We left for school from the forest an hour ago, and are still on the bus. It's about a couple of hours' ride, so half of it is left now. I'm sitting with Ned, of course; Raquelle is sitting with that guy from the bonfire night, Robert told me his name is Jeff, and he's a quiet sort of fellow. I guess that's the reason they make the perfect couple. I can imagine Raquelle chattering away all the time, while he looks on at her admiringly, without a word. How cute!

Jade is sitting with Evan because we all had occupied one seat or the other(and deliberately so!), leaving no option but for them to sit with each other. Evan is quite alright with it, it seems, as he's conversing with her normally, but Jade is blushing slightly and clasping and unclasping her hands; I can see this because they're sitting in the seat right by our side, across the aisle.

I can't say I'm not enjoying, too. Ned keeps me company when I stare out the window silently, and makes humorous remarks occasionally, making me laugh hard. There are a lot of instances when I catch him staring at me, or vice-versa, which are followed by a smile or a grin. We don't ignore each other, though.

A little while later, the weather turns cloudy and the sky becomes dark with ominous-looking clouds. The wind is blowing hard too, and I let it play with my long chocolate-brown hair as I'm sitting on the window-seat. A very light drizzle begins to fall, making me shiver a bit.

Soon it starts pouring heavily, and I struggle to shut the window, which is stuck at one position. I pull hard at it as the rain starts spraying my face, and I squint my eyes to prevent the water from going into them.

Just then, Ned gets up from his seat and leans in toward the window, to assist me in closing it, and with some effort finally pulls it shut. He slides back into his seat, and I smile thankfully at him. He says, "Ashlee, your cheek. It's still wet. Wipe it off before you catch a cold."

The ceiling lights in the bus switch on then, and it seems as if we're travelling during the night when it's just a rainstorm. I quickly bring out a handkerchief from my jacket's pocket and wipe my face with it. No wonder I'd begun to shiver more.

Ned holds out a hand, asking for the handkerchief. I give it to him with a puzzled look, and hold my breath when he wordlessly leans in toward me and with it starts wiping my neck and the area behind and below my right ear, which is facing the now-closed window. I close my eyes as he softly and delicately traces his fingers, wrapped in the hanky, over my skin. A strange tingling sensation fills me from inside, and the ends of my lips turn up into a smile.

Ned withdraws and I open my eyes. I look deep into his hazel-brown eyes and take the hanky he hands me back, still transfixed by those alluring eyes.

All of a sudden, Robert, who's sitting in the seat right behind us, clears his throat loudly and Ned and I break the gaze, looking the other way and blushing furiously.

Thereafter, neither of us say anything to each other, and avoid looking at each other directly. I once more look out the window, while he takes out a book and continues reading it till we reach school half-an-hour later.

Once we've arrived and the rain has finally stopped, we step out of the bus one by one and the teachers escort us onto the school porch. I wave Goodbye to Jade and Raquelle and the boys. Everyone's parents had come to pick their wards up and were standing there already. I quickly spot Dad and wave to him. Ned's parents aren't here yet, so he follows behind me.

Dad looks at me with his eyebrows raised, and I realise he hasn't yet met Ned, so I quickly do the introductions. Dad smiles at Ned when they shake hands, and I'm somewhat surprised. I half-expected a cliche reaction, like Dad giving Ned a cold look, or asking him questions, or completely ignoring him. Thankfully, none of that happens. Since Ned's parents still haven't arrived and he lives just a few houses down ours on the same street, Dad offers him a lift. Ned looks at me for an answer, and I answer "I'm okay with it. Your choice." with my eyes.

He agrees, and we make our way to Dad's old truck. Though it is over five years old, Dad takes care of it so much that it still looks as if we bought it just a few months ago! Dad climbs in the driver's seat, and I hop in from the other side, followed by Ned, who closes the passenger seat door after him. So I end up sandwiched between them.

It takes about ten minutes for us to reach Ned's home, where he climbs out after saying Goodbye and Good Night to Dad and me, grinning and waving as he goes up the path through the garden, to the front of his house.

Dad takes a U-turn and we finally arrive at our own house. I climb out to open the gate for Dad to drive in his truck and park it in front of the house for the night. We enter the house together, and Mom rushes out of the kitchen to hug me.

"Oh, honey, did you enjoy the camp? And I hope you didn't catch a cold!" she says, helping me remove my jacket as I stand in front of the lit fireplace in the drawing room. I remember then, how Ned had protected me from the cold, and feel my cheeks warm up.

"Yes Mom, it was fun and I made a bunch of friends as well!" I say, cheerfully. Mom is always concerned that I don't have any friends, so she visibly brightens up when I tell her this.

"Yep, and a boyfriend as well!" chirps in Dad.

"Dad? What are you talking about? He's just a neighbor and a friend, there's absolutely nothing like that." I say, embarrassed very much, and a little cross.

"Ben, dear, please don't spoil my little girl's mood. Now, Ashlee, you have to tell us all about the trip from the very beginning. But first, go and wash up; I'll prepare some hot cocoa for you meanwhile. Run, run!" and Mom shoves me toward my room.

In the next half-hour I narrate them an account of the camping trip over hot cocoa, and after a light dinner of noodles, I go to bed, completely exhausted, and sad that the trip has ended. But at the same time, I'm happy to have made such real and true friends.

As I drift off to sleep, another thought comes to my mind, and I mentally bookmark it before forgetting everything and falling asleep.