Surviving the Harrison Boys (Re-write)

forty-six // explanations

Joel came down the stairs quietly and sat down on the couch without saying a word. Hanna and Liam were helping their cooks with dinner, and the boys were scattered around the house, getting things ready and also cleaning themselves up as well.

I was standing in the doorway of the kitchen when Joel came down. He folded his hands and placed them on his lap, quietly waiting for his next instructions.

I sighed and walked up to him. He looked up, his eyes meeting mine. The person sitting in front of me was my best friend. This was the Joel Traverse I had grown up with.

"Stand," I commanded.

He looked scared. "Why?"

"Just do it." I said. Joel stood up shakily, and now he was looking down at me. I reached up and wrapped my arms around him, giving him the tightest hug I could without hurting him.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Hugging you, dumbass. What else?"

Joel slowly wrapped his arms around me, but when he winced in pain, I stepped back. The boys had really hurt him.

"We should take you to a hospital." I told him quietly. "They really did a number on you."

"Yeah, no shit." He groaned. "I don't think anything's broken except maybe my nose, but I doubt that either."

I raised an eyebrow. "With as hard as those punches were?"

Joel shrugged. "I play football, hockey, and rugby, Hunter. I've experienced worse."

I nodded slowly. "I'm not mad, if you were wondering."

He looked confused. "You're not?"

I shook my head. "I appreciate you telling us the truth. Still, what you did was incredibly fucking stupid, but you owned up to it. Plus, you're still the only person who had my back when times were rough and that I will always be grateful to you for."

"At least I can breathe now." Joel sighed quietly. "How are we gonna explain this to my parents, Hunter?"

"I'll do it." I shrugged. "I'm one of the only people they can't get mad at no matter what. I'll handle it all."

He nodded. "Thank you."

"No problem." I said. At that moment, the doorbell rang. Joel and I exchanged nervous looks before I walked over to the door. I stood on my tiptoes to peek through the peephole and lo and behold, Joel's parents were standing on the other side.

"Go tell Hanna and Liam that they're here." I said to Joel. He nodded and headed into the kitchen. I took a deep breath before opening the door. Marie and Tate smiled widely, then literally tackled me in a hug.

"Hi, guys." I laughed as I hugged them back.

"Oh, it's so good to see you!" Marie pulled back and I saw the tears in her eyes. "I'm so glad you're here, Hunter."

I smiled, trying to blink back tears of my own. "It's good to be here."

Tate put his hand on my head and was about to pull me into a hug, but his fingers ran over the bump caused by Joel smashing my head against the wall multiple times. He furrowed his eyebrows as he felt it better. "What's this?"

I sighed and frowned. "It's a long story."

"Did they do this to you?" He whispered harshly as he dropped his hand. Marie felt the bump, too. Her eyes widened.

"This is huge!" She matched her husband's hushed tone. "Hunter, is something going on here that you're not telling us?"

"And this?!" Tate moved some hair from my neck and revealed Joel's hand marks that had bruised me.