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“Looks like the lantern is out of battery. Cater, can you search up the nearest convenience store for me?”
“Can’t do that, sorry.”
Trey looked at Cater with his eyebrows raised. “What do you mean?”
Cater shrugged, staring at the lock screen of his phone. “There’s no internet here.”
Trey put the lantern back into the trunk of the car and checked his phone. On the status bar where it should’ve shown how strong the cellular data connection is, the indicator symbol was replaced by a cross.
“Wow, you’re right,” Trey muttered. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.
“This doesn’t seem like a detail you’d miss when picking a campsite,” he said. “Cater, did you… deliberately pick a campsite with no access to internet?”
He chuckled, a faint smile spreading across his lips. “You saw through everything almost immediately, huh.”
“Cater…”
“What? Why are you staring at me like that? And now you’re running full speed at me with your arms wide open? Gah, slow down, I’m scared- mmmrph!”
Trey crashed into Cater, squeezing him tightly in his arms, and Cater had to move his head away from his shoulders to breathe.
“C’mon,” he said after a while. “Trey, I get how much you love me, okay? You can let go now, I think people are staring at us.”
He loosened his hold, and pressed his forehead against Cater’s. “You sure you’re gonna be alright?”
Cater pouted. “Well, I don’t actually know, but I did want to spend some undistracted time with you.” He leaned in and gave Trey a quick kiss. “So let’s not worry about that right now. It’s still early in the afternoon!”
They packed their backpacks and left the parking lot, heading to a hiking trail that lead up a nearby mountain. Trey grabbed onto the root of a tree beside him and pushed himself up, turning around to see Cater slowly making his way uphill some distance away.
“I thought you were good at sports!” Trey teased, when Cater finally caught up.
Cater leaning against a tree with his hands on his knees. “Says the guy… who used to be… on a soccer team,” he huffed.
“That was in elementary school,” laughed Trey. “And didn’t you pass all of Coach Vargas’s tests with flying colours?”
Cater facepalmed. “Why did you slip in a dad’s joke.” Alas, he only got a cheeky grin from Trey in return.
“Anyways, flying is different,” he continued. “I wouldn’t be sweating to death if i just took a broom and flew all the way up here!”
“That’s true. But then you’d also be missing the entire point of hiking .”
Trey held out his hand. “Alright now? We’ve still got a bit of way left before we reach the camping spot.”
Cater held his hand and pulled himself up.
“Okay, let’s keep going.”
Their camping spot was a gravelly spot in the woods, a couple minute’s walk from a lookout with a nice view over the nearby river valley.
As they finished putting up the tents, the last remnants of sunlight were seeping through the trees. Trey opened his backpack as Cater unpacked the foldable stove.
“We’re having pasta for tonight, right?” he asked.
“Mm-hmm,” said Trey, taking out a box of penne and putting it beside Cater.
“Here’s the sauce.” He took out a sealed packet filled with what looked like tomato sauce. “And some vegetables.” He took out another bag with pre-chopped cauliflowers and carrots.
“And for desserts.” He took out a bag of jumbo marshmallows and a box of graham crackers, placing them onto the camping chair.
“Um, Trey-kun, don’t you think we’re eating way too good for a camping trip?”
Trey took out another paper bag filled with who-knows-what type of cooking ingredient. “Are we?” he asked. “I think this is pretty normal, though.”
“I’m guessing your family also ate like this when you go on camping trips?”
“... yes.” Trey paused for a bit, then added, “what else are you supposed to eat when camping?”
“Curry and cup noodles, for example. Even hot pot would be a fancy choice. I’m not complaining though, and tbh I didn’t expect anything else from a baker’s son.”
Trey fixed the propane bottle with the stove, taking out the tiny pots and setting everything in place. “My parents put a lot of emphasis on eating good food,” he said. “Our body needs enough nutrients to run well, especially for activities that require lot of energy like camping.
“That being said…”
Trey handed Cater a bucket. “I’ll need some water for cooking, thanks.”
Cater cursed at himself for choosing a campsite where there weren’t any nearby access to tap water. He took out his magical pen. “Split card,” he said, and handed the bucket to the other him.
“apparently pine cones and moss are p good fire starters!!! @treyyy_1025”
Cater tried to post the story, but it only took a few spins of the loading circle for the error message to return.
No connection.
He put down his phone begrudgingly and stared at the campfire, mindlessly tracing the pattern of his phone case. In all honesty, the fire was a lot more beautiful in real life than any image of it his phone could ever capture.
Trey sat down beside him, taking the bag of marshmallow that was beside Cater and opening it. He then handed Cater a metal stick. Cater took a marshmallow from the bag and poked the stick through it, resting his hands so that the marshmallow balanced right above the fire.
“Have you roasted marshmallows before?” Trey asked.
“Mm, lots of times, when I went camping with my friends from the middle schools I went to.” The dancing firelight reflected in Cater’s green eyes. “Though I usually told them I was full and gave them the ones that I roasted.”
The marshmallow on the stick shrank inwards, turning black in the corner, and Cater lifted the stick up. “There we go!” he said, smiling.
Trey pointed at the marshmallow frantically. “Wait, Cater,” he yelled. “The marshmallow! The marshmallow’s on fire!”
“Sheesh, calm down, Trey-kun,” said Cater, watching as the flame devoured the last bits of whiteness on the surface of the marshmallow. “It tastes better this way.”
He blowed out the last bits of fire on the burnt marshmallow, and gestured at Trey. “Wanna try?”
“Oh no, you’re definitely eating that yourself.” Trey took out his magical pen and pointed at the marshmallow. “Paint the Roses! There, it shouldn’t be too sweet now.”
“Thanks!” he said, and bit into the marshmallow. “Huh, salted caramel, but like, more salty than caramel. Love the flavour!”
Trey smiled at his words. Cater finished eating the marshmallow and licked his lips, then reached for the bag and grabbed another. He fixed the marshmallow onto the stick, and poked the marshmallow into the centre of the fire. The flames soon began eating at the marshmallow once again.
“This one’s for you, by the way!”