Wanna win some prizes?

I'm currently running a GIVEAWAY!

More details in the A/N at the bottom.

I suppressed a grin.

He was staring at me; he's been doing that for the past few minutes.

"Is there anything you want, Ray-Ray?" I asked, keeping my eyes on my phone's screen. A waitress passed by our table, a whiff of coffee following her footsteps.

"Who are you texting?"

"A friend."

Raiden is getting suspicious, I sent to Alex.

"Same friend you've been texting during classes today?" He asked.

Alex: So is Ty >:) Gonna let him sweat for a bit

Me: Only a bit?

"Anyone I know?" Raiden kept interrogating me.

The waitress passed us again, this time without the invigorating scent and on her way to the bar. I looked up from the screen and saw Raiden pout.

"Maybe." I pulled the bright pink straw between my lips and sucked in a generous quantity of my chocolate milkshake. "Maybe not."

I shrugged; he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me. I smiled at him and he pouted again and looked out the window and onto the street.

Me: Aren't they just adorable when they pout?

Alex: Yep. Tyson claims he doesn't pout cause it's not manly but he does and it's effin adorable

I chuckled and lifted my gaze again. Raiden was watching me from the corner of his eye, but when I caught his gaze, he looked away.

His lips were pursed, but puckered and effin adorable was exactly how I'd describe the redhead sitting across the plastic table, his milkshake almost untouched. So adorable, I wanted to get up, go round the table and give him a little peck on the mouth... Just a little, tiny, itsy-bitsy, platonic - as platonic as they could get - peck; that wouldn't be weird, right?

My phone vibrated in my hand, once again claiming my attention.

Alex: So, about this weekend...

I couldn't help it; this time I grinned.

I pulled the pillow away from my face and tried to catch my breath, my heart drumming madly in my ears, and my body pleasantly exhausted although all I'd done was to lay on my back. I heard Hunter swallow and he climbed upwards and towards me in the bed, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before kissing my lips. He then claimed his space next to me on the mattress, positioning himself sideways so he could look at me.

"I hate it when you muffle your moans with that damn pillow," he said, gently running his fingers over my naked torso.

I closed my eyes and let myself enjoy the touch.

"There are other people in the house, Hunter. I don't want them to hear."

"Yeah, you can get pretty loud." He chuckled and I felt my face heat up so I turned it away from him. He took the opportunity to nibble on my ear, his arm spinning me and pulling me towards him until my back met the warmth of his chest.

That was bliss.

"I wish you could stay here forever," I admitted through a wistful sigh.

"Your dad's not going to be happy about that. Nor will your mom when they sign her out of the clinic."

"No, she wouldn't," I agreed quietly, trying not to concentrate on how unprepared I was to live with her once again. I loved my mother and I didn't want her to spend the rest of her life in the Norville Clinic for Addicts, but the truth was that the pressure to be the perfect son and the perfect student, and to please everyone that had been a weight in my chest since forever had lessened and would sometimes even disappear completely ever since we were separated.

"Move in with me." Hunter's steady voice came from behind me and stopped my breath.

"What?" I whispered, swirling in his embrace so I could look at him.

His grey eyes were calm and confident.

"Move in with me," he repeated, just as assured as before. "When I find a place to live in."

I propped myself on my elbow.

"Are you... Hunter, are you serious?"

"Sure. I moved to a new town to follow you. I'd say that's pretty serious."

"But what if it doesn't work out?"

"Then we separate."

My elbow gave out and I felt bile raising in my throat. He reached to caress my face.

"I can't predict the future and I can't promise you forever, Natty." His fingers brushed my cheek. "But I want to be with you now, so why not?"

"I..." I uttered and paused. My mind was still uncooperative in coming up with an answer when my phone rang.

"What did you want to talk about?" Nat asked as he pulled the chair away from my desk and set on the edge. His eyes to the floor and his forehead creased, his mind seemed to be miles away.

Was this the best time to talk to him?

But what if Val was in some kind of trouble?

Val isn't in trouble; she is the trouble, a voice chanted in my mind.

But who was she texting?

A guy?

It could be a guy.

Why would she be texting a guy so often and smiling?

I sat on my bed, on the side closer to the chair so Nat and I could face each other... If he decided to look at me.

"I'm worried about Val," I stated.

No, you are not, the imaginary voice had no face, but it sounded as if it spoke while it rolled its eyes. You are worried she might have a crush on someone.

My hand darted to my nape and ruffled the ends of my hair.

I'm worried about her, I told myself. What if the guy ends up being someone dangerous? It could be that guy Cain she met at the party. He is old; Vallery shouldn't be with someone old.

Older, the annoying voice stressed the ending. Older than you, but that doesn't make him old.

"We are all worried about Val," Nat replied distractedly and I furrowed my eyebrows. Talking about his twin usually won you his full attention.

"So... You've noticed it too?" I asked.

"Noticed what?" His eyes were still on the floor, hands gripping the edge of the chair.

"That she'd been texting someone." I got no reaction, so I added: "A lot. A lot a lot"

Some indefinable sound left his mouth.

"Nat." I raised my voice and he turned his face towards me, brown eyes focused on something - I didn't know what, but it wasn't me. "You okay?"

That seemed to snap him out of whatever he was going through.

"Yeah, I'm..." His gaze darted to the floor than back at me and he cleared his throat. "I'm fine."

"You sure?" I slid closer to the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, it's just... Hunter and I were talking about something." His fingers drummed on the chair's leg. "You were saying something about Val?"

"Yes," I uttered slowly. I briefly contemplated on inquiring about what had happened between him and Hunter, but I quickly dismissed the idea. Nat obviously didn't want to discuss it - at least not with me - and it was probably something private anyway, something I shouldn't be sticking my nose into.

"Yes," I repeated. "She's been texting someone and she's kind of... deflective when I ask her about them. Any idea who it could be?"

He shrugged.

"I don't know."

"She hasn't told you anything?" I tried again. "Maybe talk about some guy more than she usually talks about guys?"

"Not that I've noticed." He silently pondered for about half a minute before: "Actually, I'm pretty sure she hasn't mentioned anyone at all lately. You know, apart from you."

"And that doesn't seem suspicious to you?"

He raised his eyebrows.

"No, why would it?"

"Because she's having a secret correspondence with someone. Texting during class and after class." My hands grasped an imaginary phone and my fingers moved as if typing to accentuate my point.

"Raiden..." He began hesitantly. "You sound a bit... Paranoid."

"I... I sound paranoid?" I gaped at him. "It's Val we are talking about. She might be cooking up some prank as we speak. She is probably cooking up some prank as we speak."

Or worse: flirting with old man Cain.

I tried not to muse much over why flirting would be worse than planning and executing a prank.

She was my friend; I was looking out for her and didn't want her to end up with the wrong guy - that explanation would have to do. No need to dig any deeper.

"Are you worried she'll get back at you for the Mr. Blush cut-out from this weekend?"

"Well..." With all that texting Val had been doing I'd forgotten about that.

"She wasn't even mad, remember?" He asked, standing up. "She found it amusing so I wouldn't worry. Anymore than usual, I mean," he added as an afterthought, then that same troubled look from earlier appeared in his eyes and he began walking towards the door.

"I have to... Something," he muttered, reaching for the handle. "I'll see you later."

And with that he left me alone, save from the annoying voice in my head which made it its mission to try and make me think why Vallery flirting with some guy was such a bad thing.

I usually try not to have more than two POVs in a chapter, but I really wanted to have that scene with Hunt and Nat so... Yeah. What did you think of it?

And I don't mean just the... naughty start; any ideas what Nat's answer would be?

And what of the rest of the chapter?

Platonic pecks on the lips and all...

Alex and Val seem to be planning something and even though Raiden doesn't know what it is, his spidey senses are tickling and he seems to be nervous? Or is it jealous?

I really hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please support it with a VOTE if you did!

Now, for the GIVEAWAY!

What you can win:

- a chapter dedication

- a shout-out on Wattpad

- two printable bookmarks: one with a quote from my stories and one with a curious fact about one of my characters; you get to pick the book and the character

The link is in the first comment and given as an External Link in this chapter. It's also available in the About section of my Wattpad profile.

Have a great time wattpadding! ❤

PS: I forgot to ask you before: what do you think of the new intermission separator that was in the last chapter instead of *****? It was this one: