09
1149 คำ
I woke up and found myself sleeping in someone else's tent—because of their dumb game last night. But what was even more horrifying was that Dean was lying beside me.
My head was resting on his arm.
He was so damn close I could hear his steady breathing.
I yelped and jumped away from him, heart pounding, waking Dean in the process.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked, completely horrified.
"That should be my question, Ned," he replied.
I frowned. The way my name rolled off his lips—it sounded like we were close. But we weren't. And we never would be.
"This is Dave's tent," I insisted.
Dean chuckled. "Dave's tent is next to mine. Looks like you picked the wrong one."
I froze.
No way.
This had to be a joke.
"You're kidding."
"You think I am?" he asked, still half-smiling.
I scrambled out of the tent, completely embarrassed. How the hell did I mistake a dark blue tent for black? Stupid moonlight.
The sun was just starting to rise. I saw Felix stepping out of his tent, already dressed for the morning jog.
"Good morning, Ned," he greeted.
"There's nothing good about this morning," I muttered, walking toward Garret's tent. Felix's laugh followed behind me.
"What's with you?" he asked, clearly amused.
I just had the most awkward wake-up of my life. But annoyingly... I'd also had the best sleep. It had been a while since I'd slept that deeply. Whatever.
Everyone was still asleep, so I quietly changed clothes and stepped outside.
It was the last day of the camp, and we had a group race—same teams, but this time we had to complete various challenges one after another. One of them involved eating raw food.
Kevin was the one who had to choose from four covered plates. Out of everything, he picked lady's fingers—okra. I thought I was going to die.
Kevin even tried to call for Connor to substitute for him. Of course, we all protested—he was the one who chose it!
In the end, the blue team won, and they were given extra cash as a reward. Lunch was served afterward, and our coaches gathered us for closing remarks and thanked everyone for participating.
I helped Garret pack up his tent, then collapsed into my usual spot on the bus. I closed my eyes, completely drained. The first ten minutes of the drive were loud—but halfway through, everyone fell asleep.
The moment I got home, I dropped onto the couch in the living room and passed out again.
I was awakened by someone calling my name.
"Dinner, Ned," Jameson said, nudging me.
I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut. Was I even hungry?
I dragged myself to the dining room, where Mom was setting the table. Dad was already seated, and Jameson was helping her with the food.
"Ned, you must be tired—and hungry—from your camp," Mom said.
I was about to decline dinner... but then I saw what she cooked.
My favorite.
"Thanks, Mom," I said and sat down.
They asked about the camp through the whole meal. I was too tired to talk much, but I answered as best I could.
The next morning, I met Hayden in front of the school building.
"How was camp?" he asked right away.
"It was fine," I replied. "Nothing interesting really happened."
"Really?"
I nodded, and we started walking toward our classroom. That's when I saw Dave.
"Ned," he greeted with a friendly smile.
"Hey," I replied, returning the smile. "Heading to class?"
"Yeah. Just waiting for Earl," he said, glancing around.
I nodded again. As he walked away, Hayden elbowed me in the side.
"You're already friends with the popular guys?" he teased.
I frowned. "What popular guys?"
Hayden chuckled. "The basketball team. Now they're your buddies."
"What the hell," I laughed. "They're not my buddies."
After class, I couldn't wait to get home. I rushed to the lockers to put my things away and saw Dean there too.
Our eyes met.
I quickly looked away and focused on my locker, pretending not to notice—but from the corner of my eye, I could see him glancing at me.
That familiar uncomfortable feeling returned—the one you get when someone's staring at you too long.
My heart started beating a little too fast for no reason.
Then he started walking toward me.
I froze.
But before he could say anything, a girl suddenly appeared and leaned on the locker next to mine, wrapping her arms around his waist.
Dean glanced at me—then turned to her.
"Were you looking for me?" she asked.
I shut my locker and walked out of the building without a word. I don't know why, but I had this stupid feeling he was going to say something... if it weren't for that girl.
Whatever. I shook the thought away and started jogging home.
I was halfway there when a familiar car passed and pulled over up ahead.
I ignored it—until the window rolled down.
"Ned," Dean called out.
I turned toward him, frowning—and for some reason, my eyes darted to the empty passenger seat.
No girl.
Weird.
"I'll drive you home," he offered.
"No thanks. I always walk," I replied.
He scanned me slowly, and I felt a shiver run down my spine—but it wasn't like before. It felt... different.
"Oh really? Maybe I should do the same," he said.
"Yeah." I gave him the smallest smile imaginable—barely even a smile—then continued walking.
Minutes passed. Then I heard it.
A car.
His car.
Driving behind me. Slowly. Matching my pace.
I sped up, annoyed. What was his deal?
I stopped and turned around. So did he—parking just a few meters behind me.
I stormed over to his window and knocked.
Dean rolled it down and gave me that same annoying smile.
I wanted to punch it off his face.
"What the hell are you trying to do?"
"I'm going the same way," he said casually.
"Yeah, sure you are. Seriously? Do you always drive your car like a turtle?"
He stared at me for a few seconds, really watching me, before chuckling.
"Yeah. Sometimes."
"Weird," I muttered. "I don't know what's up with you, but I don't like people following me."
I turned and walked away—faster this time.
A few seconds later, his car passed by, speeding up at last.
Good. He was gone.
What a weirdo.
But I couldn't stop thinking about it the whole way home. Why was he acting like that?
We weren't friends. And I didn't want to be friends with him. He was arrogant. Annoying. And I hated his guts.
So why did I feel so weird inside?
- ผู้เขียน
