Chapter 6: Oh, Boy

A/N: Thanks to jim for editing!

I practically jumped out of bed Saturday morning. Something about an impending road trip woke me right up. I dressed quickly and pulled the bag I'd packed two days ago out from under my bed and made my way into the living room where everyone else already seemed to be up and moving.

Aiden had already been home, dressed and packed, and now he was back, helping Tony roll up some sleeping bags that we'd left to air out the night before. Before I even reached the living room, Chris appeared in front of me and slapped something into my hand.

"Owen, go get food," he said shortly. He sounded so asleep that I had to look up to make sure his eyes were actually open.

I looked at the cash in my hand and my eyes about popped out.

"Two hundred bucks on food?" I asked incredulously; I mean, we were only going to be gone for two days.

"Yep, and why don't you take Aiden with you," Chris suggested. "You can pick up Adam and Shane on your way back."

I shrugged. "Sure." Going grocery shopping wasn't my favorite task, but I'd make the best of it.

Aiden had heard Chris and was waiting at the door. He picked up his bag and Tony's and I grabbed mine and Chris's and we made our way out. We packed all four bags into the bed of my truck with the tents and equipment that Tony and Chris had packed in that morning. We'd decided a few days ago that we'd take two vehicles--my truck and Tony's car--to fit everyone and all of our gear.

As excited as I was about the trip, neither Aiden nor I said anything until we got to the grocery store. I think we were both still trying to wake up, but as we filled a shopping cart with random munchies we seemed to wake up and had a fun time with it. We grabbed snacks, soda and meat--hotdogs, hamburgers, and even steak; and then we picked up things we hadn't really thought about before like bug spray and sunscreen. We even walked away with things like Handy-wipes and Listerine.

We ended up checking out with a new trainee so it seemed to take forever; and while we were waiting I heard Aiden call out to someone and looked up to see Ryan walking towards us with a grin on his face, dimples intact. He was also wearing one of the store's red aprons and a nametag.

"I didn't know you were working today," Aiden said as they slapped hands and hugged briefly.

"Yeah, the guy you got to cover your shift today called in sick," Ryan told him with mock annoyance. "So guess who has to cover your shift? You owe me, bro."

"I don't owe you shit," Aiden said, laughing.

"You both work here?" I asked, surprised. I figured I would have known. Then again, grocery shopping wasn't one of my favorite tasks, so it shouldn't be a shock that I hadn't seen either one of them here before.

"Yep," Aiden replied. "For the last year."

"How you doin', Owen?" Ryan asked as he moved past Aiden to greet me. "I hear you crashed out pretty quick the other night."

"And most of yesterday," Aiden added.

I blushed a little, but then looked inquisitively at Aiden about his last statement.

"I came by to see if you were up yesterday before I came over last night," he said, shrugging. "You were crashed out on the couch."

"Oh." I grinned, but I was disappointed that Aiden had come to see me and I'd been asleep. "I guess I haven't really partied like that in a while... or ever, depending on how you look at it."

Ryan chuckled. "Don't worry about it," he insisted throwing an arm around my shoulder. "We'll get you into the swing of things." And then he looked towards the stuff we were waiting for the cashier to ring up and whistled. "Damn! What, are you guys leaving for a month?"

"Just the weekend. Chris said to get food," I explained.

"Well, looks like you did that." Ryan smiled as he released me, and then he helped Aiden and I bag it and pile it into the cart. I paid and Ryan walked us out.

"So what are you doing this weekend, Ryan?" Aiden asked as we loaded up the truck.

"Well, Leo's taking Ben somewhere for their anniversary, so I thought I'd hang out with Jake. He's been sort of depressed lately, so I thought I'd cheer him up."

"Dude, we both know that there is only one person who can cheer him up, and it ain't you," Aiden remarked.

They fell silent for a moment, both seemingly lost in thought before I interrupted.

"Am I missing something?" I asked.

Aiden smiled at me and shook his head. "You don't know?"

"Know what?" I asked.

"Tony and Jake," Ryan said, and somehow the two names together didn't surprise me. "They've got it bad for each other but the two of them are too stupid to do anything about it."

"That's not entirely true," Aiden said, and then looked at me. "About a month ago, Tony finally got the nerve to ask Jake out, but the whole thing was a disaster and they've steered clear of each other since. The other night was the first time I've seen them talk in months. I was really surprised that Tony was even at the party."

"What happened?" I asked. This seemed interesting, especially since Tony was involved. He'd never talked to me about guys he liked, or that he'd been involved with.

"Well," Ryan said, grinning, "the way we hear it, Jake was supposed to meet Tony at the club."

"Yeah, and Jake has been in love with Tony ever since Tony and Chris first moved to town. Before that night, they were always hanging out, but Jake was too afraid to tell Tony how he felt until the night Tony asked him out," Aiden added.

Ryan groaned and shook his head.

"See," Ryan said, "Jake is really defensive when it comes to his feelings; he doesn't get very open with people, but when he does, he sort of puts it all out there. Well, that night, Jake decided to put it all out there, let Tony know exactly how he feels. So, when he got to the club, he sees Tony coming towards him, and what does he do? He plants the biggest kiss on him; I mean, I wasn't there, but Leo was, and he swore it was so hot it could have fucking melted ice."

Aiden giggled. "Only, it wasn't Tony."

My jaw dropped. I mean, I am the only one I know who could always tell my brothers apart. It was an easy mistake to make, but I had never heard of anything like this happening.

"Shit," I said. "What happened?"

"Well, I think Chris was pretty surprised when his bartender kissed him," Ryan reasoned. "but he was cool about it. Only, Jake was so embarrassed, and to make things worse, Tony saw the whole thing. They still went out on their date, but everything was so awkward after that they ended the night early and they've spent the last month avoiding each other."

I shook my head. "That sucks."

"Yeah, well, until one of them gets over it and makes the next move or moves on, there's not much to be done," Aiden replied. "I just hope seeing each other the other night helped."

I thought about that. The way Tony was looking at Jake made sense now. I genuinely hoped that it would work out for them. Jake was a nice guy, and Tony deserved to be happy.

"Hey, guys, I gotta get back in," Ryan announced. "But hey, I've got something for you, a little extra from the party." He retrieved a rolled joint from his pocket and handed it off to Aiden with a wink.

"Cool," Aiden said, grinning. "Now, I owe you."

Ryan smiled. "Just don't forget it." They hugged again, and then I got a hug from Ryan too before Aiden and I got going again.

I wasn't really sure what to think of another joint. I mean, the other night was fun, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to make a habit out of it. I wondered if it was something Aiden did a lot.

Aiden told me how to get to Adam's house and he was already waiting for us with Shane. They loaded their stuff in the truck and crammed into the little wing seats behind Aiden and me. Shane seemed quiet, but I really didn't know him well enough, and it didn't seem that unusual. But the whole way back Adam chatted excitedly about the trip.

We got back to the apartments, and the four of us managed to pack most of the food into two coolers on the bottom step and loaded everything into the truck and the trunk of Tony's car. I noticed a tarp folded near the steps, and guessing what it was for, Adam and I covered the now loaded bed of my truck while Aiden took Shane upstairs to say hello to my brothers.

When Adam and I got upstairs I noticed that Aiden was happily holding onto a camera that looked exactly like the one that had been broken.

I smiled at him."Cool, you got another one."

"Yeah," he said, hardly taking his eyes from the new camera as he checked it out. Honestly, I knew nothing about cameras, unless they were digital and easy to use, but I'm sure Aiden was taking in every single detail of his new equipment. "Chris picked it up at the school while we were gone. Man, I wasn't sure what I'd do all weekend without this."

"So you're really into that stuff, huh? Photography?"

He grinned and then caught me off guard as he lifted the camera and it flashed, taking my picture. I hated having my picture taken, but I wasn't about to complain and ruin his moment.

"Yeah," Aiden nodded; "since I was little. I've been using the school's cameras since my freshman year, mostly because I don't want anything of my own to get trashed like what happened the other day. But I think this summer I might just go shopping."

"Cool." I smiled. It was nice to see Aiden looking and sounding so excited about something. It was like he was animated in a way I hadn't noticed before.

"I'm gonna run home real quick and grab some more film," Aiden announced. "I think we're leaving soon, can you tell the guys I'll meet them at the car?" He took off before I could answer.

I helped Chris and Tony turn off all the lights, and when we got down to the parking lot, Tony told me to follow them, and gave me directions in case we lost each other; and then, as an extra precaution, Chris gave me his cell phone. I couldn't blame them for the extra precautions--I really, really didn't do well with directions.

I wasn't sure who was riding with me, but that was settled quickly, before it was even discussed, when Aiden reappeared and climbed into my truck. I guess I could have been okay with anyone, but I was glad that it was him. Adam and Shane went with Tony and Chris with no complaints, and we were on our way.

The drive seemed to fly by, but although Tony had originally mentioned a campground twenty minutes away, we went a little farther into the mountains to a more secluded location, and it looked promising.

The sun was out, and the temperature was sweater weather, but not too cold. We found a flat area, a campsite with a barbeque pit, and set up camp, which took a lot longer than we expected because everyone seemed to be goofing around more than anything. We had three tents, and while Chris and Tony had theirs, and Shane and Adam had theirs, I ended up with Aiden again when he threw my bag in his tent, no questions asked.

Chris almost immediately fired up the grill, and the food we picked up that morning went to good use. After we ate lunch we all started to wander, checking out the area, and somehow managed to separate from each other. I ended up with Shane and Chris, and we had some fun exploring. Shane wasn't as quiet anymore and his personality reminded me of Adam's in a lot of ways, although Shane wasn't as chatty. He was a nice guy, but honestly I think he hit it off with Chris more than he did with me.

I had the worst sense of direction, so whenever I wandered I made a point of staying close to someone else, which meant when we ran into some other campers, I couldn't turn and go back on my own like I would have preferred to do.

Remember when I mentioned that I was glad it was a guys-only weekend? Well, the plans changed when we ran into a family with four daughters, ages thirteen, fifteen, sixteen and nineteen. Honestly, they were a nice enough family, the parents looked friendly, but I wasn't very fond of parents anymore.

We sat and talked to them a good hour and found out they lived out of state, but I don't think Chris and Shane cared where they were from after setting their eyes on the daughters of the family. And, I have to admit, for girls, they were pretty attractive. The whole family had blonde hair and the same big, blue eyes. And they were all over us.

I, of course, was not interested, but Shane was all over the situation. I had never really seen him flirt before and it was kind of funny; and Chris, who I remembered being the biggest flirt of all when I was younger, seriously proved that he hadn't changed much, and he seemed to like the eldest daughter enough to invite the whole family for dinner. It turned out all of that food might get used after all.

When we got back, Tony and Adam were already there, and it was just starting to get dark. Tony was as neutral as I was when he found out we had guests coming for dinner, but Shane got Adam excited pretty quickly and they even offered to help with dinner.

I decided to find more wood for the fire without going too far, but I noticed that Aiden was nowhere to be found. I could have sworn that when we separated Aiden had ended up with Tony and Adam, but I could have been wrong.

"Hey, Tony?" I called. "Have you seen Aiden?"

"He went off on his own," Tony replied. "He should be back soon, though." Tony didn't sound worried, so I decided not to be. Apparently Aiden didn't have the same problem with getting lost as I did.

I brought back enough firewood to last us the night, and then some; and after adding some to the fire I did what I could to help with dinner, and before I knew it our guests were walking into the camp. The Luis Family, as they called themselves. I got a kick out of the girls' reaction when they found out that there were two of Chris. Even the parents seemed surprised when they saw Tony, too.

The fifteen- and sixteen-year-olds started following me around like puppies until I got tired of it and sat with Shane and Adam, long enough for them to strike up a conversation with the girls before I moved to the other side of the fire to finish eating.

My head was starting to hurt, and I was feeling the need to be alone again. I had made friends in the last few days, people I liked, but this seemed like too much; I sort of wanted to withdraw back into my shell, and halfway through my meal there was still no sign of Aiden, and it was completely dark by then.

I was distracted when Mr. Luis struck up a conversation with me. He was a big man with a kindly face, but he made me nervous. And as he asked me about school and sports, I couldn't help thinking of my own father. Mr. Luis was a lot nicer than my old man, but still, I didn't like talking to him. I couldn't help it. Parents freaked me out. But fortunately, I think Tony picked up on it and asked me to go find the marshmallows. I was able to excuse myself and I gave Tony a thankful look. He just winked at me.

I was digging the marshmallows out of one of the bags, enjoying my moment of quiet, but it ended when I turned around and one of the daughters was standing there. I couldn't remember if she was the fifteen- or sixteen-year-old, and I definitely couldn't remember her name.

"Hi, Owen," she said, smiling.

Apparently she had been nice enough to remember my name, though.

"Hi," I replied, stepping past her to return to everyone else. She fell into step next to me, walking so close that our shoulders brushed together.

"It's Melissa," she said.

"What?"

"I'm Melissa," she repeated.

"Oh, I knew that," I lied.

"It was really nice of you guys to invite us," she said.

"Yeah, um, no problem." Why the hell did I feel so nervous? Honestly, before I came here I had no problem with girls. Then again, it was all an act before to please my parents. Now, I was just me, and I almost felt naked just being myself without putting on a show.

"So how long will you guys be here for?" she asked me.

"Until tomorrow night, I think," I replied.

"Maybe we can all do something tomorrow," she suggested. "I mean, it could be fun."

"Sure, maybe," I replied. Why I agreed to that, I have no idea, but at least I did it noncommittally.

I tossed the marshmallows to Tony and sat down near him, if anything for protection, but then Melissa sat down right next to me--close to me. Tony only flashed me an amused smile. I ignored him and took a sip of my soda as I looked around the fire.

Chris was having a conversation with Mr. And Mrs. Luis and the eldest Luis daughter, while Tony was entertaining the youngest, making her laugh and asking her to help him with the marshmallows. Shane and Adam seemed to be trying to outdo each other with the one closer to Melissa's age, shutting each other down with embarrassing stories.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Owen?" Melissa asked.

I forced myself to swallow my soda before I choked on it, but I ended up coughing anyway and she giggled as I shook my head 'no.' And, if she wasn't already making me nervous she certainly did when she started to rub my back, as if trying to help me with the coughing.

If I was ever happy to see Aiden, it was at that moment when he showed up. He walked into the camp with his camera around his neck, his jeans and brown jacket dusty and his shoes muddy. His hair was pulled back, but had fallen loose in some places, and he'd never looked better.