Eden and Bea (LGBT+)

🍂 x 12

Eden's POV 

As I tossed and turned for a few moments in my sleeping bag, I decided on at least one thing. 

I would not be doing this again. That was not to mention the fact that I just had to be paired with Beatrice Hazel. 

Another thing that I decided on was that I wouldn't be getting any sleep, any time soon. 

In some moment of desperation, I decided to check my backpack to find my sleeping pills. Unfortunately, though, there were no sleeping pills in sight. How much, exactly, had I forgotten back at the house? 

If I hadn't had an argument with my mother, then I probably would have remembered to bring everything. Therefore, all of this was her fault. My current predicament of being awake and exhausted and hot could be blamed on her starting up unnecessary arguments with me. I felt a little better, as I thought on it. 

That only lasted for so long, of course, as I remembered what Beatrice had said to me, before she had gone to sleep. At least, I assumed that she had fallen asleep and wasn't currently plotting my murder. 

I didn't care what she had to say and I didn't care that my words had hurt her. I had meant for them to hurt her because I didn't like her. 

Everything in her life seemed so easy, so perfect, so Beatrice. Her parents were understanding people and I knew as much from the time that I had met them, way back when, at a sports day. I believed that was probably the last time that she and I had a truly civil conversation. 

After that, we weren't in the same classes for most subjects, so we rarely got to see her. 

Then bam! In our ninth year, we ended up having to take a load more classes together. We had been in the same classes for about four years now, not that I was counting, and if I was, then I was counting down to the day when I wouldn't have to see her anymore. 

Attempting to force those thoughts out of my mind, as they made me bitter and probably contributed to stress lines, I rested back down onto my sleeping bag and closed my eyes to become entirely submerged in darkness. 

🍂

When I next opened my eyes, light shone in through a slit in the tent entrance. 

What the hell? 

I had barely got any sleep at all and now it was morning. 

My under eye circles were going to be completely atrocious, but now was not the time to fret about those. 

This was awful, I thought decisively. 

Trying to force down the feeling that I was about to vomit, I sat up in my sleeping bag and put a hand to my pounding head. This was why it was important to get enough sleep, otherwise I ended up feeling like a zombie or, well, what I could expect a zombie would feel like. 

I placed my head in the palm of my hands for a moment and then slowly turned to find that Beatrice was already set for the day and sat on her sleeping bag, with her phone in her hand. She turned and noticed that I was awake and smiled. God, why was she smiling? How could she be anything but miserable after everything I had said to her the previous evening? Obviously, I hadn't been blunt enough with her about my feelings. 

Unless I had been and she was simply trying to be nice to me because...well, I wasn't sure of the answer to that one. 

I just knew that it would be suitably Beatrice and irritating. 

"Good morning. Sleep well?" she asked. 

As I stood up and changed tops, I remained silent. 

Once the grey long-sleeved top was over my head, I pulled it down to cover my torso. It was then that I noticed that Beatrice had turned her attention back to her phone. 

Well, at least she had the common decency to not stare right at me, while I was changing. 

"Don't ask me that. It's not as if you actually care," I replied, as I pulled on my jeans, too, and released a heavy exhalation. 

For a moment, Beatrice's eyes flashed with anxiety, but she didn't say anything. 

"We should get going. Don't want to be late," she said. 

"Oh, I don't know. You're usually late," I replied. 

"Not today," she said and then, without waiting for me to respond, crawled out of the tent. 

I followed her out after quickly pulling on some trainers. 

"Man, someone really woke up on the wrong side of the sleeping bag," Axel said, as he came to stand opposite me with a huge grin on his face. 

Ugh. The best friend. I should have expected as much. 

"Did you actually get any sleep at all?" Beatrice asked, as she met my gaze.

I could detect the genuine care in her voice and wanted to squish it like a grape. 

"I'm not talking to you," I replied. 

She shrugged. 

"Alright then, someone's secretive," she said. 

She honestly didn't have the slightest clue...

"Let's go, guys! It's going to be fun," Axel said, as a few of his football team members came to join him, including his brother. He spoke with such enthusiasm that I had to wonder if he had taken a steroid, or something to that effect. 

How on Earth did one have so much energy at seven in the morning? 

"We're going to take a walk in the forest today," Axel said, evidently aware of everything that was going on, while I was still trying to gain a grip on reality. "So, watch out for bears, Thorne." 

I rolled my eyes. 

"I'll feed you to them, there's more flesh on your bones," I said. 

He looked as though he hadn't been expecting the comeback, which made me want to laugh. 

I refrained from doing so. 

Axel then energetically moved forward with his brother and some of their other friends, which left me trailing behind with Beatrice. Great.