Chapter Two

A Year Later...

Y/N's POV

Here I am. On my way back to the place I've been trying so desperately to forget this past year.

Josh had begged me to. And I can't refuse him anything. Not after what happened last year...

It is going to be weird seeing everyone again. 

Over the past year, the only people that I had talked to were Sam, Chris, and Josh. I had been too angry at everyone else after I heard what they did. Even Matt. 

I still don't understand why he did that. It seems so unlike him. God only knows what was going through his head when he agreed to be a part of it. God only knows what was going through all of their heads. 

But Josh had forgiven them. So I could too.  

Besides, despite everything, I can't stay mad at Matt. I still have feelings for him, even though I know he's with Emily now.

At this point, I just want to hang out with him without being the third wheel.

I don't have time to dwell in my thoughts for long as the sounds of the forest command my attention once again. 

I continue down the path, quickening my pace. I just need to find one of my friends. I hate being alone out here. 

Then I hear a loud screech and I take off running, looking behind me as I do so. Suddenly, I crash into something and go tumbling to the ground, dropping my luggage. 

I let out a squeak before opening my eyes to see Matt hovering above me, a shocked expression on his face. 

"Y/N!" he says, his face transitioning from shock to delight as he offers me his hand. 

I smile, taking it and allowing him to help me to my feet. 

Matt picks up the bags he had been carrying before I knocked them out of his hands in our collision. The bags look like Emily's. 

That's when I see her, arms folded and shivering. 

Before I can greet her, Matt gives me a quick hug, the bags hitting my back as they swing behind me. 

I notice Emily eyeing us with a frown, so I smile at her. 

"Hey, Matt. Hi, Emily. It's nice to see you two," I tell them. 

"Yeah. Likewise," Emily responds, hastily turning around and beginning to walk away. "Come on. We need to get to the lodge."    

Matt and I share a look and I pick up my luggage, following Matt and Emily down the trail. When we get to a gate, Matt hurries ahead and opens it for us, putting Emily's bags back down momentarily. 

I go through first, curtsying jokingly to him as I do so. "Why thank you," I say. 

"You're quite welcome," he returns, giving me a cordial nod. 

I turn around to see Emily roll her eyes as she follows me out the gate. 

"Seriously, couldn't they have built the lodge right where the cable car ends?" she complains as she passes through. 

Matt picks up the bags again, replying, "I don't think it would have been, like, as pretty, you know?"

Emily walks ahead of us, momentarily pausing to look back and add, "And where's a bellboy when you need one?"

I roll my eyes and walk beside Matt on the trail. 

We walk in silence for a while before Emily says, "Brr... Gettin' chills."

"We're almost there," Matt assures us. 

"No, I mean... gettin' kinda creeped out."

"Oh yeah."

I know how she feels. 

"Gonna be a little weird seeing everyone up here again."

Yup. I feel like a third wheel already. I just sigh quietly and continue to just listen to the conversation. 

"Definitely not gonna feel like a regular party," Matt agrees. "I mean, what do you think-"

We stop short when Mike jumps out of nowhere, scaring us. 

"Woah! Dude!" Matt yells. 

Emily shakes her head. "Jeez!" 

Mike just continues to roar with laughter. "You guys!" 

"MICHAEL!" Emily scolds. 

"You really, really should have seen your faces right there."

Matt points at him. "Dude. I almost clocked you just now."

Mike continues to laugh and I can't help but let a laugh out in response. It was pretty funny. 

Matt notices and gives me a look, making me laugh harder. 

"Nice one," I tell Mike, walking up to him. 

"Y/N!" Mike greets, giving me a fist bump. "What's new?"

I shrug. "Nothing much. You?"

Mike laughs again. "Just scaring unsuspecting travelers. The usual."

I snort. 

"Michael, you're a jerk," Emily remarks. 

I step aside as Mike addresses the others. "Come on guys, we're all friends here, right? No need for violence, just a little harmless fun! We're up in the woods! It's spooky! Come on, let's get into the spirit of things!"

"The spirit of things? Seriously? What's wrong with you?"

"Just trying to lighten the mood, Em. Don't be like that?"

"Like what?" 

"The way you're being. You always get like this."

Oh no. I bite my lip and back up farther. I do not want to be a part of this train wreck. 

"Michael..." Matt begins calmly. "I'm just gonna lay it out, otherwise, this whole weekend's gonna suck ass for everyone. This is super awkward and we all know it. Let's just acknowledge it now and move on. Okay?"

"Matt-" Emily interjects.

Mike nods. "I hear you, man. I don't wanna make this weird."   

"Cool," Matt says. "So we're good?"

"All good," Mike agrees. 

Emily scoffs. "You guys gonna make out now?"

I raise an eyebrow as Mike twists his body weirdly in an effort to be comical. "Oh my gosh, totally. We're so gonna make out!" Mike finally stands up normally, walking down the way we just came. "Uhh... no, seriously, I'm gonna go check on the cable car back down the trail."

"See ya, man," Matt says as he leaves. 

"See ya." Mike sticks his hands in the air. "See ya!"

Mike walks away and out of view. I roll my eyes with a smile at his back.

That smile quickly disappears when I see Emily eyeing where Mike just went. 

"Ah, crap," she says. 

Matt picks up the bags Mike made him drop with his scare. "What?"      

"Hey, could you take these the rest of the way?"

I raise an eyebrow. 

"The bags?" Matt asks. 

"Yeah. Just..." Emily eyes Mike's exit again. "All the bags."

"Uh... why?"

"I need to go find Sam."

Well, that's a lie if I ever heard one. I don't want to cause a fight, though, so I keep my mouth shut, hoping that my hunch is wrong. I look from Emily to Matt as they keep arguing. I'm not sure they remember I'm even here. 

"Okay...?" Matt replies. 

"Sorry... I just, I really need to go find her... I totally forgot I needed to talk to her before we get all the way up there."

"This really can't wait? We're almost there."

"It's important, Matt. Please."

Matt sighs, eventually nodding. "Alright... Fine... If it's so important. I guess I can packhorse the rest of the way... but you owe me one."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, then we're even, at least."

"I'll think about it," Emily tells him. 

"Just be careful."

"See you up there, sweetie. Thank you." Emily blows Matt a kiss and walks towards where Mike went a little bit ago. 

I feel a pang of jealousy and rage. I don't hate Emily, but sometimes she gets on my nerves. I guess I just don't understand why Matt is with someone like her. But maybe that's just the jealousy talking. 

I snap out of it when I realize Matt is staring at me. 

"Are you okay?" he asks. 

I nod. "Yeah. Sorry. Just thinking. That's all."

Matt gives me a small smile. "You ready to continue our journey."

I laugh. "Yeah. Let's go."

We walk for a while, just indulging in small talk before Matt pauses. 

"What is it?"

"Shh," Matt orders. "You see Ash up there?"

He gestures with his head to where Ashley is, looking out a telescope. 

"Yeah. What about her?" I whisper. 

"Let's scare her."

I smile. "Let's do it."

We slowly walk to her while she's distracted, setting our bags down so we have more freedom. Matt takes the front and I take the back, Ashley still distracted by whatever she's looking at through the telescope. 

"Boo!" Matt yells, scaring Ashley and causing her to jump and bump into me. 

"Boo!" I mimic. 

Ashley squeals, backing away from me. Ashley puts her hand over her heart, trying to calm down after our scare. 

Matt laughs, walking up the steps to where Ashley and I are. "Woah! Sorry there... Sorry about that, Ash. We didn't mean to scare you-"    

I just laugh, watching Ashley recover. 

"Jeez louise, Matt and Y/N!" she remarks. 

"Well, we did mean to scare you 'sort of' scare you but not like for real scare you..."

"Oh my gosh... oh my gosh." Ashley lightly shoves Matt. 

Matt continues to laugh, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, wow, man, I'm really sorry, Ash. Dang."

"I'm sorry too," I tell her, trying not to laugh again. 

"It's okay... It's fine... It's fine."

Matt gestures towards the telescope. "What are you looking at? See anything juicy with that thing?"

"Uh." Ashley stutters, glancing nervously at the telescope. 

"Lemme check it out," Matt says. 

"Ah... sure," Ashley agrees, slowly backing away from the telescope. "Help yourself."

"Alright..." Matt steps up to the telescope, looking around. He notices something and his attitude immediately changes. "Aw. Son of a bitch!"

I glance at Ashley in confusion and she just gives me a concerned look in return. 

"Seriously, Emily?" he continues. "What the heck, man."

Oh no. I was right. 

Ashley steps up in an effort to comfort him. "Hey, listen- it's probably nothing..."

"Nothing? You think?" 

"Well.. yeah." 

"Is it ever just nothing with Em? Ever?"

"I don't kno-"

"Dammit!" Matt cries. 

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Matt, it's going to be okay. We'll figure this out."

Matt shakes his head, stepping away from the telescope and going back down the stairs, leaving Ashley and me behind.

"Matt!" I try. 

I sigh as I watch him leave. 

"That wasn't good," I say. 

"Yeah," Ashley agrees. "I'm sorry. I just figured it would be bad to keep it from him."

I nod, turning to face her. "Yeah. I agree. I just wish it hadn't happened at all."

Ashley sighs. "Yeah, but hey, it's nice to see you again."

I manage a weak smile. "It's nice to see you too."

Ashley gives me a quick hug and the weak smile becomes stronger. 

In an effort to change the subject, I smirk at her and say, "So how are you and Chris?"

Ashley looks around in a panic, whispering, "What? How'd you know?"  

 I laugh. "It's pretty obvious, Ash. So, are you gonna make a move this weekend?"

She scratches the back of her neck nervously. "I'm not sure. I kind of want him to make the first move."

"Aw come on! Just go for it!"

Ashley sighs. "Maybe. I'll think about it."

I nudge her shoulder. "That's the ticket!"

She smiles at me. "Now I just need to figure out who your crush is." 

I shake my head. "Nah. I'm good at hiding it. You'll never figure it out."

"Come on! You can tell me! We haven't had a girl talk in a while now. Remember how fun those were? We'd gossip while painting our nails and-"

"Eating an assortment of trail mix as jazz music plays in the background," I finish. "Yes, I remember. How could I forget? You spilled red nail polish on my favorite blouse that one time."

Ashley laughs at the memory. "I said I was sorry!" 

I laugh in return. "Yeah, I know. I'm just giving you a hard time."

"Alright, alright. So will you tell me?"

"Who my crush is? No."

"Y/N!" 

I walk down the stairs. "You'll just have to figure it out."

I hear Ashley huff as she follows me down the stairs. As I walk the rest of the way towards the lodge with Ashley, the smile from our conversation slowly fades from my face as my mind wanders back to Matt.

I just want him to be okay, but I don't know how to help. I mean, how could I? I wasn't able to help Hannah and Beth last year. How could I be any help to anyone now?