A/N: YOU CAN HELP ME CREATE THE PLOT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER. How? You’ll find out in the A/N at the end but for now, read this chapter ;)

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Hunter’s POV

This was one of the rare occasions on which I didn’t know what to do.

Nathaniel had fallen asleep in my bed and I was at a lost about whether I should wake him up or wait for him to do that on his own. I knew I didn’t want to wake him up; not yet at least.

I liked having him in my bed. He was adorable, cuddling up in a ball with that silly puppy-embroidered blanket Aunt Betty got me because she thought it would be funny to see my reaction at her gift. I’d told her that I loved the colors and that I’d cherish it for the rest of my life. My reply had made her snort; she may have not been able to embarrass or annoy me – in good humor, of course – but I still managed to amuse her.

The boy beside me let out a quiet snore, turned to his side and closed his mouth, gulping before his lips parted again. They were slightly chapped, but that did not stop me to imagine kissing them, licking them, sucking… Was he ready for that?

He had broken up with his girlfriend but I was pretty sure the answer was no.

Not yet, I thought turning towards him and leaning on my elbow. Not yet, but I was getting tired of waiting. I wondered whether I should touch him; caress his cheek perhaps? My hand twitched but I concluded it would be better not to. If Nathaniel woke up with my hand on his face, he would freak out. He would run home and then he’d go back to avoiding me again. Besides, touching him in his sleep would be creepy. We weren’t together after all; we weren’t an item, we didn’t even hook up…

I should wake him up.

He would feel somewhat awkward at first, but maybe I could convince him to watch the rest of the movie with me.

I looked at the monitor which I’d placed on the chair; the movie had ended and the screen had gone black. So much for that excuse!

My eyes returned to the sleeping boy. No sound was coming from him but I could feel the gush of his breath on my arm. He was probably just taking a nap, right?

He couldn’t sleep all through the night. Maybe I should just let him rest for a while and if he’s not up in an hour, I’d wake him. Yes, that seemed like a reasonable plan. If he’s not up soon, I’d wake him. I’d better give him some space though; the last thing I wanted was for him to freak out on me again.

*****

Nathaniel’s POV

I sat up, startled.

This was not my room. I’d woken up in someone else’s room... My eyes darted around until they fell on the familiar blond figure. He had placed the monitor back atop of the old desk and sat on the chair, his gaze on the glowing screen.

“I fell asleep.” It wasn’t a question but nevertheless Hunter moved sideways in the chair to look at me and replied:

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I asked, pushing the blanked off me and sitting on the bed, my feet touching the floor. I rubbed my eyes with my hand, suppressing a yawn. “Well?” I pushed when he gave me no answer. He replied first with a shrug, then added:

“Guess I’m going soft around you.”

 “Is that a bad thing?”

He tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowed in contemplation.

“I guess not anymore. Some things are easier now that I live with Aunt Betty.”

“Easier?” I repeated, getting up and after a brief hesitation, I approached him. I stood in front of Hunter, wondering whether he would be willing to share. Maybe this was the appropriate time to get answers about the rumors that floated around school. “Easier how?”

“Would you like to play a game?” He asked instead of replying. I shook my head and sighed.

“Not really,” I muttered, going to the window. The sky was dark and the streetlights were alight. “What time is it?”

“Five past ten,” he said after consulting with his computer. I’d been asleep for over two hours.

“I should get back home,” I said and headed for the door. He grabbed me by the wrist as I passed him, a slight smirk on his face.

“Or we could play that game,” he suggested.

“I told you, I don’t want to play games,” I assured him, pulling my wrist out of his grip.

“You haven’t even asked me which game it is,” he noted. “You might change your mind.”

“Doubt it.” I moved away from him and was already reaching for the door handle when he spoke again:

“Even if it gives you an answer to your question?”

“How could a game give me answers?” I asked, turning around.

“A game of truth or dare could,” he pointed out and I walked back to him. There was that smirk again, that cocky, proud smirk, and I began to suspect some trickery.

“What if you only choose dare?” I started to muse aloud. “Then I wouldn’t learn anything about you.”

“Fair point,” he nodded. “How about this instead then: we play a game of questions? We take turn asking each other ten questions and if one of us refuses to reply, the other gives him a dare?”

“Why do you want to do this?”

There must be a trick; why would he share information about him?

“Because I’ll also get to learn some things about you.”

“Oh.” My enthusiasm dwindled. I’d been so excited at the opportunity to get to know Hunter Harris better that I’d ignored the fact that in the process he’d find things about me in turn.

“Scared?” He teased, challenging me to prove him wrong.

“Let’s do it,” I agreed. Who knew if I’d ever get a chance like this? “But,” I added, “let’s first make a list of the topics we are not allowed to ask each other about.”

“A list? You sure know how to make things fun, Natty,” he sneered, but I didn’t care. We were either playing my way or not at all. This, of course, would give him an opportunity to keep some things to himself but would also provide me with some safety as I wouldn’t have to discuss the things I didn’t want to.

“Fine,” he said a minute later. “Have it your way. What am I not allowed to ask you about?”

“Anything about my sex life,” I shot out immediately.

“You have one?”

“That question included,” I insisted sternly, but my gaze fell to the floor.

“You are cute when you blush,” he commented, his tone teasing again.

“Also,” I began, but then closed my mouth. What else didn’t I want Hunter to know about? Writing and why I needed it was private but if he asked about it, I could always say that it helped me sort my thoughts; I wouldn’t have to go into details, it would be the truth and he would have one question less to ask me. “That’s it, actually,” I concluded and leaned on his desk. “You?”

“No details as to why I was in jail,” he said after a brief pause. “You go first.”

“Give me a vague reply as to why you were in jail,” I pressed and he raised an eyebrow. “You said no details; I asked for vague information.”

“Right again!” He laughed and shook his head. I was glad he wasn’t angry or annoyed by the question. Hunt contemplated his reply for a while, his lips still curled up in a small smile. “I was in jail,” I leaned towards him when he paused, “because I’m not as cruel and uncaring as most people thought I was.”

“That was very vague indeed,” I muttered, disappointed with the information I’d gotten. Or the lack of it, since I still didn’t have a clue what he’d done. “But did you…”

“Shhh,” he placed a finger in front of his lips and winked. “My turn.” I closed my mouth and waited for his inquiries. Hunter took his time and I suspected it was to unnerve me and not because he didn’t know what to ask.

“How old were you when you had your first kiss?” He finally spoke.

“That’s on the Don’t Ask List,” I reminded him but he shook his head.

“No, no, no. Questioning you about your sex life is on that list; I’m asking only about a kiss here. I could always think of a dare for you if you’d prefer that over replying,” he added and I groaned. First round and I was already beginning to regret this. But there were things I wanted to know about him; I couldn’t give up now.

“Fifteen,” I replied, looking down again.

“So less than two years ago,” he concluded.

“How old…” I stopped and gazed up. He was grinning. He’d almost made me ask him the same thing back. I shook my head. I was not going to fall for that. I was going to ask him the questions I cared about… Although now… Now I really wanted to ask him about his first kiss. Or how old he was when he had his first time. Or whether he was still seeing Cameron. I shook my head again. No. Those were not the questions I meant to ask. But what if I had some questions left? We could ask each other ten after all.

“Were you…” I gulped and crossed my arms over my chest. “Were you guilty of the crime you went in jail for?”

“No,” he replied and I gaped at how careless his tone was. Hunter wasn’t lying to me – I somehow knew that – so why was he so calm about this? Shouldn’t he be angry that he was wrongfully accused?

One more question to ask later.

“What’s the deal with you and writing?”

“It helps me sort out my thoughts,” I supplied the already prepared response.

“I was hoping for more details than that,” he sighed, leaning back in his chair.

“I’m not all that ecstatic about your replies either,” I retorted then hurried before he could interrupt me: “How come you are not mad about going to jail for something you haven’t done?”

“That has to do with the details as to why I was inside,” he stated and I shook my head; I was still not getting anywhere. “But since I didn’t reply, you can think of a dare for me.”

“No need,” I muttered. “It had to do with the topic on your Don’t Ask List so…”

“Yeah, but I still could’ve given some vague reply. Think of a dare.” His tone was challenging. A smirk slowly spread across his face as he waited for me to command him. He didn’t like being told what to do, so why was he doing this? Was he curious what I could come up with? Did he think I would dare him to do something… naughty? Was that his plan? To test me? See how I would use this advantage?

As per usual, Hunter Harris managed to confuse me; as per usual, he made me feel nervous; as per usual, I replied in a completely inadequate way:

“Write a short review on the movie we just watched.”

He laughed so loudly, I jumped away from the desk. His forehead fell on the wooden surface as his body shook with laughter. I had never seen him like this before; if he wasn’t laughing at me, I would probably be smiling at him.

“Are you for real?” He asked, turning his head sideways, his cheek lying on the desk. “Of course you are; you are Nathaniel Reed and this is exactly what Nathaniel Reed would do.”

I leaned my back on the wall next to the window which overlooked my room. I tried to keep my eyes on Hunter but as usual when he mocked me they found their way to the floor.

“I can’t write a review since I didn’t watch it till the end,” his voice was back to normal and I managed to gather up the courage to sneak a glance his way. Once I concluded he was no longer going to jest with me, I straightened up and managed to keep my gaze on his face.

“Maybe we could watch the end together sometimes,” he suggested. “I’ll review it after that.”

“You don’t have to; it was a stupid dare,” I murmured.

“It was a dare nevertheless so I’ll go through with it. Now,” he raised his head off the desk and leaned back in the chair again, smirk on his lips once more. “My next question…”

I crossed the fingers on both of my hands; I even curled up my toes, anticipating his inquiries.

Please, don’t let it be personal, please, don’t let it be personal…

*****

A/N: WANNA WRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER WITH ME? Okay then! Comment below and tell me what do you want Hunter to ask Nathaniel and what do you want Nathaniel to ask Hunter.

Also, can you think of some dares for the boys?

If you come up with something good which goes with the story, I’ll include it in the next chapter!

And speaking of chapters, what did you think of this one?

Vote, if you enjoyed it!

XO (with capital letters because that’s a big smooch and a big hug),

CatMint