When Pete had gotten off the bus, his neck was surprisingly not as sore as he thought it would be. He'd figured he would wake up with an ache in his neck given how bumpy the bus ride was, but oh wells, he is relieved that he's feeling better than ever after a short nap.

The group was led to the campsite where they will be staying for the next few days. The tents had already been pitched with name tents hung on the front. Pete quickly found his' and Vegas trailed behind. Their tent was not too far away from Arm & Pol's which was such a relief to Pete.

Pete went into the tent to put his bags, bumping Vegas on the way out who was about to do the same.

"O-ow." Pete groaned in pain as his head came colliding with Vegas'.

"You okay?" Vegas instinctively reached out to rub Pete's forehead where he had bumped into, before muttering a 'sorry' apologetically.

"No worries." Pete was quick to brush it off, trying to suppress the red blush on his cheeks as he pushed past Vegas to get out of the tent.

Unknowing to Pete, his best friends had witnessed the entire incident and were excited seeing a flustered Pete hurrying out of the tent.

"Is it just me or does it seem like you two know each other?" Pol questioned Pete, who'd eagerly shook his head in response.

"Why would we? I barely speak to him." A lie. Don't get Pete wrong, it wasn't that he's ashamed to be friends with Vegas. He just wanted to save himself from his best friends' questioning and the entire school's judgment.

Pol looked at Arm, and Arm stared right back at Pol - clearly unconvinced and positively certain Pete was hiding something. They just didn't know what, yet.

"Come on and gather everyone." The camp leader, Porsche, hollered for the entire faculty to gather right at the front for a quick briefing.

"Our first activity for the day is high element." Porsche explained. "You will complete this task in groups of 4 and the winning team will get an attractive prize." Porsche made sure to emphasize on the prize, and the crowd instantly grew excited hearing about the reward.

"Grouping is entirely up to you." Porsche continued. "But if I were you, I'd choose wisely. This is, after all, a competition."

With that, Porsche allowed the students to choose their team members freely and it wasn't a surprise to Pete that many came running up to him asking to be in the same team. But, it really wasn't because he was good at high elements. If anything, he was terrible at it. Did he ever mention he was afraid of heights?

Oh but his tent mate, Vegas was the star of the show. The girls literally went past him like he was invisible and straight to Vegas where the true "prize" is. Vegas shot them his charismatic smile as usual, while Pete could only watch in disgust.

Surprisingly, Vegas seemed to have noticed him.

"Pete, do you have a teammate in mind?" Vegas asked like he was genuinely concerned about his opinion and for some reason, it made Pete feel just a tad happier knowing he wasn't transparent.

The truth is, Pete really wanted Pol and Arm on their team but before he could say so, it seems like his best friends had already found another pair so Pete replied Vegas with a reluctant 'no'.

"What about me?" Achara smiled sweetly at Vegas but it made Pete feel sick in the stomach seeing how pretentious she was. He was quite sure she was just scowling at him a few moments back.

Vegas didn't refuse nor did he accept, like he was waiting for Pete to say something. Pete didn't like Achara, not like he liked anybody really, but a glare from her was a warning that he had to say 'yes' regardless even if he was so unwilling.

Achara's tent mate was another girl, Bow. Unlike Achara, she was quiet and it seemed like Achara couldn't care less about her existence so her silence made her even more insignificant. Pete could relate to her somehow, and he felt sorry that out of everyone - she was paired with Achara. At least Vegas was nice.

And so the team of 4 was formed. Achara, Bow, himself and Vegas. The high element obstacle course was truly frightening from where Pete was standing. He looked up to see ropes and suspended bridges appeared so flimsy he was getting the jitters just thinking about walking across.

They weren't the first team to go and that was probably worse after seeing other teams complete the course effortlessly like it wasn't hard at all. Arm and Pol were incredibly fast and swift in their movements so their team was easily leading.

Pete on the other hand was shaking. When it was their turn to go on the course, his palms were starting to grow clammy, lips turned dry. He managed to get on the platform safely with the harnesses on him that he was now depending on for dear life. As soon as he got onto the wooden platform, he made sure to grab the nearest pillar he could find because his legs were threatening to give way.

"We have to win this, okay? I want the prize." Achara said affirmingly. Bow, the quiet one could only nod in agreement, promising she would do her best. This didn't help Pete at all who was already struggling to keep his eyes open.

Achara didn't seem to have realized Pete's turmoil, so she and Bow went ahead. But Vegas did.

"Are you alright?" Vegas asked worriedly.

"Y-yes." Pete answered, but the ghastly look on his face said otherwise.

"You sure?" Vegas reconfirmed, and Pete tried giving him the assurance by putting on the best smile he could.

Vegas told Pete to walk in front of him, and so Pete did without much thought. The first obstacle course was a simple suspended bridge. He just had to get across the suspended planks using only a rope above him as a support to get to the other side. Achara and Bow were already on the second course and he could hear Achara rushing him and Vegas' to do the same.

Pete took a nervous gulp, trying his best not to look down. He took his first step out, and instantly the bridge started shaking at the force. Pete hung onto the rope above him desperately. He could turn back now, there was still time but he didn't want to come off as a loser so his pride got the best of him.

Pete was trembling in fear but he took his second step nonetheless. This time he had made it 3 planks in and it seemed like it was going well until the shaking got worse. The wind was blowing heavily against the rope and it didn't help that Pete's legs were jelly.

"God save me." Pete panicked, upon realizing he was stuck in the middle. He couldn't go back but neither could he proceed. He could hear Achara screaming her head off at him faintly, but his legs just wouldn't move.

Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him that seemed to stabilize the bridge a little because the shaking wasn't as intense as before.

"Hold my hand."

Pete was in no capacity to resist so he did what Vegas had told him to. He grabbed onto Vegas' hands that were firmly holding onto the rope above them.

"Keep your eyes ahead and walk forward, slowly." Vegas whispered against Pete's ears softly but encouragingly.

"I-I can't."

"Trust me." Vegas had his other hand supporting Pete's back lightly.

"Just imagine you're on a cloud, drifting in the clear blue skies. The ground is soft beneath you, and you can feel the breeze on your cheeks."

Pete didn't think it was going to work but he tried picturing himself on a cloud anyways. After all, he was at his wits end. Somehow, Pete could feel his legs again and miraculously, they seemed to be propelling him to walk ahead.

Pete didn't know how or why, but before he knew it, he was on the other side of the platform with Vegas following closely behind.

"There you go." Vegas tousled the latter's hair affectionately in an attempt to calm Pete down who was still trembling slightly while the color was slowly returning to his face.

"T-thank you." Pete shot Vegas an appreciative smile, to which the playboy returned with a warm glint in his eyes.

"You are most welcome."

Pete didn't finish off the rest of the obstacle course. He had learnt his lesson about acting strong. And you'd guessed it - Achara was not happy. Not only didn't they clinch victory, they were also the only group who have been disqualified because one of the members had given up.

"It's all because of you!" Achara screeched furiously, earning stares from the rest of the teams.

"I'm sorry." Pete responded with a sigh.

Achara was boiling with anger. "You are extremely useless and all you ever did was pull the team down." She hated Pete from the get-go, so this was a perfect opportunity for her to embarrass him too.

"I-"

"He isn't and I would appreciate it if you could keep your mouth to yourself."

"W-what?" Achara turned to see Vegas approaching Pete, clearly taken aback by what the playboy had said. He was never the sort to stand up for everybody, not even for her.

"Sometimes a little empathy doesn't kill, Achara." Vegas took his side next to Pete before offering his hands to his tent mate.

Achara was fuming mad at this point, as she stood with her arms crossed over her chest. Yet, no words could come out of her mouth.

Vegas didn't pay her any more attention, as he looked at Pete fondly.

"Let's go home."

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a/n: better later than never >.<