In Charlotte's Eyes

Over The Hump

There wasn’t all that much. Parker was able to find a small pebble of amber. They weren’t able to find anything else interesting, so Charlotte tore a piece off of one of the stalagmites in the room. Afterwards, they began traversing the cave again, heading towards The Bridge Room. They had to climb upwards, which was a bit arduous. Parker urged Charlotte to be very careful, although didn’t explicitly mention her lack of a helmet. He was able to get up to the top first, then looked down at Charlotte to give her light. She squinted against it, struggling and grunting as she climbed up. Parker held out his hand for her, which she was barely able to see with his headlight blinding her. She took it, and he helped pull her all the way up. Catching her breath, Charlotte began getting off her knees to stand. “Heh.”

“You okay?” He asked.

“Yep!” She put her hands on her hips. “See? I can protect myself. Everything’s under control.” She smiled genuinely.

Parker rolled his eyes. “Would’ve been nice to not have been stressed at all.”

Charlotte rolled her eyes, too. “Pff.” She dismissed, huffing. “But look, we’re here!” Sure enough, they were.

A waterfall met their eyes, as well as a large drop off. Below was a stream, a river that led to an exit out of this cave. It was pretty noisy in this area, but they talked loud enough to be able to hear each other. She moved to the edge of the drop off, dangling her legs over the cliff. “Let’s eat!” She brought her backpack to her lap. Parker sat to her right, setting his backpack to his side, digging into it for the small snack he made. It was a simple PB&J. He didn't need an extravagant meal for this trip. It was a little smushed from being tossed around in his backpack. He looked at Charlotte, who had pulled out a bag of chips and an energy drink. She took the drink to her lips and downed the whole thing in one go. She let out a big, satisfied breath. “Ahh, that was fun.”

Parker chuckled. “Yeah. This was definitely worth it.” He took a bite of his sandwich.

"Picture time." Charlotte scooted so that their shoulders were touching. She brought an arm behind him, grabbing onto his opposite shoulder. She smiled wide, bringing her phone up. There was a trace of the energy drink just above her lip, which she wiped away. Parker smiled lightly but genuinely, looking into the camera. He held his flattened sandwich with both hands. She took a picture. They both looked at the picture, both satisfied with it.

"Send that to me later." He told her, biting into his sandwich again.

She chuckled lightly. “Sure thing.”

"Mm," He swallowed, clearing his throat after. "We need to get a picture with the waterfall behind us, though."

She giggled. "You're right." She stood up. "Come on." She grabbed his forearm, dragging it away from his sandwich.

"Hey-!" He laughed, grunting as he forced himself up with her help. They both turned around so that the waterfall would be in the background behind him.

She brought him close to her again, wrapping an arm around him. Parker did the same, although his hand rested on top of her head, leaning on her a little. He smiled smugly. Charlotte couldn't help but laugh, looking up at him as she accidentally took a photo. "Oops." She repositioned her phone for another photo. "One more." She brought him closer, hugging him tight as a way to make him uncomfortable. He snickered between his grin as she snapped a photo. Then, she let go of him, as he also stopped leaning on her.

The photos were cute, Charlotte thought. She imagined it would be the type of photo one would plaster on a shelf in their home. She was definitely gonna post these online later. "Hm," She hummed smugly. "You look silly with that helmet on."

"I personally think it looks cool."

She laughed with him. "Agree to disagree."

"Simmer down, now." Parker sat back down, dangling his feet over the edge. "Let's finish eating our snacks."

-