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CHAPTER FORTY

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"Ugh, why is it so awkward between us now?" Zayn asked no one in particular, throwing his hands up in the air. "I'm still me. I'm still Zayn. Why can't we...turn the page?"

"We happen to be stuck on the chapter where you left us," Harry glared, his arms crossed over his chest. He was sitting on one of the folding chairs, in between Niall and Eric, who were both on edge, not wanting Harry to do anything unexpected, while Liam was beside Zayn.

"Oh my God, Haz," Zayn groaned. "I'm happier, can't you see that?"

"Yeah, but now we are all sad," Harry pouted, throwing his head back in frustration. "And I - "

"How is that my fault?" Zayn shot back, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, I get that I - "

"How is it your fault?!" Harry yelled, shocked that Zayn was acting so clueless, getting angrier. He then closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing. "You know what? I'm going to pretend I'm not totally annoyed by you for the next two days...only because I want Anna to have a nice time. I'm doing it for Anna."

As if on cue, Louis and Anna came into view, both holding huge piles of wood.

"What are you doing for me, curly?" Anna asked, dropping the wood onto the ground.

"Nothing, don't worry about it, kid," he shrugged, sending her a smile.

"Alright, well, it's starting to get dark, so we should try to start some sort of fire," Louis said. "And it won't be me, because I did way too much work today."

"You collected wood," Eric squinted his eyes. "You did, like, the least bit of work."

"Oh yeah? And what'd you do, pretty boy?" Louis raised an eyebrow, obviously joking with him.

"Touché," Eric glared at Louis and purposely nudged his shoulder when he walked passed him.

"Anna and I will be in our tent," Louis announced, pointing to the tent that looked like it was the best built.

"Wait, that's Liam and - "

"Do you really want Anna to sleep in a poorly made tent and possibly die?" Louis cut Harry off, arms crossed over his chest.

"How would she - " Harry stopped himself, sighing. "You're using my soft spot for Anna against me."

"Did it work?" Louis asked.

"Yes," Harry nodded, stepping forward to kiss Anna's forehead. "I don't want you to die, so you can have the better tent."

"Harry, I wasn't gonna - "

Harry put a finger to her lips, "Shh, it's okay, my dear. Go enjoy the better tent."

"You guys are way too dramatic for my liking," Anna groaned, stomping to the tent Louis and her would be sharing.

"Who am I gonna be sharing with?" Zayn suddenly piped up.

"Uh, no one," Liam shrugged. "We're all paired up."

"How come?" Zayn questioned, furrowing his eyebrows in question.

Anna strained to hear from where she was, already in the tent. Louis had stopped walking to her, frozen in his spot. He turned around and his eye twitched as he looked at Zayn. Zayn looked hurt and it made Louis pause, he didn't want to make Zayn feel bad. But at the same time, he did. He wanted him to feel the way he felt when he went up on that stage the day after he announced his departure, he wanted Zayn to feel the way he felt when he saw a mean tweet directed at him coming from who was supposed to be his best friend, he wanted him to feel hurt and upset and...lonely. Sure, Louis had Liam, Niall, Harry, and even Anna now, but there was just something about Zayn that none of them could ever replace.

"Maybe it's because your arrival wasn't in our plans," Louis responded. It was as if it were only Zayn and Louis out in the woods. The tension could have been cut with a knife. "Just like your departure."

"Lou, you know I - "

"Don't call me that!" Louis growled, standing up straighter. "You lost that privilege a long time ago."

"Fine," he sighed. "Louis, you know that if I could have it my way, I'd be back on that stage with you guys, I'd - "

"Then why didn't you come back?" Louis' voice cracked.

"Lou-Louis, I - You know I couldn't," Zayn stuttered, shaking his head. "I wanted a change, even though I love you guys and what we did together."

"It's hard for me to believe you when you constantly contradict yourself, Z," Louis whispered, feeling defeated. "I wish it could be like old times."

"It can be like old times," Zayn assured him, stepping closer.

Louis took a step back, shaking his head, "No, it can't be. And I'm sorry."

With that, Louis turned around and jogged the rest of the way to his tent, leaving Zayn upset and the others stood there, admiration towards Louis radiating off of them.

"I'm so freaking glad he didn't cave," Niall mumbled, receiving nods in agreement from everyone else, including Zayn.

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Later that night...

The seven friends sat around a warm campfire, laughing and joking with each other. The earlier tension had dissipated, although Louis still wasn't too keen on talking to Zayn.

"Let's make a toast," Louis suddenly spoke, a small smile on his face as he lifted his can of soda, which was half full.

"To what?" Anna wondered, turning her head to the side to look at Louis. They were the only two sitting on the ground, rather than a folding chair, and her body was positioned in between his legs.

By this point, everyone had their drinks raised and were awaiting Louis' toast.

"To us," he whispered in her ear and then a bit louder, "To all of us."

"All of us?" Harry raised a brow, subtly jerking his chin towards Zayn.

"Yes, all of us," Louis nodded, smiling lightly. "Because the only people that matter, are the ones sitting right here. Right now."

"Can we sing now?" Anna asked.

"What? Way to ruin my heartfelt moment, Annie," Louis stuck his tongue out at her.

"You told me we were gonna sing The Campfire Song Song,"

"Fine," he rolled his eyes playfully.

"Let's gather 'round the campfire and sing our campfire song..."

They all sang together. Again.

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A/N:

let me know if you got the double meaning of the last line

I lowkey picture Anna as Crystal Reed now idek

and Eric as Dylan O' Brien

the fact that they're both from Teen Wolf is a coinquidink

I never thanked you guys for 50k so....

THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR 50K AHHH

THAT'S HALFWAY TO 100K OML

PEACE OUT GIRL SCOUTS

[edited]

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