Friday October 17th

"Do we have everything?" asked A, going through the checklist.

"Yep. Each of us have one suitcase full of one set of clothes, snacks, and whatever else we want," I reassured him. "Then there's those two coolers and first aid kits and tents." Going down his list he marked everything off.

As everyone lined up to get in the van, Roger came to with another clipboard. "Roll call. A?"

"Here."

"B?"

"Yeah!"

"L?"

"Yes."

"Cinder?"

"I'm here."

"Winter?"

"I'm standing right in front of you."

"And Hollow?"

"Ello, I'm here."

"Good. Please enter the van so we can get going."

We piled in, L sat in the front with Roger. I sat in the seat behind L, Cinder sat in the seat behind Roger, and the three boys filled up the back seats. Roger started the van and we began our journey to the park. About a half hour later, we arrived. Roger found us an empty area in the woods to set up camp. Next we began hauling all our stuff to the camp. Now it was time to set up.

"Uh, who's sleeping with who?" asked Cinder.

"Roger can have his own tent," I tossed a tent over to him and he failed to catch it. "Cinder and I can share one, since we're girls.

"Okay," said Hollow. "Then B and I will share one." B high fived Hollow and they began to set up their tent.

"L, are you okay with sharing a tent?" I asked cautiously.

He nodded. "Yes, but I won't be sleeping very much," he told A. A shrugged it away as they began setting up theirs.

"Ugh," whined Cinder, "I can't believe I have to share a tent with you."

"Suck it up buttercup and help me," I commanded.

All of us finished setting up our tents and putting our stuff away within fifteen minutes.

"Hey, let's get in groups and explore the woods," I suggested. Everyone agreed.

"You and me?" asked B. I was surprised he asked me and not Hollow.

"Sure," I replied. Hollow left with L, Cinder and A went in the opposite direction, while Roger stayed at our campsite reading the newspaper.

The forest was fresh and open, crisp leaves crunched below us. It was the middle of October so I was wearing a long sleeve shirt and jeans, covered in my black overcoat. B wore a plain black turtleneck and baggy jeans. I wondered if he was cold.

We reached a river, rushing with clear water. It wasn't too deep, but wide. A larger, sturdy tree had fallen across it making a suitable crossing. B went first, carefully maneuvering down the tree. When he was across, I stepped on the log and followed him to the other side.

The rest of the time we talked about stupid topics that made us laugh. B tried to pick an apple from a tree, but crashed to the ground, landing on his butt. I laughed hysterically while he kept trying, but failing.

We stopped at a log to rest. The sky above us was darkening, creating an anxious mood. "This was fun," B said.

"Yeah," I replied. "Why don't we hang out like this often?"

"That'd be awesome," B replied cooly. I looked at his red eyes, how they filled up his orbs and adding to his mystery. It was cool because- What the? I'd been staring at B's eyes, lost in thought, so I didn't notice him leaning in towards me. What?!

Quickly, I back away, only to fall off the log. Landing with an "oof" I rubbed my head and blushed. "Sorry," I mumbled awkwardly.

"It's okay," he replied emotionless. "I can see you don't like me." He got up to leave.

"Wait," I called after him and scrambled up from the ground. "I didn't mean it like that, I just-"

"Are you sure?" he spat at me, a sudden burst of anger dwelling in him. "Because I'm kind of getting mixed signals." Was I sending mixed messages on how I feel? I couldn't tell. B began marching off in the direction we came from.

"B, wait! Just stop for a moment and calm down!"

He stopped and turned to me. "I am calm," he snapped. "You're the one who needs to stop for a moment."

"Why?" I asked angrily.

"Because you don't know anything! You don't know who you like, who you want to be. You don't even know what your favorite color is!" He had a point. "Can you just stop and think about your life?!"

I tried to put a comforting hand on his shoulder but he brushed me away harshly. "Don't bother following me back. Just do everyone a favor and stay out here for a while." I watched B storm off until I couldn't see him anymore.

Whoa… Harsh even for B. Was I doing everything he'd said? Honestly, I didn't know who I liked. All of the guys were great. Maybe I didn't like any of them. Maybe I did, deep down inside. Either way, I still wasn't for sure. … Dang, he had a point.

Instead of going back to camp, I followed B's advice and stayed put on the log. After a while of listening to the birds chirp, I heard the faint sound of rain falling. Then, as time went by, the rain grew stronger and louder.

Why did it have to rain the day we went camping? It didn't help that the wind blew freezing me. I decided to head back. I didn't want to stay out in the rain where I could get sick.

As I was walking back, the winds picked up. My blonde hair was whipping everywhere. The clouds weren't too dark, so at least I could see where I was going.

Finally, I reached the crossing tree. Stepping onto it, I began walking carefully. Below me I heard the water rushing and blowing. I was nervous, for a while, that I'd fall in. But that wouldn't happen to me, right?

Wrong. An immense gust of wind knocked me off the tree and into the water. The sharp pain of cold water was the first thing I felt. Then the cold water in my mouth as I struggled to stay above water.

I knew how to swim, but not during a storm in an overcoat. For a second above water, I saw a branch that I could reach to pull myself out, but I sunk back into the water.

At that point, all hope was lost for me. Then came my savior, my miracle. The person who rescued me from drowning.

As I floated under the rushing water, a hand grabbed mine. Then arms wrapped themselves around my waist and pulled. Whoever this was, he was strong enough to pull me to the edge of the river. I helped him to climb up the edge with the last ounce of strength I had in me. On the ground above, I blacked out.

When I awoke, the first thing that came to mind was my rescuer. Who saved me? My eyes adjusted to the darkness. I was laid in a tent, blankets covering me. Outside I saw the glow of a campfire.

My drenched clothes were gone, replaced by sweatpants and a t-shirt I'd brought with me. Dear Lord, please tell me Cinder was the one to change me. Okay, I dropped that thought quickly.

I heard talking outside and was tempted to join my friends when I stopped. Maybe B was right. Maybe I was causing everyone confusion. Maybe it was best to stay in the tent and not bother everyone. But that didn't mean I couldn't eavesdrop. I bet they were laughing and having a grand time.

I scooted closer to hear. "I hope she's okay," said Cinder.

"Yeah" agreed everyone but L and B.

"It was my fault," said B. "I left here because I was selfish. Now she probably hates me."

Okay, so I was totally wrong. Crawling out of the tent, I ran over to B and hugged him. "Shut up you loser. I don't hate you."

He was so surprised that he almost fell forward into the fire. "Ah!" After a moment, he smiled. "Get off me." Letting go, I greeted everyone again.

"Where's L?" I asked when I realized he wasn't with us. Cinder pointed to his tent that was placed far away from the others.

"A moved into B and Hollow's tent," she told me. I stood up and walked to his tent. It was too far away for me to hear anyone but I could tell they were talking.

"L?" I whispered loud enough for him to hear. Frantic movement in the tent, a moment later L opened the tent and dragged me on the ground, into a hug. "Happy to see me, huh?"

"You have no idea," he whispered. Inside the tent, he closed the door and turned on a battery powered light. Scanning my body, he bit his thumbnail. "How are you doing?"

I shrugged. "Okay, I guess. There's only one thing that's pestering me." He nodded for me to continue. "Who saved me?" I asked. He stared emotionless at me.

"Who do you think?"

"I think that maybe B came back to me when the storm came, or Hollow did. Of course, my guesses are always wrong so…" My eyes were glued to his. "You did, didn't you?"

A small nod was given along with a teeny smile. "I am glad you are okay. I couldn't bear to lose you."

Epiphany. That's when a realization clicked for me, a light bulb shone over my head. At that moment, L and I gazing into each other's eyes, him telling me he couldn't handle losing me, I knew who I liked. I liked him. I liked L and this time, I was 100% sure of it.

He smiled when I realized that. He smiled because he liked me too.

We hugged each other before returning to the campfire. Everyone greeted us as we sat down next to each other. A normal conversation came among the group for a while.

Then Hollow decided we needed more action. "Who wants to tell scary stories?"

B spoke up. "You first."

Hollow accepted the challenge. "I'll keep it short." He cleared his throat. "Once upon a time, a little girl was walking home from church with her friends. It was late on a Friday night. The girl was asked to take part in a dare; see how long she could stand in a hollow grave before crying."

Cinder rolled her eyes. "Get to the scary part!"

"The girl accepted and climbed into the grave. She lasted not even five minutes before she heard something. Screaming. Her friends above ground were shouting and crying for some reason. Then she heard silence."

I shivered, not because of the story but because of the cold weather. L wrapped an arm around me to warm me up. B eyed us. With a smirk, he nodded. He knew now that I'd made my choice. Roger grunted slightly.

Hollow continued. "The little girl began to crawl out of the grave. Halfway up, she peeked over the top and screamed. All her friends were on the ground ahead of her, dead, clothes soaked in blood. She began to get out when a hand shot up from the grave and pulled her inside. She screamed but no one came. She fought but couldn't escape. Down into the grave she went, and was killed. The end," he said.

"I'm impressed," B said. "But I can do better." He began to tell the tale of a chainsaw bear that had dead human skin for fur, running a mock in the forest killing people. When he was done, I shook my head.

"Hollow did better."

B gasped. "But that was awesome!"

"No," Cinder disagreed with him. "It was lame."

Suddenly, a snap of a twig came from the trees behind us. I jumped. Everyone turned to look at it, but nothing came out. Another snap.

"Cut it out B," A said.

"It's not me," B said, all too realistically.

As Roger was about to get up to check on it, rustling came from the trees and he immediately sat back down. Everyone held their breaths. The rustling grew louder and we screamed when a figure, or many figures, jumped out at us. L remained silent the whole time and suddenly laughed.

A group of bunnies stood in front of us. Then everyone burst out laughing.

The next morning we packed up our things and loaded them into the van. When we arrived, I smiled at our house.

Even though I loved camping, I was glad to be back.