Chapter Text
The pine trees flashed by your car window. The warm june sun caressed your face, shining through the glass and settling upon the four friends loudly enjoying the beginning of summer.
Harvest Hill. The summer camp you and your friend group would spend the next two months, entertaining the kids by day and surely wreaking havoc by night. You lifted your head from the window.
''Good morning,'' Stu joked from beside you, one hand on the steering wheel while his other rested lazily on the windowsill, his open car window sending gusts of wind through the car and offering relief from the already scorching summer heat.
You scoffed. ''Morning. How much further is it?''
Stu shrugged, the hand resting on the windowsill rhythmically bopping along with the crackling song played over the radio. Getting a signal proved to be much harder out this far in nature.
''I'm just heading wherever our sweet navigator is sending us.'' He motioned his head towards Tatum in the backseat behind him, who seemed increasingly exasperated as she unfolded a map bigger than herself in the small space.
''I can't figure out where we are. Since when are there so many roads out here?''
''There aren't,'' Randy spoke up from beside her. ''You're just about 50 miles too far South with where you're looking.''
Tatum's eyes traced up, following the squiggly lines representing the road we were on up until her features lit up.
''Alright, there we are! Shouldn't be much further now.''
As Tatum sat back in satisfaction, you noticed Randy sneaking a peek through the back window. Stu caught it too, in the rearview mirror, and met your eyes. You shrugged, and he sent you a grin.
''You gonna stop sulking back there Meeks? It's not like they can get it on at 70 miles per hour.''
Randy whipped back around, red tinting his ears at being caught. The embarrassment soon made way for annoyance, as he bit out: ''Whatever, man.''
You bit your lip to stifle a laugh as Stu met your eyes again.
''At least, as far as I'm aware,'' Stu followed up. ''Wanna test the theory, Y/N?''
You laughed as you smacked his arm. A flirty retort nearly escaped your throat, but then you remembered your best friend sitting behind him. Tatum who, for the entirety of last year, had been silently crushing on Stu. A fact you and Sidney took to your grave, just like Sidney's thing for Billy would never leave your small circle.
''In your dreams,'' is what you settled on.
Stu let out a low whistle. ''Ouch.'' You laughed, pushing your hair behind your ear and returning your gaze to the forest flashing past your window. Stu's gaze lingered on the side of your face for a moment longer, unbeknownst to you, as his smile dropped a smidge at your rejection.
As your gaze dropped to the side view mirror, you could vaguely make out the images of Billy and Sidney in the car behind you. Randy had been crushing on Sidney for a while, yet never had the guts to do something about it. Instead, he watched gloomily how Billy sweet talked Sid every chance he got, with her loving the attention.
''I just wanna go on record and say that if a masked killer comes out of these woods at any point during this summer, I'm not saving any of you.''
You turned in your seat to face Randy. ''Excuse you? You better come canoeing with me in the middle of a lake in the dead of night while chased by a lunatic.''
A smile cracked through Randy's sour expression, and you were relieved you finally got him through that icy mood of his.
''Randy, I swear, if you're going to spend all summer ranting on about your stupid horror movies I will kill you myself,'' Stu said. As you looked over, you noticed his rigid hold on the steering wheel.
He caught your eye, and his posture relaxed slightly. ''Metaphorically, sweetheart, don't look at me like that.''
''Yeah yeah, when we're in the middle of july and we got all the elements of a movie night, you're gonna be eating your words,'' Randy remarked, leaning forward in his seat as he gripped your seat's headrest.
''I took all the good ones with me. Friday the 13th too, obviously.''
You smiled and high fived him, after which his hand switched into a middle finger aimed at Stu. He glanced your way before returning his attention on the road, and you couldn't explain why the gesture sent blood rushing to your face.
''Whatever, man. You keep trying to seduce Sidney with your extensive horror movie knowledge, ladies love that shit.''
''Dude,'' Randy sighed as you and Tatum laughed. Randy's crush had, unfortunately for him, become common knowledge for everyone except Sidney herself.
''If you're too scared to watch horror movies, just say so, Stu,'' you smirked, shrieking when he shifted his grip on the steering wheel and used his free hand to pinch your knee.
''I'm not,'' he retorted, pausing a beat as his hand rested warmly on your knee. ''And if I was, I'd just use you to hide.''
He retreated his hand and a chill went down your spine. Maybe it was simply the heat leaving your exposed skin, you told yourself, but denying the rush that went through your heart said otherwise.
You rolled your eyes at him. ''I'll feed you to the bears.''
''Which other movies did you bring, Randy?'' Tatum's question launched Randy into a tangent about the movies he brought, and in which order they were to be watched.
You leaned your head back on the window, glancing down at the side view mirror as you tried to calm your heartbeat. A feat made worse by the burning presence sitting beside you in the driver's seat.
The sun hovered low in the sky, coloring the sky a gorgeous shade of pink and deep orange. A comfortable air had settled in the car, as you and Randy spoke softly about a strange customer he'd had at the video store, while Tatum stared out the window.
You nearly jumped out of your skin as she jumped up and leaned between the two front seats. ''Take this left! Right here. Left! Left!''
Stu straightened up instantly, braking and turning as swiftly as he could, yet still sending you and Randy smacking against the side of the car. Behind you, Billy's car honked indignantly as he'd just barely avoided a collision.
''Jesus fuckin' Christ, girl,'' Stu panted, slowing the car to a halt beside the forest path. You placed a hand on your chest, yet again willing your heart to stop racing as you let out a long breath.
Stu's eyes met yours. ''You okay?'' You could only nod in response.
''I'm sorry, I panicked when I saw the sign,'' Tatum said, her voice a few octaves higher than usual.
Stu twisted in his seat to face her. ''You're sorry?''
Tatum inched forward incredulously. ''If you weren't speeding you would have had time to see the sign yourself.''
Stu's retort is cut short by a sharp knock on your window. You roll the window down, allowing Billy to rest his arms on the windowsill and lean in.
''Yo, Stu. What the fuck was that about?''
A thousand expressions flickered over Stu's face as he tried to find the words to defend himself against this injustice.
''I didn't- she-'' his animated gestures did nothing to convey his seriousness in the matter.
''He was speeding so he missed the turn,'' Tatum said from the backseat.
''You were supposed to navigate,'' Stu turned in his seat again, effectively reigniting the argument. Billy shifted his attention down to you, an amused expression on his face at seeing his friends so agitated.
His low voice sent shivers down your spine as he bent down to speak to you. ''Next time, you be the navigator, yeah? Save us the trouble.''
You smiled as you looked behind you, seeing Tatum nearly climbing over the front seat in anger. You looked back at Billy. ''Deal.''
He returned your smile and moved away from the car, pulling a cigarette from his back pocket. You stepped out of the car and relished in the cool summer air. You heard Randy step out of the car behind you, letting out a loud yawn.
''It's so calm out here,'' Sidney stood by Billy's car, letting the sun fall on her skin as her bangs fell away from her face.
''That's kinda nature's thing,'' Stu's voice cut through as he exited his car, leaning on the top of it.
Everyone ignored him, enjoying the serene evening. You stretched your arms above your head, feeling your back pop as you did. Unsurprising, after a five hour car ride. You feel your shirt hike up slightly, a slight breeze tickling your exposed skin.
''Perv.''
You opened your eyes again to see Stu throwing a pinecone at Randy, the latter of which again looked very guilty.
''Dude, I wasn't doing anything,'' Randy defended, sparking yet another discussion with Stu.
You shook your head as you left their bickering behind, moving to stand by Sidney. She smiled as you approached, tucking her hair behind your ear. You hopped up on the hood of Billy's car, earning a glare from him as he pointed two fingers at his own eyes, then at yours, to let you know he was watching you. You responded by sticking your tongue out at him.
''So,'' you said, drawing out the sound, ''how was your car ride alone with Billy?''
She smiled bashfully as she averted her gaze. ''I don't know. I still get so nervous around him. There's this... tension. I don't know how to explain it.''
You frowned, thinking back on the interactions you'd had with Billy so far. None of them seemed too out of the ordinary.
''Isn't that just kinda what he's like? Y'know, the mysterious, brooding thing?''
Sidney chuckled. ''Yeah, I know. But it's different, like he's talking to me, but his mind is somewhere else.''
You pondered for a second, looking over at Billy. Tatum had retrieved her map from the backseat and had spread it out over the hood of Stu's car, where they all huddled around to avoid any surprise turns on the way to the camp.
''Do you think he's still hung up on Christina?''
Sidney sent you a confused look. ''Christina?''
''Carpenter. The one he dated for a bit last year.''
She tilted her head to the side, pushing her hair back behind her ear. ''No, I don't think so. Or, well, who knows. It's impossible to get a read on the guy.''
Just as you were about to retort, she sends you a look. Not long after, heavy footsteps signaled the arrival of the exact person you were talking about.
Billy slung his arm around your shoulder, offering you the carton of cigarettes. You shook your head, smiling up at him.
''We've got the route down from here, it's another fifteen to twenty minutes, give or take. You ladies ready?''
''Just about,'' Sidney replied. Billy took a last drag from his cigarette before chucking it to the ground and stomping on the smoldering thing with his boot.
''Hey- that's how we're gonna get forest fires this summer,'' you said, turning indignantly in an attempt to escape his hold, but his grip on your shoulder shifts, pulling you even closer. Instead of replying, he blew the smoke of his cigarette straight into your face.
''You're such a pig,'' you struggled to keep a serious demeaner, feeling a smile pull on your features.
He flashed you a smile, removing his arm from your shoulder before returning to Stu. You jumped down from the hood, pulling your hair up in a ponytail. You frowned as you saw Sidney stare ahead, a thoughtful expression on her face.
''Everything okay?'' you mumbled, words obscured by the hair tie held between your lips while your hands busied themselves getting your hair up.
She nodded quickly. ''Yeah! Yeah. You just make it look so easy.''
''Easy?''
''Talking to him, I mean.''
You smiled, leaning against the side of the car. ''Maybe you're just making it too hard.''
She sent you a look, then a laugh pushed through her serious demeanor. You felt pairs of eyes on you two as the rest of the group wondered what the commotion was about.
You turned back to Sidney. ''Don't worry about it, Sid. You've got an entire summer.''
Placing a hand on her shoulder, you moved past her towards the sign you'd just passed. The wood was worn and weathered, seeming to have survived quite some storms since it was placed.
You pushed some of the branches covering it out of the way, clearing the way for the bold lettering to be seen. And there it was, the location where your life would be changing forever.
Harvest Hill.