Young Folks (Ross Lynch AU)

seventeen.

"So, do you think there's by chance a map around here somewhere?" Ross asked suddenly as we started to unpack our things from our backpacks. We exchanged glances before both of us practically launched ourselves at the "kitchen" and started fiercely rummaging through the cabinets and drawers.

"Matches, knife, journal," Ross muttered as he closed one drawer and opened another.

"Copy of Into The Wild, tarp, lighter," I replied quietly while slamming another cabinet shut. I opened the next one and scanned its contents quickly before moving onto the next one.

This lasted for approximately two minutes before we finished ransacking the drawers and cabinets, finding no map.

"All this other survival shit that people leave, but nobody thinks to leave a fucking map," Ross chuckled bitterly. "Genius."

"Well, at least we found more things we can use to help us survive until someone finds us," I shrugged, trying to be as optimistic as possible.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he muttered, frowning slightly.

"Hey, don't worry," I said quietly as I set a hand on his shoulder and met his eyes. "We're gonna get out of here. One way or another, we're gonna find our way out of here and back to the real world, okay? And there's no way I'm giving up until we do."

Ross just smiled weakly and nodded his head slightly in response. "Okay."

"C'mere," I murmured and boldly wrapped both my arms around his torso, pulling him into a hug. He seemed a bit shocked at first, but soon relaxed and then embraced me as well, his arms around my shoulders. I buried my head in the crook of his neck and rubbed circles on his back.

Suddenly, I felt something wet drop on to the top of my head. I looked up to see Ross with red eyes and a few stray tears making their way down his cheeks.

"Ross, what's wrong?" I asked quietly. I led him over to the bed and he sat down without hesitation, and I quickly took a seat next to him.

"I-I just, I'm scared, Aspen," he admitted. "W-what if we're stuck here forever? What if no one finds us? What if we d-di-"

"Shhhh. Don't even talk about that," I scolded as nicely as possible. "That's not going to happen, Ross. Believe it or not, this place is extremely popular, and someone is bound to come here within the next month or two. And I will make sure that we survive until then. I know how to hunt, and there is lots of game around here. There's no way we're going to die or get stranded out here. I promise, yeah?"

"Okay," Ross whispered quietly and smiled weakly. He then slowly pulled me on to his lap, giving me lots of time to object, which, of course, I didn't. Once I was sat there, I wrapped my arms and legs around his body as he pulled me closer to him and buried his face in my neck. I could feel his hot breath blowing down the back of my neck, and I soon found myself subconsciously matching my breathing to his.

We stayed there, holding each other, for quite some time. Ross was rubbing my back lightly, and I nearly drifted off to sleep at one point.

"Aspen?" Ross asked suddenly.

"Hmm?" I replied quietly.

"Could you, uh, maybe get up? My legs are falling asleep," Ross admitted sheepishly, his face as red as a tomato. I jumped up from my spot immediately and turned nearly as red as he was.

"I'm so sorry, Ross! You should've said something before! Jesus, sorry I'm such a fat ass," I joked, winking for good measure.

"You're absolutely fine, honestly. If it was bothering me I would've said something a long time ago," he chuckled. I just slapped his arm lightly and then made my way over to the kitchen to dig everything we had ignored in our hassle to find a map out of the cabinets and drawers.

I pulled out a number of the items Ross and I had muttered under our breaths before, such as the tarp, matches, lighter, knife, journal, and Into The Wild. Ross soon joined me as we scavenged through the cabinets again and found a few expired granola bars, a freeze dried ice cream sandwich, a machete, and rope.

Ross opened the last drawer, several items lying inside: a compass, a hatchet, and a stack of old newspapers. Ross reached for the hatchet as I grabbed the compass, and our hands accidentally touched.

As cheesy as it may sound, it felt as if a shock ran through my body, and I couldn't help but smile slightly at the new feeling. And judging by the look on Ross' face, he felt it too.

Hah guys I lied I decided to update once more before my trip. It's short but it's something :)

OMG GUYS 1K ON THIS STORY LOL ITS BEEN SK LONG SINCE IVE HAD A SUCCESSFUL STORY LOL I SOUND SO LAME BUT THANK YALL SO MUCB FOR EVERYTHING ILY

Lol guys Idek what that ending was. It was shit that's what it was.

Okay guys so the pic is the inside of the bus just FYI if you didn't figure that out

Also I probably won't be updating until Friday so thank you all for your patience ily xx