***

Hunter just held me the entire time I was crying. I clutched his shirt for support and cried until there were no tears coming out of my tear ducts. I wasn't even crying because of fear. I was crying because of anger; pure, unadulterated anger.

I hated feeling this way. The feeling of being so angry, you couldn't do anything but cry. I didn't even know whom I was more angry at... The guy or myself.

Probably both.

I could've prevented everything if only I was smart enough to listen to the warning bells inside my head that told me to put at least a hundred mile distance between me and that bastard. In my defense, I didn't expect he'd turn out to be a kiss-thief.

The funny thing was, I knew the guy didn't kiss me out of lust. I couldn't explain it, but it was like he did that to provoke me... or to prove something. Either way, I still felt taken advantaged of, and it made me extremely furious. I should've kicked that guy's ass... Or better yet, egged his Maserati.

My grip at Hunter's shirt tightened. Just thinking about that douchebag made me want to kick something... most preferably his groins.

I felt Hunter pulled away so that he could look at my face. His fingers moved gently to wipe the tears off my cheeks.

"Stop crying, Sky." He whispered, his voice so gentle I felt like my heart would melt into puddles. His eyes were still full of worry and guilt and I wanted nothing but to erase that look on his face; to tell him that none of it was his fault, but I still couldn't find my voice so I just nodded and tried my best to not look like a human hosepipe.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?"

I suddenly felt embarrassed. What would Hunter think of me if I told him that a hot guy just decided to kiss me and I just let it happen without any opposition whatsoever on my part? Would he think I was weak? Would he think I was some sort of a damsel in distress who couldn't save herself?

It was probably my pride, but I didn't feel like telling Hunter the truth. I had a feeling that if I ever told Hunter, he would move heaven and earth just to find the guy and retaliate, and although that sounded like a great idea, I didn't fancy being the damsel in distress in this story. I needed no knight in shining armor.

I shook my head.

"I'm trying not to even think about it." the words rolled out of my tongue in a whisper and I almost took them back when I saw a tinge of something that closely resembled hurt passed Hunter's eyes. He dropped his hands from my shoulders and turned his gaze away from me.

Running his fingers through his hair, he let out a breath, and I wasn't sure if that was a short laugh or an exasperated sigh.

"You're killing me." he said after a while. He sounded tired and worried and amused, all at the same time. When he turned to face me again, an easy smile was already playing on his lips.

He reached out and grabbed my hand.

"Come on." He said, dragging me towards his car.

"Are you going to take me home now?" I asked, surprised by the sudden change in his mood and also a bit disappointed, I expected a little more cuddling.

"Nope." He said as he opened the door of his car, gesturing for me to hop in.

I was about to step inside when I caught a glimpse of his eyes, making me stop abruptly. They were sparkling with mischief and I knew him well enough now to know that there was an 87% chance that he was planning something that might probably land us in jail.

"We're not going to do something illegal, are we?" I meant to make my facial expression neutral but I was pretty sure it came off more like a suspicious glare.

Hunter gave me a dazzling smile.

"Not we. I am." He said, nodding his head towards the passenger seat. I hopped in hesitantly and sat at the leather seat.

"What exactly are you planning to do?"

Hunter bent down and leaned towards me, his face so close I could feel his warm breath against my cheeks. A corner of his lips turned up into a crooked smile.

"Steal your heart, of course." He said, then he reached out for my seatbelt and tucked me in.

***

If Hunter thought he could steal my heart just by buying me a pint of Nutella ice cream then boy, he was so right.

I probably should feel nervous now that he had already discovered my weakness but I honestly couldn't care less. He had already stolen my heart sans the ice cream so it didn't make much of a difference. It only added a couple more bonus points to his favor. And when I said couple, I meant a couple hundred bonus points. This Nutella ice cream was divine.

"Ice cream can make even the worst situation a lot better, don't you think?" Hunter said happily as he scooped what was left of his 1.75 quarts of rocky road. I looked at my own cup and saw I've barely reduced a quarter of its content. Typical.

"Can't disagree to that." I mumbled, shivering a little not just from the ice but also from the unusually chilly October breeze.

Hunter and I were sitting on one of the stone benches at the park near our neighborhood because for some reason, he didn't want to eat the ice cream inside the store.

Aside from the occasional joggers and the couple sitting a few benches from ours, we were the only people there.

"So, how has your day been so far, before the, uh, you-know-what?" asked Hunter, careful not to open can of worms to avoid upsetting me.

I forced the memory of another guy kissing me out of my mind and concentrated on the things that happened to me prior to that horrendous incident.

"Uhm, it's exhausting. We had an intense practice in Music class." I winced upon remembering how sucktastic my day had been even before I was kissed by that possibly-psycho-pervert-Mafia-member-in-a-Maserati douchebag. I almost forgot the horrible task Mr. Schultz had assigned to us. Hunter noticed the change in my expression and nudged me on the shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

"Eh, just a stupid music recital on Friday in front of the whole school. Nothing to be worried about." I said, feeling like I would pass out of fear just by thinking about it.

"Really? I bet it's going to be epic. You're amazing at Viola!" Hunter said encouragingly.

I gave him the stink eye. How could he mistake my precious violin to a viola?

"I play the violin, not viola." I said in distaste.

Hunter threw his empty ice cream carton to the trash can near us.

"Viola, violin, guitar, cello, basically all instruments with strings... they all sound the same to me." He shot me that annoying but totally adorable grin of his and my heart just about jumped out of my rib cage.

"You're just saying that because you don't have a sophisticated taste in music." I grunted.

Hunter doubled over with laughter.

"Says the girl who has been reported to the police because the neighbors thought her singing voice were wails of murder."

My eyes widened upon hearing what he said.

"H-how did you know that?" I demanded, cheeks blazing. I was tempted to throw my Nutella ice cream on his infuriatingly gorgeous face but I controlled myself.

Ugh, could this day get any worse than this?

"I told you, you're not as inconspicuous as you think you are." He said with a wink.

"Ugh. Can we stop talking about my day now?"

Hunter snatched the spoon out of my hand and used it to help himself with my ice cream. I tried to shoot him an annoyed glare but my cheeks heated when I saw him lick the ice cream off my spoon. It made me think about that time we kissed. The fact that the couple near us were already groping each other in a not-so-park-friendly way made me even redder.

I snatched back my spoon from his grip and dug it beneath the carton.

"You've already eaten a whole gallon of rocky road." I reminded him.

Hunter pouted.

"So? I'm a growing boy. I need the nutrients." He looked offended, as if my observation hurt his feelings. He was such a big baby.

I rolled my eyes.

"A growing eighteen year old boy. Yeah, right."

I ate in silence while Hunter busied himself with his phone, occasionally giving my carton of ice cream a longing look and pouting at me.

"I'm so hungry." his voice was so sad and he was giving me that cute puppy dog eyed look that had the power to soften even the hardest of hearts.

"You're so annoying." I muttered with an eye roll. I pushed the carton over to him in defeat. His face instantly brightened, and with a huge grin, he happily dig in. So much for buying me ice cream.

"So... were you able to fix our school's security system?" I asked making my voice louder than necessary to drown out the moans coming from the oh-so-loving couple. I swear they hadn't once pause from their kissing session even to catch their breaths. They were starting to make me feel uncomfortable, especially now that the guy had his hands inside the girl's shirt. Gross.

"Duh. Yeah. Piece of cake." Hunter mumbled, still busy annihilating my ice cream. "That system is already outdated. I was more surprised by the fact that it hadn't been cracked before."

"Rush told me you're trying to create the perfect antivirus. Any luck with that?"

Hunter smiled like he was enjoying a private joke.

"To create the perfect antivirus, I must create the perfect bug first. So telling you that I've successfully managed to create one is like confessing to a crime."

I frowned.

"Why is it a crime?"

Hunter looked around as if to check for eavesdroppers, when he was certain no one was close enough to hear our conversation, he scooted closer to me.

"Think about the world we're living in." He said. "You may not realize it, but our everyday life depends on computers. Banks, hospitals, schools, even government agencies... we rely too much on computers. We're living in the cyber age. Anyone who can control the internet, can control the world." his voice was low and hypnotic and I had to blink a few times to let his words sink in.

I hadn't given it much of a thought before but everything he said was on point. Computers ran the world.

"You're right."

Hunter nodded.

"Now, imagine if someone actually managed to develop the perfect virus? Imagine a virus that can crack even the strongest of security softwares? A virus that can shut down, copy and delete not just all the information saved in a system but the entire system itself?"

He paused and I realized he was expecting an answer from me. I gave him a blank look.

Hunter smirked.

"Let's put it this way, imagine a terrorist group managed to create the perfect virus and decided to use it on, let's say, the Pentagon. All they need to do is infect one computer. The virus will spread to all the others, infecting all the programs and information it came across with until the entire system shuts down. But what if the virus could also copy all the information it deleted and could transmit then to the terrorist group's computer?"

I shuddered at the thought. I could perfectly imagine how dangerous and deadly it would be if that ever happens. Now I knew why the term "cyber war" was invented.

"Not pretty, right? And that, my dear, is the reason why it's illegal and basically considered a crime."

Hunter went back to eating my ice cream like he hadn't just blown my mind. I couldn't let go of the thought though. I really had a bad feeling about it. I remembered what Parker said earlier...

"You don't really think CIA would be interested in a sixteen year old boy just because he linked DOD and YouPorn, right?"

"You haven't created any perfect virus recently, have you?" I asked, eyebrows raised.

Hunter laughed.

"You sounded like the CIA."

I sighed and decided to just let the matter rest. I had a feeling he won't admit anything even if I held him at gun point. Better go back to the original topic then.

"Principal Curtis should be grateful to you for fixing the system. I don't understand why he's so mean."

"Oh, the old chap love me, alright. He's just not good at showing it." Hunter peered at me through his long lashes. "By the way, thanks for standing up to me. Your crush on me is really obvious now."

Oh, God! I knew he would tease about that!

I punched him in the arm.

"Shut up! I told you to stop taking ego steroids. Your ego is big enough without the help."

He just laughed and offered me a spoonful of ice cream. I automatically opened my mouth. It was like a reflex, I wasn't really thinking much about it. It was only on the third spoonful when I realized what we were doing. Hunter was feeding me ice cream and we were sharing one spoon... like what real couples do. The idea embarrassed me and warmed my heart at the same time.

"Ego is not the only big thing about me, you know?" he teased, wagging his eyebrows at me suggestively.

I almost choked on my ice cream. It was an all time low even for me. Who chokes on ice-cream?

"What?"

Hunter snickered upon seeing my expression, then he began shaking his head.

"I meant I also have a big heart." He pointed the spoon at my face. "You, my dear, has a dirty, dirty mind." he said, amusement dripping with every word.

I made a face at him.

"I don't have a dirty mind! You're just intentionally putting double meanings to your words to provoke me."

Hunter shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't know about that, but you mustn't say the word provoke in front of me. Your mouth looks provocative when you do." He winked.

"You're insufferable." I huffed.

"Insufferably handsome."

"Why did you take me here in the first place? We could've stayed inside The Fudge."

I hugged myself unconsciously as the breeze blew once again. He put down the now empty carton of ice cream at the side and closed the distance between us. He grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me towards him.

"If we stayed there, it would look like a date." He said.

I couldn't help the pout that instantly appeared on my face.

"Afraid your cool friends will see you having a date with me?"

"Like I care about what people say." He snorted. "I'm planning to make our first date special. You can expect it will not be at McDonalds or just some random fast-food chain. I swear, it will be the most epic first date in the history of epic first dates."

I felt the smile laced in his voice, and I couldn't help but smile too. I had a feeling we were both thinking about his supposed to be first date with Sophie. That was some major epic fail on his part.

I let my head rest on his shoulders. I wasn't about to argue with him about the epicness of our date. Why would I? He could take me on a date in a dumpster and I was sure it would be just as epic as when we're in a five star hotel. It wasn't about the place, it was about the person you're with. And just like our most epic first kiss in the history of epic first kisses, I knew our first date would be perfect as well because it was him I would be with.

"Sky!" his voice sounded urgent that I had to look up to meet his gaze. His eyes were rounded in alarm.

"What?"

"You've got ice cream on your lip."

Okay. Not exactly life altering but whatever.

I licked my lip. "Is it gone?"

"No."

I used my fingers to wipe my mouth. "How about now?"

Hunter sighed. "I think I'm going to have to handle this." He leaned in quickly and brushed his lips against mine. I sucked in a breath as he ran his tongue over my bottom lip.

"Definitely better than Nutella ice cream." he whispered. He brushed his lips against mine again and I sort of melted in his arms. I snaked my arms around his neck and deepen the kiss, feeling bolder than I'd ever been before.

It made me wonder how Hunter knew. Maybe I was giving off a strong kiss me vibe but I wasn't about to complain. I needed this kiss so badly. I needed him to kiss me because I didn't want to fall asleep tonight with the memory of another man kissing me. It just had to be Hunter.

Hunter's kisses were so addicting, I couldn't get enough of them. They made me want to punch him for being so good because I knew he had to be practicing with someone to reach this kind of expertise.

We both jumped out of surprise when we heard his phone beeped. I scooted away from him immediately, cursing myself for letting the pheromones take over me.

He reached for the phone in his pocket while I willed my blush to go away. I glanced and I saw the other couple still busy doing their thing. They made our kiss looked like a G-rated scene.

"It's your dad."

I stared at him in shock.

"You're text mates with my dad?!"

Hunter just smiled mysteriously and helped me up.

"I told you they'll love me." He said. "Come on, princess, time for you to go home."

***

I thought Monday was horrible. I had never been so wrong. It was a walk in the park compared to Tuesday.

Tuesday started like every other day of my life. Shawn, who had fully recovered from LBM picked me up at my house at seven in the morning.

I should probably mention by now the reason why I had no car. The thing was, I spent all my savings on a second-hand Stradivarius violin. It wasn't a limited edition, million dollar worth Stradivarius, but it was still in excellent condition and I got it in a great bargain price. My violin was my most prized possession and I was really happy with my purchase, but sometimes, not having your own car really sucks.

Anyway, it was a good thing our house was on Shawn's way so he kind of became my unofficial school service in exchange for chipping in for the gas.

On our way to school, I decided to confess to him everything that happened to me the other day. I felt like I would spontaneously combust if I didn't tell it to anyone. Besides, I trusted Shawn more than any other boy in my life that wasn't my dad.

He almost hit a total of three pedestrians when I came to the kiss-thief's part.

"Fuck, Sky! Why didn't you call me immediately?" He said angrily. I've never seen Shawn this angry before and it made me nervous. He hit the wheel so hard, I was afraid he'd broke his hand. "Shit. I swear, I'm going to kill that fucking pervert!"

Prior to admitting it to Shawn, that unfortunate incident only felt like a really bad dream. But seeing Shawn angry made the incident seemed more real.

"I know, and I'm really sorry." I said, my head low and I felt like crying.

Shawn reached out and grasped my hand.

"It's not your fault. I'm not mad at you. I'm furious at the pervert who harassed you." He said, his voice slightly calmer now but his eyes were still blazing with anger. He went to focus his attention back on the road but I noticed his knuckles were white from gripping the wheel so tight.

"Why didn't you tell Hunter?" He asked after a while.

I shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess I got scared and embarrassed."

Shawn let out a sigh.