Love Unmasked

5 - Don't Burn the Forest Down

After we finished eating, we heard a whistle from afar being blown 5 times which meant Mr. Hendricks wanted us to meet up at his site. 

"So, now that everyone has gotten a chance to settle into their new living spaces for the next two nights, let's go over some biocampology. Like what I did there?" He laughed to himself and a few of us pretended to laugh along. 

"Okay so let's go over the endocrine system. What is the master endocrine gland?" 

"The pituitary gland." I answered. 

"Right thanks Rosie. Now relating this back to our current environment, if let's say we hadn't of brought water with us, what would happen to the pituitary gland?" 

"The pituitary gland would continue to secrete ADH which tells your kidneys to keep conserving water since it's not getting any more." Jake's deep voice beside me answered back. 

Was this going to be turned into a war of who can outsmart who in attempts to prove one of us wrong for not having enough faith in one another? 

After an hour of Mr. Hendricks camp jokes mixed with biology to last an eternity, we had gone over enough life or death situations and what would happen to the human body. More mosquitos were coming out to bite us all and he sent us back to our sites to sleep. 

But that's not what everyone else had planned. 

"So are you coming to the bond fire at Trenton's site? Everyone's going to head over once Mr.Hendricks falls asleep." Jake asked me. Moving small rocks with a stick he found and was playing with earlier when we were being bored by Mr. Hendricks "jokes."

Jake was assuming I knew Trenton. But in reality I just knew of him, I had never actually spoken to him, much like Jake himself. But they were best friends. And both of them were the hot guys of the school, and everyone knew them even if you didn't really know them. 

I tried to follow the trail the way we came back but I was just hoping that if I went the wrong way Jake would correct me. I hadn't even heard that there was going to be a bon fire tonight. I knew for certain we were not supposed to be doing anything of that sorts. We were supposed to all go back to our camp sites and hit the sack. I also didn't feel comfortable being around a bunch of my classmates who would be drinking and possible smoking and there would be a lot of PDA and groping, all without Liz with me. I needed her to calm me down in these social situations. 

I tried to find an excuse not to but I literally had no legitimate excuse. Otherwise I would have to admit that I didn't like hanging out at parties and it would lead him closer to my identity of "cupcake." 

"Yeah I'll be there." I responded. Luckily he couldn't see my face and my eyes glaring at him from the bak of my head if that were even physically possible. Why did he have to be such a social butterfly?

"It'll be so much fun. Just a bunch of students, the moon, and a fun night getting together." Jakes excitement made me feel a little more hopeful that it would be more fun that I was thinking it would be. 

"So when was the last time you went hiking since you said it had been a while?" Jake asked, I could see his Timberland boots catch up beside me. I could see him looking at me from the corner of my eye. But I kept focused in front of me. 

"Yeah the last time my family was actually together in the same room was actually 4 years ago when we went camping together."

"Wow so it's been a while eh?" He asked.

"Yeah my parent's just work a lot." I responded.

"Yeah so do my parents. I have to take care of my brothers most of the time." 

I knew that already but wanted to seem as if this was new information being told to me for the first time. "Oh two brothers, wow that must be hard. You know having a social life and taking care of them." 

"It can be but I've taught them how to fend for themselves so I can usually go out later at night to parties when I know they are too  tired to possibly leave the house. Plus they know how much trouble they would get into if I didn't find them home. And I mean it's not like they are our age and have anywhere to go right?" He joked. Little did he know I barely had anywhere to go most nights. 

Suddenly Jake's long arm came out in front of me and stopped me from running into a branch. 

"Close one." Jake smirked. 

"Thanks." I said. 

"Yeah my brother is always stuck on his Nintendo and so enthralled in what ever game that I don't really have to worry too much about him anymore. But it used to be the opposite before when my parents were more present. So like back to the time we last went camping, him and my dad managed to take my mattress out to the lake with me floating on it. And in the morning I about had a heart attack. Like at least I could swim because if I couldn't have I was pretty far out that no one would have been able to save me in time." That story gave Jake quite a laugh and then he grinned. 

"Wow, some brother. If my brothers managed to do that, I would have gotten them back twice as hard. Did you do anything back?" He asked.

"Nope. I couldn't. I was just covered in mosquito bites since that's where they all corrugate at night apparently. So I couldn't even move. I just plotted thing in my head which was good enough for me." 

"Ah too bad, I would have liked to hear how your attempt at getting back would have gone." Jake gave his devilish smirk right at me. This smirk did something to me, as much as I wanted to interject and say what my great ideas were, I decided against it. For that part of me that was way too hot for his smirk and his cool nature. Forgoing the possible laughter from him if he thought my ideas were dumb. I don't know why I was trying to hide who I was and my weird ideas, because if I was talking to Liz right now I would have let loose so much more. 

Once we made it back to our site, Jake "guarded" the tent and let me change first into some other clothes. He claimed that a bear could come through and he would need to defend it off otherwise I'd be topless trying to defend it myself. He had a way with situation and being able to make anything turn slightly sexual. 

I changed out of my baggy t-shirt and into a black tank top with a flannel unbuttoned since it was getting chilly. I kept my shorts and brushed my long brown hair out from it's pony tail. I didn't have a mirror so hopefully I brushed the kink out. 

"Wow." He said. My eyes were met with him looking me up and down. A smile gradually gracing his face. 

"What you didn't think I could girls could change jut as fast as guys?" I smirked after zipping the tent back down. 

"No, just wow you look hot Rosie. Don't burn the forest down." He recovered from his obvious appraisal of my look. 

"Oh ah thanks. Okay let's go. Or is it too early now? Should we wait a little longer like how it works at parties?" I just blabbed, trying to change the subject but I ended up exposing my inexperience with parties. 

"No now's fine. I mean Trenton's site is just as far from Mr. Hendrick's as ours so it should be fine." 

"Okay let's get going then." I said but didn't mean it. I wanted to stay put and just go to sleep. The day so far had been more socializing than usual for me. 

Would it seem to obvious if I "twisted" my ankle on the way there? "Help" I shouted in my head if there were angels out there to help me through this. 

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It's been a loooooong while since I've updated this book. Sorry! But thanks for those of you who have decided to give this chapter a read and try and remember what happened in the chapters before lol! I was just reading the 4 comments I had from earlier chapters and was like okay I'll try to get this book back up. Because I think this plot line is good enough to follow through on. Please leave comments if you want me to update more often, it really encourages me more than it should lol. I started this book such a long time ago and had a great plot line but now I've forgotten it so we will see where Rosie and Jake take us!