"Okay, nuts or chips? I'm even up for candy options," Layton tugged a couple strands of hair behind her right ear as she bent down to look of the trail mix options. She pulled a bag from the shelf to analyze the colorful packaging.

"Muddy…buddies?" Hamish stared at the coated chex squares in confusion.

"It's a sweet snack," Layton chuckled as she puts it back on the shelf. Hamish and Layton had been perusing the store for quite some time, collecting all their necessities. Randall had handed them a list earlier of all the things he would like as well as what they'd all collectively need. It was relatively lengthy, and they had been slowly chipping away at it.

"Ah," he nodded before letting his eyes wander elsewhere on the shelf. Layton caught herself staring at his distracted state with a small smile before scolding herself. She quickly pulled off a can of peanuts and dropped it into her shopping cart. Focus, Layton.

"We'll take one of these. Easy to eat, not too messy," she explained. "If I remember correctly, Randall also said he wanted some gummy worms." She pulled out her phone to check her list of items. "And he wanted Cheetos." She looked around for a second before spotting the orange bag. "Ah, here we go." She plucked the family-sized pack off and chucked it in the cart before heading down the aisle. Hamish followed behind her as she turned into the sweets section. "Chocolate?"

"No, I am certain it will melt before we even get into the car," Hamish shook his head before reaching over to dump a bag of worms into the cart. "I don't want indiscernible brown stains."

"You're right," she nodded. "That should be it. We've got the barbecue stuff, snacks, neck pillows…" she fell silent as she checked off each item in her mind.

"Tents?"

"Oh yeah! That's probably the most important of them all, huh?" Layton started pushing the cart but was stopped when a hand grasped the handle.

"Here, let me," he smiled softly and pushed ahead. Layton stared at his retreating back, feeling her heart rate quicken for a second. He smelled just like the house, which should've been obvious since he lived there. In reality, the house probably smelled like him, not the other way around. Sandalwood and vanilla. Her senses tingled and the scent quickly dissipated. She gulped, shaking the thoughts of her head, before trailing after him. "You have been awfully quiet as of late." She didn't respond until she caught him staring at her from the corner of her eyes. His blue eyes piercing through her wall.

"There's just been a lot of my mind recently," she started. He raised a brow for her to go on. "Senior year of college, you know?" she coughed, trying to lie through her teeth. He didn't seem too convinced. He always seemed to know when she lied. But Layton supposed she was never a good liar to begin with, so it probably wasn't that hard.

"Really? I feel like this started a while back, mid-way through your junior year," he prodded.

"It's nothing, really. At least, not anything you need to worry about," she raised a hand to lightly pat his shoulder but thought against it. She let her hand fall limply to her side. "Just nerves about graduation." Layton bit her lip and scolded herself once more for being so obvious. She was never good at hiding her emotions and it was painstakingly obvious that Hamish knew that.

"If you ever need to talk with someone," Hamish started gently. "I will always be available."

"Thanks," she smiled, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. "Anyways, should we each get a tent, or should we share?" She diverted the conversation as soon as they entered the camping aisle. "They're kind of expensive, no?" Her nose scrunches when she notes the price tags.

"Maybe we should all get one to share," Hamish agreed, thinking about his crying wallet.

"Yeah, we could get this 4-person one," she pointed one out, pulling it off the hanger. "Light-weight, fiber glass poles," she reads off the label.

"It's kind of short," Hamish runs his finger over the dimensions.

"Okay, everything's going to be short to you, you giraffe," Layton bumped him with her shoulder playfully. In that moment, she tried not to think about her feelings and, instead, remember what it was like when they weren't in the way. "I'm sure this is nothing short of a hobbit hole to your towering height."

"So, how do you propose I fit in there?"

"You crawl," Layton deadpanned before bursting into a fit of giggles. "You crawl! I don't know why I find that so funny," she bends over to clutch and clutches her stomach. "I can't breathe." Hamish watches in barely contained amusement. It's been a while since he's seen her laugh like this, at least around him. He's seen Layton and Randall hang out around campus before and when she's with him, her whole face lights up. With Randall, she shows off her brilliant smile. But with himself, she always seems so down. And it wasn't always like this. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't rack his brain for what went on between them. They used to hang out all the time, and they were close. And it wasn't as if she just flipped a switch. He saw it happen over time. Her twinkling eyes, a little duller – if she even looked him in the eyes anymore. Her smile was a rarity around him these days. Her easy-going attitude, tense and forced. He just wanted her to open up to him, to let him know what was going on through her head. After Cassie died, she was his rock for some time. They hurt together and they found solace together. It hurt him to know that she was slowly drifting apart from him. What changed? What did he do? It felt like the world ended when Cassie died. Felt like the ground was ripped from underneath him. He could barely stand being at the house. Everything reminded him of her. He only got by because of Randall and Layton. He knew that it worked. He knew that he was recovering. Piece by piece, his heart was becoming whole again, filled by the memories of his friends around him. The house was less lonely. He didn't cry in the middle of the night anymore. But now, he felt as if it was drifting back. Layton seemed to avoid the house. She seemed to avoid him.

"Hamish?" her voice broke him out of his thoughts. "Earth to Hamish!" His eyes refocused on his surroundings to see her waving her hands in front of his face. She looked extremely worried. "I've been calling you for, like, five minutes. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he gave her a gentle pat on the head, still not focused enough to see her flush red. "Just dozed off for a moment."

"That's not like you," Layton coughed as she tried to hide her red ears.

"Apologies," he moved forward to take the tent from her and put it under the basket of the cart. "Let's go pay for our things and haul it back to the house." With her help, they loaded the car after checking out. The ride back was done in comfortable silence, both occupied in their own thoughts. Layton leaned her head against the window to watch the scenery fly by.

"Guys, this is awesome!" Randall cheered as he looked at the supplies we got. He kept picking up random items and examining them before throwing them back into the pile. "This road trip is going to be so cool. First Knight's road trip!" He pumped a fist before pulling Layton into a one-armed hug. "Minus Lilith. Anyone seen her recently?"

"I saw her at the library, actually," Layton nodded. Randall slowly let go of her and plopped down on the couch. He let his arm rest on the back and cross his left leg over his right. "We made eye contact and I said 'Hi' but that was pretty much it. She was really focused on her text book so I didn't want to be a bother. Plus, the last time that Randall tried to talk to her while she was studying…" They all gave each other knowing looks.

"That's good at least," Hamish nodded. "So, when do we plan to leave by?"

"10AM at the latest. That way, we'll have enough sunlight to put up our tent and gather some firewood," Randall said before pulling out his phone. "I've checked the route times and everything."

"Randall being prepared for once, ladies and gentlemen," Layton giggled. She felt a pillow hit her in the head. "Hey!" She looked up to see Hamish laughing while Randall gave her a smug smile.

"I am officially a RA, thank you very much. It means I'm very prepared," he said matter-of-factly.

"Sure, let's see how your first week of school goes, then we'll talk," Layton scoffed, lightly tossing the pillow back onto the couch. "Anyways, are we sure about leaving Lilith by herself?"

"I'd rather her come along but it is her decision. It is not all bad though, a protector for the house while the majority of us is away is a good idea," Hamish shrugged. "She can also keep an eye out for bad magic, though, I doubt there will be much of it."

"Makes sense," Layton agreed. "Alright, so we'll see each other at 10 tomorrow?" Randall and Hamish nodded. This is going to be one hell of a trip.