Chapter Three- Hunter

From the moment I walked into this stupid reunion, my eyes were always on him. He might have thought I didn't even notice him. How could I not notice him when he looked so beautiful?

He looked just how I imagined him to look. His brown hair made his skin look paler while his bright blue eyes made him look brighter than anything anyone's eyes could land on. And of course he still used those nerdy glasses of his. Too much time had passed and he was still predictable. Only if I knew his kind before. His beauty was nothing but a facade. A facade to draw people in and then take advantage of them. He was the definition of looks could be deceiving.

I tried not to let him affect me. But somehow he managed to reduce me to my teenage self, to my vindictive self. I had grown a lot, developed a fucking personality since I left high school but just one look at him and I was back to being an ass.

I watched him with a malicious glint in my eyes. It was gonna be fun. I knew he was thinking he would have the upper hand in the situation. He couldn't be any more wrong. As he walked towards the stage, a small part of the crowd was cheering. No doubt they were the nerds who followed him around. Would they do that if they knew his true identity?

From the corner of my eyes, I found a seething figure who looked ready to beat the shit out of me. So, he still didn't get rid of the lap dog. I fucking hated Alex Queen.

“It was so kind of my friend to give me his title.” Kai said as soon as he snatched the microphone from my hand.

I gave him a raise of my eyebrows, daring him to say anything that would make my skin crawl.

A sudden feeling tightened my throat. I felt uneasy being so close to him. His beautiful face tried to distract me from my goal but I was here with a plan. There was no way I would cancel my business meeting to attend a stupid reunion.

I got another microphone from the DJ and waited for Kai to finish his speech. God, even his name made me angry. So fucking angry.

“If you don't remember my friend over here, let me introduce him.” He grinned towards the crowd.

I knew what was coming. He was gonna drag my past. I'm not proud of my past self but I had my proud moments. He wasn’t gonna get me.

“The worst high school bully is what people called him. But I would say that was a little harsh. So what if he punched people around just for the thrill of it? Hey, there's nothing bad in it!” This time around he grinned at me but his eyes looked murderous.

Alright, I was wrong. He still fueled my anger no matter how much I tried to suppress it.

“I just like to call him a spoiled brat who didn't know how real life worked and thought everything and everyone was under him. That's it, I hope you now know who Hunter Steele is.” I knew the whole crowd would have erupted in laughter if only I hadn't been this intimidating.

“Now that you are done with my introduction, I should give a detailed introduction of you too as well, right?” I smirked, winking just to get a reaction out of him.

“Oh man, didn't know the reunion would be about their drama. Weren't four years of high school enough for them?” I heard one of the guys grumble from below before I could start.

“So, as I was saying-” I stopped talking after noticing that my microphone wasn't working.

I blew air on it, slapped it with my hand but nothing seemed to be the right remedy.

“Fix it, DJ guy!” I yelled from the stage, getting irritated while Kai had the audacity to laugh at me cheekily.

Just when I was about to get angry at him and grab his microphone, I found a smug face looking at me. I understood what was happening. Kai's lap dog didn't want me to insult him in front of everyone. None of these microphones would work.

“We need to talk.” I said to Kai, getting out of the stage. I was done with childish games anyway.

I felt Kai following behind me down the stage. I shoved the crowd away until I was stopped by one of my best buddies.

“Dude, what's going on?” He asked, eyeing Kai behind me. “I thought you were gonna teach him a lesson today.”

“Oh? That's news to me.” Kai decided to interject, coming to stand beside me.

“Don't you know your friend is all bark and no bite? He is nothing but a show off. He can only dream about teaching me a lesson.” He talked as if I hadn't been present there, making my blood boil in anger.

I couldn't tolerate his condescending tone anymore. I had enough of him. It was time to call action. To act on my thoughts, I grabbed Kai's wrist a bit forcefully. By the gasp that escaped his mouth, I understood he didn't think I would touch him. Not that I wanted to. Not in an affectionate way, anyway.

“Let go of him.” He struggled to get out of my hold but I was way stronger than him. Playing sports instead of studying at school paid off.

“Watch out for his lap dog.” I slapped my friend's shoulder before dragging Kai behind me who wasn't really willing to go.

“You got it, man.” He replied, giving me a wicked smile.

“Don't you dare to call my friend that.” Kai barked behind me, still struggling to get away from me.

“Shut up and let's get done with it. You and I both know why we are here at this stupid gathering.” My voice was hard when I looked back to talk to him.

His nostrils flared in anger but he let me drag him to a corner. Though I wanted to hurt him the way he hurt me, I couldn't bring myself to do that. I loosened my grip on his hand because my conscience told me that. Sometimes I hate this fucking conscience. It didn't let me be as cruel as I desire to be.

It felt weird to touch him. I wanted to do something, something which was out of the question. Fucking hormones.

“Let go of my hand if you are done showing me your masculinity, Mr.Steele. You've already shown enough.” Kai muttered in a matter of fact tone, however, his tone indicated something entirely different. Something that happened in the past.

I let go of him once we reached a deserted corner of the room, away from the chaos. I was sure by now people had started gossiping about us. Not that I minded. I wanted them to talk. I wanted them to know what a piece of shit Kai was.

“And you've already shown what a duo you and your lap dog can be.” He glared at me, rubbing his wrist.

It looked like my grip did really hurt him. I didn't know I was grabbing him so hard. Perhaps, I didn't have a grip on my emotions like I initially thought I had.

“You don't get to call my friend that!” He yelled, pointing a finger at me, “Don't fucking bring him into this.”

“Why not? Your boyfriend deserves it.” He made such a disgusted noise that for a moment it made me question my statement.

“Do you even hear yourself? He is my brother. Your rich spoiled ass maybe into incest, I'm not!” He denied my accusation firmly.

I didn't want to get into an argument with him. The more time I spent with him, the more I would lose my grip over my emotions. He was a menace and I was done with dealing with him.

“I need a fucking drink. I can't deal with your ass sober.” I declared, looking for a waiter to get a drink.

“I'm not the one acting like a fucking savage. You never grew up, did you? You are still the same old bully.” I clenched my jaw in anger.

I know I acted aggressively. But he couldn't put the blame on my shoulders. Whatever he did to me was enough to make any man aggressive. He deserved it.

“And what are you, Kai Parker? The same old lover boy?” He looked livid enough to kill someone. Too bad he was always playing the good guy.

He didn't say anything. He kept glaring at me, probably reaching the conclusion that he didn't have to engage in an argument with me. Good for him. Because I was done being nice.

Talking about not being nice, on my way to get a drink for myself, I grabbed one for him too.

When I held it out for him, he eyed the drink suspiciously.

“What if you've poised it?” I rolled my eyes.

“That's a great idea. Why didn't I think of that before?” This time he rolled his eyes, he grabbed the drink nonetheless.

We remained silent for a couple of minutes, gathering our thoughts. There was no doubt that we hated each other. I looked at him from the corner of my eyes and watched him make a face after taking the tequila. A 27 year old and still he drank like a baby.

My mind wandered around the memory of that night. I remembered his words clearly. He called me a failure and a lost case. He also emphasized that when the day of our school reunion would approach, I would be in jail, serving for murder because I was always angry. He made so many predictions. And I'm here to tell him none of his shitty predictions made it. That was the deal. I told him I would show him who I would become exactly 10 years later. Here we were.

“So?” He looked at me as if he didn't understand me.

“How does it feel to see how you were so fucking wrong in every way? By now you already know all about me. Do you sit in front of the tv to watch the news about me, Parker?” He scoffed.

“I will be a loser? I became one of the most influential businessmen New York has ever seen. End up in jail? As you can see, I'm standing in front of you with a clean reputation. But you must already know that. You always liked to stalk people like me, didn't you?” He raised his eyebrows in confusion. Such a great actor!

“As if I didn't have any other job to do.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“If you call drawing scraps a job then alright.” I had never seen him so offended.

“Who is the stalker now, Steele? And it's called Art. But of course a snob ass like you don't know how to appreciate it. And all the boasting you are doing here because you were born with a golden spoon in your mouth. If it weren't for your daddy's fund, you wouldn't be able to do any of this shit.” He yelled before fishing out an envelope from his pocket and hitting it on my chest.

“Total 80 thousand dollars. Check it out carefully! I paid you back in full with interest.” He shoved a finger at me, making me chuckle at his audacity.

“How does it feel to be so wrong, Steele? You said I would be living off someone else's money in 10 years. There, I paid you in full. Enjoy the check.”

A smirk played on my lips as I opened the envelope. Truth be told, I never thought he would be able to pay me back. I wonder what he did to gather the amount.

“And how would I know that you didn't get this from your daddy's stash which he made by stealing from people all those years ago? Or by selling your body?” I hit a nerve. I could see the anger dancing in his eyes. I smiled mockingly at him.

“Truth is bitter, isn't it?” I teased him further.

I was wrong about my estimation about Parker and it drove me crazy. It made me mad that I wasn't the one who threw the first punch. It was him who struck across my jaw.