His Wolf Pup - a Jasper Hale Story

109- A Camping Trip

As the month continued on, we all found ways to have fun together. The first big idea came from Embry, who suggested we go on a camping trip with only the pack and no imprints. It was an exciting idea that everyone agreed to.

We started planning the trip immediately. Since we bought some camping stuff before, Carlisle let us borrow everything he had, and all of the pack gathered the random supplies they owned as well. Nine of us would be going, and we would be gone for a week. That required a surprisingly large amount of supplies. We figured everything out and planned the trip as a group.

Before we knew it, it was time to go. We all piled into two cars filled to the brim with supplies. I drove a car with Seth, Leah, and Nathan, while Sam drove Embry, Paul, Quill, and Jacob. I knew Charlotte would be safe with Jasper and the family, but from the moment we took off, Seth was on edge.

"What if something happens and we're not there," he said, worrying in the passenger seat next to me.

"Nothing will happen," I told him, keeping my eyes on the road. I could feel his anxiety, so I tried to help him out using Jasper's powers.

"Don't be such a worrywart," Leah told him, leaning on Nathan in the backseat.

"You can't say anything!" Seth yelled, turning to face her. "You're with your imprint, and we left ours at home!"

"That's not my fault!"

"Leah," I interrupted, "don't argue with your brother.

A silence settled over the car as Leah and Seth looked at each other. Things had been tense between the siblings for a while, but it seemed Seth wanted to change that.

"How's Mom been?" Seth asked, his voice quiet.

"She's been okay," Leah answered. "I've been spending more time at Sam's since that is where Nathan's been staying."

"How's Sam's been?" I asked, looking at Nathan in the rearview mirror. 

"It's been okay," Nathan told me. "He's nice and all, but I don't know how I fit in. I've mostly just been hanging out with Leah."

"Are they all being nice?" Seth asked the two, knowing some of the pack could be mean sometimes, mostly Jacob.

"They have been," Nathan responded. "It's just that I don't think I fit in well because they are all a pack, and I just feel like an outsider."

"You are part of the pack," I told him, hoping to ease his worries. "You wouldn't have been invited on this trip if you weren't."

"Thanks," he replied, obviously not convinced.

We drove for a while, talking about random nonsense. As we got closer, our conversation circled back again.

"Sometimes I wish there was somewhere else we could go to hang out," Nathan admitted, "but I don't know any other place."

"You guys do know you are welcome over any time, right?" I asked both Nathan and Leah. "You guys are practically family, and our doors are always open."

"I thought you hated me," Leah admitted.

"Why would I hate you?" I asked her. "You've done nothing wrong."

"I used to argue with you all the time, and then I said I didn't want you to adopt me."

"I knew adopting you was a long shot," I told her. "And I've moved on from all the fighting. I just want you to be safe and happy."

"We're here!" Seth yelled, seeing Sam pull over ahead of us into a camping place.

I wasn't entirely sure where we were, and I had mostly just been following Sam the entire time. I parked the car and watched as everyone pilled out of both cars. We started taking stuff out and setting up camp for the week. We had three tents for the nine of us. Our plan was Leah, and I would sleep in one; Seth, Nathan, and Sam would sleep in the second tent; and Jacob, Quill, Embry, and Paul would sleep in the third. We spent a solid three hours setting up camp, mainly because we had no idea how to set up tents. As soon as we were done, night was already falling, so Nathan started a fire while the others figured out dinner. We ate and all sat down around the campfire.

"This is nice," Embry said, enjoying just hanging out with everyone. "This trip was a good idea."

"That it was," Sam agreed.

That first night was spent with us just messing around with each other before going to bed. The week passed by quickly, with us just having fun together. There were a lot of soccer games and Uno rounds throughout the week. Everyone did their best not to be sore losers, but there were a few inevitable fights about rules. Everyone bonded more with Nathan over the week, and I could see him growing more comfortable around everyone. Our last campfire is where we all got deep and sentimental.

"How has wedding planning been, Jacob?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"It's been good," he replied. "I'm thrilled it's finally happening."

"I'm just glad we don't have to hear you complain about missing Bella anymore," Embry said, remembering when they weren't together.

"That was the worst," Quill agreed.

"Hey, stop making fun of Jacob," Sam told them.

A nice quiet settled over everyone for a moment, everyone just soaking in our last night camping. "I'm going to miss this," I mumbled, looking around at everyone.

"What do you mean, miss this?" Paul asked, looking at me. "We hang out all the time on the Rez."

I sighed, looked at Seth, and looked back at the pack. "We're going to have to move."

"What?!" everyone exclaimed, suddenly very intrigued and upset.

"Why would you move?" Quill yelled, not liking that idea.

"We don't age," I told him. "Eventually, we have to leave Forks. I'm not sure when we're leaving, but I know it has to happen, and when it does, I'll miss this."

"We can come with you," Embry said.

"You will not come with me," I told him. "Your lives are here. But you will visit, and I will visit you."

"Just don't leave without saying goodbye," Sam said, looking at me. "And make sure you don't leave the way they did last time."

"We won't," I told him. "I want you all in my life. I'll never cut you out of it."

"We shouldn't dwell on it now," Sam said. "We can dwell on it when you leave, but for now, let's have fun."

We spent the rest of the night telling old stories and making fun of each other. We roasted marshmallows and shoved each other off benches. We spent the night as if it were our last together, even though we all knew we had plenty of more nights together. We ended up not going to sleep, just watching the stars together all night until the sun came up. When it did, we packed up all of our stuff and shoved it back into the cars. Sam and I drove home while everyone else took a nap in the car.

As I drove and listened to music, I could see Seth, Leah, and Nathan all asleep in the back seat. They were so young and had been through so much individually, but they would start to have normal childhood memories, and I would make sure of it. A camping trip was just the first of many.