"At the count of three I will throw Curtis' bag to you" said Matt.
"Okay" said Maddie.
"1…2…3" said Matt as he threw Curtis' bag and Maddie caught it easily, Matt was a good thrower.
"Did you catch it?" asked Matt.
"I caught it" said Maddie as she smiled.
"Okay, Curtis and I are coming up now" said Matt.
"Okay" said Maddie as she moved back.
"Should I carry you or??" asked Matt as he looked at Curtis.
"No, just help me up like you helped Prince Oliver" said Curtis.
"Okay then" said Matt.
"You know what, without Matt here, it would have taken us the entire day to climb up here" said Maddie as she sighed.
"Well yes, which Is why it is a good thing that he is here" said Ollie.
"I mean, we have no magic at all, if we did, it would have been easy to get up here" said Ollie as he saw Matt and Curtis finally climb up as they had been waiting up here for a while now.
"Finally, you guys are here" said Maddie as she looked at Matt and Curtis as Curtis walked to get his backpack, he could not lose this bag, it had everything that they needed right now for this journey.
Matt walked to get the rest of his bags as Annie looked at Curtis.
"We are on the highlands now, it only goes up from here" said Curtis as he knew that Annie wanted to ask him a question, so he answered it before she asked.
"Wait, so you mean more climbing?" asked Maddie as to her that was what it sounded like more climbing, even though they did not climb at all, and Matt was the one who carried them, but still it sounded stressful.
"Well yes, if you put it like that" said Curtis.
"But if we are going higher, then that means that it will become colder" said Ollie.
"Obviously" said Maddie as Ollie looked at her.
"Yes Prince Oliver is right" said Curtis as he was cut off.
"Ollie" said Ollie as he corrected Curtis as Curtis just looked at him and he went on with what he was saying.
"It will become colder, which means that everyone should make sure to stay warm, especially you Annie, always wear a sweater just in case, we cannot risk you getting sick" said Curtis as he looked at Annie.
"Okay Curtis" said Annie as Ollie wondered when his nickname would catch on, he had been trying to get them to just call him Ollie for weeks now, and they did not seem to get it, it was annoying, but his mother always said that Patience and consistency were key, so he would just have to be patient and keep on correcting them until it caught on.
"Good, now we continue on" said Curtis as he began to walk ahead, he hoped that they could cover some more ground today, before they had to set up camp, now they have passed one stage of Caligo, and they were on to another stage.
"Okay" said Annie as she followed after Curtis and Maddie followed after her lazily, she was getting tired of this, getting tired of all the walking, she could not wait until they set up camp so she could finally rest.
…
"Curtis, are you going to scout the area? I can help" said Ollie as he looked at Curtis, the sun was starting to set and they had already set up their camp, their tents, and Curtis was going through his bag when he looked up to see Ollie standing next to him.
"Well yes I am, and you can go with me if you wish" said Curtis as he stood up, going alone would not be safe.
Maddie smiled as she had an idea, or more like, she was already looking for ways for her to execute her plan, and well Ollie had just opened up a very nice window.
"Well if you are going, I am going as well" said Maddie as she stood up and she smiled, she had always been curious as to what Curtis did, and if he let Ollie go with him, then he should let her go with him as well.
"If you want to" said Curtis as he knew that he did say that he would carry them along, and if they wanted to go along with him, they were more than welcome to.
"I will go as well" said Matt as he finished making the fire and he turned to look at Curtis.
"No Matt, you have to stay here, if we all go, who will look after Annie?" asked Curtis as Annie looked at him.
"I can take care of myself Curtis, I am not a child" said Annie.
"True you are not, but it Is not a good idea to leave the camp alone, we cannot all go, and besides Annie, it is cold, so it is best that you just stay here, next to the fire to keep you warm, and Matt, you should stay as well, we will be back soon" said Curtis as Maddie could not help but smile, her plana was working out nicely.
She knew that Curtis would never leave Annie all on her own, and well if she and Ollie were gone, the only other person that could stay with Annie would be none other than Matt, this was her golden plan.
"Alright then" said Matt as he did not say anything more, Curtis was the one in charge after all.
"Okay guys, Byee, see you later, and have fun" said Maddie as she smiled at Annie and Matt and she waved at them, she really hoped that Matt would stop being a jerk and actually listen to Annie for once.
"Come on let's go" said Maddie as she turned to look at Curtis and she pushed him to walk ahead, she would have done the same for Ollie, but she did not want to get her very clean hands tainted by touching him.
"Okay" said Curtis as he did not know why Maddie was so eager to go, but regardless, he just continued walking as Ollie and Maddie followed after him, leaving Annie and Matt alone in the camp.
"Oh…" said Annie as it was at this moment that Annie realized what Maddie was up to… she had made sure that Matt and her were alone, she did not know whether to thank Maddie or to scold for her doing this, now things were even more awkward now that they were alone.
Annie turned to look at Matt as she saw him looking at her as well, he could promise you that Maddie planned all of this, just to make sure that he and Annie were alone, she really was too much.
Annie and Matt just stood there, starting at each other, as the fire made crackling noises, Annie felt like the ground should open and swallow her up, this was so awkward… way to awkward, the silence was killing, usually she and Matt were always on good terms, they always knew what to say, they were good friends, but now that Matt was upset with her… the silence was just awkward.
She did not know what he thought about this whole thing, she could not read his mind, and well the serious way he was looking at her, made her feel uncomfortable.
"So…" said Annie as she decided to break the silence.
"So what are we going to do?" asked Annie as she knew that, that was a stupid question, but she could not think of anything better to say to try to lighten the weight.
"Wait" replied Matt simply as he stopped looking at her and he turned around as he walked to his own tent.
"Matt…" called Annie as he stopped and he turned around to look at her.
"Matt… why are you being so cold to me?" asked Annie as her tone was unhappy and Matt was caught off guard by her question, he did not expect that sort of question, so he did not reply to her at all.
"Matt… I don't know what I did to make you treat me so coldly…" said Annie as she sounded so sad that it broke Matt's heart, he hoped that she would not cry at this point, no, if she cried, he would not be able to take it.
"I don't know if I did something unforgivable, or if I ignored you… I don't know… but I don't like the way you treat me, the way you look at me it's… it's unbearable" said Annie as Matt just stood there, he wanted to stop her, because him hearing this, made him feel so bad.
"I'm sorry, for whatever I did to make you be like this, I'm sorry… so please forgive me… and stop acting like this towards me… because it hurts" said Annie as she did not know where all this was coming from, she just felt so bed, she felt like tears were about to drop from her eyes right now.
"No Annie don't cry…" said Matt as his voice came out breaking, he could not bear to see her cry, and much more less for him to be the reason why she was crying.
"You don't have to be sorry, I'm sorry, I'm the one at fault here" said Matt sadly.