Ashley's heart threatened to implode in his chest as Hunter dragged him through the junkyard. The stray dog’s thunderous barks rang in their ears, seemingly closer with each second. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, and he stumbled over uneven ground, desperately trying to keep up with Hunter's frantic pace.

When they finally reached a fence, Hunter pushed Ashley forward, urging him to climb while he kept looking back at the mangy canine racing toward them. The delinquent then followed suit, and both hearts pounded in sync as they clambered over the barrier. Fear lent them—well, more like Ashley—some much-needed strength and agility.

With two not-so-pleasant landings, Hunter and Ashley rolled onto the ground, having finally reached safety. The dog let out a low whine and wandered off.

Breathless and grasping for air, the duo laid on the dirt, in disbelief of what had just happened.

Ashley spoke up first, after a long stretch of no words exchanged. “…so much for there being no stray dogs around here.”

“Aah, fuck off.” Hunter huffed, although he sounded too tired to initiate a full-on argument.

“You didn’t let me finish,” Ashley continued, to Hunter’s surprise. “Although that wasn’t exactly pleasant, I was also going to say…thank you, for pulling me out of there.”

It wasn’t a lie; Ashley had frozen in place at the sight of the wild animal, unable to move a limb. Hunter had much sharper instincts and managed to act immediately, bringing Ashley away from the impossibly dangerous situation. If Hunter hadn’t done that for him, then…

The teen sat upright and ran a hand through his jet-black hair. As he closed his eyes, still steadying his breathing, something inside him bubbled to the surface. A warm feeling.

He couldn’t help it this time. He smiled.

Hunter caught a hint of it while glancing at Ashley in his periphery, and instantly sat up as well. He almost had to pick up his jaw when he got a better look. He wasn’t seeing things.

“Ash, you—”

At that moment, Hunter’s jaw nearly detached from his face altogether, because not only did Ashley smile, but he also burst into laughter upon turning to face the troublemaker.

In his shock, Hunter couldn’t tell that the reason behind the unexpected reaction was his own appearance: the usually put-together “bad boy” now looked a total mess, with disheveled blond hair running amok and buckets of sweat covering his body. He was beyond uncool, once more. This seemed to be a common theme when he was around Ashley.  

Without thinking, Hunter brushed back his hair with his dirtied hands, seeing where Ashley’s gaze was. As the spectacled boy’s endearing laughter dwindled into a light chuckle, Hunter playfully pushed his arm. “Shut up, man. You don’t look so hot right now, either.”

Ashley fixed his fringe, which was also out of place, but not even close to the same level of severity as the other. “Pardon me. I didn’t exactly signup for a marathon through this junkyard tonight.”

“And judging from how slow you run, seems like you could use the workout.” Hunter smirked. Ashley returned the playful shove, somewhat surprising both Hunter and himself.

“At least I didn’t panic as much as you did.”

“Hey, cut me some slack, that dog was fucking massive! He was gonna eat me, then you!”

This time, both boys laughed. The little banter session between them was really a welcome change from their usual interactions.

And, it finally happened. Even for just a moment, that wall of stoicism Ashley built had gone.

As they quieted down again, Hunter gave a small grin to the boy next to him. “Well, tonight was an adventure, huh?”

“Yes,” Ashley replied, wiping a lingering tear of amusement from his eye. He hadn’t done that in ages, if ever. “It was definitely what I would call ‘breaking my routine’.” The shorter teen paused for a second, looking off into the vast distance of the empty field where they sat. He then got on his feet, dusting off his now ruined button-up shirt. “Now would most likely be a good time to return home, though, Hunter. We still have class tomorrow, need I remind you.”

The grin on Hunter’s face dropped. He scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah. Guess so.”

His mouth said that, but, somehow, Hunter didn’t want this to be over yet. He wanted to see that smile, hear that laugh, just one more time. They were breathtaking.

“Hey, Ash—”

Hunter began, not entirely sure what he even wanted to say, but was interrupted by Ashley’s phone ringing, a loud noise that shattered the newfound peace. The blond jokingly covered his ears, wincing at the sound like it was a siren’s song, as he glanced at Ashley. He didn’t share Hunter’s amusement, just stared back with an unreadable expression.

“I’m sorry. I have to answer this.” He muttered, pulling the device from his pocket and looking at the name on the screen. Ashley visibly took a deep breath and walked several feet away before finally taking the call.

Within seconds, Hunter saw the raven-haired boy’s posture and demeanor change. The typically relaxed and confident young man he always saw suddenly seemed rigid, almost formal. Hunter couldn't hear the other end of the conversation, and he wasn’t next to Ashley, but even from a distance he could tell that his responses were deliberate, with words being carefully chosen even more so than when he spoke to the adults at school.

“Yes...I understand. Of course, I'll be there right away.” Ashley's tone was aloof yet slightly uneven, and it just made Hunter's curiosity grow more with each passing second. From where he stood, he tried to catch Ashley's eye, but the other boy avoided his gaze, focusing entirely on the conversation.

Fuck, who was he talking to? Weren’t his parents out of town? Why was someone calling him so late at night?

Hunter’s mind raced with questions, but he already knew that if he tried to ask, Ashley would most likely just avoid giving any kind of explanation. Not that he necessarily owed one to Hunter, especially seeing his nervous body language. Yet, Hunter couldn’t help feeling like another wall had been erected between them, when a significant one had just fallen a short while ago.

And then, he caught sight of a tremble in Ashley’s delicate hands. Just like before, during class.

Whoever was on the other line must have been the same culprit. Someone who managed to instill true fear in Ashley.

Hunter couldn’t stop himself. He almost reached a hand out to touch the other teen’s shoulder, but ultimately drew it back, and bit down hard on his bottom lip. He had no clue what to do here, if anything.

Without even noticing Hunter a few feet away from him, Ashley ended the call, looking conflicted. Hunter furrowed his brows, concern only increasing when Ashley gave him a forced smile. “I’m sorry. I have to go, Hunter,” Ashley almost whispered, the warmth that had been present in his laughter replaced by a distant coldness. “Something has come up. I'll see you in class.”

“Wait, but—”

Hunter’s protest died on his lips once Ashley hurried off, without another word. Hunter unwittingly gave a short chase after him, but quickly stopped. He breathed out sharply and placed his palms on his temples, recognizing the bizarreness of his actions. Seriously, what was he even doing?

In the end, Hunter just watched the lithe figure of his neighbor become smaller and smaller as he went, before what looked like an Uber soon pulled up and took him away.  

“Cool.” Hunter placed his hands in his pockets, with a sigh. “Thanks for the ride, Ash.”

Turning on his heel, Hunter then kicked up a small cloud of dirt, wistfully. He would never admit it to anyone, but as he was left there alone, watching the car’s headlights vanish into the dark, Hunter felt not only perplexed, but a bit…hurt. The sudden change in atmosphere hit him like a train, and the reason why it happened would almost certainly remain a mystery.

Well, he had a theory, but didn’t want to go off assuming anything, either. And yet, if it was what he was thinking—

Hunter shook his head and brushed his locks back again. He reflexively checked the time on his phone, eyes widening upon seeing that it was already past midnight. When the hell did that happen? Looked like time flew by much faster than he ever would have anticipated, when spending the night with someone other than his friends.

With a tired exhale, Hunter stored the device back in his jeans and began his mosey back home, a long and lonely journey that’d no doubt take over an hour. But, despite that, he found that he wasn’t as pissed off as he usually would be in a situation like this.

He already knew, moving forward…he would be thinking about tonight, a lot.