Buttercup [H.S]

Chapter Twenty Two

"But I don't have a tent!"

That's what I'd exclaimed numerous times when the suggestion of a camping weekend in the Peak District had come up. And yet, with a devious smile that I didn't miss, Sarah suggested that I bunk with Harry.

I'd looked at him, expecting to see his own mortification but he kept his eyes intent on the coffee he'd been drinking, not saying a word.

Upon realising he wasn't going to comment on Sarah's suggestion, instead leaving the decision entirely down to me, I couldn't say no. Because the only thing worse than the idea of sharing a tent with Harry for a weekend and having our friends tease us about it, would be to gain yet another look of dejection from Harry to add to my collection.

So I'd gulped and said Okay.

That's how I'd found myself in a field, surrounded by a beautiful vista of rolling hills and valleys, decorated with clear running streams and slick wet rocks, attempting to help Harry erect a tent.

"Just clip those poles together, Ry - no, not those ones. Those ones. There, you got it."

He was being incredibly patient with me, considering I'd woken up late this morning, rushing out of my front door still running a brush through my hair when he'd pulled up outside my house. I'd then made us stop for three separate toilet breaks along the way after sinking back a ginormous flask of tea I'd brought on the journey.

And then to top it off, it turns out I was rubbish at camping.

"I'm rubbish at camping," I voice aloud as I attempt to thread a pole through an annoyingly small hole in the tent.

Harry huffs a laugh and walks over to me, taking the pole out of my hand and flipping it the other way.

"You're not," he says with a smile. "You've just not done it before. The tent's the hard part, it's all fun from there on out."

"Exactly!" Lucy chimes in from where she's already whipped up her own tent - with no thanks to Krish, apparently he's as adept with this stuff as I am. "Just wait until we've hiked Kinder Scout and you've got the air in your lungs and the best view you've ever seen!"

Turns out both Harry and Lucy love hiking. Sarah and Mitch were the ones to suggest the trip, but Harry and Lucy had been the ones pulling up trails on their phones and discussing their favourite walks and hikes and in all honestly it had left me feeling...jealous.

"It really is a great view," Harry says to me whilst he's taken over single handedly working on our tent now. "I can't wait to show it to you."

"It's definitely worth it," Sarah sidles up to us, offering out a biscuit which I gladly take. "Very romantic."

I turn and glare at her, unfortunately having a mouth full of digestive stopping me from hissing at her that I know what she's doing. All she does is smirk back and takes a large bite of her own snack before she skips back to where Mitch is pumping up an inflatable mattress.

"Do we have one of those? I can probably blow it up without supervision." I ask Harry, watching Mitch inflate what looks like a bigger mattress than the bed I have at home.

Harry laughs before he looks over his shoulder. "'Fraid not, just a couple of sleeping bags. That okay?"

I nod. "Of course.

"Our Mitchell is too precious to sleep on the ground like us mere peasants," Harry chides out, to which Mitch drops the hand pump to the ground with a grimace.

"I have sciatica, Harold," he snips back with a frown, Sarah patting his shoulder sympathetically.

"I just brought my duvet," Krish offers up with a shrug from where he sits unfolding a set of green camping chairs.