Eden and Bea (LGBT+)

🌳 x 18

The following day meant that we could do whatever we wanted to, so I spent the most part of it studying, until someone came to whisper from outside of the tent. 

Eden had wandered off to speak to some of her friends, so I had been alone up until this point. 

"Bee-bee. Psst, Bea," Axel's voice said and I went to open the tent entrance. 

"Yes?" I asked him, "You called? Bea is here," I said. 

His mouth twitched. 

"Hey. Dinner's ready. Eden and the others are already over there," he informed me. 

I quickly closed my book and took my glasses off, and then made my way out of the tent to join him. 

The two of us walked to the dinner area and went to sit with the others at a nearby picnic bench. 

Axel immediately engaged in a conversation with the others, while I began to eat some of my cheese baked potato, that Axel had already got for me- he knew my preferences. 

His eyes glanced to me for a second and then towards Eden, as though he was optimistic about the future for the two of us. 

The thing about Axel was that he was brave enough to ask someone how they felt about him. 

I had never had that sort of courage. 

I had just imagined that Eden had disliked me for so long that anything to the contrary seemed absolutely absurd. 

"We're totally going to beat the second task tomorrow," Axel said confidently to Owen, "Aren't we?" he asked. 

"You betcha," Owen replied with a smile. He then finished off his own baked potato. 

"I'm full. I think I might take a run," Axel announced to the table and then turned to speak more quietly to me, "Want to come with me?" he asked. 

I nodded. I had a feeling that he needed to talk to me about something. 

So, the two of us started our run. 

Of course, it was only a run for a few minutes because I was exhausted, even after a day of only reading. I wasn't quite sure how that was possible, but it was. 

"What do you think about Ren?" Axel asked me then, taking me by surprise. 

"What?" I returned. 

"I said-" he went to repeat himself, but I stopped him. 

"No, I heard what you said. What about her? Do you like her?" I asked him. 

It was then that I realised that even if Axel did like Ren, it wouldn't bother me in the slightest. We really were just best friends, after all, and I was happy with that. 

"I've been noticing her more recently. I don't know. It sounds stupid. I feel like such an asshole...she's a brilliant person," he said. 

"She's wonderful," I said with sincerity, "I say you should go for it." 

Axel's eyes brightened a little in response to that statement. 

"Really?" he asked me. 

"Yes, Axel. Of course. As your best friend, I insist that you go for it," I told him kindly. 

He grinned at me, then. 

"Thanks, Bea! You're the greatest!" he told me and then brought me into a hug, before he rushed back over to the table. 

Once he had returned to the table, I noticed that Eden had been observing the two of us from afar. 

She met my gaze fleetingly and then shrugged and continued to eat. 

Soon after that, I decided to walk back over, too. 

The sky was darkening, the air was becoming more chilly, and I knew that it would be time for the two of us to go to sleep again soon. 

The second task was tomorrow and we needed to be well-rested for it. 

Fortunately, Eden had been sleeping much better lately. 

I supposed the air between the two of us hadn't been quite so tense, but I was always ready for something to happen. It just was expected with Eden at this point, but I was glad that the two of us were at peace with each other. At least, for now. 

"Hey, Eden!" a voice called over to the table, then, "Why don't you come and teach us some French?" a guy asked and then winked. His eyes then glanced down towards Eden's chest and one of his friends nudged him slightly in the side, in an encouraging fashion. 

I felt my eyebrows crease together in response to the obviously intentionally disgusting question. 

Eden reacted a little differently, as she turned to them. 

"Hey, I have a present for you," she said, as she placed her fist into her pocket and then pulled it out with the middle finger raised. 

Good for you, Eden, I thought to myself, as I watched her with some admiration for a moment. 

I wouldn't have expected for her to respond that way, but I was proud of her for standing up for herself against those absolute assholes. 

"For fuck's sake. Let's just go back to the tent," Eden said with a sigh, as she stood up and grabbed my forearm in her hand. She then led the both of us back to the tent and looked towards my sleeve upon our return. Noticing what she had done, she quickly let go of me. "So much for being 'Eden Ida Thorne the third', people will still treat you like you're a tart," she said. 

"They're idiots," I said. 

She sighed, as she pinched the bridge of her nose. 

"I know a lot of terms for them that are slightly more colourful than that one," she told me. 

"What- oh," I said in realisation. 

Eden was more savage than I ever gave her credit for. 

The two of us made our way back into the tent and she exhaled, as she rubbed gently at her temples. 

"Maybe my mother's right," she said quietly, then, which caused me to look at her with curiosity again. "Maybe I am too sensitive- too over-emotional. Maybe that's why I have barely any friends." 

I could hardly believe what she had said.