We had a lot of fun around the campfire, toasting marshmallows and making S’Mores. I never get tired of those things. I swear I could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner and even in between meals for a snack, although I guess technically it wouldn’t be a snack because I would be having them for breakfast, lunch and dinner so if it’s all the same thing it wouldn’t be a snack unless I guess…
“Okay guys I think it’s time for bed.”
AHH! Kevin broke me out of my rambling thoughts. And that’s pretty much how my thoughts have stayed ever since Brian escorted me out of the tent. I guess my brain has just refused to go back to the thought that I was being haunted in the middle of creepy woods. Gee, I wonder why that would be?
“It’s too early to sleep! Come on there has to be more stories! Howie tell us about the time you fell off that goat again.” I pleaded, looking my friend in the eyes with the saddest pout I could muster.
“Oh my God please don’t Howie.” AJ said patting at D’s head while Brian maaaahed in the background.
“It could happen to anybody, I was only a kid…no pun intended.”
Kevin rolled his eyes at the horrible joke and looked at me, “time for bed little man.”
What?
“What?” I decided to say out loud after saying it to myself didn’t have the same effect.
“Bed, we all have had a really long day. Let’s get some sleep then when we wake up we can go hang at the lake. Sound good to everyone?” Of course everyone nodded at Kevin, standing up and stretching as they headed back towards the tents. I on the other hand wanted no part of that at all.
“Come on guys…the nights still young, we have so much to do yet! Let’s play truth or dare or something. I’ll go first.”
“Nick…we have done the toasting marshmallows thing, ate far too many S’Mores, sang all the corny campfire songs we know…heck Brian even juggled for us…it’s time for bed!” Kevin said as he stood up to put out the campfire.
“WAIT! What about charades? We haven’t played that yet.” Everyone just blatantly ignored me and started heading for the tents, of course I heard AJ mocking me as he left saying … “What about charades?” In a high girly voice. I hate AJ…I must remember to do something to him when I am not stressing out about going to bed in a haunted tent.
That left Kevin and I standing there staring at each other as he threw more dirt onto the campfire to smother the flames. He looked at me as if he didn’t understand why I was still standing there watching him. “Well?”
“Well what?”
“Why are you standing here watching me?” Didn’t I just say he was thinking that? Cool huh?
“I don’t know.” I shrugged.
“Go to bed.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I’m not really giving you an option.”
“What happened between you and Kristin anyway?” Okay I know that seemed random but I was desperate. I mean I was one or two more dirt kicks away from total darkness and sleep. I had to do something and if there’s any topic out there that can keep Kevin going for hours it’s his girlfriend or in this case…lack of girlfriend. I mean I didn’t have to actually listen to him. I have learned how to block out Kevin believe me, if you have been lectured by him as much as I have, you would to.
He looked at me with a curious expression on his face, “Where did that come from?”
I shrugged again, “Just wondering what happened.”
“Well it’s a long story and I don’t much feel like getting into it now.”
“Why not? It’s good to talk about things Kevin. It’s not healthy to keep it locked inside.”
That curious look quickly took a turn to suspicious. “What’s going on Nick? How come you don’t want to go to bed?”
“Who said I didn’t want to go to bed?”
“I just did.” He’s such a smartass!
“I was just concerned, if you don’t want to talk about it…never mind, forget I even asked.” Oh God please don’t forget I asked…I am begging you to take that long drawn out way you have of stretching even the fastest stories into epics and do it now!
“Okay I’m sorry…and I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier. I just have a lot on my mind kiddo.”
I hated when he apologized to me. It was so much easier to be mad at him and make fun of him when he was being a jerk. I felt bad for bringing up Kristin because suddenly he just seemed so melancholy.
“Kevin, I know I’m just a kid but…you guys are meant to be together. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure when we get back home everything will straighten out.” He looked over at me and smiled.
“Thanks little man, now let’s head to the tent and get some sleep.” Oh right…the tent.
“Kevin, maybe we should sleep out here tonight? Just you and I right by the campfire. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“Not really.”
“Why not?”
“Well for starters…the ground is still kind of damp and it’s a little chilly.”
“Nothing like roughing it I always say.”
“You always say that huh?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll have to remember that the next time you cry when I make you take the stairs instead of the elevator when we only have two flights to climb.” In my defense…we had danced all frigging day long and I was tired okay?
“Come on Kev…just you and I out here.”
“You didn’t even want to share a tent with me Nick. Don’t think I didn’t hear you complaining about it before.” Damn him and his uber sharp wolverine ears! “Now tell me why you don’t want to go to sleep in the tent? Did you see a bug or something?”
“What? I’m not afraid of stupid bugs Kevin, puh…leez…I am the one that likes to terrorize people with bugs. Remember when I put that roach in your shorts?”
“That was you? You told me that you saw it crawl in the room!” Ooops
“Nickolas!! I made such a fuss at the hotel that they called a damn exterminator!”
“Um…I…”
“I can’t believe you! Not everything is fun and games! God…grow up!”
Kevin 1; Nick minus 347, but I guess by keeping score I’m turning things into a game. I could tell I really blew it by the way he kicked the dirt into the flames finally putting them out and leaving us in complete darkness, save for the flashlight that he luckily thought to bring with him.
“I’m sorry Kevin.”
“What the hell ever, I’m going to sleep. Either come or find your way back in the dark, the choice is yours.”
Yup, I blew it!
I ran after him when he suddenly picked up his pace and left for the tent, “Wait up please!” He finally stopped walking and flashed the light at me. When I finally caught up with him, he started with round two.
“And I don’t appreciate you pretending to care about what’s going on with Kris and I either. I’m not sure what the hell is wrong with you on this trip but you better snap out of it because I’m not dealing with your overdramatic crap all weekend! Got it?” Have I mentioned that when Kevin yells his nose flares? It’s really weird to watch, kind of like its getting annoyed as well and at any minute the thing will pop off his face and bitch slap me.
“Kevin I do care about you and Kris…it’s just that I don’t want to go to bed yet.”
“Well that’s too damn bad.”
“Kevin…” I was desperate now, almost on the verge of tears. I did not want to go in that tent.
“ENOUGH NICK!” I guess I’m going in that tent.
We walked in and there was Brian all tucked into his sleeping bag reading one of my comic books, “It’s about time you guys got here. I was starting to wonder if you got lost or something.”
Kevin zippered the door closed and started to unroll his sleeping bag, “He can tell you…I’m going to sleep!” With that being said he took his sleeping bag and went into the smaller compartment of the tent, zipping us out of his sight for the night.
“Ooookay…should I even ask what that was about?”
“Probably not, he’s mad at me.”
“Yeah I gathered that much.” Brian smirked and shook his head while reaching over and tousling my hair.
“Brian…you want to go sleep outside?” Hey since I bombed with Kevin I thought I’d try my luck with my best friend.
“Why?”
“Just so we can say we did it.”
“Nicky what’s wrong?”
“Nothing…why do you keep asking me that?”
“Because you are being weird…well weirder than usual.”
I sat up at this point, debating on if I should just surrender and put myself into my sleeping bag or not, when suddenly I just came right out and said it. “I thought I saw a ghost before.”
“You what?”
“A ghost in here, before when we came in to get the chocolate. He was sitting right there.” I pointed over to the place where my ghost friend was earlier.
“Hahaha you’re really very funny…now are you going to tell me or not?” Um…
“I’m telling you the truth Bri…I knew you wouldn’t believe me.” He laughed again but stopped when he saw the look on my face.
“Oh my God…you’re serious? You really think you saw a ghost? Aww Fracky, there’s no such thing.”
“But there was…”
He had this look on his face, it made me queasy, it was kind of like an ‘isn’t that the cutest thing you ever heard, I want to pinch your cheeks’ look mixed with ‘and I can’t wait until AJ hears about this, now we can really try to scare the daylights out of you’ grin on his face. To put it plainly, I was screwed!
“Nick, I can promise you that there is nothing in here now okay? And if there is, I’ll protect you. I promise.”
“How can you do that when you can’t even see him?”
“What does he look like?”
“Just like a normal kid.”
“So he’s small?”
“Not really….no. He’s about my age, maybe a little older than me.”
“Did he say anything?”
“He told me that when he comes after me I should run.”
“Who? When he comes after you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he say it mean like or was it like oooohish?” Of course he then went on to describe what oohish meant by talking very slooowly liiiiikeee thiiis. Like a ghost oooohing, complete with scary arm movements.
“He sounded normal except he was like…dead.”
“Oh, yeah that sucks.” He said trying his hardest not to out and out laugh his ass off at me.
“You don’t believe me do you?”
“I believe you think you saw something Nicky, just not a ghost. It might have been a shadow.”
“Shadows don’t talk.”
“Either do ghosts.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Because I just do.”
“Brian, I saw him and he scared me to death.”
“Want to sleep with the light on?”
“Yes, although I saw him when it was light out as well.”
“You saw him more than once?”
“Yes.”
“So what do you think we should do then?”
“Maybe sleep outside?”
“But if he’s a ghost Nick, he can get to you outside too.”
“But…” he did have a point. Damn!
“I’ll tell you what kiddo, why don’t you go to sleep first okay? I’ll stay awake until I hear you snoring.”
“I don’t snore.”
“Uh huh…right!”
“I don’t!”
“I’ll stay awake until I hear you breathing really loudly then…okay?”
“You’d really do that for me?”
“Of course.” I smiled at him, I loved my Frick.
“Thanks Brian!”
“Now get some sleep kiddo, I need my chicken team mate alert tomorrow!” I smiled and finally got into my sleeping bag.
Knowing that Brian was going to stay awake while I slept made me feel safe so it was with that thought that I finally closed my eyes and went to sleep.
Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'll be back next Wednesday with chapter 6! :O)
