They had been on the road for two hours already and Noah had been asleep for half that time. He was awakened by Hayden shaking his shoulder, telling him that they had stopped at a fast food place to get a bite to eat. Noah lifted his head off the window pane glass and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

The action drew a soft and quiet chuckle from Blake who pulled into the drivethru of Wendys. "Twenty years old and you're still adorable and childish when you wake up."

Noah, still not fully awake yet, flicked him off out of annoyance and irritation. "Shut up man."

"C'mon Noah, don't be like that." Blake says, smiling in the rearview mirror. "You know I'm right."

Noah rubbed his face and huffed in an exasperated manner; even though he was annoyed, it was only because he was still tired. He was generally a happy, positive and outgoing person but if he doesn't get enough sleep, he can be like Scrooge on Christmas.

"I know that you're an ass." Noah told him.

"Yeah okay. Whatever you say man." Blake said laughing. "What do you want?"

"Bacanator and fries with a frostie." Noah said, turning to Hayden and winked at him.

"What about you Ry-Guy?"

Noah listened quietly as everyone told Blake what they wanted and started to hand him the money to pay for it but he waved his hand dismissively and said with a smile,

"Don't worry about it. It's on me."

Once they paid for, received and mostly ate the food they ordered, they were back on the road again. Hocking Hills was still four hours away and it was already mid-afternoon. At the speed Blake was driving, Noah assumed that they wouldn't arrive at their destination until late evening.

Not that he minded.

Subconsciously, Noah checked his phone for any messages he may have gotten while he had been asleep. He clicked on his girlfriend, Mary-Anne's name, which was lit up.

Mary-Anne: hey babe, how's it going with your reunion so far?

Noah's fingers moved over the keyboard swiftly and he began typing without realizing it.

Noah: It's going, I guess. I mean, it's been a while since I last saw any of them so it feels kinda weird being around them again.

Mary-Anne: I'm sure it's going to feel weird after so long, baby but that's normal during reunions. Trust me. Have you reached the vacation cabins yet?

Noah's fingers flew over the keyboard as he typed quickly.

Noah: No, not yet. We're still four hours away😣

"Yo, who are you texting man?" Nathan asked hovering over his shoulder.

Noah started and took a moment to calm himself down. He hesitated to tell him, holding his phone against his midsection so he couldn't see the contact number.

"No one." Noah told him, moving his thumb to push the power button on the side of his phone, without Nathan seeing.

"Oh okay." Nathan said.

Noah let the corner of his mouth lift up for a quick second and from the corner of his eye, he saw Hayden watching him with a curious look on his face. Noah ignored it and turned to look out the window at the passing trees, highway signs and other cars all blurring together.

Noah had every right to keep some things, especially personal things, to himself. They didn't need to know every single thing or everyone in his life. Not after all this time and after everything that happened.

* * * *
When they finally arrived at the Hocking Hills Cabins Resort, it was a relief to Noah to get out of the SUV. He was cramped from sitting for so long in the car and he was happy to finally get out and stretch his arms and legs.

Noah glanced around, not surprised at all by the other cabins here. There weren't a lot of them and he counted about fifteen of them in all but from the looks of it, only nine of them were occupied. The woods surrounding the resort were like a shroud, shielding them from the outside world. The place had an airy, mysterious feel to it and it was beautiful.

Noah was so distracted by looking around he almost missed two people making their way toward him and his friends. The closer they got, the more he could see what they looked like in the dimming afternoon light.

One of them was African-American and had short dark brown hair. He had an authoritive feel about him and his brown eyes never wavered. He was tall but not lean. The other was Caucasian with blond hair that was nothing but unruly and blue eyes. He was tall and lean but was a head shorter than the other man. He held a positive vibe but he also seemed like a nervous guy.

When they reached the seven friends, the taller man greeted them with a smile and welcoming words.

"Hello my friends." The man spoke, holding his hand out to Blake. He had an accent that Noah couldn't pinpoint. "I am Jonah and this is my friend and colleague, John. Welcome to the cabin resort."

"I'm Blake Marshall. I rented out the Serenity cabin? And these are my friends." Blake gestured around him.

Everyone mumbled a greeting and it might have been his imagination but he could swear Jonah's smile looked forced now.

"Ah yes. We have it all set for you." Jonah said. "John would you get their bags? I'll show them inside."

John nodded. "Yeah sure."

Noah watched as all six of his friends said thank you to Jonah and began to follow him. Alianna turned back to see him still standing by the car. She inclined her head.

"Noah, you coming?"

Noah glanced over at Jonah who was struggling with the bags and turned back to her. "Nah. I'm gonna help John."

Alianna stared at him for a few seconds before shrugging and heading inside, following the others.

Noah made his way over to the trunk and began to grab a few bags. As he did so he could tell that John was grateful for the help but was refraining from saying anything.

"You know you didn't have to help me." John told him. "So thank you."

"Don't thank me man. I wasn't gonna leave you alone to get our bags." Noah scoffed. "This isn't a hotel and you're not a bellhop."

"Thanks anyway." John said as they carried half the bags into the cabin and set them down on the floor by the stairs.

"I think there's a couple more bags in the trunk. I'll go get them." Noah told John, who nodded at him.

Walking back outside to the car, it was darker than before and Noah stumbled once before he reached the SUV. He wasn't scared of the dark but he suddenly had an eerie feeling that someone was watching him. Noah grabbed the last two bags and as he stepped back to close the trunk, he heard something move in the dark.

Noah paused only for a second and glanced around, searching for the source. "Hello?"

Noah had began to close the trunk when he heard what sounded like footsteps coming from somewhere behind him. He slammed the trunk closed and hearing what sounded like someone whispering, he freaked out, ran up the steps to the cabin door and rushed in, slamming the door shut behind him.

Noah had no idea what the hell just happened but he was sure he didn't want to know or find out.

John walked out of an adjoining room connecting to the main hallway and saw Noah holding two bags. Smiling, John said, "That the last of them?"

Relieved, Noah nodded and returned the smile. "Yeah. That's it."

The Serenity Cabin
The cabin where they are staying

Idris Elba as Jonah Callaghan

Luke Mitchell as John Hamilton

A/N: Hey guys so how was the chapter?

I want to know what you think about the two new characters. Everything!

Also tell me if the suspense toward the end surprised you or not. I hope you guys liked the chapter. Also from now on I will be doing a question of the day that you must answer😊

Question Of The Day: Have you ever watched the Leonardo DiCaprio Romeo and Juliet movie? And if so, did you cry?