Augustus and Alex

Good Times

----Alex----

Augustus and I got out of that bathroom as fast as we possibly could, and we crash into our tent. I slide in and started laughing, while Augustus does the same. I look towards the bathroom's direction and see Olive slamming it shut. I bet if he had the key he would lock it. I look towards Augustus and he is still laughing, a pleasant sight. I want to take a picture but I am worried about what he will think. I wouldn't have doubted him, but I don't think he likes me. Ever since I saw him talking about Martha, or flirting with Joodle, I've been quite unsure. Me, you ask? I frickin' love him. 

Augustus quiets down and takes out his phone, sending a text to someone. I am curious who it is, but I don't want to seem nosy. I take out my phone and see a text from Tammy: Court at 7. I text him back "can't" and turn off my phone. I look over at Alex to see him put his wallet into his pocket. 

"Where are you going?" Augustus turns around before fixing his hair.

"The mall. Why?" I almost spit in surprise, what happened to this trip? Wasn't it all about finding Martha? 

"Auggie, did you forget about Martha or what?" He shrugs and takes a carrot out of his mini-cooler. He pulls his sweatshirt off and throws it onto his sleeping bag. I straighten myself up and fold the sweatshirt he threw and put it on top of his bag. 

"Auggie, what's up with the mood swings?" he stops unzipping the tent for a second and walks over to his bed and sits down. He lies down on the bed and groans, and throws the carrot against the tent's wall.

"Nothing." he whispers. He pulls the covers over him and snores, but I know he is faking it. I walk over to him and pull the covers off of him and look him dead in the eye.

"Why aren't you feeding Lucky?" he looks up at me and shrugs. He yawns and tries to get the cover's out of my grip, but I don't budge. He glares at me and punches my stomach hard, and I yelp back as he pulls the covers over his head. I grab the carrot and storm out of the tent, towards Lucky. She looks tired, but thankfully has a bowl of water. I feed her the carrot that she gulps down in seconds, and I go inside the tent to get more. I walk back outside and feed Lucky 5 carrots before stroking her soft mane. I say my goodbye and walk back into the tent and sit by Augustus's side. 

"What's wrong?" I ask him. His expression softens and he smiles at me. 

"I miss her. So much." My heart breaks into a million pieces but I force a reassuring nod. 

"Don't you want to go to the mall?" He shakes his head and leans back onto his sleeping bag. 

"Can we go for a walk? This is awkward." I laugh and grab my sweatshirt off my bag. I look towards him and he is putting his sneakers on, and with an angelic stride, we are out of there. 

As we walk past the bathroom we hear a ton of laughter but walk past it even though we are wondering what in the world they're doing in there. Even though I knew Mikey would, I don't hold Auggie's hand. I'm not Mikey, they're way too romantic for me. Everyone thinks that they are the cutest couple that ever existed, but they are too lovey-dovey for me. No offense.

"You're so awkward, Alex" Augustus chuckles. 

"You made it more awkward" I say back to him. He laughs and it warms up my heart and gives me a burst of energy. I suddenly let my legs fire up and I feel like I can run a marathon. I start running then slow down when I realize Augustus is with me. I turn around and see him struggling to run. 

"Take it slow and easy Auggie" I jog over to him and grab his hand, which surprises him. I place it over my heart and bring it down so we can jog together. We start going faster and faster, past the trees and we start to see a river. I run faster and Augustus is not slowing me down. He lets go of my hand and he runs toward the small hill facing the river. The sun has not set yet, so it will not go dark until a few hours. I catch up to him and sit down next to him on the hill. It has soft grass and I pluck out a handful and I throw it at Augustus. He gets together, probably 10 handfuls, and stuffs it into my shirt. My eyes turn wide and he realizes what he is doing and quickly takes his hand out. He smirks when he sees me taking the pile of grass that had bunched together in my shirt. He takes his shoes off and slowly walks towards the river. I notice and take off my shoes as well. I pull my shirt off so it does not get wet, and I no longer feel shy or self-conscious. I am with Augustus. 

I walk up behind him and whisper "let's go for a swim." He gives me a huge grin, Augustus was the star swimmer of the Muthin team. I jump into the water, it is warm and feels good against my cold skin. Augustus dives in and splashes water all over myself. I splash water back at him and he swims towards me and brings me underneath with him. I can't see anything, but Augustus is leading me towards something. When we finally come back up we are next to a small tree growing in the river, and it created shade and a little shelter. 

"This is the perfect diving spot" I nod and we climb onto it. He makes a "3, 2, 1" signal with his hands and we jump in together. I feel alive once we dived in, I feel like I can breathe a whole different way. My heart flutters when Augustus touches my leg and we swim back to the hill. But the fun doesn't stop there. We splash and swim and dive and do crazy flips. Things I never imagined doing. Apparently, it's possible with Auggie. 

We get out of the water when the sun started to set, we needed to get home before it goes dark. Home. Apparently a 6 person tent in L.A. is home. I lie on the grass and Augustus does the same. We watch the sun slowly set, but it is still light outside. 
"Alex?" I turn my head sideways to find out that Augustus was staring at me. 

"Yes Auggie?" 

"I haven't had that much fun for a long time. Thank you." I blush and I hold onto his hand. 

"No need to thank me." We lie in silence for awhile, just staring at the sun. By the sun, I meant Augustus. I help Auggie up and I casually drape my arm around his shoulder. We start walking towards the path that we took to come, and I look around admiring the beautiful nature. 

"I wonder what Mikey and Olive are doing." Auggie says randomly.

"Oh Auggie, you heard them, you'll be scarred for life."

"I know, I know! But I am SO curious, I will do anything to find out." 

"Sneak in on them."

"Oh NO, I can't imagine how mad they will get."

"Put security cameras in the bathroom."

"Or I could get a robot"

"Get a tiny camera following them everywhere" 

Our conversation grew and grew as we walked, and I finally feel like I accomplished today. And that was Auggie's friendship.

Maybe more than a friendship, but never less.