Chapter Text
Hunter didn't have much free time anymore.
He was always busy with something now. Either with school, homework, studying, or Flyer Derby, whether it be practice or games.
Hunter's friends didn't fare much better than him. Luz was typically busy juggling school with rebuilding the Isles, and Amity was often helping her. Willow, Skara, Viney, and Gus were also busy juggling school with Flyer Derby, and Gus had the Human Appreciation Club on top of that. There just wasn't much time for them to hang out outside school anymore.
For the most part, Hunter still loved going to school; it had been a dream of his for months, and he was so glad he got to live it out the past few months. Some days were better than others, of course, but it was still a dream come true. Despite all that, Hunter hadn't expected all the responsibility being a student would bring upon him. It wasn’t on the same level as his old duties as the Golden Guard, but it was still more than he had expected, and Hunter wished he just had a little more free time. And he wanted a break from all the responsibility on his shoulders, even for just a few days.
All Hunter truly wanted was just some time to hang out with his friends outside of school. He missed getting to hang out with them all the time. Sure, he got to see them almost every day at school, but he wanted the freedom to talk to them without having to be hushed by the teacher, the freedom to kiss his girlfriend without getting in trouble for PDA in the halls, the freedom to go on a date, and the freedom to hang out without having to worry about their assignments. It felt like no one's schedule lined up, and it was frustrating.
Luckily for Hunter, the stars had finally aligned, and Willow, Gus, Skara, Viney, and Hunter were all able to make free time for an epic three-day sleepover. Starting on Saturday and ending on Monday morning when they would all fly to school at the same time. They were all a bit sad that Amity and Luz couldn't make it, but they were the busiest out of all of his friends. Beggars couldn't be choosers, after all. Willow was the host of the sleepover, and Hunter couldn't wait. The entire team doing whatever they wanted for two full days, and a tiny bit of a third sounded like a dream. They had planned this out weeks in advance, and tomorrow was it. Tomorrow was the day when Hunter could finally forget about school for a short while and just party with his pals.
Friday night, Hunter jumped into his bed, smiling ear to ear. He pulled out his scroll to check on the Emerald Entrails group chat.
Hello_Willow: Can't wait to see all of you tomorrow! We're gonna have a great time!
GriffinGurl03: Oh my Titan, I've been waiting so long for this! I'm so excited!
TuggingMyHeartstrings: It's gonna be the biggest Emerald Entrails party ever! We're gonna kill it over the weekend!
HumanRealmAmbassador: Well, it's the only Emerald Entrails party we've had, but that just makes it more exciting!
Hunter couldn't help but smile seeing the group chat so peppy and excited. He began to type his own input.
RULERZREACHF4N: IM dyInG tO gO haVE fUN WiTH YOu aLL! THiS is gONna B tHE bESt slEEpOvEr I'VE ever hAd! IvE… Only hAD a cOUple in My liFE hAHa
Hunter peacefully waited for anyone else to respond, smiling wide.
Hello_Willow: Hi Pancake! Can't wait to shower you with kisses when I see you 💛💛
RULERZREACHF4N: PlEaSe Do! IM sTArVing fOr kiSsEs!
Hello_Willow: Oh, balderdash, no you're not. I give you kisses everyday at school.
RULERZREACHF4N: wELL yOu neEd to sTooooP beCaUSe wE're geTtINg iN troUblEEE.
Hello_Willow: 🥺
RULERZREACHF4N: HAHA jUsT kiDDiNg, pLeaSe dOn'T eVeR stOp, honEYbEE! 💚💚
Hunter blushed, chuckling at the playful banter with his girlfriend.
GriffinGurl03: Oh my-
Hunter's heart stopped.
HumanRealmAmbassador: Did I accidentally cast an illusion on my scroll?
TuggingMyHeartstrings: LOL Did you lovebirds forget this is the group chat?
Hello_Willow: …Yes.
RULERZREACHF4N: NO.
GriffinGurl03: PFFT-
TuggingMyHeartstrings: OMT NO WAY THAT JUST HAPPENED. 😂😂😂😂
HumanRealmAmbassador: HAHAHAHA IM CRYING
RULERZREACHF4N: I AM GOiNg to GO diG My oWN grAVe riGHt NOw-
Hello_Willow: I'll come join you.
Hunter wanted to die after that whole mess, but embarrassing antics were just a part of teenagehood, as he had learned.
Hunter and his friends chatted until, one by one, each of them went to bed, leaving him as the last one awake. Hunter certainly had plenty of good laughs during their conversation, so much so that Darius had to come in several times to tell him to quiet himself down. However, Hunter noticed that his throat started getting scratchy by the end of it. He figured it was definitely because he was laughing so much; he must've strained his throat a bit.
Hunter put his scroll on his night table, brushed his teeth, turned off his lights, and then cozied up for bed. Waffles curled up in his hair, and Hunter smiled as he drifted off. If that text conversation was that fun, then surely the actual sleepover would be incredible. Hunter imagined so many scenarios as he fell into a slumber, unable to wait for the next day to come. Unbeknownst to him, however, that as he slowly fell deeper and deeper into slumber, his scratchy throat grew worse and worse.
6:00 AM
Hunter woke up drenched in his own sweat. He sat up, throwing his blanket off in an instant, but the moment he had lifted his head off his pillow, it began to ache. The scratchy throat from last night had become a bit sore. Hunter quickly recalled a time when he felt this way. It was in the first month of when he started attending school. That could only mean one thing…
He had strip throat… again.
‘No… no, please, no. Please, not now. Please, not today. Any day but today!’ Hunter thought as his bottom lip trembled. Of course, he was Hunter. He always got Hunter luck. Hunter's eyes darted side to side. “Okay, okay... maybe this is fine. Maybe it'll work out. If I go back to sleep, maybe I'll feel better by 8:00 when I'm supposed to get up… I need the extra sleep, anyway.”
Hunter laid back down, closing his eyes, trying to cozy himself up. However, Hunter only found himself still sweating buckets. His clothes were soaked especially his backside. Hunter squirmed around in bed, trying to find a position that wasn't incredibly uncomfortable. Being this hot wasn't something Hunter was used to, as he normally was very tolerant to the heat. In fact, he typically found himself to be cold all the time, but all of that went out of the window whenever he fell ill, as he would easily overheat like boiling water or freeze like an ice cube.
Hunter knew he wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep like this. He was going to have to get out of these soaked pajamas and wear something cooler. Hunter changed into shorts, and after thinking about it for a bit, he decided to sleep shirtless. It would be awkward when Darius woke him up later, but right now Hunter didn't care. He was willing to do anything to cool off so he could go back to sleep. Hunter turned his ceiling fan on max speed and slept without a blanket, curling up as he slowly but surely drifted off back to sleep.
*Knock Knock*
“Little prince, it's time to get up,” Darius announced, waiting for a response before entering.
Hunter awoke, and to his horror, he didn't feel the slightest smidge better. His condition hadn't changed at all. He still had a headache, and his throat was still sore, just as before. The only difference was that instead of sweating buckets, Hunter was freezing. It felt like he was on the icey barren land of the Knee while wearing nothing but swim shorts.
Hunter quickly scrambled to grab his blanket before Darius walked in. With no response, Darius peered in, and seeing Hunter wrapped up made him smile. He was none the wiser. “Good morning, little prince. Did you sleep well?”
Hunter nodded, refraining from speaking so as not to strain his sore throat any further. He knew it was only a matter of time before strip throat would strip away his voice.
Darius nodded, “Good, good. I'll be downstairs fixing up breakfast for you and Eber. Start packing your things after. You ought to be there by ten o'clock,” he said as he gently closed the door.
Hunter's stomach dropped, realizing that if he wanted to go to the sleepover, he had to keep his illness a secret from Darius. Hunter had succeeded the last time he had caught strip throat, so much so that he was actually able to get to school, albeit not for that long. However, that was back when eating breakfast together at the table was less common. Ever since Eberwolf had started eating at the table, they had always eaten every meal together. Hunter knew he had a huge issue to face; How on the Isles was he going to keep this a secret?
‘Titan, think, think, think! Maybe I could make the excuse that I'm too tired to talk…?’ Hunter thought, ‘Yeah, that could work… wait, no, what about the food itself? Unless the food is some sort of liquid, there is no way I'm going to be able to eat it with this sore throat. Maybe I can also say I'm not hungry this morning…? But, ugh, Dad would never believe that. He knows my favorite meal of the day is breakfast, and even if he did believe me, I still have to worry about Eberwolf. He could just smell me and know I'm sick! Titan! Everything is a dud! Think, Hunter, think!’
Something suddenly popped in Hunter's head. Without hesitation, he picked up his scroll and texted Darius.
RULERZREACHF4N: HEy dAD, I WoKe up SUper sWeATy sO I'm goNNa tAKe a sHOwEr.
Hunter hated to lie to Darius; he knew he didn't appreciate that, but he had already sent the text. There was no going back. Besides, it was only a half lie. He was going to keep his word and shower. The lie was the reason he was showering. Hunter wasn't hot; he was cold. Either way, Hunter made his way to his private bathroom, getting a change of clothes from his closet along the way. Just before he could hop in, his scroll buzzed, and Hunter hesitantly took a look.
Goodaddy: What? Your food will get cold if you shower right now. Come eat first, then you can shower.
Hunter had been literally seconds from jumping in. The water was already running, and it was at the perfect temperature.
RULERZREACHF4N: I'm kiNDa aBOut to gEt IN.
Goodaddy: Fine. Just be quick, no fooling around in there. In and out, got it?
RULERZREACHF4N: YoU gOt iT dAd!
Hunter sighed, knowing he wasn't keeping his promise. His heart ached at the thought of him still lying.
‘Dad wouldn't be that mad, right?’ Hunter thought. ‘He's always supportive and understanding. Even when we argued that one time, we talked it out in the end. Dad has never punished me like Belos would. No language, no hitting, no isolation, no starvation, no disowning, no threat of replacement. Well, Dad has never punished me… ever. I haven't done anything dad would consider worthy of punishment, and I've screwed up a lot. Would… dad punish me for anything at this point? How does someone even get punished without resorting to Belos' methods, anyway? Even if Dad did punish me, what would he even do? Nothing that would be of much note, and what's a punishment if you aren't getting locked in your room, beaten, replaced, disowned, or starved anyway? Dad wouldn't do anything… I think.’
It had been months since Darius took Hunter in after the Collector was reformed. It had been months since they had moved in together. It had been months since Darius had officially adopted him. Hunter had grown used to the new, more lax rules, especially since he had an extra adjustment period before Darius took him living with Camila in the human realm. Surely, taking a bit longer in the shower wouldn't cause Darius to be too upset. Annoyed, sure, but not upset.
Although… Hunter still didn't like the idea of annoying or lying to his father. It still made him feel a sense of guilt.
‘Dad has taken me in, Dad has adopted me. This is how I repay him…?’ Hunter thought. ‘No, no, no, Hunter, that's the kind of language Belos would use, and it's wrong. Dad loves me, and he'd never want me to repay him anything.’ Hunter sighed. Taking too long in the shower so he would miss breakfast was his only shot at getting to that sleepover. Something that he was looking forward to for weeks. Something that he couldn't wait for, something where he yearned for the release of taking his mind off all of his responsibilities of school.
He had to do this…
Once in the shower, Hunter made sure to fool around as much as possible. He made imaginary arguments in his head with Belos, Kikimora, his potions teacher, and Boscha. He roasted them and destroyed them in every argument. He even imagined the shampoo bottles as his friends and family cheering him on. Hunter couldn't exactly sing in the shower right now, so he had his scroll play his favorite songs, and he danced to them, being extra careful not to slip.
After enough of that, Hunter actually started to clean himself. One round of thirteen-in-one soap later, he emerged from the shower. Hunter dried himself off and dressed himself, walking his way out of his bathroom. When he opened the door to leave his room, he was met with Darius waiting for him. “There you are! Do you know how long you were in there for?”
Hunter knew this was coming. He had a plan. He shook his head, playing dumb.
“Over forty minutes! You're going to be late now, and your food got cold!” Darius let out a large, frustrated sigh. “You don't want to be late, do you?”
Hunter shook his head again.
“Well, tough luck, little prince. Because now you are. I'll reheat the food for you, so come sit.”
Hunter's stomach sank. Titan, the plan didn't work. He still had to eat breakfast… and now he was most definitely going to be late. That was three big setbacks at once. Hunter swallowed, knowing that his only hope right now was to somehow power through eating whatever Darius served him for breakfast.
Hunter sat at the table with Eberwolf already sitting there, praying that maybe Darius was serving some sort of broth or soup for breakfast. To his dismay, Darius served him waffles. On any other day, Hunter would be overjoyed to have this for breakfast, but right now, it was the last thing he wanted. Hunter could just feel how the waffles would rub up against the back of his throat and be all prickly and sharp. He was going to have to pull off a miracle to eat this with strip throat, even at this early stage.
“Hey, Hunter, I apologize for snapping at you back there,” Darius apologized as Hunter slowly inched a piece of a waffle toward his mouth. “I'm not mad, just frustrated.” Hunter took a bite of the waffle, and it instantly began poking him as intense pain began shooting through the nerves in the back of his throat. “I'm upset that you're going to be running late now; I know how important this is to-”
Hunter spat it out.
Darius’ eyes widened at this. Hunter never spat out food he liked, let alone his second-all-time favorite food. “Is something wrong?”
Hunter froze before shaking his head. He was screwed, for sure.
Darius raised a brow. “Are you sure about that? You love waffles, and you spit it out.”
Hunter silently whimpered, knowing he was painted into a corner with nowhere to go.
Darius frowned, “Did I cook it wrong? Don't be afraid to tell me.”
Hunter stayed silent, not knowing what to do or say.
Eberwolf found Hunter's lack of talking odd. He jumped onto him, crawling around as he sniffed him. He turned to Darius. “Smells sick to me.” he chattered.
‘DRAT!’
Darius narrowed his eyes, “...You have strip throat, don't you, Hunter?”
Hunter finally mustered up the courage to speak. “...No?” He instantly regretted saying that. Not only did that hurt, but he lied to his father's face.
“Hunter, I don't appreciate being lied to! We've talked about this,” Darius sighed. He went to feel Hunter's forehead, which Hunter thought about pushing his hand away, but that wouldn't do any good now. “You're warm, Hunter. I hate to say this, but you're staying home,” Darius huffed, “We don't have any potions to help with strip throat… I'll contact Eda and Lilith to send over some for you. Off to your room now, little prince. Rest until I can get you medicine.”
“No!” Hunter blurted out, slapping his hands over his mouth.
“No…?” Darius replied with shock. Then, he groaned. “Hunter, I said to go rest. It's not a choice!”
“B-But-”
“Now.”
Hunter sat there, frozen. He desperately tried to think of how to convince Darius to let him go, but it would only be a matter of time before strip throat took away his voice. However, before he could think of anything, Darius gently scooped Hunter up and began taking him up the stairs. Darius softly plopped Hunter down on his bed, then let out a sigh. “Stay put, Hunter. I have to make a call to Eda and Lilith to make you a potion,” Darius said. He went out of Hunter's room but stayed by the door just in case.
Hunter's stomach sank. Everything was going wrong. How was he going to get to the sleepover now?