Huntress

I was so exhausted upon arriving home that Alec’s presence wasn’t even a surprise. Of course he would show up now.

“Hey,” I said tiredly, pulling off my heels. The balls of my feet were killing me.

He didn’t say anything, instead simply choosing to brood. Whatever, that was cool with me. I went into my room and put shorts and a singlet on, re-tying my hair in the process. It was frizzy and gross from the humidity.

Anger and resentment seemed to hang in the air of the lounge room when I re-entered, like a smell that hasn’t quite seeped into the carpet. Alec’s expression was stony as he said, ‘This lesson was meant to be the one about not letting your emotions get the better of you in a fight. Apparently, other people have better things to do than wait around your house for you to return.”

I was winding the straps of cloth around my fists, trying to finish sobering up, and not really listening. “Mhmm.”

He pulled his jacket off so we were both similarly clothed. “We’ll just spar and reinforce the lessons I’ve already taught you.”

“Whatever,” I said with a pained groan as I bent down to touch my toes and felt the muscles in the back of my legs protest. I cracked my neck, knuckles and back and did some arm stretches while he waited silently. By the end I was actually looking forward to it.

We faced off, and my arms came up almost automatically to protect my face. Alec had recently re-shaved his head, I noticed absently. The hair was shorter than usual and I could see a tiny red cut on his scalp.

He threw a punch directed at my jaw which I blocked easily. Using the space under his outstretched arm he taught me to find, I darted in and jabbed him twice in the torso. If he felt it, he didn’t show it, or say anything.

Instead I felt his fist come into contact with my face, while I didn’t have my hands up. It wasn’t a hard punch, or maybe I was just getting used to them. I brought my leg up in a swift kick and he almost distractedly swept the other from beneath me and I fell to the ground.

“Ow,” I muttered silently, trying to throw off how tired I felt. Every hit you take when you’re exhausted is always multiplied.

There was none of the usual mocking repartee as we fought, something I registered as odd. Also a bit off was Alec’s fighting style – he seemed to be punching on autopilot, and as I warmed up a little and started being more creative and thoughtful about my attacks his defence didn’t adapt to fit.

I frowned, panting, as we stepped away for a quick break. “What’s wrong with you? You’re so quiet. Not even making fun of me.”

He shrugged and yawned, too huge and emphasised to be real. “Nothing, I’m just tired,” he said, clearly lying.

“Right,” I said dubiously, throwing my fists up to protect my face as he went to hit me again. This time in response I landed a decent uppercut right into his jaw then drew back before he could attack again. “Well, you’re slow.”

“Maybe you’re just improving,” he offered offhand. The Alec I knew and loved to despise would not have said that. I started to get suspicious.

“Since when do I improve?” I asked, frowning while I aimed a kick at his left knee. He feinted a right uppercut at my head, which I blocked, and got me with less force than usual in the ribs. It only winded me a little. “Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”

He nodded. “I’m sure.”

It was patently untrue, and I had to find a way of getting him to spill his guts. We sparred quickly in a flurry of blows and I danced around him, leading him in a circle. It was like he wasn’t even paying attention.

To illustrate that fact I lunged forward and, while he was retracting an arm from a hit that didn’t make contact, grabbed his arm. Using his pinky finger as leverage I forced it behind his back and pressed hard.

“Something’s wrong,” I said as he struggled, grabbing with his other arm. “And you’re going to tell me, because you’re clearly a shitty opponent in your present state.” To illustrate this point I pulled his arm even further up, and forced him to his knees, knowing I was hurting him.

“Nothing is wrong,” he protested gruffly, trying to grab me with his other hand. I just grabbed his fingers and pushed back, using one of the tricks Holly taught me.

“Yes there is, and I’m not letting go until you tell me.”

“There isn’t.”

“Is.”

“Is not.”

“Is. Can you just stop being a child and tell me so we can get on with this?”

I was showing no signs of letting go and so he sighed. “It’s about Holly, isn’t it?” I asked.

He nodded silently and I let one of his hands go. “See? That wasn’t so hard. Do you want to talk?”

Alec seemed to note I wasn’t letting go of his other arm in a hurry and I guessed it was getting sore. So, he relented. “Will you let go of me?”

I let go, but pushed him over and sat on top of him, using my weight as much as possible to pin him to the floor. “Talk.”

He pushed me off easily and sat up. Head in his hands, he just said, “I saw her and Eli together again tonight. It usually doesn’t bother me so much, but ever since I saw that photo I just get these pictures in my head...”

I knew the one he was referring to. “How long have you loved her for?” I asked, unwinding the straps from my hands.

Alec shrugged, not even denying it. “Years. Probably since high school. Before that we were just friends, like kids, y’know?”

It was obviously a sore subject, but I was tired. “How long has she known?”

He smiled tiredly, which ended up as more of a grimace. “We dated for two and a half years, actually. One of those clichéd best-friends-into-lovers things.”

I didn’t know whether to be surprised or not. On one hand, those sort of stories usually ended up as unrequited love. On the other, Alec is pretty good looking.

“We only broke up about eight months ago. I started to suspect she was fucking Eli about two later. We had a massive fight about it, mainly because I asked her if there was someone else when she broke it off and she clearly lied.”

He sighed and lay back down so he was facing the ceiling. “I thought it would get easier. It doesn’t. And she just keeps shoving it in my face,” he finished.

I had witnessed this. For a moment I contemplated what he said. “Do you like Eli?”

He looked at me oddly. “What?”

I shrugged. “I dunno, I was just trying to get an idea of the full picture. I imagine if you hated him to begin with it would’ve only made it worse. Or if you liked him it would have, like, exacerbated the betrayal.”

Alec nodded. “We never really spoke, we were just aware of each other. I knew he was into Holly, which made me jealous, but that was it.”

Getting up, I said, “Well, sounds to me like you just need to get over her and find someone new.”

He stuck a leg out and pushed me feet out from underneath me right as I was off balance. I fell to the floor, somehow ending up planting a hand on his chest to balance myself.

“All you had to do was ask if you wanted me, Di,” he smirked.

I pushed him, this time with both hands. “As if.”

He grabbed my hands and tried to flip me over his head but I dug my heels in, resisting. “I know it’s true. You’ll admit it one day. Until then all you’ll feel is this repressed sexual tension...”

One of my feet suddenly gave way as he tugged harder and I landed half on his head, half on the floor. Laughing half from tired-hysteria and half from indignation I got up and tried pinning him with my weight again, but failed miserably. We tussled on the lounge room rug until I was sitting straddling his chest.

I leaned down, letting my hair hide our faces and lowered my eyelids a little. Alec stopped smiling suddenly and I could feel his warm breath on my face and his pulse jump where my chest brushed against his. His grip on my wrists, hard as iron a second ago, loosened a little.

“What sexual tension?” I whispered, our lips only centimetres apart. I was suddenly tempted to kiss him, but Tris’ face in my head held me back.

Alec swallowed audibly and the effort I was putting into not smiling suddenly didn’t offer any help at all. I sat up, ripping my wrists out of his enormous hands, and laughed. “You think you’re so tough and macho, Alec Sinclair, but you’re just like all the other boys, aren’t you?”

He scowled good-naturedly and shoved me off him. I didn’t even care when I hit the floor. Yawning and victorious, I got up.

“I’ll see you next time so you can teach me how to not let my, uh, emotions get the better of me,” I said suggestively.

“I’ll get you next time, just wait and see,” he promised. “Using your feminine wiles isn’t going to help you against Persephone.”

“Maybe not,” I conceded, “but at least - ”

I had been about to say, ‘at least I know how to deal with you’, but bright lights appeared in the window and a car’s engine could be heard outside. A very familiar car’s engine.

“Shit, it’s my dad,” I burst out. “Quick, get your crap and go.”

Alec didn’t need to be told twice. He grabbed the duffel bag he usually brings and shoved his jacket into it. I followed him out the back, watched him straddle the fence and then ran back inside and, after turning my bedroom light off, jumped into bed.

About a minute later, as I was struggling to get my breathing under control, my bedroom door creaked open. A sliver of light appeared on the wall and I knew Dad was in the doorway, looking in. A second later it closed and I breathed a sigh of relief at our close call.

This couldn’t continue forever, surely.

Despite how physically tired I was, it took me a while to get to sleep. I knew the only reason kissing Alec had seemed like a good idea is because he was cute, and I’m not used to being ‘taken’. Getting his stubbly, defined jaw and deep brown eyes out of my head was nonetheless more difficult than it should have been.

It was a comfort to know the boy in my dreams was blonde.