WHERE TO NOW? (M/M) 18+

Chapter 30

Changing Temperatures.

When we made it back to camp, the rain had settled, still trickling raindrops onto my forehead but not at all like the downpour from earlier. Now, it was a calm sprinkle.

I examined the camp as we got closer. Skylar and Kieran had gotten the tarp up, wrapping the bungee cords around the logs that were placed around the fire. They had crates—and other things that I recognised had appeared after they had found me, stacked up under one side of the tarp, lifting it and creating a wall to break some of the wind from reaching the fire that was nestled just beside it.

Smart idea if you asked me.

Bianca and Travis were sitting at the edge of the open tent, huddled together feeling the warmth of the flames.

Skylar and Kieran sat under the tarp. Their hair half dry, half damp.

Kieran's hair was so much longer when it was wet. It was darker too, his hair looked jet black rather than his usual light brown waves.

He looked strange with black hair.

“Uh, you're back,” Daz said.

My head turned, finding him climbing out of the back of the van.

My head snapped to the side as the crack of snapping branches filled my ears. Seeing Damien dust off his hands as the pile laid lifeless on the ground in front of him.

“Yeah, uh. I don't know if they’re of any use though”

The damp branches weren't going to light, not until they dried off.

Seeing the kids clutching each other for warmth as the fire flickered with dying light, guilt panged in my chest.

If we didn't mess around, if we didn't stay out longer than we needed to, we could've used them. But I must be an asshole because the guilt was short lived, not regretting a single minute.

“Yeah” Daz said, looking down at the mess with a look of disapproval. “We still have some kindling but it won't last long. We'll just have to make do until then”

I nodded, running my hands down my arms with a tight lipped smile.

“Why don't you two dry off in the van for a bit, you're soaked and shivering”

My eyes widened a little before they darted to Damien. But he just shrugged, moving to the back.

“Get changed and warm up,” he said as Damien sat in the back, taking off his shoes. “Take your time, we’re not going anywhere for a while”

I wanted to climb in and continue what we started, preferably finishing it, if you know what I mean. But I still had questions I wanted to ask him. They rattled in my mind like a jigsaw puzzle, the image blurred and distorted into something confusing until the last piece of the puzzle was joined.

What were we, were we even something?

With Kieran, I never had these questions. What we had didn't need a label or explanation. It was something that happened over time, it wasn't forced or planned, it just happened organically. It was easy with him. He was always clear about his thoughts and intentions…

But Damien was the complete opposite. Avoiding his feelings like the plague until they ate away at him. Only showing me he gave a damn when he was at his limit. For some reason I felt the need to define what we were, not that it mattered. But I suppose I just wanted to know if it was real, if he wasn't just using me like a plaything for his own benefit. I knew he wouldn't do that, I did, and I knew there was something deeper even if Damien would never admit that to me, but… how else could I explain his behaviour towards me.