CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

An entire hour after their stop at the middle of the highway, Reagan pulled up into a back road where the trail up to the rocky cliffside was standing.

She could feel everyone buzzing with excitement when they unloaded the back of the truck and by the time they were ready for the trail, none of them had an empty hand.

"The hike isn't gonna be difficult, right?" Logan asked when she pointed to the direction of a clearing between the tall trees and she nodded in a heartbeat.

"Wouldn't even cost a sweat," She mused just as Jack let out a playful scoff from beside her.

"Last time I heard you say that," He said, adjusting the guitar he once again carried on his back, "You nearly gave me an asthma attack. And I don't even have asthma."

The other boys chuckled from behind him, Corbyn obviously ready to make a snarky remark in response, but she rolled her eyes and spoke before they could.

"That's 'cause you're probably not as athletic as you say you are, buddy," She sighed and Jack gave her a half-hearted glare.

"Wait until you experience what it's like hiking with the rest of them," He said, nodding his head to the others walking behind, "If you think you've witnessed pathetic hiking, just wait until you see them."

Reagan could only laugh as Jonah shoved Jack forwards before the group talked idly on the way to the cliffside.

The sight of Jack between trees, watching his footing over the rocks, with his guitar strapped to his back was starting to become a too-familiar image in her brain and the realization made her mind go blank for a second.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Logan give her a knowing glance and she looked away quickly.

+

"This is how I die," Zach declared, mid-hike, "I have climbed this mountain and now I will die upon it."

No one even batted an eye and Jonah was the only one to acknowledge him.

"Zach, we've been hiking for ten minutes."

"This is how I die," He said again, with more conviction, but Reagan couldn't find it in herself to laugh once she saw the clearing a few more steps away.

She led them there, picking up her pace for the last few feet before their destination, just for a second to appreciate the view before anyone else did.

When she reached the clearing, all the trees behind her and nothing but endless horizon in front, she took a deep breath and just breathed.

The rustling of branches came a few seconds after from the trees behind her and she turned around just in time to see Corbyn stopped in his tracks, eyes wide and slack-jawed at the sight of the valley in front of them, and Reagan laughed as the others followed suit.

"Welcome to Redwood's view deck," She grinned, reveling in the way no one has been able to say a word since they arrived, "No better place in the world to see sunrise."

+

The first couple of minutes in the clearing was spent in absolute silence. Corbyn cried and Logan completely exploited it for the video he was recording, but they were happy.

By the time everyone was finished taking videos on their phones, talking loudly over each other about how stunningly gorgeous the view was, and Reagan--sat in front of the cliff's drop with crossed legs--couldn't help but agree.

She found the clearing by accident.

There was an actual hiking trail in the mountain they were on but it was for the view of the iconic Redwood Mother Tree, the oldest tree in Redwood that was thousands of years old.

Reagan has seen it a handful of times but meant to visit it alone once. The trail on the soil wasn't clear enough and she ended up taking a different route that led her to the cliffside.

The cliffside in itself wasn't special. The soil was dry and chalky and the only things at arm's reach was miles and miles of Redwoods.

But the view in front of it, the east of Calhoun, was nothing short of heart-stopping.

Over what look like a hundred-mile stretch of greenery over the valley beneath was lines and lines of taller and older Redwood trees--the very pride of Reagan's small village--and the dull riptide in the river and rocks.

Above the green was the prettiest shade of blue she's ever seen, hanging on the sky with only few traces of clouds and low-flying birds, and Reagan remembered the first time she fell in love with the place.

When everything fell silent, they all formed a line sitting down beside Reagan, and they sat in peace as they watched the trees sway, sound of rushing water in the background.

+

They set up the tents first. Corbyn and Jack insisted on setting it up, self-proclaimed boy scouts, but it turned out they've only ever tried setting up tents that automatically sprang upright when unfolded, so they struggled for twenty minutes before Daniel sighed and took a break from inspecting the polaroid camera he brought along, and stood up to fix the tent himself.

Jonah and Zach on the other hand were setting up the firepit, setting them near the tent, and Logan was sat on the back of the truck filming while everyone else was working.

When everyone was settled, the sky was starting to darken and she smiled, laying one of the many blankets into a circle around the firewood.

They unloaded the food and lit the bug repellent and by the time the sky was turning dark, they were all sat around the fire Reagan started and for the first time, she heard them all sing together.

The guitar was on Daniel's lap when they started singing and it was the only time she was recorded by Logan's camera without any defiance.

It wasn't because she was willing to be filmed but it was because she couldn't find it in herself to swat him away like she usually did, because Why Don't We was singing in front of her and she was stunned to silence.

They were singing a song she's heard in the radio--something by Ed Sheeran that she didn't actually know, but it played often enough in the city that it was familiar to her.

Reagan was frozen. She didn't know how to react to them singing and the most amusing part about it was that they called it their vocal warm up.

She didn't have the time to ponder what it might sound like once they actually performed because Zach spoke up, glancing at Daniel with a sly grin.

"Reagan, I forgot to ask," He said, "Someone came by to the cafe while we were there and we were hoping you knew who it was."

"Did you get their name?" She asked, noticing the way nearly everyone's eyes turned to Daniel who flushed an impressively noticeable shade of red even under the dim lights.

"Maria," Corbyn answered, a teasing tone to the edge of his voice, and realization dawned on her as she watched Daniel flush further from embarrasment.

"Maria Jensen?" She asked, "Pretty, black hair, thousand-watt smile?"

"Yes!" Zach laughed, "You know her?"

"Know her?" Reagan chuckled under her breath, "That's my best friend!"

There was a second of silence before Logan, Corbyn, Zach and Jonah bursted out into loud laughter, their voice echoing in the distance and Daniel covered his face behind his hands with an annoyed groan.

"This is the greatest thing I've heard all day," Jonah laughed at Daniel's expense and he only hid behind his hands further.

"Lay off me," he grumbled, words muffled by his hand, "She's pretty and one of the only two people our age I've seen around here."

Reagan paused her own laughter and nodded, "Oh, yeah that's true."

"There aren't much kids around here, is there?" Daniel continued, finally tearing his hands from his face and she smirked at the sight of how flustered he was.

"Yeah," She nodded anyways, "This is more of a retirement town. Most people our age already left."

Daniel nodded back, "I get that. Must suck though."

"You're so awful at changing the subject," Corbyn said before Reagan could humor him further and Daniel groaned in annoyance again as the boys retold the story of how Maria entered the shop for a drink just as Daniel was collecting his order and he ended up dropping his burger at the sight of her.

All the while, she could see Jack watching her from the corner of her eye and when she finally worked up the courage to look at him, he quickly averted his eyes.

They spent the rest of the night eating. The last box of pizza they brought along with them was empty within ten minutes and the mounds of snacks they had were gone by the end of the night.

Reagan felt beyond lucky, having a night in her favorite place with a group of her favorite people, singing and laughing until the sky turned dark and the only light they had was from the fire in the middle of their circle, and the glaring-bright stars above them.

Just as they started making smores, Logan starting popping bottles of cheap spirits and handing them around, and for the first time in her life, she experienced what it was like to feel young and absolutely limitless.

So they spent the night buzzed, telling ridiculous stories from their hometowns, and Reagan realized that seeing them leave a few days later wouldn't be the easiest thing in the world.

Still, she couldn't remember a time when she felt happier than she did that night.

SO CHAPTER 21 AND THEY STILL HAVENT KISSED HAHAHAHAAHAHHAA WELCOME TO THE MOST DRAWN OUT STORY WHERE 30,000 OR SO WORDS LATER, THEY STILL DONT HAVE THEIR SHIT TOGETHER

"this is is how i die i have climbed this mountain and now i will die upon it" is from a prompt btw

ALSO I'LL DOUBLE UPDATE TODAY AS AN APOLOGY THERE'LL BE A LONGER A/N THERE IM HYPED ABOUT SOMETHING

edit: update im purposely not putting a hyphen between twenty and one just in case someone comments on it