Story Time!

Oh look, a reader! Those are quite rare in these parts.

 

Update coming tomorrow!

 

Story Time! Part 9

“Absolutely not.” Camila’s voice was stern, and she glared at Nick with murderous intent.
“And why not? We need to get out and do something! I’m only here for so long, you know.” Nick’s response appeared to have little effect on Camila.
“Can’t we just do something here instead? Like...I dunno, not go camping?” The two sat in her living room, and she pointed at the TV. “I think it would be a lot more entertaining, and a lot less strenuous.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so. Come on, we can ask Genie and... Emmett to go too.” Nick struggled to release the last name, and his facial expression contorted with displeasure at the idea of sharing a cabin with that fool. “Although I refuse to bunk with him.”
“Bunk? Oh no. If we do this, we’re doing it the right way. Not your lame excuse for ‘camping’.” Camila said, with a dubois expression, eyes shining at the prospect of showing her best friend up in the ways of manliness, finally able to show him what real camping was, and perhaps even causing him to grow a few hairs on his pathetically baby smooth chest in the process. Or, she could leave that to Genie, who would jump at the opportunity to make it fairly miserable for him in various ways, most including his genetalia and all the evil things she could do to the unfortunately ever vulnerable baby batter producer.
At hearing this, Nick worried at his lower lip for a split second, before becoming resolute, “Let’s do it then.”
It was only till after he’d set off to go invite Genie that she realized that,
“WE DIDN’T PLAN ANYTHING. OH MY SWEET JESUS.”

* * * * *

“Oh My God Nicky, yes. Think of all the things, not just one thing, but ALL of them. And you managed to get Cammy to go!” Genie squealed with excitement after listening to his long-winded explanation. “We need to go shopping, like, ASAP. We need smexy camping getups.” She had a devious smile on her face, and Nick could almost see the hole slowly burning in her pocket.
“No! Uhhhh, sorry. We’re going tomorrow. You’ll have to get ready now. That is, if you don’t want us to leave you behind.”
“Oh Nick, you’re no fun. How will I have time to order the strippers and tell them where to go?” She frowned with genuine disappointment.
“I don’t know. I guess you’ll just have to do their job for them.” Nick winked at her, and turned to walk away. With his back turned, and with a dismissive hand gesture, “Be back in a few. Oh, and mind telling that Asian prick to pack his stuff, because he’s coming too.”
Genie made a face at the reference to Emmett, but was never one to let someone else have the last word. “And you’d better not forget to bring your cup. Wouldn’t want your sad excuse for a baby maker to be bit off by a squirrel! If it could even find it!” She yelled after him. Nick smiled, and Genie herself knew it wasn’t her finest insult, but still just as satisfying.

...Who was she kidding, that insult was so bad Nick could’ve made it himself.
Soon after Nick’s departure to buy supplies (at Camila’s expense, because he certainly couldn’t afford them), Genie called Emmett.
“Sup Red?” He greeted her before she had a chance to say anything.
“How do you feel about the great outdoors?”
“Well, shit, they’re great. Trees, fresh air, no fuckin’ doors in sight. Why?”
“We’re going camping! So hurry up and pack."
“Who is this ‘we’? I haven’t read the terms and conditions yet, damn it.”
“Nicky, Cammy and myself, of course."
“Aight. Sounds like fun. When?”
“Uh...tomorrow I think? Nicky kind of just was in and out.”“...Heh. I’m sure he was. I ain’t got nothing better to do. Count me in, write me down that little itinerary I know that Cam has for sure.”
“Great. See you later, fuck ass.”
“Later Red.” She felt a familiar bubble of fondness for her friend, which she hid neatly behind her contempt. Yes, this would be be quite entertaining.

* * * * *

“Do you think we’ll need sunscreen?” Nick asked as his eyes wandered down the list,
“Yes.” Camila replies shortly. “Do you have a-”
“No.”
“How many-”
“Two.”
“What kind-”
“The pink one.”
“Are you-”
“Yes.”
Nick and a monotonous Camila whizzed through the aisles of trusty old Wal-Mart, filling their cart to the brim. She’d been preparing for said trip for about half an hour, which was not enough time, she informed him. He knew what she was like, meticulous and careful, liked to have a plan instead of just diving in. He’d rattled her a little by being spontaneous, which she informed him that she hated. Her parents had been surprisingly generous in paying for everything, but Camila informed him that they did so only because she’d agreed to go to a wedding. Not only that, promised to wear a dress and dance. She then informed Nick that she hated him.
“I haven’t worn a dress since the sixth grade.” she informed him gloomily in the car, as she stared at the monstrous bill that resulted from the endeavor.
“I’ve given up my pride for a few days of merriment, and like, three hundred dollars.”
“Inflation.” he reminded her, tapping the side of his nostril. He was slightly dismayed with the constant, almost depressed expression on her face.

The morning after yielded no happiness from her. They’d decided to stay a few days, go hiking, perhaps fishing, all of the camping activities Camila lead them all in. Said person was grim as she checked everyone’s backpack, face pinched, much like a high strung single mom with three kids. They'd been forced to take Emmett's car, because he could afford the gas. Genie would drive, because everyone else had contributed, with the exception of Nick.
“Lighten up, kiddo.” Emmett finally said when Camila was done with his. She snorted, and he simply looked at her, a friendly smile still tugging on the corner of his mouth,
“C’mon,” he touched her shoulder in a way that was far too tender for anyone else's in the room's tastes. She shrugged his hand off and looked up at him defiantly,
"Don't call me kiddo."
"There she is."

Emmett and Camila sat in the back, Nick again barely able fit, reminding Emmett how much he disliked such a small vehicle. There was a relative amount of noise, buzzing conversation, or the radio turned up loud. More often than not, the dial would spin onto a pop station, to Nick's delight, while he watched Camila squirm in the backseat. On a classic rock station she would drum her fingers on her thigh. Rap stations made her stare out the window and grimace. 'Camila watching' was a very taxing and dangerous occupation. Emmett entertained himself mostly by playing games on his phone while talking, occasionally muttering the lyrics to a song he knew, but there weren't many stations that played terrible music in Nebraska, thankfully. Camila was mostly silent, lost in thought, like the wet blanket she was on these sorts of outings. Genie drove a good three hours straight to the campsite Camila preferred; much less colonized than the local one, much more rugged in terrain. She'd gone camping here before, when she was a little kid.

They arrived after a few hours of getting lost and then finding the path again, due to Camila's lack of directional skill, to a relatively flat area overlooking the Platte River.
"Nothing like the smell of pollution in the afternoon." Camila sighed as she dropped her pack with a solid thud.
"It's really pretty though, you have to admit." Nick said as he came up beside her. The sun reflected off the murky water, trees littering either side of it. Camila understood the beauty of it, but preferred not to mull over it. She was going to put up a proper hissyfit.
"I guess. I bet the mosquitos think its pretty nice too." she snorted as she slapped one on her arm, leaving a little splatter of blood left over from the fallen soldier.
"He was two days from retirement." she muttered solemnly to herself, and turned around to find Emmett and Genie arguing over the proper way to set up a tent,
"No, it goes there. Trust me, I know." Emmett's facial expression displayed frustration; he was clearly right, at least in his mind.
"But that doesn't look right!"
"Have you ever even looked at a tent in real life?"
"Duh! They have them all set up in that uh...outdoorsy store."
"...Outdoorsy store." He raised an eyebrow at her, and she looked down at him, if only just a little bit. She was taller than him by an inch, give or take, which she lorded over him quite often, especially since he was a couple years her senior.
"Yes, whose name I can't remember."
"Go away, I'm pitching a tent." he said, fed up with her. Nick and Camila looked at each other, and kind of giggle smirked.
"But I-"
"No. Stop. Swerve, hoe." He held up his right hand to her. Camila noticed his wrist bent a little oddly, and realized he'd broken it again, pretty recently, actually. She hadn't realized there was a small smile tugging up the corners of her mouth until Nick commented,
“Enjoying the view?”
“I guess. It’s kind of...”
“Cute?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“You seem off.”
“Mmm. I’m just stressed I guess.”“Don’t be. We’ll have fun.”“You’re assuring me for once.”“Shush. I’m trying.”“Only because this was your damn idea.”
“Maybe. I just want this to work!” He ran a hand through his hair, all too aware of his imminent departure. Her expression softened,
“I get it. You just want to have good memories of this.”
“Yeah, I guess.” He looked down at his feet, kicking up dirt.
“There’s something you’re not telling me. You wanna talk about it?” She sat down placatingly in the grass, patting the spot beside her.
“No, no I don’t.” he refused stonily but sat down anyways.
“Okay. What do you want to talk about then?”
“...Emmett told me he has feelings for Genie.”
“I kinda figured he did. When’d he tell you?”
“A few days ago, I didn’t really think of it again until now. It was pretty late, and he was drunk, so I don’t know...”“Yeah, me neither. I don’t think he would’ve been able to lie, honestly. When people are drunk, they tend to tell the truth more often or not. But it might’ve just been a small crush or short term infatuation. If not, though, good for them. They’d be nice together, I think.”
“Yeah. They would, I guess. I suppose it’s a bit different when they’re standing a few feet away and fighting over a tent.”
“You may have a point, though how valid it is remains to be seen.”
“You talk very properly when you have your defenses up.” he commented casually,
“I’ve noticed that too.”
“What are you two doing over here, just staring at us?” Emmett turned his attention to the audience.
“What we usually do. You guys are much more entertaining that you give yourselves credit for.” Camila replied, smiling up at a bemused Emmett. He snorted,
“Well you’re being pretty useless.”“It’s not anything new.”
Nick, who was quite put off with the other man’s interruption, and especially with the fact that he was practically invisible, cleared his throat. "Don't you have a tent to put up?" He raised his hand and motioned to shoo Emmett away.
"It's already done, bro." His chest swelled with pride as he gestured toward the tents, which were indeed set up, and not horribly, to Nick’s displeasure. He had an unadulterated chagrin with the other man, who was fairly oblivious. Granted, it was mainly because he’d been there to see all of the emotions he left, a broken person swept under the rug. But there was also the fact that he was a despicable douche whom he simply couldn’t stand.
“Great.” He practically spat out, which did not go unnoticed by Camila but she was quickly swept up by Emmett, tugging at her elbow to go look at something. She protested mildly, looking back at her seething friend, mouthing words he didn’t bother to interpret, probably along the lines of ‘we’ll talk later’.



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A RoyQin© story.

 

Lol, that's awkward... I'll make them separate posts later.

 

Although, I think that if you're going to call it two updates you should type the heading in BEFORE I post the update, not after.

There wasn't a "Story Time! Part 10" heading in the document when I posted this. =P

 

Well, not my fault that you rushed me to post but didn't make it clear what to post.

Perhaps you should start posting them yourself? I think so.

 

You didn't say anything about a space. Besides that, when you're a whole update ahead I don't think it's a problem if you go up to the update you finished and add a heading.

If you're going to expect me to post it, don't bitch it I make a mistake you caused.

 

If you read the last update before the edit, this stuff won't be new. Just spacing things out.
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Story Time! Part 10

They did not, in fact, talk later. But she and Emmett did, sitting on the riverbank, staring out over the setting sun. He watched them, a frown pulling at his mouth. Genie sat beside him, talking easily, her noise alleviating some of the pounding in his temple.
“Nick.” Genie said, dragging his attention from the couple.
“Mm?”
“Are you...are you jealous?”
“No! Of course not.”
“Uh huh,” Genie replied, eyebrows pitched upwards.
“It’s not jealousy, I don’t like him, and I don’t like what he does to her.”“She’s not doing anything she doesn’t want to.”
“I know, which worries me."

“They’re just talking,” she said simply, looking down at them, with a bit of sadness that Nick couldn’t quite detect.
“I know you like him,” he rebuked feebly.
“You don’t, you’re just saying that.”“But I do know.”
“...maybe. That’s none of your concern.”
“Why do the stupid assholes get the girls?”
“Because those girls are stupid assholes too. But he’s not-”
“Yes he is. You two keep telling me that but you’re wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong! And you know it, too. I’m tired of being the good guy. I’m tired of being the one comforting their asses when they get their ‘hearts’ broken to pieces. I hate this.” he gestured wildly at the two, who sat near each other but not enough to touch.
“Calm down. You just need to talk it out. She’s a reasonable girl. You’re just overreacting.”
He didn’t respond, opting to simply to look at Genie.“Nick.”
“Genie.”
“Are we done talking about this?”
“Yep.”
“Wrong answer, fuckass.”
They proceeded to have a furious starring contest, which Nick inevitably won.

“What is so fucking important?” Camila said, irritated by his excited silence as he dragged her all the way to the riverbank.
“Look.” he pointed to a nearby bush. She grumbled, but reluctantly looked behind it. There was the almighty God of spider webs. She stared at it, open mouthed. The web went from tree to tree, Delicate silk that made her skin crawl weaved into Arachne’s deadly, but beautiful pattern.
“Pretty cool, eh?”
“Terrifying, but yeah. Why show me this?”“I...I don’t know.” he admitted, shuffling his feet a little. She finally looked at him. He was standing behind her, sort’ve to the side, hands in his pockets, staring at the web, almost entranced by it.
“I think Genie would like it, here, I’ll go get her.” She mumbled, feeling a painful awkwardness. Camila remembered how he’d gotten rid of her fear of spiders.

Flashback...

It was a rather unremarkable day, until that point, dragging on as the few days before summer tended to do. Emmett waited for her in his car, as per usual, in his old Ford, which was his proudly bought with his own money, (whom he named Babycakes). They were deep in the throes of young, fumbling romance, at this point, which made her heart beat faster and her palms sweaty.
“Do you want to go somewhere?” he smiled at her, something that he tended to do more often than not. She often wondered what happened to that smile, and who else got it, which made her feel more petty and jealous that she would ever admit under any circumstances. Affection swelled in her chest as she muttered,
“Okay.”
He took her to the park, the beat up one a little bit aways from the desolate little restaurant she and Nick would eat at a couple years in the future. This one would be turned into a dog park after Emmett left. They wandered around, him following her as she poked around. She had been so curious, so much more than she would be in just a span of a few months.
“Oh god, there’s a spider.” she yelped suddenly, scrambling down from the rickety blue slide she was walking up because ‘fuck the police’.
“Oh don’t be such a baby.” He guffawed as she fell on top of him. Or rather would’ve, had he not caught her.
“I'm not a baby,” she grumbled as she quickly regained her composure, still clinging to the fabric of his shirt,
“I’ll go kill it right now.”“Nah, don’t go around killin’ things you’re afraid of.” he said sagely, and she glared up at him, furiously pushing her glasses up, and separating from him. He chuckled,
“You’re funny, Cam. Real funny. You know that? Funny in a cute way,” he added, just to make her squirm.
“Pfffff. It’s just a spider; it startled me, that’s all.”
“Uh-huh. How long have you been afraid of them?” He’d always told her she was an open book, which she vehemently denied.
“I dunno, forever I guess.” The little spider in question scuttled up the slide, a little moving black dot. She shied away just a bit, bumping into a raised eyebrow and half grin. She didn’t know which was more unbearable, his smug smile or the spider.
“Why?” he asked, head tilted slightly, inquisitive, like it usually did when he was fishing for information.
“Because they’re gross, I guess. I’ve never really psychoanalyzed my fear of spiders, though maybe I should, now that you bring it up, but on my own.”
“But that’s no fun, come on, we can be like Dr. Phil, you can talk for a bit and then I’ll yell at you for being a terrible person and never end up fixing the problem. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
“Oh my, you’re beginning to sound like me.” There was a certain amount of horror injected in her voice which made him chuckle.
“Sorry. Your fault for talking to me so much.” he teased, making snuffling sounds in her hair.
“That tickles and it’s gross.” she protested, disentangling herself from him, as always.
“Anyways, I’ll stop being scared of fucking spiders if you’ll leave me alone about it.”
“You can’t just stop being scared of something.”“Yes I can,” she defiantly walked over to the little nook the spider went into and came out with an arachnid smaller than her fingertip. It ran around inside her cupped hand, and she held it up to him.
“Yes I can.” she murmured. He backed off; her arms shook and her voice wavered, but she had a shine in her eyes.
“Fair enough.” he said as she carefully put the little creature in its place. There was a tiny red welt from where it had bitten her. his hand found her cheek, and he smiled at her, the whole moment becoming stiflingly tender.
“It’s just a spider, nothing to be scared of.” she muttered, and there again was that warm feeling in her cheeks.

...End Flashback.

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A RoyQin© story.

Unedited, so forgive us if this isn't up to our usual quality of work.