Hera hit him on his arm with her tiny fist. She winced when it hurt her more than it hurt him and tried to shove him away. Eric laughed some more at her futile effort. He was amused, and she felt stupid.
Deciding to give him a silent treatment, Hera chewed her food harder. Meanwhile, Eric gulped down half of the fluid in his glass in one go and poured the remaining half into Hera's glass, filling it to the rim. "Hey," Hera yelled in protest, catching Hunter's attention. Laughing, Eric ran away from her as she tried to pull him back.
"Eric Gabriel Costa, come back here, right now," she yelled but in vain. The said angel only snorted his laugh in response. "Whoever named you Gabriel is a sinner for life and angel Gabriel must be feeling ashamed to share his name with you," she shouted at him and gave him the middle finger. Grinning wide, Eric jogged backwards to the exit. "I love you too, Pixie," he said, blowing her a kiss before he disappeared from her view..
Scowling, Hera stabbed her food with the fork. She glanced up in surprise when Hunter appeared next to her. He looked at Abby, and she shifted to another chair, making room for him. Leaning to her ear, he whispered harshly only for her to hear. "If you dare to touch her hair ever again, I'll cut your fingers off," Hunter warned before smiling innocently for Hera.
Abby scurried away, shifting to another table with her plate. "Just so you know, she asked me to do it," Abby said in her defence, but Hunter didn't pay any heed to her words.
He sat, silently waiting until Hera finished her food. Hera turned to look when Hunter glanced over her head, and she chose to ignore the icy glare Samantha shot her way. His friends walked out of the hall, and the remaining students emptied their plates in a hurry and scampered out as soon as Hunter's eyes met theirs.
'Their President issued a silent warning, of course.'
"What's wrong?" Hera asked softly. Hunter smiled, frowning a bit. "Nothing, why would you ask that?" He asked, but didn't give her a chance to reply. "What's wrong with your eyes? Why are they swollen?" He asked, and Hera rolled her eyes. He avoided answering her question.
"I overslept considering I had nothing else to do," she said, earning a grin from him. "You overslept thinking you don't have anything to do when you've test to prepare for?" He asked in an amused tone. Hera watched while he glanced around and the two people from the staff at the kitchen counter walked out as though allowing them the privacy they needed.
Hera arched her eyebrows as in to ask, 'What did you do?'
Smiling, Hunter leaned forward and his mouth covered hers in a searing kiss. His fingers got tangled in her hair and tilted her head to get better access. Hera's eyes closed on their own accord, and she let him have his fill.
Abby was still there waiting for Hera, and maybe that's why Hunter didn't mind her presence. Hera was sure her cousin would be scowling in disgust right now.
"What was that for?" Hera asked in a breathless whisper when he pulled away. He grinned. "A Good luck kiss for the tests," he stated, and Hera rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right, you'll get a half or one mark short if you don't have that good luck on your side," she said sarcastically. Hunter laughed and kissed the tip of her nose. "It was for you. You needed that good luck kiss, Goddess," he said.
Shaking her head, Hera grasped the glass of milk. "You haven't touched it, and it's still filled to the rim. But why did I taste milk on your lips?" He asked curiously, and Hera exhaled in anger. "Ask Eric. Your Jerk of a best friend poured his share into my half-empty glass," she said, scowling at the fluid in the glass. Hunter laughed, and after kissing her forehead, he left.
Grinning, Hera watched as he took her glass of milk away and left it on the kitchen counter on his way.
LATER THAT NIGHT, at the dorm room, Hunter and his friends were all busy with their books, preparing for their tests. As soon as Hunter told them that he was staying at the dorm because Hera was staying back, his friends decided to join him.
Hunter was sitting on a chair with his feet propped up on the table. His eyes were glued to the book, resting on his lap while his hand rotated the pencil between his long, rough fingers, absent-mindedly.
While he turned the next page of the book, Hunter lost the grip on the pencil, and it slipped through his fingers and fell on the floor. He bent to pick it up, but his hand couldn't reach it as it fell under Danny's cot. He called him, asking him to pick it up for him, but Danny acted deaf. Scowling at his friend, Hunter threw the small, white eraser at him, hitting him harshly on his thigh.
Danny winced, rubbing his thigh. Groaning, he glared at Hunter. "What?" He snapped in anger. Hunter pointed his finger at the pencil, signalling him to pass it. Danny got out of his bed, picked it up, and he threw it back at Hunter without warning. Hunter cursed, rubbing his knuckle where it hit him. Ignoring him, Danny grabbed his hoodie and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
"What's wrong with him? He's acting weird," Hunter said, looking at Eric. Ever since he returned from his date with Hera, Danny was acting somewhat different. They never turned a cold shoulder on each other, and the way Danny behaved with him convinced Hunter for sure that something was bothering his friend.
Eric shrugged nonchalantly. "He's been like that ever since you went out with Hera," he explained, confirming Hunter's suspicions.
It was too frustrating to stand it. First, it was Bianca, who made him upset with her absurd proposition, and now Danny was adding more to his annoyance.
Michael chuckled, and Hunter sent him a glare that asked a wordless question, 'What's so funny?'
"Don't tell me you're that dumb not to guess what's up with Danny's ass," he said in an amused tone. Eric tried hard to suppress his grin while Hunter sighed in frustration. He snapped the book shut, and threw his head back eyeing ceiling. He wasn't dumb, and he knew what made Danny lose his shit.
"The hickeys on your neck and the bruise on your lips were hard to ignore," Eric stated, putting the final stamp on Hunter's thoughts.
"Out little Hera is too quick to learn how to make hickeys!" Michael said, nodding his appreciation. "You taught her well, buddy," he said, giving a thumbs up to Hunter.
Hunter threw the book on the table and changed from his shorts to sweatpants while his friends silently watched. He grabbed his sneakers, putting them on he walked out of the room in a hurry.
He jumped the railings and jogged towards the back of the building, signalling the watchman to keep an eye and alert him of any danger. It wasn't hard to find his friend because Hunter knew where Danny would be.
Lost in his thoughts, Danny was sitting on a makeshift stone bench under a big shady tree, just a few feet away from the back gate entrance of the premises. It was a perfect seating area built by Hunter and his friends long back. It was their secret place and the official hideout for their meetings with absolute privacy they needed.
Danny remembered the day he first became friends with Hunter. It wasn't a big deal as they clicked the moment they smiled at each other. But the bonding grew into an unbreakable friendship when Hunter punched the boy in the face who bullied Danny for crying. He was having a hard time adjusting in the boarding school all alone and lonely. He'd missed his parents and hated Hera with a passion.
He never felt comfortable in confiding his inner turmoil with others and hated that despite being a five-year-old big boy, he cried for his parents' attention like a baby.
But his friends never laughed at him and gave him the comfort he craved. The day Hunter found him sulking in the lone corner of his dorm room, he made the rule that there would never be any more secrets among them. And just like that, Danny opened up his heart, and vent out the bottled up pain in front of him.
Hunter had said that day, whatever parents do, they do it for the good of their child. When Hera joined them in the boarding school, though Hunter loved her, he never tried to meddle between Danny and Hera. He understood that Danny's hurt and gave him the space he needed.
Hunter was far more mature for his age.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶