maholo - thank you

Making it to the top of that stupid ridge was probably the most excruciating thing Emerson has ever dealt with.

Not that he can outright show his pain considering everyone else seems perfectly fine give or take a few scrapes and sweat marks on their clothes. Something very (very) deep inside of him almost regrets not taking Alex up on his offer to workout with him and/or try out for the football team together. Not that he will ever admit that because, he's sure, the urge to be physically fit will pass once this hike has come to an end.

Not to the mention that the fact that no one has spoken since his interaction with the tour guide except for Rosalind herself who will, every now and then, spit out a fun fact or steer someone away from some sort of poisonous plant. He knows he should apologize but he's not exactly sure what he should be apologizing for.

His inclination was more than fair considering she's being paid to do this. It's in his rights to question her abilities, correct? Maybe not seeing as none of his friends have reassured him of this.

When Claire falls back and walks slowly beside him, Emerson is relieved. That is until she opens her mouth.

"Why were you so rude to the tour guide? She seems nice enough." Her gentle inquiry is too low for anyone else to hear.

Emerson hangs his head, sighing in frustration as he lugs his backpack through the wild terrain, "It's not a matter of being nice, Claire. I wasn't trying to be rude, I was only asking perfectly understandable questions. I think that the only reason anyone is upset is because she's female and the person who's questioning her abilities is male. I'm not sexist, I'm a realist." He explains calmly, his throat parched once again.

She remains quiet for a moment as they walk alongside one another, birds above singing and chirping as they communicate with one another almost as if alerting each other of intruders, "I get what you're saying and...I'm used to you being no nonsense with us but...with strangers and people who are trying to help us, you should at least try to be more kind."

"Kindness isn't going to keep us from falling off a cliff and dying." He responds dryly before taking one look at her disapproving stare and sighing once again but this time in defeat, "Alright I'll apologize for being a pompous jerk and for questioning her judgment."

A smile spreads across Claire's lips before it reaches her dark eyes with a shining pride, "Thank you. I knew you would see it my way." She winks jokingly before laughing at the way his eyes roll at her statement.

"Sure, okay." He chuckles, shaking his head in amusement before stopping suddenly, the group ahead pausing for another break.

"Here's your chance." Claire pats his arm reassuringly before jogging to meet the others, her bag making various noises as she goes.

After stalling for a few minutes by drinking an entire water bottle from his pack and wiping the sweat from his face with a towel he brought along, Emerson moves slowly towards the blonde currently being bothered by Alex and his antics. Looking over at Claire, he begs with his eyes not to make him do this but the hardness in her own is a clear demand: do it now or else.

Releasing a large breath, Emerson stands before Rosalind and Alex, coming in on the tail end of a conversation.

"Wow that's a uh...very interesting, Alex. Who knew someone could do that many reps in one sitting? One could even think it humanly impossible." Her sarcastic tone practically flies over Alex's head, his smile widening, while Emerson does his best not to laugh.

Alex opens his mouth to say something else but Rosalind holds up a single finger, "I believe Emerson wants to speak to me so maybe we could pick this up later?"

Looking between the two of them, Alex gives Emerson a subtle jealous glare before nodding and walking off to talk with his brother.

She faces him with an expectant smile, "Yes?"

Emerson's jaw ticks as he observes Rosalind's calm expression before she crosses her arms, her light hair now pulled up into a bun, strands of shorter hair surrounding her face. "Well..." He begins, doing his best to swallow his pride.

"Stop." She sighs, his brows furrowing in confusion, "Look...I now understand why you were asking me those questions and I realize that, as a professional, I should have simply answered them and held no offense. I can now see that you meant no offense is what I'm trying to say." Emerson can tell that this was as painful for her to say as it was for him to walk over there.

Pressing his lips together, he rocks back on his heels and nods once, "Thank you for recognizing that."

She blinks at him, her blue eyes narrowing, "Is that all you have to say?"

"I mean I was going to come over and say that - "

"Excuse me, I need to borrow Emerson for a second."

"Alex, I have to - "

"No, you really don't. We'll be back." Alex smiles widely at Rosalind, her eyes rolling as he drags Emerson away by the arm.

"Dude, what the heck! I was supposed to - "

"I call dibs." Alex cocks his chin, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Would you please stop interrupting me!" Emerson exclaims, looking over at Rosalind who is now occupied with the laces of her boots, looking extremely perturbed, "Whatever, I tried." He mumbles before looking back to his friend with an unamused expression, "Why exactly did you feel the need to drag me over here just to call dibs? You couldn't wait two more seconds?"

"Two seconds is too long. You know the rule of dibs, Emerson."

"Yeah." He rolls his eyes in reply, "You get first try at her but you're missing the fact that I don't want anything to do with her." He expresses in frustration, "I was just trying to apologize."

"Oh." Alex says, "My bad. My statement still stands though, I have dibs." He smirks before walking away, throwing his backpack over his shoulder.

Blowing air through his cheeks, Emerson decides to just leave it be. Now that Alex has called dibs, he doubts he'll be able to get close enough to Rosalind to even apologize. Not that he's overly eager to anyway. In two weeks time, he'll never see her again so what does it matter?

"Did you do it?" Claire breathes as they begin again on their venture, pushing a branch out of the way.

Dodging the extension of the tree, Emerson bites his lip nervously, "Uh...I tried."

"What do you mean? What happened?" She looks at up at him with a frustrated sigh.

He shrugs in response, his eyes locking on Alex with annoyance, "I'll give you one guess."

Claire follows his line of sight, a groan emitting from her full lips, "Alex? You're kidding me."

"Nope." He says, popping the p, "He has officially called dibs on Rosalind."

"He does realize that she's way out of his league, right? And I'm not talking physically...I'm talking - well in every other aspect." She snorts, watching as Alex swats away a bee and curses under his breath.

"Alex is a good guy but..."

"Exactly." She laughs, lightly smacking his arm, "Hey I'll race you to the end of the trail? I can see it up ahead just through those trees." Her finger points straight head as Emerson shakes his head.

"You'll beat me." He says definitely.

The triumphant laugh that bellows from her lips brings an involuntary chuckle from his own, "You're right, I would. Which is exactly why I want to race." She says cheekily, hooking her thumbs onto the strap over her small shoulders.

Emerson's dimpled smile and jokingly harsh glare is enough to make her laugh once more, "I'm glad to know of my ability to make you feel good about yourself as well as now be aware of your lack of faith in me."

"It's not a matter of faith, Emerson." She teases, "It's the fact that I've not once seen you actually workout for more than thirty minutes at a time. You're lucky that you're naturally built or else you'd look like a green bean."

"Seriously?" He deadpans, "A green bean?"

"Tall, thin, and frail." She shakes her head slightly as she exaggerates the words, seeming to feel very pleased with herself.

Emerson pauses, taking a moment to chuckle deeply at his petite friend, her small brown eyes glimmering with anticipation of his next move.

"You're right." He deflects, knowing this is what will bother her most: a surrender, "I would look like a green bean. Except...not green."

Her surprised reaction to his pulling out of the lighthearted argument is exactly what he expected, "I suppose you have a point there."

"Hey, guys!" Rhyme calls to them from up ahead, his chest now rising and falling with more effort, "The top is just around this bend, hurry up!"

Claire and Emerson look at one another, her expression excited and eager whilst his is more relief that they're finally halfway done with this hot and sweaty nightmare. His legs ache from climbing over rocks and his shoes are wet from crossing small rivers. His back feels as if he could twist and it would crack like a piece of bubble wrap. So, all in all, not exactly the most pleasant experience.

"You coming?" She asks him, already beginning to quicken her pace.

Emerson pauses, biting his lower lip. "Nah, you go ahead. I'll be there in a second."

Claire's electrified smile falters slightly, "You sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure." He nods once, not wishing to draw any more attention to himself. His wishes aren't to ruin the experience for all of his friends.

"Alright..." She sighs with clear disappointment, "Well at least promise that we'll get a photo together before we head back down?"

Emerson smiles softly, nodding, "I promise. Now go and yodel with everyone else or something." He smiles.

"We're in Hawaii, not the Alps."

"Yeah okay just go already, you know you want to." He waves her off. With one last unsure look, Claire jogs off and disappears behind the bend in the trees.

And Emerson remains where he is, not exactly eager to see how high up he is and hoping his friends are having a better time than him.

I ❝ you always have two options. to be defined by your circumstances or to triumph over them. ❞ I

"Is there a reason that you took fifteen minutes to catch up with the rest of us?" Isaac stops next to Emerson at the end of the trail as they went for their Uber, Emerson's eyes set straight ahead as he takes a swig of water.

"I had to tie my shoe?" He doesn't even attempt to make it sound believable.

Isaac sighs next to him, heat radiating from his skin as he wipes the sweat from his brow, "Was it the whole heights thing?" Emerson looks down at his feet, giving him his answer, "I'm sorry, man. I didn't realize how high it was until we got there."

"Don't apologize. You guys had fun and that matters to me." He gives him a half smile.

Isaac studies him before moment before looking away, his eyes catching onto Rosalind as she pours water over her palms, ridding them of dirt and sweat, "What do you think about Rosie?"

His subtle change of conversation doesn't go unnoticed by Emerson but he chooses to appreciate the gesture rather than question it, "I think she made it perfectly clear she wants to be called Rosalind." He chuckles, watching Alex as he leans against a tree on his phone.

"Yeah by Alex because he's creepy." Isaac snorts. Emerson remains quiet as he observes everyone around him, "Well...I for one think she's pretty cool. On the way up there, she told us a story about how she was surfing one time and a huge wave came after she had already wiped out. She was underwater for three minutes. Apparently she woke up on the beach with an old guy standing above her. He saved her life but she says it still gives her chills." He laughs, his brown eyes alight with interest.

Emerson's eyes widen, "Wow, that's insane." He's not sure what else to say. Isaac has always been extremely invested in other people's lives and stories. He's always trying to learn more about everyone in his life and he likes to stay close to those he cares about.

This explains why he worked so hard to graduate alongside his friends and girlfriend. He may be one year younger than everyone in his group but everyone agrees that he's wise beyond his years. Not to mention he's smarter and better with people than anyone else in the group. He's a true friend.

"It really is." His gaze is noticeably directed at Rosalind curiously.

Emerson follows his line of sight, sighing largely, "Please don't tell me you have a thing for her too. Alex is already too much, I can't handle you being all over her too." He jokes, earning an unamused stare.

"Shut up, if Gwen heard you say that she would punch you in the throat. I'm simply curious about her. She seems like a cool person." He crosses his arms.

Emerson watches Rosalind as she throws her head back and laughs boisterously at something Gwen said, her hand landing on her arm to steady herself, "Yeah." He mumbles, "She's interesting, I'll give her that much."

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I truly hope you haven't gotten bored yet. Thank you again for reading another installment of this story! PLEASE vote and comment! Mostly comment because reading your comments is LITERALLY my favorite thing ever.

Much love! ☺︎