WILL POV-

---- Monday 10:12 AM ----

"No way! I'm actually here!" Will smiled bright jumping up and down. He clutched his backpack ensuring it didn't wobble. The small boy was ecstatic, not only was he going on a luxurious camping trip; he would also be in his favourite chapter of the comic. It wasn't clear how it would pan out, but it didn't matter, he was just elated to be going. The camping segment was always beautifully drawn, with log cabins and luscious pockets of greenery in the woods giving a mystical feeling to the story.

"Hehe" He chuckled loudly; it was the first time he was going on a trip like this. In his high school they only ever went on one camping trip. It lasted a week and Will was unable to go because no one wanted to share a room with him. It put a damper on his mood and so decided not to go as he would just feel like a nuisance if he went with people who merely tolerated his presence.

Will shook his head, trying not to think about his non-existent friend circle. He looked around the train station; it was weird seeing other students in their non-uniform clothing. He could see what other people liked to wear on their day out. El said clothes are the window to the soul; Will knew that saying was wrong but he allowed it not wanting to burst her mojo.

"WILL! I FORGOT MY BLUE DRESS!" The doe-eyed girl screamed running over with all her bags, having almost triple the amount of bags he did. She shuffled to stand next to him "We need to go back home!"

Will rolled his eyes "We can't go now the train is going to pick us up!"

"B-but" El pouted clutching the handle of her suitcase "I was going to wear that later"

"If we go back, we will literally miss the train" Will deadpanned pointing at the arrival sign

"Fine!" El huffed spotting Max a few meters away, "Hold my bags" throwing them to the boy causing him to stumble as he tried to catch the handles

Will glanced over; a piece of him felt jealous wanting someone to be that excited to see him. Unexpectedly a hand presented itself on the shoulder of the smaller boy

"So, are you excited?" The voice spoke

"UH..." Will flinched not knowing who's hand it was. Turning around he saw Dustin wearing a summer shirt over a graphic tee with a baseball cap, seemingly ready for the trip.

"Geez Dustin, you almost gave me a heart attack!" Will answered the question producing a toothy grin.

"Oh, so I failed" Dustin jokingly pouted

"Very funny!" The brunette sarcastically deadpanned

"Is this the first time you're going on a camping trip?" Dustin questioned

"Yeah! It is" Will's smile grew bright

"They don't take you camping where you're from?" The curly haired boy tilted his head

"Umm... it got cancelled" Will lied not wanting to expose the real reason for being unable to go on his school's camping trip.

"Well let's make this one to remember, huh?" Dustin encouraged; excited for the trip himself.

"OKAY CLASS" Mr Clark screamed alerting the class to his attention. Almost the entire year was here as they all turned to face him standing with a few other teachers. Will and Dustin also turned to face him; not wanting to miss anything.

"I will take attendance and then we'll have another attendance taken inside" He shouted as the students separated into their classes. One by one the teacher began listing names hearing the students affirm they were present. Will looked both ways seeing no sign of Lucas and Mike. He shrugged not thinking of it any longer. Dustin nudged his side, whispering to him "It's your name"

"Oh... HERE!" Will screamed loudly but saw Troy and James from the corner of his eyes snickering at him. He looked away not wanting to be their main bullying target for this camping trip, scratching his arm seeing two familiar girls run up to him passing their phones over to Will

"Can you take our picture?" El pleaded batting her eyelashes

"Do I have a choice?" Will remarked

El chuckled walking over to Max as they made different poses; continuingly changing every few seconds. The boy rolled his eyes wishing the girls would find the best pose to take the picture but taking a second look at their faces Will directed them to better lighting. Since Johnathon was a photographer for a newspaper; he knew some of the tricks when it came to angles and lighting.

Will shuffled to the side taking a step until he hit something "Sorry!" He instinctually replied, too engrossed in his photography to look up

"Be more careful" The voice huffed, remembering the voice to be Mike, he rolled his eyes continuing on his way.

"You both look adorable!" Will smiled taking the final photo of the pair. Mike and Dustin stood behind Will observing this whole ordeal. The ravenette looked over his shoulder to see the soft smile of the brunette.

The small boy handed the phones back to them, taking multiple pictures on each as they excitedly scrolled through, "You've got a good eye for this" Max remarked

"Thanks!" Will smiled looking away toward the two boys. Dustin crossed his arms pouting "I wish I had a girlfriend to take pictures with"

"Maybe we should find you a girlfriend on this trip Dustin!" Will excitedly cheered

"Ugh relationships!" Mike grumbled

"What? You don't like relationships?" the brunette tilted his head; it confused him, after all this was a romance comic and the main character had no interest in dating, this far into the chapters.

"They're a waste of time" The ravenette huffed

"You think everything is a waste of time!" Dustin mocked

Mike rolled his eyes; he didn't want to hear anything about relationships. They were a waste of time, and he hasn't found anyone he would like to date. He used to like El but recently noticed he lost the romantic feelings he once had.

"But relationships seem like fun!" The brunette playfully joked.

"Have you ever been in one?" Dustin questioned

"No..." Will admitted just as the train passed to a screeching halt. The classes jumping in the moment the doors opened. The group walked around scanning the deck for the best seats but because Mike led, the other students' eyes widened in awe moving out the way to allow the ravenette to get pass and choose a table seat.

Will stretched placing one of his bags at the top but couldn't reach for the second one that was heavier. He tiptoed, barely able to reach the shelf to put his things securely; Troy pushed pass him making the small boy stumble to one side as he tripped on his own feet. Mike caught him stopping him from falling to the floor. The boys stared into each other's eyes.

Time seemed to stop as their faces were inches apart. Will stared at the boy's features examining them carefully; his raven mullet was perfect. His pink lips pursed and his dark eyes deep, showing a million words he wouldn't dare to say.

"Be careful" Mike huffed throwing the boy forward, so he was standing up straight. Will blushed; being that close to the ravenette brought a twisting feeling to his gut. Was that normal? But the small boy had no time to question as he blinked sitting down in his seat, shuffling to the window so he could get a good view.

Dustin and Mike sat opposite facing him; separated only by a measly table while his stepsister and Max sat behind. A hand reached over from behind his seat to pull on his hair.

"I got your hair" The girl joked grabbing a fistful of Will's chestnut hair in her grip

"Ow! Why am I being attacked" Will defended himself clawing at El's hands

"Cause it's fun!" She exclaimed

"Max please tell her to stop!" Will complained as he was pulled up from his seat

"Fine" the redhead chuckled "Let him go now!"

"But this was your idea" The doe-eyed girl pouted letting go of his hair.

Will pet his head; the hair pulled from the roots that it hurt his scalp. "It was?" Will screamed climbing on his seat to face the two girls.

"You're sitting on that seat wrong!" A voice mocked walking over to the group

"Lucas?" Will's eyes widen as the athletic boy pops beside him "Where did you come from?"

"Mr Clark wanted me to help with rollcall!" He shrugged

"Oh cool" Will affirmed, shuffling back to a normal seating position "Why do you have that camera?"

"To take amazing pictures!" Lucas joked

"Ohh is that a polaroid camera?" The brunette's eyes glinted.

"Mhm" Lucas nodded, taking the camera around his neck to his eye. It was expensive; green with light blue accents and extremely noticeable from miles away. Will's smile grew shuffling in his seat; he saw a lot of different types of cameras but never a polaroid one. It intrigued him, always wanting one for himself.

"C-can I see it?" Will stammered unsure if Lucas would trust him with such expensive equipment

"Oh of course" The athletic boy smiled taking the lanyard off his neck and passing the camera to the smaller boy.

"Can I see it after him?" Dustin questioned

"NO!" Lucas didn't even take a moment to think

"Why not?" The curly haired boy whined

"Because you're very accident prone" Lucas deadpanned

"Bullshit! Will falls more than me" Dustin complained

"Hey! don't throw me under the bus with you" Will pouted placing the camera securely in his lap

"We are actually on a train right now" Dustin attempted to joke but it flew over everyone's head

"Dustin, I swear-" Will chuckled raising a fist in the air

"CAN YOU LOT SHUT UP?" Mike harshly spoke cutting off the smaller boy. Will flinched; the other two boys were used to Mike screaming but not Will; he didn't like when people shouted. It scared him; his hand shook as Will breathed deep trying to remove that thought out his brain as he turned his attention back to Lucas; his calming river.

Will remained silent, afraid of being shouted at again; Lucas and Dustin unaffected by his words returning to the same bubbly volume they were before. Mike had been acting different ever since Friday; sometimes he would be very friendly while other times he would be insufferable. It was almost as though he would flip-flop between personalities not knowing which was his. The source of this personality change confused the small boy, but he shook his head observing Lucas's camera and taking a few pictures of the group.

He tapped El and Max on the head, telling them to get into the picture. They happily ran over to the boys posing. Will lifted the camera into the air

"Say cheese!" 

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1850 Words

Stay Safe <3