11- Dear Companions

                                    

                                          
*ARIV*
I was deep in sleep, eyes closed, yet somehow still aware of the sunrise's warm glow filtering through the tent. The yellow rays were absorbed by the fabric and pierced straight through my closed eyelids. Groaning, I turned over to my right, trying to escape the light. I smiled in my dreams as a sweet, irresistible scent of girly shampoo wafted into my nostrils. But then, I heard a muffled scream from beneath me.
"Arivvv! Get off me!!!"
It took me a moment to piece together what was happening, the voice slowly dragging me away from the comforting embrace of sleep. I opened my heavy eyelids to find myself face-to-face with a pair of beautiful, wide, woody eyes staring at me with a mixture of restlessness and anger. Her cheeks were flushed, and although she looked furious, I couldn't help but find her adorable.
"Get off me! You're so heavy!" she screamed again, her tiny voice managing to sound both commanding and exasperated.
It finally dawned on me what was going on. My eyes widened as I realized I was practically smothering her. I quickly sat up, startled. My God, she was so petite that she had almost disappeared under my thick blanket.
She sat up too, rubbing her shoulder as if trying to recover from the weight of my body. I couldn't help but admire her-she looked effortlessly beautiful in the morning light, like a piece of nature herself, glowing in the sunshine that only enhanced her beauty.
She noticed me staring and snapped, "What?!"
I didn't respond. Instead, I got up and left the tent without a word. I needed to clear my head. 
I trudged over to Atharvs tent, where Reet was supposed to be sleeping. But of course, destiny had other plans for me, ruining my sleep and my dreams. Typical.
"Atharv, open the zip!" I yelled, waiting impatiently. Maybe he was too coming back to reality after his dead-of-the-night sleep. After a moment of silence, I decided to take a detour to relieve myself in the bushes. By the time I returned, the tent zip was finally open.
I entered to find Atharv sitting there, yawning with his eyes still half-closed.
"Wake up, we've got work to do," I said, unzipping his suitcase and beginning to toss his clothes out in search of something.
"What do you need?" he grumbled, clearly annoyed.
"Toothpaste", I replied, still rummaging through his stuff.
"You dumhead, why would it be in the suitcase? Check my backpack."
I checked his bag and, found a small tube of toothpaste. Squeezing some onto my finger, I started brushing my teeth.
"Wake up, we've got work", I mumbled while spitting and gargling.
"But weren't you detained?"
"Only for a night", I said, wiping my lips with my hand.
"And what about Reet?"
"And what about not talking about Reet?" I shot back.
"C'mon, we can't leave her alone and unpaired in these woods", he said, his eyes still half-closed.
"I don't care about her", I muttered, heading back to my tent. But his next words stopped me in my tracks.
"Like you weren't cuddling with her last night."
I spun around to see his eyes, finally open and gleaming.
"And how do you know that?" I arched an eyebrow, catching him off guard.