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The cabin had been rented for "a relaxing week in the mountains."
This had lasted approximately forty-three minutes.
Joel barreled down the hallway, laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
"YOU CAN'T JUST MOVE MY ENTIRE BED!" Bdubs yelled from somewhere behind him.
"I absolutely can! It's called interior redesign!"
"Its outside Joel!"
"Much better view!"
Joel rounded a corner, spotted a hallway closet, and yanked the door open.
Perfect.
He dove inside, pulled the door shut, and held his breath.
Heavy footsteps thundered past.
"...I know you're around here," Bdubs muttered dramatically. "You can't escape forever."
Joel clamped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing.
Silence.
Then the closet door cracked open again.
A very frazzled Jimmy slipped inside, closed it carefully, and froze when they realized someone
was already there.
"...Joel?"
"...Jim?
The closet wasn't exactly spacious. They were shoulder-to-shoulder between winter coats and a
stack of board games someone had shoved in there.
"What're you doing?" Joel whispered.
Jimmy sighed.
"Hiding."
"From?"
Jimmy stared at him.
"...Cutie."
Joel blinked.
"...What?"
Jimmy nodded gravely.
Joel waited.
"...Why?"
"I accidentally told them they throw snowballs like a disappointed dad."
"...What does that even mean?"
"I don't know!" Jimmy whispered frantically. "It just came out!"
Joel snorted.
"And then they smiled."
Jimmy shusdered.
"You know the smile."
Joel immediately understood.
"...The one where they look completely harmless?"
"Exactly."
"And that's when you know you've made a terrible mistake and theyre plotting your demise."
"Precisely."
Outside, someone called, "Tim?"
Jimmy visibly shrank.
"There they are," he whispered. "That's the voice."
"The voice?"
"The 'I’m excited for your downfall’ voice"
Joel nodded solemnly.
"Terrifying."
Jimmy peeked through the crack in the door.
"...They have a snowball."
Joel frowned.
"...Inside?"
"I don't ask anymore."
A beat passed.
Then Joel heard another voice.
"Joel?"
Bdubs.
"...He's still looking for me."
Jimmy looked over.
"What'd you do?"
"I relocated his bed."
Jimmy nodded.
"...Into another room?"
Joel scratched the back of his neck.
"...Outside."
Jimmy closed his eyes.
"You deserve this."
"I know."
The hallway went quiet again.
The two of them sat in silence.
After a minute, Jimmy spoke.
"...How long do you think we can stay in here?"
Joel considered it.
"3 days max. We can sneak out at night for snacks.”
Jimmy snickered and leaned against the wall.
"So... what do we do? Three days is a long time."
Joel shifted so he was facing him, somehow managing to get even less comfortable in the tiny
closet.
"I can think of one thing..."
Jimmy raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
Joel grinned.
"Keeping ourselves entertained."
Jimmy laughed.
"Very mysterious."
"I try."
The silence settled again.
Not awkward.
Quiet.
Jimmy tilted his head.
"So what's your brilliant plan?"
Joel leaned a little closer.
"I haven't actually thought that far ahead."
Jimmy rolled his eyes.
"I knew it."
"Im wounded"
"I've known you for years."
"...Fair."
They both laughed.
Somewhere outside the closet, footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Neither of them moved.
Joel looked at Jimmy.
Jimmy looked back.
"...Think they're gone?"
"No."
"...Me neither."
Another beat passed.
Jimmy reached up and absentmindedly adjusted Joel's hoodie.
"You've got lint."
Joel blinked.
"...Thanks?"
"You're welcome."
Their hands brushed.
Neither of them pulled away.
Joel smiled.
Jimmy smiled back.
"...You're staring."
"I know."
"You gonna do something about it?"
Joel leaned in just enough that Jimmy could feel his breath.
"I was thinking about it."
Jimmy's grin only got wider.
"What's stopping you?"
Before Joel could answer, the closet door flew open.
Light flooded the tiny space.
Bdubs stood in the doorway.
Cutie peeked around their shoulder.
The silence lasted exactly two seconds.
"...Well," Bdubs said slowly.
Cutie looked between the two of them.
"...Interesting."
Joel immediately took three steps backward.
Unfortunately, the closet only allowed one.
Jimmy, meanwhile, looked like he wanted the floorboards to develop a trapdoor.
"So..." Bdubs continued, a grin spreading across their face.
"What were you two doing?"
"Nothing," Joel and Jimmy said at the exact same time.
"...Right."
Jimmy made a heroic attempt to squeeze past them.
Cutie caught him by the sleeve.
"Absolutely not."
"Oh, come on."
"Nope."
Cutie started steering Jimmy down the hallway.
"You and I need to have a conversation."
"I don't like the sound of that."
"You won't."
At the same time, Bdubs grabbed Joel by the arm.
"As for you..."
Joel sighed.
"...The river?"
"The river."
"I was hoping you'd forgotten."
"I moved my bed back inside."
"You noticed?"
"Joel."
"...Fair enough."
Joel let himself be dragged toward the back door.
"I hope you know this won't stop me from redecorating."
"It absolutely will."
"We'll see."
---
Later that night
---
Jimmy stepped out of the bathroom, towel draped over his shoulders.
Cutie's revenge had been...
Creative.
Creative, cold, and somehow involved three buckets of snow.
He wasn't asking questions anymore.
That seemed healthier.
He grabbed his phone from the hallway table as he headed toward his room.
The screen lit up.
Baked Bean
Same time, same place tomorrow? 😏
Jimmy couldn't help smiling.
Maybe hiding in closets wasn't such a terrible vacation activity after all.