Twenty-seven

Their trip is coming to an end, but it will be the start of something greater.

Yibo's pov.

The sound of the growing rain woke Zhan and me up at the same time. I looked up to see him smiling down at me with his charming sleepy face.

"It's really pouring now." Zhan muttered, leaning up on the bed. Thankfully this time I hadn't clung to him. Though I practically melded to his side. I wasn't ready to get out of bed, Zhan noticed and poked my side. I curled up in self-defense but he continued to poke me, so I clocked him with his pillow. His reaction was enough reason for me to get out of bed. I quickly distanced myself from him, knowing what he had in store.

"Here we go again." Zhan sighed with a devious smirk.

"N-No I didn't mean to." I waved my hands, prepared to make a run for it. He slowly stood from the bed, making me nervous. I decided to take off before he made the first move. I ran out of the bedroom and ignored Zhan's calls. I practically trapped myself by entering the kitchen. It was small and the exit wasn't that big, not for Zhan at least, so he could easily catch me. His look grew more devious when he saw that I was trapped in the kitchen. He slowly approached me, making sure I wouldn't run off again. My only option was to get over the table. After a moment of hesitation, that's what I did, I jumped onto a chair and hopped onto the table. I quickly slid off and ran back to the bedroom before Zhan could reach me.

I darted to the end of the room, so if he caught me I'd have two ways to escape. He stood at the door frame still with that devious look on his face. He slowly began approaching so I readied myself to make a break for it. I was already getting exhausted from laughing the whole time. He didn't even touch me yet and I am almost laughing in tears. He suddenly lunged forward at me. I took a sharp left and ran across my bed, making my way to the exit. When I got to the hall I realized I had no plan for where I'd go next. Zhan was right on my tail so I had very little time to decide. My only "logical" option would be to run outside, even though it was still pouring. So that's what I did. I darted for the door on my right and charged outside.

The deck had a cover over it so I didn't get wet immediately. It was only when I ran down the small set of stairs that I started getting drenched. The drops were so large it barely took any time for our clothes to get soaked. I hadn't put my shoes on before leaving the cabin so my socks are also wet. I was suddenly regretting my decision.

Like usual I got tired and Zhan caught up with me. He tackled me to the rain-drenched grass. It wasn't like our clothes could get any wetter though. He pinned me under him and tickled me senseless. I

pleaded but he ignored my surrender. I felt so weak and helpless as he drained the little energy I had left. Laughter escaped me the whole time. Zhan was also laughing. His laugh was the best I'd ever heard. It wasn't loud or rough, it was more like a deep chuckle. It suited his handsome appearance perfectly. After he finished tickling the soul out of my body I laid exhausted in the wet grass. I didn't have enough energy to stand. Luckily he extended a hand. I gratefully accepted it and was pulled to my feet. He held my shoulder, supporting me as we headed back to the cabin.

"I win, again." Zhan spoke, grinning smugly as we entered the bedroom. I pouted at him but couldn't hold back a smile.

"Of course I lost." I retorted, accepting defeat. I could never win against him. He's superior in every way.

"We'd better get these soaked clothes off before we catch a cold." Zhan suggested. I nodded and got out a change of clothes. When I turned around Zhan had already begun to undress. I was shocked because I had expected him to change in the bathroom. I stood there and watched like a deer in the headlights. I couldn't avert my gaze. He peeled the wet shirt off his toned body and lifted it over his head. The rain slightly altered his appearance, wetting his hair. He still looked very handsome, if not more so than before. He did a slight hair flip, shaking the water out. Suddenly he looked over at me with a look of curiosity.

"Something wrong?" He asked, raising a brow. I bet I was fifty shades of red when I realized I'd been staring, and worse, I'd been caught doing it.

"I-I... No, I was just about to change." I shake my head furiously. I felt a little embarrassed that I had to use the bathroom to dress but I had a good reason for it. I was NOT about to let him see the scars and bruises all over my body. I mean, I can probably trust him, but I'm...I'm ashamed... and I don't want him to pity me. Things are going perfectly, and I don't want to push anything off, by dropping more of my problems on him.

I grabbed my clothes and headed for the bathroom. Once in I stripped the wet clothes that stuck to my body. I threw on a sky blue t-shirt and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans.

"You're not comfortable undressing around me?" Zhan asked me with a smirk, as I entered the room.

"Uh, well.." I began, scratching my arm. "I'm not used to undressing around other people." I explained. It wasn't a lie, I'm not used to undressing around people. However, if it weren't for these bruises I would've followed behind Zhan and just dressed in the room.

"I see." He replied, still smirking.

I sat on my bed and pulled out a book immersing myself in the pages. I noticed the rain had died down a little since earlier. It was still coming down, just a lot calmer. The time was currently five-pm. Zhan was on his phone, and as I mentioned earlier I was reading. We did just that for the next hour.

We ran through the gentle rain, making sure not to get wet since we'd just changed. We rushed through the door of the food hall escaping the rain. We only managed to get a few drops on us by hiding under anything we could find. It made me feel like I was some kind of spy on a secret mission. I was having a lot of fun, even though it wasn't intended.

The smell of the freshly cooked food was so inviting as the doors parted. Mission, successful! I thought to myself, giggling a little. We got our trays and stacked them with macaroni and cheese. It tasted pretty good. I stuffed my cheeks with it, as I was starving. It ended up being hard to chew though, and I laughed while doing so which only made it that much harder to finish. Zhan just watched with amusement on his face. Once I shoved all of the macaroni and cheese down I went on my fruit salad. The meal was satisfying, aside from the shabby ingredients, they used in the macaroni and cheese.

Before we left, Cheng came up to our table and we chatted for a while. Since it was our last day here he wanted to catch up. I hope he continues being my friend when we get back.

He invited us to a "Final Day" party that was being held in one of the cabins on the campground. We both declined. I'm uncomfortable being around large crowds and loud noises.

Cheng looked a little disappointed but accepted it. He rejoined his group of friends after talking to us a while longer.

When we returned to the cabin I asked Zhan why he turned down the party invitation.

"I'm tired of parties." He sighed, heading into the bedroom. I can understand. He's one of the popular students so I bet he gets invited to many.

"Plus you weren't going to be there." He added with a smirk, before disappearing through the door. I felt my face redden. Was he serious? When I entered the bedroom I spotted him packing. Shoot I'd totally

forgotten about that! I packed all my loose clothes and books in my bag.

"I'm going to miss this." Zhan spoke softly. I turned my head for our gaze to meet.

"Yeah... me too." I replied quietly, wearing a sad smile. Both Zhan and I skipped the shower since we were soaked by the rain and we had already changed. Zhan shut out the light and hopped in the corner of the bed. I crawled in next to him. He lifted

the cover and threw it over me. I always loved the feeling of being covered by someone. It just feels... relaxing. I guess that would be the best word to describe it. We both stayed awake for a while after getting to bed.

"Zhan, are you awake?" I whispered, after hearing him shuffling in the covers.

"Yeah, I'm awake, what's up?" He replied. I half expected him to since it was the middle of the night.

"Oh... I just wanted to know if you were awake." Of course that wasn't the only reason I called him. I wanted to talk to him, but I didn't want to keep him up.

"I can't fall asleep." He admitted.

"Same." I said.

"So what's on your mind?" He asked quietly, moving closer to me so he doesn't have to raise his voice.

"Home. I'm not ready to go back." I sighed. If my father found out that I'm gone then my life will be hell when I get back. I didn't tell this to Zhan though.

"Yeah, it's the same for me. My friends won't give me a break when I get back.' He also sighed.

"I really enjoyed my time here. I dunno how this trip would have gone if I were bunked with anyone else." I muttered sleepily. I guess my tiredness is finally starting to kick in.

"I feel the same way about you." Zhan whispered before going silent. Both of us calmly drifted off to sleep. I felt content falling asleep after our short conversation. It made me overjoyed that he felt the same way I did. I'm happy I didn't end up being

a burden. It was a good feeling to know that for once I wasn't causing anyone problems.

When morning came I woke up with the top half of my body sprawled on top of Zhan's, and his arms wrapped around me. Crap, we totally went all out this time. I slowly pulled myself up off Zhan, then he let out a tired groan with his eyes popping open moments later.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to wake you." I apologized, red-faced. I didn't want him to catch us in this position. Luckily, I managed to pull away before he noticed.

"It's okay." He responded in a gentle, sleepy voice as he leaned up in bed.

After dreadfully pulling myself out of bed I was the first in the bathroom. I brushed my teeth, washed my sleepy face, and headed back to the room. I stuffed my toothbrush in my bag since we were heading home today. I felt my nerves getting the best of me.

My mind was lost in "what if". What if my father finds out I've been gone the whole time, what if I don't keep any of my friends, what if Zhan ignores me in school? There were so many questions spiraling in my mind.

On my way to breakfast with Zhan, we ran into an instructor. He informed us that we had to be ready to head out by noon. Zhan and I had already packed so that wouldn't be much of a problem. One thing that was hard to prepare was my soul. I wasn't quite ready to pack that up yet.

When we got inside the place was packed. I guess everyone is here for one last meal before going home. Zhan got turkey bacon, eggs, and toast while I settled for pancakes and ice cream. I've been craving them since Zhan made them. They were so fluffy and delicious.

Zhan bought us drinks as well. He got coffee and I got hot chocolate. It was an odd mix of ice cream and pancakes but it looked irresistible.

When Zhan and I finished up our breakfast he took me on a walk around the park one last time. It was a shame that I didn't get to see little Sean, but I didn't expect to. We got to the clearing where I found him, but this time we went a little further since it was earlier in the day. The place was so amazing with all of the bright green trees. I wandered around with my gaze in the sky. The place was so vast and beautiful. It made me very warm and happy. Being here with Zhan made it that much better.

"Whoa." I breathed in awe with my sight still on the bright blue sky.

"This place is nice, isn't it?" Zhan chuckled, making me turn my gaze to him.

"It's far beyond nice." I state. "Just look at those trees." I said excitedly, pointing over to the thin white and green trees swaying in the wind. He chuckled and watched as I lost myself in nature. It was such an amazing experience for me.

We scaled the beach a couple of times and explored the park's center. The stone fountain was amazing! This took a couple of hours of our time, and it was just about time to leave, well not just about, we still had an hour left. We didn't want to be late so we headed back to the cabin.

I double-checked to see if I had packed all my things, I did. I dragged my heavy bag out onto the front porch of our cabin. I sat on the stairs leading up to it, preparing to leave. Zhan joined me a few minutes later. He placed one of his earphones in my ear and we listened to one of his playlists. I

shot him a shy half smile and he gave a handsome warm one back.