better than this

Chapter 40

Hunter

When I hang up on Blair I can't help but miss her even more. It's been such an amazing experience this whole month meeting all these incredible people in the industry that I hadn't met before handing me all these crazy new opportunities. Today has been pretty surreal as well, meeting Shawn again, the first time being yesterday, and working on this song together with a few other people - writers and the like - but I do miss her. Blair. She's all I write about now. I take a deep breath, close my eyes and turn back to everyone else. "Let's get this shit started." I say and rub my hands together, feeling newly inspired to get this done.

Blair

The rest of the day creeps by slowly as I pack up a few last minute things, go over my schedule for my first week at classes, look at some jobs around where I live for the money to help pay for my flat. I just keep thinking about Hunter all day. About that call this morning which was such an amazing gift that I feel like I need to do something for him but I can't think what. I feel like he's always making the effort for me and it's never the other way around which doesn't make me feel too great. I'll just try to make this party (well more like get together) as perfect as he wants it to be.

Two days later...

I wait for Hunter at the train station, his train has been held back a little so I sit down on one of the metal chairs, the cold almost painful through my jeans against my warm skin and wait, looking around every few seconds for him. Soon enough, I hear someone shout my name and I whip my head up to look and that's when I see him. Man have I missed his face this past month. I run over to him, a huge lopsided grin spread over his face. He drops everything in his hands and holds out his arms and I run right into them full force, wrapping my own arms tightly around his waist and pressing my face into his chest fully aware of how cheesy we're being. He envelops me and rests his head on top of mine. I pull back slightly and he smiles at me, breathless and staring up at him. A single curl falls on his face into his eyes and his face shifts to one of irritation for a split second before he looks back at me, grinning even wider than before at him, I love that curl. "Hey there neighbour." He says quietly, his nose almost touching mine because it's so close. "Hey." I say just as quiet and the rest of the station melts away and it's as if it's just us two there. I realised that we must have been really annoying to the other people there but I didn't care, I missed him.

Hunter closes his eyes and leans in to kiss me, pulling my body closer to his own. My eyes close as well as I absorb his presence, moving my arms up and around his neck just as our lips touch, slowly. His lips are soft and gentle against my own which sends electricity through my body, a feeling I don't think I'll ever get used to. "Fuck. Have I missed you." He says into my mouth with a small laugh and I smile and kiss him again, despite the eyes I could feel on us. When we part I look around to see a small group of people who have gathered to watch us, most of them smiling although one man looked mildly irritated. A few people clapped and Hunter gave a little bow before turning back to me.

He picks up his suitcase from the floor, along with his train ticket and a few pieces of paper which were most likely to do with the journey. They had scattered a bit when he dropped them earlier so I help him pick them up. I notice his leather jacket is still on the floor as well. "Do you want me to take that?" I ask him, mainly just so we can hold hands with his spare hand. "Put it on." He says, his signature smirk on his lips. I roll my eyes, still smiling and lift up the coat which he quickly takes from me and lays over my shoulders all gentlemanly. I laugh and roll my eyes again. "I've missed that." He says with a laugh as he picks his suitcase back up and holds out his hand for me to take. I take the papers and then take his hand and intertwine our fingers as we walk, smiling at the familiar feeling of his callused fingertips against the back of my hand. "Missed what?" I question and he smiles as he wheels his suitcase out the door. "Just...how much you...you know, roll your eyes...I know it's stupid but...well you do it a lot." He says with a light pink blush that's just creeped up his face and I laugh at him and roll my eyes again, just for his benefit. We walk to my car and I help him by watching him admiringly in his reasonably tight white t-shirt as he puts his suitcase in the boot. I don't take off his jacket and inhale as much of his scent as I can while I'm sat waiting for him to come round. Hunter smells so good I can't even explain it. He gets in next to me and eyes up the jacket but says nothing and just starts smiling again.

Hunter

Blair plays the radio on our way back, singing along to a song she likes as we drive. I sing with her, missing the sound of her voice. Granted, I was only gone a month and I probably shouldn't miss her as much as I do. But I do and maybe that makes me dramatic? I don't know and to be quite honest I don't particularly care. I missed her and she missed me and that is all that matters. "So are you ready to move?" I ask her and she glances away from the road for a second before looking back out the front window. "I can't wait." She says, grinning and I can see how excited she is which makes me excited. "And are you?" She asks me and I shrug my shoulders. "I lived in London all my life, living here was just like a three month, and a few days, holiday. Except now my mum lives here as well, which I guess is a bit different." I say and she nods her head thoughtfully in response.

We pull into her house and she switches off her engine before getting out and helping me with my bag, we decided I might as well stay at hers today and tomorrow because we're leaving to go back to London the day after extremely early so it would be pointless having to wake my mum up as well. I'll obviously go see her between now and then though. I've already packed the majority of my belongings and brought a lot of them over to the flat I got a while ago when I left for London the first time. We go up to her room after saying a quick hello to her parents and I am shown to her spare room. She has a spare room? "Wait...what? You've had a spare room this whole time?" I ask her, remembering that week her parents went away when she made me sleep on the couch. She smiles apologetically and I shake my head at her, "Yeh I um forgot." She says and I laugh and roll my eyes. "Anyway it's not like you've ever actually slept anywhere in this house that isn't my bed." She says under her breath as though her parents can hear her from a floor down. I laugh and raise my eyebrows before closing my eyes and turning around, falling face first on the bed, she laughs at me and I smile and turn my head so I can see her. "I slept on the couch once." I protest, my voice muffled as my face is squished against the bed and she shakes her head. "Nope. I prepared the couch for you to sleep in and then we...umm...you know. And then you begged me to sleep in my bed. Literally begged. On your knees." She says dramatically and I roll my eyes at her and lift my head before burying my face in the mattress in front of me self-consciously. "Yes. That is because there are few things I love more in this world than waking up next to my gorgeous gorgeous girlfriend ." I try to say it in a light hearted voice but I think it comes out more serious, it is the truth after all. "I think Huntsy bear just wanted some cuddles." She sticks out her bottom lip as she mocks me. I roll my eyes at her, smiling because she looks so cute. I sit up and look at her, a playful smile on my face as I get up as I walk slowly over to her so that I'm in front of her, towering slightly over her. "Oh you're gonna wish you never said that." I joke as I wrap my arms around her and lift her up. She grins widely and screws her eyes shut, letting out a small squeal and I spin her around a few times before putting her down on the bed, falling on top of her, slightly out of breath. She grins up at me, her eyes dancing and I grin right back at her, my forehead pressed softly against hers as our noses touch together. I slowly and tentatively edge my face in closer to hers and am about to kiss her when there's a light knock on the door and a polite cough. "Mum." Blair breathes as she quickly sits up and I jump off of her, our heads collide. "Ow." I say and she laughs nervously. I look over at her mum in the doorway and smile apologetically. "Miss Evans I - I'm sorry I didn't mean to - it's your house and I wouldn't want to overstep boundaries or --"
"Nonsense. Nothing to apologise for. However, you are staying in my house for the next two days so please try to keep...that to a bare minimum. Or just don't do it. Ever." She gestured between us, despite me being on the other side of the room now and gives me a stern look which kind of terrifies me before smiling her warm smile at her daughter and leaving, reaching for the door handle. "Oh and you might want to close this." She adds before pulling the door closed behind her. I look at Blair and she lets out a long breath. "Well that was awkward." She says and then laughs to herself. "Well I guess not much kissing for us two for the next two days, huh Collins?" She remarks and I let out a nervous breath. "That scared the shit out of me."