Hunter watched Marina as she went and talked to Arabella. Hunter could tell from her body language that something was wrong, but he still hoped that she would join them for lunch. With or without Ethan. He watched while Marina talked to her and after a moment Marina started to come back. He sighed in disappointment a little and turned to his food.
"She said she was fine." Marina said, sitting down next to Hunter. "Not that I believe her, but that's what she said." Hunter nodded a little and put his arm around her, placing a kiss on her temple.
"Well, she knows how to take care of herself." Hunter said with a nod. "Everything always works out for the best."
"Well," Jake said, "tomorrow is capture the flag, so maybe Hunter will swoop in and save the day, again. And then-" Hunter opened his mouth to speak, but Marina beat him to it.
"Jake, do you realize some of the times that you say too much?" She said, taking a sip from her cup. "Like, do you think about this kind of thing?"
"I don't follow." Jake said quietly.
"I think that answers your question." Hunter said with a laugh. The rest of lunch went by with Hunter and Jake and Marina making small talk. He was glad that Marina was there. She was a good friend and he was glad that he had gotten to know her. He cared for her a while lot and it made it that much harder to think about Arabella. His mind always went back to her. He saw the look on her face when she had come out of the woods and it was all the more difficult to stay with Marina when his mind was always on Arabella. He thought about how much it was going to hurt when she found out that Ethan was lying to her.
Jake had a point too, though. He wouldn't have to reveal himself as the person who had saved her, but he could at least tell her that Ethan isn't the right guy. If she found out now then it could save her some heartbreak for later. Of course it would still hurt, but it would stop her from being hurt later. Maybe after it was too late. It frustrated him to see her with him, but he couldn't help it. He had felt so strongly for her at one point and the 9 months away had allowed to push it to the bottom. Seeing her and talking to her and hanging out with and seeing her with Ethan just made everything so difficult again.
That afternoon was slow. Part of him hoped to hang out with Arabella and Ethan. As much as seeing her with Ethan frustrated him, he thought that maybe he could get used to it; So it wouldn't hurt as much. He mostly hung out with Jake. Jake was going on and on about the kind of girl he was looking for. Hunter was mostly used to this kind of thing, but he just couldn't pay attention now. He was crisis-ing to some extent and hearing about how Jake 'wants a girl who will laugh at him because he's funny and not just because,' was really just not going to put Hunter in a good mood.
Jake finally gave up when he realized that Hunter wasn't paying attention. Jake told Hunter that he was heading to the arena and that gave Hunter some time alone. That is until Chelsea came storming in again.
"What the hell!?" She shouted, but Hunter quickly ducked and rolled off his bed, sliding under it. He wasn't going to get his bed rolled again. She stormed around for a second and then left, slamming the door behind her. Hunter sighed in relief then crawled out from under the bed and climbed back on top. He laid there for a second before checking his watch. Two hours before campfire. He hadn't seen Arabella at all that day and it bothered him a little bit. He felt bad about it all. He needed to do something to get his mind off of everything. Usually, he would end up pranking someone, but there was no one to prank. If he did too much pranking, then he would raise too much attention. If all of the people that Hunter had something against were suddenly pranked then he would immediately be put on the top of the suspect list.
No pranking. He didn't really want to be with Marina right now. Not that he had anything against her, but he felt a little dishonest hanging out with his girlfriend when he was thinking about another girl. Especially one that he had told Marina he had feelings for. It seemed that he didn't have much of a choice when he heard a knock on the door. Hunter stood up from his bed and stretched a little as he walked. He opened the door and Marina stood there, smiling up at him.
"Can Hunter come out to play?" She said, grabbing his shirt and pulling him over, placing a quick kiss on his jaw. Hunter leaned into her a little bit, leaning down to kiss her.
"Mmm...How are you?" He asked, taking a deep breath, catching the smell of her hair. "Fresh from the forge, I see." He said, kissing her head. She stuck her tongue out a little and brushed her hands against her shorts.
"Yeah...I've been busy today. From the looks of your bedhead and the wrinkles in your clothes, you look like you haven't been." Marina said with a chuckle. Hunter sighed a little and smiled faintly.
"I've just been thinking." He said quietly, stepping outside of the cabin and walking over next to the door. Marina looked at him with worried eyes then moved over, sitting on the railing.
"What is it? Is something wrong?"
"No, no." Hunter said, sliding down to sit across from her on the porch. "It's just...I saw-"
"You saw Arabella and now it's bothering you." Marina said, clearly a little upset.
"I am so so sorry, Marina." Hunter said quietly. "I just don't....I can't...." Hunter took a deep breath and looked at his hands. "What if it's too late? They're on an 'I love you' basis, Marina. What if they sleep together or what if he convinces her that he's the real deal? That if anyone says otherwise that they're lying?"
"Hunter, I don't know why you can't get your mind off this. I don't care that you had feelings for her and I trust you, but what makes it your responsibility?" She looked at him for a long moment. "What makes you Arabella's fairy godmother? People make bad choices and people make mistakes. Yes, you saved her, but why do you have to be the one who cleans up afterward?" She put her hands on her face for a moment and stepped off of the railing, shaking her head.
"Marina, where you going?" Hunter said, standing up. She shook her head and waved at him shortly.
"Just...leave me alone, Hunter."
"Marina, just stop for a second." He said, grabbing her by the shoulders. "She's my friend." Hunter said plainly. "She's my friend and I don't want to see her get hurt. Marina, you're my girlfriend and you're more important to me than she is, okay?" He pulled a little bit closer and kissed her on the forehead. "I promise."
"Well, then why have you been thinking about nothing but her?"
"Because, I'm seeing it from her shoes. I like being her friend and if I found out that you were lying to me, I would be crushed. And if I were to find out that my friend knew and could have saved me from all this trouble..." She took a deep breath then wrapped her arms around his middle.
"I know. I get it. I just...I care about you, Hunter. I'm your friend and I just...I just want you to be okay"
"I am perfect." He said, taking her hand and kissing her on the lips. "Absolutely perfect."
He wasn't.