Chapter 13: Chapter 13
"Hunter! Come back!" Calvin yells out of his car window. I roll my eyes and turn around, flipping him off. I'm pretty sure he sees me because the sound of his car door slamming closed causes me to break out into a run.
"Don't run away from me!"
I force myself to run faster, down the roads whilst weaving in and out of parked cars. I don't want to be anywhere near him right now. I glance over my shoulder to find out where he is and he's a few feet back, catching up. I curse under my breath and force myself to go faster. Part of me is surprised that Calvin can keep up, I'm trained to run as fast as I possibly can. My stamina compared to other teenagers is high yet here Calvin is, barely breaking out in a sweat.
"Hunter," he growls behind me, speeding up his pace.
I grit my teeth as he draws closer and seize the opportunity to swing myself over the brick wall to my right. I clutch onto the top of it with my hands, hauling myself up before dropping over the other side. I land softly on grass in a crouch position and turn around to find Calvin perched on top of the wall, his eyes narrowed in my direction.
"Give up, you won't catch me." I warn him, focusing on my breathing. Calvin pauses on the top of the wall, one of his eyebrows raised high.
"Is that a challenge?"
I simply raise one hand up towards him, motioning for him to come at me.
The corner of his lips twitch up into a smirk and he pounces off the wall, lunging straight for me. I take the chance to sprint away from him, dodging various obstacles. I narrowly miss a tree trunk and behind me, Calvin laughs loudly.
"You should stop before you cause yourself serious harm sweetheart."
I let out a low unhappy noise and snap my head over my neck, glaring at him.
"Don't call me sweetheart, asshole."
And with that, I flick my dark hair over my shoulder before picking up the pace, the scenery around me passing in a blur. I can hear my breathing echoing inside my mind as I focus on my footing. The grass is damp and if I'm not careful, I'll slip and lose myself time. I don't know how long it's been since I've been running but every time I glance over my shoulder, Calvin is a few feet behind me. His face is the definition of concentration, green eyes masked over. The hood on his jacket is pulled up, obscuring some of his features.
I can feel my heart pounding inside my chest as I continue to run, naturally slowing down due to the ache in my legs. Every muscle in my body burns from the effort but I carry on going... until I reach a dead end.
"Fuck," I mutter, glancing around for an escape. In front of me is the back of a large building, nothing for me to use to climb up it. A dirty trash can lies directly in the middle of the floor but beside from that, it's empty. I slow right down, whirling around to find Calvin doing the same. His eyes are twinkling with victory and I watch as he grows closer, chest rising and falling quickly.
"You're quite the runner," he comments, zoning in on me like his prey. I don't say anything but stare at him intently, catching my breath. He continues to walk towards me in slow strides, his eyes so bright from under the hood of his jacket.
Once he approaches me, he places one hand on either side of my body, trapping me between them. I let out a small scoff, ignoring the way his scent is ravelling around me.
"You think you can stop me from escaping?" I say quietly, my words strained.
"No, but I can try." Calvin shoots back instantly, lowering his head until he's directly facing me.
"I just want to talk to you." He says quietly, searching my eyes for a reaction. I exhale sharply, leaning as far back against the wall as I can go.
"I'm listening," I mutter, crossing my arms over my chest.
Due to the restricted amount of space I have, my arms press against Calvin's and I feel the flutter go off inside my stomach again. Damn that flutter.
"I didn't mean to be so insensitive, okay?" Calvin says quietly, his warm breath hitting my skin. I glance up at him from under my lashes and find him watching me intently, never once blinking. The green in his eyes are simply enchanting, almost intimidating, resembling the sparkle of an emerald.
"You're a jerk." I say bluntly. Calvin pauses, dropping his gaze to the floor. The corner of his lips twitch upwards slightly --
"Do you find this funny? Because I don't." I snap at him, breathing through my nose in an effort to calm myself down. He still has me trapped between his arms, stood inches away from me.
"I don't find it funny," Calvin replies to me however I can still hear the humour lining his voice. He clears his throat, glancing up to maintain eye contact with me again.
"You're like no-one I've ever met before Hunter, you're impossible, annoying and infuriating all in one."
"Gee, thanks for the compliments Calvin. You're not exactly Mr Personality yourself." I hit back, narrowing my eyes at him further. Humour flashes across his features again --
"And, you're kind of a bitch." He adds, causing me to let out a threatening noise towards him. He finally drops his arms and takes a step back, holding his hands up in surrender. The arrogant smirk never once leaves his lips as he swings his arm to the right.
"I'm done talking. You're free to leave."
I stare at him for a few minutes, never once blinking. The entire time, he holds my stare and it feels like we're both having a silent conversation through our minds. I clear my throat and finally feel my breathing even out, coming back under control.
"Have I ever mentioned that I really hate you?" I ask him, pushing myself off the wall and sauntering away from him. Behind me, Calvin lets out a low chuckle -
"Yep, quite a few times actually."
When I glance over my shoulder to look at him, I find his eyes fixed on the back of my body. As soon as he realises I'm watching him, he turns away from me. My lips stretch out into a smirk.
"Hey Calvin?"
"Yeah?" He answers quietly from beside me.
"You can stop eye-raping me now."
"Ha, you wish." He shoots back sheepishly.
When I steal a glance at him as we walk back to his car, I notice his cheeks have the faintest of colour speckled across them.