Hi everyone :)

This is my first ever series! It's all been one-shots before, but now it's time to commit myself and write a series. I got this idea while I was watching some old episodes of Friends, (such a shame they've stopped making them).
Towards the end of the story, the chapters will be heavily based on a certain section of Friends episodes, (pat on the back if you can figure out the section I'm using). When I say heavily based, I mean heavily. If you're a fan of the series, you'll probably recognise the main events straight away. If that bothers you then just don't read it, I don't want any flames. And because of that, I want to make one thing clear;

I am not writing this fic to be original or to try and make people think I made up the events that happened in Friends.

When a scene from Friends comes up, I will say it isn't mine at the beginning. This is just an idea that's been playing on my mind and I thought others might like to read it. Anyway, sorry to have to whine like that, I just don't want anyone accusing me of pretending to be something that I'm not.
The main couple of this is Tori/Hunter. I tried to make it work with several couples; Tori/Blake, Tori/Dustin, Tori/Shane, Dustin/Marah. None of them worked out exactly right though for what I want to do so I'm going for the Tori/Hunter option.
Everything that happens in this chapter, I mostly made up. There's a tiny bit that is sort of modified from a Friends episode to make it fit the circumstances of these characters lives but it's barely noticable.
Anyway, I've gone on for long enough and most people have probably stopped reading by now anyway. Hope you all enjoy it :)

It was mid-afternoon when Tori arrived at Storm Chargers. She had spent most of the day so far surfing and her hair was still slightly damp. She walked in casually and went straight over to the counter where Shane was serving a customer.

"Okay, here you go." She heard Shane say as he handed the customer a bag. "Have a nice day." The customer walked off and Shane turned his attention to Tori. "Hey Tor, what's up?"

"Not a lot." She told him, grabbing a magazine from a nearby rack. "Where's Dustin and Hunter?" She inquired as she began to idly flip through the pages.

"Dustin's in the stock room and Hunter's out somewhere. Said something about having to get tickets to something." Shane explained. Tori nodded and put the magazine in her hands back with the others. "You erm...Heard from Blake at all?" Shane asked hesitantly, not sure if it was really wise to be asking her that.

"No. Not for a while." Tori murmured neutraly, avoiding making eye contact with him. Blake was off touring with Factor Blue. They had both liked each other when he left but decided a long-distance relationship would be too hard. However, Tori hadn't been able to help but think that when he got back, things might develop between them. That is, until she saw the magazine article about him and how he was dating some model. Reading that had hit her hard but she'd hid it well and, although the others knew she didn't like it, they didn't know how upset she really was. It wouldn't have been so bad if it had just been a normal, everyday girl. The fact it was a model made everything ten times worse. It made her feel like she wasn't attractive enough for him. Like she wasn't...

"Hey, Earth to Tori." Shane's voice interrupted her train of thought. She looked up at him and saw a worried expression on his face. She immediately changed her whole attitude and gave him a bright smile, acting like everything was fine. Shane continued to look at her carefully and he shook his head slightly. "You can't hide yourself from me Tor. What's wrong?"

"Tori!" Hunter's voice called from behind her, interrupting them. Both her and Shane turned to see Hunter come in through the door, holding two tickets in his hands. "Got the tickets." He said as he shook them a little.

"Great." Tori smiled, taking one off of him as Shane was called away to help a customer. "We'll finally be able to see the rest of it without being interrupted by mutant space freaks." The Martial Arts Film Festival was back and Hunter had immediately offered to take Tori again. They had grown closer since Blake had left and were pretty good friends now. Unknown to the other, they both had slight crushes on each other and would sometimes gets into tickle fights or give each other hugs when they were alone but when they were around the others, they just acted like friends. "And you might finally be able to pick up some tips." She added with a grin as she poked him in the ribs. He recolied slightly, the poke touching on a tickly spot.

"That's about as funny as it was the last time you said it." Hunter told her playfully as he went to prod her side. Tori quickly moved though and batted his arm away.

"I'm not about to get into a tickling war with you, the others will think somethings going on and then we'll get no end of grief." Tori said to him, inclining her head towards Shane before she began to examine her tickets. "Slightly later screening this time isn't it?" Tori pointed out, just to make conversation.

"Yeah, the one's during the day are sold out." Hunter informed. "Want me to pick you up or shall we just meet there?"

"That depends. You gonna pick me up on your bike?" Tori replied in a playful, sly voice. A few months earlier, Hunter had bought a motorbike. The reason he gave was that he felt guilty about having Tori drive him around all over the place but they all knew it was like a new toy to him. Tori had immediately fallen in love with it and took the oppotuntiy to ride on it with Hunter whenever she could.

"You know, sometimes I think the only reason you spend time with me is because of the bike." Hunter told her in a slightly offended tone, though the grin on his face told her that he was just playing around with her. "Fine, I'll pick you up on the bike. About seven-ish?"

"Yeah, seven's good." Tori agreed.

"Cool. Then I'll see ya later tonight." Hunter said as he began to back away towards the stockroom.

"Yeah. See ya." Tori said, nodding her head slightly. Hunter gave her one of his smiles that more resembled a smirk before dissapearing into the stock room. Tori smiled at herself a little before deciding to head home. She wasn't sure why, but she was really eager to look nice for Hunter and she knew that it was going to take forever for her to decide what to wear. She made her way out of Storm Chargers, quickly calling goodbye to Shane, Dustin and Hunter before she left.

On the way home, she took a slight detour and walked along the beach. She took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. She had a couple of things on her mind that she just felt she couldn't talk about with anyone. First, there was the insecurities about her looks that had been brought on by Blake's model girlfriend. Secondly, she was lonely. She knew how stupid it would appear to other people. She was surrounded by people everyday and had so many friends. Yet she felt something was missing. There was a part of her that no amount of friends would be able to fill. It was a part that was once filled by Blake. She knew it was sad and sounded desperate but she really wanted a boyfriend. Someone who cared about her, bought her little presants, didn't treat her like a tom-boy all the time...She doubted it would happen though. As she'd all ready found out, guys like girly girls who were models, not tom-boys who were surfers.

Tori lowered her head for a moment and then raised it, her eyes now slightly shimmery with tears. With another sigh, she quickly rubbed her eyes and continued her way home.

Seven o'clock came quickly. It had taken Tori ages to find something to wear. She couldn't wear a skirt or a dress because she's be on Hunter's bike and it would just be awkward, she didn't have a decent pair of shorts, jeans seemed too casual...the list had gone on and on. Finally, she had settled for a pair of loose fitting, white chiffon trousers and a light blue, long sleeved blouse which was also made of chiffon. She looked herself over in the mirror and smoothed down the front of her blouse. She turned around and looked at her reflection over her shoulder. She had left her hair to hang loose knowing there was no point putting it up or anything because it would just look messy after she took off her motorbike helmet. She had lightly dusted her eyes with soft blue eyeshadow and her lips were covered by a thin layer of pink-tinted lip gloss. She turned back to face the mirror just before she heard her doorbell ring.

"Here we go." She whispered as she left her room and walked quickly to the front door. She grabbed her bag and keys as she passed them and, upon reaching the front door, opened it swiftly. Standing there was, she had to admitt, a very well dressed Hunter. He wore an un-tucked long sleeved crimson shirt with the top two buttons and the cuffs left un-done and a pair of smart black trousers. He had his bike helmet tucked under his arm and his usual smile/smirk was on his face. "Hey Hunter." She greeted as she stepped out and locked the door behind her.

"Hey." He returned, standing aside slightly. "You look really nice." He complemented as they headed towards his bike.

"Thanks. You're not looking too bad yourself." She smiled. They reached his bike and she took a moment to admire it. It really was an awsome bike. The paintwork was a matalic crimson, no big surprise there, and didn't have a scratch on it. The wheels were still as shiny and un-damaged as they were when it was still brand new. Her light blue and black helmet hung from the right handle bar.

"Hate to break up your moment with the bike," Hunter laughed as he threw her her helmet. "But if we don't hurry we're gonna miss the beginning of the movie." Tori caught the helmet and watched him as he put his own on and stradled the bike. She glanced at her helmet for a moment before quickly pulling it on and getting on the bike behind Hunter. They took a moment to adjust themselves and once Hunter felt Tori's arms around his waist, they sped off down the road.

After a while, Hunter slowed down slightly and they continued their journey at a steady pace. Tori's grip on his waist was light and could barely be felt. Suddenly, Tori noticed that Hunter smelt a lot better than he usually did. He usually wore some awful cologne that seemed to stick right at the back of your throat the moment you smelt it. He smelt of something different now though. It was more subtle and was really familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Although it was familiar, she knew she hadn't smelt it for a while. She realised it reminded of a doll she used to have when she was little that smelt of...Then she realised. It was baby powder! Hunter smelt like fresh baby powder. Tori held back a laugh at the thought of the dark, brooding Hunter wearing baby powder. Maybe she'd ask him what it was later, once the movie had finished.

"Man, that was a great film." Hunter said as he and Tori walked out of the movie theatre. They had managed to get there on time and hadn't missed a second. Now they headed out of the building and headed towards his bike again.

"Do you ever get that horrible wobbly feeling in your legs after you've just sat through a movie?" Tori asked with a small frown as they strolled through the car park.

"I've never actually got that feeling before." Hunter told her, slightly amused at her irritation. "So what do you wanna do now?" Tori looked around herself and, noticing a nearby building, grinned.

"How about the arcade?" She suggested innocently. Hunter looked at her suspiciously.

"Oh no, I'm not going into an arcade with you." Hunter said with a laugh, catching on to what she intended on them playing. Tori just gave him a small pouty look and he shook his head. "I'm not going in there. You'll make me play one of those stupid dancing games."

"Oh well, if you don't think you can do it..." Tori said in a casual tone, intentionally leaving the sentence hanging.

"Hey, I never said I couldn't do it. What, you think you can beat me?" Hunter smirked.

"Well, I don't want to brag or anything but, yeah, I reckon I could kick your butt." Tori replied cockily.

"Yeah right. There's no way you'd be able to keep up with me." Hunter sneered. Tori stopped in her tracks. Hunter, after realising she wasn't walking anymore, came to a stop a few steps ahead of her.

"That a challenge?" She inquired with a mock seriousness. Hunter considered it a moment.

"Yeah. Yeah, it's a challenge." He said in an equaly serious tone as he stepped up to her. She took a step forward so they were face to face if she tilted her head back slightly. She drew in close and looked him square in the eye. Neither flinched away at their positions and they stared straight at each other for several moments.

"You're on." She whispered before quickly drawing back. She gave him a grin before heading over to the arcade. He stared after her, finding it hard to believe he had just let her persuade him into doing this. He gave a slight groan and followed her into the building.

It was a typical arcade; lit mostly by the glows and flashings of the machines, loud and hot. There weren't many kids around, it being so late in the evening and was mostly filled by teenagers. Tori suddenly appeared next to him, her cupped hands filled with quarters. She gave Hunter a small nudge and led him over to the Bust-A-Move machine. They both stepped onto the platforms and Tori dropped all her quarters, except two, into her bag. She handed one coin to Hunter and slipped the other into the machine's slot. Hunter did the same. They selected their characters and waited for the game to begin.

"You're going down." Tori murmured, her eyes glued to the screen.

"Maybe in your dreams." Hunter retorted, his eyes also not straying from the screen. The game started and the two ex-rangers began to move in the right directions. After a few seconds, Tori stole a glance at Hunter who just happened to be looking at her at that point as well. They both started giggling and moved with more enthusiasm. Eventually, the game stopped and revealed Tori to be the winner.

"Ha! What did I tell you?" Tori laughed triumphantly. "I told you I'd win."

"That was just a fluke. I want a rematch." Hunter demanded through a laugh.

"You've got it." Tori accepted as she pulled another two coins from her bag.

They continued playing until they ran out of money. Tori had won the majority of the games but Hunter had managed to win a couple. After they left the arcade, they headed to the local market. Not many of the stalls were out that late at night, but there were a couple that were and most of the shops were still open.

As they wandered down the long street, Tori looked to her side to see all the shops and their displays. Most were souvenir shops that sold cheap little things that would break the moment you got them home. Nothing really very interesting. It was nice though. The temperature was just right and she was enjoying spending time with Hunter. It was only when they passed a small super market that Tori saw something that caught her eye and made her heart begin to pound. She wandered away from Hunter and went up to the window to take a closer look at a poster for a magazine. What hit her hard was that she recognised the girl on the front cover. It was Blake's girlfriend. She read the title at the side; "I feel like I've found my soul mate..." Anna Stride tells us about her motorcross champion lover. Tori felt herself go cold and tears filled her eyes. Suddenly the evening didn't seem so nice anymore.

"Tori?" Hunter's voice came from behind.

"I...I think we should call it a night." She told him quickly as she turned from the window and headed back in the direction they just came from.

"What?" Hunter asked in confusion. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just want to go home." She insisted just as they reached the bike. She grabbed her helmet and pulled it on. Even though Hunter could no longer see her face, her body language told him she was seriously upset. He wordlessly put his helmet on and got onto the bike. She quickly got on with him and in moments they were speeding away.

Before long, Tori realised that he wasn't going in the right direction to take her home. She contained a frustrated sob and decided it would probably be best to wait until they stopped before she yelled at him. It didn't take them long to get to where Hunter wanted them to be. He stopped on a part of the beach Tori never went to because the jagged rocks in the sea made it dangerous to surf. Hunter climbed off of the bike and pulled his helmet off before staring out at the dark sea. Tori yanked her helmet off roughly, messing up her hair badly, to reveal her slightly red and damp face. The eyeshadow had long since been washed away by the tears but there was so little in the first place that there was no trace of it around her eyes or on her cheeks.

"Do you not know the meaning of I want to go home?!" Tori yelled as she threw her helmet onto the sand.

"Yeah, but I thought you might want to come here though." Hunter told her casually, not bothering to look at her.

"What made you think that?! I don't talk in riddles you know. When I say I want to go home, I mean I want to go home!" Tori cried heatedly. Hunter slowly turned to face her and looked at her neutraly. Tori was trying her best to glare at him but she just couldn't do it. With a sob, she let herself drop to her knees and just let the tears come out. Hunter sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. She immeditaly moved closer to him and cried into his chest.

"This is about Blake isn't it?" Hunter guessed as he gently stroked her hair.

"I don't know." Tori admitted through her tears. He waited a moment before speaking again, giving her time to try and calm down. He heard her sniff and decided to take that as a cue to go on.

"Well, something's bothering you." Hunter told her in a sympathetic and soothing voice.

"Why didn't he want me?" Tori whispered meekly. "Why did he give up on me for a model?" She gave a small sniff and sat up a bit, pulling away from Hunter slightly. "I don't care that he doesn't like me, I don't care if he doesn't want to be with me. I just want to know why!" She cried desperately, holding her head in her hands. "I know it doesn't make sense! I shouldn't care, but I can't help it. Why did he pick her over me? Is it because she's better than me? Is it because she's prettier than I am? I know I don't wear skirts and dresses that often and I know that I usually don't wear make up. Maybe he wanted a real girl." She whispered sadly, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. "After all, who wants a tom-boy like me when they could have a super..." Her sentence was cut off mid-way by Hunter grabbing her and crushing his lips to her.

He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't listen to her put herself down, to hear how she really felt about herself. He couldn't believe what she was saying! Didn't she realise how beautiful she was, how much she didn't look like a tom-boy right now, how stupid Blake was to let her go. He felt Tori relax against him and took the oppotunity to deepen the kiss, gently parting her lips with his tongue. He wasn't completely sure where this had come from. Sure he found her attractive, she was a beautiful girl after all, but something inside him had just snapped when he heard how she felt and saw her look so sad. He didn't want her to be sad. He wanted her happy. He wanted her to smile and laugh and joke around with him like she usually did.

After several minutes they forced themselves to seperate, both desperatly needing oxygen. Tori stared at him with wide, surprised eyes while Hunter looked at her gently. He gently cupped her cheek and rubbed his thumb over it, feeling the slight clammyness of it. She looked at him in confusion, her eyes asking him why he had done that. He gave her a weak smile that was actually a smile. It wasn't a sneer or a smirk or a grin. It was a genuine smile and Tori couldn't help but note how handsome it made him look. He scooted slightly closer to her and continued to stroke her cheek.

"If it's any consolation, I think you're the most beautiful creature on the planet." He whispered gently, his other hand coming up and gently fingering a few strands of her hair. She looked at him, slightly bewildered. She would never have seen this coming in a million years. She liked it though, it was a side of Hunter she'd never seen. A kind, sensitive side that understood how she felt. She slowly lifted her hand up and gently touched his cheek. She let out a small laugh/sob and threw herself into his arms. Hunter wrapped them around her and held her tightly. He kissed the side of her head and she kissed his neck in return. They pulled back and once again looked at each other straight in the eye. They seemed to read each others thoughts because in a flash, they had pulled on their helmets, got on the bike and were darting back to Tori's apartment.

Tori's eyes slowly fluttered open. She was in bed, a stream of sunlight coming in through the window. She suddenly became aware of the warmth and touch of another persons skin against her's and an arm that was wrapped protectively around her waist. She glanced over her shoulder to meet the gaze of Hunter who was already awake. She rolled herself over so that were face to face.

"Morning." Tori murmured shyly.

"Morning." Hunter returned in a soft tone. There was silence for a second. "Regrets?" He inquired simply. Tori's gaze softened and she snuggled closer to him.

"Only that I made a fool of myself last night. I'm really sorry, I don't usually fall to pieces like that."

"You don't need to apologise." Hunter assured as he lightly rubbed her bare back. "It brought us together didn't it?"

"Are we together then?" Tori suddenly asked.

"I always thought last night's activities were generally done when you're with someone in that way." Hunter told her with a small laugh.

"Yeah, I guess so." Tori smiled. Suddenly, she sat upright and looked at him with a panicked expression. "Oh my gosh! Did we use..."

"Yes, we did." Hunter laughed as he also sat up. He gave a stretch and grinned at her. "Wouldn't have done it if I wasn't prepared." Tori looked at him with an amused suspicion.

"And why were you prepared?" Tori inquired slyly. Hunter immediately looked away to hide his blush.

"I...Err...Well, you see..." He stammered as he continued to look away. Tori gave a laugh as she playfully pounced on him, pushing him down back onto the bed. He looked up at her smiling face and found himself smiling as well. She lay on top of him, her arms propping her up slightly so her face hovered above his, her hair forming a curtain around his head. "You know, I never thought for a moment something like this was going to happen. I wasn't planning it or anything like..."

"I know you didn't, I was just messing with you." Tori smiled, running a finger down his nose. "Did sort of come out of nowhere though didn't it?"

"Yeah." Hunter agreed. "I'm glad it happened though."

"So am I." She whispered as she leaned down and placed a small kiss on his lips. She let herself down onto him and rested her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head and rested his arm on her back. "There's been something I've been meaning to ask you." Tori's voice came suddenly.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Hunter asked.

"Do you use baby powder?"

There you go, there's chapter one all done and dusted. Let me know what you think and if you've got something bad to say, please be gentle. Sorry for any spelling mistakes that may have escaped me.

Huggles
Wings of a Dream