Don't Leave Me.

Thirty-Seven.

"I'm gonna miss you!" I say as I hug the three girls I've come to love.

Marcelene tosses her braided hair back over her shoulder and pulls her backpack onto her shoulder. She blows her bangs out of her eyes and smiles at me. "I'll miss you too."

Alexandrea glances over her shoulder at Joshua, rumor has it she really likes him. I think, by the way he's smiling and waving at her, he likes her too.

"I can give him your number, you know." I tell her. She looks at me surprised and blushes as she shakes her head.

"I don't think so, thanks anyways." She reaches down and grabs her suitcase. She smiles at me when she stands back up, then hugs me one more time.

I finally turn to Carrie, she hugs herself while her duffle bag sits at her feet. She looks over to the city at the base of the hill and smiles slightly.

"You okay?" I ask her.

She slowly looks back at me, and then nods. "I didn't get any sleep last night, I'm just a little tired."

I smile at my friend, then hug her. She wraps her arms around me, she lets go and gives me a thankful smile. She grabs her bag, then turns to leave. She's leaving with Marcelene and Alexandrea's parents. I wave goodbye and then go to the Ga-Ga pit.

I spot Tyson out of everyone else. He's sitting on a swinging bench and is idly watching everyone else.

"How's the game?" I ask as I sit down next to him. He smiles at me and then shrugs, I feel him drape his arm over my shoulder and I smile.

"Eh. Like every other, drawn out and boring." He looks back at the game and I watch as Harry gets out. He scowls and reliantly gets out. He sees us and walks over.

"Having fun yet?" I ask. Harry leans against the tree and watches the game.

"No," he says with a scoff. I giggle and look back at the game. A girl gets out, and only one guy is left standing. A round of cheers go up and the game starts again.

"You're not playing?" I ask.

"Nah, we're going to Big Bear in a little."

"What?"

"Yeah, if you stay for two weeks we go to Big Bear. I think this week we're gonna see a movie or go skateboarding."

"I heard we're seeing a concert at the Arrowhead Village." Tyson chimes in.

"Concert?" I ask. I'm blown away by the idea of a concert. There's no way it'll be someone highly known, it would cost too much.

"Yeah, every now and then people play at this concert kinda thing. It's pretty cool." He explains. I nod, then start to wonder, how many years has Tyson been here? If he's seen a concert, then he has to have been here more than once.

"That's cool, but I know I heard 'skate park' so it's probably concert then that." Harry says smiling.

We slip into a silence and watch the game. After two or three rounds the councilors' tell us it's time to go. We're piled into busses with the camp's add printed on the side and I (of course) sit next to Tyson, Joshua is on the other side of me.

Guvna tells us what we're doing today (Tyson and Harry were right, concert then skate park), I watch out the window the entire time during the drive. Beautiful trees line curving and winding roads as we continually drive on, every now and then I catch sight of the edge of the mountain. The town below seems so small, it's breathtaking.

Then, we go deeper into the forest. The trees get denser and with the windows down, you can smell the oak trees. I smile, this place is beautiful.

The farther we go into the forest, the more glances of a lake I catch. There's boats on the water, and a few people skiing. Joshua falls asleep on my shoulder, I don't understand how, the view is something I'd never want to miss.

Finally, we stop at a group of white buildings with red tile roofs. I hear guitars and feel butterflies rise in my stomach. We walk for about three minutes, until we reach a roped off area right in front of a small stage, there's already a good deal of people here, but not too many. Everyone's sitting on either picnic tables or a little grass area

I look around and I notice that less than half of the camp left, only one bus came here. I'm surprised, I thought more people would be here.

Tyson pulls me along with him to a bench and we sit down. There's a girl with curled blonde hair on stage smiling and signing as she plays guitar. She's really good, she sings a cover of 'Free and Easy' by Dierks Bentley. I know the words and I find myself singing softly along.

She sings a few more covers, then announces she's done. I'm a little taken back, sing like that and just walk away? No grand finale?

Tyson mutters something to himself and then stands up, I get up with him and his hand locks with mine. We're lead back to the bus and drive for twenty minutes before we reach the skate park. I don't plan on doing anything really, I don't know how to skate.

I look up at Tyson as we enter the park and his eyes light up. Immediately he reaches for a skateboard before the guy in charge even goes over the rules (wear helmets, safety pads, be nice, and have fun). He grabs a black helmet and straps it on, smiling he clicks the buckle into place and jumps on the board.

Tyson knows how to skate? I didn't know that. I watch in a silent amazement as he skates up and down the little ramps set up. He does that for a little while, then comes back over to me. His hair's a little wind blown, but he's still drop-dead gorgeous.

"Don't you skate?" He asks me.

I smile and shake my head. "Nope."

A mischievous grin appears at his lips. He takes off the helmet as he starts to talk, "Then.. I'll show you... here, put this on." He gives me his helmet and then grabs a par of elbow guards. I sigh and put on the helmet.

"Do I have to do this?" I whine. I'm not interested in skating, never have been and I don't think I ever will be.

Tyson smiles and chuckles at me. "Now you do." He helps me with the guards then slowly teaches me how to properly skate. I finally get the hang of it, it's not very thrilling like Tyson's making it seem to be.

After the skate trip's over, Tyson's taught me how to skate. I'm slightly amazed.