In The Trees

Smell ya latr

(America's POV)

   I wake up to the loud, annoying beeping that is my alarm clock. I press a button to make it stop, then get up, smiling. This is going to be either a really good day, or a really bad day.  Either way, I am ready. I slip on a camo sweatshirt and a pair of blue jeans. I realize I didn't pack any extra clothes, and stuff a few t-shirts and pants into my bag. I sling the backpack over my shoulder and wait to hear the front door open and my families voices fade away. I realize I never said goodbye to my younger brother and sister. Another lump comes to my throat and I build an emotional dam to keep my tears back. I walk out my bedroom door and almost run into Canada.

"I grabbed some stuff that I knew you would forget" Canada says and grins. I smirk,

"Oh yeah, like what?" I say. Canada sets down a large bag and sifts through the bag,

"First-aid" I did not think of that, "Fishing pole," Canada gestures to a pole by the wall, "portable pot thing, lantern, some nails, just in case, a shovel, seeds, bug spray, a walkie talkie, I have the other one, your MP3 player and earbuds, toilet paper-," I immaturely giggle and Canada glares at me, "A metal container, a whistle compass key chain thing, and a machete." I nod, 

"I guess I didn't think of any of those" Canada smirks,

"Oh, I almost forgot," Canada says and digs through the backpack one more time and holds up a bottle, "a big bottle of vodka," I grin and reach for it, but Canada pulls it away, "it's in case you get wounded. To clean the wound, get it?" 

"Fine" I say and groan. Canada stands up and hands me the bag after zipping it up. I throw the backpack on to the other, larger one. I suddenly wish he was coming to help take some of the weight off. I grab the fishing pole and go with Canada down the stairs. I pause before I reach the door, and run off to the kitchen,

"Wait America-" I get to the kitchen and open the refrigerator. I grin and grab a six pack of beer. I put the beer on the counter and rip a piece of paper from a notebook. I grab a pen and scribble down, 'I'm out, Smell ya latr, suckahs! -B) '. grab the pack of beers and meet back up with Canada. I hug him tightly,

"I really will miss you. Tell mom, Kiwi, and Aussie that I love them." I say pulling away, bursting with confidence,

"I will. I'll miss you too." Canada says. I open the door and walk out. Canada holds the door open as I bounce down the stairs of the deck,

"I love yoooooooooooooooou!" I yell, walking backwards. Canada laughs,

"I love you tooooooooooooooooooo!" he yells back, using his hands as a megaphone.

"Mic, drop!" I yell back and hold my hand out in a fist and pretend I am letting go of a microphone. 

   I hear Canada chuckle from afar as I turn around, and continue on my journey. I let out a quick breath, suddenly losing a quarter of my confidence now that I am out. I grab a bottle of beer from the pack and take the lid off with my teeth. I chug the bottle and stick it back in the case. I grab my compass key chain. I am heading South. I must remember that. I close my eyes and try to remember when I went camping with my father. Oh wait that never happened. Dad was always busy, and we never went camping. It must be a movie that I am thinking of.  I open my eyes and head into a bus station. If I am running away, I've got to be efficient. 

   I hop on the next bus, not entirely sure where I am going. Thirty minutes later, I get to a stop on the side of the road, by a forest. Perfect. I get off and head East into the forest.

   I walk for a very long time, until I feel like my legs are jell-o. I look down at my watch. I have been walking for an hour. I groan, 

"Only an hour?"I mumble. It felt like I have been walking for 5 hours. I sit down by a tree and set my abundance of things down. I am tempted to grab a third bottle of beer, but I fight the urge and pull out my phone. I had three unread messages. One from Canada, 'hey bro, you still alive? I saw your note' I smile and respond that I hadn't realized that walking felt like death. The next was from New Zealand, 'ugh, this is soooo boring. I can't wait to see you' I feel my heart strings tug a little. They hadn't made it home yet. I suddenly long to sit next to New Zealand under a warm blanket and make fun of some terrible movie with her. I chuckle at the thought, and go on to the next ones. One from Japan, my best friend 'Hey want to hang out tomorrow for some drinks and a movie marathon?' I text back, 'sorry, gurl, can't make it. You should go on without me, I'll recover' I feel my tear ducts threaten to leak as I pretend nothing has happened. My phone buzzes. It's Japan again, 'Aw man, ur loss UwU' I chuckle and power off my phone, not wanting to waste battery. 

   I collect my backpacks and continue on my trek. After what feels like ten hours, which is actually just five hours, I reach a clearing that is close to a river and decided to set up camp. I sigh and pull out my phone, sitting against a tree. I close my eyes and breathe in. 30 unread messages, 12 missed calls. I breathe out. 

   I go to Aussie's contact, wanting to avoid my father's. 'Bruh, you just caused a crap storm. You are such an idiot, m8.' I chuckle, imagining Australia's accent and dad's outraged face. 

   I move to Canada's, 'dude, if you get caught, you are sooooo dead.' 

   I go to Japan's, 'so 'Nada just filled me in' 'I see why you are busy now' 'YOU RAN AWAY, AMERICA-SENPAI?!?!?!?!?!?!' I respond with a simple, 'yup' and move on. 

   I go to mom's. 'Your father is not happy, Ame.' 'Are you going to ever come back? Are you safe?' I feel the tug at my heart again and a lump in my throat, 'I'm okay, ma mére' I type to her, using the french I remember from her lessons from when I was a kid, 'I will visit when I am settled'. My phone buzzes, from my mom, 'okay, mon garçon. J'aime tu' I think for a moment and remember that the text means, 'okay, my son. I love you.' I wipe a fallen tear from my cheek and respond I love you too in french or, 'J'aime tu aussi' I blink away another tear and go on. 

   I click on New Zealand's profile, 'well, I didn't expect this' 'no wonder you didn't respond to my last text...' 'where are you? Dad is furious. he's kind of scaring me'. I let another tear slip. I didn't think he would be as mad as to scare my little sister. 'I'm sorry, Kiwi. I love you.' I send, 'tell Canada I demand him to protect you, if not just threaten dad's tea and he will leave you alone' I snort at my own joke. 

   I then hesitantly go to dad's messages, hugging my knees to my chest nervously, as though to protect me from his wrath. 'What the bloody hell does this note mean?' 'Where are you?' I imagine his angry face and snort, 'I am disowning you, you worthless excuse of a son' the insult hurt for just a second, but I go on and ignore it, 'Answer me, America' 'I'm serious' 'America, where are you?' 'I will pick you up myself', 'If you aren't dead by the time I get to you, I will kill you.' The number of messages went on, but I ignore them. I decide to respond after a second, 'you can't disown me, pops, I quit!' 'haha jk lol, but I am an independent country' my phone buzzes, 'America, I don't know if you think this is funny, but it's not. Either come back or tell me where you are.' I snort, and respond, 'nah, I think I will stay right where I am' any thought of going back died. I had to stay here, if not to be independent, then just to spite my father. 'America, what do you think you are doing?' I think, for a second, 'I'm independencizing' I wait for a moment before getting a response 'What does that even mean?' I chuckle a little 'If you head home right now, I will let it slide. I wouldn't expect much better from you any way.'. The last part hits me like a bullet. a drop of water falls onto my phone. I hold my hand out to see if it's raining. It's not.

"Oh, would you look at that. America the Great is crying," I say to myself jokingly, and wipe the tears off of my cheeks and phone. I didn't know why my dad's comment hurt so much. It's true, we do get along sometimes, but we usually don't. It shouldn't hurt quite this much. I set my phone down and stuff my face into my knees. I take a deep breath and get up. Daylight is wasting away and I need to set up.

   I turn off my phone and get out my tent and set it up. I pound the stakes into the ground with a thick, short log. I stuff the log into my backpack when I'm finished. It might just come in handy. I put the backpacks into the tent, trying to figure out if I would fit with the backpacks in the tent. I shrug and pull out the sleeping bag. I carefully unroll it in in tent and then go on.

  By the time it is dark, I have made a lot of progress. I strung up my rations, like I saw in that one movie, and I gathered sticks and rocks to make a pretty lit fireplace. Hehe get it? Lit? No? Okay, let's move on. I curl into my tent and pull out my phone. I turn it on and go through the missed messages. Some from dad, that I don't bother looking at, one from New Zealand, 'If you die out in the wilderness, Imma kill u' I chuckle and turn my phone off for the night, no one else has texted me. I close my tired eyes and soon I fall asleep.

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I warned you that they would be longer. but I am not quite sure I was ready for this lengthiness, but eh

words(not including the last bit):1834