𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫? - 𝐓𝐌𝐑 𝐀𝐔, 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐨

024 - welcome... back?

"Who are you?"

The old camera I found in the forest drops from my hand, and I spin around to face a girl I haven't seen. "What?"

"Don't treat my camera like that," the girl tells, crouching down to go pick it up. She then repeats her earlier question. "Who are you?"

"Um, I'm Whitley," I reply, slightly scared.

"Congratulations, you have a name," she says sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "But who are you? Where do you come from?"

I clear my throat, swallowing down the lump that has formed. "I'm Whitley, and I'm on school camp." I point towards the campsite. "That's where me and some people from my school are staying."

"The campsite?"

I nod. "By the beach."

"I thought so." She holds her hand out for me to shake, which I do. "I'm Brenda. I also came here for school camp, but it was a year ago. Made everyone believe I was on the plane when going back, but I stayed."

I cock my head slightly. "Why did you want to stay here?"

She shrugs one shoulder. "My parents don't care for me; they always give me the chores while my two brothers get all the attention."

I nod. "I understand. I only have my mum still alive, but she hates me as well. She's always wanted a son, so to her I'm a failure."

Brenda laughs, throwing her head back as she does so. This gives me the chance to look closely at her. Her dark brown hair is tied up in a messy ponytail, and her face has some smudged mud on it. Her eyes are light blue, and her clothes are camouflage. Overall, she looks like the kind of person who'd rather explore than go to a party. But she seems confident.

"Do you want to meet my friends?" I ask her. That doesn't include Astrid; Art yesterday was horrible

She considers it for a moment, then she smiles. A true smile. "Yes, please."

In hopes Brenda doesn't feel like she is forced to do anything, I give her options. "Do you want to come to the camp, or should we meet you tonight?"

"Bonfire?"

She knows about the bonfire?

Speaking my thoughts aloud, I say, "You know about the bonfire?"

She nods. "I used to go there a lot. Especially with my brother and his friends. It was fun. Sometimes I miss him."

I smile, thinking about her with a group of friends having fun like I do with mine. It lets me forget about everything going wrong.

"Well, should we meet at the bonfire tonight?" I suggest.

She nods. "Yeah, I'll see you there. Eleven?"

"Alright."

"See you then."

"Bye, Brenda."

**

My shoes pound against the ground as I rush excitedly to the clearing. I'm so excited to introduce everyone to each other! I haven't told them what we are going to do; all I've told them is we're going to the bonfire.

"So, why are we going here?" Minho asks for the seventh time while walking.

"I told you already," I say with a groan. "It's a surprise."

"I hate surprises," Minho whines.

"Deal with it."

Chuckling, I glance at Braedyn and Newt. Their flirting is cute, but extremely cringe. I'm happy for them, though. And I'm proud of Braedyn. They've already been together for five days, and their relationship is flowing smoothly. It's almost as if they're soulmates.

"We're here," Harriet announces.

"Wait!" I say, causing everyone to stop. "Wait here, I'll be back."

I run past them and enter the clearing. I see Brenda and wave her over.

"Hey," she greets me. "Where are your friends?"

"They're here." I turn around and call for them to come. They do, and as soon as they see Brenda, all of their faces drop. They know her.

Then it clicks.
She nods. "I used to go there a lot. Especially with my brother and his friends. It was fun. Sometimes I miss him."

"I hope my name gets called," Thomas states out of nowhere.
Minho nods as if he knows the reasoning; he probably does. "You want to know if they've found her?"
"Yeah."

"Brenda," Thomas breathes out, pulling her into a firm hug as he cries into her shoulder. "I've missed you. So much."

Thomas is Brenda's brother.

"Oh my god," Sonya says, pausing between each word. "Bren!"

Soon, the whole group joined in the hug. Including me; Braedyn dragged me in.

"Where were you?" Harriet asks, being the first person to pull away.

Brenda shrugs. "You guys know how much I hate our family. Other than Thomas."

Thomas chuckles, sniffling his tears away. "You scared me to death."

She laughs, tears starting to form in her own eyes. "You seem to be alive right now." She scans the crowd of my... Our friends. "Where's Astrid?"

I swallow, looking down.

Minho notices, and he speaks for me. "She's being a brat. Framed Whitley."

"Oh."

"Come on, let's go make a fire," I say, changing the subject as I go. I grab some sticks and the bag of marshmallows.

"Hey." Thomas sits down next to me, glancing back at our friends, who are walking extremely slowly. "Thanks for finding her."

I give him a smile. "You're welcome. It wasn't really me, though. I picked up her camera, she asked me who I am, I invited her to come here."

"Still, thank you."

The others finally reach the fireplace, and we all toast marshmallows together. The clearing is alive with the crackling of the bonfire, its flames dancing against the darkening forest. The warmth from the fire warms my skin, differing with the cool night air.

Harriet hands me a s'more, and I bite into it, the chocolate oozing, melting sweetness. Minho nudges my shoulder, his eyes bright with mischief, and I can't help but smile. Tonight feels magical, like the forest is holding its breath, and for a moment, we forget everything else.

We forget everything bad.

Because right now, everything is perfect.

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(A/N: this is book Brenda looks because I want her to be. CRY ABOUT IT)