“You want a fresh start?” Hesitantly Hera asked. He could be playing with her feelings, and she wouldn’t know until her heart gets broken. But Hunter gave his answer with a firm nod of his head while keeping his eyes fixed on Hera.

She arched her brows up as if she’s surprised. “Are you kidding me, Hunter? You and I both know, you know not a thing about being loyal. You can’t ever stop fucking pretty girls. Your dick will die for sure with depression, Hunter,” Hera laughed at that thought. He was a heartless player. How was she supposed to trust him? 

Hunter’s lips twitched in a barely-there smile before he said, “Try me, Love. You never know until you try,” he replied, and his challenging tone did surprise Hera. 

‘Dear God! Is Satan actually agreeing to play by my rules?’ 

Letting go of her knees, Hera sat cross-legged, adjusting her skirt.. “Alright, Hunter, if you insist, I agree. Fresh start it is. But I have my conditions, and you’ll agree to it,” she said without any uncertainty. Hunter silently gave her his consent by nodding his head and gestured her to continue. A knowing smile appeared on Hera’s face. When she spoke, she did not doubt what she wanted. 

“Fine then. First of all, give me my freedom back and let me live a normal high school life. And, most importantly, stop hurting my friends. Could you do that for me?” She asked doubtfully. He slightly frowned at her last request but didn’t say anything, yet. 

Sensing his silent command to continue, Hera further said, “I want you to become the best person I’d once known you as. Erase those ugly memories from my mind and give me new pleasant ones. Could you work for my forgiveness and earn my trust, Hunter?” She asked, still sounding unsure. Hunter nodded without hesitation while they stared at each other for a few seconds. 

“Don’t just talk, put your words into actions and show me that you’re willing to win my heart. Instead of making empty promises, prove it with your actions. Make me fall in love with you again,” Hera finished and took a few long breaths. She said everything like she’d practised it by heart word by word. 

Hunter was still quiet, and his silence made Hera nervous. 

When he finally broke the silence, Hera was not expecting what he said. “Does that new guy Rascal also included in your friend list?” Hunter asked, and his question caught her by surprise. 

‘After everything I said, that’s what he’s worried about?’ 

Hera thought incredulously and sighed, rolling her eyes. 

“It’s Russel, and yes, he is. He’s everything a girl looks for in the guy, you know. He’s a gentleman, and I like him. Tall, dark and handsome, isn’t he?” she asked, smirking evilly. Her voice emphasised more on the word ‘dark’. It felt good to see him getting riled up with jealousy and her heart fluttered. Hunter stood up, and she lifted her head to look at him. 

“He’s my friend, and you’ll not hurt him if you’re serious about that chance you asked for, Hunter,” Hera said, warning him. Though the new boy was mysterious and gave Hera the chills in the wrong way, she wouldn’t want Hunter to hurt him. Noel meant nothing to her, yet she didn’t want him to get hurt because of her. 

Hera watched while Hunter shoved his hands into his pockets and threw his head back, looking up at the ceiling.

‘He’s trying to subdue his anger.’

Hera cautiously observed him. When he looked down into her face, the way he breathed through his flared nostrils, it confirmed her thought. 

Clenching his jaw, he uttered, “Fine,” through his gritted teeth. Hera looked at him with uncertainty in her eyes and raised eyebrows, silently asking for reassurance. He casually walked to the mirror and checked his appearance. His neatly pressed uniform shirt now had wrinkles all over. He remembered Hera’s hands clutching and crushing his shirt earlier. He tucked his shirt into his trousers properly and fixed his tie. 

Combing his hair with his fingers, he said in a calmer voice, “Fine.” He turned to her and continued, “Anything and everything for you, Love. But, don’t you dare forget, you’re mine and as long as you remember that, I’m fine with your rules,” he concluded. 

Hera’s eyes widened in disbelief, and her jaw fell open. It was hard to believe that he agreed. He smiled and shot a wink at her way. 

Hera bit her lip to hide her smile. She could live with that for now. 

‘Finally, a new ray of hope.’ 

Without saying anything, she picked up her shoes, walked into one of the chairs, sat comfortably and lifted her leg to wear her stockings. She spoke, without looking at Hunter, “Now get out and let me get ready.” 

Hunter cleared his throat to get her attention. “Can we kiss and make up, Goddess?” He suggested without any shame, and Hera rolled her eyes. “You’ve to work for that, Mr Hunter,” she said and lifted her head to see when he stood right in front of her. 

Without uttering another word, he pulled her from the chair and wrapped his arms around her waist. His lips landed on hers in the next second, and he stole his kiss. Hera’s hands were dangling on his either side holding her shoes, one in each hand, her body flushed against his. Hunter said in between the kiss, “I am working for it, Mrs Hunter.”

After their short “kiss and make up” act, he observed her braid with a frown. Luckily for Hera, he didn’t touch her hair. He walked back to her bed and grabbed his jacket. Hera was subconsciously watching him putting on his uniform blazer. She observed a visible reddish bruise had already formed under his jaw. She did that to him when she hit him with her hairbrush, and the skin around his neck also had some bruises. 

Hera bit her lip while her heart cried with guilt. 

“Now, it’s time for your punishment, Goddess. Don’t forget to collect your detention slip later,” he said in his no-nonsense tone catching her attention. Her jaw dropped again with a “Huh.” Clearly, she was confused and clueless. He chuckled at her dumbfounded expression, and Hera asked in disbelief. “For what joy?” 

He bumped his shoulder with hers playfully and smirked. “For what you did in the dining hall. Did you think, I’ll let you off the hook so easily?” He asked, grinning smugly.

Hera glared at him, the guilty conscience vanishing from her heart. “You, bloody Lucifer, you just agreed minutes ago to be the nicer version of yourself!” She exclaimed in disbelief. He shrugged his shoulders carelessly and said, “Well, you chose to make new rules for your life, and you can follow them with pleasure. But you know me better, Goddess. I always play by my rules, be it my game or life.” He dipped his head to her face and kissed her left cheek, startling her. She wasn’t expecting that. 

“And, Goddess, rules are meant to be broken, by the way,” he said, kissing the left corner of her lips. Hera scowled and pushed him off while he grinned at her. 

Hunter looked at her beautiful face and couldn’t resist kissing her beautiful eyes. After kissing both of her eyelids, he asked in his sweet tone, “Where’s my medallion?” 

Hera reached for her bag and took out his chain. Still scowling at him, she threw it at his chest, but he effortlessly caught it without a miss. Once it settled around his neck, he hid it properly inside his shirt. He took out a chocolate bar from his blazer breast pocket and gently threw it at her. Hera caught it without much difficulty. 

After a quick smooch on her lips, gifting her a wink, he pulled the door open and walked out. Hera sighed exhaustedly. She dumped the chocolate bar in the deep end of her desk drawer in anger. 

“Now, how do I conclude this? Did he agree to follow my rules or not?” 

Annoyed, Hera muttered to herself. 

Getting herself neatly dressed in her uniform, Hera stepped out of her room. Startled, she took a step back and blinked twice to see if the person standing in front of her disappears. 

‘Oh, am I imagining things now?’ 

Hera was surprised to find Clara, still standing there as if she’s waiting for her. It reminded her of their old times when Clara used to wait for her. Everyone had known Hera for her tardiness, and Clara always accompanied her and shared detention classes with her whenever Hera got late. They were best friends once. They did everything together. 

Hera took a deep breath and attempted for a smile before she dared to look at her. Clara stood there, leaning against the railings, hugging her bag to her chest. 

‘Was she waiting for me?’ 

Hera found herself hoping for that to be true. However, it got shattered the moment she looked into her ex-best friend’s glaring eyes.