I wake up to the sound of birds and someone's voice outside the tent. For a second, I forget where I am the thin air, the smell of smoke, the faint ache in my legs and then I remember.Camping. Mountains. Kevin.
The world feels still, painted in pale gold light. Everyone's half-asleep, hair messy, faces puffy from the cold. I peek out of the tent and see Kevin crouched near the fire pit, stirring something in a pan.
"Morning," I mumble, yawning.
He glances at me, eyes soft but unreadable. "Morning. Hungry?"
"Always."
There's something comforting about watching him cook — like he's done this a thousand times. He moves calmly, sleeves pushed up, hair messy in the best way. I hug my blanket tighter, pretending it's just because I'm cold.
Breakfast is simple pancakes, eggs, some weird mix of leftover noodles but it tastes like warmth. Everyone's laughing, teasing each other, talking over the sound of the wind. For a moment, it feels like life is easy again.
When breakfast's over, we start packing. Tents collapse, bags zip, and the clearing slowly becomes empty again. Kevin keeps trying to do everything himself."Stop acting like a hero," I tell him, tugging the sleeping bag from his hands."I'm not," he says, that small grin tugging at his lips. "You just work too slow.""Excuse me?"He laughs quietly. "You're cute when you're mad."
My stomach twists. He doesn't even notice what that does to me.
By noon, we're ready to go. The bus waits at the edge of the road, the metal steps cold under my boots as we climb in. Everyone's half-tired, half-excited, and someone already has a speaker blasting music.
The ride starts quietly, but soon, laughter fills the air again. Ethan's making jokes, Michael trying to get everyone to sing. Someone starts dancing in the aisle. I try not to, but eventually, they drag me in too.
I don't even know what song's playing something loud and stupid but I can't stop laughing. For a moment, I forget everything else: Sasha showing up during the hike, Kevin's cold tone, the way he's been distant lately.
When I spin around, my eyes find him. He's sitting in the back, pretending not to watch, but I can tell. He always pretends he doesn't care, but his gaze lingers longer than it should.
Our eyes meet.He looks away first.
I go back to my seat, heart racing. The music fades into background noise. My eyelids feel heavy; my head rests against the window, and the next thing I know, everything blurs trees, voices, the road.
I must've fallen asleep.
The next thing I feel is motion arms around me, warm and steady. I blink, barely awake, and the first thing I see is Kevin's jawline, close enough that I can feel his heartbeat when he moves.
It takes me a second to realize he's carrying me.
My voice is barely a whisper. "What… what are you doing?"He looks down, his face calm. "You were too tired to walk. Just sleep."
I want to argue, but his chest feels warm and I'm too tired to care. The hum of the sea hits my ears we're back at the beach.
I don't remember much after that. Just him walking, slow and careful, his breath steady against my hair. The way the sunlight hit his face when we reached the room. The sound of waves outside the window.
He lays me on my bed like I'm something fragile. I want to open my eyes, to say something, but my body feels too heavy.
"Kevin…" I whisper, not even sure if he hears me."Yeah?""You didn't leave me behind, right?"
A pause. Then, softly "Never."
My heart beats once, hard, before the world fades to black.
When I wake up hours later, the room is quiet. He's asleep in his bed across from mine, one arm hanging off the side, hair messy again. The sound of the ocean seeps through the open window, slow and rhythmic.
I pull the blanket tighter around me and stare at him in the dark.
Sometimes, he's too much too quiet, too cold, too unreadable. But then there are moments like this, where he doesn't even realize how much he means.
And I know I shouldn't feel this way. I know.But I can't help it.Because every time he looks at me or carries me like I matter I feel something I can't explain.Something dangerous.Something like love.