=Normal POV=
(Friday, 10/13/2017-9:45 pm)
(Archian Island, Berk)
(Haddock House)
Hunter and Nicole enjoyed the movie, watching it for the full two hours and twenty-three minutes that it was. Nicole and Hunter sat on that couch in Hunter's bedroom, drinking the soda and eating the little personal pizzas. When the food was gone; they just sat back to relax and continue watching. Spencer Haddock did come home at 8 pm like Glenn has said he would, but before Spencer could get to Hunter's door, Glenn stopped the man and explained that Hunter had Nicole over for their one of many movie nights to get through the Harry Potter series. Spencer understood and left the two teenagers alone to enjoy their film. Hunter and Nicole had both silenced their cell phones and set them face down so not to be disturbed by their friends who kept messaging in to ask how things were because the Hunter and Nicole felt like their friends were still assuming this was some kind of date and felt necessary to check and make sure things were going alright.
There had been an interesting moment during the movie that Hunter paused it to make a bag of popcorn for them when the pizza was gone. The two teenagers kept touching hands when they were reaching for popcorn since their eyes never left the screen. At the end of the bowl, Hunter's hand went over Nicole's in an attempt to look for more popcorn. The two had quickly apologized to one another, removing their hands and returning to watch the film. Hunter and Nicole didn't say anything past that so they didn't miss anything in the movie. When the movie ended, Hunter turned the light on more and looked at Nicole with a smile.
"So, what did ya think?" Hunter inquired.
"It was great. I loved it," Nicole replied. "Now I'm totally locked in to finish this series," she giggled. "I'm already to chapter five in the second one,"
"Didn't you just start it earlier?" Hunter blinked.
"I'm a fast reader," Nicole informed. "Hopefully it won't take me too long to finish it because this was a lot of fun and I can't wait to do another movie night,"
"Yeah, same here," Hunter nodded. "Well," he checked his phone, ignoring all the texts from the others. "It's 9:45…Do you want me to take you home now or…Do you want to hang out for a bit more?" he asked.
"As fun as staying for a bit longer would be," Nicole laughed a bit. "I should get home to shower and perhaps have an early night since I stayed up late last night to finish the first book,"
"No problem. Maybe next time we can plan an earlier time to do the movie instead of 7 pm that way we can hang out more afterward, perhaps do movie discussions?" Hunter suggested.
"That sounds like a great idea," Nicole agreed. "I used to do that with Heather at the cinema. We'd stay while credits rolled to talk about the movie,"
"I enjoy doing the same, but the others hate that I analyze things and we always end up leaving as soon as credits start," Hunter laughed.
"Aw, you poor things. Well, if you guys and girls ever do another theater movie; I'm happy to sit with you and talk about the movie while they all leave," Nicole offered.
"I appreciate that," Hunter smiled. "Alright, I clean this up real quick and then we can go," he stood to clear the plates and empty cans from the bedroom. Nicole stood up as well, stretching some.
"Can I use your bathroom before we go?" Nicole questioned.
"Sure," Hunter nodded.
"Where is it? This is the second time I've been to your house, but the first was spent entirely in the living room," Nicole stated gently.
"Oh, right. Duh. I forget you're still a new friend who doesn't know where everything is," Hunter chuckled. "I actually have my own personal bathroom right in the room," he added while shifting a bit to point to where it was.
"Thanks," Nicole smiled and moved to the door Hunter pointed to. Nicole quickly used the restroom and washed her hands before exiting and finding Hunter just coming back into the room. "Okay, I'm ready,"
"Me too. I was just washing our dishes and saying hi to dad," Hunter told her. Nicole and Hunter exited the bedroom, finding both Glenn and Spencer on the couch. "I'm taking Nikki home now. Be back in about twenty minutes,"
"Alright, son. Be safe!" Spencer said. Hunter and Nicole waved to the two adults and left the house, getting back in Hunter's jeep. Hunter and Nicole both buckled their seat belts as Hunter got the vehicle on and then headed out of his driveway and down the road to get Nicole home.
. . .
(10:00 pm)
(Strondsen Home)
Pulling up in Nicole's driveway, Hunter put the gear in park while turning to face Nicole with a smile. "And here we are,"
"Thank you for bringing me home, Hunter. And again for picking me up this morning for school," Nicole told him gently.
"No problem; I'm happy to help," Hunter nodded. "I told you if you ever needed anything just to call," he smiled.
"I really appreciate it; you're an amazing friend," Nicole replied; the two sort of leaned in for a hug before backing away and looking in each other's eyes for a moment. "I, uh, should get inside," Nicole said as she shifted to get out of the car, making sure she had her backpack. "Text you in the morning?" she asked.
"I'll be waiting," Hunter responded as Nicole got out of the jeep and headed for her front door; Hunter saw her wave as she walked through her door and closed it. Hunter left her driveway and headed home while deep in thought about tonight, something happened with Nicole. Hunter couldn't explain it; something sparked tonight when they touched hands eating popcorn, and just now again with the hug and their eyes locking. Am I crushing on her? Hunter thought while driving home. Hiccup shook it off. No, you two are just good friends and that's exactly what she just called you. Her friend. Hiccup sighed some; he knew what a crush felt like though; he used to have one on Ashley and they dated for a little bit before feelings changed and they realized they were better friends. And this felt like a crush, but maybe it was too soon to tell over two little instances during a movie. Hiccup yawned; he was kind of tired from the day, so he was likely just overthinking this. Hiccup kept his eyes on the road and continued driving home.
With Nicole in her house; she made sure to relock the door since her parents weren't home yet. Nicole made her way to her bedroom, dropping her backpack by the door and heading right for the bathroom to take a shower. Once she got the water running at the right temperature; she stripped down and stepped in. Nicole let the water pour over her while sighing heavily and thinking about what happened with Hunter. Nicole couldn't quite put her finger on where it started, but she had begun to crush on Hunter; he was smart, talented, funny, friendly, and an absolute joy to be around. Nicole, of course, didn't know how Hunter felt towards her. There had to be something, right? There was no way that Hunter didn't feel that spark when their hands touched? When they hugged? When their eyes met? There was something there for Nicole, and she wanted to know if Hunter felt it too. However, tonight was not the one to figure it out. Maybe over the next couple of weeks, but she wasn't going to just confess to liking Hunter right away.
Nicole finished her shower, dressed for bed, climbed under the covers and set her phone to charge before finally knocking out fifteen minutes later.
. . .
(Wednesday, 10/18/2017; 2:35 pm)
(Berkian Academy)
As expected, Hunter made the Basketball team. Shane and Travis did too. Practices had already started four days a week for two hours right at the school in the gymnasium; sometimes there could end up being fifth day too, but only when Coach Bludvist called for it and stated that it would likely only be for the sake of a weekend day game. The first game would be in November, but an official date hadn't been determined yet. All of the friends were doing great, and still friends, obviously. School was over for the day, and the friends were hanging out along C-Hall in the grass.
"So, who is going to the Halloween Dance?" Ashley asked. "Bryan and I are," she smiled. Nicole wasn't paying too much attention to the conversation while reading her book against the wall. The Halloween Dance had been announced over morning announcements on the intercom; the day for it was Friday, October 27th from 6 pm to 10 pm.
"I'm going with Travis," Addilyn stated.
"Me with Eli," Raelyn mentioned.
"Heather and I are going," Fisher beamed.
"Devon and Myra are going too, but as chaperones," Heather informed.
"I asked Mindy as soon as it was announced," Shane shrugged.
"What about you Hunter?" Mindy inquired. "Are you going?"
"Dances aren't really my thing," Hunter shrugged.
"You could still come hang out for a few hours," Ashley rolled her eyes.
"Don't give him crap," Nicole stated. "Just because all of you are going doesn't mean he has to," she added. "I'm not into them either, despite Halloween being my favorite holiday," she smiled now.
"There's also a practice that night," Hunter remarked.
"Then you'll already be here," Heather sighed.
"How do you know I don't already have plans that night?" Hunter asked.
"Because you don't have a girlfriend, and practice will be over. What are you gonna do? Spend the night with your uncle and dad?" Shane asked.
"Maybe," Hunter retorted. "Doesn't matter what my plans are; I don't have to tell you everything that I do,"
"For all you know, he has plans with me," Nicole said, coming to Hunter's defense. "I'm almost done with the second book in the series, probably by the time the dance comes around; I will be done with it," she shrugged.
"And that means we have to plan another movie night," Hunter chuckled. "Damn, you do read fast,"
"Oh, come on!" Raelyn sighed heavily.
"Both of you can come to the dance and have fun," Ashley informed.
"Yeah, we barely get to hang out anymore," Travis nodded.
"It's senior year; we're almost adults…Time becomes scarce," Nicole reminded.
"You never have anything to do at night except ready," Heather teased her friend.
"While that may be true, that doesn't mean I want to spend my free time at some dance," Nicole responded. "I'll be no fun to be around because I just dress in all black and hide in the shadows since you're all going in pairs,"
"I mean…I don't really care, but there isn't going to be that much fun for me while all of you are there as couples, as Nikki said. I'm no one's third wheel. There's just no point in going to a dance that I'm going to basically be sitting with the rest of the singles," Hunter shrugged. "If I want to sit by myself; I'll stay home, thanks,"
"Ugh, you both suck," Raelyn groaned.
"You're really not going to come just because you don't have anyone to go with?" Heather questioned.
"There's no point," Hunter and Nicole said together.
"Oh, my Gods! Why don't you two just go together then?" Ashley suggested. A few of the friends blinked at the suggestion. "What? They're both single and saying they won't go because of that, so why don't they just go together as friends?"
Nicole shrugged a little. "Not a bad idea,"
"Wait, you're serious?" Hunter said, surprised.
"Yeah, why not? If we don't go to the dance, we'll just be at your house watching the movie anyway? We're together either way," Nicole informed.
"Suppose when you put it like that," Hunter smiled. "We can plan the movie for Saturday or something? If you'll be done with the book by then?"
"I'll let you know when that date gets closer," Nicole nodded. "So…Is that a yes to us going together?"
"I don't mind as long as you don't," Hunter replied.
"It's alright with me. At least I won't be bored," Nicole stated.
"See, perfect. Now we're all going," Mindy giggled.
"Do you want to meet here that night, or should I pick you up?" Hunter asked.
"I'll check with my parents if either of them can drive me. If not, I'll let you know," Nicole stated gently.
"Got it," Hunter nodded.
"I'm heading to my bus, catch ya later," Nicole got off the wall to move to the bus lines.
"I'll text you after practice," Hunter told her.
"I'll be waiting," Nicole smiled as she disappeared. Hunter just stood there a moment, smiling. Yeah, he was definitely crushing on Nicole. Now, there was just the matter of seeing if she liked him and then telling her. Hunter didn't have high hopes for it, and it took him forever to get up the courage to tell Ashley he liked her and then ask her out. And things went so badly that they were lucky to salvage their friendship when the relationship ended. Hunter was kind of worried about a repeat, so he hesitated to make a move at Nicole and he didn't know if she even felt anything other than friendship towards him.
Hunter wouldn't worry about it right this very moment; he had practice to focus on from 3 pm to 5 pm. "I'll see you in the gym," Hunter told Shane and Travis before he adjusted his bag and left to get back into the school. Reaching the boy's locker room; Hunter changed into his practice clothes. It was just the basic black shorts and red tank top until their uniforms came in, the coach had said before the first game for sure. While in the stall where he changed clothes; he began to feel dizzy again and it didn't just fade with a few sips of water. Hunter was forced to sit down and wait for it to pass. At 3 pm, Hunter moved himself to get up, feeling kind of tired and hoping that the dizziness didn't act up during practice.
"Yo, Hunter! You coming? It's time for practice," Travis called outside of the changing stall.
Come on, Hunter…Get it together. You're fine. Hunter thought to himself. "Yeah, yeah. I'm coming now," Hunter shook off the rest of how he felt and left the stall to walk out with Shane and Travis into the gym to start the next two hours of Basketball practice.
. . .
(5:30 pm)
(Haddock Home)
After practice, Hunter didn't bother to shower at the school. Instead, he went straight home and greeted his father and godfather before going to his room to shower. With that now out of the way; he joined his dad and uncle for dinner. Hunter had already texted Nicole to let her know he was home, but hadn't received a reply yet, not that it was a big deal. Hunter sat down at the table with Spencer and Glenn after putting some food on his plate.
"How was school, son?" Spencer asked.
"Average," Hunter replied.
"How was practice?" Glenn inquired.
"The usual; drills and formations," Hunter said.
"You look exhausted," Spencer pointed out.
"Just getting used to the school hours and then practice too. Remember that I didn't play this past summer on the recreation league due to helping Glenn in the shop," Hunter reminded.
"Ah, true," Glenn nodded.
While eating, Hunter got a message; he pulled his phone out to check it and find that it was a reply from Nicole. Hunter smiled a bit as he opened it up to view the message itself because he had his notifications set to not showing a preview of the message on the lock screen.
Nikki, 5:35 pm
Sorry for the delay in response. Mom and dad were actually both home at 5 tonight, so we decided to go out to dinner. We just placed our order and they're talking about work.
5:36 pm
Totally fine. I got home at 5:10, then showered and now having dinner with dad and uncle. Where are you eating out?
Nikki, 5:36 pm
Berkbees. I'm not interrupting your meal, am I?
5:37 pm
Not at all and good place to eat. It's one of my favorites lol How's your night going?
Nikki, 5:39 pm
Pretty calm. Got home from school, did my homework and started reading again until mom and dad got home. How was your practice?
5:40 pm
Long, but average. Same stuff every time, and then if it's a practice before a game; we do like a mini game against each other to prepare for whatever team we're going against, based on past games and players who returned from the year before.
Nikki, 5:43 pm
Oh, I totally get the strategy. Knowing your opponent's play style, right?
Hunter smiled, glad she understood what he was talking about. Nicole was really good at that; she never needed a huge explanation to figure things out. "Who are you talking to, son?" Spencer asked.
"Nicole," Hunter replied, still getting in a few bites between responses to her as they were talking about Basketball still.
"None of your other friends are messaging you? Don't you all talk every night?" Glenn wondered.
"Usually on Skype in the group chat, but I haven't joined in it yet as I just got home. Nikki and I text more than Skype," Hunter shrugged.
"You two seem to get along really well," Spencer pointed out.
"Well, yeah, Dad. We're friends, pretty sure we're supposed to get along," Hunter responded.
"Not what I meant, just that you seem to be closer to her than the friends you've known most of your life," Spencer informed. Hunter didn't reply right away, as he was sending another text to Nicole and contemplating how to answer his father.
"We just…Connect better," Hunter finally said. "As far as interests, hobbies, etc," Hunter added. "The others, while I've known them forever it seems, don't always talk the real talk, you know?"
"And…Nicole does?" Glenn arched a brow.
"Yeah, all the time. That's her personality; straightforward and being real with people. I also love that she messages in full sentences, none of that text-talk crap," Hunter chuckled.
"I don't know how anyone can understand all that abbreviation of words and sentences like the IDK, LOL, OMW, or BRB," Spencer shook his head with a sigh.
"They stand for I Don't Know, Laugh Out Loud, On My Way, and Be Right Back, Dad. I mean, I use them sometimes for a quick response, but in actual conversations; I prefer to talk normal," Hunter shrugged. "And she uses proper punctuation, and not many people do that anymore in text messages," he laughed as he finished up his food and then got up to clear his place. "Alright, I'm gonna go do some of my homework and relax for the night. Love you guys," Hunter hugged them both and went to leave the dining room.
"Hunter," Glenn stopped him as Hunter looked over from his phone. "Do you like her?"
"Excuse me?" Hunter blinked.
"Nicole, do you like her, son?" Spencer repeated. Hunter didn't say anything at first, thinking about it for a moment before smiling softly.
"Yeah," Hunter finally said. "Yeah, I think I do," he said again. "Night," Hunter continued walking out of the room and to his own leaving Spencer and Glenn to only chuckle a bit, shaking their heads and continue eating the meal. Hunter didn't feel shame in admitting it to his godfather and dad; he did like Nicole and now he just needed to find the courage to tell her he did. Hunter hoped he could gather it by the dance because he knew from being with Ashley that if he waited too long; he might lose her.
