??????day, June something or other date I don't remember blah blah
Hunter woke up early. He truly only had one thing on his mind and that was the fact that everyone that left comes back to camp for the summer. Jake. Marina. Kyle. Arabella. His eyes opened and he turned his head quickly, checking that the letter with her name written in big letters was on his nightstand, ready to be delivered. He sat up, swinging his legs off his bed and rubbed his face, trying to wake up. His dreams mostly consisted of what he was going to say to everyone when he saw them. Arabella was one of the more prominent people in his imagination lately. She had been placed on the backburner for a little while, but as summer moved closer and closer, she moved forward more and more. He slipped on a t-shirt and pulled on a pair of jeans then grabbed his shoes and the letter, tucking it into his back pocket as he exited the cabin, pulling on his shoes clumsily and finally exiting into the circle of cabins, his eyes quickly fixing onto Aphrodite cabin.
Arabella anxiously drummed her fingers on her knee, staring out of the window in the back of the car. She was nervous about getting back to camp, especially after what had happened last summer. Things back home had been pretty difficult, though, and she was looking forward to getting away from it all. The car ride towards Camp Half Blood felt like it had doubled in length since the last time she had gone that way. When the car parked, Arabella practically jumped out and grabbed her bags. No matter how nervous she might be, camp was her home and she was happy to be making her way up Half-Blood Hill.
Hunter's stomach grumbled and he lightly tapped the letter on his palm as he kept an eye out for her golden blonde hair to come over the hill. He had been passed by a few Aphrodite campers who gave him odd looks as he leaned up against the porch railing, waiting to give her this letter.
"Hunter?" He turned and saw Brooke coming out of her cabin. She was dressed in a yellow tanktop, her red hair grown out since the two of them had dated and was now in a tight pony tail behind her head.
"Oh...Hey, Brooke." He said quietly. "Sorry. I'm just...I'm waiting for someone." He said, turning back toward the hill. Brooke stepped off the porch and then faced him, slipping her hands into the back pockets of her short jean shorts.
"Hunter, I've...I've actually been meaning to talk to you. For a while now." She said, looking down at her feet. "Really, about a month after we broke up." She says, shifting from foot to foot. Hunter looked over at her, arching an eyebrow.
"Is something wrong?"
"I just...I wanted to apologize. I did a bit of soul searching after I...kicked you out of my cabin and I'm really sorry. For everything." Hunter opened his mouth to speak then looked back just as he saw a head of golden blonde hair moving down the hill toward him. Hunter stood up straight and turned toward Arabella, putting his back toward Brooke. "Hunter?"
"Huh? No. Yeah. That's fine." He said then shook himself and turned toward her. "It's okay. I'm not sure we were really kind of on the same page with that relationship." He said with a quiet chuckle. They smiled at each other and Hunter took a deep breath. "Friends?" He said, extending his hand. She let out a quiet sigh and then moved forward hugging him around the neck. Hunter hugged her back and pulled away and turned around to come face-to-face with Arabella. "Uhh..." Was all that he could manage.
Arabella saw that Brooke was hugging someone but she couldn't really tell who it was. He looked familiar and she was sure that she knew him but she couldn't really place it. The whole thing really kind of made her a little bit uneasy. She didn't like feeling like she knew someone but wasn't sure if she was right or not. Arabella took a deep breath, fixing her bag on her shoulder and walked towards the cabin. She was looking forward to crashing in her bed. She was just about to walk past Brooke and the guy when he turned around and faced her. It was Hunter. He looked different. His hair was still short but he wasn't as buff as he used to be and Arabella liked it. Last summer, it was a little over the top. Now, however, he looked healthy and he looked good. Arabella gasped a little bit, frozen, unsure of what to say. She opened her mouth to say something but all that came out was a little squeak.
Hunter looked at her then down at the letter, as all of his rehearsal disappeared from his mind and he was now trying to figure out what to do with this letter that he was holding. "I..." He mumbled as he noticed Brooke move next to him. Hunter looked over at her then Arabella then finally shook himself. "Here." he said, fairly succinctly. "Just uh...read it. Welcome back to camp." He said, offering a quick smile before moving in for a hug then stopping and extending his hand then lifting it and waving at her and then nodding toward Brooke before hurrying toward the mess hall.
Arabella watched Hunter walk away, looked over at Brooke and then glanced down at the letter in her hand. She was confused and she didn't know how she was supposed to feel. Her and Hunter were finally seeing each other again and that was all that they said? She didn't even speak to him! The last time she had seen him, things had ended in a terrible way and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to talk to him now.Part of her wanted to run after her and hug him and ask him if they could start over. She wasn't really sure how that would go over, though. So, she turned to Brooke and gave her a little smile. "It's good to see you, Brooke. You look great" Arabella said, more as a formality than anything else.
"Thanks! So do you! We have so much to talk about and catch up on. It's been so long since we talked" Brooke said with a big grin and it took everything Arabella had not to look at her with a face that screamed 'Huh?!'
Hunter put his hands on his cheeks to try and make them cool down. That had not gone down exactly as he had hoped and now he was officially running away from her. He was thinking about what he had written in the letter and now he was panicking that maybe she didn't say anything because she was mad at him. She had every right to be, really. Hunter moved into the mess hall and got in line, getting some food. He found a spot at his table and quietly sat eating, hoping that the blood started flowing away from his cheeks and back down to his hands which were shivering and cold.
"Uhm..yeah, that sounds really good, Brooke" Arabella said to her, trying to return her smile. Brooke looked like she wanted to talk to Arabella right in that moment but all Arabella could think about was the letter that was in her hand. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she could swear she felt the heat from Hunter's hand still on the paper. "I gotta go unpack and maybe have a bit of a nap. See you at the fire tonight" Arabella said and she ducked into the cabin before Brooke could stop her. Already this summer was starting to look a little strange. Arabella walked back to her bed, happy that the cabin was empty. Clearly, all of her siblings were out by the water, getting their tans. she let out a sigh, putting down her bags and she sunk down onto her bed. The letter in her hands seemed to be screaming at her. What did he have to say to her? She thought back to all of the letters that she gave to him and her hands started shaking. She was afraid to open the letter. Finally, she tore open the paper and pulled out the paper. Nervously, Arabella read the letter, not sure how she was supposed to feel. She wasn't sure how she did feel. Having some part of Hunter, even if it was just his words, made her heart swell. He wanted to start fresh. He wanted to be her friend. He forgave her. Arabella forgave him a long time ago and she was glad to see that he felt the same way.
She stood up and glanced down at her outfit. Arabella had been dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a tee shirt. It wasn't enough. Arabella dug through her bag, pulling out a pair of jean shorts and a camp shirt that she had altered and turned into a loose tank top. She slipped into a pair of white Keds and pulled her hair out of the bun, letting the blonde waves fall over her shoulders and she headed out of her cabin, looking for Hunter.
Hunter was in the middle of eating. He was keeping his head down for the most part and he only lifted it finally when he noticed someone sit down across from him.
"I knew I recognized that ashamed food hunch." Jake said, laughing at the surprise on Hunter's face. Hunter shook himself and nervously licked his lips.
"Jake. When did you get here?"
"Oh, just now." He said, starting to eat. He swallowed and then cleared his throat. "Still a big kicked puppy assface?"
"Uhh...No. I figured that each group of people only needs one of those." Hunter said, taking a deep breath. "I couldn't outdo you anyway."
"Oh, I've missed this. I really have."
Arabella was nervous about finding Hunter but she didn't know why. She read his letter, she knew how he felt. For some reason, she was still nervous about seeing him. Arabella looked around the cabins, trying to see if she could see him at his cabin. She saw a few people that she knew but she never saw him, so she let out a huff and walked away, towards the rest of the camp. Arabella looked into the arena but it was full of Ares kids, so she turned and walked towards the mess hall. As soon as she walked in, she saw Jake sitting down across from Hunter. Her stomach started doing flips but the last thing she wanted to do was turn around. She needed to see him. Arabella took a deep breath and walked towards the table, trying to look confident but she was nervously twisting her fingers together.
Hunter finished off his food and then grabbed his cup, finishing off the last few drops of soda. He stood and carefully moved away from the table, turning around slightly and bumping right into someone. He put his arms gently around them to make sure they didn't fall, but when he looked up he saw a mess of blonde hair, now covering a familiarly beautiful face. He pulled away from Arabella and licked his lips nervously, trying to resist the urge to brush the hair out of her face for her.
"Hey, Arabella! How was your school year?" Jake said with a wave.
Arabella looked up at Hunter, trying to stop herself from blushing but it wasn't working. She looked at him probably a second too long then turned towards Jake, moving her hair out of her eyes. "Hey, Jake. It's really good to see you" She said and she glanced back at Hunter, her heart racing. Arabella gave him a small smile before looking over at Jake again. She took a piece of cheese off of his plate and smiled at him. "School was good" She said, trying to act like she wasn't fazed or anything but she was really kind of embarrassed bout bumping into Hunter.
Hunter stood for a second then sat back down next to Arabella, trying to give her some space. He looked over at her when she mentioned school. He wondered if she knew how many times he would go and watch her eat lunch debating whether or not to talk to her. He took a deep breath and looked down at his tray nervously. He wasn't sure how possible this 'starting over' idea was going to last at this rate.
"Oh, Arabella. I took your advice." Jake said, taking a big bite of jello. "Tracy. That girl that I was dating on and off etc. Yeah. I talked to her about why our relationships never last and if this is actually going somewhere." He swallowed his jello. "It turns out Tracy and I won't be dating anymore."
Arabella gave Jake a sad smile and she let out a little sigh. "I'm sorry, Jake. A break up is never easy" She said. She was happy that he ended things with that girl but she knew that he was probably a little upset about it, even if he wasn't owning up to it yet. Arabella bit her lip and glanced over at Hunter. As glad as she was to see Jake, she really wanted to talk to Hunter alone for a little bit. "How-how was your year, Hunter?" She asked him in a softer voice than she intended.
Hunter didn't notice that she had said his name until he felt Jake kick him from under the table. Hunter looked up from his try and then at Jake. "Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry. My year was uneventful." He said plainly. "I mean, I...I finally got my drivers license. I uh...Did a lot of reading." He said quietly, glancing over at Arabella, blushing softly. "Lost a lot of weight, too."
"Welcome back to the land of the lanky and overlooked, my friend." Jake said with a laugh, offering a toast. Hunter laughed and then clinked his glass with Jake's.
Arabella giggled a little bit, covering her mouth with her hand. She glanced over at Hunter, looking at him with apologetic eyes. It felt really good to laugh with them again. Sure, it felt like something was off and Arabella knew that she just needed to talk to Hunter and get things figured out but for now, laughing with him and Jake. She leaned towards Hunter a tiny bit "Could we talk? Alone?" she asked him softly.
Hunter looked over at Arabella and immediately his stomach clenched, his heart sped up, and his cheeks reddened once again. "Uh...yeah...sure..." He said quietly before nodding toward Jake and standing up. "I'm going to go for a walk." Hunter said before waving at Jake. "I'll see you back at the cabin, probably." He said before turning to leave, looking back at Arabella for a moment as she got up.
Arabella stood up, her stomach doing nervous flips. She waved at Jake, smiling a little before turning back to Hunter. She didn't really know where they were going to walk and she really didn't care, she just knew that she had to talk to him and get things figured out. This waiting and wondering was killing her. She took a small breath and shoved her hands into her back pockets. "So....you got your driver's license? That must be awesome"
Hunter furrowed his eyebrows at her. She wanted to talk about his driver's license? Really? "Uhh...Yeah. Not much good it'll do me out here, but whenever I go home, it lets me get out of the house on my own, you know?" He said with a nod, looking over at her as they walked slowly toward the beach.
"Hunter!" Hunter looked over and saw Brooke running toward him. She was dressed in a pair of short jean shorts and a white t-shirt, tied in a know to show off a little bit of her stomach. "Oh. And Arabella. Listen, some of us were going to go for a swim. Do you two want to join us?" She asked, smiling at the two of them.
"Uhh..." Hunter mumbled quietly, looking over at Arabella.
Arabella bit her lip a little bit and she let out a little sigh, wishing that she knew what to say. She didn't really want to go swimming but she really didn't want to upset Brooke. Arabella looked over at Hunter and shrugged "Well...I guess we were walking there anyway.."She said, her voice trailing off a little bit at the end.
Hunter looked over at Arabella and then Brooke and then cleared his throat. "I think we might take a walk for a little bit, but we'll catch up with you later, okay, Brooke?" Hunter said, running his hand through his hair. Brooke looked between Hunter and Arabella and then nodded softly. "Oh, uhh...Okay. Well, hurry. The water is perfect!" She said before smiling and taking off toward the water. Hunter looked over at Arabella dn then down at his feet. "What were we talking about?" He said nervously.
Arabella laughed nervously and she shrugged, starting to walk with him again. "Well, I uh, I was avoiding the elephant in the room by asking you about your driver's license." Arabella said with a bit of a smile up at him. She was avoiding the fact that they needed to talk because she was so nervous but she didn't want to stop talking to him. "Are you and..are you and Brooke...?" She asked, her voice trailing off. She had seen them hugging and she seemed to be in a really good mood. Maybe they were together again and Arabella hated that idea.
"Are Brooke and I..." Hunter mumbled quietly before realizing what Arabella was asking. "Oh! No! No, no, no. No, no, no, no, no." He said, shaking his head. "No, no. We're just friends." He said with a nod. "How many times did I say no? What is wrong with me?" He said, rubbing his forehead. "She apologized this morning for that whole...debacle last last summer and now we're friends. She seems to have changed or something." He said, taking a deep breath. "Is that what you wanted to talk about?"
Arabella looked down at her feet and after a moment of silence, she shook her head. "No, no..I guess not" She said softly and she looked up at him, trying not to be too emotional or incoherent. She opened her mouth to say something but quickly shut it and looked down again, kicking a little stone. "I guess you got my letters, huh?" She asked him softly, not really sure how else to bring up what they needed to talk about.
Hunter looked down and kicked the stone back at her. "I guess you read my letter then." He said, taking a deep breath. "So...Starting over?" He murmured. "I don't want to talk about what could have been or this or that. Let's just...start over, okay?" He said, looking up at her with a small smile. "Unless, you don't want to, of course. I can't really control that..."
Arabella hugged him. She really couldn't stop herself and she didn't really want to. So her threw her arms around him and she hugged hi tightly. Starting over was exactly what she wanted and she was so glad. They didn't need to talk about it and they didn't need to think about everything that they had been through. "I want to start over" She said softly and she pulled away, smiling up at him. "I missed you, Hunter"
Hunter's cheeks didn't think they could get any redder and he only hoped that she couldn't tell. They were friends now. Just friends. Hunter smiled at her. "I missed you, too, Arabella." He said quietly, taking a deep breath and mentally reminding himself that he was not dating Arabella nor did he have any reason to be upset if she started dating someone. He nervously licked his lips then looked around to where they had walked to, recognizing this as the spot that they had almost kissed last summer. Hunter clenched his fist and then started walking toward the beach, his hand hovering over the small of Arabella's back before simply just draping his arm over her shoulder, trying to move her out of there before she noticed where they had gone.
Arabella glanced over her shoulder with a confused look on her face but his arm was in her view. In all honesty, she didn't really care where he was taking her or why he was moving her away but she was happy that he had his arm around her. Even if they were just friends, it felt good to have his arm around her like that. Arabella let out a huff and she hooked her arm around Hunter's waist. "So? What happened this year? You look different" She said, looking up at him.
"Uhh...A lot more reading. A lot less practice in the arena." He said with a shrug. "You did write a lot of letters, Ellie." he said, bumping her hip with his teasingly. They walked out of the forest and finally arrived at the beach. "Finally..." He said quietly, walking toward the water.
Arabella smiled and she bumped his hip with hers. "You look really good, Hunter." She told him with a little nod. She looked down the beach a little bit and could see Brooke laying down in the sand with a few Aphrodite kids, including Daniel. "Well...should we join them? I think I see Jake in the water"
Hunter looked out at the water. He could see Jake and Will looking over at a crowd of Demeter kids. Will touched the water and a flower made of water sprouted from the surface. It moved in front of a blonde haired girl and she looked back at him, smiling. Hunter turned to Arabella and shrugged. "Only if you want to. I'll need to grab my trunks if we do."
"I'll have to change, too." Arabella said with a little shrug. She looked up at Hunter again and smiled. "I mean, we could do down there and sit with them without changing but I have a feeling that Jake might pull you into the water and ruin your clothes" She added with a little giggle. Arabella opened her mouth to say something but then Daniel saw her and he had jumped up and ran towards her. Arabella was forced to pull away from Hunter when Daniel rushed over and hugged her tightly. "Hello to you do, Danny" She giggled, looking over at Hunter.
"Oh, I missed you, Arabella!" Daniel squeaked. He pulled away and smiled at her, kind of giving Hunter the cold shoulder.
Hunter tapped his hands on his legs for a moment then turned around away from the water. He came face to face with a pair of golden brown eyes and a bright smile.
"Hunter! I thought that was you!" She said, wrapping her arms around his middle. "You're looking thin." Hunter hugged her back and smiled as Kyle walked up behind her, waving to him then putting his finger to his lips. Hunter smiled and pulled away looking at Marina. Kyle quickly put his arms around her middle and lifted her up. She quickly threw herself forward, judo flipping Kyle onto his back in front of her.
"Well, damn, Marina. Good to see you, too." He said with a groan. Marina gasped and helped him up.
Arabella squeaked when she saw Marina flip Kyle. She pulled away from Daniel and she turned towards the others, trying to see if he was okay. It was nice to see some people from camp again, even if she didn't know all of them. Arabella was also glad to see that Hunter's friends were talking to him. Last she heard, he wasn't really speaking to many of them anymore. "That was very impressive, Marina" Arabella said with a bit of a giggle.
Kyle clutched his back, leaning on Marina a little bit. "Thanks, Arabella. It's good to see you. It feels like such a long time." She said, shoving Kyle's arm off her shoulder then hugging Arabella around the middle. Hunter looked at the two of them and took a deep breath before pulling out of the group and heading toward the Hermes Cabin
Arabella watched Hunter walk away and she bit her lip. Was there something wrong? Did something go wrong already? She sighed and pulled away from Marina, smiling at her. "I'll be right back" She promised and turned, following Hunter. She walked up behind him and poked him in the middle of his back "Hey, you. Are you too cool for us now?" She asked with a little laugh.
Hunter turned and started walking backwards. "No, not at all. I just thought that I'd get changed to swim, but now that I'm walking backwards I'm seeing people no longer swimming and now I feel pretty stupid..." He said, stopping and putting his hands on her shoulders to stop her from bumping into him.
Arabella grinned up at him and she put her hands on his arms. "Well, since we're not swimming, do you want to go somewhere to sit and talk or something?" She asked him. It felt really good to be his friend again and she didn't really want to lose that. She wanted to spend more time with him and get to know him better. Really be his friend.
Hunter blushed a little. He thought for a moment then a little hesitantly nodded. "Yeah. Lead the way." He said, pulling his hands back, offering Arabella his arm and then letting it fall as he changed his mind. "How was school this year? Did you deal with uh...Oh, what was her name?" He asked, starting to walk with her.
"Olivia?" Arabella asked with a little laugh and she slipped her hands into her pockets. "Well, I guess you could say that..." She said, shrugging a little bit and trying to hide the fact that she was blushing. She looked up at Hunter and shook her head, like she was waving it off "But what about you? Did you get to see your family more?" She asked him.
"Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I had to get plenty of practice to get my license." He said with a nod. "My aunt is actually starting to sell baked goods. My uncle was put on mandatory vacation to use up built up vacation days, so he was around a lot of the time. Things are going really well." He said, walking a little closer, his hand brushing hers.
Arabella's skin tingled when his hand brushed against hers and she really had to resist the urge to hold his hand. They were friends. They were starting over. They were nothing more than that. Arabella smiled a little bit and she cleared her throat. "That's really great, Hunter. I'm glad that things are working out with your family" She told him and she bit her lip. "How did camp go while I was gone? Anymore good pranks I should hear about?"
Hunter laughed and shook his head. "Nothing that I was involved in. I think some Athena campers got some fake spiders tossed in their cabin. That's about it though." He said with a sigh. "I didn't leave the cabin much when I was here. Probably why I'm all...lanky now." He said, looking over at her.
"Lanky isn't the right word" Arabella said, shaking her head. "You look better now, more like yourself" She said honestly and she smiled, nudging him lightly with her side. "I like it" She finished and she quickly walked towards the Hermes cabin and sitting down on the stairs, smiling up at him. "Do you have any plans for the summer? Anything you want to do?"
Hunter took a deep breath and sat down next to her. "Not really. Having a nice, boring summer sounds just fine with me." Hunter said with a laugh. "How about you? Any goals for the summer? Capture the flag is tomorrow. Maybe you'll actually stand a chance at winning this year."
"Excuse me, sir, I've always had a chance at winning." Arabella said, crossing her arms "I just...never feel like it" She added with a humph. Arabella looked over at him and saw him stifling a laugh. "What?! I can win a game of Capture the Flag and I am going to prove it to you tomorrow!"
"Okay, Ellie. Whatever you say." He said with a laugh, putting his hands up in surrender. "So, other than losing at Capture the Flag what are you going to do for the rest of the summer? Any plans?" He asked, nervously licking his lips.
"Well, after I win Capture the Flag, I plan on doing nothing special whatsoever all summer" Arabella told him with a nod. She smiled a little and shrugged. "I don't know, school was really kind of crazy this year and I just really don't want to have to deal with any drama or stress. I've promised myself that this summer is going to be stress free"
"That'll be a first." He said quietly before looking up at her and laughing. "Sorry. Just saying. It feels like it's been a long while since we had a summer without some crisis or emotional disaster." He sighed and then nudged her leg with his. "Here's to boring." He said, raising an imaginary glass "I don't go to fancy parties, so I make my own fancy glass toasts."
Arabella giggled "Well, we're going to have to get you to a fancy party. Then you can make a cheesy, non-fancy toast at a fancy party. It'll be great" She said and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "But, of course, we'll have to go to that party after this summer. Since it's supposed to be boring"
"Right. Good boring though." He said with a nod. "Not bad boring." He took a deep breath. "Well, maybe not boring. Just not bad exciting. Good exciting. Like...making new friends or going to parties or going out on d--" He looked over at Arabella and closed his mouth. "You know...Good exciting." He said.
Arabella looked down at her lap, blushing a little bit but still smiling. She couldn't deny the fact that when she thought he was going to say 'dates' her hear skipped a beat. But they were just friends. Arabella took a deep breath and smiled up at him. "I still have to take you to the city at some point, remember? I promised"
"That is true." He said quietly. "I did a good amount of city driving though, so it's not as unfamiliar as it was." He nodded and leaned on the railing. "It would only be fair that I give you something in return. Anything that I can do? Some place you haven't been?" He asked, looking over at her, blushing slightly, his eyes unable to resist looking at Arabella's lips for a moment.
"Hmmm...well, I've always wanted to learn how to drive. You could take me somewhere out in the country and teach me how to drive." Arabella said with a little smile then gasped slightly "Oh! Maybe we could go out to the Hamptons and you could teach me there! That would be so much fun!" She said excitedly then bit her lip "Sorry. I got a bit excited"
Hunter smiled and laughed a little bit. "Well, I would be down with that. Not sure how good of a teacher I would be, but I can give it a shot." He said, nudging her with his elbow. "I don't know what car you would practice in either. You probably have some nice one at your brownstone or something." He said with a shrug. "I practiced in this really beat-up jeep. I doubt you'd want to drive that."
Arabella furrowed her brow, thinking back a little bit. She couldn't remember ever telling Hunter about where she lived. She couldn't remember telling him that she lived in a brownstone or even what neighbourhood she lived in. She didn't even tell him that she lived in Manhattan. "Hmm? Oh, that's fine" She muttered, trying not to sound like she was thinking about something but failing miserably.
Hunter nodded and then looked at her, arching an eyebrow in her direction. "You okay?" He asked a little nervously. Hunter suddenly worried that he did something wrong and looked down at himself, trying to recognize and fix the problem as quickly as possible. "I'm sorry if I said something wrong." He said quietly, his face turned toward the ground and his voice tight from nerves.
Arabella took a little breath and she smiled, shaking her head. She looked over at him, trying to pretend like nothing happened. Maybe she was just imagining it. She must of told him at some point that she lived in a brownstone. "No, it's nothing, I just couldn't remember when I told you that I live in a brownstone" She told him and shrugged. "And then I was thinking about it and we all know that us Aphrodite kids can't think and talk at the same time" She joked in a sarcastic voice.
Hunter froze for a second and then laughed a little nervously. "I probably uh...I mean you...I probably read it in your letters or something" He finally said, nodding maybe a little too much. "That's it." He ran his fingers through his hair again before yawning and putting his forehead against her shoulder for a moment. "Wow. I might take a nap." He said, standing up.
"Did you turn into an old man over the school year?" Arabella teased him, giggling, just trying to lighten the mood. She stood up and brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "Okay, well...have a good nap. I'll see you down at the fire tonight?" She said and she took a deep breath, unsure of how to say goodbye to him. Is she supposed to hug him or would that be weird? "I should go...." Arabella finished in a low voice and she quickly turned, rushing back towards her cabin.
Hunter watched her and shifted from foot to foot before heading back into Hermes Cabin. He sighed and rubbed his eyes slightly as he walked to his bed, laying down. "I'm not going to last long..." Hunter said quietly to himself, closing his eyes. He kept thinking about how good a just friend Hunter could be for Arabella. There was a big part of his mind that couldn't help, but want to be more than that and he hated how difficult he found just talking to her while resisting the urge to go in a romantic direction. He didn't even know if she liked him back. He kept thinking about this and after a couple more minutes, he fell asleep.
Arabella hurried back into her cabin, quickly closing the door behind her and rushing over to her bed. Her heart was racing and her breathing was heavy. Things had gotten awkward fast and Arabella didn't really know how to deal with it. Arabella was sure that she had never told him where she lives. So how would he know that she lives in a brownstone? She didn't want to think about it. Arabella needed to be friends with Hunter, she wanted to be more. She didn't want to think about something else getting in the middle of them. She groaned and flopped down on her bed without unpacking and she shoved her head in her pillow, closing her eyes.