Hunter kept his word. Uninvited and without further agreement, he sent me a message around twelve o' clock at night, telling me to come outside, just as I was about to get ready for bed.

I had already thought that what he had said at school had been a joke and that he wouldn't actually come. But when I looked outside my window, I saw his car parked right outside my house. His window was rolled down and when he saw me, a smirk flickered across his features.

I had to hold back a smile and settled for rolling my eyes at him instead. Then I pulled the curtains closed and quickly changed into jeans and put on a denim jacket over my white t-shirt.

Three minutes later, I left the house as quietly as possible, dreading the thought of my parents waking up and catching me sneak outside in the middle of the night.

I shuddered as the cold air hit me and jogged over to the car, where I opened the door to the passenger seat and swiftly got inside.

Hunter was awaiting me with a grin, his dark hair looking as if he had just gotten up. His lower lip was still split open and he had gotten a black eye from his fight with Sean, but he was right; it did look good on him.

"What would you have done if I hadn't come?" I asked instead of a greeting.

"I knew you would," Hunter answered lightly, without the trace of a doubt in his tone.

I shook my head slightly and slumped deeper into the seat. "Where are we going?"

Hunter hesitated for a moment, then he said, picking his words with care: "Remember how you asked me what I was doing at nights? I told you that you wouldn't like it but you wanted to see. So... I'm going to show you."

"We're not going to a brothel, are we?" I asked worriedly.

"Jesus, you really don't think too highly of me, do you?" Hunter laughed. "Of course not."

I was more relieved than I cared to show. "Okay. Why now?"

Hunter shrugged, trying to look casual, but there was a look of weariness on his face that betrayed his efforts. "Well, I thought, since we can't really do much together at school, we have to make the most of the rest of our time."

I was silent for a moment and looked out of the window. I had been so focused on Hunter that I hadn't noticed we were already driving. Outside, the lonely alleys were gliding by, a blurred mix of dark and shadows, only disturbed by some stray lights flickering in the windows of the restless.

In the silence of the night, it seemed like Hunter and I were the only people, like no one else was up and living. I decided that I liked the thought.

"You're quiet," Hunter pointed out as we left the city behind us. "Are you alright?"

"Mh?" I asked, startled. It wasn't very common that someone asked me that and even fewer times they were genuinely worried, like Hunter was right now. People usually didn't want an honest answer when they asked how you were. "Yeah...yeah, I'm just thinking."

Hunter relaxed noticeably. A smile danced around the corner of his mouth. "You think quite a lot, don't you?"

"You say that like it's something bad," I said.

"Oh, I'm sure it's not," Hunter laughed. "People keep telling me I should do it more often. But maybe you should do it just a little less." He was quiet for so long that I didn't expect him to explain further, but eventually he did. "You don't have to overthink everything a hundred times before doing it. And you don't have to be sure about everything, especially not yourself. It's okay to not have everything figured out and it's okay to do something just because you want to."

I looked out of the window, biting my lip. My hands were clasped together tightly in my lap. "Hunter, if this is about my sexuality again..." I broke off. "I know that it's not necessary to be one hundred percent sure about it, but I want at least some certainty. It feels like I don't know who I am anymore and it's... scary."

"I know," Hunter said quietly. "But sooner or later you'll become more certain about it. Or it won't matter at all. To me it doesn't."

I glanced at him and took a deep breath. "Hunter? How did you know you're bisexual?"

He shrugged, not at all rattled by the question. "When I was fourteen I really noticed girls for the first time. Then I noticed boys." An amused chuckle tumbled from his lips. "Before then it had never occurred to me that I might be interested in boys too, but after a while of considering it and paying more attention, I came to the conclusion that I am. When I was fifteen, I had my first girlfriend," he said and drew quotation marks with one hand. "We kissed twice and even though it wasn't great and full of sticky lip gloss, I liked it. A few months later, I played spin the bottle on my cousin's birthday party. I had to kiss a boy, I had never seen him before and never again afterwards. It felt good, natural. Not that different to when I had kissed girls. That's when I started dating girls and boys and it didn't matter to my friends or anyone in my family. I've never really bothered with... I don't know, picking a sexuality or labelling myself as bisexual. It came naturally."

I nodded slowly, surprised by how willingly he recounted everything to me. "So what you're trying to say is that I should stop thinking about it and just make my own experiences until I know?"

"I guess so," he laughed. Then he pointed at something ahead of us. "We're there."

"We are?" I asked cautiously as I stared outside.

There was nothing but a parking lot, one of the kind were truckers paused to sleep in their vehicles. No motel, no roadhouse, just a little public bathroom.

And a dozen of brand new sports cars. In the shine of their headlights I could vaguely make out a white line that someone had hastily drawn onto the pavement with chalk. A few men and even fewer women were gathering around it, discussing something. Most of them appeared to be in their thirties and older.

I could feel Hunter's eyes on me as I took the scene in. Then he got out of the car, walked around it and opened my door as well. "Are you coming?"

I stalled for a few seconds, eyes darting back and forth between Hunter and the group outside. Eventually, curiosity won over worry. With a resigned sigh, I got out of the car and followed him as he walked right up to the white line.

As soon as the men spotted Hunter, a roar went through the small crowd. One guy turned around and looked at us with a thin smile. He was tall, not quite muscular but with broad shoulders and a nose that looked like it had been broken several times.

"Hey, shorty!" a few guys yelled at Hunter, who answered with a crooked smile. He didn't seem happy with that nickname, but he tolerated it, which surprised me.

"Hunter," the lawyer-looking-guy simply said and nodded at him. "Who's your friend?"

I gulped as I suddenly felt everyone's eyes on me.

Hunter was quick to step closer to me and said: "Franco, this is Jules. He'll be with me today."

"You mean he'll drive with you?" the guy asked. He seemed surprised, as did anyone else.

Hunter nodded. "If he wants to, yes."

I shot him a confused glance, unsure of what was expected of me right now.

The man, Franco, now turned to me for the first time. "Boy, are you sure about that?" He lowered his voice to a murmur and stepped closer. "Hunter, you know the consequences. And the risk."

Hunter smiled brilliantly at him. "I do. I will explain everything to Jules and then he can decide for himself."

Franco seemed like he wanted to say something, argue with Hunter, but then he shrugged and turned around. "Very well then. Tonight's route will be up the highway. Finish is at the next parking lot." He paused to wait for some murmurs to quiet down, then he continued. "There are exactly two speed cameras along the way, so be careful. If anyone gets pulled over in the unlikely case that there's police, he immediately sends me a message so the rest of us can get out of here. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded silently.

"Good. I will drive first, and Lisa will join me."

A blonde woman in a tight leather outfit nodded and said: "Yep. Give us a ten minute head start, then the first pair can start. Be safe!"

I noticed her winking at Hunter, then she disappeared in her car. Seconds later, Franco and her were gone.

Frowning slightly, I turned to Hunter. "Did... did you ever hook up with that Lisa-girl?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "Seriously, that's your most important question right now?"

I shrugged.

Hunter then said with a dismissive wave of his hand: "Yeah, I think we had a one-nighter once."

"You think?" I asked, appalled.

Hunter laughed again, though he seemed a bit uneasy now. "It was after I won a race. Afterwards I went to a bar to have some drinks and Lisa was there too. I don't remember much of that night, but when I woke up, she was laying next to me. I never went out with her again afterwards."

"After you won a race?" I echoed, when suddenly it dawned on me. "So that's what this is about? A street race?" I couldn't hide the concern from my voice.

Hunter nodded. "Yes. An organized one. I do this all the time. When you win, you earn a small reward."

"But isn't that illegal?" I whispered.

"Of course it is," Hunter said, not at all bothered by that fact.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You're really making the most of this bad boy thing, aren't you?"

He grinned broadly. "You kinda like it, admit it."

"Sure, having a boyfriend in jail sounds really fucking hot," I snapped.

It was only when his eyes widened and a real smile sneaked upon his face for a change that I realized exactly what I had just said. My cheeks flushed immediately.

Fortunately, someone called Hunter over before he could say more than, "Boyfriend, huh?"

I didn't get the chance to backtrack as Hunter pulled me with him to where the others were gathered.

"We're choosing pairs right now," a brunette guy said. "Who do you want to compete with?"

Hunter smirked cockily and let his gaze wander over the others. "I don't care. Whoever dares to run against me can have their chance."

I saw some people roll their eyes, others were laughing. Eventually, one guy stepped forward. He was so tall that I actually had to tilt my head back to look at his face. With his long blonde hair and the square jaw he basically looked like Chris Hemsworth as Thor, just without the hammer.

"Try your luck, shorty," he exclaimed. "You won't beat me."

Hunter's face lit up at that. I could almost feel the energy and the will to win radiating off him. "We'll drive third."

The others nodded, so it was decided. It was all a little surreal to me and the thought of these people actually driving an illegal street race in a few minutes was hard to imagine.

Hunter nudged me with his elbow. "So, now you know what will happen. Do you want to ride shotgun?" Before I could answer, he held a hand up to interrupt me. "I should probably warn you first. It's dangerous because we'll obviously drive at a really high speed. It's also illegal and you could be punished, too, if we get pulled over. So, if you want, you can stay here and wait. I'd understand that completely."

I thought about it while eyeing Hunter, his car and the Chris Hemsworth- lookalike. It seemed awfully stupid and dangerous, but didn't everything that had to do with Hunter?

"Fine," I said. "I'm coming with you."

"You are?" Hunter asked, clearly surprised.

"Yes. But only because the people here seem scarier than a life-endangering car ride with you."

Hunter snorted at that, maybe a bit offended, then he turned back to Chris Hemsworth. "Alright, so it's me and Jules against you."

Chris frowned sourly. "You're taking your lapdog with you?"

Even though Hunter just nodded calmly, I could see a muscle twitching in his right cheek, giving his anger about that insult away.

"Fine. Then I'm taking her with me," he said, pointing at a blonde girl next to him, who didn't exactly look happy about this turn of events. "We wouldn't want to disadvantage them, would we? We're doing this the fair way." With that, he turned around, pulling the girl with him towards his bright red sports car.

I looked at Hunter. "What did he mean by disadvantaging us?"

"Bonus weight. The more passengers there are, the slower the car is. He did us a favor by adding weight to his car as well, so we have a better chance on beating him."

"Do you often win?"

"I only lost twice. And those were because at that time I was driving a really shitty car," he said and led me towards his Audi.

"So, do you think we can beat him with this one?" I asked.

Hunter didn't even look at the other's car before answering: "Yes."

I snorted and got back into the passenger seat. Hunter followed into the car. Despite his confident statement, he seemed tense; his jaw was set, his fingers tightly clenched around the steering wheel.

Together we watched as the people outside retreated from the start line and the first pair began their race. Soon, the second left. Hunter drove up to the start line as soon as they were out of sight.

Next to us, Chris Hemsworth 2.0 was sitting in his car. The girl he had gotten to accompany him looked like she was about to faint, so I offered her a smile that I hoped was encouraging, even though I felt jittery myself.

Through the open window rang the voice of the guy with the flag who was standing next to the white line. As soon as he lifted it, Chris let his engine roar loudly.

"One!" the man shouted.

Hunter took a deep breath.

"Two!"

I dug my nails into the leather of the seat.

"Three!"

My heart felt like it was trying to hammer its way out of my chest.

"GO!"

As soon as the word was out, both cars jumped forward, leaving the parking lot at a speed I hadn't expected in the first few seconds. Soon, there was nothing but the smooth pavement of the highway under the wheels and the car shot through the darkness like an arrow let loose.

The red sports car was still next to us, driving at exactly the same speed.

Hunter glanced over at me to see my reaction, his smile razor-sharp, excitement sparking off him.

"Oh my god, stop looking at me!" I shouted. "Leave your eyes on the road!"

He chuckled. "This is nothing! We're still going slow because of the speed camera that's coming soon! Afterwards we'll floor it. The second one is on the last eighth of the way, so until then, there's no speed limit for us."

I swore quietly.

Soon, we passed the speed camera, just like Hunter had said. Immediately both cars gained even more speed, until our surroundings were not more than blurry shadows. I felt myself being pressed tightly into the seat, similar to the feeling during the takeoff in a plane.

I turned my head, completely startled as I suddenly heard Hunter laugh. His laughter was contagious, carefree and light-hearted, not a sound I had ever heard from him.

For a second, I had to smile along with him, but then the car went even faster and I was reminded of my situation.

I wasn't even sure if the wheels were still touching the ground; it didn't feel like it. It felt like we were flying, gliding just above the pavement. It wasn't a speed that any regular Audi could reach.

"Is this car tuned?" I shouted over the rattling of the engine.

"Yeah, it's stroked. I had the engine rebuilt with a longer-stroke crankshaft, so it has a higher swept capacity."

"What?"

He laughed again. "Never mind!"

I wanted to say something, but when I opened my mouth all that came out was a shriek as the red car suddenly appeared right in front of us after Chris changed lanes. Hunter let out a stream of cusses as he steered into the lane that Chris had left.

Chris immediately followed, again driving right in front of us. Hunter had to brake and I got flung forward, the seat belt digging into my skin.

"Oh my God, we're going to die," I whined and shut my eyes as Hunter changed lanes once more and passed the red car.

Now, being first and with the free road ahead of us, Hunter picked up speed again. "At least we would've lived before," Hunter said sounding, not at all concerned. "There's a difference between being alive and actually living."

"So this is your definition of actually living?"

"Yeah. The adrenaline, the risk... Nothing feels more like living than almost dying."

I could only stare at him, actually worrying about his mental health for a second.

Hunter glanced at the other car through the rear view mirror and frowned slightly. Chris seemed to have slowed down a bit, the space between us getting bigger by the minute.

"Is he giving up?" I wondered.

"I don't think so," Hunter said, looking just as confused as I felt. "I'm not sure what he's planning to-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Chris suddenly sped up and crashed into the Audi's bumper. It wasn't that hard of an impact, but it was enough to make the car jump forward and make us both flinch.

Hunter flipped the other man off in the mirror, then he sped up as fast as he could to create a distance between the two cars.

Yet again, the red car trailed behind, just to have more space so he could ram our car with more force after speeding up.

"Slow down," I yelled. "You need to slow down, minimize the space between us."

Hunter frowned for a second, then he understood and continued much slower. Chris seemed to be angry that we had seen through his tactic and changed lanes. Then he gained even more speed, until he pulled ahead.

Hunter immediately went faster too, but he couldn't catch up. The distance to the other car got larger and larger. "The second speed camera should be somewhere around here..." Hunter then muttered.

He was right: a minute later, we caught up with the red sports car. It had gotten way slower, driving just below the speed limit.

I expected Hunter to slow down as well, but instead we seemed to go even faster.

"Hunter, the speed camera..." I could already see it, not far away. Chris was clever enough to stay within the allowed speed and fell behind further. "Hunter, slow down, they'll catch us speeding!"

Hunter's jaw was working, knuckles white against the steering wheel. "I don't care. I want to win against this jerk." With that, he sped up one last time. "Say cheese!"

I was momentarily blinded by the bright flash of the camera cutting through the darkness. When I opened them again I saw the parking lot, our final destination, right ahead.

The grin was back on Hunter's face, the tension left his body. The red car was far behind. Hunter slowed down until we were rolling onto the parking lot at a normal speed. Franco and Lisa and the four people who had raced before us were standing at a safe distance to the finish line, cheering as we crossed it.

Hunter parked the car. For a moment, everything was silent except for our heavy breathing. Then Hunter laughed quietly, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the back of his seat.

I regarded him silently. He looked completely happy with himself and everything else in that instant, bathed in the moonlight, with one hand in his hair while the other one was still resting on the steering wheel. His lips were slightly parted and-

I quickly tore my gaze away from his mouth when a knock on Hunter's window startled us both. He opened his eyes, still smiling and rolled down his window.

All the others, including a pissed looking Chris and the blonde girl whose face appeared to now be greenish, were standing outside. Franco congratulated us while handing Hunter a brown envelope.

"Didn't expect to lose, huh?" Hunter asked Chris as he accepted the envelope, smiling provocatively.

Chris glared at him. "Didn't expect you to be so stupid and drive right into that speed trap."

"Was worth it, though. I couldn't stand to lose against someone who drives like a monkey on LSD," he replied, shrugging. "Well, we're going to go... See you, Franco."

Franco waved half-heartedly, then they all were out of sight and we left the parking lot.

"That was insane," I eventually groaned.

Hunter nodded. "It was. But hey, we won, the car's intact and we're alive."

A weird noise somewhere between a snort and a laugh escaped my mouth. "If these are all the criteria for a successful date, I don't want to see what a bad one with you is like."

Chuckling, Hunter asked: "I take it this wasn't the best experience for you?"

"It may have been without the looming threat of death," I retorted. "Is this honestly something you do often?"

"Sometimes, when the mood strikes," he said, like it wasn't a big deal at all. To him, it probably actually wasn't.

I looked outside, realizing that I suddenly had no idea where we were. "Where are we going? This isn't the road back home, is it?" I asked.

"No. I thought we might go somewhere else before we drive back. Somewhere quiet, so you can calm down."

"Okay. And where's that?"

"I thought of The Deck," Hunter said, but it sounded more like a question.

I grimaced slightly as I thought of the last time I'd been there, breaking up with Emily. But eventually I nodded. Perhaps it was a good thing to replace the bad memories there with better ones.

It wasn't long until we arrived there, parking beneath some trees. Hunter and I both got out of the car; I watched in confusion as Hunter walked around the car, opened the trunk and got a basket out of it. When he caught up with me, I could see that it was filled with a thermos bottle and a few chocolate bars.

I couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Oh, alright. So that's your trick? This is how you impress your dates? By doing picnics under the night sky?"

Since the street lamp a few feet away was the only source of light, I couldn't quite read Hunter's expression, but I was pretty sure he was glaring or rolling his eyes at me. I was surprised when he only said: "Well, no one else ever needed to be impressed, but for you I can go that extra mile."

I must've smiled like an idiot at that, but instead of teasing me about it, Hunter just motioned for me to sit down on the car's hood next to him. It wasn't very wide, so it was a given to be touching each other unintentionally. I could feel Hunter's body heat through the fabric of my clothes, but since the night was chilly, it was a pleasant feeling. Even more so when Hunter took one of my hands.

With his free hand, he handed me the thermos bottle and one of the chocolate bars. I eyed the bottle warily. "What's in this?"

Hunter sighed, exasperated. "I'm not going to get you drunk, idiot."

I hesitated for one more moment, then I took the lit off and drank a sip. The sweet taste of chocolate caught me off guard. "You made hot chocolate?" I asked and tried not to sound too surprised.

He nodded and took the bottle from my hand, drinking a little and sighing again, contently this time. Wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, he stared up at the sky. "Hey, do you know what time it is?"

After I looked at my mobile I said: "Around three." I laughed. "We're going to be so fucking tired tomorrow. You owe me a coffee."

"Oh, do I?" Hunter chuckled. "Am I allowed to give it to you on school grounds then?" He had asked the question lightly, but he was as serious about this as I was.

"Yes," I said. "I just don't want anyone to see us being...close... You know what I mean."

"I do. And it's okay for me, if that's what you want. Especially since it's my fault that people are being so stupid about it."

"What do you mean?"

"If it wouldn't have been me you were with, no one would've paid any attention to it. But it's different because everyone seems to be keen to have something with me and they always get crazy when I'm with someone new. Just because a jealous asshole like Sean spread it around, they think they have the right to go after you because of it."

"Maybe. But it's not your fault," I said. "I wanted what we were doing in the club. You didn't force me or anything. It's all Sean's fault, but that doesn't matter anymore. All I can do about it now is to accept it how it is. I wasn't ready yet, but I'll get used to it because I have to."

Hunter was silent, dwelling on something, then he said: "I was surprised by Emily's reaction today."

I had to smile at that. "I thought that she would understand, but I didn't expect her to so soon."

"She's amazing," Hunter said with genuine admiration in his voice.

"She is," I agreed.

For a moment we sat together in silence, but it was a comfortable one; we ate chocolate and drank from the bottle while enjoying the view. With his free hand, Hunter pointed at the town beneath us. Lights were twinkling there, like stars that had tumbled from the sky.

"I like sitting here at night. Everything's way more beautiful in the dark," Hunter said softly.

"Do you think so?" I asked and looked at him while he was gazing into the distance.

He shrugged. "You can't see what everyone is up to and they can't see you. No one is judging or controlling you. You can do whatever you want at night and when you wake up in the morning, it'll be forgotten."

There was a tiny little voice in my head, probably the pitiful rest of my sanity, that was telling me that this was a bad idea, but it got drowned out by my heart yelling at me to say what I had in mind. My breath hitched in my throat before I quietly said: "What... what is it that you want to do?"

Hunter didn't react right away and I was already thinking he hadn't even listened. Then he suddenly turned towards me and let go of my hand; instead his fingers found their way to the back of my neck.

Hunter smelled like smoke and aftershave. He tasted like chocolate.

My body froze in shock as I suddenly felt his lips on mine, kissing me with a gentleness I hadn't expected.

So this was it. This was what a kiss was supposed to feel like. The butterflies, the electricity, things I had put off as stupid clichés... now I finally felt them. My heart was beating wildly in my chest and I lifted my hands to grip onto Hunter, to have him closer-

But before they could reach him, he suddenly broke away, slid from the car's hood and took a step back. He looked like someone who had just woken up from a bad dream.

I was still sitting on the car, breathing heavily and staring at him like a deer in the headlights.

"I'm-" Hunter stammered, "Fuck, I shouldn't have... I didn't even ask, I'm sorry-"

Not listening anymore, I grasped the collar of his shirt and pulled him towards me. His little gasp got smothered by my lips.

At first he was careful, kissing me and cupping my cheek as if he was scared I might shatter into a thousand pieces if he was being too rough.

Then, once both of my hands were locked behind his neck, it was like something in him snapped. Suddenly, he stepped closer and placed one hand on the hood of his car while the other was tangled in my hair. I was still sitting, so I used the opportunity to wrap my legs around him to have him even nearer.

All along I had wondered, in the back of my head, what kissing Hunter would feel like. I had never expected it to be like this, hadn't expected desperate lips and roaming hands and feeling like every inch separating us was too much to handle.

Kissing Emily had been so different, not only because it hadn't felt right, but because she was so soft. While she was all curves and smooth skin, the only thing soft about Hunter were his lips.

Neither of us seemed eager to be the first one to let go, and in the end it was the lack of oxygen that made me lean away from him just to take a deep breath.

Hunter's breathing was just as heavy as mine, but there was a wide smile on his face. "Are you impressed now?"

I laughed breathlessly and swatted his chest, just for him to catch my wrist and not let go.

"Was that okay?" There was actual concern in his voice, making my heart start to race all over again.

"It was more than okay," I said and tried to pull him closer again, but he caught my other hand as well and grinned down at me.

I rolled my eyes at him and tried to twist my hands out of his grip, but he wouldn't let go. "What are you trying to do?" he teased.

"Kiss you, dumbass," I muttered and glared half-heartedly at him.

"Yeah?" he asked, feigning surprise. "You want another kiss?"

I hummed approvingly and tried to lean forward to kiss him, but he simply took a step away. He laughed quietly as he saw me getting even more frustrated, then he finally let go of my hands and pushed me onto my back, so I was leaning onto the windshield of his car on my elbows.

"Fuck you," I muttered, but didn't bother to drop my hands which were tangled in his hair.

Hunter's smirk grew even wider. "I'd rather f-"

I quickly shut him up with another kiss.

When I let go of him, he asked: "Do I get this every time I'm about to say something stupid from now on?"

"We would never stop kissing then," I replied, unable to hold back a wide grin.

Hunter laughed, one hand still splayed against my ribcage. "You say it like it's a bad thing."

"It's not." I leaned in again to press a kiss to his jaw.

Seeing his face light up at my words, I wanted to say something, but a yawn cut me short.

Hunter laughed. "Am I boring you, sugarpie?" As he got nothing but a huff in return, he said, sounding just a little wistful at the prospect of the moment ending: "Alright, let's get you home."

I didn't want to leave this place, mainly because it felt like everything would be forgotten or at the very best a faded memory as soon as we did. If I could've saved moments to relive them later, this one would've been the one I'd repeat until it got boring. But after a look at the time on my phone, I followed him to the car.

Maybe we'd come here more often from now on.

+++

A few minutes later, we pulled up in front of my house. I expected Hunter to stay in the car and drive off, but instead he escorted me up to the front door.

"What are you doing?" I laughed as he even followed me inside while I was taking off my coat.

"Gotta use all the time we have together," he replied, watching me with a smile.

"What are you going to do next, follow me into my bedroom?" I teased and added, as he opened his mouth. "That wasn't an invitation."

"We'll get there," Hunter said confidently.

I rolled my eyes and got out of my shoes. Then I turned around to him. His words were ringing through my ears again: You can do whatever you want at night and when you wake up in the morning, it'll be forgotten. "This wasn't one of these things that are forgotten when you wake up, was it?" I quietly asked.

Hunter's face was serious as he shook his head. "I'll be damned if I ever forget about this." He stepped closer and kissed me once more and my heart felt like it was doing backflips in my chest. I was nearly about to give in completely again, but he broke away too soon, his hand cupping my cheek and his eyes locked with mine in the dark of the hallway. "Good night, Jules."

"Good night," I whispered and watched as he left.

Then I turned around... and almost screamed when I saw a dark figure standing on the stairs behind me.

"Jules? Who was that?" she asked.

Heaving a sigh, I bent down to pick my little sister up. She was standing on the stairs in her Minnie Mouse-pajama, strands of hair falling into her face and sticking up around her head.

"No one, Maya," I muttered into her ear as I picked her up. "You're sleepwalking again. Come, I'll bring you to your room."

She blinked a couple times in confusion, but didn't reply. After a moment of waiting for an answer, I realized she had fallen asleep in my arms again. I carried her up the stairs, careful not to wake her up before I put her down onto her bed, and tucked her in. She immediately curled into a ball and continued to sleep as if nothing had happened.

When I was sure that everything was fine, I quietly left her room and sneaked into mine.

Maya certainly wouldn't remember anything she had seen by tomorrow; she had been sleepwalking, like she often was. Even if she did remember, it probably wasn't important to her at all. Not important enough to tell my parents about, anyway.

Luckily, the thought of Hunter and the feeling of his lips on mine were more prominent right now and I quickly forgot about those worries. Replaying the memory again and again, I fell asleep with a smile on my lips, for the first time in months.