Down in the Forest || Joshler [Completed]

2- First Night

I sat down on one of the logs, next to a guy I didn't know, and watched the flames crackle. The fire was nice and warm compared to the chill of the night air. I pulled my jacket closer around myself.

"I'm Patrick," the guy said. I smiled back at him.

"Tyler," I replied.

"You aren't from this county, are you?"

"No," I laughed. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No! Of course it isn't bad. I just didn't recognize you so I figured you weren't from around here. Do you know anyone here?" I looked across the fire at Josh. He was staring into space and tapping a beat on his stump. The glow of the fire reflected brightly off of his nose ring. I always did have a thing for piercings.

"Not really," I admitted.

"Well, now you know me!" I was definitely thankful for his kindness towards me. I wish Josh had been the same way. I looked back in his direction and this time he was staring back at me. He looked away quickly and I tried not to smile. "So, what brings you out of county to work at a summer camp?"

"Well, my parents are kind of forcing me to be here. I did some stuff during the last school year that my parents didn't like so they sent me off."

"Oh, I'm sorry dude."

"It's fine," I reassured him. "Why do you work here?"

"I used to come here over the summer as a kid and I loved it. I figured that now I could help these kids have fun like I did. That probably sounds stupid," he laughed.

"I don't think it's stupid," I said sincerely. Patrick smiled and looked away.

"Thanks, Tyler."

"Of course. So, do you know all of these other people?"

"Um, well, not all of them. I do know most of them though. Actually, we should all introduce ourselves." Suddenly, Patrick stood up and stuck his hands into his pockets. "Hey guys! Since we have some new faces around here we should go around the circle and introduce ourselves." The group all agreed in some way and they began. "I'll start. I'm Patrick."

"I'm Brendon."

"I'm Dallon."

"Hayley."

"My name's Ashley." I remembered what happened earlier and couldn't help but feel bad for her.

"I'm Marina."

"Hi! I'm Melanie!"

"Um, hey. I'm Josh."

"I'm Pete."

"Sup, I'm Andy."

"I'm Gerard."

"And, my name's Tyler," I said finally. I tried my best to repeat each name over and over again in my head so that I wouldn't forget any of them. I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked at who had done it. Gerard had a confused look on his face.

"Did you hear me?"

"Um, no. Sorry." I gave a weak smile and he laughed.

"It's fine. I was just letting you know that Josh has been giving you a death glare for the past 5 minutes." I looked over to Josh and Gerard wasn't wrong. He quickly dropped his gaze to the fire and I rolled my eyes.

"Thanks"

"Yea. What's his problem with you, anyway?"

"Honestly, I have no idea."

"I'm sorry. Hopefully he gets over it though. I mean, you guys have to work together to take care of a group of 6 kids." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, a habit of mine.

"Hopefully," I agreed.

"Alright, everyone!" I jumped in surprise at the sudden loud sound of Mr. Roberts' voice. "Time to head back to your cabins. We have training and cleaning tomorrow. Only two more days until the campers arrive." We all stood up and walked back along the dark trail. I tripped slightly and a hand gabbed me before I fell into a tree. I looked to who had helped me and smiled when I saw that it was Josh. The feeling of his hand on me made me blush. I was glad that it was too dark for him to see.

"Thanks," I said. He just nodded before walking ahead of me.

We walked into our cabin and I collapsed onto my bunk. I put my arms behind my head and stretched. Josh began to remove his shirt and I froze. He looked over at me and a small smile played on his lips.

"Do you have a problem with me being shirtless?" he asked. I swallowed and laughed awkwardly.

"Um, no." He just laughed and grabbed his toiletries and his pajama pants before leaving for the bathroom. I let out a deep sigh once the door was closed. I couldn't wipe the image of Josh's shirtless torso out of my mind. He wasn't extremely muscular, but he was fit. It just made me like him more. Which made me mad.

I knew that having a crush on Josh could only be bad. It was a bad idea for a few reasons.

1. He's probably straight
2. He's my co-counselor
3. He goes to my school
4. He hates me for some reason

I yawned and suddenly realized how tired I was. I sat up and grabbed my toiletries and pajama pants before leaving the cabin to get ready for bed.