My Summer Does Not Suck CH4

Magnus climbs into the backseat of the car as everyone else packs his or her bags in the trunks of their respective vehicles. Halfborn and Mallory thought it would be a good idea to mix up the groups from New York City and Boston so everyone could get to know each other better on the way to Jotunheim Island. The whole morning Halfborn and Mallory have been whispering back and forth with each other, smiling and giggling. Magnus grins, They would be really cute together… he thinks. While Magnus was lost in thought he hadn't noticed Alex poke his head into the car, Magnus smiles at Alex, wiping away the confused look he was wearing moments before.

Alex smiles back at him, "Hey is it cool if I sit in the back with you?"

"Yeah, of course, no problem!" Magnus blurts, his face lighting up at the thought of sitting next to Alex.

Alex shakes his head and chuckles, "Are you ever not happy?"

Magnus's heart beats a bit quicker as Alex slides into the spot next to him; Magnus quickly replaces his look of nervousness with a smirk, acting confident when he is anything but, always helps him calm his nerves, "Nope, unless I have a really good reason to be unhappy. But I'm generally an optimistic person, though my sense of humor sometimes contradicts that."

Alex raises a brow at Magnus, "So, no but yes?"

"Exactly." Magnus laughs and Alex joins in. Then they both notice Mallory and Halfborn smirking at them as they climb into the middle seats and they immediately stop. Halfborn winks at Magnus and suddenly he recognizes Halfborn's signature "I'm plotting" face. Magnus leans in to speak into Alex's ear and Alex tenses.

"They're up to something." He whispers.

Alex pulls back a bit as he nods his head, "Agreed, we'll talk about it later."

The car pulls out of the hotel loop and begins its drive to Jotunheim Island. Magnus gives Alex a thumbs up as he leans forward in his seat to talk to Halfborn, "Hey man are you excited for this hike or what!"

Halfborn palms Magnus in the head and pushes him back into his seat, "No. Don't talk to me."

"Awww, come on Halfborn it will be fun!"

"Yeah Halfborn it will be fuunnnn!" Mallory pipes in, smiling at him.

Halfborn shakes his head and laughs, "Okay, now I regret putting myself in a car with three people who all enjoy hiking."

"Actually, Mallory doesn't like hiking either." Alex points out while directing a questioning glare towards Mallory.

"Oh really?" Halfborn smirks.

Magnus looks at Mallory in confusion, "Wait, then why did you say that hiking sounds like a great idea last night if you don't even like hiking?"

Mallory smiles softly at Magnus, reaching back and placing a hand on his knee. She could feel Magnus tense at the action and sense the shock radiating from Alex, who is staring at Mallory's hand on Magnus's knee. Halfborn seems a bit shocked as well, but he hides it better than Alex does, "Because… I felt bad when Halfborn was picking on you and thought that getting everyone to agree to a hiking trip might bring that charming smile back to your face." Mallory says sweetly then pulls away to sit right in her seat again.

Magnus is really confused. He was convinced that Mallory and Halfborn were becoming a thing but she clearly just flirted with him and not Halfborn. Magnus immediately looks at Alex who is sitting next to him and notices he seems tense, but when Alex catches Magnus's gaze he gives him a soft smile then looks away. When he looks at Halfborn he thinks his friend might tear his head from his body one second but then a look of realization crosses his face and he turns back to the front, crossing his arms with a huff. Mallory keeps peaking back at him and giving him small smiles. Overall Magnus is really confused about Mallory's gesture and everyone's reaction to it. He's not interested in Mallory but he feels bad saying so. I mean she is beautiful, with her curly red hair and striking eyes, and she is definitely someone I would normally be interested in… but something just doesn't feel right… especially after, well… Magnus thinks.

Uncomfortable, Magnus clears his throat, "Ummm it's cool. We joke around all the time. But, thank you all the same." He gives her his signature smile and she nods her head smiling back. Magnus gets lost in thought again, oblivious to those around him. Alex tries his hardest to not be upset by Mallory flirting with Magnus but he can't help but frown at the interaction, he grows silent as he looks out the window.

Halfborn notices Alex's shift in mood and addresses him, "Hey man are you alright?"

Alex sighs and looks at him, "I'm a girl today." Alex's spirits lift a bit when Halfborn cringes at himself for using the wrong gender again. Alex knows it's not his fault, even if she does get offended by people mislabeling her, she gets that it can be hard to keep up and recognize the shift, especially if it's with someone she has just met. Pitying Halfborn she gives him a smile and addresses his question, "But yes, I'm fine, thanks."

Halfborn rubs the back of his head and chuckles, "Someone's gonna have to start warning me ahead of time, this is getting embarrassing."

"To be honest I've known Alex for years and I still mess up sometimes." Mallory says.

Alex laughs, "Yeah really Mallory, one would think you'd have me figured out by now!"

Halfborn's face breaks out into a wide grin and he turns to face his friends, "I bet that before the end of the summer Magnus will have Alex completely figured out."

Alex's eyes go wide and Mallory bursts into laughter, Magnus is glaring daggers at Halfborn.

"What! That's ridiculous!" Mallory blurts between her laughter.

"Yeah, Halfborn. That's ridiculous." Magnus deadpans.

"I don't know… I just have this feeling, it's gonna happen you guys, just wait and see…" Halfborn turns back around in his seat as everyone stares at him like he's crazy. Alex has been sitting in silence as the exchange between the three went on, and she didn't want to admit it but a little part of her hoped Halfborn was right. It would be nice to have someone who finally understands her…

The car turns off of the main rainbow road and onto an expansive rainbow bridge that crosses over the ocean to another island; Jotunheim. The island is a massive mountain range, with huge trees that climb into the clouds above. As they pull onto the island and are immersed into the vast forest Magnus can't help but burst with excitement. And when they pull into the empty lot where the cars will be dropping them off Magnus bolts from his seat, crawling over an irritated Halfborn and jumps out of the car as it's still pulling into it's parking spot. Magnus runs towards the giant map of the trail system that's next to one of the trailheads.

"Goddamn it Magnus! You can't just climb over a man, totally violating his personal space! And then recklessly jump out of a moving vehicle!" Halfborn shouts, as he stalks towards his hyperactive friend and promptly slaps him across the back of his head. Magnus just shakes it off and continues to stare at the map in wonder.

"Damn… how do we choose which trail to take… they all look amazing!" Magnus carefully analyzes the four main trails on the map that cover the most ground of the island. One in particular catches his eye.

"Well we definitely aren't doing that one." Halfborn says, pointing to the one Magnus is looking at that involves climbing up the sides of giant rock formations and crossing over high rope bridges that hang over rocky rivers. Magnus' face drops as he realizes all of his friends may not want to take on such a physically demanding trail. Alex overhears their conversation as she walks up to look at the map.

"Why not?" Alex replies to Halfborn. He looks at her like she's crazy.

"Why not?! Just look at it! This is supposed to be a fun relaxing activity for us all to enjoy together. How are we supposed to enjoy ourselves if we are risking our necks climbing up ninety degree angle walls of rock!"

"Well… I think that sounds like a great time, personally…" Alex shrugs her shoulders, indifferent to Halfborn's regard for their safety.

Halfborn raises his eyebrow at the girl and comes up with an idea. "Fine, then you and Magnus can risk your own ass's on that trail, and the rest of us will take one of the less treacherous ones. We can meet up at the campsite at the top of the mountain where the trails meet." Halfborn grins as Alex's eyes go wide.

"That's cool with me! Whadaya say Alex? You up for an adventure?" Says Magnus, being the completely oblivious guy he is he just smiles at her as he waits for her response. Meanwhile Alex's heart is beating a million miles a minute as she looks back at Magnus's hopeful eyes, this boy is literally going to be the death of her.

Alex curses under her breath, "Yeah! Sure! Sounds fun! Can't wait to 'hang' out with you! Get it cuz we will be 'hanging from the rocks and the rope bridge… and I'm gonna, yeah." She tries to mask her nervousness with excitement and ends up yelling her reply, catching the attention of the rest of the group, she clasps her hand over her mouth to stop anymore stupid from coming out. Magnus just chuckles.

"What's going on over here?" Sam asks as her and the rest of the group comes up to the map to join them.

"Nothing really, Magnus and Alex have just decided that they are going to hike this deadly trail instead of joining the rest of us on our safe and relaxing hike on another trail."

"What trail are they hiking?" T.J. inquires as he makes his way closer to the map to inspect the trails, Halfborn points to Alex and Magnus's trail and as T.J. gives it a closer look his jaw drops. "Yeah you two have fun with that, there's no way I'm hiking that beast. Oh! I brought an extra GoPro the hotel had if one of you want to get footage of you guys climbing and stuff?!" T.J. pulls the GoPro from his bag and holds it out to them; Magnus takes it.

"Awesome! We'll definitely use it! Thanks T.J.! Anyone else want to come with Alex and I? It's gonna be a blast!" Magnus promptly puts the GoPro on his head, after everyone else takes a look at the trail they all decide that they'd rather come back from the hike with all their bones intact and don't take Magnus up on his offer.

"Alrighty then, your loss!" Magnus shakes his head at the rest of his friends then looks over at Alex and holds out his fist towards her for a fist bump. "Ready Partner?!"

Alex awkwardly fist bumps Magnus, "Sure."

"Cool let's go! See ya guys at the top!" Magnus grabs Alex's arm and excitedly drags her towards the entrance of their trail. Alex looks back and sees Mallory laughing at her and giving her a thumbs up. Alex just glares back at her, then turns her attention back to the boy pulling her into the forest, and the hand he has wrapped around her arm.

"Uhhh Magnus, you can let go of my arm now."

Magnus halts in his tracks and looks down at where his hand is; his cheeks grow red as he realizes he's been holding onto Alex this whole time.

"Oops, sorry!" Magnus quickly drops his hand from her arm and rubs the back of his head, clearly embarrassed. Alex can't help but smile at him.

"It's okay, lets go." Alex walks ahead of Magnus, now leading the way, and lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

What have I gotten myself into…

※

"You think Magnus and Alex will be okay by themselves on that trail?" Dede asks the group as they make their way up the wide dirt path that they follow. The group decided that they would take the easiest trail since none of them had any extensive experience with long hikes, and didn't particularly feel like exerting too much effort in the activity. The trail was a clear path that went straight to the top, there were even ropes that blocked off the rest of the forest from the trail, there was no way they could mess up and get lost by taking this path.

"I'm sure they'll be fine. Magnus has been hiking with his parents all over the world ever since he could walk. If anyone can get them through that hike it's him." Sam smiles at Dede and places a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Mallory skips up beside them.

"Yeah and Alex has been going to hiking camps ever since she was little, I think they'll be perfectly fine together!" Mallory says, and after a pause she adds, "Actually, I think they would just be perfect together in general…" A smile stretches across her face.

"I know right! I could tell from the moment they laid eyes on each other that they are definitely going to end up together before the end of this summer!" Sam exclaims.

"They would be really cute together…" Dede muses as the boys come closer to their little group to join the conversation.

"Who would be cute together?" T.J. asks.

"Magnus and Alex." Mallory states bluntly.

"Yeah they would. The only problem is that it will take Magnus at least the entire summer to figure out that he likes Alex, and by then she will be gone. The kids a bit slow." Amir chuckles and Sam hits him. "Um, ow! You know I'm right Sam."

Sam just rolls her eyes.

"Honestly Alex probably won't say anything either, especially if they become good friends. She won't want to risk the friendship just because she has feelings for him. To her the possibility of anyone ever reciprocating her feelings is small at best." Mallory sighs.

At that the group walks on in silence.

"Well then I guess we'll just have to push them in the right direction. Or in Magnus's case, shove." Halfborn declares; Mallory gives him a knowing smirk.

Dede is nodding her head, but there's a small frown on her face. "I don't know, I don't think we should push them towards each other too much. I think the best way to fall in love with someone is by becoming their friend first. Of coarse we can help move their friendship along, but we should let the love blossom from there." Everyone looks at Dede in awe.

"Wow Dede… that was really profound." T.J. says in admiration and everyone else agrees.

"All in favor of expediting Magnus and Alex's friendship raise their hand." Sam declares, and everyone raises his or her hand.

Off to the side Sam catches Halfborn whisper something to Malory. When he turns away from her he has a smirk on his face. Sam recognizes that smirk immediately. Halfborn is up to something. As the group continues up the trail Sam makes her way to Halfborn's side.

"Hey can I talk to you for a sec?"

Halfborn turns to look at her his brows furrowed, "Yeah sure, I'll be right back Mallory." He says, and then he and Sam slow their pace so that they are at the back of the group where no one can hear them.

Sam stares down Halfborn. "Whatever you're planning with Mallory, don't do it."

Halfborn winces, "Look Sam it's not a bi-"

"No, Halfborn. You can mess around with any other part of his life; I don't care. But do not; mess with his growing relationship with Alex. He needs this, especially after what he went through back home… you know he hasn't been the same way since."

Halfborn drops his head, grimacing. He sneaks a glance at Mallory, he knows she will be disappointed but he also knows that Sam is right. Even if what they were planning would only embarrass him, it may make him keep away from Alex. He doesn't want to ruin something that could help Magnus breakaway from his past. Slowly he nods his head.

"You're right Sam… I hadn't thought about, that… I'll tell Mallory that we'll have to go about pranking those two another way." He gives Sam a small smile.

Sam releases a breath she didn't realize she was holding, "Thanks Halfborn… um, good luck with, whatever it is you decide to do." She winks at him as she picks up the pace to go join Dede and Amir.

Halfborn laughs, "Don't worry Sam, it's going to be good, I promise!" Sam doesn't always admit it but she really does love witnessing his and Magnus's ongoing prank war.

Halfborn walks back up to Mallory, he's not looking forward to telling her that they'll have to cancel their plans…

※

Magnus is having the time of his life. Right now he is sitting on a wide ledge about three quarters of the way up a beautiful mountainside that overlooks the forest below; alongside one of the coolest people he has ever had the opportunity to meet. In all honesty though, Magnus finds Alex to be amazing. He's never met someone who is just as enthusiastic about hiking and the outdoors as he is, and he was pleasantly surprised to discover that Alex is also a well-practiced free-climber, it's not everyday you meet someone else who is crazy enough to climb cliff-sides without any gear. As they made their way through the trail and up the mountain they've been talking non-stop, covering everything from their friends and education, to their likes and dislikes. And now, as they take sips of water and prepare to scale the rest of the mountain, Magnus can't seem to tear his eyes off of her.

"Ready to take on the rest of this cliff Magnus?" Alex asks, already starting to climb the wall of rock before her.

"Yeah! Go ahead and keep climbing though. I've gotta put this GoPro back on still."

Alex laughs, "Wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon, besides, it's a race to the top, remember?"

Magnus groans, "Ugh, I forgot we were doing that!" He shouts at Alex, who is now already fifteen feet above him.

Quickly, Magnus shoves his water bottle back into his pack and pulls out T.J's GoPro, positioning it back on his head. He zips back up his pack and pulls it onto his back, making his way over to the cliff wall. He looks up and sees that Alex has made it even further up the side.

"How the hell did you make it that far up already! There's no way I'm going to catch up now!" He shouts to her, he can hear her laughter even though he's twenty feet below her. He watches her lean figure skillfully find it's way up the wall, he can't help but admire her talent.

"I'm just that good!" Alex yells back, trying to reach at the protruding piece of rock on her upper-right-hand side that's created the perfect groove for a handhold. She takes her right leg off the little ledge it was placed on to help lean her body more towards the direction she needs to go. "Maybe if you- ahhhhh!"

Magnus watches in horror as the ledge Alex's left foot was on breaks away from the rock, causing her to fall along with it, screaming. He immediately snaps into action, positioning himself right below Alex, ready to break her fall, and in an instant she is in his arms. The weight of her body makes his knees buckle and they tumble into a pile on the ground against the wall, luckily their packs lessened the force of their fall. His arms are still wrapped tight around her as she breathes heavily into his chest, trying to calm her racing heart. Her muscles are wound tight and she grasps at Magnus's back holding on for dear life.

"Don't worry, I've got you." Magnus pulls her in closer, sliding his hand beneath her bag and rubbing his hand soothingly up and down her back to help calm her. Slowly her breathing steadies and she pulls away a little from Magnus, but being in his arms makes her feel better so she doesn't want to get up quite yet.

"Holy Shit." Alex giggles.

"Holy shit!? HOLY SHIT!?" Magnus lets go of Alex. "Really Alex! How are you laughing right now!? You just fell like twenty feet, from the side of a mountain, and you're laughing!" He kneels in front of her on the ground, taking her face in his hands. His worried eyes bore into her mixed brown ones, and Alex finds her heart rate picking up again. "Seriously Alex… are you okay?" Magnus finds himself scanning her for injuries, then quickly pulls his gaze back to hers.

Alex reaches up and lays her hands on top of the ones Magnus has placed on her cheeks, then slowly pulls them away, "I'm fine Magnus, really." She let's go of his hands and stands up, looking down on him. "Let's just finish this climb okay?"

Magnus raises an eyebrow at her as he stands up, "Are you sure you're okay climbing again, so soon after that fall?"

The concern Magnus has for her well being makes Alex grin, "Yes Magnus, this isn't the first time I've had a bad fall… besides, if it happens again, I know you'll be there to catch me." Alex watches as the frown on Magnus's face stretches into a full out smile, followed by the wonderful sound of his laughter.

"Unbelievable…" Magnus shakes his head. "Okay, let's get going. But! This time, I'm point!" He smirks at Alex as he turns around and begins to climb up the cliff-face once again. But this time, he'll be the one finding the safe path to the top, and Alex will be the one enjoying the view from below…

※

They are only about three quarters of the way through the trail and everyone's already exhausted.

"Remember when you all thought this was a good idea and sided with Magnus? Well I bet you're all regretting that idea now…" Halfborn quips.

Sam rolls her eyes, "Just shut-up and keep walking, we should be to the campsite soon."

"That's good because I really have to pee." Halfborn blatantly states.

"Thanks for sharing Halfborn, now instead of whining about it why don't you just go behind a tree like a real man." Amir crosses his arms, challenging Halfborn. "Honestly I have no idea why you haven't done it sooner, T.J. and I've both done it already and we didn't need to make a big scene out of it." Everyone laughs.

Halfborn glares at Amir, "Fine, I will." And with that Halfborn marches his way off the clear path and into the thick of the forest, angrily mumbling to himself about the way Amir embarrassed him in front of everyone. Since he's too busy playing the scene over in his head instead of paying attention he's caught unawares when the fallen branch he steps on snaps up and whacks him in the face. "Seriously!" He yells and breaks the branch in two, promptly tossing the one end at the thick patch of bushes twenty yards away.

And that's when the bush growls at him.

Halfborn freezes in place, expecting a bear to come out around the corner. But instead, out stalks this adorable baby grey wolf and Halfborn's eyes turn into hearts.

"Awww, aren't you just adorable!" Halfborn begins to walk towards the baby wolf, because he wants to pet it, but then five more baby wolves pop out of the bushes, growling at Halfborn. So he does what any respectable man would do in this situation, he runs.

"Guys we need to get out of here!" He yells out to his friends.

"Oh no Halfborn what happened? Did you accidently wipe your ass with poison ivy?" Amir shouts back, and Halfborn can hear everyone laughing again.

"Not exactly." He proclaims as he runs towards them from out of the forest, followed by the tiny pack of wolves.

Everyone's eyes go wide at the sight before them. After processing what is happening, they all run for their lives in every which direction just to get away from the mini predators.

※

The sun is setting in the sky as Magnus and Alex cross a bridge that spans over a wide river lying fifty feet below. The campsite they are meeting the others at is right on the other side. Ever since the fall at the cliff Alex has purposely been doing reckless things just to get a reaction out of Magnus. Currently she's hanging over the edge of the bridge by her hands, as an excuse to do it she told Magnus to give her the GoPro so that she could get a better shot of the waters rushing below them. Alex doesn't think he actually believed her but he knew he couldn't stand in her way at this point, not after she did a handstand on the edge of the top of the mountain they climbed. Magnus being the knight in shining armor that he is, remains as close as he can to Alex every time she does one of these crazy stunts, so that he can catch her if need be. Her recklessness is driving him insane.

"Alright Alex I think you've got enough footage, so come back on the bridge now." Magnus exclaims while kneeling next to her hands, ready to pull her up himself.

Alex looks up at his face that's hanging over the side of the bridge right above her, looking into his eyes for what feels like the hundredth time that day. She can tell he's worried, like he has been ever since she fell off the cliff wall, so she decides maybe it's time to stop tormenting him and his seemingly endless patience, and pulls herself back on the bridge. Magnus tries to help her but she swats his hands away. No way is she going to let Magnus catch her in a moment of weakness again. That was way too embarrassing.

"Okay, Okay, I'm up." Alex rolls her eyes at Magnus, handing him back the GoPro, and he just shakes his head at her. He's done that a lot today.

"Alright, let's go." Magnus reaches up to put the GoPro back on but Alex grabs his wrist before he can, he raises a brow at her and she turns away for a second to hide her blush.

"We're already at the end of the trail I don't think you'll need that anymore." She says, and Magnus gives her a hard stare as she drops her hand from his wrist.

"Good point." He replies, opening his bag and shoving the GoPro in one of the front pockets.

Alex would never say it to him out loud but she loves the way he looks with his hair tied back and the green bandana wrapped around his head, the GoPro just throws everything off. Which is why she slyly suggested he not wear it anymore. Proud of herself, she gestures for him to lead the way, and he does, totally oblivious to the fact that Alex is checking him out from behind.

When they get to the campsite they're surprised to find it empty.

"Shouldn't they have gotten here by now?" Alex asks.

"Yeah… their trail should have gotten them here a whole two-four hours before us, depending on their pace… I hope their okay…" Magnus scans the campgrounds again, just in case this is one of Halfborn's pranks and they are about to pop out of the trees at any moment. But he can't find them anywhere. "Weird."

"Should we go down their trail and-"

"THANK THE GODS!" A bedraggled T.J. emerges from the trees nowhere near the head of the trail they should have came through, interrupting Alex.

"T.J.!" Alex says rushing towards him with Magnus right behind her. "What happened where are the others!?"

"Oh, they should be here any minute now, as for what happened, ask Halfborn." An out of breath T.J. replies, bending over trying to catch his breath.

About fifty yards from the other side of the trail, Dede, Mallory, and Amir appear. All of them in just as bad of shape as T.J. They make their way towards the rest of the group.

"Alright what the hell is going on?!" Magnus shouts.

"I'll tell you what's going on!"

They all turn their heads to the trail head where they see Sam storm out of dragging a wide-eyed Halfborn with her. It looks as though Halfborn has scratches up and down his legs.

"This idiot!" Sam punches Halfborn and he winces. "Threw a stick at a pack of baby wolves! We all got separated, even though the wolves were mainly after Halfborn! And they ended up chasing us all throughout the mountainside! Until we were finally able to lose them by tossing a pack of hot dogs from Halfborn's pack behind us!"

"Look, how was I supposed to know that there would be a pack of baby wolves behind those bushes!" Halfborn protests.

Everyone starts yelling at Halfborn all at once, Sam even starts hitting him again. Alex and Magnus just stand there in shock; then they both look at each other and realize they have to break up the fight.

"Alright! Alright! Break it up people, break it up!" Alex yells at them, pulling Sam off of Halfborn, who she had tackled to the ground at this point, as Magnus pushes the others away from Halfborn, who is lying on the ground trying to catch his breath.

"Okay look, we're all here now, there's no more wolves and no one has any broken bones from falling off the side of a cliff-"

"Wait what?" Sam interjects. Alex gives Magnus the death glare over Sam's shoulder.

Magnus winces, "Not important Sam. Anyway! We're all here so why don't we all just calm down, set up camp, and build a kick-ass campfire so we can eat some S'Mores. Whadaya say guys?" Magnus looks at all of their faces, they all look a bit pissed at the moment but they end up agreeing to his terms. Magnus just has a gift when it comes to talking people down from violence and anger.

Mallory walks over and helps Halfborn off the ground as everyone else makes their way to the center of camp to set everything up.

"You're an idiot, you know that right?" She asks.

Halfborn looks down at her with his signature smile, "Maybe, but at least I'm a good-looking idiot. Right?" He stares into her eyes, and just when he thinks she's about to agree with him and play along with his flirting, she bursts into a fit of giggles.

Shaking her head Mallory walks away from Halfborn, still laughing, "Sure Halfborn, whatever you say!"

※

After everyone finishes hanging up their hammocks on the trees and settles down next to the bonfire Alex and Magnus built, they all seem to have completely forgotten about the bad things that happened to them during their trek up the mountain. Now they're all telling stories, laughing, and eating S'Mores, just like any normal group of teenagers would on an overnight hiking trip.

"Hold up! Magnus and Halfborn actually managed to hi-jack a golf-cart at the age of six?!" Dede asks, leaning forward on the edge of the log she's sharing with Mallory.

"No joke, I steered the wheel while Magnus sat on the floor of the cart and controlled the pedals with his hands!" Halfborn exclaims. "The golfer's at my dad's club were so confused when these two kids kept driving down the flags on the course!" Everyone bursts into laughter.

"Yeah, but you're leaving out the part when you ran into that tree, then abandoned the cart and ran to the pool house to hide. And how after the men on the course gave your descriptions to your father and you both had to spend the rest of the summer cleaning trash out of the course ponds!" Sam points out in between bouts of laughter.

"Hey at least the man didn't separate us! He knew we would get nothing done if we were separated; we're a package deal after all. " Halfborn says while throwing his arm over Magnus's shoulder, who promptly tries to scoot away from him on their log. Only then he realizes he is getting closer to Alex on her and T.J.'s log so he moves back. Everyone else pretended like it didn't mean anything when Magnus chose the last spot open next to Alex, even though it totally does.

"Hey! Remember when Halfborn and Magnus made a band in middle school and tried out for the talent show! And when the judges said they'd let Magnus perform, but only if he did it without Halfborn on the drums, he told them that they were a 'package deal' then just walked out of the auditorium, and then Halfborn threw his sticks at the judges as he followed Magnus out!" Amir interjects, and more laughter follows, "Halfborn should never be allowed near a musical instrument. Magnus on the other hand…"

"Wait… can Magnus sing?!" Mallory gushes, said boy's face begins to turn red and he quickly buries his head in his hands with a groan. "Oh my Gods he can can't he!" Mallory affirms after seeing Magnus squirm in his seat.

"Oh yeah… Magnus can sing." Sam says with a wide smirk on her face.

"Saaaammmm!" Magnus whines.

"Aw come on Magnus, sing us a song! We're literally sitting around a campfire, it'll be like the perfect stereotypical campfire scene from the movies where the guy whips out his guitar and plays songs for everyone!" Mallory claps her hands together in excitement.

"First of all I left my guitar back at the hotel-"

"Ahhhh! He even plays the guitar!" Mallory's fangirling completely interrupts what he is trying to say but she doesn't care, and she knows that on the inside Alex is reacting the same way to this news. She can tell by the way her body has gotten all stiff and how she doesn't really know where to look at the moment, anywhere but at Magnus.

"Uhhhh, anyway, I'm not going to sing." Magnus says matter-of-factly.

"Come on man! What about that song by the Get Up Kids? Bonfire Kentucky?" Halfborn asks, slapping him on the back in a vote of confidence.

Magnus chuckles, "You mean 'Campfire Kansas'?"

"Yeah, that one!" Halfborn smiles mischievously at him, then he starts a chant, "Magnus, MAGnus, MAGNus, MAGNUS!"

Everyone joins in and he just shakes his head at everyone, letting a smile creep onto his face he gives in, "FINE, I'll sing!"

More cheering ensues, "Damn, you guys are quite the persistent crowd." He laughs, and once they've all finally calmed down, Magnus sings.

Alex isn't sure what she expected. For some reason she was hoping that his friends were lying and that Magnus actually couldn't sing to save his laugh. But… man, were they telling the truth. That boy could sing, and if she hadn't found him charming before, she definitely did now. Listening to Magnus sing ties her stomach in knots, and in that moment she knows she's a goner.

Surprisingly, once Magnus starts singing, he is completely comfortable with himself. He was nervous to sing in front of all of his new friends… some more than others. But then he remembered how much he loved it and it renewed a sense of confidence in him that only happens when he sings. And as he looks around at the people sharing this moment with him, he knows that there is nowhere else, and nothing else, he would rather be doing at this moment. Everyone looks genuinely happy, and for the ones who hadn't heard him sing before, they seem impressed. He turns his head to look at Alex, and when their eyes meet everything feels right in the world. He sings the last two lines directly to her, and he watches as a grin envelopes her face. Everyone claps and cheers.

And then she laughs.

"Whoa, you really are Kurt Cobain aren't you? I knew it!" Alex proclaims. Magnus throws his head back in laughter. Meanwhile inner Alex was screaming. The last two lines of the song he sang were in no way a romantic confession, but the way he sang them directly to her, looking directly into her eyes! Damn, it sure did feel like one.

After everyone joked around a bit more over the fact that Magnus could actually sing. The gang decided it was time to settle down for the night and they all made their way to their respective hammocks to fall asleep.

※

In the morning Magnus and Alex decided it would be best for everyone if they led the others down the trail they came up yesterday. Because of what happened the day before were more than happy to agree, and they were able to make it down the mountain twice as fast as they did going up it yesterday. Mostly because it was just a straight shoot downhill, but also because Alex and Magnus were walking really fast and they all were trying to keep up. When they reached the bottom of the hill they called the drivers from yesterday, and they showed up in no time to drive them back to the hotel. Everyone was exhausted so there wasn't much conversation on the way back. Even when they got to their floor everyone quietly shuffled to their respective rooms to shower and relax for the rest of the day. Alex and Magnus were the only two left in the hallway, and right before Alex enters her room, Magnus speaks up.

"I had fun hiking with you this weekend, we should hang out together some more this summer," he says in a cool manner, but then Alex starts smirking and he becomes nervous, "well, that is, if you want to…?"

Alex chuckles, then smiles saying, "Yeah, sure thing!" And with one last wave and a racing heart she backs into her room and closes the door on Magnus. Leaving him smiling in the hallway.