"Sammy, wake up... Come on, it's okay." I slowly opened my eyes to see Nate crouched next to me. He was staring at me with pleading eyes. I sat up and rubbed my eyes a bit and yawned.
"What happened?" He took both of my hands in his and sighed.
"I think you were having a nightmare or something... You fell asleep on the way to camp." I looked around to see two other beds; empty. I realized that I was in a cabin and that it was now nightfall.
"Oops." We both chuckled and he stood up, walking over to the bed next to mine and plopped down face first. I giggled.
"Are we sharing a cabin?" I heard a muffled response, but I didn't understand it. He picked his head up slightly and smiled.
"It's against camp rules, but it can be our secret." I smiled back as he assumed his position into the pillow once more. I lay back down and stared at the ceiling. After a brief moment of silence, Nate cleared his throat as he looked over at me.
"It was about Troy again... Wasn't it?" I sighed and nodded slightly.
"Of course it was. Who else would it be about?" I closed my eyes for a moment and heard Nate get up from his bed and walk over to mine. He sat down next to me staring at his feet. I looked over at him and lightly caressed his arm with my left hand. He instantly put his hand over mine and sighed.
"Things will get better Sam, I promise you. I'm never going to be apart from you. Not ever again." I sat up and hugged him from behind. Nate and I had been best friends for quite a long time. When the things with Troy happened last summer, he never forgave himself for not being there for me and for not being able to stop him. I told him constantly that it was not his fault, but he never listens. Shane is the same way about the situation. Nate turned towards me and hugged me tightly and I returned it. When we pulled apart, I kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you.. For always being there for me Nate. I don't know what I'd do without you." The only light in the room was the nightlight between our beds, but I could still see his face perfectly. He cleared his throat and looked down at his hands in his lap, nervously.
"Uhmm, Sammy? There's something I wanted to ask you..." I nodded, assuring him to ask. The moment he opened his mouth, the screen door swung open and Shane walked in, soaking wet. Nate laughed lightly.
"What happened to you, dude?" Shane took his shoes off by the door and started undressing down to his boxers and muscle shirt and threw his clothes next to the bathroom door.
"I fell into the lake during orientation, so I'm gonna shower. What did you guys do?" He looked at Nate from head to toe, taking in his appearance: muscle shirt and boxers.
"Well, I just woke up. And I think Nate did too... Right?" Nate nodded in response, looking at me for a moment, and then looking back at Shane. Shane shrugged and walked into the bathroom without another word. After a minute of silence, I heard the water running and I yawned again. I laid down once more and scooted closer to the wall, leaving Nate room to lay next to me. He happily obliged and stared at the ceiling with me. His arm was lying on top of mine, as was his hand. With one swift movement, we could have our fingers intertwined, but I tried to ignore that fact.
"Do you ever think about what would happen if you could go back in time?" Intrigued, I turned my head towards him whilst his gaze remained on the ceiling.
"Yea. All the time. Why?" He shrugged.
"I don't know.. I just think about it sometimes. I think about what would've happened if I wasn't in Connect 3.. I mean, my life would be so different! I wouldn't have anything that I have now," he turned and looked into my eyes, "I wouldn't have met you." I smiled, as did he. There was a fluttery feeling rising in my stomach and I could feel my face getting hot under his stare. I was tempted to look away and calm myself down, but it was almost as if I was in a trance. I was so enticed, I failed to hear that the water had stopped running in the bathroom. Nate's fingers were lightly massaging mine while we continued to stare at one another.
"Sam..." He said it in a volume barely above a whisper, which only enticed me more and made me lean into him.
"What is it Nate?" He scooted closer to the point that now, our foreheads were touching.
"I..." He turned onto his side, as did I, with our foreheads still touching. I looked down at his lips as he did the same to me, and they were centimeters apart. With every breath he took, I could feel his warm breath trickle onto my face and down my neck.
"Uhmm, what're you guys doing, exactly?" My eyes widened at the sound of Shane's voice, whom happened to be standing behind Nate, already in his pj's. Nate shot up and glanced at me as he walked over to his bed. It was then MY turn to clear my throat.
"We were just talking, is all." He looked at me skeptically, looking back and forth between me and Nate for a moment, then yawned and laid down on his bed.
"Goodnight guys. Big day tomorrow." I giggled.
"Night Shane." Although I said goodnight, I couldn't fall asleep. My mind was on Nate, and the "moment" we had 5 minutes before. I turned over to face the wall and scooted toward it in the fetal position. Not even a minute later, my bed sunk in and I felt someone lying behind me. I looked over my shoulder briefly as Nate kissed the back of my neck. Almost as if he read my mind, he whispered: "I thought I'd sleep with you tonight in case you had any more bad dreams." I giggled at his lame excuse and faced the wall again, closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep; finally.