It was finally the day Sienna was waiting for. The day that had never left her mind. The same day that had Sienna counting down the hours since the original time it got cancelled.

Hiking. At the Thetowne Hiking Trail. It was something that was planned by Carol. A nice walk in a natural reserve, taking in all the wonder it has to offer.

Of course, Sienna knew that not everyone would be pleased with the idea, especially since the group would be hiking with someone most of the group had doubts about. As a housemate, Sienna often heard Lily's doubts and Alyssa's complaints. Nevertheless, Sienna looked forward to the day.

A big adventure.  A step out to nature's beauty. That's what she thought.

Dressed in her hiking-appropriate wear, Sienna rushed down the stairs and into House 1's living room. No one was around other than the three prepared backpacks Lily had set near the door.

Sienna made her way to one of the seats in the room and plopped down. She took out her earphones and her phone, connecting them before scrolling on her phone for a song.

Alas, she had found an album- a musical - one that Lily kept talking about. Sienna plugged her earphones in and nodded her head to the song.

Halfway through the song, Sienna spotted Lily at the room's doorway. She raised a hand and waved. Her housemate, also dressed up and ready for the hike, gave a wave back before she scanned the room. Sienna noticed her housemate had knitted her brows close as she scanned the room.

Sienna paused her song and unplugged one of her earphones. "Looking for someone?"

"Uh, yeah." Lily nodded. "Did Alyssa come downstairs yet?"

Sienna shook her head. She heard the blonde sigh loudly.

"She said she'd come downstairs." Lily tsked, flipping one of her curly blonde pigtails to the back. "Seriously? What's taking her so long?"

"Maybe she's taking her time finding an outfit?" Sienna shrugged. "I mean she does need to find something appropriate for a hike."

"Yeah, but she is not someone who would be this late. Sabrina's group has already left."

Sienna nodded. Her friend had a point. The people of Houses 1, 3, 6 and 8 had already left earlier. They knew this from the chat. Everyone else is ready as well- the chat stated that too.

All that is left is House 5.

Suddenly Sienna heard a couple of footsteps from the stairs followed by a cough. A familiar red-haired girl tiptoed into the room, huddled in a thick baby blue blanket.

Lily twirled to the blanket, "Finally! You have arri- are you alright?" The blonde's eyebrows furrowed, "Alyssa, what's wrong?"

"I got a-" a few coughs from the blanket, "-cold."

"Oh no, that's awful. Bad timing as well." Lily frowned at her housemate, "Let me check your temperature. Surely that thermometer is around here somewhere."

"Thermometer?" Sienna tilted her head.

"That digital one. Where is it?" Lily clicked her fingers, "We need it."

"Wait-" Alyssa called out, louder than before. Her housemates turned to look which caused her to whisper, "Wait sorry. Do we... need it right ...now?" 

"...Yes?" Lily placed her hands on her hips. She raised an eyebrow. "Why do you not want it, Alyssa? You're not lying about getting a cold, are you?"

Silence.

"Either way," Lily continued, "We're still measuring your temperature. Safety reasons." She turned on her heel and headed to the kitchen. "Won't be long!"

Lily later returned with a thermometer ready at hand. She stepped up to Alyssa huddled in her blanket. From the looks of things, Sienna had noticed the red-haired girl had darted her eyes around the room before locking onto Sienna with wide eyes. It was like a deer that was stuck in headlights.

"Hold still and turn to me, this would not take long."

There was a nervous laugh from Alyssa, "May- maybe we should not do a temperature check?"

"Not do a temperature check?" Lily blinked before she shook her head, "That I won't do. You got a cold and we need to check if you have a fever. Now hold still."

A grumble from the blanket. Sienna watched as Lily hovered the thermometer's scanner close to Alyssa's forehead. Her housemate pressed the button.

Beep!

"Hm, body temperature's fine. But Alyssa, just to be sure. Do you have a sore throat? Blocked or runny nose? Sneezing?"

"What?" Alyssa wrapped the blanket she was in close.

"Those are some of the symptoms of a cold. Did you feel any of that?"

"No?" Alyssa blinked. Sienna noticed her friend's voice had risen.

"No? That's interesting. It's either you do have the symptoms or you just did not want to come to the hike. But I'd doubt the second option."

Alyssa groaned, "I just didn't want to join the trip!"

"But why? Carol had planned this as a nice outing!" Sienna interrupted. "You don't like hiking?"

"No! I do like the idea of hiking." Alyssa grumbled, "I just don't want to see Lila. That's all."

"Uh huh, I figured that's why" Lily nodded. She lowered the thermometer, "Bit of a coincidence of you having a cold today out of all days. You were fine a couple of hours ago."

"Why did you note that down?"

"Because you're not slick." Lily crossed her arms, "Now tell me, Ally, is this entire thing an act so that you can avoid going to see Lila."

Silence. Sienna had noticed Alyssa had bowed her head.

"Ally, you should not lie about these things! It's not right."

"It's like that one tale!" Sienna gasped, "The boy who cried wolf?"

Lily sighed. "You know what, tales were not what I had in mind but it works." Sienna beamed back and her housemate continued, "You can't just, lie just so you can stay in and avoid Lila."

"But I don't like her," Alyssa pointed out. She slumped against the red, cream and orange cushions on the couch, "Can't we just quit? Or postpone? Anything really to get out of this?"

A sigh followed from Lily. The blonde housemate crossed her arms in response. "I wish that is the case but bit too late for that since you know, most of us already left. And we can't back down right now."

"Right."A short silence followed from Alyssa.

From the short moment of silence, Sienna watched between her two housemates as they pondered on their words. As she took in the unusually quiet atmosphere, Sienna furrowed her eyebrows. Yes, this was a hiking trip that everyone was ready for. The days of discussion and planning, it sounded like everyone was excited.

But are they, really? From the silence shared Sienna started to doubt that. Perhaps no one looked forward to the hike after all. Perhaps they wanted it to be over.

Perhaps this silence was quite too loud.

"Uh," Sienna spoke up, grabbing the attention of her two housemates, "We should go. Everyone else is probably waiting."

"Yeah, we should! And by that, Ally, you have to get ready." Lily turned to the red-haired housemate, "So don't protest back, Ally."

Alyssa closed her mouth.

"And with that, we have to let the others know that we may be running late." Lily surveyed the room, "I'll let them know now. But by the time I return, we must all be ready. Got that?"

"Got it," Sienna confirmed, watching as her housemate made her way out the door. She heard Alyssa grumble before she too headed out of the room.

"This is going to be the worst trip ever."

Sienna shook her head. She would have to disagree with that. Surely, the trip won't be that bad.

Or so she hoped it wouldn't.

-= ⭐️ =-
(Jay is here to remind you that he is so proud of you)

"What's taking the others so long?" Arlen threw his arms out after pacing in the hiking ground's parking lot. The group had arrived at the grounds a few minutes prior. Despite the latest message, everyone waited for the others to arrive.

But even patience had its price to pay. Even if it was a couple of minutes, it felt like hours. Days. Months. Years even.

Nah, that cannot be it. Perhaps a little more patience is needed. Vivian knew that already.

"Can you be quiet?" hissed Gilbert from his small group of Leo, Sam, Cleo, Tahlia and Sabrina. "You are being annoying right now."

"Oh, I'm being annoying?" Arlen swivelled over to his green-haired housemate, "Isn't that you most of the time when you call me a wolf?"

"At least I don't complain on a day like this!" Gilbert glared at his housemate. "Also you fit that! You are never leaving these wolf allegations. Never."

"I'm sick of this, Gilberta!"

"You're sick of this? I'm sick of you denying all the time! Just admit it, please!"

"Why you piece of-"

"Boys." a sharp voice interrupted the argument. Vivian turned to find Carol glaring at the two. Next to her was a brunette-haired girl with blonde strands that framed close to her face. The girl was Lila, the one who would be joining the others on the trip.

The girl that even Vivian secretly felt suspicious of for coming. She wondered why she was there. It felt... random.

Not like Vivian didn't mind. She minded, just a bit. But it was not something that had dwelled in her head, unlike the recent spooky story Phoebe had decided to speak out on the ride.

Lost in the woods... sounds of screams in a dense fog. Those words spoken by Phoebe had moved into Vivian's thoughts. And from the looks of it, they are here to stay for a while.

And she is getting distracted again. Vivian took in the surroundings. She spotted Tahlia, Sam and Cleo having an animated conversation, Carol scolding Arlen and Gilbert for arguing, Alex and Phoebe taking in the scenery quietly, and Sabrina looking apprehensive.

Wait, hold on. Vivian cast a look towards Sabrina's direction. The dark-haired girl was lost in her thoughts her hand moving up and down her arm as she stared at the dark bitumen road. It felt unlike her.

Something is up.

Before Vivian made a move from the fence to check on her friend, she spotted Levin walking over.

"Sitting by yourself?" he asked when he approached the girl.

"Yeah, felt like having some alone time right now." Vivian shrugged her shoulders. "Is that something I am judged on?"

Her friend chuckled, shaking his head, "No, no. Nothing's wrong with that at all. Sometimes it's good to have some me time, you know."

"Yeah." Vivian nodded before she looked up in her friend's direction. "Is there any reason why you're here? To chat about alone time?"

"No," the light-blonde-haired guy laughed awkwardly, "No. I just wanted to see if you're okay. You seem distracted."

"Distracted?"

"Like you got a lot on your mind."

She couldn't argue with that. It was true, her mind was a tangle of thoughts weaving in and out. The hike, Phoebe's scary story, Lila, Sabrina's odd look, everything else. It was a lot to take in.

"Well, I just have a lot on my mind. How do you know that I got-"

"I could tell from your 'in focus' look."

"Ah." Vivian nodded. She should have guessed.

"I understand that you got a lot to think about but you can't keep dwelling those thoughts on this hiking trip." Levin had spread his arms out, twirling around as the light breeze brushed past his long braid, "We're here to relax, have a breather. Take in the natural beauty and let all the worries wash away."

Vivian watched as a pair of butterflies fluttered past her friend. She held out a hand in case they perched on her finger but the two butterflies fluttered past. Her friend had turned back.

"That makes sense, doesn't it? All I'm trying to say is-"

"That I should let go of any intruding thoughts and focus on relaxing for now," Vivian answered, passing a small smile to her friend. She hopped up from her spot, "I got the memo now. Thank you."

Before Levin got a chance to reply, there was a sound of dirt cracking. The hiking group turned to find a familiar minivan parked near Sabrina's. One of the sliding doors pushed open and a girl with short pink hair climbed out.

"Finally, we're here." she let out a sigh of relief, hopping down from the van. She waved, jogging to the others immediately. Following behind her were the others who also piled out from the van.

"What took you all so long?" Sam asked the ones who arrived. "Whatever reason it is, it better be good because you made us wait."

"House Five decided to take their sweet, sweet time," Vincent answered. He pulled out the van keys and pressed a button, locking the vehicle once it was empty and all the doors were closed.

Lily shook her head. "Now hold on. Don't group me and Sienna into this." She pointed a thumb in Alyssa's direction, "If only, this woman right here wanted to stay back. Everyone else was ready."

"But why?" Vivian turned to her closest friend who was chewing on something

"You know why." her friend answered.

Vivian clicked her fingers, "Kind of, but alright. But we should all get goin-"

"WAIT!" Everyone turned to Colin who called out, "I think I left my hat in the van."

"Come to think of it, I left my bag behind too." Tyler checked around.

"And I left behind my limited edition wristband!" Giselle realised, earning an arched eyebrow from Gilbert.

"Why do you need that?"

"It looks cute with this outfit."

"But it's a hiking trip."

"And? Gotta look good for any occasion." Giselle flipped her hair before turning to Vincent, "Please can you open up the van? Some of us need to get our stuff."

Vincent sighed and pulled out the van keys. He pressed one of the buttons, and the locks of the van clicked. "Do be quick. Don't make the others wait." he frowned, dodging out of the way as the three darted past him to the van.

"Okay, Mom," Tyler called back which caused Cameron to crack up.

"I feel like we could meet up at the crossroads." someone suggested. Everyone turned to Lila who made the suggestion. "They are just up ahead."

"Or maybe we can just wait for the others. A little patience doesn't hurt." Vincent shrugged before noticing the three had returned from the van with their missing items: Colin's light blue bucket hat, Tyler's backpack, and Giselle's glittery limited edition wristband. He pulled out his keys and locked the doors, "See?"

"Other than that, I think we are all set!" Carol clapped her hands excitedly with a giggle, "This is so exciting! I just know it will be fun!"

Some of the group shared a glance before everyone had set down the path to do some hiking.

-= ⭐️ =-
(Jay is baking a cake!)

Nature.

There are a couple of little things Skyler had enjoyed about nature.

First of all, the weather. The weather for the hike was just right. As the group made their way ascending the hike, the dirt crackling beneath the soles of their feet, Skyler took in the sight of the golden rays slipping through the high canopies, casting various spotlights on the hikers.

He took in the sounds of the bird's calls, the rushing waters of a miniature waterfall the group walked past, and even the wind's whispers as they danced through the leaves.

Nature and her beauty.

Almost nothing can disrupt this si-

"Are we there yet?!"

Nevermind.

Skyler spotted a small pebble that had skipped past him as it was frolicking through a field.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Alyssa, please do not ask that question."

"That wasn't me!" Alyssa's voice called from behind.

Skyler did not look back. "Don't lie to me," he said, moving ahead on the set path. "You always say it."

"I swear it wasn't me. It was Giselle."

Pause. Skyler turned back to where Giselle was standing, "What? Is it true?"

"Yeah, it is," Giselle confirmed back with a nod. Her response caused Alyssa to pass a look to Skyler. I told you so.

But he is not letting this small error pass, "I didn't realise it was you. Sorry about that."

"No worries," Giselle said with a wave of a hand, "But in all seriousness, are we there yet?" she whined, "My feet are starting to hurt. And I just want to sit down."

Sam scoffed as he walked past, "What do you expect? It's a hike."

"Yeah I know that but I still want to know where a pit stop would be. And there is a pit stop, right?"

Leading the group, Carol shook her head, "Nope."

As it was on cue, there was a collective groan. Skyler understood their point. It has been a while since they left from the parking lot and he anticipated a quick break. Not only because he wanted to sit down after his legs burned from the hike, but also because there were a couple of things he needed to do like having a water break or getting a pesky pebble out which managed to climb into his sneakers.

But it looks like that won't be happening anytime soon.

Carol pointed the route ahead. "I do see crossroads ahead! Which meant-" she crossed her arms, her lips pressed into a thin line before she mused. "We may need to split up."

The last time Skyler came across a crossroad, it was through a presentation a teacher showed a while back. Although he did not remember much about the presentation, or the teacher's words on that matter, the image of the crossroad left a recognisable mark. The classic signpost pointing to two opposite directions- both leading to the unknown - it was the main takeaway he got.

He never expected to see it again. Only instead of two paths leading to an endless void, there were two different scenic routes.

One of the routes is a mossed steep staircase that ascended to the hill's peak. Surrounding the staircase were the foliage and ferns settling themselves close to the stairs as well as the tall slim tree trunks that soared up to the leafy canopy above.

The other route was on the same level as the group, only it was near the hill's edge. Despite the vast views that overlooked the scenery of the trees beyond, the view below is a long way down to the starting point. Not even the railings on the path can shield the distance down.

Vincent, who approached next to Skyler, sighed loudly after he examined the two paths, "So we got two choices: danger or danger."

"It's not that bad!" Lila chirped, "They got safety."

Silence. Until Phoebe whispered, "That's what one person said in this one story I read before th-"

"Phoebe." Carol snapped before she cleared her throat, "Sorry. But maybe avoid talking about that right now. It's not helping."

"Wait." was Lizzy's voice, "What happened to the-"

"We'll discuss that later. But for now, we need to split up. In two groups. But what groups, is the question. Do we have any groups planned?"

A shared silence was passed in the air. Tahlia clicked her tongue and pulled out her phone, "I think we should go with a premade group?"

Colin frowned, as he approached his friend. "That's a bit boring. Why don't we do something different?" he suggested.

A great suggestion. A fantastic one even, only it has a cost. A cost of time.

"That's a good idea but do you have any ideas?" Cameron asked hopefully. Some of the group held their breaths awaiting the result.

Colin went quiet, "Not really." He frowned at the cue deflate of shoulders, "But we can start planning! Or maybe use one of the preplanned ones."

"I think I have some unused ones. We can use one of them?" Tahlia offered. "It would be better too."

Everyone agreed with the idea.

As much as he'd hate to agree, Tahlia had a point. Organising teams is never easy. It is a lengthy process that took more minutes than planned. It is at this moment that Skyler realised why they happen.

As Tahlia scrolled to find an allocation, Skyler noticed Lila's crossed arms. "This wouldn't take too long right?" she asked Carol next to her.

But Carol shook her head, "No. Not too long."

But even Skyler knew that Carol's words were outright incorrect.

It wasn't long until Tyler interrupted with a suggestion. The residents of houses 1, 4, 5 and 8 were on one team; the rest on the other.

"That sounds a bit confusing," Pete commented after the suggestion.

"Yeah it is, but it's opposites! Do you see the vision?" Tyler beamed at the thought of his suggestion. "Do you get it? Opposites?"

There was a shared silence. Skyler could have sworn he listened to the cricket's famous song.

"No, I don't see it," Sam muttered.

"I kind of see the picture." Levin scratched his head.

"I'm a bit lost on this." Tahlia chuckled to herself.

"You know what sense or no sense, we'll run with those teams." Carol quickly waved a hand, acknowledging Tyler's beam, "Now we need to find out what route both teams are going to take."

"That would not take long, right?" Lila asked.

Carol shook her head, "Not too long, hopefully."

But Skyler knew that Carol's words were outright incorrect.

-= ⭐️ =-
(Jay is preparing the icing for the cake!)

"Thank goodness that's over." Gilbert sighed in relief once he and the group bid farewell to the other group who started to climb their way up the stairs. "Remind me to be grateful every time someone allocates groups."

"About time." Vincent focused on the scenic route ahead- the same path that he wished to go on. "You guys never acknowledge us for that."

"Really? Like not ever?" Aika looked away from Cameron's suggestion of 'I Spy". A classic game- one that Vincent had not heard from in a while. But it gets the job done of passing the time nevertheless.

"Well, I don't remember but it's pretty rare to have some gratitude towards it. Despite it being extremely boring-"

"It was boring?" Gilbert blinked.

"Of course!" Vincent rolled his eyes. "It takes too much time and gets boring after it becomes repetitive." He shook his head afterwards. "And it never gets the credit."

"Well on behalf of everyone, I thank anyone who has to deal with that with proper credit," Aika said graciously.

"Seconded." Gilbert chimed in before wondering if seconded was actually a word.

Vincent laughed, "While I do appreciate your credit, I feel like you should tell that to Vivian and Tahlia instead."

"But you told us-"

"And credit is where credit's due so they could use it rather than me."

Gilbert and Aika shared a look.

"They did create most of them after all."

"That is true but I thought Vivi did most of them." Aika nodded.

"Seconded." Gilbert nodded, setting on the idea that the word is real. "Where are Vivian and Tahlia anyway? Need to thank them."

"They're right ahead." Vincent pointed to the two House 6 housemates who led the group through the windy path. "But you may need to give them context."

"Why?"

"Because they'll be confused," Vincent answered.

"Why?"

Silence. Vincent sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Running through his head, a few words jogged around.

Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm.

"Why?" Gilbert repeated himself.

"Do you have anything else better to say than 'why'?" Vincent glared at the Gemini neighbour.

"Yes, but I need to know why. You never answered!"

"Hold on, I'm trying to figure things out. As long as-"

"Why?"

"You-" Vincent held himself back. The words in his head chorused louder. But no matter what no amount of keep calms can tell him how-

Suddenly a lightbulb clicked. Wait. This could work. He just hoped it got the message across.

"Hold on," Vincent turned to Gilbert, "Watch this."

Once he got the attention from Gilbert, Vincent turned directly to Aika, "Aika. Thank you."

Aika blinked, "Wait. What do you mean?"

"Thank you," Vincent repeated himself.

"For?"

"For being an amazing person to talk to."

"Oh!" Aika clicked her fingers, figuring out Vincent's message of gratitude. That or she was roped into an active demonstration.

Realising Vincent had awaited a response, Aika quickly answered, "Well I appreciate your message. Just I wished you told me earlier why."  She hoped it made sense.

Vincent nodded, "Noted." He turned to Gilbert afterwards, "See? Context is needed. It clears the air."

"But I've seen cases where that is not needed. Like gifts and stuff."

"While that is true that's not the context here. What I am trying to say is-"

"You should give context when thanking someone randomly. I know that. I knew the entire time."

"You what?" Vincent and Aika spoke at the same time.

"I knew this already. I did not expect you to give a demonstration."

Vincent's left eye twitched. Keep calm, keep calm, keep calm. "Then why did you ask 'why' all the time?"

"I dunno." Gilbert shrugged, "It was entertaining."

"Mhm..." Vincent nodded, internally screaming, "Mad entertaining."

"Anyways, I am going to thank Vivian and Tahlia." Gilbert strolled ahead before he stopped in his path. "With context."

Then he strolled away. Vincent sighed and shook his head. He and Gilbert were not the same.

Same with the other core Crazy Club members- he can never understand them, unlike Cameron. To Vincent, he and the Crazy Club were not similar.

Usually, they would find a way to annoy him. Usually, his anger would tick away like a clock until he could not take it anymore.

But this time the conversation with Gilbert was different. Yes, he made Vincent look silly, and yes usually Vincent would find himself responding. But this time was different, he felt connected.

Even though it is with the strangest neighbour he ever met.

"So," Aika's cool voice interrupted the sea of thoughts, "You could have at least let me know what was going on before the demonstration."

"What?" Vincent asked.

"You know, letting me know what the scenario would be on before we demonstrated for Gilberta?" the raven ponytailed girl crossed her arms, "You've confused me."

"I'm sorry but I needed to get my point across and the demonstration was the only way I could make Gilbert understand. Even though he decided to hide the fact that he knew."

"Yeah, but I still needed context."

Vincent opened his mouth to speak.

"Not like it matters, I don't mind it. But still needed the context." Aika passed a smile. "But I have to say the demonstration paid off well."

Vincent scoffed, "Hard to believe that since Gilbert told us he already knew the entire time. How do people understand people like him? Sabrina? Skyler? His housemates? They completely understand him."

"If I were you I wouldn't say completely understand per se."

"But you get the point, how on earth did they get along so well."

Aika raised an eyebrow, "Well?"

"Alright, maybe not all of them." said Vincent, remembering Arlen immediately, "But you get the point. I just don't understand how people connect with others like the Crazy Club."

"Well perhaps getting to know them? Actively spending time together? Those help me a lot." Aika counted with her fingers. "But you already did a decent job with earlier."

"Decent?" Vincent raised a brow.

"You get the point, mister." his friend pointed back, "Just spend time with them. You'll learn a lot, and understand them better. You could do it right now."

"No thanks."

Aika shrugged her shoulders. "Suit yourself." she smiled before walking ahead, "But you should whenever you ever feel like it. Who knows? Maybe you have something in common."

Vincent shook his head. As much as he hated to admit it, he felt like Aika's words were incorrect. He and Gilbert don't have much in common.

Well, maybe that is a lie. They both reside in the same neighbourhood on the same side of the road. They have similar connections and even attended similar events. But he wouldn't say that they had too much in common. They, like everyone else, have different views on things.

While Vincent mostly spent time alone, Gilbert spent his time with a bigger group.

While Vincent spent his time doing quieter activities, the others mainly the Crazy Club are the opposite.

While Vincent viewed things 'realistically' as he claimed to be, Gilbert expressed a variety of ideas with passion. Each idea and suggestion crafted at the tip of his tongue, sparking inspiration to anyone who hears it. An optimist just like some others in this group, which Vincent would never get. Just like how he and the Gemini neighbour are not the same.

Unless...

Vincent stopped in his tracks and watched as his group walked further and further away. As he watched the stroll ahead, Vincent thought back to Aika's words. Maybe he is quite similar to Gilbert after all. He is not sure what exactly other than a few points. Maybe he could find that out but he'd doubt he would find some.

The group ahead stopped in their path, with most of them turning their heads back. One of the members, who Vincent guessed was Cameron, gave a wave which was followed by a call.

"Hurry up you ...!"

He never caught onto the last word. Was it slowpoke? Or something else? Perhaps a nickname or perhaps it was-

Interrupting his thoughts, the breeze had guided him forward. Vincent chuckled at the sudden nudge. He never realised how many thoughts he had, each of them overlapping over each other like a folded cloth. The breeze was a gentle reminder- or maybe it was a push in the right direction.

Either way, he had kept the others waiting enough. With a bounce in his step, he set on his path to meet up with the others.

-= ⭐️📱=-
(Oh no! Jay has forgotten an ingredient for the toppings! Berries! He quickly calls Bob for help.)

It burns. It burns way too much.

Seated on one of the mossed steps, Leo grimaced at the sharp burn his legs had felt from the hike. Stretching them out, he rubbed the kneecaps hoping that the pain would settle down. But they still burn just slightly less than last time.

It was not like this before. Before, he was racing ahead with Pete, Colin Alyssa and Sienna. It was Pete's idea to race to the top of the route. A brilliant idea only Leo had given up after racing ahead of the others. They had already passed him and were ahead on the route.

Even Sam, Carol and Carol's new friend had moved ahead. Sam was busy taking photos of every bird and plant in sight while Carol was busy chatting. Alex and Phoebe passed by later, chatting to each other.

They all did stop by to say hello before marching ahead. And as much as Leo wanted to join them, the burning feeling said otherwise.

As for everyone else, they're still behind on the route. Leo has not seen them in a while. He wondered what Skyler, Sabrina and Lily were up to.

But for now, he is alone. Tired. Exhausted. Annoyed with the increasing temperature as the minutes passed by. On top of that, his throat felt a bit dry and he had used every drop of his water bottle.

Leo groaned. It would be a fun hike, they said. It would be a wonderful experience, they said. Neither of those popped up.

So much for fun and wonder. He would rather be back at Zodiac Street.

"Is that Leo?" a feminine voice called out.

Leo looked up to find three familiar neighbours. Two with dark brown hair; one male with a cap and one female with short hair. Accompanied them was a blonde whose long curly hair was tied into loose pigtails. It was the same blonde who had called out earlier.

At last, they finally arrived. Leo smiled and gave a wave, "It's been a while Skyler, Lily. Sabrina." After a wave from his friends, Leo continued. "What took you so long?"

"Took a few break stops. This route is too steep." Lily stepped up. She spun gracefully on her heel, taking a seat next to Leo while leaving room for other hikers. "And you?"

"Had to take a break from a race." Leo shrugged, "By the way do any of you have any water bottles? Mine ran out."

"I have one spare but what race are you talking about?" Skyler pulled off his backpack and pulled out a store-bought plastic water bottle.

"Race to the top. It was Alyssa's idea. The winner gets donuts." Leo received the bottle, "Are you sure you don't need this?"

"I have enough in my water bottle." Skyler gestured to his water bottle which had a purple-to-pink gradient, and a solid purple lid with a button. Marked down on the water bottle were different times. 8 am and 2 pm. The next one down was 9 am and 3 pm. Then 10 am and 4 pm.

Lily was focused on the water bottle. "When did you get that?"

"Recently." Skyler answered quickly, "There were no other colours in stock. So I had to get pink and purple."

Lily crossed her arms, "I am guessing that you did not want that colour."

Skyler shook his head. "Wrong. I don't mind it. Pink is a lovely colour-"

Leo scoffed after chugging down half the water bottle, "Yeah right. I remember you complaining about a pink boat." He laughed at Skyler waving him off.

"That was in the past! Pink has grown on me. And as for purple Colin told me that it's a very royal colour and it fits."

"I see it. Prince Skyler." Sabrina teased. "Or Prince Skylie."

"Okay, will you cut it out with that name?"

"Sorry." She wasn't sorry.

After a quick rest, Leo joined the other three on their way up. Sure, they had some breaks on the way which took up their time but in Skyler's words, "They have never set a time so breaks are okay."

And although it was slower, time passed by quickly with every conversation Leo heard. Upcoming events, upcoming trends, gossip, Carol ("She's probably stressed out" Skyler concluded after the debate), and the occasional teasing.

But then an interesting topic popped up.

"You know, I saw Phoebe and Alex walk past earlier." Leo recounted, "Which puzzled me a bit. Since-" He turned to Lily for a signal.

Lily nodded, "Go on."

"I thought she would be spending time with you, that's all." Silence. "You two always spend time together."

"Yes, that's true but I hope you realise that just because she's my best friend doesn't mean she has to stick with me all the time. I'm okay with her spending time with other people." Lily said sincerely. "And we'll still be best friends even if we are with different people. If Phoebe wants to spend time with Alex then that is her choice and I cannot question that. And besides-" She clapped the backs of the two Scorpios on either side of her, with Skyler who was midway drinking water coughing, "These two hold interesting conversations."

Skyler's eyes welled with tears, "A bit of-" Cough. "At least give a heads-up before you do that."

"Whoops, sorry about that," Lily whispered.

Skyler raised a shaky thumbs up and continued coughing.

"Either way," Lily turned her head, "Those two can have interesting conversations like the cute necklaces Sabrina bought them!"

Sabrina stopped in her path, "I did not buy them that. I'm serious."

The other three stopped in their paths as well. "You didn't?" they asked simultaneously.

"Yes of course I did not send them that!" Sabrina raised her voice, "Everyone thought I did. You, Carol, everyone else. But I never sent it. It's just-" she took in some breaths. "Sorry about that."

"You don't have to apologise when expressing how you felt," Lily answered cautiously.

"I know but it's just everyone thinks I did it. That I gave them the gift. I never did. I truly mean it but everyone else does not seem to think so."

"Well, I believe in you," Skyler said softly. "I mean it."

"I believe you as well," Lily added, "And I'm sorry for what I thought earlier. It's just-"

"You went with assumptions and that made a solid theory?" Sabrina finished off with a small smile.

"...Yes. Sorry about that."

"I believe you too." Leo said genuinely, "I'm sorry for any assumptions earlier."

"You guys don't need to keep apologising for earlier. All I wanted was someone who would listen to my side too."

"Right." Leo nodded, "So it's not you who gave the necklaces, perhaps it is someone else?"

"It could be but we need proof of that. You can't just point a finger at someone and call it a day." Skyler crossed his arms.

"You are right. We need more than that." Leo stepped up a few steps. "We need physical evidence, proof from everyone else. Now thinking about it, I have an idea."

Leo turned around dramatically, his eyes sparkling. "Everyone, it's time to put on our detective hats."

His audience of three shared a look. It wasn't long until Skyler spoke up, "...What on earth are you talking about?"

-= (⭐️⭐️) =-
(Bob's here! Jay tells him to get berries as well as other toppings)

A/N:

Well, well, well look what we have here. Me, here with a chapter after months. A probably rustic one at that. Sorry about that. I need to get back into the swing of writing this book. I miss these characters even though it's tiring to write after 101 chapters or so.

I have plans to conclude this book somewhere down the line as well as maybe publish that book I announced last chapter. Maybe somewhere in 2025. With changes, a lot of changes. I am considering writing up a pilot chapter and possibly publishing it sooner or later. And honestly, I had fun coming up with the characters and the setting. I am excited to show you it.

Anyways this is part 1 of the hiking experience, part 2 would be in the next chapter! See you then.