Elise's POV
As soon as the three of us emerged from the dark trail, the guys stood up from their foldable chairs like some kind of synchronized boyband alert system.
"There you are!" James said, arms out in exasperation. "Took you long enough. We were about to send out a search party."
"Where'd you guys go?" Twan asked, frowning.
"Someone from the other group was bothering Elise," Minho said flatly. "Ryan and I had to step in."
That definitely earned a shift in the air.
"What do you mean bothering?" Travis half-drunk but still sharp—tilted his head.
Elise cleared her throat. "It wasn't, like, that big of a deal. Just... one of the guys thought I looked familiar or something. He got a little too persistent."
"Persistent how?" James asked, voice suddenly not so jokey.
Ryan added, "He was pushing it. Asking her if she went to some party three weeks ago. Said he swore he saw her."
"Elise doesn't party," Twan said automatically.
"Exactly." Ryan shrugged. "Guy wouldn't take the hint. Minho and I stepped in. He backed off after that."
There was a short silence.
Then Travis muttered, "Freakin' creeps."
James rolled his shoulders. "Should've let us handle it. I would've decked him."
"You would've fallen face-first," Minho muttered.
I waved my arms. "Guys, seriously. I'm okay. He's gone, and I'm here."
"You shouldn't have walked off alone," Twan said, still visibly bothered.
"I didn't mean to," I replied, hugging myself. "I just needed air."
"You got more than that," Ryan said with a snort, trying to break the tension. "Let's all cool down, yeah?"
"Yeah, yeah," James said, walking back toward the fire. "Alright. Who wants more marshmallows? We've got like... fifty sticks."
"Fifty?" I blinked.
"Never doubt my foresight," he replied, and just like that, the mood loosened. They all returned to their seats, the firelight flickering back into normalcy. I gave Minho one last glance before sitting again. He didn't meet my eyes.
...
The fire popped, scattering sparks into the sky like tiny stars trying to escape. The other group had left maybe an hour ago, one of the guys practically fireman-carrying their two drunk girls down the slope. Our own circle had thinned too. Travis was snoring in his chair, one sandal missing and a skewered marshmallow still balanced in his fingers.
Ryan sat near the fire, poking at the embers as he passed the shots still. Twan and James were on either side of me, laughing at some dumb joke about Twan's suspiciously empty bottle of matcha soda. Minho? He was just across from me, arms crossed, quiet.
I was drunk.
Like college party drunk, but enough to feel that light fuzz in my head, enough that the rocks beneath my feet felt like clouds. Enough to think one very specific, very stupid thought.
"I wanna swim." I said.
Heads turned.
"Excuse me?" Twan blinked.
"You heard me." I was already slipping my shoes off. "I mean, we're here. There's water. It's hot. I'm hot. This makes sense."
"Elise," Minho said, sitting up straighter.
"Bad idea," Ryan muttered. "You're tipsy."
"I am a graceful tipsy," I defended. "And I can swim. Like, real strokes and everything. Backstroke, freestyle. Pwede pa akong mag-Olympics."
"You're slurring Taglish," Twan said gently. "That's a red flag."
But I was already on my feet, arms raised like I'd just won an argument with science. "Catch me if I drown!" I sang.
"Elise—" James stood up.
But too late. I ran down the embankment, rocks kicking beneath my soles, and launched myself into the water with a squeal and a splash. The water was cold. Like ice-bucket challenge level cold. My breath caught in my throat. But damn it felt alive.
"Elise!" someone shouted—Minho?
I laughed, treading water with my arms waving sloppily. That was when I slipped under for real. Panic bubbled into my chest. The rock beneath me must've shifted and my balance was gone and— Two strong arms yanked me upward, out of the water, against a warm chest.
"Are you crazy?!" Minho's voice snapped inches from my face as he dragged me onto the bank.
"Debatable," I coughed, sopping wet and dizzy.
He hauled me up, water dripping from my soaked clothes, and glared down at me with fire in his eyes.
"You could've hit your head!"
"But I didn't," I whispered.
Minho opened his mouth probably to yell more—but instead he let out a deep exhale and shoved his hand through his hair. "Unbelievable."
"Elise!" James came running down the slope, Twan trailing behind. "What happened?"
"She jumped in like it was a hotel pool," Minho snapped.
"She alright?" Twan asked, kneeling beside me.
"I'm fine," I muttered, my teeth beginning to chatter. "Just a little wet." I winked. WHY did I wink?
"That was dumb," James said, but his hand was already on my back, gently rubbing warmth there.
Then, from the corner, Travis stirred. "Wha—what's happening?"
"She jumped into the river," Ryan called.
Travis blinked, then slowly, like a very tired superhero, stood and peeled off his zip-up jacket.
"I have no idea what's happening," he mumbled, half-asleep, "but take this before you freeze."
He peeled off his jacket in one slow, fluid motion, revealing the plain shirt underneath, tight around his torso, his abs doing unnecessary cameos under the firelight. I swear Minho rolled his eyes so hard his soul left his body.
Travis then stumbled back to his chair and immediately passed out again.
I took the jacket and slipped it over my shoulders, the warmth spreading fast. "Thanks," I whispered, even if he couldn't hear.
Minho didn't say anything. I caught him glancing at the jacket before looking away.
Later, after the chaos had died down and we'd all returned to the fire, things started to mellow. James passed around cups again. "One last round," he said.
I curled up in Travis's jacket, my hair still damp and my limbs buzzed from cold and alcohol. Ryan leaned forward, stretching. "Alright, next game—say something you'll forget by morning."
I raised a brow. "Thaz the gameee?"
James chuckled, swirling his cup. "I'll go first."
I leaned back, expecting a dumb joke or flirty tease. Instead, he looked at me. Directly.
"Elise... earlier," he said. Then he downed his drink before continuing. "That thing I said... I meant it."
Silence. I blinked. My heart dropped.
James sat up straighter. "I get how dumb I'm supposed to seem in this group, a hotshot, cliché, whatever. But I— I just wanted to say that...that was real. I got what I earned and then some. But you... are really something."
My mouth went dry. I didn't blink.
He laughed half-softly. "And you're probably too drunk to remember this in the morning." He flicked ash at the grass. "Okay? Now I earned the hotheaded rep again."
My heart thudded.
"That doesn't mean it's not real, though," he added, shrugging. "That's all. Carry on." He said seriously, way too serious.
Nobody said anything. Even the fire crackled a little quieter.
Ryan cleared his throat. "So... anyone else want marshmallows?"
...
Time passed, and by 3:30 a.m., only the fire and the occasional snore from Travis broke the silence. Twan had closed his eyes, head tilted back. Ryan was flipping through his playlist on low volume. Minho and James were still awake, looking at the dying flames.
Me? I was curled up in a blanket, watching shadows flicker. Everything was warm and slow and a little fuzzy. Eventually, I let myself drift...
...
Twan's POV
She was asleep. I could tell by the way her fingers stopped twitching around the edge of the blanket, her head tilted just slightly, lips parted in soft breaths. She looked peaceful, almost dreamlike—especially with the firelight casting gold over her features.
"She's asleep," I murmured.
"Leave her," James whispered beside me, slouched back in his chair.
But... I didn't want to.
The air had shifted. Everyone was mellowing out. Travis was snoring softly across from us, curled up with someone's hoodie like it was a plushie. Ryan had wandered off to grab water, and Minho—he was standing at the tree line again as he smoked, half in shadow, half watching us.
I stood. The gravel crunched under my shoes as I stepped around the dying embers of the fire, careful not to trip over the cooler or the scattered marshmallow sticks. I crouched down beside her. Her brows twitched faintly, like she was still trying to fight sleep. I hesitated.
Then slowly, gently, I slid my arms beneath her—one under her knees, the other supporting her shoulders. She stirred at the movement, mumbling something incoherent that sounded suspiciously like "no more kwek kwek."
I bit back a laugh. "It's okay," I whispered, lifting her like she might break. She didn't even stir after that. Just snuggled a little deeper into the warmth of my chest, her cheek brushing my hoodie.
I walked slowly toward the tent, careful not to jostle her. She was light—warmer than I expected. The kind of warmth you didn't want to let go of.
The zipper to the tent was already halfway undone. I knelt down, balancing Elise as carefully as I could in my arms. But before I could settle her inside, I felt it—that unmistakable tingle of being watched. I looked up.
Minho stood at the tree line, arms crossed now, hands tucked under his biceps like he was holding something in. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes? They were fixed. On me. On her. I wasn't sure which. But it wasn't just Minho.
Ryan, sitting by the cooler with a half-finished bottle in hand, glanced up. He didn't say anything, but the way his eyes followed Elise as I carried her past him... yeah. He noticed.
James, who had just finished tossing more wood into the fire, froze mid-motion. His smirk faded a little as he caught sight of us. His eyes dropped to Elise—tucked into my arms like she belonged there. Something flickered in his expression. Something he quickly masked by his usual smirk, yet it didn't quite reached his eyes.
Even sleepy-eyed Twan noticed. Wait, I'm Twan. God, maybe I'm the one who's overthinking now. I looked down at her. Just one more second. Her lashes fluttered slightly against her cheek, her face calm and soft and completely unaware of the quiet chaos I was carrying her through.
I knelt, finally easing her onto the sleeping mat inside the tent. She murmured something, a sleepy, incoherent mumble—before curling onto her side. I tucked the blanket over her shoulders gently, letting it pool around her like she was royalty.
Then I slid the zipper closed behind me with a soft shhht leaving Elise to her sleep. When I stood, I expected the others to have gone back to what they were doing. But no one moved.
Ryan sipped his drink again, pretending not to look. James turned the stick in his hand like he was trying to keep himself busy. And Minho... Minho was still by the trees, motionless, staring at that tent like it had swallowed something sacred. I met his eyes briefly. He didn't move.
Didn't blink. Didn't speak. I didn't either. And in that loaded silence, where crackling fire and distant water filled the space between us—one thing became clear: They all saw it. They all felt it. And no one was going to say a damn thing. Not yet, anyway. But things?
They were definitely changing...