SpellShocked (SpellShocked Saga: Book 1)

Chapter 34 - Really Obvious And Extremely Oblivious

"I still think he was way out of line," I heard Olivia say as Hunter and I walked into our usual corner of the library.

"It's a start though, isn't it?" Az replied.

"What's a start?" Hunter asked as we sat down beside them. I was delighted when he sat right next to me on the couch, our arms touching; it made goose bumps appear across my skin.

"My father," Olivia groaned, "After the match he basically said well done but don't think every opponent will be as easy as that one."

"That was not an easy fight," Hunter frowned, "You won it because you're really talented with you Focus; it's not easy for any sorcerer to see into the future with enough clarity to avoid attacks even if they do have a Focus in Divination. Not to mention the intelligence it takes to think up a counter strategy on the fly like that."

"Hunter, stop, you'll make me blush," Olivia teased.

"It's true though! You were amazing and if he can't see that then he's got a screw loose!"

"You're right," Olivia sighed, "But...is it bad that I just wanted him to actually give me a bit of respect for once?"

"I think in his own way he was," Az said, "Maybe he's just not great at showing emotion?"

"He's not," Olivia agreed, "but you'd think he'd try to muster up some kind of emotion for his own daughter. Anyway, enough about him, I just want to forget about it for now and revel in my victory." She put her hands behind her head and reclined on the sofa.

"Where did you two disappear to?" Az asked, that same look as before in his eye.

"We just went for a walk in the forest," Hunter said, grinning goofily.

"Oh really?" Az raised a single eyebrow. I wasn't sure how to take that honestly, he was as hard to read as ever.

Hunter glanced over to me, his expression questioning, wanting to know if I was still okay with telling them. And strangely enough, I was. I mean, I could feel my heartbeat in my throat and my hands were shaky as hell, but despite all of that I felt determined to go through with it.

"S-So, um, I-I...w-we, um," I stammered, trying desperately to find the words to say. I knew I had to make a sentence with the words 'I', 'am,' and 'gay' in there somewhere but I just couldn't stop my stutter from taking over.

It was when Hunter reached over and took my hand firmly in his own that I calmed down just a little. I looked at him and the warm, soft smile on his face. I took a deep breath and turned back to Az and Olivia who were looked confusedly down at our conjoint hands.

"I-I...um, we're sorta...together...I think?" I raised our joined hands into the air and shook them slightly to emphasise my point. "I'm, um, y'know...g-g-gay." The last part was almost a whisper.

Surprisingly, Olivia turned to Hunter and yelled, "Well it's about damn time!"

"Wait, what?" I mumbled, a little bit dazed by the whole situation.

"I knew you fancied him," she continued, ignoring my muttering, "You shouldn't have waited this long to tell him!"

"How did you know I liked Charlie?" Hunter asked, casting me a nervous glance.

"I've known you a while now, Hunter," she said, "You've never acted like this around a guy before now. Not to mention you wear your heart on your sleeve."

"Did you know too?" he asked Az.

"I guessed as much. I wasn't sure Charlie was gay, but I thought there might be something going on between you."