What Lies Beneath

Welcome to Dartming

When morning comes, the storm is long gone. The sun, already beating down with heat in the late morning, dries the muddied forests and roads. The warm light floods everything as the rains had done before, leaving no trace of the inclement weather.

When the glow spills across his face, Daniel begins to stir, but his body isn't ready to wake up quite yet. He rubs sleepily at his face, taking a moment to peel his eyes open, only slightly, and investigate his surroundings.

A strange dream had come to him last night. He remembers very little of it now that he's awake, but the fleeting feeling of terror does clutch his heart. A nightmare, he's sure, and for that, he's glad he can't remember it.

Daniel looks to his left, and there he can see his tangled mess of friends. Spencer has rolled onto his stomach at some point last night, and Jordan's hair is a mop over her face. Often awake first, this is not a new sight for Daniel, and yet he cannot help but smile when he sees it. There's something also nostalgic about this moment.

He climbs out of bed, body heavy and groggy; it hadn't woken up with him.

Spencer moves in response to the now empty space beside him, flopping onto his back in Daniel's place. Jordan is still, only her chest rising and falling with her breaths.

Being as quiet as possible, not wanting to disturb them, Daniel slips out into the hall and goes into the room where he and Spencer were supposed to be sleeping. Something tells him that tangled nights on his parents' old bed are going to become commonplace.

But sleeping together was hot, and Daniel craved a cool shower to start his day. As he heads into the bathroom, the other two are beginning to stir

First, it's Jordan, her hair tickling her nose as she breathed. Beside her, bothered by nothing but himself, Spencer rolls onto his back and lets loose a yawn.

"G'mornin'," mutters Jordan, rubbing at her eyes sleepily.

Spencer does nothing but groan at the morning sun. Always a night owl, getting up earlier with his friends is going to be new and strange.

"Sleepyhead."

"Look who's talkin'," Spencer finally says. He rubs his eyes with his palms, seeing colorful stars when he pulls his hands away. "Where'd Daniel go?"

Jordan mumbles her own confusion, but in the moment of silence, they can both hear the shower running down the hall. Neither of them really want to get up just yet, and it isn't until Daniel wanders back into the bedroom that either of them acknowledges that they were even awake in the first place.

"You make it look easy," says Spencer, tucked on his side. He had been looking at his phone for the last fifteen minutes to pass the time, and Jordan was doing the same.

"I call the shower next," Jordan says. She finally rolls herself out of bed to rummage through her luggage.

Sitting up, Spencer checks his hair in the camera of his phone. "I think I'm good for today," he says.

Both boys go to their room this time. Daniel wants to get his shoes, and Spencer needs to change.

"Any plans for today?" Spencer asks.

"I'm thinking we could go into town, check out the stores there. There are a few neat ones, and maybe we could pick up some games."

Spencer nods, stripping off his shirt. He takes a moment to look down at himself, at the scars left on his chest from surgery only last year.

"They're looking good, Spence," says Daniel.

Spencer smiles. "You think so?"

"Yeah, they're starting to fade. You rock them anyways." They both laugh softly, and Daniel adds, "You don't have to worry about hiding those scars around us, y'know. We're alone out here."