"this is my deepest dream;
this is how I show you my love"
-Dreams, We Came As Romans
Hunter [ha-des]
She was standing right there in front of me.
Oh God.
She was..
I was literally tongue tied.
Piper went pale and coughed awkwardly. Her hands were clenched together. I wished she wouldn't act like that. It reminded me of the monster I was. She didn't remember my occasional kindness and relentless love for her. She just remembered me as her kidnapper.
"So.." Patrick broke the silence. "Going anywhere this summer, Hunter?"
I looked at the floor, scuffing my boot against the floor. "I don't holiday. I don't like the sun."
Patrick nodded dumbly. "So erm.. no city breaks?"
Ava hit him on the arm. "OW!"
"Shut up, Patrick."
Piper still stood there, quiet as anything. I couldn't stand this anymore. I wasn't going to stand there in front of her, in front of everyone, them judging me and her afraid.
Fuck this.
I took the bottle of Jack Daniels that Danny was casually holding and downed a shot of it.
Then another.
"Thanks," I said, trying to ignore the burning in my throat. I turned and walked away, away from them. I'd find a corner to sit in and ignore everyone. It's not like I'd be missed.
Ava [at-he-na]
I watched Hunter walk away, head hanging, trying not to look too upset.
He wasn't fooling me.
He never did.
I glanced at Piper and could see the pain in her eyes. She looked so much like a little girl, it was scary. It was scary to think she and Hunter.. well, she and Hades had once been involved – even if she hadn't wanted to be. Hunter, this tall, muscled boy who wore leather and had an eyebrow piercing. He was the most unlikely boy to ever love Piper.
I watched as he sat down on an armchair and held his head in his hands. His shot glass had been refilled, this time with vodka. I was close to going over to him, offer him some comfort, but the sight of Alexandria and Nate turned my stomach and stole my attention.
"Sleazebag alert," I announced. Aaron and Patrick looked over. Danny let out a whoop. "Yes! It's not a party until someone makes out!"
I shook my head and stormed over to them, ignoring the slobbering noises.
"Alex... you have Nate attached to your tongue," I told her. Alexandria ignored me. Danny came up next to me and took a photo on his iPhone. "This is going on Facebook!" he squealed, finding it the funniest thing ever. I'd laugh too if it wasn't Alexandria. And Nate.
His hands were inching up her back, under her cami. No way, Alexandria was not getting embarrassed in front of everyone like this.
I grabbed her hair.
"OW!" she screamed.
"You're making out with Nate. Remember Hayden?"
She blinked. She couldn't place Hayden.
"Hayden. He's on the football team... at our school. The guy you're kinda going out with."
Alexandria's eyes widened. She pushed Nate away, who was still trying to go in for another tonsil session.
"What?" Nate cried, confused.
"Another time," Alexandria said quickly.
"Not another time!" I broke in. "Never again!"
Alexandria rubbed her neck, which was showing a hickey. "Erm.. can I borrow a scarf to hide this?" she whispered.
Nate looked offended.
Aaron [ap-ol-lo]
It was 1.30am. Pretty much the time when the party was becoming the "alcoholic carnage" Danny wanted.
Ava had managed to pull Alexandria away from Nate, who did not look happy. Danny and Patrick were slapping each other's palms as hard as they could manage, taking a shot after each slap burned their skin.
Astra was dancing hazily in the centre of the room, looking like she was on drugs. She was in a dreamlike state. To be honest, that was just the way she danced.
I noticed Piper stuck close to Ava, despite them not talking much. She stood sort of apart from Ava and Alexandria, who was scrutinizing her hickey in the mirror, trying to cover it up with makeup. Piper suggested using toothpaste, to which Alexandria wrinkled her nose. "I don't want to smell like someone's mouth.."
"Oh, yeah, sure. It's just it fades it really well," Piper said in her nervous voice. She was always nervous.
Ava smiled mischievously. "And how would you know that, hmm?"
She laughed when Piper turned bright red.
I looked round the room and found Hunter smoking a cigarette on the other side of the room. As long as he was away from Piper, that was fine. Besides, with Ava beside her, it was unlikely that Piper would be bothered by him.
Ava [at-he-na]
I was okay with having Piper latching onto me. I mean, at first it was annoying but she was quite funny. The way she blushed at everything was fun to watch. She was like a little child.
"Fucking hell, why Nate?" Alexandria groaned. "Of all people, I had to make out with Nate. I'm cleaning my mouth out as soon as I get home. Maybe with toothpaste."
She said the last thing when she looked at Piper and she winked. Piper blushed again but smiled this time.
"Lexii!"
Alexandria's eyes widened. "Don't tell me its-"
"Hayden," I announced.
Alexandria's boyfriend made his way over to her. His body was muscled, with veins sticking out his hands. Sticky out veins made Alexandria melt. Hayden was the star quarterback of the school's football team, he'd won awards for his skills. He could kick the crap out of anyone.
Well, what do you expect from Hercules, of all people?
Hayden was a demi-God, so he wasn't like us in the same respect. But his past life as one of Greece's heroes made us respect him.
"Hey Lexii," Hayden murmured and kissed her cheek. The sight of them two together made me want to puke and also applaud at the same time. They were too cute. Hayden was the only person to call Alexandria by a nickname. He was the only boy Alexandria had allowed to get so close to her.
Alexandria [ap-hr-od-ite]
I turned and wrapped my arms around Hayden. After the whole Nate thing, Hayden was the one person I really wanted to be with right now. As I felt his arms wrap around the small of my back, I smiled. He was the only boy to see past my looks and see me for the girl I really was. Sure, he thought I was beautiful, but he knew there was more to me than that.
Unlike every other boy I knew.
He flipped me around to face Ava and he wrapped his arms around me from behind.
"How's it going, Ava?" he asked.
He was also very polite, I have to say.
"I'm good, Hayden. Great game last Friday."
"Aww thanks! I loved the banner you guys made me," he said, squeezing me against him. I beamed, loving the feel of his six pack through his shirt, against my back.
Ava smiled and then frowned, looking at something over Hayden's shoulder.
"Whats up?" I asked.
"..Nothing. I'm gonna go for a minute, talk amongst yourselves," she muttered.
She wandered away, leaving us together. I turned to face Hayden this time and noticed his face was looking more tanned than usual. "Hey, been outdoors much?" I joked.
Hayden laughed. "I went to Newport last weekend. The surf was awesome. You should've come."
"I will, next time. You can teach me how to work a board."
Hayden pulled me closer. "Have I not kissed you yet?"
"Not really.. just a measly peck on the cheek.."
He leant closer and I could feel his breath on my skin. Our lips met. His hands held me tight, occasionally running through my hair. "Any chance you wanna just skip the party and go back to my place?" he whispered in my ear.
I squeezed his hand. "Hell yeah."
Hunter [ha-des]
Woaaah, walk straight..
Fuuuck, the floor is spinnnning!
I'll admit. I was drunk. Very, very, very drunk. The floor kept slipping under my feet, I swear it was trying to trip me up.
Strobe lights are AWESOME...
Astra was dancing, like a fairy, if what a fairy dances like is kind of slow, with eyes closed and arms in the air.
A fairy DEFINITLEY dances like that!
I joined her, a monster dancing with a fairy. She whooped and hollered, not caring that it was me. I didn't care either, I'd stopped caring about anything three drinks ago.
Until I saw Piper go up the stairs.
Now I cared.
SPINNY FLOOOOR!
I made my way up the stairs after her, avoiding a couple making out on the stairs. Where would she be going? Why was no one with her? Who could ever leave her?
She entered the bathroom across the hall, leaving the door open. She stood in front of the mirror and took out her lipgloss. Huh. I didn't know she wore makeup. I heard loud music come on downstairs.
This is my deepest dream, this is how I show you my love.
I loved Piper but she didn't love me.
The stairs swayed under me. I gripped onto the banister, balancing myself. She hadn't noticed me on the stairs. If she turned around, she would. But she was focused on the mirror. I slowly walked up a step at a time.
My heart hurts and my heart breaks.
I could hear Danny whooping downstairs and a girl shout at him to turn off the noise. I kept my attention on Piper. She was alone, finally. Maybe I could just try and talk to her. It was about time we got over this.
Beloved let us love one another.
This is my deepest dream.
She turned and gasped. She'd seen me. Piper backed away, further into the bathroom. I kept walking. I held out a hand, trying to reassure her I meant no harm.
"Piper.." I murmured. Her eyes were wide and she clenched her fists. "W-What?" she stuttered. I stumbled on the last step.
"I just want.. to talk to you."
She backed away again, but inched closer to the door. She was planning an escape route, a way to get past me. That wasn't going to happen.
She attempted it. But my build took up most of the doorframe and her petite body couldn't get past.
"Hunter," she said, finally sounding normal.
I clenched her hand, which was so small in mine. "Please," I whispered. All I needed was to talk to her.
I pushed her back into the bathroom and shut the door behind us.
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