=Normal POV=
(Saturday, 8/18/2018- 7:00 pm)
(Archian Island, Berk)
(Berkbees)

Hunter was definitely glad that he decided to come out today and join his friends; it was great, and he had a lot of fun that he hadn't had in a while because of his depression. Hunter wasn't cured; he still felt the sadness, but Hunter was working on that in therapy. Harry Anderson had told Hunter that getting back into things he loved to do would help to keep the feelings away, so Hunter considered that when he was asked if he wanted to come to the beach with his friends. Hunter wasn't ready to tell them what was going on, and thanks to Nicole, Hunter understood that the others were more than willing to wait for him to be ready to reveal things. The friends packed up, and headed to Berkbees around 5:30 pm; they arrived at 5:40 and were seated five minutes later when a few tables were put together for them. Drinks were ordered first, then group appetizers to share. Dinner orders were placed and decided against having the server split up their bills individually. The group was sure they could handle dividing their bill when it came.

The food was incredible, but the time together was even better. Everyone just sat around to talk, then when the food came; the talking and eating were split fairly. Not everyone ordered desserts when that question was asked, Hunter and Nicole were among the two who didn't as Hunter promised her that they would enjoy something sweet together after everyone headed home. Hunter had invited Nicole to his house when they were in the car and traveling to Berkbees for dinner, of course, Nicole accepted. The bill finally came and Hunter always being quick with numbers took less than a minute to split it up however people wanted to, whether it was by the couple, solo, or family paying. However, when the waitress came by, Hunter had slipped his card into the slot and left the cash as the tip. Hunter never gave them the real total, just what they needed to pay for their bit of the tip.

"So, while we're waiting for the waitress to come back…" Nicole paused as the others, except Hunter, caught on.

"Okay, you all have a look like you're up to something…" Hunter remarked, eyeing them curiously.

"More like we all know what is about to happen," Elijah chuckled some.

"Um?..." Hunter wondered.

"Alright, so…We might have lied a bit to get you to come with us," Heather stated.

"This was a day we planned to hang out together a while back in July, figuring one last hoorah before college and other adulting things happen," Fisher mentioned.

"We wanted you to come because…We have something for you," Devon said with a smile.

"Okay, you're…Kind of freaking me out," Hunter admitted, confused. Nicole held Hunter's hand, giving him a reassuring smile that everything was okay. Addilyn reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope, then handed it to Shane, who passed it over the table to Hunter. "What's this?"

"Call it a late graduation gift, from all of us," Shane informed with a smile.

Hunter flipped the envelope over to reveal that it was a piece of mail, addressed to him, but sent to Shane and Addilyn's house. The return address had been whited-out. Nervously, Hunter got the envelope opened up and pulled out the folded sheet inside. Hunter unfolded the paper and instantly saw the insignia for AIU. Hunter started reading, his eyes widening with shock and small tears forming. Hunter was beside himself with what was written on the letter, he finally set the paper down a little and looked around at them.

"I-I don't understand? How-?" Hunter stopped, unable to find his words.

"Well, we kind of all sat down after graduation when you started getting distant, not answering calls or messages, and so on," Nicole informed lightly. "I told you before that we had all been worried about you since the surgery, and when we talked about certain things, it started to piece together like a puzzle…" She continued.

"We realized that you kept getting defensive, quiet, or even angry when Basketball was brought up. Ever since you learned we won the championship, and that as Trav and I were hurrying to get to the hospital for you, the others were getting a chance to talk to the scholarship scouts," Shane interjected. "You avoided all conversations regarding the sport, so we knew something was up,"

"The point, love, is that we realized you might be upset about losing your chance to talk to those people because getting this was part of the plan for your future. So while you were recovering, and going through your whole thing, we decided to set up a meeting with the scholarship board. Between all of us, including your coach, we spoke on your behalf and asked them to consider you for a full scholarship," Nicole told Hunter as his eyes widened. "The board granted you a full scholarship, for the entire time you're attending AIU, studying to become an engineer. And they absolutely want you on the team too. All you have to do is give them a note from your doctor clearing you from the surgery and recovery, which…" Nicole pulled out another paper from her purse, unfolding it, and handing it to him. "I had my dad write up this morning after Addy messaged me that the letter came in on Friday afternoon," She smiled, setting it in Hunter's hands with the scholarship notice.

"You…Did all this for me?" Hunter finally spoke, finding his voice.

"You're our friend, or family. If it's important to you, it's important to us," Addilyn smiled.

"And there isn't anything we wouldn't do to see you okay and happy," Shane added in.

"The bottom line, Hunter, is that we all love you," Nicole put her hand on Hunter's shoulder, then pulled him closer to kiss his cheek and give a side hug.

Hunter was just about in tears, but his pride wasn't letting him cry in a public place. "You have no idea what it means to me…" Hunter said, loud enough to be heard by them. "Thank you…All of you,"

"We know how much it means, Hunt. All the thanks belong to Nicole," Devon said. "We all spoke on your behalf, but this was her idea to see if we could convince the board to grant the scholarship," He added.

Hunter looked over at Nicole, who smiled and shrugged because she did already know that Hunter's depression nearly directly stemmed from Hunter losing his chance to get the scholarship. Hunter turned a bit to hug her tightly. "Thank you, babe…"

"You're welcome, love," Nicole replied.

The waitress returned, handing the black folder to Hunter, who smiled, signing the slip, and then took his card out. "Hey, wait a sec…What's your card doing in there?" Ashley asked.

"It's all set. That's for you for a wonderful job dealing with us tonight. Thank you," Hunter said, handing the booklet back with the cash still in it. The woman looked stunned but bowed her head in thanks to him before tucking the folder away in her apron. Hunter put his card away in his wallet, then got up to put away the letters and offer his hand to Nicole. "I do believe some time ago that I promised I'd pay for a group dinner if we won the championship," Hunter winked. "I know it's a bit late, and nothing compared to what you all have done for me, but I figured the least I could do after being an overly distant pain in the butt for two months was keep my promise to you."

"Hunter!" The friends shouted at him.

"Oh, come on…I let you pay the tip," Hunter chuckled. "Thank you for today, guys, and girls…It really helped a lot,"

Deciding not to argue with Hunter as it was good to know he was happy and great to see the smile they all knew and loved him for; the group nodded. "You're welcome!"

"Now, shall we call it a night, Milady?" Hunter asked Nicole, she nodded and linked her arm to his before waving to the others. "Night," Hunter told them before leading Nicole out of the restaurant, then to his car.

. . .

(9:00 pm)
(Haddock Residence)

After arriving at the Haddock house, Glenn and Spencer insisted on hearing everything about the day from Hunter and Nicole. Following that, Hunter and Nicole reached Hunter's room and decided that they should probably shower off from the beach earlier. Thankfully, Nicole expected she might sleepover at Hunter's, so she had let her parents know while on the drive to Hunter's place; they were fine with it. Nicole used Hunter's bedroom bathroom, while Hunter used the one in the hall. By the time Nicole got out, Hunter was already back inside his room, wearing a pair of basketball shorts that were loose and showed his boxers. Nicole wore a tank top-like nightgown, she smiled softly seeing the look on Hunter's face, it was like at the restaurant, only it appeared that Hunter might not hold back crying this time.

"Are you okay?" Nicole asked.

"I'm…I don't even know if I have a word for it…" Hunter said softly. "I'm happy, I really am. I guess…It's a different happy," He continued as Nicole sat beside him. "I worked all my life to save money for my future, practiced like hell with Basketball…And when the grand culmination for that came to kill it in senior year, I basically threw it all away with my choices to hide my symptoms, and then hide the tumor. So, I mean, it feels good to still get the scholarship…"

"But you don't feel like you earned it because we're the ones who spoke on your behalf?" Nicole offered as Hunter nodded. "Hey, look at me," She cupped his cheek as he looked at her now. "Hunter, if it weren't for you getting smacked in the chest that day; we all believe that you would have finished the game and still gotten that scholarship all by yourself. Okay? When we went in there to talk about you to the board; we really just asked them to watch videos and consider how long you've been playing, and how much you wanted to keep playing through college. We showed the board videos of you playing all through elementary, middle, high school, your summer leagues." Nicole explained as Hunter looked at her with surprise.

"You did earn this, love. All we did was get you another chance to show those people why you deserve this scholarship, but the rest is you. Your hard work, your determination, and your desire to play the game you love, even with a tumor, and on your mother's one-year anniversary of passing from the very same disease. Hunter, you absolutely did this all by yourself. You earned that scholarship. You deserve it, you deserve to have the future you planned. And as your friends, family, and me as your girlfriend; we just wanted to see you happy. So take pride, baby, and take a bow because this," Nicole motioned to the paper with his scholarship granted status. "Was all you,"

Hunter stared at Nicole for a moment or two, she was still smiling at him. Hunter couldn't believe what she said to him, and at the same time, he could. Nicole was amazing, she always had the right thing to say and had been there for him since they met as friends, more so as boyfriend and girlfriend. Noticing Hunter's silence, Nicole was about to say something else, but Hunter only set the sheets of paper on his nightstand, then looked back at his girlfriend, and leaned in to capture her lips with his. Nicole blinked a few times but melted into the action.

~Lemon Start ~

Hunter was far from perfect, and he knew that. It would still be a while before he was fully okay again, but after what Nicole and his friends had done for him; he was better. And right now, all Hunter wanted to do was show Nicole how much he loved her. It had been a while since they had done this, making love. For Hunter, it felt like it hadn't been since June at the graduation party since all other intimacy seemed to stop after foreplay. There might have been one other time, but Hunter couldn't recall at the moment; he was much too busy in making out with his girlfriend and it didn't take long for Hunter to shift Nicole to be laying on his bed with him over her.

Finally breaking the kiss for air, Nicole looked at Hunter with a breathless smile and her hands on his forearms. "Oh, my…What's all this?" Nicole teased him.

"I-I want you…" Hunter replied softly.

Nicole stroked Hunter's cheek, drawing him down closer and looking into his eyes. "I'm all yours…Have me," She invited as their lips were almost touching. "Make love to me, Hunter…" Hunter needed nothing else as he captured her lips hungrily. The two teenagers were locked in making out once more, their tongues exploring one another's mouths, dancing together while their bodies were pressed against each other, fitting perfectly in all the right places. The two spent some time continuing their kissing while adjusting a few times to remove their clothing. Hunter had made sure the door was locked after he came in from his shower earlier, also that his father and godfather wouldn't bother them for the rest of the night. Hunter heavily implied that it had been a long day, and he didn't want to be disturbed.

Now, Hunter and Nicole were laying beside one another, still making out and hands roaming their bodies. Nicole was stroking Hunter's length, and Hunter was playing with her breasts, and also her womanhood. Both were panting, kissing, and moaning at the feelings. Hunter wanted to be able to eat her out, but she was enjoying her fun with his cock. Hunter broke the kiss as he laid on his back and motioned for her to come closer, as she did, Hunter guided her over him, but in sixty-nine. Nicole giggled, but understood, Hunter was doing this so that they could both enjoy the pleasure from foreplay. Not long after the two were situated in their position comfortably, Hunter began eating Nicole out and she started to suck on him. This went on for a good five to eight minutes, and somewhere in it, Hunter had begun to use his fingers, pumping them in and out of her core; Hunter would push in deep to find her G-spot, then hit it hard and fast repetitively. Hunter also paid close attention to Nicole's clitoris while keeping up the motions with his fingers.

"Mm! Gods!" Nicole moaned, finding herself distracted from continuing Hunter's blowjob. "Hunter…" Nicole didn't want to be unfair, that's why they did this. It usually helped them both last longer during intercourse to cum once before starting. Nicole started stroking Hunter's cock with her hand, hearing him moan, she lowered her mouth and got back to sucking him. It wasn't much longer when Nicole felt Hunter's length twitch and he bucked a little; that was Nicole's signal that Hunter was about to cum. Likewise, Hunter also knew when Nicole was about to release, as she always tightened and became more fidgety. The two both moaned out and climaxed together, then shifted a bit to be laying next to each other while trying to catch their breath.

After a small recovery period, Hunter scooted off the bed to grab a towel so that both of them could clean up a little. When that was taken care of, Hunter went into his nightstand drawer to pull out a condom and get it on as Nicole adjusted to be in the center of Hunter's bed and ready with her legs apart as Hunter crawled between them. Reaching Nicole's lips, Hunter kissed her as he balanced on one arm to guide his still hard length into Nicole's core. There was a little resistance, but only because they hadn't done it in a while. Hunter went slow until he was in full and Nicole was relaxed with no pain. Once Hunter got the nod from his girlfriend, he fixed his arms and started to rock his hips, slowly at first. Hunter knew that Nicole always let him know when she wanted more, but they enjoyed taking their time, which was the point of the foreplay and cumming once.

Hunter and Nicole spent the next hour or so making love to one another. The two would alter positions every five to ten minutes, staying in the range of ones they liked. Personally, Nicole loved to be on top of Hunter, but she also enjoyed Hunter taking control. One of her new favorites was now Hunter locking her legs around his waist and holding her up against the wall. Hunter's top position was doggy style, it let him get in deep and hard. A close second was pushing Nicole's thighs up to her chest, but keeping her legs spread apart. No matter the position, the two of them just loved being with one another, and Hunter had an extraordinarily strong feeling that Nicole was the girl he would end up marrying when college was over in four years. Maybe even before that, Hunter didn't know; it could happen.

"Hu-Hunter…I'm gonna…c-cum!" Nicole panted, gripping Hunter's shoulders. Hunter and Nicole always finished together, and facing one another; there was something much more romantic and meaningful to be able to look into each other's eyes when they released.

"Me…T-Too…" Hunter moaned.

Nicole dug her nails into Hunter's skin as she then wrapped her arms around his neck to drag Hunter down; her lips crashing against his. "Mm…Mm…" Her muffled moans told Hunter all he needed to hear, he shifted just a bit to thrust into Nicole harder and faster, making sure he was going in deep and that his body was angled right so that his pelvic area would rub against her clit when he pushed in on his thrusts. Without much warning, Nicole's body suddenly locked up. "Hunter!" Her hips arched, the kiss broke as Nicole's head flew back as she moaned out and came.

"Nicole!" Hunter released immediately after Nicole's core walls tightened around his length. The young lovers let their orgasms take over them completely; they were sweating, shaking, and trying to catch their breath. For a good ten minutes, neither of them moved much except sharing some light kisses while coming down from the climax high they got. "I love you…" Hunter panted against her lips.

"And I love you," Nicole replied. After a few more kisses, Hunter adjusted to move his hand to his softened length to pull out. This was only to ensure that the condom didn't slip off, and Hunter moved slow to make sure the protection didn't break. Once Hunter had pulled out safely, he sat on the edge of the bed to remove the condom and tie it off. After Hunter checked that the protection wasn't leaking, he tossed it away in the trash along with the wrapper, which had been carelessly and quickly discarded on the nightstand before the lovers got started.

~Lemon End~

When Nicole and Hunter had both cleaned up a bit and used the bathroom; they snuggled up together in Hunter's bed, never bothering to put their clothes back on. After the lovers were comfortable for the night, they shared another passionate kiss before drifting off to sleep with smiles on their faces.