Who: Hunter and Mak When: Thursday, Sept 21, late afternoon/evening Where: Hunter's house, Empty Orchestra, various cars Status: Complete
Walking out of the school building after tutoring Jules Cooper was a downright relief. This was going to be a damn long semester, tutoring her. Mak’s mom was coming to pick her up, even though it had stopped raining, so while she waited in the front lobby of the school, Mak texted her bestie. Hunter was going to give her a hard time about how stupid she’d felt with answering questions about Sabrina, but it was Jules Cooper. Ugh.
hey nerd. just leaving tutoring, wyd?
Whatever he was doing, he was going to have to quit it, because she wanted to come over and hang out with him. Hunter was good at banishing weird moods, and she’d kind of been in one ever since Saturday, if she was being honest.
She wasn't wrong. Hunter was usually very good at dispelling sulks but today Hunter was off his game. This whole week he'd been off his game and he had no good reason for it other than that everything felt weird. He was watching a movie loudly when his phone buzzed and he half expected it to be something bad. That was just because he was on edge though and things had been weird. He texted her back at light speed. we are going OUT. He didn't really care where, just out of this house. Moxie's, Joyland, that new Karaoke bar, anywhere but home alone would do.
It took Mak a couple of extra minutes to answer, since her mom arrived and she had to climb in the car and all. Then of course Mrs. Richberg had to ask her how it went and blah blah, parent questions. As soon as it wasn’t super rude though, Mak’s thumbs were blurring over her phone’s keyboard again. i’ll have my mom bring me over, because f yeah we are. this day has suuuucked
As soon as she hit send, she asked her mom if the thing she’d already promised could happen. She got reminded warily that it was a school night -- which, duh, of course it was -- but Mrs. Richberg did indeed drive her to Hunter’s and dropped her off. Mak jogged up to the front door and banged on it, more than ready to be in the presence of a peer she actually liked.
Hunter had been going a little stir crazy waiting for her to answer. He was uncharacteristically moody today but it had been the shittiest week! "You texted me first," he grumbled at his phone. "C'mon, Mak, what the fuck?" When she finally did answer he got up, left the movie on and headed to the bathroom to make sure his hair looked great and he could go out in public. Moody or not, he did not want to look like some fashion disaster. He was fixing what probably didn't need much fixing when things started falling out of the bathroom shelf. Again. "I hate you so much," Hunter snapped in irritation because he couldn't understand why it kept happening. It was annoying enough if it was something like an earthquake but no, there was literally no reason for this to keep happening. He made a frustrated sound and this time he left the mess on the counter and in the sink because 'fuck you, that's why'. He changed his shirt too and was ready to leave by the time Mak knocked on the door.
"We're not staying here," he told her as he grabbed his jacket. "I have dad's car, let's go somewhere."
“Whoa, okay,” Mak muttered, turning right around to walk back out onto the porch as soon as she stepped in. She’d at least wanted to flop around and whine to Hunter about Jules, so she was a little miffed about having to run right back out, but Mak supposed she could always bitch to him in the car. “Where are we going? Are you hungry?” she asked. Hunter was almost always hungry, wasn’t he? It was like, part of the boy code. She didn’t really want to go to Joyland in case Jules went there after tutoring too. But Moxie’s might be safe, to go and grab a milkshake or something.
"No, are you?" Hunter asked in turn, hurrying to get in the car. He usually was hungry, but not right now. Right now he was just pissed and confused which annoyingly enough he felt like he should be used to by now. He had no idea where he wanted to go. Sitting in some diner or cafe didn't sound like a lot of fun. Maybe they could just drive somewhere and listen to music, or hell, they could go to that new place like he'd thought about earlier. It was stupid, but it could be distracting. "Wanna go to karaoke?" he asked before Mak had an answer for whether she was hungry or not. They probably served food there too, they could eat fries and laugh at how out of tune everyone was.
Mak followed him out to the car, a little frown settling on her face. He seemed rush-y and unhappy, and that wasn’t usually Hunter. She wondered if he and Jen had been fighting or something, and that was why he was in such a hurry to leave. “Karaoke? Where?” she started to ask, then it clicked. “Oh! Yeah, that place is open now, right? Um ... I guess so.” She had kind of wanted to sit somewhere she could complain about Jules, and a karaoke place sounded loud, but whatever. Sometimes you just had to go with the flow. She climbed into the passenger seat and put her messenger bag in the back. “Are you okay?” she asked Hunter, frowning vaguely at him.
"Not really," Hunter muttered with a frown, turning the engine on to warm the car up though he didn't get going just yet, debating whether to tell Mak what was going on. They were best friends and they tended to share everything but this was just so stupid. "It's been a really, really weird week," he finally said, quiet as if someone might hear them if he didn't keep his voice down. He felt a little safer here in his dad's car, out of the house. It had that familiar car smell mixed with something that reminded him of his dad and that was a good thing. "I don't know if you'd believe me if I told you."
A small, weird feeling ran down Mak’s spine. She’d been having a weird week too, but she hadn’t been telling anybody about it because it had to just be her, right? Just her imagination running away with her or whatever. But maybe it wasn’t, and that was even more disturbing. “Okay, for one, remember who you’re talking to,” she said, gesturing to herself. Mak tried to keep her tone light, but it didn’t come off the best. “I believe everything. But like ... mine’s been weird too. So ... what’s going on, Hunter?”
"Like stuff keeps falling," Hunter muttered even if he wasn't sure she actually believed everything. She wasn't dumb. "Like, for no reason. It just falls off the shelves or off the table. Like there's a ghost or something." He frowned again and shrugged almost angrily. "At first I thought Sabrina must have done something, you know, to spook me because of that Ouija board but... It's been going on the whole week and sometimes it's the same stuff and there's no string or anything." He paused, then spoke more quietly again. "One of my trophies like... flew off the shelf and broke."
Mak’s eyes widened a bit and a bigger chill went down her back this time. Stuff falling off of shelves for no reason was even creepier than the sounds she’d been hearing in her house. “No shit,” she murmured, sounding awed. She did believe him, without question. Hunter could be a dumbass jerk sometimes, but he’d never been the guy to play a mean prank like that. Plus, he wasn’t that good of an actor. Mak gave the house a wary sort of glance. No wonder he’d wanted to bounce as soon as she got there. “I’ve been hearing like ... sounds and stuff when I’m alone at home. Like bumps and footsteps upstairs. But not enough that I’m not sure it’s not my imagination, you know?”
Hunter blew air out through his mouth slowly. He hated this because it was just so stupid but he didn't think Mak was lying either and he sure as hell wasn't. "Do you think it's because of that... thing we did?" he asked and while it would be uncharacteristic he half expected Mak to laugh at him. Maybe because he would have if their roles were reversed. Did Sabrina bring a big bad ghost into the house with her super spooky old ouija board? No. At least he hoped not. He didn't believe in ghosts, or he didn't really want to believe in them at least but he'd heard his share of spooky stories and he had no idea how to explain what was happening.
“I don’t know,” Mak murmured, starting to chew on her bottom lip. “Like, Sabrina hasn’t said anything about weird shit, but I haven’t like, gotten to talk to her much this week either. But ... I mean, we did do it at your place.” Her eyes ticked meaningfully to the house again. It creeped her out to even look at it right then. Ghosts in Hunter’s house made her gripes about Jules Cooper seem stupid. “Ugh,” Mak said, and rubbed her hands over her face. “I mean, maybe it’s like ... something else. Coincidence, some like ... tremor in your house or something? Pipes? I don’t know. Is it all the time, or just when it’s just you home? Because I only hear shit when it’s just me.”
"I don't know," Hunter muttered with a frown. "I swear I'm turning into Jen, sleepy at school all the time." He stuck his tongue out at that and then looked at Mak again. "I mean, things falling down and stuff isn't really that weird when you're surrounded by clumsy idiots and guys trying to get attention by shaking their tables or whatever but... Yeah. There's been some stuff at school too. Little stuff, but enough to be... weird too." He felt a cold chill just thinking about it and suddenly sitting there near the house didn't feel so good anymore so he put on his seatbelt and gestured at Mak to do the same before shifting gears and getting them moving. "I haven't really eaten since I got home, so I guess I should. You think they have food at the karaoke place?"
She was pretty glad to get moving too, and Mak clicked herself in. Weird stuff at school too? Fuck. That was worrisome. She had no idea what to do about it, or if it was even really happening or if they were just jumpy as hell, but still. “Uh,” she said first, her brain definitely not on the right track to answer that question at the moment. “Probably, I guess. If they don’t, we can always go somewhere fast and come back.” Mak hadn’t heard much about this place yet, and maybe it would be lame, but it was better than hanging out in Hunter’s haunted house, she guessed.
"Do you mind getting take-out?" Hunter asked. "We can eat in the car and then go to karaoke." It just sounded simpler and he didn't really feel like shuffling from place to place which wasn't like him at all but again, this week had been weird. "We don't have to stay there long either, if it's totally lame. I just think it could be funny and I totally need funny right now."
“Sure, yeah,” Mak said. That sounded like a solid food plan to her, she didn’t really care either way. It was just easier to think rationally on a full stomach. “It’ll probably be hilarious.” She wasn’t positive that there would be anybody else there at this time evening on a Thursday, but who knew, right? It was a new place, the novelty probably hadn’t worn off yet. Hunter just seemed to need this not to be a disappointment. “We need to get you a milkshake, wherever we go, so the sugar high will make you get up and sing.” She offered him a faint grin.
"Bitch, I'll sing for you," Hunter retorted with his slightly exaggerated 'gay voice' like the drag queens used because those were hilarious. "I have a fabulous voice, thank you very much." She knew that of course, that he could sing okay. He wasn't going to kill it on any talent show anytime soon but he could carry a tune and they'd done a few rounds on Singstar when they were younger. The best part of had been bursting out in giggles and watching the visuals caused by that in the game but the singing had been fun too. "You gotta sing too," he added and reached over to poke her in the arm, already feeling a little better now that they had solid plans and were away from the house.
“Duh, I know you have the voice of an angel, dummy,” she teased back with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “I’m just saying, motivation to sing in front of strangers. Unless we’re like, the only ones there.” Maybe that would be okay too. Just them and the staff, they could goof around without worrying about anybody else at all. Mak smacked lovingly at Hunter’s hand, then ended up patting him again more softly. “I’ll do it just for you,” she said. “But if they end up kicking us out because of my voice, I’m blaming you.” That would never happen, of course, or karaoke bars wouldn’t have anyone in them ever, but Mak didn’t have the greatest singing voice.
Hunter rolled his eyes at her in turn because he didn't think her voice was that bad, she wasn't going to win any contests either but her singing didn't make him want to plug his ears either and that was something.
They got some food to go and ate in the car in the parking lot of the Empty Orchestra - a pretty funny name for a karaoke bar, really - where they ate while listening to the radio and bullshitting some. Hunter felt almost normal by the time they were ready to go in, like all the weirdness of the week was somehow behind him now and things could go back to normal. That was what good company was supposed to do and he gave Mak a little side-hug as they walked inside. "Whoa," he murmured as they opened the door. "Space vibe." He was referring to the interior, of course, it was all a bit future-esque with pink and purple lights that verged on being neon. Hunter loved it.
Eating and sitting had given Mak a chance to unload about Jules Cooper, though she kept it shorter and lighter than it was going to be. Hunter’s place potentially being haunted made it kind of seem petty. But it was good to chat for a bit while they put warm food in their bellies. Mak snugged Hunter back as they headed for the door, and she smiled automatically when they walked in. It was a space vibe, kind of retro and cool. There weren’t too many people in there, but someone was on the stage, looking like they were choosing another song. Mak let Hunter lead the way toward a table, just looking around and taking it all in.
Hunter had lent her a sympathetic ear, even if he felt a little caught in the middle there. He knew Jules Cooper could be a royal bitch but she was never a bitch to him and that... Well, it made him feel validated in some sad little way, like he was cool enough. She'd doubtlessly rip him a new one if she ever thought he was lame or uncool but she hadn't, so he was cool. Thankfully they didn't go too deeply into all that and Jules hadn't really done anything horrible to Mak - that would have been awful - so he could dodge the awkwardness some and have a worry-free night.
"Okay this place is cool," he said as they got themselves a seat at one of the tables. There weren't a lot of places like this that allowed people under eighteen to attend - let alone someone under twenty one but this felt like a bar in a way and it gave Hunter a bit of a thrill to be there.
It did feel like a bar -- or what Mak imagined a bar would probably feel like -- and while it was exciting, it kind of made her feel extra-young, too. She’d never been the kind of kid who tried to sneak into places she was too young to be in, and even though the sign on the door had told them they were old enough to be there, part of her still half-expected someone to come along and kick them out. She flashed Hunter a little grin, pleasantly nervous about the whole thing. “It really is,” she agreed. “I wonder if they serve like ... non-alcoholic drinks up there. They have to, right? If we’re allowed in?” She nodded at the bar against one of the walls. They’d just eaten, so she wasn’t really thirsty, but something about buying a drink from a bar was kind of exciting.
Hunter would be surprised if they didn't. A lot of people didn't drink. Well, maybe not a lot but some people didn't. He gave Mak a lopsided grin. "Want me to buy you a drink, m'lady?" he said with a smarmy Nice Guy attitude before laughing because ew. They were going to need drinks if they were going to be doing any singing he thought, even if it was just water. He'd barely spoken when the music started and the man on stage started singing Build Me Up Buttercup with feeling and Hunter had to smother a laugh even if the guy wasn't terribly off key or anything. There was just something nerve wracking about even strangers putting themselves out there.
Mak tittered at Hunter, wrinkling her nose up. Fedora guys were gross. Sure, most guys had some level of Ew for her, but those dudes were off the charts. She encountered them a lot with some of her hobbies, and she was glad Hunter wasn’t anything like those dudes. “Dude, after that, you owe me a drink,” she said, leaning in close to be heard over the music. Mak’s attention moved to the guy on the stage then, and she covered her grin with one hand. He just looked so into it, and that was somehow both hilarious and awesome.
Hunter could live with that and once he'd ordered them both drinks and they'd settled back at the table he clapped enthusiastically for the man on stage who'd just finished his song. He fully expected him to get off the stage now but no, the guy started another song and Hunter gave Mak an amused look. "At least somebody's breaking the ice," he said with a titter. "Wonder if he was here last night too."
If the guy had been there the night before? He must’ve been the biggest karaoke fan in the world, because he sang three more songs after that one. It went on long enough that Mak and Hunter began exchanging wide-eyed ‘wtf is going on’ looks and having to cover their whole faces to keep from laughing too much. The man’s friends were obviously getting a bit antsy too, one of them getting up as the third song came to a close. She talked to him while he shook his head, then started tugging on his arm. “Ohmygod,” Mak murmured from behind her hand, painfully embarrassed for the guy.
Hunter had reached a point where he was incredibly interested in his phone because watching the stage was like gawking at an accident but he kept glancing up and then looking at Mak with the same wide-eyed look of horror. He almost expected the guy to really start causing a scene, he was that reluctant to leave and at that point Hunter was tempted to leave so they wouldn't have to see it. Second hand embarrassment wasn't that big of a deal but he was incredibly uncomfortable at that moment. The man ended up leaving the stage without too much trouble though he looked forlorn and sulky as he followed his friend. Nobody else went on stage right away and it felt like everyone was holding their breath in there although it was just as likely that it was Hunter's imagination. Only a few minutes later the man got up again and grabbed his jacket, stalking out of the club as if his girlfriend had just dumped him or something.
"Wow," Hunter whispered. "Isssssuuuuuues."
While Mak was kind of glad he was finally taking a break, she felt really bad for the man, because he just looked so bummed out about having to give up the stage. Maybe he was really shy and this was his only outlet or he just really loved to sing or something. And then he stormed out like he was mad about it! She tittered a bit at Hunter’s tone, but it was at least half nerves. She sipped on her drink a bit more, then elbowed him gently in the side. “So come on, it’s your turn,” she said. “Hope you still have some choices left.” Mak giggled again.
"Probably not," Hunter said. "It's all bust, there are no songs left." He looked around to see if anyone else was going up there but it didn't seem like it so he got up and shook himself a little to rally up his courage. "Come on, let's do a duet!" He offered his hand to Mak and arched a brow in challenge before singing, "I've got you babe."
Well why not? There was hardly anybody else in the place, and it wasn’t like she was going alone. Grinning, Mak took his hand and let him pull her up and lead her to the stage. The little computer screen was nice and friendly, and the famous song was a breeze to find. Even though they had plenty of duets, there was still only one microphone up there, so they were going to have to share. Mak was okay with that, she didn’t mind getting cozied up to Hunter. She found herself glancing out at the other people who were there over and over, and Mak couldn’t seem to stop grinning. “Ready? Let’s kill it.”
It was supposed to be a joke and Hunter would have much preferred some Rihanna or something but as soon as they started singing he really got into it. Singing was always kind of fun and he'd heard people say it was literally therapeutic or good for the body in ways and tonight he believed it. ""Don't let them say your hair's too long," he sang and instantly felt a rush of joyous amusement because they both had short hair. They didn't even do very well at divvying the lyrics up between them like they were supposed to but it didn't matter, they could sing the whole song together. At the end of the song he was beaming at Mak. "Let's do another."
Their timing and harmony was kind of off, but Mak felt exhilarated anyway. All of the potential embarrassment faded away as soon as they started singing, and by the time the song was over she felt flushed and delighted and yes like she wanted to sing again! The bar wasn’t crowded with people waiting in line or anything, and it wasn’t like they were going to stay up there for fifteen songs like the guy before them, so she nodded enthusiastically when Hunter suggested another one. Joke or not, he’d picked the first song, so she helped herself to the selection screen. Soon enough they were both singing ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart.’ Not a duet, but that didn’t seem to matter. It just felt so good, so freeing, like they were leaving the bullshittery of everything else behind while they belted out the song.
Hunter had forgotten all about the weird things that had been happening to him, at least for now. He was honest to God happy and more than eager to sing more songs. He hadn't even known he liked the songs they ended up singing but they were amazing! Mak's singing was great too and he felt connected to her in ways he hadn't ever felt which was saying something when it came to his best friend. Her eyes lit up when she sang and she looked every bit as happy as he felt.
Mak was having a blast. She’d had no idea that she loved karaoke so much. Especially out where people could see it. As she gazed back at Hunter and sang with him, her chest felt too full of love. It was a weirdly intense feeling, but it just made her sing all the louder. She started losing track of time, and before she knew it, she’d also lost track of how many songs they’d done. There just seemed to be so many that looked like fun to sing, and she wasn’t thirsty or tired or anything but thrilled to be right where she was, where nothing mattered but the music.
Hunter felt the same way and he loved Mak more than he ever had tonight, gazing at her in the neon lights as they sang another song and then another and then another. At some point they were holding hands and everything felt perfect like nothing mattered but them and the music. Someone kept coming up to the stage between songs and then wandering off again when the music started up again but Hunter didn't care, that person could wait. It was their turn now to sing.
There was almost something romantic about it, which was crazy because it was Hunter, but Mak felt it nonetheless. How could you share that sort of feeling and experience and not fall in love a little? She was looking into his eyes as yet another song ended, and Mak realized her phone was buzzing madly in her pocket. Had she been feeling that already? She frowned vaguely and was almost tempted to ignore it, but it dawned on Mak that she didn’t know what time it was at all. Pulling her hand out of Hunter’s, Mak stepped aside, away from the soft lights aimed down at the stage, and pulled her phone out to answer. It was her mother, and she was not happy. It was never a good thing when your mom started the conversation with ”Oh thank god!”
Hunter watched her for a moment but then he was looking at the screen again to pick another song, only vaguely aware of Mak talking to her mom and looking fretful. He wanted to keep singing because he had honestly never in his life felt as good as he did on this stage. When Mak returned he looked up again. "How about-" he started but trailed off when he saw the look on her face. "What's up?"
The verbal reaming from her mother had quickly drained the euphoria from the karaoke out of Mak. It wasn’t even like she could say anything back, she’d had no idea that they’d been there for two hours already, and she was out way past when she’d said she would come back home. “We have to go,” she said to Hunter, shooting a wary glance at the other people in the room. Mak felt ashamed and uncomfortable now, and she was already longing to do one more song. But they couldn’t. “I’m in big trouble.”
She looked so small suddenly and Hunter smiled at her before wrapping his arms around her to give her a nice, long hug. "You're okay," he told her. "Let's just do one more song then we can go. Ooh! Maybe they have I Knew You Were Trouble." He turned to the screen again, one hand still on Mak's shoulder as he snapped his fingers and sang, "So shame on me now." God he hoped they had that song, but there were totally other good songs about trouble too. Bridge over troubled water or something like that, right? Probably lots actually, Trouble was such a good word for a song, it rhymed with a lot of things.
The hug felt nice, and the prospect of singing another one was so tempting, but the anger and disappointment in her mother’s voice was still ringing in Mak’s ears. She shook her head, trying to push that itchy desire to pick a song with him away. Mak took hold of Hunter’s arm and started tugging on him. “No, come on,” she said, her tone firm and still kind of distressed. “I really have to get home, my mom is pissed.” They’d waited dinner on her, but she was to be home as soon as humanly possible, or hers was going in the trash, and she was going to be grounded that weekend. Mak really didn’t want to be grounded.
Hunter pouted at her but he let her tug him off the stage. They could come back tomorrow and then the day after that. Hell, every day after school they could come back and sing to their hearts' content. The thought was ever so nice and he hooked his arm around Mak's arm, grinning at her despite her obvious disquiet. "What's going on?" he asked when they were outside, fishing the car keys from his pocket. He didn't even mind the rain right now, he just wanted to keep singing.
Once she was outside and saw that it was dark already, Mak started to get even more nervous. It didn’t seem too weird that they’d lost track of time that way, even though it rarely happened, she just hated that now she was in trouble. “I missed dinner and it’s way later than I told Mom I would be home and I’m gonna get grounded if you don’t hurry up!” Mak said, her nerves coming out as impatience. She hurried around to the passenger side of the car and waited for Hunter to unlock the doors, then climbed in.
It was slowly sinking in why Mak was upset. It was dark, it was way past dinner, it was late. How long had they been singing? Hunter unlocked the car and got in, fishing his phone out of his pocket to check the time only to see a few unread messages from his sister. One was a picture of the bathroom counter with all that stuff scattered across it from earlier and a typed out wtf? beneath it. The next was Guess I'm eating this alone then. The third and fourth just question marks and the last one a selfie of her, face obscured as she flipped him off.
"Shit," Hunter whispered though he couldn't help but be a little amused. "I was going to have dinner with Jen..." He made an 'oopsie' face at Mak as he started the car and put this phone on the hands-free stand. "Wow. Time really flew by."
Mak was checking her phone too, though she’d only missed a couple of Facebook messages, besides the texts and calls from her mother. She thought Sabrina was probably working, and Hunter had been with her. Singing. Which they apparently both really enjoyed. Mak had some strange feelings swirling around, but her anxiety was stronger than all of it at the moment. She hated being in trouble with her parents. “We just ... got caught up, I guess,” she muttered to Hunter, frowning as she restlessly thumbed through her phone.
"Yeah," Hunter said and then smiled again. "We should do that again, just make sure we have more time." He had really enjoyed it so it made sense to go back. Maybe this time they'd invite some of the others too. "Not tomorrow though," he added as an afterthought. "You're coming to the party, right?" Sure, it was Jules Cooper's party and Mak wasn't a fan but it seemed like everyone was going so it shouldn't matter.
Stressed as she was, Mak was a little annoyed that Hunter was asking her like that when he hadn’t even mentioned the party to her before now. She’d had to be invited by Jules Cooper herself, in that condescending way. She tried to push that irritation down though, aware she was just on edge and feeling a little weird after ... all of that. “I don’t know, I guess I am if I’m not grounded for forever,” she said with a sigh. “She like, actually invited me herself, I should have known you would know about it already.”
Under any normal circumstances Hunter would have told her the moment he was invited so she had every right to be annoyed. Things had just been weird this week and he honestly hadn't been sure he wanted to go to a stupid party when everything sucked. Right now he felt amazing, even if Mak was fretting and Jen was mad at him so a party? Hell Yes. "You're not gonna be grounded forever," he told her and his mood was only heightened by the fact Jules had invited Mak. Maybe they'd be friends too! It sure as hell would make things easier for him because even if he wasn't exactly friends with Jules they were friendly and if she was friendly with Mak that was just a good sign. "Say you'll come with me."
Mak wished she had Hunter’s optimism about her parental fate. But maybe they would go easier on her once she was actually home and visibly safe and all that. It wasn’t like Mak ever did much wrong, as far as they knew. There were some things they didn’t know about, because she was always careful to be home on time and answer her phone promptly and all that. She’d just gotten caught up in singing and having fun. A lot of fun. Mak wasn’t sure that Jules’s party would be more fun than that, but Hunter would be there, so maybe it would be okay. “I’ll come with you,” she said, smiling a tiny bit and reaching over to nudge Hunter’s shoulder. “Just to like, prove to everybody that you’re cool. ‘Cause you know me. ‘Cause I’m the coolest.” She paused, then added, “We should bug Sabrina to come too.”
The good thing about having a dad who worked way too much was that he didn't really keep up with his kids very well. Not that it was necessary most of the time, at least with Hunter, who tended to keep himself in check, but still. On nights like this one it was a blessing. Hunter grinned with a quick glance over at Mak. "You are the coolest, it wouldn't be fun without you and I definitely need the cool points. Text Sabrina, ask her if she's coming. We could get something to eat before we go." That sounded like a plan, though a part of him wanted to go to the karaoke bar instead but that was stupid, wasn't it? He'd much rather go to a party where there was a chance they might get alcohol.
Mak at least knew that the ‘it wouldn’t be fun without you’ was sincere -- because he definitely didn’t need the cool points, everybody liked him, as far as she knew -- and that settled her irritation down the rest of the way. At least in Hunter’s direction. She still didn’t know how it was going to go with her parents. “Let me make sure I can go first,” she said, trying not to sound too pouty about it. It would probably be fine, she just hated having that in question in the first place. “That would be cool, though.” Mak really wanted Sabrina to come, because she was good at making the Cool Kids seem less cool, and that gave Mak confidence. Plus there might be drinks and opportunities to make out there.
"If you're grounded I can still come visit you," Hunter mused, thinking of every possible loophole for if Mak was in trouble. "I'll come over and give your mom and dad the saddest gay boy pout they've ever seen and they'll have to let you go out with me even if it's just for a little while." That sounded like a solid plan, he was pretty good at The Sad Face, especially with other people's parents. "And if you tell them what we were doing they'll totally understand and singing is like the least offensive teen activity you could have been doing. We might as well have been singing with the choir or something."
If Mak had not seen Hunter give the saddest gay boy pout to her parents already, she might have laughed that off, but he had and it had worked. She couldn’t even remember now what the begging had been for. Hunter’s Sad Gay Face was worthy of respect. She tittered at the suggestion and shook her head affectionately. “You know she’s gonna like ... march down there and make sure they don’t serve drinks to minors,” she said about her mom, giving a sigh. “The choir at least doesn’t have a bar attached. But you’re right, we were being like, totally well behaved teens. No delinquency or anything.”
"She can march down there all she wants 'cause we ain't lyin'," Hunter said jovially and shot her another grin. She sounded a little less stressed so there was that. "Do you want me to come in with you and take the blame? I'm really good at that too and they can't ground me." He liked Mak's parents and had met them plenty of times so it wouldn't be weird. It might even be weirder if he just dropped her off and drove off but if Mak wanted to deal with it alone then he'd let her of course.
Mak pursed her lips as she considered that. Her parents liked Hunter, he was good with parents in general, and he was the sheriff’s kid, so in their mind Mak couldn’t get in too much trouble with him. They were right to an extent: she and Hunter did plenty of things that were trouble-worthy, but they just never got caught at it. Or rarely did. Damned karaoke. Damned especially because she already wanted to go back. “Come in and say hi at least,” she said. “She won’t yell at me too much if you’re there. And they like seeing you. We’ll see how the blame goes, I guess.”
Hunter really wasn't in a rush to go home. Jen was already pissed at him and he was already so late it didn't really make a difference at this point. He genuinely liked Mak's parents too so if showing up helped mitigate the damage done he was happy to oblige. "What are you telling them about tomorrow?" he asked since he wasn't sure her parents - or his - would much approve of them going to a party even if 'everyone' was going. Maybe even especially since everyone was going. They just wanted them to hang out in groups of two and three and watch movies, something cute and innocent like they were all still twelve.
Mak gave a dark chuckle. “I guess saying ‘it’s a party thrown by the most popular girl in school and her parents are definitely not going to be there’ wouldn’t be smart, huh?” she posed, amused. “Maybe I can just say me, you, and Sabrina are going to hang out? And if we get caught there or something, it was totally just an impulsive decision. ‘Oh, a party, let’s go check it out!’” Mak raised her voice’s pitch to mimic one of them saying that, even though none of them were that squeaky. Hunter would understand. She wrinkled her nose as she glanced over at him. “Does that sound plausible?” She was jealous sometimes that he rarely ever seemed to even tell his dad where he was. The freedom must have been nice.
It was a freedom that came at the price of rarely seeing his dad and being known by every deputy in town by name so there was that but Hunter did enjoy his freedom. Especially on nights when he wanted to do things he was sure his dad wouldn't much approve of. One of those things was definitely going to an unsupervised party and he was more than okay with going there being an 'impulsive decision' that had 'totally not been planned at all'. "Let's just say we're hanging out at my place," he agreed even if his place was also technically unsupervised since his dad would be working.
“Deal,” Mak said with a firm nod. It was a good enough plan. She felt kind of guilty sometimes that she was the only one with parents involved enough to care so much where she was and what she was doing. On one hand, it sometimes interfered with being able to just impulsively go out with friends, and on the other, she hated that their parents kind of sucked like that. On an affectionate whim, she reached over and pulled Hunter’s closest hand off of the steering wheel. Mak put the back of it to her cheek, then kissed it. “You’re the best,” she informed him.
"I am," Hunter agreed jokingly but he was clearly pleased, grinning ear to ear while focusing on the road ahead. He was going to get Mak out of trouble somehow and he knew it, the Richbergs loved him and considering how much they loved Mak - and how much leeway they usually gave her - he had a feeling they wouldn't stand a chance against the two of them.