The sun broke in through the curtains early and Arabella rolled over, hiding her face in her soft pillow. She didn't really want to have to wake up. Not then, at least. Her mind was just so full of jumbled throughts and emotions. All she wanted and needed to do was sleep for a little bit longer, letting her mind sort it all out. She felt this rush when she thought about the guy that she had kissed, the guy that had saved her. Arabella's lips and skin tingled with his touch, even after a whole night away from him. But then she felt hurt and heartbroken, thinking about Brett made her heart feel heavy. They didn't have anything too special but she had trusted him and she had feelings for him. Arabella had been spending a lot of time with him and she thought that they might have had something special. Beyond all of that, she was confused. When Hunter had caught her last night and she was in his arms, she felt a warmth that she couldn't describe. It was a feeling of safety and calm.
With a groan, Arabella rolled onto her back and she blinked up at the ceiling. Thankfully, it was Saturday. Arabella could spend as much time alone as possible. Or maybe she could bump into Hunter and spend some time with him. Sitting with him on the beach had been a highlight of her day. Arabella pushed herself up so that she was sitting and she folded her legs, placing her hands in her lap. Most of the cabin was empty. A few girls were getting ready but Brooke was still asleep. Arabella let out a huff, looking away from her sister. She was angry at Brooke. She hated what she had done to Hunter. With a little sigh, Arabella looked down at her wrist and her eyes narrowed. Her watch was missing. So much had happened the previous day, it was like she hadn't even processed the fact that it was missing. She remembered losing it when she fell but then forgot all about it. Seeing her empty wrist, with a slight tan line, Arabella felt sad. That watch had been her favorite since she was only 5 years old.
Arabella stood up and she opened up her trunk, starting to go through her stuff. She didn't really want to wear anything too complicated. She didn't want to wear anything too stiff. So she tugged on a pair of black yoga shorts, her camp tee shirt and a white cardigan. Arabella was running her fingers through her hair, fixing it a little bit, when she heard a groan from the bed across the room. She looked over and saw Brooke waking up and speaking to one of their sisters. Brooke looked fine. She didn't look upset or angry or guilty or anything. She was laughing and smiling and talking like nothing had happened. Maybe she was just hiding it. Maybe she was upset but it didn't look like that to Arabella. She took a deep breath and sat down on her bed, tugging on her shoes. Arabella stood up and walked past Brooke, headded outside. Almost as soon as she got outside, the cabin door opened and Brooke stepped out.
"Brooke?" Arabella called out to her as she walked past her. Brooke turned around and looked at her.
"Yeah?"
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Arabella asked and Brooke walked back to her, raising and eyebrow. Arabella could understand why she was a little curious about this. Arabella and Brooke weren't really close.
"What is it?" Brooke asked, her voice a little tight. Arabella wasn't really sure what she was going to say. She hadn't planned this whole conversation out in her head.
"Hunter told me what happened between you two" Arabella said and Brooke's cheeks turned a little pink.
"What happened between with Hunter is none of your business" Brooke said, her voice getting a little defensive.
"Hunter is my friend and I care about him. That makes it my business" Arabella didn't want Brooke to just get away with all of this. "You really hurt him, Brooke. You pulled a really bitch move" She said, her voice sounding a bit more harsher than she meant.
"Back off, Arabella" Brooke snapped.
"Whatever..." Arabella sighed, waving her off. "Did you even care about him? Have you cared about any of the guys that you've hurt?" She huffed and turned to walk away from her.
"Did you?!" Brooke called back to her. "Come on..don't be shy. Everyone knows that you were sleeping with Brett and that you've been with half of the guys at camp. Did you care about them?!" Her voice was raised and the people that were walking down to the dining pavillion stopped to look at them. Arabella's cheeks turned bright red but she didn't look back at Brooke. She pushed a pair of sunglasses on and kept walking, trying to ignore everyone around her.
Apparently, she was really good at ignoring people because Arabella walked face first into a hard chest. A pair of strong arms caught her before she fell and she looked up into the familiar face of a friend. "Have you forgotten how to use your eyes?" He asked with a chuckle and Arabella smiled a little bit.
"Hi, Ethan" Arabella said, looking up at the son of Ares. He had a strong jaw and he was quite a bit taller than Arabella. His hair was short, buzzed to his scalp and he had a big grin on his face. Arabella knew him well. They had spent a lot of time together because they had mutual friends. He wasn't a really good friend or anything, though.
"How's it going?" He asked her and Arabella glanced over at Brooke, who huffed past them.
"Peachy" She muttered. Ethan started to open his mouth to speak but Arabella cut him off. "Look, I'm really sorry but I'm so hungry and I haven't eaten anything" She lied and before he could stop her, Arabella walked around him and towards the Aphrodite table.
Arabella sat down beside Daniel at the Aphrodite table with a huff and she placed her head on his shoulder, sticking her bottom lip out in a little pout. Daniel laughed, shaking her a little bit. "Good morning to you, too"
"Hi" Arabella sighed and she sat up, looking down at her cup. "Coffee. Strong. Black" She muttered to it and took a quick sip when it filled up.
"Well don't you look happy.." Daniel said with sarcasm and Arabella raised an eyebrow at him.
"You're not funny" She huffed and Daniel laughed again.
"Are you going to eat anything this morning or just coffee?" Daniel asked her.
"I'm not hungry" She muttered and looked over at him. Daniel's eyes locked with hers and he let out a sigh.
"I saw you with Hunter last night, just so you know" He told her with a little nod and he took a sip of his water. "I also had to sit up with Brooke last night after things ended with Hunter.."
"Don't use that tone with me, Danny" Arabella muttered and she took a big sip of her coffee. She knew that it looked bad but she just didn't want to have to hear that judgmental tone from him.
"Are you going to talk about it at all?" He asked her and she shook her head. "I didn't think so" Daniel sighed and he put an arm around her, giving her a small hug."This past year has been hard on you, huh?"
"Yeah..." Arabella sighed and she finished off her coffee. Daniel was right. It had been a hard year and it was really starting to take it's toll on her. Especially after everything that had happened the past week. "I think I might go home this year" She admitted and Daniel looked at her with a slightly stunned expression. She couldn't blame him, really. Arabella had been staying at camp year round since she first started.
"Seriously?" Daniel looked like he was a little bit lost for words. She looked around the table, making sure that no one was listening in.
"Yeah. I think it's for the best" Arabella looked up at her brother and shrugged. "I need a bit of time away and it's not like I can't take care of myself. I could go back to mortal school and just..try to forget about everything"
"If that's what you think is best.." Daniel said softly and Arabella nodded, giving him a sad smile.
"Look...I'm going to go pack up my stuff and we'll talk later tonight, okay? We'll have a girls night" Arabella said with a little giggle and she nudged his side before getting up. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and started walking back to her cabin. As she walked, she spotted Hunter sitting at the Hermes table and she gave him a little wave.
"The way that you left me was incredibly rude" Ethan said as he started walking beside her. Arabella rolled her eyes and turned to look at him.
"Oh, was it?" She said with a little giggle and he grinned when he heard her laugh.
"Very. I think you owe me a walk to the arena" Ethan nodded and Arabella glanced back at her cabin. She saw Brooke's red head slip inside so she turned to Ethan and let out a dramatic sigh.
"Fine!" She huffed and started walking towards the arena with him. They walked in silence for a moment before she finally turned to look up at him. "Why are you so set on spending time with me, today? Last time we actually spent time together was about 3 months ago" Arabella looked up at him with a curious expression on her face. Ethan, however, looked flustered. She had never seen him look flustered. He looked like he was trying to say something to her but his nerves were making it nearly impossible. His cheeks were a little red and he stopped walking, turning to look down at her. His eyes were suddenly serious.
"I have something to tell you...something important" He said, his voice low.
Chapter 22: Arabella and Hunter
Arabella took a small breath then looked away from the sky. Hoping beyond hope that she would finally find out who had saved her. The moon had made everything brighter and with any luck, Arabella would be able to see the face that she just kissed. But when she looked around, he was gone. He left. Arabella's heart sank into her stomach as she slowly made her way back into camp. The guy had left her and now she was left to deal with the fact that Brett had been lying to her. She had fallen for him and he had been lying the whole time. Arabella took a shaky breath as she stepped out of the woods and she saw member of her team cheering and hugging each other. But she couldn't join them. She was too shaken up, stunned and hurt.
Hunter, after he felt he was far enough away from Arabella, ducked behind a tree. He leaned up against it, trying to catch his breath. He was a little weak from the blood loss and he was still in shock a little bit from her kissing him. He felt bad for running, but he wasn't sure how she'd react if she found out it was him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small pink Barbie watch that Arabella has been wearing on her wrist. When she fell it came off in his hand. It was risky to keep it, but it felt like he was keeping hope alive. Like whenever he looked at it, he would be reminded of her. Of her lips on his and her body next to his. After a second, he shoved it back in his pocket and then walked toward the cheering and the celebration. He tore off his ripped sleeve and exited the woods, grabbing a canteen of nectar from the kids handing them out. He opened it and took a quick swig before pouring it on his arm. He winced a little then looked at the cut. It had sealed up except for a thin white scar.
"Hunter!" Hunter looked up when he heard his name and saw Brooke running at him. She threw her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, kissing him tightly on the lips. "We won! We won!" She pulled herself closer to him and let her tongue slip inside his mouth, moaning quietly.
"Whoa. Whoa. Hold on. I didn't win it though. Aren't you upset?" He asked, hating the fact that it was Brooke's lips on his. She pulled away a little bit from him and put a hand on her cheek.
"Hunter, I don't care. Maybe I actually kind of like you?" She said, quoting him from the beach when she was drunk. "Come on. I want to show you something." She said before climbing down from him and grabbing his hand, heading for the cabins.
Arabella closed her eyes, leaning against a tree. She was still feeling rather sore and worn out from the fight but what hurt the most was knowing that Brett had lied to her. All around her, people were either cheering or they were cursing. Evveryone would go to the fire and have s'mores and talk about the game. Arabella just wanted to alone.
"Arabella!"
Arabella looked up and saw Brett walking towards her. He looked like he was angry about something but he was trying to hide it. Before she could stop him, he walked up to her and he hugged her tightly. "Brett.."
"I guess I should say congrats on the win but I wish I had won" Brett said with a chukle and Arabella rolled her eyes.
"Brett!" Arabella said, raising her voice and she shoved him away from her. He looked down at her with a confused face. "Tell me the truth. Did you save me? Did you save me last week?"
"Uh..yeah, of course. I wouldn't lie to you. Arabella, wha-" He started to say but he was cut off when she slapped him across the face, hard.
"Stay away from me" Arabella hissed.
Brooke dragged him to the Aphrodite cabin where she pushed him against the door and started kissing him. He could feel her grope for the door handle and she finally shoved the door open, pushing him inside and closing it behind her.
"Mmm...Let's get you out of these wet clothes." She said, reaching behind him and pulling at his shirt. Before he could resist she pulled his shirt over his head and threw it to the ground before pulling off her own shirt and kissing him again.
Brett swayed on the spot a little bit, looking stunned. He did not expect her to slap him and it was obvious that he was shocked. Arabella took a breath, glaring at him then turned on her heel to walk away. Before she could get very far, though, she felt Brett's hand on her wrist and he pulled her back. "Who told you this?" He asked her, his voice taking on a tone that she had never heard from him before. It almost scared her a little bit.
"The one who actually saved me. I don't know who he is, yet. But he saved me again and he told me the truth. So you can take your lies and shove them up your ass" Arabella huffed and she pulled her arm out of his hands, storming down to the beach. She moved through the group of campers, heading to the fire and laughing. The last thing that she wanted to do in that moment, was sit by the fire and have to put on a happy face.
"Brooke, just sto--" His protests were muted by Brooke kissing him again, putting her hands on his neck and running her fingers down his chest to his stomach and to the waist of his jeans. She bit his bottom lip a little as she pulled on his jeans and started to undo them when Hunter finally pulled away and grabbed her hand. She looked confused, but Hunter couldn't do this anymore.
"What? What's going on?" Brooke said, trying a little bit to push toward him again. "Don't you like me?"
"Brooke, I do like you, but I just don't--"
"Whatever!" She said, pulling out of his hands. "You don't have to lie to me. You think I'm gross and ugly. I can tell."
"No! Brooke, I like you. I just don't want things to--" Hunter said, stepping forward, but she pushed him back toward the door.
"Get out! You don't need to lie!" She bent down and grabbed her shirt, covering herself with it, and then she kicked his at him. "I can't believe that you would do this to me, Hunter." She pushed him and Hunter grabbed his shirt, slipping it on then she shoved him again right out the door where he stumbled down the steps and landed on his arm which was still sore, prompting a quiet groan of pain. "Don't ever talk to me again, jerk." She said before slamming the door.
Arabella walked down to the beach, away from the sounds of the campers. She couldn't be around them and she certainly couldn't be around Brett. By the beach, though, she felt a little bit better. Calmer. The noise from the kids was muted and the waves were lapping the shore gently. Taking a shaky breath, Arabella slid out of her shoes and she walked right to the shore line, putting her toes in the ocean water. This was all just one big mess and she couldn't stand it. Arabella folded her arms across her chest and tried to forget about everything that just happened.
Hunter picked himself up and dusted himself off, slipping his shirt back on. He was tempted to try and talk to Brooke, but he really just didn't want to. He was confused about how he felt and he was a little relieved that he had managed to get through this without doing something that he would regret.
"I see the negotiations went swimmingly." Hunter looked and found Jake approaching him. "You okay, man?" He said, patting him on the shoulder.
"Yeah." Hunter said quietly, starting toward the campfire. "Yeah, I'm alright. I don't understand why it had to end this way..." He said, rubbing his face a little. "I don't know. I just...I kind of don't want to go to the campfire tonight, you know? I think I'm going to change clothes real quick and then I'll maybe meet you there."
"Alright. See you later, Hunter." Jake said before heading to the campfire. Hunter watched him go then turned toward the Hermes cabin, walking toward it. When he walked inside he changed into some dry clothes dried off a little bit with a towel then walked back out, thinking about things. Things were done between Brooke and him, but his interaction with Arabella made him really confused. He had always seen Arabella as a goal that was kind of out of reach, but now she felt close. She felt like his friend, but now she felt like so much more. Before he knew it, the ground had changed into sand and he was standing on the beach. He looked up and was a little surprised to see Arabella standing in the water some distance away from him. He figured that she had broken things off with Brett, but he felt bad and he felt a little bit like it was his fault. He walked up next to her and cleared his throat quietly then looked at her.
"You okay?" He asked, standing a little awkwardly.
Arabella looked over at him, quickly shaking herself to try and get out of the funk that she was in. She didn't want Hunter to see her being all emotional but it was kind of hard to hide something like that. "Uh, yeah..I'm okay" She said in a low voice, clearing her throat. "It's been a long day" Arabella added, her voice breaking off in the end. She glanced out at the water for a moment before turning back to Hunter, narrowing her eyes. "What about you, mister? Why aren't you at the fire?"
Hunter thought about it and he couldn't really put his finger on it. "I uh...Brooke and I..." He laughed a little nervously and then cleared his throat. "After the game, she dragged me back to the Aphrodite cabin and she tried to...and so I...and then she...and now we're..." He chuckled a little then fell backward into the sand into a sitting position. She looked down at him and he patted the ground next to him, prompting her to sit. "Why aren't you at the fire?"
Arabella took a deep breath before lowering herself down into the sand. "I'm sorry about Brooke. I wish that I would have said something to you...warned you about how she can be. I guess I was just hoping that it was going to be different with you" She said softly, looking over at him with empathetic eyes. "I broke things off with Brett. I found out that he's been lying to me" She finally confessed in a low voice.
Hunter closed his eyes a moment, feeling bad. He could have stopped all this. He could have saved her all this pain, but he didn't. And now she was heartbroken. "I'm sorry, Arabella." He said quietly. "I wish that...there weren't guys like Brett." He said with a sigh. "So, he wasn't the guy who saved you then? Do you um..." He cleared his throat a moment. "Do you know who saved you then?" He asked, picking at the sand in front of him.
Arabella shook her head, thinking back to the guy she had spent time with in the forest. Her lips still tingled from the kiss and she wished that he was with her. Hunter was amazing, but she would really love to be sitting with the guy who had saved her. "No...I don't know. I have no stinking clue and I'm back to square one" She said with a huff and she tossed a rock into the water. Arabella let out a little sigh then turned and looked at Hunter. "I just...I wish I knew who he was. The fact that I don't know him makes me want to know him even more"
Hunter nodded softly and turned to look at her a little. She looked really upset about all of this and he couldn't be more sorry, but she probably had in her mind that the guy who saved her was some handsome muscle-y son of Apollo or Ares. Not some random Hermes kid. He ran his hand through his fingers through his hair a second before looking out at the water. "You have nice feet." He said, after a second. She looked at him oddly. "Sorry. I'm just saying that it looks like you take care of your feet. I, on the other hand, don't really." He said with a quiet chuckle as he pulled off his shoes, sticking his feet in the water next to hers.
Arabella giggled, giving his foot a nudge with hers. "Your feet aren't so bad either, my dear" She put a little smile on her face and looked up at him. Sitting with him like that felt good. It felt easy. Hunter could be a really good friend for her, Arabella was sure of that. She needed a friend, someone like Hunter. Someone she could talk to easily, someone who wouldn't judge her. Arabella took a breath and she reached behind her, taking the tie out of her hair and letting her wet curls fall down. "I really am sorry about Brooke. She doesn't deserve you"
Hunter sighed and looked over at her as she shook out her hair a little. She was so pretty. He took a deep breath then stared down at his feet, curling his toes. "Yeah. I'm not sure what I thought was going to happen." He said with a sigh. "I mean, I was hoping that she was different then her reputation. I had kind of been told by people that she was kind of..umm...loose." He said finally.
Arabella let out a little sigh and she nodded. "Brooke is...Brooke isn't a bad person, she's just.." She started but she found herself lost for words. "Brooke is very sensitive and I had a bad feeling that she would pull this sort of thing with you" She finally said and she touched his hand lightly, in a comforting way, showing him that she was there for him. "Are you going to be okay?" She asked. He was her friend and she was worried about him. Arabella didn't want to have to think about Brett when she knew that Hunter could be hurting.
Hunter took a deep breath then cleared his throat. "Yeah. I'm fine." He said with a nod. "I'm just...Honestly, I saw this coming. I just...I had actually started to like her. She's really kind of a sweet girl and she's fun, but I don't think she knows how to have a healthy relationship." He said quietly. "Not that I know much better, but I know that it's not what that was." He sighed a little then nudged her foot with his, hooking his pinky toe on her big toe. "Thanks, though. Are you going to be okay with this whole Brett thing?"
Arabella looked down at their feet and she nodded softly. "Yeah, I'll be okay." She told him softly. She was hurt and she was so angry at Brett but this was something that she could work through. Arabella had dealth with worse than Brett. "I'm a tough cookie" She added with a tired little giggle. Arabella looked up at him for a moment, smiling a little. "Thanks, Hunter. For being here"
Hunter chuckled then smiled softly at her. "It is not a problem." He said, placing a hand on hers. "We're friends, remember?" He nudged her a little and then moved his hand away from hers, leaning forward and making a handprint in the sand. He lifted his hand and a moment later the tide came in and washed it away. "You know how in those old cartoons," He said, laying back and spreading his arms out. "they make those snow angel things? I've never made a snow angel." He said, moving his arms and legs to make a sand angel. "I've always been a little curious as to whether it was worth it or not."
"You've never made a snow angel? Oh, my friend, you are missing out" Arabella laughed and she layed down by him, moving her arms and legs in the same way. After a few moments, she stopped, looking up at the sky and the stars. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. "I miss seeing the stars when I'm home. The lights of New York City just...block them all out" She said in a low voice then turned her head to look at him. "Do you get to see many stars at home?"
Hunter stopped moving his arms a moment. "Umm..." He said, turning to look at her. "Camp is more of a home then my technical home, but from there not really. See them great from here though." He said with a nod. "Best spot I've found is from the roof of the Hera cabin." He nodded a little then put his hands above his head on the ground then with a jerk he jumped to his feet, making sure to not step on his sand angel. "Here, I'll help you up." He said, offering her his hand.
Arabella looked at his hand for a moment before she did anything. She gave him a small little smile then took his hand. He pulled her up and with a little squeak of surprise, she landed close to him, with his arms around her. Arabella looked up at him and she took a little bit of a shaky breath. His arms felt warm and familiar. There was a calmness, a feeling of relaxation when she was in his arms. Her stomach knotted up a little bit, so Arabella pulled out of his arms a little bit and she brushed her hands off on her shorts. "I'll have to take you out of camp someday so that you can make an actual snow angel" She said with a giggle.
Hunter blushed a little then looked down at the sand angels that they made together. It kind of looked like they were holding hands. "Sounds like fun." He said, watching as the tide washed their snow angels away. Hunter looked over at Arabella and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Umm...I think the campfire is almost done now, so...We should probably head back." He said, slipping his hands in his pockets a little awkwardly. The two of them started walking back and Hunter turned to her after a second and put on his thinking face trying to come up with something to break the silence. "You said your family lived in the city? Tell me about them."
Arabella smiled softly to herself as she walked, looking down at the ground as she thought about her family. Being away from them was hard sometimes and she missed them but it was all worth it in the end. She cleared her throat and shrugged a little, looking over to Hunter with the same smile on her face. "It's just my dad and my little brother but none of us live together all year. My dad, who is amazing, lives in an apartment in the city. My little brother, Tyler, is at a boarding school in Providence" She told him. "I think you would like my brother. He's a fun kid" As she talked about him, her voice trailed off a little bit. She missed her brother most of all and she worried about him daily.
Hunter laughed a little. "Well, I do like fun." He said with a laugh. He yawned a little bit and stretched a little as they walked, unintentionally brushing his hand against hers. There was a pause and he could tell that in a typical conversation, he would talk about his family, but he didn't like talking about his family. It was a little too painful. "Do you mind me asking who Tyler's mom is? I mean, I'm assuming he's your half-brother or he'd be...here, right?"
"She was crazy" Arabella said with a laugh. "My dad is very well known in the city. He comes from a very old family with very old money. She had come into his life and made him fall in love with her so that she could get at his money. After Tyler was born, she just....left. Tyler's never really known her." She explained to him. Arabella had gotten over it a long time ago. For a while, she was bitter towards that woman but she hated feeling like that so she had worked on letting it go. "She wasn't all there, mentally, either. She was very bi-polar"
"Oh..." He said quietly, studying the ground in front of him. "Sorry. I didn't umm..." He stopped talking when he saw the empty campfire area and he turned to the Aphrodite Cabin. "Well, I guess, this is where I say good night. I'll talk to you tonight. Thank you for salvaging my night." He said with a laugh as they stopped on the porch of her cabin.
Arabella turned to look up at him with a grin on her face. "No, no..thank you for salvaging my night" She laughed and she looked up at her cabin door. Part of her wanted to go inside and change into her pajamas but another part of her wanted to stay and talk to Hunter all night. Arabella didn't want to go inside and have to talk to anyone. She let out a sigh and gave Hunter a small smile. "Sleep well, Hunter" She said, leaning into him and placing a little kiss on his cheek. Arabella waved to him before turning and walking into her cabin.
Hunter stood there for a moment, his cheeks bright red. "Good night." He said after the door was already closed. He turned toward the Hermes cabin and then seemingly floated there, not really paying attention to anything around him. He had a long night and now he kind of just wanted it to be tomorrow, so he could see her again. He could talk to her and then maybe after a while, he could finally admit that he was the one who saved her and she wouldn't be mad, she would just be really happy and he could kiss her and then they could just be happy together. He walked into his cabin and just slipped into his bed, almost immediately falling asleep.
Hunter, after he felt he was far enough away from Arabella, ducked behind a tree. He leaned up against it, trying to catch his breath. He was a little weak from the blood loss and he was still in shock a little bit from her kissing him. He felt bad for running, but he wasn't sure how she'd react if she found out it was him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small pink Barbie watch that Arabella has been wearing on her wrist. When she fell it came off in his hand. It was risky to keep it, but it felt like he was keeping hope alive. Like whenever he looked at it, he would be reminded of her. Of her lips on his and her body next to his. After a second, he shoved it back in his pocket and then walked toward the cheering and the celebration. He tore off his ripped sleeve and exited the woods, grabbing a canteen of nectar from the kids handing them out. He opened it and took a quick swig before pouring it on his arm. He winced a little then looked at the cut. It had sealed up except for a thin white scar.
"Hunter!" Hunter looked up when he heard his name and saw Brooke running at him. She threw her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, kissing him tightly on the lips. "We won! We won!" She pulled herself closer to him and let her tongue slip inside his mouth, moaning quietly.
"Whoa. Whoa. Hold on. I didn't win it though. Aren't you upset?" He asked, hating the fact that it was Brooke's lips on his. She pulled away a little bit from him and put a hand on her cheek.
"Hunter, I don't care. Maybe I actually kind of like you?" She said, quoting him from the beach when she was drunk. "Come on. I want to show you something." She said before climbing down from him and grabbing his hand, heading for the cabins.
Arabella closed her eyes, leaning against a tree. She was still feeling rather sore and worn out from the fight but what hurt the most was knowing that Brett had lied to her. All around her, people were either cheering or they were cursing. Evveryone would go to the fire and have s'mores and talk about the game. Arabella just wanted to alone.
"Arabella!"
Arabella looked up and saw Brett walking towards her. He looked like he was angry about something but he was trying to hide it. Before she could stop him, he walked up to her and he hugged her tightly. "Brett.."
"I guess I should say congrats on the win but I wish I had won" Brett said with a chukle and Arabella rolled her eyes.
"Brett!" Arabella said, raising her voice and she shoved him away from her. He looked down at her with a confused face. "Tell me the truth. Did you save me? Did you save me last week?"
"Uh..yeah, of course. I wouldn't lie to you. Arabella, wha-" He started to say but he was cut off when she slapped him across the face, hard.
"Stay away from me" Arabella hissed.
Brooke dragged him to the Aphrodite cabin where she pushed him against the door and started kissing him. He could feel her grope for the door handle and she finally shoved the door open, pushing him inside and closing it behind her.
"Mmm...Let's get you out of these wet clothes." She said, reaching behind him and pulling at his shirt. Before he could resist she pulled his shirt over his head and threw it to the ground before pulling off her own shirt and kissing him again.
Brett swayed on the spot a little bit, looking stunned. He did not expect her to slap him and it was obvious that he was shocked. Arabella took a breath, glaring at him then turned on her heel to walk away. Before she could get very far, though, she felt Brett's hand on her wrist and he pulled her back. "Who told you this?" He asked her, his voice taking on a tone that she had never heard from him before. It almost scared her a little bit.
"The one who actually saved me. I don't know who he is, yet. But he saved me again and he told me the truth. So you can take your lies and shove them up your ass" Arabella huffed and she pulled her arm out of his hands, storming down to the beach. She moved through the group of campers, heading to the fire and laughing. The last thing that she wanted to do in that moment, was sit by the fire and have to put on a happy face.
"Brooke, just sto--" His protests were muted by Brooke kissing him again, putting her hands on his neck and running her fingers down his chest to his stomach and to the waist of his jeans. She bit his bottom lip a little as she pulled on his jeans and started to undo them when Hunter finally pulled away and grabbed her hand. She looked confused, but Hunter couldn't do this anymore.
"What? What's going on?" Brooke said, trying a little bit to push toward him again. "Don't you like me?"
"Brooke, I do like you, but I just don't--"
"Whatever!" She said, pulling out of his hands. "You don't have to lie to me. You think I'm gross and ugly. I can tell."
"No! Brooke, I like you. I just don't want things to--" Hunter said, stepping forward, but she pushed him back toward the door.
"Get out! You don't need to lie!" She bent down and grabbed her shirt, covering herself with it, and then she kicked his at him. "I can't believe that you would do this to me, Hunter." She pushed him and Hunter grabbed his shirt, slipping it on then she shoved him again right out the door where he stumbled down the steps and landed on his arm which was still sore, prompting a quiet groan of pain. "Don't ever talk to me again, jerk." She said before slamming the door.
Arabella walked down to the beach, away from the sounds of the campers. She couldn't be around them and she certainly couldn't be around Brett. By the beach, though, she felt a little bit better. Calmer. The noise from the kids was muted and the waves were lapping the shore gently. Taking a shaky breath, Arabella slid out of her shoes and she walked right to the shore line, putting her toes in the ocean water. This was all just one big mess and she couldn't stand it. Arabella folded her arms across her chest and tried to forget about everything that just happened.
Hunter picked himself up and dusted himself off, slipping his shirt back on. He was tempted to try and talk to Brooke, but he really just didn't want to. He was confused about how he felt and he was a little relieved that he had managed to get through this without doing something that he would regret.
"I see the negotiations went swimmingly." Hunter looked and found Jake approaching him. "You okay, man?" He said, patting him on the shoulder.
"Yeah." Hunter said quietly, starting toward the campfire. "Yeah, I'm alright. I don't understand why it had to end this way..." He said, rubbing his face a little. "I don't know. I just...I kind of don't want to go to the campfire tonight, you know? I think I'm going to change clothes real quick and then I'll maybe meet you there."
"Alright. See you later, Hunter." Jake said before heading to the campfire. Hunter watched him go then turned toward the Hermes cabin, walking toward it. When he walked inside he changed into some dry clothes dried off a little bit with a towel then walked back out, thinking about things. Things were done between Brooke and him, but his interaction with Arabella made him really confused. He had always seen Arabella as a goal that was kind of out of reach, but now she felt close. She felt like his friend, but now she felt like so much more. Before he knew it, the ground had changed into sand and he was standing on the beach. He looked up and was a little surprised to see Arabella standing in the water some distance away from him. He figured that she had broken things off with Brett, but he felt bad and he felt a little bit like it was his fault. He walked up next to her and cleared his throat quietly then looked at her.
"You okay?" He asked, standing a little awkwardly.
Arabella looked over at him, quickly shaking herself to try and get out of the funk that she was in. She didn't want Hunter to see her being all emotional but it was kind of hard to hide something like that. "Uh, yeah..I'm okay" She said in a low voice, clearing her throat. "It's been a long day" Arabella added, her voice breaking off in the end. She glanced out at the water for a moment before turning back to Hunter, narrowing her eyes. "What about you, mister? Why aren't you at the fire?"
Hunter thought about it and he couldn't really put his finger on it. "I uh...Brooke and I..." He laughed a little nervously and then cleared his throat. "After the game, she dragged me back to the Aphrodite cabin and she tried to...and so I...and then she...and now we're..." He chuckled a little then fell backward into the sand into a sitting position. She looked down at him and he patted the ground next to him, prompting her to sit. "Why aren't you at the fire?"
Arabella took a deep breath before lowering herself down into the sand. "I'm sorry about Brooke. I wish that I would have said something to you...warned you about how she can be. I guess I was just hoping that it was going to be different with you" She said softly, looking over at him with empathetic eyes. "I broke things off with Brett. I found out that he's been lying to me" She finally confessed in a low voice.
Hunter closed his eyes a moment, feeling bad. He could have stopped all this. He could have saved her all this pain, but he didn't. And now she was heartbroken. "I'm sorry, Arabella." He said quietly. "I wish that...there weren't guys like Brett." He said with a sigh. "So, he wasn't the guy who saved you then? Do you um..." He cleared his throat a moment. "Do you know who saved you then?" He asked, picking at the sand in front of him.
Arabella shook her head, thinking back to the guy she had spent time with in the forest. Her lips still tingled from the kiss and she wished that he was with her. Hunter was amazing, but she would really love to be sitting with the guy who had saved her. "No...I don't know. I have no stinking clue and I'm back to square one" She said with a huff and she tossed a rock into the water. Arabella let out a little sigh then turned and looked at Hunter. "I just...I wish I knew who he was. The fact that I don't know him makes me want to know him even more"
Hunter nodded softly and turned to look at her a little. She looked really upset about all of this and he couldn't be more sorry, but she probably had in her mind that the guy who saved her was some handsome muscle-y son of Apollo or Ares. Not some random Hermes kid. He ran his hand through his fingers through his hair a second before looking out at the water. "You have nice feet." He said, after a second. She looked at him oddly. "Sorry. I'm just saying that it looks like you take care of your feet. I, on the other hand, don't really." He said with a quiet chuckle as he pulled off his shoes, sticking his feet in the water next to hers.
Arabella giggled, giving his foot a nudge with hers. "Your feet aren't so bad either, my dear" She put a little smile on her face and looked up at him. Sitting with him like that felt good. It felt easy. Hunter could be a really good friend for her, Arabella was sure of that. She needed a friend, someone like Hunter. Someone she could talk to easily, someone who wouldn't judge her. Arabella took a breath and she reached behind her, taking the tie out of her hair and letting her wet curls fall down. "I really am sorry about Brooke. She doesn't deserve you"
Hunter sighed and looked over at her as she shook out her hair a little. She was so pretty. He took a deep breath then stared down at his feet, curling his toes. "Yeah. I'm not sure what I thought was going to happen." He said with a sigh. "I mean, I was hoping that she was different then her reputation. I had kind of been told by people that she was kind of..umm...loose." He said finally.
Arabella let out a little sigh and she nodded. "Brooke is...Brooke isn't a bad person, she's just.." She started but she found herself lost for words. "Brooke is very sensitive and I had a bad feeling that she would pull this sort of thing with you" She finally said and she touched his hand lightly, in a comforting way, showing him that she was there for him. "Are you going to be okay?" She asked. He was her friend and she was worried about him. Arabella didn't want to have to think about Brett when she knew that Hunter could be hurting.
Hunter took a deep breath then cleared his throat. "Yeah. I'm fine." He said with a nod. "I'm just...Honestly, I saw this coming. I just...I had actually started to like her. She's really kind of a sweet girl and she's fun, but I don't think she knows how to have a healthy relationship." He said quietly. "Not that I know much better, but I know that it's not what that was." He sighed a little then nudged her foot with his, hooking his pinky toe on her big toe. "Thanks, though. Are you going to be okay with this whole Brett thing?"
Arabella looked down at their feet and she nodded softly. "Yeah, I'll be okay." She told him softly. She was hurt and she was so angry at Brett but this was something that she could work through. Arabella had dealth with worse than Brett. "I'm a tough cookie" She added with a tired little giggle. Arabella looked up at him for a moment, smiling a little. "Thanks, Hunter. For being here"
Hunter chuckled then smiled softly at her. "It is not a problem." He said, placing a hand on hers. "We're friends, remember?" He nudged her a little and then moved his hand away from hers, leaning forward and making a handprint in the sand. He lifted his hand and a moment later the tide came in and washed it away. "You know how in those old cartoons," He said, laying back and spreading his arms out. "they make those snow angel things? I've never made a snow angel." He said, moving his arms and legs to make a sand angel. "I've always been a little curious as to whether it was worth it or not."
"You've never made a snow angel? Oh, my friend, you are missing out" Arabella laughed and she layed down by him, moving her arms and legs in the same way. After a few moments, she stopped, looking up at the sky and the stars. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. "I miss seeing the stars when I'm home. The lights of New York City just...block them all out" She said in a low voice then turned her head to look at him. "Do you get to see many stars at home?"
Hunter stopped moving his arms a moment. "Umm..." He said, turning to look at her. "Camp is more of a home then my technical home, but from there not really. See them great from here though." He said with a nod. "Best spot I've found is from the roof of the Hera cabin." He nodded a little then put his hands above his head on the ground then with a jerk he jumped to his feet, making sure to not step on his sand angel. "Here, I'll help you up." He said, offering her his hand.
Arabella looked at his hand for a moment before she did anything. She gave him a small little smile then took his hand. He pulled her up and with a little squeak of surprise, she landed close to him, with his arms around her. Arabella looked up at him and she took a little bit of a shaky breath. His arms felt warm and familiar. There was a calmness, a feeling of relaxation when she was in his arms. Her stomach knotted up a little bit, so Arabella pulled out of his arms a little bit and she brushed her hands off on her shorts. "I'll have to take you out of camp someday so that you can make an actual snow angel" She said with a giggle.
Hunter blushed a little then looked down at the sand angels that they made together. It kind of looked like they were holding hands. "Sounds like fun." He said, watching as the tide washed their snow angels away. Hunter looked over at Arabella and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Umm...I think the campfire is almost done now, so...We should probably head back." He said, slipping his hands in his pockets a little awkwardly. The two of them started walking back and Hunter turned to her after a second and put on his thinking face trying to come up with something to break the silence. "You said your family lived in the city? Tell me about them."
Arabella smiled softly to herself as she walked, looking down at the ground as she thought about her family. Being away from them was hard sometimes and she missed them but it was all worth it in the end. She cleared her throat and shrugged a little, looking over to Hunter with the same smile on her face. "It's just my dad and my little brother but none of us live together all year. My dad, who is amazing, lives in an apartment in the city. My little brother, Tyler, is at a boarding school in Providence" She told him. "I think you would like my brother. He's a fun kid" As she talked about him, her voice trailed off a little bit. She missed her brother most of all and she worried about him daily.
Hunter laughed a little. "Well, I do like fun." He said with a laugh. He yawned a little bit and stretched a little as they walked, unintentionally brushing his hand against hers. There was a pause and he could tell that in a typical conversation, he would talk about his family, but he didn't like talking about his family. It was a little too painful. "Do you mind me asking who Tyler's mom is? I mean, I'm assuming he's your half-brother or he'd be...here, right?"
"She was crazy" Arabella said with a laugh. "My dad is very well known in the city. He comes from a very old family with very old money. She had come into his life and made him fall in love with her so that she could get at his money. After Tyler was born, she just....left. Tyler's never really known her." She explained to him. Arabella had gotten over it a long time ago. For a while, she was bitter towards that woman but she hated feeling like that so she had worked on letting it go. "She wasn't all there, mentally, either. She was very bi-polar"
"Oh..." He said quietly, studying the ground in front of him. "Sorry. I didn't umm..." He stopped talking when he saw the empty campfire area and he turned to the Aphrodite Cabin. "Well, I guess, this is where I say good night. I'll talk to you tonight. Thank you for salvaging my night." He said with a laugh as they stopped on the porch of her cabin.
Arabella turned to look up at him with a grin on her face. "No, no..thank you for salvaging my night" She laughed and she looked up at her cabin door. Part of her wanted to go inside and change into her pajamas but another part of her wanted to stay and talk to Hunter all night. Arabella didn't want to go inside and have to talk to anyone. She let out a sigh and gave Hunter a small smile. "Sleep well, Hunter" She said, leaning into him and placing a little kiss on his cheek. Arabella waved to him before turning and walking into her cabin.
Hunter stood there for a moment, his cheeks bright red. "Good night." He said after the door was already closed. He turned toward the Hermes cabin and then seemingly floated there, not really paying attention to anything around him. He had a long night and now he kind of just wanted it to be tomorrow, so he could see her again. He could talk to her and then maybe after a while, he could finally admit that he was the one who saved her and she wouldn't be mad, she would just be really happy and he could kiss her and then they could just be happy together. He walked into his cabin and just slipped into his bed, almost immediately falling asleep.
Chapter 21: Arabella and Hunter
"I hope this game is fun but I kind of doubt it" Daniel groaned and Arabella grinned at him. They were standing on their side, waiting for the horn to start the game. Arabella was excited. She couldn't wait.
"It'll be fun"
"Not as fun as last week though, I'm sure" Daniel teased, wiggling his eyebrows and Arabella rolled her eyes.
"I heard that there might be some kind of twist or something tonight.." She said, chooing to ignore what Daniel said. It was his turn to roll his eyes and he opened his mouth to say something but then the horn sounded and Arabella was off, moving as quickly as she could through the woods. All around her was excitment and movment. Her adrenaline was pumping and she loved. As she moved, she was able to forget about her worries with Brett and just enjoy the rush she was feeling. Up ahead of her, she saw someone from the other team move towards one of Arabella's sisters. Her sister, instead of doing anything, stood there and screamed while the guy ran at her with his sword raised. Arabella bent down and picked up a rock and tossed it at the guy, hitting his helmet and causing him to fall down. She grinned and ducked deeper into the trees, slowing down a little bit.
"Can we be teamed up together?" Brooke asked the Athena camper who was barking out orders. He looked at Hunter and Brooke then cleared his throat.
"That depends. Do you want to win?"
"Yeah, it would be nice." Hunter said quickly.
"Then, no. That makes no sense, honestly." He said before grabbing Jake and shoving him toward the other side of the forest. "Hunter and Jake, you go. Brooke, you...I don't know. Just stay here." Brooke frowned then grabbed Hunter by the collar.
"Win it for me, stud." She said before kissing him tightly on the lips. "Good luck." She said, finally releasing him. Hunter just swayed there for a second before feeling yank on his shirt sleeve.
"Hunter, come on. You can do it." Hunter shook himself then turned to Jake. The two of them took off toward the woods just as there was a loud crack in the sky and the clouds opened up, immediately starting a downpour of rain, soaking the forest.
Arabella froze, letting out a squeak of surprise. The rain pelted down, drenching her hair and making her clothes stick to her skin. It was amazing. Sure, this was clearly just the twist. Chiron brought rain into the camp to shock them and see how they deal with the change. But Arabella loved it. It felt like a miracle. She tilted her head back to look at the sky and she closed her eyes, laughing softly to herself. Finally. It was raining. But then she heard some shouts from behind her from members of the other team and she darted gracefully into the woods, getting deeper and deeper.
Hunter slipped in the mud again and landed hard against a tree. With a groan, he straightened himself out and rubbed his shoulder. He looked right and saw Jake leaned up against a tree, laughing hard. Hunter walked over and shoved him, causing him to fall back against the tree.
"Yeah. Not so funny, now, is it?" Hunter said, helping him up. Suddenly a large kid burst into the area and Hunter blocked his first strike with his sword. Jake quickly swept his feet out from under him with his spear then pinned his armor to the ground with it. There was the sound of more guys coming toward them and Hunter panicked. "Run!" Hunter shouted before taking off through the woods. They shot through the trees, quickly dodging around branches and stepping over tree roots. Hunter finally entered a clearing and stopped to catch his breath. "That was close." He said, straightening up and turning around to look at Jake. He wasn't there. "Jake?!" He shouted. No answer. "Oh, crap."
Arabella slowed down, taking deep breaths. She had gotten so deep in the woods, it was as black as night. The rain was pounding down on her so hard and her hair kept falling in her face. She stopped, leaning against a tree, so that she could pull her hair back into a bun. It was quiet in the woods, she couldn't hear the shouts from other camper or the sounds of their fighting. All she could hear was the rain. She took that moment to close her eyes and smile, taking it all in. Suddenly, she heard shouts from all around her and a bunch of guys from the Apollo team jumped out of the woods, rushing towards her.
Hunter had started walking, trying to get some sort of bearing. He lost Jake and he couldn't really hear anything. Nothing, but the rain. He paused a moment when he heard a slight crack behind him and he ducked behind a tree just long enough for an arrow to whiz by. He peeked behind the tree to see a blonde head of hair stalking toward him.
"Hunter, Hunter, Hunter." Brett said, notching another arrow. "Look, I've got a simple request. Stay away from Arabella. I've got a good thing going here and I know something is going on with you and her, so just stay away from her." Hunter looked at him in slight surprise.
"What are you talking about? Just because I know that you're not actually the guy who saved her, doesn't mean there's something going on." He thought for a second before reaching ahead and grabbing the arrow out from the tree. "Think fast!" He said before throwing the arrow at him and taking off into the woods again. He could hear an arrow shoot by again. He zigzagged around the trees and finally climbed a tree, hopping up another branch to stay out of sight. "This sucks." He said quietly as he tucked his legs up and hid.
Arabella turned and she ran, but she was unsteady on her feet and she kept slipping in the mud. The campers behind her were getting close and she had no chance against them. She was thinking about how amazing it would be if Brett jumped in and saved her again, like last time, when she felt someone grab her and pull her up into a tree. She was about to let out a yell when a hand covered her mouth, silencing her. Arabella closed her eyes, taking deep breaths while she waited for the campers that were chasing her to leave.
Hunter kept his hand on Arabella's mouth until the group passed and then turned to her. "Stay absolute silent." He whispered to her before slowly removing his hand over her mouth. "Stay here." He carefully slid down off that branch to a lower one just in time to see the group of kids crash through the forest and disappear. He breathed a sigh of relief then climbed back up and sat down next to Arabella. He sat there for a second before turning to her. "Having fun?" He said with a nervous chuckle.
Arabella looked at him, squinting her eyes. She couldn't really tell who it was. It was dark and the voice sounded familiar. She knew that she knew him but she just couldn't place it. Arabella took a deep breath and she let it out in a little laugh, pushing a few loose hairs back but the rain was so intense, it almost wasn't worth it. "Yeah...tons of fun" She said with a small smile and she bit her lip. "Thanks for saving me" She said then gasped a little bit. Was this Brett? Was he saving her again? The voice sounded so familiar and felt so warm, it must have been him.
"Two times in one month." Hunter said with a quiet laugh. "I hope you're not making a habit of this, Ms. Foster." He said, trying to hide his voice a little bit. He wondered if she could tell that he wasn't Brett. This was his chance. He needed to be anonymous when he told her and this was the perfect time to do it. "Are you okay? I wasn't sure if they got you or not?"
"Yeah, yeah...I'm okay" Arabella breathed and she looked around, trying to find out where they were. It was hard to tell in the dark. She bit her lip then turned back to look at the guy who had saved her. Arabella couldn't see much in the dark but she could make out his outline and the shine in his eyes. "I think that we're by our flag. We should probably keep an eye out or something, no?" She was breathing a little heavily from the rush of the whole night but she loved it.
"Right." He said, looking down from the tree. There was a pause and Hunter was looking for the right words to say, but he was drawing a blank. Arabella, Brett wasn't the one who saved you that night. It was me. It was me, Hunter. I know I should have told you this sooner, but I just wasn't sure what to do. I panicked and I was stupid and I hope you can forgive me. He shouted in his head, but once his head was quiet, he started to realize how quiet it actually was. The only sound was the rain and the slightly heavy breaths coming from both of them. "Man, this rain. I'd complain about it messing things up, but I just love rain so much." He said, leaning backward a little on the branch, rocking a little out of nerves.
Arabella looked at him, furrowing her brow. She was 100% sure that the guy was Brett. But Brett hated the rain, he had told her that in the morning. She shook herself and cleared her throat. "I love the rain. It makes everything feel so...fresh and magical" Arabella said softly and she scooted a little bit closer, trying to see if she could find out who it was. "Are...are you the one who saved me last week?" She breathed in a nervous voice, leaning into him a tiny bit.
Hunter felt her lean into him a little, but he didn't protest. With the rain the way it was, it was a little cold and the extra warmth kind of felt nice. Especially coming from Arabella. He looked down for a moment then cleared his throat. "Yes. Yes, I am. A couple of Athena kids were chasing you then I knocked them out then helped you up, but you were dizzy so I set you back down and told you to charmspeak them if they woke up." He said, giving the details, so she knew that he was the right guy. "It's a little worse considering I wasn't on your team..." He said quietly, wiping some rain from his face.
Arabella bit her lip, her heart racing. She had no idea who was sitting in front of her but she knew that he was the one who had saved her. His voice and his warmth felt so familiar and she was desperate to know who he was. "Well, I hope that your team wasn't too mad at you" She said in a low voice, leaning closer to him and straining her eyes to see more of his face. Arabella was so close to him and she was so close to see who he was when her hand slipped and the next thing she knew, she was falling.
"The entire camp still thinks that Brett guy is-Oh, shit!" Hunter said before quickly reaching down and grabbing her wrist. The rainwater made it difficult to hang on, but soon enough he hooked a few fingers inside the wristband of her watch. That was when the pain hit. A sharp pain, no doubt from holding Arabella up. He groaned a little as he felt a warm fluid start to drip down his arm. "Hey, listen. Right below you and to the left is a-damn!" He said quietly as he heard motion from below.
"We've got it. Let's not move too fast. Fast means suspicion." The leader said as they walked under the tree. Hunter choked back another gasp of pain then managed to swing his arm a little so her feet would touch the branch. Finally, she managed to stand on the branch and Hunter let out a gasp of relief as he started to relax his arm.
Arabella thought that she might faint from the nerves. Her heart was racing at a million times a minute. Of course, she would fall right before she found out who he was. Arabella held onto the tree tightly, trying to regain her balance so that she could help out and try to stop the guys from getting their flag. But she was dizzy and she felt a little lighte headed. As soon as she started to feel a little bit better, Arabella let out of the tree. She realized that that was a bad idea because once she let go of the tree, she slipped on the wet bark and fell to the ground. As she fell, she let out a yell of shock. The guys trying to get the flag stopped, glancing over at where she fell. Arabella tried to move but she couldn't move fast enough. The guys were starting to go after her. But then he moved and she watched as the guy who had saved for the third time now jumped down to the ground and started to fight against the campers that were about to take their flag.
Hunter dodged the first swing and drew his sword, trying to find a good place to take a stance. The ground was too wet and they were moving too fast for him, so he grabbed his shield and immediately let out a cry of pain. His left arm was too weak and there was no question that there was still blood on it from whatever wound he had gotten. Maybe from Brett's arrows. He kicked hi shield backward and quickly backed up to Arabella's location on the ground before helping her.
"Grab that shield. Block what you can. Knock them down if you can." He said before leaning over a little. "Aim for the head." He whispered before charging at the group. As he charged he could feel the demigod powers kicking in. It was like flipping a switch and suddenly they were moving in slow motion. He dodged a spear swing and broke it with a swing of his sword. He quickly grabbed the remainder of the shaft with his good arm and pushed forward, using the brutish fellow at the end of it as a battering ram to knock down another guy. There was a clang and Hunter looked over to see Arabella standing over an unconscious Ares camper. He smiled a little and shook himself back to the fight just as a shield hit him in the chest. He fell backward, but then, with both legs, kicked the shield backward, sending the guy off balance enough to trip over a tree root and knock himself out. Hunter stood and heard a small squeak and looked over to find a guy trying to pull the shield away from Arabella. He walked up and knocked him on the head with the butt of his sword. "Keep going. You're doing great." He said to her quickly before turning just in time to parry another attack. With a clunk, Arabella hit him in the head with her shield then backed away when a couple more guys started to attack her. Hunter was about to go after them when he saw another guy.
"You're next, punk." There was another clang and another and Hunter tried not to look over when he noticed who his next opponent was. A wall of a human who went by the name of Caleb. He took a heavy swing with his sword and Hunter managed to parry it with his good arm. There was no way he would be able to block it with only one good hand. He swung and Caleb knocked his blade away before booting him square in the chest. Hunter fell backward and scrambled for the closest weapon which ended up being the broke end of the spear. He threw it and it hit Caleb in the head just enough to slow him down when there was another clang. Caleb wobbled for a second then fell forward revealing a very shaken up Arabella holding a very dented shield in her hands.
Arabella took a few shaky breaths, looking around at the scattered campers. She felt too many things at once. She was overwhelmed. Not only had she found the guy that had saved her, but she also knew that Brett had been lying to her. Ontop of that, she had just taken out quite a few Ares guys. Arabella took a couple steps towards the guy who had saved her, still not able to tell who it was. There were little things that she could see, like the shine in his eyes and the shape of his body. She could also see something that looked like blood on his arm. Arabella squeaked and she grabbed his arm gingerly, looking at the wound. "Are you okay?" She breathed.
Hunter could feel his hand on her arm and, honestly, it felt kind of good. He could see a concerned look on her face and he just looked at it for a moment before shaking himself and finally focusing on the wound. "Yeah." He said quietly, feeling on his arm for the cut. He gasped a little when he found it and he ran his finger along it, finding it to be surprisingly deep. "I'd say I cut it on a tree branch, but I think one of Brett's arrows-" He stopped himself, realizing he might have gone too far. He cleared his throat. "Good job with the shield, by the way. Very...unique. You took my aim for the head advice to heart." He said, tearing the sleeve off his bloody shirt then using his sword to cut off the other sleeve. "Do you mind tying it off?" He said, handing her the sleeve and offering his arm. "I'll get some nectar after the game."
Arabella nodded softly and she took a deep breath, with steadier hands than she thought possible, she gingerly tied his sleeve around his arm. She bit her lip, trying to be gentle but also trying to make it tight enough. "Thanks...you gave me good advice." Arabella said softly and she took a small breath, finishing it off. "You were pretty amazing. Again" She said with a little giggle. Arabella paused for a moment, letting her hands slide down his arm until she was holding his hand. "You know...I never really got to thank you for saving me"
Hunter felt her hand in his and he looked down for a second, his stomach clenching. "It's okay. I mean, we're on the same team, you know? And besides, I'd be a bloody-Well, bloodier mess right now, if you hadn't bonked Caleb on the head." He had a feeling what she was going to do, and he wanted her to, but at the same time he didn't want her to. It would complicate things and in the same way, she could recognize him. That complicates things enough. "No, thanks, necessary, ma'am." He said with a nervous chuckle.
Arabella took a deep breath and she leaned into him. She didn't know who he was and she didn't really care. This guy had saved her many, many times and she felt something with him. A spark. Before he could protest or push her away or she could change her mind, Arabella kissed him. She pressed her lips against his in an innocent, gentle kiss. It was a simple kiss but she felt her heart race and her stomach do flip flops. Almost as soon as her lips touched his, the horn sounded and the game ended. The clouds parted and the rain stopped. In a daze from the kiss, Arabella looked up at the sky, seeing the moon shine through.
Hunter put his hands on her hips as she kissed him. It was a tender and and innocent, but Hunter felt like his face was on fire. His stomach was tight his heart was pounding. When she pulled away, Hunter was in a daze. The rain had stopped and it was perfect weather out now, but with Hunter's wet clothes, he became very cold. He swayed a little, his whole body cold, but his lips warm from her kiss. He touched his fingers softly to them before looking at Arabella who was looking up at the sky. She couldn't know it was him. He had to keep it a secret. He grabbed his sword and quickly sheathed it before taking off through the woods, waving a silent goodbye to Arabella.
"It'll be fun"
"Not as fun as last week though, I'm sure" Daniel teased, wiggling his eyebrows and Arabella rolled her eyes.
"I heard that there might be some kind of twist or something tonight.." She said, chooing to ignore what Daniel said. It was his turn to roll his eyes and he opened his mouth to say something but then the horn sounded and Arabella was off, moving as quickly as she could through the woods. All around her was excitment and movment. Her adrenaline was pumping and she loved. As she moved, she was able to forget about her worries with Brett and just enjoy the rush she was feeling. Up ahead of her, she saw someone from the other team move towards one of Arabella's sisters. Her sister, instead of doing anything, stood there and screamed while the guy ran at her with his sword raised. Arabella bent down and picked up a rock and tossed it at the guy, hitting his helmet and causing him to fall down. She grinned and ducked deeper into the trees, slowing down a little bit.
"Can we be teamed up together?" Brooke asked the Athena camper who was barking out orders. He looked at Hunter and Brooke then cleared his throat.
"That depends. Do you want to win?"
"Yeah, it would be nice." Hunter said quickly.
"Then, no. That makes no sense, honestly." He said before grabbing Jake and shoving him toward the other side of the forest. "Hunter and Jake, you go. Brooke, you...I don't know. Just stay here." Brooke frowned then grabbed Hunter by the collar.
"Win it for me, stud." She said before kissing him tightly on the lips. "Good luck." She said, finally releasing him. Hunter just swayed there for a second before feeling yank on his shirt sleeve.
"Hunter, come on. You can do it." Hunter shook himself then turned to Jake. The two of them took off toward the woods just as there was a loud crack in the sky and the clouds opened up, immediately starting a downpour of rain, soaking the forest.
Arabella froze, letting out a squeak of surprise. The rain pelted down, drenching her hair and making her clothes stick to her skin. It was amazing. Sure, this was clearly just the twist. Chiron brought rain into the camp to shock them and see how they deal with the change. But Arabella loved it. It felt like a miracle. She tilted her head back to look at the sky and she closed her eyes, laughing softly to herself. Finally. It was raining. But then she heard some shouts from behind her from members of the other team and she darted gracefully into the woods, getting deeper and deeper.
Hunter slipped in the mud again and landed hard against a tree. With a groan, he straightened himself out and rubbed his shoulder. He looked right and saw Jake leaned up against a tree, laughing hard. Hunter walked over and shoved him, causing him to fall back against the tree.
"Yeah. Not so funny, now, is it?" Hunter said, helping him up. Suddenly a large kid burst into the area and Hunter blocked his first strike with his sword. Jake quickly swept his feet out from under him with his spear then pinned his armor to the ground with it. There was the sound of more guys coming toward them and Hunter panicked. "Run!" Hunter shouted before taking off through the woods. They shot through the trees, quickly dodging around branches and stepping over tree roots. Hunter finally entered a clearing and stopped to catch his breath. "That was close." He said, straightening up and turning around to look at Jake. He wasn't there. "Jake?!" He shouted. No answer. "Oh, crap."
Arabella slowed down, taking deep breaths. She had gotten so deep in the woods, it was as black as night. The rain was pounding down on her so hard and her hair kept falling in her face. She stopped, leaning against a tree, so that she could pull her hair back into a bun. It was quiet in the woods, she couldn't hear the shouts from other camper or the sounds of their fighting. All she could hear was the rain. She took that moment to close her eyes and smile, taking it all in. Suddenly, she heard shouts from all around her and a bunch of guys from the Apollo team jumped out of the woods, rushing towards her.
Hunter had started walking, trying to get some sort of bearing. He lost Jake and he couldn't really hear anything. Nothing, but the rain. He paused a moment when he heard a slight crack behind him and he ducked behind a tree just long enough for an arrow to whiz by. He peeked behind the tree to see a blonde head of hair stalking toward him.
"Hunter, Hunter, Hunter." Brett said, notching another arrow. "Look, I've got a simple request. Stay away from Arabella. I've got a good thing going here and I know something is going on with you and her, so just stay away from her." Hunter looked at him in slight surprise.
"What are you talking about? Just because I know that you're not actually the guy who saved her, doesn't mean there's something going on." He thought for a second before reaching ahead and grabbing the arrow out from the tree. "Think fast!" He said before throwing the arrow at him and taking off into the woods again. He could hear an arrow shoot by again. He zigzagged around the trees and finally climbed a tree, hopping up another branch to stay out of sight. "This sucks." He said quietly as he tucked his legs up and hid.
Arabella turned and she ran, but she was unsteady on her feet and she kept slipping in the mud. The campers behind her were getting close and she had no chance against them. She was thinking about how amazing it would be if Brett jumped in and saved her again, like last time, when she felt someone grab her and pull her up into a tree. She was about to let out a yell when a hand covered her mouth, silencing her. Arabella closed her eyes, taking deep breaths while she waited for the campers that were chasing her to leave.
Hunter kept his hand on Arabella's mouth until the group passed and then turned to her. "Stay absolute silent." He whispered to her before slowly removing his hand over her mouth. "Stay here." He carefully slid down off that branch to a lower one just in time to see the group of kids crash through the forest and disappear. He breathed a sigh of relief then climbed back up and sat down next to Arabella. He sat there for a second before turning to her. "Having fun?" He said with a nervous chuckle.
Arabella looked at him, squinting her eyes. She couldn't really tell who it was. It was dark and the voice sounded familiar. She knew that she knew him but she just couldn't place it. Arabella took a deep breath and she let it out in a little laugh, pushing a few loose hairs back but the rain was so intense, it almost wasn't worth it. "Yeah...tons of fun" She said with a small smile and she bit her lip. "Thanks for saving me" She said then gasped a little bit. Was this Brett? Was he saving her again? The voice sounded so familiar and felt so warm, it must have been him.
"Two times in one month." Hunter said with a quiet laugh. "I hope you're not making a habit of this, Ms. Foster." He said, trying to hide his voice a little bit. He wondered if she could tell that he wasn't Brett. This was his chance. He needed to be anonymous when he told her and this was the perfect time to do it. "Are you okay? I wasn't sure if they got you or not?"
"Yeah, yeah...I'm okay" Arabella breathed and she looked around, trying to find out where they were. It was hard to tell in the dark. She bit her lip then turned back to look at the guy who had saved her. Arabella couldn't see much in the dark but she could make out his outline and the shine in his eyes. "I think that we're by our flag. We should probably keep an eye out or something, no?" She was breathing a little heavily from the rush of the whole night but she loved it.
"Right." He said, looking down from the tree. There was a pause and Hunter was looking for the right words to say, but he was drawing a blank. Arabella, Brett wasn't the one who saved you that night. It was me. It was me, Hunter. I know I should have told you this sooner, but I just wasn't sure what to do. I panicked and I was stupid and I hope you can forgive me. He shouted in his head, but once his head was quiet, he started to realize how quiet it actually was. The only sound was the rain and the slightly heavy breaths coming from both of them. "Man, this rain. I'd complain about it messing things up, but I just love rain so much." He said, leaning backward a little on the branch, rocking a little out of nerves.
Arabella looked at him, furrowing her brow. She was 100% sure that the guy was Brett. But Brett hated the rain, he had told her that in the morning. She shook herself and cleared her throat. "I love the rain. It makes everything feel so...fresh and magical" Arabella said softly and she scooted a little bit closer, trying to see if she could find out who it was. "Are...are you the one who saved me last week?" She breathed in a nervous voice, leaning into him a tiny bit.
Hunter felt her lean into him a little, but he didn't protest. With the rain the way it was, it was a little cold and the extra warmth kind of felt nice. Especially coming from Arabella. He looked down for a moment then cleared his throat. "Yes. Yes, I am. A couple of Athena kids were chasing you then I knocked them out then helped you up, but you were dizzy so I set you back down and told you to charmspeak them if they woke up." He said, giving the details, so she knew that he was the right guy. "It's a little worse considering I wasn't on your team..." He said quietly, wiping some rain from his face.
Arabella bit her lip, her heart racing. She had no idea who was sitting in front of her but she knew that he was the one who had saved her. His voice and his warmth felt so familiar and she was desperate to know who he was. "Well, I hope that your team wasn't too mad at you" She said in a low voice, leaning closer to him and straining her eyes to see more of his face. Arabella was so close to him and she was so close to see who he was when her hand slipped and the next thing she knew, she was falling.
"The entire camp still thinks that Brett guy is-Oh, shit!" Hunter said before quickly reaching down and grabbing her wrist. The rainwater made it difficult to hang on, but soon enough he hooked a few fingers inside the wristband of her watch. That was when the pain hit. A sharp pain, no doubt from holding Arabella up. He groaned a little as he felt a warm fluid start to drip down his arm. "Hey, listen. Right below you and to the left is a-damn!" He said quietly as he heard motion from below.
"We've got it. Let's not move too fast. Fast means suspicion." The leader said as they walked under the tree. Hunter choked back another gasp of pain then managed to swing his arm a little so her feet would touch the branch. Finally, she managed to stand on the branch and Hunter let out a gasp of relief as he started to relax his arm.
Arabella thought that she might faint from the nerves. Her heart was racing at a million times a minute. Of course, she would fall right before she found out who he was. Arabella held onto the tree tightly, trying to regain her balance so that she could help out and try to stop the guys from getting their flag. But she was dizzy and she felt a little lighte headed. As soon as she started to feel a little bit better, Arabella let out of the tree. She realized that that was a bad idea because once she let go of the tree, she slipped on the wet bark and fell to the ground. As she fell, she let out a yell of shock. The guys trying to get the flag stopped, glancing over at where she fell. Arabella tried to move but she couldn't move fast enough. The guys were starting to go after her. But then he moved and she watched as the guy who had saved for the third time now jumped down to the ground and started to fight against the campers that were about to take their flag.
Hunter dodged the first swing and drew his sword, trying to find a good place to take a stance. The ground was too wet and they were moving too fast for him, so he grabbed his shield and immediately let out a cry of pain. His left arm was too weak and there was no question that there was still blood on it from whatever wound he had gotten. Maybe from Brett's arrows. He kicked hi shield backward and quickly backed up to Arabella's location on the ground before helping her.
"Grab that shield. Block what you can. Knock them down if you can." He said before leaning over a little. "Aim for the head." He whispered before charging at the group. As he charged he could feel the demigod powers kicking in. It was like flipping a switch and suddenly they were moving in slow motion. He dodged a spear swing and broke it with a swing of his sword. He quickly grabbed the remainder of the shaft with his good arm and pushed forward, using the brutish fellow at the end of it as a battering ram to knock down another guy. There was a clang and Hunter looked over to see Arabella standing over an unconscious Ares camper. He smiled a little and shook himself back to the fight just as a shield hit him in the chest. He fell backward, but then, with both legs, kicked the shield backward, sending the guy off balance enough to trip over a tree root and knock himself out. Hunter stood and heard a small squeak and looked over to find a guy trying to pull the shield away from Arabella. He walked up and knocked him on the head with the butt of his sword. "Keep going. You're doing great." He said to her quickly before turning just in time to parry another attack. With a clunk, Arabella hit him in the head with her shield then backed away when a couple more guys started to attack her. Hunter was about to go after them when he saw another guy.
"You're next, punk." There was another clang and another and Hunter tried not to look over when he noticed who his next opponent was. A wall of a human who went by the name of Caleb. He took a heavy swing with his sword and Hunter managed to parry it with his good arm. There was no way he would be able to block it with only one good hand. He swung and Caleb knocked his blade away before booting him square in the chest. Hunter fell backward and scrambled for the closest weapon which ended up being the broke end of the spear. He threw it and it hit Caleb in the head just enough to slow him down when there was another clang. Caleb wobbled for a second then fell forward revealing a very shaken up Arabella holding a very dented shield in her hands.
Arabella took a few shaky breaths, looking around at the scattered campers. She felt too many things at once. She was overwhelmed. Not only had she found the guy that had saved her, but she also knew that Brett had been lying to her. Ontop of that, she had just taken out quite a few Ares guys. Arabella took a couple steps towards the guy who had saved her, still not able to tell who it was. There were little things that she could see, like the shine in his eyes and the shape of his body. She could also see something that looked like blood on his arm. Arabella squeaked and she grabbed his arm gingerly, looking at the wound. "Are you okay?" She breathed.
Hunter could feel his hand on her arm and, honestly, it felt kind of good. He could see a concerned look on her face and he just looked at it for a moment before shaking himself and finally focusing on the wound. "Yeah." He said quietly, feeling on his arm for the cut. He gasped a little when he found it and he ran his finger along it, finding it to be surprisingly deep. "I'd say I cut it on a tree branch, but I think one of Brett's arrows-" He stopped himself, realizing he might have gone too far. He cleared his throat. "Good job with the shield, by the way. Very...unique. You took my aim for the head advice to heart." He said, tearing the sleeve off his bloody shirt then using his sword to cut off the other sleeve. "Do you mind tying it off?" He said, handing her the sleeve and offering his arm. "I'll get some nectar after the game."
Arabella nodded softly and she took a deep breath, with steadier hands than she thought possible, she gingerly tied his sleeve around his arm. She bit her lip, trying to be gentle but also trying to make it tight enough. "Thanks...you gave me good advice." Arabella said softly and she took a small breath, finishing it off. "You were pretty amazing. Again" She said with a little giggle. Arabella paused for a moment, letting her hands slide down his arm until she was holding his hand. "You know...I never really got to thank you for saving me"
Hunter felt her hand in his and he looked down for a second, his stomach clenching. "It's okay. I mean, we're on the same team, you know? And besides, I'd be a bloody-Well, bloodier mess right now, if you hadn't bonked Caleb on the head." He had a feeling what she was going to do, and he wanted her to, but at the same time he didn't want her to. It would complicate things and in the same way, she could recognize him. That complicates things enough. "No, thanks, necessary, ma'am." He said with a nervous chuckle.
Arabella took a deep breath and she leaned into him. She didn't know who he was and she didn't really care. This guy had saved her many, many times and she felt something with him. A spark. Before he could protest or push her away or she could change her mind, Arabella kissed him. She pressed her lips against his in an innocent, gentle kiss. It was a simple kiss but she felt her heart race and her stomach do flip flops. Almost as soon as her lips touched his, the horn sounded and the game ended. The clouds parted and the rain stopped. In a daze from the kiss, Arabella looked up at the sky, seeing the moon shine through.
Hunter put his hands on her hips as she kissed him. It was a tender and and innocent, but Hunter felt like his face was on fire. His stomach was tight his heart was pounding. When she pulled away, Hunter was in a daze. The rain had stopped and it was perfect weather out now, but with Hunter's wet clothes, he became very cold. He swayed a little, his whole body cold, but his lips warm from her kiss. He touched his fingers softly to them before looking at Arabella who was looking up at the sky. She couldn't know it was him. He had to keep it a secret. He grabbed his sword and quickly sheathed it before taking off through the woods, waving a silent goodbye to Arabella.
Chapter 20: Hunter
"What was that for?" Hunter asked as Brooke's lips finally pulled away from his. He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips again.
"Mmm...For being the best boyfriend I've ever had." She said, pulling herself closer to him. Hunter had noticed how much more affectionate Brooke had become in the last couple days, but he didn't really mind it. It didn't go too far like it did when she was drunk, so it wasn't too bad. It was actually really good. "And for being pretty darn cute." She giggled and then pulled Hunter down to her, kissing him deeply on the lips. He moved his hands gently around her, holding her tight. She pulled herself closer and closer, pressing her hips into Hunter's. Hunter raised an eyebrow as he felt her groan a little against his lip then move her hands down the under his shirt.
"Hey." He said, pulling away a little only to be pulled back again. He held her back again. "Alright. If we don't leave we're going to be late." He said, taking her hand. She frowned a little then sighed.
"Alright, but you have to promise to not be so great all the time, understand?" She said, leaning up and kissing him again. "Then I won't feel the urge to kiss you all the time!" She said with a laugh. Hunter playfully rolled his eyes then started walking toward the dining hall.
"Are you excited for capture the flag tonight?" Hunter asked, nudging her a little.
"Only if you plan on winning again. We're on the same team this time, so maybe we should team up." She said before gasping and gripping his arm. "We'd be unstoppable!" Hunter laughed a little nervously. Hunter knew how well Brooke fought and it wasn't well and on top of that, Hunter really didn't want to be alone in the woods with her for an extended period of time.
"We'll have to see what the Athena kids say. You know how it goes when you disagree with them. I hope they say we can team up!" He said with a fake smile. They finally arrived in the dining hall and he kissed her temple gently before splitting off to their tables after getting their food.
"She wants me. She wants me bad, Jake and I don't know what to do." Hunter said with a sigh. He grabbed his cup and looked at it a moment before pondering if he could get alcohol. Instead, he order strawberry lemonade. Jake, once he stopped laughing, looked up at Hunter.
"Oh, excuse me." He said before taking a drink and wiping his eyes. "Brooke Stephens wants to have sex with you and you're stopping her? Sorry, can I get a 'what the hell' from the table, please." Jake said, raising his hand as this section of the Hermes table shouted, "What the hell!?" Hunter headdesked then let out a groan.
"On top of that, she wants to team up during capture the flag. I can't team up with her!" He said, looking up again. "She's a terrible fighter. She draws too much attention. She might rape me!" He took a big swig of lemonade then took a deep breath. "It'll be okay." He said with a nod. "Jake, distract me, so I can eat."
"If the master pleases." He said with a roll of his eyes. "Did you see Arabella and Brett come in here?" He asked. Hunter looked up a little surprised.
"No, were they making out or something?"
"Quite the opposite actually. Cold as a glacier. I don't know what happened, but it was not the flirty cutie patootie crap we've seen for the past few days." Jake said, taking a bite of food. Hunter ventured a glance at Brett who was talking to some of his friends. Then he looked over at Arabella who was talking to Danny. She looked bothered by something.
"I wonder if she finally knows that it wasn't him." Hunter said quietly. "Should I tell her? Should I tell her it's me?" He asked in a hushed tone, far more secretive than he probably needed to.
"Well, what if it's something else? Then you've revealed yourself far too soon. You gotta think about these things, Hunter." Jake said in a fatherly voice. Hunter poked at his food a little.
"I don't know. I just hate keeping this secret. I know I should, but-" A horn sounded and Hunter looked up. "Capture the Flag." He said before drinking the rest of his lemonade and then turning just in time for Brooke to grab him by the hand and drag him out of the dining hall toward the forest.
"Mmm...For being the best boyfriend I've ever had." She said, pulling herself closer to him. Hunter had noticed how much more affectionate Brooke had become in the last couple days, but he didn't really mind it. It didn't go too far like it did when she was drunk, so it wasn't too bad. It was actually really good. "And for being pretty darn cute." She giggled and then pulled Hunter down to her, kissing him deeply on the lips. He moved his hands gently around her, holding her tight. She pulled herself closer and closer, pressing her hips into Hunter's. Hunter raised an eyebrow as he felt her groan a little against his lip then move her hands down the under his shirt.
"Hey." He said, pulling away a little only to be pulled back again. He held her back again. "Alright. If we don't leave we're going to be late." He said, taking her hand. She frowned a little then sighed.
"Alright, but you have to promise to not be so great all the time, understand?" She said, leaning up and kissing him again. "Then I won't feel the urge to kiss you all the time!" She said with a laugh. Hunter playfully rolled his eyes then started walking toward the dining hall.
"Are you excited for capture the flag tonight?" Hunter asked, nudging her a little.
"Only if you plan on winning again. We're on the same team this time, so maybe we should team up." She said before gasping and gripping his arm. "We'd be unstoppable!" Hunter laughed a little nervously. Hunter knew how well Brooke fought and it wasn't well and on top of that, Hunter really didn't want to be alone in the woods with her for an extended period of time.
"We'll have to see what the Athena kids say. You know how it goes when you disagree with them. I hope they say we can team up!" He said with a fake smile. They finally arrived in the dining hall and he kissed her temple gently before splitting off to their tables after getting their food.
"She wants me. She wants me bad, Jake and I don't know what to do." Hunter said with a sigh. He grabbed his cup and looked at it a moment before pondering if he could get alcohol. Instead, he order strawberry lemonade. Jake, once he stopped laughing, looked up at Hunter.
"Oh, excuse me." He said before taking a drink and wiping his eyes. "Brooke Stephens wants to have sex with you and you're stopping her? Sorry, can I get a 'what the hell' from the table, please." Jake said, raising his hand as this section of the Hermes table shouted, "What the hell!?" Hunter headdesked then let out a groan.
"On top of that, she wants to team up during capture the flag. I can't team up with her!" He said, looking up again. "She's a terrible fighter. She draws too much attention. She might rape me!" He took a big swig of lemonade then took a deep breath. "It'll be okay." He said with a nod. "Jake, distract me, so I can eat."
"If the master pleases." He said with a roll of his eyes. "Did you see Arabella and Brett come in here?" He asked. Hunter looked up a little surprised.
"No, were they making out or something?"
"Quite the opposite actually. Cold as a glacier. I don't know what happened, but it was not the flirty cutie patootie crap we've seen for the past few days." Jake said, taking a bite of food. Hunter ventured a glance at Brett who was talking to some of his friends. Then he looked over at Arabella who was talking to Danny. She looked bothered by something.
"I wonder if she finally knows that it wasn't him." Hunter said quietly. "Should I tell her? Should I tell her it's me?" He asked in a hushed tone, far more secretive than he probably needed to.
"Well, what if it's something else? Then you've revealed yourself far too soon. You gotta think about these things, Hunter." Jake said in a fatherly voice. Hunter poked at his food a little.
"I don't know. I just hate keeping this secret. I know I should, but-" A horn sounded and Hunter looked up. "Capture the Flag." He said before drinking the rest of his lemonade and then turning just in time for Brooke to grab him by the hand and drag him out of the dining hall toward the forest.
Chapter 19: Arabella
The sun was beating down on her sore arms but she tried to keep her bow steady. Arabella was going to have a sunburn, there was no doubt about it and it was going to really suck the next day. But she was set on getting this right. The Aphrodite cabin had archery with Chiron right before lunch but most of them had given up and were sitting around, waiting for the class to be over. Only Arabella and Lucas were still standing and trying their hardest.
Lucas was okay. He didn't really have very good aim but he always had fun with it. He was pretty amazing with his knife and he liked having fun with archery. Arabella always loved the way that archery looked. She thought it was beautiful and she wanted to be amazing. From the moment she got to camp, she had been pushing herself to be a better archer.
With a small breath, Arabella let go of the arrow and watched as it whizzed towards the target, hitting a little left of center. Chiron let out a shout of excitement and smiled over to Arabella. "Your best ever, Arabella"
"It's not good enough" Arabella muttered, walking towards the target and yanking the arrow out. She wished, like she always did during archery, that she had the skills of the kids from Apollo.
"You'll get there." Chiron told her with a nod and a little knowing smile in his eyes. Arabella gave him a small smile, rubbing her arms. They were starting to very, very sore and very, very stiff. There was a small moment of silence before Chiron clapped his hands together. "Time for lunch" He announced.
Arabella's siblings all let out a sigh of happiness and stood, walking down towards the mess hall. As she was walking, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and Arabella smiled softly, tuning around and wrapping her arms around Brett, hugging him close. "Hi" She sighed.
"Woah. Please tell me what I did so that I could get more hugs like this" Brett chuckled and Arabella smiled into his chest a little bit. She took a deep breath before pulling away and taking his hand.
"I just needed a hug and you were there. Don't get cocky" Arabella said, walking with Brett by her side.
"You needed a hug? You okay?" He asked her and Arabella nodded.
"Yeah, yeah..I'm fine. It's just been a bit of a long day" She explained to him and when he put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side, she didn't protest. They walked past the Hermes table and Arabella smiled when she saw Hunter and Jake, giving them a small wave. Her and Brett stood in line to get their food but when Arabella went to grab her tray, Brett picked it up, carrying it towards the Aphrodite table. He placed her tray down and kissed her cheek before walking towards the Apollo cabin.
Her cheeks were pink and she felt this warmth inside of her. Brett had been amazing ever since she had gotten to know him. She was nervous about taking that next step with him, though. She didn't want to ruin what they had going. Arabella had finished about half of her lunch when she saw a familiar person standing in front of her. She took a sip of her drink before looking up into Brett's green eyes. "Miss me already?"
"Come on. Let's go for a walk before lunch is over" Brett said and Arabella let out a small sigh, looking around and then glancing down at her plate with food on it. She bit her lip then grabbed an apple before following Brett away from the mess hall and down towards the beach.
"You know...I'm sure that we're going to get in trouble one of these days for sneaking away to go for walks" Arabella said with a nod and she took a bite of her apple.
"Oh well. It's a beautiful day and I didn't want to miss it" Brett said and Arabella laughed.
"It's always a beautiful day at camp." She rolled her eyes and looked out to the ocean, letting out a sigh. "I miss the rain" She confessed, looking up at Brett. Arabella had to squint because of the sun in her eyes. Part of her was kind of hoping that he would say that he loved it too. And that they were going to leave camp for a few days when it was supposed to rain. That he would take her to the city and they would dance in Central Park in the rain. But instead, he wrinkled his nose.
"Ugh. I hate the rain. I'll take the sun over the rain any day" Brett said and Arabella let out a little sigh.
"So..are you looking forward to capture the flag tonight?" Arabella asked him as she started to walk along the beach.
"Yeah, it'll be fun" Brett said with a nod and he took her hand, sitting down. Arabella raised an eyebrow at him but she sat down next to him anyway.
"What happened to the whole...'walk' thing?" Arabella asked him with a little laugh and Brett grinned, moving so that he was sitting right beside her.
"Oh, please. I just say that so that you'd come with me" Brett laughed and he took her hand in both of his, running his fingers along her skin. Arabella smiled a little bit and looked down at her hand in his then gingerly placed her head on his shoulder. It was quiet for a moment. The only sound was the sound of the waves, crashing on the shore. It was peaceful and Arabella was glad that she had gone along with Brett.
"Thanks for this" Arabella said softly and she closed her eyes. It was comforting, just to sit with him like that. He really did care about her and Arabella could feel it.
"It's my pleasure" Brett said softly and he took a deep breath, placing his hand on her thigh. Arabella looked down at his hand and her stomach started to get knotted up. "Arabella?"
"Yeah?" Arabella looked up at him and as soon as she did, Brett leaned in to kiss her. She gave a little squeak of surprise and she bent backwards, away from him. She stood up quickly and brushed her hands on her shorts.
"Seriously? After this whole week of flirting and hugging, you're not going to kiss me?" Brett sounded annoyed and the knot in Arabella's stomach was so tight, it was making her feel sick.
"Brett...I, uh.." Arabella whispered, nervously running her fingers through her hair. She looked back towards the camp and saw that the kids were starting to go to their next activity. "I gotta go" She breathed and turned, hurrying back towards the camp. She didn't turn around to look at him. She didn't stop to say goodbye. She just walked.
Arabella wanted to kiss him. She wanted to take that next step with Brett but she was so afraid and she didn't want it to be like that. When Arabella pictured her first kiss with Brett, it wasn't going to be rushed like that. She wanted it to be special. Maybe she was being a little silly but when she saw him going to kiss her, she froze and did the first thing that made sense.
So she moved onto the next thing, writing letters home, trying to forget about what had happened. Maybe things would get better during capture the flag, once she had a chance to talk to him.
Lucas was okay. He didn't really have very good aim but he always had fun with it. He was pretty amazing with his knife and he liked having fun with archery. Arabella always loved the way that archery looked. She thought it was beautiful and she wanted to be amazing. From the moment she got to camp, she had been pushing herself to be a better archer.
With a small breath, Arabella let go of the arrow and watched as it whizzed towards the target, hitting a little left of center. Chiron let out a shout of excitement and smiled over to Arabella. "Your best ever, Arabella"
"It's not good enough" Arabella muttered, walking towards the target and yanking the arrow out. She wished, like she always did during archery, that she had the skills of the kids from Apollo.
"You'll get there." Chiron told her with a nod and a little knowing smile in his eyes. Arabella gave him a small smile, rubbing her arms. They were starting to very, very sore and very, very stiff. There was a small moment of silence before Chiron clapped his hands together. "Time for lunch" He announced.
Arabella's siblings all let out a sigh of happiness and stood, walking down towards the mess hall. As she was walking, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and Arabella smiled softly, tuning around and wrapping her arms around Brett, hugging him close. "Hi" She sighed.
"Woah. Please tell me what I did so that I could get more hugs like this" Brett chuckled and Arabella smiled into his chest a little bit. She took a deep breath before pulling away and taking his hand.
"I just needed a hug and you were there. Don't get cocky" Arabella said, walking with Brett by her side.
"You needed a hug? You okay?" He asked her and Arabella nodded.
"Yeah, yeah..I'm fine. It's just been a bit of a long day" She explained to him and when he put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side, she didn't protest. They walked past the Hermes table and Arabella smiled when she saw Hunter and Jake, giving them a small wave. Her and Brett stood in line to get their food but when Arabella went to grab her tray, Brett picked it up, carrying it towards the Aphrodite table. He placed her tray down and kissed her cheek before walking towards the Apollo cabin.
Her cheeks were pink and she felt this warmth inside of her. Brett had been amazing ever since she had gotten to know him. She was nervous about taking that next step with him, though. She didn't want to ruin what they had going. Arabella had finished about half of her lunch when she saw a familiar person standing in front of her. She took a sip of her drink before looking up into Brett's green eyes. "Miss me already?"
"Come on. Let's go for a walk before lunch is over" Brett said and Arabella let out a small sigh, looking around and then glancing down at her plate with food on it. She bit her lip then grabbed an apple before following Brett away from the mess hall and down towards the beach.
"You know...I'm sure that we're going to get in trouble one of these days for sneaking away to go for walks" Arabella said with a nod and she took a bite of her apple.
"Oh well. It's a beautiful day and I didn't want to miss it" Brett said and Arabella laughed.
"It's always a beautiful day at camp." She rolled her eyes and looked out to the ocean, letting out a sigh. "I miss the rain" She confessed, looking up at Brett. Arabella had to squint because of the sun in her eyes. Part of her was kind of hoping that he would say that he loved it too. And that they were going to leave camp for a few days when it was supposed to rain. That he would take her to the city and they would dance in Central Park in the rain. But instead, he wrinkled his nose.
"Ugh. I hate the rain. I'll take the sun over the rain any day" Brett said and Arabella let out a little sigh.
"So..are you looking forward to capture the flag tonight?" Arabella asked him as she started to walk along the beach.
"Yeah, it'll be fun" Brett said with a nod and he took her hand, sitting down. Arabella raised an eyebrow at him but she sat down next to him anyway.
"What happened to the whole...'walk' thing?" Arabella asked him with a little laugh and Brett grinned, moving so that he was sitting right beside her.
"Oh, please. I just say that so that you'd come with me" Brett laughed and he took her hand in both of his, running his fingers along her skin. Arabella smiled a little bit and looked down at her hand in his then gingerly placed her head on his shoulder. It was quiet for a moment. The only sound was the sound of the waves, crashing on the shore. It was peaceful and Arabella was glad that she had gone along with Brett.
"Thanks for this" Arabella said softly and she closed her eyes. It was comforting, just to sit with him like that. He really did care about her and Arabella could feel it.
"It's my pleasure" Brett said softly and he took a deep breath, placing his hand on her thigh. Arabella looked down at his hand and her stomach started to get knotted up. "Arabella?"
"Yeah?" Arabella looked up at him and as soon as she did, Brett leaned in to kiss her. She gave a little squeak of surprise and she bent backwards, away from him. She stood up quickly and brushed her hands on her shorts.
"Seriously? After this whole week of flirting and hugging, you're not going to kiss me?" Brett sounded annoyed and the knot in Arabella's stomach was so tight, it was making her feel sick.
"Brett...I, uh.." Arabella whispered, nervously running her fingers through her hair. She looked back towards the camp and saw that the kids were starting to go to their next activity. "I gotta go" She breathed and turned, hurrying back towards the camp. She didn't turn around to look at him. She didn't stop to say goodbye. She just walked.
Arabella wanted to kiss him. She wanted to take that next step with Brett but she was so afraid and she didn't want it to be like that. When Arabella pictured her first kiss with Brett, it wasn't going to be rushed like that. She wanted it to be special. Maybe she was being a little silly but when she saw him going to kiss her, she froze and did the first thing that made sense.
So she moved onto the next thing, writing letters home, trying to forget about what had happened. Maybe things would get better during capture the flag, once she had a chance to talk to him.
Chapter 18: Arabella and Hunter
Arabella let out a giggle as Brett dropped a marshmallow on the ground, letting out a little groan. "You know...maybe you should just give up the whole...s'more making thing"
"I don't give up. I will never give up" Brett said with a grin and he took a s'more from Arabella that she just cooked. She smiled up at him and gave him a little nudge. It had been a few days since he first spoke to her on the beach, telling her that he was the one who had saved her. They had been together as much as possible ever since. Brett was funny and he was sweet. Arabella had a good time with him. They hadn't really taken their friendship to the next level but there was a ton of flirting and he was beyond good looking. Arabella took a bite out of another s'more and looked around as people started to arrive at the camp fire. Hunter walked in and Arabella bit her lip. She hadn't talked to him too much and she was starting to miss hi a little bit.
"Are you sure?" Hunter said with a little frown to Brooke. She yawned a little and leaned up to kiss him.
"Mmmm...Yeah. I think so. I don't want to fall asleep on you." She laughed and stretched a little before pulling out of his arms. "Good night, Hunter." She said before kissing him on the chin. "Night, Jake." She smiled at him before heading into her cabin. Hunter sighed happily and then looked over at Jake who rolled his eyes.
"I'm starting to hate you,, you know that?" He said before turning toward the campfire.
"That's okay. I'm alright with that." Hunter said with a laugh before taking a spot near the Hermes kids. As he looked around his eyes locked with Arabella for a moment and it made him a little bitter. She had to know at this point that he didn't do anything, but she was just too prideful to forgive him. "I'm sorry, Jake." Hunter said with a nod.
"For what this time?"
"Well, I feel like I ruined your chances with Arabella and I just...wanted to apologize."
"Don't worry about it, man. I'm over it."
Arabella took a breath and looked down at her lap for a moment. Maybe she should talk to him. She was getting sick of awkwardly walking past him and trying to avoid his eye. She was getting sick of hearing Brooke talk to him outside of the cabin before bed. She just wanted to be able to smile and wave at a friendly face. Someone who she could talk to a little bit. "Would you excuse me?" She said softly turning toward Brett and he grinned at her.
"You're not allowed to leave until you kiss me" He said and Arabella rolled her eyes. He was always trying to get her to kiss him but she never did. She leaned forwards a little with a smile on her lips and then placed a quick kiss on the tip of his nose, like she always did. "Not fair"
"Too bad" Arabella giggled and she stood up, tugging on the hem of her shorts to straighten them out. She took a deep breath and started walking towards Hunter, a little bit nervous. Arabella was finally standing in front of him and Jake and she looked down at him with a little smile. "Hi, Jake" She said softly then turned to Hunter. "Hunter..can I talk to you?"
Hunter was a little surprised to see Arabella standing in front of him. He didn't really look up at her immediately, but after a second he looked up at her and sighed. "Why?" He asked plainly. "Did you want to insult my integrity again or was there some other aspect of my being that you wanted to degrade?" He wanted to talk to her, but she doesn't realize how much it really bothered Hunter.
Arabella looked down at him with wide, emotional eyes. She took a small breath and looked down, her cheeks pink. After a moment, she looked up at Hunter and she locked eyes with him. "Please, Hunter...can we talk for a minute? Alone?" She asked him in a soft voice, almost a whisper.
Hunter sighed and stood up, looking down at her for a moment before motioning for her to lead the way. She lead him away from the campfire by the cabins. They finally stopped near the minor cabins and Hunter turned to her. "What is it?" He said quietly, folding his arms in front of himself.
"I..." Arabella started and she looked up at him. He was upset with her and he was pissed off. There was no denying it. Arabella cleared her throat, trying to figure out how to go about it. "How have you been?" She asked, putting a little smile on her face and looking up at him. She wanted him to forgive her and she wanted to get past all of this but she was nervous.
Hunter opened his mouth to speak, but her question surprised him. "I'm doing okay, I suppose." He said, cocking his head a little. "I've been better, but Brooke and I have been doing pretty well." He looked over her shoulder at Brett who was watching intently. "I see that you've been doing well, unfortunately."
Arabella turned around and looked at Brett for a moment before turning back to Hunter. "Yeah, Brett's a good guy. A good friend" She said with a little nod. "Look...Hunter...I might have, maybe, possibly jumped to a bit of a conclusion" Arabella muttered, biting her bottom lip. She wanted him to forgive her and she wanted to be his friend again. He was with Brooke and Arabella was flirting with Brett. They could have a really good friendship.
"Might have?" Hunter said, leaning forward and raising an eyebrow. "You said I needed to get a little bit of respect. And that trusting me was a mistake." Hunter leaned back and rubbed his face. "That's not maybe might have possibly. That is jumping to a conclusion. Honestly, are you this mistrusting of everyone you meet or is it just guys? You trust Brett though, so it must just be me. As little sense as that makes..." He said, letting his voice trail off. He hated the fact that she was being lied to and he wanted to tell her that Brett was lying to her, he had no right to jump in. She doesn't trust him anyway, so why would she if he told her that Brett was lying to her?
"Hunter. I'm sorry" Arabella said simply, giving him a little shrug. She took a deep breath and shoved her hands in her pockets. "I couldn't tell you how many times I've walked in to see some of my sisters in bed, half naked and upset because some guy took advantage of them. And then I saw her in bed, half naked and you had been alone with her and I'm sorry" She said, all in one breath.
Hunter took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes a second. "I know." He said quietly, his hands muffling his voice a little. "I know. I'm sorry for yelling at you." He sighed and finally looked up at her. "I just...I was really starting to get used to hanging out with you and Danny and I felt like I disappointed Jake even thought I didn't do anything and it was just a really big mess." He stepped forward and opened his arms for a hug when he saw an arm drape around Arabella's shoulder.
"Everything okay over here?" Brett said with his smile of perfectly white and straight teeth, looking Hunter up and down.
Arabella smiled up at Brett, gingerly moving out from under his arm. "Yeah, everything's great" She said, feeling so much better and lighter. Hunter had forgiven her and they could go back to being friends. "Hunter..have you met Brett?"
"No, we haven't met" Brett said, with a smile on his face and sticking out his hand to shake Hunter's. Arabella didn't notice the way that Brett gripped Hunter's hand, like he was trying to make a point. Arabella was just happy that they were talking and Hunter had spoken to her.
"So, how's Brooke doing? I didn't see her down at the fire" Arabella said, turning to look up at Hunter.
Hunter didn't really want to play the game of mercy that his handshake with Brett became, so he retracted his hand fairly quickly. "She's okay. She said she was just tired. And notice I didn't go and help her into bed." He said with a teasing laugh. "I wouldn't want there to be any misunderstandings." He laughed a little then ran his hand through his hair. "I saw Danny with some new guy. What's that about?" Hunter said, trying to make small talk. He didn't like Brett. Especially because he knew the truth. That's why he wanted to talk. He wouldn't be tempted to reveal the truth.
Arabella laughed a little bit and shrugged. "Oh...he's the new love of Daniel's life" She said, rolling her eyes lightly. "I guess he met him at the party and he's just head over heels"
"Hey, did you want to come back to the fire with me?" Brett asked her, snaking an arm around her waist and leaning into her a little bit. "I need you to help me make s'mores"
"I think I'd like to spend some time with Hunter, actually" Arabella said, turning her eyes from Brett to Hunter and giving him a little smile. "I mean, if he wants to join us at the fire that would be great"
"Umm...Sure." Hunter said, cursing to himself. "Let me just...Let me grab Jake or something." He said, pointing over to the Hermes kids. He waved awkwardly as they headed back over to where they were sitting then hurried over to Jake. "Dude, come on. We're going to go sit by Arabella and Brett. No complaints. I need you there."
"What? I'm assuming everything is okay with you and her then?" Jake said, looking up at him a second then pushing himself to his feet. "I don't really want to sit with my ex-crush and her newest selection of arm candy."
"Shut it. You need to be there." Hunter said quickly. He knew that if there was a silence then Jake would break it. He was famous for it. Hunter would break it, but more than likely it would involve him making an ass out of himself.
"Fine. If it means that much to you..." He said, dusting himself off then heading over to Arabella and Brett with Hunter. "Hi, I'm not sure we've met. I'm Jake." He said, extending his hand to Arabella. "What's your name? Andrea or something?"
"Yep. Andrea" Arabella said with a little laugh and she shook Jake's hand, really hoping that he wasn't mad at her for what she had done to Hunter. Arabella felt a little guilty about it all and she just kind of wanted to forget about it.
"I'm Brett" Brett said, sticking out his hand to shake Jake's. Arabella looked around and scooting a little bit closer to Hunter.
"I'm glad to hear that things are going well for you and Brooke" She told him, a little smile on her face. "You're happy with her and everything?"
Hunter thought for a second, sporting his thinking face, and then nodded. "I really have fun with her. I mean, she's not much of one for deep conversations, but...I don't know. I don't know what the sudden change of heart was with her, but I really don't mind it." He said with a laugh. There was a silence and Hunter turned to Jake to break it, but he wasn't paying attention. "How's things with your uh...knight in shining...Hollister?" He said, nodding to Brett.
Arabella laughed a little bit, looking over to Brett then looked back at Hunter, shrugging a little bit. "He's a nice guy. So, I guess that things are going well" She said and she giggled a little bit when Hunter raised an eyebrow. "With Brett...it's kind of complicated. I mean, he's the guy who saved me and he's incredible to look at and he's a sweet guy. He's always trying to take our friendship to the next level of like...dating. But I guess I'm just testing the waters a little bit before I do that." She told him with a little nod. "And he doesn't have a great thinking face like you do, so that's a major drawback" Arabella giggled.
Throughout Arabella's comments on Brett, Hunter could barely speak. He's lying to you! Don't trust him! He's just trying to get into your pants! When she changed topics it took him a second before noticing. Hunter laughed a little then stretched his face. "I didn't even realize I had done that. Brooke doesn't like it, so I try not to do it." He said quietly. "Well, uh...Be careful." He said, clearing his throat a little. "You never know who you can tr-"
"What are you guys talking about?" Brett said, slipping his arms around Arabella's waist and putting his chin on her shoulder. "Anything I should know about? He said, being sure to glare at Hunter.
"None of your business, Wilcox" Arabella said, nudging him with her elbow a little but still smiling. She yawned a little bit, automatically leaning back into Brett a little bit even though she didn't really mean too. But then she felt his arms tighten around her a little bit and she didn't bother pulling away because she was just too darn comfy. "Any plans for the fall, Hunter? Do you go home or stay here?"
Hunter just stared at Brett and Arabella and almost snapped. He could almost feel his eye twitching in rage, but he took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Well, my aunt only wants me around during Thanksgiving and Christmas, so no plans, really." He sighed a little and started picking at the grass. "How about you? Going back home?"
Arabella shook her head, tugging at a loose string on her cut off shorts. "No, not really. I mean, I go home for Christmas and birthdays and all of that but I like to stick around here" She told him with a little shrug. She spent a lot of time at the camp but she didn't mind. Arabella was good with where she was.
"I'll be going home to see my mom. I don't usually spend the whole year here" Brett said and Arabella nodded a little bit, feeling slightly disappointed.
"Where does your mom live?" She asked him.
"She's in Buffalo" Brett told her and Arabella nodded before looking over to Hunter.
"Where is your family from?" She asked him, leaning toward him a little bit.
"England. We come from a long line of English royalty." Hunter got up on one knee and leaned forward for more of a dramatic telling. "A tale of intrigue, action, romance, and treachery. It all started in the Noble district of--"
"She's talking about here." Brett interrupted, looking a little annoyed. Hunter sat back down and cleared his throat.
"Uh...I was born in Connecticut, but my aunt lives in Long Island. Not too far from here." He said with a nod. A lot of people in the Hermes cabin knew not to talk about Hunter's family, so Hunter didn't have to talk about it. It hurt to talk about it.
"Oh, well...I'd love to hear the story from England" Arabella said with a little smile. She took a little breath before looking into the fire. There was a small moment of silence and Arabella was fine with it, but Brett was kind of glaring at Hunter and holding Arabella in a protective way, which she didn't notice. "I'm looking forward to capture the flag this week" she said, breaking the silence.
"Mmm..yeah, it should be good" Brett said softly to her, leaning a bit into her and going to place a kiss on her cheek but she didn't see what he was doing and she sat up a little bit, leaning towards Hunter with a grin on her face.
"Yep. I promised Hunter that I would kick his butt in this game" Arabella said, wiggling her eyebrows "And I always keep my promises" She added in a mock serious voice.
"I don't remember that." Hunter said, laughing a little bit. "I distinctly remember that you needed some guy to save you from a...Jake!" Hunter shouted over to Jake who turned his head toward him. "What was it that we heard Brett saved Arabella from?"
"Oh, it was a band of roving Cyclops savages." Jake said with a laugh. Hunter looked up at Brett and smiled a little.
"Now, what actually happened?" He said, tilting his head to the right a little.
Brett took a breath, giving Arabella a squeeze and holding her closer to him. "Well, there weren't any Cyclops savages" He said with a chuckle and Arabella laughed.
"Really though...some people really know how to spin a story. They make you seem like some mega-hero or something" Arabella giggled, placing a hand on his knee. Even though she was taking it slow with Brett, she was still amazed by him. He had saved her from those two kids and she was thankful for that.
"I had seen Arabella in the woods, and-" Brett started but Arabella got excited and cut him off.
"I was in the woods and these two kids just jumped out at me. I was totally stunned and I had no idea what to do but Brett just jumps in out of nowhere and takes them out, even though they're his brothers. He checks to see if I'm okay and then leaves" Arabella said, a smile on her face.
Hunter raised an eyebrow. "Is that right, Brett?" Hunter said, a small smile on his face. Brett looked at Arabella then nodded.
"Yeah. Arabella tells the story so well." He said, giving her a squeeze.
"Well, it's interesting because I talked to a child of Athena that said that her and her brother had Arabella when someone came out of nowhere and took them out." Hunter said before clearing his throat. "Not to say you're lying, but I'm just curious what you think about that."
Arabella looked over at Brett with a confused look on her face. She hadn't really been sure who had attacked her but Brett had told her that it was his brothers. Was he lying to her? Brett kept his calm smile on his face and shrugged. He looked fine with all of this. "My mistake. It was so dark in the woods, it's hard to believe that I saw Arabella at all" He chuckled and looked down at Arabella. Her eyes locked with his and she smiled softly.
"Yeah, I'm sure that it's all just a misunderstanding. I mean, I didn't see him at all. I had no clue that it was him" Arabella shrugged.
"Of course. Of course." Hunter said with a nod. "It was pretty dark. I mean, what if you actually saved someone else or something." He said with a laugh. "Wouldn't that be a strange coincidence?"
"What are we laughing about?" Jake asked, leaning into the conversation.
"I was just laughing about if Brett saved someone else, but they just weren't as popular. Or what if he didn't save anyone at all and he just saw a good opportunity? Wouldn't that be hilarious?" Jake raised an eyebrow at him and cleared his throat.
"Umm...Yeah. I guess." Jake said with a nervous laugh before looking over at Arabella and shrugging.
Arabella looked at Jake with the slightly confused look back on her face. Hunter was acting weird and she had no clue why. It was almost like he was trying to make Brett confess that he was lying or something, which would be totally crazy. "I don't think it would be hilarious" She said softly.
Brett was looking at Hunter with a death glare. He took a breath and shook himself back into his usual, sunny self. "It makes me sick to think of someone lying about that and taking advantage of someone as great as Arabella."
"You're making me blush" She yawned.
Hunter stared at the two of them a second. He had crossed the line and he felt bad. It wasn't his place to get in the way of that. He looked over at Jake and sighed.
"I'm getting a little tired. I think uh...I uh...I'm going to go to bed. Have a good night, you guys." He stood quickly and then left toward the Hermes cabin. As he walked he rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath trying to calm himself down.
"Dude, what is with you?" Jake said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You kind of went crazy right there."
"Sorry. It's just a little..bothersome."
"What is?"
"Nothing. I'm just really tired. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Jake." Hunter said before turning toward his cabin.
"Dude, stop. Tell me. What in the world is bothering you so much?" Jake said, blocking his way to the cabin. "Do you have something against Brett or something?"
"Yeah! Yeah, I do!" Hunter said finally. Jake looked at him a second then stepped backward, leaning on the railing.
"You're jealous of him. You like Arabella and that's why you're angry at Brett."
"No, I'm angry at Brett because I'm the one who saved Arabella last Friday!"
"Mmm..bed sounds really good" Arabella said in a low voice, closing her eyes for a few moments. She took a deep breath, happy to be where she was. Hunter was talking to her again and she really like the guy who had his arms around her. "Walk me to my cabin?"
"Of course" Brett said, standing up and helping Arabella stand up. She brushed her hands off on her shorts before she started to walk back to the Aphrodite cabin. They walked in silence for a few moments and then Arabella felt Brett take her hand, holding it gently. She looked up at him and smiled but she didn't let go.
"I had a good day" She said softly and Brett smiled, nodding.
"Yeah, so did I" Brett said and he took a deep breath when they got to her cabin, turning to look at her. He got a little goofy grin and he leaned down towards her a little bit. "Do I get a goodnight kiss?"
"Hmm.." Arabella looked up at him with a thoughtful face then leaned towards him, placing a little kiss on his nose. "Good night" She said with a giggle and waved at him before turning and walking into her cabin.
"What do you mean, you're the one who saved Arabella?" Jake asked in disbelief.
"I was in a tree, watching her walk through. Then two Athena kids charged her. She fell. I took the two kids out and saved her then got nervous and ran off." Hunter said quietly, burying his face in his hands.
"Dude...I don't believe you." Hunter rolled his eyes.
"Think about it. I know all the details. I can give you everything that was said. I can give you every single detail. And do you really think Brett would get nervous and run away?" Hunter said, pointing over to the campfire. "It was me. I'm not lying."
"Why don't you tell her then?" Jake said, leaning forward. "The longer she sticks with that douche, the more it's going to hurt when she finds out he's been lying."
"And say what? 'So, Brett wasn't the one who saved you. How do I know? Oh, uh...I was in the vicinity.'" Hunter rolled his eyes. "I can't tell her without letting her know it was me and if I do that, things with Brooke and I are absolutely over. I can't let her know it was me, but she needs to know that it wasn't Brett. I don't know what to do, Jake. I have no clue."
"I don't give up. I will never give up" Brett said with a grin and he took a s'more from Arabella that she just cooked. She smiled up at him and gave him a little nudge. It had been a few days since he first spoke to her on the beach, telling her that he was the one who had saved her. They had been together as much as possible ever since. Brett was funny and he was sweet. Arabella had a good time with him. They hadn't really taken their friendship to the next level but there was a ton of flirting and he was beyond good looking. Arabella took a bite out of another s'more and looked around as people started to arrive at the camp fire. Hunter walked in and Arabella bit her lip. She hadn't talked to him too much and she was starting to miss hi a little bit.
"Are you sure?" Hunter said with a little frown to Brooke. She yawned a little and leaned up to kiss him.
"Mmmm...Yeah. I think so. I don't want to fall asleep on you." She laughed and stretched a little before pulling out of his arms. "Good night, Hunter." She said before kissing him on the chin. "Night, Jake." She smiled at him before heading into her cabin. Hunter sighed happily and then looked over at Jake who rolled his eyes.
"I'm starting to hate you,, you know that?" He said before turning toward the campfire.
"That's okay. I'm alright with that." Hunter said with a laugh before taking a spot near the Hermes kids. As he looked around his eyes locked with Arabella for a moment and it made him a little bitter. She had to know at this point that he didn't do anything, but she was just too prideful to forgive him. "I'm sorry, Jake." Hunter said with a nod.
"For what this time?"
"Well, I feel like I ruined your chances with Arabella and I just...wanted to apologize."
"Don't worry about it, man. I'm over it."
Arabella took a breath and looked down at her lap for a moment. Maybe she should talk to him. She was getting sick of awkwardly walking past him and trying to avoid his eye. She was getting sick of hearing Brooke talk to him outside of the cabin before bed. She just wanted to be able to smile and wave at a friendly face. Someone who she could talk to a little bit. "Would you excuse me?" She said softly turning toward Brett and he grinned at her.
"You're not allowed to leave until you kiss me" He said and Arabella rolled her eyes. He was always trying to get her to kiss him but she never did. She leaned forwards a little with a smile on her lips and then placed a quick kiss on the tip of his nose, like she always did. "Not fair"
"Too bad" Arabella giggled and she stood up, tugging on the hem of her shorts to straighten them out. She took a deep breath and started walking towards Hunter, a little bit nervous. Arabella was finally standing in front of him and Jake and she looked down at him with a little smile. "Hi, Jake" She said softly then turned to Hunter. "Hunter..can I talk to you?"
Hunter was a little surprised to see Arabella standing in front of him. He didn't really look up at her immediately, but after a second he looked up at her and sighed. "Why?" He asked plainly. "Did you want to insult my integrity again or was there some other aspect of my being that you wanted to degrade?" He wanted to talk to her, but she doesn't realize how much it really bothered Hunter.
Arabella looked down at him with wide, emotional eyes. She took a small breath and looked down, her cheeks pink. After a moment, she looked up at Hunter and she locked eyes with him. "Please, Hunter...can we talk for a minute? Alone?" She asked him in a soft voice, almost a whisper.
Hunter sighed and stood up, looking down at her for a moment before motioning for her to lead the way. She lead him away from the campfire by the cabins. They finally stopped near the minor cabins and Hunter turned to her. "What is it?" He said quietly, folding his arms in front of himself.
"I..." Arabella started and she looked up at him. He was upset with her and he was pissed off. There was no denying it. Arabella cleared her throat, trying to figure out how to go about it. "How have you been?" She asked, putting a little smile on her face and looking up at him. She wanted him to forgive her and she wanted to get past all of this but she was nervous.
Hunter opened his mouth to speak, but her question surprised him. "I'm doing okay, I suppose." He said, cocking his head a little. "I've been better, but Brooke and I have been doing pretty well." He looked over her shoulder at Brett who was watching intently. "I see that you've been doing well, unfortunately."
Arabella turned around and looked at Brett for a moment before turning back to Hunter. "Yeah, Brett's a good guy. A good friend" She said with a little nod. "Look...Hunter...I might have, maybe, possibly jumped to a bit of a conclusion" Arabella muttered, biting her bottom lip. She wanted him to forgive her and she wanted to be his friend again. He was with Brooke and Arabella was flirting with Brett. They could have a really good friendship.
"Might have?" Hunter said, leaning forward and raising an eyebrow. "You said I needed to get a little bit of respect. And that trusting me was a mistake." Hunter leaned back and rubbed his face. "That's not maybe might have possibly. That is jumping to a conclusion. Honestly, are you this mistrusting of everyone you meet or is it just guys? You trust Brett though, so it must just be me. As little sense as that makes..." He said, letting his voice trail off. He hated the fact that she was being lied to and he wanted to tell her that Brett was lying to her, he had no right to jump in. She doesn't trust him anyway, so why would she if he told her that Brett was lying to her?
"Hunter. I'm sorry" Arabella said simply, giving him a little shrug. She took a deep breath and shoved her hands in her pockets. "I couldn't tell you how many times I've walked in to see some of my sisters in bed, half naked and upset because some guy took advantage of them. And then I saw her in bed, half naked and you had been alone with her and I'm sorry" She said, all in one breath.
Hunter took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes a second. "I know." He said quietly, his hands muffling his voice a little. "I know. I'm sorry for yelling at you." He sighed and finally looked up at her. "I just...I was really starting to get used to hanging out with you and Danny and I felt like I disappointed Jake even thought I didn't do anything and it was just a really big mess." He stepped forward and opened his arms for a hug when he saw an arm drape around Arabella's shoulder.
"Everything okay over here?" Brett said with his smile of perfectly white and straight teeth, looking Hunter up and down.
Arabella smiled up at Brett, gingerly moving out from under his arm. "Yeah, everything's great" She said, feeling so much better and lighter. Hunter had forgiven her and they could go back to being friends. "Hunter..have you met Brett?"
"No, we haven't met" Brett said, with a smile on his face and sticking out his hand to shake Hunter's. Arabella didn't notice the way that Brett gripped Hunter's hand, like he was trying to make a point. Arabella was just happy that they were talking and Hunter had spoken to her.
"So, how's Brooke doing? I didn't see her down at the fire" Arabella said, turning to look up at Hunter.
Hunter didn't really want to play the game of mercy that his handshake with Brett became, so he retracted his hand fairly quickly. "She's okay. She said she was just tired. And notice I didn't go and help her into bed." He said with a teasing laugh. "I wouldn't want there to be any misunderstandings." He laughed a little then ran his hand through his hair. "I saw Danny with some new guy. What's that about?" Hunter said, trying to make small talk. He didn't like Brett. Especially because he knew the truth. That's why he wanted to talk. He wouldn't be tempted to reveal the truth.
Arabella laughed a little bit and shrugged. "Oh...he's the new love of Daniel's life" She said, rolling her eyes lightly. "I guess he met him at the party and he's just head over heels"
"Hey, did you want to come back to the fire with me?" Brett asked her, snaking an arm around her waist and leaning into her a little bit. "I need you to help me make s'mores"
"I think I'd like to spend some time with Hunter, actually" Arabella said, turning her eyes from Brett to Hunter and giving him a little smile. "I mean, if he wants to join us at the fire that would be great"
"Umm...Sure." Hunter said, cursing to himself. "Let me just...Let me grab Jake or something." He said, pointing over to the Hermes kids. He waved awkwardly as they headed back over to where they were sitting then hurried over to Jake. "Dude, come on. We're going to go sit by Arabella and Brett. No complaints. I need you there."
"What? I'm assuming everything is okay with you and her then?" Jake said, looking up at him a second then pushing himself to his feet. "I don't really want to sit with my ex-crush and her newest selection of arm candy."
"Shut it. You need to be there." Hunter said quickly. He knew that if there was a silence then Jake would break it. He was famous for it. Hunter would break it, but more than likely it would involve him making an ass out of himself.
"Fine. If it means that much to you..." He said, dusting himself off then heading over to Arabella and Brett with Hunter. "Hi, I'm not sure we've met. I'm Jake." He said, extending his hand to Arabella. "What's your name? Andrea or something?"
"Yep. Andrea" Arabella said with a little laugh and she shook Jake's hand, really hoping that he wasn't mad at her for what she had done to Hunter. Arabella felt a little guilty about it all and she just kind of wanted to forget about it.
"I'm Brett" Brett said, sticking out his hand to shake Jake's. Arabella looked around and scooting a little bit closer to Hunter.
"I'm glad to hear that things are going well for you and Brooke" She told him, a little smile on her face. "You're happy with her and everything?"
Hunter thought for a second, sporting his thinking face, and then nodded. "I really have fun with her. I mean, she's not much of one for deep conversations, but...I don't know. I don't know what the sudden change of heart was with her, but I really don't mind it." He said with a laugh. There was a silence and Hunter turned to Jake to break it, but he wasn't paying attention. "How's things with your uh...knight in shining...Hollister?" He said, nodding to Brett.
Arabella laughed a little bit, looking over to Brett then looked back at Hunter, shrugging a little bit. "He's a nice guy. So, I guess that things are going well" She said and she giggled a little bit when Hunter raised an eyebrow. "With Brett...it's kind of complicated. I mean, he's the guy who saved me and he's incredible to look at and he's a sweet guy. He's always trying to take our friendship to the next level of like...dating. But I guess I'm just testing the waters a little bit before I do that." She told him with a little nod. "And he doesn't have a great thinking face like you do, so that's a major drawback" Arabella giggled.
Throughout Arabella's comments on Brett, Hunter could barely speak. He's lying to you! Don't trust him! He's just trying to get into your pants! When she changed topics it took him a second before noticing. Hunter laughed a little then stretched his face. "I didn't even realize I had done that. Brooke doesn't like it, so I try not to do it." He said quietly. "Well, uh...Be careful." He said, clearing his throat a little. "You never know who you can tr-"
"What are you guys talking about?" Brett said, slipping his arms around Arabella's waist and putting his chin on her shoulder. "Anything I should know about? He said, being sure to glare at Hunter.
"None of your business, Wilcox" Arabella said, nudging him with her elbow a little but still smiling. She yawned a little bit, automatically leaning back into Brett a little bit even though she didn't really mean too. But then she felt his arms tighten around her a little bit and she didn't bother pulling away because she was just too darn comfy. "Any plans for the fall, Hunter? Do you go home or stay here?"
Hunter just stared at Brett and Arabella and almost snapped. He could almost feel his eye twitching in rage, but he took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Well, my aunt only wants me around during Thanksgiving and Christmas, so no plans, really." He sighed a little and started picking at the grass. "How about you? Going back home?"
Arabella shook her head, tugging at a loose string on her cut off shorts. "No, not really. I mean, I go home for Christmas and birthdays and all of that but I like to stick around here" She told him with a little shrug. She spent a lot of time at the camp but she didn't mind. Arabella was good with where she was.
"I'll be going home to see my mom. I don't usually spend the whole year here" Brett said and Arabella nodded a little bit, feeling slightly disappointed.
"Where does your mom live?" She asked him.
"She's in Buffalo" Brett told her and Arabella nodded before looking over to Hunter.
"Where is your family from?" She asked him, leaning toward him a little bit.
"England. We come from a long line of English royalty." Hunter got up on one knee and leaned forward for more of a dramatic telling. "A tale of intrigue, action, romance, and treachery. It all started in the Noble district of--"
"She's talking about here." Brett interrupted, looking a little annoyed. Hunter sat back down and cleared his throat.
"Uh...I was born in Connecticut, but my aunt lives in Long Island. Not too far from here." He said with a nod. A lot of people in the Hermes cabin knew not to talk about Hunter's family, so Hunter didn't have to talk about it. It hurt to talk about it.
"Oh, well...I'd love to hear the story from England" Arabella said with a little smile. She took a little breath before looking into the fire. There was a small moment of silence and Arabella was fine with it, but Brett was kind of glaring at Hunter and holding Arabella in a protective way, which she didn't notice. "I'm looking forward to capture the flag this week" she said, breaking the silence.
"Mmm..yeah, it should be good" Brett said softly to her, leaning a bit into her and going to place a kiss on her cheek but she didn't see what he was doing and she sat up a little bit, leaning towards Hunter with a grin on her face.
"Yep. I promised Hunter that I would kick his butt in this game" Arabella said, wiggling her eyebrows "And I always keep my promises" She added in a mock serious voice.
"I don't remember that." Hunter said, laughing a little bit. "I distinctly remember that you needed some guy to save you from a...Jake!" Hunter shouted over to Jake who turned his head toward him. "What was it that we heard Brett saved Arabella from?"
"Oh, it was a band of roving Cyclops savages." Jake said with a laugh. Hunter looked up at Brett and smiled a little.
"Now, what actually happened?" He said, tilting his head to the right a little.
Brett took a breath, giving Arabella a squeeze and holding her closer to him. "Well, there weren't any Cyclops savages" He said with a chuckle and Arabella laughed.
"Really though...some people really know how to spin a story. They make you seem like some mega-hero or something" Arabella giggled, placing a hand on his knee. Even though she was taking it slow with Brett, she was still amazed by him. He had saved her from those two kids and she was thankful for that.
"I had seen Arabella in the woods, and-" Brett started but Arabella got excited and cut him off.
"I was in the woods and these two kids just jumped out at me. I was totally stunned and I had no idea what to do but Brett just jumps in out of nowhere and takes them out, even though they're his brothers. He checks to see if I'm okay and then leaves" Arabella said, a smile on her face.
Hunter raised an eyebrow. "Is that right, Brett?" Hunter said, a small smile on his face. Brett looked at Arabella then nodded.
"Yeah. Arabella tells the story so well." He said, giving her a squeeze.
"Well, it's interesting because I talked to a child of Athena that said that her and her brother had Arabella when someone came out of nowhere and took them out." Hunter said before clearing his throat. "Not to say you're lying, but I'm just curious what you think about that."
Arabella looked over at Brett with a confused look on her face. She hadn't really been sure who had attacked her but Brett had told her that it was his brothers. Was he lying to her? Brett kept his calm smile on his face and shrugged. He looked fine with all of this. "My mistake. It was so dark in the woods, it's hard to believe that I saw Arabella at all" He chuckled and looked down at Arabella. Her eyes locked with his and she smiled softly.
"Yeah, I'm sure that it's all just a misunderstanding. I mean, I didn't see him at all. I had no clue that it was him" Arabella shrugged.
"Of course. Of course." Hunter said with a nod. "It was pretty dark. I mean, what if you actually saved someone else or something." He said with a laugh. "Wouldn't that be a strange coincidence?"
"What are we laughing about?" Jake asked, leaning into the conversation.
"I was just laughing about if Brett saved someone else, but they just weren't as popular. Or what if he didn't save anyone at all and he just saw a good opportunity? Wouldn't that be hilarious?" Jake raised an eyebrow at him and cleared his throat.
"Umm...Yeah. I guess." Jake said with a nervous laugh before looking over at Arabella and shrugging.
Arabella looked at Jake with the slightly confused look back on her face. Hunter was acting weird and she had no clue why. It was almost like he was trying to make Brett confess that he was lying or something, which would be totally crazy. "I don't think it would be hilarious" She said softly.
Brett was looking at Hunter with a death glare. He took a breath and shook himself back into his usual, sunny self. "It makes me sick to think of someone lying about that and taking advantage of someone as great as Arabella."
"You're making me blush" She yawned.
Hunter stared at the two of them a second. He had crossed the line and he felt bad. It wasn't his place to get in the way of that. He looked over at Jake and sighed.
"I'm getting a little tired. I think uh...I uh...I'm going to go to bed. Have a good night, you guys." He stood quickly and then left toward the Hermes cabin. As he walked he rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath trying to calm himself down.
"Dude, what is with you?" Jake said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You kind of went crazy right there."
"Sorry. It's just a little..bothersome."
"What is?"
"Nothing. I'm just really tired. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Jake." Hunter said before turning toward his cabin.
"Dude, stop. Tell me. What in the world is bothering you so much?" Jake said, blocking his way to the cabin. "Do you have something against Brett or something?"
"Yeah! Yeah, I do!" Hunter said finally. Jake looked at him a second then stepped backward, leaning on the railing.
"You're jealous of him. You like Arabella and that's why you're angry at Brett."
"No, I'm angry at Brett because I'm the one who saved Arabella last Friday!"
"Mmm..bed sounds really good" Arabella said in a low voice, closing her eyes for a few moments. She took a deep breath, happy to be where she was. Hunter was talking to her again and she really like the guy who had his arms around her. "Walk me to my cabin?"
"Of course" Brett said, standing up and helping Arabella stand up. She brushed her hands off on her shorts before she started to walk back to the Aphrodite cabin. They walked in silence for a few moments and then Arabella felt Brett take her hand, holding it gently. She looked up at him and smiled but she didn't let go.
"I had a good day" She said softly and Brett smiled, nodding.
"Yeah, so did I" Brett said and he took a deep breath when they got to her cabin, turning to look at her. He got a little goofy grin and he leaned down towards her a little bit. "Do I get a goodnight kiss?"
"Hmm.." Arabella looked up at him with a thoughtful face then leaned towards him, placing a little kiss on his nose. "Good night" She said with a giggle and waved at him before turning and walking into her cabin.
"What do you mean, you're the one who saved Arabella?" Jake asked in disbelief.
"I was in a tree, watching her walk through. Then two Athena kids charged her. She fell. I took the two kids out and saved her then got nervous and ran off." Hunter said quietly, burying his face in his hands.
"Dude...I don't believe you." Hunter rolled his eyes.
"Think about it. I know all the details. I can give you everything that was said. I can give you every single detail. And do you really think Brett would get nervous and run away?" Hunter said, pointing over to the campfire. "It was me. I'm not lying."
"Why don't you tell her then?" Jake said, leaning forward. "The longer she sticks with that douche, the more it's going to hurt when she finds out he's been lying."
"And say what? 'So, Brett wasn't the one who saved you. How do I know? Oh, uh...I was in the vicinity.'" Hunter rolled his eyes. "I can't tell her without letting her know it was me and if I do that, things with Brooke and I are absolutely over. I can't let her know it was me, but she needs to know that it wasn't Brett. I don't know what to do, Jake. I have no clue."
Chapter 17: Hunter
Most of the day was strange. Considering the previous day, it was a little surprising how calm the day was. Part of the oddity was how pleasant Brooke was. Unlike usual, she was fun and sweet and Hunter didn't at all mind hanging out with her. She was even able to distract him away from Arabella. He hated how wrong it felt. It bothered him that she wouldn't even let him defend himself. On top of that, it was a little difficult to hang out with Brooke when it made him think about everything that had happened at the party and before. It wasn't until dinner when things got really troublesome.
"Dude, what a lucky girl." Chelsea, Hunter's sister said with a sigh. "That's so fucking romantic. A guy saving you, but you don't know who it is." Hunter sat down next to her, hearing what she said.
"What are you talking about?" He asked before ordering Vanilla Coke from his cup. Chelsea turned toward him.
"That party last night?" She said in a hushed tone, leaning forward. "Apparently, Arabella Foster, over in Aphrodite Cabin, was saved during the last capture the flag game. From what I heard, she was attacked by a bunch of hellhounds or some shit and she fell down or something and this guy just like leaps out of a tree like some fucking ninja and kills them all." Hunter swallowed nervously. Everyone knew now? At least, they had no idea what actually happened.
"Oh, yeah?" Hunter said quietly.
"Yeah. This guy makes sure she's okay and then runs off. What a dumbass, really." She said with a roll of her eyes before turning back to her food. Hunter looked down at his food and tried to hide his eyes a little. It was only a couple of minutes before he heard a tray slammed onto the table across from him.
"Brett. Fucking. Wilcox." Jake said angrily. Hunter raised an eyebrow.
"Kid from Apollo, right? What about him?" Hunter said quietly.
"He's the guy who saved her. Who saved Arabella. It's Brett Wilcox." Jake said with a sigh.
"No, it's not." Hunter said without thinking. Jake raised an eyebrow at him.
"What? He just admitted it to Arabella and they've basically been talking ever since." He said with a sigh. Hunter put his hands on his face a moment.
"Uhh...Well, what if he's....lying...or something. I don't know."
"Either way, though. Have you seen Brett Wilcox?"
"That guy is fucking gorgeous!" Chelsea said with a gasp. "Apparently, he's a model in the winter. That boy is...majestic." She said, biting her lip a little.
Exactly. If she has a choice between gorgeous, majestic, model, hero, Brett Wilcox and short, average, prankster, Jake, who do you think she's going to pick?" Hunter rubbed his eyes.
"I really don't want to talk about this." Hunter said with a nod. "I mean, you're kind of assuming Arabella would choose someone she just officially met over someone she's gotten to know and seemingly enjoys hanging out with." He pushed his tray to the middle of the table. "And I have a feeling that it's not going to work out with Brett." Hunter said, reaching over and patting Jake on the arm.
"I with I could be as optimistic as you are..." He said quietly, running his hand through his hair.
"Come on. Just...try not to think about it. I couldn't really see you with Arabella anyway." Hunter said with a nod. "You're too good for her. Alright, well, I'm suppose to be meeting Brooke-"
"Hey, there, cutie." Brooke said, appearing behind Hunter and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You ready?" Hunter stood, holding onto her arms and pulling her onto his back. He turned then set her down on the bench.
"Yep. Let me just take care of my tray." He said with a smile before leaning up and kissing her lightly on the lips. He reached around her and grabbed his tray. "If you're super nice, I might have Brooke try and hook you up with one of her sisters. One that's even hotter than Arabella." Hunter said quietly to Jake before nodding at him and then pulling away again. "Alright. Let's go." He said, offering her his arm. Brooke giggled a little and took it then together they walked out, after Hunter dropped off his tray.
"How was dinner?" She asked, leaning into him a little.
"It was only okay. We basically just talked about all this commotion with Arabella." Hunter said. He let out a quiet chuckle, realizing it was kind of all his fault. "There's her knight in shining armor now." He said, pointing toward Brett and Arabella who were walking away from the beach and talking.
"Wow...He is...gorgeous." Brooke said with a sigh. Hunter looked over at her and sighed a little, feeling betrayed. "Arabella is a lucky girl. Not as lucky as I am though." She said with a giggle before leaning up and kissing his cheek. Hunter laughed.
"Oh, you're too kind, my dear." He said with a laugh before sitting down near the campfire. She lowered herself down in front of him and leaned backward into Hunter's open arms. "Mmm...You smell good." He said quietly before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her a little closer. She giggled and put her hands on top of his.
"Shh...Chiron's about to talk."
Chapter 16: Arabella
Arabella pushed her sunglasses on her face as she walked towards the dining pavilion for lunch time. The morning felt long for her and that was something that she wasn't used to. All morning long, she was hearing giggles from girls and she was getting winks from guys. Daniel still held onto the idea that it was a good thing that people knew but Arabella just felt uncomfortable. As soon as she got her lunch, she walked over and sat down at the end of the table.
Luckily, Daniel was busy with a friend of his, so Arabella could spend a bit of time alone. She figured that the smaller she made herself, the better. Arabella had always been a bit of a social butterfly and the fact that she was trying to avoid everyone was very strange. But she was worried about everything. She tried to think of something else, something to take her mind off of the secret that had gotten out.
So her mind drifted to Hunter. Arabella thought about the way that he had tried to talk to her and her stomach got all tight. He had tried to speak to her earlier in the day but she didn't want to hear it. In all honesty, she was still upset but she wasn't really angry anymore. Arabella was disappointed and she was let down. She wanted Hunter to be different from most of the other guys at camp. Maybe she was wrong, maybe it was all just a big mistake but she didn't think so.
Arabella let out a sigh and she leaned forward a little bit so that she could look at her cup. "Chocolate milk" She said softly to her cup and took a sip as soon as it filled up with the smooth liquid. She looked around the camp, smiling lightly at a few people who waved at her. It was nice to see everyone talking and laughing with each other.
She looked down at her full plate and she picked at it a little bit but she wasn't really hungry. So, like just that morning, Arabella tossed most of her food into the fire before moving on. The Aphrodite cabin had arts and crafts next and Arabella was excited. Her afternoon was going to look a lot better than her morning since it was going to be pretty quiet.
Arts and crafts went by really fast and Arabella had a good time. She walked out of there feeling rather relaxed and a bit happier. During the time that she was there, Arabella was able to keep to herself and she got to do a bit of painting, which always relaxed her. After she was done with that, her cabin had to do cabin clean-up but that was always easy for them. The Aphrodite kids kept their cabin so clean, it was almost like free time for them. Arabella sat down next to Danny, helping him organize his box of accessories. She didn't need to talk to much and Daniel was okay with that. He loved being able to throw all of the gossip that he had at her and he loved the fact that she didnt stop him or anything like that.
"So..what do we have after this?" Daniel asked her and Arabella looked up at him, yawning softly.
"Uhm...everyone in camp has free time after this, like usual" Arabella said with a little giggle, smiling up at her brother. When it came to gossip, Daniel could remember every little detail. But when it came to something simple, like the camp schedule, Daniel had swiss cheese brain. "And then we have dinner"
"Free time will be fantastic" Daniel said with a happy little sigh and he leaned back on his bed. Arabella looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "What? The party last night was not just so that we could find you a boyfriend, sweet cheeks" He said and Arabella laughed.
"Yeah, okay..." Arabella stood up and walked over to her bed, pulling her hair out of the pony tail and letting the curls fall around her shoulders. She grabbed a folder out of her trunk and sat down "So, I can assume that you met someone last night?"
"Yes. Well, I already knew him but we never really spent time together like we did last night"
"Are you seriously going to leave me hanging like that? Details, boy" Arabella laughed and she started flipping through the pages in her folder, getting to the back.
"Oh..he was so cute" Daniel said, letting out a happy sigh. "We talked for a little bit and we danced and we kissed" He giggled and Arabella grinned over at him.
"So, you're going to see him during free time?"
"Of course!" Daniel squeaked and Arabella smiled softly at him, putting her newest paintings in the back of the folder.
"What about you, missy?" Daniel asked. She looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. "What are you doing during free time? Going to go find the man of your dreams?"
"No. I'm going down to the beach so that I can read a magazine and try to ignore everyone" Arabella nodded and she grabbed a canvas tote from her trunk, tossing a few magazines inside of it with a pair of sunglasses and small cardigan.
"I don't understand why you're so upset about all of this. You're going to meet your dream guy..I'm sure of it" Daniel said and Arabella huffed, tugging her bag on her shoulder. Not long after, they were able to have some free time and Arabella quickly walked outside, headed towards the beach. She passed Hunter as he walked out of his cabin, but she tried to ignore him as best as she could.
Arabella flopped down in the sand, looking out over the water. Far off in the distance, Arabella could see a storm. Of course, it was never going to enter the camp grounds but that made her a little sad. She would have loved to be caught in the middle of a rain storm. With a little sigh, she tugged an issue of Vogue out of her bag and she started to flip through it.
"Mind if I sit here?" A deep voice asked and Arabella turner her head quickly to look up at the person who had bothered her. He was tall and muscular and he had tanned skin with light freckles, like he spent a ton of time outside. His hair was messy and a deep golden blonde. There was a tiny little smirk on his face and as Arabella looked up at him, she couldn't help herself and there was no way around it. He was a stunning human being.
"I, uh..sure" Arabella cleared her throat and she sat up a bit straighter, tucking her legs under her. Suddenly, she felt very self conscious. She pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear and she gave him a little smirk, matching his.
"How rude of me..I did'nt even introduce myself" The guy said in a confident voice. He seemed very sure of himself and very comfortable in his own skin. He knew that he was a total babe but he didn't seem to be too full of himself. He seemed like an okay guy. "My name is Brett Wilcox. Son of Apollo"
"Arabella. Daughter of-"
"Aphrodite. I know" Brett said and Arabella raised an eyebrow at him. He laughed and rolled his eyes at himself. "I'm not a stalker. I promise. I just saw you walking out of your cabin earlier. Besides, everyone in camp know who Arabella Foster is"
"Mmm..wonderful" Arabella said with a little roll of her eyes but the smile stayed on her face.
"So, Arabella Foster, how has your day been?" Brett asked, leaning back on his hands.
"It's looking up" She told him, glancing out to the water for a moment. "How has your day been, Brett Wilcox?"
"Delightful" Brett grinned and Arabella glanced over at him quickly. The two of them sat in silence for a little while, making Arabella more confused than ever. Why was this stunning man on the beach with Arabella? It didn't make any sense to her.
"I haven't been totally honest with you" Brett said suddenly and Arabella looked at him with cautious eyes. "There is a reason why I wanted to sit with you. I just...I just didnt know how to go about bringing it up. I mean...it's not that big of a deal or anything but it's not like it's something that you just blurt out. Who does that? I mean, you really need-"
"Oh, shut up and tell me" Arabella sighed and Brett smiled at her.
"I'm the guy who saved you last week"
Luckily, Daniel was busy with a friend of his, so Arabella could spend a bit of time alone. She figured that the smaller she made herself, the better. Arabella had always been a bit of a social butterfly and the fact that she was trying to avoid everyone was very strange. But she was worried about everything. She tried to think of something else, something to take her mind off of the secret that had gotten out.
So her mind drifted to Hunter. Arabella thought about the way that he had tried to talk to her and her stomach got all tight. He had tried to speak to her earlier in the day but she didn't want to hear it. In all honesty, she was still upset but she wasn't really angry anymore. Arabella was disappointed and she was let down. She wanted Hunter to be different from most of the other guys at camp. Maybe she was wrong, maybe it was all just a big mistake but she didn't think so.
Arabella let out a sigh and she leaned forward a little bit so that she could look at her cup. "Chocolate milk" She said softly to her cup and took a sip as soon as it filled up with the smooth liquid. She looked around the camp, smiling lightly at a few people who waved at her. It was nice to see everyone talking and laughing with each other.
She looked down at her full plate and she picked at it a little bit but she wasn't really hungry. So, like just that morning, Arabella tossed most of her food into the fire before moving on. The Aphrodite cabin had arts and crafts next and Arabella was excited. Her afternoon was going to look a lot better than her morning since it was going to be pretty quiet.
Arts and crafts went by really fast and Arabella had a good time. She walked out of there feeling rather relaxed and a bit happier. During the time that she was there, Arabella was able to keep to herself and she got to do a bit of painting, which always relaxed her. After she was done with that, her cabin had to do cabin clean-up but that was always easy for them. The Aphrodite kids kept their cabin so clean, it was almost like free time for them. Arabella sat down next to Danny, helping him organize his box of accessories. She didn't need to talk to much and Daniel was okay with that. He loved being able to throw all of the gossip that he had at her and he loved the fact that she didnt stop him or anything like that.
"So..what do we have after this?" Daniel asked her and Arabella looked up at him, yawning softly.
"Uhm...everyone in camp has free time after this, like usual" Arabella said with a little giggle, smiling up at her brother. When it came to gossip, Daniel could remember every little detail. But when it came to something simple, like the camp schedule, Daniel had swiss cheese brain. "And then we have dinner"
"Free time will be fantastic" Daniel said with a happy little sigh and he leaned back on his bed. Arabella looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "What? The party last night was not just so that we could find you a boyfriend, sweet cheeks" He said and Arabella laughed.
"Yeah, okay..." Arabella stood up and walked over to her bed, pulling her hair out of the pony tail and letting the curls fall around her shoulders. She grabbed a folder out of her trunk and sat down "So, I can assume that you met someone last night?"
"Yes. Well, I already knew him but we never really spent time together like we did last night"
"Are you seriously going to leave me hanging like that? Details, boy" Arabella laughed and she started flipping through the pages in her folder, getting to the back.
"Oh..he was so cute" Daniel said, letting out a happy sigh. "We talked for a little bit and we danced and we kissed" He giggled and Arabella grinned over at him.
"So, you're going to see him during free time?"
"Of course!" Daniel squeaked and Arabella smiled softly at him, putting her newest paintings in the back of the folder.
"What about you, missy?" Daniel asked. She looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. "What are you doing during free time? Going to go find the man of your dreams?"
"No. I'm going down to the beach so that I can read a magazine and try to ignore everyone" Arabella nodded and she grabbed a canvas tote from her trunk, tossing a few magazines inside of it with a pair of sunglasses and small cardigan.
"I don't understand why you're so upset about all of this. You're going to meet your dream guy..I'm sure of it" Daniel said and Arabella huffed, tugging her bag on her shoulder. Not long after, they were able to have some free time and Arabella quickly walked outside, headed towards the beach. She passed Hunter as he walked out of his cabin, but she tried to ignore him as best as she could.
Arabella flopped down in the sand, looking out over the water. Far off in the distance, Arabella could see a storm. Of course, it was never going to enter the camp grounds but that made her a little sad. She would have loved to be caught in the middle of a rain storm. With a little sigh, she tugged an issue of Vogue out of her bag and she started to flip through it.
"Mind if I sit here?" A deep voice asked and Arabella turner her head quickly to look up at the person who had bothered her. He was tall and muscular and he had tanned skin with light freckles, like he spent a ton of time outside. His hair was messy and a deep golden blonde. There was a tiny little smirk on his face and as Arabella looked up at him, she couldn't help herself and there was no way around it. He was a stunning human being.
"I, uh..sure" Arabella cleared her throat and she sat up a bit straighter, tucking her legs under her. Suddenly, she felt very self conscious. She pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear and she gave him a little smirk, matching his.
"How rude of me..I did'nt even introduce myself" The guy said in a confident voice. He seemed very sure of himself and very comfortable in his own skin. He knew that he was a total babe but he didn't seem to be too full of himself. He seemed like an okay guy. "My name is Brett Wilcox. Son of Apollo"
"Arabella. Daughter of-"
"Aphrodite. I know" Brett said and Arabella raised an eyebrow at him. He laughed and rolled his eyes at himself. "I'm not a stalker. I promise. I just saw you walking out of your cabin earlier. Besides, everyone in camp know who Arabella Foster is"
"Mmm..wonderful" Arabella said with a little roll of her eyes but the smile stayed on her face.
"So, Arabella Foster, how has your day been?" Brett asked, leaning back on his hands.
"It's looking up" She told him, glancing out to the water for a moment. "How has your day been, Brett Wilcox?"
"Delightful" Brett grinned and Arabella glanced over at him quickly. The two of them sat in silence for a little while, making Arabella more confused than ever. Why was this stunning man on the beach with Arabella? It didn't make any sense to her.
"I haven't been totally honest with you" Brett said suddenly and Arabella looked at him with cautious eyes. "There is a reason why I wanted to sit with you. I just...I just didnt know how to go about bringing it up. I mean...it's not that big of a deal or anything but it's not like it's something that you just blurt out. Who does that? I mean, you really need-"
"Oh, shut up and tell me" Arabella sighed and Brett smiled at her.
"I'm the guy who saved you last week"
Chapter 15: Hunter
Hunter had weird dreams that night. He couldn't remember all of them, but that's because it was more like a series of pictures. Like snapshots. He didn't recognize what they were or what relevancy they had. There was a wolf and a small pig. Some classic cars. A house that he didn't recognize. A small girl with blonde hair. She reminded Hunter of someone, but he couldn't place it. He saw a bow and arrow being fired. The whole time he felt like he could smell vanilla and the faint scent of roses. the whole series just gave him an overwhelming sense of happiness. He wasn't sure what it was or what it meant, but he really didn't mind it.
However, when he woke up it all went away and the events of the previous night came back. He had a nice time when he wasn't taking care of Brooke and he loved his night until he thought about the look on Arabella's face when she thought that he had taken advantage of Brooke. He didn't do anything, but it hurt a little to see that she would assume that he would do something as despicable as that.
Hunter rolled out of bed and to his feet before stretching a little, trying to wake himself up. He slipped on a pair of shorts and a camp t-shirt then sat down to pull on his shoes when he felt his bed shake and then heard something fall behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Jake lying on the ground, wrapped in his sheets. He groaned and then opened his eyes, finally waking up.
"When did we decide I was sleeping on the top bunk?" Jake said, pulling himself to his feet. He clumsily put his sheet back onto his bed then turned to his clothing.
"I don't know, really. I was here first, though, so...deal with it." He said, tying his shoes. "Well, I'm going to breakfast. I need to see if Brooke remembers what happened last night." He said before standing up and heading to the door.
"Wait, hold up. I'll be ready in like 2 seconds." He said, running his hands through his hair and looking through his clothes. Hunter sighed.
"Dude, I'm just going to breakfast. I'll see you-"
"Ready. Let's go." Jake said, appearing next to Hunter. Hunter shook away the slight surprise at how quickly Jake got dressed then headed out the door.
"I'll always wonder how you do that." Hunter said with a laugh.
"My mom is an improv actress. She's supposed to be good at changing clothes quickly. She showed me tricks." Jake said with a shrug. "Don't be jealous. I'm awesome. No big deal." Hunter rolled his eyes as they finally walked into the dining hall. Hunter scanned the room real quick to see if Brooke was there. He caught a glare from Arabella just as Brooke entered his view.
"Hey, Hunter." She said with a smile, wrapping her arms around his neck. Hunter smiled softly at her. He was worried that she might be mad at him for turning her down the night before. She smiled up at him and kissed him lightly on the lips. After a second her face changed to a more pensive one. "Hunter, I'm really sorry about last night. You didn't have to take care of me like that, but you did and I umm...I really appreciate it." She said with a grin. Hunter leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Well, it's not a problem." He said quietly with a smile. He took her hand and got in line with her. "How much exactly do you remember?" He asked a little hesitantly.
"I remember a lot of drinking." She said quietly. "Then I remember dancing and I remember throwing up." She said, sticking her tongue out. She thought for a second and took a deep breath. "Everything else is kind of hazy though. I do remember you taking care of me though." She said, smiling up at him. "And you were smart enough to hang up my dress for me. If I had slept in that dress, I would have been SO mad." She said, grabbing her tray and her cup. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "See you in a while." Hunter nodded and smiled before heading to his table where he took a seat across from Jake.
"Well, she doesn't remember. She says everything is a little hazy except dancing, drinking, and throwing up." Hunter said with a sigh. He had gotten so close to being friends with Arabella which isn't as close as he would really like to be, but now he had lost all of that. Just because of some stupid misunderstanding. He ordered cranberry juice from his cup then took a sip before pushing his food around a little.
"Why is this bothering you so much? I mean, she went from not knowing who you were to being your acquaintance to not liking you. As far as Physics and displacement goes, you really didn't travel all that far." Jake said, patting his arm. "And it's not like this effects me all that much, so don't worry." Hunter turned his head a little.
"Think about this. Arabella thinks that I had sex with Brooke while she was drunk. She tells someone who tells someone else who tells someone else who tells Brooke who doesn't remember what happened last night who then thinks that I had sex with her while she was drunk. Brooke, then, breaks up with me and blacklists the rest of the Hermes cabin especially to Arabella." Hunter explained, leaning forward on the table slightly. "So, yes. It does effect you. Including your very selfish attitude." He said before taking a small bite of his food. Jake put his hands up in surrender.
"Fine, then what are you going to do?" He asked with a shrug. Hunter took a deep breath.
"I don't know what to do. I don't know what I can do." He said with a shrug. "How do you convince someone that you're not lying when she assumes you're lying and you're the only one who knows you're not lying?" He said, running his fingers through his hair. Hunter and Jake finished eating then stood, took care of their trays, and left.
"Hunter, hold on, studly." Hunter turned just as Brooke appeared in front of him. She leaned up on her toes, keeping a hand on his chest, and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Have a good day. I'll miss you." She said with a smile and for a second, Hunter actually believed her. He put a hand on her side lightly then pulled her in for a quick kiss on the lips.
"Find me before lunch, okay?" He said with a smile. She winked at him before finally pulling away from him. Hunter watched her leave and smiled when she looked back at him to see if he was watching her leave.
"Is it just me or is she a complete non-bitch today?" Jake said, appearing next to Hunter.
"It certainly looks that way." Hunter said with a laugh. "I'm definitely not going to look a gift horse in the mouth though. Come on. We have Ancient Greek." Hunter said before noticing a familiar head of blonde hair walk by. "Arabella, wait." He said before catching up to her. He stood in front of her. "Arabella, look. I promise you that I didn't-" She scoffed and shoved past him before he could finish.
"What was that?" Jake said, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I thought I'd give it a shot." He said with a sigh. "I guess, we should go now." He said, heading toward the meadow. After a few short moments of walking, they arrived and sat down, waiting for Chiron to start teaching.
"Why do we actually learn Ancient Greek?" Jake said with a shrug. "We're the only people who speak Ancient Greek nowadays."
"I don't know. Maybe they're worried that we'll travel back in time or something." Hunter said. People around him laughed, but the person right next to Hunter laughed loudest. He looked over and saw Marina smiling at him. "I'm glad somebody liked it." He said with a chuckle, only to be met with another loud laugh from Marina.
"Alright. Today, we'll be doing conversational Greek." Chiron said, putting his hands together a moment. "However, to mix things up, turn to your usual partner then turn the other way and partner with them." Hunter's eyes widened a little when he realized that meant he was partnering with Marina. Hunter gave a small nervous smile to Marina who grinned back at him. "Let's begin. Now start with introductions, even if you already know the other person." Hunter laughed a little nervously.
"Uh...Hi. I'm Hunter, the son of Hermes." Hunter stammered out, his language a bit clumsy.
"I know." She said with a smile. "Umm...I mean...I'm Marina, daughter of Hephaestus."
"Great. Nice to meet you."
However, when he woke up it all went away and the events of the previous night came back. He had a nice time when he wasn't taking care of Brooke and he loved his night until he thought about the look on Arabella's face when she thought that he had taken advantage of Brooke. He didn't do anything, but it hurt a little to see that she would assume that he would do something as despicable as that.
Hunter rolled out of bed and to his feet before stretching a little, trying to wake himself up. He slipped on a pair of shorts and a camp t-shirt then sat down to pull on his shoes when he felt his bed shake and then heard something fall behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Jake lying on the ground, wrapped in his sheets. He groaned and then opened his eyes, finally waking up.
"When did we decide I was sleeping on the top bunk?" Jake said, pulling himself to his feet. He clumsily put his sheet back onto his bed then turned to his clothing.
"I don't know, really. I was here first, though, so...deal with it." He said, tying his shoes. "Well, I'm going to breakfast. I need to see if Brooke remembers what happened last night." He said before standing up and heading to the door.
"Wait, hold up. I'll be ready in like 2 seconds." He said, running his hands through his hair and looking through his clothes. Hunter sighed.
"Dude, I'm just going to breakfast. I'll see you-"
"Ready. Let's go." Jake said, appearing next to Hunter. Hunter shook away the slight surprise at how quickly Jake got dressed then headed out the door.
"I'll always wonder how you do that." Hunter said with a laugh.
"My mom is an improv actress. She's supposed to be good at changing clothes quickly. She showed me tricks." Jake said with a shrug. "Don't be jealous. I'm awesome. No big deal." Hunter rolled his eyes as they finally walked into the dining hall. Hunter scanned the room real quick to see if Brooke was there. He caught a glare from Arabella just as Brooke entered his view.
"Hey, Hunter." She said with a smile, wrapping her arms around his neck. Hunter smiled softly at her. He was worried that she might be mad at him for turning her down the night before. She smiled up at him and kissed him lightly on the lips. After a second her face changed to a more pensive one. "Hunter, I'm really sorry about last night. You didn't have to take care of me like that, but you did and I umm...I really appreciate it." She said with a grin. Hunter leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Well, it's not a problem." He said quietly with a smile. He took her hand and got in line with her. "How much exactly do you remember?" He asked a little hesitantly.
"I remember a lot of drinking." She said quietly. "Then I remember dancing and I remember throwing up." She said, sticking her tongue out. She thought for a second and took a deep breath. "Everything else is kind of hazy though. I do remember you taking care of me though." She said, smiling up at him. "And you were smart enough to hang up my dress for me. If I had slept in that dress, I would have been SO mad." She said, grabbing her tray and her cup. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "See you in a while." Hunter nodded and smiled before heading to his table where he took a seat across from Jake.
"Well, she doesn't remember. She says everything is a little hazy except dancing, drinking, and throwing up." Hunter said with a sigh. He had gotten so close to being friends with Arabella which isn't as close as he would really like to be, but now he had lost all of that. Just because of some stupid misunderstanding. He ordered cranberry juice from his cup then took a sip before pushing his food around a little.
"Why is this bothering you so much? I mean, she went from not knowing who you were to being your acquaintance to not liking you. As far as Physics and displacement goes, you really didn't travel all that far." Jake said, patting his arm. "And it's not like this effects me all that much, so don't worry." Hunter turned his head a little.
"Think about this. Arabella thinks that I had sex with Brooke while she was drunk. She tells someone who tells someone else who tells someone else who tells Brooke who doesn't remember what happened last night who then thinks that I had sex with her while she was drunk. Brooke, then, breaks up with me and blacklists the rest of the Hermes cabin especially to Arabella." Hunter explained, leaning forward on the table slightly. "So, yes. It does effect you. Including your very selfish attitude." He said before taking a small bite of his food. Jake put his hands up in surrender.
"Fine, then what are you going to do?" He asked with a shrug. Hunter took a deep breath.
"I don't know what to do. I don't know what I can do." He said with a shrug. "How do you convince someone that you're not lying when she assumes you're lying and you're the only one who knows you're not lying?" He said, running his fingers through his hair. Hunter and Jake finished eating then stood, took care of their trays, and left.
"Hunter, hold on, studly." Hunter turned just as Brooke appeared in front of him. She leaned up on her toes, keeping a hand on his chest, and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Have a good day. I'll miss you." She said with a smile and for a second, Hunter actually believed her. He put a hand on her side lightly then pulled her in for a quick kiss on the lips.
"Find me before lunch, okay?" He said with a smile. She winked at him before finally pulling away from him. Hunter watched her leave and smiled when she looked back at him to see if he was watching her leave.
"Is it just me or is she a complete non-bitch today?" Jake said, appearing next to Hunter.
"It certainly looks that way." Hunter said with a laugh. "I'm definitely not going to look a gift horse in the mouth though. Come on. We have Ancient Greek." Hunter said before noticing a familiar head of blonde hair walk by. "Arabella, wait." He said before catching up to her. He stood in front of her. "Arabella, look. I promise you that I didn't-" She scoffed and shoved past him before he could finish.
"What was that?" Jake said, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I thought I'd give it a shot." He said with a sigh. "I guess, we should go now." He said, heading toward the meadow. After a few short moments of walking, they arrived and sat down, waiting for Chiron to start teaching.
"Why do we actually learn Ancient Greek?" Jake said with a shrug. "We're the only people who speak Ancient Greek nowadays."
"I don't know. Maybe they're worried that we'll travel back in time or something." Hunter said. People around him laughed, but the person right next to Hunter laughed loudest. He looked over and saw Marina smiling at him. "I'm glad somebody liked it." He said with a chuckle, only to be met with another loud laugh from Marina.
"Alright. Today, we'll be doing conversational Greek." Chiron said, putting his hands together a moment. "However, to mix things up, turn to your usual partner then turn the other way and partner with them." Hunter's eyes widened a little when he realized that meant he was partnering with Marina. Hunter gave a small nervous smile to Marina who grinned back at him. "Let's begin. Now start with introductions, even if you already know the other person." Hunter laughed a little nervously.
"Uh...Hi. I'm Hunter, the son of Hermes." Hunter stammered out, his language a bit clumsy.
"I know." She said with a smile. "Umm...I mean...I'm Marina, daughter of Hephaestus."
"Great. Nice to meet you."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)