better than this

Chapter 16

Hunter

"Bro, it'll be great. Please just come." Jack attempts to convince me to go to a party he thinks will be good. "I don't know. I don't exactly cope well with alcohol..." I admit even though all I want to do is think about Blair and our date and everything since. He sighs, "Alright. Then you don't have to drink. Maybe just a bit but it's a party, you can do it just this once." Jack continues. It is just one night and I haven't been to a party since I moved here surprisingly, this one is slightly out of town but apparently is going to be good. I hate myself for giving in but I do. And I go.

Blair

I'm woken up by singing outside. I can hear someone belting '500 miles' on the street at the top of their lungs. I look at the clock to check the time: 3:30AM. I groan and get up to see who it could be on this street, maybe Ollie. Nope. It's Hunter. He drops his beer and it smashes. "Fuck." He mutters as he walks down the street. I put on a pair of jogging bottoms and a vest over my underwear and head outside.

"Blair." He whispers when he sees me. "Hunter...you're drunk?" I question even though I know the answer already. "Yes. That I am nervy nerves." He slurs and I walk over to him and wrap his arm around my shoulder. We walk together to his house. "Your mum is gone right?" I confirm with him as he manages a slight nod. "Keys." I say and he fumbles around in his coat pocket before taking them out and dropping them. "Shit." He mutters and I sigh, smiling and pick them up from the floor before unlocking the door. We both stumble up to his room and I lay him down on the bed, taking off his shoes and his coat before sitting down beside him crosslegged.

He instinctively shifts his position and lays his head in my lap and I smile and run my hands through his hair, noticing for the first time a small tattoo of an anchor just behind his ear. "I'm sorry Blair." He says, sounding upset, "Don't worry about it." I respond. Seconds later I feel wet tears landing on my leg. "I'm just like my dad." He says quiet and vulnerable, his voice breaking, making me want to cry as well. I don't cry but continue to play with his hair and stroke his head until he falls asleep, whispering "No you're not. It's okay." just like he did to me when I wasn't okay, when I had my panic attack and when I broke up with Jax. When i realise he's fallen asleep I rest his head on his pillow and put the duvet over him before standing and getting ready to tip toe out. "Blair?" Hunter says, sounding so hopeless my heart aches. "Yes?" I respond to him, walking quietly back over. "Please. Stay." He says desperately and I sigh. I wrote my mum a letter before I left saying I was helping out an ill friend so I could stay. And I do. Of course I do, he sounded so desperate and vulnerable that I couldn't just leave him. I walk around the bed and get in the opposite side. He lifts his arm, gesturing for me to lie with him, I rest my head on his chest and he wraps his arm around my shoulder, stroking my head soothingly with his hand. His hand gradually slows down as he falls asleep minutes later. The sound of his soft breathing makes me fall asleep almost immediately after he does.

I am woken up by Hunter jolting awake, sweating. "You okay?" I ask him as I sit up, Hunter breathing heavily at my side. "Blair." He says quietly and I touch his hand. He flinches away from my touch and leans over to turn on his lamp. "You - you shouldn't be here." He says shakily, his words are still slurring slightly, he's still sort of drunk. He buries his head in his hands and screws his eyes shut. "Hunter. What's wrong?" I ask him, concerned. "You should leave." He snaps and I retract. "Will you at least tell me why? You did ask me to stay." I say quietly, hurt at his harsh actions. "Yes. I know. But you should leave now. You don't have to deal with me I - I'm not going to make you look after me." He says, his tone serious. I shake my head. "I don't care Hunter. It's fine." I reassure him and he shakes his head forcefully. "No. I don't want you to be involved with me." He almost shouts and I look down at the bed sheets. "Because you're drunk a lot?" I ask him quietly, not really wanting to hear an answer and mainly just trying to delay leaving. "Because I'm a lost cause. There's no point in you wasting your time." He says forcefully. "You aren't a lost cause." I try to tell him strongly but my voice comes out small, almost a whisper. "You - you've got to go." He says firmly to me. I know he's drunk and might not even remember this conversation but it still hurts to hear the words coming from him. "Hunter I --"
"Damn it Blair just go!" He shouts and raises his hand to gesture out the room. I am hurt and confused and angry all at the same time. But anger takes over. "Okay. Fine!" I snap and start to get up, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes.

I shift to the edge of the bed and stand. He stands with me and walks slowly behind me until I reach the door. I turn to him one more time but he's looking away. "You're welcome, for looking after you, by the way." I say firmly and his face is filled with a mixture of guilt and hurt before I walk out, slamming his door. I rush down the stairs but stop halfway when I hear him shout in frustration and something smashing. I think about walking back and seeing if he's okay but his angry face reappears in my head and I push on forward. I close his front door without slamming it and go back to my house and into my room before letting out a long, shaky breath and collapsing on my bed, wanting to cry but being too tired to push tears from my eyes.