The Black Stallion

A Sudden Surprise

The next morning, it dawned on me. It was my birthday- my Sixteenth birthday! Yes, I know it's crazy that I'm not at home on such an occasion. But, did it honestly matter? I was in Hawaii! On a horse ranch! With my wise grandfather! And a crazy 18-year-old named Hunter! Could it get any better?

I looked over at the clock sitting on the oak wood nightstand. 8:30 am. I began to wonder if my grandfather remembered it was my birthday. Or, even, did anyone here besides my grandfather know it was my birthday? I quickly dismissed the idea. How could anyone in Hawaii know that it was a small little southern girl's birthday?

I yawned and picked my phone up off the nightstand. I had a text from my mom, best friend Liane , and my twin brother Brenton. Yeah- I had a twin. I just didn't have him come with me for an assortment of reasons.

I quickly summarized my trip for Liane and explained I was doing fine to my mom. And I quickly read  Brenton's question, "Aren't you gonna tell me happy birthday?" I read under it that he had sent the text at 6:04 am. Well, that was Hawaii time. He technically sent it at 1:04 am, Houston Texas time. He did this because he was born at 1:04 am on June 5th, 1999. I, on the other hand, was born 6 minutes later at 1:10 am on June 5th, 1999. Technically he had sent the message when he was sixteen but I wasn't. I sighed. He always did this, bragging for 6 minutes on our birthday. Those six minutes were his glory minutes every year. People who don't have a twin don't understand how much the older twin will brag about being like 5 minutes older. It gets old.

"It's my birthday, too, you know," I typed quickly, sending the message to Brent and tossing my phone onto the bed. What a know-it-all. He got up at 1:04 am just to send me that message. Just like he comes into my room and hits me in the face with a pillow at 1:04 am on our birthday each year. Six minutes really isn't that big of a deal.

I walked sleepily to the kitchen and made a cup of coffee and went to sit on my little balcony overlooking the ocean. Hawaii was honestly the most beautiful place I had ever been to.

"Skylar, Skylar," I heard a voice say behind me. I turned to see Hunter standing in the glass doorway of the balcony, leaning against the frame, a glint in his bright eyes.

I gasped. "H-Hunter?" I stuttered. "How did you..."

He smirked. "Oh, you left the back door unlocked. You should be more careful." He sighed. "Well, happy birthday. Sixteen, right?"

I just stared. "Uh, WHY are you in my grandfather's house?" I asked suspiciously.

He shrugged. "To tell you happy birthday. Isn't that what I just did?"

"How do you even KNOW its my birthday?!" I asked, becoming irritable with his vagueness. "WHY are you here? This early? I mean, I have a lot of questions about you just sneaking into my house! To ONLY say happy birthday. Who does that?"

"Me." He reached into his pocket and pulled  something silver out. he grabbed my hand and placed the shiny object in it. "Birthday present." He explained, letting go of my hand. I looked down at my palm, bringing my hand closer to my face to study the silver object. It was a completely silver bracelet with the words Pano aka  engraved on the front in bold black and gentle cursive. I let out a small squeal of surprise at the gift.

A smile played at Hunter's lips. "You really are the one who found him and took care of him, Sky. And you named him, too... So, really, I decided to get you a bracelet with his name on it. When you're older, when twenty years or so pass, you can see the bracelet and remember that crazy time when you were 15 and in Hawaii and found a horse. I noticed you really like Pano Aka, so..." He trailed off, his eyes  locking with mine. I took a small step towards him, and our faces were only a few inches away. And then Hunter shifted his gaze to the ocean. I could tell he suddenly became uneasy.

I looked away, embarrassed for really no reason. It was really thoughtful, the bracelet and all. I was just slightly embarrassed that he thought enough of me to give me such a gift.

"Thanks, I mean, you didn't need to, um, give me-" I stopped, because his dark eyes were looking into mine so intensely. "Um, are you okay?"

He took a step closer and I got a little nervous. I never could tell what he would do, or how he felt (With the exception of when he came stomping into the barn, yelling). He grabbed my hand, the one clutching the bracelet. "You, really do like it, right? You really do?" he whispered.

"Yeah, it's really thoughtful, Hunter," I murmured. His face leaned a little closer. Our noses were almost touching. My eyelids slipped shut, and I felt the faintest touch of his lips on mine when I jerked my head back.

He looked startled, himself. "Wh-what were we doing?" I squealed, realization sinking in. I had almost kissed Hunter. We'd only known each other for barely three days! And my lips had literally touched his.

"What's the matter, Sky?" He asked, his voice smooth. "Why'd you pull away?"

I looked out towards the ocean. "Hunter. We've known each other for three days. And all throughout those three days, we've fought  like brothers and sisters would. And now-" My voice faltered. "And now, we were almost kissing."

I hadn't ever kissed anyone before. That's why it was so startling. But, Hunter didn't seem that bothered by it. I didn't doubt that he had kissed girls before. Or that he may even have a girlfriend. I glanced down at my hand, which was still in Hunter's. My hand tensed, and he squeezed it tighter.

"If we kissed, it wouldn't be that big of a deal," He said, taking a few steps closer, as if that was what he wanted. I turned my face away. I was still in my night clothes, anyway. a tank-top and a pair of gym shorts. My hair was down and messy, falling over my shoulders. The fact that I hadn't even got dressed yet made everything a whole lot weirder.

"Hunter, you know you wouldn't kiss a girl you barely knew. Come on, now. This isn't right," I told him, backing towards the balcony rail. "I need to get changed, anyway. This is weird."

He paused. Then he looked away, as if he finally realized what he was doing. "Y-yeah. Um, sorry. Caught in the moment, I guess." I looked down at my small hand, tucked into Hunter's. He let go, and my arm dropped back to my side.

"Hunter, it isn't that I don't like you. That's just a bit, er, much... for three days. But, I mean, thanks for the gift. Even if you sneaked into my house at 8:30 in the morning just to give it to me." I smiled up at him, and he gave a small smile back. Things didn't have to be weird. For now, Hunter and I could just be normal friends, friends who hung out and talked during the summer.  

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A/N: Please comment if you liked the chapter. I gave it a small twist, just to make things better. Comments will help me know that not everyone has given up on me yet... Anyway, thanks for reading! I'll write another chapter as soon as I can.