This camping trip had been scheduled about a week before. It had me and my 4 closest friends. Cortlyn, Mei, Archer, and Malachi. Mei's mom was there because she's the cool mom of the friend group. The tent was set up as one big tent that had separations on either end and an open space in the middle. The boys (excluding me, as I was more comfortable vibin with Mei and Cortlyn) were on one end and we intruded the other. Mei's mom had her own separate tent about 10 feet away from ours. It was a pretty lit arrangement if i'm being honest. We stocked up on Taco Bell before we got out here to the campsite. And it had fallen nighttime. We-, well Malachi, had set up a fire in the middle of our central meeting area and Mei was being a little bitch about the marshmallows and how they did not fall in line with her most recent diet (I wanted to point out that neither did the Taco Bell) so instead we roasted cinnabons from the Taco Bell bag. We talked and shit like we always did but I have no memory of what because at this time I was rather distracted. I was busy watching the flames dance in the eyes that belonged to the freckled crackhead. The red and orange fought wildly with the blue rings of his eyes. The flames illuminated the red patch on his face that never ceased to exist.
I was crazy about him.
We ate half of the food supply that was supposed to last for a week but whatever. That's a problem for tomorrow. It was time to go to our respected areas of the tent and there we went. I obviously knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep. As the image of the vicious red fighting with the calm mix of blue and hazel was still fresh in my mind. I didn't even bother laying down.
As expected, Cortlyn was the first asleep followed quickly by Mei. I Knew Archer was still awake, as he was still sending countless posts from some cute animal instagram account. I'm unsure why he chose me to be the numb-minded receiver of the stream of animals, and honestly I don't care. It always made me feel better. I texted him to ask if Malachi was still awake and Archer said he had basically fallen unconscious 10 minutes ago. He then proceeded to facetime me as we had done nearly every night. It was filled with echoes of giggles as we were quite literally 6 feet away from each other and clearly audible through the thin tent material.
His laugh made me weak. I loved it so much. I cared about him so much. And not only him, but everyone in this tent. I would do anything for them (except you Cortlyn) (jk love you <3). I left the call and then walked silently across the tent to his sleeping area. He opened up the tent and I walked in. Malachi was curled up in a corner leaving a lot of open floor space.
"Can't sleep either?"
Obviously. Why would I ask that? God I'm stupid.
He replied with one of his smart ass remarks, "Well I'm awake aren't I ?"
I couldn't help but give a small exhale of breath passed off as a laugh.
He talked for 45 minutes about that podcast that he's been listening to over and over since like 8th grade. He analysed every part of it and he sounded so sure of himself and it was like hearing a four year old talk about their extensive knowledge of minecraft. It was honestly,,,,,, adorable.
We talked about pretty much the same topics that we always talked about for what seemed like hours and we were both really tired. I layed down and rested my head against the pillow that I had brought from the other end of the tent. I Looked up.
"Bruh why the fuck do u guys get a skylight??"
"That's how dibs works idiot"
"Fuck you."
"Fuck you"
I smiled slightly, as I stared into the starlight, I looked at every individual star as he talk'ed, not even sure which I was more focused on. He was laying next to me doing the same. I wonder how many times we looked at the same star at the same time. We were so close but still so far, or at least that's how it felt. I noticed that his voice had shifted, as it was now more audible in my ear. I looked over and realized he had switched to lying on his side and was looking directly at me. Did I look stupid? Was there something on my face? Was he silently making fun of me? Fuck. Why do I even bother?
I realized that he wasn't looking at my face or anything that would give indication that he was judging me in some way, but he was in fact looking into my eyes. Directly into my eyes, in an almost admiring way. It seemed like there was a slight smile on his face but that could have been my mind tricking me as a result of my wishful thinking. I couldn't help but stare, enchanted by his blue-hazel eyes. We both had gone completely silent now just staring into each other's eyes. A deep blush had spread across his face. I felt a heat rush to my face as a sign that I was blushing too. I leaned towards him and was close to making contact when a small cough came from the sleeping Malachi in the corner.
I sat up quickly and turned away, I heard a shift of material suggesting he did the same.
I can't believe I tried to do that.
Why the fuck did I try to do that?
Shit.
I stood up, still not wanting to look him in the eyes.
"Oh my god. Sorry. I am so sorry."
"Hey uhh dont worry a-about it."
"Fuck that was stupid. Shit."
"Calm down, it's fine."
"No it's not." Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I walked towards the opening of the tent divider and was almost out when I felt him grab my arm and quickly pull me into a kiss that I can only describe as,,,,,,desperate. I felt every part of my face tingle and my flesh burned hot where his hand rested on my neck. It was so enriched with long awaited emotion. We pulled away and I was breathless.
"Shit."
"Yeah."
