The first time Eldon mentions Emily to him, he defines her as a control freak that's mad at the world. Hunter finds it weird, because when he met her, he had found the girl very welcoming. She even wanted to help him find Michelle. Eldon then says that he used to date her, and a part of the new boy can't help but wonder what happened between the pair. He says nothing, though, because this is not his business. His business is surprising Michelle and enjoying their time together. It's something that is long due and he isn't going to let something distract him.

Even if that's something take the shape of a rather pretty girl.

So he brushes it off, puts Emily the control freak at the back of his mind, and tries to get some info on Michelle's whereabouts.

The second time he takes Emily's hand, she looked at it a little bewildered. He retires immediately, not wanting to anger her nor scare her away. He needs her to get back with Michelle and he had seen the way this girl looked at Eldon. She still wants him; even if she had claimed that she was over him and was glad Michelle and Eldon were together. When he asks her the question "you want Eldon back, right?" she turns to look at the blond boy and he can see the muscles of her jaws clench. She's hurting and Hunter wonders how someone could even have thought she was over the boy, because God, her emotions are printed all over her face. Emily looks down and finally admits her feelings. There's defeat in her voice, but he wants to reassure her. The war is not over. By working with him, she could get back together with Eldon. He could get back together with Michelle. They could both have the happy ending they craved with the one they wanted. They could still win.

She looks at him cautiously and finally says that she'll think about it. He smiles at her. She was considering accepting the offer, and he decides to count it as the first win.

When she comes to him ten minutes later and whispers in his ear that she is on board, he can't help the chill that goes down his spine. He looks at her as she goes on with observing every candidate like nothing just happened and he smiles. Things are going to be interesting, and he's looking forward to work with her.

Not because his partner is very pretty, but because it means that he's going to get back with Michelle.

The third time Hunter buys Emily a juice at Culture Shock, it's to announce her that he's going to battle Eldon to win Michelle back. She looks at him with anger, and it's the first time she looks at him this way. His insides twitches and he thinks that maybe, just maybe, he had made a mistake. He can see her closing off on herself. They stay silent for a while after Eldon's departure, and he never felt so uncomfortable in Emily's presence before. He moves on his seat, trying to evacuate the stress of the situation.

"Do you like your juice?", he asks innocently.

"Of course I like it." she answers. "You took strawberries and cherries. You know it's my favorite".

Her voice is harsh, but a glance at her face makes him see that her face softened a little. Of course he knows what her favorite juice is. Emily repeated it to him every time they went to Culture Shock to hang out and make Eldon or Michelle (or both, ideally) jealous. Every time, she insisted because she was so suuuurrrreee he would love it. And he does love it, not that he's going to admit that. She already has a tremendous ego, and she would have bragged about it for days.

They finish their drinks while he tries to start a conversation a few times. She isn't very responsive though and he decides to let go for now. But he will definitely try again after the dance battle.

Before going off, he assures her he's going to win. For Michelle, of course, not because he wants to keep talking to Emily and makes sure she doesn't hate him.

The fourth time Emily is in his arms, Hunter finds himself really not wanting to let go. Instead, he tries to get her back on her feet to pull her closer to him, but it's hard when she's laughing her heart out and doesn't do anything to help him. He doesn't know how long he's been stuck with her inside the tiny costume closet but if it wasn't for the growing hunger and the need to pee, he will happily stay there forever.

But then he hears Michelle's voice, and Emily and he are brought back to reality. He feels Emily back away from him as if she was feeling ashamed to let herself enjoy this moment. He has to restrain himself not to catch her hand. But he knows she would hate him if he did that, so he focuses on Michelle and the freedom she offers them. He goes up to his ex and takes her in giant hug to thank her, because Jeez, Hunter hadn't realized until now that he was this hungry. His stomach is growling, and a part of him thinks of the delicious plate of pasta he's going to make when he'll be home. He starts to explain the situation to Michelle and she listens politely, because it's Michelle and she's always polite. It's a funny story in the end, a real one furthermore, and he's excited to tell it to everyone willing to listen.

"So ya know, Emily had to climb on the chest to send this text. Right, Ems?"

He turns around, but she's not here. He furrows his eyebrows and looks around, completely confused. Where was she gone?

"She said she left her things in Culture Shock, I think she went back there to take them." intervenes Michelle in a sweet voice.

"Oh."

He can't help but feel saddened, and for one of the rarest times in his life, he can't think of a witty answer. So he goes back in the closet to take his phone where he left it. The song had ended playing and he puts the device in his jeans pocket. He looks back at Michelle, realizing he should feel happy. He was alone with Michelle. They could talk of whatever they wanted. That's why Emily left, to give them space. His scheming partner always is a quicker thinker that he is. He smiles at the blond girl.

"You need a ride home?" he asks.

"No that's okay; the bus will be here soon. I should go, by the way. See you tomorrow?"

"Okay, thanks again for the closet liberation then. I'll see you tomorrow."

He doesn't insist. Instead, after leaving Michelle, he goes back to Culture Shock. But Emily already fled.

The fifth time Emily sees his solo, it's after his horrible date with Michelle. He's happy to see her walks in because it's been quite some time since they have hung out. So he waves her at her, and he's utterly confused at why his heart pounds so hard against his chest when she waves back. He feels like he was back in the closet, her face just inches from his. At that moment, he remembers being unable to detach his eyes from hers. He finishes his solo at a few steps of her and she claps. A smirk slides its way across his lips. She's impressed, and it makes his insides twist with pride.

"Take a bow!" she orders like he was forgetting something essential.

He complies, throwing the cap across the room. He take a cautious step towards her as she compliments him, and suddenly he's unsure at what he's going on in this room at this moment.

"I-I came to find out how your date went".

Oh, so he's not the only one who's unsure about the whole situation. He never heard Emily stutter, so this must be important to her. Maybe she feels the same way he does (even if he doesn't know what these feelings are). Still, it reassures him and he answers the voice full of relief:

"It was horrible."

She seems being more confused with his answer and she furrows her eyebrows.

"Why?"

"The whole time she…just talked about Eldon." He inspires, trying to catch his breath, and locks eyes with her. "You wanna know something funny?"

"Sure."

She tilts her head to the side, waiting to know what is so funny about last night. Her eyes are still on his and Hunter thinks for a moment that Emily really is beautiful. He inspires again to get some more courage.

"The whole time she was (he talks slowly, trying to choose the right words)... blabbering about Eldon, you know who I was thinking about?"

Here we go. Now Hunter stays silent, watching out her reaction.

"Uh… The band?"

He's so caught off guard he thinks for a moment she's playing him around. But she isn't, she didn't get the hint and he doesn't know if that's something he should worry about. He doesn't have the time to worry though, so he decides to get straight to the point.

"You."

"Oh…" is the only sound that comes out of her mouth. The blonde girl breaks eye contact to look at the floor, and slowly, so slowly, she skirts the bar to come closer to him. He takes a few steps closer too.

"I should have gone with you to the concert." he admits.

She nods, her eyes still on the floor. He wants her to say something, anything. He hasn't any idea what she is feeling or thinking and that's scary. What if he just threw their friendship by the window? Did he just make one big mistake?

But she finally looks up straight into his eyes.

"Yes, you should have."

His breath gets caught in his throat and he just stares into her piercing blue eyes. She stands there, all fierce and confident and she really never looked as beautiful as she is right now. God, he's so into her.

So he puts one hand at the back of her neck and pulls her face closer to him. He kisses her, and everything is right in the world.

The sixth time his parents are fighting in one week, he calls her. It's the middle of the night, and at the start she's a little exasperated. But as soon as she gets how bad Hunter is feeling, her voice softened and after a moment of silence, he hears her say quietly.

"I'll be there in 30."

He doesn't have the time to answer that she hangs up, and he stares at the screen of his phone blankly. He's not sure if he heard properly and he sighs. The voices of his parents are still coming from downstairs and Hunter remembers the time where they were not fighting almost every night. It was back when they lived in Madison, Wisconsin. He never thought moving in this city could cause trouble in his family. He stays lied down on his bed, and closes his eyes. With a little luck, maybe he will block his parents' voices.

His phone vibrates, and he can see Emily's number on the screen.

"I'm in front of your house" he hears as soon as he picks up. "Come open the door."

"You really came?"

"Of course I did. But it's freezing out there, seriously, so hurry up. I'm not staying five more minutes in this cold."

He smiles at her rudeness, and hangs up after saying he's coming. He comes down the stairs silently, but his parents are too busy screaming at each other to pay attention to their son. When he opens the door, Emily almost runs inside to get in the warmth of the house. He closes slowly the door behind her and takes her hand, guiding his girlfriend up to his room. She doesn't say anything when they get there. He stares as her as she takes off her coat and her shoes and he notices that she's wearing her blue pajamas. She doesn't have any make up on. She must have already been in her bed when he called her. It's the first time he sees her like that, because she's always cautious about her appearance. He still finds her beautiful.

"Thanks for coming."

He takes her hand to make her comes sit next to him and he puts his head on her shoulder. Instantly, as he inhales her scent, he hears the voices downstairs becoming lower and lower. His own heartbeat seems to become steadier. She intertwines their fingers.

"Is this better?" she whispers.

He nods, and pops his head up just so he can take her lips between his. Even with the cold, she still radiates with warmth. She sighs with pleasure, and it's one of the most delicious sounds he's ever heard. As he goes deeper into the kiss, Emily manages to pull herself closer to him. She's the one to break the kiss however to catch her breath.

"That is definitely much better" Hunter whispers with the little breath he has.

She can't help but smile.

"So that' why you made me come all this way."

To answer, he starts kissing her again, but she pushes him back.

"Seriously, you don't want to talk about what's happening downstairs?"

"No. I just want to not forget about this for a moment."

Emily raises her eyebrows, not buying it for a second. He sighs and leans down on the bed.

"It's the same thing every time. Like a freaking nightmare. But people are supposed to forget nightmares, ya know?"

"Yeah. I know."

She doesn't add anything else, but he understands that it's because she's not good with words. Instead, she snuggles against him, buries her face in the crack of his neck and he holds her.

"We should sleep. We have a long practice tomorrow."

"Okay. Goodnight, Ems."

"Goodnight."

He kisses the top of her head, and closes his eyes.

There no more voices coming from downstairs.

The seventh time he senses something is off with her, it's in Culture Shock. Emily has avoided him all week, so he's kind of cautious when she's the one that comes to him in the store. She's avoiding any sort of eye contact and she looks like she wants to flee. Hunter can't help but wonder what he did wrong.

When she confesses she wants to break up, his mind goes blank. He stares, unable to process the information. She must be joking. It's some kind of cruel, horrible joke. But even Emily isn't that cruel. It's reality, awful as it is. So he tries to get some explanation, but all she's repeating is that it's her. The freaking "it's not you, it's me" lie. He snorts because she's supposed to know him better than that. She's supposed to know that he won't buy that kind of crappy explanation. But the more he tries, the more exasperated she gets. He won't get anything from her. So he storms out, away from her.

He doesn't say anything for the rest of the day. James even offers him to go eat a shawarma with him, because apparently shawarmas are the solution to every world's problem, but the heart isn't there. So he stays behind after rehearsal. He needs to be alone for a while.

Then maybe he will understand what went wrong.

The eighth time he looks at her from the National Stage, it's just after the finals results are announced. He's thrilled to know that they won Nationals after all the drama they got through. It turns around to look at Emily: she's the one who suffered the most of all this. She broke up with him to protect the team. She hurt herself. Now that The Next Step managed to crush Elite, maybe they could pick up the pieces of their relationship. But she isn't looking at him. Instead, she has her eyes closed, because West is kissing her. It's quick, but she doesn't shove him away. When West goes back to celebrate with the rest of A-Troupe, her eyes lock with his and for a moment, time stops. Hunter doesn't know how to react. His smile fades, and he stares at her expressionlessly. He doesn't do anything, because he doesn't have to. If Emily wanted to make things right with him, she would have come to him by now. But she didn't. Instead, she took a sudden liking in West. She moved on. It is time he moves on too. He's tired to be waiting for her. So he turns around, decides to ignore her and celebrate their victory with his bros and his friends. He goes in to hug James then Giselle. He ignores the burning gaze of Emily at him.

When they go back to the studio, he sees her sitting alone in the bus. She makes a sign to ask him to sit next to her, but he shakes his head. He goes sit next to Michelle instead, and he congrulates her for winning Miss Nationals Soloist for the second time in a row. The blonde dancer seems overjoyed and they happily talk all the way back.

In the corner of his eyes, he can see Emily peeking at them, a sad expression on her face.

The ninth time Emily has to go to the doctor for her injured knee, he's surprised she asks him to drive her. When he asks her why, she just shruggs her shoulders as it doesn't matter.

"I can drive with my knee, duh! Riley has a rehearsal with A Troupe and you're the only one around who can drive me. "

Hunter squints at the mention of A-Troupe. The dancer still isn't over the fact that he didn't make it in. Even if he did the best he could, that wasn't enough and he cannot shake the feeling that his pride took a hit, even if he claims otherwise. Emily raises her eyebrows, crosses her arms.

"So, you're going to drive me or what?"

He sighs and finally agrees. A smile illuminates her face and she takes his forearm to guide him to the parking lot.

"Good, because we're late."

The way to the doctor is way longer then he had imagined, unless it's because of the awkward atmosphere that floats in the car. That time, she's the one who tries to start the conversations, but Hunter decides to shut her off. He needs to focus on the road. She shot him an offended glare but he brushes it off.

Once they got to the hospital, he notices that Emily struggles to get out of the car without putting too much pressure on her knee. He goes on to support her, passing his arm under her shoulders to get her up.

"I thought it was getting better." he frowns.

"Some days, it's worse." She mutters in return, obviously frustrated.

They make their way inside the building and they check her appointment with the secretary before going inside the waiting room. Only then he realizes that he still has his arm around her and she isn't brushing him off. He pulls back reluctantly. They stay silent in the waiting room. There no one else inside.

"I'm sorry." she says finally.

"About what?"

He turns towards her, surprised. Emily is looking at her toes like they were holding the secrets of the universe.

"About everything."

She looks up to stare into his eyes and for a moment, the thought of her kissing him crosses his mind. He licks his lips and she seems to move towards him.

"I'm going back to Wisconsin."

She stops suddenly, and it's his turn to look at the floor not bearing to look at her decomposed face. God, he is so not over her.

"My mom decided to go back to Madison, and I'm going with her. Better than stay with my dad." he clarifies.

The blonde girl nods. She must remember that his relationship with his dad is not a smooth sailing.

"Emily Davidson?" asks the doctor.

The dancers turn to face the adult that arrived. She manages to get up without his help and makes her away slowly to him. Before following him to his office, she glances at him and he can see her eyes shine with something he cannot name.

After dropping her at her home, he wonders if it's the last time he's seeing her. He hugged her to say goodbye, just in case.

The tenth time he comes home from school once he's back in Madison, he's surprised to see her on his doorstep. He can't help but wonders what could bring Emily in Madison, Wisconsin of all of the places in the world. Her face brightens when she sees him. They haven't talk since he accompanied her to her doctor appointment. They haven't seen each other since that time, even. It's odd to see her. It was three months ago.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you."

There is a weird feeling in his stomach, and he doesn't know if it's because he's overjoyed to see her or because he's nervous. But come on, he is Hunter Daniels.

He doesn't get nervous around girls. Even if this one kinda broke his heart.

He invites her inside and prepares her a cup of coffee. They catch up, talking about their new life and what they are doing now that their time at The Next Time is over. Her knee is better, even though she will never be able to have a career in dance. He learns that she decides to major in Management at Madison University because it had offered a scholarship for an essay she sent. It suits her, he decides, and she's happy because that means that once she finishes her studies, she will be able to open her own dance studio. Emily asks about his life, and listens with attention. After a while, she opens up about their relationship, and explains that she never wanted to hurt him. She speaks for a good thirty minutes about it, covering every inch of the subject and even mentioning her non-existent relationship with West, staring right into his eyes to make he understands.

He does understand.

He assures her that it's okay, he doesn't have a grudge against her and that is the truth. He can see the relief and the happiness on her face when he says so.

They talk and talk and laugh and drink more cups of coffee than it's reasonable. It's the same laugh she had back when they danced in the costume closet, an eternity and a few years ago, and it still makes his heart pounds.

When she has to get back to her student room, she's the one to take his hand into hers, and intertwines their fingers.

"See you around, I guess."

"I'll be visiting soon." he promises with a smile.

"You better be!"

Before leaving, she presses her lips against his cheek.