𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫? - 𝐓𝐌𝐑 𝐀𝐔, 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐨

002 - the bonfire

At 11 pm, when everyone is heading to bed, Sonya wakes me up.

I had a short nap in hopes that I'll be awake enough for the bonfire, and I'm feeling surprisingly energised.

"Come on," Sonya whispers to me. I look up to see her, Harriet, and Teresa all waiting for me. "We have to go."

I nod and get up, shoving my shoes on my feet, and throwing a jacket over my head. "Let's go."

They quietly lead me away from camp, and we walk through the forest. It isn't as creepy as I imagined; I feel their presence with me as we walk, and that calms me.

"Almost there," Harriet reassures me.

We walk for a few more minutes, and then we reach a clearing.

The clearing has a huge firepit in the middle of it, and benches all over the place. Nobody is here yet, so I guess we're the first people.

Sonya reaches into the backpack she brought with her, and she pulls out a large pack of marshmallows. "These are for later when we toast them with the others."

I nod, and we all walk towards the benches surrounding the firepit.

I sit down, and Teresa sits next to me.

"Hey," I greet her.

"Hi."

We go silent until we hear voices coming from the woods.

Seconds later, a group of boys appear, and they walk towards us. I only recognise one of them—Newt—but from the way Teresa tenses up beside me, I can tell that Thomas is amongst their group.

"Hey, guys." Harriet smiles, sitting next to me. "Everyone, introduce yourself to our new friend, Whitley."

"Hi." I look down, my cheeks catching a blush.

The boys sit down on the bench across from the one I'm sitting on.

"I'm Frypan," a boy tells me. When I give him a half–smile, one of his own appears on his lips. He has a kind face, and his skin is a shade of deep brown. He has a black buzz–cut, and his eyes are a shade of brown that's darker than his skin.

"Nice to meet you," I say, letting go. "You can call me Whit."

"I'm Thomas," one of the brunette boys says. So this is who Teresa likes. His hair is a medium shade of brown, and it's flat against his head. His eyes are light brown, and he's wearing a blue shirt with a few buttons at the top.

An Asian boy holds his hand out for me to shake, which I do. "The name's Minho. It's nice to meet you Whitley." When I shake his hand, his grip is firm, and he seems to have muscles. He grins at me, and dimples appear.

I let go, and turn to the fourth boy. His hair is close to Thomas's shade, but it's slightly lighter and a buzz cut. "I'm Braedyn."

"Logan," a boy with blonde hair and glasses says. Newt also has blonde hair, but Logan's hair sticks up a little more. Almost as though he puts gel in it.

The last boy nods at me. He looks like Frypan, though his hair is shorter, almost bald. "My name is Alby. Welcome to our group, Whit."

I'm just going to act as though I know their people's names, since I already can't remember.

"Thanks for welcoming me." I chuckle, and the group erupts into conversation.

"So, Whitley, where are you from?" The Asian boy, who I think is called Minho, asks. "In other words, where did you move from?"

"I moved from Australia," I say. "It was a nice country, but my mum changed jobs, so I had to move."

"That sucks," Thomas comments.

"Yeah." I nod. "It did."

We continue to talk for what feels like another hour, until Braedyn—who has been quiet for most of the time—speaks up.

"Who wants alcohol?"

My eyes widen. "You brought alcohol? How?"

He shrugs. "Stole it."

When I stare at him in silence, he clarifies what he meant. "Stole it from my parents, I mean. Not actually stealing. I would never."

"Good."

He takes a large bottle of vodka out and takes a sip. "That's disgusting."

We all start laughing at his reaction.

"Let me try." Minho snatches the bottle from Braedyn and drinks some, immediately spitting it out. "What the hell is this? Even your recipe is better than this, Braedyn!"

"What's your recipe?" I ask Braedyn, curious.

"It's a secret," he responds dramatically. "I can make it for you guys sometime if you want."

A chorus of replies echo out.

"No thanks."

"I'll have to pass on that, thanks for the offer, Braedyn."

"I'll stick with water."

"Maybe another trip."

"Not really in the mood, sorry bud."

Braedyn chuckles. "I don't like it either, don't worry."

"Oh." I join in with the laugh. "Alright then. Do you guys want to play a game?"

"What game?" Newt asks, his eyes glistening with excitement.

"Truth or dare," Harriet and Sonya say in unison.

Harriet laughs, moving her many braids out of her face.

"Fine," the boys reluctantly agree, and Sonya chooses to start.

"Hm." She looks at each of us momentarily before her gaze lands on a boy. "Thomas. Truth or dare."

Again, the raven–haired girl beside me tenses up.

Thomas thinks for a moment. "Truth."

"Alright." Sonya smirks. "Have you ever dreamt about someone in this group?"

"In which way?" He raises an eyebrow at the blonde girl.

"You know which way I'm talking about."

Thomas hesitates, before speaking very quietly. "I have."

"Who?" I ask, grinning.

"That isn't the question." He crosses his arms.

"Come on, please," Harriet pushes.

"I'm not telling you."

"It's just a game, man," Minho pipes up. "Just say who."

"No," Thomas says, and before we can protest he speaks again. "Now it's my turn. Minho, truth or dare?"

"Truth is lame, so dare."

"Okay." Thomas grins. "I dare you to prank Mr Vince."

"Not now," Minho says. "But I will tomorrow."

"Thomas, you can choose how he'll prank him," Sonya says.

The group chimes in with different ideas, but Thomas chooses an Idea of his own.

"You should give him warnings of someone who is coming to terrorise the island. Slightly give another clue every hour, until one hour you just stop."

Minho nods. "Okay."