Hi everyone :)
I have returned bearing the gift of chapter 5. We're coming to the end of this journey now :( I do, however, have an idea for a sequel. Anyone out there interested in a sequel? It won't be based on anything like this was, it'll all be from my own sugar-coated imagination so bear that in mind lol. Anyway, review time :) :
I'd like to thank Moonlit Sea, Ranger lover, CamFan4Ever, Makia Durron, huntersgrl13, RaeTucker and the infamous monkay-pooh for all reviewing. Thank you :)
Okay, the whole flirting scenario is from Friends but the conversations that take place during the flirting I made up. So, idea not mine, actual way it's written is mine.
Please enjoy this chapter and please remember, for your own safety, please keep your hand firmly attached to your mouse :)
"Hey Cam." Tori smiled as she walked into Storm Chargers the next day. "Have you seen Hunter? We've got a lesson arranged."
"He's in back as far as I know." Cam told her. She nodded and leaned on the counter.
"So, where's Dustin and Shane?" She inquired, just trying to make conversation while she waited for Hunter to appear.
"I think Dustin's with Hunter in back and Shane is standing right behind you." Cam told her as he inclined his head over her shoulder. Tori turned around to be faced with a dreamy eyed Shane.
"Oh, hey Shane." She said. He continued to gaze at her dreamily and Tori gave a small, nervous laugh. "Erm...You okay?"
"I'm great." Shane told her happily. "I'm always great when you're around." Cam surpressed a laugh and Tori was at a loss for words for a moment. "Here, I brought you flowers." He said as he handed her a small bunch of wild flowers. She took them and stared at him for several moments.
"O...Kay...Thanks." She said after a while. She glanced at Cam who had a completely natural look on his face now. She looked to her side to see Dustin and Hunter come out from back.
"Hey Tori." Hunter smiled as he saw her. He looked at the flowers in her hand and at Shane who was still gazing dreamily at her and frowned a little. "What's going on?"
"Tori was just about to take me to the beach and teach me how to surf." Shane told him in a soft, goofy voice. Hunter's mouth dropped open and Tori just looked surprised.
"I was?" She managed to get out, her mind unable to make sense of what was going on.
"That's not a problem is it?" Shane asked suddenly, his tone changing from mushy to slightly challenging. "I mean, there's no reason why you can't, right?" Tori looked at him for a second before frowning slightly. The frown quickly disappeared though and was replaced by a smile.
"No, there's no problem. Lets go." She said, turning to leave. She threw Hunter an I'll-meet-you-later glance before she left the store, Shane trailing not too far behind her.
"What, the HECK, was that about?" Hunter hissed angrily in Dustin's ear once Tori and Shane had left.
"Search me." Dustin said as he quickly went to busy himself with his bike.
Three hours later and Hunter and Dustin were at the track racing each other. Hunter was really annoyed and it could be seen in his riding. He was going recklessly fast and taking un-necessary risks. After they had finished a race they came to a stop after the last jump of the course. Hunter yanked his helmet off angrily and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Dustin took his helmet off a lot more carefully and looked at his friend worridly. The way he was riding, he was just asking for an accident. Maybe he should tell him that Shane was only messing around before he errupted like a volcano.
"Guys!" They heard Tori voice call. They turned around to see Tori running towards them quickly, her hair still slightly damp. Hunter immediately got off of his bike and ran over to meet her.
"What was all that stuff with Shane about?" Hunter demanded heatedly just as Dustin joined them.
"Hey, don't take that tone with me. It wasn't my fault!" Tori told him in the same way a mother would scold her child, prodding his chest which seemed to dramatically calm his temper. "He just hands me a bunch of flowers and suddenly starts flirting with me. Then, when we're at the beach, he brings up that whole kissing thing. Says that I must like him as much as he likes me otherwise I wouldn't have done it." She gave a sigh and rubbed her face tiredly. Hunter looked at her sympathetically.
"I'm sorry I yelled." Hunter apologised quietly like a child who'd just been punished. Tori glared at him for a second before letting out another sigh and pulling him into a hug.
"It's all right." She said as he held her tightly. She kissed his cheek and rested her head on his chest. They held their position for a few moments before Tori turned her head slightly and looked suspiciously at Dustin. "Dustin...They know don't they?" She guessed in an irritable voice not moving from Hunter's arms. Hunter's eyes widened slightly and he also looked at Dustin. Dustin looked at the ground for a second before groaning and throwing his arms up in defeat.
"Yes! Okay? Yes, they know." Dustin told them.
"You told them?" Hunter exclaimed, his arms still firmly around Tori.
"No I didn't! Cam saw you kissing by Tori's van in front of Storm Chargers." Dustin told them.
"You see! I told you someone was going to see us." Tori muttered as she lightly slapped Hunter's arm.
"I'm sorry okay?" He said before a grin appeared on his face. "Anyway, this might turn out to be fun." Tori and Dustin just frowned at him. "They don't know that we know that they know." Hunter told them carefully. Dustin looked at him in confusion while Tori grinned as well as she got his meaning. "So now, we can mess with them a little and have some fun ourselves."
"Does this mean I have to keep another secret?" Dustin groaned, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yep." Hunter nodded. Dustin winced and gave another groan.
"So how are you going to mess with them?" Tori asked him excitedly. Hunter grinned down at her and released her from his hold.
"Okay, this is what we're going to do..."
"Aw dude, you should have seen her face!" Shane laughed as he told Cam about his afternoon with Tori at the beach yesterday. "I thought she was going to just admitt to everything just to get me to stop pulling her into the water."
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Cam said un-enthustiastically. "Are you going to tell them that you were just messing now that you've had your fun?" Shane let out an amused sigh and let himself relax.
"Yeah, I've tortured her enough I think. I'll tell them as soon as I see either one of them." Shane promised.
"Hey guys. What's up?" Hunter asked as he came up to the counter and leaned on it next to Shane.
"Oh, hey Hunter. I've got something to tell you..." Shane began just as the door opened.
"Hey there Shane." A familiar, yet unfamiliar, female voice gushed seductively from the door. Hunter, Shane and Cam all turned to the door and had to look again to make sure they were seeing right. Tori stood leaning against the door frame looking as, what can only be described, a GIRL! She wore a white skirt that came up just above her knee and a white blouse with the lower few buttons un-done, exposing her flat, toned stmach. Her hair was done up in two pig-tails on the side of her head with fluffy blue hairbands. Her eyes were covered by a pale blue eyeshadow and mascarra while a layer of pink lipstick covered her lips. As they continued to stare at her, she slowly sauntered over to Shane and stepped right up to him.
"Hey dudes. What are you all staring...WOAH!" Dustin began to ask as he came up behind Hunter but stopped and cried out in shock as he saw Tori. "Dude, did she have a break down or something?" He whispered to Hunter.
"It's part of the plan." Hunter told him quietly. He took another look at his girlfriend and shook his head. "I think she went a little over board though." He added with a grimace.
"Err...Hey Tori." Shane greeted nervously, desperately wishing he could take a step away from her.
"So, yesterday was a lot of fun wasn't it?" She said while looking at him with coy eyes, innocently twisting a lock of her hair with her finger.
"Um...Yeah, yesterday was a lot of fun." Shane gulped.
"We'll have to do it again sometime." Tori smiled cutely as she ran a finger down his chest making Hunter's self control almost break. He so badly wanted to burst out laughing right now. Shane looked completely terrified!
"Yeah, definately." Shane agreed, his voice cracking from his nerves. Tori smiled up at him and then took a look around at the three guys around them staring with wide eyes and open mouths.
"I think we might enjoy being alone more though." She mused as she hooked her finger over the collar of his tee-shirt and pulled him down a little. Their lips were millimetres apart and Hunter began to seriously wonder how far Tori was actually going to go with this. "Why don't you come round to my apartment this evening?" She suggested, moving so her lips were right next to his ear and brushed against it slightly whenever her lips moved from her talking. "I could make you dinner and...We'll see how it goes from there." All the guys let out audiable gasps and Shane was completely lost for words. He couldn't think straight! He desperately needed some space.
"Sure. That sounds great." Shane said quickly, praying that would make Tori back off. Tori gave him a cute smile and did move back a little. Shane let out the breath he had been holding and stared at her as if she was crazy.
"I'll see you later then." She winked, blowing him a kiss before sauntering back out of the store. None of them moved. None of them spoke. They just stood there in a stunned silence, trying to take in what had just happened.
"Dude...That was the freakiest thing I think I have ever seen." Dustin murmured breaking the silence. More silence followed.
"Dustin, cover for me." Hunter ordered as he ran out of the store. They all stared after him for a few moments before turning to each other.
"I can't believe that was Tori." Cam said while shaking his head. "I have never seen her dress like that!"
"I didn't even know she owned fluffy hair bands." Dustin told them, staring at the table as if he hoped it held all the answers to their questions.
"And how could she do that to Hunter?" Cam sighed shaking his head. Hearing that, Shane lifted his head and a look of realisation suddenly took over his face. "Poor guy must be really cut up."
"They know!" Shane exclaimed suddenly.
"Who knows what?" Cam asked.
"Hunter and Tori! They know we know!" Shane told him feverdly. "That's what that was all about. They're messing with us for revenge!"
"Oh well dude, it doesn't matter now right?" Dustin said with a cheery laugh. "They know now so it's all over. No more secrets."
"No way! I'm not going to let them beat me!" Shane told him stubbornly. "We still have the advantage because they don't know that we know that they know that we know." Cam gave a sigh and Dustin just looked confused. "So we can still mess with them." He looked at Dustin. "And you're not allowed to tell them."
"Dude, I don't even know who knows what now. You totally lost me." Dustin told him, holding his hands up slightly and backing off over to his bike.
After leaving Storm Chargers, Hunter had headed straight to the beach where he and Tori had agreed to meet. He arrived to find her just coming out of the sea, her surfboard carried under her arm. He watched as she roughly pushed in into the sand so that it stood up and grabbed the bottle of water that lay on a couple of her towels which she had spread out across the sand. She took a gulp of it before sitting down on one of the towels and then just staring out to sea. He slowly walked over to her and stood behind her for a little while.
"What did you think of my performance?" He heard her say after a little while. He took that as a cue to sit down on the towel next to her.
"It was a little over the top." Hunter told her with a small grin. Tori let out a small laugh and shuffled closer to him. He instinctively put his arm around her and kissed the side of her head. "I didn't know you even had clothes like that." He told her with a laugh. "I would never have dared to think you owned those fluffy hair things. They're so unlike you."
"An old presant from some relative I barely know." Tori explained, smiling at the memory. "The moment me and my dad were alone in the kitchen we just cracked up laughing." Hunter gave a small smile. "I'd forgotten that I had them actually." Tori continued. "I found them in one of the drawers of my dressing table when I was looking for some earrings."
"I don't think they would've noticed the earrings even if you had worn them." Hunter laughed. "I've never seen Shane look so utterly terrified."
They both began to laugh and talk about the other's reactions. After about half an hour, Tori managed to persuade Hunter to come in the sea and surf with her. They spent some of their time in the sea surfing but most of the time they just played around making each other wipe out and then getting into splash fights. During one particularly big wave, Hunter decided to have a little fun and intentionly fell off. After the wave had calmed, Tori came to a rest and sat down on her board. She looked around and noticed that Hunter was no where to be seen. While a part of her felt a pang of worry, the sensible part knew Hunter was just messing around.
"Hunter?" She called suspiciously. "If this is a joke then it's really lame and un-original." Suddenly, she felt her board being pushed from underneath and with a surprised cry, she tumbled off into the water. She came up spluttering and coughing from the sea water she had accidently swallowed and was greeted with the amused smirk of Hunter who floated just in front of her. She scowled at him as she continued to cough. "Can't you think of anything original?" She managed to choke out darkly as she went over to her board and began to pull herself back up onto it. She felt Hunter's arms come around her waist and pull her to him.
"The old ones are always the best." He whispered in her ear as he held her close.
"C'mon, let me go." She sighed as she lightly patted his arm and went to pull away. When his arms didn't release her, she craned her head around to look at him and she was quite surprised at what she saw. He looked so at peace suddenly. His eyes were closed and a small, sweet smile graced his lips. His head rested against her neck and he kept his firm hold around her waist, his right hand splayed across her abdomen. "Hunter?" She whispered gently wondering if there was something wrong.
"You're so beautiful." He murmured back dreamily, his lips barely moving as he said it. Tori was slightly stunned. Even if she had got to know a different side of Hunter over the past few months this was totally out of character for him. The only time he had ever said anything like this was on the night when all this had begun and even then he had dressed it up a little and he hadn't said it in such an emotional voice.
Tori had no idea what to do, something that was becoming somewhat of a regular ocurrance. They floated there for a while, Hunter's arms securly fastened around Tori's waist, Tori's right hand resting on top of Hunter's, before Tori shivered the little. The sky was clouding over and, with the sun now hidden behind a dark blanket, the water was growing colder. Hunter felt her slight shiver and was immediately knocked out of his dreamy state. He pulled away from her and took hold of her hand instead. They grabbed their boards and Hunter led her out of the sea and on to the shore. They went over to their towels and Hunter let go off her hand for a few seconds to bend down and grab one and then quickly wrapped it around her. He pulled the other around himself before turning his attention back to Tori. He gently rubbed her arms to dry her and warm her up. Tori just stared up at him in amazement. He was being so nice. She really wanted to know what had suddenly brought this all on but she was afraid to ask in case it ruined the moment.
"Tori..." Hunter said quietly as he continued to rub her arms. She focused on him and saw a look in his eyes she'd never seen before. She found it hard to describe. It was sort of deadly serious yet there was something soft and emotional about it as well. "Tori, I..." He began but suddenly looked up and behind her. He seemed to see something and slowly stepped away from her. Tori frowned at him in confusion and he wiggled his eyebrows a little while inclining his head behind her. She turned around and found Shane coming towards them.
"Great timing Shane." Tori muttered under her breathe. She gave a sigh before putting on her sultry smile. He came up to her and gave her a brilliant smile. "Hey there." Tori cooed.
"Hey." Shane replied in the same tone, surprising her a little though she hid it well. "I was thinking about tonight." He told her. Tori smiled mentaly thinking that victory was just around the corner. Hunter grabbed Tori's bottle of water and smirked a little as he began to take a sip.
"Oh yeah?" Tori said coyly. "What about it?"
"I was just thinking that if all goes well, maybe you could make me breakfast to." They suddenly heard Hunter choke on his water behind them and Tori was suddenly very un-sure of herself.
"Yeah...Sure. That sounds...Great." Tori replied, managing to maintain her filrty attitude to a certain extent.
"Cool. I'll see you tonight then." Shane sad as he turned and walked away, a huge grin spreading across his face once his back was turned.
Tori slowly turned to Hunter who was still coughing from the water. "Okay, it's official. We've entered the Twilight Zone." Tori said as she went back over to Hunter and gently patted his back more as a sign of comfort than to actually help him.
"He knows." Hunter muttered after he finally got his coughing under control.
"Do you reckon?" Tori asked as she ran her towel over her body quickly to dry herself.
"Definately." Hunter nodded, his tone showing he was really annoyed.
"Oh well, I guess it's all over then." Tori sighed, secretly pleased.
"Oh no it isn't." Hunter told her. She let out a small groan and got ready for his explanation. "We have the advantage." He told her enthusiastically. "They don't know that we know that they know than we know that they know." Tori stared at him for a second before shaking her head and folding up her towel.
"Does it really matter anymore Hunter?" She questioned tiredly as she took his towel and folded it up as well.
"Of course it matters!" Hunter cried. "They are not going to beat us."
"Fine. Whatever." Tori grunted as she grabbed her surfboard under her right arm and carried the towels under her left. As they left the beach, Hunter began to explain to her exactly what to do when Shane came to her's for dinner and, un-known to them, Shane was planning the same thing with Cam and Dustin.
The light at the end of the tunnel is in sight! I'm so close to it. There's just one more chapter and maybe an epilouge to go. So, everyone stay tuned for the final chapter; Game over
Huggles
Wings of a Dream