December 22
Hunter groaned a little when the sun hit his eyes. He sighed a little and buried his face in his pillow, wondering if he could get Apollo to go back and come a little bit later. He moved to his other side and stretched a little, throwing his blanket over his face. He wasn't sure what time it was, but it was a Saturday and he didn't have a single thing to do. He had talked to Marina the previous day and he felt a little less awkward about the tension during the fight that Thursday.
"Fucking bullshit!" Hunter sat up quickly, looking at the door as it shook. He recognized that it was Chelsea's voice. He groaned and threw his blanket over his head, laying as flat as he could. Chelsea was the kind of person who involved anyone who was nearby in her current problem. She slammed against the door to try and open it, but she was apparently too angry to remember how to open doors or...speak normally. Finally the door banged open and she walked in then slammed it. "Such a dickbag!" He could feel her heavy footsteps move across the floor to her bed which was across the row from his. Hunter tried to stifle his breathing, but it didn't work when he felt her stop by his bed then flip the blanket off of him. "Why are all of you assholes?!"
"Uhh..." Hunter started, shivering a little at his sudden exposure. "I'm not entirely sure."
"Well, you can go fuck yourself!" She said before pushing his bed over. Hunter laid there for a second as he listened for the sound of her storming out again, but he heard her sit down on her bed. Hunter sat up and he managed to look over the edge of the bed to see her crying on her bed. Hunter paused for a moment and then stood grabbing his shirt and slipping it on over his head. He stepped out from inside his bed then took a second and stood it back up, throwing everything back on top. Hunter finally looked over at Chelsea and took a few steps toward her.
"Chels?" He said, leaning against the bed next to hers. "Chels, are you alright?"
"Do I fucking sound alright!?" She shouted before pulling her legs up, hugging her knees to her chest. He twisted his hands together for a second and then looked up at her a little nervously.
"Look, I just...You're my sister and I want to help." He said, hopping up onto the top bunk next to hers. "What's wrong?"
"Men are fucking douchebags. That's what's wrong!" She shouted. Hunter put his hands up then hopped down from the bed. "Well, hold on." She said quietly. Hunter hopped up next to her and she swung her legs off, sitting next to him.
"Well...Arabella moved on with that douchegoblin Brett from Apollo cabin, I saw an opportunity and I...and he...and so after a couple days we..." Her lip quivered a moment and she buried her face in her hands. Hunter took a small breath and put his arm around her, gently rubbing her arm. After a moment, she composed herself enough to speak again. "I should have known that he was a lying asswipe, but he was so nice and he..." She let out a couple of sobs and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Well, I thought we had this really like...deep connection, but I just Iris messaged him and I saw that he was with..." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "With someone else."
"Oh, Chelsea, I'm so sorry." He said quietly, letting her cry into his shoulder. They stayed like that for a long time. Hunter didn't exactly plan his day going this way, but every second that he thought about what had happened to Chelsea and to Arabella made him angry. Neither of them deserved it and no one ever should be treated the way that Brett treated them.
"Hey, Chelsea...I uh...I think it's time that we got some revenge on Brett the only way that Hermes kids know how." She looked up at him and had concerned eyes. "I have an idea, but we'll need some help and I know the person to ask."
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Hunter took a look around the camp and noticed how vacant it seemed. It was in the midafternoon, so people were milling about, but he didn't like the fact that not as many would be able to see it. He walked down the line of cabins until he found the Hephaestus cabin where he walked in and down the stairs to the forge.
"Shush shush shush." Marina said quickly, holding up a finger. Hunter froze in place, his mouth open to speak. She seemed to take a moment to add something really small to a small disk before exhaling and standing up straight again. "Are we almost ready?" She said with a smile.
"I cannot thank you enough, Marina. This really...It means a lot."
"Well, it's not often I get to make an adhesive glitter landmine and you know I like a challenge." She smiled up at him and they locked eyes a moment before looking away. "So, what's the plan? You skimped a little on the details."
"Okay. Well, Chelsea told Brett that she wanted to sleep with him again, but he had to come to camp if he wanted it. Being the guy that he is, he said yes and made sure that the Apollo cabin was empty for 3 hours-Very generous if you ask me- so that they get some privacy. She'll walk in. Get him naked. Run out with his clothes. While that's going on, we're placing the landmine and before you protest that we'll get in trouble I'm not doing it by myself and I know that you find this whole idea really exciting." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Then he's going to give chase, step on the landmine, become bedazzled, we'll release the banner, reading in bright red letters, 'STDs: You name it, Brett's got it.' Chels burns his clothes then we run like three bats outta hell." Marina looked at him with a wide range of emotions.
"I...well, Wow. You really just...You are really ruining his day."
"Well, Chels wanted to stab him, so...this is the midpoint." He said with a smile. She smiled back then took a deep breath.
"Sounds like a lot of fun. Let's do it." She said with a giggle. Hunter laughed then hugged her, lifting her up a little.
"Alright. Let's do it." He said, finally setting her down and hurrying back upstairs. He emerged and took a quick look around to see Chelsea waiting for them.
"Okay. He's almost here." She said quietly. Marina walked out from behind Hunter and hugged Chelsea tightly around the middle. Hunter smiled at them a little. Why did Marina have to be so nice? It made trying to not have feelings for her really difficult. Hunter looked up finally and saw Brett entering the ring of cabins. He quickly grabbed the both of them, hauling them back behind the railing of the porch. They hid and Hunter peeked out to see him finally disappear into the Apollo cabin. A moment later there was some shouting and three other kids were ejected from the cabin.
"Alright. Let's go." He said quietly. They crept out from behind the railing and ran next door to the Apollo cabin. Hunter looked at Chelsea and she looked so upset. He finally put an arm around her and held her comfortingly. "He's about to get what's coming to him. We'll get him good, Chels. He won't be bothering you ever again." She took a deep breath and nodded before standing up and putting a game face on. She unzipped her jacket to reveal some cleavage then walked inside, closing the door behind her. Marina and Hunter quickly moved to the front of the porch right before the steps, laying the mine and arming it.
"Okay. Help me up." Marina whispered, jumping on his back and then climbing up onto this shoulders. Hunter blushed a little, but then moved toward the wall of the cabin. "Just a little closer....one sec. steady...Okay. Perfect. Now the other side." She said before moving her legs and dropping down just as Hunter caught her in his arms. They smiled a little awkwardly for a moment before moving to the other side of the door where they repeated the process. They were apparently just in time because no sooner did Marina climb down when they heard a 'What the fuck?!' from inside.
"Get down!" Hunter said quickly hiding behind the railing, the rope in his hand. The door swung open and out came Chelsea, arms full of clothes and a scowl on her face. She ran out and hopped the stairs, dodging the mine, and heading straight for the fire.
"What the fuck are you doing, you crazy bitch?!" Brett shouted, emerging with only a shield covering himself. "Don't you dare!" click FOOM! The entire front of Apollo cabin erupted in a cloud of sparkling glitter, coating the rails and the stairs and as it settled the very angry Brett who was now a twinkling figure frozen in surprise at the glitter mine. Hunter pulled the rope and out came the banner, reading in large print, something that would hopefully cease his sex life here at camp.
"This is what I think of you, Brett Wilcox!" Chelsea shouted, throwing his clothes into the fire. She ran at him and slapped him in the face. "You've got a tiny little dick, too! Like being fucked by a baby carrot!"
"That's not a part of the plan." Marina mumbled, reaching into her pocket. Brett finally shook out of his stupor and looked at Chelsea with an evil glint in his eye.
"You crazy...insane bitch! You're gonna pay for this!" He said raising his hand. Hunter moved quickly and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground before he could hit her.
"Look away!" Marina shouted just as she threw something at the ground and dodged behind the railing again. It exploded with a loud whistle and a bright light then started spraying out a thick plume of smoke. Hunter finally looked back and saw Chelsea kicking him Brett.
"Come on, Chels! No time!" He said, hoisting her over his shoulder and taking off through the camp toward the woods.
"Put me down! I'm not done with that asshole!" Chelsea shouted, pounding on Hunter's back with her fists. Hunter saw a couple of Brett's sibling running toward them, but they never saw Marina coming. She knocked one of them down with a kick then dropped another flash bomb, allowing the three of them to make an escape into the woods. Hunter moved as fast as he could with the protesting Chelsea over his shoulder, but after a little while she seemed to be screaming so hard that she passed out. Which didn't help the matter now that she was just plain dead weight.
"Quick. Hunter, this way." Marina directed, moving a few stones away from a big pile and climbing inside. Hunter moved in and set Chelsea down on the ground immediately groaning as he felt the soon-to-be bruises on his back. Marina placed some of the rocks back then looked out as they heard motion from outside. People probably looking for them. Hunter closed his eyes then sat down, trying to catch his breath.
"Are they gone?" He asked after a moment. Marina finally turned to him and nodded.
"Yeah. Is she okay?" She said, kneeling down next to her and looking her over.
"Yeah. I think she just tired herself out. She had a really long day." He said quietly, rubbing his face. Marina turned and stood up again, moving to the entrance of the small cavern. She pushed the rocks back out then took a quick scan around.
"It's clear. You can bring her out here." She said quietly. Hunter nodded and stood up, carefully picking up Chelsea and bringing her out of the cavern and setting her down, leaning her against the rocks. His back was killing him, but it looked like they got away with the prank, so it was worth it. Anything to get back at Brett. "Wow. She is really out of it." Marina said, patting her face. Hunter leaned up against a tree then finally laid down in the dirt on his stomach. It felt amazing despite his getting his shirt dirty.
"I think it went pretty well." He said with a little laugh. Marina laughed and it became infectious after a moment, both of them laughing hard at what they just witnessed. This carried on for several minutes before Hunter felt a hand on his back. He looked up a little and saw Marina sitting next to him. "You were hustling me with all this pranking stuff weren't you?" He said with a smile, rolling over onto his back. She giggled then shrugged.
"Maybe I just have an eye for these sort of things." She said, looking down at him affectionately. Hunter noticed it, but with the mild exhaustion and the pain and just coming down from a laughter high he didn't do anything about it. "It was impressive with you picking her up and everything."
"Well, trying to freestyle it is not wise when pranking." He said with a chuckle. "And look at you with your...smoke...bang things! What is that? You completely saved us, Marina. You're amazing." He said with a smile. She blushed and stared down at him for a moment. They just looked at each other for a moment before she leaned down and kissed him. It wasn't a long kiss or a deep kiss, but a meaningful one. When broke the kiss she stayed leaned down, her face close to his, and licked her lips, her eyes never leaving his. Hunter's stomach was knotted and his heart was pounding and his cheeks were red. It took a soft moan from Chelsea to knock him out of the stupor that he was in. "I have to go." Hunter said quickly, standing up. He turned to Marina who looked heartbroken, but she stood up and walked to him.
"What do you mean?" She said, her voice weak.
"I...I'm going home for Christmas. My uncle is picking me up in about 20 minutes." Hunter said, pulling away from her and walking toward camp.
"What? I thought you were staying through Christmas." She said from behind him her voice on the brink of tears.
"No. I thought I told you. I'll be gone until the 26th." He said, not even stopping to turn around. She stopped when she walked in front of him and put a hand on his chest.
"Hunter..." He tried to look away from her, but she made it difficult. He finally looked down and saw the tears on her face and his heart broke for her. "Hunter..." She said almost frantically. Her fingers finally gripped hi shirt and she pulled him down to her, kissing him tightly. She finally pulled away and looked at him, her face inches from his. "Hunter, please...stay." She said quietly. "This summer was because of me. I stayed because you stayed. I did whatever you wanted. Didn't that mean anything?" Hunter looked down at her trying to hold back his tears.
"I'm sorry, Marina. I just...I need to go. I'm sorry." He said before pulling away from her and heading back to camp.