Thunder boomed in the distance as the rain pour down. It was getting darker outside and even the lights in the base didn't seem bright enough. Hunter sat in her window seat, watching the sky darken. She knew that the rainstorms agitated her fellow teammates simply because they'd be stuck inside together. Well, except Sniper. He lived in his van outside the base. And Medic would be in his lab with Heavy. Engineer would be in his workshop, and she didn't want to hang out with Soldier since his idea of fun was doing pushups all day. God knew where Spy would have been and Pyro only liked to blow things up with Demoman. It was boring, since no battles could take place in the rain since everything flooded when it did.

So, the only solution she could find was asking Scout to do something with her. Sighing, she scavenged around her messy room for two board games and went waltzing down the hallway. Scout's room was the farthest down the hall by the rec room.

Upon arriving, she mentally rehearsed asking him to play a game with her. Hunter knocked lightly on the door and waited, but she heard nothing. No movement or shuffling. She knocked again, louder this time. Still silence. Sudden thunder made her jump a bit. Then, she heard eerie music playing from the Rec room.

The room was dark except for the light from the one tv in the base. The room itself was pretty big with a sofa and two recliners circled around the tv. Behind those was a pool table pushed against the wall. A window sat above the pool table with the curtains closed. Hunter strolled in quietly. She could spot Scout's outline against the TV light. He was munching on popcorn with his feet up on the coffee table. His motions were slow, fully focused on the horror movie playing on the screen. Hunter cleared her throat lightly to announce her presence. Scout looked over, shocked.

"Oh, Hunta, it's just you," he chuckled, wiping a hand over his head. Hunter took that as an invitation to take a seat next to the Bostonian.

"I was looking for you, but you weren't in your room," she muttered, placing the board games on the floor.

"Sorry 'bout that. There's a horror movie marathon on all night." He shrugged. "Whacha got them board games out for?"

"I was gonna ask you if you wanted to play," Hunter answered quietly. She reached over and took a handful of popcorn. Scout moved the bowl to sit between them.

"Nah. But how 'bout you watch dis with me? 'less ya scared,"

Hunter glanced at the screen. She could handle blood and guts. She saw them practically every day and the sight always thrilled her. But for some reason, she hated horror movies. The monsters, the villains, the atmosphere, they just freaked her out. But looking at Scout's smug and teasing face made her cross her arms.

"Scared? Me? Hah! I would love to watch these stupid movies with you, but I have better things to do. So, can't. Love to, but can't."

"You can't or you won't?" Scout challenged. Hunter gulped. The monster on the screen was bearing down on a screaming woman. She wanted to bolt out the room, but she couldn't back down. Doing that would give Scout more to tease her about. So she grabbed a blanket off the chair, wrapped herself up and plopped down next to the popcorn bowl.

"Did I say I can't? Because I totally can,"

Scout shrugged. He pretended not to noticed Hunter hiding into her blanket for pretty much the entire movie.

The rain had let up some when Scout went to bed, though the thunder still boomed outside. So Hunter sat in her room, hiding under her blankets. She was tired, but her mind wouldn't stop thinking of the horror movies she'd watched. Every time her eyes closed, one of the monsters would pop up in her mind. Eventually she dozed off, only to awaken a couple hours later from a nightmare.

So, shaking, she peeked out of her room into the dark hallway. Every noise had her on edge as she tiptoed passed the doors. It was one of those times when you turn off the light and run out the room because you think something's waiting for you in the dark. Hunter felt more like the prey than the predator this time. Lightning flashed outside and Hunter yelped. She bolted down the hallway until Scout's room was a couple feet away.

Hunter hated this. She'd admit she was prideful and stubborn, but she felt like a scared little girl with no one else to turn to. She could have easily gone to see Medic, or Heavy, or even Engineer. All three would have been a good choice when she was this frazzled. But for some reason, her feet had brought her to the source of her discomfort. She didn't even bother to knock and instead quietly opened his door and shut it quickly. Scout's room was messier than her own, but it was too dark to see anything else really. Fiddling with the bottom of her pajama shirt, she scooted towards Scout's sleeping shape. The covers were tossed to the side with the Bostonian sleeping on his stomach. He snored quietly as she reached out a hand, hesitating. Should she really wake him? Wouldn't he just tease her more? She was supposed to be fearless, laughing in the face of danger, never bothered with blood and guts. But she was a girl. A girl who hated horror movies, but was too stubborn to admit it.

When thunder boomed again, she jumped and her hand shot forward, slapping Scout's shoulder. Scout made blubbering sounds, jumping up quickly to turn on his lamp.

"Who da hell you think you-" His sleepy eyes focuses on Hunter, who was now looking at her feet. Eying her quietly, Scout sat up more. "Hunta, what're ya doin' in here? Slappin' me just for the hell of it?" Hunter didn't answer him. This was a bad idea. Scout ran a hand through his hair.

"What, ya sleep walkin'?" he shrugged. "Ya can't resist me?" Grinning, he flexed slightly. "These keepin' ya up?"

"I...can't..." Hunter muttered, turning her face away from him. Scout leaned forward.

"Can't what, sweetcheeks?"

"Sleep..." Hunter huffed. "I...had a nightmare..." Scout's smile changed to a frown.

"Oh...because of the...yeah, gotcha..."

So Hunter sat on his bed, he took the chair, and she waited for her nerves to finally calm down. He sat with his knees up, half watching her and half dozing himself. Hunter lay back, looking around his room. His walls were lined with poster upon poster of baseball teams. On the dresser was a picture of his mother and some older boys. The door leading to his bathroom was slightly ajar. The floor was littered with dirty clothes. But it was a cozy room.

"m'sorry 'bout teasin' ya with the movie," Scout sighed. "Tease ya a lot, don't I?"

"I should have said no..." she whispered. "But I wanted to prove you wrong." Scout scoffed.

"Look, I know I tease ya a lot, but I don't mean any of it really. Honest." He ruffled her hair, smiling. Hunter reached forward and lightly punched his forearm.

"Can I just stay here for tonight?" she asked, eyeing the door. Scout scooted the chair closer, propping his feet up and leaning back.

"You think you can?" he yawned. Hunter stretched and moved her pillow closer to him.

"I think I can..."