Evergreen Mountain

Sixteen | What's Really Going On

Hal and I spent the next few days avoiding other people as much as possible, too wrapped up in one another to see anyone else. Hal was in the shower and I was reading one of the his books when Leo came bursting through the door.

"Where the hell have you been, dude?" he asked, looking around the room.

"Fuck, Leo. Knock much?" I said, my hand on my chest as I shot him an angry glare.

"Don't avoid my question, where have you been? No one's seen you in like, 3 days." Leo pushed.

"I wasn't feeling well." I simply stated, shrugging. Leo gave me a disbelieving look before sitting on my bed.

"Well the jig's up. We're hanging out at Lina's tonight." he said. I groaned and rested my head against the wall behind me.

"I don't want to." I whined, making Leo slap my leg.

"Too bad! You've been MIA for days, it's time to actually do something. Plus, you're my wingman!" He exclaimed. "Come on, we're meeting the guys at the main hall for dinner in 10, we need to get a move on." I loudly sighed as Leo moved to pull me off my bed just as the bathroom door opened and Hal came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. My heart stuttered at the sight of his toned torso, beads of water running down his stomach.

"What's happening here?" he asked, smirking and trying to stifle a laugh at the scene of Leo attempting to pull me off my bed.

"Attempted kidnapping." I groaned, finding it almost impossible to rip my gaze from him. Hal chuckled, a dangerous glint in his eye as he caught me staring.

"Carry on then." he said, making Leo smile.

"Ha! See! Even your roommate doesn't want to be stuck with you anymore! Let's go!" he shouted. I shot a look at Hal, seeing him mouth 'I'm sorry' as I gave up and let Leo pull me up.

"I guess we're going then." I mumbled. Leo nodded triumphantly and pushed me towards the door.

"Let's get a move on! Come on, Andy." Leo said. I let out a sigh as he pushed me out the door and we made our way to the main hall.

"He's alive!" Liam shouted as I joined the table. I flipped him off and sat down next to Will.

"Where've you been?" Lucas asked.

"Sick." Leo answered for me, using air quotes. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Yeah, I'm sure you are after whatever you did to get all those marks on your neck." Lucas joked, my eyes widening as I realized what he was talking about.

"Damn, dude! Is that what you've been doing these past few days? Banging some chick?" Leo asked, looking over at me, bewildered.

"Something like that." I smirked, trying to hide the nerves and fear I felt rising up within me. A few guys whistled and slapped me on the back.

"Damn, Andy's holding out on us!" Mason laughed, I laughed along with him.

Oh they have no idea.

I wasn't really in the mood to drink, so I opted to play cards with a few others when we got to Lina's. I was hoping Leo would go off with her so I could leave and go back to my cabin, back to Hal.

"Your turn, Andy." Will called, bringing me out of my thoughts. I nodded as I set a card down. Will gave me a look of concern, which I just shook my head at, hoping he would understood what I was trying to say. The game ended a few rounds after that and I excused myself to get some air outside. I sat down on a log in front of the cabin, wanting to take a break from the noise. I tilted my head up to look at the stars, inhaling a deep breath of the fresh air. My chest ached, something in my chest tugging and missing Hal's presence next to me. I heard the door squeak and turned to see Will opening the door, looking around until he saw me and made his way over to the log.

"Hey." he greeted.

"Hey." I responded as he sat down next to me.

"So, you wanna tell me what's really going on?" Will asked, looking out at the dimly lit trail that connected all the cabins.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Come on, Andy. I'm not as dumb as Leo. I can tell something's going on with you." he said. I wanted to tell him, I really did. But I was scared. "I know it has to do with Hal." he admitted, making my head whip around to look at him, his eyes still focused on the trail in front of us.

"What?" I asked. Will just shot me a look, telling me not to bullshit him anymore. I let out a deep sigh before slowly nodding. "You're right." I muttered, pushing my hands deeper into my pockets.

"So what's going on? Both of you have basically disappeared these past few days." he pushed. I was silent for a second, feeling heat rise in my cheeks.

"We, uh, we're kind of hanging out." I pieced together, hoping he wouldn't push any further.

"Hanging out?" he questioned, clearly not believing me. I groaned and tilted my head up to look at the sky again. I let out a breath before looking ahead, back at the trail.

"We're kind of seeing each other, I guess." I mumbled, hoping he wouldn't look at me as my cheeks burned.

"Like, together seeing each other or hook-up seeing each other?" Will pushed.

"I'm not sure." I answered quietly. That question snapped me back to reality instantly. In a matter of days, a drunken make out session had left me addicted to Hal, miserable when he wasn't around. I had grown unimaginably attached to him in just a few days. But that was life here, on this trip. What would happen when we went home? What exactly were Hal and I? As if sensing my mood shift, Will was quiet for a minute.

"I guess it makes sense now." he said.

"What does?" I asked.

"You're getting out six years worth of pent up sexual tension." Will said, smirking at me. I balked at his words, my mouth opening but no words coming.

"Wha-no!" I disagreed. Will laughed and nodded.

"It's true and you know it!" he responded, nudging my shoulder as I loudly groaned.

"Shut up." I mumbled, wanting this conversation to stop.

"Says the one who's covered in hickies." he smirked. I groaned and dropped my head into my hands.

"Shut up." I mumbled again, trying to stop the blush that was rising in my cheeks. We were both quiet for a moment. I lifted my head out of my hands and looked out at the trail, longing to leave.

"You should go back." Will finally said.

"Huh?" I asked, confused, turning my head to look at Will.

"I know you want to be with him, not here. I'll cover for you." he offered.

"Really?" I asked, moving to stand up.

"Yeah. Now go before I change my mind." I grinned and stood up.

"Thank you, Will. Really, thank you." I said, starting towards the trail. He waved me off as I smiled at him before jogging towards the trail, my feet moving fast towards the cabin and back towards Hal.

I pushed the door open, making Hal look up at me as I rushed into the cabin, out of breath and my face tinted red from running.

"Andy? Are you okay?" he asked, concern etched in his features as he dropped his book and stood up, walking over to me and placing his hands on my shoulders to look me over. I tried to steady my breathing as I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just, I didn't want to be there." he raised an eyebrow at me. "I wanted to be here. With you." I said. Hal smiled and dipped down to press a firm kiss to my lips.

"Good. That's what I want too." he murmured, making me smile. I reached out and grabbed his shirt, pulling closer to me, his hands finding my waist and gripping as I kissed him with everything I had. I forgot about what we were, what would happen when we left. It didn't matter in this moment. I was with Hal, he was in my arms. And that's all that matters right now.