Chapter Fourteen

--

Hunter entered his room after a long day and took a deep breath. It was Thursday evening, classes were over until after the weekend, thankfully. He would have time to go down to Blue Bay Harbor and see Dustin, if he ever got a hold of him. He would probably go anyway, he figured. It was worth a chance, he needed to see him. It had been way too long.

He changed into civilian clothes and hung up his robe, shutting the closet door and going over to his bed. He sat down and sighed, looking around. It had been two months since classes started, and the place was starting to feel more like home again. But he still missed everything, especially Dustin. He hadn't even gotten to talk to him in a long time, their schedules just never seemed to agree with each other, all they could do was leave messages on each others machines.

Hunter stood and left the room, going to the teacher's lounge where a couple others were gathered. Kara looked up from her magazine and blinked in surprise. "Well, look at you."

He looked down at himself and frowned. "What?"

She smirked. "Nice outfit. Where're you headed?"

He shrugged. "I haven't figured that out yet." He sat down beside her. "So, where are you spending your weekend?"

"With family," she said. "I haven't seen them in a while, they'll be glad to have me around for a couple days." She put down her magazine. "What about you?"

"I don't know yet," he said. "I'm gonna head home, but I haven't been able to get a hold of someone so I don't even know if I'll be able to see anyone."

"You can't get Dustin?" she asked.

"He's pretty busy during the day," he said, still uncomfortable about the subject, around the others especially. He didn't like to even come close to revealing anything.

"Well, maybe you can get him later tonight," she said.

"Yeah," he replied. Then he paused a moment. "Hey, you wanna go hang out somewhere? I imagine you're probably as sick of this place as I am."

"That's for sure," she said, standing up. "That'd be cool, just let me go and get changed, okay? I think I'd get a few looks in this."

Hunter nodded. "Go ahead." She left and he picked up the magazine, tossing it aside after glancing through it. He leaned back, noticing another teacher watching him. "What?"

The man shrugged. "Nothing." He smirked, then whispered something to the guy beside him and they both laughed.

Hunter straightened and leaned forward, looking at the two levelly. "Is there something I should know?"

"No, not really," said the first one, shrugging. He turned to face Hunter, a smirk still on his face. "So, you're having some trouble getting a hold of your, uh . . . friend?"

He nodded, not even trying to avoid the topic. "Like I said, and I'm sure you overheard, he's busy."

"I'm sure he is," he answered. "So, what are you doing with Kara? Trying to prove something?"

"I don't have anything to prove," Hunter said calmly, wishing he could just get up and leave before this turned into something bad. Apparently they'd figured it out, or come to their own conclusions somehow. "Kara and I are friends," he said. "We're just going to enjoy some of our time off."

"You wouldn't know how to enjoy your time with her" he said. "You're better off with one of the guys if you're feeling bad about your boyfriend. Leave her to people who care."

"And you're better off leaving me and my business alone," Hunter said. He stood, heading out of the room.

"Whatever you say," he replied easily. "But I can't promise some things won't get around."

Hunter stopped, turning around and going over to him. "Before you go saying anything about things you know nothing of, remember your position. And then remember mine. I'm not going to stand for any of your games."

The man paused and Hunter left before he could reply, going down the hall a little ways to wait for Kara. He took a deep breath, leaning against the wall. He was getting really sick of this.

He and Kara had been getting along well lately, after their initial rough start, and he found himself grateful for her company. They didn't talk much, not about anything serious, but their conversations were enjoyable. She didn't ask him anything more about himself, and he was glad for that, but he could tell she was still curious, mostly about his days as a ranger.

He knew it wouldn't hurt him to just talk about it, but he just couldn't bring himself to. His days working with Lothor brought back what he didn't want to admit, and his time on the other side brought back better times. Dustin, Shane, Tori . . . It was easier not to think of all that.

Hunter looked up as Kara appeared, dressed in a pair of jeans and a light sweater. "Hey," she said with a smile. "What're you doing out here?"

He shrugged. "Didn't care for the company in there." He straightened. "You ready?"

"Yep," she said. "Let's go."

--

Cam paused on his trip to Ninja Ops as he saw Shane and Dustin talking again, not far off. Dustin just wouldn't give up. If Shane did one more thing to hurt him . . . Cam shook his head. Things weren't going as well as he'd hoped they would be by now. They were only getting worse, really. Shane had grown colder to everyone, of course Dustin especially. Cam had tried to stay out of it, and so far he had, but if it got any worse he knew he wouldn't. He couldn't.

It was his business, really. Dustin was his friend, and he'd taken it upon himself to keep an eye on him here. Dustin was doing better than he'd thought he would at first, he was a good teacher and took his work fairly seriously. He was even handling the situation with the other two well, but it was wearing on him and he was getting frustrated. His enthusiasm was already down and he always seemed tired anymore. Cam hated seeing him that way. Even with everything they'd all been through before, Dustin had never gotten like this.

He frowned as Shane said something and Dustin winced visibly, looking away. Shane was in for a real surprise of he kept this up.

Shane's voice raised and Cam caught the last few words easily. He gritted his teeth and went over to the two teachers. "Is everything okay?" he asked sharply.

Both looked at him, Shane in obvious anger and Dustin in surprise. Shane spoke first. "Cam, stay out of this."

"Like hell I will," Cam snapped, surprised at his own anger towards the former ranger.

Dustin shook his head. "Cam, it's okay. Don't bother."

Cam didn't answer him. He looked at Shane. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" The two of them walked off a little ways and Cam spoke quietly. "This has to stop, Shane. What is going on with you two?"

"I think you know the answer to that," Shane answered angrily.

"Well it can't go on," Cam said. "If it does, one of you is going to have to leave this Academy. I think you can guess who it'll be."

Shane didn't say anything, or even look at Cam, but he could tell he was thinking. Cam waited for a moment, and Shane finally looked at him. But he didn't say anything, he just turned and walked away.

Cam sighed and turned back to Dustin, going over to him. The younger boy looked even worse than the last time he'd seen him, he had dark circles under his eyes and his face looked pale. Cam frowned. "You okay?"

Dustin looked at him, then over at Shane's retreating form. "Yeah, I'm fine." He shook his head. "You didn't have to step in."

"I know," Cam said. "Look I don't mean to mess in your business or anything, but you can't possibly expect me to sit out and let things slip by." He looked at Dustin carefully. "You're tired, and you didn't look like you really wanted to listen to that from him."

Dustin nodded. "That's for sure." He smiled a little. "Thanks, Cam, really."

"It's no problem," Cam answered.

Dustin looked at him a moment. "You think I should give up, don't you?"

Cam looked up, not answering for a moment. "Dustin," he began. "I just don't think it's worth your trying anymore. Shane's a stubborn bastard and he's pissed off, talking to him isn't going to change him."

"Yeah," Dustin said slowly. "I know. I just . . . I can't help but think of everything we've gone through together. It just doesn't seem right to give up on that."

"I know," Cam said. "But he's the one who's given up. If he's gonna change it has to be something he decides, for whatever reason. I'm tired of seeing you get hurt whenever you try to talk to him." He placed a hand on Dustin's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "You don't need him."

He sighed. "Yeah. Look, I gotta go, okay? I have some things I need to do."

Cam nodded. "Okay. You're sure you're all right?"

Dustin shrugged. "I'm fine. I'll see you."

"Yeah," he answered quietly, watching him go.

--