When morning came, Charlie woke up to find himself still in the same bed as Alex. He looked up at the sleeping boy and smiled. He reached a hand up and placed it on his cheeck before leaning in to plant a kiss on his nose.
He felt pretty awake. So he went ahead and got up for the day. He slipped his shoes on and stepped out into the cool morning air.
Mia was by the fire eating a bowl of ceral. She heard the cabin door creek open and turned around.
"Good morning" she greeted.
"Mornin" Charlie yawned. He grabbed a bowl off the picnic table and poured himself some frosted flakes. After grabbing a spoon he took the milk out of the cooler and poured some into the bowl. He then joined Mia by the fire as he ate.
"Alex still sleeping?" She asked before sipping her coffee.
"Mm-hm" Charlie replied.
She nodded and looked back at the fire. "I hope he's doing okay" she spoke. "Poor kid has been so down lately".
Charlie thought about last night. He wondered if he should tell Mia about it. Then again, he didn't really think it was his place. Alex told him and him only cuz he trusted him. He didn't want lose that trust with Alex.
Besides, Alex would be okay from now on. He promised Charlie he would tell him if something was going on.
So Instead, Charlie told Mia about their green visitor.
"He was so big!" Charlie explained.
Mia laughed. "And he touched your hand?!"
"He did! I feel so blessed!" He looked at his hand and grinned. "I think it means good luck".
"How did he even get in?" Mia asked with amusement.
"Oh, Alex left the door open when he stepped outside"
"What was he doing outside?"
"Trying to cool off. He was too warm. Thats when we returned the frog to the pond".
"Oh good. I'm glad the frog found his way home".
Charlie giggled and finished up the rest of his ceral before tossing the disposable bowl and spoon into the fire. Just then Alex stepped out of the cabin rubbing his eye. He walked over to Charlie sluggish like and wrapped his arms around the shorter one. He rested his chin on top of Charlies head and closed his eyes again.
"Well hello there sleepy head" Charlie giggled. He hugged Alex and rubbed his back soothingly. Alex hummed and nuzzled into Charlie's hair.
"Mornin" he mummbled.
"Here" Mia said handing a fresh cup of coffee. "You'll need this. We have a whole day of Adventure ahead of us".
*******
After the boys had woken up a bit, Mia drove them out of the campsite and down the road to a nearby mountain trail they could hike on. Alex was a little hesitant at first. He'd rather just stay in his cabin and sleep the day away. He still felt pretty tired. That coffee barely did anything for him.
Not wanting to be a stick in the mud though, he kept his complaints to himself and followed along. They grabbed their bags and exited the car onto the side of the road. Alex looked at the trail ahead of them.
"How long is this trail again?" Alex asked hoping for a very small number. The quicker they got this over with, the quicker he could get back in bed with a book. Or just a really long nap. He adjusted the straps of his backpack trying to loosen them.
"1.7 miles" Mia replied. She grabbed the bug spray and sprayed some into her hand to rub on her arms and the back of her neck. She handed the spray to Charlie who used a generous ammount for his legs and arms. He hated mosquitos with a passion. Other bugs were okay though. Like Catipilars. He smiled just thinking about them as he gave the spray to Alex.
After everyone was sprayed down, Mia lead the way into the woods. Charlie followed like an eager puppy on his way to the park. Alex blue a rasberry and dragged his feet behind them. This was going to be one long afternoon.
It fell quiet between them all as they walked, leaving nothing but the sounds of birds chirping, the wind rustling the leaves, and the occasional chuckle of a squirel to be heard. Alex smiled a little. It wasn't until now that he could find appreciation in these familiar sounds again. He had been too busy listening to the buzzing of his mind to be able to hear Natures song. Now that they were out and about, Alex had something else to focus on.
Charlie looked behind him to make sure slowpoke wasn't falling behind. His eyes lit up when he saw that smile. He giggled with joy, causing Alex to look up from him his shoes and over to the blue eyed boy,
"What?" He asked smiling even wider. He caught up to him and poked his sides. Charlie, being as ticklish as he was, let out a small squeel. "What are you giggling at, cutie?"
Charlie booped the blondes nose. "Nothing" He replied in a sweet tone. "I just like seeing you smile is all".
Alex blushed and took ahold of Charlie's hand. "Come on" He said. "Let's see whats at the top already".
Hand in hand, the boys made their way up the trail.
After about 40 minutes of stepping over sprouted tree routs, hurdling over fallen trees, and climbing over a few rocks, they all finally made it to the tippy top. Alex was sweating at this point. He had refused to remove his hoodie the whole time. Charlie may have known about the scars but Mia didn't. Plus he'd rather not have strangers stare at him either. So he stayed in his hoodie, uncomfortably hot. He unzipped it and fanned himself.
He couldn't wait until he could hop in a cool shower. Better yet, swimming sounded nice too.
"Hey Charlie" He said walking up to him. Charlie looked up from the pictures he took on his phone and smiled.
"Yees?" He replied.
"Wanna go swimming after this?"
Charlie gasped. "Yes!" He cheered. This was great! For one, Alex didn't want to hide in his cabin anymore. Second, he loved swimming. Maybe if they were lucky they could swim with fishies too.
"Cool" Alex said. He had a seat on the ground and freed himself of his heavy backpack. He pulled out a water bottle for him, and a juicebox for Charlie. "Here" He said handing it to the boy. Charlie smile wide and had a seat next to Alex.
"Thank you!'' He chirped. He took the juicebox and poked the staw through the hole. He took a big sip of applejuice, letting out a satisfied sigh.
Alex took a few gulps of his water, hoping it would cool him down. Atleast the view was nice. Tree's stretched on for miles and miles over hills and more Mountains. You'd probably get lost if it weren't for the stream that curved from side to side all the way across the land. He let out a sigh as he looked up at the almost cloudless sky. His legs may have felt heavy, and his bangs may have been damped with sweat, but this was exactly what he needed. To sit on a Mountain and feel alive again.
As soon as they were back at the campsite, Alex draggedd his and Charlie's bikes from the back of the van. Waisting no time, he and Charlie quickly changed into swim trunks before climbing onto their bikes and making their way down the road.
"Bye Mia!" Charlie said waving.
"Bye boys!" Mia called back. "Be back before dark!"
"Okay!" Charlie had to shout as they were halfway down the road already. Alex did a double take, looking behind him. He didn't think Charlie could even be that loud. He chuckled to himself and continued petaling until they reached the side path that lead to a lake.
"There it is!" Alex said once he saw the water. He hopped off his bike, letting it fall to the ground as he ran up to the shore. He took his sandles off and dipped his toes into the cool water. He hummed and closed his eyes. This must be what heaven felt like. He looked up at a cliff, about 6 and a half feet tall. It was perfect for diving off of. Alex climbed up to the top, looking at the water below him.
Charlie soon caught up and dropped his bike next to Alex's. He untied the hoodie from around his waist and walked up to Alex to join him.
"Okay" Alex said. "Let's do this". He took ahold of his sweatshirt, but hesitated to take it off.
Charlie was also hesitant. He had never willingly showed himself shirtless before. Not since he started to gain weight anyways.
So there they stood. Both staring at the water, longing to be in it but both terrified of what the other would think.
After a few moments of silence, Alex looked over to Charlie. He saw just how nervous the boy was. Probably even more so than himself.
Alex bit his lip and decided to go for it. The less you think about it, the easier it is. He slipped out of his sweatshirt, then his shirt before he could back down. He looked over to Charlie, his heart pounding in his chest.
Charlie gave him a small smile and kissed him. "You're beautiful, Alex" He spoke softly. "I don't mind your scars one bit".
"Thank you Charlie" Alex said almost crying. He wiped a tear away. Charlie looked back at the water and took a deep breath. He removed his shirt and held it close to his chest. Alex put a hand on his arm. "You don't have to hide either, cutie" He said. "I love you, just the way you are".
Charlie nodded, still looking at the water. Taking another deep breath, he let go of the shirt. He peeked over at Alex, looking for any signs of dicomfort or even disgust. But all he got was that goofy smile of his. The blonde pulled the boy into his arms and shouted "1,2,3!-" Before Charlie could respond, Alex jumped off the cliff and into the water, bringing Charlie down with him.
They went under water with a huge splash, still holding eachother for a moment before coming up for air.
"You butt! Charlie giggled and splashed him. Alex squirted water back at him like a whale and laughed. He swam closer until they were nose to nose and grinned.
"I love you" Alex spoke softly. He rested his forehead against Charlie's. "No matter what".
Charlie hummed sweetly and closed his eyes. "And I'll always love you, Alex". He took Alex's hand and placed it over his cheeck, leaning into his touch. He kissed Alex's arm, planting a kiss over his scars. "I'll always be here for you".
Alex smiled and kissed Charlie passionatly before giving him a mischivious grin.
"What?" Charlie asked raising an eyeborow.
Alex giggled and poked Charlie on the arm before quickly swimmimg away and shouting "You're it!"
"Hey!" Charlie laughed. "No fair you got a head start!" He quickly swam after Alex.
They stayed at the lake until sundown, laughing and swimming until their hearts content. For the first time in years, they both felt free again. Free to be themselves. Free from the shame and the burden of having to hide under long sleeves or baggy clothes. Something neither of them thought they would have in a million years. Course all that changed, because they had eachother.