Fancy Meeting You Here! {Hunter/Hookie & Macy}

[safetypinalert10]

New York was a little flustering. People, everywhere. Rude people. As well as there was no beach, no place for her to lay out and try and get her tan again. It was entirely frustrating, but she quickly put aside her disagreements with the city, because there was one good thing it had. And that was Hunter. Who was remaining elusive, at best. She was still attempting to track him down, she just pin pointed he was in New York, New York...but anything better than that...he was out of luck.

Taking a break from her computer, Macy decided to do a bit of shopping in Times Square, and a bit of sight-seeing. At least there were some famous things in the city, Broadway was a start. Maybe if there was something good showing, she could grab tickets for a later date. With Spring in the air, she grabbed her new, bright yellow sundress, pairing it with white hoop earrings, and a necklace, and meticulously curling her hair into fat, orderly curls. She held her hair out of her face with two silver clips, and leaned in, slowly painting her lips red.

"Your are beautiful, Macy. No one could resist." She murmured quietly, smiling at her reflection for a moment. She slid her delicate feet into white flip-flops, and grabbed her white purse, before grabbing the keys to her flat, and almost hopping out of the room. She had a car, but she quickly realized it was a moot point to even bother trying to drive in this city, and instead walked wherever she needed. It was a hassle, but better than sitting in a traffic for half an hour, just to go half a mile up the street.

Bumping and shuffling her way along the sidewalk, she moved stiffly, doing her best not to agitate her golden blonde curls. She had to look perfect, perfection was important. If you couldn't be perfect, then why even bother living at all? Macy delicately touched her hair, making sure she wasn't frizzed as she made her way down Times Square. She moved carefully on her feet, floating even in her flip-flops as her head craned back, looking up at the signs hanging on the sides of the building. She drew in a deep breath, and sighed. Maybe New York wouldn't be absolutely terrible. She paused in the middle of the side walk, watching the pictures on the screens change, strangely fascinated by the brilliant colors.

Tags: Becko/Hook/Hunter, Ollie/Macy
Outfit:Click meh!
Hair:How Perfect.

[HUNTER KNOX]

It had been a good deal of time since Hunter had last heard that familiar crack of delicate human skull against cold cement pavement. Too long, one might be able to say. Hunter was firmly of the mindset that a cracked skull a day kept the uppity customers at bay. It helped them remember exactly who was boss and what the consequences were for turning up with significantly less cash than expected. This fucking idiot, who had decided to come up to Hunter begging for more and promising to pay back his last two loans had simply pushed Hunter over the edge. He couldn't be expected to be delicate with such an infuriatingly idiotic person, could he? It was impossible to ask such generosity from even the kindest of men, let alone those with hearts as black as Captain James Hook's.

Leaving the body and the blood lying in the alley, Hunter stormed angrily through the bustling crowds of the city. He had to get somewhere public. Once he was in a more crowded section of the city then he would be safe from accusations and wandering eyes that may connect him to that mysterious groaning body in the dark alley. Once he was lost in the sea of faces that was eternally tossing and heaving in the streets then he would be safe.

That didn't mean he was happy about it, though. It was infuriating, really, the entire fact that he had to put up with humans in the first place. As a spirit from a book read by children for just about a century now, Hook felt justified in his opinion that he rose above the mere mortals. He was far superior to their impudent, boorish ways. He had mingled with mermaids! He had fought with flying freaks! He was Captain James Hook, not some floozy of a man who became so desperate that he BEGGED his dealer on hands and knees for more drugs to tide him over.

It was times like this that reminded Hunter what he was here for. The drugs were a side business, to keep him afloat until he could hunt down that bastard Pan and show him a good what-fore. He had to remember that that was the main priority. He could deal with the rest later.

Slamming into some idiotic blonde dumbo, Hunter brushed her off in a huff, marching on angrily. He couldn't be bothered to pay attention to some bimbo wandering the streets. He had better things to do, like find himself an alibi for that idiotic freak's injuries.

[safetypinalert10]

New York was awesome. Yeah, awesome. She’d use that word. There was normal shoving around, but it seemed nice. Like the crashed of the ocean, and the current pulling and pushing you to an unknown destination. Drawing in adventure at every break of the wave. She drew in a deep breath of air, ready to let it out slowly, and calmly—only to nearly be knocked off her feet by some utter jerk who didn’t even apologize. That was not ‘New York’ pushing. That was some jerk, who thought he was high and mighty. That was a SLAM.

And he had the nerve to huff at her?! That was not going to happen, not today. Quickly, Macy ran after the guy that had pretty much steamrolled her, “Hey! Hey! Punk! You messed up my hair! Get back here and apologize right this instant!” She cried, storming after him. The chase gave her a little excitement, her heart thrumming in her chest. She always did like a good game of tag. She often just barely missed catching people when she was ‘it’, just to chase for a little longer. “I’m talking to you, jerk!” She growled, grabbing his sleeve, and yanking with all of her might.

And she froze. The face was different. More matured. His shoulders had broadened, and there was that strange slouch that guys got as they got older. But she’d know those eyes anywhere. Her grip on his shirt tightened, and she gripped his other sleeve in her hand. Her thin arms surprisingly strong as she leaned in closer, her brows furrowing over her murky eyes, almost coming nose to nose with this man. “No way.” She murmured, her knuckles turning white from her grip, before she released him suddenly. “Holy shift, Hunter! Hunter? Serious, is that you?” She asked, giving a typical Macy-like shove to the chest, a grin overtaking her pretty features. “Hunter, It’s Macy. Remember?” She asked, placing her own hand on her chest her entire face lit up. All these years of search, and he had pretty much just ran her over. “From Cape Cod? You couldn’t have forgotten me, we were like this!” ‘This’ indicated two fingers crossed, and held up to him. “Where the hell did you disappear to?!”

[HUNTER KNOX]

People generally knew better than to chase after him. There was somethiing about a certain brand of imposing personality that gave most people the clue that he was no good. It was like a human instinct or something to stay away from the drug dealers that screwed you over, unless you wanted to be found as a bloated, disfigured body floating in the bay. This little blonde idiot seemed to be utterly lacking those instincts, as she ran back to him, growling like an angry bear. He was not in the mood to deal with this bullshit, and whether or not it was on a busy side street, he was not willing to continue with the charade much longer. As she pulled his sleeve, it was the last straw. He whipped around, prepared to smack her to the ground and continue walking when he saw that face. . . Those eyes. . . That perfectly familiar face that haunted his dreams so often.

Hunter generally made it a rule that once he had had his way with a certain girl, he was done with her. There were no take-backsies, so breaking those rules. He moved on and made sure to cut off all contact with that stupid whore(well, generally whore was the PERFECT word to describe them. It was, after all, the job description of about half his conquests) and if he felt generous enough to refrain from killing them altogether, it was only because he was almost positive that they would have no way of finding him. he wasn't exactly a publicly listed figure. There were no social networking sites for him, no phone book listings, no home address or cell phone number someone could hypothetically stalk. He was for the most part utterly off the map, and he was usually rather good at disappearing into the shadows. It made for a perfectly symbiotic relationship between Hunter and the Captain within him. The Captain was all for living life to the fullest and taking advantage of every saucy wench he could get his hands on, while Hunter for the most part wanted to make sure the name of the little boy from Cape Cod was never found and held responsible for the things that he did.

With this is mind, he had no intention of ever seeing that blonde girl he had grown up with again. Familiar faces were never a good sign, unless they were there to buy some of his product. It was like seeing a ghost, someone from another life suddenly dropping back in on him. Macy. The first and only girl that he had ever felt something a bit more for. The first one that he had been with. The one who had always been there for him, always just a few steps behind him, always trying to make sure that he was alright when he was just another troubled youth in a town full of preppy, perfect teenagers.

His mouth wide open, he continued to stare at her, trying to fathom just how this could have happened. It was crazy. He should never have met her again. She should have stayed back in perfect Cape Cod. She shouldn't have seen him like this, so horrible. So despicable. He wished that she could continue to remember him as that boy that simply dropped off the map after his mom died. That boy that was otherwise fine, a bit dark and brooding, but certainly not up to anything TOO illegal. Instead, she had to see the darker side of him. The murderer and the drug dealer. She had to see who he really was.

"Macy...oh....God, no. I - I've been around! I just.... I didn't think you'd be here. What are you doing here? I thought you were still in Cape Cod! When did you get to New York?" He gaped at her unapologetically, still having trouble taking it in. What did this mean? What did this mean for HIM? Could he still be the vile monster of the night when the girl he had spent his childhood with was in the city, watching out for him again?

[safetypinalert10]

Macy looked totally startled when Hunter whipped around. She'd seen the flex in the arm, and she was almost prepared to have a fist to her pretty little face. Her brows raised up towards her hairline, her eyes wide. For a moment time seemed to freeze, and she felt her heart crack. It wasn't Hunter. Hunter would never hurt her--or even attempt to.

Her Hunter was..misguided, and a bit different from the others. But because of his difference in looks, no one ever gave him a chance. They didn't get to know him; his funny laughter. Intelligent words, that quirky way he seemed to be able to move about without being seen. But for her, for Macy, he stood out like his own sun. Shining brighter than anyone else. But this man...this person. He wasn't Hunter. He was dark, and angry. And there was a slight chill going up the back of her neck.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else." She said quietly, letting go of his sleeve. Suddenly she felt a little afraid. She had just grabbed a very angry looking man, who seemed strong enough to grab her kicking and screaming. As well as the fact she had just up and left home, so no one knew exactly where she was. She swallowed hard, and took a slight step back, until he said her name.

Macy...

And it was suddenly like a breath of fresh air. A cool wave of water washing over her. It was Hunter, it really was him. She continued to stare at him, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly. All these years of looking, and she had just nearly been ran over by him in the middle of New Fucking York.

"No, God, no." She repeated, her brows furrowing over her eyes, and shook her head. "Are you kidding me? My family like expected me to go to school, and settle down and have babies or something." Half of her face scrunched up in disgust, and she leaned to the side momentarily, as though the idea she mentioned were tangible, and trying to touch her. "Do I look like the mommy sort to you?" She shook her head, and then grabbed for his hands in hers, and grasped them tightly, her face going back to that light up bright expression.

"I got here not too long ago! This is my first time at Broadway. It's totally amazing. How long have you been here?" She chirped curiously, her head tilting. "I mean, you just kinda...disappeared. You were the only one back home that actually...you know. Didn't think I was some stuck up snob of a girl." She rolled her eyes, "Well. I was a snob, but you always seemed to dig the bitchiness." She teased, her eyes alight with humor, passing a secret memory to him with a quick quirk of an eyebrow.

Then then gave his hands an excited shake. "I missed you a lot! It wasn't the same without you. Why did you come here?"

[/center]

[HUNTER KNOX]

For perhaps the first time in what felt like ages, it wasn't Hook in total control. The shock of seeing his childhood friend was enough to make Hunter, the REAL Hunter, choose to do something other than just passively co-exist inside his own mind. He was the one at the reigns, at least for a moment, while all the memories of life in Cape Cod, life before his mother had died came flooding back to him.

This really was Macy. HIS Macy. The one that he had always taken for granted. The one that he had always just assumed would be there, right beside him forever and ever. The last person he had seen before leaving Cape Cod forever. The girl that he was with the night his mom died.

God, he hadn't thought about her in ages, which was really something that was gnawing at him right now. How had he allowed himself to forget about her? How could he have let the Captain push the memories of her out of his head and just carry on wheeling and dealing like nothing had ever happened? It was like for the past few years he had been living with all his memories suppressed, not worrying about how pathetic he must have been as a creepy little emo kid living in a rich and glamorous neighborhood. Sure, the Captain had brought a sense of confidence that Hunter had never been able to experience before, but now Hunter wasn't too sure if it was a fair trade-off to lose his sense of self just in order to feel more empowered.

Of course, he couldn't waste time worrying about feeling sorry for himself just yet. Here she was, the girl that he had spent his entire childhood with. He couldn't exactly break down into a blubbering mess of tears over how much he had missed her. She would wonder what the fuck exactly was going on, and he would CERTAINLY ruin any shred of a reputation he had earned for himself here in the city. Things like that had a way of making themselves known to the underground community. Good gossip spread like cancer among criminals.

The need for Hunter to retain his cool was enough of a leeway for The Captain to step back into control, all business and suave natured. "Oh God, babe, no. The day you settle down and start whipping out babies will be the day I keel over and die." His laughing along with her immediately stopped when she grabbed his hands. He didn't particularly know what to do in such a situation. it wasn't often that he had women grabbing for ust his hands. Normally they were headed for - well, other parts of his body. The hands seemed like a bad sign. It was like they were part of some teary-eyed scene from a Jane Austen novel.

"Well, doll, you know it was the bitchiness that always did it for me," he said, returning the eyebrow raise. "Those little barbie look-a-likes were never exactly my style."

As his hands were shook like he was being greeted by an overly strung out Walmart employee, Hunter licked his lips, trying to think of a suitable answer. "What, you can't figure out why i'm here? Me? In the city of possibilities and opportunity? This was one of my first stops since leaving Cape Cod, and even though I've been doing a bit of traveling around and such, I guess I just had to come back. How could I resist the call of the Greatest City on Earth?" He laughed, knowing that it was far from a suitable answer. "How about you? Any particular reason for coming to NYC while on the run from your family?"

[safetypinalert10]

Macy was still trying to get her head around the fact that this was Hunter, right here. Right infront of her, after so long. That he had been found, that she found him. Sort of. For the first time in a very long time, she didn't feel like anything was missing. She felt whole, and her heart wasn't hurting her. She got to see him, and she could go to sleep now without feeling lost, because she knew he was nearby.

Her shoulders raised up, her neat little organized curls bouncing on her shoulders. The sight was quite likely bizzare. Hunter, with his gloominess darkness that seemed to wrap around him like a well worn coat. And Macy's yellow hair, pale skin, clean neat clothing was the epitome of light. They stood there, Macy still holding onto his hands for a moment longer, to confirm he was real. They got a few strange looks, but that was nothing new.

Everyone always assumed Macy was just like everyone else from home. Most were very confused as to why she was around someone like Hunter; seemingly two opposites. "Yeah, no. Plus, babies make you all loose and shit." She stuck out her tongue, and tilted her head when his laugh cut off. She let go of his hands, her own dropping to her side, but still standing close. Almost not believing he was seriously standing infront of her.

He didn't particularly answers what she had asked, and she crossed her arms beneath her chest. She cocked her hip to the side, and gave him a very skeptical look. "Your idea of possibility and opportunity is getting as many people hooked so they keep comin' back to you." She raised a finger up, and tapped her forehead. "Psychic." And then he turned the question on her.

Macy couldn't exactly say she'd come to New York because she tracked him down here. Or that she had been bouncing all over the States looking for his crazy ass. "How could I resist the call of the Greatst City on Earth?" She repeated when a smile, then reached foward, adjusting his shirt and brushing off a bit of dirt that was clinging to him. "You grew up; you're not so scrawny anymore." She teased. He wasn't the same Hunter she remembered, and it made her sad. Especially when the whole suave personality took over.

It was almost cute that he could switch between that, and his off-guard self. She liked when she surprised him, when he was startled and stammering. It was cute. She lifted her brown eyes up at him, and bit the inside of her cheek. "Look, I've got a bit of fun rolled up in my purse. And, I think we have a lot of catching up to do. Do you want to go hang out somewhere?" She gestured over her shoulder, "My flat is back that way, if you wanted to go there, if you aren't busy." So help her God if he said no, or brushed her off and disappeared. Cause the next time she found him, she'd kill him herself.

[HUNTER KNOX]

Right, well. The Captain couldn't afford to let everything get away from him again. he couldn't afford to let the past come bubbling up like a tidal wave of emotion. He couldn't afford to worry about how the last time the two of them had stood so close, the last time they had touched, the last time they had gazed into each other's eyes was the last night that he spent happy in Cape Cod. No. The Captain had to retain a strict regimen inside the mind that he had commandeered. It was for the best for both of them, really. The Captain couldn't afford to lose any customers because of some little wench that had miraculously managed to stumble into his path again, and Hunter... well, The Captain was sure that poor little boy wouldn't want the beautiful young lass he had worked himself all up in a tizzy over to see him acting, well, less than masculine.

He bit his lip, nodding slightly as she teased him about his transformation. Well, she was right, of course. There was no denying that he was utterly different than that small time, over all pretty worthless high school student. Now he was a man. A RESPECTED man. A man who had taken more lives than he bothered to remember, and a man who could supply just about anything anyone wanted in order to add a little more excitement to their overall mundane and boring lives. In The Captain's esteemed opinion, that little grunt of a boy was changed for the better thanks to his kind intervention. Before The captain had stepped in, that little brute would never have dreamt of getting out of that blasted prison, and now here he was, out and about, meeting all SORTS of new people and catching quite a bit of tail for himself. Without The Captain at his side, giving him the strength to deal with people without a thought about consequences or morality, that little runt would have been caught in a spiral of jail time and release, only to be jailed again for reverting to drug abusing habits. Without The Captain at the helm, he would be a spineless little addict, just like the rest.

"I guess you could say that I've changed, well, more than a bit." He ran a hand through his hair, always fastidiously keeping himself looking presentable. "You do like it though, don't you? Scrawny has never been a particularly attractive word used to describe someone."

He raised his eyebrows at her at the suggestion that they go somewhere a little quieter. Sure, she was just asking that he follow her back to her flat, but the sex-crazed teenager that was the true hunter leapt on that suggestion like a rabidly horny hare. The memories of that last night in Cape Cod made it seem like all the more appealing a suggestion.

He bowed slightly and then gestured widely in the direction she had motioned earlier. "It would be my pleasure to hang out somewhere with the great Macy Gentle. Besides, I want to see exactly what kind of a flat you've managed to pick up for yourself." He shot her a grin, a grin that he hadn't had the opportunity to use in years. A grin that in a past life, a life of high school and secret sessions of smoking out behind the gym and just hours of talking and planning. A grin that had always been and always would be reserved for Macy Gentle.

[safetypinalert10]

Macy knew her Hunter, god damn she knew him. She knew that whatever this bogus swagger he had, was not his. Her Hunter was the one that seemed to radiate. That even though he was darker than the rest, he was the only one that ever truely shone to her. This Hunter standing infront of her was trying too hard to be...be...just...be. Part of her assumed that she was right in her assumtion, due to the fact he didn't ignore it. And if he was trying to upkeep his reputation, he wasn't going to go about arm and arm, and spinning her all down Broadway.

"Well," Her brownish green eyes swept down his body, giving him a crooked smile. "I always liked you the way you were, you wern't some juicehead. But, I can appreciate the changes." She nodded, trying to keep her smile minimal, though her cheeks were tight in that way she was obviously trying to prevent a grin. Her adrenilline was finally starting to wind down, and now she felt like she was floating in a dream.

If it was a dream, she hope she died in her sleep. Because to wake up to a Hunterless reality threatened to break the heart that was happily mending itself back together. She almost melted from that smile he gave her. Often, she had tried to get him to grin like that when other people were around. Because it made him seem to light up from the inside--at least to her. And she believed that if other people would just put aside the petty differences of wealth and appearance, then they could see how absolutely wonderful Hunter was.

She turned to walk back to the the Jacob's Apartment complex--suuure it wasn't the greatest. But it was her little sleeze area. No one gave a flying fuck if she sat on her porch and rolled up a joint. No one cared at all--she got a few looks for being so put-together looking. But everyone kept their cheeks turned. Unlike the Ice Palace, that had fucking guards and security every which way.

"The blunt's a bit stale. Never really could find a good occasion to smoke it," She furrowed her brows, looking twords the sky like she had seen something weird. "And you know me, I'm damn near a three-hit-quitter." She shrugged her shoulder, before smiling back up at him. Not the absurdly wide, teeth-flashing almost painfully fake smile she gave to the rest of the world. It was the smile that had developed solely for Hunter. Relaxed, a softness in her eyes. A smile that at times, almost looked like she was getting ready to burst into tears.

Because that's how Hunter made her feel. And all the emotions were now surging again. The man she thought she'd search for until the end of the world, the one she hoped to find--but never expected to find, was coming back to her apartment with her. Like old times.

He disappeared when his mother died. She hadn't even got a chance to see him at the funeral. She was there when they lowered the casket, when they gave the speech. She was there to help clean-up afterwards, and help greiving friends. But there was no Hunter. And even though she hadn't shed a single tear that day, she held it all inside. Ready to cry with Hunter. To be there for each other; but he was never there. And for him to be here now, every little bottled up emotion was trying to surface.

Her hand twitched, almost about to take his in hers--like she had done so often, while they walked to the apartments. She had never been ashamed of him, she had never wanted to keep their friendship a secret. It was perfectly normal to sit in his lap, hold his hand, lean on him. But things were different now. He had changed, he had a reputation. And to be seen holding hands with a pretty little perfect looking thing like her, would tarnish all that he had worked to build up. However, once they were safe indoors, all bets were off.

[HUNTER KNOX]

He still couldn't get over the fact that this was the real Macy. His Macy. The Macy that he had grown up with, and laughed with and cried with. This was the Macy that he had gotten caught smoking in the halls after school with, and who for that one glamorous night seemed like she was the only girl in the entire world that Hunter could ever look at.

But then....

Since then, Hunter had been running. He'd been running as fast as he could, in any direction that was open to him. He'd been running from Macy and from his mother's grave, and from the fake pity and sympathy from those plastic upscale socialites back home. He'd been trying desperately to get as far away from it all as possible. He'd run into the back alleys and the dark underground scenes, straight into a prison cell where finally he met the man who would allow him to run from his very memories themselves.

But now... it seemed like all that running was for nothing. Macy was back. She was talking with him, and he was walking with her back to her apartment where they would catch up with a quick smoke and talk and laugh and reminisce. It would be like all those years of him dealing drugs, and killing, and living without a single ounce of moral fiber had never happened. It would be like the two of them had never left Cape Cod, and they had just carried on, acting like they had as those young, immature high schoolers who tried pathetically to rebel against the strict rules of order in the uptight society they lived in.

But.... what would that mean for The Captain? He thrived on the fact that Hunter had been running. He was the vehicle for Hunter's terrified fleeing, and his ability to ignore the entire series of events that had brought The Captain to the forefront of Hunter's brain had been exactly what had made him so appealing. Now though, even just for the few minutes that they had been talking together again, Hunter - the REAL Hunter - could feel The Captain starting to ebb and lose his once complete control. It wasn't a feeling that Hunter liked. He wanted that sense of security, that feeling of total control in any situation. He didn't want to go back to being alone inside his own head.

He supposed that it was a good thing though, at least just for a little bit. He needed to talk to Macy. He needed to, and he supposed that it would be best if his words weren't being filtered by some kind of supernatural spirit from a children's book. It would be best if they came from the heart, no matter how gay that sounded.

"Jeez, Mace, do you really think that I care about how stale it is?" His voice had lost that tinge of cool that always went hand in hand with whatever The Captain was saying. It was back to sounding just like the high schooler had talked. "I still can't believe that we just ran into each other! This is just... this is just so crazy!" He laughed at her, as the conversation started to feel more natural to him. It had been a rough start. Regaining control of a body made for a bit of an awkward conversation. "Now where'd you say this apartment of yours was? I want to know exactly where the infamous Macy Gentle will be staying during her stint in New York, just in case I feel the need to drop by." He winked and nudged her a bit with his arm as they walked. It was an overly childish thing to do, and probably seemed strange in his quite adult body, but to the Hunter who was still stuck in that teenage personality, it seemed like something two best friends ought to do.

[safetypinalert10]

Mace. He called her Mace. Not Macy. She felt like bursting into song and dance like in those cheesy shows. His pitch even changed, and she looked up at him, feeling the stinging of tears behind her brownish-green eyes. She was so fucking happy, that she quite literally felt like she was about to burst. The shock had seemingly worn off, and he was Hunter. Not seeming to fight with himself.

He made her homesick, actually. Not for Cape Cod itself, but for the mornings where she sought him out at school. Or they stayed in their little hallways, shutting out the rest of the world. Other people were always around, but it felt like Macy’s world revolved around Hunter, and Hunter’s smile. “No, it still does the same shit it’s supposed to, it’s just dank as hell.” It was bizarre for words like that to come out of her pretty little mouth. But that had always been the Macy way. Pageant Queen outside, tomboy attitude.

“Right? I think things happen for a reason, you know? All the people in the world...logic says I should've never seen you again.” If he ever found out she had been following his ass…She reached around her neck, puling forward the long thin chain with a locket on the end of it. She pushed the button at the top while it flipped open, and checked the time of the teeny watch. She looked up, then looked down. The time read the same. She wasn’t dreaming. It was quite common knowledge that your brain couldn’t keep track of events when you were dreaming—each time you looked at a clock, it would read a different time. No matter what. The fact her locket read the same time, proved she was awake. She shut it, and dropped it down the front of her dress again.

“Oh, it’s over at the Jacob’s complex. It’s not entirely that fabulous,” She giggled when he nudged her, positively glowing from the inside out. It was incredibly difficult for her not to loop her pinky with his like she use to do. “And it’s not all lavish and shit, I haven’t had time to decorate.” She rolled her eyes, and lifted one perfect little brow. “It’ll be good to have a chance to break the apartment in a bit.” If she knew Hunter, she knew Hunter, and the ways to keep him from running away. At least she thought she did. She didn’t know he just spoke like her Hunter, or if he still retained the personality traits that had made him so…attractive in the first place.

The apartments were coming into view, and she turned her head down to her purse to rummage for her key. “Like I said, it’s not that great. You won’t believe some of the people there.” She shook her head at him, looking appalled before pulling out her key. She was funny like that—grime and dirt caused her to turn up her nose. But in the same breath, she’d be bitching because someone was being too friendly with the blunt.

[HUNTER KNOX]

A trip down memory lane was where he was headed if he walkd into that apartment with Macy. It would be a trip down memory lane and a conversation where she would ask about where he'd REALLY been that whole time, and she would just keep asking until she got an answer. She would try to sneak about it and bring it up in conversation a million different ways and she would throw a fit when she didn't get the answers she was looking for. She would tell him he wasn't being honest with her, and she would bring up their childhoods together as evidence of his treachery. He knew exactly how this would happen. It all came to him in what was a moment of perfect clarity.

The only way that he could see to get out of this would be to leave. To leave now and pretend like he hadn't ever seen her again. It had been a nice way to see her, just to remember that he hadn't always been this monstrous man that sold drugs to whoever asked for them, but he had already adapted to that lifestyle. He couldn't go back now if he wanted to, and he couldn't let her find out about it. What would she think of him if he knew that he just worked to get people - KIDS - addicted to literally anything under the sun? She would hate him. he knew that she would. She would think that he was a disgusting excuse for a human being and she would yell and scream at him. He would much rather that she kept her pristine memories of him. That she remembered him as that guy she had hung out with throughout her childhood who had then mysteriously vanished. It was much better than the alternative.

He feigned a laugh at her warning about the types of people that hung around the apartment. Funny to think it, but he was pretty sure he had dealt to someone here before. Now that he thought about how Macy could have run into him while he was in the act....it just made him feel dirty, to be honest.

He patted his pocket and suddenly begin to act as freaked out as possible, patting other pockets and all over himself. "Shit, did you see me drop my phone? I can't find it. Fuck, it couldn't have gone far, right? I'll just go run back and see if I can grab it. It won't take long, promise."

He got ready to go, but he couldn't get past the bottom step without taking one more look at her. If this was the last time he would see her, then he wanted to make sure he remembered it. The perfect curl of her hair, the vibrant outfit she had on, the way she looked so confused at him. "Promise, I'll see you soon. I'll be right back." He grinned at her, pausing for a second longer on the step.

[safetypinalert10]

Admittedly, Macy was surprised Hunter was coming back with her. She had a lot of questions, and she would figure them all out one another. Hunter looked a little disheveled, and a bit rough around the edges. Had there not been those eyes she fell in love with staring back at her, and he was some random man on the street--she would have crossed the road to avoid paths with him.

But the familiarity, and the assurance that the safest she could be was at Hunter's side. She wanted to believe he'd protect her, that no one would touch her if she was under his arm. But a small voice in the back of her mind wondered if Hunter would hurt her. Not physically, but emotionally. When she fumbled with her keys, getting ready to open the door, she paused and looked back at him. He was patting his pockets as if he left something. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at him, her lips setting in a tight line.

Macy crossed her arms, with the keys in her hand, and tapped her foot. "No, I didn't see you drop your phone." Her eyebrow lifted up, and her tone sounded sarcastic. This was a rouse--it had to be. After this many years, he was concerned about a phone, that was probably in one of his many pockets. The voice in the back of her head silently let Macy know she was right, and there was a flicker of hurt in her eyes. The corners of her lips started to twitch downwards, almost on the verge of tears.

He stopped to look at her, in a way that didn't show he was going to be right back. "You're an ass." She said quietly, and let her arms drop to her side. Her head lowered, and she went down the steps carefully, trying to take her time. She swallowed hard, and reached out, straightening out his coat on his shoulders, and dusting him off again. The girl sighed, and lifted her hands and grasped Hunter's face. She remained one step above him, to stare him right in the eyes, and she shook her head, and bit down on her bottom lip.

"Hunter, I miss you. I was the only one who had your back, all of these years," She murmured, her thumb brushing against his cheek, and she tilted her head. Memorizing his face, should she need to look for him again. "Don't break your promise, okay? I don't deserve that." Macy was good at guilt--but she spoke the honest truth. She had been a bit crazy, and she wasn't a normal girl, but she believed in her heart, that she didn't deserve to watch him slip through her fingers once more. She leaned in, and pressed her lips against his, her lips trembling with the force of her trying to hold back from crying. He was leaving--and even though he said he was coming right back, she was afraid that he might not come back for her.

She drew back, and sighed, looking at him. Her lips were contorted, somewhere between a smile, and still trying to hold back crying, and her eyelashes were wet--but there wasn't a single tear coming out of her eyes. "Go find your phone, babe. I'll be here waiting."

[HUNTER KNOX]

Part of Hunter wanted to stick right there, to stay by Macy's side and give up the life that had been ingrained into him. Give up the drugs and the deals and just figure out something he could do that would be perfectly legal and let him spend the rest of his life with Macy, just spending their days as they had in high school. Who knew? Perhaps Captain Hook would eventually have gotten bored and left, banished into some other poor guy's head in order to deal drugs and kill kids using HIS body and leaving Hunter in peace.

But no.... that wasn't how life worked. That was a life that would be left for late night dreams and wishes when he was somewhere far and away and sleepless under a different set of stars than were visible from the city of New York. He couldn't stay here and love her any more than she could ta along with him. They belonged to different worlds now. Back in high school it might have been a different story, but now that they had both had a chance to grow up and take their place in the world they were both firmly set in inverses constantly fated to be at odds. She had chosen to continue on in the normal word, where she could constantly strive to fulfill the American Dream. He had gotten dragged down a different path, where nothing seemed to make sense and he had to constantly keep moving in order to stay afloat in a watery world of drugs and dealers and death.

Damn, all this nostalgia had made a poet out of him.

He had to admit, her guilt trip was doing wonders for her cause. He was feeling more regret in the half hour since he'd bumped into her on the street than he had in the years since waking p to the cold hard reality that he was not alone inside his own brain. She was making an excellent case to serve her point, but it still didn't change the facts of the matter that Hunter was not and could never be safe for her to be around. He had just killed someone that very day and run onto broadway to keep from being caught. Did that sound like something Macy - HIS Macy - ought to be caught up in?

"Jeez, Mace, you think I'd lie to you? We've got so much to catch up on!" He knew that his pitiful attempt to make her believe him fell a little short of the mark, but it was too late now. He just needed to get out of there and run of somewhere she'd never find him again. He didn't have long to come up with another witty retort that would put her mind at ease though, because soon she was leaning in, pressing her lips against his and just like that they were kissing like those stupid little lovestruck teens back in Cape Cod. It was like those years had melted away, and for one shining moment he was just a horny kid kissing the girl of his dreams in her dark room the night his mom died.

But then she drew back, and reality set back in. He had to go. He had to get out of there before he had second thoughts and decided that breaking her heart again would be too much for him.

"I'll be back, doll. I swear, you won't even have time to miss me." And with that he stepped off the steps and hurried back in the direction they had come from, melting back into the crowd until he was just another face in a swarm of thousands.