Everything Has Changed

Raindrops poured down from the shady clouds above, soaking through my clothes almost instantly. A chill rushed down my spine as the cold raindrops hit my bare arms. When planning the perfect weekend camping trip, we hadn’t been expecting this downpour. The radar hadn’t shown a sign or rain the previous day. The meteorologist had clearly spoken of clear skies and sunshine, not storm clouds and flooding waters. We hadn’t prepared for a situation like this at all. The worst part about it was that Allen had left us to go grab a few extra things from his house. Our only means of transportation was nowhere near the campsite.

“We need to find some of shelter.” Harry said, stating the obvious. I was surprised when I didn’t hear a snarky comment from Alicia. Harry and Alicia were a set of twins who never got along very well. They would always quarrel about something whether it be something small like early morning bathroom schedules, or something big like the economy. One of them always had to disagree with the other. It was somewhat comforting and entertaining to hear the two bicker back and forth, until it got too loud.

Alicia didn’t reply to Harry’s comment at all, which is what worried me the most. Was she even with us? I took a glance back, noticing that she wasn’t following. She wasn’t even in sight. This wasn’t good. She could be anywhere by now. How long had she been missing?

“Harry, Alicia isn’t here.” I shouted over the rain, my voice shaking as I spoke. I stopped in place, searching the premises as clearly as I could. The rain blocked most of my vision, making it hard to see anything at all.

“Do you think she went back to the campsite?” Harry suggested, edging his way closer to me for warmth. We both had on short-sleeved shirts and shorts. Not to mention the open-toed shoes, which weren’t at all helpful in the situation we were in. We didn’t have a jacket, nor had we even thought of packing one.

I shook my head at Harry’s suggestion, “No, I don’t think she would.” I replied, looking at the ground, which was sopping with water. The water from the lake had already started to rise. It was happening quicker than I had expected it to.

“We have to find her, Zoey, and quick.” Harry himself had a worried look on his face. I’m sure my face matched his.

We made our way back to the campsite as quickly as we could, huddling closely together in hopes that we wouldn’t freeze. We had planned on checking the tent, but by the time we got there, the water had completely ruined it. It wasn’t useful at all now. The tent had crumbled to the ground, destroying it. We walked around the perimeter of the camp, searching in the more obvious places. There was no sign of Alicia.

“Maybe, and hopefully, she found Allen and they’re looking for us.” Harry proposed.

“It’s a possibility, I suppose,” I replied, continuing shortly after, “but we need to find shelter. If Alicia is out there, she’ll come find us. Let’s go.” I said walking in the same direction we came from. Harry followed shortly behind me, trying to keep up with my quick walking. He managed to stay right on my trail.

“Zoe, you’re going to have to slow it down a little, or you’re going to end up losing me as well.” he yelled. It was hard to hear him. I could barely make out what he was saying, but putting two and two together, I figured it out. I slowed down only a little to make sure he could keep up. Soon enough, he was at my side again. The water was rising even more, making its way up to our ankles.

After about ten minutes of trudging through water, Harry and I found a small shelter house. It wasn’t much and probably wouldn’t protect us for long, but it would guard the two of us from the pouring, cold rain. We entered the house, and it instantly grew a few degrees warmer. The temperature outside had changed drastically from the time we began camping to now. We sat on the bench that was provided by the shelter, trying to warm ourselves the best we could. The rain didn’t seem to be picking up at all; it only seemed to be pouring harder.

“We’re going to be here for awhile” Harry gave, again stating the obvious. It was so weird without Alicia here. I was so used to having Harry and her bickering back and forth. I wasn’t used to just Harry. We hadn’t been in the same room alone together for quite some time. Usually either Alicia or Allen had been there, but now it was just the two of us.

Harry looked up at me, scooting closer on the bench, “You know, Zoe, we may not get out of here.” he said.

“I know, Harry. For awhile. I heard you before.” I replied, shivering slightly.

“No. We may not ever get out.” he corrected, a tone in his voice telling me that he was serious.

“Harry, don’t talk like that. We’ll make it out. We’ll be fine.” I said, not meeting his gaze.

“Zoey, I’m serious. You never know what can happen.” he retorted. When I didn’t say anything back, he continued, “I’ve been meaning to tell you this for some time now, but I’ve never had the courage to until now,” he paused, “Zoe, I like you, okay? I like you, probably a lot more than I should.” he admitted.

“Stop. I know you’re just saying this because of the situation we are in.”

“But it’s not. I’ve felt this way since freshman year. I haven’t said anything yet mainly because I haven’t had the courage and because Alicia’s always there.” he turned my face to where I was looking at him, “I’m being completely honest.”

I looked at him, not seeing anything but honesty in his eyes. Could he be telling the truth? He looked down at my lips, and I knew what he was thinking. He moved his head down, gently grazing his lips with mine as if waiting for my permission. When I didn’t move back, he continued, pressing his lips to mine, kissing me softly. He pulled me closer, deepening the kiss a little by moving his head to the side and adding pressure. I kissed him back, feeling my heart flutter inside my chest.

Harry really wasn’t the type of guy I would see myself with. We weren’t really each other’s type. He was more outgoing than I was, and had more friends. He was more of a sporty guy, while I was more of a sit-in-the-corner-alone-reading-a-book kind of girl.

I pulled away after a couple minute, and both of us were breathless. I bit my now swollen bottom lip. I hadn’t expected myself to like the kiss as much as I did. He looked at me, giving a small smile, which I returned.

We stayed in the shelter house for a couple hours before the rain finally started to settle down. Minutes after, we made our way toward the exit, taking our leave. Harry grabbed my hand, lacing his fingers through mine. The rain’s downpour decreased immensely to a sprinkle. The water still lingered on the ground about a foot high, making it difficult for us to walk. I took in my surroundings, noticing branches that were detached from their limbs. There weren’t any birds in sight, which didn’t surprise me either. The wind was blowing gently out of the south, making my blonde hair intrude my face, warming me a little.

We went back to the campsite, looking at all out our destroyed items. The tent was no longer usable, or anywhere in sight. Our cooking utensils had most likely disappeared somewhere beneath the lake water, along with most of our clothes and food. We hadn’t brought anything with us on our little scavenger hunt for shelter, resulting in most of our belongings missing. The only thing that was still good was the car, which was right beside the campground.

Harry and I shared a look of surprise as Allen walked up to us. He quickly let go of my hand, which hurt a little, but I pushed it aside. “Where have you guys been? We’ve been looking everywhere for you.” He said as Alicia strolled up beside him. Alicia wore a look of worry.