A/N: A Halloween special with the characters from Hunt Me Down. What do you think: yay or nay?

*****

Nathaniel’s POV

“I’ve talked to my parents about the party on Friday,” Irene beamed as she sat down next to me a few minutes before Biology started.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that,” I said, clearing my throat. I had decided that the sooner we spoke, the better.

“Oh?” She moved her braid to the side. This hairstyle really suited her as it showed more of her pretty face. And that was the correct term for it – pretty, not beautiful – as it had a charming simplicity to it. No refined features or anything exotic, yet I found it very attractive.

“Nat?”

“Sorry, I was just thinking about… Never mind!” I cleared my throat again. “I wanted to ask you something. It’s silly, actually,” I let out a high-pitched bark of laughter. “It’s something Hunt and Val said and I wanted to make sure there weren’t any misunderstandings.”

“What did they say?” She asked, straightening up in her seat.

“Val said that by the way I asked if you were going to the party, I made it sound as if I was inviting you so that…” I couldn’t put it like my sister and say ‘so that you could be my spare hookup’ so I opted for another version. “So that I would talk to you if there was nothing better to do.” I paused to see her reaction but all Irene did was to wrap her knitted green vest around her torso. “I didn’t do it because of that; I just thought it would be nice to have one of my own friends there,” I summed up, slightly emphasizing the word ‘friends’.

“Yes, having a friend with you would be nice.” She looked away and started rummaging through her bag. “I can’t make it though; that’s what I was about to tell you earlier.”

I nodded even though she was now skipping through the pages of her notebook. The bell rang and the teacher began the lesson, ending it in the middle of class by giving us another group assignment for the remaining twenty minutes. Irene no longer displayed her bright smile and barely glanced my way or talked to me as we worked together. I began to realize that Val and Hunt had probably been right and I wondered if she really couldn’t make it to the party or was it my fault that she no longer wanted to go. If it was the later and she’d assumed I’d asked her out, how were things going to go back to normal between us?

*****

I opened the door to my room and froze. My heart sped up as I heard the familiar words – my words – being said by a voice that was not my own.

“There is a sense of vulnerability whenever one dares to venture out of one's comfort zone and share their work. It's very similar to the feeling of being naked in front of a crowd of strangers and, what is even more frightening, in front of people you are acquainted with, and it is absolutely dreadful facing those who are dear to one's heart. Once you have presented your creation, all of your secrets are out; every wishful dream, every wretched nightmare. Nothing is hidden any more, nothing is private. It takes courage to disclose one's most inner thoughts and we rarely posses the strength of character to do so.” Hunter tilted his head to the side. “Is this for homework?”

I rushed towards him and tried to snatch the black leather-bound notebook from his hand. He raised it up and I almost fell over his body as I made another attempt to retrieve it.

“This is private,” I noted, my face – just inches away from his – reddening and my voice a tremble.

“So it’ not homework then?”

“Give it back!” I insisted and reached for the notebook only to end up grasping the air again.

“But I enjoy the two of us being so close.” When his teasing didn’t startle me or make me take a step back, he raised an eyebrow; I always reacted to his flirts. He sighed and handed me the book. I clasped it securely and moved away from him.

“You sound so old in there; so serious and mature. You also sound pretty vulnerable.” He flung himself on my bed – something he’d done every time he visited – and placed his hands behind his head. “Why did you write it?”

“Because I enjoy writing,” I stated, opening a drawer and placing the notebook in it. As I closed it, I wondered how much would it cost me to modify my desk and put a padlock on it.

“You enjoy writing?” He repeated and I nodded even though it was a half-truth.

I needed it.

I needed to put my thoughts to paper, to get them out of my head and onto the pages. It was my relaxation technique, the therapy that kept me sane.

“Can I read more?” He asked.

“Why?” I replied with a question of my own.

“To get to know you.” He lifted the left corner of his lips up. “To find out what your wishful dreams and wretched nightmares are. Will I find myself in one of those categories? Maybe in both?”

“Don’t flatter yourself; I’ve got better things to do than sit around all day, thinking about you.”

Even thought that was exactly what I’d done the first few days after we moved. Now my head was buzzing with thoughts of another person though. Irene had been somewhat distant towards me this week and I was desperate to get back on her good graces and see her warm smile making her face even prettier.

“So you only think of me when you are in bed at night?” He teased and I slumped on my chair with a sigh, my face heating up in a way that I’ve grown to associate with Hunter’s presence. Sometimes he didn’t even have to speak to make me blush; sometimes it was enough for him to simply look into my eyes.

“So can I read more?” He asked in a tone that would’ve been polite had it not been for the slight impatient inflection to it.

“Maybe. But not from this,” I insisted.

“Why not?”

Because this was my diary and I had no intention to ever show it to anyone, even Val. It was the single, most private possession I had.

“It’s not finished yet,” I lied and by the way he narrowed his eyes at me I knew he’d caught up on that. He didn’t press the matter further and getting off my bed, he asked:

“Do you need help getting dressed for the party? I’d love to aid you in getting out of these clothes and then we’ll see if we make it to the party,” he winked.

“I am dressed for the party,” I commented.

“You are wearing a vest,” he noted.

“I like vests.”

“And they look good on you but just go casual this time; it’s a party.”

“This is how I dress, Hunter. I like shirts, I like vest and I like turtlenecks; that’s me.”

“Then put on a turtleneck; you look really good in those.” He sat up and bit his lip. “Put on the dark blue one; it’s my favorite for you.”

“You are not choosing my clothes for me,” I tried to sound firm but my words came out as a stutter. I got off the chair and turned my back to him as I rummaged through my wardrobe. At first, I’d had no intention to change but I needed to look away from him. My hands brushed against the soft blue turtleneck – it was my favorite as well – before I pulled out a dark brown one.

“Aren’t you going to get out so I could change?” I asked when he didn’t move.

“Are you shy, Natty?”

“Just leave.” I waved towards the door. “Who let you in anyway?”

“Val.”

“Into my room?”

“No, into your house. I came to your room so we could hang while she got ready for the party.”

“You can’t just come into a person’s bedroom without their permission,” I commented, my mood darkening.

Did he have no respect for my privacy?

Given how at home he’d made himself from the first time he came in here and how he didn’t think twice before using my stuff, I’d go with no.

“Just get out, please,” I tried to hide my irritation by being polite.

He got up without a word and took his time before getting out. I unbuttoned my vest and replaced it with the turtleneck before following him out of my room.

“Pretty good but the blue one looks better,” he declared, pushing himself off the wall just as Val’s door opened. She pulled her bright pink top down in an effort to make it appear longer for when we were to pass by our parents but the fabric climbed back up her toned body as soon as she let go of it.

“You are going to get cold like that,” I noted as we started walking towards the stairs.

“I’ll take my jacket, bro.”

“And I’ll still be able to see your belly button even with the jacket,” I muttered going down the steps and my sister rolled her eyes.

“We are leaving,” she announced as we passed by the living room.

“Black again?” Mom shook her head as she walked into the hallway to send us off. “Black jeans, black jacket, black shoes… We must really buy you new clothes, Vallery.”

“And they’ll probably be black again. Or dark violet or bright pink so my wardrobe won’t change much,” she was already on the porch when she said that, her back towards mom so that our parent wouldn’t notice the length of her top or her décolletage which displayed a fair amount of cleavage. At least she was wearing a bra.

“Nat, sweetie, you look so handsome,” mom’s attention was now on me and she smoothed my hair with her hand. “And proper,” she added loudly so Val – now halfway to the cab – could hear her. “Have fun and don’t stay late. You will keep an eye on him, won’t you, Hunter?”

“Nothing could stop me from keeping my eyes on him, Mrs. Reed,” he smirked, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and I wondered how mom could never get his hints which were sometimes far more blatant than this. “Come on, the taxi is waiting, Nat. And put on a smile, we are not going to a funeral. Tonight, we party.”

*****

A/N: What do you think about Irene’s behavior? Was she about to tell us she’d go to the party before she had the chance to talk to Nat or is this all in his head?

As for the diary – thank you for giving me your opinion! I’ve settled for a mixture of past and present tense, depending on what it says. Did you enjoy the little glimpse of it?

If you liked the chapter, please support it by clicking on the Vote button and don’t forget to tell me how you feel about a Halloween special.

Happy wattpading, lovelies! :)

PS: Chapter dedicated to Purringfeline. I love reading your comments. ♡