Bad Decisions (Agnes)

Hunter was beginning to realize that he spent a lot of time mulling over stupid ass, cliché sayings that either did or didn't apply to his life. Fuck clichés. Every cloud has a silver lining - Bullshit. Time heals all things - The biggest fucking lie that Hunter had ever heard in his life. But this time - for once - it seemed like at least one stupid, old as time saying was true. You don't know what you have until it's gone. As those words ran through Hunter's head, he knew without a doubt that nothing truer had ever been written or said or thought, ever, anywhere. You don't know what you have - you don't appreciate what you have - until it isn't yours anymore. You take advantage of it every single day of your life, until it escapes you, and then you realize that you should have been paying a lot more attention. But by that time, it's too late.

Hunter had taken advantage of a lot of things. Like having a best friend, back before he'd ruined things with Aoife. And again, before he'd lost Ariel. Like having a brother - something that he never thought he would ever have to lose. And now, most recently, having a girlfriend. And not even a shitty girlfriend. A really amazing, beautiful, caring girlfriend who put up with his bullshit for a really long time before she'd finally had enough. Now that he looked back at it, Hunter knew how much of a git that he'd been to her. He knew that he'd been blocking Seren out ever since that day in Diagon Alley. He knew that he'd been hurting her. But he hadn't realized until today just how far he'd pushed her.

Earlier that day, Seren had broken up with him. It wasn't exactly a huge surprise - on some level, Hunter knew that he'd expected it. Maybe even hoped for it at times. But after all that time pushing her away, and not wanting to let her in, he hadn't even considered the possibility that he could miss her this much once she was gone. He hadn't expected it to hurt him. But it did, and now, sitting on his bed leaning back against the headboard, he couldn't get the moment she'd walked away from him out of his head. He'd apologized and pleaded, but it was too late. He'd known that it was too late. He knew that it was his fault. And he knew that he had to let her go, because he was spiraling into a world of darkness that it wasn't fair to pull Seren into. And he knew that she deserved better.

But damn it, did he regret letting it happen. Why hadn't he treated her better? Let her help? Why was he so bent on pushing everyone that he cared about out of his life, until he was just completely alone and miserable and lost? First Ariel. Now Seren. You would think that it would get easier, losing people. But it never did. Knowing that from that point on, nothing would ever be the same, was never simple. And Hunter knew that the next day, when he had to walk into class and ignore her. Sit with someone else - anyone else. It would be just as difficult as it had been with Ariel. With a sigh, he turned and gazed out of the window. It was late, and he would usually be down in the common room at this time, potentially joined by Agnes. But Agnes had been spending less time with him since she'd started spending time with Evan. And Hunter had been spending less time with her since Ariel had re-entered his life. So, pushing that thought aside, he watched the snow fall outside and allowed his mind to wander.

Evan Williams was the biggest shit to ever walk on the planet. No, correction: Evan Williams was the biggest shit to ever exist in the same universe as Agnes. Yes, that's more like it. Not only was he a shallow git, but he was a judgmental prick. He was so in love with that Darcy Wilde girl, the Head Girl, the one who was just so pretty and beautiful and who could never do wrong. She was a saint. Great, it was fine, really. Agnes didn’t care. It’s not like she had reached the point in which everything that Evan did was golden in her eyes. It’s not like she liked him enough to wonder if he’d be the one to make her happy for the rest of her life. It’s not like she actually cared about him and forgot to hang out with Hunter at night because now she had Evan. Except, it was like that. Agnes liked Evan Williams too much that it actually hurt to even think about him and Darcy. This whole situation brought a new meaning to being heartbroken. It physically hurt. Agnes was not ready for this. Definitely not ready.

What hurt the most was that she kept on being so stupid. She had burned her hand on the stove once, and paid the price for it. Now, she had done it again. Agnes wanted to throw Evan Williams off the Astronomy Tower. Death by Agnes or something like that sounded reasonable enough to go on his tombstone or whatever the English called it. She just wanted to rant and break a window and punch Evan and kick him in the balls until he no longer had a chance to procreate with Darcy or any other girl. Okay, maybe not that much, but she was still hurt enough that he’d just gone along with everything Agnes felt and played with her feelings that way. He’d never liked her, he’d always been in love with Darcy Wilde. Why was it necessary to even lead her on and pretend he did? Why did Agnes always fall in love with the stupid ones?

Her bare feet were freezing, as she had been out again, trying to keep herself from slapping Evan across the face every time she saw him, and avoiding Hunter because….well, he’d warned her about it. Admitting defeat to Darcy was one thing, but to do that to Hunter was like admitting that he was better and smarter than Agnes. Meaning, it wasn’t going to happen. Agnes would keep her dignity in front of Hunter, no matter how angry the simple sight of Williams made her. Climbing up to the Gryffindor Tower, Agnes flipped the Fat Lady off as she muttered the password and slammed the door. That portrait was the worst thing to happen to Hogwarts, why did it have to belong to the Gryffindors? Walking in, she was greeted by the warmth of the fireplace and the loneliness of the Common Room. In a way, she was glad because that meant Hunter was probably sleeping, but she was also a bit upset because he wasn’t there. Despite how annoying Hunter was and had been about the Evan thing, it was nice to know he cared a little. Or, at least Agnes thought he cared, but really she wasn’t so sure. Hunter was always a git and she wasn’t very sure of a lot of things when it came to him.

Naturally, Agnes made her way to the Girls’ Dormitories, but stopped as soon as she stepped foot on the stairs. Where was Hunter? Shaking her head, she adjusted her burgundy coat and headed upstairs. The thing about Agnes’ clothing style was that she didn’t like wearing shoes. Shoes were unnecessary. She’d come to that conclusion at the Halloween Party, right after she’d had to take so much clothing off some person whose name will never be said by her own lips again. Agnes mentally flipped Evan off as she remembered the day that will never ever be thought of again. That one thing that nobody should ever know about. That one secret that would die with both of them. Lies, she’d probably tell Hunter at some point. Agnes just didn’t want to be known as the girl who slept with Evan Williams only to find out he had been loving someone else the whole time and therefore she turned out to be the biggest fool in history. Again.

No, Agnes was going to be a good person. A good student. A decent girl that someday a guy wouldn’t be afraid of introducing to his parents. Yes, that’s the kind of girl Agnes would be from now on. Reaching her dorm, she slipped into her pajamas and sat on her bed for what seemed to be an eternity. The girl who liked to snore as if she were a bear was fast asleep and, surprisingly, not snoring that night. It was eerily quiet. “Oh, done with this shit.” She muttered as she stood up and left the dormitories. No, she wanted to talk to Hunter. She wanted to have some sort of social connection to anyone, someone she apparently hadn’t slept with. Seriously, am I a slut? Is this what it is? Is that why people don’t like me? Her mind was crowded with questions as she walked down the stairs and reached the Common Room. It was alone, just as she’d expected it to be, but she knew where to find Hunter. Hunter slept in the dorms for the boys a year above him, because it was empty and he wanted space or something like that.

Tiptoeing her way to the Boys' Sixth Year Dorms, Agnes knocked lightly on the door before she actually opened it. It would be insanely uncomfortable if Hunter was actually sleeping, but she needed someone to take her mind off things. Again. Is it possible to be sort of attracted to someone because of what they stand for in you mind but not because you actually like them...? Opening the door just a crack, Agnes peeked in and saw him by the window. "Awesome, I thought you were asleep already but I'm glad you're not." She said as she opened the door fully and walked in as casually as she could. "Seriously, I'm going to become a lesbian or something." she said as she sat on the bed across from him, brought her feet up and waited for him to either keep talking or kick her out.

Hunter didn't even look as the door creaked open - his eyes remained locked on the snowfall outside, trying to pick out his tree near the lake through the darkness. He wasn't sure who he expected it to be, coming to find him at this hour. Probably Ariel, checking on him to make sure that he was okay - after all, he hadn't said much when he saw her earlier. He hadn't even told her. Because saying it out loud - even to Ariel - made it sting all the more. And of course, then he'd have to admit that it was completely his fault. Which it was - and he already knew that. But he didn't want to have to say it out loud. It was also possible that it was Aoife, coming to bug him for firewhiskey or food. That was pretty much the only time that Aoife bothered to seek him out on her own - if there was something in it for her. Maybe Hogwarts had suddenly gotten another weird transfer student, and they were a sixth year, and they were coming to put their things in their new room, only to find a violent, depressed Hunter sitting in their bed. Yeah, well, fuck them.

But in reality, it was probably just Ariel. "Hey," he said softly, still without looking over. "Sorry I didn't talk much at dinner, I just - " but he quickly cut himself off as the person came into view. Hunter just watched her as she climbed up onto the bed and made herself comfortable, saying that she was glad he was still awake. "Oh, it's you," he said, the words probably sounding a bit more dissatisfied than he'd intended them. Or maybe he did mean them that way, because it wasn't like he and Agnes were friends or anything. It wasn't like her presence really mattered to him. But he still couldn't help that slight irritation in the pit of his stomach that she'd deserted him so easily for Evan Williams. When had he even talked to her last? And in the past, he would have let her think that it was an insult. That he really didn't want her there. That he didn't need her.

But in light of recent events - his reunion with Ariel, his breakup with Seren - maybe it was about time that Hunter stop being such a complete and total git and start caring at least a little bit about the pain that he caused other people. So, after a moment of hesitation, he sighed and gave her what he hoped was at least a slightly apologetic look. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just thought you were - someone else..." As he trailed off, Hunter's eyes searched her face. Why was she even there? And then she was saying something about being a lesbian, which caused Hunter to raise an eyebrow at her. It should have been funny, but considering his current mood, it really wasn't. Maybe a little. "I mean, I'm sure the male population of Hogwarts wouldn't complain - I mean, as long as you make out with another equally attractive girl in the middle of parties where everyone can see like you already do with obnoxious gits."

Okay, yeah, that came out badly, and Hunter couldn't quite hide the irritation in his voice. Or the slight amusement. So yeah, it was kind of annoying and funny at the same time. But either way, it didn't really matter. Because Agnes had come looking for him. And if she chose to be offended by his words, she didn't have to stay. "Really, though, shouldn't you be with your brilliant Ravenclaw boyfriend, or whatever the hell you guys are?" Okay, this being nice shit was definitely harder than Hunter had thought. Had he really been naturally nice at any point in his life? He definitely had, but he wasn't sure how at the moment. Sighing again, he tried to make up for his words by throwing a joking tone into his voice when he spoke again. "I mean, you're kind of fraternizing with the enemy right now, you know," he pointed out, angling his head to look out of the window again.

It was frustrating. The knowledge that no matter how normal everyone and everything around him was, the feeling that his life was just thrown off - again - wouldn't be ceasing any time soon. Because he might not have treated Seren well. But he did care about her. And he did rely on her, though she wasn't able to see it. Seren was one part of his life that was constant, in his otherwise downward spiral of a world. He'd lost Ariel, his family was destroyed, his feelings for Aoife were all over the place. But Seren was always the same - always there - always her. And he'd completely underestimated how much he needed that. He'd taken it completely for granted. And now, she was gone. And the knowledge that he could never go to her for support was weighing heavily on him. A lot more heavily than he'd anticipated.

Hunter didn't kick her out, which was a huge improvement, really. But he also didn’t seem very pleased with her presence either. Agnes didn’t care much right now, it never seemed like Hunter was glad to see her anyway. This time, Agnes didn’t flinch, didn’t say anything sarcastic or remotely rude to him, because after talking to him for as long as she had, Agnes had gotten used to his moody shit personality. He was a disease and she was immune to it. Seeing him sigh, Agnes shook her head, “Don’t pretend. At least not with me.” She’d had enough of pretending, and that was probably the only thing that she wouldn’t allow Hunter to humiliate her with. Then, with her eyes following the door, she smiled, “Someone else? Like Aoife O’Donnell?” she turned back and laughed a little too loudly. Her usual Agnes laugh, or at least the one her family knew.

Then he was replying to her lesbian comment. “They would, because then I’d hook up with all of their girlfriends, and leave none of them for the guys.” she said in the most serious tone she could, trying to keep a straight face. Her lips curled slightly upward, giving the whole illusion away. “No, but really. I’m absolutely done with the male population of the world.” she said, then to make her point even much more clear to herself, she muttered “So done.” But then she caught the last part of his reply fully. like you already do with obnoxious gits. “Well, that’s none of your business is it? Who I make out with is my choice.” Hunter had technically warned her about Evan’s gitness, but the choice was hers and she had fucked up. Again. This whole thing would have been normal had it been Ansel who said it, but it was Hunter and he was irrelevant.

“Besides, I don’t tell you who to date, do I? Because if it were for me I’d pair you up with Aoife O’Donnell since you’re both annoying shits.” she said, hoping Hunter really wouldn’t take that too seriously. Agnes didn’t think Aoife was an annoying shit, but she was selfish and arrogant, which was close enough. Really, Agnes didn’t mind Aoife very much. She was just another student at Hogwarts, nothing important to the point where she should be either loved or hated by Agnes. “We’re nothing.” Agnes replied a little too quickly, wrapping her arms around her knees, “We never really were, I suppose.” She admitted, and the strange pain in her chest came back, gone for only a few minutes of slight peacefulness that Hunter brought. “Yeah, well the enemy isn’t winning, and Professor Malfoy took too many points off you and Aoife for not following rules.” she pointed out, making sure that Hunter remembered all those wonderful points that would never count towards the house cup because Gryffindor sucked this year.

There was something off about him, though, and Agnes almost felt bad for him. If he’s thinking about his brother again, he needs to learn how to let go. Glancing at him, Agnes thought of how different he must look to the rest of the world but how normal he looked to her. “Are you okay?” she asked, for lack of better comforting phrases that could help a boy who was so determined on being miserable. “You look upset, may I be of help?” she asked, then added for her own amusement, “Should I kick someone’s private parts?”

Hunter looked up at Agnes when she told him not to pretend, furrowing his brow. "I'm not pretending, I'm being nice," he responded instantly, a tone of almost genuine confusion in his voice. But then, as his own words sunk in, Hunter snorted in half-amusement at himself. Because he realized that it was actually the same thing. Because Hunter wasn't nice. "Or at least, I'm trying to be," he added, shrugging. "Apparently, I used to be. Guess I've become more of a selfish asshole than I thought if it's that shocking to you." And at first it had been justified. But as it seemed, his excuses for being a git were beginning to run dry. Or maybe they already had. Which might have been fine before - when he was so certain that he didn't care. When he'd thought that nothing else could hurt him. But as it turned out, he wasn't as invincible as he'd thought. "I guess that means I need some more practice, huh?" he asked, unsmiling, looking away from her again.

But his eyes snapped up immediately at her next words. "No," he replied instantly, his tone sharp. But after a moment, he continued in a softer voice. "No, Aoife never comes looking for me unless she wants something." He didn't even bother trying to hide the bitterness in his voice. "I thought that you were Ariel," he explained, unsure of whether his slight disappointment was evident in his tone. Of course he'd hoped it was Ariel. He always hoped it was Ariel. Since they'd made up, he'd hardly let her out of his sight - afraid that she would suddenly come to her senses and realize that he was the world's biggest git and that she deserved a far better best friend. "I mean, you've never come up here before." And they hadn't even talked for what felt like weeks. So there was no reason for Hunter to have expected Agnes to walk through the door.

The corner of Hunter's mouth turned up in slight amusement as Agnes spoke. "You can keep thinking that, then, I guess." Hunter's eyes glanced quickly over Agnes' frame, sitting folded on the opposite end of his bed, and he momentarily thought that - considering how attractive she was - it would actually be a shame if she were a lesbian. Though she was french. Maybe foreign people were more into that and shit. It didn't matter, though. "Well, I mean, when you make out in front of the entire school, it kind of becomes everyone's business, doesn't it?" he pointed out, raising an eyebrow at her. "I'm not telling you who to date. Just pointing out that everyone who saw you probably turned to the person closest to them and said: Hey look, that new french girl is making out with that Ravenclaw prick." Why the hell did she keep bringing up Aoife? Sighing, Hunter shook his head. "If I had a sickle for every person that's told me that since first year, I'd be rich. Seems the only one who's never agreed is her. And I mean, her cooperation is kind of a vital part of that equation, don't you think?" Pushing himself to sit up straighter, no longer leaning against the headboard, he shook his head. "It will never happen."

Oh, shit. Hunter hadn't actually expected a real answer when he'd asked about Evan. And he definitely hadn't expected an answer like that. For a moment, Hunter just watched her, trying to assess her expression. Because he wasn't sure how he was supposed to react to that. He didn't even know if she was upset about it. Because he had no idea how close they actually were. Not that it mattered, she was stupid for going within ten yards of him either way. As her arms wrapped around her knees, it became obvious that she hadn't come out of whatever had happened between them unscathed. And though Hunter's first instinct was to say I told you so, the look on her face caused him to bite back those words. But, unsure of what to say that could possibly be comforting, he only managed to say something slightly less inconsiderate. "You're way too good for him, you know. I don't know why you were even wasting your time." It wasn't nice. But it was still kind of a compliment. Sort of. "I'll happily punch him in the face or something if it makes it better, you know. Though I have to admit that it would only partially be to make you feel better. It's been on my bucket list since first year." But after a moment of silence, he couldn't help but continue. "What happened?" he asked, his voice a mix of curiosity and concern. "I mean, if you want to talk about it."

And then the conversation shifted slightly, and Hunter looked away, out of the window again, as Agnes asked if he was alright. Was it really that obvious? He didn't even partially grin as she offered to kick someone for him. Because there wasn't anything funny about what had happened. "No, I don't think that would help too much," he told her, pulling his gaze away from the snow falling outside but still not meeting her eyes. He hesitated for a moment, not really wanting to tell her. He hadn't even told Ariel yet. But it would get out by the morning, and the whole school would know. So what difference did it make, anyway? "Seren and I broke up today," he told her, finally raising his eyes to meet hers. "I mean, Seren broke up with me today." Ugh. Saying it out loud sucked. "And the horrible part is that I can't even blame her. I'm a git, and she deserves better than me. Most people deserve better than me, really." Hunter had already come to the conclusion that he was just a terrible human being. "I pushed her too far."

Shrugging, Agnes let Hunter believe he was trying to be nice. It wasn’t exactly her business anyway. “That’s right. You are selfish.” she said, thinking of how many time she’d thought that about Hunter. “I haven’t met someone who wasn’t, though.” she admitted. In fact, everyone she knew was selfish. She herself was selfish enough to annoy most people if they really knew her. Or, at least if they knew her to the extent that Hunter did. That wasn’t a lot, really, but it was more than others. “Practice makes perfect?” she wondered, guessing by the way he kept looking out the window that he was just on a thinking phase, where every leaf that fell from the trees had some sort of philosophical explanation.

Aoife never came to him unless she wanted something? Never had Agnes heard something so stupid but so logical at the same time. “You know, the reason I always make these comments about you and Aoife O’Donnell is because you’re both very alike.” she confessed, pushing a strand of light brown hair away from her face. Ariel. Who is Ariel? “I love the name Ariel!” she smiled, “Who is she?” Her thoughts immediately turned to the possibility of this Ariel girl to be a possible lady for Hunter, because every girl Agnes had met had some sort of crush on Hunter the Asshole. Ariel would be a goddess if she was the exception.

Smiling back to Hunter, Agnes thought for a moment of how different things really would have been if they’d met before. Her brown eyes hardened a little bit when he spoke again. “We didn’t make out in front of everyone. We just kissed and...” she said, her voice letting the last part fade in, more for a desire to keep it to herself than to actually make Hunter wonder. “Shit.” Agnes ended her sentence. “We just did some weird shit. Fun shit, I suppose. With firewhiskey.” Yes, good save. Good one, Agnes. “Besides, I really don’t care what they said or will say.” she confessed, a not-so-strange determination in her voice. “They’re all thinking about me, anyway. Good or bad, I’m in their mind.” she said as Hunter continued to explain something about sickles and how many times he’d heard the same thing. “You mean people often call both of you ‘annoying shits’”? she smiled, but then took the matter seriously. “I mean, it ticks you off when I say it, so it makes me laugh on the inside, but I do think you are too similar to not be attracted to each other.” Agnes resisted the urge to say ‘Never say never.’

Letting out a dry laugh, Agnes said, “Yeah, too good for Evan Williams. Right.” Well, maybe Evan was too good for her. Nobody would ever say that, though. It would be rude, but sometimes the truth was much more appreciated in Agnes’ world than a lie. “Time I enjoyed wasting was not wasted at all, Hunter.” she said simply, because she had run out of words but she needed to keep talking, keep thinking of something else, because in that lighting and with Agnes’ brain in such a weak state, Hunter was starting to look a lot better than he usually did. Like, an actual attractive person. Not just Hunter the git who always pissed her off.

This was what Agnes hated about herself. She was always thinking about this, and for some morbid reason her mind was always brought back to Chasen. Punch who in the face? Oh, him. Smiling automatically, Agnes moved back a little because hitting on Hunter, even jokingly, would be too weird and out of place for them. That’s not how they worked. What happened? Hmmm. “I made the same mistake I made with Chasen.” she replied, letting it out, thinking it was better for Hunter to hear her story first. That is, if Evan ever dared talk about it, which she knew he wouldn’t. “Except, it was worse this time. Evan never liked me. Darcy Wilde, our Head Girl, that’s the one he liked.” she told him, though as everyone else already knew it was almost guaranteed that Hunter would know that as well. “I was just for fun, or pity, I guess.” She looked at Hunter briefly, taking in the way he looked.

Her brain was fuzzy with sleepy thoughts and in that moment everything was strange. She wasn’t drunk, but she was tired enough that everything glowed and everything was filled with ruffles and rainbows. But then Hunter was talking about why he was so upset, and everything made sense all of a sudden. It was just...reasonable. Seren had finally had enough. Not surprised, Agnes sighed. “You do that very often, I think.” she said, not caring to put a filter on her thoughts. “Hunter, you’re really not that bad.” she said as she tilted her head to the side a bit, and then tried to word her racing thoughts more civilly. All of sudden she yawned, her face twisting into a funny expression that Hunter wouldn’t notice, and she thought about how rarely she actually talked to him like he was a real person. “You’re pretty hot, actually.” she said without thinking.

Hunter listened as Agnes spoke, but didn't respond. Yeah, he was selfish. What else was there to say about it? Nothing. He listened a little more intently when she started talking about Aoife again, but again remained quiet. It wasn't until she spoke Ariel's name - asked who she was - that Hunter replied. "Someone that I hurt really badly," he told her, his hazel eyes lifting to meet her warm, brown ones. "Someone who should have never forgiven me," he added. "But she did." She did. It lifted a weight from his chest just to say it. Just to think it. "I mean, I've hurt a lot of people, Agnes," he continued solemnly. "But Ariel deserves nothing but happiness. I'm probably the only person who knows her well enough to break her, and I did. I meant to. And I've never regretted anything so much, ever." The thought momentarily crossed his mind that Agnes may have never encountered any part of him that really cared about anyone, really. But if anyone mattered in this fucked up world, it was Ariel.

Raising an eyebrow, he listened to Agnes as she denied making out with Evan in front of the whole school. Even though they definitely had. Not that Hunter had been particularly sober at that point. They'd kissed and done weird shit with firewhiskey. "Yeah, my firewhiskey," he added, interrupting her. "I know you don't," he replied when she said she didn't care what anyone else thought. "You never do. I just thought that maybe, you might have cared what I thought." He shrugged as he said it, because it didn't really matter. And then she was laughing, like what he'd said was a joke. "I mean it," he retorted sharply, shooting her a glare. "You can do so much better than him." Though, that wasn't saying much. Anyone was better than that prick. "Whether you enjoyed it or not, you regret it now. I can tell. So it was still a waste, in the end."

And they were back on Aoife again. "Well, I'm sure they think it most of the time, if nothing else," Hunter replied, a half-amused grin playing onto his face. "But really, you have no idea how many people have decided that Aoife and I are meant to be or soul mates or some shit. All of the older students teased us about it when we were little. Jack always told me it was going to happen," he added, his grin fading as he uttered his brothers name. But, desperate to not allow the mood to sink quite that low, he quickly added on something a bit lighter. "This stupid kid Phin actually locked us both in a closet last year. So, like I said, if I had a sickle..." Glancing up at Agnes, he sighed. "We are similar," he agreed. "Too similar." He and Aoife were both loud and conceited and stubborn. "You don't know Aoife, Agnes," he pointed out. "You think that we're alike, but we don't have any of the right things in common. Aoife and I are hardwired to clash."

Agnes was acting kind of strange to begin with, and he watched her scoot away from him but didn't react. Truthfully, he only half-noticed. His mind was wandering far too much for him to focus on Agnes' every movement. But the moment that she responded to his question about what had happen, his head snapped up in surprise. Had she really just said - "You what?" he replied, for some reason not having expected that particular response. "You - with Evan? That's - ew - " That was disgusting. But after his initial shock, Hunter tried to replace the disgusted look on his face with something a little more sincere. When she started talking about how Evan actually liked someone else, a knowing, even slightly sympathetic look fell onto his face before she'd even said the girl's name. Because Hunter already knew. Of course he did. Everyone knew.

Leaning forward toward her and resting his elbows on his knees, Hunter's eyes searched her face. "Darcy is Ariel's sister," he told her, mostly because he just wasn't sure what else to say. "And she's so far out of William's league that it isn't even funny. She's out of everyone's league, really, like Ariel. And, they're also part Veela," he added. "I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse, but you can be sure that there isn't a guy in this school that hasn't wanted to be with Darcy at one point or another." He'd meant it in a good way. In a it isn't your fault that you aren't magically beautiful kind of way. "I mean, I'm not saying that you aren't attractive, that isn't what I meant at all. You're definitely attractive. I just - " Yeah, he was digging himself into a hole. So much for being nice. He fell silent for a moment as she added that Evan had only bothered with her out of pity. "I'm sorry," he said with a sigh, hoping that she understood that he meant it.

She was right. He did do it too often. He pushed people away all the time. At her next words, that he wasn't that bad, he managed to let out an amused breath and turn the corner of his mouth up in a smile. "Thanks, I guess," he replied, turning to look out of the window again. The snow had slowed to a light flurry, and he could just make out the moon glinting off of the icy waters of the lake. Then, Agnes spoke again, breaking into his wandering mind - and again, he turned to look at her as though she'd grown two heads. Because she couldn't be serious. "Are you drunk or something?" he asked immediately in response, a half amused, half confused tone to his voice. She had to be drunk. The last time she's said anything like that, she had been. But wouldn't he have noticed if she was drunk? She didn't seem drunk. Unconsciously, Hunter leaned closer to her, peering into her face to see if he could tell. But he couldn't.

It was easy to see how much it hurt Hunter, what he had done - whatever it had been - had strained his relationship with Ariel and he deeply regret it. It was obvious. A part of Agnes wanted to tell him that if she had forgiven him, maybe he was worth as much to her as she was to him, but she didn’t know the boundaries yet. They didn’t have any sort of emotional connection, so saying things like these may make it appear as if she liked him personally, which she really didn’t. Nodding once he’d finished, Agnes told him, “I’m sure she’s very smart, so forgiving you must not have been a mistake.” There, kind of a compliment. Kind of. Nevertheless, she remained quiet after that.

“Who cares whose firewhiskey it was?” Agnes said, because that was such an irrelevant thing to bring up. Then she managed to look at Hunter and asked, “Why would I care what you think?” It sounded a bit more harsh than she’d meant it, and given that Hunter was trying to be nice, she decided to do the same. “I mean, I would care...I just didn’t at that moment.” It was slightly true. Agnes sometimes cared about what Hunter thought. Not all the time, because he wasn’t that great in level of importance, but he was still better than others around her. But then he was telling her how much he knew about her own feelings and all of those things, and Agnes decided it was best to keep quiet because what she wanted to say wasn’t exactly very nice. If Agnes didn’t know herself, how could he?

Letting her lips form into a smirk, she said, “I don’t believe in soulmates. That’s nonsense.” However, there was some fun in the idea that maybe some guy was out there, waiting for her. “So, I will never say that you’re soulmates, maybe that you should just be together for a while.” Agnes shrugged. She smiled when he mentioned his brother - Jack - because Agnes had really only heard of him once in the Astronomy tower, when she’d told Hunter about her own problems. A part of her was relieved that he’d chosen to not get upset over it, because Agnes wasn’t in the mood for depressing thoughts. She’d come here to forget how stupid she was, not to talk about her own problems or Hunter’s. However, she had to admit that there a tiny little bit in her heart that actually cared for Hunter’s well-being, much more than he could care about her. “Literally locked you in a closet?” she laughed, [color=pink“Wow, what an idiot. That’s not how you set people up.”[/color] She listened as Hunter explained how him and Aoife had nothing worthy in common, and it actually made her feel uncomfortable. “What do you mean the right things? You’re pretty wonderful sometimes. As in, you’re not that big of a git.” Obviously, Agnes would always talk bad about him if someone asked, but she could tell him nice things when it was just them.

Amused, Agnes dared to smile a bit at Hunter’s reaction. “No, not disgusting at all, really.” She shook her head. “Just a bit reckless, I think.” Hearing about the relation between this girl Evan liked so much, and the girl that Hunter was dying over a few days ago, made everything just a little bit worse. If Ariel was so wonderful, then of course this Darcy girl was just the same. If not better. No way Agnes could even compete with her. And Hunter kept talking, making it worse by the second, but Agnes was determined to not let this mess with Evan get to her like it happened with Chasen. Ignoring most of what he said, she gave him a small smile. What else could she say? Of course she wasn’t good enough to compete with Darcy Wilde, so might as well leave it alone.

She laughed when Hunter asked if she was drunk, “You would know if I was, you provide alcohol for everyone around here.” she pointed out. In that instant, Hunter leaned closer to her, as if inspecting her face to check for any immoral substances in her bloodstream, and Agnes just saw how handsome he really was. Hunter was the rugged kind of attractive, like a mountain or a forest. Like the natural kind of attractive. With another moment of Carpe Diem on her mind, Agnes leaned forward and kissed Hunter.

Hunter didn't respond immediately to what Agnes had to say about Ariel. And when he did, he changed the subject slightly. "You would like her," he told her simply. "I mean, everyone likes Ariel. You kind of can't help it, you know? She's just one of those people." He didn't bother to hide the admiring tone in his voice as he talked about her. Ariel deserved all of the admiration in the world. Because they'd started out the same, really. Both happy and popular, with perfect lives. And they'd both suffered the same tragedy, and were changed immensely by it. But while Hunter had allowed it to crush him, Ariel had risen up above it. And maybe it didn't seem like much of an accomplishment to the rest of the world, but Hunter knew how strong she had to be to overcome something so debilitating. He himself was only just beginning to figure out how to do the same.

"Well, I mean, that was firewhiskey that I could have drank," he pointed out. "But I - ever so smoothly, might I remind you - gave you some of it. Out of the goodness of my heart," he added dramatically. "And you couldn't just accept it, you had to take complete advantage of it and ask for an entire extra bottle! Do you know how much I paid for that shit?" Hunter asked pointedly, but then remembered that he hadn't paid anything at all for it. He'd stolen it. "Er, I mean, do you know how hard that was to get a hold of?" he corrected himself. "You know what I mean. Guess it doesn't matter now." It didn't even really matter then.

He frowned when she asked why she would care what he thought. "Oh, I don't know, Agnes," he replied back just as harshly, turning his gaze on her. "It couldn't be because we talk for hours every night, could it? And when I'm not there, you come and look for me, like right now? Or because I know more about you than anyone else in this place?" Hunter didn't even bother to hide the slightly irritated tone in his voice. "We may not be normal friends, Agnes, but that doesn't mean I don't give a shit about you," he informed her. He wasn't in the mood for this right now. What kind of person let herself into your dorm because she was upset and then went on to inform you that she didn't give a shit what you thought? Well, she could just leave then. Fuck that. But he didn't tell her to leave, because she sort of attempted to make what she'd make her sound like less of a bitch. It didn't really work, but at least she'd said it. It wasn't like any of his attempts to be nicer worked either.

"I don't know if I believe in soulmates or not, but if I do, I don't think Aoife's mine," he replied. "Whether everyone wants her to be or not." Whether Hunter wanted her to be or not. But he laughed when Agnes commented on the closet thing. "Yes, literally in a closet," he confirmed. "Specifically, the potions storecloset. Which is probably the worst closet for that purpose. And then I had to explain to Aoife why he did it, and that was just painful." Hunter couldn't help but grin at the memory. But it quickly fell as he remembered the rest - how Seren had turned up and gotten upset. Why couldn't he fix this the way he'd fixed it then? It had been so easy then. Why wasn't it that simple now? "Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" he asked her when she said he could be wonderful. Was she on something?

True, he did provide all of the alcohol. He was the only one who was able to get a hold of it. Of course, next term he'd just be old enough to buy it, and he wasn't sure if that would be awesome or boring. But he didn't get a chance to respond, because when he leaned forward to see if he could tell if she was actually drunk or not, her lips landed on his. The fuck? Completely caught off guard, Hunter pulled away, trying to figure out what was going on. But it only took him half a second to decide that it really didn't matter, and then he was slipping his hand under her hair to grip her neck, pulling her back. And even as he did, he realized how this made sense. A lot of sense. Because this was what he and Agnes did. They used each other to forget about their own problems. They always had - and he instantly understood that this was no difference. After all, wasn't life all about distractions now anyway?

For a moment, everything Agnes had told him about Chasen and Evan lingered in the back of his mind - and he instantly wished he hadn't even thought of it. Because Agnes had come to regret those things so deeply that it almost made Hunter pull back again immediately. But he didn't. Because this was different. Agnes had been hurt so badly because her feelings hadn't been returned. But there were no romantic feelings in this. There had never been any feelings between them, ever. Only attraction. And Hunter understood - she was seeking an escape as much as he was. And this was it - she couldn't get hurt this way. So, with his conscience relatively clear, Hunter didn't hesitate to intensify the contact between them, one of his hands skimming the skin of her back beneath her shirt, the other gripping her hair not-so-gently. Because he needed to. Because it made sense. Because the only thing that mattered in life anymore was distraction - and Agnes Beaumont was his.