Opal
I am ready to get out of this car.
Soon, we finally do. The car ride was long and stiff after I looked up and saw Oliver looking at me. Was he checking me out? I don't know! I am probably over analyzing, but it is hard not to when someone is that hot.
When we get to the camping site, we all hop out and stretch our legs. The place is really beautiful, green and lush, with a stream literally 20 feet away from the campsite. We all set up the tent, and then split up. Elizabeth and Connor to get tinder, and for Oliver and I to get firewood from the camp ranger guy at the front of the campsite road. The walk is quiet but comfortably silent, which I am grateful for. Then Oliver speaks up.
"Think they'll actually get anything done?" he says with grin.
"Eh. Probably not. They'll probably end up kissing or something. I actually hope they do, so we won't have to deal with all this tension." I reply. I look at him out of the side of my eye. "What do you think?"
"I think you are probably right. And I hope so too."
We get to the camp ranger guy and get some fire wood, then walk back. Elizabeth and Connor are no where to be found, and neither is any tinder for the fire. We decide not to wait for them, and to start a fire without them. But to do that, we have to get tinder.
We wander around and collect enough tinder to build a fire, but it is still a little too light to build a fire, so we go down to the creek, which is more like a shallow river, and look for marshmallow roasting sticks. Oliver snags a good one, but I want mine to be great. And then I spot it, but it's in a tree.
I stand on a rock underneath the tree, reaching up to grab it. How the heck did it get up here? The end is black and burnt, so someone actually used this before me, then put it in this tree. The probably wanted the stick all to themselves. What a jerk.
"What out, Opal. I think that rock is a little tipsy." Oliver is standing on the ground by the rock, looking up at me.
"What? It feels pretty stable to m-"
Just as I say that, the rock tips and I fall down towards the ground, but Oliver catches me. He looks at me, in sort of a daze, not saying anything. His arms are around my waist, pulling me close to his chest. I don't want to, but I quite like the feel of his arms around me. For some reason, this makes me blush, and I look away. His eyes widen and he seems to realize he is just staring at me, and he clears his throat. A small amount of red graces his cheeks. It actually looks good on him. I am jealous.
"Are-are you okay?" He looks down towards me, and I am internally screaming at myself, Stop blushing!
He lets his arms go, and we step away from each other. My skin tingles where his arms were, and I internally sigh.
"Yes, I think so. Thank you, I should have listened when you said it was tipsy. But at least I have my marshmallow stick!" I pick it up and grin sheepishly, my cheeks furiously red, and with that, I march away towards the campsite.
The sky is dark and the fire is big and crackling by the time Connor and Elizabeth get back. Their faces are flushed and they are both grinning, but Oliver and I say and do nothing other than exchange knowing looks.
"So do you guys actually want dinner? All I really want is s'mores..." Connor says.
We all agree on s'mores for dinner. As we roast marshmallow there is an excessive amount of stilted small talk between Oliver and I, and Connor and Elizabeth continue to grin at each other the entire time, not even saying anything. I try to break the silence by asking:
"Anyone have anything fun they want to do tomorrow? I've been here before, I know a few things to do, but if you guys have any ideas...no? Anyone?" Connor and Elizabeth don't seem to really want to do anything other than stare at each other happily, so Oliver fills in the silence.
"This is my first time here, so I'm game for any ideas anyone else has. What things are there to do?" He looks at me after squashing a marshmallow between two graham crackers and chocolate squares.
"Well, there is a trail a little bit away from the campsite, a lake a 20 minute drive away from here, swimming in the creek,obviously, this tree swing I found in the forest last time I was here, and, you know, just lounging around. "
"Sounds fun. I'm getting tired, I'm gonna go to bed, we can all talk about it tomorrow, in the morning. " He says with a yawn.
"Night."
"Night."
~~~
Back in the tent, I am already ready for bed when Elizabeth climbs into the little two person tent. We have two tents, Connor and Oliver in one, and Elizabeth and I in the other. She gets settled in, and we lie in silence for a few minutes. It isn't uncomfortable, I could never be with her, because we met when we were babies. We grew up together, and got past the stage of ever being awkward with each other when we were about three years old.
"Connor kissed me."
"I know."
"How?"
"It was quite obvious."
"It was?"
"To me, at least."
"Good night, Opal."
"Night, E."
I try to fall asleep, but I just can't seem to. I keep going back and reliving the moment when Oliver had his arms around my waist. I saw the way he looked at me in my mind again, the blush on his cheeks when he shook himself out of that daze, and wondered:
Does he like me too?
