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It's two in the morning, the farmhouse is dark, and the fire is dying. Even though I'm exhausted from the day's events, I sit with my four very best friends around the campfire on a farm in rural Indiana.
Adam pokes at the last few pieces of burnt wood, as if nudging them with his feet will keep it alight. When I laugh at his sorry attempts, he shoots me a glare that his heart isn't in. He never could be mean to anyone. He's cut his dark hair; somehow it suits him, and he's leaving for college in twenty days.
Twenty days left with the boy I'd marry in a heartbeat.
Kyle and Jack sit to my left, and Kyle also laughs at his brother. Instead of a glare though, he gets ashes flung at his face. Jack is smart enough to get out of the way.
Lucy, sitting in between Jack and Kyle, curses as some of the ash lands on her, and she sneezes three times. "Damn you, Adam," She says, getting to her feet to brush herself off.
Adam looks at her apologetically, but he sends a cheeky grin my way. "Who wants to hit the field?"
We all freeze. I look at the overgrown brush and small trees that makes up the gigantic field we ride the ATVs through during the day; key words: during the day. At night, who knows what kind of animals--or people!-roam out there.
"Adam," I say slowly. "Maybe we shouldn't."
"Chicken shit," He says with a grin. He nudges my leg with his knee. "Come on, it'll be fun. One last hurrah, hm?"
Ugh. He has me at that last line; he knows he does too. One last big adventure before he moves 200 miles away. I scowl and reluctantly nod, and I can feel Lucy glaring at me.
Ten minutes later, Lucy and I are in our hoodies with the hoods over our heads, and we're coated in bug spray.
Kyle and Jack emerge from the farmhouse with four flashlights; one for everyone but me. Perfect. Not. I grumble incoherent curses at Adam for his stupid manipulative ways as I stumble blindly behind him towards the field.
As soon as we reach the entrance--a small opening where a trail leads all along the perimeter--I grab Adam's sleeve, and I don't let go despite his attempts to shake me off.
"Flashlights off," He says with another grin. Damn him. He goes first, with me at his side, and Jack, Kyle, and Lucy are close behind. The further we walk into the darkness, the louder the buzzing of wild life gets, and the tighter I hold onto Adam's arm.
"What was that?" Jack asks suddenly.
Adam and I whip around, and I squint to see in the moonlight. "Jack, I swear to God--"
There's too much noise to focus on any one sound, and yet it feels oddly silent in the field. My hand slides down to Adam's wrist, and I'm sure I'm going to pee my pants with fright. I hate stuff like this; I've always been a chicken shit.
"Shhh!" Adam says, taking a step forward. I let my hand slide into his, and we both hold on for dear life as he walks further down the trail. If I wasn't too preoccupied with the situation at hand, I would have reveled at the warmth of his palm.
But unfortunately, I was too scared to even think straight.
"You guys," I say quietly. "Cut it out. You know I hate this stuff--"
"What's that light over there?!" Jack whispers fiercely.
I turn my head and indeed, there is the distinctive beam of a flashlight in the distance flashing on and off at strange intervals. "Oh my God," I moan. I tug on Adam's hand. "Let's just go."
Adam pulls me towards him and tucks me under his arm, his hand still in mine. "Chill out," He says, but he doesn't sound so high and mighty anymore. "It's probably just a firefly."
Kyle and Lucy agree quickly, and the fear is dispelled for a little while.
But we start to scare ourselves. Jack is sure there's someone out here with us, and he won't stop voicing his opinion. Kyle and Lucy cling to my sweatshirt, and I cling to Adam's side as if my life depends on it.
A coyote howls somewhere in the field, and Jack loses it. "Fuck this shit!" He yelps, and he sprints back towards the safety of the yard and the fire. Lucy, Kyle, Adam and I follow swiftly.
Halfway towards the yard, Adam, Lucy, Kyle, and I stop running because we're laughing so hard. Kyle sinks to his knees, and Lucy crosses her legs to keep from peeing.
The sight makes me laugh too, but I've just nearly avoided peeing myself, so I don't say anything to ridicule her.
Adam turns on his flashlight and shines it in my face. In the dim light, I can make out the grin that seems to be permanently plastered on his face. He winks at me and wraps an arm around my shoulder. "Everybody okay?" He asks with a laugh.
Kyle, from his spot on the ground, lifts a hand in confirmation, and Lucy stands upright after getting a hold on herself.
"Everybody except Jack," She says, looking around. "Where is he?"
At that moment somebody grabs me from behind, and I let out a scream so loud I'm sure I've woken up every single person in the farmhouse and then some. I whirl around and come face-to-face with Jack, who is hysterical with laughter.
Adam joins in after a minute, and he gives me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder that I immediately shrug off.
"You guys suck," I say. "Seriously."
Kyle stands up and smiles at me. "Phew," He says. "Ready to go back?"
I nod quickly, and the five of us walk back to the yard. When a coyote howls, we all pick up our pace as nonchalantly as possible.
AN: This was horribly written, but I needed to write it down so I'd remember it forever. Literally, one of the greatest nights of my life. I was running around a farm at three in the morning; more one-shots to come.
Adam pokes at the last few pieces of burnt wood, as if nudging them with his feet will keep it alight. When I laugh at his sorry attempts, he shoots me a glare that his heart isn't in. He never could be mean to anyone. He's cut his dark hair; somehow it suits him, and he's leaving for college in twenty days.
Twenty days left with the boy I'd marry in a heartbeat.
Kyle and Jack sit to my left, and Kyle also laughs at his brother. Instead of a glare though, he gets ashes flung at his face. Jack is smart enough to get out of the way.
Lucy, sitting in between Jack and Kyle, curses as some of the ash lands on her, and she sneezes three times. "Damn you, Adam," She says, getting to her feet to brush herself off.
Adam looks at her apologetically, but he sends a cheeky grin my way. "Who wants to hit the field?"
We all freeze. I look at the overgrown brush and small trees that makes up the gigantic field we ride the ATVs through during the day; key words: during the day. At night, who knows what kind of animals--or people!-roam out there.
"Adam," I say slowly. "Maybe we shouldn't."
"Chicken shit," He says with a grin. He nudges my leg with his knee. "Come on, it'll be fun. One last hurrah, hm?"
Ugh. He has me at that last line; he knows he does too. One last big adventure before he moves 200 miles away. I scowl and reluctantly nod, and I can feel Lucy glaring at me.
Ten minutes later, Lucy and I are in our hoodies with the hoods over our heads, and we're coated in bug spray.
Kyle and Jack emerge from the farmhouse with four flashlights; one for everyone but me. Perfect. Not. I grumble incoherent curses at Adam for his stupid manipulative ways as I stumble blindly behind him towards the field.
As soon as we reach the entrance--a small opening where a trail leads all along the perimeter--I grab Adam's sleeve, and I don't let go despite his attempts to shake me off.
"Flashlights off," He says with another grin. Damn him. He goes first, with me at his side, and Jack, Kyle, and Lucy are close behind. The further we walk into the darkness, the louder the buzzing of wild life gets, and the tighter I hold onto Adam's arm.
"What was that?" Jack asks suddenly.
Adam and I whip around, and I squint to see in the moonlight. "Jack, I swear to God--"
There's too much noise to focus on any one sound, and yet it feels oddly silent in the field. My hand slides down to Adam's wrist, and I'm sure I'm going to pee my pants with fright. I hate stuff like this; I've always been a chicken shit.
"Shhh!" Adam says, taking a step forward. I let my hand slide into his, and we both hold on for dear life as he walks further down the trail. If I wasn't too preoccupied with the situation at hand, I would have reveled at the warmth of his palm.
But unfortunately, I was too scared to even think straight.
"You guys," I say quietly. "Cut it out. You know I hate this stuff--"
"What's that light over there?!" Jack whispers fiercely.
I turn my head and indeed, there is the distinctive beam of a flashlight in the distance flashing on and off at strange intervals. "Oh my God," I moan. I tug on Adam's hand. "Let's just go."
Adam pulls me towards him and tucks me under his arm, his hand still in mine. "Chill out," He says, but he doesn't sound so high and mighty anymore. "It's probably just a firefly."
Kyle and Lucy agree quickly, and the fear is dispelled for a little while.
But we start to scare ourselves. Jack is sure there's someone out here with us, and he won't stop voicing his opinion. Kyle and Lucy cling to my sweatshirt, and I cling to Adam's side as if my life depends on it.
A coyote howls somewhere in the field, and Jack loses it. "Fuck this shit!" He yelps, and he sprints back towards the safety of the yard and the fire. Lucy, Kyle, Adam and I follow swiftly.
Halfway towards the yard, Adam, Lucy, Kyle, and I stop running because we're laughing so hard. Kyle sinks to his knees, and Lucy crosses her legs to keep from peeing.
The sight makes me laugh too, but I've just nearly avoided peeing myself, so I don't say anything to ridicule her.
Adam turns on his flashlight and shines it in my face. In the dim light, I can make out the grin that seems to be permanently plastered on his face. He winks at me and wraps an arm around my shoulder. "Everybody okay?" He asks with a laugh.
Kyle, from his spot on the ground, lifts a hand in confirmation, and Lucy stands upright after getting a hold on herself.
"Everybody except Jack," She says, looking around. "Where is he?"
At that moment somebody grabs me from behind, and I let out a scream so loud I'm sure I've woken up every single person in the farmhouse and then some. I whirl around and come face-to-face with Jack, who is hysterical with laughter.
Adam joins in after a minute, and he gives me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder that I immediately shrug off.
"You guys suck," I say. "Seriously."
Kyle stands up and smiles at me. "Phew," He says. "Ready to go back?"
I nod quickly, and the five of us walk back to the yard. When a coyote howls, we all pick up our pace as nonchalantly as possible.
AN: This was horribly written, but I needed to write it down so I'd remember it forever. Literally, one of the greatest nights of my life. I was running around a farm at three in the morning; more one-shots to come.
