CHAPTER SEVEN

"I'm leaving, Adam," I yelled into the convenience store and heard something crash.

"Be careful!" he called back, "Make sure-."

"Yes, I know, meet up with Chris or Gordie before I go, bye!" I shouted, closing the door as I started down the street. It'd been three weeks since the incident at the lake and yeah, I'd become better friends with Teddy, Gordie, Vern, and Chris. Mostly became my brother made me but whatever. Suddenly, my eyes were covered and, on instinct, I elbowed behind me, only to hear him curse and turned around to see a doubled over Chris. "Oh Jesus, I'm sorry!"

"I probably shouldn't have snuck up on you, huh?"

"Not the best of ideas," I muttered.

"Hey," he laughed, ruffling my hair, "I'm fine, Core, you make me seem like a glass dog."

"Well, I dunno about glass, but you sure are a dog," I grinned and he mock scowled at me.

"You," he muttered, pinching my side before he pinned me to a fence along the road, "are a trouble maker."

"I try," I shrugged playfully but a glint passed through his eyes, "Chris?" His hand rested on my cheek as my breath hitched. I placed my hand on his chest but his thumb brushed against it, like he was reassuring me of something. The space between us diminishing as he bent down closer. A spark flashed through my lips as he brushed his against them but a snickering made him freeze. Looking over his shoulder, I saw Teddy full out laughing, Gordie shaking his head, and Vern gaping like a fish. "Hey guys."

"I'll kill them," Chris muttered, turning to face his friends but I rested my hands on his shoulders as I rocked to my tiptoes.

"Corey," Gordie chuckled, "What're you doing?"

"I can't see," I mumbled, feeling my cheeks flush slightly.

"Course you can't," Teddy grinned.

"You're a jerk," I stuck out my tongue, stubbornly folding my arms but he only shook his head, picking up my discarded bag.

"Are we going or not?" Chris demanded, rolling his shoulders slightly; I stepped back. Taking my bag from Teddy, I watched as Chris walked ahead with Vern and tilted my head.

"He's weird," I finally decided.

"Says girl who is calmed by Root Beer," Gordie laughed.

"Go screw," I muttered, hugging the bag to my chest, "What exactly are we doing?"

"Sleeping in-."

"The woods, yes that I know, thank you, Teddy," I rolled my eyes, "I mean where?"

"Following the train tracks, I guess," Gordie shrugged.

"No dead bodies this time," Teddy grinned; Gordie glared at him pointedly. Shaking my head, I walked a little faster, knowing the argument to come.

"We're going down by the lake," Chris told me eventually. Wrinkling my nose, I nodded, but he nudged me lightly. Glancing over at him, I saw a look of reassurance and smiled in thanks. Feeling his hand brush against my own, I shivered but scowled at the seemingly constant mocking from behind me. Chris seemed to notice because he let out an annoyed breath, stepping further away. Part of me was disappointed that he had but I ignored it, following him once more.

"Don't take it personally," Teddy tried after a while. Gordie and Vern had gone up ahead with Chris a couple steps behind. Gordie and I, however, were kind of far behind.

"Take what personally," I sighed, looking over at him but he shrugged, nodding his head at Chris's figure. Rolling my eyes, I tried to focus my vision in the dimming light but it was proving to be a little difficult. Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't scared of the dark at all, I just didn't like it. There's a difference.

"You alright?" Teddy questioned, making me realize I had subconsciously walked closer to him.

"The dark kind of freaks me out." Okay, so I was a baby, sue me. Smiling slightly, he tugged at my bag gently, making me trip into him. He put his arm over my shoulder as best he could as he guided me through the dimly lit trees. My eyes were glued to the ground; so when I crashed into a solid form, I turned to glare at a laughing Teddy. "You're an ass, Duchamp."

"I was," he started, but I stepped away, throwing my bag at him. I knew he wasn't, but it sure as hell felt like he was laughing at me. My fear. The one I thought was completely stupid and didn't like at all.

"Don't," Chris grabbed my arm before I could storm off but I wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. Adam was the only one who knew about my fear of what lurks in the dark; I wanted to keep it that way, honestly. Huffing, I folded my arms, my vision fixed on the ground. "Corey-."

"I want to go home."

"We're almost there," Vern offered but I wrinkled my nose. Chris pulled my sleeve, making me walk again but he kept a slower pace this time, allowing Gordie, Vern, and Teddy to stay ahead.

"What's wrong?" he finally asked but his eyes were on his friends, well, our friends.

"I don't," but I gasped at a sudden sound, jumping slightly.

"Corey-."

"I wanna go home," I whined half-heartedly but felt him pull me to a stop. My breath quickened slightly, feeling him tug at my bag before something cold was shoved into my hand. Sipping from the bottle, I wrinkled my nose, feeling his arm around my waist and my eyes slid shut. I actually wasn't sure if it was the Root Beer or his warmth that made me calm down and it kind of scared me a little. Taking another gulp, I felt his fingers playing with my shirt and looked up at him. "Thank you."

"I'll take you home if you really want," he offered but I shook my head, glancing back at the boys.

"Let's catch up," I murmured, untwirling from his grip but slipping my hand in his as I lead him to where the boys had stopped again.

"Cute," Teddy rolled his eyes, but Gordie pushed him to walk again.

"Feel better, Corey?" Gordie asked and I nodded, looking for Vern. He was ahead of us, his things dropped as he sat on a tree stump.

"Lake," I scoffed, looking at Chris who smiled sheepishly. There wasn't water in site! We were in the middle of nowhere. In the dark. Alone. Surrounded by trees; that was it.

"Corey," he started slowly but I shook my head, stepping forward. We all walked towards where Vern was sitting before putting our stuff with his but I picked up my sleeping bag, laying it out so I could sit down.

"C'mon, Vern, let's go get some wood," Teddy sighed. Had I missed something?

"I'll go with you," Gordie stated, walking off with the other two boys. Glancing over at Chris, I saw him scowling and laughed, standing. As I brushed myself off, I heard something move and jumped, squeaking slightly.

"Corey?"

"You must really like my name," I let out a shaky breath, trying not to get worked up. Nothing was out there, besides wolves and bears and, god, snap out of it, Coryne. "You say it a lot."

"It's a different name," he smiled as I walked over to where he was sitting, the stump Vern had occupied moments ago, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," I shrugged, shuffling back when he stood.

"Why'd you come if you're so freaked out?"

"Because," I blew out slowly, "Adam wants me to try and be normal. Something about helping myself. Adam is aspiring to be a shrink, god knows what goes on in his mind." Chris only laughed, moving to my sleeping bag. He patted the spot next to him and I couldn't help smiling as I sat.

"C'mon, I wont bite," he said, pulling me to his side.

"Sure you wont," I laughed, bumping his shoulder but felt his arm behind my back. Leaning against my own arms, I looked up at the green-framed sky before jumping slightly at a bush rustling. Chris chuckled, his thumbnail scraping my skin lightly causing me to shift closer to him. I felt him move, hesitantly placing his hand on my hip but I moved to my knees, feeling his hand drop lamely. Glancing back, I saw his head drop forward but nudged him slightly. "Chris?"

"Yeah," he muttered, sitting up but I pulled on his knees. "What?" Rolling my eyes, I picked up his hand, tugging him to his knees as well. "Corey, what're you-."

"Chris," I laughed before shaking my head. He cast me a confused look before I leant forward, kissing him lightly but pulled back, sitting on my ankles as I watched him process what had happened. "You alright there, Chris." Snapping out of whatever trance he was in, he looked at me again, practically knocking me over but before I could say anything, he'd covered my mouth with his lips.

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A/N: Hey I posted! Shocker!! Haha, I hope you guys liked it; sorry for the delay :-/ I'm hoping to post soon again...I've been working on another, well, other stories and got side tracked...I'll try tho! Reviews are love!