Camping Tip #9: This is common sense. It doesn't even need to be said but some of you morons need to be reminded. Wild animals are not up for adoption. They are not yours to keep, so stay away from them unless you want to end up dead, armless or terrorized by PETA.

            My eyes sluggishly opened. I was lying on my back, looking up at the ceiling but the ceiling in my bedroom wasn't painted with pink hearts. Jesus, why the hell was everything so bright? There was too much sunlight, it cast the pink hearts on the ceiling everywhere, making everything look like some sort of dance club for Care Bears.

            Confusion clouded my thoughts and questions popped up in quick instances. I slowly turned my head to the right, gasping sharply when I saw a familiar boy sleeping beside me. My head was resting on his outstretched arm and his other arm was lazily wrapped around my waist.  

        My drumming heart was in my throat as his eyelids fluttered open, big chocolate brown eyes that belonged to none other than Jack Marshall focused in on me. We just stared at each other, confused and not processing the situation for a few seconds before we both screamed. I wasn't sure if it was me or him who started the screaming but nonetheless, we scrambled away from one another faster than the speed of light. I sprang up just as he rolled away from me.

             Jack raised his hands, palms facing me in a show of surrender. We stopped screaming and stared at each other.

           I ignored the fact that he was only wearing his Superman boxers. I felt my heart flutter. He was such a geek, especially when it came to computers but even more so when it came to comics. There were his favorite; he wore them frequently when I would sleep over at his house but I had to admit, my favorite were his Batman boxers.

            "Why the hell are you screaming?" he asked.

          "What the hell are you doing in my room?" I countered.

          I thanked God for my brown skin, because it meant that any blushing wasn't detectable. He was the only one who could ever conjure up that butterfly inducing feeling that people wrote novels about.

         Jack frowned, "Does this look like your room, Peryn?"

         I expected to see the striped walls of my bedroom surrounding us but my eyes widened I saw we weren't in my bedroom at all but in a tent. Tent? The same frown Jack was wearing, slowly formed on my lips. An infinite series of questions flew in my brain as I looked around. I suddenly gasped. My eyes widening as the events of the previous night came hurtling towards me faster than a speeding bullet.

        The car really had been stolen by that bastard hitchhiker and we really did spend the night in the woods. We'd all had to sleeping in the same tent because Callie had lost the other two. They had rolled off down a hill and were now forever lost somewhere in the bushes. It had been so awkward, considering the tent wasn't even big enough. The four of us, had to squeeze ourselves in and Callie couldn't stop complaining about people's elbows and Oliver talked in his sleep. It was hell.

        "It wasn't a dream," I said in disbelief, "It really happened, we really are stranded four hundred miles from home."

        "Peryn," he said my name so softly, the way he used to do when he was worried about me, it made my heart jump in my chest.

        "I need some air," I said. I turned and unzipping the flap, I crawled out of tent. I stood up as soon I was out. Stretching my arms, I took in the never-ending stream of trees, the sound of birds chirping and bees humming, the smell of wood and smoke dancing in the morning air. I lifted my face, letting the light and shadow dance across my dark skin. In different circumstances, I would have been enjoying the nature around me, reveling in the peace and -

        "Peryn!"

        I jumped. I swiveled round, facing the direction the voice had come from and not far ahead, Oliver was sitting on one of the logs by the campfire. Last night, it had taken almost two hours to light the fire all because he wouldn't let anybody else try and by the end of it, Jack had to wrestle the wood off of him.

        "You okay Oliver?" I asked as I approached him.

         He nodded, "Didn't sleep too well, way too cramped in there." He rubbed his eyes, "if only Callie hadn't lost the other tent."

        I sat on the log beside him and sighed, "Yeah, me too."

        Oliver leaned back, he picked up a bag from behind him and placed it on his lap. He pulled the zip open and passed me a packet of potato chips and took out one of himself. He then pulled out two cans of coke.

        "When did you buy this?" I said.

        "Took a detour to the store before we went to pick you up," he said.

        Oliver and I sat in silence, eating the potato chips and drinking the coke as we listened to the lulling sound of nature.

        "Hey, how cool is this?" Oliver asked as he waved a pocket knife in my face, "it's gold plated dude, I got it from that pawn shop across from Lemon & Lime."

        "That pawn shop is really shady Oliver," I said, "Ammara Ali told me they have an illegal gambling room in the back."

        He grinned, "I know, that's why I like it."

        "Where's Callie?" Jack asked as he clambered out of the tent.

        "She said she needed to pee," Oliver answered through a mouthful of potato chips.

        I was finding it hard to tear my eyes away from Jack. I had always thought he looked the best in the mornings. All messy hair and his deep voice thick with sleep. He was fully dressed now in jeans, converses and a light grey sweater. Jack's eyes met mine and I instantly looked away, feeling a little embarrassed to be caught staring.

        "Right," I said, "I'm getting changed."

        There was no shower, but I wasn't staying in these sweaty clothes from yesterday. I entered the tent. I rummaged through my rucksack and I dressed myself in some cute floral print shorts I'd gotten from Forever 21 and a white crop top. It was a pretty hot day, so I could just dress lightly.

        I quickly brushed my hair back and pulled it into a high ponytail. Once I finished tying the shoelaces of my converses, I existed the tent. Jack and Oliver were sat on the logs, talking to one another. I walked over and took out a packet of wine gums from the duffel bag. I glanced at Jack, my breathing hitching at the sight of the glasses he was wearing.

        "You're wearing your glasses again?" I questioned.

        He look at me, the sunlight caught in eyes, bringing out hues of greens and gold amongst the dark brown.

        "Yeah, not a fan of the contact lenses, why?" He grinned a little shyly, "Do I look bad?"

        I was in no way admitting that he looked handsome in those glasses, that he always looked handsome in those glasses. I looked away, trying to sound and act as nonchalant as possible as I replied with a shrug, "Meh."

        Just then we heard the sound of footsteps. For a moment I was worried that it might be a wolf but I was thankful to find that it was Callie who appeared from the path lined with shrubbery and trees. She trudged towards us with that trademark grin plastered onto her face. I stood up, grimacing a little. She was holding something in her arms, no more like she was cuddling something. Something brown and furry. Jack and Oliver stood up, noticing the furry thing in her arms as well.

        "What is that?" Oliver pointed to the ball of fur.

        Callie smiled down at it, "It's a bear."

        "I'm sorry?" Jack said, blinking rapidly.

        "It's a bear," she repeated, "Well, a bear cub, it's so cute! I was looking for a distant spot to pee and I just saw it wandering around looking so lost and scared, so I thought I would take it."

        "Take it?" I said, "You can't just take a wild bear."

        "Why not? His mother's obviously abandoned him and he has a name," she said, looking unreasonably smug, "Winston the Bear."

        "Winston," Oliver mused, "It a good name and she's right, Winston is really cute, just look-"

        Oliver's sentence was cut short by the glares Jack and I simultaneously threw him. The bear made a soft mewling noise as it wriggled in Callie's arms.

        "Aw, are you hungry Winston?" She cooed.

        "What," I shrugged, "are you just going to adopt it? Do you plan to keep it forever?"

       Jack stared at her, "Callie, what are you even -"

        "AH ZABENYA!" she shouted as she raised it up in the air like it was Simba from the Lion King. "AH ZABENYA! BA-BA BEECHI BA-BA YA!"

        "Oh my God," I whispered, my fingers going to nip the bridge of my nose as Callie continued to sing the Circle of Life.

        She didn't even know the words, let alone what she was saying. It was ridiculous.

        "I, Callisto Eve Marshall!" She declared in the most obnoxious voice she could muster, "Daughter of Luna and Rosalie Marshall! Twin sister of Jack Edward Marshall, hereby announce Winston the Bear to be my child! This is legally binding!"

         "Damn it Callie, put that bear down," Jack said. Callie glared at him but she lowered the bear into her arms anyway.

        "This is crazy," I said, "You're not keeping that bear, you need to put it back where you found it."

        "Uh, guys," Oliver said.

        "You know the rules; finders, keepers," Callie replied as she held the bear closely again.

        "Guys."

        "It's not some toy, it's a wild animal, "Jack said, "you can't just take an animal like this out of its natural habitat! It's dangerous!"

        "Guys."

        Callie frowned, "You don't understand, me and Winston have made a bond, he thinks of me as his mother now."

        "Guys."

        "Are you insane?" I hissed, "Nobody is going to let you keep this wild animal, what-"

        "Guys!" Oliver suddenly snapped.

        We all looked at him. I raised my eyebrows, "What?"

        Oliver's jaw was slack, and he looked petrified as he stared at something behind us. He sputtered, "Look!"

        We turned on our heels, following the horrified direction of his grey eyes. Jack's eyes widened, I gasped and Callie squeaked at the gigantic bear that stood several feet away. When I said this bear was gigantic, I meant it, this thing was colossal and there was evil in its soulless eyes. The four of us just standing there, staring in shock at the bear, who, in return, was staring back at us. Its lips peeled back, snarling venomously as it eyed us greedily. The earth shattering roar that escaped its mouth was enough to spring us into action.

        "Run!" Jack shouted, "Run!"

        I didn't need to be told twice. We turned in the opposite direction and began running away from the bear. The trees flashed by me, my heart beating fast in my chest as I pumped my legs forward.

        Callie was clutching the bear cub to her chest as she screamed, "Oh my God, it's chasing us!"

        Jack was the fasted out of all us, he was in front in no time and so we all just followed. Running behind him, cursing and shouting as we were chased by a ravenous angry bear.

        "Callie!" Jack shouted, "It wants the bear cub! It wants Winston! It must be the mother!"

        "But I'm the mother! He needs me!" Callie cried.

        "No, you're not! What you need to do is give Winston back to his real mother!"

        I could hear the thundering steps of the bear as it continued to chase us. Callie was running just a few steps behind me. I glanced back at her, my eyes wide as I shouted, "This is insane! Just give the bear its baby!"

        She pouted, holding the bear closer, "But - what if it eats Winston!"

        "It's going to rip us apart and eat us if you don't!" Oliver yelled, "Do you want to us to die? Give the fucking bear its baby!"

        I jumped over a tree stump, my heart jumping to my throat when I nearly tripped on a stray branch. I stumbled and I thought I was going to crash on the floor face first but I luckily regained my footing and kept on running. The bear roared and we all screamed. Oh my God. I was going to be mauled to death by a bear because my best friend was a complete moron.

        "Callisto!" I shouted, "we will feed you to the damn bear if it comes down to it!"

        "Oh fine!" She snapped. She stopped for a split second to kiss the top of cub's head and place it down on the floor before she turned and continued running. "There! Have your baby!"

        I glanced behind me. The bear came to a slow halt when it reached the cub. We all stopped running, standing a good distance away to watch the bear and its cub. Everybody was panting hard, trying to catch their breath. Jack was leaning against a tree, Oliver and Callie were bent over with hands on their knees and I had my hands on my hips, our breathing ragged and uneven.

        "Look," Callie panted, "it's leaving."

        She was right, the bear and the cub were turning round, slowly heading back to whatever pit they came from. I huffed out a breath of relief, "Oh thank God, I actually thought I was going to die."

        "Goodbye Winston," Callie croaked, sounding a little heartbroken.

        "That's right!" Oliver shouted out of nowhere, "Leave you little bitch! Nobody wants you here!"

        "Oliver!" Jack hissed.

        "No! That little bitch needs to learn not to mess around with-"

        The bear had suddenly turned around and began speeding towards us, snarling and gnashing its spectacularly sharp teeth. Callie screamed. The four of us instantly started running. My surroundings blurred, my heart banging deafeningly loud in my chest and my breathing ragged as we tore through the woods, from the terrifying roar and the thunderous footsteps the bear wasn't far behind us.

        "Oliver, you asshole!" Jack cried, "Why the hell did you say that?"

        "I didn't think it would be bothered! You would think bears have bigger problems than being called little bitches!" He responded.

         "If you just kept your stupid mouth shut!" I snapped.

        "It's not my fault!" he said, "since when can bears understand English?"

        "If we die, I'm going to make sure you burn in hell Kaminski!" Callie shouted.

        We ran and ran, not daring to stop for even a second in fear of the bear devouring our bodies. I don't how or when, but after, what felt like, an eternity, we somehow managed to lose the bear.

        "I-I t-think...I think...w-we lost...it..." I said in between large intakes of air.

        Oliver dropped to his knees and lay on the grassy ground. Jack slid down the trunk of a tree and slumped onto the floor. Callie kicked Oliver's leg.

        "Ow!" He cried, "What the hell?!"

        "That's for calling Patricia a little bitch."

        "Who the fuck is Patricia?"

        "Winston's mother, I named her Patricia," she said.

        "I'm sorry," Oliver grunted, "but I name it how I see it and that bear is a little bitch!"

        I frowned, spinning as I looked around the endless trees that surrounded us, "Wait a second, do...do you guys know where we are?"

        Callie's eyes widened, "Oh my God, no, I can't...I don't know where we are."

        "I know where we are!" Oliver beamed as he pushed himself up, "Nowhere, Middle of!"

        "Oh, be serious!" Callie grunted roughly punched his shoulder. He cried in pain, rubbing the spot where she had hit him as he glared at her and muttered some curses under his breath.

        "Nobody was paying attention to where we were going?" I asked.

        "Well forgive us Peryn but we were kind of busy running for our lives from a crazy bear," Oliver said.

        "Yep," Jack said. He raked a hand through his dark hair, tugging at it the way he did when he was frustrated, "We're lost."

         I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or die.

        Death seemed to be the quickest way out of this predicament.