*the smell of fresh baked bread*

paris can FEEL the other’s distress and genuinely feels bad for him. “i dunno man, but that sucks, i’m sorry.” she sighs, trying to search for a way to lighten the mood . “what’re baking? if you don’t mind me asking.” 

lane watched as tulsa flipped over one of the cards on the table. all he knows about solitaire is that it’s best friend’s go - to game when he’s brooding, so he doesn’t know if it’s a good card or a bad card. too weird. lane frowned. “okay, well, avoiding her isn’t gonna make it less weird,” he advised, “it might even make things worse.” lids squeezing shut, lane pinched the bridge of his nose and grumbled in halfhearted irritation. he probably should’ve known that tulsa would notice his fidgeting. “i wanna go home, dude. i just worked the closing shift and penny’s waiting up, but if i leave you here then i’m just gonna get a phone call from your mom ten minutes from now.” more like he’s worried about his friend, but he wasn’t about to get all mushy and concerned on him.

he slid into the booth with a sigh, sitting down across from tulsa. “dude … ” lane begins, then decides that he doesn’t know where to start. he wasn’t surprised to find his friend all alone in a corner booth at the local bar as tulsa had told him about josie rolling back into town and then he actually bumped into mercy ovalles of all people for himself. “it’s just your sister.” lane decided to start with discussing josie, since he has a feeling that she’s the reason tulsa is avoiding his own house. “she doesn’t bite — not since we were, like, five anyway,” lane tried to joke, but he was already fidgeting in his seat. he had less patience for tulsa’s most recent crisis than usual, but he wasn’t leaving the bar without his best friend.

rory rolls her eyes at him. “you’re well aware i won’t stop complimenting you just cause you don’t like it, right?” she teases him. the backbone of their friendship was how she annoyed him into being her friend in the first place. and she would continue doing so. she grabs his hydro flask before standing up. “i didn’t bring much and i don’t mind leaving the blanket i bought. i was going to throw it away the next day anyway.” rory dreaded how dirt her blanket would get. no way she was taking that home. “also, i don’t have a flashlight. like, i came totally unprepared for this. is my phone okay?” she dangles her phone at his face, the biggest and dorkiest smile on her face.

“i was afraid of that“ he sighed dramatically, running a hand through his hair, which he did to keep from fidgeting uncomfortably under her niceties. “I’ll grab my backpack then, there’s a flashlight in there” he assured starting toward his tent, stopping after a few steps and looking back at rory. the brunet gestures his head in that direction “c’mon” he looked down at her phone the light making him squint slightly “might want to save your battery, but it’s a decent back up“ once he grabbed his bag, his brows stitched together like it took a minute to process what he saw “what exactly was your phone wallpaper?“

“you would do that for me?” rory feigns feeling emotional, one hand over her heart and all. “i would love you forever, tulsa.” she eyes her dad for a moment and decides that escaping with tulsa probably would be the most exciting thing that could happen to her that night. she returns her attention to him. “i don’t think canoeing would be considered safe this late at night, but you know, you do you.” she shrugs with a smile on her face. “so, what’s the escape plan?”

“well you definitely couldn’t drive yourself in this state“ he chuckled. “i don’t know about all that.“ he shook his head not easily accepting her overzealous gratitude. “you mean you wouldn’t want to end up on the other side of the lake?“ his sarcasm subtle as he pushed off the log to stand. “grab anything you don’t mind never getting back, and a flashlight, we’ll hike down to the cars and then drive home in my truck.“ he answered simply, pausing for any questions she might have. 

“that makes more sense.” rory nods with a chuckle. “i am here because i can’t really escape. after all, the goof who planned this is my dad.” she shrugs. rory didn’t hate the events, but she did hate camping. anyone who liked sleeping on hard floor and being surrounded by mosquitos was not a normal person to her. “sounds like you had the whole camping experience. is there anything else on that list?”

“escaping is always an option“ he corrected, tulsa had ditched more than a few parties in his day when they no longer entertained him. “do you really think he’ll notice if you left?“ tulsa glanced in the direction of her dad’s ongoing concert. he didn’t realize his words sounded like an offer until they left his lips, but he wasn’t completely opposed to sleeping in his own bed tonight if she wanted an early ride back to town. he thought back on the few camping trips he had with his dad “um, from experience, canoeing into the middle of the lake and fishing for dinner but considering the amount of food we brought, that seems a little pointless.”  

rory chuckles at tulsa’s comment. “that makes me feel better.” she watches as he sits on the ground and gives him a huge smile after his offering. “my savior!” she grabs the bottle and chugs some water. she needed it. “why are you wasting your time with little ol’ me? i know this isn’t the most exciting of places to be right now, but i thought you would have found something fun to do.” she places his hydro flask on the ground and props her head in between her hands.

“it’s not a very high bar, but okay.“ tulsa shook his head at his joke, deciding to tone it back a bit “for what its worth, you’re taking it like a champ“ he assured as she took his water. tulsa didn’t know what he’d do if all his mom’s quirks were broadcasted for the whole town to witness and she wasn’t a fraction as... eclectic as mayor levi. “i didn’t really come for excitement, maybe a little bit to see what minnie may’s always gossiping about, but mostly just to avoid those long town meetings.“ he chuckled, "I had a s’more, built a tent, skipped some rocks, what more fun could i ask for?“ 

          the second his voice  echoed  through the open space , alana could feel herself visibly relax , along with immediately fighting the urge to roll her eyes at his question .  something she failed at from the start .  “ i could tase  you  instead , “  she stated , brow raising in his direction as she placed her hands on her hips .  

                  “ what are you doing lurking in the dark for ?  trying to give me a heart attack ?  don’t you know about my  flighty  heart ? “  of course , she didn’t have one but for the sake of the argument , she was willing to play a damsel in near distress . 

his eyes fell to her hands on her hips looking for the weapon in question, not that he thought she had one for a second. a small smile formed at her sassy response “you’d need a taser for that don’t you think?”  

LOCATION: mapleview campgrounds TIME: evening AVAILABILITY: open, @mapleviewstarters​

rory finished her fourth wine cooler and she was sure the alcohol had traveled straight to her head because she started to feel tipsy. she obviously wasn’t much of a drinker, only ever drank wine with friends, but she reached a stage where she could no longer stand the sound of her father’s singing. she sat down on a log with a s’more a friend had gave her, pouting like a baby. she looked beside her to see someone staring at her, which made her frown deepen. “tell me, and be honest, do i look silly right now?”

“not as silly as your dad“ tulsa teased. he had to admit the way she was disassociating might’ve seemed like a cry for help, hence his entrance. he sat on the other end of the log, his long legs stretching out in front of him awkwardly before he decided to sit on the ground, using the log to lean his back on. “water?“ the brunet offered his off brand hydro flask, since he had seen her down more alcohol than he’d ever seen her drink. not that he could blame her.  

“i wanted to be a cattle farmer, but i think that’s just cause i grew up next to the big red barn and saw the cute animals all the time. I don’t really have the stomach for some of the stuff they deal with though so i’ll keep on dealin’ with bread.“