Three

Yibo's Pov.

Even with all the chatter and noise floating around the bus, I still dozed off a bit. I didn't wake up, even with the bus stopping and people pouring out. I don't know how long I was out.

I woke to a gentle shake on the shoulder. Thank goodness it was gentle, because I'm afraid I would have scared whoever was waking me up if they had applied more pressure. As a result, I am very sensitive and jumpy. Because of my father, I try to keep my guard up at all times. I never know when he's going to strike, so I guess I've been very alert.

I turned my head to see who it was that woke me. There stood an Asian guy, probably around the same age as me.

"Sorry to wake you up..." It's just, well, the teachers have already assigned cabin keys to all the students. "Yours is the only one left," he said, pointing to the exit of the bus. "We all assumed that maybe you didn't come on the trip. I just came to get my bag and, well, saw you sleeping here. " He continued before grabbing his bag.

"T-Thanks for telling me... I didn't really plan on falling asleep.," I replied shyly, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"I'll fill you in on the briefing the teachers gave to everyone earlier." He said, giving me a half-smile and nudging his head towards the door. I followed him off the bus in silence. When I got out, the atmosphere hit me like a punch in the face. The sky was a solid blue, growing lighter near the setting sun. Crap, I must have been knocked out for some time if the sun was already setting.

"What time is it?" I hiss, rubbing my eyes again. "Around four-twenty." He answered after studying his watch for a moment. I guess it's fortunate that I got some sleep in, though. It's kind of challenging trying to fall asleep knowing that there's someone in your home that has it out for you. That being my father.

He took me over to a stump near a bunch of trees lined up near the ocean. Several items littered the area, giving it the appearance of a camp. I heard the voices of cheerful students coming from many directions. It seems they've already gotten settled into their cabins.

"Alright, so, this is your key." He pointed to a single key lying in a box on the stump. "It has your cabin number, but if you aren't sure where to go, it should be right in that direction." He pointed to the west. We'll be having a tour of the town tomorrow. The teacher said we get extra credit if we come along. " He cracks a goofy smile. I couldn't stop myself from smiling. I looked up at him and the sun hit my eyes, making me squint a bit. The day after, we'll do some hiking in the mountains and forests nearby. I'm all about that extra credit, man.," He let out a slight chuckle.

Extra credit is not why I'm here. I don't care about my grades. I know I won't be going to college anyway, because of the lack of support. My purpose in coming here was to get some time away from home. I suppose the tours could be fun, though. " The teachers have a schedule near the main building, so if you need any more help, head there. The school is scatterbrained, so if something makes little sense, you can always ask me. My cabin number is four. " He explains by pointing in the directions.

"That would explain why I could fake my father's signature without them questioning it." I mumble, mentally rolling my eyes.

"Wait, what?" He asked, sounding confused.

"N-nothing." I reply quickly, shooting my eyes in the opposite direction of him.

"Anyway, I'm leaving."He said, grabbing his backpack and heading east. "Oh, one more thing, dinner is at six-thirty, near the center of the park." He says, spinning my way with a raised finger. He turned around and continued walking.

"T-Thanks for the help!" I shrieked out, raising my voice. He turned halfway and gave me a brief smile before disappearing behind a cabin.

I sat in my spot, thinking a little before lifting my stuff and carrying it towards my cabin. The line of trees casting beautiful shadows over the park was like something from a movie or painting. The ocean air only added to the already pleasing atmosphere.

While heading off to my cabin, I looked around and saw many of the students already enjoying themselves. I was a little shocked that they weren't all on their phones. Like the guy said earlier, the school was scatterbrained and forgot to ban cellphones. I brought mine in case I needed it for anything. I won't be receiving or making any calls, though, because my contact list is totally empty.

After a couple minutes of walking, I finally reached cabin twenty. As I climbed the stairs, I heard footsteps crossing the deck. I spotted the source of the noise; it was a guy heading for the door.

"E-excuse me, is this cabin twenty?" I asked, just to be sure. I didn't want to walk into the wrong cabin and make a total fool of myself. He turned around and, oh crap, he's one of the attractive guys I mentioned earlier. He was in my presence and I got nervous. I felt like nothing compared to him, which intimidated me greatly. I don't know what I would do if we were sharing a cabin.

"Yeah... can I help you?" He asked, looking pretty confused. His look made me a little nervous, so I started playing with the strap of my backpack.

Well, my uh... my key says this is where I-I'm supposed to be staying. I clumsily pull it out of my pocket, almost dropping it. I held it up to him while trying to cover my embarrassment.

"Oh, so you're the kid that didn't show up earlier, huh?" He sighed. "I guess I won't have an entire cabin to myself after all." Wait, did he just say we're sharing a cabin together?

"I, uh, sorry." I quietly apologized, lowering my head. I didn't want to burden anyone while on this trip, but it seems like I'm already causing problems.

"It's cool. You seem like an okay dude, at least." He gave me a half smile before heading through the door. I could swear I felt my heart skip a beat. After recovering for a moment, I struggled to carry my bag up the steps. I filled it with snacks and books in case they didn't give us any here. I finally worked my way up the steps and through the door with the little pantry stuffed inside my bag. Upon entering the house, I spotted the kitchen to my left, and a little down the hall, off to the right, was a merged bedroom and living room, with a bathroom to the left. There's a door at the end of the hall, which I assume leads to the backyard.

I made my way to the bedroom and saw the guy sitting on the bed. He glanced at me for a second before going back to whatever he was doing. I dropped the heavy bag on a bed placed on the opposite side of the room from the guy's. I sat on the bed with my legs crossed and pulled out a book from my bag. I planned on reading for the rest of the day.

It felt very unusual to have a stranger in the same bedroom as me. I peered at him a few times before opening my book. I heard him ruffling through some of his things before coming to an abrupt stop. He turned my way and started speaking, almost startling me.

"My name's Zhan. What's yours?" he asked before going back to rummaging through his stuff.

"I-I'm Wang, Wang Yibo." I answered, surprised he cared enough to ask.

He let out a breathy laugh before speaking again. "Sounds pretty dorky." I gave him a small smile, knowing it was a joke, before going back to my book. It seemed like he had found what he was looking for because all the noise stopped. A moment later, he turned my way again.

"I, uh, I want to set some rules since we'll be living together for a week in this cabin." I brought my eyes up to him once more and gave him a slight nod, even though I was worried about what he might propose. "Tell me in advance if you plan to invite any friends over, and please, no parties." He spoke softly but sternly.

"It's okay, I—I don't have friends, anyway." I replied as blandly as I could, but a little sadness escaped my words. I look back down at my book, and the room is washed with silence once again. After a minute, Zhan spoke again. "Do you have any rules you want to lie down?" He asked, playing with his hand and looking at me. I felt very nervous having his attention on me, but I felt content being in his presence.

"Y-yeah. My only rule is that you do not restrain yourself because of me. You can do whatever you want. Though I would ask for some peace every once in a while." I responded, then gave him a shy half-smile. He smiled back, only he was much brighter.

"I'll be out back." He announced it looked like he was holding his phone and a pair of earbuds, so I assumed he was going to listen to music. I gave him another half-smile before going back to my book. I heard his footsteps slowly growing quieter until he reached the back door. When he left, the cabin was peaceful, with no other sound than the pages of my book.