"Ouch! Can you be more careful? It hurts." Hunter complained when I dared try to put the ice-pack on his left eye which was now beginning to show an ugly, purplish bruise.

I dropped my hand and sighed impatiently.

"Don't be such a cry baby; your black eye doesn't even look that serious." I lied. The truth was, he looked like he just got mugged by four druggies in a dark alleyway somewhere in Detroit. Yep, it was that bad. Not that I was going to admit that to him. He already looked pretty wounded as it was, though I had a feeling his ego hurts more than the black eye.

He snatched the icepack from my hand.

"I am not a cry baby. I am the most manly man I know." He said, moaning quietly as he held the icepack against his eye.

I somehow found that hilarious but I didn't want him to think that I was some kind of a psychopath who enjoyed seeing him in pain so I bit my lower lip to hide the smile that was threatening to come out.

"You know what, the black eye kinda suits you. It compliments your bad boy persona really well." I said, making a feeble attempt to make him feel better.

He eyed me suspiciously.

"Is that true?"

"Yes! Why would I lie to you?" I let out a nervous laugh. White lies weren't really considered as real lies, right?

"This black eye doesn't make me look like the Kung Fu panda, does it?" he asked expectantly.

I grimaced.

"Of course not! Uhm, maybe just a tiny bit..." I started to say but immediately stopped when I saw his expression changed from hopeful to devastated in a span of a millisecond.

Oh, no! He looked like he was going to cry! I needed to salvage the situation, pronto!

"But Pandas are great, right?" I blurted out, forcing a big smile on my face. "They're so chill. They're like, racism is stupid, I'm white, black and Asian." I joked lamely.

Too late though because the big baby was already trashing on the clinic bed, kicking his legs in the air like he was an oversized five year old brat throwing a fit.

"God, why?! Why did you allow a certain heartless person to damage your perfect creation? How can I face the world now looking like a freaking panda bear?! My life is ruined!" He shouted, sobbing loudly as he covered his face with his hands.

I couldn't believe this was Hunter talking. I didn't know he was this vain. I always thought he was the type who didn't care about his looks, what's with his unruly hair which I was sure had never been introduced to a comb, and his carefree way of dressing. Now he was throwing a tantrum all because he had a black eye. Yeah, right. Manliest thing ever.

And what was his problem with pandas anyway? They were so cute and looked so huggable... Like him.

Go away, you stupid pheromones!

"Well, it's your fault for being such a pervert!" I snapped at him. "If you didn't harass me, we wouldn't be here in the first place!"

I folded my arms over my chest and willed myself not to blush as I remembered the events that landed us here inside the school clinic.

***

30 minutes earlier...

"Why? Are you now ready for a kiss?" he asked.

Holy guacamole!

I was born ready! The slutty part of me screeched excitedly while the righteous part screamed: Drown yourself in a drum of holy water, you promiscuous tramp!

Jeez, I was such a psycho.

Hunter, unaware of the battle waging inside my head, gazed at me with unreadable eyes. His thumb reached out to touch my lower lip and I couldn't help but quiver from his touch. Being this close to him was startling, causing an array of sensations to zing through. It was scary and exhilarating at the same time.

"Breathe, buddy." Hunter chuckled, eyes darkened and looking sexy as hell.

My eyes widened when I saw how close his lips were.

Oh, God. He was really going to kiss me now! For real! I bet he knew how to kiss. Perfect kisses too, ones that weren't wet and icky, but the kind that curled toes.

I needed to stop looking at his lips.

He bent his head towards me, and my scumbag brain chose that exact moment to go on a lunch break. Yep, I literally saw a "BRB" sign plastered on my frontal lobe.

I began to panic. I wasn't exactly trained for this kissing stuff. I meant, come on! My first and only kiss was a freaking mouth-to-mouth resuscitation! No one could ever consider that as a sufficient training in the lip-locking department.

Oh, hell. What if I sucked at kissing? My heart sank at the thought.

Hello, brain? You there? I need a plan here! I plead internally.

Silence.

Brain had already packed up and decided it was done for the day. Reflex took over. It sensed how dangerous my situation was and decided that Hunter was a threat to my virtue. It began sending commands to the different parts of my body, commando style:

Lungs! Do your work and start breathing again, you lazy motherfucker! Skull, give that dangerous man a headbutt! Fists, try to punch him if you get the chance! Legs, kick him on the crotch! Oh, shut up, you heart! You're fired!

Everything happened so fast. The next thing I knew, my head was already slamming itself full force on Hunter's face. He stumbled backwards on the impact. Fists and legs wanted to punch and kick but thankfully, scumbag brain decided to make a comeback and stopped them before they could execute reflex' evil plan.

"Ouch, shit!" I heard Hunter cursed in pain, cupping his left eye with his hand.

"Oh my God." I said in disbelief. What have I done?

I immediately ran towards Hunter. I winced when I saw the bruise slowly forming on the skin around his left eye. I began to panic.

"A-are you okay? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" I said, almost on the verge of crying. Brain was already threatening me with cases of assault and battery.

"Jeez, woman, you are so violent." Hunter whimpered,

obviously still lightheaded from the force of the headbutt.

"I'm really so sorry! I just... panicked and all! I'm so stupid!"

"Why are you shouting?" Said Hunter, eyeing me as if he thought I just lost my mind.

"I don't know! Come on, let me take you to the clinic." I took one of his arm, put it around my shoulder and almost dragged him towards the clinic. I was real worried. My dad was a neurologist and I grew up with him always telling me how serious head injuries were. What if he had a concussion? It was all my fault!

Hunter didn't say anything but I thought I heard him chuckled quietly. His face was somber when I glanced at him so I guessed I just imagined the whole thing.

"You two had a lover's quarrel?" The school nurse inquired as soon as she saw us entered the clinic.

"No." I said at the same time Hunter said "Yes."

I shot him annoyed look.

"We are not having a lover's quarrel!" I said, emphasizing every word.

"Yes we were." Hunter insisted stubbornly.

"First, we are not lovers, and second, I'm going to give you another black eye if you don't shut up." I threatened.

Hunter clasped his head and whimpered dramatically.

"Ugh, I suddenly feel nauseous, my head... It hurts..." He said in a pained voice.

Forgetting my annoyance, I came to his side and held his hand. Guilt, anxiety and fear coursing through me.

"Where does it hurt?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm but I knew I wasn't doing a great job. I was panicking inside. "Nurse, please help him!" I cried out. "Call 911 or my dad. He can help us fix his head." I rambled.

The nurse rolled her eyes.

"Relax kid. It's just a black eye." She prodded Hunter on the back.

"And you, stop acting. It couldn't have hurt that much."

Hunter looked up and gave the nurse a mischievous smile.

"Sorry, Ms. Heigl. I'm just enjoying seeing my girlfriend fuss about me." He said with a wink.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You're a jerk. And I'm not your girlfriend!" I said, angry and relieved at the same time.

"I meant, a friend that is a girl. You're the one there thinking about something else." Hunter said with the most innocent expression he could muster.

God, give me patience.

"But if you want it to be that way, you just have to say please." Hunter added seductively.

I ignored him and instead faced the nurse who looked rather amused at our banter.

"Ms. Heigl, I think he needs to be lobotomized. I can help." I suggested, making the nurse laugh.

"We don't have to be that drastic. But I'll keep that in mind." She said.

Ms. Heigl examined Hunter's left eye and assured us he was not going to die anytime soon. She then gave us the icepack and shooed us towards the other door where two hospital beds were located.

***

Present...

My reminiscing was interrupted when I heard Hunter chewing something beside me. I looked up and saw him munching on a bar of Kitkat, a big smile plastered on his face and not a trace of tears in his eyes.

"You weren't crying?" I asked, half confused and half annoyed.

And where did that KitKat came from, anyway? How dare him not to give me any!

"Of course not. It's just a black eye. I had worse when I was still in the CIA." He shrugged then took another bite off the KitKat.

"And just to set things straight, I actually love pandas. I have a thing for Asian stuff." He gave me an adorable wink.

I grabbed the KitKat from his hand, took the other pillow on the bed and slap it on his face.

"You moron! You had me so worried!" I scowled. I devoured the remaining contents of his chocolate in one bite to show him how mad I was.

Hunter just laughed and pinched me on both cheeks.

"You're so cute when you're worried, do you know that?"

Blushing, I moved my face away from his hold.

"You're such a pervert." I mumbled.

He gave me a cute pout.

"Stop saying that. I wasn't really going to kiss you. I was just teasing." He said, murmuring about women and their violent tendencies under his breath.

"Your face was inches away from me!" I exclaimed, cheeks burning from embarrassment at the memory.

Hunter stopped pouting and gave me an alluring smile. He leaned closer and looked at me with unblinking eyes.

"Believe me, our first kiss will be something you won't forget. It will be the most epic kiss in the history of epic first kisses. And I assure you, it won't happen in just some random deserted classroom. You deserved better than that." He said with an intensity that made the temperature in the room rose by several degrees.

His eyes turned into a deep shade of violet and I knew deep in my heart that he really meant what he said. I almost blurted out that we already had our first kiss and he was completely catatonic at that time but I managed to stop myself.

Before I could say anything embarrassing, the door flew open, revealing a surprised Heather.

"Oops! Sorry. Am I interrupting something?" She asked, taking note of how close Hunter and I were. A look of something flashed her eyes, jealousy? Hurt? Fear? I wasn't entirely sure.

I quickly scooted away from Hunter.

"No, of course not." I said, giving her a shy smile.

"What's up, Heath?" Hunter raised an arm to greet her.

Her eyes widened upon seeing Hunter's face.

"Oh, God, what happened to you?" She sprinted towards him, looking really concerned. She sat on the other side of the bed so Hunter was between us.

"You okay?"

She was about to run a hand on Hunter's cheek but stopped abruptly as if she just remembered she wasn't supposed to do those kinds of things anymore.

Hunter took Heather's hand that stopped mid-air and held it in his.

"I'm okay." I heard him say and I had a feeling that he wasn't just referring to his black eye. I couldn't see the expression on his face because he was facing Heather but I detected a tinge of sadness in his voice.

For a moment, none of them spoke. They just looked at each other, communicating silently with their eyes. The air was heavy with tension coming out of the two of them. And for the second time that day, I felt like I was an intruder. But this time, I couldn't look away.

Watching them being this close, I couldn't help but notice how good they look together. They were once the school's golden couple, the kind of couple that everyone thought would be together forever. I remembered how devoted Hunter had been to her. He never looked at other girls when they were still dating. That was why no one had ever tried to flirt with Hunter back then even though he had many admirers. They knew Hunter wouldn't even glance at them. He was head over heels in love with Heather.

I didn't know why, but my heart felt heavy watching the two of them now. I felt somewhat... Hurt.

I thought Hunter and Heather were okay. I thought they'd already moved on. But from the looks of it, it seemed like there were still unfinished businesses going on between the two of them.

I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to get out of there.

I let out a fake cough to remind them that I was still there. Heather was the first one to recover. She casually took her hand from Hunter's grip and smiled at me as if nothing happened.

"Did you do this to him?" She asked in a false cheery voice.

"Yes, but it was an accident." I said lamely. I glimpsed at Hunter and I saw him staring at me, his gaze calculating as if he was worried about my reaction.

"I just want to say that you did a great job. Hunter needs a little bashing on the head every now and then." She teased, nudging Hunter on his side.

Hunter rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, Heath. Why are you here, anyway?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm actually looking for Sky. Shawn is already at the Parking lot, waiting for you. You're not answering your phone so he got worried and asked for our help." She explained.

I immediately looked at my wrist-watch upon hearing what Heather said and was surprised to see that it was already six o'clock. My PE class ended an hour ago, no wonder Shawn was worried. I was supposed to ride shotgun with him on the way home since he volunteered to help me pack for tomorrow's camping trip.

"Thanks for reminding me. I gotta go find Shawn." I told them.

Hunter got up from the bed and grabbed my arm as I turned towards the door.

"Let me take you home." He said.

I looked at the hand holding me, afraid to see the expression on his face.

"No, thanks. Shawn's already waiting for me." I said in a voice that came out harsher than what I intended.

I jerked my hand from his hold and quickly dashed out of the room, leaving Hunter and Heather on their own.

***

"So when you left, I mustered the courage to approach her. I went to her table and asked her if she likes Harry Potter. She told me she did. And I told her, "That's nice". She smiled at me and I thought, wow! She's really pretty! But then, she asked me if I like Harry Potter too. You know how much I hated that series, so I told her no because Harry Potter sucks and Star Wars is the best fandom. She got really mad and went on to say how Star Wars fans are all hipsters and weirdos. Can you believe that? She insulted my great fandom! I couldn't just let her get away with that! So I told her that Potterheads are childish and that Dumbledore is gay, and she just went completely psycho. She poured her icecream on my shirt and walk out of the Fudge!"

Shawn said in a single breath, finally voicing out his frustrations. I tried to keep a straight face throughout his ramblings but burst out laughing in the end, anyway.

Shawn never told me what happened to him and Natalie when I left them at the Fudge. He always avoided the question whenever I tried to ask him about it. But now, I finally got him to confess. I didn't want to think about my own problems so I pestered him with his starting on the ride home, up until we arrived at my room.

And here I was, laughing at my best friend's epic fail. I felt horrible but I couldn't help myself. It was just so hilarious. No wonder Natalie couldn't so much as glance at him.

"Come on, don't just laugh there! I need your girly advice here." Shawn said, throwing a crumpled sock at my face.

We were both sitting on my bed, folding up the clothes I'd bring for tomorrow's trip. It was an overnight thing so I had to pack a change of clothes and some other stuff I couldn't leave without.

I stopped laughing and gave him a serious look.

"Well, if I were her, I will also do the same thing. How could you insult Dumbledore!" I told him.

"It wasn't an insult. Dumbledore is gay. JK Rowling said so herself."

"But you still accused her fandom of being childish. I think you should apologize to her."

Shawn huffed and gave me an incredulous look.

"Why would I do that? She's the one who poured an ice cream on my shirt. My mom almost killed me when she saw the stain and hid my PSP for a whole week! She should apologize to me." He said stubbornly.

I could only imagine how terrible it was for him. Mrs. Montgomery was a sweet woman, but she was a neat freak. She had a personal vendetta agains dirt, stains and germs, and anyone who managed to infect her house or belongings with any of those would have hell to pay.

"I still think you should make the first move if you want to get close to her. I know you like her, you're just too stubborn to admit it." I murmured, putting my toiletries inside the secret pocket of my bag.

Shawn was quiet for a while as he folded my pajamas. We were comfortable enough with each other that seeing each other's under garments doesn't embarrass us anymore.

"Why don't you try to talk to her tomorrow? Pen said there was a lake near the camp site. Bring her there and apologize. I'm sure the romantic ambiance will soften her heart." I suggested. This made his eyes sparkled with excitement.

"You know what, Sky, that's actually not a bad idea." He said, looking at me as if he couldn't believe I would come up with a brilliant plan. "I always thought you don't have a romantic bone in your body. Good thing Hunter's rubbing off on you."

I frowned as soon as I heard Hunter's name. The image of him and Heather holding hands still burned inside my mind and it just puts me in a bad mood.

"Do you think Hunter will ever move on from Heather?" I asked Shawn, trying to sound nonchalant about it.

Shawn frowned.

"Definitely. Why do you ask?"

I shrugged.

"I just think Hunter hasn't completely moved on from Heather yet. I mean, he had been in love with her for years. It's hard to move on from something like that." I said, trying to hide the hurt in my voice.

Shawn put the pajamas inside my bag.

"Really? I don't think so." I heard him mumbled.

"Huh?"

Shawn sighed and looked at me.

"Let me ask you something, if you really love a person and you two are actually dating, will you hold hands in public?" He asked.

I didn't know where he was going with this but I nodded.

"Will you kiss him in front of your schoolmates? Or hug him, or at least be sweet to him?"

"If I'm really in love then, yes, probably. Couples do that all the time." I said. Still not getting the point.

Shawn snapped his fingers.

"Exactly. Now, let me ask you, throughout the years Hunter and Heather dated, did you see them kiss or hug or even hold hands in public?"