"I swear, if Chiron decides to make it rain again...I might lose it" Daniel muttered as he pulled on a pair of sneakers. Arabella glanced over at him from her her bed and rolled her eyes.
"Come on...the rain was fun" She said with a simple nod and Daniel laughed.
"If by fun, you mean horribly upsetting and totally ruined my hair than yeah....it was a blast" His voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"Well, aren't you just the biggest downer ever" Arabella scoffed and she tied the laces on her sneakers. She stood up from her bed and pulled her hair back into a braid. "Come on, Princess. We're going to miss the game" She teased and together, her and Daniel headed out of the Aphrodite cabin. "This is going to be so great" Arabella grinned.
"Jake, did you hear teams?" Hunter said, closing the door and making a beeline straight for him. "Dude, it's like Chiron knows the problem and has come to help."
"Yeah. I'm good. Thanks for asking." Jake said, slipping on his jacket. "No, what are the teams?"
"Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Dionysus, and we are-"
"Us."
"No, it's we."
"It's us. Us sounds right."
"Do say 'us are on a team?'" Jake paused for a moment then cleared his throat.
"And we're up against everyone else?"
"Yeah. I'm going to see if I can follow Arabella and talk to her. Maybe Chiron will make it rain again. That would be perfect." Hunter took a deep breath. "Come on. Let's get out there." He said, heading for the door.
"I wish that Ares was on our team" Arabella huffed as she tugged on her braid.
"Why, so that you and Ethan can hide in the woods and make out? Sounds wonderful" Daniel shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Why are you in such a bad mood? Holy crap..." Arabella muttered. She was looking forward to the game. Like all games, she would be walking through the woods and using her charmspeak to keep people away from their flag. Arabella saw Hunter and Jake and she thankfully left Daniel's side, walking over to them. "I guess we're on the same team for once" She teased with a little smile.
Hunter looked up at Arabella and smiled a little bit. "Looks like it." He said, giving her a high five.
"Looks like you'll be missing out on kicking our asses this time, Arabella." Jake said, emerging from the Hermes cabin behind Hunter. "Or anything to our asses. Unless, you want to."
"What in the world are you talking about?" Hunter said, slapping him in the back of the head. "Well, do you think we should have a little fun with our significant others tonight, Ellie? They're both on the other team. Hunter nudged her a little then looked over at Jake. What in the world am I doing?
Arabella looked over at Hunter with slightly pink cheeks and a little smile. He had given her a nickname and it was one that she loved. Arabella hated it when people called her 'Belle' or 'Bella'. Ellie, however, was wonderful. She cleared her throat and tugged on the hem of her shorts. "Yes. We should definitely have a little fun with our significant others tonight. That would be a blast and a half" She said, looking around to see what the rest of their team was doing.
Hunter slid his hands into his pockets as they started walking toward the woods. "Well, I mean, we probably need to track them down first, but after that, I'm not sure how we should scare them."
"I have some bottle rockets in my trunk back in the cabin." Jake said with a nod. "I mean, if you want. I can surely find a use for them. Actually, I probably shouldn't be helping you break the rules."
"Jake, you're a genius and you won't be implicated in any of the mischief, okay? Arabella, what do you think?" Hunter said, smiling a little bit. "A good bottle rocket work?"
"Since when do you not like breaking rules? Who are you and what have you done with Jake?" Arabella teased with a laugh. She turned towards Hunter and grinned, nodding. "A bottle rocket sounds amazing" She told him with a nod and she put her hands in her pockets. "I mean, really, what would a game of capture the flag be without a Hermes kid trying to pull some sort of stunt like this?"
"Said, the child of Aphrodite." Hunter said, nudging her a little. "You're going to be pulling this stunt just as much as I am. Two bottle rockets and a set of matches, please, sir." Jake patted him on the back then ran off back toward the cabin. Hunter pulled out his lighter and handed it to her. "You can use this, considering you're a bit of a rookie. Don't fight it. Embrace it." He said with a laugh as they walked. Hunter was a little anxious. He really just wanted to get this over with.
Arabella looked down at the lighter with a sparkle of excitement in her eyes. She flicked it once but quickly put it out. Arabella twirled it around in her fingers then slipped the lighter into her bra strap, by her shoulder. She glanced over at Hunter, who was looking at her with red cheeks. With a laugh, she gave him a nudge and patted the spot where the lighter was. "It's safe there."
Hunter nodded, still looking at his feet. "Well, just...take care of it. I'm sure you will, but I'd hate it if it went missing." He looked up at her and then cleared his throat a little uncomfortably.
"Alright. Here you are." Jake said, handing them each a bottle rocket. "That'll be 4 dollars." Jake said with a smile.
"Oh, so you're almost an eighth of the way to us being even. Great." Hunter said before tucking it into his belt.
"I was...I was kidding anyway." Jake said with a sigh. "Okay. Well, I better get down there before some Athena kid rips my throat out for not knowing the plan. You guys should, too. I'd hate to see you without throats."
"Oh, I already know my plan. It's the same thing every time and it will always be the same thing unless I somehow lose my charmspeak" She told them with a nod.
"And what plan would that be?" Jake asked her with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm the distraction." Arabella explained. "I walk through the woods and if I see someone from the other team on my side, I tell them to go away. It's a ton of fun." She told them and smiled up at Jake and Hunter. "Sometimes, if I'm really bored, I'll tell people to like...moonwalk back to their cabin" She confessed.
"Wow. That does sound like fun." Jake said, walking over to her a very interested look on his face. "Can I actually come with you because I--" Hunter elbowed him in the side.
"No, dude. You're going to ruin her feng shui or zen or whatever it is as the distraction." Hunter said with a nod. "And besides, she turns heads. You...don't." Hunter looked over at Arabella who seemed a little surprised at the compliment. "I mean...I was just saying that well, you..." He cleared his throat nervously. "We should get going. Throats. Ripping. All that."
Arabella laughed and she patted Hunter's arm before walking past him and headed towards the spot where the rest of their team were grouped together. She joined them at the back of the group, standing between Hunter and Jake. As a few kids from Athena were shouting out orders but Arabella found it rather boring. So she swayed her hips from side to side lightly and hummed a song under her breath. "So bored..." She whispered in a song-song voice.
Hunter smiled a little and looked at her in the corner of his eye. He had already been assigned a job of scouting for the flag with Jake, but he already knew what he was going to do. "Shh...throat-ripping, remember?" Hunter whispered, bumping her with his hip. She bumped him back and he jabbed her in the side with his finger just as the horn blew. He turned toward Jake and the two of them started toward the woods, but after a minute Hunter split off. "Wish me luck, man." He said quietly to Jake before heading off after Arabella.
Arabella walked through the woods with a little bounce in her step. She was enjoying herself and she loved walking through the woods like that. It was fun. In all honesty, though, Arabella was looking out for Ethan. The little stunt that she was planning with Hunter would be fun but talking with Hunter like that reminded her that she had feelings for him. Things felt easy with Hunter. She took a little breath, fiddling with her fingers as she walked, keeping an eye out for anyone from the other team or Ethan. Arabella was distracted by her thoughts, she didn't even realize just how deep in the woods she was getting.
Hunter followed Arabella from a distance. He couldn't be found before he told her. He didn't really want to save her again, but with as far into the woods as she was getting, that wasn't really out of the realm of possibility. Hunter finally pulled out his bottle rocket and the matches. After a couple failed matches, he lit the firework and threw it as far as he could off to the left. A moment later it went off, the faint appearance of sparks and light lit up a patch in that direction and Arabella looked at it, stopping for a moment. Hunter looked at her and moved to get a different angle on her just as he heard the sound of marching come from behind him. He cursed and panicked for a moment before realizing that Arabella was right in the way of it. He realized he was going to have to save her again. Hunter ran toward her and tackled her into some bushes, landing on top of her and covering her mouth with his hand. "Shhhh..." He said as he waited for the people marching to pass. As soon as they moved past, he took his hand away from her mouth. "We've got to stop meeting like this." He said, looking down at her.
Arabella squeaked when she fell to the ground adn she looked up at the person who was on top of her. She took a breath and smiled a little bit. Arabella couldn't see his face but she knew who it was. It was the guy who had saved her last year. It was the guy that she had fallen for. It was Ethan. "Oh, I don't know...I'm finding that it's been rather entertaining" She said with a giggle. Arabella bit her lip, blushing slightly from how close he was to her. "Are you getting sick of saving me?"
"Well, I was just in the neighborhood and I...decided to tackle you into some bushes." Hunter said, standing up and taking her hand to help her up. She thought he was Ethan. He had to be quick about telling her, so he didn't get caught up in this whole thing. Hunter stepped away from her a little and looked around, making sure they truly were alone. "Arabella, I'm not who you think I-No! Don't!" Arabella had lit the bottle rocket and had it aimed right at Hunter. He pressed up against the tree just as it went off, leaving a trail of sparks behind it.
"Hunter?" Arabella looked over at Hunter with a confused look on her face. The light from the rocket was lighting up his face and she could see who he clearly was. What was going on? Why did Hunter say that they had to stop meeting like that? Her heart was racing and she was afraid of what this might mean. Arabella cleared her throat, tugging on the end of her braid. "What...what do you mean by 'we have to stop meeting like this'?" She asked him then closed her eyes and shook her head. ''No. Don't answer that"
"Oh...damn." Hunter mumbled, his mind racing. Did he blow it completely? "No, I just mean since you ran into me the other day. I ran into you just now. Well, tackled you. Sorry. I guess, it doesn't make sense in retrospect." Hunter said awkwardly, twisting his hands together. "Sorry for the wasted bottle rocket." He said, looking toward where it disappeared off into. "I take it you thought I was the guy who saved you those other times." He said quietly. He sighed a little to himself. He had missed his chance and on top of that, he basically cemented himself into the situation. Stupid bottle rockets
"I, uhm..yeah..I did" Arabella said softly and she brushed her hands off on her jeans. Things had been weird with Ethan and this was just making things weirder. Arabella cleared her throat and she glanced up at Hunter, locking eyes with him. "I'm really sorry about this. This is awkward. I should...I should go try to find my boyfriend" She said softly "Uhm...thanks for saving me."
"Oh...yeah. Uh...No problem. We're on the same team after all." He said with a smile as he watched her walk away. He sighed and fell backward against the tree, running his fingers through his hair. "Well, shit." He said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. Just then someone else burst into the clearing and Hunter looked up quickly, drawing his sword.
"Oh. Hey, there." Marina said, sheathing her sword. Hunter sighed and walked over to her, kissing her tightly on the lips. "You know, Hunter," Marina said, pulling away for a second before kissing him again. "We're not on the same team. We're betraying our teammates." Hunter laughed a little and put his hands on her waist.
"I don't care. They can watch for all I care."