The last time I cried was two years ago, before I went to Washington DC.

It was my last day at school and I dropped by Skylar's classroom to see her and finally say sorry. She immediately blanched when she saw me, almost as if she saw death staring at her, and left the room without a word.

Man, that hurts worse than a kick in the crotch.

I cried on the school rooftop with my buddies the entire day.

I bet she didn't even remember all the unintentional heartaches she caused my young and innocent heart.

Now I was crying again. Not the type of crying that looked cute, either. It was the type of crying that could land me in a mental institution should there be a psychiatrist here.

I felt so miserable, I couldn't even eat anything. All of my friends were alarmed as I'd never lost an appetite before.

"I'm so stupid." I bawled while hugging a very annoyed Cal.

Parker also looked teary-eyed beside me as he watched me wallow in my self-inflicted misery.

"I don't want to sound insensitive and all, but honestly, you just found out about that now?" Rush asked, sounding so very insensitive.

Both Parker and I shot him a furious look.

"Why are you being so mean to him, St. Clair? You're so heartless, we so hate you right now!" Parker exclaimed, while I just nodded my head vigorously.

Rush really needed to work on his empathy skills. He should be crying along with me, not saying things that absolutely made sense.

"Shut up, you three! What are you even doing here in my house? Go be annoying somewhere else!" Cal shouted at the three of us. He was trying his hardest to get away from me, but of course I didn't loosen my grip on him.

I knew he was just acting all cool but he cared deep inside. Cal was the ultimate tsundere and I was perfectly aware of that.

"Why did you even lie in the first place?" Rush asked as he took a swig from his bottle of beer. He looked pissed. Really pissed.

We were all slumped on the floor of Cal's condo unit. He took his lonely boy image too seriously so he lived here alone.

"I just don't want her to be caught in the middle of my feud with Cain. You know how much she values her peaceful life."

I winced when I remembered what happened. How could I do that to my sweetypie, honeybunch, apple of my eye? I was such an asshole. I deserved to be locked up in Azkaban forever.

I knew I would fuck up one day. I didn't expect it would happen this soon.

"There are a lot of ways to do that other than humiliate her in front of the whole school, asshole!" Rush said through gritted teeth.

"What's with you, Rush? We already know Hunter is a hopeless idiot who can't do anything right. Do you really have to rub it in his face?" Parker said which made me feel a lot worse.

I wiped my face using the sleeves of my shirt. In all honesty, I was really heartbroken. I love Skylar so much that the thought of losing her was driving me insane... even more insane than I already was.

"I just received a new mission from HQ." I told them, annoyed that this whole CIA thing was getting in the way of my love life. "I have to leave for a while. I don't want Cain to bother Sky while I'm away so I lied. I didn't know Cain was broadcasting everything!"

I hugged Cal even more tightly. "My darling, Cal, what should I do?"

"Give her back her hundred bucks." Cal simply said. He already gave up trying to get away from me and was focused watching America's top model on his old TV.

This guy's family owned one of the biggest broadcasting companies in the US but he didn't even have Netflix. My poor friend.

"I say keep the money and hold it hostage. You can tell Sky you'll give it back to her in exchange for her forgiveness." Parker suggested.

I liked the way he thinks.

Rush rolled his eyes at Parker's suggestion before giving me a deathly glare.

"Just tell her the damn truth, for Christ's sake!"

Easy for him to say.

The truth was, I was guilty. I kept on questioning whether I did the right thing.

What if I was the reason why she didn't make a lot of friends through high school? What if people avoided her because I threatened them not to bother her? What if my actions to protect her messed up with the natural order of things? What if she was destined to ride off into the sunset with Kenji and make cute Asian babies if I hadn't interfered?

All of those things bothered me. Pen always thought everything I did was romantic and sweet but I thought otherwise.

Like I said, I wasn't the hero here. I wasn't a knight in shining armour. I was nothing but a selfish, crazy in love brat.

That was why I wanted to make a fresh start when I came back. I wanted to make Skylar fall in love with the better version of me (Yes, it was already my better version, shut up!) not the selfish, immature version of me that fell in love with her when I was seven.

"Sky loves you, you know?" Parker said.

I knew that. I still had her hundred bucks as proof. Just the mere mention of her name made my heart beat faster than Cal falling asleep during Literature class.

Fuck. I love her more.

"Sometimes, I feel like I don't deserve her." I tried to smile through the tears. "She's just so good and I'm so fucked up, I'm scared I'm going to ruin her."

All my life, I caused trouble to the people I loved. I always seemed to hurt them even if I didn't want to.

The only good thing I got going for me was my undeniable sex appeal and drop dead gorgeousness. And most often than not, those weren't enough.

Sad life.

"If anyone here deserved to be happy, it is you, Cole."

I was surprised to hear that coming from Cal. His face was impassive as always but the weight of his words hit me hard.

"You sacrificed your future for us. We're all here because you alone took the fall." He said with all seriousness and sincerity.

For the first time that evening, everyone of us was serious. I hated talking about that incident. I didn't want them to carry the guilt forever. I made my decision and that was it. I didn't regret anything.

"Stop it, Greyson." I said. I smiled at the three of them. "I'd do it again if it means saving you all."

I didn't wait for their reply. I stood up.

I had to go. I wasn't cut for conversations like this.

"I'll go ahead. I already know what to do next." I told them and walked straight out of Cal's apartment.

I was done delving into our horrible past. The only thing that mattered to me right now was the future... and I intended for Skylar to be a part of mine, by hook or by crook.

***

"Bro, you gotta help me." I told my brother, Archer, as soon as I entered his room uninvited.

He was on a short break from uni and decided to show his slightly less-handsome face than mine here in our humble abode.

He didn't tell it explicitly but I knew he just missed his adorable, kind, and humble little brother, A.K.A me.

Archer just remained lying on his bed instead of hurrying up and catering to my urgent needs.

He cocked his head to the side.

"And what will I get in return in exchange for helping you?"

Wow. What a mean, opportunistic person! Guys like this were the worst!

Thank God, I wasn't as shameless as him.

"You'll get a lifetime supply of my bestselling, critically acclaimed, and award winning hugs and kisses."

That was the best deal he could get. No man could possibly resist such a tempting offer.

"No." He said then covered himself with a blanket.

My eyes widened in shock.

"What do you mean by no?" I pouted. I sat on the edge of his bed and poked his ribs while giving him my scariest glare. "Help me, brother, I beg thee!" I whined, still poking his side.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked instead of answering my question.

He was the only person in this world who could read me.

I sighed.

Archer was just two years older than me so we were very close. In this family where everyone hated me, he always kept to my side. He would always defend me even if I didn't deserve it.

"Won a bet, lost at life." I said.

"Is this about that Skylar girl again?!" He asked incredulously. He even got up from lying on his bed just to give me a look of pure judgment. "Jesus, Hunter! Don't tell me you already fucked things up this early?"

I fuck things up thrice a day, was there any surprise here?

"Well, I'm pretty sure that the girl I love since I was seven hates me now so if that counts as fucking up then, yeah."

He groaned.

"So you're telling me I worked myself to death into finishing her bracelet in just one fucking day for nothing?"

I pouted at him. He was right. I guilt tripped him into finishing the charms in just one day because I wanted to give it to Sky before her recital. I told him it would be in his conscience forever if I lost Sky because I wasn't able to give her the best gift.

Poor Archer spent almost 24 hours working to finish the miniature sculptures. I helped by giving him words of encouragement and kissing his cheeks every now and then which he found extremely disgusting and offending.

"It's not all my fault, Archer." I sniffed and tried to look as pathetic as I could. "Cain's being mean to me. He's been watching too much Game of Thrones and thinks he's a Lannister to my Stark!"

"You're such a pain in the ass."

"Thanks, now, can we proceed to the part where you help me without expecting anything in return?" I said, giving him the puppy dog eyed look I knew he wouldn't be able to resist. He had a brother complex, this guy.

"Fine. What is it?"

I fought to hide a smile. Archer was the second best brother in the world! I was the first, of course.

"You know I need to go to back to DC in three hours, right?"

He nodded, giving me a confused look.

"And you know I'm a super awesome, God's gift to human kind, genius hacker, right?"

His face contorted into a scowl.

"You forgot delusional."

Aww. So sweet.

"Good. Now, I know you know my love, my baby, my one and only baby love, whom I love more than all the chocolates in the world, right?"

"Fucking get to the point already!"

Wow. Why were people so mean and impatient these days?

"Alright! Fine! I put a tracker in that bracelet I gave her and now I know she's with Cain! Aside from being so fucking jealous, I'm also fucking pissed at him! So can you please, tell that fucking Voldemort wannabe that I surrender?! He can take everything he fucking wants from me! Just fucking leave my girl alone!"

Archer punched me in the stomach and put me in a headlock.

"Why the fuck are you screaming and swearing at me, you fucking piece of disrespectful brat?!" He said while choking the life out of me.

"I'm sorry! Ugh, brother, my sweet, kind, most handsome brother in the whole wide world, please forgive me!" I shouted while tapping out.

After he was sure I was close but not quite dying from asphyxiation, he finally released his choke hold on me.

"Fine. I'll do it." He said, fixing the collar of his shirt like he didn't just try to commit fratricide.

I dropped to his bed then threw him the USB. His reflex was good because he easily caught it.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Persephone." I said. "The perfect anti-virus."

I looked at the ceiling blankly. It was my years worth of hard work, my lifeline, my redemption. And I was giving it away for free... all for the love of my life.

***

What's that chapter or scene you want me to write in Hunter's POV?

You'll know more about the incident the guys were talking about here in Parker's book, Games and Kisses.

Rush also gave a hint about it on Chapter 18: Half truths and white lies.

Thanks for reading! See you on my next update. :)