"So, what are you wearing tonight?" Daniel asked, sitting behind Arabella and running his fingers through her hair.
"I really don't know, to be honest" Arabella sighed and she closed her eyes. "Something fancy. I want to look good" She told him. The party was that night and she had about an hour to finish getting ready. She already did her makeup and Daniel was working on doing her hair. All she needed to do was pick out an outfit but that could take a little while.
"What about a dress?" Daniel asked her, picking up a curling iron and working on her hair.
"Yeah, I was thinking some kind of skirt or dress. I don't want to look too sexy or anything because it's his cousin's birthday party but I still want to look kind of sexy for Hunter" She said, her cheeks turning pink and a smile spreading across her lips when she mentioned Hunter.
"He's a straight guy. Anything you wear will drive him up the wall" Daniel teased with a slight roll of his eyes and a grin.
"Oh, shut up.." Arabella hushed, but still smiling. She let him working on her hair, turning her blonde hair into gorgeous loose curls. When he was done, Arabella stood up from his bed and walked over to hers. She was getting more and more nervous about this party. All she wanted was for it to go well. Chrissy was Hunter's cousin and one of his only family members. She knew how much she meant to him and no matter what Hunter said, Arabella knew that having his family's approval would mean a lot to him. She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and pulled out a champagne bottle from her trunk. Arabella had gotten one of Hunter's brothers to sneak it into camp for her and she spent most of the day putting glitter on the bottle and drawing up a card to go with it. Hunter didn't know about it and Arabella knew that he wouldn't want her to bring anything but she felt like she needed to.
Hunter buttoning up his shirt in the mirror, making sure he didn't miss a button or anything. He smoothed it out carefully, taking a bit of a nervous breath. He was dressed in a nice plaid shirt and a pair of jeans. He put his keys in his pocket and his wallet in another, grabbing a pack of gum off his dresser. He slipped a piece in his mouth then put it in his shirt pocket, heading out of his room, rolling up his sleeves.
"Hunter. There you--Well, you look handsome." She said, straightening his collar. "Are you bringing a date?"
"Uhh...I'm bringing my half-brother, Jake. He's not a date." Hunter said, carefully navigating his words. He tucked in his shirt then smiled up at her. "Need help with anything?"
"I need to get the cooler from the basement and then I am going to need to get the ice from the freezer in the garage." She said with a smile, placing red cups on a table. Hunter smiled and leaned up, kissing her cheek.
"I got it and then I'll need to go, I think. Happy birthday, cuz." He said with a smile.
"Thanks, Hunter. If this Jake guy is anything like you then he's more than welcome to my party." She said, patting his arm as he pulled away, heading toward the basement.
"Okay. Hunter should be here pretty soon" Arabella said in a low voice. Her nerves were starting to drive her crazy and she just wanted to get to the party. She slipped into her dress and turned her back to Daniel so he could zip it up.
"You are looking fabulous, sweetie. Hunter is going to love it" Daniel said, patting her back once before he went over and sat down on his bed.
"I hope he likes it. I hope his cousin likes me" She added with a little sigh and she sat down on her bed, tugging her high heels on.
"if she doesn't like you, she must be crazy" Daniel huffed.
"Oh, I don't know about that...she's just protecting Hunter" Arabella reasoned and she twisted a blonde curl around one of her fingers. "I mean, looking back at our history, I can see how I might not be her most favorite person ever" She added, grabbing her clutch and tossing a few things into it.
Hunter dumped the second bag of ice over the beer in the cooler then closed it, turning to Chrissy. "Alright. I gotta go." He said with a smile. "Have a good night tonight, okay?" He smiled then hugged her before pulling away.
"Hey, where's the other bag of ice?" She asked as he was walking out.
"Oh, I left it in the freezer. I'll grab it." He walked back out to the garage and grabbed the bag of ice, uncovering a box of Drumsticks. He thought for a second then smiled, grabbing one. He brought the ice in then ran out to his jeep. He got in and started the drive to camp. He parked and hurried up the hill, Drumstick in hand. He finally smoothed out his clothes on more time then knocked, waiting a little nervously for her to answer.
When there was a knock at the door, Arabella's heart jumped and she looked over at Daniel. "Could you get it? I need to finish up before I see him"
"Sure, no problem."Daniel sighed and he walked over to the door opening it up. He looked Hunter up and down and eyed the Drumstick in his hand. "A Drumstick?" He asked him and raised an eyebrow. "Did you bring that for Arabella?" He asked, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He thought the Drumstick was pretty silly.
"I'm almost ready!!" Arabella called to the door, rushing around her bed to finish getting all of her stuff ready to go.
When the door opened, Hunter felt his stomach clench, but when he saw Daniel, he stopped and opened his mouth to speak. The examination that Hunter was being given stopped him from talking again. Hunter looked down at the Drumstick and then shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed about it now.
"I...I thought it was kind of bouquet-like..." Hunter said quietly.
"A dozen roses are like 3 dollars and you can't take two seconds to get my sister some?" Daniel said, tilting his head toward Hunter. Hunter stammered for a second, trying to look past him, hoping to get some help from Arabella.
"I'm coming!" Arabella called and she grabbed the bottle of champagne, her clutch and rushed towards the door. Her heart skipping when she saw Hunter standing there. She smiled at him and nudged Daniel out of the way. "Hi, Hunter" She said softly, smiling up at him. He looked amazing and she was so happy to see him. "Was Danny bugging you? Don't mind him, it's his time of the month" She explained and when Daniel opened his mouth to speak, she shot him a look and he shut up.
Hunter laughed a little bit, then looked down at her, his breathing a little shallow. She looked absolutely beautiful and he felt so underdressed now, but he could barely think about that. "Oh, I got this for you. I uh...didn't have any flowers and I didn't want to be late." He said quietly, looking at her a little nervously. "I'm sorry. It's dumb." He said, shaking his head. "Just forget that happened and we can go."
"Oh, Hunter! Thank you! I haven't had one of these in forever" Arabella told him, excitedly and she took the Drumstick from him. She placed a kiss on his cheek and stepped out of her cabin, closing the door behind her. "Thank you, Hunter" She said and took a deep breath. "Do we just need to pick up Jake and then we'll go?" she asked him opening up the Drumstick then taking Hunter's hand in hers.
"Yep. Just pick up Jake." Hunter said with a nod, smiling a little bit, his cheeks red from her lips. "I feel underdressed." He said quietly, finally noticing the champagne that had ended up in his hand. He looked at it then sighed. "Arabella, I told you to not bring a gift." He said with a sigh. "I thought you weren't going to bring anything..." He said, cringing a little bit.
"Well, I don't feel right not bringing anything. It's not much, just a little something for her to have tonight at her party. She can have a toast or something. It is a big birthday, after all" Arabella said with a little shrug and she walked towards his cabin with him to pick up his brother. "If she doesn't like it then she doesn't like it. But I didn't want to just show up with nothing" She explained and took a step to the side so that Hunter could open the cabin door.
"I don't know. I hope it goes well." Hunter nodded and then opened the cabin door. "Jake, you ready to go? Fashionably late isn't a thing."
"Yeah, yeah." He said, standing up from his bed. He walked out, slipping a suit jacket on over a t-shirt. He buttoned it then followed Hunter out. "Arabella, you're looking very beautiful this evening." He said with a nod.
"Well, thank you, Jake" Arabella said with a grin and she walked along side Hunter. After picking up Jake and walking towards the car, Arabella was feeling a little bit better. It would be nice going into the party with at least two friends. However, she was still incredibly nervous. Maybe everything would go well but there was still a chance that things might go wrong. She took a bite from her Drumstick and glanced over at Jake. "So, Jake, you excited about tonight? Meet some pretty girls?"
"Well, that's a bit of the plan." Jake said with a nod. "I am a distraction though, right? So that Chrissy doesn't kill Arabella or you for bringing Arabella." Hunter sighed a little bit.
"Well, you could also have fun. That's an option." Hunter said with a chuckle. "Besides, Chrissy is an awesome person. You should be glad that I'm giving you my blessing. And on top of that, you should be happy that I'm letting you come. Other than Chrissy there should be some pretty girls there. I've got the prettiest one next to me though." Hunter said, grinning over at Arabella.
"Oh, yeah, I agree. Jake is very pretty" Arabella nodded, looking up at Hunter with a goofy smile. She laughed a little and stepped closer to him, kissing his cheek quickly. "Thank you" She finished, blushing a little bit at his compliment. Arabella loved kissing his cheek. She loved seeing the way that his cheeks turned bright red and a little smile spread across his lips. It made her feel pretty amazing, much more amazing than any boyfriend of hers has ever made her feel. Arabella took a breath and walked up to the top of the hill and she looked down at the jeep. "You live pretty close to camp, right?" She asked him.
"Yeah. It's not that far, but I wanted to make sure we got there before the party got into full swing and I forgot to lock my room." He said with a chuckle, squeezing Arabella's hand. "I saw where you live, now you get to see where I live." Hunter smiled and hooked his arm with hers, walking toward the jeep. "Oh, Chrissy said that if you were anything like me, Jake, then you are more than welcome."
"Right and now you're going to insult me or something. Blah, blah, blah." Jake said with a wave of his hand. Hunter looked at him and then nodded. "It's old, Hunter." Hunter smiled at Jake and then Arabella.
"Am I becoming predictable?" He said with a laugh, opening Arabella's door for her.
Arabella laughed a little bit and shook her head. "No, you're not predictable at all" she assured him and she slipped into her seat, pulling her seat belt on. She finished her Drumstick and brushed her hands off on her legs then pushed her hair behind her ear. They were going to be there in a few minutes and as Hunter got into the car and started her, her heart skipped a beat. Hopefully, it would all go well, but Arabella was still nervous. "I really hope she likes me.."
"She will." Hunter said, carefully turning the car around. "It might not happen tonight. It might not happen tomorrow, but my cousin is too nice and you're too sweet and caring and adorable to not like." Hunter smiled over at her, reaching and taking her hand as he drove. "This grudge of hers doesn't stand a chance."
"Plus, I'm there to charm the pants off her." Jake said from the backseat.
"No, no. Her pants had better be on the whole night or there will be Hades to pay, Jake." Hunter said, looking at him in the rearview mirror.
Arabella laughed, rolling her eyes a little at the boys. She hoped that Jake would hit it off with someone. If not Chrissy than at least some other girl there. Maybe he would find someone and they would start dating. Jake deserved that, at least. Arabella watched out of the window as they drove closer and closer to the house, tapping her fingers nervously on her thigh. When Hunter turned the car into a driveway, her heart raced but she put on her brave face. No matter what happened, she would smile. "Okay. Here we go..." She said, taking a deep breath and picking up the bottle of champagne.
"Wow. It looks like there are a lot of people here already." Hunter said, looking at the lines of cars on the street. "This is it. Casa Del Reed." Hunter said, getting out and taking Arabella's hand, standing in front of her a little bit as he walked toward the front door. Hunter walked in the front door, immediately looking around for Chrissy, slowly leading Arabella inside, Jake standing in front of him.
"Hunter!" Chrissy said, shuffling past people on her way out of the kitchen. "Is this Jake?" She said, looking at Jake, shaking his hand.
"I am Jake. You must be Chrissy." Jake said, smoothing out his jacket. He took her hand and shook it, his eyes not moving off hers. She smiled a little bashfully. "Happy birthday."
"Thanks, Jake." She said before turning to Hunter, finally noticing Arabella. "Hunter...What is she doing here?"
Arabella shifted on her feet a little bit. She wasn't really expecting to have Chrissy talk to her like that right off the bat. It was actually rather offensive. Arabella cleared her throat and she stepped to the side a little bit, so she wasn't behind Hunter anymore and she held the bottle out for Chrissy. "Happy, uh, happy birthday" She said with a smile on her face.
Chrissy looked down at the bottle of champagne. "A bottle of champagne." She said, holding it around the bottom. "Covered in glitter. I'm sure that in Gossip Girl land where everything is made of money and a party has a bartender paid for by the parents, having a bottle of champagne might be normal, but here this is an inconvenience."
"Chrissy back off..." Hunter said, stepping in front of Arabella.
"No, Hunter. She needs to know." She said, stepping forward. "Once all the glitter falls off, something I'm going to have to vacuum up, then I'm going to have to a bottle of champagne that I would be drinking alone in my room. So, thanks, Arabella! Thanks for coming!" She said, shoving the bottle of champagne back in Arabella's hands. "Be sure to put it back in your daddy's liquor cabinet."
Arabella gingerly placed the bottle down on a little side table and she took a step out from behind Hunter, looking over at Chrissy with a look that wasn't so friendly any more. She didn't want to have to put up with this crap for the entire night. "Please forgive me for wanting to bring a birthday present for you. It was incredibly rude of me to want to give you a gift. I don't know where I got such an awful idea" Arabella's voice was dripping with sarcasm and she knew that it was her bitch voice, but she didn't really care anymore.
"I didn't want you here in the first place!" Chrissy said, stepping toward Arabella. "Hunter brought you here, ignoring me in the first place! You want to get me a gift? Then get the hell out of here!" She said, taking a big step toward Arabella. Hunter and Jake quickly stepped between them.
"Hey, Chrissy, how about we talk about my gift? It is your birthday after all." Jake said, slipping an arm around her middle and pulling her toward the living room. Hunter quickly ushered Arabella into the kitchen, slipping his arms around her middle.
"I'm sorry, Arabella..." Hunter said quietly, hugging her gently.
"Ugh! Why does she ever-what did-she has no right-!" Arabella stumbled over her words in her frustration but she finally let out a long breath and she leaned against Hunter for a minute, trying to calm down. She really hated getting angry like that but Chrissy was just driving her up the wall. "Sorry" Arabella breathed and she pulled away from him, looking up at him to give him a little smile. "Well, I need a drink" She said and she moved away, walking out and grabbing the champagne bottle. If Chrissy wasn't going to drink it, Arabella could put it to good use.
Hunter followed her, watching as she grabbed the champagne. "She has probably had a little bit of alcohol." He said quietly, placing a hand on the small of her back. "I'm sorry, Ellie. This shouldn't have happened. I'm sorry." He said, watching as she opened the bottle, taking a long swig of it.
Arabella shrugged "It's fine, Hunter. Don't worry about it. Let's just have fun tonight, okay?" she said and she took his hand, walking towards where a large group of people were, finding herself in the living room. Arabella grabbed two red cups and poured a bit of champagne into both of them. She placed the bottle down on the table and handed a cup to Hunter.
Hunter looked down at the cup and took a sip, wincing at the taste. He made sure to follow her closely, trying to avoid another run-in with Chrissy. "I don't think I'm going to drink much tonight." Hunter said, swishing his cup around as he slipped an arm around her middle, taking another sip.
"No, that's fine" Arabella said with a shrug and she finished off her drink. She put her cup down on the table and she turned in Hunter's arms so that she was facing him. "Dance with me?" She asked, wiggling her hips a little bit. It felt great to be able to openly flirt with him like it was no big deal. Arabella wasn't really sure where they stood with each other, nothing was really too official yet, but she liked flirting with him and holding his hand and being close to him.
Hunter smiled and hooked an arm around her middle, dancing with her as best he could. It was mostly just moving his hips with hers. He knew it had the potential to be dirty and cheap, but he was keeping it innocent, just enjoying how close she was. "I'm not much of a dancer, but I'm enjoying spending time with you." He said quietly, running his hand to her side.
"I like spending time with you, too" Arabella grinned and she leaned up, about to kiss him, when she heard a scoff and saw Chrissy walking past her. With the mood quickly ruined, Arabella watched Chrissy walk into the kitchen with Jake and she bit her lip. "I'm gonna go get another drink" She told Hunter with a nod and she walked away from him, going to the drink table and pouring a bit of rum in a cup with some Pepsi.
Hunter sighed and shared a glance with Jake then followed Arabella. He found her at the drink table having a cup of rum with a little bit of Pepsi. He sighed a little bit, slipping his arm around her. "Come on. Let's go dance again or let's just find a place to talk." He said with a shrug, trying to pull her away from the table a little bit.
Arabella took a big gulp from her drink and she put a little bit more rum in her cup to top it off before letting Hunter pull her away from the table. "Do you want to talk or dance?" Arabella asked him, looking around to see if she could spot Chrissy anywhere. She really didn't want to see her anymore.
"I don't care. This is officially the first house party I've been to." Hunter said with a chuckle. He stopped on the dancefloor as a slow song started to play and Hunter carefully took her hand, pulling her a little bit closer. "Let's dance for one song and then we'll find a place to hide from Chrissy." He said with a smile.
Arabella smiled and she nodded, putting her drink down so that she could slip her arms around his neck and pull herself closer to him. No matter how angry or hurt or upset she was about all of the crap with Chrissy, Arabella was happy to be dancing with the man that gave her butterflies. "I'm glad to be here with you tonight, Hunter" She told him with a tiny smile and she leaned into him a bit closer, resting her head on his shoulder.
Hunter gently swayed, looking down at her with a smile, holding his arm around her, his fingers laced with hers. He was upset at how this night was going, but at that moment he couldn't have been happier. To say that he had feelings for her was a major understatement and at that moment he was happy to have her in his arms. As the song ended, Hunter pulled away and looked down at her, taking a deep breath. "Ellie, I--"
"Watch it!" He saw it before he could stop it, but he was interrupted by Chrissy bumping hard into Arabella, a cup full of beer spilling all over her.
Arabella yelped and she moved away from Hunter, holding her arms out a little bit so that she was't touching herself. She was covered in beer, her dress was soaked and it was clinging to her body in a horribly revealing and uncomfortable way. "Gods dammit, Chrissy! What the fuck was that for!?" Her voice was raised a little bit and she turned around to glare at Chrissy. It might have looked like a mistake but Chrissy bumped into her way too hard for it to be a mistake.
"Chrissy..." Hunter said, shoving her away. "That wasn't...okay. Just leave her alone." He said before putting an arm around Arabella's shoulders, leading her into the kitchen.
"Hunter, do you not remember everything that she did to you?" Chrissy shouted over the music. Hunter turned around and glared at Chrissy.
"Yes! I do! But it's obvious that I've forgiven her, so do the same, would you?!" Hunter said before ushering Arabella into the kitchen. "I'm so sorry..." Hunter said, leaning her against the counter and trying to find something to help clean her up.
"I don't understand why she hates me so much" Arabella said softly, looking down at her dress. No matter how much she was able to clean it up that night, she was going to have to take it to the dry cleaners and hope for the best. She pushed herself up so that she was sitting on the counter and she looked over at Hunter with sad eyes. That night kept taking terrible turns and she hated it. She just wanted to have a night with Hunter and enjoy herself. When he walked over to her with a dish towel, Arabella gave him a little smile. "Thanks" She said
"I'm so sorry about all of this." He said with a sigh, drying her off as best he can, He brushed a little bit of her out of her face then handed her the towel. "I'm going to go get some clothes for you to put on..." He said quietly.
"Okay, thank you, Hunter" Arabella said softly and when he walked off to go find some clothes, Arabella slid off of the counter. She reached into the fridge, finding an unopened bottle of white wine and she sat back down on the counter while she waited for Hunter. Arabella was embarrassed and she was tired and she was upset, all she wanted was the night to end. With a sigh, she opened up the wine and drank a big gulp of it from the bottle. There was no point trying to get Chrissy to like her anymore. Clearly, she hated her and Arabella was just going to have to get used to it.
Hunter walked to his room and grabbed a baggy t-shirt from his room then headed into Julie's room, grabbing a pair of running shorts that were probably a little big for Arabella. He walked back out and navigated through the people back to the kitchen where he found Arabella taking a long drink from a bottle of wine. "Oh, gods..." He mumbled, walking over to her. "I think maybe this isn't the best choice." Hunter said, taking the wine from her.
"I think it's a great choice" Arabella nodded and she reached over, taking the bottle back from him and taking another long drink from the bottle. At this point, most of the bottle was gone and Arabella was really feeling the alcohol. She hiccuped and looked at Hunter then glanced down at her lap. "I'm sorry, Hunter" She said, her voice slurred a little bit. "I wanted tonight to be amazing"
"Oh, Ellie..." Hunter said quietly, placing his hands on her sides. "It's okay. Any time I spend with you is amazing." He said leaning his forehead on hers. He kissed her forehead and then slipped his arms around her in a hug. He could tell that she was drunk, but he just wanted to salvage the night somehow. He didn't want her to get hurt. "Come on. Let's find a place for you to change." Hunter said, heading toward his room.
"Why doesn't she like me?" Arabella asked, letting him take her wherever he was going. "I'm loveable!" She yawned and when they got to his room, Arabella noticed the clothes and picked them up. "Thank you, Hunter" She said softly and she kissed his cheek. As soon as he was out of the room, Arabella pulled her dress off. It was getting really uncomfortable and sticky and gross, so she was pretty excited to take it off. She pulled on the shirt, which hung loosely on her but it was soft and warm and the shorts were a little bit too big but they were pretty comfortable too. After that night, Arabella was feeling rpetty terrible. She was embarrassed and upset and now that she was in a quiet room alone, she was really tired. Arabella looked around, realizing that she was in Hunter's room and with a little smile on her face, she flopped down onto his bed, putting her head on the pillow, taking a deep breath.
Hunter stood outside his room. He thought about how lovable she was and he couldn't help the little smile that spread across his lips. He stared bashfully down at the ground, his heart speeding up a little bit before he checked his watch, realizing how long she had been in there. He carefully knocked and slowly opened the door, watching for her. When he saw her on his bed, he smiled a little bit. She was asleep, hugging his pillow close. Hunter carefully closed the door and locked it, before moving the blankets out from under her. He covered her then slipped in next to her. "Good night, Arabella." He said, turning on his side and looknig at her as she slept, his eyes growing heavier every second until he was asleep right next to her.