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~Chapter Eighteen~

When Lizzie and Harper showed up that Friday night, the boys had already set up the TV with the first Avengers movie, and a bowl of popcorn was on the coffee table. A few smaller bowls were set out with an assortment of candies. Harper was quick to move over to sit by Logan, leaving Lizzie to choose whether to sit on the ground near Harper or the other couch where Hunter and Oliver were eagerly chatting about whatever was happening on the TV.

It wasn't long before the doorbell rang and Oliver was quick to dart for the door. I could hear his excited greeting for Skylar, definitely more excited to see her than any of the rest of us. I was still wondering if he would ever get the guts to ask her out, as it was decently obvious to the rest of us that they both liked each other. Oblivious fools.

Since my only friend was preoccupied by talking to Logan, I decided to sit down on the only vacant couch and simply watch the movie whilst everyone else socialized. The movie was starting to get interesting, as Thor made his entrance.

While I watched the movie, I suddenly felt a presence behind my back. I twisted my upper body, locking eyes with Hunter. He gave me a goofy grin, "Mind if I sit here? Oliver decided talking to Skylar was more important than our conversation on who the strongest avenger is." My mouth turned up into a small smile as I nodded.

Hunter chose to jump over the back of the couch, rather than go around to get to the opposite end of it. I flinched slightly at the movement, before settling back into the comfortable corner of the couch that I was in. I expected him to watch the movie after sitting down, but instead, he turned to me with a toothy smile. "So..." He trailed off.

My brow arched, "So?"

"I don't know where I was going with that. But, I figured that since everyone else was talking, we could too?" His sentence came out like a question. I laughed.

"Sure I guess, although I'm probably not the best person to have a conversation with..." I was unsure as to where this conversation would go, but I knew I wasn't against getting to know him a little bit better. Hunter chuckled slightly.

"Well, let's start simple. What's your favorite color?" I pondered this for a moment.

"Dark forest green, I think. Yours?"

"Navy blue. Favorite food?"

"Pizza," I responded, "Yours?"

"I think I've got to go with my mom's homemade mac 'n' cheese. What do you do in your free time?" I froze for a moment, unsure about what to say. I wasn't totally sure I wanted to let him in too close, and telling him about my drawings fell under the department of close friends.

"Umm, I uh- I doodle occasionally..." I mumbled. "What do you do?" I quickly asked, trying to turn the conversation back to him.

"Really? That's so cool! I definitely don't do anything that interesting, just playing football with my brother sometimes." I nodded at his response, slightly withdrawing back into myself. It seemed he noticed, as he intentionally looked away for a few moments, turning towards the TV as though to give me some form of space.

I heaved a sigh, feeling the tension that had built up slowly leave as my shoulders relaxed. Hunter turned back to me, his eyes boring into mine. I gave him a wane smile, trying my best not to completely shut down. He looked back to the TV before turning his gaze back to me.

My eyes flickered to the screen, uncomfortable with his eyes studying me. After several minutes of purposely trying to ignore him, I turned my head back to his and quietly snapped, "What?"

His mouth turned up into a smirk. "I was wondering when you'd talk. You know, you can be pretty quiet sometimes, although you do have some sass. I just want to know how to get you to act the way you do with Harper." His grin was that of a cheshire cat, or one that had just caught the mouse.

I rolled my eyes. "Am I not allowed to be quiet? Last time I checked there weren't any rules against being silent while watching a movie." Hunter laughed, his eyes lighting up slightly at my obvious sass. I chuckled slightly at his reaction, feeling the nerves slowly seeping away.

The two of us continued chatting throughout the movie, until around eleven, when the movie ended. I stood up, my back popping as I stretched. Looking at the other couch, I noticed Harper had fallen asleep against one side of the couch, while Logan was sprawled out on the other, scrolling through his phone. Skylar and Oliver were in similar positions, although both of them were asleep and Oliver was snoring.

I looked back at Hunter, noticing him stretching as well, craning his arms above his head. His shirt rode up slightly, and I quickly looked away. Hunter chuckled before grabbing a pillow and chucking it at Logan. Logan was hit in the face, almost knocking his phone out of his hands. I giggled before quickly slapping a hand over my mouth. Hunter froze for a second, locking eyes with me, then proceeded to bust out laughing.

Logan started chuckling as well, Hunter's laugh causing him to laugh. I watched as the three who were sleeping stirred at the loud laughter coming from Hunter, before Oliver woke up. Oliver blinked blearily before yawning and shaking his head. I froze slightly, watching as Oliver stretched before partially laying back down. His peace was quickly disturbed by Hunter chucking a pillow into his face, causing Oliver to freeze before pivoting his head in the direction of his friend.

A sly grin grew across Oliver's face, before he threw the pillow at Skylar, eliciting a yelp from her. Oliver's grin turned into a smirk at the sound, and he lunged for another pillow, yelling, "Pillow fight!"

The living room erupted into chaos, pillows being thrown in every direction and yelps and laughter could be heard around the room. I could feel my stomach aching with how long I had been laughing, and I could hardly throw a pillow across the room to strike Harper with how wobbly I was from laughing. By the time the rest of us stopped, Logan had Hunter pinned to the ground with a pillow half smothering his face while the two were chuckling.

All of us stood or sat for a few moments, the only sound coming from our laboured breaths as we tried to catch our breath. For a second, we were all silent, before Oliver began chuckling again, causing Skylar to burst into a fit of giggles and the rest of us followed shortly.

It took several minutes for us all to calm down, and even then occasionally one of us would release a burst of giggles, causing everyone else to begin anew. Once everyone had settled down, we all sat for a moment before moving to rearrange the pillows on the couch, and I began running my fingers through my hair to tame the mess it had become from the pillows that had managed to hit my head.

I stood idly to the side as the boys threw the remaining pillows onto the couches before plopping down themselves, Harper and Skylar fitting themselves in as well. Following them, I sat down on the same couch as earlier, Hunter having already jumped on and half laid down across the couch. He shifted slightly to make room for me to sit down, and the group settled down to watch whatever movie had begun playing in the midst of our fight.

As it got later, I watched quietly as the group nodded off to sleep one by one. Skylar was first, with her head slightly perched on Oliver's shoulder. Logan, surprisingly, was next, with Harper and Oliver following after shortly.

Soon, it was just Hunter and I awake, with myself watching the movie and Hunter scrolling threw his phone lazily. I glanced over at him, studying his features in the low light from the TV. As if feeling my gaze, he looked up and our eyes met for a split second before I looked away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a wry grin on his face before he returned to his phone.

Smiling softly, I shifted in my position, getting more comfortable as I continued watching the movie. My eyes slipped closed without my consent, and I faded away into nothingness. Although, I very briefly remember a blanket being there when I woke up, one that wasn't there when I fell asleep.

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So sorry for the long wait y'all! I have been incredibly busy and have had very little time to write, and updates will probably still be sporadic for a while. Either way, hope you guys enjoyed! Have a great day and take care everyone!