Chapter Twenty-One

Adventures at Johnstone Park

"Boo!" exclaimed Leon as he dangled down a willow tree startling Savannah who was lying underneath quietly reading a book.

She jumped, dropping her book as Leon chortled at her while climbing down the tree.

It was their second day of the retreat at Johnstone Park which was about an hour's bus ride away, and Leon's main form of entertainment so far has been annoying the crap out of Savannah.

She knew it was all in good spirit, all she could do was try not to laugh because it seemed like the more she did, the more often he would annoy her.

She couldn't lie to herself and pretend like she didn't enjoy Leon's shenanigans, even if they were aimed towards her, after all, she's been the main target of them for nearly fourteen years.

The first day they went on a nature walk and visited eccentric gardens in the area.

Savannah was surprised that Leon had been enjoying himself, though she knew he wouldn't be having half as much fun if she wasn't there.

The last time she remembered her and Leon laughing so much and talking complete and utter nonsense was some time a year ago, before things stared going sour.

She wished she could say the same for Mitchell who slept through the entire bus ride and did all he can to stay away from Savannah.

The last time she had spoken to Mitchell was at the night of the formal, nearly two weeks ago.

She didn't have a clue what she'd done but it was her sole mission to work things out with Mitch before their last night in Johnstone Park which was the following night.

"One thing that's never sat well with me, Savannah Brown is that you, as non-athletic and as clumsy as you are... you're a faster runner than I am," said Leon smoothly, eyeing Savannah jealously.

"Deal with it," Savannah said smugly, raising her eyebrows to Leon and smirking at him.

"Okay... okay... I can take that, but I bet I could beat you... rolling down this hill," he says pointing to the downwards slope of the hill they were seated upon.

"No way Lee, get over yourself," said Savannah dismissively as she flicked through the pages of her book trying to find the page she was on.

"Care to wager on that? If you beat me, I'll buy you lunch and if I beat you, you'll have to buy me lunch, Miss Brown" he said condescendingly.

Savannah didn't want to roll down the hill, but if it meant getting a free lunch from Leon, heck, why not?

"Okay," she sang as she set down her book, "but just don't complain when I order a large meal," said Savannah as Leon scoffed.

She laid on her stomach, Leon did the same opposite to her.

"Ready?" he asked,

"Set?"

Without another word they tumbled, Savannah could feel gravity pushing her body down as she rolled uncontrollably down the hill.

She had no idea which way was up; her head was spinning so fast.

All she knew was, she was having the best time in a long time.

Every second she could smell the grass when her face was inches away and the next second, sun rays would hit her face.

She tried to giggle with her mouth closed, fearing that she might swallow a chunk of grass.

Her heart fluttered, her body was free-falling until she roughly collided with Leon's.

When she opened her eyes she was lying on top of a very hysterical Leon, who was beaming at her, vibrating her body every time he laughed.

She cackled as she tumbled off of him.

"You owe me lunch," said Savannah, catching her breath,

"nope, it was a tie," laughed Leon, "we have to buy each other lunch," he said wiping the tears off his face.

They laid there for a second staring at the sky, appreciating the beauty.

Savannah's heart fluttered, appreciating the moment, and she knew Leon was doing the same.

This is how things were meant to be.

For lunch, Savannah settled for a basic burger meal at a nearby fast food joint, while Leon settled for something as eccentric as sushi.

Savannah tried not to judge but she couldn't help rolling her eyes when Leon said to be "adventurous with the food you eat."

That indeed was a joke to Savannah.

Before they knew it, it was 7pm and the pair of them got text messages from Mrs Bennet, who was the chaperone for this field trip/ retreat saying to come to the cabin sight before 7:30pm.

They made their ways to their way to the campsite and into their cabins.

To nobody's surprise, Mitchell was fast asleep.

For someone who slept most of the time, he seemed to be tired, pretty much all the time.

Savannah made her way to her side of the cabin, she slept in the bunk bed below Emily Sanders, who she rarely saw in this trip.

Leon slept on the top bunk on the opposite side of the cabin where Mitchell was sleeping under.

Savannah heard Leon whisper, "goodnight," she smiled as sleep carried her away and darkness filled the room.

The last day in Johnstone park was a free day.

As much as Savannah wanted to enjoy her time with Leon, she wanted to find Mitchell.

When they woke up that morning, Mitchell's bunk was already empty.

According to Emily, Mitchell went on an early nature walk to see the sunrise.

She was hoping that she would get a chance to run into Mitchell.

Leon seemed unbothered by Mitchell's behaviour and only seemed to notice he had been avoiding Savannah as soon as she mentioned it.

That afternoon he agreed to help Savannah find Mitchell, after they build their own sundae's at an ice-cream parlour and spent most of their mornings at the cinema.

Savannah had never realised what a joy it is to see a movie in the morning when theatres are deserted.

It was 4:30pm and the bus that was to take them home was set to depart at 7pm.

Savannah was frustrated.

They searched the whole city for Mitchell, but it was like he didn't want to be found.

"Wait a minute...." Leon said after hours of searching, "I know where he is," he said chuckling.

"Where?!" asked Savannah urgently,

"The beach."

Savannah and Leon walked along the beach as the sun set.

It was truly magnificent, one of the most beautiful sunsets she had ever seen.

She savoured the moment and kept it treasured in her mind.

She could hear the waves crash into one other as the birds sang and the sun said goodbye.

She could feel the energy of the most beautiful person in the world standing beside her, smiling at her.

There way no place Savannah would rather be.

Leon spotted Mitchell sitting in the sand by a bonfire.

Leon jogged towards him, his backpack weighing heavily on his back, making his feet sink further into the sand.

Savannah laughed to herself and caught up with him.

"Hey," smiled Mitchell, surprisingly he looked relieved and somewhat happy to see Savannah and Leon.

"Hey mate," she replied smiling.

"Would you two please join me? It's been a lonely few days," he says as he stares into the fire.

Savannah couldn't work out exactly how Mitchell was feeling, he was as mysterious as the day she first spoke to him.

Leon unzipped his bag and took out bag, after bag of snacks.

Savannah stared at him questioningly,

"what else did you think I had stashed in here? books?" he said sarcastically as Mitchell snickered.

Together they shared stories, talked nonsense, reminisced, snacked and laughed away the evening.

For a long time, it felt like they were the only people on earth.

It seemed like all their troubles had washed away with the waves.

It was like Savannah never fought with Mike, like Savannah had never fallen for Leon, like Savannah had never been drugged at Leon's party;

It was like Mitchell had never been beaten in the face, like Mitchell and Leon had never fought, like arguments never took place between Savannah and Leon.

They way she wanted it to be for so long.

Emily approached them, her fawn blonde hair that was always in a ponytail was hanging down her face, wet and shining.

"Hey guys, Mrs Bennet wanted me to round everyone up, the bus leaves in a half hour," she said smiling as she walked away without another word.

She was filling her school vice captaincy duties; Savannah couldn't say the same for Leon.

They had been sitting in the sand for so long, they enjoyed the moment to the point where they had lost track of time.

"Well," sighed Mitchell,

"I better go back to the cabin... I haven't packed my things yet," he chuckled, almost embarrassedly.

"I'll meet you guys on the bus," he said before waving goodbye and sprinting in the same direction Emily went off.

This wasn't the first time Savannah had been left alone with Leon, but the setting made her feel anxious that it would make her feel a certain type of way.

Ever since she confessed to Leon that she might be in love with him, it like her feelings disagreed.

They disappeared.

She loved Leon, but she was beginning to think that she wasn't in love with him after all, although she was still confused.

She was waiting for her heart to tell her how she felt.

Leon pulled her closer by the shoulder,

"I've been thinking Sav, what an incredible life we've had together," he said looking out into the sea.

"I know things are gonna change next year, but I want what I have with you, to stay the same... do we have a deal?"

"Always," replied Savannah, the thought of next year was making her feel emotional.

He chuckled, "y'know... being friends with you for so many years... I think it's the small things about you that I'll miss the most," he said looking down at Savannah.

"Like what?" she asked,

he took a deep breath.

"I'll miss your laugh, I'll miss your voice, I'll miss the way you roll your eyes when you know I'm talking complete BS.

"I'll miss your horrendous joke-telling skills... which I secretly love," he chuckled to himself.

"I love that you put other's needs before your own Sav, I love that you absolutely hate olives with everything in you, but you love pickles despite them tasting exactly the same."

Savannah wanted to retort but Leon continued,

"I love that in fourth grade when we swapped lunches, you didn't complain that my sandwich I gave you had olives in it because you knew how much I loved your mother's mac and cheese."

"I love that despite being insanely beautiful Sav, you show no vanity and project that beauty into the world despite what you're going through,"

Savannah didn't know Leon thought so highly of her, she didn't believe the things coming out of his mouth but was grateful for every single second of it.

"I love that you befriended the little, lonely, confused boy in kindergarten when nobody else would," he finished pulling Savannah in closer.

"My turn!" Savannah sang,

"Lee, I'll miss the way you give people your time so willingly... even if they don't deserve it.

"Your kindness and selflessness never ceases to amaze me,

"Despite everything you are.... And how many people you mean so much to, you're the only person I feel completely comfortable being myself around.

"Its because of you, that I can see the beauty in myself, its because of you that I am able to go out and be unapologetically me..." she finished smiling at Leon who smiled back with glistening eyes.

He pulled Savannah in even tighter.

She rested her head on his chest.

She felt a rush of overwhelming joy and love towards the beautiful human being holding her.

She had never been more grateful to call herself a friend of Leon's and that's the way she always wanted it to be.

She wanted to remember everything about this moment,

The starry night sky,

The waves crashing,

The dying flame of fire in the pit,

The warm sand they were sitting on,

And the sound of the heartbeat of the person she felt undying love for.