Six Feet Under

by Paula O'Hara

  Preparing for a date full of lots of non-sexual activities in the children's zoo, I had also put on white Adidas sneakers.

  It was getting dark very quickly, and I hoped Hunter would be here soon.

  I checked the time on my phone; 8:03 PM.

  He was probably running a bit late. I had a few new texts, which I decided to reply to while waiting for him.

  I only managed to reply to one message, before I heard a car driving down the quiet street.

  I looked up and saw a sleek black car. It was definitely Hunter's.

  I slid my phone and hands in the pockets of the windbreaker as I stepped closer to the curb.

  The car came to a stop right in front of me, and I opened the passenger's seat door before getting in.

  "You're late," I gave him a teasing smile after I'd closed the door, and was now buckling myself in.

  His car was dim, besides the lights from the control board and one light on the ceiling between us.

  I relaxed back in the very comfortable and deluxe leather seat of his car, while he let out a chuckle, his eyes on me.

  Hunter looked so good with a black hoodie, black skinny jeans, and just perfectly messy - and slightly damp - hair. He managed to look absolutely like a dream.

  "Sorry, Wills," he gave me a small grin and began driving again, "I was at the gym with Alex and needed a shower."

  Of course he had been with my brother.

  I shrugged with a teasing grin, eyes on the side of his face, "it's funny how you spend so much time with him, but you're not at all like him."

  Hunter glanced at me for a second, his intense eyes sending a hot tingle down to my core. How he managed to look so effortlessly good baffled me.

  "Wouldn't fucking be weird if I was like him?" He pointed out, very casually, "I mean, unless you're into—"

  "Okay, that's just gross," I shook my head while letting out a small laugh. Hunter gave me a wink, and I just shook my head at him.

  Hunter

  I wasn't listening to a word that came out of her mouth.

  She had started ranting about Alex being overprotective - which I already knew plenty about.

  It wasn't like I had never asked Alex about her and received a very threatening reply to stay away from her.

  Please don't get me wrong; Willow looked really, really cute tonight. But I seriously couldn't stop thinking about how I was going to get that handgun without her noticing.

  The gun was taped to the bottom of a trashcan next to where the chickens or some shit were... at least that's what Prez had told me.

  We needed the gun to frame someone. I honestly had no interest in who needed to be framed, because Prez's word is the law; he says something is someway, so it is.

  I had got the 'honorary' job of fetching the damn gun because I was one of his best men.

  Part of why I had asked Willow to come to the fucking kid's zoo with me was because I needed a proper reason to come here if I did get caught. I also liked her company and needed us to spend more time together so she'd fall for me...

  "Hunter?" I heard her voice after I flinched from a sudden poke to my upper arm, "are you even listening to me?"

  She seemed very amused when I glanced at her a few times. I sighed to myself, concentrating back on the road as we neared the zoo.

  "Sorry," I let out a small chuckle, shaking my head to myself, "I've got a lot on my mind."

  She straightened up in the passenger's seat while I realised I had just said one of the main things that made females switch into either a caring or seductive mode.

  And since Willow wasn't a completely corrupt soul, I had no doubt about what she would ask me next:

  "Anything I can help you with?" Ha. Knew it.

  I gave her a small smile, genuinely appreciating her simple and genuinely kind gesture, yet at the same time knowing I would never fucking tell her I was fetching a gun during our 'date'.

  She was feisty and would most likely kick my ass.

  With a small shake of my head and the sides of my lips pulling up into a small smirk, I replied, "no, it's fine, Wills. The headmaster just wants me to take care of this dumb thing."

  I told her honestly, "I don't want to talk about school tonight, alright?"

  "Sure," she gave me a small and sweet smile as I drove past the main parking lot of the kid's zoo.

  I was heading to the parking lot behind it, even though there was no entrance (even if there was, it would be locked by now).

  "How's it going with you and that Charles kid?" I then asked her.

  I knew Willow's crush's name was Cameron, I just needed to make it clear I honestly didn't give two shits about him. She seemed really into him, and for him to just—ugh, he was an idiot.

  "Cameron," she corrected with her smooth and soft voice.

  If I played my cards right I might be able to score a fuck with her in my car after this date.

  "And I honestly don't know. I haven't really talked to him."

  "You should just forget him," I shrugged.

  I really didn't understand why girls got so attached to guys. It usually ended badly for them in the end, anyway, so it was pointless.

  "He's not worth it."

  Willow just gave a small nod, looking out of her window. She didn't want to talk about it, I guess?

  I parked my car and we got out, with me carrying a black backpack.

  Quietly, she followed me as I made my way to the fence surrounding the children's zoo, and walked alongside it until I stopped at a rip on the metal fencing.

  "Do you wanna go in first?" I asked Willow, turning around to face her. She raised her brows at me and crossed her arms over her chest.

  "Do you wanna go first?" I asked Cindy as we were standing next to a big tree with a rope hanging from it at a river bank.

  She gave me a very unamused look with her arms crossed over her chest. Alex, Chase and Carter - my best friends - were standing on my other side, all almost as annoyed at Cindy as she was at me.

  I sighed, trying to take her hand in mine but she huffed and turned her back to me.

  I rolled my eyes as she started walking towards Amy, Carter's girlfriend, who was trying to get a signal for her phone.

  "Damn, what happened to ladies first?" Alex joked, nudging my side.

  I just sighed and shrugged, watching as Cindy gave me a small glare while talking to Amy.

  I decided to jump into the river with the guys later and now go talk to Cindy. I seriously didn't need her pissed at me all the fucking time.

  "Babe?" I spoke, stepping up to her. Amy walked off with her phone raised up, still trying to find a damn signal so she could reserve a nail salon time, or whatever.

  Cindy rolled her eyes at me, huffing, "why the hell would you bring me here? I don't like your friends and I definitely will never be getting into a dirty river."

  I stepped closer to her and placed my hand on her upper arm, trying to calm her down.

  "C'mon, Cindy. Just try to enjoy yourself, yeah? Don't be so fucking uptight..."

  The bitch pushed me. I took a step back, furrowing my brows.

  We'd be fucking like rabbits as soon as we'd get back to my place... this relationship was seriously toxic but I was in love with her. Or whatever in love means.

  "You coming or not?" I zoned back in at Willow's smooth voice. She had already entered the children's zoo through the hole in the metal fence.

  "Hell yeah."

  ---

  Willow

  "Wait... lift the phone up a bit higher, please?" I instructed, posing with my side turned towards Hunter who was taking pictures of me on my phone.

  I was standing in front of the chicken's pen and had asked him to take pictures of me.

  Apparently Hunter liked chickens since he'd been so keen on coming here first.

  Another flash went off while I smiled at the camera phone in the darkness.

  "You look hot in all the pictures, Wills," he told me, bringing the phone down so our eyes con
nected. He was a saint for agreeing to take pictures of me. "Can we eat now? I'm starving."

  "Sure," I nodded, and he gave me a smile.

  Hunter walked over to me after adjusting the backpack on his back and handed me my phone.

  "Such a shame the goats aren't awake," I sighed as we began walking to a nearby bench.

  Hunter chuckled, "next time we'll come here during the day. They'll be awake then."

  "They better," I muttered playfully, sitting down on the clean and white bench. He gave me a grin and stood in front of me.

  "Chips and Pepsi, or Pepsi and chips?" He asked, opening the backpack and pulling out a packet of Pringles and bottle of Pepsi.

  "Uhm..." I pretended to hesitate, and with a joking roll of his eyes he handed me the chips and Pepsi.

  Light conversation filled the night while we ate. I seriously enjoyed being with him even outside of my bedroom, and no longer found it awkward that he was Alex's best friend.

  "Which one should I post on Instagram?" I asked after we'd finished eating, scrolling down the pictures he'd taken of me.

  Hunter chuckled, shaking his head at me while I gave him a grin, "you figure that out and I'll bring the trash away, alright?"

  "Sure," I shrugged, concentrating on my phone as he got up with empty bottles of Pepsi and empty chips bags.

  It definitely hadn't been the best and most healthy food, but letting loose from diets and such were always my guilty pleasure.

  I found a picture that I really liked and added it to my favourites, deciding I would post it later.

  I looked up and watched as Hunter walked towards a trash can. There was a lamppost beside it, so once he got there I was able to see him perfectly.

  He looked so good, I almost wanted to jump his bones. I watched as he put all the trash in the trashcan, before squatting down.

  Was he tying his laces, or something?

  I furrowed my brows and squinted my eyes to see a little bit better when he reached his hand down to the underside of the trashcan and pulled out— was that a fucking gun?

  I immediately stood up, squeezing my phone in my hands as I stared at his rising frame.

  When he was standing up, I watched him discreetly slide the handgun into the pocket of his hoodie before turning to face me.

  Our eyes connected and he froze. Why the hell had there been a gun? And why was Hunter in need of it?

  He definitely wasn't going to shoot me, so I was just left thinking that this whole 'date' was an excuse for him to come here. He was basically using me and this date as a damn cover up.

  "Willow," his voice broke me from my racing thoughts as he walked back towards me, his intense eyes studying me.

  My heartbeat was off the charts while I slowly took a few steps away from him.

  "What the fuck was that?" I asked quietly, staring at the dent in his hoodie pocket.

  "It's better if you don't know," he sighed, sitting back on the bench as I stood beside it, just staring at him.

  "Why do you have a gun?" My voice shook a little. I wanted to go home right now.

  His gorgeous eyes stayed on mine for a while before he answered, "the less you know, the better. Let's just enjoy the rest of our date, alright?"

  "You only brought me here so you could get the gun," I spoke and the look on his face confirmed it. I felt my fists clenching by my sides, how dare he?

  "I'm taking this date seriously, Hunter," I felt a little embarrassed admitting that to him now since maybe he just wanted to get this over with, "please take me home now."

  He furrowed his brows, sitting annoyingly comfortably on the bench. I had trouble wrapping my head around the fact that he had a gun right now.

  What the fuck did he need it for?

  "What? No, come on, Wills. Just chill," he gave me a small smile and I shook my head.

  "Why do you need a gun?" I asked hesitantly and only received a shake of his head in reply.

  Hunter looked away, before speaking, "it's no big deal. I'm not going to use it."

  No big deal? This certainly didn't seem like legal business if he had to have got the gun this way. And I hated having been a cover up for whatever was going on right now, because I had genuinely thought he'd wanted to spend time with me. Fuck it, I guess.

  "I want to go home now, Hunter," I told him, our eyes still intensely connected, "I seriously don't feel comfortable right now."

  He stood up and stepped up to me, taking my hand in his. I ignored the stupid jolts of electricity that ran through my veins at his touch.

  "You weren't meant to see the gun, Willow. Just please listen to me when I say it's for a good purpose."

  I almost scoffed. Violence disgusted me, and a freaking gun was a prime example of that.

  I removed my hand from his and started going through the contacts in my phone.

  "What are you doing?" Hunter asked lowly as I opened up Alex's contact.

  I looked up at him and gave him a slightly disapproving look.

  "If you won't drive me home, he'll just come get me."

  Alex would pick me up at any hour of the day. He had done it a few times when I had been way too drunk at a party and aware that I needed to go home.

  Hunter furrowed his brows at me, running a hand through his hair, "you're mad at me?"

  I let out a small laugh, "what do you think?"

  I pressed the call-button and brought the phone up to my ear.

  I watched as he looked away, in his own thoughts. Almost immediately, Alex answered.

  "Hey Wills, what's up?"

  "I need you to pick me up from the children's zoo," I spoke into the phone, Hunter's eyes meeting mine again.

  Once Alex and I had agreed that he'd be here in ten minutes, I hung up the call and slid my phone into my pocket.

  "There's no way I can make you stay?" He asked, eyes searching mine. I didn't realise how close we were, and how close I was to the gun. It scared me.

  "If you've got the gun now, what is the point of staying here? Make it look less suspicious, hm?" I raised my brows at him and crossed my arms over my chest.

  When I got no reply, I knew I was right.

  18

  "I'm seriously done," I leaned against my locker, talking to Tessa. She grinned at me, her side pressing against a locker beside mine as she faced me.

  "It's amazes me how tired you're always on Mondays," she joked, making a small grin form onto my lips as well.

  My eyes landed on Hunter, my brother, Carter, Chase and a few other older guys hanging out and talking across the hallway.

  I doubt he had seen me yet, and I doubt I even wanted him to since we hadn't spoke since the day he used me as a damn cover up to fetch that gun for God knows what use.

  "How's it going with Cameron?" I asked her, unable to remove my eyes from Hunter.

  He was wearing black jeans and a yellow hoodie, which I wanted to remove right now and kiss him. I guess I was just horny.

  Tessa shrugged, sighing to herself, "good, I guess? We went to see a movie during the weekend and yeah... are you sure you're okay with him and I?"

  I gave her a look.

  "Of course I am! What kind of person do you think I am?" I let out a small laugh, which made her smile.

  "Good, cos I seriously like him," she seemed excited and I genuinely was happy for her.

  She was my best friend and deserved the world, even if I was a little jealous.

  I returned my eyes towards Hunter and almost dropped my phone when I realised he was looking back at me.

  His expression was rather emotionless, but he seemed to be listening to one of the popular older jocks talking to him.

  His eyes made me feel hot, and I had to look away. Thank God the bell rang right then and we started making our way to our first class of the day.

  ~•~

  I was sat at the back of History class with Trey, scrolling down Instagram while the teacher lectured on and on about dead people.

  "You free after school, Will?
" Trey asked, gently nudging my side. He had at least five girls drooling over him at the front of the class, like always.