Meet Cutes Are Better the Second Time

Chapter 20: Confessions

"Alright," Hunter declared as he joined Rachel at the table where she sat. He set her tea down in front of her before placing the treat he'd gotten her down with it. It was a small round shortcake with three chocolate dipped strawberries, two white chocolate with dark chocolate drizzled on them and one dark chocolate with white chocolate drizzled on it, settled on it. They had gone to the small vegan cafe near the music store, so he was sure she'd be able to eat it. "Your prize for winning."

"Thank you," Rachel said. She pulled the food towards her as she flashed him a smile. "It looks delicious."

"You're welcome." He settled into his own seat, crossing one leg over the other as he watched her. He'd opted for tea instead of coffee, he was willing to do a lot for Rachel but drinking a latte with soy milk or almond milk was not one of them, and the to-go cup was warm in his hands. "You deserve it. You're solo tonight was amazing."

"Yours was good as well."

"I did great," he agreed. "But you were breathtaking, Rachel. I may have been cocky during the awards ceremony, but even I knew we didn't stand a chance. We lost it the second you stepped onto that stage and started Here's to Us."

"That's not true," she argued. She cut her fork into the dessert. "Mercedes and Santana were very good during What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Stronger and the whole group worked well throughout Fly/I Believe I Can Fly."

"I didn't say they didn't," Hunter answered. He took one hand from his tea, reaching across to settle his hand over the one she wasn't using to eat. "I just said you were the one who won the competition for them. I know you know how good you are, but I don't think you realize just how breathtaking you are when you're on a stage."

She gave a small hum. She looked up at him through her eyelashes, "You think I'm breathtaking on stage?"

"Absolutely." He squeezed her hand in his hand. "Don't get me wrong, I think you are beautiful anytime I see you. But, whenever I see you on a stage it's like falling in love with you all over again."

He saw her still, her fork half way to her mouth. The fingers of the hand he was holding curled.

He ran through his statement, trying to figure out what he'd said.

"Rach?" he murmured when he came back empty. "What'd I say?"

She set her fork back down on her plate.

She stared at him for a moment before asking, "You're in love with me?"

"Yes...?" Hunter answered. He pressed his lips together. His gaze dropped from hers, focusing instead on their intertwined hands. "Did you freeze up because you don't feel the same?"

"I do," Rachel said. "You just caught me off guard. I've never had a guy just slip it into conversation the first time."

He raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to take it back and plan something for you?"

"Of course not," she said with a shake of her head. This time it was her to squeeze his hand. "I actually prefer it this way. It's easier to believe that you mean it."

Hunter couldn't help the way he frowned at the thought. He'd already known that Rachel's past relationships hadn't exactly been fantastic, but the idea of her not being able to tell if someone actually loved her was horrible.

"Rachel." He lifted his eyes back to hers. "I love you."

A smile lit up her face. "I love you too, Hunter."

"Do you ever just really, really hate someone who've never met?" Hunter mused as he walked into his dorm.

Sebastian was sitting on his bed with his knees raised up and a book settled on his thighs. He had already changed out of his uniform and into a pair of loose sweatpants. He looked up at Hunter's words. "Bad date?"

"Good date, bad memories," Hunter corrected. He glanced at Sebastian as he tugged at the loop on his tie. "How long have you been back?"

"Half an hour maybe?" Sebastian guessed. "Kurt and I just went out for ice cream. Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"I was telling Rachel how amazing it is to watch her on stage and I told her that I love her," Hunter explained as he tossed his tie across the room. "She said that she liked that I'd just let it slip rather than making it a huge moment because it made it easier for her to tell that I meant it."

"I kinda wanna hit Finn Hudson right now."

"We can make a club."

There was silence for a while as Hunter stripped the rest of his uniform off.

He was crawling into his bed when Sebastian said, "You are though?"

"I am what?"

"In love with Rachel."

"Ah..." A smile spread over Hunter's lips. It was soft and genuine. "Rachel's amazing. She's beautiful and intelligent and driven. I don't think I ever stood a chance at not falling in love with her."

"Good. I'm happy for you."

Hunter hummed softly. He watched Sebastian as he leaned over to grab one of his pillows off the floor. "Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "I don't want you to get hurt, but I don't want her to get hurt either. Sometimes she's annoying as all hell, but I actually kinda like her."

"You are going to soft on me, Smythe." He launched the pillow he'd retrieved at Sebastian. It fell into Sebastian's lap. "Turn your lamp off. I'm ready to go to sleep."

"You're lucky I finished my chapter before you came in," Sebastian answered. He tossed the pillow back at Hunter, letting out a chuckle when it slammed into his face. He marked his page in his book before settling it on the nightstand and reaching for the lamp.

Their room had only been dark a few seconds when Sebastian murmured, "I think I might be falling in love with Kurt."

"I know," Hunter said. He shoved his pillow under his head with the others before settling down on top of them. "It's not exactly a bad thing."

E/n: This is actually like the shortest chapter of this series? But it does meet my minimum word count(barely. I actually thought I was gonna have to post it shorter)!

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