The Road Ahead (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 4 of The Hardships Saga)

Chapter Nine

"Thought you said our relationship was built on trust, not lies?"

"Oh, that does it!" He pinned her to the couch, still tickling her, and they both began laughing loudly.

"For God's sake, you two," yelled Elle from a bedroom. "You're not nearly loud enough, the people on Mars can't freaking hear you!"

"We're trying to sleep," added Phoenix.

Hunter chuckled, kissing Ryan once. "Sorry, kids," he called, looking down at Ryan. "We'll keep it down."

"We ought to sleep," said Ryan softly, though she was still breathless from laughing.

"I have a better idea," he said, kissing her deeply. She shuddered, and he pressed slow kisses down her neck. "We can be quiet."

"I don't want to be tired," she said quietly. "I'm sorry, but-"

"That's fine, we have another night all to ourselves," he said, giving her a quick kiss and getting up so that she could sit up. "Do you want to stay here, or go to bed?"

"Bed would be better, wouldn't it? In order to get some proper rest, I mean?"

"Yeah, I guess. Let's go to bed." He picked her up bridal style, making her laugh, before he carried her to her bedroom. He lay her down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "Sleep well, my dove," he breathed, before Ryan drifted off.

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Ryan walked out of the examination hall feeling defeated. Her brain was hurting from all the complex things she had written, and all of the musical notation she had needed to read.

Becca ran up behind her. "Hey, how did you go?"

"Don't think I passed," she said tiredly.

"Aww, don't say that. I'm sure you did just fine!"

She sighed. "I dunno. So much of it was stuff I feel like I just didn't answer properly."

"I-" She stopped, staring. "Hey, isn't that Spencer over there with that man?"

Ryan glanced up. Sure enough, Spencer was waving excitedly, with Elle, Phoenix and Robin all standing beside Hunter, who was holding a bunch of-

"Hydrangeas," she said softly, smiling. "You hopeless romantic, Hunter."

Becca's eyes widened, and she looked again. "Wait, is that Hunter?! He's here?!"

"He came to visit on a whim," she said. "And the whole family came along."

"That's so sweet of him."

"I know."

"Mama!" Robin ran to Ryan and hugged her tightly, and she laughed softly, kissing the top of her head.

"Hey, petal."

"How did your exam go?" said Elle, quickly hugging her as well.

"Not bad," she lied. "Let's all of us go and grab some Nandos."

"Is it good there?" asked Phoenix, sounding slightly skeptical.

"It's great," said Spencer. "I like the hemon and lerb! It's yummy!"

"I think you mean lemon and herb, honey," said Hunter with a laugh. "Ry, how was it?"

"It wasn't too bad," said Ryan quietly. "Let's not talk about it now, okay?"

"Later?"

"Fine."

He handed her the flowers, and she smelled them. "They smell wonderful," she said, and he smiled, kissing her cheek, before noticing Becca. "Oh! I don't think we've met," he said, though Ryan could see that he was quite confused. "And you are...?"