Secret Love (Hunter Hayes Fanfiction)

Did He Say Kiss?

The rain didn't stop for hours. Bethany and Hunter played in it for a while, but eventually had to go inside, because they were starting to get cold, and Ned would kill Hunter if he got sick. So they climbed onto the bus, changed into dry clothes and hung out with the guys. 

Around lunch time, the rain stopped for about thirty minutes, and Ned called Hunter and Bethany over to his trailer to talk about the video. They ran through the puddles and eventually got there, laughing and tracking mud onto his tile floors. 

They sat down on the couch and waited for Ned to emerge from the back room. He finally did, clutching his cell phone to his ear and rubbing his temples. He was obviously upset about something.

"Okay, fine, bye." He clicked the 'End' button and pushed his phone into his pocket, sitting down on the edge of the couch by Hunter. 

"What's up, Ned?" Hunter asked. 

"Shelby quit. She said she wasn't feeling it and that she refused to work with you anymore." 

Hunter went still. He had no co-star. Shelby was gone. Good riddance, a part of him said. What now?

"So, I've come up with a solution, and I think you'll like this." Ned's eyes brightened. "I want Bethany to replace her."

Bethany stiffened. What? NO! She couldn't! She couldn't! No, she...she could, but..no! 

"Um, what?" She asked, her eyes as big as dinner plates. "Me? You want me in your music video? Why?"

Ned held out one hand like it was super obvious. "I saw you helping Hunter with his acting earlier. You guys make a great team. Besides, I don't have anybody else, and tomorrow is the last day we have to work on this. It's either you do this, or we don't have a video and we all get fired. Well, I'm exaggerating, but it's possible."

Hunter tried to hide his smile, but he couldn't help it. He was excited. Bethany would accept; she was too kind to say no, even if she did seem paralyzed by the idea. At least if she agreed to do the video with him, the video would be more believable. And he was looking forward to using her acting techniques with her again. He wouldn't mind keeping intense eye contact or breaking the touch barrier with her. It made him happy just to think about it.

Bethany couldn't believe this was happening. She'd let herself go for ten minutes and she was being recruited to co-star in his video? His video about undying, passionate, let-me-put-your-name-on-my-skin-eternally type love? She couldn't do it! She was already feeling the pinch of heartache after her small interlude with him this afternoon. She wasn't sure she could do that again! She couldn't handle being with him that way, knowing that it wasn't real for him, when she so desperately wanted it to be.

"Oh, and I was thinking that it needs to be a little more personal. I liked what you guys were doing this afternoon, so I was thinking that there needs to be a few cut away scenes where you guys kiss or hold hands or dance or something like that, you know?"

KISS?! HE WANTS US TO KISS?! Bethany's face went hot and she could feel terrified tears pushing at the back of her eyes. I can't kiss him. I can't, I can't, I can't. I can't do it. I can't. She remained quiet, though, afraid that if she spoke now, the horrified tears would spill over.

He wants me to kiss her? Whoa. He had to admit that he wanted to. He'd wanted to kiss her for a long time, but was this the way he'd want it to be? It was better than nothing, but it would cause him considerable heartache after the fact, knowing that he was kissing someone who didn't feel anything for him but friendship. And knowing that those lips had kissed Darryl, that they'd smiled at him, whispered loving words to him. It made him sick. 

There was a small part of him, though, that said that this was a big opportunity. Maybe it could be like it was in the movies; maybe she'd realize she liked him too if they kissed. It was possible, right?

"Okay, sounds good," he said, avoiding Bethany's eyes and pretending nonchalance. 

Bethany's eyes bugged out of her head, and she stared at the back of Hunter's in shock. WHAT?! It does NOT sound good! No no NO! She wanted to hide. She wanted to cry. She couldn't do it. She'd die of humiliation.

"Bethany? Are you in?" Ned asked, and they were both looking at her with expectation in their eyes. 

"Um," she stammered. Her face was tomato red and she couldn't bear to look at Hunter just now. "I haven't ever acted before," she stated, only telling them the very least of her worries. Kiss Hunter? She couldn't. No way. That would KILL her!

Ned waved her off. "That's not a big deal. Just pretend like the camera isn't there. Do what you did today and it'll be great."

She still looked unsure, and Hunter tasted sour in his mouth, thinking that the reason she didn't want to do it was out of loyalty to Darryl. Or maybe she's just disgusted by the idea of kissing you. He sighed. He couldn't win.

"Listen, I'll pay you everything we were going to give Shelby," Ned said.

Bethany's jaw dropped. That was a lot of money. Actors were always well-paid. How could she say no to that? She thought of her mom, who had called her yesterday to tell her she needed surgery on her foot that she couldn't afford. This money could be exactly what she needed. How could she deny her mother that? Just because she liked Hunter and didn't want to and knew that she'd be in pain for days if she had to give her first kiss away to him, knowing that it was all just an act? She sighed. Her mother was more important that her pride. She nodded reluctantly.

"Okay, I'll do it." She felt bile rising in her stomach. She was going to regret this. She was already regretting this.

Hunter sighed in relief. She'll do it. I'm not repulsive. I'm going to get to kiss her. 

Ned stood and clapped Hunter on the back. "Excellent! Hopefully it will be sunny out tomorrow, or we'll be filming in the rain. We can't afford any more delays. All right, that's all I needed to say, so you guys better head back over to your bus before the rain picks up again."

Hunter stood and Bethany followed, feeling sick to her stomach. She followed him out, but there was no playing in the puddles on the return trip. There was only awkward silence. 

Hunter scratched the back of his neck and looked over at her. "Listen, Beth, if this makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to do it." 

She snapped out of her trance long enough to give him a fake reassuring smile. "Oh, no, I'm not worried about it. You're a good friend; it should be easy to act with you. I've just never...uh...been on camera before." 

Hunter smiled. "It's a blast. You don't even notice it, really. It'll be fun. Don't worry about it. Now, come on. Those storms clouds look dangerous," he said, pulling her hand and running with her towards the bus. He had her laughing by the time they got there, but the worry was still there in the back of her mind.

Tomorrow was going to be torture, she was sure. 

Tomorrow is going to be so much fun, he thought. 

They make such a great couple, Ned thought, thinking he was a genius for coming up with this idea. This was going to be the perfect video. 

Wow. Did you see that coming? Did you like it? Vote! Comment! Tell me how you feel! :D Thanks for reading! I hope you're liking this, because I'm really enjoying writing it. :3 Anyway, God Bless and Happy Reading!