.......

The lush of green around us was overwhelming and with pinkish purple clouds looming above, this was nature at its finest. Even though my hands were laden with wood I gathered, I couldn't help but stop and admire the beauty around me.

We were following the sound of water so that we could find the lake. We were aware of the sun setting but that didn't stop us from moving even deeper into the woods.

"I didn't know you were a nature lover, Keya?" Ciara commented, she was beside me, while the rest of the girls were struggling behind.

Mandy has been complaining that she was tired and wanted to go back. Sav was agreeing with her, they were more wary of their surroundings compared to Ciara, Sally and I who were determined to find the lake.

"It's just so beautiful." I replied Ciara.

"It is isn't it?" Sally panted behind us.

By this moment we could see the glimpse of the sun dancing on the surface of water creating glistening ripples. We moved fast until we found ourselves surrounded by a fairly huge lake.

The soil beneath our shoes looked like sand and although there wasn't ebb and flow of the tide, the lake looked clear, almost greenish blue like the sea.

The sun setting created a luminescent glow around the lake, making all of us catch our breath at the beauty before us.

"Wow." It was Sav's voice that broke the silence.

"Someone pinch me, I think I died and went to heaven." Sally was full of awe. "Ow!" She screeched when Ciara pinched her. "I didn't mean literally." She rubbed the spot where she was pinched but her eyes were still glued at the lake. In fact, all of our eyes were glued at the magnificent sight before us.

My mouth pulled into a huge broad grin. "This is perfect."

"More than perfect." Ciara said.

"Guys we have to swim in this lake." Mandy suggested.

"I didn't bring a swimsuit." Sally's voice worried.

"Me too. But it doesn't matter." I told her.

She cheered up instantly.

"Let's do it tomorrow, right now I just wanna eat." Sav complained.

For five minutes we gazed upon the lake with wonder until we decided to head back before the sun fully settled beneath the horizon.

"So... Keya what's up with you and Kyle?" Sally asked as she walked in step with me and Sav.

I looked at Sav accusingly but she just gave me an innocent look. I saw through her fake façade.

"Nothing. Why?"

"Oh, C'mon. The sexual tension is too thick between you two, even I see it" Mandy added.

That's when I realised that all of them were looking at me expectantly and knowingly as if they knew something I didn't.

I frowned. "I'm serious, we are just friends!"

I didn't like being the centre of attention.

"She's in denial." Sav told them.

I glared at her

"Something has to be going on." Ciara smirked. "I mean, we all see the way he looks at you and you literally glow when you're around him.

They all agreed.

"Oh my gosh!" I snorted.. "Nothing is going on between us."

"Uh-huh, whatever makes you sleep at night" Ciara added.

I rolled my eyes and they all laughed.

Gosh was my attraction for him that obvious? I mean, if they saw it then who's to say Kyle didn't see it too?

Suddenly Sav stopped me as as she thrust her hand in front of me. "Do you smell that?"

Everyone stopped and inhaled.

"Barbeque!" Sally chirped and by that, Sally and Sav were running as fast as their feet could take them, following the aroma of barbeque.

Never mind that the bushes and twigs were scratching them with their briskly hands, they were too intent on finding the food to care about the scratches. We soon lost their sight when they took off.

It wasn't long until Ciara, Mandy and I found the camp again. By that time, the sun was long gone. It wasn't dark, the glow of the full moon provided enough light for us to see, plus the small camp fire that Sam was trying to bring alive.

Six tents were already set up, spaced quite far from each other. It was safe to say that we lost the challenge.

We discarded the wood, next to Sam whom for once wasn't on his phone. Sally was instantly by his side, trying to help him with the fire.

"There's no network here." Ciara explained when she saw my surprised expression. She linked arms with me as she led us to Dave, Ned and Kyle whom were busy grilling up the barbeque.

I glanced around for Sav and Ryland; they were nowhere to be found. Instead, I just saw Mandy moving over to James trying to assemble huge thick logs next to the camp fire.

"Where are Sav and Ryland?" I asked the boys next to the barbeque.

Instantly, Ned tensed at my question but he pretended that he didn't hear me as he continued with what he was doing.

Kyle cocked his head over to Ned and then shook his head in warning at me.

"They were headed over to that tent, last time I checked." Dave answered me, pointing over to the red tent while accepting Ciara's greeting kiss. She was instantly tucked under his arm.

"Oh!" I exclaimed. Ew. I added inside my head. I understood Ned's sudden aversion.

I moved to stand next to Kyle. His eyebrows shot up in question.

I surprised him by hugging him and burying my face unto his neck. Speechless, he snaked his arms around me, accepting my hug.

"Thanks for setting the tent up for me and Sav." I explained, releasing myself.

He twisted his lips, hiding his smirk. "No problem." His eyes gleamed.

I was breathless suddenly because I was aware of his caressing arms around me. We were too close for comfort and so I forced myself to back away.

Ciara gave me a pointed look, while Ned and Dave were ignorant, too absorbed on the sizzling meat.

"Is the food ready yet?" Sav made her presence known by her booming voice.

She headed over towards us, while Ryland glared at her back.

Something was up.

"Give five or ten minutes." Ned replied, turning his body robotically to face her. The instant glow on his face was unfailing. But, Sav didn't notice it or pretended to not notice it as she went over to the meat that was already cooked.

"Hey! Not yet!" Kyle scolded, lightly slapping her hand away from the food.

She pouted. "But, I'm hungry."

"You heard him. Not yet." It was Ryland's voice behind me.

Sav frowned in mid-air at Ryland's presence. Pretending that he wasn't there, she moved over to Ned whom was turning the meat over. Ned froze at her closeness.

I frowned at the spectacle unfolding before my eyes. What was up with Sav and Ryland?

"Keya, can I speak with you?" Ryland surprised all of us by addressing me.

I guess I was going to find out the issue sooner than I expected.

"Me?" I placed my hand on my chest, frowning.

He nodded. "Just for five minutes. Please." He pleaded.

I gaped. Why did Ryland want to speak with me for?

Sav's glare was unmistakable, while Dave and Ciara just stared at me curiously.

Kyle and Ned both had their eyebrows raised up. Kyle had a worried frown while Ned just seemed curious.

I shrugged at all of them as I followed Ryland to the spot where he wanted us to talk. I guess he wanted the conversation to be private when he led me further behind the tents, far away from others.

"What do you want to speak to me about?" I asked, genuinely curious.

He seemed off it as he paced to and fro. "You and Sav talk about anything, right?"

"Yeah." I frowned at his pacing. "Sometimes."

"So she will tell you if anything was bothering her, right?"

"Uh-huh?" This came out as if it was a question.

"Did she tell you if there was something I did wrong?" He stopped his pacing, his worried eyes catching mines.

I shook my head. "No, she didn't."

"Then why is she acting like this." He kicked his shoes in the grass.

"Acting like what?" I asked.

"Like I did something to fûcking piss her off!" His sudden change of tone had me flinching.

"Did you do anything to piss her off?"

"Nothing as far as I'm aware of." He grunted.

"Well, then..." I shrugged, trailing off.

He huffed, sighing and frowning at the same time.

"You guys had an argument?" I asked.

"Not just an argument but a fúcking fight. I don't understand what her problem is. It's like she's finding little things to be fúcking pissed about."

"Oh?" This did sound like Sav. I finally got a full picture, finally understood the reason behind why she was fighting with him.

"Do you think she wants a break up?"

I shrugged. To be honest, I never knew what went on Sav's mind half of the time.

"C'mon on Keya. You must have some fücking idea!" He lashed out suddenly, but his anger wasn't directed at me.

"I can't believe she's fúcking doing this to me. I told her the relationship thing was not my thing." He ranted, exasperatedly. "Fück! This is the reason why I don't even do relationships." He ran both of hands through his hair.

For a moment, I somehow pitied him. It wasn't fair what Sav was doing to both him and Ned. She needed to make her mind up about who she wanted, instead of leading them along.

"I can't offer you any consolation, Ryland. You just have to talk to her." I told him.

"I fűcking tried."

I was going to say try harder but then a branch snapped somewhere behind the tents, interrupting my thoughts. Someone was blatantly trying to make their presence known.

We took that as a cue to head back to camp. Ryland cussed out profanities as he walked away, leaving me frowning at his back.

I was about to walk back to camp when I felt a hand grabbing my arm and hauling me beside one of the tents, away from everyone's view. Not that anyone could see us, since it was dark the further you got away from flickering fire.

"What was that about?" Kyle's voice sounded before I was even aware of what was happening.

I frowned at his tone. "What's it to you?" I couldn't help but mirror his tone of contempt.

The light of the moon was bright enough for me to see the glower in his expression. "Keya, I was worried, okay. Now tell me what he wanted." He demanded.

"He didn't want anything. He's just having problems with Sav, apparently they had a fight!" I hissed.

"Oh." I couldn't help but catch the sound of relief in his tone.

"What did you think it was about?" I asked, the menace leaving my voice.

"I don't know. I just don't trust him." He frowned and shrugged.

"Right, okay." Now that was over, my body became aware of how compromising our position was.

He was too close for comfort, enough for me to feel the heat from his body. I swallowed instantly out pure nervousness.

He smirked at my reaction, as if he just knew how I was feeling. I could see the mischievous gleam of his eyes, it told me of his impending plans.

I didn't know why he was suddenly so intent to arouse me, to make me feel all hot and bothered. But as of right now, I wasn't going to let him. So before he could do anything, I simply manoeuvred away from him, putting a safe distance between us.

"Oh c'mon." He softly groaned but the smirk was still playing in his face.

"I'm hungry." I told him as I turned my back from him.

I heard his grunt followed by incoherent mumbling below his breath.

I bit my lips to hide my smile as I walked over to the camp. He was frustrated, but then so was I.

When we got back to the group, they were too busy with their food to notice that Kyle and I had gone.

Sav was sitting on the log beside Ned while Ryland sat on the other log away from her, however it didn't stop him from staring at her now and then and he wasn't the only one staring at her. Ned tried to hide it, but it was printed right into his eyes how much he wanted Sav.

When she saw me, she looked at me questioningly and I knew she was wondering about the "talk" I had with Ryland. I ignored her as I went to grab a plate of food and sat next to Ciara and Dave whom were busy discussing the topic of names.

From the corner of my eyes I saw Kyle doing the same but instead of coming to sit beside me, he sat with Sav and Ned.

"If you really think about it, everyone has weird names." Ciara was telling Dave.

"Not really. I mean if the majority has the same name it doesn't become weird." Dave argued.

"No, I don't think so. Keep saying your name and you'll see how it suddenly becomes weird." She told him.

Dave proceeded into doing just that, and then frowned after a while.

Ciara beamed. "See. Told you." She said.

"You guys are weird." I told them after gnawing into a rib, but I was smiling.

"Ah says the person who's got the weirdest name of them all." Ciara countered, grinning.

"Yeah. I mean what kind of name is Keya?" Dave said and just like that he started repeating my name like he had with his.

I frowned. They laughed.

Keya, Keya, Keya Keya. I tested inside my head. "It is weird isn't it." I agreed with them.

"See." Ciara said. "What were your parents thinking?"

"Beats me." I laughed. "I think my mom was probably obsessed with keys when she was pregnant with me."

"Now that is weird obsession." Dave told me.

We laughed loudly and this attracted attention from others. Kyle, specifically, was just giving me that look of pure adoration.

Soon after we gorged all of the meat, James passed the chilled beer around, shouting how we should play the game of never have I ever.

"No. I'm too tired for that shît." Dave interjected while shaking his head.

Ciara agreed with him.

"Oh pssh." James rolled his eyes. "We all know that you just wanna go to your tent and fück." He said crudely.

Ciara threw a stick at him which he managed to block. "FYI, I'm sharing a tent with Sally."

"Yeah. Whatever." James shrugged. "So who's in?" James asked, looking around us.

No one looked like they were up for it, except maybe Mandy.

Sally and Sam were too busy into their conversation, discussing something that none of us could hear. I was kind of happy for her for that moment. She finally got his attention.

Ryland was too busy glaring at Sav who was blatantly making Ned uncomfortable by how she flirted with him. I frowned at her too. Could she be any more blunt?

Kyle was nursing his beer; he looked deep in thought as if it was just him and that beer alone. I knew he wasn't going to drink that beer. He had a limit when it came to alcohol, all because of Robert Reyes.

I was holding my breath while watching. Internally, I was screaming for him, begging for him to take his mind away from those thoughts. Seeing him like that initiated my reaction as I simply went over to him and sat next to him on the log.

I nudged him with my side until I saw a small smile pulling on his lips. He looked across me, snidely from the corner of his eyes.

"Okay?" I asked.

He smiled. "Now I am."

"Really?" James shouted in disbelief, looking around all of us. "No one wants to play?"

"Maybe tomorrow, Jay." Mandy pulled him down next her.

"You guys are boring!" James slumped next her.

"Yeah, well...I'm gonna head for the tent. I'm not feeling it." It was Ryland's grumpy voice that spoke. He took a swig from his beer before walking a distance to the red tent.

It wasn't long when everyone took his example and started saying their good night while going to their tents. Sally and Ciara were sharing a grey tent, while Dave and Sam had a darkish green one.

When James grudgingly followed Ryland into the red tent, I soon realised that the last tent was Mandy's. Of course she'd want it all for herself. But I doubted she was going to be alone tonight if the longing looks James was throwing at her were enough proof.

"Well..." Sav said. "Guess we gotta hit the hay." She smiled at a nervous looking Ned.

"Keya. C'mon." She pulled me up and dragged us to our tent before I even had time to wish Kyle and Ned a good night.

As soon as she unzipped the entrance, she pulled me inside it and crawled on her knees to the sleeping bags, giving me a pointed look.

"What did Ryland want to talk to you about?" She asked accusingly.

"He just said you guys got into a fight. He thought you wanted a break-up; said you were looking for little things to pick up a fight and that he didn't know what he did wrong." I summarised.

"Ugh." She grunted in annoyance.

"Sav, why don't you just break up with him instead of dragging him along?" I suggested, not really knowing the root of her problem.

"I can't." She told me.

I frowned. "Why not?"

"Because I don't know if I want that." She exclaimed with the flair of her hands.

I rolled my eyes. "And you said I was the dumb one."

She narrowed her eyes. "No, Keya you're just stupid to realise what's in front of you."

I faked a smile. "Yeah thanks a lot."

"C'mon. The guy clearly wants you." She spelt it out for me.

"No, I know what you're doing; you're turning away from the real issue here."

She groaned.

"You can't lead them both along, Sav. Someone will end up getting hurt and you don't want that in your conscience, do you?" I sat down on the makeshift blankets on top of my sleeping bag.

I loved how Kyle even arranged our stuff to make it comfortable for us. He had hanged the petroleum lamp at the corner. The tent was fairly big enough to fit virtually four people in it.

"I don't know what to do, Keya." She told me truthfully. "I mean, what Ryland and I have is really good. But every time I see Ned, I can't help but remember how he kissed me. I can't help but picture us together."

I scowled at the floor. I told myself to not get involved in her situation but she was dragging me in it.

"Savannah Biers." I said her full name. "What is it that you really want?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know." Her tone sounded hollowed, broken.

"Okay, let's try this. Who's the first person that comes in your head when say I this?" I braced myself for this as I said my next sentence.

"I want to sleep with-"

"Ned." She finished quickly.

We both gasped.

"That's your answer. That's who you want most." I told her. But I couldn't help my frown.

"Ugh!" She fell into the makeshift bed of her sleeping bag.

I shrugged as I went over to our bags, looking for nightwear.

I heard her sigh loudly. "This is a mess."

Trust me; it's not as messy as my friendship with Kyle. I thought, but I chose not to voice this out, because I knew how she wasn't going to let it rest.

After getting into my oversized t-shirt, I went under the sleeping bag. Sav went to change into her pyjamas and after turning the petroleum lamp off, she went into her sleeping bag.

My eyes adjusted to the dark and soon enough I was able to make out my surroundings due to the reflection of the moonlight.

Sav was restless beside me and I knew she was thinking over her current predicament. I didn't realise how tired I was until my eyes started closing by themselves.

I guess trudging through the woods in search for that lake really took up most of my energy. I soon fell into slumber.