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Five

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"Camping?" April whispered to Paige, hoping for a negative response. "Did he say camping?"

"Yeah, I heard it too." Paige nodded. "Is it just me, or does camping on an open beach sound a teensy bit loco?"

April sighed in slight frustration, while Amanda nudged Paige with her shoulder. "Pay attention." 

"The woods are not too far from here, so we're gonna walk down there, set up our tents, light a bonfire and everything else we'll need. We will camp the night out and return tomorrow morning or at noon, depending on how exciting it is."

April balled her fists, physically restraining herself from groaning. She didn't hate camping per se, but she would've much rather sit inside and avoid Javier and the spiraled frenzy he sent both her logistics and emotions into whenever they got close.

Being in the woods with him was not part of the plan. What if something happened to pull them together? What if they got stuck with each other? She wouldn't put it past whatever spirits she had accidentally offended in her past life.

She spared a quick glance in his direction once again, sucking in a sharp breath as he immediately met her eyes. She turned to walk away, but bumped into someone else by accident.

Nathan.

The look he sent her way would've been enough to make a child shit his or her pants. Not April though. She simply muttered an apology and found her way back to Amanda.

"When do we leave?" She asked. She hadn't heard all the details due to being distracted, but there was no doubt her friend would've.

"They're still deliberating."

Patrick was bent slightly, his ear to Hannah's mouth as she fervently whispered something into him. She paused, allowing him to adjust his posture, before pulling him down again to continue the whispering.

"They're so goals," Paige muttered, right before Patrick stood again, now ready with his announcement.

"So we have a series of activities already planned out by..." He jerked his head toward Hannah. "My wife. We'll be having a series of team building, trust exercises, a scavenger hunt and a little extra treat, cliff jumping."

April could feel her skin tense at the sound of that last item. She wouldn't be doing that part and she knew it. Fear of the ocean, activate.

"Kids, go pack! We're staying a day, and our walk begins at noon exactly." It was Hannah's voice this time, directed at them.

April rolled her eyes as she turned around. A sigh fell off her lips as she began finding her way inside.

"What? You don't wanna go?" Paige bumped her shoulder with hers. "It'll be fun seeing who survives the longest. I call dibs on cremating Nathan's body."

"Very funny, Paige."

Amanda joined them with a smile. "Are you guys excited too? We're camping in the most dangerous beach in Hawaii!" She said, her voice dripping in sarcasm. "Well, at least the mosquitoes will get fed."

Paige nearly doubled over with laughter. "I know right?"

April looked past them at the way Nathan and Malia held each other by the waists, walking towards the door of the Kleins' house. Javier soon joined them, nearly tripping at the way Malia suddenly leapt to hug him. They made eye contact—she and Malia—and April took it as an opportunity to roll her eyes and prove her indifference.

"April?" Paige's voice came through, breaking her thoughts.

"I'll see you guys later," she said when her mind returned to them.

She could feel a pair of eyes boring into her back as she headed to her room, but she tried to ignore it as badly as she tried to ignore the hole that Javier's presence was boring into her sanity.

•~❉᯽❉~•

"So we're gonna split into two groups, A and B. Team A are the campers, who will pick the berries, set the fires, everything physical. Team B will plan the trust exercises."

Paige squealed. "I call tent building! You too, right?" She asked, looking at Amanda, who nodded. "We call tent building!" She reannounced with a grin wider than the ocean.

"Malia, you remember how to make fires, right?" A woman called from the side. She had nearly the same shade of dark brown hair as Malia, the same almond eyes, only hers had gotten wrinkled with age.

She nodded. "Yeah, mom."

"We have fires covered." Patrick beamed an encouraging smile at Malia.

"Any spots left?" April asked, struggling to recall any breakthroughs she had ever made with the outdoors. She had grown with Junior scouts hopes, but never had the opportunity to pass through.

Patrick hadn't been supportive, but it had been up to her, not him, just like it should be. He casted a glance like he was surprised she'd asked, then went over the list and shook his head. "Sorry, April."

"We haven't picked our planner," Hannah said, cutting his sorry speech off.

"What's the job of the planner?" Asked Amanda.

"The person in charge of picking out sites and sweet spots for activities. For example, we'll need someone to choose the lake and the berries we're gonna be using," Hannah explained. "Basically, you just have to wander round for an hour or two and find places we could visit, which means you should be able to remember locations and keep track of time. Also, get necessary permission to enter areas with restrictions so we don't get in trouble for trespassing."

"It's a very important Job, April," Mr O'Brien took over.

So he already didn't trust her for a job she hadn't asked for yet. He didn't know she wanted it, yet he'd already hinted she couldn't have it.

"I could do it."

He stared back at her as if she had just asked him if she could pee herself. "This is a crucial job, you could lead us all astray if you're not careful."

She kept her indifferent look, tilting her jaw upward. "Then I'll be careful. It wouldn't kill us if you just trusted me."

He scowled. "Don't take that tone with me, princess. Now does anyone else want to volunteer?"

"Emily?" Nathan asked, referring to the redhead from yesterday.

She shook her head. "I'm organising the scavenger hunt." 

"Anyone else?"

"Actually," Hannah cut him short. "I think April could do it."

Nathan scoffed. "She'll probably just get herself lost. Let me go."

"I can come with," Malia supported.

Patrick shook his head. "Not you two, I need Nathan to get wood, and Malia does excellent fire work."

April clenched her jaw and folded her arms, watching them act like she wasn't standing right there, waiting to get picked. 

"Mr O, just let April go. She's good at Maps," Amanda pleaded.

"It's fine, I won't go." If they didn't trust her, fine. She'd spend the day reading or something.

Javier crossed his arms, looking from Nathan to her father to her. "What if I went with her?" he asked. "Then can she go?"

She held her thoughts in like a stopper on a shaken soda, refusing to let her emotions out. Bit by bit, however, the bottle was shaking. "I said it's fine... I'll just go gather stones," she finally said and beat it.

She walked casually out of there. Walking fast would mean she was upset, and walking too slow would mean she was playing the pity card. Neither of those were good at all. She walked for about ten minutes, no stopping, no talking, just trying to push away all the thoughts.

She hated thinking. She hated worrying. How bad would it be if she just got rid of those from her life?

Her dad didn't trust her.
It wasn't even a new thing, he'd after all gotten her a car in Nathan's name because he felt she couldn't handle it on her own.

It didn't matter who got picked, they could suck it.

She eventually tired out and sought rest on the root of a huge tree. It didn't have a lot of sunlight seeping down because the tall trees had think branches and leaves what formed a canopy way above her head. No wonder the little plants below it hardly stood upright. They fought to catch sunlight, even though it meant they had to bend. She didn't want to bend, she wanted the sunlight to get to her, as it should. To get that, the big trees had to move, or adjust their branches. They'd prospered, good for them. Why did they have to cover the ones below because they wanted to protect them?

Now she sounded like a freak.

She picked up a bright yellow flower. It was still fresh, though already uprooted when she found it. She twirled it a few times, then slowly started plucking the petals away, so that all that remained were two on opposite sides of the centre.

"That used to live and breathe," came the voice, accompanied by the crunching of twigs under a set of approaching feet. She didn't have to look up to know who it was.

"Leave me in peace."

"You're sitting alone, destroying what was once beautiful...doesn't sound like peace."

He sat next to her, giving a full view of the flaming guitar on his navy blue hoodie. It was an old one he'd bought at a thrift store, and she knew that because she'd been there when he'd picked it up years ago. She looked up, not surprised to catch him watching her stare at him. This was never getting old.

"Who got the job?" She asked to divert attention as she angled her knees away from him.

"I did."

Inching further to the left, she crossed her legs to allow him more space on the log. He'd taken the only job she wanted and what could she say? Congratulations? It didn't surprise her, but that didn't mean she wasn't disappointed that Patrick and Hannah could easily put their safeties in Javier's hands and not hers. "Good for you."

"I got the job of appointing a planner," he clarified. "No one else volunteered after you left, so I told your parents I'd handle it."

She turned to look at him, then snapped her eyes back to the almost dead sunflower, squeezing the stem with a little more force. "And?"

"Well, you seemed interested."

She shrugged. "Well too bad. You heard my dad say I'm too carefree for them to take me seriously."

He smiled and plucked the flower out from between her fingers. "I take you seriously."

Her heart did something funny as the words left his lips, and it became increasingly harder to refrain from leaning close to him. Get a grip, April. You don't trust him, remember?

"You're appointing me," she said to confirm.

He nodded. "I think it'll suit you...if you still want it, that is."

The wind would've blown in their direction,  if not for the gigantic trees shielding them. April didn't like the trees in that moment because now she had no excuse for her cheeks being flushed. She couldn't even believe herself, getting all feathery over something as simple as an 'I take you  seriously' from this guy. Man, she really was attention starved.

"I'll do it."

"Okay then, lead the way." He stretched his hand out for her to take it.

She stared at his outstretched hand for a little while, then boosted herself up from the log, mostly because she didn't trust herself enough not to reenact what had happened last time they were in that position.

"I was only trying to help, but whatever. We should get going."

"We?"

He nodded. "You didn't think I'd let you go all by yourself, did you?"

She cocked her head. "You said —"

"I know what I said." He laughed. "But I'm not letting you get bored or lost all by yourself."

She smirked. "Really? Cause to me it sounds like you're looking for an excuse to be around me."

He rolled his eyes, but his smile didn't falter. "Whatever floats your boat, princess."

She bit her lip to keep her physical reaction to his words in check. He was willing to accompany her to the forest, and while one part of her screamed 'bad idea', the other couldn't help hoping for something good to come out of it.

"Fine. Go pack."

"What should I get?"

"A grip of yourself," she replied as dryly as she could fake it.

He chuckled. "You could at least be thankful for my getting you this task."

She paused in her step, then turned around to meet his eyes. She was grateful.

She bit her lip tight, then nodded as she replied. "Thank you," then turned back around to walk away from him.

•~❉᯽❉~•

Thanks for reading!