The Stadium's Star [COMPLETE]

Chapter 53

We arrive at the campsite around noon and start setting up our tents. I've never gone camping before but the tent seems pretty straightforward. Anthony and I work together to set up my tent that I'll share with Katy, which is the last thing I want but there's not much choice.

I follow all of the directions step-by-step but the tent keeps unraveling just as I'm about to stand it up. Anthony is busy setting up his own. Meanwhile, Katy is sitting on a chair and scrolling on her phone.

"Can you grab that edge?" I ask her.

She blinks rapidly then looks up at me. "I'm not that strong."

"It's not heavy," I say as patiently as I can. "It's a tent."

"But I hurt my knee and it's making it hard for me to walk and stuff."

I stare at her, biting back my comment about how easy it's been for her to throw herself onto my ex boyfriend despite her knee. Breathing in, I turn back to the tent and try to inch my foot forward to hold it down.

Zack appears seemingly out of nowhere and sets the tent up without a word. It barely takes five seconds and it's done. I stare at him, ready to mouth a thank you, but he's already walking away with Katy and her magically healed knee running after him.

Other than the painful experience of watching the Katy and Zack show, the trip is pretty fun. I eat about five s'mores before my stomach starts to ache but it's worth it.

Mia pulls out a bottle of wine as the sun starts to set. Her and Dominique are already snuggling under a blanket, happy and pink-cheeked.

She hands the bottle to me. "Here, take this," she says. "You need it more than I do, my friend. But make sure you don't lose it."

My face is slightly rosy and my bladder is filling but I'm far from drunk. I've learned my limits the hard way, after all.

"Thank you, birthday girl," I say. "I'm gonna go find a bathroom. Be right back."

She mumbles slightly in reply as I stand up and start to walk.

"Where are you going?"

I turn around and Zack is staring at me from his seat, eyes dark and lips turned down.

"Bathroom."

He gets up. "It's dark. I'll walk you."

"You don't have to-"

"I'll come too!" Katy says, bolting up.

"Katy!" Anthony calls, grabbing her wrist and dragging her back while winking very obviously at me. "Come here. I want to talk about your hideous hair."

I try to shake my head at Anthony but he's already pulling her away. Zack starts to walk ahead without waiting for me so I sigh and speed walk to catch up.

We arrive at the bathrooms after what feels like an eternity of walking in silence. I'm walking in when he grabs my wrist.

"What?" I ask.

He nods towards my hand where I'm still holding the wine bottle. Damn. I guess I'm more tired than I thought.

"Oh..." I say, glancing around. "Could you..."

He takes the bottle without a word and crosses his arms. Grimacing slightly, I go to the bathroom and make sure to splash my face before coming out.

It's later than I've realized when I step out and the sky is pitch black aside from a round, yellow moon and a couple stars. A slight chill sends shivers up my back and I inhale sharply.

Zack holds out his jacket in front of me, causing me to stop in my tracks. I stare at it, lips parted, and when I look at him, he's expressionless.

"Zack, you don't have to-"

"Just take it," he says, putting the jacket around my shoulders before I can protest. His voice lowers. "You idiot. You always get cold but you never bring a jacket."

I resist the urge to punch his arm, instead saying, "I can hold the bottle."

"Forget it, Amelia."

I grimace. "Fine."

I stare up at the sky as we walk, watching the stars throb and glow. My lips start to rest in an easy smile but my eyes stay stuck to the sky.

Before I can process it, my toe is snubbed and I'm falling, crashing onto the floor with a thud. Zack's hands reach out to grab me but I just end up taking him with me.

"Fuck," he mutters but I can't make any words. Our faces are so close together, his skin glowing in the moonlight, that I can't breathe. Under my hands, his chest is hard and steady but I can feel his heart beating fast.

I scramble to my feet and jog towards the fallen wine bottle, giving myself time to recover. My hands wipe off the dirt as I walk back over to him.

When I look at Zack, he's clearly irritated. A small cut bleeds on his lips.

"Did you get hurt?" I ask worriedly. My hands reach out to inspect the cut. "Let me see-"

He hits my hand away and his voice is harsh. "Forget it, Amelia."

I pause then bring my hand back to my side.

"Sorry," I mumble. He's silent as I look around at our surroundings. My brows start to crease. "Wait, didn't we pass by that tree stump already?"

"What?" he says.

"That tree stump. We..." I look up at him. "Where are we?"