Why Don't We Sickfics

Left Behind

Jachary...

The boys' jaws dropped as the tour bus pulled into the national park's parking lot.

"No way." Daniel's face was pressed to the window. "What are we doing here?"

Jonah had a dreamlike expression on his face as he gazed at the wilderness. "It's beautiful."

The boys' tour manager, Jon, grinned. "You guys are always in big cities, surrounded by your fans, or stuck on this bus. I thought it would be nice to give you a chance to be free, go out in nature, maybe get some cool Instagram posts while you're at it."

"Are we sleeping here? Camping?" Corbyn asked.

"No." Jon said apologetically. "We have to get on the road tonight. But--" he glanced at his phone-- "the sunset's supposed to happen at 7:06. So you guys can wander around for a while, and be back at the bus at 8:00 sharp. But nothing dangerous. I don't want any cuts, bruises, sprains, strains, or fractures. No wandering off alone. Kapisce?"

"Got it." the boys chorused as they piled out of the van excitedly.

A gazebo was set up by the parking lot with a map of the park trails underneath. The boys gathered around to seek their destinations.

"I want to go up northwest to the lookout point." Daniel said.

"I'll go with you." Corbyn was already adjusting the exposure on the long-lens camera he had brought on tour. He'd lovingly named it Chev.

"I'll tag along." Jonah said, stretching his back.

Zach pouted. "I wanna go down to the lake." The lake was in the western part of the park.

Jack shrugged. "I can come with you."

So the group split in two. Jon had decided to stay on the bus. Despite being the tour manager, he also took turns driving the bus, and so he was catching up on some well-deserved rest.

Jack and Zach began the hike down to the lake. Despite the warm weather, they seemed to be the only ones at the park. They took the chance to talk about anything and everything-- growing up, their families, their dreams... nothing was off-limits in their conversation.

"It's nice to finally get some time alone. I've missed it." Jack murmured, looking out through the trees.

"Alone? Excuse me, I guess I'll go on ahead and leave." Zach said.

"You know what I mean. We never get time together, just you and I. When we were back at the house, it was another story. But now that we're on tour, we don't get this time as much."

A soft smile spread across Zach's lips. "Yeah. I like it like this. Just the two of us."

Before they knew it, they'd arrived down at the lake. The sun had already started to set, which created a beautiful reflection on the surface of the lake. They took turns taking pictures of each other, then pictures of just the scenery.

When the pictures were done, the boys sat at the dock on the edge of the lake, shoes removed and pant cuffs rolled up. Their feet dangled in the cool water below.

Jack let out a deep sigh. "This is amazing. Why can't we just stay here forever?"

Zach grinned. "Maybe it's because we're on a tour? Just imagine, tomorrow we'll we surrounded by a couple thousand girls that all want to touch your hair."

"Stop."

"Ooohh, Jacky, I need some of those noodles!" Zach cooed in a high- pitched voice.

"Stop it!" Jack laughed, trying to hide the blush spreading over his cheeks.

"Jack, I can't resist!" Zach sighed dramatically, reaching out to stroke Jack's head.