The Good Life
Chapter 3: Why Bother?

November 4th 48 Minutes after class has started

Hunter put away his poetry book, thinking to himself, "Screw this, I'll ask her out today, the worst she is going to say is no." Hunter stood up, surprising both Gus and Luz. He went up to the girl he had laid an eye on. Approaching the dark-haired girl, he realized she had a green streak on her hair, probably dyed. Now being a bit close to her, he realized she was much cuter up close. Gathering his last courage, he caught her attention from her phone by fake coughing into his hands and stuttering out some small words. "Hey... there... I-I wanted to... to ask if you wanted... well, you see... ummm..." "Can I help you in any way?" the bespectacled girl asked, confused. Damn, her voice is also cute, Hunter thought. "YES!... sorry... um, I wanted to ask if you want to... eh, to go out? M-my name is Hunter, Hunter Weißbeere..." Hunter finally choked out. "Hunter Weißbeere?" she answered calmly. "Hunter Weißbeere?" now it was a bit harsher. "Hunter Weißbeere?!" Her demeanor didn't change, but the tone of her voice did, scaring Hunter a bit, and naturally, he backed off a bit. "Hunter Weißbeere!" the girl's voice wasn't hers now, it was recognizable to Hunter, but he couldn't pin it down whom it belonged to. "HUNTER WEIßBEERE!"

Gus gently shook Hunter on the shoulder, and by gently, I mean he shook it so hard it was like he was manually changing gears. The poet awoke, looking at Gus confused. He saw Gus was a bit terrified, and he also realized that he fell asleep sometime after writing his last poem... and also that he drooled a bit on his poetry book. "I should go too sleep earlier...", ashamed, he tried putting it away, but before he could finish that thought, he noticed who was in front of him. "Herr Weißbeere, I see you are awake now. Sleep well?" Before Hunter could answer Mr. Hermon, he was interrupted by him as always. "Well, I hope you did. I may have come late today, but that isn't a good excuse for you not to do anything productive for school, right? Mhm, what do we have here?" He took Hunter's small parting gift from his grip into his cold, old hands. "Are these notes from the last lesson, mad scribblings, a secret code? NO! Poems, poems no less, poems everybody! The lad reckons himself a poet!" The teacher exclaimed, seemingly happy and angry at the same time as he scolded Hunter once again. The Blonde could swear he could hear some of his peers laughing at him and perhaps even the girl he had been writing about. "Ehem...

Long you live and high you fly,

Smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry,

And all you touch and all you see,

Is all your life will ever be...

Rubbish, absolute rubbish!" He threw the small black book on the table, awakening Hunter for a second time. "Pack out your notes and tell me what a vector is and how you calculate one."

Mr. Hermon was your average college professor, average in the sense that he had a degree in Maths and that he wore glasses. There is where the averageness ended. The old man had short, receding gray hair, and he himself was also short. Using a walking cane to get around after getting an injury while playing Rugby. So you always knew when he was around, making Hunter feel even dumber for being asleep.

The angry but embarrassed boy tried thinking about a time when Mr. Hermon was nice to him, and to no one's surprise, he was never really nice to him or anyone, for that matter. He always pronounced his name the German way, which made Hunter feel uncomfortable because the only person beside his professor who did that was his Uncle, and he hated how he always put "Herr" after calling him out. Hunter never really acknowledged his Germanic roots or that he really was anyhow connected to Europe. Looking at Mr. Hermon, he was as always his grumpy self, but today it was amplified. "Well, I'm not getting younger here." His voice sounding harsher with each word said.

The boy pulled out his notes, realizing that he had only noted the first 9 minutes and the last 6 of the last lesson. He looked up to the old man and gave him a sheepish smile. The educator got even madder when he started to stutter. "Well, ehm... a vector... has, uh... on-...I mean, two... Yes! Two independent properties!" Happy, he looked up at Mr. Hermon. "And how are those two called?"

The Poet had the urge to explode into nothingness, he was already nervous enough because currently half of the class was staring at him, including his "crush." "Wait, she isn't a crush, I just find her cute, yeah. She's just cute." Hunter thought, instead of the answer to the question Mr. Hermon was asking. Gus piped out the answer to Hunter, hoping the instructor didn't hear him. "Mag-... Magnitude and Dir- Direction." Although the blonde knew the answer from his friend, he still stammered his words out. "Thank you, Mr. Porter. Well, Herr Weißbeere, I hope you won't mumble your answers out on the next Test we are taking on Friday and that goes for everyone here. Write it down in your calendars or on your PDAs!" "Damn, he is really old," Hunter thought. He found it both funny and scary that this man may not be in touch with today's technology, but again, who was he to be talking about others? He can't even text someone right, always having half of a panic attack when someone like Gus or Luz writes him something.

Hunter's thoughts were broken by the bell ringing. He never felt so much relief in his life; eyes were off him, his teacher was screaming this time not at him but instead to the people who were running out of the classroom, telling them to go at a slower pace. His friends were packing all their stuff together, inspiring the Poet to do the same and trying to avoid eye contact, fearing that they may start shaming him, leaving his head hanging low. Although what was Hunter afraid of? They were friends? He still hoped that they would help him, right? That's what friends are for?

"Uhhmm... Gus, can I borrow your notes from last week?" he asked, still having his head held low. The boy gave him a sympathetic look, "Sorry, dude, I think I lost mine..." feeling both sorry for not helping his friend and for losing his chances on a good math grade. "You can have mine!" Luz said gladly, handing over 2 folded A4 papers. Hunter sighed and laughed as he opened them up. He couldn't call these notes; they were random scribbles and drawings of demons, owls, cats, and... otters? Somewhere in there, he could read some stuff that sadly had nothing to do with math. "Ehm... Thanks, Luz, but I'll try to find someone else for notes, but thanks." "Mhm... ok, by the way, don't listen to that old hag, that poem was nice." The girl said, trying to cheer him up. "Yeah, totally, you're better than W.B. Yeats." Gus joined into the matter. The older boy was confused, at where those complements were coming from and who W.B. Yeats was.

Although Hunter hadn't got what he wanted, he got something else in return, reassurance. Giving Luz's drawings back and standing up, the boy felt his stomach grumble, looking over at his friends, Luz seemed to have noticed or she herself was hungry. "You guys wanna grab something from the Cafeteria? Amity will probably be there too." Luz said with a wide and hungry grin on her face. The poet cringed at the mention of her girlfriend, he still didn't trust her at all, although he did trust Luz. She was kind, caring, and childish. Sometimes she was too childish for Hunter, but she couldn't help it, she was just... well, she was Luz. She was the only girl he was really comfortable around, maybe because she reminded him of Kiki too much. The only problem was he still didn't really know how to talk to her.

Hunter contemplated if he should go or not, thinking if he should lie again, but he couldn't bring himself to do so, just replying with a short "I don't know, guys..." "Oh, come on, dude, it will be fun! Hey, and you know what? Last time we went there, you bought me a pizza slice, I'll buy you something in return this time!" Gus said happily. "At least I can help him this way," the young boy thought. The poet rethought, he couldn't turn down a chance for a free meal, especially when money was already tight for him. Hunter sighed, "Yeah, why not... a sandwich with some apple juice wouldn't hurt." Luz and Gus were happy finally convincing Hunter to go to lunch with them.

The Cafeteria was, as always, half-empty. The reason? Well, there is a convenient store right around the corner and the food is too expensive for a college student. Most people opted to order some pizza 20 minutes before class ended or, if you were sporty enough, run over to the Robin's Roast Café and buy yourself a croissant and coffee. Looking around, Luz found her girlfriend already eating and sitting at the perfect spot, a table with four chairs each.

"Hey, Blondie! Can you pick me up something?" Luz questioned, looking kinda distracted. "Uhh... yeah, what do you want?" Hunter asked, trying this time to make eye contact but failing because Luz didn't return the favor. "If they have them, a bag of Chex Mix and apple juice. Here, 5 bucks, I'll go over to sit with Amity, BYE!" The both of them couldn't make out what she said at the end, but it had to do something with her girlfriend because she was goi-...running over to her.

Hunter was surprised by how lovestruck she was, she was so lovestruck, in fact, that she even gave him 10 dollars instead of the said 5. The Blonde looked over at the two girls, feeling a bit of emptiness and, he hated to admit it, jealousy. "Of course, Luz had a partner," Hunter thought, "She has a great personality, is outgoing, and is cute too. I'm just an anti-social ugly scar-having loser, only good for one-night stands or for a quick hookup." The boy felt that longing again, the longing for a person in his life that was more than a fleeting fling, a person who says "I love you." and means it. "I love you, Hunter" the boy repeated that phrase in his head, trying to comfort himself. He was failing horribly, but he had hope it would work somehow. "I love you-"

"HUNTER!" "AHH!" "You're daydreaming again, man!" Gus said, feeling sorry for startling his friend. "Let's go and grab food before you go back to Neverland." "Ok..." the poet answered, still startled and... well, a bit sad. Feeling happy that they bought everything that they wanted and even grabbing the last three apple juice cartons, they made their way to Luz. He didn't know why, but most of the college loved this stuff, and even he himself found it a guilty pleasure of some sorts. It could be because it was the cheapest drink on the school grounds or because it was so goddamn good.

"Hey Beanyhead, here's your change, your Chex Mix and the apple juice." As she thanked him, he grinned at her instead of smiling. He was still insecure about his tooth gap. "Hi Gus! What's up, Hunter?" asked Amity, having put on a friendly smile, greeting her maybe soon-to-be-new friend. Gus greeted her nicely back, but the Poet didn't trust that smile one bit. His grin fading. That image from her high school days still lingered in his mind, reminding him of other Gir-... Females he had met, calling them girls was, in Hunter's opinion, too nice. This new image, this friendly one, was alien to him. He still couldn't comprehend how such a nice soul like Luz was together with a b-...bully like her. But today, today he tried being nice.

"Nothing." A short, quite quick answer, if you weren't paying attention, you could have missed it entirely. "Oh, you're lucky you weren't in class today! Mr. Hermon was an ass to Hunter today!" Luz tried to stir up a conversation by breaking the silence, but the poet started cringing at the memory of what happened today. "A better question is when he isn't one to everyone?" Gus added. "Hunter wrote something in his poetry book, and that old hag just called it rubbish. Oh yeah, did I mention Hunter does poetry? It's very nice!" Amity was more intrigued now in what her girlfriend was telling her, wanting to find out more about the boy before her. "Oh cool! So, how long have you been doing it?" the girl asked. "For 3 months now," the poet again replied in his fast, quiet demeanor, not breaking eye contact with his sandwich. "Ehm... ok, if you ever have the time, you could show me some. I'll know it'll be good." Amity was thrown off with the short answer, sensing a sense of hate in his tone, but she didn't want to back down. "Hey, you could show me some right now if you don't mind." Hunter's stomach dropped. What did she want? Why did she bother? What will she do? Make fun of his emotions, about his feelings, about his problems? No, not on his watch.

"Oh yeah, show her the one you made last Friday, about breathing and stuff!" Gus's comment didn't help the matter. "The bird one is my favorite!" Neither did Luz's. "No." His answer was loud and clear and almost boomed through the eating hall, turning the group's smile into a blank stare. Hunter returned to his food, while his friends and Luz's girlfriend gave him a look he didn't bother to think about. Amity felt bad, she thought she had pressured him too much, or maybe he didn't like her? That thought made her even sadder.

Hunter also felt a bit of remorse after breaking the sight on his sandwich, looking over at the girl who was now copying him, looking down at her own food and looking sad. Luz felt a tension growing that she didn't like, growing even more because she realized Gus hadn't shown any of his unfunny DnD memes yet. "Anyways, Viney texted me, telling me that 'The Bats' will play a small gig over at their house." Luz got some perplexed looks back at her. "You know, the small rock band... they're pretty good... I made their logo... Well, who wants to join me? It'll be cool and the entire college will probably be there too!", the girl offered, happy that she got everyone's attention.

Hunter also loved music. His favorite moments were with headphones on, writing poetry, and eating ketchup with rice. Rock was his favorite genre, although he had dabbled into pop and jazz sometimes, but rock was always his go-to one. He was always happy to give something new a listen, and he could trust Luz's word, so he said screw it, why not? And hey, if he had luck, maybe the flower girl would be there. "Yeah, I'll go. Just tell me when and where." The table was surprised that Hunter was the first to reply. "Great, I'll write it to you later." "I'll go too! Couldn't hurt to go out again." Gus chimed in. "Yeah... me too, I guess." Amity answered, still sad after her encounter with the poet.

"Hey, you know what, guys? Let's make a group chat! Trust me, it will be useful." Beanyhead's idea was a bit strange to Hunter, but he accepted, thinking it would have happened sooner or later. "Ehm... do you have, by any chance, math notes from last week? We don't have any good ones, and Mr. Hermon will hit us with a big F on the F. Hehe... get it?" Gus's joke whooshed over everyone, but he didn't mind laughing at his own. "Yeah, I'll send it to our new chat group and if anyone of you needs help with math, I'm your girl!" Amity said happily, distracting herself with her love for science and math. The poet thought about the offer, he always learned with Gus when he came over. If there was a test coming up, they would meet up at his place, order some food, learn for three hours, and then play video games until Gus's dad picked him up. But know that his best Friend didn't even know what was going on in that subject, he looked to have no other option.

The blonde finished his food at the right moment because the bell started ringing, feeling louder than before. The boy realized what he had now, English, the only class he hadn't with Luz or Gus, but instead with the mystery flower girl. He picked up his bag and bid his byes and went off to English.

"Hey, guys, do you think he hates me?" Amity asked. "Who? Hunter? Nah, he is just shy around new people, I think." Gus answered, hoping that it was only the shyness and nothing more. "I mean, we went to the same class in high school, but I never really bothered to talk to him." Amity regretted it kinda, he looked to be an interesting and nice person from what she heard. "Is it me? Does he still think I'm like that?" she thought.

Hunter sat at the edge of the class, trying not to disturb anyone. He looked over at the mystery girl and felt like a perv for staring at her, but he couldn't stop himself. She had a look that was cool and nice. He was mesmerized. "How do I know she isn't like the others? Can I even call her a 'crush' or am I just being animated again?" the boy mentally sighed. Feeling a bit off more than usual, he tried getting his emotions out with the best way possible: poetry.

Next to you I want to be

Your cool look, it charms me

But it's probably a lustful attraction

Not real love, just a distraction

Why bother?

I'll try and forget her

It's gonna hurt and kill when you desert me

Yes, maybe I like you to some degree

This happened to me twice before

It won't happen to me anymore

I won't let love hurt me to the core

I'll move on, find something new

Happy with the result, he looked around, trying to distract himself. Mr. Hurtig, his english teacher, wasn't the quickest and always needed 12 minutes to get there. Next to him was a girl who looked to be younger than Gus, which surprised him. She was a blonde like him, but she had a darker shade. Her eyebrows looked to be as bushy as his, and freckles adorned her face. The girl looked to be drawing something on a piece of paper, which was full of tiny sketches and drawings.

Curiosity killed the cat after all, and Hunter examined the paper a bit longer, catching the attention of the young girl. "Hello there, can I help you, bro?" Man, her voice was raspy. "Ehm, no, sorry, I didn't mean to stare. Sorry." Hunter went back to staring at his little book. He was embarrassed and was avoiding eye contact at all costs. "No, no, it's fine, dude..." the girl answered, looking at his book instead. The boy didn't see the look in her eyes, but she looked like a fox seeing something shiny.

Hunter's eyes widened as his poetry book was swiped from his table into tiny hands of the girl who looked like she had just struck gold or, better yet, found diamonds. She read each verse about three times, only to fall in love with the words even more. "Hey, give it back!" Hunter demanded, trying to take it away, but his shyness taking the better of him. "Did you write this?!" The girl asked, hoping for a yes as an answer. "Yes, now give it back." The girl didn't listen to Hunter, instead flipping the pages, reading everything carefully until she landed on one of his latest ones. When he saw the title "I'm Tired," something in him awoke, and he snapped the book out of her hands. "What do you want?" he demanded.

"Can I borrow your words?" a short yet simple question returned to Hunter, with a big grin going along with it. "You want what?" He was confused. She wanted his poetry? For what? To post on the Internet? Share it around? Tell the others how weird he is? What a perv and cre-

"Your poetry, it's the best I've seen in years! And I, as a poet and artist myself, find it very beautiful. I'm currently on a big writer's block, I can't get anything out of the small brain of mine and I need to have something done until tonight. I wanted to ask if I could borrow some of your words and rhymes, if you don't mind, I'll credit you even! Pinky swear!" She held out her pinky to the poet, "Oh yeah, name's Amber."

Hunter was flabbergasted. He was just getting started to accept compliments from his friends, but from a complete stranger? Especially from a girl who looked to be more childish than Luz, was that even Possible? "No way! She must be joking!" he thought. She still waited for his answer.

"M- my nam- name is Hunter and yo- you can use my words," Hunter stammered, not knowing if he should trust her or not. He attempted to suppress a cringe while gently shaking Amber's pinky finger. "OMG? REALLY? YOUR THE BEST!" Amber's face lit up with happiness, a happiness Hunter hadn't seen in a very long time. Her raspy voice turned into an excited squeak, causing Hunter to wish he could vanish as people around them started staring, making him regret his decision.

"You're my savior! I love this 'Why bother' one. Can I tweak it a bit to match my style? Pretty please?" Amber flashed puppy eyes, a gesture she shouldn't have had to resort to, but it only made Hunter more inclined to say yes. "Sure, do whatever you want. I don't mind," Hunter responded.

"Thank you so much! You're the best!" Amber added with a grateful smile. "Just give me a small piece of paper, and I'll write it down again," the Boy said, not wanting to part with his little black book again. In an instant, a sheet of paper appeared on his table. He carefully transcribed the poem, even adding an extra line, all the while keeping his gaze fixed on the Plantgirl.

I've met a lot of girls before

What's the harm in knowing one more?

Maybe we could even get together?

Maybe you could break my heart and leave me forever?
Why bother?

AN: Hello there,

this one took me a while and that is why I don't like it. I would advice you to go to ao3 and read this story there. "Why Guy? I like it here more!" Well that is a good point but on ao3 you will get artwork and other cool stuff. Anyways I hope you like this one, I mean you are still reading this right? Please leave a Review, really it helps a lot! Thank you and Bye,
that Guy.