While Kelly no longer worried about theft in her home, she was still suffering from the last break in. She had bought back most of what had been stolen, such as the kitchen appliances, some sheets and a duvet. She had purchased some DVDs, but not all, and had found some books from a second-hand store.

Her TV, however, was still missing, and Kelly didn't think she was going to be able to afford a decent one for a while.

So, she spent another lonely night eating dinner on the couch without much to do. She could have taken one of her new books, but due to them being second-hand, Kelly was afraid of them falling apart. She was starting to regret purchasing them simply to fill up her bookcase again. One day she would get around to reading them, but tonight wasn't that night.

DVDs were out of the question, as Kelly had no TV and no laptop to watch them from. So, instead, she entertained herself by playing the messages from the answering machine.

There was one from Dustin, stating he couldn't work because he really had to cram for exams coming up. This made Kelly laugh. She couldn't picture Dustin studying. He didn't seem like the type.

There was a message from Tori, asking how Kelly was doing and to call her back. The two women were working at repairing their friendship and Kelly was happy Tori was giving her a second chance. She only wished the blonde would forgive her actions at the wedding, as it seemed to be the only roadblock.

Then the messages stopped. Kelly had barely touched what was on her plate. She let out a deep sigh before hearing a knock at the door. She rolled her eyes, thinking it was Olivia or Alex stopping by again. Didn't they have their own parents to bother?

She placed her plate on the coffee table and walked to the door.

"Alex, Libby, this is getting creepy," she called before opening the door. She was surprised to see that on the other side was Hunter.

"I haven't forgiven you," was the first thing he said. Kelly stepped aside.

"Um, okay, come in anyways," she said. Hunter walked in and noticed Kelly had cleaned up the house since the robbery. He had seen it before the cops or Kelly had shown up. He had actually been the one to passed the message indirectly to Kelly. He had stopped by her place just after the theft, with the intention of screaming at her some more, and saw the door had been left wide open.

While the place was clean and Kelly had some of her stuff back, it still looked relatively empty. He chuckled.

"Karma."

"Shut up," Kelly grumbled. She closed the door and walked back to the couch to eat her dinner, "What do you want?"

"I'm home," Hunter shrugged. Kelly looked up at him.

"I didn't even know you left."

"Really? With the way you're so in love with me I thought you would be stalking me."

"I'm not some sixteen year old, Hunter. I'm able to separate my emotions from reality. Just because I have feelings for you doesn't mean I'm going to let them dictate my life."

"You let them ruin my wedding."

"I'm sorry!" Kelly groaned. She was tired of hearing that and tired of apologizing. Tori brought it up almost every time she spoke to Kelly, and whenever the red head did get to speak with Shane and Dustin, the topic always seemed to surface.

"You don't sound sorry."

"If you're here to yell at me you can get the hell out of my house," Kelly stated firmly. "I can't change what happened that day. If I could, I would go back and let you marry Tori!"

"Oh, so you're just going to let me marry a woman who wouldn't ever be fully committed to me? Now you don't sound like a woman in love or a friend!"

"What?" Kelly gasped, completely baffled by what was coming out of the motocrosser's mouth. "I… You… ARG! Just... leave it alone! I was wrong, I was a bitch, yadda, yadda, ya! Do you want to shove and push and throw me down too? Here, let me put my plate down first!"

Kelly put her plate back on the coffee table and opened herself up for an attack. She knew Hunter wasn't going to hit her, but at least she was getting her point out. She was frustrated.

Hunter did contemplate hurting her. He envisioned it in his mind. But instead of actually doing it, he laughed. Kelly was turning red in anger. If he wasn't going to yell, scream or hurt her, why was he here?

Hunter took a seat on one of Kelly's chairs. He looked at his former boss, "Look, I hate you. I hate what you did, I hate how you did it and I hate every reason you have for doing it. But thank you."

"I'm going to wake up with a grey head because of you," Kelly growled.

"I talked with some people I meet in Ocean Bluff," Hunter explained. "They all had a different way of seeing this little… disaster. One of them said Tori's the bitch. I wanted to punch him. Another said it was you. I think he and I are going to be great friends. The last one, she thought we were all responsible for what happened. I think she's the most stupid human being to ever walk this planet."

"She has a point," Kelly nodded. "I think I like her the best."

"They all have a point," Hunter said. "Tori should have known what was going on between her and Blake before moving on with me! You should have just shut up and let Tori and I make our own mistakes, and I never should have tried to marry my brother's girl!"

"So?" Kelly asked. Hunter looked at her.

"So? So what?"

"Exactly," Kelly nodded, "Why are you telling me this? Wouldn't you want me to suffer?"

"Yes. I hate you so much right now… you're lucky your window is closed because I want to throw you from it and watch you splat on the pavement."

"Get out," Kelly pointed to her door.

Hunter stood up and smiled, "But… I'm going to punish you another way. I would like my job back."

"Um… okay…"

"Regular pay," Hunter smiled.

Kelly frowned, "Okay…"

"I'll tell Dustin he doesn't have to worry about picking sides anymore."

"Go on…"

"But," Hunter walked over to Kelly until his face was inches from hers. He looked down, into her soft brown eyes with a smile. Just when Kelly thought this was going to be a moment like in the movies where the arguing man and woman suddenly make out, Hunter pulled away.

"You and I are never going to be an item!" Hunter shouted. He pushed Kelly away. "Not now! Not later! Not ever! The furthest our relationship will ever go is work friends!"

"Okay," Kelly whimpered, shaking her head. She wasn't happy with this outcome, but she could understand where Hunter was coming from.

"I don't want you going out of your way to help me on any personal matters. We're not hanging out outside of work and you are not to phone, e-mail or talk to me on a personal level, got it?"

Kelly nodded, "Got it."

"Good," Hunter smiled. He held his hand out, "I'll see you at work, then?"

Kelly looked at his hand, unsure of what to do. Hunter noticed her hesitation and he dropped his strong, stoic stance. He let his shoulders fall forward slightly and his hand dropped.

"Kel?" he called, mentally slapping himself for using a nickname, even if it was only a shortened version of her name. "It's, uh, just a handshake."

"I know."

"You weren't expecting a hug, were you?"

Kelly shook her head, "No. I wasn't even expecting that."

She looked up at Hunter with a serious, yet gentle expression as she offered her hand and the two shook on their deal. When Hunter let go, he quickly turned around and left. Kelly watched, counting his footsteps as he walked to her door.

… Nine, ten and eleven. Eleven steps before the door closed behind him and he was gone. Kelly dropped back onto the couch and stared at her plate of food. She reached out and grabbed her glass of water from when she ate lunch, happy at this point that she hadn't put it away yet.

Suddenly and forcefully, Kelly tossed the glass at the wall, watching it shatter as she held in a frustrated scream. It wasn't like she had much of a chance of winning Hunter's heart. The outcome of her ruining his wedding would have had to be much different for things to truly end up the way she wanted. But to watch him leave her like that, and reduce their friendship into a professional relationship was probably worse than watching him marry a woman he didn't deserve.

On the other side of her door, Hunter was leaning against her apartment wall, playing over what had just happened in his head. While he did still hate her with a passion, there was a part of him that was second guessing his decision to downplay her role in his life from great friend to boss. She had seemed genuinely hurt and confused when he offered his hand. And the way she had whimpered when he told her there was never going to be anything between him…

Hunter breathed in deeply and pushed himself away from the wall. With great strength, he walked away.

END