It was sometime after dinner when Haley was finally in bed. Her bag had already been packed, so she lent over the bed towards the floor and reached underneath to grab a leather book and a quill. She had a candle on her bedside table to light her way as she started writing.
Dear Diary,
As of tonight, my life will change and begin anew on the morrow. Leah and I are hoping that our plans for this camping trip might gain the interest of Jake and Josh. I've never been around Josh too much, but when we are, I always get so nervous that I start twirling my hair in between my fingers and stutter some of my words. So, I'm hoping this trip will help me gather my courage and see if he feels the same way I do about him. I have no clue what we'll run into while there, my mum always says the forest is filled with secrets. Some light, some dark. Maybe we could find those secrets as we find our way on how we could start out our lives together. Maybe. Just once we could actually get our wish. Lord knows, Leah and I have been through enough.
Love, Haley James
She sighed in thought as she finished her entry and smiled up at the ceiling. She knew they'll be okay. Now, if only her brain matched her heart's thought on the matter. For some reason, dread filled her stomach, but now that it's been planned, they could leave at first light. She remembered earlier today how she asked Jake to come with them to go camping. She definitely almost ruined it for Leah, that's for sure.
FLASHBACK
Haley walked through the village cottages and made her way back to the front of the bakery and Jake, surrounded by some of his friends. She froze in her tracks though when she noticed she gained the attention of literally everybody. Jake raised his dark brow at her in slight amusement. "Yes, Haley? Did you need something?" He asked her.
She stuttered as she tried to get the words out of her, but with all the eyes on her, it just kept getting worse. Jake just huffed a little and waved at his friends. "Alright, guys, I'll catch you all later." He said, and his friends just chuckled at him. He turned back to her and watched her as she tried to take a breath.
"Do you want to go with a group of us to go camping? We were planning on going on the morrow. " She said quietly. He looked at her in surprise. "In the Trickster's Forest?"
She nodded, confused. "Yes, is there something wrong with that?" She asked him.
Jake shook his head. "Um, not truly, but there is a story as to how the forest was created back in the day, it's fascinating, and I think everyone will be interested. You know what, you got my interest, I'll go. When should I get ready?" He asked her, almost bouncing in excitement.
She grinned, relieved. "Pack tonight and meet with us on the morrow, say outside the bakery?" She suggested. Jake nodded in agreement. "Alright then, I'll be here on the marrow." He said, and Haley grinned in excitement as she went about her way.
END FLASHBACK
Thankfully, despite her fear of having all the attention on her, he still managed to agree to go despite her lack of composer. She sighed and decided to turn in, for it was definitely going to be a long day to find a decent camping spot in the forest. She was curious about the story that Jake had said about the place, and she hoped he'd tell a tale when they settled.
She decided to stop thinking for the night and leaned over to blow out her candle and everything went dark.
It was the next day when Haley was outside the bakery waiting on the group to arrive. The first person to approach her was surprisingly Leah. Haley grinned at her friend. "Hey, Leah. Did you sleep well last night?" She asked her. Leah nodded. Today, Leah had decided on leather pants and a dark green tunic for a top and some black leather hiking boots to match.
As for Haley, she went for cotton black pants and a dark red shirt to go with her brown boots. Her hair was done up in a classic ponytail. "Not bad eh, guess we both had a certain style to go for this trip," Leah said, waggling her brows at her, causing Haley to giggle. It only took about a minute or two before the boys started to show up as well.
Haley and Leah smiled at them in excitement. Everyone had their own packs to carry for the camp. Joshua had a similar look to him in terms of clothes, but his shirt was colored brown whereas Jake's a dark blue. He smiled back at her, causing Haley's heart to start speeding up in her chest, turning her cheeks red.
"Everyone's here, which is perfect now we can go and search for a decent spot to camp in. But I have to warn you guys, it's going to be a bit of a hike to get there if you don't mind it." Leah suggested. Everyone nodded to show they didn't mind.
TIME SKIP
It had been some time since they started on their hike in the forest and Haley had overestimated her body in what it could handle since she was breathing kind of hard. Joshua slowed down a bit, so he could walk next to her. "Are you alright, Haley?" He asked her. She smiled a bit in between breaths. "I'm alright, I just need a minute to catch up." She gasped out.
Joshua just frowned a bit before he whistled to catch Leah and Jake's attention. Both stopped from the top of the hill, looking down at them in confusion. "Let's take a break, guys, Haley's energy needs to build back up." He shouted at them. Jake waved his arm at him in response, and he watched the two take a spot at a nearby rock.
Joshua took out his rug sack filled with water, then handed it to Haley. "Oh, you don't have to. I have my own." She said quietly. He just showed his dimples at her. "I don't mind, Haley. I'm sure you girls can make sure we get to a nearby river for a good camp spot or let it be nearby at least, so I don't mind sharing." He said, handing his rug sack to Haley.
Instead of protesting, she went ahead and took a sip of water and sighed in relief when her throat cleared up. She handed it back to Joshua and gave him a smile. "Thank you, Joshua." She spoke. He just shrugged and gave her a grin. "Just call me Josh, we're friends after all, aren't we?" He asked and stood up on his feet and held his hand out to her. She nodded in response and took the offered hand to stand back up.
"Ready to find that camp?" He said, and she grinned back at him. "I'm all set to go. And they made their way up. It took them about five minutes to climb the steep hill, but they managed, with Haley huffing a little with exertion as they made their way to Leah and Jake at a surprisingly large rock.
"You alright there, Haley?" Her friend asked her, concerned. "I'm fine, Leah, are we almost to the spot then?" She asked her. Leah just grinned and stood on her feet. "You bet, and ironically enough, it's by the one place you'll never have seen before and of course, it's near a river, so it's perfect for us." She said, grabbing everyone's hands and pulling them.
Haley just giggled at the guy's similar expressions at being pulled through the trees. Haley walked beside her friend when she spotted the river she mentioned. It was rather large and steadily going in one direction. Instead of it being calm, it spiraled along the bend and slammed itself against the rocks, and she gulped a bit at the speed. She refocused her attention on where Leah was pulling her to.
She saw a large clearing covered in pretty yellow flowers that just bloomed with midday dew and the wind had the leaves dancing on the trees towards them. Haley grinned at the sight and let the wind relax her stance. Leah leaned in front of her to watch her face and grinned at what she saw. "See guys, Haley likes it. Why are you so spooked about this place?" She said, putting both of her hands on her hips, pursing her lips at them.
Haley tore her eyes away from the clearing and looked at the guys with surprise. Jake and Joshua both sported unsure looks, and they were shuffling their feet around the dirt. Haley looked directly at Josh. "Josh?" She asked him quietly, getting his attention. When she saw fear in his eyes, it took her by surprise.
"We'll tell you the story we heard, but do we have to camp here, of all places?" He asked Leah.