the late night didn't stop mia from waking up just as the sun was about to rise.
mia opened her door quietly and clasped her hand over her mouth as josh suddenly appeared in-front of her.
"y-you going to the trail?" mia whispered awkwardly, closing her door behind her softly behind her.
"yeah." josh replied.
mia smiled awkwardly and turned around quickly where she speed walked down the stairs quietly, then out the door, josh trailing behind her confused, struggling to keep up.
mia can't help but feel slightly awkward around josh considering the events of the night before.
"mia!" josh yelled as she ran up the road, "why are you going so fast?" he then questioned.
"fitness!" mia yelled back to him as she reached the entrance of the trail, josh still a ways behind her.
mia finally stopped running when she got to the tip of the mountain, turning around to see josh surprisingly not too far behind her
mia then pulled out her phone, snapping a photo of josh, who posed for the camera by putting one leg up higher than the other.
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"very cute!" mia yelled out to him, before turning around in embarrassment and continuing to walk up the hill, shoving her phone into her pocket.
josh then managed to run straight up beside mia.
"are you alright?" josh asked mia, always seeming to know when something was off.
"what? me?" mia asked, and josh nodded, "oh, yeah. i'm great." she said enthusiastically.
"really?" josh asked, sitting in the little blue seat, mia plonking herself down next to him.
"mhm." mia mumbled, biting her fingernails nervously.
josh then looked to how she was biting her nails, and then looked back up to make eye contact with mia.
goddamn habits! mia cursed herself in her head as she realised that josh had picked up that when she bites her nails it means she is lying or anxious... or both.
mia huffed out in annoyance.
"okay, you got me." mia said, looking away from josh and throwing her arms up defensively, "you got me." she repeated.
mia then looked back to josh, who was looking intently to her.
mia sighed, deciding that she may as well just tell him, now fully prepared to lose another friend.
"i woke up in the middle of the night and went to the kitchen for a drink, and sammy was already there." mia began to explain, and she could feel josh's gaze on her even though she were looking away from him, not wanting to look over to him, fearful of his reaction.
"we talked, and he told me about how he thought i liked you more than him, and how you always get things over him." mia continued, "he went back up to his bedroom and i couldn't help it, i felt so bad for him..." mia trailed off, not wanting to admit aloud she had done such a thing.
"it's okay." josh said, "after all, it's not like you're with me, so why be so weird around me?" he then asked.
mia thought for a moment.
"you would think of me different." mia answered.
"how so?" josh then questioned.
there was silence again while mia were at a battle with her thoughts.
"y-you would think i don't like you, which is a lie, because..." mia trailed off, "because i do like you, i really do." she then stated, looking up to josh.
"well i really like you too." josh stated, "for your information." he then added, "and i'm not going to judge you over that, you felt bad and wanted to make him feel better."
mia cringed at the word better knowing the context behind it.
"what makes things worse is that now sammy thinks i'm into him." mia said, resting her face in the palms of her hands.
"you're not?" josh asked, sitting up straighter than before.
mia shrugged her shoulders.
"i just don't want him to get his hopes up for something that may not happen." mia stated simply, looking out to the sky ahead of her, that was just rising up from the mountain ahead.
"fair enough." josh said, leaning back in his chair and watching the sun rise with mia.
mia smiled before pulling out her phone and opening instagram, where she posted the photo she took earlier wanting to share this photo with the world, or her very few followers that consisted of old school friends and other distant family members.
Little mountain boy, mia typed as the caption.
mia turned off her phone and shoved it back into her pocket, before managing to fall asleep on josh's shoulder to the comfort of the birds chirping and the wind hustling and despite the blinding sunlight ahead of them.
