Closer

As they returned to the hotel, Lina couldn't shake off the feeling of comfort and contentment she felt after spending time with Julien. She found that she was unable to sleep despite the comfortable bed and quiet surroundings, so she decided to return his jacket to him at that moment, even though it was just an excuse for her to see him once more.

She got up, gently holding his jacket between her arms, and made her way to his room. Knocking on the door, she was greeted by a perfectly awake Julien, and by the snores of a sleeping Alex, "Lina? Are you alright?" Asked Romeo, "You need some help?"

She shook her head, "I just wanted to return your jacket", She replied, handing him the jacket, "thank you."

Julien accepted the jacket, "You could have returned it to me in the morning, there was no need to trouble yourself," he added, and Lina shook her head once more, "No, it's really alright!" She replied.

"Hmm..." As they stood in front of the door for mere moments, Julien leaned on the doorframe, gazing at her face, "So, you couldn't sleep?" He said, noticing the bags under her eyes.

Lina hesitated for a moment, her feet lightly fidgeting, "I really don't know why..." She replied, her gaze looking at anything except the boy beside her, "Maybe because I'm still energetic?" After that, she got surprised by seeing Julien starting to wear his jacket, "Why... Are you wearing your jacket?" She asked, confusion etched over her face.

"Since both of us can't sleep, I figured that taking a walk wouldn't be a bad idea," Answered Julien, popping the collar of his jacket, "Does the idea suit your interest?"

"Seriously?" Lina's heart skipped a beat at the invitation and she eagerly nodded, "Yes, let's go!" She exclaimed, excitement clear in her voice.

As they walked closer to the beach, Sara, from her room, recognizes Romeo and Lina and immediately feels uneasy. She clutches her phone tightly, scrolling through the selfie she took with Romeo while they were on the bus. Her mind races with thoughts and doubts, "What if they are the ones actually dating?" Sara thinks to herself, "What if I choose to ruin what's between them?"

"Sara... You're still awake?", Asks Anna while rubbing her half-sleepy eyes, "Are you alright?"

"N... No, it's nothing", Answers Sara after pulling the curtains, "I'm going to bed now, don't worry about me!", Then she gets into her bed and keeps her friend unanswered, "I wonder what's bugging her?", Thinks Anna to herself before putting her head back on the pillow.

Eventually, Julien and Lina reached the beach and took a seat on the sand. They took in the sound of the waves and began to chat, "So you're worried about your mother?" Asked Lina softly after turning to him.

"Not really worried," he replies, "She's in good hands. My neighbor will take good care of her. She's just a little ill, can't deny that I've been thinking about her all long, to be honest."

Trying to change the subject so she wouldn't grow his worries anymore, Lina chimed in, "Do you like the beach?" She asked, stretching her legs on the sand.

"I do," He answers, "But I'm more into mountains and forests if you really want to know."

"We're polar opposites then!" Commented Lina, burying her feet in the sand of the beach, her tighs enjoying the breeze of the night, "I'm more into summer and beach and you like cold weather, nights, and mountains."

"We can't deny that both of them have their charms though," He added, focusing his lifeless gaze at the sky as usual.

"Yeah, you're right!" Lina agreed, starting to cover Julien's feet with sand to have some fun, "Even though I like the beach better, I don't know how to swim." She chuckled, feeling a little embarrassed.

"That's weird", Adds the boy, covering her thighs with sand in exchange, "I know how to swim thanks to Alex, to be honest. He's just a mermaid when he dives into the water."

"Mermaid?" Lina asks with a giggle, "Why not a Shark-man?"

"He's into mermaids", Explains the boy with a shrug, noticing Lina's unexpected laughter as she heard that line. The salty air is refreshing, and the cool breeze added to the relaxed atmosphere, which is filled with the sounds of waves crashing against the shores. But, as he made her laugh with that tiny sentence, it all seemed to fade into the background for him. It's as if he can focus on only that thing for now, on that smile. Her smile was breathtaking, a true work of art. It lit up her face, making her eyes sparkle like stars. It was warm and genuine, reaching all the way to her eyes and making them crinkle at the corners, "Why... Am I thinking... That her smile is cute?", Thinks Romeo to himself as he keeps stealing glances at her lightened-up face! He raises his hand and puts it on his chest, feeling a sudden jolt in it, a feeling he'd never experienced before, and he couldn't quite place what it was even though he's still his emotionless self. But as she turns to meet his gaze, her smile warm and genuine, he realizes with a start that his heart had skipped a beat, "Did my heart just skip a beat or something? That's kinda weird...", Then he leans back on his hands and raises his head, "So my heart can skip a beat..."

As they continue to enjoy the silence on the beach, Lina hesitantly asks Romeo a personal question, "Wh... What do you think... About me?", She questions, starting to pull her hair right away.

-Romeo: "You?"

"N... Not me like the real me...", She stammers, her cheeks reddening," I... I mean... Our friendship, what do you think about it?"

Romeo takes a deep breath and replies thoughtfully, "What can I say... A lot of things happened between us in such a short time you know. I think that you are the most idiotic handful feminist creature that I ever met. No, you're the clumsiness itself.", He answers, gesturing with his hand.

"You're so mean", Pouts the girl playfully.

"But... There's just something about being around you, Lina, that makes me feel completely at ease and comfortable", He continues after leaning back at his hands, "I keep experiencing something new every time you're around. That's why I truly value and cherish our friendship."

"You mean it? Do you actually mean it??", Lina's eyes light up as she asks that question.

"Most people think that I'm cold because I feel superior to them... Because I'm a prodigy or something that can't be compared to them. But it's not like I chose to be the way I am. I kept getting bullied for a long period as well. I kept trying to ask quite pillars of questions, but most of them remained unanswered though. I kept pushing everyone away to avoid getting them involved in quite a pain. But, somehow, it felt wrong to push you away. It felt wrong to avoid you. That's why I think I'm pretty grateful that I made you stay in my life. That's why... I think I value and cherish our friendship Lina."

As she listens to Romeo, Lina's heart swells with emotions, "I never that you value our friendship this much. You're making me feel a bit guilty for thinking of you as nothing but a cold stone before. I'm so glad I got to know you better, Romeo", She thinks to herself as she leans closer to the boy, "I never realized the kindness and warmth that lay beneath that stoic exterior. I'm so grateful to have gotten to know the real you. You have shown me that there is so much more to you than meets the eye. You have shown me that... Not showing emotions doesn't mean that you won't be considered the biggest blessing that I could ever meet... I'm so lucky to have you as my friend. I'm so blessed... To keep wanting you to be more than a friend...", And she realizes with awe, that accepting her feelings isn't the wrong move!

Her eyes sparkle with newfound admiration as she reaches out to touch his face, losing herself in his gaze. She declares firmly, "I'll stay," as she looks at him with a determined look.

"Where?", Asks the boy.

"B... By your side!",

Lina was momentarily taken aback by his question, and her face turns a rosy shade of red as she realizes how close she is. She quickly pulls back her hand, stammering, "I'll s... Stay by your side, s... Since you want it t... That bad!"

As she speaks, she hugs her legs close to her chest, trying to hide the blush that was spreading across her face, "I'll stay by your side. Because I also feel comfortable and safe around you...", She adds softly

"That's good to hear.", Adds Romeo, gently her head.

"Then what if we become... L... Like...", Suggests Lina nervously, leaving question marks all over Romeo's head, "B... Best friends!!! Yeah, we should be besties from now on! Since we both feel comfy around each other!" Lina exclaims.

-Romeo: "Best friends? Like me and Alex?"

Lina nods excitedly, "Yeah! He's your best boy! And I'm your... Your best friend! Let's make a pinky promise!"

Still unable to get what's going on, Lina forces him to raise his arm, "Raise your pinky, will ya?", She adds. After that, she links her pinky with his and says jokingly, "You said I'm annoying right? I pinky promise to annoy you as long as we're together!"

Romeo unfazed as usual, keeps trying to read the situation, but still links his pinky with hers, "What? Is that supposed to work positively for me? Then... Then I pinky promise to be the first one to lend you a hand."

Suddenly, Lina yawns and says, "I'm starting to feel sleepy all of a sudden! Guess we're heading back then."

-Romeo: "What? But we just got here."

"It's getting cold as well", She adds, pretending to shiver, "Time to go!"

"You girls are really weird.", He replies after standing up and taking off the sand on his clothes.

As they walk back, Lina couldn't help but think, "Oh my God, I was about to confess my feelings to him! What was I thinking about? Then coming up with this best friend thing?", But despite that, she couldn't help but feel happy as she thinks, " We're a step closer though! That's enough to satisfy me for now!"

As they get back to their rooms, they thought that their partners are sleeping. But in reality, both Alex and Maria are awake and noticed that Lina and Romeo were having some time alone. So they just sound asleep to let them, you know... The next morning, the entire group gathers for breakfast at the hotel. Alex notices that everyone is glaring at Romeo and whispering among themselves, with little smiles on their faces, "What's wrong with them?", Alex asks Romeo, who seems oblivious to the attention.

Just then, someone approaches them and says, "Umm! You're Romeo, right?"

"I can give you my autograph if you want", Adds Romeo, starting to eat the second chocolate bar.

"I'm not really interested in that for now...", The stranger responds, a bit frustrated. After some moments, Edward, a mutual friend, comes over and takes a seat with them, "Romeo, we need to talk!", he says, getting serious.

"Autograph?", Questions Romeo, still keeping that joke on work.

"That's not the time for some silly jokes, you know!", Scolds Edward, "Everybody's talking behind your back right now you know!"

-Romeo: "Me? Why?"

"Well, they think that you're mocking two girls by dating them simultaneously", Explains Edward, putting a hand over his head.

"You're talking about Lina and Sara?", Alex clarifies.

"Yes I am!", Nods Edward, "I'm 100% sure that you don't have feelings for both of them, I don't even think that you can love a girl! And you're not playing with their hearts either, you're not a playboy or a jerk I know that much! But still, the others won't get it you know! They are actually eating you up you know!"

"Sara's case is pretty clear", Interjects Alex, "everyone noticed the way they (she) act around makes them look like a couple. But, what about Lina?"

Edward then pulls up his phone and hands it to Romeo, "Take a look at this!", He says, visibly concerned, "Someone posted it on our spotted group last night!"

Upon seeing the photo, Romeo simply says, "It's me and Lina. I can't see a problem here."

"You don't see one because you're not dating Sara!", Explains Edward, a sigh tagging along, "But since the others think you're doing so, after seeing the photo things got messed up a little you know."

Alex, upset, says "Damn it! Who the hell is the stalker that took this photo anyway? What are you planning to do now?", He asks after turning to Romeo.

Romeo, nonchalantly, answers, "I'll finish my breakfast then start our journey. Today we'll be going to Camp Shizuhara, right?"

"It's not bothering you?", Asks Alex, still worried.

-Romeo: "I didn't do anything wrong, why should I get bothered?"

Edward, satisfied with Romeo's response, says "Let's go and eat our breakfast as well Johnny."

Johnny, timidly, replies "O... Okay!", as the group finishes their breakfast and sets off for their next adventure, "Weren't you going to say something to that Romeo?", Asks Edward, addressing Johnny.

"No, don't worry about it!", He answers with a warm smile, "It's not that important anyways!"

As Alex goes to the girl's room while the group is getting ready, leaving Romeo alone, as he did the previous day. He knows that Maria would have questions about the previous night, and he was right. The girl asks Lina about what happened the night before. Lina, fidgeting nervously with her hands, replies, "It's really nothing, I'm not hiding anything. Romeo and I were both having trouble sleeping, so we took a walk. That's all."

"But the others won't see it that way", Interjects Maria while holding her phone and showing the photo, "The whole issue started because of a photo, you know. People are thinking that Romi is dating two girls."

"So it's basically Romeo's problem!", Shrugs Lina in understanding, "His reputation will get tarnished. Oh my God, we were so careless..."

"Don't worry about it. Romi can handle it", Alex pipes up, "More importantly, how did things go last night?"

"I had a chance to tell him about my feelings, but I couldn't do it. I was too embarrassed", Sighs the girl, covering her face with a pillow.

"What?", Says Maria, Her eyes widening as she flicks Lina's head, "Another chance in such a short time, and you couldn't do it? That's a rare opportunity!"

"At least we're best friends now", Smiles Lina sheepishly while putting her hand over her forehead.

Alex feigned hurt, "Best friends? Romi is cheating on me?", Then he starts crying playfully, "I thought he was a pure soul."

"You're making it sound dramatic", Replies Maria, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, and I promised to annoy him as much as possible", As Lina confidently declares her promise to annoy Romeo forever, Maria and Alex exchange a pitiful glance at her. You can sense the disappointment in their look. Maria shakes her head in disbelief, unable to understand why Lina would make such a promise, "Lily, you're quite hopeless, to say the least!"

On the other hand, Alex simply looks at Lina with a look of concern and sadness, his face filled with empathy for his friend, "I'm starting to feel sorry for Romi. Since we're trying to set him up with this thing..."

"I did try my best guys!!!", Pouts Lina, interrupting Alex.

As the group makes their way toward the camp, they discuss the tasks they'll be taking on for the day, "Even though this day appears to be quite troublesome, I'm feeling that it'll be super fun!", Exclaims Lina, with a twinkle in her eye.

"I don't consider this kind of stuff a bother if you ask me", Adds Maria while stretching her arms, "We need to split up the work evenly though."

"I can cook a little bit", Offers Sara, shyly raising her hand, "I think the cooking will suit me."

"Same goes for me!", Chimes Lina before looking excitedly at Sara, "I guess we'll be teaming up then!"

"I want to go fishing! Please, Maria, please!!!", Jumps Alex at the chance to go fishing, "I can swim pretty fast so that job is suitable for me!"

" How is that supposed to help in fishing?", Questions Maria, rolling her eyes. Alex pouts while getting closer to the girl, and starts brightening his eyes to gain a soft spot in her heart, "Okay, okay", She adds after slapping him playfully, "Alex will bring us some fish then. Al, you can go with him if you want!"

Edward, always the responsible one, stepped forward to take care of the tents, humming a calm melody as he started to arrange the tent pegs, his actions speaking instead of his mouth. Meanwhile, Adam kneeled and touched a certain spot on the ground, then he stood up, "I'll light the campfire," he volunteered with a cheerful grin, his eyes darting to look at some rocks to surround the campfire.

"Okay, dig in then!" Added Maria, trying to maintain control. She turned to the star of the show, and found him sitting actionless while eating his chocolate, "What about you, Juju?" She asked, her eyes narrowed as she looked at his peaceful state.

Julien raised his head to look at her. However, before he could utter a world, Edward joined the scene with another student beside him, "Hey, Julien!" He called out, prompting Julien to turn his head to the other two, "I assume you don't know him, right?" Edward asked, pointing at the boy standing next to him.

Julien tilted his head to the right, a hand over his chin as he took some time to think, his eyes scanning the new arrival, "I'm afraid I don't." He replied, shaking his head. After those words, the boy stepped forward, stretching his hand toward Julien, "I'm John Gray. It's nice to meet you!" He introduced with a soft smile, his light cyan eyes gently locking with Julien's.

"Nice to meet you too," Julien nodded as he shook John's hand, taking some moments before getting their hands off each other. Just after that, Edward stepped in once more, a hand over Julien's shoulder with the other hand over John's, "John was going to gather some sticks for the fire, you know." He said, his head turned to Julien, "So I was wondering if you could help him, you're the only one with nothing to do after all!"

"Yeah you're helpless", Adds Maria. Johnny, who has been silently observing the conversation, pipes up, "I'll tag along with him then. I don't want to get too tired either", he adds with a chuckle. As the group continues their discussion, the anticipation for their adventure-filled day at the camp grows, filling them with excitement and a sense of unity.

As he heard those words, Julien raised his eyes to John, only to find the boy looking slightly nervous, "So... There's a certain something you're interested in asking me?" Asked Julien, realizing both Edward and John's sudden flinch at his words.

"H... How sharp can you actually be?" Questioned John as he stepped back, then he sighed lightly, "Yeah, I guess you can say that!" He replied, gesturing with his hands, "And I also want some company, I'm not really interested in going to the forest all by myself."

After that, Julien simply nodded, "Fair enough." He said, turning to Maria and waving to her, "I guess I have something to do then." He said, then he walked along John to the forest. Meanwhile, Edward and Maria kept standing next to each other for some time. Then Maria crossed her arms, "If I'm not mistaken..." She started, prompting Edward to turn his head to her, "Johnny has feelings for Sunny Sara, right?"

Edward stayed silent for a while, looking at Maria before turning his head straight again, "I see..." He sighed, "So you already understand John's sudden interest in Julien, right?" As he asked her, Maria simply nodded, stepping some steps forward before speaking, "I just hope Johnny doesn't have any unnecessary misunderstanding!" She clarified as she turned to Edward, an index over her head.

"Wow wow wow..." Edward looked rather taken aback by her words, her eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed, "Misunderstanding?" He repeated, gesturing with his hands, "Maria, everybody thinks they are dating, you know? If I didn't know Julien good enough, I would've thought the same thing as well."

"Julien does have to clarify things, to be honest!" He continued, starting to slowly move back and keep building the tents, "If he doesn't, I'm afraid most of the school will start bugging him, you know that much anyway!" Then he left her by herself, getting back to his task.

Meanwhile, John and Julien got to the forest to collect the needed materials, John didn't hesitate to break the silence and try to get closer to Julien, "You know what, Julien, I really think Maria has that natural aura around her, don't you agree?" He said, playfulness dominating his spirit as he took another stick.

Julien nodded, "Well, to be honest, she always looks at me like I'm her little brother and it can be a bit intimidating at times," Clarified Julien, making John chuckle at those words.

"That's not exactly what I meant, man," John replied, looking at the apathetic Julien in disbelief. After that, both of them didn't dare to interrupt the silence, even though John looked a bit off, as if he needed to get something off his chest, "Can I... Can I ask you something?" He said hesitantly, starting to tie the sticks together by using a little rope.

"Sure thing," Nodded Julien, still gathering sticks, patiently awaiting John's question.

"Aha... Actually... It's about Sara...", Adds Johnny, scratching the back of his neck.

Romeo, immediately answers, "No, we're not dating."

"Are you serious?", Questions Johnny with a raised brow, "I mean, you guys are always together, it's like you're attached at the hip. And, I heard from Edward that you act like a couple most of the time. Is there really nothing going on between the two of you?

"I promise you, Johnny, we're just friends.", Says Romeo while shaking his head. The silence becomes quite thick and palpable as Johnny fidgets under Romeo's intense gaze. Romeo leans in, studying Johnny's nervous demeanor, "Why are you giving me that look?", Asks Johnny with a puzzled look.

Finally, Romeo breaks the silence with a quiet voice, "Johnny, do you have feelings for Sara?", The question keeps hanging in the air, and Johnny can feel his heart pounding in his chest as he frantically searches for an answer. The atmosphere becomes completely still, and Johnny is all too aware of the sound of his own breathing as he tries to steady himself and hide the truth, "So you love Sara...", And Johnny interrupts him by quickly covering Romeo's mouth.

"Shh!", He adds, starting to redden, "We're so close to the camp, she might hear you!"

"Your face turned red", Replies Romeo, " So I'm thinking I hit the nail on the head."

"Yeah", Confirms Johnny with a sheepish grin, "I do have feelings for her. And I don't see anything wrong with that."

"She's a sweet girl", Adds Romeo, patting his friend's back while raising his thumb, "You've got some decent taste."

"I know, I know", Says Johnny, a dreamy look on his face, "I've been crushing on her since last year. But, I was too much of a coward to ask her out. And, here I am, still the same scaredy-cat."

"Do you want me to set you..."

"Hell no! That would be mortifying!", interrupts Johnny with a horrified expression.