Behind the Mask (HunterTOH x Y/N)

(7) Don't Anger Him

"What?" Was all you could get out. Both of you were a blushing, flustered mess.

"I don't know, I- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Hunter mumbled, looking anywhere but at you.

"So, you're saying I'm not beautiful then?" You giggled a little.

"What? No! I mean- I mean yes! You are. But- I mean, I'm just.. weird, this is weird. I'm gonna stop talking." He had his face buried in his hands, and you only laughed more.

"It's okay to call someone beautiful, ya know. It's called a compliment." You said, putting your hand on his shoulder.

"But the thing I said was weird, because I meant it in a different way." He muttered.

"What way did you mean it in then?" You asked. He paused, and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I'm feeling things that.. I used to never feel. And I'm feeling them about you. There's something about you, Y/N, that just amazes me. You make me feel like I'm gonna throw up, but not in a bad way."

He stood and and started to pace as he spoke. "When you tell me things about yourself, like what life is like with The Owl Lady, I get this bubbly feeling in my stomach. I don't know how to describe it, but it's like, when I'm around you, none of my problems worry me anymore."

"But for as long as you've known me you've been around me." You reminded him.

"Right, which is even weirder because I feel like I've known you for years! And maybe this is just how friends feel about each other, but I like hugging you. I like holding you, Y/N. And all I wanna do is just hug you until my arms fall off!"

He lowered his voice a bit and stopped pacing. "But.. I've known you for less than 24 hours. And I know that this isn't how friends act, so it's all just confusing me."

You studied his face, to make sure he wasn't tricking you or lying about any of this, but it seemed genuine. And also, he just completely described what it's like to have a crush on someone. So now you know two things about him that he doesn't know you know.

You felt the same, in a way. You weren't as confused as this poor boy obviously was, but you did have some sort of feelings for him. However, you were faced with a problem.

You can't have a crush on THE GOLDEN GUARD. Who knows how Eda would react? And Luz?! She'd go bananas! You don't actually know what bananas are, Luz just says that a lot so you assume it means crazy.

"I.. I know what you mean. I get it, and I get that you're confused. But, I need to be honest with you, Hunter." You needed to tell him that you knew.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I know that you're the Golden Guard." You saw his face flood with fear. He took a few steps back, holding his hand in front of him as if you were a lion he were taming.

"How long have you known?" He asked with defeat in his voice. You shifted your weight between your feet, and avoided looking into his eyes even though he was staring into yours.

"Uhm, since yesterday." You said quietly.

"How- How did you find out?" His voice sounded threatening, but scared.