𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 | 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐳

𝐬𝐢𝐱

sorry for the late update. been a long day. i'll upload two chapters to compensate <3

"Hey! Sorry I took so long." The boys look over their shoulders, seeing Cherry propping herself up against the picnic table. "That bathroom was disgusting."

"Cherry! Look at this view!" Daniel exclaims, running over to the girl and pulling her towards the bench.

"I can see it perfectly from here, Dani," she chuckles. She takes a second to look at Sean, seeing him admiring the horizon of trees in front of him. "You should draw this." He glances up at her. "This isn't something you see every day," she adds, giving him a small smile.

"Maybe later. I want to find a good campsite first."

"Let's go then!" Daniel exclaims, running off as the two teens follow him, ending the conversation between the two teens. "Hey! I bet you can't find me or Cherry!" Daniel exclaims, running to hide in an impromptu hide-and-seek game. Cherry gives Sean a quick look. He watches a small grin form on her face before she goes to hide.

Ten seconds of counting pass before Sean opens his eyes, only spotting trees upon trees, but neither Cherry nor Daniel. "Okay. Where are you?" he mumbles beneath his breath. Daniel is found, after a few quick searches, the young boy hidden behind a tree. However, he can't seem to find Cherry. But then he hears a branch snap, gaining his full attention. He and his brother follow the sound, spotting her hoodie through some shrubbery. They stay quiet, wanting to scare her as Sean did to Daniel. However, Their plans falter when they see what she's looking at.

It's nothing extraordinary, not over the top. However, Cherry still finds it cool that she's standing in front of a raccoon. She's seen them a bunch in movies, usually fucking up someone's livelihood or something. Not this one, though. This one simply minds its own business. It doesn't even acknowledge her.

"Raccoon!" Cherry flinches at the voice, turning on her heels to discover Daniel and Sean behind her. She looks over her shoulder, hearing the critter disappear into the bushes.

"Let's get going." Sean pats his brother on the shoulder, noticing his pouty lip.

The three take an unmarked path as the marked one is blocked by a landslide. As they walk down it, they find a fallen tree they have to jump over. She does so with a little help from Sean. She can only give him a tight-lipped smile, finding the small amount of touch a lot for her.

Then, there comes a ledge from which they have to hop down from. And once more, Sean helps her. As soon as she lands, his hands are on her, making sure she's okay. She acknowledges it, but the warmth in her cheeks and the feeling of a shiver up her spine make her want to die inside.

Luckily they make it to a small beach without any trouble. It makes a grin form on her lips. "Our own private beach!" she exclaims, raising her hands high up in the air. Hell, if she could have a private beach, she could also reach the clouds. Anything was possible at this point. Daniel seems to agree, following her movements before howling. The two stand there for a moment, basking in the glorious sun, before Sean gains their attention.

"Good place to set up camp," he states. The two move beside him, noticing the small cave they've discovered.

"Kind...Kind of spooky," Daniel admits.

"Actually," Cherry starts, taking a moment to get onto the ground. It forces a loud sigh to pass her lips, happy to be off her feet finally. "This is perfect."

"For what?" Daniel deadpans.

"For us, man," Sean says. He takes his time to sit down beside Cherry, a heavy breath passing his lips as well.

"We're staying here? I don't know, you guys," Daniel sighs.

"C'mon, Daniel," he sighs. "This could be our secret base!" he exclaims. Cherry watches as the cogs turn in the boy's head.

"Well..." he trails off before a light flickers in his eyes. "We could fight off any Skeletons or Creepers with some good traps!"

"Cool! In that case, we definitely need to get a fire going first. Right?"

"Right?" Daniel agrees, grinning happily. A small smile forms on Cherry's lips. His smile fell before being replaced by confusion. "So what do we need?"

"You protect the base," Cherry states, gaining another grin from the boy. "Your brother and I will look for supplies. Alright?"

"Yeah!" He runs off in an instant, looking for items to use for his 'traps' and such. The two teenagers watch as he runs away, both with a smile on their faces.

"Let's unpack. Cool?" She nods her head, taking her bag off her back.

She only pulls out her wallet, phone, phone charger, and keys. She stares at her keys for a while, wondering why she still carries them around. And then she see the keychain her mama got her. It's of Black Panther, her mother being the giant nerd she was. She lets out a tired sigh, rubbing her face at the memories. She pulls the keychain off and stuffs it in her pocket, reminding herself to put it on her bag later. She takes a few steps away from the cave before chucking the keys into the river, hearing them splash loudly. She moves back to sit beside Sean without a word, another sigh leaving her lips.

He grabs the blanket and moves to place it while Cherry pulls out the rest of the items from his bag before laying them out. One thing grabs her attention, though. She pulls it out carefully, scared it may crumble beneath her strength. It's a folded piece of paper, the upper edges soaked from unknown causes. She ignores it though, unfolding the paper to find four words screaming at her: "Shooting in South Seattle". She can feel a lump form in the back of her mouth that she cannot swallow.

"What are you-" Sean stops as he looks over Cherry's shoulder, finding himself in that place all over again. He can see it on her face, too, noticing how glassy her eyes look. "Hey," he starts, sitting beside the girl again. "Do you remember what happened? Right after my dad-" He looks away, wiping away the tears that hadn't fallen yet. Still, he can feel them forming. "Do you know?" he repeats, forcing himself to look at her.

"A little bit," she scoffs. She stares at her palm, peeling the formed calluses on her hand. "I told you, I sort of just disappear when shit hits the fan. It'll probably come back later. It always does." She bites her lip softly. She forces in a deep breath in and out, her eyes closing while doing so. "I'm sorry. I wish I did more." She finally looks at him, seeing the sadness in his eyes. She wants to apologize all over again.

"Stop saying sorry," he sighs. "You didn't do anything. Don't blame yourself, okay?"

She stares at him for a few moments before saying, "I will if you won't blame yourself either. Deal?" Their gazes linger before he looks away, a sigh leaving him.

"Fine."

"When are you going to tell him?" she asks softly, not wanting to push him too far.

"Not now," he sighs, rubbing his face. "I'll tell him, just not yet. Okay?"

"Yeah," she nods. "I got your back. Just know he's going to find out eventually, you know?" He looks at her, slightly annoyed.

"Are you always a smartass?"

"I get it from my mother. Now help your brother, dummy." She gets up and goes to get supplies for the fire, leaving Sean mumbling beneath his breath.