Secret Love (Hunter Hayes Fanfiction)

Single

"Amanda, you had better finish what you started or we're both going to be sorry. You get that boy back RIGHT NOW." 

She whimpered, not liking the look in Matt's eyes. His hand raised in warning, and even though his palm didn't connect with her face, she felt the sting of tears in her eyes anyway.

"I will Matt, I promise. I swear I will." She had repeated this over and over in the last six weeks since Hunter had broken up with her, but she was beginning to think she was wrong. He hadn't called; he hadn't texted. He hadn't said anything about her in any of his interviews. If anything, he seemed even more annoyingly happy that he usually was. 

"Whatever. I'm done here," Matt said, turning to walk out the door. Amanda sat on the bed, feeling like a useless toy. Matt would never respect her again if she didn't complete the job. She pulled her phone from her pocket and did something she had sworn never to do again: she texted Hunter.

"Hunter, I will ruin your reputation," she said aloud, typing quickly as the bile rose in her mouth. "Just you wait. Whether you are going to help me with it or not, I will make it happen. Be prepared."

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"Hey, Beth? What kind of lights did Noah put on the ark?" Hunter asked, scrolling through the list of corny jokes he'd found on the internet and reading one off. Beth was still laughing from the last joke, but she calmed down just enough to raise her eyebrow in question. "Flood lights," he said, letting a chuckle slip out as he watched her guffaw some more. 

"These really aren't even that funny," she said between laughs. "I don't know why I can't stop laughing." 

Bethany hadn't felt this good since the video shoot, but things were actually going back to how they used to be with Hunter, or at least she felt like they were. During the day time, she could laugh and talk to him with no problem. They could be friends the way they were before, and she still really enjoyed his company. Night time was a different story, and she was pretty sure the salt on her pillow was beginning to crystalize from all the tears, but she saw it as a small price to pay. It was only a fifth of the hurt she'd feel if she actually let him know of her feelings for him. 

"I have one," Bethany piped up, her smile growing as Hunter looked up and paid rapt attention. "What kind of pepper won't leave you alone?" 

Hunter could see the delight in her eyes, and knew he'd be laughing right along with her, even though he already knew the punch line to this joke. 

"One that's Jalapeno business." She burst into more laughter, shaking her shoulders and tossing her head back. Her laugh was throaty and deep, and if it got really bad, she'd snort wildly and hiccup loudly. Hunter couldn't imagine anyone's laugh being more adorable, or more intoxicating. It was the kind of laugh that could make the whole room laugh, too, even the people who hadn't heard the joke. 

Hunter laughed with her, and Bethany noticed that he was watching her. He'd been doing that a lot lately, and it still made her feel the need to blush. What was he looking at? She couldn't help but think it was still about the kiss, that he was still looking at her differently because she'd confessed one of her secrets. She couldn't begin to imagine what he'd do if he found out about her boss, or how Darryl still treated her, despite all her efforts to put an end to his advances. 

She stopped laughing abruptly, and Hunter was overwhelmed by the ever-growing urge to close the distance between them. She was all the way across the room, but he wanted nothing more than for her to be sitting right beside him, holding his hand, touching his arm - anything that would get her within arm's reach. One of these days he was going to lose the battle he waged with himself and he was going to do something stupid, like kiss her or hug her when she wasn't expecting it. It would give him away, he was sure. She'd know he was hopelessly in love with her and she would never speak to him again. She'd think he was ridiculous, that he was silly and that he should move on.