As soon as I know Emily’s out of earshot, I turn to Adam. 

“Don’t you hang your head like that,” I hiss at him. “Do you really think I would share anything with you after the way you treated my best friend? Seriously, it would have been better if you just kept those huge, trouty mouth lips shut.”

“Lindsay…” Noah warns me, but I ignore him.

“You might have thought that telling her the truth was the right thing to do, but it wasn’t,” I snap, shaking my head. “No girl ever wants to hear what you told her. Ever.”

Adam’s looking right at me, chewing at his lip as I stick up for my best friend, “If I could take it back, I would,” he whispers and I roll my eyes.

“Yeah?” I ask, standing up and walking towards him. I stop in front of him and even though he’s so much taller than I am, it’s him who’s intimidated, not myself. “Well it’s a little too late for that, isn’t it?”

I can hear Noah groan behind me, and I know he’s getting frustrated that I’m talking to his best friend that way.

“I know, Lindsay…” he says softly, and I notice tears begin to well up in his eyes. “I never wanted to hurt her. I would never want to hurt her. I…” he stops, rubbing the back of his neck as he lets out a groan. “I fucked up.”

“Too right you did!” I snap, but I’m stopped from saying anything else when the rest of the gang begin to come back.

All talk about what had transpired between Emily and Adam stops. Everyone begins talking and Emily even seems to warm up again a little bit to Adam.

Lucy, Mason, Cass and Nate are participating in a game of chicken, while Emily and Adam are talking quietly. I don’t know what they’re talking about but I figure that their trying to work things out.

Noah stands up and takes me by the hand to pull me off the dock, before pulling me along behind him and I try not to stumble; I’m a little bit more than tipsy and he’s walking way too fast for me to keep up.

“Where are we going?” I laugh and he turns his head to shush me. “Uh, did you just shush me?”

“Yeah, I did. Do you wanna get caught?” he asks me in a hushed whisper. “Just shut up.”

I shake my head as I laugh, and he continues to lead me along and I realise where we’re headed. We stop as we reach the water activities storage shed and he sits down with his back against the outside wall, then pulls me down to sit next him.

Our legs are stretched out in front of us and we untangle our hands from each other’s.

“Why did you bring me here?” I ask him softly, turning to look at him, and ignore the feeling of his warm hand that he has placed on my knee, his fingers tracing patterns on my bare skin.

“Figured it was a good chance to take advantage of the opportunity and find out how you’re doing,” he tells me softly, his brown eyes boring into my own.

I smile at him, “I’m doing good. I’m feeling a lot better now thanks to you guys and the girls.”

“But mainly to me right?” he laughs cockily, and I’m not sure if he’s actually being serious or not.

It’s only now that I notice his hand has made its way up to my thigh and I realise that I am mainly thankful to him. He squeezes my thigh gently and I bite my lip. The sexual tension between us is at its highest and I can’t fight it.

“You totally wanna kiss me, don’t you?” he asks me.

“Wouldn’t you know it?” I laugh, raising an eyebrow. “And I know you totally wanna kiss me too.”

He doesn’t answer and the next thing I know, his lips are on mine. The first thing I notice is how rough they are because they look as if they’d be so soft. The next thing I notice is how desperately I’m kissing him back, as if it’s the last kiss I’m ever going to have. We’re both getting breathless but we can’t find the strength to pull away. The last thing I notice is that his hand has crawled across to my other thigh, then it slowly moves up under my oversized grey shirt and rests on my hip. Before I know it, he’s guiding me so that I’m straddling his waist. I pull away and look at him, our foreheads resting against each other’s.

“This obviously means nothing,” I whisper.

He shakes his head, “Nope.”

Load of bullshit. We both know that it does mean at least something, but we’re going to pretend that it doesn’t. That way we can’t ruin the friendship we have just managed to strike up. We’re blaming this on the sexual tension that we just can’t bear anymore.

Our lips meet again in a rush and I move myself as close to him as possible, grinding myself against him. He lets out a muffled groan and I know he’s satisfied. The kiss becomes a combination of teeth and tongues and roaming hands. His hand moves under my shirt and up my back as I grip his shirt desperately while he runs his fingers down my spine. I shiver involuntarily and he wraps an arm tighter around my waist, holding me to him possessively.

The hand on my back moves to my hip and his thumb brushes along my hip bone causing me to moan against his lips. I can feel myself begin to burn at his touch and abruptly pull away, trying to calm my rapid breathing.

We look at each other in silence for a moment before he speaks, “You’re not… you have… um… you-”

“Oh my God, please do not ask me if I’ve ever had sex before,” I groan once I have semi composed myself. “Does it seem like I’m a virgin to you?”

“I…” he begins, but I cut him off once again.

“Noah, I’m not my friends. No offense to them,” I tell him, before pressing my lips to his quickly. “I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with it or with them, but I am not a virgin. For one thing, I wouldn’t know what I’m doing, tipsy or not, and two, I wouldn’t be going this far.”

He lets out a chuckle and kisses my neck, “Alright, okay. I was just checking. You stopped so suddenly so I thought-”

“What? That I don’t wanna do this?” I ask him, quirking up an eyebrow. “Noah, I wanna do this, just… not here out in the open. When they notice that we’re gone, which they will, they’re gonna come looking for us and I don’t particularly wanna get caught in the act. Those girls are like my sisters and if they saw us… I’d die. They’d die. Especially Goose.”

We kiss again quickly, hurriedly, missing the feeling of our lips moving together.

“Where do you suggest, then?” he asks me as I pull myself away from him.

I reluctantly stand up, holding my hand out to him to pull him up.

“You know how to pick a lock?” I ask as he gets to his feet, almost crashing into me.

“Why, what were you thinking?” he asks me with a smirk, pulling me to him and pressing a kiss to my cheek. “Breaking into the storage shed and doing it in there?”

“No shit.” I laugh as I pull away. “Where would you suggest?”

“I dunno…”

“Of course you don’t,” I shake my head in disbelief at him. Do I have to think of everything? “So do you know how to pick a lock or not? Because if you don’t, you seriously suck.”

“No, I don’t,” he tells me with a frown and I can tell I’m bruising his ego. “Do you know how to pick a lock, genius?”

“As a matter of fact,” I start, before pulling the bobby pins from my bangs and blowing them out of my eyes, “I do.”

“Oh, okay sparky. Show me what you got,” he tells me, sweeping his arm out to the door of the shed, indicating for me to work my magic.

“Sparky?” I ask him as I begin to fiddle with the bobby pins in the lock, my tongue darting out to the side of my mouth in concentration. It’s kind of difficult to do it in the dark.

“What? You fire up easily,” he explains with a shrug once I get the lock picked and turn to him as the shed door swings open. “It’s like… one spark and KABOOM! There’s the fire. That’s all it takes, one spark.”

“Awww, so you have a nickname for me?” I coo as we enter the storage shed, closing the door over slightly but not completely.

“Yep,” he nods, before pulling me closer to him, our bodies pressed up tightly against each other. “Why, don’t like it? ’cause if it is I can always call you something like… loser.”

“Loser? Really?” I ask with a laugh as he runs a hand up and down my thigh. “What, are we in grade school?”

“Like you could come up with anything better,” he challenges.

“You know, I think I like you better when you’re not talking,” I inform him, disregarding his statement.

He chuckles at me and I grin, “Shut me up, then, Sparky.”

I don’t need telling twice and my lips are back on his, giggling as I push him back gently and he falls backwards into one of the canoes. In a second, I’m straddling his waist again, my hands placed on his shoulders for support. Our lips find each other’s again with guidance from the slither of moonlight beaming through the small gap of the semi closed door.

His hands slide deliberately slowly over the tops of my thighs and up to my waist, gently massaging the bare skin of my hips under my shirt. I yearn for more and slide my hands down from his shoulders to his chest, then all the way down to the band of his swimming trunks, my fingers in desperate search for the draw strings.

It’s getting hot and heavy really quickly, however it doesn’t feel quick enough.

“Wait…” Noah murmurs suddenly, pulling away and moving his hands to my wrist.

“What for?” I whisper, looking at him dead-panned.

“I don’t have…” he begins and I shake my head, knowing what he’s about to ask.

“It’s okay. I’m on the pill,” I explain to him before pushing my lips back to his in desperation.

We leave and bring our girls back to the cabin, telling them they can do what they like, before we enter our room of the cabin and sit on my bed.

“So…” Cassie begins and I know what she’s going to ask and I give her a pointed look.

“Go on, ask it,” I tell her.

She gives me a sly smile, “So what’s the deal with you and Noah?”

I sigh and give in, I know I may as well just tell her. “We’ve reached an…. understanding. We’re friends now…”

“Was that before or after he followed you out of the mess hall?” she asks.

“After,” I tell her. “Look, I know you want to know why I just upped and left, so I’ll just tell you. I’m just a bit bummed about this acceptance to TISCH because my parents aren’t here with me and I wish they were. I just need to cry about it, and I did. And Noah, well… he listened to what I had to say and we’re… we’re good. we’re friends.”

Cass nods in understanding then grins, “Just friends?…”

I hit her with a pillow, “Yes, just friends.”

Cass laughs back, “Well, that’s good.” We fall into a silence before Cass speaks again. “You know, I was actually kind of surprised when he followed you out, if I’m being perfectly honest.”

“Oh, really?” I ask, cocking me head to the side. “Why’s that?”

“Well… I thought it would have been Nate…” she admits with a sort of sad look on her face. “I mean, you guys are so close already. I just thought it would have been him.”

I watch her as she says this and I realise that she has a bit of a crush on him, “You like him, don’t you?”

“Is that obvious?” she laughs slightly, scratching at her arm, a trait that I’ve realised she does every time she’s nervous or unsure about something.

“Hey, it’s totally okay,” I encourage her with a smile. “He’s a good guy. Not to mention totally cute. Those brown eyes are just too adorable.”

We talk a little bit more about Nate and boys until I realise that we had agreed to meet up with the girls later on after lights out, and that’s when I get a text. From the ringtone, I know it’s Emily and laugh. 

“Speak of the devil,” I say, before reading over the text which tells her that Emily knows her about her stash of alcohol and asks her to bring it with her when they go. “Well, tonight’s going to be fun! You’ll need to help me smuggle out this alcohol.”

“What have you got?” Cass asks me, leaning forward in excitement. 

I laugh and grin, “Tequila, vodka and some wine coolers. I’m all set!”

Emily decides that she’s not hungry and leaves the table, and I decide not to follow her. She needs time to herself, time to breathe, and I totally understand that.

I’ve finally come down from my excitement about being accepted into TISCH, the main dancing program that I really truly wanted to be accepted into, and now I feel kind of shitty and sad. The girls keep noticing that I’m being awfully quiet and that I’m barely eating during dinner.

“Oz, seriously, this is scaring me. First Emily, now you,” Lucy speaks up. I don’t look at her, afraid that, if I do, the tears that are beginning to burn behind my eyes will fall. She continues. “You’re acting so OOC right now. What’s going on with you?”

I let out a sigh and shake my head, looking up when I’m sure the tears have been pushed back far enough. “I’m fine, Luce. I’m just… I’m not really hungry. I think I might go for a walk.”

“No, Linds. Not until you tell us what’s going on,” Cass tells me, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder to which I shake off.

“Nothing,” I tell her softly.

Lucy looks at me with sadness, “Lindsay, pl-”

“I said I’m fine, Lucy!” I yell out a little more loudly than I had intended and I notice people from around the mess hall looking over to our table. I ignore the looks, especially the extreme look of happiness spreading its way across Chelsea’s face. I shake my head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. I just need to get out of here. I need air.”

“At least let one of us come with you,” Lucy tells me. “You probably shouldn’t be alone. We’re worried about you.”

“You don’t need to be, alright?” I say softly as I stand up. “I just want to be left alone for a little bit. Please accept that and respect it.”

I don’t wait for them to answer and walk away from the table. As I do, from the corner of my eye I notice the guys watching me intently, especially Noah and even Nate, who I have quickly become close with; close enough with to know that he got his first set of stitches when he was only seven months old after his aunt Monica smacked his head into the corner of a wall whilst bouncing him.

I hurry out quickly, taking a detour to my cabin to fish out my acceptance letter before making my way down to the dock. I take my flip flops off before I sit down and put my feet into the chilly water. It’s still light enough out to be able to read over the letter again, even though the sun has long gone.

The tears burn my eyes again and this time I don’t fight them. I let them fall and before I know it, I notice splotches on the paper in my hands. I close my eyes and take a deep breath of the fresh camp air into my lungs, and as I release it, I feel a presence beside me. I open my eyes as the person sits down next to me and as I look up to see who it is, I let out my breath.

“Oh. Hi,” I say softly, turning my head back to look out onto the horizon as I wipe away the tears.

“Hey,” he greets back, still looking at me. “You okay?”

I sniffle and let out a shaky breath. As much as I want to be left alone, I’m glad I’m not. I’m also glad that the girls listened to me. I’m even glad that, out of everyone who could have followed me, it was Noah. I look back to him and notice the genuine concern written all over his face. I look down at the letter that’s starting to tremble in my hands then decide I might as well show him, so I hand it to him before playing with my fingers in my lap.

It’s quiet between us as he reads over the letter and I can see from the corner of my eye that a smile is playing on his lips. He finishes reading it before handing it back to me.

“So these are happy tears then, right?” he asks me expectantly and I shake my head.

“No,” I whisper and then look at him. “They’re mixed tears.”

He nods. “Look, I know we can hardly get along, but you can talk to me. I promise I won’t hold what you tell me against you.”

I purse my lips together quickly before silently agreeing to him. I go into the story about how my parents both died in a horrific car accident when I was younger and see the sudden look of sympathy on his face. I tell him how even though I have my brothers and Jules, I still feel an emptiness inside my heart.

“I just wish I could share this news with them, you know?” I tell him, choking back on a sob. “I want… I want them to be there when I graduate from high school next year. I want them at all my dance showcases. I want my dad…I want him to w-walk me down the aisle on my wedding day and for my mom to tell me that it’s perfectly okay to have cold feet when I’m on the verge of calling the whole thing off. I want them there when I give birth to my first child and when th-that beautiful child goes through all of their milestones. I want… I want to experience all of those th-things with my parents there by my side, but I’m not… I’m not going to get that. I am never going to get that, Noah, and it hurts. It kills me.”

He listens to me spill my guts and not once does he have something snarky to say. His hand finds mine and I surprise us both when I don’t pull my own hand away. Instead, I wean my fingers through his, scooting over a little closer to him and he squeezes my hand. His hand is a lot bigger and warmer than mine is and I can feel that warmth spread throughout my whole body.

We sit there for a moment and then he lets my hand go. I’m a little surprised and feel a little hurt, but that quickly disappears when he slings a comforting arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side. I lean into him with my head against his chest as I cry and he presses a firm kiss to the top of my head. He takes my free hand with his own, running his thumb over my knuckles.

It’s in this exact moment that I realise we’re actually, finally, friends. Not acquaintances, but real friends. That isn’t to say that we won’t still constantly bicker to no end, though, because we both know that we will. And that’s okay because there are now no more feelings of hate between us.

“So, I guess this make us… sort of… maybe, kind of… friends?” he asks me, and I smile smally before nodding.

“Yes. I was just thinking that very same thing,” I tell him, before pulling away from him. “So… we should probably go back… dinner’s almost over and I’m sure everyone’s wondering where we are.”

He nods in agreement before standing up, offering his hand to me which I take. As we walk back to the mess hall, I can’t help but smile.

As we enter get to the entrance of the mess hall, we share a looking before going our seperate ways to our own tables. When I sit down, Emily is back and she looks at least a little better.

Family day is now over and I’m in the parking lot with Dan, Jules and Kev. I have to admit that I’m really sad that they’re leaving.

“Chin up, chooken,” Dan tells me, wrapping me up in a big hug and kisses the top of my head. “I know you really need us around right now, but you have three amazing friends here with you. And mom and dad are watching down on you with the proudest smiles on their faces.”

I look up at him and nod. “I know,” I tell him. “I’m fine. Honestly. I’m just… I wish I had a little bit more time with you guys.”

“So do we,” Jules cuts in, pulling me into a hug and kisses my cheek. “We’re so proud of you, Linds.”

“Thanks, J,” I smile before turning to Kev. “See you later, turd.”

“Bye, shit head,” he laughs, giving me a fist bump. “As soon as you get home, we have some serious pranks to pull.”

“Deal,” I tell them.

And that’s it. They’re in the car and they’re driving off and I let out a sigh. I decide to head down to the lake and seek out Zack.

“Hey! Shouldn’t you be watching for people in trouble, and not perving on every blonde in sight?” I say as I come up behind him.

He laughs and turns around, “Hey, Linds. How was seeing your family?”

“Amazing,” I grinned. “I didn’t realize how much I missed them this past week until now.”

“Anything in particular happen?” he asks.

“Well, you know how I told you about that TISCH program?” I watch as he nods. “I got in!”

“That’s fantastic!” he tells me, spinning me around. “You’ll knock ‘em dead.”

“Hells yeah!” I laugh. “I totally plan on it.”

We talk for a little bit more and then I remember how I’d told the girls I’d meet them at dinner. It’s ten minutes away from dinner now so I rush away to meet them.

I turn to face Lindsay to congratulate her again, but this time the expression on her face is anything but happy.

I scrunch my nose in confusion.

“You okay, Oz?” I ask.

“Huh?” she responds automatically, snapping out of a daze.

“Are you okay?” I repeat, offering her a Cheez-It.

She shakes her head to decline my offer. “Yeah, I’m fine.” she responds.

I nod my head to show I understand, but I know her and deep down inside something tells me she’s lying. I say nothing and decide to let it go.

As Lucy and her siblings get into a playful fight, I zone out. I find myself wishing that my parents were here. I know she knows that I’m lying, but she’s not pushing it, and for that I’m thankful. I put a fake smile on my face.

“So, I’m still hungry,” I tell them, wanting to get away for a little bit. “I’m gonna go see if there’s anything good left to eat. Does anyone want anything?”

They all shake their head no except for Dan who says he’ll come with me. We leave the table and he slings an arm around my shoulder as we walk away, and kisses the top of my head.

“Mom and dad would be so proud of, chook,” he tells me and I nod.

“Yeah, I know,” I tell him sadly. “I just really miss them sometimes.” 

I can feel tears burning behind my eyes but I won’t let them fall. I shake my head and put a smile on my face. “I just can’t believe I actually got accepted.”

“Are you kidding?” he laughs, “As if you wouldn’t! You’re amazing, Lindsay.”

I crinkle my nose, “Ugh, okay. Enough of the mushy crap.”

We continue to talk on the way to the dining hall, but when we notice the line, we look at each other and shake our heads.

“Fuck that,” we say at the same time, and I laugh.

“Jinx!” we again say at the same time, and this time I shove him. “Shut up.”

He laughs at me and we play around for a bit, when I notice Noah walking over towards us.

“Looking good, O’Neil,” he tells me with a smirk and I roll my eyes. 

“Don’t you have someone else to annoy?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Nah, if he annoys you then he’s leaving us alone,” Mason says as he and the other two walk towards us.

“You guys suck,” I tell them all, before turning to Dan. “Dan, this is Mason, Nate, Adam…” I tell him, pointing to each one, before turning to Noah, “And this is the pain in my side, Noah. Guys, this is my brother.”

They all talk a little and I roll my eyes. They’re talking about football and as much as I love it, I don’t want to listen to it. I turn on my heel and walk back to the table.

“Ugh, he’s such a shit head!” I groan, plopping down at the table.

“Who, Dan?” Jules asks.

Emily looks in the direction of the boys and waves them over to come and talk. “No, she means Noah.”

“And Noah is which one?” Jules asks.

“None!” I all but shout, glaring at Emily. “Shut up.”

emily—-grace:

I took my parents on a relatively short tour of the camp. I’d been attending this camp for over 10 years and not much has changed in that time so I decided to just introduce my family to the music instructors.

Upon entering the music hall it was quite clear that it was a popular spot for the…

We’re almost done with lunch before I spot a large envelope in Lindsay’s grasp.

“What’s that you got there?” I ask trying to spy the return address label.

Just as I suspected all day, Emily instantly notices the envelope in my hand, and I can see her trying to get a glimpse at the return address.

“Oh, you mean this…” I begin, before turning the envelope around to show her the front of it.

“Is that…” she stammers, her eyes widening, before she turns to Lucy and Cass. “Luce, Cass. Come over here a sec,” she tells them, and the girls instantly rush to our table. 

“What is it?” Lucy asks, before I hold the envelope up.

“TISCH?” Cass asks, cocking her head to the side, as Lucy bites her lip in anticipation. “That school in New York you want to get into for dance?”

“The one and the very same,” I grin widely, before ending the suspense. “I got in, baby! I’m going to New York! I’m going to TISCH!”

I can see faces turning to look at us, and I can hear my family laughing their asses off, but I don’t care. I’m too excited to care.

The girls all scream in reaction and I find three bodies flinging themselves at me, almost pushing me off the bench.

“I’m so proud of you!” Lucy laughs, pulling away first, before Cass and Emily do the same.

“So am I!” Emily nods, her eyes lighting up. “So so proud of you. We knew you could to do it. They would have been crazy to have said no!”

“Congrats!” Cass tells me, giving me a high five. 

“Thanks guys,” I grin. I’m so thankful for all the support from Lucy and Emily, and although Cass and I only just met, we’re getting pretty close already and I’m grateful for the support from her, as well. “You guys honestly have no idea how much that means to me. All the support and most of all, your friendship.”

Day seven outfit- Family Day

It’s day 7 of week one, and we all know what that means. FAMILY DAY! Everything’s crazy. All the campers are flitting around their cabins, making sure their areas are clean and their bunks are made. It brings back a lot of memories.

“Looking good, girls!” I hear Cass encourage them from their area while I’m doing my make up in our room mirror.

I’m dressed in my black and white bikini, grey tube playsuit and silver Havaiana’s, and I’m keeping my make up simple. Tinted moisturizer, clear mascara and a little dab of mint flavored lip balm. My hair is soft curls in a ponytail to the side, and my brown tinted aviator sunglasses are perched on the top of my head.

I’m satisfied then make my way to the girls and notice the place looking spotless. “Good job, girls! Now let’s go wait out the front of the cabin for our families. I’m sure Tim or Joan will be here any second to let us know.”

The girls all cheer and we walk out to the front of the cabin where sure enough, Tim is walking towards our cabin.

“Yeah yeah, we know the drill,” I smile at him when he approaches us. “Have fun, but remember camp rules still apply.”

Tim laughs at me, “I guess you don’t need me then. Have a nice morning with your families, girls. In two hours we will be meeting at the mess hall for lunch. There will be an outdoor area set up outside for the overflow.”

“Aye aye, captain,” Cass and I salute him at the same time then watch as he leaves.

One by one, each girls’ family members arrive and I laugh at all their giddy excitement. The last family members to arrive are Cassie’s and she sets off on her way to show her family around and then, of course, it’s my own.

Dan, Jules and Kevin don’t have a chance to reach the cabin because I’m already running full speed towards them. I all but fling myself at Dan, jumping into his arms in laughter as I wrap my arms around his neck tightly and my legs around his waist.

“Hey, chooken,” he laughs, hugging me back tightly.

I jump down from him before turning to Jules and giving her a tight hug, then ruffling Kevin’s hair.

“I’ve missed you guys so much, you have no idea!” I tell them giddily.

“Yeah, but we haven’t missed you,” Kevin jokes, and at the same time, Jules and Dan both smack him upside the head. “Hey! I was just kidding!”

“Yes, but it wasn’t very funny,” Jules tells him with a smile, and I know she’s trying to hold back her laughter.

“It’s okay,” I tell them, before looking to Kevin, “I wasn’t talking to you anyway. I haven’t missed your stinky little butt at all.”

We chatter for a few moments about how things at home are going but then Jules leads Dan to change the subject to a more exciting topic.

“Dan, honey, are you forgetting something?” she asks, pointing to the back pocket of his jeans.

“Oh, shit, right!” he nods and I furrow my eyebrows in confusion when he pulls out a large white semi folded envelope and holds it out to me. “Here, this came in the mail for you the other day.”

“What is it?” I ask, taking it from him.

“Have a look,” Kevin tells me with a cheeky grin and I get a nervous pounding in my chest. I think I may know what it is.

“Oh my God… is this…” I begin, too afraid to look. “Is this from TISCH?”

Jules grins at me and that’s when I know.

I let out an excited squeal and stare at the front of it.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Dan asks, standing behind me and places his hands on my shoulders. “Open it!”

“I don’t…” I start. I’m torn. I really want to open it because I’m pretty sure I know what it’s going to say, but I also want to open it with the girls. “I wanna wait for the girls…”

“Then wait for them,” Jules smiles, but I shake my head.

“But I also wanna open it now,” I say, before giving in. “Oh, screw it!”

I turn the envelope over in my hands and carefully open it, pulling out its contents. I read the top letter and my eyes open widely.

Miss Lindsay O’ Neil,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the early urban dance program on a complete scholarship…

And that’s as far as I get. I don’t need to read anymore. I let out an extremely loud scream of excitement, totally aware of my family flinching and the weird looks from families and campers passing by but I don’t care. This is it. This is the main program I wanted to get into, the main program that I worked myself to exhaustion for and it was totally worth it.

“I got in!” I grin widely; so wide in fact that I can feel my cheeks start to hurt. I break into song as I give a little happy dance. “I got in, I got in, I got in. I’m going to New York. New York, New York! Ahhhhh! Bring it on, baby!”

The girls are going to have to wait to find out my news. I’m too excited and need to celebrate with my family!

camphaywardrp:

Today is family day! In one hour we’ll be opening the gates for your families to come and spend the day. I expect everyone to follow camps rules and enjoy your day.

That is all.

Busted. That’s the first thing that goes through my head.

“Hi, Zack…” I walk towards him, holding my hands out defensively in front of me. Lucy, Emily and Cassie mirror my action.

“Don’t you know it’s-” he begins but I jump in before he can get out the full sentence.

“Rude to eavesdrop. I know,” I tell him before furrowing my eyebrows together. “How did you know we were there?”

He laughs, “Lets just call it gut instinct.”

“You’re more like Dan than I thought,” I shake my head, voicing my thought. “We’re sorry for eavesdropping.”

“Like, really sorry,” Emily tells him and he waves a hand in dismissal.

“Like, really really sorry,” I confirm with a nod. “I was just concerned.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he says. “You’re good.”

From behind me, I hear Lucy release a sigh of relief and resist the urge to laugh. She seriously needs to learn to chill out a bit sometimes.

“Good,” I nod with a grin. “Just so you know, I’m on your side. He shouldn’t take his frustrations out on you. That’s not fair.”

Zack simply shrugs in response, “I’m a big boy, Linds. Pretty sure I can handle whatever the punk throws at me.”

I step closer to him, close enough that when I speak quietly, only he can hear me, “I know, but don’t do anything stupid.”

He shakes his head, “No worries. I’m not gonna get all gung ho over it.”

“Just make sure you don’t,” I tell him, feeling protective over him as I would with Dan.

“I won’t,” he grins, slinging his arm over my shoulder.

I turn to face the girls who have confused looks on their faces before realizing I’ve been extremely rude and have yet to introduce him to Cassie.

“Oh shit,” I get out. “Zack, this is Cassie. She’s my new co-counsellor. Cass, this big teddy bear here is Zack. He’s one of the lifeguards here. Well, obviously.”

Cassie smiles and they shake hands, and exchanging pleasantries.

“Anyway, we should probably get back,” Lucy says. “Free roam ends in ten minutes.”

“Oh, right. Yeah,” I nod before turning back to Zack and giving him a quick hug. “See you later!”

He and the girls all say goodbye and we begin to walk back to the boys. On the way, we’re stopped by Chelsea.

“Wow, Lin-Lin,” she sneers. I hate that nickname. Especially coming from her mouth. It was all well and good when we were kids and we were friends, but it’s a different story now.

I groan and roll my eyes, “Chelsea. What can I do for you?”

She shrugs, “Nothing. I was just saying to Annie it’s crazy how cozy you and that Zack guy looked. I’m pretty sure he’s way too good for you.”

“What are you yapping on about? One, me and Zack are just friends, and two, what? You think he’s better suited to you?” I challenge, crossing my arms over my chest. “If that helps you sleep at night then keep believing that blatant lie.”

I don’t wait for a response. Instead, me and the girls walk right past her and Annie.

“Who was that?” Cassie asks us.

“Queen Bee, wicked witch of the West, the bane of Lindsay’s existance…” Emily offers

Cassie simply nods. “Oh.”

My ears perk up, trying to hear what’s being said, but I’m having trouble understanding exactly what is being said with the both of them talking over the top of each other. My eyes are focused on Zack seeing as I’m concerned about him. Remember that pull I felt towards him last night because of how he reminds me of Dan? Well, that’s why.

Nate’s trying to snap me back to reality but I’m not really listening. I’m not intentionally ignoring him and I hope that he knows that. I can’t help it, I’m seriously concerned about what’s going on. They were getting along last night so I can’t understand what’s with the sudden turn around.

I snap out of my thoughts and turn to Nate, “Sorry.”

“No worries,” he smiles. “You okay?”

I go to open my mouth to respond when I realised everyone else has swum to us.

“What the heck is going on over there?” Cassie asks.

Emily shrugs. “No idea…”

“Whatever’s going on, I’m gonna go find out,” I tell them. “I’ll catch you guys later?”

Lucy shakes her head, “We’ll come too.”

I nod before swimming ahead of the group, anxious to find out what’s happening.

Day four free roam outfit

Nothing more is really said about it after that and I find myself getting bored. I still need to introduce Cassie to our campers and I take this window of opportunity to do so.

“As much as I hate to love you and leave you, kids, I need to love you and leave,” I inform them before turning to Cassie, “I’ll introduce you to our campers.”

“Oh yeah, sure,” she nods enthusiastically before turning to the others. “Nice meeting you.”

An echo of ‘nice to meet you too’ was heard around the table as me and Cassie stood up.

“We’ll meet you guys later,” I say to them. “Half an hour at the lake.”

They all agree before me and Cassie leave.

We find the girls hanging out at a picnic table having a discussion about the boys they find cute. I introduce them to Cassie and we talk to them for a while. We get asked where Peta is and we inform them that she had to leave. We stay and chat with them a little bit longer before parting ways with them.

When we get back to the cabin we change into our swimsuits before walking down to the lake. We get there and everyone’s in the water swimming, while Noah’s sitting on the dock. I walk up behind him quietly and signal to the others to be quiet. As I go to push Noah in, Mason lets him know I’m there and Noah grabs my legs and pulls me in with him.

I squeal as my body hits the water and as I come out from under the water, I punch him in his extremely well-toned chest.

“She’s gone,” I tell them, taking a bite of my apple.

“What do you mean she’s gone?” Lucy asked me.

“I mean she’s gone as in she’s gone,” I say before informing them of the night prior. “I woke up in the middle of the night last night and she wasn’t in bed, her bed was made, her stuff was gone and she left me this…”

They watch me curiously as I pull a note out from my shorts pocket and hand it to Emily and she reads it out loud in a hushed tone.

Linds, here’s my number. I wanted a way out and a way out I got. Call me or text me any time. If you smack Queenie’s pretty little face in, let me know ASAP. Better yet, get someone to video it. Also, don’t forget what I said. I give you and Noah a week or two. If it happens you owe me $50. Love ya.

“I wanted a way out and a way out I got?” Lucy asks, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What does that mean?”

I shrug. “No idea. I didn’t even know she didn’t wanna be here…”

“Still, it’s pretty strange. Is there anything you can think of that was strange?” Emily asks me.

“Well… there was one thing that was strange…” I begin. “I think it might have something to do with one of the staff here. I can’t really talk about it ‘cause there’s so many people around. I’ll tell you later.”

“Fair enough,” Lucy nods, and Emily agrees.

We sit there in silence as we continue to eat breakfast. I’m halfway threw my bottle of orange juice when Joan approaches us.

“Good morning ladies,” she smiles softly before looking to me. “Lindsay, when you have a spare moment, there’s something I need to discuss with you.”

I nod, swallowing my juice, “Sure. I have a spare moment now. Has this got to do with Peta?”

“Yes,” Joan tells me. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

She walks away and I look to the girls, “Well, I guess I’ll see you guys in a bit.”

I stand up and walk outside in the direction that Joan walked in. When I get outside I notice that Tim is also there and I’m a little worried.

“Lindsay,” Tim greets me with a curt nod and I give him a small smile.

“What’s going on?” I ask them.

“Unfortunately, Peta has been asked to resign as camp counselor…” Joan starts but I cut her off.

“But why?” I stress. “Did something happen? She didn’t… I mean, did she do something?”

“We have been approached by a few staff members with certain accusations that are too extreme to ignore,” Tim tells me. “We take all reports of sexual harassment very seriously, and unfortunately, action had to take place.”

“Oh,” I say simply and in my head I put two and two together.

“For that reason, we had to ask her to leave. We have called for a replacement co-counselor and she will be here this afternoon,” he continues when he realizes I have no other questions. “Will you be alright taking care of Peta’s group as well? If need be, we can assign another staff member until Cassie arrives.”

I nod, “Sure, yeah. No, I can handle it.”

We finish our discussion and I walk back into the mess hall, sitting back down at our table.

“Well?” Emily asks me.

“Oh my God. You are not going to believe what happened…”

Day four outfit