I'm petrified

That you're dying by design

Waste every day

Until you're wasted and afraid

I hope it doesn't hurt

That I don't make it worse

I'll always feel this far away

As the voice of the artist resonated through the walls of the school's dance studio, I felt the mellifluous music in my soul and moved my body to its heartfelt rhythm.

But I, I will lay down by your side

I will keep an open eye

While you stare into the sun

Promise me you're done

Promise me you're done

Back and forth, I swayed to the pleasant beat as my mind was completely free of thoughts. My focus was solely on the beautiful sound of the music that soothed me entirely.

I'm not surprised

Or in love like I was last night

Hold down the floor

'Cause I'm not dancin' anymore

As long as I'm awake

I'll live with my mistakes

I'll always feel this far away

Mouthing the lyrics with my eyes closed, I related to the essence of the song and danced in sharp yet elegant movements that embodied my feelings and released my emotions.

But I, I will lay down by your side

I will keep an open eye

While you stare into the sun

Promise me you're done

Promise me you're done

Promise me you're done

Promise me you're done

Promise me you're done, done, oh

Promise me you're done

Breathing loudly, I stayed in my final pose for a few seconds before dropping to the ground as I wiped off the bits of sweat that formed on my forehead with the back of my hand.

"Who knew you actually had a talent?" said a voice out of nowhere causing me to jump in shock.

"Hunter?! What- How-" I stuttered not knowing exactly what to say.

He smirked. "I stalked you." He said in a serious tone.

I looked at him for a while to see if he was joking or not. It seemed like he did but it also seemed like he didn't. As I was blatantly staring at his face, he laughed at me.

"Why are you laughing?" I frowned.

"You seriously thought I would stalk you?" He smirked again.

I rolled my eyes and looked away in annoyance. But he decided to be more annoying.

"Why would I go stalking you when I clearly have better things to do?"

"If you had better things to do, then why the hell were you watching me dance like a creep?" I asked glaring at him.

"I was actually wondering who the hell was noisily stomping the floor. Turns out it was you."

I gasped. "How dare you call my dancing stomping?!" I got up to my feet and slapped his arm. "Apologize now!" I pettily asked.

What he did next surprised and irritated me at the same time. He stuck his tongue out like a freaking child. I slapped his arm once again just because he deserved it. Then, I glared at him once more and walked to my water bottle to quench my thirst. Of water.

"What was the dance you just did? It looked a little like ballet, but it also didn't."

"It's called contemporary dance, you idiot. It's a mix of modern, jazz, lyrical, and classical ballet." I said tightening the bottle cap after drinking.

"So, some competition coming up or something?" He asked leaning against the wall with his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.

I shook my head. "I don't dance to compete. I dance to relieve stress. It's the most effective way for me."

"What's stressing you up? Your no chill boyfriend?" He said provoking me.

I glared at him. "It's just schoolwork piling up and me having almost no time to myself," I said honestly.

Juggling between school and work was a huge deal. It wasn't easy as I had to make sure I have time to study and do my homework as I work most of the time. I also had to catch up on my sleep because it was unhealthy not to sleep.

So, with all these jugglings, I rarely get a me-time. My own precious time. I always make sure I get a me-time at least once a week so I can keep myself sane. What's the point of working so hard if I'm not happy?

"Since I didn't have to work today, I went for a little me-time. Until you intervened." I continued giving him a pointed look.

He smiled proudly. "Guilty." He then sighed. "But I sort of get that. That is why I read. It's my way of having some time to myself. I guess you can also say that it's a way of stress relief for me."

"That makes sense," I said picking up my stuff. "Talking about reading, whatever happened to 'Hunter Knight at your service'?" I scoffed.

"What?" He asked confused.

"You said you would help me by recommending books to me. You could have just said no when I asked instead of lying to my face." I said bitterly.

"I wasn't lying."

"Yeah, right," I said sarcastically while heading out of the dance studio.

He grabbed my wrist to stop me, making me face him. "I really wasn't."

"Okay," I replied dryly still not believing him.

He stared into my eyes as if he could tell that I wasn't going to be believing his words anytime soon.

"You know what, let's go to the library right now." He said and started dragging me out and through the somewhat empty hallway.

"Wait, right now? You don't have to do this right now to prove a point."

Hunter suddenly halted in his step causing me to bump right into his back and stumble back a few steps. He turned and looked at me with a piercing gaze.

"I'm not proving a point. I'm doing what I said I do. I did say I'm at your service." He smirked a little.

I gaped at him not really knowing how to reply to that. He chuckled at my reaction and continued to drag me towards the library. This time, I didn't try to stop him.

"Hey, Emily." Hunter greeted the librarian the moment we stepped into the school library.

Emily smiled widely at the sight of Hunter. "Hello, dear. I was wondering when you were going to come." She then looked at me a little surprised. "I see you made a new friend. I must say I was a tad bit shocked when this young lady came in here searching for you. Most students are usually scared of you."

"That's because most students don't know that he's a total booknerd." I grinned cheekily.

Hunter glared at me. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm no-"

"You are absolutely right, young lady. What's your name, dear?"

Hunter gasped dramatically. "Emily, How could you!"

"Hera!" I said cheerily as I ignored Hunter.

"Well, it's nice to properly meet you, Hera." She smiled.

"It's nice to properly meet you too, Ms. Barris."

"No, no, please call me Emily, dear."

"Okay, Emily!"

"If you two are done with your girly bonding session, we'll be going now. Bye, Emily." Hunter grabbed my wrist once again and pulled me towards the spiral staircase.

As I was being dragged yet again, I saw Emily roll her eyes and sigh as she said something along the lines of, 'Teenagers these days...'. Wonder what she means.

Hunter pulled me towards the Young Adult section and stepped into the very same aisle we met for the first time. He was so nice then. How in hell is this guy—the one who insulted me at work and practically thought I was his stalker—the same guy that recommended me a mind-blowing book and put me out of my assignment misery? Did he have a personality transplant or something?

"Here." He took a book from the shelf and placed it in my hands.

I gasped as my eyes widened at the title of the paperback, 'One of Us is Next'.

"Oh. My. God. There's another book?" I asked surprised and excited.

"Yeah. It's a sequel but it's not based on the Bayview four. It's about Bronwyn's sister and two others." He explained.

"Oh," I said slightly disappointed that it wasn't about my favorite characters.

"Don't worry. The Bayview four will still show up in this story." Hunter said after he noticed my sullen face.

That sparked my excitement once again as I grinned at Hunter. "Oh!"

Hunter picked out a book for himself and looked at me. "Come on, let's find a table."

I frowned. "Why?"

"To read, obviously."

He walked ahead of me while I stood there feeling a little dumbfounded. He wanted to read? With me? We're going to just sit together and read a book of our own? Isn't that a little awkward?

"Are you coming or what?" Hunter came back to me and pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Uh, yeah," I said and followed him downstairs where there were empty seats.

Hunter took a seat in the middle of a very long wooden table where the daylight shined brightly through the circular window. I took a seat opposite him but not directly in front of him because that would certainly be awkward for me.

Without any talking, we started our reading session. But for some reason, I was unable to concentrate on the words that were printed on the pages of the book. And that was because of the boy who was seated diagonally to me. I didn't know why but his presence was distracting. Very distracting.

I held the opened book in front of my face to avoid his face. But sooner or later, I found myself lowering the book so that my eyes were able to get a good view of him.

Hunter was leaning on his chair with his legs on the table as his mesmerizing grey eyes focused on a page of his book that rested against his thigh. He angled his body in a position that would block the daylight which shined too brightly from burning my eyes, making him glow. At that moment, he looked undeniably glorious.

Hunter seemed to feel my stare because he shifted his gaze to me, catching me in my act of checking him out. I immediately hid my face behind the book and cursed at myself for being so shameless.

I heard Hunter burst into laughter causing me to go bright red. I can't believe he caught me blatantly staring at him. I might even have drooled a little, damn it! How am I supposed to face him now? Oh man above the skies, please save me from this utter humiliation, please!

"Am I in another world or is Hunter Knight really laughing his ass off?" said a voice making me lower my book in curiosity.

Hunter instantly dropped his laughter and put on a stoic expression. How the hell did he just go from 100 to 0?

The boy who spoke came to sit beside Hunter and in front of me with a goofy smile. I recognized him. He was one of the scary guys with too many piercings on his face and is part of Hunter's group of friends. I wonder if the school has ever done anything about his piercings considering the fact that it's not allowed. But then again, they probably wouldn't have because of how even some of the teachers are scared of them. Pathetic, I know.

"Dare, what the fuck are you doing here?" Hunter asked his friend a little too harshly.

I looked at Hunter and found myself wondering about his current state. If this boy was a friend to him, why would Hunter look uncomfortable?

The boy chuckled. "Chill dude, no need to go off like that. The library is a perfect place to make-out." He winked.

I inwardly gagged at his words. Now, I understood Emily's words. Poor Emily. She must have suffered so much from these hormonal teenagers. I shook my head and looked up to find the boy's eyes on me.

"Dude, did you finally get yourself a girlfriend?" He said as he moved his gaze to Hunter. "I was starting to worry that you were into me or something. I mean, I know I look unbelievably handsome and stuff but sorry dude, I'm straight as f-."

The boy couldn't finish his sentence because Hunter slapped his head. Hard. It actually looked painful that I almost felt sorry for the boy.

"Shut your nonsense, Dare. She's not my girlfriend. And I'm not into you, you little shit." Hunter said slapping him again.

"Ow! Stop it! Not cool, dude." He glared at Hunter and turned to look at me.

"Hey! I haven't properly introduced myself to you, pretty girl. I'm Dare Williams, nice to meet you." Dare said placing his hand in front of me.

My face flushed at the word 'pretty' and cursed at myself for being so easy. I heard Hunter scoff at my reaction, but I ignored him and shook Dare's hand.

"Hey, I'm Hera Hawkins."

Dare grinned. "Like the Greek Goddess?"

"Yeah, my mom is obsessed with Greek Mythology." I smiled. "By the way, is your name really Dare? As in D-A-R-E Dare? As in 'Daredevil' Dare?" I asked not believing that his name is just Dare.

"Look at that, I got a hot nickname already." He smirked at Hunter who just rolled his eyes. "Daredevil, I like it. And yeah, I'm just D-A-R-E Dare." He grinned.

"Cool," I said honestly.

"Would you look at that? We already have one thing in common." Dare cheekily smiled.

I frowned. "What's that?"

"We have cool names." He smiled making me smile as well.

"I guess we do."

"If the both of you are done with your shameless flirting, I'm going to go now. And you're coming with me." Hunter stood up and pulled Dare along with him.

"Hey, don't need to get jealous, dude. Bye, Hera, see you again some other time!" said Dare while being dragged away from the table by Hunter who didn't once glance my way nor waved goodbye.

After they were completely out of my sight, I leaned back on my chair not knowing what to feel as I processed the events of this day. But only a frown appeared on my face.

What a weird day.