Jay woke up with a start, sitting up straight and looking
around the cabin. Everyone else was fast asleep, leaving the boy in
a lonely and quiet room. The storm had calmed, having lasted for
the hour or so that Jay had slept. He shifted on the bed, putting
the earbuds back into his ears. He smiles at the familiarity of the
tune, laying back down to stare up at the ceiling. His eyes closed
slowly, not to sleep. Just to lay there.
Arabella lay there in a blissful sleep, head buried in the crook of
her arm and bun coming out. Her left leg was straight, brushing the
end of the bed, while her other was curved. She lay on her stomach,
breathing softly and soundly.
Logan's eyes had eventually fell shut, as his book dropped off the
front of his bed. He unconsciously turned to his side with his back
facing the other bunks as he curled into a ball. He snored lightly,
little huffs of air more than proper snores.
Ariel nodded off in her tangled mess of comforters, her phone
lighting up under the covers every once in a while before trailing
off as those she had been texting fell asleep too, leaving final
well wishes and congratulations on Ariel having finally found her
soulmate, as well as requests for pics of the two of them 'as soon
as possible!'.
Jay jumped as he heard the book drop over the sound of the
soft song playing. He rolled over, seeing Logan fast asleep and his
book on the floor. He glanced up at the clock in the room. "6:30?"
He mumbled to himself. Before he could remember what was probably
important about the time, a loud noise crackled in the speaker next
to the clock that was above the bathroom door. "It's dinner
time, campers!! Please report to the dining hall for an amazing
meal!" The speaker crackled back to its inanimate sleep. Jay
blinked.
Arabella whimpered as she woke up to such a crackle and happy
voice, rolling a bit before sitting up and stretching. "Guess we
should go..." She said, glancing around to see that only the
littlest boy was up at this point, peering over the edge of his bed
with doe-like, wide, brown eyes. She smiled.
Logan blinked awake at the sound of the speaker, pushing himself up
from where he had been curled up, his hood lazily falling over his
eyes. "mmmwhat time is it?" He asked, trying to stretch out only to
have his arms hit the top bunk.
"'dnno" Ariel said, sitting up in her mess of comforters, hair all
mussed from lying down. She detangled herself and pushed herself
out of bed, landing on her feet with a thump and stretching.
"Dinner time I suppose!" Ariel had always been quick to wake up in
the mornings, and after naps is no different.
Jay climbed down from his top bunk, standing up straight as
he touched the floor. He smiled at Logan, pulling his hood back a
bit so it wasn't over his eyes. "It's around 6:30." He hummed,
running fingers through his hair. He held the iPod and earbuds,
setting them next to Logan on the bed. He padded to the door,
slipping on his shoes. "Let's head out in a second, ah?" He
prompted with a soft smile.
Arabella nodded, sliding on her flip flops and standing. She pulled
the bottom of the tanktop down, as it had been rustled up to show
her stomach. She popped her neck, giving Logan a glance before
looking to Jay with a soft smile.
Logan sleepily leaned into the touch, before shaking his head and
blinking awake. "Hm yes. Indeed." He said, standing up quickly and
putting his ipod into his hoodie pocket, trying to regain his dark
and edgy look. "Is it still raining?" He asked, toeing his shoes
on.
Ariel pulled a pair of slip ons, jumping slightly at the sound of
Arabella's neck popping before looping her arm in Arabella's.
"Well, to dinner we go!" She chirped.
Jay opened the door, and peered out. "Not raining!" He
smiled, stepping outside and peering into the cabin at the other
three. He gave a sweet little smile, glancing around for a moment,
looking at Logan for a second too long before looking at the ground
quickly.
Arabella smiled at Ariel, padding out the door. She flicked off the
lights, leaving Logan in the dark with only the summer evening
light from the door peering over him. Jay tilted his head. "You two
go ahead, I'll wait here for this guy." He said softly, so that
Logan wouldn't hear.
"Lovely weather now!" Ariel said, walking arm in arm with Arabella.
She was content to walk in silence, enjoying being with Arabella in
nature on a lovely summer's evening.
"I'm coming, you dont need to wait my dude." Logan said, lazily
strolling out of the cabin. "I've been here before, I know the
ropes. I should be showing you, the new kid, all the ins and outs
of this place." He jokingly tossed his arm around Jay's shoulder's
lightly. "Look, Kid, y'see you gots tah know the lay o the land,
the way things around this place work." He added a garbage new york
accent that he'd picked up when listening to Newsies for a solid
week. "Othah wise, this place will eat you up and spit yah out."
Arabella hummed in agreement, walking alongside the other
girl. She looked around, eyes filled with awe as she took in the
camp. Her long legs strode at a regular pace, hair seeming to float
behind her in the summer breeze.
Jay giggled softly, reaching back with his foot to close the door
lightly. He looked up at Logan. "Guess you'll have to teach me
then, ah?" He purred, trying to keep the joke. Only now did he
notice their height differences as he stared up at the older boy
with a sweet grin.
Ariel's hair bounced as the two of them walked, her choppy red hair
bouncing at the ends.
"Of course of course!" Logan said, gesturing out towards the camp
with one hand, keeping the other around Jay's shoulders as he
started to walk, pulling the shorter boy along with him. "We're
gonna run this place, you hear me? Hooey to David and Gwen, it's
gonna be Jay and Logan from here on out. Gonna do only the fun
crafts activities, with those weird scissors that really only exist
in arts and crafts rooms that cut weird squiggles." He joked, the
accent faltering on words he'd not heard before but his point still
getting along. He didnt usually talk this much, but he had to admit
that he liked Jay's laugh.
Arabella saw the hall, swallowing hard as she saw campers
flooding in. She glanced to Ariel, then back at the dining
hall.
Jay smiled. "Anyone who threatens our authority has to... Belly
flop off the tall diving board!" He said with a soft laugh, voice
kind and joking. "Make tiny paper crowns for ourselves! No one will
test us!" He giggled again.
"Jay, baby, kiddo" Logan glanced at Jay to make sure he was still
relaxed and laughing. "You're thinkin too small. Slightly oversized
paper crowns for ourselves." He looked up and saw they were
approaching the dining hall and straightened up, taking his arm off
of Jay and shoving his hands into his pocket. "But, in all
seriousness, if you have any questions about this place I can
probably answer them. And I've my car if you want to sneak out into
town for an evening or whatever."
Ariel gave Arabella a confident smile, nodding and trying to give
the other girl- her soulmate She thought subconsciously-
some positive energy. After all, the two were destined to be, what
kind of a soulmate would Ariel be if she didnt try and give Ara
some courage.
"We could go to resturants or something?" Jay asked,
seeming really excited. When Logan had pulled away, Jay had felt
bad. Worried that he did something wrong. Did Logan not wanna be
seen with him? Jay sighed, pushing the anxiety away as far as he
could before looking up at Logan with doe-like eyes.
Arabella smiled back as the two came into the dining hall, getting
pulled into a line that was semi-long. She gritted her teeth as
people glanced at the two of them and whispered things she couldn't
hear.
"Yeah, if you want? Theres not much in town if I'm being honest.
Amazing Pizza place though." Logan shrugged. "Depends on what'd you
like." Logan looked at Jay for a moment before giving a resigned
smile. "As though I could say no to a face like that."
"Its better if you just act like they are saying nice things about
you" Ariel loudly stage whispered to Arabella. "That way they cant
tell when you hear them say vaguely homophobic statements." Ariel
pointedly stared at a small group of kids who had been whispering,
who quickly shut up as Ariel's normally bright and happy blue eyes
turned pointed and sharp. "Or be loud and boisterous and dont deal
with anything from anyone." Ariel loudly cracked her neck before
freeing her arm from Arabella's in order to pass her a meal tray.
Jay smiled with a giggle. "That sounds amazing! Breaking
rules is always super dangerous but so fun!" He froze for a second.
"I mean, I'm not a bad kid, it's just sometimes so accelerating?"
His words ended higher, though he was asking a question.
Arabella nodded, and took the tray. She glanced at the group,
before padding up and receiving mashed potatoes and some chicken on
her plate. She sighed, scampering to the table with a number seven
on it. She sat down and supped from the cup of water already
there.
"Ha, yeah I guess? If a rule is easily broken then it's probably
meant to be broken." Logan said, entering the mess hall. He put on
a broody air, he didnt really want to fraternise with most of the
other campers this year. He'd tried it last year and it failed, he
didnt want to bother this year.
Ariel got the same food and followed, happily sitting across from
Arabella. "Other people will talk, 's always how it is with new
soulmates, itsn't it." She said, resting her chin on her hand.
Jay glanced at Logan, blinking at how simply he had changed
his complete aura. The aura now made Jay almost afraid, as he
almost forgot that it was the same boy he had just been laughing
with. He fiddled with the sleeve of his jacket, since the thing was
too big and the sleeves went past his fingertips. He played with
the end of them as they got into line.
Arabella nodded. "I had two people at my school find each other and
the whole school was buzzing about it for months. It was insane."
She hummed, shifting in her chair.
"You're sweatshirts a bit big, isnt it?" Logan asked, raising an
eyebrow as he got his tray for dinner. "Hoping you'll grow into
it?"
"That sounds amazing! I was homeschooled, so i've never had
anything like that happen. Whenever my tutor comes they always have
stories from when they taught school, and my Dad's tell me their
old high school stories." Ariel said, excited to chatter.
Jay smiled as Logan spoke, giving a soft shake of his head.
"Oh, no. It was my brother's before he went off for college. Other
tha that, I like to wear big shirts and jackets. They're comfy."
Jay said as he received his tray and the line shifted forward.
Arabella nodded. "It's an interesting experience. I'm not sure if
it's good or bad, though. Kinda just... There." She hummed, taking
a bite of the mashed potatoes. She swallowed and smiled, glancing
at her tray and back up at Ariel.
Logan gave a soft hmm in response. He guessed he could see Jay's
point. He was more a fan of tight v-necks and skinny jeans
aesthetic on himself. He got vegetables and mashed potatoes. It
took a little haggling with the person dealing food to convince
them that he really didnt want any chicken.
Ariel grinned. "Yeah, I guess. I dunno, do people often get blood
dumped on them at prom? or have big confessions in the courtyard?
Or break into song in stairwells?" She joked.