What a Bunch of Fools We Lovers Are

I woke up as an earbud was pulled out of my ear.

"Here we are," Faith said. "Camp, sweet camp."

I sat up and took a look around. The area was fairly large, with numerous tents surrounding a sitting area and a campfire. From what I could see, there were a lot of people here.

"What sort of 'break' do you suppose this constitutes as, Faith?"

Parking her car, she said, "Whenever you go to shows, you wind up taking a bunch of crap from Desme or Rick. Well, they're not going to be here. In fact, you won't know most of these people. You'll probably make some friends."

When we came to a stop, I hopped out of the car and popped open the trunk only to find that Faith kept her word. I started to pull everything out, piece by piece, and was unable to think of a single thing she missed. Well, except...

I gasped loudly. At the very bottom of the pile was my most prized possession: my guitar. I yanked it from under a couple of bags and held it tightly in my arms. I almost pulled it out of its case, but Faith came around to the back of the car and asked, "Think I can get your help with this tent?"

"Sorry," I told her, gesturing to the numerous bags all across the ground. "Looks like I'm gonna need some help too."

"You know," she said, "there's a reason I gave you the swimsuit first. Put everything back in the trunk for now, and I'll help you with it later." Then she set off to erect her tent.

I followed Faith's instructions, replacing everything into the trunk, then I looked around for somewhere to change. There was a restroom, but, from what I could see, it looked rather unclean and much too occupied. Deciding to take my chances searching for somewhere more secluded, I picked a trail and followed it.

My fear of the outdoors was replaced with a fondness as I explored the forest. The creatures I had once found horrifying were now intriguing and beautiful in their own sense. I found myself changing into my swimsuit behind a tree. I had just started to tie the strings of my bikini top when I heard leaves and twigs crunching beneath someone's sneakers.

I pressed my bare back against the rough bark of the tree and held my breath as the footsteps drew nearer. The person who had apparently been stalking me through the woods started to softly hum a song I recognized, but could not remember the name of...

I gasped when I realized what he was humming; a song he had written and sung to me the previous night.

Upon hearing me gasp, Gavin's footsteps came to a stop. My heart was pounding on my ribcage, the only motion my body was making, as I struggled to remain hidden. A lifetime must have passed before Gavin finally decided he had been imagining me all along and walked away, and a second lifetime before I felt secure enough to move a muscle.

I leaned around the side of the tree and looked around. It was as if Gavin had never been there.