"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..." April was still saying five minutes later. In the end she gave up. "Ok, I got nothing."
"Apes?"
April laughed nervously, looking at Carlos with her eyes wide open. Her hair was sticking up and she was sweating, plus her laugh had gone from nervously to hysterical. She looked a bit like she'd gone mad.
"I totally have no idea who these people are! I just guessed their names! Are your names really Stuart and David?! Hahaha-"
"April Mai June July Clifford!" Carson shouted. April turned around to look at him in shock and he looked sadly at her and held out his pinky finger.
"No more secrets, remember? We swore. Please... swear on it again. I'm not risking losing you too because of stupid secrets."
April sighed and pinkie-swore with her brother.
"Alright, what do you want to know?"
"Hmm, let's see?" Carson said sarcastically. "How about, Who even are these people? How do you know them? Are they new? Are they younger or older than us? Or are they the same age as us? Are they identical twins? How did you meet them? Do they know J? Why did he call you-"
"OKAY, CARS! Enough with the match of 20 questions!" April yelled. She wiped some more tears out of her eyes and sat down. "Why don't I explain everything."
She patted the seats across from her and David and Stuart sat down. Carson and Jackson took the seats next to her.
"Well.." April started, sighing nervously. "It all started last summer..."
—
April and June grinned as they looked around at Camp Adventure. June's mother had just dropped them off and they were looking forwards to a summer of fun.
"This place looks amazing! I can't believe we get to spend 4 weeks without parent drama, and brother drama, and cousin drama! It'll be heaven!" June yelled, running towards the large fountain. When she was about 7 metres away, April sighed, slightly amused and slightly worried.
"June! Be careful or else you'll run-err, never mind." She cut herself off as June ran straight into a dark-haired boy. They both fell over and April sighed again. She started to walk over to them when she walked into a boy herself. She fell over and laughed slightly, thinking of the irony that June had walked into a boy and now her. She looked up and saw that the boy had fallen over too. He looked up and everything seemed to go silent, all she could hear was her heart beating loudly and her chest going up and down. She jumped as she realised the boy was now sat next to her, talking.
He had short black hair and dazzling green eyes that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. He was wearing a navy t-shirt with the words 'camp adventure' printed on it, and a pair of light blue denim jeans. He had a speck of dirt on his cheek and he was wearing dark blue squared glasses, which went well with his hair and eyes. She was looking into his eyes when she realised he was speaking to her.
"Are you okay?"
She blushed and looked down, suddenly feeling nervous. She started to feel a bit light-headed and sighed.
"Yeah, I think so. I'm so sorry, I didn't see you. I just-"
April tried to get up, only to feel a sharp pain in her knee and fall down again. She looked down and realised that she had a large circular cut spreading across her knee, with a shard of a mirror sticking out of it, cutting into her knee more by the second. The boy noticed too and stared in shock for a moment before yelling out.
"HELP! HELP! SOMEONE HELP! THIS GIRL IS INJURED! SHE'S LOSING BLOOD! HELP!"
Immediately June was beside her, asking if she was alright. April was struggling to stay conscious, as she was losing a lot of blood and couldn't breathe properly. Suddenly there was a lot of adults surrounding her, although she couldn't hear anything. She started breathing less and eventually, everything went black.
—
1 hour later.
When April woke up she was in a white room on an uncomfortable bed. June and a boy who looked similar to the one she had crashed into, except with Harry Potter glasses and blue eyes, were sat on her left, while the dreamy green-eyed boy was sat on her right. They were all looking down at the floor, June was resting her shoulder on the other boys shoulder. April stared at her in shock as she saw a tear roll down her cheek.
"June, Are you crying?!"
June looked up and laughed happily when she saw April was awake. She quickly got up and threw herself on April.
"APES! You're awake! Thank god! I was so worried!"
"Why?" April asked curiously. June threw her arms around her and started sobbing. "How long was I out? Oh god, I haven't missed all of camp have I?!"
June gave a small laugh and sighed.
"No, you were only out for an hour this time. But you stopped breathing after you blacked out. The nurse only just managed to get you to breathe again. I was so worried Apes, I really thought that this time you weren't going to make it!"
The two boys looked at each other in surprise.
"This time?! How many times has this sort of thing happened?" The green-eyed one whispered. The blue-eyed one shrugged.
Meanwhile, April rested her hands on June's shoulders.
"Come on, J, you know you can't get rid of me that easy. I've been through worse, and so have you. I'm fine."
As she said this, she tried to move her leg and felt another sharp pain. She lifted up the cover and frowned as she saw her leg bandaged up.
"How bad is it?" She asked. June sighed after she had stopped crying.
"Not that bad I think, the nurse says you'll need to use crutches for a few weeks but then you'll be able to walk properly. She also said that you can get out of the infirmary right now and come and see our cabin if you come in every day for a checkup."
April smiled.
"Really?! That's great!"
There was the sound of someone clearing their throat next to them and April turned around to see dreamy green-eyed boy staring at her.
"Umm, hi."
"Hi." April said quietly, thinking 'This is it! I can actually talk to him eee!'
"Have you been here the whole time?"
The boy nodded.
"Yeah, I've been here for the past hour waiting for you to wake up. I just, I wanted to say sorry, about what happened. And, I-I also wanted to say this, I-I'm David. We never got a chance to be properly introduced due to what happened, again, sorry, so I wanted to introduce myself now."
"Well, it's nice to meet you David." April replied after a few seconds of thinking 'omg David us such a perfect name for him! Oh crap, that's the same name as my stupid Father though. Oh well, I doubt David is like Father, and if he is, I'm never letting myself like anyone ever again.'
"I'm April, but you can come up with a nickname for me if you want. Just not Ape, Apes or A because I want to try a new nickname for camp. And by the way, it's fine. It's not your fault. I walked into you because I was so worried about June I didn't notice you walking in the direction towards me."
June sighed and dropped down in her seat while David blushed.
"Actually...I was kind of walking to you. To speak to you. Also, you can call me Dave. And for nicknames, what if I think about it and tell you some ideas tomorrow? I could always come to your cabin, when we find out our cabins that is, and give you a list of nicknames I think are as beautiful a-I mean, that would suit you." David quickly corrected himself. April blushed again and June smirked, looking at the other boy knowingly. He moved and stood next to June.
"And I'm Stuart, but you can call me Stu. I was the boy that JC crashed into, so technically it's my fault."
"JC?"
"It's a new nickname Stu came up with that I'm trying out." June answered. April nodded, then turned to Stuart.
"And don't be ridiculous Stu!" She said, sighing. "It's my fault, I shouldn't have gotten so distracted by Dave, I should've realised that my knee was injured and I was having another episode."
Everyone was silent, June kept on looking at Stuart and it was April's turn to smirk. She leaned over and lifted her leg up off the bed.
"Now, what did you say about crutches J? I wanna check out our cabins and see if we're near the boys!"
—
1 day later.
April grinned as she heard a knock at the door.
"Oh, that's probably Dave! He said he'd come at 6 so we could have a picnic in a secret spot and he could show me the nicknames he's come up with!"
June smirked. She'd been doing that a lot over the past 24 hours, and it was infuriating April not knowing why.
"That sounds more like a date than friends meeting up Sis." June said loudly. April stared at her in surprise, both about June calling her sis and about the date.
"What! No! No, it's, no! It is not a date!"
"Suurreee! I'm pretty sure Dave meant a date when he asked if you wanted to go to a hidden moonlight spot in the woods for a picnic!"
April grinned slightly at the thought of it being a date. She tried to hide it, but unfortunately June saw. She squealed.
"I knew it! You like him!"
"Wha-no I do no-YOU LIKE STUART!" April shouted, trying to change the subject. June looked surprised but nodded.
"Yea, I do, we're going on a date in 20 minutes. Just like you and Dave!"
April sighed, there was no escaping.
"Alright FINE! I do like Dave! And there's a part of me that wants this to be a date, but Dave would never like someone like me!"
June raised her eyebrows, then grinned.
"Of course he does! Did you not see him yesterday! He sat with you, A complete stranger, for an hour waiting for you to wake up, then introduced himself straight away, and then helped you limp to our cabin. He even showed you tricks you can do with your crutches! He clearly likes you! And, you know what that means! Makeup time, sister!"
April groaned, they'd only used makeup once before, at their primary school leavers dance, and while it had turned out amazing it had been a nightmare to sort out. June grinned again, and grabbed some makeup.
"April will be there in a minute Dave!" She yelled. Dave shouted back, "okay" and June got to work.
Within five minutes, April had gone from wearing a baggy t-shirt with overalls and black trainers with her hair tied in a scruffy high ponytail, to wearing a shiny baby blue crop top with a pair of ripped denim jeans and a pair of nitro black and hot pink trainers, with her hair curled and down loose and wearing peach eye shadow and red lipstick, with a hint of blush.
"What the-how?!"
June smirked again and April felt like punching her in the face.
"I've been practicing, now go!"
April grabbed a black denim jacket and ran to the door, stopping the thank June on the way out. June grinned and walked over to her slowly. She took something out of her pocket and handed it to her. When April looked she saw a gold heart-shaped locket with the words 'June & April' carved on it. She opened it and saw 2 pictures of her and June from when they were 4 and 11. The first one was of them on their first day of school holding hands and grinning, and the second one was of their year 6 class picture taken on the last day, but zoomed in so it only showed June and April. They were smiling and had tears rolling down their faces, and were hugging, but with their heads facing the camera. They were also wearing fake graduation caps that they'd bought for the occasion, April's navy and June's red.
"I had this made for you. I have one the same, it's just to remind you that I'm always here. If you feel lonely, or nervous, or scared, just hold it close. I'm always with you, sister, always. Now go, have fun on your date!"
April grinned and put on the necklace. When she opened the door, David was standing there holding a list and a small bouquet of blue flowers. April blushed and took a step out of the doorway.
"Hi, Dave."
David quickly stood up, and immediately looked shocked when he saw her. He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt with a black denim jacket over his shoulder and light blue jeans. He was also wearing a gold watch and black boots with shoelaces. He smiled and handed her the flowers.
"Wow, April, you look, beautiful." He looked down at the flowers and blushed. "I've never really been on a date before so..."
"Is this a date?" April asked eagerly before she could stop herself. David nodded slightly before pausing and looking into her eyes.
"Only if you want it to be, if not then we can be two friends dressing up and having a friendly picnic."
"I-" April paused to grin and think about whether she should do something. In the end she decided to, and leaned over and grabbed David's hand. "I want this to be a date."
"Really?!" David asked hopefully, looking at her like a seven year old looks at their parents after being told they can have something they really want.
"Yes."
The two of them walked into the woods, David leading the way and helping April, until they came to a stop at a rock covered in vines. David grinned.
"Why are we here Dave? There are plenty of other rocks to sit on. Plus, it'll be hard to get onto with the crutches."
"I wanted us to be alone. You ever seen Tangled?"
And with that, David walked into the wall of vines and disappeared. April gasped and stepped back.
"Woah, what th-"
She was interrupted by an arm reaching out and grabbing her, pulling her through the vines. April screamed and grabbed her crutches as they flew off her arms. She fell on the ground and saw David standing next to her, holding the crutches and his hand out. April grinned and accepted his hand, pulling him onto the ground next to her.
The two of them may there laughing for a few minutes, until David helped April up and handed her her crutches.
"As much as I love this, I would like to get to the spot I was talking about before nightfall. It's not very far now. Just around the corner."
After a few minutes of walking up and down a hill, they came to another wall of vines and walked through it. April closed her eyes when David asked her two and he lead her down a dark tunnel. When she opened her eyes, she saw what could only be described as a fairyland.
There was a shimmering lake in the centre of the clearing, and on the surface there was a group of black and white swans. Around the lake, there was the brightest grass April had ever seen, which was covered by beautiful flowers such as dandelions and sunflowers. There were all sorts of animals, rabbits, and flamingos, and squirrels, and birds, and even a cat. It looked like a scene out of a Disney movie, minus the flamingos.
"Wow-Dave, this is-wow!" April said, struggling to find the words to describe what she thought.
"Do you like it?" David asked nervously. April nodded.
"Are you kidding? I've been looking for a place like this my whole life! Me and June used to go into the local woods hoping to find a clearing like this. I feel like I'm in a Disney movie! Except I'm not a princess obviously. No-where near."
"Well, you look like a Princess, that's for sure. And you're a Princess to me, because you're so kind and beautiful and smart, I figured that out the moment I met you. And, I really like you." David said, smiling shyly at her. April blushed.
"Thank you, that's really kind of you. And, I-I really like you too Dave. So, what about that picnic?"
"Right."
They sat down on a blanket David had laid down, and ate a bit of food. April named all of the animals; Coraline the cat, Flora, Florian, Freedom, Fauna and Fiona the flamingos, Ann, Justice, Bob, William and Johnathon the birds, Sadie, Sallie, Simon, Sienna and Stella the squirrels, and Rory, Rina, Rose and Rubber the rabbits.
"Wait-Rubber?!" David asked, laughing. April nodded.
"Hey! It could be a real name! You never know!"
"And 'Freedom'?"
"Free for short. I couldn't think of anything, okay." April muttered laughing.
"Right, okay. Anyway, do you want to hear a few of the nicknames I've thought of. I tried to think of ones that would suit you."
April nodded. David grinned.
"Okay, well. These are all the ones I've thought of; AC, because of JC, Apricot, because that's different to Apes, April-Leah, because that's as beautiful as you and would suit you, and April-Jane, for the same reason. Also AJ, like the character from that movie you showed me last night, Further Adventures in babysitting. What do you think?"
April sat there for a second, thinking. Eventually she sighed.
"I don't know, I like them all. I want a few different nicknames. You decide."
David hesitated and April hit him playfully on the arm.
"Oh, come on..you know you want to.." she said in a sing-song voice. David laughed.
"Alright then. I think that April-Lea suits you perfectly, especially right now, and I think that AC would be good because your sister has a similar nickname. And I think that it would be cool to have a nickname of your favourite character from your favourite movie too. So what about April-Lea, AC, and April-Jane, but AJ for short."
"I love it!" April said quietly, wondering if she should do it. She decided to, and as the moon rose and reflected on the lake, she leaned in and kissed him.
When they pulled apart, David blushed again and smiled, looking into her eyes.
"April, d-d-do you want to be m-my girlfriend?"
He looked down, like he thought she would say no. However, April grinned, then threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
"Yes, Dave, I would love that."