=Normal POV=
(Wednesday, 4/18/2018-3:00 pm)
(Archian Island, Berk)
(Berkian Academy; Gymnasium)
About two weeks passed since the dinner where Hiccup invited the Strondsen's over to the Haddock Household. Everything in everyone's lives was about basic with either working or school. Hunter was about to hit four months with Nicole, and he wished he could feel happier about that because he did truly love her. Unfortunately, the anniversary of his mother dying was coming up in a month as well, and that sadness was starting to hit harder. Not only that, but Hunter was starting to struggle with the medication again. It hadn't lasted long, only using it twice a day. Here he was just seventeen days later and it wasn't have an effect. Maybe the morning dose, but not the afternoon set. This meant Hunter dealt with a lot of his symptoms during his practices or work, the others hadn't taken notice yet and Hunter was thankful for it. Nicole could see it, and so could Keith when Hunter went for his Friday appointments. However, tests still showed that the tumors was in a stable place and not advancing to anything screaming emergency surgery yet. Keith, knowing those results, upped the medication Hunter was taking to give it more of an effect for him.
Unfortunately, the upped medications still weren't doing a whole lot other than helping him sleep and maybe lessening the headaches from becoming migraines. Oh, and the joint pain was bearable, but he still felt somewhat tired and nauseated throughout the day. Hunter knew there wasn't much time left until June when he'd have the surgery. In fact, from today, it was officially two months until then. Hunter just needed to make it that long without feeling the full effects again. If he started passing out again; surely it would draw attention that something was definitely wrong and it'd come out that he lied to get off his benched and grounded positions. Hunter could only imagine the drama it would bring, especially from his father being the worst of the ones who take things hard. Hiccup understood the tumor was dangerous, and Keith's research on his mother's condition was starting to show more and more that it could be the same thing, but still not confirmed as the information was hard to access.
Right now, Hunter had just gotten changed in the locker room and lined up in the gym with his teammates for another Basketball practice. They were closing in on the playoffs; if the won this double-header on Saturday, they were in. These practices were super important and everyone needed to be at their best. Easier said than done for Hunter when he was ready to go home and take a nap; he also felt sick. That didn't bode well for him right now when he needed to be able to run and jump around; he feared ending up wanting to puke, in which case he'd probably be sent home. Hiccup couldn't miss these practices, not with the two games that determined the playoffs coming up in three days, four if you included today.
"Hey, Hunt…" Shane asked as Hunter looked over at him.
"Hm?" Hunter replied.
"You good?" Travis wondered. "You look kind'a wiped out."
"I'm fine." Hunter said, taking a drink from his water bottle and rising to his feet at Coach Bludvist arrived with Devon and Elijah, then the two medics, Jeremy and Kyle, behind him.
"Alright, boys! Let's get started!" Dimitri called. After fifteen minutes of warm up exercises; they got started on actual practice.
. . .
(5:45 pm)
(Haddock Household)
"I really hope he didn't forget about tonight's dinner with the family, and the Strondsen's too…" Spencer mumbled.
"Spencer, easy. Practice lets out at 5 pm, they do their meeting, then hit the showers. I'm sure he'll be home by 6. You know they only got one more practice before the double game on Saturday, which determines which teams are in the playoffs…" Shawn Jorgenson, Spencer's brother, reminded.
"He's usually home by now, and he's not answering messages." Spencer remarked. Headlights were seen pulling into the driveway. "Must be him now." It wasn't, the one who arrived was Shane with Addilyn. "Where's Hunter?"
"He should be along soon," Addilyn informed greeting her parents first, then her uncle and Glenn.
"He had to stay for meeting with the coaches, since he's captain and all." Shane shrugged, following suit with Addilyn to greet his family.
"Ah." Spencer nodded. "Well, I guess we'll wait for him and keep talking." He offered.
. . .
(6:20 pm)
Hunter reached home, finally. It hadn't been easy either. There were too many close calls at practice where he felt light-headed and like he was going to throw up, and then there was feeling like he might pass out in the shower, and a meeting with Dimitri, Devon, and Elijah about final details for Saturday, which would be shared with the rest of the team on Friday at their last practice. Driving home wasn't easy when Hunter felt like puking the entire time, and a few times; he did feel the vomit rise. His body hurt, his head was throbbing, he was exhausted, and felt sick to his stomach. He kept coughing, which didn't help in keeping himself from vomiting. It was worse that he overslept a bit this morning and never took his medication, or brought them with him. Pulling into the driveway; Hunter noticed the other cars and had completely forgotten about the dinner tonight. He didn't need this because Keith and Nicole knew what was wrong with him; he didn't know if Ella knew or not. Hunter was desperately trying not to hurl in his car; he just wanted to get to his room, and then he didn't care if he threw up then.
Shutting off his car, he heaved a bit and brought his hand to his mouth. Hunter managed to keep it down as he got out of the jeep and moved to get through the door that would take him up the small set of stairs and basically into the kitchen, which overlooked the living room. Hunter got into the house, basically dragging his feet.
"I'm home." Hunter called.
"About time…" Shane rolled his eyes from the couch.
"Lay off, would ya?" Hunter remarked in a sarcastic tone.
"Dude, you were supposed to be here by 6 pm, at the latest." Shane reminded.
"Meeting ran long, and Eli needed a jump. Devon would have helped, but neither of them had jumper cables, so I stayed to help out. That a problem for you?" Hunter stared.
"Alright you two, knock it off." Shawn and Spencer sighed, knowing the two cousins never really saw eye to eye and always ended up fighting. Not physical, but they'd take verbal shots at one another.
"We sort of ate ahead of you coming home, laddie. But saved you a plate in the microwave." Glenn stated.
"Thanks…" Hunter replied softly, not that he had an appetite right now. The thought of food was making him feel sicker.
"I'll eat with you, babe," Nicole smiled. "I decided to wait, so you wouldn't have to eat alone."
"You didn't have to wait for me, babe." Hunter said.
"I wanted to. So come on, let's eat now and then we can do dessert. Your dad made your favorite…Well, he thought of it and Glenn made it." Nicole giggled.
What was Hunter supposed to do here? Eat and risk throwing up? Or tell them he wasn't hungry and maybe save himself. Unfortunately, the idea of eating dinner and then jumping into dessert didn't sit well as the nausea hit hard with the undeniable feeling of knowing he was going to end up puking. "Hunter?" Spencer asked, seeing Hunter sort of dazed off and not responding to Nicole's mention of them eating.
Come on…No, no…Not right now, please?Hunter pleaded silently. "You go ahead and eat, babe. I'm not hungry right now anyway…"He tried to play it off as he'd eat later.
"But you haven't had anything since lunch, baby…That was like, seven hours ago…" Nicole reminded.
"Still hyped up from practice, when that settles down; I'll eat." Hunter informed, trying to get them off his back about it. His eyes caught Keith's, who were asking if he felt alright. As subtly as Hunter could manage, he gave Keith the look that said no.
"Ah, I know the feeling." Keith smiled. "Can't eat right away after a long day. I can't either, lad." He added.
"Glad I'm not alone then." Hunter responded with a light smile and a look of thanks.
"Go on, change and get comfortable. That should help." Keith offered.
"Will do. Be back in a few minutes." Hunter headed off past the living room and down the hall to his bedroom. As soon as he was inside with the door closed, he felt the vomit rise in his throat as he dashed for the bathroom and threw up. Hunter coughed hard, spitting, and trying to catch his breath before it happened again, and then another following that. Hunter winced from the way it felt coming up, and how knotty his stomach felt. Panting, Hunter leaned against the side of the tub, closing his eyes. Not more than a minute later; he felt his phone vibrate as he shakily pulled it out and saw a message from Keith.
Keith's Cell, 6:30 pm
What's wrong? Talk to me.
Hunter bought the phone up a bit to reply, trying hard not to throw up again.
6:32 pm
Forgot to take my meds this morning because I overslept, and never grabbed them either. I feel everything, and I just threw up 3 times.
Hunter set the phone down and heaved a bit, but held back. It didn't last as he puked two more times. He reached for the phone and reopened the messages with Keith.
6:36 pm
Add 2 more to that last number.
Keith's Cell, 6:37 pm
Alright, easy…Hang tight. I'll bring you something to help with the nausea.
Hunter saw the message on the screen, but didn't reply as he just laid his head on his arm, trying to take breaths and relax. Out in the living room, Nicole caught her father texting someone, which he rarely did and it seemed off that he'd do it right after Hunter walked away.
"Who are you messaging at this hour, dear?" Ella inquired.
"Just a colleague of mine." Keith replied gently.
"Can I get anyone anything to drink?" Spencer asked, rising to his feet. Keith took his chance to ask.
"Do you have ginger tea, Spencer? I know it's an odd request, but one of my favorites." Keith smiled.
"Odd yes, but Hunter's mother loved it." Spencer chuckled as he headed into the kitchen get the hot water going, and pull out the tea bag box. After a few moments, Spencer brought the steaming cup over to him.
"Thank you." Keith accepted the mug from him as he dipped the bag a bit.
"Honey, don't forget to take your heartburn medication." Ella said.
"Ah, yes. Thank you, love." Keith said as he got up and headed off to the bathroom, still holding the mug. Reaching the hall while everyone was busy talking; Keith slipped off to the right instead of the left and pulled out his phone to text Hunter.
6:45 pm
I'm outside your door, and I don't want to make you move if you'll vomit again. Do I have permission to come into your room, lad?
Hunter Haddock, 6:46 pm
That's fine.
With the okay, Keith slipped into Hunter's room quietly and located the door he was behind and knocked lightly. "Hunter? It's me, can I come in?"
"Yeah…" Hunter moaned tiredly. Keith opened the door and found Hunter on the floor; he frowned at the state of his daughter's boyfriend, who was also his patient. Keith crouched down and handed him the mug.
"Here…It's ginger tea. It can help with nausea and vomiting. Drink this slow, and take the meds with it. Your stomach should settle down shortly and then the medication should keep things down the rest of the night." Keith said. Hunter accepted it and started to sip slowly. "Where are you medications?" He wondered.
"Medicine cabinet above the sink, top shelf on the left." Hunter replied as Keith went to get them and brought the pills down to Hunter's level so he could take them. Hunter took another sip and swallowed the pills with the drink. "I owe you for covering for me earlier…"
"Think nothing of it, son. You're not just my daughter's boyfriend; you are also my patient and I'm not going to just sit by when I see that something isn't right. It's against my code to help people, my wife would have done it too if she knew about things. I know what you're answer will be if I ask this…But Hunter, seriously…Consider getting the surgery done earlier than June. The meds aren't going to hold out until then if they're already not working much now. I know you didn't take them today, but me upping them a few weeks ago only proves my theory. At some point, they'll stop working and you'll be dealing with this every day." Keith said with a hand on his shoulder. "Just…Think about it, and we can talk about it more on Friday when you come for your appointment, alright?"
Hunter managed a nod as Keith smiled and stood up to leave the bathroom. Hunter felt a little better as he got up and splashed his face, and brushed his teeth to get the taste of vomit out. Keith had already left his room as Hunter finished the tea off and got himself dressed into something still suitable, but comfortable. Hunter came out to find Keith being asked why he went right instead of left.
"Daddy, Hunter gave you a tour. Why'd you go right?" Nicole asked.
Keith wasn't sure what to say, and Hunter caught it. Keith had covered for him earlier, now it was Hunter's turn to help the man out. Walking into sight, Hunter leaned against the wall with his arms slightly folded over his chest. "Our houses our reversed, babe. In your house, near your hall bathroom; you'd have to go right to get to it, whereas left would be your room. It's not a big deal; I just let him use the bathroom in my room. It's not like we don't have at least three here." Hunter remarked. It seemed to work as Ella and Nicole nodded, showing truth in Hunter's words about the houses being reversed. Keith gave a silent thank you with his eyes to Hunter. "Still hungry, Milady?"
Nicole nodded her head quickly to him as Hunter walked over and offered his hand to help her up, then move into the kitchen as he got his set aside plate and then made a plate for Nikki. Both were heated in the microwave before they moved through the great room and into the dining room to sit next to one another and start eating. Hunter knew he would probably regret it later, but Keith helped him out once and the nausea was gone, so he needed to eat something or it was going to draw attention as to why he was relaxed now and changed, but still not eating. Hiccup drank water and ate slowly, chatting with his girlfriend about how practice went, and other random topics. The older adults with Shane and Addilyn were going on with their own conversation.
After Hunter and Nicole ate, they washed their own dishes and relaxed a bit before dessert was served. Hunter wished he could enjoy it, but he didn't want to push the fact he ate all his dinner. So he did decline on the red velvet cake, saying he was still full from dinner and would have a piece later, if not, tomorrow for sure. Everyone hung out until about 8:00 pm, then left as it was a school and work night. Hunter did his homework, then showered, and climbed into bed by 10:45 pm while really hoping that he didn't fell this way tomorrow.
. . .
(Saturday, 4/21/2018-2:00 pm)
(Berkian Academy-Gymnasium)
The buzzer sounded as the ball swooshed into the basket, a last second and surprise shot made by Hunter to break the tie. The other team had the ball, but Hunter snuck in and grabbed it, making his way down the court, someone rammed into him in an attempt to get the ball. As Hunter was going down; he one-arm threw the ball towards the bet and scored the basket. It was sheer luck, but the ball went in just before the buzzer went off. Hunter hit the floor on his back; it hurt like hell because he slid a but, and that didn't feel good on his skin or his head. Mainly his body because of the joint pains, and headache. Even the medication didn't help if he managed to hurt himself and have to feel all that. And if the meds wore off, he was really going to feel it later.
"They've done it! The Berkian Academy Hooligans have won it, and are going to Archian Isle School Playoffs! And what a shot made the Hooligan's captain, Hunter Haddock!" The announcer called cheerfully as the crowd was erupting with applause and hollering. The first game had been against the Berserk Skrills, and the second one was against the Murderous Giants, both very hard teams to beat, but the Berkian Hooligans had done it and they were going to the playoffs in May!
Hunter laid there on the ground, arms sprawled out, panting, but smiling at the victory as his teammates came over to help him up and check on him. "What the hell, Hunt? That was awesome!" Travis raved with the others.
"You good?" Shane laughed.
"Yeah, never better." Hunter nodded, ignoring the pain; he didn't want to cause a scene over it. Travis and Shane hoisted Hunter up on their shoulders with the rest of the team circling around them as they went over to their spot with the coaches and medics. Shane and Travis let Hunter down as Jeremy and Kyle checked him out. "I'm good, guys. Little sore, but fine." He smiled while Shane handed him his water bottle since he was sweating and panting still.
"Hell of shot, man!" one of his teammates patted his back.
"Serious luck in it. I've never seen anyone throw like that, while falling, and make it." Another stated.
"Hey, we can hash this out aa million ways, but we broke the tie, won, and we're going to the playoffs!" Hunter cheered with the rest of them.
After more cheering, and the line up for good game high-fives; the boys headed to hit the showers. This was a good game, despite how Hunter felt from playing back to back and taking the hits that he did. He avoided as many as possible, but some were inevitable. All his friends turned out for this and the group of them decided to grab lunch to celebrate the win and that the Berkian Hooligans were going to and in the playoffs.
