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.