FALLING IN LOVE WITH HIM - HER FIRST LOVE

Alarmed and alert Hunter and Michael both leapt to their feet in seconds, eyes sharp and focused. Michael looked at Hunter with concerned eyes as his best friend winced clutching his left thigh just above the injured knee. His attention shifted back to the ten men surrounding them as they sliced the knife in the air experimentally, the hissing sound whooshing by. 

"Damn, where's my baby when I need it," Michael muttered wishing he had his blade with him. Hunter frowned beside him. "I thought I returned your knife, Mike," he said, earning a scoff from his buddy. "Eric took it. Smartass said he couldn't trust me with it around that Andrew boy and I forgot to take it back later," he explained, sounding annoyed. Despite the pain, Hunter laughed at Michael's displeasure.

One of the ten men cleared his throat, and the boys scowled at him for intruding their conversation. They were conversing so casually as if they couldn't see the apparent danger and it irked the man more. He moved his knife in a circular motion, the tip pointing at the men surrounding them. "Kids, don't you think you've more pressing matters to worry about than flirting with each other?" The man asked rhetorically, the annoyance clear in his voice.. 

"Oh, shit," Hunter said, his eyes wide, the panic evident in his voice. The man smirked, pleased by that reaction but Hunter ignored it. "Guys, please give me five minutes," Hunter said to no one in particular and didn't even wait for their response before focusing his attention on Michael. 

"Mike, you need to leave like right now," he said, earning a scowl from Michael. "Like hell I am," was Michael's displeased reply. Why would he leave his best friend alone at the time when he needed him the most? It's not like they hadn't faced dangers such as these before and last time he checked, he wasn't a coward. 

"Ace, how can you even think of suggesting that? Do you think I can live without you if anything happens to you? Don't you know you're the love of my life?" Michael asked, clutching his chest with his hands as if he's in pain, his exaggerating tone too dramatic to ignore. Hunter glared at him for a second before kicking at his shin. 

He immediately regretted his action because he used his injured leg to kick. It hurt like hell. Michael laughed, doubling over, having fun at Hunter's expense. 

Hunter rolled his eyes at his childish act before getting all serious. "Mike, I'm serious, you've to leave," he was saying when Michael scoffed, cutting him off. "What the fuck are you talking?" He asked indignantly, now his tone filled with absolute irritation as all the playfulness vanished. 

Hunter sighed, irritated as well. 

"Let me finish first, Mike. Victor and I have placed a bet, and I can't afford to lose against him. You need to leave because you've to win the race," he said, and his best friend narrowed his eyes on him before asking, "What the hell did you bet on?" His tone of voice filled with suspicion as if he already knew what mistake Hunter had made. 

Proving his assumption right, Hunter hesitated to answer that question. He pursed his lips, and his large eyes widened as he looked at Michael, blinking innocently. Michael knew that look very well. It resembled the guilt of a kid caught red-handed while stealing the toffees from the jar. 

And Michael had guessed the object of their bet accurately. 

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Michael yelled, anger filling the space. 

Hunter looked guilty, yet he yelled back at Michael. "How would I know these motherfuckers would block my way? I could've won the race before Victor could even see the finish line from afar. It's a piece of cake. Haven't I done it before?" He asked, sounding all too defensive. Michael sighed, shaking his head in defeat. 

"Why do you bother then? It's just a stupid bet. You could refuse him, or we could beat him to shut him up if he protests," Michael suggested. 

Hunter shook his head in disagreement. "He's a friend, Mike and he's not a bad guy. I don't want to fight him. I want to give him a fair chance, and besides, I never back out on my words. You know how much I hate the thought of breaking promises," he said, reasoning his decision. Michael gave him a disapproving look but agreed anyway. 

"Do you want me to inform Mathew?" He asked already knowing Hunter would refuse. "Let the man breathe, Mike. I can handle it," Hunter assured. "Don't you dare call Eric," he added quickly, making Michael chuckle. "Eric would beat your ass for sure. He had had enough quota of the mess to handle for the day," Michael stated, and Hunter agreed. 

"You took more than five minutes boy," one of the men with the grating voice said, sneering at the young boys. Both Hunter and Michael rolled their eyes and cursed in unison at the interruption. They never liked to be told what to do. Annoyed, Michael ran his hand through his hair. Hunter signalled him with his hand to leave. 

Michael looked pointedly at Hunter. "Are you sure you can handle this alone?" Michael asked. "Don't die," he commanded, finger pointed at Hunter in warming, his tone stern, and the look in his eyes hard. As if an elder brother would warn to fix his mischievous, naughty kid bother to stay away from trouble. 

His best friend looked offended by his words that he doubted his power or ability to take these men down single-handedly. He scoffed at Michael, fixing him with a dirty look. 

"Mike, trust me, I got this," he said. "By the way, I'm the elder brother if you've forgotten," he added as an afterthought, annoyance dripping from his tone. Michael ascended his motorbike while scoffing at Hunter. "Yeah, of course, the twenty-one days of an age gap is so huge, it automatically earns you the title of an elder brother," he said, sarcasm dripping from his words.

"You're wasting time, brother," Hunter snapped while Michael showed him the middle finger in retaliation. He pushed the start button instead of kick-starting the bike to save time. 

The tallest of the men yelled at his companions to stop Michael. One of them heeded to the command and moved towards Michael's motorbike to stop him. Hunter watched as his hand reached out to grab Michael's arm. 

Before the man's hand could touch his best friend, Hunter took a step back before taking one forward, leaping up in a high jump, he flipped himself in the air. His foot connected with the man's head in one quick hard front flip kick. The man's tall form staggered a few steps back before collapsing on the ground with a loud thud. 

The abrupt fall of the man impeded the path of other fellow competitors trying to overtake one another. The passing racers moved past the body, missing him with mere inches and cursed before riding ahead as if they didn't see anything. 

"What the fuck? Are you sure he's the high school kid?" One of the men who appeared to be their leader asked his fellow companion. He was stunned by the action that just occurred. They weren't expecting the school going kid to knock out a grown man double his size. 

Hunter watched as Michael left, the pace in which his bike moved was so fast as though it was floating in the air. 

He took off his half finger leather gloves and put them away into the pockets of his jacket. He glanced at his bike and grimaced at the ugly dents bruising its once spotless, shiny body. The MV Agusta F4 Claudio was a limited edition model with all the high-end components and equipment. 

Hunter was determined to avenge the damage caused and engrave those ugly dents on the man's body who dared to hit his precious motorbike. He removed his jacket and deposited it on the seat of his two-wheeler. Holding the edges of his T-shirt, he stretched the material downwards straightening it. 

He looked every one of the intruders in the eye and snapped his fingers to get their attention. 

"Okay, everyone, let's have a quick introduction session before proceeding further. What's this all about, and how do we know each other?" Hunter asked. The remaining nine of them surrounded him, forming a circle and their knives ready in their hands to tear into his flesh at the very first chance. 

The leader showed his crooked teeth in what's supposed to be evil laughter, one of it seemed plated in gold. "You have a bounty on your head, boy. We're bounty hunters and here to hunt you," he said, laughing again. Pursing his lips, Hunter nodded, stretching his fingers to improve the range of motion. 

Wincing, Hunter cursed. The experiment only increased the pain in his knuckles. The earlier kick intensified the ache in his knee, but he'd to endure it for now.