butterfly effect. until dawn x reader

4. jealousy

(long chapter)

We ended up finding Josh on the trail leading towards the lodge. He said he was trying to call his dad and was going to find service, but eventually gave up. He hugged each of us individually. After awhile of small talk, I was ready to go. "Hey Sam, (Y/N). Why don't you head up there so I can talk to Chris about something real quick. Matt and Ashley were by the steps last time I checked." We left the two boys and walked the three minutes to the lodge. Things were going well. No one seemed angry with me. Actually, most of them seemed glad to see me. Which I couldn't understand, but I wasn't going to bring that up. As we approached the lodge, I saw Matt and Ashley talking to each other. He seemed upset, but not at Ashley. 

"Ashley!" Sam called out. 

The two looked over. Ash stood up from the steps and walked towards us. She seemed to be almost bouncing from excitment. She had always been bubbly and easy to please. It made me feel special knowing that just seeing me made her so happy. She pulled me and Sam into a group hug. "I'm so glad you came! I was worried you were gonna leave us out here."

"Of course."

She turned to Sam. "And you too." Sam smiled back at her and we walked over to Matt. "Hey." Matt was laid-back. He was the best person to just sit with when there isn't anything to do. Having deep conversations with him felt more meaningful than with anyone else in the group, aside from maybe Josh. He patted my shoulder. He had never been one for physical touch, at least with his friends. "Uhm, I've been okay. How about you Matt?" He shrugged. "You know. Busy and stuff."

"I heard that you're with Emily? When did that happen?"

He seemed hesitant to answer. "Ah, over the summer." I couldn't wrap my head around Emily and Matt together. They were two  completely different people. I could hear Josh's voice from behind me.

"(Y/N)," he tapped on my shoulder. Chris was now chatting with Matt and Ashley. "Uh, yeah?"

"You ready to go in?"

I nodded, shivering. "It's freezing out here." He walked over to the door and went to open it. It didn't budge. Josh let out a grunt of frustration. "Iced?" I asked. "I think so. Alright, why don't we take a look around and see if we can't find a way in." "Sure." We walked away from the group, and I was thankful to be alone. Being around everyone was tiring. We walked to the side of the lodge before Josh stopped. 

"How was the trip here?" 

"Long. And boring."

"Yeah, I get that. Sam told me you guys happened to get on the same bus?"

"Mhm."

"Well, I'm really glad you're here. I mean that. You being here means more to me than anyone else. So...thank you."

I smiled at him. "Of course, Josh. I'm always here for you."

"Hey, do you remember when me, you, and Hannah would make those movies?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, you're dad would give us costumes and that old video recorder. Beth never wanted to be in frame so she recorded us."

"Well, I found that camera. Later, maybe when everyone passes out, do you wanna hook it up to the projector and watch them?" "Of course. That sounds great." We looked at each other for a minute before he said anything. "Well, we should probably get in there. You're probably freezing your buns off right now."

"Nobody likes frozen buns," I chuckled. It had been so long since I felt I could joke like this. And it felt amazing. 'Maybe this whole thing won't be too bad.'

"You got that right." 

We scanned the area before my gaze landed on a large metal cabinet. I pointed at it. "What about that?" He looked over and nodded. "We got ourselves a thinker! Nice one. Come on, help me move this over." We both pushed the cabinet over and moved it below the window to use as a stepstool. While we stood on it and looked in, he clicked his tongue. "I just got a great idea."