Camping Trip

Chapter Six

"Feel like cooking?" Aiden held up the marshmallow bag.

"Give me that bag and I'll make you eat every last one." Lucas warned.

"As long as they're roasted right I won't complain." He shrugged.

Lucas took the bag with a grin and got a skewer out. As he concentrated, Aiden looked around the camp for something to talk about. Nothing. He didn't want to talk about school, and if he had to listen to a football story he wouldn't want to try kissing Lucas.

"So... did you finish that book?" Aiden asked.

"What book?"

"The uh" He struggled to remember the name, "The one with the gods and the lightning, and the pen that was a sword-"

"Percy Jackson?" Lucas looked at him sideways, "I finished that book before I lent it to you."

"More of them came out you know."

Lucas sat up with a smoking marshmallow. "I do know. I've read them. Which was your favourite?"

"I only read the first two."

Lucas frowned.

"Okay, fine, I only read the first one."

"But they're good" Lucas looked offended, "I'll lend you my copies when we get back."

"They're for kids"

Lucas shoved the marshmallow into Aiden's mouth. "They're good." He insisted.

"Okay." Aiden said once he'd chewed through the goo, "So who was your favourite character?"

"Percy's hard not to like." Lucas said, "He's capable, but a bit dense."

"You relate to him so."

Lucas shoved another marshmallow against his lips, half of it melted out down his chin. "Nobody believes me when I tell them you're not quiet."

"I am quiet."

"At school" Lucas skewered another marshmallow, and his expression changed into something more serious. "Or when anyone else is around. Do you not like Hugh and Kal?"

"If I called either of them dense I'd get socked in the jaw." Aiden pointed out, "I think I'm better off not talking to them. Besides, we have nothing in common."

"You'd like them if you talked to them."

Aiden let out a non-committed hum. This wasn't safe territory. He had nothing nice to say about Lucas's friends. He couldn't even say 'they seem nice' because they didn't. Most of the time Lucas didn't either.

He scooted closer to Lucas and plucked a skewer out of the bag. After he'd roasted it and put it to Lucas's lips he had to listen to complaining. "Just one." Aiden promised.

"Why any?" Lucas grumbled, but ate the top layer anyway. He chewed it unhappily and swallowed it with a disgusted expression.

Aiden pat his leg. "Good job."

They concentrated on roasting their respective marshmallows. Well, Aiden racked his brain to figure out what to do. They were just talking and making no progress in the direction he wanted. Sure, he was touching Lucas now. He'd left his hand on his knee, but Lucas didn't seem to think anything of it. Where was the blushing from the pool earlier?

"I actually wanted to talk to you about what I said earlier." Lucas put his skewer down. "About my teammates."

Aiden followed suit and put down the skewer. He could guess a few things Lucas would want to talk about. Number one, they weren't close and there's no guarantee he wouldn't run his mouth. "I'm not going to say anything to them. As we already pointed out, I don't even talk to them."