"So, I'm worried about Newt," Nina asked as I was putting my stuff in my locker.

"Why? What happened?" I asked a little concerned.

"He has been acting shady. I feel like he's hiding something from me and he never hides anything from me." She said with slight sadness floating in her eyes.

"Maybe it's really nothing. Maybe you're just overthinking." I said trying to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Honestly, I thought the same. But then it's not just Newt, Hera. My parents are acting shady as well. I feel like they're all hiding something from me and I hate that I'm left out." She said resting her back against the locker next to mine.

"Why don't you ask Newt about it?"

She gave me a pointed look. "Do you really think he will spill?"

I looked away knowing what the answer to her question is. Newt is never one to crack under pressure. He is sturdy as hell. I looked back at Nina and saw her troubled expression. There really must be something for her to worry this much about it.

"Hey," I said holding her shoulder. "Whatever it is, I'm sure Newt will tell you about it. Put your trust in him, Nina. Don't worry too much, okay?"

She smiled weakly and nodded. "I'm going to get going to help Dad with Mom's clinic appointment. He should be here by now." She said looking at her wristwatch. "I'll see you tomorrow and please ask Newt for a ride home if you stay late. He has lacrosse practice anyway."

"Okay, see you," I said and waved at her as she walked away.

I was about to close my locker when I felt someone's presence beside me. I recognized the strong fragrance that erupts an ache in my head instantly and so, I prepared myself for her annoying self.

"Hey, cous," I said turning to face her.

She smirked. "Hello to you too loser. So, there's this ridiculous rumor going around that you, Hera Hawkins, are hanging out with the Hunter Knight." She stated with disgust apparent on her facial features.

"What are you trying to say, Melanie?" I sighed.

"There is no way Hunter would willingly want to hang around you. What did you do to him, huh? Did you beg on your knees for him or something?" She laughed and looked at her friends behind her. "Can you imagine that? She—being pathetic as usual—begging Hunter to date her? That would totally be Instagram story worthy."

"Just what do you want, Melanie?" I said sounding tired.

"Oh, you know, just letting you know that Hunter Knight is totally out of your league." She stepped closer and fixed her mean gaze on my eyes. "Stop trying so hard to get his attention. It's a little too pathetic. Even for you."

With Melanie giving me constant criticisms all the time about me in general, I have learned—with much struggle—to not take her words to heart over the years. And that's only because Nina has let me see that she just wants to tear me down. Typical Melanie. But this time, her words got to me and I can't seem to shake it away. I always knew that Hunter could never like me back. But hearing it from her just makes it all too real. At that moment, my heart sank.

Melanie placed her hand on my shoulder. "Take it as an advice from your dear cousin. Stop being so damn pathetic." She patted my shoulder and walked away while laughing with her friends.

My spirit felt dejected. I hate myself for being so weak and for listening to Melanie's stupid words. I let Nina enter my head because I knew her voice would get me out of my despairing shell. 'Don't let her get to you, Hera. You're not pathetic. You're not a loser. Stay positive.' She chanted in my head continuously, comforting me.

Needing a distraction, I thought of going to the dance studio to dance. But then I remembered that the dance club is using the studio today. Damn it. I can't go home like this as well.

Then something in my locker caught my attention. One of Us is Next was lying there untouched as if it's waiting for me to continue reading it. I totally forgot that I haven't finished reading it yet. There's my perfect distraction.

I took the book in my hands and closed my locker. Then, I headed to the library so I could read in peace and quiet. As I entered the enormous place, I saw that it was crowded today. That's unusual. I have never seen this many students using the library before.

"Surprising, isn't it?" Emily asked getting my attention.

"Hey, Emily! And yeah. What's the occasion?"

"It starts getting crowded when the exams are nearing. This is the only time I actually see students studying. No offense."

I chuckled. "None taken. I'm just surprised that they would choose to study here instead of their quiet home."

"Some homes don't have a pleasant environment for the kids to study." She said sadly.

I never thought about it like that. I could have never even guessed that. We really never know what people are going through in their lives.

"Oh," I replied not knowing what to say exactly.

"So, what brings you here, dear?" She smiled.

"Oh. Just came here to read." I said showing the paperback to Emily.

"Hunter really got you into reading, huh? The first time you came in here, you looked like a lost puppy."

I laughed out loud. "Yeah, I can't even deny that. But you're right. If it weren't for Hunter, I would've never known that reading is so much fun."

She smiled wide. "I'm happy for you, dear. And Hunter, he's a good kid. I'm happy that you two found each other. God knows he needed someone like you in his life."

"If you don't mind me asking, how long have you known him?" I asked curiously.

"Since his first day in this school. I remember him making such a strong first impression. He didn't ignore my presence like every other freshman. Instead, he came right up to me and started talking about how much he loved reading. I remember thinking 'Did such a kid even exist?'. He was just so kind and pure that I knew he would be an unforgettable one." She smiled fondly at the pleasant memory.

I couldn't help but smile as well. She was right. Hunter really was unforgettable. He had such an impact on everyone, and he doesn't even know it. But I would never tell him that because he would get all smug and smirking.

"That's nice. I'm sure you're unforgettable in Hunter's eyes as well." I said with utmost genuineness.

"You bet I am." She winked. "Okay, okay, I don't want to hold you up any longer. Go and have fun with your reading." She said shooing me away.

I laughed and waved goodbye at her. Then, I proceed to go upstairs to the Young Adult section since there were no empty seats at the tables. I went to the very same aisle I met Hunter at and settled down with my back resting on the wall between the shelves.

I made myself comfortable and plugged in my earpiece to have some low-volume music in the background while I read. I opened the book and continued reading the book from where I left off before. I was right, this was the perfect distraction.

One of Us is Next got more intense chapter by chapter and after going through so many different emotions, I finally reached the last chapter. The last few paragraphs of the last two pages left me dumbstruck. I had to re-read those few sentences a few more times just so that I could let the ending to sink in fully.

What a book!

I closed the book and finally looked up to stretch my neck. That was when I realized that I was not alone. I was ready to jump and scream in surprise when a hand covered my mouth in a solid second as if anticipating my reaction. I pushed his hand away and stared at him in disbelief.

"What the hell, Hunter? Why do you always go around scaring me to death?"

He chuckled and moved his back which was leaning on the shelf to lean on the wall so that he would be beside me. "You're just too easy to scare, Hera."

I rolled my eyes and ignored his remark. "What are you doing here? And how long have you been sitting here?"

"I came to read, obviously. I usually read in this section so imagine my surprise when I saw you in here." He said smirking a little.

"There was no space left at the tables so that's why I'm here. But why didn't you say something?"

"I would never interrupt anyone's reading unless it's really important. I hate to take away someone from the world they get lost in. That's why I just sat there quietly and read my own book." He then moved his gaze to me. "And you didn't even look up once. I've got to say, your focus and concentration are like extremely good."

"Why, thank you, Mr. Knight. I'm honored to have received compliments from you." I said playfully.

He playfully rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot, Hera."

We both laughed at our silliness and then fell into a rather comfortable silence. Having that kind of silence with someone is usually rare. To be comfortable with someone even without speaking. I already have that with Hunter and that awareness surprises me a little.

"You know, there's one thing I don't understand," I asked suddenly thinking about it.

"And what is that?"

"The fact that your uncle owns a whole bookstore and yet you choose to read in the library. Why?" I asked, curiosity piquing.

"Oh. That." He scratched the back of his neck. "Whenever I'm in the bookstore, I'm working. Being at the bookstore is work itself. I could never have any free time there. That's why the library is the better option."

That makes a lot of sense.

"Oh. So, the library is like your second home?" I looked at him with a grin.

"Pretty much." He replied with a smile.

"Emily told me about you, you know."

"She did?"

"Yeah. She told me how you walked right up to her and just started talking about your love of books to her." I saw him redden just a little. So, I decided to tease him a little more. "See? Didn't I tell you that you're such a booknerd? You can't even deny it when all the evidence is pointing at it."

Hunter sighed. "Fine. I admit defeat. I am a booknerd."

I instantly lightened up. "Oh my God! I never thought you would actually admit defeat. But, look at you! You're accepting and embracing who you are. Good for you, Hunter!" I teased even more.

He groaned. "Please stop."

I burst into laughter at his awkward and hilarious state. I don't think I have laughed this much lately. I haven't laughed this much in a very long time, actually. To think that Hunter is the one who brought out this side of me is a little baffling. Hunter of all people.

"You have a nice laugh," Hunter said as I ended my hysterical laughing in an instant.

I looked at him wide-eyed to find his eyes on mine. "What?" I asked again just to make sure if I really heard what I heard.

"I said you have a nice laugh."

A blush unwillingly crept into my cheeks. "Oh. Thanks, I guess."

He chuckled at my reaction and ruffled my hair. "No! My hair! You ruined it!"

It took me a whole hour and thirty minutes to straighten my hair and he freaking ruined that! Curse you, Hunter Knight!

"You still look pretty anyway." He said nonchalantly with his eyes unwavering.

I swallowed my own saliva at his sudden intensity as I processed his words. Did Hunter just call me pretty?

Hold on! This could be just another trick of his. He already trolled me the other day when we were working at the bookstore. He could just laugh in my face again.

"Nope. I'm not falling for that again."

He frowned. "What?"

"You're messing with me. I know. You can stop now." I said suddenly feeling a little annoyed.

"I'm not- What are you talking about?"

"You laughed in my face once. I'm not going to let you do that again." I said crossing my arms.

"What- Oh." His widened as if the realization just hit him. "You think I'm joking?" He asked looking at me, but I avoided his gaze.

"Obviously. I told you. I'm not falling for your tricks again."

Hunter's hand found my chin and he gently tilted my head towards him to face him, making me look him right into his mesmerizing grey eyes. My heart rate picked up its pace at the sudden proximity and intensity between the two of us. What is going on?

"What are you doing?" I asked with a quivering voice.

"Making sure you get the message loud and clear."

"What message?"

"You're beautiful, Hera."

The racing beat of my heart pulsated wildly against my chest as Hunter's words echoed in my ears. He said it with so much confidence and most importantly, he said it like he really meant it.

"This is not a trick, I swear." He said determined to make me believe him.

Hunter found me beautiful? How in the world was that even possible? It can't be possible. I can't help but let my mind go back to Melanie's words.

'Just letting you know that Hunter Knight is totally out of your league. Stop trying so hard to get his attention. It's a little too pathetic. Even for you.'

Hunter is undoubtedly out of my league. I can't even argue with that. He can't possibly think that I'm beautiful. Me. Maybe he pities me because he saw my lack of self-esteem which probably is glaringly obvious. Maybe he finds me pathetic—just like Melanie—and decided to be kind to me by lying to my face.

Suddenly, I didn't want to look at him anymore. His presence was starting to become suffocating and I all wanted to do was get out of here. I pushed his hand away from my chin gently and got on my feet, ready to bolt.

Hunter was taken aback but recovered quickly as he got on his feet as well. I could only take three steps ahead because he grabbed my wrist in a slick movement, preventing me from bolting.

"What happened? Why are you leaving?" He asked confused.

Hunter tried to turn me to face him, but I resisted because I didn't want to look at him and I didn't want him to see my pathetic self. "It's nothing. I have to go. Let me go, please."

"No. Not until you tell me what's wrong. Did I say something wrong? And why won't you look at me, Hera?"

"It's nothing, okay? Just leave it, Hunter!" I said raising my voice just a little as I remembered that we were in the library.

Hunter let go of my hand but didn't let me leave as he came to stand in front of me. He cupped my cheeks and forced me to look into his eyes. I couldn't hide my vulnerable side anymore. Hunter was seeing everything.

"What's wrong, Hera? Tell me." He said softly, melting my heart in the process.

"You're just lying to me. I don't believe you."

"And why don't you believe me?"

"Because you're you and I'm me. You can't possibly find me beautiful. There's just no way." I said with my voice cracking.

After years and years of hearing things like I'm 'ugly', 'plain', 'unattractive', and 'boy-repellent' from my cousin, I can't help but accept it and glue it inside my head. Even before the fallout of her and the twins, Melanie has said those things to me. Just in a nicer way. But after the fallout, she became ruthless.

When my own cousin says that I'm not pretty, I can't help but believe her words. Even her parents have told me the same. Constantly. When they have a daughter like Melanie, obviously I'm nothing. Melanie is the definition of beauty. She is gorgeous and every guy has their eyes on her. Every guy adores her. How can I even compare to her? I can't.

So, when Hunter says that I'm beautiful, it's just ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. I don't want to delude myself into thinking that finally, someone finds the plain me beautiful. I don't want to believe that he's different. Even if I have a stupid crush on him. I'm not letting him make me fall harder for him than I could handle.

"What the hell are you talking about, Hera? You're crazy if you actually think that. Listen to me, okay? Listen very carefully. You. Are. Beautiful. I don't know how you can't see it but you are absolutely beautiful, Hera. Inside and out. You can't prove me otherwise. I don't know what made you believe that you're not but from now on, you're only going to be listening to me. And you're going to let me tell you every single day that you're beautiful. Because that is the truth." Hunter said while wiping my fallen tear with his thumb.

I couldn't find any words to give a reply to him. I was rendered speechless because of his speech. Hunter looked like he was dead serious. The tone of his voice made me believe that he was dead serious. Is this actually happening? Does Hunter really find me beautiful?

I don't know if I should jump in joy because my crush has noticed me or if I should run and hide in a corner because of how pathetic I looked right now.

But the look on Hunter confuses me. His eyes carried an emotion I can't quite name. He was looking at me in a way that made my heart flutter a million times. I have never seen him look at me this way before. He was always guarded and sometimes cold. But it was never this tender.

That was when I realized that the space between us was decreasing ever so slowly. That Hunter was the one who was subtly moving closer to me, lessening the gap second by second.

My heart pounded against my chest as I had a crazy idea about what Hunter was about to do. Is it possible that Hunter feels the same way? With the way he was looking at me and the way he was moving closer to me, I'd say it wasn't entirely impossible.

Just when he was extremely close—taking up all my personal space—he paused. His gaze moved from eyes to my lips and then back to my eyes. His eyes flashing a dash of uncertainty. Then, it hit me. He was asking for my permission.

I almost broke into a grin at this adorable boy. He never fails to surprise me. He wasn't a bad boy. He never was. Hunter was just a really adorable booknerd who made me fall deeper for him unconsciously.

I nodded slightly indicating that it was totally okay for him to kiss me. How can I not be okay with it? Hunter grinned at my action and that made me grin as well. If anyone saw us right now, they would think we're crazy.

Hunter leaned in again and I waited eagerly for his lips to capture mine. He was about to do just that when we heard someone clearing their throat rather loudly. That sound immediately broke us apart, leaving us fully flushed.

"I thought you guys would be different and not do anything unpleasant in this sacred place but I guess humans need to fulfill their desires no matter where they are," said Emily in a mix of sarcasm and tease.

"Oh my God, Emily, you make it sound like we are doing it or something. We're just teenagers for God's sake." Hunter said air-quoting the word 'it'.

"Like that stopped the rest of this school. You have no idea how many people I have caught. Let me tell you there are cameras everywhere." She said putting the emphasis on 'everywhere'.

I cringed in horror and disgust. "You actually saw students doing the you-know-what on camera?"