Burning Out

Chapter 14

"I feel like no one cares about me or even notices me"
Song: Scared to be lonely by Martin Garrix and Dua Lipa

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           I woke up, feeling my body basking in warmth. Confused, I turned around and searched for the source of the unusual heat. Then I faced a slightly snoring Hunter. My face heated up with realization. I had been cuddling with Hunter! He was still sleeping, his mouth slightly open, and soft snores were coming out. I smiled at his peaceful face, free from worry or sadness. I wished I could stare at his beautiful face forever. "Done staring? A picture would last longer," a groggy Hunter informed me, his eyes still closed. I smirked, an idea popping into my head. "Yeah, you're right," I replied, and before he could realize what was happening, I grabbed my phone from the bedside table and snapped a picture of Hunter.

          His eyes snapped open as I lay examining the picture. In the picture, his mouth was a little bit open, and his eyes closed. Unfortunately there was no drool, but it was still hilarious, and cute. I lay giggling and holding my stomach on the bed. "Delete the photo," Hunter threatened. "No," I giggled. I was breathless, and pretty sure I'll develop some abs from laughing. Hunter sat up on the bed, running a hand through his hair and adjusting his clothes. I started struggling to calm down, but with one more look at the picture, I burst out laughing again.

          Hunter glared at me. "Delete the picture." "No," I retorted, childishly shaking my head and showing him the picture to taunt him. Hunter got up on the bed, supported by his arms and knees. I still just shook my head at his threatening gesture. He slowly crawled towards me, and I held my phone close to my chest. He reached my side and growled, "Delete the picture." His voice was low, threatening, and seemingly full of menace. I shook my head and held the phone even closer to myself. He put an arm and knee on my other side, basically on top of me. I could feel the tension cackling in the air. I held my breath to hide my erratic breathing. I felt as if my heart would jump out of my chest.

          He bent his head a little lower, inches apart from mine. Just then, the mood changed. I realized that the scent of his cologne gave me pleasure. I could see the vein in his neck throbbing. We were so close. His lips were so close to mine. I could feel his breath on my cheek... Wait, why was I thinking about that? "Are you sure you still don't want to delete the picture?" Hunter breathed, his voice deep and sweet, like honey. I wanted to feel his lips and skin against mine. His shirt rode up a little, exposing some of his pale skin.

          Remembering that I had to respond, I whispered, "I'm still pretty sure." He leaned down even further. His lips were a hair's breadth away from mine. A tiny movement, that's all it would take to initiate a kiss. "Then I guess I'll have to make you," he whispered back. My gosh, I wanted to feel his soft lips on mine so badly. "Make me," I responded.

         But then suddenly, Hunter looked like he had broken out of a trance. He got off me and onto the floor in lightning speed. "I'm sorry.... I don't know what came over me. Um... It's late, I gotta go home," Hunter spoke as he quickly adjusted his clothes. I cleared my throat and adjusted my shirt as well. "Yeah, sure. What time is it?" We had planned to review for the test on Monday, but I guess I slept through our study time. "It's about 6:30, so I have to head home. We just had to review anyway, and I trust you could do that by yourself." Then Hunter smiled at me, and all the awkwardness in the air disappeared.

          It was as if today was completely nonexistent. As if everything was normal and those awkward moments had never happened. I threw my arms around Hunter's torso and gave him a hug. He wrapped his lean arms around me. "Thank you. For everything," I whispered. He simply gave a small chuckle and pulled me in tighter against him. We had a silent agreement that both of us would never utter a word about the past day and a half.

           I pulled away from the hug, "Yeah, I can manage to review by myself. I'll drive you home." I jogged down the stairs, Hunter at my heels. Picking up my car keys, I hollered to Tyler, "I'm dropping Hunter back home. I'll be back in time to make dinner." I heard the spiteful reply from his room, "Yeah sure. Just make sure you guys don't stop to cuddle." I could hear the anger in Tyler's voice. We still hadn't made up. But why did he care about what I did? I had learned to ignore Tyler's late night "adventures" and parties. Some might think that he's just being overprotective, but to me it feels like he doesn't want me to be happy. I turned around and saw a smirking Hunter. "Shut up," I whispered as I shoved Hunter. "But I didn't even say anything," Hunter whispered back as I exited the house.

          I just glared at Hunter and got into the car. As I drove to his house, we talked. We joked about school, talked about grades and college, and discussed all manner of random things. Thankfully, he never asked about the question I had asked as I was breaking down on the bed: 'Why me?' He let me have my privacy and I treated him likewise. Both of us respected each other's space. That mutual respect was one of the cornerstones of our friendship, since we both had secrets which were deeply hidden. Despite our close bond, I didn't know if I could trust Hunter completely yet. I needed some time to open up, and so did he. Suddenly, I came back to Earth, just in time to hear Hunter mercilessly teasing me. He started gushing about how much he enjoyed tutoring me today, and about how I talk in my sleep. "No! I don't talk in my sleep!" I defended. Hunter snorted, "Sure, whatever floats on your boat."

          I didn't even bother to argue because honestly, I didn't even know if that was true or false. "I hear no defense from the accused. Therefore, the Court rules that Hope talks in her sleep, and Hunter wins the case," he teased, using one of my favorite things to talk about: court cases. I found them really interesting, and my interest even led me to taking debate in my freshman year. "The Court also rules that case is indecisive, as the accused wasn't conscious during the incident," I retorted. Hunter let out a long sigh. "The accused has a point. The Court rules indecisive. Court adjourned." I let out a laugh. Even though I didn't win, I didn't exactly lose either, did I?

          I reached Hunter's house, and stopped the car. "You should come in. Will would love to see you," Hunter invited. It was couple minutes to 7 p.m., so I carefully declined. "Nah. Will should be eating dinner and going to bed about now. I'll come in another time." Hunter's face fell a little but he covered it up almost instantaneously, "Yeah, you're right. Well, goodbye! I'll see you tomorrow... Oh, wait. Tomorrow's Saturday. I'll see you on Monday then." Hunter smacked his forehead at his foolishness, and I giggled softly for a couple seconds. Just then, I remembered something I had been meaning to ask him. I had thought about it a lot, and finally decided it was a good idea.

          "Hey Hunter? I had an idea, and I think it's pretty good," I cautiously started. "I was wondering if you and your family would like to spend Christmas with us," Hunter was quiet for a second and I got scared, which made me start to ramble, "I mean my parents aren't home for Christmas, and my house has plenty of space. This could be an opportunity to get to know your family better. I've thought this through thoroughly, but it is completely fine if you don't want to. If you guys want to spend it by yourself..." Hunter interrupted me mid-ramble. "I'd have to ask my mom, but I'm pretty sure she'll be fine with it. But if you want to do this, we'll have to come over pretty often during the break to help you with the decorating. I'll agree to come over, but only if you agree to that condition."

          I thought about it for a few seconds. I was used to having a lonely Christmas, and I always decorated the house by myself. It would be amazing to have some company for a change. I could feel myself getting excited already, and there was still more than a week until Christmas. "Deal," I held my hand out for him to shake, and he eagerly grabbed it. "Okay, I gotta go, and I'll make sure to tell my mom about this. Bye!" Hunter opened the car and slid out. But then, I reached out and grabbed his wrist, almost without a second thought.

         "Thanks again for everything," I thanked Hunter with a genuine smile. "Anything for you, Babe," Hunter responded with a wink, his playful side coming out. I laughed as he shut the door. Hunter jogged to his house and went inside after waving at me for a brief instant. I shook my head at his playfulness. With the thought of how lucky I was to have Hunter as my best friend, I sped back home.