"So what do you say?" I ask Lacey via FaceTime.

Lacey takes a couple of minutes to think over what I told her. I had called her after having my mom take a look at my shoulder, which is just bruised by the way. I told her about my run in with Nick and his friends at the mall and their invitation of us going camping with them tonight. Like myself, Lacey has never been camping, our families were lake house or hotel type people. Guess we really do fit into the roll of rich kids. Micah would be so thrilled to know she was dead on.

"I guess we can go." She says hesitantly.

I readjust the ice pack on my shoulder that my mom forced me to wear, "If you don't want to go, we don't have to. I am still reluctant."

To be honest, I was nervous and scared and by the look on Lacey's face, she felt the exact same way I did. The last time we hung out with these people we got made fun of for going to a tuition school. Even though the ring leader Micah wouldn't be there, we were still cautious. Plus Lacey was on the fence about Logan. The last thing I wanted to do was put her in a situation where she would be uncomfortable.

"No, no, we will go. It might be good for them to see us outside of our usual environment." Lacey says.

"Yeah that or they will see how terrible we are at this experience which will give them more ammunition to use against us." I frown. I wanted to believe that Nick's friends will at least spare Lacey and I the embarrassment for tonight since they are the ones who invited us.

"Lets just try it. You mentioned Nick saying there would be pizza and beer. Who are we to turn that down. And it's his birthday." Lacey smirks. She is convinced that there is something brewing between Nick and I. We've only had lunch together once. That isn't a relationship make.

I roll my eyes at her, "You are childish."

Lacey chuckles, "We can drive together. Wanna pick me up at say six?"

"Yeah, I'll text you before I leave." I agree. Two Forks Forest is about thirty minutes from town but knowing Lacey and I, we will get lost. We once got lost going into the city for a shopping day. I had to call Xander to come pick us up.

"Kk. See you in a bit." She says then hangs up.

An hour later my closet and room looked like a tornado had gone through it. Since it was my first time going camping I had no clue what to pack.I texted Lacey who waa having the exact same problem as me. I even googled what to pack and it wasn't as useful as I had hoped. If I had Nick or Charlie's number I would have texted them and Lacey didn't want to text Logan because she and he haven't texted in a couple of days.

I let out a groan of frustration and flop down on my bed and land on my right shoulder and that causes me to release a groan of pain.

My mom comes rushing into the room, "Taylor, you okay?" She asks with concern.

"I got invited to go camping and I have no idea what to pack!" I say in frustration.

Mom crosses her arms and a look of amusement takes over her face, "Camping really? You don't seem like the type to camp."

"You have known me for seventeen years, mom, of course I don't seem like the type to camp." I scowl.

Mom laughs at me and comes to sit on the edge of the bed that isn't covered by clothes, "You know, your dad took me camping once."

"Seriously?" I ask in confusion.

"Yep. We were seniors in college and hadn't been dating but two weeks. He thought it would be romantic to take me - a sorority girl- camping." She tells me.

"What happened?" I ask with curiosity.

"Well, we got intimate for the first time." Mom smiles and her cheeks tint a pink color.

Even though it is gross to hear about my parents first time together it was sweet that even after all of these years mom still blushes over it. "Mom you are blushing!" I giggle.

"It was great night." She says with a wide smile.

"Since you have been camping, can you please help me out here. I don't know what to pack." I give her the puppy dog face.

Mom sighs but agrees. The puppy dog face always works on her and dad. It's how I got my car.

After my mom helped me pack and put a bandage that is designed to help with sore muscles on my shoulder I was off to pick up Lacey and head to Two Forks Forest for our very first camping experience. Mom told me to pack a sweatshirt, leggings and tennis shoes. She also told me to pack a few extra hair ties just incase one of mine broke. One thing we disagreed on was make up, mom told me not to wear any but I refused. I did not want these people seeing me without make up. I packed my glasses incase I lost my contacts or they got dirty. I was hoping that neither of those things would happen. I didn't let many people see me wearing my glasses.

- - - - - -

When Lacey and I arrive to the parking lot of Two Forks Forest we see a few other cars parked for a weekend of camping. I spot Nick's Jeep along with him and his friends. Lacey and I give each other a reassuring look and get out of the car with our bags.

"You made it!" Jay exclaims happily.
He starts to come towards me, "Touch me and you die." I warn. Jay chuckles nervously and backs away with his hands up in defense. I mentally gave myself a pat on the back. Jay didn't know the meaning of the word boundaries but I did and I was more than happy to teach him the definition.

"Jay, leave her alone." Nick says in an authoritive tone that made my heart flutter.

"Our campsite is about a mile in, let's get going!" Charlie announces after he gets everything out from the back of Nick's Jeep.

We all follow him since Charlie seems to be the only one with any sense of direction. While on the way to the campsite we all talk about random things we want to do, well I stay pretty quiet since I have no idea what one does while camping. Lacey was brave and said she wanted to try and build a fire. Logan gladly stepped up and volunteered to be her right hand man in that job. You could definitely feel the tension between those two but Logan was very good at acting like nothing was wrong. Lacey, on the other hand, was having a tough time keeping her gaurd up.

About fifteen minutes later we arrive to the so called campsite. To my disbelief, there is nothing around except for an open spot where the tents would go. Tall trees were all around, a big square wooden bin was placed near a tree, a picnic table was placed near the fire pit. I assumed a stream was near by because I kept hearing running water. That would make me pee often.

"Okay, lets all start setting up." Charlie orders as he sets the stuff he was carrying down on the ground.

Everyone around me got to work and since I only had my overnight bag, I was at a loss on what to do. I looked over to see that Lacey was helping Catherine with her tent, I was proud of her. Nick was the lone wolf setting up his tent so I chose to go over and ask if he needed help.

"Need any help?" I ask hopeful.

"The cheerleader wants to learn how to build a tent." He smirks. "Alright, I guess you can help." He says.

Wow, I thought this would be exactly like when I asked him if he wanted to play air hockey at Clara's party.

"Grab those poles. Those are the outside of the tent." He explains.

I pick up the poles he was referring to and hand them to him.

"Now, the other ones that will hold up the inside." He instructs.

"You don't need instructions?" I question.

"Nah. When you have been camping as many times as I have, setting up a tent is like riding a bike." He says as he fixes the inside of the tent.

For the next couple of minutes Nick and I work together in order to get the tent up. I gotta say, after he gave me a few pointers it was easy. I'm not sure if I will remember but I can now say that I've set up a tent.

"I'm guessing the Crofts aren't campers." Nick says when he comes out of the tent to look at our finished product.

I readjust the bandage on my shoulder, it slipped during the work, "We are not. We are lake house people."

Nick notices my struggle to fix the bandage, "Do you need help?" He asks amused.

Him help me? That would involve him sticking his hand down the back of my shirt. Or me raising my shirt up so he could fix it.

"Um...sure." I turn around and raise my shirt up over my shoulders, I'm thankful that I chose to wear a tank top underneath. "Just put it back on the bruised area." I tell him.

I feel Nick's breath on the back of my neck. His hands slowly remove the bandage and I hear him let out a small hiss. A chill runs down my spine as he gently rubs his fingers over my shoulder. Then he places the bandage back on my shoulder carefully.

Once he backs up I feel myself breathe again, "Better?" He asks with concern. I just nod my head yes. I was a little breathless for a minute.

"Now you can tell people you know how to set up a tent. And after tonight, you can tell people you've been camping." Nick comments.

"Sure can." I laugh trying to ignore the blush creeping up my neck and face.

"I'm here!!!" We all turn around to see who said that. A tall blonde carrying a sleeping bag comes prancing over to the campsite.

Micah.

"Micah, I thought you had to work." Catherine points out.

Micah giggles, "They let me leave early. I didn't want to miss Nicky's birthday camping trip."

Micah's smile fades when she sees me standing near Nick. I quickly walk over to where Lacey is standing with Logan.

"What are they doing here?" She asks with disgust.

"We invited them." Charlie says.

Micah flips a section of her blonde hair over her shoulder and scoffs, "Ew, why?"

"We wanted to." Charlie shrugs. "It's Nick's birthday, so we are all here to celebrate. Play nice ladies." He sounds like a parent. From what I have seen today, Charlie is the most responsible one of the group.

"Fine." Micah rolls her eyes and walks over to Nick and plants a kiss on his cheek. "Happy Birthday, Nicky." Nick says thanks and wraps an arm around her waist.

I thought they weren't dating?

An hour later we have pizza, beer and hotdogs to roast over the campfire that took Lacey and Logan thirty minutes to build. Charlie eventually had to step in and help them. Through out their attempt I heard Micah snicker and make jokes about us rich kids and how we usually pay someone to do those kinds of things for us.

I was biting my tongue as hard as I could, but it was getting difficult. I sometimes wish I could be one of those people who told someone to shut the hell up. I didn't have that gene in me. My parents taught me to respect others and I worked hard every day to make sure I did.

"It's smores time!" Jay said waving Hershey bars and marshmallows around. Everyone cheered with excitement.

"Taylor, you don't want a smore?" Catherine asks as she puts her marshmallow on her stick.

"No thanks." I say and continue scrolling on my phone. Thank God for 4G.

"Tay, you see the video Aaron posted?" Lacey laughs.

"I did, it's hilarious." I tell her. Lacey was referring to a guy who is a junior at school. He posted a video of him jumping butt naked into a pool. Keep in mind that it is only about forty degrees out.

"He's cray!" Lacey laughs and leans over to show Logan and Jay.

"I wanna see." Catherine pouts.

"Me too." Charlie chimes in.

Since I was sitting next to Charlie I scoot my chair closer to his and Catherine who is sitting next to her brother does the same. As they watch the video Catherine squeals in terror once she realizes Aaron is naked. We all erupt with laughter.

"Taylor, what is your Instagram?" Catherine asks me.

"Just taylorcroft." I tell her.

"I am so following you. And Lacey and that Aaron guy." She smiles and taps away on her phone.

"Guys, we are suppose to be camping, no phones." Micah huffs.

"I saw you taking selfies over there Micah." Jay says.

"I was taking one with Nick so I could post it as a happy birthday." Micah says in a duh tone.

"Whoa, Taylor, you snowboard?" Charlie asks in shock. He was probably scrolling through my feed.

"Yep. Every winter break my family and I go up to a ski lodge." I inform.

"Is it Mount Snow?" He asks with interest.

"It is. You been?" I confirm.

"We go often as well." Charlie smiles and I smile back at him.

Nick gets up from his chair to stretch which causes his shirt to raise a bit. Don't stare, Taylor. It isn't polite. "I need another beer. Anyone else?" He asks as he walks to the cooler.

We all say yes except Catherine, who isn't allowed to drink according to Charlie. Nick goes around, handing everyone their beer. When he hands me mine, his fingers linger for a second sending a shock through me. I let out an inaudible gasp. He just smirks and walks back to his seat.

I get a notification on my phone and it says that nick_ross has followed you. Wow...I didn't think he would follow me. I go to his page which happens to be private but hit the follow button and wait for him to accept the request. Mere seconds later he does. We were now friends on Instagram.

Over the next couple of hours, all of us except Catherine drank beer. Jay thought it would be a good idea to take turns telling scary stories considering it was Halloween. Jay told us a story about a little boy who befriended a doll. The doll turned out to possessed, kind of like Chuckie. Jay's story also scared the piss out of him. Literally. Logan chose to tell a funny story. He claimed the story was made up but we all knew it wasn't. Charlie immediately outed him when Logan said the kid peed the bed. Logan got embarrassed, but laughed like a champ.

At one point I had to go pee and I made Lacey go with me. Just like in the movies, the guys decided to scare us. It would of worked if Logan didn't trip over his own two feet. Later on Charlie did successfully scare me, he hid behind a tree while I was walking to my tent. Scared me so bad that I had to make another trip to the bathroom.

Charlie didn't get as hammered as the rest of us so he made everyone who drove, hand over their keys so they wouldn't try anything stupid through out the night.

Lacey and I eventually crawled into our tent and sleeping bags. This was the first time we had ever slept on the ground. But we were both so drunk that we passed out pretty quick.

My first camping experience turned out to be better than expected. I just hope I don't have a killer hangover in the morning.