Great responsibility

Max: So are we still on for tonight?

Max: I ask because they asked me to take on another shift. But I can tell them that I already have plans.

Max: Just let me know.

Isabella: Where we supposed to do something tonight?

Blake was about to argue with Isabella, until she turned it around at the last moment. “Right? Why is he all up in my diet? I mean, it’s my stomach. I should pick what goes in it.” She shook her head. “And he saw me lifting weights, so really, it was dumb of him to ask. You’re not gonna write me up or take away my privileges, are you? Because he deserved to get punched and I only hit him, like, once.” She paused, recounting the scene in her head. “Okay, more than once, but like…you’re on my side.”

Isabella tried hard, really hard, not to laugh at Blake admitting that she had hit the guy more than once. Violence was never the answer in Isa’s book, but she too had disagreements with people and had felt the urge to punch them, not that she had gone through with it, but she had wished she had. “Because you were completely honest about it we can keep this between us. Just don’t tell anyone or else they’ll think that as long as they come and tell me after the fact that they won’t be in trouble which will not be the case.”

“If someone tells me that not eating meat makes me weak, do I have the right to punch the crap out of him?” Blake asked, not that it was really a question. As far as she was concerned, anyone questioning her ability to throw a punch made them potentially fair game to punch. “If not, I might have accidentally instigated a fight at the gym today.”

“I feel that as a government agent I should tell you that starting a fight is not good, but if they called you weak and you were simply proving them wrong then really what you did was a good thing.” Isa said with a smile. “People really should mind their own business, it’s on you what you want or don’t want to eat.” 

There had been a time when just seeing his mom smile made him happy. But recently, it seemed like nothing could do that. Sure, he had small moments with Wren, but that was about it. It wasn’t enough. He felt like he always had to put on a front. Always had to be good and couldn’t fuck up like he used to. But that was slipping. Day by day, he could feel it. 

“Forget this moment?” Liam asked, shaking his head back and forth. “I can’t just forget things, mom. You know that.” God, he hoped he could. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. He wasn’t hungry. All he wanted to do was blow off some steam. But, he hadn’t seen his mom in a while. “Can we just do takeout then go to your place? Chinese or something?”

All Isa wanted was to go back to how things were between them back when things were... simpler if you could call them that. But things had never really been simple for them, in fact, when they met it was probably during hard times. She still remembered the first time she walked into that cell and how he had stolen her heart from the very beginning. Isabella loved Liam and there really wasn’t anything that she wouldn’t do for him. 

“Okay, not forget, but maybe forgive me for using my power on you since it was unintentional?” She asked. “Takeout sounds good, it will give us time to catch up.” She began to walk towards the restaurant. “How have you been? I feel like we haven’t really talked in a while.”

Liam was a mess mentally. He was on the verge of breaking his sobriety and he could feel it. He was trying to do what he could to stay on top of it, to not let himself get dragged under the water again, but it was so hard. Wren. Katherine. His mom. Lucie. Hunter. Everyone and everything was getting to him and all he could do about it was be quiet and try to make some sort of amends where he could. But now wasn’t the time. Now was the time to use his power to go flying. It was one of the only things that helped him relax. 

He moved to use his power, but then nothing happened. He frowned, let out an aggravated growl and turned around when he heard a familiar voice. “Mom, stop.” Liam insisted. “That’s not fucking fair and you know it.” 

Liam, of course. Things between the two were not great but he was and would always be her son and nothing would change that, not even his anger towards her. “I didn’t do it on purpose.” She replied offering him a smile and trying her best to shut her power off instead of his. 

Isa knew that Liam was upset with her, but there was something in the way he spoke that put up red flags for Isa, “How about we both forget this moment and go for some food? I’m starving and I’m sure you could use a burger or something equally delicious.” 

“Hmm powers seem to not want to cooperate today.” She said coyly hoping that no one suspected she was behind the power outage. 

Hunter: yeah you’ll say that but you were just leaving the best till last

Hunter: well I’m just gonna have to spend more time at the gym and not with you then 😉😂 you don’t have to ask just get your ass here

Isa: Sure, keep telling yourself that. 

Isa: Hope you're doing okay, I miss you.

Isa: Can we meet up for coffee later?

Liam: I'm fine, just busy.

Liam: Sure, what time?

Isa: Busy is good.

Isa: Hope you're doing okay, I miss you.

Hunter: Hey…

Hunter: and I’m who you go to? 😂 I guess I could provide you with that 😉

Hunter: sure! I’m in the gym already can’t lose my muscle 💪🏋️‍♂️

Isabella: Well... actually I contacted everyone on my contact list but no one was available ;) 

Isabella: Hey you.

Isabella: This whole superflu thing is really... things are just so different around here and I need some familiarity.

That sentence it was like Isabella had gone into his mind and plucked the words out, Hunter liked being denied what he wanted, he liked the unexpected so if Isa wanted to surprise him, he is more then willing for it to happen “ I’m cerious as to what you’ll do.” The light slap she placed on his arm made it easier for him to capture her hand and lead it to the back of his neck “oh really, what’s the first lesson going to be on?” When she bit her lip Hunter found it hard to resist, he couldn’t help but lean down and claim her lips. “I think you underestimate my muggel charm. Or trust me you’ll fold before I play my cards.” He winked “that hurts” he faked offence “you so mean to me.”!

The look on her face said it all, all the extra work to get this place ready had paid off. Hunter had worried that Isabella would find it to cheesy, that she thought it was tacky. But her words were all the reassurance he needed she wanted to make better memories, ones that didn’t involve them arguing. Hunter lingered in her kiss making it last longer, kissing her back with one of his own “well I did set the bar so high last time, I’m surprised I beat it”

If someone asked Isa when it was that she began to look at Hunter as more than just her friend’s annoying ex, she wouldn’t be able to tell you. Not even she knew when it happened, it wasn’t like he had done one big gesture that had made her see him differently. it was more like a bunch of small but significant ones. “The point is to keep you curious, I don’t want you growing tired of this.” She said with a smile on her lips. Isa hummed when his hand caught hers and she happily wrapped her arms around him again. “probably show you the things I like, it’s always nice to start there. You can also show me what you like.” Before she could say much else his lips were on hers and she smiled into the kiss, god, he was a good kisser. “You’re so cocky! You’re lucky I like that.” Isa joked. “Sorry, but to be fair, I never claimed to be nice.” She chuckled. 

Hunter was surprised by Isa kiss, he was expecting her to play coy and he’d have to make a move. A surprise smile sprees across his face after her kiss “I could get used to that” he plam against her cheek, which slipped behind her head as he gave her a deep kiss. “I just took you for the plane type, but by the sounds of it you might teach me something.” He raised his eyebrow mischievously. “I’ll take that as a win” Hunter teased. “I guess I can only hope you’ll fall in love with a muggerl like me then.” He half joked he wanted her to fall for him, he was going to try so hard to woo her. This restaurant had a lot of emotional attachment for Hunter, this is where he met Isabella for the first time, this is where their whirlwind had started. “Lucky for us I found a cause” he said taking her hands and looking deep into her brown eyes “that hasn’t exactly changed though has it?” He laughed “I don’t know about you but I want to look at this place and feel warmth.”

Hunter pushed to door open slightly so he could check it was all just the way he left it before going to get Isabella. It was. The floor decorticated with a rose petal pathway that lead to a candle light table in the centre, the room was just illuminated by the candles , Hunter had got over the restaurant speaker a violin and piano playing trying to set a romantic atmosphere. Hunter slowly entered gently pulling Isabella in by the hand afterwards “I want to remember this place with love, will you help me do that?”

There was a side to Isabella that not many people saw, even Hunter had only seen it a few times, but he had seen it and that alone meant a lot. It meant that she trusted him enough to allow him to see that she wasn’t some uptight woman that didn’t know how to enjoy herself. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled him closer to her. “I don’t want you to get used to it, I want you to always be surprised and to keep you on your toes,” she teased as she pulled away. “Plain?” She asked faking to be offended by the words, she slapped his arm playfully. “You have no idea of the things I can teach you.” she bit her bottom lip softly and shook her head in disbelief. “Love is a strong word, muggle. But if you play your cards right...” her words trailed off. “You are still very annoying, but now it’s a little cute.” 

“I didn’t pick the wrong side.” She hissed at her friend. Ex-friend? Kristen wasn’t sure. They hadn’t talked in ages and in all honesty, Kristen rarely wanted anything to do with the woman. Every time she saw Isabella, she thought of Hunter. She hated it. “But I’m not going to stand here and try to convince you otherwise.” She folded her arms across her chest. “What do you want, Isabella?” 

“But you did” Isa replied dismissively. It really didn’t matter what side they had picked, either way, this town was going to end up like this, divided. “Believe it or not, I’m here to see how you’re doing, I can’t imagine that any of this has been easy for you. So...” she took in a deep breath, “how are you?”

Why would I mind? Are you under the impression that I’m so insecure that I will be bothered by the fact that Hunter has drinks with someone that is a part of his life? If you are, then you don’t know me at all. As to what he did to her, all Hunter did was be a good person and respect my right to privacy. If you’re trying to start drama you should pick someone else because I’m not going to play those games.