Imperfect Life: Arc 7

Chapter 30

"Did I really have to be a werewolf for this?" Crys asked as she walked down the forest trail.

"Hey, I didn't make you do it." Brandon replied, walking alongside Crys.

The two of them were making their way to the campsite along with Tomas, who was leading the way.

Tomas rolled his eyes because of the banter that was happening behind him.

"Yeah, but did you have to make it sound like such a good idea?" Crys asked back.

Brandon gave an exaggerated shrug in reply.

"Look, neither of you have to worry about anything." Tomas interjected. "My dad's not even ten minutes away, much less than that if he drives. If anything happens, he's right over there." He pointed back behind him towards his house.

"Thanks, Tomas." Crys spoke up, giving Brandon the side-eye.

Brandon threw his hands up, giving Crys an odd look in return.

Crys stuck her tongue out at Brandon, making a face.

Brandon rolled his eyes and looked back ahead of him.

"How much firewood do you have for the night?" Crys asked Tomas casually.

"Easily enough for the whole night." Tomas replied. "My dad brought some to the site in his pickup truck earlier. He even brought extra saying it was in case we ran out. I don't know what kind of a campfire he thinks we'll be making, but it's plenty of wood, that's for certain."

Crys smiled a little, breathing a small sigh of relief.

Brandon was probably the only person to understand why Crys asked what she did, but he didn't mention it. "So you said Emma was already there?" He asked.

"Yeah, Em's tending the fire." Tomas replied.

"Does she even know how to do that?" Crys asked, doubtfully, not trying to be rude.

"I taught her how." Tomas said, getting slightly defensive.

"Anyways." Brandon said, trying to make sure things didn't escalate.

"What snacks do we have?" Crys asked.

"We have smores and some chips." Tomas said. "Did you two have dinner yet?"

"Yeah, we ate something before we left." Brandon said.

"Okay, good." Tomas said. "We have some hot dogs as well, but since everyone ate already, I doubt we'll have any.

"How many marshmallows and chocolate bars do we have?" Crys asked, sounding a little too curious.

"A few bags of marshmallows, I think, and plenty of chocolate bars." Tomas said. "And we have some barbeque chips, some salt and vinegar, regular-"

"Mmmm..." Crys said, already looking forward to the sugary goodness.

"You lost her." Brandon remarked. "She's gonna eat nothing but chocolate and marshmallows the whole time."

Tomas shrugged. "Well, I think Em is going to want the salt and vinegar chips, and I'll have a few of the barbeque."

"I'll just take some of her marshmallows or something." Brandon said. "Maybe a chocolate bar or two."

"Em and I get some smores. She's not taking all the smore stuff." Tomas said flatly.

"I won't take all of them." Crys remarked back with some emphasis on the 'all'.

"You've got to tell us about what's been going on, too." Tomas said.

"I will." Crys reassured Tomas. 'I stick to my word."