This is the prequel to There's a Thin Line Between Love and Hate! It's probably a better idea to read that one first because there will be spoilers... and some things would just make more sense. :)

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May 21st, 1998

“One, two, three,” Austin counted, his hands over his eyes as he faced a tree. “Four, five, six…”

Jordan continued to run around her backyard, looking for a good place to hide. Her brother Austin’s friends had already taken all the best hiding spots, so she had no idea what she was supposed to do.

“Seven, eight, nine…”

Before she even knew what was happening, someone was grabbing her arm and yanking her behind another tree. She bit her lip to stop herself from shouting out in surprise, but she then smiled widely when she saw her best friend Dallas smiling back at her.

“Ten! Ready or not, here I come!”

Most five-year-olds loved playing hide n’ go seek, but Jordan absolutely hated it. She just loved playing with Austin and his friends, especially Dallas, and their favorite game just happened to be the dreaded hide n’ go seek. She just found it boring, and she thought that it got old after a while. Their backyard didn’t change, so it wasn’t like there were ever any knew hiding spots…

Dallas was the only one out of all the boys who was really Jordan’s friend, but he was all she needed. She had her brother, of course, but Dallas was the best friend anyone would want…

They both continued to hide as Austin skittered around their backyard in search of them. They continued to stay huddled together behind the tree, and Jordan felt her cheeks get warm at how close they were together. She might have been five-years-old, but she knew that she had a crush on Dallas.

“Hah! I found you, Charlie!” she heard Austin cry out to someone, dangerously close to both her and Dallas. She snuck closer to him, smiling a little when the nine-year-old didn’t push her away. “I found you, I found you, I found you! I’m the best seeker ever! Aren’t I, Charlie?”

Jordan almost giggled when she heard Charlie grumble his response, obviously upset that he had gotten found. She and Dallas continued to stay silent behind the giant tree, and she wished that Austin would never find them so they could stay back there forever. Dallas was the only one that Jordan really wanted to play with…

“I found you, Randy!” Austin now cried out again, a little farther away from them now. She let out a breath, still very close to Dallas. So Austin wasn’t that great of a seeker! He walked right past Dallas and Jordan and he didn’t find them at all… So much for being the best seeker ever.

“We have the best hiding spot, Jordy,” Dallas whispered to her, playing with a piece of her hair as they continued to hide. “There’s no way Austin’s gonna find us back here!”

She smiled up at him, not having anything to say to him. She didn’t want to make any noise, just in case Austin was close by. If he heard them, they would have been found out… She was usually pretty quiet, but she always got kind of loud when she was supposed to be quiet…

Jordan couldn’t remember how many people were playing with them, but all she knew was that she was the only girl and she was the youngest. She always liked playing with Austin and his friends, even if that meant she was the only girl who would play with them. Her other friends Ryan and Lexi never liked playing games with them…

“Hunter, I see you!”

She kept on trying to remember how many boys were playing with them. How many more people were Austin going to look for before he came looking for her and Dallas? Hopefully it was a few…

“Now I just have to find Dallas and Jordan!” she heard her brother now cry out, and she couldn’t help but make a face as she continued to stare at the tree that she hid behind.

“Jordan, Austin!” Jordan now heard their mother’s voice ring out from the back door. “It’s time to come inside!”

She frowned, upset that she couldn’t play with Dallas longer. Dallas’s mom was in the house with her mom was well, but they were probably going to have to go home after they came inside.

“You have to come outside now, Jordan! You too, Dallas!” Austin now shouted, and she could tell by the tone of his voice that he was pouting because he hadn’t found the two of them yet. “But I’ll get you when we play again! I promise you!”

Jordan rolled her eyes at her older brother, coming out from behind the tree before Dallas did. Austin pursed his lips at her, his eyebrows furrowing when he saw both Dallas and her coming from the same spot.

“But Hunter gets to seek tomorrow!” Randy informed Austin, who just began to pout even more at the thought of his little baby sister behind a tree with an older boy.

“That’s not fair!” he pouted, placing his hands on his hips as Dallas and Jordan walked closer to him. “You guys had the same hiding spot! I’d be able to find Jordan if she was alone!”

Jordan glared at her brother, sticking her tongue out at him. “That’s not true!”

“You always get found first!”

“Not today!”

“Because you were with Dallas!”

She pursed my lips now, crossing her arms over her chest and turning away from her seven-year-old brother. Sometimes she couldn’t believe that he was actually older than her… Maybe their parents were lying about who was born first? She wouldn’t have been surprised…

“Bye, Austin!” Randy and Charlie chorused when they saw their mom’s cars pull up. “Bye, Dallas! Bye, Hunter!”

Jordan couldn’t help but make a face as she saw them running toward their cars. No goodbye for her? They always acted like she was never there and she really hated it. Just because she was a girl didn’t mean that she wasn’t there… They thought she had cooties. Most of the time it was only just Dallas and Austin who noticed that she was there.

“Time to go, Dallas,” his mom now said as she walked down the porch steps. Dallas ran to her, clutching onto her leg and smiling brightly. Dallas always really did love his mom… She now smiled down at Austin and Jordan as she hugged Dallas back. “We’ll see you two tomorrow!”

Jordan and Austin both waved goodbye to the two of them, and Jordan couldn’t help but feel a little sad to see Dallas go. Even though she was going to see him the next day, she didn’t know if she could wait until then… She wished that he could have had a sleepover with them.

“Austin, honey, could you come in here and help me with something?” their mother now called through the screen door, waving him over with a dish towel. Austin spun on his heel, as if forgetting that Hunter and Jordan were even there, and quickly made his way back into our house.

Jordan turned toward Hunter shyly, not knowing what she was supposed to say to the cute boy. She knew that if she didn’t have Dallas to have a crush on, she probably would have had a crush on this Hunter boy. He had been playing with them for a while, but she didn’t know his name until today.

“When’s your mommy coming to get you?” she asked him, not knowing what else she was supposed to say.

The boy pursed his lips at her, turning away a little and looking away. “My mother isn’t coming to pick me up.”

She blinked, not expecting him to call his mom by this. She hadn’t even heard this boy’s voice before, and now that she had, she could tell that he was a lot more mature than other seven-year-olds.

“What about your daddy?” she asked again, stepping closer to him now. If his mom wasn’t going to pick him up, was his dad going to pick him up? That was the only thing that Jordan could think of… “Is your daddy going to come and pick you up?”

Hunter shook his head. “No, my father isn’t coming to pick me up either.”

She blinked at him, her eyebrows furrowing as she continued to stare at him. Why did he refer his mom and dad as mother and father? She hadn’t ever met anyone around her age that called their parents by that…

“Then how are you going to get home?” she asked once again, cocking her head to the side as she continued to stare at him. She noticed his two different colored eyes, and she couldn’t help but think how pretty they were. Pretty, but cold… “Is someone else going to pick you up?”

“I’m going to walk home,” he shrugged, turning around toward the gate and starting away from her as if this was no big deal at all. “I always walk home.”

Jordan’s eyes widened, and she let out a small shout as she shot forward and clutched onto his arm before he could walk away. He walked home? Did he live close to her and Austin or something? Why else would he walk home if he didn’t live close?

“Where do you live?” Jordan continued to question, her hand still clutching onto his arm tightly. “Do you live close? Do you live in this neighborhood?”

Hunter shook his head. “No, I live across town.”

Her eyes widened at him even more. He lived all the way across town and he was walking back to his house? What were his parents doing? What could be so important that they made their son walk across town to get back to their house?

“Why don’t you stay here for a little longer and play with me?” she now suggested before he could start walking away from her again. Even though her mother wanted both her and Austin to come inside, she was sure her mother would understand if she knew that a seven-year-old had to walk across town… “My mom could drive you home later.”

Hunter looked at her for a second, as if he couldn’t understand why she was saying this to him. Was it a bad thing that she wanted him to play with her for a little bit? Just because she was a girl didn’t mean he couldn’t play with her… Was that what his problem was?

“Fine,” he agreed, even though Jordan could kind of tell that he didn’t want to. She smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back at her. She turned away from the house and back toward her big backyard, leading him away from the gate and over to the open grass, plopping down in a bed of tiny flowers.

Hunter watched her as she did so, as if he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He finally trudged over, slowly sitting down next to her, as if he still didn’t know what to do.

“Are you and Austin good friends?” Jordan couldn’t help but ask, pulling at a few of the tiny and useless flowers, Hunter mimicking her almost immediately. “You’re always here when we play.”

He shrugged, still not looking up at her. He pulled at a few more flowers, now suddenly acting shy. Jordan continued to watch him, waiting until he finally spoke and told her what she wanted to know.

“I guess,” he whispered, still pulling at flowers. “We’re in the same class along with Randy and Charlie. Dallas always comes to play with us during recess, too.”

She nodded, fascinated by his story now that Dallas was added into it. At the elementary school they all went to, kindergarteners were separated from the older kids, so she couldn’t play with Dallas or Austin. She had Lexi and Ryan to play with, but she still really wanted to see Dallas…

“Oh, well that’s nice,” she nodded, playing with one of the flowers she had pulled out. “I wish I could play with you guys at school. But since kindergarteners are separated from the big kids, I can’t play with any of you until next year. And next year Dallas will be a fifth grader, and I don’t think he’d want to hang out with a first grader…”

Hunter blinked at her. “You really look up to Dallas, don’t you?”

Jordan nodded at him, throwing the now crushed flower that she had been holding into the grass. “He’s like my hero. He’s always been there for me, before I can even remember. He’s always been there for me, and I know that he always will be.”

Hunter continued to watch her for a moment, as if unsure how to respond to that. Jordan couldn’t help but wonder if he had someone like Dallas, someone who was always there for him, someone he looked up to. He seemed like a really shy boy…

“Do you have someone that you look up to?” Jordan finally asked him when he didn’t say anything more.

Hunter shook his head, shrugging a little as he continued to play with the flowers that sat underneath him. He didn’t have anyone to look up to at all? Jordan found that a little hard to believe. Who didn’t have someone to look up to? Everyone she knew did…

“No one at all?” she pressed, scooting closer to him now. “What about older brothers or sisters? Or your parents?”

“I don’t have any older siblings,” Hunter informed her, crushing the flower he was holding in his hands before saying, “And there’s no way that I look up to my parents.”

Jordan blinked at him, wanting him to continue one with more. Why would he not look up to his parents? Jordan absolutely loved her parents, who were willing to do absolutely anything for her. She looked up to not only Dallas, but her parents as well. But she always looked up to her grandmother, who always seemed to be there for her as well.

“Why not?” she couldn’t help but ask, moving even closer to him. She expected him to scoot away, but he didn’t move a muscle. He only continued to stare at her. “I think everyone should look up to their parents. My mommy and daddy take good care of me…”

“Well my mommy and daddy don’t take such good care of me,” Hunter scowled mockingly, throwing the flower he had been holding as hard as he could away from them. “They aren’t a good mommy or daddy.”

“And why not?” she questioned, leaning even closer to him. So close that they were almost touching… Jordan thought nothing of this, but Hunter couldn’t help but feel flustered. No girl had ever gotten this close to him before, and he didn’t know how he felt about it…

He swallowed, turning his head away from the brunette girl that sat before him. She had such big, brown eyes…

“Because,” he almost rasped, clearing his throat and turning back toward Jordan once he finally could. “My mom yells at me all the time and my dad… He doesn’t do bad things to my mom or me, but he does bad things to other people. He wants me to do it, too. I don’t want to though. I don’t like it. I don’t like hurting people.”

Jordan cocked her head to the side, still dangerously close to Hunter. He didn’t like how close she was to him, and yet he didn’t want to move.

“I don’t think you’ll ever hurt anyone,” she responded innocently, bringing her hand up to pat his hair as she smiled brightly at him. “You seem like a very nice boy and I don’t think you’re capable of hurting anyone.”

Hunter gulped once again, turning his head away from this girl before she could say anything else. No one had ever said this to him before, not even anyone from his own family, and it made him feel weird. He didn’t like this feeling, he didn’t like it at all, and yet he didn’t want it to go away.

When they both heard the back gate creak, they snapped their heads toward it. In walked an elderly woman, humming quietly as she shut the gate behind her. When she saw the two small children sitting in the flowers, she smiled at them.

“Jordan, have you found yourself a friend?” the elderly woman asked, walking toward them with a bright smile on her face. Jordan smiled up at the woman, springing to her feet when she was close enough.

“This is Hunter, Grandma!” she introduced after she had hugged the old woman. “He’s one of Austin’s friends, but he’s my friend, too!”

Her grandmother smiled, turning toward Hunter and holding out a hand for him. Now that he was standing along with Jordan, he reached forward and shook the old woman’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Hunter,” she smiled at him. “I’m Elaine Peterson, Jordan’s grandmother.”

“Hi,” Hunter replied bashfully, looking down at the grassy ground after Jordan’s grandmother had dropped her hand from his.

“Are you two having a play date?” Jordan’s grandmother now asked, turning toward her granddaughter now with that usual smile of hers. The sixty-seven year old woman smiled back at Hunter, who still shyly stood there without knowing what else he was supposed to do.

Jordan nodded happily at her grandmother. She then frowned as she thought of what she was going to say next. “Yeah, but Hunter doesn’t have a way to get home, Grandma! He lives across town and he was going to walk all the way there. Can you give him a ride please?”

She knew that she was asking a lot from her grandmother, but Jordan didn’t want Hunter walking all the way home. It just wasn’t safe for a seven-year-old to be walking home by himself, even in the middle of the day…

Hunter looked back at Jordan as if she was insane, but she ignored him as she continued to stare up at her grandmother. Though she was sixty-seven, her grandmother was still a very good driver, so Jordan knew that her grandmother would be able to take Hunter home safely.

“That’d be perfectly fine,” her grandmother smiled, turning toward Hunter with her normal smile. “It wouldn’t be a problem at all! Let me just bring something from my car in for your mother and we’ll be right on our way!”

Her grandmother scampered off, and Hunter continued to look at Jordan as if she was insane. It wasn’t like he had anything against her grandmother, but he couldn’t believe that she had really offered something like this for him. No one had ever cared for him like this before…

“I can take care of myself,” he informed her, even though that was a very mature thing for him to say. Jordan rolled her eyes at him, as if she didn’t believe a word that had come out of his mouth.

“It’s not safe for you to walk all the way across town to get back to your house,” Jordan argued back stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest as she stuck her nose right up in the air. No matter what he said, nothing was going to change her mind. “Just because you’re a boy doesn’t mean that you’re one hundred percent safe.”

Hunter could see that this girl was smart, but she was also very stupid at the same time. If only she knew who his father was, and how what his father was protected him from almost everyone around. But she didn’t know, and Hunter was she that she couldn’t ever know the truth.

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes at her, but he said nothing more. He knew arguing with her would get him nowhere, since she was obviously as stubborn as his mother was.

“Okay, we can go now,” Jordan’s grandmother now smiled as she finally stepped out of Jordan’s house. Hunter was still unsure of this whole situation, but he followed the old woman out to her car anyway after they had both said goodbye to Jordan. It wasn’t like she was a kidnapper or anything… She was Jordan’s grandmother, so she had to be safe.

Hunter wanted to slap himself for thinking this way. Since when had he ever been scared, especially of a little old lady? His father was a powerful man, and since everyone was scared of him, Hunter knew that he was safe from harm… Even from a little old lady who was his friend’s grandmother.

Jordan let out a sigh after her grandmother and Hunter had left, finally walking up the steps of her porch and into her house. She was tired, so she knew that it was time for her to have a nap. She would be playing another round of hide n’ seek the next day, and Hunter was going to be the seeker.

She was going to have to get ready to hide from Hunter.

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Just a heads up! This is the only chapter about their childhood, and the only chapter that's going to be in third person. The only reason it was in third person is because neither Jordan nor Hunter remember this happening. :)

I wanted to write a chapter about when they were little because Hunter isn't going to be in this very much since, you know, Jordan doesn't "meet" him until the original story...

This isn't going to be as long as the original book, but it isn't going to be super short. ;)

Please COMMENT, VOTE, and FAN! :D