The window was cool against Atlas' cheek as he watched the scenery pass by, Nirvana blaring in his ears, blocking out the words of his brother in the driver's seat. His hair was a mess, frizzy and sticking up in random places, the long curls were sloppily bleached at the ends, making him look the part of the douchey teenager. The sunlight streaming through the window reflected off his earrings and brought attention to the freckles covering his face and arms. He hated them, they made him look more feminine and that's the last thing he wanted, he already let his curls grow longer than most boys' hair and pierced just about every part of his ears but the freckles were what struck him as feminine and if he thought he looked like a girl, then so did everyone else, thus everyone must think he 'looked' gay. Beside him sat Hailey, one of his three younger sisters, who insisted on driving up to the campsite with Atlas for no reason, she wouldn't be staying, just driving there and back in their brother's dusty old car. The old machine was full of hot air which felt constricting and hard to breath, he longed to open a window and let the lake air enter the car but his brother had made it seemed that if he did the thing would break down. Sick of feeling like he was continuously breathing the same air, he let out a stream of loud, fake coughs to bring his brother's attention to him rather than his chat with Hailey. With the click of a button, Nirvana ceased playing and he was brought back to the real world, allowing him to hear the rumble of the car and voices of his siblings.
He met his brother's gaze in the rearview mirror, the older with an amused look in his eyes. "What's up, At? You being ungrateful again?" His gaze flickered back to the road after his words, turning onto a dustier, more tree-surrounded road without using a turn signal. Everything his brother had done made Atlas roll his eyes with an annoyed scoff, he realized how typical he was being but he honestly didn't care if he wasn't in front of his friends, his family gets to see his aggression and teen angsty-ness while his friends see him smile and laugh, the two emotions he actually showed.
"I'd be grateful if you gave me something to be grateful about." He shot a glare at the back of his brothers head, shoving his walkman into the front pocket of his bag before returning to leaning against the window, reading every sign that they would pass. "I was going to tell you that we should stop for fresh air, but the campsite is just up there so it would just waste our time." He could hear his brother's chuckle at his mumbled words and he wanted to get angry, but up ahead he could see what he could assume was one of his friends so he kept his mouth shut.
Before the car had completely halted, Hailey had unbuckled and leapt out of the car, he purple sandals sending up clouds of dirt from the road, coating her legs. "Oh, this is so cool, Atlas! It's so empty here, I wish I could be staying with you!" The energetic ten-year-old ran around the car, treating the clearing around the fire pit like a school track, running around it with her arms out, flapping them wildly as if like a bird. Everything around seemed so calm and still, beside the young girl, even the birds in the trees seemed too used to humans to be frightened by her.
Atlas threw his bags out of the car, first his backpack, then a large duffel bag, followed by a guitar and whatever supplies his stepdad had packed for him. The young boy seemed to care little for most of his belongings, kicking them out of the road and into the dirt, but he was careful to keep his guitar safe in his arms. After his items were in a pile, he turned to the one friend who was also at the site with a half-smile. "What's up, Sammy? Hope you haven't been waiting too long."
He ignored his brother calling Hailey back to the car and only gave a small wave when the both of them shouted a farewell before driving off. He was happy his brother didn't make a fuss before leaving, none of his family was close enough emotionally for some tearful goodbye and his parents had already gone over the rules for the trip before he left. He didn't spare a second glance at the car as it drove off, instead, focusing on what he'd do with his friends over the next week.