*Author's Note* Hey, guys! Hope you like it. It's technically my first fic (or at least the first one I've published). Don't forget to review, review, review!(Pretty please?I'll be your best friend forever! ;)) Constructive criticism is a appreciated, but try not to be mean about it. Enjoy!

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Emily POV

"Hey Jules, you ready to go camping?" I asked my friend Julia. We were going camping a few miles away from our park.

"Yeah, one sec. I gotta grab the tent!" she replied from her room.

"You need help?" I asked her. I walked into her room without a reply.

"Could you grab the tent? I have everything else," She asked. I picked up the tent and she got her suitcase.

"Dude, what about your sleeping bag?" I asked.

"Whoops!" she blushed. "Could you hold this?" She handed me a pile of stuff with a sketchbook on top. She walked into her closet and picked up her sleeping bag.

"A sketchbook? Really?" I asked and laughed. She laughed too.

"I have a feeling it's going to be a long night," she giggled. I rolled my eyes. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!" she exclaimed. We walked out the door with all of her stuff. I picked up mine on the way out.

We walked out the door into the frigid air. It was starting to get a little chilly. I pulled my jacket out of my backpack and put it on. She put hers on, too. Together, we walked out towards my mom's car. She was driving us to our campsite.

"Hi, guys! You ready to go camping?" she asked. She almost seemed more excited than we were!

"Yup, we're ready!" I said. "Let's go!"

"It looks like somebody's excited!" she said to me. To Julia, she said "I haven't seen Emily so excited to go camping since she was three! It's probably because I'm not going." She grinned at Julia and I. I stared out the window and blushed. I started to recognize the familiar area. Julia's family and my family had gone camping every year since we were three. This year, our parents had decided not to go.

"We're here we're here we're here!" I all but yelled.

"Wait, before you go, do you have your phone?" my mom asked. She had asked me that almost twenty times already, no joke!

"Yes, Mom, I have it. And we'll call you if anything goes wrong," I said.

"Okay, you're right. Bye!" she said. "See you on Monday!"

"Bye!" Julia and I yelled back in unison.

"You ready to have some fun?" I asked Julia.

"Bring it, girl!" she replied.

Together, we pitched the tent and collected enough wood to make a decent, long-lasting fire. I pulled out some matches and lit one. I held it under the wood and lit it. The wood burst into bright orange flame. I stood back to admire my work. Julia walked up behind me, her arms piled high with wood.

"Way to go, girl!" she said. I high-fived her enthusiastically. "You ready to make dinner?"

"Sure, what are we having?" I asked. I had completely forgotten what we had brought.

She pulled out a blue box. "Mac-n-Cheese. It seemed easy to make," she admitted shyly.

"Easy is good," I said, contemplating our option. "Easy tastes good, too!" We both giggled.

"Could you go grab a pot and fill it with water?" I asked.

"Sure!" she said, walking into the tent. I heard her pouring the water we brought into the pot. She walked out slowly, balancing the handle in her hand. She set it down over the fire and skittered back. "I hate fire," she muttered.

"Now we just have to wait till it boils, then it's macaroni time!" I said, laughing.

"Good, I'm hungry!" she said, also laughing. She walked back into the tent and emerged with her sketchbook and a pencil. She sat down in a folding chair and got to work. I dumped the dry noodles in the bubbling water.I stirred them around blankly as I dumped them in.

When they seemed about done, I poured the noodles into a strainer.I dumped the excess water out into the spot where the grass seemed pretty dry. I poured the noodles into a hole-free bowl this time and poured the cheese in. I stirred it around absentmindedly and it started to turn yellow. I grabbed two forks and tossed one to Julia. She caught it deftly and twisted her hand around. I sat down in the chair next to her and we started to eat. I didn't bother separating it into different bowls. What was the point?

After we were both done, I stood up with the bowl and stretched. I mumbled something about washing dishes and walked over to where we had set the bin of water. I dropped the bowl in the water and sat down on the ground. I swished the water around inside the bowl and coated it in soap. I swished that around, too. I rinsed it off and set it on a towel outside the tent. Julia walked up behind me and we walked into the tent together.

"Wow, it's getting dark really fast," I said. I glanced outside. It almost looked like midnight. "Hey, what time is it?" I asked Julia. She glanced at her watch.

"It's only 8:30. Weird, huh?" she said.

"Ya wanna get our pajamas on? I would say I'm tired, but I'm not. So there..." I said, unsure of what to say.

"Sure, sounds good... I'll get mine," Julia said, turning towards her suitcase. I dug mine out of my backpack. I put them on as fast as I could and got out my sleeping bag. I laid it down next to Julia's and sat down on it. She did the same.

"So, how have things been on the home front?" I asked Julia. She sighed and looked down.

"Well, you know my dad. He's being all, you know, stuff," she replied. I just looked more and more confused.

"First, I really don't know. Second, you have to give him some time. This must be hard for him," I said. Julia had lost her mother earlier this year. It was hitting the two of them really hard.

"Yeah, I know. I just wish this was all over. No, not over, just never had begun," she said, looking at the floor.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up," I muttered, feeling all awkward now.

"It's fine, can we just talk about something else?" she asked, looking sheepish. Which I didn't get at all.

"So, what do you want to-" I cut myself off. "Did you just hear something?" I squeaked. She nodded, looking as pale as a ghost.