Hunter Evans has been gone for a year with rumors of him being in prison. On the first day of her junior year, the last thing Drew Carter expects is to see Hunter walking through the doors, let alone falling in love with the boy everyone is terrifie...
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It was finally Friday. I had gotten my stitches taken out the day before and the bruising was finally starting to die down. I felt a lot better about how my face looked which put me in a much better mood.
"I forgot I got you something!" I said excitedly as Hunter and I sat down in the courtyard at lunch. It was becoming our spot rather than just his spot, and I liked that. We spent everyday together talking in all of our classes and eating lunch together and I felt like I was finally getting back to knowing Hunter as well as I used to while growing up.
"You got me something?" He asked incredulously as I reached into the small pocket of my backpack and pulled out the little black bag that held the bracelet I got him. I tried to fight back the smile on my face by biting my bottom lip.
"It's nothing big," I explained as he pulled out the bracelet from the bag. "I just thought of you when I saw it. I figured it was a good way to thank you for always looking out for me."
Hunter looked down at the bracelet in his hand with an emotion I couldn't decipher. He then put it on and looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. "I love it, but you don't have to thank me," He said before pulling me into a strong hug.
I reveled in the hug. My arms wrapped around his neck and my good cheek pressed against the side of his head as his face dug into my neck. His arms held me tight around my midsection. I breathed in his scent, feeling so at ease and comfortable being pressed against him.
Hunter pulled away a bit, but kept our faces close. His arms were still wrapped around me as his hands rested on the small of my back. "I am always going to protect you," he said seriously as he held my gaze.
I nodded, unsure of what to say, but not wanting this moment to ever end. I wondered why he wanted to protect me. I knew that he used to while growing up, but I figured the two years of avoidance and the one year of him being gone was a clear indication that he didn't feel that way anymore. He didn't seem to be that way with anyone else. In fact, he rarely engaged in conversation with other people, not that any students really tried to initiate with him, but you could just tell he didn't care. With me though, it was different, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't like that.
Hunter brought his face closer and my heart rate started to pick up. He kissed my cheek that was now healing nicely, dangerously close to my lips. "No more stitches, I see," He smiled at me cheerfully as he pulled back again. I was still trying to catch my breath.
He didn't move his arms from around me, and once I came back to reality, I was fighting to contain my joy as I sat practically in his lap.
"I know. I am happy it's starting to look less ugly," I laughed, but this made his smile falter a bit.
"Nothing about you could ever look ugly," he assured me as his smile picked back up. There was a hint of mirth beneath his words which made me blush and let out a giggle. I gently hit his chest and told him to stop as the embarrassment was clear on my face.
