Evergreen Mountain

Six | Sleepover

The cabin was humming with conversation and laughter. I was several drinks in, another one dangerously sloshing around in my hand. A few guys were outside smoking, but most of us were inside talking and joking around. Leo was telling a story about Liam last summer when the cops were called on a party at his house and he ran through the woods only to see it was Leo in his car, lights, sirens and all, maniacally laughing.

I was next to Will, who was a lot less drunk than me, crammed on one of the bottom bunks. The guys from outside stumbled in.

"Dude, I think a few girls may have seen us." one of them giggled.

"Fuck, dude! I told you to be discreet." Liam whined, ushering them outside to see if anyone was out there watching. I laughed and took another sip of my drink.

"Probably time to slow down." Will said, taking the cup from my hand.

"Will!" I groaned, trying to reach for the cup. Will frowned at me.

"What's up with you? You don't usually drink this much." he asked. I shrugged.

"Just wanna let loose." I slurred, feeling exhaustion start to creep into my body.

"Okay, sure. You're going to stay here tonight." Will stated, shooing the guys off the other bed who were on the edge of belligerent drunk. "C'mon. Back to your cabins. I know you're all in the same one. At least one of you has to be sober enough to get there." he said, herding them towards the door.

I was nearly passed out on the bed when Leo came over to me and slumped down onto the bed next to me, making me groan.

"Sleepover!" Leo slurred.

"Shut up, Leo. Time for sleep." Will scolded, grabbing his arm and pulling him onto the other bed. I heard the bed creak and what sounded like Liam complaining while Will pushed him into bed.

"Where the fuck will I sleep." Eli drawled.

"Up there. I'll take the floor." Will said, pushing Eli up the ladder of the other bunk bed. Will let out a sigh as he spread out a sleeping bag in the floor and grabbed a blanket out from under me.

"Thanks." I mumbled to him.

"Go to sleep." Will murmured in response.

I woke up to a dark room, still saturated with the sounds of snores from the others. I groaned and rolled over, seeing Will still on the ground, Leo sprawled out on the bed across from me and Eli's hand hanging off the bed above Leo. I slowly sat up and put my head in my hands, taking a moment to assess the damage I'd done to my body. My headache was not as bad as the other night, but it was less than pleasant.

I slowly stood up and searched for my shoes. I slipped them on and quietly left the cabin, following the trail towards my cabin in the cool early morning. I stumbled up the stairs and into our cabin, catching myself from falling by grabbing the dresser. I was surprised to see it was empty, feeling a slight twinge of sadness that passed as soon as it started.

I decided to take a shower to relax, so I slowly made my way to my bag, grabbing whatever clothes I could find before heading to the bathroom. I sulked in the warm water for a while, letting the stream hit my back. I eventually made my way out, drying off and pulling on some clothes. I looked out the window, seeing the sun still bright and light, still early morning. I decided to get an early breakfast by myself, enjoy the quiet morning. I pulled a sweatshirt on over my head, shoving my phone into my pocket as I opened the door and headed towards the dining hall.

I didn't encounter anyone on the walk to the main hall. From what I'd heard, a lot of people had parties last night so I wasn't expecting many people to be out so early. I walked into the main hall and looked around, seeing a few scattered people sitting down. I let out a sigh and grabbed a tray, piling whatever food my hungover body wanted onto my plate. I turned around and spotted a familiar figure sitting at a table in the corner. His back was to me but I could still tell it was him.