This is a little bonus chapter I wrote a few years ago. It's really just fluff, but some people were asking me about it and I thought it might cheer some people up right now. I hope you'll enjoy! :)

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I had already known what it was like to miss someone before I had left home. Like when Emily had flown to Europe for two weeks with Liam right after our graduation. Or like those few days when my mom had been on a class trip with her fourth-graders and Maya had stayed at a friend's house, where I couldn't see her.

However, nothing could have prepared me for this feeling in my chest whenever I thought of Hunter after almost two months of not being face-to-face with him.

Going to a college that was more than a nine-hour car ride away from home had been a hard decision to make. When I had first received a letter stating that I had gotten a scholarship for one of the biggest art schools in the country, I hadn't known what to do. To be honest, I had thought about not going and looking for a nearer college instead, if Hunter and all of my friends hadn't convinced me to not pass up on this chance.

And they had been right with what they had said, at least in some aspects; the school was perfect for me, I was having fun, I did learn a ton of interesting stuff, everyone was really nice and yes, this was an amazing opportunity.

Their argument that I wouldn't even get homesick or miss any of them because we could still talk on the phone or video chat every day, on the other hand, had turned out to be one big, blatant lie. Nightly Skype calls and a ridiculous amount of text messages that were exchanged each day were nowhere near enough to compensate the huge distance separating us.

Hunter and I had made it a ritual to video chat every evening, but in the end that had only made things worse. Hearing his voice and seeing him on the screen, inches away from me but impossible to touch, had proven to be a bittersweet form of torture. Which, of course, didn't stop me from subjecting myself to it night after night, because it was still better than not seeing him at all.

I had told Nate all about this, whining to him every time we were on the phone, but instead of sympathy, all I ever got from him were quiet chuckles and teasing comments.

Like right now, as he said: "Come on, Jules, you're being dramatic. When are you coming again? In six, seven days?"

I scowled at nothing in particular as I pressed the phone to my ear and looked over at the calendar that was hanging at the wall. For the past few weeks I had crossed out the days that had passed, working up to the date circled in red, Going home scrawled into the tiny box below it. "Eight. Eight days, Nate. That's more than a week! It's 192 hours!"

Some quiet rustling sounded through the speaker. I could hear muffled laughter, not just Nate's, but also the bright sound of Alexis' giggling.

"Yeah, you guys can laugh," I huffed. "You can see each other every weekend."

"Sorry," Alexis said. "We know how hard this is for you. But hey, maybe you'll see him sooner than you might think!"

"What are you-"

"Listen, we've really got to go now, we have tickets for a concert that starts in, like, three hours," Nate interrupted me. I could still hear the grin in his voice. "Be just a little more patient. Trust me."

He hung up on me before I could even think of a reply.

Staring darkly at my phone, I slumped onto my bed. When I looked over at the clock, I realized that there were only twenty minutes left before I had to go down to the gallery for the exhibition that would be taking place there.

Gallery was perhaps quite a big word for a hall that was basically just a huge empty space with nothing but tall white walls covered in the photos and paintings the students had produced, along with some show-cases filled with sculptures and the like.

So was exhibition. A few weeks ago we had gotten the task to work on a project with a topic of our choice and to create at least four pieces that would be exhibited there today. A few people from other schools, parents, friends and teachers would be there to look at them, though I didn't expect too many visitors.

Mom had originally wanted to be there, but she hadn't been able to get work off to travel the long distance, so no one I knew would be there. Which was fine, really. So what if I was the only one whose friends and family weren't there. The exhibition wasn't a big deal anyways.

I got ripped out of my thoughts by the sound of the key scraping in the lock and a quiet thud as my roommate, Jake, kicked against the door which, as always, was jammed and hard to open.

A moment later, he poked his head through the door and nodded at me in greeting. "Hi. You ready to go downstairs? Some folks are already there, so they started the exhibition early," he said in his unmistakable Southern accent as he crossed the room, walking towards his closet.

I nodded, stepping in front of the mirror to fix my hair while he changed into a shirt that wasn't paint-splattered. Jake was nice, a little messy, not really one to talk much, but a good person to call in case of an emergency, like when you poured too much detergent into the washing machine and almost flooded the laundry room downstairs. Not like that had ever happened.

"Did you get your paintings done in time?" I asked once I was satisfied with the way my curls looked and waited for him to catch up by the door.

Jake had worked on them late into the night yesterday, running around in the studio downstairs in varying states of panic. Now he just nodded calmly. "Yeah, I finally got the highlights right."

That was all he said before he walked past me and out of the door. I followed him wordlessly. Like I said, he wasn't one to talk much.

As I stepped outside, the hallways were buzzing with students, quiet music and chattering seeping out of doors that were left ajar, the scent of paint hanging in the air.

My mood raised a little during our descent to the ground floor. I loved being at this school on days like this, when the creative chaos was all around and the sense of inspiration and excitement was almost tangible.

The noise level reached its peak when Jake and I pushed through the doors leading to the Gallery. Against my expectations, the hall was filled with people. Most of them I had never seen before, but there were also some familiar faces, like some of my tutors and a few people from various courses I was attending this semester.

When Jake ditched me and disappeared into the crowd to search for his girlfriend, I decided to have a look at some of the exhibits.

Mine was in the back of the room and when I reached it, there was a small group of people gathered in front of it. From what I could pick up, they were delighted at the beautiful composition and the outstanding balance of light and dark which made for a remarkable aesthetic.

I suppressed a small smile and waited until they moved on to the next exhibit before I stepped closer. Even though they had been standing around my room for a few weeks already, I was still in awe as I looked up at the pictures.

For my project, I had chosen to do something in the field of photography, seeing as I was doing my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography and Film. They were five large photos in muted colours, each of them taken during the weekend I had spent at home two months ago.

The reason why I had called the series A Study of Love was that that was really all it was about: love in all its shapes and forms.

All of them were close-ups of the subjects' faces, and even though the viewer didn't know what they were looking at, the affection on their faces was clear as day. There was mom looking at my little sister with a proud glitter in her eyes, Darryl scowling at Red after she had stolen his last fry, Adam showing a rare smile as he glanced at Amber, Nate grinning at Emily after she had gifted him some old records for his birthday.

And then there was the one that even now, even though it had been standing in my room for the past few weeks, made my heartbeat stutter.

It was a photo of Hunter that I had taken on the last day before I had to head back to college. We'd been spending the day out at the lake with our friends. In the picture Hunter was laughing, looking at me over the camera. I couldn't even remember what I had said, but judging by the amused twinkle in his bright green eyes, it must've been something genuinely funny.

It was my favourite out of all of them. I loved the way the light fell, shining from behind him, catching in his hair and forming a halo around his head, reflecting in the drops of water that were clinging to his lashes. He looked like a celestial being, his expression unguarded and innocent looking in that instant of pure joy. Knowing that it was me who he had looked at like that made me feel like I had swallowed the sun.

Still, after not seeing him in person for so long, my heart felt like it was breaking a little every time I looked at the photo and I had to avert my gaze after a few seconds to look at the other photos.

Overall, they really made me happy, simply because they made me realize how much love there was around me, something which had seemed entirely different a few months back, when my father had still lived with us and Hunter and I hadn't been able to be together.

Deep in thought, I didn't hear anyone sneaking up, nor did I feel anyone's presence behind me.

That was why I almost screamed when I suddenly felt two arms wrapping around my waist from behind me. Before I could even react, lips were grazing my ear and a voice muttered: "Damn, who's this good-looking guy in that photo in the middle? Is he a model or something?"

My breath caught in my throat and for a second all I could do was stand frozen in shock. Then I whirled around at the speed of light. "Hunter?" I choked out. "How... I mean, why... What are you doing here?"

An amused smile lit up his face. Clearly satisfied with himself, he said: "Oh, don't be so excited to see me, babe."

I blinked at him, once, twice, half expecting him to disappear the second I closed my eyes. But when I looked at him again, he was still standing there, waiting for a reaction. "I... I thought you couldn't come... Aren't you still in the middle of your exams?"

"Sure, I have two of them next week." He said it with an unconcerned shrug. "But I couldn't miss out on my talented boyfriend's art exhibition now, could I?"

And that was when it finally sunk in. Hunter didn't even have the chance to move or say anything before I suddenly flung myself forward and wrapped my arms around him so tightly I could hear the air being knocked out of his lungs.

"I missed you," I said, my voice muffled against his shoulder.

One of his hands found its way into my hair while the other rested lightly against my hip. There was no trace of sarcasm or humour now, as he quietly said: "Me too."

Even though I was aware that there were people around, I got onto my toes and pressed a short kiss to his lips.

They curled into a smirk as soon as I took a step back and looked up at him. He looked even better than I remembered, with his crooked grin and the sleeves of his shirt pushed up to his elbows. Seeing him next to the photo of him on the wall was horribly disorienting.

One of Hunter's eyebrows rose, the same old teasing I had somehow grown to miss, and he pulled me a bit closer by the hips. "That all?"

"Not here," I murmured, unable to stop my lips from breaking into a broad smile.

Glancing around, I realized that we had already attracted a few stares, most of them from other students. I wasn't surprised. I had only talked to a handful of people since I had come here, and most of them probably hadn't known I had a boyfriend. Not to mention the fact that said boyfriend was ridiculously good-looking, which probably also drew some attention to us.

Hunter finally let go of me, but not without chuckling quietly. "I like the sound of that."

I rolled my eyes at him, but couldn't hold back a stupid grin. Without another word, I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the exit.

He went with me willingly and let me drag him out into the hallway and up the stairs. On our way up, his eyes wandered around, greedily drinking everything in, from the colourful wallpaper which was peeling off at the edges, to the specks of paint on the stairs which had been caused by Jake as he had dropped a bucket of paint here a few weeks earlier.

Finally, we reached my room. Hunter waited impatiently for me to open the door, his eyes darting around the corridor.

I pulled him inside as soon as I managed to push the door open, having to kick it a few times to make it budge.

Hunter didn't waste any time and immediately pulled it shut behind him. I watched as he strode towards me, stopping only inches away. One of his hands came up to rest against the back of my neck. It was a familiar feeling, grounding me immediately and making his presence in my dorm room feel just a little less surreal.

"You have no idea how I've been waiting to do this," he said, his eyes shining bright with unfiltered happiness.

My heart fluttered a little in my chest as I looked at him. "I think I do."

And then he finally leaned forward and his lips pressed against mine, for real this time, not just in a fleeting little peck.

I melted into his touch as soon as I felt his tongue flick across my bottom lip, my hands moving to lay on his shoulders on their own accord.

He felt the same, like a wildfire that could consume me or an ocean wave that could pull me under, but at the same time he was safety and comfort and home.

Even with my eyes shut, my thumb immediately found the dimple above the corner of his mouth as I cupped his cheek, knowing that he was smiling into the kiss.

I probably would've never pulled away voluntarily, if I hadn't needed to break away to take a breath.

When my eyes opened again, I saw that Hunter was just as ruffled as I felt, cheeks tinted the slightest shade of pink, hair even more tousled than it had been before, his eyes wide. Only after I had taken all of that in, I noticed the goose bumps that were covering his arms.

"Oh," I said, still sounding a little breathless. "Do you want anything warmer to wear?"

In addition to the draft that always crept past the windows, the heating in the dorm rooms was pretty bad, which was why I tended to wear about a hundred layers. Hunter, on the other hand, was only clad in a black button-up shirt.

"Yeah, that'd be great, I left my suitcase in the car to get it later. Christ, is it always that cold in here?"

I nodded and brushed past him to grab a hoodie from one of the drawers. Tossing it at him, I nodded. "Yep. So... for how long will you be staying?"

Hunter's voice was muffled as his head disappeared inside the hoodie. "Only for the weekend."

"Oh," I murmured and tried not to sound too disappointed.

"Three exams, remember? I revised like crazy for the past few days so I could take the weekend off and come here." Hunter grimaced a little. "But you'll be coming over next week, right?"

"Definitely. I can't wait to see everyone again."

"They've all been missing you. Hell, even Adam wanted to know how you were doing," he snickered.

"Man, I didn't expect that to ever happen," I laughed, walking up to my bed and motioning for him to sit down next to me. "So come on, tell me about everything that's been going on. Is college still fun?"

Hunter shrugged vaguely. The mattress dipped a little as he sunk onto it, so close to me that his shoulder was pressing against mine. Leaning back against the headboard, he said: "It's alright. A ton of memorizing stuff and writing papers and all, but so far I'm doing fine."

I had to smile involuntarily, like always when Hunter talked about this topic, because even now I couldn't quite believe it. The fact that Hunter wanted to study to be a teacher had been a surprise to pretty much everyone. Not even I had seen that coming.

A few months prior to him telling me about it, he hadn't even liked being around children; now he wanted to be a middle school teacher. What exactly had caused that change, I didn't know, but I highly suspected it had something to do with Maya. Since he had started hanging out with my sister, he had been much more open to kids, always smiling at them when we were out in public and generally being much more patient with them, like when little elementary students were walking at a snail's pace on the sidewalk in front of us.

In the end, I didn't really care what had made him come to this decision. I whole-heartedly supported it regardless. Whereas some others were a little sceptical if Hunter was really fit for this job, I was absolutely sure he was. Whoever kids would be taught by him would be lucky to have him as their teacher.

"What about the epic college parties you were so excited for?" I grinned.

"They're fun," Hunter said. "Though I'm sure they'd be a lot more fun if you were there."

"Oh, 'cause I'm such a party animal."

"I could turn you into one." Hunter ruffled my hair until I slapped his hand away. "Speaking of which: Alex's birthday is right around when you're coming over, so pack something appropriate for a party or wear some of my-"

"Yeah, I'm definitely going to wear some of your clothes," I informed him before he could even finish what he was saying. "I don't have anything."

His eyes narrowed immediately. "Oh no. You're going to take half my wardrobe with you again, aren't you?"

I shrugged, grinning at him. "Revenge is sweet."

"I stole your hoodie one time and this is what I end up with. A clothes thief as a boyfriend," Hunter dramatically sighed before he planted a short kiss on my cheek. When he pulled back, he yawned quietly.

"Tired?" I asked, studying the dark circles beneath his eyes.

Over the past few weeks, he had worked so hard for school that he constantly seemed exhausted and bleary-eyed, sometimes even falling asleep during our video chats.

"Mhm."

"Do you want to have a nap?"

Hunter looked torn. "That kind of feels like a waste of time with you."

"It's not," I objected. "I'm tired, too. My roommate will be staying with his girlfriend until tomorrow morning, so no one will disturb us."

Finally, he seemed to cave in. "Alright. I mean, we still have tomorrow and Sunday and you'll come over next week anyways, so..."

"Shh," I said, flicking him on the forehead with my fingers. "You're being stupid. Just get into the damn bed."

"Charming as always," Hunter laughed. "Who could say no to that?"

Rolling my eyes at him, I got up to draw the curtains shut. When I turned around again, he had already slipped underneath the covers and was looking up at me expectantly.

I quickly walked over to him and snuggled up next to him, but instead of spooning like we usually did, I rested my head on his chest so I could still look at his face.

Hunter didn't complain and pulled the blanket over my shoulders before he wrapped his arms around me. "I missed this," he said, his voice already sounding sleepy.

"Me too. Falling asleep without you was harder for some reason."

"The bed felt too big." His eyes were already shut, a hint