I was hanging out with Carly, Griffin, and Ben in Carly and Griffin's back yard. We'd wanted to go to the mall, or something, but Griffin had vehemently refused. Seems he had something against leaving the safety of his own house.

That wasn't going to fly, so Carly and Ben began to really push the idea of going to spend some time at some cabin. Apparently, Carly and Griffin had practically lived there as kids, but hadn't been back in sometime.

It took a bit (well, okay, more like a lot) of smooth talking (courtesy of Ben) and logical evidence (thanks to yours truly) to present our case, but eventually we all got our parents to consent.

The four of us would go up to the cabin. Together. Alone.

I'd say goodbye to Zack and my mother that morning and was sitting in Carly's car with Ben, waiting for Mr. and Mrs. North to finish lecturing their children and let us go on our way.

Mrs. North appeared a bit frantic. "Carly," she said, voice constricted. "Drive slow, alright? Be careful around their intersection when you get to Douglass and Fairview, it'll be bumper-to-bumper if you get there after five-,"

"-Mom," Carly said impatiently. "If you let us go already then we won't-,"

"-Griffin, be very careful do you understand me?" Mrs. North's voice grew stern as she touched her son's arm to let him know she was serious. "No horsing around, no swimming, no parties-,"

"-We're not going to go swimming, mom, it's cold outside-,"

"-And absolutely no alcohol," I swear Mrs. North's eyes flickered to me for a second as if to emphasize her point in sending out a nonverbal accusation, but I probably just imagined it. Zack was the drinker. Not me. And he really wasn't anyway. I shook my head and exchanged an amused look with Ben.

He sat shotgun, leaving me in the backseat. I didn't mind, really.

"Mary," Mr. North's voice was deep and gentle as he cut off his wife's sermon. "Carly and Griffin are very responsible. They know the rules, and they what would happen if they were to break any of them-," he gave Carly a knowing look and toughened his voice to send a signal to Griffin.

A minute more of tearful goodbyes and we were on our way.

"This is gonna be great," said Ben confidently and over the roar of the radio about fifteen minutes later. I grinned and looking over I saw Griffin do the same. We'd left the city and entered the open road; quickly the tall, looming buildings turned to trees and highways and the sun glinted cheerfully against the windows of the old car Carly drove skillfully along.

"When we get there," said Griffin, laughter in his voice. "I'm totally going to whoop your ass at Guess Who, man,"

He'd figured out how to play blind earlier. With someone on his side knocking down the appropriate cards and them telling him who was left on the board, he'd managed to beat me six times. And no. I didn't let him win.

When we stopped at a McDonalds three hours later we all ordered burgers and fries and savored the food as we listened to the radio. Somehow we got on the subject of comedians, which led to a ridiculous chain of horrible jokes.

"What happens to a green golf ball when it gets hit into the Red Sea?" Carly asked us after the four of us had recovered from a particularly hilarious round of "Yo Momma" insults—rapid fire style.

"No clue," said Griffin around a fry.

"Dunno," I said, sipping at my chocolate milkshake.

Ben shrugged and Carly smirked in the rearview mirror as she changed lanes. The roads were crowded, but we'd exhausted the license plate game a long time ago.

"It gets wet!" Carly exclaimed and silence met her punch line.

Ben groaned and slapped his forehead. Griffin laughed in a way that implied he wasn't laugher at the joke itself, but at the reaction it had triggered. I cringed dramatically, giving her a look of complete bewilderment.

"What?" she demanded, even as she grinned madly.

"Carly, that was horrible!" Griffin told her, shaking his head. His sightless eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Oh, come on, it was funny-," she began to protest before I cut her off.

"-Alright, alright, I got a good one," I said and they all shut up to hear my joke. I'd read it earlier that morning and had been itching to tell it. I cleared my throat and flexed my fingers, drawing out my fifteen minutes of fame.

"Well?" Ben said impatiently when I didn't speak right away.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm getting to it, I'm getting to it," I told him, waving his comment off and yawning widely. "Alright," I started. Griffin shifted in his seat next to me so that he faced me. I was careful to look at him when I spoke.

"So there's this lady, right, and she's just got to her parent's house after being delayed at security at the airport she just came from." I paused for effect. "Her dad asks her why she was, like, questioned so long and she told him it was because of her laptop. He doesn't get why, so she opens up a document and shows him how the formats all messed up." Another instinctive halt. "'They made me take out all the bullets in my Word document!" she says."

It took a second, but snickers filled the car as Ben slapped me a high five. "Good one, man," he said, chuckling. "And way better than Carly's."

"Amen to that!" cried Griffin and we all started to laugh again, Carly shoving Ben against the door as she approached the troublesome intersection her mother had warned her of. It gave us no trouble and we pulled into a dirt road a few minutes later. Trees stood tall on either side of our car and we slowed suddenly.

Looking up through the front window, I got my first glimpse of the cabin. Small, wooden, and picturesque, it was a quaint little building I instantly liked. A wraparound porch led out to a short driveway crowded with shrubs and flowers and green fields rose up from behind. Birds sang and crickets were chirping as the sun set slowly, staining the sky with vibrant pinks and reds.

Awesome.

"Sah-weet," said Ben breathlessly as Carly shifted into park.

"Are we here?" Griffin asked, eyes darting around.

"Yeah, Griff', we're here," Carly said quietly, turning in her seat and messing up his hair. He slapped away her hand and laughed a little. He still wore his glasses, even though they were completely unnecessary. Comfort, I guess. And normality.

We got out of the car and I took in a deep breath of calming, country air. Carly popped the trunk and began unloading our luggage as Ben walked over to Griffin's door and opened it, helping him out and leading him to sit on the front of the car.

"What does it look like?" Griffin asked him as I came up behind them.

Ben took a deep breath. "Like that picture," he said simply.

Griffin laughed softly and moved his head so that it appeared as though we were looking at the ground. "I don't-um…I don't remember the-the picture," he said and I heard sorrow in his voice.

Acting quickly, I came over and slung an arm around his shoulders. "Hey, no big deal," I said calmly.

"Yeah," Ben agreed, voice laid back sounding even as he and I exchanged worried looks.

"Little help back here!"

We all smirked, even Griffin who looked up again, at Carly's voice and I went back to help her out as Ben stayed with our blinded friend.

"He okay?" Carly asked me as I helped lug a suitcase out of the trunk and onto the driveway. I shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah," I said, trying to sound confident. "Yeah, I think so."

"Good," said Carly with a smile as we closed the trunk and grabbed most of the luggage. Ben came back with us to assist, and on my way up to the house I passed Griffin, carrying two sleeping bags and a suitcase.

"You ready to go inside?" I asked him, stopping as Ben and Carly passed.

Griffin blew out his breath and stuck his hands into his jean pockets. He shrugged. "Give me a sec," he said and I nodded.

"Sure," I said, and as I prepared to enter the cabin and I heard him whisper slowly, longingly, and so soft it could have been the faint eastern wind.

"Wish I could see it again…"

I bit my lip and continued walking. "Be right back," I called to him over my shoulder, voice reassuring and cheerful.

And so began the beginning of the end.