Chapter Text
The day was sunny but chilly. Alex rubbed her arms with her hands to generate some warmth and looked at the rest of the team. They were all dressed up more appropriately for the occasion but she didn’t listen when Gabe said she would be cold. Now she didn’t want to admit that he was right so she tried pretending she’s fine.
Ethan really wanted to experience some real life camping, so they all decided to go with him. After what happened when he went to explore the mines they were all extra careful with him. It took at least 3 people to make sure he’s not sneaking out or planning something risky. Even though Ethan himself learned his lesson after he had to witness Gabe almost die and then spend weeks in the hospital. But one can never be too careful when it comes to children. Especially children who love to explore. That’s why Gabe, Charlotte, Steph, Ryan and Alex were all going camping with him. Well, they couldn’t help but be excited as well, considering it was ages since they did something like that. And Alex herself was a newbie when it came to camping.
They were climbing uphill to the campsite Ryan chose for them last week. Ryan was leading the pack like a protective lioness with her cubs. He was constantly looking back and checking if everyone was doing okay. Alex couldn’t help but laugh every time he did it.
“Everyone’s okay? Somebody wants to rest for a bit? Ethan, you’re good, buddy?” he was asking over and over and Alex’s heart melted every time. She felt so safe near him. Even the thought of wild animals coming to the camp at night didn’t scare her if Ryan was with her. It kind of sucked that he was supposed to sleep with Ethan in the tent though. But they still didn’t find the chance to tell Gabe they kissed during the Spring Festival and since then they are “kind of sort of” dating. Well, Ryan didn’t ask her officially and they were hesitant to tell everyone, so it was a grey zone. But they both knew they liked each other and that was enough for them for now. Ryan was embarrassed to admit to Gabe that he wants to date his younger sister and Alex decided she will not tell him until Ryan gathers the courage to officially ask her out.
Ethan noticed Alex laughing at another one of Ryan’s comments and slowed down his walking speed to match hers. They were now the last one in the group and Alex couldn’t help but send him a suspicious look.
“What’s up, little guy? Tired?” she asked him.
“Oh, I’m good. Thanks to Ryan of course. He’s such a great leader, right? A lady would be lucky to have him,” Ethan said in a sarcastic tone and Alex raised her brows at him.
“Why are you being weird? You ate some berries you weren’t supposed to?”
“Nothing of sorts, I’m just checking up on you. Seeing if there’s something you want to get off your chest.”
“You’re scaring me when you talk like that, dude. Go act 10 and chase some butterflies or something,” Alex blushed and sped up to reach Steph. Ethan just laughed and went up to Gabe to ask about their plans for later.
“Keep up, Alex,” Steph mocked her when she noticed her coming. “Or some wolf snatches you.”
Alex rolled eyes at her, still too embarrassed to come up with a comeback after what Ethan said.
“I’m kidding!” Steph playfully punched her in the arm. “No worries, I’ll protect you if some monster comes to our tent.” She puffed her chest proudly and Alex laughed.
“With those scrawny arms? You couldn’t scare off a hedgehog.”
Steph couldn’t help but laugh as well and then she wrapped her arms around her.
“Okay, I might not be the best protector but I have other good qualities!”
Alex looked at her mysterious face and raised an eyebrow.
“Oh? I’m listening.”
“Well…” She let go of Alex, looked around suspiciously and knocked on her bag. You could hear the sound of glass. “I might have brought reinforcements. They are pretty grape at this whole camping thing. Wink,” Steph said without winking.
“I don’t know which is worse - that you made that pun or that you said “wink” at loud,” Alex rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide a smile. For a second she considered drinking wine with Steph, but finally she said:
“That’s grape and all, but Charlotte asked for no alcohol drinking since we should look after Ethan.”
“Come on, Alex! It’s just a bit of wine. And Ryan sleeps by his side anyway. Ethan will be okay!”
Alex looked at the sky and hid her hands in her pockets. Of course the idea of breaking rules and getting drunk under the night sky with Steph seemed like a lot of fun. But the idea of snuggling up to Ryan while cicadas play and feeling like in the safest place in the world seemed just perfect for tonight. Ever since they hugged for the first time after Gabe got injured and ended up in the hospital, Alex couldn’t help but think about how it felt all the time. When he hugged her there on the grass she knew everything was going to be okay. And it was - just the next day Gabe had a successful surgery. When they kissed on the rooftop during Spring Festival later that night Gabe finally came back from the hospital. And she couldn’t help but link those events together. So the feeling of being close to Ryan became addictive. Every time she felt his joy it was like a drug. But he was hesitant those past few weeks since the festival. They had coffee a couple of times and held hands at the riverside, and then she stole a quick kiss from him. But other than that she was busy with the waitress job and finally catching up with Gabe. She was getting tired of waiting though, so she wanted to spend some time with Ryan and hopefully have him ask her to be his girlfriend. And that would be a good motivation to finally tell Gabe.
“Earth to Alex,” said Steph and waved her hand in front of Alex’s face.
“You’re right…” Alex responded finally and smiled at her friend. After all bros before hoes and all that. Ryan can wait a bit more, and at the end of the day - she has all the time in the world to have some private moments with him. Maybe it’s a good opportunity to just have fun with her best friend - the best DJ in town. “But if Charlotte finds out and she’s mad at me I will definitely cry and it’s your fault.” Alex pointed an accusatory finger at Steph but she brushed it off.
“No worries, she won’t find out.”
“Find out what?” Gabe, who was walking in front of them, did a 180 degree turn and looked at them with a wide smile. He started walking backwards, still looking in Steph’s eyes intensely. “You two are plotting something in the back? Maybe you should share with the class?”
“Secrets are secrets cause we don’t share them with everyone, wise guy,” Steph stuck her tongue out at him. “It’s girls stuff anyway! Right, Alex?”
“Oh yeah, periods and making children and stuff…” Alex responded but got kind of scared. She really didn’t want Charlotte to find out. Alex couldn’t help but see her as some sort of mother figure. Or at least a role model she didn’t want to let down.
“You’re pregnant?!” Gabe shouted so loud some birds flew away from nearby trees. Everyone stopped in their tracks, except Ryan, who got so struck at the question, that he stumbled and fell. Everyone immediately turned to him, but he quickly got up, pretending like it didn’t happen.
“I am very much NOT pregnant, Gabe,” said Alex, annoyed. “But that’s exactly why we don’t tell you secrets!”
“Oh come on, I was just kidding. Look, Ryan almost tumbled down the hill. Isn’t that funny?” Gabe pointed to Ryan like a guilty child trying to pass blame on someone else, but Ryan wasn’t too amused.
“Thank you, Gabe, don’t worry, I’m okay,” he said sarcastically as he patted down his jacket covered in dust. “I think it’s your turn to lead the group anyway, it’s straight ahead that way,” he pointed in some direction and all the people started walking again. Ryan waited in place till Alex and Steph came up to him, but in the meanwhile he didn’t spare Gabe an accusatory look.
“What was that?” Ryan asked them.
“Just Gabe being Gabe, don’t worry silly, your girlfriend is not pregnant,” Steph patted his arm in support. “Yet.”
Alex and Ryan looked at her in astonishment and shared a quick hopeless look with each other as well.
“Oh, come on. Don’t act like it was some kind of big secret. Alex has been essentially foaming at her mouth looking at you the whole hike. And I saw how you carved A+R on that log last week, dummy,” Stephed bursted laughing but Alex and Ryan just looked at each other, embarrassed. A purple aura started forming around him and Alex couldn’t help but notice it. She felt bad that he would get anxious over something as silly as this, so she immediately tried to cheer him up:
“Wait, you carved our initials on a log? Aww, that’s so sweet,” she admitted without lying but his purple aura of fear immediately started flickering gold. Alex smiled at that sight. He really was like a puppy sometimes.
“Really?” he asked, eyes opening wide in excitement. “I meant to show you but… I don’t know, I didn’t find the right moment I guess.”
“You’re two are hopeless,” Steph moaned. “I can’t believe Gabe didn’t notice yet that you’re kissing behind his back.”
“Shut up!” Alex pushed her friend playfully. “It’s not like we’re kissing every chance we get,” she said in an accusatory whisper.
“Well, then you’re doing it wrong,” Steph laughed and Alex couldn’t help but roll eyes at her again. They walked in silence for a bit, except Steph was still snickering under her nose. Alex shared a look with Ryan and was surprised to see that his aura was still a bit golden. He smiled at her softly and Alex’s heart almost melted. At least she wasn’t that cold anymore.
Ryan looked at Gabe and Charlotte walking in the distance to make sure they’re far enough not to see nor hear them. Then he reached for Alex’s hand and squeezed it tightly.
“You’re so cold,” he noticed. Alex’s heart skipped a beat when he touched her. His hands were very warm, just like his aura. She wanted to give him her other hand to hold as well.
“I’m okay,” she lied, but Ryan sent her a worried look and put her hand in his pocket, not letting go of the grip.
“I think you two already forgot I’m here, that’s fine!” Steph shrugged in resignation. “Don’t expect me to stop third-wheeling you though. You’re still my favorite people, even if you hold hands and shit.”
Alex looked at Steph with a wide smile. She really was the best company a person could ask for and the need to spend more time with Ryan didn’t necessarily mean that she was going to have less time for Steph. There was no one she could have that much fun with, no matter what they were doing. Listening to music, playing games, drinking and just roaming around the town was always the most fun with Steph.
“You’re not third-wheeling, Steph,” Alex assured her and extended her hand in her direction. “My other hand is also cold and the path is wide enough for the three of us.”
“You’re walking into dangerous territory, Chen,” said Steph but grabbed Alex’s hand anyway. Alex immediately noticed that Steph’s hand was just as cold as hers. It was kind of weird to hold both Ryan’s hot and Steph’s cold hand. “You’re just saying that so when Gabe turns around he doesn’t see you two holding hands,” Steph added.
“Maybe,” said Alex innocently and laughed. She didn’t even think about it before but Steph was right that it was a good tactic. “Let’s just enjoy the moment and not accuse each other.”
Steph sighed and nodded while giving her a small smile. A weak golden aura started forming around Steph. Alex felt her other hand being squeezed in the pocket and she looked back to Ryan. He was also smiling, a golden aura surrounding his face like a halo. Alex’s heart started pounding fast and she had to look at the forest in front of them to calm down. She felt the joyful auras of her companions surround her like a warm blanket and she couldn’t help but close her eyes like a content cat. On the other hand she wanted to run around and jump in excitement.
“People in the back are enjoying themselves, I see?” They suddenly heard Charlotte’s voice in the distance.
“Stop being jealous!” Steph mocked her and Charlotte just shook her head with a smile and turned back to Gabe, whispering something to him.
“We’re almost there,” said Ryan suddenly. “It’s just behind that turn.”
Alex was hesitant to let go of his hand. Ryan smiled at her and nodded like he wanted to reassure her that it’s going to be okay and they will have plenty of time to hold hands later. She smiled back, let go and was immediately pulled into a hug by Steph from the other side.
“Look, Alex! There’s a river! We can catch fish like they did in Mulan!” Steph held her friend under her arm like in a wrestling move. She used her free hand to swing down like she wanted to quickly catch fish in the water. “Hiyaa! And boom - dinner!” Steph held the imaginary fish in the air with a proud face, so everyone could see.
Alex laughed but wiggled out from the grip and fixed her messed up hair.
“I don’t think it’s gonna be possible to catch fish like that,” said Ryan. “We’re pretty high up, so the river’s flow is too rapid here. Walking into the river would be too dangerous,” he added embarrassed, like it was his own fault.
“Maybe too rapid for you, but I’m built different.” Steph once again presented her biceps like there was anything to present and they all laughed in unison.
“I prepared a net, so we can catch fish anyway. Just don’t go all General Shang in the river, please,” Ryan swung his arm to mock her fish-catching technique.
“Guys! It’s here, right?” shouted Gabe and they looked at him. He was pointing to a clearing in front of them. It already had a place for the campfire set up and ready to light it with few small logs surrounding it. The river was close enough to see it from the camp, and its sounds surrounded the clearing. Alex breathed in deep and smiled wide. No matter if she ends up drinking wine with Steph, cuddling with Ryan, reminiscing with Gabe or running around with Char and Ethan, she knew it was going to be a good trip.