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troped-fanfic-challenge · 3 years

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AUTHOR REVEAL of the JATP ROUND 2: FLUFF FICS!

The Tropes:

Exes

Time Loop AU

Camp Counselors

Prank Wars

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Okay, Campers, Rise and Shine! (Rated T) [Julie x Luke] by nik_knows_nothing

Summary: When Reggie launches a particularly ill-advised prank war at HGC Ranch, Luke’s fully prepared to take it in stride.

When the days start looping, though, he begins to suspect that this might all be a little bit above his head.

In other words, he’s at least 78% sure that the time loop isn’t a direct result of Reggie’s pranks.

Maybe 77%.

Oh, well.

At least he’s not in it alone.

(The Groundhog Day meets Gravity Falls meets Summer Camp meets The Author’s Own Distaste For Prank Wars AU that no one asked for. Ever. At all.)

Starting To Forget (Just What Summer Ever Meant To You) (Not Rated) [Flynn x Carrie] by bi_magic

Summary: Last summer didn’t end on a positive note for Carrie Wilson - she and her girlfriend broke up on the last night of camp, and she’s been miserable since. But it seems that the universe is intent on having her fix that this summer. Even if that means she has to live through the same day over and over and over again until she does.

Creative B.S. Was No More, Was No Less (Look Around, You're Gonna Miss What You Found) (Rated T) [Alex x Luke, Flynn x Reggie] by @americanhoney913

Summary: The midnight men move again

Don’t know when

Best friends forever

In trouble again

Here’s to you, here’s to me

Over the rafters and we’re free

— Over the Rafters, Rick Schiffman

***

Alex and Luke go undercover on a mission to a summer camp in order to find a talisman that could endanger the camp and all the kids. While there, they bond with the kids and make peace with the fact that they broke up.

While Alex and Luke are away, Flynn accidentally fucks with time.

bitch but like romantically (Rated T) [Flynn x Carrie] by @screamin-amuseum

Summary: The dining hall’s exactly the same as it has been for two mornings now, and Flynn doesn’t hesitate to poke Willie twice on the nose and whisper “pancake” on her way past their seat.

His eyes widen and he whips his head around to follow them, excitement glimmering in their eyes.

“Really?” they blurt. Flynn rolls her eyes and nods.

or: flynn gets stuck in a time loop. {for troped jatp round 2}

down by the bay (Rated T) [Alex x Willie] by @sunsetcurbed

Summary: Over time, Camp Phantom has simply become known as a selective summer camp: one that took only the kids that Caleb saw promise in. And Caleb wasn’t exactly lying. He really did take only the ones he saw promise in, he simply looked for different traits than others might.

For example, say, hypothetically, a boy who could see the future. Or, hypothetically, a girl who could interact with ghosts. Or, hypothetically, a boy who could summon objects to him with a simple thought. Or, and this is completely hypothetical mind you, a boy who could manipulate time.

Those might be some traits that Caleb saw promise in. Just, like, as examples.

Time will tell (But only if you do it right) (Rated T) [Flynn x Carrie] by @malecacidd

Summary: Carrie had been acting a little off for a week or so, but Flynn was pretty much known for seeing something in nothing, and that was probably what they were doing then. If something was going on, Carrie would tell her eventually.

Who knew all it took was a little bit of miscommunication to mess up time itself?

and so it begins (Rated T) [Bobby x Reggie] by @comeonpeters

Summary: It’s the first day of their second week at Camp Carolling (they’re spending an entire month, and they’re getting paid to be there!) when Reggie gets a little lost in the woods. During this misadventure into the woods, he finds an egg shaped rock, an inhabited cabin that may or may not be riddled with signs, and something that might be magic. He probably doesn’t get paid enough to discover magic.

or, when they were thirteen years old, four boys met at camp carolling and eventually became a band that almost became something legendary. now, all four boys are coming back as counselors, three boys in one band and one boy in his own solo act.

so begins the reunion, though it doesn’t go how any of them imagine.

Porcupine Day (Rated T) [Bobby x Ray x Rose] by @wr0temyway0ut

Summary: It’s been fifteen years since Trevor broke up with Ray and Rose and they’re… not fine, but managing. But when Trevor to adds insult to injury and buys the camp across the lake from the one they once owned together, the two camps become locked in a bitter rivalry. With neither side willing to set aside their pride and work out their issues, the universe decides to settle their fates itself.

Day After Day (After Day After Day) (Rated T) [Alex x Willie] by hufflebibin

Summary: When Alex met Willie just after their senior year of high school, they spent a wonderful three months dating before their relationship ended in a blaze of glory. Now, four years later, they meet again as counselors at a summer camp. The only problem? Alex keeps reliving their first day together. The day that Luke had declared “Prank Day.”

This is not how Alex pictured his summer going.

clocks move faster (it's all we're after) (Rated G) [Julie x Luke] by @willexxmercer

Summary: Julie likes it when her friends are happy, so when she realizes she’s stuck in a time loop, she uses her knowledge to make sure everything works out for everyone… except she conveniently forgets to factor herself (and Luke) into the mix.

Touch of Magic (Not Rated) [Alex x Luke] by @williexmercer

Summary: When everything stands in Luke and Alex’s way of getting to be with the people they love, they have to repeat the day over and over until they can get the happily ever after that they want.

the play's the thing (that goes wrong) (Rated T) [Alex x Willie] by @madeline-kahn

Summary: Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day for Macbeth, but not so for Alex and the production of Hamlet that he is directing and starring in. And while he’s stuck repeating the day of the performance over and over, mishaps of all kinds befall the cast.

anything, anything (for another run with you) (Rated T) [Alex x Willie] by @aroacethetic-shitpost

Summary: The moment Alex steps foot in Camp Greenwood, he knows that this summer is a bad idea.

He knows it as soon as he sees tan skin, long hair, and a tie-dyed crop top at the check-in table.

Willie.

the camp counselor/exes/prank war/time loop fic of your dreams (unless you read all of the other troped round 2 fics lmao)

there’s a glorious sunrise, dappled with the flickers of light (Rated T) [Julie x Luke] by @tonightthestarsalign

Summary: What comes next happens in slow motion. Luke’s foot catches on the last rung of the ladder. Julie watches as he stumbles a step forward, barely catching himself before falling on his face. The ladder clatters to the floor below. The trapdoor, no longer propped open by it, falls closed with a loud thunk, the lock clicking into place. They’re stuck.

“Luke!” she exclaims loudly. “Look what you did!” Julie drops to her knees in front of the trap door, desperately trying to fit her fingers between the wood and the stone to pry it open again. Of course it doesn’t work.

“What?” he snaps back. “I wouldn’t be up here in the first place if it weren’t for you trying to fuck us over.”

or: ex-best friends Luke and Julie, working as camp counselors at rivaling camps, find themselves stuck in a time loop

the daughter of apollo (Rated T) [Julie x Luke] by @the-most-beautiful-broom

Summary: (the JATP x Camp Half Blood AU that nobody asked for)

maybe the world isn't ending (maybe it's been postponed) (Rated G) [Julie x Luke] by @tmp-jatp

Summary: Alex runs his fingers through Willie’s hair. “I think it’s best to just leave them to their own prank war at this point. Let’s not forget that time Julie put hot sauce in the coffee pot and my mouth was on fire for an entire hour.”

“You’re exaggerating, Alex-”

“I most certainly am not,” Alex cuts Reggie off.

“Or how about the time Luke tried to put glitter in Julie’s bed,” Carrie joins in, “but got my bed instead? I can appreciate some glitter, but even I know when enough is enough.”

“Suffice it to say,” Willie finishes after they’ve passed around a dozen or so more memories of pranks from the summer, “we’re all done being your collateral damage. Whatever Julie has planned for you tomorrow, Luke, you’re on your own.”

It’s the last day of camp and Julie has one more prank planned for Luke. He just doesn’t know what it is.

Here We Go Again (Rated T) [Julie x Luke] by @kybee1497

Summary: Julie blinked as she stared at the place Euterpe had disappeared. What did that even mean? What journey? Old places and lost faces? What was she talking about? But before she could dwell on the questions swirling around in her mind, the sky full of stars began to move, shifting in place and descending until they were all around her. Julie felt her feet leave the ground as she rose up and up. One star in particular was burning brighter than the others, growing bigger in front of her.

It grew and grew, until the light was blinding and Julie had to throw a hand up against the harsh light. She closed her eyes as the light surrounded her and then she was falling. Falling down, down, down.

————

All the Winners can be found here.

We hope you enjoy these fics from our fabulous Fantoms! Make sure to leave kudos and comments to show them some love! And don’t forget, if you missed the initial writing deadline you can still submit your fics to our Non-Anon Collection at any time! Thank you all so much for participating this round! Now that winners and authors have been revealed feel free to post about your fics, create artwork for it, if you like, and don’t forget to tag us!

We hope you all will join us for Round 3! The prompt drops at Midnight tonight!

#troped: jatp #round 2: fluff #author reveal #jatp fanfiction

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sharethisgemwithme · 5 years

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Zach and Grace Friday panel at Connecticon 2019

Some highlights and notes from the "Growing Up with Steven Universe" panel featuring Zach Callison and Grace Rolek, Friday afternoon at Connecticon 2019. There are some promo spoilers. Most quotes are approximate from the notes I took on my phone. There may be a recording of the panel, but the camera was blocked by the audience question line for a while and when I got to the front of the line, I saw it wasn't even pointed at Zach and Grace.

Sorted into broad categories:

Movie hype / spoilery talk

Host asked about the poster. Zach said he's kinda looked at it, but not studied it closely. Grace: "Spoiler alert, someone has a neck." Zach: "That's all anyone can talk about."

What's the hardest scene to record that you've done. Zach: "I hate to do this but the hardest scene I've done I did a few weeks ago and I can't talk about it for quite a while." [audience groans]

Audience member: "I have a question about the movie." Zach makes police siren noises, "Oh no the Cartoon Network spoiler police!"

Attempts to get even small details were denied. "So we saw you have a neck. Is your voice going to change?" [pause] Zach: "A week from today (Friday), there's a big panel and there's gonna be a bunch of stuff. I recommend you watch."

This was earlier in the day, when I met Zach in the autograph line. Me: "I'm really looking forward to all the stuff that's gonna come out next week in San Diego." Zach: "There's so much. I'm not going to be there, after six years of going, I need a vacation."

Zach makes ABUNDANTLY clear how excited he is for what's coming up, "I am thrilled with what they've done after CYM."

Reaction to the new gems from CYM. Zach: "Sunstone is one of my favorites now. Like an after-school camp counselor." Grace: "Obsidian is one of the hardest secrets I've ever had to keep on this show." They finished recording CYM in 2017!

Have you ever cried in the recording booth? Zach: "Over a dozen times. One time really badly... with something that hasn't come out yet."

What's the biggest theme you've taken from the show? Zach: "I'm really sorry to do this, but I'm gonna skip this question because the theme I take away is something that hasn't come up in the show yet." He says the show has become intensely personal to him and his experiences, both intentionally and unintentionally, and says if he accidentally gave hints as to upcoming themes, it wouldn't be fair to the crew. (This probably ties in with some of the stuff below under “Outside of SU”)

Favorites and funniest

What's the hardest scene to record that you've done. Among stuff that's aired, Zach: Storm in the Room. Connie: "Either Nightmare Hospital or Full Disclosure when Connie is like 'Stop ghosting me, Steven!' "

What are some funny moments from recording? The opening scene from "Winter Forecast", the directors INSISTED on real marshmallows, "nothing else would do". Grace: "And these were not small. There's jumbo and then there's novelty size." Zach: "They got novelty size." Grace: "I could barely fit one inside my mouth."

Favorite episode (this question might've had a "besides the Big Plot episodes" caveat).

Zach: "Onion Gang. Any of the weird Onion episodes."

Grace: "I realize this is an unpopular opinion but I love the Ronaldo episodes. I have a Keep Beach City Weird sticker on my laptop. I don't like having stuff that's too overtly Steven Universe because I don't like to toot my own horn, but KBCW is great because it's 'if you know, you know'." Zach: "It's a lifestyle."

That segued into talk about "Rocknaldo", which Zach thought was hilarious, especially the way CN trolled everyone with the Bloodstone promo. Grace "Was that the one where Ronaldo tried to kill someone in the basement?" Discussion brings up that's "Horror Club". Grace continues, "That was a great one, like what are we DOING? No one went to jail for this?"

Favorite songs:

First, ones that they did.

Zach said "Let's Only Think About Love". I think he added a second one, but my notes say “or” and then stop there so I think I moved on to the next bit and forgot what else he said.

Grace says "Of course 'Do it for Her'" but also that she loved providing background harmonies for "Escapism". "Aly and AJ was the first concert I ever went to, so to do back-up vocals for AJ was the greatest fangirl moment." (There’s been some confusion as to whether Zach and Grace had vocals on that song, it’s now clear that they did)

Then, overall. Zach immediately sings "It's over, isn't it? Isn't it over?" Grace grumbles that she can't take the same answer, so she throws out "Stronger Than You".

"Back in the start of the show, it was a lot more lighthearted. What's the funniest or weirdest line you had to record?" Zach IMMEDIATELY goes into voice: "A boy on the cusp of manhood can't spend the whole day wackering." Grace enjoyed her line from "Open Book": "Of course you like the ending, you LOVE schmultz."

Pivoting into the weirdness of early episodes, Zach says "Frybo and Cat Fingers were back to back, 5 and 6. I don't know how anyone stuck with the show after that."

What's the biggest theme you've taken from the show? Grace: "I think about Mindful Education all the time. Here Comes a Thought is such a great song but also an important mantra."

Other than Uncle Grandpa, what crossover would you like to do? Zach: "I wanna be the very best!" Audience cheers. Grace says she would've loved to do "Adventure Time".

This segues into a joke that people confuse Zach for Jeremy Shada (Finn), in some cases even when Zach is standing in front of a poster that says ZACH CALLISON. Grace says that her boyfriend loves the joke so much that Zach is listed in his phone as "Jeremy Shada".

Behind the scenes

What was it like seeing the show blow up the way it did? Grace: "I used to go on Tumblr and read all the posts, all the reactions people had, but after Jail Break... couldn't do that anymore." Zach: "I poke my head into a reddit every once in a while."

What's it like in the booth with the rest of the cast? Grace: "Deedee and Michaela always get to do the funniest things."

Discussion of how voice acting lends them a little more anonymity than live-action, and there's still a spectrum of how recognizable people are.

Grace recounts a story from earlier in the day, possibly on the way to that very panel. "The elevator was pretty crowded and I was able to get on but Zach wasn't. And as soon as it closed, one of the other people in the elevator was like 'Oh my god, Zach Callison almost got on the elevator with us!' And I was like 'Oh my god, that would've been so cool!'"

Both Zach and Grace recounted times when they've greeted stranger wearing SU apparel and gotten blank stares in response, like, "Uh, yeah, what's your point?"

Zach: "As of Sunday, I'm leaving the country to be a hobo for a bit." He's flying to Siberia, then taking a 62-hour train ride to get on a boat to Korea, where he plans to visit the Korean animation studio where SU is drawn (as seen in "Steven's Dream"), something almost no actors do (apparently Michaela was more or less the first to do so, for any show at all).

Sometimes Grace will have a lot of "catching up" to do with the plot. "One time Rebecca was like 'oh by the way Lars is pink now." Zach jokes, "Lars is pink, Ronaldo and Pearl are married, oh and Steven is dead."

Have you ever cried in the recording booth? Zach: "Over a dozen times." Grace says she has, sometimes in group records.

More joking around: "Yes, I'm Zach Callison, the voice of Onion. I'll be in my booth." "You should have a print that's just Onion." "With the flames behind him."

What were your auditions like? Grace: "I was reading the sides from 'Bubble Buddies', and Connie is worried she's gonna die with no friends and I was like 'This is a kids show? This is a show for children and I'm supposed to say these words?!'" She saw Rebecca Sugar's name attached to the show, which she recognized as a fan of Adventure Time, particularly Marceline "I'm edgy like her!"

Audience member starts her question: "Ohmygod, my heart is in my ass. Wait, can I say ass?" Grace: "You can say whatever you want, you're not under the thumb of Time Warner." Zach: "Technically, I've never signed any NDA. Oh hell, I'm leaving the country in three days. ACT ONE!" [laughter, and he does not continue with joke spoilers]

Outside of Steven Universe

Tell us about yourself outside of Steven Universe. Zach: "I'm a dirty rowdy hippie." He goes to music festivals barefoot (but not urban ones).

Zach talked about some of the over-the-top scenes he's been in or seen on "The Goldbergs", where he plays a minor recurring character, including one where the actual rain they were filming in wasn't enough, so the producers dumped thousands of gallons of additional rainwater on the cast.

Zach said he hasn't auditioned for anything new in a while (I think he said at least a year) because of burnout. Whenever SU may end, he's ready for a break. Following on with that, discussion of what a shitty industry Hollywood is, especially for kids.

Zach: "A lotta people (in this industry), their big break is a show they hate, and that kills me to think that. And it couldn't be further from the truth for anyone in SU. If I had booked a live-action sitcom that ran six seasons, I wouldn't be here. I'd be in a much darker place."

What would you be doing if not this?

Zach: "I enrolled in college, signed up for things, never went to class, and eventually dropped out. I never had any other plan." Ties into further discussion of what an absolute nightmare Hollywood is for kids, that some of his friends from high school are no longer around.

Grace: "I went to college for two years (she would've graduated this spring), trying to make sure I had a plan B lined up. But flying back and forth from San Francisco to Los Angeles was getting ridiculous and I realized I wasn't being fair to my plan A."

#connecticon #steven universe #zach callison #grace rolek

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tinydemondragon · 5 years

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Will I ever post one of these at a normal time? I guess not. (It’s nearly midnight where I am, oops.) I’m a little nervous posting this one, as it is a flashback part. I remember someone saying that flashbacks are lazy writing, so even though I enjoyed writing this one, I’m a little hesitant in sharing it. Hopefully you enjoy it anyway!

I’ve never, not once, been to summer camp. The only thing I’ve gone to that might qualify for it, was the camp I went to when I was getting ready for my black belt. Apologies for any inaccuracies.

Beginning ; Previous

~~~~

15 years ago

“I don’t want to go!” Virgil wasn’t pouting. Not at all. He was a big boy now, he didn’t pout. He was, however, slouching in the back seat, staring out the window. He didn’t want to meet his mama’s gaze.

“Look sweetheart, this is for your own good! We can’t just leave you alone at home by yourself, okay?” Her tone was exasperated and slightly annoyed.

So maybe he had said this a few times already, so what! This was stupid and his mama should know that already!

“Well why not?” He asked, still looking out the window. “Mommy says I’m a big boy! I can take care of myself!”

In the passenger seat, his mommy laughed. Turning his gaze, he met her eyes in the side mirror. “You are a very big boy, yes. You’re a whole six years old! But it would be very lonely in that big big house, and we don’t want you to be lonely.”

Virgil frowned. He didn’t mind being alone, he wouldn’t feel lonely. He felt nervous around most people. Scared. That’s why he didn’t want to go to this stupid camp in the first place.

Still definitely not pouting, he looked away. Fine! His parents didn’t want to listen to him, he wouldn’t talk!

A minute passes. He starts jiggling his leg. A half hour passes. His not-pout intensifies. A whole hour passes and he’s incredibly bored. But he’s still not gonna talk.

He glances at the clock. Wait, what do you mean only five minutes have passed! It’s been forever!

His mama glances back at him and he quickly looks away, slouching even further in his seat.

He waits a minute, then looks back up front, to the rear-view mirror. His mama sighs, then smiles.

“Hey honey?” She asks.

“Yes dear?” His mommy responds.

“Why don’t you put on the music?” Virgil shoots up in his seat, eyes wide and not-pout lifting into a smile.

His mommy turns to look at him, bright grin on her face. “What do you say kiddo, radio Disney?”

He nods quickly, smile growing. “Yeah! Yeah! Put on the music, put it on!”

Turning back to the front, his mommy starts fiddling with the radio. “-you need me baby! Call me, beep me-”

“If you wanna reach me!” Virgil shouts, delighted.

The next hour passes quickly, all three of them singing along to various songs. In seemingly no time at all, they’re at the stupid camp. The car turns off, cutting the Jackson five off. His mama turns to look at him with a smile. “Alright sweetheart, here we go!”

All of Virgil’s nervousness returns, along with his not at all a pout. “Do I really have to?” he whines. He doesn’t want to. He doesn’t know anyone here, and he wouldn’t want to know them anyway.

His mama just sighs, turning around to get out of the car. He looks to his mommy looks back at him with a small smile. “It’ll be fun, I promise,” she says softly.

He sits in the car, alone. He doesn’t want to do this. He doesn’t want to meet new people. He doesn’t want to be away from his parents for a whole month. He doesn’t care that he was leaving the camp early. He doesn’t want to do it.

“Virgil, sweetheart, come on out!” He sighs. He doesn’t want to, but apparently he doesn’t have a choice. Groaning, he opens the door of the car and steps out.

When he looks around and sees just how many people are around, he wants to get back in the car.

There’s just so much going on and it’s loud and there are people looking over at him and he hates it. Why does he have to be here? Any aloneness is better than this!

He turns to his moms with a puppy dog look. “I’ll be good, I promise! I just want to go home.”

His mama kneels down in front of him. “I know you do, sweetheart. It’s only a month, okay? Then we’ll come and pick you up. It’ll pass by fast, I just know it.” She pats his head, running her fingers through his hair. “Be strong for mama, okay?”

He nods, still slightly. Arguing wouldn’t end well, it would just end with everyone mad.

She kisses the top of his head before standing up. Grabbing her hand, he goes towards the desk where everyone seems to be.

The next few minutes are confusing. He spends the whole time hiding behind his mommy’s legs, still holding onto his mama’s hand.

Before he even realizes, his moms are saying goodbye, telling them he loves him and that they’ll see him in no time.

Then he’s alone.

There’s a group of kids around his size standing a little bit away. There’s a boy standing in the middle of it all, laughing. He’s so loud, his smile is so wide. He seems like the boys at school who tell him he’s so quiet that he must be stupid.

Virgil decides he doesn’t want to talk to him.

Turning away from them, he wanders away. There’s a lake over there that looks pretty cool, so he heads for it.

Almost as soon as he reaches the lake, he feels someone tap his shoulder.

He jumps and turns around, eyes wide. It’s just a girl, older than him, but younger than his moms. She’s probably a teen.

“Hey! Whatcha doin’ over here little guy?” She asks. She doesn’t sound angry, just curious.

“The lake looks cool,” he mumbles, looking down at his feet. “I wasn’t gonna go in it, I just wanted to see it.”

She hums. “We’ll get to see it later, why don’t you come on with me?” She holds out a hand.

He looks at her, then at her hand, then back at the ground and shrugs.

“Oh man!” She exclaims. “I forgot to introduce myself! My name’s Valerie. What’s yours?”

“Virgil.”

“Well Virgil, you want to know a little secret.” He looks back to her quickly, eyes wide. She simply smiles.

Nodding his head he says, “Yeah! I’m good at keeping secrets!”

“We actually are gonna go to the lake later today, after everyone gets all their stuff in their bunks. So you’re gonna be back here real soon!” Virgil scrunches up his nose.

“That’s a dumb secret,” he declares. “Everyone is gonna find out later anyway.”

“Maybe,” she laughs. “But it was supposed to be a surprise and I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. So it’s a secret that I told you, okay?”

He thinks on it for a minute before nodding wisely. It makes no sense, but she says it like it like it’s supposed to.

“Come on,” she holds her hand out, “let’s go back now, okay?”

He nods before taking her hand. They walk back to where everyone is, only, they’re at the cabins now.

Virgil’s duffle bag was waiting for him on his bed. They each had their own little treasure chest at the ends of those beds, waiting for them to put their stuff in it. Great, now he had to unpack all his stuff. Waving goodbye to Miss Valerie, he heads into the cabin to unpack.

Later, he’s sitting on the bed, waiting. Everyone had been done for a while, but while the other boys were talking, Virgil was just sitting there quietly.

He didn’t want to talk to them, he didn’t know how.

The boy he had seen earlier was in that group, with four other boys. He was loud still. They were talking about pokemon and how they wanted to watch it and how it was dumb that it was that the cabins didn’t have TV. What were they going to do here?

Virgil kicked his feet. He knew what they were gonna do here, at least today. But it was a secret and he couldn’t tell. He smiled to himself. Surprises were okay, but knowing things before hand was better.

He wished he knew before today that he was going to be going to this camp. He may have had time to convince his moms to let him stay home.

He lets the boys and their voices and their complaints wash over him. He thinks of home, of being strong for his moms, of days spent inside for recess because he doesn’t want to spend it with people who think he’s weird just because he doesn’t want to talk to him.

He’s taken out of his thoughts by a voice telling them to come out of their cabins. He waits until the group exits and leaves behind him.

It’s a meeting, where they have to introduce themselves and say one cool fact about themselves. Virgil doesn’t like this thing either. He doesn’t like coming up with a cool fact, what if his fact isn’t cool enough?

Still, it’s like the first day of school all over again and he doesn’t want to get in trouble. So when it’s his turn he mumbles something about the fact that he’s read all the current harry potter books and then ignores everyone else.

Finally it’s all done and the counselors (that’s what they’re called, apparently) say they have a surprise for them. They just have to change into their bathing suits first.

He looks up and sees Miss Valerie holding a finger to her lips with a wink. Smiling he winks back and turns to put on his swimsuit.

The lake is fun, they get to splash. They can’t go out very far, something about safety, but Virgil doesn’t care. He swims away as far as they’ll let him and slashes by himself. He dives underwater and pretends he’s a mermaid.

He’s sad, for a moment, when he goes to the shore to find his moms to show them a cool rock he finds, but remembers they’re not there. But he sees Miss Valerie and she gives him a thumbs up when he shows her. She’s not his moms, obviously, but he likes her. She’s nice and doesn’t treat him like he’s dumb.

The afternoon passes, they have dinner, and then they go back to their cabins. Apparently camp activities will really start tomorrow, but for now they’re encouraged to talk to each other. He’d rather not.

Instead, he brings out his copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and reads. It’s harder without his moms to help him, but he likes it anyway.

The fact that the boys are talking super loud doesn’t help him, but he’s trying his best to ignore them anyway.

When it’s lights out and time for bed, it’s a relief. He’s tired and maybe they’ll all be quiet now.

They aren’t. Not for a while now. Still, he manages to fall asleep. It’s only later that night, when he gets back from having to go to the bathroom, that he hears it. Someone’s crying.

He could ignore it. He’s good at ignoring a bunch of things, he’s been doing it all day. But his mommy says it’s not very nice to leave someone feeling sad. Not if you can help it.

It seems like it’s coming from the bed across from his. He frowns. That’s where the loud, happy boy from earlier is.

He knows he had decided to avoid him earlier, but he thinks of his mommy and what she would want. He thinks about it long and hard about it, but another sob makes the decision for him.

Remembering that everyone else is asleep, he creeps over to the boy’s bed. “Hey,” he whispers, poking the lump. He can’t see very well, but he thinks the boy may be under his blankets.

“What,” the boy croaks. Now what?

“Um, hi?” Virgil says. He doesn’t know what to do, okay? He’s never done this before!

“Hi…?” Oh great, the boy probably thinks he’s a weirdo.

“Um. What’s wrong?” Great, now Virgil sounds weird. He regrets doing this, he should have left the boy alone.

For a minute things are quiet. Then the boy sits up and… shrugs? Virgil thinks he shrugs anyway. “I dunno,” the boy mutters.

Remembering what Miss Valerie did earlier, Virgil says, “Wanna hear a secret?” The boy looks up at him…? Yeah! Virgil can kinda make out his nose now.

“What is it?”

“I miss my moms,” Virgil says, feeling kinda sad now, too.

“Oh,” the other one says. “Wanna hear one of my secrets?”

“Sure. I’m good at keeping secrets.”

“I miss my parents, too. That’s what was wrong.”

It’s quiet again, but the boy has stopped crying. Remembering Miss Valerie again, Virgil says, “My name is Virgil.”

“Roman.”

“Um...” Virgil really doesn’t know what he’s doing, he hopes he’s helping. “Have you read Harry Potter before?”

Oh! He can see his smile, sorta! The boy, Roman, is missing one of his lower teeth. Virgil wonders how much money the tooth fairy gave him.

“I have! It’s awesome! Harry Potter is so brave, I wanna be like him when I grow up.”

They talk for a long time, about all sorts of stuff. Roman lets him on his bed and they whisper about favorite characters and movies. When Virgil mentions Mulan, Roman gasps and says that’s his favorite movie ever and he knows all the words.

Virgil wakes up in Roman’s bed. He’s scared for a minute, thinking Roman wouldn’t want to talk to him during the day, but it doesn’t matter. For the next month, they do everything together.

They swim together, eat together, and when they have to choose a sport to do during camp, Roman chooses fencing and Virgil follows him.

It’s two weeks into this, of being together constantly, when Virgil says, “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“Really? You’re the best friend I’ve ever had! Let’s be best friends forever!” And Virgil agrees.

When they have to leave, Roman vows to come back to see Virgil again. Virgil promises to do the same.

Virgil pesters his moms the whole drive home, until they agree that he can come again next year. He can’t wait.

(wow this one is 2.3k long, they really are getting longer as I go! the next one will be back in present day!)

Tag list! @coconut-cluster, @madsk3tch, @thgjclw, @lydixa-petal, @thatcacidork, @its-the-cat-queen, @athenashipsthings, @queen-of-deciet, @nafsbluebery, @littleladynightshade, @fiive-second-cookies, @a-killjoy-refrigerator, @melonthemelon27, @spiralofsilencetheory, @a-simple-fryingpan, @the-spookster, @pumpkinminette, @death-of-credibility, @icequeenoriginal, @sandersthesides, @emo-nithtmare, @awkwardandanxiousfander, @lovingcreatorstrawberry, @10solicitude01, @virgil-vamp, @soul-of-a-vixen

If I missed anyone, or you want to be added, let me know!

#sanders sides #ts virgil #ts roman #ts logan #ts patton #prinxiety #dragon writing #fencing au #this really needs a title #oh well

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rosegoldjen · 4 years

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cabin 3.0

word count: 2319

i wrote this a thousand years ago and don’t even remember if i posted it on here, but i just made a masterlist (eek!) and wanted to update it so i am reposting. maybe my calling during this quarantine is to focus more on writing? (who are we kidding that’s probably not going to happen)

I hate summer.

now I know some people would think I'm crazy, but in reality, I'm not. I never do anything productive during the summer; normally I sit on the couch at my parent's house and watch tv. all my problems would be solved if they would let me stay at university, instead of with them. all my friends are there, having fun and going to parties without me.

to make up for my laziness, my parents got me a summer job. I was to be a camp counselor at our local adventure camp for middle schoolers. my parents had sent me the letter of acceptance they had received, after submitting an application without my knowledge. I could probably sue them for forgery, but they would probably win. I just turned twenty last month, technically I was still a minor.

so after the drive home for university, I spent one night at my childhood home. the next morning my parents were shipping me off to the humid jungle where I would be spending each week with a different group of girls.

my dad dropped me off at the office building at 6:30 on a Saturday morning at the end of May. the campers wouldn't be arriving until Monday, but first, the leaders had to teach me what to do.

I grabbed my duffel out of my dad's trunk and waved as he drove off down the long dirt road that led to the camp, three miles from the nearest seven-eleven. I threw my duffel over my shoulder and walked up to the building just as the sun was starting to peek over the tops of the trees.

inside the office building, I found a lady sitting behind an aluminum desk. she was chewing her gum rather loudly attempting to keep herself awake.

"Hi," I said. "I'm here for the summer as a camp counselor...?"

I wasn't sure what to do. the lady stared at me for a few long moments with her eyes half-closed.

"find ya name on the papa' 'ere," she talked with a slight Jersey accent. she pointed to the paper and looked at me. "you'll be stayin' in a cabin with other counselors for two nights 'fore the campers get 'ere. alright?"

I nodded and looked down at the paper. I would be staying in cabin 3 for the next two nights.

I looked back at the lady behind the desk and decided I wouldn't be getting any more information out of her. I would find my own way around the camp. I walked out of the buildings and walked along a path to the right of the building. after I had walked for about five minutes, I came to a fork in the trail. thankfully, the trails had been clearly marked, pointing me in the directions towards the cabins.

cabin 3 was the cabin farthest back in my "cabin cluster." to get to it, I had to walk down a short stone path and the cabin itself couldn't be seen from the main trail. it had taken me a few minutes to find it.

when I got inside, the first thing I noticed was one of my roommates. he was sprawled across two of the three beds pushed together at the back of the cabin. I couldn't believe that one human being could take up so much space.

"excuse me," I dropped my duffel on the only empty bed. "do you really need all three beds?"

he finally seemed to notice I was in the room. he sat up and pushed his curly hair away from his face. the first thing I noticed was his physique. he was tall and broad, which would explain why he was spanning two twin beds. his hands were large and his eyes were green.

"Jesus. someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," he smirked as he talked in a low, raspy tone.

"It was probably the side you were sleeping on, then."

"Woah, love. don't get all offensive. I plan on doing some mighty fine things on these beds."

oh my god.

"Alright, well, I'm going to be sleeping on this bed so mind your own business, okay?" I set my duffel down on the bed that only his foot was resting on.

"but what if that's the bed I wanted to sleep on?" he was still sitting and smirking at me. this guy, I didn't even know his name, was chosen to pick a fight with me over a bed. this was going to be a long summer.

"oh my god. I'm not in the mood right now. just pick whatever bed you want to sleep on and I will pick one of the others. probably the one that's farthest away from the one you pick."

he chose the bed closest to the window. I put my stuff down on the bed shoved against the opposite wall. he told me that we wouldn't be having another roommate. it was just me and him. he also told me that his name is Harry. God, doesn't that just sound like a dick name?

we had wasted a good fifteen minutes arguing about the bed situation. after we had come to a somewhat agreement, he had left and gone somewhere; he didn't tell me.

the leaders of the camp spent the day teaching the counselors how everything worked. we learned the activity rotation schedule, what time meals were, which cabins had to shower at night and which ones needed to shower in the morning.

Harry was there, messing around with a few of the other guys, but I didn't pay much attention to them. I was busy making my own friends and learning new things.

the next couple of days passed by quickly. they were filled with mock trials, some of the staffers pretending to be campers so the counselors could practice being leaders. when I had my mock trial, Harry was one of my campers and he was a total pain in the ass, especially when we got paired in a canoe together. he purposefully tipped us, the one day I was wearing my only white shirt. needless to say, he ruined my shirt and my favorite bralette.

if you think he is a pain during the day, it's even worse at night. he and I are the only two in our cabin. there is an uneven amount of staffers and we were the odd ones out on whatever list they used when arranging the staffers. someone must have cut out names, stuck them in a hat, and draw randomly. and wouldn't you know it to be me who gets stuck with the asshat the entire summer?

the staffers were allowed to sleep in their own cabins at night. it was something I was two parts thankful for and two parts mad about. I would spend my entire day with middle school girls, laughing and giggling, and probably talking crap about each other. but then I would come to my cabin at night and Harry would be there. sometimes he would even have another girl with him.

the days turned into weeks that passed by quickly. campers had come and gone, two people had been fired for fucking in the woods, and only one person had gone missing for more than eight hours. I was in the groove of things now, I felt like I could do it in my sleep.

as much as I hated it, I had learned some things about Harry. living with a person could do that to ya. he was very much a player. most nights I would come home and find a different counselor had used my conditioner and my favorite loofa. I learned that he would send the girl away around three in the morning and then he wouldn't wake up until I pounded his head with a pillow, swearing that I would tattle to the camp director about the number of girls he's had over.

it seemed like everywhere I turned, Harry was there. he was behind me in the line at the mess hall, pinching my ass and calling it cute. he was a supervisor at the beach during the time I brought my girls swimming, whistling when I pulled my t-shirt over my head. he was using the other washing machine at the laundry. we had ended up screaming at each other about the amount of detergent left and who was going to use it. and despite all this, he was still attractive as hell, with his tan skin, hard jawline, and muscular physique. damn him for being so hatable and so lovable at the same time.

on one particularly warm evening in June, I was looking forward to spending a night at the cabin. I had stayed with my girls for the first few nights, but they were beginning to get on my nerves and I needed a break. hopefully, Harry would be gone, doing God knows what, but I just wanted some peace and quiet.

my breathing was labored as I walked up the steps to the cabin. it had been a long day and all I wanted was a shower. I pushed open the door and was greeted with the sight of a shirtless Harry lying on his bed reading a playboy magazine.

I closed the door harshly, causing him to look at me with a smirk. "hey baby girl."

I scowled at him and threw my bag on my bed. "don't call me that."

please call me that. I love the way it rolls off your tongue.

"Jesus, someone didn't get fucked today," he sat up and tossed his magazine to the side. pretty sure if the director found him with that he would be in serious trouble.

"excuse me?!" I had such an attitude.

"let's play a game."

"I want to take a shower."

"We can shower when we're done. now, it's two truths and a lie. except there's a twist. if you guess the wrong truth, you have to take off an article of clothing."

"but that's not fair! you already don't have a shirt on."

"and are you complaining?"

I stayed silent.

"that's what I thought. alright. I'll begin." he readjusted so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed. he motioned for me to sit down on mine, facing him. as I sat down, our knees brushed, causing a spark to shoot up my leg. "I once was caught in a traffic jam that was so bad, we had to get out on the side of the road and started walking faster than the cars, or my mum used to call me curly when I was younger, or I've had sex too many times to count."

"ah, that's an easy one. you've had sex too many times to count. right?"

"wrong. I've had sex 19 times," he seemed proud. "who the hell would let their mom call them curly?!"

"I think it's cute!"

"of course you would, princess. now off with your shirt. you guessed wrong."

I sighed, rolled my eyes, pulled my shirt over my head and sent an internal thanks that I had put my good bra on today.

"My turn," I looked at him smugly. "and what makes it even better is that you've already got your shirt off."

"let's just play the game, baby girl."

I blushed and cleared my throat. I wasn't used to being so forward. "I once had to pee so bad while we were on a hike that I squatted and wiped myself with a poison ivy leaf, last week I found a hairball in my mac & cheese, and lastly, I always forget to lock my front door when I leave the house."

he thought for a moment.

"finding a hairball in your mac & cheese. there is no way KP would let that happen," he had a smug look on his face as if he knew he was right and he knew he was all that.

"sorry fuckboy, it happened," I crossed my arms over my chest and laughed.

suddenly he stood up. I was sitting on the bed so he towered over me, more so that when I am standing. he inched his face closer to mine and placed his hands on either side of me so that they sank into the mattress. he kept leaning in, causing me to lean back to avoid contact with his skin.

"What did you just call me," his lips were deviously close to mine as they wrapped around his words.

"f-f-fuckboy," I stuttered, almost completely lain back on the mattress. he had pushed my legs apart so he could prop his knee between them, balancing himself as he hovered over me.

"call me that one more time," he growled, "and I swear to God I will take you on this mattress right here right now."

I stayed silent for a few moments. I didn't know if I actually wanted him to kiss me or if I wanted to avoid any trouble that would come from getting involved with a person like him. he was always on my mind constantly, usually thinking about how much I hate him. But I realized that at the same time, I couldn't wait to see him. I realized now that when I would take my girls to the beach, I was hoping he would be there. I was hoping he would be at the cabin alone when I would come back after a long day. I realized that I wanted him to kiss me and that I wanted the chase that came with kissing him.

a smile spread across my lips as I smirked at him.

"fuckboy."

and we were gone.

#hs #harry styles #harry style imagines #harry styles fic #harry styles one shot #harry styles fanfication #harry styles fanfic #cabin #what the hell am i doing with my life

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wikipediathefreeencyclopedia · 5 years

Text

compilation of my favorite otp prompts 1

I’ve gone through different prompt posts and made a big list of the ones i liked. I've linked all of the posts, because these are not prompts I thought of myself.

I encourage you to go to the actual posts because you might like more of them!! I just took the ones I personally really like, so please go check out the posts!

tag

au ideas [x]

“you’re my roommate and the only one on campus who isn’t planning on going home for christmas bc you have family troubles but my mom wouldn’t mind if u stayed with us for christmas so u won’t be alone” au

“i woke up in our dorm room in the dead of the night and u weren’t there and when u didn’t come back i got super worried so i wandered around campus until i found u shivering in the bleachers, and u looked really upset so i gave u my jacket and stayed out there with u for an hour until u finally told me what was wrong” au

“you’re having a nightmare and i feel bad because you’re trembling and crying so i crawl into bed with u and hold u so u feel safe, but in the morning u wake up with my arms wrapped around u you’re really confused and embarrassed” au

“you kissed me in an attempt to steal my wallet but i know all the tricks haha sucks for u, let’s get coffee sometime and i can teach you some goddamn manners” au

“i have to kiss u for spin the bottle/truth or dare and it turns out you’re an amazing kisser and now i’m hella attracted to u, wanna get dinner sometime? maybe make out a bit?” au

“you’re a lesser-known artist and i’m hanging out at a small art studio in the city and you catch me staring in awe at your work” au

Summer Camp Counselor aus pt. 2 [x]

“We were campers together and I totally had a crush on you and now we’re counselors together and I still have a crush on you” au

“You’re so bad at arts and crafts but you come every day with your cabin and try really hard and it’s really endearing” au

“I got a concussion and I’m groggy and I may have accidentally told you I like you” au

“It’s paint war night and we spend the whole time throwing paint at each other and I think this is our way of flirting” au

peculiar first meeting aus [x]

we met in a ball pit surrounded by five year olds honestly what are we doing with our lives

Height Difference AUs [x]

“You’re afraid that you’ll lose me in big crowds so you always hold my hand but now you just hold my hand when there’s only, like, five people around and I’m getting very suspicious”

assorted weirdly specific AUs [x]

“your friend set you up on a blind date and i happened to be eating alone so you thought you were meeting me and you were cute so i went along with it but you just got a text from said friend that they’re sorry your date stood you up and now i have some explaining to do” au

OTP Prompts [x]

“We met at a party, and I got your number, but my friend deleted it, and I have no idea how to get in touch with you. Then, I run into you at the most random place ever.”

“We’re the last ones in the theater after a terrible movie, and I’m kind of wondering if you’re okay. You seem to be crying, but the movie wasn’t that sad.”

“All this time I thought you hated me, so forgive me if I’m a little suspicious of this love confession.”

nice aus [x]

i was watching that hot jogger while driving out of the neighborhood but got distracted and crashed but i just woke up in a hospital room and said hot jogger is at my bedside because apparently they’re the one who called the ambulance

Thanksgiving Prompts [x]

Person A not being able to see their family for Thanksgiving so Person B invites A to visit B’s family. Bonus: Person B’s family assumes they’re dating even if they’re not.

Person A always gets hounded for not having a date for Thanksgiving dinner so they get Person B to pretend to be their date in return for free food.

Arcade AUs [x]

We don’t know each other, and we’re both way too old for this. We’ve won a ton of tickets, but neither of us even want any of prizes, so we both end up giving our tickets to the same little kid.

We don’t know each other, but two mutual friends of ours invited us along, and now we’re very awkward third and fourth wheels. Wanna ditch them and go play skeeball or something?

You brought a book to the arcade to read, and all of your friends are laughing at you, so I sat down next to you and asked you to read it aloud to me. Now you’re looking at me like I’m crazy, but your friends aren’t laughing anymore, so I feel accomplished.

I work at the oldest, lamest arcade around, and I see you here every week, playing the ridiculously outdated games. I finally have to ask you why you come so often, wait, why are you blushing?

We were both dumped at prom, so we both ditched and went to play at the local arcade instead, obviously we have to compete to see who can get more tickets.

OTP PROMPTS - Food Edition [x]

“I hate sour cream, but you love it, and I secretly love you, so I keep some in my fridge for whenever you come over. Unfortunately, my sibling told you I hate sour cream, and now you’re getting suspicious.” Au

OTP Prompt [x]

“I kissed you during a game of spin the bottle when we were kids, but we barely knew each other, so we never talked about it. Now, you’re telling me you’ve had feelings for me all this time?” AU

#writing #writing prompts #otp prompts #au prompts #prompt list #compilation of writing prompts #otp aus

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monunilight · 6 years

Text

Counselors Can(not) Date

Reader x Taehyung (BTS)

One Shot | Camp Counselors

Word Count: 5,163

A/N: This is for the Pretty Boys Network project Secret Summer Love! Please go check out this stunning moodboard created by @btsaeipathy based on this story! Enjoy!

You had decided to take the job as a camp counselor after graduation because you really weren’t sure what you wanted to do with your life and it was a way to escape that decision for at least the summer. You had expected to have some fun while spending time outside all summer long. What you hadn’t expected to get out of it was a summer worthy of a Hollywood romcom.

Counselors arrived three days before the campers for training and planning. The first day was learning and playing ice breakers and other games. The second was when you would actually get assigned your partner and your group for the camp and get to plan out the days that you needed to. The third was an extra day for planning and setting up.

On the first day, you were super nervous. Ice breaker games had never really been your favorite. You felt especially anxious considering you didn’t know any of the other counselors while everyone else already seemed to have friends.

Instead of jumping right into the games, the owner of the camp had a lecture to give about rules and what was expected of the staff. You were to be role models for the kids, have fun but also act appropriately, wear your uniform of the camp shirt and either shorts or capris, blah, blah, blah. Weekends off would rotate amongst the staff, otherwise you had to remain within the camp grounds. Staff were forbidden from dating during the camp because it had only lead to major trouble in the past. Phones were to remain in the counselor’s cabins, they were not responsible if you didn’t listen and it ended up at the bottom of the lake. The rules seemed to be never ending.

About a half hour into the rules, you found yourself completely zoning out. You understood the necessity of having rules like this, but you were all adults here and it seemed a little ridiculous.

As you zoned out, you glanced about at the other counselors, about 15 in total. Two were in the back on their phones, two girls off to the side were whispering to each other and giggling, and one of the guys had had the audacity to fall asleep, drooling and all. You scanned so fast across the room that you almost didn’t catch the gaze of the guy watching you back. You just barely let your eyes meet his playful stare before focusing back on the woman in the front of the room.

Had he been staring at you for long by the time you looked at him? And what was with that look he had given you?

The lecture finally came to a close, snapping everyone’s attention back to the front as the head counselor took over. He explained that your first game would be the classic Two Truths and a Lie with a partner. You waited awkwardly as everyone who knew each other paired off, searching for someone who was on their own like you.

You felt a tap on your shoulder and whipped around, thankful you probably had a partner. But your stomach did a little nervous flip when you cam face-to-face with the guy who had been staring at you earlier. He had the same playful twinkle in his eyes and a boxy grin across his face.

“Want to be my partner?”

“Sure.” You shrugged, a little nervous but there weren’t many other options than to say yes. You two walked over to the side of the room to sit and begin. “You go first.”

“Ok.” He hummed in thought as he stared off in the distance to come up with his truths and lies. “First, I own a little fluff ball of a puppy. Second, I play the saxophone and sing. Third, I am an only child.”

You stared him in the eyes for a second, trying to read anything off of him that might help you pick out the lie. He only smiled goofily while meeting your stare. “You’re not a singer, so the second one.”

“Nope.” He said it proudly.

You huffed. “Then sing for me.”

“Maybe sometime later.” He said this with a wink. “Are you going to guess again?”

“Then you don’t have a little fluffy puppy, you seem more like a big dog guy.”

“Wrong again, you’re bad at this.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I have two younger siblings.”

“Fine.” You rolled your eyes, trying to come up with your own truths and lies. You wanted to make them especially hard since he had laughed at you for being bad. When you rattled them off, he watched you intently.

“The first is a lie.” Right on the first try.

You pouted a bit, “How did you do that?”

He laughed at this. “You scrunched your nose up cutely when you lied.”

You caught his use of the word cutely but chose to ignore it. You were about to make a smart comeback when the head counselor yelled that it was time to switch partners. As you got up to leave, he grabbed your wrist for a split second to get your attention again.

“My name is Taehyung, by the way. I’ll see you later.” And with another wink, he was off again.

You didn’t even get the chance to tell him your name.

With your next partner, you found yourself distracted thinking back to that quirky grin and impish light in his eyes.

The rest of the morning, you swore Taehyung was seeking you out for every game. You were either partners or he found some reason to talk to you. But, you were content with that fact. He was fun to talk to and was making the day much more interesting for you. And at least you may have found a friend here.

They gave everyone a sandwich for lunch and let you wander as you pleased. You decided to take a break from the group and go eat by the lake. It was especially warm out today, so you had to seek refuge under the shade of a large tree.

As you were contemplating whether the sandwich was actually worth attempting to eat, the cheese looked like it was plastic poorly disguised as cheese, you heard footsteps approach you.

Unsurprisingly, it was Taehyung who was approaching when you looked up.

“Mind if I eat with you?”

“Go ahead.” You said, deciding to take a bite of the questionable sandwich. It could have been worse.

You thought he was actually going to let you eat in silence, but when you looked over at him you could see the gears turning in his head, something funny brewing there. Finally, he blurted, “You understand we have to be best friends now, right?”

You choked a bit on your sandwich. After a few coughs, with a handful of pats on the back from

Taehyung, you were able to speak. “What does that mean?”

“Obviously fate thinks we should be friends. We’ve been talking almost all day now.” He explained, as if it were the most apparent thing in the world.

You rolled your eyes. “I don’t call you following me out here to the lake fate pushing us together.”

Taehyung just laughed, a whole-hearted and lively noise. You found yourself smiling in response to his laugh. “Oh, just you wait and see. It’s fate.”

You just shook your head, nibbling on the rest of your debatably edible sandwich while Taehyung chomped on his own.

The rest of the first day passed by in a flurry with playing more games than you had ever wanted to play in your life. By the time it was over, you were thankful to crash in your bunk for the night.

The next morning, you made yourself get up early enough for breakfast. Not necessarily because you wanted to eat, but more because they were posting counselor pairings and you were curious who you would be with.

Unsurprisingly, most people have forgone breakfast to get more sleep. There were only two other people here, and one of them was Taehyung. You weren’t sure what your stomach was doing in response to seeing him, but you didn’t think you liked the feeling.

“Hey, partner!” He called once he laid eyes on you, smiling his big, boxy smile.

“Why are you calling me partner now?” You sighed, going over to the buffet to pile food on a plate. The other counselor looked annoyed at you two talking across the room, but you didn’t care.

“Because we’re leading a group together.”

You went to sit with him since there was really no other option. “What age did we get?”

“Sixth graders.” He looked happy at this, but you certainly were not. You were hoping for cute little kids, not bratty, awkward middle schoolers. “Come on, don’t look so down. We’re going to have fun!”

“I sure hope so.” You sighed, starting in on your breakfast.

“Hey, fate put us together again. Of course it’s going to be great.” He smiled, but you just rolled your eyes at his goofiness.

The first week flew by in a flurry of helping kids unpack, introductions, trying to break the quiet kids out of their shells, trying to keep the rowdy kids under control, and falling into bed exhausted but happy every night. Oh, and dealing with Taehyung, which was basically like having another kid to watch after. A kid who liked to flirt with you whenever he could.

You knew the day you got paired up as counselors that Taehyung was trying to make a move on you. You wouldn’t be opposed to this under any other circumstance, but you were a rule follower. And the rules were very clear: counselors were not to date each other.

So, whenever you noticed him making some sort of advance on you, you deflected it or changed the subject. Sometimes you even just walked away. You were aware this wasn’t the best way to handle him, but you knew that if you used any other way, you would probably give into him. Because, if you were being honest with yourself, he was really cute. And funny. And anything you could want in a guy.

But there was no way. You weren’t going to give in.

That weekend, you and Taehyung were both one of the few counselors stuck on duty. Kids were allowed to rotate through several activities during the day and you two had chosen to be in charge of the boats at the lake.

Midway through the afternoon, there was a lull in kids coming to boats, so you and Taehyung sat on the edge of the dock with your feet in the water. You were just staring off at the horizon, not really paying attention to anything in particular, when you suddenly felt something brush up against your hand. You looked down and saw Taehyung’s hand was now overlapping your own. When you finally looked up at his face, he was smirking down at you.

“Can I help you?” You asked, looking back down at his hand.

He chuckled and you could see out of the periphery of your eyes that he shook his head too. “Does it bother you?”

“Well, no.” You forced out, not sure how else to respond to this.

“Perfect.” He said with a smile as he fit his fingers more firmly between yours.

“I am curious why you’re doing this, though.”

He shrugged. “I thought it was pretty obvious.”

“Just humor me and explain it.” You insisted. You had a few conclusions you could jump to in your head, but you didn’t want to assume anything and be wrong. That would just be awkward.

“I like you.”

He said it so suddenly that, at first, you weren’t sure how to respond. Even though you had kind of expected the confession, you had suspected it for a while now, you really didn’t think he’d be that upfront about it. When you met his eyes, you could see the playful dare in them, amused at himself for having put you in this situation.

Before you could formulate a response, he was talking again. “And I think you like me too.”

“I never said that.” You snapped immediately, which made him laugh. “I’m serious. And even if I did like you, it wouldn’t matter. Camp counselors can’t date.”

He rolled his eyes. “You really think people follow that rule?”

“I don’t care about everyone else. I’m not trying to lose this job just because my co-counselor is a shameless flirt.”

“Hey, I have a little bit of shame!” He mocked looking hurt, but couldn’t hold back his goofy grin for long. “Come on, I’m good at keeping secrets.”

You shook your head. “Not going to happen.”

“If I kissed you right now would that change your mind?”

You could feel your eyes grow five times in size and your face heat to a bright shade of red. “Why would you do that?”

He chuckled, already leaning forward a bit. “Because I’ve wanted to since I saw you the first day.”

He was getting closer, so painfully close. You began to panic a bit. You really wouldn’t mind kissing him, but you knew if you let yourself cross that line there would be no going back. You wouldn’t want to go back.

With only an inch left, your panic took hold. You grabbed his shoulders and threw all of your weight sideways. Straight for the water.

The shock of the cool water made you fully realize what you had just done. Not only had you rejected Taehyung, but you had done so by throwing both of you into the lake. You wished you could just let yourself sink to the sandy bottom instead of treading up to the surface.

Taehyung was already up by the time you got there. You were thankful that he was smiling and laughing and not fuming angrily. He got to the dock and hauled himself up, then held out his hand to help you too. You took it, not quite able to meet his eyes from embarrassment at your own behavior.

“I have to say, that is the most interesting way I’ve ever been rejected.” He said this with a smile.

You were going to say something back, at the very least an apology, but there were kids running down the dock yelling, “Y/N, Taehyung, Y/N, Taehyung!”

“Why are you guys wet?” The first girl to reach you asked.

“Well,” You began, trying to formulate a proper lie, “Taehyung fell into the water, so I had to jump in and save him.”

The kids chuckled. “Really?” This was directed at Taehyung.

He just nodded, giving you an exasperated look as he responded, “Yes, that is what actually happened. I’m not the best swimmer.”

The kids started laughing hysterically. You joined in with them, noting when Taehyung’s face finally softened after a minute and he chuckled a bit too.

As the kids were finally loaded into the boats, Taehyung leaned over to you and whispered, “I’m going to convince you to give me a chance.”

You just rolled your eyes in response.

You were expecting the next day to be painfully awkward between you and Taehyung, but, it was just a normal day. Taehyung still talked to you like normal and joked around with you. There was nothing even mildly out of the ordinary until lunch time.

When you went to sit at your normal spot at the counselor’s table, there was a Twix bar sitting in front of your seat.

“Is someone else here?” You asked, mainly to Taehyung, who was across from you.

He shook his head. “That’s yours.”

You raised your eyebrows as you set your tray down to eat. “Where did it come from?”

“I just thought you could use a little bit of a treat. Twix is your favorite candy, right?”

“Well, yeah.” You said, letting your voice trail off. When you finally met his eyes, Taehyung just winked at you. This had to be in reference to yesterday. What exactly he thought he was going to accomplish by bribing you with candy, you didn’t know. But that didn’t mean you couldn’t enjoy the gift.

The next day was a big hiking day. You were paired with another group, so you and Taehyung took up the rear of the group while the other counselors led. Most of the kids kept up with the group pretty well, except for the one big child by your side. Taehyung.

He kept stopping you to point out flowers or trees or clouds that he thought were really pretty. And he just had to take pictures of them all. There were so many stops that it got to the point where you couldn’t even see the rest of the group anymore.

“Tae, can we pick up the pace a little more?” You asked, pointing at the now empty hiking path ahead of you.

He smiled, shaking his head. “This was just what I wanted.” He then threw an arm around your shoulders and pulled you closer to him.

You looked at him, lowering your brows. “What are you doing, Taehyung?”

“Getting some alone time with you in this beautiful piece of wilderness.” He explained it as if you were crazy for not just knowing what his motive was.

“Okay, but why are you doing this?”

He chuckled. “I told you, I’m convincing you that you should give this, me, us, a chance. I can be very persuasive when I try.”

“Is that why you left a candybar at the lunch table for me?” You sighed, rolling your eyes but giving into the fact that you were going to have to walk slowly with his arm around you. Which, you didn’t necessarily dislike. But you were not going to break the rules.

He smiled his big, boxy smile. Obviously proud of himself. “That candybar was to show you that I listen to everything you tell me, even the small things like your favorite candy.”

You were shocked into silence by his explanation. That was actually really sweet.

“Don’t look so surprised.” He nudged you gently. “I’m serious about getting you to give me a chance.”

“So, what’s the significance of this hike then?”

“Oh, this,” He chuckled again, “this is just me selfishly wanting to spend some time with you. But also, I would like you to notice just how easy it would be for us to sneak around.”

You shook your head and chuckled. But he did have a point.

The next day you were helping a group of kids with some drawings of the landscape when you felt a tap on your shoulder.

You turned to see one of the younger girls standing and smiling at you, her arm extended with a fistful of flowers in it. Your face immediately split into a smile when you saw her.

“We picked these for you!” She pushed the flowers even closer to you.

“Who helped you?” You asked as you gently took the bunch from her.

“Taehyung.” That’s when you noticed him standing a few feet back from the girl, smirking at you. The girl seemed satisfied with the interaction and started skipping off, now focused on whatever her next task was.

Taehyung walked over to where you were sitting, still smirking cockily. Before he could speak you said, “That was sweet of you to help her pick flowers.”

He smirk melted away quickly, exactly what you had wanted to happen. You knew he had gotten her to do that, and giving her the credit had him miffed. It took a minute, but he finally muttered, “It was my idea.”

You burst out laughing, loudly enough that you drew some of the kid’s attention from their drawings. “Are you really butthurt over that?”

He was still obviously pouting, especially since you were laughing at him. “I’m a man on a mission, Y/N, don’t laugh at me!”

“How can I not laugh at that adorable face?” You said, reaching over to pinch one of his cheeks.

After a second, this got him break into the slightest of smiles. “You called me adorable.”

You groaned and rolled your eyes. “I give you an inch, and you try to make it a mile.”

By the end of the week, you had to admit that Taehyung was chipping away at your resolve. All week he had been making small, cute gestures like the candy and the flowers. He also made sure to spend time with you alone almost every day.

And he was really growing on you. His goofy jokes, that wide smile he got whenever he did something cute, and the twinkle in his eyes whenever you two were joking around. It was all getting to be too much to resist.

At the end of the week, the counselors who had the weekend off decided to go see a movie together in a nearby town. You were at least excited to see something other than the campgrounds for the first time in what felt like forever.

Taehyung made sure to tag along closely to you, riding in the same car, sitting next to you, and keeping by your side as you approached the theater. You were trying to act like you didn’t notice all of this, but it was hard to ignore when he made sure to brush his hand up against yours or lean into you more than was necessary on a turn.

When you walked up to the kiosk to buy your ticket, Taehyung quickly cut you off. “Let me buy your ticket.” He said it with a swift wink.

“I can buy my own ticket.” You protested, trying to push him out of the way. He easily kept you at bay with his hips.

“I know you can.” He was on the seat selection screen now. You had seen where the other counselors had bought their tickets in group of available seats big enough for everyone. Taehyung was selecting two seats as far away from that as possible.

“What are you doing? There’s two open by everyone else!” You whined, trying to poke at the screen but he still blocked you.

With a couple more touches, the tickets were purchased. He turned around to you, smiling broadly. “Oops, too late.”

“You are a devil in sheep’s skin, I swear.” You huffed, snatching your ticket from him. You walked over to the rest of the group milling by the ticket podium. Taehyung went with a couple of the other guys to buy popcorn and drinks instead.

“Well, that was real cute.” One of the girls, Mary, chuckled when you got there.

“What do you mean?” You snapped back quickly.

“All that flirting and what not.” She said, waving her hand vaguely in your direction. “You two need to just date already.”

“Counselors can’t date.” Was your immediate response. It had basically become your manifesto at this point.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s worked so well. I mean, look at Johnny and Dani.” They were off from the rest of the group, sitting on a bench and holding hands while leaning closely and whispering about something. Everyone knew they had started dating just days into camp, but they hadn’t gotten caught by any of the higher-ups as of yet. “And numerous people have just been hooking up. So, it’s possible if you want it.”

Before you could reply, the guys from the concessions stand came back. Then the group was heading into the theater. You let Taehyung drag you by your elbow to your seats near the back of the room.

“Have some popcorn.” He offered as soon as you sat down.

“Thanks.” You mumbled, absentmindedly taking a few pieces. Really, your mind was still stuck on your conversation with Mary. People were getting away with dating and hooking up left and right, and they weren’t even being very secretive about it. So, why couldn’t you if you were just smart about it?

Before you even knew it, the movie started playing while your mind was still reeling. Should you just give it a chance? And even if you did give it a chance, it’s not like it would be serious. The summer could only last so long. So what if you got in a little bit of trouble to have some fun?

“Hey, Tae.” You whispered, coming to a snap decision. He looked back at you with wide eyes, ready to listen to whatever you were about to say. “I uh, think I want to give you that chance after all.”

His eyebrows knit together in confusion, trying to riddle out what your vague words meant. When it finally hit him, his lips crept into a giant grin and his eyes lit up. “I knew you would break eventually.” Before you could stop him, he leaned in and gave you a swift peck of a kiss.

You batted him away. “We still have to be secretive!”

“I know, I know. I was just too excited.” He chuckled at the look you gave him that said you were not buying his lie. “I promise, I’ll be the best secret lover you’ve ever had.”

You had to chuckle at this. You were ready to just continue watching the movie like normal, but slowly you found yourself leaning closer and closer to him until you were cuddled up against his side with his arm wrapped around you. And you were pretty content with breaking the rules.

You had to admit, deciding to give into Taehyung was probably one of the better decisions you had ever made. He was already sweet and went out of his way to make you happy before you gave into him. And with your previous experiences, that went away a lot soon after you actually started dating someone. Not that you two were officially dating, you hadn’t really outlined exactly what you were. But it was close enough. Anyway, him doing everything he could to make you happy actually increased after that day at the movie.

Now, he would surprise you by having your normal breakfast already at the table for you in the morning because he knew you hated waiting in line for your food.

Or he would grab you on the way back to your cabin at night and sneak over to the barely crackling campfire to watch a movie on his laptop together. The chirping of the cicadas background music to whatever movie he let you pick out. And he was always excited for your pick whether it was a sappy romance or action-packed superhero movie, both of which you loved.

He always made sure to take care of the difficult situations with the campers that came up, not because you couldn’t but because he knew you hated handling other people’s conflicts. And, no matter the situation or who was involved, he found the best way to resolve it without you having to play any part.

Or he would wake you up in the middle of the night, which scared you half to death the first time he did it, just to sit and watch the stars while talking about life with you. These were the moments where you saw his deeper side, the one who feared being alone and leaving this world not being remembered, which he never offered to show anyone else.

So, even though it was just a summer camp fling, it ended up being better than most of the actual relationships you had had. Even if you did have to sneak around and hide like you were 14 again.

That’s why, as the end of the camp approached, you started to savor those little moments as much as you could. You tried your best to remember the way he smiled whenever you were talking about yourself. You appreciated the way his hand felt in your own. And savored the look in his eye that he got right before he would lean in to kiss you. You wanted them all ingrained into your memory.

And you really didn’t want to face the inevitable end it would come crashing down to.

It was the last day of camp. You were both sad and nervous about leaving. But most of all, you were worried about the conversation you were on your way to have with Taehyung. You had finally decided last night that you were just going to bite the bullet and end whatever it was that you two had. It was better than trying to make it work when you lived two hours away from each other and it would be less painful to just do it now.

You found him sitting on the dock, relaxing and watching the falling sun. Wordlessly, you went to sit next to him. You sat like that for several minutes, drinking in the calm of the lake and the peace of the moment together.

But you had to break the silence. “Are you leaving soon?”

“Probably soon.” He finally drew his eyes from the horizon to you. “Are you?”

You nodded. “I was about to head out.”

He cocked his head sideways, looking at you with calculating eyes. “Why does it sound like you’re sad?”

“Well, this is kind of goodbye, Tae.” You started slowly, trying to keep your emotions as in check as you could.

Concern flashed across his eyes. “It not goodbye forever. Is it?”

You couldn’t help but smile at how insistent he was being. You got the feeling that he knew what you were trying to say, and didn’t want to accept it. “We live so far away from each other, Tae. I don’t know how well whatever this is would work at a distance.”

“You’re crazy then.”

You balked at the words. “What do you mean?”

His smile was serene as he began to speak. “You think something as small as driving two hours to see you is going to be able to stop me from taking you on a real date? And be able to not sneak around like pre-teens hiding from their parents.” This was said with a chuckle.

“But-” You barely began before he cut in.

“There are no buts. I like you, Y/N, and I want to give this a real try if you do.”

You couldn’t help the smile that broke out across your face. “Ok, I’ll give it a try. On one condition.” He looked amused as he nodded for you to go on. “You’re going to be the one driving to me.”

“Of course, of course.” He laughed, taking your face in between his hands gently as he pulled you closer. “I would do anything to be with you.”

You couldn’t help the smile that split your face as he finally pulled you in for a blissful kiss, your heart leaping but fully content.

#pbnproject1 #prettyboysnetwork #bts #taehyung #one shot #kpop fanfiction #camp counselors

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denimwrites-archive · 6 years

Text

“I love you, dumbass!”

Prompt: Not a request - The way you said “I love you.” prompt list #3- A scream and #15- Loud, so everyone can hear

Fandom: Dear Evan Hansen

Pairing: Connor Murphy X Reader

Summary: You were tired of Connor pushing you away. You attempted to talk to him, but he only responded when he was high, nevertheless you keep trying. It starts to get better with the help of a certain meme man, but three words are the key to saving your relationship with Connor.

Word Count: 5,706

Warnings: Swearing, mentioned homelessness, talk of mental illness?, and drug use

A/N: Okay I’m not super good at angst, but I gave it a shot. Also I’ve never been high or anything so god knows if I even portrayed it correctly. Plus I said something about Larry working from home which I have no idea if that’s canon or not but I think that that’s one of the reasons why Larry and Connor are at odds because it’s just like one of them is always there meaning they’re always at each other’s throats?? (Also Artist!Connor). (Sorry for repetitiveness, this probably sucks but I spent way too long on it so I’m just going to post it).

~~~

This was the last straw. Connor had ignored you practically all summer, responding to your texts days later with only one word or maybe just an emoji. You had tried to respect his wish to be left alone, but you had wanted to check up on him at least once a week. That isn’t bad considering at the end of Junior year you two had been hanging out almost everyday after school.

You thought that maybe it was just the summer changing him since he had to spend more time with the family that didn’t understand him, but then you heard from Zoe that he had barely been home that summer. Disappearing early in the morning and usually sneaking back into his room after everyone had already gone to bed.

You wished you could have seen him over the summer, but you got a job as a camp counselor that was a few hours away. It was an okay experience, but you missed your home and your friend. When you were finally making your way home at the end of the summer, you couldn’t think of anything but hanging out with Connor again, making fun of the other stupid teenagers and complaining about homework and worrying about the future, together.

When the first day of senior year rolled around and you finally saw him in the hallway, you ran up to him, a big smile on your face, expecting at least something that said he was happy to see you. But all that met you was an angry Connor who slammed his locker and stormed past you before you could even say ‘hi’.

You stood there stunned for a good minute, the annoying voice of Jared Kleinman finally snapping you out of your trance. “Sorry, (Y/N), looks like Connor finally stopped believing in your ‘friendship’.”

“Shut it, Kleinman,” you said, brushing past him on your way to class. You sat through all the shitty first day icebreakers and the going over of summer materials, not really paying attention as your mind raced over all of your summer interactions with Connor, and even back to the end of junior year.

You couldn’t think of anything that could have caused him to be so angry at you. Your brow furrowed as you made your way to the cafeteria, you got in the lunch line and got some food. Scanning the room you see Connor sitting by himself at a table in the corner. You set your shoulders, take a deep breath, and make your way over to him, ready to stand your ground.

As you approached his table, Connor looked up at you and you could see his eyes soften slightly before his eyebrows furrowed and he looked down at his plate in almost disgust. That look was supposed to be aimed at you, your mind said. You shook your head slightly and sat across from him, not scared of his apparent anger.

You didn’t say anything as you began eating. You paid him no mind, even when you could feel his gaze on you. If he wanted space, then he would have to be a big boy and use his words to tell you as such instead of pushing you away.

When you both had finished eating, you finally looked at him and he was looking at you. He was definitely less angry now, but his face still didn’t hold the friendly look that he used to aim at you whenever you two were together. You took a deep breath, about to say something, when he abruptly said, “What the fuck do you want from me?”

You sat there looking at him in confusion with your mouth slightly open for a few moments, completely unsure of what he was asking. When you didn’t immediately answer, Connor stood up and grabbed his things, leaving his lunch tray behind as he left the cafeteria. You were still frozen, trying to comprehend what the hell he meant by his question.

However, you did notice when the cafeteria went mostly silent to watch Connor leave and then stare at you. Snapping out of your thoughts, you glance around you and the normal sounds of high school started once again. You furrowed your brows at your lunch tray and the tray that still lay in front of you. Taking a deep breath, you grabbed your stuff and both trays, throwing them away as you head out of the cafeteria.

You didn’t know where you were going but you knew that you had to get away from people for a while. Heading out the school’s back door, you made you made your way to the football field. Quickly climbing the stairs of the bleachers, you took a seat and started rummaging through your backpack, looking for anything to distract your from the thoughts in your head.

But when you reached for the book you had to read for english, you heard a voice coming from underneath you. Just great, you thought, first I have Connor being a moody bitch, then Kleinman has to be an ass and make things worse, and now I can’t even try to have a second of peace to myself.

You get up, and work your way back down the bleachers, bookbag in hand, then look for a way underneath them so you can see who decided to be a wise ass and encroach on your spot. When you finally found the culprit though, you started to turn around, not wanting to get your head bitten off by Connor again. But when he saw you, he called out to you. Slowly turning back around to face him, you see the smoke that permeated around him and realize that he was getting high.

You sigh, slightly in relief but also from the memories of the random stuff he would say when high. You had learned that there were different kinds of stoners, and Connor was more of a relaxed stoner, something that you never thought you would be grateful for before now. As you made your way closer, he patted the spot next to him and you cautiously took a seat, setting your bag next to you.

To your surprise he put an arm around your shoulder and brought you closer to him. You sat in his half embrace rigidly, unsure of what you were really doing. He didn’t say anything, just smoking and looking off into space. Sometimes he would give your shoulders a squeeze and you’d look at him only to find him already looking at you with an actual smile on his face.

You smiled back and gave him a slight bump with your shoulder which caused a laugh to escape from him. You smiled and laughed with him. Then he was smiling. And your heart started to beat just a little bit faster. Even with the shit way Connor had been treating you lately, you still couldn’t help the butterflies that formed in your stomach whenever he was happy. You really wish it happened more often.

Soon enough he was actually talking. He spoke his sentences at a leisurely pace, in no hurry to convey their full meaning. He was talking about how shitty life at home was and how Larry thought he was such a screw up and his mom tried to understand him but could never see things from his perspective. Zoe was always on his nerves, and even if he didn’t mean to he always let his anger out on her, cause she was the closest target.

That much wasn’t really new, but he went on to explain that over the summer, things had gotten worse since there was no school to get away from his parents, especially Larry. With him working from home, it was nothing but constant scrutiny for Connor. So he would just leave. He would wander around town and get lost. Hike through the woods and end up sleeping outside. He was almost homeless, only stopping by for a new sketchpad, pencils, change of clothes, or a shower. And even then, when he came to do stuff he made sure that no one knew he was there.

“It was just better to disappear than deal with all of that bullshit, you know?” he asks. You nod, and he continues to talk about some of the cool people at the park that he would sometimes sketch. He was talking about this one plant near his favorite people-watching spot when he suddenly went quiet.

When you looked up at him, he was just staring at you again. You give him a quick nudge and then he shakes his head slightly before looking at the ground in front of him, still not saying anything. As you’re about to ask him something, he turns back to you and says, “I don’t know why you want to be friends with the school shooter. I mean you’re just too nice to be seen with me so I don’t know why you are. Seen with me. “

“What’s the matter, scared I’ll ruin your bad boy reputation?” you teasingly asked. But then Connor’s head was slightly resting on top of yours and he was mumbling something you couldn’t hear. “What was that, princess?”

“You’re too good for me. No wonder I don’t stand a chance with you.” You’re left dumbfounded at his words and you sit there in shock, Connor’s arm still around your shoulder, his head resting on yours, as his breathing gets more even. Soon enough it’s obvious that he’s asleep. You almost try to get out of his grip, but it’s quickly obvious that that would wake him up, so you sit there quietly contemplating all that he just said.

Your thoughts are still quite a mess by the time that Connor starts to stir sometime later. You shift a little bit when you feel him tense next to you and carefully look up at him, only to see his eyes still hazy but growing harsher by the second. He quickly removed his arm from your shoulder and rose to his feet. You get up without prompting and grab your bag, sulking away from him and back to school before he even utters a word, feeling his glare on your back.

Even with only an hour before school ended, you couldn’t focus on anything that the teacher was saying, your mind racing with all that Connor had said. It definitely explained his shitty communication, but what the hell happened that made him hate you? Or did he like you? You thought it was hard before, now you were all kinds of confused.

Sure you thought Connor was a great guy, but he never seemed interested in you that way, so you didn’t think of him that way. Even if you stole glances of him, looked forward to all of your conversations, and your heart beat just a little bit faster whenever he smiled, it was only because he was a good friend. Totally.

His words ran through your head late into the evening. I don’t stand a chance with you. Who did he think he was competing with? He knew that you disliked pretty much every other person in your grade. Maybe the weed was just making him spew bullshit, you thought to yourself, trying to come up with an excuse as to why he seemed so wishy washy between his words and actions.

You didn’t get much sleep that night with all of those thoughts and possibilities running through your head. So when it came time for school the next morning, you weren’t ready to deal with Jared Kleinman first thing.

“Hey there, (Y/N). How’re things going with the shooter? I heard he was quite the sweetheart yesterday in the cafeteria. Care to comment?” he asked with his usual smirk.

You scoffed at him and continued the walk to your locker, unaware that Jared had decided to saunter after you. He made his presence known again as he slammed your locker door into the ones next to you, causing you to jump. He leaned against the brightly painted doors in an obviously forced casual kind of way.

Glancing at him warily, you start to grab the things you need for your first class. You notice Connor out of the corner of your eye and you take a deep breath, all the thoughts from last night sprinting through your mind. But you decide to take the chance, walking up to him and clearing your throat when he doesn’t immediately notice your presence.

When he finally turns towards you, his annoyed expression turns to something more along the lines of hostility. It almost makes you take a step back, when his smiles from yesterday make their way into your mind, helping you to hold your ground. Squaring your shoulders, you open your mouth to ask him something when he looks behind you and scoffs before pushing past you, knocking into your shoulder as goes.

You turn around confused as to what the hell happened when you see Jared still standing by your locker, staring intently at you. You narrow your eyes at him before marching up to him. “What the hell did you do?” you demand.

“Nothing! What makes you think I did something? He’s the one who always acts like a psychopath.” Jared isn’t looking you in the eye and you know he isn’t saying something, but whatever he did to piss Connor off doesn’t matter as much as the fact that he did it.

“Just leave me and Connor alone, okay Kleinman? I don’t know what your beef with him is, or if you’re really just that much of an asshole that you would mess with him for no reason, but seriously, just drop it. For your own sake.” You slam your locker and walk away from him, not sparing him another glance, missing the slightly hurt look on his face.

The morning ticks by agonizingly slow as you wait for it to be lunch so you can try to straighten things out with Connor again. Finally the bell rings and you rush to the cafeteria, grabbing your lunch and making your way to the same table that you sat at yesterday.

And like yesterday, you set your shoulders, took a deep breath, and made your way to where Connor was sitting. You take a seat across from him, but today you look at him expectantly. This time, he’s the one to ignore you, just sitting there looking at his plate. After a few minutes of waiting for him to at least acknowledge you, you let out a sigh and proceed to eat.

After you’re both done eating, it’s obvious that Connor is just going to try and brush you off again so you reach across the table and grab his hand, but he quickly jerks back and stands, already gearing up to storm off. You attempt to grab his arm again, desperate to get him to listen to you. He makes it quite obvious that he isn’t going to pay attention to anything you have to say, but you follow him anyway as he makes his way into the hallway.

You knew that the cafeteria was watching you chase after him, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care. Connor seemed to be making his way to the front of the school, probably ready to skip the rest of the day. Knowing you didn’t have much time, and just wanting him to stop ignoring you, you yell after him, “Connor Murphy!”

The other kids milling in the hallway all turn towards you, but his steps don’t falter as he continues to stomp towards his destination. Gritting your teeth in frustration you start running, trying to catch up with him. Damn you, Connor Murphy, and those insanely long legs of yours, you thought.

You’re finally able to step in front of him, but when he moves to step around you, you’re in front of him again. You continue to block him until you hear him sigh in anger and annoyance. “What do you want?” he asks, venom in his voice.

“I want you to be straight with me. I want you to talk to me without sounding like you want to bite my fucking head off when you aren’t stoned out of your mind. I want to know why the hell you didn’t think you could come to me when your summer went to shit. I want to know what happened to my best friend, Connor Murphy.”

He rolls his eyes at you, like you were the one being dramatic, before scoffing and turning away from you, already moving away. You can only stand there and wonder what the hell happened. Feeling something build up in your chest you don’t really know what happens until it already has. Almost like an out of body experience.

You find yourself grabbing ahold of the back of his jacket, pulling him to a stop before marching in front of him and getting into his face, finger poking into his chest as you scream at him. “I don’t know what the fuck your problem is, but I’m done with it. You are done blowing me off. I don’t care about your problems getting in the way because I will make them my problems too. You aren’t alone in this mess of a world, you moron. So stop acting like you are. Pushing me away isn’t going to accomplish anything.”

Out of breath from your tirade, you finally realize what you just did. Taking a step back you look around to see everyone staring at you, including Connor. He doesn’t look as angry as he did, more surprised than anything else.

As you’re about to say something else, he pushes past you again. You don’t follow him this time, staring at the ground in defeat. You turn around and head back inside the school, through the back and to your spot at the bleachers. You glance below them, even though you know Connor won’t be there, you still hoped that the relaxed Connor of yesterday would be there again so that you could actually have a conversation.

Letting out a long sigh you lean back and look at the clouds, letting time pass by unnoticed. As you zone out of your thoughts you don’t notice what’s happening under the bleachers until you smell a hint of weed. Your heart races as you make your way under the stairs, hoping it’s your stoner. You freeze as he finally comes into sight, obviously higher than he was yesterday by the fact that he doesn’t even notice you sit next to him.

After a few minutes of stillness and silence, you quietly ask, “Connor?”

His unfocused eyes snap to you, and he gives a big smile. “(Y/N)! I was just thinking ‘bout you,” he mumbles. Connor gestures for you to come closer, and you gently ease your way towards him, but when you’re in his arms reach he grabs you and pulls you into his chest. You tense at the contact, thoughts racing with how his sober self probably hates you. As he wraps an arm around you he starts talking to himself about random things.

You don’t even notice it when his hand starts running through your hair, or when his hand rests on your hip, too caught up in your inner dilemma. Slowly you become aware of these things as you start to listen to what Connor is saying. His words seem to float from one subject to another, and as you shift to look up at him, he stops talking just to look at you.

Then he’s talking about you and all the things he admires about you. The way your eyes light up when you talk about something you’re passionate about. The look you get on your face whenever Connor teases you about your taste in music. The way your eyebrow furrows when you’re confused by something in class. He continues to talk and you just look at him in amazement, astonished that he noticed all of these things.

Soon he’s just rambling about how cute you are and just listing all your different body parts. “Your elbow is really something, you know that? It’s the cutest fucking elbow I’ve ever seen. Even your wenis is cute. And really moisturized. It’s a nice wenis.” Connor finally noticed your staring and looks deeply into your eyes. You sit there, contemplating everything that he’s said, when he says it. The words that would change everything.

“I love you.”

You sit there speechless. Connor doesn’t seem to mind as he rests his forehead against yours, his eyes soon drifting shut. You carefully shift from under his grip until you’re sitting a few feet away from him, looking at anything other than his sleeping form. You had no idea how to deal with the bombshell he had just dropped. Was that the reason he had been acting like a dick lately? Having to deal with confusing emotions about you while also managing all the shit his parents put on him?

You had no idea how to process it, so you got up and walked back to class, almost numb as your brain focused on nothing but those three simple words that had built and destroyed so many things throughout history.

The rest of your classes bring no answers and as you try to work on homework that night your mind only wants to think about all of the things Connor said leading up to his big confession. It couldn’t just be the weed, right? It was the reason he was telling you, yeah, but his feelings weren’t entirely made by the drug. Or could they be? The same questions from yesterday ran through your mind, but this time they were that much heavier.

The next morning you barely noticed Jared next to your locker, trying to annoy you again or something probably. You didn’t even know why Jared had been hanging around you so much lately since you guys weren’t really friends. Nonetheless, he shakes you out of your thoughts with a poke to your cheek. Rubbing it and giving him a look you ask, “What?”

“Look, I know that it isn’t my place, especially since Connor and I have a mutual-hate agreement, but he just really doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

“Doing?”

Letting out a sigh, Jared continues, “He doesn’t know that treating you the way he has been is no way to deal with feelings. I know from experience. But you didn’t hear anything from me.” Then he’s gone, walking down the hallway. Your eyes follow him and you see him share a glance with Connor as he goes. Connor feels your gaze on him and turns to look at you.

You give him a small wave, and he just turns away, slamming his locker hard as he leaves for his first class. You sit in your first period, Jared’s words ringing in your ears, and you make a decision then and there. You will try to talk to Connor again today at lunch, and if that doesn’t work then you’ll just have to go back to the drawing board.

As lunch draws nearer, you start to doubt your plan. Nerves setting in, you try to calm yourself as the bell rings. You head to the cafeteria again and this time decide to sit at the table Connor usually uses before he gets there instead of waiting in line for lunch. You keep scanning the cafeteria for him, starting to think that he might not sit here if he sees you.

You’re thankfully proven wrong when he sets his tray on the table while you weren’t paying attention, lost in your thoughts. You take it as a good sign that he decided to sit at his normal spot, but are still unsure about how to start the conversation. You two sneak glances at each other, and are relieved that Connor’s looks are actually pretty gentle, especially compared to the ones you’ve seen in the past few days.

Time continues to pass as you sit in silence. You still haven’t gotten lunch, but the tension holds you hostage, not wanting to screw up again and have to think of some other way of getting Connor’s attention.

Much to your relief and confusion, Jared comes by and sits next to Connor. His eyes immediately snap to Kleinman’s and you swear if looks could kill, Jared would be pushing up daisies. Jared gives him a knowing look, drops a note onto his lunch tray, pats him on the back, then walks away as if nothing happened.

You look at the note in curiosity, but don’t reach for it. Connor glances at you before snatching the note and sticking it in his pocket. He then starts to stand, grabbing his lunch tray and hastily making his way towards the exit. You stand and follow him, knowing that you weren’t the reason for his retreat made you confident that you might actually be able to talk to him. If you were able to catch up with him that is.

Connor was almost jogging through the hallway, which meant that with his long legs you had to practically sprint to catch up with him. He stopped at his locker and grabbed something before going through the school’s back door. Knowing where he was going, you paused at the door to catch your breath.

When you finally make your way back under the bleachers for the third time that week, you sit across from Connor, rather than next to him. He reaches out to you, but you just shake your head gently. He seems to pout slightly, but continues to smoke nonetheless. You sit in silence for a while as he finishes his blunt.

You can see him relax more and more and then he’s insistently reaching for you. You try to resist, but he just seems so open and wanting of some kind of touch that you give in and lean into his side. His arm rests around your shoulders and soon enough your head is on his shoulder and his head is on top of yours, resting gently. As you shift slightly, Connor begins talking and you freeze, not wanting him to clam up again.

He spoke of the shitty summer again, but added that he always tried to keep his phone charged so he could talk to you. Connor had looked forward to your little check ups but didn’t want to worry you with his almost homelessness, so he tried to brush you off. You understood why he had done it, but it made your heart hurt to think about all of the days that you were unknowingly standing by as he was in pain.

You grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze when there was a lull in the conversation. He squeezed back and you said, “I promise to be there for you in the future. As long as you promise to be honest with me and tell me when you need me. You know I would have been here in a heartbeat if I had known, summer job be damned.” He nodded his head, and you could feel the movement, giving his hand another squeeze.

Connor also talked about the good times over the summer though, like how he was able to really focus on his art this summer. And how there were these really sweet old ladies who would walk through the park on their way to bingo and compliment him on his sketches and offer to take him home for a meal.

Your eyes were starting to close, lulled by the sound of Connor’s voice and comforted by his arm around you. It was also becoming obvious that he was also starting to drift off by his slurring words. You snuggled further into his chest, head turning to hide itself in his neck. He tightened his grip on you and started mumbling about how caring you were. You fell asleep with his kind words floating through your head.

Awakening with a start at the sound of the bell, you look around in a daze, not seeing Connor anywhere. You frantically looked around but didn’t see any sign of his bag or anything. Then you were running back to the school, desperate to find him. You knew you were going to do something you might regret, but you couldn’t live with Connor only talking to you when he was high.

The hallways are flooded with students who are at their lockers or heading to the parking lot, ready to leave school for the day. You rush around trying to spot him in the crowds, and head outside, hoping he was waiting by his sister’s car. Your peers give you strange looks as you run down the aisles looking for Connor, starting to call his name.

Finally you see him walking down the sidewalk and you really start screaming for him. You know that he heard you since he glances back at you while grabbing his headphones out of his bag. You pick up your pace and run after him, catching up with him halfway through the parking lot.

You are out of breath and double over, a few feet away from him, but he continues to walk, ignoring you. He doesn’t slow down or even acknowledge you as you step next to him. You grab his sleeve and he turns to you with a scornful look, yanking his arm out of your grip. “Connor,” you start, but he just picks up his pace. You try to keep up with him, but he just keeps speeding up. You finally stop and yell, “I love you, dumbass!” At that he gives a pause, still turned away from you.

“I don’t care about all the shit you’re going through, I want to be there for you, but I can’t do that if you’re always running away from me. That’s not going to stop me from trying though, because I’ll always chase after you Murphy, because I care about you.”

It seems as if time is frozen around you. Your heart pounds as you realize that everyone is staring at you, and that Connor still hasn’t turned around. Trying to breathe properly and wondering how you could be so stupid to bear your heart in front of half the school, you don’t notice that Connor has turned around until he’s standing right in front of you, looking at the ground sheepishly.

He quietly takes your hand and pulls you along with him, ignoring the students who gape at you as you pass by. You walk in silence off of the school grounds and down the sidewalk. You don’t know where you’re going, but you let him lead you there. Soon enough you find yourself at the local park.

You take a seat at one of the benches and Connor pulls you into his side by tugging at your hand, still in his. You comply and are resting your head on his shoulder just like you were earlier. Connor takes a deep breath, like he’s about to say something, but then lets it out as a long sigh. You don’t know how long you sit there, but you understand that this is hard for him.

“I really do love you, you know?” you ask him quietly. He doesn’t say anything, but squeezes your hand. “I’m sorry for not being there for you this summer, but--”

“I’m not mad about the summer,” he cuts you off. “I just…” he trails off, unsure how to say what he wanted to. Connor takes another deep breath and continues, “This summer made me realize that I don’t know what I would do without you. I was dependent on your smile and your stupid jokes, and it scared me. But I also scared myself with how much angrier I was when you weren’t around.”

He swallows, trying to piece together what to say next. “You ground me. And I didn’t want to burden you with the fucked up thing that is me. So I thought that if I pushed you away everything would go away, but it only got worse because I saw you everyday and wanted nothing more than to hug you tight and not let you go.”

You give his hand a squeeze. “I would definitely be okay with that,” you look up at him with a small smile on his face. You see his lips quirk up, and he shakes his head at you slightly. You squeeze his hand again and he looks back at you. “I mean what I said though. I will be there for you no matter what. Even if you try to push me away, I’m going to be there. Because you’re my rock too, Connor.”

You two sit on the bench actually talking for the rest of the afternoon. School goes back to normal, and you can see Jared give you two a knowing look in the cafeteria the next day. Connor flips him off and you just chuckle, reaching for his hand. Things will be okay if you just stick together. Grounding each other.

~~~

At the end of the day, it dawns on you to ask, “Hey, Connor?”

“Hmm?”

“What did that note that Jared gave you say?”

“It didn’t say anything really, it was just an accurate drawing of what Kleinman thinks of me.”

“And that is…?”

He takes the note out of his pocket and hands it to you. You unfold it to find a fairly accurate picture of a donkey with several large arrows pointing to the animal’s rear end. “Ah,” you say, as if it were obvious.

Connor chuckles and gives you a kiss on the temple, taking the note back from you. “I guess we should thank him though, since he kind of helped us get our shit together.”

“Yeah, but annoying him is so much more fun.” You two share a look and laugh, glad to be comfortable with each other again, but at the same time closer than ever.

#connor murphy x reader #connor murphy fanfiction #dear evan hansen x reader #deh x reader #dear evan hansen fanfiction #deh fanfiction #reader insert #dear evan hansen reader insert #deh reader insert #musical x reader #musical fanfiction #musical reader insert #my writing #not a request

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sanders-specs · 7 years

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Camp Swan Chapter 2

A/N: Yay part 2! I’m so glad some of you seem to enjoy this. This chapter ran a bit long, but hey, we get to meet everyone else! Also yes, I am overly fond of descriptions. It’s a problem. I’m working on it.

I’m thinking of posting this every Saturday? Or at least attempt to. As of now that’s my plan.

Parings: None (yet?)

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of neglect (if i missed any, please let me know so i can fix it)

Word count: 1819

part one

tag list: @princeyssash

“Are you lost?”

Virgil jumped at the sudden voice. He looked over and saw a boy his age watching him. The boy was dressed smartly, khaki shorts, button down shirt and a blue tie. Usually Virgil would call this the entitled-rich-white-boy look, but this kid did not carry himself with the cocky, better-than-everyone-else persona that Virgil associated with this look. The large black framed glasses probably had something to do with it as well. He raked Virgil with a calculated look that made him feel slightly uncomfortable.

“Umm,” Virgil says just then registering what the kid had said. “No, this is my cabin.”

“Then why are you just staring at it?” the kid asks, not sounding mocking or weirded out just…curious. It was like he really couldn’t fathom any reason for Virgil to just be standing outside his own cabin.

The last thing Virgil wanted to do was explain himself to this kid, so he just shook his head. “No reason,” he mutters, readjusting the straps of his bag in his hand and walking up the steps to the cabin.

“There’s a reason for everything, so I find it hard to believe that anyone does anything for ‘no reason,’” the kid says, walking up behind him. “This is my cabin as well, just so you know.” he adds when Virgil gives him a confused look.

Virgil sighed. Great. Just what he needed. A curious kid who couldn’t take a hint living in the same space as him.

The inside of the cabin was busier than it had seemed like on the outside. He could hear people moving around, other boys talking and laughing. There was an open space in the center of the cabin with couches and tables, the ‘lounge’ Virgil assumed, and there were doors on either side of the lounge, all of them propped open. In the lounge, there were two people sitting back on the couches. They stood when Virgil and the other kid walked in.

“Here they are,” one of the men says. He was average height with light brown hair and brown eyes. He wore the same outfit as the counselors from before—the green polo, khaki shorts, tennis shoes—though he wore a nametag. Thomas S. it read. “Logan, good to see you again. How’ve you been buddy?”

This was addressed to the kid next to Virgil, who gave a slight smile to the counselor. “Hello Thomas. I have been well, though I have to say that the downsize in cabin is less than satisfactory.” This he said with a distasteful look around the cabin.

“Yeah, well guess we drew the short straw this year,” Thomas says apologetically. “But the cabins are just a place to sleep. All the fun will happen during the activities.”

“I suppose,” Logan says, though he looked doubtful.

Thomas smiled and patted Logan on the shoulder before turning to Virgil. “And I guess you’re one of our newer campers. Welcome to Camp Swan! My name’s Thomas and I’ll be your head counselor this summer. You can come to me for just about anything you can think of. I see you’ve already met Logan,” he motions to the kid. “Which is good since you’ll be spending the summer together.”

Virgil shifted uncomfortably at the slightly too enthusiastic attitude. “Umm…hi,” he mutters.

Not deterred, Thomas turns to the other man, who’s holding a clipboard. “Let’s see which room you two are in.” he says. “What’s your name newbie?”

“Virgil,” he mutters, keeping his head ducked. He was starting to grow uncomfortably warm in his hoodie as Thomas kept addressing him.

“Ah yes, it looks like you two are going to be roommates,” Thomas says, as if this is a good thing.

Grreeaattt.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Logan sizing him up. “I think that will be satisfactory.”

“Glad I meet your standards,” Virgil muttered.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you your other roommates and then I’ll let you two get settled in,” Thomas says. “Terry, you got the rest?”

Terry gives a thumbs up as Thomas led them away. Logan follows their counselor without hesitation, back straight. Virgil saw that there were several buttons and pins on Logan’s backpack, all of them having some kind of nerdy image or phrase on them.

Sighing, Virgil followed suit, fidgeting with his cube the whole way. Thomas lead them to the second door all the way in the back of the cabin. He pushed it open, and the voices of two other boys was immediately present, though they stopped when the door opened. Virgil looked into the room and felt his stomach churn.

There were two sets of bunk beds, the tops of both having been taken, making an L shape against two walls. The other wall was two closets, each then divided into two spaces. The room was already a mess, clothes and stuffed animals strewn about. A set of what looked like teddy bear curtains were covering the window, and it looked as if glow-in-the dark stars had been stuck to the ceiling. As a matter of fact, the two other boys seemed to be in the middle of sticking them on. One of them—a boy in a light blue shirt with a cat on it and cargo shorts—was sitting on the shoulders of the other boy, who had on a red t-shirt with a white button down open over it and jean shorts. The white button down was tilting back and forth, trying to stay steady with the other boy on his shoulders.

They both froze when the door opened and Thomas, Logan, and Virgil all walked in. Thomas sighed, crossing his arms and shaking his head while Logan and Virgil just stared.

“Oh hello,” white button down says with a smile that was trying too hard to be casual.

“Roman, Patton, what on earth are you doing?” Thomas asks.

“Making the room more fun!” cat shirt exclaims, throwing up his arms and making button up teeter a little. Virgil saw Thomas tense in the corner of his eye and start to move towards them—to possibly catch cat shirt if he fell, Virgil didn’t know.

Beside him, Logan sighs and readjusts his glasses. “Why didn’t you just get a chair? With Roman’s height alone it would have been enough.”

“Logan!” cat shirt exclaimed. “Hey, I didn’t know we’d be cabinmates this year.”

“Yes, nor did I,” Logan says, sounding a little like he wished this fact wasn’t true.

“Okay, just, Patton get down, please, before both of you end up getting hurt,” Thomas says, sounding exasperated.

“Okie dokie artichokie!” cat shirt—Patton—says and him and who Virgil assumed was Roman went through the awkward process of getting Patton on his feet. Once he was safely on the ground—and Thomas was breathing normally again—he turned to Logan and opened his arms.

“Come on kiddo, give me a hug!”

Logan looked like he wanted to do anything but that, but he indulged Patton in an awkward hug. Patton didn’t seem deterred from it, though, and immediately turned to Virgil. “And you’re new!” he exclaims, like this is the greatest news he’d received all day. “Well aren’t you just so lucky to have Thomas as your first counselor, he’s the best.”

“I’m flattered,” Thomas says with an amused smile. He turns to Virgil. “Logan, Virgil, meet your roommates, Roman and Patton.”

“Virgil! What a cool name. Is it from the Renaissance? It sounds like the name of an ancient ruler!” Patton exclaims.

Virgil immediately wanted to turn around and walk out of the room. Patton’s brightness was too much and he’d only spoken a few sentences to him. Roman hadn’t even opened his mouth and Virgil already felt tired at the thought of talking to him.

“I’ll let you guys get settled in,” Thomas says, backing towards the door. “The opening assembly is in about two hours so you’ve got enough time to unpack,” this he addresses to Virgil and Logan. Logan nods but Virgil just keeps his head down, stepping aside as Thomas leaves the room.

“Well,” Roman says, clapping his hands together. The sound was so loud and sudden that it made Virgil flinch, though the others didn’t seem to notice. “Patton and I have already claimed the top bunks, so sorry about that. Well, not really,” he says with an easygoing smile.

“I much prefer the bottom bunk anyway,” Logan says, walking to the bed that had a red sheet over the matrass and a silver pillow. He set his things down, glancing over at Virgil. “Will this arrangement be satisfactory?”

Virgil just gives a tight nod before walking over to the free bunk. He slings his duffle bag onto it and sits down, making himself as small as possible. The other boys were talking freely, ignoring his presence. Patton was telling Roman how he’d known Logan since their first year at camp, when they were six, and that they’d been camp buddies ever since. Logan was silent on the subject, simply unpacking his clothes and putting them neatly in one of the free closets.

Virgil pulled out his phone, almost groaning when he saw that he didn’t get any single here. He couldn’t say that he was surprised, just disappointed.

“Camp Swan intentionally blocks cellphone signals,” Logan’s voice comes, drawing Virgil’s attention to him, as well as cutting off Patton’s story. The other boys looked at Virgil, who scowled and slid his phone into his pocket. “That’s why they don’t have a no electronic policy,” Logan goes on. “There’s no use in it.”

“Didn’t you do any research before you came here?” Roman asks, probably meaning to sound teasing but somehow sounding more…mocking in Virgil’s ears.

“Of course I did,” Virgil sneered. “I have to know what hell I’m being subjected to the whole summer.”

All three boys froze in surprise. Virgil saw them glance at each other before Logan straightened, readjusting his glasses. “On what grounds are you saying that camp will be hell, as you put it?” he asks.

“Please,” Virgil scoffs, “it’s summer camp. Happy go lucky kids singing campfire songs and roasting marshmallows acting like the world around them isn’t crumbling and fake-ass counselors pretending to be your friend even though they probably hate everyone by the second day. Are we going to be forced to make macaroni necklaces too?”

“Well aren’t you just a Debby Downer?” Roman mutters under his breath as Patton and Logan continue to just stare at Virgil like he’d grown a third head.

Eventually, Logan shifted and cleared his throat. “If you have those kinds of views on our camp, then why are you here?”

Virgil threw himself back on his bed and put his headphones on. “Because my parents hate me,” he says before turning on the music he had saved to his phone and blocking out any other conversation.

Chapter 3

#thomas sanders #sanders sides #fanfiction #patton sanders #virgil sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #my fic #swearing #Camp Swan fic

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lifeinahole27 · 7 years

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My Fics

And here we go! This is a compilation of every fic I’ve written for the OUAT fandom, starting from the very (shaky) beginnings. It’s wild to put this together two years after I first googled Captain Swan fanfiction. There’s so much growth in these links, and I’m anxious to see what progress will be made from this point forward.

Special thanks to everyone who reads what I write. Seriously, I cannot thank you all enough. I <3 you all.

And another special thanks to anyone who has done proofreading or beta reading for me, including but I’m sure not limited to: @oubliette14, @nothandlingit, @i-know-how-you-kiss, @sambethe, @phiralovesloki. (If you’ve done any kind of beta reading for me and I missed you, please let me know so I can add you to this list. You lovelies deserve fruit baskets and such for how amazing you’ve all been to this insecure, fidgety writer.)

(Note: All of the Tumblr and FFN links are already in here, however the Ao3 links are not. I’m still working on cross posting those, but I wanted to get this posted and linked up so it’s finally up! Will update as I go! Will probably add descriptions and ratings as I update this further, as well.)

Something Else | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Emma, one of many counselors at a summer camp, takes a moment to herself to enjoy the sunset and think about the blue eyes she’s grown rather fond of the last couple weeks. (T, au, one-shot, complete)

Til We’re Staring at the Same Stars | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Emma takes time to think. (G, canon-verse, complete)

Stars Lined Up | FFN | Ao3

Summary: The reunion between Emma and Killian after ‘Til We’re Staring at the Same Stars’ (M, canon-verse, complete)

It Isn’t Slow | FFN | Ao3

Summary: When the town is in crisis, it’s hard to find the time for pleasurable endeavors. Sometimes a quickie is all they can manage. (E, canon-verse, complete)

Shower Courtship | FFN | Ao3

Summary: “you live in the apartment above me and everyday I can hear you singing in the shower but you’re really good and it makes my day” au (M, au, one-shot, complete)

Routines | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Summary: Emma’s daily routines are a matter of habit. When she wakes up late one morning, her routines all change for the better. Killian doesn’t care about routines, but he does care about Emma. (E, au, multi-chapter, complete)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

No Bunny’s Business | FFN | Ao3

Summary: “you’re dressed as the easter bunny at our town’s easter egg hunt and I take my younger sibling, but they're afraid of people in costumes and you accidentally make them cry and you take off the bunny head to apologize and hey you’re kinda cute” (PG, au, one-shot, complete)

There You Are | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Season 4 finale, missing thoughts from Emma. (G, canon-verse, complete)

Pushing Deadlines | FFN | Ao3

Summary: “I have a paper due tomorrow and it’s three am, I need all your coffee cause I ran out” college au (E, au, one-shot, complete)

Burning Off the Midnight Oil | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Killian helps Emma with her nerves before an important day (E, au, one-shot, complete)

The Seduction of Deckhand Jones | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Emma pulls an I’ll-make-a-man-outta-you on deckhand Killian. (The title pretty much says it all…) (E, au, one-shot, complete)

I Can’t Let You Do That | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Some CS jewel theives, inspired by sense8. (E, au, two-shot, complete)

1 | 2

Roots Like Ours | FFN | Ao3

Summary: I work at a bar and I don’t get home and to bed until nearly 4am and now it’s 7am and there’s a tree removal company working right next door and I know the bylaws say that any time after 7am you’re allowed to operate this devilish cacophony of machinery but I’ve only had 3 hours of sleep and as I stalk outside in my tweety bird pyjamas I swear to god I am going to murder you for waking me up and oh fuck you’re hot. (M, au, one-shot, complete)

At the Top of Our Lungs | FFN | Ao3

Summary: “We’re on the debate team yet we can’t argue about something without yelling.” CS as debate team members who may have recently done some bedroom battles. (M, au, one-shot, complete)

Between the Coffee Lines | FFN | Ao3

Summary: ‘I write a bad pick up line on your cup every time I’m your barista’ AU (T, au, one-shot, complete)

Early to Rise | FFN | Ao3

Summary: ‘We slept in the same bed for space reasons but now we’re just waking up and there’s something about your bleary eyes and mussed hair.’ (E, au, one-shot, complete)

Ship It | FFN | Ao3

Summary: college professors au where the students ship them. (M, au, two-shot, complete-ish)

1 | 2

Claws Out | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Christmas is, by far, his least favorite time of the year for two reasons. One is the inquiries on adoption. The second is the inquiries on return. In which Killian is a the owner and operator of a cat sanctuary, and Emma happens to be a mother to make an inquiry on adopting a cat for her son. (T, au, one-shot, complete)

Distractions | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Killian Jones, the deckhand of the pirate ship, the Jolly Roger, is tasked with distracting townspeople whilst the crew robs their homes. Instead, Killian ends up being distracted by a beautiful blonde interested in his drawings. (E, au, one-shot, complete)

The Faces of Kismet | FFN | Ao3

Summary: No one expects to meet their soulmate in a chat room, and that’s certainly not what Emma was looking for when she went in to waste some time one night. Instead, she found someone, and he found her, and then they lost their connection. Fate likes to fuck with peoples’ lives sometimes, and this is no exception. (M, au, one-shot, complete)

Check In, Check Out | FFN | Ao3

Summary: The easiest rule Emma thought she would be able to keep as she worked night shift at the Storybrooke Inn & Suites was to not get romantically involved with any of the guests. Then came along Killian Jones, a job transfer with a sleep disorder, who’s bunking at the hotel until he can find a place of his own. (E, au, one-shot, complete)

At Your Convenience | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Emma may be the drummer of a famous band now, but before that, she was a girl making questionable choices with a guy she doesn’t expect to see on a stop to their singer’s hometown when they stop for a quick visit. (M, au, one-shot, complete)

Shake Your (Cotton) Tail | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Killian has some questions about the logistics of egg hunts and mascots, but Emma convinces him to stop asking questions with the promise of an enjoyable evening. (E, canon-verse, complete)

We Got Us | FFN | Ao3

Summary: How they got together is mostly a run-of-the-mill story. Boy meets girl. Girl meets boy. A strange and complicated courtship followed. All that really matters to either of them is that they’re happy. They’re in love. They’re miles away from anyone who cares if they are in a relationship or not. And that only matters because no one that knows either of them would ever expect them to be in a relationship in the first place. Perhaps it would be easier if their brothers weren’t best friends. It’s the easiest separation between family and relationship that either of them has ever had. Which means that it can’t last, of course. (E, au, one-shot, complete)

I Will Learn to Let You Go | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Killian Jones, having lost his own soulmate years before, spends his free time finding the soulmates of other people. It’s what he’s good at, and he gets paid well to do it. Finding the soulmate of his latest client may prove to be the worst job he’s ever taken on, though. It’s not because Emma Swan is hard to find, but because he finds himself falling in love with her. (E, au, two-shot, complete)

1 | 2

Lethologica | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Maybe if they could think of the perfect word to describe their friendship, everything else would fall into place. A slightly slow-burning friends-to-lovers au where Killian is a chef and Emma is in the Army Reserves. (E, au, multi-chapter, main story complete but more to come?)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

My Eyes, They Speak for Me | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Canon divergence from 3x13 onward, where Walsh never reveals himself and Storybrooke isn’t where it should be. Emma and Killian have to not only find a way back to Storybrooke and Emma’s family, but keep each other and Henry safe in the process. (E, canon-verse, multi-chapter, complete)

1 | 2 | 3

Knead Your Loving | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Prompt: My friend keeps lecturing me on the importance of self care and I booked a massage to shut them up.. But my masseuse is the anonymous stranger I fucked at Christmas. (M, au, one-shot, complete)

Sirens Howl (Sneak Peek) | FFN | Ao3 (coming soon)

Love So Sweetly (Sneak Peek) | FFN | Ao3 (coming soon)

See That Smile | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Killian is the charismatic lead singer of a band known for making weddings unforgettable. That is, until his own wedding is cancelled and he vows to never sing at another one. Years later, he meets Emma, a bartender at the event hall and woman planning her own nuptials. But in the process of helping her plan her own wedding, he discovers that he does still have the capability to feel again, and it all starts with the way that Emma smiles at him. Of course this would be his luck. (E, au, one-shot, complete)

Wait for the Moonrise | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Emma doesn’t remember who she was before she was found in the woods, but she knows that she has a few close friends, a good job, and a loyal cat that greets her every day when she gets home from work. What she doesn’t know, however, is that her past is about to catch up to her in the strangest of ways. She learns quickly that not everything is as it seems, not even her cat. (E, au, multi-chapter, complete)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

It’s All in the Name | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Beloved Tropes- Coffee Shop AU in which Emma is the angry barista who constantly gets Killian’s name wrong. (T, au, one-shot, complete)

You’re the Tune that Stuck | FFN | Ao3

Summary: A soulmates au where you can have any number of things happen to reveal you have a soulmate. In this one, Emma suddenly hears the songs that her soulmate are either listening to or have stuck in their head. (M, au, one-shot, complete)

Smoke and Mirrors | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Tweaked from the prompt “I was burning scented candles and fell asleep. You’re my neighbour who bashed the door down when my smoke alarm went off.” (T, au, one-shot, complete)

A Difficult Matter | FFN | Ao3

Summary: Killian and Emma, in a moment of downtime, take a moment to discuss name possibilities for their soon-to-be-born. (T, canon verse, one-shot, complete)

The Art of Making (and Raising) a Pirate Princess | FFN | Ao3

Summary: It’s more than just a simple affair, making a baby with the woman he loves. It takes time and patience, and a lot of adjustment. Killian wouldn’t have it any other way, really, when it means living his happily ever after with his wife and daughter. (M, canon verse, part 2 to be written by @captainstudmuffin, incomplete)

On the Two | FFN | Ao3

Summary: He’s one bad trip from ending up in AA, and she’s one performance away from a solid job and moving closer to home. Their paths were unlikely to cross until Camp Hope brought them together. How and why they meet and intertwine is against the odds, and definitely against the rules, but will that really stand in their way? A Dirty Dancing inspired modern au. (E, au, multichapter, complete)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Always You | FFN | Ao3 (summaries and ratings coming soon)

Modern Swimwear | FFN | (Killian comes across a piece of modern swimwear. Be warned of the “Swim Sock” reference... canon verse, T, complete)

Going Back | FFN | (A very dark little ficlet in which S4 finale Emma goes back for Deckhand Killian’s cutlass. canon verse, T, complete)

V-Neck Shirts | FFN | (Itty bitty thing about how Killian appreciates Emma’s v-neck shirts. canon verse, M, complete)

Thoughts In Dreams | FFN | (Another angsty little bit from Killian’s perspective after Emma is taken by the darkness. Pom’s picture here kind of holds hands with this fic. canon verse, T, complete)

Leave Your Hat On | FFN | (A requested fic where Killian finds his naval uniform. It was supposed to be smutty, but it ended up much more serious than I thought it would. canon verse, T, complete)

Little Things | FFN | (In the olden days of LJ, we would’ve called this a vignette in which Emma’s bed-hogging status is explored. modern au, T, complete)

Can I Kiss You? | FFN | (First in the Dirty 30 ficlets. BFFs to lovers. modern au, T, complete)

You Came Back | FFN | (Killian moves into an apartment and keeps getting the old tenant’s mail. And her hair is always everywhere. modern au, T, complete)

Are You Drunk? | FFN | (Part 1 of a coworkers bit. modern au, M, complete)

It Wasn’t Supposed to Happen Like That | FFN | (Part 2 of the coworkers bit. modern au, M, complete)

How Long Has It Been? | FFN | (A short, childhood friends reunited ficlet, guest-starring Mary Margaret as Emma’s roommate and David as Killian’s friend. modern au, T, complete)

I Just Want This | FFN | (Secret friends w benefits becoming more. modern au, M, complete)

Come Home with Me | FFN | (Part 1 of the vacation series. modern au, M)

Please Don’t Argue | FFN | (Part 2 of the vacation series. modern au, M)

I Did a Pregnancy Test | FFN | (Part 3 of the vacation series. modern au, T)

You Know, It’s Okay to Cry | FFN | (Part 4 of the vacation series. modern au, T, complete)

In the Form of a Question | FFN | (Set in the little quiet moments, Emma discovers that Killian is spending all his free time reading and learning, and would be a ringer on Jeopardy. canon verse, T, complete)

Relationship Rules 1 | FFN | (There was one rule: If the phone rang and it was an important call, Killian was to stop doing whatever he was doing between Emma’s legs until the conclusion of the phone call. Mythical timeline where things are good. Part 1 of 2. canon verse, E, complete)

Relationship Rules 2 | FFN | (There was one rule: If the phone rang and it was an important call, Killian was to stop doing whatever he was doing between Emma’s legs until the conclusion of the phone call. Mythical timeline where things are good. Part 2 of 2. canon verse, E, complete)

Evolution of an Oops | FFN | (Another vignette of the progression of a relationship. Includes accidental pregnancy. modern au, T, complete)

Wanna Bet? | FFN | (From the prompts “Wanna bet?” and “Wait a minute, are you jealous?” modern au, T, complete)

Truth or Dare? | FFN | (Emma and Killian play truth or dare while waiting for their friends to arrive for dinner. modern au, T, complete)

Q&A | FFN | (Written for @pompeiiablaze - how Emma kept Captain Hook distracted at the tavern in the CS Movie. Check out her adorable artwork here and here! canon verse, T, complete)

What Goes Last | FFN | (tw: death, The most painful thing I have ever written about a factoid I read somewhere about how the senses leave the body during death. canon verse, M for theme, complete)

Definitely Time | FFN | (A sadly Joss’d fic about CS attending OQ’s wedding, and deciding to set their own date. canon verse, T, complete)

Nevers | FFN | (Based off that commercial about how the couple will never do the thing, and then they do it? Yeah, that’s what this is. modern au, T, complete)

Don’t Marry Her | FFN | (Based on the prompts of “I love you. I’m completely and utterly in love with you. Please don’t get married. You were never just my friend.” Where Emma sees Killian and thinks he’s getting married to someone else. modern au, T, complete)

Why Are You Bleeding? | FFN | (Based off the prompt in the title, Killian greets Emma with a newfound respect for life after a complicated incident. Very short itty bitty fic. modern au, T, complete)

A Different Kind of Team Building | FFN | (Emma and Killian, coworkers, are on their way to a work retreat when Killian stops at a creepy, abandoned house where they stay for the night. Mentions of smut but no descriptions. modern au, M to be safe, complete. BONUS: a couple years ago for my birthday, @sambethe wrote me a re-mix of this fic and I am beyond fucking in love with it. You can find it HERE and give her some love for the beautiful re-mix!!)

4 AM | FFN | (Neighbors au where Emma kinda maybe sort of breaks in to get at Killian’s ice cream supply. But in her defense, he offered it. modern au, T, complete)

Partners | FFN | (A very ridiculous little fic where Killian and Emma have been challenged to be on different teams for darts. modern au, T, complete)

Always You | FFN | (Killian participates on a dating show where he attempts to win Emma Swan’s heart. modern au, T, complete)

Pressure Point | FFN | (Previous partners, Killian ends up in the hospital after getting shot. Very itty bitty. modern au, T, complete)

Floral Fan

School of Loverboys

Coming On Home

Pickup Truck

Multiples

Midnight

Scratch

They Lived

Hold On | FFN | (Based off the prompt: we promised to stay friends but we’re doing the same stuff we did when we were a couple and i don’t wanna point it out because i don’t want it to stop. modern au, M, complete)

To Trying

Wanted: New Furniture

Non-Captain Swan Fics/OTHER:

Extra Good (Scarlet Wolf itty bitty ficlet)

Turn Around, Turn Around (Daddy Charming angsty feels)

Artisanal (A Snowing ficlet that will hopefully make you laugh but also punch you in the feels. Based around 6x16.)

Christmas Card Fic Bits 2017 (A mishmash of CS fic bits, and a Frozen Jewel fic outline)

FFN Main Page | Ao3 Main Page

#sarah writes ff #my fics #fic list #captain swan ff #cs ff #wow there's a lot on here #when did that happen?

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patriciahaefeli · 7 years

Text

Confessions of a Camp Convert

I was not a “camp” kid growing up. My mother, in particular, seemed to take a kind of pride in her disdain for summer camp and the parents who sent their kids there. She liked her kids, she said. The implication, of course, was that camp was for parents who were self-centered, and just didn’t want to be bothered with those pesky children of theirs. I had friends in school that went to summer camp, and I felt vaguely sorry for them. Poor kids, I thought, their parents must not love them very much. Their parents ship them off to sleep in spider- infested cabins somewhere in the woods while they go to Europe or something.

The kids themselves didn’t seem to mind, but I guessed that was because they didn’t know any different.

No, I was not a camp kid, and I didn’t see my children becoming camp kids either. Day Camp at the Y, sure. But overnight? Not a chance. My parent’s unspoken message whispered in my ear that the very idea suggested an uncomfortable combination of privilege and self-indulgence. The working mom in me (a teacher no less – with summers off!) served up the guilt: If you don’t want them around when you can be with them, why did you have them?

Then, three summers ago, my oldest stepdaughter left home to start work at Camp Wingate-Kirkland in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, only about a half hour from our house in Cape Cod. In our brief conversations with her during that first summer, the excitement she felt about her new job, and the fondness she had for the owners and the camp itself, was palpable. When she decided to return the following summer, we agreed to head over Memorial Day weekend and see the place where she would spend the summer. She was anxious to give us a tour of “her” camp, and introduce us to the camp’s owners, Will and Sandy.

We drove to Camp WK early that Sunday morning. As we got out of the car, and were walking toward the entrance, Elizabeth, then 12, tugged on my sleeve. “I’m NOT going here,” she whispered fiercely.

“That’s fine,” I assured her. “We’re here for Alice. That’s all.”

A minute later, we found Alice, who promptly introduced us to her boss and camp owner, Will, who then gave us a private tour of the camp. At this point, I suspected that my husband had other ideas about why we were there, and I tried for an attitude of neutrality: If she liked it and wanted to go, fine. If not, I’d fight for her tooth and nail. No child of mine was going to be forced into a hot, dirty, lice-filled cabin for three weeks.

Kumbaya, my ass.

So yeah, about fifteen minutes into Will’s tour of the immaculate, tree-filled Camp WK, I wanted to go to camp. And it wasn’t even the lake, the pristine cabins, the variety of activities – or the fact that kids chose the ones they wanted every single day. It wasn’t the bona-fide chef who prepares the meals, the full-time medical staff, or even the camp pig. I think it was mostly the fact that for Will, this place was so clearly a calling, not a job. Owning it was a dream-come-true for him. You just can’t fake the love this guy had for this place, and the conviction he had that “magic” happened there. It was contagious. I looked around at the now quiet, sun-dappled cabins and became aware that, empty as they were Memorial Day weekend, it could have felt a little creepy. Instead, what I sensed was a kind of delicious anticipation. I could almost hear the splashing of water, the yelps and giggles spilling out of windows. My misgivings scattered like caroms. I got a little swept up.

Apparently, so did Elizabeth. There was another tug on my sleeve, “Can I go for the whole summer?”

That first summer she went for three weeks. She had never been away from home that long before, and of all our kids, this is a child who loves her home. On the long drive up, she sighed nervously from the back seat. “It’s three weeks,” I smiled comfortingly at her. “If it’s great, that’s great. If it’s terrible, it’s only three weeks of your life. It’s all good.”

As the “baby” of our blended family, she is an unapologetic homebody. In a family dynamic that includes step-siblings and half-siblings, she is adored by all, and the fact that she is so much younger than the rest made them more protective of her. As a result, she was pretty sheltered, and very certain that she is loved. With immense affection, we laugh often about the time when she was about seven and she said to us, “I love our house, it’s deep in the cresses.” What she meant, I think, was that to her it was a cozy sanctuary. Considering the fact that as children of divorce, all of her sisters went back and forth between our home and that of their other parents’, this meant a lot to me, but would a kid like this do well at sleep away camp? I had serious doubts.

By design, drop off is a fairly quick affair. We helped her get her stuff set up in her bunk, took a few pictures, and said good-bye. On the drive to the house afterwards, I allowed myself to acknowledge that when I wrapped my arms around her for that farewell picture, her little body was shaking. I fought back tears and shook my head a little, shooing away the thought. Get a grip, I told myself. It’ll be fine. Alice is there.

According to the Camp WK rules, it would be a week before we could talk to her. For me, it would be a long one.

I’ll never forget that first phone call at the end of week one. I steeled myself for the possibility of tears, maybe even pleas for us to go get her and bring her home. Instead, the voice I heard was ecstatic. Speaking to us from a wall phone in the noisy dining hall, her words came out in a rush, trying to describe everything and everyone in the brief time we had.

When she said she missed us at the end of the call, I had the distinct impression that she was humoring us. She was having the time of her life.

Three weeks later, she took the bus back to New York City, and I met her at its final stop at Grant’s Tomb on the Upper West Side. It’s a long trip, and I expected her to be exhausted, maybe even a little crabby, but even the five -hour bus ride couldn’t diminish her euphoria. Once in the car she barely took a breath as she described her new friends, her counselors, and the end-of-camp banquet. She spoke passionately about the nightly campfires, the skits, even the food.

At home, as I began to unpack her suitcase, I held up a tee shirt and said, “Elizabeth, all your clothes feel...wet.”

“Yeah,” she waved her hand dismissively. “That’s how they are all the time at camp. It’s fine.”

Fine??? I looked at her with astonishment. Until then, this kid’s clothing choices were based entirely on the way fabric feels and smells! (At age 3, she once told me that her beloved, and newly washed stuffed animal smelled like “hiccups”). Clothes shopping with this child could be a tactile nightmare! Suddenly, clammy clothes are fine? I stared at her. Who are you and what have you done with my child?

She was changed, and part of it was the happiness and pride she felt for having experienced something not just new to her, but something completely separate from us. An experience she had not merely survived, but thrived in, and from this, a unique kind of confidence had taken root. For days, she talked about it non-stop, trying to describe not just the camp, but the feeling. I think eventually she understood that she’d never be able to completely share it with us, and that was okay too. It was, quite possibly, the very first thing that was just hers.

Here’s a confession: I remember hovering on the verge of smug as Will described to us how transformative the camp experience is for many kids because of its philosophy of unconditional inclusion. This was a safe and accepting place; a haven of sorts, especially for kids who struggled socially, or emotionally, or physically. At Camp WK, differences are celebrated. Let your freak flag fly! Embrace your inner weirdo and be free of the pressure to conform!

Don’t misunderstand, I’m all for social tolerance, but the thing is, Elizabeth is not painfully shy, or socially awkward. She is not handicapped in any way, physically or emotionally. She does not, fortunately, suffer from ill-health or depression. She is, in fact, a child who makes friends easily, and has a capacity for kindness and joy that is a pleasure to watch.

So, bless my little heart, I think that for just a moment there, I actually wondered if Elizabeth’s particular brand of goofball might be just a teensy bit too normal and well adjusted for camp.

It’s okay, you can laugh.

Seventh grade proved to be a difficult year all around for her. There was some of the typical friend drama, and she quit soccer, a decision that she had really agonized about. She faced a tougher academic program, and then a family crisis of sorts put us all on tenterhooks. Each of us, in our own way, became keenly aware of our helplessness. For Elizabeth, this powerlessness, combined with a tendency toward perfectionism and worrying, manifested itself in migraines. When they seemed to be occurring every day, we saw a specialist. He put her on medication, and told us to keep a journal charting what she ate, the time of onset for each headache, and any other details we thought might be relevant. Both my husband and I hated giving her the meds, but watching her grab her head and sob was worse.

That summer, there was an unexpected opportunity for her to go to camp for about four and half weeks. She was thrilled, but it all happened kind of last minute, so I couldn’t refill her meds in time and get them up there prior to her arrival, which is the rule. I got to work on remedying that situation right away, and then the craziest thing happened. She didn’t get any migraines while she was at camp. Not. A. Single. One.

They post pictures on the website every day from the day before. I don’t know how they do it, but they manage to get just about each kids’ photograph every day. I poured over the photos that summer. Every day, first thing in the morning I’d log in and there she was, unplugged from Instagram, Netflix and Snapchat, doubled over laughing, clear-eyed, tanned, and completely stress-free. When we spoke, I’d ask about her head and the question would seem to throw her for a minute…Her head? Clearly she’d forgotten she even had headaches in the past.

Perhaps Will and Sandy were right, I thought. Camp WK did have a kind of magic. All I know for sure is that it was there that she was healed. It was there that she was able to sort of unclench; to trust the universe again and just let life happen. It was there that she began, once again, to let each day unfold, and feel that everything would be okay. She was restored to us, and Camp WK was the cure.

Oh, and I should mention that my husband and I got all “bad and bougie” ourselves that summer and went to Italy while she was at camp. Just the two of us. And I don’t mind saying that we had a fabulous time. So in a way, Camp WK healed us as well.

This year, she went for the full session. She started the “I can’t wait for camp!” refrain in January, right after she had a mini camp reunion weekend with a few of her best buds who live in Manhattan, and she kept it up until the day she left, one week after school ended. When I promised to call as soon as the first week had passed, she told me, without a hint of irony, that it would just be easier if she called us when she was able. I smiled inwardly and agreed that’d be best.

She’s not the only one who has developed a bit of a lax attitude about being apart from us for most of the summer. We’re moving next month, so after I taught a few weeks of summer school, my husband and I got seriously busy packing up seventeen years and five kids worth of house. Still, I feel a little guilty; it took me almost a week and a half after she left to check the pictures.

At this point, however, I knew what I’d see: A kid in her “happy place.” A kid wearing a big sumo wrestler outfit laughing out loud, or playing tennis with American flags painted on her cheeks for 4th of July. There’s one with her eyes as wide as her grin as she navigates a ropes course, and another where her face is bathed in the orange glow of a sunset, wearing an expression that can only be described as serene.

Mostly, I think, they show a kid with her arms thrown affectionately around the shoulders of other kids. Kids from other states and other countries, who otherwise would never get to know one another. Kids who leave camp to get chemo treatments and come back (and are better this year!), kids from families who live lives of privilege and kids whose do not. Kids who cope with everything from disabilities and stress, to peer pressure and academic competition. Kids whose friendships are somehow more profound than any others, and will probably endure longer than any others.

Kids for whom this is most likely the only place and time on earth where they plan their entire day, every day. Where it’s safe to try new things and to suck at them too. Where they accept one another, and support one another through the fears and insecurity and the gracelessness of puberty. Where the coolest thing you can be, is yourself.

A place where the most awkward years of their lives are made beautiful.

A place of magic.

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