Trip Day 1

"Students, we are about to reach at our main lodge. Please carry your belongings and ensure you carry everything and not leave any of them here in the bus," Prof. Watson announced, holding a bundle of papers, a pen and an i-pad.

The bus rolled to a stop outside a sprawling wooden lodge tucked between the trees, fairy lights strung along its porch. Students spilled out with bags and chatter, while the staff waved them toward the entrance. Beyond the lodge, the valley stretched wide and endless—waiting.

(Hudson Valley)

The room doors clicked open one by one, keys jingling like tiny victories. Amelia pushed hers open with a dramatic gasp. “Oh my god—look at this! The beds, the lamps, the wooden walls—it’s literally cottagecore heaven.”

The group just entered their respective rooms, the girls in one, and boys in the one right in front of the girls'.

No doubt our class representatives aka Amelia and Justin swiftly shifted all their friends' names together, to only two rooms and that too right in front of each other, so that they all can stay together all the times.

The boys unlocked their room, kept their bags inside and came at the girls' to help them arrange their stuffs.

Justin just leaned against the doorway, duffel bag still slung on his shoulder, expression unreadable. “It’s four walls and two beds, Lia. Don’t go all National Geographic on me.”

“Four walls and—” Amelia turned, ready to argue, when Daisy cut in, flopping on one bed.
“Guys, forget the decor. The bonfire tonight? We’re making it legendary. Games, dares, maybe some truth-or-dare spice.”

Ryan smirked. “Oh yeah. Especially for couples.” His eyes flicked between himself, Katherine, Sarah and Liam.

Liam groaned dramatically. "Ughhh let's go, we've threw our bags on the bed. Gotta arrange our stuffs too.

Ryan rolled his eyes at Liam, chuckling lightly. The boys helped the girls arrange everything and eventually left for their room, waving off a goodbye to the girls.

(Main Lodge)

In the evening,
Author POV

The valley looked like it had been dipped in liquid gold. The sun was sinking low, painting the treetops in shades of fire and honey, and the crisp evening breeze carried the scent of pine needles and damp earth.

The group spilled out of the lodge like kids released from class, chatter overlapping as they decided where to go first.

“Trail walk before dinner,” Andrew declared, already pulling Daisy toward the dirt path that wound toward the river. She squealed but didn’t resist, clinging to his arm. “If I fall, you’re carrying me, I swear!”

Behind them, Ryan and Katherine were already teasing each other—she insisted on taking pictures of every wildflower, while he groaned dramatically about being a “professional Instagram boyfriend.”

Amelia’s heart thrummed with the same excitement. “Come on, Justin,” she said, tugging at his sleeve as she skipped ahead, eyes glittering with the reflection of the valley. “Don’t you feel like this place is… magical?”

Justin shoved his hands deeper into his jacket pockets, pace lazy, unhurried. “Looks like trees and a river to me.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible.”

But she didn’t slow down. Instead, she twirled in the middle of the trail, arms outstretched as the breeze caught her hair, laughter spilling into the open air. Sarah clapped from ahead. “Go, Lia! You look like you’re in a movie!”

Justin’s gaze lingered longer than he meant it to. Something about the way the fading sunlight lit her face, how carefree she looked in that moment—it made something shift inside him.

She rushed ahead, her excitement too loud for footsteps to keep up. Justin followed at his own pace, hands in his jacket pockets. She spun back once to grin at him, but in that second, her sneaker caught on a loose stone and she stumbled forward with a sharp gasp.

Before she could hit the ground, Justin’s hand was there, steady around her wrist, pulling her back upright.

Her pulse thundered as she looked up at him, too close, too suddenly aware.
“Seriously?” His voice was low, calm, but his grip lingered a moment too long. “You’d trip over your own shadow if I wasn’t around.”

Heat flooded her cheeks, half from embarrassment, half from the way his grip lingered just a little too long. She quickly pulled away, straightening her jacket. “I don’t need saving.”

“Good,” Justin replied, the corner of his mouth twitching in that maddening smirk. “Then stop making me do it.”

Sarah and Liam exchanged a knowing glance from ahead, whispering something that made them both laugh.

Katherine, camera still in hand, snapped a photo of Amelia and Justin before either could protest.

“Caption idea,” she teased. “Caught in the act: knight in shining hoodie saves princess of clumsiness.”

Amelia groaned, covering her face with her hands. “Delete that!”
But Justin only chuckled under his breath, shaking his head.

They continued down the trail, couples ahead holding hands, voices echoing in the twilight.

Amelia tried to focus on the chatter—Daisy planning stargazing later, Ryan betting he could skip stones across the river—but every time her shoulder brushed against Justin’s, her pulse betrayed her calm facade.

And though he said nothing, Justin walked just half a step closer than before, like he was making sure if she stumbled again, she wouldn’t fall.

The trail opened up near the riverbank, where the water caught the last strokes of sunset and shimmered like melted copper.

The group ahead scattered— Andrew and Daisy skipping stones, Ryan spinning Katherine in a playful half-dance, Liam and Sarah walking, hand in hand, laughter echoing against the water.

Amelia crouched to dip her fingers into the cool stream, her reflection rippling back at her. “It’s so beautiful,” she whispered, more to herself than anyone.

Justin stood behind her, hands in his pockets, watching quietly. The fading sunlight caught the edge of his jawline, his eyes darker in the shadows. He didn’t say a word, but the way his gaze softened when it landed on her was enough.

Katherine's voice cut through the moment. “Come on, everyone! Bonfire’s starting soon—Prof. Watson dropped a reminder on the official group. We’ll be late if we don’t head back!”

Amelia straightened, brushing her damp hands against her jeans. She turned toward Justin with a small grin. “Race you back to the lodge?”

He gave her a look that screamed you’re ridiculous. “And if you trip again?”
She stuck her tongue out. “Then you’ll have to save me. Again.”

For the first time that evening, a low laugh escaped him, unguarded and real. It warmed her more than the firelight waiting back at the lodge.

As they started back up the trail, the group’s chatter filling the space between them, Amelia found herself stealing glances at Justin.

He walked close enough that their shoulders brushed now and then, but he didn’t pull away.

By the time the first glow of the bonfire appeared in the distance—embers rising against the night sky—the air between them was already charged.

The playful warmth of the group, the lingering tension of the stumble, the unspoken words hanging heavy between her and him… it all carried forward, seamlessly, toward the night that promised dares, secrets, and sparks.

Twenty minutes later,
Author POV

The lawn outside the lodge had turned into a battlefield of half-organized chaos. Strings of fairy lights were being stretched from tree to tree, a stack of firewood sat ready at the center, and students scurried around carrying logs, blankets, and trays of food like bees in a hive.

Amid the mess, two figures stood with an air of authority that barely masked their own amusement—Amelia and Justin, the ever-responsible class representatives.

Though there were other class representatives too from other departments, Prof. Watson trusted only Justin and Amelia. By considering what? Even both of them were confused :)

“Ryan, not that side of the log, it’ll topple over—” Amelia shouted with her mouth half-full of a burger she had grabbed from the food table. Her words came out muffled, drawing laughter from the group around her.

“Yeah, very inspiring leadership,” Justin muttered under his breath, though his lips curved in that quiet smirk of his. He sat beside her, one hand shoved lazily in his pocket, the other holding out tissues toward her without even looking.

Amelia blinked at him, mid-bite, sauce threatening to drip down her chin. “What?” she asked through her messy chewing.

Justin didn’t reply, just held the tissues a little closer with the faintest arch of his brow. Rolling her eyes but secretly melting inside, Amelia snatched them from his hand, dabbing her lips with exaggerated dramatics. “Happy now, Mr. Perfect?”

He only hummed, a sound low enough that it was swallowed by the clamor of the students around.

Around them, the chaos continued. Andrew and Daisy were arguing about how close the chairs should be to the firepit, Liam was attempting to light the first spark and nearly singed his sleeve, while few of the quieter girls set up a table with snacks and marshmallows.

Every mistake sparked a chorus of laughter, every correction spun into another joke.

And through it all, Amelia and Justin’s voices cut across, steady and firm in between the chaos—ordering, scolding, laughing, keeping it all from collapsing.

Near the lodge veranda, the professors and event managers watched with warm smiles, their own mugs of coffee in hand. One of them leaned to another. “Look at them—so full of life.”

“They’ll remember this night for years,” another replied softly. Then with a more practical note, “We’ll schedule the hike for tomorrow morning, and the camp activities after lunch. Tonight—let them just be.”

The bonfire was finally lit, flames crackling upward, and the students burst into cheers that echoed against the valley walls. Blankets were laid out, guitars tuned, and the circle slowly formed around the fire. The chaos ebbed into laughter and music, into warmth and light.

And somewhere in that circle, Amelia sat cross-legged, her burger finally gone, her laughter spilling out with her friends’.

Justin settled beside her, his expression calm, his gaze flickering toward her more often than the fire.

For now, they were just two class representatives, just two figures lost in the glow of a night that had only begun.

Amelia POV

If anyone ever asked me to describe “tiring,” I’d point them to the last hour of my life. Not climbing a mountain. Not running a marathon. No. Setting up a bonfire with these college kids.

Half the people didn’t know which way logs were supposed to face, Ryan nearly set himself on fire—twice—and Sarah insisted the chairs had to be arranged in an “aesthetic circle,” like we were shooting for Pinterest.

Meanwhile, Justin and I, the “responsible class representatives,” got the joy of bossing them all around. Which, let me tell you, sounds glamorous until you’re yelling “left, not right!” for the fifteenth time while holding a burger in one hand and tissues in the other.

By the time the fire was blazing properly and everyone finally settled into a circle around it, I was convinced my vocal cords had retired.

But fine. The setup was worth it—the flames crackled high, the fairy lights twinkled, and the night suddenly felt like it belonged to us.

“Alright,” David, my classmate, from the other side called out. “Truth or dare to kick this off!”

A chorus of agreement followed. Everyone suggested starting light, normal questions first, then slowly leveling it up into “real spice” later. Everyone nodded eagerly, the excitement buzzing through the circle.

The first few rounds went by in a blur of laughter and squeals.

“Truth—do you still stalk your ex?”
Laughter, a dramatic denial.

“Dare—sing the craziest Hollywood song you know, right now.”
Laughter and hoots riled up, cheering the one who sang the craziest song, dramatically dancing crazier.

“Truth—who was your last crush?”
A red-faced confession, followed by hoots and claps.

The circle was warm, alive, a little reckless. Every turn, every silly dare, pulled us closer together under the wide sky. I leaned forward, my hands curled around my knees, my eyes darting between faces glowing in firelight.

And then—I saw Liam reached into the bowl of folded chits, unfolded one slowly, and grinned like the devil himself.

“Justin Cole.”

The name dropped into the circle like a spark into dry grass.

My breath hitched, my head snapping toward him instinctively. Justin leaned back on his elbows, firelight flickering across his face, unreadable as always.

The circle erupted into cheers and whistles, everyone already hungry to see him crack for once.

And me? My heart slammed against my ribs, pulse tripping over itself, because if there was one thing more dangerous than setting up a bonfire with Justin—
…it was seeing what would happen when he finally played.

Justin POV

The circle erupted at my name, voices overlapping like they’d all been waiting for this exact moment. “Finally!” someone cheered. “Cole’s turn.”

I didn’t move, just leaned back further on my elbows, watching the flames lick upward. The fire popped, sparks flying into the night, and every eye landed on me.

Of course it had to be Liam who pulled the chit. He grinned like the smug idiot he was, twirling the paper between his fingers. “Truth,” I muttered.

“Tell us—who’s the one person here you think about more than you should?”

This chapter was such a ride to write — from the chaos of setting up the bonfire to that truth question that almost gave it all away. Amelia and Justin are slowly building this tension, and you know it’s only going to get harder to keep secrets🔥

Please vote and drop your comments if you liked this chapter. The next chapter will be updated soon. Take care, cuties 💙

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