Hunter swore he heard something crack as the giant pinned him down.
Wait, no, he definitely heard something crack. It took all he had not to cry out in pain. And that was its own problem.
The game wasn't even done yet. If he left now, that would mean forfeiting the game. And forfeiting meant losing the match. And Ever After High couldn't afford to lose another game. So, he sucked it up, and kept quiet.
It was hard.
Pain spiked up his chest everytime he tried to breathe. His head throbbed dully. He should probably call it day and head to the nurses office to tend to his probably broken ribs, but he couldn't. The game was his top priority now.
Worst decision of his life. Ever.
What was he thinking? Obviously, he wasn't. He was now really regretting not thinking.
The pain in his chest was near searing hot now, and his vision was beginning to go spotty; black dots danced in and out of his sight.
Okay, maybe he should call it a day and go get his ribs treated before he punctures a lung or something. Or not.
He should. He really should. But Ever After High needed to win against the giants. Especially considering their game plan practically flew out the window when the game started and now they were legit making everything up on the spot.
So, no. Things were not looking up for them. At all. They were probably going to get flattened, and he would have stayed in the game for nothing. It kind of made him want to cry. Really bad.
Fortunately, Daring had an idea. Hunter could practically see the light bulb appear over his head.
The Charming ran towards the direction of the stands. Why, though? Hunter stared after him blankly. He would never understand what went through peoples' minds here. They were all weird.
He jogged over Cerise Hood, and began chatting with her in a quick, hushed tone. She smiled and nodded, said something, and then dashed off.
What was that all about? He didn't know.
Daring ran back towards them, a large smile gracing his face.
"So, what's the plan?" Hopper asked, a bit nervously. Dexter nodded in agreement, a questioning look on his face.
As Daring explained his newfound idea, Cerise dashed towards them, a broad, fanged smile splitting her face in half. Hunter was a bit doubtful, and from the looks on the others' faces, they were too. He knew that Cerise was more than capable of playing, it's just that they didn't have any equipment that was her size, so she'd be playing without any headgear or anything. And that's kind of concerning.
But Hunter didn't say that. He couldn't. Saying anything of the sort would imply that he didn't think that Cerise was capable of doing it. And then he'd end up hurting everybody; Cerise because she thought he thought that she was a weak damsel in distress (she was never one, none of them were, actually, it was just an act he put up for the sake of his father), Daring because he might think that he thought his plan was stupid, the enitre student body because they would fail the game. . .
He didn't want that to happen. He really didn't. So he closed his mouth and kept silent. He closed his mouth and nodded and smiled like this was a terrific idea, Daring, you are so bloody brilliant and pretending like everything was fine. He nearly convinced himself he was. He probably would have succeeded, if not for the burning pain in his chest.
Honestly, he was very offended his teammates couldn't tell he was in pain from this close. And concerned. Could they not see properly? Did they need glasses, or in Dexter's case, new ones?
He shook his head lightly. Get your head out of the clouds and back on the ground, Hunter. You have a game to win.
He walked over to the starting place, and got ready.
Then the most wonderful thing happened.
The stands exploded with cheers. Cerise was hopping up and down with Hopper excitedly by the giants' end of the field where the opposing team was sulking. Dexter was screaming himself hoarse, his glasses askew on his face, and Daring was smiling, like he knew this would happen as he brushed the dirt off of his pants. Maybe he did.
The stands were screaming and crying and cheering so loud it made Hunter's ears ring.
They did it.
They won.
They won.
Hunter would've joined Cerise in Hunter, but his ribs still hurt. Wait, did it hurt this much before? He didn't think so. He wasn't this close to crying before. Though maybe that was from happiness, and not the excruciating pain he was feeling.
"We did it!" Dexter rasped to him with the largest smile Hunter had ever seen on his face. His voice sounded hoarse from all his screaming. The Charming shoulder bumped him, throwing him off balance, and pain spiked up his body again. The smile flickered. "Hunter?"
He didn't like that tone of voice. He didn't like it at all. But he couldn't move. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to walk, it hurt to do anything, really. It really, really hurt.
"Hunter? Are you okay?"
Probably not, he wanted to say. He meant to say that, actually. He opened his mouth to do so, and started into a coughing fit. Something wet and red flew out of his mouth, splattering and staining the ground at his feet. He spat out blood nearly every cough. Well, that wasn't very good, was it?
"Oh my godmother, Hunter!" Dexter ran over to him, and his yelling caught the other's attention.
The smile was dead now. Dexter's face was going pale, and his eyes widened with surprise and worry.
"Dex? What's-Oh my godmother." Daring had run over. Hunter was still coughing. Blood was still being spat out. The crowd was still screaming. Though, maybe that was because he was coughing up blood, and not from their victory.
"Why didn't you say anything?!" Dexter said, holding onto Hunter's arms and trying to steady him. It probably was a rhetorical question; the huntsman was in no condition to answer.
Daring was screaming for someone to come over and help. Why was no one coming over? Maybe they were all just panicking. He didn't blame them. He was panicking a bit himself, too.
He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe and he was coughing and he was spitting up blood. And his ribs were probably broken.
Dexter was crying. Hunter couldn't see him, but he felt his salty tears splash onto his back and mix with his sweat.
His chest was burning. It felt like he was being burned alive from the inside. And by godmother, it was painful. The coughing wasn't helping. At all. It was making it worse. Way worse. Like. . . He didn't even know how worse.
And suddenly he was on the ground. Suddenly Dexter was above him, glasses forgotten and tears raining down and splashing his face. Suddenly Daring's screaming became distant and fuzzy. The crowds' yelling became blurred and dull, his vision fading. . .
Someone gently shook him. "Hunter. Come on, bud. Don't close your eyes on me."
Why not? he wanted to ask. He was tired. And the pain isn't really helping. If he fell asleep, it would help, right? He thought so. But the person shaking him awake apparently did not. If they did, they wouldn't be shaking him right now. He kind of thought it was Dexter, but he wasn't too sure.
He didn't want to be awake. He wanted to sleep. And to make the pain go away.
Someone screamed as he closed his eyes, and the world melted away.
I do apologize if any of the characters seem OOC I tried okay
I wrote this with watching the ep once so I wrote this all fro, memory technically haHA—
Anyways bye