“This was a bad idea,” I said to Mikki as we were getting out of the car.

“Come on. It’ll be fun.” She said, pulling me towards the trail. Liam and Tyler were supposed to meet us there so we could all go together. “Besides, you need some time outdoors. Vitamin D is good for you.”

“We both know that’s not the problem here.” I reminded her. I hadn’t hung out with anyone aside from Mikki since middle school. Plus, I didn’t know Liam super well either. Sure, he had been nothing but nice to me since the moment we met, but what if that were to change?

“It will be fine. Liam is a good guy.” Mikki smiled. I had forgotten that Mikki and Liam knew each other. I mean, why wouldn’t she since she cheers at every single one of their games? “I am curious as to how you guys met though.”

“We just talked a little bit at homecoming while I was taking a break,” I said, brushing off whatever weird thoughts she was having about us. We were just friends, nothing more. “He wanted to look at my pictures.”

“Interesting.” She said, drawing the word out like it meant something else entirely. “Did you remember to grab your camera?”

“Of course! If I’m going to be forced outside for the next few hours, best believe I’m gonna get some photos.” I said, laughing.

“You’re right.” She smiled. “Take some pictures for me, too. I want to post some later. Maybe we can get a group photo or something.”

“We’ll see,” I said, quietly.

When we got to the beginning of the trail, Liam and Tyler were waiting for us. I had only talked to Tyler once. I needed to get a photo of him for the yearbook last year, so I had to pull him out of class for a bit. From what I could remember, he was nice. He reminded me a lot of my older brother, energetic and overly friendly.

“Hey,” I said, giving them both a little wave. Liam’s face lit up in a smile. I could feel my heart flutter a little, but tucked the feeling away. Feelings like that would make the whole day awkward, and I wanted it to be a good day.

Mikki waved hello and gave a quick side hug to both of them.

“I’m glad you both decided to come.” Liam said, “It would have been boring if it was just the two of us.”

“Yeah, I don’t know if I could stand to be alone with this dumb ass for that long. I might have gone crazy.” Tyler laughed.

“Happy to be of service,” Mikki laughed along.

“Well, let’s get going. If we want to make it to the top and back before it gets dark, we need to go now.” Liam announced. We all nodded and began walking.

The trail was beautiful. The leaves had changed colors and would fall whenever the wind picked up. It was a little chilly as it was early October, but I had always liked the cold. There were a few smaller animals around, but the forest was mostly still.

I found myself taking pictures whenever inspiration struck. Most of them were of the falling leaves or Mikki doing something silly, but a couple were of Liam when he was in the middle of a very animated conversation with Tyler and Mikki.

We eventually stopped to take a break for a few minutes when we reached a clearing. I took a seat on some larger stones to look at the photos I had taken.

“Hey, Harper. Did you get any good photos?” Mikki asked, taking a seat next to me.

“I think so. I think I’ll get some really good ones when we get to the top.” I said, clicking through my camera’s memory. “I bet the view will be stunning.”

I passed the camera over to Mikki so she could get a better look at the photos. I would definitely have to send her the ones with her in them later.

“Harper, these are really good.” She smiled, excited. “Like crazy good. Liam, come look at these!”

I could feel my face flush. I knew he had seen my photos for the yearbook, but the only person who had seen the photos I took for fun was Mikki. Before I had a chance to protest, Liam was standing over my shoulder looking at the camera. Mikki handed it to him and he began clicking through the pictures.

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His face was expressionless as he silently went through the photos. Something about his silence made me nervous. My photos weren’t anything great, but I didn’t think they were too bad. But, maybe I had been deluding myself.

He stopped clicking for a moment and just stared at a single photo for a moment. A smile slowly spread across his face.

“Amazing.” He muttered to himself. My heart skipped at that single word. He looked up from the camera at me, which I’m sure caused me to turn even redder.

“Right!” Mikki cheered. “Her photos are always so good. I keep telling her she should submit them to some photography magazines but she always refuses. She won’t even post them on Instagram.”

“Why not?” He asked, looking confused.

“I just take them for fun.” I said, “Besides, they aren’t good enough for that.”

“I disagree,” Liam said, sternly. “These are fantastic. They look better than most professional photos.”

“You don’t need to exaggerate,” I said mostly to myself.

“Harper,” He leaned in to give the camera back to me, “I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

My heart fluttered at his words.

“It’s true. He’s disgustingly serious when it comes to these things.” Tyler said, slapping Liam shockingly hard on the back. “He’s too simple-minded to lie about things like that.”

Liam looked over his shoulder and shot a glare at Tyler. Tyler backed away with his hands up, laughing hysterically.

“You can look if you want,” I said to Tyler, but he just shook his head.

“I know literally nothing about photography, so I’m not qualified to give an opinion.” He smiled. “But, I did always like the photos you took at the games. They made us look pretty damn cool.”

I couldn’t help but smile. No one other than Mikki had told me anything like this. My parents, especially my mother, thought that my photography was a complete waste of time. My brother supported me doing photography but he had never actually seen any of the photos I’ve taken.

I cleared my throat. “We should probably get going,” I said, standing up and ignoring the smug smile on Mikki’s face.

Liam and I walked in silence while Mikki and Tyler were engrossed in a conversation about the homecoming game. I wanted to thank him for liking my photos but I couldn’t find the words. Talking to someone shouldn’t be this difficult. A breeze passed and sent shivers through me.

“Are you cold?” Liam asked, his voice soft and kind.

“I’m okay. The wind was just a little chilly.” I smiled softly. “Thanks.”

“It’s no problem.” He smiled back.

“Seriously though. Thank you.” I said, barely holding onto the courage I found. “It was nice to have someone other than Mikki compliment my photos.”

He just looked at me for a second, like he wasn’t expecting my words. I looked at him a bit confused and worried I said something wrong. He looked forward and pushed his hand through his hair.

“Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting that.” He said, and I could have sworn his face looked a little pinker than before. “But your photos were amazing.”

I just smiled to myself. We talked about seemingly random things as we walked up the mountain. Liam was so animated when talked about things he was passionate about. It was so fun to watch. I learned a lot of things about him.

For one, he has a younger brother named Henry who just started high school, who Liam swore was the smartest person he knew. He has a cat named Allie who likes to sleep on the bookshelf in his room.

He also helps coach basketball for the kids at the community center on the weekend. He loves to watch movies, especially comedies. He even likes romantic comedies, which he claims is because his mom forces him to watch them with her. Just the thought of that made me smile.

After a while, we eventually made it to the end of the hiking trail. As expected, the view was amazing. The sun was starting to set, making the sky an array of vibrant reds and oranges. I took so many photos. I got several of Mikki, as she danced around in enjoyment. I took a few sneaky photos of Liam, catching some of his award-winning smiles.

Mikki convinced me to take a group photo of all of us. I set my camera on some of the rocks, positioning it at the right angle, and set a timer before running back over to the group. Liam wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I kept telling myself it wasn’t a big deal as I put on my best smile, but his touch sent flutters through me.

I walked back to my camera, trying not to think about how my face was definitely flushed and how fast my heart was racing.

We started to descend back down, but it was already starting to get dark. We were discussing where we should go get food after we got back when I misstepped. I could feel myself falling forward towards the ground when Liam’s arm wrapped around me and pulled me back towards him.

“Are you okay?” Liam asked, looking down at me. I looked up at him in his ocean-blue eyes. I could find the words. A smile okay or even just nodding my head would have worked, but it wasn’t there. I just stood staring at him and the concerned look on his face.

“Harper?” He asked again, breaking me from my spell. I gave him a quick nod and stepped away from him towards Mikki. She looked with a sly smile on her face and leaned into me, wrapping her arm around my shoulder.

“Shut up," I said to Mikki quietly causing her to laugh. There was no way she was going to let this go. “Come on, guys.” She said, excitedly. “Let’s hurry up. I’m dying for some pizza right now.” The guys laughed and we hurried down to the parking lot.