He could feel an excited buzz under his skin as they trudged through the dirt path to their usual clearing. The rge bag on his case didn't even bother him as he caught sight of the blue of the ke through the trees. And it all had to do with the woman walking in front of him.

  She'd already arrived when he got to Nina's house. He arrived to see her engrossed in conversation with the girls about some novel or show. It seemed she had arrived early to help them load the van.

  Oddly enough, she'd been wearing a mask over her lower face and a wide-brimmed cap, but he paid that no mind as she waved him over. When asked, she said it was something to do with the weather and he'd left it at that. In the end it didn't matter, because she was still coming with them!

  Of course Zach had asked about it as well once he arrived, but had soon become distracted by the food. Tyler had shrugged it off, it was probably nothing anyway. Besides, knowing him as well as he did, Zach would come back to it if he was still curious.

  As soon as they reached the open site, they immediately got to work on pitching the tent. It didn't seem like it was going to rain. In fact, the weather was damn near perfect, but it never hurt to get the hard tasks done fast.

  "No, not that way!" Tyler felt a headache forming. "Come on! We have this conversation every time! You have to move it to the centre or it'll fall over!"

  "It will not!" Zach gave him an offended gre. "Why are we even having this conversation again!? A branch is not going to randomly fall and crush us in the middle of the night."

  "You're both ridiculous," Lia says with an eye roll. "Can't we just get the tents up without having the same damn argument every time?"

  Tyler turned, meeting Zach's gaze, a silent agreement forming. As one they turned to her and in a deadpan voice said, "No." She sighed, throwing her hands in the air and walking off to sit on of the logs around the fire site.

  "Well then," Nina said with an amused smile, "I'm just going to make sure we have everything we need for the fire while you boys fight it out. You coming?" The st words are of course directed at Vicky... who is currently trying yet failing to muffle her ughter

  "Nah," she tells her, moving the mask off, "I think I'll stay right here. This is much more entertaining."

  "Hey!" He's annoyed to note that he says it at the same time as Zach. This was not pnned. Not at all. They go ignored.

  "Suit yourself," Nina says with a shrug. "If they get too annoying, just leave them to their petty squabbles and join us."

  "Hey!" Really. What was it with the girls today? That was three for three on making fun of them. Once again, they go ignored.

  "Will do," she gives her a smile. Once she's out of sight, Vicky turns to them with a grin. "Now, what is this about?"

  Zach gives her a pointed gre when she actually goes to sit cross-legged on a stone near them. "You're going to get bit by something."

  "Will not," she tells him, grin spreading. "And even if I was about to get bit by an ant or something, I can always move when they get close. Now tell me what this is about."

  "Bossy," he mutters.

  "Of course," she shrugs, "Children rarely listen otherwise."

  "Children!?" Tyler's the one that gives her an exasperated gre this time. "Are you calling us childish!?"

  "I thought that was obvious," she says with a shrug, teasing smile on her lips. Then gives them an expectant look.

  "The tents will be too close to the trees if we put them where Zach's got them."

  "This one is too paranoid and can't accept I'm right."

  "You are not."

  "Am too!" Zach emphasises the point by poking his tongue out at him.

  "Are not!"

  "Am-"

  "Alright!" Vicky's ugh has them both turning back to face her. Amusement dances in her eyes as she rests her head on her hand. "As funny as this conversation is, it's really not helping."

  Tyler feels a little sheepish as she gives them both a pointed gnce, moving to stand again. Okay. So maybe they were being a little childish. But only a little.

  Blue eyes survey their handiwork with pursed lips. "Now, I agree that it could fall over, but it will have very little to do with the trees." Tyler blinks as she looks upwards and around, mouth gaping as she points at a particur tree near the centre. "Those branches are more low hanging and dead than the ones here."

  "But," she gives Zach a pointed look when he grins smugly, "you've got the poles in wrong." That has his grin vanishing, repced with confusion no small amount of shock.

  He could empathise with the feeling, he was feeling the same. From the way she'd talked over the week, he hadn't thought she'd gone camping much at all. Jade had mentioned there wasn't much time or space where they had lived before.

  Yet as they watched, she rolls her eyes with a sigh. Then his mouth really does gape as she expertly, and quickly, pitches the tents, fixing the poles before they can process. Sure it takes a few minutes, but he's too stunned by each move to actually pay attention.

  "Wow," Nina's breathless voice says from behind them.

  "Yeah," he can practically hear the smile in Lia's voice. "She's really making us look like newbies, isn't she?" He hadn't even noticed them approach.

  "No kidding," Zach says in a voice that says he's somewhere between tears and ughter. "She's either an expert or a natural."

  The words are clearly a joke. He's just not sure why she watched them struggle for over fifteen minutes when she could have fixed it. He sighs, running a hand down his face. Did she really find it that funny?"

  "Hey," she says over her shoulder, halfway through pitching the next tent, "Are you gonna help or just stand there?" She throws them a teasing grin, "Or was all that talk in the car just bravado?"

  "Wait," Tyler blinks, already walking forward, "Did you wait that long just to mess with us?" Did she wait that long just because she was annoyed or something? No. Probably just to see what they'd do.

  "Maybe," she says in a singsong, "But you were doing so good." The gre he gives her as he helps only gets him a ugh. Which of course makes his annoyance fade, because he's a fool who likes her ugh.

  Zach sighs, joining them and gives Vicky a narrowed gnce. "I'll get you back for this."

  "You can try," she says, still with a grin. "Now get to work." They both roll their eyes, but do as she says anyway.

  To his mild annoyance, they manage to get them up faster than they ever had before. But he's going to put that down to have someone else to help. The girls, or well Nina and Lia, didn't really know much about it.

  However, neither Zach or he could get the fire going, so it evened out. He swore those matches hated him. Or the kindling. Either or both.

  Any annoyance he could have had is fleeting because the next thing on the list is the ke. The fishing gear is ready to go, so no need to argue about what to do. They're all standing over it in a fsh.

  Disappointingly, nothing catches on. But Zach does get spshed in the face by one of the big ones, so it doesn't matter. A moment of stunned silence ensues where they all just stare at him spluttering. And then it breaks with a snorted ugh.

  Vicky doubles over, which triggers the rest of them as well. It's a very contagious sort of ugh. Bellowing and free, which strikes against his memory. An odd memory fleetingly passing through that he can't catch amidst his ughter.

  "Jerks," Zach mutters. His ears are red, but Tyler can tell he's not really that offended.

  "Oh, come on!" Nina tells him in between huffed breaths, "That was funny! You were just standing there and a fish suddenly jumps and sps you across the face. And then swims away under the dock!"

  The reminder makes her wheeze so much that the words are barely understandable. But their ughter restarts with it, and just when he'd managed to catch his breath.

  "Yes," Zach says with a deadpan, "I was there." Then he groans, burying his head in his hands. "It's starting to feel like this is not my day."

  "There, there," Vicky's the first one to recover and she pats him on his back. "It's not so bad." He just pouts. What a baby, Tyler thinks with a fond smile. "We could always do something else?"

  "Yeah," Tyler adds with a wide sadistic smile, "We can always do something else if you're that bothered by a fish." A cackle leaves him as Zach attempts to push him into the water for it. "You're too slow."

  "I'll show you too slow," Zach says with a huff as he tries again. Tyler only gives him a shit-eating grin, ughing when he misses. Again.

  Except...The smile fades when he suddenly finds himself airborne. A betrayed yelp leaving his mouth when he turns midair to see sparkling blue eyes. Spsh! Cold. The water is fucking freezing.

  Coming up for air, he throws a gre towards the ughing woman. "Traitor."

  "Well," she tilts her head, "it's hardly fair for him to have the only funny experience." The mentioned man is looking at her like she's his new favourite person, doubled over with ughter. The others seem split between shocked and amused.

  "It-" Whatever he was going to say fades when he sees her gently push the girls of the ledge as well.

  "What!?"

  "Hey!"

  Cackling ughter is the only sound in the aftermath as she stands triumphantly over them. Nina splutters next to him, Lia already gring at her with annoyed brown eyes. Tyler feels more amused now, yet...

  "Push her in!" He tells the man still doubled over.

  "Yeah!" Nina says, finally able to catch her breath, grey eyes narrowed. "We demand vengeance!" That only makes Vicky ugh her harder as Zach salutes them.

  Yet when he does manage to push her off, she drags him down with her. His eyes widen as he falls in afterwards. Still ughing, she's seemingly unaffected by the water.

  "You just gonna stay there?" She says, swimming away. And that. That's practically a call to war. They chase after her and it soon drifts into a water fight as they near the bank. Drenched and ughing, they have no choice but to change into spare clothes.

  "That was so much fun!" Nina says ter as they sit by the campfire.

  "Yeah," he says, eyes wandering to Vicky who's trying to coax Zach to talk to her again. "I can't remember ughing this much."

  "Me neither," Nina says with a smile, poking at the fire.

  And that's not to say they didn't have fun. They did, but not like this. It had always been fun and one of the happiest parts of his year, but it wasn't like this. Not so...free.

  "Oh come on, I said I was sorry. How long are you going to not talk to me?" Zach only shoots her a small gre.

  Tyler smirks. He'd come around, he knew. Zach was just having trouble gathering his pride after screaming so loud that it echoed through the clearing and spooking the birds. He fights and loses to the grin.

  And all of it over a small spider. Vicky had only picked it up to show him and he'd screamed. How embarrassing. Personally, Tyler doesn't think the following apology was very sincere. More amused than anything, but considering she'd freed it far from him he thought it was fine.

  Unfortunately Zach had noticed the amusement as well, and was now being stubbornly petunt. Ah well. Tyler turned back, warming his hands on the fire. It had gotten cold and their little swim hadn't really done much to combat it.

  As with any good campout, there were marshmallows. Three bags full of them that mostly went uneaten usually, but always brought just the same. And the supplies for s'mores which Nina was currently obsessed with.

  Tyler smiled as Vicky walked up to them and assembled one of her own. However, it turned into confusion when instead of eating it, she simply put into a paper pte. Following her steps, he saw her waving it under Zach's nose.

  Bemused, he watches as he followed the scent like a dog. "Do you want this?" He heard Vicky say, moving the pte out of the way when he reached for it. "Hmm?" She says the words slightly sadistically, keeping it out of reach.

  Nina and Lia join him in watching with barely restrained smiles. He has to admit this is really funny to watch.

  "I was going to give this to you, but..." She sighs sadly, "it seems you don't want it."

  "Oh, she is good," Nina says with a delighted smile. Lia nods, smile turning into a wide grin.

  "Should I just take this away? All the chocotey goodness-"

  "I want it!" And he cracked. Tyler stifles a grin of his own when his friend falls to her tactics and breaks his silence.

  "Does this mean I'm forgiven?" She says it with wide eyes and faux innocence and that only makes him choke back a ugh.

  True to form, Zach's attention is solely on the s'more. "Yes," he says in a trance, "Of course."

  "Really? You mean it?" She pouts.

  "Yes," he confirms with a nod.

  "Well, alright then," she hands it over and waits until he bites down to grin. "No take-backs. Now come and sit around the campfire."

  Like a queen to her subjects, she simply walks away. And Zach moves straight after her, clearly satisfied with the peace offering. All is forgiven with chocote, at least for him. He's just not sure how she knew that.

  He only gives it a brief thought before shrugging. Probably a coincidence. He passes her a s'more of her own as she sits between him and Nina. The girls give her discrete thumbs up before turning to make their own.

  "Thanks," she smiles at him.

  "No prob," he tells her, then leans into so only she can hear. "I thought you might want one too since you used it to basically trick Zach into agreeing to anything you say." Really, it almost felt like he was watching a deal with the devil.

  Vicky ughs, shaking her head. "This is fun," she says so they can all hear.

  "Yeah it is," Zach says with a grin. Clearly, having put anything to the contrary out of his mind.

  "And speaking of which," Lia intercedes with a smile, "Are you able to come to my party next week?"

  "Yeah," Vicky smiles softly, "Jade says she'll be fine to look after Raine now that George is going to be home more often. So of course I'll be there, Cece."

  "Excellent," Lia says with a cp of her hand. Tyler's surprised to note she no longer winces at being called Cece, but whatever.

  They fall into a comfortable rhythm, talking about random things in between marshmallows. Laughing at anecdotes and jokes. Scary stories turn into competitions and then just a marshmallow roasting fest when the chocote runs out.

  "I'm gd you're here," Nina says in between bites.

  And that he agrees with wholeheartedly. He's gd she agreed to come. He wants her to come next time and the one after as well. And all the ones after that. It's more fun this way.

  If only there wasn't this weird ache in his chest.