Hunter

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine:

"No..." I manage to choke out. 'Joel, I'm sorry,' I say via our mind connection. 'I'm sorry for the way I'm acting. Have you ever been in love?'

"Yes!" he cries out loud. "Right now, in fact. Why can't you see that? I love you so much, Kate. And you know I would never hurt you. It would be nearly impossible for me to put you into any pain."

"Joel..." I whisper. Joel sits on the bed and takes my hand, our fingers linking together. Warmth spreads upwards from my hand and takes over my whole body. Suddenly heat fills my chest, and the heartache I felt for two months is... gone. I throw my arms around Joel's waist and embrace him. I drop my head onto his shoulder and cry. Sobs rack my body, and he holds me tight.

'This is good,' he thinks. 'You need to get it all out.' It turns out that it takes me an hour to cry away my pain. By this time, I cannot let go of Joel. He pulls away, but our hands are still joined. From the look on his face, I don't think he can let me go either. Maybe... maybe I love Joel as well. The way I feel about him... our connection is so unique.

"Joel, we still need to ask why our bond is so strong," I tell him.

"I already did. The nurse told me that when the two people are also in love--" He shoots me a quick glance, and I just nod, "--their bond will become as strong as their love for each other. My love for you is so strong, Kate."

"Joel, you must know I love you too. You knew all along. Why didn't you say something?"

"I thought you were happy with Alec." I wait for the familiar stab of pain that his name always brings, but I feel nothing.

"No, I don't think I was. I loved him, but our relationship wasn't as strong as what you and I have." With that, Joel pulls me back to him, pressing his lips on mine. This kiss is soft, a sweet invitation. I pull him tighter to me, and our kisses become more passionate and frantic. I fall back onto the bed, and Joel lowers himself over me. I wrap my legs around his waist, and my arms around his neck. Joel moans, and I shudder, feeling it through my whole body. I reach up and deftly undo the first few buttons of his shirt.

"Joel, are you in here--" Joel jumps off me, and suddenly I feel cold. I shiver, longing for contact with him. Standing at the door are Nik and Tyler. I sit up with wide eyes as they both gape at me. Joel looks truly embarrassed. The expression on his face reminds me of a child who was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. It's adorable. Joel flashes me a grin, and it's extremely cheeky. His eyes are twinkling.

"I guess you're feeling better, Kate," Tyler says quietly. "We were going to plan new ways to get you out of your depression." Nik just turns and leaves the room without saying a word. "He just has a silly crush on you," Tyler says, explaining Nik's coldness. I nod, but my eyes are on Joel. I need his physical contact. So I stand up and walk to him, grabbing his hand. The heat warms me immediately. Tyler just looks at us once more.

"It's great that you're back, Kate. We've all missed you," he says, then he leaves. I look around Alec's old room, and then I share a short glance with Joel. We leave the room together, and go to my one. I look around and see several photos of Alec. I hand a few to Joel, and then I begin. I throw them around, stomp on them, and just plain destroy them. I throw one at the wall, and glass flies towards us. I grin with satisfaction.

"Now if the real one returns, the same will happen to him," I growl. Joel squeezes my hand.

"Together we will destroy him. I promise." We walk out of the room, and Joel drops his arm around my shoulders. I slink mine around his waist.

"Are we going out?" I ask suddenly. Joel winces at my bluntness, but I'm just really excited.

"Kate, you're my girlfriend." Bubbles erupt from me, and I giggle uncontrollably. This is how love is meant to feel. I'm just so happy when I'm with Joel.

***

"The annual Summer dance is the largest event here at Hybrid Academy, other than the graduation of the senior students. The dance will be held in three weeks, on the twenty-first of May. The official graduation ceremony will be held one month later, on the seventeenth of June. A reminder that the Summer Dance is a formal event, so no jeans and t-shirts, boys." Joel and I have been officially dating for two weeks, and almost everyone knows about us now. We're sitting through our final proper assembly for the term. We'll also have a farewell ceremony when we graduate. Joel leans over and whispers in my ear.

"How much more boring can this get?" he asks. I snicker, and I drop my hand into his. Our fingers fit perfectly together, and everything is perfectly in place. Then my world shatters. I look at the doors, and standing outside I see him. Alec. Anger erupts from my core, and I jump to my feet, snarling. Several people turn and stare at me, and Joel tries pulling me back down.

"Let me go!" I yell, yanking my hand out of his grasp. Then I run to the doors. I have to get out of here.

"Kate!" Joel screams, running after me. I ignore him and keep running. I exit the building and see Alec leaning against a pole, shock on his face.

"You weren't meant to see me," he whispers, composing himself quickly.

"How could you leave me like that?" I cry. "How could you just leave without saying goodbye?"

"I gave you a note--"

"Writing a note doesn't count! Why couldn't you just stay and say goodbye yourself?"

"I wouldn't have been able to leave." Joel suddenly bursts from the building. He throws himself at Alec, dropping him onto the ground. They roll around for a few minutes, then Alec pins him.

"You cheated," I tell Alec. "You used the ability." I'm not sure how our bond works, but I close my eyes and focus on my fire, then imagine it travelling to Joel and going into his body. Suddenly he pushes Alec off and brandishes a dagger. Alec backs off, his hands raised in surrender. Joel drops his arm and turns to face me. Wait... Alec never backs down from a fight. That's when I know. I grab the knife and run at the person who cannot possibly be Alec. I slice their head off quickly, and Joel gasps.

"It's not him," I explain quickly. The body suddenly changes into a different one, and I see a female who I don't know and haven't seen before.

"That's Marissa," Joel tells me, anxiety in his voice.

"Who?"

"She's part of Alec's team. His second-in-command, actually." Great. So now my ex-boyfriend's ex-team-- who just so happen to be the most deadly people on Earth-- are after me? Didn't see that one coming. No, seriously.

A/N:

Hehe, what do you think? Please leave a comment with feedback. Please vote if you liked it. Love you guys, all readers are amazing whether I have five or a million.

Bri ;)