly turned to irritation and elbowed Neon on the arm, "NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT ME, I DON'T LOOK DEJECTED! ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!"

Neon started laughing as he stood up and stretched his hands.

"I'm fine with that, because I've seen something rare and precious," Neon smirked at Hazel, "What a waste, that I can only keep something like that inside of my mind."

"UGH! ANNOYING!" Hazel pouted as she stood up and crossed her arms.

"Well then... about Christmas..."

"I'll... I guess I'll take the day off..." Hazel replied as she punched Neon on the chest, "In exchange, if you show me a boring Christmas... I'll kill you afterwards."

"Deal." Neon replied.

Neon had already plans on making a careful schedule, both before and after the movie.

"Well, will you be okay? Can you get back by yourself? Should I walk you back?" Neon smiled.

"SHUT UP! I can get back, so don't follow me, perv!" Hazel retaliated.

"Heh, looks like you'll be fine," Neon chuckled, "Well then, see you on Christmas."

"Y-Yeah... I'll send a text."

As Neon turned around and was about to depart, he felt something pull his jacket. He looked back and saw Hazel in her adorable state; her whole expression had her eyes sparkling, her cheeks red as cherry and a warm smile that lightened Neon's world.

"I'm... really looking forward to that movie." Hazel smiled.

With that, the chilled core of Neon's body suddenly became hot.

Neon watched as Hazel departed. His next mission for the next few days was to think of every spot he could take Hazel after the movie.

If I let Hazel down, I'm gonna get killed afterwards. For now, I'll go ask Treble for suggestions.

He started heading home, and along the way he did not stop smiling.

Not one bit.

Author's Notes:

Oh man our boy finally gets his ending. What a ride.

Special announcement in a few days! But don't expect it to be close, since I'll be applying for a job in the next few days.

Side note: This could be just Neon's dream. That's for you to decide on what's canon or not.