Cold

Chapter. 1

It was just a bit before noon, the group of friends were beginning their hike up the mountain. It was something they'd always wanted to do, and they planned on checking that off their list. They had gotten their provisions ready and began to head out on the mountain.

"Nothing like getting out in the morning, trudging your ass out into the freezing cold and putting your life in danger for the sake of a list" Martin, one of them who didn't particularly like the snow for just reason, said.

"Shut up, Martin" the others called out nearly at the same time. They had planned this little adventure for quite the while now and in all honesty they needed a break from the "real world" and focus on the beauty of nature. Which they had planned on doing.

Martin stomped through the snow as he watched how it just packed perfectly, in his mind they could stay down there and build snowmen or stay inside and be warm. He didn't like the cold much, but he was here for his best friend Toby. He craned his head up to look at the massive mountain that they'd be hiking up and let out a loud whine sound, he honestly didn't know enough about hiking so he was terrified. And he wasn't really in shape, so he was going to be taking a lot of breathers. "I'm just going to slow you guys down, I don't know why you want me to go with you" he griped.

Toby, his best friend looked back at him since he was lingering behind and he stopped walking so he could catch up to him which he did within a few feet. He hooked his arm with Martin's to keep him close to himself so he could walk at the same pace as him "I- well, we wanted you to come because you're part of this group. This is just one of the side things that we need to do, we have a lot left to do and this is a hike. It's going to get that blood pumping, that adrenaline rushing" he said with a small chuckle, shifting his hip just a little to bump into his friends "besides, I need someone to keep me company.. and warm, this isn't going to happen all in one day" he mumbled.

They had planned on camping halfway up, whether or not they made it before dark. It was going to be sheer torture for them but in the end it would be on their list of accomplishments.

They began to walk up the small slope which wasn't too bad, it was just slanted for the most part but they'd be heading to the steep area where they'd have to be more careful. It wasn't like they had to bring climbing gear, it wasn't that steep but they'd have to be very careful with where they stepped since one misstep and they'd be sliding down.

"This will be a breeze, until we reach the top though.. that's probably where we'll catch some problems. We should've brought some gear for that other than the rope.." Simon said, he was sort of leading the group. The truth was none of them actually knew how to hike professionally.

Martin looked up at the top of the mountain that just seemed to go on forever for him, he wanted to go back and just stay in bed but he couldn't. He started to slow down since he was definitely having second thoughts but his friend Toby began to pull him again since their arms were still attached.

"Martin, come on.. it'll be fun, and if you can't handle it after today then you can go back. Okay?" Toby said while he looked up at his friend, Toby was shorter than him. They'd been friends since they can remember and they'd basically do everything together, especially when it came to traveling.

Martin let out a small sigh, his voice coming out a small mumble "fine.. but I probably won't make it halfway to the halfway point, I'll make it to that bunch of rocks and keel over. I bet you my left leg" he said with a small chuckle. He pulled his arm away from his friends then wrapped it around him to just keep him close. It was safe to say they were really close.

"Look at the love birds, aw" Arvid, Martin's brother, said before bumping into his brother playfully.

Martin rolled his eyes then looked down at Toby for a brief second before he let go of him and leaned down to take a handful of snow in his hands before balling it up then throwing it at his brother who was already ahead of him and his friend, it hit him but he didn't react. He decided to stop his complaining and walk at the same pace as the others since he didn't want to make it to where they were left behind, that and he wanted to get to that halfway point so they could at least see the beautiful view.

"Where are we going after here?" Toby asked his friend who was leading the group, they all agreed that they would choose a destination after each trip that they would go to for their next adventure. They were big on traveling, it was a goal to do a lot before the year had ended.

"I'm thinking someplace warm, like the Bahamas or something" Simon chuckled as he continued to blaze the trail for the others, he had a walking stick so it was easier for him to push through the snow.

"Fuck yes, scuba diving or treasure hunting. We should get a boat!" Martin exclaimed, he was all about the warm weather right now.

Arvid was nearly as excited as his brother was about it "We could be pirates, sail for a few days. That would be so cool, but I doubt we'd find treasure" he said with a slight chuckle in his tone.

"So that's our plan then? Something tropical?" Toby asked as he stepped up a few more steps so that he was beside Martin again. He looked at the taller male who was leading the little pack of friends for his answer.

"That sounds like a good idea for me, as long as you guys are okay with it" he said. "I know a guy with a sailboat, it might not look exactly like a pirate ship but at least it'll be something" he added. Simon was the guy who always "knew a guy" for their trips, he always pulled through too. Other than the funds, he normally set up their trips and came through with flying colors.

"I need to tan, I'm as pale as a vampire" Toby muttered then looked down at his bundled up body, a small chuckle pushing passed his lips.

Arvid craned his head back and looked at him with an almost amused look, his eyes shooting over to his brother a few moments later "vampires are good at sucking things aren't they?" He asked, strictly to see his brothers reaction which his eyes did go quite wide from it.

"Arvid, I swear to god I'll throw you down this hill if you don't shut your mouth" Toby scolded the other male, his eyes moving over to Martin for just a second before he looked down to watch where he was walking since the other two ahead of them were sort of making a mess of the snow. Toby was so red in the face, not that the others would be able to tell since it was cold so all their faces were red. Arvid made a lot of jokes about Martin and Toby being gay together, since they'd always spend time together ever since they were little. Toby would spend the night at their house, even now he would because if they had plans to hang out then he'd save himself a trip. It didn't help that one morning Arvid walked into the kitchen where Toby was basically naked and Martin was practically holding him, they stuck to the story that Martin was just reaching for something and Toby wouldn't move.

They were pretty much silent through the walk up, preserving their breaths and whatnot. The only sound was the snow crunching beneath their feet and the occasional cough from a couple of them. They were making good time considering they left pretty late, they had at least made it up passed the rock that Martin said he wouldn't be able to go up passed. He didn't even realize that he had passed it really, he was too busy trying not to trip over the hardened snow that the other two in front of him were kicking back when they walked.

"My toes are frozen right now, I don't even know if I can feel them" Toby mumbled out, sniffling just a little since the cold was making his nose feel like it was runny. He brought his hand up to pull his scarf over his mouth so it would warm his nose up a bit, his feet were dragging through the snow rather than him picking them up which in the long run was making it harder on himself.

"Do you need to stop? We can stop if you need to" Martin said while he looked over at the smaller male who quickly shook his head then linked his arm with his friends.

"I'm okay, I just need to focus on getting up there. Maybe we can start a small fire up there" he said while he focused more on walking than anything, it was an uphill climb and he was basically a stick because of how scrawny he was. He brought his gloved hands to smooth over his friends arm while he tried his hardest not to lean on him since he knew he'd be having issues too. But it wasn't going to be far before they got up to the halfway point, so his little toes could wait just a few more hours. Yes, hours.