Hunter yawned a little as he stood up. There was about an hour and a half until campfire and Hunter wasn’t sure what to do until then. He took a few steps out of his cabin and sighed. The camp was busy. There was plenty going on. Hunter felt a little better about this whole thing, but that wasn’t saying much. He had never put himself so far out there, only to be disappointed. Hunter turned around and bent backward making his back pop. He brushed his hands on his jeans a moment before running toward his cabin. Putting a foot on the railing and pushing off, he pulled himself up on the roof. Hunter swung his foot up over the edge and he stood carefully on the roof before shifting onto his back. He put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes a moment. With a sigh, he opened them again and looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful day. Just like every day at Camp Half-Blood.
“Days like this make a girl want to fall in love, you know?” Hunter turned to see Arabella lying on the roof next to him. No. It wasn’t Arabella.
“Aphrodite.” Hunter said with a sigh. She smiled and turned to her side where she put her elbow down and her head on her hand. “To what do I owe the…pleasure.” Hunter said a little sarcastically. She put a hand on his chest and sighed.
“Oh, just in the area. Thought I’d say hello to one of my favorite people.” She said with a giggle. Hunter scoffed.
“Favorite people? I’m one of your favorite people? You? The goddess of love?” Hunter said in disbelief. He had been presented with feelings that sure seemed like love twice now and the first time ended tragically. The second didn’t look hopeful. “Okay. I’ll bite. I’m one of your favorite people. Why? What makes me so lucky?”
“Well plenty of things.” She said with a shrug. “That Pankration match and the capture the flag game against Duke. You-“
“I did that for the quest. Having to do it for you was purely consequential.”
“I wasn’t thanking you for that. I don’t care about that. I was talking more about what happened after.” She took a deep breath and bit her lip as she put her head back against the roof. “Ares was SO upset. He’s incredible when he’s angry. I mean, my goodness the way he-“
“Okay! That’s all I needed to know about that.” Hunter interrupted. “I don’t need to get any bad images.” He said, shuddering slightly. Aphrodite giggled and shook her head.
“I could barely stand for the day after.” She said quietly, biting her lip again. “Anyway, you’ll probably have another cabin to build here soon. So there’s that with Duke. Then there’s my daughters. And Daniel. And Geoff. And Kevin. And Arnold.” She said, causing Hunter to sit up and look at her.
“Kevin?” He said quietly. “I always thought Kevin was straight. That explains some things.” He said with a shrug as he laid back down.
“You knew about Daniel, right?” She asked with a giggle. Hunter shook his head.
“I know ALL about Daniel. Thanks for that, by the way.” He said bitterly. Daniel was very touchy-feely when it came to Hunter. “Your son still owes me a new shirt. He ripped the last one and gashed my ribs with his fingernails.” Aphrodite giggled.
“Who can blame him for wanting to get your shirt off? Have you seen you?” She said with a wink. Hunter rolled his eyes and sighed.
“Get to the point. What can I do for you?” Hunter asked plainly. “I’m assuming you’re not wasting my time by flirting with me.” He said, looking over at her. She smirked and moved a little closer.
“Is it working?” She said with a raised eyebrow as she snaked a hand across his chest. Hunter blinked a moment and shook his head. She let out a sigh. “Fine! I wanted to explain something to you.” She sat up and curled her knees up to her chest. “I, as the goddess of love, am in charge of all love. I know who you’re going to end up with.” She said with a nod. She looked down at the people passing by. “I know who he’s going to end up with. And her. And him. And him. Funny story with her. She’s going to die alone, sadly. Those two are going to get married. Those two are going to come out together. They are going to be off and on and off and on and off and on and off and on and-“
“I get it!” Hunter blurted out as he sat up. He sighed and put his hands on his knees. “You’re in charge of love. Got it. What’s the point?”
“You’re no fun, you know that?” She said with a sharp sigh. “There are certain things that have to happen for certain people to end up together. Like…Your grandparents. Now, they loved each other. Would they have gotten together if you’re uncle hadn’t killed himself? Would you even be alive if Apollo hadn’t had that kid with her?” She asked with raised eyebrows. Hunter shrugged.
“How would I know?”
“You wouldn’t, but it’s these kind of things that make or break a relationship. There are those moments where you know.” She said with a nod. “Is love easy? No. Does it really suck sometimes? Yes. It’s these troublesome events that make it possible though. Would your grandfather have met your grandmother at that coffee shop if she hadn’t had the money that Arthur made playing his guitar before he killed himself? No. Did it hurt for Jane to lose her son? Of course, but she had other kids. She had your mother.” Hunter closed his eyes tightly for a moment before taking a deep breath and opening them.
“So…what? What’s the moral?” Hunter asked with a sigh. “Why are you telling me this?” Aphrodite put a hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t give up on love just yet. It’s has a lot to offer.” She said with a smile before standing up and dusting off her clothing.
“Wait, so who do I end up with? Do I end up with Philippa?” He asked, standing up himself. “Do I end up with anyone at all?” She put a hand on his cheek and nodded.
“I could tell you.” She said with a grin. “But where’s the fun in that?” She giggled and Hunter rolled his eyes. “Oh, calm down, sourpuss. It’ll be worth it.” She said with a wink. “Keep up the good work, Hunter. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again. Bye-bye!” She giggled as she blew him a kiss and vanished. Hunter stared at his feet, shaking his head, but couldn’t help laughing just a little. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed before carefully climbing down off the roof. He yawned and turned around to see a very surprised Philippa.
“Silly me. I assumed people lived inside of buildings. Not on top.” She said with a giggle before hugging him. Hunter raised an eyebrow a moment and was a little surprised to see her hugging him between their two cabins. Artemis behind him. Aphrodite in front of him.
“Sorry. I was bored.” He said with a chuckle. “I get bored. I guess I climb.” He said, finally hugging her back. She giggled and he felt her bury her face in his chest. Immediately, Hunter was suspicious of this whole situation. She seemed almost bipolar.
“Hey, Hunter.” Hunter looked up to see a very nervous-looking Kevin walking by and waving at him awkwardly. Philippa gasped and broke away from him. “Hey, Philippa.” He said with a slightly sad voice. Hunter didn’t mean to, but he ignored Kevin due to the surprise he felt as Philippa went completely Jekyll and Hyde. Kevin hung his head a little and walked past. Philippa waited for him to leave before looking up at Hunter again.
“Sorry. I thought umm…I thought it was…Chiron! Yeah.” She said with a nod. “I thought that it was Chiron and he can’t see us. He reports to the gods and that includes, Lady Artemis. Artemis.” She corrected, sounding a little frantic. Hunter sighed and took her hand.
“Well, either way. It’s time for the campfire. Let’s go.” He said with a smile before walking out of the alley and toward the campfire.
“Hey, guys.” Hunter turned to see Will and Penny walking up behind him. “Going to the campfire?” Hunter nodded and yawned.
“Yeah. I don’t think I’ll hang around though.” He said with a shrug. “I’ll need my rest for the beach tomorrow.” He said with a chuckle. “Are you guys excited about the condo?” He asked as he lightly tapped Philippa’s hand with his fingers.
“Kelpboy here is always excited to swim.” Penny said with a giggle. Will scoffed and laughed.
“I told you not to call me that, Daisies.” He said before kissing her cheek. “I am excited though. The lake is one thing, but the ocean is amazing.” He said with a nod.
“You guys made it.” Kyle said as they arrived at the campfire. “We were starting to worry.” He wrapped his arms around Marina and smiled. She slapped his wrist.
“Be nice. Come on, guys. We saved you a spot.” She said before giving Hunter a knowing glance. They headed closer to the fire and sat down in a spot that had been reserved by several thorny vines. Kyle waved his hand and the vines disappeared into the ground again. The six of them sat down and waited for Chiron to speak and the songs to begin. Hunter snagged a few marshmallows and roasted them before making s’mores. Hunter leaned back on his elbow as he ate one of the s’mores.
“You made one for me, right?” Philippa said with a smirk, leaning back against him slightly. Hunter bit down on the s’more and held it in his mouth as he grabbed the other few s’mores on a paper plate.
“Of course.” He said as he handed it to her. She took one and kissed him on the cheek before beginning to eat it happily. Hunter smiled and raised an eyebrow at her before glancing at Marina who shrugged. Hunter sighed and looked up when Chiron stepped forward.
“Hello, campers!” He said receiving a loud burst of applause and cheers. “Let’s get started then, shall we?”