=Normal POV=
(Tuesday, 3/20/2018-2:30 pm)
(Archian Island, Berk)
(Berkian Academy)
Nineteen days passed since their shared birthday party where Nicole finally told Hunter about her ex-boyfriend who anally raped her, but also her loving Hunter completely. In turn, knowing Nicole loved him, trusted him that much to reveal such an awful incident that happened less than a year ago; Hunter told her about his tumor and asked that she didn't say anything to anyone. Nicole promised that she wouldn't as long as he didn't put himself in any danger and kept up with his appointments with her father to make sure nothing was getting worse. With the two of them agreeing on the other's stipulations about the matter; they hung out until 10:30 pm, ended up making out, and then Hunter went home. Hunter showered and went right to sleep for the night. It's been a little over two weeks now as things were going well. Hunter and Nicole's three-month anniversary of dating was on Friday, so they had yet to make plans of what they'd be doing. It was the end of the day now at Berkian Academy; after the bell rant, the group of friends met in the grass along C-Hall.
"Ah, I can't believe March is already almost over." Heather giggled softly while leaning against Fisher.
"Right?" Ashley nodded as she relaxed with Bryan as his arm was around her waist.
"Less than three months to go."Shane high-fived Travis.
"Are we still doing the big graduation party at your place, Hunt?"Raelyn wondered.
"More than likely, all your families are invited too."Hunter replied calmly as Nicole was leaning against him with a smile.
"Oh! Girls, it's been forever, but who is up for a sleepover at my house this Friday? Music, movies, snacks, food, soda?"Ashley asked quickly.
"I'm in!" Heather instantly agreed. "Devon won't mind, I just gotta figure out how to get there."
"I can give you a ride here from the school when I take Ash home." Bryan offered.
"Sweet, thanks. I'll run it by him tonight." Heather smiled.
"I can get my dad to drop me off around 4:30 when he gets home from work." Raelyn responded.
"Sounds fun, and it's been so long. I'll have my mom me off when she gets home, I think it'll be around 4:00 pm, maybe 4:30 like Rae." Mindy replied smiling.
"Awesome, we'll take over the basement again. How about you, Nicole? Gonna join us?" Ashley inquired.
"You have to! Oh my Gods, it's so much fun, Nikki. And you've never been either!"Heather insisted.
"Maybe next time. Friday is the 23rd, me and Hunter are making plans for our anniversary." Nicole informed.
"Speaking of plans…What will ours be for our anniversary on Friday?" Hunter looked down at his girlfriend.
"Uh, usual? Movie, dinner? Maybe ice cream?" Nicole asked.
"I think that wo-,"Hunter paused as he got his phone from his pocket after feeling it vibrate. He saw that it was Glenn asking if he'd work on Friday because one person was on vacation, and another just got hurt and couldn't work for two weeks. "We're gonna have to raincheck those plans, Milady. Glenn needs me in the shop Friday night after practice; a lot of later appointment and he's down two people."
"Stills works out!"Raelyn announced. "Now, Nikki can spend the night with us girls, and you can work. Then you two can enjoy the whole day together on Saturday for your anniversary date. You don't have a game this week right?"
"No…It's an off week since did a double-header last week." Hunter replied. "Okay with you, babe?"
"I suppose so. I'd have to check with my parents if it's okay on the sleepover, though." Nicole informs. "I'll let you know once I hear from them; I'll send the message on the bus. But I stay for Hunter's practice on Friday…I'll have to see if mom or dad would drop me off once Hunter gets me home around 5:30."
"Actually, no practice this Friday, Milady. Coach Bludvist is going out of town until next Monday, so no practice Friday, and no game Saturday. I was gonna be leaving school at 2:30 to get to work now; I could drop you off on my way to the shop." Hunter stated.
"Or she could come with me, Ashley, and Heather when I take them."Bryan suggested.
"That too." Hunter nodded. "I'll bring her; we need to get some driving practice in anyway." He added as Bryan nodded in understanding.
"Alright, I'll let you know if I can first once I talk to mom and dad. And then I already know their okay with us doing a Saturday date, babe." Nicole smiled.
"Awesome, just let me know what you want to do for food and movie."Hunter chuckled. He checked his phone again and kissed her forehead. "Speaking of work, I gotta get going to get to the shop for three." He added.
"How long are you working tonight?" Nicole wondered.
"Uh…I think 8 pm, Glenn knows I'll have to get home to do homework." Hunter stated. Nicole nodded as they shared a kiss and then he waved to the others and headed for his car in the student lot. The others chatted a bit before splitting off to their rides to go home. As she said, Nicole did text her parents in a group message and ask if it was okay for her to sleep over at Ashley's on Friday night; the two responded that they'd discuss it over dinner. Nicole put on her music and relaxed the rest of the ride home.
. . .
(Friday, 3/23/2018-7:00 pm)
(Hofferson Residence)
Nicole did get permission to attend the sleepover on Friday night, so she let Ashley know through texts that Hunter would be dropping her off on his way to work. He made the drop off unusually quick and explained to Nicole through a text at 2:55 pm when he reached work that he didn't want to be there after how things ended with Ashley. Nicole understood, and didn't hold it against him for letting her out of the car, a quick kiss, then leaving before Ashley and Heather got out of Bryan's car. Nicole was at Ashley's place the same time Ashley and Heather were as they were dropped off right after school as well by Bryan. Mindy and Raelyn came at 4:30 as they'd said they would, the girls got set up in the basement with sleeping bags on the ground and pillows. There was a table against the wall with snacks, soda, and pizza for dinner, which they had at 5:30. It was a decent time, Nicole got to meet Ashley's parents; Marcus and Ava Hofferson. There was music going as the girls had just talked, and ate. The TV was going in the background, but none of them were paying any attention to it.
"Where are you going, Nikki?" Mindy wondered as Nicole got to her feet.
"Just the bathroom." Nicole smiled as she headed up the stairs to use the main floor bathroom since the one downstairs was being remodeled. Once Nicole was gone, Heather looked at Ashley.
"So, Ash…Can I ask something?" Heather suddenly said.
"What's up?" Ashley asked.
"I didn't want to say anything with Nikki down here because she's dating Hunter now…But…Whatever happened to you two? You and Hunter?" Heather questioned.
"We broke up, things just weren't working out." Ashley shrugged.
"No, it's more than that. You guys were seemingly perfect together, and then it just stopped. It's always tense between you two." Mindy pointed out. Ashley sighed heavily as she leaned back some.
"Okay, I'll tell you, but it stays between us…I don't want Nicole finding out because she'll tell Hunter, and I don't want him to know." Ashley stated looking at them. "To put it simply; things changed after we had sex for the first time." She said. By this point, Nicole had returned, but caught the conversation and decided to stay hidden. And maybe it was wrong of her, but she got out her phone to start recording the three girls sitting in the middle of the basement on their sleeping bags.
"Was he bad at it or something?" Raelyn grinned.
"Actually…Yeah, he was." Ashley replied seriously as Nicole's eyes widened. Did Ashley breakup with Hunter because he wasn't good at sex?!
"Wait, really?!" The three girls exclaimed.
Ashley nodded softly. "I don't know if it was just nervousness, but he had trouble…Staying hard which made entering me difficult. I gave him a pass on the first time, it was both our first time and eventually it happened. Overall experience, bad, because he came wicked early and the only reason I got to release was because he fingered me there…The other few times until the breakup happened, just…I don't know. It felt wrong to be with him; I wasn't happy anymore. We'd get into fights and nothing ever really resolved. Bryan and I ended up talking one night because we were all waiting for tables to open up at a restaurant to be seated to eat. We were there with our families, and just talked. Before the night was over; he gave me his number and we kept talking." She admitted.
"Ash, wait…Did you fall out of love with Hunter and get with Bryan?" Heather asked.
Ashley nodded again. "This happened about a week after the first time with Hunter. Bryan and I started going on little outings together and I fell for him. But I knew I had to leave Hunter and he was always…Trying to hard to keep things going between us; I know he loved me, but I just didn't feel the same for him anymore and the sex…Ugh, we never finished together; he was always scared to try something different and it never lasted long. He had trouble getting or staying hard every time, so I didn't call it nervousness anymore. But yeah, it was just bad after the sex and I wanted it over. I'm much happier now with Bryan; he's way better in a lot of aspects."
Nicole couldn't believe it. It sounded like Ashley was blaming all of it on Hunter, when the guy had probably just been nervous to mess up or hurt her. And Ashley was basically cheating on Hunter with Bryan too, she admitted to going out with him while dating Hunter. Nicole just couldn't believe this, and she didn't want to be here anymore knowing what Ashley did to Hunter. Finally, she stepped down more.
"So Hunter doesn't know any of this?" Mindy asked.
"No, he doesn't. He'd flip out if he learned that I left him over bad sex and just not loving him anymore. So I never told him anything when he asked if we could talk about things; I just sent him off and told him to drop it because we were done. I didn't want to fix things with him, I just wanted it over so I could freely be with Bryan. We were kind of together while I was with Hunter, but keeping it secret. I told Bryan that we couldn't go public until I left Hunter. But then after the breakup, we kept things quiet for a bit anyway so it wouldn't raise any flags. I never meant to get with Bryan while with Hunter, we were just having such a good night and he kissed me. I didn't want to tell Hunter, so I kept it a secret." Ashley explained softly. Finally, Nicole couldn't take this, she stopped the recording, and stepped into sight, looking very unamused.
"So you decided to be a coward and not tell Hunter the truth that you were unfaithful to him." Nicole remarked with her arms folded over her chest.
"Nicole, wait…You don't understand…" Ashley stood up quickly.
"Save it. I heard everything you said about leaving him because of bad sex, not wanting to be honest, cheating, and refusing to communicate!" Nicole glared.
"Nicole, please…Don't say anything to him. Please…He'll be furious! And Hurt…That's why I did things the way I did…I didn't want to hurt him." Ashley pleaded.
Nicole threw her hands down. "You did hurt him! Truth or not, you broke his heart and he still feels that to this day. You couldn't tell him, so you just pushed him away and forced him out of this very house. He deserves to know why you left him because it tears him apart knowing if he did something wrong or not. Breaking up with him because you didn't feel the same anymore, sure; that's fine. But because he was bad at sex? No one is perfect at it the first time, and maybe he was just nervous to mess up and hurt you. And worse…You cheated on him! I can't even believe you!" She stated firmly.
"Nikki, hey…Calm down…" Heather tried softly.
"No. No this is wrong and I don't know how any of you could be okay with it! She cheated on him! He's your friend, and you think he doesn't deserve to know the truth?" Nicole asked.
"It was over a year ago; everything is behind them." Raelyn offered.
"That doesn't matter when one of them is still suffering with no closure. You know he's scared to mess up with me because he doesn't know what really happened to you two, why you left him? Maybe you put it behind you, but it still hurts Hunter. No wonder there's so much tension between you two. He knows the reason for the breakup isn't what you tried to make him believe, he knows it's bullshit. He knows you haven't told him the truth and that's why it still bothers him. He only kept quiet to keep everyone together as friends, because he didn't want to make anyone choose who's side to be on." Nicole remarked. "He deserves to know the truth, and you should have told him. The truth is always better than a lie."
Nicole moved to her space as the other girls were quiet. Nicole sat there a moment, fuming at the information; she could see that Ashley was silently praying Nicole didn't say anything to Hunter. Nicole felt her phone vibrate and see that Hunter messaged her.
My Hunty, 7:05 pm
Hey, baby-girl. Ended up being real slow, and got off earlier than expected. About to head home, how are you? How's the sleepover?
Nicole didn't want to be here anymore, not after what she just heard. Nicole picked up her phone and brought up he messages with Hunter. Heather peeked over seeing her about to type to him. "Nikki…Don't tell him, please? He has you now, he'll get over it eventually…"
"I wouldn't tell him in a text message anyway. He deserves to hear it in person and it should be from her, but she's gonna be a coward about it…" Nicole scoffed. "But no…I was going to ask him if he wouldn't mind coming to get me because I don't want to be here with an unfaithful liar." She added.
"Nikki, come on…It's late and Hunter is probably tired from work, stay here with us. We're gonna have fun…"Mindy said softly.
"I don't associate with people who are willing to hurt others knowingly. Sorry, but I won't stay here and pretend to have fun knowing that my boyfriend was hurt by her and she still intends to keep it from him when all he wants is the truth, so he can move on and stop worrying every day if it was his fault…" Nicole remarked as she started her message to Hunter.
7:15 pm
Hey…You think you could swing by and pick me up from Ashley's?
Nicole started to pack up her things while waiting on a response from Hunter, knowing he probably wouldn't deny her a ride home. Just moments later, her phone buzzed and she saw what Hunter had replied to her.
My Hunty, 7:18 pm
Um, yeah, I can do that. Is everything okay?
7:18 pm
Not really. About how long, baby?
My Hunty, 7:19 pm
10 mins, babe.
7:19 pm
Thanks, babe. Love you.
My Hunty, 7:20 pm
You too. See you soon, driving now.
When Nicole finished packing her things, she set them against the wall and waited there with her eyes closed and arms crossed over her chest. Ten minutes later, voices were heard upstairs as the girls looked to see Hunter coming down and standing beside Nicole. "Ready to go?" Hunter asked gently.
"Yes, please…" Nicole nodded as she went to pick up her bag, but Hunter grabbed it for her, along with the sleeping bag and pillow too.
"Let's be on our way then. I left the jeep running so it'd be warm for you, babe. Goodnight, girls." Hunter said as he and Nicole headed upstairs, and then finally out of the house to get to Hunter's waiting jeep. Nicole climbed in as Hunter got her things in the backseat before climbing back into the driver's spot. Both got their seat belts on and Hunter headed down the road. "So…You wanna tell me about your sudden desire to leave the sleepover?" He asked after a few minutes of driving.
"I hadn't really wanted to go in the first place, I just figured it'd be something to do while you were working. I had planned to go to sleep early anyway; the conversations were boring, music not my style, and I couldn't eat the food because it was all stuff I don't really like. Regardless…What set in motion me leaving was a conversation I walked in on about you and Ashley's former relationship." Nicole admitted. Hunter arched a curious brow at what she said and Nicole sighed. "Let's just…Go to your house or something. I don't want to go home yet and I really think you should hear this…"
"Let's get something to eat first, and then you can tell me. I'm not gonna let you go without eating now that I know you haven't…Your parents cool with you coming to my house so late?" Hunter wondered.
Nicole nodded to him. "Yeah, I messaged them while waiting for you and said you were picking me up because I wasn't having that much fun and the going out for a semi-date to enjoy what's left of our actual anniversary day." Hunter nodded, accepting the answer as he took them into town more for fast food; it was easy and quick as he hadn't eaten yet either. Hunter really wanted to know what all this was about regarding a talk involving him and Ashley. Why would the girls get on that subject when it was over a year ago now? Unless they were wondering why the two of them broke up and Nicole happened to find out why Ashley actually left him and it ticked her off enough to want to leave? Hunter really wanted to know now, so once they got themselves some dinner; he guessed they were going back to his house to talk about it.
