A/N: Huge thank you for over 200 views, you guys are the best! This is the longest part I have written so far, but I hope it doesn't bore you too much! Please leave comments. I really appreciate it if you let me know what you think of the story in general and the characters so far. Enjoy! 💜

The group got back to the kayaking eventually. They only had just over an hour left of the way to the end point of their trip, but little did they know that it would be the most difficult part.

It started off just fine. Richi and Maja were way ahead of everyone since they were clearly the only ones knowing what they were doing. It got to the point where they couldn't even see the others behind them, so they stopped paddling and just laid back, relaxing in the last rays of sun for the day.

"Wait, don't move." She heard Richard speak up. Maja opened her eyes instantly and her body tensed as the boy reached forward, his hand touching her hair. "You had a bug in your hair," he finally informed her once he withdrew his hand with a small smile.

"Thank you." She smiled gratefully. They stayed silent for a moment, surprisingly it wasn't the awkward kind, just a peaceful one. "How much do you bet they got stuck in some seaweed and the other two are trying to get them out?" The girl laughed, holding out a packet of chewing gum to Richard which he took.

"How much do you bet they flipped the kayaks over?" Richi laughed, before thanking her and handing back the packet of gum.

"That's a bit more of a dark scenario, but also very possible." She shrugged, trying to blow a bubble from her chewing gum.

"I'm hungry," the boy whined and threw his head back with a groan.

"Not to be dramatic, but at this pace you might starve," Maja spoke casually. "Unless you want to drink all this water, then you might live some more." She rambled on to kill time.

"Hey Maja," Richard spoke up again to get her attention after a while. "What do you call bees that produce milk?" He asked, already grinning to himself.

"Oh no.." She shook her head, laughing. She felt like this joke would be terrific. "Bees don't produce milk as far as I am aware, but go one, what do you call bees that produce milk Richi?" She asked.

"Boo-bees!" He beamed at her, showing off his teeth as he laughed. The girl stared at him blankly for a moment, trying to decide whether to laugh at how bad the joke was or at how amused Richi was at the joked, either way she finally burst out into giggles.

"You didn't disappoint, it was just as bad as I thought it would be," she sighed, composing herself. She spotted two kayaks in the distance, but they were still pretty far away. "Well about damn time," she huffed while sitting up.

It had turned out that Andi and Stephan got stuck once again and the couple tried to help them keep moving, but instead they managed to flip their kayak over. So as a matter of fact, both Maya and Richi were correct about what happened, in their own way.

Lena and Markus in particular felt done with kayaking at this point, it was visible that they were annoyed and tired. This wasn't new though. They all knew what was coming because the same exhaustion came every year when they did this. None of them really appreciate it until it was over.

To their dismay, they had to swim through a river, but this was not the worst part. The worst part was the really strong river current that made them lose control and go at a fast speed. This time there were many more of knocked down trees and some were the whole width of the river. Therefore, the only way to get past was to lay down flat inside the kayak and swim through underneath the trees. It was extremely hard for them not to crash into some of the trees, especially when they were going at such a fast speed with the current and it surely took a lot of their energy to keep safe.

The group was relieved when they finally got back onto the lake. It wasn't long until Richi spotted a fireplace on a boardwalk which he recognised to be the finish point. He let the others know that they have nearly arrived, so that it would motivate them a little.

Maja was partly glad that Richi stole her from Lena, not that she had anything against the girl. She knew they would be great friends. However, she got an opportunity to get to know the boy so much more, they almost didn't shut up until they got to the river and even then, they worked together incredibly well. Even Richi himself thought that she was a great girl who would fit perfectly into their group and that was after spending just a little time with her. He previously already enjoyed her company when he got served by her at the café almost every day for the past week.

When they got closer to the land, a smile grew on Maja's lips as she finally began to see more clearly. "Oh wow, this place looks gorgeous," Maja whispered more to herself, but it was loud enough for Richard to hear. He agreed with her and a smile tugged on the boy's lips. A few chairs were placed round a fireplace, all this in the middle of a boardwalk. She noticed that someone was already there, moving around. The someone began to wave once he spotted them.

It had turned out that the someone was Karl, who was already waiting for the group to arrive. A family member of his owned this place so they had it to themselves for the rest of the evening. Around a hundred metres away from the lake, a large wooden house stood on top of a slight hill. It was truly beautiful. The house had big, wide windows which gave an amazing view of the lake and the forest around it.

Markus and Lena were the first ones to get out of their kayaks and back on the land. They greeted Karl and moved their kayaks over to the side so that the others could repeat their actions. Next were Richi and Maja, they sighed happily once they were finally on the boardwalk, they certainly had enough of thrill for today and they were ready to relax.

Andi and Stephan lined up their kayak beside all the others and they high fived each other for the finished trip. Maja was busy tying the laces of her shoes which she had just put on. Andi didn't notice the girl and he began to walk backwards, before anyone could warn either of them, Andi tripped over Maja just as she was getting up. Both of them easily lost their balance and tried their best to hold onto each other to steady themselves, but unfortunately the two were stood too close to the edge of the boardwalk and they fell straight into the lake with a scream and a loud splash.

To their surprise no one laughed, perhaps everyone felt too tired, or nothing could shock them anymore after today's events.

Maja began coughing up the water as soon as she came up to the surface, she couldn't quite yet understand what just took place. She just glanced to her side to check Andi was okay, while he was doing exactly the same. The two of them quickly swam up to the boardwalk and climbed out with the help of others.

"Are you alright?" Lena was the first one who spoke up to them both since it was awfully quiet. Maja just simply nodded, her lips quivering. Andi had the most guilty look on his face, he felt so bad and hoped the girl didn't hurt herself. The youngest boy apologised numerous times and she assured him it wasn't his fault, but that didn't convince him much. Richi grabbed the nearest towel from one of the chairs and he quickly wrapped it around Maja who was shivering. The water in the lake wasn't warm at this time of the year and most of them got to experience that on their own skin.

"Come near the fire, you will be warmer," Lena spoke with sympathy in her voice. She had already managed to dry a little from when she flipped over the kayak with Markus. Maja held the towel tightly around her and did as the girl advised. The atmosphere felt rather tense, so Karl and Markus escaped to the side to discuss how the trip went and to grab a few things. The rest remained around the fire, staring into it as they got lost in their own thoughts, they no longer paid attention to the tense atmosphere.

Maya suddenly remembered about the contents of her pocket. She hopelessly took out her phone, she pressed the home button and just as she thought, nothing. She tried to dry it with the towel, but it was pointless so she quickly gave up. 'Maybe it can still be fixed' she thought, but she didn't spend too much time on the though.

Everyone glanced up as Andi took off his shirt, 'it's not that warm' Maja thought instantly with a small frown. Of course she took a moment to eye his upper body though, she tried not to stare, but that was surely difficult when there was a shirtless athlete right in front of you with perfectly defined muscles. She snapped out of her drooling session and watched the blond boy as he placed the t-shirt close to the fire. He just wanted to make it dry sooner.

"Ahhh smart," Richi approved from beside him. The younger boy glanced back at his friend, he opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly he felt a burning sensation on his fingers.

The boy screeched loudly. The t-shirt must have caught on fire when he looked away. Andi freaked out completely and in panic he just dropped the item of clothing into the fire.

"And I take that back..." Richi mumbled bluntly, scratching the back of his neck. Everyone watched the t-shirt go up in flames and they all stared blankly at the fire, still trying to comprehend how this was even possible. Andi quickly shoved his fingers into the lake, letting the relatively cold water cool off his minor burns.

Markus and Karl came back, bringing a box of sausages and bread with them. Despite being further away, they saw what their friend had managed to accomplish.

Karl placed a hand on Andi's shoulder to get his attention. "I think your Germany hoodie is still in my car," the older boy informed him. "There also should be a first aid kit if you need it," he added, gesturing with a nod at Andreas' fingers. The younger boy mumbled a quick and almost incoherent 'thank you' before he raised to his feet and stomped over to the car.

Karl was indeed correct and the blond found his red hoodie on the back seat. He slid into the warm fabric, zipping it up and putting the hood on over his head for extra warmth. After checking his fingers again, he decided that he won't need any burn dressing on it and it would only really make it uncomfortable for him anyway. For some reason Andreas didn't feel like going back to where everyone was sitting around, he noticed their laughs and he assumed their positive moods have come back. Andi wasn't quite feeling it though, he couldn't tell what was wrong and in situations like that he preferred to be alone, so instead of joining his friends, the boy strolled over to a spot under a tree right beside the lake where he took a seat.

The group noticed the lack of Andi's presence with time, but they all agreed to give him some space since the boy didn't come back to them for a reason and they all respected that. Stephan began to mention the memories from their previous kayaking trips and soon everyone apart from Maja joined in, throwing in their favourite parts. Maja just listened with a little amusement. She grabbed two sausages and shoved them onto a stick, soon holding them above the fire.

"Do you remember when last year we tried to leave Richi in the forest?" Karl laughed, looking around at everyone. The group laughed along as they began to recall the events.

"Let me just remind you that it didn't end very well for you," Richi pointed out with a smug look.

"I'm surprised we are still allowed to use the kayaks after that time." Lena threw in her two cents into the conversation. Maja watched them with a frown.

Stephan noticed the look on Maja's face and he quickly got to explaining what happened. "Karl thought it would be funny to leave Richi on the land and he found it so hilarious that he lost control of the kayak and crashed it into a knocked down tree," he started. "Some pieces fell off of the kayak, it was a miracle that there wasn't a hole," Stephan added. Maja chuckled, shaking her head as she glanced at Karl who just shrugged innocently.

Some time had passed and Maja noticed that the youngest of the boys was still sat under the tree. She took two plastic plates and placed the hot sausages on them, she grabbed some bread before lifting herself up and before she knew it, her feet were carrying her towards Andi.

Andreas lifted his gaze away from the lake as he felt the presence of someone. The girl sat down beside him, trying to ignore how her partly still wet clothes stuck to her skin. "Eat. You don't look too well," Maja insisted after handing him over one of the plates.

Andi looked down at the plate, a quiet laugh leaving his lips as he glanced back at her. The girl noticed the look on his face change, it was mostly his eyes that gave it all away. He wasn't happy, but Maja's presence made him feel slightly better and in that moment the girl was glad she made the decision to come over to him. "You sound like my grandmother," he joked, gently knocking his shoulder against hers.

"A thank you would have been a better phrase, but I'll take it." She half smiled.

They sat in comfortable silence, watching the beautiful sunset happening right before their eyes as they munched on the food. The two got lost in their own thoughts. Their eyes stayed attached to the sky which displayed a range of orange, pink and blue colours, while the lake was an ideal mirror for it.

"I'm sorry for making you fall into the lake." Andi snapped the girl out of her thoughts, almost making her flinch.

"Don't apologise, I needed a bath anyway," she grinned, trying to cheer him up.

"No seriously, I'm sorry about your phone," he continued his apology, at which she immediately shook her head. "I'll pay for it," he sighed.

"Anders." She spoke his fake name in a strict tone, dragging out the last letters of the name. She narrowed her eyes at him to stop him from talking rubbish. She didn't worry much about her phone, she wasn't going to worry about something she could so easily replace. Andreas was about to correct her, but he realised she was just joking. A genuine smile finally appeared on his lips at the memory. "See, I got you," she chuckled.

It didn't take much convincing from Maja for Andi to come back to the rest of the group, especially since after some more talking both of them started to feel the cold. Thankfully, despite everyone being tired, their humour had came back. Even Andi and Markus were back to their child-like behaviour. The two idiots were trying to wrestle each other off of their chairs. While the kids played, Richard pointed out the brightly sparkling stars and then he went on to saying how it was as if someone threw diamond dust up in the sky. It caught most of the group's attention, causing them to stare dreamily up into the sky after laughing at the boy for making such a comment.

It was getting late and they began to pack everything up. Of course, it took them much longer than it was necessary because some people could not behave themselves as normal humans. The place where they left their cars wasn't a long walk away, but they were not too optimistic about walking through the forest in pitch black. Only five people at the most could get into Karl's car, who was planning on driving them to the place where their cars were parked. Markus however, had a very bright idea of trying to fit all seven of them inside the car.

Andi being a smartass, he called shotgun and rushed to the front passengers seat before anyone even got a chance to react. Karl got into the drives seat and watched what the rest would do. Stephan got in and shifted in the middle seat, soon after him, Markus got in on one side and Richi on the other. The girls just looked at each other and huffed.

"What happened to ladies first, huh?" Lena asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well would you really like me to sit in your lap?" Markus asked his girlfriend with a raised eyebrow. "Thought so," he spoke when he didn't hear an answer.

Lena groaned as she got in and tried make herself comfortable in Markus' lap by cuddling up to him. Maja carefully got in from the other side. The girl felt quite awkward because she had to attempt not to squish Richi while getting in.

She rested in Richi's lap at last, she didn't want to get too close to prevent her from invading his personal space. However, the boy felt how uncomfortably she was sitting, so almost instantly he placed his warm hand on her waist, pulling her gently towards him while his other hand set on her knee. Maja slowly relaxed and she peeked at him, he caught her gaze and gave her a small smile which she returned quite shyly due to how little space there was between them.

Andi was right, she didn't regret joining them today.