Chapter 17
If somebody told me I was going to spend my Saturday night sitting around a campfire with semi-drunk strangers at the beach, I would have laughed.
That was exactly what I ended up doing, though. And no, I wasn't laughing.
It felt as if we'd been on this wild chase since forever. It was exhausting. I almost found it hard to believe just a few hours ago, we were watching Serendipity. If it wasn't for that godforsaken movie, Tori never would have gotten the absurd idea of searching for our soulmates.
(And I thought the worst thing that could happen to me tonight was to be subjected to watch Tori's pathetic romance movies.)
Needless to say, I wasn't exactly having the time of my life. That made one of us, I thought as I watched Austin and his friend Peter talking animatedly about something. They were sitting right across me on the small campfire circle. I couldn't help but steal glances every now and then, as if I was drawn by the vibrant energy emanating from Austin.
I could see traces of the Austin from the picture—in the way he smiled, in the sound of his laughter, in the rhythm he was unconsciously drumming with his hands on his lap. He looked relaxed and calm—happy, even—as he and Peter talked. It was hard to believe he was the same person as earlier this night, with the semi-permanent scowl and creased eyebrows.
As though he sensed my gaze, his eyes suddenly flitted over to where I was sitting. I immediately turned away, pretending I was busy, but not before he caught my eye.
Thankfully, that was the moment somebody chose to block my view of Austin.
I found myself face to face with a bottle of beer, held out by a hand. I looked up from the hand to its owner, only to see Will smiling down at me. "Hey."
"Hey," I replied, reluctantly taking the drink from him. It was already unopened, which of course bothered me (who knew what he could have put in there?), but whether or not I had trust issues, I would have probably refused it either way. For some reason, however, not taking it seemed impolite, so I did.
He let himself sit down on the log I was sitting on. I inched to the other end to give him enough space. "So," he said, "you look bored."
"Camping isn't exactly my style," I replied.
"You've never camped before?"
It was nothing but an innocent question from a stranger who knew nothing about me or my past, but it was enough to take me and my thoughts a few years back. Dad had always been looking through catalogues about camping, always buying some tents from a garage sale, always planning for us to go to camp one summer together.
There was one place, a few hours away from town, that we liked. We saw it from a brochure and I saw that it was famous for having fireflies during the summer. I told him I wanted to go there, so he took the brochure, pinned it with a magnet on our refrigerator, and promised me he'd take me there.
"Next summer, pal," he had told me. "Next summer, I'll bring you to see the lights."
There was no more next summer.
He left before he had the chance to bring me there.
What I hated most was the fact that I never would have wanted to go camping in the first place if it wasn't for him—that I never would have gotten excited over it if he hadn't come home with that fucking tent that was still sitting in the basement, along with everything he left behind.
Every thought I had about camping was a product of poring through brochures with him on late Saturday nights, and when he left, I'd never really thought about it again.
I didn't, of course, expect to find myself sitting around a campfire with a bunch of strangers several summers later, with Will looking expectantly at me, entirely clueless, asking me if I'd ever gone camping before. Taking a deep breath, I forced out a smile.
"Not really," I replied. "This is the closest I'd ever gotten to a camping experience."
"Really?"
He looked surprised, and maybe slightly intrigued. He made it seem as though it was a rarity to meet someone who had never gone camping yet. Maybe it was. Maybe everyone else had fathers who didn't bail on them when they made plans to go camping.
"Yeah," I replied, almost bitterly.
My thoughts were making me feel weary, and before I knew it, I was already taking a swig of the beer he'd given me. I tipped it up too quickly, so I had to wipe my chin with the back of my hand when some of the liquid trickled down.
"My friends and I always go camping," Will said. "We plan to go through everyone's hometowns whenever we get the chance."
"What for, though?" I asked him, wrinkling my nose at the thought. Being in the wilderness, sleeping in tents with no electricity didn't exactly seem enticing to me.
"It's fun."
"Fun," I repeated flatly.
"You don't think it is?"
I simply shrugged, taking another sip of my drink, more carefully this time to avoid giving him a straight answer. When I swallowed, I said, "I don't see how it can be any different than sleeping indoors."
"Everything's better done outdoors," he said.
"Even sex?"
He spluttered on his beer, nearly spitting it all out, but fortunately didn't. "Jesus."
I laughed. "Are you all right?"
He was coughing, tears pricking his eyes. "You—uh—caught me off guard."
"Sorry?"
"No, no, no," he said quickly, but then coughed again. I was starting to feel bad, so I found myself awkwardly patting him in the back. When he was done, I removed my hand and tried my best not to laugh again. Suddenly, he was staring right into my eyes. "Reed. You know, you're very attractive."
I hadn't expected that, so this time, it was him catching me off guard. I hadn't expected him to be so forward. I looked down at my bare toes digging in the cool sand and tucked my hair behind my ear. "You're only saying that because I brought up the word sex."
When he laughed, I could tell it was real. He looked away from my eyes, shaking his head. "You're really something."
When I looked up from my toes, I made the mistake of looking at Austin's direction. Will's laugh must have caught his attention, making him look over at the two of us mid-conversation with Peter. Our eyes locked.
Peter must have been saying something funny. Austin's lips were frozen into a grin, and for a second, it seemed as though he was smiling at me. Immediately, I looked away, feeling my ears heat up at having been caught looking.
For a second, I almost thought that he was directing the smile to me and goddammit, did he have to be so good-looking?
Tipping my bottle back, I took a big gulp, suppressing the urge to wince at the awful taste of the beer, before facing Will.
"Games," I suggested out of nowhere, changing the topic abruptly while simultaneously trying to find a way to distract myself. "Don't you guys play campfire games?"
Will's face brightened, immediately painted by a wide smile that made it seem as though I was some kind of genius who just gave him the best idea ever.
"What's camping without games?" he said.
Call me pessimistic, but I quickly began to regret making the suggestion in the first place.
---
Will began rounding everyone up to "gather 'round the campfire" to play. Austin looked just as enthusiastic as I was, but Peter must have managed to convince him because he sidled closer to the fire, all of us huddled in a circle.
The rest of their friends seemed to be genuinely excited about playing, all pitching out ideas on what to play first.
I tuned them all out as they talked about it. I picked up a small stick—was it a branch?—and traced patterns on the sand. My eyelids were growing heavy from the lack of sleep. I wanted to crawl into my bed and sleep, not play nonsensical games with a bunch of strangers.
Around a minute later, they seemed to have decided to play charades, splitting us in two teams. It took a while for my mind to register that Austin and I were put in the same team. I only realized it when he walked over from the other side to sit next to me, on the space Will had been occupying just a few minutes ago.
"You look absolutely excited to play," he chided.
"You look stupid," I shot back without looking at him.
"You must have a thing for guys who look stupid then," he said, "because you can hardly keep your eyes off me."
I snorted. "Really," I said flatly.
"What's wrong?"
This time, I turned to look at him, surprised. I wasn't sure if I had just imagined it or what, but there was a hint of real concern in his voice. Our gazes locked and I was momentarily transfixed by the seriousness of his expression, as if he was really wondering if there was something bothering me.
"Nothing," I replied, averting my gaze. "I'm just sleepy."
"You didn't seem too sleepy when you were talking to Will."
"What does he even have to do with this discussion?"
Austin merely lifted a shoulder in response before leaning back, bracing his hands against the log we were sitting on. He was silent, but somehow I felt as though he seemed more relaxed. I looked over at Peter, who was currently struggling to get out of a good-natured headlock from one of the guys from their group.
The silence between us was almost comfortable. We watched as everyone rounded up to sit closer together, Will taking front and center. He clapped his hands together as if to demand everyone's attention.
"Steve, leave the poor guy alone," he said, looking at Peter and, I presume, Steve.
"I'm all right!" Peter bellowed, almost wheezing, but Steve released him anyway.
"Is he okay?" I asked Austin, not taking my eyes off Peter, who was trying to catch his breath.
"He'll live," he replied. "Besides, he was always the one who used to bully me and Lewis back when we were younger."
There was a hint of nostalgia in his voice, a small smile on his face. I, however, looked at him with a confused expression. "He was the one bullied you?"
He gave me a blank stare. "What are you trying to say?"
"Are you sure you weren't the bully?"
"He's a year older," he replied. There was laughter in his voice, and I found myself leaning closer, just slightly, to hear it better. "Man, Lewis and I used to follow him around, asking him about all sorts of things. He always had the latest comic books and when he got his first Gameboy, we basically worshipped him."
"Are you sure we're talking about the same Peter here?" I asked him, eyeing the tall, lanky guy who was, surprisingly, making his way towards us.
Before Austin could answer, Peter was already bounding up to us, skidding across the sand as he plopped into the space on my other side. "Hey!" he said brightly.
His energy was vibrant, as though he couldn't contain it, and he struck me as one of those people who always seemed to be in constant motion--fingers drumming on every surface available, knees jiggling when he's sitting, arms waving when he's talking about something.
"Hey," I replied uncertainly.
My reluctance didn't seem to faze him, if the large smile on his face was any indication. "So," he said, "you and Austin."
Beside me, Austin groaned audibly, muttering something under his breath, while I simply tilted my head to the side, amused at the way Peter was waggling his eyebrows suggestively. It was a sight to see, and I couldn't help but feel as though my own eyebrows were twitching incontrollably as well.
"What about us?" I asked him.
"Oooh." A mischievous smile replaced his grin. "So there's an 'us' between you two. Austin must be--"
"Peter, I swear to god, if you don't shut up, I will--"
"--very thrilled to hear that. And--"
"Jesus Christ."
"--I'll have you know that you are totally--"
Totally what, I didn't know, because that was the moment Austin decided to make a move to lunge at Peter, who hastily got to his feet, laughing despite the death glare Austin was giving him.
"Chill, man," Peter said, shaking his head fondly at his friend. "You should see your face right now."
"You should see your face when I'm done with it," Austin fired back without missing a beat, sounding as though he actually meant it.
"Bring it."
But before Austin could "bring it," whatever it was, Will intervened so we can start playing. I tried not to look too disappointed. Listening to their banter was amusing, to say the least, and I would have preferred to watch them bicker instead of playing whatever. And I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious about what Peter was just about to say, if only because of Austin's immediate reaction.
I wasn't paying attention to Will, who had taken front and center, so I wasn't sure how everyone came to the decision to play charades, but before I knew it, the game was already beginning. Peter settled back to his spot next to me, promising that he won't tell me anything about the previous topic this time, to which he received a dubious stare from Austin.
"Do you not trust me, oh dear friend of mine?" Peter placed a hand on his chest and put on an expression of mock betrayal.
"No, I don't," Austin deadpanned.
Peter simply laughed before sending me an obvious wink. "I'll tell you all about it later, Reed."
---
After a few rounds of charades, Peter suggested to change the game.
I admit playing was pretty fun, especially when Peter had to act out the word "Pokemon," looking absolutely ridiculous, and Austin surprised us all with his impressive and accurate imitation of Gollum, which won our team the winning point.
"I might have had a Lord of the Rings phase," he later explained to me when he came back to his seat next to me. He didn't look particularly embarrassed about admitting this. In fact, he even seemed a little proud of it.
"One does not simply not have a Lord of the Rings phase," I replied.
He raised an eyebrow, looking thoroughly surprised. "You watched the movies?"
"And read the books."
Nodding, a small smile made its way to his face. "Impressive."
Tori didn't quite like the series ("It's nine hours of non-hot people simply walking."), so I never really had anyone to talk to about the movies, let alone the books. Before I could launch into a series of ramblings about LoTR, I suddenly caught sight of the beer bottle pointing to me.
It was then that I realized everyone was already staring at me.
I suppressed a groan.
"Truth or dare?" Will prompted.
I could feel Austin's stare on me as he, along with the others, waited for my reply.
I cleared my throat before replying, "Dare."
Peter's hand shot up in the air immediately. "I have one!"
"Goddammit," I heard Austin mutter under his breath.
Without waiting for anyone's permission, Peter was already speaking, "Kiss whoever gets pointed by the bottle. Should be on the lips for ten seconds."
There were some whoops and claps from the others, even from Will, who seemed to be just the slightest bit drunk already, and I could hear Austin mumbling vaguely about Peter being an idiot. Peter, however, was simply grinning as if he'd just given us the best idea ever.
"All right," I replied, triggering another round of encouraging shouts and claps.
Peter handed me the bottle and told me to spin it, so I did. I held my breath as it moved, on and on, and hoped it was anyone but Austin. It wasn't really that big of a deal for me to kiss strangers--I've played worse games--but Austin would be a different story. He wasn't my friend or anything, but I was still stuck to him for the rest of the night, so I would rather not add any awkwardness.
The bottle started to slow down. I found myself thinking not Dick, not Dick, not Dick, anyone but him, please, please, please not Dick. For a heartstopping moment I was sure it was going to stop at Austin, but it continued spinning past him.
It stopped at Will.
There was a chorus of cheers. Standing up and walking over to where he sat, I said, "Come on." I eyed Peter, who didn't look as happy as he did just a while ago when he first suggested this dare, before turning to face Will. "It's just ten seconds. Might as well get over it."
I was surprised, however, to see the guy blushing. "Oh. Um."
The burly guy sitting beside him nudged Will, prompting him to jump to his feet so we were face to face. His friends cheered and clapped again, in that way that only a bunch non-sober people would.
The kiss, so to say, was surprisingly pleasant (meaning he didn't try to shove his tongue down my throat or anything). Will was an okay kisser, so it was neither good or bad or whatever. It only felt unnecessary long, with everyone doing the countdown.
I pulled away as soon as the ten seconds we had were up. Will gave me a sheepish smile, to which I had only coughed awkwardly before going back to my seat between Peter and Austin. There was a sly smile on Peter's face while Austin's was in his semi-permanent scowl.
"Didn't think you'd really do it," Austin said as soon as I had taken my seat.
From my other side, Peter sneered at him. "Wish the bottle stopped on you?"
"Why the fuck would I wish for that?" was Austin's immediate reaction and mine was to fake gag.
"Can you not?" I said.
"Awww," Peter cooed at the two of us, tilting his head to the right as he eyed us both, looking completely, utterly ridiculous as he, once again, waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Can you feel the luuurve tonight?"
"Goddammit, shut the fuck up or the only thing you'll be feeling is my fist on your face."
Peter merely guffawed.
It took two more spins—in which Austin, Peter and I barely paid attention (me too busy listening to Peter constantly teasing Austin)—before the bottle finally stopped at Austin. He didn't look irritated, but he didn't look particularly comfortable either.
I knew Austin was a secretive person, at least to a certain degree. We had been together for majority of the night now and the fact that I still knew next to nothing about him—along with the way he reacted whenever I got close to seeing past his walls—let me know that he was just as closed-off as I was.
So imagine my surprise he said, "Truth."
The hoots seemed oddly muted to me because my focus was on Austin's passive face. I was too busy wondering why he had chosen truth over dare and only when Peter cursed beside me did I realize that Austin was merely trying to avoid the same situation I'd gotten in during my turn.
This, however, didn't seem to faze Peter, who yelled, "I have a question!"
I didn't miss the slight change in Austin's expression, his face darkening just a little bit, sending him an almost-warning look. Either Peter didn't notice that Austin practically looked like he was ready to strangle him or simply didn't care, smiling somewhat obliviously at Austin.
Everyone turned to Peter, waiting for the question.
"True or false," he said.
"Peter, I swear to God I will fucking kill you."
Undeterred, Peter merely continued grinning. "Reed is totally your type."
There were hoots and laughing from the rest of the circle. My face almost immediately burst into flames at the notion. I sent Austin a sideways glance, who had on a particularly uncomfortable expression, before speaking.
"That's ridiculous. Dick does not—"
Before I could finish what I was saying, however, Austin already answered.
"True."
---
Tone down the squealing I'm going deaf. Hahahaha kidding but sorry for the late update but at least right hahahaha
I'll be busy revising THH this month, so I'm not sure about updating this, but rest assured. will /try/ my best to keep up with updating this on weekends. :)
As usual, hope you liked this and do tell me what you think. <3
- Sam