Story Title: Under the Stars

Chapter 2: Setting Up Camp ~ Day Two

Rating: Mature

++++o++++

*Jon POV*

Looking in the rearview mirror, I smirk at my large dog that's sitting in the backseat. My husky, Ghost, in my car for the drive to Rocky Mountain National Park so I wouldn't be alone.

Ghost is a white husky and very well-trained. The drive isn't that far, but man, it has been slow. Driving into the mountains on a holiday weekend may be the equivalent of hell on earth.

As we get closer to the entrance of the park, we make sure to get our vehicles in a line with Sam and Gilly at the front. He has all of our reservation information for the Aspenglen campgrounds. Our campground's entrance has decent amenities, such as bathrooms and even showers.

RMNP has everything from campgrounds deep in the mountains you can only hike to, having to make do with what you can carry, versus the drive-RV campgrounds that offer electricity plugins. We are going middle of the road with drive-in camping, which is my personal favorite. If I was hiking and carrying my gear, there is no way I'd have my six-person tent. I have done hike-in a couple of times and didn't enjoy it. I prefer to car camp and then go on hikes during the day. I'm really looking forward to the hikes we planned for tomorrow and the next day.

The lot Sam reserved is huge. I drive straight to the furthest tent pad, my home for the next three nights. Our tent pads are spread out far enough for at least some privacy. Of course if someone is screaming at the top of their lungs during sex, we would all know what was going on in an instant.

I get to work setting up my large tent. Ghost's such a friendly dog, he quickly visits the different tent pads for our group and then does a few rounds as he checks on all of us while we set up our gear. I unload all of the gear that I plan to keep in the tent. I have a huge cooler so I can store some drinks and snacks, and making sure it stays closed as not to risk attracting bears. Even food that is trash can't be left out.

My car is now back at the spots by our large fire pit.

"Guys, I'm off to check on Dickon and his buddies," Sam calls. "They have a site down the way. Anyone want to come with?"

Dickon is Sam's younger brother, a group of his high school friends are also up here this weekend for their own camping trip. Sam helped them reserve their spots too.

"I'm in," I smile as everyone nods, we're all going. I want to take a look around before it gets dark.

"Maybe we will come across a group of single ladies, and we can pick one out for Jon!" Jamie teases. Brienne slaps him on the arm and tells him to stop.

"What? I'm serious. A gaggle of women, they may need Jon's help setting up their tent, starting their fire...heating up their hotdogs," Jamie finally starts snickering. Brienne just shakes her head laughing at her boyfriend.

"Shut it, Jamie! I'm not here looking for a girl, I'm just here to enjoy camping," I roll my eyes at him. He is such an ass, but even I'll admit he's pretty funny. Besides, I am not really that smooth with the ladies as my friends like to believe. Tyrion and Jamie are constantly teasing me about how girls pursue me, I just don't see it. I'm a pretty simple guy and most of the time I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to girls.

It's a good walk, as we stop to chat with different groups of people we meet. The nice thing about camping, most people are really friendly and helpful. I meet one really friendly girl that isn't hiding her interest in me.

Her name is Melisandre, and she pouts when I turn down her offer to go for a walk after dinner. I have to peel her hands off me to say goodbye. Jamie and Tyrion just shake their heads while saying nothing.

I make sure to keep Ghost on leash while we are walking on the main path because there are lots of dogs here this weekend. We hit the bathrooms at the entrance. Not a short walk by any means, but worth it for a toilet and shower when needed. Dickon and his best friend wanted to walk with us to kill some time before dinner. The fourth falls on Tuesday this year, our gang decided three nights was enough, we drive out Wednesday morning. We are hiking Bear Lake to Bierstadt Lake tomorrow, then the Ouzel Falls on Tuesday.

++o++

We're planning a feast for dinner and will build our fire then. The girls suggest a drinking game of "Never Have I Ever" to kill the time. I hate that game, but I cringe at how excited the girls are so I just agree. The questions can get so personal, and I don't like to share embarrassing details of my life with others. This game is basically my worst nightmare. We set up our camping chairs around the pit even though it isn't lit yet.

"Ok! We all know the rules," Sam declares. "No excuses to not answer. We are all friends here. When it's your turn, you make a statement about something you've never done before, in hopes that others have. They have to take a drink and you don't. But if you come up with one that no one has done – then you have to take the shot." Sam gets the bottle of vodka and small plastic cups out for the game.

We all agree that we don't want to get drunk right now, so as soon as someone hits three shots - or they bow out sooner, of course - they are one of the losers. The first two that lose will handle dinner and clean up tonight.

Jamie insists on going first. He absolutely loves this game because he's such an open book.

"Never have I ever...been paid for sex!" Jamie shouts, lifting up his shot glass.

Gilly and Brienne roll their eyes, thinking it was a stupid ask. Tyrion has a good chuckle as he doesn't have to drink as well. Although his eyes almost pop out of her head when his new girlfriend takes her shot. I avert my eyes from the sudden tension between Tyrion and Shae, already hating this awful game.

We go a few more rounds, and thankfully we are keeping it civil. The game is almost over since we agreed to stop when we had two losers. Shae lost first, and now Brienne and Tyrion are each one shot away from losing.

It's Jamie's turn, and his girlfriend and brother each give him a look. He'd know which question to ask in order to make one lose and the other stay safe.

"Remember where you are sleeping tonight, dear." Brienne jokes.

"Please, as if you're gonna be able to resist me," he teases back, her cheeks flushing as she can't keep the huge grin off her face.

"I'm going to be fair to my woman and my brother," Jamie says. "I'm asking a question I honestly don't know the answer to for any of you."

I think Jamie is a smart man for deciding to play it safe. Tyrion knows how to screw with him when he is annoyed, and I have a feeling Brienne would not have taken kindly to his take down in the game.

"Never Have I Ever had real romantic feelings for someone who was my teacher or my student!" Jamie asks.

I can feel the flame in my cheeks as Sam raises his eyebrows, challenging me to be honest.

Damn it.

I down my shot.

Gilly and Brienne squeal and demand details when they see I had a drink, but I tell them hell no. Then Sam throws me under the bus.

"Girls, Jon doesn't want to talk about it because he is still in love with this girl," Sam says matter-of-factly.

I'm going to kill him, literally. I fling my empty cup at him as he laughs and shrugs. I can see just the one shot he's had has loosened him up.

Brienne happily took her losing shot, meaning she and Shae will be in charge of tonight's dinner. The game now forgotten, all attention falls on me.

"Jon, we love you and we need to know everything. Everything," Gilly demands. She looks offended that Sam knew about it before she did and he didn't tell her.

After a couple of minutes of their badgering I swear them to secrecy, which they all agree.

"Last year there was a student in a couple of the classes I taught," I start. "Obviously I was with Ygritte, and this girl had a boyfriend, so absolutely nothing ever happened."

"This story is boring as hell," Jamie interrupts.

Gilly hisses at him to shut up and let me finish. She knows me well, she can tell this girl means a lot to me. She nods for me to continue.

"Well, she's beautiful, but...I just...I can't explain it," I shrug my shoulders. "It's so much more than her looks that pull me in. I had so many pretty girls in class, and some chased me relentlessly but not her, she wasn't at all interested," I laugh at myself, "She is just the most amazing girl in every way, and I'm crazy about her. There was something about Dany that made me—"

"What?" Jamie and Brienne yell at the same time, while sharing a look between them.

"Dany isn't a common name for a girl. Do you mean Dany Targaryen?" Brienne asks excitedly.

Holy shit...of course out of twenty-five thousand undergraduate students, Jamie and Brienne would know Dany.

I groan, rubbing my temples to relieve the sudden throbbing between my ears.

"If it's the same girl, we love Dany," Brienne smiles at me. "She is super nice, funny and really pretty. She has a good heart too. I've known her since freshman year when she and I were on the same dorm floor."

"Yeah...Dany Targaryen," I give in with a nod.

"I've known her asshole boyfriend since my freshman year, and that guy is a nasty piece of work," Jamie interjects. "I'd even say he has a real issue with drinking - always losing control. I heard Dany started dating Drogo a few months back, but she definitely settled." It's obvious Jamie has strong feelings about this guy.

Brienne is nodding her head in agreement while frowning.

"Guys, it's not a big deal," I sigh. "I won't even see her anymore. The classes I'm teaching this fall are ones she's taken already. In addition to having a boyfriend, she doesn't even know I exist, aside from being her teaching assistant."

Everyone is quiet, as there's not much more to say.

++o++

I've been hiking for thirty minutes now, and Ghost stays by my side the entire time. I'm holding his leash with no tension as the dog stays close. Looking at my watch, I know I'll need to turn back in another ten minutes at most. I want to make it back before dark.

The festivities should be over by then.

Everyone wanted a "nap" after dinner. Nap was obviously code for wanting to be alone in their tents for romantic time. I don't know what it is about camping and people getting frisky.

When dark our plan is fire pit and s'mores. Nights around the fire pit with friends is my favorite part of camping.

I drop Ghost's leash for a moment while I twist open the lid of my water canteen. Suddenly he's off! Barking and running away, deeper and deeper into the mountains.

Oh shit! I've never seen Ghost do that. I don't even bother to close my water canteen, I drop the canteen and chase him. Logically he should be fine, but I don't want to risk Ghost getting hurt or running into any wildlife.

I finally catch up to him and see that he's barking happily and licking the hands of a young woman that has her back to me. At first glance, I see it's a hiker because of her backpack gear and outfit. Suddenly Ghost runs a circle around the hiker, and I see the dog's leash gets caught in her feet. I sprint over and reach my hands out to help steady her as she topples over. I manage to catch her before she hits the ground. She gasps in fright because I didn't announce myself.

I'm suddenly staring into the most intense, beautiful violet eyes. My heart beats a mile a minute.

++o++

"Dany?" I gasp.

"Jon?" she exclaims, a look of relief crossing her face. "Jon Snow! When I felt a man's hands on me, I thought for sure I was going to end up being fodder for a future Criminal Minds episode," Dany gasps and laughs at the same time.

Her relief and delight is contagious as I nod and smile at her. We both look over at Ghost, who is now just standing there watching us.

When I look back at Dany this time, I notice old tear streaks down her cheeks. Her face has some dust making it easy to see. She is smiling now, but it dawns on me that she is alone in the middle of the Rocky Mountain National Forest and it's going to be dark in less than thirty minutes. What the hell is going on?

"Dany, are you okay?" I hold my breath, waiting for her response.

She bites her lower lip while lowering her eyes, obviously still upset. Finally she answers.

"I'm okay. It's just been a shitty couple of days. But things are getting better," she ends with a smile.

I nod, although I'm certain she is holding something back.

"Are you set up in the Aspenglen campgrounds? It's getting dark soon, let me walk you back," I offer. Something doesn't feel right, but I also know I can't force someone to confide in me. "I'm also a good listener if you want to talk about it."

Dany stands in front of me, her hand now absentmindedly patting the top of Ghost's head in a soothing way.

Our eyes meet.

"Ok, here goes - the thirty second version. Actually, I'll probably need a full minute," she says. She shakes her head and releasing air from her chest.

I smile at her and wait.

"I was hike-in camping with my boyfriend and his friends, a few hours walk to the west." Dany waves her hand in the direction. "I shouldn't have come. My now ex-boyfriend, his name is Drogo, we've been having problems for a while. I just thought I would try one more time."

Dany frowns and shakes her head.

"Last night was the final straw for me. Drogo got wasted and was completely out of control," she confides.

My stomach drops.

"Are you okay? If something happened, we need to get you—" I start.

"Jon, no. That's not where this story is going. I'm okay, I promise. Thank goodness," she falters.

I nod with relief. I was worried for a moment.

"Sorry, I won't interrupt again, go on please," I say.

"He can be such a nasty drunk, and it just seemed to be getting worse and worse," she says. "I knew pretty early yesterday that we were done, but I didn't have my car at the main lot. I just had to stick it out for the camping trip and get home. But there was no way in hell I was going to fool around with him. Well that didn't go over so well," Dany rolls her eyes.

"He just kept drinking, so I decided I was better off sleeping by the campfire than his tent," she continues. "He broke up with me last night, which was a relief. I knew I had to leave. I was not going to survive another three nights there. His entire group of friends are so twisted. I had my own gear I hiked in with, so I just packed it up, left a note reiterating we were done and I was out. I left at first light this morning."

Dany and I stare at each other, I'm not sure if she's done until she raises her eyebrows at me. She can probably tell I'm busting at the seams with questions.

"Wow, that's awful. First, I'm glad you're okay. But what was your plan for tonight?" I ask curiously. I had no idea Dany was so resourceful and brave.

"Hiking in this direction got me close to the large campsites, which meant another night under the stars, but I'll have people close enough." Dany shrugs. "I've done a lot of hiking and orienteering over the years."

"Come on, let's start walking back," I nod, remembering it's going to be dark soon. "I actually have a water canteen I dropped when Ghost ran off into the woods."

Dany laughs.

Ghost wags her tail as Dany comes with us. I'm also happy we found Dany.

I know what I need to do.

"Dany, you're staying with my group now, there is no way in hell I'm letting you sleep out in the open with not real camp site, or a tent," I insist. Our elbows rub together as we walk side by side.

"No, Jon, but thank you," Dany grins at me. "I do appreciate the offer."

What the hell?

"Dany..." I'm genuinely confused.

"You're here with your friends. I'm not going to impose. I'm sticking to my original plan," she says stubbornly. She is infuriating.

"Do you even have food or water?" I ask.

She laughs at me, and assures me she packed enough water that she is conserving and she has meal replacement bars to tide her over.

"Jon, I swear I'm an experienced hiker," she says. "I wasn't taking that big of a risk since I know this area pretty well."

"Great, when you're hanging out with me and my friends you can share your expertise with us. I promise it's a great group, everyone in my group studies at CU. They'll welcome you with open arms," I state firmly, hoping she will take me up on the offer. Of course I'm happy to see her, but more than anything, I want her safe.

Dany seems to be thinking it over as we walk towards the campsite.

"Won't your girlfriend have a problem with all this?" she asks, looking straight ahead as we walk.

A small smile touches my lips, I never thought she would've noticed anything about me.

"How'd you know I had a girlfriend?" I ask.

Dany tells me how there were numerous girls from class that were obsessed with me. My having a girlfriend caused them a lot of angst. Dany chuckles over the memory.

I smile back at her, even though I suddenly feel let down. I can tell she's not into me, while I've been pining for her.

"Had?" Dany says quietly as we walk in silence.

"Huh?" I reply, I had gotten lost in my moment of self-pity.

"You said had a girlfriend - as in no more?" Dany clears her throat.

I rub the back of my neck, not really wanting to get into the subject of Ygritte.

"I'm single now," I confess. "My ex and I broke up before the semester ended, almost two months ago."

Dany is quiet for a moment as I rub my neck nervously. I wish she'd say something.

"You were back on the market while classes were still in session?" she teased. "Why didn't you let your adoring fans know? I can think of at least three girls in class that would have partaken in cage-fight to win a date with you."

I roll my eyes, knowing that Dany is exaggerating. I am not the guy that women lust after. I would've been flattered, if Dany wasn't hysterically laughing over the thought. She suddenly gets serious.

"Sorry, that was rude," she says. "Are you...um...how are you doing with the breakup?"

With a huge smile I assure her I'm better than okay. We were never a good match. Dany nods with understanding.

As I am racking my brain thinking of a way to get Dany to join our group, Ghost runs around us and then begins licking Dany's hands and barking with joy.

"See, even Ghost wants you to stay with us. Just one night at least," I push.

"And you're sure your friends aren't going to mind?" Dany says nervously, biting the inside of her cheek.

Our earlier game of Never Have I Ever flashes through my mind. Everyone now knows I really like Dany, and now she'll be joining us. I quickly push my worries aside because her safety is more important than my embarrassment. I just hope my friends don't humiliate me.

"My friends are great, they would insist you join our group. No isolated camping for you tonight," I argue.

"Why are you hiking alone? No one wanted to go with you?" Dany smiles.

I better warn her now, rolling my eyes I tell her I'm here with three couples who are all deliriously happy. She wrinkles her nose in disgust, which makes me bellow with laughter.

"So they all wanted 'alone time' after dinner," I emphasize the words "alone time", our eyes meet and we both make gagging sounds.

"In that case, it's a good thing Ghost found me—we can hate on the happy couples together," she jokes, her eyes bright.

Things are looking up.

++o++

The campfire is going strong, everyone is talking and joking around when we walk up to the fire.

"Jon, you're back! We were about to send out a search party," Sam jokes before seeing Dany.

She's practically hiding behind me. She seems nervous, maybe she is still worried about overstepping.

"This is Dany, she's one of my former students," I say. "It's a long story, but she's in a bind so I invited her join our group."

My eyes and tone plead with them to play it cool, and I hope Dany doesn't notice.

Mouths drop open at the irony, but everyone keeps it together. No one lets it slip we were just talking about her earlier.

"Oh my God, Dany Targaryen!" Brienne calls as she and Jamie walk over to embrace Dany.

Dany' smile is huge when she sees them.

"First Jon, and now I'm running into you two? It's good to see you!" Dany says brightly, while hugging them back.

Jamie takes the lead on introducing Dany to the rest of our group. Everyone is very warm to her, and they keep looking back at me. Tyrion and Shae are all smiles, discreetly giving me a thumbs up over how cute Dany is. I can feel how red my face is, but I'm hoping the darkness is enough to hide it.

"Ok, so what's this bind Jon vaguely mentioned? And how'd you two hook up? Spill," Jamie insists, while bringing over an extra camping chair so Dany can take a seat. He makes sure to put her chair right next to mine, winking at me.

"And you know I like a good story," Jamie urges, situating himself next to Brienne.

After Dany explained how Ghost found her, she gives them a high-level about the break up with Drogo, his drinking and needing to leave their camp. "Dany, I'm glad you're okay and with us now," Jamie interjects. "You deserve so much better than Drogo. You need a real man, who will treat you right."

"Believe me, Drogo and I are so done. I can't even describe the relief I felt when he dumped me!" she chuckles, while sitting in the chair next to me.

I've been quiet, feeling nervous and excited at the same time. I clear my throat uncertainly.

"I'm trying to convince Dany to just enjoy camping with our group," I say. "I was just about to tell her about the hike we are doing tomorrow."

Dany blushes and smiles at me, I can tell she wants to hang out with us, but maybe she's worried she's invading our camping trip.

Everyone assures her she is welcome, and we have more than enough supplies to share. Brienne demands that she at least do the hike with us tomorrow morning. Finally Dany agrees to stay, at least for tomorrow morning's Bear Lake hike.

"Thanks guys, this is awesome. Being able to sleep under the stars and know you guys are here will be huge for me," she says.

"Sleeping by the fire?" Sam asks incredulously. "Jon has a huge tent, you should sleep with him." Jamie quickly walks away, unable to control his laughter.

Both Dany and I blush. I clear my throat and agree with Sam.

"I was going to offer, but I wasn't sure how to word it without freaking you out," I stammer nervously while wringing my hands. Dany blushes and looks away from me.

"You guys are great, I'm really good right here by the fire. I did it last night, and I can do it again. Besides, it's nice to sleep under the stars," she insists. I hear the finality in her voice.

++o++

We enjoy an evening around the fire, laughing and talking. We reheat some leftovers from dinner over the fire for Dany. The s'mores are delicious and the company is great. I steal glances at Dany when she isn't looking, she is gorgeous. Her brown hair is pulled up in a high ponytail, and the way her face lights up when she smiles warms my heart. Her laugh is contagious. I'm actually nervous around her because I'm not really sure what to say. Any romantic relationship I've ever had was me saying yes when pursued. Not that Dany and I are romantic at all, but I do want to get to know her better.

As we start prepping for bed, Dany starts setting up her sleeping bag next to the fire pit that is still burning but slowing down. It's a warm enough night to sleep under the stars. I quietly offer her my tent one more time, telling her I'm happy to sleep by the fire instead. Dany won't even consider it.

Jamie and Brienne share a look, as though agreeing to something.

"We could have the boys stay in Jon's tent and we can have a girl's night in my tent," Brienne offers kindly.

"Yeah, Brienne already got lucky earlier so she should be okay until tomorrow," Jamie deadpans.

"Jamie!" she shrieks, obviously horrified. God, he is brave. Dany and I burst out laughing, unable to control ourselves. Dany takes a step closer and hides her face behind my arm. I can tell she feels bad for laughing at Brienne.

Once everyone is no longer laughing and Jamie has successfully pleaded for his life, Dany smiles and thanks us for the offer.

"I don't want to be a pain, I'm sleeping by the fire, and that's final. You guys have already done so much," Dany smiles. "And now I'm really sleepy so I need to hit the sack. Goodnight, guys." Everyone says goodnight and heads to their tents.

"Jon, wait!" I feel Dany's hand on my forearm, causing warm feelings in my stomach.

Meeting her gaze, I'm rendered speechless when she reaches over and kisses my cheek.

Dany then looks embarrassed.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you. You're an amazing guy, I appreciate you're looking out for me," she says, her hand dropping from my arm as she takes a step back. "Goodnight, Jon," she whispers.

"Goodnight, Dany," I gulp. "If anything happens, I'm in the far tent. Or just wake us all up, of course."

She smiles before turning back to the fire.

I can't stop thinking about her. I wish she was with me in the tent. I hate she is sleeping outside. I'd even be fine with her in my tent and me outside.

I'm exhausted but unable to sleep, tossing and turning for over an hour. When I can't take it anymore, I quietly roll up my sleeping bag and walk to the fire pit. The embers are still burning, which shines some light on Dany. Ghost lies next to her, immediately sitting up when he hears my approach.

"Ghost, good dog," I quietly announce myself. Realizing it's just me, Ghost lays back down to sleep.

Even my dog is taken with her. Ghost has followed her around all evening. My smart dog has good taste.

Dany looks peaceful while sound asleep, with her beautiful face so serene. How could any guy be so dumb to take her for granted?

I lay my sleeping bag where I can see her, but not too close so it's not creepy. I frown, I feel like someone has pulled my heart out of my chest and slowly started squeezing it. I'm surprised at the strong desire I feel. I really like this girl, so much. Dany is gorgeous, funny, smart and kind.

I don't know who this Drogo guy is, but he sounds like a complete idiot.

++o+ Chapter End +o++

Chapter 2 of 4