"There'll be happiness after you,
But there was happiness because of you.
Both of these things can be true."
- Taylor Swift
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"No way."
"But -"
"No."
"Hunter, would you just -"
"Not a chance."
"Well, it's not like we have a choice."
"Well, there's no way in hell that's happening. I don't want you spending a whole day around that asshole," Hunter states.
I sigh and do my best not to roll my eyes. This is so not going well.
Today is a Saturday, and for once, we don't have a track meet. Normally, this would be cause for celebration, but of course, Coach Smith couldn't let us off that easy. Instead, our Track team is holding a fundraiser today to raise money for our trip to the championship meet in a few weeks.
The team's been doing surprisingly well lately, and I've been getting better at every meet, with Hunter's coaching of course. As a matter of fact, right now I'm actually ranked in the top five female high jumpers in our district.
The problem now is, we're all going to have to work our butts off if we want to raise enough money for the trip. Private school equals no government funding for these sorts of things.
Normally, that wouldn't be so bad. After all, we have fundraisers every year, and I'm used to being forced to hassle people for money every season. This year though, the teachers decided to make it even worse by pairing us up and giving us all separate jobs.
And of course, since that apparently wasn't bad enough, my partner just happens to be Sean.
Needless to say, Hunter is a little... uncomfortable with the idea. And by uncomfortable, I mean he's going out of his mind.
I mean, I guess I get it. Sean isn't exactly his favorite person in the world, and ever since Hunter and I officially became a couple, things have only gotten more tense between the two of them.
Thankfully, they haven't had anymore physical altercations, not since that first fight. Granted, that might be because Sean's pretty much steered clear of us since then. Whenever they are forced to interact though, there's just this really hostile energy that comes off of both of them in waves.
I'm trying to be understanding of Hunter's feelings about this whole thing. After all, I don't know how I would have reacted if he hadn't gotten paired with Rose. I mean, the looks some of the girls in class threw Hunter's way when Coach Smith announced that we'd be working in pairs? Yeah, I'll be seeing those in my nightmares for a while.
"It's not a whole day, it's a few hours," I point out for the third time. "And I don't have a choice. They paired us together."
"I'll figure something out," Hunter says, voice laced with annoyance as he crosses his arms over his chest.
I have to stop myself from smiling. I should probably be taking him more seriously, but is it bad that I think he's kind of adorable right now?
"No, you won't. You're already in enough trouble for your little outburst when they announced the pairs," I tell him, amusement in my voice as I recall the incident.
"So I got a little heated," Hunter defends.
"A little? You threw a book at the back of Sean's head," I say with a laugh. "Which was uncalled for. Funny, but uncalled for."
"Oh come on, it was just a paperback. He'll live," he replies, clearly pleased with himself.
Sensing that he's finally calmed down a bit, I take it as an opportunity to try to talk some sense into him. Taking a step towards him, I gently place a hand on his chest and take a good look at him. He's clearly stressed, and his hair's a mess from running his hands through it, but he's still just as handsome as he was the first time I saw him.
My heart skips a beat when I feel him relax under my touch.
"Look, Hunter, I don't want to do this either, but we all have to help out. It's just a fundraiser, it'll be fine," I say, giving him a reassuring smile.
Or at least what I hope is a reassuring smile. Considering he's usually the one reassuring me, I'm not exactly sure how to do this.
"Mia, if he says something, if he tries something...," he says, then shakes his head like he's frustrated with himself. "I just don't want to leave you alone with him, alright? He's a bad guy."
I can see why he'd be worried. After all, the whole time Hunter's been here, Sean's been nothing but two-faced and awful. He wasn't always like that though. He used to be someone capable of having an actual conversation.
"I'll be fine," I reply. "He's not going to try anything, and even if he does, I know how to handle him. Besides, we're still going to be on school property anyway, it's not like I'm going to a dark alley with him."
"But-"
"No more but's," I say cutting him off. "I don't want you getting into any more trouble, especially not for me." Reluctantly, I pull away from him. "I'll see you in a few hours, okay?"
"Come on Hunter, don't get all worked up," Zack calls from behind me. I turn around to see him coming down the hallway with Jay following closely behind. "We've got the same assignment as her anyway. We'll watch out for her."
"Yeah, we're the only ones that get to mess with her," Jay says leaning his elbow on my head, like I'm his personal armrest.
I shove Jay off as Hunter, who finally seems to have relaxed, lets out a short laugh.
"You'd think you'd be more worried about leaving me alone with them..," I mumble.
"No, them, I'm pretty sure you can handle. Keep an eye on her for me, will you guys?" he says, turning to Zack and Jay, who quickly nod. Hunter smiles, before leaning down and quickly kissing me on the forehead. "See you in a few hours."
"See you," I reply with a smile, giving him a wave as he walks off.
Alright. Well, this should be fun.
***************************
"Sean," I call, trying to balance the heavy boxes of supplies in my arms, but he continues to sit there like he didn't hear me. "Sean," I repeat. Still no response. "Sean!" I finally yell.
"That's right, babe, say my name," Sean says turning around with a smirk.
"Ew! No, you idiot. Get over here and help me with this," I shoot back, my arms beginning to buckle under the weight.
"Okay, okay," he replies, walking over and relieving me of the boxes. "You know, all you had to do was ask Mia."
I stretch my arms, which now feel incredibly lighter. "Yeah right..," I glance across the grass and see my supposed "guardians" looking like they're about to head out. "Zack, Jay, where are you guys going?" I ask striding over to them.
"To the library. My phone's about to die, and there are no outlets out here," Jay replies, gesturing to the entrance of the school.
"Wait, you can't just leave me out here with him," I say in a hushed tone.
"Mia, you'll be fine," Zack says. "We've been here over an hour already and nothing bad has happened. It's been kind of boring actually."
"Exactly, and I want to keep it that way," I stress. "What happened to looking out for me? What kind of friends would just abandon me like this?"
"Ones who are bored as hell just sitting here and forgot to charge their phones last night," Jay responds. "Look, you're being overdramatic. Besides, don't you think it's time you and Sean talked things out? I mean, you can't spend the rest of your life avoiding him."
"I'm not going to avoid him for the rest of my life, just until the end of senior year..," I finish. "Come on, guys, please?"
"We'll be right back, promise," Zack says, as he and Jay start to walk away. I narrow my eyes at their retreating figures.
Yeah... They're definitely not coming back.
Defeated, I sigh and head back to the table, taking my seat next to Sean.
Business has been pretty dead this morning. Believe it or not, no one seems to want to buy the cheap crap we're peddling. Who would've guessed.
Just as I sit down Sean gets a phone call. Great, now he's going to leave too, and I'll be stuck here, trying to sell this crap all alone.
"Hey man," Sean says into the receiver. "Oh really?" I see him glance at me out of the corner of his eye, and he hesitates before speaking. "Nah, I can't. I have some stuff going on I can't leave. Alright. Later." He hangs up and puts his phone back in his pocket, leaving me incredibly confused.
We sit in silence for a while, and I take the book I brought out of my bag and start to read, hoping to kill some time. Just as I'm getting into some dialogue though, Sean speaks up.
"So," he begins. "Dating the big bad Hunter Scott now, huh?"
Here we go.
I sigh and lower my book, finally making eye contact with him for the first time since we've been out here.
The first thing I notice is that, although fading now, his eye is still bruised from his fight with Hunter. I hold back a smile, as I remember the incident. More importantly, what happened later that night.
"Sean, can we please just not?" I ask.
"Hey, don't worry, I don't want any trouble, Mia. Still recovering from last time, remember?" Sean asks, gesturing to his eye with that annoying smirk on his face. "Can't we just talk though?"
I raise an eyebrow at him. "Not when you're acting like that we can't."
"Like what?"
"Like, whoever this person is that you're pretending to be."
Sean's eyes narrow at me, the smirk finally falling from his face as his expression hardens. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asks.
"It means, be honest with me, or leave me alone. It's not that hard," I say. With that, I angle myself away from him, hoping to cut off any further conversation.
But of course after a moment, Sean speaks again.
"What do you mean be honest with you?" he asks quietly. I glance at him, and the look on his face makes my anger dissipate somewhat.
I take a deep breath and turn back to him. Maybe Zack and Jay are right. Maybe it's time we finally had this out.
"I mean.. I know you Sean, and you're not this person," I say. "You never were. You're the boy who gets nervous around girls. You're the guy who thinks he's never good enough at sports no matter how many points he makes or how fast he runs. You're the boy who's scared that his older brother is better than him, and is terrified that everyone likes him better than you. Not to mention, you're the guy that had a chance to ditch me a little while ago, and you didn't. You're not this cocky asshole, and you know it. Just stop pretending."
Sean shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "I never told you any of that stuff..," he says.
"You didn't have to," I reply, my tone softening slightly. "I told you, I know you. Probably one of the few people that do. And I'd like to think that you know me too. Better than most people at least," I finish.
"Yeah.. I do," Sean says, the corners of his mouth turning up in a faint smile.
"Look, Sean, I don't want to be like this with you, okay?" I begin. "I don't want to look back at my first relationship and regret every minute of it or think back on the guy I had my first kiss with and feel nothing but anger. I want to look back on it and smile. Not this.." I look away from him then, embarrassed at my own words. Maybe I've said too much.
We sit in silence for a while.
"You were mine too you know," he says.
"What?"
"First kiss," he replies, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck. "You were mine too."
It's a vulnerability I haven't seen from him in a long time, and something about it warms my heart.
"Well, I guess I should've known. You were pretty bad at it," I joke, giving him a small smile. He laughs, and so do I.
"Wow, a smile," he says, almost sadly. "There's something you haven't done around me in a while. It's nice to see."
"Yeah, it's nice to do," I reply glancing back down at the book in my lap.
"Did you seriously bring a book to this thing?" Sean grins. "That's so like you, Mia."
"What?" I defend. "I thought it was going to be boring, and I was right," I say, gesturing widely to our complete lack of customers.
"And of course it's this book," he says reaching over and taking it from me. "Haven't you read this already? You're not tired of it yet?"
"Of course not, I love this book. I've read it like two times now, remember?"
Oh crap.
I shift uncomfortably in my chair. "I mean... Never mind," my voice trails off.
Stupid stupid stupid Mia. Everything was going so well, and I just had to go and bring up the past. Amazing.
"I remember," Sean replies with a smile, gently running his fingers over the pages.
*Flashback*
I shift in my bus seat trying to get more leg room. These rows were definitely not made for tall people.
"You brought a book?" Sean asks, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Yeah, of course. It's a three hour bus ride," I reply with a short laugh.
Sean and I have just started going out. Well, if you can call it that. We haven't really been able to spend any time together, so we decided to make the best of a bad situation and at least sit together on the way to the championship track meet.
"Oh..," he says, looking slightly disappointed. "I just thought maybe.. Never mind."
"What?"
"Well, if you would put that book down, I was kind of hoping I could hold your hand," Sean admits.
"Oh," I say, suddenly feeling insanely oblivious. "I think I can read with one hand."
"Thank God. I thought you'd never take the hint," Sean grins before holding his hand out to me.
Tentatively, I reach out and place my hand in his. This shouldn't be such a big deal to me, but it is. I've never held a guy's hand before. Sean's hand is a lot wider than mine is, and our fingers don't really fit well together, but I don't care. I'm happy just to be here with him.
I smile at him and turn back to my book. I'm in the middle of an intense action scene when I feel Sean drawing soft circles on the back of my hand with his thumb.
When he starts drumming his fingers on my hand, I can't fight the smile that makes it's way onto my face.
I finally give in and turn to face him. "You know, you're making it really difficult to pay attention to the story."
Sean smiles. "That's kind of the point," he says. He quickly brings my hand up to his mouth and places a gentle kiss there.
Immediately, my face heats up, my brain shuts down, and I can't find the words to say.
"I -um..," I begin.
"Just put the book away?" Sean says warmly, reaching over and taking the book from my lap.
*Flashback Ends*
"Things were pretty different then, huh?" Sean asks.
I wrap my arms around myself and let my hair fall to cover my face. "Yeah, well, a lot can happen in a year," I reply.
"Listen Mia, if I could go back and change what happened -," he begins.
"No," I say quickly, cutting him off. This isn't what I wanted. We're getting into dangerous territory. "It's fine, really. Things worked out for the best anyway. Hunter is.. He's the best thing to ever happen to me," I say with a smile, bringing my hand up to grasp the pendant on my necklace. Honestly, I'm holding onto it for dear life right now.
Nervous habit of mine, as Hunter pointed out.
"Yeah...," Sean says, looking uncomfortable. "But Mia -"
"Look at that, our sentence is up," I say, looking at the clock on my phone screen. "Guess we're done. Help me put all this stuff away?" I suggest.
Sean sighs. "Yeah, sure."
We both stand up and begin packing everything back into the boxes.
As soon as we're done, I grab my bag and get ready to leave. This whole conversation has made me feel uneasy, and I want to see Hunter as soon as possible.
"I better get going," I say. "Hunter's probably waiting."
"Yeah, Jessica's waiting for me too," Sean replies. "I'm really glad we got to talk though, Mia. Friends?" he asks with outstretched arms.
"Uh yeah, sure," I reply. He moves forward and wraps his arms around me, but I remain stiff, just waiting for him to let go.
Finally, he releases me. "See you around," he says, then he turns and walks away in the other direction.
That was...odd.
However, when I turn around, I see the reason why Sean held on for so long.
A little ways off, I see Hunter standing with his hands in his pockets, and he doesn't look happy.
Curse you Sean.
I walk up to him tentatively, trying to prepare myself for whatever's coming.
"Hey," I say.
"Hey..," Hunter replies. "Just one question. Should I be worried?" he asks, a look of concern on his face, instead of the anger I was expecting.
I breathe a sigh of relief and smile at him. "No," I reply.
"Good," he says, closing the distance between us. "That's all I need to hear." He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me to him. "I missed you."
"I missed you too," I reply truthfully as we head to the parking lot.
************************
By the time we pull into the parking lot of the cafe, I've already recounted the full story of what happened with Sean to Hunter.
I know he didn't ask, but I still felt like I owed him an explanation.
"That's great, Mia. I'm glad you finally got to talk things out," Hunter says, pulling the keys out of the ignition. "I still don't like him though."
I laugh. "I know, neither do I half the time. I just didn't want to spend the rest of high school hiding from it, you know?"
"Yeah, I get that," he replies. "You made the right call. If you could keep the long, meaningful hugs to a minimum though, that would be great."
"No complaints here," I say, raising my hands in defense. "Trust me, that was uncomfortable for both of us."
"I don't know. Sean looked pretty comfortable," Hunter replies, as we get out of the car. "Wait a minute, didn't I tell Zack and Jay to look out for you?"
I let out a short laugh. "Yeah, I probably should have warned you. They do that kind of stuff a lot."
Hunter laughs and shakes his head. "You know, a heads up would have been nice."
I shrug. "I tried to tell you."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N - Fun fact, I mean to finish this chapter way earlier today, but work was so busy I didn't get a chance to. Living the dream guys lol
Anyways, song at the top is "Out of the Woods" by Taylor Swift.
See you tomorrow! Please don't forget to comment and vote! :)