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Chase played with end of my sleeve as we sat together on the ground in front of the fire. I had my arm around him as he leant against me. I could feel his hair against my neck; it was ticklish and honestly a little annoying but I didn’t care, I was content. As I said we were in front of the fire; alongside everyone else.
No one was particularly surprised when we walked out of the tent together to find everyone, except Seb, already up and staring at us curiously as we did our little walk of shame. They all seemed a little surprised at first but that quickly passed as everyone went back to their conversations. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t relieved because I’ll be honest; I was nervous as hell walking out of Chase’s tent. It wasn’t just that everyone would see us and know something happened, whether they thought it was nothing extreme or if we did the dirty. I have had plenty of walks of shame in my life, and though this wasn’t really a walk of shame; it felt like one. All due to the tiny fact that Chase was a guy and that, has never happened before.
“How are you feeling?” It was the same question as this morning when we were in the tent. Seb was still ranting on about the time he had tomato in his burger when he clearly asked for it to not be on there or something like that but when Chase spoke he was all I could focus on. Everything else was background noise.
“I’m good” I smiled at him, “You don’t have to worry about me, okay.” I squeezed his hand reassuringly, remembering the reason why he asked me the same question earlier. “Quite frankly there’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now then here on this camping trip with everyone; with you.” I pulled him closer to me. “So relax and listen to the wonderful tales of Sebastian King” I chuckled quietly, pressing a small kiss to his forehead.
I couldn’t help but notice the slight frown that lasted a few seconds before it was replaced with a small smile, “Okay” he chuckled quietly, focusing his attention back to the group.
I couldn’t help but frown myself before nudging him gently to get his attention again. “How are you feeling?” I asked quietly.
He hesitated before answering, “I’m fine” he mumbled, “It’s just…” He hesitated once again, “It’s nothing… don’t worry about it”.
“Chase-” I started but he cut me off.
“It’s nothing bad, I promise” he said quietly, “And I promise I’ll tell you… just not now”
I sighed, thinking about his words for a few seconds. Was he having second thoughts? Was he worried I was having second thoughts? I was going to question him further but I decided to let it go; he said he was going to tell me and I had to trust him on that. “Okay”
“Thank you” he mumbled, leaning back against me. I tried to let it go and for the most part I did; pushing it to the back of my mind as the night went on. Though there was always a nagging thought lingering in the back of my mind reminding me that something wasn’t right.
…
“You know what we haven’t done yet” Kev grinned from across the fire at me.
I thought about it for a few seconds before shaking my head. “What?” I asked, confused and admittedly, slightly worried. It was Kevin after all.
“Scary stories” He grinned. “I can’t believe we haven’t told scary stories yet” he mused quietly with a chuckle; more to himself than to everyone else.
I couldn’t help but grin at his words. How could we have not told scary stories yet? We’re camping for god’s sake! “Yes!” I exclaimed.
“No!” Seb interjected immediately. “It’s not gonna happen!”
“Don’t be such a pussy” Imogen Chuckled, “You scared that the big bad monsters are going to get you when you’re sleeping?” she laughed.
“Yes!” he exclaimed, “Why the hell would you want to purposely scare yourself!?”
“Sounds like fun to me” Teegan shrugged, “But I swear to god if anyone throws something at me, jumps on me or does anything to try to scare the shit out of me I will not hesitate to cut a bitch” She warmed, pointing her finger at everyone. We all nodded in agreement… I legitimately think she would cut someone if they scared her. “Great” she smiled innocently, “What are we waiting for then?”
“You people are weird” Seb groaned as he stared at the fire with the facial expression of a toddler who didn’t get the toy he wanted from his mother; it was quite amusing to say the least.
…
I tightened my arm around Chase when he tensed against me. Turns out he’s not the biggest fan of horror. He can handle it but he’s not the best when it comes to dealing with it is what he told me when I asked him just after Kev started the first story. I asked him if he wanted me to ask Kev to stop but he declined, saying that he was fine and didn’t want to ruin the fun for everyone else.
Kev still sat on the opposite side of the fire from us as he read stories from his phone. We’ve been doing this for well over an hour now so everyone’s told everything that they know off by heart so Kev figured he may as well outsource a little. The story he was currently reading was called “The Smiling man”. It wasn’t the scariest story I’ve heard but it is apparently based off a true event which always adds a few points. I may not be the scariest story to listen to but I could only imagine what it would be like to be the one experiencing it.
It’s about a guy who used to like to take walks late at night to get out of his house after his roommate fell asleep because it was a good way to clear his mind. He had done this for 4 years without ever a reason to feel scared but that all changed one night. There was a man out on the street that night, dancing a slow waltz as he walked. If it couldn’t get any stranger he was wearing a smile… a creepy, unnatural smile that creased wide across his cheeks. A little shaken up, he crossed the road as the stranger came closer to him. When he turned back the guy had stopped and was turned to face him as he looked up at the sky.
He turned and kept walking, taking his eyes away for no more than 10 seconds before looking back across the road. He was relieved to see the man was gone; until he realised that like himself, the stranger had also crossed the road. The strange man started sneaking towards him in large, exaggerated steps; like in the old cartoons. The guy tried to run but he couldn’t, he was frozen in fear. The smiling man got closer and closer, stopping mere metres from him. He stood there smiling that twisted grin before turning and after what felt like forever, dance-walked away.
Unable to take his eyes off the man he watched as he got further and further away. Just when he was far enough to almost be out of sight he noticed something; the figure was no longer dancing and nor was he moving further away. His silhouette was getting bigger and bigger as he came back; only this time he was running. This time the guy did to. Running until he reached the nearest road with lots of light and traffic. Turning around he noticed the smiling man was nowhere to be seen. He never saw the man again but for the rest of his time living in that city he has never been able to go for another late night walk.
And that’s it. Like I said; not the scariest story but in terms of true events it’s pretty far up the list of fucked up.
“Well that was boring” Kev frowned before scrolling back through his phone; most likely looking for another story.
“I dunno” Skye pondered, “Could you imagine being the guy telling the story. How fucked up would that be?” I nodded my head in agreement as Kevin scoffed.
“He was obviously just drunk” he stated, “I would have just knocked him cold if he came at me”
“You say that now” Skye chuckled, “but I’ve seen you try to walk down a dark alley way. That was funny enough; let alone a dark street with a crazy person”
“Pfft, that was what? 3-4 years ago?” Kevin asked defensively.
“It was last year” she said matter-of-factly with a teasing edge to her tone, “No need to go acting all tough in front of Tee over here”
I couldn’t help but laugh as Kev and Teegan both responded at the same time. “What?” They both asked in unison; their voices sounding as if they were taken by surprise.
“Don’t go acting dumb!” Imogen laughed, “Whereabouts did you two get off to today huh? You didn’t think we wouldn’t notice both of you gone did you?” She asked, holding her hand over her chest feigning offense. By this point Teegan’s cheeks were a dark shade of red and nervously scratched at the back of his neck. I sat there with wide eyes watching the scene unfold; thinking back they did disappear for quite some time… how did I not realise?
“Next story!” Kev stated, raising his voice, focusing his attention back to his phone.
I joined in as everyone started laughing. “We will find out sooner or later” Skye smirked, “Whether you like it or not little brother”
Kev groaned at her words. “We’re twins!” he stated, “We’re the same age!
“Skye just laughed at him. “Who came out first?”
“That’s not the poi-” Kev started but Skye cut him off.
“That’s precisely the point. I’m you’re big sister… and you’re my little brother”
“Whatever” He muttered.
“That’s what I thought” she chuckled triumphantly.
Kev was silent for a few moments as he scrolled through his phone before his eyes widened. “I hope you’re all ready because I think we may have hit the jackpot” he grinned, “This one’s actually about camping… how exciting.”
I felt Chase tense against me at his words. He’s been so quiet that I almost forgot that he was there. “Don’t worry” I mumbled, trying to reassure him, “It’s just a story.”
“Try telling that to my imagination” He chuckled quietly.
I frowned before placing a gentle kiss against his forehead. “I’m afraid that’s up to you”
“It’s called ‘I’m outside your tent’ Kevin read, “And it’s supposed to be a true story… excellent” Kev chuckled.
“How is that excellent?!” Seb asked exasperated, “Why the hell would you read a story about something being outside your tent when you are sleeping in a tent?! It’s insane”
Kevin just shrugged, “Adrenaline?” he stated as if it was obvious.
“Whatever!” Seb raised his hands in mock surrender, “I’m going to bed and I’m going to listen to music so that I can’t hear your stupid story. Good night everyone” With that he was up and gone, heading back to our tent. I chuckled as he cautiously checked the inside with his phone light before entering.
“We can go too if you want” I whispered to Chase. I know I didn’t have to go with him but I didn’t really want to leave him alone right now.
He shook his head stubbornly, “I’m good” he assured me, a slight confidence in his tone.
“Yes sir” I chuckled, pulling him closer against me as Kevin started reading.
‘What I am about to tell you is a something that actually happened to me a few years ago. People are probably going to say that I made it up or that I’m crazy or I was just dreaming or something stupid like that but I’m not an idiot; I know the difference between when I’m awake and when I’m asleep. This most certainly wasn’t a dream and it haunts me every night that I try to go to sleep; I haven’t been camping since the night that it happened.
I was sixteen at the time, sharing a tent with one of my closest friends at our year 10 camp. We were camping in a clearing by a steady flowing river for 4 nights, but what im about to tell you happened on the last night. If I had anything to be glad about from my experience it was that it happened on the last night; if it happened even the night before I wouldn’t have slept a wink or made my parents come to get me. There’s no way I could have handled another night sleeping there after what happened.
The night was like any other; we were all expected to be in our tents by 9:00 and all lights out by 10:00. When 10:00 rolled around the camp site went dead quiet; though it already was pretty quiet because we thought it would be cool to pitch our tent the furthest from the teachers so we were out by ourselves a little. Something I came to regret later that night when my friend announced that he was going out. I asked him what he meant and he told me he was going to his girlfriend’s tent. As cool as I was trying to be I knew I didn’t want to be left alone but at the same time there was no way I was going to admit to that so I just grinned at him; jokingly telling him to go get some.
After he was gone I made sure to zip the tent up nice and secure; spiders and snakes joining me during the night was most definitely not on my to-do list. After a short while without my friend being brought back by a teacher I came to the conclusion that he indeed made it to his girlfriend’s house and despite being alone; I was able to fall to sleep pretty easy.
I don’t know what time it was when I woke back up but I knew something was wrong as soon as I did. I knew that I had my back facing to the entrance because I couldn’t see the opening in the essence of moonlight present but that’s not what bothering me. I could feel a cold draft fanning against the back of my neck. It wasn’t just that it was cold; but it felt like wind… or a slight breeze as it caressed my skin.
A little confused I rolled over so that I could see what was going on. What I saw made my blood run cold. Holding my breath I watched as half of the tent’s fly was undone, the loose flap blowing slightly in the breeze. It was the bottom half that hung undone. It wasn’t possible… I remembered making sure that it was completely done up.
I let out a quiet shriek when I heard the rustling of grass and sound of a twig snapping like someone had stepped on it. It wasn’t until then did I notice the shadow that resided on the entrance to the tent… it was moving. Someone was outside my tent. I could feel the tears stinging at my eyes as I sat there frozen, horrified as I tried to construct a plan on what to do. All I could think was that I was going to die… there’s a murderer outside my tent and I’m going to die. Though, for all I knew it was a prank by my friends. He may not have gone to his girlfriend’s tent and now he’s trying to scare the shit out of me… and it was working.
I remember saying my friend’s name. I wanted it to sound calm and unaffected but it was nothing of the such… even I could hardly hear the words as they left my mouth. A few seconds passed before I heard a voice respond… and it wasn’t my friend.
“Guess again” The voice chuckled, a crazed tone in his voice. It wasn’t a child’s voice or more specifically; someone in my year… It was a man. The voice was deep but it sounded crazy, like that of a clown when they attended a child’s party.I don’t know what came over me as I reached over, pulling the zipper to the tent closed in one swift movement. I know it didn’t make much of a difference but in the moment it felt like it was going to make a difference. Like it was a barrier between me and whoever was standing right outside my tent.
“Well that wasn’t very nice” He chuckled, “I only wanted to play a game” I could feel my heart pounding away in my chest as my fingers latched onto the zipper.
“Leave me alone” My voice was still quiet, weak and scared but it’s all I could muster in the situation.
“Now why would I do that?” he laughed, “I’ve been watching you. I want to be your friend”
“Wha…what?” I asked, terrified. He’s been watching me? What does that mean?
“I saw that boy leave you alone. He’s a bad friend. I’ll never leave you all alone” His voice was like torture as it invaded my ears. I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to tell myself that this was all a dream and that I had to wake up.
“Come on James” He laughed, “You don’t have to be scared. I’m outside your tent. It’s cold; can I come in?”
“No” I stated loudly. I don’t know where my voice came from but I’m glad it did… how the hell did he know my name?
“Why not?” He asked, his voice suddenly taking on an impatient edge. “I just want to be your friend.”
“I don’t want to be your friend” The last thing I should be doing is making him mad but the last thing I wanted was from him to get in my tent. Only god knew what would have happened if he did.
I waited for his reply but all I heard was silence. The seconds felt like hours as I sat there, waiting for a reply. I felt my body relax slightly in relief… was he gone?
I screamed when he started pulling on the zipping, trying to tear open the zip to get inside. “I’m outside your tent James” He yelled, “Let me in your tent James. I want to be your friend James.” His voice was loud and full of anger as I held onto the zip, stopping him from being able to pull it open.
I didn’t stop screaming until whoever was on the other side stopped pulling on the zip and admittedly; even after they did it took a few seconds for me to calm down enough to stop. A few seconds passed before the blade of a knife slashed through the fabric of the tent. I watched wide eyed as he stuck his head through the whole and grinned at me. I couldn’t make out what he looked like because of the darkness but there was no doubt in my mind that he was crazy. I remember him saying something before running off as the sound of other people filled the night. It was the other students and I could even hear the teachers yelling for everyone to remain calm as their voices got louder as they approached. Never in my life had I been so happy to see a teacher.
As I said; it’s been a few years since that night but to this day I have never had a peaceful night’s sleep. Not because of what happened, but because of what he said when he stuck his head through the hole in my tent and stared at me with his crazed eyes. I can still hear them like it was yesterday and it terrifies me every second of my life to think he’s still lurking in the darkness and around every corner I walk passed. That I’m going to wake up one night to a tap on my window and hear his crazed voice telling me he’s outside my window and that he wants to be my friend. It fuelled my nightmares and it chilled me to the bone to think that he was going to keep his word from that cold, wet night when he whispered to me; “I’ll be back for you”.’
“That one wasn’t too bad” Kevin praised, nodding his head approvingly. Though I heard Skye respond to him I stopped paying attention to them as I focused my attention to Chase as his finger nails dug into my skin. It hurt a little but I didn’t care; If it gave him comfort then it was worth the little bit of pain it was providing.
“Relax” I whispered, pulling him against me and kissing his forehead.
“Sorry” he mumbled, releasing his grip on me.
“It’s okay” I smiled, pressing my lips against his and kissing him. I didn’t care if I was nothing but a distraction in that moment as he kissed me back forcefully; like he was trying to erase the memory of the story he just heard. If I’m honest I wanted to be a distraction… his distraction. It felt good knowing that I was able to make him feel better, even in a time of fear.
I leant my head against his after we pulled away. “How are you feeling now?” I asked teasingly, a cocky grin on my face.
“Better” he mumbled, playing with my hands nervously.
“After that wonderful story, I’m off to bed” Teegan stated. Only seconds passed before Imogen and Skye agreed; saying their goodnights as they headed to their tent.
“I guess I may as well go as well” Kev grinned, “Wouldn’t want to cock-block you two love birds”
“Whatever Kev” I laughed, “good night ya tool”.
“Night” Chase said beside me before going silent.
“Chase?” I asked quietly.
“Yeah?” His voice was quiet; it was obvious the story had shaken him up a little.
“Do you want me to slee- stay with you tonight?” I asked nervously; I’ve never slept with another guy before. Well I have, just not in an intimate way and though I doubted he would, part of me feared he would decline.
I felt him nodding his head against me. “Yes… please” His voiced sounded slightly desperate as he spoke. Why was I even worried? Even if he said no I would have gone with him… there was no way I was leaving him alone like this.
“Thank you” The words left my mouth before I could stop them but I didn’t take them back or change my phasing. I was thankful, for what exactly I wasn’t sure but I knew I was. I was thankful for him; for him being here and for him giving me permission to be able to sleep with him. I was thankful for many things that night but nothing prepared me for the feelings I had when I fell asleep with him in my arms. Something about the moment gave me a feeling of completion as I held him against my chest as he slept, like he was something that I have needed for a long time; I just hadn’t found it yet. Even though it took him a while because of his nerves; we lay there together talking and laughing until sleep finally consumed him, closely followed by my own slumber.
-End of chapter 11-
A/N – To make up for the fact that this took approximately 2 weeks for me to write.. i made it the longest chapter yet; just under 4000 words. Though it sorta just happened so i guess it doesnt really count 0.o
Attached song is ‘Georgia’ by ‘Vance Joy’. Doesnt really have much to do with the chapter but its a beautiful song.. that much i know.
Thank you for your patience and thank you for reading! If my calculations are correct there is only going to be 2 more chapters after this. 3 depending on how it goes.
Until next time 😀
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