Perfect Student

Chapter 14

I opened my mouth to scream as Hunter ran at me and clamped his hand over my mouth, making my eyes go wide. I shook in fear as he hissed at me to shut up and then dropped his hands when he saw I was calm.

"Why are you so scared?" he asked in his normal voice. I shot a look up at Bryce's window and saw that it was mercifully shut. I responded in a quieter voice just to be safe.

"I couldn't see you and then you attacked me from behind!" I said, hands on my hips. A wind whipped through the trees, and I pressed my knees together, feeling goosebumps spreading all over my bare skin. He looked down to notice it too and ran his hand up my thigh with the tips of his cold fingers, sending another shiver through my body. I tucked my arms around my body, trying to pull my cardigan in around me more.

"Why are you here?" I asked, trying not to sound upset.

"I wanted to surprise you," he said, hair flopping to the side and mouth pouting out cutely. Hunter was physically mature for his age with the strong features of a man clear on his face, but every so often his features would turn boyish and innocent, making me love him even more. I brushed a hand along his cheek, and he smiled at me, knowing that I was enamored.

"I'm very surprised," I murmured as his hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me into him. I peppered kisses along his neck up to his ear lobe before I remembered that my brother could look out at us at any moment.

"Want to have an adventure?" Hunter asked playfully, pulling a flat but large bottle of vodka from his back pocket. (A/N a girl's pocket could never) It wasn't even half-full but that was still more than enough for two people and arguably way too much.

I looked at the clear liquid, sharp taste already burning my mouth from memory. I nodded eagerly, grabbing his hand as we ran down the block to his car. I jumped inside and relaxed against the warm leather seats, accepting the bottle as he passed it to me.

"You first," he said, starting the car and sparing a glance in the side mirror to see if anyone had noticed us. When we saw that we were in the clear he turned up the radio, blaring his loud electronic music, and shot off down the road. I unscrewed the cap and threw back a mouthful of the disgusting stuff, grimacing as it burned my throat.

"I hate this stuff," I complained as we drove in a familiar direction. Hunter took the bottle from me and took a swig, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

"Everyone does. Suck it up," he said, making me laugh. I flicked the side of his head and he reached an arm towards me to tickle my side, making the car swerve dangerously into the other lane.

"Hunter!" I shouted, pointing to the road, thankful when the tickling stopped. He smiled at me, and I could see the danger in his eyes before he knew what he was going to do. He swerved us back and forth from lane to lane as we shot through the empty town, barreling through a red light, and making me throw my hands over my eyes so I didn't have to see it happen. 

I let out a huge laugh as he pulled us into the school parking lot, jumping the car onto the curb and parking directly next to the front gate. My mouth gaped at him, and he pushed my jaw closed with a chuckle, pointing to the bottle.

"If you're scared, you're not drunk enough yet," he told me, laughing as I rolled my eyes. I tipped the bottle back and took a sip, but he pressed his finger to the bottom of the bottle firmly, keeping the alcohol coming until he decided it was enough.

"There," he said as we stumbled out of the car and towards the school. "Now you're drunk enough."

My body became loose, and my head lolled to the side as the effects of the alcohol kicked in. We reached the cold metal gate that warned against trespassers and heard it clang and shake as we climbed up the front and leaped over. We made it into the school easily, walking towards our classes in the moonlight as we had done just this morning. Hunter led us confidently forward and I looked up at him with awe as he smiled down at me.

"Have you always been this handsome?" I asked him, genuinely curious.

"Yes. You just have to drink a lot of alcohol to notice," he said, before letting go of my hand and skipping forward like an elementary age girl and making me crack up at the image. I followed him, trying to skip with some coordination, head spinning happily as he spoke in a weird voice to make me laugh. If people knew what the school's star quarterback acted like when we were alone, they would be shocked. A tiny part of my brain whispered, "by the good, or the bad?".