During the late hours of the night during one of those nights he couldn’t slip into sleep so easily, he wondered if he had made a mistake in running away with her. Was he feeling so weird because he had never spent this much time alone with her before? Was it just because he hadn’t fully accustomed to it yet? Maybe he would have been better going somewhere alone.
But now as Mike was staring up at the dark sky that is full of twinkling stars high up above him, sitting on the top step of the porch with his head leaning back to look up, he can’t think of anywhere else he would rather be than here.
Whatever is happening might be weird in the moment, but he knows it shouldn’t last too long. And despite all the underlying odd feelings circling within him, there was stronger feelings when it came to how he loved being around El. He loved talking with her, playing board games, running around the tree filled area around them as part of their daily adventure.
She put a smile on his face so effortlessly. El made him happy in no way anyone else could.
“You’re stargazing without me.”
Mike turned swiftly to catch her just as she was shutting the front door of the cabin behind her. Again, the same feelings resurface as she begins to near him.
“Uh, sorry,” he mumbled, scooting aside as she sat beside him. “I, um, well, you were kind of busy.”
El smiled, tilting her head up at him. “Yeah, busy cleaning up your mess.”
He scoffed, cheeks burning as he brought his eyes to look away towards the stars. “Not my fault you wanted some triple decker eggos.”
“I did want triple decker eggos,” she retorted, pressing her back against the porch as she looked up. “I didn’t want your mess, though.”
El was only teasing, merely trying to get an embarrassed reaction out of the boy. But when he doesn’t respond back, the small smile on her face slips away as she frowns instead.
“You know I’m only joking, right?” El asked him, keeping her gaze on him carefully.
He shakes his head, smiling at her as he brings his eyes to meet hers. “I know. Sorry, I just— I have— I don’t know, I keep getting distracted. By stuff.”
El propped herself up with her elbows, lifting her brows. “What kind of stuff?”
Mike shrugged. “Just. . . stuff. I don’t know, just some weird feelings I keep getting.”
“Because of your family?” she questioned curiously, listening more intently.
He shrugged again, looking away. “Yeah, I guess.”
She sat up straighter then, blowing out a breath. They had been away from their homes and their families for about three to four days now. It was weird, but it was exciting. She had never stayed away from her dad for more than a day at a time, so it was odd not seeing him around her for that long.
It was exciting to be just the two of them, though. Weird, too, sure, but more exciting. She liked how it was just the two of them alone, no one else around them. They were surrounded by mostly nature in the area, and they hadn’t seen another person yet.
chapter ten.
Start from the beginning
