chapter seven, promise you

"Get in," he said, leaning against the Rabbit with that annoyingly unreadable expression on his face.

You narrowed your eyes. "What happened to hi, hello, how are you? I like what you did with your hair today?"

"Hi, hello, how are you? I like what you did with your hair today." he repeated, flat, monotone.

You gave him a long look. "Charming."

He just grinned. "Are you getting in or what?"

You slid into the seat with a dramatic sigh, the passenger seat now permanently adjusted to your height. "Where are we going?

"You ask too many questions."

"You say that every time. Hasn't stopped me yet."

He didn't answer this time. Just passed you the aux cord like a peace offering and rolled the windows down halfway, letting the warm summer air rush through the car as he pulled onto the road. With the wind came chaos-your hair, freshly styled after an hour following some impossible tutorial online, was instantly undone.

You shot him another look, batting it back down. "You're a menace."

He smirked. "You look better that way anyway."

You scoffed and started scrolling through your iPod, flicking through your playlists. Every song you landed on felt wrong for the moment, so you skipped past them all, frustrated.

"Dirty hands, mysterious behavior, emotionally repressed-what more could a girl want?" you start. "You could be kidnapping me and dragging me off to your evil lair right now, and I wouldn't even question it."

He laughed, that real, rare one that made your chest tighten for reasons you weren't ready to name. "You're ridiculous."

"You'd be bored without me."

"I would. No one else is as annoying."

"You love it."

"I never said I didn't."

He gave you a sideways glance, not quite smiling but definitely close. "Now no more questions. I'm taking you somewhere."

You leaned forward, turning the volume up once you finally landed on a song that felt right. Without thinking, you held up an invisible microphone to his mouth mid-chorus. He didn't hesitate-he joined in, off-key and dramatic, his usual cool composure completely shattered as the two of you jammed out to a throwback from when your parents were your age.

By the time he parked the car, your voice was hoarse from laughing and singing too loud.

--

You'd say you enjoyed nature-most of the time. Especially the kind of nature Western Washington offered: lush and untouched. But not like this.

Not when you'd mentally prepared for a couch nap and a rom-com, not a full-body cardio session up the side of a mountain. Not when your hair was ruined, your skin sticky with humidity, and your deodorant had clearly given up something around the second incline.

"Is this... punishment?" you cry as you hiked, dragging your feet behind Jacob's much longer stride.

The forest buzzed around you with the sounds of birds and rushing water, damp and green and teeming with life. The trail twisted upwards with no mercy. Halfway up a steeper hill, Jacob dropped back to walk beside you.

"You good?" he asked, holding out his hand without thinking.

You took it, out of breath. "What do you think?"

He squeezed gently. "Just checking. Not trying to lose you to a root or something dumb."

"I've survived worse than a rogue tree root."

He smiled, but didn't let go of your hand.

"Like being dragged to some random forest in Clallam without warning," you added. "No heads-up, no prep, and it's like the hottest day of the year."

"Oops. I thought you liked surprises."

"I like surprises. I don't like feeling like a rotisserie chicken."

"Okay, valid."

You let go of his hand to reach for the water bottle tucked in the side of his backpack. You hadn't brought anything, but of course, Jacob had-you eyed him with mock suspicion as you drank.

"At least one of us came prepared."

He shrugged, bashful. "You complain a lot for someone who took like, twelve pictures of a fern back there."

"It was a very aesthetically pleasing fern."

You hiked for another twenty minutes, your annoyance fading as your body adjusted and the surroundings quieted. You passed a couple of elderly hikers on their way down-sprightly and cheerful, which made your suffering feel dramatic in comparison.

The trail turned beautiful the higher you climbed. Small waterfalls trickled down mossy rocks, carving gentle paths into the dirt. You dipped your hands into one of them to cool off, then dragged Jacob over and made him rinse his grimy fingers too, despite his argument that the stains were just from grease.

"They don't wash out," he insisted.

"That's what worries me."

Eventually, you hit a tricky section of the trail-a narrow edge where the mountain had caved in slightly, the path eroded. You paused at the edge, your stomach twisting as you looked down. It was steep. One wrong step and you'd be the rock that just skittered off the ledge and vanished from view.

"Wouldn't wanna be that rock," you muttered, nerves creeping into your voice.

Jacob stepped in front of you. "I'll go first. Just hold my hand, okay? I won't let you fall."

You stared at the path, then at him. "This is some Final Destination level stuff right now."

He offered you a soft smile. "Promise you. You're okay."

He went ahead slowly, then turned, holding out his hand like a lifeline. You took it.

The path was sketchy, but he kept you steady. He held on like it mattered.

"Thanks, Jake," you said once you reached the other side.

"Of course."

"I don't wanna think about going back across that."

"We'll roll you down the hill if we have to."

By the time you reached the lookout, the trees parted to reveal a sweeping view so beautiful it knocked the breath from your lungs. Lake Crescent sparkled below, Mount Olympus towering in the distance. The forest rolled in green waves, soft and endless.

"Wow," you whispered.

"Yeah. Wow." He was looking at the view-but also, you.

"Was it worth all my kicking and whining?" you asked.

Jacob smirked. "Debatable."

"Oh, please. You whined more than I did when we were shopping in Port Angeles."

"That was different."

"How?"

He didn't answer-just looked at you with that half-laugh, half-defeated expression like he wanted to argue but couldn't come up with anything.

"That's what I thought," you teased, grinning.

"Whatever." He nudged you lightly with his shoulder. "Swim?"

You turned to him. "You brought swim stuff?"

He gestured behind him. "You think I hiked all the way up here without planning that?"

You shook your head, smiling despite yourself. "You're lucky I like surprises."

Jacob grinned. "I'm lucky, period."

The lake sat nestled in a basin of stone and evergreens, glassy and blue even under the graying sky. You'd barely kicked off your shoes before Jacob was already waist-deep, grinning like a little kid as he splashed water up at you.

"You're insane," you laughed, toeing the edge of the shore. "That water looks freezing."

"Only at first."

You gave him a look. "That's what people say right before hypothermia sets in."

"Come on, you'll survive."

You didn't give him the satisfaction of a yes-but a second later you were running in, shrieking as the cold wrapped around you like ice. Jacob laughed, deep and loud and contagious, and you couldn't help but laugh too, the kind that left your ribs aching and your eyes squinting as you dunked under and came up gasping.

You splashed him. He splashed you back harder. Eventually you both stopped trying to win and just floated, side by side, breathless and soaked, hearts thudding out a rhythm you were trying hard not to count too closely.

When you got out, dripping and shivering, the air felt warmer by comparison. You sat beside him on a flat rock, shoulders barely brushing. The world was quiet around you except for the distant call of a bird and the gentle ripple of water behind you. The sky was starting to shift-clouds parting to reveal a soft pink glow bleeding into the horizon.

You watched it for a while, not talking. Your hair clung to your cheeks, your clothes stuck to your skin, and his arm was warm next to yours.

Then, softly, almost to himself, Jacob said, "This is my favorite day."

You turned your head a little, startled.

He was still looking at the sky, but something in his jaw had gone soft. "I don't know. It just is."

You wanted to say me too-but it felt too much. Too naked. Instead, you nodded.

"It's different this summer," you murmured after a beat.

Jacob glanced at you, then back at the lake. "Yeah."

"Things feel... not like they used to."

He gave a low hum. "I've been thinking about that a lot."

You both fell quiet again, the kind that didn't feel awkward-just full of things neither of you were sure how to say.

"What's it like?" he asked eventually.

You blinked. "What's what like?"

"Being gone. Moving. School. All of it."

You leaned back on your palms, gaze drifting back up to the sky. "It's bigger. Busier. Faster. People talk fast, drive fast, eat fast. It's like no one has time for anything. They don't even say hi when they pass you on the sidewalk."

Jacob didn't interrupt. He just listened, like he always had.

"I don't know if I like it," you admitted quietly. "I mean, there's a lot to do. And I know it's where I'm supposed to be right now, but it doesn't feel like home."

He looked over at you. "Forks still does?"

You nodded. "Forks is weird. And small. And it smells like mildew half the year."

He smiled.

"But yeah. It's home."

You picked at the edge of the towel wrapped around your knees. "Do you ever think about when we were kids?"

Jacob leaned back on his elbows. "Yeah. All the time."

"Back when everything made sense. Or at least, felt like it did."

"Back when the worst part of the day was if it rained while we were on the jungle gym."

You laughed. "Or if Billy made us eat that weird canned chili again."

"Still scarred."

A breeze moved through the trees, stirring the scent of pine and wet stone. You turned to find Jacob already looking at you.

You raised an eyebrow. "You're staring."

He didn't look away. "You're making it easy."

You felt heat crawl into your cheeks. "What? The sweat dripping down my face does it for you?"

Jacob laughed, nose scrunching slightly. "Yeah. That and the fact you still have moss in your hair."

You groaned, immediately reaching up to find it. "Why didn't you say something?"

"I was admiring it," he said, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

You flicked a bit of grass at him. "Loser."

He grinned and flicked it back. "Takes one to know one."

You both sat there a little longer, your knee touching his now, and neither of you moved away.

"Do you ever get scared?" you asked suddenly. "Of growing up. Of... I don't know. Leaving things behind."

Jacob exhaled slowly. "Yeah. I used to think I had everything figured out. Like I'd just be here forever. Fixing bikes. Hanging out. But lately... I don't know. It's like everyone else is changing, and I'm stuck."

You nodded. "Maybe that's why this summer feels so weird."

"Maybe."

"Everything's in-between."

Jacob looked at you again, and this time you didn't look away.

"We're not the same kids anymore," you said.

"No," he agreed, his voice low. "But I don't think that's a bad thing."