A Scenic Connection (BoyxBoy)

CHAPTER FIVE

I was basically incoherent for the next hour or so. The radio was blasting in the car and everyone was talking over each other. All I wanted to do was sleep and enjoy some quiet. I really, really wanted to ask how much longer until we got there but I didn't want to be the annoying one in the group. Luckily I had Hadley for that.

"Any idea how much longer?" She asked politely. Zaiden furrowed his brow in thought for a second.

"I'd say an hour, maybe less," he replied. It was just after 1:00 in the afternoon. Secretly, I did need to pee now, but I wasn't about to ask to stop. I knew I could hold it until we got there.

"Anyone want any snacks?" April asked. "I've got some crackers or some licorice."

"Oooh, what kind of licorice?" Hadley said.

"Red Vines," April told her. "Do you want some?"

"Sure! I love those! Thanks," Hadley said with glee as April handed her the back and she tore out some licorice.

"You want some Grif?" Hadley asked, looking at me expectantly.

"Uh, sure," I said, figuring it would be good to eat something other than that little granola bar I had hours ago. She held the bag out to me and I pulled out a piece. "Thanks April," I made sure to add.

"No problem," she replied with a grin, her brown curly hair bobbing slightly as her head moved.

I settled back into my seat and enjoyed the licorice. It was pretty good. All of a sudden, someone's phone started ringing. I saw Zaiden take his out and answer. 

"Hey," Zaiden said into the phone. "Yeah. Oh okay. We're less than an hour away. Okay see you there," he hung up and looked back at Hadley and I in the rear view mirror. "They're still about an hour behind us, so we'll beat them there." Then he turned to April. "Sam said that Paisley, Chloe, and Alex are with him and Tyce, Jordan, Izzie and Brooke are in the other car. They're both together so they should be getting to the campsite at about the same time."

"Oh sweet, sounds like most everyone could come then," April replied, she turned to face Hadley and I. "Everyone is super nice! You guys will love them!" She exclaimed excitedly. We both smiled back at her.

About half an hour later we were driving up into the mountains and it was beautiful up here! There were so many trees and shrubs. There were even some wildflowers. I rolled my window down letting the crisp, fresh air envelop my face. I took a deep breath and smiled.

"It's beautiful up here," Hadley stated, looked out my window first before returning to her window. 

"Yeah you guys are gonna love it!" Zaiden said.

Soon we turned off the main road onto a much smaller side road. It was more narrow and the pavement wasn't near as smooth and maintained. There were pot holes all over in it and cracks. From there we turned right onto a little narrow dirt road and the car stared bouncing up and down slightly because of the uneven ground. Hadley looked at me excitedly with a huge grin. I smiled back at her. Honestly I couldn't wait to get out of this car and explore and take pictures of the scenery around here.

"We're here!" Zaiden announced as we entered a small little grassy driveway and pulled up at out campsite. I hurried to open the door and stepped out on the ground. The others followed. I stretched my legs a little and looked around, taking in my home for the next week. There were a lot of pine trees and other kinds of trees, lots of tall grass and shrubs, there were several open spaces for what I assumed were for tents. My eyes then landed on the hole with a metal ring around it in the ground with wooden logs laid near it to sit on. I totally kind of forgot about how much I liked campfires! I was eager for it to be night already so we could build one.

"Pretty sweet right?" Hadley said as she came up next to me.

"It's awesome!" I said with a grin. Zaiden came up and clapped me on the shoulder.

"I knew you'd like it! Everyone needs some fun outdoors!" He exclaimed, smiling like a big dork. "Well, let's start getting our stuff unpacked and things situated so we can relax!" Hadley and I both nodded and followed him back to the car to get our things.

Honk! Honk! I was just putting the finishing touches on setting up my tent and having all my stuff together about 45 minutes later when the rest of our group pulled up. Zaiden and April went running over of course. I didn't know where Hadley was so I finished up what I was doing and slowly made my way over there nervously. I really wasn't good at meeting new people.

"Hey dude! We made it!" One of the guys was saying to Zaiden. He was tall, with brownish blonde hair and blue eyes. He had on a red shirt and black shorts with flip flops. "Are you excited!?" Zaiden was saying back to him. I didn't wanna eavesdrop on their conversation so I kind of tuned them out. That's when I spotted Hadley standing next to April and talking to the girls. Hadley was the tallest girl of the group. It was as if she knew I was watching her because she turned and looked directly at me.

"Griffin!" Hadley said, waving me over towards her. I slowly made my way over to her. "Guys this is Griffin!" She told them excitedly, as if I was something they had talked about before. Maybe they had for all I knew.

"Hey," I said quietly.

"Hi there!" Said one of the girls excitedly. "I'm Izzie, and this is Paisley," she told me, pointing to a red haired girl with grey eyes, "and Chloe. Brooke is around here somewhere," she said. Chloe was a short girl with short blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Hi," she said shyly. Paisley nodded her head in my direction but didn't say anything. Izzie's long, dark hair shook slightly as she turned her head back to me.

"They're a little shy," she whispered loudly, as if they couldn't hear her. I chuckled a little before glancing back to the other girls.

"I am too," I told them. They smiled back at me. I could hear the guys loudly talking and laughing amongst themselves over by the other car. I stole a glance in their direction and noticed a short brown haired girl over there. That must be Brooke. I didn't go over there though because I always made a complete fool of myself in front of other guys. I guess it was a gay thing. I chuckled nervously to myself before returning to my tent.

"Everyone! Get settled in and then come to the fire pit so everyone can meet...er, everyone!" April announced, laughing at herself. The girls giggled and the guys started unpacking their stuff while I headed off.

As I pushed the last stake into the ground and looked at my work with satisfaction, a finger tapped my shoulder. I looked up.

"You must be Griffin right?" The guy asked. I stayed there frozen for a second. He was bent over me but then he straightened up, waiting for my response. I felt tongue tied. This guy was like the hottest I'd ever seen. Dark hair, dark matching facial hair that was neatly trimmed up, piercing green eyes, and perfectly straight and white teeth! He was muscular but not overly so, but his green shirt hugged his torso nicely and his black gym shorts didn't leave much to the imagination.

"Uh, um yeah," I stammered, getting to my feet. He chuckled softly.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Tyce," he said, holding out his hand.

"Hi," I replied, extending my hand and nervously shaking his. I mentally slapped myself for how dumb my voice came out. Hi? That's it? Really? Good one Griffin, good one.