Hunter got up from the bed, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked back to where Eric and Michael were sitting, and stood to lean against the desk. “And coming back to my being a hypocrite, either your friend here is lying to you, or she’s delusional,” Hunter stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Bianca frowned in confusion at what Hunter said.

She tried to say something but got cut off by Hunter. “Let me finish, Sunshine,” he said, “I’m not involved in anything with your friend. Whatever arrangement we had, I ended it a year ago. At least I’m sure I made it very clear to her. So, technically speaking, I’m not cheating on anybody.” His voice and tone were confident and determined.

Bianca shook her head in disappointment. Hunter knew she didn’t believe him. He only told her the half-truth. What he didn’t tell her was that he never once misled Samantha.. Their relationship was just a pretence to make his Hera jealous, and Samantha too knew it very well. They never really had anything between them. Hunter never slept with her.

“What are you trying to say, Ace, that Sam sees someone else secretly? Why will she use your name and lie to me, anyway?” Bianca questioned. Her tone was attacking. Hunter made a face and shrugged as in to say, ‘How would I know?’

“Look, Sunshine, that’s not my secret to share. You can have this discussion with your friend later. Right now, she’s the least of my worries,” Hunter spoke with disinterest while Bianca looked at Samantha with her eyes demanding answers. But as soon as her friend avoided her eyes, she realised there’s more to the story, and she was too quick to judge him.

She should’ve known that Hunter never lies.

She was embarrassed and felt humiliated. All because she trusted Samantha blindly. 

Bianca took one of Hunter’s hands into hers with a slight hesitation and looked at him with an apologising gaze.

“I’m sorry, Ace. I’m sorry for lying to you. Please don’t be cross with me?” Her eyes were pleading him too. She continued with a softer tone to say, “What happened at the party is not like what you think. Evie loves to add spice to make things more interesting. It wasn’t as bad as Hera made it look,” she attempted at some damage control but in vain.

Hunter sighed in irritation, but Bianca didn’t notice. Again, she’s trying to put all the blame on Hera even though she just apologised for lying. Next came her usual excuse. “It was only a harmless prank, Ace. I was just,” she was saying, but suddenly flinched and backed away from him as Hunter suddenly shouted.

“Enough, Bianca, I’ve tolerated enough of your bullshit but not anymore. You know I never expected that lying to me will be so easy for you. I can’t believe you’ll do something this low. For what, Bianca, for your petty jealousy?” Hunter sounded so done with her. Biting her trembling lip, Bianca stared at him with her wide eyes, which immediately watered. Hunter always called her Sunshine. She might have really hurt him, and she felt it in her heart too when he didn’t use his given nickname for her.

“We are all best friends, Bianca. I can read every one of you like a book. I knew how insecure you felt around Hera. I knew how her presence in my life always made you jealous. You hated it when she had my attention. As your friend, I understood your feelings. I always took your side when you and Hera fought. Do you know why?” He asked as Bianca’s glassy eyes met his angry ones.

He’s raising his voice at her, and she didn’t like it.

“Because I didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t want you to feel that I chose my love over my friend. But it was never because I didn’t believe Hera. Did you honestly think that I never knew what you did?” Hunter watched as Bianca dropped her head down in shame.

Taking Bianca by the hand, Evelyn pulled her along and made her sit on the nearest bed. Bianca started to weep silently. She was so ashamed of herself that she couldn’t look into Hunter’s eyes. She never lied to him, except about Hera. Their bonding was getting stained because of Hera. She couldn’t decide whether to hate Hera for this or to let go of their indifference.

Eric passed tissues to Danny, who offered it to Bianca. Meanwhile, Samantha watched them as a pang of jealousy hit her hard. They were all fighting, yet they’re together and there for each other. Samantha was the only one left alone with no one to console her wounded heart.

Hunter grasped the water bottle from the table and passed it to Bianca. It broke his heart to watch her in distress. It was never his intention to hurt her. But it needed to be done. It’s time for him to fight for his love. They should know what Hera meant to him. Hera shouldn’t suffer anymore because of him and his friends.

Once Bianca stopped with her sobbing, he continued from where he left.

“Since grade one, my best friends are bullying my girl. Every time her homework magically vanished, and she got punished,” he moved a bit to the side, cocked his head to look at Eric. “I knew exactly how it got vanished, Eric. When the teachers doubled her homework the next day as a punishment and asked her to write the homework twice, I sat next to her until she finished her homework to make her feel better,” he revealed the facts unaddressed until now.

Eric’s face showed how guilty he felt.

Next, Hunter’s eyes landed on Michael. “I knew it every time, Mike, how your foot would accidentally get caught in-between Hera’s and how she would trip after that. I always kept sweets in my pockets and gifted it to her to make her stop crying whenever you made her cry,” he accused. No one made any sound, silently listening to Hunter’s every word. It made them feel sorry to know how much they’d hurt him unintentionally.

Danny pursed his lips into a thin line and ran his fingers through his messy, dirty blond hair. His shoulders slumped in defeat as soon as Hunter’s eyes landed on him. He knew it’s his turn to face the interrogation. He’d lost count how many times he’d hurt his baby sister.

“You’re no exception, Danny,” Hunter said, and his friend defeatedly agreed with a nod. “But I know, you carry your own baggage as well. All you’ve to do is to realise that Hera had nothing to do with whatever went wrong between you and your parents. It was never her fault, Danny. I never interfered in your matter because I knew, despite all that shit you’d to go through, deep down you care for your sister, even though you never showed it to her. We all have hurt her in one or the other way, but I want to make it right,” he said, looking at everyone in the eye.

A defeated sigh followed as he paused for a few seconds. His eyes were lost somewhere in the past as if he’s reliving those moments.

“I knew how Bianca used to spill water secretly on Hera’s bed and made everyone think that she peed in her bed. Whenever she cried because of the humiliation you made her go through, I didn’t report it to the authorities. But instead, I consoled Hera saying that you were only playing a prank, and convinced her to forgive you for my sake,” he said, running his fingers through his damp hair. They weren’t the best memories to remember.

“I knew it when my friends added disgusting bugs into her lunch box. Instead of fighting with all of you, I chose to share my lunch with her. I ignored it all because, I thought, it was part of growing up.” Hunter paused, waiting for everyone to think and realise what he’s trying to make them understand.

He could feel their regrets. He saw the undeniable guilt in their eyes. He shrugged when everyone looked at him. “We all make mistakes, and then we learn the right things from the wrong. We were naughty, mischievous kids, and we enjoyed pulling pranks on others. You were all trying to have fun, and I let you pull some pranks on her. But I realised now that I should have stopped you all from having fun at her expense, and it was my fault that I chose to ignore it,” he said, admitting his part in their wrongdoing.

“I did it because I didn’t want to lose my friends. You are all part of my life, and I love you all,” Hunter said, looking at each one of his friends with a warm smile before approaching Bianca.

He knelt in front of Bianca and wiped her tear-soaked cheeks with his fingers. Holding her hands in his, Hunter waited for her to look at him. Once she did, with a tone of finality, he confessed.