Hula Hoop

It wasn't a relationship that Hunter would have thought twice about a few months ago. Lola was just the ditsy girl that joined their Vlog, Frankie's dumb friend at best. Some girl who was always in his orbit, but meant nothing to him. And then he noticed her boobs and everything went downhill. Yael and he broke up from that incident, deciding that their friendship was better than constantly struggling with his inability to trust himself.

Things were awkward for a while. Before it was just their group, but after everything that happened it was three guys and two girls. And - though Hunter would never say this out loud for fear of sounding sappy - things changed through the power of friendship.

Yael may have pummeled him kicking and screaming, but she made sure that their group returned to a group of friends. No weird dating stuff involved at all. Even Lola found a home with them.

But now Lola was in his bed, so he fucked something up. He fucked something up big time, though a small something in his heart was happy like a warm bursting balloon. He was happy and it made his stomach do a flip, but in a good way. He pulled Lola closer to him, and she melted in his touch. He melted too, though he would never admit to that.

What the two of them had had been building up for weeks, months even, but also was as sudden as an explosion. Like the sun, Hunter thought. She explodes like the sun of my world.

He would literally kill anyone who caught him thinking that.

His head was spinning. He was half tired and half wide awake as he felt her body pressing up against his. His room was both too hot but also just right, and he could stay there forever. It was weird, in a way, to think that he had just had sex. He never thought it would be a big deal, and it wasn't in and of itself. But when he thought about who he was with… he couldn't keep the smile off of his face.

"What's so funny?" Lola asked, her soft voice did things to him that he could scarcely describe. It sent excitement over his skin and he just wanted to pull her into a hug. So he did. Normally he would never be the one to initiate a hug, but they had just had sex… it was the least he could do.

Lola laughed as he pulled her in.

"You make me happy," Hunter said.

The smile that spread on Lola's face made his head spin.

"I… you make me happy too."

Then he leaned in and kissed her. Maybe expressing himself wasn't that bad. It was how this all started.

For the longest time he couldn't look at her without the floor falling out from under him. He was embarrassed to hell and back after he got a boner for her, but she seemed to brush it off after a week. After two months, Yael dragged him kicking and screaming to the office and made him apologize. "We're a team, so get your act together and learn to look at Lola."

They talked it out, his face flushed red the whole time, and then everything was okay. Sometimes talking things out really worked - it was a lesson he was always learning the real value of.

He made an effort to spend time with her after that, to make up for all the weeks that he had avoided her. They went to the Dot after school to edit her videos, and they even chatted when she came over with Frankie.

No more avoiding her… and then the feelings started. It was Vijay's idea to start a game segment for their vlog, and as Hunter watched her and Vijay compete to see who could keep the hula hoop balanced around them, the feelings struck. The way she smiled, the way she laughed. He couldn't help but love them.

They were annoying at first, reminding him of how awkward things had been before they made up. But their friendship was going strong and he couldn't afford to ruin it through games like he did with Yael. It wasn't his dick that was affected as he saw her laughing and determined to beat Vijay, it was his heart.

So he told her the truth, and she liked him back too. It was scary. The only girl that had ever liked him had been Yael, but she was so… different. Yael and his romantic life rarely went beyond friendship, but Lola was so girly… and she was the first girl he didn't mind that in. Perhaps he should have realized he liked her earlier.

They started hanging out more and more, wanting to take things slowly. Hunter didn't want to ruin another friendship, and Lola didn't want to be hurt by jumping the gun too soon. He knew that she was thinking about her pregnancy, but she would tell him about it when she was ready. It was something she rarely talked about after the video, though she was proud and never seemed to regret any of it. That strength was one of the many thing he admired about her.

They kept things casual and quiet, the joy that was their relationships between just the two of them. And then one day after school, they were kissing and just never stopped.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Hunter asked, as his thoughts faded into a growling stomach.

Lola's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Of course," Hunter said. "I figure it is about time we let people know we're together - if that is okay with you."

The way Lola was smiling at him now made everything that had happened these last few years worth it. And then her eyes darkened. "You don't think Frankie will mind?"

Hunter chuckled as he climbed out of bed and looked for his boxers. A part of him was embarrassed to be naked in front of her, though he knew that was dumb. "She might be a little weirded out, but she'll be fine. I mean, she had to have suspected by now?"

"Probably," Lola admitted. She kept his sheets around her as she fished for her clothing and slipped them on. He found her shirt for her. "She'll be happy for you, for us, I'm sure of it."

Hunter laughed. "Yeah, she will." He pulled his shirt on and looked in the mirror to make sure he was presentable. "My parents aren't home, like ever, so it will just be Miles and Frankie."

"Oh, Miles," Lola murmured. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, I can see it being awkward. But it'll be fine, we all love you."

Lola smiled. "That's sweet."

Only then did Hunter notice what his own words implied, and not a part of him wanted to go back and erase them. Instead, he took her hand in his and lead them out into the hallway.

"After dinner, you should watch the big game with me."

"Your video game?" Lola asked. Then a devious look spread on her face. "Only if you let me paint your nails."

Hunter feigned disgust, but he could never genuinely feel that around her. "Only if it's black."

"I'll have to see if Frankie has some left over from her depression stage."

"That's over?" Hunter quipped, and Lola laughed.

They walked hand in hand to the kitchen, enjoying what they didn't know they needed until now. They had been in each other's orbits for a long time, but now they really had each other.