The rest of week at school went by relatively fast. Dr. Kim was out of the office so I didn't have to attend therapy any which, in a way, was nice. Classes were filled with mind-numbing quizzes and exhausting tests and ceramics was my only escape during those daily eight grueling hours. Jake had picked me up every morning and had taken me for ice cream after school each day, ensuring more rumors. On the bright side they were about the two of us dating and not drugs or pregnancy so that's good I guess. My car was currently sitting at a junk yard because it was going to cost more than what it's worth so in the mean time I am carless but have been donned with a personal chauffeur—more against my will but then again Jake does live right next to me. He sat with us at lunch each day and even those that we were camping with joined us more than once which was somewhat surprising as I thought they believed that being seen with me was worse than dating a leper.
Currently, I'm shoving clothes into a small duffel bag to last until Sunday along with toiletries and anything else I feel I may need. The others said they would be arriving to our houses in about ten minutes and since I chose to be lazy and play video games last night instead of pack here I am rushing myself. School ended about an hour ago, giving everyone time to drop off their books and grab their bags and it would take us about an hour and a half to get to the camping area. We needed to move fast if we were to pitch our tents before nightfall and I really didn't want to be the reason why we were hiking in the woods in darkness.
My doorbell rang and I cursed under my breath, running out to greet whoever was here. Grasping the handle, I opened the door and was greeted by Lee and Caroline looking like two models from a Bass Pro magazine, wearing flannel shirts, jeans, and hiking boots. I grinned and stepped aside, letting them in, "Okay you two look adorable," I said. I on the other hand wore a Northface sweatshirt, a pair of leggings, a blush pink chunky beanie, and a pair of duck boots.
Lee grinned and looked me over as well, "You too Serena. Ready to go?"
I pressed my lips together and shrugged my shoulders, "Uh, I think so. Give me a second and I'll be right out?" They nodded and I jogged to my room going over a metal list in my head, feeling like I was forgetting something. "Whatever," I muttered to myself as I zipped up my bag, looping my right arm through it. I padded down the hall to Tess's room and opened the door slowly. She had gotten home this morning around eleven and was exhausted after a fourteen hour shift. "Aunt Tess," I whispered loudly. She stirred in her sleep but didn't wake up, causing me to smile and shaking my head. I'd just have to settle for a text telling her that I'm leaving and that I'd be back Sunday afternoon.
I walked back to my friends who were lounging on my couch and grabbed a water bottle from my fridge. "Okay, lets go," I say, slipping the bottle into the side of my backpack.
The three of us leave my house and make the short walk across my yard to Jake's who is currently loading up everyone's things into the back of his Jeep. The other four—Alex, Kurt, James, and Taylor—are loading up their belongings into the back of a white pick up as well that I recognized from seeing at school. I was almost positive it was Kurt's and he had gotten it brand new about a year ago I think. In the back of the bed, they arrange our tents, coolers, and fire wood and joke with ease amongst themselves.
When Jake sees me his face lights up and he walks over to meet us, greeting my friends first before turning his attention to me. "Hey Carter. All packed?" he asks, reaching out for my bag.
I nod my head and hand it over which he takes with ease, "Hey Jake. I think so but there's no telling till we get there. I feel like I'm forgetting like, a million things."
He laughs and the four of us walk to his jeep and help loading our things up. "Where are your parents?" I ask as the others walk over to us as well. We all save and greet one another and Jake turns back to me, shrugging.
"I think they are on a date or something, I really don't know but I called them earlier and said goodbye," he answers before turning to the others and clapping once. "So, everyone all set?" We nod, but it's Alex who answers for us.
"Yeah dude. If you want to follow me that's fine. Me and my dad came out here last year so I know where it's at. Plus we should probably stop at a gas station for ice and snacks and what not. Sound good?" he asks, his red hair reflecting the suns rays.
We nod again and Kurt gives out a weird hoot and starts walking backward to his truck. "Let's load up then bitches!" he exclaims and I can't help but to chuckle at his enthusiasm. With him around it definitely would not be a boring trip.
I turn on my heel and walk to the jeep, taking my usual spot up front. Lee and Caroline hop in the back and we all fasten our seatbelts. As Jake backs out, Caroline let's put a low whistle. "Damn Steffey, this thing is nice."
He laughs and says thank you and we follow behind Kurt through our town listening to a variety of rap. Caroline and Lee talk and laugh together constantly and every once in a while I'll chime in, but I mostly just talk to Jake until we pull into a shanty gas station about thirty minuets later.
We all hop out and the boys gas up and talk about whatever guys y'all about while the girls head inside, apparently on snack duty. I take a bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos off the rack as well as a bag of Funyuns and a Butterfinger and grab another water bottle for myself. Jake said he had already packed a lot of food for us and said he was good so I headed towards the register and stood behind Taylor.
"I love your boots, where did you get them?" she asked, sounding genuinely curious.
I shrug a shoulder, "I don't really know actually. My aunt got them for my for Christmas but thank you," I reply with a smile.
She nods her head and steps forward—placing her second in line. "So it's just you and your aunt, right?" she asks again.
"Yeah, mom died when I was little so it's just me and Tess now. I like it though, she's pretty great," I say.
Taylor nods her head, "She must be! I had to lie to my mom and said I was staying at a friends all week. She'd kill me if she knew James and I were going camping together, especially without an adult."
"Hmm," I hum, realizing for the first time that Taylor might not be like the other girls at school. "Well your secret is safe with me," I tease, grinning. She chuckles and places her things on the counter, turning back to me. "Here I got it," she says, taking my food from my hands.
"What? No it's okay, really," I try to plea, but it's really no use as my hands are now empty at this point. "Thanks Taylor, that's really sweet of you."
She smiles and swipes her card, "Yeah of course. You can just get the next one," she says, collecting her bag and handing the other to me. I take it, confused as to why she was being so nice. Did she feel bad for me or something or was she really just a nice person? And "the next one?" Did she assume that we would be hanging out after this weekend as well?
I was a little unsure if I wanted another friend in my life or not as I had already taken up Jake, but considering how well things were going with him I'm sure it wouldn't be the end of the world if I harder Taylor to my short list of friends either.
We walk out and meet the guys back at the vehicles and Alex then heads in with his chest puffed out. "What's he doing?" I ask Jake, putting the junk food on the floor board and climbing inside.
"He thinks that he looks old enough to buy beer without an ID, and considering we aren't in Monroe anymore he thought he'd give it a try," Jake says with a small laugh.
"Huh," I state, watching him walk to the tall coolers in the back where they keep their alcohol. He grabs three eighteen packs and walks up to the counter, handing the clerk some cash. The two exchange a few words and before I know it he's leaving the store with full hands. We all clap, impressed with his feat and he opens the boxes up stuffing the contents into the coolers. "It was the beard," he says with a shrug.
We load up once more and begin our drive north to the camp grounds, eventually arriving about forty five minutes later. We drive up to the small cabin where the park ranger waits and hand him our entrance fees before slowly driving down the winding roads deep into the mass of evergreens, pines, and firs. We drive about another fifteen minutes until we park along the wide creek that flows quickly over the large rocks.
We get out and I inhale deeply, almost becoming intoxicated by the smell. There was something about the scent of nature that drove me crazy and I'm immediately reminded of my love for the woods. The sun's rays catch the canopy of the trees which sway slightly with the breeze. The air is chilly and being by the water doesn't help much either and I begin to wonder how low the temperature will drop tonight.
"We're gonna take this trial up here to the left for a bit and make camp, I don't really want to be here in the main area," Alex says, grabbing as much as he can carry. "That cool?"
"Yeah dude," James' says, "I'd rather go as deep as we can so we don't have to worry about being loud.
We walk about a good ten minutes down the trail and then another five once we veer off to the right, eventually coming across a good clear space. There is a few things left that we couldn't grab so Jake and I volunteer to go retrieve the rest of our belongings which include our tent, bags, and a few boardgames Kurt had thought to bring. "See y'all soon," Jake says and we begin the trek back. The sun has begun it's decent and we have possible an hour of daylight left so we walk quickly, stepping over fallen logs and and branches. Once arriving to the vehicles, we grab our things and lock up the cars and return to the others.
"Thanks for coming," Jake says, looking over at me. "I'm sure you'd rather be at home or something."
I nod my head, being careful to avoid a hole in the earth. "I'm actually really glad that I came. I forgot how much I love nature. Thanks for inviting me," I reply honestly. He cracks a grin and we continue talking about how school was earlier today and I can't help but laugh when I hear that Maci farted in a class they shared together and even louder when she tried to blame it on the chair. "Guess she isn't so perfect after all," I think to myself.
In a few moments we are back with the others who have already begun pitching their tents and unsurprisingly—drinking. Lee and Caroline were sharing a tent and had theirs halfway done as well as James and Taylor. Meanwhile Kurt and Alex, were trying to figure out how to even get started. Apparently Jake would be sleeping with them as well and I had to stifle a laugh when he first told me at lunch the other day, because the thought of three guys cuddling up in the woods in a two person tent cracked me up. Plus, all three were pretty big guys so it would definitely be a tight fit.
"Yo Jake, help us out!" Kurt called out. Jake rolled his eyes and turned to them, shaking his head.
"Dude it's not that hard," he replied, which earned a "that's what she said" from Alex. We laughed and Jake turned back to me with raised eyebrows as if asking permission for him to aid his friends.
My tent wouldn't be that difficult to set up on my own so I waved him off, "Go help your friends before they break the poles or something," I tease and Jake chuckles, running off. Just as the sun sinks behind the mountains, we are pretty much done with setting up everything and Alex and James go out to get firewood.
I get myself comfortable in a folding chair I recently bought and Jake drags his over next to me, giving me a heartstopping grin. The others join in a circle and we chat as we wait for the others to to come back. When they do, Kurt and Jake start up a fire and he then returns to his seat adjacent from mine. Over the next hour, the sun sets leaving us in complete darkness save for the warm glow around the campsite from our fire. We cook hotdogs and s'mores—as promised by Jake—filling our bellies full. I learn that Alex, Kurt, James are basically the three stooges, with Jake joining in on their antics every once in a while.
Once we are full, Kurt pulls out a bottle of Crown from his backpack and everyone hoots and hollers, apparently excited about getting shitfaced. I on the other hand just smile along with everyone else, knowing I will most likely be the only one not hungover the next day. They pass the bottle around and when it comes my way I automatically hand it to the person to my left which is Lee. By this point everyone has pretty much had at least four beers and at least a shot while Lee brought out her bluetooth speaker and was playing a variety of music, causing the atmosphere to pick up.
"Dude lets shotgun a beer!" James announces, standing quickly up from his seat. Taylor looks up at him with glossy eyes and smiles up at her boyfriend.
Kurt immediately becomes excited and goes to push himself out of his chair as well but instead he ends up tipping over causing us all to laugh. Lee turns to me, wiping a tear from her eye, "Serena come on!" she pleads, pulling me out of my seat.
"I don't know," I say wearily. "I don't really drink anymore remember?"
I see Caroline roll her eyes and I'm almost certain it's because of me. She was never the understanding one. Jake must have seen her too because his lips press together in annoyance. I part of me wants to prove her wrong and wipe that smug look off of her face as well as prove to myself that I don't have to be so reserved. What happened wasn't my fault or the alcohol's, but the two slimy pieces of shit that decided to take advantage of me. Looking around, I was almost one hundred percent positive that no one here would do something like that and if anything, Jake would be looking out for me."Okay okay fine," I say, joining the other seven in a circle. I see a look of surprise on Jake's gorgeous face but he says nothing.
"Here ya go girly," Alex says, tossing me a cold beer from the cooler. I catch it with ease and stiggle a laugh when Caroline drops hers, covering the can with dirt.
"Let me," Jake says, puncturing a hole at the end of the can with his keys. I grin and tell him thanks and he nods, handing it back. "You okay with this?" he asks in a low voice. I nod again and force a smile.
"Yeah, I think it's maybe time. And besides," I say, leaning close to his ear, "I want to kick Caroline's ass." He tosses his head back in laughter and punctures holes in the other's cans as well.
James counts us down and on three we crack open the cans, gulping the beer that's being forced down our throats. I quickly suck down the liquid, ignoring the pain my throat is feeling and drink the bubbling liquid, tossing my can on the ground just as Alex does. Mine hits the soft dirt first and I jerk my head up with a grin and let out a loud burp. "I win."
His shock quickly disappears and she laughs, clapping me on the back. "Damn right you do girl."
I take my time drinking, and for every three beers the others have I allow myself one. Soon our bladders demand to be emptied and we take off into the woods finding decent spots to relieve ourselves. Lee grabs my wrist and we stumble in the opposite direction of the others. In the pale moonlight I can make up general shapes and objects but I fail to see a hidden rock. I feel the sensation of falling and then a sharp pain on my left palm. "Shit," I mutter, sitting up.
Lee is too busy laughing to care and while she unbolting and slides down her pants she too falls over, losing her balance. Now it's my turn to laugh and I stand up, beginning to fiddle with my bottoms. "You're pretty drunk aren't you?" I ask.
She giggles and holds her self steady on a tree as she finds relief. "As a skunk," she says, giggling again.
I squat down being careful to mind my hand as I'm sure it's probably bleeding and I'd rather not stain my clothes. "Thanks for coming," I say. Our small adventure to the bathroom reminds me how close we used to be and how much fun we always had. We'd stay up late trying to stay quiet while our parents slept and talk about meaningless things only to be caught by annoyed grownups who had work in the morning. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too Serena," Lee replies, standing up and pulling her bottoms back on. I do the same and try to examine my palm in what little light I have. "We haven't really gotten to..."she says, trailing off. She must either change her mind or forget what she was about to say because the conversation takes an unexpected turn after a few short moments. "Do you think Alex is into me?"
I chuckle and we head back to camp, making sure to steer clear of anything in the ground. My shoulders raise and in the distance I can see the campfire. "Who knows? I mean you guys have been getting along pretty well recently right?" It's true, they have. At lunch when Lee isn't talking to me or Caroline she's constantly striking up a conversation with Alex. I've also noticed a few stolen glances from the both of them tonight as well.
"Caroline's into Kurt and I think they are going to hook up tonight and honestly," she says before hiccuping, "I wouldn't mind banging Alex. He's pretty hot and just so...manly."
I toss my head back in laughter and hold a low branch out of the way for us to walk. "Okay first off no one calls it banging anymore, at least I think they don't. Second off, are you sure that's something you want to do, like on this trip?" Lee has had her fair share of alcohol for the night and I wouldn't want that to hinder her judgement. It's also the first night of a very long weekend so if things didn't work out in that department it'd be safe to say things would be more than awkward.
Lee grabs my wrist, putting us to a halt. "Girl," she says, swaying back and forth on her feet. "I've been wanting to get with him since, like last summer. No offense but if you were around more often you'd know that."
Okay, so that stung a bit, but I keep it from showing. I take a deep breath and try to focus my eyes more. "Fair enough, but a-" I start before being cut off by James calling us over.
"Hurry up you two!" he says, "We are gonna tell scary stories!"
Lee and I look at each other, both wondering if we are a bit too told for these things. Walk back and I take my seat next to Jake who hands me a bag of my Hot Cheetos that he stole and I take a handful. Lee on the other hand walls over and plops down in Alex's lap and he gives her a sly grin.
"James, we are told old for campfire stories," Taylor says, slumped over in her seat with her eyes shut. To my left, Kurt and Caroline sit closely as well with her head leaned against his shoulder.
"What's a camping trip without ghost stories?" James asks. He then behind to tell a tale about wendigos and I look down at my hand, examining it in the fire light. It's bleeding for sure but the cut isn't too bad and in a few minutes it would clot.
"What happened?" Jake asks, leaning over and taking my hand in his.
"I fell a few minutes ago, I'll be fine," I reply, looking up at him.
"You sure? I have a first aid kit somewhere in my Jeep, I could go get it if you'd like," he says, continuing to look at my hand carefully. His touch is so light and gentle that it's hard to even tell he's holding it. I shake my head and he rolls his eyes, unscrewing a water bottle that sits at his feet and pours it over the wound. "At least rinse it out Carter."
It stings but it's minor and I let him pay-dry it with his shirt. "Thanks Jake," I grin. He opens his mouth to respond when Taylor stands up suddenly, holding her mouth. She runs a few yards into the woods and I hear her vomit.
I look at James who looks like he's going to be sick himself and stifle a laugh as I go into the direction of Taylor. When I find her, I twist her hair into my hand and pat her back with the other. "You okay?" I ask. I then hear another person vomit and I assume it's James.
"Yeah," she responds before heaving again. "Is James okay? He had a weak stomach."
It's sweet of her to worry about her boyfriend—even in her state she's conscious enough to care. "Yeah I'm sure he's fine," I say and pat her back again. She pukes a few more times before letting out a low moan.
"This sucks," Taylor says. I chuckle and nod my head. "Serena," she continues, "you're really pretty. I don't care what others have to say about you. You're my friend."
I'm not sure if it's drunk-Taylor saying this or the real Taylor but I thank her anyways and tie her hair back into a bun before helping her up. "Here, lets get you back to camp and get you in bed. Sound good?" She nods and allows me to lead her to her tent where I give her a paper towel to wipe her mouth and a water bottle. James exits the woods a few moments later along with Jake and I nod my head.
"Thanks Serena, I owe you one," James says, giving my a fist bump. I didn't know those were still a thing but apparently they are.
"Don't mention it," I reply and he climbs into the tent, laying down next to Taylor and whispers something in her ear. I zip up the door and stand up, looking around to find that the other four are no where in sight.
"Where is everyone?" I ask. Jake raises an eyebrow and I hear Caroline giggle from her tent. "Oh," is all I say.
"I think the other two are in mine," Jake says, rubbing the back of his neck. I feel my face heat up at the thought of my friends and suppress a smile.
"You just gonna wait it out?" I ask, walking to my tent.
He shrugs and takes a seat by the fire. "Looks like I gotta. Goodnight Serena, see you in the morning."
I wave and unzip my opening, ducking inside and enclosing myself inside. I change into pajamas and snuggle down into my sleeping bag. The air is chilly and I curl my legs up to my chest, resting my head on the built in pillow and I easily doze off.
I don't know how much time passes but I hear a zipper and turn over to see my door opening. A head full of tousled curls pops inside and I feel my body relax slightly at the sight of Jake's face. "I think they fell asleep in our tent and all my clothes and stuff are in there and I don't want to wake them up and join them in spooning so uh, can I sleep in here?"