=Nicole's POV=
(Saturday, 6/30/2018-7:00 pm)
(Archian Island, Berk)
(Strondsen Household)

Well, it's official. Not only am I no longer a virgin, but I'm also a high school graduate as of two weeks ago. The ceremony was excellent; it just dragged on, though. We could have done without all the speeches, slideshows, and whatnot. We had the graduation party at Hunter's that same night on the 16th; it was a fun time with all the music, food, and then an added campout in his backyard. Hunter and I ended up sharing a tent, as did other couples too. It's now the 30th, and unfortunately, I feel like something is wrong with Hunter, and our friends felt the same. Hunter is still displaying some concerning emotions and won't speak up about whatever is wrong. Sure, he smiled and even talked, but I still felt like there was something else going on. Our friends did too; the graduation practices were all we needed to see things. Hunter was always quiet and very much zoned unless we spoke to him directly. I was hoping to talk to him about it, but I also don't want to upset him. Hiccup had continuously insisted that he was fine any time one of us asked if he was okay, and if pushed, he seemed to become very irritated and annoyed.

Our night together was incredible, and we enjoyed the next morning as well in the hotel. We showered, got dressed, packed up, and went to breakfast together. Hunter brought me to my house, we talked for a little bit, and then he went home. My parents made sure I was okay from mine and Hunter's night; I assured them it was perfect before heading to my room to relax. However, it was the rest of the week that I noticed Hunter's mood wasn't happy. And worse, it wasn't just that week; Hiccup's emotional state has been down since the day after prom ended. I noticed it, our friends have seen it, and I'd go as far as to say that my parents have also seen it because they ask me if Hunter is okay. Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for them. Hunter puts up a strong front with others, but when he zones out and thinks he's alone, we all see it. I'm starting to get scared because it's been like this since he woke up from surgery over a month ago now.

His three main moods are annoyed, angry, and sad. Those are the three things I pick for what I see. Ever since the graduation party, I barely see Hunter anymore. We text, but his responses are slow. We do phone calls sometimes, and I can hear that his tone isn't happy even though he's trying to sound that way. Our dates have dwindled from three times to once a week. Hunter always makes sure I'm home for 9:00 pm, or he makes sure he leaves my place for the same time. Hunter and I don't do sleepovers anymore, though, we had for a little bit after our first time together. We have had sex at least once a week, or foreplay, before the dates started to shrink down to what they are now. Hunter doesn't even want to hang out with all of us; he always says he's tired, or busy.

I just don't know what to do to help him. The last thing I'd want is to tell my dad I'm terrified that Hunter might have a case of depression, and losing to it. I wasn't sure what else I could call it, that's what it seemed like to me. I whole-heartedly believed that Hunter had a form of depression that started slight and was venturing towards severe. But my dad had been seeing Hunter for surgery follow-ups, yesterday was the last one as it marked six weeks. Nothing has come up in any of those, Hunter healed nicely, so I thought he'd be happier. I guess I was wrong, and now I'm afraid. My dad is also under legal obligation not to tell me anything medically about Hunter, so if he did know something, he wasn't going to tell me.

I finally had my license, Hunter did teach me how to drive, and I passed my driving test. I only have the paper version right now, but the hard copy would come in the mail in a few more weeks. The department of motor vehicles said it took about six to eight weeks, and it's only been one so far. Hunter and I finished everything right after graduation. Now, I'll be planning to get a job to save up for a car, but right now, my mind is only on helping my boyfriend of six months. I messaged him at 5:00 pm, and he said he was going to be eating dinner with Spencer and Glenn, but it's been two hours, and he hasn't replied yet, not that I should be overly surprised; Hunter barely answers anyone as of late.

Should I call him? I wondered as I tapped a few things on my phone and let my phone hover over the box, asking if I wanted to call Hunter's Cell. Yes, I'll just call him and ask if he's okay? No, that I just wanted to say hi. Or maybe that I dialed him by accident? I shouldn't be this nervous, and it makes me a good girlfriend to check on him, right? I went to press the button, and there was a knock on my door as I jumped a bit and set the phone down and took a few breaths.

"Yes?" I asked, locking my phone and looking over as the door opened to see my mother there. "Hi, Mom. What's up?" I smiled.

"You have visitors," Ella informed as I blinked a bit.

"Who is here at this hour for me?" I wondered.

"Your friends, I guess they want to talk to you about something important and knew it would be easier to do it in person rather than phone," Ella said as I got off my bed, abandoning my phone there, then left the room with my mom following me. I made it into the living room to see all my friends there, even Elijah, Devon, and Miya.

"Uh, hi, guys. What brings you over at 7:00?" I questioned as my mom pulled my dad towards their room.

"We figured this was easier and faster than trying to do a group call on Skype," Heather replied.

"Okay. Um, what's going on?" I stated as I motioned for them to have a seat around the room.

"I'm sure you've noticed Hunter's declining mood ever since the surgery," Shane began.

"Of course," I nodded. "It's more than just a mood, though, Shane,"

"Has he told you anything?" Ashley asked.

I shook my head. "No, but I can see and hear it,"

"We were hoping that he might have told you whatever was going on with him. We're all starting to worry a lot," Devon informed.

"He never wants to talk," Travis said.

"Or hang out," Raelyn added.

"Hunter hasn't said anything to me, I just notice it. I'm good at seeing things that don't look right. I only see him once a week, and just for a few hours. Messaging and calling have dwindled too. I was going to call him before you all came." I stated.

"Well, if she's not having any better luck with him, then it stands to reason that Hunter is going through something he can't handle because he's withdrawing from his friends and girlfriend," Elijah sighed. "He's getting more distant by the day,"

"And when we try to ask if he wants to talk, or if we can help, he just gets angry and defensive," Fisher noted.

"But sometimes just says that he's fine, which we all know is bull," Mindy said as they all nodded.

"So we know there's a problem. The question is, what do we do to fix it?" Shane remarked, looking at the group.

"Can we offer a doctor's perspective?" My dad walked into the room with my mom.

"Please? Anything that might help us with Hunter?" Heather hoped.

"We don't want to lose him," I looked down.

Keith and Ella sat down close to me. "I couldn't help but overhear the conversation with our room being right next to the living room, but it seems with all the evidence presented; Hunter could be suffering from a form of depression. It would be hard to label which kind without an evaluation from a mental healthcare professional," Ella began.

"But there is more than enough to say he's probably suffering something in that department," Keith finished for his wife.

"I feared that being the reason…" I closed my eyes. "What scares me more is how bad it's getting in so little time…"

"Can you say how long Hunter's been this way?" Ella inquired.

"Probably since the surgery, everything started there that night he woke up and argued with his dad, then told everyone to leave," I replied.

"It would be the most likely starting point for things like this. As I understand it, Hunter was already having a bad day with that game falling on the first anniversary of his mother passing away. Also, couple that fact with Hunter almost dying as well, then wake up and deal with all the sudden change accompanied by the event," Keith said with a sigh.

"I don't think this is just a light case that began after surgery," Ashley mentioned. "Slight forms of depression wouldn't affect him this much, and a lot of people can see that Hunter is visibly dealing with something."

"I have to agree," Miya replied softly.

"Dimitri, Jeremy, and Kyle saw it clear as day the night of the party for the last year and championship," Elijah said.

"Yeah, Hunter possibly having depression was brought up then too," Concurred Devon with a nod. "And that was a month ago,"

"The coaches noticed this? People who didn't see Hunter every day?" Ella questioned as Devon and Elijah nodded to her.

"It was discussed among just us two, Dimitri, Kyle, and Jeremy that things were starting to look bad for Hunter's…Let's go with the state of mind as it's without confirmation from a professional that he has depression. Hunter sat by himself that night, didn't care who saw him miserable, and he didn't want to talk or do anything with anyone," Elijah explained.

"We talked that night that perhaps it could have been situational or reactive depression, just that he'd had a hard year, which started back when his mom died and then on through him recovering with all the limits from surgery. But as he's healed," Devon paused.

"His state of mind isn't improving, which means that whatever is going on is getting worse," Keith confirmed. "And that doesn't make me feel any better that I didn't try harder to get him to talk to someone…"

"You knew he was having trouble coping with things, Dad?" I turned my head to look at my father now.

"I had my suspicions that something could be bothering him after surgery while he was in the hospital for a week, and I did bring it up that if he needed to talk to someone, I could set him up with a professional in that field. Or if Hunter didn't want to talk to a therapist or whatever, he could speak to anyone, even me. Initially, I told him that it wasn't uncommon for him to feel like his head was a mess after the incident of not knowing what his symptoms were, finding out it was a tumor, then needing the operation. But, Hunter said he was fine, just dealing with the limits of surgery when he usually had a very active lifestyle," My father explained gently.

"But you've seen him every week since he was discharged, and you didn't see any of the sadness, or ask how he was doing, dear?" Ella wondered.

Keith shook his head. "No, he always came in happy with a smile on his face. Hunter kept that through tests and results. I figured he was okay and had told him if things started becoming too much to handle, to let me know, and we'd work together. Or if he changed his mind on talking to a professional to let me know."

"Well, I think it's more than safe to say that the Hunter we've seen while school was still in session was keeping things about how he felt on the down-low. Yes, there were moments of what seemed like anger or annoyance, maybe even avoiding topics, but we still generally saw a happy Hunter." Mindy mentioned lightly.

"But with school out now, he's free to be at home and not have to hide anything. I'm assuming Spencer and Glenn don't know about all this?" Ella pondered.

The friends nodded. "I don't see how they don't. We can see it miles away, and that's without knowing anything professionally," Keith stated.

"And if I'm not mistaken," Devon started. "Dimitri stopped Hunter before he left and told him something that Dimitri hoped Hunter would hold onto if things got to be too much,"

"Go on?" Keith invited.

"The night of the party, before Hunter left to pick up Nicole for their date, Dimitri had stopped Hunter and asked if he was okay because he noticed Hunter had been very short," Elijah started. "And that if he needed anyone to talk to; he was there, so were the others. When Hunter didn't answer right away, Dimitri had added that if he needed help to cope with whatever he was going through, not to be afraid to ask for help."

"Dimitri also mentioned not wanting to see anything else bad happen to him than what already had, and Hunter had his number if he needed anything. Dimitri asked Hunter not to forget what he'd been told, Hunter promised, and then left. When we asked Dimitri what he said to Hunter-," Devon took a breath.

"All Dimitri said was that he gave Hunter something he hoped Hunter would hold onto if things took a turn for the worst," Elijah sighed.

"And that wanted Hunter to remember it, to act as a lifeline if he fell any farther down," Devon finished. "Which makes sense now that I think back to what we were talking about after Hunter walked away to sit down," He added.

"What?" Shane asked.

"When we talked about the possibility of Hunter having a form of depression, Dimitri made a particular comment, to keep an eye on Hunter over the summer with the rest of you all," Devon said.

Elijah's eyes widened a bit. "You're right. Dimitri said that he didn't want to come back in September to learn another student had died or ended up hurting and killing themselves."

"Y-You don't think he was worried that Hunter's unofficial diagnosis is bad enough that he'd-," I trailed off, suddenly very afraid.

"That's precisely what he is worried about. Depression is a nasty thing if left unchecked, and right now, it's not even professionally confirmed because I don't believe Hunter knows that we've caught onto his state," Ella cut in.

"Dad…What do we do?" I asked.

"Has anyone tried to talk to him?" Keith wondered.

"Yeah, he says he's fine," Shane mumbled.

"No, not asking if he's alright. We know that he's not, or we wouldn't be grouping like this to discuss what the problem could be," Keith informed. "When I ask if anyone has tried to talk to him, I mean, has anyone tried to sit down with him and bring these findings up? Not push him to speak, of course. Just mentioning that they've seen Hunter is short-tempered, seems upset, and getting distant? Have any of you tried to talk with him outside of school, a date, and so on?" he inquired.

"No," The group responded.

"Jeremy mentioned that if we push him to talk that he may feel ganged up on, and end up becoming more distant due to feeling like nobody would understand," Elijah offered.

"Which is accurate, and doing it could worsen the mental illness by pushing the person farther into isolation where they feel like it could never get better," Ella pointed out.

"But going about it the right way may end up helping because it allows the one suffering to know that others have picked up on it, and want to help," Keith added. "I would advise that perhaps one of you try to talk to him and see what happens. If Hunter gets defensive, or anything, just back off and accept the answer. Do not under any circumstance push the issue or argue,"

"And what if he accepts we've picked up on things?" Ashley asked.

"Then whoever ends up being the one to talk to him can ease into taking the first step, which is telling someone, or bringing others in so they know what's going on," Ella suggested.

"What if he doesn't accept it?" Heather frowned.

"At that point, it might be time to get everyone involved; all those who care about Hunter, within limits. We don't want to overwhelm him, so when I say everyone, I mean immediate people in Hunter's life who would have a significant, positive impact, and he would listen to," Keith informed.

"You mean an intervention?" Miya questioned.

"Yes, an intervention where those people mentioned before will all sit down with Hunter and make him aware that he is spiraling downward fast, and going to crash if he doesn't do something to help himself. Also, that if Hunter doesn't feel like he can do it himself, we are here to help him, but he cannot continue the way he's going, and if he can't stop himself, we will stop him. It might be harsh, but sometimes that's the reality check that some people need to understand that they did need help, and then they can get it." Ella stated softly.

"But that's jumping ahead to the extreme measures if Hunter is unresponsive to the more…Gentle approaches. The goal now is just to see if a calm setting, but the severe conversation about what has been noticed, might be enough to urge him in the right direction. At the same time, even if Hunter gets defensive and it's let go, we won't jump right to intervention. Perhaps the defense only lasts because of others, but alone, it could allow Hunter to question if it is true or not," Keith explained.

"Intervention is usually used when the person shows signs of slipping down further into reckless and dangerous behavior or begin using self-harm or considering suicide. I know it's not what anyone wants to hear or even imagine…But that's the harsh reality we have to face as people close to Hunter. So, we'll need to watch him after whoever talks to Hunter and make sure that he isn't venturing further south on that slope." Miya nodded.

"Understood," The group replied.

"So…Who is going to be the lucky one to try and talk to Hunter?" Raelyn broke the silence as everyone looked at one another.