Yeah yeah, it's very late but I wanted to get part of this out. An no, I didn't finish it. I will... eventually..... anyways here's part 1 for you.

A/N: Just to note this isn't part of the story. It uses the same characters but isn't part of the plot line and is in a entirely different... uh timeline I guess.

Mikey's POV

"Well maybe you could come to?"

"Do you think they'll let us?"

"I'm not sure but I can ask."

That was the last thing Kiara said before running off.

I looked towards Clara.

"I don't know about this. Spending thanksgiving with Kiara and her family is always fun but I'm not sure I want to be with Simon for the weekend."

"Are you serious? They've been dating for like months. Get over it already."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well it's obvious isn't it. You're still peeved that Simon got to Kiara first and you didn't. I thought you would've been over it by now."

"That's not- okay fine. Yes I still like Kiara and yes it's kinda uncomfortable to be around Simon but that's not it."

"Then-"

"Well for one I know he doesn't like me. I swear he glared at me every chance he gets and is constantly plotting my murder. I can't even talk to Kiara alone without him coming out of nowhere and either glaring me down or pulling her off somewhere."

"Come on Mikey. Don't let some dude freak out and stop you from having a good time."

"It's not just that. Don't you think something is off with him. Well not just him, his whole family?"

"They seem pretty normal to me."

"I don't know. There's just something off with them. I don't want to be that guy but they're vibes aren't right. They don't bring good ones."

Clara looked at me for a bit before bursting out laughing.

"Are you serious?! Oh my- wow. Can't believe some dude is turning you into a paranoid freak!"

"Whatever. I hear Kiara coming back"

Kiara's POV

A few minutes earlier:

"I'm not sure but I can ask."

Running over to find Simon I was praying that they would say yes. Since me, Mikey, and Clara didn't have big families to celebrate thanksgiving with, our families had made a tradition to do it together. I was hoping we could still continue that tradition, but with my boyfriend and his family. They had invited my family to their thanksgiving which they apparently all went to this big campsite way out in the woods for.

Running over to Simon I jumped into him giving him a big hug. He chuckled.

"Hey baby. Ready for tomorrow's trip?"

"Of course! Can't wait! Speaking to the trip... I know it's last minute but..."

"But what?"

" I was wondering if you you well... wouldn't mind my friends Clara and Mikey and their families coming along because we've always had thanksgiving with them and I would really like it if I could spend thanksgiving with with them and you and I know they would like it so can they go? Please"

I could feel Simon tense up a bit. His tone switched to a more monotone one when he said," I'm sorry, but I don't thin-"

He stopped for a bit to think.

"I'll ask my parents."

'Well he didn't say no at least'

"Good news, they can come."

"Awesome!" I said hugging him. "Thanks so much."

"Yeah, no problem doll.", he mumbled.

Adrenaline and excitement filled me as I rushed back to my

"Ugh, my first thanksgiving with Kiara and he has to be there."

His sister put her hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down, it's only about 3 days. Then he'll be out of your hair.... For good."

Mikey's POV

The next day:

"So how long is this trip again?", I asked Kiara

"Simon says in total it's about 5-6 days. We start heading up there today and if all goes well we'll be there Tuesday at around Noon to the afternoon, we'll all hang out Wednesday, Thanksgiving Thursday, more hanging out Friday, we leave for home Saturday, and then we should all be home around Sunday afternoon.

"Long trip."

"Yeah but doesn't that make it better? We'll have a lot of time to all hang out together."

"Well you're not wrong."

As I finished putting my things into my parents' car I felt a firm pat or more of a slap on my shoulder.

"Good to have on the trip Mikey. I hope Kiara will enjoy it. I know I will."

I turned my head to see Simon with a genuine smile on his face? I was surprised I thought he didn't like me as usually I was typically ignored by him or getting glared at. The only smiles I had ever really received from him were fake ones when Kiara was watching.

"Uh you're actually glad to have me on the trip?"

"Course. Why wouldn't I? It's the perfect opportunity."

"The perfect opportunity?"

"To get to know eachother better of course."

"Oh um okay. I'm glad that you're glad?"

"Great! Well I gotta go but I'll catch you real soon."

"Huh? Catch me?"

"Yeah catch. You know like see. Or are you referring more to the soon part?"

"Uhh."

"Sorry, my parents like to make everything into road trips. So there's a lot of stopping and sightseeing. It doesn't really take that long to get where we're going. Anyways see ya."

"Oh uh bye?"

Opening the car door and sliding inside I sat there a bit dumbfounded. Simon acting nice to me and wanting to get to know me better? This dude barely ever talked to me and now he wants to be all buddy buddy? Maybe it's just me? Maybe he's a chill guy and I've just been overthinking things? Maybe he does actually want to be friends?

Time skip:

Things actually went pretty well. As predicted we stopped at many different places along the way. From sightseeing areas, to tourist traps, down to just little shops. Not as predictably everyone got along, even Simon and I. He was actually pretty friendly and social. Asking Clara and I about our opinions and interests and even just directly speaking to us when he didn't have to. It was actually quite enjoyable.

It was late by the time we got to the small hotel we would be sleeping at for the night. The original plan was that all of us "kids" would room together, but Clara's parents' insisted that either boys and girls would sleep in separate rooms or we would be sleeping with our parents. Well we decided to just room separately. At first I wasn't too worried as we all got to hang out together for a while. It was fun to watch Simon and Delilah tease each other and push each other's buttons in a friendly sibling way of course. It made me miss my older brother.

I didn't get worried until it was time to go to bed and we all split up. Kiara, Clara, and Delilah were all rooming together which left me with Simon. Despite him being friendly the whole day he still unnerved me.

While Simon quickly did his nightly routine I did mine as slowly as possible, hoping that he would fall asleep. Unfortunately it seemed he was as intent to stay up as I was to want him to fall asleep. As soon as I finished my routine I tried to quickly slip into bed but it seems he wasn't ready to sleep yet. He ended up asking me a bunch of questions which wasn't too bad until...

"Do you like Kiara?"

"Huh? Oh yeah she's a great friend."

He rolled his eyes, "No. Do you like like her? As in you're interested in her."

"Huh? Oh uh- yeah I guess. I still like her. But uh it's not like I'm gonna try to steal her or something. You two are dating and I respect that.... Uhhh so what's with all the questions anyways?"

"It's whatever, not like it's going to matter soon and I just like to get to know my game a bit. Night."

I sat there in the dark before laying down. But I couldn't sleep. Simon's abrupt conclusion of the conversation had me a bit on edge. Why was he asking me about Kiara? Why did I even answer that? What does he mean by "game"? Like competition? It didn't help that he had a colder tone with his response and it definitely didn't help me fall asleep with the feeling that a pair of eyes were burning a hole into the back of my neck. My last thought before I finally fell asleep was 'please don't let anything happen to me in my sleep.'

Author's POV

"Are you two alright? It doesn't look like either of you slept very well."

The question had come from Molly Dothell, Simon and Delilah's mother.

"You two were not up all night were you? You know we're meeting up with everyone today.", her husband Felix had chipped in.

"No dad, just a rough night I guess.", Simon responded.

"Well, get some breakfast. We will be leaving soon.", Mikey's dad responded.

Well, the rest of the drive went fine, kind of. Both Simon and Mikey were quite irritable. It didn't help when Mikey had insisted that Kiara ride with him. And it definitely didn't help with the way the two were exchanging passive aggressive words and actions as an attempt to keep up the facade that they were happy. After some very thick tension between the two the whole group had officially arrived.

"Woah," Kiara exclaimed. "This place looks amazing and it's massive!"

"Of course, we want to make sure the whole family is comfortable." Simon's mother replied.

Mikey looked around a bit and mumbled, "A bit off the beaten path isn't it? And it's pretty deep in the woods."

"It's to avoid any interruptions or disruptions." Deliah responded.

Mikey gave a concerned look to Clara who just shrugged back. She didn't see anything wrong. This place looked high class. The large fancy lodges and other facilities and buildings made it seem like glamping but on a more luxurious scale. Simon however was not so thrilled. Maybe it's just because of the lack of sleep or the silent and subtle threats he's been getting from Simon but he didn't feel so sure about this. He didn't like the way Delilah had put it, he felt it was an odd choice of words. He didn't have much time to think about it though as people started to come up to greet them.

"Aww she's just a doll isn't she?"

"What a cutie, she's so sweet."

"So you're the girl Simon gushes over eh? Not bad boy."

"Oh you'll love it here hun. Thanksgiving gatherings are always great."

An elderly man and woman pushed through the crowd.

"Is this one of my grand babies to be? Nadine darling come look at her, she just looks like the sweetest little thing doesn't she!"

"Father please-"

"Oh hush Felix. I'm meeting my future granddaughter-in -law for the first time. I have the right to be excited. How are you hun? Is that grandson of mine treating you well? You're just adorable, can't wait to see some great grand babies soon! I'm sure Simon will get ri-"

"Gramps!"

"Yakov! Leave the poor girl alone," an elderly woman's voice rang through the commotion.

"Ah, right my dear. My apologies Kiara. I tend to get a little excited from time to time."

Kiara gave a little chuckle. She found it amusing how Simon's grandfather was almost the polar opposite of his son. He was excitable and showed his emotions quite plainly while his son was much more serious and didn't tend to put his emotions on display in the same way.

"It's alright Mr ummmmm..."

"Please, call me gramps, or grandpa, G-pa, grampa Y, that old guy over there..."

"Alright Yakov dear, let's leave them to settle in."

Mikey's POV

That was... well an interesting introduction to say the least. I looked towards Kiara seeing that she seemed a bit overwhelmed with the amount of people that had basically swarmed her. As for the rest of us, well there were a few people who greeted us or acknowledged us. Though the majority seemed to be more interested in Kiara and her boyfriend's family.

I sighed, maybe I was overthinking everything? Well, that's what Clara had told me. But I just couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong.

The next day:

I walked around the "camp" feeling bored and a bit awkward. There was no one I really knew and it didn't help that everyone I did know went off to do their own things after breakfast. Eventually I decided it was best to just hang out in my room for a while. As I walked over to one of the lodges I nearly got run over by a group of young kids all chasing each other.

"Let the hunt begin!"

"I'm gonna get you! Ha! I got you!"

"Nuh-uh, did not"

"Did so!"

"You didn't! You're lying!"

"No you!"

Rolling my eyes a bit I managed to make my way past the herd of children and into the lodge.

"Crap, wrong one.", I muttered to myself.

I turned to leave when I heard some voices.

"What do you think of the stock this year?"

"Lookin good, got a lot this year."

'What are they talking about? Stocks or something?"

"Yep, we had already planned for a nice big bunch but looks like we got some last minute ones too."

"Can't wait for the big hunt this year. Any turkeys you got your eyes set on?"

"Nah not really, just hunt whichever one crosses my path first. Hear Felix's boy has already claimed one though?"

"Wow already?"

"Mhm, according to Felix he's been extra excited about this year's hunt ever since they got those last minute turkeys."

"Heh, I almost feel bad for that turkey. We all know how brutal Simon can be. Doubt the turkey will last long."

"I disagree, Simon likes to really drag his kills out if he can. The turkey will probably be around for a while as long as no one else gets to it. Though it won't be a happy one that's for sure."

"Alright, you wanna bet on it? How about $200."

"Deal."

I swiftly ran out of the lodge not caring if they heard me or not. Turkeys? Like the bird? But I hadn't seen any turkeys and I definitely hadn't seen Simon's father being any live ones. So what were they talking about hunting turkeys?

I decided to text Kiara and ask her if there had been any mention of a hunt or something.