5. The First Trip

-Sky-

The rest of the week flew by fast. I didn't get to hang out with Max, though he did wave at me a few times whenever our paths crossed. I got way too giddy whenever he did that, and I could only hope my skills of acting cool were as good as I thought.

On Friday, I went to watch his practice again. I was just as confused about the game as always, but just because he was in the field, it was a hundred times more pleasant to watch. Just... I still didn't find it amusing to watch them getting hurt. And it looked like they got hurt a lot. Why would anyone want to get sent flying through the air and get kicked and tackled just because of a leather ball was beyond me. At least they seemed to be having fun. For some very odd reason.

After the practice ended, I stayed behind for a moment in hopes of catching Max just so I could say hi, but since the entrance to the locker rooms was swarmed with people who wanted to do that exact same, I figured it was for the better if I just went home. My mood did take a hit from that, but I tried to cheer myself up by thinking about tomorrow.

Because tomorrow it was time for us to go find the owls. And that thought worked. I was instantly in a better mood as I made my way to the bus stop. By the time I got home, I was so excited I had to go through the papers about our project again.

And I ended up writing the essay about the owls that we were required to do. Without Max. Even though I'd promised we'd do everything together. Whoops. But I couldn't help it! This was the most exciting school project I'd ever had, and honestly... I didn't have anything else to do. I was sure he didn't mind. It was less work for him this way.

Later, when I was getting ready for bed, I thought about the owls. I really hoped that we'd get to see even a small glimpse of them. They were nocturnal, after all, and Max and I had agreed to leave around noon, so our chances were slim. I just really wished Max could see them too... I wasn't sure if it was such a big deal to him, but I was hoping that after seeing the owls, he'd get excited about the project as well. He already was, but like... He didn't share my enthusiasm.

But we'd probably be out of luck. At least we could make sure they were still around before we had to start with the project. It'd be embarrassing to find out the owls had moved already and beg for our teacher to let us change the subject after everyone else had already started.

I mean, I'd only seen them once before, a few weeks ago on my second camping trip after moving here. I had run into the abandoned barn just outside the city and spotted the feathers and owl droppings all around it. After a few hours of waiting in the dark night, I had finally seen them. I knew where their nest was, so all we needed to do tomorrow was to check if they were still using it.

When I went to bed, I was way too eager for tomorrow to arrive. I was barely able to even fall asleep, but I did. I finally did.

And when I woke up, I should've been tired, but I wasn't. Far from it. I was excited and nervous and way too giddy to sleep in, so even though I had plenty of time before we'd go get Max, I practically jumped out of the bed and hurried to the bathroom.

Once I was done showering and got dressed up, I realized I still had three whole hours left before noon. I sat down behind my desk to go through the papers of our project, trying to find something to do while I waited. There really wasn't anything I could do, so I sighed, put the papers away and grabbed my camera instead.

My grandpa had given it to me for my birthday last year, and it was literally the only thing I hadn't broken yet. If there was something I handled carefully, the camera was it. I checked it one more time before putting it safely in my bag, but I still had way too much time on my hands.

With a groan, I exited my room and headed downstairs. I could hear my parents making breakfast in the kitchen, being loud and lively like teenagers. It was always nice to hear Mom giggling at something Dad was doing or saying, but after a certain instance a few years back, I had learned to be careful when walking in on them when they were being giggly like that.

I kept my eyes on the floor when I stepped into the kitchen, making loud enough sounds so they would know I was close by. After that incident, it had become my habit to make sure they knew I was close by, so they'd stop doing things I wasn't supposed to see. My parents sometimes forgot they had two sons in the house now, even after all these years. It was cute and gross at the same time.

"Good morning," Mom said cheerily, and I finally lifted my eyes from the floor. They were being decent. Good.

"Good morning," I told them both, and sat down at the table next to Dad.

"Are you excited?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes!" I smirked, grabbing a bagel.

Mom chuckled and patted my shoulder, sitting down in front of me. "Do you know if Max is excited too?" she asked.

I may or may not have talked about him a lot during the past couple of days. They knew all about him already, even though they had never met him.

"He's not so interested in nature. He wants to be an architect," I told them. "He has never been camping before."

"Yes – I remember you mentioning that," Dad said with a chuckle. "Maybe once or twice."

I wrinkled my nose in embarrassment. Yes, I had mentioned it a hundred times already.

"I hope he likes camping, or he'll be miserable," Dad added. "I remember my first time, and I can tell you, it wasn't a nice experience. But I fell in love with it later, so I hope he won't give up right away."

"I hope so too," I said and took a bite of my bagel. "It would be nice to have company, but he's probably too busy..."

"You'll never know, honey," Mom said with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

I cursed myself for saying such things. I already knew Max wouldn't want to go camping with me in his free time if it wasn't for the project.

He had better things to do with his life, after all.

The wait was tormenting, but noon finally arrived. I watched the cloudless sky on our way to Max's home. It was a really nice, warm day, and my mood couldn't have been better. Now if we just could find the owls... That would really make my day, but being able to spend time with Max was great enough.

Max didn't live that far away from us, so we arrived at his house pretty soon. It took him only a few moments to step out of his home, and I tried to contain my excitement.

And my god, he looked hot under the sun... His chestnut hair was shining, and he was wearing loose sweats and a black shirt and for a moment, I forgot myself staring at his body. There were some good aspects of football... Some I really could stand behind.

My thoughts froze me for a second. What on earth was I doing...? Why was he always making me have such thoughts...? Relationship related thoughts.

"Hey, Sky," Max said with a smile after he opened the door and sat down next to me in the back.

"Hi," I breathed out, quickly trying to get a grip, and hoping I didn't sound like a weirdo just now. I probably did. Curse me!

Why was he so amazing...?

"Hello. You must be Max," Dad said politely, measuring Max from head to toe, and I realized I had been staring at Max like a complete idiot.

"Yes, sir," Max said, turning his attention to my dad. I felt like the sun had turned its back on me.

"Sir makes me feel old," Dad chuckled. "Just call me Bernard. So! Are you as excited as Sky here?"

"Definitely," Max nodded. "I don't think I've even seen owls before. I know nothing about them."

"Good thing my son knows a lot. You're in good hands," Dad said, turning the car around. "Sky told me you're on the football team."

I tuned out when they started talking about football. Dad loved football, and I knew he was kind of disappointed that I wasn't interested in any sports. Freddy was more into it, but even he wasn't as enthusiastic about it as Dad was. I knew Dad was bummed about it, but what could we do?

As they talked, I watched Max from the corner of my eye. He sure looked good. It was so hard to take my eyes off him. He was smiling a lot when he talked about football, and that made him look even more breathtaking. I'd seen beautiful people before, but Max was definitely something else. Something greater.

Oh, lord... Why was I having these thoughts? I'd never cared about love or relationships. I had never been even mildly interested in stuff like that, but Max... I wasn't nearly as shocked about the fact that a boy was making me feel things as I was about the fact that I was actually thinking about relationships.

Of course, it didn't matter. He was too hot to touch for someone like me, but I couldn't help but wonder what it was like to be with someone like him?

"Here we are," Dad suddenly spoke, interrupting me in my daydreams.

I snapped my head towards the window on my side, looking around. How was it possible we were already out of the city?! Had I really been so deep in my thoughts for so long? It must have taken us almost twenty minutes to get from Max's house to where we were!

"Just call me when you guys are ready to leave," Dad spoke, and I turned to look at him.

I guess my expression was so confused it caught his eye, since he asked, "Are you all right?"

"I'm... Yeah. I'll call you when you can pick us up," I told him, and turned to look out again.

"All right. Have fun and be careful!" Dad said cheerily.

"We will!" I promised, as we climbed out of the car.

After dad drove off, I turned to look at the mighty forest in front of us. Max walked next to me, and his expression was not as excited as I felt.

"You sure there are no bears?" he asked.

"I'm sure," I smiled at him.

We were standing in a parking lot of a small, abandoned gas station at the end of a closed road. I could see the opening between the trees where the popular hiking path started.

"We're heading there," I said, pointing at the pathway. "It leads miles and miles away, deep into the forest. The barn is just a mile away from here, so it won't take us long to get there. This is the closest we can get by car. I checked it a few days ago, and apparently the only road leading to the farm collapsed years ago."

I turned to look at Max, who was giving the forest concerned looks.

"You all right?" I asked, my mood dropping a notch.

"As long as nothing will eat me," he said, letting out a nervous chuckle.

"There's no dangerous animals this close to the city, don't worry," I said, and he looked a bit more convinced. "So! Are you ready for an adventure?"

"Yes, I am. Lead the way," Max said, bowing to me like I was a king. "Just... don't let me get eaten."

"I won't," I promised.

"Good – I trust you," he said, nudging my shoulder playfully.

I let out a laugh and blushed, turning my back on him. Why did he have to be so great?

Once I stepped onto the narrow pathway, I felt much better and calmer. I was at home in the forest. I loved the smells and the sounds of the place. It was absolutely beautiful too. We walked in silence for a moment while I was making sure we were going in the right direction.

"I'm so not used to this," Max muttered, following me clumsily.

"Walking in the forest?" I said, and turned to look at him.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"It's a good workout. It's a natural way to strengthen your body," I said, but then blushed again. "But you don't need that, obviously..."

"I clearly do," Max laughed. "I'm getting out of breath already."

"This is different from walking on a sidewalk," I said, hopping over a small stone that was in my way.

"How is it possible this isn't affecting you at all?" Max chuckled, taking a deep breath right after.

"I come here often. If you want, you can come with me next time too," I said, trying to sound casual, and not too hopeful.

"Sure," Max said. "I could use the exercise."

"Really?" I gasped, and turned around to see him.

"Really," he smirked, stopping right in front of me.

I couldn't help myself. I wanted to hug him. I almost did, but somehow managed to stop myself. Max frowned at me with a question in his eyes, and I realized I was still standing in the middle of the trail, staring at him.

"I mean, it's great you want to come with me. I mean... uh... I don't have many friends here, so... I uh..."

When I finally forced myself to shut up, Max was holding back his laugh. His eyes were sparkling in amusement, and he had the biggest smile on his face.

"Well, we need to come here quite often if we want to see the owls," he reminded me.

"Oh, right," I muttered in embarrassment, and turned around to continue walking.

"But since I am your friend, we can come here just to hang out, if you want," he added.

This time I couldn't stop myself. I practically jumped on his neck and gave him a big squeeze.

"I do!" I said while hanging onto his neck. "That would be so awesome!"

Max laughed and hugged me awkwardly. "You're right," he said quietly.

I realized what I was doing and let go of him. I knew my face was all the shades of red, and I couldn't even look at him in my embarrassment.

"Sorry..." I muttered. "I'm so bad with people..."

"No, you're not. It's okay to be so enthusiastic. You're like the little brother I never had," he chuckled, and continued walking.

Now that was a mood-killer. A little brother.

I tried not to feel so absolutely disappointed, but I couldn't help it. I was just a little kid to Max. I stared after him for a moment and then followed him with a silent sigh.

I knew I was being childish most of the time, but I guess it was then that I realized how immature I really was. I was worse than a ten-year-old!

If I ever wanted people to treat me like the fifteen-year-old I was, I needed to change. A lot.