"I swear, those boys are going to be the death of me!" Pen said as she anxiously stepped inside Parker's ginormous mansion of a house. My mouth literally hung open when I found out this was where Parker lived.

A man in his late forties wearing a butler outfit led us inside the mansion. Yup, take that: A real, live butler. Not just that, I could see a couple of maids in complete uniform, dusting what seemed to be portraits of Parker's ancestors that were hanging on the wall.

I was shookt.

Parker was known as our school's casanova but he was always so down to earth. It was easy to forget that he was a Fray, one of the oldest and wealthiest family in this town. I frowned when I remembered all the snacks he stole from my food tray. With all this wealth around him, he could easily buy the whole school if he wanted to! Hell, the chandelier hanging in the middle of this house looked even more expensive than an Ivy league school tuition fee.

"I wish Hunter will stop diving head first into trouble." Heather sighed. They were friends with Parker for a long time now so unlike me, none of this extravagance surprised them anymore.

I could hear the sound of our shoes as they hit the marbled floor. My old, worn out chucks looked so out of place. I felt like the floor deserved nothing less than a Manolo Blahnik or a Louis Vuitton. Everything looked so expensive so I tried to pay more attention to my surroundings to avoid hitting something that would surely cost me my entire life savings.

"Hunter is trouble personified." Natalie said in exasperation.

We were now climbing up the carpeted grand staircase to get to the second floor and hearing them talk was starting to make the insides of my stomach coiled with fear.

Hunter's declaration of war against Cain caused a whole lot of buzz and excitement not just in our school but also in St. Mary Montessori. Someone took a video of what happened at the cafeteria and it quickly went viral. Bets were now being placed left and right and the stakes were high. If there was one thing teenagers liked more than themselves, it was drama; and a war between Hunter and Cain was something none would want to miss.

The female members of Hunter's squad weren't happy though. Pen rushed up to my house earlier after dinner to drag my ass here at Parker's place where the boys were currently at. They were hoping I could help convince Hunter to abort mission and just look for a more peaceful way of resolving his conflict with Cain. I wasn't sure if I was up to the task. To be honest, I was out of my wits right now. I agreed to go on a date with Cain to avoid more conflict but it seemed like it just caused the opposite effect.

Hunter's chances of winning a war against Cain was slim to none. It was a war that would be very difficult to win.

The butler stopped in front of a closed door.

"Master Parker and his friends are inside, Ms. Penelope." He nodded politely at us, gesturing at the door. It felt so weird hearing someone call Parker master. I was sure if Parker heard someone call any of us "master", he wouldn't miss the opportunity to crack some crappy BDSM joke. That was just the kind of person he was.

"Thank you, Mr. Clifford." Pen said. She opened the door and we saw the boys lounging nonchalantly inside. The room looked like Hunter's secret lair. It screamed boys' room everywhere I looked.

"Hello there!" Parker greeted us with a goofy smile. He was playing Mario Cart against the stoic Cal, whom, to my surprise, was awake. Shawn was in front of a computer, typing something. Natalie walked towards him and gave him a sweet back hug.

I glanced beside me and saw Rush on Heather's side. He gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Hi, babe." He said, then he turned to smile at us. I smiled at him in return.

My eyes travelled around the room and landed on Hunter. He was sitting on the couch, a whole box of pizza on his lap. I never thought someone could look so sexy even with pizza sauce all over their lips. I suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to wipe his mouth... using my own mouth.

Stop thinking dirty thoughts, Skylar!

My indecent thoughts were interrupted when I heard his voice.

"Did you bring food?"

I could almost hear the sound of several pair of eyes rolling. Typical Hunter greeting.

"You're already wolfing down a whole box of pizza. What do you need more food for?" Pen closed the door and marched inside. I followed behind her.

"I'm hoping you brought desserts."

"You know why we're here." Pen said. She sat on the sofa beside Heather and Rush.

I chose to sit on the bean bag a few feet away from Hunter and I saw how his mouth curled up in amusement because of that. Well, what did he expect? I wasn't about to go lovey dovey with him when I just agreed to go on a date with some other man right in front of him. Things were definitely awkward between us right now.

"I actually don't have an idea." Hunter said to Pen but his eyes were still on me.

I averted my eyes and pretended to be interested in the Mario Cart battle on the screen.

"Declaring a war against Cain is a stupid idea." Pen said.

Hunter didn't look too affected. He tilted his head to the side and regarded Pen thoughtfully.

"Why do you say so?"

Natalie was the one who answered for Pen.

"You know better than anyone else here how it isn't a good idea to make a Moriarti your enemy." She said sternly. "Are you out of your goddamned mind?"

Shawn's eyes widened upon hearing her cursed. That was the first time we ever heard sweet Natalie giving Hunter a piece of her mind. It was usually Pen or Heather who does that.

Heather nodded in agreement with Natalie.

"Nat is right and it's not just because Cain is a Moriarti." She said, her eyes calculating. "Whereas you're a gifted hacker, Cain is the expert when it comes to security softwares. He is basically your kryptonite."

Natalie crossed her arms in front of her chest. She looked worried and scared. For her to call Hunter out like that, I realized she must have really cared for him deeply.

"I also did a little bit of research and found out that Seth Rivers is also a computer genius like you, Hunter. He is a prodigy and there are talks saying that his hacking skills are on same level as yours."

"No wonder that little runt acted like he can just simply steal someone else's banana like it's nothing!" Parker exclaimed.

Everybody wished he would finally move on from that freaking banana incident. Honestly.

"Cain has all the resources you don't have, Hunter. He has money, power and influence." Heather stated.

Rush who was busy reading something on his phone, snorted. The three girls simultaneously threw him sharp looks. He raised both of his hands in surrender.

"Whoah, wait. I'm not about to argue." Rush said before giving them a charming smile.

Heather raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh yeah? So what was that snort for?" She challenged.

"Babe, Hunter has been a way for two years. Maybe you're forgetting what he's capable of." Rush said.

Silence fell inside the room.

My curious eyes met Hunter's. He caught me looking at him and winked. I felt my breath hitched.

Parker decided to give up on the game and sat beside Hunter.

"There is absolutely no reason to be worried." Parker said as he reached out to grab a slice of pizza out of Hunter's box. "Cain has money. I have money. Cain has power. Rush has power too. Cain is influential, Cal is too. Hunter isn't going to fight this war alone. We will even out the field for him. But you know what Hunter has that Cain doesn't?"

All of us girls shook our heads.

Parker smiled.

"Hunter has CIA training. So it means he's one sneaky motherfucker."

I felt an overwhelming fondness for the boys. What they had was definitely #friendshipgoals. They always tease and punch each other a lot but it was nice to know that they would always have each other's back.

I didn't want us peace-loving girls to lose this argument though without Hunter hearing what I was about to say.

I coughed to get everyone's attention.

"The girls are right." I lifted my chin and looked at Hunter straight in the eyes. "We're all graduating students here. We should focus more on our studies to get to the university of our dreams. This whole war with Cain would be nothing but a distraction. You should concentrate on more important things rather than your fight with an old friend."

A cheeky smile quickly appeared on Hunter's face. He put both arms on his knees and leaned down.

"Not when that old friend is clearly trying to steal my girl." He said.

I felt like all the blood in my body got trapped in my cheeks.

"I'm not your girl!" I blurted out, willing my blush to go away.

"You're right. It's the other way around. I'm your boy toy."

That rendered me speechless. Why did he have to say that in front of our friends? How was I supposed to hide my flaming cheeks now?

"I can't believe I have to witness this cheesy exchange." Cal sighed. He slumped on one of the bean bags and closed his eyes.

"Don't mind Cal. Just keep going, you two." Parker said, giving me teasing looks. "The sexual tension between the two of you is more intense than any scene in Fifty Shades of Grey."

Heather threw a pillow at him and it hit him in the face.

"You're disgusting."

Parker laughed before throwing the pillow back at Heather.

"Why are you all here, anyway?" I asked loudly to stir the topic away from us.

Hunter shrugged.

"Cain finally made his first move. He cut the power in my house to make sure I wouldn't be able to use my computer." He said nonchalantly.

"What?" All of us girls exclaimed in unison.

"Ugh! I knew this is going to happen!" Pen slapped her forehead in frustration and I felt like doing the same thing. A hacker was no use without his computer. How would Hunter fight him now?

"But... aren't your parents home? What will they say if they find out?" I asked.

"I'm living alone at the moment. My parents are in Paris for their art exhibit and wouldn't be back until the end of the month."

Okay, so that explained why he was alone when I first visited their house and why he looked so sad watching me with my mom and dad. He surely missed his parents.

"But still, what will they say if they arrive next month and find your house in complete darkness?"

Hunter gave me a toe-curling smile.

"My dear Skylar, have a little faith."

He then stood up and walked towards Shawn. He peered on the screen of the computer and smiled.

"You did great man!" Hunter said, tapping Shawn on the back.

"It's nothing." Shawn's cheeks reddened and he looked extremely proud of himself. He stood up and exchanged positions with Hunter. Now Hunter was in control of the computer and he quickly morphed into his hacker persona.

I held my breath. I would never ever get used to the sight of him while he is in his hacker mode. The slight tilt of his mouth, the ever-so-present mischievous glint in his eyes, the way his dimple deepened whenever he found something amusing... all of it fascinated me. I realized this man would always take my breath away. I would always be amazed by him.

The realization of how much I wanted him hit me hard.

God, I love him.

I suddenly regretted agreeing to go on a date with Cain. Now everything was awkward and I hated this feeling.

"What are you up to?" Pen asked, watching Hunter curiously.

"I have a question." Hunter said, instead of answering Pen's question. His eyes were still on the computer screen and his fingers never stopped typing.

"What is it?" It was Heather who asked.

"What do you think is considered the greatest threat our world is facing today?"

All of us looked at each other in confusion.

"Terrorism?" Pen guessed.

"Gun violence?" Natalie asked.

"Fruit thieves!" Parker suggested.

"Noisy people." Cal murmured.

"All wrong." Hunter's attention was still on the screen even when he said that. The tone of his voice shifted into something darker. "It's cyber warfare, my friends. And you're going to see a small scale version of how dangerous that is." He clicked something on the keyboard and let out a victorious smile.

***

I just got home when I caught a snippet of the evening news.

I quickly dashed to the living room and almost gave my dad a heart attack.

"Dad! Turn up the volume, please!"

The remote almost slipped out of my dad's grip because of shock.

"Honey, what's wrong?" He asked as his fingers fumbled over the volume.

I wasn't able to answer his question because my eyes were glued on the TV screen.

"Breaking News: Moriarti Tech's building was suddenly engulfed in darkness for about fifteen minutes due to an unexplainable power failure. Company representatives denied hacking suspicions and insisted the problem was with the power lines."

A respectable looking man in his early thirties appeared on screen. The name tag below the screen said he was Moriarti Tech's spokesperson, Roger Felipe.

"There is no hacking incident. That's completely absurd." Roger said. He looked relaxed and composed. He even chuckled when he said the word absurd as if such an idea was laughable.

There was no way a software company specializing in antivirus would admit they had been a victim of a hacking incident. It would surely be the end of their brand.

"According to reports, only Moriarti Tech's building lost its power even though a lot of other buildings in this area have the same electricity provider. What can you say about that?" Asked the news anchor who looked very skeptical.

"We're currently on top of things and looking into possible legal actions against the building's electricity provider. We won't entertain any more

questions while investigation is ongoing."

The interview ended there. I was left in a state of awe. I was a hundred percent sure Hunter was behind the power failure. But how did he do it? How was he able to cause a power failure in a building thousand of miles away from here? I felt a sudden chill as Hunter's words earlier echoed in my ears. This was bad, but I knew he was capable of worse.

***

Cain's retaliation quickly came the next morning.

We arrived at the school with the news that Hunter was called in at the principal office for sending an email infected with a ransomware to almost one hundred Diamond Crest High students last night. The email was sent using Hunter's legitimate email address exactly an hour after the reported power failure at Moriarti Tech.

"What the hell is a ransomware?" I asked Shawn as we trudged along the buzzing corridors. We hadn't seen any of our other friends yet but we knew they had already heard about the trouble.

"It is a type of malicious software that threatens to publish the victim's data or perpetually block access to it unless a ransom is paid. Hackers use them to extort money by sending emails with suspicious links and once you click on that link, boom! Your computer is infected."

I massaged my temple to ease the ache that was threatening to render me immobile.

"This is too much." I said in exhaustion. I didn't get much sleep last night because I was so damned worried and annoyed at Hunter. Why did everything has to be this complicated? I faced Shawn and gave him a stern look.

"How did Hunter cause a power failure at Moriarti Tech last night? What did you do?"

Shawn had the decency to smile sheepishly. He scratched his head and gave me a guilty look.

"He just asked me to research about the power lines owned by the biggest electricity providers in Silicon Valley. I didn't know he could hack into SysGen's system using just Parker's computer." Though he sounded guilty, the admiration in Shawn's voice was also unmistakeable. "Sky, he was amazing and frightening at the same time. He connected the system controlling his house's power source to SysGen's system which was Moriati Tech's electricity provider. Then, he overrode Cain's control over their house's power source to enable the flow of electricity again in their home. Cain probably monitors everything so when he found out that electricity was back in Hunter's house, he tried to cut it again. But since Hunter connected it with SysGen's system, the moment Cain tried to cut Hunter's power source, it also automatically cut Moriarti Tech's power source as well, resulting to the fifteen minute blackout."

I had to pause for five minutes straight to take it all in before they all made sense to me.

"Okay, so basically, you meant Hunter linked his house and Moriarti Tech's power source so if Cain tries to cut his power, it will also cut Moriarti Tech's. Did I get it right?"

Shawn grimaced.

"Uhm, not really the power source itself but the system that controls it. It's hard to explain but you got the gist of it. Hunter did not hack Moriarti Tech. Technically, he also didn't cause the power failure because it was Cain who cut it."

Shawn was obviously in awe. Last night was the first time he saw Hacker Hunter in action, and he was even able to help him. I would've felt he same way if I were him. I, on the other hand, shouldn't be so amazed to hear all of that but I still was. I was just a normal girl who only used computers for school stuff and social media. I found it hard to wrap my head around something as complicated as hacking an electricity provider's system, especially if that electricity provider's power source was located in another state.

"Hunter is a genius of a different calibre, Sky. I've never seen anyone like him." Shawn's voice dropped. I sensed nervousness in his tone. "Now I understand why the CIA had to control him. It's just insane. He can immobilize the whole Silicon Valley if he wants to and if he can do that to Silicon Valley, he can also do that to New York, London, etc. Imagine having a power like that."

"I know." I whispered because I couldn't think of anything else to say.

***

It only took Hunter an hour and a half using one of our school's desktop computer to erase the ransomware in all of the infected computers.

It seemed like he wasn't lying when he told me that Principal Curtis loved him because as it turned out, the old man didn't give him much of a hard time. The principal believed sending ransomware to unsuspecting victims wasn't really Hunter's style. Most of the students who received the email also knew Hunter wouldn't do something like that so they were happy to let Hunter clean their computers off any malicious malware.

Hunter looked exhausted when he stepped inside the cafeteria came lunch. Eyes followed his every move and some stares were clearly mocking.

Although Hunter was proven innocent, the incident definitely tarnished his reputation. After all, it was confirmed that his email was hacked. Great Hunter Cole wasn't as invulnerable as everyone believed he was.

I wanted to cry.

The other students didn't know that Hunter was behind Moriarti Tech's power failure so for them, Hunter was on the losing side of the war.

"Did someone die?" Hunter asked when he saw our expression. He sat beside me and gave us all a concerned look. "Are you guys okay?"

How could he worry about us when he should just be more worried about himself? Ugh, this guy.