Better Sorry than Safe

9.

Sem woke up to the soft tapping of raindrops on the tent fabric, and his phone buzzing next to him. Letting out a groan, he jutted one arm out of his sleeping bag (shit, it was freezing!) and felt around the floor to find the annoying thing.

He had a few missed calls around 3 am from Ethan --had to be drunk calls-- and there were messages incoming at a rapid pace, despite it being eight in the morning. What do you know? His reception appeared to be good enough after all. He was so not going to look at those messages, though. Ugh, why did he wake up so early? Dropping the phone back on the floor, Sem turned on his side and let out another groan.

Yup, nothing had changed since the last time he slept outdoors; camping mornings were still the worst mornings. His back was stiff, he was cold, and he had to do a number two really badly. The bathroom building was like half a marathon away. If he wanted to make it, he had to get up right about now. 

"Fine," Sem muttered to himself, sitting up straight with sleeping bag and all, to fetch his sweater. 

As he did, his eyes fell on the curled up figure next to him. Connor appeared to be fast asleep. Only a few strands of black hair were sticking out from below the covers, and Sem couldn't help but grin, his morning grumpiness suddenly forgotten. 

That's right. They had slept together in a two-person tent. Maybe not naked in a single sleeping bag, but hey, Sem would take what he could get with Connor. People snoring, farting, and giggling in a tent over had hardly made for a sexy mood anyway. It had also reminded him that there were only two layers of very thin textile separating them. If he could hear other people, they could obviously hear it too if he or Connor made... certain sounds. 

Connor must've realised it as well. He'd only given Sem a chaste peck on the lips before wishing him a good night, and going to sleep. Or maybe that had something to do with the thing he said about them kissing being fast and all. 

Sem's phone started buzzing again, this time continuously. Someone was calling him. He peered at the screen and saw "Emma" as the caller ID. Nowadays, the name Emma came with a small pang of guilt. He'd only been giving her short replies, or even ignoring her messages, since Sophie's birthday party. That was kind of shitty of him. She was still his friend, after all. 

"Fine," he muttered to himself, again. 

He swiped the screen to answer. 

"Hello?" he whispered, glancing at Connor's sleeping form. 

"Hi Sem!" 

Whoa, Emma sounded way too chipper for eight in the morning... And he was going to wake up Connor with his own talking. 

"Just a sec Emma." 

Sem put his phone down and, as quietly as he could, zipped down his sleeping bag. He'd only removed his sweater for the night, so after pulling it on and stepping into his shoes, he could walk right outside. Sem shivered when a gust of wind and raindrops immediately hit his face. It was cold as dicks and wet. He hated it. Stupid camping. 

"Got outside," Sem said, putting his phone to his ear again. He started moving towards the bathroom building. 

"Were you still in bed? I didn't wake you up right?" 

"Bed is a generous word. And don't worry about it. What's up?" 

"Just calling to check if you didn't get lost in the jungle. And to tell you that you really missed one hell of a party. Ethan is so right, college parties are the best! We haven't even gone to sleep yet."

Sem heard someone yell something that sounded like 'yeah!' in the background. Ethan, probably. 

Emma giggled. "There were lasers, a bouncy wall -- where you could literally bounce off the wall-- and a room entirely filled with foam!"