Chapter 12

~Hunter~

       I stared at the ice cream container in front of me, repeatedly stabbing it with my spoon before finally taking a bit out of it. I really shouldn't be doing this but I was a very mopey person and ice cream always helped.

       It was a shame chocolate was the only flavour left in the house.

       But that didn't stop me from eating this ice cream.

       Dad walked into the kitchen, noticing that I was sitting out the counter but he didn't take much note of what I was doing before looking for something to snack on. "So how did the song go?" he asked. "Was Kevin pleased with it?"

       "Yep," I said. "He was more than happy to include it on the album and take off the song I dread."

       Dad furrowed his eyebrows. "Then why don't you sound happy? That's amazing news, Hunter."

       "I know," I said. "But that's not why I'm moody right now."

       "Then why exactly are you moody?" Dad asked.

       I didn't reply. I couldn't. Dad wouldn't understand and I definitely didn't want to say the reason out loud.

       Oh, it's no big deal, really. I just saw the guy I'm in love with kiss his ex-girlfriend and he definitely seemed into it. And he would have told me if she did something to annoy him because he complains about her all the time. But you know, no big deal.

       Since I wasn't saying anything, Dad looked over at me and finally realized what I was doing. "Is that...?" He walked over to see the chocolate ice cream in front of me. "What the hell are you doing?"

       "What does it look like I'm doing?" I asked. "I'm eating ice cream."

       "No, you're not," Dad said, taking the spoon out of my hand and closing the container. "Seriously, are you trying to make your disease even worse?" He slapped me upside the head. "You're not supposed to be eating chocolate."

       "Well, this is the only ice cream we have," I said. "And at least I'm not turning to alcohol to drown my sorrows."

       Dad sat down in the stool beside me, pushing the ice cream container to the side. "So who broke your heart?"

       "What are you talking about?" I asked.

       "I know a broken heart when I see one," Dad said. "I'm the king of broken hearts."

       "The king of broken hearts?" I repeated. "You only had a broken heart once. And it wasn't really a broken heart. It was just you telling mom you're in love with her and not giving her time to reply because you thought she wasn't going to feel the same way."

       "Okay, fair enough," Dad said. "But I can tell when my son has a broken heart."

       I sighed. "It's not... It's not a broken heart. I'm just... Really confused. Look, it's complicated, Dad. I don't want to get into it. I'd rather figure it out on my own. In the meantime, I think I'm going to go see Thunder."

       "Okay," Dad said. "But just know that I'll always be here if you need someone to talk to. Anyway, I am going to continue finding something to snack on before your mother and I have to go out somewhere. I was going to ask you if you could watch Ivy but it seems like you have too much on your mind to focus on babysitting."

       "Well, you're right there," I said before getting up from my seat and heading to the backdoor so I could head to the stables. 

       And as if things couldn't get any worse, it was pouring outside. I was still going to go see Thunder but there was no way I was going to go riding in the rain, especially when my mind was so foggy.

       I headed outside in the pouring rain but before I could even step foot into the stables, I heard someone call my name. I turned around, silently sighing as I saw Cannon walk over to me. "Is everything okay?" he asked. "You haven't said a word to me since we left the recording studio."

       "Yeah, everything is fine," I said, about to head into the stables but Cannon gently grabbed my arm to stop me.

       "Except you're my best friend and I can tell when you're lying," Cannon said. "Something is clearly bothering you. Did I do something to upset you?"

       A huge part of me was really wanting to tell Cannon what I saw and how much it hurt me. A huge part of me wanted to tell him how I felt, even if I rarely understood my own feelings.

       A huge part of me just wanted to be with Cannon.

       And right now, that part was overpowering the part that wanted to keep everything quiet. Just seeing Cannon standing here in the pouring rain, looking extremely worried that he had done something to upset me made my heart beat rapidly. Seeing him standing here was reminding me of the type of person I wanted to be with; funny, charismatic, warming, sweet.

       I didn't think I could keep my feelings a secret any longer.

       So before I could even stop myself, I said, "I saw you and Megan."

       "You... You saw me and Megan?" Cannon repeated. "I don't get it. Why would that make you upset?"

       "Because..." I said slowly. "Because you deserve someone a lot better than Megan after everything she had done to you. You deserve someone who loves you as much as you love them."

       "Yeah, well, that's never going to happen," Cannon said. "Believe me. And Megan and I didn't get back together. She kissed me to try to prove there was still something between us but there wasn't anything. There never will be. Not when..." 

       Come on, Cannon, just say it. Please. I'll say it back. I promise.

       He didn't say it.

       "Not when what?" I asked, hoping he could continue the sentence.

       Cannon still didn't say it. He didn't say anything. Instead, he just stared at me and I was finding myself lost in his eyes. My heart had gained a speed I didn't even know it reached.

       Cannon eventually said something but it wasn't what I wanted to hear. "I'm going to head inside. Don't want to catch a cold."

       He started heading back to the house which made my heart feel like it was going to drop. If I didn't say anything now, I was probably never going to gain the courage to tell him if he didn't tell me first. And knowing him, he wasn't going to say anything.

       It took all the confidence I had inside of me to stop Cannon from leaving by saying, "Your dad was wrong."

       Cannon stopped in his tracks, turning to face me with furrowed eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

       "When you went to go visit your parents to talk to them about their divorce," I said. "What your dad said to you."

       "You told me you didn't hear any of the conversation," Cannon said, carefully making his way back to me. "Why did you lie?"

       I shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't know what to say."

       "Don't say anything," Cannon said. "Just... Please forget what you heard."

       "I can't just forget something like that," I said.

       "You're going to have to try," Cannon said. "I can't... I can't deal with this right now."

       I sighed as he tried walking away again but I grabbed his hand and pulled him back to me. "Cannon, listen to me. I told you, your dad is wrong about what he said. About... About me not feeling the same way."

       "Wait, what are you saying?" Cannon asked.

       Just take the chance. Don't turn back now. Just take the damn chance.

       "This," I said before resting my hands gently on his cheek, pressing my lips onto his. A small part of me was afraid that I was only imagining my feelings for Cannon; that I really didn't feel anything and I was only confused because of all the attention he gave me as my best friend.

       That wasn't the case.

       This kiss, this simple kiss, was enough to set fireworks off. I never believed in that. I thought it was just some made up, crummy thing but... I definitely felt it with my lips against Cannon's.

       As I pulled away, I looked at Cannon to see his eyes clothes. He released a breath before saying, "W-wow." He opened his eyes to look at me. "Th-that was... Unexpected. Do you... Do you really feel something about me? You're not lying? Because I don't know if I could get hurt again."

       "Hey," I said softly. "I would never play with your feelings, Cannon. Never."

       Cannon smiled brightly before our lips met again, the rain pouring down around us.

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;sojg;osdngj

lol i'm keeping this author note short because it's past 2 am ahahahah byeeeeeee