"What's your name?" His voice was deep.

"Dylan," I softly answered.

There was something about him that took my breath away. It wasn't his looks, although I'd be lying if I said he wasn't deviously handsome. It was something far beyond his appearance alone, something I had never experienced when meeting someone before. Maybe it was in his eyes, how they scanned over me, reading me as if I were a book and uncovering every detail. Or maybe, it was just the alcohol running through my veins that caused me to manufacture a crazy story in my head.

"Dylan," he repeated, my name dripping smoothly from his lips, "That's a beautiful name."

I smiled weakly, my hands fumbling nervously in front of me.

"W-what's your name?" I asked.

"Hunter," he said, picking his glass off the bar and taking a sip, "Are you and your friends over there celebrating something tonight?"

I nodded. "Yes, it's my birthday."

"Happy birthday. I'm not pulling you away from anything, am I?"

"No," I quickly responded, shaking my head, "They... they just had some crazy idea that you were looking at me."

Hunter raised his eyebrow, his face lighting up with amusement. I noticed him lean his body slightly towards mine before speaking, "I was." His hand moved to the side of my face, placing a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Can I buy you a drink?" 

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Abby's voice cried out, pulling me from my thoughts. 

"Jake takes me to some last-minute dinner with his parents – lovely people don't get me wrong but Jesus they talk my ear off," She had arrived at my apartment in the morning, continuously apologizing over missing last night and promising that she would make it up to me. I placed a cup of coffee in front of her as we sat at the table. "And the one god damn time I'm not there Hunter fucking Grayson is?"

I brought my cup to my lips and took a sip. "Just my luck, right?"

Abby shook her head, her mouth agape, as she seemed to go over the story I had just told her regarding the events of last night. "How long has it been? Two years?"

"A year and a half," I said, before mumbling, "Eighteen months, to be exact."

"You're kidding. God this is just..." Her voice trailed in disbelief.

"Unbelievable? Impossible? Fucking insane?"

"I was going to go with mind-blowing, but I think I like fucking insane better."

I couldn't help but let out a laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. The best way to describe what happened really was all of the above.

"How was it?" Abby asked, a slight hesitation in her tone. "You know, seeing Hunter again?"

I paused momentarily before responding, using the brief amount of silence to gather my thoughts as my eyes fixated on the cup of coffee in front of me. "I... I don't know. He acted the way he did the first time we met, but almost at another level. A more intense version, I guess."

That version of Hunter was one that he always led me to believe wasn't his true self. It was just a performance he put on for others, playing up the role everyone seemed to cast him as. Maybe the version of Hunter I met for the first time was his true self, and I was too gullible to believe that he wasn't the guy everyone described him as.

"It freaked me out at first." I could sense the worry in my friend's eyes as I looked back up. "But I know who he is... I know how he operates. He just said things to try and get a reaction out of me."

"Did you tell him about... you know... number eighteen?"

I shook my head. "No. He doesn't need to know. He would probably think it was all his doing." I couldn't even tell my parents about that one yet. Every attempt was met with miserable failure.

The worried look in Abby's eyes started to fade and become replaced by relief.

"Well, anyways, enough talk about... him." Her voice trailed off for a moment. "What about Charlie? Are you going to see him again? With the way you describe him, I'm sure Denise would approve."

I couldn't help but let out a laugh, thankful that the conversation had moved on to a lighter topic. "Oh god," I groaned. "The last thing I need to think about with all this mess is my mother. Besides, it's not like I'm going to go out on a date with this guy."

"Why not?" Abby looked at me as if I had said something incredibly ludicrous. "Dylan, you do know that one date won't kill you, right? You took number four on the list way too literally."

#4: Don't date (at least for a while)

It may have seemed like a borderline cliché item to add, and it definitely wasn't something I intended to keep up for so long. But when creating the list, it felt essential to have in order to find out who Dylan Miller was without feeling consumed by Hunter Grayson.

"Why not?" I repeated, "Well, for one, that seems like the easiest way to welcome Hunter back into my life. Did you miss that whole part of the story when I said they were friends?"

Abby's eyes dramatically rolled. "No I didn't miss that part," her voice hissed, "I also didn't miss the part where you talked about Charlie and said how nice the night was. It's been a while since I've seen you like this."

"And what exactly are you seeing?"

"You happy!"

My eyebrows knit together in confusion. "I've been happy, Abby! What are you talking about?"

"I meant happy about a guy," she explained, "Sure, you've been with other guys since Hunter, but no one has had this effect. I wish you could have seen you face light up when you talked about him."

Maybe... just maybe she had a point.

"All I'm saying is," Abby continued as she reached her hands across the table, "I think it would be good for you to go out with him just one time. One date won't hurt. After that, you never have to talk to him again if you don't want to."

Abby, as much as it pained me to admit, was right. There was something about Charlie and the way he effortlessly glowed with confidence. The entire night the two of us spent talking and laughing, never reaching a moment of conversation where it dipped into silence. A date with Charlie sounded less daunting by the second.

The sudden ringing of my cellphone on the table pulled me from the swarming thoughts in my head.

I pulled my hands away from Abby's touch and answered the call, pressing the device to my ear. "Hello?"

"Dylan? It's Charlie."

Hearing his voice on the other end, I suddenly found myself at a loss for words. Although Charlie had asked for my number, I was amazed to hear from him so soon, let alone at all.

"What?" She mouthed, clearly confused by my expression.

"Hey Charlie," I said, quickly regaining my composure, "What's up?"

Charlie cleared his throat on the other end. "I was wondering if you wanted to go for lunch today?"

"Yeah, I'd love to." The words fell from my lips before having a second to think over what I was accepting.

"Great!" The happiness in his voice radiated through the phone as I felt my lips curve into a smile. "If you want, you could come by beforehand, and I could show you that painting I mentioned last night?"

"I'd like that. Does noon work?"

"Noon is perfect. I'll text you my address."

After a quick goodbye and ending the call, I glanced back at Abby. The two of us sat in silence as we both seemed to process what I had just agreed to. While Abby seemed filled with joy, I, on the other hand, was terrified. The once flutter of excitement in my stomach was now a tight bundle of nerves.

"So... looks like someone has a date." 

Time seemed to pass all too quickly to regret my decision. Abby kept me busy by moving me around my bedroom, taking over every department necessary to get myself prepped for this date.

Standing in front of the mirror, I glanced myself over. A hint of light pink eyeshadow was brushed across my eyelids, complimenting nicely with my green eyes. I moved my hair behind my ears on both sides, letting curls of soft golden waves hang behind my shoulders.

The outfit chosen by Abby was one of my favourites. It was a short-sleeved summer dress in shade of sky blue which hung halfway down my thighs. While getting ready, Abby had made sure I had scrubbed off any marks of paint left on my skin. She hadn't noticed the small swipe of light green at the bottom of my dress, and I was hoping to escape without her noticing. The mark of paint on my clothing was something I found oddly comforting.

As I slipped on my pair of white sneakers, I said goodbye to Abby and headed out of my apartment, and towards Charlie's. The distance to his was only a few blocks, which meant I could walk and enjoy the weather. It was a beautiful September day in downtown Los Angeles; the radiating sun was accompanied with a light breeze that flew through the city.

Walking along the street, my phone began to vibrate. I looked at the device and let out a quiet groan at the caller ID flashed across the screen.

"Hello, mother."

"Dylan," she greeted coolly, "You haven't returned any of my calls or messages all week."

"I know, I'm sorry. I've been a little busy with...." I hesitated briefly, "School. New semester starting, it's a busy time."

"No, Rosia!" My mother snapped on the other end of the phone. "That arrangement is all wrong!"

There was a wave of precious silence as I heard my mother's muffled voice bark orders to the housekeeper.

"Anyways, Dylan. Your father has been asking if you are coming to the charity gala."

I stopped outside Charlie's address and began to tap my foot impatiently against the pavement as my mother continued to ramble over the event. The front door of the apartment complex swung open as an older man stepped to walk outside. He noticed my presence and held the door open, motioning for me with his hand to walk in. I silently thanked him before slipping inside.

"Anyways, darling," my mother's voice chimed in as I made my way up the stairs, "Your father would really love for you to attend and I hope for my sake you find someone to bring. Maybe a nice boy in one of your little classes."

"Yeah, sure. I'll get right on that," I did my best to cover the sarcastic tone in my voice that was begging to escape.

"Good, and another thing..." My mother continued on as I stood in front of Charlie's door.

The door suddenly swung open. I looked up, my chest tightening as I locked eyes with the figure in front of me.

"Are you listening, Dylan?" Her voice snapped at me, pulling me back into reality.

"I... I..." I pathetically stuttered into the phone in a faint whisper, "I have to call you back."

My eyes stayed fixed on his as I pulled the phone from my ear and hung up the call.

With a look of pure amusement, he finally broke the silence.

"Good to see you again so soon, Angel." 

2019;

first off, this chapter is dedicated to @nexionn (for making me post and listening to my rants) 

& to @findingfxith (my lil egg twin <3)

hope y'all enjoyed this lil chapter :D

until next time! don't forget to comment/vote if you enjoyed xo