Hunter

Chapter 4

-Mae-

   "You can't be serious!" I squeak, slamming my thumb on the pause button, stopping the sounds emitting from the television to glare at the figure beside me. His mouth opens in disbelief, ready to retaliate, but my next words stop him. "Barney and Robin are not better than Ted and Robin!"

   "Yes, they are!" He argues and I huff, raking my hand through my hair. "They had so much in common!"

   "No, they had too much in common!" He laughs lightly, shaking his head. "They did! It's literally like talking to a mirror!"

   "Since when is that a bad thing?" He says with a small huff. "It's hard to argue if you have the same views."

   "No," I place the controller on the coffee table and stand. "It's boring and lifeless. Why have someone like yourself around when you already got your own concious to deal with?" He shrugs and I make my way over to the kitchen in my dorm room.

   "I would like to meet someone like me," He starts and my heart sinks only a little. "I hate arguing. I don't like hurting people."

   "Arguing isn't about hurting people." I sigh and look through my pantry. My food supply is slowly diminishing, probably because Hunter and I keep hanging out here. I can't fathom the fact that it's Christmas Eve already, and this is how I'm spending it. In all honesty, I wouldn't have it any other way. "It's not about screaming at each other or hurting the other's feelings. It's about sorting out differences and coming to a compromise."

   "What if there is no compromising?" He asks as I walk back with two, half empty bags of chips. "One of the two people would get hurt regardless, no?" I simply shrug and sit down on the floor beside him, leaning against the couch.

   "I guess it depends on what the argument is about." He hums before digging his hand into one of the bags.

   "Then I guess my parents don't know the meaning behind arguing." My eyes soften and my heart aches for him. "I sure as hell don't."

   He's talked to me about his parents once or twice these past couple of months. I remember the nights they happened.

   It would be right when the sun will set during a weeknight as I buried my nose in my books. His call would interrupt me and I could here his voice shake as he said my name.

   I would try to calm him down with stupid puns that swarmed my mind. I couldn't think of anything else that would help in the slightest. The sadness in his voice would send all of me into a panic and I didn't know what else to do or say. I sometimes would contemplate just running to him and comforting him face to face, but a girl sprinting into the boy's dorms late at night would be taken the wrong way by almost everyone.

   It would take nearly an hour for him to finally open up about how much of an asshole his father truly was. The conversations they shared were still the same; they were minimal and dry, and Hunter felt as though there was no care in his father's voice as he scolded him for practically anything. He's never told me what the verbal exchange actually was, but by the way his heavy breathing could be heard through the other line, I knew it affected him deeply.

   He's spoken up about his mother as well. Apparently Hunter wasn't his dad's only target. Harsh words are neverending when it comes to his father. I always find myself feeling for him and his mother, though Hunter reassures me that his father is barely home anyway since he's usually stuck at the hospital.