Late

Getting Ryan's quick response, Hunter grinned. They hadn't had a day without seeing each other since getting back from Texas and... he was okay with that.
Okay. :) See you at 6.

He'd say more, but he knew she was at work and he didn't want her getting in trouble. He had a lot of time to kill now... maybe he'd tinker with his car for a while... maybe he'd go home and throw a movie in... Usually he liked not having normal working hours, but sometimes it did get a little boring.

Getting home and showering, Hunter debated again in his head about what he wanted to do with the rest of his day, and he still wasn't sure. Flopping down on his couch, he grabbed his phone again and started another text message to Mick.
Hey. Bored. Whats new in Texas?

It didn't take long to get a response back.
Bored? Come clean stalls :) 
Not much new. 
Katie and Jason are here - 
they're not doing so hot. FYI.

Hunter frowned. He really didn't know the whole story there, but if Mick was actually mentioning it, it must not be good. At the same time, his chest tightened just as little, reminded again of Katie being back with Jason.
They be ok? 

Hope so. They're sick. But
have help. Not public but 
thought u might wanna know.

Did he? Of course he did. He still cared what happened to Katie. There really were no real hard feelings. Anything else with her just wasn't meant to be. She and Jason had something different - there was no denying that. He didn't understand about how they'd been connected and all, but he believed it to be true. He'd also thought it was over though, and they were out of the woods. But apparently not. There were a ton of questions, but he knew he probably wouldn't understand any better, even if he asked.
Ok. Tell Katie to knock it 
off and get better. 

He paused, sighing. He knew Mick was just being nice, but he really hadn't wanted to think about Katie today. He wanted to text her now too, to find out what was really going on but... he knew he probably shouldn't. After just a little bit of small talk, the quick text conversation was over, and he was left lying on his couch, just staring at the ceiling. Would he ever be able to get rid of these negative feelings? He had Ryan... he shouldn't feel bad anymore... right?

It was a few hours later, and Hunter's stomach growled, reminding him it was past lunchtime and he'd forgotten to eat. Nothing really sounded good, and his refrigerator certainly didn't have anything interesting in it. Getting on his bike, he rode around for a short while and ended up at Mom and Pop's. Pizza was always a good choice. After parking and locking his helmet to his bike, he wandered inside, trying to think of what he might order today. He had barely stepped through the door when he heard his name.

"Hunter!"

Turning quickly, his eyebrows rose in surprise. Kyle and Alice were sitting at a table over in the corner. Smiling, he waved and came over. "Hi, guys."

Kyle grinned. "Hey. What's up?"

"Eh." Hunter shrugged. "Just killing time and filling my stomach. You?"

"Killing time and filling our stomachs." Kyle laughed. "Actually, Alice was craving Carson's pizza, and when she craves something, well... you just don't say no." He looked over at her, his eyes twinkling as he winked.

Hunter chuckled, glancing at Alice. She looked... good. Happy. They both looked happy. And Hunter was glad they were all friends again. Even so, he couldn't help it that every time he was with them - even though Kyle really was his best friend - there was still a pang at the bottom of his heart. "Well then, I don't wanna interrupt your craving," he teased.

"Wanna join us?" Kyle offered.

"Nah. I'm just gonna grab and go." Part of Hunter wanted to stay. Why not? It would be fun. But today he just didn't want to deal with that little pang. "You two have fun."

"Oh, we always do." Kyle smiled and waved as Hunter walked away, then looked back over to Alice, glancing down at the several slices of pizza left, then up at her again. "Well....you wanted pizza, so you better help me finish this off."

After ordering just a single slice of pizza, Hunter left, waving one last time to Kyle and Alice. Outside, he straddled his bike and ate his pizza outside, soaking up some sunshine.

"Yo, Hunt!"

He turned around to see another motorcycle pausing in the street. Jeb waved at him, smiling, then pulled around to park next to him. "How's it going, man! Long time no see."

"Yeah, hey." Hunter gave him a hearty handshake. He hadn't seen Jeb in... well, quite a while, actually. Come to think of it, he hadn't actually talked to him in person since that night at the concert when Katie had arrested him. Jeb had been one of the other rowdy bikers causing trouble. "What are you up to?"

"Oh, you know... just playing around." Jeb grinned. "Hey, me an' Triston gonna go over to The Griller later. Grab a burger and beer. Wanna come?"

Hunter quirked an eyebrow. It did sound like fun. But... he knew in the back of his mind that could be dangerous for him. "I dunno... I got plans tonight."

"He gets off work at four so we'll be there around then. That's early enough isn't it?"

"Maybe." Hunter forced a smile and finished his pizza. "If I show up, you'll see me."

Jeb laughed and nodded. "Alright. See ya later then."

Once he was gone, Hunter sighed and donned his helmet. His mind was much more full than intended for today. Everything from Alice to BreakOut to Katie to his old friends. It made him mad, and he just wanted to clear his head. Starting up his bike, he took off down the street at a higher speed than he should, and aimed for the open road...

...He couldn't stop them. The thoughts. Thoughts of everything. Why had Alice chosen Kyle? How come they got to be a happy little family? Why did the accident have to tear apart BreakOut and leave him stranded? Why had Katie toyed with him just to return to a jerk like Jason? And why did he even care when he had his own girl now? But even Ryan probably wouldn't stick around much longer, and he knew he had to prepare for when she'd leave him, too.

He shut off his motorcycle engine after parking in front of The Griller. It was five o'clock. He saw the other guys' bikes and knew they were still here - they would probably be here the rest of the evening. He hesitated. This wasn't a good idea. But he had a whole hour to kill before picking up Ryan. So he could just go in, say hi, grab just one beer to help his mind relax, and be done. Just a quick, fun little stop to interrupt and cease his senseless thinking. He got off his bike and went inside.

And at six-thirty, he still hadn't shown up at Ryan's.


Garret smirked at Nate as the headache passed, and took another bite, eating it more carefully this time. He mulled over his words for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he thought. "I dunno... isn't that what love is?" He glanced back and forth between him and Laura. "You don't seem to think that's silly and yet... that inflicts the worst kind of pain." 

Laura sat back in her chair and quirked an eyebrow. She couldn't tell if he was really serious, or trying to make a joke. "Or it inflicts the best kind of joy."

Garret looked down at the rest of his ice cream, and wondered. All it had ever brought him was pain.


"Yeah.... yeah, if you could get a hold of him, that would be great." Reese rolled his eyes. "He's probably not answering the phone just because he knows it's me." It wouldn't be the first time one of his agents had tried to ignore him. "Just tell him to call me right away. Thanks, Destiny."