When I woke up in the morning, the tent was boiling hot. I felt like I was being roasted alive in an oven tucked inside a sauna. I kicked the sleeping bag off of me, pulling off the hoodie I was wearing. I had gone to bed wearing so many layers so now I felt like I had heat stroke. It's unbelievable how sweaty I am. 

I looked over and saw that Oli was still snoring in the corner of the tent, practically half-naked on top of his sleeping bag. He had the right idea; I must have been insane to go to sleep with that many layers. It was pretty nippy last night, though. 

I grabbed my rucksack and crawled out of the tent, slipping on my shoes quickly. The sun was high in the sky, but nobody was awake yet. I checked my phone and raised my eyebrows- it was already 11am. I noticed I had a few texts and made a mental note to check them. 

I headed towards the little camp bathroom block, feeling a bit grim. I hadn't slept fantastically and my neck was a bit sore, but I mostly just felt hot and sticky right now (as gross as that sounds). I felt like I had just woken up from a day nap- my mouth dry and dehydrated. 

I slipped into the male bathrooms, heading over to the sinks. I set my bag down and took a look in the mirror, grimacing at what I saw. Did I always look like the in the morning? I look rough. I pulled out my toothbrush and set to work scrubbing them. I finished up and headed to the shower, braving the icy cold water for the sake of hygiene. 

Maybe this whole camping thing isn't for me. 

I shook the water droplets from my hair, towel drying it to the best of my ability. I slipped on some shorts and a band tee, slipping out of the shower stall. I lazily checked myself in the mirror once again, shrugging at my damp hair. I wandered out the bathroom and towards the vending machine. 

There wasn't much to choose from, but all I wanted was a non-alcoholic beverage anyway (since there was a noticeable lack of them at our campsite). I collected my water, setting off on a stroll around the lake. I spotted a wooden log bench at the lake edge and wandered towards it, getting comfortable.

The air was incredibly humid, but it was tolerable since the lake looked so beautiful. I remembered the texts and pulled out my phone, unlocking it to see what they said. I had one from Daxx, asking if I was okay and one from Conor, telling me to ignore Daxx's obsessive worrying. He had always been overprotective of us; for as long as I could remember he had played the role of 'father'. He was the only one who remembered our dad and Connor had once told me he didn't want us ever feeling like he did- with no father figure growing up. 

The other text was from Jimmy and I felt a frown slip onto my face as I read it. It was mostly a string of incoherent nonsense, but from what I could make out, he wasn't doing great. I could make out something about his parents, liking men and a party. He had been placing all of his emotions on the back burner in order to focus on his exams and do well. Now that he no longer had a distraction to focus on, I guess he was turning to alcohol. 

I tried to ring him, but he didn't pick up. I shrugged- there isn't a lot I can do from out here. I sent a text to Daxx, asking him to check in on his client. I tucked my phone away, getting ready for another day of fun. I was concerned about Jimmy, but I know there's nothing I can do to help him through this (especially when I'm miles and miles away), so there's no point ruining my fun over it. I'll check on him when I get home. 

I spent a while longer watching the lake and finishing my drink before I headed back to camp. By now everyone was awake, although not quite alive. 

"Andy Pandy! I was wondering where you'd disappeared to." Felix greeted me with a smile, giving me a quick hug.  

Saint winced and buried his head in his hands. I chuckled- even Mike winced at Felix's volume. They had drank a hell of a lot last night and were clearly feeling the effects in the form of a hang over. Oli was the only one not effected, laying back in a hammock with his arms folded behind his head. He looked like the definition of chill. 

"Where the hell did the hammock come from?" I laughed, sitting down in a camping chair next to the logs. 

"Saint ordered it especially for this trip, but now he's too hungover to use it. Apparently, the swaying makes him throw up." Oli rolled his eyes, making Saint groan at the word 'swaying', "Do you wanna come pick up some lunch for the hungover lot? They're in dire need of food." 

"Sure thing." I nodded, "Let me just grab my car keys." 

I collected them from the tent and Oli and I headed to my car. He insisted on driving and I shrugged, handing him the keys. I didn't like driving in unfamiliar places much, anyway. I looked through my phone for places to get food nearby and we set off, the radio playing quietly. 

It was a short drive to the food place, only a few miles down the road from where we were staying. The drive was relatively silent, other than a few questions about directions. It was awkward, don't get me wrong, but it felt different. I feel like I understand Oli a bit more than I did yesterday and I felt sort of felt relieved that he had confirmed he wasn't interested in me anymore. 

"Did Felix say when he's leaving?" Oli asked suddenly, shaking me out of my thoughts. 

"Yeah, next week- the day after our last shift." I frowned, not looking forward to that day.

I would never work another shift with Felix again. How strange. I wouldn't do a lot of things with Felix ever again, now that he was going away and I was leaving at the end of the summer. Sure, he's going to visit, but he won't ever be waiting for me at the school gates or calling me out of the blue telling me he wants to get brunch right that second. 

"How are you feeling about it?" Oli asked genuinely, locking the car behind us as we walked inside. 

"Obviously not great." I chuckled bleakly, focusing on the floor.

"He's not going to disappear off of the edge of the world. You're his best friend- he's never clicked with anyone the way he clicks with you. You'll just have to visit each other all the time." Oli reassured me, giving me a quick side hug. 

"Do you think I should stay? Go to college here?" I asked genuinely, feeling mixed emotions to the thought of leaving everything behind. 

"Honestly? As much as we all love having you here, I think you need to go. If you don't, you might use us as a safety blanket when what you need is to put yourself out there and realise not everyone is trying to drag you down in life. There's a hundred Saint and Oli's out there waiting to meet you." 

I gave him a soft smile, glad he was honest with me. I could see where he was coming from. Before Felix, I was desperate to get away; now, I was terrified of going and leaving everyone behind. What I had found was friendship that seemed so rare and unachievable that I could barely believe it was real and happening to me. Deep down, I know what Oli said it true- that I'll make new friends wherever I go while retaining my old ones, but after years of isolation it seems too good to be true. 

"Hello? Are you going to order any time soon?" The woman at the counter joked with a smile, making me blush. 

We had been so lost in our conversation that we hadn't realised we'd reached the front of the queue. Oli flashed her a quick smile and apologised, ordering food for the group. My eyes wandered to the window and my mouth dropped open, realising it was hammering down with rain. The weather had done a real 180 in the time we were queuing. 

Trust us to not check the weather report. 

I nudged Oli and gestured to the window and he let out a bark of laughter, glad we were inside and not back at camp in the pouring rain. I frowned- we were supposed to be heading back tomorrow morning, but I doubt everyone will want to stay here in weather like this. 

"I'll finish ordering, you go to the car and ring Felix- ask what the guys want to do." Oli said as he passed me the keys. 

The rain was incredibly heavy, but it was still humid outside- it was the type of rain you get after a heatwave. I ran through the rain, scrambling into my car as fast as I could. Usually I like the rain, but I didn't really want to be damp and cold right now when the only shower available to me was also freezing cold. 

It didn't take long for Felix to pick up and it sounded like pure chaos on the other side of the phone. Mia was yelling about her hair and Saint was yelling back that the tent equipment was slightly more important, which she didn't take well. Felix was yelling orders at Mike, who was relatively quiet and calm. 

"Please get back here soon." Felix begged, barely audible against the sound of heavy rain, "One of the tent's have a pool of water starting to grow inside and everything's soaking wet." 

"Oli's just collecting the order... If you guys can get everything under shelter we'll be there soon and we can go?" I offered, feeling bad they were stuck packing up in the rain. 

"Screw that." Felix laughed, "Come get us and we'll all eat the diner." 

"Actually, that's a better plan. I'm on my way." I nodded, starting the ignition, "Can you ring Oli to let him know while I drive?" 

Felix agreed and I set off, arriving back at the campsite in no time at all. The rain was showing no signs of letting up and I had to hold in a laugh, seeing everyone at camp. They were running around like hungover headless chickens, trying to fold up tents in the rain. I parked up and slipped out the car, starting to load stuff they had already gathered up into the car. 

It only took us about ten minutes to get everything loaded into the car, which is pretty impressive if you ask me. Amazing what somebody can do when they want to get out of there as soon as possible. As we drove away- everybody and everything now in the car- I started to laugh. 

Everyone had towels wrapped around them, their hair dripping wet and a scowl on their face. Felix started laughing with me and slowly everyone started to see the funny side to this situation. 

"Sorry about your leather seats." Saint cringed, "I bet they're ruined now." 

"It's only a bit of water." I shrugged, dripping onto my own seat, "Besides, the car's almost older than Daxx." 

I pulled into the carpark of the diner we were just at and parked as close to the entrance as possible this time, all of us filing in and seeing Oli chilling in a big booth surrounded by hot food. We all breathed a sigh of relief, finally being rewarded with hot food. Oli couldn't help laughing at the sight of us, receiving more than one joking glare. 

"They do say a cold shower helps a hangover." Oli grinned, receiving a hit over the head from Saint.