"YOU GUYS COULDN'T WAIT until the next camping trip to gather?" Ella said, eyebrows raised.

Ava's smile widened as she somehow easily made her way through the ropes on heels, her laugh a stark contrast to Alex' screams in the background. When she was right in front of her she sat, fuchsia nails wrapped around one of the ropes, dreadlocks dancing around her in the wind. Ella was not surprised with how long Alex had been mesmerized by the girl.

"Of course," Ava purred," I wouldn't resist the chance to crash your date, new girl."

"We are crashing their date?" Mia said, sounding positively horrified," why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you wouldn't have come," Ava replied, before adding as she glanced to her left," and then who would have taken care of Will here?"

Mia had been standing hesitantly at the doorway to the next obstacle, the reminder of Will finally getting her to move. She seemed scared for her life as she took careful steps forward, her sense of balance not present at all.

"It's alright," Ella called out," don't worry, Will is fine -" She patted his cheek, continuing after. "I think."

As if on cue Will gasped then, eyes opening as he shot upright. Ella waved at him, pointing at his head.

"Did you hit something on your way down?" she said.

"Probably the pure shock of being around Alex," Ava said, though it sounded more like a joke than anything else.

Will looked embarrassed, a blush on his cheeks as he lowered his head. "To be honest, I didn't sleep tonight out of stress that you two would get angry that we followed along. I was gone for a minute there though."

"Yeah, I could almost see you count the sheep," Ella joked, glancing at Mia after," luckily for you she was about to save you."

Will turned around to look at where Mia was standing, her cheeks flaring up at the statement as she wobbled on top of the ropes. The sleep was out of his eyes in a second then and he jumped up, easily making his way over and extending his hands to where Mia was standing slightly above. In the sunlight he looked so sweet his words almost tasted like sugar, the rays catching in his golden hair and melting in his honey eyes.

"Come here," he said," I'll help you."

"There's no need," Mia reassured him," go sit, Will, you just fell."

Without any hesitation Will grabbed the rope beside him, pulling himself up to Mia's height, a warm smile on his face. He extended his hand again, but there was no pressure behind it, simply a silent offer for help if she wanted it.

"I'm alright," he promised.

Mia's gaze flicked down towards his hand and then back towards his face, before gently placing a hand on the back of Will's head. His eyes widened at the fact that her hands were tangled in his hair, but he didn't move as she inspected him for wounds. When she didn't find anything, she took his hand, shyly nodding at him.

"Thank you," she said.

"Why are they having a more romantic time than you?" Ava remarked as she turned towards Ella, raising her eyebrows.

"I blame you," Ella said.

"Blame someone else," Ava replied," you know I always keep the sexual tension high."

"You're right," Ella said," Alex and Will wearing cheap wigs and following us did do the trick though."

As if speaking about the devil, Levi and Alex suddenly jumped down from the exit of the previous obstacle, both tumbling down. Levi's hair was messy, Alex looking just as dishevelled, his wig somehow having managed to stay on the whole time. Without wasting any time Levi's gaze snapped towards her, only nodding briefly at Ava before he grabbed Ella's hand.

"Let's escape," he urged.

"Alright," she smiled," let's go."

She was quick to make her way through the ropes, Levi right beside her. Alex shouted dramatically at the others to stop them, but Will and Mia simply wished them a pleasant date, Ava not making any attempt to hinder them either. They didn't really function that well as a group which had banded together for villainous purposes.

It was only after running through two obstacles to get ahead of them that they stopped, sitting down on the new inflated obstacle course they had entered.

"What did Alex do to you?" Ella chuckled, running her hand through Levi's hair to get it back to his usual look.

"He cursed me so that I can never grow a moustache," Levi frowned, looking honestly offended by it as his hand grazed past his upper lip.

"You want a moustache?" Ella said, raising an eyebrow.

"Depends," Levi answered," white men with moustaches usually look shady as fuck, I'm not about to walk around looking like I would hate crime someone."

"At least you're self-aware," Ella nodded.

He rolled his eyes amusedly, pulling her along to the obstacle. It honestly was a lot of fun, her laugh tumbling in the air as they ran and jumped so much that her smile was practically plastered on her face. They surprisingly didn't see the others throughout the whole obstacle course, but at the same time Ella could easily imagine they were stuck somewhere. Only when the sun set did she and Levi walk back to his car, a scowl on his face as he complained about how she had sacrificed him to move ahead in the last obstacle, Ella blowing him a kiss.

"So," she said as she stepped inside his car," is this the second step in your secret date plan?"

He leaned in to put her seatbelt on before she could, his cologne dancing around her as he looked her in the eye. "Yeah, it is."

With that they were off, driving across forest roads with the sun spilling orange into the sky around them. It was peaceful honestly to be around him, even if adrenaline laced their laughter, coursing through their veins. After an hour the night had breathed the color out of the sky, the stars glittering above them, and Levi finally pulled up to a cottage in the middle of nowhere.

The forest surrounded it, one cobblestone road leading to the door. Ella could see the light shine through the trees on both sides from what she presumed to be other houses nearby, only a street lantern placed beside the cottage illuminating it. With it's wooden walls and creme-colored chimney it looked quite cozy, Levi opening her door so she could step out.

"What is this?" Ella said," does your gang sell drugs here or something?"

"You act like I wouldn't be shot in the first minute as a drugsdealer," Levi frowned, adding afterwards," this is one of the vacation homes Will's father has. When I was younger he'd always bring us here, along with Ava and Alex."

"Damn," she said," if I had known, I would've made friends with you guys earlier."

He nodded solemnly. "That's why I didn't tell you before, I didn't want you to fall only for all my riches." A soft chuckle left his lips then as he walked with her towards the front door, fishing some keys out of his pocket. "I'm kidding though, I barely had a blanket when I was younger. This always used to be such a nice escape for me."

"Thank you for inviting me here," Ella said, placing her hand on top of his when he put the keys in.

He didn't say anything in response, gaze gentle on her, turning the key then. The house was completely silent as they stepped inside, light filling it when he clicked it on. With it's colorful plush carpets and the many family pictures on the walls it gave off a warm atmosphere, gray and wooden furniture scattered across. Opposite them was a fireplace, a couch in front of it, a table with eight chairs to her left. It was clear people had lived here and for a long time as well, scratches on the wood and pencil drawings smudged on random places, a certain charm in how it didn't look to be made for silence at all. She could see how it was the kind of house he had spent his childhood summers in, because the laughter had settled in the walls and the July sun still seemed to glow softly on the furniture, even if it was winter now.

"Aren't you scared someone will break in?" Ella said," it is in the middle of nowhere."

"It'll be fine," Levi replied," because I can fight."

"With a knife?" she mused.

He opened his hand, the scar from when he had grabbed Yelena's knife following the heart line on his palm.

"That won't be a problem," he said," but I am afraid however for how attracted you will be to me if I get even more fighting scars."

"You should be," Ella smiled," if it's even more than now, I might just ask you to marry me."

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer at once as a smirk curled up his lips, eyes glittering wickedly.

"Only if you go down on both knees," he whispered in her ear," though I suppose I could never say no to you."

She smiled, placing a brief kiss on his lips before she pulled away, the sound of water splashing softly catching her attention. Levi turned around towards the hallway to their left, that along with the staircase to their right leading away from the living room. With a wave he gestured for her to follow, leading the way himself.

"I almost forgot about it," he said," we have a swimming pool, that was what the bikini was for."

"I can't use that one," she said," with how much I fell into the water today my first one is still soaking wet."

"Oh, it's alright," Levi said," I suppose I can settle for your underwear as well."

"Shut up," Ella laughed, pushing him.

Several doors were to the right of the hallway, glass providing a view of the forest to her left. Levi only stopped at the end, pushing the door open. Ella's lips parted at the large swimming pool in front of her, the opposite wall made of tinted glass this time, to give more privacy. She had her clothes off in a second, the water splashing as Levi jumped in right behind her.

They hadn't even been in for a minute though when suddenly the front door opened, shouting filling the house as a few people entered. Ella's gaze snapped towards Levi, who looked like he was going to murder someone.

"Of course you can't even check if the bus would be on time," Ava shouted," now we're stranded out here."

"Why would I?" Alex yelled back, the door slamming shut behind him," it's not like I ever think, right?"

"Guys," Will said, obviously trying to calm them both down," it's fine, we can stay here for the night. No one's here."

"God," Levi prayed, raising his eyes to the ceiling," please give me other friends."