Hunter sighed a little when the commotion of the cabin finally woke him up. He slept a little restlessly the night before and it was about an hour ago when he had finally gotten comfortable. He pulled his blanket over his face and curled up into a ball to try and block everything out, so he could get some sleep. However, it was only a moment later when he felt the blanket ripped from him and he was stood up. His eyes opened just as he heard the sound of duct tape. He fell backwards onto his bed and then kicked the guy who had stood him up who fell back against another bed. A set of hands grabbed him by the neck and dragged him out the other side of the bed, but Hunter grabbed his hands and walked out into the middle of the cabin. He jumped and landed the guy that was grabbing him.
"Dude, let's just get out of here!" one of them said as Hunter stood up. The other one was still laying there on the ground. The first one made a break for the door, but Hunter grabbed him and ran him head first into one of the beds.
"Who am I dealing with?" Hunter said quietly as he crouched down and removed the ski mask one of them as wearing. "Chad. And..." He walked to the other one and took off his mask. "Billy. What are two kids of Apollo doing trying to prank a kid of Hermes? Unless, you were trying to kidnap me. Then that raises a similar, but different question. Hunter shoved Billy's mask into his mouth then stood him up, shoving him toward the door. "Get out of here. Both of you." Hunter said as he shoved them through the door. Hunter stepped out and watched as they ran off toward their cabin before noticing Jake standing on the porch next to him.
"Huh." Jake said before walking into the cabin. Hunter followed and headed over to his bag. "Should we report that?"
"What Chad and Billy attempting a prank?" Hunter sighed a little as he changed pants. He grabbed a t-shirt and looked over at Jake. "I guess, we should..." He looked at his bed and saw two rolls of duct tape. "We also have something to turn into the storehouse."
"Yeah. Let's just get it over with." Jake said, turning toward the corner of the cabin. They went down the slide and were met once again with Jared.
"Newcomers." Jared said with a nod.
"High Guard Jared." Hunter acknowledged, pounding his chest twice with his fist.
"How many pancakes can you fit on top of a doghouse?"
"Purple, because pastels don't have armpits."
"Welcome. Enjoy your stay at the Stoll-away." Hunter patted Jared on the shoulder then walked past with Jake. They walked to the end of the room and entered into the chancellor's chamber. It was still early in the summer, so it was rare for Stitch to be busy a whole lot.
"Chancellor Stitch." Jake said, patting his chest again. "We have inventory."
"What do you have for me, gentlemen?" Stitch said, moving toward the checklist.
"Two rolls of duct tape."
"Oh, good. We're running low." He quickly marked it down then walked over to them. "And where was it found?"
"Hermes Cabin. Brought there by Billy and Chad in an attempt to prank me." Hunter explained. Stitch nodded a little.
"That was pretty stupid of them. How far'd they get?"
"I kicked them out of the cabin." Hunter said with a little laugh.
"Did you want to call for a counterstrike?" Hunter shook his head. "Alright. Well done." Stitch said with a laugh. "Okay. Well, this will be helping a lot of people. You are dismissed." He said, bowing to them a little. Jake and Hunter bowed back then made their way back out. Hunter finally left the Hermes cabin and headed for the Hephaestus Cabin to pick up Marina.
"Do you think Marina knows any hot girls in her cabin that she'd be willing to set me up with?" Jake asked Hunter as they walked. Hunter paused for a moment before laughing.
"Haha. Hot. Like Hephaestus. The fire god." He said as they stepped onto the porch.
"Okay. Looks like I'll be asking her." Hunter knocked and waited, but there was no answer. "It's noon. Where is she? Wasn't she going to sit with us at lunch?" Hunter nodded a little and looked around when he saw her black hair walking toward him. She was walking with a blonde haired guy. He was thin, but pretty tall and he could tell that they were laughing about something. As Hunter walked closer he saw that it was Kyle from Demeter cabin.
"Oh, hey." Marina said, seeing Hunter on the porch of her cabin. "I'll talk to you later, Kyle." She said, blushing a little.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Marina." Kyle said with a wave before walking away. Hunter watched him go then turned to Marina.
"So...what was that about?" He said, feeling a little twinge of jealousy. Marina and he weren't really the kind of people to get worked up by something like that, but it didn't stop him from feeling a little bit jealous. Despite the fact that she remained calm while he hung out with Arabella.
"We just got done in the arena, so he walked me back to my cabin. It was kind of him." She said with a smile before she slipped her arms around his neck, kissing him lightly on the lips then hugging him.
"Yeah. Okay. Let's go to lunch." He said, taking her hand. As they headed toward the mess hall, Hunter spied Ethan and Arabella coming out of the woods and Hunter's stomach clenched a little nervously. Then he noticed the look on Arabella's face and he felt a little relief. It was selfish, but he'd never forgive himself if she didn't find out soon.
"We have capture the flag, tomorrow, right?" Jake asked as they walked into the mess hall.
"Yeah, but we're on opposing teams." Marina said with a sigh.
"Oh, I suppose Kyle is on your team?" Hunter said, grabbing two trays. Marina elbowed him in the ribs.
"Oh, calm down." She said with a laugh. "And yes. He is." Hunter bumped her with his hip then started filling the trays up. "I wonder where Ethan and Arabella are." Marina said quietly.
"I saw them by the woods. I don't anticipate them wanting to eat with us though." Hunter said with a nod. "Just a guess."
"Well, let's go outside and find out, shall we?" Marina said with a wink before taking her tray from Hunter. The three of them grabbed cups then headed outside to sit. "I'll be right back." Marina said, leaning down and kissing Hunter on the cheek then walking off toward the woods, looking for Arabella.
Chapter 45: Arabella
There was a tapping sound. It was loud and it was annoying. Arabella groaned, half asleep, and she rolled over onto her stomach. She buried her face into his pillows and let out a huff. The tapping didn't go away but a bit of laughter could now be heard from around the room. Finally, Arabella pushed herself up into a sitting position and she glanced around the room. It was early in the morning and most of Arabella's siblings were still in the cabin, getting ready for the day. Arabella rubbed her eyes, pushing her mess of golden hair out of her face. "There's someone at the door for you, Arabella" One of her sisters said with a giggle. Arabella furrowed her brow before hearing the tapping sound again. It was knocking. Someone was knocking on the door.
She rolled out of bed and tugged on the hem of her pajama shorts as she walked towards the door. Who would be looking for her so early in the morning? Arabella slowly opened the door a crack and she peeked out onto the doorstep. "Ethan!" Arabella squeaked and she pulled the door open. Her handsome boyfriend grinned at her and he walked towards her. Ethan wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.
"Good morning, Arabella" Ethan said in a soft voice. He kissed her lightly then let go of her.
"Wha-what are you doing here?" Arabella asked him, her cheeks pink and a little smile on her face.
"I'm here to walk you to the breakfast table, you goof" Ethan laughed. "You get dressed. I'll wait here"
"Okay.." Arabella bit her lip then squeaked a little before closing the door and rushing towards her bed. As quickly as she could, Arabella pulled on a pair of denim shorts and a tee shirt. She slipped into a pair of shoes and rushed back to the door, pulling it open and grinning at Ethan. "Ready!"
"Damn...that was fast" Ethan teased. Laughing a little, Arabella smacked his chest and headed outside with him. As she walked, she pulled her hair back into a messy bun.
"So, what inspired you to pick me up this morning?" Arabella asked him, turning to look up at him with a little smile. Ethan glanced down at her before slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her close to his side.
"I wanted to see my girl before she had to sit at her table. Is that a crime?" Ethan teased and he placed a kiss on her cheek.
"No, I supposed not"
"Lovely" Ethan said and stepped into the line to get breakfast. He grabbed two trays and passed one to Arabella.
"Someone is in a good mood today..." Arabella teased, smiling up at him. Ethan smiled down at her and when they both had their food, he walked her towards her table.
"I'll see you once I'm done eating" Ethan told her. He gave her a small kiss then walked towards his table. Arabella watched him walk away before sitting down at the end of her table. She leaned forward and asked her cup for her regular coffee then quickly took a sip, letting the warm liquid wake her up. Arabella yawned then popped a strawberry into her mouth.
In all honesty, she was a little confused about why Ethan was being so sweet. Maybe he was trying to make up for the previous night. He had been so cold and rather mean to her friends and Arabella wasn't really happy with him. She didn't like that he wasn't nice and it seemed like he was trying to make up for it or something. Lost in her thoughts, Arabella quickly ate her breakfast but she didn't really pay any attention to it. She was worried that something was wrong with Ethan. She had never seen him act the way her did when they were in the city together. It was new and it worried her.
Arabella quickly finished her breakfast and she took care of her tray. She was just about to head to her first activity of the day when Ethan appeared in front of her, a big grin on his face. "So. I have a plan." Ethan said.
"Uh-oh..." Arabella sighed, a tiny smile on her face. Ethan gave her a wink then took her hand, leading her away from the camp, towards the water. "You know...I do have arts and crafts right now."
"And I have Ancient Greek. We're skipping" Ethan said simply and looked down at Arabella. He chuckled a little bit at the worried look on her face and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. ''Come on...we're going to start being really busy now that camp has started and we're not going to get to see much of each other. I thought that we could go for a walk this morning"
"Well.." Arabella bit her lip and she looked back at the camp. She turned her gaze back towards the ocean then looked up at Ethan. "Okay" She gave in with a giggle. Ethan grinned and kissed her tightly before pulling away and going back to walking.
"I knew you would give in. It was only a matter of time" Ethan teased and Arabella rolled her eyes.
"Don't get cocky" She huffed and she glanced down at their hands, smiling slightly. Arabella brushed her thumbs across his knuckles, happy that she had gone for a walk with him. It would be nice to just spend some time together at her favorite place in the world. There was a comfortable silence for a moment but then Arabella gasped as a brain wave hit her. "Come on!" She squeaked and she ran away from the beach, tugging Ethan with her.
"Where are you taking me?" Ethan laughed in a worried tone but he let her lead him into the woods. Arabella started to slow down a little bit so that she didn't trip over roots and rocks. Finally, she got to a little clearing in the middle of the woods and she looked up at the sky through the circle of trees. With a satisfied smile, she stood in front of Ethan and locked eyes with him.
"Do you know where we are?" She asked him, her voice practically buzzing with excitement. Ethan glanced around with a slightly confused face and her heart dropped. How could he not remember where they were? Arabella took a deep breath and glanced around. She thought that it would be pretty obvious.
"Uh..." Ethan cleared his throat, still looking a little bit lost.
"This is the same spot where you saved me during the last capture the flag game" Arabella told him softly. Ethan glanced down at her then looked around the small clearing.
"Oh! It is. Wow...you have a good memory" Ethan said with a little laugh then looked down at her. "I'm sorry...it was just...really dark that night and I couldn't really see where we were"
"Yeah, I guess your right" Arabella said softly and she let him place his hands on her hips, pulling her closer to him. "Did I ever tell you how amazing our first kiss was? It was the best kiss ever" She told him with a little smile.
"Your past experiences must have been pretty bad if your best kiss was outside of your brownstone with me" Ethan laughed but Arabella's face fell.
"No...I mean...when I kissed you...here." Arabella said softly. "After you saved me.." She bit her lip and looked down at the ground. Ethan, however, gasped and she looked back up at him.
"Crap...I am really failing today. I thought you meant like...our first official kiss as a couple." Ethan leaned down and he pressed his lips to her nose. "I'm sorry that I keep failing your questions today. I guess I'm just somewhere else."
"Sure..." Arabella gave him a little smile then pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "We should, uh, we should get back. They're going to start wondering where we are soon" She said with a nod and she pushed past him, walking towards camp.
Something was off with Ethan and Arabella was going to get to the bottom of it.
She rolled out of bed and tugged on the hem of her pajama shorts as she walked towards the door. Who would be looking for her so early in the morning? Arabella slowly opened the door a crack and she peeked out onto the doorstep. "Ethan!" Arabella squeaked and she pulled the door open. Her handsome boyfriend grinned at her and he walked towards her. Ethan wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.
"Good morning, Arabella" Ethan said in a soft voice. He kissed her lightly then let go of her.
"Wha-what are you doing here?" Arabella asked him, her cheeks pink and a little smile on her face.
"I'm here to walk you to the breakfast table, you goof" Ethan laughed. "You get dressed. I'll wait here"
"Okay.." Arabella bit her lip then squeaked a little before closing the door and rushing towards her bed. As quickly as she could, Arabella pulled on a pair of denim shorts and a tee shirt. She slipped into a pair of shoes and rushed back to the door, pulling it open and grinning at Ethan. "Ready!"
"Damn...that was fast" Ethan teased. Laughing a little, Arabella smacked his chest and headed outside with him. As she walked, she pulled her hair back into a messy bun.
"So, what inspired you to pick me up this morning?" Arabella asked him, turning to look up at him with a little smile. Ethan glanced down at her before slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her close to his side.
"I wanted to see my girl before she had to sit at her table. Is that a crime?" Ethan teased and he placed a kiss on her cheek.
"No, I supposed not"
"Lovely" Ethan said and stepped into the line to get breakfast. He grabbed two trays and passed one to Arabella.
"Someone is in a good mood today..." Arabella teased, smiling up at him. Ethan smiled down at her and when they both had their food, he walked her towards her table.
"I'll see you once I'm done eating" Ethan told her. He gave her a small kiss then walked towards his table. Arabella watched him walk away before sitting down at the end of her table. She leaned forward and asked her cup for her regular coffee then quickly took a sip, letting the warm liquid wake her up. Arabella yawned then popped a strawberry into her mouth.
In all honesty, she was a little confused about why Ethan was being so sweet. Maybe he was trying to make up for the previous night. He had been so cold and rather mean to her friends and Arabella wasn't really happy with him. She didn't like that he wasn't nice and it seemed like he was trying to make up for it or something. Lost in her thoughts, Arabella quickly ate her breakfast but she didn't really pay any attention to it. She was worried that something was wrong with Ethan. She had never seen him act the way her did when they were in the city together. It was new and it worried her.
Arabella quickly finished her breakfast and she took care of her tray. She was just about to head to her first activity of the day when Ethan appeared in front of her, a big grin on his face. "So. I have a plan." Ethan said.
"Uh-oh..." Arabella sighed, a tiny smile on her face. Ethan gave her a wink then took her hand, leading her away from the camp, towards the water. "You know...I do have arts and crafts right now."
"And I have Ancient Greek. We're skipping" Ethan said simply and looked down at Arabella. He chuckled a little bit at the worried look on her face and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. ''Come on...we're going to start being really busy now that camp has started and we're not going to get to see much of each other. I thought that we could go for a walk this morning"
"Well.." Arabella bit her lip and she looked back at the camp. She turned her gaze back towards the ocean then looked up at Ethan. "Okay" She gave in with a giggle. Ethan grinned and kissed her tightly before pulling away and going back to walking.
"I knew you would give in. It was only a matter of time" Ethan teased and Arabella rolled her eyes.
"Don't get cocky" She huffed and she glanced down at their hands, smiling slightly. Arabella brushed her thumbs across his knuckles, happy that she had gone for a walk with him. It would be nice to just spend some time together at her favorite place in the world. There was a comfortable silence for a moment but then Arabella gasped as a brain wave hit her. "Come on!" She squeaked and she ran away from the beach, tugging Ethan with her.
"Where are you taking me?" Ethan laughed in a worried tone but he let her lead him into the woods. Arabella started to slow down a little bit so that she didn't trip over roots and rocks. Finally, she got to a little clearing in the middle of the woods and she looked up at the sky through the circle of trees. With a satisfied smile, she stood in front of Ethan and locked eyes with him.
"Do you know where we are?" She asked him, her voice practically buzzing with excitement. Ethan glanced around with a slightly confused face and her heart dropped. How could he not remember where they were? Arabella took a deep breath and glanced around. She thought that it would be pretty obvious.
"Uh..." Ethan cleared his throat, still looking a little bit lost.
"This is the same spot where you saved me during the last capture the flag game" Arabella told him softly. Ethan glanced down at her then looked around the small clearing.
"Oh! It is. Wow...you have a good memory" Ethan said with a little laugh then looked down at her. "I'm sorry...it was just...really dark that night and I couldn't really see where we were"
"Yeah, I guess your right" Arabella said softly and she let him place his hands on her hips, pulling her closer to him. "Did I ever tell you how amazing our first kiss was? It was the best kiss ever" She told him with a little smile.
"Your past experiences must have been pretty bad if your best kiss was outside of your brownstone with me" Ethan laughed but Arabella's face fell.
"No...I mean...when I kissed you...here." Arabella said softly. "After you saved me.." She bit her lip and looked down at the ground. Ethan, however, gasped and she looked back up at him.
"Crap...I am really failing today. I thought you meant like...our first official kiss as a couple." Ethan leaned down and he pressed his lips to her nose. "I'm sorry that I keep failing your questions today. I guess I'm just somewhere else."
"Sure..." Arabella gave him a little smile then pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "We should, uh, we should get back. They're going to start wondering where we are soon" She said with a nod and she pushed past him, walking towards camp.
Something was off with Ethan and Arabella was going to get to the bottom of it.
Chapter 44: Arabella and Hunter
Arabella walked away from the cabin, keeping her arms folded across her chest and her cardigan pulled closed. As she moved through the camp, she smiled and waved at some friends. It was so amazing being back at that camp and seeing her friends. Arabella yawned a little bit then felt an arm snake around her waist. "Hello, gorgeous" Ethan said and he placed a kiss against her temple. Arabella grinned and looked up at him.
"Hello, handsome" she said and she stood on her toes to kiss his lips. Arabella pulled away and looked up at him for a moment before they kept walking together. She leaned into him a little bit as they walked. "Did you, uh, did you like Hunter? And Jake?"
"They're fine" Ethan said with a nod. His face held no expression, like he was trying to keep a poker face on. Arabella bit her lip and decided to drop the subject.
Hunter put a hand on Marina's as they walked arm in arm back to camp. He was glad to have that time alone with Marina to kind of clarify things. It also helped to remind him that he wasn't with Arabella. They finally exited the forest and looked around for people and they all seemed to be heading toward the mess hall. "Is it time for dinner already?" He asked in mild surprise. He didn't think they were out there for that long.
"Well, if it is, good. Because I'm hungry." She said with a smile before leading them toward the mess hall. They walked in and got in line, but Hunter grabbed a try for her before she could. "Wow, you're such a gentleman."
"Yeah, I know." He said with a laugh. "That's why all the ladies like me."
Arabella walked with Ethan towards the line for supper. Right in front of them, at the end of the line, was Hunter and Marina. She grinned and tugged on Ethan's sleeve happily before pulling away from him adn walking into the line. "Hi Hunter! Hi Marina!" She said excitedly. Arabella decided that it wasn't worth being bitter over what could have been. She had to focus on the good stuff. Ethan moved beside her and nodded to Hunter and Marina before grabbing a tray for him and a tray for Arabella.
Hunter smiled over at Arabella for a second before throwing a glance at Marina. He could not let her tell Arabella. Hunter put some food on both his trays before turning to Ethan and Arabella.
"We're going to eat outside, if you'd like to join us." He said with a smile before grabbing his cup and his tray and heading outside.
"We're eating outside?"
"Yes. I don't feel like we should separate by who are parents all the time. We're all demigods, right?"
"My goodness. Aren't we the little revolutionary." She said with a giggle before kissing him on the cheek and taking her cup and tray from him.
"That sounds fabulous. Acceptance, love, unity and all of that...Aphrodite would be proud" Arabella said with a little giggle and she took her tray of food from Ethan, giving him a little kiss. "Are you coming with us?" She asked him.
"Uhm, no..I don't think I will." Ethan said, glancing up at Hunter for a moment before looking back down at Arabella. "I promised a couple of my brothers that I would sit with them tonight"
"Oh...okay" Arabella said, trying to not look too upset. She gave him a little smile then kissed his cheek. "I'll see you later" She said and Ethan nodded. He waved a little then left with his food, walking towards the Ares cabin. "Well..." She sighed once he was gone. "Maybe Jake will want to join us?"
"Yeah. Maybe." Hunter said, standing back up again and heading back inside. He barely made it to the entrance when Jake came out with his tray and cup in hand.
"I wave at you for five straight minutes..." He said, taking a spot between Marina and Arabella. "And you don't see me. At all." Hunter laughed a little and sat back down.
"Jake, I've missed you, you know that? Your razor sharp wit. Your...Nope. That's about it. And you don't even have that. I'm being generous."
Well...fine. Be that way." He said with a little smirk.
Arabella giggled a little bit, giving Jake a little nudge. "Awh, I think you're funny, Jake" Arabella teased.
"At least someone thinks I'm funny" Jake said.
"Of course I do, sweetie" Arabella said in an off hand voice. She took a bite of her supper, smiling softly at the taste. "Oh, man...I missed camp food. It's so much better than getting take out most nights" She said with a little laugh. She looked at her glass for a moment before saying. "Pink cream soda"
Hunter looked up at Arabella and sighed. "I can't believe that you would just openly compliment him like that." He said with a laugh. "I''m going to be hearing about it all night now. I promise that he'll bring it up at least one more time before the night is over."
"No, I won't. Calm down."
"How much do you want to bet?"
"Now, children...." Marina said with a laugh as she separated the two of them.
"20 drachmas!"
"Do you even have 20 drachmas?" Hunter asked with a smile. Marina sighed up at Arabella.
"Surely, you can put a stop to this." She said with a giggle.
Arabella giggled and she took a sip of her soda. "Mmm...maybe. But that would take effort and that is just no fun at all" She teased, giving Marina a wink. She ate a couple of bites from her supper, listening to the boys bicker for a few moments. Arabella cleared her throat, sitting up straighter and looked over at everyone. "Did, uh, did you guys have a good year too?" She asked Marina and Jake. Arabella was enjoying her time with them and she wanted to get to know Marina a little bit better. She was with Hunter, after all, and they seemed to be pretty serious.
"I did." Marina said, still looking over at Jake and Hunter who were still arguing. "It was a little rough and tumble at times, but it was pretty good overall."
"And that's why we could completely take over Portugal!" Jake finished before taking a drink. "Mine was good. School sucked as always. Dated Tracy again for only one week this time."
"Who's Tracy?" Marina said, cluelessly.
"Tracy is Jake's on and off and on and off and on and off and on and off again girlfriend. They get together for a week to 3 weeks?"
"4 weeks."
"4 weeks every time he goes home. They spend the majority of the year arguing about whether or not they should get back together then get together then spend a lovely 1 to 4 weeks together before breaking up."
"Oh...how nice." Marina said, turning back to her food.
"That sounds....terrible" Arabella said, wrinkling her nose a little bit. She paused for a moment then shook her head a little bit. "I don't mean that in a bad way, Jake, I just..." Arabella let out a little sigh, thinking about her words. "If you really, truly love her then wouldn't it be worth trying to make it work for more than 4 weeks? And if you don't feel that way then doesn't seem like a waste of time?" she asked him then took a sip of her soda.
"You see, Arabella," Jake started crossing his fingers in his lap and clearing his throat.
"Here we go...." Hunter sighed before taking a long drip out of his glass and reordering his Mountain Dew.
"First of all, Tracy is the biggest stuck up bitch on the planet." He said with a completely calm face. "Second of all, this all started when she got super drunk at a party and I was the only guy who wasn't trying to have sex with her. Thirdly, she is...smoking hot." He took a breath then continued. "Now, taking these three things into the account, being connected with her, while it does frustrate me to no end, does make the year more bearable. On top of that, the time that I actually do spend with her makes me really like her, but then one of us does something stupid and it goes all screwy."
"So, to answer your question..." Hunter said to try and expedite this explanation. He turned to Marina and then mouth along with Jake.
"She's a whole lot of fun, but in tiny tiny doses." He finished with a nod at Arabella and a swig from his cup.
"I just don't understand" Arabella shrugged, finishing off her food and leaning back slightly. "Maybe it's a...daughter of Aphrodite thing, but I just don't like the idea of going back and forth like that. Too much heart ache" She explained softly and she finished off her drink. Arabella bit her lip, looking over at Jake. "As long as she makes you happy, I guess" She gave him a little smile then turned toward Marina "Where is your family from?" She asked in a curious voice.
Hunter put a hand gently on Marina's back as she leaned into him a little bit. Nothing too obvious, but it was just comforting.
"I was born in Zacatecas, but I was 2 when we moved across the border and we lived in Texas for a few years until we had enough money then we moved to just outside San Francisco. Where my mom met my stepdad and that's where we live currently." She said with a smile. "Hunter told me that you live here in New York? That must have made it easy for Ethan to...get a hold of you." Hunter looked at her and took a deep breath then laughed for a second before finishing off his cup again.
"Uh, yeah...born and raised in Manhattan. Ethan is from Brooklyn so it's pretty easy to get together when we're home. Which makes things a lot better..." Arabella said, her voice trailing off. She couldn't imagine having a boyfriend who lived far away from her. It would have made things really difficult for her during the past year. Plus, she was terrible at the long distance thing. "Have you gotten to spend much time in the city since you've been here?" She asked her, folding her arms across her chest and playing with a loose thread on her cardigan.
Marina shook her head and shrugged a little. "I've gone home usually before this year and Chiron's not big on field trips anywhere ever since Olympus and the whole...Luke thing." She put a hand on Hunter's knee gently and ran her fingers through his leg hair a little bit. "I figured that if you've seen one big city, you've seen them all. I can't imagine New York is all the different than San Francisco or Dallas."
"I've never been, either, so I...don't know." Hunter said with a shrug. "I haven't even been to San Francisco or Dallas."
"Maybe I'll take you home next year." Marina said, looking up at him, a smile on her face.
"What like a stray puppy?" He said with a laugh. She chuckled and shook her head.
"No, like my boyfriend, dummy." She leaned up and kissed him a second then stayed leaned over a little bit, falling back against him.
"Is this where you say that New York is the greatest city ever and everyone needs to go?" Jake said with a laugh.
Arabella looked over at them with a look of shock on her face. She glanced over at Jake before nodding quickly. "New York is.....special" Arabella sighed in a dreamy voice. "It's got everything you could ever want with some of the most amazing, diverse, interesting people in the world. Magical things happen in New York City" She told them in a matter of fact voice. Arabella ordered some more cream soda and took a sip. "I'm just going to have to take all of you into the city some time. We can go shopping and walk around Central Park and go to The Met and see a play on Broadway"
"Well, if you're buying than I'm in." Hunter said with a laugh. Marina laughed a little then looked over at Arabella.
"You don't have to buy for me. I'll go willingly." She said with a nod. "But if you wanted to buy, I wouldn't be against that. I certainly won't turn it down."
"I can't believe you guys..." Jake said, shaking his head. "I can't believe it. Arabella, if we all went to New York..." He shifted, so he was facing her on one knee to be more dramatic. "I would spend all of my available money to buy whatever it is that your wonderful heart so desires. I would climb to the tallest shelf. Hold the heaviest purse." He laughed a little and then sat back down. "I'm just messing around. Yeah. I'm in and you don't have to pay." He said, putting his hand on her leg for a second.
"Hey, Arabella. Some of the--What the hell is this?" Ethan said, walking into the group and glaring at Jake.
Arabella looked up at Ethan, still laughing softly from Jake's speech. She didn't notice the tone in Ethan's voice until she looked at him and noticed the look on his face. Her heart clenched for a moment and her smile fell. But she quickly put a smile on her face and pulled her knees up to her chest, subtly moving out of Jake's reach. "Hey, Ethan. I'm glad you could come" She said in a soft voice. Ethan paused for a moment before sitting down between Arabella and Jake and putting his hand on her back.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" Ethan asked her and Arabella furrowed her brow.
"Well..I, uh, I'd kind of like to stay here" She told him.
Hunter looked at Ethan a moment and noticed how uncomfortable it was. Arabella stammered for another moment then looked down at her empty tray. Hunter took that moment to clear his throat to get Ethan's attention.
"You know, I think we're pretty much done eating here. I mean, except for Jake, but he doesn't matter." He said with a nod. "How about we all go for a quick walk before campfire? You don't mind, do you?"
"We'll need to get all warmed up for the camp sing-along tonight, anyway. Chiron always likes the first day to be extra raucous." Marina said with a giggle.
Arabella giggled softly and she nodded. "That sounds good to me" She said and she pushed herself up so that she was standing. Arabella brushed her hands off on her jeans and looked down at Ethan. 'Are you going to come with us?"
"I-" Ethan said before glancing at Jake for a moment. He seemed to think it over before turning back to Arabella and standing up. "Yeah, I'll come with you" He put his arm around her shoulders and held her close to him.
"Yay!" Arabella grinned, happy that Ethan was coming with them. She really just wanted him to get along with her friends. It would really mean a lot to her if they could be civil and spend time in a group like this together.
Hunter stood and gathered the trays and cups of everyone. He set them in front of Jake and then took Marina's arm. "Hey, Jake. You want to take care of those trays once you're done. Thanks." He said quickly before turning to stand next to Arabella and Ethan. "So, where to? Campfire starts in about...20 minutes, so to the beach and back?"
"Perfect!" Arabella said excitedly and she slipped an arm around Ethan's middle. "Thanks for looking after the trays, Jake" She added, giving him a little smile. Ethan, however, pulled her closer to him. Arabella tried to not pay any attention to it and she kept her happy face on as she turned away with Hunter and Marina, headed towards the beach. "Did anything interesting happen at camp while we were gone?" She asked them, glancing over at them.
"Not really." Marina said with a shrug. "Nothing camp-wise, anyway."
"Except for what happened to Brett. That was probably the biggest thing." Hunter said with a slightly proud smirk on his face. "Yeah. You didn't miss much."
"Thanks for waiting for me, guys. Really appreciate it." Jake said, running up to them, out of breath. "And you're welcome, Arabella." Jake said before taking stride with them.
Ethan gave Arabella a squeeze and she slipped her hands into her pockets, leaning into him. Arabella smiled over at Jake then glanced up at Ethan. "Did you hear about what happened to Brett?" She asked him, giggling at the memory of the story. Arabella loved what they had done to Brett. He deserved it and it would have been an amazing thing to see.
"Yeah, Caleb told me" Ethan told her, not really laughing. Arabella cleared her throat and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Has anyone seen Brett, yet? I haven't seen him since I've been back" She said.
"I think Chels said that he left. Like...left, left." Marina said.
"Well, now I feel a little bad for him." Jake said quietly. He stared at his feet as he walked.
"Don't." Hunter said with a scoff. "The guy basically just told us that he was here to have sex. We were just the people that brought that to light, I guess." Hunter sighed a little. "I don't feel bad. I only feel bad that the Apollo cabin had to clean all that glitter up."
"Yeah. He seemed like a prick and I think he hit on me once." Marina said with a shrug. "I held a hot sword to his crotch and he ran pretty quick."
Arabella laughed while Ethan winced. "That is fabulous, Marina" She giggled and Ethan shuddered at the thought.
"That's brutal" Ethan said.
"I'm really glad that he's gone. He was a jerk but now I don't have to see him and he can live his life in peace" Arabella said with a nod. Ethan leaned down, placing a kiss on the top of her head.
"I can't believe that he would lie to you the way he did." He said in an almost angry voice.
"Is that right, Ethan?" Marina said, glaring at him. Hunter nudged her and held her arm a little tighter in his, thinking she might pounce on him like a cheetah.
"That's so wrong to take advantage of someone like that." Ethan replied, running his hand up and down Arabella's side. Hunter twitched a little.
"Now, that's a funny way of saying it." Jake said with a laugh. "Because, you see, Ethan-"
"Hey, we're here!" Hunter said before shoving Jake into the water before he could say anything.
Arabella laughed as Jake fell into the water. She didn't want to think about how things had gotten awkward there for a moment. She didn't want to think that there might be something wrong with Ethan. So she pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She ignored that it ever happened and she pulled away from Ethan, laughing as she watched Jake sputter and try to get up but a wave crashed over him again. "Oh, Hunter...you are the best friend a guy could ask for" She teased.
"Well, you should know that by now..." He said with a laugh at Arabella. "Come on, Jake. I'll help you up." He said before grabbing his hand and hauling him to his feet.
"Now, was that completely necessary?" Jake asked, spitting a mouthful of water back into the ocean. "Well, we're here. Now what are we doing here?"
"Walking back." Hunter said before slipping an arm around Marina's waist and turning around back toward camp.
"Well, that was interesting" Ethan muttered quietly in a sarcastic voice and he slipped his arm around Arabella's shoulders. Arabella nudged his side, trying to get him to be a bit nicer.
"I'm so looking forward to the fire. I miss having s'mores" Arabella giggled, letting out a happy sigh and she folded her arms across her chest. "all of the take out food in New York cannot compare to the s'mores made at Camp Half Blood" She said and leaned into Ethan a little bit when he pulled her closer.
"Oh, I don't know...that place down the street from your house is pretty good" Ethan said but Arabella shook her head.
"Camp food is a million times better" She told him.
Hunter laughed a little and nodded. "Well, I'm partial to my cousin's cooking. Or my Aunt Lucy's." He said with a smile on his face. "It's just....amazing."
"We're hispanic, so you'd think that my mom would know some sort of recipe, right? Wrong. She doesn't know a frying pan from a pan flute." Marina said with a chuckle. Jake turned to look at her.
"That's kind of sad. Those things are pretty different." Marina smacked him in the back of the head and rolled her eyes. "Hey, when did I become the group punching bag?" He said, backing away from them. "Arabella, you wouldn't hit me, right? You think I'm funny." He said with a smirk up at Hunter before realizing what he said. "Oh, shit."
"Pay up, centaur butt! 20 drachmas." Hunter said with a laugh. "5 drachmas for everyone, Jake. Now."
"Gods dammit..." He said before shoving his hand in his pocket and fishing out a bag of coins. "Here. Take it." He said, handing it to Hunter.
Arabella giggled as Jake passed the bag of coins to Hunter. She ignored the fact that Ethan was giving Jake a not so friendly look and she patted Jake's shoulder. "Yes, Jake, very funny" She told him, still giggling softly. She pulled away from Ethan and moved so that she was walking a bit closer to Hunter and Marina and Jake. Arabella liked being a part of their little group and she hated that Ethan wasn't really trying. "What are you going to do with all of those drachmas, Hunter?" She asked in a teasing voice.
Hunter took out 10 drachmas and then pretended to put 10 in his pocket then handed out the other 10 to Arabella and Marina. "Sorry, Ethan. You weren't there for the wager. Well, I'm going to call Steven. Then I'm going to call Julia. Then I'm going to call my Aunt Lucy. Then I'm going to call my uncle Wayne and then I'm going to have a nice long chat with Christina. All on Jake's dime." He said, clapping him on the back then tossing him his coin bag.
"I don't need drachmas, so you can have mine back." Marina said, handing him the coins. "Thanks though, Jake." She said with a wink up at Hunter.
"Look at that. More drachmas for me." Hunter said with a laugh, patting Jake on the back again, but taking a second to slip the coins into Jake's back pocket.
"How about you, Arabella?" Jake finally asked, not knowing that he hadn't lost any money yet, really. "What are you going to do with my money?"
Arabella held back her laughter when she saw Hunter slip the coins into Jake's back pocket. Ethan raised an eyebrow but he didn't say anything. With a little smile, Arabella straightened the coins into a row in her hand. "Hmm..I don't think I really need these either, so I'll just give them back to Hunter" She said, dropping the neatly organized coins into Hunter's hand. "I'll let you buy me a coffee when we go to the city, though"
Hunter nodded and jingled the coins in his hand a moment. "I will definitely do that." He said before slipping an arm around Jake's shoulder. "Jake, just relax a little. We're just messing around with you. You lost a bet, so we're giving you a hard time." Jake pushed his arm off and Hunter sighed because he didn't have a chance to put the coins back in his pocket. He looked down and noticed the pockets in his hoodie. Hunter took a second and timed it then carefully tossed the coins one by one into his pocket. Marina started clapping and Hunter bowed a little, then kissed her on the forehead.
"Alright. Where should we sit?" Jake said as they walked upon the growing crowd of the campfire.
"Oh! Here!" Arabella said, leading the group towards the middle. She plopped down and waved over to Daniel, who was sitting a few seats away with a very handsome boy. Daniel grinned over at her and waved happily before turning back to his conversation. Arabella pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "My brother, Casanova" She laughed.
"How many guys has he been with?" Ethan asked, wrinkling his nose a little bit. "It seems like he's with a new person every other week"
"Not every other week. And he adores every single one of them" Arabella nodded.
Hunter raised an eyebrow at Daniel then sat down with Marina close next to him. "I feel like he doesn't like me very much." Hunter said quietly.
"Well, I like you. Does that help?" Marina said with a laugh. Hunter nodded and wrapped his arms around her.
"He did a good job on my hair though, so I don't really need him to like me as long as he gives me good haircuts, right?" He said with a laugh before kissing Marina on the cheek.
"I feel like there's so many jokes I could make, but I don't know which one to pick." Jake said with a sigh, sitting down near the fire.
Arabella giggled softly at Jake and she nodded. Ethan moved closer to her and when he put his arm around her, she rested her head on his shoulder. "Danny is really good with haircuts" She yawned and she put her hand on Ethan's leg, drawing little pictures with her fingers.
"Are you tired already?" Ethan asked her with a little laugh and Arabella shook her head.
"No! I'm just...hungry" Arabella huffed and she looked around, hoping that they would be able to start making s'mores soon. "What day is today? I forget..." She asked the group with a furrowed brow.
"Wednesday, August 15th." Jake and Hunter both said. They looked at each other. "9:02:23 PM." They high-fived then turned back to the campfire.
"Well, that was weird." Marina said quietly.
"Sorry. It's a Hermes kid thing. We think it's because Hermes always needs to be on time with deliveries or something." Hunter explained. "I honestly don't know."
"That could come in handy" Arabella said with a nod.
"Especially since you're always forgetting what day it is" Ethan laughed, poking her side lightly. Arabella giggled, wiggling in his arms for a moment.
"Oh....shush" Arabella smiled softly to herself. She turned toward Marina and gave her a little smile. "What's it like in the Hephaestus cabin? All of the...forging and what-not kinds of sounds like fun"
Marina looked down at her hands a moment before putting them in her lap. Hunter knew that she was a little subconscious about her hands. They were rough and strong, much different than what she wanted. He imagined that her hands at some point were really nice. She had long nimble fingers that were thin and flexible, but they were dark and scarred with experience in the forge crafting blades. Hunter took one of her hands in his and kissed the back of it. She smiled up at him then put her head on his shoulder.
"It's okay. It's really hot, but that doesn't bother me, really..." She said with a nod. "As far as forging goes, I'd be happy to show you the ropes some time. Make sure you have some thick gloves though or something." She said with a smile at Arabella.
Arabella laughed and she looked down at her hands, playing with the little ring that was on her finger. "I can be so clumsy, I'd probably need about 3 pairs of gloves" She joked, rolling her eyes slightly at herself. "I just think that the forging is so...useful. I mean, all of the weapons and everything else that you can make...the camp would be lost without it" She said in a playful voice.
"I would have no patience for forging. I get too distracted too easily" Ethan chuckled and Arabella nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, you would kind of suck at it..." Arabella teased.
"Don't be mean" Ethan huffed.
"I managed to make a sword this summer." Hunter said with a nod, running his thumb over the back of Marina's hand. "And by I managed, I mean, Marina made a sword for me." He said with a laugh.
"You sell yourself short, Hunter." Marina said, patting his leg. "You did enough. You did a good job for a rookie." Hunter laughed and kissed her cheek.
"A rookie..." He said with a sigh. "Maybe I'll try and teach you how to pickpockets or something. Then we'll see who the rookie is."
"I still suck at picking pockets. I'm more of a locks and safes kind of person." Jake said with a nod.
"Locks and safes....sounds like fun" Arabella said, smiling over at Hunter and Jake. "Remind me to not let either of you near my stuff" She teased and she stretched her arms out in front of her. "See, my whole...clumsy thing would keep me from being able to pickpockets, too. I would be terrible" She said with a little laugh.
"Yeah, but why would you pickpocket when you could just ask someone to give you their money and they would" Ethan added and Arabella furrowed her brow, thinking about it for a moment.
"Yeah...I guess. But that's not as much fun" She told him.
Hunter laid back for a second and stretched his arms out to the side, sneaking Ethan's keys out of his pocket. "See, Ethan. It's all a game. It's all about skill. It's about grace." Hunter said with a smile. He sat up again and turned to him. "Anyone with a good enough scowl or big enough stature can frighten something out of someone. Ethan, give me your keys." Hunter said, holding out his pocket.
"No."
"See, it doesn't work because...well, because you're bigger and scarier than me." He said with a laugh. "But if I didn't give you a choice. If I practiced my skill in picking pockets and then watched you to find a perfect opportunity to sneak it out of your pocket. And then I managed to do it in such a way that it's not obvious. Like I bump into you as your walking by. Or I use plenty of people as cover to hide in the crowd of the group." He tossed Ethan his keys. "Like that."
Ethan caught the keys and he looked down at them in his hand in shock. Arabella, however, was laughing. She watched as he shoved the keys back into his pocket. He looked like he didn't know if he should be amused or mad. "That was....uhm..." Ethan started to say but Arabella saved him.
"That was really cool, Hunter" Arabella told him with a grin. "I am seriously jealous. That takes major talent" She added with a little giggle. Automatically, she patted her pockets to make sure that she wasn't missing anything. "Gods....you're all so talented!" She huffed in a playful way.
"Umm...charmspeak." Hunter said with a shrug. "Just....don't even." He said with a chuckle before looking up at Ethan. "I didn't take anything else. I really just did that to prove a point. I rarely actually pick pockets. Unless, it's to give this dork his drachmas back."
"Huh?" Jake said with a mouthful of s'more. "Wait...what?" He said, taking his coin bag out and checking it. "There are only ten missing."
"Back pocket and hoodie pockets." Hunter said, grabbing a couple of marshmallows and starting to roast them. Jake checked his pockets and found the other 10. "You're welcome." Hunter said, blowing out his flaming marshmallows.
"I still can't believe that you did that. It was amazing" Arabella said with a little laugh and she gingerly took a marshmallow from Ethan when he offered one to her. She waited a few seconds then took a bite happily. "So, Jake, you just don't like doing the...magic pocket thing?" she asked him.
"Either way, I'm getting zippers on all of my pockets" Ethan said and gave Arabella a little nudge. "You can sew. Want to sew zippers on everything I own?"
"Sure thing, babe" Arabella laughed then ate the rest of her marshmallow.
Hunter rolled his eyes at Ethan a little then turned to Jake. "No." Jake said with a shrug. "Like, I said I'm more of a..." He took a second to swallow his s'more. "locks and safes kind of guy. My hands aren't very uh...dainty like Hunter's." Hunter smacked him in the chest.
"How's that for dainty?" He said before making s'mores for Marina and himself.
"You burned the marshmallow." Marina said, poking at the back specks covering the white fluff. "La comida es comida y debe ser concinada. No incinerados." She said with a little smile at her s'more.
"And for the less talented people that means..." Hunter said with a chuckle.
"Food is food and should be cooked. Not incinerated." Marina said with a laugh up at Hunter. "It's what my mom used to say when I burned my marshmallows."
"Oh. So I did okay?" Hunter said, having already taken a couple bites out of his s'more and now had chocolate near his lip. Marina leaned up and kissed it away then took a bite of her s'more.
"It's perfect." She said with a grin.
"Yes. We get it. You're very cute. Blah blah blah." Jake said, rolling his eyes as he ate a handful of plain marshmallows. "It's a good thing you guys aren't this cute. I might get sick." He said, glancing over at Arabella and Ethan.
"I-we-what?" Arabella stumbled over her words for a moment then she shook herself and put on a teasing pout. "We are very adorable, thank you very much. I mean...we can get all cutesy like that if you would like but...I don't know if you want to get sick" She said in a playful mood and she quickly made a s'more for herself. With a smile, she took a bite and let out a happy groan. "I've been waiting for so long for this s'more"
"You'd think the s'more was like...the Holy Grail or something, by the way you're acting" Ethan teased, starting to make a marshmallow for himself.
"Don't worry, Arabella." Marina said with a nod. "It's not a competition."
"But we're totally winning." Hunter said with a laugh. Arabella stuck her tongue at him and he did the same. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding."
"It's not a competition." Marina said, elbowing Hunter in the stomach.
"Because you're not much competition." Hunter said again, but Marina elbowed him harder. "I'm sorry! The jokes are there. I'm just saying them. Geez...Jake, you take over."
"What?" He said, shoving another s'more in his mouth.
"It's not a competition, but..." Hunter prompted.
"What?"
"Oh, never mind." Hunter said, putting his head down on Marina's shoulder.
Arabella laughed softly and she put her head back down on Ethan's shoulder, closing her eyes for a moment. Soon enough, however, she felt Ethan's body shaking with laughter and she pulled away to look up at him. "What?"
"You're exhausted. Just go to bed" Ethan laughed and he placed a kiss on her forehead.
"No....can't go to bed. Chiron hasn't talked yet" She said then stifled a yawn behind her hand.
"He's going to be talking soon. Go before he gets up and everyone is looking at him. No one will notice if you leave now. However, everyone will notice if you stand up in the middle of his speech" Ethan said. Arabella thought about it for a moment before nodding and standing up.
"Okay...I'm gonna go" She said and brushed her hands off on her shorts. "Good night, you guys" She said, waving to Hunter, Marina and Jake. Arabella leaned down and kissed Ethan with a smile. "Love you" she said softly.
"Love you too" Ethan told her and she waved at him as she turned and walked back towards her cabin and her warm bed.
"Hello, handsome" she said and she stood on her toes to kiss his lips. Arabella pulled away and looked up at him for a moment before they kept walking together. She leaned into him a little bit as they walked. "Did you, uh, did you like Hunter? And Jake?"
"They're fine" Ethan said with a nod. His face held no expression, like he was trying to keep a poker face on. Arabella bit her lip and decided to drop the subject.
Hunter put a hand on Marina's as they walked arm in arm back to camp. He was glad to have that time alone with Marina to kind of clarify things. It also helped to remind him that he wasn't with Arabella. They finally exited the forest and looked around for people and they all seemed to be heading toward the mess hall. "Is it time for dinner already?" He asked in mild surprise. He didn't think they were out there for that long.
"Well, if it is, good. Because I'm hungry." She said with a smile before leading them toward the mess hall. They walked in and got in line, but Hunter grabbed a try for her before she could. "Wow, you're such a gentleman."
"Yeah, I know." He said with a laugh. "That's why all the ladies like me."
Arabella walked with Ethan towards the line for supper. Right in front of them, at the end of the line, was Hunter and Marina. She grinned and tugged on Ethan's sleeve happily before pulling away from him adn walking into the line. "Hi Hunter! Hi Marina!" She said excitedly. Arabella decided that it wasn't worth being bitter over what could have been. She had to focus on the good stuff. Ethan moved beside her and nodded to Hunter and Marina before grabbing a tray for him and a tray for Arabella.
Hunter smiled over at Arabella for a second before throwing a glance at Marina. He could not let her tell Arabella. Hunter put some food on both his trays before turning to Ethan and Arabella.
"We're going to eat outside, if you'd like to join us." He said with a smile before grabbing his cup and his tray and heading outside.
"We're eating outside?"
"Yes. I don't feel like we should separate by who are parents all the time. We're all demigods, right?"
"My goodness. Aren't we the little revolutionary." She said with a giggle before kissing him on the cheek and taking her cup and tray from him.
"That sounds fabulous. Acceptance, love, unity and all of that...Aphrodite would be proud" Arabella said with a little giggle and she took her tray of food from Ethan, giving him a little kiss. "Are you coming with us?" She asked him.
"Uhm, no..I don't think I will." Ethan said, glancing up at Hunter for a moment before looking back down at Arabella. "I promised a couple of my brothers that I would sit with them tonight"
"Oh...okay" Arabella said, trying to not look too upset. She gave him a little smile then kissed his cheek. "I'll see you later" She said and Ethan nodded. He waved a little then left with his food, walking towards the Ares cabin. "Well..." She sighed once he was gone. "Maybe Jake will want to join us?"
"Yeah. Maybe." Hunter said, standing back up again and heading back inside. He barely made it to the entrance when Jake came out with his tray and cup in hand.
"I wave at you for five straight minutes..." He said, taking a spot between Marina and Arabella. "And you don't see me. At all." Hunter laughed a little and sat back down.
"Jake, I've missed you, you know that? Your razor sharp wit. Your...Nope. That's about it. And you don't even have that. I'm being generous."
Well...fine. Be that way." He said with a little smirk.
Arabella giggled a little bit, giving Jake a little nudge. "Awh, I think you're funny, Jake" Arabella teased.
"At least someone thinks I'm funny" Jake said.
"Of course I do, sweetie" Arabella said in an off hand voice. She took a bite of her supper, smiling softly at the taste. "Oh, man...I missed camp food. It's so much better than getting take out most nights" She said with a little laugh. She looked at her glass for a moment before saying. "Pink cream soda"
Hunter looked up at Arabella and sighed. "I can't believe that you would just openly compliment him like that." He said with a laugh. "I''m going to be hearing about it all night now. I promise that he'll bring it up at least one more time before the night is over."
"No, I won't. Calm down."
"How much do you want to bet?"
"Now, children...." Marina said with a laugh as she separated the two of them.
"20 drachmas!"
"Do you even have 20 drachmas?" Hunter asked with a smile. Marina sighed up at Arabella.
"Surely, you can put a stop to this." She said with a giggle.
Arabella giggled and she took a sip of her soda. "Mmm...maybe. But that would take effort and that is just no fun at all" She teased, giving Marina a wink. She ate a couple of bites from her supper, listening to the boys bicker for a few moments. Arabella cleared her throat, sitting up straighter and looked over at everyone. "Did, uh, did you guys have a good year too?" She asked Marina and Jake. Arabella was enjoying her time with them and she wanted to get to know Marina a little bit better. She was with Hunter, after all, and they seemed to be pretty serious.
"I did." Marina said, still looking over at Jake and Hunter who were still arguing. "It was a little rough and tumble at times, but it was pretty good overall."
"And that's why we could completely take over Portugal!" Jake finished before taking a drink. "Mine was good. School sucked as always. Dated Tracy again for only one week this time."
"Who's Tracy?" Marina said, cluelessly.
"Tracy is Jake's on and off and on and off and on and off and on and off again girlfriend. They get together for a week to 3 weeks?"
"4 weeks."
"4 weeks every time he goes home. They spend the majority of the year arguing about whether or not they should get back together then get together then spend a lovely 1 to 4 weeks together before breaking up."
"Oh...how nice." Marina said, turning back to her food.
"That sounds....terrible" Arabella said, wrinkling her nose a little bit. She paused for a moment then shook her head a little bit. "I don't mean that in a bad way, Jake, I just..." Arabella let out a little sigh, thinking about her words. "If you really, truly love her then wouldn't it be worth trying to make it work for more than 4 weeks? And if you don't feel that way then doesn't seem like a waste of time?" she asked him then took a sip of her soda.
"You see, Arabella," Jake started crossing his fingers in his lap and clearing his throat.
"Here we go...." Hunter sighed before taking a long drip out of his glass and reordering his Mountain Dew.
"First of all, Tracy is the biggest stuck up bitch on the planet." He said with a completely calm face. "Second of all, this all started when she got super drunk at a party and I was the only guy who wasn't trying to have sex with her. Thirdly, she is...smoking hot." He took a breath then continued. "Now, taking these three things into the account, being connected with her, while it does frustrate me to no end, does make the year more bearable. On top of that, the time that I actually do spend with her makes me really like her, but then one of us does something stupid and it goes all screwy."
"So, to answer your question..." Hunter said to try and expedite this explanation. He turned to Marina and then mouth along with Jake.
"She's a whole lot of fun, but in tiny tiny doses." He finished with a nod at Arabella and a swig from his cup.
"I just don't understand" Arabella shrugged, finishing off her food and leaning back slightly. "Maybe it's a...daughter of Aphrodite thing, but I just don't like the idea of going back and forth like that. Too much heart ache" She explained softly and she finished off her drink. Arabella bit her lip, looking over at Jake. "As long as she makes you happy, I guess" She gave him a little smile then turned toward Marina "Where is your family from?" She asked in a curious voice.
Hunter put a hand gently on Marina's back as she leaned into him a little bit. Nothing too obvious, but it was just comforting.
"I was born in Zacatecas, but I was 2 when we moved across the border and we lived in Texas for a few years until we had enough money then we moved to just outside San Francisco. Where my mom met my stepdad and that's where we live currently." She said with a smile. "Hunter told me that you live here in New York? That must have made it easy for Ethan to...get a hold of you." Hunter looked at her and took a deep breath then laughed for a second before finishing off his cup again.
"Uh, yeah...born and raised in Manhattan. Ethan is from Brooklyn so it's pretty easy to get together when we're home. Which makes things a lot better..." Arabella said, her voice trailing off. She couldn't imagine having a boyfriend who lived far away from her. It would have made things really difficult for her during the past year. Plus, she was terrible at the long distance thing. "Have you gotten to spend much time in the city since you've been here?" She asked her, folding her arms across her chest and playing with a loose thread on her cardigan.
Marina shook her head and shrugged a little. "I've gone home usually before this year and Chiron's not big on field trips anywhere ever since Olympus and the whole...Luke thing." She put a hand on Hunter's knee gently and ran her fingers through his leg hair a little bit. "I figured that if you've seen one big city, you've seen them all. I can't imagine New York is all the different than San Francisco or Dallas."
"I've never been, either, so I...don't know." Hunter said with a shrug. "I haven't even been to San Francisco or Dallas."
"Maybe I'll take you home next year." Marina said, looking up at him, a smile on her face.
"What like a stray puppy?" He said with a laugh. She chuckled and shook her head.
"No, like my boyfriend, dummy." She leaned up and kissed him a second then stayed leaned over a little bit, falling back against him.
"Is this where you say that New York is the greatest city ever and everyone needs to go?" Jake said with a laugh.
Arabella looked over at them with a look of shock on her face. She glanced over at Jake before nodding quickly. "New York is.....special" Arabella sighed in a dreamy voice. "It's got everything you could ever want with some of the most amazing, diverse, interesting people in the world. Magical things happen in New York City" She told them in a matter of fact voice. Arabella ordered some more cream soda and took a sip. "I'm just going to have to take all of you into the city some time. We can go shopping and walk around Central Park and go to The Met and see a play on Broadway"
"Well, if you're buying than I'm in." Hunter said with a laugh. Marina laughed a little then looked over at Arabella.
"You don't have to buy for me. I'll go willingly." She said with a nod. "But if you wanted to buy, I wouldn't be against that. I certainly won't turn it down."
"I can't believe you guys..." Jake said, shaking his head. "I can't believe it. Arabella, if we all went to New York..." He shifted, so he was facing her on one knee to be more dramatic. "I would spend all of my available money to buy whatever it is that your wonderful heart so desires. I would climb to the tallest shelf. Hold the heaviest purse." He laughed a little and then sat back down. "I'm just messing around. Yeah. I'm in and you don't have to pay." He said, putting his hand on her leg for a second.
"Hey, Arabella. Some of the--What the hell is this?" Ethan said, walking into the group and glaring at Jake.
Arabella looked up at Ethan, still laughing softly from Jake's speech. She didn't notice the tone in Ethan's voice until she looked at him and noticed the look on his face. Her heart clenched for a moment and her smile fell. But she quickly put a smile on her face and pulled her knees up to her chest, subtly moving out of Jake's reach. "Hey, Ethan. I'm glad you could come" She said in a soft voice. Ethan paused for a moment before sitting down between Arabella and Jake and putting his hand on her back.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" Ethan asked her and Arabella furrowed her brow.
"Well..I, uh, I'd kind of like to stay here" She told him.
Hunter looked at Ethan a moment and noticed how uncomfortable it was. Arabella stammered for another moment then looked down at her empty tray. Hunter took that moment to clear his throat to get Ethan's attention.
"You know, I think we're pretty much done eating here. I mean, except for Jake, but he doesn't matter." He said with a nod. "How about we all go for a quick walk before campfire? You don't mind, do you?"
"We'll need to get all warmed up for the camp sing-along tonight, anyway. Chiron always likes the first day to be extra raucous." Marina said with a giggle.
Arabella giggled softly and she nodded. "That sounds good to me" She said and she pushed herself up so that she was standing. Arabella brushed her hands off on her jeans and looked down at Ethan. 'Are you going to come with us?"
"I-" Ethan said before glancing at Jake for a moment. He seemed to think it over before turning back to Arabella and standing up. "Yeah, I'll come with you" He put his arm around her shoulders and held her close to him.
"Yay!" Arabella grinned, happy that Ethan was coming with them. She really just wanted him to get along with her friends. It would really mean a lot to her if they could be civil and spend time in a group like this together.
Hunter stood and gathered the trays and cups of everyone. He set them in front of Jake and then took Marina's arm. "Hey, Jake. You want to take care of those trays once you're done. Thanks." He said quickly before turning to stand next to Arabella and Ethan. "So, where to? Campfire starts in about...20 minutes, so to the beach and back?"
"Perfect!" Arabella said excitedly and she slipped an arm around Ethan's middle. "Thanks for looking after the trays, Jake" She added, giving him a little smile. Ethan, however, pulled her closer to him. Arabella tried to not pay any attention to it and she kept her happy face on as she turned away with Hunter and Marina, headed towards the beach. "Did anything interesting happen at camp while we were gone?" She asked them, glancing over at them.
"Not really." Marina said with a shrug. "Nothing camp-wise, anyway."
"Except for what happened to Brett. That was probably the biggest thing." Hunter said with a slightly proud smirk on his face. "Yeah. You didn't miss much."
"Thanks for waiting for me, guys. Really appreciate it." Jake said, running up to them, out of breath. "And you're welcome, Arabella." Jake said before taking stride with them.
Ethan gave Arabella a squeeze and she slipped her hands into her pockets, leaning into him. Arabella smiled over at Jake then glanced up at Ethan. "Did you hear about what happened to Brett?" She asked him, giggling at the memory of the story. Arabella loved what they had done to Brett. He deserved it and it would have been an amazing thing to see.
"Yeah, Caleb told me" Ethan told her, not really laughing. Arabella cleared her throat and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Has anyone seen Brett, yet? I haven't seen him since I've been back" She said.
"I think Chels said that he left. Like...left, left." Marina said.
"Well, now I feel a little bad for him." Jake said quietly. He stared at his feet as he walked.
"Don't." Hunter said with a scoff. "The guy basically just told us that he was here to have sex. We were just the people that brought that to light, I guess." Hunter sighed a little. "I don't feel bad. I only feel bad that the Apollo cabin had to clean all that glitter up."
"Yeah. He seemed like a prick and I think he hit on me once." Marina said with a shrug. "I held a hot sword to his crotch and he ran pretty quick."
Arabella laughed while Ethan winced. "That is fabulous, Marina" She giggled and Ethan shuddered at the thought.
"That's brutal" Ethan said.
"I'm really glad that he's gone. He was a jerk but now I don't have to see him and he can live his life in peace" Arabella said with a nod. Ethan leaned down, placing a kiss on the top of her head.
"I can't believe that he would lie to you the way he did." He said in an almost angry voice.
"Is that right, Ethan?" Marina said, glaring at him. Hunter nudged her and held her arm a little tighter in his, thinking she might pounce on him like a cheetah.
"That's so wrong to take advantage of someone like that." Ethan replied, running his hand up and down Arabella's side. Hunter twitched a little.
"Now, that's a funny way of saying it." Jake said with a laugh. "Because, you see, Ethan-"
"Hey, we're here!" Hunter said before shoving Jake into the water before he could say anything.
Arabella laughed as Jake fell into the water. She didn't want to think about how things had gotten awkward there for a moment. She didn't want to think that there might be something wrong with Ethan. So she pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She ignored that it ever happened and she pulled away from Ethan, laughing as she watched Jake sputter and try to get up but a wave crashed over him again. "Oh, Hunter...you are the best friend a guy could ask for" She teased.
"Well, you should know that by now..." He said with a laugh at Arabella. "Come on, Jake. I'll help you up." He said before grabbing his hand and hauling him to his feet.
"Now, was that completely necessary?" Jake asked, spitting a mouthful of water back into the ocean. "Well, we're here. Now what are we doing here?"
"Walking back." Hunter said before slipping an arm around Marina's waist and turning around back toward camp.
"Well, that was interesting" Ethan muttered quietly in a sarcastic voice and he slipped his arm around Arabella's shoulders. Arabella nudged his side, trying to get him to be a bit nicer.
"I'm so looking forward to the fire. I miss having s'mores" Arabella giggled, letting out a happy sigh and she folded her arms across her chest. "all of the take out food in New York cannot compare to the s'mores made at Camp Half Blood" She said and leaned into Ethan a little bit when he pulled her closer.
"Oh, I don't know...that place down the street from your house is pretty good" Ethan said but Arabella shook her head.
"Camp food is a million times better" She told him.
Hunter laughed a little and nodded. "Well, I'm partial to my cousin's cooking. Or my Aunt Lucy's." He said with a smile on his face. "It's just....amazing."
"We're hispanic, so you'd think that my mom would know some sort of recipe, right? Wrong. She doesn't know a frying pan from a pan flute." Marina said with a chuckle. Jake turned to look at her.
"That's kind of sad. Those things are pretty different." Marina smacked him in the back of the head and rolled her eyes. "Hey, when did I become the group punching bag?" He said, backing away from them. "Arabella, you wouldn't hit me, right? You think I'm funny." He said with a smirk up at Hunter before realizing what he said. "Oh, shit."
"Pay up, centaur butt! 20 drachmas." Hunter said with a laugh. "5 drachmas for everyone, Jake. Now."
"Gods dammit..." He said before shoving his hand in his pocket and fishing out a bag of coins. "Here. Take it." He said, handing it to Hunter.
Arabella giggled as Jake passed the bag of coins to Hunter. She ignored the fact that Ethan was giving Jake a not so friendly look and she patted Jake's shoulder. "Yes, Jake, very funny" She told him, still giggling softly. She pulled away from Ethan and moved so that she was walking a bit closer to Hunter and Marina and Jake. Arabella liked being a part of their little group and she hated that Ethan wasn't really trying. "What are you going to do with all of those drachmas, Hunter?" She asked in a teasing voice.
Hunter took out 10 drachmas and then pretended to put 10 in his pocket then handed out the other 10 to Arabella and Marina. "Sorry, Ethan. You weren't there for the wager. Well, I'm going to call Steven. Then I'm going to call Julia. Then I'm going to call my Aunt Lucy. Then I'm going to call my uncle Wayne and then I'm going to have a nice long chat with Christina. All on Jake's dime." He said, clapping him on the back then tossing him his coin bag.
"I don't need drachmas, so you can have mine back." Marina said, handing him the coins. "Thanks though, Jake." She said with a wink up at Hunter.
"Look at that. More drachmas for me." Hunter said with a laugh, patting Jake on the back again, but taking a second to slip the coins into Jake's back pocket.
"How about you, Arabella?" Jake finally asked, not knowing that he hadn't lost any money yet, really. "What are you going to do with my money?"
Arabella held back her laughter when she saw Hunter slip the coins into Jake's back pocket. Ethan raised an eyebrow but he didn't say anything. With a little smile, Arabella straightened the coins into a row in her hand. "Hmm..I don't think I really need these either, so I'll just give them back to Hunter" She said, dropping the neatly organized coins into Hunter's hand. "I'll let you buy me a coffee when we go to the city, though"
Hunter nodded and jingled the coins in his hand a moment. "I will definitely do that." He said before slipping an arm around Jake's shoulder. "Jake, just relax a little. We're just messing around with you. You lost a bet, so we're giving you a hard time." Jake pushed his arm off and Hunter sighed because he didn't have a chance to put the coins back in his pocket. He looked down and noticed the pockets in his hoodie. Hunter took a second and timed it then carefully tossed the coins one by one into his pocket. Marina started clapping and Hunter bowed a little, then kissed her on the forehead.
"Alright. Where should we sit?" Jake said as they walked upon the growing crowd of the campfire.
"Oh! Here!" Arabella said, leading the group towards the middle. She plopped down and waved over to Daniel, who was sitting a few seats away with a very handsome boy. Daniel grinned over at her and waved happily before turning back to his conversation. Arabella pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "My brother, Casanova" She laughed.
"How many guys has he been with?" Ethan asked, wrinkling his nose a little bit. "It seems like he's with a new person every other week"
"Not every other week. And he adores every single one of them" Arabella nodded.
Hunter raised an eyebrow at Daniel then sat down with Marina close next to him. "I feel like he doesn't like me very much." Hunter said quietly.
"Well, I like you. Does that help?" Marina said with a laugh. Hunter nodded and wrapped his arms around her.
"He did a good job on my hair though, so I don't really need him to like me as long as he gives me good haircuts, right?" He said with a laugh before kissing Marina on the cheek.
"I feel like there's so many jokes I could make, but I don't know which one to pick." Jake said with a sigh, sitting down near the fire.
Arabella giggled softly at Jake and she nodded. Ethan moved closer to her and when he put his arm around her, she rested her head on his shoulder. "Danny is really good with haircuts" She yawned and she put her hand on Ethan's leg, drawing little pictures with her fingers.
"Are you tired already?" Ethan asked her with a little laugh and Arabella shook her head.
"No! I'm just...hungry" Arabella huffed and she looked around, hoping that they would be able to start making s'mores soon. "What day is today? I forget..." She asked the group with a furrowed brow.
"Wednesday, August 15th." Jake and Hunter both said. They looked at each other. "9:02:23 PM." They high-fived then turned back to the campfire.
"Well, that was weird." Marina said quietly.
"Sorry. It's a Hermes kid thing. We think it's because Hermes always needs to be on time with deliveries or something." Hunter explained. "I honestly don't know."
"That could come in handy" Arabella said with a nod.
"Especially since you're always forgetting what day it is" Ethan laughed, poking her side lightly. Arabella giggled, wiggling in his arms for a moment.
"Oh....shush" Arabella smiled softly to herself. She turned toward Marina and gave her a little smile. "What's it like in the Hephaestus cabin? All of the...forging and what-not kinds of sounds like fun"
Marina looked down at her hands a moment before putting them in her lap. Hunter knew that she was a little subconscious about her hands. They were rough and strong, much different than what she wanted. He imagined that her hands at some point were really nice. She had long nimble fingers that were thin and flexible, but they were dark and scarred with experience in the forge crafting blades. Hunter took one of her hands in his and kissed the back of it. She smiled up at him then put her head on his shoulder.
"It's okay. It's really hot, but that doesn't bother me, really..." She said with a nod. "As far as forging goes, I'd be happy to show you the ropes some time. Make sure you have some thick gloves though or something." She said with a smile at Arabella.
Arabella laughed and she looked down at her hands, playing with the little ring that was on her finger. "I can be so clumsy, I'd probably need about 3 pairs of gloves" She joked, rolling her eyes slightly at herself. "I just think that the forging is so...useful. I mean, all of the weapons and everything else that you can make...the camp would be lost without it" She said in a playful voice.
"I would have no patience for forging. I get too distracted too easily" Ethan chuckled and Arabella nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, you would kind of suck at it..." Arabella teased.
"Don't be mean" Ethan huffed.
"I managed to make a sword this summer." Hunter said with a nod, running his thumb over the back of Marina's hand. "And by I managed, I mean, Marina made a sword for me." He said with a laugh.
"You sell yourself short, Hunter." Marina said, patting his leg. "You did enough. You did a good job for a rookie." Hunter laughed and kissed her cheek.
"A rookie..." He said with a sigh. "Maybe I'll try and teach you how to pickpockets or something. Then we'll see who the rookie is."
"I still suck at picking pockets. I'm more of a locks and safes kind of person." Jake said with a nod.
"Locks and safes....sounds like fun" Arabella said, smiling over at Hunter and Jake. "Remind me to not let either of you near my stuff" She teased and she stretched her arms out in front of her. "See, my whole...clumsy thing would keep me from being able to pickpockets, too. I would be terrible" She said with a little laugh.
"Yeah, but why would you pickpocket when you could just ask someone to give you their money and they would" Ethan added and Arabella furrowed her brow, thinking about it for a moment.
"Yeah...I guess. But that's not as much fun" She told him.
Hunter laid back for a second and stretched his arms out to the side, sneaking Ethan's keys out of his pocket. "See, Ethan. It's all a game. It's all about skill. It's about grace." Hunter said with a smile. He sat up again and turned to him. "Anyone with a good enough scowl or big enough stature can frighten something out of someone. Ethan, give me your keys." Hunter said, holding out his pocket.
"No."
"See, it doesn't work because...well, because you're bigger and scarier than me." He said with a laugh. "But if I didn't give you a choice. If I practiced my skill in picking pockets and then watched you to find a perfect opportunity to sneak it out of your pocket. And then I managed to do it in such a way that it's not obvious. Like I bump into you as your walking by. Or I use plenty of people as cover to hide in the crowd of the group." He tossed Ethan his keys. "Like that."
Ethan caught the keys and he looked down at them in his hand in shock. Arabella, however, was laughing. She watched as he shoved the keys back into his pocket. He looked like he didn't know if he should be amused or mad. "That was....uhm..." Ethan started to say but Arabella saved him.
"That was really cool, Hunter" Arabella told him with a grin. "I am seriously jealous. That takes major talent" She added with a little giggle. Automatically, she patted her pockets to make sure that she wasn't missing anything. "Gods....you're all so talented!" She huffed in a playful way.
"Umm...charmspeak." Hunter said with a shrug. "Just....don't even." He said with a chuckle before looking up at Ethan. "I didn't take anything else. I really just did that to prove a point. I rarely actually pick pockets. Unless, it's to give this dork his drachmas back."
"Huh?" Jake said with a mouthful of s'more. "Wait...what?" He said, taking his coin bag out and checking it. "There are only ten missing."
"Back pocket and hoodie pockets." Hunter said, grabbing a couple of marshmallows and starting to roast them. Jake checked his pockets and found the other 10. "You're welcome." Hunter said, blowing out his flaming marshmallows.
"I still can't believe that you did that. It was amazing" Arabella said with a little laugh and she gingerly took a marshmallow from Ethan when he offered one to her. She waited a few seconds then took a bite happily. "So, Jake, you just don't like doing the...magic pocket thing?" she asked him.
"Either way, I'm getting zippers on all of my pockets" Ethan said and gave Arabella a little nudge. "You can sew. Want to sew zippers on everything I own?"
"Sure thing, babe" Arabella laughed then ate the rest of her marshmallow.
Hunter rolled his eyes at Ethan a little then turned to Jake. "No." Jake said with a shrug. "Like, I said I'm more of a..." He took a second to swallow his s'more. "locks and safes kind of guy. My hands aren't very uh...dainty like Hunter's." Hunter smacked him in the chest.
"How's that for dainty?" He said before making s'mores for Marina and himself.
"You burned the marshmallow." Marina said, poking at the back specks covering the white fluff. "La comida es comida y debe ser concinada. No incinerados." She said with a little smile at her s'more.
"And for the less talented people that means..." Hunter said with a chuckle.
"Food is food and should be cooked. Not incinerated." Marina said with a laugh up at Hunter. "It's what my mom used to say when I burned my marshmallows."
"Oh. So I did okay?" Hunter said, having already taken a couple bites out of his s'more and now had chocolate near his lip. Marina leaned up and kissed it away then took a bite of her s'more.
"It's perfect." She said with a grin.
"Yes. We get it. You're very cute. Blah blah blah." Jake said, rolling his eyes as he ate a handful of plain marshmallows. "It's a good thing you guys aren't this cute. I might get sick." He said, glancing over at Arabella and Ethan.
"I-we-what?" Arabella stumbled over her words for a moment then she shook herself and put on a teasing pout. "We are very adorable, thank you very much. I mean...we can get all cutesy like that if you would like but...I don't know if you want to get sick" She said in a playful mood and she quickly made a s'more for herself. With a smile, she took a bite and let out a happy groan. "I've been waiting for so long for this s'more"
"You'd think the s'more was like...the Holy Grail or something, by the way you're acting" Ethan teased, starting to make a marshmallow for himself.
"Don't worry, Arabella." Marina said with a nod. "It's not a competition."
"But we're totally winning." Hunter said with a laugh. Arabella stuck her tongue at him and he did the same. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding."
"It's not a competition." Marina said, elbowing Hunter in the stomach.
"Because you're not much competition." Hunter said again, but Marina elbowed him harder. "I'm sorry! The jokes are there. I'm just saying them. Geez...Jake, you take over."
"What?" He said, shoving another s'more in his mouth.
"It's not a competition, but..." Hunter prompted.
"What?"
"Oh, never mind." Hunter said, putting his head down on Marina's shoulder.
Arabella laughed softly and she put her head back down on Ethan's shoulder, closing her eyes for a moment. Soon enough, however, she felt Ethan's body shaking with laughter and she pulled away to look up at him. "What?"
"You're exhausted. Just go to bed" Ethan laughed and he placed a kiss on her forehead.
"No....can't go to bed. Chiron hasn't talked yet" She said then stifled a yawn behind her hand.
"He's going to be talking soon. Go before he gets up and everyone is looking at him. No one will notice if you leave now. However, everyone will notice if you stand up in the middle of his speech" Ethan said. Arabella thought about it for a moment before nodding and standing up.
"Okay...I'm gonna go" She said and brushed her hands off on her shorts. "Good night, you guys" She said, waving to Hunter, Marina and Jake. Arabella leaned down and kissed Ethan with a smile. "Love you" she said softly.
"Love you too" Ethan told her and she waved at him as she turned and walked back towards her cabin and her warm bed.
Chapter 43: Hunter
Hunter and Marina laid there for a while just looking up at the sky. They didn't do anything else, really. Talked every once in a while. As Hunter watched the clouds roll by, he felt Marina slide a little bit closer to him. He looked over and saw her asleep. He smiled softly and placed a kiss on her forehead. She moaned a little and yawned before opening her eyes. She looked up at him and smiled softly, taking a deep breath.
"How long was I out?" She asked, sitting up a little and running her fingers through her hair. Hunter sat up and rubbed her back a little.
"Oh, just a few hours." He said with a nod.
"And how long did I actually sleep?"
"About 20 minutes."
"Much better." She said with a smile. Hunter laughed and took her hand in his, rubbing the back of it with his fingers. They sat there for a while and Hunter couldn't help, but think about Arabella for a moment. It was frustrating how much he wanted to have a relationship with her last summer, but he didn't get a chance. And now they were just friends and he had to watch some lying jerk be with her. He had to sit by as she kissed him and hugged him and held hands with him, all while he knew the truth.
"Mmm...I don't want to head back to camp. It's too comfy here." Marina said with a laugh as she leaned into him a little. Hunter smiled over at her. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe Arabella was supposed to be with Ethan. Children of Hermes don't end up with children of Aphrodite. It doesn't work that way. Maybe Hunter was supposed to be with Marina. Maybe this disaster would end up being the best thing. "Something on your mind?"
"Hmm? Oh, no. I'm okay." He said, shaking himself a little. "Just zoned out for a second."
"Are you sure you weren't thinking about whatever made you so awkward around Arabella and Ethan earlier?" She said with a raised eyebrow. Hunter was really glad that Marina was the kind of person who wouldn't get upset about things like this. She wouldn't worry that it's her fault or start freaking out. "I'm not blind."
"I know." Hunter said with a sigh. "It's just kind of complicated and I don't want to-"
"Hunter, I can design and build elaborate triggering devices for weapons grade explosive just by looking at the stuff. There is nothing that is too complicated for me to understand."
"I'm not sure that this can really be compared to-"
"Am I going to be mad or something?" She said, pulling away from him a little. "Did you like cheat on me with Arabella or something?"
"No, no. Of course not." He said quietly. "I just uh...Okay, well. Last summer, I had that whole thing with Brooke-"
"Such a bitch."
"And as a result, I started to get to know Arabella."
"Okay, so you had a crush on her?" Hunter nodded softly and Marina laughed at how nervous he looked. "Hunter, it's just a crush. You obviously got over it, considering that we're together now. And besides, you didn't have much of a chance with Ethan, her superman, waiting in the wings."
"That's the thing, though." Hunter said, clearing his throat. "Ethan wasn't the guy who saved her and it especially wasn't Brett."
"How do you know? It's not like-oh my gods..." Hunter nodded and Marina gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Why didn't you tell her?"
"Well, I was going out with Brooke before I had a chance to tell her before Brett and I was going to give her some time to...heal or whatever, but then Ethan stepped in and then she left."
"Oh, that poor girl...You have to tell her."
"Absolutely not." Hunter said in complete surprise at her suggestion. "I like being friends with her, thank you very much."
"You'll be even better friends once you tell her!"
"No, I won't!" Hunter said with a nervous laugh. "Think about it. If I go to her right now and tell her that I was the guy who saved her twice and not the guy that she's been hanging out with and has been a relationship with for the past several months, I will not be her friend. She will always see me as the guy that broke her and Ethan up. The guy who, apparently, didn't have the guts to tell her about it all until she was in a legitimate relationship. That's why I can't tell her. I would rather be just a friend of hers than the person who potentially ruined her life."
"How would it possibly be ruining her life?"
"Well...Aphrodite works in mysterious ways. What if she's supposed to end up with Ethan? What if Ethan was supposed to lie to her now, just to break the ice for a serious relationship?" Marina took a deep breath then sighed.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." She said quietly. Hunter laughed a little.
"You just hate when I'm right, don't you?" She giggled a little and nodded.
"My biggest pet peeve ever." Hunter leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"Thank you for being cool about this," Hunter said quietly, slipping his arms around her. She smiled over at him and kissed him lightly on the lips.
"You can always count on me being cool. Cool as a cucumber."
"What makes cucumbers cool?"
"John Gay poem. It's because they are cold to the touch." Hunter stared at her for a long moment.
"You're such a dork." He said with a snort. She laughed then shoved him a little.
"I'm such a dork? Oh, please! How many digits of pi can you recite?" She said, shoving him again. He shoved her back and she tackled him, working on pinning his shoulders to the ground.
"That's different!" He said, rolling so he was on top of her, pinning her hands above her head. "And 50."
"Why? Why would you possibly ever need to know that many?"
"I can--whoa!" She hooked her legs around his neck and pulled him backward, so he was on his back again and she trapped his legs in hers. "What's the point of having a functioning knowledge of John Gay poetry?" She grabbed his hands and pinned his right hand on his left side and his left hand on his right. She took a second to catch her breath.
"Well, what if someone asks me where the phrase cool as a cucumber comes from, huh?" She smiled at him and Hunter wiggled a little, trying to escape. "I can impress people with my knowledge of literature. You can find circumference." He laughed then managed to cross his legs and after a little bit of a fight he had his arms wrapped around her and she had her head down on his chest.
"Good fight." He said with a laugh as he kissed her gently on the lips. She smiled and closed her eyes a minute before shivering.
"I guess, we should head back to camp, now." She said, slowly standing up off him then helping him up.
"Yeah. Let's go." He said, standing up himself, taking her hand, then leaving the cave.
"How long was I out?" She asked, sitting up a little and running her fingers through her hair. Hunter sat up and rubbed her back a little.
"Oh, just a few hours." He said with a nod.
"And how long did I actually sleep?"
"About 20 minutes."
"Much better." She said with a smile. Hunter laughed and took her hand in his, rubbing the back of it with his fingers. They sat there for a while and Hunter couldn't help, but think about Arabella for a moment. It was frustrating how much he wanted to have a relationship with her last summer, but he didn't get a chance. And now they were just friends and he had to watch some lying jerk be with her. He had to sit by as she kissed him and hugged him and held hands with him, all while he knew the truth.
"Mmm...I don't want to head back to camp. It's too comfy here." Marina said with a laugh as she leaned into him a little. Hunter smiled over at her. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe Arabella was supposed to be with Ethan. Children of Hermes don't end up with children of Aphrodite. It doesn't work that way. Maybe Hunter was supposed to be with Marina. Maybe this disaster would end up being the best thing. "Something on your mind?"
"Hmm? Oh, no. I'm okay." He said, shaking himself a little. "Just zoned out for a second."
"Are you sure you weren't thinking about whatever made you so awkward around Arabella and Ethan earlier?" She said with a raised eyebrow. Hunter was really glad that Marina was the kind of person who wouldn't get upset about things like this. She wouldn't worry that it's her fault or start freaking out. "I'm not blind."
"I know." Hunter said with a sigh. "It's just kind of complicated and I don't want to-"
"Hunter, I can design and build elaborate triggering devices for weapons grade explosive just by looking at the stuff. There is nothing that is too complicated for me to understand."
"I'm not sure that this can really be compared to-"
"Am I going to be mad or something?" She said, pulling away from him a little. "Did you like cheat on me with Arabella or something?"
"No, no. Of course not." He said quietly. "I just uh...Okay, well. Last summer, I had that whole thing with Brooke-"
"Such a bitch."
"And as a result, I started to get to know Arabella."
"Okay, so you had a crush on her?" Hunter nodded softly and Marina laughed at how nervous he looked. "Hunter, it's just a crush. You obviously got over it, considering that we're together now. And besides, you didn't have much of a chance with Ethan, her superman, waiting in the wings."
"That's the thing, though." Hunter said, clearing his throat. "Ethan wasn't the guy who saved her and it especially wasn't Brett."
"How do you know? It's not like-oh my gods..." Hunter nodded and Marina gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Why didn't you tell her?"
"Well, I was going out with Brooke before I had a chance to tell her before Brett and I was going to give her some time to...heal or whatever, but then Ethan stepped in and then she left."
"Oh, that poor girl...You have to tell her."
"Absolutely not." Hunter said in complete surprise at her suggestion. "I like being friends with her, thank you very much."
"You'll be even better friends once you tell her!"
"No, I won't!" Hunter said with a nervous laugh. "Think about it. If I go to her right now and tell her that I was the guy who saved her twice and not the guy that she's been hanging out with and has been a relationship with for the past several months, I will not be her friend. She will always see me as the guy that broke her and Ethan up. The guy who, apparently, didn't have the guts to tell her about it all until she was in a legitimate relationship. That's why I can't tell her. I would rather be just a friend of hers than the person who potentially ruined her life."
"How would it possibly be ruining her life?"
"Well...Aphrodite works in mysterious ways. What if she's supposed to end up with Ethan? What if Ethan was supposed to lie to her now, just to break the ice for a serious relationship?" Marina took a deep breath then sighed.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." She said quietly. Hunter laughed a little.
"You just hate when I'm right, don't you?" She giggled a little and nodded.
"My biggest pet peeve ever." Hunter leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"Thank you for being cool about this," Hunter said quietly, slipping his arms around her. She smiled over at him and kissed him lightly on the lips.
"You can always count on me being cool. Cool as a cucumber."
"What makes cucumbers cool?"
"John Gay poem. It's because they are cold to the touch." Hunter stared at her for a long moment.
"You're such a dork." He said with a snort. She laughed then shoved him a little.
"I'm such a dork? Oh, please! How many digits of pi can you recite?" She said, shoving him again. He shoved her back and she tackled him, working on pinning his shoulders to the ground.
"That's different!" He said, rolling so he was on top of her, pinning her hands above her head. "And 50."
"Why? Why would you possibly ever need to know that many?"
"I can--whoa!" She hooked her legs around his neck and pulled him backward, so he was on his back again and she trapped his legs in hers. "What's the point of having a functioning knowledge of John Gay poetry?" She grabbed his hands and pinned his right hand on his left side and his left hand on his right. She took a second to catch her breath.
"Well, what if someone asks me where the phrase cool as a cucumber comes from, huh?" She smiled at him and Hunter wiggled a little, trying to escape. "I can impress people with my knowledge of literature. You can find circumference." He laughed then managed to cross his legs and after a little bit of a fight he had his arms wrapped around her and she had her head down on his chest.
"Good fight." He said with a laugh as he kissed her gently on the lips. She smiled and closed her eyes a minute before shivering.
"I guess, we should head back to camp, now." She said, slowly standing up off him then helping him up.
"Yeah. Let's go." He said, standing up himself, taking her hand, then leaving the cave.
Chapter 42: Arabella
Arabella walked towards her cabin, her hands in her pockets. It would be nice to just get her stuff organized and see a few of her siblings before they had to go to supper and then the fire. With a little sigh, she stepped into cabin, glancing behind her in time to see Ethan slip into his cabin. She smiled a little bit then moved towards her bed.
The cabin was pretty empty, which Arabella didn't really mind. She stood by her bed and opened up her bag, gingerly taking everything out and placing them back inside her trunk. Arabella was happy to be back at camp and she was happy to be spending time with Hunter and Jake again. Sitting with Hunter, talking to him, it was really wonderful. She had been worried that he was going to be mad at her or something. Arabella took her time as she piled her clothes into her cabin. It was peaceful and quiet in the cabin and Arabella loved it. She hummed softly to herself, trying to focus on the good things. She didn't want to get stuck thinking about stuff that upset her or confused her. Like how Jake had thought that she was dating Hunter. When she first realized that he was thinking that, she got an image of her and Hunter. Maybe the desire to be with him was still in there and that scared her. Arabella was with Ethan and she loved him. It should be as simple as that, right? But it wasn't that simple and Hunter was going to be in her heart for a very long time. Arabella knew that she probably never had a chance with him but she knew that he needed to be her friend. She couldn't mess that up again.
Arabella took a deep breath as she pulled out the box of letters that were addressed to Hunter. Gingerly,s eh ran her fingers across the top of the box. The last thing she wanted was for this box to be seen by anyone. It held so many personal thoughts and feelings. Arabella placed it in the bottom of her trunk, placing a pair of Louboutin's on top of it. She just closed her trunk when something ran into her from behind, pushing her onto the bed.
"ARABELLA!"
"Ommph!" Arabella groaned under the weight of her brother. "Good to see you too, Daniel" She muttered. He hugged her tightly before letting go and sitting back on her bed, grinning over at her. Arabella looked over at him for a moment before smiling.
"I missed you!" Daniel squeaked before she could say anything else. It was good to see her brother again. Arabella had grown so close to him while she was at camp and he was always a shoulder that she could lean on. She trusted him probably more than she trusted anyone else at camp.
"You look amazing, Danny." Arabella told him with a little smile. "How was your vacation?" She asked him.
"Ugh, amazing" Daniel sighed happily. "Spain was just...incredible."
"I can see that tan that you got there" Arabella said with a little laugh. Daniel grinned, running his fingers through his blonde hair that had been lightened by the sun.
"Well, I'm so glad that you noticed" Daniel sighed dramatically, he gave his hair a little flip and Arabella giggled. "Tell me about your school year, missy"
"Well, it wasn't very fun since I didn't get to go to Spain in May" Arabella teased. She leaned back against the wall, pulling her pillow into her lap and wrapping her arms around it. "I had a good year. Kind of boring at school..."
"And how's Ethan?" Daniel asked her with a smile.
''He's fine" Arabella shrugged, causing Daniel to giggle.
"Oh, I bet he is" He teased, winking over at her. Arabella looked at him with a slightly stunned look on her face.
"Danny!" She gasped, smacking his leg. Arabella giggled a little bit, blushing and she pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. She cleared her throat and glanced out of the window for a quick moment.
"In all seriousness, have you done...anything with him?" Daniel asked her in a curious voice and Arabella's cheeks changed from pink to red. She thought back to the first time Ethan had tried to sleep with her and she shivered. Arabella had never expected Ethan to do something like that and even though it wasn't as bad as it could have been, it still kind of bothered her. Especially the way he had stormed out. Arabella bit her lip before she finally shook her head.
"No, we haven't...done anything" Arabella confessed in a low voice. She felt guilty about the whole thing, to be honest. Ethan had been such an incredible boyfriend and he was so loyal to her. Arabella worried that he would start to regret his relationship with her if she didn't 'put out' soon. Daniel seemed to understand how she was feeling because he simply nodded, letting the topic drop.
"Well...any plans for tonight?" Daniel asked her and Arabella smiled, starting to feel a bit better.
"Yeah, actually. Well, I'm planning on sitting with Jake and Hunter and Ethan and Marina at the fire tonight" Arabella told him. "You should join us!"
"I'll see what I can do" Daniel told her. He paused for a moment, his eyebrows knitting together then he turned to look at Arabella. "Who is Marina?"
"Hunter's girlfriend"
"Hunter has a girlfriend?!" Daniel gasped, nearly falling off of the bed. Arabella laughed at him as he steadied himself but she tried to see what he was thinking. His face was hard to read and his eyes seemed to be flashing between so many different emotions. After a few moments, he put on his happy face and he grinned. "I can't believe he has a girlfriend!"
"I know, right?" Arabella giggled. "I like...I don't mean that in a bad way. I just...I didn't expect him to want a girlfriend any time soon, not after Brooke"
"Really though..."
"Oh, well. Marina seems like a really nice girl" Arabella said with a shrug. She cleared her throat before rolling off of her bed. "I think it's almost time for supper" She said with a little nod and she opened up her trunk at the foot of her bed. Arabella dug through her clothes until she found a cardigan and she tugged it on, holding it closed in front of her. "I'm going to head out. I'm sure that there will be people that I need to stop and gossip with" She giggled.
"See you at supper" Daniel laughed, waving to her. Arabella gave him a little wave then stepped out of the cabin, taking a deep breath and smiling softly to herself, happy to be home.
The cabin was pretty empty, which Arabella didn't really mind. She stood by her bed and opened up her bag, gingerly taking everything out and placing them back inside her trunk. Arabella was happy to be back at camp and she was happy to be spending time with Hunter and Jake again. Sitting with Hunter, talking to him, it was really wonderful. She had been worried that he was going to be mad at her or something. Arabella took her time as she piled her clothes into her cabin. It was peaceful and quiet in the cabin and Arabella loved it. She hummed softly to herself, trying to focus on the good things. She didn't want to get stuck thinking about stuff that upset her or confused her. Like how Jake had thought that she was dating Hunter. When she first realized that he was thinking that, she got an image of her and Hunter. Maybe the desire to be with him was still in there and that scared her. Arabella was with Ethan and she loved him. It should be as simple as that, right? But it wasn't that simple and Hunter was going to be in her heart for a very long time. Arabella knew that she probably never had a chance with him but she knew that he needed to be her friend. She couldn't mess that up again.
Arabella took a deep breath as she pulled out the box of letters that were addressed to Hunter. Gingerly,s eh ran her fingers across the top of the box. The last thing she wanted was for this box to be seen by anyone. It held so many personal thoughts and feelings. Arabella placed it in the bottom of her trunk, placing a pair of Louboutin's on top of it. She just closed her trunk when something ran into her from behind, pushing her onto the bed.
"ARABELLA!"
"Ommph!" Arabella groaned under the weight of her brother. "Good to see you too, Daniel" She muttered. He hugged her tightly before letting go and sitting back on her bed, grinning over at her. Arabella looked over at him for a moment before smiling.
"I missed you!" Daniel squeaked before she could say anything else. It was good to see her brother again. Arabella had grown so close to him while she was at camp and he was always a shoulder that she could lean on. She trusted him probably more than she trusted anyone else at camp.
"You look amazing, Danny." Arabella told him with a little smile. "How was your vacation?" She asked him.
"Ugh, amazing" Daniel sighed happily. "Spain was just...incredible."
"I can see that tan that you got there" Arabella said with a little laugh. Daniel grinned, running his fingers through his blonde hair that had been lightened by the sun.
"Well, I'm so glad that you noticed" Daniel sighed dramatically, he gave his hair a little flip and Arabella giggled. "Tell me about your school year, missy"
"Well, it wasn't very fun since I didn't get to go to Spain in May" Arabella teased. She leaned back against the wall, pulling her pillow into her lap and wrapping her arms around it. "I had a good year. Kind of boring at school..."
"And how's Ethan?" Daniel asked her with a smile.
''He's fine" Arabella shrugged, causing Daniel to giggle.
"Oh, I bet he is" He teased, winking over at her. Arabella looked at him with a slightly stunned look on her face.
"Danny!" She gasped, smacking his leg. Arabella giggled a little bit, blushing and she pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. She cleared her throat and glanced out of the window for a quick moment.
"In all seriousness, have you done...anything with him?" Daniel asked her in a curious voice and Arabella's cheeks changed from pink to red. She thought back to the first time Ethan had tried to sleep with her and she shivered. Arabella had never expected Ethan to do something like that and even though it wasn't as bad as it could have been, it still kind of bothered her. Especially the way he had stormed out. Arabella bit her lip before she finally shook her head.
"No, we haven't...done anything" Arabella confessed in a low voice. She felt guilty about the whole thing, to be honest. Ethan had been such an incredible boyfriend and he was so loyal to her. Arabella worried that he would start to regret his relationship with her if she didn't 'put out' soon. Daniel seemed to understand how she was feeling because he simply nodded, letting the topic drop.
"Well...any plans for tonight?" Daniel asked her and Arabella smiled, starting to feel a bit better.
"Yeah, actually. Well, I'm planning on sitting with Jake and Hunter and Ethan and Marina at the fire tonight" Arabella told him. "You should join us!"
"I'll see what I can do" Daniel told her. He paused for a moment, his eyebrows knitting together then he turned to look at Arabella. "Who is Marina?"
"Hunter's girlfriend"
"Hunter has a girlfriend?!" Daniel gasped, nearly falling off of the bed. Arabella laughed at him as he steadied himself but she tried to see what he was thinking. His face was hard to read and his eyes seemed to be flashing between so many different emotions. After a few moments, he put on his happy face and he grinned. "I can't believe he has a girlfriend!"
"I know, right?" Arabella giggled. "I like...I don't mean that in a bad way. I just...I didn't expect him to want a girlfriend any time soon, not after Brooke"
"Really though..."
"Oh, well. Marina seems like a really nice girl" Arabella said with a shrug. She cleared her throat before rolling off of her bed. "I think it's almost time for supper" She said with a little nod and she opened up her trunk at the foot of her bed. Arabella dug through her clothes until she found a cardigan and she tugged it on, holding it closed in front of her. "I'm going to head out. I'm sure that there will be people that I need to stop and gossip with" She giggled.
"See you at supper" Daniel laughed, waving to her. Arabella gave him a little wave then stepped out of the cabin, taking a deep breath and smiling softly to herself, happy to be home.
Chapter 41: Arabella and Hunter
Arabella twisted her fingers in her lap, glancing out of the window as the limo sped down the road. She was excited and anxious to get back to Camp Half Blood. Ethan reached over and took her hand, rubbing this thumb along her palm. She looked over at him and gave him a little smile. "Are you excited?"
"Yeah, for sure" He said and she leaned over, kissing his cheek before resting her head on his shoulder. "Are you excited?"
"Very. I'm a little nervous, though" She sighed, closing her eyes. When she thought about how she left, she got a bit of a knot in her stomach. Arabella had left camp so suddenly. She hadn't told anyone that she was leaving and she didn't get to say goodbye to a lot of her friends. Ethan slipped an arm around her and he gave her a little squeeze.
"Everything will be okay" He said and she nodded a little bit, looking down at her empty wrist and wishing that she had her little Barbie watch. There was a few moments of silence but then the car stopped and the door was opening. Arabella took a deep breath and slid out, looking up at the hill. Their camp, her home was only a few steps away.
"Wait...So you kept telling me that my sword wasn't done, so that I would keep hanging out with you?" Hunter asked, a little smirk on his lips. He lifted up a branch, allowing Marina to duck under. "You probably didn't need to do that."
"Well...I...wasn't...thinking." She said quietly, her cheek red from embarrassment. "Sorry. I just didn't you to get done and go back to wasting away in that arena. Whatever it was that had you all bothered, really made your sword skills impressive." She slipped her arm around his as they finally walked out of the woods. "Still not as good as me though." She said with a nod.
"Oh, is that what you think?" Hunter said, raising an eyebrow at her. "Well, how about we find out?" He said, starting to walk to the arena. Marina giggled a little and leaned up on her toes before kissing him tightly on the lips.
"Race you there." she said with a wink before taking off toward the arena.
Arabella dug her bag out of the car and she slung it over her shoulder. She looked around, taking a deep breath as she waited for Ethan. He pulled his bag out of the car and closed the door. "Ready?" He asked her and she nodded. Together, they walked over the hill and down towards camp. It hadn't changed since Arabella had left. For some reason, she felt like it was going to change. Like she was going to get to the top of the hill and find a completely different camp. She grinned up at Ethan then started walking a bit faster towards the camp. She couldn't wait to see her siblings and sit on her bed again. Ethan was clearly itching to get back to the arena. He kept glancing over in that direction as they walked towards the cabins.
"I just want to drop my stuff off and then we can do whatever you want" Arabella said with a little nod. Ethan sighed dramatically but he had a smile on his face.
"Fine..I guess I can manage that" He said and they turned towards the Ares cabin. Arabella waited outside while Ethan dropped off his bag then they walked towards the Aphrodite cabin together.
"I'll be quick" She said and she kissed him quickly. Arabella stepped into the Aphrodite cabin and looked around. It was totally empty but she could see that Daniel had his bag on his bed. She smiled, put her stuff on her bed then walked out. "Okay. Let's go to the arena"
Hunter stepped backward, his breathing a little heavy as he gripped his sword tightly in his hand. He smiled over at Marina who was resetting her stance. They laughed a little before attacking again, their sword clanging together.
"I have to be honest. This sword is a lot better than my last one." He said, pulling his sword back and doing two quick thrusts at her. She dodged backwards and then switched her sword to her left hand, quickly making a few quick attacks.
"Didn't I tell you? Yes, I did." She said with a laugh as she slashed in a wide arc and Hunter dodged backward then quickly stepped behind her placing his sword against her neck.
"And you said you were better than me." He said with a smile before Marina grabbed his arm and tossed him over her head. He landed hard on his back and dropped his sword as he groaned a little. Marina laughed and with a foot on each side of his waist.
"I did and it's because I am." She laughed just as Hunter grabbed her legs, pulling them out from under her. She fell backward on her back and Hunter quickly crawled over her and smiled.
"How about we just call it a tie?" He said before kissing her gently on the lips. She smiled against his lips and put a hand on his cheek. Hunter finally pulled away and stood before helping her up. They kissed one more time then picked up their weapons and started back out of the arena, their fingers entwined tightly together.
Arabella laughed a little bit at Ethan, who was pretty much dragging her towards the arena. He had missed it and that was obvious. Arabella missed it too, but she would much rather be relaxing or walking around and talking to her friends. Ethan, however, clearly had other things on his mind. It didn't bother her, it wasn't like they were going to be at the arena for a really long time. As they were walking, Arabella saw on her of sisters. She turned away from Ethan as he tugged her along and grinned, waving to the Aphrodite daughter. However, she was not looking where she was going and Ethan clearly wasn't looking either because the next thing she knew, Arabella was walking head first into a hard chest. "Oh, I'm so sorry" She said quickly, not recognizing who it was at first. He looked so different with short hair and a buffer body.
Hunter wasn't really paying attention to what was in front of him, so he jumped a little when he bumped into something. He reflexively caught the person and looked down at the face that was obscured by a thick curtain of blonde hair. She stood up straight and pushed her hair back, revealing her identity. Hunter's heart skipped a beat when he saw Arabella standing before him. He cleared his throat and pulled away from her, studying his feet a second. "Hey, wel-welcome back to camp." He said with a sigh.
"Hunter!" Arabella squeaked, a little shocked. He looked like a totally different person. He had filled out and his hair, which had once been long and curly, was cut close to his head. He looked happier and more confident. She glanced over at the girl he was with, she thought her name was Marina or something like that, and gave her a smile. Arabella looked back at Hunter, still a little stunned. "I, uh...thanks. I just got here about 20 minutes ago" she told him in a slightly nervous voice with a little smile and she tugged on the hem of her shorts.
"We were just doing some uh...sparring." Hunter said a little nervously. There was a long pause when Hunter heard Marina clearing her throat next to him. "Oh, Arabella, this is-"
"Hi, I'm Marina" She said with a smile as she extended her hand to Arabella. "Daughter of Hephaestus. Ethan, it's good to see you back at camp." She said with a grin. Hunter frowned a little at Ethan. He was a little disappointed to see that Arabella was still with him considering what he knew.
"Hey, Ethan. I'm Hunter. Nice to meet you." He said finally, trying not to give him a death glare.
Arabella smiled a little bit, her stomach still a little tight with nerves. She looked at Marina and let out a little sigh. When she had sent him a letter, Arabella was expecting a response from him. But she never got one and now she was looking at the girl who was clearly his girlfriend. "Did, uh, did you have a good year?" She asked Hunter, trying to keep her voice from sounding too awkward.
Hunter took a deep breath and then looked over at Marina. He was with her now. He was done with Arabella and Arabella was obviously done with him. He cleared his throat then smiled a little. "Yeah," he said with a nod. "It was really good." He took Marina's hand and squeezed it a little before smiling a little bigger. "It looks like yours was pretty good, too."
Arabella looked up at Ethan, smiling a little bit. He smiled back at her and he placed a quick kiss on the top of her head before running off towards the arena. Ethan was practically jumping out of his skin to get to the arena. Arabella watching him run away then turned back to Hunter, nodding softly. "Yeah, I had a pretty good year" She said, glancing down at his hand in Marina's. "It's good to meet you, Marina. I heard some good things about you through a couple friends I have in your cabin"
"Oh, well...they're too kind. I'd say the same, except I don't really know any of your siblings." Marina said with a nervous little laugh. "Also, that reminds me..." She checked her watch and sighed a little before turning to Hunter, slipping her arms around his neck. "I told Max and Nyssa that I'd help clean up the forge, so I gotta go." She leaned up and kissed him on the lips. "I'll see you later." She said before pulling away. "It was nice meeting you, Arabella."
"You too, Marina" Arabella said softly, giving her a little smile. She watched as Marina walked away then glanced up at Hunter. Out of habit, she held her left wrist in her other hand, like she was playing with a watch that used to be there. Arabella was worried that things would be awkward between her and Hunter and she was right. She was so anxious about what he thought about her letter but now that he was with Marina and she was with Ethan, they should be able to be friends, right? "I'm really glad that you had a good year, Hunter. Anything interesting happen? Other than the...Marina thing" She asked him, giggling a little bit at the end.
"Umm...I had a really good Christmas. Learned to drive, a little bit. Made a new sword." He said quietly, twisting his hands together. There was a long pause and Hunter took a deep breath, trying to think of something to say. "How about you? How was school?" He asked quietly. "I was about to go hang out in front of my cabin. You mind walking and talking?"
"I can walk and talk" Arabella said softly. She glanced over at Ethan but he was so busy, he didn't notice anything. With a little smile up at Hunter, she put her hands in her pockets and started walking with Hunter. "School, uh, school was good." She told him with a little nod. Arabella cleared her throat, looking around the camp before looking up at Hunter with a little smile on her face. "You should have been there when we were talking about ancient Greece, though. I embarrassed myself so many times. I was the crazy one who spoke about the gods as if they actually existed" She told him, laughing a little bit at herself.
Hunter laughed a little and stuck his hands inside his pockets, twisting his fingers around the pink Barbie watch that rested within. "Joke's on them, right?" He said with a smile. "So, what kind of things were they saying? That Aphrodite was some..vain, selfish, conniving, terrible woman? It's really kind of a rude assumption for them to make, considering they've never met her." He said with a laugh. "Like, when people call Dionysus a drunken boozed up party monster. I mean, that's not true." Hunter said with a nod. "I don't think Mr. D has partied in weeks."
Arabella laughed and she nodded in agreement. "Really though!" She giggled. It was nice to talk to Hunter again. Sure, it felt a little awkward but he clearly wasn't thinking about the letter she had sent him. So she tried to push all of that to the back of her mind. Hunter was her friend and she wanted to be able to spend time with him. "Yeah, I actually snapped once because everyone was saying that horrible stuff about Aphrodite." She confessed, blushing a little bit. "What was driving like?" She asked him.
"To be honest? Terrifying. My uncle said that you get used to it and that it's very safe, but..." Hunter sighed a little, twisting his face to try and think about what it was like. He pulled out the lighter that Julie had given him and started spinning it in his hand, doing simple tricks that Julie had shown him. "Think about it though. You're in control of a ton of metal and steel, filled with highly flammable fluid and being powered by an engine that gets power from explosions and it's all moving at high speeds on 4 rubber circles. I don't know what part of that is the safe part."
"That all sounds exciting. Like an adventure" Arabella said in a bit of a dreamy voice, like she was picturing herself behind the wheel of a sports car. "I'd love to learn how to drive but my dad won't let me. He says that's what drivers are for" Arabella muttered, sticking her nose in the air slightly, impersonating her father. "Besides, driving is a risk but everything is a risk. Especially for us demigods. It's a risk just stepping out of this camp. Playing with a super cool lighter in the middle of a forest is a risk." She said with a little giggle, nodding towards his lighter.
Hunter kept walking for a few steps before he realized what she said. "Oh," he said quietly as he looked down at his lighter. He spun it one more time and lit it then closed it and handed it to her. "It was a gift from my cousin," he said quietly, looking over at it. "Her name is Julie, so she started to etch her name into it, but then she stopped and gave it to me, but changed the J into an H and...yeah." He cleared his throat and with nothing for his hands to do he shoved them in his pockets again. "How was your Christmas?"
"Oh, it was great!" Arabella 's face lit up when he asked her how her Christmas was. "Ethan came over with his mom and we had a big turkey dinner. And my dad got a puppy for me, so...it was pretty fantastic" She grinned up at him "I'm really glad that you got to spend some time with your family. I mean, I kind of got the impression that you don't really see them too much and I don't know...it's nice to know that you weren't stuck at camp over Christmas"
Hunter sighed a little, thinking about how he felt for the first month. Jake was gone and she was gone. Then he started hanging out with Marina and it changed. He felt good about their relationship and he felt really good about his family now that his relationship with his Aunt Lucy had improved. "Oh, my cousin, she's...well, she's a dog enthusiast, but she breeds her dogs together. It's like every time I'm there she has some new dog." He said with a chuckle. "Actually..." Hunter reached into his back pocket and retrieved his wallet. "Here's a picture of her, Christina, with Jojo, Wilbur, and Baxter." He said, showing her a photo.
Arabella gasped, smiling a little bit down at the picture. "Well, they're adorable" She said simply, shrugging like it was obvious. "And your cousin is beautiful. She looks like a really nice girl" Arabella added with a nod and she looked around as they got to the Hermes cabin. "Did you get to spend much time with them? Other than at Christmas?" She asked him curiously before she sat down on the steps outside of the Hermes cabin.
Hunter started messing with his lighter again as he leaned on the railing next to her. He was going to sit next to her, but he was worried that it might come off a little inappropriate. "I went over there for Thanksgiving, but it was only a day. It's a little tough for me to be over there a whole lot." He said quietly, running a hand through his hair.
"Oh, that is too sweet." Hunter looked up to see Jake walking toward them, duffel bag in hand. "You guys are waiting for me to get here, so you can welcome me." He stopped and put his hand over his heart, taking a little breath.
"Well, I gotta go." Hunter said, starting to walk off, but stopping with a laugh. "Hey, welcome back." He said, sticking his hand out.
Arabella watched as Jake and Hunter shook hands. She pushed herself up, nervously twisting her hands together. In all honesty, she didn't know how Jake would feel about her and she didn't really want him to be mad at her or anything. When Hunter stepped away from Jake, she walked up to him, giving him a little smile. "It's good to see you, Jake" She said and she hugged him before he could say anything back. Arabella hugged him for a moment before pulling away and grinning between him and Hunter.
Hunter looked at Arabella a moment then smiled over at Jake. "How was your year?" He asked, finally putting his lighter away and sticking his hands in his pockets.
"It was good. School sucked, but it was still pretty good." He said with a nod as he leaned up against the railing. "It looks like it wasn't as good as your guys' though." He said with a little smile, looking between the two of them. "How'd you finally tell her?" Hunter's eyes widened and he panicked. He couldn't believe that Jake had assumed that he and Arabella were together.
"Hey, Jake, look at-" Hunter said frantically before shoving him really hard to the ground. Hunter wasn't sure what to do, but as Jake looked up at him in complete confusion. "Oh, sorry, man." He said, helping him up. Hunter brought him up to his feet and leaned in a little bit. "I didn't tell her anything so shut up, will you?"
Arabella looked over at Jake and Hunter with a slightly confused look on her face. But she quickly shook it off and took a step closer to them. She stood in between them and hooked her arms with theirs. "Tonight. We should sit at the fire together. The three of us, Ethan and Marina. It'll be perfect" She said, smiling over at Hunter then looking over at Jake.
"Sounds great." Hunter said quickly before Jake could say anything.
"Oh, so Marina and Ethan are dating, too?" Jake said with a sigh. Hunter rolled his eyes and stepped on his foot, trying to make it look accidental. "Now, I'm going to be like...the fifth wheel." Hunter smacked him in the back of the head then cleared his throat. "What? With Marina and Ethan dating and you and-"
"Hey, don't you have to get unpacked? Go do that. We'll wait." Hunter said before shoving him toward the door of the Hermes cabin, kicking him in the butt on highway up the stairs. Hunter then put his forehead against the railing a moment before smiling over at Arabella. "So...Yeah. How's your family?"
"Uhm, good" Arabella said, trying to forget about what just happened with Jake. It was beyond awkward and she didn't really want to dwell on that. She put her hands in her pockets and looked around before finally turning her eyes back to Hunter. "Dad works a lot and my brother is in a boarding school, so I didn't really see them a whole lot. But...everything's pretty good" She smiled a little bit. "How's..your family?"
"Good." Hunter said shortly, not sure what else to say. "My uncle got a promotion, so I'll see more of him, hopefully, and...yeah." There was a silence that spread across the two of them. Unfortunately, it was the most awkward of silences. Hunter looked around, trying to think of something to say, but nothing came to him. "So...." He said quietly, trying to find something to say to break the silence.
Arabella nodded a little bit, looking around. She hated the awkward silence. She hated that her and Hunter weren't just talking with ease. She didn't know how to break the silence and small talk was never her strong suit. Arabella played with her wrist a little before looking up at him. "Marina seems like a very sweet girl, Hunter. I hope that she makes you happy"
Hunter looked down at her wrist and his mind floated to her watch in his pocket. "Yeah," he started quietly. "same for Ethan." He closed his eyes a moment recognizing how much he really wished Ethan didn't make her happy. He wanted her to be happy, but not with someone that was lying to her. "He seems nice," he managed to say before taking a deep breath. As much as he wanted to like Ethan and get used to the fact that he was dating Arabella; As much as he wanted to move past this, he couldn't let go of the fact that he was lying to her. He was happy with Marina, but at they very least he was Arabella's friend. "So, how did this whole thing with Ethan start, anyway?"
Arabella smiled a little bit, chewing on her lip. "Well...I don't know if you remember or not. But last year, when that guy had saved me during capture the flag..apparently, it was Ethan" She said, glancing over at Hunter, smiling a little bit. "He found me before I left for school and he told me and since he was going to be going home to Brooklyn, we were able to spend a lot of time together during the year" She told him then she let out a little sigh. "I really don't know what I would have done without him. It was really kind of difficult going back into school and not having any friends or really anyone that I even knew."
Hunter nodded and cleared his throat. He looked at her and sighed. If only he had gotten to her before she got to Ethan. His whole year would have been different. Hunter took a deep breath then sat down next to her on the steps. "Why'd you leave?" He asked quietly. "I don't mean to...Sorry. I just mean that if you didn't want to leave then why did you?" He sat on the other side of the steps looking over at her with a concerned look on his face. He really hoped that it wasn't his fault, but he knew that it probably was.
Arabella thought about it for a moment. She wasn't hurt by his question or anything like that, she just wanted to make sure that she gave him a clear, honest answer. Arabella was quiet for what felt like a long time before she finally answered him. "Last year had been really rough on me. I mean, it wasn't like anything really terrible had happened. But I had been really hurt by a guy just before the summer started and then I found out that Brett has lied to me...." Arabella took a deep breath then waved her hand, like she was waving it all away. "A lot of people at camp were saying things about me and I just didn't want to deal with it anymore. So I took a school year away from it all"
Hunter took a deep breath and nodded a little. "Okay. Sorry. I was just wondering." He said quietly. Hunter wished that she had stayed. Maybe he could have done something and maybe they would be holding hands and cuddling, but instead they were having trouble making small talk. He took a deep breath and quickly changed subjects. "Speaking of Brett, though...Did you hear what happened to him? Well, I should say what we did to him?" He smiled a little proud of himself. "It was a lesson in why you don't mess with Hermes cabin."
"No...I didn't hear anything!" Arabella giggled and she turned towards him. She rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. She looked over at him with wide, curious eyes and kept a big smile on her face. It was really wonderful, sitting with Hunter and talking like that. It was easy to sit and talk with him, it was easy to feel comfortable around him and it was easy to have feelings for him. Arabella almost wished that it wasn't like that because that just made her relationship with Ethan more complicated.
Hunter smiled to himself and then leaned in a little. "He actually doesn't know I was involved at all, but he apparently slept with Chelsea and then completely screwed her over. So, we decide that he's going to get a little bit of a comeuppance. Especially considering what the douchenozzle did to you." She nodded softly, but her eyes didn't move away from him as he continued. "Well, Chelsea told him that she wanted to have sex with him again, but he had to come to camp. So he did, but we were waiting for him. It was great. Chelsea got him naked. And I mean, birthday suit naked and then snatched his clothes and ran out of the cabin. Brett, of course, gave chase, but what he didn't know is that Marina and I had set a landmine that exploded sticky glitter once he stepped on it. He did. The front of the Apollo cabin gets covered in glitter, leaving a stunned, sparkly, clothed in a shield, Brett Wilcox. At that moment Chelsea burns his clothes just as we let down a banner on the front that reads, "STDs: You name it, Brett's got it!" in big red letters."
Arabella bust out laughing. She giggled until her cheeks were sore. Arabella put her hand over her mouth before brushing away a few tears. "That..." She said then cleared her throat, still giggling softly. "Is the best thing that I have heard in a very long time" Arabella took a breath, trying to calm herself down a little bit. "He totally deserved it. I can't believe that he would do that to Chelsea, though..."
Hunter finally calmed down enough and nodded. "He almost did it to you, so what's stopping him from doing it to someone else. Plus add in Chelsea's insecurities and I'm surprised something like that has happened already to her." Hunter took a deep breath. "I apologize on behalf of men for what Brett tried to do to you. I just wish the real person who saved you could have gotten to you before some lying jerk." He said, biting the inside of his lip a little to stop himself from saying something he shouldn't.
Arabella smiled softly at him. She reached over and gingerly placed her hand on his arm for a moment. "Thanks" She said lightly. Arabella took her hand off of his arm and she folded her arms across her chest. "Brett was a jerk. But I'm glad that I didn't really get involved with him. I don't know how I would have been able to deal with his lies once something happened between us." She bit her lip for a moment before glancing back at the Hermes cabin. "How is Chelsea? Is she okay with all of it?"
Hunter nodded quickly. "Yeah. Jake will never admit it, but she's the toughest one in our cabin." Hunter took a deep breath, feeling a little disappointed that something happened to her. "She basically get really sad then really angry then even angrier and then just kind of shuts down for a little while then a day later, presto change-o, brand new Chelsea." Hunter said with a laugh. "She's currently off in the woods being even angrier."
"Alright.." Arabella sighed, biting her lip. She turned back to Hunter and gave him a little smile. "If she wants to talk or not talk or anything like that, would you let her know that I'm here for her?" She asked him. "I mean, she might want to talk to someone who knows what it's like to be hurt by Brett.." Arabella added with a little giggle. She leaned back a little bit, looking around at the other cabins as people walked between them, getting settled and talking to friends. "Have you seen much of Brooke?"
"I assumed you would have seen her before I did." He said with a shrug. "I know she went home for the year, but past that I don't know anything." He picked at the step of the cabin a little. "She probably doesn't really want to talk to me though, so I'm probably not the best source. I'm not really on her...social level. I'm not on yours either really, but somehow you talk to me." He cleared his throat and stretched a little, lifting his shirt up to reveal the completely flat muscled stomach that he had somehow achieved over the year. "How did school go? I'm not sure I asked that."
"Yes, you did" Arabella said with a little laugh. She glanced at his stomach for a quick second before looking up at him. "What I want to know...is what the heck happened to you?" Arabella asked him, giggling. She reached over and ran her hand over his hair in a teasing sort of way. "You're all....muscle-y and you cut your hair.." Arabella couldn't believe that it was the same guy, in all honesty. Hunter wasn't ugly or anything before, but now he looked different. He looked like he was a lot more sure of himself. Arabella figured that it had something to do with Marina.
Hunter looked down at himself and flexed his arms a little. "I don't know." He said with a shrug. When Fall started I just didn't really have anything else to do. All my friends were gone and the summer ended...rather disappointingly. I just started practicing a lot and my hair was annoying me, so I had Daniel cut it before he left." He stood up and flexed then lifted up his shirt. "I mean, it's not like I'm The Situation now, I'm just not the little stick person that I used to be." He laughed a little then leaned on the railing again. "And then...I don't know. I just had a pretty good year. At least it seemed extra good because of how much last summer sucked."
"Well, you look incredible, Hunter..really" Arabella told him, smiling. She put her hands in her lap, picking at a loose string on her shorts. She really was glad that he had done something like that, that he felt good about himself and where he was. "I'm really happy for you, Hunter. I'm happy that you've had a good year and everything is sort of...falling into place for you" Arabella nodded. To be honest, she was a little jealous of Marina. If Hunter had answered her letter and told her that he had felt the same way, she would have been the reason that he had such a good year. She wanted to be the thing that made him so happy.
Hunter smiled at her and took a deep breath. "Well, look at you. You're dating a...guy and you look great. You always did, though, you know? Umm..." He said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I mean, Ethan is a lucky bast--guy. He should be glad that you haven't uh..."
"Hey, Hunter, not that it matters, because I fixed it, but why did my sheets look like they went through a garbage disposal?" Jake said, emerging from the Hermes cabin wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
"Well, I don't know, Magnum. You're a PI. You should be able to figure it out."
"Oh, Ha. Ha. Yuck it up. You like my shirt, don't you, Arabella?"
Arabella looked up at him and she bit back a laugh. "I love it" She told him, giggling softly. She was really happy to be back in camp and sitting with Hunter and Jake. They were really good guys and they made her laugh. "You are going to be beating the girls off with a stick because of that shirt" Arabella said in her most serious voice possible. She nodded then felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind. "Oh!" She gasped in surprise and turned around quickly to see Ethan's smiling face.
"Hello" He said, grinning. He looked great now that he had gotten some time in at the arena. After exercising like that, he had a glow and an excitement about him.
"Hi" She replied happily then turned toward Hunter and Jake. "Have you guys met officially met, yet? Ethan...this is Jake and Hunter"
"Nice to meet you" Ethan said, sticking his hand out to Hunter to shake.
Hunter stared at Ethan's hand in front of him then took hold of it, squeezing it tightly. "Nice to meet you." He said quietly.
"Oooooooh...." Jake finally said, nodding his head. "You're dating him and he's dating--okay. I've got it now. Yeah. I'm Jake. Good to meet you."
"Weren't you that kid that Caleb tripped last summer?" Ethan said with a nod. "Man, that was hilarious." Hunter blinked at him before forcing a smile on his face.
"Well, don't expect another one. I'm not sure I see slapstick humor in my future." Hunter said, clearing his throat. "Now, Jake, here. This guy does it all, y'know?"
"Oh, stop. You're being too kind." Jake waved him off then crouched down next to Ethan. "Hey, since we're sort of friends now, do you mind hooking me up with a girl? I mean, being the fifth wheel kind of sucks and, let's be honest, I'm a keeper."
Ethan looked over at Jake, shifting a little bit, as he tried to figure out how to respond to him. Arabella thought that Jake was hilarious but Ethan had tensed up a little bit, like he was slightly uncomfortable. "I'll see what I can do"
"Oh, Jake...you'll get a girlfriend. Just be patient. She'll be worth the wait" Arabella said to him with a comforting smile.
"Yeah, you don't need my help" Ethan quickly added, as he slipped an arm around Arabella's waist. He sat down beside her and she automatically leaned into him slightly. She really, really wanted Ethan to get along with Hunter and Jake. They were her friends and she wanted to be able to spend time with all three of them.
Hunter stared at the two of them for a long moment before shaking himself and standing up straight. "Well, speaking of other things that make me better than Jake, I am going to go check on Marina. Make sure there wasn't some horrible catastrophe that would leave her horribly disfigured." Hunter said with a sigh. "I'd have to leave her if that happened."
"Oh, is that right?" Hunter turned around and saw Marina with a little smile on her face. Hunter nodded.
"I'm only in this for your looks, Marina. The sooner you understand that the better." He said before putting a hand on her side and kissing her on the forehead. "Mmmm...You smell like smoke."
"Oh, yeah." She said with a sigh. "Sorry about that."
"No, I like it." He said, wrapping an arm around her. "You up for a walk?" He asked her with a smile. She nodded and Hunter turned to Arabella. "Alright. I'll see you tonight at campfire? Jake, we're sitting with them at campfire. Marina, we're sitting with them at campfire. Also, Jake, I hear that Lindsey just broke up with her boyfriend, so...discuss with Ethan. Maybe he can help you out. I'll see you guys." Hunter said before turning toward the beach with Marina.
"What was that about?" She asked with a smile up at him.
"Just...making friends."
Arabella watched as Hunter walked away with Marina then turned back towards Jake. "You really are going to get tons of girls in that shirt, Jake" She said in a teasing voice.
"Awh, you really think so?" Jake said in a playful, joking voice. "That's sweet"
"Just don't let it go to your head" Arabella laughed. She pulled away from Ethan so that she could stand up and she brushed her hands off on her jeans. "I think that I'm going to go unpack, though. I know that my stuff is all messy and unorganized and it's driving me crazy" She laughed a little bit. "I'll see you at the fire tonight, Jake" She said and turned to Ethan, kissing him lightly before walking towards her cabin.
Hunter lifted a tree branch and let Marina walk under before letting it snap back into place. "Can I just say that you're the exact opposite of my previous girlfriend?"
"Wow. You really know how to sweep a girl off her feet." Marina said with a laugh.
"I mean that in a good way. Brooke was awful. Things moved...pretty fast." Hunter said as he took her hand. "Things with you are nice and slow. It's great." He said as they arrived at the little cave that they had hidden inside of after the prank.
"It is great." Marina said, kissing him on the cheek once before moving a rock away from the entrance. Hunter grabbed the last one and heaved it behind him before stepping inside.
"How'd you find this place?" He asked, looking around a bit at the ground that seemed to be matted down enough to be solid.
"Stargazing." She said with a nod. Hunter cocked his head a little and she pointed out the top. "Stargazing." Hunter looked up and saw that there was a clear view of the sky from inside. No trees obscuring and no lights blocking the sky. Hunter carefully laid down and looked up at the sky, kicking off his flip flops to wiggle his toes. Marina joined him after a moment, laying right next to him.
"This is nice." He said quietly. She slid her head to his shoulder and looked up at the sky again.
"Yeah. It is."
"Yeah, for sure" He said and she leaned over, kissing his cheek before resting her head on his shoulder. "Are you excited?"
"Very. I'm a little nervous, though" She sighed, closing her eyes. When she thought about how she left, she got a bit of a knot in her stomach. Arabella had left camp so suddenly. She hadn't told anyone that she was leaving and she didn't get to say goodbye to a lot of her friends. Ethan slipped an arm around her and he gave her a little squeeze.
"Everything will be okay" He said and she nodded a little bit, looking down at her empty wrist and wishing that she had her little Barbie watch. There was a few moments of silence but then the car stopped and the door was opening. Arabella took a deep breath and slid out, looking up at the hill. Their camp, her home was only a few steps away.
"Wait...So you kept telling me that my sword wasn't done, so that I would keep hanging out with you?" Hunter asked, a little smirk on his lips. He lifted up a branch, allowing Marina to duck under. "You probably didn't need to do that."
"Well...I...wasn't...thinking." She said quietly, her cheek red from embarrassment. "Sorry. I just didn't you to get done and go back to wasting away in that arena. Whatever it was that had you all bothered, really made your sword skills impressive." She slipped her arm around his as they finally walked out of the woods. "Still not as good as me though." She said with a nod.
"Oh, is that what you think?" Hunter said, raising an eyebrow at her. "Well, how about we find out?" He said, starting to walk to the arena. Marina giggled a little and leaned up on her toes before kissing him tightly on the lips.
"Race you there." she said with a wink before taking off toward the arena.
Arabella dug her bag out of the car and she slung it over her shoulder. She looked around, taking a deep breath as she waited for Ethan. He pulled his bag out of the car and closed the door. "Ready?" He asked her and she nodded. Together, they walked over the hill and down towards camp. It hadn't changed since Arabella had left. For some reason, she felt like it was going to change. Like she was going to get to the top of the hill and find a completely different camp. She grinned up at Ethan then started walking a bit faster towards the camp. She couldn't wait to see her siblings and sit on her bed again. Ethan was clearly itching to get back to the arena. He kept glancing over in that direction as they walked towards the cabins.
"I just want to drop my stuff off and then we can do whatever you want" Arabella said with a little nod. Ethan sighed dramatically but he had a smile on his face.
"Fine..I guess I can manage that" He said and they turned towards the Ares cabin. Arabella waited outside while Ethan dropped off his bag then they walked towards the Aphrodite cabin together.
"I'll be quick" She said and she kissed him quickly. Arabella stepped into the Aphrodite cabin and looked around. It was totally empty but she could see that Daniel had his bag on his bed. She smiled, put her stuff on her bed then walked out. "Okay. Let's go to the arena"
Hunter stepped backward, his breathing a little heavy as he gripped his sword tightly in his hand. He smiled over at Marina who was resetting her stance. They laughed a little before attacking again, their sword clanging together.
"I have to be honest. This sword is a lot better than my last one." He said, pulling his sword back and doing two quick thrusts at her. She dodged backwards and then switched her sword to her left hand, quickly making a few quick attacks.
"Didn't I tell you? Yes, I did." She said with a laugh as she slashed in a wide arc and Hunter dodged backward then quickly stepped behind her placing his sword against her neck.
"And you said you were better than me." He said with a smile before Marina grabbed his arm and tossed him over her head. He landed hard on his back and dropped his sword as he groaned a little. Marina laughed and with a foot on each side of his waist.
"I did and it's because I am." She laughed just as Hunter grabbed her legs, pulling them out from under her. She fell backward on her back and Hunter quickly crawled over her and smiled.
"How about we just call it a tie?" He said before kissing her gently on the lips. She smiled against his lips and put a hand on his cheek. Hunter finally pulled away and stood before helping her up. They kissed one more time then picked up their weapons and started back out of the arena, their fingers entwined tightly together.
Arabella laughed a little bit at Ethan, who was pretty much dragging her towards the arena. He had missed it and that was obvious. Arabella missed it too, but she would much rather be relaxing or walking around and talking to her friends. Ethan, however, clearly had other things on his mind. It didn't bother her, it wasn't like they were going to be at the arena for a really long time. As they were walking, Arabella saw on her of sisters. She turned away from Ethan as he tugged her along and grinned, waving to the Aphrodite daughter. However, she was not looking where she was going and Ethan clearly wasn't looking either because the next thing she knew, Arabella was walking head first into a hard chest. "Oh, I'm so sorry" She said quickly, not recognizing who it was at first. He looked so different with short hair and a buffer body.
Hunter wasn't really paying attention to what was in front of him, so he jumped a little when he bumped into something. He reflexively caught the person and looked down at the face that was obscured by a thick curtain of blonde hair. She stood up straight and pushed her hair back, revealing her identity. Hunter's heart skipped a beat when he saw Arabella standing before him. He cleared his throat and pulled away from her, studying his feet a second. "Hey, wel-welcome back to camp." He said with a sigh.
"Hunter!" Arabella squeaked, a little shocked. He looked like a totally different person. He had filled out and his hair, which had once been long and curly, was cut close to his head. He looked happier and more confident. She glanced over at the girl he was with, she thought her name was Marina or something like that, and gave her a smile. Arabella looked back at Hunter, still a little stunned. "I, uh...thanks. I just got here about 20 minutes ago" she told him in a slightly nervous voice with a little smile and she tugged on the hem of her shorts.
"We were just doing some uh...sparring." Hunter said a little nervously. There was a long pause when Hunter heard Marina clearing her throat next to him. "Oh, Arabella, this is-"
"Hi, I'm Marina" She said with a smile as she extended her hand to Arabella. "Daughter of Hephaestus. Ethan, it's good to see you back at camp." She said with a grin. Hunter frowned a little at Ethan. He was a little disappointed to see that Arabella was still with him considering what he knew.
"Hey, Ethan. I'm Hunter. Nice to meet you." He said finally, trying not to give him a death glare.
Arabella smiled a little bit, her stomach still a little tight with nerves. She looked at Marina and let out a little sigh. When she had sent him a letter, Arabella was expecting a response from him. But she never got one and now she was looking at the girl who was clearly his girlfriend. "Did, uh, did you have a good year?" She asked Hunter, trying to keep her voice from sounding too awkward.
Hunter took a deep breath and then looked over at Marina. He was with her now. He was done with Arabella and Arabella was obviously done with him. He cleared his throat then smiled a little. "Yeah," he said with a nod. "It was really good." He took Marina's hand and squeezed it a little before smiling a little bigger. "It looks like yours was pretty good, too."
Arabella looked up at Ethan, smiling a little bit. He smiled back at her and he placed a quick kiss on the top of her head before running off towards the arena. Ethan was practically jumping out of his skin to get to the arena. Arabella watching him run away then turned back to Hunter, nodding softly. "Yeah, I had a pretty good year" She said, glancing down at his hand in Marina's. "It's good to meet you, Marina. I heard some good things about you through a couple friends I have in your cabin"
"Oh, well...they're too kind. I'd say the same, except I don't really know any of your siblings." Marina said with a nervous little laugh. "Also, that reminds me..." She checked her watch and sighed a little before turning to Hunter, slipping her arms around his neck. "I told Max and Nyssa that I'd help clean up the forge, so I gotta go." She leaned up and kissed him on the lips. "I'll see you later." She said before pulling away. "It was nice meeting you, Arabella."
"You too, Marina" Arabella said softly, giving her a little smile. She watched as Marina walked away then glanced up at Hunter. Out of habit, she held her left wrist in her other hand, like she was playing with a watch that used to be there. Arabella was worried that things would be awkward between her and Hunter and she was right. She was so anxious about what he thought about her letter but now that he was with Marina and she was with Ethan, they should be able to be friends, right? "I'm really glad that you had a good year, Hunter. Anything interesting happen? Other than the...Marina thing" She asked him, giggling a little bit at the end.
"Umm...I had a really good Christmas. Learned to drive, a little bit. Made a new sword." He said quietly, twisting his hands together. There was a long pause and Hunter took a deep breath, trying to think of something to say. "How about you? How was school?" He asked quietly. "I was about to go hang out in front of my cabin. You mind walking and talking?"
"I can walk and talk" Arabella said softly. She glanced over at Ethan but he was so busy, he didn't notice anything. With a little smile up at Hunter, she put her hands in her pockets and started walking with Hunter. "School, uh, school was good." She told him with a little nod. Arabella cleared her throat, looking around the camp before looking up at Hunter with a little smile on her face. "You should have been there when we were talking about ancient Greece, though. I embarrassed myself so many times. I was the crazy one who spoke about the gods as if they actually existed" She told him, laughing a little bit at herself.
Hunter laughed a little and stuck his hands inside his pockets, twisting his fingers around the pink Barbie watch that rested within. "Joke's on them, right?" He said with a smile. "So, what kind of things were they saying? That Aphrodite was some..vain, selfish, conniving, terrible woman? It's really kind of a rude assumption for them to make, considering they've never met her." He said with a laugh. "Like, when people call Dionysus a drunken boozed up party monster. I mean, that's not true." Hunter said with a nod. "I don't think Mr. D has partied in weeks."
Arabella laughed and she nodded in agreement. "Really though!" She giggled. It was nice to talk to Hunter again. Sure, it felt a little awkward but he clearly wasn't thinking about the letter she had sent him. So she tried to push all of that to the back of her mind. Hunter was her friend and she wanted to be able to spend time with him. "Yeah, I actually snapped once because everyone was saying that horrible stuff about Aphrodite." She confessed, blushing a little bit. "What was driving like?" She asked him.
"To be honest? Terrifying. My uncle said that you get used to it and that it's very safe, but..." Hunter sighed a little, twisting his face to try and think about what it was like. He pulled out the lighter that Julie had given him and started spinning it in his hand, doing simple tricks that Julie had shown him. "Think about it though. You're in control of a ton of metal and steel, filled with highly flammable fluid and being powered by an engine that gets power from explosions and it's all moving at high speeds on 4 rubber circles. I don't know what part of that is the safe part."
"That all sounds exciting. Like an adventure" Arabella said in a bit of a dreamy voice, like she was picturing herself behind the wheel of a sports car. "I'd love to learn how to drive but my dad won't let me. He says that's what drivers are for" Arabella muttered, sticking her nose in the air slightly, impersonating her father. "Besides, driving is a risk but everything is a risk. Especially for us demigods. It's a risk just stepping out of this camp. Playing with a super cool lighter in the middle of a forest is a risk." She said with a little giggle, nodding towards his lighter.
Hunter kept walking for a few steps before he realized what she said. "Oh," he said quietly as he looked down at his lighter. He spun it one more time and lit it then closed it and handed it to her. "It was a gift from my cousin," he said quietly, looking over at it. "Her name is Julie, so she started to etch her name into it, but then she stopped and gave it to me, but changed the J into an H and...yeah." He cleared his throat and with nothing for his hands to do he shoved them in his pockets again. "How was your Christmas?"
"Oh, it was great!" Arabella 's face lit up when he asked her how her Christmas was. "Ethan came over with his mom and we had a big turkey dinner. And my dad got a puppy for me, so...it was pretty fantastic" She grinned up at him "I'm really glad that you got to spend some time with your family. I mean, I kind of got the impression that you don't really see them too much and I don't know...it's nice to know that you weren't stuck at camp over Christmas"
Hunter sighed a little, thinking about how he felt for the first month. Jake was gone and she was gone. Then he started hanging out with Marina and it changed. He felt good about their relationship and he felt really good about his family now that his relationship with his Aunt Lucy had improved. "Oh, my cousin, she's...well, she's a dog enthusiast, but she breeds her dogs together. It's like every time I'm there she has some new dog." He said with a chuckle. "Actually..." Hunter reached into his back pocket and retrieved his wallet. "Here's a picture of her, Christina, with Jojo, Wilbur, and Baxter." He said, showing her a photo.
Arabella gasped, smiling a little bit down at the picture. "Well, they're adorable" She said simply, shrugging like it was obvious. "And your cousin is beautiful. She looks like a really nice girl" Arabella added with a nod and she looked around as they got to the Hermes cabin. "Did you get to spend much time with them? Other than at Christmas?" She asked him curiously before she sat down on the steps outside of the Hermes cabin.
Hunter started messing with his lighter again as he leaned on the railing next to her. He was going to sit next to her, but he was worried that it might come off a little inappropriate. "I went over there for Thanksgiving, but it was only a day. It's a little tough for me to be over there a whole lot." He said quietly, running a hand through his hair.
"Oh, that is too sweet." Hunter looked up to see Jake walking toward them, duffel bag in hand. "You guys are waiting for me to get here, so you can welcome me." He stopped and put his hand over his heart, taking a little breath.
"Well, I gotta go." Hunter said, starting to walk off, but stopping with a laugh. "Hey, welcome back." He said, sticking his hand out.
Arabella watched as Jake and Hunter shook hands. She pushed herself up, nervously twisting her hands together. In all honesty, she didn't know how Jake would feel about her and she didn't really want him to be mad at her or anything. When Hunter stepped away from Jake, she walked up to him, giving him a little smile. "It's good to see you, Jake" She said and she hugged him before he could say anything back. Arabella hugged him for a moment before pulling away and grinning between him and Hunter.
Hunter looked at Arabella a moment then smiled over at Jake. "How was your year?" He asked, finally putting his lighter away and sticking his hands in his pockets.
"It was good. School sucked, but it was still pretty good." He said with a nod as he leaned up against the railing. "It looks like it wasn't as good as your guys' though." He said with a little smile, looking between the two of them. "How'd you finally tell her?" Hunter's eyes widened and he panicked. He couldn't believe that Jake had assumed that he and Arabella were together.
"Hey, Jake, look at-" Hunter said frantically before shoving him really hard to the ground. Hunter wasn't sure what to do, but as Jake looked up at him in complete confusion. "Oh, sorry, man." He said, helping him up. Hunter brought him up to his feet and leaned in a little bit. "I didn't tell her anything so shut up, will you?"
Arabella looked over at Jake and Hunter with a slightly confused look on her face. But she quickly shook it off and took a step closer to them. She stood in between them and hooked her arms with theirs. "Tonight. We should sit at the fire together. The three of us, Ethan and Marina. It'll be perfect" She said, smiling over at Hunter then looking over at Jake.
"Sounds great." Hunter said quickly before Jake could say anything.
"Oh, so Marina and Ethan are dating, too?" Jake said with a sigh. Hunter rolled his eyes and stepped on his foot, trying to make it look accidental. "Now, I'm going to be like...the fifth wheel." Hunter smacked him in the back of the head then cleared his throat. "What? With Marina and Ethan dating and you and-"
"Hey, don't you have to get unpacked? Go do that. We'll wait." Hunter said before shoving him toward the door of the Hermes cabin, kicking him in the butt on highway up the stairs. Hunter then put his forehead against the railing a moment before smiling over at Arabella. "So...Yeah. How's your family?"
"Uhm, good" Arabella said, trying to forget about what just happened with Jake. It was beyond awkward and she didn't really want to dwell on that. She put her hands in her pockets and looked around before finally turning her eyes back to Hunter. "Dad works a lot and my brother is in a boarding school, so I didn't really see them a whole lot. But...everything's pretty good" She smiled a little bit. "How's..your family?"
"Good." Hunter said shortly, not sure what else to say. "My uncle got a promotion, so I'll see more of him, hopefully, and...yeah." There was a silence that spread across the two of them. Unfortunately, it was the most awkward of silences. Hunter looked around, trying to think of something to say, but nothing came to him. "So...." He said quietly, trying to find something to say to break the silence.
Arabella nodded a little bit, looking around. She hated the awkward silence. She hated that her and Hunter weren't just talking with ease. She didn't know how to break the silence and small talk was never her strong suit. Arabella played with her wrist a little before looking up at him. "Marina seems like a very sweet girl, Hunter. I hope that she makes you happy"
Hunter looked down at her wrist and his mind floated to her watch in his pocket. "Yeah," he started quietly. "same for Ethan." He closed his eyes a moment recognizing how much he really wished Ethan didn't make her happy. He wanted her to be happy, but not with someone that was lying to her. "He seems nice," he managed to say before taking a deep breath. As much as he wanted to like Ethan and get used to the fact that he was dating Arabella; As much as he wanted to move past this, he couldn't let go of the fact that he was lying to her. He was happy with Marina, but at they very least he was Arabella's friend. "So, how did this whole thing with Ethan start, anyway?"
Arabella smiled a little bit, chewing on her lip. "Well...I don't know if you remember or not. But last year, when that guy had saved me during capture the flag..apparently, it was Ethan" She said, glancing over at Hunter, smiling a little bit. "He found me before I left for school and he told me and since he was going to be going home to Brooklyn, we were able to spend a lot of time together during the year" She told him then she let out a little sigh. "I really don't know what I would have done without him. It was really kind of difficult going back into school and not having any friends or really anyone that I even knew."
Hunter nodded and cleared his throat. He looked at her and sighed. If only he had gotten to her before she got to Ethan. His whole year would have been different. Hunter took a deep breath then sat down next to her on the steps. "Why'd you leave?" He asked quietly. "I don't mean to...Sorry. I just mean that if you didn't want to leave then why did you?" He sat on the other side of the steps looking over at her with a concerned look on his face. He really hoped that it wasn't his fault, but he knew that it probably was.
Arabella thought about it for a moment. She wasn't hurt by his question or anything like that, she just wanted to make sure that she gave him a clear, honest answer. Arabella was quiet for what felt like a long time before she finally answered him. "Last year had been really rough on me. I mean, it wasn't like anything really terrible had happened. But I had been really hurt by a guy just before the summer started and then I found out that Brett has lied to me...." Arabella took a deep breath then waved her hand, like she was waving it all away. "A lot of people at camp were saying things about me and I just didn't want to deal with it anymore. So I took a school year away from it all"
Hunter took a deep breath and nodded a little. "Okay. Sorry. I was just wondering." He said quietly. Hunter wished that she had stayed. Maybe he could have done something and maybe they would be holding hands and cuddling, but instead they were having trouble making small talk. He took a deep breath and quickly changed subjects. "Speaking of Brett, though...Did you hear what happened to him? Well, I should say what we did to him?" He smiled a little proud of himself. "It was a lesson in why you don't mess with Hermes cabin."
"No...I didn't hear anything!" Arabella giggled and she turned towards him. She rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. She looked over at him with wide, curious eyes and kept a big smile on her face. It was really wonderful, sitting with Hunter and talking like that. It was easy to sit and talk with him, it was easy to feel comfortable around him and it was easy to have feelings for him. Arabella almost wished that it wasn't like that because that just made her relationship with Ethan more complicated.
Hunter smiled to himself and then leaned in a little. "He actually doesn't know I was involved at all, but he apparently slept with Chelsea and then completely screwed her over. So, we decide that he's going to get a little bit of a comeuppance. Especially considering what the douchenozzle did to you." She nodded softly, but her eyes didn't move away from him as he continued. "Well, Chelsea told him that she wanted to have sex with him again, but he had to come to camp. So he did, but we were waiting for him. It was great. Chelsea got him naked. And I mean, birthday suit naked and then snatched his clothes and ran out of the cabin. Brett, of course, gave chase, but what he didn't know is that Marina and I had set a landmine that exploded sticky glitter once he stepped on it. He did. The front of the Apollo cabin gets covered in glitter, leaving a stunned, sparkly, clothed in a shield, Brett Wilcox. At that moment Chelsea burns his clothes just as we let down a banner on the front that reads, "STDs: You name it, Brett's got it!" in big red letters."
Arabella bust out laughing. She giggled until her cheeks were sore. Arabella put her hand over her mouth before brushing away a few tears. "That..." She said then cleared her throat, still giggling softly. "Is the best thing that I have heard in a very long time" Arabella took a breath, trying to calm herself down a little bit. "He totally deserved it. I can't believe that he would do that to Chelsea, though..."
Hunter finally calmed down enough and nodded. "He almost did it to you, so what's stopping him from doing it to someone else. Plus add in Chelsea's insecurities and I'm surprised something like that has happened already to her." Hunter took a deep breath. "I apologize on behalf of men for what Brett tried to do to you. I just wish the real person who saved you could have gotten to you before some lying jerk." He said, biting the inside of his lip a little to stop himself from saying something he shouldn't.
Arabella smiled softly at him. She reached over and gingerly placed her hand on his arm for a moment. "Thanks" She said lightly. Arabella took her hand off of his arm and she folded her arms across her chest. "Brett was a jerk. But I'm glad that I didn't really get involved with him. I don't know how I would have been able to deal with his lies once something happened between us." She bit her lip for a moment before glancing back at the Hermes cabin. "How is Chelsea? Is she okay with all of it?"
Hunter nodded quickly. "Yeah. Jake will never admit it, but she's the toughest one in our cabin." Hunter took a deep breath, feeling a little disappointed that something happened to her. "She basically get really sad then really angry then even angrier and then just kind of shuts down for a little while then a day later, presto change-o, brand new Chelsea." Hunter said with a laugh. "She's currently off in the woods being even angrier."
"Alright.." Arabella sighed, biting her lip. She turned back to Hunter and gave him a little smile. "If she wants to talk or not talk or anything like that, would you let her know that I'm here for her?" She asked him. "I mean, she might want to talk to someone who knows what it's like to be hurt by Brett.." Arabella added with a little giggle. She leaned back a little bit, looking around at the other cabins as people walked between them, getting settled and talking to friends. "Have you seen much of Brooke?"
"I assumed you would have seen her before I did." He said with a shrug. "I know she went home for the year, but past that I don't know anything." He picked at the step of the cabin a little. "She probably doesn't really want to talk to me though, so I'm probably not the best source. I'm not really on her...social level. I'm not on yours either really, but somehow you talk to me." He cleared his throat and stretched a little, lifting his shirt up to reveal the completely flat muscled stomach that he had somehow achieved over the year. "How did school go? I'm not sure I asked that."
"Yes, you did" Arabella said with a little laugh. She glanced at his stomach for a quick second before looking up at him. "What I want to know...is what the heck happened to you?" Arabella asked him, giggling. She reached over and ran her hand over his hair in a teasing sort of way. "You're all....muscle-y and you cut your hair.." Arabella couldn't believe that it was the same guy, in all honesty. Hunter wasn't ugly or anything before, but now he looked different. He looked like he was a lot more sure of himself. Arabella figured that it had something to do with Marina.
Hunter looked down at himself and flexed his arms a little. "I don't know." He said with a shrug. When Fall started I just didn't really have anything else to do. All my friends were gone and the summer ended...rather disappointingly. I just started practicing a lot and my hair was annoying me, so I had Daniel cut it before he left." He stood up and flexed then lifted up his shirt. "I mean, it's not like I'm The Situation now, I'm just not the little stick person that I used to be." He laughed a little then leaned on the railing again. "And then...I don't know. I just had a pretty good year. At least it seemed extra good because of how much last summer sucked."
"Well, you look incredible, Hunter..really" Arabella told him, smiling. She put her hands in her lap, picking at a loose string on her shorts. She really was glad that he had done something like that, that he felt good about himself and where he was. "I'm really happy for you, Hunter. I'm happy that you've had a good year and everything is sort of...falling into place for you" Arabella nodded. To be honest, she was a little jealous of Marina. If Hunter had answered her letter and told her that he had felt the same way, she would have been the reason that he had such a good year. She wanted to be the thing that made him so happy.
Hunter smiled at her and took a deep breath. "Well, look at you. You're dating a...guy and you look great. You always did, though, you know? Umm..." He said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I mean, Ethan is a lucky bast--guy. He should be glad that you haven't uh..."
"Hey, Hunter, not that it matters, because I fixed it, but why did my sheets look like they went through a garbage disposal?" Jake said, emerging from the Hermes cabin wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
"Well, I don't know, Magnum. You're a PI. You should be able to figure it out."
"Oh, Ha. Ha. Yuck it up. You like my shirt, don't you, Arabella?"
Arabella looked up at him and she bit back a laugh. "I love it" She told him, giggling softly. She was really happy to be back in camp and sitting with Hunter and Jake. They were really good guys and they made her laugh. "You are going to be beating the girls off with a stick because of that shirt" Arabella said in her most serious voice possible. She nodded then felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind. "Oh!" She gasped in surprise and turned around quickly to see Ethan's smiling face.
"Hello" He said, grinning. He looked great now that he had gotten some time in at the arena. After exercising like that, he had a glow and an excitement about him.
"Hi" She replied happily then turned toward Hunter and Jake. "Have you guys met officially met, yet? Ethan...this is Jake and Hunter"
"Nice to meet you" Ethan said, sticking his hand out to Hunter to shake.
Hunter stared at Ethan's hand in front of him then took hold of it, squeezing it tightly. "Nice to meet you." He said quietly.
"Oooooooh...." Jake finally said, nodding his head. "You're dating him and he's dating--okay. I've got it now. Yeah. I'm Jake. Good to meet you."
"Weren't you that kid that Caleb tripped last summer?" Ethan said with a nod. "Man, that was hilarious." Hunter blinked at him before forcing a smile on his face.
"Well, don't expect another one. I'm not sure I see slapstick humor in my future." Hunter said, clearing his throat. "Now, Jake, here. This guy does it all, y'know?"
"Oh, stop. You're being too kind." Jake waved him off then crouched down next to Ethan. "Hey, since we're sort of friends now, do you mind hooking me up with a girl? I mean, being the fifth wheel kind of sucks and, let's be honest, I'm a keeper."
Ethan looked over at Jake, shifting a little bit, as he tried to figure out how to respond to him. Arabella thought that Jake was hilarious but Ethan had tensed up a little bit, like he was slightly uncomfortable. "I'll see what I can do"
"Oh, Jake...you'll get a girlfriend. Just be patient. She'll be worth the wait" Arabella said to him with a comforting smile.
"Yeah, you don't need my help" Ethan quickly added, as he slipped an arm around Arabella's waist. He sat down beside her and she automatically leaned into him slightly. She really, really wanted Ethan to get along with Hunter and Jake. They were her friends and she wanted to be able to spend time with all three of them.
Hunter stared at the two of them for a long moment before shaking himself and standing up straight. "Well, speaking of other things that make me better than Jake, I am going to go check on Marina. Make sure there wasn't some horrible catastrophe that would leave her horribly disfigured." Hunter said with a sigh. "I'd have to leave her if that happened."
"Oh, is that right?" Hunter turned around and saw Marina with a little smile on her face. Hunter nodded.
"I'm only in this for your looks, Marina. The sooner you understand that the better." He said before putting a hand on her side and kissing her on the forehead. "Mmmm...You smell like smoke."
"Oh, yeah." She said with a sigh. "Sorry about that."
"No, I like it." He said, wrapping an arm around her. "You up for a walk?" He asked her with a smile. She nodded and Hunter turned to Arabella. "Alright. I'll see you tonight at campfire? Jake, we're sitting with them at campfire. Marina, we're sitting with them at campfire. Also, Jake, I hear that Lindsey just broke up with her boyfriend, so...discuss with Ethan. Maybe he can help you out. I'll see you guys." Hunter said before turning toward the beach with Marina.
"What was that about?" She asked with a smile up at him.
"Just...making friends."
Arabella watched as Hunter walked away with Marina then turned back towards Jake. "You really are going to get tons of girls in that shirt, Jake" She said in a teasing voice.
"Awh, you really think so?" Jake said in a playful, joking voice. "That's sweet"
"Just don't let it go to your head" Arabella laughed. She pulled away from Ethan so that she could stand up and she brushed her hands off on her jeans. "I think that I'm going to go unpack, though. I know that my stuff is all messy and unorganized and it's driving me crazy" She laughed a little bit. "I'll see you at the fire tonight, Jake" She said and turned to Ethan, kissing him lightly before walking towards her cabin.
Hunter lifted a tree branch and let Marina walk under before letting it snap back into place. "Can I just say that you're the exact opposite of my previous girlfriend?"
"Wow. You really know how to sweep a girl off her feet." Marina said with a laugh.
"I mean that in a good way. Brooke was awful. Things moved...pretty fast." Hunter said as he took her hand. "Things with you are nice and slow. It's great." He said as they arrived at the little cave that they had hidden inside of after the prank.
"It is great." Marina said, kissing him on the cheek once before moving a rock away from the entrance. Hunter grabbed the last one and heaved it behind him before stepping inside.
"How'd you find this place?" He asked, looking around a bit at the ground that seemed to be matted down enough to be solid.
"Stargazing." She said with a nod. Hunter cocked his head a little and she pointed out the top. "Stargazing." Hunter looked up and saw that there was a clear view of the sky from inside. No trees obscuring and no lights blocking the sky. Hunter carefully laid down and looked up at the sky, kicking off his flip flops to wiggle his toes. Marina joined him after a moment, laying right next to him.
"This is nice." He said quietly. She slid her head to his shoulder and looked up at the sky again.
"Yeah. It is."
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