Sorry about the delayed update. I actually tried to upload this baby on the same day that the site went down. Go figure. At any rate, thanks to those who continued to review despite the lack of updates.
***
Shelby struggled with the heavy pack strapped to her back. She expertly balanced all the weight on her left shoulder, fiddled with the strap on the right, then evened out the balance once more with a small hop. The bottom of the pack settled against her lower back with a light thump. She blew a stray chunk of hair off her forehead, a frustrated scowl briefly settling over her features.
Scott caught her look of annoyance and flashed her a brief smile. She attempted to return it, but gave up when the corners of her mouth refused to cooperate. He slowed his pace a little, just enough to allow her to comfortably match his strides. They walked side by side, their shoulders occasionally brushing due to the extra twenty pounds they carried on their backs.
"What's up?" he asked casually.
She shot a death glare in the general direction of Peter's turned back. "This blows," she complained. "I really hate these stupid hikes."
Scott smirked in response.
"Besides," she continued, "the last thing I need is to sit by myself for three days."
"Look at it this way," he said. "No curfew. No chores. No group."
"No people to annoy me," she said, catching on. She brightened. "This is the best hike ever."
"Glad you see it my way."
She nudged him playfully with her shoulder, almost falling over in the process.
He steadied her with a strong arm, grinning.
Juliette rolled her eyes. She was about ten feet behind them, just behind Daisy and Ezra, but she had an unobstructed view of their antics. Scott had broken up with her only the day before. 'Listen Jules, I don't think this is working out...' She had secretly agreed and was glad that he had taken the initiative and ended it. But did he have to go chasing after Shelby, of all people? Just because she didn't want to be with Scott didn't mean that she wanted Scott to be with Shelby. She silently stewed while the ubiquitous pleasant smile remained firmly plastered on her face.
Auggie looked at her longingly. He had been thrilled when Scott had broken up with Juliette. He was smitten with her. But no matter what he did, she didn't seem to notice or care about the overtures he made to win her. He didn't know what else to do. Better do something quick, he thought. A girl like Jules won't be alone forever.
Peter came to a stop in front of a slightly run down cabin. He raised his hands in front of his face and gave three staccato claps, a signal for the Cliffhangers to gather around him and listen up.
"Alright, Cliffhangers," he said in an authoritative voice. "This is the main solo cabin. All of your individual sites are within two miles of here. Take a good look around, because you'll need to be able to find your way back here if anything goes wrong."
Sophie effortlessly picked up where Peter left off. "You all know what to do. Remember, the point of this hike is to take you back to your childhood. In your backpacks, you'll find a memento we had your parents send up. A touchstone to help guide you."
"Fabulous," Shelby muttered under her breath.
"Okay," said Peter. "Follow us. We'll take each of you to your sites."
Shelby finished putting up her tent and stepped back to admire her handiwork. She rooted through her backpack looking for matches to start a fire. Instead, she came across an unfamiliar bundle wrapped in a white plastic bag. She gingerly held it away from her body, almost afraid of its contents. She rolled her eyes and tossed it to the side with a disgusted look.
Scott watched her from behind the trees. He glanced around him quickly, on the lookout for Peter or Sophie. If they caught him he would be chopping wood for the rest of his natural life. Seeing no one, he stepped out into the small clearing that was Shelby's solo site. "Hey."
"Hey," she said, turning from her freshly built fire to face him. "Did they already check up on you too?"
He nodded. "I stuffed my sleeping bag with leaves too, just in case."
"You rebel."
He made himself comfortable on a log in front of the roaring fire. "So what did your mom send?"
She shrugged.
"You didn't even look?"
She shook her head.
"Are you going to?"
"Maybe later," she said vaguely.
He dropped the subject, not missing her feigned disinterest in the subject. She obviously didn't want to talk about whatever was bugging her.
Shelby shook her head, amused. She wasn't surprised that he had interrupted her solo. She had practically invited him to. Still, he was so predictable.
He watched the fire in fascination. The orange flames leaped up toward the sky, crackling and constantly in motion. He looked closer and saw for the first time how the inner layer of fire, where it was burning the brightest, was white. Funny how something so pure could be surrounded by heat and smoke...
"I'm going to go to bed now," she said suddenly, breaking his trance.
"Alright," he said. He remained seated by the fire, not anxious to return to his own lonely campsite.
"Well, are you coming or not?" she asked impatiently.
He blinked in surprise. Was she asking him to sleep in her tent? He paused. "Okay," he said slowly.
She held the flap of her tent aside as he entered. "You better not snore," she dead panned.
"I wouldn't dare," he said, stretching out on the canvas bottom of the tent. He stared up at the roof of the tent. He felt the comforting warmth radiating from her body as she spread out next to him, maintaining a proper distance between them. He finally allowed a smile to settle itself on his lips as he drifted off to sleep.
Shelby's eyes snapped open. What the heck? Something had woken her up. It was the middle of the night, she guessed. The fire outside the tent had died down to embers and the crickets continued their chirping songs. She felt Scott thrashing around next to her.
"No...you said it was the last time," he mumbled, the desperation evident in his voice. She listened in horrified silence. He must be dreaming about his step mother.
"Scott," she said finally, shaking his shoulder. "Wake up!"
Tears gathered at the corners of his tightly closed eyes. He grimaced, the anguish on his face heartbreaking. "You said no more..."
"Scott!"
He opened his eyes slowly, scared that he was home and that he would find her in bed with him. He almost sobbed in relief as he found himself looking into Shelby's bewildered eyes. He let out an unsteady breath and realized he was shaking. He buried his face in his hands, trying to regain control of his emotions. He was mortified that he'd had a nightmare about her in front of Shelby.
Shelby stared at his bent head, concerned. He needed comfort, but what the heck was she supposed to do to soothe him? Her hand slowly reached out to him. Her tentative fingers lightly stroked his back, not knowing what else to do.
It was enough. He calmed and his heart rate returned to normal. He raised his eyes and offered her a tiny smile. She threaded her fingers through his and gave his hand a firm squeeze. Wordlessly, they went back to sleep, their clasped hands enough to keep the nightmares at bay.
***
Shelby struggled with the heavy pack strapped to her back. She expertly balanced all the weight on her left shoulder, fiddled with the strap on the right, then evened out the balance once more with a small hop. The bottom of the pack settled against her lower back with a light thump. She blew a stray chunk of hair off her forehead, a frustrated scowl briefly settling over her features.
Scott caught her look of annoyance and flashed her a brief smile. She attempted to return it, but gave up when the corners of her mouth refused to cooperate. He slowed his pace a little, just enough to allow her to comfortably match his strides. They walked side by side, their shoulders occasionally brushing due to the extra twenty pounds they carried on their backs.
"What's up?" he asked casually.
She shot a death glare in the general direction of Peter's turned back. "This blows," she complained. "I really hate these stupid hikes."
Scott smirked in response.
"Besides," she continued, "the last thing I need is to sit by myself for three days."
"Look at it this way," he said. "No curfew. No chores. No group."
"No people to annoy me," she said, catching on. She brightened. "This is the best hike ever."
"Glad you see it my way."
She nudged him playfully with her shoulder, almost falling over in the process.
He steadied her with a strong arm, grinning.
Juliette rolled her eyes. She was about ten feet behind them, just behind Daisy and Ezra, but she had an unobstructed view of their antics. Scott had broken up with her only the day before. 'Listen Jules, I don't think this is working out...' She had secretly agreed and was glad that he had taken the initiative and ended it. But did he have to go chasing after Shelby, of all people? Just because she didn't want to be with Scott didn't mean that she wanted Scott to be with Shelby. She silently stewed while the ubiquitous pleasant smile remained firmly plastered on her face.
Auggie looked at her longingly. He had been thrilled when Scott had broken up with Juliette. He was smitten with her. But no matter what he did, she didn't seem to notice or care about the overtures he made to win her. He didn't know what else to do. Better do something quick, he thought. A girl like Jules won't be alone forever.
Peter came to a stop in front of a slightly run down cabin. He raised his hands in front of his face and gave three staccato claps, a signal for the Cliffhangers to gather around him and listen up.
"Alright, Cliffhangers," he said in an authoritative voice. "This is the main solo cabin. All of your individual sites are within two miles of here. Take a good look around, because you'll need to be able to find your way back here if anything goes wrong."
Sophie effortlessly picked up where Peter left off. "You all know what to do. Remember, the point of this hike is to take you back to your childhood. In your backpacks, you'll find a memento we had your parents send up. A touchstone to help guide you."
"Fabulous," Shelby muttered under her breath.
"Okay," said Peter. "Follow us. We'll take each of you to your sites."
Shelby finished putting up her tent and stepped back to admire her handiwork. She rooted through her backpack looking for matches to start a fire. Instead, she came across an unfamiliar bundle wrapped in a white plastic bag. She gingerly held it away from her body, almost afraid of its contents. She rolled her eyes and tossed it to the side with a disgusted look.
Scott watched her from behind the trees. He glanced around him quickly, on the lookout for Peter or Sophie. If they caught him he would be chopping wood for the rest of his natural life. Seeing no one, he stepped out into the small clearing that was Shelby's solo site. "Hey."
"Hey," she said, turning from her freshly built fire to face him. "Did they already check up on you too?"
He nodded. "I stuffed my sleeping bag with leaves too, just in case."
"You rebel."
He made himself comfortable on a log in front of the roaring fire. "So what did your mom send?"
She shrugged.
"You didn't even look?"
She shook her head.
"Are you going to?"
"Maybe later," she said vaguely.
He dropped the subject, not missing her feigned disinterest in the subject. She obviously didn't want to talk about whatever was bugging her.
Shelby shook her head, amused. She wasn't surprised that he had interrupted her solo. She had practically invited him to. Still, he was so predictable.
He watched the fire in fascination. The orange flames leaped up toward the sky, crackling and constantly in motion. He looked closer and saw for the first time how the inner layer of fire, where it was burning the brightest, was white. Funny how something so pure could be surrounded by heat and smoke...
"I'm going to go to bed now," she said suddenly, breaking his trance.
"Alright," he said. He remained seated by the fire, not anxious to return to his own lonely campsite.
"Well, are you coming or not?" she asked impatiently.
He blinked in surprise. Was she asking him to sleep in her tent? He paused. "Okay," he said slowly.
She held the flap of her tent aside as he entered. "You better not snore," she dead panned.
"I wouldn't dare," he said, stretching out on the canvas bottom of the tent. He stared up at the roof of the tent. He felt the comforting warmth radiating from her body as she spread out next to him, maintaining a proper distance between them. He finally allowed a smile to settle itself on his lips as he drifted off to sleep.
Shelby's eyes snapped open. What the heck? Something had woken her up. It was the middle of the night, she guessed. The fire outside the tent had died down to embers and the crickets continued their chirping songs. She felt Scott thrashing around next to her.
"No...you said it was the last time," he mumbled, the desperation evident in his voice. She listened in horrified silence. He must be dreaming about his step mother.
"Scott," she said finally, shaking his shoulder. "Wake up!"
Tears gathered at the corners of his tightly closed eyes. He grimaced, the anguish on his face heartbreaking. "You said no more..."
"Scott!"
He opened his eyes slowly, scared that he was home and that he would find her in bed with him. He almost sobbed in relief as he found himself looking into Shelby's bewildered eyes. He let out an unsteady breath and realized he was shaking. He buried his face in his hands, trying to regain control of his emotions. He was mortified that he'd had a nightmare about her in front of Shelby.
Shelby stared at his bent head, concerned. He needed comfort, but what the heck was she supposed to do to soothe him? Her hand slowly reached out to him. Her tentative fingers lightly stroked his back, not knowing what else to do.
It was enough. He calmed and his heart rate returned to normal. He raised his eyes and offered her a tiny smile. She threaded her fingers through his and gave his hand a firm squeeze. Wordlessly, they went back to sleep, their clasped hands enough to keep the nightmares at bay.