Evergreen Mountain

Seventeen | Not Bad Ones

Early the next morning, Hal and I got up to go on a hike. The birds were loudly chirping and the sun had just barely broken over the horizon. We'd fallen into step next to one another, our arms brushing every so often. I felt Hal's hand graze mine as we walked, making me bite back a smile. He finally hooked his pinky with mine before I laced our fingers together. We walked hand in hand as we began our trek along the 10 mile trail. A few minutes in, Hal's hand in mine sparked something in my chest and I felt a laugh bubble up inside me. I bit my cheek, hoping to stop it, but I couldn't help it. I let out a laugh, earning a confused look from Hal.

"What?" he asked.

"This is fucking crazy." I laughed. Hal frowned and scrunched his eyebrows together, his hand loosening in mine. "No, no, not in a bad way." I assured him, squeezing his hand and tilting my head to look at him.

"I never, not in a million years, could have imagined this trip going this way." I admitted. Hal smiled but didn't say anything. "What are you thinking about?" I asked him, knowing the pensive look on his face.

"I kind of hoped it would go something like this if I'm being honest." he confessed, making me slow down, pulling his hand backwards and making him stop.

"What?" I asked.

"I might've heard Leo talking about his brother's hack." Hal smirked.

"And?"

"I hoped I remembered enough about you to get us matched together." Hal said, looking down at our hands, avoiding my gaze.

"You did?" I asked, shocked.

"I told you, Ander. I may have tried to hate you, but I never could. I was hoping this could be my chance to explain everything." I tugged his hand, forcing him to take a step closer to me. "And I lied about trying to switch cabins." he said, a small smile on his face.

"Miscreant!" I laughed, squeezing his hand. Something in my stomach fluttered when Hal's eyes met mine, the corners of his lips tipped up into a soft smile.

A stormy expression suddenly crossed his face, his eyes dropping from my gaze as he untangled his fingers from mine. That tug in my chest returned, concern flooding through me.

"I have to ask you something." Hal started, his tone shifting to serious. "The other night we were both pretty drunk. I feel like I took advantage of that and forced myself on you." he let out a sharp breath, taking a step away from me.

"Hal-" I started, abruptly stopping when Hal shook his head.

"I don't want to force you into anything, make you feel obligated to be with me, out of pity or something." I started to open my mouth again, shaking my head, but Hal continued. "I've been selfish not saying anything until now, worrying that it would burst the bubble and you'd come to your senses." he let out a shaky breath. "You know how I feel about you, Andy. And it's selfish for me not to say anything because I want you, to be with you." my chest ached and I longed to touch him, hug him. "I don't want to force anything, force you into anything." Hal was quiet for a moment, which I took as a sign he was done.

"Hal," I started, silently urging him to look at me. "You have to be the kindest, bravest, most patient and compassionate person I've ever known." his brows furrowed, confused by my statement. "Not a lot of people would have said what you just did." I stepped forward, carefully placing a hand on his arm. "I like you, Hal. A lot. And this — us —" I gestured between the two of us. "I know I've never felt like this with someone before, and I owe it to myself to try." Hal was quiet for a moment.

"Andy, are you sure?" Hal quietly asked, eyes trained on my hand on his arm.

"Yes." I instinctively said, squeezing his arm reassuringly. "The other night, I could've pushed you away, yelled and screamed at you. But I didn't. I wanted you to do it, I wanted you to kiss me." I said, taking another step forward, trailing my hand down his arm and taking his hand in mine. I placed my other hand on his cheek, gently turning his head towards me so I could look at him. "Hal, listen to me." I instructed, his eyes reluctantly meeting mine. "You didn't force yourself onto me or make me do anything I didn't want to. Like I said, we made some mistakes, but not bad ones. Okay?" I said, stroking his cheek with my thumb. He slowly nodded.