(4)
I crawled back into the bed, wanting to do nothing but to think, think and think. Hunter kept nudging my brain over and over again, and the things Dave had told me only seemed to draw Hunter to my mind even more. To be honest, I knew nothing of Hunter Helmsley's past. I had completely relied on mom on that part, trusting her to never make a decision that would go wrong in our family. But apparently, something was wrong; and that something was Hunter.
I rolled around the bed, struggling to find a comfortable position. I had gone to sleep early last night, not even having dinner-and I doubted Casper had dinner either-and sleep was miles away from me. I sighed frustratingly. If I was at home, I'd be stuck in the library for the rest of the day.
"You're always in a bad mood after whenever he calls," I realized that Casper was still leaning against the bathroom door frame, watching me. I sat straight on the bed.
"No, I'm not," I replied, avoiding his eyes.
"Lying is not your thing," I heard his footsteps coming closer, and my heart beat sped up. Glancing up I saw him searching for something in his bag. A tiny little piece of my heart was disappointed, and I did everything to suppress a scoff at myself. Casper was acting like last night didn't exist. That simple straight-forward flirting thing might have fluttered me but not him. Maybe he was indeed sleep-talking last night. I mentally screamed STUPID! at myself for getting my hopes up even if it was a fraction of a second. I was never to have hopes for Casper in the first place. But how was I supposed to find a person that'd not only fit my needs but also Hunter's as well? I sighed again.
"You going out again?" I asked quietly, my eyes roaming over him as he dressed in full black. A white guy with red hair wearing black. I silently chuckled at myself.
His emerald eyes met with mine momentarily, sparkling with mischief. "Yeah. Have to meet up with somebody."
I bit my lip. "Breakfast date?"
"Jealous?" He asked back, a smirk widening his lips.
Snorting, I fell back onto the bed.
"Chillax, it's not a date," I actually heard the grin in his voice.
"Why would you honestly think I'm into a goof like you?" My voice was muffled because I had my face shoved into a pillow.
"Maybe because you were practically dry humping me last night."
I jumped out of the bed and gaped at him. "What?!"
He arched an eyebrow casually. "You heard me," he walked forward, my feet instinctively stepping back. And a wall was on the way. "You were making all these cute noises... Whispering my name... Moving your hips... I had to help you."
"No... No..." I whispered, partially denying what he said and partially for him to stop coming closer. I never did that... True, I was a guy and I did have wet dreams but... I locked eyes with him. "You're lying."
"So... There's someone else that you know named Casper?"
My breathing stopped. The proximity between us was a few inches and his eyes glowed brighter than ever, as if it had sucked up all the air around me and used it as power.
"Your name is not Casper," that was my desperate try. He chuckled bitterly, his gaze shifting from mine and I could breathe again. In a flash, he grabbed my hips and slammed me against the wall, a surprised yelp escaping my lips as he dashed forward. I screwed my eyes shut, hoping for an impact but after a several seconds when nothing happened, I opened them up again.
He was a fraction away from my face. I was breathing heavily, my chest heaving up and down as heated blood coursed through me rushing with a scary thrilling feeling. His holds on my hips were strong, so strong that I was unable to move at all and the intensity of his oak leaf colored orbs had me pinned to the wall.
At that moment I realized something. My heart was thudding furiously. It was reaching out to get a grasp of something which was impossible to get caught. "I can't... do this." My voice trembled.
A second later his hands left my hips, and I heard silent cursing. He averted his face from mine, his body knotting up in tension and shoulders stiffening. His fists curled to fists, and then they unclenched, repeatedly doing the move until he suddenly faced me again. The next time I realized what was happening it was already too late. His lips were on mine, ravishing the hell out of a kiss, his fingers digging to my hips as he growled deep in his chest.
It was like being hypnotized. Knowing what you were doing but being unable to stop it. Or maybe this was how being high felt like. Doing what you can't stop but also, don't want to stop. I only got a second to breathe some air in before I was pressed against the wall again, my arms automatically locking around his neck as his hands hooked up behind my thighs and lifted me off the floor. Snaking my legs around his waist I ran my fingers through his soft but damp hair, drowning in his unique scent as I moved my lips against his in need. I whimpered against his lips as his teeth bit down on my bottom lip, pulling him impossibly close to me.
It just felt so good all over. His thumbs running circles on my hips, his hands holding me against him strongly, his lips nipping along my jaw spreading wonderful warmth through my body. I gasped softly as his hips started to thrust against mine. I could feel his arousal through his jeans pressing onto my groin, and the sensations waved down my body made my toes curl.
"S-Stephen," I stuttered, throwing my head back slightly and clutching fistfuls of his t-shirt in my hands. His teeth which grazed at my neck stopped, and I barely suppressed a needy whine.
"Say that again," he said in a hoarse voice, resting his forehead against me.
"Stephen," I whispered, slowly trailing my fingers down his neck. His Adam's apple bobbed under my fingers, and he slowly leaned into kiss me again. I stopped him by placing a palm over his mouth, shaking my head.
"I had to do it... At least once," he said as he gently set me on my feet. I awkwardly hugged myself, my chest feeling heavy. I did not know how to respond to him. "I have to go," he backed away, his eyes darkening for some reason. Something like guilt crossed his features, and I watched frowning as he disappeared behind the door.
For a long moment I stared at the closed door and then I let my body slump down the wall into a sitting position on the dirty floor. It had only been three days. And I was already hooked.
What was he doing to me? That was the only thought that ran across my mind, stabbing at my chest painfully to get all of my attention.
XXX
"Can I have that one?" I asked with puppy eyes, pointing at the blood red rubber wrist band around Stephen's wrist.
"No way," he hid his hand behind his back, making a face.
"But this matches your eyes!" I said, stretching out my hand and showing him the emerald green band.
"Yeah, well, you can keep it to remember me," he grinned, showing all his teeth. Grumbling, I took out my wallet to give him some money. "Go and get some food."
"It hasn't even passed ten minutes and you already want food?" He cocked an eyebrow.
"Shut up and go," I grumbled, shoving some money into his palm. "I want two burgers and you can have whatever the hell you want."
Stephen looked me up and down. "How do you even..." I arched an eyebrow in question. "Never mind," he turned to leave but then paused. "What are you going to do here...alone?" It took me a while to realize that he hadn't been listening to the call this morning and it almost made me sigh in relief right in front of him.
"Don't worry; I won't get in trouble. Just gonna wander around. I'll go catch a table for us," I lied through my teeth, noticing that he didn't entirely believe me. But he nodded and went towards the food courts, and I turned my back to him and hurried to the entrance again.
In no way I'd let Dave see him with me. When I reached the main gates, Dave was already standing at the entrance, his eyes scanning around the crowds.
"Dave!" I called out to him, waving my hand to get his attention. "Hey," I grinned widely, rushing to his side. A smile curved his lips as he reached out and ruffled my hair.
"Hey yourself," he said, and nervously looked around.
"We're safe," I reminded him, catching his wrist and tugging him towards the other side of the carnival, so it'd take time for Stephen to find me. I found a free bench nearby 'Magic' tent, and took a seat with Dave. "I want to know everything."
"I can't tell you everything," he denied, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on his thighs. "I mean..." He added as he saw the look on my face. "I don't know if what I'm thinking is right."
I pursed my lips. "Then tell me what you know."
"That Hunter is not the guy he seems to be," that, I knew. "He leaves for office way early in morning these days. And he comes later than usual. And he spends lots of time in mom's room with this new 'doctor' he has assigned."
"He never gets up before nine!" My eyes widened. "And a new doctor? What happened to Dr. Michaels?"
"Found out last night that he was fired. For no reason at all. And Reigns came to our place the day after you left," Dave, chewed on his lip as he watched me make faces of uncomfort. "You remember that guy I told you to check out the night you left? At the party?"
"That was Roman?!" I gaped. The man that had been talking with Hunter at the party; the man that I had looked at told Dave he was not my type was Roman. God.
"Yeah... He wanted to talk with you. Hunter actually told you had chickenpox," he snorted as I burst out laughing.
"Seriously?" I asked, unable to believe what I'd just heard. Maybe Roman and Hunter weren't that close, otherwise why would Hunter lie to Roman about me running away? There was no away Hunter was thinking that I was kidnapped when he saw me running from him that day. I had totally blown the theory of someone kidnapping me, what Dave had made up. But seriously, that excuse Hunter gave to Roman was just bullshit.
"I wonder what Hunter will pull then next time Reigns come," Dave's voice was amused.
I scoffed. "Probably some horseshit excuse. I don't think Reigns will just dismiss it the next time," I scratched the back of my head. "How's mom though?"
Dave tensed. Frowning, I placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong, Dave?"
He avoided looking at me. "Doc said there's a chance that she'd never wake up."
My face hardened. "Was that the new doc?"? Dave nodded. "Michaels didn't say that so-"
"Michaels is our family doctor, Randy," he snapped. I flinched, the held back fear starting to pour out again. "Sorry," he apologized, and wiped a hand down his face. "What I'm saying is, that, he is just a normal doctor. Not a specialist. Like this guy. But then again... sometimes it's hard to believe him too."
"What do you mean?" my voice was quiet.
"Mom... Fell into that coma about six months later after the wedding. You can't just go into a coma like that with no reason at all. If she would've gone to one, it would've been because of dad... But no... Do you remember seeing her sad or depressed after finding Hunter? No. She was smiling. Always smiling."
"Just because someone is smiling doesn't mean they're happy, D," I fiddled with my fingers, absorbing everything he had just said. When silence continued, I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. "What?" I asked, as he kept staring at me.
He shook his head, snapping out of whatever trance he had been in. "Still. In this case, I think Hunter has something to do with mom's condition."
"Dave-"
"Every time she was close to getting better, the next day she'd go back to the worst condition. Happened every fucking time. Didn't go unnoticed by me," he growled. "With this new doc, I think whatever Hunter's work was made easier... You don't believe me," he added.
My face twisted in guilt, and I averted my eyes to the ground. "It's not that, D... This is...just too hard to take in."
"Tell me... What do we know about Hunter's past?" Nothing, my expression said. How much of a bad person he was, Hunter looked like he had genuine honest feelings towards mom. But if he was the type of the guy Dave was saying... But it all came down to one thing. Why was he doing it?
"I'm gonna prove it. Somehow," Dave's fists clenched tightly. I touched them, taking his hands.
"Whatever you do... Be safe," the soft smile that curved his lips was worth the trouble.
"So... No prince charming, yet?" I ducked my head as he inspected me closely.
"I dunno..."
"You mean these just happened? Like, appeared suddenly outta nowhere?" Dave trailed a finger down the side of my neck. The burning told me that he was seeing those marks Casper made this morning.
"Um... It was actually a bug... A bed bug some sort of, at the motel," I kept my eyes fixed to the ground.
Dave caught my chin, turning my face towards him. "Like I said before, it really is okay if you found someone. Unless he's someone like that pedo guy."
I punched his arm. "He was not a pedo, Dave. And neither is this guy."
"So there is someone?" I totally blew my cover. Dave grinned widely, looking at my expression of embarrassment.
"Why the fuck did you-" I froze, a cold thrill running down my spine as Stephen came to the view. Open mouthed, he looked between me and Dave, who was dumbfounded as well.
I cursed under my breath, putting my face in my hands. My plan of not letting them see each other was a total mess.
"This...is the guy you've been with the whole time?" Dave said in an incredulous voice. I bit my lip.
"Dave... This is my...guide. Step-"
"Sheamus," Dave interrupted, standing up and getting on Stephen's face.
"Who?"
"Batista," Stephen growled, his face hardening as Dave got closer. I squeezed in between them, placing my hands on Stephen's chest and attempting to push him back to no avail. Dave grabbed my hand and yanked me towards him, pushing me behind his back.
What. The. Fuck.
"You had to go on and catch my brother, Sheamus?" Dave said through gritted teeth, moving closer to Stephen. Heart thudding furiously, I got a hold of Dave's arm to drag him back.
"You know each other?" I asked in a barely audible voice. And my question went unnoticed.
"I didn't know you had a fucking brother," Stephen hissed, "I didn't even know his last name."
"Oh, you didn't even know his last name?" Dave mocked as I gasped in disbelieve. Was this my brother? "But it was enough for you to fuck him?"
"Dave!" Burning, I punched his arm again. And he acted like he didn't feel it.
"You should be grateful that I'm helping him out. He's like a baby, not knowing anything about-" I realized that he didn't deny the accusation of sleeping with me. And it seemed to feul Dave's anger more.
"You help him by putting your fucking hands on him?"
"HEY!" I squeezed between them again, and pushed Dave back, hard. "What the fuck is going on?!"
"I know him and he knows me," Stephen answered for Dave. "Obviously, we don't get along."
"Doesn't mean you have to go eat each others heads off in front of me," I snapped. "Dave, he didn't do that. He didn't...sleep with me-"
"But he fucking put his hands on you," Dave grumbled, holding my wrist tightly. "He's not a good guy... Not for you anyway."
Stephen snorted. "Oh really? The irony is unbearable, Batista."
"Shut the fuck up," Dave hissed.
"Guys! Will you please, please stop trying to kill each other?" I rubbed my temples. "How do you know-"
"School," Stephen muttered. "He used to bully me for being gay."
"Dave!" I complained, glaring at him while he glowered at Stephen. The words that came out of his mouth was unbelievable. Dave bullying someone for being gay? Dave bullying someone at all? "Is that true?"
He stayed silent. I wiped a hand down my face in utter shame. "I can't fucking believe it. How could you?!"
"That was before I knew you swung that way too," Dave mumbled in a quiet voice, his brown orbs momentarily meeting mine.
"So?! Even if I wasn't, it was still wrong to do that!" I punched his arm again.
"Yeah, yeah," Dave muttered, scratching the back of his head.
"Look at that, mighty Batista's finally silent," Stephen grinned.
"What the fuck are you grinning at, huh?" I punched him too. Like he was going to get away talking like that to Dave.
"Ow," he mumbled, disapprovingly staring at me. "Is he gonna come with us too?"
"Yes," my voice was stern.
"Randy-" Dave started.
"Hush," I silenced him, hooking my hand around his and dragging him with me. I gave one of the burgers to Dave and we spent the next ten minutes at a picnic table silently eating. The awkward silence that fell around us was quite uncomfortable. Now that I had found out Dave and Stephen knew and hated each other, the chances of me getting with Stephen was like 0.001%.
In this case, Hunter was a minor problem.
"We were friends for about...two years, I guess," Dave said in a low voice, only audible for me. "I... Turned my back to him after finding out he was... Like you."
"You were a dick," I deadpanned.
"Still am," he grinned back. "I didn't realize what I was doing was wrong until later. But we never got back to being friends."
"Oh," was all I could say. "What's with those weird names?"
"Used to be in a gang. A school gang, like a popular team," Dave added as he saw the look on my face.
It wasn't until a few seconds later I burst into a fit of chuckles. Stephen casted a weird look at me from across the table while I guffawed. "Sorry," I managed out before chuckling again.
We moved over to a line of stalls which had small games. Stephen and Dave actually played them; not because they wanted to but because they wanted to see who was better. Stephen was an expert ring toss, saying he was the best at basketball when he was in school, and Dave only made faces at him behind his back. Stephen won a huge teddy bear, which he kept to himself. Darts throwing was a complete disaster, and Dave ended up hitting a dart at the stall owner, and he got told off. Stephen guffawed at him, almost starting another fight. I only tried at shooting water balloons, which, if wasn't for Dave teaching me how to hold the gun and aim at the target, I'd seem like a total loser. I got a small price, a soft toy frog, the size of my hands.
I gave it to Dave, unlike Stephen who was a complete bastard. When Stephen wanted to go on a ride, no one volunteered to go with him. Dave, because of his leg, and me... Well, I was afraid of heights. And all the rides on the carnival looked terrifying, some even breaking down every thirty minutes for 'repairing'.
"You're no fun," Stephen grimaced at me.
"He's-" I pinched Dave's arm before he spilled that I was a pussy. "If he doesn't like to go, you can't force him."
"I know that," Stephen bitterly said, "Wasn't intending to."
Seconds passed.
"I think it's time for me to go," Dave voiced, looking at his watch. "It's almost midnight."
"Okay," I whispered, fiddling with the hem of my shirt. "When will I see you again?"
"Soon," he patted my cheek, smiling. And he turned to Stephen with a deadly glower. "Hurt him, and I'll fucking rip you apart."
Stephen stayed silent, his jaws twitching in obvious anger. When Dave finally left, I felt down.
"You really love him don't you?" I heard Stephen ask.
"He is the person I look up to," I said softly, and glanced at his face. "Let's go on..." I looked around. "Ferris wheel." I probably chose the worst ride ever.
"Five minutes ago you didn't want to go," he cocked an eyebrow.
"Well, I want to go now. So come," I struggled to keep my voice steady, absent of trembling. I didn't want to go, nu-uh, but that pouty look on Stephen's face broke me. When the line for the Ferris Wheel got shorter, I began sweating. I shoved my hands in my jean pockets, clenching them to tight fists.
"Here," Stephen stretched the teddy out to me. I frowned. "Didn't want to give it to you when your brother was there. He would have broke my arm."
A smile spread over my lips, slowly. "Thank you," I said, hugging the toy to my chest. "You really don't want this."
"I won it for you," he winked cockily, and I rolled my eyes. I carefully got into our seat when it came our turn, the rickety seat creaking as I sat. My body went rigid, as it made more creaky sounds when Stephen got seated. clutching the teddy in my hands tightly, I tried to relax, and keep my eyes on the toy without looking at each other. I flinched when the Ferris Wheel started to roll up, desperately hoping that Stephen didn't notice my dread. I slightly pressed against him, soothing my mind that I wasn't alone. Cool breeze brushed past me, and momentarily I let my eyes wander. And the next second, I was trying to hold down the bile which rose up my throat. Maybe I shouldn't have eaten before coming here.
"Don't worry; I got you," Stephen breathed into my ear, and his arm circled around my shoulder in a strong hold. I glanced at his face from the corner of my eye, burning in embarrassment. "Why did you come with me if you were afraid?"
"I'm not," denial was laced over my voice.
"Really?"
I sighed. "I came... Just because."
"Doll be lying," he said to no particular person.
"Casper," I grumbled. He chuckled, tightening his arm around me.
"Ya know... I lied this morning," I frowned at him as he confessed. "I um... didn't touch you last night. But you were having a wet dream."
I screwed my eyes shut. "Jerk."
"Come on," he adjusted on the seat. "I gave you a teddy!"
Suddenly, the ride stopped. Panicking, I almost looked down and fainted. Almost. "Wha-what's going on? Why di-did we stop?"
"Hey, hey," he cupped my face, trying to get my attention but my eyes wildly ran around, looking at other other people who were far from panicking. They were actually enjoying the view abroad, while I almost shit my pants. "Look at me. Look at me." I did, but my mind kept drifting off to other things. Then his lips were on me. I froze, wrapping my head around the fact that he had kissed me for the second time of the day. When he pulled away, I was looking at him like I was hypnotized. "They stop the ride for a minute when we're up so we can look around, okay? There's nothing to be afraid of. I got you."
I hide my face against his neck, breathing heavily and taking in his scent. Coffee and candy.
I was desperate. One day, I doubted, there might come a time when I'd be unable to live without him.
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