Chapter 14: Exploring Ireland

After waking up from the exhausting arrival day, I found Tara already up, sitting cross legged on her bed and eating an omelette.

"Good morning, sleepy head," she greeted in a hushed tone, sending a small smile my way. I grinned back sleepily and sat upright, stretching with a loud groan. "What time is it?" "9:52."

I let myself fall back down onto the bed and turned to face Tara. She was looking down at the book set open in her lap and continued eating her omelette. We stayed like that for a while, her reading and eating and I watching as I let my mind wander about ideas to do for Youtube. I'd wanted to pit a lot of my ideas down and show them to Louis and Sophie, but I'd been so busy as of late that I just kept pushing it off till later.

"What?" Tara's voice pulled me away from my video ideas and back to her, where I realized I was still staring. "Oh, uhh, nothing," I spoke, sitting up again and swinging my legs over the side of the bed, "I do have a serious question, though. Some of us wanted to feel the more organic part of Ireland, so we're going to take a trip down to Castleisland. Sophie has a friend who lives there who's been to this amazing bog. I've always wanted to explore a blog so I'm sold on going. You don't have to go if you wouldn't like to, I just figured I'd ask."

Tara closed her book, setting her empty plate on top of it and putting them on the bed next to her with a wide grin, "Of course I'll go! Who's joining us?" "Um, Sophie, Louis, and Phil." Her eyes lit up when I said Phil's name and something tightened in my stomach a little. 'She fancies Phil,' I thought, a little bewildered, 'I mean of all people I would have expected Dan.'

"I'm not interested in either, thank you very much," Tara snapped, eyes ablaze. My eyes went wide, I hadn't realized I was thinking out loud. "It's not... I mean," I stumbled over my words; there really was no coming back from this one. Should I just start rambling about random things? No, that would only make it worse. "You just seemed very taken by him is all... He's a right proper guy. I mean, if you did fancy him there's nothing wrong with it... I-"

Tara lunged at me from her bed and tackled me to mine; my heart beat wildly as I thought I really upset her, until I heard her giggles. "I'm just teasing, PJ," she laughed, looking down at me cheerfully, "I don't fancy Phil, though. I mean he's incredibly interesting and fun to listen to, but he's nothing more than a friend."

The tightening in my stomach faded and I tried hard not to think about what it meant as I looked up at Tara, who still had me pinned against the bed. Her long black hair was hanging around her face and just barely brushed mine, tickling my cheeks and nose.

The feeling of the dream came back as I became hyper-aware that we were in a position much like that. Only this time she was looking at me with a toothy smile and curious eyes. Somehow that only made the feeling stronger.

"PJ..." she began, saying it as if a question were going to follow, but biting her lip and looking up instead.

'Should I...' I wondered, before banishing the thought. 'No. No, of course not. She's my friend. A very good friend who is supposed to be staying at my house after this and doing that would just make it awkward. Still...'

My phone began to ring not a second later and Tara stiffened before rolling off me with a giggle. I picked up my phone and saw Chris was calling and wondered for a half a second why he hadn't come and knocked on the door, before answering it.

"'Ello," I greeted, sitting up and rubbing the back of my neck. "Hey, Peej," Chris responded with a half full mouth, "I'm down getting breakfast, you want me to grab you something?" "Oh, yes please," I sighed, thankful I wouldn't have to make the trek down there, "Get me a couple crêpes with whipped cream and strawberry sauce." "Mmmm, think I might get myself some too," he agreed before saying goodbye and hanging up.

Turning back to Tara, she had her book open again in her lap l, reading away like I wasn't there. I wanted to ask what happened. If she felt some kind of attraction to me, but just as I opened my mouth to ask she snapped her head up and asked why Dan, Jamie, and Chris weren't going backpacking.

"Too lazy," I shrugged, "Dan and Jamie would rather play video games and surf the internet and Chris would rather sleep." She hummed an agreement and turned back to her book, a small smile on her face.

To get to Castleisland we'd decide to have Sophie's friend Anne pick the five of us up in her minivan and pay her for gas, splitting the cost among us. She also extended the service of letting us stay at her parents house, in the basement for there wasn't room anywhere else, if we bailed out on staying in tents. "The bogs are pretty nasty," she commented, " Bugs and what not. Plus the ground is sodden where it isn't completely underwater. I suggest you come back each night. My parents are visiting family in France for the week, so it's cool."

The trip had taken almost four hours. Sophie sat up front with Anne. Louis and I stole the middle seats, leaving Phil and Tara in the back. I almost opted to give Phil my seat, but after the weirdness that was that morning, I decided against it.

We'd only taken backpacks with three days worth of clothes, essentials like deodorant, and room for food. We didn't want to lug our suitcases with us, nor did we want to continue paying for rooms we weren't staying in, so we left our suit cases in the room the three boys had decided to share.

"Wait," Tara cried as we stepped out of Anne's house, everyone staring at her confused, "I don't have boots." "You can borrow mine." Anne called from the door, disappearing in the house and reappearing a few moments later with a pair of slightly muddy, black boots. "Oh thank you," Tara gasped, grabbing them, "You're a life saver."

We'd spent the next four days exploring the humid, bug-filled bogs. Our trek started in Knockariddera, where we were yelled af by a park ranger that we were trespassing on Heritage Park private property and if we didn't leave we'd be arrested. We laughed and promised each other to be more stealthy next time. Our next bog was Sheheree, and then down the road to Killarney National Park, where Louis found the beginning of Muckross Lake after falling in.

We'd spent the last two days a little further down the N-22 at the much more spacious Sillahertane and Conigar Bogs. I promised Anne I'd pay her back for the gas and give her the money to invest in some air fresheners since we'd basically ground the spell of rotting plants into her carpet and seats. We weren't caught at either bogs, even though they were Heritage Parks, but the idea of getting caught was enough to keep us in giggles.

That night, after showering and washing all of our clothes, Anne took us back to the hotel in Dublin and we paid her for her generosity. She tried to deny it at first, but after some polite pushing she thanked us whole-heartedly and started her trip back home.

We were beat, you could see it in our sluggish movements and the way we slumped against the walls of the elevator as we rode it up. I pulled out my camera, which I'd used to record a few of our trips, and began filming my exhausted friends.

"How's everyone feeling?"

A groan emitted from them simultaneously, before Phil added, "I think my nose is broken. I can't smell anything, but decomposing plants."

"That's because you still smell like decomposing plants," Tara teased, her eyes half-way closed, "We all do."

"At least we don't smell like lake, too," Sophie grinned, but Louis was already snoring softly against the wall and had missed her jab.

We all piled into our rooms, which Dan, Jamie, and Chris had politely gotten again for us, and I collapsed on my bed. Tara shuffled quietly and I looked over to see her pulling out of her suit case, which one of the boys must have put in here, some clean pjs. I chuckled lightly at the irony of the name.

"Four days at the bogs was totally worth it," she stated, "The dying things providing life for the living. It's brilliant, but I need another shower."

"You're right," I called as she headed towards the bathroom, "Gives me new ideas for videos." I heard the bathroom door close and was asleep before she got out of the shower.

I am so, so, so sorry I have been gone. Please, please forgive me.

I finally graduated from high school (wooooooooohooooooo) and I had writer's block with this story and I started writing an actual book and I just need a quick (slightly extended) break. But I am back and full of ideas that will be pouring out with the days to come!

I am so glad so many have stuck with me and waited patiently and I even got a few new followers! Thank you all for the support, you'll honestly never know how much it means!

On a side note (and I am very proud of this) ALL of the places in Ireland noted in this chapter are REAL. Yes! I looked them all up myself, even the street I mentioned is real. How's that for dedication. I created Anne, of course, and some of the facts are fabricated (like I'm unsure if Heritage Park are not allowed to be entered, I just assumed they were because there are some serious protection laws on them). But I thought you would all be interested to know that.

I don't have possession of the Fantastic Foursome or PJ's friends. Stop thinking that guys.

-Boots