A/N: Hey folks! Here's the deal. I received like the longest review from sapphiregirl and she has convinced me to write an alternate ending--one where Hunter doesn't die. After reading a few angry reviews...I thought why not? As soon as I finish the alternate ending, I will post it as the additional chapter of this story right after the conclusion, which you all are about to read. Anything to insure the reader's happiness. =]
Reviewers: Thanks again for sending in great comments and motivation! I must say, it was quite entertaining to read them all! You guys are truly the best and I would have not completed the series if it wasn't for you all. This one is for you guys! muahz
"Second Chance"
"Now here's Haley, live in Blue Bay Harbor."
"Thanks, Jack. Well, it's been exactly one month since the devastating lost of 25 year old, Hunter Bradley, and yet it's still a big shock to all of us when investigators learned it was supermodel, Natalie Jordan who pulled the trigger and took her life as well when police officials found her body in the beaches of Blue Bay Harbor. What a tragic--
Sighing deeply, Tori takes the remote control nearby and turns off the television. She sits up comfortably on a bed, waiting for the nurse to come back with the results. It's been a month since Hunter's death, and till today, the incident continues to haunt her. He saved her life yet again. If only I was the one that saved you first, she thought sadly as she looks back on the horrifying moment that stripped him away from her. Tori missed him so dearly, she never thought of making it this far in life without him. However, there were times with the blonde thought of commiting suicide just so she could reunite with Hunter in the after life. But with the support of her closest friends, loving family, and even complete strangers and their condolences, she was able to cope with it. However, moving on wasn't going to be easy and it it would take time to ease the pain away.
As Tori finds herself being off to another world, Blake sneakily enters the room with Nathan in his arms. Once she heard the door close shut, she looks up and half-smiled at his direction. "Hey you." Tori greeted warmly.
Blake smiles back. "Hey."
The past month has been quite difficult for the lone Bradley himself now that he was left standing on his own. Hunter was his only family after their parents were killed, and not having him around would take awhile to get use to. But then again, he had Tori to lift his spirits up when it comes to facing the harsh realities of life. As long as they had each other, they'll be able to overcome all the pain and suffering.
"Well umm, your mom and dad will be arriving soon." Blake reminded her. "The others are downstairs getting some food at the cafeteria." She nods. "So how are you feeling?" He asks, feeling excited about the results.
Tori releases a tense sigh. "Nervous."
He smirks. "Well that figures." There was a moment of silence. "Listen, I'm gonna be heading downstairs to get some food. You want anything?"
She nods in dismay. "No thanks."
"You sure?" He asks again to make sure.
"Uh huh. Totally." She reassured him.
Blake smiles. "Alright. I'll be right back." He turns around and leaves the room. Tori sat there, heaving another sigh as her mind trails back on Hunter. Just then, a smile drew across her face, as the thought of Hunter led to the first time they found chemistry together.
FLASHBACK
"Hey guys! Check this out!" A tall male figure came barging inside Storm Chargers as Shane, Dustin, Tori, and boss Kelly turn their heads around. "I got the tickets! I finally got them!" Hunter exclaims excitedly while showing them off. "See!"
Dustin opens his eyes wide. "Oh my God...don't tell me..." He looks down at them before grasping onto his shoulder in disbelief. "You got the premier tickets to see Biker Boys?!"
Hunter nods his head with a smirk. "YUP!"
"NO WAY!" The goofball chuckles, "NO FREAKIN' WAY!"
"YES WAY!"
Shane and Tori exchange looks before rolling their eyes at such absurdity. Before they know it, the two were now jumping up and down in joy. "This is SWEET, dude! When is it showing?"
"Tonight, bro."
Dustin's smile suddenly turned into a frown. "What? No..."
"Tonight huh?" Kelly snatches the tickets from Hunter's possession and scans through it quickly. "Hmm...that's a shame." She raised a brow and pursed her lips. "It's your turn to clean and close up the shop." Kelly says, turning her gaze over to Dustin. "Sorry."
"B-But--"
"No butts, Dustin. You agreed to, remember?" She hands Hunter back the tickets.
"Well...yeah..."
"Thank you. That means a lot to me, Dustin. I know I could count on you." Kelly smiles as she turns around and walks away.
"B-But---" The goofball stared at her direction before she disappeared through the crowd of customers. Dustin finally gave in, releasing a sigh of disappointment. Hunter felt bad as he places a hand on his shoulder.
"It's cool, dude. Maybe next time."
Dustin groans. "Yeah…I wanted to see that movie so badly though."
Hunter looks down at the tickets and sighs. "You know what? If it makes you feel better...I could just give these tickets to someone else..."
"What? Nah, man. Don't do that." The goofball nods his head in dismay. "You've worked your butt off trying to get these tickets. You should go."
Hunter pursed his lips and thinks for a moment. "Hmm...if you say so. What about it, Shane? Want to go watch it with me?" He asks, looking at him.
"TORI!"
They were interrupted by a sudden call as the blonde turns around and finds Marah and kapri, walking in. "I'll talk to you guys later." She smiles and joins up with the girls.
"I wish I could, but I can't, dude. My brother is coming in town tonight."
Hunter nods. "Ah, yes. That's right." He says despondently. "Well...I know Cam wouldn't want to tag along, being the busy kind of guy he is with the academy..." The dirty blonde trails off and sighs. "So...I guess I could just go by myself..."
"Wait a minute." Dustin pauses with a thought in mind. "What about Tori? I'm sure she's free tonight."
Hunter raises his eyebrows at him. "Well--I don't know, dude--We umm...well---" He trails off unsurely.
Shane chuckles as he pats him on the back. "Don't worry. Tori will watch anything. She isn't the chick flick kind of type."
"No, not that. It's just--" Hunter stutters while thinking of the right words to say. "Wouldn't it be weird though??? I mean...Tori and I never hung out before...with just the two of us...alone...together...which...is...well...awkward..."
Dustin and Shane exchange looks. "Well, here's your chance to change that."
Hunter begins biting his bottom lip. "I don't know..."
"Oh come on. You don't want it to go to a waste now do you?" Shane questions him. "I mean how bad could the night turned out to be?"
"Yeah. She won't bite." Dustin adds.
The dirty blonde turns around and stares at Tori from behind as she continues to chat with the ladies. "Alright. Fine. I'll ask her." He groans in annoyance. "But I swear...if it turns out bad...it all comes back to the both of you."
They chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Just go and ask her already."
Hunter nods as he slowly walks over to her. He had no idea why he felt this way...why he felt so nervous...
But only time will tell
and this...
This was his chance to find the answer...
"Tori?"
The blonde beauty turns around and flashes one of her amazing smiles that everyone in town loved and adored, including Hunter himself. The ladies were through laughing about something hilarious, or so he assumed, as she calms herself down before facing him. Marah and Kapri watches on from behind just out of curiosity. "Hey, what's up?" She greets him with yet another of her charming smiles.
Hunter shook his head to snap out of it. God, I hate it when she does that. He thought before replying back to her. Tori stood there and waits. "Uh yeah... I was just wondering...since the rest seem to be so busy tonight...if you want to spare my last ticket and watch the premier of Biker Boys with me." Marah and Kapri exchange looks as they turn their gazes over to her and waits for a response.
"Sure." She nods in agreement. "I would love to go."
Hunter couldn't help, but smile. "That's great! I'll meet you at the theater by 7?"
"Alright. See you there." Tori presses her lips together as she watches Hunter joined up with the other guys. She averts from their gazes and turn to the girls.
"UH HUH!" Marah smirks as she stood in front of the blonde with her arms crossed. From that moment, Tori knew something fishy was going on due to the expression that has trouble written all over their faces. "He's definitely into you."
She arched her brow weirdly. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh come on. Hunter just invited you to the movies."
"So?" Tori chuckles in disbelief. "He invited me because no one else would go. And besides, it's not like a date or whatever."
"Sure." Kapri rolls her eyes. "That's what they all say."
Tori couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Ugh. You guys are so full of it."
Marah and Kapri both laughed. "You know you love us, sweetie."
"So what are you planning to wear?"
A few hours later - 7:15 p.m.
Hunter stood outside of the movie complex as he waits for Tori's arrival. A huge crowd of people came walking in line for the premiere as they all waited anxiously to get inside. He looks up at his crimson watch once again and sighs deeply. "Great and they say she's the reliable one. Right..." He thought, nodding his head in dismay.
"Sorry. I had car trouble."
A voice spoke from behind as he turns around and faces Tori, wearing jeans and a short-sleeved baby blue knit top that has an allover wrinkled style ruffled trim that slightly went off her shoulders. Her hair was half way up with curls dangling down her face, which made her look so beautiful. Hunter was use to seeing her with hair down, straight or curled up. But the way she did her hair was something new.
"You look great. Love the top." Hunter comments as he secretly checks her out.
Tori smiles awkwardly. "Gee...thanks. I guess."
"You just said you had car trouble. Is everything okay now?" He asks all of a sudden.
She nods. "Yeah. Thanks to Dustin and Shane's autoshop lessons. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them teaching me how to fix cars."
"Wow. I could never imagine you fixing cars."
"Well, obviously you don't know me too well." Tori adds, sticking her tongue out as he noticed the line was getting shorter.
Hunter chuckles. "So shall we?"
She smiles while pressing her lips together. "After you."
"Tori? Ms. Hanson?" The nurse waves a hand in front of her as the blonde snaps out of it with a huge smile on your face. She turns to the worried nurse anxiously, hoping for some good news. "Are you okay?" She asks in concern.
Tori bobs her head. "Yes, I'm fine. Do you have the results?"
The young nurse lets out a contented sigh. "Well, yes. We do have the results." Tori could feel her heart beating rapidly as she clenches onto the charm bracelet beside her tightly. It wasn't too long ago when she took the two broken pieces at a jewelry store to have it patched up and fixed. She wouldn't forget how much the charm bracelet meant to her as it brought her the best gift ever, and that was Hunter's love. Now she was hoping it would give her another chance in luck as her eyes and ears remained focus on the dedicated nurse. Tori waits as she slowly opens her mouth to speak. "It's positive."
Tori's eyes open wide as a surprise gasp escape her lips. "Are you serious? It's positive?!"
The nurse nods, smiling. "Yes, 100% sure."
At that very moment, Tori wanted to jump up and down in joy. Her emotions went running high as she looks up at the ceiling delightedly. "You hear that, Hunter?" She smiles, holding on to the bracelet as tears slowly developed in her eyes. The thought of the miscarriage and losing her first child took over her emotions as a smile of happines finally reappeared on her face. She looks up once again, hoping she would somehow connect with Hunter from above. But perhaps, God would send him the messasge for her as Tori takes a deep breath and whispers, "Your dream actually came true, Hunter." She smiles, rubbing her belly. "You're gonna be a father."
T H E E N D
A/N: Stay tune for the alternate ending, if you're still up for it.