No Hunter in this chapter. But you'll get to know him better through the eyes of his friends and enemies. Which version of Hunter would you choose to believe?

***

Whispers circulated the room as soon as I stepped inside.

I caught the words: Moriarti Tech, Cain, and balls mentioned several times in hush voices as I made my way to my seat.

Luckily for me, Mr. Charleston wasn't feeling well that day so he didn't have the energy to berate me when I arrived to class thirty minutes late. Unluckily for me, he still had the energy to ask why Hunter wasn't with me.

"I-I don't know, sir." I said, trying to ignore Collin's hoots of mirth. I was starting to suspect the guy was our number one shipper. I wouldn't be surprised if I saw him one day wearing a: "Hunter and Sky is my OTP" shirt.

"It is a shame that Mr. Cole will miss this very important lesson about the exhilarating wonders of Thermodynamics." The professor said.

The irony almost choked me. Thermodynamics is the subject of the relation of heat to forces acting between contiguous parts of bodies, and the relation of heat to electrical agency. I was certain that what Hunter and I did earlier was related to the subject.

I slumped down to my chair.

After our kiss, Hunter said he needed to take care of something, then he stormed out of my sight faster than I could say Physics.

To be honest, it was kind of annoying. What was the point of returning to school when he wouldn't even attend his classes?

I had a feeling he was off to follow Cain, making me crazy curious about the history of those two.

"Cain wants something from Hunter." I blurted out to Shawn who was sitting next to me.

"Obviously." Shawn murmured under his breath. There was something about his tone that made me stop ransacking the inside of my backpack for my notebook and pen.

I looked at him and saw that he was scribbling something that looked nothing like the lecture on board. In fact, it looked very much like an intricate battle plan.

"Are you up to something?" I asked as I eyed his notebook warily.

Shawn put down his pen to give me a steely look.

"I am on my beast mode." He said, he had pen marks all over his face. I was pretty sure that wasn't what beast mode was supposed to look like.

I grabbed a sheet of wet wipes inside my bag and rubbed his face as I raised one of my eyebrows at him inquiringly.

"Should I be worried?" I asked.

Shawn ignored my question but instead moved closer.

"Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself." He hissed. "Do you know that Cain and Maria are the children of Gregory Moriarti, the CEO and president of one of the biggest software company in this country?"

I was too stunned to react. How could I possibly know that? It wasn't like Cain gave me a business card when he stole a kiss from me yesterday. I thought he was just a random Mafia member.

Shawn shook his head and cursed silently.

"Let me guess, Cain's the kiss-thief, right?" He asked.

I nodded. I wasn't surprised to know that he already came up with the right conclusion. It wasn't really rocket science to put two and two together.

"And you mentioned he wants something from Hunter?"

I nodded again.

"It's obvious he has a beef with Hunter. I bet he's here for revenge. What if he wants everything that belongs to Hunter, including you?"

I fought not to roll my eyes upon hearing that.

"Are you serious? I don't belong to Hunter or to any other guy. I belong to me." I said as I went back to rubbing the pen marks off his face.

Shawn pouted and winced.

"I know. But you have to think like a man. Put yourself in Cain's shoes. You're basically Hunter's love interest now. That makes you a target of anyone who hates him."

"I am not Hunter's love interest. I am the main protagonist of this story."

"Yeah, right. But you get the gist. It only means one thing."

I dropped my hand from his face and gave him an exasperated look.

"What?"

"It means war."

War between two dangerous high-schoolers. Great. Throw in vampires and werewolves and this story would basically sound like the freaking Twilight Saga. God forbid I be the Bella Swan. Not a chance in hell.

I turned to Shawn. "We need a plan."

To my surprise, Shawn gave me a cheeky grin.

"I thought you'd never ask."

***

They said that in order to win a war, one must know who their enemies are. Shawn begged to disagree.

"The first step is to know your allies." I remembered him say. "Know their history, their strengths, and their weaknesses. That's the only way we can develop a strategy."

Granted, I couldn't remember if he was talking about our plan or the upcoming League of Legends tournament when he said that but his words stuck to me.

So here I was, seated in front of Rush, casually bombarding him with questions.

"How did you become friends with Hunter?" I asked, pretending to study the music sheet in front of me. He was my partner and we were practicing for our recital on Friday.

I didn't know if I was more nervous about the recital or the fact that I was attempting to make a conversation with Rush St. Clair for the first time.

Rush gave me a curious look beneath the wild, dark curls sprayed over his eyes.

"Why do you ask?" He said, plucking his guitar.

I swallowed.

"Uh, n-nothing. No hidden agenda whatsoever. I just want to get to know you guys better." I stammered.

Rush graced me with one of his seldom, but oh-so-stunning smile.

"I can't remember a time when Hunter and I aren't best friends."

I stopped fidgeting. I didn't expect to hear a serious answer. I forgot I was talking to Rush, who was perhaps the only sane boy out of Hunter's friends.

"That's so sweet." I remarked.

He shrugged.

"Hunter's like a brother to me. I owe him my life."

I could feel the weight of his words and the sincerity laced in it. I always thought Rush was too serious for his own good, but now I realized I was wrong. Rush St. Clair was just honest and sincere to the core. He rarely talks but when he speaks, you could be sure he wouldn't say anything he didn't mean.

That was probably the reason why almost half of the female population in this school were crazy about him. Or maybe it was just because of his incredible good looks.

"It's funny because you always act like his mere presence annoys you." I said.

Rush smiled and shook his head, his curls bouncing over his head.

"That's because he's really annoying."

I had to laugh at that.

"I couldn't agree more." I said, not without fondness.

We stayed quiet for a while, fumbling with our instruments as we tried to perfect our harmony. It wasn't easy to create a melody using only the sounds of violin and guitar but somehow, we made it work. Rush was an amazing guitarist, and it had always been lovely working with him. Music had always bonded us together even before we became friends.

"You know what, I regret not trying to talk to you before when you've always been so nice to me." I told him.

Rush let out a chuckle.

"Maybe because beating up Jared Booth in front of you didn't really put me high on your to-talk-to list." He said.

I almost forgot about that incident. Jared was the biggest bully of our school back in our freshman year... until he caught Rush in a bad mood.

"You totally destroyed him." I said, smiling at the memory.

"He shoved you hard while we were waiting in line at the cafeteria, making you hit my tray of Hunter's food." He explained, grinning.

"Jared's as large as a bulldozer. You were so badass back then." I said, not bothering to hide my admiration.

"I also think you're a badass, Sky. Especially now." Rush said.

I blushed, barely managing to utter my thanks.

Rush put down his guitar and regarded me carefully. He had the face of a rock star; handsome, mysterious, and always slightly morose.

"I don't know what Cain did to you," he said. "But I'm sure he deserved being kicked in the nuts. Be careful of him, okay?" His midwinter blue eyes were piercing but I could see the concern hidden in their depths.

I nodded. I tried to stop the question from coming out of my mouth but my curiosity got the best of me.

"What happened to Cain and Hunter?"

Rush hesitated for a second.

"They were friends before but they had a bad fall out."

I noticed how he deliberately avoided eye contact when he said that.

"I have a feeling there's more to it than just a simple fall out." I told him.

Rush's gaze turned sympathetic.

"I want to tell you everything, I swear. But I'm not sure if I'm the right person to do that. Just give Hunter some time, okay? He'll tell you everything as soon as he's ready."

His words only made me more intrigued. I wanted to grill him with questions and make him answer me but I stopped myself. If there was one thing I learned about Hunter and his friends, it was that they were fiercely loyal to each other. It was admirable and annoying at the same time.

I let out a deep sigh.

"Okay." I said.

I just hoped that when Hunter finally decided to tell me, it wouldn't be too late.

***

Rush and I had too much fun practicing our piece that I forgot I still had Philosophy after.

"Oh, God. Professor Mavericks will kill me." I murmured as I struggled to put my violin in its case. I could almost imagine the old bat cheerfully disemboweling me. I wouldn't put it past her. I always suspected the myth about monsters under our beds started when she was born.

"You still have enough time." Rush said. He knew enough of Professor Mavericks to understand my fear. "Go, I'll take care of this." He snatched the violin from my hand.

I was so thankful, I felt like hugging him.

"Thanks, Rush. See you at lunch!" I yelled as I hurried out of the room.

I sprinted towards the other side of the school where we held our Philosophy class. The hallways were now more or less deserted since I was running late again. As I turned towards the next corridor, I was greeted by a sight of a student's body lying motionless on the floor.

I stifled a growl. Just my luck. Nothing like a dead body to officially make this day my worst ever.

I wouldn't lie, my first instinct was to flee from the scene before anyone could accuse me of being a murderer but I managed to gather my wits.

Heart beating wildly, I ran towards the probably-dead boy. I knelt, thinking that I could still save whoever it was. I knew how important first aid was on emergency situations so I was hoping against hope that I could put my years of being a volunteer medic into good use.

The boy was lying on his side, his back was on me so I gently grabbed him by the shoulder and carefully rolled him over.

"What the hell." I cussed out of shock when I saw who it was.

It was Cal.

Worry instantly coursed through me. Hands shaking, I grabbed his right hand and put two fingers over his wrist. His pulse was normal and he didn't show any sign that he was hurt but I didn't let myself relax. He could be suffering from internal hemorrhage for all I know.

"Cal!" I said, trying to conceal the panic from my voice.

As if on cue, Cal opened his eyes and frowned.

"What?" He said in an emotionless voice.

"Are you okay?" I inquired as I ran my eyes over his body to check for any injury.

Cal sat up.

"Yes."

"But... but... You were lying on the floor and not moving so I... I thought you're dead." I said, feeling like I would cry out of relief.

Cal ran his fingers over his tousled, bronze hair then his gaze darted to my face.

"I was walking towards my next class, then I suddenly felt sleepy." He explained.

"So you decided to just sleep on the floor in the middle of the hallway?" I asked incredulously.

Cal nodded and it baffled me how he was able to keep a straight face despite the situation.

I slumped on the ground beside him, suddenly feeling drained as the adrenaline rush I felt earlier slowly subsided.

I was relieved and annoyed at the same time. I was thankful nothing bad actually happened to him but I also felt a strong desire to smack him in the head for making me worry.

"Next time, try to find a more private place to sleep in, will you?" I told him.

"Thanks for waking me up." I heard him say, sounding like he was about to fall asleep again.

"No problem." I said, sighing. I sneaked a peek at him and saw he was also looking at me. I held his gaze, allowing myself to study his face closely for the first time.

He was probably the most gorgeous guy in this school. Yes, even more gorgeous than Hunter, Parker, and Rush combined, but Cal lacked the warmth and vibrancy of his friends.

His eyes were stormy gray, two pits of unfathomable depths that never betrayed any trace of human emotion other than boredom. It wasn't the first time I pondered how he became like this.

"Cal?" I said.

"Hmmm?"

"Why are you always sleepy?"

Cal's stony expression didn't change. He continued staring at me with those dead eyes of his.

"I'm conserving my energy." He said.

"For what?"

"It takes a lot of energy to deal with people's bullshit."

Before I knew it, I found myself clutching my stomach, laughing hysterically. I probably looked like a mad woman right now but I couldn't help myself. It was just so hilarious.

"What's so funny?" Cal asked, still poker faced.

I was still smiling when I answered him.

"You are so right."

"I'm always right." He said without arrogance. He sounded like he was merely stating a fact.

Speaking of arrogance, I suddenly remembered that Cal and Hunter both had English Lit for their next class.

"Where is Hunter?" I asked, eyes darting around, expecting Hunter would suddenly popped out of one of the rooms screaming: Boo!

Cal shrugged.

"Hunter needs to fix his shit." he simply said.

That erased the smile on my face.

"What do you mean?"

Cal looked up the ceiling and closed his eyes.

"I told him keeping secrets won't do him much good. Turns out I'm right again."

"I don't understand." I said.

"There's only one thing you need to understand, Skylar," he said, opening his eyes to look at me. "Hunter will do everything to protect the people he cares about... even if betray them if he has to."

***

I spent the entire Philosophy class replaying my conversation with Cal. I was burning with so many questions that I struggled to remain on my seat. I tried busying myself with the ten page reaction paper Professor Mavericks instructed us to write but I couldn't concentrate. Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy didn't seem so important right now.

I wanted to talk to Shawn and pick on his thoughts but I didn't want to risk it with Professor Mavericks around. It was a good thing she was also late so I narrowly avoided being skewered like a human kebab but I didn't want to press my non-existent luck.

When the class ended, I hastened towards Shawn only to be stopped by Professor Mavericks' squeaky voice.

"Ms. Davies?"

I winced as I turned around to face the old hag. Her frog-like eyes bulged as she regarded me through her cat-eye shaped glasses.

"The principal wants you to proceed to room 406, dear." She said. I didn't know what was more creepy, her smile or the pastel pink cardigan she was currently wearing.

I swallowed hard. "Y-yes, mam."

I glanced helplessly at Shawn only to see him giving me a look that says he wished my death would at least be painless.

"I'll wait for you at the cafeteria." He said then waved me farewell.

I wanted to stomp my feet on the ground and have an epic meltdown. I felt like a character in one of those clichéd YA books where the asshole authors just wouldn't give their main protagonists a break.

My feet felt like they were encased in cement as I trudged up the stairs. I didn't even know why the principal wanted me to go to room 406. As far as I knew, all the rooms on the fourth floor of the school building weren't of used. They said the 4th floor was haunted. With my luck, I might end up being a human sacrifice to some kind of a demonic ritual.

I was panting when I finally reached the top of the stairs. The principal better had something good waiting for me at room 406 or else I might finally snap.

My heart pounded as I stopped in front of the room. I dreaded what waited for me behind the close door. Taking a deep breath, I knocked.

The door opened with a silent screech. For one dramatic moment, I couldn't see what was in front of me because I was greeted by a blinding light. As my eyes adjusted to my surrounding, I felt my jaw dropped.

The abandoned classroom was transformed into what looked like a five michelin star restaurant.

The glass windows were slightly ajar, making the golden curtains draped at the sides sway lazily. The walls were covered with elegant, textured wallpapers. Expensive looking vases were adorned with flower arrangements of ruby-red dahlias, lilac, blue veronica and aster.

The interior brightness matched the natural light coming from the outside, making the atmosphere cool and relaxed.

In the middle of the room, was a large, round table and seated on the shiny oak chairs were the five exchange students from St. Mary Montessori Academy.

I was surprised to see Roe among them. Roe's expression brightened upon seeing me.

"Sky!"

She rose from her seat to meet me at the door. She grabbed me by the arm and ushered me onto the empty seat beside her.

"I'm so happy you can join us for lunch." She said, looking genuinely pleased.

I grimaced.

"W-why am I here?" I asked her.

"Yes, that's what I wanna know too." Maria's cold voice cut whatever Roe was about to say. She turned towards her brother who was seated at her right side. "Why is she here?"

Cain smiled.

"My dear sister, there's nothing wrong with making new friends," He said, his silver eyes trained on me. "Right, Skylar?"

"Are you a masochist or something?" I snapped at him.

My reaction only widened his smile.

"Maybe you'll find out soon." He said, not bothering to hide the sexual innuendo.

I scowled at him. "You think you're cool, but you're just room temperature."

That only made him laugh in amusement.

Maria looked surprised to see her brother laughing. She took one look at me, scrunched up her face, then rolled her eyes.

Charming as ever.

"Why is there a fine dining restaurant here at the fourth floor?" I inquired curiously, making it a point to ask the most important question.

Seth let out a jolly laugh.

"Students at St. Mary Montessori have a very delicate constitution. You can say we have a sensitive stomach." He said, clearly enjoying an inside joke.

"In other words, we don't like the shitty food being served at your shitty cafeteria." Maria translated, putting an emphasis on the word, shitty.

I knew I shouldn't take it as a personal insult but I still felt offended. This was my school cafeteria they were calling shitty! Granted, it was partly true but they shouldn't be quick to judge unless they've already tried our special falafel.