she will be loved -- ashton irwin

ii.

hunter pulled into the driveway of the house marleigh lead her to, her hand pressed to her burning cheek. her father had asked her to get him a second bottle of fireball, and when she told him she had to leave, his open palm clashed with her face.

she brushed it off, as she always did, and hoped to god that the red print faded quickly.

"hunter! you're here!" marleigh squealed as hunter closed her car door. she tugged on the end of her tight, black dress to pull it down slightly and smiled up at her friend, who was standing next to a boy in the doorway.

"hey," hunter said softly.

"cal, this is hunter."

the boy, who she now knew to be calum, smiled. "damn, ash is gonna love this. come on in, hunter, we're all in the den."

hunter followed marleigh and the boy, who had his lips attached to her neck the entire walk to the room and miraculously didn't stumble over anything.

once the three of them entered the room, hunter's eyes landed on a boy with dimples the size of the grand canyon and brown curly hair.

his green eyes widened at the sight of her. "heather sutton?" he said, completely in awe.

hunter blushed. "um, no, i'm her sister, hunter."

ashton's held his hand over his chest. "oh, thank god. you and heather look a lot alike."

"yeah, uh, we get that a lot."

calum and marleigh were on the couch, one on top of the other, giggling and kissing, so hunter took a seat on the other couch, where ashton was sitting. she sat at the complete opposite end.

"you don't have to sit so far away. i'm not gonna bite," he giggled.

"that's not what heather told me." she said, a small smirk on her lips.

ashton's jaw dropped, but he laughed. "you know what, sutton? i like your spunk."

"i'd prefer if you'd call me hunter, actually."

"hunter's a boy's name."

"do i look like a boy?"

ashton smirked. "well, i don't know. why don't you slip out of that dress and we'll see?"

"you're disgusting."

"hey, come on, i'm joking. i'm trying to break the ice so you aren't so nervous."

hunter raised an eyebrow. "why would i be nervous?"

"do you know who you're sitting next to? who you're on a date with?"

"no, actually. enlighten me."

"the ashton irwin."

"is that supposed to have some sort of meaning to me?"

"my mother owns the largest corporation in orlando. i'm kind of a big deal."

"well, i'm the hunter sutton, and i'm kind of a big deal, too."

"fine, we're both a big deal in orlando. anyway, tell me about yourself."

"oh, well, i'm hunter. i'm a pisces, and i like long walks on the beach."

ashton chuckled. "no, really. your sister probably told you a lot about me, but i can be an actual human when i want to."

"there isn't much to say, really. i'm not anything special. i mean, sure, people know my name, but there's nothing extraordinary about me."

ashton scooted closer to her, causing her to tense up.

"hey, hey, i'm not gonna touch you. but there's gotta be something extraordinary about you."

"well, there really isn't." she answered, looking down at her hands in her lap.

ashton opened his mouth to speak, but hunter's face landed in a certain light, and he stopped. "whoa, why is your cheek red?" he asked, his eyebrows scrunching together.

hunter frantically felt her cheek with her hand. "oh, uh, it's just really hot in here. my cheeks get red when it's warm."

"there's a handprint on your face, hunter, i highly doubt a warm room would cause that."

"marleigh, sorry, but i have to leave. i knew this was a bad idea." hunter said, standing.

"wait, hunter, don't--"

hunter rushed out of the room, to her car. ashton chased after her, but before he could catch up, she was backing out of the driveway.

***

picture is jessica green aka marleigh