better than this

Hunter

We exit the restaurant type place and walk out, the girls following. I walk with Jack a bit behind. "So do you like have a thing for her then?" Jack asks me and I instinctively turn around to see if anyone's in hearing distance. "Who?" I ask, pretending to be oblivious but smiling at the thought of her. "I think you know who. Blair." Jack says looking at me for a reaction. "I don't know man. I think she's really great and obviously absolutely gorgeous but...you know." I confess to him, not wanting to state the obvious, he shrugs. "She has a boyfriend? If you're worried about that I wouldn't be. Don't tell anyone I told you but they haven't been happy together for the last year or so. Everyone knows. If you're asking me, they need someone like you to break them up, so they can both finally admit the truth." He tells me with a small smile. I laugh, "I'm not planning on breaking them up. I just...I don't know she's...I don't know. She's different from other girls I've met, you know?" I say and hate myself for it, I sound cheesy but it feels nice to finally let someone know. "I've only know her two days though so don't be getting too excited." I say and he smiles. "Something tells me it's more than that." He says before waving and beginning to saunter off. "I've got to head though. Nice talking to you." He says and waves his goodbye to everyone else, leaving me walking alone. I shake my head to try to forget about that strange conversation.

I turn around and walk slightly slower so that I can walk with Blairs friends and her. They both smile shyly while Blair rolls her eyes playfully. "H.ello there. We haven't officially met." I say to one of the girls, she has brown hair with blonde highlights. "Hi. I'm Tessa." She says and I hold out my hand, she shakes it and laughs. "I'm Hunter." I say and turn to the girl slightly ahead of me who's already facing me. I hold out my hand and she smiles. "Poppy." She says politely as she shakes my hand and I turn to Blair and hold out my hand. "Hi I'm Hunter." I say jokingly and she laughs and pulls a fake surprised face. "Oh my god no way. Hunter Collins? Can I get a picture?" She asks, beaming and jumping up and down as she walks. I laugh, "Happens all the time." I say to the other two girls who laugh and I join in. "Tess. Come here!" Ollie shouts from ahead of us and Tessa starts to walk, Poppy going with her to talk to Brendan leaving me and Blair alone together. We glance to the side at each other, smiling slightly but not saying much, my heart is racing and I don't know why. We walk onto the sandy beach and find a spot to sit down all together.

Blair

"I can't believe we're finished high school." Ollie says and Tessa nods from lying between his legs, holding a beer bottle which he takes a drink of. Poppy is resting her head on Brendan's shoulder while me and Hunter are sat cross legged next to each other, an awkward distance between us. "I know it's crazy..." Poppy says. "Easy for you guys to say. You all know what you're doing." Brendan says and I smile at him. They are all mildly drunk, except Hunter and I. "Oh really? I just moved here. Don't think I have a clue what I have planned." Hunter says and flashes a grin. "Me and Poppy got into a music school in London so that should be fun." Tessa says and yawns, taking a sip of her beer. Poppy and I, I tell her mentally. "Seriously? That's great. Well done." Hunter says and then blushes and looks down at the ground. Strange. He doesn't often act shy.

Tessa sits up and turns to Ollie. "How did I go to school with you for so long and barely speak to you?" She asks him, her chest on his chest and he grins. "Guess I wasn't attractive enough to catch your attention..." He says and she laughs, and he cups her cheek with his hand. "Nope. That's definitely not it." She says and he leans in to kiss her. Meanwhile Brendan hugs Poppy closer to him. Hunter turns to me and pretends to vomit, I laugh at him and he smiles.

"Fancy ditching the lovebirds?" Hunter asks me under his breath, after they've all been kissing and hugging on and off in their drunken state. "We can't just leave them." I say while shaking my head and he pouts. "Please? I feel nauseous watching them kiss every two seconds. We can just walk down to the sea and back up?" He says and it sounds appealing so I agree and stand up. "We're just going down to the sea." I tell Tessa and Poppy and they both nod and continue their conversation.

We begin our walk down to the ocean and get about half way there when Hunter asks me a question. "So what are your big plans for after the summer?" He asks me but I can barely hear him as I feel a familiar tightening feeling in my chest. "I uh-- I'm going-- shit. Hunter can you help me?" I say between breaths and grab his hand to steady myself. "Blair...what's going on?" He asks me and stands in front of me. I can barely see his face through the tears that are falling hot and wet down my face. I try to breath steadily but I can't. "I'm having a panic attack?" I say shakily as I feel the familiar grip as my chest tightens. "Shit. Oh okay. Umm what do I do? Sit down." He instructs me and I do, keeping my eyes glued to the sunset. "Blair tell me what to do and I'll do it." He tells me, his voice is muffled and my head is foggy.

Hunter

Her breathing is quick and sharp. I have to calm her down I think, I rub circles on her hand with my own hand and wipe away her tears with the other. She leans her head into my hand and closes her eyes. "Okay. Focus on your breathing. Try to slow it down and gain control." I tell her, not having a clue what to do. I see her focussing on her breath and I watch as her chest rises and falls slightly slower. "Should I get help? I can get Tess. Or tell her to call Jax." I say and start to remove my hand from her tight grip which she only tightens. "No. Just, please just stay with me?" She pleads, opening her eyes and looking into my own so I stay and her eyes close again.

After a while of her breathing getting slower and slower she finally opens her eyes. "It's pretty much over now." She tells me, her voice quiet and timid. "I'm sorry I ruined your walk..." She says and looks at the ground. I keep my hand on her face and rub her cheek with my thumb. "Why are you apologising? That was not your fault." I try to assure her and she smiles and keeps a hold of my hand. "Does that happen a lot?" I ask her as I'm curious and don't really know what that was. "Umm kind of. I don't know why it happened now though it's usually places that are too crowded or too loud or too bright. Just any place or situation that stresses me out. I have no clue why I had one on a beach...I guess I just thought about how I'm moving without my sister. All my memories with her are here. It's like she'll actually be gone." She says with a weak smile and I pull her in for one armed hug as she still has my hand held firmly in hers.

"Are you okay?" I ask after a while and pull away, my arm still around her, she smiles and nods. "Thank you." She says and we stand up, her hand remaining in mine. We stand opposite each other for a bit before I gently pull on her hand and envelop her in a hug. She hugs me tightly but it's nice and comforting. She smells amazing, like sweet vanilla.

When we finally pull apart she lets go of my hand and takes a deep breath. "Do you want to go back?" I ask her and she shakes her head. "Can we just go home? You can come to mine if you want." She offers and I smile, nodding. We walk back up the beach, I tell Ollie and the others that I'm taking her home and they say their goodbyes as we head away from the beach and towards home.