When Mr Popular meets Abby Hart | *COMPLETED*

Chapter Forty-Six: The beauty of not knowing

Well...here it is! The final chapter, I shall keep you waiting no further, enjoy. :) 

-sangeetha

Chapter Forty-Six: The beauty of not knowing

As I watched with eyes wide in anger and frustration at Hunter who was bent over with his right hand resting on his knee and the other clutching the left side of his jaw, my eyes slowly trailed over to my hand – throbbing and tinged pink. I realised I'd just slapped Hunter across the face. Hard.

Hunter breathed out slowly, standing up straighter with his head tilted up and his left hand massaging his jaw.

I didn't say anything, feeling slightly guilty that I'd just hurt him.

Hunter's eyes found mine after a moment. One hand remaining on the side of his jaw, he spoke to me.

"I told my dad I was at school so he wouldn't get pissed at me for taking the day off." He stared away from me. "And... I told you I was at work experience because," he reached into the pocket of his pants. "I was getting you this."

I looked down at the small, silvery box in his hand, tied up with a black, velvet ribbon. I folded my arms, "What about the picture?"

"What picture?"

I pulled out my phone from my cardigan pocket. "The one with you and her together," I said finding the picture. "Where she's on your lap and kissing your cheek." I held out the phone in front of him and he breathed out with frustration before he even looked at it properly.

"She sent you an old picture Naomi," he said, staring back at me. "Look in the top right hand corner."

I did as he said and sure enough there was a banner that read 'Happy New Year' behind them both.

"That was before I even met you," continued Hunter.

'Right,' I thought. 'You mean before we'd ever spoken to each other once and the teacher decided to pair us up together out of the kindness of his heart.' I put my phone back into the safety of my cardigan pocket and stared away from him.

"As for this," began Hunter staring at the little box in his hand. "I was saving it to give to you on your real birthday, tomorrow but... Oh well." He took a step closer towards me and held out the box for me to take.

I simply stared down at the box.

Hunter sighed, "Can you please just take it?"

I couldn't bring myself to do it, so he untied the ribbon and opened the box before taking my hand and placing the opened box on my palm.

"I knew how much you wanted it," he said as my eyes stared down at the box, now sitting in the palm of my hand and my eyes began to go blurry.

Sitting there in the comfort of the white velvet box interior was the very same necklace I had looked at a few weeks back after Hunter and I had stumbled upon that little town a few hours from home. It was the necklace I had fallen completely in love with after seeing just how much it resembled that of a necklace my grandmother used to wear. It's silvery-grey antique chain, it's daintily and intricately painted rose on the oval pendant surrounded by tiny crystal-blue jewels, reminded me of her. Holding back my tears, I managed to look up at Hunter. "Can..." I tried again. "Can you put it on?" I asked softly.

"Sure, yeah." Hunter took the necklace out of the box carefully and I turned around, sweeping my hair out of the way to one side.

Hunter draped the necklace around my neck and I closed my eyes gently as his fingers grazed the back of my neck causing goose bumps to form as he clasped the necklace on.

Once it was secure, I glanced around at him, my hands clutching the pendant. "And... One more thing?"

"Anything," he said, sincerity in his voice.

"Can you, forgive me?" I asked turning around to face him.

"Of course," he said softly staring into my eyes. "I completely understand why you would have thought that – I've been an idiot but I would never – "

I kissed him.

My lips pressed against his softly and I pulled back after a moment, my hands still resting on the sides of his neck and jaw. "I'm sorry I slapped you," I whispered against his lips.

Hunter's now slightly heavy eyes stared into mine before they slowly trailed down to my lips again. I stared back at him in the same way. Hunter's hands found the sides of my waist and they slowly slid down to my hips. He pulled me closer and kissed me back, more passionately while my hands lay on his hard chest. He pulled back momentarily and I parted my lips more, taking a breath in before he kissed me again, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist and pulling our bodies even closer against each other. Loving the feel of his lips against mine, I slid my hands up his chest, over his shoulders and wrapped my arms around his neck just as he'd done with my waist only seconds earlier. His cologne drifted around me sending me slightly dizzy as our breathing got faster and Hunter kissed me like never before. It was as if until this moment we had been kept away from each other for an eternity.

Just as I began to feel Hunter's tongue find mine sending tingles up my spine, I heard a group of people by the house call out and whistle in our direction.

"Whoo!!"

"Yeah-heh guys!" shouted Dylan.

I hesitatingly pulled back, loosening my arms around Hunter's neck and turned my head towards them, my eyes slightly dazed as I did so. I locked eyes with Abby whom was grinning back at me, Dylan's arm around her.

"Get a roooom guys!" shouted Eric with an empty bottle of something in his hands, causing a smile to curl at the sides of my lips. He was drunk.

As Eric and some others continued to call out things to the both of us, Hunter simply raised one hand out towards them as if to say 'shut-up' then he turned back to me, not needing to say a single word before his lips found mine once more. Soon enough Hunter's arms were wrapped warmly around my waist once again and my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. The voices drowned out around us. Making out with Hunter felt more right than ever right now and there was nothing that could ruin this moment for us. Nothing. Where things would go from here, I did not know. But that was the beauty of it. It didn't matter, because everything would play out just right on its own and in its own time. Right now, I just needed to enjoy the moment. And that's exactly what I did.

The end.