Chapter Twenty Eight – Disappointment, Declarations and Confessions

I erratically tapped the end of my pencil against the desk, unknowingly garnering the attention of half of my maths class.

Cassey nudged me and I quickly stopped, quickly punching some numbers into my calculator unconvincingly trying to look like I was doing work. I thought hard. What exactly had I done to her? Hunter did not...does not...like me. I was pretty sure of that.

I glanced up at the clock; five minutes left until the end of class and the columns I had ruled at the beginning were still close to empty. The most important year of my life basically, and I was wasting the time I had, thinking about such frivolous things.

The bell tolled and the pang of guilt hit me. Tonight, I would stay up late to catch up on my work. I made a declaration to myself that I would work harder. I will work hard. I will push myself so I have no regrets. No sleep until I finish what I have to.

Just as we filed out of class, I saw Hunter and Jenny walking down the hallway towards me, talking. Jenny said something to Hunter and then left the other way, avoiding me.

"Hey," he grinned, nudging me with his books.

What on earth was he doing with her? It couldn't be...could it? After her sudden love confession he realised that they could totally be a thing, and so now they're all buddy buddy? Son, she basically just ratted you out.

I don't care, I told myself.

"Hey," I replied limply.

"Look, I talked to Jenny yesterday..." he began.

He talked to Jenny? After we left he talked to her? It felt like I'd just been stabbed in the back. Then again, what obligation did we have to each other? None at all.

"Oi Ella! I'll talk to you later," I said quickly to Hunter, rushing off.

Then why didn't I want to hear what he had to say?

"You're not usually this eager to talk to me," Ella remarked. "Woah, hold your horses. Why are you walking so quickly?"

"Just walk," I said, grabbing her arm. I glanced back quickly to see Hunter turn away.

"That's unusual. Ditching the boy for your friend now, are we?" She teased.

"After we all left yesterday, he talked to Jenny."

She stopped walking. "What happened?" She turned to face me, her eyes scanning every inch of my face.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? How did you know that they talked?"

"He told me."

"You didn't ask what they talked about?"

"He was going to tell me, but that's when I saw you...so I just ran."

"Why would you do that?"

"I saw them together in the hallway earlier, okay!? They were talking, smiling? I don't know anymore!"

"And you say you don't like him," she scoffed.

"I don't!" I protested.

Ella nodded sarcastically. We reached our lockers and stacked our books inside. I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder and turned around. Jenny stood there, looking at her feet.

"Can we talk?" She said.

"I don't have anything to say to you," I mumbled.

"Then just listen," she said, attempting to reach for my arm. I drew my arm back.

"Okay."

I followed her to the drink fountain. "I talked to Hunter yesterday –"

"I know," I said, cutting her off. I was waiting for her to apologise while she stood there, staring at her feet. What was she going to achieve by getting me in trouble? Slightly damaging my reputation? Was this to chase Hunter, or to attack me?

"I'm not going to apologise, because – "

"Just tell me what you want to say," I snapped.

"I was out of line, but I realised, we're on even playing ground." I raised an eyebrow. "I told him yesterday," she started. "That I liked him," she clarified. I nodded slowly; I'd suspected it for a while, but I never expected her to be so upfront. "He told me that he doesn't love you yet, that maybe it's just a passing interest, so I know I still have a chance," she smiled.

"So no more underhanded moves?"

She nodded.

The strange thing was, I took this more as a challenge, and I was ready to compete.

Except, in most competitions, I was fairly certain I had the upper hand. This time, I wasn't so sure.

He doesn't love you yet...maybe it's just a passing interest.

If I had known it all along, why did my heart sink?

~*~

I couldn't avoid Hunter for any longer because it was the end of the day, and I couldn't leave quickly enough before he caught me at the gate.

My gut was boiling because his talking to Jenny had almost felt like a betrayal. I knew there really wasn't much to betray, but somewhere along the way, I'd thought he was on my side, and the reality hurt a lot more than it should have.

"Hey, why have you been avoiding me all day?" He asked.

"I haven't," I lied. "I've just been busy. I'm actually planning on getting home and baking some cupcakes before studying."

My stomach was grumbling and baking didn't sound like such a bad idea.

"Oh good, I can help you. Let's go," he grinned, linking arms with me, leading the way. The heat rushed to my face and I tried to grind my feet into the ground and hold him back, but he obviously wasn't going to give up until he had a chance to talk about whatever it was.

My parents were both still at work, and baking cupcakes wouldn't take too long anyway.

"You remember where I live? Creepy," I said.

"I've only been here, what, three times? My memory might be bad, but it's not that bad."

I fished my keys out from my bag and unlocked the door. "If my parents come home unexpectedly, be prepared to crawl out of the kitchen window," I warned.

"Ready and willing, provided you give me some cupcakes of course."

"You can't seriously be here just for cupcakes."

"You're right. I talked to Jenny the other day, and she kind of explained everything."

I nodded and pulled out the cupcake mix from the cupboard. I was never one for cooking, so I cheated and bought the mix – you only had to add egg and milk.

Hunter ripped open the box and cut the bag containing the mix, pouring it into the bowl. The powder poofed up and plastered my face. "Thanks Hunter," I mumbled sarcastically, wiping it off with my forearm.

"So, I talked to Jenny –"

"We're okay now, I think. She kind of told me today that she wouldn't do it again."

"She moved here because some girl she was friends with before kind of crushed her self esteem I guess. And somehow, she thought you were like her, and I don't know, decided she was going to grow a backbone by doing that."

"I get it – what it's like to feel invisible," I sighed.

I cracked the eggs into the bowl and poured the milk in. Hunter plugged the electric mixer into the power point.

"I'll give her a second chance, if that's what you're leading up to," I sighed. Listening to him defend her hurt a lot more than it should have.

He told me her story anyway while I mixed. "I had a friend like that once, and she just ditched me one day, so that was nice I guess."

"Then you found Ella?"

"Yeah. Ella's a little weird but she's stuck by me the entire time," I grinned. "Come on, pour the cupcake mix into the patties."

"Alright nerd bird."

We finally finished and I shoved the cupcakes into the oven, which I'd forgotten to preheat. "Anyway, I will give Jenny a second chance, I mean, I have a limited number of friends," I laughed.

Before I could turn around again, he hugged me, resting his chin on my shoulder. My body stiffened and I could feel my heart rate soaring. Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump.

"I really like you," he said, his breath brushing against my ear, giving me goosebumps. Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, okay," I replied, turning around. "Very funny Hunter."

"I'm being serious," he said. His emerald green eyes stared into mine. "I thought about it. I was going to say something earlier, but I wasn't sure. I don't need an answer now, but maybe before I'm fifty, you know? I get that you love your grades the most. Maybe if I had your grades, I'd love them too," he grinned goofily, sticking his hands in my pockets. "But anyway, I like you, and I just wanted to you to know."

~*~

This chapter will definitely be re-written – I just wanted to keep the story going! :)

It was about time I got things moving hahaha

Sosososososo please vote and comment what you think!