Arabella quickly pinned a few loose pieces of her hait behind her ear and looked around the table at the rest of the Aphrodite cabin. She took a deep breath, her stomach knotted up with excitment and anxiety. Capture the flag was going to start any minute and she was looking forward to it. With a little sigh, she glanced over at Daniel and gave him a grin.
"You are such a loser" Daniel said with a little pout. He hated capture the flag. Arabella laughed and finished off her drink, gently placing the glass on the table. She looked around at the other tables, glancing at a few of the kids and thinking about the upcoming game.
Hunter had kind of drifted through the day and found himself at dinner. As the day went on, he couldn't get over what Brooke had said to him and the fact that Brooke had said anything to him at all. He also thought about the girl that was on the out of control pegasus earlier. He didn't see her at lunch or dinner and he was going to ask her if she was okay. He had found himself trying to catch the gaze of Brooke just to give her a smile when the mop of brown hair and devious smirk that was Jake blocked his view.
"Just heard the teams for Capture the Flag. Hephaestus, Poseidon, Athena, Dionysus, and Hermes against Ares, Aphrodite, Demeter, Apollo, and the minor gods." Jake said quickly, setting his cup down then sitting across from Hunter.
"Ugh...That's going to suck." Hunter said, shaking himself a little. "Expect another blowout by team Ares."
"That's...a very defeatist attitude." Jake said, standing and heading out of the mess hall.
"I don't know why everyone likes this game so much. I would much rather be sitting by the fire or on my bed or on another boy's bed" Daniel said, gazing off into space. Arabella rolled her eyes and nudged him.
"You sit out of the game the whole time, anyway. You're always just sitting back and watching" Arabella teased and she looked around the buzzing mess hall.
"I don't know why you like it so much" Daniel muttered, itching at a bug bite.
"I like it because it's fun and it's a rush" Arabella said simply and she swatted his hand away from the bite. She let out a sigh then stood up, pulling Daniel beside her. "Come on. Let's go get ready" She said and dragged him with her as they walked out of the mess hall.
Hunter left the mess hall after he finished his food and headed toward the woods. He was less than excited for the game tonight, but he was still going to try. He never was one to back down. He watched some people that he knew walk into the woods and he took his spot.
"Scouting party. Jake. Hunter. You go around the side and scout out. Be quiet and don't be seen. If you can, stick to the trees." Wallace, a very loud son of Athena shouted, before barking out orders to the other campers around him. Hunter turned to Jake.
"Well, let's go." He said, patting him on the shoulder. He quickly drew his sword and got ready, waiting for the horn to sound.
Arabella waved at Daniel before she moved away from him, stepping into woods a bit deeper and getting into position. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to focus. Arabella was never very good with her knife, though she tried very hard. She wanted to be as amazing as some of the other kids at the camp. After a brief moment of silence, she heard the horn sound and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She gripped her knife tightly and she moved through the woods as quietly as she could. Arabella could hear people yelling and swords clashing and she bit her lip, hoping that nothing bad would happen to her.
Hunter and Jake moved quickly through the woods. It was a little surprising how much resistance they didn't find. Usually with close to even numbers like they had, campers were anywhere and everywhere. Hunter swung down from a tree and joined Jake on the ground.
"Do you see anything?" He said quietly, pausing a second to catch his breath. Jake shook his head and sheathed his dagger. "It's kind of odd, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I'll say. Last year, it was a constant effort to not be attacked. It's almost like we should be looking for trouble." Jake glanced around and shook his hair out of his eyes. "Well, I guess we can just keep looking for-"
"The flag! Keep looking for it!" Hunter shot his head around and saw a squad of Apollo kids knocking through the woods. "There!" One of them pointed at Hunter and Jake and the two of them exchanged glances before taking off in opposite directions.
Arabella moved deeper into the woods, wondering why she hadn't really seen anyone yet. She had run into a guy from the other team but she just used her charmspeak and he went away. It was odd to go so long without seeing or really hearing from anyone or anything and it was making her anxious. She held onto her knife tightly out of nerves and she walked quietly, her movments hardly making a sound. Arabella had moved too far into the woods and she didn't even realize it. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a twig breaking on the ground behind her and Arabella whipped around. It was too dark to see who or what it was. She took a shaky breath and lifted her knife up a little bit. "Hello..?" She breathed.
Hunter froze when he heard the quiet hello and peeked around a tree. He saw a very worried looking Arabella Foster, glancing around, trying to find the source of the noise that Hunter had more than likely made. He glanced back and saw that the people chasing him weren't there anymore. He put a hand over his mouth to muffle the sound of him catching his breath. Hunter was tempted to knock her out or to stop her from continuing, but he couldn't stand the idea of hurting her. He finally caught his breath and looked up, pulling himself up onto a low branch and silently watching her from his vantage point.
Arabella took a small breath, biting on her lip. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up and she felt like someone was watching her, but she couldn't place it. It was too dark for her to see very far. After a moment, she built up a little bit of courage and she cleared her throat. "Is anyone there?" She asked, her voice a little shaky. There was a moment of silence that seemed to stretch on for hours then Arabella sighed and she let her hand fall to her side, holding her knife lightly. Before she could react properly, the sound of people running filled the air. Arabella turned around just in time to see a couple Athena kids jump out of the woods towards her. Her heart raced and she ran away from them as quickly as she could but she was not a fast runner and when she did try to move quickly, she got rather clumsy. Her foot got caught on a tree root and the next thing Arabella knew, she was falling to the ground.
Hunter watched as he fell to the ground and without thinking, he swung down and ran up behind one of the Athena campers and knocked them on the head with the butt of his sword. It was dark, so it let him, duck around when the other one turned around and he dodged their sword swing and then kicked them into a tree. He sheathed his sword a second and that's when he realized what he had just done. He looked down at the toppled Arabella and he extended his hand to help her up. "Are you alright?" He asked quietly, wondering if she even knew his name.
Arabella groaned softly and she looked up to see a hand. It was too dark to really see any detail in his face and she didn't know his voice. Part of her was a little hesitant to let him help her up but when she tried to get up on her own, she nearly fainted from the pain in her head. So she took his hand and let him pull her up. "Uhm..yeah..I'll be okay" Arabella said softly and she looked down at her legs, which were covered in mud. She opened her mouth to say something then groaned, feeling dizzy so she sat down and closed her eyes for a moment.
Hunter looked around a moment and then down at the unconscious teammates to his left. "Just take it easy. No need to hurt yourself again." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder. He really didn't want her to find out who he was. Yes, he had just saved her, but he was on the opposing team and for all extents and purposes, he was still looking for the flag. He wasn't sure if she knew who he was or if she thought he was on her team or whatever, but he didn't really want to be around when those two Athena campers woke up. "Charmspeak them back to sleep if they wake up. Good luck in the rest of the game." He said before taking off through the woods again.
Arabella watched as the guy who saved her ran off into the woods. She had no idea who he was but she wanted to get to know him. She wanted to see him face to face and thank him for helping her. Arabella saw that the two Athena kids were starting to move so she jumped up as fast as she could and she started walking back towards camp. She was done with the game and she really just wanted it to be over. She wanted to find out who that guy was. Arabella took a deep breath and she sat down on a log, thinking about what had just happened. Her heart was beating out of her chest. She needed to know him.
Hunter shook himself a little, trying to get his mind off of what had just happened. He shot through the woods and only stopped when he hit the edge of the woods, his toes about 2 feet from sand on the beach. He turned around and that's when he saw the little flap of blue fabric. Hunter leaned down and quickly snatched the flag. He crammed it into the pocket then took a deep breath before tearing off through the woods. The sooner he got to the other side, the sooner this would be over.
Arabella put her hand on her head, running her fingers through her hair. She felt her fingers graze over a little bump and she let out a sigh. Having fallen like that was a little embarrassing and Arabella was looking forward to going to bed that night, although she knew that she probably wouldn't sleep. She would be thinking about the guy that had saved her, thinking over every little detail. Arabella closed her eyes and tried to remember his voice but soon enough, the sounds of cheers rent the air and she knew the game was over. She pushed herself to her feet and she walked out of the woods, wondering who had won.
Hunter lifted the flag into the air and took a deep breath, leaning against a tree and closing his eyes. He had smacked into a tree root and he stumbled more than once over his own feet. He had to shove his way through a line of very scared looking children of Aphrodite to finally cross the line. Hunter was leaned up against a tree when he felt hands lift him up.
"Congratulations on the victory, red team!" Chiron said, stepping into the last bit of sunlight. "Well done, Hunter." Hunter smiled a little at the feeling of glory that he had. He looked around at the very upset members of the other team and smiled a little bit. He was getting some sad looks and some murderous looks. They finally set him down and Hunter was met with an impressed looking Brooke.
"Good game, Hunter." She said with a smile before leaning forward and kissing him tightly on the lips.
Arabella looked around and her shoulder slumped a little when she realized that they had lost. Most of the campers around her looked like they were ready to kill someone. Only the Aprodite cabin seemed to be okay with it. In fact, most of them were giggling at something. Arabella narrowed her eyes and looked over to wear they were pointing. Brooke was kissing some guy. There was something familiar about the shape of his shoulders and the way that he held himself but Arabella was sure that she never met him. "Hey, Danny?" Arabella said, turning around when she heard her brother walk up behind her. He jumped a little bit, like he wasn't expecting her to hear him and he stepped beside her.
"You have got to stop doing that to me. You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days" Daniel said, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Do we know him?" Arabella asked, folding her arms across her chest and nodding over to Hunter and Brooke.
"He's that kid that Caleb tripped yesterday" Daniel scoffed and rolled his eyes. He tugged on her arm and Arabella turned to look at him. "You look gross" He said, wrinkling his nose at all the mud on her legs and her slightly messy hair.
"Gee. Love you too" Arabella grumbled.
Hunter's eyes widened as he felt Brooke's soft lips touch his. It was weird. He enjoyed the kiss, but not as much as he could have considering how surprised he was. Of all the things that he was expecting to have happened, his day turned out to be pretty good overall. When Brooke pulled away, Hunter kind of stood there swaying a little. There was cheering all around them from a lot of people and it was hard to tell what it was for. Hunter shook himself a little and noticed his hands still on Brooke's sides. He wasn't sure how they had gotten there, but he pulled them away quickly, feeling like he was doing something wrong. She laughed at what he assumed was his nervousness and after a second he laughed too.
"What uh...What was that for?" He asked, wringing his hands. He looked around and noticed that the crowd was slowly starting to leave.
"I don't know. Maybe I just kind of like you and I'm just willing to show it." She said with a wink before taking his hand. "Come on. Sit with me at the campfire." Hunter looked around while she started to lead him out of the woods. He felt like he was being pranked or something. Like this was all some big trick.
"Wait, so what's going on?" Hunter said clumsily. Brooke giggled and lightly slapped him on the chest.
"I didn't know you were so funny." Hunter sighed and then followed close behind as they finally exited the woods.
Arabella followed Daniel towards the campfire, smoothing out her hair. She picked a twig that had gotten stuck in her curls and she tossed it onto the ground. Arabella walked over to a crowded place by the fire, in a group of people Arabella knew. With a smile and a few waves, she sat down and started to try and rub some of the dirt off her legs. It was kind of nice to just sit in the group like that. People asked her a few questions and she shared a bit of small talk, but nothing too big. Arabella was happy to just sit and not have to really think. She looked up as she saw Brooke walk towards the campfire with the guy that she was kissing. When she sat down, Arabella scooted a little bit closer and leaned over to grin at Brooke. "Having a good night, Brooke?"
"I'm having a great night" Brooke giggled and she glanced over at Hunter as he nervously sat down. "Have you met Hunter, yet?"
"Uh, no...I haven't" Arabella said and she looked up at Hunter, giving him a warm smile. "My name's Arabella"
Hunter smiled nervously over at Arabella. It seemed like a long time in the making, this one time they were finally introduced. It was funny that it was under these circumstances. He extended his hand, after brushing the dirt off on his shorts, and shook hers.
"I know." He said with a nod. Arabella raised an eyebrow. "I mean to say that I don't know why we haven't met before." He said with a nervous laugh.
"He played quite the hero earlier today. He saved some girl from a crazy pegasus." Brooke said, nudging him a little. Hunter cleared his throat.
"I didn't really do anything." Hunter said, shaking his head at Arabella. Brooke leaned back into him a little and kissed him lightly on the lips.
"He's so modest." She said with a giggle.
Arabella looked at the two of them and raised an eyebrow a little bit at the way Brooke leaned into him. She cleared her throat and pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. "So, uh..how was the game for you?" She asked Hunter, trying to make a bit of conversation.
"He won the game" Brooke said fondly, smiling up at Hunter. Arabella turned her gaze away from Brooke and looked at Hunter with a teasing glint in her eyes.
"Oh..he did, did he?" Arabella giggled and she gave Hunter a little smile. "You should enjoy your pride while you still have it. Because I'm going to kick your butt, next game" She challenged.
Hunter blushed a little at the flattery, but also at how nervous she seemed to make him. "We'll have to see next week, I guess." He said with a sigh. He turned to the fire and felt Brooke lean back into him a little bit more. He looked over at Arabella who looked away. "Hey, Brooke. What's going on here? Are you my, like...girlfriend or something?" Brooke giggled and put a hand on his cheek.
"Hunter, you are too much. You can decide what happens after tonight, but for right now, I'm your girlfriend. You're my boyfriend." She said before leaning up and kissing him again.
Arabella cleared her throat and she looked away from them. She glanced over at Daniel and they shared a look before he passed her a s'more. With a small smile, she took a bite and leaned back, looking up at the sky. Her mind floated back to the guy who had saved her, whoever he was. From beside her, she could hear Brooke talking to Hunter and kissing him and she felt jealous. Arabella wondered where that guy was. He had saved her and she couldn't stop thinking about him. She needed to distract herself for a little while, though. "So, Hunter..what cabin are you in?" She asked, looking over at him and Brooke with curious eyes.
Hunter pulled away a little and Brooke moved forward, breaking the kiss with a small pop. "Hermes cabin. Nothing really special." He said quietly. "How ab-Never mind." He looked down at the ground a moment and then looked over at Brooke. "Anyone else from Aphrodite cabin I should learn? " He asked, running a finger through her hair.
"Mmm..." She cooed, closing her eyes and stretching a little. "No one that I can think of." She said quietly. She took his hand and toyed with them a little. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, you know?"
Arabella chuckled a little awkwardly and she brushed her hands off on her shorts. She didn't really know what to do since Brooke was acting very girlfriendy with Hunter. He seemed like a nice enough guy and she hoped that Brooke wouldn't hurt him but she didn't really know what to say. Arabella looked over at Daniel, who was watching Brooke and Hunter like it was a movie.
"I'm Daniel" He said suddenly, leaning over Arabella to look at Hunter. "When she said 'no one that I can think of' she meant 'my amazing brother, Daniel'" Daniel said with a little nod and he stuck his hand out to shake Hunter's.
Hunter shook Daniel's hand and looked at him for a second. "You know, I've always been curious." He turned a little to face Daniel, pulling his hand away from Brooke who turned a little then laid down, putting her head on his lap. Hunter smiled down at her a second, blushing. "What's it like being a guy in the Aphrodite cabin? I mean, it's basically all hair and make up and stuff, right?" He looked at Daniel who stared at him foa long couple of seconds.
"Well, Arabella, who's the best with hair in the whole wide world, but especially the Aphrodite cabin? Moi. And Brooke, you should really kind of get to know a guy before you start making out with him." Brooke sat up a little to look at Daniel. Hunter felt like he should have been insulted, but he was just kind of letting this run its course.
"Danny, be nice." Brooke said, slugging him in the arm. "Besides, that's real nice coming from you, Danny. I might make out with a guy, but at least I don't sleep with them after knowing them a day like some other people I know." She said, throwing a poignant smirk at Danny and then at Arabella.
"Don't be a bitch, Brooke" Daniel said in a bit of a warning tone and he looked down at Arabella for a moment before looking up at Brooke. "You're not exactly an angel yourself so you better keep your mouth shut unless you want me to tell all of your little secrets to your new boy toy" He said, nodding towards Hunter.
Arabella, however, stayed silent. She was humiliated and she didn't really know what to say. With vivd pink cheeks and a knotted up stomach, Arabella looked into the fire, determined not to catch the eye of Brooke or Hunter or any guy that might look at her. Sure, Arabella knew that people talked about her and most of the campers could tell at least one or two stories about her, but Arabella was hoping that Hunter didn't know any of them. She hated talking about all of that and she hated that Hunter was now going to think of her as easy or whatever.
"Whatever, Danny. You don't want me to be a bitch? Then don't be a bitch." She said, rolling her eyes a little.
"Wow...put your claws away, Brooke. Let's not do this tonight, okay?" Danny said, rolling his eyes. Hunter looked down at Brooke and sighed a little. He liked her and being with her felt good. He knew that this whole thing was going to hit him later, but right now he was just so excited to have a girlfriend. He watched as Brooke laid back down and looked up at him, running a few fingers through his hair.
"It's kind of shaggy." She said with a smile. Hunter raised an eyebrow at her. How could she be angry at one moment and then nice and cute the next? Hunter took a deep breath. "I could give you a haircut if you wanted." She said, running her fingers down across his cheek. Hunter nodded a little and smiled.
"That sounds cool." Hunter said, putting a hand on her stomach and looking up at the campfire.
Arabella yawned a little bit and she quickly ate a s'more before sitting up a bit straighter. "I think that I'm going to bed" She said.
"What? Really?" Daniel looked up at her with a slightly confused look on his face. "It's so early"
"Yeah, I know...I'm just really tired" Arabella said and she reached behind her, taking the hair band out and letting her wavy hair fall around her shoulders. She slipped the hair band on her wrist and stood up, giving Hunter a small smile. "It was really nice to meet you, Hunter" She said softly then turned and walked back towards her cabin as fast as she could without looking like she was running.
"It was nice to...meet you....too." He said, not being able to finish before Arabella left. He contorted his face a little bit as he watched her walk away. He took a deep breath and let out, finally relaxing his face.
"What was that?" Brooke said with a weird look on her face. Hunter paused for a second and chuckled a little nervously.
"I was just uh...thinking." He said, clearing his throat. She laughed and rolled her eyes.
"Well, my dear." She said, sitting up. "Keep the thinking in your head not on your face." She leaned over at him and kissed him tightly on the lips.
"What was that for?" Hunter asked, still not really used to being her boyfriend.
"Because you're mine." She said with a nod. "And you're pretty darn cute." She kissed him again. Just then a guitar started playing. "Oh, the singalong is starting!" She said, grabbing his arm and putting her head on his shoulder. Hunter took a deep breath and looked into the fire.
This is weird.