middle of nowhere • jack avery

vii

CHAPTER SEVEN

They were supposed to spend only an hour or two by falls, more than enough time for Reagan to pick out wildflowers she could press, but Jack begged her to spend the day there. He argued that it was because the hike up was laborious and it'd be a waste of energy if they left right away and besides, he said that Ritter Falls was a sight he could stare at all day.

But after an almost an hour of carefully looking through flowers, picking one out of almost every kind (which is a feat considering the biodiversity within that one small area) she couldn't find anything to do. She sat down on the rocks by the water, facing the waterfalls and Jack at her peripherals.

Jack was lying down directly beside the edge of the falls, the water at arm's reach. He's been humming, but not fully singing, and she was sure that it'd only take a few more moments before he fell asleep.

"You're so boring, Jack,"

Jack was startled by the sudden sound of her voice but only lazily smirked at her, "Well, you're the one who chose me as company."

Reagan rolled her eyes, "You begged to come with me."

"I didn't beg," he defended with a laugh, "I passively offered to come with you. And tell me you don't enjoy just being here with me, I dare you."

Reagan rolled her eyes once more for good measure but it wasn't like she could agree. She let a few moments pass before she suddenly said, "I have two best friends."

Jack paused from watching the water and he questioningly raised an eyebrow at her, "Okay?"

"One of them lives down by the town but the other, Jen, she moved to the city. She left this summer."

Jack looked genuinely empathetic as he said, "Oh. That sucks, I'm sorry."

"It's not a big deal, we still talk everyday and we see each other on the weekends," She shrugged, "And uh, I had a boyfriend in eighth grade."

"Oh," Jack paused for a tense second, "You, uh, you still together?"

She snorted, "God no. It's just," She took a breath as she looked at Jack who looked calm and content beside the water, ankles crossed and one arm behind his head, watching her intently, "I never brought any of them here."

"Oh," He said again because he was obviously very articulate, "But you brought me here?"

"But I brought you here," She echoed back, "This is my favorite place in the world and I brought you here."

"Why?" Jack said, sitting up, and looking at her more intently. She was almost intimidated by his gaze and she opted to stare at the waterfalls in front of her.

"I don't know," She shrugged, "Honestly, I don't know. I vowed to never bring anyone here 'cause I was afraid they'd take it from me, y'know? Guess I figured you're probably never gonna come back here anyways and I wanted to remember what it was like to see this for the first time, so."