Nonexistent

~Chapter Twenty-Seven~

After dessert, a lovely couple of pies made by Oliver's parents that he had brought over, we all gathered in the living room while Hunter's parents and younger brother retreated to their rooms, giving us teenagers the chance to exchange gifts without an audience.

Oliver, being the child he was, was the first to open his small gifts. We had made a limit that nothing could be over $20, as we were all high schoolers and none of us had an actual job to pay for any over the top gifts for the entire group. He received a drawing from me, a couple trinkets from the boys and Harper, and Skylar had made him a mini scrapbook of their past few months as a couple.

The exchange continued on, and I handed each person their own personalized drawing I had done, and it wasn't long before everyone had opened everything.

Harper had gotten a few new nail polishes, perfumes and face masks, while Skylar received a necklace from her boyfriend, and a couple other small things. All three of the boys had gotten matching mini footballs from Harper, Logan got an extra little note as well, and Skylar had printed us all a picture of the group from Halloween and framed it.

It was small and simple, but endearing all the same. The boys had quickly started tossing the mini footballs around, throwing them at Skylar, resulting in her high pitched squeal as she fell to the floor in an attempt at evading.

I laughed from my place on the couch as Harper was quick to defend Skylar, letting out a quiet war cry before launching a football and moving to tackle Logan. Or at least, attempting to tackle Logan. Smothering a laugh, I held back a grin as I watched her struggle to reach the ball he held in his hand that was raised.

On the ground behind Logan was Skylar who was still laughing as Oliver attacked her relentlessly, alternating between tickling her sides or throwing the mini football at her as she tried to fight back.

Smiling at the sight, I stood quietly and wandered down the hallway back towards the kitchen. The lights had been turned off, although there was a small sink light still on that I used to carefully navigate to the cabinet. Grabbing a glass, I filled it halfway with water, taking several small sips before setting it on the counter with a small clink.

Turning back around, I inhaled sharply as Hunter stood there was a smirk at my reaction. "Scare ya?" He teased. I rolled my eyes, shifting to lean up against the island in the middle.

"Of course, how could I not be afraid of that face?" I mocked sarcastically, a deadpan expression on my face. He chuckled, eyes flicking upwards before his cheeks tinged pink. I raised a brow. "What?"

"Oh, uh nothing." His minor stutter had me shifting to crane my neck up at the ceiling. There, taped precariously to the ceiling was a strand of mistletoe. The fungus plant hung dauntingly over us, draping the room in a tense silence. Noticing my gaze, he glanced up at the plant again before speaking, "We definitely don't have to or anything, I mean I wouldn't tell if you didn't want to. I mean I wouldn't be opposed- but I definitely don't want you to think we have to-"

"Hunter," I settled him with an 'are you serious' look, a small smile tugging at the corner of my lips. His eyes darted there before meeting mine.

"Yeah?" His word was breathy and soft, I wouldn't have heard it had I not been listening.

I gave a small shrug, motioning to the plant, "I mean, rules are rules.." Trailing off, I looked down at my shoes, one of the laces untied. I felt more than saw him take a sharp breath, making his way to stand close to me. My back pressed further into the counter, and I struggled to keep my breathing steady.

When he stopped, I could have touched his chest with my nose, our breaths mingling together. In the dim light, I could see the reflections of the lights strung throughout the hallway in his blue eyes, seemingly darker as he looked into my own pale green ones. His eyes glanced down at my shoes for a second, a small smirk playing on his lips.

"You might want to tie those later, wouldn't want you tripping and falling." I scoffed, knowing he had no idea how those words rung true in my mind.

His arms had moved to rest on the counter on either side of me, caging me against the island slightly, though I knew if I asked he would move. I didn't ask.

Hunter's head bent down close to mine, and my eyes shifted to almost stare at his lips that were so close to my own. We were still for a moment, and he waited there, not making any move closer. He wanted me to make the decision whether to cross the thin line we were standing on.

I hesitated.

He started to shift backwards, dirty blonde hair covering the tops of his eyes as his head remained slightly bowed. I jerked forward, my hand reaching to grab the hem of his shirt, pulling him back to me. He stumbled forward, and our noses bumped. It took me a second to gather myself, before I pressed forward, connecting our lips for the first time.

Hunter seemed frozen for a moment. Once he seemingly gathered his own bearings, he shifted closer than seemingly possible, starting to move his lips against my own. Slowly, he coaxed me into moving my own, and my hand gripped his shirt tighter as my other rose to rest on his shoulder. His own hand went to cradle my jaw, the other holding my arm.

It was short, almost too short, but sweet. I stepped backwards and he released his hold on my jaw, sliding his hand down to hold my own as I released my grip on his shirt. We stood there, just breathing for what seemed like hours.

I took a deep breath before looking up at him and sending him a small smile. Moving away, I turned to walk out into the hallway. Stopping at the doorway, I turned my head back, seeing him still standing there with a dazed look on his face. I cleared my throat slightly, "C'mon, they're waiting for us out there." He shook his head, eyes meeting mine as a smile grew on his face.

Hunter practically skipped past me, shooting me a cheeky grin as he passed me. I rolled my eyes fondly, leaning against the doorway for another second, my hand raising as I touched my finger to my lips with a small sigh. Pushing off the doorway, I moved to follow the sounds of laughter, a content smile stuck on my face. Maybe falling wouldn't be so bad.

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Ahhhhhhh! It finally happened! Only took twenty-seven chapters, lol! Hope you enjoyed that long chapter, and apologies if the scene was awkward. I realized halfway through writing it that I had absolutely no clue how to write a kiss scene, so I hope it turned out halfway decent. Have a great week!