Nate was awaiting us at his house at eight in the evening. Liam, Emily and I drove there together in my car. It was a ride full of longing stares and blushing whenever they made eye contact.

"What's up, guys?" Nate asked as he hugged Emily. "Come on in. You can drop your things off in the living room. I put some mattresses and blankets there... My parents won't be home all weekend."

"Hey, man," Liam said. "Thanks for inviting me, too, uh... I appreciate it."

Nate just chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder in passing. "Don't mention it. Just take care of Em, yeah?"

Liam nodded, though he looked rather perplexed.

I grinned and shoved him inside, then closed the door behind me. To my surprise, Alexis was already there when I entered the living room. She was lounging on one of the couches with a book in her hand like she had been there all day and only looked up when Liam went to sit next to her.

"Jules, are you helping me with the drinks?" Nate asked over his shoulder as he walked into the kitchen.

I followed him obediently and started cutting some limes at his command while he scooped ice into some glasses. "So, Alexis has been here all afternoon?" I asked casually.

Nate looked up from the task at hand. "Yeah, I took her with me after school. She helped me with my Spanish homework. God, that girl is a genius."

"So?" I asked again, dragging the word out. "Anything you want to tell me?"

Nate rolled his eyes at me. "Nothing happened. We were studying, that's all. She doesn't like me like that. I heard she has a thing with that one senior-"

"Why don't you just ask her about it?" I cut in. "You guys are always talking about everything. I'm sure she'd tell you if she was in a relationship."

"I can't just ask her. I need to play it cool, or she'll figure out I like her."

"And why would that be such a bad thing?" I asked. "Maybe she likes you too. I still think you should just ask her out."

Nate huffed and threw an ice cube at me, which I avoided swiftly. "Hey, I put up with your pining for weeks. You're not being helpful. I thought gays are good at giving relationship advice!"

I knew that he was joking by the way he was grinning, so I replied with a smirk: "Fine. I'm gonna help you. Apparently straight guys don't manage to get laid even though it's way easier for you."

Before Nate could answer, I headed back into the living rooms, where the others were sitting, and set the drinks down on the table. Nate followed shortly after, bringing some more snacks and bottles.

I sat down on a couch with him while on the other side of the room, Liam and Emily were sitting so close to each other that their legs were touching. I was surprised to see that Adam had followed the invitation as well; he was sitting next to Liam and greeted me with a nod.

Nate passed around the drinks, and soon the second round was tackled and cheeks were tinted pink with alcohol.

When everyone except for Adam and me was slightly tipsy, I said: "Guys, I think we should play something fun. Anyone up for spin the bottle?"

For a moment, everyone looked at me in surprise. Nate narrowed his eyes at me, obviously trying to figure out why the hell I was interested in some random make-out session. When it dawned on him, he stole a quick glance at Alex before he said: "Great idea."

"Why not?" Alexis agreed and reached for an empty coke bottle. "Who wants to start?"

To everyone's surprise, Adam was the first one to raise his hand. "I'll do it. I have a girlfriend, so it doesn't mean anything anyways. Especially not with you losers."

Alex chuckled and handed him the bottle. Adam looked around at all of us once, then spun the bottle so hard it almost rolled off the table. Eventually, it stilled.

"Oh, come on," Liam whined.

Hearing Adam laugh was as unexpected as it was endearing. He looked like an entire different person when his lips curled up, the corners of his eyes crinkled and a tiny dimple in his chin showed. "Come on, Lee. It wouldn't be the first time."

"I was drunk and it was a bet!" Liam exclaimed as Emily sent him a startled look.

"True," Adam confirmed. "Now, are you coming or what?"

Liam huffed and got up from the couch, but not without turning around to Emily to announce, "This doesn't mean anything."

Emily only raised a brow at him, stifling a chuckle.

Adam had a couple of inches on Liam, so the latter had to get onto his toes and Adam had to bend down awkwardly. Liam seemed like he didn't know what to do with his hands. In the end he carefully placed them on Adam's shoulders and looked up expectantly.

Adam seemed like he was trying not to laugh when Liam groaned: "I hate you so much right now."

"I know. That's what makes this so good," Adam said.

Liam's reply died in his throat when Adam's lips grazed over his.

It wasn't much more than that, so it could barely be called an actual kiss.

"Well, that went exactly as horrible as expected," Liam said as he flopped back onto the couch. "Remind me to never play this game with you again."

We all laughed, watching as he downed half of his drink in one gulp.

"I'll spin it next," Alexis announced.

Everyone's attention was back on the bottle within seconds, watching it slow down until it was barely spinning anymore.

I saw it coming to a stop right in front of me. Without thinking about it, I grabbed Nate's collar and dragged him in front of me, so that the bottle was pointing at him instead.

Nate gave an indignant noise. Then he realized what had happened and glanced over at Alexis with a look that could only be described as terrified on his face.

"That's cheating, Jules," Alex commented, unfazed, and crossed her arms. "Should I be offended?"

"You should be happy that I'm not unleashing Hunter's jealousy on you if he finds out we kissed," I replied.

We both knew that Hunter probably wouldn't have taken it seriously anyway; there really wasn't much for him to worry about here. Still, Alexis didn't bother pointing that out.

Instead, she got up from her seat and walked over to where Nate was sitting. Tracing one finger along his jaw, she said: "Alright. What do you say, Nate?"

Nate gulped visibly. When he answered, his voice was lower than usually. "Come here."

"That's more like it," Alexis laughed, but there was a hint of nervousness in her tone.

I could almost feel how everyone in the room was holding their breath when Nate pulled Alexis onto his lap. She wrapped her legs around him and held his face in both her hands.

Nate only looked up at her with hooded eyes. Then, he muttered: "Just kiss me already."

Alexis didn't hesitate any longer and leaned down to kiss him slowly. Nate's eyes were closed even before their lips touched. His hands moved on their own accord, one hand cupping the back of her head, the other resting on her waist.

I looked away after a few seconds to give them some privacy. Emily was smiling happily and held a hand out for me to high-five her. I did so triumphantly.

It took only about a minute until Nate and Alexis finally separated, both beaming.

"I think that's enough spin the bottle for today," Nate said, still a little out of breath.

Alex nodded and started to get up, but Nate slung his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his chest, resting his chin on her head. "Where do you think you're going?" he teased.

"So possessive already," Alexis muttered, but the barely contained grin on her face and the fact that she didn't try getting up again gave her away.

I couldn't hold back a smile when I looked at all of them like this, happy and careless for once.

It would've been perfect, if there hadn't been someone missing. "Does anyone know when Hunter will be here?"

Just like that, the blissful smiles vanished. Liam and Alexis exchanged an uncomfortable glance. Eventually, Alex said: "He didn't say how long he'd be staying out with Victoria."

When he saw the look on my face, Liam quickly added: "Don't worry, Hunter said he'd try to be here as soon as possible."

I nodded silently and looked down at my hands. Guilt was a sharp knife twisting between my ribs; it was because of me that he wasn't here with the rest of us, laughing and having fun.

"Hey, it's not your fault," Adam suddenly said.

My head snapped up in surprise. Adam Caldwell hadn't spoken more than ten words directly at me since we had first met. Hearing that sentence out of his mouth now was completely unexpected.

"It's his choice. You're not forcing him to do it. Victoria is," Adam continued. "He's doing this for himself, too. He needs you as much as you need him. I know that I'd probably do the same for my girlfriend, if I had to."

I didn't reply, intently studying my hands.

"Well, I'm gonna get some more drinks," Nate said to break the awkward silence. "You guys can pick a movie while I'm gone."

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Alexis followed him into the kitchen. It took way longer than it should have for them to return, but no one commented on their dishevelled state when they did.

It took a while for Emily and Liam to agree on a movie. In the end, Liam tickled her until she, gasping for air, told him to just play the fucking first part of Lord Of The Rings already.

"Was that so hard?" Liam asked victoriously.

"I hate you," Emily said with a grumpy scowl.

Liam only laughed and leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek, which was enough for her expression to lighten.

+++

Half-way through the movie, I started to grow impatient. It was past eleven now and no one had heard from Hunter. Nate was already dozing off every few minutes, Alexis was jabbing him to keep him awake every time his eyes fell shut. The rest weren't doing any better. Everyone was slowly but surely starting to nod off. Except for me. I was on edge and couldn't even think about sleep as long as Hunter wasn't back. I needed to know that he was okay.

So when the end credits started to roll, I jumped up from my seat and headed for the door to the hallway.

Before I could leave the room, though, Emily called after me. "Jules? Where are you going?"

I turned around, my hand still on the door handle, and said: "I'm going to pick Hunter up. Victoria's had enough fun with him for tonight."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Nate asked.

"Yes. I'm not going to just let Victoria keep me away from him all night. He's not hers."

Adam nodded with an almost approving look and got up. "Alright. I'm gonna come with you. Just in case you need some help."

I stared at him in surprise. "Why?"

"'Cause I'm the only of these idiots who isn't plastered," he replied.

"That's a cheap way to act like you don't care, Adam," Liam muttered, already half-asleep.

Instead of a reply, Adam threw a cushion at Liam and walked up to me. "Are you coming or what?"

I nodded, still slightly disbelieving, and followed him outside to his car.

Adam apparently knew where Hunter was from texting him earlier and drove there without speaking another word. He pulled up to the curb in front of a bar and motioned for me to follow him outside.

The bar was packed, which made it even harder to find Hunter. Adam snatched me by my sleeve and dragged me after him the second we stepped through the door.

"What are you doing?" I asked in confusion when he suddenly stopped and pushed me in front of him, but made no move to follow me.

"He's over there," he said with a bored expression and pointed over my head at a slouched figure sitting at the far end of the bar counter.

I thanked him quietly and crossed the short distance to where Hunter was sitting. He was wearing his leather jacket and was hunched over a glass of... what was that, whiskey?

When I sank onto the seat next to him, he didn't react in the slightest.

I meant to say it firmly, but instead it came out as a tentative question when I said: "Hunter?"

Hunter slowly looked up from his drink.

I winced when I saw that his eyes were reddened and his face blank.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered. He looked like he couldn't believe I was here and reached out to take my chin in his hand as if to confirm I was real.

"I'm taking you home," I answered. "Where is she?"

"Went home an hour ago."

"What... what are you still doing here then?" I studied his face worriedly.

Hunter was clearly wasted, even though he had to drive home since Victoria had left him here. I could only guess why he had gotten so drunk nevertheless.

"I didn't want you to see me like this," Hunter said softly, staring into his drink with glassy eyes.

I took it and set it down on the counter out of his reach. Then I inched closer and turned his chin using my fingertips so I could study his face. "It's okay. Hunter, look at me, it's okay," I muttered, even though it wasn't okay and it sure as hell didn't feel okay. "What did she do?"

"Nothing," Hunter said. When I continued looking at him, waiting for a real answer, he suddenly pushed my hand away and looked the other way. "Nothing happened, okay? Just let it go."

Of course I didn't believe him, not for a second, not when his voice sounded so defeated and his eyes could barely meet mine.

It was the first time I was with him right after he had been with Victoria. Now I wondered if he had been like this all the other times before, too.

I wanted to know what it was that I would have to kill Victoria for, but not right now, not when Hunter looked like he was dancing at the edge of a complete breakdown. "Okay. You can tell me about it tomorrow."

Hunter just nodded. When he looked at me again, the harshness had vanished from his features. "Are you okay?" he asked me.

"Am I okay?" I retorted incredulously. "I'm fine."

"Good," Hunter muttered and smiled tiredly. "Then it was worth it."

And that was the sentence that broke me. I honestly felt like crying, but instead I gripped tightly onto the front of his jacket and pulled him against me. Having him this close was a familiar thing by now, but this time it was me holding him, not the other way around.

One hand was on his back to steady him, the other rested on his head when he buried his face against my neck.

I almost didn't hear his words, drowned out by the noise of the music and the people talking around us. I rather felt it in the way his lips brushed over my skin when he said it. "I love you."

It felt like my heart was swelling to twice its size when Hunter looked up at me, eyes unguarded and vulnerable.

"I love you too," I answered just as quietly. The words felt strange on my tongue, but in a good way.

Hunter's hand reached up longingly to tangle in my curls. I gently guided his chin to my lips.

For a second, I thought about all the people around us and what they would think, but as soon as his tongue flicked over my lower lip, there was nothing else but him against me. A quiet whimper slipped past my lips as his hands tugged on my hair. I could feel him smiling against my mouth in response.

This was what I had been aching for all day, what I had thought about during the movie and spin the bottle; the feeling of slightly chapped lips on mine, hands burying in my hair and holding me close, the scent of leather and smoke and Hunter, the softness in his edges and the unconditional trust.

My vibrating mobile against my thigh startled both of us into letting go of each other.

Hunter watched me when I answered the call with an impatient: "Yeah?"

"Jules, is everything alright?" Nate asked. "You've been away for an hour now. Did something happen?"

"No... No, we're fine," I answered and absentmindedly ran my thumb over my slightly swollen bottom lip. "We're coming now." I ended the call before Nate could reply and got up from my seat. "The others are waiting for us. We should go."

Hunter nodded and got to his feet. I quickly wrapped an arm around his middle to keep him from tripping, since he was more than a little tipsy, and steered us to the front door.

On our way there, Adam appeared out of nowhere and trailed behind us.

"What were you doing?" I asked over my shoulder.

"That one girl over there wanted my number," Adam said nonchalantly. "I found that even though I'm taken, talking to her was better than watching you guys get it on."

Once we were outside, I dug Hunter's keys out of his back pocket and went to unlock the car.

Adam stayed with Hunter, and even though he had acted unfazed all night, I could hear him quietly asking if Hunter was okay with genuine concern in his voice.

+++

Adam arrived back at Nate's house at the same time that we did. When he reached for the door bell, I stopped his hand and fished a key out of a flowerpot on the porch instead.

I had been right in my assumption that the others were already sleeping: when we snuck into the living room everything was silent except for the quiet noises of the TV.

Nate and Alex were laying on one of the mattresses, legs tangled in the blanket they shared and Nate's protective arm around Alexis' waist.

Hunter looked at me with wide eyes, then back at the two of them as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "When did that happen?" he muttered.

I hushed him with a finger on his lips and whispered: "We played spin the bottle and things went a little out of hand."

Hunter stared at them for a few more seconds before he shrugged and slouched down on another mattress.

I looked around the room and spotted Liam and Emily on the couch. I wasn't sure if they had noticed, but apparently Emily had fallen asleep with her head in Liam's lap and his hand in her hair.

They looked completely at peace right now and I didn't have the heart to wake them up, so I only took one of the blankets and covered them as best as possible.

When I turned back around, Adam was already snoring in one of the armchairs.

Hunter had stripped down to his boxers and was looking at me expectantly, so I hurried over to him and snuggled up against him under another blanket. Hunter wrapped an arm around me and pulled me against his chest, comfortingly warm.

Just before I dozed off, I heard him whisper against my neck, so quiet that I wasn't sure if it was real or just my imagination.

"Someday we'll be able to go to sleep like this every night."