THE STUDENTS toss their bags and blankets into the back of the bus, taking out essentials like earbuds and gum for the long ride. Emery neatly places her bag atop the mountain of others.
When she gets on the bus, she quickly finds where Harven is seated and takes her spot beside him. May and Tate are just across from them, sidling up.
Emery pulls out her own gum, strawberry flavored. She holds one towards her bus buddy.
"Want one?" She asks. He furrows his brows at the piece in her hand, and grimaces.
"Strawberry?" He asks.
"Yeah, what about it?" She furrows her eyebrows, dropping the hand to her lap.
"That sounds gross and I won't be having one." He says poshly, adjusting the pillow in his lap.
"Jeez, I was just trying to be nice." She shrugs, putting the gum back.
"Anybody who eats strawberry flavored gum is evil." He says. She rolls her eyes, enjoying the delicious gum for herself. She didn't even really want to give him one anyway.
Emery reads her book while Harven looks on over her shoulder. Soon, the words bore him, and his head falls onto Emery's shoulder out of exhaustion. His eyes slowly flutter shut and she huffs.
She debates pushing it the other way, but decides to leave him be. Emery lets him nap on her arm, though his head is actually heavy.
Just because.
_____________
When they arrive, the stopping of the bus wakes both Emery and Harven. They slowly wake up, realizing their awkward position. Emery turns away, and doesn't admit the burning of her cheeks.
Everybody files off of the bus, reaching the familiar camping grounds. There's two paths that Emery knows leads to the cabins and the hiking trail.
Emery head to the back, grabbing her bag. When she turns around, Kade is there, fresh off his bus.
She smiles at him, and heads in his direction, and gives him a hug. Kade returns it, wrapping his arms around her small form.
Harven spares a second glance, furrowing his brows, but minding his business and grabbing his own bag.
"Do you wanna walk the trail together?" Emery asks Kade, as they head towards the cabins.
"Of course, that would honestly make it so much better." He sighs. She smiles, glad he agreed. She has always hiked it with May.
See? May's not the only one who can break tradition!
They go separate ways, as the cabins are separated by gender. Emery and May quickly snag the same bunk bed. Emery takes the bottom because the top has always made her anxious.
May leans her head over the top, and into Emery's space.
"You seem pretty close with Kade. Have you boned?!" She asks.
"May!" Emery gasps.
"Oh. Just a crush?" May shrugs.
"Something like that, I guess." Emery smiles to herself. May nods, going back to packing her hiking kit.
On the bottom, Emery packs water, gum, and a book into her backpack, to take on the trail. She braids her soft curls back and out of her face.
When they're ready, they both head out, meeting up with their hiking buddies. Of course, May had gone with her boyfriend and Emery went with Kade, as promised. Harven chose to walk with a boy he knows from class.
The partners walk along the rocky trail, looking at unfamiliar plants and rocks. They hold hands, as suggested by the leader. Harven was not as happy about that.
Emery collects rocks as she walks along, if they catch her interest. She slips them into her bag before the teacher can tell her to put it back. The rocks on this trail have always been the best, being a multitude of colors, shapes, and textures.
An hour in, they take a break to rest their limbs. Kade tells Emery he's heading over to talk with some of his friends, to which she nods, taking out her water.
Harven plops down beside her, leaning against a tree.
"I didn't bring any water, Emery." He breathes.
"You can waterfall mine." She smiles. He tries to take it from her, but she holds it away.
"I'll do it." She says, putting the bottle above his mouth, where he holds it open. She squeezes it into his face, and it goes up his nose.
He gasps for air and she breaks into a laughing fit. When he wipes it away, he rolls his eyes at her. She laughs even more at his angry face.
"What is wrong with you?" Harven narrows his eyes.
She catches a breath to say this. "It totally slipped out of my hand." She looks over at him innocently. She can't help the remainder of giggles here and there.
Emery knows he laughs too as he walks away and back to his partner.
______________
Emery is getting ready for bed in her bunk, brushing her wet head from the shower. She dresses in her two piece pajamas, which have ruffles on the shorts and straps. It colors light blue.
All the girls had already turned their lights off, and Emery is sure they've already gone to sleep. She holds her phone light to a book, reading until she gets sleepy.
A light knock comes from her window, and she jumps at the sound. She sets her book down and throws on a white sweater.
She tip toes to the door, opening it hesitatingly. She finds a boy who should be asleep, just like her.
Harven.
YOU ARE READING
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Teen Fiction𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙍 𝙎𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀 Harven Aller stole her soccer ball as children, Emery has sworn to hate him. Now, as petty as that sounds, He never apologized. He even denied ever stealing it, even after her seeing it in his back yard, with "EMERY" in bold, slo...
