Evergreen Mountain

Ten | Swimming

By the time our first week at the camp was over, Hal and I were on good terms. We had fallen into a routine of hiking early in the morning and occasionally going to the swimming area I'd found in the afternoon. My friends hadn't really noticed my absence, but Leo was starting to question why I wasn't hanging out with them at night much anymore. I just told him I wasn't feeling it, but in reality I wanted to get to bed earlier so I could wake up and hike with Hal.

I didn't tell anyone about how we were getting along surprisingly well. But Will has been looking at me weird lately, like he was observing me or something. After hiking with Hal this morning, we'd agreed to go to the lake after dinner. He went to hang out with Eli and I headed to the main hall to eat lunch with my friends. I was able to find them quickly, loading up a plate and sitting down next to Leo as they shouted and laughed.

"We're gonna go canoeing after lunch, you wanna join, Andy?" Lucas asked me. I nodded, smiling.

"Sure." I agreed. We all finished shoveling food into our mouths so we could get to the boathouse and secure canoes. We had to double up so we could all go out on the water. I ended up with Will, which was a welcome partner because I was fairly sure Leo was going to be set on tipping his canoe and anyone else within arms reach over.

I waded through the shallow water and stepped into the canoe, taking the front bench. Will steadied the canoe and sat on the bench behind me. Lucas helped launch us and we hurried to catch up with Liam and Mason.

"You guys wanna race?" Mason asked, a hint of mischief in his eyes.

"Hell yeah." Will grinned. We waited for the countdown, our paddles poised above the surface of the water. When Liam said one, the sound of the paddles hitting the water filled the air. I laughed, the feeling of the wind blowing in my hair making me feel free. Will joined in laughing when Liam nearly tipped his canoe over, making Mason scream obscenities at him as they fell behind. Will and I lifted our paddles above our heads, claiming victory. Liam groaned, throwing his paddle in contempt, making Mason yell at him again. Will and I laughed as Liam attempted to use his hands to paddle towards where he'd thrown it, but he just ended up falling into the water.

Will and I lazily rowed around, trying to stay at least a paddle's distance away from Leo in an attempt to stay as dry as possible.

"Andy?" Will called my name. We were almost in the middle of the lake, most of the guys were closer to the shore getting in a splashing match with one another.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." I replied.

"How's it going with Hal?" he asked. I felt my stomach churn at the question.

"Fine, I guess. Why?" I asked.

"You just seem to be hanging out with him more is all. Seems like you guys are getting along pretty well." he stated.

"Sure, I guess so." I responded, shrugging. Will just hummed in response and dropped the subject, although I could tell he had more questions.

We made our way back to the shore when the coast was clear, our friends finally getting tired of splashing one another and tipping over canoes. I helped Lucas put the canoes away in the boathouse while Leo tried his hardest to splash Will from the shallow water as he sat in his canoe.

"Leo! Stop terrorizing Will and come here! Your boat is the last one!" I called at him. Will sent me a grateful look while Leo whined.

"Leo! Shut up and get out." Lucas yelled.

"Someone's cranky." he murmured, jumping into the shallow water and pulling the boat towards us. "Dinner in 30?" he asked. Lucas and I both nodded in response.

"See you there." I confirmed, earning a nod from Will and Leo as they headed back to the cabins. Lucas and I put the last canoe away and closed the boathouse.

"I'll see you later." Lucas said, turning to go to his cabin.

"See you." I replied. I made it back to my cabin just in time to change into a swimsuit. I pulled a pair of joggers over them and was slipping on a shirt when I heard the door open and Hal walked in.

"Hey." he greeted, his eyes briefly meeting mine.

"Hey." I responded.

"You still want to go swimming later?" he asked. I nodded, a small smile growing on my face.

"Yeah, sure. I'll meet you there after dinner?" I confirmed. He nodded, the slightest smile on his face.

"Sure." he confirmed.

"Cool. See you then." I said, slipping on my shoes and heading to cabin 15 to walk to dinner with whoever was still there.

Leo came running out of the cabin, still pulling his arm through his shirt when I arrived.

"Everyone else has already gone down." he said. I nodded and walked beside him.

"Maybe if you hadn't insisted on splashing everyone and throwing yourself into the lake you wouldn't be the last one." I smirked.

"Hey! I was just having fun." Leo defended, making me laugh. Dinner was rowdy, everyone excited to hang out at cabin 15 tonight.

"I heard Lina's planning on coming." Lucas said, looking at Leo. The slightest blush rose on Leo's face, earning a bunch of ohh's from the group. Leo mumbled a shut up before the conversation moved on.

"You coming over?" Leo asked as we left the main hall.

"I have something I have to do first, but I'll be there later." I said, slowing down as we approached the trail entrances.

"Cool. See you later." he nodded. I looked over to see Will giving me a questioning look, which I pretended not to see as I turned, walking towards the trail entrances.

Hal was already there, sitting on the shore watching the sunset. I tried to be as quiet as possible and kicked a rock at his back, making him look back at me, a startled expression quickly melting into a small smile.

"Hey." he greeted.

"Hey." I greeted back, slipping off my shoes and socks as he climbed on top of a rock and jumped off of it into the water. I left my pants and shirt in a heap next to my shoes and climbed the rock Hal had just been on. When he resurfaced I jumped off, aiming to land next to him. I cannonballed into the water, spraying him with my splash. I resurfaced, a toothy grin on my face and Hal already heading for the shore to undoubtedly jump into the water and try to get me back.

We continued like that for a while until my limbs ached from jumping and my stomach hurt from laughing. I felt like a kid again, hanging out with my best friend. The sun had just set and the sky was an inky blue, the moon already shining and stars beginning to appear one by one. I lowered myself deeper into the water as the air grew colder.

"My friends are hanging out tonight." I suddenly said, making Hal raise an eyebrow and look over at me.

"Okay?" he responded.

"Do you want to join?" I asked, looking over at him. He gave a hesitant nod.

"Sure. I wouldn't mind a drink." he shrugged, relief flooding through me.

"Well then we better get there soon, before Leo drinks it all." I laughed, making my way to the shore. I shook my hair out and pulled my pants and shirt on, Hal doing the same. We ended up jogging through the woods in an attempt to dodge the mosquitos that were chasing after us. I could hear Hal slap his arms and legs as we ran.

"Fuck." he muttered, making me laugh. We stopped at our cabin first to change out of our wet clothes. I hung up my suit in the bathroom to dry and pulled on shorts and team t-shirt. As I walked out of the bathroom, I caught a glimpse of Hal's toned back as he finished pulling his shirt on. I felt my mouth dry, my heart rate pick up. I cleared my throat and walked over to grab my phone.

"Ready?" I asked. Hal just nodded and followed me out the door, silently falling into step beside me as we walked to cabin 15.