Hunter sighed a little as he woke up the next morning. Waking up is probably the wrong term. Getting up is more accurate. After the campfire, where he put on a smile for no other reason then to not call attention to how guilty he felt, he went to bed. He walked Marina to her cabin first, kissing her lightly on the lips and telling her good night, then went to his own cabin. He changed into his pajamas and then got into bed. He had managed to keep a tight grasp on his thoughts during the night, but as soon as his head hit the pillow, it was a free-for-all. Hunter tried not to think about anything. He wanted to sleep. He needed to sleep, but inside his head it was like he was just trying to hold onto the canoe as it traversed the rapids.
Marina. How would she feel? Not good, probably. After Hunter talked to Arabella that night, he could barely handle himself. He was so tempted to kiss her so many different times. When he tackled her and was holding himself so close to her. When she was biting her lip in a playful way as she looked up at him. After she left, he needed to confirm that he still had feelings for Marina. They had been dating for this long and he really did care for her. When he kissed her last night, he felt it. He felt what he had been feeling for the past few months. Unfortunately, it was nowhere near as strong. He needed it though. He needed to confirm that he still liked her.
His heart ached for Arabella though. Her coming back had only made things difficult and especially after tonight when he had come so close to getting caught as the guy who saved her. He thought about what it could mean. He couldn't just tell her. She couldn't know. She couldn't know that he was the guy who saved her, but he couldn't let her be with Ethan. She was going to be heartbroken when she finds out that Ethan wasn't the guy who saved her. When it was just her friend, Hunter, the child of Hermes. Ethan was the guy that she loved. He was a child of Ares and she was a child of Aphrodite. They belonged together. Ethan based the relationship on a lie, but maybe it was just the starting point he needed. They belonged together.
When Hunter got up, he was in a bad mood. Not a surprise, considering the complete lack of sleep, but still an unwelcome start to the morning. He slid into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before grabbing a hoodie and putting it on. He quickly grabbed his sword and left. He was dog tired, but he needed to clear his head. He did that a lot during the past year and it almost always involved either food or his sword and the arena. When he got to the arena though, he couldn't help, but think. As he demolished a dummy with a shield bash and a few quick slashes, his mind wandered again. Maybe sword practice had become mundane enough that he could zone out during.
Hunter practiced everything he could. Moves with his shield. Moves with his sword. Combinations with both of them. Anything that might challenge him into not thinking about his lady troubles. He had pretty much destroyed the first dummy when he took a breath and moved to the next one. It was a Saturday, so Hunter could do this all day if he wanted. It had been about 30 minutes when it turned out he didn't have much of a choice.
"Hey, there you are." Marina said, appearing next to him. Hunter took a deep breath and looked over at her, kissing her lightly on the cheek.
"Here I am." He said with a little smile. "What are you up to?" Hunter looked up when another person walked up to them.
"Ah. See I told you he'd be in the arena." Kyle said and walked up next to Marina.
"You were...talking about me?" Hunter said, raising an eyebrow at them.
"Not in a bad way. I mean, it was either here or the mess hall. It's basically all you did this Spring, so we figured." Kyle said with a nod. Hunter looked at Kyle, narrowing his eyes a little.
"Well, since it seems you've been talking about me with Marina here, and I don't really know anything about you..." Hunter wasn't sure how he felt about Marina hanging out so much with Kyle, but Marina was okay with Hunter hanging out with Arabella, so he thought he could offer the same courtesy. "Marina, let's talk candidly about Kyle. Tell me about him." Hunter said, jamming his sword into the ground and then leaning against it.
"Well, Kyle is a son of Demeter."
"My dad is--"
"I'm sorry, Kyle. Marina and I are talking. Just one second." Hunter said with a nod. "Please, continue, Marina."
"Well, his dad lives in Kentucky with his sister. She's not a demigod. He goes home every other year, depending on when his stepmother is home. He's a Sagittarius, he likes Chinese food, and thinks that long walks on the beach are cliche."
"Wow. He sounds kind of boring."
"Hey." Kyle said, stepping forward.
"Well, he's a stick person and he's got a goofy haircut. I mean, really the only interesting thing is how easy it is to make fun of him."
"Hey!"
"Yeah. He sounds like it. I mean, why would you hang out with him at all?"
"HEY!"
"Kyle, we're just kidding." Hunter said, patting him on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's get something to eat." He said, quickly sheathing his sword then heading out of the arena.