Tainted Love (bxb)

Chapter 9 - Hunters and Rabbits

"Ok, so you won't do anything and just give up?" Cecilia asked, as she was pouring herself another glass of wine. We were having dinner at my place, well, it was more of a leftover feast and Cecilia brought the wine, while Pax gulped down some beer and Lynton drank his apple juice. They all loved to spend the evenings at my place, since I had no parents to annoy us and the food the cook prepared was always good. Lynton said he liked to be with us, since we were his only real friends and that boy already had a soft spot in my heart already. 

"No, I mean, it is basically impossible for me to let him go. I just...don't think its much use for me to try and get him to like me just like that. He needs time to see, that I'm not the bad guy he thinks I am" I said and Cecilia lifted her eyebrows, biting down a smile. 

"Well, to be completely honest here Ash, he isn't entirely off tracks here. I mean you aren't a bad guy and you had to work hard all your life, but the good grades, the respect and the title, all of that was just given to you. I'm not saying you have it easy, but I don't think you can proof him wrong there" Cecilia said and I fell quiet, knowing she was right. I mean, in theory, everything had always been given to me. The respect, the title, the grades...everything. But I could hardly just go to Riley and tell him that he was right, but my life wasn't all that easy, just because I never had to study for a test. 

Was I really this obnoxious asshole Riley thought I was? It had never occurred to me, that my mate despited me for having an easy pass in life without even realizing it, so I had to be oblivious, right? That still didn't tell me how to approach this matter. Should I start and fail, just so Riley would like me? Should I start doing charity work, so he would see I wasn't that oblivious bad guy he made me out to be? Maybe I should change my appearance into a less threatening one...like Sawyer! Nicely dressed, neat hairstyle that just screamed Harvard or Yale. But I didn't like the idea of my mate falling for a fake version of me...that just didn't sit right with me. 

"Asher, let me tell you something" Pax said, with his mouth full, as he was just digging into some of the leftover fried noodles, making me chuckle slightly. He pointed the fork at me, trying to look serious, but it was hard not to laugh, when one of the noodles was sightly hanging out of the corner of his mouth. "There are two kinds of people in this world: Hunters and Rabbits! One hunts and survives, while the other runs and gets hunted, until they die! Now you have to ask yourself one question: which one are you going to be?" he asked and he had totally lost me there. I thought we were talking about my mate? 

"Well, I mean Werewolves are natural predators, so I'm guessing-" I replied calmly but was rudely interrupted. 

"No I mean with Riley god damn it! Are you going to hunt or run away and die??" he asked and I frowned, still not really understanding what he was trying to get me to say. I understood the metaphor, a bit, but it had nothing to do with my problem of appearing like an asshole in the eyes of my mate. Luckily, Lynton cleared his throat, shyly sitting up and getting my attention. 

"I-I think what P-P-a-ax is trying to say i-is, that if you sit around a-and do nothing, j-just waiting for him to change his m-mind about you, he will get a-away. J-Just trying to make y-yourself appear less like the g-guy Riley thinks you are, w-won't get you his l-love. You have to prove i-it to him and a-actively t-try to make him f-fall in l-love with you, n-not just not hate you. T-The line between love and h-hate is very thin and friendline-es-ss i-is not between them...S-Sorry i-if I overstepped a-a line" Lynton stuttered, basically mumbling the last part. He had gotten a lot more brave and calmer around us, but sometimes, he still felt like an intruder. 

"What he said!" Pax nodded, pointing at Lynton, who wore a shy smile, happy since Pax showed that he hadn't overstepped a line at all, but rather made some good points. He actually did, because I guess the line between hate and love was a thin one and more easily crossed than from hate to thinking the other person was nice and from that to love. And if that would fail, I could still try to make him at least be ok with my existence. What could happen other than that I would fail? Nothing, I guess. But there was just one big question in the way of this perfect little plan.