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Kyle watched the moon and stars from the window as he sat in the dining room, trying his best to not think too much about how he shouldn’t be out past curfew.
Everyone knew Kyle was the least likely out of all the kids to break the rules, and he does rather avoid it, really. But after many tossing and turning on his bunk, Kyle had miserably decided that indeed he couldn’t sleep.
While staring at the bunk on top of his, he remembered how aunt Nina (he still prefers to call her “miss”, but she keeps insisting he doesn’t need to) had mentioned how a cup of her hot chocolate had always soothed Joy and Dylan back to sleep. Kyle didn’t know how sugar could soothe anyone to sleep, but since three people had firmly confirmed it works, he decided to give it a try. He would still much prefer his usual mint tea, but unfortunately the only ones he had ever seen drinking tea on the camp were miss Emily and the counselors, and he wasn’t going to sneak into the counselors’ cabin tonight, thank you very much.
It was a warm, quiet summer night, the only sounds outside being the crickets and occasional owls, and the only sounds inside being his own slurping and mug being settled down on the table.
Even in his discomfort of breaking the rules and constant paranoia of being caught, Kyle felt a strange, comforting feeling of deja vu. He recalled the many nights he had stayed up late on the kitchen table, summing up bills and taxes while his parents and little siblings slept peacefully. Kyle has always hated doing math, the mere thought of all of those numbers and calculus creating a storm in his head made him cringe. Alas, he was forced to like it due to his need for it, which quickly turned him into the top student of the subject.
But now, sitting alone in what was similar to a kitchen in the middle of the night, with nothing but a cup of a warm drink on his hand that wasn’t caffeine for once and having no papers with numbers on them for him to worry about, he felt a sense of peace. A sense of peace that almost beat his fear of someone walking in and catching him on the scene of the crime.
Keyword: almost.
Suddenly, one of the big doors at the entrance slowly creaked open. In a panic, Kyle choked back a yelp and hid under the table.
Only when he was fully into hiding did Kyle realize he had completely forgotten about his cup on the table. He bit his lip to not curse himself and squeezed his eyes shut, as if maybe, if he squeezed them hard enough, he could poof back onto his bunk where he never should have left.
All his nerves faded when he heard not an adult voice, nor the voice from a camper he didn’t get along with, but the familiar voice from a friend. “Hello? Is someone there?”
It was Liz.
Kyle sighed in relief, and peeked his head out from under the table. “Yeah. Me.”
He couldn’t see from the dark and the distance, but Liz’s eyes had widened as if she had seen a ghost. “Kyle? What are you doing here?”
“I could ask the same-” Kyle prompted to get up, but hit head on the table. “Ouch- I could ask the same for you.”
He could hear Liz snort, but luckily, she held it back as she gently closed the door behind her and walked to the table he was, making her footsteps as quiet as she could. “Never thought I’d see mister-goody-two-shoes sneaking around in the middle of the night.”
Kyle simply hummed in response as he finally made it out from under the table and sat on the bench. Liz crouched slightly, her head almost touching his shoulder as she looked for what was inside the cup.
Suddenly the already warm night seemed warmer, as Kyle thought there wasn’t any other explanation as to why his face was heating up.
“Whatcha’ drinking? Coffee?” Liz asked, at last.
“No. Hot chocolate.” He replied, trying his best to avoid eye contact as he took another sip.
He heard Liz straightening herself and sitting down beside him. “Huh. Never took you for the sweet tooth type.”
“I’m not.” He said, “It’s just that aunt- miss Nina told me that it always helped Joy and Dylan sleep.”
Liz hummed. “Having trouble sleeping then, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Too much energy to spare?”
“Not really. Mostly anxiety.”
Liz laughed. Her laughter slowly died down when she realized the seriousness on Kyle’s face. “Wait, for real?”
Kyle nodded.
“Oh.”
There was a moment of silence between them as Kyle took another sip of his cup and Liz awkwardly fiddled with the sleeves of her pajamas. The crinkets kept singing, and a firefly or two could be seen from the windows.
Finally, Liz spoke. “Sorry. That was awkward.”
“Huh?” Kyle, who wasn’t fully paying attention, blurted out. “Oh. It's fine. I don’t care, really.” He shook his cup a bit, watching the remaining brown liquid shake along with it. “I’m the one who should apologize, I shouldn’t have said that. I mean, not that I’m lying or anything, I do actually mean it. But it’s not something I say so bluntly to people normally. My mind just isn’t working right now and- Sorry.”
Liz laughed again, and this time, Kyle couldn’t help but chuckle along a little bit. “Dude, chill. You have nothing to be sorry for. Believe me, I get it.”
If Kyle’s mind was fully working, he would have asked her what she meant with that last part. But since it wasn’t, he didn’t give it as much thought as he usually would. As he took another sip, his friend spoke again.
“Well? Is it working?” She leaned more onto the table, looking directly at him.
Kyle shrugged, “It’s nice, but I don’t feel any different. I suppose the effect is supposed to show once I settle in bed.”
“Well,” Liz started. “May I give you my company until then?”
She smiled. That smile. A smile that somehow could be mischievous, ironic, flirtatious, yet kind, genuine and welcoming at the same time. Kyle tried his best to not look at it too long. Maybe that summer night was getting increasingly warmer by the second.
“Sure.”
They fell silent again. More fireflies had showed up on the window, swirling in the air as if they were playing with each other. Liz began tapping her fingers on the wooden table in a certain melody. Kyle recognized the melody being from one of the songs she’s always listening to on her MP3 player. A band called ‘Phantom Punks’ or something like that. Kyle tried his best to not hum along, since he knew Liz would never leave him alone if she found out she had managed to get the song stuck on his head.
Maybe it was because she had made her presence more known, or maybe it was because Kyle was almost finished with his drink., but suddenly he remembered of good manners. “I’m sorry-” He turned to Liz, as she stopped the tapping. “I didn’t even ask if you wanted some?”
To his relief, Liz seemed unfazed as she shook her head. “Nah. I’m good.”
Silence yet again. Kyle was beginning to feel pressure to finish his drink soon, but one thing he had learned earlier that day is that you should never drink hot chocolate, or anything hot in general, fast. Unless you have no love for your tongue and don’t mind getting it burned.
Liz’s tapping began again, but this time it wasn’t from any melody he recognized. Instead, it seemed more like an anxious sort of tapping. Like the type Kyle would do, only with his foot.
Kyle quickly shook that thought away when he realized how silly it sounded. Liz? Anxious? Like him? Sounded unlikely. She was the most chill-going person he’s ever met. Unlike him, nothing seemed to ever bother her or trouble her mind. They were polar opposites. There was no way she was-
“Hey, uhm-” She began suddenly, pulling Kyle out of his trail of thoughts. “I’ve been meaning to tell you…”
Kyle finally looked her way, giving her his full attention as he made the so feared eye contact. It didn’t last, as soon she was the one to look away this time. “I’m sorry. For snapping at you earlier today. That was really uncool of me.”
Kyle’s breath stopped for a moment. With all the other things that had been storming on his mind he had completely forgotten about the minor argument he had with Liz during another one of their ‘missions’ in the woods. At the time, it had seen world-ending, as Kyle’s heart had beat faster as his hands trembled when he clenched them like they always do. But now, in the middle of the night, his tired self couldn’t recall how he had felt back then. In a way that it didn’t matter half as much anymore.
He hadn’t expected Liz to apologize, though. If it didn’t matter much anymore to him, he had figured it didn’t matter at all for her. That maybe the heat from the argument had cooled down as other things happened in the day and the night slowly fell. But when her eyes met his again, in a way he could see the genuineness and guilt shining through them with the moonlight, he had been proven wrong.
But again, how well did he know Liz and the others anyways? They've only been hanging out for a few weeks. And due to their constant near death experiences, they barely had any opportunities to actually sit down and talk.
Kyle remembered Liz was still waiting for an answer, so he took a breath and tried his best to express himself well, “It's alright, you had a point anyways.” He looked down, tracing his fingers on the table. “I'm sorry for holding you guys back so much.”
“What?” Was Liz's answer, which isn't what he expected, so he looked up at her.
“What?” He repeated.
“Kyle-” She started, indignation in her tone. She inhaled sharply, “You don't hold us back. Ever.”
“But you said-”
“Forget what I said!” She snapped, causing him to back up slightly. “You’re one of the most caring and thoughtful guys I've ever met! You're always looking out for us, following us everywhere even if you don't like it, making sure we get hurt as little as possible- we'd probably be dead by now if it weren't for you!”
Kyle stared at her, dumbfounded. This time, there was no denying he was blushing. He hadn't expected to get complimented like that, especially not by Liz.
Liz also stared at him for a while, with a firm, honest look on her face. Then she blinked, coming back to herself.
“The point is,” She continued, “Don't mind anything I said back then. I take it back. Sometimes I don't control my stupid tongue and get defensive then I say things I don't really mean. So, sorry, again.”
Kyle hadn’t realized how he was staring at her. Maybe it’s because she had caught him off-guard, or maybe it’s because he thought he was hallucinating for a moment.
“Wow.” He almost whispered.
“Wow?”
Kyle’s eyes widened and he shook his head in embarrassment. “Sorry, I just, uhm…” He felt his bangs falling on his face as he looked down. “...wasn’t expecting that.”
Liz made an offended look. “What? Is it so hard to believe that I’m able to admit when I’m wrong?”
“What? No!” He quickly looked up, “Its just- I didn’t think- You didn’t seem like-”
Kyle felt a light punch on his shoulder, followed by laughter.
“I’m just messing with you! Chill!”
As Liz’s laughter went on, Kyle attempted to follow, his laugh being awkward at first, but eventually turning genuine.
Remembering that they were out past curfew, Kyle quickly quieted down and shushed Liz, who followed suit.
“No, but, being serious now,” He started, composing himself. “Thank you, Liz. I… I really appreciate it.”
The two smiled at eachother, a silent agreement that they both had made eachother feel better that night. Kyle remembered his hot chocolate was still unfinished, so he quickly brought the cup to his lips and took the final sip. Liz had asked him if he was ready to go, which he agreed to.
The friends walked together to the canteen’s entrance, Kyle opening the door as quietly as he could and holding it open for Liz. Who, as soon as she walked past, took a deep breath of the night summer air. That’s when Kyle got a really good look at her.
Her hair was held low in a bun, she wore what seemed to be an oversized gray sweater that only exposed her shoulders, along with some black pants and fluffy white slippers. Even when wearing pajamas, Liz was still stylish.
Kyle suddenly felt shy in his cotton shirt, shorts, and flip flops.
“Don’t you just love summer nights?” She asked him, snapping him out of his trance.
“Uhm, sure. I just don’t like the bugs that come along with it.”
Liz laughed, “Why are you so scared of bugs? They’re cute!”
Kyle raised an eyebrow at her. “Did Iris and Dylan convince you of that?”
“Maybe.”
“Called it.”
Just as they went down the small staircase, a group of fireflies showed up right in front of them, and swirled around their bodies. Kyle was going to yelp in surprise, but Liz covered his mouth just before he could do so.
He tried to wave the fireflies off, while she giggled and twirled with them. One landed on Kyle’s nose, while he bit his lips to not scream. Liz delicately bopped his nose, making the firefly land on her finger. She raised it up, and bid it goodbye as it flew off.
As they watched the group of fireflies and their glow slowly disappear into the night, Kyle, for the first time, realized how beautiful the camp really was, feeling awestruck by the night and all the nature that lied beneath it. Back in the city, he could never see so many stars in the sky like he saw at camp.
“Not bad, huh?”
Kyle felt himself getting brought back to earth by Liz’s whisper. “No, not bad at all.” He exhaled a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. “It’s beautiful."
Liz chuckled. “Told you.”
They two friends made their way back to the cabins, trying to make as less noise in the grass as possible. Finally, when it was time for them to separate, Liz had stopped by gently grabbing his arm.
“I know I’m not always the easiest person for you to talk to… But if you ever need to talk, actually talk, I’m here to listen.”
Kyle had just nodded and thanked her.
Apparently the hot chocolate worked. Because Kyle fell asleep instantly and well that night.
But he wasn’t sure if it was for the warm feeling on his stomach, or the warm feeling on his chest.