Prologue

"I don't like you," Hunter screamed at him, "at all. You're nothing but a low life undeserving pig with nothing to live for. Just kill yourself and everyone will be happy about it."

His friends continued to punch Alex, slammed their knuckles as hard as they could on his nose, his head, his jaw. Alex curled up into a ball and tried to stop the hits from hitting his face, and then the bell rang. Hunter jumped from the sink, spat on him and then exclaimed, "See you around loser."

Alex was used to this treatment, and although it did upset him, he stood from the ground, spat blood that had filled his mouth and grabbed his backpack with all the sheets they had torn. He returned to his dormitory, and closed the door behind him, falling onto his bed. He did not care about the absences, and all he wanted was to sleep.

All his muscles were aching, and he was beginning to bruise on his face, his busted lip still bleeding. However, he fell asleep.

He woke up to a wet rag cleaning his face, and when his eyes fluttered open, he observed the focused blue eyes of Hunter wiping the smeared dry blood from Alex's face. He sent a stressful hand through his hair and dabbed ointment onto the bruises and the cuts, turning Alex's face from side to side to make certain he had gotten all the injuries.

When he met Alex's gaze, Hunter shook his head and turned away, "You're okay, it might hurt for a few days but you'll be fine."

Alex slowly nodded his head, "Okay."

An awkward silence filled the room, a bit tense since Hunter felt guilty for what had happened. "Listen, you know I love you, right?"

Alex turned away, "This isn't love."

"I didn't mean what I said, you know those guys Alex, they'll—"

"Not everyone will be happy if I die, right?"

Hunter bit his bottom lip, before reaching for Alex's chin an turning it for their eyes to meet. Then, he leaned forward and placed his lips onto Alex's, consumed with charm and endearment that Alex moaned from his tongue being enveloped by Hunter's.

When he pulled away, he breathed quietly, "My heart would never be the same without you. You mean everything to me, and I love you."

After a short pause, Alex wrapped his arms around Hunter and whispered, "Okay."