21. Mixed Signals

-Sky-

Luke's ATV was bigger than the one I was used to driving, but thankfully, the forest was easy to drive through all the way to the barn.

Well, I didn't remember much of our journey after we finally reached the barn, since Max had held his hands on my waist the entire time. I did, however, remember driving over roots and smaller rocks on purpose, so he had to hold on to me even tighter. Whenever I felt his chest pressing against my back, I had to fight back my urge to get all giddy about it.

Once we got safely down to the bottom of the hill and the barn was looming up ahead, I stopped the ATV and turned the engine off.

"Why did you stop here? The barn is still far away," Max asked.

"It's not that far," I said, taking off my helmet. "I don't want to scare the owls if they're still here."

"Oh," Max muttered and took his helmet off too. "Right. I didn't even think of that. I would've ruined the project already..."

"Don't worry," I said and turned to look at him with a smile on my face, planting my hand on his knee. "With me, you'll learn all about being stealthy."

He looked at my hand, then lifted his eyes to mine. I lost myself in them. His brown eye was sparkling like the sun, and his blue eye twinkled like the stars... I was completely sold. He was smiling back at me without saying a word. He was so close to me I could almost feel the warmth of his body on mine. His leg felt strong under my hand, and for a moment, I completely forgot he wasn't mine.

"We should set up our camp," I said breathlessly when I realized how long I'd been staring at him.

I hurried to get up on my feet, but I had forgotten all about my poor ankle. The entire leg gave up under my weight and I would've ended up planting my face to the ground if Max hadn't caught me.

"We're not in a hurry," Max said in a low voice as he pulled me to sit back in front of him. "This place is pretty, and I want to take a moment to appreciate it," he continued, placing his hand on mine that was still resting on his knee.

"A-a-are y-you s-sure...?" I stammered, feeling my face turn bright red. "I can't h-help much. It might t-take some... time..."

"I'm a quick learner," Max whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine and into my soul.

His face was just an inch away from me. His lips were so close to mine I could feel his minty breath on my face. His hand was big and warm and completely covering my own. His other hand was resting on my side...

I forgot how to breathe. Was I reading the situation right?

But... But... no! He was just trying to be friendly, right? The way he was holding me was far from friendly, but I couldn't explain it otherwise! If, by some unbelievable miracle, Max liked boys too, he would choose someone like Troy or Luke or pretty much anyone else than me! So what in the world was happening?!

"We should–" I said and pushed his hands away. "I think we should do... something," I muttered, unable to form coherent thoughts. "Maybe the birds aren't here."

"Don't say that," Max said, his voice being harder than usual. "Sky?"

I got up from the ATV, and this time I was careful not to step on my injured leg. My crutches were tied on the side of the ATV, so I hurried to open the ropes, but my hands were shaking.

"Sky, let me help," Max spoke and stood up, too.

"No!" I said sharply, without looking at him. I couldn't look at him! What if he saw how badly I wanted him? "I... uh... It's fine, I'll manage... somehow..."

But my hands shook even harder when he was standing right next to me.

"Don't be stubborn," Max chuckled, and I froze. Oh Lord, I was in big trouble, wasn't I? His voice was like silk, and I melted when I heard it so close. "Let me," he continued, pushing my hands out of his way.

I hesitated before I looked up at him. He had a warm smile on his lips while he untied the ropes. When he was done, he turned to look at me from the corner of his eye. Once again, I found myself standing just a few inches away from him.

"Here," Max said, and handed me the crutches.

"Okay," I breathed out and smiled like an idiot.

When my fingers touched the cold, hard steel of the crutches, I snapped back to reality.

"So," Max said, and turned to look away from me. "Where should we set up the camp?"

Camp? What camp? I turned to look around and saw the barn and the surrounding forest. "Oh! Yeah, uh..." I looked around in a frenzy, trying to look like I hadn't just dreamed about kissing him. "Over there, I think..."

I pointed at an enormous tree laying on the ground by the edge of the forest. It was pretty close to the barn, and we could use it as seats once we had trimmed it a little. We'd need to clean up the ground around it for our tent, but it was a good place to camp. And we'd have a perfect view of the nest.

"We can keep an eye on the owls from there," I said.

"Okay then," Max said cheerfully.

I felt his hand on my back when he passed me by to unload our equipment. I shivered from his light touch and wondered if he knew how I felt about him. Maybe he had realized it. Maybe he had seen how I always stared at him.

Maybe he was just messing with me.

I sighed and took my crutches. I wanted to go see the fallen tree, but the moment I tried to move, my crutches got tangled with the long hay, and a second after, it was I who had fallen. Face first in the moist, muddy ground.

"Sky!" Max hurried to my aid and chuckled when he pulled me to sit up. "I can't take my eyes off you for a second, can I?" he asked with a smile on his lips.

I spat the mud out of my mouth, feeling miserable. I looked down at myself and spotted a few spots of murky water on my new hoodie.

"Sky? Are you all right?" Max asked in a worried tone.

"I'm just so tired of being myself," I whispered. "I'm so clumsy and awkward and I always mess things up no matter what I do," I continued.

"You're not messing up anything," Max said quietly. "And don't you worry, I'll be there every time to catch you. Or at least to pick you up."

I stared at him for a moment. He was still holding my hand with a small, encouraging smile on his lips. I was about to forget the mud as I stared at his beautiful eyes, but the cold water forced me back into reality.

"We literally just arrived, and I already got dirt all over my clothes," I said and sighed. "I'm just like a little kid."

"Well then," Max said, scooped a fistful of dirt from the ground and splatted it on his chest. "Now we have matching outfits."

I stared at him with wide eyes. When I couldn't find the words to speak, Max raised his muddy index finger and touched my nose.

"Boop."

I let out a hysterical giggle before I could cover my mouth. I sounded so immature when I laughed. I looked down in embarrassment and noticed I was sitting between his thighs. My immediate reaction was to get up and scoot away from him so I wouldn't embarrass myself even more, but Max grabbed my hands and gently forced me to lower them down.

"Sky..." Max spoke my name, and I hesitated to look up. When I did, he brushed my bangs off my face and continued, "There's nothing wrong with you. I like you just the way you are."

"Yeah?" I asked, unable to stop my smile.

"Yup," Max nodded. "I like you – a lot," he said and hugged me again.

I held my breath when he did that. When he said he liked me...? No, no, no! He meant he liked me as a friend, no matter how hard I wished he meant something more.

"I like you too," I said, and even though I did mean more, I added, "Thank you for being my friend."

Max was silent for a second. I hoped I saw... disappointment in his eyes, but then he smiled. "I'm happy to have you as my friend."

Man... I was just imagining things, after all. He was just trying to be friendly and here I was hoping there was something more going on... I tried to smile at him when he patted my arm.

"We should set up the camp," he said quietly as he stood up.

He pulled me easily up on my feet and while he turned his attention to our bags, I turned my back on him to face the fallen tree. I felt really sad at that moment. I wished I could just tell him how I truly felt. Maybe he would return my feelings if he knew I liked him?

No. I shook my head. I would just ruin our friendship if I did that.

-Max-

The signals were right there! After we had arrived at the barn, Sky turned to look at me and placed his hand on my leg. That was a signal, right? Right?! He had blushed when our eyes met, being all cute and shy, and I even made him flustered by whispering in his ear. And he hadn't seemed uncomfortable sitting between my legs in a very intimate manner.

And then...

"Thank you for being my friend."

A friend. That's all. But the signals?! I couldn't just imagine it all! Or did I? It was clear Sky wasn't like the rest of us, so was I interpreting the situation wrong? Did he just not mind being that close to someone? Was it normal for him to be so close and cute with his friends?

I sighed as I carried our tent to the fallen tree. Sky was already there, looking at the shrubbery surrounding him and our camping site.

"We need to clear these branches away," he told me quietly.

I glanced at him, and my sadness was simply gone when I saw his muddy face.

"What?" Sky asked when I chuckled at him.

"I'll go get wet wipes," I told him.

Sky looked like he had forgotten all about my muddy fingerprint on the tip of his nose. When he suddenly remembered it, he hid his face behind his hand and blushed again. He was too adorable for my own good! I could barely keep myself from hugging him!

We tried our best to clean ourselves with the wipes I found, but when we started clearing out the camping site from the loose branches and hay, we got dirty again. It was a pretty messy task. The ground was dry near the fallen tree, but nature still painted our clothes with pollen and leaves and dust and God knows what else.

When I went to find dry wood for the fire, I spotted a hole in the ground close to our tent. When I peered in, there were four sets of eyes staring back up at me.

I may or may not have screamed at the top of my lungs.

"What? Max! What is it?" Sky shouted, hopping to me surprisingly nimbly with his crutches.

"I don't know!" I gasped, backing away from the devil's den. "I hate this place!"

Sky walked to the hole, took a short glimpse of the creatures, and then turned to raise his eyebrows at me. Yes, I knew I was being the worst pussy there was, and I was aware of the fact that the little satanic creatures were most likely just...

"Bunnies. Baby rabbits," Sky said, trying to keep his face straight.

"I know what they are!" I gasped dramatically, trying to hold on to my manliness. "I was just surprised, that's all."

"Okay," Sky said with a smirk and turned his attention back to the baby rabbits.

I closed my eyes and tried to gather my composure. I was truly the worst city boy there was, and I knew it lowered my chances with Sky.

"Where's their mom?" I asked, trying to show my interest in the devil's little pups. "Did they eat her?"

"No," Sky chuckled. "She's somewhere close by," he said and looked around. "She comes here to feed them during the night, and then leaves."

"So she just leaves them here?" I asked.

"Yup. They are well-fed, and active, so she's still caring for them. Baby rabbits know not to make noises unless they are starving or sick. They'll stay hidden here in their burrow, keeping each other warm," Sky explained. "They are much safer when their mom isn't around because she may attract predators. People rarely know this, so they take the babies out of their nest. Sadly, even though people just want to help, they are endangering their lives by taking them away from their mom."

"How's that dangerous?" I asked, mostly because I was hoping to hear him go on his excited rant.

I walked closer to see the baby bunnies, who were staring at us with wide eyes, trying to snuggle closer to each other.

"The babies feed only once or twice a day, but people usually try to feed them more, which might make them sick or even kill them. And if they survive, it'll be hard to introduce them to the wild again. And all for nothing because they were just fine in their nest."

"Oh," I said. "I didn't know that."

"Now you do," Sky said with a smile. "If you find a nest, leave it alone unless you are absolutely sure their mom is dead."

"Is it bad if we are this close to them?" I asked. "What if she smells us and abandons them?"

"She doesn't mind. You shouldn't touch them, but she won't abandon them even if you do," Sky said reassuringly. "Come, I think we should go see our nest."

I took one last look at the baby rabbits before I followed Sky. They were actually pretty cute.

Sky wasn't so nimble anymore as he hopped over the roots and rocks on our way out of the forest. I had my hands full with dry branches so I couldn't give him a hand, but he assured me he could manage on his own.

Once we got back to the camp, we left the wood there and decided to go check the barn to make sure the owls were still there.

"I could carry you there," I offered when Sky almost tripped over some hay.

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?" Sky smirked, and I tilted my head. I almost thought he had figured out how I felt about him, but then he continued, "It would be the manliest thing to do after you screamed at bunnies."

"Oh..." I chuckled and blushed. "I was just surprised..."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about it," Sky said. "And you don't have to prove anything to me. I know you're a manly guy."

I shook my head and laughed. "You are allowed to make fun of me because of it. I know you want to."

"No, I wouldn't do that!" Sky giggled. "I mean, I know how evil those little bunnies are. They might've eaten you alive!"

"There we go," I chuckled.

"But seriously, I'm happy you're trying," Sky continued, and his smile trembled slightly. "Even if you don't like being here..."

"I like being here," I said sternly. "I'm... just... not used to being here."

"That's awesome!" Sky immediately chirped, his wide smile returning for a split second before his expression turned shy and he faced away from me. "I mean... It's nice, that... you don't hate this... being here... with me..."

"Sky?" I spoke his name and stepped around him to see his face. "I'm really happy we had the chance to come here."

Sky looked up at me, his eyes sparkling. The smile he gave me was so wide his eyes turned narrow. I was happy to see him happy.

And then he tripped over something.

"Whoopsie," I chuckled as I stopped him from falling. "Careful now."

Sky let out a heavy sigh. "This isn't working... It's hard to walk with these..." He looked at his crutches with a hateful expression on his face.

"I'll carry you the rest of the way," I offered.

"I'm too heavy..." Sky muttered, almost too quietly for me to hear.

"No, you're not," I chuckled.

Sky shook his head. I didn't give him a choice. I took his crutches before he could stop me and hoisted him up on my shoulder with my arms wrapped around his thighs. Sky let out a surprised yelp, but he froze so I wouldn't drop him.

"You're not heavy at all," I said and chuckled as I started walking.

I couldn't admit the task was harder for me on the uneven ground as I pushed through the tall hay, trying to avoid all the junk lying around. I'd been carrying girls around, and even though Sky didn't look any bigger than them, he was heavier. He was much more muscular than he looked.

"Max, please, put me down or you'll hurt yourself," Sky begged, and tried to make me let go of him.

"Don't squirm around or I might drop you," I chuckled. "We're almost there."

Sky stopped moving and waited until I let him back down. I gave him the crutches and tried to catch my breath without letting him see that. Sky squinted his eyes at me. I wasn't sure if he was mad at me or not.

"I told you I'm heavy," he said eventually.

"No, you're not," I said. "I'm not carrying you back to the tent, but no, you're not."

Sky laughed at my words. Oh, he looked really cute when he laughed...

"Come on, silly," he spoke and stepped into the barn.

I followed him in. This time, the old barn didn't seem as intimidating. I walked right behind Sky, ready to catch him if he fell again, so when he suddenly stopped, I walked right into him. I grabbed him by his waist, trying to help him stay on his feet while trying to find my balance.

"Look!" Sky whispered and pointed up.

There were two owls staring at us from the rafters. Their backs were brown, but their face, stomach and feet were almost pure white. I'd always thought owls had permanently furious expressions, but these two were staring at us with wide eyes and shocked looks on their heart-shaped faces.

"They are here," Sky whispered enthusiastically. "They really are here!"

"Seems like it," I said, and turned to look at Sky.

The thrilled look on his face melted my heart, and without even thinking about what I was doing, I hugged him tightly and pressed my lips on his shoulder. He never noticed that.

"Look," Sky said, pointing at the window.

At first I saw nothing, but when I squinted my eyes, I could see something white behind the edge of the nest.

"Is that an egg?" I asked.

"Yes," Sky said excitedly. "That's an egg!"

"So we get to see baby owls too?" I asked.

"We definitely get to see baby owls too," Sky spoke, his whole body shivering from joy.

"Good," I muttered, and hugged him tighter.

"Good, yes, definitely," Sky muttered, nodding his head rapidly. "This is going to be so awesome!"

"I hope so," I muttered, staring at him.

I couldn't stop staring at him.