📼 ᐟᐟ☆. 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗗𝗢𝗘𝗦𝗡❜𝗧 𝗞𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗬𝗢𝗨
𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗥.  ☆ᐟᐟ 🔦

──★ ˙ ̟. 🚬🪓📺 !!    CHAPTER TWO.
╰┈➤ CH. 1 hackett's quarry forever.

𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋'𝐒 𝐎𝐔𝐓

      "HEY, BOSS! GOT THE BAGS," JACOB CUSTOS TOOK ONE STEP AT A TIME DOWN THE WOODEN STAIRCASE FROM THE PORCH OF THE MAIN CABIN, A SINGULAR BAG IN HIS HAND THAT HE CARRIED WITHOUT WORRY TO THE CAR. Veruca Hollow struggled behind him as she peered over the bag in her hands to watch where she was planting her feet. "You know... my offer still stands- I mean- it's not that much further-"

"Go away!" The blonde hissed. Internally she cursed whoever's bag was in her hands, and whatever belongings they owned that made the bag so awkwardly heavy. Jacob was already at the car when she finally made it and dropped the bag harshly to the dirt as she began to inspect her calloused palms. Perhaps she should have taken him up on his generous offer.

Jacob's eyebrows were raised as he stared at the already exhausted girl, fighting back a comment he knew would agitate the girl. It was, however, built within his nature to poke fun at his long-term best friend. "Wowie... took your time there."

"Well... you know what they say..." Veruca shrugged, "slow and steady wins the race!"

Jacob looked above as he pondered for a moment, "but you didn't-"

"Oh, I- I'm sorry? Did you just offer to be left at the side of the road with your stuff so there's more room in the van?" Veruca placed her hands on her hips, pursing her glossed lips as she stared the man down.

"Right and- and who's the one driving?" Jacob gestured to her before pointing at himself as she shook her head. "That's what I thought..."

Kaitlyn faced away from the trunk of the car, eyeing up the pair in front of her as the dust clouds from the bags hitting the dirt finally began to dissipate. Her gaze fell upon Jacob as she began to plot her next attack, "well, good thing you weren't all by yourself, huh? Since that's something you're gonna have to used to."

"Ohhhh! Good one, Kait," Veruca cheered, a toothy smile spread on her face. "Up top!" The two girls allowed their palms to collide, the crack of their skin echoing through the woods of Hackett's Quarry whilst Jacob watched in betrayal.

He hit the back of his hand against the blondes shoulder. "Okay... so not to totally burst your bubble, blondie... but last time I checked you were MY best friend and are only supposed to laugh at MY jokes, and not laugh at any jokes about me?" He laughed nervously, gesturing to Veruca subtlety before his hand migrated over toward Kaitlyn, pointing a finger almost directly in her face, "and you- you are so mean."

"You laugh at jokes about me all the time...?" Veruca thought of all the times during the past two months alone. Her fingers began to rise as she began to count in silence, mouthing the numbers.

"Geez, okay! I got it," Jacob admitted defeat, "still, both of you are so mean. Especially you."

As Kaitlyn loaded the first bag that Jacob had carried down from the cabin into one of the empty spaces she had managed to clear in the trunk of the van, she scoffed at Jacob's direct statement toward her, "hey, at least I'm honest."

"Ohh- Okay, here we go," Jacob deadpanned as he prepared to take more hits than he already had about the whole break up situation, "I'm ready for round three hundred of Jacob bashing for the day."

Turning her head swiftly over her shoulder to look at Jacob, Kaitlyn's black bob wavered in the light wind, "okay, you're not tellin' me the whole truth 'bout you'n' Emma, are ya son?" She contemplated for a moment before her eyes darted over toward Veruca, "scratch that... both a'ya aren't tellin' me the truth."

The blonde raised her arms and shuffled against the first until her rear was pressed against the edge of the trunk, where she allowed herself to lean, "hey- I'm not the one with major Emma issues... that one," she pointed a finger over to the man in front of her, "is up to the man of the hour."

"You two are totally ganging up on me right now," Jacob's gaze passed between the two girls at the opening of the trunk. "Look... how is it that I'm not the one telling the whole story, huh?" He pointed a finger at himself whilst raising an eyebrow at the dark haired girl.

"Well this is the bait I just gotta take, Jake," Kaitlyn attempted to divert the attention from herself and lead the conversation toward a new direction. She knew it was a poor attempt, and so did everyone around her — evident by their faces.

"Oh!" Veruca looked looked to her left with an encouraging smile on her face as she sighed, "that was..."

"Totally rocked it, huh?" Kaitlyn kept it going in a new direction.

The blonde pondered for a moment as she looked toward Jacob and shook her head, gathering his reaction to ensure she was not being wrong had she fully disagreed, "perhaps we should stick to part time camp counselling for the summer, Eminem? No offence, of course." The smile Veruca offered after was genuine.

"Yeah that was... tragic stuff, really," Jacob muttered in agreement under his breath, adjusting the black snapback on his head.

"Gosh I distracted us all with that incredible rhyme, I forgot what we were...?" The dark haired girl attempted yet again to seal her fate of fully weaseling out of the conversation that was going in her direction, and not in a good way. At least not in her books.

"Oh, no no no no-" Jacob stopped her, "uhhh, you were just telling us how you totally have this thing for Ryan, remember?"

Veruca's smile fell as she straightened her leaning posture against the trunk, "that's what you've been hinting at this entire time? I thought it was gonna be something more... uh, how do I say this? Interesting?"

"Wouldn't be the first time you weren't able to pick up of such hints," Kaitlyn muttered to herself — keeping it just low enough to where neither in front of her could hear as she offered a passing glance between both Jacob and Veruca, catching the way the man looked at the blonde for only a split second.

Licking her lips in curious thought, Veruca finally looked up at Kaitlyn. "Seriously? Snooze fest Ryan with his ghost stories? That's what does it for you? No offence, but the man can hardly keep up a normal conversation, Kait..."

"See? The same snooze fest Ryan that's the sailing instructor with a sexy, brooding loner thing that totally doesn't do anything for me at all?" Kaitlyn rolled her eyes.

Jacob leaned on the heels of his shoes with a shit-eating grin on his face, "uhh huh, "sexy", huh?"

"Hottest at camp by far," Kaitlyn played into the interrogation against her.

"Um... ew? Definitely not," Veruca shivered at the thought, "what's hot about a dude who sits alone in a corner and mopes around all day because he doesn't have a funny bone in his body?" Her gaze moved past Jacob and toward where the basement was located. Amongst the darkness she could faintly see Ryan with his headphones plugged in. How he had managed to get his phone was beyond her.

Kaitlyn suddenly smiled, crossing her arms as she looked over at Veruca, "oh? And who would you say is the hottest at camp, V?"

Jacob clapped his hands together and smiled before coughing, switching up his stance to match Kaitlyn's as he crossed his arms over his chest, "yeah, V... so who is it?"

Veruca looked over at Jacob before she directed her squinted gate at Kaitlyn. She knew she was being set up. Licking her lips, she looked up at the say and sighed, "definitely Nick," she covered her ass from Kaitlyn's set up, "accent and all... plus, he's kinda a pretty damn good cook. He's the best catch around camp."

"Nick?" Jacob questioned, feeling a part of his ego rip to shreds. "Okay. Sure. He couldn't even talk to a girl before he came here."

"Look, man, it was all settled by the girls in bunk seven, like second day of camp," Kaitlyn told the ego-wounded Jacob, "it goes: Ryan, me of course, Veruca, then Dylan, Emma, Abi-"

Jacob huffed, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth at the on going list that would eventually see him at the bottom. Or worse... not even there, "okay."

"And then Nick, and Mr H... and..." Veruca continued in on the joke.

"Okay! You two almost finished? Please?" Jacob practically begged the dark haired girl to stop as he sighed and lowered his head to stare at the dirt resting by his feet.

"Yep, all finished! That was it. Veruca and I covered everyone," Kaitlyn's eyes trained on Jacob, "so she really dumped your ass?"

"I don't- Okay her whole thing is like, how are we gonna make this work, different schools, blah blah blah," Jacob finally began to let it all out, and from the corner of his eye he saw the blonde girl mimic his words as he spoke the sentences she had heard a million times over in the past couple of days, "my whole thing is like, you know, maybe long-distance blah blah blah blah, and she was just like-"

"-Jacob," both Jacob and Veruca's lip twisted in disgust as they said his name in sync from the Emma impersonation.

His face went firm as he looked over at the blonde and pointed at her with a stray finger, "oh yeah? You find that funny?"

"I find it hilarious, actually, yeah," Veruca smiled, crossing her arms as she looked over at Jacob. He was back to his sulking self and she rolled her eyes. He could be such a baby. "You know I'm just messing with you, Jake! Look... maybe you just didn't make the cut? Summer fling and all. And maybe... it's time to accept that?"

"Have to agree with Veruca here," Kaitlyn gestured an open palm to the blonde beside her, "but, not so easy when she's got you wrapped all around that dainty little finger of hers. Seriously. How does she do it?"

Jacob raised his hands in the air as his sign of defeat, "maybe you're right. Maybe she does have this like superpower over me. But you know what? Maybe I like it."

"Major barf," Veruca commented.

"Ohh. "Likes it." Check! "Totally not in denial." Check!" Kaitlyn made use of her hands to cross off a list as though it were a pen and paper.

Jacob began wafting his hands towards his face, sniffing the air as he went, "oh, okay wow. The um, the fumes of- of jealousy are just stifling over here."

Kaitlyn scoffed, "excuse me?"

"I'm just sayin' I guess some girls don't have what it takes to hang with the big dog," he pointed both thumbs toward his chest.

"I think those fumes of jealousy... are just because you kind of need a shower, Jake..." Veruca giggled, untangling a few strands of hair from her pierced brow. "You seriously stink."

"Alright let's all gang up on me again!" Jacob watched intently as Veruca shifted in her position and nodded for Kaitlyn to help her with the remaining duffle bag still on the ground from when the blonde had placed it there. The two girls loaded the final bag they had into the trunk as Jacob took it upon himself to inspect the van. "Hey, so are you guys sure that this old rust bucket's road worthy?"

"It better be," Veruca peered from around the side to look at Jacob before she made her way around the van and toward the passenger seat. "As great as it was spending two whole months with everyone, I think spending one more night with you guys might actually kill me."

"Hey! What doesn't kill you," Jacob pointed at the girl on the opposite side of the car as he opened up the bonnet, "will make you stronger!"

Veruca wasn't typically a pessimist, but her eyes rolled at the phrase. It was so ingrained in her mind, that even when Kelly Clarkson played on the daytime radio, all she could picture was Hackett's Quarry. As she opened the passenger door to the van, she began to rummage through her backpack containing belongings she wished to keep herself preoccupied with throughout the journey. Her hands fiddled around inside, her silver rings catching on a few things until she grinned at the feeling on a small box in her hands.

When she pulled her arm out, she sighed. A packet of Marlboro's she kept stashed. Anxiety reducers is what she called them. Not many knew of Veruca's own internal struggled, painted by a perfect exterior. The only one that truly knew her was those damn cigarettes. As she flipped open the lid to the packet to check how many she had left, she listened closely to Jacob's out-of-the-blue question.

"Uh, okay, guys. So, Um- total hypothetical here," Jacob opened up as he thought of the next words wisely whilst carefully inspecting the engine, "but if I was like a huge asshole and I wanted to break down the van so we'd have to spend another night here... uh, what exactly would I need to do?"

"Not to be a party pooper... but I think that's probably a terrible idea," Veruca shrugged as she continued going through her bag to ensure she had the main essentials. "I really doubt any of us want to spend another night... but! Probably a better question for Kaitlyn."

"Well... you'd probably have to break the fuel line... or... I dunno... rip out the rotor arm," Kaitlyn suggested, "and yes. That would make you a total asshole."

Jacob brought his lower lip between his teeth as he inspected the area around engine further, "okay... and what does a rotor look like again?"

"It's like an arm that's all rotary- you know, it's like under the little black dome with the leads poking out-" Kaitlyn further explained. She then paused for a moment whilst Veruca kept her head buried in her bag, growing overly paranoid that she had left something behind. It always happened. "Jake... you do realise that even if we somehow did get stuck out here, one more night with Emma wouldn't make a difference."

Veruca finally perked up as she slipped the cigarette packet in the pocket of her green hoodie, "she's right, Jake. She's totally already made up her mind." Part of her hopes that she was right in saying Emma had made up her mind about the man. Maybe, just maybe, it would give herself some kind of shot.

Jacob nodded at the two girls' input, "yeah... sure." Faintly muttering something else under his breath that the girls couldn't quite catch. He fiddled with the car for a moment before he shut the hood, letting a shriek escape that could have easily been mistaken for a terrified young girl, "holy shit!"

The blonde stood by the side of the van, an eyebrow raised squinted eyes as she sussed him out, "and what were you doing?"

His hand found his heart, "Jesus, V, you can't just scare people like that," he steadied his breathing before straightening his posture and rubbing his hands on the side of his jeans, "and I was just... you know... checking the van out."

Her eyes remained squinted, "okay..." She was hesitant. Jacob whispered something to the hood of the van before following Veruca around to the open trunk.

"Up here my dudes!" Dylan called out, moving to stand beside Nick. Both has a mischievous grin spread across their faces as they looked at the trio below.

Kaitlyn blocked the sun from her eyes as she looked up toward the porch, "why do they look like they're up to something?"

Veruca moved closer to get a better look at what they were waving around in their hands, "are those our phones?" She whispered just loud enough for the two by either side of her to hear. She caught a brief glimpse of the glitter pink phone case in Dylan's hands. "Don't you dare! I will literally have you castrated!"

"You know a word that long?" Dylan huffed with a laugh, lowering his arm with the pink phone case as the blonde ran up the wooden stairs to snatch it from him. He raised his arm again, this time making sure it was just out of reach of the blonde, "oh, so close. Come on, you can do it."

"Just give it," Veruca ignored his words of false encouragement and swiped with her right hand, successfully taking back her phone from the much taller man.

      Nick waved one of the darker phones without a case above his head, "hey Jacob!" He called out, gaining the attention of the man below. Jacob's snap back slightly slid as he looked up at the scene.

"What- no! Dude, please-! D-Don't!" The man in the green sweater pleaded with the Australian, preparing himself to run after the phone should Nick have thrown it far.

"Go long!" Nick tossed the phone through the air.

      "Nick!" Jacob's tone changed as he outstretched his arms in an attempt to catch the phone. Everyone held their breaths for a few moments until the phone landed safely in his hands. "Boom! Oh yeah, there it is!" One of Jacob's hands found its way to his ground while the other waving in the air like a cowboy at a rodeo, moving his hips from left to write. "Mmm hmmm, yeah check out these moves, ladies!"

      "Well... that certainly is one hell of a man you got there, V," Dylan whispered in the blondes ear as she began to walk down the staircase toward the rest of the group.

She sighed, "not my man," and she looked over her shoulder as she nudged him in the side, "how about Mr. Brood? How's your man?"

"I fear our man-off will have to come later..." Dylan paused at the bottom of the steps with Veruca and Nick on either side. He slid his hands together, "Oh, I wish I had some singles."

Kaitlyn's head shook at the sight of the group in front of her. People that she had spent months getting to know to some degree. "Freaks. I am surrounded by total freaks." She offered up her hand to Dylan, who gently passed her phone over instead of throwing it. "Oh thank God. I mean, I get the whole 'no technology' thing but take me back, world!"

"You would've thought Mr H could have charged up our phones like a little bit," Jacob grumbled, prompting Veruca to pull her phone out and check the battery. She shrugged. It wasn't too bad but she had a decent amount.

"Perhaps, you know, you should have saved it?" Veruca smiled pleasantly as the man across from her. No signal of course. No nothing. She hadn't expected anything else.

"You know, you should really just save it for emergencies only..." Dylan began, passing a glance over at Jacob, "unless of course being dumped in an emergency?"

"Back off, dipshit," Jacob snapped at Dylan.

"Guys! Let's ease up on him," Veruca pouted, pinching both of Jacob's cheeks between her thumb and pointer finger, "he's just a baby!"

"Right- Uh- Yeah, man... I'm sorry, I- Peace and love man, I- I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Dylan's smile partially faded. In an instant, Veruca wrapped her arm around his own, leaning into his body as a form of comfort.

"Awkward..." Veruca whispered as she took out her phone from her pocket, setting it on her camera as she passed it over to Dylan. "One more photo for the road!"

"Sure, whatever you say," Dylan extended his arm out, lowering his body slightly through the joints at his knees as the blonde leaned over his shoulder to place a gentle kiss on his cheek for the photo.

In the corner of Veruca's eye, she could see the man in the green sweater grow slightly upset at the gestures between the two of them. "Well, aren't you two awfully close."

"Are you jealous?" Veruca took her phone back from Dylan and slipped it back into her back pocket. She could always look at them later. Her hand found Dylan's lower back as she rubbed a sweet circle. She casted her gaze over her shoulder and toward the darkned basement entrance as she faintly made out the figure in the corner. "I don't think you really have anything to be jealous over... I'm not really his type..."

Her wink at Dylan followed by the light pink coating over his cheeks was enough to give the group hints.

Kaitlyn coughed, "oookay... Y'all ready to bounce?"

──★ ˙ ̟. 🚬📺 !! 𝕬𝑼𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑹𝑺 𝕹𝑶𝑻𝑬

╰┈➤ there is so much dialogue this chapter i actually almost shot myself and that's why this chapter took so long 😭 i was just procrastinating like crazy because everytime i wrote it was such a drag to follow all the dialogue 😭😭

but this chapter is in celebration of 1k reads and the new cover that hannah banana made for me 🤭 it's so so gorgeous. anyways, hope you enjoyed bc i know i hated writing this. need to hurry it up and get to chapter 5/6 where shits gonna go down.