(i'm starting to write longer chapters????? bless)
(also what the fuck dan's nails and his hobbit hair honestly why don't you just stab me with a spork)
phil
"oh for fucks sake!" dan yells as our names are called and we are handed a yellow tent, the number "seventeen" written on the plastic wrap around it. the coach gives us a weird look, and i just smile apologetically before grabbing dan's hand and tugging him away from the lady coach who he is nonchalantly glaring at.
"no phil! i knew we were going to get this stupid fucking tent! look at it? it's so fucking ugly," he continues to complain, his voice loud as he snatches his hand from mine and i just grit my teeth taking a deep breath.
"dan," i sigh out loud, giving him the harshest look possible. "please let's go, you can vent about this later," i suggest, grabbing his arm and pulling him along with me, and this time he doesn't protest. he just sulks quietly as we gather our bags, dan opening the map to our tents and me carrying the giant tent in my hands.
five minutes later we are making our way through an unconstructed path, tall trees shadowing our way and thin branches crunching under our feet.
i can hear the nature better now, when we are away from people. the birds are chirping a bit more and i am aware of the crickets hiding in the bushes. i can hear the scattering of small feet of squirrels and rats across the forest floor, and it all smells like rain. like a soft muddy scent, kind of fresh, kind of warm? i don't know, i just know that it's a good scent.
"phil! it's this way, where are you lost?" dan furrows his eyebrows at me, and he reaches forward, grabbing one of my hands to pull me along the right way. his hand is kind of soft, a bit clammy but that's okay because it's warm. i can feel my cheeks flush when he doesn't let go of my hand even after a few minutes, and so i just go along with it, wrapping my fingers tighter around his hand.
"do you still want to rant about the yellow tent?" i break the silence between us and he just looks back at me with a small smile on his face, a breathy laugh escaping his pink lips.
"no, i was just annoyed with the amount of people there i guess? being around too many people overwhelms me a lot, so sorry for being a whiny bitch," he shakes his head, looking down at his feet in embarrassment and i just squeeze his hand reassuringly.
"that's okay, i understand where you're coming from," i tell him and he just nods slightly before realisation washes over his face and he pulls away his hand harshly, causing us to stop in our tracks awkwardly.
"what the hell phil! why did you hold my hand?" his eyes are wide, his cheeks turning a soft shade of pink and i can feel my face heating from embarrassment.
"i-i, you were the one who did that?" it comes out more of a question and he just avoids eye contact before beginning to walk again, maintaining a good distance between us.
"stay away from me lester, i know you're gay and stuff i've heard in school, but like dude, no homo with me," he rolls his eyes and jaw slackens, mouth falling open at his bluntness.
i don't reply to him, i just close my mouth and gulp silently, focusing on my worn out shoes instead. atleast they are nicer than dan.
i can't believe he said that. i thought out of most people at school, he is one of the people who would actually try and get to know a person once before making judgements but i was wrong. even after spending most of my childhood with him, he is the worst kind of person i have come across and i dread spending time him, more than i ever have before.
i'm not that affected by his words but it still hurts a little bit that even after knowing me for so many years, he decided to believe the school rumours.
"it's this way," he doesn't make a move to grab my hand or arm or anything now, he just points in the direction he wants us to go and i quietly follow him.
roughly ten minutes later we are standing in a small patch which is almost cleared of leaves and twigs, a small wooden board etched in the ground and the number "seventeen" engraved onto it.
"i guess this is it?" dan mumbles unsure and i just hum in response, looking everywhere but him and i drop the tent at the corner of the plot.
"where do you want the tent to be? i'm thinking it should be in the right hand side and like the fire pit can be adjacent to it?" dan is rambling and i just nod along to whatever he is saying, uninterested in anything coming out of his stupid mouth. it's not like anything nice could ever come out of it anyway.
we don't talk after that, dan just clears the area, getting rid of the few dry leaves scattered around the ground, and i work on unwrapping the plastic from the tent.
we lay the base groundsheet over the right side like dan said, and i smooth the surface as he empties the contents of the tent across the floor. there are pegs and clips and tent poles and of course, the tent frame.
"as far as i remember, you clip the tent to the ground and then insert the poles into the fabric? right?" dan scratches his head in confusion and i look up at him for the first time in the last twenty minutes, giving him a soft nod and a small sigh escapes his lips.
"are you mad at me?" he asks as i my fingers, clip one corner of the tent and i just raise my eyebrows dismissively at him.
"does it matter to you?" i ask back and he looks at a loss of words before he simply looks away from me and we continue doing our work in silence.
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ngl seven deadly sins is such a good manga !!
