The Far Away Bear (mxm)

Chapter 9 - The Shack

POV: Jaden

It seemed that no matter how far we went from the cabin, i still felt like i was stuck inside four walls.

Maybe i had been inside too long and just needed this more than i realized. Arlow was stomping ahead of me, breaking a path with his thick leather boots. The heavy footfall crushed down the earth and twigs, crunching them into the soft, mossy ground. Behind me, Peat was busy scanning his surroundings. He wore a strangely sombre expression, like he was concerned about something.

It had never crossed my mind before now, but it was a little odd that these two were so far off the trail into the wild. Why were they out here to begin with? Maybe i should've cared more than i did, but frankly, i was comfortable with them. They were somehow the nicest people i barely knew.

The sounds of the forest were hypnotic around me, birds whistling as they got their nests ready for the winter coming up, Squirrels scampering around through the trees and dropping leaves doing the same thing. They even started throwing nuts and twigs at us as we went by, afraid we would steal their stash. honestly, though, i wouldn't put it past Peat to try. There were rays of light beating down in between the canopy over us, and i watched as the pattern floated over Arlow's thick, heavy leather jacket.

Arlow really intrigued me. He was quiet but sincere. How can i put it, like a lovable teddy bear? There was something about Arlow that i couldn't help but gravitate towards. He simply pulled me in, and i let him.

Peat, on the other hand, he was the loyal type, not to say Arlow wasn't, but Peat had a quality that screamed playful and goofy, yet, somehow he never went over the line.

Here i was with my...friends? i could call them that now, surely...Heading through a dense forest and supposedly toward a halfway point cabin out in the middle of the middle of nowhere.

"Jaden, you doing okay back there?" Arlow asked, calling back to me, his voice a little low and grumbled with the hike.

I grinned and snorted, adjusting my bag on my back. "Yup, don't forget i was a hiker before all of this, you know" I laughed lightly, shaking my head I had been ill, but i wasn't as fragile as they thought i was, at least not now.

Peat laughed behind me and threw a stick past me at Arlow's back, making me jump. "Yeah, Arlow! he's not a kid! he's got this. The ground isn't even tough yet!"

Arlow grumbled up ahead, and i felt bad for my cheekiness. I was only teasing, Arlow's perception of me was kind of important to me you know, so i half jogged closer to him, coming up at his left side and bumped his arm with my own. I looked up at him with a cheeky grin, and he looked down at me with bright wide eyes, clearly surprised to see me with him. His cheeks dusted a light pink, and he cleared his throat, looking up the trail.

I continued to grin to myself, Peat following up behind us with a small, playful snicker. I glanced back at him and made a face jokingly, to which Peat recoiled and held his chest. "Ugh...my heart, how could you?" he played along. Snorting, i looked back ahead at the trail, the pots and other items on our bags making small clunking sounds as we trekked on.

Arlow was making glances at me, but i didn't look. Instead, i kept smiling and pretending not to notice as i enjoyed the wilderness I'd been missing. The silence broke after a few moments of peace with Arlow's gruff but soothing voice.

"Jaden, why do you want to stay?"

I almost stopped walking for a second, tripping up on my own feet at the sudden question. It was a perfectly reasonable one, just hard to answer. "Um, well...i uh.." Hadn't i already told them a little bit, at least? I chewed my lower lip and finally looked up at him again. His crystal clear eyes were soaking me up, i was afraid we'd walk into a tree together " I like it here, I've always liked the woods" my face was heating up, i simply had to look away, fingers twisting around my straps of my bag as i stared at my boots, walking "It's peaceful, and everything else just kind of melts away when you're out here you know?" Arlow nodded quietly, keenly listening.