What We Call Ours

by the-gay-weeb-trash

Bertholdt Hoover grows up in Central America with his two best friends, Reiner Braun and Annie Leonhardt. They suffer through times good and bad, but the trio is always there for one another. However, as time goes on, Bertholdt begins to feel something more for Reiner. Where will this lead?

3. Moving On

"Ugh. I freaking hate the Internet connection at this school!" Reiner growled angrily as he slammed his fists on either side of his laptop. He, Bertholdt and Annie were in the library and working on their essays which were due next week. This was their 6th and final year of elementary school before they would advance to the dreaded middle school. It was also the final quarter, so the teachers were shoving all kinds of homework, essays, and reviews down their throats for the upcoming Sage Tests next month. Everyone in the school dreaded the finals, and the Sage Test challenged both what you already knew as well as what seemed like things you didn't even know about yet. People got a generally bad score on the Sage, so no one knew why the curriculum hadn't been changed yet. However, this was only the second year of the test's use by the state so it was still largely experimental.

"Why don't you just write your essay on paper and save yourself the trouble?" Annie scoffed, not looking up from the words her pencil scratched on her paper.

Reiner rolled his eyes. "Because then it takes twice as long, plus the Internet is full of all sorts of wonderful ways to research and crap so you can get a decent score and not have to do a lot of work!" Annie raised a brow at him, staring up at his wild gestures he made with his hands out of the corner of her eye. "But the stupid freaking Internet is blocking almost every single website so I can't get my research done!"

Annie gave an exasperated sigh. "You do realize we're in a library right? You're surrounded by all of the information you need and all you have to do to get it is to go over to that little bitty computer," she turned in her chair to point to the library's computer which served as a sort of index for all of the books available. "...type in the subject you're researching and it will bring up all of the books that could help you out. And do you know what the best part is? The books' information can't be blocked by the wifi. So there, look at that; I practically did your essay for you, you'll pay for it later."

"Golly gee thanks," the blond boy sniggered, slamming his laptop shut and sliding it into his backpack. "Whatever would I do without you?"

Annie ignored his sarcasm. "I truly think you'd be dead. I've saved your ass so many times I can't even count."

Bertholdt, who had been quietly reading a research book until then and ignoring the bicker of his friends, gasped lightly and then looked at the blonde girl. "Annie, don't use that language! I don't want to get in trouble."

She quirked a brow at him. "And why would you get in trouble for something I said?"

Bert ducked his head behind his book, sweating nervously and blushing slightly. "Well uh...punishment by association I guess. I don't know, it just seems that whenever you guys get in trouble I'm always blamed too. So I feel like I have to babysit you is all," he flinched before he realized what he had said, but Annie was already going off on him.

"What are you talking about? If anything I have to babysit you guys! I'm almost like your second mother, and much of a better one than yours is, Bertholdt!" She threw her hands up in the air then crossed her arms, slumping down in her chair with a fuming expression.

Bertholdt couldn't really deny that Annie was a better mother than his own; her ability to parent had degraded drastically since the death of his father. When she once served fresh, home cooked meals she now offered ramen and TV dinners. She once took all of the household chores upon herself with a smile and stated that she "enjoyed the busywork". Now she needed Bertholdt to do most of the chores, since she had to work two full-time shifts in order for them to stay in their house. Luckily however, he had Reiner and Annie who would come over and help him out as often as they could. They had had to move to a smaller and less nice home after Mr. Hoover passed away, since Mrs. Hoover couldn't find a very well paying job to sustain herself and her son in that nice house. Luckily, the new house was the same distance from the school that their old house was, so Bertholdt didn't have to switch schools. His mom used to be a bright, beautiful, and cheerful woman with a good attitude and lots of friends. Now, her personality had become rather bleak, and she let her appearance go to waste. Her once long and luxurious brown hair she chopped to shoulder length, and she didn't pay attention to her weight anymore so she put on quite a few pounds as well. She used to be very active, but now exercised less than once a month. Her clothes were raggedy, graying and with holes from moths.

Though she lost most of her good and productive hobbies, Ms. Hoover did find a lot of comfort in the Christian faith. She joined a local baptist church, and was very involved in the church's activities. At first, only she would go to the weekly seminars on Sunday, but after a few weeks, she began to bring Bertholdt along with her. When his father was alive, the Hoovers were inactive believers of the ideals of Christianity. But, Mrs. Hoover seemed to find comfort in going to church and becoming a zealot of sorts. Whenever she found Bertl doing something that strayed from the beliefs of the baptists even a little, she would lock him in his room for the night and tell him to pray and repent. Bertholdt never found comfort in the church the way his mom did, and had very conflicted feelings about it. He appreciated that the church gave her a way to escape from the pain of being without his father, but at the same time he hated being forced into the religion and how zealous it had turned her.

He often voiced his concerns with Reiner and Annie who agreed that his mom maybe needed to take a chill pill. Annie's family consisted of very active Mormons, though she herself was an atheist (she of course never let her mother know, who would flip a table if she did). Her father had left her family, leaving behind herself, her mother, and her three younger siblings to fend for themselves recently, so life was a bit of a struggle while her mom had moved their family into the basement of her parents' house, and found a decent enough job as a special education teacher. Reiner also came from a Mormon background, as do most of the people in Utah, but his parents were very lenient with him and told him he could be whatever he wanted to be, and he appreciated the freedom and trust.

It was then that the librarian stood up and turned off the lights, putting on her coat while grabbing her bag and keys. "Library's closed," she informed the three students as she strode over to the door and locked it before leaving.

"Aw, freaking A!" Reiner exclaimed as he threw down the pencil he had just gotten out of his backpack. "Are they serious! We don't have nearly enough time after school to work on anything in here; only like 20 minutes!"

Bertholdt stood up and straightened out his shirt before slipping his sweater on over it and beginning to neatly place his papers and such into his side bag. "Don't worry about it, Reiner, you guys can just come over to my house and we'll finish there."

The blond boy stuffed his things into his backpack before slinging it over his back and adjusting the straps so they weren't to tight but not too loose either. He then laced his fingers together and placed them on the back of his head while giving a big stretch. He strained through his teeth, "Yeah ok, I'm down. How about you Annie?"

"Sorry guys not today," she answered nonchalantly, putting her supplies in her backpack as well before putting it on her back. "I have to go to my little sister's dance recital and I guess it's a big deal or something. I'll just finish the essay at home, so I'll see you two losers later." With that, she left through the doors silently, letting them close on their own.

Reiner turned to Bertholdt. "Well, should we head out?" He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the doors. Bert nodded and they left after checking to make sure they had everything and courteously turning off the lights. Bertholdt lived only 10 minutes away from the school, but the walk seemed a lot longer due to the sun beating down on the poor boys in the late spring weather. They chatted lightly, discussing the most recent assignments in class and the upcoming summer vacation.

"Do you have any plans for the break?" Reiner queried, gazing up at his tall friend while his hands were shoved in his baggy cargo pants.

Bertholdt began to sweat slightly. "O-oh, um...I don't think so...I mean my mom did want me to get baptised at the church but um...I don't really want to."

Reiner kicked a pebble with his scuffed and overused sneaker, inspecting the sidewalk on which the duo graced their presence. "Man, Bert, if you don't want to do it, then just tell her no. And hey, my family is going camping in Moab for a while so you should see if you can come with us!"

Bertl flushed. "Oh, I-I don't think I'm quite so brave as to stand up to her like that...plus she'd just get mad at me and throw me in my room and tell me to pray and repent again. But, you guys don't really have to take me with you...I don't want to be a burden," the tall boy had his fingers laced together while he twiddled his thumbs, ashamed at rejecting Reiner's proposal like that.

Reiner grinned. "Are you kidding me? My folks love you like a second son; they would adore having you come with us! And to convince your mom to let you go just tell her that it's going to be like a big religious deal and it'll bring you closer to God or something."

Bertholdt sniggered. "Okay, yeah. I'll do that. I like your family a lot too, they're pretty cool," he buried his face in his collar, blushing and giving a slight smile. Reiner laughed at this, thinking he looked like a really shy giraffe calf. They continued on to the taller boy's house like this, chatting up a pointless storm and laughing at every other remark Reiner made. The streets of the neighborhood were beginning to come to life as the weather was getting warmer, and everyone's lawns were a step ahead of them. The blades of grass were already long, thick, and in need of a pretty major haircut. Flowers had long since been blooming too, sprouting up in people's gardens alongside the many weeds such as knapweeds, thistles, and hemlocks. Bertholdt despised the thistles more than anything. If left untamed, they could grow to be 6 feet tall, and were the greatest enemy of every bike tire that happened across their path. They were covered in spikes that grew long and sharp, and hurt like hell if you happened to get poked.

As the boys rounded the last corner to get to Bertl's house, their focus fell on the small house that Mrs. Hoover had managed to scrounge up the money to pay for, which wasn't much. It was a one-story but with an attic that served as Bertholdt's bedroom after some renovation. There were two other bedrooms in the house, but one was filled with storage and the last was his mother's room. The building was rather run-down; the shingles on the roof were old and many were missing, while there were a few cracked windows (one that had even fallen out and was replaced by a wooden board) and faded white paint which was coming off rapidly in flakes. The yard wasn't terrible-the grass grew green like everyone else's, but the dirt was uneven and lumpy and there were more weeds in the garden than anything else. Bertholdt hated yard work, but the second he saw a thistle beginning to grow in the garden he would throw himself into weeding and getting rid of those nasty plants. The cement of the house was also in major need of repair; it was cracked and broken up into chunks in most places, while also being multicolored from years of patchwork. The house was over a hundred years old, and the only bathroom had a massive hole in the ceiling through which the floorboards of the next level could be seen. The shower was probably the most vile part, covered in mold and his mother's shed brown hair. She really didn't have a knack for cleaning anymore, and Bertholdt didn't have the stomach to try to take care of the bathroom. It was the one place he couldn't clean.

The boys jogged up the front steps and opened the always-unlocked front door, it's ancient hinges squealing in despair. Mrs. Hoover was sitting in the front room, working at her sewing machine on a piece of fabric that was too early into the process to tell what it was going to be. Her once brown hair that was now streaking with grey hung loosely about her shoulders, and she had on a long-sleeved shirt as well as a skirt that went to her ankles. A cross with Jesus Christ's crucifixion hung about her neck, and she would often grasp it and whisper a quick prayer throughout her day.

The woman looked up from her work, giving the boys an uninterested glance before resuming her project. "Hello Bertholdt. Reiner. How was school today?" She asked nonchalantly. They mumbled a quiet response, knowing she didn't really care about their answer. They made their way past her and up the stairs that led to Bertl's bedroom, which was the entirety of the attic. It was small, as was the rest of the house, and there were several leaks in the ceiling that during the wet season were very obnoxious and had to constantly have a bucket underneath, as the Hoovers didn't have money for a contractor. His room was sparse, with his too-small twin size bed against the far wall underneath his window, as well as a desk with some papers and a minuscule office chair. He had a walk-in closet which was nice, but only extended back into the wall about 5 feet.

They dropped their backpacks against the left side of the door after shutting it as per usual, and Bertholdt flopped down face-first onto his bed, sighing into the pillow. Reiner followed suit and threw himself on top of the longer boy, who gave a muffled "Oof!" When the heavier boy made his landing, crushing the life out of his friend. They laid there for a minute, regaining their energy after the hot walk home, before Bert sat up and pushed the blond off, who fell onto the floor with a grunt.

Bert stood up and stretched, then motioned over to his desk for Reiner to join him. "Come on, let's finish that essay," he encouraged, setting up the spare fold-out chair which he kept leaning against the wall for whenever Reiner came over.

"Yeah alright," the blond sighed, picking himself up and grabbing his laptop while taking his place at Bertholdt's side. The two worked on their essay until both of them finished it, Bert kindly helping his friend out as much as possible. After a few hours, Mrs. Hoover appeared at the door stating that Reiner's parents had called, asking him to come home. When she opened the door, a slight scent of whatever she was cooking wafted in from the kitchen downstairs, and it made the boys' mouths water.

Reiner reluctantly packed up his supplies before thanking her for allowing him to come over. Bertholdt and his mother walked the boy to the front door, watching him leave until he suddenly stopped and turned around, running back and stopping in front of them. "Um, Mrs. Hoover...I was wondering...if um...well over the summer my family and I are gonna spend like a week or something in Moab and I was wondering if maybe Bertholdt could come too. I mean if you don't already have plans," he scuffed his shoe nervously, holding his hands behind his back and staring at the cracks in the cement.

The tall woman stared down at him with an eyebrow raised, before droning out, "I'll think about it, Reiner."

He gave a polite dip of his head before scurrying off down the sidewalk, waving back to Bertholdt furiously before rounding the corner at full speed. Mrs. Hoover ushered her son back inside, closing the door after him. "Come sit at the table, dinner's ready."

The boy quietly followed his mother to where she had the small wooden table set with two plates of macaroni salad and small breasts of soy chicken. As a part of the baptist religion, his mother no longer believed in eating meat so she gave her son soy meat as a replacement. Bertholdt hated the soy, it wasn't even half as good as regular meat. He ate it without complaints however, as he knew she would get upset if he didn't.

He politely sat at the place across from his mother, automatically folding his hands in preparation for the prayer. "Dear Father in Heaven," the brunette began, holding her hands in a similar fashion to her son's and her brows furrowed. "Please bless this meal which I have so graciously prepared for myself and my son. Please allow it to give us the strength we need to stay strong throughout our next day of being surrounded by bigotry and atheism. We thank you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

"Amen," Bertoldt echoed, before picking up his fork and diving into the salad. The sounds of silverware scraping against plates was the only noise in the house for a while, aside from the second hand on the clock ticking away constantly on the wall. "So um," Bert started initiating conversation, and when his mother looked up from her plate, he swallowed his bite before continuing. "Have you...made a decision about the trip with Reiner yet?"

The woman sighed and loudly set down her fork, causing Bertholdt to flinch ever so slightly. "Bert, honey, you know how I feel about you going off and staying with people outside of this family."

His lips tightened, forming a flat line which expressed his disagreement. "But mom, we've known his family for almost six years! And you've met his parents a lot of times before and you like them! They're nice! It's not like they'll do anything to me, they're good people. And they believe in the Lord and they hold him in high regards like we do and they pray and go to church and everything," then Bert remembered what Reiner had said. "Plus, I believe that me going down there with them will bring me closer to God as we will be in a clearer air and away from all of the social media which poisons us here in the city," Bertl felt a bit strange repeating some of his mother's words back at her, but he hoped he could convince her to let him go. He had realized that he couldn't spend all summer long just staying at home with her while she sewed and preached to him about following the commandments of the Lord. It got REALLY old after a while.

Mrs. Hoover sat still for a minute, her eyes boring into Bertholdt's soul like she had laser eyesight. He began to sweat profusely, but didn't look away from the woman, standing his ground unlike he ever had before. She sighed before picking up her fork again, popping a bite of the chicken in her mouth. She took her time with chewing, and it made Bertholdt even more nervous to be surrounded in the silence while preparing for the worst. Swallowing the bite, she set down her fork again and exhaled, before replying, "Well, if you don't want to spend the summer with your mother then that's fine, you go romp around with that boy all you want."

Bertholdt feel his heart drop a bit. Why was she guilt tripping him? Was she trying to convince him not to go? He tried to argue, "No mom, it's not that I don't want to spend time with you, it's just that I don't usually get to see Reiner over the summer so I was thinking that since this is the last year of elementary school we could celebrate our graduation by doing something nice," he stiffened up as he waited for her response, for her to start screaming and yelling and telling him to go repent in his room.

She smirked slightly, stirring her pasta around absentmindedly with her fork. "Very well, if that's how you say it is. But only if your end of the year tests meet my expectations, young man. As long as you can do that for me, I'll let you go on the trip with the Brauns."

When the end of the year Sage testing came around, Bertholdt did his damnedest to get high scores. He spent most of his free time in school and at home studying, and he made sure to be extra kind to his mother. He helped out with even more chores, and didn't often have time to hang out with Reiner and Annie. They were as sympathetic as friends being almost ignored could be, though Annie liked to tease him about being a massive book worm with "no life or ability to function like a normal person."

However, after their class had spent two weeks taking the science, math, and language arts sections, Bertholdt was feeling uneasy about the scores. Annie and Reiner stated that they couldn't care less what they got because the Sage didn't affect their grade, but that didn't help Bert's anxiety at all. So, when the teacher stood at the front of the class on the following Monday stating that she had the test scores back, Bertl couldn't help but to break out in a copious sweat. The teacher went down the list in alphabetical order, starting at the top with Ackerman, Mikasa. She got a 4/5 on math, 5/5 on science, and 4/5 on language arts. Next was Arlert, Armin, who got a solid 5/5 on every subject, as to be expected of such a brainiac. Then there was Bodt, Marco, with a 3/5 on math, 4/5 on science, and 5/5 on language arts. Braun, Reiner, received a 2/5 on math, 3/5 on science, and a 2/5 on language arts. He sniggered a bit when he heard his score and Bert rolled his eyes. Braus, Sasha, got a 3/5 on all subjects. Then, Hoover, Bertholdt got a 4/5 on math and a 5/5 on science and language arts. Reiner slapped him on the back in encouragement and the taller boy grimaced, before grinning with relief. Now he knew he could go on the trip with Reiner! His mother had said that she wanted to see at least 4's on all of the areas, and he had exceeded her expectations. The teacher continued on through the list, and most of the other students did okay-Eren got 3/5's, Jean got 2/5's, Annie got 4/5's, Christa got 4/5's, and Connie got 2/5's. Ymir surprised everyone with solid 1/5's, however they knew that she just marked the first answer on all of the questions so she could be done early.

Before they knew it, the final week of school rolled around the corner, and the class was hectic while the teacher was trying to get everyone to clean up. The students were spending their time scraping gum off from under the desks, packing their backpacks full of their assignments returned to them from the duration of the year, and just cleaning up the rest of the room in general. It took the whole week, but by the time it was Friday all of the desks had been moved out into the hall and stacked on top of each other. All of the posters and decorations in the room had been removed and put in storage for next year. School ended at noon and it was already 11:30, so all of the classes were attending an assembly hosted by the faculty, in which certain star students were given academic awards and they had the opportunity to throw pies at the vice principals and some of the teachers. After the principal gave a long speech about his appreciation for the hard work and dedication that each student had put forth throughout the year, he told everyone to exit the building through the southernmost doors where a surprise awaited them outside. They filed out slowly into the field behind the school and were greeted with free Creamies for everyone.

Reiner had the idea to run ahead of the student body and grab a Creamie for himself, Bertholdt and Annie, before all of the good flavors were taken. He was right to do so, because after about 10 minutes the only flavor left was banana. The trio had a mutual appreciation for chocolate, so they sat on the field facing the mountains and gazed down at the valley while waiting for the final bell to excuse them to go home. They sat in silence as their ice cream was more important than conversation, but each other's company was all that was needed to make the moment perfect.

Annie licked her Creamie clean before tossing the Popsicle stick aside and leaning back on her hands, sighing in content. "So when do you idiots go on your dumb trip?"

Reiner grunted, taking his Creamie out of his mouth before growling, "It's not dumb, and we're leaving tomorrow."

Annie gave him a look that said she could care less what he thought because they were leaving her with her family for a whole week before continuing, "Well, did you at least pack everything? I'm not too concerned about you Reiner because your folks probably have everything covered but Bert-do you have all that you'll need?"

The tall boy nodded. "Yeah! My mother might be incompetent but I'm certainly not! I have clothes for every day we'll be there, plus a spare change in case something happens, hiking boots, pj's, a swimsuit, a sleeping bag, toothbrush and toothpaste, and a jacket!"

The blonde bobbed her head in satisfaction. "Good. Now I don't have to worry about you dorks while you're gone. But hey bring me back a souvenir will ya? I've never been to Moab so maybe bring me just like a rock or something. As long as you promise me that, I'll allow you to abandon me for a whole week."

"Geez Annie, you don't have to make us feel bad about it! It's not like you'll be totally bored or anything!" Reiner griped, giving a pained expression.

She scoffed. "Yeah well with my super religious Mormon mom I can't say we'll be doing anything worth while. Probably just doing a bunch of stupid church activities and stuff. At least you guys will get to have some fun!"

They all started to snicker until the final bell rang, and a unanimous cheer of victory was heard throughout the school. The trio stood up and brushed the grass off from their legs before hugging and saying goodbye, then running off to their respective houses to prepare for the summer break.

Reiner was at Bertholdt's door at the crack of dawn, giddy with excitement. The tall boy had been up since six anyways, unable to sleep any longer. He had been waiting in his living room for the resounding knocks on the door, his mother knitting quietly on the couch. The moment he heard the rapid taps of knuckles on ancient wood Bertl flew out of his seat, grabbing his bags and swooping over to the door. He yanked it open with all his might, and was greeted by a frivolous Reiner and his exhausted looking mother, who smiled kindly at Bert.

Mrs. Braun leaned her head into the doorway and waved at Bert's mother. "Hi Sharon! Thank you so much for letting Bertl come with us! We'll have him back to you by next Sunday!"

Mrs. Hoover looked up from her in-progress sweater, giving a fake smile and replying, "Of course, Brooke. Anything to get the boys together, right?"

Reiner's mother nodded and smiled sweetly before the boys were already down the front porch steps, Bertholdt calling a quick goodbye to his mother. Mrs. Braun watched them with wide eyes before giving one last small wave to Bertholdt's mom, closing the door as she followed them to the truck. Bertholdt was tall enough to reach the trunk but not quite that strong, so Reiner helped chuck his sleeping bag and suitcase into the truck bed. They then clambered into the backseat alongside of Reiner's younger sister while his mother gracefully sat herself in the passenger seat.

Reiner's father, a very large and buff man with the same blond hair and gold eyes that he passed down to his children, was imposing to say the least but was actually kind at heart. He found it easier to love and help others than hurt and beat people up. He often scared others away but once you got to know him, he was your best friend and would always help you out in times of need. Reiner's mother was very much so the same way. She was a taller woman with similar blonde hair and a well-built body. She was very gentle and caring, but also had a secret 'mama bear' mode which came out whenever one of her children were in danger. Reiner's younger sister was only 7 years old, but she had a tough attitude that could take anyone on and she tolerated bullies or trash talking 0%. She was the smallest in their family, very short and petite with two small blonde pigtails, and there was always some form of candy stuck in her mouth.

When Bertholdt had finished buckling himself into the seat next to the window on the right side of the truck, little Lillianne stuck her head out from behind Reiner who was a barrier between the two, the stick of a sucker poking out of the corner of her lips. "Hi Bertholdt! She greeted cheerily, giving the tall boy a famous Braun grin, which stretched from ear to ear and showed all of the pearly whites in the bearer's mouth. A Braun would only give someone this grin as a sign of true friendship, and the Brauns certainly loved Bertholdt like a second son.

The tall boy knew his own awkward half-smile was pitiable in the presence of a Braun grin, but he still offered his best in return. "Hi Lilly. Are you excited for the trip?"

She pumped a tiny fist in the air. "You bet I am! I can't wait for all of the hiking, and the swimming, and rafting down the river and we might even go on one of those cool jeep tours they have!"

There was booming laughter from the driver's seat which belonged only to Mr. Braun, a sound that matched that of a lion's roar. "That's right, kiddos! We have a whole crapload of great things planned so we better get this show on the road! The longer we sit here saying formalities the more daylight we waste! And it's a four hour trip, so I hope you brought something to keep you entertained, Bertl."

Even though he knew the man couldn't see him, Bert nodded sheepishly and pulled a book out of his backpack which he made sure to pack full of reading material, a sketchbook and pencil, his MP3, and some snacks in case they got hungry (which being with the Brauns was a guarantee). Mr. Braun revved the engine to life and it resounded without a hitch. Switching into gear they began to pull away from Bert's house. The tall boy gave one last look back at his house before they left. He couldn't tell for sure, but he thought he saw his mother peek out from behind the curtains in the living room ever so slightly before shutting them again quickly. Shrugging it off, Bertholdt reverted his attention to the family in the car with him. Reiner's father had thrown on some stereotypical country music and the boy couldn't help but cringe slightly; country was his least favorite genre of music.

Something elbowed his side lightly and he turned to see Reiner leaning in close to whisper, "You better get used to that; my folks love crappy music and it's all they know how to play."

The boys had always shared a common taste in music, preferring the unpopular alternative rock and metal style of things compared to most of the stuff that came out of the radio. However they were open to other music, and wouldn't hate on someone for liking a different taste. But they really couldn't stand the basic run-of-the-mill country. It was their worst enemy. So, when Bertholdt pulled his MP3 out of his backpack and Reiner grabbed out his earbuds, the two knew that great minds do think alike.

Upon arriving at the campsite, it was about 10:30 am. Everyone hopped out of the truck and allowed themselves to stretch their cramped legs and work out the muscles which had tightened from sitting in the same position for four solid hours. The air was fresh and crisp while the sun was still rising above the eastern mountains, bathing the red rock in its light. The campsite was pretty simple; it had a place for you to park your vehicle, a fire pit, a table, and the rest of the space was for your tents.

"Okay kiddies," Mr. Braun's deep voice called out to the three children after he let them get their stretches out. He treaded around to the back of the trunk and pulled down on the handle, opening the latch to reveal all of the luggage packed within. "I need you boys to come over here and help me with all this; let's get camp set up, shall we?"

Reiner gave a hearted hoot before running to join his father, grabbing Bertholdt by the wrist and dragging him along. It took them all at least an hour and a half to get the truck entirely unloaded and the campsite set up. Since their one main tent was a bit small for all five bodies to fit in, they had brought a smaller, extra tent for the boys to share so that in the end everyone had decent space. Lilly had protested about wanting to join them in he mini tent, but her parents refused her stating that the boys needed "boy time to themselves."

It was almost noon once they were ready to do something with their time there, so they agreed on a simple hike before a tour around the main town. They decided to take the Corona Arch hike, which was a fairly easy and friendly hike that would only take 1-2 hours. When they pulled up to the entrance to the hike, parking the truck next to a bunch of other vehicles, it was already 12:30 and the adults ushered everyone to get a move on if they wanted a chance to look at the town. They all made sure to bring 2-3 water bottles per person, and Mrs. Braun had laden her backpack with all sorts of snacks as well as a sack lunch for everyone. Before the kids could run off on the trail however, she grabbed Lilly and Reiner and lathered them up with sunscreen, insisting that they protect their fair skin. The blond boy got flustered and ran ahead of everyone while dragging his friend behind him.

Everyone else was only 50 yards or so away but they were still out of hearing range. Reiner took this time to express his distaste for his mother's crooning over him as if he were still Lilly's age. Since Bertholdt didn't really know how that felt, he only nodded his head in agreement while giving the occasional "Yeah" of slight understanding. He wished he could have younger siblings to complain to Reiner about, but ever since his mother joined the baptist church she took an oath of chastity and swore to never again be married.

They continued to amble on about aimless topics, and the other three Brauns slowly crept up on the two over the course of the hike, and while Bertholdt took notice but didn't say anything Reiner was as oblivious as a goldfish. The scenery of the hike was breathtaking to the hikers as they trudged along, gazing up in awe at the canyon walls of red rock surrounding them. The afternoon sun burning hot in the sky beat down on the weary travelers, but they were fueled on by a passion to see the arch. Lilly tripped several times on a stray rock which she overlooked, but she held her head high and would get up and dust herself off before giving the rock an evil glare and continuing on her way.

Eventually, they got to a point where there was a crowd of people all looking up at and taking pictures of some large attraction, and it gave the hikers a newfound burst of energy. "Come on Bert we made it!" Reiner cried, grabbing the other by his wrist and dragging him to the end of the trail. Lilly spurred her little legs to try to keep up with the boys, huffing along as she followed behind them. They reached a large open space littered with people strewn about the rocks, refueling with water and whatever food they had packed to fill their ravenous mouths. There were groups of children laughing and scampering about the top of the cliff, with the occasional parents hollering at them not to stray too close to the edge. The view of the red rock mountains was astounding, their shining faces gleaming in the late afternoon sun. The real show, however, was the arch. It's massive body stood 140 feet tall with a 105 foot opening. The area was rather clear around it and it stood out like a shiny penny on a sidewalk on a clear day. There was a group of people standing at the top of the arch, but they were right under the sun so it was hard to see what they were doing. Most of the people on the ground had put on sunglasses to look up and see what they were doing.

The kids quickly found a place to rest, situating themselves as comfortably as they could get on the rough stones, throwing off their backpacks and leaning back to take a break. Reiner's parents came and joined them a few seconds later, huffing down and sighing in fatigue. Mrs. Braun raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight as she squinted up at the top of the arch, trying to make out what they were doing. Then, with sudden realization, she gave a small gasp and motioned for the kids to look up as well. "You guys might want to watch what those people do!"

They gave her a small look of confusion before they too let their gaze drift to those brave souls, wondering what the heck they could be doing. Then, one man in particular who wore a bright red shirt strapped on a helmet, and tightened what looked like a bunch of straps making up a harness, before giving a thumbs up to the crowd. He received a chorus of claps and hoots, only arousing the kids' suspicion even more. "What the heck is he-" Reiner was cut off as the figure took a flying leap off the edge of the arch and everyone below him cried out. Lilly gave a small scream as they all watched the jumper fall to his doom, and Bertholdt leaped to his feet in panic. Just as it looked like the poor soul would meet his fate on the sharp rocks below him, he suddenly jerked and swung in the opposite direction. It was then that the kids realized he had been attached to a cord which tied around the entire arch, allowing him to swing in the arch's wide opening. They could hear his distant whoops of joy as he swung in and out of the arch, probably having the thrill of his life. The crowd roared in applause, amazed at his daring stunt.

Bertholdt looked down at Reiner who was likewise cheering, and he saw a certain glint in the boy's eye which he knew could be nothing but trouble. "Don't even think about doing anything like that!" Bert warned, making it clear he wanted his friend nowhere even near that sort of thing.

Reiner looked up at his friend and gave a laugh. "Don't worry Bertl! I'm not going to do that, it just looks like a ton of fun!" The taller boy gave him a suspicious look before letting his attention return to the daredevil swinging on the arch. Reiner then mumbled under his breath so Bert couldn't hear, "At least not right now anyways," and he determinedly made a mental note to go arch jumping when he was old enough.