Chapter Three – The Lost Trail
"Is everybody here, counselors?" Kurt asked through the megaphones as we all stood outside our cabins with our backpacks on our backs filled with snacks for the hike while Santana carried our dinner in her backpack – none of us had any idea what she decided to bring but she was really excited about it for some reason. Santana, Quinn and Puck gave Kurt a thumbs-up after counting their team members and Kurt nodded, "Let's head to our trails. Everybody buddy-up so you don't get lost by yourself. Make sure you can see your counselor at all times on this hike. There are two breaks on the way up so use them wisely, alright?"
We all nodded that we understood and Kurt turned off the megaphone. Santana called us to her and we all gathered in a circle around her, "Does everybody have water and snacks?" We nodded, "You found the camp store alright?" We nodded and she smiled, "Great. Remember what we talked about this morning; stick together and make sure you don't lose each other." We nodded again and she sighed happily, "Follow me."
Santana began walking behind the cabins with the sixteen of us following her while the other teams followed their counselors to their trails, "This is so exciting. We're spending the night in a cave, how cool is that?" Charlie muttered next to me and I smiled.
"It's very cool, Charlie." I humored her and she nodded excitedly. Santana held a small yellow flag in her hand and I assumed we had to stick that somewhere on the way up to mark our territory.
We walked for a while before our first break – about a half hour – and I managed to catch up to Santana and walked next to her, "We should fix that Yellow Jackets sign at the beginning of our trail. It's really discouraging that it's broken." She said as we walked. She occasionally glanced behind her to make sure everyone was still with us.
"Yeah. I'm sure we can fix it as a team. Repaint it or something." I said and Santana nodded in agreement, "Is the third challenge an overnight thing as well?"
"Yeah." She said with a nod, "But you'll be hiking without your counselor. Basically you'll be doing everything you'll do on this hike but I won't be with you. I can't tell you any more than that but it's a really fun challenge. Difficult but fun."
I nodded, "I don't normally like hiking but this isn't that bad. The mountain's not as steep as I thought it'd be." I told her and she chuckled.
"Yeah, I don't like hiking either but the view from the cave is so worth it." She said, "Especially at night with the stars and everything. It's just gorgeous. I remember the first time I saw it when I was six. I was amazed at how big the world is. I couldn't believe it. I told my parents all about it when they came at parent's day but they'd already done the hike with my grandparents. They've been together since they were fifteen."
"Wow. That's really inspirational." I said and Santana nodded, "I've never been in a relationship longer than a cup of coffee."
She snorted out a laugh, "My last relationship lasted a year but she was a nutcase." She told me and I smiled, "She dyed my pool pink because I told her I didn't like the color."
"What?! What a kookoo-bird." I said with a chuckle and Santana chuckled along with me, "My last boyfriend was convinced that smoking marijuana was the way to godliness."
"Well," Santana chuckled, "Marijuana will make you feel that way. I've smoked weed once and hated it. It's really not my cup of tea."
"Yeah, I didn't like it either. I felt really weird and floaty before I threw up and turned green." I said and Santana smiled. Our hands kept brushing against each other as we walked and, finally, she hooked our pinkies subtly and made me smile to the top of my head. We were practically holding hands – I was on cloud nine at the feeling. Her skin was warm and soft and gave me tingles, "How come you have a flag?" I asked and she glanced at the flag before replying.
"When we get to the top we have to pin it to the ground. It lets us know who reached the top first." She told me, "Whoever pins their flag down first will send a signal to the meeting cabin and send that flag up as well. It's really amazing actually, my abuelo is really tech-savvy. I have no idea how he hooked everything up but it's really cool."
"That is really cool. This camp is the shit." I said and Santana laughed as we reached our first break point.
"Alright, Yellow Jackets, cool off. Have something to eat and drink before we start walking again." She said and we all sat down with her. She leaned back on her hands and let out a puff of air. Oliver came to sit next to me and offered me one of his Dots. I smiled and showed him I had my own and he smiled back. I took out a Dot and looked at Santana, raising my eyebrow. She smiled and nodded so I threw it towards her and watched her catch it perfectly in her mouth.
"Oh! Beautiful."
"Yes!" Santana said with a clap of her hands. I chuckled and ate a Dot as she chewed on hers with a triumphant smile.
It wasn't long before we started walking again and it was another half hour before our second break. Santana and I chatted the entire way up the mountain and she made me laugh more than I ever have – my stomach had a stitch from laughing so much. She was the funniest and most charming person I'd ever met and I was quickly falling for her. However, how she felt about me was still in question – I had no idea if she even saw me as a friend let alone romantically. But the way she spoke to me made me think there might have been some feelings there but I couldn't put my finger on it.
When we reached the top we saw that the Red Hot Chili Peppers had already reached the top. We were second to reach the top which was alright considering our team's history in losing everything. We would've come last by a long shot if Santana hadn't found the lost trail.
The cave was huge and had a fire pit in the middle of it. The sun was already starting to set as the boys lit a fire and I stood outside our cave and watched the pink in the sky turn orange and yellow as the sun disappeared from sight. Santana came up next to me and tucked her hands into the pockets of her jeans.
"It's so beautiful." I breathed and Santana smiled.
"Told you." She said, "I hope you brought your sleeping bag because it gets hella cold here at night."
"Even in summer?"
"Yep." Santana confirmed and I sniffed, "It's already starting to get a little chilly."
"I see that. You have goosebumps." I observed and Santana smiled, glancing over her shoulder. I followed suit and saw that the rest of the team was busy conversing around the fire while eating the rest of their snacks. I watched Santana smile as she took my hand and snuck us away from the cave without anyone seeing, "Are we allowed to leave them?"
"They won't go anywhere. I told you guys this morning not to leave the cave without me." She said and I nodded, "They'll be fine for a little while. I wanna show you something." She led me toward a small lake and kicked off her shoes. She stuck her toe in the water and smiled, "It's warm. Kick your shoes off and feel."
I obeyed and stuck my foot in, sighing happily as the warm water sent goosebumps up my legs. I watched Santana remove her shirt and let my eyes widen. She had on a simple black sports bra and she had a tattoo on the back of her left shoulder of small birds flying to her neck, "I like your tattoo." I told her and she smiled.
"Yeah, me too. I got it when I was fifteen." She told me as she unbuttoned her jeans. I was shocked; she was practically getting naked right there in front of me and I could barely move. She craned her neck and looked at me when she was clad in only her bra and her tight little red briefs, "You coming in or not?" She asked and I let my mouth fall open before nodding furiously and beginning to remove my clothes. I remained in my Hello Kitty underwear and I couldn't have regretted my underwear choice more than in that moment when I was swimming half naked with my crush – who had a penis… the bulge was huge, you couldn't have missed it from a mile away, "Hello Kitty?" Santana asked with a slight chuckle and I blushed. She smiled, "Don't be embarrassed, I think it's cute. I just so happen to have batman briefs so… and superman… and Hulk."
I laughed and covered my face with my hands at the admittance. I peered through my fingers and watched her smile bashfully, "So, you're a superhero fan, then?" I asked and she nodded.
"Yeah. My collection of comics is unreal. I spent all my savings on them and they're all still in mint condition." She said, "What about you?"
"Well, I'm not a Hello Kitty fan but I like these underwear; they're super comfortable." I told her and she smiled, "However, I do like the Powerpuff Girls. Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup. Bubbles is my favorite. I actually have a Bubbles figurine and I named my dog after her."
Santana giggled and sent a splash of water my way, "Dork." She said through her laughs and I gasped, splashing her.
"Me?! You're the comic nerd." I said and she made an expression of faux hurt before sinking underneath the water and disappearing from sight. I stood straight and let my eyes widen; I knew what she was doing – she was gonna jump up from somewhere and scare me, "Santana, come up here right now or I'm gonna pee myself." I then felt two warm hands under my ass cheeks and Santana lifted me into the air and came up from under the water with a laugh bubbling on her lips, "Jesus, woman! You scared the shit outta me."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Dork." She laughed before bouncing a few times and throwing me into the air. I shrieked and landed in the water before coming up and splashing her as she laughed, "That scream was so cute, you sounded like Minnie Mouse."
"Minnie Mouse doesn't scream." I defended myself poorly and Santana continued to laugh as she pulled me towards her and wrapped her arms around me in a hug. My eyes widened and I hugged her back, burying my head in her neck and sighing, "How come you're always so warm?" I asked and she chuckled softly.
"No idea. It may have something to do with the fact that I'm half African American and half Puerto Rican." She said, "But that's just a guess." I hummed as she squeezed me tighter and I smiled, "I like hugging you, Brittany. You're really comfortable."
"Gee thanks, you cuddly teddy bear." I said and Santana laughed again, pulling away from me and splashing me. It became an all-out splash war and I so won before we got out of the water and got dressed again. Our wet underwear dampened our clothes but we didn't care. Santana held my pinky all the way back to the cave where we rejoined the group and pretended as though nothing happened. Thank god it started raining before we got back so we had an explanation for why our hair was wet. Nobody seemed to notice anything was different as they were all preoccupied with playing campfire games.
Santana then halted the games and dug in her backpack for our dinner as the sun had set and the stars were twinkling. You wanna guess what our dinner was – fucking McDonalds. She drove almost an hour away from the camp to get us McDonalds. How amazing is this woman? We all ate and then played The Underpants Game. One person had to stand and be "it" and the rest of us had to ask "it" questions and "it" could only reply with my grandma's underpants. The aim of the game was to make "it" laugh. When "it" laughs, the person who made "it" laugh switches places with "it" and so the game goes.
Santana was "it" first and it was really difficult to make her laugh. Everybody tried and tried and tried but failed before I asked a question and a laugh bubbled out of her, "Who's your very best friend?" I asked and she tried to suppress her smile.
"My grandma's underpants." She said and laughed while shaking her head. She clapped for me and I stood.
"What did you have for breakfast this morning?" Charlie asked and I laughed immediately as I answered.
"Gross, Charlie. My grandma's underpants." I replied and sat down next to Santana as Charlie stood. We kept playing until Oliver fell asleep. We all got ready for bed and Santana sat outside the cave staring up at the stars as we all cuddled up in our sleeping bags as the fire crackled in the center of the cave. I watched Santana lie down with her hands behind her head before I fell asleep thinking of her.
I woke up to the sound of chattering teeth close by me and opened my eyes. It was Santana freezing her little butt off. She was curled in a ball with her arms buried under her shirt and her eyes closed. I frowned and shuffled closer to her with my large sleeping bag, unzipping it and shimmying back against the side.
"Santana," I whispered softly as I held the sleeping bag open, "San, wake up. You're shivering, come lay in here with me."
Santana's eyes opened slightly and she shook her head, "Against rules." She muttered and I huffed, moving closer and pulling her into the sleeping bag, covering her with it and zipping it up, "Britt, it's against the rules."
"What rules state that you have to be freezing your tits off while we're all cozy in sleeping bags? Shut up and go to sleep." I said firmly and watched a smile graze her lips as she closed her eyes and cuddled closer to me. I wrapped my arm around her and felt how freezing she was; her skin was like ice and she was still shivering slightly as I rubbed her back to warm her up.
"You're feisty." She mumbled, burying her head in my neck to warm up as we both relaxed and closed our eyes, "I like that. It's attractive."
I smiled widely and listened to her breathing even out as she fell asleep before sleep took me too.
"Wakey, wakey Yellow Jackets." Santana said the next morning and I opened my eyes. She was no longer in my sleeping bag but instead standing in front of the cave clapping her hands to wake us up. It was much warmer out and I pushed my sleeping bag off of me as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I looked around and saw everybody else waking up as well, tapping each other to wake the others up, "We're gonna head back to camp for breakfast so pack up your sleeping bags and fix your hair." I chuckled and untied my hair, retying it in a messy bun and getting out of my sleeping bag. I rolled it up and stuffed it back in my backpack before pulling my shoes on and slinging my backpack over my shoulders. Santana approached me and smiled, "Thank you for what you did last night, Britt. That was really sweet of you." She said and I smiled back with a nod.
"Of course. You were freezing your tiny ass off, I thought you were gonna get hyperthermia." I teased and she chuckled, "But you kept saying it was against the rules."
"Right. I remember that." She said with a nod, "I was just sleep talking. The only thing that's against the rules here is stealing."
I smiled widely and chuckled, "Well thank god we didn't break any rules, you big cuddler." I said and Santana gasped.
"I did not cuddle you, did I?" She asked and I nodded.
"Big time. You were like the cuddle monster." It told her and she blushed, looking down at her feet as everybody got ready to head back to camp behind me.
"Well, I apologize if it made you uncomfortable." She said and I shook my head.
"Not at all. I enjoyed it." I said and her eyes widened for a brief second before she smiled and paid her attention to the other campers.
"Is everyone ready?" She asked and received a few tired uh-huh's and yeah's, "Let's get going then."
We began making our way back down the trail with Santana grabbing our flag on the way down. We took one of the two breaks and were back at the camp before any of the other teams. We made our way to our cabins and got cleaned up and dressed for the day. As soon as I was dressed I made my way to Santana's cabin and knocked on the door, bouncing on my toes nervously. A few seconds passed and the door opened to reveal a half dressed Santana – she was wearing a Yellow Jackets shirt and her batman briefs. I chuckled.
"Hey, nerd." I said, eyeing her briefs and she blushed, stepping aside to let me in, "You know, I could've been Oliver. You really shouldn't answer the door in your underwear."
Santana chuckled and shut the door. I could see she'd just had a shower; her hair was damp and she smelled like axe body spray mixed with watermelons, "I saw you through the window, Britt." She said, pulling her clean pair of jeans off the back of the couch and slipping them on.
"Right." I said, feeling silly, "I don't mean to barge in like this but I forgot to do something."
Santana frowned as she buttoned her pants and pulled up the zipper, "Alright, what is it?" She asked and I stepped closer to her, leaning in and pecking her cheek softly.
"Just as a thank you for the swim yesterday; I had a lot of fun." I said and Santana smiled widely as a pink blush tinged her cheeks. She nodded and cleared her throat.
"You're very welcome." She said, licking her lips and looking me in the eyes before moving away from me toward her bedroom to put her shoes on, "You ready for breakfast? We're having eggs, bacon, toast and mushrooms today."
I chuckled at her enthusiasm and smiled, "Super excited." I said and she smiled as she tied her shoes and came out of the bedroom. Santana's excitement for everything was really uplifting and it made me smile that she got excited for a change in breakfast – we'd had fruit salad and cereal the first two days.
Santana and I made our way to the dining room for breakfast where the rest of the teams were already eating. I made my way to the Yellow Jackets' table while Santana made her way to the counselors' table and sat down. She threw me a wink as she began to dish herself a mountain of bacon, mushrooms and toast. It was then that I assumed she must not like eggs because she turned her nose up at them. I chuckled and dished myself some food as Charlie and Blaine made their way over to me and sat down, immediately beginning to chat away about the hike and what the third challenge may be. And then Charlie said something that caught me off guard.
"You so have the hots for Santana."
My eyes widened and I gulped before biting a strip of bacon and chewing slowly, "Oh, my god, you so do." Blaine said with a gasp and I shook my head furiously, "It's alright if you do, Britt. I totally have a crush on Kurt."
"I have a thing for Puck. Too bad he's all over Quinn." Charlie said with a shrug as she forked a mushroom and put it in her mouth. I snorted out a chuckle as I chewed another bite of my bacon and looked over at Santana who was devouring her food. I snickered.
"Alright, maybe I have a tiny crush on her. No big deal." I said.
"She totally has a thing for you too." Charlie said.
"No she doesn't." I said incredulously and Blaine smiled.
"She does. It's so obvious." He said, "The way she's always looking at you and winking and shit. I sure wish Kurt looked at me that way."
"Isn't it against the rules to get involved with your counselor?" I asked and Blaine shook his head.
"Not if you're sixteen. The counselors are so young so it's expected that they get involved with the older campers." He said before taking a bite of his bacon. I sniffed and nodded, forking a few mushrooms and spooning them into my mouth, "It happened last year. Quinn was a camper and Puck was a counselor. She's only seventeen."
I frowned and nodded as I looked over at Santana while I chewed my food. It's not like it was impossible that she had a thing for me too. She stripped down to her underwear in front of me and answered the door half naked. Also, she was the major cuddle monster in the cave and she blushed when I kissed her cheek. It was then that I started contemplating it… and it was then that I decided to let the flirting and teasing begin.
A/N: Wow, guys! Shite! Almost fifty reviews for two chapters! That's nuts. Keep them coming and don't be shy to ask questions or leave suggestions and opinions.