Golden Chains

015

CHAPTER 015
| Summer camp, pt. 5

Serenity awoke to the persistent buzz of her phone, its screen casting a soft, eerie glow in the dark room. Groggily, she half-opened her eyes, her fingers fumbling to pick up the call. Aiden's voice, warm and familiar, greeted her from the other end of the line. "Hey, sleepyhead," he greeted on the other side. "Don't tell me you just woke up."

"Yeah," Serenity replied in a hoarse morning voice, "your call woke me up."

"Are you seriously sleeping in on a summer camp?"

Serenity let out a tired sigh. "Summer's already comig to an end, and this isn't even a camp; we're staying in a hotel. What part of it makes you think this is a summer camp?"

"Why're you grumbling first thing in the morning?" Aiden teased. "Just hurry down, it'll be fun."

"Alright, I'm coming in a minute," Serenity said, shaking off the last remnants of sleep.

She went in for a shower and changed into a new pair of outfit, after an hour she made her way downstairs. As she stepped out onto the open grounds, the lively chatter of students from her academy reached her ears. Her eyes wandered around, she spotted Aiden and the others,

"What's going on?" Serenity asked as she joined the group.

"They're playing games and stuff, wanna join?" Rosalie suggested.

"Oh, I almost forgot these extras came on the trip too," Serenity mused.

"Anyways, I don't see everybody here," Serenity remarked.

"You mean you don't see Cyrus here? He went somewhere this morning; I saw him leaving," Rosalie informed her. "On a side note, Luca isn't here as well, he hurriedly left the room last night" she added,

"Who cares about him?" Serenity replied, as she pondered Cyrus's absence, Jasper appeared, casually draping his arm over her shoulder, startling her.

"Is your name Ray?" Jasper asked playfully.

"No," Serenity immediately responded,

"Because you're my sunshine," Jasper quipped.

"That doesn't even make sense," she  remarked,

"At least let me finish! And It does make sense-it's actually deeper than you think," Jasper confidently stated, flashing a mischievous grin.

"Serenity, let's partner up for the next game," Aiden interjected.

"Alright, let's go," Serenity agreed wanting to kill some time, looks like it would be an awfully long day, "Hey don't ignore me!" Jasper exclaimed catching up to them.

The whole afternoon went in a blur, as the students from the academy did not miss the chance to enjoy the camp to the fullest, meanwhile Serenity kept wondering about where Cyrus might be, the sun had set already and the sky was dark, moon had been already up in the sky.

They decided to hold a campfire, Serenity half asleep sat nearby the campfire as the cold wind hit her bare skin, her head tilted and her eyes closed,

Jasper walked towards her and took a seat on a chair beside her, 'She was so against on coming to the camp and looks like she's the one enjoying it the most' he thought to himself as he chuckled,

Her hair strands were falling on her face, Jasper leaned closer to her, his hand reached out to her face his thumb caressing her cheek gently and he tucked her hair strands behind her ears, his fingers brushing on her cold skin, his ears were bright red, he quickly took his hand away when he felt her move slightly,

His eyes silently adoring her sleeping figure, she usually has that 'I'm pissed off' look on her face, she flickered open her eyes, and rubbed them, "oh, it's just you Jasper" she uttered, her gaze landing on his face,

"Why are you so red, especially your ears, are you okay? Do you've a fever?" She asked concernedly as she stretched her hand out touching his forehead to feel his temperature

"Your temperature is fine" she says confused,

His eyes widened as he covers his ears, 'Why...my heart, it's beating so damn fast' he thinks,

Aiden and Rosalie approached them with marshmallows on sticks in their hands, "here" Aiden says handing one to her,

"What do I do with it?" Serenity asks,

"Roast them in the fire and dip it in chocolate" Aiden explains,

"I don't like sweet things, you can have them" serenity replies,

"Trust me, it tastes good" Aiden says convincingly, "fine" Serenity gets up and walks towards the fire where other students were doing the same,  when she sees Cyrus on the other side

Serenity hurriedly made her way towards Cyrus, her thoughts racing with a mixture of concern and curiosity. She grabbed his shoulder, causing him to turn around abruptly.

"Where were you?" she demanded, her voice laced with urgency.

"It's none of your business," Cyrus replied, gently but firmly yanking her hand away. Serenity couldn't help but notice the presence of a woman and a man standing behind him.

"Is she Serenity Sinclair?" the girl whispered to Cyrus, her curiosity evident.

"Don't tell me, she's that Serenity Sinclair! Man, you're acquainted with some big shot, Cyrus," the man commented, making Serenity glare at them.

"I'll catch up with y'all later," Cyrus dismissed them without further ado, and they walked away.

Serenity's brow furrowed as she turned her attention back to Cyrus. "Who are they? Perhaps our classmates?" she questioned.

"What does that have anything to do with you?" Cyrus replied curtly.

Serenity paused, suddenly realizing that she hadn't thought about why she had been searching for him since morning. Her thoughts raced, trying to find an answer.

'Why was I looking for him in the first place?'

'I just wanted to see you?... No, I can't say that', Serenity thought to herself.

"If you don't have anything to say, I'm leaving," Cyrus announced, turning away. Serenity, not wanting him to go, caught his wrist.

'This guy! And here I was concerned that I ruined your trip!'

"Wait!" she blurted out, "I've got something to give you!"

Cyrus turned back to face her, his expression a mix of confusion and frustration. "What?" he asked.

Serenity extended the marshmallow stick in her hand, offering it to him. "Here, I wanted to give you this. It tastes pretty good, and you might not want to miss this one," she explained.

Cyrus hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "No, thanks," he uttered coldly, Serenity took his hand and placed the stick in it before running off. Cyrus stood there, dumbfounded, watching her retreat.

Serenity returned to where Aiden and the others were sitting in a circle, chatting. Aiden noticed her return and asked, "How was it?"

The image of Cyrus's frustrated and confused face flashed in her mind, and she couldn't help but chuckle. "Mhm, it was good," she replied, feeling a newfound sense of satisfaction.

| TO BE CONTINUED