A/N: What do you think of my new profile pic?

*****

Nathaniel’s POV

My breath coated the glass with a thin, white layer as I watched him through the kitchen window. He hadn’t even bothered putting on a jacket; his favorite sweatshirt was all that protected him from the cold outside. Once he was done with the task of taking out the trash, he stood still, head tilted back, letting the snowflakes melt over his face.

“Just go and talk to him.”

I startled at her words; I had not heard her come in.

“It’s been over a week, Nat,” my sister went on, pushing herself off the door frame. “You are talking to me but ignoring him even though he hadn’t actually done anything.”

She had a point. It had been her who had played a prank on me in Vegas; Hunter had had nothing to do with it. He’d done nothing, except making me feel things I didn’t want to, but that was even before Vegas. So why was I avoiding him now?

It wasn’t as if he reminded me of what happened ten days ago more than Vallery did. Perhaps it was his reaction to it all; he had been so calm, so neutral, as if it meant nothing to him. Being married to me meant nothing to him. He was the same Hunter Harris and the little certificate he then considered real would not change that; it would not make him commit and settle down.

“How come Hunter wasn’t angry about it?” I asked aloud, hoping my twin would provide me with a reasonable answer, with some sort of an alternative for my own conclusion.

“You know,” she began, scratching her chin, “I think he was on to me from the start. He was taking it too calm.”

“Too calmly,” I automatically rectified.

“Oh, enough already!”

“Hey, if you don’t want me to correct you, learn to differentiate between your adjectives and adverbs.”

“Well, I guess I should be happy that you are talking to me,” she said, plopping on a stool. “Now go talk to Hunter.”

“I have nothing to say to him,” I insisted, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Yeah, that’s why you’ve been stalking him through the window again.”

“Did you come into the kitchen with the specific purpose of annoying me or did you just meander in and decided to pass the time this way?”

“Actually, I came to give you forty dollars, but…”

“Forty dollars?” I repeated, cutting her off. “You gave me money last week; where do you have forty dollars from?”

“I made a little wager with Lyn and Colin and they lost.”

“Vallery...” My hands fell to my sides as I shook my head. “What did we say about you and gambling so much?”

“We didn’t say anything; you said that I have a problem and I told you that it is only a problem if you keep losing and keep betting and since I usually win…”

“… It is an investment,” I finished with a tired tone.

“Well, I won you forty bucks, didn’t I? And don’t try to change the subject; we were talking…”

“I’m not trying to…”

“… We were talking,” she repeated, louder, “about how it is time for you to stop avoiding Hunt. Now go and talk with him.”

“It’s too late,” I said, glancing through the window. “He’s already gone inside.”

“Sheesh, you make such a good point! It’s not like he lives next door or anything.” She got off the stool and stood right in front of me, blue eyes adamant as she spoke. “Stop punishing the boy for something I did. Go. Talk. To. Hunter. Freakin’. Harris!”

*****

“Got to say, this is a surprise,” he said after letting me into his room. I just shrugged. “Are you going to stand with your jacket on?”

“Oh, that, no…” I took off the fabric, damp from the snow outside, and searched for a place to put it. Hunt took it out of my hand and spread it on the back of a chair.

“Mind your step; Raph is out.”

I looked around the room, hoping it would give me a clue what to talk about. It wasn’t like we had much – or anything for that matter – in common and I didn’t want our topic to be Vegas. I wasn’t ready for that yet and I wasn’t sure I’d ever be.

“I didn’t know you were into surfing,” I noted, pointing at the large poster of a blond holding a white and yellow striped surfboard that was taped to Hunt’s door. I was sure it had not been here the last time I’d visited.

“I’m not.”

“Then why do you have…”

“The poster boy is hot,” he replied before I could finish my question.

Hot and wet, I though, looking at the way the model’s locks were glued to his face and how the fabric of his swimsuit clung to his body, a bulge prominent beneath his waist…

“Do you want to watch a movie?” I shot out, turning my back on the photo of the twenty-something year old surfer. Or was he even a surfer? Maybe the board was just a prop.

“Why are you really here, Nathaniel?” Hunter asked, leaning his back on the desk, arms crossed over his chest.

“Vallery said that I’ve been avoiding you since… You know… The weekend before last, and she thinks it is time for me to talk to you,” I replied with the truth. He would probably guess if I lied to him even if my mind could come up with a lie right now.

“Vallery,” he uttered, his lips curling up in a joyless smile. “What do you think?”

“That she’s got a point,” I admitted quietly. “And I didn’t want to keep avoiding you so I came here, but now I don’t know what to do. We’ve never actually hung around just the two of us unless you count that time I helped you with your homework so…” I trailed off, having nothing more to say.

I often enjoyed silence. Quiet time gave me an opportunity to think things through, to put them in perspective. But not now; now it was awkward. I was silent, Hunter was silent, and we were both just standing there, his eyes on me – I could feel them – and mine aimed at the floor, only occasionally glancing his way.

“Which movie do you want to watch?” He asked after a very long while.

“What movies do you have?” My head turned towards him.

“Whatever the internet provides,” he shrugged.

“You mean… illegally?” I whispered the last word and he snorted.

“Relax; it’s not like a SWAT team will break through the windows and start shooting over a few downloads.”

“But it’s illegal,” I emphasized.

“Do you want to watch a movie with me or not?” Hunt asked and as I gave no answer, he went on, sneering: “Go wild, Nat; watch an illegally downloaded movie.”

“Very funny,” I muttered.

“How can you live with Val and not do illegal or at least questionably legal stuff every now and then?” He mused, shaking his head.

“One of us has to be responsible and obviously, that’s not going to be her.”

“Forget it,” he sighed.

“Maybe we could listen to music?” I tried again.

“Where do you think I get my music from?”

“Oh.”

And here we were, silent once more. We really had nothing in common. Why did he like me? Did he even like me? Or were flirting and insinuations just a pastime for him? Should I leave? I didn’t want to leave.

“I guess one movie won’t hurt,” I said, my eyes darting towards his old computer; colorful dots were chasing each other on the black screen.

“Which one?” He asked, turning around. He moved the mouse and the dots disappeared, replaced by a photo of Raph in his aquarium as the desktop picture.

“I don’t know. What do you usually watch?”

“Pretty much everything,” he replied, shrugging. “Not a fan of musicals and romantic comedies though.”

“Have you seen El laberinto del fauno? The English title is Pan's labyrinth.”

“The English?”

“It’s a Spanish movie,” I explained. “Maybe not the best choice though; it’s about war and death, but also about how far a person’s imagination can take them. It’s a good movie regardless the heavy atmosphere.”

“You’ve seen it already?”

“Yes, but I meant to re-watch it sometime. It doesn’t have to be now though; you can choose another if you want to.”

“Nah, I want to see what you picked.” He opened the browser and typed in the URL to a website I did not recognize before writing the name of the film in the website’s search bar and clicking a little icon that looked like a magnifying glass.

“Do you want some snacks while we watch?” Hunt offered but I shook my head.

“I probably shouldn’t. I’ve gained a few pounds,” I added when he raised an eyebrow.

“You know, Natty,” he began in a sultry voice and with a smirk on his face. “I can help you burn some calories.” I took a deep breath and held it in my lungs when he slowly stepped towards me. His grin widened and he seemed about to laugh; his voice was back to normal when he spoke again: “We can go jogging tomorrow; it’s a good way to keep in shape.”

I did my best not to glare. Typical Hunter: he insinuates something and then acts as if it never happened, leaving you to wonder whether it was all in your head.

“But if you don’t want snacks, maybe you could ask Raph if he’d share his lettuce with you,” he kept jesting.

“Just turn on the movie, will you?” I questioned and got annoyed with how childishly petulant I sounded.

“Take a seat…” he began, his mouth widening in another grin, “on the bed.”

“On-on the bed? W-why on the b-bed?” I stuttered so quickly that the words sounded like one.

“There’s only one chair,” he pointed out. “I’ll put the monitor on it and bring it closer to the bed so we could watch while being comfortable.”

Comfortable. On the bed. Yes, that was exactly how I’d feel in his bed… In an alternative universe.

“So sit down and I’ll go downstairs to get some chips and soda for me and some low-calorie cookies and water for you… Unless you changed your mind?” I shook my head. “Okay, then; I’ll be back in a sec.”

*****

It was not as awkward as I thought it would be.

Sure, at first, I’d sat as close to the edge as it was possible without toppling over, but as the film progressed, I’d relaxed and now both of us were at the middle of Hunter’s bed, our backs at the headrest. My legs and part of my torso were covered with a cream blanket which Hunt had placed over me after I’d brought my legs to my chest and accidently brushed my cold foot against his knee. I’d laughed at the blanket; at its center was an embroidered cross-eyed brown puppy with a huge bowtie.

“Boot Camp Aunt’s idea,” he’d said and pressed play so we could watch the rest of the movie. It was coming to an end and my eyes were beginning to sting. I knew what was about to happen and I hoped I wouldn’t start sobbing in front of Hunter; I really should’ve chosen another movie. I closed my eyes in hopes that the burning would ease down. The room was silent except from the low sounds coming from the computer and a quiet, rhythmic crunch which was probably the work of Raph; he must’ve found that lettuce leaf Hunt had brought him along with our snacks and biscuits.

Just a few more seconds and I’ll open my eyes, I thought, yawning. The softness of the blanket felt far away and the blackness before my eyes was replaced by the image of a brown puppy with a large bowtie running in circles around the feet of a mythical creature with horns and strange carvings on its skin.

*****

A/N: How did you like hanging at Hunter’s?

By the way, I strongly recommend the movie the boys watched (it’s from 2006) but keep in mind that it really is a heavy, dramatic film.

Expect a You are the Answer update over the weekend and keep your fingers crossed that Brickie doesn’t crash on me. He’s an old laptop, I’ve had him for over six years, and he’s been acting up since last night. I hope I don’t have to send him for repairs again.

As always, thanks for reading and please support the chapter with a vote if you enjoyed it. To those of you who write, follow me on tumblr http://catmint5.tumblr.com for writing tips; to everyone who’s read this far, have a great time wattpading! <3