Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Leah Turner stared at the mirror as she brushed. Her thin face with pale skin, dark brown hair and blue eyes stared back at her. She rinsed her mouth and splashed some water on her face. She could see the circles under her eyes clearly, but she didn't feel like covering them up. She had gotten back late last night, since the party had lasted till about two in the morning. She'd had to sneak out and meet up with her friends. Sneaking back in through her window while being drunk had been an especially difficult task.

She stepped out of the bathroom and made her way back to her bedroom. Her bedroom had changed significantly over the years, in accordance with her interests. At first it had been pink, like most of her friends' rooms. Now, the walls were painted a dark blue, covered with band posters and pictures of her with her friends. Today was the first day of senior year. Last night's party had been a way to start off the new school year. Her head had started aching soon after she had woken up, owing to the drinks she'd had last night, but there were other things on her mind. She picked up her bag and walked downstairs, wondering what would happen today at school.

"Morning, love," her mum smiled as she walked into the kitchen. Her mum, Diane, was sitting at the kitchen table next to her younger sister, Lucy. Leah smiled back at her mum. People always said Leah and her mum looked alike, but she never saw the resemblance herself. Her mother had dark blonde hair and grey eyes that looked stormy and dark when she got angry. Leah had been on the receiving end of those stormy glares often, and they still scared her, even though she was almost eighteen. She had observed that Diane and herself were indeed identical in some ways, like the way they walked or how they both smiled. Diane was a lawyer. She worked at a nearby law firm, where she was a senior partner, so she could pretty much come and go as she pleased. "Are you excited? It's your last first day today."

"Good morning, mum," she replied, picking up a piece of toast from a plate on the counter. "I'm not excited, really," she laughed.

"You should be, you'll be free of high school soon," Lucy chimed in. She looked more like Diane than Leah did, with the same dark blonde hair and grey eyes, but her face was more angular, like their father's. Lucy was a year younger than Leah and was in year 11 at the same school as her.

"It's not all bad," Leah told her. Lucy shrugged, putting the last of her toast in her mouth. "I'm supposed to meet Zach, sorry I can't stay for breakfast," Leah said.

"It's alright, just don't forget to be home soon after school. We have to be there for your dad's event tonight," her mum reminded her.

"Yes, mum, I remember," Leah sighed. "Have a good day, you guys," she told them and stepped out of the house. She shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight that hurt her eyes since she was hungover. She walked down the street, breathing in the fresh morning air, which helped ease her headache a bit. A minute later, she reached Zach Moore's house. Zach was waiting for her on the front steps, having a smoke. His dark brown hair sparkled in the sunlight, his eyelashes casting long shadows down his angular cheekbones. Leah had always been jealous of his eyelashes. Upon seeing Leah, her friend's eyebrows went up, his deep, golden-brown eyes full of amusement.

"You look like crap," he laughed.

Leah made a face at him. "Good morning to you, too," she said, taking the cigarette from his hand and taking a drag.

Both of them had been best friends for fourteen years. Since they had been three years old, Leah and Zach had been inseparable. They had met on the first day of Kindergarten and were still friends. They had spent countless nights at each other's houses watching movies, talking, discussing their futures, planning trips they knew they would never take. Leah and Zach were like family after all these years.

"I think last night's party was the best one James has thrown yet," Zach said as they began walking to school.

"The police showed up at the party, of course it was the best one," Leah laughed. They continued recounting the events of last night. How they'd snuck out to go to the party, how they had gotten drunk and played beer pong and some other games and danced until the police had showed up, at which point the people who were drunk, which was practically everybody, scrambled to get home.

As Leah and Zach reached the gates of their school, Leah put out the cigarette. You couldn't smoke on campus exactly, but the smokers and stoners often went to the roof to have a smoke during school hours. Leah and Zach walked towards the main school building.

"Just the person I needed to see first thing today," Leah clenched her jaw the second her eyes landed on him. Hunter Stevens. He was one of those people who looked good without even trying. His high cheekbones, sharp jawline, light brown hair and bright green eyes had helped him become the center of attention of a number of students. He made excelling in academics and being the captain of the football team at the same time look easy. People would look up the minute he entered the room and some would stare after him longingly. He had been one of Leah's best friend in middle school and had become her worst enemy in high school.

Both Leah and Hunter's fathers were realtors and had started a company together about eight years ago. The Turners and Stevenses would often have lunch together and go on holiday as well, which had led to Hunter and Leah becoming good friends. But then, about four years after Stevens and Turner Realty was started, Hunter's father left the company and took their entire clientele along with him, leaving Leah's father with nothing. Hunter's father started a new company with Landon Knightley, his friend from school. Leah's father had had to rebuild his entire company alone, because he was weary of having another partner. The two companies were in constant competition with each other, resulting in Leah and Hunter's families telling them to stay away from each other. Of course they had paid no heed to these warnings. But then one day, at the beginning of year 9, Hunter did something that changed all of that. Leah still hated him for it, and it seemed that he hated her too.

"We should go, class will start soon," Zach told her. Leah nodded as they walked towards the doors. Hunter was standing near the doors, talking to a blonde girl, who seemed to be staring at him intently. Leah couldn't tell much from the back of her head.

"Jeez, what sewer did you climb out of?" Hunter said as soon as he saw Leah walking in his direction. Leah rolled her eyes at him and kept walking. Hunter stepped away from the girl he was talking to and followed Leah into the school building.

"Leaving your conquest of the week by herself? Such a gentleman," Leah smiled sarcastically at him.

"People like you need to put a little more effort into their looks, y'know. You could at least try," he said gesturing to the circles under her eyes. Leah smacked his hand away, none too gently.

"Don't you have someone else to annoy?" she asked him.

"It's not as fun bothering someone else," he shrugged. Leah rolled her eyes again as she made her way through the crowd and went to her locker. Zach's locker was next to hers. Both their lockers had the same picture taped on the inside- both of them building a sandcastle at the beach when they were ten years old. Leah remembered that day like it was yesterday. Their families had gone to the beach together. Leah and Zach had spent hours making the sandcastle, only for the tide to wash it out. They had both cried all the way home, till Leah's dad stopped the car at the ice cream shop and Leah and Zach forgot all about their ruined sandcastle.

"Why doesn't Hunter just leave you alone?" Zach sighed.

"Forget about him, he's a dick," Leah said, closing her locker.

"Well, that's just harsh," came Hunter's voice from somewhere in the crowd of students.

"Stop eavesdropping, you wanker," Leah groaned. She heard him scoff, which gave her the tiniest bit of pleasure, as she and Zach made their way to their math class. The bell rang as Leah and Zach took their seats next to each other at the back of the class. To Leah's dismay, Hunter took the seat in front of Zach. This would mean having to deal with him all year. As if math wasn't hard enough already without having someone annoy you in every class. Other than the teacher of course. Before she could tell Hunter to take a hike, Mr. Bennet, the math teacher, walked into the classroom with a hurried air about him, and began teaching, not wasting even a second.

After a long hour of solving mathematical equations, the bell finally rang. Students rushed out of the classrooms. Leah and Zach stepped out of the classroom together. Leah saw Lucy coming out of the English classroom with a couple of her friends. She raised her hand and waved at her, but she turned away before she could call out to her.

"Guess she's too cool to talk to her sister at school now," Leah sighed.

"Is that Lucy? I haven't seen her all summer, but damn, she got cute," Zach said, impressed.

"Choose your next words very carefully, Moore," Leah warned him. Zach laughed.

"Relax, would you? I'm just saying, she's cute," he shrugged. Leah shook her head, exhaling deeply. Leah and Zach went back to their lockers to get their books for their next classes. The time passed quickly, and soon it was lunch. Leah and Zach sat at their usual table with their trays in front of them. James and Kirsten, their other friends, also sat at their table.

The group ate their lunch, talking about their first days and some of the incidents that had taken place. As Leah glanced around the cafeteria she saw Hunter and the rest of the football team laughing at something a few tables over. Leah finished her lunch soon, listening to her friends talk. She didn't feel the need to be particularly involved in the conversation for some reason, so she excused herself to the bathroom.

She looked into the mirror once again. The longer you stare at your reflection, the more unreal it seems, like when you say a word over and over and it loses all its meaning. She had always thought about that. Suddenly feeling tired, she splashed some water on her face and then made her way back to the cafeteria. After lunch, Leah went to the rest of her classes. Thankfully, she didn't run into Hunter for the rest of the school day.

Leah and Zach walked back home after school was over.

"You wanna hang out?" Zach asked her as they reached his house.

"No, my dad is being awarded at some function today, so I have to be there," Leah told him. "I think it's called 'The Realtor's Association Awards'? I'm not sure," she admitted.

"Well, have fun," Zach laughed.

"Thanks," Leah groaned. She walked up to her own house and rang the doorbell. Her mum opened the door.

"Good day, honey?" Diane asked. Leah nodded. She never really thought about it when someone asked if she had had a good day. She just nodded or said 'yes' as a reflex. "Lucy's already here, you should get dressed. We have to leave in a half hour."

"Okay," Leah said, silently wondering what kind of award function began this early. She went upstairs to her room, setting her bag down on her bed. Her mum had laid out the dress Leah was supposed to wear. It was navy blue, and the fabric rustled under Leah's fingers like tissue paper. She hated wearing dresses, but she had to make an exception for these functions which she had to attend. Leah put on the dress. It came down to her knees, making her wish it was longer, but she knew better than to argue with her mum. Leah did her hair and make up as quickly as she could, and then slipped on a pair of heels that matched her dress. She opened her bedroom door and saw Lucy, dressed in a similar blue dress, only hers was fitted and satin. She was standing in front of the mirror in her room and seemed to be staring intently at her reflection.

"What are you doing?" Leah asked. Lucy turned around, startled.

"I don't know, I just feel weird," she sighed.

"That makes two of us," Leah replied, shaking her head.

"Yeah, you look like... not you," she said, cocking her head to one side. Leah took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Let's just get this over with, okay? Come on," Leah told her. Lucy nodded at her and they walked down the stairs together.

"Well, don't you both look nice," Diane said, smiling at both of them. She was dressed in a beige coloured dress that made her dark blonde hair and grey eyes look even darker. "Your dad sent a car to pick us up. It's waiting outside." Leah and Lucy nodded and the three of them stepped out of the house together. They got in the car, all three of them in the backseat. The drive to the venue was about twenty minutes. Leah kept thinking about all the things she'd rather be doing than attending this function. She wanted to be there to support her father, but his colleagues were a lot to take.

When they reached the hotel, Leah got out of the car first. Her dress somehow got caught in the seatbelt and she tried to remove it, being careful not to rip it. It finally came free with a jerk, causing her to lose her balance. Someone steadied her all of a sudden, keeping her from falling. She looked down at the person's hands on her arms. They were traced with blue veins. She could smell a faint, citrusy cologne. Something clicked in the back of her mind, but she didn't realize who it was.

"Of course you're here" came a voice. Leah looked up to see Hunter staring down at her.

Chapter Text

"Hunter?" Leah asked disbelievingly. He sighed, exasperated.

"My dad is being awarded, too," he said, letting go of her. Right. Of course. That's why he was here. He was wearing a black tux and a bowtie, his brown hair was smoothed back. He looked different. Older. Mature. Leah wasn't used to seeing him this way. "Take a picture. It'll last longer."

"I wasn't staring," Leah told him, although she didn't believe herself.

Hunter rolled his eyes. "Whatever lets you sleep at night."

"Um, thanks for catching me," Leah said. She didn't want to thank him, but he had just prevented her from making a huge fool of herself in front of everybody.

"Well, I didn't know it was you," Hunter replied.

"And if you had, you'd have let me fall?" she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Maybe," he shrugged.

"Everything okay here?" came Diane's voice from behind Leah.

"Yes. Good to see you, Mrs. Turner," Hunter replied coolly.

"Hello, Diane," a voice behind Hunter said. It was Lindsey, or as Leah knew her, Mrs. Stevens. She had the same brown hair and green eyes as Hunter, but her face was more round. She wore a bottle green dress that looked like it was made of velvet.

"Hello, Lindsey, so nice to see you," Diane said as she and Lindsey exchanged cold smiles. Hunter walked into the hotel without another word to Leah and Lindsey followed suit.

"What were you talking to the Stevens' boy for?" Leah's mother snapped at her.

"I tripped, he just helped me," Leah said. Her mother had no tolerance for the Stevenses. She pretended and smiled around them, but on the inside she hated all the three of them. Since Leah and Hunter's fathers' falling out, it was Diane who had told Leah to stay away from Hunter, rather than her father, Simon. Diane and Lindsey had gotten along well when their husbands had been friends, but after everything that happened, the way the two women behaved with each other would make one think they were born to hate each other.

"I don't want you talking to him again," Diane warned her. Leah nodded because she had no intention of speaking to him again.

Leah, Lucy and Diane walked into the hotel. They followed the crowd of people who had turned up for the event to the ballroom. Inside, the walls of the ballroom were covered in white wallpaper, with a continuous golden floral pattern. There were many large circular tables covered with white tablecloths. Most people were already seated at their tables. Leah was surprised to see the amount of people who had been invited to the event. Apparently, people really cared about real estate or realty or whatever. There was a raised platform at the front of the room, where there was a light brown wooden podium that had the words 'The Realtor's Association' written on it in black. Leah felt slightly better when she realized she had gotten the name right because she'd been feeling guilty for not knowing it.

Leah looked around and saw her father, Simon, waving at them. He was wearing a black suit. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes, which Leah had inherited. He was standing at a table at the front of the room, directly in front of the platform. Leah walked over to the table, Lucy and Diane right behind her.

"Hey, dad," Leah smiled. Simon smiled back at his family.

"I'm so happy you all could be here," he told them.

"Of course, Simon," Diane said, and and the two of them exchanged an unspoken glance. Their marriage was perfect on paper, but only Leah and Lucy knew how it really was. Their parents fought quite often, forcing Leah and Lucy to find excuses to stay out of the house.

Leah glanced at the rest of the table. There were three more empty seats. Before Leah could ask who was going to be joining them, she heard voices. The Stevens family was standing behind them.

"Looks like we've been assigned to the same table," said Josh, Mr. Stevens. He looked very much like Leah remembered him, with jet black hair and an ever-smiling face. Hunter was standing next to his father, and Leah realized with a start that Hunter was now much taller than Mr. Stevens. The last time she had seen them both together, Hunter had come up to his shoulder. Leah heard her mother mutter something about rotten luck. A second later, Diane smiled at the Stevenses.

"What a nice coincidence," she said. Simon and Josh sat down at the table first, next to each other, surprisingly. Diane and Lindsey followed suit, sitting next to each other. Lucy sat down beside Simon, leaving only two seats next to each other, for Leah and Hunter. Leah sighed inwardly, sitting down in the chair on the left, next to her mother. Hunter said nothing, only cleared his throat as he unbuttoned his jacket and sat next to her. Simon and Josh began talking about something to do with realty, which Leah didn't understand, nor did she want to.

"Good evening, everybody," a voice echoed around the room. Leah turned her gaze to the host. The host was a middle-aged man with a broad nose and dark gray hair. He was standing behind the podium, fixing his microphone. "Welcome to the Realtor's Association Awards of 2022. Let us start off this evening with a few words from the president of this association, Mr. Jacob Richards!" A polite round of applause came from the people in the audience as man with gray-white hair and a salt-and-pepper beard stepped onto the stage. The man looked into the crowd and began his speech.

Leah tried to follow his words, but she found herself zoning out and staring at the table. A few servers were going around with glasses of champagne. Leah reached for her glass of water, wishing she could be drinking champagne instead so that this event would be slightly more bearable. Her hands itched to reach into her purse and pull out her phone to text Zach, but she knew her mum would scold her for 'being rude'. She glanced at Hunter next to her, who seemed to be staring off into space, a vacant expression on his face. Suddenly he clenched his jaw and turned to her, leaning in close.

"How many times am I going to catch you staring at me?" he whispered, clearly annoyed. Leah, caught off guard, couldn't think of anything to say. He stared at her for a moment, his electric green eyes bearing into her blue ones, then rolled his eyes and turned away, gesturing to a server for a glass of champagne. He took a sip of the champagne and set the glass down on the table. Leah turned away from him, scolding herself mentally for not being able to think about what to say. She was surprised he was drinking in front of so many people. They were still seventeen, after all, but no one seemed to mind. She almost wanted to follow his lead and ask for a glass herself, but she sighed and turned to look up at the stage. Mr. Richards was still speaking about serving the community and something else that Leah didn't bother to listen to. She wished people would take the phrase 'a few words' in its true meaning.

Her mind started wandering, and she was thinking about anything but this event. Mr. Richards finished his speech. People came on stage and went, accepting their awards and giving their speeches of gratitude. Neither Leah's nor Hunter's fathers had been called onto the stage yet. Leah pulled out her phone to check the time. It was already six-thirty. The time had gone by pretty quickly. Leah quickly glanced at Hunter from the corner of her eye. He was on his phone, texting, by the look of it.

"And now for the moment we've all been waiting," came the host's voice. Leah looked back up at the stage. "Who will be taking home the Realtor's Platinum and Gold Awards? The winner of the Realtor's Gold Award is Mr. Simon Turner of Turner Realty!" The Gold and Platinum awards were a big deal, as the Gold represented the top five percent of realtors in the marketplace and the Platinum represented the top three percent of realtors. Leah knew this because she had heard her parents talk about these awards on multiple occasions.

Simon smiled at his family as cheers and applause ensued from the audience and from Leah and Lucy as well. Diane smiled broadly at her husband as he got out of his seat and walked up to the stage. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens' faces were unreadable. Hunter was still texting on his phone. Part of Leah wondered who he was texting. Maybe it was the blonde girl from this morning, but she shook those thoughts out of her head and turned her attention to her father. Simon grinned as the host presented him with the award. The award was a six inch diamond-shaped piece of glass with a glass base.

"I want to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has helped me reach here. That includes my loving family- my children, Leah and Lucy, and my beautiful wife Diane. I also want to thank my faithful clients, without whom I wouldn't be here," said Simon. "Thank you everybody." He smiled down at his family again as he got off the stage and another round of applause sounded. Simon seated himself at the table again, placing the award in front of him. Leah almost expected her parents to gloat about the award in front of the Stevens', but before anyone could say anything, the host was speaking again.

"And now, for the winners of the Platinum Award, please welcome Mr. Josh Stevens of Knightley and Stevens Realty!" the host said. Diane let out a gasp of surprise, while all the color drained from Simon's face. Josh stood up, a smug expression on his face, and practically strutted onto the stage. The host presented him with an award much like the one that was given to Simon, only much bigger.

"Thank you everybody. Sadly, Landon couldn't be here with us today as he's away on business, but I'm sure he would be as grateful as I am to receive this award. I want to thank my wonderful wife, Lindsey, without whose support I would never be here. Hunter, I hope you will follow in my footsteps and take over the company someday. Make me proud, son," Josh smiled down at Hunter from the stage. Leah looked sideways at Hunter, who looked very uncomfortable. He loosened his bowtie, letting it hang from either sides of his shirt collar and undid the top button of his shirt. He was wearing a silver chain around his neck, which disappeared under his shirt. Leah didn't recall having seen it before. He reached for his half-empty glass of champagne and drained it in one go.

Leah could tell that his father's words had affected him. She had no idea why, since they weren't on talking terms anymore, except for the usual snide remarks. The lost expression on his face made her want to comfort him, but she wouldn't. This was Hunter. He gestured to the server for a second glass of champagne and emptied it the moment he set it to his lips. Josh got off the stage and made his way back to the table. Lindsey smiled at him, and kissed him on the cheek. Neither of them seemed to notice Hunter's uncomfortableness, and if they had, they made no indication of it.

"Thank you everybody for coming tonight," the host said. Hunter stood up immediately and strode out of the room. Leah stared after him for a second, before turning her attention back to the table. Simon seemed to have regained his composure, while Diane was smiling coldly once again. It seemed to be a second nature for her mother at this point.

"Well, I guess congratulations are in order," Simon turned to Josh. "Well done, mate."

"Thank you, Simon. Congratulations to you too," Josh replied, and the two shook hands. Both Lindsey and Diane refrained from commenting, but what each of them wanted to say was clear from their expressions. The rest of the crowd seemed to be in no hurry to disperse. Everyone was talking, laughing and most probably discussing the winners of tonight's awards. Lindsey and Josh stalked out of the room, their heads held high, award in hand. Diane turned to Simon. Here it comes, thought Leah, and sure enough, Diane let out an exasperated sigh.

"How could you not Knightley and Stevens would win the Platinum?" she asked, her voice full of annoyance.

"I had no idea. They never announce who wins the Platinum and Gold beforehand," Simon explained, trying to placate Diane, but she seemed in no mood to listen. Leah looked for Lucy, but she couldn't spot her anywhere. Maybe she had already gone outside to avoid listening to their parents' bickering. Leah wandered away from her parents while they were still arguing. They wouldn't notice she was gone.

She walked out of the ballroom and into the hotel lobby. The lobby smelled like lemon air freshener and wasn't especially crowded. Just a few businessmen and concierges were around. She couldn't see Lucy here, so she walked out of the hotel. It was already nighttime, the sky a dark purple. It had rained while they'd been inside. The night air was cold, making Leah regret the fact that she hadn't brought a coat. She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. She tried to look around for Lucy, maybe she was waiting by the car. But Leah couldn't see her sister anywhere. Where had she gone off to? Leah wished she could have a smoke but if her parents caught her they really would kill her. As she stood by the entrance of the hotel, trying not to shiver too much, someone walked into her from the behind.

"What the f-" her words were cut short as she whipped around and saw that it was Hunter.

Chapter Text

"What the fuck?" she repeated herself. Hunter looked extremely disoriented, his hair was ruffled and sticking up and his green eyes were looking tired. He was holding a silver flask in one hand, his jacket slung over one shoulder.

"Excuse you," he said, taking a swig from his flask.

"Me?" she cried. "You're the one who walked into me."

"Well, then, excuse me," he said simply, taking another sip from his flask. Leah was certain it was whiskey. She could smell it on him faintly. She sighed, staring up at him. "What do you keep looking at me for?" his words were slurred.

"You don't look okay," she said. "Are you alright?" she asked, knowing she would regret it.

"I'm fantastic, can't you see?" he asked, holding up his flask. Leah shook her head.

"Is this because of what your father said?" she questioned. Hunter scoffed.

"Leah Turner, reader of minds, everybody," he said, rolling his eyes and shoved past her without another word. Leah stared after him as he walked to his car. She knew his car well. It was a black Range Rover. She had seen Hunter driving it around for the last two years. He got in the car and slammed the door shut. Leah heard the engine roar to life. A few moments later, he rolled the windows down and pressed hard on the accelerator. The tires screeched on the pavement as he drove away. Through the open windows she could see the wind whipping through his hair and making it messier. She watched the taillights of his car disappeared down the block, wondering what was going through his mind.

Lucy walked up to Leah a second later. "Was that Hunter you were talking to?"

"He was being a jerk. I was just telling him to get lost," Leah lied. "Where have you been?"

"On the phone," her sister answered.

"Who were you talking to?"

"Not important," she replied, walking away from her and standing next to the car that their father had sent to pick them up.

During the ride home, she tried not to pay attention to her parents' fighting. Her mom was annoyed that they had been present at the event to support Simon, only for Josh to win the bigger award. Simon kept on trying to explain to Diane that the Gold was a big achievement for him and that he was on the way to winning the Platinum. Leah felt bad for her father, but she knew not to interfere in their arguing. Lucy was listening to music on her earphones and staring out the car window. Leah followed her lead and gazed out of the window.

The streetlights washed everything around them in a yellow light. The headlights and taillights of passing cars made colourful streaks of light on the wet roads. Leah's mind wandered to Hunter and the way he had reacted to what Mr. Stevens had said. Leah wondered why, because Hunter had known that he was going to inherit his father's company all along and had actually been excited to do so. At least that was the case when they were fourteen. Leah didn't know anymore. She chided herself mentally for giving so much thought to him. He was the same Hunter who had given Leah a reason to dread going to school. Leah shook the thoughts of him out of her head. He didn't deserve all the thought she was giving him.

The minute they got home, Diane went into the bedroom and slammed the door shut. Simon stood rooted in place, in the living room, too stunned to speak. Lucy just cast a backward glance at her sister and father before walking up to her room.

"Um, dad are you okay?" Leah asked. Her father turned to her as if he was just now seeing her.

"Yes, Leah, I'm alright. Your mum just needs her space right now," he told her. Leah nodded, not knowing what else to say.

"Well, goodnight. It was fun. The event, I mean," she said. Simon smiled at her. Leah went upstairs and to her room. Exhaustion hit her as soon as she stepped into her familiar bedroom. She changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. Her mind sank into darkness almost immediately, too tired to dream.

Leah woke up the next morning to an eerily quiet house. She reached for her phone hurriedly, worried she had overslept, but she had plenty of time to get to school. She brushed her teeth, did her hair and makeup and got dressed. She went downstairs to the kitchen to see Lucy sitting alone at the table, eating a pop tart.

"Hey. Where are mum and dad?" Leah asked.

"Dad left for work early and mum's still in her room," she replied.

Leah sighed, exasperated. "I don't get why mum is so mad. It's just a stupid award."

"All of that matters a lot to her, Maybe she feels angrier because Hunter's dad won the better award," Lucy shrugged. Leah's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Hunter. The look on his face last night after his dad's speech came into Leah's mind and she thought about her run-in with him in the parking lot.

"Hello? Earth to Leah," came Lucy's voice. Leah snapped out of it, getting angry at herself for thinking about Hunter again.

"Sorry," she sighed, sitting down at the table and making herself a bowl of cereal. She and Lucy finished their breakfast in silence. After they were done, they both stepped outside. Lucy stood at the curb, waiting for her friend to pick her up, while Leah walked up to Zach's house. It had rained again last night. The sky was still gray and overcast. Leah had to wait a few minutes before Zach came downstairs.

"Mornin' sunshine, how we doing?" Zach said cheerily. Leah raised her eyebrows.

"You seem to be in a good mood today," she commented as they started walking.

Zach only smiled, not replying to Leah's comment. "How was the award thingy last night?"

"Same old shit but a different day," Leah replied, shrugging. She didn't want to get into everything that happened last night. It would make her think about Hunter again and she did not need that.

Leah and Zach entered the main school building and made their way to their lockers, getting out their math books and walking over to the classroom. They took their seats at the back of the room, and Leah couldn't help but notice that Hunter wasn't here yet. A few minutes later, Leah was distracted when she saw Hunter walking into the classroom hurriedly. He walked towards his seat in front of Zach, and he and Leah locked eyes for a moment, before both of them looked away. Leah put her head down on her desk as Mr. Bennet came in and his voice began to drone on about derivation or whatever it was that they were doing in class.

Throughout the lecture, Leah's eyes kept shifting towards Hunter. He was dressed in a plain black t-shirt and dark jeans. Leah noticed the silver chain disappearing down his t-shirt again. He didn't seem to be paying attention to Mr. Bennet, just like she wasn't. Thankfully Zach didn't notice Leah glancing at Hunter from time to time.

The bell finally rang, but only after Mr. Bennet had given them a fuck ton of homework. Leah and Zach left the class together and walked back to their lockers to get their books for their next class. She could hardly remember what had been taught in any of the classes that day as she and her friends made their way to lunch. They all took their seats at their usual table. Leah glanced behind her as she sat down, seeing Hunter at his table with his friends. He didn't seem to be paying attention to them, either. She shook the thoughts out of her head, turning her attention back to her table.

"Daniela asked me out," James was saying. Zach looked up in surprise.

"Daniela? Remind me who that is again," he said. James gaped at him in surprise.

"Daniela Simms? Brown hair, glasses, dreamy blue eyes? How do you not know her?" James questioned.

"She's in year 11, isn't she?" Leah asked. She remembered a girl from Lucy's class who fit that description.

"Yeah, she is," James replied.

"She seems nice. She's friends with Lucy, I think," Leah told her. Kirsten shot her a weird look, which Leah didn't quite understand. James just smiled and nodded. All of a sudden, Leah heard a commotion somewhere behind her. She turned around to see what was going on. She saw her sister arguing with a blond-haired girl. As she watched, the other girl jabbed a finger at Lucy, who smacked her hand away and pushed her back. Leah was out of her seat in a split second, rushing to de-escalate the fight.

"You know what I told you is true." The other girl chuckled.

"Shut up." Lucy glared at her.

"What's going on, Lucy?" Leah asked, looking from her sister to the other girl.

"Nothing. Go back to your table," Lucy said. Leah scoffed.

"Aw, that's so cute. Your sister is fighting your fights," the other girl said. "Should I tell her what I was just saying?"

"Leave her out of this," Lucy seethed.

"Or what?" the girl questioned. "Is little Lucy going to yell at me for talking to her sister?"

"Oh, screw you," Lucy snarled. Leah stood frozen in place as the girl slapped Lucy. "You're dead, Peggy," Lucy hissed, a red handprint appearing on her cheek. She lunged at Peggy, but before she could land a punch, Hunter was standing in front of Lucy. It was almost as if he'd appeared out of thin air.

"Hey, stop it," Hunter said, pushing Lucy back. "You could get suspended."

"Move," Lucy said, trying to push past him.

"Get out of here," Hunter turned to Peggy, who smiled disbelievingly. Hunter simply raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. Peggy blushed and turned around to scramble out of the cafeteria without another word.

"Lucy, are you alright?" Leah rushed to her sister, and tried to get a look at her cheek.

Lucy flinched away from her. "Leave me alone," she said. "You should never have intervened to begin with."

"What? I was trying to help," Leah replied, startled.

"Well, don't, alright? Just go away," she snapped. "You always make things worse."

"Don't speak to her like that." To Leah's surprise, it was Hunter who had come to her rescue. She turned around and looked up at him. He was staring at the ground, his face unreadable.

"Whatever," Lucy rolled her eyes and stalked out of the cafeteria. Leah stood staring after her, shocked. Her sister had never spoken to her like that before.

"Just give her some time," came Hunter's voice. She turned to him again, her heart skipping a beat. He hadn't looked up from the ground.

"Um, thanks... for helping," Leah told him. He looked up and just nodded at her curtly, then walked back to his table. Leah stood rooted in place for a minute, still trying to process what had just happened. What could Peggy have meant by what she'd said? She was jolted out of her thoughts when someone placed a hand on her shoulder. It was Zach, his brown eyes full of concern.

"What happened? Wasn't that Peggy who Lucy was arguing with?" he questioned.

"Yeah, that was her. I'm not sure what happened. Lucy and Peggy were arguing and the fight escalated because Peggy egged Lucy on," Leah replied.

"And what did Hunter want?" Zach asked.

"Uh, he just told Lucy not to fight because she could get suspended and told Peggy to leave," Leah answered. They walked back to the table, Leah trying to compose her thoughts as best as she could.

"Hey," Zach whispered to Leah. Leah leaned towards him. "Is Lucy alright? I saw Peggy slap her."

"I don't know. She was quite rude to me," Leah admitted.

"Maybe I could try to talk to her," Zach shrugged. Leah was slightly taken aback.

"Yeah, right," she chuckled darkly. "You could try if you want. I doubt you'll have much success."

Zach just nodded and said nothing as he went back to his food.

Lunch was over soon and they had to return to class. They had English now. Leah usually liked English, but today she had too much on her mind to pay attention in class. She was too busy wondering what Peggy could have meant. What did Lucy not want her to know? Zach had barely spoken two words to her after their conversation at lunch. Leah hoped she hadn't been too rude to him, but she was honestly surprised that Zach wanted to talk to Lucy. Before his remark the day before, about Lucy being cute, he had shown no interest in even talking to her.

When Leah snapped out of her thoughts, she realized she was on her way to last period already. Zach was walking beside her, and by the looks of it, he was lost in his own thoughts. Leah barely paid attention to what the teacher was saying. A part of her wondered how she would pass in any of her subjects if she failed to pay attention from the start of the semester itself.

Before she knew it, the bell was already ringing to mark the end of the school day. Leah got up silently, making her way to her locker. Zach followed her without a word. While both of them put their books back in their lockers, Leah heard Lucy's voice somewhere behind her and turned around at the same time as Zach. Zach wandered over to where Lucy was standing. Lucy's face brightened up noticeably as Zach approached her. She seemed to be asking him something and he laughed in response, shrugging. Leah thought about listening to what they were talking about, but then decided against it.

She walked out of the school building, taking out her earbuds. She was in no mood to talk to Lucy, so she decided to listen to music while she waited for Zach to be done. Leah registered that Zach and Lucy were a lot closer than she'd thought them to be. Maybe they were even friends, but Leah had no idea about it. She leaned against the wall, at the very end of the parking lot and watched students walking out of the gates. She was craving a ciggie and decided to have one, since she was out of view of most people and the teachers would mostly be in the staff room now. She pulled one out of the pack and lit it using the pink lighter Zach had gifted her. She took a deep drag and felt her muscles ease. She realised that she was standing near a black Range Rover when she saw Hunter walking towards it. He turned towards her, as if he had sensed her looking at him. Leah tried to diffuse the smoke by waving her hands, aware of the fact that Hunter had asthma. She didn't want to start another argument with him.

"It doesn't bother me anymore," he told her when he saw what she was trying to do.

"Since when?" she asked him, surprised.

"What do you care?" he replied. "Smoke away." They held each other's gaze again for a moment, before Leah looked away, clenching her jaw and taking another drag. She heard him get into his car and pull out of the parking lot. Zach walked out of the main building then.

"Leah smoking? Without me?" he asked, feigning a hurt look. Leah rolled her eyes and smiled, passing him the cigarette.

"What did Lucy say?" Leah asked him.

"Let's go," Zach said, walking towards the gate. Leah followed him.

"What did she say?" she questioned again.

"Nothing much," Zach shrugged. Leah was surprised at his nonchalant manner. She felt almost annoyed. She bit back her thoughts, increasing the volume of her earbuds, as she stuffed her hands into her pockets and walked home with Zach.

Chapter Text

When they reached their neighbourhood, Leah and Zach went their separate ways, only saying a quick goodbye to each other. Leah was now feeling uncomfortable. She kept wondering if she had done anything wrong, but she couldn't come up with an answer. She opened the door to her house with her keys. She saw a note her mother had quickly scribbled, saying she was at a client's house. Lucy wasn't back yet. Leah headed straight up to her room, deciding to take a shower. She paired her Bluetooth speaker with her phone and chose a playlist with her favorite songs as she stepped into the shower. The hot water eased her tense muscles, with the music drowning out her thoughts.

A few minutes later, she stepped out of the shower and got dressed. She sat down on her bed and continued listening to her playlist. A while later, she heard the front door open. Lucy was back. She took a deep breath and made her way to her room after a few minutes, hoping she had calmed down by now. She knocked on her door, waiting a moment before she opened it. Lucy was lying on her bed, looking at her phone. She sat up when she saw Leah. The handprint was still visible faintly on her cheek. It was almost cartoonish.

"Hey," Leah said, hanging back awkwardly near the door.

"Hey. Um, listen, I'm sorry," she said, staring at her feet. "I was just really pissed. I know you were trying to help."

"It's okay. I get it. Are you alright?" she asked. Lucy shook her head.

"My face hurts like hell. But I'm not worried about that. What am I going to tell mum and dad if the school calls?" she sighed, burying her face in her hands. Leah walked towards her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Just tell them the truth, because the school will probably call them. If they don't already know, then you can relax," Leah said. Lucy groaned and nodded. "What happened, by the way? I thought you and Peggy were friends."

"I thought so, too, but she was being a jerk. I just lost it," she answered. Leah didn't want to pry any more, in case she got mad again.

"Um, did Zach say anything to you?" Leah asked.

"Huh? He just asked if I was okay and if there was something he could do," she replied a second later. Leah just nodded, unsure of what to say. "Why did Hunter intervene, though?"

"I'm not really sure," Leah admitted. "He just showed up."

"Oh," Lucy said. "I won't mention that to mum. She'll be even angrier if I do."

"Good idea," Leah nodded. Lucy smiled at her, then grimaced in pain. "Oh, shit. Right. Wait here." Leah hurried down to the kitchen and grabbed an ice pack. She rushed up the stairs and handed it to Lucy, who pressed it to her face.

"Thanks," she said, her voice muffled because of the ice pack. Leah smiled and nodded at her, and told her to get some rest. She went back to her room and got started on her homework, feeling somewhat better now that she knew Lucy wasn't mad at her. Halfway through the homework, she lost her focus and decided to practice guitar instead. She used to play it everyday until last year, but the workload increased in the latter half of year 11 and she couldn't find time for it anymore. She strummed as softly as she could with her thumb, instead of using a pick like she normally would, to avoid angering her her mum or sister. When Leah would practice a song over and over, it would usually annoy her family members because they had to keep hearing it for hours on end. She was sure her mother was still going to be in a bad mood, and if the school had called her up about Lucy then she would be in an even worse mood.

There was a knock on her door. "Hey. I think dinner's ready," Lucy said. Leah nodded, setting her guitar aside and following her sister downstairs. They both walked into the kitchen and saw their parents seated at the kitchen table. Plates of food were already served and placed on each of the four tablemats.

Neither of their parents mentioned anything about the school or Lucy's argument as Leah and Lucy sat down at the table. That meant the school hadn't called them. Leah glanced down at her plate. Diane had made grilled chicken and a side of vegetables. Leah played with her food for a bit, the silence at the table unnerving her. It was almost never quite during dinner. Either Simon or Diane would always talk about their day, but today neither of them were speaking. A few minutes later, Lucy had finished her dinner and gone back to her room. Leah decided that finishing her dinner would mean that she would be able to escape this uncomfortableness faster. She scarfed down her food quickly and excused herself to her room, leaving Simon and Diane alone at the table in silence.

Leah lay down on her bed, unsure of what to do now. It was only nine p.m. Under normal circumstances she would have called up Zach, but she didn't feel like talking to him today. She decided to watch Netflix for a while.

Leah woke up the next morning, groggy and unable to remember when she'd fallen asleep. She went downstairs, first one in the kitchen. She made herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a cup of coffee and sat at the table. She was looking at posts on her Instagram home page, taking her time with breakfast, when Lucy walked into the kitchen. She had circles under her eyes, her cheek appearing slightly purple and bruised.

"Hey," Leah said, worried. "Did you not get enough sleep last night?"

"I'm alright, really. I just look tired," Lucy said, fixing herself a cup of coffee. She sat down opposite Leah, who still wasn't convinced that her sister was alright, but she didn't say anything. They both finished their breakfast in silence and stepped outside. Zach was already waiting for Leah when she reached his house.

"Hey," Zach said as he saw her. Leah only smiled in response. Leah and Zach walked to school in silence, but it wasn't exactly uncomfortable. Leah spent most of the walk wondering whether she'd been overthinking Zach's behaviour yesterday. Yes, she saw the irony, but what could she do? They reached the gates of the school before Leah could arrive at a conclusion. She walked to her locker as Zach wandered off somewhere. They still had a few minutes before the bell rang.

Leah heard laughter somewhere behind her as she got out the books she would need. She turned to see Hunter talking to the blonde haired girl from before. The girl was laughing, while Hunter stood next to his locker and smiled. The girl touched his arm lightly, and Hunter looked up at that moment and locked eyes with Leah for a split second. Leah turned away immediately, and went to sit in the math classroom even though she had some time before class. Zach followed her a few minutes later. Hunter entered the classroom, taking his seat in front of Zach. Leah thought he almost turned to look at her, but then thought better of it. And what did she care anyway?

Mr. Bennet began teaching as usual. Leah tried her best to pay attention and do her work. An hour passed by, considerably quickly since it was math. The bell rang and students rushed outside. Leah and Zach followed them outside, Leah feeling slightly awkward, not knowing what to say.

"Are you alright?" came Zach's voice. "You've been uncharacteristically quiet today." Leah turned to look at him, biting her lip nervously.

"Yeah. I'm just, uh, overthinking some stuff," she replied. Zach looked at her, concerned.

"Well, you know my policy, Turner. If you need to talk, you know where to find me," he told her, gripping her shoulder. Leah smiled at him. Before she could speak, they were joined by James and Kirsten. The blonde girl Leah had seen Hunter with was also with them.

"Hey, guys. This is Emilia. She's in our grade and she's new here," Kirsten said, pointing to the girl. Emilia smiled at them. Leah and Zach glanced at each other, before smiling back at Emilia.

"We're thinking about catching a movie tonight. Would you guys like to come?" Emilia asked them both, her brown eyes sparkling.

"Uh, yeah, sure. That sounds fun," Leah agreed after a second.

"See you guys at six, then," Emilia grinned, turning around and walking off.

"This will be interesting," Zach whispered to Leah. Leah nodded, unsure of what to think.

The rest of the school day passed speedily. Nothing quite interesting happened, except for Emilia joining their table at lunch. Zach and Leah walked home together as usual. They'd decided to meet at a quarter to six to go to the movie theatre together in Zach's car.

Leah went upstairs to her room as soon as she got home. She got through her homework as quickly as she could and chose an outfit to wear to the theatre. Diane wasn't home, and neither was Lucy. Simon always worked late, especially when things were bad at home, like they were now. Leah got dressed and scribbled a quick note to them, telling them she was going to the movies with Zach and a couple of other friends. She grabbed her purse and phone and walked outside to see Zach's car idling at the curb. She opened the door and got in, smiling at Zach, who returned the smile.

Zach put the car in drive, passing the aux cord to Leah. Leah chose a song that she and Zach had loved since the day it came out, about four years ago. They both sang along as best as they could, reaching the movie theatre in a few minutes. It was really walking distance from their neighbourhood, but Zach had wanted to drive so Leah agreed to go by car. They walked inside to see James, Kirsten and Emilia already waiting for them.

"Hey, guys," Emilia waved at them eagerly. Leah smiled as she and Zach walked over to their friends.

"What are we watching?" Zach asked.

"Emilia was just saying that we should watch 'Without You'. The show starts in about ten minutes," said Kirsten.

"What's it about?" asked Leah. She had a feeling it was going to be a romantic movie.

"Oh, it's a rom-com. I've heard that it's great," Emilia replied, grinning. James and Kirsten nodded like they wanted to watch this movie too. Zach turned towards Leah, raising his eyebrows. Leah knew that if she said no the group would be disappointed, so she just shrugged.

"Great," Emilia smiled broadly. "Anything from the concession stand?" James, Kirsten and Emilia wandered over to the concession stand and ordered popcorn, soda and some candy. Leah and Zach hung back while the others got the tickets.

"So," said Zach. "What do we think of Emilia so far?"

"Uh, I don't know. I mean, she seems quite nice, but then there's the Hunter of it all," replied Leah.

"I know. Best to be a bit wary," he told her. "Also why the fuck did you agree to watch this movie? I was counting on you to say no."

Leah laughed. "I'm sorry. I didn't wanna be the party pooper."

"Ugh. You know I hate rom-coms, Lee," Zach groaned.

"That's not true! We watched a few of them together during sleepovers," Leah recalled.

"Those were Bollywood films. I love those. But this," Zach gestured to the poster for 'Without You' and shuddered. Leah laughed again and put her arm around him.

"Come on, give this movie a chance," she told him. Zach rolled his eyes but said nothing, because the rest of the group were on their way back to them.

"We're in theatre two," said Kirsten. They went into theatre number two, finding their seats quickly before the lights could dim. Zach sat on one side of Leah, while Emilia sat on her other side. The lights dimmed almost immediately after they sat down. The opening scene was one of a wedding, a beautiful wedding in the evening, with white flowers and string lights hung up everywhere. The bride and groom were standing under an arch of white roses, about to say their vows, when suddenly there was a commotion and a man wearing a black tuxedo burst into the venue and yelled 'I should never have let you go, Rachel. I can't live without you.' The scene faded and the title of the movie came up on screen. Zach rolled his eyes and slid down in his seat, closing his eyes. Leah smiled to herself.

Emilia turned to Leah excitedly. "Isn't it great?" she asked eagerly. Leah nodded, although she didn't know what was so great about that one scene. The movie progressed, with Rachel and the man in the black tuxedo, Michael, dashing out of the wedding together, with Rachel's would-have-been groom gaping after them. Rachel and Michael ended up staying at a hotel, discussing what they'd do now. Michael promised Rachel he wouldn't repeat his last mistake.

Leah started losing interest soon, and found herself lost in her own thoughts. Things seemed to have gone back to normal with Zach. She was still worried about Lucy having fought with Peggy. Lucy and Peggy had friends for as long as Leah could remember. Sure, she hadn't remembered Peggy's name but she remembered having seen her at the house once and with Lucy at school many times. She thought back to the fight that Lucy and Peggy had had, and how Hunter had intervened. Leah was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts as a loud text notification rang through the movie theatre. Emilia blushed. Zach woke up with a start on Leah 's other side then turned in his seat and went back to sleep.

"I'm sorry, it's my phone. Forgot to put it on silent," she whispered, turning off the ringer. Leah glanced over at her. Emilia smiled awkwardly. "Sorry again. Hunter texted me asking if the movie was over yet," she explained in a low voice.

"Hunter Stevens?" Leah asked in the same low voice, pretending as if she hadn't seen them talking to each other all over the school.

"Yeah, we've become friends," Emilia replied. "Although, I'm hoping it turns into something more," she smiled at the thought.

"Oh, that's nice," Leah whispered through gritted teeth. Emilia smiled again, not noticing the change in Leah's tone, and turned back to the screen. Leah followed her example, looking back at the screen, trying to push back the hollow feeling arising in her chest.

Chapter Text

"Did you like it, then?" Emilia asked keenly as the ending credits rolled.

"It was amazing," Kirsten said enthusiastically. "I cried at the end."

"What did you think, Leah? Leah," Emilia nudged her lightly with her elbow.

"Huh?" Leah started, suddenly shaken out of her thoughts. "Oh, yeah, um, good movie."

"Yeah," said Zach, staring sideways at Leah as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. They all walked out of the theatre together.

"You guys want to get some dinner?" James asked, looking around at everyone.

"Yes, please, I'm starving," Emilia said. They started in the direction of a nearby café. Zach pulled out a cigarette and lit it. After taking a drag, he offered it to Leah. When she didn't react he pulled her aside.

"Are you okay?" Zach whispered to Leah. Emilia, Kirsten and James were walking ahead of them, still discussing the movie. Leah still had no idea what happened in the end. She had just sort of zoned out again after her conversation with Emilia.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Leah replied quickly.

"You seem... disconnected from everything," Zach continued, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm fine, seriously," Leah insisted. She had no reason not to be fine, didn't she? "Just drop it."

"Alright, bloody hell," Zach sighed, taking another drag from his cigarette.

They walked into the café a few minutes later and got a table by the big glass window. They ordered burgers, fries and milkshakes and everyone except Leah and Zach chatted animatedly about the movie. Leah stayed quiet because she didn't really know what had happened. Zach obviously didn't know what happened either because he'd been sleeping soundly during the movie. She tried to catch up with what they were saying, but it still didn't make sense to her. Apparently, Michael had repeated whatever mistake he'd made before and Rachel was mad at him again and went back to the guy she had agreed to marry in the first place. Leah completely stopped trying to make sense of it when she heard that Rachel left her groom-to-be for a second time.

After finishing with dinner, the group parted ways. Leah and Zach walked back in silence to where his car was parked. Zach started the car, passing the aux to Leah again.

"Uh, I don't know what to play. Why don't you suggest something?" Leah murmured, looking out of the window.

"Okay, what is going on with you? You always want to play songs in the car. You never even let me choose them," Zach said. "Start talking. Now."

"It's nothing," Leah replied, but when Zach raised an eyebrow at her, she sighed and explained. "Emilia got a text from Hunter during the movie and she told me that she's hoping they can be more than friends," Leah mumbled.

"That's why you've been so quiet? What the fuck, Leah?" Zach exclaimed. "I thought you weren't going to let thoughts of that dickhead take up any more of your time."

"It's-- It's not that easy, Zach!" Leah said, exasperated. 'And it's sort of been different, lately,' she thought to herself.

"Are you jealous of her or something, then?" Zach questioned.

"No!" Leah exclaimed, but she wasn't entirely sure.

"Good. Or else I'd think you've forgotten what he did," Zach glared at her.

"Of course not!" Leah protested. "I remember. I can't forget it." Memories tried to surface in Leah's mind, but she pushed them back. It had been months since she'd thought about that incident. Really thought about it. Now was not the time. "I'm not saying that I feel anything for him or something, I'm just wondering whether or not I should tell Emilia."

"Well, we sort of just met her. And Hunter is a vile person, obviously, but she may not believe you. It's probably better if she sees it for herself," Zach reasoned.

"So I should just say nothing?" Leah asked. "That feels wrong."

"Look, she's still just friends with him. Maybe if it turns to something more, you should tell her," Zach suggested.

"Fine," Leah agreed. A few minutes later, Zach pulled up outside Leah's house. "Thanks. For everything."

"You know I got your back, Lee," Zach told her. Leah smiled. "See you tomorrow."

"Yep, see you. Goodnight, Zach," Leah replied, getting out of the car. She walked up the steps to her house while Zach drove off, and rang the doorbell.

"Hey," Lucy opened the door. She looked the same as she had that morning, with dark shadows under her eyes.

"Hey. Mum home?" Leah asked. Lucy shook her head.

"She was. But then something came up and she had to go back to the office."

"Oh, okay."

"She left some money for dinner, though. What do you want to eat?" Lucy asked.

"I already ate, but thanks. You can order whatever you like for yourself," Leah smiled at her. Lucy grinned back. Leah took the stairs two at a time to her room. It was just half-past nine. There was no way she could sleep right now, even though she was tired. She hadn't slept this early in the longest time.

She regretted finishing her homework early because she had nothing to do now. She decided to play guitar again. After a while she heard the doorbell ring and then voices. She figured her parents were home and Lucy was talking to them. She didn't feel like going downstairs right now. Hopefully her mum was being less cold towards her dad over that stupid award. Leah didn't see why it was such a big deal to her mother to beat the Stevenses in everything.

About a half an hour later, Leah put in her earphones and opened her window. Hers was the only room with full access to the roof from the window. She climbed out onto the roof carefully, putting her phone in her pocket. She sat down close to her window, so she could sneak back in quickly in case her mum called her. She lit a cigarette, took a drag and leaned back, letting her feet dangle off the side of the roof, and stared up at the stars and the sky while Grey Lynn Park by The Veils played on her earphones.

Leah didn't know how long she'd been on the roof. She had been lost in her own world with the music, which had always proved to be an escape for her. After a while, Leah was staring out at the horizon from where she lay. There were dark clouds in the sky, which was not surprising because the weather was always gloomy and dreary where she lived. The streetlights created intermittent pools of yellow light. There was also warm white light emanating from the front porches of some of the houses. Leah could also see the lights from the commercial buildings glinting in the distance. She glanced back at her street and her eyes landed on someone who was jogging down the other side of the street. The person was wearing a dark jumper and sweatpants. Even from across the road the person looked quite familiar to Leah for some reason. She stared at them in concentration as they jogged right across from her house. Suddenly the person stopped in place and looked up at her, almost like he knew that someone was staring at him.

Leah just about fell off the roof when she realized it was Hunter. She steadied herself quickly, breathing hard. She looked back at Hunter, who was staring up at her, dark hair falling into his eyes. Had she imagined the look of panic that had flashed across his face when she had lost her balance? Probably. It was hard to tell now, as he was wearing his usual expression of apathy. Hunter resumed his jogging without another glance in Leah's direction. Leah crawled into her room through the window, her heart rate finally slowing to normal once her feet were on solid ground.

She sat on her bed, thinking about what she had just seen. Her mind wandered back to when she was in middle school. Leah, Zach and Hunter used to have sleepovers at Leah's house all the time just because they could sit out on the roof at night. Leah remembered one time when Zach had been sick and it was just her and Hunter at the sleepover. They'd stayed out on the roof till sunrise, just talking and listening to music and eating snacks. That had been one of the best days of Leah's life, and now she didn't even speak to Hunter. She couldn't change what had happened. Not that it was her fault, anyway. The memory she'd been forcing back all night finally broke their way to the surface. The memory from the beginning of year 9.

***

"Come with me," Hunter whispered, pulling Leah along by her hand into the school. Leah, Zach and Hunter were standing by the football field, watching the first game of the season. Hunter hadn't tried out for the team yet. Leah let him pull her along, as Zach watched them suspiciously from the corner of his eye.

Hunter and Leah had been spending a lot of time together in the summer before school had started. Once, late at night, they'd been watching a movie together at Hunter's house, just the two of them. They'd stolen some of Hunter's mom's wine and had had a little too much to drink. Soon, they were kissing and then one thing led to another. The next thing Leah knew was that she was waking up in Hunter's bed the next morning. Leah was scared things between them would change, but nothing like that happened. They were friends like before, but whenever Zach wasn't around, they would kiss and fool around. They weren't dating, exactly. Leah wished she could have asked him what they were, but she couldn't build up the courage for it.

Hunter pulled Leah into an empty classroom. He looked down at her and she reached up and pressed her lips to his. He kissed her back, putting his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.

After a few seconds, Hunter pulled away, a serious expression on his face. "I need to talk to you."

"What?" Leah asked, her eyes glancing over his face in the dark classroom. "Hunter, what? You're scaring me."

"Look, this," he pointed at himself and her. "It's fun. Really fun."

"Yeah, I know. It feels right," she said, staring at his face, at his dark brown hair falling into his green eyes. "Look, can I tell you something? I think we owe it to ourselves to find out if we can be more than friends. I want to date you. Will you go out with me?" Leah asked, staring up at him hopefully, her heart thudding in her chest.

Hunter just smiled and toucher her cheek with his thumb. She shivered slightly, but not from cold. He leaned in, touching his lips to hers. She closed her eyes and kissed him back. A moment later, Leah heard someone clapping. She pulled away from Hunter hastily. Justin Williams and Kevin Smith, whom Leah had known since middle school, were standing in the classroom. Kevin had his phone in his hand, like he was recording.

"I didn't think you could do it," Justin said, impressed.

Leah was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Told you I could do it," Hunter laughed and walked over to Justin and Kevin.

"I don't understand. What is going on, Hunter?" Leah whispered.

"I dared Hunter to make you think he liked you. But you telling him that you liked him instead, now that was unexpected," Justin laughed.

"What? So- so, none of that meant anything?" Leah stammered.

Hunter chuckled, shaking his head. "Did you honestly think I liked you? Come on, Leah," he laughed again. Leah felt her face go red, tears welling in her eyes. Kevin clicked on the screen and Leah heard her own voice asking Hunter if she could tell him something and everything that followed, right up to what Hunter had said just now.

"I can't believe you did that, Hunter. On a fucking dare," Leah spat.

Hunter shrugged. "Technically, I didn't do anything."

"That doesn't make it okay," she hissed.

"Well, our work here is done. This one's all you, Hunter," Kevin said, as he and Justin backed out of the classroom quickly.

"Leah, I'm sorry, alright?" Hunter sighed. "It was supposed to be just for fun."

"Fun? What part of that was fun?" she demanded.

"Look, can we just let it go? It was a joke," he said.

"And what about what I said?" she questioned.

"No one told you to say that. It's not my fault," Hunter shrugged again.

"Are you serious?" Leah glared at him, unable to believe this was happening.

"God, you girls are all the same. You think someone is into you because they give you the tiniest bit of attention," he scoffed.

"We- we had sex. That couldn't have been meaningless to you," Leah choked out.

Hunter clenched his jaw and stared at the floor, saying nothing.

"Fuck you, Hunter. I don't even recognize you anymore," Leah hurled at him, running out of the classroom as her tears spilled over.

Justin and Kevin sent that video to everyone at school, 'Leah Turner pwned by Hunter Stevens' the title said. Soon it had reached Leah's parents. The next day at school, the video was all anyone could talk about. Leah saw Hunter in the cafeteria that day. She had wished then that she could have punched him in the face, and part of her still wished she had taken that chance. Zach got angry at Leah after he'd seen the video, because Leah had spoiled the group's 'dynamic' by asking Hunter out. Leah told Zach about what had happened, but she left out the part about her and Hunter hooking up in the summer. She knew Zach wouldn't take it well, and he didn't. But then after a few days, Zach came back to Leah and stuck with her till the video had become old news.

Leah's parents were beyond angry at her. They lectured her for hours, about responsibility, because her actions had tarnished her father's reputation blah, blah, blah. Leah could barely get out of bed those few days, she definitely didn't find the strength to actually listen to one of her parents' many lectures. What's worse was that Leah had been lying to her parents about the fact that she and Hunter had still been friends even after her parents had specifically told her not to talk to him. They reminded her that they had specifically told her to stop talking to Hunter nearly a year before, and then suddenly there was a video going around of Leah asking Hunter out. If only they knew the truth about what had led up to that moment.

***

Leah was shaken out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on her door. Lucy opened the door, poking her head inside.

"Can I borrow your charger? I can't find mine," she asked.

"Yeah, go ahead," she told her.

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked, gesturing to Leah's face. Leah touched her cheek, just now realizing that she'd been crying.

"Um, yeah, I'm fine," she wiped at her cheeks hastily.

"Well, if you want to talk about it, I'm here," she told her as she picked up the charger.

"Thanks," she smiled at her. She smiled back, closing the door on her way out and leaving Leah alone with her thoughts once again.

Chapter Text

Leah was almost late for school the next morning. Memories of last night came swirling back into her mind, but she pushed them away. She couldn't think about any of that again. She walked into the bathroom and splashed some water on her face, hoping it would help. It didn't. She got dressed anyway, putting on the first outfit she saw. She rushed down the stairs. Her mum informed her that Lucy had already left. Leah quickly chugged down a cup of coffee. There was no way she could survive today without coffee. She hurried out the door, almost running to Zach´s house.

Zach was waiting for her on the curb. "What the hell? Where were you?"

"Sorry, I overslept," Leah apologized. Zach just sighed.

"We should take my car, it'll be faster than walking," he suggested. Leah agreed. They made it to the school building just before the first bell. Leah and Zach dashed to their math class and took their seats just as the bell rang and Mr. Bennet entered the classroom. Hunter looked up as he saw Leah and Zach rush in at the last minute. Leah had no time to think about it as she opened her book to keep up with Mr. Bennet, who had already begun teaching.

At lunch, Leah sat with Zach and the rest of their friends as usual. She expected Emilia to be there, but she wasn't around.

"Where's Emilia?" Leah whispered to Zach, who lightly tilted his head to the left, glancing at the football players' table. Leah followed his gaze, her eyes landing upon Emilia, who was sitting next to Hunter. Leah glanced at Hunter. He was staring at his plate, toying with his food. He looked up as Leah was about to look away, and glowered in Leah's direction, before Leah rolled her eyes and turned back to her table. It seemed like Hunter had some intuitive power that made him aware of when someone was looking at him. Leah decided that she had to keep that in mind, then chided herself for thinking so.

The rest of the school day was uneventful. Leah hung back with her friends and Emilia after school as they waited for James' new girlfriend to be done with her classes. Kirsten did not look too happy about that. They were about to leave when Leah got a text message from Lucy. 'Just got home to mum and dad arguing. Don't even know why they're home right now. Stay out late if you can.' Leah typed in a quick thanks to her.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go study at the library. I've got some assignments to do," Leah said.

"What assignments?" Zach asked, making the others look at Leah questioningly. Leah just arched an eyebrow, hoping Zach would get the message. "Oh, right, the history thing you were telling me about." Leah nodded.

"Oh, okay. See you later, Leah," Kirsten said. James smiled at her before he, Daniela and Kirsten walked out of the school building.

"You okay?" Zach whispered to Leah. Emilia was still here. "Want me to stay back with you?"

"It's okay," she shook her head. "Thanks, though. I'll call you tonight," Leah told him. He nodded and smiled at her then left.

Leah turned around to head to the library, when she saw Emilia was still standing next to her.

"Um, hey," Emilia said. "I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Go on," Leah told her.

"Well, I saw you... during lunch. You were staring," Emilia started. No, no, no. Fuck.

"What?" Leah asked, trying to be casual.

"I hope you're not mad at me," Emilia stared at the floor.

"Huh?" Leah was confused.

"Well, I figured you were mad I didn't sit with you guys at lunch. I just wanted to sit with Hunter today. I hope that's okay with you," the other girl smiled apologetically.

"Oh, um, yeah. Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. Of course that's alright," Leah assured her.

"Thanks. I knew you'd understand," Emilia smiled, grateful. She gave Leah a quick hug. "Good luck with your assignments." And she was gone. Leah walked towards the library, still processing the close call. A couple other students were in the library, all of them leaning over some textbook. Leah sat down in a corner, having no idea what to do. She could have gone to Zach's house, but she felt like she wanted to be alone for now. She brought out her earphones and put on some music while she flipped through her history book. She figured she might as well get some work done since she had the time. The minutes ticked by quickly. Someone tapped Leah on the shoulder.

"We're closing soon, dear," the librarian told her. She was a sweet old lady, probably well into her sixties. Leah smiled at her, starting to gather her belongings. No one else was in the library except Leah and the librarian. Leah hadn't even noticed when everyone else had left. She'd been too engrossed in her book. It was almost six. She walked out of the library and started towards the main school building. The sky was overcast with grey clouds again. Leah prayed it wouldn't start raining till she'd reached home. A few moments later, it started raining. That was just her luck.

"Goddammit," she sighed, shielding herself from the rain with her backpack as she ran across the campus. By the time she reached, she was soaking wet, despite her makeshift umbrella. The rain didn't seem to want to stop. Leah cursed her luck, shivering in her wet clothes. She got another text from Lucy; 'Come home soon. Mum's getting worried because of the rain.' She heard footsteps somewhere close by, feeling thankful now because she could ask the person for a ride home. Someone wearing a football jersey walked around the corner. Of course it had to be Hunter.

His hair was plastered to his forehead, mud streaking his face. His jersey was also sopping wet, but he didn't seem to mind it. He was dribbling a muddy football with his feet. He didn't see her at first, but then his eyes landed on her. Neither of them said anything at first, just stared at each other. Leah shivered again, her t-shirt dripping a circle of water on the ground around her. Hunter sighed and opened the doors.

"Follow me," he said. Leah considered for a minute, then followed him inside, against her better judgement. Hunter led the way to the boys' locker room. He held the door open for Leah, rolling his eyes when she didn't go inside.

"There's no one else here, it's just me," he told her.

"That's kind of the problem," Leah replied.

"Would you just come in?" he groaned. Leah sighed, walking into the room.

"Fucking hell, this place smells like monkey," Leah complained. Hunter just smiled at her discomfort.

She stood by the door while he walked to his locker and pulled out a gym bag. He dug around for a few seconds, before picking out a grey jumper. He threw it at Leah. "You can wear that."

"I don't need it," she told him firmly, but her body betrayed her, making her shiver.

"You'll catch a cold if you stay in that for much longer," he reasoned.

"I'll be fine. And what do you care, anyway?" Leah replied defiantly, throwing the jumper back at him. A couple seconds later, she sneezed. Hunter raised his eyebrows at her, trying not to laugh. "Just give me the damn jumper."

"'Just give me the damn jumper' what?" he asked innocently, cocking his head to one side.

"Just give me the damn jumper, please," she added, rolling her eyes. He chuckled, throwing it back to her. She went behind a row of lockers and changed into the jumper. It was a little too big for her. She had to roll up the sleeves a bit to free her hands. She stuffed her wet t-shirt into her bag as she walked back to the door. She could hear the shower running somewhere to the left.

"Thanks," she called out grudgingly, opening the door.

"Wait," Hunter's voice came. The water turned off, and a minute later he stepped into sight, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. His wet hair dripped water into his green eyes. He pushed it aside with a hand, causing water from his hair to spill onto his shoulder. The sliver chain that Leah had seen the other day turned out to be a cross. Leah raised an eyebrow at him.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" he smirked.

"'Sick' would be more appropriate," she muttered. "What do you want?"

"You're not seriously going to walk back home in the rain, are you?" he questioned.

"How do you know it's still raining?" she asked. He said nothing, just stood motionless. Leah heard it then, the steady, loud thrum of the rain outside. She groaned.

"I can give you a ride home. We are going to the same neighborhood, after all," he told her. When Leah said nothing, he added, "Why don't I give you a minute to think it over?" and disappeared behind a row of lockers. Leah stood there, wondering what must have brought on his charitable mood. Last year, he would have gladly let her walk home in the rain. He'd even have taken a picture or two to make a joke out of. Leah knew this because that had actually happened.

"What's the catch?" she called to him.

"No catch. You just caught me in a good mood," he replied. A few seconds later he reappeared, stuffing his old clothes into his gym bag. He was now wearing a black hoodie and sweatpants, his still-wet hair dripping water down the side of his face. He walked out of the locker room, Leah close behind him. They reached the main doors. Hunter pulled them open, at which moment a streak of lightening created false daylight and was followed by a loud thunderclap. "So?" he asked.

"Fine," Leah groaned. They ran across the parking lot to Hunter's car. Leah got into the passenger seat, pulling her backpack across her lap. Hunter got in the driver's seat, dumping his gym bag onto the backseat. He turned on the heater as they pulled out of the parking lot. A few minutes later, it was pleasantly warm in the car. Leah stared at the raindrops streaking across the window, not saying a word. The lightning created more false daylight. Without the radio, it was extremely quiet, except for the occasional thunder and the steady pattering of the rain. It was Hunter who broke the silence.

"So, how come you were still at school?" he asked.

"What?" Leah replied, turning to look at him.

"What?" he repeated, glancing sideways at her.

"Why are you asking? It's not like you care," she said, turning back to look out of the window. Just a couple more minutes and she'd be home free.

"Just being friendly," he shrugged.

"Well, don't, alright?" she said, exasperated. Hunter clenched his jaw, saying nothing as he turned left at the intersection. A minute later he pulled up outside Leah's house.

"Thanks. For the jumper and the ride," she said, opening the door. He just nodded once, driving off as soon as she'd shut the car door. Leah hurried up the steps of her house. She glanced back as she opened the door with her keys. Hunter's car was nowhere in sight.

"Where were you, Leah? I was worried sick!" her mother exclaimed as soon as Leah entered the kitchen. Her parents were sitting at the kitchen table. Her father was staring at his phone, while her mum sat with a cup of tea in front of her.

"Just got caught up at the library, had some work," Leah told her.

"Well, you could have at least told us," Simon chimed in.

"Right, sorry, it just slipped my mind," Leah replied.

"Who gave you a lift? Was it Zach?" her mother continued.

"Yeah, that was him," Leah lied. Her mother would go insane if she found out it was Hunter who had dropped her off.

"He's a nice boy, isn't he? I just spoke with his mother-"

"Yeah, he is. Listen, mum, I've gotta run upstairs and take a shower," Leah cut her off mid-sentence.

"Well, alright. Go on," Diane told her. Leah flashed her a quick smile and climbed up the stairs, taking two at a time. She knocked on Lucy's door.

"Come in," she replied a second later. Leah opened the door and went inside. Lucy was sitting at her desk, textbooks open in front of her.

"Hey. Thanks for texting me," she told her.

"You're welcome. What'd you end up doing then?" she asked.

"Nothing, I just stayed back at the library," Leah responded.

"And that wasn't Hunter Stevens' car you just got out of?" she questioned.

"W-What?" Leah asked, taken by surprise.

"You can lie to mum and dad, Leah, but I saw you," she shook her head.

"Well, it was pouring outside and I needed a ride. That's it," she promised. Lucy eyed the sweatshirt she was wearing. "Fine, he lent me this because my clothes were drenched."

"You have to be careful. If mum catches you, you're worse than dead," Lucy sighed.

"I know, I know," Leah muttered. "Thanks again." She walked out of Lucy's room, closing the door behind her. She put her backpack down on her bed and hopped into the shower. The hot water helped ease her slightly tense muscles. She still couldn't process the fact that Hunter had actually been nice enough to give her a ride home. Before this, it'd just been years of snarky comments and pranks. After the thing with the video, Leah had gone out of her way to try to make his life hell. That included torpedoing his dates, his football games and even stealing his clothes from the locker room once. Hunter had retaliated by making Leah's assignments disappear and constantly trying to trip her in the cafeteria when she was carrying a full lunch tray. All of this had escalated over the years till year 11, but this year was definitely different. Why? Leah had no idea. Leah stepped out of the shower and got dressed.

She went back to her room and sat down on her bed, staring out of her window. It was still raining heavily, like before. Another bolt of lightning shone, creating false daylight yet again. Leah glanced at Hunter's jumper which was lying on her bed. It had the same citrusy smell that she'd smelled on him that day at the award function. She picked up the jumper and put it in the washer with her clothes. She should wash the jumper before returning it to him. Leah walked back to her room, still caught up in thoughts of their interaction, and called up Zach.

Chapter Text

"So, are you going to the football game tonight?" Zach asked as he and Leah stood in line for lunch at the cafeteria on Monday. 

"I don't know," Leah shrugged. "Are you going?"

"Yeah, I don't see why not," Zach replied. They took their trays and went to sit at their usual table with Kirsten, James and Daniela. Emilia was sitting with them today, surprisingly.

"What're you guys talking about?" James asked Leah and Zach. 

"Just asking Leah if she'll come to tonight's game," Zach answered, putting Leah on the spot. Leah sighed, about to answer, when Emilia cut in. 

"Oh, you should definitely come! We all need to be there to cheer for Hunter," Emilia said excitedly. Leah saw the look on her friends' faces, all of them uncomfortable because Emilia clearly didn't know about the bad blood between Leah and Hunter.

"Alright, I'll come," Leah said, surprising even herself. 

"Yay," Emilia high-fived her. Zach just glanced sideways at Leah, not saying a word. She had told Zach about the day of the thunderstorm and how Hunter had dropped her home. He had stayed silent throughout her entire explanation, which Leah found weird, but she didn't know what to say. It felt like there was this space between them all of a sudden and Leah didn't know what to do about it. 

After the last bell, Leah walked to her locker and pulled out the grey jumper that had been in there all day. She had washed it and brought it with her to return to Hunter.  

"Hey, you coming?" Zach asked as he, James, Daniela and Kirsten walked to the main doors. 

"Could you wait outside? I just have something to do," Leah replied, biting her nail. Zach raised an eyebrow at Leah, but led the others outside anyway. Leah took a deep breath to calm her nerves and went to stand by the lockers next to the entrance of the boys' locker room. Sure enough, the football players walked out of the locker room in a few moments. They were probably going to have a quick warmup before the match. 

Hunter walked out of the locker room last. He was wearing the football team's red jersey, his last name and the number 17 written on the back. He simply glanced at Leah, before continuing on his way. 

"Hunter," Leah called out to him. He stopped in his tracks, slowly turning around. 

"What?" he asked impatiently. 

"I, uh-- here," she stuffed the jumper into his hands. He looked down at it then back up at her. 

"You thought I wanted this back? After you wore it?" he laughed. Leah tried to think of a response, flustered. "Keep it." Hunter dumped the jumper back in her hands and jogged to catch up with the rest of the team. Leah blinked, unsure of what had just happened. 

"Fucking jerk," Leah muttered to herself. What had she even expected from him? She stuffed the jumper back into her bag and went outside to where her friends were waiting. 

"Everything okay?" Zach asked as they began walking home. 

"Bloody amazing," Leah replied. Zach only narrowed his eyes at her but he didn't pry, which was fine with Leah. She had no idea what she'd say to him anyway. Leah went upstairs to her room as soon as she got home and lay face down on her bed, listening to music. She felt a flurry of different feelings, but mostly it was just confusion. She groaned, turning over and pulling a pillow over her face. 

Leah started awake to the sound of her phone ringing. She hit the answer button groggily. 

"Where the fuck are you? I've called thrice already," came Zach's angry voice. "Come downstairs right now, Emilia will kill us if we're late after we promised to be there," he spoke quickly, and it took Leah a few seconds to understand what she was saying. 

"Give me a minute, I need to get dressed," Leah mumbled, disconnecting the call. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. She had no recollection of falling asleep. She splashed some water on her face and got dressed as quickly as she could. 

"Sorry, sorry," Leah apologized to Zach as she got into his car. Zach pulled away from the curb immediately, heading towards the school. 

"What the fuck is up with you today? I thought you changed your mind about coming," Zach said, glancing at her sideways. 

"I don't know, I just fell asleep," Leah shrugged. 

"How come you agreed to go to the game in the first place, though?" Zach questioned.

"Didn't wanna let Emilia down," Leah answered, knowing full well that wasn't the case. She wasn't in the mood to answer questions right now, especially ones that had remotely anything to do with Hunter.

"Seriously, though. Are you okay? You seem tense. You're worrying me," Zach said, looking at her sideways again. 

"Zach, can you pull over?" Leah asked, taking a deep breath. Maybe it was time to tell him what had really happened that day. There was no other way to explain how she was feeling these days. That day from year 9 had been playing on loop in her head since she had thought about it the day before the thunderstorm. 

"Right now? We'll be late for the game," Zach told her. 

"It won't take long," Leah said. Zach pulled over to the side and turned off the engine. He turned to face Leah, who took a deep breath and began explaining what had happened in the summer before year 9 and why Leah had asked Hunter out that day in the first place. Zach stared at her, incomprehension clear on his face. 

"So every time you two cancelled on our group plans, you were with each other?" he asked. Leah nodded, ashamed because of the hurt in his voice. "And you never told me? All this time?"

"I was embarrassed," Leah admitted. 

Zach scoffed. "You're a horrible friend! You lied to me and cancelled plans nearly every day back then."

"I'm sorry, Zach, but it was a long time ago," Leah reasoned. "We were just 15 then."

"Well, I'm only just finding out about it," he snapped at her. "I can't believe you and Hunter were together."

"Well, we weren't dating or anything," Leah told him. 

"I can't believe you, Leah." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Everything that's happened with the video and all those stupid pranks all these years is because of this? You never once thought to mention it to me in all of these years?"

"Zach, I'm sorry. I didn't know how to bring it up to you," she told him. 

"All of that for him?" he fumed. "I don't even know what to say to you."

"Why are you so mad at him?" Leah asked uncertainly. "It's been more than three years now since it's happened."

"Because he always gets what he wants, Leah! He talked shit about us to his other friends all the time," Zach answered staring straight ahead.

"What? How do you know that?" Leah asked, taken aback. 

"I heard him on the first day of year 9. You were both being so secretive, which I guess makes sense now. But in the locker room, I heard his friends ask why he still hangs out with us and Hunter said that he didn't know either and that it won't be long before 'losers' like us get put in our place. You were so busy in your fucking fantasyland or whatever that you never even noticed that he and I had stopped talking. And then less than a week later he recorded that video of you and everything went to shit."

"I had no idea, Zach," Leah said. "I'm so sorry." She really was startled, she'd had no idea about any of this. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Would you have listened to me? You never cared about me when he was around, anyway," Zach told her bitterly.

"Zach, I'm sor-" Leah began, but Zach shook his head.

"Just don't, alright?" he said, starting the car again. Leah sighed inwardly, berating herself for not seeing what had happened then. Zach was right. She'd been so focused on hiding her secret that she stopped listening to him. Neither of them said a word for the rest of the drive. After they got out of the car, Zach slammed the door shut. He pulled out a cigarette and walked off in the direction of the football field without another word to Leah. 

"Fuck," Leah sighed as she walked towards the ground. Maybe if she gave Zach a little space, his anger would subside. The game was about to start soon. Leah could almost smell the anticipation in the air. First game of the season was always a defining moment for the team. The bleachers were full of students of both the home team and the opposing team. Leah walked up the home team's side of the bleachers, to where Kirsten, James, Daniela and Emilia were. They weren't sitting that far up, they were only in the second row, closer to the field. Zach was nowhere to be seen. 

"Hey, Leah. You made it!" Emilia exclaimed, giving the other girl a quick hug. Leah noticed that Emilia had painted red and white hearts on her face in support of their school's football team. "Where's Zach?"

"He was just with me. I think he'll be here soon," Leah answered, not letting on that Zach was mad at her. Emilia nodded, turning to talk to Kirsten. Leah sat silently, staring out at the field. It was still bright out, some dark clouds here and there in the sky, but the floodlights on the football field had been turned on already. A couple moments later, the opposing team jogged out onto the field, followed by the home team. Hunter was first in line, his hair falling into his eyes as he jogged. Emilia, who was right next to Leah, cheered loudly the second she saw him. She forced a handmade sign into Leah's hands. 

"Hold up that side," the other girl instructed her, standing up. Leah stood up, too, and did as she was told. "Hunter!" Emilia called. Hunter glanced up in their direction, after hearing Emilia, and read the sign. He smiled in Emilia's direction, but threw a confused look at Leah. Leah looked down at the poster she was helping Emilia hold up. 'HUNTER IS OUR NUMBER 1' it said. Leah groaned out loud, realizing her mistake too late. 

"Is something wrong?" Emilia asked immediately. 

Leah shook her head. "No, I just, um, I'm not feeling so good. I'm gonna sit down." She let go of the sign and sat down, holding her head in her hands. Shit. First, Hunter was nice to her yesterday, then rude to her today, and here she was holding up a sign in support of him. Before Leah could deliberate over it any further, she heard the referee's loud whistle cut through the air. The match had started. 

Leah tried to follow the game. Except she kept zoning out. She looked up a couple times when loud cheers ensued, but she was barely following the score. Zach did not show up throughout the game. At halftime, Leah wondered if she should go find her friend. She wanted to, even though she had no idea what she would say to him. She remained seated next to her other friends and was careful not to help Emilia hold up any more signs. 

Leah was staring down at her feet, drowning out the general noise of the crowd, when all of a sudden Emilia jumped up and started cheering. The home team's side of the bleachers whooped and clapped. Leah looked up to see her school's football team gathered in a huddle surrounding player number 17. They clapped him on the back, all of them looking ecstatic. The students rushed down the bleachers and onto the field, to celebrate the win with the team. Leah looked up at the scoreboard. It was 3-2, in favour of her school.  

Leah made her way down onto the field, and stood next to Kirsten, James and Daniela. Emilia was already standing by Hunter's side and speaking with the rest of the team happily. 

"Where is Zach? He never got here," Kirsten said. 

"Is everything okay with you two?" James asked Leah, who was caught off-guard by the question. 

"Um, yeah, of course. I was just going to go look for him, actually, so..." Leah wandered away from them without finishing her sentence. She walked off the football field, towards the school. She needed to collect her thoughts before she ran into Zach. She was making her way towards the bathroom, when she heard faint voices coming from one of the classrooms. She had been sure she was the only one in the school building, because every other student was out on the field with the team. 

She followed the sound to a classroom by the stairs and glanced in. Inside was Zach and a girl, who Leah couldn't see because her back was towards her. As Leah watched, Zach leaned forward, touching his lips to the girl in front of him. A second later, the girl pulled away, turning around. Leah's mouth fell open in shock as she realized the girl with Zach was Lucy. Leah scrambled up the stairway before either of them could see her, hiding herself as Zach and Lucy exited the classroom.

When their footsteps faded away, Leah exhaled loudly. What the flying fuck was going on? Why were Zach and Lucy kissing in secret in a random classroom while the rest of the students were at the game? How long had this been going on? Why had neither of them said anything about this to Leah? Should she confront her sister or Zach about it? Should she wait for them to tell her? She somehow made her way out of the school building and back to the field, her head swarming with questions. When she looked up, she had reached her friends already. Zach was there too. 

"We were just talking about the party," Kirsten filled in Leah, who just nodded, still unable to process her thoughts. She glanced at Zach, who looked flushed. A few feet behind Zach, stood Lucy, her eyes flitting nervously in Zach's direction every now and then. Leah sighed to herself, seriously wondering what the fuck was going on. Hunter walked up to their group, standing by Emilia's side. 

"So, are you guys coming?" Hunter asked, looking around at the group, consciously avoiding eye contact with Leah. 

"Yeah, of course," Kirsten replied. James, Daniela and Zach nodded. Emilia looked expectantly at Leah. 

"Uhm, I don't think I'm gonna--" Leah began, but Emilia cut her off. 

"Come on, Leah! We have to celebrate," Emilia smiled and looked up at Hunter. "I won't take no for an answer." 

"I don't know," Leah said. Emilia sighed, putting and arm around Leah. 

"We'll have a good time, I promise," she told her. 

Leah groaned, giving in. "Fine." Emilia let out a happy cheer. 

Hunter looked at Leah for a quick second before turning away. and walking to his friends. Leah noticed a lipstick mark on his cheek, wondering who it was from. 

"James, Daniela, Kirsten, Leah and I will take my car," Zach said. Emilia nodded.

"Whose house are we going to, exactly?" Leah whispered to Kirsten. 

"Jake from the football team," Kirsten whispered back. Leah knew Jake. He was a burly 11th year with blond hair. She had seen him talking to Lucy once. "I can't believe Hunter is the star player."

"Huh?" Leah questioned. 

"He scored all of the three goals! He was amazing. Weren't you paying attention?" the other girl asked. 

"I tried, but I zoned out," Leah admitted.

"Okay, we'll see you guys there," Emilia said, walking away from them to go to Hunter . Leah saw it then. Emilia was wearing the same shade of lipstick that was on Hunter's cheek. She felt a strange feeling in her chest again. Was it jealousy? No. That's crazy. 

They started walking out to the parking lot. Leah hung back a bit with the rest of her friends, with Emilia and Hunter walking ahead of them. She felt that weird feeling in her chest again as she saw Hunter put his arm around Emilia's shoulder. Jealousy again? Definitely not. Leah shuddered, wondering what she had gotten herself into, as she and her friends got into Zach's car. 

Chapter Text

Leah had chosen to sit in the back of Zach's car with James and Daniela. Kirsten was sitting in the passenger seat. It would've felt weird to sit next to Zach after what happened. It was a 20 minute drive to Jake's house. There were a number of cars, all filled with their high school's students, on the same road. All Zach had to do was follow them. Leah stared out of the window, not really looking outside. She was too preoccupied with the thoughts of what this party would turn out to be, more so with what was going on with Zach and her sister. She didn't know how to feel about it. Leah saw Zach looking at her through the rearview mirror. Leah held his gaze for a second, before looking away. It just felt like she didn't know her friend anymore. She had missed the signs that Zach and Hunter's friendship was over back then, and now she'd missed what had happened between him and Lucy.

Zach stopped the car, making Leah look up. They'd reached Jake's house. It seemed that most students were already here. Leah followed her friends inside, already wishing she'd come up with an excuse that could've gotten her out of this. Inside, there was loud music booming from the speakers. The lights were dim, people crowding in the living room and the kitchen. Leah and her friends went to the kitchen first to get some drinks.

While James, Danielle and Kirsten chatted, Leah and Zach stood there silently. Leah was sipping on some beer. She didn't feel like drinking much today, but she knew she would have to drink at least a bit to make this party more tolerable. Zach was constantly looking at the door, as if he was waiting for someone to arrive. A couple minutes later, Hunter and Emilia got there, along with some of the other football players. Emilia walked over to Leah and the others in the kitchen while Hunter stayed outside in the living room with the rest of the football players.

Leah saw Lucy come in through the door soon. Sure enough, the second Zach saw her, he excused himself and wandered off into the living room. Leah sighed exasperatedly, but thankfully no one heard her. She and the rest of her friends then made their way to the living room as well, sitting in one corner, under the pulsating lights. They were talking about all sorts of things, but Leah couldn't find it in herself to pay attention. Kirsten and Emilia tried their best to include Leah in the conversation, but stopped soon after Leah didn't answer and only stared into space.

She didn't know if she should tell her other friends about what she saw. It wasn't like she didn't trust them, but she just knew they wouldn't get it. They would probably tell her she should be happy for Zach and her sister.

Leah was shaken out of her thoughts all of a sudden, when someone sat down next to her. She turned around to see it was Zach, looking really happy. He was probably just drunk or something.

"Zach?" Leah said, a little surprised that he had chosen to sit next to her.

"Oh, it's you," Zach's expression turned sour.

"Listen, can we talk?" Leah asked, building up her courage.

"Why? Got any more truth bombs to drop?" Zach asked, his words slurring a little.

"I don't like when you're mad at me," Leah told him. "Please?"

Zach sighed dramatically and stood up. He walked into the room by the kitchen. Leah got up and followed him, her heart hammering. She entered a bedroom where two 10th graders were making out by the bed.

"Get out. Now," Zach ordered, glaring at them. They rushed out of the room hurriedly, looking flushed and flustered. Zach slammed the door shut behind them. "Talk."

"I'm sorry I was a bad friend, Zach. We were stupid then. I was ashamed to tell you what had actually happened, and the longer I kept it secret, the more difficult it became to bring up," Leah explained.

"So why did you tell me about it today?" Zach asked.

"Because you were worried about me, and I couldn't keep lying to you anymore," Leah said. "I felt horrible having kept it from you for so long. Everything that's going on with Emilia and Hunter just brought back what happened then, and it's making me feel like shit."

"Leah, you can always tell me what's going on with you. I don't want you to feel ashamed or something. You can always count on me," Zach smiled at her. Leah smiled back, feeling a heavy weight lifted off her chest.

"Thanks, Zach," Leah said.

"So you don't have any more secrets, right?" he asked jokingly.

Leah blinked. "No. Do you?"

"Nope," he answered simply.

That stung ."Are you serious?" Leah scoffed.

"What?" Zach asked, confused.

"You can't just expect me to pour my heart and soul out to you and get nothing from you in return," Leah lashed out at him.

"I tell you everything, Leah," Zach said, but Leah was sure he sounded uncertain.

"Really? Okay, then. Is something going on between you and my sister?" Leah asked Zach, who looked taken aback.

"Why would you ask that?" the boy questioned.

"I saw you kissing her today," Leah told him.

Zach scoffed. "Do you hear how ridiculous that sounds?"

"Are you kidding me?" Leah raised her eyebrows.

"Why would you say something like that? Are you trying to make me stay mad at you?" Zach snapped.

"Wait, what are you-" Leah began, but Zach cut her off.

"I don't get you, Leah. One second you're apologizing to me, the next you're accusing me of something I wouldn't do," Zach shook his head.

"Okay, accuse is a strong word. I just asked you if there's something going on," Leah told him.

Zach rolled his eyes. "There isn't, alright? You're too fucking paranoid."

"Zach, I-" Leah tried again, but he cut her off again.

"You know what, this was a mistake. I don't even know why we're doing this right now," he told her. "Just go back to what you were doing earlier, staring into space or whatever the fuck that was. I'm out of here." He scoffed at her again before pulling the door open and slamming it shut after him.

Leah stood rooted in place for a few seconds, unable to comprehend what the hell had just happened. Without really realising what she was doing, she walked out of the room and made her way to the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of whatever bottle of alcohol was closest. She downed it in one go, and judging from the way it burned her throat, she decided it was vodka. She picked up the half-empty bottle and walked out of the kitchen, unsure of where she was going. She went upstairs, taking the steps two at a time. She opened the first door on the left, which turned out to be a study. She tried the next door, which was a bathroom. Leah went inside and closed the door behind her.

She felt tears stinging the back of her throat, stinging worse than the vodka. She sank down next to the bathtub, putting her head on her knees, clutching the bottle of vodka in one hand. Tears streamed down her face while she sat on the floor of the bathroom, leaning against the wall. She and Zach had been best friends for 14 years, but they'd never fought like this. Leah took a swig of the vodka.

Leah had never seen Zach look the way he had when he was looking at Lucy. She could tell that her sister clearly meant something to Zach. But he didn't think it important enough to tell Leah, even when she'd asked him directly. The idea that Zach may not know how Leah would have reacted to the news had crossed her mind. But this was her best friend and her sister. Of course she would be happy for them if they decided they wanted to actually go out or something. Leah and Lucy used to talk about everything but they'd just sort of stopped doing that after the whole video fiasco. But Zach? That hurt Leah more. She took another big sip of the vodka.

Leah had no idea how much time had passed. She hadn't moved from her place next to the bathtub. The bottle of vodka was almost empty now. She heard the bathroom door open, but she didn't look up.

"Leah?" came a voice. She saw see Hunter staring down at her. She looked him up and down.

"You're so bloody tall," she said, her words slurring. "I hate it."

"Are you drunk?" he asked. "Never mind," he sighed when his eyes landed on the nearly empty bottle of vodka. He walked over to the sink and turned on the tap, washing his hands.

"What's the time?" she asked him.

"Just check your phone," he scoffed.

"Right," she answered, reaching for her phone. She pulled it free from her pocket but it slipped out of her trembling hands. "Oops." Her phone skidded across the floor and landed by Hunter's foot. He sighed, picking it up and handing it to her. It was almost 11. Hunter opened the door, when for some reason Leah yelled, "Wait!"

"What?" Hunter asked, irritated.

"You're mad," Leah pouted. "Already?"

"Well, I don't know if you remember, but I kind of hate you," he smiled sarcastically.

"I know that," Leah sighed. "Seems like everybody eventually ends up hating me."

"What?" Hunter asked again after a second, his tone softer this time.

"You and Zach. My best friends. Not anymore," Leah told him, her words still slurring.

"What happened with you and Zach?"

"I know you don't care. You don't have to pretend you do," Leah told him. He sighed and walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Leah put her head back and shut her eyes. A minute later she heard the door open again. When she opened her eyes she saw Hunter sitting on the edge of the bathtub next to her. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know," he admitted after a few seconds. Leah took a sip of vodka and passed the bottle to Hunter, who took a sip of it, too. They sat in silence for a few minutes, passing the bottle between them.

"You ever think you know someone so well, but then they're just keeping so much from you?" Leah asked finally.

"What d'you mean?"

Leah felt the words rushing out of her mouth. "I saw Zach and Lucy kissing, but when I asked him about it, he said he would never do something like that. He was mad at me for something, and I'd just apologized, but then I had to ask him about Lucy, and that just made him angrier."

"Zach and your sister?" Hunter asked, surprised. Leah nodded. "Shit. Well, maybe they just need some time, y'know? They could be dating but maybe they want to wait before telling people it's official."

"Like you and Emilia?" Leah asked before she could stop herself.

"Huh?" he looked a bit taken aback. A second later, "We're not dating, We're just friends."

"Sure. I saw her lipstick on your cheek," Leah laughed darkly.

"Jealous much?" Hunter retorted.

"Pfft. As if. In your dreams, Stevens," Leah stuttered, caught off-guard, and Hunter laughed. Leah looked up at him, they held each other's gazes for a second before Hunter cleared his throat. Leah took one last swig of the vodka, emptying the bottle.

"Look, you should ask your sister about it if Zach isn't telling you anything," Hunter said after a minute.

"Lucy never tells me anything anymore. I never know what's going on in her life," Leah admitted. "She used to tell me everything before, just like Zach used to. I don't know if it's my fault they stopped."

"I can't tell you if it's your fault or not. You can't do anything beyond showing them you're trustworthy. If they still don't trust you, maybe it's not you who's the problem," Hunter responded.

"Who knew you were so wise? Wow," Leah told him.

"You'd know it if you weren't on the verge of passing out drunk in someone else's bathroom," he answered.

"Bloody hell, relax. That was a compliment," Leah replied, stretching her arms. "I should go home," she said, putting the empty bottle of vodka down. She tried standing up but her knees felt wobbly. Hunter caught her before she could fall.

"Jeez, see this is why you shouldn't drink so much," Hunter shook his head disapprovingly.

"Says the person who was reeking of whiskey the other day at the hotel," Leah told him, regaining her balance. Hunter's expression turned hard at the mention of that, but Leah didn't notice. "Come on, star player, find me a ride home."

"'Star player'? I thought you weren't paying attention to the game," Hunter raised an eyebrow.

"How did you know I wasn't paying attention?" Leah asked, raising an eyebrow in response.

"Touché," Hunter nodded.

When she was feeling less dizzy, Leah stood up straight without his help, and walked out of the bathroom. She could hear Hunter walking behind her as she descended the stairs. She saw Lucy standing in the living room talking to one of her friends. Before Leah could say anything to her sister, Hunter was already speaking.

"Lucy. Take your sister home," Hunter said to her. Lucy raised an eyebrow as her eyes landed on Hunter and Leah, but said nothing.

Leah motioned to Hunter with her hand. When he stepped closer to her, she said, "Just because I told you some of my shit doesn't make us friends."

"As if I'd want to be your friend," Hunter answered. Leah said nothing in response and stood next to Lucy while she finished talking to her friend. Hunter left without a backward glance at Leah. After Lucy was done with her apparently very interesting conversation, she turned her attention to Leah.

"So, how much did you drink?" she asked. Leah held her thumb and index finger very close to each other to indicate how much. Lucy laughed, shaking her head. "Why were you with Hunter?"

"Nothing happened, we just ran into each other," Leah sighed, feeling tired.

"Let's get you home, then. We're hitching a ride with Nick, come on," Lucy said putting an arm around Leah's shoulder and walking her outside to her friend's car.

Chapter Text

The next week flew by. The hours passed quickly between going to school and avoiding seeing her parents and her sister at home as much as she could. Leah spent most of her time in her room. She knew that being around her parents right now was not a good idea. Her mum was still not over the whole award thing. At a time like this, she normally would have spent as much time as possible at Zach's house, but that couldn't happen right now. 

It was already Saturday evening. Leah had kept herself busy by catching up on her homework and doing some reading for school. She hadn't let her thoughts wander at all, which was surprising. She looked up from her physics textbook when she heard her phone ringing. It was Emilia. Leah raised an eyebrow, surprised, and took the call. 

"Hey, Leah. How are you doing?" Emilia sounded somewhat sympathetic. 

"Hey, Emilia. I'm doing well, thank you. What's up?" Leah replied. 

"Oh, nothing much. What if we had a sleepover tonight at your place? Just us?" the other girl asked.

 Leah blinked, unable to fully grasp the question. "Huh?" was all she could manage to say. 

"Well, you know, I was just in the neighbourhood, so I thought I could come over," Emilia said. Leah wondered how Emilia even knew where she lived. 

"Uhm, yeah, okay, come on over," Leah surprised herself by agreeing to it. Maybe she really needed another distraction. 

"Great," Emilia squealed. "I'll see you in a few minutes." Leah changed out of her pajamas quickly and tidied up her room. She went downstairs to let her parents know. It's not like they'd say no but they should be informed. She saw her parents and sister sitting silently at the kitchen table. She was surprised to see Lucy there, as she never voluntarily hung out with their parents alone. 

"Hey, I just wanted to let you guys know my friend Emilia is coming over for a sleepover. I hope that's okay?" Leah said.

"Tonight?" Diane asked. "A little short notice, Leah. We don't even have anything for you girls to eat."

"That's alright, mum, we can just order a pizza or something," Leah said. The doorbell rang. She walked out of the kitchen towards the door, when someone pulled her back. 

"Hey. Have you not spoken to Zach this week?" Lucy asked her. 

"What?" Leah asked. She wondered for a moment how she knew, before realizing Zach had probably told her.

"Did you guys have a fight?" she asked. 

"None of your business," Leah replied. "It's practically your fault, anyway," she muttered under her breath as she opened the door. The sky outside was still light, a couple dark clouds scattered here and there. 

"Hey," Emilia chirped, giving Leah a quick hug. 

"Hey," Leah greeted her back. "Come in, come in." Emilia stepped in, looking around.  

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Turner. You have a beautiful home," Emilia smiled at Leah's parents, who had come out to greet her. "Hi Lucy" she added, seeing Leah's sister standing by the stairs with a sour expression on her face.

"Alright, let's go upstairs," Leah said before her parents could start asking Emilia any questions. Leah led her upstairs to her room. 

"Aw, your room is so cozy," Emilia commented as she walked into Leah's room. "I didn't know you played," she said, pointing at Leah's guitar.

"Yeah, trying to get back in the habit," Leah said, running a finger over the guitar's strings. "So what do you want to do?"

"I wanted to talk first, actually," Emilia said. Leah felt her heartbeat speed up. What was this about? Hunter? Zach?

"Um, sure." Leah sat down at her desk. Emilia sat down on Leah's bed, pulling her legs up under her. 

"I heard about you and Zach fighting," Emilia began uncertainly. 

"Uh, who... who told you?" Leah asked. 

"I ran into Zach a couple minutes after you guys fought, actually" Emilia replied. 

"Oh."

"He just told me you both had fought, he didn't tell me why," Emilia clarified. "I just want you to know that I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Emilia. I appreciate it," Leah said. When Emilia looked at her expectantly, she sighed and explained. "Zach and I... we've been best friends for years. We told each other everything. But in the last week or so it felt different, like something had changed." 

"I can understand how you're feeling, Leah," Emilia replied, smiling sadly.

"We've never argued so much before, but it was like everything had piled up and then shit hit the fan and that was that," Leah exhaled. 

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry for what went down," the other girl told her

"Thanks, Emilia. You're a good friend," Leah said, smiling. Emilia smiled back. "How about we order pizza for dinner?"  

"Better yet, why don't we go to the pizza place? The one by the school?" Emilia asked. "I drove here."

"Sure, that works," Leah answered. They both walked downstairs and stopped by the kitchen to let Leah's mum know. 

"Hey, mum, we're going to that pizza place by the school for dinner," Leah said. 

"Have fun, girls," Diane told them. Leah and Emilia walked outside and got into Emilia's car. It was a white Volkswagen with a dark leather interior. It smelled pleasant, like pine.

"Music?" Emilia asked as she pulled out of Leah's neighbourhood. 

"Mmhmm," Leah said, turning on the radio. They talked a bit over the music, reaching the pizza place in about 10 minutes. Emilia parked the car by the curb and she and Leah walked inside together. They got a table by the big window and placed an order for pizzas and Cokes. Leah got to know more about Emilia, about how she'd moved here with her family in the summer. Emilia also had a younger brother, named Charles, who was in year 7 at the middle school. 

"Oh, shit," Emilia said suddenly, looking over Leah's shoulder. 

"What?" Leah asked, about to turn around, but Emilia stopped her. 

"No, don't! It's Zach," Emilia whispered. 

"Fuck," Leah sighed, burying her head in her hands. 

"He hasn't seen you yet," Emilia told her, still whispering. All this felt childish to Leah, but it was definitely necessary. She did not want to see Zach at all. At all. Leah wished he would leave soon. 

"I think he's about to leave, he's just got his order," Emilia said a couple minutes later. "Okay, yeah, he's walking towards the door." Leah looked up a few seconds later and breathed a sigh of relief after Zach had walked out. 

"Thanks for letting me know. I don' think I could have dealt with having to see him right now," Leah told Emilia sheepishly. 

"Of course. I got your back," Emilia nodded. Leah smiled in earnest at her new friend. A minute later the door chimed again and Leah turned around. Leah saw Zach come back in, before Emilia could warn her, and it seemed that Zach saw her too. Zach just stood there, staring from Leah to Emilia. He scoffed and walked towards the counter, picking up what appeared to be his wallet and walked out of the pizza place without another look in Leah's direction. 

"That was... cold," Emilia said through gritted teeth. 

"I don't even know why he's so angry," Leah shook her head. 

"What do you mean?" Emilia asked. 

For some weird reason, Leah felt like she could trust Emilia. "I'll tell you. Let's get out of here first." 

They split the bill and got back in Emilia's car. Leah took a deep breath as Emilia started driving back to the house. 

"Can you turn right here instead of going left? That route's a bit longer, it will give us more time to talk," Leah told Emilia, who nodded. Leah began explaining everything that had happened after the game when she'd seen Zach and Lucy kissing. Obviously she didn't mention the reason behind Zach's initial anger before the game. 

"Zach and Lucy?" Emilia asked, raising her eyebrows. Leah nodded. 

"Then at the party, I asked him straight out about him and Lucy, but he denied the fuck out of it. He even said that I was trying to make him stay mad at me," Leah told her.

"What?" Emilia said, taken aback. "That's really weird. I mean you saw them with your own eyes," Leah just nodded. It was silent for a while. Emilia pulled over when they reached Leah's house. It was getting dark now, around nine-thirty. The girls went upstairs to Leah's room. 

"Hey, can I borrow your charger?" Emilia asked Leah when they entered her room. 

"Lucy keeps borrowing mine, I'll just go get it back," Leah told her. She walked over to her sister's room and knocked on the door. No answer. She waited for a minute before opening the door. She wasn't here. Leah walked to her desk where she saw the charger. She picked it up and walked back to her room. 

"She's not home," Leah said. "But here," she handed the charger to Emilia. 

"Thanks," Emilia told her, putting her phone to charge. "Want to watch something?"

They settled for a F.R.I.E.N.D.S marathon, lounging in front of the small tv in Leah's room for a couple hours. After midnight, Leah started feeling drowsy. 

"Should we call it a night?" she asked in between yawns. 

"Sure," Emilia nodded. Leah turned off the tv and helped Emilia set up a makeshift bed on the floor. Leah turned out the lights and she and Emilia lay down in their beds. Leah was surprised that she'd had such a good time with Emilia today. It was quiet for a few minutes. Leah closed her eyes, about to drift off. 

"Leah? Are you still awake?" came Emilia's voice through the dark. Leah started, blinking hard. 

"Yeah, what's up?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. 

"I lied," Emilia said. 

"About what?" Leah asked, confused. 

"I wasn't just in the neighbourhood today. I was at Hunter's house," Emilia admitted. 

"Hunter's house?" Leah repeated, still a bit groggy.

"Yeah. He called me to hang out and I remembered he'd said his parents would be out. So, I thought that I'd, you know, stay the night, but he just wanted to hang out as friends. Apparently, I'd gotten the wrong idea. I didn't want to go home and I knew you lived nearby, so I called you," she said in a low voice. "From the way he was talking, it seemed like there's someone else."

"Oh." Leah was not expecting that. "Hey, well, it's his loss, alright?"

"Are you mad?" Emilia asked. "I found out from Kirsten that the two of you don't get along."

"I'm not mad, Em. Yeah, we don't get along. It's over something that happened years ago. I'd say I'm over it, but I'm probably not," Leah sighed. 

"I can understand," Emilia replied. "If you want to talk about it, I'm here."

"Thanks. Maybe some other time, though. It's too late to hash all that up," Leah told her. 

"Okay," Emilia replied.

It was quiet again. "Emilia?" There was no answer. She must have fallen asleep. "Goodnight, Em," Leah said, turning over in bed. 

She wondered who Hunter had friend-zoned Emilia for. The way he and Emilia had been acting the last couple of days had made it seem like they were a thing, but then Leah remembered that even at the party Hunter had told her that he and Emilia were just friends. Leah had been surprised that she could remember most of the conversation she'd had with Hunter in the bathroom. She was glad she hadn't said anything too embarrassing. She just wished she hadn't said anything about Zach or Lucy, but she didn't think he would tell anyone. She started listening to music when she couldn't fall back asleep, and sleep finally found her after about an hour. 

Leah woke up to the sound of Emilia's alarm going off, around 8:30 in the morning. 

"Emilia," Leah prodded the other girl awake. 

"Mmfgh," Emilia groaned, face-down on the pillow. Leah sighed, turning off the alarm and deciding to brush her teeth then come back to wake Emilia up. She was walking to the bathroom when she heard a thud come from Lucy's room. She knocked on the door, just in case she was back home, then opened the door. The window was open, and Lucy was halfway through climbing into the room. 

"Jeez," she started, when her eyes landed on Leah. "What are you doing?" She closed the window shut after she had climbed back in. 

"What are you doing?" Leah questioned. "You need to learn to be quieter if you're going to sneak in. It's 8:30, mum and dad are definitely awake."

"Okay, that is not what I was expecting from you," Lucy looked surprised. "I thought you'd yell at me."

Leah shrugged. It was too early in the morning for a lecture. Especially since it was a Sunday. Leah just wanted to relax. "Can't yell at you for something I've done so many times. I don't want to  be a hypocrite."

"Well, thanks," Lucy told her. 

"Where have you been, though? You should have told me, in case I had to cover for you," she said. 

"Uhm, just at a friend's place," Lucy replied, eyes on the floor. 

"Mum didn't give you permission to go?" Leah asked, surprised. Diane had allowed her to have Emilia over, so why couldn't Lucy go to her friend's house?

"Uh, I didn't exactly ask her. I will next time," Lucy answered.

"Okay. Be more careful, yeah?" Leah told her. She finally made her way to the bathroom, brushed and splashed some water on her face, before going back to her own room. Emilia was awake now, checking her phone. 

"Who were you talking to?" she asked, stretching her legs, still lying on the makeshift bed. 

"Lucy. She was sneaking back in through the window," Leah replied. Emilia raised her eyebrows. "Doesn't matter. Breakfast?"

Leah and Emilia drove to a nearby café. They took Emilia's car since it was overcast and could rain at any minute. They got out of the car and walked into the café. There were numerous booths by the big windows, opposite which was a long counter that ran the length of the café. It wasn't crowded. There was an old couple drinking tea at the booth by the bathroom, a young man sitting with his laptop while eating a cookie at a booth in the middle and a group of boys about the same age as Leah and Emilia sitting by the door. There were three people in uniform working behind the counter. Leah was looking around for a good empty table, far away from others, when someone called their names.

"Emilia? Leah? Is that you guys?" came a voice from their left. Emilia turned around and her face lit up with a smile. Leah turned around too.

"Hey, Caleb," Emilia said to the boy who'd just called them. He was sitting at the booth by the door. Caleb had unruly blond hair and a very pointy nose. Leah recognized him. He was on the school's football team. There were three other boys from the football team at the booth with Caleb- Nate, Oliver... and Hunter. Of course Hunter had to be here. He and Caleb were sitting opposite each other, near the aisle. Oliver and Nate were sitting next to them, by the window. Hunter was wearing a grey jumper, much like the one he'd leant to Leah the other day, and a maroon beanie. His hair was mussed up and falling out of the beanie and into his eyes. He looked up from his eggs and glanced at Leah, who looked away.

"Why don't you guys join us?" Caleb asked. Leah felt panic building in her chest.

"It's alright, we'll get another table. But thanks," Emilia told him, looking sincerely disappointed as if she'd really wanted to join them.

"Come on, guys, just stay for some time," Caleb insisted, and all the boys except Hunter joined in. Leah looked at Emilia helplessly, but her friend shot her an apologetic look before sitting down next to Caleb. She was surprised Emilia sat with them even after what happened with Hunter. Leah stood next to the table awkwardly, shifting from one foot to the other, her heart hammering. 

"Leah, sit, please. Why don't you shift a bit, Hunter?" Caleb asked him. Hunter shot him a murderous look. Leah almost expected him to tell Caleb off, but after a couple seconds, he shifted in his seat to make place for Leah. She swallowed hard and sat down next to Hunter. 

Chapter Text

"Hey Leah," Oliver smiled at her from beside Hunter. He was a lanky boy with wavy brown hair. Leah smiled back at him, saying nothing. She felt extremely weird sitting here with the football team, especially next to Hunter. She wasn't even friends with any of them, she just knew their names. Emilia had probably become friends with them when she had been hanging out with Hunter. After what happened in the bathroom at the party Leah didn't want to see Hunter. She had opened up to him, and now she felt vulnerable around him. She hated it.

"Here's the menu," Nate said, placing the menu card between Leah and Emilia. Nate could be described as sort of burly. He had a roundish face and close-cropped blonde hair and blue-grey eyes. 

"I'll have the blueberry pancakes and a green tea," Leah said when a waitress wandered over to ask what they wanted to have.

"I'll have what she's having," Emilia told the waitress who walked off with a nod. "So how come you guys are here so early on a Sunday?" she asked, looking at all of the boys except for Hunter.

"We had an early morning team practice, then a quick run. Hunter suggested this place for breakfast," Oliver replied. Leah was feeling awkward, sure, but she had to comment on this.

"Exercise on a Sunday morning? That's insane," she declared, shaking her head. The boys laughed. Even Hunter cracked a smile.

"If it wasn't for our dear team captain, we'd all be in bed," Nate said, but he wasn't complaining, not really.

"But if it was a team practice, how come there's only four of you? Where are the others?" Emilia asked.

"We're the only ones who showed," Caleb answered.

"The other guys had the right idea then," Leah said, and the others laughed again. She felt a bit less awkward now. The waitress came back with Leah and Emilia's food and green teas. All of them ate and talked, Hunter staying quiet except for a few remarks here and there. Emilia was ignoring Hunter completely, which was understandable.

"You know, I'm surprised you two are not dating yet," Oliver said suddenly, looking at Hunter and Emilia. Leah looked up from her pancakes and glanced at Emilia, who'd gone completely red.

"We're better off as friends," Hunter replied. He didn't look up at Emilia and stared hard at the his eggs instead.

"Oh, wait, you're still hung up on her, aren't you mate?" Caleb asked.

"Her?" Nate asked in the same tone

"Some girl from back when we were in year 9. He was telling me about her, but he didn't give me a name. It sounded like he was in love wit her," Caleb replied, his tone teasing. Leah felt a weird sensation in her chest. Was it panic? Jealousy? She had no idea. 

"You know, you should learn to shut your fucking mouth," Hunter replied, glaring at him, but Caleb just laughed it off.

"Apparently they don't talk anymore," Caleb continued, looking at Oliver.

"Caleb, you're testing my patience," Hunter told him, his hand clenched around his fork. Leah could see the veins in his hand, dark blue against his white knuckles.

"Bloody hell, relax lad," Oliver told Hunter, putting a hand on his shoulder, but Hunter shrugged it off.

"I don't know why you're so mad," Caleb said, shaking his head.

"No offence, but you probably shouldn't have said any of that if he told it to you in confidence," Leah said, surprising herself by jumping to Hunter's defense. Caleb stared at her for a second. "I need some water," Leah said up, getting up and walking to the counter to ask for a glass.

"Leah," said a voice behind her. She already knew who it would be before she turned around.

"What, Hunter?" she asked after she'd finished her water. He was standing behind her, staring at the floor. He looked up when she turned around.

"Did Emilia stay with you last night?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" Leah answered, surprised.

"Did she tell you what happened?" he continued.

"Well, yeah," she replied. 

"So, like I told you, we're just friends," he said, taking off his beanie and raking a hand through his hair. He put the beanie back on.

"Okay," Leah said, unsure of where he was going with this.

"Um, thanks... for that back there," Hunter said, not elaborating further on the other topic.

"Yeah," Leah blinked. She walked back to the table. "Are you done?" she asked Emilia, who nodded. Hunter walked back to the table and sat down, a sudden cold air about him.

"We had a great time, guys. See you at school tomorrow," Emilia told them all, still not looking in Hunter's direction.

"See you tomorrow, guys," Oliver said. Leah smiled at the boys, even Caleb, but followed Emilia's lead and did not glance at Hunter. The girls walked out the door, Leah walking ahead. It had drizzled while they had been inside.

"Leah," Emilia called from somewhere behind her. Leah slowed down, but didn't stop. Emilia caught up with her. "Leah."

"What?" Leah said, trying her best not to sound irritated, but she was still slightly mad at Emilia for sitting with the football players.

"Oh, you're mad. Shit," Emilia said, taking a deep breath. "I didn't really have a choice back there. Caleb and the others don't know what happened yesterday, and it's not like Hunter will tell them the reason I suddenly stopped hanging out with them."

"Yeah, it's okay, I understand," Leah sighed. "Hunter and I just do not get along."

"You said that before, but you stood up for him just now. And he even came and talked to you after that," Emilia said uncertainly.

"I don't know why that happened. It's like this sometimes, but then we're back to hating each other," Leah replied. "We were best friends, y'know? Sometimes I'm reminded of that in his actions and expressions and I can't help but be normal towards him, but then what happened just comes rushing back to me."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have sat at their table," Emilia sighed too.

"It's alright, Em," Leah told her. Emilia hadn't pressured her to tell her what had happened. That was a good sign.

"Leah, wait up," called another voice. Leah turned to see Nate jogging to catch up to her. "You left your phone."

"Oh, thanks, Nate," Leah smiled at him as he handed her phone over. 

"It was nice seeing you today. We should meet up sometime, just us," Nate said. Leah nodded, still smiling, thinking nothing of the 'just us'.. She watched as he jogged again to join the rest of the boys, who were now standing outside the café. She was aware that Hunter had been watching them, but she just shrugged it off.

Emilia drove Leah home. They talked a little bit, but mostly listened to the radio. The silence wasn't uncomfortable at all. "I genuinely had a good time, Leah. Thank you," Emilia told Leah as they reached her house.

"Me too. We should do this more often. And, uh, Emilia, I'm sorry if I was rude to you before or something. You were more Hunter's friend than mine, so I was sceptical," Leah said.

"You weren't rude, and even if you had been, I'd completely understand, that now," Emilia replied, smiling. "I'm sorry for before. too. I must have come off as overeager, that day we went to watch 'Without You'. I just wanted to make a good impression, because I had a feeling that you didn't like me."

"That was just because of Hunter. But it doesn't matter now. You're a really good friend," Leah said, genuinely meaning it, and pulled Emilia into a hug. "I'll see you at school tomorrow," she told her. Emilia nodded, still smiling.

Leah waited at the door till Emilia drive off and then went upstairs to her room and got in the shower. She didn't know what to do about the whole Zach situation. And what had happened today with Hunter was also definitely weird. Leah sighed and shut off the water after a good twenty minutes. After she got dressed, she lay on her bed listening to music. It helped drown out her thoughts for a little bit.

About an hour later, she thought of going downstairs for lunch. She walked out of her room and was about to go down the stairs, when she heard Lucy's voice coming from her room.

"I don't know, she didn't say anything after getting back," Lucy was saying. Leah would normally never snoop on her sister, but she had a sneaking suspicion she was talking about her. Possibly to Zach. Leah stood outside her closed door, listening hard.

"Zach, seriously. I don't know why you're so mad. So she's friends with Emilia now. Is that so bad?" Lucy was asking. Leah felt anger bubble up inside her chest. Zach was asking Lucy about her, like it wasn't bad enough he was with her and lying to Leah's face about it.

"Fine, I'll ask her again," Lucy said. Leah had heard enough. She walked back to her room and slammed the door shut.

A minute later, there was a knock on her door. Lucy poked her head into the room.

"Hey. Lunch is ready," she said.

"I'm not hungry," Leah replied.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked, opening the door all the way.

"I just want to be alone," she told her.

"Oh. How was it with Emilia?" she went on.

Leah scoffed. "Are you serious?"

"What?" her sister just stared at her.

"Just leave me alone, alright? I can't deal with you right now," she said.

"Jeez, alright," Lucy replied, closing the door. Leah pulled a pillow over her face and let out a loud groan. She pulled out her earphones and put on some music again. Most of the afternoon passed with Leah listening to music and staring at the ceiling. When it started to get dark, Leah realized how hungry she was. She went downstairs to the kitchen and found a note from her mother saying she and her dad had gone out to dinner with a client. She sighed and got to making a grilled cheese sandwich for herself. She heard footsteps coming down the staircase and a second later Lucy walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, hey, can you make me one too?" she asked.

"Make it yourself," Leah replied curtly and went upstairs with her plate before Lucy could say something else. She shut the door once again and ate her sandwich while she watched Netflix on her tv. She didn't go downstairs to put her plate in the dishwasher, and instead left it on her desk. She could pick it up in the morning. She had half a mind to call Emilia and tell her about what happened but she decided it could wait till tomorrow.

Leah fell asleep soon after, and woke up as her alarm went off. Monday. School. Again. Ugh. She dragged herself out of bed and got dressed. She only had coffee for breakfast. She had to leave earlier to avoid seeing Zach on the way. Leah walked to school hurriedly. She spotted Emilia getting out of her car in the parking lot as she walked through the gates.

"Hey, Emilia," Leah called. Emilia turned, smiling.

"Hey, Leah!" she pulled the other girl into a hug. "How are you doing?"

"I need to talk to you, actually. Let's go inside," Leah said. They went inside the school building and walked towards the lockers. They still had a few minutes before class started.

"What happened?" Emilia asked as Leah stuffed her bag into her locker and pulled out her books.

Leah began recounting the incidents of last night, starting with the phone call she overheard.

"Wait, so she was speaking to Zach?" Emilia questioned.

"Yeah, she said his name," Leah nodded. "She--" she was cut off when someone crashed into her from behind. She lost her balance but Emilia caught her by the shoulders. "What the hell?" she asked, turning around to see who it was.

"Didn't see you there, Turner." It was Hunter. Again. Leah was tired of seeing him everywhere. She wished either one of them would just disappear into thin air. Preferably Hunter. "People like you are invisible, you know?"

"Who pissed in your cereal this morning?" Leah asked, staring him down.

"Are you trying to be intimidating?" Hunter laughed. "Because it's not working."

"Hunter, just piss off already, alright?" To Leah's surprise, it was Emilia who spoke up.

"Are you seriously still mad?" he asked Emilia. "Just because I said we should be friends, this is what you're gonna treat me like now?"

"No, this is because of how you're treating my friend," Emilia answered firmly.

"Wow, look at you two being besties," Hunter said, amused. "How does Zach feel about you replacing him so quickly?" he asked Leah. 

"You should pay more attention to your own friends, what with all your secrets they're spilling these days," Leah answered.

"At least I don't get attached to every person who gives me two seconds of their attention," Hunter said, staring at Leah, who felt her face go red.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

Hunter just shrugged. "Just something to think about." He walked towards his locker, leaving Leah and Emilia staring after him blankly.

"Okay, what the fuck just happened?" Leah said after a few moments. "What is he talking about?"

"I'm just as confused as you," Emilia shrugged. "So about Zach," she said a minute later. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Leah groaned. "I really don't know."

"You'll figure it out," Emilia put an arm around Leah's shoulder. They walked to class together. Leah sat at her usual seat at the back of the class. She wished Emilia's seat was closer to hers, but her new friend was all the way across the classroom. Zach walked into the class and took his seat next to Leah without so much as a glance at her. Hunter was already seated in his place, staring straight ahead. Mr. Bennet entered the class just as the bell rang and started teaching. The man never wasted even a second.

"Hey," Leah whispered to Zach, who made no indication of having heard her. "Zach. Zach"

"I'm trying to pay attention, Leah. Could you just be quiet?" Zach answered coldly.

Leah clenched her jaw. "Didn't know you cared so much about math."

"Yeah, well there are a lot of things I care about, y'know, like loyalty and stuff. But I don't expect people like you to understand," Zach retorted quickly. Leah was not pleased with how many times she'd heard the phrase 'people like you' before 9a.m. on a Monday morning.

"Well, you won't even give me a chance to explain myself," Leah answered, biting back the other responses that had popped into her head.

"And I'm not going to. I hope you're happy with your new bestie or whatever," Zach snapped.

"Zach--" Leah began, but the boy cut her off.

"Honestly, just fuck off, Leah. We're done here," Zach answered, and turned his attention back to his textbook.

Leah decided it would be best to stay quiet now. She pretended to pay attention to what Mr. Bennet was saying, when in reality all she wanted to do was cry.

Chapter Text

The next two weeks passed in a haze. Zach completely ignored Leah. Lucy had said nothing about him and had not asked Leah anything else about her friendship with Emilia. It was Monday yet again. Leah was starting to hate the weekends because they would inevitably lead to Monday again. Zach ignoring Leah meant that she couldn't sit at her old table at lunch anymore. Leah was now sitting in the cafeteria with Emilia and her friends- Caleb, Nate and Oliver from the football team. She liked hanging out with Oliver, Caleb and Nate. They were good company, which she hadn't expected them to be, because some of the football players had a bit of a bad rep. Hunter, of course, sat with them, too, because the boys were friends with him as well. He had made no effort to acknowledge Leah and Emilia's presence at lunch on any day in the last two weeks. Leah wondered if he was just quiet in general these days or if he wasn't speaking because they were there. She still had no idea what he'd meant when he'd made that little comment about her getting attached to people too soon.

"We should hang out today after school," Oliver was saying. Leah looked up from her lunch tray.

"Yeah, we could see that new movie," Caleb suggested. "It's about zombies or something. We should all go." 

"You do know zombie movies turn out to be shit, right?" Emilia elbowed his side playfully. Leah had noticed that Caleb and Emilia had gotten quite close in these last two weeks. 

"She's not wrong," Hunter spoke up. He hadn't said a word for the last 2o minutes. Leah glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He looked thinner now, his cheekbones a bit more prominent. The football team had been practicing pretty hard. 

"Oh, shut up, mate. You're gonna be the first one there. You like the movies too much," Nate laughed, and the other boys joined in. "So are you guys in?" he looked around at the group. Everyone except Hunter and Leah nodded. Nate raised his eyebrows at Leah. "Leah, you have to come! I'm just gonna assume you're a scaredy-cat if you don't."

"Oh, she is no scaredy-cat. We were watching that horror movie on Netflix last week, the one about the haunted doll. I was so scared, I was nearly in tears while she was just munching on popcorn," Emilia said. 

"Alright, so Leah's in," Nate said, and Leah smiled, giving in. "Hunter?"

"Well, we have practice today, so we'll be a bit late," Hunter answered. "We have to be serious about practicing, we need to win the inter-school championship cup this year. We've never lost before. And we have a match tomorrow."

"Aye, aye, captain," Oliver answered, rolling his eyes. "He always makes this speech before every practice," he told Emilia and Leah. 

"So you're in, too?" Nate asked, and Hunter nodded. Leah was surprised he had even agreed to come. Maybe he really did like going to the movies, because he hadn't wrinkled his nose in disgust at the thought of having to hang out with Leah. The bell rang, and they all got up to put their trays back. 

"We'll meet you guys at the movie theatre at 5, is that cool?" Oliver asked, looking at Leah and Emilia, who nodded. They went back to their lockers and got their books for the next three classes. After the last bell rang, Leah and Emilia walked to the parking lot together. 

"Do you want to wait and watch the guys practice or go home?" Emilia asked Leah. 

"Going home would be better. You can wait at my place till we have to leave. Plus, I need some tea," Leah said. 

"Tea: Leah's one true love," Emilia laughed, and Leah joined in. Zach walked past them then, sending a stink-eye in Leah's direction. Leah groaned. "Ugh. When is he gonna stop doing that every time he sees me?" 

"I don't get it. Shouldn't he have let go of that anger by now? I mean, you already did," Emilia said. That was true. Leah wasn't angry at Zach anymore. She was actually looking for a way to apologize to her former friend, but Zach paid Leah no attention except for his glares and stink-eyes. After her fight with Zach, Kirsten and James had begun ignoring Leah, too, and didn't even look in her direction. Leah wondered where their undying loyalty to Zach had suddenly come from. Before everything had gone down between Zach and Leah, they had all been equally good friends with each other. 

"I don't know, Emilia. I'm tired of being the only one trying to make an effort to repair our friendship" Leah admitted. They walked to Emilia's car and started towards Leah's house. 

"If you're meant to be friends again, you will. It'll work itself out some way," Emilia told her. Leah didn't believe in fate and all of that stuff, but she just nodded. All she could really do now was wait. They reached Leah's house in a few minutes. Leah opened the door with her keys. Both the girls went into the kitchen, Emilia sitting down at the table. Leah made two cups of tea, placing one on front of Emilia, and sat down at the table, too. 

"Is no one else home?" Emilia asked, sipping her tea. 

Leah shook her head. "Mum and Dad are both at work, Lucy is always out late these days."

"Do you think she's hanging out with Zach?" Emilia questioned. 

"Who knows? She always comes home late after school and often sneaks out after dinner. She thinks she's being stealthy, but she's just so noisy. I can hear her adjusting that ladder every morning she climbs back in through the window," Leah sighed, 

"I wonder how long they're gonna keep this a secret for," Emilia said.

"The fact that they're keeping it a secret is making it a much bigger deal than it needs to be. I mean, sure, I was taken aback at first, but now it doesn't seem that big of a deal," Leah answered truthfully. She had had enough time to get over that. "Anyway, enough about this. Tell me what's going on with you and Caleb."

"Caleb?" Emilia asked, her cheeks reddening. Leah smiled at her friend. 

"Don't think I haven't noticed all your playfulness with each other. So, do you like him?" Leah asked her, making Emilia blush even more. 

"I don't know, it just kinda happened. I wasn't expecting that so soon after Hunter, but I'm happy," Emilia smiled. 

"Are you gonna ask him out, then?" Leah questioned.

Emilia shrugged. "Maybe, if I find the right moment." 

"It could be today at the movie theatre. You never know what could happen," Leah told her. 

She and Emilia went upstairs to her room after they finished their tea. Emilia borrowed a top from Leah to wear to the movies. Leah freshened up a bit, and soon they were ready to leave. The movie theatre was close to Leah's house, so they decided to walk there. Leah and Emilia didn't speak much on the way, because Leah could tell Emilia had something on her mind. She was probably thinking about how she could ask Caleb out, so Leah let her be. 

Leah saw Caleb, Nate, Oliver and Hunter waiting for them outside the movie theatre as they reached. A round of greetings went around. The group went inside the theatre. Oliver and Nate went to get the tickets, while Emilia and Caleb wandered off to the concession stand, leaving Leah and Hunter by themselves. Leah stared at the floor, wondering how she and Hunter always ended up alone in the same place some way or the other.

Hunter stood a few feet away from her as she leaned against the wall. She had promised herself that she would absolutely not talk to him after how much of a jerk he'd been. Not one word. Leah had been staring hard at the floor when she noticed Hunter shift from the corner of her eye. She watched him for a few seconds, as he leaned against the wall, wearing black jeans and a black t-shirt, the cross necklace resting on top. He looked so normal, so much like her Hunter from years ago, but he also looked a lot older now, with traces of stubble along his jaw, his face more angular. Leah exhaled softly.

"You need to learn to be a lot more subtle if you're going to be staring at people so much," Hunter told her. Leah blinked, shaken out of her thoughts. She just narrowed her eyes at him then turned away defiantly. She rolled her eyes when she heard him scoff a bit. Leah was extremely thankful when Oliver and Nate came back with the tickets in a few minutes.

"Where are Emilia and Caleb?" Oliver asked. Leah nodded towards the concession stand, where she could see Emilia and Caleb talking as they waited in line. Oliver, Nate and Hunter talked about football practice for a bit, while Leah just listened, not really registering their words. Emilia and Caleb came back with chocolates, popcorn and sodas. They walked into the almost-fully-packed theatre, which was weird since it was a Monday. The group walked to the very back of the theatre, where they had gotten tickets for six seats in between the two aisles. Emilia gave Leah a meaningful look before sitting down next to Caleb, by the aisle on the right side. Oliver and Nate sat down by the left aisle, leaving two seats in the middle. 

"Oh, fuck me," Leah muttered, sitting down next to Nate. Hunter clenched his jaw, then sat down between Leah and Caleb a second later. The houselights dimmed slightly as some trailers and ads played before the movie began. 

"Look what I brought," Oliver whispered in a singsong voice. Leah looked over at him and saw a small, transparent bottle full of clear liquid in his hand.

"Vodka?" Leah questioned. 

"Yes ma'am," Oliver replied, opening the bottle and pulling the cap off his soda cup. He added some of the vodka to his soda and passed the bottle down to Nate, who did the same and passed the bottle to Leah. 

"Wonder who's gonna be in-charge of taking you home this time," Hunter said as Leah poured some of the vodka into her own soda cup. 

"Ha ha," Leah laughed sarcastically. She handed the bottle to him. He didn't have a soda cup, so he just took a swig from the bottle and passed it along to Caleb and Emilia. Leah didn't understand his logic. She knew he wouldn't drink soda because it was 'unhealthy' but he had no problem drinking alcohol. As the houselights dimmed completely, she thought about the last time she was in a movie theatre with her friends. Emilia had been hoping her friendship with Hunter would turn into something more, and Leah had still been friends with Zach, Kirsten and James. Leah took a large sip from her soda cup, hoping to bury her thoughts. 

On the screen she could see a young man and woman being chased by a zombie through a dark forest. Leah stared at the screen, not really watching the movie. The scenery changed to an empty road and the man and woman kept running, then all of a sudden the music rose to a crescendo and the man and woman were surrounded by numerous zombies. As the zombies ripped the couple apart, one of them, the leader, maybe, turned to the camera with blindingly fast speed and the title appeared on the screen. 

"That wasn't so bad," Emilia admitted as the houselights turned on after the movie.  

"Dinner?" Oliver asked, looking around.

"I think we should go home," Hunter said. "It's late."

"It's like seven-thirty, mate. I'm famished. Come on," Caleb said. Hunter sighed and gave in.

They walked to a nearby restaurant, close to the one Leah had gone to before when she had come to the theatre with Emilia, Zach, Kirsten and James. They ate burgers and fries and drank milkshakes while they talked. Leah, thankfully, didn't have to sit next to Hunter this time. Emilia sat next to Caleb again. As Leah leaned across the table for some fries, she noticed Caleb's hand on Emilia's knee. Emilia saw her looking and started blushing immediately. Leah leaned back, smiling to herself. 

After they finished eating dinner, they decided to walk around the neighbourhood. Oliver stopped in front of a toy store. 

"Seriously?" Hunter laughed. Oliver nodded, running into the store like a little kid. Hunter laughed again and followed him inside. 

"You coming?" Leah asked Emilia, who shook her head. 

"You guys go on," she told Nate and Leah. The two of them followed Hunter and Oliver into the store while Caleb and Emilia stayed outside. Leah saw Hunter and Oliver standing next a counter of wind-up toys. 

"Let's race them," Nate suggested. 

"Okay, we'll split up into teams of two. Me and Hunter, Leah and Nate," Oliver said. Leah and Nate picked a wind-up monkey out of the pile of toys, which was dressed in a green jacket and holding a tiny drum in its hands. Hunter and Oliver picked a dog with brown and white patches of fur. 

"First one to cross this line wins," Hunter pointed towards another counter. Nate and Oliver wound up the toys and set them at the start line by the foot of the first counter. Both the toys started forward, the monkey walking forward and tapping the drum lightly, while the dog yipped and ran in circles. 

"Wait, wait, wait," Oliver said, as the monkey neared the finish line and the dog was still stuck near the start, running in circles. 

"Nope, you lost," Nate laughed as the monkey crossed the finish line. He high-fived Leah as he gloated over their victory and teased the other two boys. 

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave, kids," an elderly man, probably the owner, came up to them, looking at them sternly over his glasses. "You are not allowed to play with the items on display."

They blurted out a quick apology, barely able to keep themselves from laughing and walked out of the store, just in time to see Emilia and Caleb kissing each other. Oliver and Nate started cheering and Leah joined in, happy for her friend. Emilia and Caleb pulled away from each other, staring at the group sheepishly. 

"You're kidding me, right?" Hunter asked Caleb, scoffing in disbelief. 

"What?" Caleb asked, looking confused. Hunter scoffed once again and started walking away from the group. Caleb looked at Emilia apologetically and rushed after his friend. 

Leah whistled. "Drama, huh?" Nate and Oliver laughed, despite looking tense. 

"Why is Hunter mad, though?" Nate asked. 

"Don't know," Oliver shrugged, shooting Nate a look. Some kind of message passed between them, but Leah couldn't discern what it was. Caleb returned to where the group was standing a minute later. 

"So, Hunter went home," Caleb said. "Maybe it's best we leave, too." Nate and Oliver just nodded silently.  

"Well, this was fun," Nate turned to Leah. He pulled her into a hug before she could reply. She smiled at him as he pulled away from her. Oliver high-fived her, and Caleb, after saying a lengthy goodbye to Emilia, simply smiled at her. Emilia walked Leah back to her house, where she had parked her car, then went home. 

Chapter Text

Leah rushed to school the next day. She had woken up late and missed Emilia's calls. She ran into math just as the bell rang. She waved quickly in Emilia's direction and took her seat at the back of the class. Zach didn't look up as Leah entered the classroom and sat next to him. Leah was used to this indifference on Zach's part but it still stung. Hunter was sitting ahead of them, staring down at his desk intently.

Before Leah could think about it twice, she found herself tapping on Hunter's shoulder.

He turned to face her, and for once, he did not look annoyed. "Yeah?"

"Um, what happened to you yesterday? You just left," Leah said.

Hunter sighed. "I don't know. I don't want to talk about it."

"Were you jealous of Caleb or something?" The question slipped out before Leah could stop herself.

Hunter stared at her in disbelief. "What?"

"I mean, that's what it seemed like," Leah shrugged.

"You know, Leah, you should mind your own fucking business for once," Hunter snapped.

"Excuse me? You're the one who ran off like a little child when things didn't go your way," Leah retorted.

"At least I didn't force myself onto a group of people who aren't even my friends," Hunter responded.

Leah stiffened. "You know what? Fuck you, Hunter." Hunter rolled his eyes at her and turned back to face ahead.

"Guys, class is cancelled. Mr. Bennet is out sick," someone yelled. Hunter got out of his chair and stalked out of the class.

"Holy shit, what was all that about?" Zach asked from beside Leah, who had forgotten he'd been listening to their every word.

"Now you're talking to me?" Leah asked incredulously.

"Well, I did talk to you before," Zach said.

"Oh, yeah, that's right, you told me to fuck off and that we were done. Right," Leah responded.

"I'm just asking you what happened right now," Zach replied.

"You know what, I can't do this right now," Leah decided, standing up and gathering her things.

"Are you serious? I'm talking to you," Zach said, surprised.

"Well, you had two entire weeks to do that, but you chose to ignore me while you're dating my sister and lying to my face about it," Leah responded and left the classroom, aware that Zach was following her outside.

"Leah. Leah, please," she heard Zach say. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him.

"What do you want?" she asked, exasperated.

"It's not what you think, just let me explain," Zach said.

"It's not what I think?" Leah repeated. "So you and Lucy aren't together?"

"No. I mean, we are, but-" he began, but Leah cut him off.

"Then that's exactly what I thought. I asked you about it at the party and you lied to my face," Leah said, and wheeled back around to get to her locker.

"Why are you being so impossible?" Zach cried. Leah stopped and turned around once again, infuriated.

"I'm being impossible?" she fumed. "Zach, you're being a horrible friend. You lied to me, then made me feel like shit because you were ignoring me for weeks!"

"You were the bad friend first," Zach countered. 

"Fine, yeah, I was. But you forgave me, remember? You told me I shouldn't be ashamed and that I could always count on you. Then I asked you about Lucy and you freaking lied," she told him. 

"I didn't know how you would react to the news," Zach reasoned.

"So you thought it was best to hide it from me, lie, insult my intelligence, ignore me and turn my friends against me? Good job," Leah snapped, listing everything that had happened so far.

"'Turn your friends against you'? What're you talking about?" Zach seemed genuinely confused. 

"James and Kirsten? Why're they suddenly ignoring me?" Leah asked. 

"I don't know, Leah. Kirsten has been talking shit about you for the last two weeks," he told her. 

"What?" Leah was taken aback. "Kirsten? Why?"

"Something to do with James dating Daniela. I don't know. Apparently, you're the one who introduced them," Zach answered. Leah blinked in surprise, unable to recall that incident.

"Hey, is everything okay?" came a voice. Leah looked over Zach's shoulder and saw Emilia standing behind him. Zach followed Leah's gaze and stiffened.

"What do you want?" Zach scoffed and glared at Emilia.

"Hey, Emilia. Yeah, everything's fine," Leah told her, ignoring Zach.

Zach turned back to Leah. She could almost see hurt in his eyes. "You guys have gotten really close, huh? Have you told her about everything, Leah? Even about the incident in year 9 with Hunter?"

Emilia narrowed her eyes at the mention of Hunter. "What incident?" 

Leah clenched her jaw. "Why do you keep pulling shit like this and expect me not to be mad, Zach?" she asked him.

Zach stared at her like he was going to hurl insults at her, then turned and walked away without a word.

"Leah! What happened?" Emilia called out as Leah walked to her locker and stuffed her books in and slammed the locker shut loudly. The picture of her and Zach at the beach that was taped inside her locker had just made her angrier. She didn't know who either of those two kids were anymore. "Hey, are you okay?"

Leah sighed, unable to ascertain what she was feeling at the moment. She sighed and recounted what had happened just now while Emilia listened patiently.

"Caleb told me why Hunter was mad, actually. He just felt like too much was changing, so he lashed out. But he's good with me and Caleb now," she said. Leah nodded, saying nothing as she processed this.

"I feel like I owe you an explanation. About what Zach said," Leah began after a minute.

Emilia sighed. "It's okay, Leah. It must've been difficult, whatever it was. You don't have to tell me."

"No, I want to," Leah insisted. "Can we go somewhere else, though?"

"We have a free period now. Let's go get you some coffee, come on," Emilia replied. The prospect of caffeine improved Leah's mood a bit. Emilia hooked her arm through Leah's and the girls left the school building and walked to a nearby coffee shop. Leah told Emilia everything. What happened in the summer before year 9, what Hunter did, what Leah had felt when she'd found out Emilia had wanted to date Hunter. Emilia listened intently, and just pulled Leah into a hug when she was done.

"Leah, thank you for trusting me with that. It must've been such a hard time for you," Emilia told her. Leah looked at her gratefully, tears brimming around her eyes. Zach had basically yelled at her when she had first recounted what had happened in the summer before year 9. Emilia was not mad at Leah because she hadn't told her about Hunter before or kept it from her or whatever. 

They made it back to the school in time for the next lecture. At lunch, as Leah entered the cafeteria, she was greeted with stares and whispers. She looked around consciously for a friendly face, someone who could tell her what the hell was going on. As her eyes scanned over the crowd, Leah spotted Kirsten, James and Zach huddled together at their usual table, in the middle of an intense conversation. Kirsten looked up when she saw Leah watching them and turned to say something to James. Then the girl looked up at Leah and smirked. Leah looked away quickly, anxious, and saw Emilia talking to Caleb at one of the tables in the corner. She rushed over to them, sitting down next to Emilia.

"Oh, hey, Leah," Emilia said, sounding nervous.

"What the fuck is going on? Why is everyone staring at me?" Leah asked.

"You are so not gonna like this," Caleb answered. Leah stared at him questioningly.

"What?" Leah asked impatiently. "Emilia, what?" she prompted.

"Um, there's a rumour going around that someone dared Hunter to take you on a date yesterday, and you agreed and that he left midway because you tried to kiss him," Emilia answered, staring at the table. Leah sat back, unable to comprehend the words she had just heard.

"Where is Hunter? Did he hear this too?" Leah asked after a minute.

"I mean, he must have. He hasn't shown up after math class, though," Caleb replied.

"Why the fuck would I ever try to kiss him or even go on a date with him? Are people actually believing that?" Leah questioned.

"It seems like it. They think you guys just made a big show about hating each other," Emilia responded. Leah put her hands on the table and laid her head on them. She was not usually one to care what people thought. But if any of this got back to her parents somehow, she would be in a fuck ton of trouble, whether it was true or not. Rumours spread like wildfire in a small town like this.

"My mum's gonna kill me if she ever hears this," Leah groaned.

"But it's not even true," Caleb said, confused.

"That won't matter," Leah insisted, looking up. She saw her sister walking in her direction. "Shit. I'd completely forgotten she'd have heard that crap too," she sighed.

"Leah, can I talk to you?" Lucy asked, already sounding annoyed. Leah fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"Sit," she told her. Lucy glanced at Emilia and Caleb sitting with Leah and raised an eyebrow. "It's fine, sit," she said, pushing a chair toward her.

"Is it true? Mum is going to ground you for years if she finds out," Lucy told her.

"Of course it's not true. What's wrong with you?" Leah snapped.

"I mean, you do sit at his table during lunch, and he gave you a ride home on the day of the thunderstorm," Lucy ventured. Leah glared at her.

"It never happened, never will. Just don't tell Mum."

"I won't tell her, obviously," Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Okay, then, are we done here?" Leah asked. Lucy said nothing as she stood up and walked back to her table. Leah wondered if Zach would tell her what happened that morning outside math class. She sat quietly, still feeling people stare at her. Finally she stood up. "I can't take anymore of this."

Leah strode out of the cafeteria quickly, leaving Emilia and Caleb sitting at the table. She walked towards the bleachers on the football field. They were usually empty during break. There were some freshmen kicking around a football on the field, but it didn't seem like anyone else was there. She walked behind one of the bleachers and sat down on the ground.

Leah pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a drag hurriedly. She felt like she should cry but the tears wouldn't come. She felt hollow. She was worried about her parents hearing about it, sure, but she couldn't believe that someone would say something like this. Leah took a few more drags of her cigarette and put it out before she could draw any attention to herself. She pulled her knees to her chest and laid her head on them. She didn't know how much time had passed, maybe a few minutes, when she heard movement. She looked up to see Hunter walking towards her. He was the last person she wanted to see right now. Especially under the bleachers.

"What do you want? Are you going to say shit about me again?" she asked. He almost flinched at her words but didn't say anything. He sat down on the ground next to her, stretching his legs out. "Seriously, leave me alone," she said. Nothing. He was staring at the ground. Leah was definitely annoyed now. "What do you want, Hunter?"

"Honestly, I don't know," he told her after a bit, looking up to meet her eyes. "I was about to practice for today's match, but I saw you come here."

"I thought you left after what happened this morning," Leah said, reciprocating his honesty. All of this confused Leah to the core. One minute he was hostile towards her, then the next minute he would seek her out and be normal, almost like they were friends again.

He shook his head. "Can't leave my team without a captain. Not on match day."

They sat in silence for a minute. "So, did you hear what they're saying?" Leah asked.

"About our 'date'?" he asked, using air quotes. Leah nodded. He sighed. "How can people even come up with something like that?"

"Kirsten," Leah replied after a second. She wasn't sure but she had a gut feeling, and Kirsten's little smirk had weirded Leah out.

"Aren't you both friends though?" Hunter asked. 

"Not of late. Zach told me she's been talking shit about me for weeks now," Leah said. 

"Zach? Have you spoken to him then?" 

"Sort of. After what happened today in math, he followed me outside after you left. We kind of talked, but then he got mad when he saw Emilia," Leah said.

"Oh. Did he tell you why Kirsten's mad at you?" Hunter questioned. 

"Something about me introducing James and Danielle to each other. Apparently, Kirsten's not too happy about them dating," she replied. "I don't even remember introducing them. I can't believe she'd start that shitty rumour because of this."

"That's... fucked up," he decided. "Sorry it happened."

Leah laughed bitterly. "Sure you are. She made it look worse for me."

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"Did you not hear the rest of it?" Leah asked. Hunter shook his head. "Well, uh," Leah struggled to get the words out. "Supposedly, you left halfway through the 'date' because... I tried to kiss you."

Hunter stared at her in disbelief. "What the fuck?"

Leah nodded, saying nothing more. They sat there in silence again. Leah tugged at some blades of grass. The bell rang after a couple minutes. She got up, brushing her jeans off, and started to walk back to class, when she Hunter called after her.

"Leah," his voice sounded strange. She turned around to face him. He was looking at her with an expression she was unable to recognize. "Will you come to the game?" he asked.

Leah shook her head. "Best if I don't." His expression hardened immediately. "Good luck, Hunter," she told him and walked back to the school building without a backward glance at him.

Leah somehow managed to sit through the rest of her classes. She only had one thought on her mind. Why would Hunter care if she was going to the game? She knew she should stop thinking about it but she couldn't. She couldn't forget the look on his face. She had never seen it before. She was shaken out of her thoughts as someone placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Leah!" Nate exclaimed. It was after the last bell. Leah was standing by her locker, putting her books back, ready to head home. "Are you coming to the game?" The football games usually started at around six in the evening, but today's game was being played at three-thirty, just after last period. Emilia was obviously waiting back to support Caleb, which mean Leah would have to walk home. 

Leah was tired of the question. "I don't think so, Nate. I should go home."

"Is this because of that rumour about you and Hunter?" Nate questioned.

"So you heard it, huh?" she asked him. 

"Everyone's heard it by now," he answered sheepishly. 

"It's sort of because of the rumour, then. I just want to go home, y'know?" she replied. "I hope everyone forgets about that crap soon."

"Leah, people are always gonna talk about you. Today it's this rumour, tomorrow it'll be something else. You can't let them dictate your actions," Nate told her. She smiled.

"Never pegged you for such a deep thinker," Leah elbowed him gently. He smiled back.

"So, will you come?" Nate asked. Leah thought about it for a second, but her earlier decision still seemed right.

"You know what, I'm gonna sit this one out," she said and Nate groaned. "But- But I'll make it up to you. I'll come to the next match," Leah said.

"You promise?" Nate asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Pinky promise," Leah said, holding out her pinky finger. Nate smiled and held out his own pinky, and they shook on it.

"Okay. I should go. Hunter will kill me if I'm late," Nate said.

"Good luck today," she told him. He squeezed her shoulder before jogging off to the boys' locker room, his blond hair bouncing up and down. Leah stared after him for a second then walked out of the school building to go home. 

Chapter Text

The following two weeks were really difficult for Leah. All anyone could talk about was the stupid rumour which had spread like crazy. Thankfully, it hadn't made its way to Leah's parents. Hunter avoided Leah like the plague. Not that she expected anything else from him. The football team had won their latest match because of him, and he was busy being admired by the masses. Everyone who was praising Hunter for winning the match was looking down on Leah for being 'rejected' by the star player once again. Seeing Zach, Kirsten and James in the hallways filled Leah with anger and sadness, but mostly sadness. She hadn't felt this dejected since the whole ordeal with Hunter in year 9. But somehow, this hurt more. Emilia stuck with Leah the entire time, staring daggers at anyone who even tried to bring up the rumour. Leah felt immensely grateful; glad she had someone like Emilia by her side. She had no idea what she would have done if she'd have had to go through all of this alone.

Leah had hoped that the gossip would die down soon, more than a week later, but she had no such luck. Friday proved just as tough as the past two weeks. There were stares, whispers and fingers pointed in her direction. Leah hated living in a small town. People dwelt on things for weeks because there was nothing else to do, because there was no other source of 'entertainment'. She sat through her classes, actually paying attention to what was being taught because that was the only thing that could keep her mind off of things. She skipped lunch at the cafeteria and went to sit under the bleachers again to have a smoke. Thankfully, no one came up to her this time. She went back to class after lunch was over, feeling jittery as she waited for the last bell of the day.

"Hey, you doing okay?" Emilia asked Leah as they walked to her car in the parking lot after school was out.

"Yeah. Peachy," Leah replied. "Are you busy today?"

"Caleb's taking me to dinner. Why?" Emilia responded.

"Oh. Just thought we could hang out, but it's alright," Leah smiled.

"I can cancel-" Emilia began, but Leah shook her head.

"Nope, not happening. You're going out with him tonight. You need this," Leah told her. Emilia put an arm around her shoulder.

"You're the best," she told her.

"Oh, I know," Leah grinned at her. Emilia drove Leah home. They spoke about Emilia's upcoming date and Caleb. Leah was glad to see her friend so happy. Emilia promised to call Leah after her date and tell her how it went. Leah went upstairs to her room, home alone. Her parents were at work. Lucy was almost never home these days, except for dinner sometimes. Leah felt like Zach was trying extra hard these days to keep Lucy out of the house. She wondered whether Zach had told Lucy about everything that had happened. She had thought about telling Lucy what had actually happened herself, but she knew the chances of her sister believing her were slim. 

Leah went down to the kitchen and fixed herself a sandwich and some coffee. She had nothing to do so she thought it would be best to catch up on the work she had missed at school in the past few weeks. All of the arguments and whatnot had kept her engrossed in her own thoughts, causing her to space out and barely pay attention in class. She ate her food, then put on her headphones and got to work.

Around seven, there was a knock on her door. She looked up as Lucy walked into her room. She felt like she hadn't seen her in days, but really, she'd seen her just this morning at school. Lucy looked so much older now, so much more like an adult. Leah's heart twisted as she looked at her sister, remembering the little girl who used to fall asleep on the couch every night so that Leah would carry her upstairs to her bed and tuck her in with a bedtime story.

"Hey. What do you want for dinner?" Lucy asked.

"Not hungry," Leah replied.

"You never eat dinner these days," her sister told her.

"You're not always home, are you?" Leah said, shrugging. Lucy eyed her uncertainly then left without a word.

Leah got back to work without letting her mind drift too much. She had a lot of notes to complete. At ten, Emilia messaged Leah saying she was exhausted and would tell her about the date on Monday. Finally, around eleven-thirty, Leah closed her books. She had finished studying everything that she had missed out on and had even done some extra reading for this week's lectures. She changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. She hadn't heard her parents come in but she assumed they were home since it was late.

She closed her eyes, and was almost asleep, when she hear a soft knock. Startled, she sat up, rubbing her eyes. She got out of bed and opened her bedroom door, but no one was outside. She shut the door, puzzled, and sat back down on her bed. Then she heard the knocking again, and realised that it was coming from the window. She stood up, heart pounding, and pushed the curtains aside. Hunter was outside her window, sat on the roof. Leah stood frozen in place, beyond confused. Hunter waved a hand in front of her face after a few seconds of her staring blankly at him. Leah blinked, unsure of what to do. Hunter pointed at the closed latch on her window.

"Come outside," she heard him faintly through the closed window. She was reminded of that time in year 8 when Hunter and Zach had come to her window, just like this, and the three of them had snuck off to the movies late at night. Leah swallowed hard, her heart still pounding. What was Hunter even doing here? "Oh, for god's sake, Turner, open the fucking window," he groaned. Leah sucked in a deep breath and unlocked the window. She stepped out onto the roof carefully. Hunter scooted to the side to make place for her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him, sitting down almost right outside her window. She was trying to keep as much distance between them as she could. 

"Couldn't sleep," he answered. He was wearing sweatpants and another black t-shirt, hair mussed and sticking up in every direction, as if he'd been tossing and turning trying to fall asleep. Leah couldn't imagine she looked much better. She was wearing an oversized grey t-shirt and red pajamas, her brown hair tied back in a loose braid.

"Why did you come here?" Leah asked, still puzzled. He hadn't even looked at her after their conversation under the bleachers. He didn't answer; he was staring up at the night sky. "Mate, seriously. This is creepy, even for you."

"Remember in year 8 when we snuck out to the movies at night?" he asked, not answering her question.

"Yeah. I was just thinking about that," Leah replied, taken aback.

"How are things with Zach?" he questioned.

"They aren't. He hasn't spoken to me since that day," Leah told him. Had Hunter come here this late at night just to ask her these questions? "Neither have you."

Hunter sighed. "I don't know what you want me to say."

"I don't, either," Leah admitted.

"I can't believe you let Kirsten get away with it, though. I thought you would retaliate in some way," he told her after a few seconds.

"Well, what can I say? I'm used to my best friends screwing me over," Leah smiled at him sarcastically.

Hunter clenched his jaw. "Can we not hash all of that up right now?"

"Why not? Why else would you be here?" she responded.

"I don't know, Leah," he sighed, exasperated. "I was just thinking about the old days. About how I would come here when I couldn't sleep. You would talk to me, about everything and nothing, then when I'd start to feel drowsy you'd put me on your bed and sit with me till I fell asleep." 

"Why are you doing this?" Leah asked, her voice cracking. She was feeling a sort of ache in her heart, it was taking over her senses slowly. 

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad," he responded to the change in her tone, but Leah didn't believe him.

"Why wouldn't you? You've made these last three years hell," she said. Hunter closed his eyes for longer than a blink, then exhaled.

"I'm sorry about that. That was stupid and childish," he shook his head.

"I don't believe you," she told him. "You say all kinds of shit. How do I know you really are sorry?"

"What should I do to prove it?" he asked, turning to look at her.

"I don't need you to prove it. I don't care anymore, frankly," she told him, but she knew that was a lie.

"What do you want, then?" he said.

"Nothing from you," Leah replied. Hunter groaned, covering his face with his hands, and lay back on the roof, his feet almost dangling over the edge. Leah didn't know what to do. She looked up at the sky, dark blue, almost black, a smattering of sparkling white stars here and there amongst the dark clouds. There was a new moon. "Seriously, why are you here? We're not friends. We're not anything anymore."

"I don't know what to tell you, Leah. I guess I was just feeling nostalgic," he told her after a second.

"I think you should go," she decided. Hunter sat up and turned to look at her again.

"I don't want to go back just yet," he said.

"Fine. Stay out here. But I'm going back inside," she said, about to get up, but Hunter put a hand on her arm.

"Don't go. Please," he said, his voice breaking ever so slightly. Leah's body went still, confused.

"Are you- are you okay?" she asked after a second.

Hunter cleared his throat. "I just don't want to go home right now."

"Okay. D'you want to talk about it?" she asked, treading lightly.

He took a deep breath then began talking after a minute. "My dad wants me to take over his company. You know that. But he wants me to marry Landon Knightley's daughter so that the business 'stays within the family' or whatever." Leah almost felt nauseous after listening to this.

"What about college?" she asked when she could find it in herself to talk.

"He refuses to accept that I don't want to be in real estate. That's what he wants me to study. I just want to play football. It's come to be everything I've ever wanted, and I've worked so hard for it. But now it seems like I won't have a say in what I do or who I marry." He sighed, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his head on them.

"I'm sorry," Leah told him, not knowing what else she could say. He didn't move. Leah felt the urge to reach out and put her arms around him, but she shook those thoughts from her head. They sat in silence, listening to the occasional sounds of passing cars and barking dogs. Hunter looked up a few minutes later, and rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes. Leah pretended she hadn't seen him do that, but she felt tears stinging the back of her own throat. She was surprised he had shown any sign of vulnerability in front of her after all these years. She wished she could do something to make him feel better, but she was caught between hating him and still searching for remnants of her Hunter in him.

He turned to look at her. Leah was reminded of that day in year 9, in the classroom, when she had looked into his eyes in the dark. Neither of them broke away as they held each other's gaze now. She felt a strange feeling in her gut as she looked at him. She couldn't explain it. All of those memories of her and Hunter, sneaking around in the summer before year 9, came flooding back to her. She inched closer to him as he stared at her, his mouth slightly open. She reached out and touched his cheek, her thumb gliding along his jaw, over the slight stubble on his face. His eyes followed her every movement. Her thumb came to rest upon his bottom lip. She looked up at his eyes, then down at his lips, her heart thudding in her chest. The sensation in her gut propelled her forward. It overpowered her, forcing her to do something she swore she would never do again.

She kissed him. He all but jerked away, surprised. Leah shrank, sure that the look on his face meant he would yell at her and berate her. But then, he pulled her face to his and they were kissing again. He tasted just like Leah remembered. Late night talking and moonlight. Summertime and white wine. Her hands reached up into his hair, the strands soft under her fingers. Hunter jerked backwards again, this time more definitively pulling away from her.

"We can't do this," his voice was hoarse. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"Why?" Leah asked, hurt. She knew they shouldn't be doing that, but why couldn't they do it anyway? It felt great.

"It's wrong. Our parents would go insane," he said, closing his eyes.

"What have you got to be so worried about? It'll be worse for me, anyway. When the thing with the video happened, your parents barely said anything to you," she reasoned. He just shook his head.

"This can't happen. I'm sorry," he said. She pushed him away, exasperated.

"You should go," she told him, folding her arms over her chest.

He scoffed. "Are you serious?"

"Very. None of this would've happened if you hadn't come here in the first place," she said. He looked at her in disbelief for a second. Then he stood up without another word and lowered himself off of the roof using the ladder that was propped up against the wall. Leah buried her face in her hands, unable to comprehend what the fuck had just happened.

Chapter Text

Leah did not sleep that night. In fact, Leah did not sleep for the entirety of that weekend. She just could not comprehend the events that had taken place. They seemed like a dream. A really horrible nightmare. The kind that can make you wake up screaming. That's what Leah wanted to do. Scream. How could she have let all of that happen? How could she have let herself do all of that? Kiss Hunter? The thought made her shudder now. She had no idea what had taken over her that night as she had looked into his eyes. His beautiful, green eyes, flecked with brown and gold. Stop it! Leah warned herself, almost yelling the words out loud. As much as she wanted Mr. Bennet to stop teaching, she couldn't just yell out in the middle of math class. 

Leah had absolutely not wanted to come to school that Monday. She had even considered faking being sick, but she knew that being home alone with her thoughts was worse. She had entered the school building at the last possible minute and walked straight into the math classroom so that she could avoid any chance of running into Hunter before class. 

Leah was sitting in her usual seat next to Zach. He wouldn't look at her or acknowledge her presence in anyway, he hadn't done so in weeks. Leah knew that, but every time she saw him she expected to just be able to talk with him and joke around because it was Zach, y'know, Zach. But no, they hadn't interacted in weeks and Leah was still hurting.

Hunter was sitting in front of Zach, wearing a dark-coloured hoodie and a dark beanie. He had pulled the hood over his head. He had been seated already when Leah had arrived. He had earpods in, zoned out, clearly not intending to pay attention in class. He hadn't even looked at her as she had entered the classroom. Had he felt as weirded out as she had after their kiss? Had he spent the weekend without sleep, obsessing over what had happened? Leah had no idea. The bell rang soon after, indicating the end of math class. Leah gathered all her things and walked to her locker, becoming more alert now in case she had to slip away quickly if she saw Hunter coming. 

At lunch, Leah had still not run into Hunter. She texted Emilia to meet her outside by the bleachers. She did not want to be any place Hunter could be. The weather was getting colder now, as they approached the first week of November. It was hard to believe that it had been two months since the term had started. Everything Leah had known up till the end of year 11- her friendship with Zach, her hatred of Hunter- had changed. She was debating whether or not she should tell Emilia about what happened on Friday night. Would her friend think she was a hypocrite for kissing Hunter after telling her why they hated each other? Emilia walked up to Leah, who was already waiting under the bleachers. 

"Why are we meeting here?" Emilia asked, hugging Leah.

"Don't like the cafeteria much these days," Leah answered. "So, tell me everything about your date." Maybe hearing about her friend's experience would take Leah's mind off of things. Emilia got excited immediately. She talked animatedly about how Caleb picked her up at her door, how he looked amazing, about how they went to dinner and then took a long walk in the park afterwards. Leah smiled seeing her friend so ecstatic and told her she was happy for her.

"So what's going on with you?" Emilia asked Leah once she was done narrating about her date.

"Uh, well, I have something to tell you." Leah began. She had just now decided that she would be telling Emilia about what happened, after all. Leah relayed the events of Friday night to Emilia.

"Are you serious?" Emilia asked, eyes wide. "What were you thinking, Leah? That's crazy!"

"I know, I know! I don't know what came over me. It was just impulse. But he kissed me back! What does that mean?" the words rushed out of Leah's mouth.

"I honestly don't know what to tell you, Leah," her friend sighed. "This is all too confusing. One second you're blowing up at each other, then there's that rumour going around, and now you've basically made out with each other. It's crazy."

"Imagine how I feel," Leah told her, sighing. Emilia draped an arm around Leah. 

"It's okay, we all make mistakes," she told Leah, who just nodded. Was it a mistake, though? Obviously it shouldn't have happened, but Leah felt almost strange thinking of it as a mistake. She felt a lump forming at the back of her throat. "You'll figure it out. Just don't be around him, that will clear your mind of... those feelings."

"Yeah. You're right," Leah agreed. "Thank you so much." Emilia winked at her. They spoke a little more about Emilia's date, then after the bell rang they both went to class.

Leah made it through the entire school day without seeing Hunter. She was about to leave the school building and was on her way out, passing by the boys' locker room, when a hand shot out, gripped her arm, and pulled her into the boys' locker room. Disoriented, she staggered into the locker room. Amidst the confusion, she felt someone trip over her foot.

"Oops," came a voice. Leah blinked at her surroundings, the grip on her arm now loosened. Hunter stood in front of her, having just regained his balance. He was wearing cleats, football shorts and a white t-shirt. He still had the beanie on. Leah didn't know how to react to seeing him, or to the fact that they were alone in the boys' locker room for a second time. She had been so focused on avoiding him that she had never thought about what would happen if she actually saw him. 

"Hi," Leah began, unsure of where she was going with that.

Hunter raised an eyebrow at her, but played along. "Hi."

"Didn't see you around today," Leah muttered nervously. Of course she'd been doing everything in her power to avoid seeing him, so. 

"I came into math this morning, but I couldn't focus. So I went back home and came back in just now to oversee practice," he answered. "We have a match tomorrow."

"You can do that? Just skip classes and come in for practice?" Leah asked, surprised. 

"Well, yeah. My grades are fine," he replied. Leah rolled her eyes. Apparently straight A's were just fine. 

"What do you want?" Leah questioned, sounding colder than she meant to. 

"Really? This is what you're gonna be like from now?" he questioned. 

"Just tell me what you want, Hunter," she told him, staring at the floor. 

"Are we not gonna talk about what happened that day?" he said. 

"Is there anything to even talk about, though?" she asked, trying to figure out where he stood on the whole 'kissing a person you were supposed to hate' thing. 

"What do you think?" he responded. Typical of him to answer a question with a question. What a jerk. 

"I think that... it was a mistake and nothing more," she declared after a second, Emilia's words pouring through her. 

"I disagree," he told her. Leah blinked, taken aback. 

"Look, you were right that night," she said. "We can't do that, and we shouldn't be having this conversation, either," she tried to make her voice sound even, despite her racing heart.

"Go out with me," he said. He looked down at her, with that same strange expression that he'd had the other day. It made Leah shiver.

"What the fuck? Of course not," she blurted out. 

"What? Why not?" he asked, slightly startled. 

"Who's recording us this time?" Leah questioned, trying to look around the locker room. 

"What?" Hunter asked, the hurt in his voice clear. "There's no one else here, I swear. I'm genuinely asking you to go out with me."

Leah scoffed. "Why? I thought you hated me. You've told me that countless times over the last three years."

"You told me you hated me, too, Leah. But you kissed me, and I kissed you back. Doesn't that tell you anything?" he replied. 

"It just tells me that we're idiots," Leah shook her head. She made to leave the locker room, but Hunter caught her arm and turned her round to face him. 

"I need you to believe me. I really am sorry," he insisted, his intense gaze only inches away from her face. All the memories of the beginning of year 9 flooded through her head once again, and she found herself asking him that one question she'd held onto for all those years.

"Then why'd you do it?" she whispered. "Why'd you do that to me?"

She didn't have to elaborate further. He knew exactly what she meant. He exhaled softly, letting her go, and slumped against the lockers, like hearing that question had exhausted him physically, as if there was a weight being placed on his shoulders. "A few weeks after we started fooling around, my father found out. I don't know how. I thought we were careful. He knew I had wanted to work for him then. So he thought I should have to 'prove myself worthy' to inherit his company, and sneaking around with his top competitor's daughter was not definitely not what I should have been doing. That's when the idea of me marrying Landon Knightley's daughter popped into his head. He told me to break it off with you and made me promise that I would never speak to you again. I idolized him then. I believed every word he said was absolute and true. So, I asked Justin and Kevin to say they dared me to do it and record us that day, so that you would get mad at me and stop talking to me, or even hate me. Which I guess you do."

Leah stared at him blankly, but he continued without looking at her.

"I tried out for the football team a few weeks after that because I thought it was fun. I never thought I could make a career out of it. It was just something to help me pass the time, to stay out of the house. But then I fell in love with football. I don't want to work for my father anymore. And I don't want to marry Landon Knightley's daughter," he said, finally looking up to meet her eyes. 

"And what about Emilia?" Leah questioned. 

"What about her?" he asked. 

"You never wanted to date her?" 

"No. I thought we were just friends, she thought we were more. I called her over to my house to hang out and she showed up with the intention of staying the night, and I had to break it to her that I never wanted to go out with her and that I'd thought we were just friends," he replied. 

"Oh." 

"'Oh?' That's all you have to say?" Hunter asked, sounding surprised. 

"I don't really know how to react to this," Leah said, feeling as if her legs had turned to jelly.

"I'm sorry, I really am," he repeated. He sounded genuinely sorry. Leah felt tears welling in her eyes. 

"Uh, thanks for-" she cleared her throat because her voice was barely audible. "Thanks for being honest with me."

"About time," he answered. 

"I still can't go out with you, though," she finally said after a minute. "My parents would just about kill me if they found out."

"But you want to?" he asked, his eyes hopeful. 

"I never said that."

"You're killing me, Turner," Hunter groaned. "What if I can change your mind?"

"'Change my mind?'" she repeated, raising her eyebrows. A playful look crossed his face.

"Oh, yeah. You'll find I can be very persuasive," he said, stepping closer to her. 

"Okay, Voldemort. Calm down," she narrowed her eyes at him. He chuckled, crinkles forming around his eyes, clearly pleased she had gotten the reference. She smiled seeing him laugh, and he smiled back at her. The two of them just held each other's gaze for a moment. Leah stared at him, at his brown hair, his pretty green eyes and his lips that looked so pink and soft and stupidly kissable. She felt the overwhelming urge to kiss him again, and apparently Hunter had the same idea about her because he took a step forward and leaned down. 

Leah stepped away, almost feeling like she hated herself for doing that. But that couldn't happen again. No, it definitely couldn't. "I'm sorry," she shook her head, before turning away from him and rushing out of the door. 

Leah did not stop till she reached her house, feeling her calves burn from walking so fast. She walked up the steps to her house and pulled out her keys. She tried unlocking the door hastily but the damn key wouldn't go in the lock. 

"Fuck," she swore. She tried again, but her hands shook as she tried to insert the key in the lock. "Fuck, fuck," she swore again, dropping her hand and sinking down on the front steps of her house. She was consumed by her thoughts, unable to do anything as simple as unlocking a door. He'd told her why he'd done what he'd done. That was something Leah had pondered upon for weeks when it had first happened. They had almost kissed again. And he'd asked her out. What was this fucking day? She sat on the steps for a while, a long while, holding her head in her hands.

"Leah?" came a voice. Leah looked up, bleary-eyed, and saw her mother staring down at her. She was wearing a beige dress, her hair held in a bun at the nape of her neck. Leah straightened up and stood immediately, shoving her keys in her back pocket. The sky was orange and purple, suggesting it was nearing evening already. "Forget your keys, love?"

"Uh, yeah. I thought about texting you, but I didn't want to bother you," Leah lied. If her mother got even the slightest hint of what had happened with Hunter it would be catastrophic. Diane couldn't know obviously, but Leah was still anxious. Just thinking about Diane finding out made Leah shudder. 

"Come on in, then," Diane told her, opening the door with her own set of keys. "Would you help me out with dinner?" Leah nodded, not really seeing a choice, and went up to her room to freshen up. She came back downstairs a few minutes later and went into the kitchen. Her mother had her chop up some vegetables and do a few other things. Leah's father came home while they were preparing dinner. For once, Simon and Diane seemed to be on good terms. There was no arguing tonight. Leah was sad Lucy had missed it. 

"Where's Lucy?" Simon asked, as if reading Leah's mind. They were seated at the dining table having dinner. 

"Yes, Leah, do you know where she is?" Diane questioned. 

"Uh, no, I don't," Leah said, although she was fairly certain Lucy was with Zach again. She had no idea if Lucy and Zach wanted to make their relationship known to the parents, and if they did, they should have the chance to do so themselves. 

"She's been staying out too much, don't you think?" Diane said to Simon. Leah's dad nodded. 

"We need to have a talk with her when she gets back," he said. The rest of dinner passed without mention of Lucy. Leah wondered what they would say to her. As Leah was cleaning up after dinner, Lucy walked through the door. She heard Simon call her sister to the living room. She thought it would be best to go up to her room rather than eavesdrop. She didn't need to hear what they had to say. Diane and Simon were seated on the couch together while Lucy was leaning against the wall opposite them. 

"We need to have a serious talk with you," Diane was saying. Lucy shot Leah a questioning look which she ignored as she walked up the steps to her room. She closed the door to her room, finally alone. She changed into her pajamas quickly and sat down on her bed to collect her thoughts. But less than five minutes later, Lucy walked into her room, not even caring to knock. 

"So. I just had a fun conversation with Mum and Dad," Lucy began immediately. "They told me I needed to stop staying out so much and be more like you." The last part surprised Leah. She had never considered herself a role model. But it also hurt, like her parents knew she didn't have much of a social life anymore, so she was always home. 

"I don't know anything about that," Leah told her earnestly. 

"You're supposed to cover for me, Leah!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Cover for you? Every single day?" Leah questioned. "You're never at home, Lucy! Did you really think they wouldn't notice?"

"Why couldn't you just make up some lie about where I was?" she continued. 

"Well, you didn't tell me I needed to cover for you. How the fuck was I supposed to know ?" Leah asked, annoyed. 

"I don't know what I even expected from you. Of course this is what you'd do," her sister said exasperatedly. 

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she raised an eyebrow.

"It means you're selfish as fuck. You only ever think about yourself," Lucy hurled. 

"Excuse me?" Leah said, taken aback. "I'm selfish? I could have told them where you were easily. I just chose not to."

"You don't know anything, Leah. All you do is stay cooped up in your room because you have no friends and chase after boys you're not supposed to be talking to," she fired back. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you today?" she cried. "You don't think I know you've been with Zach this entire time?"

"Wait, you know?" her sister asked, staring at her. 

"Yes, you imbecile. Why do you think Zach and I are on the outs?" Leah asked. 

"What?" Lucy asked her, dumbfounded. 

"Ask him about this, won't you?" Leah told her. "Now bugger off. You messed with me on the wrong fucking day." Lucy left her room, a puzzled look still on her face. Leah slammed the door shut after Lucy left, still fuming at those accusations. She flipped the light off and got under the covers, even though it was barely after 9. She couldn't do anything while she was feeling so mad except for lie face-down on her bed in the dark. 

Leah felt her phone vibrating under her pillow. She didn't recall falling asleep at all. She blinked, her eyes heavy with sleep. It was still dark outside. She couldn't have been asleep for more than a couple hours. Her phone stopped vibrating, before it started again a few seconds later. Leah grabbed it absently and put the phone to her ear. 

"Hello?" she said, her voice hoarse from sleep. 

"Leah?" It was only her name, just one word that was slurred, but she knew the voice could only belong to one person. Hunter. 

Chapter Text

"Hunter?" Leah sat up, all her drowsiness melting away. She could just hear breathing on the other side. "Hunter?" she asked again.

"Leah, you picked up! I've been trying to call you for sooo long," his words were slurred again. She checked the time on her phone. It was just past 1am. 

"Well, here I am. What do you want?" she asked, trying not to sound rude. 

"Nothing. I just wanted to see you, I guess. I think. No, I guess," he said, sounding disoriented. 

"Are you drunk, Hunter?" Leah questioned. 

"No," he answered, then giggled. It was a strange sound, Hunter's giggle. Leah was sure she had never heard it before. "Can you come here? I wanna talk to you."

"Where are you?" she asked. 

"The kid place. With the green stuff on the ground," he mumbled. 

"What?" Leah asked, confused. "Oh, the park! Do you want me to come get you?" She had never thought that she would be asking a question like that to Hunter of all people.

"Yes, please," he chirped, and Leah felt butterflies. 

"Okay. Stay where you are. I'll be there soon," she told him, setting the phone down on her bed. She threw the covers back and grabbed her purse and keys. She opened her window and climbed out onto the roof. The ladder that Hunter had used last Friday was still propped up by the wall. She sat down on the roof and stretched her legs, finding the topmost rung with her feet. She climbed down carefully. She had snuck out a lot over these past few years, but she was rusty now. She hadn't snuck out since she had gone to James's party at the beginning of the school year. 

Leah opened the gate as slowly as she could, making sure it wouldn't creak or groan. She stuffed her hands into her pockets, bracing herself against the chilly air. The park was only a few minutes away from her house. She walked briskly, unsure of what to expect. She reached the entrance of the park and went in, looking around for Hunter. She kept going till she saw the play area. She had a feeling that's where Hunter would be.

Sure enough, she saw him sitting at the bottom of the big red tunnel slide. She went up to him, her heart thudding in her chest. He was in a hoodie and trackpants, both grey. His hair was messy, like it always was, and falling into his eyes. He was holding a flask in his hand, the same one he'd had that day at the award function.

"Hey there," Leah said. Hunter looked up at her, confusion clear on his face.  

"Leah? What are you doing here?" he asked, blinking rapidly. 

She sat down next to him. "You called me, remember?"

"I didn't think you'd actually come," he murmured. 

"Why?" she asked, confused.

"People never do," was all he said. Leah narrowed her eyes slightly, unsure of what he meant.

"You wanted to talk to me, right?" she said after a few seconds.

"Do you think dogs from different places bark in different accents?" Hunter asked, looking extremely serious. 

"Jesus Christ. How much did you drink?" she stared at him. 

"Three," he answered. 

"Three what? Pints? Bottles?" she questioned. 

"Yes," he replied. Leah rolled her eyes. "I want to go home," he said. "But at the same time, I don't." He turned away from her and exhaled, his breath fogging in the cold air.

"I can take you to your house," Leah told him, but he shook his head. 

"No."

"Why'd you call me and not one of the boys from the team? You could have stayed over at one of their houses," she reasoned. 

"Didn't want to talk to them right now. Just you," he replied, kicking at the grass at his feet. Under other circumstances, Leah would have thought that he looked adorable, all pouty and cuddly in his grey hoodie, but right now she was focused on getting some answers.

"Why?" she questioned. He shrugged, not saying anything. "Look, you've gotta give me something here. It's nearly one-thirty in the morning and I'm freezing my arse off in this park instead of being home in bed."

"I missed you," he whispered. 

"Hunter, I thought we'd talked about this," Leah said, despite having felt goosebumps on her arms when he'd said that. 

"I know, I know. But I can't stop thinking about you," he responded. He would never have admitted any of this if he'd been sober. The drunk mind speaks the sober mind's truth. "I haven't stopped thinking about you since last Friday."

"You're drunk. That's why you're saying this stuff," she said anyway. She couldn't say anything else. She couldn't even think about what would happen if she let herself agree with him. Let herself say out loud that she hadn't been able to stop thinking about him either. 

"Then go. Leave me here," Hunter said, taking a swig from his flask. 

"You know I can't do that," Leah told him. "Let me take you to your house."

"How? Are you going to ring the bell and tell my parents I drunk-dialed you?" he retorted, then started laughing like he was imagining the scene take place. 

"Well, I could sneak you into your room," she suggested.

"You'd have me climb a ladder in this state? Good idea," he snorted. 

"Fine, then! What do you want me to do, Hunter?" Leah snapped. 

"Nothing. Just go home, I guess," he told her. She stood, giving up, as he took another sip from his flask.

"Oh, put that thing away," she scolded. "You have a match tomorrow. Or today. Whichever." 

"Don't remind me," he groaned, leaning forward and holding his head in his hands. The silver cross came out from under the collar of his hoodie and dangled around his neck.

"I'll leave then, I guess." she told him. He didn't look up as she started walking away. 

She had reached the gates of the park by the time she couldn't continue fighting the urge to turn back around. She couldn't leave him there by himself. She just couldn't. She thought about calling one of his friends and asking them to come get him. She checked her pockets for her phone, but she realised that she had left it on her bed after having spoken to Hunter. And how could she explain to his friend how she knew where he was, anyway? Shee couldn't even leave him alone till his friend showed up. She groaned, hating herself for the choice she was about to make. She turned back around and went back to the tunnel slide. He hadn't moved since she had left.

"I can't leave you by yourself," she sighed. "Come on." 

He looked up at her. "Come where?"

"We're going to my house," she said, unable to believe the words that had just come out of her mouth. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Let's go, Hunter. It's cold as fuck out here," she complained. 

"Are you- Are you sure?" he stuttered. 

"No. Not at all. But there's no other options," she said, trying to convince herself rather than him.

He tucked his flask away in the pocket of his trackpants. Leah always envied how men's clothes had much larger pockets. She could barely fit her phone in the pockets of her pants. Whenever she remembered to carry it, anyway. Hunter stood up unsteadily. They both started forward, Leah walking slowly so that Hunter could keep up in his inebriated state. He could walk surprisingly well for the amount of alcohol seemed to have had. Their breaths fogged in the chilly air. Leah wished she had brought a jacket along, but she would be home soon. The only problem was Hunter would be with her. 

They reached Leah's house in a few minutes. She pushed open the gate as carefully as she had before, to make sure it didn't creak. Since she couldn't take the chance of making Hunter climb up a ladder in his drunken state, sneaking into her room through the window was not an option. They would have to use the door and take the staircase. The staircase was less risky than the ladder. Probably. She walked up the steps and opened the door as quietly as she could. Leah turned and motioned to Hunter. She took a deep breath and went inside. Hunter followed her in. He paused in the entryway, eyeing the living room. 

"Not the time," Leah hissed, grabbing his arm and practically dragging him to the staircase. She hooked her arm through his to help him climb the stairs. Her heart was beating hard. The slightest of noise could wake her parents and Lucy and bring them outside. She did not want to get in trouble, of course, but she absolutely did not want to see Lucy. She was still mad at her, and understandably so. 

Finally, they reached the top of the stairs. Leah opened her bedroom door and all but shoved Hunter inside. Once they were both inside and the door was bolted shut, she felt her heartbeat slow down a bit. Hunter stood in the middle of her room, glancing around. 

"It's blue. Wasn't it pink?" he said in a raised voice, staring at the walls. 

"Keep your voice down," she chided him. He shot her an apologetic look and sat down on her bed, yawning.

"You still play?" Hunter asked sleepily, glancing over at her guitar. "You'll have to play me something someday."

"Sure," Leah said, having no intention of keeping her word. "You can sleep on the bed, I'll take the floor," she told him. He said nothing as he kicked off his shoes and lay down on her bed. The covers were messy, the way Leah had left them when she had snuck out to get him. Leah turned off the lights, leaving her yellow string lights on. She went to her closet and got a spare blanket and pillow. She put them both down on the carpeted floor and lay down, pulling the blanket over her. It was thin, threadbare, barely keeping her warm.

Leah stared up at the ceiling, wondering how Hunter would sneak out in the morning. Maybe she could leave first then he could leave after everyone else at home had left. But her mother left for work around 9, which would make him miss first period. Leah shivered. She thought about increasing the temperature on the thermostat, but she would have to go out into the hallway to do that, and it would be too risky to leave Hunter in here by himself, even if it was for just a few seconds. She glanced up at her bed to see if he was asleep, but she couldn't make out much in the dim light of the string lights. She could worry about how to sneak Hunter out in the morning, she decided, stifling a yawn. She closed her eyes, and sleep found her soon. 

"Leah," Hunter prodded her awake. She groaned as she turned over, her eyes opening slowly. It was still dark out. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes since she'd fallen asleep. 

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" she asked, sitting up. He was kneeling next to her, his hand on her arm. 

"Your teeth were chattering. I couldn't sleep," he complained. Was it that cold? She hadn't thought so before, but she was feeling it now. She rubbed her arms, trying to get warm.

"I'm sorry," she told him, stifling another yawn. He went back to her bed and sat down.

"Could you come here? I don't want to be alone here," he said, his words jumbled. 

"I don't think that's a good idea," she answered breathily. 

"You're cold, aren't you? It'd be better if you slept here anyway," Hunter said. 

"I'm not that cold," she lied. 

"Please?" he whispered in a small voice. Leah sighed, getting off the floor. 

"Only till you fall asleep," she told him, sitting down next to him. He smiled at her, dimples forming in his cheeks. Leah smiled to herself, then leaned against the headboard and pulled her knees to her chest. Hunter lay down next to her in the little place that was there. She had not upgraded her bed from the single bed she'd had since year 7.

"This is uncomfortable," he complained again. "You should lie down."

"That's not a good idea," she repeated. He looked up at her, pouting. 

"You look like a frog," she told him. He pouted some more. She sighed and gave in, knowing full well that this was the worst thing she could possibly do. First she'd brought him home while he was drunk, then she'd snuck him into her bedroom and now she was about to share the bed with him. Leah lay down next to him and pulled the covers over both of them, their arms touching. There was absolutely no space between them. She could feel the warmth of his body starting to warm her own up. Her heart was beating fast, remembering the last few times they'd shared a bed. 

"What are you thinking about?" he asked in a low voice. She turned to look at him. His hair looked darker, almost black, in the dim light. It was still messy as ever, and Leah's hands itched to smooth it out. She clenched her fists.

"That you should sleep. We have school tomorrow, and you have a match," she told him.

"Will you come to the game?" he asked, his voice hopeful. 

"I will. I promised Nate I would," Leah said.

"Nate?" Hunter's face fell. Leah laughed quietly. 

"He's just a friend. You're not jealous, are you?" she teased. 

"No," he said, turning away from her.

"You know, you're cute when you're jealous," she told him.

"I'm not. Jealous, I mean. I am cute," he answered, his words still slurred. Leah chuckled. He reached out and pulled her arm towards him, laying his head on it and turned away from her, facing the wall that her bed was pushed up against. Leah smiled out of surprise. 

"What are you doing?" Hunter asked. 

"Nothing?" Leah answered, confused. 

"Put your other arm around me," he ordered. "How am I supposed to sleep?"

"How do you sleep when you're alone?" she questioned. 

"In a chair. Or on the couch. Still can't sleep through most nights," he told her in between yawns. She felt a pang of sadness. She'd had no idea he was still having trouble sleeping. She took a deep breath, then turned on her side and put her other arm around him. She could feel the hard muscles in his stomach and arm. "Goodnight, Leah," he whispered. Leah said nothing, just squeezed his hand. She made to move her own hand, but Hunter laced his fingers through hers, holding her hand in his, both their hands resting sideways on his stomach. She felt her face become warm. 

Leah tried her best to stay awake till Hunter fell asleep, so she could go back and sleep on the floor. But exhaustion overtook her soon and she fell asleep.

A knock on her door woke her from her sleep. She awoke with a start, her eyes immediately going to the empty place next to her. She blinked, dazed.

"Leah? It's 7:30, love. You'll be late for school," came her mother's voice from outside her locked door. 

"I'm up, mum, thanks," she replied. She stood up, looking around for Hunter. He definitely wasn't in the room. The door was still locked from the inside. The blanket and pillow that were on the floor last night were placed on Leah's table, the blanket folded neatly. He left from the window, Leah decided after seeing it was unlocked. But why had he left? And when? Why hadn't he woken her up, at least? Leah felt a lump in her throat as she got dressed. She'd thought that last night had changed things. But Hunter had snuck out without saying anything to her. After she'd fallen asleep with her arms around him, she'd felt a sense of comfort that she hadn't felt in years. Somehow she got dressed for school and went downstairs, swallowing back her tears. 

Chapter Text

Leah ate her breakfast as slowly as she could, not wanting to go to school at all. But when Emilia called her up saying she was waiting outside to pick her up, she had to eat her food quickly and rush out the door. She saw Emilia's car parked by the curb. She opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat.

"Hey, Leah. Good morning," Emilia greeted her and pulled her into a quick hug. Leah returned her greeting, not saying anything more. Everything that happened last night was just playing in her head on repeat. Leah shut her eyes and exhaled.

"Would you mind terribly if I had a smoke?" she asked the other girl. 

"Go ahead," her friend told her. Leah rolled down the window and lit a cigarette. The first drag she took eased her thoughts and she felt herself relax. Probably not the best idea to smoke this early in the morning, Leah thought. Oh, well. She took another deep drag.

"Are you alright? You seem tense," Emilia said. 

"A-okay," was all Leah said, continuing to smoke. Emilia narrowed her eyes but dropped the topic.

Leah turned on the radio so they wouldn't have to talk much. On the way to school, all Leah could think about was what she would do when she would see Hunter. Why had he left without telling her? That was the only question on her mind as she walked into math with Emilia. She walked to the back of the class and took her seat next to Zach, who was already seated. Leah wished desperately she could change seats, but the seats you choose on the first day were the ones you would have to use for the entire year. Leah sat down next to Zach. Mr. Bennet wasn't here yet, there were still a few minutes left before class. She wondered how Zach would react if she told him what had happened last night. 

"What, Lee?" Zach asked her. "You're staring." He didn't exactly sound irritated. 

"Sorry," Leah replied, surprised he had used her nickname. She waited for a few minutes, hoping Zach would start up a conversation of some kind with her, but no such luck. Leah pushed her disappointment away and turned her attention to the front of the class. Hunter wasn't here. Leah wasn't sure if she was thankful or worried about that. Mr. Bennet walked into the class as the bell rang and started talking about derivative functions or whatever the fuck it was they were doing. Leah knew she wouldn't be able to concentrate. Not knowing the topic was a clear sign of that. But she opened her books anyway. 

At lunch, Leah was still wondering where Hunter was. He hadn't shown up to any classes. Maybe he was doing that thing again where he skipped class and only came in for football-related purposes. Still, she couldn't help worrying. Wherever he was, he would be hungover as hell right now. 

"Hey, any idea where Hunter is?" Leah asked Caleb, who was sitting across her at lunch. 

"Why?" Emilia chimed in. She was sitting next to Caleb. 

"Just wondering. Since they have a game today," Leah answered her. 

"Nope. Don't know where he is. But he'll be here for the game," Caleb answered in between bites of his sandwich. 

"You are coming for the game, right?" Nate asked Leah. He was sitting to her right. 

"Yes, yes, I promised you I'd come, and I will," she told him. Nate smiled brightly at her. Leah couldn't help but smile back. "I'll go home and come back for the game."

"Nope, you're doing no such thing. You're gonna stay here with me till the game starts and I'm gonna drive you home afterwards," Emilia told her. 

"But the game starts at 6. What am I supposed to do for two hours?" Leah asked. 

"Watch us practice," Nate answered. "It's not a bad sight, I assure you." Leah bit her lip nervously. Watching the boys practice would also mean seeing Hunter. 

After lunch, they went back to class. Leah was hardly paying attention in class again. She wondered how it might look to teachers to see her just staring off into space. She guessed they were used to that, though. She'd tried to be a good student for the last few years, and sort of succeeded. Of course, her grades weren't as good as Hunter's. She was barely scraping by compared to him.  She'd tried to maintain her grades so far this year. She'd even done that extra reading, but it was useless now. She wouldn't even know what topics to cover for her exam, yet somehow she didn't really care.

Leah walked out of last period and she saw Emilia waiting for her outside the classroom. "Come on, we're going to the football field," Emilia told her, hooking her arm through Leah's. 

"Could we at least get some coffee first?" Leah asked, hoping to delay things by at least a half hour. "I didn't really sleep well," she lied. She'd probably slept better last night than she had in years.

"Fine," Emilia gave in. Leah smiled, almost breathing a sigh of relief. They went to a nearby coffee shop and came back to the school after having had some warm cappuccinos. Leah's heart beat faster and faster as they made their way to the bleachers. They sat on the bottommost row. It was cloudy once again, but it didn't look like it would rain. Leah looked at the field, counting eleven players. The opposing team hadn't arrived yet, so the home team could practice until they got here. 

Some of the boys were running laps around the field. Three of them were standing by the sidelines, engaged in conversation. Leah saw that it was Nate and Caleb, in their number 11 and number 24 jerseys, who were talking to Hunter, in his number 17 jersey. They weren't that far away from where Leah and Emilia were sitting, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. Leah turned away from them, remembering the way Hunter would always glance up when she was looking at him for too long. She couldn't help but think he was exhausted. His shoulders were slightly slumped, he wasn't standing up straight like he usually did. She had no idea when he'd left in the morning, so he couldn't have had more than a few hours sleep because they'd gone to bed after 2. And he was hungover. She grimaced, wondering how he would play the game. 

Hunter, Nate and Caleb joined the other boys who were running laps. Afterwards, they did some exercises and drills which involved shooting, passing and dribbling the ball between them. Leah noticed that Hunter was really quick on his feet. She had never really paid attention to him in any of the games she'd attended, and there were only a few of those. She kept thinking he would look up at her any time, as she stared at the number 17 written on the back of his jersey, but his eyes were always trained on the ball. Part of her wanted him to ignore her, but she also wanted him to look up, to see she was here for the game. For him. 

The boys went into the locker room, because it was almost 5:30. The opposing team was going to arrive in a few minutes. A few people were already coming in and taking their seats. 

"What're you thinking about?" Emilia asked. Leah blinked, turning to look at her. "You've been super quiet today. Should I be worried?"

"No reason to be worried. I just feel out of place here," Leah answered. 

"Why?" Emilia questioned. 

Leah shrugged. "I used to enjoy watching football, but I stopped coming to games because of Hunter. It just sort of feels weird to be here now."

"That's okay. I don't know much about football, and that's fine. We're here to support the people we care about, you know, like Caleb and Nate, and that's what matters," Emilia told Leah, bumping her shoulder. Leah smiled. They watched as the bleachers filled up with people. Leah saw Zach, Kirsten and James walk up the bleachers as well. Zach smiled a small smile at Leah, which she returned cautiously, glancing around first to see if there was anyone else he could be looking at. Lucy followed a few minutes after Zach, only glancing in Leah's direction before sitting next to Zach. 

The opposing team jogged onto the field, a mass of black jerseys, followed by the home team in red. Nate and Caleb waved in Emilia and Leah's direction, and the girls waved back. Hunter followed the boys' gaze and finally looked at Leah. She couldn't help but notice how tired his eyes looked. She gave him a tiny smile, without trying to be obvious about it, since Emilia was right next to her. She saw a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, but the referee blew the whistle and Hunter had to jog towards him. The captain of the opposing team and Hunter stood by the referee, who tossed a coin into the air. The opposing team's captain won the toss and took the first kickoff. All the players got into position. It was a sea of red and black jerseys, but Leah's eyes were trained only on the red number 17 jersey.

At halftime, the score was 1-0 in favour of the opposing team. Nick, Lucy's friend who had given them a ride home the day of the party, had fouled the midfielder of the opposing team, which had granted the other team a free kick. The tension in the air was palpable. Leah saw Hunter standing next to his teammates, who were sitting on the grass and sipping water and sports drinks. He and the coach were talking, probably about what strategies they should use next. Hunter leaned over the other boys, and said something to them, which was followed by cheers from them. The referee blew his whistle again and the boys stood up and jogged onto the field once more. 

The play started again, and the ball landed at Hunter's feet. He started forward, dribbling the ball towards the opposing team's goal. He maneuvered around the players with ease and was ready to shoot. He aimed for the goal, but missed by a hair, the ball bouncing off of the edge of the goalpost. Leah could feel his disappointment. After the opposing team started the play again from the outside, Hunter looked more focused as he guarded the player he was assigned. A player from the opposing team attempted to shoot, but the home team's goalkeeper caught the ball and threw it towards Caleb. Caleb dribbled the ball towards the opposing team's goal, and passed it to Nate, who kicked it back to Hunter. Hunter faked going left, then went right and rounded the player who was about to stop him. He kicked the ball hard, sending it into the goalpost, quick as lightning. Cheers ensued from the home team's side of the bleachers. Leah couldn't help but smile. 

The game was over quickly. The score was 2-1 in favour of the home team. Both goals were scored by Hunter. Leah was beyond impressed at his skills. He was fast, able to weave his way through the defending players with ease. The goal he had missed had seemed to have given him a rush of adrenaline which he had clearly used to his advantage. The players in red were celebrating their win, cheering and whooping on the football field. A lot of the school's students were surrounding them, patting them on the back and high-fiving them. Leah and Emilia were standing next to Caleb and Nate. Hunter had disappeared soon after the match was over. Leah wondered where Hunter had gone. 

"You were brilliant," Emilia was telling Caleb, who smiled at her and kissed her. 

"I'll be right back, gotta use the bathroom," Leah told them, and wandered off towards the school. Hunter had to be somewhere inside. She went into the main building and towards the boys' locker room. All the other players were still on the field, so no one else would be in here. She opened the door slowly and peeked inside. "Hunter? You in here?" she called. 

"Leah? I'm by the sink," came his voice. Leah went inside, passing the rows of lockers and benches. She saw him standing over the sink. 

"You alright?" she asked. His jersey was slicked in sweat and there were tiny blades of grass stuck to his clothes and arms and legs.

"I feel sick," he answered. 

"Well, duh. You had 'three' last night," she said.

"Three what?" he asked, confused. Leah shrugged.

"You don't look so good. Why don't you sit down?' she told him. He nodded, sinking down on the floor. He scooted backwards till his back was against the wall by the sink and pulled his knees to his chest. Leah sat down next to him, stretching one leg out before her and pulling the other knee to her chest. "You were amazing tonight. I had no idea."

He smirked. "Bet you wish you'd come to the last match, huh?"

"I do. I could never have done any of that if I was hungover. Actually, I could never have done any of that, period," Leah said. Hunter smiled. 

"Don't underestimate yourself, Turner," he responded. Leah smiled back. 

"So, are you going to a party today?" she asked, resting an arm around her knee. 

"Oh no. Don't think I can handle another night of drinking. The boys can go out if they want to, but I'm not going with them," he answered. She nodded. They sat quietly for a while. 

"Can I ask you something?" Leah said. 

"Shoot."

"Why'd you sneak out in the morning?"

Hunter sighed. "Straight to the point, huh? I don't know. I was being a baby because I was drunk. I was embarrassed, I guess."

"You could've told me before you left, y'know? And why weren't you in class? I was worried," the words rushed out of Leah's mouth. 

"You were worried about me?" he turned to look at her, looking almost amused. 

"You were off your face last night. Might as well have danced on a table," Leah said. "You were also extremely interested in the way dogs converse with each other. So yeah, I was worried." 

"I wouldn't say 'extremely'. I think I was mildly interested," he muttered. Leah chuckled. "I should take a shower, I feel filthy."

"Okay. I'll leave," Leah said, standing up.

"I mean, you could stay if you like," Hunter began, a smirk forming on his face. 

"Nope," she answered. 

"Come on," he said, flexing his biceps. 

"You know, there's a fine line between confidence and arrogance," Leah told him. 

"And I walk it so well," he replied. Leah rolled her eyes. 

"I'm going home," she said, making her way towards the door. 

"I'll be there soon," he called after her. She stopped in her tracks and wheeled around to face him. 

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," he replied. 

"Fine. See if I let you in," Leah scoffed. 

"You will," he said simply, taking off his jersey and walking towards the showers. 

"Arrogant son of a bitch," she muttered as the door to the boys' locker room closed behind her. 

Chapter Text

Leah wandered back to the football field and saw Emilia, Caleb and Nate waiting for her. She walked over to them.

"Are you alright?" Emilia asked as she saw Leah walking towards her. "You look kind of... angry."

"I'm okay," Leah replied, trying to regain her composure. "What're you guys talking about?"

"We were talking about going out to dinner," Nate replied. "The rest of the boys are going to a party, I think."

"Yeah. D'you wanna come to dinner with us?" Caleb asked.

"No- " Leah began, but she stopped herself. Hunter said he was going to be at her house soon, right? She wouldn't be home for at least another hour or two if she went out with her friends. That would show him. "Yeah. Yes, I'll come," Leah said. 

"That's what I'm talking about, Turner," Nate grinned, putting his arm around her shoulder. Leah grinned back at him. She and Emilia waited while Caleb and Nate changed out of their jerseys. 

"So how're things going with you and Caleb?" Leah asked Emilia. 

"Good," Emilia smiled. She spoke a bit more about how they really understood each other. "I'm thinking tonight might be the night."

"Ohhh," Leah gave her friend the side-eye. "Is that so?" Emilia blushed in response. "I thought you guys must already have... you know."

"Oh, no. I mean, we've done... stuff, but not that," Emilia mumbled, still blushing deep red. 

Leah laughed. "Jesus, look at you. You look like a tomato."

"What're you guys talking about?" came Caleb's voice. 

Emilia shook her head, looking flustered. "No one-- nothing, I mean. Are you guys ready?" The boys nodded. 

"I'll just let Lucy know and we can leave," Leah told them. She walked over to where her sister was standing and talking to Zach. She hadn't spoken to her since their fight. "Uh, Lucy?" Her sister turned around. Zach stood next to Lucy still, not saying anything.

"What's up?" she asked. 

"I'm going out with my friends. D'you have your keys?" she asked her.

"No, but won't mum and dad be home?" her sister questioned.

"No, they had that dinner thing tonight, remember? They won't be home till 11," she said. "Here, take these." She handed Lucy her own set of keys. 

"Thanks, Leah," she replied. She nodded, glad the conversation got over quickly, and walked back to her friends. The four of them went to the parking lot and got into Emilia's car. They drove to a sushi restaurant that Caleb suggested. 

"Music's pretty good, huh?" Nate said as they walked in. They got a table for four towards the end of the restaurant. They had fun deciding what different types of sushi they'd eat. The boys dared each other to eat as much wasabi as they could. Nate won.

"Told you I'd win," he rasped. Leah tried her best not to laugh at his teary-eyed state. The girls treated the boys to some ice cream after that to help them get rid of the wasabi taste. 

"I should get going," Nate said after they had eaten their ice creams. "Mum is expecting me home soon. My older brother is coming back to town tomorrow."

"I should go, too," Leah said. It was nearly 2 hours after the game had ended. She wasn't exactly eager to see Hunter, but she did want to know what he'd been up to for the last two hours since she hadn't showed up. 

"I can drive you home," Nate offered. Leah nodded. 

"I'll drop you guys off at the school," Emilia told them. Nate's car was still at the school.

Leah shook her head. "Nate and I can manage, it's alright," she said. Nate gave her a look, to which Leah responded by tilting her head slightly towards Caleb and Emilia and raising her eyebrows. 

"Oh, yeah, we'll manage," Nate nodded. 

Emilia blushed. "Okay, we'll see you guys tomorrow." Leah smiled at her and Caleb and she and Nate walked towards the school. The night air was crisp and welcome, after the amount of wasabi they'd had.

 "What was that back there?" Nate asked. 

"I just wanted to give them some alone time, y'know," Leah replied. "They're always hanging out with us, I felt like giving them a chance to be all couple-y and stuff." Nate smiled at her. They talked about the game as he drove Leah home. He lived about 10 minutes away from her. He and Hunter would often ride to school together, she learned. "I had a great time today," she told him as they approached her house. 

"You should come to our games more often," Nate told her. "And I know you've got that whole thing with Hunter, but it's not all about him."

"I know. I learned my lesson," she grinned. "See you tomorrow." He smiled at her as she got out of the car. Leah walked up the steps as he drove away. She rang the doorbell and waited for Lucy to open the door. The door opened, only it wasn't Lucy who opened it. It was Zach. 

"Zach?" Leah gaped. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you care? Why don't you go hang out with Emilia some more?" Zach snapped. 

"What's your problem?" Leah asked, taken aback at his sudden hostility towards her. Hadn't he just smiled at her a few hours ago?

"Just leave me be," the boy snapped, pushing past her and walking out of the door. 

"Zach. Zach, stop," Lucy rushed down the stairs and ran after Zach. 

"Leave me alone, Lucy. Please," Zach told her, leaving her staring after him. Lucy came back inside, looking dejected. 

"What's wrong?" Leah questioned, confused. "Lucy?" she asked again when her sister just glared at her.

"Why don't you tell me what went wrong between you two before questioning me about him?" her sister shouldered past her and walked up the stairs.

Leah heard the door slam after a second. She blinked, still confused. She walked up to her own room and tried the handle, but it was locked from the inside. "What the hell?" she said, trying it again. 

"Leah, is that you?" questioned a voice from somewhere behind the door.

"Hunter?" she asked as the door swung open after a soft click. 

He was standing in her room, dressed in jeans and a white hoodie. Leah shut the door hastily and locked it behind her. "You clearly don't look happy to see me," he said. 

"How long have you been here?" she asked. 

"Well, I came here about two hours ago, like I said I would. But you weren't here, so I left to get some food. Very nice of you to ditch me, by the way," he added, his voice a drawl. "I got back here a few minutes ago."

"Just go home, please. I can't deal with you right now," she told him, sitting down on her bed and pulling her knees to her chest. 

"Are you, uh, alright?" he asked. Leah shook her head, resting it on her knees. 

She told him everything that had happened just now. "I don't get why Zach suddenly hates me now," she told him. "God, it feels like you and him have switched roles."

"Why, did you have sex with him, too?" he questioned. 

"You disgust me," she told him. 

"Aw, stop, you're too sweet," Hunter replied. Leah scoffed out of surprise.

"I just walked in and he lashed out at me," she admitted. "I have no idea why."

"I'm sorry you guys fought again," he said, sitting down next to her. 

"How long have you been here? Did you hear what they were arguing about?" Leah questioned, turning to face him.

"I came back when I saw you get out of Nate's car. I was right around the corner. I just know what you know," Hunter replied. "I only heard him talk to you and saw Lucy follow him out."

"What if they'd seen you?" Leah smacked him in the arm. 

"I was stealthy, don't worry," he said. 

"'Stealthy'?" Really?" she narrowed her eyes at him. He just winked at her. "I don't know what to do. Should I go talk to Lucy? She's obviously not in a good mood right now. But I am worried about her."

"Maybe you should go talk to her, she might tell you what went wrong," Hunter said. 

"I highly doubt that," Leah laughed bitterly. "She won't tell me anything. She's pissed that I haven't told her what went wrong with me and Zach."

"Then maybe you should tell her that, too."

"But telling her that would mean explaining why he was mad at me in the first place, which is because I told him about you and me," Leah sighed. 

"You think she'll be mad too?" he asked.

"Definitely. But it's not her place to be mad, is it?" she asked. 

"Exactly. What matters is that you do tell her," he replied.  

"Thank you," she gave him a small smile. They sat quietly for a few seconds. 

"Oh, also. What the fuck were you doing in Nate's car?" he asked her. Leah smirked at him, just to see him squirm.

"I'm gonna go talk to Lucy," she told him.

"Answer my question first," he told her. She just put a finger to her lips as she opened her bedroom door and stepped out, leaving Hunter staring after her.

She knocked on her sister's door. 

"Yeah?" came her voice. 

"Can I come in?" Leah asked. The door opened. Lucy stepped back to let her through. "I thought about it and you're right. I should tell you what happened," she began. "Um, before I say anything, I need you to promise me you won't tell on me."

"I promise," she said uncertainly. "What happened?" Leah took a deep breath and began narrating the story of her and Hunter and then how Zach had reacted after she had told her about it. 

"What the fuck?" Lucy interjected. "Are you serious? You and Hunter? How could you do that, Leah?"

"Look, save the lecture, alright?" she snapped. "It was years ago. And that's besides the point. I'm telling you about why Zach is mad at me, just like you asked." She explained how she had seen her and Zach kissing and then confronted him about it, leading to Leah being mad at Zach in turn. 

"That makes no sense. Why would he lie like that?" Lucy questioned. "We weren't gonna tell you at first, but if you saw us and straight out asked, there's no place to lie."

"Exactly. After denying the fact that you both kissed, you guys made such a big deal of keeping your relationship secret. And now you both know I know. So why won't he talk to me? I really don't get it. You asked what happened and now you know," she answered. 

"But really, how could you date Hunter? He's such a dick," Lucy exclaimed. A few weeks ago Leah would have agreed with her, but now she didn't know how to feel. 

"He's not that bad, alright? We were only 15 then," she said. 

"Never thought I'd live to see the day you would defend Hunter Stevens," her sister scoffed. "I feel like I don't even know you anymore."

"And what about you, huh? You used to tell me everything and now you treat me like I'm some stranger," she said. 

Lucy sighed. "We don't have to talk about everything now. We're almost adults."

"And that means we should stop treating each other like family?" Leah asked.

"Fine. Ask me what you want to," her sister told her. 

"What happened between you and Zach just now?"

"I don't really know. We came back here a while after the game was over. We were kissing and everything was fine and then all of a sudden he pulled away and blew up at me. Then he was on the way out and you know what happened next," he explained. 

"That's strange," Leah replied. He just got angry for no reason?

"Yeah, it is. Anything else?" 

"What did you and Peggy fight about?" Leah asked, suddenly remembering that day. 

"Oh. I told her about Zach liking me and she said he was just playing with me because he was bored and because he would never be interested in someone like me," she said. 

"Wait, but that makes no sense. You and Zach got together at the football game, didn't you? That was a few days after you fought," Leah recalled. 

"Zach and I used to talk a lot over the summer, but I didn't think much of it. Then on the first day of school, he'd said he liked me. I told him I'd think about it, since he was your friend and all, and we talked a couple times on the phone that day. Remember, at Dad's award function? Then, we just kissed on the day of the match,"  Lucy told her. 

"What? Why didn't you say anything about you two?" she questioned, taken aback. 

"Do you tell me everything? It took you so long to tell me about why you and Zach fought," Lucy answered. 

"Because I doubted you would be able to understand," she retorted. 

"I had no idea how you'd take it if I told you, though. You don't deal with change well. You like things the way they are, and I knew that if Zach and I started dating, you would lose your shit. I thought it would be best to keep it from you, at least for a bit, but I had no idea why Zach kept the fact that you knew from me," Lucy replied.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Leah stated. "I was too harsh."

"It's not just about Zach, though," Lucy continued. "You told me about Hunter three years later. You need to stop keeping everything buried inside because you don't trust anyone. There's people who understand and love you. You don't have to hide from them."

"Thanks, Lucy," Leah said, surprised but also grateful. "For the record, I didn't tell you about Hunter because I was embarrassed. And I knew you wouldn't understand it then, but maybe you will now." 

"Are you trying to compare me being with Zach to you being with Hunter?" Lucy asked. 

Leah raised an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"

"My standards would never sink as low as Hunter Stevens." 

"You know what, this was a bad idea," Leah snapped, irritated. She opened the door of Lucy's room and walked out.

"That's what you should have thought about your relationship with him," Lucy called after Leah as she slammed the door shut.

Leah walked into her room and saw Hunter lying on her bed. He was playing with his car keys, twirling them around his fingers. He sat up when he saw Leah. "All okay?" he asked, cocking his head to the side, white moonlight pooling on the floor at his feet. Leah stared at him for a second then started forward and crashed her lips onto his. He lurched backwards, surprised, but didn't break away. He pulled back a few moments later to look at her. "Are you alright, Turner?" he asked again, his lips looking pink and swollen from being kissed with such force. 

His electric green eyes were looking at her with concern. Before she knew it, tears were pooling in her eyes. Hunter looked confused, but he inched closer to Leah and put his arm around her awkwardly. "Who the fuck does she think she is?" she questioned. 

"What did she say to you?" Hunter questioned, his voice hard. 

"It's what she kept saying about you. She said her standards would never sink as low as you and that you're a dick," Leah told him, sniffling. 

"Oh. I've been called worse," Hunter said, scrunching his nose. "Mostly by you."

"Just shut up and hug me, will you?" she said. He put both his arms around her, sighing. She held him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder and breathing in his citrusy cologne that had come to be so oddly comforting to her. "Wait. I completely forgot to ask you. Are you feeling better?" she said a minute later. 

His laughter made her shake, she was still leaning against him. "I'm fine."

"Why did you have so much to drink yesterday, by the way? I never asked you that either," she remembered, speaking against the soft fabric of his hoodie. 

"Don't know. Felt like it," he answered. She pulled away from him to look at him, having a feeling that it was because of their conversation in the boy's locker room yesterday, but his face gave away nothing. 

"Come on," she stood up and opened her window. He stared at her. 

"Where are we going?" he questioned.

 She stepped out onto the roof. "Anywhere. Just away from here."

Chapter Text

The two of them climbed out onto the roof and down the ladder. They began walking, in no particular direction, breaths fogging in the cold air.

"Where should we go?" Leah asked. She'd been eager to leave, but now that they were actually outside she had no idea where they should go. She was also worried about her parents coming back home to find her room empty, but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind.

"Let's go to the school," Hunter replied.

"The school? Why?"

"It's fun being there after dark," he shrugged. 

Ten minutes later they were staring at the closed gates of the school.

"And how are we supposed to get in?" she asked. He put a finger to his lips and motioned her to follow him. He trudged along the boundary of the school till they were standing in front of a tall metal fence. Hunter crouched down and pulled back a small portion of the fence with his hand and snuck in through it. He waited on the other side while Leah followed his example.

Once inside, Leah realised that they were on the other side of the football field. Without the floodlights, the field was dark and unrecognizable. Leah could barely see the school in the distance. She had never done anything like this before, but somehow she wasn't afraid. She'd been sort of annoyed at Hunter just a few hours ago and now here they were, trespassing on school property like it was nothing. Hunter walked ahead of her, probably because he'd been here at night before and knew his way to the main building.

"What exactly are we here to do?" Leah questioned as Hunter pushed open the doors to the main building. She was surprised that they'd been left unlocked. The hallway was pitch black. Leah couldn't see a thing. "Hunter? Where'd you go? Fucking hell," she started, feeling a hand on her arm all of a sudden. She heard him chuckle somewhere to her right. "Jerk," she muttered, reaching out and grabbing hold of his hand.

"Not so tight, goddamn. Loosen your grip," he complained. Leah tightened her grip.

"If I die at this school, I am so gonna haunt you," she told him. The hallway was still dark as ever. She had no idea which was they were going. It was starting to feel like a horror movie. After about a minute of walking in pitch black darkness, Leah could finally make out some light. They were in the main hallway, where one fluorescent lightbulb was flickering on and off.

"We are here... to compete," Hunter said, pulling free from Leah's grip with some difficulty. He disappeared into a nearby classroom.

"Compete?" she called after him.

"That's right," he reappeared a few seconds later, pushing two swivel chairs in front of him.

Leah raised an eyebrow. "You're not serious, are you?"

"Is someone scared they're going to lose?" Hunter asked patronizingly.

"Oh, it's on. Prepare to be crushed," she told him. He grinned at her, pushing one chair forward. They both sat down on the chairs. "First to cross room 104 wins." Room 104 was a few doors down, about 30 feet ahead.

"Loser has to get chocolate pudding for the winner from the cafeteria. All by herself," Hunter added. Leah narrowed her eyes at him. "Alright. Three, two, one. Go!"

Leah pushed off with as much force as she could muster. She absolutely did not want to walk to the cafeteria alone in the dark. Hunter was close behind. Leah used the rows of lockers to help her along, craning her neck to see how much distance was left. One last push and Leah's chair had crossed the finish line.

"I can't believe I lost," he groaned, still in his chair.

"Better believe it, Stevens," she said smugly.

"Best out of three?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"You're on," she answered, rolling the chair back to the starting line. He grinned as he followed her. They raced again, and Hunter won this time.

"Last round decides who wanders around in the dark with the possible threat of death," Hunter said the last word in a sing-song voice. They brought the chairs back to the starting point one last time. Leah was ready. The thought of having to find the cafeteria by herself in the dark made her shudder. She shot off as soon as Hunter gave the go ahead, and won the last round. She leapt out of her chair, dancing to celebrate her victory.

Hunter laughed. "Still a nightmare on the dancefloor, huh?"

"I believe you owe me pudding?" she grinned at him.

"Yes, your highness," he mocked. Leah rolled her eyes as he set off towards the cafeteria. It was only a two minute walk from where they were currently. Two minutes seemed like a long time to be alone in that dark hallway, but at least she didn't have to walk to the cafeteria on her own. She put the chairs back in the room Hunter had taken them from and sat down with her back against the lockers closest to lightbulb. The feeling of being in school at night was odd. It was completely silent, for one. It could never be this quiet during working hours. A few minutes later, she heard the sound of feet shuffling and a moment later Hunter stepped into view, carrying pudding and a spoon in his hand. He sat down next to her.

"That was quick," she blinked, taking the pudding cup and spoon from him.

"Yeah, you miss me?" he asked. She made a face at him.

"I know it'll just taste so much better because I won," she grinned, taking a bite. He reached out and snatched the spoon out of her hands. "Hey," she complained as he took a bite, too. "My winnings," she whined, looking down at the cup with mock dejection. Hunter chuckled, giving her the spoon back. They sat in the light of the flickering bulb and shared the pudding.

"Okay, come on," Hunter stood up once they'd finished eating.

"Where are we going now?" Leah asked, standing up. Hunter didn't answer her, but started walking back in the direction they'd come from. Leah jogged to keep up with him and grabbed hold of his hand once they entered the dark portion of the hallway. They exited the main building and made their way back to the football field. Hunter jogged ahead of her, kicking at an imaginary football and finally shooting it into the goal. He wheeled around at Leah, a smile beaming on his face.

"Are you proud?" he said, pointing at the goal and where the imaginary football would have been. She came to a stop in front of the goalpost.

"Yeah, absolutely. I mean, who else could do that?" she asked and kicked her foot in the direction of the goal. "Oh, wait, look I scored one too."

"Okay, it wasn't funny. I get it," he rolled his eyes and lay down on the grass. It was so dark. Leah had no idea what could be on the ground. Ants and roaches and all other kinds of bugs. Leah shuddered.

"Um, what are you doing?" she questioned. 

"It's fun. Come on," he patted the grass beside him. She stared at him blankly. "Fucking hell, Turner. Just listen to me, would you?" he sighed, pushing his hair out of his face and gazing up at her.

Leah stood uncertainly for a minute, then lay down next to him, crossing her arms over her chest. They lay in silence, staring up at the inky black sky that was specked with white stars here and there. Dark clouds occasionally shrouded the stars in darkness. It was hard to believe they were on the school's football field, because looking up at the sky, Leah felt like there was nothing else around them for miles. 

"For the record," Leah said a few minutes later. "Nate was just giving me a ride home. He, Caleb, Emilia and I went out for dinner. We're just friends."

"Okay," Hunter nodded. She knew he believed her. "Can I ask you something?"

"Mmhmm."

"Have you given any thought to what I said yesterday? In the locker room?" he asked. Leah could feel him staring at her but she didn't turn to meet his gaze.

"Uh, not really. I don't know what you want me to say," she admitted, staring intently at the sky.

"You never said if you forgave me," he continued.

"Can we not talk about this right now?" she sighed. To be honest, she had no idea if she had forgiven him. He did seem like he was sorry, but how could she forgive him? He had caused her so much trouble, even after the video. All those snide comments and jokes made at her expense. But she'd also been equally troubling to him. These last few times she'd interacted with him, the day of the thunderstorm, their kiss, she'd just forgotten about those bad times.

"Fine," he answered curtly.

"You're mad," she turned to look at him. His head was resting on his interlocked hands. He turned away from her as she glanced at him. "Hunter. Look, can we not talk about all off that right now, please? I've just got a lot on my mind with Zach and Lucy."

He turned back to look at her after a second, his green eyes searching her blue ones. "I'm sorry for putting you on the spot. I get it," he said.

"Good," she smiled. "Let's just stay in the moment, okay?" He shifted closer to her, putting his head on her arm. His shampoo smelled like apples. Leah smiled to herself. All of a sudden, the floodlights began to turn on, one by one.

"Shit," he cursed, scrambling to his feet.

"What?" Leah asked.

"Run," he told her, pulling her up and dashing towards the metal fence they'd snuck in through.

"Stevens, is that you?" a deep voice called from somewhere behind them. Leah craned her neck, which was difficult to do while running at full speed, and saw the middle-aged school watchman jogging after them, his flashlight shining in her eyes. The watchman was short and stocky, probably in his fifties, but he was doing a good job keeping up with them.

"No," Hunter called back. "You're seeing things, Bobby!"

"I told you not to bring girls here after dark. Why won't you listen to me?" the watchman questioned breathlessly, still chasing after them. Hunter snuck out of the fence quickly, jogging in place impatiently as he waited for Leah to do the same. Once she was out, he grabbed her hand and they ran like hell.

It was nearing midnight. They only stopped when they were a good distance away from school. They were standing under a lamppost, near the park where she'd gone to get Hunter the night before. Leah doubled over, trying to catch her breath. Hunter, meanwhile, had not broken a sweat. She looked up at him after a second. They just stared at each other and then burst out laughing.

"I cannot believe we just did that," Leah said, clutching at her sides.

"It was fun, right?" he asked, still smiling. Leah nodded, grinning back at him.

"How the fuck are you not tired? You just played a football match, not to mention you ran laps before the game, and we just ran-," she broke off midsentence to catch her breath. "A considerable distance."

"I'm just built different I guess," he said, looking smug. Leah rolled her eyes again.

"The watchman knows you by name, huh? How many times have you been caught?" she asked.

"Never been caught," he shook his head. "Bobby's a nice guy. Very understanding. Gives good advice."

"Advice that you won't take," Leah said. "'I told you not to bring girls here after dark.' What was that about?"

"Aw, is someone jealous?" he said mockingly and poked her cheek with his index finger. Leah stuck her tongue out at him. She began walking in the direction of the park without answering him. "Where are you going?" he called after her.

"Come on," she said, motioning to him to follow her. She stopped when they were in front of the play area.

"Christ," Hunter groaned upon seeing the red tunnel slide. "What was I thinking getting drunk here?"

"It really is the worst choice, I know," Leah told him. "Red feels like a funny colour when you're drunk." He wheeled around, gaping at her.

"No way. Leah Turner got drunk in the park?" he questioned, practically bursting with glee.

"Year 10. Zach and I, at 2 in the morning," she answered. Hunter whistled. "It was after that shit you pulled at Patrick's party."

"Oh, that was good," Hunter sighed with satisfaction.

"No it wasn't. You're such a dick," Leah glared at him.

"We were playing truth or dare. And I dared you to go home," he laughed, clutching at his sides. "It was hilarious."

Leah just shook her head and sat down at the bottom of the slide. "Not funny."

Hunter sighed, the trace of a smile still on his face. "I'm sorry," he sat down next to her.

Before she could respond to him, she saw movement near the gates of the park from the corner of her eyes. She saw dark jeans and a dark jacket. "Wait. Is that Zach?" Hunter turned to follow her gaze. It was Zach. He seemed to be listening to music and smoking. He was far away from them, but he was walking in their direction and would approach the slide soon. They had to move now. Leah stood up without a word when Zach looked down at his phone, and walked to the edge of the park briskly. They couldn't leave without crossing paths with Zach, so their best bet right now was to hide by the bushes. Hunter followed Leah after a second. She crouched down behind the bushes. Hunter stood staring at her, looking extremely amused.

"Did they teach you this at spy school?" he questioned.

"Get down," Leah hissed, grabbing his hand and pulling him down with her.

"Are you scared he'll see us?" he continued. "Zach," he called. Leah clamped her hand shut around his mouth.

"Shut the fuck up," Leah whispered. Zach was still far away. He couldn't have heard them, but Leah didn't want to risk it. Hunter glanced down at Leah's hand, still on his mouth, and looked back at her eyes. Leah suddenly became aware of how close together they were. She could feel his warm breath on her hand. She felt her face become hot and withdrew her hand.

"You smell like lavender," Hunter commented softly. Leah didn't know how to respond to that.

"Seriously, though. Shut up," she whispered. Hunter simply eyed her, biting his lip. She felt a strange sensation in her stomach and forced herself to look away from him. She saw that Zach was now sitting at the bottom of the slide, where they had been a few minutes ago. The bushes were about 15 feet away from the slide. Zach was holding his head in his hands. A second later, Leah heard him sob. "What the fuck?" Leah was confused. "Let's go," she whispered. "He won't see us now."

Hunter shook his head no. "Are you kidding? You should talk to him."

"Right now? Are you crazy? Absolutely not!" she stared at him. 

"This is your chance to make things right, Turner. Think about it," Hunter replied. She thought about it and realised he was right. Seeing Zach like this made Leah feel sad. She did want to speak to him, but she had no idea how. "Look, just try to make up with him. If everything works out, great. If not, at least you tried, right?"

"You're right," she sighed. "I hate that. I hate you."

He grinned at her. "I had a good time tonight, Turner."

"I did, too," she replied, smiling. 

"Okay, well, I'm going to leave. Don't wanna be here for all the tears and shit," he said. "See you." He pecked her on the lips quickly, leaving her reeling in surprise, as he snuck towards the gates of the park. Leah stood up and took a deep breath, then approached Zach.

Chapter Text

"Uh, Zach?" Leah said as she sat down next to him on the slide. 

"Leah?" he looked up, taken aback. He hastily tried to wipe his tears with the back of his hand. "What are you doing here?" he took out his earpods.

"Came out on a walk. To clear my head," Leah replied. 

"Oh, yeah, me too. That's what I was doing," Zach said, still trying to clear any traces of the fact that he had been crying. 

"Are you alright?" Leah asked. 

Zach scoffed. "As if you care."

"I do. That's why I asked you," she answered. 

"Why do you care? I've been nothing but horrible to you," he turned to look at her, eyes glistening.

"Best friends, right?" Leah said, turning to bump his shoulder. Tears rolled down Zach's cheeks, and a second later he was sobbing again. To Leah's surprise, the boy pulled her into a hug. Leah didn't say anything, just patted Zach on the back awkwardly. Out of the two of them, Leah had always been the crier. She hadn't seen Zach cry in what felt like years. "You know you can talk to me about anything right?" 

"I just had to get away from the house. My parents were arguing so much," Zach said after a few minutes. He had stopped crying now and was only sniffling occasionally. "It was a small argument that started a few weeks back, over rent, but then it got blown out of proportion. They're facing some serious money problems. They've been arguing so much lately. I just couldn't take it today. That's why I was at your house with Lucy, after the game."

"Oh. I'm really sorry to hear that," Leah told him. She had never known the Moores to argue in such a way over anything. Mila and Hugh were usually a very quiet and peaceful couple. 

"I think I'll have to get a job," the boy continued. 

"Do you really think that will help? Because I think Mila and Hugh would be mad at you for doing so. They would never want you to have to share the burden of earning money, especially not for them," Leah said. She had known Zach's parents for as long as she had known Zach. They were like a second set of parents to her. 

"I know they'll be mad. But I need to find a way to contribute. Just till they can sort out their problem," Zach said. 

"If you think that's the right choice, then I support you," Leah smiled. 

"But the things they were saying to each other... I've never heard them speak like that in eighteen years," he said, shaking his head in dismay. 

"I know it can be hard to hear that. But remember they're just stressed. They're aggravated because of the money thing, it can cause a lot of anxiety and strain. That's not how they really feel. It'll be alright soon, I'm sure," Leah reasoned. 

"Thanks, Lee," he smiled at her. Leah smiled back. "I'm really sorry for how I behaved. I was lashing out at you. That was really shitty of me."

"It's okay, Zach. I'm really sorry, too. I said some stuff, too, and I shouldn't have," Leah said. "Can I just ask why you were so mad at me about me being friends Emilia?"

"Fuck," Zach put his head in his hands. "I was just feeling insecure. We fought and then you just had a new best friend out of nowhere. Like literally the week after we fought, you were hanging out with her at the pizza place we used to go to and I was just so mad."

"But you had Kirsten and James by your side," Leah said. "They turned on me when we argued, right?"

"They did. But you know it, it was just too much. The shit they were saying. I didn't agree with any of it. But I didn't really have anyone else, so I just stuck with them. I can see that was the wrong choice now," he answered her, lighting another cigarette. "I'm so sorry for all of it. Kirsten is the one who started that rumour about you and I continued talking to her even though I knew."

"I'm over it, Zach. It's in the past," Leah told him. Without the rumour, Hunter would never have spoken to her under the bleachers that day or come to her room two weeks after. She had been mad because of the rumour before, but it had brough Hunter and her closer and now she was kind of glad about it. "Um, can I ask why you didn't tell Lucy that I knew about you two?" Leah said.

"She didn't want to tell you because she thought you'd be mad, and telling her you knew would just make her stressed. So I let her think that everything was okay, but when you asked me about it at the party, I just felt like she was right for wanting to have kept it from you because of your reaction, so I just pretended like it was nothing," he took a long drag from his cigarette. 

"I'm sorry about accusing you like that, that was really childish of me. I just couldn't understand why you'd keep something like that from me, y'know? Like she obviously means a lot to you, and I felt like you didn't consider me important enough to tell me about it," she admitted. 

"I'm sorry," he told her. "I guess this was a huge miscommunication on our part, huh?" he said. Leah laughed. 

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened with you and Lucy today? Why'd you get mad at her like that?" she asked. A second later, "I'm sorry, this is too many questions."

"It's not surprising that you have questions, considering the way I've been acting for these past few weeks," Zach sighed. "I guess I was scared. We were hanging out, kissing, and I just felt really happy I was there, but then I started thinking about my parents and how they were fighting. I don't want to end up like that with her. I really do like her, y'know? I thought my parents were happy with each other too, but I don't know anymore."

"I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but sometimes you just need to take a chance, y'know? You won't know if you'll be happy or if it was worth it unless you give it a shot. If you bail too early, you'll always be left wondering about how things could have been," Leah told him. 

"You're right," Zach exhaled exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Of course you are. Thanks so much, Leah." He offered her the cigarette.

Leah smiled at her friend, taking it. "Come on. Let me walk you home."

"Okay," Zach nodded. The two stood up and made their way out of the park and made their way towards their neighbourhood. They walked in silence, sharing the cigarette like they used to. Leah felt bad for Zach, but there wasn't really much she could do about his situation. She could just offer him her support for whatever it was worth. They reached Zach's house. From inside Leah could hear the muffled voices of Mila and Hugh arguing, even though it was past midnight. Zach sighed, clenching his eyes shut, looking like he was dreading going inside. 

"Hey, you know what? Why don't you sleep at my house tonight?" Leah asked. "If you want, that is."

"Really? But we've got school in the morning," he said. 

"When has that ever stopped us?" Leah smiled. 

"I'm not sure Lucy wants to see me right now," Zach bit his lip nervously.

"I'm sure she'll understand if you talk to her. I've learned that she hates not knowing things."

"Okay," he took a deep breath. "I'll just let them know," he said, disappearing into the house. The arguments died down. A few minutes later, Zach stepped back out. The two walked back to Leah's house. Leah rang the doorbell, forgetting about the fact that her parents would be home already and that it was now past midnight. Diane opened the door and glaring at Leah immediately. 

"Where the hell have you been? It's almost 12:30!" her mum exclaimed. "I've been waiting nearly 2 hours!"

Leah flinched. "Well, I, uh, y'know," she stammered, not really knowing where she was going with her sentence. 

"It's my fault, Mrs. Turner," Zach piped in. "I called Leah to dinner at my house." Leah looked at him, confused, but her friend just shot her a look to keep her quiet. 

"Oh, hello, Zach, love. Didn't see you there. How have you been? It's been a while since you've been here," Diane said, a smile appearing on her face, all her anger disappearing upon seeing Zach. 

"I'm alright, thank you. It has been a while, hasn't it?" Zach replied, as if he hadn't been here a few hours ago.

Diane nodded, still smiling. "Come in, come in, dear. Don't stand out there in the cold." The two stepped inside, Zach first.

"Mum, do you think Zach could sleepover tonight?" Leah asked, taking advantage of the change in her mum's mood. 

"Why, of course. Zach is most welcome here," her mother replied. "You two go to bed soon, alright? You have school in the morning." They both nodded. "And Leah, please call or leave a note or something next time. I've been worried sick, honey."

"Sorry, mum," she apologised. 

"Goodnight, you two," her mother said. "Really good to see you, darling," she told Zach before going upstairs. 

"Bloody hell, I've missed you distracting her like that," Leah laughed. "Her anger just evaporated after seeing you."

"I'm special that way," Zach grinned, taking a little bow. Leah nodded, smiling. It felt nice to be on good terms with Zach again. 

"Listen, you can sleep in Lucy's room if you want to. I don't mind," Leah told him as they walked up the stairs. 

"Really? Thanks, Leah," Zach looked surprised, but he smiled. Leah's parent's bedroom was at the end of the hallway. Leah and Lucy's rooms were next to the stairs, on opposite sides of the hallway. Zach knocked on Lucy's door. 

"Zach?" Lucy asked groggily after she opened her door. Her dark blonde hair was sleep-mussed, her eyes barely open. "What are you doing here? Did you and Leah make up?" she blinked and questioned when she saw Leah next to him. 

"We did," Zach nodded.

"Good," Lucy smiled, rubbing her eyes. "Leah, I'm really sorry for what I said today. That was really shitty of me."

"I'm really sorry, too," Leah told her. The two smiled at each other. "I'm gonna turn in, okay? I'm tired."

"Thanks for everything today, Leah. I really mean it," Zach pulled her into a hug again. 

"Don't mention it," Leah pecked her friend on the cheek. "See you guys tomorrow. Just be careful in the morning, mum and dad shouldn't see you in her room," she told Zach. Lucy and Zach went into her room after wishing Leah a good night. Leah went into her own room. She was a little disappointed to find that Hunter hadn't come back to her house, but at the same time she was happy he hadn't, in case her mum had managed to see him somehow. 

She changed out of her clothes and got under the covers. It felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off of her chest. She hadn't expected that she would have been able to forgive Zach so easily, since he had made it so hard to approach him in these last few weeks. But Zach really did seem sorry. Reconciling with Zach had made things better between her and Lucy too. She really was happy for them. 

Leah turned on her side, facing the wall that her bed was pushed up against. If it hadn't been for Hunter, she would never have talked to Zach. They would still be at odds. Hunter had been here in her room just last night, even though it felt like it had been so much longer. She closed her eyes, thinking about the time she'd spent with him today, and a smile appeared on her face without her knowledge. She buried her face in her pillow and pulled the blanket over herself. She was pleased to find that her bedding smelled very faintly of his cologne, and finally drifted off to sleep. 

Around 6:30 in the morning, there was a soft knock on her door. Leah turned on her back groggily, shielding her eyes from the rare sunlight that was coming in through the window. 

"Who is it?" she called, her voice hoarse from sleep. 

"It's me," came Zach's voice softly. "Can I come in?"

"Uh, yeah, come on in," Leah answered, pulling the covers to her chin, trying to retain some of the warmth. Zach opened the door slowly and stepped inside, closing the door behind him with a soft click. 

"I just, uh, wanted to ask if I should pick you up for school today?" Zach asked. 

"Yeah, sure. That'd be great," Leah said.

"Okay," Zach smiled. 

"Did you talk to Lucy?"

"I did. You were right, she was very understanding," he grinned and turned to open the door.

"Zach," Leah called after him. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," Zach said, still smiling as he closed the door after him. 

Leah thought about going back to sleep but she couldn't fall back asleep. She texted Emilia, who was usually her ride to school. 'Hey, Em. You up?'

Emilia texted back almost immediately. 'Yes, hi. What's up?'

'Zach is driving me to school today. Is that okay?'

'Oh. Did you guys make up?'

'We did. Long story. Will explain at school.' 

'Okay. See you in a while then.'

'See you.' Leah put her phone away, breathing a sigh of relief. She knew Emilia would understand. She got out of bed a few minutes later and showered and got dressed for school. She went downstairs to the kitchen and saw her mum, dad and Lucy at the kitchen table. 

"Good morning," she told them. Her parents smiled at her, her dad looking up from the newspaper. Her mum placed a cup of tea in front of her. "Thanks," she told her. 

"Where's Zach? Should I make him some tea as well?" Diane asked. Lucy nearly choked on her tea at the mention of Zach. 

"Actually, you just missed him. He had to go get ready for school, so he left a bit early," Leah answered. Lucy shot her a grateful glance. Diane nodded. Leah and Lucy finished their breakfast and stepped outside soon. Lucy walked to a friend's house as Leah waited for Zach, who showed up in a few minutes.

It was quiet in the car as they drove to school. They didn't talk much, except about the weather and school. It was a bit awkward, but Leah didn't mind. They reached school in a few minutes. It felt strange seeing the school so bright and not at all scary in the daytime, after having seen what it looked like at night. Leah almost smiled thinking about last night.

"I'm going to go find Lucy. I'll see you in math, okay?" Zach said as they entered the main building. They had some time to spare before first period. Leah nodded and smiled at Zach.

Once Zach was out of earshot, Emilia all but ran up to Leah, eyes wide. "What happened? How'd you make up?"

Leah chuckled dryly. "Come on," she told her and moved towards the girls' bathroom. Once inside, away from eavesdroppers, Leah told Emilia everything that had gone down last night, excluding being at school with Hunter last night. 

"Oh, my god. That explains why he's been so snippy lately!" Emilia said. "But I can't believe you went and talked to him. That was really big of you."

"I don't know, something just motivated me," Leah answered wryly. 

"I'm really happy you guys are friends again," Emilia said. Leah grinned at her.

"Thanks, Em. I'd appreciate if you could keep all of this quiet though," Leah said, even though she knew Emilia wouldn't repeat this to anyone.

"Of course, my lips are sealed," Emilia replied. Then, she told Leah about her night with Caleb.

"I'm so happy for you guys," Leah squealed, pulling her friend into a hug. Emilia simply blushed. 

The bell rang, indicating first period was about to start. The girls made their way to math. Leah and Emilia went into the classroom. Most of the students were already here. Leah sat in her usual seat at the back of the class. Zach came in a few seconds later and smiled at her as he sat down next to her. Leah smiled back. Hunter came in, followed by Mr. Bennet. He walked to the back of the class as Mr. Bennet began teaching. She looked up at him, a small smile forming on her face. He winked at her before sitting down in front of Zach, who, thankfully, hadn't noticed anything. 

The rest of the school day was a little strange. Zach joined Leah's new friends at lunch, while James and Kirsten shot them dirty looks from their old table. She didn't see Hunter that day, other than during math class. He usually sat at the same table as hers during lunch, even if he didn't speak to her, but he was nowhere to be seen. She hadn't spoken to him since last night, and was feeling a strange hollow feeling in her chest as Zach drove her home from school. 

Chapter Text

Leah and Zach hadn't spoken much on the ride back home, but that was okay with her as long as they were on good terms. Leah hugged Zach goodbye and walked up the steps to her house. She tried to keep herself occupied once she got upstairs. First, she cleaned her room. She reorganised her desk, her closet and even her bathroom cabinet, but the uneasy feeling in her chest did not subside. Eventually, she wandered downstairs to the kitchen, thinking about making dinner, even though she was absolutely shit at cooking. The only thing she'd made sort of successfully was this chicken dish, stuffed with mozzarella and wrapped in parma ham with a side of mashed potatoes.

"Hey," came a voice behind her. Leah turned to see her sister standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Her dark blonde hair was tousled and her eyes look tired.

"Hey. Are you just coming home?" Leah questioned, glancing at the clock on the kitchen counter. It was just past seven.

"Yeah," Lucy sighed, sitting at the table. "I had a ton of work. I have three papers due this week."

"Oh," Leah said. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Let's wait till mum and dad are here," she answered. Lucy had learned her lesson after letting Leah cook them dinner last time. She'd only tried to make some pasta, but Leah had turned off the gas too early in fear of overcooking the spaghetti, only for it to be undercooked and crunchy. Leah shuddered thinking about that dish. Ugh. "Also, I wanted to talk to you," Lucy said.

"Hm?" Leah asked, getting a glass of water.

"Thank you for talking to Zach. He told me what happened and how you comforted him and everything. That was really big of you," she said.

"Zach is practically family at this point. I couldn't just leave him like that," Leah replied in between sips. "I was looking for a way to make up with him anyway, it was just really hard to find an opportunity until last night."

"That's great, Leah. Is um- is anything going on with you and Hunter?" Lucy asked, staring at the table. Leah choked on her water. "Jesus Christ," Lucy exclaimed.

"Why would you ask that?" Leah coughed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Lucy shrugged. "I don't know. The way you defended him last night just made it seem like... something's going on with you two."

"It's nothing, Lucy. I'm just trying to move on from what happened in year 9, and part of that is trying to forgive Hunter."

"I understand. You know you can talk to me about anything right? I promise I won't react like I did last night. But I can't promise I won't be grossed out," she scrunched up her nose like she was disgusted.

Leah chuckled. "Thanks, Lucy. Same goes for you."

They heard the front door open and a few moments later Leah's parents walked into the kitchen together, carrying two boxes of medium pizzas between them.

 Leah helped her mother clean up after dinner and went upstairs to her room around 9. She had forgotten about the uneasy feeling in her chest. Mostly. She was feeling tired all of a sudden. She got into bed without changing out of her clothes, figuring that she would just rest for a bit and then get up and change into her pyjamas.

About two hours later, when Leah was face down on her pillow, she felt her phone vibrate. She reached for it blindly, and felt around under her pillow till she found it.

"Hello?" she spoke into the phone, her voice sort of gruff because of sleep.

"Turner. Did I wake you?" came Hunter's voice from the other end. Leah sat up bolt upright, throwing back the covers. She had fallen asleep with all the lights still on and the brightness was hurting her eyes now.

"No, no, not at all. I, uh- I wasn't expecting you to call, y'know? Anyway what's up?" she rambled and then cringed at herself. She heard a soft chuckle from the other end.

"I don't know, just wanted to see if you wanted to come over," he said coolly.

"Huh?" Leah blinked. "Come over?" It had been years since Leah had been to Hunter's house. Even when they used to spend time together in year 9, it would mostly be at Leah's place because Hunter was always afraid his father would find out.

"Well, yeah. I'm always the one coming to your house, so I thought we could switch it up a bit tonight."

Leah's head was swirling. "What?"

"Why don't I give you a minute to collect yourself," he answered. "I'll see you in a bit."

"What makes you so sure I'll take you up on your offer?" Leah asked, regaining her composure.

"I know you will. I'm waiting," he told her and disconnected the call. 

Leah closed her eyes for a second, unable to process what had just happened. What was going on these days? Kissing Hunter, sneaking around school with him at night and now making a habit of going to each other's houses? This wasn't what Leah had thought she'd be doing in her last year of high school. She recalled his cocky tone over the phone and scoffed. He was so sure she would go to his house. What a conceited jerk! Who did he think he was? 

"Oh, fuck me," Leah swore. She just couldn't get his smug little face out of her head. His stupid brown hair, always falling into his eyes, his pink lips that were so stupidly kissable. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Everything about him was stupid. Leah hated him from the bottom of her heart. Leah scoffed again, lying down on her bed. She wasn't going anywhere. She shut her eyes and tried to fall asleep again. 

Fifteen minutes later, she was standing outside his house. It was a three-storey building, painted white and light blue. Attached alongside it was a small garden with various types of shrubs. His mother was known to have a liking for gardening. Leah was unsure of whether she should sneak in through Hunter's window or wait for him to open the door, so she texted him. There was no reply. Leah waited for another minute, and cursed herself when there was still no answer. Of course this had to be a prank. What a fucking jerk, she thought to herself, and turned around to go back home, but a hand on her arm pulled her back.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hunter asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Who the fuck takes so long to answer a text?" Leah glared at him.

"Well, I had to make sure my parents weren't awake," he answered.

"Shouldn't you have done that before asking me to come over?" she questioned.

"I like living on the edge," he shrugged.

"Wanker," Leah muttered under her breath. "What'd you call me here for?"

"Right. Let's go inside. Can't do what I want to out here," he told her, turning around and opening the gate.

"Excuse me?" Leah raised an eyebrow. Hunter put a finger to his lips and motioned her forward. She gave him a look before following him up the steps. He pushed open the front door and beckoned her in. She stepped over the threshold, taking in the living room. Leah couldn't tell much in the dim light coming from outside. It was decorated with modern art that was obviously expensive. The furniture was minimalistic, matching the gray and white walls. A few potted plants were placed here and there. Mr. Stevens was a realtor and Mrs. Stevens was an interior designer. A perfect match, some would say. 

"Jeez, stop staring at the fucking living room," Hunter groaned, grabbing her arm and leading her around to the staircase. Leah almost smiled at the similarity between this and when Hunter had come to her house when he was drunk. She knew the way to his room, obviously, but she let him lead her anyway. His room was at the end of the hallway on the second floor. His parents' bedroom, study and his father's home office were on the first floor. He opened the door to his room. Leah stepped inside, knowing what lay beyond but somehow still unsure of what to expect. His room was spacious, with French windows, just like Leah remembered. The walls were now painted beige, and his bed was placed in the middle of the room, facing a large oak bookshelf and a fireplace. There were a number of books on the shelf, some of them looking very old.

"Whoa. I didn't know you could read," Leah told him, feigning a look of being impressed. Hunter smiled sarcastically at her as he shut the door behind them softly. Leah glanced around his room, her eyes landing on his muddy cleats lying in a corner of his room, next to an equally muddy football. A few clothes were strewn on the floor, along with some crumpled up bits of paper. She turned back around and saw Hunter watching her. "So. What am I doing here?" 

"What do you think?" he answered, his face blank as he tilted his head to one side. 

Leah narrows her eyes at him. "What's that supposed to mean? Can you stop doing 'this'?" she gestured at him vaguely.

 He raised his eyebrows at her. "What's 'this'?" he asked, repeating her gesture.

"I don't know, your demeanour. You're being... weird," she said. 

"You're one to talk about being weird," he replied. 

Leah scoffed. "Are you serious? You called me here to insult me?"

"You should be thanking me for calling you here," he told her. 

"Oh, yeah? How about I thank your face with my fist?" she glared at him. 

"Mmm, how about you thank my face with your face?" he closed the distance between them in two short strides.

"You.. want us to headbutt each other?" she asked, confused. Before Hunter had a chance to answer her, they heard a scuffling noise outside, almost like someone was coming up the stairs. Leah's heart was already hammering in her chest, and this just sped it up more.

"Fuck, fuck. Hide," he said, pushing her towards the closet. 

"Are you serious? The closet?" she scoffed as he opened the door. 

"Get in," he told her, almost shoving her in. He shut the door softly and Leah was surrounded by darkness. His closet was bigger than Leah's in every way imaginable. He even had a mirror inside, and an entire section of his closet was devoted to football cleats and sneakers. Leah rolled her eyes and then tried not to think about getting caught by his parents. The citrusy smell of Hunter's cologne enveloped her. She heard the door of his room open and close, and everything went silent. Leah could feel blood rushing in her ears, she took a deep breath, comforted by Hunter's cologne. Despite herself, she grabbed one of his shirts off the shelf and buried her nose in it. Her hammering heart slowed a bit and she felt herself relax as she leaned against the door of the closet. 

A few minutes passed in complete darkness and silence. She heard the door to Hunter's room open and close again, and before she realised what was happening, the closet door was being opened and she was falling to the floor with Hunter's shirt over her face. She landed on the floor with a soft thud and clawed the shirt off of her face. Hunter was standing over her and watching her with amusement. 

"Hi there," he said, looking down at her. He was just so bloody tall. Leah hated it.

"Hello," Leah replied, like it was the most natural thing for her to be lying on the floor of his bedroom with his shirt clutched in her hand.

"Is that my shirt?" he asked lazily. 

"No," Leah scrambled to her feet. "I brought this from home."

"Sure," Hunter nodded, then held out his hand. Leah sighed and dropped the balled-up shirt into his palm. 

"So? What happened? Who was it?" Leah asked as Hunter opened his closet and chucked the shirt inside. 

"Dusty," he answered. 

"Your cat? And you thought it was your parents?" 

"No, I knew it was her."

"Then why'd you tell me to hide?" Leah asked, confused.

"Felt like it," he shrugged. 

"You're such a jerk!" she kicked him in the shin. Hunter flinched and for some reason Leah felt really bad. "I'm sorry," she told him. 

"It's alright. I guess I deserved  it," he groaned. He sat down at the edge of his bed and after a second, "What happened with Zach last night? You're all good now, right? I forgot to ask."

Leah launched into an explanation about the conversation she had with Zach, trusting Hunter with the details because she knew he wouldn't repeat them anywhere. 

"Whoa. That's messed up. I hope Mila and Hugh sort it out soon," Hunter answered. Leah nodded. 

"Um, listen, can I ask you something?" she began, nervous. 

"Shoot." Leah relayed what Zach had told her about Hunter talking to his friends in the locker room at the beginning of year 9. It had just suddenly popped into her head and she really needed an answer now. "Christ, I'd forgotten about that," he pinched the bridge of his nose. Leah had never noticed how cute his nose was. No, focus, dammit, Leah thought to herself. "I was just sort of panicking, y'know? I didn't want anyone finding out about us, and people were starting to notice that you and I were close, too close, so I came up with some shit lie about you and Zach being losers or whatever. Oh," something sparked behind his eyes. "Is that why Zach stopped talking to me? I always thought it was because of the video, but if I'm remembering correctly, he stopped talking to me almost a week before the video thing."

"Yeah, that is why he stopped talking to you," Leah replied. "I never noticed. I was such a bad friend."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up, alright? We were dumb kids back then. It's okay to mess up. Zach knows how much he means to you," Hunter told her. 

"Thanks, H," she told him, using a nickname from years ago. He was H, she was L. He was Stevens, she was Turner. He still called her Turner, she noticed. "What did you mean? Before you heard Dusty?" she asked, even more nervous. 

"I meant what I said," he said simply, eyeing her as she stood in front of him. "And I didn't mean headbutting." 

"I'm confused, Hunter. When did 'this' become a thing?" she pointed to the both of them.

"Does it matter?" he stood up, his face inches away from hers. 

"Well, yeah. To me," Leah answered, her voice barely audible. 

"Ugh, Turner, why do you always have to define things?" he groaned. Leah felt his breath on her face. "Just go with the flow."

"Go with the flow? Go with the fucking flow? Do you know how quickly this could go bad?" she asked. 

"'Go bad'? This is what I'm talking about," he sighed. "Nothing's even happened yet and you're already thinking about it going badly."

"Nothing's even happened yet?" she scoffed. "What do you call kissing, sharing a bed and sneaking around with each other at night? Oh, but then again, sleeping with me also meant nothing to you, so I don't know why any of this would." She stepped away from him and walked towards his door. 

"Really, that's what you think?" he asked, his voice quavering slightly. 

She stopped in her tracks and turned to him. "Yeah, that is what I think, Hunter. I shouldn't have come here. Don't come to my house again." She opened the door as softly as she could, but a hand shot out from behind her and closed it with a soft slam. Leah turned around again, to find Hunter right behind her. "What're you doing?"

"Can't leave through there," he answered. "You gotta use the window."

"Fine," she huffed and pushed past him to the window. As she opened the lock on his window, he caught her hand. "What?" she exclaimed. "Let me go."

"No," Hunter shook his head. She just stared at him, breathing through her mouth. He bit his lip, raking a hand through his hair. His face was tinged with a silvery glow in the white moonlight, his green eyes sparkling slightly. Leah hated how good he looked. Stupid, tall, handsome, stupid jock. 

"God, I hate you so much," she groaned, then put her mouth to his. He smiled into the kiss as Leah pushed him towards his bed. 

"Knew you'd come around, Turner," his voice muffled as he pulled off his t-shirt. 

"Shut up, Stevens," she commanded and pulled the sheets over them. 

Chapter Text

Afterwards, as Leah lay staring up at the ceiling in Hunter's room, listening to the soft pattering of rain outside, she felt a strange kind of peace. She wasn't worried about things going badly, like she had been before. Hunter was already passed out next to her, facing her with his head resting on her outstretched arm. She turned her head slightly to look at him, careful not to wake him. His hair was still tousled, messy, like it always was. He looked calm, almost childlike, except for the stubble along the side of his jaw. Leah felt herself start smiling and planted a small kiss on his jaw. He stirred a bit but didn't wake up. She turned to put her other arm around him, the way he liked, and shut her eyes, hoping to catch a few hours of sleep before having to sneak out in the morning.

In the morning, her eyes fluttered open to find Hunter gazing down at her. "Boo."

She started. "Jeez," she pushed him away gently; he had propped himself up on one elbow to look down at her. She heard him chuckle softly as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Golden rays of sunlight filtered into the room through gaps in the blinds. "What time is it?"

"7:20," Hunter answered. 

"7:20!" Leah gaped at him. "Hunter, I'm gonna be late," she exclaimed. "Why'd you let me sleep so long?" she asked, since Hunter had obviously woken up before her. 

"You seemed exhausted," he answered. He was right, Leah was tired, but she couldn't afford to get in trouble with her parents.

"My mum's gonna come knock on my door any moment to wake me up." She threw back the covers and scrambled to gather up all her clothes. She put them on hurriedly, hopping from one foot to the other as she pulled up her jeans. She then grabbed her purse and her phone that lay on the nightstand. Hunter was watching her intently, clearly amused.

"Um, excuse me?" he called as she strode over to the window.

"What?" she asked impatiently. 

"Are you not gonna appreciate this in all its glory?" he asked, pointing at his naked torso, golden in the sunlight. 

"I'm really late," she answered, even though she knew she wanted to walk back to his bed, crawl in and not leave. He threw back the covers and walked over to her leisurely. Leah narrowed her eyes at him.

"If you were gonna just sneak out in the morning, you should've at least had the decency to do so while I was asleep," he told her, a slight spark in his eyes.

"This is so not the time for this conversation," she said, prying the window open with one hand. "But," she added. "I will see you at school. If my mother doesn't kill me." She reached out and grabbed his face, clearly startling him, and pulled him into a kiss. 

He pulled away a second later. "Go. I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Oh, I'm in plenty trouble already, mate," Leah told him as she clambered out of his window and found the topmost rung of the ladder propped up on the wall with her feet. Leah was glad Hunter had had the foresight to put up a ladder under his window. "I still hate you, by the way."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," he replied, grinning. She smiled and rolled her eyes and descended down the ladder. Once her feet found solid ground, Leah all but broke into a run as she made her way home. The ground was damp because of the previous night's rain. Leah wanted to stop and enjoy the smell of damp earth but she had no time. She quickly snuck into her room through her window and waited silently for a minute after hearing footsteps outside. 

"Leah? Wake up, dear. You're going to be late," came her mum's voice outside her still-locked door. "Are you still asleep? You should stop locking your door."

"I'm up, mum, thanks," Leah called, feigning a sleepy voice. 

"Good," her mum answered. "Get ready soon, love."

"I will," Leah answered, and sighed in relief once she heard her mum go downstairs. Leah hopped into the shower without wasting any more time. She really was late. After getting out of the shower, she answered Zach's text about picking her up for school. Her friend would be here soon. Leah quickly put together an outfit and grabbed her bag and went downstairs to get breakfast. She was really hungry. After quickly scarfing down two pop tarts and a cup of coffee, Leah was standing outside her house waiting for Zach, who showed up soon enough. Leah got into Zach's car hurriedly, glad to get away from the chilly wind.

"Morning. How we doing?" Zach asked, glancing at Leah sideways as he pulled away from the curb.  

"Better than ever," Leah answered and for once, she wasn't lying. 

"That good, huh?" Zach raised his eyebrows. "Any particular reason for that?" 

"No, no, nothing like that," Leah answered. "How're you?"

"Peachy," Zach winked at Leah, who smiled. The two talked a bit more, and Zach told Leah about how his parents' fighting had subsided a bit. Zach had gotten a job at a local café. 

"I'm gonna be at that café so much, you're gonna get bored of me," Leah told Zach. 

"Thanks, Leah. I appreciate the support," Zach smiled at her as they pulled into the school's parking lot.

Leah and Zach made their way to math and sat down at their usual place. Leah found that her heartbeat was speeding up in the anticipation of seeing Hunter. He walked in a minute later, followed by a few other students and then Mr. Bennet. Hunter was wearing a black t-shirt, his hair slightly damp. His cross necklace was visible today, resting over his t-shirt, instead of tucked away inside. He made his way over to his seat, smirking lightly at Leah as he walked. He looked so good, too good. Leah out her head on her hands and let out a groan. 

"Are you good?" Zach asked. Leah looked up and nodded at Zach. She then tried to pay attention to what Mr. Bennet was saying but instead ended up staring at the back of Hunter's t-shirt and thinking about the night before. 

During lunch, Zach sat with Leah's new friends again. Leah was really pleased when Zach and Emilia struck up a conversation about their love for Bollywood movies. Hunter was nowhere to be seen again. She didn't see him for the rest of the school day. Emilia drove her back to her house because Zach had his first shift at the café. Emilia was happy that Zach was being friendly towards her now. They chatted for a bit, making plans to hang out outside of school someday, just the three of them. Leah knew Zach would be busy this week because of work, so she told Emilia they'd meet sometime next week. The girls hugged goodbye and Leah waited till Emilia had driven off to open the door to her house. 

Leah tried to complete the exercise they´d done in math class today. It was sort of difficult and she didn't really understand it very well, but she figured she would have plenty time to understand the topic before her exam. At the back of her mind, she was feeling an urge to see Hunter, but she pushed it away. Her life shouldn't revolve around him now, should it? She went downstairs when she heard her mum come home, just to have something to distract herself with. After dinner, she felt like she wouldn't fall asleep, so she went out on the roof, had a quick ciggie then crawled back into bed. This time, she was able to sleep a lot more easily. 

On Friday, Zach picked Leah up for school again. "How was it yesterday?" she asked him. 

"As good as my first day could have gone. I had to wear this tag that said 'new at work', but it was fine. I even got tipped a tenner," he answered. Leah smiled at him. They talked some more; Leah told him about what Emilia had said about hanging out outside of school, to which Zach agreed, saying he'd be able to find some time next week. Leah saw Hunter in math again. This time he was wearing a white t-shirt, cross necklace still out. He was looking so good these days. What was happening? Leah bit her lip as he walked over to his seat. 

He saw her reaction, winking at her. "Not looking so bad yourself, Turner," he told her in a low voice. It gave Leah chills. Snap the fuck out of it, Leah told herself. At lunch, he was missing from the cafeteria yet again. Leah hated his habit of disappearing like this. It almost made her feel uneasy. There were about 20 minutes left of their break. Leah was sitting with Zach, Emilia, Nate and Caleb. The boys were talking about last night's Premier League match, Leicester v. Liverpool, while Emilia listened. Leah was listening, too, but not really. Her phone rang, and she saw Hunter's name flash across the screen. She snatched it up hastily, praying the others hadn't seen it. 

"What?" she hissed, standing up and walking a few steps away from the table.

"Wow, you sound pissed," he chuckled. 

"I was with Zach and the others," Leah whispered. "What if they'd seen your name on the screen?"

"You worry too much. Come up to the roof," he told her. "The main building."

"The roof? Why?" she asked. 

"Feel like seeing you," he said simply. 

"If I'd known you were going to be so needy, I would never have come to your place," she told him. 

"You know you miss me. Hurry up," he said and disconnected the call. Leah groaned internally. She hated when he was right. She did miss him. 

"Hey, guys, I'm gonna step outside for some air," Leah told the Zach and the others, who nodded at her. Leah smiled at them and made her way out of the cafeteria and went up to the roof of the main building. Students weren't allowed up there, but of course no one adhered to this rule. The stoners and smokers were known to frequent the roof to have a smoke in school hours, which meant that the latch on the door to the roof had been broken long ago. Leah and Zach used to frequent this place a lot, up until junior year. She walked up the steps and pushed the door open. 

It was drizzling, and the roof was damp from the rain. It was covered in cigarette butts and still smelled slightly smoky, but no one other than her and Hunter was here. His back was to her, he was looking down at the school grounds. His t-shirt was slightly wet from the rain, sticking to his body. Leah took a deep breath and waited for a few seconds till she trusted herself to speak.

"I'm here. What do you want?" Leah asked him. 

"Relax a bit, would you?" he sighed, turning around to face her. 

"I can't relax. I don't want anyone to see us together," she answered. 

"No one's gonna see us, don't worry," Hunter turned to her. "Come on," he gestured to her to stand next to him. 

"Nope. You come here," she said. Hunter groaned but walked over to her. They both leaned against the damp wall, not saying anything as they looked up at the dull grey sky and watched the light rain fall. "Is this where you come during lunch everyday?"

"Sometimes. The amount of stoners has increased a lot this year, so I try to stay away," he answered. 

"You 'avoid' the stoners? Since when?" Leah laughed. 

"Okay, I might have a habit of coming here more often," Hunter laughed too. "But I am trying to stay away these days."

"Good. I don't want a repeat of year 10," she said. 

"What're you talking about?" he asked, glancing at her sideways. 

"You don't remember? You called me at 3 in the morning on 25th March, high as a kite, crying about it being 5 years since Zayn left One Direction. Then you proceeded to sing two lines from 'Night Changes' and fell asleep, snoring."

"Oh, god, why would you bring up Zayn leaving right now?" he pinched the bridge of his nose. "That was a very difficult day. I'm still gonna be sad about it, high or not."

"What're you doing tonight?" Leah asked after a minute, her heart beating fast at the risk of sounding too needy or something. 

"My dad has a work thing he's dragging me to," he groaned. "But, I'll call you after, how's that?"

"Okay," Leah nodded. "Still weird how this has become a thing."

"What did I say, Turner? Go with the flow," Hunter told her. "We should go, class will start any minute." As if on cue, the bell rang, indicating the end of lunch period. Leah nodded and turned to open the door. Hunter caught her arm and pulled her into a kiss. Leah pulled away a few seconds later and smacked his arm. 

"Someone could see us," she chided him. 

"That's part of the fun," he winked. 

"I detest you," Leah told him and pulled the door open. 

"Still want me to call you?" Hunter called after her. 

"Obviously," she replied as she walked down the steps. 

Emilia drove Leah home from school again, since Zach had work.

"There you are, dear," Diane said as she opened the door. "Your father just called. A potential client of his has invited us all to dinner at his house. He's looking to sell it off by the end of the year. Go get dressed quickly. I've picked out something for you." 

"Oh. Alright," Leah said, sighing. She hated going to clients' houses or to events, but she knew not to argue with her mum. "Is Lucy coming too?"

"Not tonight. She's at the library, she's got a history paper to turn in tomorrow. It's just you, me and Simon," Diane replied. Leah groaned inwardly, wishing she had an excuse that would get her out of this, but she just knew that her mother wouldn't let both her and Lucy stay home. One of them would have to go. Leah decided to take one for the team, since she and Lucy had just made up.

She went upstairs to her room and saw what Diane had picked out for her. It was a short but beautiful, strapless black dress. Usually she hated dresses, but this one was just too pretty. She put it on hurriedly and did her make up and picked out a pair of heels and made her way downstairs.

"Darling, you look amazing," Diane said gleefully. "I'm starting to think I should give all my dresses to you."

"Thanks, mum. You look amazing, too," Leah told her. Diane was wearing a wine-coloured dress and a pair of heels.

"Thanks, honey," Diane smiled. "Let's go. Your dad's here, he's waiting outside in the car."

The drive was about a half hour from their house. They pulled up in front of the client's house soon. It was a huge house, with a big front yard, which had various plants and trees, and a porch swing. Leah stared at it in awe. The three of them walked up the front steps. Simon rang the doorbell. A white-haired man with black eyeglasses and a beaky nose opened the door. He was probably around fifty  or so. He smiled upon seeing the three of them.

"Come in, come in," he said in a gravelly voice.

"Diane, Leah, this is Mr. Geoff Green. Geoff, this is my family," Simon said. "My other daughter couldn't be here today, she's busy with schoolwork."

"Oh, yes, they're keeping students so busy these days," Geoff replied. He led them through the hallway to the living room. The hallway was dimly lit, with sconces on the wall that emanated a warm yellow light. "I believe you're already acquainted with the Stevenses?" he asked as they entered the living room.

"Geoff, what's going on?" came Josh's voice. He and Lindsey were sitting on the couch in the living room. Josh was wearing a very expensive looking suit, while Lindsey was wearing a white dress which seemed to sparkle as she moved. 

"I wanted to consider my options, Josh," Geoff replied. "I've called you both here to determine which one of you I'm going to give my business to." Leah looked up at her father and Mr. Stevens. Both of them were smiling uncomfortably. Clearly, this situation was unprecedented.

"I'm sure you will make the right choice, Geoff," Simon answered. Geoff smiled, crinkles forming around his eyes.

The living room was incredibly spacious. There was a big beige couch with matching armchairs in front of a glass coffee table. There was a bookcase that spanned the entirety of the wall next to the huge glass windows that looked out into the backyard. The room was dimly lit, with the same warm white light, but there was also a bluish light being cast into the living room from the pool in the backyard. 

Leah had been so surprised to see Josh and Lindsey that she hadn't even noticed Hunter and the pretty girl with dark blonde hair and green eyes with her arm hooked through his. They were both standing by the entrance to the kitchen. Hunter was wearing a light grey suit with a white shirt underneath. His hair was ruffled like he'd just rolled out of bed, causing Leah to almost sigh out loud. The girl was dressed in a green halter dress, which complemented her eyes. Leah gaped at the two of them, unable to comprehend what she thought she was seeing. She looked down at her feet when she realised that she had been staring at them too long. 

"How about we have a tour of the house while dinner is being prepared?" Geoff suggested. Leah peered into the kitchen, avoiding Hunter's eye, to see that there were 2 chefs preparing food, one chopping up some vegetables and the other stirring something in a pot on the stove. 

"That sounds like a good idea," Josh said. "Come on, Hunter."

"Oh, no, no. Let the kids stay and chat. Why bore them?" Geoff laughed.

"Alright," Josh laughed politely.

"You three should check out the backyard," Geoff said. "You'd love it."

Leah looked up at Hunter to see his reaction, but it was now his turn to stare at the floor. The girl next to him looked from Hunter to Leah. When neither of them said anything, she unhooked her arm from his and offered a hand to Leah. 

"I'm Olivia. Knightley." Oh. "You must be Leah," she said sweetly. Leah stared at her for a second then reached out and shook her hand. 

"Yeah, hi. That's me," she said. Leah was utterly confused. She turned to look at Hunter, but he was still avoiding her eye. 

"Let's go check out the backyard. How's that sound, babe?" Olivia turned to Hunter.

"Sounds great," he finally looked up, and took Olivia's hand in his. 

"Leah, come with us," Olivia glanced back at Leah, who looked over at her parents. Simon nodded slightly, while Diane shot Leah a stern look, probably meaning that she shouldn't talk to Hunter much. Leah followed Hunter and Olivia outside as their parents and Geoff left the room. 

Chapter Text

The three of them skirted around the edge of the pool, Hunter and Olivia walking hand-in-hand as Leah trailed behind them. She felt like pulling Hunter away and asking him what the fuck was going on or just straight up shoving him into the pool. Olivia and Hunter were conversing with each other in hushed tones, Olivia's hand on Hunter's chest. Anger flared in Leah's chest suddenly. She pushed it away, thinking she was being stupid and took a deep breath.

"So, Olivia, you don't go to high school here, do you?" Leah asked. 

Olivia looked away from Hunter and smiled at Leah. "I'm at uni in the city, actually. I graduated high school two years ago."

"Oh, I had no idea. What are you studying?" Leah asked, trying to keep her voice even. 

"I want to be a realtor like my dad. Hunter will be joining me at college next year," Olivia answered, looking at Hunter and smiling again. 

"That's so great," Leah told her through gritted teeth. She looked at Hunter, who finally met her gaze, but with a blank look in his eyes. 

"How long have you been together?" Leah asked, not even wanting to know the answer. Leah just wanted to bolt out of that place and not look back.

"Oh, about four months, but Hunter and I have known each other since forever and we always knew we'd end up together," Olivia answered. "Right, babe?" she turned to Hunter. He looked up at her and nodded, smiling. Olivia pulled him into a kiss and Leah looked away, the tears almost escaping her eyes. So Hunter had been lying to her all this time. And she'd fallen for it. She clenched her jaw shut and blinked her tears away. 

They moved away from the edge of the pool towards the small garden. There were a number of trees and shrubs and an assortment of flowers and fragrances. Leah was able to smell roses yet at the same time she caught a slight whiff of lemons. The trees were draped in yellow string lights, giving everything an ethereal feel. Everything looked absolutely beautiful and yet Leah felt like shit. She wanted to cry. She wanted to smack Hunter for lying to her. She was angry at Olivia too, even though she knew the girl had done nothing wrong. The problem was Hunter. It was all Hunter's fault. Olivia laughed at something Hunter had just said and plant a kiss on his jaw, the way Leah had done on Thursday morning. Leah clenched her jaw, desperately wishing for a cigarette, some alcohol, a fucking hailstorm if that would get her out of this place. 

"I've gotta go to the bathroom. I'll see you guys inside," Olivia told them both. She smiled at Leah once again as she made her way into the house. Hunter and Leah said nothing as they shuffled back towards the pool. A couple minutes passed in silence as they stood side-by-side and stared at the blue water. The blue light made Hunter's eyes look almost colourless. Leah blinked and looked away from him. 

"Hey," Hunter said. "Um, are you okay?"

"Peachy, Hunter. Thank you for asking," Leah answered him woodenly. 

"Listen, can we talk?" he asked, catching her arm. Leah was reminded of the way he'd kissed her on the roof, barely eight hours ago.

"We've nothing to talk about," she replied. 

"I had no idea you'd be coming here," Hunter said. 

"And if you had, you wouldn't have brought your secret girlfriend along?" she hissed. 

"No, it's not like-" he began, but Leah held up a hand. 

"I don't wanna know," she told him and walked into the house without waiting for a response from him. Leah slid open the door to the living room and stepped inside, trying her best not to slam it shut behind her. She sat on the couch, taking deep breaths, and glanced outside from the corner of her eye. Hunter was still standing by the pool, searching the pockets of his suit. He pulled out his silver flask and took a long swig. Leah rolled her eyes. Of course he had brought alcohol. 

She stood up and strode back outside, and snatched the flask from him. She put it to her lips, taking a long sip. The whiskey burned her throat but she didn't mind. 

"Um, excuse me?" Hunter asked. 

"If anyone here should be drinking right now, it's me," she snapped and went back into the house. Hunter stood and stared after her. Leah sat back down on the couch and drained the contents of Hunter's flask as quickly as she could, to stop her mind from filling up with more questions about Olivia and Hunter. 

A few minutes later, Geoff, Olivia and Leah’s and Hunter's parents walked into the room. It appeared as if Olivia had joined them on the remainder of their tour. Leah stood up, hiding the flask behind her back. She heard the sliding door open as Hunter stepped inside. She pushed the flask in his direction blindly. He came up behind her and took it, his fingers lingering on her arm for a moment too long. She felt herself tense and stepped away from him. 

"Let's go into the kitchen, shall we?" asked Geoff. Leah cleared her throat and walked up to her parents. The seven of them followed Geoff into the kitchen. Geoff seated himself at the head of the table. Simon and Josh sat down on either sides of him, followed by Diane and Lindsey. Three seats remained- the other end of the table and the chairs on either side. "Hunter, please, sit," Geoff pointed at the other head of the table. Hunter smiled politely and took his place. Olivia smiled at him and sat next to Lindsey, smiling at her as well. Leah found herself wondering how Olivia's face wasn't hurting from all the smiling. She sat down next to her mother, not feeling good about the fact that she was going to have to sit near Olivia and Hunter. 

The chefs had laid out the table. There was stew, chicken roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, some steamed vegetables, and most importantly, wine. Everything looked and smelled spectacular. But Leah had no appetite at all. She took as little food as she could and spent most of her time poking at it. She did take a glass of wine, after asking her mother, obviously. She was aware that Hunter was watching her from the corner of his eye. Leah tried her best to not look at him or Olivia as Simon and Josh spoke to Geoff, with Diane and Lindsey chiming in here and there. 

"Leah, honey, don't play with your food," Diane chided her after a while. 

"Sorry, mum," Leah whispered back and finally ate her food, which had gone cold a long time ago. She had already finished her glass of wine, and wished she could have more, but Diane was engaged in conversation, so she couldn't ask her.

Olivia and Hunter were now talking to Geoff about something. Leah didn't even attempt to follow the conversation. All she wanted was to get home and get away from this nightmarish dinner party. After another half hour, they had finished dinner. Simon and Josh were conversing jovially and laughing at something Geoff said. Leah tapped her foot impatiently under the table for almost a minute. Hunter noticed her doing so and reached out to touch her knee. Leah turned before he could do so. Hunter clenched his jaw and pushed his glass of wine in her direction when everyone else's attention was on Geoff. Leah didn't meet his eyes as she took it, emptied it and set the empty glass on the table. 

Finally, Geoff stood up. "Tonight was wonderful. Thank you, Josh and Simon for bringing your families along for dinner. I will inform you of my decision soon." Josh and Simon stood up and shook hands with Geoff and then each other. Geoff walked them to the door. Everyone bade each other goodnight. Leah was just smiling, a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She just wanted to curl up in her bed, listen to music and smoke. 

Josh and Lindsey walked to their car. Hunter and Olivia had driven here in his Range Rover. To Leah, and apparently Hunter's surprise, too, Olivia pulled Leah into a hug. 

"It was really nice meeting you today. We should hang out some time," she told Leah, who was so startled that she just nodded. Hunter and Olivia left, holding hands. Hunter's head turned sideways as he walked ahead, almost as if he was going to look back at Leah, but then changed his mind. Leah watched him walk away and started feeling a tightness in her chest. 

"Can we go home?" Leah asked. Simon nodded and they walked to their car. Leah got in the back and pressed her face against the window, the cool glass feeling weirdly soothing. She watched Hunter drive off and wondered where he'd go now. Whether Olivia would go with him. Her parents were talking about dinner and Geoff's house. Simon was pretty confident that Geoff would choose him as his realtor.

Leah had never been happier to reach her house. She was so glad it was Saturday the next day. No school, no Hunter, no nothing. She said goodnight to her parents and trudged up the stairs to her room. She  changed into some comfy pyjamas and took off her makeup. Finally, she crawled into bed with her earphones connected to her phone, which she had wanted to do for the last two hours. With her earphones playing music, her mind wandered and she began thinking back to Hunter and Olivia. 

Olivia said that they'd been together four months, meaning they'd been together since before the school year started. Everything since the school year started, everything that had happened with Hunter and Leah, had been while he'd been dating someone else. Leah felt sick, but she also kind of felt stupid. Why had she believed him so easily? Why would he bring up not wanting to date Olivia right before they'd shared their first kiss in almost three years? He'd even said he wanted to date Leah and she should think about it, but it turns out that he'd been dating Olivia this entire time. Leah shut her eyes, trying to stop her tears in their tracks. She buried her face in her pillow, hoping it would make her forget about that horrid dinner party. 

Leah couldn't fall asleep, though. Her mind wouldn't shut up. It was so annoying. All she could think about was Hunter. Hunter with his perfectly messy hair. Hunter with his green eyes and pink lips. His dimples, his perfect suit, his cross necklace. Leah let out a frustrated groan. She shifted in bed, laying on her side. Her phone had been buzzing for the last few minutes. She hadn't paid any attention to it, but it was starting to get on her nerves. She picked it up. It was nearing eleven, it had been nearly an hour since she got home. She had three missed calls from Hunter in the last fifteen minutes. Her phone buzzed again and this time it was a text message from Hunter. Leah's pulse rabbited. 'Jesus Christ, Turner, open your fucking window. I'm tired of calling.' Leah blinked at her screen to make sure she'd read the text right. 

She got to her feet unsteadily. She didn't want to let Hunter in her room after their last conversation. She clenched her jaw, anger filling her as she recalled his lies. She marched to her window and threw it open. There was a loud thump outside. 

"Fuck!" Hunter cursed, clutching his forehead.

"What are you doing?"  He was crouched outside her window, still wearing the suit from the wretched dinner party. "You look like a cat burglar." The first two buttons of the shirt were undone, exposing the cross. Leah looked away, her breath unsteady.

"Alright, that's fair. Are you coming out or should I come in?" he asked. 

"Neither. Go home, Hunter. We have nothing to talk about," she told him in a resigned voice. 

"No. I told you I'd call you, didn't I?" he replied. "I'm a man of my word."

"You're  17," Leah answered. 

"Well, I come off as a very mature person," he said. 

"I'm older than you," she told him. 

"By like, less than 2 months," he responded, exasperated. Leah shrugged. "Just come outside. Please?" he asked. Leah thought about it for a second and against her better judgement, she climbed out onto her rood. Hunter shifted to make place for her.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Look, I didn't think you'd pick up my call, so I came here directly after you didn't. I just wanted to clear things up. I know we didn't have a chance to do it at Mr. Green's house."

"We did have the chance. I just don't want to know," she said. 

Hunter sighed. "I'm sorry. I just didn't expect you to be there."

"You lied to me, Hunter." Leah went straight for it. "You told me you didn't want to date her. She said you've been dating for four months. You've been lying to me all this time."

"I don't know what to tell you. There's just a lot you don't know," he answered. 

"Then talk to me. We've done so many things together these last few weeks, and you still can't tell me what's going on?"

"It's more complicated than you think," he responded. 

"I'm sure I can keep up," Leah said. Hunter pinched the bridge of his nose, then buried his face in his hands. A minute or so passed, and he'd still said nothing. "Look, if you're not going to say anything then don't waste my time." She could already feel a lump forming in her throat. 

"I need you to trust me right now," he pleaded. "I can't exactly explain everything, it doesn't even make sense to me. But please just trust me." The look in his eyes made Leah want to give in. 

"No," she shook her head, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. "I trusted you once before and I still regret it. I'm not going to make the same mistake again."

"I've apologized to you for it," he told her, his voice cracking.

"Why do you want me to trust you, Hunter?" she asked. "You asked me to consider going out with you, but what do you expect us to be if you can't even talk to me? Fuck buddies? And to top it all off, you’re dating someone else!"

"Look, I can't tell you, because you won't understand," Hunter said. 

"I think I can decide for myself," Leah replied. "If you want me to trust you, you have to tell me."

"I can't," Hunter exclaimed. Leah shrank back, surprised at the change in his tone. "Everything was really shitty before you! I'm alone at home all the time, I can't trust some of the people I call my friends, and to top it all off, I can't even sleep through the fucking night when I'm alone! If I tell you, you'll leave and I can't lose you, for fuck's sake! Not again."

Leah swallowed hard, pushing her tears back to keep her voice even. "If you don't want to lose me, you have to tell me. It's the only way I can trust you."

Hunter said nothing and looked away from Leah, brushing a hand across his eyes. "I should go," he stood up after a second. 

"Are you seriously leaving?" Leah questioned, standing up, too. The sloped roof was a tricky place to stand, especially since Leah had had quite a few drinks earlier that night. But it didn't matter. 

"If I stay, we're just going to argue. So let's not," he replied, then cleared his throat. 

"You know what? Fine. Go. But don't think we can just go back like this was nothing," Leah told him, a tinge of hostility entering her voice.

"You get the best of me, Leah. I really am trying," he told her, a defeated look in his eyes. 

"If this is the best of you, it's not enough," she told him, struggling to get the words out. He looked at her, eyes shining. Leah felt the urge to comfort him and reached forward and pulled him into a hug. Hunter went still, surprised, but put his arms around her after a second. Leah pulled away, trying to fight against her desire to just kiss Hunter and hold him, despite everything that'd happened and everything she’d just said. "Yeah, you should go." Leah wiped her face with the back of her hand. She climbed into her room and locked the window shut. Hunter sat back down outside her window still, head held in his hands, as Leah pulled the curtains shut. Once she had closed the curtains, she sank to the floor, her tears spilling over. 

Chapter Text

Leah had no idea how much time had passed since she had spoken to Hunter. She peeked out onto the roof from behind the curtain. He was gone. Leah felt another lump forming in her throat. She clambered back onto the roof before fresh tears could fall and hastily pulled out a cigarette, almost dropping her lighter because her hands were shaking. She managed to light her cigarette and took a deep drag, pushing her tears farther and farther back with every inhale. Once she'd stopped feeling like she was going to dissolve into more tears, she tried to organise her thoughts. She could tell that Hunter had been struggling to tell her what was going on. It really seemed that he wanted to tell her, but something was stopping him. Leah felt like she should excuse him, forgive him, because it was him. These last few weeks had changed practically everything Leah had considered their relationship to be. She wanted to comfort him, but she had to put herself first now. He'd lied to her, and it wasn't just nothing, It wasn't just something she could brush off. It was a significant lie. Maybe there was more going on, which Leah didn't know about, like Hunter had said. But until he was ready to tell her whatever was going on, it would be best that they stay away from each other. Leah felt like her emotions now were identical to what she'd felt when the whole thing with Hunter and the video had happened, but she wouldn't let herself feel as down as she had then.

She got up and dragged herself to bed, shutting her eyes after pulling the covers over herself. She knew she probably wasn't going to sleep but she tried anyway. At about 5 in the morning, sleep finally found her. Leah slept till 9, when her mum came to wake her up. She didn't really do anything that weekend. She was avoiding answering Zach and Emilia's messages. She had no idea what to say, and she didn't feel like talking to anyone. She mostly stayed in her room, alone with her thoughts. She only played guitar and smoked, and she knew she was smoking too much, but it was the only thing that seemed to be of any help other than listening to or playing music. 

When Monday morning came around, Leah didn't feel like leaving the comfort of her bed. She had tried to fall asleep but she was dreading seeing Hunter at school and her imagination had run rampant, leading her to a sleepless night. Her eyes hurt, her face hurt, her head hurt. Everything hurt. Leah groaned and forced herself to get out of bed. She got dressed, barely looking at what clothes she'd picked out, and went downstairs. She had a pop tart for breakfast again, along with a big mug of coffee. Leah hadn't replied to Zach's texts, but he was in his car waiting for her outside her house anyway. Leah tried to put on a happy face and went to sat in the passenger seat. 

"Morning," Zach said, pulling away from the curb. "Busy weekend?"

"Yeah. I was trying to catch up with schoolwork," Leah lied, not looking up to meet Zach's eye. "Missed out on too much these last few weeks, y'know?"

"Yeah, honestly me too. I still don't get that math thing though. Exercise 12," Zach clarified. Leah had no idea what exercise 12 was, but she agreed anyway. 

"Me too. You know I never pay attention in math. It's too hard," she answered. Zach agreed with her, and they complained a bit more about Mr. Bennet and his teaching style. They reached the school in a few minutes. As Zach pulled into the parking lot, Leah spotted Hunter's black Range Rover parked in his usual spot. Seeing the car reminded Leah of him and Olivia leaving together from the dinner party. She bit down on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from crying. This was going to be a long day. 

Leah and Zach met up with Emilia and chatted with her for a bit, Zach mostly leading the conversation. The three of them walked into math and went to their usual desks. Hunter was already seated by the time Leah and the others entered the classroom. He didn't look up as Leah entered the classroom. He was wearing a dark blue jumper. He pushed his hair back with one hand but it fell into his eyes again anyway. He hadn't shaved in a few days. Leah wasn't used to seeing him like this. She clenched her jaw and sat down at her desk, feeling a flurry of emotions. When Mr. Bennet began teaching, Leah found herself staring at the back of Hunter's head, willing him to turn around. When she saw his jaw tense, she knew he knew she was staring at him. He had that weird thing where he knew when anyone was looking at him. As Leah was leaving the classroom, she was disappointed he still hadn't looked her way, but she had no idea what she'd do if he actually did. 

Leah hadn't wanted to go to the cafeteria for lunch, but Emilia dragged her there anyway. Zach sat with Leah's friends again. Hunter, as always, was missing. Leah knew he was probably up on the roof with the stoners or whatever. She felt annoyed for some reason. 

"Nick from the football team is throwing a party tonight," Caleb was saying. 

"On a Monday? Odd," Emilia commented. 

"It's his birthday," Nate added. "Everyone is invited."

"Are you guys going?" Leah asked. A party would be a great way to distract herself right now. Caleb and Nate nodded. Emilia also nodded. Leah looked at Zach, who nodded after a second. "Great. Count me in."

"Yes, Leah! That's what I'm talking about!" Nate exclaimed. Leah grinned at him. They decided to meet at Nick's place at 7. Zach would drive her, Lucy and Emilia. After lunch, they went back to class. Emilia drove Leah home per usual. Emilia was talking excitedly about the party the entire time. Leah chimed in with a few 'hmm's and 'yeah's, not really taking part in the conversation, but Emilia didn't seem to mind. 

When Leah got home, she faceplanted into her pillow without wasting any time. She was really tired all of a sudden and wanted to get some sleep. Lucy woke Leah up at 6:30. Leah groaned, not wanting to wake up, but she got out of bed anyway. She got dressed and did her make up, then Leah and Lucy both waited for Zach to pick them up. Lucy had asked Diane for permission for them both to go out. Lucy sat in the passenger seat while Leah got in the back. Zach and Lucy talked for a bit, Leah didn't listen to what they were saying. She looked away when Lucy planted a kiss on Zach's cheek. They reached Emilia's house soon, she was waiting for them outside. Nick's house was about 15 minutes away. Caleb and Nate were waiting for them in Nate's car outside Nick's house. The place was already crowded, both familiar and unfamiliar faces spread out everywhere. 

"Exactly how popular is Nick?" Leah questioned, staring at the throng of people around as they entered the house. There were flashing lights coming from the windows on the ground floor. Music was already blaring from the speakers, but idle chatter could be heard over the music.

"Very, apparently," Zach answered her. They found Nick in the kitchen, talking to some of his friends. They all wished him a happy birthday and he told them thanks and to help themselves to whatever food or drinks they wanted. Caleb and Nate went off to find their other friends from the football team, and Lucy and Zach wandered off to the living room. Leah and Emilia got some beer for themselves from the kitchen and went to find Lucy and Zach. Leah sipped on her beer while Zach, Emilia and Lucy talked. 

Nick came back to the room with solo cups and ping pong balls. "Who wants to play beer pong?" he asked. Zach pulled Leah up by the arm and Nate stood up too. They went over to the dining table and arranged the solo cups and filled them up with beer. 

Leah and Zach were great at this game, they'd been playing together since freshman year. "Losers have to take two shots of vodka each, how's that?" she said. 

"Deal. But, to make this more interesting, the teams are me and Zach and you and Nate," Nick answered. Leah raised her eyebrows and looked at Zach. 

"Different teams, huh?" Zach said. Leah shrugged, smiling. "Alright, let's give it a shot."

Nick and Zach got on one side of the table and Nate and Leah on the other. Nick started, sinking the ball into a cup easily. Leah groaned and drank the contents of the cup. Zach went next, also sinking the ball into a cup. Nate took his drink. The game went on, Nick and Zach winning easily because Nate fumbled more and more at every turn after every drink. Leah wasn't mad though, she was having fun. Leah took her shots of vodka, pausing a few seconds between both. Nate took his in quick succession and then clutched his stomach, groaning. 

"I think I'm gonna be sick," he complained. He looked paler, beads of sweat already trickling down his face. "Nick, mate, show me to the bathroom." Nick put his arm around Nate's shoulder, holding him up, and led him to the bathroom. 

Leah sucked air through her teeth. "Do you think we should help out?" she asked Zach.

"The only thing that can help Nate at this point is throwing up," he answered laughing. Leah cracked a smile. Nick and Nate returned after a few minutes, Nate looking a lot better. They sat in the living room, with the some of the footie team, chatting and joking around. Soon, the circle of people around them grew, people sitting on the arms of the sofa or simply standing behind them. 

Leah had no idea why there were so many people around her all of a sudden, but she was starting to feel claustrophobic, almost. She excused herself to the kitchen. She poured herself some vodka and took a few sips. She heard a commotion outside, a cheer had gone up. She walked out to the living room to see that Hunter had arrived and was now sitting in what had been her place on the sofa. She'd actually been having a good time and had forgotten that Hunter would be coming to this party, too. Emilia and Caleb were nowhere to be seen. Zach and Lucy were huddled together on the other side of the sofa, far away from Hunter, who was talking animatedly with Nate and some others from the footie team.

Leah stared for a second, unsure of what to do. Hunter was wearing a dark hoodie and black jeans, his hair pulled back in a snapback. He looked up, startled to see her staring at him. He looked to the side, beginning to understand that he'd sat in her place and stood up. Leah clenched her jaw and turned away from him defiantly. She walked back into the kitchen, picked up the vodka and went out the back door. The backyard was huge, with a large assortment of trees and a pool as well. Leah went and sat on one of the sun loungers by the pool. She stared at the blue water for a while, occasional ripples disturbing the still water, caused by the wind. She pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking slow drags. A few minutes later, Zach came into the backyard and walked over to the pool after spotting her there. 

"Hey. You disappeared for a bit. You okay?" he asked. 

"Peachy," she answered as she exhaled a cloud of smoke. She offered the cigarette to Zach who took it and sat down on the sun lounger next to hers.

"You came out here because of Hunter, didn't you?" he asked, taking a puff. 

"Yeah," she shrugged. She knew that there was no point in lying about that. "Just needed a bit of a break."

"Okay," Zach answered. "If there's anything you need to talk about, I'm here."

"I know, Zach, thanks," she told him. They sat in silence for a while. The sky was overcast yet again, dark clouds drifting about slowly. "What happened with Kirsten and James?"

"Huh?" Zach asked, snapping out his thoughts. "Oh. Well, I didn't really feel like hanging out with them anymore and I told them I'd be sitting with you and your new friends for lunch. I don't think they're really okay with that, they keep staring at us in the cafeteria."

"Yeah, I noticed. I feel like I should talk to them, especially Kirsten. I realised that I haven't really cleared up that misunderstanding between us. The one about me introducing James and Danielle," Leah clarified when Zach looked confused. She hadn't seen Kirsten or James at the party today, so she'd have to wait till tomorrow to sort things out with them. Leah was the kind of person who hated confrontation, but sometimes it was necessary.

In a matter of minutes, drops of rain were falling on Leah and Zach. They jogged across the backyard and went back inside through the back door. Zach went to find Lucy. Leah waited in the kitchen, not really sure of what to do by herself. Emilia and Caleb were still missing. Nate was passed out on an armchair in the living room. Leah poured some more vodka into a cup and sipped it slowly. Hunter was still outside in the living room, chatting with his friends. She could hear his voice carrying through the room. After a few minutes of standing alone in the kitchen, Leah decided to go find her friends.

She walked into the living room, her eyes landing on Hunter immediately. He was laughing at something one of his friends had said, dimples forming in his cheeks. Leah looked at him for a moment too long; he looked up at her, his smile now gone as quickly as it came. She held his gaze, not looking away, not moving, before their last conversation came flooding back into her mind. The look on his face suggested that the same thing had crossed his mind just now. She felt a lump forming in her throat and finally turned away from him. She walked back into the kitchen, willing herself not to cry as she downed more vodka. There was no reason to cry now, was there? She gripped the kitchen island with both hands, trying to steady herself.

"Hey," came a soft whisper behind her. She knew it was him, she didn't even have to turn around. She could have identified his voice anywhere. 

"No," she said simply.

"What?" he asked, his voice still a whisper. 

"No, I'm not okay. That's what you were going to ask, isn't it?" she questioned. "I'm not fucking okay, H."

"I'm sorry," he told her. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Just stay away from me," she replied. "I don't think us talking to each other is a good idea."

"Is that really what you think?" he responded. Of course not, she thought, but pushed that thought back.

"Yeah," she said, finally turning around to face him. 

"Alright. If that's really what you want, I'll leave you alone," he answered. He was looking at her with concern, hope and disappointment, all three rolled into one. 

"Don't- don't look at me like that, alright?" she stuttered. 

"Like what?" he asked.

"With pity, disappointment, whatever. This is your fault," she jabbed a finger at him. 

"I understand where you're coming from," he told her. "I-" he began but Leah cut him off. 

"No, no, no, stop doing that. Stop being understanding or accepting or whatever it is you're doing. I hate it," she declared. 

"Okay, I'll stop," he said. They stood facing each other for a few seconds. Leah's eyes were focused on his face, his jaw, still unshaven, his nose, his lips, his hair. Why'd he have to look this good while doing nothing but standing around stupidly? Leah let out a small groan and grabbed hold of Hunter's hoodie, pulling him forward. His lips were hard, unyielding. "Leah," he breathed. "What are you doing?" 

She pulled away from him hastily, pushing him backwards at the same time and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't know, " she said, tears escaping the corner of her eye. She stumbled away from him, grabbing the bottle of vodka on her way out of the kitchen. Her memory of the rest of the party was hazy.

Chapter Text

The hangover Leah woke up with on Tuesday morning practically lasted her the entire week. She had barely any idea how she had managed to make it to school and back on Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday were slightly better, she remembered how Zach had picked her up and Emilia had dropped her home again. That had now become part of her routine. But what had been taught at school on those days? Leah didn't have any recollection of that. She just remembered seeing Hunter in class and in the hallways and the wave of embarrassment that had washed over her every time, forcing her to duck and exit the room if she could. 

Emilia reminded Leah of their plans to meet up with Zach at the café he worked at as they walked to lunch on Friday. Leah had apparently agreed to this plan, but she had no memory of doing so. 

"Today? Isn't there a football match?" Leah asked Emilia as they loaded their trays with food in the lunch line. 

"There is. I'd love to watch Caleb play but today's the only day Zach can get some free time to hang out. He's working this weekend too," Emilia answered. Leah smiled to herself, happy Emilia and Zach were now good friends. They were both great people so it'd have been hard for them not to get along. They sat at their table with the others, Lucy joining them today. Leah ate her lunch, chatting with her friends and laughing at their jokes. She was feeling better today, but a small part of her was still regretting what had happened at that party. She hadn't spoken to Hunter at all, he'd barely even looked at her since that day. Leah wished she could make it right somehow. Of course, what had happened before the kiss wasn't her fault, but she just wanted to erase the memory of that kiss from both her and Hunter's minds. She had told him to stay away from her, but she just wished they could communicate in some way. 

Leah accompanied Emilia to the football field after last period to wish Caleb and Nate good luck for the game. The boys were in the locker room at the moment, changing into their jerseys. The girls sat on the bleachers as they waited for the boys. Emilia was recounting something her younger brother, Charles, had done at his school that had landed him in trouble. Poor lad had gotten suspended for 3 days for stopping someone in year 8 from bullying someone in year 6. 

"At least he did the right thing, y'know?" Leah said. "He sounds like a good lad."

"He is," Emilia smiled. 

"Can I ask you something?" Leah asked. 

"Shoot."

"D'you remember at the party, you and Caleb kind of disappeared after Hunter showed up? What happened?" she questioned. "And if it involved making out in a random bedroom, then don't say anything."

Emilia laughed. "Nothing like that. I don't know, I just felt sort of guilty because I'd remembered that I hadn't told Caleb about me and Hunter. So, I asked him to accompany me somewhere quiet and I told him everything."

"You told him? How'd he take it?" Leah asked. 

"Very well, actually. He was really understanding about it and he wasn't even mad that I'd kept it from him for so long," her friend told her. 

"That's amazing, Em. I'm so happy for you both," Leah pulled her friend into a hug. 

"Thanks, Leah," Emilia beamed at her. "So, what's going on with you?"

"How d'you mean?" Leah was a bit confused.

"I don't know, I just sort of feel disconnected from you," Emilia said. 

"What do you mean? We talk all the time," Leah knew full-well what Emilia meant. 

"Yeah, we do, but sometimes I feel like it's just me talking," Emilia sounded nervous. "I don't know, maybe I'm reading into it too much."

"It's okay," Leah said. "I'm fine. Things are good, actually."

"Really? I'm glad, Leah," Emilia grinned at her, and Leah smiled back. The home team walked onto the football field then, a mass of red jerseys. Leah spotted number 17 immediately, without even trying to. It was as if her eyes had been trained to find Hunter anywhere. Leah watched as he talked to some of the boys from the team, possibly giving them instructions for the game. Caleb and Nate came over as soon as they saw Leah and Emilia. 

"Hey," Caleb said to Emilia, kissing her cheek. "Hey, Leah." Leah smiled at him.

"Really sucks that you guys won't be here for the match," Nate said. 

"I know," Emilia replied. "But today's the only day Zach can make time."

"Next time, then," Nate told them. Leah nodded and smiled. 
 
The boys went back to practice, running laps and doing drills. Leah and Emilia decided to stay for a bit to watch them practice. They were going to go to Zach's café directly in Emilia's car. After about a half hour, the girls were ready to leave. They waved goodbye to Nate and Caleb, Leah avoiding looking in Hunter's direction, even though she knew that he wasn't going to look at her.

Leah and Emilia walked towards the parking lot as a grey Mercedes pulled into the parking lot. Leah watched as a girl with dark blonde hair in a long beige overcoat got out of the car. Leah grimaced as she realised it was Olivia Knightley and wheeled around quickly. 

"We need to leave. Now," Leah said, all but breaking into a run, searching for Emilia's car. 

"Leah! Slow down," Emilia called from somewhere behind her. Leah stopped in place because she knew Olivia would have heard Emilia call her. Sure enough, Olivia was striding towards Leah when she looked behind her. 

"Oh, my god, Leah!" Olivia squealed excitedly, pulling Leah into a hug before she had a react. 

"Hi, Olivia," Leah replied, her voice muffled by the hug. Olivia was also taller than Leah. Why was everyone so bloody tall these days?

The girl finally let Leah go. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, right. This is Emilia," Leah said. "Emilia, this is Olivia."

"Hey, Olivia, nice to meet you," Emilia greeted her politely. "How do you guys know each other?"

"Olivia is... Hunter's girlfriend. We met at a dinner party where she was his date," Leah replied. Emilia shot her a confused look, because Leah had never told her any of this. 

"Oh, that's so cool," Emilia replied through gritted teeth. 

Olivia didn't notice the change in Emilia's tone and went on. "Are you guys leaving?"

"Yes," Emilia replied curtly. "I'll give you guys a few minutes to talk while I pull up the car." She walked away without waiting for a response. Shit, Leah thought. 

"How come you're here today?" Leah asked Olivia after a second. 

"I came to see Hunter play, of course," Olivia replied. "He actually called me last night to ask me to come."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it was so late. I was asleep actually, it was around 11pm," Olivia told her. Was 11pm late? Hunter used to called her up around that time, too. Leah resisted the urge to mention that. "He sounded tired, like he hadn't really slept well in the last few days. But he was really insistent that I come today."

"Oh, is that so?" Leah asked, even though she didn't want any further details. 

"Yeah, I don't know why, though. He and I are gonna see each other tomorrow, anyway," Olivia said. "Both our families are going on a little weekend trip," the girl added when Leah looked confused. "Hunter and I have always stayed in separate rooms up until last year, but that's gonna change now," Olivia laughed. Leah also laughed uncomfortably. Why did she need to know all this? "Okay, I should go. Hunter must be expecting me."

"Okay," Leah said, trying not to sound rude.

"See you around," Olivia smiled at her as she walked to football field. As Leah watched, Olivia walked to Hunter and put her arms around his neck. Hunter grinned at Olivia and kissed her cheek. Olivia glanced back at Leah's direction before pulling Hunter into full kiss. He was clearly startled but kissed her back, nonetheless. Leah looked away, hands clenched into fists. Emilia was waiting by the school's gate in her car. Leah walked to the car and got in. 

"What was all that about?" Emilia questioned, putting the car drive. 

"Can you take me home?" Leah asked, ignoring her friend's question. 

"Do you not wanna come to the café?" Emilia sounded hurt. 

"I will, but in a bit. I really need to go home."

"Is it because of something Olivia said?" Emilia asked, giving her a sideways glance. 

"No."

"Why didn't you tell me about her? She's Hunter's girlfriend and you met her at a dinner party? You never said anything."

"I didn't think it was important," Leah said, staring out the window and avoiding looking at her friend. "I'm not gonna say something up every time he and I meet outside of school."

"You've been seeing Hunter outside of school? After you guys kissed?" Emilia gaped at her.

"It's not a big deal, really," Leah insisted.

"Are you kidding? It is totally a big deal," Emilia exclaimed. "Wait, how many times have you and Hunter met, exactly?"

"Um, can we not- can we not do this right now?" Leah asked. 

"Fine," Emilia said. "Whatever you say." Leah thought her tone sounded cold, curt. 

"Are you mad?" Leah asked after a second.

"Nope."

"Look, I just- It's just- ugh," Leah groaned. "I don't know how to explain."

"It's fine," Emilia said, turning towards Leah's house. 

"Alright, look, why don't you go ahead and meet up with Zach? I'll see you guys in a half hour and I'll tell you both everything," Leah said. 

"I can wait for you here if you like," Emilia offered. 

Leah shook her head. "I'll see you guys there."

"Okay," Emilia sighed.

"Thanks for the ride," Leah told Emilia as she got out of the car. "I'll be there soon." 

Leah waited till Emilia had driven off and opened the door to her house. She plodded up the stairs to her room and lay in bed, pulling a pillow over her face. Seeing Olivia at the school, hearing she'd come in all the way from the city just to watch Hunter's game had already made Leah feel weirded out. Then having to hear about their trip and having to see them kiss. Why had Olivia looked in Leah's direction like that before kissing Hunter? Had he told her about him and Leah and if so, how much had he told her? Leah groaned out loud into her pillow. 

A half hour had already passed and Leah was still in bed. Emilia and Zach had both called her twice. If Leah was being completely honest, she had no intention of going to meet them. She just wanted to be alone right now. She switched off her phone, guilt weighing down on her chest and chucked it toward her desk. It landed on the floor with a loud thud, which normally would have made Leah check to see if it had cracked, but right now she couldn't care less. She pushed her guilt further down and went to sleep. 

Diane came to wake Leah up for dinner, but Leah didn't move and slept till morning. Leah had started hating weekends. She also hated weekdays. Nothing seemed good as of now. She chided herself for being dramatic and went to freshen up. Leah had mountains of homework to do, but she didn't feel like doing anything. She went downstairs for breakfast and saw Lucy sitting at the table, eating pancakes. Leah made herself a plate too, with chocolate chips, the way she liked. After not having had dinner last night, she was really hungry this morning. 

"Where are mum and dad?" Leah asked Lucy, stuffing pancakes in her mouth. 

"On a walk," her sister replied in a clipped tone. 

"On a walk? It's Saturday, ugh. They should be asleep or lounging in front of the tv," Leah groaned. Lucy didn't respond and kept her eyes fixed on her plate. "What, are your pancakes so interesting that you can't even talk to me?"

"Do you want to talk? Isn't that why you'd said you'd meet with Zach and Emilia?" Lucy asked abruptly. 

"For fuck's sake," Leah sighed. "What did he tell you?" 

"He said you had promised Emilia that you would go to meet them but you never showed up," her sister declared. "How could you lie to him, Leah? He's your best friend."

"Look, you have no idea what happened and why I did what I did. So stop judging me," Leah snapped. 

"I'm not judging you," Lucy backtracked quickly to try and pacify Leah. 

"It was really fucking clear that that was exactly what you were doing. Don't try to involve yourself where you're not needed," Leah lashed out. She realised that she was being a bit too harsh but she was annoyed. This was exactly like when Leah and Zach had argued and Lucy had practically been doing his bidding for him. 

Lucy scoffed. "Why are you being such a dick?"

"Why're you being such a kid? Why're you so quick to pick sides, huh?" Leah retorted. "Try thinking with your own mind for once, instead of just basing your opinions on what other people tell you." She stood up, dumping her half-eaten pancakes in the trash. "Grow the fuck up, Lucy." Leah stalked out of the kitchen, leaving her sister sitting there, stunned. 

Leah went back up to her room, having no idea what to do. She paced around her room for a bit, got bored, then just lay in bed till lunch. They had Chinese for lunch. Leah ate in her bedroom. After lunch, she decided to do her schoolwork just because she was that bored. As she flipped through her textbooks, part of her was wondering about whether Hunter and Olivia's families had already met up to go wherever they were going to go. Leah pushed thoughts of him out of her mind and brought her focus back to the textbook. She really needed to get her grades up. 

Leah studied till dinner time. She was so fixated on not letting her mind wander that she kept focused on her work. She got around to doing that exercise in math, the one Zach was talking about. It was hard at first but it got easier when she had practiced a few sums. Diane came to call Leah downstairs for dinner. She didn't want to see Lucy but she knew she wouldn't have a choice. Lucy didn't look at Leah or interact with her in any way. Leah's parents didn't even realise she wasn't listening to them. They went on talking without waiting for a response from her. 

After dinner, Leah padded up the stairs to her room. She hadn't touched her phone since yesterday. It was still lying by her desk where it had landed. She turned it on, already not wanting to see any possible texts. Leah saw texts from Nate saying they'd won the football match. She congratulated him in response. Emilia had simply texted her a sad face emoji, while Zach had texted her to call him. Leah ignored those two texts. She couldn't stop thinking about how Hunter and Olivia were on their little weekend getaway or whatever it was. She put on some music and crawled out onto the roof. Everything was wet since it had just rained outside, but Leah didn't care. She lay down on the roof, the back of her clothes soaked in water immediately. She smoked while staring up at the cloudy sky, her mind in a million places at once. She didn't know what to say to Emilia, to Zach or even to Lucy. She still hadn't sorted things out with Kirsten and James. And Hunter was still avoiding her. 

It was about midnight now. Leah was still on the roof. It had drizzled a bit a while ago, but Leah hadn't bothered to go inside. Her phone vibrated. She picked it up to see that Hunter had sent her a text message. Leah blinked, trying to ensure that she had seen the right name. Before Leah could read the text, however, the message disappeared. She opened his chat anyway, only for it to say that the message had been deleted by the sender. 

Chapter Text

Leah spent the rest of the weekend typing, deleting and retyping a message to send to Hunter, to ask him what he'd sent. But by Monday, she'd decided against sending him anything. What were the chances he'd even reply? Why would he reply at all when he was with Olivia, fooling around and causing trouble up in some hotel room? Leah walked to school that day because she hadn't called Zach or texted him like he had asked. He wasn't waiting for her outside her house like last time. When she reached the school parking lot, she saw Hunter's black Range Rover parked in its usual place. Hunter was walking towards the main building, carrying his footie gear on one shoulder, backpack on the other. Leah wondered if she should talk to him, ask him about the message, but he disappeared into the building before she could make a decision. 

Leah walked to math, sitting in her usual place. Hunter came in and sat at his desk, not looking in Leah's direction, as always. He looked tired, like he hadn't really slept well. Mr. Bennet was talking about some test they would have soon. Zach was sitting next to her but he hadn't spoken to her at all. Leah bit the inside of her cheek. 

"Zach," Leah whispered. 

"Later," was all he replied before turning his attention back to their teacher. Leah tried to follow what was being taught but she just couldn't. She sighed and put her head on the table, zoning out almost immediately. After the bell rang and the rest of had cleared out, Zach finally looked up at Leah. Emilia had also waited back. She was now sitting in Hunter's place, facing Leah and Zach. 

"Listen, guys, I'm really sorry for Friday," Leah began. "I don't what came over me, I just didn't feel like leaving the house."

"You could have called, texted, anything," Zach said in a clipped tone. 

"I'm sorry. You're right. I should have told you," Leah admitted. 

"Yeah, you should have. I skipped Caleb's game to be there, Leah, and you didn't show up after you lied to me," Emilia told her. 

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," she replied, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"It was because of the conversation you had with Olivia, right?" Emilia asked. "I know you, Leah, don't lie."

"Wait, who's Olivia?" Zach questioned, confused. 

"Oh, shit," Leah sighed. "Look, don't be mad, okay?" She recited the story of how Hunter and she had kissed and how she met his girlfriend at the dinner party. Basically, she told him whatever she had told Emilia. 

"Are you fucking serious? You kissed Hunter?" Zach gaped at her. 

"I know, I know. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but you and I weren't talking then," she explained. 

"I don't even know what to say," he sighed. Leah bit her lip, wondering how he'd react if he knew the real story. "Hunter is a fucking dick. Why does he keep pulling this shit and why do you keep going back?"

"Don't be mad," she repeated. "It's pointless."

"Pointless? I need to have a word with that kid," Zach stood up.

Leah stood up, too. "No. You're not gonna talk to him. Promise me."

Zach stared at her for a few seconds, his expression hard and unreadable. "Fine. You need to stay away from him, Lee. He's bad for you."

Leah chewed her lip. "He's changed," she said, her voice a whisper. 

"Leah, you can't be serious," Emilia said. "If he's really changed, he would have told you about Olivia and the fact that they'd been dating for four months before he kissed you. He didn't even mention he was in a relationship to me, back when... y'know."

That struck Leah as weird. Why wouldn't he tell Emilia that? That was a better reason than 'we're better off as friends'. "I don't know, Em. He's different with me."

"Leah," Emilia looked at her with concern. 

"I can't explain it, okay?" Leah said, exasperated. They wouldn't understand. They didn't even know he'd apologised to her for the video thing. 

"I need a fucking cigarette to deal with this," Zach stalked out of the classroom. 

"You need to start trusting people more," was all Emilia said to Leah before leaving her alone in the classroom. 

Leah spent the rest of the week drifting from class to class, not really knowing what was going on in any of them. She had barely spoken a word to her friends after the conversation they'd had after math. They continued to walk with her, sit with her at lunch and everything else, but Leah could feel that the spaces between them had just gotten deeper. 

When Leah walked into math on Friday morning, almost everyone was already here, bent over textbooks. Leah made her way to her seat, confused. Zach and Hunter were both already seated, each flipping through their math textbooks. 

"What's going on?" Leah asked Zach in a whisper so as not to disturb the others. 

"We have a test today. Chapters 6 through 12. Bennet told us on Monday," Zach answered. "Wait. Did you not study?" he questioned after seeing her expression.

"No..." Leah sighed, annoyed at herself. After coming home from school on Thursday, she had spent the rest of the day in bed, just staring at the ceiling. 

"Lee, come on," Zach sighed, too. "I'd told you about the test."

"When?" Leah couldn't recall. 

"Wednesday. At lunch," he told her. Leah shook her head, unable to remember. Zach exhaled sharply and pushed his book in her direction. Leah glanced over the formulas quickly, but the second she looked away, she forgot what the book said. 

Mr. Bennet walked into the classroom, holding a thick stack of papers. "Put away your books, guys. We're starting immediately." He passed the papers around as everyone put their books away. 

Leah grimaced, bracing herself, as the test made its way to her. She stared down at her sheet, the numbers and letters and symbols glaring back at her. She put her pen to the paper, trying to solve the first sum. After trying a few steps, she couldn't solve it any further. She skipped to the next question she thought she could solve, didn't find one, and realised she had reached the end of the test. She set her pen down, grinding her teeth. These sums on the test were nothing like the ones she'd practiced last week from the textbook. Everything was so jumbled up. Nothing made sense.

"I'll be back in two minutes, guys. Nobody is going to move and nobody is going to talk," Mr. Bennet instructed, walking out of the classroom with a file tucked under his arm. Leah sighed and stood up, picking her paper up. She knew nothing on the test, what was the point of being here? She made to follow Mr. Bennet out of the class and hand her sheet in empty.

"Where the hell do you think you're going? Sit the fuck down," came Hunter's voice behind her. She wheeled around to see if he was talking to her. He was, he was glaring at her. "We're in the middle of a test."

Leah looked around to see if anyone had heard them, but everyone was too engrossed in their tests. Everyone except Zach, who was watching their interaction intently. "I don't know anything on the test."

"Jesus, Turner. Why didn't you study?" he asked, glancing about before snatching her test out of her hands. "Sit down. Take this," he handed his own sheet to her. "Don't write anything on that, obviously." 

Leah sat down again, perplexed. She didn't know what confused her more- the changes in Hunter's behaviour or math. Mr. Bennet walked back into the classroom. Leah looked down at Hunter's sheet. He'd already solved three of the questions. She covered his name which was written on the sheet and pretended to be thinking really hard about the next sum when Mr. Bennet walked past to keep an eye on them. 

About 10 minutes later, when Mr. Bennet's back was to them, Hunter turned around and put her sheet on her table. Leah handed him his sheet wordlessly. She stared down at her sheet, all the calculations and answers now written in the space that was provided. She stared down at his writing, which she knew he had altered to resemble her messy scrawl. His actual handwriting was too neat to look like this. Five minutes before the bell, Mr. Bennet came around to collect their tests. Leah handed the sheet over to her teacher, unsure of how she was feeling. When the bell rang, Hunter walked out of the classroom without so much as a glance at Leah. 

"Aren't you gonna thank him?" Zach asked from next to her. 

"Um, yeah," Leah said after a second, still staring after Hunter. "Don't know when I'll get a chance, though."

"I'm sure you'll manage. Y'know, since you guys meet so regularly outside of school," he said brusquely. 

"What?" Leah asked, slightly taken aback. 

"Nothing," her friend said, stalking out of the room too. Leah sighed, putting her head on her desk as she had done so many times in this classroom.  

By the time lunch came around, Leah was desperate to see Hunter. With every passing class, she had begun feeling more and more anxious. Why had he taken the test for her? They hadn't talked since the party and she had just letI him take the test for her. She didn't want to owe him anything. She wanted to find him, thank him and get it over with. She had accompanied her friends to the cafeteria but she couldn't eat, she was too nervous. She felt like she was going to throw up. "Guys, I'm gonna go out for some fresh air. I'll see you in a bit," she told Zach and the others and turned around before they could respond.

Somehow she knew Hunter would be on the roof again. It had rained again, leaving the ground wet and muddy. Leah padded up the steps to the roof, leaving a trail of muddy shoe prints behind. The door was open, as always. She saw Hunter leaning against a wall... and smoking. 

"What the fuck are you doing?" she questioned. There was nobody else around, thankfully. He turned to her, exhaling smoke and coughing, clearly startled. 

"Would you like some?" he offered it to her after a second. Leah now realised it was a joint and not a cigarette. 

"What the fuck are you smoking a joint for?" she asked. 

"You smoke cigarettes all the time. Why can't I smoke a joint?" he asked defiantly.

"Because I don't have asthma and you do, wanker," she answered. 

"Well, it's not my first time, as you very well know," he responded, taking another drag.

"Are you okay?" she asked in a small voice, when a few seconds had passed.

"Peachy," he replied, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"How was your weekend... with Olivia?" 

"How did you know about that?" he asked, surprised. Leah took the joint from his hand and took a drag.

"She told me. Last Friday."

"I didn't know you guys are friends," he said, taking the joint back. 

"We're not," Leah replied. "I have no idea why she told me." 

"Well, it was fine. We had a good time."

"Yeah? You get some?"

"Jesus Christ, Turner," Hunter laughed. "Nothing like that, no."

"Suddenly you're maintaining a vow of chastity, huh?" she asked.

"Who's Chastity?" he smirked. 

Leah smacked his arm, chuckling. "Dick." 

"How am I to stay away from you if you keep seeking me out like this, huh?" he questioned after a few seconds.

"I just wanted to say thank you. Y'know, for the math test," she told him.

"Thank me by being prepared next time," he responded. 

"Also wanted to... apologise. For kissing you at the party," she said in a small voice. 

"It's alright," he told her, grinding the remainder of his joint under his shoe. 

"No, it's not. That was really shitty of me, especially after telling you to stay away."

"Well, it seems like we can't stay away from each other, can we?"

"I'm sorry. Every time I see you in the hallways, I just feel more and more alone," she admitted, her voice only a whisper. 

"It doesn't have to be this way, you know?" he said, turning to face her. 

"What'd you do to your hair? You look so much older, like some guy in a frat," she reached out and ran her hand through his hair. He had styled it so that it was pushed back, away from his face. Hunter closed his eyes for longer than a blink. 

"Leah," he breathed. "Don't avoid the topic."

"I don't know what you want me to say, H. You lied to me again," she told him, her hand still in his hair. It was so soft, Leah felt like she was touching a puppy. What a weird comparison. She moved her hand so that it was now touching the side of his face.

"I'm sorry. I want to tell you, I do. But you won't understand," he closed his eyes, leaning into her palm. Leah knew how he was feeling right now, she had missed being close to him, feeling him, his touch. 

"I'm more understanding than you think," she whispered. 

"I'm sorry," he said again, turning away from her. Leah's palm started feeling colder now that she wasn't touching Hunter. She stuffed her hands in her pockets. 

"Okay, well," Leah said, slightly dejected. She had no idea what she'd expected. They were back to square one again. "Stay off drugs in the future, yeah?" she said, trying to lighten the mood. 

"Be prepared for tests in the future, yeah?" he told her, a small smile on his face. 

Leah returned his smile and turned to exit the roof. "Hey, did you text me? Last weekend?" she turned around, suddenly remembering that instance. 

"Yeah," he said simply. She'd thought he'd deny it, but he didn't. 

"What'd it say?" she asked. 

"Said 'I miss you'. But I deleted it, 'cuz I didn't want you to see it," he replied. 

"Then why're you telling me now?" she questioned. 

"Thought that feeling would go away, but it didn't," he answered. 

"It doesn't," Leah told him. "It's here to stay." She turned around, finally, and walked back to the cafeteria. 

Chapter Text

It was the third week of December already. They would have Christmas holidays from tomorrow, and Leah would be 18 next Saturday. She had no idea how time had started passing so quickly. They had finished with their midterms last week. She had taken Hunter's words to heart and decided she did need to focus on her studies. She never wanted another situation to arise where someone else had to take the test for her. That conversation with Hunter on the school's roof was the last one they'd had in weeks. She had seen him at school nearly everyday since then, but they never looked at each other directly or interacted. Leah almost missed the snide comments they used to pass and the pranks they used to pull. Being strangers was way worse than being enemies. 

Last period had just gotten over on Friday. Leah walked to her locker with Zach and Emilia. In the last few weeks, she had begun hanging out at the café where Zach worked while he had his shift. Slowly, he had warmed up to her and soon things were back to the way they had been before. Emilia had also joined her on several occasions, and the three of them had become good friends. There were flurries of snow falling outside. The three of them pulled on their coats and stepped outside. They were going to Zach's café for a bit, to have some hot chocolate, and then they would go to Johnny's place for his famous Christmas party. It was only famous because his parents lived abroad and he lived with his brother, so everyone could do whatever they wanted. His older brother, Jake, was the one who had started throwing the Christmas parties and Johnny had taken up that job after Jake had graduated high school. Johnny was also on the football team, and regrettably, one of Hunter's best friends. But that wasn't going to stop Leah. Exams were over, school was out and it was going to be her birthday soon. It was time to let loose. 

Leah, Zach and Emilia drove to the café in Zach's car. Emilia was telling them about how she and Caleb were going to go on a small trip in the next week, just the two of them. 

"Em, that's awesome. I'm so happy for you both," Leah told her friend.

Emilia smiled at her, bumping her shoulder. "Thanks."

"Z, have you and Lucy thought about telling my parents about you guys?" Leah asked Zach. His parents already knew and they were beyond pleased. They also knew about Zach's job, and had stopped fighting too much. He had been right, starting to work had actually proven to be a good idea. 

He gave her a small smile as he started parking the car near the café. "We have, but I'm still unsure about how your parents would react, you know? Lucy said we should wait till next year."

"Are you kidding? They love you! I'm a 100% sure they'll be really happy for you and Lucy," she told him. 

"Thanks, Lee," he grinned at her. "It's great to see you like this."

"What do you mean? I'm my usual cheerful self," she told him and booped him on the nose. He laughed. The three of them went inside, Zach going to the back to get his apron and wash up. The café was especially crowded today, because of the snow outside. Everyone wanted to be somewhere warm. Thankfully, their usual table, near the glass window, was empty. Leah and Emilia took off their coats and sat down. Zach came to their table after a while, having taken down other people's orders first. He knew they wouldn't mind. Leah and Emilia ordered hot chocolate and Zach came back with their drinks and sat with them for a bit. The manager didn't mind at all. She was a nice blonde woman, forty-something, and she'd seen Leah and Emilia at the café almost everyday for a few weeks now. She had even come over and talked to them for a bit, and from time to time, she let Zach sit with them while he was on his shift when there was less to do. Today was one of those days. 

The three of them talked for a bit about their plans for the holidays. Leah's family wasn't going anywhere for the holidays because Geoff Green, the man whose house they'd been to for the dinner party, had called Simon to say that he had chosen him to be his realtor. So Simon was still working out everything to finalise the sale by the end of the year. Zach's family was also staying in town. Other than the little two-day trip, Emilia would also be here. 

"Ooh! We should have a sleepover!" Leah exclaimed. "The three of us have never had one."

"That sounds amazing. We can watch a good Bollywood movie," Zach suggested. They discussed other things they could do at the sleepover, like cooking dinner and staying up late to talk. 

"Leah, what're you planning for your birthday?" Emilia asked. 

"Oof, I don't know. Maybe us three, Nate and Caleb and dinner and a movie? I don't know," she said again. "I haven't really given it much thought. I'm kind of scared. 18, y'know. Old."

"I know how you feel, I was scared to turn 18, too," Emilia told her. She had had her birthday in June, before she moved here. 

"It's gonna be my turn soon after Leah," Zach sucked in air through his teeth. And Hunter's, too, Leah thought. 

"Let's not think about this, it's gonna bum me out," Leah told them. "Let's talk about something else." They went back to talking about the sleepover. When Zach had to go back to work, Leah and Emilia made a list of what they talked about and texted it to Zach so that he wouldn't miss out. After a while, Leah and Emilia left to go to Johnny's place. Zach would join in later after finishing his shift. 

When they arrived, the party was already going in full swing. Blaring music, flashing lights, alcohol and weed. Leah and Emilia went inside to find Nate and Caleb. The two were playing a very high stakes game of table tennis in Johnny's backyard. Whichever one of them lost had to buy the other whatever he wanted, no matter how expensive. Both of them were trying their best to win. The only problem was that they were so high that neither of them remembered the score. 

"Wait, what's the point of even playing if you don't remember the score?" Leah asked.

Caleb raised his paddle as if to hit the ball but then dropped it. "You're right," he said.

"Hey, what-" Nate said, words slurred. "Why are you not playing? Did I win?" 

"Neither of you won," Emilia told him. 

"Damn. I was gonna ask for so many kitkat bars," Nate sounded dejected. 

"Want this one?" Leah pulled a kitkat out of her purse. "It's been in here for a few days, though. Sorry."

"Leah Turner, you're the fucking best," Nate declared, kissing her on the cheek. "You're awesome." She grinned and took a bow. The four of them went inside the house, the reverberating music making the floor shake. Nate went to wash his hands after eating the kitkat bar, Leah accompanying him so that he wouldn't fall over or something on his way. It was a task getting him to dry his hands. He accidentally sprayed Leah with water. She made him wait outside while she dried off. When she left the bathroom, Nate was standing by the stairs talking to Hunter. Leah's breath caught in surprise seeing Hunter right in front of her. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt and black jeans, and a blue bandana with red and white stripes and white stars. The cross necklace was resting over his shirt, his hair still styled the same way as it had been when they had last spoken. Leah wished he wouldn't look so good, but of course, he had to go around looking like a goddam model. 

"We've got to play each other some day, mate. Just the two of us," Hunter was saying to Nate. "I would so destroy you."

"Talking about football?" Leah couldn't help but interject as she walked up to them and stood next to Nate. 

"Of course," Hunter replied coolly. He looked her up and down once, the tiniest hint of a smirk on his face. Leah felt herself blush, thankful that the dim lighting meant Hunter probably hadn't seen her do that. 

"Oh, boy. This isn't gonna be good," Nate said.

"What're you talking about?" Leah said. 

"You and Hunter at the same party," he pretended to shudder. 

"We can be civil. Right?" Hunter raised an eyebrow at Leah. She nodded, her heart rate rabbiting. Leah had spent weeks trying to forget how she felt about him, but of course, it'd been no use. 

"Yep. Total grown-ups," she answered.

"Well, I'm gonna go get a drink," Nate said, shouldering past both of them and disappearing into the kitchen.

Leah and Hunter stood staring at each other for a few seconds. She wanted to leave too, but her feet felt rooted in place. This was the most interaction she'd had with Hunter in weeks. She'd grown to miss his voice. 

"Cat got your tongue, Turner?" he asked lazily. He moved closer to her till he was barely inches away, still smirking. He knew exactly what he was doing. The alcohol had probably given him the courage. Leah wished she could push him into one of the bedrooms and kiss him till that fucking smirk was wiped off his face. But it was wrong, because there was the Olivia of it all. 

"Just thinking about your nice girlfriend," she patted him on the shoulder amicably. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, clearly caught off guard by the mention of Olivia. It was Leah's turn to smirk. "See you around, Stevens." She followed Nate into the kitchen, feeling her heart rate finally slow now that Hunter was out of sight. She was proud of herself for having handled that situation well. She had no idea what he was trying accomplish by behaving that way. Nate grabbed a bottle of vodka and Leah picked up a few cans of redbull. Vodka redbull was their favourite. Yummy. Zach and Lucy arrived a few minutes later.

A few drinks later, when things were way less in focus, Zach and Leah were sitting on the living room sofa and debating about time travel and the butterfly effect. Words were starting to feel funny. 

"Why should you have to stay away from the other version of you?" Zach was saying. "I'm always happy to see my own reflection in a mirror. I wanna see the other version of myself."

"But that's the point, Z! You can't! If you get too close to each other then you could change the future in a bad way," Leah told him. That wasn't exactly how she had wanted to phrase her point, but it was hard to articulate right now. 

"Oh, my god!" Zach gasped. 

"What?" Leah exclaimed. 

"What if both versions of me go around pretending we're twins? Would that still change the future?" 

"Yes!" Leah declared. "No, wait. Would it?" It was evident that they had inhaled to much green air at this point.

"Exactly," Zach said, mimicking the 'mind-blown' emoji. They sat in silence for a bit as the music still blared around them. Leah had no idea how much time had passed since they had come here. She saw Hunter standing across the living room, drink in hand, still looking gorgeous as ever. She hated it. 

"I hate him," she said to no one in particular. 

"Who?" Zach asked. 

"Hunter Ethan Stevens," Leah said. "Hate him."

"I know, Lee, but you gotta start putting that stuff behind you," Zach began.

"He looks so good," Leah went on. "I hate it."

"Wait what?"

"I'm so confused, Z," she admitted. "Why do I still feel things for him?"

"You're confused? I'm fucking confused," Zach replied, baffled. 

"What's confusing, Zach?" came a voice. Leah looked up slowly to see Kirsten and James standing in front of them. It was Kirsten who had spoken, hands on her hips, sneer on her face. 

"Hey, Kirsten, James. Been a while since I saw you guys," Leah told them, weirdly feeling happy to see them.

"Oh, hey, Leah. Wasn't sure if you still remembered our names," Kirsten replied. "How's your new friend? What's her name again? Emily?"

"We don't need to do this right here," Zach told them. "We can talk this out like adults." He seemed to have sobered up suddenly. 

"Funny how you want to do that, since you're the one who started ignoring us in such a childish manner," James spoke up. 

"I didn't start ignoring you guys. I told you I'd be sitting with Leah and her friends," Zach said. 

"And what about you, little miss 'holier-than-thou'?" Kirsten demanded, staring at Leah. Leah was too high and too drunk for this. All of a sudden, all she could focus on were the flashing lights in the room. Colours were so fun. Lights were so cool. And coloured lights? Game changers, mate. Whoo. Wait, but weren't all lights coloured? "She can't even look at me when I'm fucking talking to her."

"Look, can we all just agree to part ways?" Zach asked. Leah looked over at him, wondering how he was dealing with the situation. She wasn't even trying. 

"Whatever, man. You're not fucking better than us," Kirsten said. Leah found that response a bit surprising but she didn't react. Kirsten and James walked away from them without another word. 

"That was so weird," Leah commented. "But you know what's weirder?"

"Your feelings for Hunter?" Zach asked. 

Leah scrunched up her face. "I was going to say lights."

"I need a breather, Lee. I'm going out for a smoke. D'you wanna come?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "Everything is spinny."

"Okay. I'll be back soon," he told her and walked out of the room. Leah glanced around and saw a few people sitting around her, but each of them was doing their own thing. Hunter wasn't in the living room anymore. Leah wondered where he'd gone. A few moments later, he appeared, almost like she had conjured him. 

"Come with me," he said to her. 

"Huh?" was all Leah could manage. 

"Turner," he said, stretching the last r impatiently. "Come on." As if compelled, she stood up and followed him out of the room and into the backyard. They stood by the table tennis table where Caleb and Nate had been playing a few hours ago. 

"What do you want?" she asked. She felt slightly more alert now. What did he want with her? And how had he managed to just show up after she'd thought about him?

"Was that Kirsten and James you and Zach were talking to?" he questioned. 

Leah stared at him blankly. "Not what I expected you to ask."

"Yeah? What did you expect? That I would ask you to accompany me to some random corner to make out?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't put it past you after what you tried to pull earlier today," she responded. He laughed quietly.

"Well? What did they want?" he urged. 

"Nothing, I guess? Just saying a bunch of shit like they were hoping to start a fight or some shit," she answered. "What's it to you?"

"You shouldn't be talking to them. They're bad news," he said. 

"No shit, Sherlock," Leah told him. "Are you done?" she asked. He turned to her, exasperated. 

"Seriously. Don't talk to them again," he said. 

"Alright, fine, jeez," she said. "Why do you care so much?"

"Because if they decide to repeat what they did last time, like the rumour, I could get into trouble," he answered.

"Why're you assuming it'd involve you?" she questioned. 

"I dunno, I just think it would," he stated.

"You're giving yourself too much importance. I don't care about you that much," she declared.

"Did you really have to be that honest?" he asked, earnest hurt in his voice.

"Hunter," Leah sighed. "You confuse me more than math, and that's really saying something. Math is fucking hard! The other day I couldn't even add 36 and 6. I came up with 38. But you confuse me more," she told him. 

"36 and 6 is 42," he replied. 

"Yeah, I know that," she groaned impatiently. "I messed up 'cuz I was in a hurry."

"Use a calculator," he suggested.

"You're real fucking daft, y'know?" she said. 

"Look, seriously, can we talk later? This is the most we've talked in weeks because we both did a good job of staying away from each other, but I can't take the silence anymore," he stated. 

"Will we ever learn? We've been here before," she sighed. "We can't keep having this same conversation over and over. You need to tell me things if you want me to trust you."

"I can't," he said simply.

"Then what the hell do you want to talk about? Are you hoping I'll come over and we'll just starting tonguing each other like 12 year olds?" she asked, exasperated. 

"17 year olds, maybe. Not 12," he said. 

"We're not going to talk later," she declared. "Not one word."

"Fine. Whatever," he clenched his jaw. Leah was genuinely feeling the overwhelming urge to kiss him. Why did he look cute even at a moment like this? She took a breath and turned away from him. 

"Goodbye, Hunter," she told him, walking back to the living room. Zach was back already, seated where they'd been sitting before. They talked for a bit, Leah unsure about whether she should tell him what just happened. Before she could make up her mind, someone called her name. 

"Leah!" came a voice from somewhere to her right. Leah looked up to see Olivia walking towards her. The girl pulled her into a tight hug, as if they'd been the best of friends for years. "It's so good to see you."

"Uh, yeah, you too," Leah replied. "What're you doing here?"

"Home for the holidays, y'know," she answered. "Hunter called me a few minutes ago, saying he really wanted me to come to this party. I guess he missed me."

"Yeah probably," Leah clenched her jaw. So he'd tried his luck with her first, but when that didn't work he'd called up Olivia? "Um, Olivia, this is my best friend of 14 years, Zach. Zach, Olivia, Hunter's girlfriend," she introduced the two of them. 

"Hi, Zach," Olivia smiled at him. Zach only nodded slightly at Olivia, his expression guarded. He kept looking at Leah to see how she was doing. "Anyway, I'll see you around here," Olivia said. "Should go give my baby a hug." Leah tried not to gag as she smiled at Olivia and watched her disappear into the party. 

Chapter Text

It was past 11pm. The party was still going. Leah had wanted to go home after Olivia showed up, but Zach insisted that they stay. They were here to have fun, weren't they? Why should they leave so soon? They'd both had more drinks and more green air, and right now almost everyone was in the living room playing truth or dare. Everyone except Leah and a few others, who were just watching. Leah didn't see the point of playing or doing anything at all when Olivia was sitting right opposite her, practically on Hunter's lap. Well, not really, but it sure seemed that way to Leah. She was too out of it to make sense of anything. 

Olivia was now wearing Hunter's bandana, which didn't really go with her black dress, but Leah had to admit, the girl looked great. Hunter and her were also playing the game of truth or dare, but barely, because for the most part, they were just talking amongst themselves and laughing randomly, like they were in their own little world. Leah hated seeing them like this. She couldn't help but start to dislike Olivia. Sure, she might be a nice person and everything, but Hunter. It all essentially came down to him, didn't it? He seemed blissfully oblivious of how Leah was feeling, sipping his drink and enjoying his girlfriend's company. 

"Hunter, truth or dare?" Johnny asked, making Leah snap out of her thoughts. 

"Truth," Hunter replied without looking away from Olivia.

"What was the name of the girl who broke your heart in year 9?" Johnny questioned. Hunter looked up, surprised, as if just now realising where he was and what people were around him. Leah wondered why all of his friends who knew about what had happened were so insistent on bringing it up in front of other people. They were being bad friends. 

"Pass," he said simply.

"Tsk, tsk. No passes," Nick said. "Answer the question. You chose truth." A few seconds of silence passed. Olivia cleared her throat, still maintaining a perfectly pleasant expression. Leah was surprised at the question. She had no idea what the answer would be, but she still had an inkling of what it could be. If she were Hunter, she would've just told everyone to fuck off and left.

"She didn't break my heart. Think it was the other way round," Hunter replied, not daring to meet Leah's eyes even though she was staring daggers at him. She had been right about the answer. "And as for her name, it's 'none of your fucking business.'"

People chortled and oohed again. "If you're not going to answer, pick the next person," someone urged him.

"I don't give a fuck. Ask whoever you like," he declared, standing up and striding out of the room. Some people watched him go but others just carried on with their silly game. Leah's feet wanted to follow him out there, wherever he'd gone, but she wouldn't let them.

"Lee, you okay?" Zach asked from next to her. Leah just now remembered that he was here.

"Fine," she answered.

"Was he talking about you?" her friend whispered. Leah shrugged, biting her lip anxiously. He had to have been talking about her right? Who else could it be? Olivia excused herself from the room and followed Hunter outside. Leah wondered what they'd talk about now, away from the prying eyes of people. Before she knew it, she had stood up and was walking to follow Olivia outside. Zach called from somewhere behind her, but she couldn't bring herself to stop and talk to him. 

As Leah approached the kitchen door, she spotted Olivia walking up to Hunter, who seemed to be glaring at the night sky with his arms crossed, a small pout on his face. Despite his strong build and 6 foot frame, he resembled a tiny, angry baby frog. Leah almost giggled. It was hilarious that he was pouting in such a childish manner because of her. 

Leah watched through the tiny glass window of the kitchen door as Olivia walked up to Hunter, putting a hand on his shoulder. Hunter sighed and turned around, the two of them conversing for a few minutes. Leah couldn't make out what they were saying over the booming music. Olivia seemed to be trying to reason with him about something, but Hunter shook his head and threw up his hands, indicating that he did not agree with whatever was being said. Olivia sighed in exasperation and undid the bandana from her hair, dumping it into his hands. Hunter clenched his fist shut and turned and started walking back to the house. Leah scrambled to find a place to hide before he could see her, but his long strides ensured that he was already inside the house by the time she was able to hide. 

She was standing halfway in between the doorway to one of the rooms near the living room when the kitchen door flew open and Hunter stormed in. He stopped short upon seeing her, surprise clear on his face. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then thought better of it and stopped. They stared at each other for a few seconds, Leah's eyebrows furrowed, heart hammering. Hunter clenched his jaw and turned away from her deftly, leaving her staring after him as he marched into the living room, grabbed a bottle of whiskey and set it to his lips. 

"Leah," came a voice from behind her. 

Leah started and turned to find Olivia in front of her. She had no idea how the girl had managed to sneak up on her so quietly because she was wearing ridiculously high heels that had clacked against the floor earlier that night. "Jeez," Leah breathed. "What?"

"D'you wanna get away from this place? I could really use a breather." the girl said.

"What?"

"Yeah, we could go to a nice little café or something, get a bite to eat," Olivia replied. "What d'you think?"

"Um, I'm not really sure," Leah began, confused to the core. Why was Olivia of all people suddenly asking her to accompany her somewhere where they could get a bite to eat?

"Since when are we friends?" Leah asked stupidly, not knowing what else she could have said. 

"Since tonight, silly," Olivia laughed. Leah laughed uncomfortably, unsure of what that could mean. "So what d'you say?"

"Um," Leah floundered. What the fuck was going on? She was too high and too drunk for this. She wanted to find Zach and ask him to take her home, then fall asleep facedown on her pillow, oblivious of the world for the following 12 hours. 

"It would really give us a good chance to talk, y'know?" Olivia offered. 

"Talk? About- about what?" Leah stammered. 

"Things," Olivia peered over Leah's shoulder, who followed her gaze and saw Hunter standing in the doorway of the living room, bottle of whiskey still in hand. Leah turned back to Olivia and raised an eyebrow. "So?"

Leah contemplated for a moment. Was going out to get a bite to eat with Hunter's girlfriend the worst thing she could do while being drunk and high? Yeah, probably. But what the fuck did the girl mean when she said it would give them a chance to talk about 'things'? "Yeah, okay. Let's go. You should probably drive though, I'm high as fuck."

Olivia laughed. "Can you drive, though? I was under the impression you don't have a car?" There was no condescension in her voice, just plain curiousity.

"I do have a license, yeah. Just no car," Leah replied. 

"Alright, then, I'll drive us today. You can show off your driving skills next time," Olivia told her, smiling. 'Next time'? Leah just smiled through gritted teeth, beginning to regret the situation she'd gotten herself into. The girl turned and exited through the back door, Leah following her outside. She cast one last glance at Hunter, hoping he would look up to meet her eye, but she had no such luck. Leah texted Zach saying she would find a way home and that he should leave whenever he wanted to. 

Leah pulled the passenger side door open of Olivia's grey Mercedes, which was parked outside Johnny's place. The interior was light brown and the car smelled like Olivia's perfume. Leah could also catch a slight whiff of Hunter's cologne. Olivia started the car and pulled out of the neighbourhood, navigating through the nearly empty streets. It was a quarter to midnight. Leah was starting to feel sluggish, so she asked Olivia if she could roll the windows down. The sharp night air woke her up, working like a slap in the face. 

"I know this great place right around the corner from here," Olivia told her, turning left at the fork. 

"Why are you being nice to me?" Leah asked. "I don't know if Hunter has told you anything, but we kind of hate each other."

"Believe me, you've come up way too many times," Olivia gave a short laugh. 

Leah didn't know how to respond. The snow that had collected outside had been pushed to the sides of the street to make way for the vehicles. Everything looked extremely white as they pulled into the parking lot of a tiny restaurant-slash-café. The girls got out of the car and went inside, sitting at one of the booths in the corner. It wasn't really crowded, which was unsurprising since it was midnight now. The restaurant was pleasantly warm and smelled like coffee and cookies, which made Leah's stomach grumble. She always got extra hungry when she was high. She ordered coffee, fries and a cookie, while Olivia ordered coconut pancakes and tea. 

Leah was sort of glad that Olivia had suggested this because she really was hungry. It was awkwardly quiet. Neither of them knew what to say, especially Leah, after what Olivia had said in the car, but she decided to break the silence. "Olivia?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you ask me here?" Leah questioned.

Olivia exhaled softly. "I thought it was high time we talked."

"About what?"

"You know I mean Hunter," Olivia replied simply. "I just wanted to get away from the party for a bit. He was being a jerk."

"He's such a jerk isn't he? Ugh," Leah groaned. 

"Yes," Olivia sounded uncertain, but Leah didn't notice. 

"Stupid jock," Leah continued to complain, glad the other girl had agreed with her. "Always thinks he knows best. What is he going around looking that good for, anyway? It's not like you even go to our school-" Leah clamped a hand shut over her mouth. "Fuck. I didn't mean- I- I shouldn't have said that." She sighed, putting her head on the table. Fuck. It was silent. Leah slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Olivia, who was... smiling. 

"I knew it. I fucking knew it!" Olivia exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air. "Oh, I just want to call Hunter up and tell him to his dumb, pouty face that I was right."

"What?" Leah gaped at the other girl. 

"Of course you still like him," Olivia continued gleefully, unaware of how her words were affecting Leah. "'Why would she still like me? I've been nothing but horrible to her,'" she said, mimicking Hunter's drawl almost perfectly. 

"Olivia, seriously, what the fuck are you talking about?" Leah asked, a little louder this time. 

"I think you should get another coffee so that you remember what I'm about to tell you tomorrow morning," the other girl said. Leah was confused as hell again, but she did what the other girl suggested. When Leah had finished the cup, her head swimming with questions, Olivia finally started. "Okay. Ready?" 

"You're scaring me," Leah replied. Things already didn't make sense. 

"Hunter and I aren't really together," Olivia stated, sitting back and waiting for Leah to react. 

About thirty seconds later, Leah had had some time to process. There was just one tiny problem. Nothing. Fucking. Made. Sense. "What?"

"Hunter and I are only pretending to date," Olivia said. "It's all for show."

"What do you mean 'pretending to date'?" Leah blinked at this new information. Olivia took a deep breath and launched into a story about how her parent's and Hunter's had always wanted them to be together so that their business would stay withing the family, since Olivia and Hunter had both been interested in taking over the business. But then a few years ago, Hunter decided he wanted to play football instead and Hunter's father was basically forcing him to study realty at college next year, instead of letting him play football like Hunter wanted. Olivia and Hunter were close because their families vacationed together all the time, so Hunter told Olivia about his problem. Here, they came up with the solution to fake date for a while so that their parents would get off their backs. Things had been going great up till recently. Hunter's father was so pleased that they were dating that he was even considering letting Hunter play football alongside studying realty at uni. But then, of late, because of the events that had transpired between Hunter and Leah, the fake dating plan had started to affect Hunter because he had been lying to Leah again. Hunter had talked to Olivia about his feelings for Leah when they had kissed on the roof of her house. 

"Whoa, whoa, this is all a lot of information," Leah said, shaking her head. 

"I know it's confusing. But I swear, he and I are just friends and nothing more. We're only helping each other out with this fucked up situation," Olivia told her. 

"You guys kiss way too much for being just friends," Leah commented, still sceptical of what Olivia had said. 

"These last few times have been just to see how you would react, honestly," Olivia admitted. "My idea, because Hunter would not shut up about you and how you hate him. So I figured we could find out if you actually hate him. But the way you reacted betrayed nothing, so I had no idea."

"What about at the dinner party? Did you know about how Hunter felt then?" Leah questioned.

"I did," Olivia confirmed. "The dinner party was just as bad for me and Hunter as it was for you."

Leah laughed bitterly. "I highly doubt that."

"You think it was pleasant for either of us to be the clingy, cliché couple all night?" Olivia asked, shuddering at the thought. "We usually have to put up a show for Hunter and my parents, but it was different this time because you were there."

"If you knew, why didn't you just tell me that day itself?" Leah asked.

"Hunter. He didn't want me to mention anything to you," Olivia answered. 

"So why're you telling me all this right now?" 

"Because I thought it was high time you knew," the other girl stated. "You deserve to know." 

"You didn't think I deserved to know that you and Hunter weren't actually together that day? The day after he and I slept together?" Leah retorted. 

"I wanted to tell you, Leah, I did. I had heard so much about you and I really wanted to meet you, to see what was so special about you. Hunter has spent the past 3 years regretting what had happened in year 9. He thought you wouldn't understand what was going on now because would bring up what happened with you and him that year because he'd been lying to you again."

"So that wanker thought it was better for me to see you and him together as a couple rather than tell me it was fake?" Leah questioned. 

"You know him, he wanted you to hate him so that it would be easier to move on blah blah blah," Olivia told her in a matter-of-fact way. 

"He's such an idiot," Leah declared. 

"He is," Olivia agreed. "But he had good intentions."

"I still think I deserved to know back then. And you two were being disgustingly couple-y by the pool," Leah declared. 

"I don't know if you noticed but all the windows at Mr. Green's house were French windows, so Hunter's parents and your parents could see us the entire time we were downstairs and they were upstairs on their tour. After I got back from the bathroom, I saw you and Hunter talking and I figured you should take that opportunity, so I joined them on the remainder of their house tour," Olivia said. 

"I guess that makes sense," Leah admitted after a second. 

"And I don't know if you remember, but I'd told you, after the dinner party, that we should hang out sometime. That was because I'd wanted to tell you about all of this stuff, but Hunter said I shouldn't say anything. He was so sure you wouldn't understand because he thinks you still don't trust him after what happened in year 9. I thought that telling you about all this was the only way to make it right, but he didn't agree. Lad may be smart, but he's an idiot when it comes to all this."

"I don't know what to do with all this information," Leah pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm so confused. I'm not even high anymore, I can't deal with this. Why'd it wear off so quick? I need to have a word with Nick's guy. What the fuck kinda weed was that?" 

"I'm sorry, I know this is a lot to take," Olivia told her. "But you needed to know as soon as possible. He told me about your conversation today, so I figured you should have all the information before you make a solid decision."

"Decision?"

"About whether or not you want to go out with him," Olivia clarified. 

"Oh, fuck," Leah rubbed her eyes. "I can't do this. I need a smoke."

"We can leave if you like," the other girl said. 

"Please, let's go," Leah agreed. The girls stood up after splitting the bill. As soon as they stepped out, Leah pulled out a cigarette and took a long, greedy drag. The smoke filled her lungs, she held it for a second and exhaled. Thank fuck for cigarettes. She took another drag eagerly, then realised Olivia was watching her as they walked to the car. "Oh, do you want one?"  

"Sure," the girl replied. Leah picked up another cigarette from the pack and handed it to Olivia, lighting it for her with her pink lighter. The girls got into the Mercedes, both of them smoking with the windows down as Olivia pulled out of the parking lot. "Where to?"

"Home, please," Leah said, her mind too full of the information that she had just received. She knew that Olivia would know where she lived because of Hunter. "I still can't comprehend how you and him can be as close as you are and not be an actual couple."

"It's just a show, Leah. Don't you remember what his parents are like?" Olivia replied. 

"Still. Seeing the way you guys kissed and giggled and stuff, like you were off in your own little world, it was just too much for me," Leah admitted. 

"I'm just helping out a friend. Wouldn't you do this for Zach if it meant he could pursue a career he wanted and live the way he liked while you could do the same?" Olivia asked. 

"Okay, you have a point," Leah sighed. "So you've known all this time that he and I kissed and slept together and stuff?"

"Yeah. You know how he gets. Once he realises he needs to talk about a problem, he'll give you the entire backstory. Lad did not shut up for a good hour," Olivia laughed. 

"You're a good friend to him. I'm sorry. I think I may have judged you too harshly," Leah told the other girl. 

"It's not surprising. I mean, I was the secret 'girlfriend' of the guy you like, so," the girl chuckled. "It's okay."

The rest of the car ride passed in silence. Leah stared out the window at the buildings, lamp posts and trees that blurred past them. The amount of information she had received today had been overwhelming. She didn't know what to do. Olivia pulled up outside Leah's house and cut the engine. 

"Look, I know that things seem crazy right now. But think about what I told you and just have a chat with Hunter. He misses you," Olivia told her.

"I'll think about it, yeah," Leah told her absently. "Thanks for everything."

"No problem. Goodnight, Leah," the other girl replied. 

"Goodnight," Leah said and got out of the car. She stared at the front door of her house, unwilling to walk up the steps. She didn't want to be alone with her thoughts right now. She pulled out her phone and called up Zach. "Z, are you home right now?"

"I just got back. What's up?" her friend replied. 

"Can I sleep over?"

"Of course. I'm waiting outside the house," he answered. Leah smiled and thanked him and set off towards his house. Her mind was still full of doubts and uncertainties about what Olivia had just told her. The only way to deal with this would be to talk it out with someone. It was time to tell Zach everything. 

Chapter Text

Leah approached Zach's house and saw him standing outside, smoking a cigarette. She went up to him and took it out of his hand, taking a drag. "I really need this," she told him, exhaling. 

"Hello to you, too," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Where'd you disappear off to during the party?"

"Mate, I have so much to tell you," Leah put her hand on his shoulder. "But, we need to go upstairs. We need ice cream and blankets."

"What happened this time?" Zach asked, sighing.

"So much," Leah sighed, too. "You gotta promise you won't be mad. I wasn't completely honest with you before "

"Let me guess. This is about Hunter?" he questioned. Leah nodded, biting her lip anxiously. "For fuck's sake, Lee."

"I'm sorry, Z," Leah told him. 

Zach inhaled and exhaled. "It's fine. Let's go upstairs." 

"Oh, wait. We should call Emilia," Leah said. "Maybe this can be our sleepover."

"God, you really know how to fuck up a sleepover," Zach chuckled dryly. 

Leah narrowed her eyes and stuck out her tongue at him while she fished her phone out of her pocket. "Shit, it's dead. Could you call her?" Zach nodded and called up Emilia, who picked up on the second ring. He told her his address and the reason for this impromptu sleepover while giving Leah the side-eye. Emilia agreed to come. Zach and Leah waited outside the house for Emilia so that the three of them could go in at the same time and not disturb Zach's parents too much. 

Emilia pulled up outside Zach's house about 15 minutes later. She gave them both a hug, squeezing Leah's shoulder in show of her support. Leah was extremely glad to have friends whom she could count on to listen to her problems in the middle of the night. Zach unlocked the door with his keys and they walked into the dark living room. It was half past one in the morning. The three of them went up to Zach's room after getting some ice cream out of the freezer. They were extra careful to not make any noise as they went up to Zach's room, so as not to wake up his parents. Leah knew they wouldn't mind that they were here, but it was late and they shouldn't have to wake up in the middle of the night because of them.

Zach's bedroom was the way it had always been. Once you stepped inside, it was easy to forget what year it was because Zach's bedroom hadn't changed in all these years. Since the first day of elementary school, it had been eggshell white walls, black bedframe, white sheets, white pillowcases, wooden, black writing desk and black swivel chair. The pictures in the frames up on his walls changed from time to time, as they'd updated their family portraits over the years. Their current family portrait was from when Zach had been in year 8- glasses, black, stud earrings and a goofy smile- the complete look. Zach also had a picture of him and Leah from their year 10 prom hung up. They stood back to back, making finger guns and trying to not to burst into laughter. Leah smiled remembering that day.

"So," Emilia began, breaking Leah out of her reverie. She turned around to face her friend. Emilia was sitting at Zach's desk. Zach was seated on the floor, in between his desk and his bed, tucking into his ice cream already. 

He saw Leah looking at him, and spoke between mouthfuls of ice cream. "Hungry. Because was high."

"I get it. I was in your shoes just an hour ago," Leah told him.

"Leahhhh," Emilia groaned. "Talk. Please, just talk."

Leah sighed. "Guess there's no avoiding the topic now, huh?" She inhaled deeply and started recounting everything, right from the beginning of year 9. She knew they had a basic idea of what had happened, but she went into details this time. Then she told them about the tiny instances over the years, like when Hunter had called her up in year 10 when he had been high and had sung two lines of 'Night Changes'. Then she told them about this year. The realtor's association event, the thunderstorm, his jumper, their conversation in the bathroom at Jake's house, their tiny chat at the café that Sunday with the football team and Emilia, their talk under the bleachers after the rumour. Their first kiss in three years on the roof of her house, him asking her out soon afterwards, her going to the park to get him and them sharing a bed that night, their talk in the boys' locker room after the football game the following night, their conversation in her bedroom afterwards. Sneaking out and going to the school after dark, going to the park where they'd run into Zach, sleeping together, Mr. Green's dinner party, how she found out about Olivia, their next conversation on the roof of her house, Nick's party, Olivia and her conversation at the school, his and her chat on the school's roof, Johnny's party and everything Olivia had told her tonight.

Leah talked for hours. Her two friends listened attentively, interjecting with a few questions here and there, but mostly letting her finish telling her story. By the time she was done, it was nearly five in the morning. 

Emilia shut her eyes, taking a breath. "Leah. How the fuck can so much have happened and you never said anything? Not just to us, but to anyone?" It was probably the first time Leah had heard Emilia use the f word.

"I don't know. I just don't," she said, her voice throaty after having talked for so long. Once she had started talking, she hadn't wanted to stop. It felt so good to get everything off of her chest and not have to deal with it alone anymore. 

"At least you're telling someone about it now," Zach countered. "Better late than never."

"Thanks, Z. I was just so fucking overwhelmed by what Olivia told me. I just knew I needed your guys' help," Leah told them.

"So, he actually asked you out?" Emilia asked. Leah nodded. "You didn't consider going out with him then?" Emilia was lying next to Leah on the bed.

"No. The idea was just so absurd, y'know? I'd spent the last three years hating his guts, then out of nowhere we're kissing and stuff. It was just so strange, so unprecedented," Leah replied, reaching for a bottle of water. 

"And you slept together. How was he?" Emilia asked bluntly. Leah spat out her water, surprised. 

"Christ," she coughed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. 

"Don't avoid the question," Zach told her. He was lying on the floor, feet up on the bed, next to Leah. He had a cigarette lit, the smoke curling upwards in the warm white light of his bedroom.

Leah raised an eyebrow at him, taken aback. "I'm not talking about that."

"Well, then, what good is this sleepover?" Emilia sighed. 

"Em," Leah protested. "I don't think it's right to talk about him like that, that's it."

"Fine, fine," Emilia gave in. "What do we think about Olivia?"

"She seems like a nice person. She told you about all this when Hunter wouldn't," Zach told Leah. 

"Yeah, exactly. But I still can't get the image of them kissing out of my head," Leah admitted, feeling that weird sensation arise in her chest again. She sat up, planting her feet on the ground.

"You're jealous, it's understandable," Emilia said. 

"I guess," Leah shrugged, still feeling that strange pull in her chest.

"What would you have done if he and I had actually dated?" Emilia wondered.

"Oh, fuck, don't even talk like that," Leah said, covering her face with her hands. 

"Leah, you're in love," Zach teased. 

"I am not," Leah scoffed. 

"You so are," Emilia said. "Leah loves Hunter," she told Zach, who grinned.

"Guys, come on, quit it," Leah said, feeling her face redden.

"You're blushing," Zach said, surprised. "So, you aren't dead inside. That's good to know."

Leah barely heard what Zach had said. "I miss him so much," she whispered. "I just wanna hold him, and hug him, and pull his adorable cheeks and kiss his stupid lips."

"Leah, you cheeseball," Emilia laughed. "Look at you, being all adorable."

"Seriously, though," Leah said. "I miss him so much it hurts." She was being honest, it really did hurt. Her chest, her stomach, her head, it all hurt, thinking about Hunter. Before she knew it, tears were pooling in her eyes. She thought about how being with him made her feel, she was craving his touch, the way he looked at her, his lips, everything. The fact that she had wasted so long denying how she felt was so stupid to her now. "I think I love Hunter," she sobbed. Zach sat up immediately, pulling her to him. Leah cried on his shoulder, as she had done many times before, about Hunter and otherwise. Zach patted her on the back, attempting to soothe her. Emilia sat on her other side, rubbing her shoulder. After about a minute, she sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I fucking love you guys. I wouldn't trust anyone else to comfort me while I cry at 5 in the morning."

"Love you, too, Leah," Emilia smiled at her. Zach just smiled at her and kissed her forehead. 

"I don't know what to do. I want to talk to him, I need to talk to him. But after everything that's happened, I don't even know if I should," Leah said. "He still doesn't trust me enough to talk to me about whatever's going on his life. I talked to him when I had a fight with Lucy, and he did help me out."

"You should go talk to him," said Zach.

"You need to move on," Emilia said at the same exact time. 

Leah looked from Zach to Emilia. "What?"

"I said you should talk to him, Leah. Talking stuff out is the only way you're going to move past this," Zach replied.

"No way! He's hurt her too many times," Emilia countered. "He's clearly incapable of changing. Leah, you're making the same mistake over and over."

"This isn't the same Hunter, though. He has changed! You didn't know him before," Zach argued. "They absolutely hated each other until this year. They stole each other's assignments, even clothes, fucked up each others' dates, and constantly tried to embarrass each other in public. He's really changed this year."

"If he had changed that much, he wouldn't be putting her through all this now, would he?" Emilia questioned. 

"Maybe he hasn't changed that much, but any change on his part, especially for the better is welcome," Zach said. "I mean, I'm still surprised as fuck that he gave her a ride home when there was a thunderstorm. When there was a thunderstorm last year, he let her walk home in the rain, took pictures and sent them to everyone."

"Whoa, really?" Emilia raised an eyebrow. "Still. He shouldn't be treating her like this."

"Did you hear her? She thinks she's in love with him. She can't just 'move on' without even trying to talk to him," Zach scoffed. 

"What about the fact that he's still dating Olivia? Leah deserves better than to have to be someone's secret because they can't date publicly or whatever," Emilia reasoned. "He should be willing to break up with Olivia."

"What about his parents? You don't know them like we do," Zach shook his head. "If they find out that Hunter and Olivia's relationship was a sham and he wants to date Leah of all people, all hell will break loose. No offense, Lee."

"None taken," Leah replied absently. She had been listening to their argument quietly, having no idea what to say herself. They had both put forward some great points, but they still hadn't helped her make a decision. 

"Fine, then. She has to decide for herself," Emilia stated. 

"I agree," Zach replied. "Lee, I just wanna see you happy. You seem like you really care about Hunter, and it looks like he cares about you, too. If there's a chance you guys might be together, I say you should take it."

"He's right. We just want you to be happy," Emilia nodded. "You need to do whatever you think is correct. After all, you know Hunter best. We're with you."

"Thank you, guys," Leah said, eyes brimming with tears again. "You're the fucking best."

"We know," Zach and Emilia answered in unison, then looked at each other and laughed. Leah wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and grinned at them, blowing them both a kiss. It was almost 5:30 in the morning now, but it might as well have been night. The sky was still a dark blue, winter mornings only started to look like morning around 8. 

"I'm fucking exhausted. We should sleep. I talked for like 3 hours," Leah sighed, rubbing her eyes. The three of them piled onto Zach's bed like little kids and passed out within minutes of their heads hitting the pillows. 

They awoke at noon and stayed for lunch after Mila insisted. Leah helped Mila clean up after lunch. She had missed talking to Zach's mum, she was pretty much like a second mum to Leah. Afterwards, Emilia insisted on driving Leah to her house. It took all of thirty seconds. 

"Listen," Emilia began. "I'm sorry if I sounded pushy or something with the whole 'you should move on' stance. I didn't mean to sound pushy, I just want what's best for you. I thought that he hadn't changed, but if you and Zach both think he has, then you must be right. Do what you think is right."

"Thanks, Em," Leah smiled at her friend. "Listen, after you get back from your trip, call me. Tell me everything."

"Absolutely," Emilia beamed at her. Leah kissed her friend on the cheek and they parted ways. As Leah trudged up the steps to her house, she realised she absolutely did not want to go home. She just remembered the fact that she hadn't told her mum she would be staying over at Zach's after the party. She took a deep breath and shouldered the door open, bracing herself for a scolding.  

"Hey, honey," Diane called from the kitchen. "How was your sleepover?"

"Hey, mum," Leah replied, surprised at her mother's jovial tone. "It was fun, yeah." She walked up to the kitchen and stood in the doorway. Her mum and dad were sitting at the kitchen table... holding hands. Leah raised an eyebrow, taken aback, but tried to keep her expression in check.

"Good,' her mum said. "You should shower and have something to eat. I know, I know, you probably ate at Zach's house. Mila is a wonderful cook, isn't she?" 

"Not as good as you, love," Simon said, and Diane pecked him on the cheek. 

"Yeah, um, I'm going," Leah said to no one in particular, stepping away from the doorway. The fuck was going on? Why were her parents being so affectionate? Leah was almost feeling sick. This was worse than when they argued with each other. A false sense of hope, and then bam! It was the calm before the storm. 

Leah thundered up the stairs and pounded on Lucy's door. Lucy pulled the door open, hair a rat's nest, eyes swollen from deep sleep. "What the fuck? It's like, early, or whatever. Go away."

"Why are mum and dad being so nice to each other?" Leah questioned, shouldering past Lucy into her room. The place was a mess, clothes and wrappers strewn everywhere. Lucy sat down at the edge of her bed, rubbing her eyes. "Well?" Leah urged her, impatient. 

"Dude, calm down. I'm so hungover, I can't even see," Lucy said, still rubbing her eyes. Leah sighed and filled a glass of water from the bathroom tap and handed it to Lucy, who drank it in one go. "Water is so cool."

"Yes, yes, I agree. Very cool. Now. Why are mum and dad being nice to each other?" Leah repeated her question. 

Lucy squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them again, blinking hard a few times. "It's the 17th, isn't it? It's their anniversary."

"Oh, fuck me. Did you get them anything? Please say you did," Leah begged. She had completely forgotten about their parents' anniversary. Usually, she didn't forget it, since it was just a week before her birthday. But the amount of things going on in her life right now had ensured that she would forget. 

"I might have made them a card," Lucy yawned. "We can order them cake, too."

"Will you add my name to the card? Pretty please?" Leah pleaded. Lucy nodded, yawning again. "Thank you, thank you," Leah smiled at her sister.

"We have to go out to dinner with them, by the way," Lucy told her. 

"No, are you serious?" Leah questioned, clenching her eyes shut.

"Dead serious," Lucy replied, stifling a yawn. "7pm, at that Italian place."

"Ugh, only mum and dad can make me hate Italian food," Leah frowned in disgust.

"At least they let you drink," Lucy countered.

"Touché," Leah nodded. "Oh also, did you tell mum that I was sleeping over at Zach's?"

"Yep, figured you wouldn't want to be flayed alive in the morning," Lucy replied. 

"Thank you, you're the best, muah," Leah pecked her sister on the head. 

"Can I go to bed now?" Lucy stifled yet another yawn. 

"Yes, yes, goodnight," Leah told her sister, turning out the lights as she left. 

Chapter Text

It was still dark and gloomy outside, true to the season. Leah was curled up in bed after taking a shower, like her mum had suggested, and was now watching Netflix. Emilia FaceTimed her around 4pm, to ask for her advice on what outfits she should carry with her on her trip with Caleb. Hunter was not mentioned during their conversation, which lasted for about an hour. Leah wasn't sure if she felt glad or slightly dejected. For weeks, Leah had to listen silently while Emilia talked about Caleb. Not that Leah and Hunter were dating, of course. It was just that Emilia had Caleb to talk about and Leah had Hunter to talk about. There was nothing similar about their situations. Leah wished her and Hunter's relationship was as simple as Emilia and Caleb's, but of course, that was impossible. Everything had to be so complicated, didn't it?

About 20 minutes after Leah had ended her call with Emilia, Diane came upstairs to tell her to get dressed for dinner. Leah stood up and stared at her closet. She didn't even want to go to dinner with her parents today. Why was it that they could argue every other day of the year and constantly yell at each other about getting a divorce, but on this one day they would forget all of it and act like they were the happiest couple on earth? Leah knew that they would go back to arguing tomorrow. She couldn't count the number of mornings she had woken up to the sound of them fighting. Thankfully, on some of those days a few years ago, she had been able to sneak off to Hunter's house or Zach's. Leah shuddered, thinking about her parents' next argument and turned away from her closet. 

She decided to do her makeup first, then returned to find an outfit. Nothing looked good. Every year, she would dress up extremely well, wearing one of the many dresses Diane would buy her. She just couldn't find it in herself to put on a dress and pretend to be happy and act like everything was fine. It really fucking wasn't. She was still consumed with thoughts of Hunter, with what Olivia had told her last night and what Zach and Emilia had told her this morning. She was too confused. She had been going through the clothes in her closet when she came across the grey jumper that Hunter had lent to her the day of the thunderstorm. Not knowing what came over her all of a sudden, Leah decided to wear the jumper with some black leggings. Horrible choice for an outfit, considering the standard of the restaurant they were about to go to, but Leah had made up her mind. The jumper mostly smelled like laundry detergent, but she could also smell faint traces of Hunter's cologne. Maybe it didn't really smell like his cologne, maybe Leah was just imagining it. Whatever the case, she was feeling comforted. She had to  keep pulling the sleeves back so that her hands were free. She walked downstairs to the living room to see that her parents and sister were already there. 

All three of them were dressed up really well, Simon in a dark suit, Diane in a flowing, green dress, and Lucy in a dark halter top and black pants. Leah obviously felt underdressed in comparison to them, but the jumper was so comfortable. She almost felt like she was hugging Hunter, and the thought almost made her sigh out loud in exasperation. Since she had admitted that she might be in love with him, thoughts like this one had constantly popped into her head. 

"Is that what you're going to wear, love?" Diane questioned, giving Leah's outfit a once-over.

"Yeah, I'm feeling slightly ill, so I don't feel like dressing up," Leah lied. 

"Oh, honey, I'm sure you'll feel better soon," Diane smiled. Leah blinked in surprise at this response and smiled a second later. Diane really was in a good mood today. 

"Thank you for still coming with us on our special day," Simon told Leah, taking hold of Diane's hand. Leah just noticed that the pocket square in her father's suit was matching the colour of her mother's dress. Why put so much effort into their clothes when they were probably going to start arguing as soon as they all got home from dinner? 

"Of course," Leah smiled, clenching her jaw. 

"Is that the jumper Hunter lent you?" Lucy whispered to her as they all grabbed their overcoats and stepped out of the house.

"Shut up," Leah hissed. Their parents were barely five feet ahead of them. 

"Sorry," Lucy mouthed. "Is it, though?" Leah just nodded. "Leah! Why're you wearing his clothes while going out with our parents? Are you crazy?"

"They didn't notice, did they? They're busy pretending their marriage isn't in shambles," Leah whispered, annoyed. 

"Gosh, you're just- ugh," Lucy sighed dramatically as they sat in the car. Darkness was falling around them slowly, the sky darkening from orange to a dark blue. It was almost like daytime didn't exist in this town during winters. The crisp and cold air was welcome; anything was better than feeling hot and muggy. Leah really liked this time of year, partly because her birthday came around during this season. But she wasn't looking forward to it at all this year. She'd be turning 18. She'd be an adult. The thought was so crazy to her that it made her want to laugh. How could she be an adult already? She had been 15 yesterday. She shook those thoughts out of her head because if she thought about it too much, the endless march of time would certainly make her crazy. She stared out the window instead, at the slow descent of dusk. 

They arrived at the restaurant soon. Simon went up to the hostess stand and to get their table. He had called ahead to make a reservation. Leah was surprised Simon had taken the effort to make a reservation at the restaurant himself. Not that it was that much of an effort, he just never did it himself. His assistant usually did such things for him. Leah wondered what was different about this year.  A waiter showed them to their table, which was in the centre of the restaurant. Leah always preferred tables that were in the corner or the back, away from all the noise and action. It was far easier to converse with somebody when you were sat at tables in the corner. But then again, Leah wasn't expecting to talk to her family much during this dinner, so. Lucy and she presented the card Lucy had made, Leah pretending like she had helped too, but giving the credit to Lucy for it. Lucy had also informed the waiter that they should bring out a cake after their dinner. 

Dinner could be described perfectly with one word: torture. Out of pure coincidence, apparently, some of Diane and Simon's clients happened to be having dinner at the same restaurant as them that night. This was probably why Simon himself had chosen this particular restaurant. When the clients saw Simon and Diane with their family on their special day, they came up to say hello, and Diane and Simon simply had to, had to, invite them to their table. So now, not only was their table smack in the middle of the restaurant, but it was also the most crowded one. The waiters had obliged in bringing more tables to join to the original one to accommodate all the guests. Leah counted about four people, excluding her family, both young couples. Naturally, Diane and Simon had started talking about business and had each made handshake deals with their respective clients for new business. 

Having to watch their parents hold hands the entire time, kiss and laugh at each other's jokes just to gain new business was plain painful. Why couldn't they be like that the entire year? When no money was involved? Watching them now was making Leah realise what they were missing the rest of the year. Without Simon and Diane fighting so much, they could be a real family. Their fighting was what had driven the entire family apart. It was the reason Leah and Lucy had grown apart. It was the reason they both had stayed out of the house so much these last few years that they barely saw each other for weeks. Their parents couldn't go one night without working, even when they were supposed to be spending time with their family. Seeing them be romantic and civil towards each other, just for the sake of appearances, filled Leah with anger. It was all for show. Just like another couple that Leah did not want to think about. But she couldn't stop herself.

Hunter. Always Hunter. Fricking Hunter. He never left her thoughts, did he? Always lurking around in the back, waiting to spook her, much like he had that morning in his bedroom. He occupied her thoughts so much these days, he should have started paying rent. Leah had pretty much zoned out after her parents' clients had joined them and Diane and Simon had started to act all couple-y and domestic. Lucy was on her phone, probably texting Zach about what a shit-fest their parents' anniversary dinner was turning out to be. Leah had been staring at the ceiling. Two hours and she'd be home. That had been nearly two hours ago. She really needed a cigarette. Leah excused herself from dinner on the pretext of getting some fresh air (her parents barely looked up), and went outside to have a smoke. 

It was chilly outside; Leah was glad she had worn a jumper instead of some ridiculous dress. The street was bathed in yellow light from the streetlights. She watched the traffic on the street inch along slowly as she smoked. She was taking her time, not wanting to go back inside.

"Can I have some of that?" came Lucy's voice. Leah turned to see her sister standing next to her. She hadn't realised when she'd snuck up on her. 

"You smoke?" Leah exhaled a cloud of smoke, almost lapsing into a fit of coughs, surprised. 

"Well, no, but the situation inside sure is making me want to," Lucy sighed. 

Leah put out the cigarette under her shoe. She wasn't going to let her little sister fall into the habit of smoking because of their parents, too. "Are they finally ready to leave?"

"Yep. That's why they sent me to call you. They want you to say goodbye to the clients," Lucy explained. 

Leah sighed too. "Fucking clients this and that. For God's sake. Let's get this over with." The sisters went back into the hotel and stood next to their parents, fake smiles plastered on their faces as their parents bade goodbye to their clients. Well, the smiles weren't all that fake. Leah was sure as fuck glad she could go home now that all this nonsense was over. Leah's parents paid the tab and waited for the clients to leave. Simon told Leah and Lucy to make note of that. They were being 'good hosts', apparently, by doing that. Leah all but rolled her eyes. Her comfortable bed was waiting for her back home. Finally, at 8:15, Simon said they could leave. 

Leah followed her parents towards the door, eager to exit, but her parents stopped in their path. What was holding them up? Leah looked up, agitated, and was now staring straight at the Stevenses, who had just entered the restaurant. Josh, tall and ever-smiling in a grey pinstripe suit, and Lindsey, brown-haired and in a pink knitted sweater and overcoat. And Hunter. Leah could barely raise her eyes to look at him. He was wearing a grey-blue hoodie and sweatpants. He had pulled the hood up, but upon seeing her, he pulled it down. His hair was damp, still styled away from his forehead. Leah wondered if he still used apple shampoo. Hunter gave her a once-over, making her bite her nail nervously. Fuck.

"Good evening, Josh," Simon greeted Josh. "Lindsey. Hunter." Hearing her dad say Hunter's name was something so weird. Leah was sure the only reason Simon had initiated the conversation with the Stevenses was because he was still feeling smug about the fact that Geoff Green had chosen him to be his realtor instead of Josh. 

"Oh, good evening, Simon," Josh greeted him back. The two exchanged casual niceties, and so did Diane and Lindsey. Leah stared at the floor, sneaking glances at Hunter as their parents talked. Hunter was unabashedly staring straight at her with his mouth slightly open. Even through the silence, they had spoken a thousand words to each other. Leah just wasn't sure what any of them meant. She was vaguely aware that Lucy was staring at the both of them. 

"Honey, don't you have a jumper just like that?" Lindsey whispered to Hunter.

"I used to. I gave it to someone, though. She's special," Hunter replied, not looking away from Leah, who gaped at him in surprise. How could he have the guts to just say it like that? What if their parents figured it out? They'd be so fucked. 

"We should get going. Enjoy your dinner," Simon told the Stevenses. 

They all exchanged goodbyes. Diane, Simon and Lucy exited the restaurant as Lindsey and Josh walked towards the hostess stand. Leah made to follow her parents, but of course, Hunter caught her arm. She turned to face him, biting the inside of her cheek. There was hardly any distance between them. Leah could feel his breath on her face, the warmth of his body. She longed to reach out and touch him. Every part of her missed him. His face was flushed from the cold, his cheeks and lips pink. His hand was still on Leah's arm. Leah wished all the people around them would disappear so that she could snog the hell out of this lad.

"Is that mine?" he asked, eyeing the jumper she was wearing. The way he was looking down at her was making Leah anxious. 

Leah simply nodded, too nervous to speak. Her heart was thudding in her chest. 

"Good," he smirked, biting his lip as he ran a hand through his hair. A shudder ran through Leah. Fucking fuck. And then, just like that, Hunter was gone. Leah stared after him, like she had many times before, then turned to follow her family outside. The things that had seemed so complicated that morning had just become a whole lot more complicated. 

Chapter Text

Leah barely remembered the car ride home. All that was on her mind was Hunter. 'Good.' What the fuck did that mean? And why the fuck had he said that about giving his jumper to her in front of his mum? This was driving Leah crazy. She was barely thinking straight as she paced around her bedroom. It was a quarter to three and she couldn't sleep at all. She had thought about calling Zach and telling him what happened, but she also didn't want to annoy him with every little detail of their relationship. She still hadn't decided whether or not she wanted to go out with Hunter. Well, truth be told, she abso-fucking-lutely did. She really did. But it was Hunter. That meant that their families couldn't find out. The minute Leah's mum would find out, there'd be a grease spot where Leah had been, because Diane would absolutely smite her. And Hunter's parents could never know either. His dad wouldn't let him continue playing football and would force him to study real estate because he wasn't with Olivia. Why did everything have to be so tough? Why did there have to be so many obstructions in their path? 

Leah climbed out onto the roof and sat down, dangling her feet over the edge. She couldn't believe how long she had wasted hating Hunter and planning stupid pranks to take revenge. If only they had talked about things before, they could've had so much more time together. Since she'd spoken to Emilia and Zach about Hunter, she'd been trying to make up her mind about whether or not she should talk to him. If she decided to go with what Emilia had initially suggested, she could avoid a whole lot of hurt to herself and her and Hunter's families. But if she decided to do what Zach had said, she'd get what she wanted for herself. She could get herself that pretty, silly, gets-jealous-easily, handsome-as-fuck, messy-haired jock. All hers. She missed that lad like you wouldn't believe. But who should she put first? Herself or her family?

She leaned back on the roof and stared up at the sky, which was a dark-ish blue, with darker grey clouds scattered across it. It looked like it was evening, around 7 or 8pm, when in reality, it was past 3am. It was cold out, of course, since it was the middle of December. Leah was still wearing Hunter's jumper. She was listening to music, wondering what Hunter was doing right now. She didn't think he'd be asleep, since he had mentioned he still had trouble sleeping through the night. Sadness bit at Leah's heart. She wanted to run to Hunter's house and hold him while he slept. She knew he had slept as well as her those two nights that they had slept in the same bed recently. When they had been 15 and slept in the same bed many times, Leah would wake up in the morning with her arms around Hunter, even if they hadn't cuddled when falling asleep. Leah went back inside after a while because it was getting too cold. Windchill in the morning was far worse than at night. She crawled under the covers, still in Hunter's jumper, and fell asleep after sometime. 

The next week passed by fairly quickly. Leah spent most of her time thinking abut Hunter and the fact that she was turning 18 on Saturday which was tomorrow. Like she had predicted, her parents had gone back to arguing pretty soon after their anniversary. Leah had slept over at Zach's for most of the last week. Mila was extremely glad to have been able to see Leah so often. Emilia got back from her trip with Caleb, and she, Leah and Zach had another sleepover, one with less crying this time, to discuss their trip. Leah was worried about tomorrow. 18. That seemed so daunting. She would have to shoulder more responsibility and stop fucking up so much. That seemed practically impossible to her. She couldn't even cook without fucking up. 

By Friday evening, Leah couldn't handle her parents arguing anymore. Diane was mad that Simon had missed the opportunity to close a client, who ended up being signed by Josh. Simon, meanwhile, was annoyed that Diane had scheduled a lunch with her client when the two of them were supposed to meet for lunch. This was only for the sake of appearances, by the way. Leah's parents would never choose to eat a meal together unless it benefited their public image. Leah told her parents she was going to Zach's, Simon and Diane only pausing their argument long enough to shoo Leah away. Leah didn't expect much around her birthday, but she definitely didn't expect to be treated this way. She wouldn't let herself cry. She clenched her jaw, pulling up her hood, and jogged out of the house. It was chilly outside, very chilly, she observed as her breath fogged in front of her. It was dark, too, since it was around 9:30. She jogged around the block once to calm her nerves before going up to Zach's house and ringing the bell. 

"Leah, darling, so good to see you," Mila pulled her into a hug as if she hadn't seen her in months, instead of just yesterday. 

"Hi, Mila. Great to see you too," Leah hugged her back. "Hi, Hugh," she said to Zach's dad who was seated in front of the television. 

"Hey, Leah. Zach's upstairs in the shower. Sit with us a while, love," Hugh told her. Leah and Mila both sat down on the couch, and the three of them watched the ongoing cricket match. Hugh explained to Leah what was going on in the game, since she didn't know much about cricket. Football was the only sport she had any knowledge about, which wasn't saying a lot. Mila and Hugh talked to her about school, her family, Zach and Lucy, everything. It was like they were really good friends, and they were. Leah loved coming to Zach's house. Earlier, she had used to come by even if he wasn't there, just to talk to his parents. 

About 15 minutes later, Zach came downstairs, still wet from his shower. He was drying his damp hair with a Power Rangers towel that Leah had gifted him a few years ago. "Leah! Almost-birthday girl, what're you doing here?" he pulled her into a hug, dripping water on her. 

"Hey, Z," Leah grinned at him through the water droplets trailing down on her face. She was just happy to see him. "Was just bored," she told him, giving him a meaningful look, which he understood to mean that her parents were still fighting. 

"Wanna go upstairs and play video games?" Zach asked.

"Absolutely," Leah replied. They went upstairs and then somehow it'd been 2 hours since they'd started playing Call of Duty. Zach was lying on his back, his feet touching the headboard of his bed, and eating crisps and absolutely crushing Leah at the game. Leah was on the floor, sitting up against the foot of Zach's bed. Zach's pillows, comforter and some empty bottles and crisp packets were strewn all around the room. They had a habit of being messy, those two. 

"Mate, I'm really tired," Leah said, trying one last move to beat Zach. It didn't work. "Fuck dammit!"

"You're only saying you're tired 'cuz you're losing," Zach teased, throwing a handful of crumbs at her.

"Blech," Leah jerked away from him to avoid getting hit in the face with crisp crumbs. "Nah, mate, I'm being genuine. I'm exhausted. I was so fed up of listening to my parents argue. They just can't give it a break."

"Yeah, Lucy told me as much," Zach responded, wiping his hands on his pajamas. 

"Gross, Z! Wash your hands," Leah chided, to which Zach responded by sticking out his tongue. "I wonder how she deals with it so much better than me."

"I wish neither of you would have to deal with this," Zach sighed. "Come on, enough about this. You should sleep if you're tired."

"Okay," Leah yawned and stood up. She picked up a pillow each for her and Zach and his comforter and lay down on his bed. She threw him a pillow and pulled the comforter over both of them, "Goodnight, Z," she spoke into her pillow. 

"'Night, Lee," he responded, giving her a tiny kick. Leah pushed him away gently and fell asleep soon, comforted by Zach's familiar snores. 

Someone prodded Leah awake sharply. "Mmfgh," she groaned into the pillow. "Who's it?" she questioned sleepily. A sharp poke in the back. "Bloody hell, what?" she snapped, turning over and opening her eyes, only to be smacked in the face with something. Cake. "What the fuck?" she wiped at her face, her vision blurred by sponge cake, cream and chocolate. Cake was fucking everywhere. "What's going on?"

"Happy birthday, Leah!" screamed Zach and Emilia's voices. There was a loud pop which made Leah start. 

"Jesus fuck, what is that?" Leah questioned as confetti rained down around them. It really was difficult to see through cake. 

"Stop being a grump, Lee. It's your birthday!" Zach exclaimed, and then there was music playing. Leah wiped at her eyes, her vision clearing a bit just in time for her to see Emilia take a picture of her. "Hey, I swear to God, if you post that, I will hunt you down." It was morning now, probably around 8 or so. The blinds in Zach's room were drawn, but a few rays of sunlight were peeking through the chinks.

Emilia laughed. "I'm going to frame this and put it up in my room." Leah groaned. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Emilia led Leah to the bathroom, even though Leah was so familiar with Zach's house that she could've found the bathroom with her eyes closed. Leah washed the cake and sleepiness off her face, while Emilia giggled and snapped some more some pictures. The two of them walked back to Zach's room and Leah saw that he and Emilia had decorated the room with blue and gold balloons, streamers and string lights. 

"You guys! You shouldn't have," Leah said, staring around the room in awe. "Everything looks so beautiful."

"Maybe you'd like to capture this moment forever," Zach said, rattling a box wrapped in light blue paper in front of her. It had a little golden bow on it.

"Zach! No gifts," Leah protested. 

"Come on, Lee, we put so much thought into this," he said, pushing the box into her hands. Leah sighed and took it from him, opening the wrapping paper. The box held a brand-new polaroid camera.

"No way!" Leah stared at it in awe. She'd wanted one for a while now. "You guys, this is incredible."

"We're awesome, we know," Emilia winked at her. 

"Seriously, you guys are the fucking best," Leah said. "Thank you so much," she choked out, a tear escaping her eye. 

"Leah, you cheeseball, are you crying?" Zach asked, pulling Leah into a tight hug. Leah buried her face in his chest, hugging him back. Leah reached out behind her and beckoned Emilia forward, who hugged her from behind, sandwiching her in between. When Leah finally let go of the two of them, they took a few pictures with polaroid camera. Leah gave one to Zach and one to Emilia and kept the rest. They had gotten some pastries to eat. 4 total, one to smear on Leah's face and one each for them to eat. The three of them ate their pastries in Zach's bed.

"Guys, this has genuinely been the best birthday I've had, and it's only morning," Leah told her friends. "I love you guys so much."

"Love you, too, Lee," Zach smiled.

"Love you, Leah," Emilia blew her a kiss. 

"We were gonna come to your place this morning, actually," Zach said. "But since you slept over, I called Emilia here. Bit weird to have to decorate my own room for your birthday."

"Well, what's yours is mine, right?" Leah asked. "Besties."

Zach groaned. "Ugh, you know I don't like that word."

"Bes-tayyys," Emilia teased. "Come on, Zach, it's Leah's birthday."

"Fine, fine, just for today, you can call us what you like, Leah," Zach gave in, sighing.

"You have to say it," Leah urged. "Say it, say we're besties."

"We're besties," Zach whispered after a second, grimacing like the sentence had caused him actual pain.

"There we go," Leah put an arm around him and Emilia. "Thanks, you two, seriously. This was amazing."

Leah took a picture of the balloons and streamers and then she and Emilia helped Zach take them down and clean up his room. Leah bade Zach's family goodbye after they wished her a happy birthday and insisted they all ate breakfast there. Emilia and Zach helped Leah carry home the balloons and streamers and decorated her room for her with Lucy's help. Leah hugged her friends and thanked them yet again as she saw them off. She went upstairs to her bedroom, now decked with balloons, streamers and everything. Diane and Simon called Leah downstairs for lunch after a bit. They ordered food, ate cake, everything. Simon and Diane weren't even arguing that much. Lucy gifted Leah a set of scented candles, bath bombs and the like. Leah thanked and hugged her. Diane and Simon gifted two dresses that Diane had picked out. Leah knew that these gifts would double as some of her Christmas gifts, too. But she didn't mind; she was used to it now. It happened every year. They also gave her some cash so that Leah could take her friends out. Leah thanked them and went back upstairs to text Zach, Emilia, Caleb and Nate. They were going to meet at the movie theatre at 4 for a new horror movie that had released recently. After the movie, they would go to dinner together.  

Dinner and a movie turned out to be more fun than Leah had expected. Nate and Caleb gifted her a bottle of vodka and also bubblegum cigarettes, for some reason. Leah accepted, laughing. It was a task trying to hide that bottle in her bag, so that they could go into the theatre. Finally, she gave up and they all split the bottle between themselves before going in, finishing it right there. The horror movie seemed funny because they were drunk. What idiot protagonist would go straight where they weren't supposed to go? They knew it'd be dangerous, and possibly lead to death. Wankers. After the movie was over, they went to this restaurant Emilia had suggested. The place was sort of fancy, so they tried to be on their best behaviour and not drink too much or be too loud while they were there. 

Zach drove Leah home. "Thanks for everything today, Z. I had a great time," she told him. 

"Of course, Lee," he grinned at her. "Listen, have you given any more thought to the whole Hunter thing? Sorry to spring this on you, but I was just wondering."

"It's all I've been thinking about," Leah admitted. "But I still don't know what to do."

"You'll figure it out," Zach told her as he pulled up in front of her house. "Happy birthday again. And merry Christmas."

"Thank you," she smiled at him and pecked him on the cheek. "Merry Christmas to you, too." He winked at her and drove off as she walked up the front steps. It was late now, almost 10:30. Her parents were probably asleep. She went upstairs to her room, changing into her pyjamas. She sat on her bed, not really knowing what to do now. She tried going to sleep, but she couldn't fall asleep. She felt restless, she couldn't stop fidgeting. Today had been a good day, better than she had expected her birthday to be. But why did it still feel like something was lacking? Since Zach had asked about Hunter, Leah was feeling a strange tightness in her chest, like the one you get right before bungee jumping or something. 

"Goddamit, can't believe I'm doing this shit again," Leah muttered to herself as she got dressed again and climbed out of her window. 10 minutes later, she was standing outside Hunter's house. 

Chapter Text

Hunter's parents' car wasn't in the driveway, but his Range Rover was. Leah took a chance, ringing the doorbell instead of texting him like she had last time. She waited outside, heart hammering, relating more and more to the protagonist in that horror movie she'd just watched. A few seconds later, the door opened, dim, warm white light spilling out onto the front steps. Hunter stood at the threshold of his home, looking disheveled. His hair, un-styled, was sticking up in every direction, like it used to before. He was wearing a black t-shirt and sweatpants, both rumpled.

"Leah?" he questioned, then yawned.

"Hi," she said meekly.

"Surprised to see you here." His voice was deeper than usual, probably because he'd been asleep.

She sucked air through her teeth. "Did I wake you?"

"Not really," he responded, rubbing his eyes. "D'you, um, wanna come in?"

"Uh, sure," she said, then stopped short. "Wait. Your parents aren't home, right?"

Hunter snorted. "As if I'd invite you in otherwise."

"Rude," she commented, pushing past him and entering the living room. It was still the same grey and white walls with modern art. Except for the warm white light in the entryway, the rest of the house was dark. There was a velvet couch and matching armchairs in front of a glass coffee table and television. A pillow and creased grey blanket lay on the sofa, as well as a pair of headphones, Hunter's phone and a notebook and pencil on the coffee table.

"Yeah, I couldn't really fall asleep," Hunter answered her unspoken question. "You know how it is." He sat down on one side of the sofa, at the foot of his makeshift bed.

"Yeah." Leah cracked her knuckles anxiously. She was still standing in the middle of the room. "Look, before you ask, I don't know why I'm here."

"I wasn't going to," Hunter replied, looking up to meet her eye. "Aren’t you gonna sit down?"

"Um, yeah," she said, slightly startled. "Where-" she stared around at the sofa and armchairs, wondering where she should sit. Hunter pointed to the other end of the sofa, looking slightly amused. "Right." Leah sat down where he'd pointed to, fiddling with her hands. Now that she was here, she had no idea what to say or do. What had she been thinking coming here late at night?

"Wanna watch some tv?" Hunter asked her casually, as if they were friends and hanging out together like this was something they did regularly.

"Y-yeah," Leah stuttered. Hunter turned on the television and started flicking through the channels. He stopped when he came across F.R.I.E.N.D.S. on one of the channels. He looked sideways at Leah and she nodded. It was the episode where they told their worst Thanksgiving stories- The One with All the Thanksgivings. The living room was suddenly starting to feel a little too dark. Leah rubbed her arms, feeling chilly all of a sudden.

"Are you cold?" Hunter asked. No action of hers went unnoticed with him.

"Kinda," she responded. Hunter shifted, picking up the blanket and laying it over her, his fingers grazing her arms lightly. "Thank you." He nodded and sat back down, away from her. Leah glanced at him, watching the colours from the television reflected on his face. She could see his collarbone and the cross necklace through the low neck of his t-shirt. "Aren't you cold, too?"

"Is this your way of asking me to sit closer to you?" he grinned.

"You're getting too cocky, aren't ya?" she replied, heart thudding in her chest. Hunter winked and scooched closer to her. Leah put the other half of the blanket over him with a shaky hand. She kept her eyes on the screen, biting the inside of her cheek. Joey was on screen with the turkey on his head. Phoebe started putting greens on the turkey so that Monica wouldn't freak out. Neither Leah nor Hunter laughed. Leah glanced at Hunter sideways, to find that he was already looking at her. "Where-" her voice sounded breathy so she cleared her throat and tried again. "Where are your parents?"

"Christmas trip," Hunter answered, his voice low. He extended his arm behind her, not touching her but close enough for her to feel the warmth from his body.

"Why didn't you go?"

"Didn't feel like it this year," he said, still watching her face intently.

"Oh." Hunter turned his attention back to the tv. Leah tried to follow his example but found herself looking over at him constantly. She buried her face in the blanket, which didn't help at all because it smelled like his cologne. She looked up again and sighed, staring straight at the tv. But she wasn't watching it. She was feeling that tightness in her chest again; it was making her want to cry for some reason. She turned to Hunter again, who was drumming a random beat against his knee. "H?"

"Mm?" he glanced at her sideways, making her stomach flutter. Leah took a short, unsteady breath, then threw her arms around Hunter. "You alright?" he whispered in her ear. Leah held him tighter, her hands fisting in his black t-shirt. She shut her eyes and put her head on his shoulder, breathing him in. She was just now realising how much she had really missed him. He stroked her shoulders and back, a gesture which had proved successful in calming her in the past.

A few seconds later, he made to move, but Leah shook her head. "No," she said. Hunter inhaled and rested his chin on her shoulder. They stayed like that for a long time. The episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. got over, and another one started. "I missed you so much. I didn't think that was possible."

"I missed you, too," he spoke against her hair. Leah finally pulled away from him, but she put her arm through his and pulled him nearer, till their knees and thighs were side-by-side.

"I know. The truth about you and Olivia," she told him.

Hunter stared at her. "What? How?"

"Olivia and I went out after Johnny's party. She told me everything."

"Wait, why? Are you guys friends?" Hunter asked, brows furrowed. His gaze when his brows were furrowed could be very intense. It made Leah's toes curl.

"I don't know. I like her, though. She seems nice," she replied.

"She is. She is to me what Zach is to you," Hunter smiled. "Although we fight a lot less." Leah stuck her tongue out at him.

"If she hadn't told me the truth, I'd still be thinking you were hiding God-knows-what from me," Leah told him. "So do me a favour and don't be mad at her."

"I think she knows what's better for me more often than I do, honestly," Hunter said.

Leah cracked a smile. "Best friends can be like that. I'm here because of Zach."

"Really? What'd he say?" Hunter questioned, surprised.

"Well, I told him and Emilia everything about what happened with us. They both had a difference of opinion, but they agreed that I should do what makes me happy."

"Are you saying you want to do me or that I make you happy?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Forgot how much I hate your guts," Leah smacked his arm, smiling.

"It's both of those, isn't it?" he asked, smiling back.

"Shut up," Leah laughed.

"I really should talk to Zach. It's been so long since we spoke," Hunter sighed.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," Leah replied.

"Are you mad? That she and I kissed?" Hunter asked, a tinge of shame shading his voice.

"Yes," Leah declared. "But she told me it was so that you could figure out how I was feeling, if I was jealous or whatever."

"Yes. But you always had an apathetic expression, so it was hard to tell," he admitted.

"You're so bloody stupid, sometimes, I swear," she sighed. "Of course I was jealous."

"Were you?" he laughed, scrunching his nose.

"Obviously" she stated. "I just wish you'd told me, Hunter."

"I wanted to, L," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "But I was dating-" he used air quotes- "Olivia since before the school year even started. I had no idea back then about what would happen between you and I. The more time passed, the more awkward it got to bring up the whole thing. So, I never did. That was wrong. I'm sorry."

"I know you are," Leah sighed too. She turned to face him again. "Boy, your hair is just so messy." She reached out and ran her hand through his hair. Hunter closed his eyes at her touch. She smoothed his hair back, leaving it the way he'd begun to style it of late. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah," he said, eyes still closed. Leah ran her hand through his hair again and rested it on the side of his face.

"Olivia said you spent the last three years regretting what happened with us in year 9. Did you really?"

Hunter opened his eyes and looked straight at Leah. "Are you kidding? Of course I did. I didn't want to do it to begin with, but I had to because of my father. Your parents already didn't want you talking to me, and you had disobeyed them for nearly a year before they found out. It was hell for you, and I figured things would be slightly easier if you had someone to blame for everything. You hated me after the video, and I don't blame you. I missed you, though. So much. So I came up with those dumb pranks as a way to stay a part of your life, so that you wouldn't forget me. I know it sounds stupid, after the hurt I've caused you, but it's true. I'm sorry, really, L, I am."

"It's not stupid, H. I know what you mean," Leah put her head on his chest. Hunter put his arm around her, stroking her back and shoulders again. Leah shut her eyes. "I'll fall asleep right here if you keep doing that."

"Then sleep," he said simply.

"Can't stay out. What if my parents find out?" Leah asked, yawning.

"Tell your sister to cover for you," he said.

"Always have an answer for everything, don't you, sunshine?" Leah sighed.

"Yeah, I'm pretty special," Hunter smiled.

"A bad influence is what you are," Leah said as she texted her sister asking her to cover for her. Lucy replied saying she would but she asked where Leah was. Leah responded with a 'will explain later' to which Lucy replied with a facepalm emoji.

"Could we go upstairs? I don't think this couch can fit the two of us," Leah said, yawning once more.

"Upstairs? To my bedroom, you mean? I'll be damned." Hunter looked down at her and raised an eyebrow.

Leah rolled her eyes. "Come on." She stood up and held out her hand. Hunter took it and got to his feet. He turned off the tv. Together, they walked upstairs to Hunter's room. Leah hadn't noticed last time, but the wall next to the staircase had multiple pictures of Hunter and his family. A couple family portraits, Hunter at 16 next to his then-new Range Rover, their cat Dusty and many more. Leah stopped at a baby picture of Hunter wearing sunglasses, grinning and giving a thumbs up to the camera. Adorable. "You used to be so cute. What happened?"

"Funny," he said humourlessly. They reached his room. He opened the door and let her pass through first, then followed her inside.

"So," Hunter began as Leah sat at the foot of his bed. "What're we doing here?" The only light coming in was from outside his window. His room was cleaner than it had been last time. No muddy football or cleats, and no crumpled-up papers. The sheets were still dark blue like last time. The fireplace had a fire going, making the room toasty warm and adding an orange glow to the darkness.

"I'm sleepy, aren't you?" Leah questioned. "Or did you think something else was about to happen?"

"No," he replied sarcastically. "Fine, let's just go to sleep, whatever." Leah smiled to herself as Hunter padded his way to the other side and flung himself down on the bed.

"You're so dramatic," Leah told him as she scooched upwards till her back was against the headboard. She stretched out her legs before her then shifted forward and lay her head on the pillow next to Hunter. His back was to her. "H." He shifted to look at her, laying on his other side so he could face her. The moonlight cast a white light over his features, making him appear pale. But he was still beautiful. “Happy birthday, Leah,” he said and kissed her with so much force that she had to pull away in barely a few seconds to catch her breath. He tasted like mint toothpaste, probably because he'd brushed earlier.

“A happy birthday indeed,” she said, impressed, and brushed a finger across her lips. Hunter chuckled. “Thanks, H.”

"I fucking missed you," he told her.

"I missed you, too. But let's take things slow this time around, yeah?"

"Slow as in like, later tonight or what?" he asked, grinning.

"Stop," she laughed, covering her face with her hands.

"We can take it as slow as you like. I'm not going to fuck it up again," he declared.

"I won't either," she agreed. “Whatever we are, we’re it together.” He smiled at her, all dimples, and she felt butterflies. She kissed him, smiling back widely. After she pulled away, she stretched out her arm and Hunter lay his head on it. He closed his eyes, shifting closer to her. Leah put his other arm around him and he smiled, eyes still shut. "Goodnight, H."

"'Night, L," he replied. In a few minutes, he was out cold. Leah smiled to herself again. This was the best birthday she'd had ever. But by being here, by doing what she was, she was making a choice. A choice that could ruin her relationship with her family and cause hurt to them. She bit the inside of her cheek and shut her eyes, breathing in Hunter's cologne, which calmed her. Sleep found her soon enough.

Chapter Text

The sun was peeking through the gaps in the blinds in Hunter's room. Leah stretched her arm out, only to find the space next to her empty. His side of the bed was already cold, so he must've been gone for a while. She immediately thought about the time that they had spent the night together at her house and the way he had left in the morning. But this was his house. Wherever he'd gone, he'd come back here. Leah pulled the duvet up to her chin, trying to retain some warmth in the bed. She reached over and grabbed Hunter's pillow, cradling it to her chest. How fucking potent could men's cologne be? Everything in his room smelled like his cologne. She sighed and threw the sheets back, along with Hunter's pillow. She checked her phone. It was nearly 7:45 already. She'd have to be home by 8:30 at most. 

Leah padded into Hunter's bathroom, which was right outside his bedroom. The interior was plain white tiles and dark cabinets. Everything was neat and orderly, a few tiny plants on some of the shelves. Leah spotted the green apple shampoo he used on one shelf and smiled to herself. She splashed some water on her face and walked downstairs. Everything was really quiet. so quiet that Leah could almost hear the noise of faraway traffic. She saw that there were string lights hung up everywhere. There was also a Christmas tree with gift boxes under it in the corner of the living room. She had been so preoccupied with her thoughts last night that she hadn't even noticed the Christmas decorations in Hunter's house from where she'd been sitting. She entered the kitchen, wondering where Hunter was. He wasn't here. The kitchen, though, was large and spacious. Lindsey had done a great job decorating the house. There was a kitchen island, spider burners, and plenty of cabinet space. Leah sighed and went back outside to the living room. She sat down on the couch, the grey blanket and pillow still there. She pulled her knees to her chest and turned on the tv, flicking through the channels.

The door opened after a few minutes. Hunter stepped in, bringing chilly air with him through the open door. He shut it hurriedly and smiled upon seeing Leah. He was wearing a grey full-sleeve t-shirt and sweatpants, along with a dark beanie. "Merry Christmas," he chirped. He was carrying a paper bag with him. 

"Merry Christmas," Leah smiled back, shutting off the tv. "Where've you been?"

"I was out on a run. Have to stay in shape even though it's the holidays," he told her, taking off his shoes. "And I got us breakfast," he said and gave the paper bag a little shake.

"Ooh, brekkie!" Leah grinned. "Why didn't you wake me, by the way?"

"I thought I should let you sleep in, since you hate waking up early on Sundays," he said, sitting down next to her and laying the bag next to her. 

"How'd you know about that?" she asked, surprised. 

"That day at the café, with the other boys from the footie team and Emilia, you said that exercise on a Sunday was crazy, so I figured," he replied. "Here." He handed her a white takeout container and a paper cup. "Blueberry pancakes and tea."

"Oh, yeah. That was, like, so long ago," Leah responded, thinking back to that day. "I can't believe you remembered my order."

"Full of surprises, aren't I?" he grinned as he picked up another container with scrambled eggs, sausages and a hashbrown, and began nibbling on the hashbrown. 

"Oh, hey, um- D'you remember what you said to me the day after we met at the café? Why'd you say that?"

"Huh? Oh, about you getting attached to people?" he asked. Leah nodded. "Forget I said that, please. I was just jealous 'cuz I thought there was something between you and Nate."

"So you were jealous," Leah sighed with satisfaction and tucked into her pancakes. 

Hunter rolled his eyes. "I'm not anymore though, since I know now that you're obsessed with me."

"'Obsessed' is a strong word," Leah scoffed. 

"Remember when I called you over to my house that night and told you to get in the closet for fun and then I opened the door and you fell out with my shirt on your face 'cuz you'd been inhaling its scent like your life depended on it?" Hunter rattled off without pausing for a breath. 

"Excuse you, that is not what happened," Leah replied hotly. Hunter raised his eyebrows at her, biting into a sausage. "Okay, that is what happened, but a gentleman would never bring it up again."

"Consider it forgotten, then." Hunter mimed zipping his mouth shut. 

"Thank you," Leah told him. 

"I'm still gonna bring it up all the time, though," he told her in a matter-of-fact way. "I'm no gentleman."

Leah scoffed, turning to him. "Wanker." Hunter simply winked at her. Leah took the takeout container out of his hand and set it and her own container on the coffee table.

Hunter stared at her. "Um, excuse me? I was eating that." 

"Say you won't mention that again." Leah turned back to him. 

"I won't," Hunter told her. "Say that I won't mention it again." 

Leah tackled him, making him lie flat on the sofa as she sat with her knees on either sides of his thighs. "Say it."

"Nope." Hunter pulled a face at her, grinning. 

"Say it," she repeated. Hunter simply shook his head. "You're gonna regret that."

"I don't think anything you do while we're in this position is gonna make me regret anything," Hunter told her, smirking. 

"Oh, really?" Leah raised an eyebrow. Hunter shrugged, still smirking. She leaned forward as if she was going to kiss him, and instead tickled his sides. Hunter squealed and giggled under her, trying to swat her hands away. "Change your mind yet?" she asked breathily as she continued tickling. 

"Fine, fine, I won't bring it up," his voice was rough as Leah sat back on her knees and looked down at him. Suddenly she was very aware of the way she was seated over him. She tried to move, but Hunter's face suddenly contorted in pain. Leah blushed, realising what had happened.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?" she asked, chewing her bottom lip nervously.

"Never better," he replied. His beanie had fallen off while he'd been struggling to avoid her tickling him, and his messy hair was now making a dark halo around his head. He stared at Leah, breathing hard. His eyes were green as ever, flecked with brown and gold, dark eyelashes casting long shadows across his cheekbones. His lips were pink and soft, nose adorable and boop-able as always.

"You're beautiful," she told him after a few seconds, her mouth slightly open as she gazed at him in awe. 

Hunter grabbed her waist and pulled her flat to his chest so that they were face-to-face. Leah exhaled in surprise, propping herself up on her elbows over him. She could feel his warm breath on her face. "I'm what?" 

"Beautiful," Leah repeated, her breathing quickening as Hunter chuckled gruffly and put his mouth to hers. Leah kissed him back, her hands snaking into his hair. 

"Does this count as taking it slow?" Hunter asked breathily after a few seconds.

"I don't care," Leah told him, kicking off her socks.

"If you're sure," he said. She nodded, reaching over to take off his t-shirt.

"Is the sofa really the best place to do this?" she asked hoarsely as he pulled her hoodie off of her. 

"I don't care," he echoed, watching her undo the drawstring of his sweatpants. 

Best not to go into detail about what happened next. 

"I'm starving," Hunter said about a half hour later as he pulled his clothes on. 

"You should be." Leah grabbed her pyjamas off the floor. She had left her house in her sleep clothes last night. "You just ran a marathon." 

"I did," Hunter smirked as he reached for his takeout container. Their food had gone cold long ago, but they ate it anyway.  

"I know I already told you this, but I missed you so much," Leah told Hunter as she stood up to leave. It was nearly 8:30.

"Me too," Hunter replied, putting his arms around her. Leah put her head on his shoulder, breathing him in again. She had missed being close to him, maybe a little too much. She put her arms around his waist, thinking bout how she always had to get on her tiptoes to hug someone taller than her, like Zach. But Hunter leaned down for her. "I missed you more, though."

"Doubt it," Leah grinned as she pulled away from him. 

"I'm sorry I didn't get you a gift for your birthday," Hunter said, biting the inside of his cheek.

"Are you mental? This was honestly one of the best birthdays and best weekends ever, and you made it that way by just being there," she told him. 

He grinned at her. "Go. I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Oh, I'm in plenty trouble already, mate," she grinned back. He proper started laughing, a sound which Leah hadn't heard in what felt like years. Leah couldn't help but laugh too. "Why are we like this?"

"Like you said, whatever we are, we're it together," Hunter told her, a trace of a smile still on his lips.

"I'll see you soon, yeah? I'll text you," she told him as she opened his front door. He grinned at her again, all dimples, making Leah's heart rabbit. She wished she could just stay wherever he was and never leave his side, but of course, she had to go back home. 

"Go," he said, stretching the O. "Your parents will be up soon."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going," Leah sighed, jogging down the front steps of his house. "Bye."

"Bye," Hunter told her, pouting. 

"Don't pout, you frog. You'll make me stay again and I don't think you could handle a round two right now," she told him. 

Hunter barked out a surprised laugh. "Yeah, I need to hydrate."

"Go on, then. Hydrate. I'll see you soon," she told him, smiling and turned around before he could answer. If she stayed, she'd never leave. 

Leah ambled down the street, smiling to herself as she thought about Hunter. All the houses in their neighbourhood were decorated for Christmas, with different coloured lights and lawn ornaments of various shapes and sizes. Leah looked around at all of the houses, wondering who would have won the 'Best Decorated House' in their neighbourhood. They used to have a competition in their neighbourhood, but it had been discontinued a few years ago because people had complained that they were spending too much on neighbourhood activities.

Leah felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw a text from Lucy. 'Would you be able to get home any time soon? I fucked up.' Leah texted her back saying she was on her way. She ran the rest of the way, mind teeming with questions. 

She skidded to a stop in front of her house. Her father had found the time to put up lights and some decorations some time in the last week. Maybe he had his assistant do it. Leah had no idea. She could hear faint arguing from inside, making her even more anxious. She ran up the front steps and rang the doorbell, shifting from one foot to another impatiently as she waited for someone to open the door. A few seconds later, Lucy opened the door, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

"What's going on?" Leah asked, stepping inside and staring at the scene in the living room. There were half-opened presents strewn around the living room and under the Christmas tree. Leah was a little hurt that they had opened the presents without her. A classic Christmas movie was playing on the tv, but it was muted and no one was paying attention to it. Her parents were seated next to each other on the sofa, stern looks over their faces. "What's going on?" Leah repeated when nobody answered her. 

Lucy sucked in a deep breath and cleared her throat, despite which her voice sounded hoarse. "Mum and dad found out about me and Zach."

"Okay? I don't see the problem," Leah replied, looking at her parents. Her mother simply scoffed. "You guys like Zach, right? What's the issue here?" Lucy began to speak, but her voice broke and she could barely get any words out. "What did they say to you that's making you cry so much?"

"They want us to break up," Lucy choked out, sinking into an armchair. 

Leah blinked, confused. "Mum, dad, you guys like Zach. Why is it a problem if he and Lucy are going out?"

"Zach is your friend, Leah. Of course you think he's a good match for Lucy," her father told her, peering at her over his glasses. "But he isn't the right choice for your sister."

"What? Why?" 

"He's too old for her," Diane stated. 

"What're you talking about?" Leah gaped at her mum. "He's turning 18 in a few weeks and Lucy will turn 17 next year. He's barely a year older than her."

"He's also a bad influence," Simon told her. "I know he's your friend, but he smokes too much."

"Yes, I've seen him smoking near the school," her mum shook her head disapprovingly. Leah's heart was slamming inside her chest. What if they found out that she smoked too?

"But that doesn't mean Lucy's gonna start smoking and stuff. He would never force her, he's not like that," Leah protested.

"Honey, you can handle yourself around such people. You're smart like that, but Lucy," her dad shook his head. Lucy looked up, a hurt look crossing her face.

"What the f-" Leah stopped herself. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"She's still young," Diane replied. "She's too young to be dating in the first place, let alone dating someone like Zach."

"'Someone like Zach'? Are you serious?" Leah scoffed. 

"Look, Leah if you're not going to say anything useful, you can just exclude yourself from this conversation," her mother snapped. "And where have you been? You just got home."

"I was out on a run," Leah lied hastily. In her hurry to get home, she'd completely forgotten that she would've had to sneak back in through her window.  

Diane narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything else about it. "Regardless, Lucy shouldn't be with Zach."

"Mum, she's nearly 17 years old, she can make her own choices. Zach is an incredible person. You were the one who said that he was a nice boy," Leah reasoned. 

"As a friend to you, Leah," her mother told her in her lawyer voice. It was the voice she used to explain overly complicated legal concepts to her clients in a simple way. To Leah, that voice often seemed slightly condescending. 

"She should be able to date whoever she wants," Leah said, heart beating a mile a minute. She was also thinking about herself and Hunter while stating this. 

"You both shouldn't be dating anyone at all," Simon sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "You're just too young."

Leah scoffed again. "I'm not as young as you think, dad. You and mum haven't been around much these last few years, but we're almost adults. Hell, I am an adult."

"What do you mean by saying we haven't been around much, Leah?" her mother demanded. "What're you trying to say?"

"Leah, don't drudge up all this right now," Lucy whispered. 

"No, let's talk about it," Simon declared. "What did you mean, Leah? Are you trying to say we don't pay enough attention to you both?"

"Forget it," Leah sighed and turned around to go upstairs. 

"Leah Winslow Turner, get back here," her mother's voice thundered from behind her. Leah stopped dead in her tracks, heart pounding. She turned around slowly and walked back to the living room. 

"Do you think you can gang up on us and try to make us feel badly?" Simon glared at Leah and Lucy. 

"I swear to God, these kids think they know everything," Diane rolled her eyes. "One day in the real world and they'll understand how good they have it."

"Exactly. They're lucky to grow up this comfortably. They don't have to stress over anything," Simon agreed. Leah couldn't help but laugh.

"You think we've nothing to stress out over?" she fired back. "Did you even stop to think that stress is what makes me and Zach smoke?" She clamped a hand shut over her mouth. "Oh, shit. I didn't-"

"What did you just say?" Diane stood up and crossed the living room in two short strides to stand directly in front of Leah. Her mother's eyes were now stormy gray, like dark clouds before heavy rain. "Did you just say that you smoke as well?"

"I-I just-" Leah stuttered. Her forehead was now starting to sweat.

Diane glared at Leah. "Well?"

"I- I do smoke," Leah stammered, staring at her feet.

"Why the fuck would you smoke? What the fuck has you so 'stressed'?" Diane roared. It was the first time Leah had heard her mother swear. But she didn't stop to think about it. 

"You're not serious, are you, mum?" Lucy murmured, staring from their mum to Leah. 

"What's got me stressed? I'm in my last year of school, mum!" Leah exclaimed. "I've got a million things to think about, and it doesn't help me when you and dad argue every goddam minute of every day!" Her voice grew considerably louder as she reached the end of her sentence. "You both are never home. And when you are, all you talk about are your fucking jobs! You couldn't even celebrate your anniversary like normal people! You had to turn that into a business opportunity, too!" Leah glared at her parents. 

"There's just some things that you don't understand, Leah. You'll realise when you're a grown up," Simon told her, his voice level, despite the look of disbelief on his face after being spoken to that way. 

"Grown up? A fucking grown up?" Leah thundered. "I've always been a 'grown up'! Who do you think comforted Lucy when she cried about your fighting? When she cried over school and friends? Do you even know what happened? What about when I've had my own problems? You don't even know what's going on in either of our lives! Why do you think we feel the need to hide whatever is going on in our lives from you? For all the shit that you've said about Zach, one thing you don't know is how close he is to his parents. Hell, I'm closer to them than I am to you! Lucy and I had to be there for each other, because you were never there for us. We've had to do everything you both were meant to, because you were so fucking busy working." 

"'You've always been a grownup?'" Have you now? Don't think we've forgotten about your little adventure with Hunter Stevens from year 9, Leah. Is that something a 'grownup' would do?" her mother asked snidely. 

Leah felt like she'd been slapped. "Mum, I-"

"No, go on. Tell me more about why you're an adult," her mother sneered. "You really don't understand anything, do you?"

"Don't talk down to me," Leah fumed, her anger returning with a fervour. "Don't tell me that I don't understand, because I understand more than you think. You always expect us to behave like adults but you treat us like children anyway. Neither of you are there for us. Ever. You're always so busy, you've forgotten we exist." Leah was crying now. 

"Leah," Simon said, his voice cracking halfway through her name. "I-"

"No, dad. This isn't the time." To Leah's surprise it was Lucy who had spoken. She stood up, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and pulled Leah into a hug, patting her back, while their parents were rooted in place, too shocked to even speak. She pulled away from her sister and turned to their parents. "Mum, dad, like Leah said, I'm almost 17 now, and I think I can make my own decisions about who I want to go out with. I'm going to keep seeing Zach. You both need to get used to the idea of me and him as a couple. Or not, because with the way things are going with you two, I'm pretty sure Leah and I are going to move away soon and live our own lives," Lucy said, staring their parents straight in the eye. Leah gaped at her sister. "Leah and I are going out for breakfast. You two can unwrap the rest of your gifts without us."

"Girls-" Diane began sternly, but Lucy waved her hand and cut her off. 

"No. I'm done listening to you," she stated. "Come on, Leah," she told her sister, taking her hand and walking towards the door. "Oh, and we're taking the car." Lucy snatched up the keys without waiting for an answer. 

Leah felt dizzy as they walked out to the car. Lucy had said out loud what Leah spent the last so many years thinking. She couldn't even remember what exactly she herself had said. Had it even been a good idea to unload all this onto her parents? Had they even listened to what they had said? Sure, they'd heard them. But had they listened? 

"Leah? Are you good to drive?" Lucy's voice asked from somewhere next to her. Leah blinked a few times, realising she was now slumped against the driver's side door of the car. 

"Yeah," she replied, her voice almost barely audible. Lucy tossed her the keys after pressing the unlock button and went and sat in the passenger seat. Leah glanced back at the house once, wondering why their parents hadn't followed them to the door to stop them or something. She cleared her throat and got into the driver's seat. Leah put the car in gear and pulled out of the driveway, watching the house disappear behind them in the rearview mirror. 

Chapter Text

Leah drove for about 20 minutes, till they were far from their house. She was sure they both needed to get as far away from home as they could. It was quiet in the car. Leah glanced sideways at her sister. Lucy was staring out the window, fiddling with her hands. Leah wanted to say something, reassure her, tell her everything would be okay. But she didn't know that it would. 

Being able to drive again was so nice. With her mum using the car all the time and her dad having his company car, there was no chance for Leah to drive. Her mum's car was old, a manual shift, but Leah loved it all the same. She had missed being behind the wheel, the feel of the open road in front of her. The streets weren't especially crowded today, since most people were at home with their families for Christmas. She pulled off to the side of the road and parked near a breakfast joint. 

The sisters got out of the car and walked into the restaurant. There were wooden tables and chairs inside, arranged in two rows in front of a long counter. Christmas decor- wreaths, lights, stockings, candy canes, decked every surface. A few people, mostly truck drivers and the like, sat at some of the tables, which had stockings hanging off the side and a tiny Christmas tree in the little tray that held the salt, pepper, maple syrup etcetera. Leah and Lucy walked to the last table on the right. "You can get whatever you like. On me," Leah told her sister. "I still have some cash leftover from last night."

"Thanks," Lucy smiled at her. She ordered a plain waffle and tea. Leah only ordered a coffee since she was still full after eating at Hunter's. They sat in silence as they waited for their order. Leah drummed a random beat on the wooden table in front of her, not knowing what to say to her sister. The tear tracks on her sister's cheeks weren't that obvious at first glance, but Leah could still make them out. Leah was about to say something, but the waitress appeared with their food. Lucy broke the silence after the waitress left, spreading a dollop of butter on her waffle and pouring maple syrup on it. "Where were you last night?"

"Um," Leah bit her lip nervously, not knowing how her sister would react. 

"Leah. Were you with Hunter?" Lucy asked. 

"Yeah," Leah sighed. No point in lying now. And besides, she shouldn't be keeping things from her sister anymore. "I was at his house."

"You have a problem," Lucy stated, shaking her head. "Why can't you just stay away from him?"

"I love him, Lu," Leah told her.

Lucy gaped at her. "Are you fucking kidding me?" she asked, her voice loud enough to make some people turn around and stare. "Sorry. But seriously. What the fuck? Are you for real?"

"Yeah," Leah nodded. "I told Zach and Emilia about it and they said I should do what makes me happy. He makes me happy."

"So you did him?" Lucy wrinkled her nose in disgust. 

Leah let out an exasperated sigh. "Why does everyone take it so literally?"

"Well? Did you?" Lucy raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah," Leah gave in. "This morning. And once before. Not counting year 9."

"Gross," Lucy declared, making a gagging noise. 

Leah whacked her arm. "As if you're so innocent."

Lucy scoffed, feigning a look of being offended. "How dare you?"

"Please," Leah rolled her eyes. "Zach told me all about you guys." Zach hadn't actually said anything. Leah was just teasing her sister.

"He did?" Lucy gaped at her. "Why would he tell you about it? That night in his car was-"

"His car?" Leah stared at her. "The same car he uses to pick me up for school?"

"You said you knew! Why're you surprised?" Lucy asked, confused.

"I was clearly lying!" Leah exclaimed. "In the CAR?"

"Don't knock it till you try it," Lucy shrugged. 

"Yuck," Leah groaned. "When?"

"I dunno, a few weeks ago?"

"So I've already been in that car after- oh, disgusting," Leah made a sour face. 

Lucy stuck out her tongue at her sister. "So, did you tell Hunter you love him?" 

"Not yet. I think it's too early," Leah admitted. 

"Good call. Don't want to scare him away," Lucy nodded. 

"Lucy." Leah put away her empty coffee mug. "What happened with mum and dad?" 

Lucy set down her cup of tea, half empty. "I was in the kitchen, talking to Zach on the phone. I wanted to see him, but I knew that mum and dad wouldn't let me go out on Christmas morning. So I called him up to wish him a merry Christmas and mum and dad overheard me."

"I'm sorry," Leah told her sister. "They can be really overbearing."

"Yeah, then they started saying everything they said to you about him. I just couldn't take it, y'know? Zach is someone who means a lot to me, just like he does to you. I didn't want to sit there and listen to them."

"I don't what's gotten into them recently," Leah added thoughtfully. "They usually love Zach!"

"I can't believe they turned on him so quickly," Lucy shook her head. "I also can't believe mum didn't think something stupid like Zach forcing you into smoking."

"That would actually be crazy. As if he'd be capable of doing that," Leah scoffed.

"Also, mum found out you smoke. You're screwed," Lucy told her.

"Fuck, I know. I have no idea what she's going to do. It's not like she can say anything that can make me stop immediately, though," Leah stated.

"I can't even imagine what you went through with them finding out about the video and Hunter," Lucy shook her head. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you then."

"Well, I wasn't exactly sister of the year either. Imagine what would happen if they found out the truth about what led up to the video," Leah replied. "Or about him and I now."

"God. Please don't ever tell them. Wait till school is over and you move away for uni," Lucy said.

"You'd have to be alone for a year with them," Leah reminded.

"I can handle it," Lucy affirmed, picking up her cup of tea. "I know they think of me as the kid, but I've grown up."

"I know," Leah smiled at her sister. "You've grown up a bit too much, though. Still can't believe you had sex in a car."

"Twice," Lucy peered at her over her cup of tea. 

"Bloody hell," Leah exclaimed. "Anyway. I just wanna say that I'm lucky to have you, Lu. I don't know what I'd have done if it was just me and them."

"I'm glad I have you, too," Lucy smiled and put away her cup, finally empty. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"How come you've forgiven Hunter after everything?" Lucy asked.

"He explained things to me, about back then and stuff right now that I had no idea about, like his dad, Olivia and everything else," Leah replied.

"Who's Olivia?"

"His girlfriend."

"What the fuck?" Lucy gaped at her sister. 

"Oh, I'm sorry," Leah said. "I meant his 'girlfriend.'" She used air quotes.

"Every time I think I understand your relationship with him, something like this pops up," Lucy said, looking tired. 

Leah quickly explained everything that Hunter and Olivia had told her. "It's all for show."

"This is too complicated," Lucy declared. "As long as you're sure about this, do what you will."

"I think I am sure. It's just," Leah inhaled, thinking about Hunter's pink lips, his green eyes and long lashes, his messy hair, the cross necklace, and almost sighed out loud. "I don't know how to put it into words."

"I get it," Lucy smiled, probably thinking of Zach.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Leah questioned. Lucy nodded. "D'you know Daniela? The one who's going out with James?"

"Oh, yeah, Daniela Simms," Lucy recalled. "What about her?"

"D'you know how they started going out? Remember Kirsten? She's mad at me because she thinks I introduced them," Leah told her.

"Daniela asked him out, if I'm not wrong. But it was James who made the first move," Lucy added.

"Wait, are you sure?" Leah asked. It seemed that Kirsten had always had a thing for James, but it would crush her if she knew that James had hit on Daniela first.

"Yeah. I overheard Daniela telling someone about it at a party," Lucy replied. "Why exactly is Kirsten mad though?"

"Well, my guess is that she's jealous of Daniela and wanted to ask James out herself," Leah sighed. "Thanks."

"So, are you gonna talk to her?"

"Yeah, I'll most probably see her at the New Year's Party anyway," Leah said.

"Wait, you're going?" Lucy questioned. "What about mum and dad?"

"What about them?" Leah countered, smiling. Lucy smiled back. 

"I don't want to go home," her sister put her head on the table. Leah reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. 

"I know it sucks, but we need to show them that we really are grownups. Plus we've yet to deal with the consequences of leaving while mum was yelling at us and taking the car out. We have to take responsibility," Leah said. 

"I'm sorry your birthday ended up being like this," Lucy looked up.

"The birthday part wasn't that bad actually," Leah admitted. "Yesterday with my friends, last night and this morning with Hunter- it was a really good day, to be honest."

"Still. Even Christmas should be a happy event, but now we've got to go deal," Lucy sighed.

"I'm with you, okay?" Leah smiled encouragingly, even though she herself was terrified of what her mother would say. Leah paid the bill and the two of them walked outside. It was chilly, Leah decided, as she pulled her coat tighter around herself. She was still disappointed there was no snow, though. Christmas meant snow. But she doubted even that would make her feel better. She had just come from Hunter's place, and still she knew that the only thing that would help was seeing him. 

But that would have to wait. 

Leah and Lucy got into the car. Leah put the car in reverse and backed out of the parking lot, then drove towards their house. Lucy was looking out of the window at the restaurants and shops that flew past them as the car sped past. For some reason, Leah felt like smoking, even though she had just been reprimanded by her mother for it. Her hand reached towards her pocket, but she stopped. Lucy was also in the car. Leah shouldn't smoke with her here. But her sister seemed to have noticed her movement. 

"You want a smoke, don't you?" Lucy asked. Leah shrugged. Lucy cracked a smile. "You've got Zach's habit of smoking while driving. Go on, I don't mind."

"You sure?" Leah questioned. Lucy nodded. "For the record, I'm the one who gave him that habit. But I don't get to drive as much these days," Leah said, pulling out her pack of cigarettes and her lighter out of her pocket. She put one in her mouth and lit it. 

"Zach gave you that, didn't he?" Lucy asked, pointing at the lighter.

"Mm? Oh yeah." Leah smiled as she took a drag and exhaled. "He really means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

"He's my favourite person." Lucy smiled, staring off into the distance, clearly thinking about Zach. Leah smiled too, and didn't say anything else that would disturb her sister. Leah focused on the road ahead of her, mind drifting to Hunter, as it so often did these days. 

They had already reached home when Leah broke out of her thoughts. That was negligent driving on her part, but hey, they were alive and the car was no worse than it had been before. The sisters walked up the front steps of their house, Leah bracing herself for whatever big speech her mother had planned, and rang the doorbell.

Simon opened the door and hurriedly ushered the girls in, shutting the door to keep the cold out. Leah looked around for her mother and spotted her in the kitchen, cooking away. 

"Um-" Leah began, not knowing where she was going with that.

"Listen, girls, we'll talk about it later. Do you remember your great auntie Sylvie?" Simon questioned.

"The cat lady who smells like asparagus?" Lucy said. Leah stifled a laugh. 

Simon sighed. "Yes, her. She's coming to stay with us for a few days."

"What?" Leah gaped. "But why didn't you tell us before?"

"I just found out myself. She just phoned us to let us know."

"That's not fair," Lucy complained. 

"Since we don't have enough room to accommodate her, you two will have to share rooms. Leah, Auntie Sylvie will stay in your room," Simon said. 

"Fine," Leah groaned. She would have to take down all the birthday decor Zach and Emilia got for her and hide her cigarette packets and lighter. Auntie Sylvie was a very conservative old lady who did in fact have a lot of cats and did smell like asparagus. Nobody knew how old she was. Leah only remembered that Auntie Sylvie had looked exactly the same for the 18 years that she had known her.

"How long till she gets here?" Lucy asked.

"She'll be joining us for lunch," Simon answered. "Let's try not to discuss... our issues in front of her, okay?"

"Got it, we're not gonna talk about stuff. Again," Leah muttered. 

"Try not to piss off your mum while auntie Sylvie is here, alright? You know how she can get," Simon sighed. "Leah, that means no coming home smelling like cigarettes, okay? She just yelled at you for it."

Leah blinked and cleared her throat. 'She' had yelled at Leah, not 'we.' "Right, yeah."

"Okay, now go upstairs, clean up and come downstairs to help your mum," Simon instructed.

The sisters nodded, trudging up the stairs slowly, Leah wondering if her father's words meant he wasn't mad at her anymore. 

Chapter Text

Leah cleaned up her room as best as she could, stuffing the balloons and streamers in her closet. Then she got dressed, wearing a proper dress, one of the ones she'd gotten for her birthday. It was light blue and satin-y. She knew it would compliment her eyes. She took her time doing her makeup, too. Aunt Sylvie always gave her a hard time about not dressing well. Leah usually retaliated in some way, like wearing basketball shorts under a dress or neon socks, but she doubted she could muster up the strength to do any of that today. 

Leah went back downstairs after putting an air mattress in Lucy's room for later. She and Lucy helped their mum with lunch, which was roast chicken, mash, gravy, steamed vegetables and some apple pie for dessert. Aunt Sylvie's cab dropped her off outside the Turners' house soon and Leah and Lucy went to receive her and help her with her many bags. Leah silently wondered exactly how long she was going to be staying for as they walked across the lawn.

"You've grown up so much," Aunt Sylvie said to Leah and Lucy as they walked up the steps. Aunt Sylvie looked like she always did. Shoulder-length gray hair styled in tight curls and a blouse with a knee-length skirt with a beige overcoat. 

"Well, the last time we saw you, Aunt Syl, was about three years ago, so yes, we've grown," Lucy replied. Leah shot her a look, hoping Aunt Sylvie wouldn't think it rude. Sylvie laughed. 

"It may have been three years, dear, but you're just as sharp-tongued as ever," Sylvie said, pulling Lucy's cheek. Lucy smiled good-naturedly. "Leah, darling, you look so pretty!"

"Thanks, Aunt Syl," Leah smiled.

"At this rate, you'll have a huge line of boys trying to court you," Aunt Sylvie went on. "Have you found anyone that interests you, dear?"

"No, not yet," Leah lied, shooting Lucy a look when her sister opened her mouth to say something.

Once they brought Aunt Sylvie's bags inside, Leah's parents chatted to her for a bit, then invited her to lunch in the dining room. Lunch was boring, Aunt Sylvie was telling them about some limited-edition coins or something she had started collecting. Leah was barely listening. Hunter had texted Leah while Aunt Sylvie was talking, asking her what she was doing. Leah wanted to reply but she didn't want to risk it in front of her parents. Her mum had not said a single word to her or Lucy even in front of Aunt Syl. 

After lunch, Aunt Syl went upstairs to Leah's room to take a nap. Leah, now locked out of her room, had no idea what to do. She went to Lucy's room to see what she was doing. She was on the phone with Zach, relaying the events of today morning to him. Leah thought it best to leave them alone. She changed out of her dress into jeans and a sweater, leaving the makeup on. She went back downstairs to the living room where her mum was watching the news. Leah's dad was in the kitchen, getting a glass of water. She went into the kitchen. 

"Hey, dad," Leah said.

"Hi, honey. What're you up to?" he asked, rinsing his empty glass and putting it back on the shelf.

"Nothing, actually. There's nothing to do. Aunt Syl locked me out of my room."

"Well, I was about to go shopping for dinner tonight. Your mum has a huge list of things to buy," Simon told her, pushing his glasses up. 

"She's still mad at me, right?" Leah asked. 

"She just needs some time," Simon answered. 

"But you're not? Mad, I mean," she said, not meeting his eyes.

"No," Simon answered after a few moments. "Well, not for Zach, anyway. The smoking? Yes."

"I don't smoke that often. It's just the only thing that seems to calm me down sometimes," Leah replied truthfully. 

"It's still not good for your health, dear," Simon replied. "You need to find some other way to relax."

"I know. I will," Leah replied, thinking of Hunter and almost blushing.

"Good," Simon smiled. "I want you to know that I care, alright, about whatever is going on in your life. You can tell me if you want to talk about it. I realise that your mum and I have been a bit distanced from you both because of work, but honey, I care. I do."

"Thanks, dad. That's really good to know."

"And listen, about Zach... I know he's your best friend and of course I like him. He's a great lad, he's always there for you when you need him, and I'm glad he's part of Lucy's life, too. I think I was just initially upset about having to think of my daughter as someone who's dating, you know? She's my little girl, and so are you. I just want you both to be happy."

"So you're saying you'll be okay with whoever we decide to date?" Leah teased, still thinking of Hunter.

"Maybe not immediately, but yes. Like I said, I just want you to be happy," Simon smiled.

Leah smiled back. "Now, just tell all of that to Lucy as well, and you're golden. She's probably still upset."

"I will, I was about to go talk to her just now. Just give your mother some time, okay? She'll come around. We both want the same thing, and that's for you to be happy," Simon said. Leah nodded. "You can do the grocery shopping if you like. You can take the car."

"Okay, I'll do it," Leah grinned. "Thanks, dad." Leah got her overcoat, took the car keys and shopping list from her dad and went out to the car. It was around 3 in the afternoon and it was cold outside, but there was no snow. She got in and decided to ask Hunter if he'd be willing to go with her. She took her phone out and texted him, then pulled out of the driveway and drove around the block once while she waited for him to reply. His reply came soon, though, she was only a few houses away from hers. She pulled over to the side and picked up her phone.

'I'm at the school. Come pick me up. x,' Hunter had replied. Leah started at the 'x' and blushed, biting her lip. She put the car in gear and drove off to the school. She wondered what he was doing at the school on Christmas Day in the cold. Once she was there, she cut the engine and texted Hunter that she was outside. She didn't go in and park because she wasn't even sure if the parking lot was open during the holidays. She couldn't see a single car in there. 

Leah saw Hunter up ahead near the school's boundary. He was using the break in the fence to leave the school. 

Leah drove up to him slowly and lowered the passenger side window. "Are you not supposed to be here?" Hunter turned around and smiled after seeing her.

"Leah, hi," Hunter chirped. "You look really pretty."

"Thanks, H," Leah smiled at him. 

"I was here for football practice, actually," he opened the passenger side door and got in. "Didn't want the lads to see us together, so I thought this was a better way to exit." He was wearing black sweatpants and running shoes with a dark hoodie and beanie. His hair was spilling out of the beanie from the sides and his face and lips were pink from cold. "Weird-" he began, but Leah cut him off with a kiss. His lips were cold but Leah didn't care. Hunter leaned into the kiss, smiling. "You really can't control yourself around me, huh?" he smirked, pulling away a few seconds later.

"I will if you keep saying shit like that," Leah told him and drove away from the curb. 

Hunter pulled a face at her. "I was saying it's weird to see you behind the wheel. I had forgotten you could drive, actually."

"Worried I'll crash the car and your face won't be as pretty anymore?" Leah asked.

"You think I'm pretty?" Hunter questioned, feigning sounding hopeful.

"Oh, yeah. Just look at you," Leah answered honestly. Hunter smiled at her, all dimples, and Leah felt her heart rabbit. "So, did you have enough time to hydrate after today morning?"

Hunter chuckled. "I did. That was a wild ride."

"You're welcome," Leah smirked at him sideways. Hunter laughed again.

"Where did you say we're going? Grocery shopping?" he questioned after a few seconds.

"Uh huh," Leah replied and told him about Aunt Sylvie. 

"I'm so glad I'm home alone for Christmas. I had cereal, ice cream and peanut butter for lunch," he told her. Leah raised her eyebrows at him. "It's a better combination than it sounds, trust me."

"I'll have to take your word for it. I'm driving to the grocery store just outside of town so that nobody we know sees us," Leah said. Hunter gave her a thumbs up and turned on the radio. 

"Wait, I need to tell you something," Leah interjected, turning the radio down. She relayed the event of this morning to him. 

"All of that happened after you left this morning?" Hunter questioned. Leah nodded, shifting the car to neutral as they waited at a red light. "Sorry, but how the fuck can your mum even think of Zach like that? I thought they'd think he was perfect."

"Every time I spoke about him, my mum would say he'd such a nice boy and everything, but to suddenly find out that she really thinks this way about him was crazy. Dad's not mad, though. He said he just wants me and Lucy to be happy," Leah added. 

"That's good that your dad isn't mad," Hunter nodded. "Listen, I was thinking I should go talk to Zach. Would you come?"

"I think it'd be better if I wasn't there, y'know? So that you both can clear the air alone," Leah replied, putting the car in gear again as the light turned green. "But it's cute that you want me there."

"Of course. 'Cuz you make me feel better," Hunter mumbled.

"What was that?" Leah asked, genuinely not having heard him as she was focused on taking the right exit to the grocery shop.

"Nothing," Hunter replied, clearing his throat. "Can I drive on the way back? I've never driven a manual."

"You've never driven a manual?" Leah looked over at him incredulously. "You're definitely not driving this car then."

"It can't be that different now, can it?" Hunter questioned.

"Nope, you're not driving. There's an entire pedal here that you've never used," Leah gestured to the clutch with her free hand. 

"If the parking lot is empty, you're letting me at least try," Hunter countered. There were in clear view of the grocery store parking lot now, which was actually empty save for one or two cars. Leah rolled her eyes at Hunter. He hit her with his signature frog-faced pout and Leah had to give in.

"Fine. After shopping. And you're paying me for any damage you do," she told him. Hunter grinned at her again as they got out of the car. He jogged around the parking lot, kicking at an imaginary football with his feet again. "I'm dating a six-year old," Leah sighed as she watched him score an imaginary goal. 

"I think that's illegal," Hunter chimed in, jogging back to her as she entered the store. The cold blast of air after the door opened whipped his hair around his face. "Also, are we dating?"

"Aren't we?" Leah questioned as she got a shopping trolley. The entire store was full of Christmas decor. Every time Leah forgot it was Christmas, she was reminded of the fact by such decorations. 

"Are we?" Hunter responded, scrunching his eyebrows together. 

"Are you scared?" Leah asked in a patronising tone as they walked toward the vegetable aisle. 

"No," Hunter replied. "Just curious. Because if we're dating, I can do this," he said, grabbing hold of her and pulling her closer by the waist. "And this," he added, planting a small kiss on her lips. Leah looked up at him through her lashes. "And-" he began, his breath almost ragged.

"We can't do that here," Leah shook her head. 

"No, we can't." Hunter cleared his throat. "Olive oil," he said, looking down at her list, and then grabbed one of the bottles off the shelf. Leah chuckled and they moved on to the next item. 

Shopping with Hunter was fun. He did a lot of random things just to entertain Leah, like juggling with tomatoes and tossing packets of lentils into the trolley from afar. This was the most fun Leah had had while shopping in a long time. She also loved just being able to walk next to him or when he touched her hand or held it without thinking twice about it. 

"Should I get those? I'm running low." Hunter pointed at a packet of condoms when they walked past the health and wellness isle. 

"Yeah, why don't you? That's exactly what my dad gave me money for," Leah replied teasingly. 

"You're mean today," Hunter decided as he pushed the trolley away. Leah laughed and followed him to the checkout counter. After paying the bill, the two of them stepped out and loaded up the groceries in the car. "I believe you had promised to let me try to drive a certain car."

"No one likes when you talk like that," Leah groaned. "Takes you forty years to finish a sentence."

"Stop avoiding the topic," Hunter raised his eyebrows and held his hand out for the keys. Leah scowled at him and dumped the keys in his hand. 

"You're doing every single thing as I say it," Leah told him as she got into the passenger seat and Hunter got in the driver's seat. "Okay, adjust your mirrors, put on your seatbelt and everything, then turn on the car." Hunter did as he was told. Leah put the handbrake down. "Now press the clutch in completely, don't let go, and put the car in first gear. No, Hunter!" Leah exclaimed as the car shuddered and shut off. "You let go of the clutch too early."

"Okay, so this is a little tougher than I estimated," Hunter stated, restarting the car. He pressed in the clutch and put the car in first gear. "Now what?"

"Start letting go of the clutch very slowly and start pressing the accelerator at the same time," Leah instructed. "Slower," she added. Hunter smirked slightly. "Oh, get your head out of the gutter. I know what you thought about," Leah chided him. He chuckled as the car started forward. The car was really old, so it picked up speed very slowly. "Keep accelerating, then when the car has picked up enough speed, shift to second gear. Be careful with the clutch."

"I'm doing pretty well, aren't I?" Hunter questioned as he shifted to second gear. He turned when they reached the edge of the parking lot. 

"Actually, yeah," Leah said. "It took me weeks to get accustomed to the clutch."

"And I was able to do it in less than five minutes," Hunter grinned, clearly proud of himself.

"Just another reason I hate you," Leah smiled sarcastically. Hunter blew her a kiss and Leah rolled her eyes. He drove around the lot for a few more minutes then parked near the exit. 

"This was fun," he told her as they got out of the car and switched seats.

"It was, yeah," Leah smiled as she adjusted the seat and mirrors and then exited the lot. The sun was sinking lower and lower towards the horizon as they drove back home, casting a golden light inside the car. Leah glanced over at Hunter, his hair almost glowing gold in the light. 

"Should we just keep driving?" he asked, getting a faraway look in his eyes.

"Where would we go?" Leah questioned. Her mind was already full of images of her and Hunter alone in some city where nobody knew their names. They would only know each other in that sea of strangers. There would be no responsibilities or obligations to their families weighing down on them. They could just be themselves.

"Anywhere. Just away from here," he responded. "I quite literally have no one waiting for me at home tonight."

"If we're stealing a car, might as well take yours. I don't know how far this one can get us," Leah joked. 

"I'm not kidding, L," he turned to her, expression serious. "We could leave right now."

"As much as I'd like that," Leah reached out and touched his cheek. The burden of responsibilities weighed down on her shoulders again. "We can't. I can't leave my sister. And what about school?"

Hunter laughed. "Just like you to think about school at this moment."

"Also, it's a little obvious if both of us disappear at the same time, no?" Leah asked. Hunter nodded, biting the inside of his cheek. "Tell you what, we're graduating in a couple months anyway, right? How about then?"

"I like that," he grinned at her. Leah smiled back. They were already outside the school.

"Do I drop you off here or at home?" Leah questioned.

"Here's good. We shouldn't risk it, your parents could see us," he replied. "Plus, practice is still going, so I should get back." Leah parked by the curb and cut the engine. "I wish you didn't have to go."

"Me too. Aunt Syl hasn't been here even one day and I'm already stressing out," Leah sighed. 

"It's going to be okay." Hunter put his arms around her and pulled Leah into a hug. She buried her face in his shoulder, the smell of his cologne enveloping her senses. Hunter kissed her cheek softly. "I'm only a phone call away."

"Thank you," Leah whispered, pulling away a few moments later. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You won't have to find out," Hunter told her. 

She smiled at him. "I'll text you tonight. Come over."

"What about your parents and Aunt Syl?" Hunter asked. 

"Kind of don't care about them at the moment, but we'll be careful," Leah replied. 

Hunter grinned at her. "See you tonight then." He opened the door and turned to get out of the car. Leah grabbed the collar of his hoodie and pulled him back into the car, pressing her lips to his. Hunter chuckled softly and kissed her back. "Think I was right about you not being able to control yourself around me," he said as Leah pulled away. 

"Consider your invite to come over tonight cancelled," Leah told him.

Hunter laughed as he stepped out of the car. "You're just scared of my candor."

"What's scary is your inability to talk like a normal teenager," Leah answered.

Hunter laughed again. "I'll see you tonight." Leah grinned at him as he shut the door and jogged backwards, winking at her, then ducked under the broken fence of the school ground and disappeared. 

Chapter Text

Leah drove back to her house and brought the groceries in, feeling chipper because she had just seen Hunter. Her mother talked to her as much as she would've talked to a delivery person who had delivered her the groceries. To be fair, her mum would probably have chatted to the delivery person more, because Diane pretty much ignored Leah as she deposited the bags on the dining room table. Leah wasn't expecting her mum to be normal towards her so soon, but it still stung. She clenched her jaw to keep herself from saying something, or worse, crying, as she went up to Lucy's room. Leave it to her mum to ruin her good mood. 

"Hey," Lucy said as Leah entered the room. She was lying on her back on the bed, feet up against the side wall. It looked somewhat cleaner than the before, the wrappers and other trash gone. But Leah knew her sister well enough to know that that trash was just stuffed into a drawer somewhere. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I was just with Hunter so I was happy, but the second I got home, my good mood was ruined because mum is still ignoring me." Leah plopped down on the bed next to Lucy. 

"Yeah, mum hasn't spoken to me either," her sister told her. "How was it with Hunter, though? What did you do?"

"Dad asked me if I wanted to go grocery shopping and I said I did and I asked Hunter to go with me. It was really fun," she answered. "By the way, are you planning on going to see Zach tonight?"

"Oh, not really. Figured we should slow down a bit after this morning. Don't wanna risk getting caught or something. I've said my piece to mum but who knows how long she'll take to get used to the idea of him and I." Lucy sighed. "Why?"

"I wanted to see Hunter tonight, but if you'll be here then I can't call him over. I forgot I was bunking with you while Aunt Syl was here," Leah told her. 

"Go to his place then," Lucy suggested.

"Yeah, I will. His parents aren't home, so that'd be better anyway," Leah agreed. 

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "What're you two planning on doing?"

Leah rolled her eyes. "You need to get your head out of the gutter. Everyone keeps thinking such thoughts."

"It's just the way you word your sentences that makes me think this way," her sister responded. Leah smacked her arm lightly. 

"Did dad come to talk to you?" she questioned.

"He did. Wish mum was as understanding as him." Lucy exhaled softly like she was tired. It had been a long day, after all.

"She'll come around, just give her time," Leah said, registering the words herself, too. 

The door opened and Simon poked his head into the room. "Dinner's ready, girls."

The sisters made their way downstairs for dinner. Aunt Sylvie was already seated at the dining table, table napkin tucked into the collar of her blouse. She looked like a toddler. Leah tried to stifle a laugh. She sat down at the table opposite Diane, who only glanced at her once, distastefully, almost, with her cold, grey eyes. Usually, when her mother was mad at her like this, Leah would have a smoke after going back upstairs, but just thinking about smoking while Diane was three feet away from her made Leah shudder. She averted her eyes, biting the inside of her cheek, damn near feeling shameful and guilty. 

Aunt Syl was talking about how television used to be back in her day. She trailed off a lot of times and went off topic as well, as Leah had noticed most older people tended to do. She also told them about the housemaid they had at that time, for some reason, and there was mention of a black pudding recipe, too. Diane and Simon chatted to Sylvie about some of the things she mentioned. Leah pretended to listen with interest, while actually thinking about seeing Hunter later. Lucy mostly stared into space and poked at her food.

Finally, after everyone had finished dinner, Aunt Syl, Diane and Simon went to the living room for some TV. Leah and Lucy both slipped away on the pretense of homework, which surprisingly worked since they were on break right now. Once upstairs, Leah texted Hunter telling him that she would come to his place once again and the reason for it, to which he responded with 'hahaha okay x,' which made Leah smile. 

"Hey, I think I'll go see Zach first," Leah told Lucy after a second. "Haven't spoken to him since last night."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Tell him I say hi," Lucy replied.

"You know you can just text him, right?" Leah asked. 

"Yeah, but it's fun thinking of him smiling when he hears my name." Lucy grinned. 

Leah rolled her eyes, smiling too. She thought it'd be best to tell her dad she was going out, rather than face the consequences for sneaking out. She didn't want to go downstairs and see her mum and Aunt Syl too, so she just texted her dad she was going to Zach's house. Her dad answered her back soon, saying she could go and to be back early, unlike today morning. Leah thanked him, surprised he knew she had been out all night, but didn't ask him anything about it. It was about 9pm, so Leah decided to go see Zach now so she would have enough time to meet with Hunter, too. She texted Zach to meet her at the park in ten minutes. 

Lucy's room didn't have access to the roof, nor was there a ladder propped up outside her sister's window. That meant she would have to use the front door. After changing into a jumper and pyjamas, Leah made her way downstairs. She could see her mum, Aunt Syl and her dad in the living room, still watching TV. Leah waited till her mum and Aunt Syl were engaged in conversation and then shot across the hallway to the front door. She opened and shut the gate outside carefully, slowly, so that she wouldn't make too much noise. Once out of the house, Leah breathed a sigh of relief at not getting caught by her mum. She made her way to the park and went to the play area. She knew Zach would be there, she didn't have to text him and ask if he was here. 

Sure enough, once she entered the play area, she spotted Zach sitting on one of the swings. He was wearing a black t-shirt and red sweatpants, dark hair pulled back in a hairband. His eyelashes cast long shadows on his cheekbones which were covered in light stubble. He looked up as he saw Leah enter and stood up. Leah walked up to him and pulled him into a hug. 

"I know you heard about today morning from Lucy, so I just wanted to see you," Leah said after she pulled away from her friend. They both sat next to each other on the swings, the way they had for years and years past. 

"How is she doing?" Zach asked, swinging back and forth with tiny steps, just like Leah was doing. 

"Dad spoke to her, so she's feeling better. It's just mum who's taking longer to come around," Leah replied. "Lucy says 'hi,' by the way."

Zach smiled, looking down. "Tell her I say 'hi,' too."

"You both know that mobile phones and texting have been invented, right?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows.

Zach just chuckled. "Lucy did tell me about what happened, but she was so outraged with your mum that most of it didn't even make sense."

Leah recapped the events of that morning for Zach, the way she had done for Hunter a few hours ago. "Lucy was surprisingly brave this morning, towards the end of the fight. I froze up when mum found out about me smoking."

"Oh, yeah, that couldn't have been pleasant." Zach grimaced. "You'll have to be cut down on smoking now."

"Fuck that, I need a smoke," Leah said, nudging Zach with her elbow so that he would give her a cigarette from his pack. Her own pack and lighter were tucked away in Lucy's sock drawer at home.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want her to think I forced you or something," he said. 

"The way mum's been shooting me cold looks is just making me itch to smoke." Leah sighed, exasperated. "And if she thinks you forced me to smoke, she needs to realise that I'm an adult now and I do as Ii please." 

"If you're certain." Zach nodded and handed her a cigarette. He lit it for her with his black lighter, then lit one for himself. Leah always thought his lighter was cool; it had a flaming skull on it. But then again, the pink one he had given her was pretty cool too. It had a silver smiley face with x's for eyes on it. 

"I don't know what is up with mum lately. And the way she just threw the Hunter incident in my face today, questioning if that was what an adult would do." Leah shook her head, exhaling smoke. 

"You know, sometimes parents have trouble thinking of their kids as adults who have their own lives. They're so focused on wanting to protect you and be with you every step of the way that they forget that sooner or later, there's going to be parts of your life where they can't be with you. They can react to that in many ways. Maybe the reason your mum, let's say reminded you, to put it nicely, of that incident to show you that you still need her," Zach told her, taking a drag of his cigarette. 

"That's putting it too nicely." Leah scoffed. "That's really insightful, though, Z. Never thought of it like that."

"Well, not to brag, but I'm not that daft." Zach smiled. 

Leah laughed. "No, you're not. You're always great in situations like this. Like my dad said, you're always there when I need you and I'm glad you're part of Lucy's life, too."

"Your dad said that?" Zach raised his eyebrows in surprise. Leah nodded. "Man, I'd make a good son-in-law."

"Oi, mate, that's my sister you're talking about marrying." Leah smacked his arm lightly. "If you think I'm gonna make that easy on you just because we're friends, you're wrong."

Zach laughed. "We'll see about that." Leah scoffed, smiling. "How are things with Hunter, by the way?" he asked, readjusting his hairband. 

"Good." Leah smiled. "We're together."

"Cheers, mate." Zach grinned, raising his fist to bump with hers. "Did you see him today?"

Leah nodded and told him about going grocery shopping that afternoon. "I had fun with him, like the old days."

"Well, you were having a lot of 'fun' with him, even in the old days," Zach said, giving her a meaningful look. Leah raised her eyebrows, feigning shock and smacked his arm again. The both of them laughed. 

"It's nice just talking about shit like this." Leah sighed, content. Zach nodded, smiling. 

"Are you coming to New Year's at Nick's place, by the way?" Zach asked. 

"Of course. Still don't know how he's throwing another party so soon after his birthday."

"Well, I don't care. As long as there's alcohol and weed, I'm set," Zach replied.

"We need better weed, though. It wore off too quickly last time," Leah told him. 

"No compromises for New Year's," Zach agreed. 

"I should get going. I've to go see Hunter," Leah said after a few seconds. 

"Okay." Zach stood up, grinding the rest of his cigarette under his shoe. Leah did the same, then smacked his arm a third time, not lightly, suddenly remembering something. "Ow! What'd you do that for?"

"That was for having sex with my sister in the same car you pick me up in," Leah told him. 

Zach laughed. "Happened twice, just for your information." He pumped his fist in the air. 

"You two deserve each other." Leah shook her head, then laughed. "See you soon, Z."

"See you." Zach grinned at her. Leah set off in the direction of Hunter's house, while Zack went back to his place. 

Leah texted Hunter to let him know she was on the way. She was walking quickly, eager to see him. She reached his house in a few minutes, and jogged up the front steps. She rang the doorbell, tapping her foot nervously. The door opened after a few seconds. There stood Hunter, wearing an apron over his clothes, flour smeared on his face. 

Leah raised an eyebrow. "Auditioning to be the Pillsbury doughboy?"

Hunter furrowed his brows, looking down at his clothes. "What're you talking about?"

"Nothing." Leah tried not to smile as she used the sleeve of her jumper to wipe the flour off his face. "Can I come in?"

"Right, of course," Hunter stepped back to let Leah pass through. The living room still had the Christmas decor from this morning, and the grey blanket and a pillow were still on the couch. "I'm just in the middle of making dinner." He walked into the kitchen, Leah right behind him.

"Need help?" she asked. 

"Don't take this the wrong way, but not from you," Hunter said. The kitchen island was a mess, with various bowls containing dough, grated cheese, spinach and mushrooms. There was also some light jazz playing through the speakers. 

"Excuse you?" Leah scoffed. 

"Everyone knows you suck at cooking," Hunter told her in a matter-of-fact way. 

"I do not suck at cooking," Leah exclaimed.

"I could have died of salmonella from the chicken cacciatore you made in year 7," Hunter replied. 

"Hey, it's been five years since then, so of course I've improved," Leah declared. "Besides, you're being dramatic, it wasn't that bad." She rolled her eyes.

"'Wasn't that bad?'" Hunter raised an eyebrow. "I think there were still bits of ice in that chicken, because it never fucking thawed."

"Well, you're still alive, aren't you?" Leah asked. Hunter shrugged. "Then it wasn't that bad."

"You'd think differently if you were my stomach," Hunter grumbled, returning to kneading some dough. 
 
"What're you making?" she asked, making some space for herself on the kitchen island and getting on her tiptoes to sit on it. She kicked her feet, dangling them mid-air. 

"Ravioli," Hunter replied. 

"From scratch?" Leah questioned, eyes wide. "That's crazy."

"I've done it before," he replied. "Unlike some people, I'm good at cooking."

"You may be good at cooking, but you're shit at modesty," Leah replied. Hunter pulled a face at her. 

They continued talking as Hunter cooked and Leah watched him. Hunter made her taste the sauce and filling he had prepared for the ravioli. Leah had to admit, it tasted incredible. He really was good at cooking then. 

"You just have to be good at everything, don't you?" she narrowed her eyes at him. "Football, studies, cooking and even driving a manual, which you learned way too quickly."

"Don't forget breaking and entering into the school, making your life miserable for three years and being a complete idiot because I couldn't figure out how I felt about you or how you felt about me," Hunter responded. Leah chuckled. 

"Well, to be fair, we can be idiots, sometimes. I can't believe how much time I wasted denying how I felt about you," Leah told him. 

"It just came out of nowhere, to be honest. Hit me like a lightning strike," he said, glancing over at her and smiling. She smiled back. Hunter divided the ravioli between two plates. Leah had eaten already, but the ravioli was so delicious that she had to eat some. They chose to eat in the kitchen itself rather than at the dining table. Hunter sat next to Leah on the kitchen island, both of them kicking their feet in the air as they talked and ate. Leah practically polished her plate clean. 

"You're an incredible cook," she told him, pecking him on the cheek.

Hunter grinned at her. "Thanks, Turner."

"Come on, let's clean up," Leah told him, hopping off the kitchen island. 

"'Clean up' and you?" Hunter asked, eyebrow raised. "You're probably the messiest person I know."

"I might have an aversion to cleaning, but you don't," Leah replied. Hunter smiled and hopped off the kitchen island. She gathered up all the vessels that had been used and put them in the sink for Hunter to wash and then wiped the counter and kitchen island clean with a flannel. 

"Let's go upstairs," Hunter said after leaving the dishes on the drying rack. "I've got something to show you." He left the kitchen and went out to the living room to go upstairs.

"Um, are you saying what I think you're saying?" Leah asked, following him outside. 

Hunter turned around and pulled a face at her, walking backwards. "You've got a dirty mind."

"Funny how you know exactly what I was thinking if you haven't got a dirty mind, too," Leah responded. 

"Touche," Hunter agreed, picking up his grey blanket off the sofa. Leah looked at their family photos along the staircase again as they walked upstairs. 

"I'm sorry, I just have to take a picture of this," Leah said, stopping on the stairs and pulling out her phone to take a picture of the photo of baby Hunter in sunglasses she had seen yesterday. 

"He had style." Hunter nodded with a serious expression on his face. "Need those sunglasses back. Not that we'll need them much in this town."

"Less sunlight doesn't mean no hangovers," Leah reminded him. "Also, who needs style when you look as good as you do?"

Hunter raised his eyebrows. "Did you drink some truth serum or something?"

"Arrogant as ever, I see," Leah stated. 

"That I am," Hunter said with a satisfied smile. Leah chuckled. They went upstairs to the second floor where Hunter's room was. Leah turned to open the door to his room, but Hunter shook his head and instead pulled down the ladder that led up to the attic. He climbed up it and into the attic and then held out a hand for Leah. She climbed up the ladder and took his hand so he could pull her up. Leah had not known what to expect in the attic; she'd thought it be dingy and dusty, but it wasn't. Yellow string lights, like the ones in Leah's room were put up on the wall closest to them, casting a warm yellow glow about the room. The roof of the attic was slanting since they were right under the roof of the house. There were boxes stacked against the far wall, all neatly labelled and taped up. 

"Never thought I'd say this, but this attic looks really pretty right now," Leah said. 

"Well, I didn't bring you here to show you all this old crap," Hunter told her. He laid out the grey blanket on the floor of the attic then stretched on his toes, fingertips scraping the sloping roof. He opened a latch and part of the attic roof now allowed them to look up at the night sky. 

"You have a skylight?" Leah questioned, eyes wide. She sat down on the blanket which she now realised Hunter had placed right under the skylight. 

Hunter chuckled and sat down next to her, their shoulders and knees touching. They sat and stared in silence at the little sliver of dark blue sky with a smattering of white stars through the dim beam of moonlight that shone. Hunter broke the silence after a few minutes, expression serious. "Years ago, you, me and Zach used to hang out at your house because we could sit out on the roof all night. I wanted something like that of my own after everything went to shit, so my dad had this skylight made for me. I used to come here a lot initially, in year 10, but then I kind of forgot about it because of footie and studies and everything. But then this year, after we kissed out on the roof of your house, I suddenly felt like coming back here. Since then, I've been coming here a lot. After we broke into the school, after you spent the night with me, after we fought about Olivia, after you kissed me at Nick's party, after we decided to stay away from each other, and after what happened at Johnny's party."

"Boy, you come out here a lot, huh?" Leah said, uncertain of what to reply because of the grave look on his face. 

"I did. I know you sit out on your roof often, and I guess laying on the floor here and staring up at the same stars you might be looking at, too, just made me feel connected to you, even when we didn't think so at the time," he told her. Leah smiled at him. "I'm glad we're up here. I missed looking at the stars with you."

"That's a beautiful sentiment, H," Leah kissed the corner of his mouth softly. "I missed doing that, too." Hunter smiled at her and rested his head on her shoulder. Leah put her arms around him, pulling him closer and holding him tight with both her hands, afraid, for some reason, as if he'd slip through. They sat there a while, as Leah played with Hunter's hair, catching a whiff of his green apple shampoo every now and then. She never wanted to move. "Can I ask you something?" 

"Yeah," came his voice. 

"What brought on everything you said just now?" she said.

"You know how it is with us. I lose myself and become part of you," he replied. 

Leah smiled in disbelief at his words, almost unable to process them. It was like he had put words to every feeling she felt about him. He knew exactly what she was feeling, because he felt it, too. This was it. She had to tell him. "Hunter, that's exactly what I've been wanting to say," she whispered in his ear. "I love you."

And just like that, he slipped through. Hunter stiffened in her arms. He had been relaxed a few seconds ago, but now his body had gone rigid. He propped himself up to a sitting position, shrugging her arms off him. Leah couldn't see his face; his back was to her. Only a slice of moonlight shone down on the both of them as the seconds ticked by. Leah's heart rate was skyrocketing; it was now awkwardly quiet. Hunter cleared his throat. "Yeah, um, thank you." He cleared his throat again. "Let's go back downstairs," Hunter stated and stood up without waiting for a reply. He disappeared down the ladder, leaving Leah by herself. 

She blinked hard, not being able to comprehend what had just happened. Clearly, she had been wrong. Why had she even thought to mention 'love?' Wasn't what he had said enough?  Why did he respond in the manner he did? Thank you? Leah got off the floor and climbed down the ladder. Sitting there alone with only her thoughts for company would drive her crazy. 

Hunter wasn't at the bottom of the ladder. He had already made his way downstairs by the looks of it. Leah padded downstairs, unsure of what to expect. Hunter was stood at the bottom of the stairs, pinching the bridge of his nose, like he was fed up or something. Maybe that was just Leah's imagination.

"H? Are you okay?" Leah asked when she reached the bottom. 

"Fine," Hunter replied a little too quickly. 

Leah stood in front of him. She reached out to touch his shoulder and was glad when he let her. "Listen, about what I said up there. I meant it, but that doesn't mean you need to say it back right away."

"It's not about that," he replied, looking away from her. 

"It's not?" she questioned, surprised. 

"No." He shook his head. "Wanna watch tv?"

"Wait. You're not gonna tell me what just happened?" she asked. 

"Nothing happened, L. I'm fine," Hunter said, walking into the living room and plopping down on the sofa. "Tv?"

"You know what, I should go. I promised dad I'd be home soon," Leah replied through gritted teeth. 

"Okay, suit yourself," Hunter told her. "See you soon."

"Yeah," Leah said, almost scoffing. She slammed his front door shut loudly, exasperated as she stepped out into the cold. What the hell just happened? 

Chapter Text

Leah walked to her house, her breath fogging in the cold. The neighbourhood looked very pretty, with the Christmas decor lighting up the whole street. But Leah didn't care about that right now. She didn't know what to think about what had just happened. Like she had told Hunter, she could understand if he wasn't willing to say the words back immediately, but then leaving the attic like that and not even giving her a reason for it just reminded her that their previous fights had also been because he was unwilling to just talk to her about stuff. She texted her sister to ask if their parents and aunt Syl were asleep and waited outside while she got back to her. Once Lucy texted her yes, Leah opened the front gate and walked up the steps and waited for her sister to open the door. 

The door opened, dim light spilling onto the front steps. Lucy ushered Leah in and shut the door behind them quietly. Lucy was wearing red and black pyjamas and a black t-shirt, dark blonde hair ruffled. 

"Thanks for letting me in," Leah said. Lucy nodded and the both of them padded up the stairs quietly.

Once they were in Lucy's room with the door shut behind them, Lucy turned to Leah. "How was it? With Hunter?"

Leah kicked off her shoes and plopped down on Lucy's bed. "I don't know. I think I might have fucked it up."

"What? How come?" Lucy asked, sitting down next to Leah.

Leah raised her head slightly to look at her sister. "I might have done something I thought I wasn't going to."

"Did you sleep with him again?" 

"Lucy, no! I'm being serious." Leah sighed, laying her head back down on the bed.

"What did you do?" Lucy asked, scooching closer to Leah. 

"I might have told him that I love him," Leah told her in a small voice. 

"YOU WHAT?" Lucy exclaimed, her grey eyes going wide. 

"Keep your voice down," Leah hissed. "It's not that big a deal. Right?"

"Um, it's a huge deal," Lucy retorted. "What the fuck were you thinking?"

"I don't know," Leah groaned. "It seemed like the perfect place to say it." Leah described everything leading up to that moment. 

"Okay, it does sound like he was building to saying that. What did he say in reply, though?" Lucy asked. 

"He said 'thank you,'" Leah said, covering her face with her hands. Lucy let out a giggle, then two. "Lucy Charlotte Turner, how fucking dare you?" Leah sat up and glared at her sister. 

"I'm sorry," Lucy snorted. "Did he seriously say 'thank you?'"

"Yeah. Then he went downstairs and said he was fine when I asked if he was okay, then asked if I wanted to watch tv," Leah said, lying back down on the bed again. 

"Seems to me like things got too real for him," Lucy commented. "Maybe he got scared."

"That's what I thought, so I told him that even though I meant what I'd said, he didn't have to say it back immediately, and he assured me that it wasn't about that," Leah told her sister. "God, why did I say anything at all. I shouldn't have said it."

"Look, it's okay. At least you put yourself out there," Lucy acknowledged. 

"Yeah, but for what? Now he knows, sure. But what if he doesn't feel that way about me?" Leah whispered. 

"How can he not? He's pretty much been obsessed with you for three years," her sister replied. 

"What, all those pranks? He said he did that so that I wouldn't forget about him," Leah responded. Lucy tilted her head slightly and raised her eyebrows, almost looking exasperated. "You think that was because he liked me?"

"Maybe. No one spends three years crafting elaborate pranks like that for no reason," Lucy stated. 

"Ugh, I don't wanna think about all this right now," Leah groaned. She pulled a pillow over her face. 

"You should go to sleep," Lucy suggested. 

"Yeah, probably," Leah agreed, voice muffled under the pillow. She felt her sister lie down next to her. It was a good thing Lucy's bed was bigger than Leah's, because the both of them would never have fit on Leah's bed. She definitely wasn't going to spoon with her sister like she had with Hunter. Ugh, Hunter. Leah almost groaned.  Lucy turned out the lights after a few seconds and Leah felt the room go dark. The sisters lay in silence, Leah still having the pillow over her face, lashes brushing against the pillowcase. In sometime, she could hear Lucy snoring lightly. 

Leah wanted to sleep, she really did. She could feel the tiredness from the day weighing down on her, but the second she closed her eyes for longer than a blink, she could see Hunter pulling away from her embrace and leaving her alone in the attic. She sighed softly, pulling the pillow off her face and staring up at the ceiling. The headlights from occasional passing cars cast slanting shadows over the walls. The clock in Lucy's room ticked. Leah tried counting the seconds to fall asleep, but nothing seemed to help. At a time like this, she would have smoked, but she couldn't go out to the roof from Lucy's room, and she wasn't going to smoke with her sister in the room. 

Leah checked the time. It was three-thirty in the morning. She had gotten home almost four hours ago. Even though she hadn't wanted to think about Hunter, she couldn't help but wonder what he was doing right now. Was he asleep or was he having trouble sleeping like he usually did, or like she was having today? Was he outside in the living room or upstairs in his room? Leah exhaled softly. If he was asleep, he had probably been listening to music. Leah decided to do the same. She got her phone and earphones out and put on her playlist of One Direction songs. Louis' sweet voice and Harry's deep voice, paired with Zayn and Liam's high notes and Niall's Irish accent always made Leah feel better. She lay listening to their songs, trying not to move too much as she bopped her head to the music, so as not to wake her sister up. Leah was really missing being in her own room right now. She would have loved to have a smoke and listen to the boys while sitting out on the roof. But most of all, right now, she wished Hunter was here with her. She knew she would have fallen asleep quickly holding him.

Three hours and a lot of songs later, Leah was still awake. She had almost fallen asleep a couple times, but when Lucy kicked her in the shin more than once, Leah gave up trying to sleep and went to sit at her sister's desk instead. Among, piles of papers and notebooks, and mostly trash, Lucy had three picture frames on her desk- one of her, Leah, and their parents on vacation in Valencia two years ago, one of her and Leah at the park when they were kids with blonde pigtails that had now darkened, and one of her and Zach at the skating rink. She stared at the picture of Lucy and Zach then decided she should ask him and Emilia what to do about the whole H situation. Leah texted on her, Zach and Emilia's group chat asking if they were free later that day. She knew neither of them would respond for a few hours; it was six-thirty in the morning so they were both definitely asleep.

Leah's throat felt dry, she hadn't had water in a long time. She went downstairs to the kitchen, earphones still in. She walked in and was surprised to see her dad in the kitchen. "Jeez. Didn't expect to see anyone in here." She took out her headphones.

Simon was making some toast and eggs. "Good morning, dear. Nice to see you up this early. Want some breakfast?"

"Morning, dad. I actually haven't slept yet, so..." Leah trailed off. 

Simon raised his eyebrows. "Did you just get home? Because I told you to be back soon last night."

"No, no, I got home last night itself. I just couldn't fall asleep," Leah said, rubbing her eyes. 

"When did you get in?" Simon asked, plating his toast and eggs.

"I don't know, around midnight or maybe a little bit before that?" Leah got some water out of the fridge and poured it into a glass. 

"So how was it with Zach?" Her dad sat down at the dining table. 

"Good, we had a nice talk," Leah answered, sipping her water. 

"Did you guys talk for that long?" Simon questioned. "Nearly three hours?"

"Yeah, we had a lot to talk about, y'know," Leah responded, biting the inside of her cheek. She set her glass down.

"Really? Then why did I see Zach walking home at about ten last night, when I went to put the garbage out? You weren't with him," Simon told her. 

"What?" Leah blinked, caught off guard. 

"Leah, I know you didn't spend all of that time with Zach. I know you were with this other person on Christmas morning and the night of your birthday, too," her dad said. 

"I- I-," Leah stuttered, heart hammering. Clearly, he'd caught her. 

"Honey, are you seeing somebody?" Simon asked after a few seconds. Leah bit her lip, unsure of whether or not to answer. "Look, I meant it when I said I cared about what was going on in your life. If you're seeing somebody, you can tell me. I won't be mad," Simon added, seeing the look of uncertainty on Leah's face. 

"Are you sure?" Leah asked in a small voice. Simon nodded. Leah took a short breath. "It's Hunter. Stevens."

A beat of silence. "Stevens?" Simon questioned. Leah swallowed hard and nodded. "Isn't he dating the Knightley girl?"

"It's just to appease their parents, they're not really together," Leah answered. Silent seconds stretched into silent minutes. Leah stood motionless, staring at her feet, heart pounding.

"How- how long have you been seeing him?" her dad asked. His breakfast lay in front of him, getting colder and colder.

"It's complicated, but things changed between us around the start of year 12," Leah said, still not meeting her dad's eyes. 

"The day of the Realtors' Association Awards?" Simon asked. 

Leah nodded. "I know what happened in year 9 was embarrassing to the family and everything, but he's changed since, and so have I," she told her dad. Simon said nothing. "Are you mad?" Her dad didn't respond; he was staring at the dining table.

"Leah, this is a lot to process," her dad said after sometime. 

"Are you gonna tell me to break it off, dad?" Leah asked in a small voice, biting her lip. Simon didn't answer her again. "I love him."

"You do?" Simon asked a few seconds later, looking up at her. Leah nodded again. "Are you happy now? With him?" Simon questioned.

"I am." Leah smiled. 

"Then don't break it off with him, dear." Simon smiled back. "If you'd told me two days ago, I definitely would've told you to stop seeing that boy, but the way we handled things with Lucy has made me realise that all that matters is that you girls are happy. And if you say you're happy, then I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, dad." Leah beamed at her dad.

"This whole business with the Knightley girl sounds complicated. But as long as you're sure about him, as long as you know what you're doing, I'm happy for you."

"I think I am sure," Leah nodded. "It's just taking some time to break down our walls."

"Such things take time, dear. Listen, I know it might not sound ideal, but you can't tell your mother. She won't be as understanding," Simon said.

"I know. I wasn't planning on telling her," Leah answered. "Or you, to be honest."

"I'm glad you were able to trust me with this. I'm so sorry I made you feel like you needed to hide this from me. If you need anything or if he hurts you in anyway, you let me know and I will make that boy regret he ever laid eyes on you, but for now I'm happy you're happy," Simon told her. 

"Thank you so much, dad," Leah said, almost choking up. Simon stood up and hugged her, patting her back. "I'll make sure this doesn't interfere with your work."

"Thank you, honey," Simon told her. "I'm just disappointed that I didn't take it as well when Lucy opened up about Zach."

"At least you went and talked to her afterwards. That was really nice of you. But mum hasn't spoken to either of us since last morning." Leah sighed.

"Give your mum some time. It took me some time, too, to come around to all of this, so just give her some time," Simon told her. Leah nodded. 

"Why're you eating breakfast this early, though?" Leah asked. 

Simon looked down at his plate, as if just now remembering he had made breakfast. "I have an early morning meeting to get to. I didn't want to bother your mum."

"Will you be back for lunch?"

"Yes. You should go to sleep, dear, yesterday was a tiring day for all of us," Simon told her, taking a bite of his toast. "I'll make sure your mother doesn't wake you girls up early."

"Thanks, dad. For everything," Leah told him, smiling, and walked back up the stairs to Lucy's room. 

Once upstairs, Leah lay back down next to Lucy. She was so happy now that her dad knew and was actually okay with her seeing Hunter. She could barely comprehend the fact that that had actually happened. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest. But the way she and Hunter had left things last night was still bothering her. She decided to text him, to ask if he could see her later today. Somehow she knew the answers to her earlier questions- he was awake, most probably lying on the sofa in his living room and listening to music. 
 
'Hey. Can we see each other later today?' Leah texted him. 

His reply came within a minute, disheartening Leah. 'Don't think so. Parents coming back home this afternoon.'

'Oh. Okay.' Leah chewed her bottom lip, wondering if she should try to take the conversation forward. But before she could arrive at an answer, Hunter texted her back. 

'How come you're up this early?' he asked. 

'Never went to bed,' she answered. 

'Old habits die hard, huh?' he responded.

'I guess. How come you're awake?' she questioned. 

'Trouble sleeping, plus nervous about seeing mum and dad after so long,' he replied. 

'Hmm. Good luck,' she texted after a second, not sure what to say.

'Thx. Try to get some sleep, tho. Goodnight, Turner. xx'

'Goodnight, H,' Leah replied. She stared at the 'xx,' feeling more conflicted than before. Maybe Lucy was right, maybe he'd just gotten scared before. But she wouldn't know till he opened up to her, and that, in her experience, was a difficult thing for him to do. 

Chapter Text

Leah was woken up by the sound of the blender going at about 2pm. Lucy wasn't in bed next to her, Leah assumed that she had woken up before her and gone downstairs. Leah was honestly surprised that her mum had let her sleep for so long. She showered and went downstairs. Aunt Syl and Diane were sitting in the living room watching television. 

"Hello, dear," Aunt Syl greeted Leah. "You're finally up." Syl was wearing another blouse and knee-length skirt. Leah wondered how many of those she had. 

"Yeah, hi. Had a lot of schoolwork last night," Leah replied. 

"They're running you school kids ragged these days. You need as much rest as you can get," Aunt Syl agreed. 

"Yes, thank you. Hi, mum." Leah glanced over at Diane, who was wearing a grey jumper and jeans, hair tied in a bun and legs pulled up on the sofa. Diane smiled at Leah, mostly for Syl's benefit, because it was clear to Leah from the way that her mother had smiled that she was still mad. Leah just smiled back as best as she could and walked to the kitchen. Simon and Lucy were seated at the dining table. Lucy had a glass in front of her, of what Leah assumed was cold coffee. Simon was having lunch- grilled chicken breast and a side of vegetables. 

"Hi, honey," Simon said when he saw Leah enter the kitchen.

"Hey. Morning," Leah replied. 

"Left some cold coffee for you in the fridge," Lucy told Leah as she sipped her coffee. 

"I love you," Leah said to her sister and went to get the coffee.

"Boy, those words just fly out of your mouth, don't they?" Lucy asked, half-muttering.

Leah stuck her tongue out at her sister, hoping her dad didn't catch what Lucy had said. She set the glass of coffee to her lips, practically chugging it in one go. She then served herself some lunch and sat down next to her sister. "How come mum and Aunt Syl aren't eating with us?"

"Aunt Syl wanted to eat early, around noon, so your mum ate with her to keep her company," Simon answered. Leah was a bit surprised, because Syl was Simon's great aunt, and Diane had always been somewhat averse to spending time with Simon's family, especially alone. 

Leah's phone chimed. She looked down at it between mouthfuls of chicken; she had woken up really hungry.

'Wanna go bowling?' Zach was asking on his, Emilia and Leah's group chat. 'We can ask Nate, Caleb and Lucy as well.'

 Leah thought about it for a moment. She had wanted to talk to Emilia and Zach alone about the whole Hunter thing, but she felt like they'd probably be tired of hearing about her problems with Hunter. That probably wasn't true, they had listened to her talk about him for nearly three hours and not been fed up. Leah probably was just fed up of having problems with Hunter.

'Sure thing. When?' Leah replied. 

'Meet at mine at 3?' Zach asked. 'We can go together.'

'Sounds good. Text Nate and Caleb, I'll ask Lucy.' 

"Wanna go bowling?" Leah asked Lucy. "Zach, Emilia, Nate and Caleb are coming, too."

"Okay," Lucy replied, grinning at Leah. 

"Be back in time for dinner though, girls," Simon told them. "I already don't think your mum liked you being out when a relative is with us, Leah."

"What does she like these days?" Leah muttered. "Yeah, we'll be back in time," she said, louder this time. 

"Can we take the car?" Lucy asked Simon. "I like Leah's driving."

"Okay," Simon agreed. "Be nice to each other."

Leah finished her lunch quickly and she and Lucy headed upstairs to change. Leah put on a black tank top and grey hooded jacket with jeans and did her makeup. Lucy wore a beige jumper with 'New York City' written in black on it with sweatpants. Leah realised that this was the first time that Lucy would be with her when she went to hang out with her friends. A few years ago, Leah would not have been willing to let Lucy come along, but now that the sisters were on better terms, she was glad Lucy was coming along. 

"What?" Lucy asked as she pulled on her shoes. 

"Huh?" Leah said, coming back to reality.

"You were staring and smiling. Very creepy" Lucy commented. 

"Oh. Sorry," Leah replied. "I'm just glad you're coming with me."

"I'm glad, too. I get to meet your friends and Zach's." Lucy smiled. 

"Come on, we should get going," Leah told her. The girls went downstairs and put on their coats; it was quite chilly outside and flurries of snow were expected in the evening. Simon once again reminded them to be back in time, Aunt Syl said she wanted to spend some more time with them tonight, and Diane said nothing. Leah had been hoping for a goodbye, at least, but her mum showed no indication of wanting to talk to her or her sister. 

Leah and Lucy were going to the bowling alley with Zach; they would meet the others there. Leah was really grateful that Lucy had asked Simon if they could take the car, because she did not want to be in Zach's car after hearing about what they had done in there. The sisters hurried to the car and got in, to get away from the cold. Even though it was only around 3pm, it was already quite dark. The Christmas decor of the houses shone bright against the grey sky. Leah turned on the headlights on dipper and put the car in gear. She drove to Zach's and pulled up next to the curb and honked twice. In a minute or two, Zach opened his front door and jogged out the car. He was wearing a knitted black jumper and blue jeans and a dark coloured overcoat. He got in the front seat; Lucy was sat in the back. 

"Hi." He turned and leaned over to the backseat and pecked Lucy on the lips. 

"Hey. You look great," Lucy told him, reaching out and running a hand through his hair. 

"Thanks, love. You look great, too, as always," Zach told Lucy and winked at her. 

"Can you, like, spare this car from your gross coupley-ness, or is that too much to ask?" Leah asked, feigned a look of disgust. 

Zach laughed. "Hello to you, too, Leah."

She rolled her eyes. "Hi." She pulled away from the curb. Zach turned on the radio and tapped his feet along to 'As It Was' by Harry Styles. Leah was conscious of the fact that she was about to drive past Hunter's house, and she slowed down the tiniest bit. She didn't know what exactly she was hoping for. Maybe she was expecting to see him in his driveway or something. She just wanted to know how things were going with his parents, but she didn't feel like he would answer her properly over text. They were passing from in front of his house now. Leah's brain registered that his car and his parents' car was in their driveway and the blinds were shut. 

"Watch out for that pothole, Lee." She heard Zach very faintly.

"Huh?" she said, turning her attention back to the road. But it was too late, they went over the pothole too fast, which made the car shudder and shake. Leah slowed down and quickly shifted from third gear to the second. The old car gave her a lot of trouble sometimes. She wished she could have an automatic to drive someday. 

"I take back what I said about liking your driving," Lucy commented. 

"Sorry," Leah sighed. 

"You okay? What were you looking at?" Zach asked Leah, craning his neck to look at the house they had just passed by. "Hunter's place?"

"Oh," Lucy said meaningfully. 

"'Oh?'" Zach looked from Lucy to Leah. "Did something happen last night?" he asked Leah. 

"Hand me a ciggie and I'll tell you all about it," Leah replied. Zach raised an eyebrow, but handed her a cigarette nonetheless. He took one for himself and lit both of them with his lighter. Leah rolled the window down, only partly, because of the cold, and took a deep drag, then launched into an explanation of what had happened last night.

"Oh, lord," Zach exhaled a cloud of smoke. "I can't believe he thanked you after you said that."

"Well, thank you for not laughing when I told you that," Leah said, glaring pointedly at Lucy through the rearview mirror, who only shrugged. 

"Luce, you laughed?" Zach asked, turning to look at her. Lucy shrugged again. Leah pouted angrily, was reminded of the way Hunter pouted when he was mad, and then stopped.

"I don't think I did the wrong thing," Leah clarified. "It's just that we've had problems with being open and honest with each other before, so I don't know what to expect."

"It's okay, Lee. At least you put yourself out there. That's what matters. And if he fucks it up, it's on him, because you did nothing wrong," Zach told her, patting her shoulder. 

"Thank you, Z." Leah smiled over at him. "Take notes, you twat," Leah told Lucy. "This is how you have a normal human conversation."

They  talked and joked around a bit as they drove to the bowling alley. The sky was getting darker. Leah was glad they had reached before it could start snowing. She pulled into the parking lot behind the bowling alley and cut the engine. The three of them hurried inside, hands stuffed in the pockets of their overcoats to keep themselves warm. 

Emilia, Caleb and Nate were already there. They were seated at a table in the cafeteria, empty cups of hot chocolates in front of them. The cafeteria was noisy, large groups of people were seated at various tables. The crowd was mostly young, but there were a few people around who were Leah's dad's age. True to the season, there was Christmas decor hung up everywhere, along with yellow string lights, which contrasted with the standard, harsh white light of the bowling alley. 

"Hi. Have you guys been here long?" Leah asked as they strode over to the table the others were sitting at. 

"Leah! Not that long, no," Nate said as the group exchanged greetings and hugged each other. Leah introduced her sister to Nate and Caleb, even though they had met several times in passing. "We're in lane 5."

The group walked over to lane 5 after getting their pairs of bowling shoes from the counter. The lanes didn't have Christmas decorations like the cafeteria; they were just like Leah remembered. Light brown, wooden alleys and neon lights. It was only the seating area that had changed slightly. Instead of red sofas, there were brown ones now. They ordered some chips, hot chocolates and coffees from the cafeteria and got to playing. While one of them played their turn, the rest of them stayed seated on the sofa and talked. Lucy got on pretty well with Caleb and Nate. They were telling her about their table tennis game at Johnny's place. They had no recollection of it themselves, of course. They were just recalling everything Leah, Zach and Emilia had told them, but Lucy was thoroughly entertained. 

While the others talked, Leah and Zach caught Emilia up on everything that had happened with her mum finding out about Lucy and Zach, Leah's smoking and Leah telling her dad about Hunter. Leah also told Emilia about going shopping with Hunter and what had happened last night. 

Emilia smacked Leah's arm. "I can't believe you didn't call me."

"Ow," Leah complained, rubbing her arm. "I didn't want to bother you on Christmas day."

"But you can bother Zach?" Emilia asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, it is Zach's fault he lives closer to my house, and it's also his fault he's dating my little sister, so I figured I have a free pass to bothering him," Leah answered. Emilia laughed. Zach rolled his eyes, smiling. Lucy went to play her turn. They were on the last round now. Leah and Zach were in the lead, owing to many years of bowling experience. Caleb and Emilia had the third and fourth highest scores, followed by Nate and Lucy. Leah guessed Lucy hadn't been bowling many times before with her friends. And Nate was just trying crazy techniques of bowling, like twirling and even jumping once before releasing the ball. That had gotten him a few weird looks from other people, but Nate didn't care. Leah was just glad he hadn't managed to crack the bowling lane with his strange ways of bowling. That would have been one hell of a fine. 

"So what are you going to do about this whole Hunter thing?" Emilia asked as Caleb went to play his turn. 

"I don't know. I probably won't get to see him much this week because his parents are back," Leah replied. "But I guess I'll see him at New Year's." Leah picked up a few chips. Somehow, the chips at the bowling alley were always really good.

"Oh, by the way, the weirdest thing happened," Emilia added. "Kirsten texted me asking if you and Zach would be going to the New Year's party."

"Kirsten?" Leah repeated, surprised. "Wonder what she wants." She thought back to the last interaction she and Zach had had with her and James at the last party. 

"I still don't get why she's so pissed," Zach commented, shaking his head. 

"Well, for some reason she thinks that I introduced James to Danielle, and Kirsten's always had a sort of crush on James. But I didn't tell James anything about Danielle. She only flirted with him a bunch and he's the one who asked her out. Kirsten would be crushed if she found that out," Leah said. 

"This is all too complicated," Zach stated with a sigh as he stood up to play his turn.

Leah sighed too. "Tell me about it."

"Leah, knowing the truth would hurt Kirsten, sure, but she has to know. Else, she's gonna be waiting around for something to happen with James when he doesn't even like her back," Emilia said. 

"You're right, of course. But I just don't wanna be the one to break it to her, y'know?" Leah responded. 

"I get that. But I think she'd appreciate the fact that you told her," Emilia replied. Leah nodded, then stood up to play her turn. She dusted her hands off on her pants to get the salt and peri peri off and picked up a medium size 9 ball. She got a spare on her first turn after hitting seven pins, but could only hit two more in the next try. She sat back down and Emilia went to play. 

"What were you guys talking about?" Caleb asked Leah, leaning over to her. "You looked really intense."

"Drama," Leah answered in a sing-song voice. Caleb laughed. "Emilia was just saving me from making dumb decisions."

"She's really good at that. Kinda strange, innit? Knows what's best for me better than I do," Caleb replied. 

"Exactly. She's gifted. You hurt one hair on her head and I will find you and kick your arse, you got it?" Leah said to Caleb.

"Believe me, if I hurt her, I'm going to kick my own arse," Caleb replied. "But you have nothing to worry about. There's no one else for me but her."

"Good," Leah said, grinning at him. He grinned back at her as Emilia walked back to them.

"I bowled two gutter balls," she groaned, sitting down in between Leah and Caleb. 

"It's okay," Caleb told her, putting his arms around her. "At least you tried."

Nate stood up to play. He glanced at all of the balls, picked up a size 10 XL ball and faced the pins. Then he turned around to look at all of them, planted his legs wide and threw the ball from the gap between his feet. Leah stared in amazement as he struck 6 of the pins. That was the most number of pins he had hit in one try that day. 

Nate pumped his fist through the air, then picked up another size 10. He twirled on one foot and let go of the ball. Gutter ball. He sighed. "Can't win 'em all."

"You know, you could win some of them if you bowled like a normal person," Caleb commented. 

"The word 'normal' is lacking from my dictionary," Nate replied. Lucy giggled. Everybody else groaned. 

They gathered their things and walked to the counter to pay. Everyone split the bill; Leah paid for herself and Lucy. Then they went outside, Caleb's arm around Emilia's shoulders, Zach and Lucy holding hands. Leah found herself missing Hunter once again. It had snowed while they had been inside, but it was no more than a few inches.

Everyone hugged again, talking about meeting for the New Year's party and other plans, then bade each other goodbye. Caleb would take Emilia home after they went out for dinner. Nate drove here by himself. And Leah would drive Zach and Lucy back. 

Leah drove back to their neighbourhood as Zack and Lucy spoke about the game of bowling and the New Year's party. Leah was really starting to miss Hunter now. It had been less than 24 hours since she had last seen him, but she just felt like she was lacking something. Like she was incomplete without being with him. She wondered what he was doing right now. Was he opening the Christmas gifts his parents had brought back for him from their trip? Was he watching a holiday special with them? Was he with only his family, or was he with Olivia's, too? Leah bit at her lip, mind full of questions. 

They were driving past his house again. Leah glanced at his house, noticing that his car was gone. Was he really with Olivia right now? Would he tell her about what Leah had told him last night? Leah tasted salt all of a sudden. She reached up with one hand and wiped her mouth. It came away red. 

"Shit," she muttered. "Zach, hand me a tissue, would you?" She spoke with a sort of lisp, because blood was gushing out in her mouth.

Zach looked over at her, and his brown eyes widened with alarm. "What the fuck happened?" he asked, grabbing the tissue box from the glove compartment. Leah pulled out a handful of tissues and dabbed her mouth with it. 

"Accidentally bit my lip too hard," she answered after a second.

"You only bite your lip when your anxious," Lucy said from the backseat. "What actually happened?"

Leah took a deep breath and exhaled. No point in lying to them. "Hunter's car is gone. I can't help but wonder if he's with Olivia right now."

"Oh, Lee," Zach sighed. "You've gotta see him. You can't do this to yourself."

"His parents are here," Leah said, shifting the gear to fourth. She wanted to get home, away from anything that reminded her of Hunter, as soon as she could. "He said he won't be able to meet."

"He found ways to meet with you when his parents were here before," Lucy reminded her. "Tell him you need to see him."

Her sister had a point. "I'll see what I can do," Leah said, giving in. She pulled up outside Zach's house. Zach hugged her goodbye, reminding her to put an ice pack on her lip, then kissed Lucy goodbye. Leah drove away after he opened the front door to his house. Maybe Zach and Lucy were right. She needed to see Hunter, and soon. She would just have to figure out how. 

Chapter Text

Leah parked the car in the driveway. Her bloody lip was stinging from the cold. She and Lucy hurried inside. It was almost 6pm, and the sky was darkening steadily. The sun had already set. Inside the house, Diane, Simon and Sylvie were seated in front of the television. 

"Leah?" Diane said, standing up to look at her, grey eyes wide and full of worry. Leah was surprised at being addressed directly by her mum after not having spoken to her for so long. "What happened? How did you get hurt?"

"It was really cold. Forgot my chap stick, and my lip split when I smiled," Leah lied. 

"Yeah, it was kinda scary, actually, how that happened," Lucy added to back Leah's lie up.

"You should be careful, honey." Diane sighed. "Why don't I get you some ice to put on that?" She left the room and went into the kitchen to get an ice pack. Leah and Lucy sat down next to Sylvie, who was knitting something with bright red yarn. 

"Hi," Leah said to her. "What are you making?" Diane brought Leah an ice pack and made her apply it to her lip. 

"Hello, dear. I've got something for both of you actually," Sylvie said. She put aside what she was currently knitting and picked up two jumpers from a canvas tote next to her. One jumper was cream-coloured and had a large crimson L on it. The other one was the same with the colours interchanged. "You can pick whichever one you want, or share both."

"Aunt Syl, these are brilliant! Thank you so much," Leah smiled, but not too widely because of her split lip. 

"Really, they're awesome. I love them," Lucy agreed. "Thanks so much." Aunt Syl smiled at both of them. The girls agreed to share both the jumpers. They sat with their family to watch another Christmas Special; they played on tv pretty much all day during the Christmas holidays. 

What Syl had been knitting when they had come turned out to be a scarf for Diane. Syl also told Leah and Lucy a few stories about their dad from when he was younger, like about his first pet and school. Soon afterwards, they moved their conversation to the dining table since it was dinnertime. Syl told the girls that she would be leaving tomorrow morning to go to the States to spend New Year's with her sons. Leah was sad, because she had come to enjoy this evening with Syl, but she was sure glad to be getting her room back.

After having pumpkin pie for dessert and chatting some more in the living room, everyone retreated to their beds for the night. Leah wondered what Hunter was doing as she crawled into her sister's bed. Lucy was already fast asleep; she hadn't even bothered to take off her makeup and change before getting into bed. Leah felt weird not having spoken to Hunter all day. There was a tightness in her chest. She decided to text him. What was the worst thing that could happen?

'Hi,' Leah texted. 'How did it go with your parents?' She decided to keep it simple. 

Hunter took about half an hour to text her back, for the entirety of which Leah thought about deleting her message. 

'Hey. It was fine,' he finally replied. 

Leah bit her lip anxiously. It hurt a lot because she had hurt it earlier, but she couldn’t help herself. 'Cool.'

'And you? How was your day?' he asked. 

'Good. Went bowling with Zach, Emilia and others. Missed you.'

'Glad you had a good day,' he texted. No reply to the "missed you," huh? Leah bit her lip some more. 

'Thanks.'

'Have to go to bed now. Goodnight, Turner.' No 'xx' this time? She didn't even have the chance to bring up wanting to see him. Leah wanted to cry. 

'Yeah, goodnight,' she texted and shoved her phone under the pillow. She knew she shouldn't have texted him at all. She should have known this would happen. First, there was the awkwardness after she had said those words to him, then not being able to see her that day and now this. It took her about an hour to fall asleep. 

Simon woke the girls up early the next day, around 8, to say goodbye to Aunt Syl who was sitting in the living room with all of her things packed and ready to go. Syl said she would book a taxi to take her to the airport, but Leah and Lucy insisted on driving her there instead. Syl was glad she would get to spend some more time with the girls. Leah drove to the airport, Lucy sitting in the passenger seat and Syl in the back. Once they reached the airport, the girls helped Syl with her suitcases, then left for home. 

It was quiet in the car. The roads were only slightly busy; there wasn't that much traffic. Leah stayed in fourth gear all the way through the highway. Her mind wandered to Hunter, as it so often did, and found herself gripping the steering wheel hard until her knuckles turned white. She hated not knowing what was going on with him and why he was being so dry over text. 

"You're gonna snap that steering wheel off if you clutch it any tighter," Lucy commented from next to Leah. Leah clicked her tongue and relaxed her hands. "Hunter?"

"Of course. He keeps occupying my thoughts. I think I hate him more than I did before," Leah replied. 

"You hate not knowing what's going on, just like you hate change," Lucy told her. "Did you talk to him?"

"I texted him," Leah said. 

"And? What did he say?" her sister asked. 

"See for yourself." Leah fished her phone out of her pocket and handed it to Lucy. "Didn't even have a chance to ask him to meet me."

"Okay, yeah, there's slight differences in the way he texted you before as compared to yesterday. I can see why you're on edge," her sister agreed.

"What do I do?" Leah groaned.

"I guess all you can do is wait for him to talk to you," Lucy answered.

"'Wait?' I can't wait anymore, Lucy. It took me so long to realise the way I felt about him. I don't want to waste anymore time waiting. Who knows how long we've got, anyway? Dad's fine with it, but what about Mum? What about when his parents find out? How long will we have before someone says we have to end it? We're already on borrowed time." Leah clenched her jaw. She had just voiced her biggest fear about Hunter and her relationship, and it wasn't to him. He was the only one who she wanted to talk to about this. 

"You should," Lucy said after a few moments. 

"Huh?"

"You're thinking about how he's the one you should be saying all that to, right? You should tell him this," her sister told her. 

"I don't think such a thing should be said over text, especially with the way he's texting back now," Leah replied. 

"You won't have a choice about it if he says he can't meet you," Lucy said.

Leah knew her sister was right. Hunter had to know. It wouldn't matter how. "Okay. I'll see what I can do."

They went by Zach's cafe on the way home. He wasn't in today, but they went in anyway because they liked the coffee. 

Feeling content after having some caffeine in their systems, the sisters went back home. Leah turned off the engine after pulling into the driveway. She could hear faint arguing coming from within the house. She and Lucy glanced at each other, unsure of what was going on. Leah wanted to start the car back up and get out of there, but Lucy had already gotten out of the car and was approaching the front door. Leah hurried out of the car and caught up with her sister. Simon opened the door after Lucy rang the bell. 

"Oh, finally. Here they are," came Diane's voice from somewhere behind Simon. Simon sighed and stepped back to let the girls enter.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked, shrugging off her coat and hanging it by the coat rack on the door. 

"It's been nearly three hours since you've been gone. The airport is only 45 minutes away, so you should have taken two hours at most to get back home," Diane said.

"So? We stopped for coffee on the way back," Leah replied.

"For coffee, Leah? Or did you actually go to meet Hunter Stevens?" Diane questioned. 

Leah's heart skipped a beat. "Hunter? Of course not. Why would I meet him?"

"Oh, I don't know, because you're dating him?" her mother hurled. 

"What?" Leah choked out after a few seconds. How the hell did Diane find out? Leah looked at her dad, but Simon was staring at the floor. 

"Are you going to tell me you're not dating that boy?" Diane asked. 

Leah said nothing. 

"After everything he's done to our family," Diane exclaimed. "Why would you ever date him? Especially when he's already dating Olivia Knightley? What's the matter with you?" Diane's face was red with anger. "Well? Say something!"

"Mum, please, just-" Lucy chimed in. 

"This is not about you." Diane whirled on her younger daughter. "Go upstairs. Right now."

Lucy gritted her teeth and squeezed Leah's shoulder as she walked past her and up the stairs. Leah stared at the ground. She had no idea what to tell her mother. She had been dreading something like this happening since the first day of year 12. 

"Have you completely lost it?" Diane questioned again.

"I don't know what you want me to say," Leah managed to say. She could hear the tremble in her own voice. 

"How about telling me why Geoff Green saw you and that boy together at some supermarket outside of town?" Diane asked. Leah couldn't think of what to reply. She had no recollection of seeing Mr. Green there, and if Hunter had seen him, he definitely would've mentioned it. "So, can you only talk to your dad about all this, huh?"

"What?" Leah looked up after a second and was met by her mother's angry glare. 

"That's right. I heard you talking to him that morning, about how you love Hunter Stevens. Do you hear how ridiculous that sounds? You love the boy who put our family through so much shame with that video? Whose father cost your father his company and his job? Are you really that selfish?" her voice rose even higher. 

"Mum-" Leah began, not knowing how to placate Diane.

"As if that wasn't enough, Geoff Green has now decided to change his realtor," her mum added. 

"What? Is he going with Stevens and Knightley?" Leah couldn't help but ask.

"No. He said that he was under the impression Olivia and Hunter were together, but then he saw you and Hunter together, and now he believes that the whole ordeal of us letting him 'choose' his realtor was a lie, because he thinks that Josh and I were in on it together and we both would split the profit from either of us being chosen anyway. There's a lot of talk among other realtors about you and Hunter, because it implies that Stevens and I staged the whole separation of our companies in order to sway the market and influence clients and other realtors," Simon answered, looking tired of the whole ordeal. 

"What? But Hunter and my relationship shouldn't mean-" Leah started, but Diane cut her off. 

"What relationship, Leah? You can't be with him, don't you get it?" Her mother sounded exasperated.

"Diane, come on," Simon said. "There's more to life than just work."

"Really, Simon? You're going to take her side? How surprising," Diane scoffed and sat down on the sofa.

"It's not her fault. She's young," Simon replied. 

"'Not her fault?' She knows exactly what she did! Isn't she the one who told us she's a 'grown up?' She needs to break it off with that boy before it hurts us more," Diane stated. 

"No!" Leah said. "I'm doing no such thing. I'm in love with him." Saying those words out loud in front of her mother made her voice quake, but she held her ground. 

"Di, please," Simon cut in before Diane could react to what Leah had said. "Let's not lose our cool over Leah seeing Hunter. I get it. It came as a shock to me too, but he clearly means something to her, and we can't just ask her to end her relationship with him. Sure, this is going to hurt our reputation at work, but if we ask her to break it off with him, it's going to hurt her more."

Diane sighed as well. "Leah, I'm sorry for yelling at you. But you have to understand how it looks. You're dating someone who's already got a girlfriend, and that someone is your father's biggest competition's son!"

"I know, mum, but Hunter and Olivia- it's more complicated than you think," Leah said, glad that her mother had stopped yelling and was speaking more calmly now. 

"Tell her what you told me about them," Simon suggested. "Getting some more clarity on your relationship will make it easier for us to get used to it."

"I will, but you both have to promise that you're not going to reprimand me for what I'm about to say," Leah replied. "If you want me to be honest, I'll be honest. I just need your assurance that you won't ridicule my choices and decisions." Her father agreed, her mother, too, after some hesitation. Even though, they had promised they wouldn't be mad, Leah gave them the short version of the story that included the least amount of rule-breaking on her part. It wasn't easy, though.

"So, Hunter is with Olivia just to appease both of their parents?" Diane concluded. "And you both are actually together?" Her mum definitely seemed to be in a better mood now. She didn't seem mad at Leah anymore. 

"Well, I don't know if we're together together, but yes," Leah said. 

"What's 'together together?'" Simon questioned. 

"And you... slept over at his house? Twice? Did you... um-" Diane trailed off suggestively. 

Leah blushed. "Not going to be that honest with you, mum."

"That's a yes," Diane whispered to Simon, who looked slightly disturbed. 

"Mum!" 

"Sorry, dear," Diane shrugged. "Also, is there any point in grounding you or are you just going to sneak out again?"

"Yeah, no, no point in grounding me," Leah admitted. "Um, thank you for taking this as well as you did. I expected you to absolutely bite my head off."

"Your father was right. This hurts us, but not having this would hurt you more," Diane acknowledged. "I'm sorry for everything I said before. Listening to you tell us about all of this has made me realise that you really have grown up, and you have your own life. We can't control everything you do. At a certain point, we have to let go," Diane remarked.

"And what about dad's work?" Leah asked.

"If he says it's okay, it must be. I trust him," Diane replied, smiling over at Simon. "And look. Despite what I've said before, I know you're not going to make such decisions lightly. If you've slept over," Diane emphasized meaningfully, "at his house twice, then of course, you're serious about him."

"Are you sure?" Leah asked. Her mum suddenly being okay with everything seemed too good to be true.

"You're the one that needs to be sure about Hunter, dear. All of this sounds extremely complicated, but you seem to be so sure about it. I would  still say you need to be extra sure," Diane responded. "And he needs to tell his parents about you at some point. He can't date Olivia in public and you in secret forever. You both deserve better."

"Thanks, mum." Leah grinned. 

"Lucy," Diane called. "Come on downstairs, honey."

A few seconds later, Lucy padded down the stairs and came into the room. "How did you know I was listening?" Diane just smiled at her.

"Listen, girls, what I said about Zach... I'm sorry," Diane said. "He's a great lad, obviously, and I know he'll be good to you, Lucy, because he's been such a good friend of Leah's for so long. I reacted badly to hearing about you and Zach being together, and Leah and Hunter dating, because you girls are my babies. It's hard to hear about these things, you'll know if you have kids later on. Our last fight, about me and Simon leaving you two alone too much- it struck home. I know my yelling at you both might have suggested otherwise, but the person I was really mad at was myself. I hated being at work and missing out on all of these moments in your life. I missed out on you growing up and now being old enough to date and make your own decisions. Our family held a high position in this neighbourhood before the whole company splitting ordeal happened, and your father and I both had to work really hard to reinstate ourselves at that level. But in doing that, our work became our priority, when our priority should have been you two. The rivalry between your dad's company and Stevens' company took a toll on all of us, but especially you, Leah, because you had been friends with Hunter for so long. It was unfair of me to ask you to stop being friends with him back then. It just caused more hurt later on. I'm sorry, Leah and Lucy, for everything." By the time Diane had finished, everyone's eyes were misty.

"Thank you for saying that, mum," Leah cried, and put her arms around her mum. Hearing all of that made her feel so much closer to her mum now, so much closer than they had been for years before. She felt Lucy and her dad hug her from behind, feeling like she really knew her family and that she had all of their support now, which was something she felt that she'd been lacking before. In a way, if it hadn't been for Hunter, all of this would never have come up and Leah would never have known what she now knew. Hunter, Hunter, Hunter. He was all she could think about right now.

Chapter Text

New Year's eve came sooner than expected. It had snowed a lot the past couple of days, making everyone stay at home. Leah didn't mind that now, after she had come clean to her parents about everything. Things at home were better than ever. Leah, Lucy, Diane and Simon had had nearly every meal together, huddled up on the sofa in front of the tv watching movies. Leah wished the last few years had had more of this, because she really loved spending time with her family like this. Better late than never though; she was glad to have whatever time she could with her family. 

Right now, Leah was trying to figure out what to wear to Nick's New Year's party. It was nearly 9pm, and the sky was already dark. Lucy and Zach  were sitting at the edge of Leah's bed, Lucy tapping her foot impatiently while she waited for her sister to get ready. Lucy was already dressed in a red maxi dress, her dark blonde hair in a loose bun at the nape of her neck. Her eyes looked startlingly grey because she had lined them with kohl. She looked a lot like their mother. Zach, meanwhile was wearing a white shirt, sleeves folded up to his elbows, with dark pants. His jacket was lying across Leah's bed, behind him and Lucy. He was strumming 'Apocalypse' by Cigarettes After Sex on Leah's guitar. Lucy really liked that song. 

"Just pick something," Lucy said to Leah, as she nodded her head along to the guitar music. "You're taking so long."

"Don't rush me," Leah groaned. "Hunter might be at the party."

"'Might'?" Zach questioned. "Haven't you asked him if he's coming?"

Leah had texted Hunter, hoping to get the chance to tell him to meet her, or say what she had been planning to tell him the day she had gone bowling with Zach and the others, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, because she didn't want him to be even drier on text and make her overthink more. Instead, she had just asked him if he'd be coming to the party. He had just answered her with a 'will try,' making her glad she hadn't texted him what she had initially planned to say. She wasn't even sure she should go through the effort of dressing up, but she really hoped to see Hunter tonight and she wanted to be dressed well. 

"I did. He said he'd try to make it," Leah answered with a sigh. "Oh, how about this?" She picked out a black, satin cami dress with a cowl neck and showed it to her sister. 

"I think this would look great on you," Lucy said. "What are you going to say to Hunter if he does show up?" 

Leah went into her bathroom to change. "I don't really know," she said, a little loudly, so they could hear her through the door. “I miss him so much I can't really think beyond kissing his face off when I see him."  

"Eugh," Lucy groaned. 

"Oh, shut up. I've seen you and Zach kissing more times than I'd like to. The least you could do is hear me talk about it," Leah replied as she stepped back out. "How do I look?" She did a little twirl. 

"You look great," Lucy answered.

Zach nodded, strumming the last note of the song and putting Leah's guitar away. "Are you gonna tell Hunter off because he was dry over text? I would if it were me."

"Don't know yet," Leah admitted. She got to doing her makeup. "I don't wanna think about all of that already. What if he doesn't even show?"

"I don't think he'll miss this party. Most of his friends are gonna be there, so I think he will be, too," Zach replied. 

"I hope he is. Or else I'm gonna have to break into his house," Leah said, applying mascara.

Lucy giggled. "Can you imagine his parents' faces if you just broke into their house and 'kissed his face off?'"

That was not a very pleasant picture. Leah grimaced. "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that. I'm done," she added, putting her makeup bag away. 

"Let's go," Lucy said, picking up her purse. "We're late."

"You do know it's cool to show up late to a party, right?" Leah asked as they stepped out of her room. 

"Yeah, but all my friends are already there. They've started posting stuff already and it looks fun," Lucy replied. 

"Good thing Nick lives nearby," Zach said. "We can be there soon." 

"Don't you all look great," exclaimed Diane as the three of them descended down the stairs.

"Thank you," they answered in unison. Diane and Simon had had a little chat with Zach earlier. They knew he knew what had happened and they had wanted to apologise to him in person. Leah was beyond glad they were on good terms now. Zach was family. 

"Don't forget your coats; it's cold outside," Simon reminded them. "Call us if you need anything. And don't be home later than 1."

"Yes, yes, we know," Leah said, grabbing her coat and reaching to open the door. 

"Wait! Can I take a quick picture of you guys?" Diane questioned, phone at the ready.

"Sure," Lucy answered. The three of them struck a couple of poses; Leah wasn't really sure how she should pose so she just smiled. If this had been a photo with her friends, she'd have been sticking up her middle finger for sure, but that kind of thing didn't tend to fly well with family. 

The three of them turned to leave, but Diane called to Leah. Zach told Leah they'd wait for her outside. "Leah. I just wanted to ask how you'd feel about having Hunter over for dinner one of these days, so we can get to know him. After he's broken up with Olivia, of course," her mother added. 

"Oh, wow. That's nice of you guys. I will let you know," Leah replied, smiling. She had no idea what was going on between her and Hunter and if he would even agree to come to a dinner like this, but of course, she couldn't say that to her parents. 

"Have fun dear," Diane told her. Leah flashed her another quick smile and stepped outside. 

Since Nick's place was nearby, they decided to walk. Plus it wouldn't be safe to drive after drinking, anyway. They chatted a bit on the way over, Leah growing more and more nervous about seeing Hunter. 

Nick's house looked the same as it had the day of his birthday party. People spilling out into the front yard, flashing lights, wrappers and cups, the smell of alcohol and weed, and loud, booming music. Typical high school scene. Where did people even get the money to throw such parties? Well, Leah didn't care. Free alcohol and dirt cheap weed were a good enough reason to go anywhere. She just had to be mindful of how much she drank tonight, though. She was hoping to talk to Hunter, of course, but also Kirsten and James if they'd talk to her. She needed to clear the air and put their issues behind them. New Year's meant starting afresh. 

As Leah, Lucy and Zach entered the house, with some difficulty, owing to the crowd, Leah realised that not everyone at Nick's house went to their school. Even if they did go to their school, they had to have been from a different year, but she wasn't sure how that would be possible, because some of the people were clearly adults, with full-fledged beards and the like. Leah wondered who these people were and how Nick knew them. 

"Who d'you think these people are?" Leah whispered to Zach. 

Zach shrugged. "I've learned not to question Nick's contacts. As long as there's alcohol and weed, I don't care."

Lucy went to find her friends. Caleb and Emilia weren't here yet because Emilia was having dinner with Caleb's family. They'd only be stopping by around 11.

Leah and Zach found Nate sitting at the kitchen table, eating Froot Loops right out of the box. No one else in the kitchen seemed to be paying attention to him. To be fair, there were only two other girls in the kitchen, and they seemed to be some of the people that Leah didn't think were from their school. One of them had brown skin, dyed blue hair and a lot of piercings, the other was fair and had dark hair, braided with red and silver tinsel. They were rummaging through the drawers, probably looked for a bottle opener for the beers in their hands.

"Hey, Nate," Zach said to their friend. "How've you been, lad?"

"Zach, Leah, hi," Nate grinned up at them, speech slurred. "Did you know that the name 'Froot Loops' causes the Mandela effect? Some people think it's 'fruit' and not 'froot' but it's always been 'froot,'" he said, running a finger over the label, blond hair falling into his eyes. "Isn't 'fruit' a funny word? Did you know that 'fruit' is spelled the same way in French but it's pronounced 'frui?'" He tipped his head back and poured the cereal out of the box straight into his mouth. 

Leah and Zach exchanged a worried glance. It had to have been the most number of times anyone had said the word 'fruit' in a single conversation. "Mate, how much have you had to drink?" Leah asked him gently, setting a hand on his shoulder.

"I think I've been drink since Christmas," Nate said, cereal bits flying out of his mouth, and laughed. "Oops. I've been 'drink?' Drunking is fun." 

"Fucking hell," Zach sighed. "Well, it's good you're eating something, I guess."

"Who's eating? I could really use some food," Nate said, looking around the kitchen, still shovelling handfuls of cereal into his mouth. "Do you know those people?" He pointed his chin in the direction of the two girls. "Hi!" he said loudly, making the girls look over. "I'm Nate. What's your name, beautiful? Or rather, beautifuls," he corrected himself, laughing.

The two girls exchanged a look. 

"Uhh, he's really drunk, don't take him too seriously," Zach told them.

"That's cool," said the girl with blue hair. "We're high as fuck, so."

"You seem cool. Wanna hang out?" Nate asked, standing up and dusting off his cereal dust-covered hands on his jeans. 

"Yeah," the dark-haired girl said. "Want some weed?" she asked, offering him a joint.

"I think I love you," Nate answered as he took the joint and put one arm around each girl and walked out of the kitchen with them. 

Leah and Zach gaped at each other, then burst out laughing. "What if he stumbles his way into a threesome?" Leah asked. 

"He'll hate himself for not being able to remember it," Zach replied, still chuckling. "We should check up on him in a bit." Leah nodded. 

They went back outside to the living room. Leah spotted a couple people from school and smiled at them and chatted to them for a bit, asking what they'd done over the holidays. She was also keeping an eye out for Hunter, Kirsten or James. She had no luck spotting any of them, though. So she and Zach got some beers and joined people who were dancing. Lucy was with her friends in the backyard, playing beer pong. 

A while later Leah sat down on the sofa in the living room to catch her breath. She had got the last good spot, because someone had spilled beer all over the sofa. It was almost 10:30pm now. She still hadn't spotted Hunter here. She was about to get up and join Zach again, but she spotted Kirsten's dark hair as the girl went upstairs. Leah could've sworn the girl was crying. Leah told Zach she'd be right back and ran up the stairs. She was just in time to see a door swing shut after Kirsten went inside the room. 

Leah hesitated at first, then knocked on the door. It was now or never. "Kirsten? It's Leah. Are you alright? I saw you come upstairs."

"Go away," came the other girl's voice through the door. It sounded like she was speaking through sobs. "I don't want to see anyone right now, least of all you." 

"I just want to talk," Leah said. "Please?" she added when the other girl didn't respond. "For old times' sake?" 

The door swung open after a few seconds, revealing Kirsten standing behind it and wiping at her eyes hastily. She was wearing a dark-coloured halter neck dress. "What do you want?" 

"Are you alright?" Leah asked, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind them. It was a plain and simple bedroom, with a four-poster bed and a fireplace. 

Kirsten scoffed. "As if you care. You've been too busy running around with your new friends to care about me and James. You fought with Zach and lost the three of us, but then somehow you've become friends with him again and left me and James in the dust."

"You're the one that picked sides when me and Zach fought. You're the one that spread that rumour about me and Hunter," Leah pointed out. 

Kirsten rolled her eyes, crossing her arms defensively. "Look, if you're here to argue about all of this, now's not the time."

"No, no, what I mean to say is that we've all made mistakes here, and I'm willing to put all that behind us if you are," Leah told the other girl, whose eyes widened in surprise. 

"You are? Why?" Kirsten questioned.

"New Year new beginnings, right?" Leah said. "I also wanted to tell you something. If you're up for it, that is."

"What about?"

"Uhm" Leah said, unsure of how to begin. "It's about... James. And Daniela."

Kirsten raised her eyebrows, scoffing again. "You just said you wanted to patch things up and now you want to bring that up?"

"I need to bring it up in order to patch things up," Leah clarified. "Just listen. Daniela asked James out, yes, but he was the one that made the first move."

"Why're you telling me this?" Kirsten asked, voice almost trembling. 

"You're mad at me because you think I introduced them, but it wasn't me," Leah told her. "And you know I know how you feel about James, how you've always felt about him. This must be hard to accept, but he's not into you. You shouldn't be wasting time chasing after someone who doesn't feel the same way about you. You deserve more."

Kirsten let out a shaky breath and sank down onto the bed, holding her head in her hands. Leah hung back, hesitating to reach out and comfort Kirsten, unsure of how she would react. A few seconds later, not looking up at Leah, Kirsten said, "I always thought he didn't see me that way, but I just kept hoping and hoping he would like me, but then he starting going out with that other girl, and I felt like everything was just over. I know my life shouldn't revolve around him, but I can't help but think about him all the time."

"I know how that feels," Leah agreed. "They can be all-consuming, feelings like this. It's hard to not let it take over you, because the person means so much to you and you see reminders of them in everything. But I hate seeing you like this. You should get to be happy."

Kirsten looked up at Leah, bleary-eyed. "I'm sorry for everything I said about you. I don't know how I got it in my head that you were the one that introduced him and Daniela."

"It's okay, Kirs," Leah said, finally reaching out and putting a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "I'm sorry, too. I wanted to talk to you before, to sort everything out, but I was still kind of pissed off because of the rumour, and I wasn't sure about the whole James and Daniela thing, so I had to ask Lucy to confirm."

"Thanks for telling me, though. It couldn't have been easy, coming up to me to clear things up knowing the kind of things I said about you," Kirsten said. "I was just pissed off that you had everything so easy. You were able to talk to anyone and they always trusted you. I used to feel like you and James were better friends than he and I were."

"I've come to realise that I'm actually not that great at communicating," Leah replied. "Zach and I were pissed off at each other because we both sucked at just talking about the important things." 

"Well, I'm happy you both are friends now," Kirsten said, smiling. "Can we be friends again?"

"Absolutely," Leah said, grinning, and pulled her friend into a hug. 

"Um, can I ask you something?" Kirsten said after they pulled apart and they walked out of the room. 

"Shoot."

"You said you knew exactly what it was like to have someone on your mind all the time. Who is it?"

Leah inhaled sharply. "Uh, it's Hunter, actually."

"Stevens?" Kirsten gaped at her as they descended down the stairs. 

"Yeah," Leah said, biting the inside of her cheek. 

"You have to tell me everything," Kirsten urged.

"I will. I was actually hoping to talk to him, he said he'd be at the party," Leah replied. 

"Okay, girl, go get your man," Kirsten said, grinning. Leah grinned back at her. They were back in the living room now.

Leah glanced at the sofa and saw familiar, messy dark brown hair, making her heart rate shoot up. Hunter was sitting on the sofa, wearing a black shirt with the top two buttons unbuttoned and dark pants. She exhaled softly, feeling unbelievably glad to see him. He turned to look at her, like he had many times before when she'd been looking at him, and smiled. When their eyes met, Leah felt like her heart was going to explode. She hated him for making her feel this happy to see him. He stood up and started walking in her direction.

"I'll tell you everything later, I promise," Leah told Kirsten, who nodded, looking from Hunter to Leah and grinning more. 

"Hi," Leah said, voice breathy, when Hunter came up to her. 

"Hi," he responded. "We need to talk." 

Chapter Text

The room had gone silent. Nobody was talking, there was just music playing in the background. This was the first time that Hunter had approached her in public after their year 9 fight.

"Why are we talking in public?" Leah hissed. She could feel her pulse racing. Even though her parents knew, Hunter's parents would still be mad if they found out. 

"We need to talk," he repeated.

"Now you want to talk?" Leah asked, stretching on her toes to peek over his shoulder at their classmates, who were all gaping at the two of them. Even the people whom Leah didn't know were looking at her and Hunter curiously. Kirsten had taken a few steps back to give them some privacy, but she was still staring and grinning at them. Leah couldn't spot any of her other friends. People had started whispering amongst themselves now.

"I know things have been weird, but if you give me a chance to explain, it'll make more sense," Hunter replied, voice low. 

"Give me one good reason why I should listen to you," Leah told him, jutting her chin out defiantly. 

"Because I'm pretty?" Hunter said, smiling hopefully at Leah. His dimples made her want to give in.

"Try again," she said anyway. 

"Because I'll keep annoying you till you agree?" 

"Good answer." Leah nodded. "Bedroom. Upstairs on the right. Wait for a minute, then follow. People are staring."

"People will always stare. Think of it like cameras flashing every time we go out," Hunter said, bending down to whisper in her ear. He surprised Leah by taking her hand in his and leading her to the stairs. Leah's heart was hammering, thinking of people staring at them as they went upstairs. Hunter pushed open the bedroom door, his hand still holding hers. Leah closed the door behind her after they stepped inside.

He turned to looked down at her, green eyes wide. "You look fucking incredible. I love that we're matching without having planned it," he said, pointing to their clothes, all black.

"God, I missed your voice," Leah told him. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer. She clutched him tightly, making sure he was really there, that they were really there together. She kissed him with a force she didn't know she had within her, her hands gripping him even tighter. Hunter let out a breathy moan which made her shiver. She pushed him towards the bed; he lay down on his back, pulling her with him. Leah had missed the sensation of being so close to him, feeling the warmth of his body. Her hands reached up into his hair, gripping at the messy curls. Hunter's hands were at the small of Leah's back, holding her against him. Hunter put a hand on her thigh, but Leah pulled away suddenly. 

"Baby?" he asked, voice rough. "Did I do something wrong?" Leah's breath caught when he said 'baby.' He was looking up at her, eyes heavy-lidded, her lipstick smeared all over his mouth. Leah wanted nothing more than to smear her lipstick on other places on his body, but she had to remember that she was mad at him.

"Yes. You said I'd never have to find out what it was like to be without you, but you were so dry over text and you didn't even want to see me," Leah said, feeling more sad than angry. She was perched on top of him, her knees on either sides of his thighs. 

Hunter sighed. Leah's hair was casting a shadow over half his face. "I can explain."

"But you can't tell me right now and I just need to trust you?" Leah guessed. 

"Are you actually mad at me because we were just making out and I'd like to go back to that-"

"TALK!"

"Right." Hunter cleared his throat. "So the day that my parents got back, I said I wouldn't be able to see you- Actually could you sit next to me or something, because you sitting on top of me is very distracting."

"No. I'm not moving till you finish talking," Leah declared.

"I might finish something else if you don't get up," he replied candidly, looking at his lap. Leah rolled her eyes and got off of him. She sat at the foot of the bed. Hunter sat up and scooched over to be next to her, laying his hands across his lap carefully. "As I was saying, I said I wouldn't be able to see you because I was sure my parents would be pissed off at me for telling them that I wasn't really seeing Olivia."

"You told them about that?" Leah gaped at him.

"I did. It was horrible," Hunter said, exhaling. "They were really mad. Every time I opened my mouth, it ended in an argument with my parents. My dad was especially annoyed, because he claimed that I  had made him lie to Mr. Knightley about my and Olivia's relationship, and he should never have had to lie to his partner. He was threatening to take my phone and car privileges away unless I did some serious damage control. He made me go over to the Knightleys' residence to talk to Olivia's parents and tell them about the truth of hers and my relationship. Mr. Knightley was furious, obviously, at both me and Olivia. He wanted to know how we could have slept in the same room on all those family vacations if we weren't really together, and I didn't know how to explain to a grown man that it was possible for two people to sleep in the same room without having sex. Olivia handled her dad for the most part. She was happy that I was finally telling the truth."

"I can't even imagine how hard that must have been," Leah said, covering her face with her hands. "My mum found out because of Mr. Greene, and it was hell at first. I was really terrified of what she would say. She told me to stop seeing you, to break it off, but I held my ground, and she understood in the end."

"So both your parents are okay with us?" Hunter asked. 

Leah nodded. "Did you get a chance to tell your parents about us?"

"Well, they found out on their own, like your mum did, because of Mr. Greene. I have no recollection of seeing that man there," Hunter stated. 

"Me neither," Leah said. "I guess we weren't as careful as we thought we were. I just assumed that nobody we knew would be there, and I guess we were just really happy to be with each other in broad daylight, outside of your room or mine."

"That was a really good day," Hunter said, smiling fondly. He reached over and took Leah's hand in his again. "My dad was livid when he heard about you and I. He said I had to study real estate at uni and I couldn't play football anymore, not even at school."

"What about your mum? What did she say?" Leah asked, tracing small circles on the back of Hunter's hand with her thumb. 

"She was sort of surprised, I guess. She knew I was seeing someone, she just didn't know it was you," Hunter said. "She was annoyed at first, because how could I be dating Leah Turner of all people, but I told her that she was just judging you because of the rivalry between my dad and Mr. Turner, and I reminded her that she used to be quite fond of you when everything was okay with our families. She really liked spending time with you, because she never had a daughter of her own."

"Yeah, we did spend a lot of time together. She taught me how to plant seeds correctly," Leah replied, thinking back and smiling. "Those geranium plants are still in your backyard." 

Hunter smiled too. "She took a while to come to terms with the idea of us, but she was able to calm my dad down, for the most part. I've convinced him to let me play football now and at uni, too. He's still mad at me for being irresponsible and juvenile and whatnot, but I think he'll come around to the idea of us."

"Wait. So all the fake relationship stuff is over now?" Leah asked.

Hunter nodded. I'm sorry for being dry over text, but I was worried about my parents not being okay with everything and I just wanted you to have a reason to be mad with me incase things didn't go well."

"That's a lot of apologies on your part, don't ya think?" Leah replied. 

"Leah," Hunter turned to face her completely. "I was incredibly stupid to not say those words back to you the other day. I was just scared, because I thought I was going to fuck it up again by being me, and you would get hurt again, but you were hurt regardless, and I was being stupid. 'I don't care what people say when we're together.'"

"Are you quoting One Direction?" Leah asked, laughing.

"Is it working? ‘You know I wanna be the one who'll hold you when you sleep,’" Hunter continued. 

"You're the little spoon," Leah said, laughing more. 

"’I just want it to be you and I forever,'" he said, smiling. "'I know you wanna leave, so come on, baby, be with me so happily.'"

Leah pecked Hunter on the cheek. "Absolutely."

"I love you, Leah," Hunter told her. "Then, now and forever. I'm yours. Do as you please."

"'Do as I please?'" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows. "I will definitely take you up on that." Hunter laughed, and Leah grinned seeing him. 

"I can't believe we don't have to hide anymore." Leah sighed after a second. 

"Yeah, but the whole secrecy thing was kind of fun, though," Hunter said, shrugging. 

"I can't disagree with that actually," Leah acknowledged. 

"So... back to making out in this random bedroom?" Hunter asked.

"It'll be midnight soon. Shouldn't we go downstairs?" Leah questioned teasingly. 

Hunter rolled his eyes. "I'm just gonna need a minute here, then." He looked down at his lap.

"Are you still...? Even after we stopped and talked?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows. 

"What can I say, Turner? I really like you," Hunter answered.

"I thought you loved me," Leah said, feigning a look of hurt.

"What gave you that impression?" Hunter played along, scoffing. "I was just using you."

Leah's face fell. "Wait. Like year 9? Again?"

"I- I didn't mean to hurt you, baby," Hunter told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I was just-"

"I was totally kidding, but please, keep calling me 'baby,'" Leah said, biting her lip. 

"C'mere, baby," Hunter whispered, making his voice sound huskier. Leah laughed, raising her eyebrows, then pushed Hunter, making him lie back. 

"My lipstick looks great on you, by the way," Leah told him as she leaned over him. 

"Huh? Leah! You let me talk for so long with lipstick smeared all over my mouth?" Hunter asked. 

"I could smear it other places if you like," she told him innocently. 

"Please do, baby." 

Best not to describe what they did next. 

Leah and Hunter made it downstairs with barely 5 minutes left till New Year's, both of them adjusting their clothes and trying to blend in with the crowd. People seemed to have gotten over seeing her and Hunter together  

"Zipper," Leah hissed at Hunter as Zach, Emilia and Caleb popped out of the kitchen.

"Where have you two been?" Zach asked.

"Just having a bit of banter, I think," Leah answered.  

"Zach, mate, I think it's time we talked," Hunter told Zach. 

"All is forgiven, as long as you treat Leah well. If you fuck up, you'll need to go into hiding because I just might kill you," Zach said.

"We might kill you," Emilia corrected. 

"Understood," Hunter replied, grinning. "You two don't need to worry about that, though. I think Leah's perfectly capable of killing me if I mess up."

"You know me so well," Leah told Hunter, reaching up and planting a kiss on his jaw. Hunter winked at Leah.

"And I'm still sorry, Zach, for the record," he said.

"I'm sorry too," Zach replied, offering a hand to Hunter, who shook it. 

"Look at you two, making up," Leah said, put her arms around the two boys' shoulders. 

"And I assume you two were making out? You have lipstick on your face, Hunter," Emilia said. 

"Leah!" Hunter whined, while Leah and Emilia cackled. 

"He looks adorable, though, doesn't he?" Leah reached over and wiped the lipstick with her thumb.

"When did this happen? Did I miss something? I thought you guys hated each other," Caleb said, looking confused as ever. 

"It's her. Her from ninth grade," Hunter clarified. 

"You cheeky fucker, I knew it," Caleb exclaimed, putting an arm around Hunter's neck and ruffling his hair. 

"Where's Nate?" Leah asked. Zach pointed to the couch, where Nate and the two girls from before were passed out. 

"They got high, ate a bunch of crisps, and then fell asleep," he told her. 

"I guess that is his kind of a threesome," Leah said. 

Emilia looked at her friends. "Can you believe we're going to college in the new year?"

"Emilia, come on," Leah complained. "You didn't have to bring that up."

"I'm sorry," the other girl said, taking Leah's hand in hers. "But I just can't fathom that the new year means we're all grown ups now. No more school, no more meeting up everyday. I don't know what I'm gonna do without you guys."

"How 'bout we meet up once every month or so to catch up? All of us," Zach added, nodding at Hunter. 

"Sounds like a plan," Hunter agreed, nodding as well.  

"Whatever the distance between us, we all stay in touch," Leah said, smiling at her friends. "Should wake Nate up, it's almost midnight." Leah and Hunter woke up Nate and the other two girls. Lucy came over to Zach and put an arm around his waist, whispering something in his ear that made him laugh. Leah, Hunter and Nate walked back and joined the others. The music had been turned off and people were counting down the seconds from ten. 

Hunter pulled Leah closer, his hands at the small of her back. "I'm so glad we can start the new year together." Leah smiled. Hunter smiled, as well, then a serious look came over his face. "I hope you know how much you mean to me. You've changed everything about my life. I belong to you, Turner."

"You're my favourite person in the entire world, Stevens," Leah told him. He smiled at her, all dimples, and bent down to kiss her as cheers of 'happy new year' erupted all around them and the music came back on. Leah was beyond happy that she could kiss him in front of all of these people. It made her feel fearless. Hunter pulled away, grinning down at her, and bent down to put his chin on Leah's shoulder as they held each other. 

"I love you so much," Hunter whispered in her ear. 

"I love you more," Leah answered. 

"No chance," Hunter replied, pulling back to look at her. Leah felt giddy with happiness as she looked at him. Despite the noise and all the people around them, it felt like they were the only people there. They really were together, after everything they'd been through. And she knew now that whatever happened, they’d be together. And they'd be alright.