Camp Lifeseries (Life series AU)

Chapter Eleven - Why am I like this?

4 AM.
That's what time it was when everyone was woken up by the camp leaders bursting through their doors, giving an impromptu and definitely unappreciated wake-up call. They had to be awake, dressed and at the breakfast tent by 4:30, and everyone was scrambling to get ready.

Jimmy stumbled out of his cabin, clinging onto Scott sleepily as they walked to the breakfast tent.
"Keep up lovebirds!" Joel shouted, running past them and pulling Scott's sun hat over his eyes.
"Oh, you did not..." The blue haired boy laughed, chasing after him.

"Right, listen up everyone!" Someone shouted from the front of the room. It was a different leader than the ones with them yesterday, a boy who couldn't be more than 7 or 8 years older than everyone at the camp. He had a green turtle shirt on, and striking purple eyes. "Today, we will be taking you on a sunrise hike! We'll walk from here to the top of that big hill in time to watch the sun come up!" He grinned, gesturing to the trail outside. "Everyone needs walking shoes and a jacket, quickly!"

Martyn slipped away to the bathroom, trying his best to go unnoticed. He took a slightly painful deep breath, preparing himself as he took off his shirt. He wiggled his thumb under his binder, lifting it slightly. Purple and yellowish bruises dotted the edge of where his binder was sat. He groaned, slumping against the side of the stall and pulling his shirt back on. That definitely was not a good sign.

"All good in there Martyn?" He heard Gem shout from the other side of the door.
"All good!!" He replied a little too quickly, panicking slightly as he threw his jacket back on, flushing the toilet for good measure and going to meet back up with his friends.

They began the trek in one of the large fields surrounding the campsite. Jimmy smiled as he watched Scott and Lizzie run through the grass, admiring the boy's outfit. He always dressed so well, and looked good too. Short overalls paired with a green tank top, and the most important thing to him; a red poppy friendship bracelet.

Jimmy had gifted it to him when they met at camp two years ago, as a promise to stay in contact even though they lived far away. And, what do you know, they shared their liking of the pretty red flower, as the year after that Scott had given the blonde a homemade bracelet with nearly the exact same pattern, as well as a blue and yellow one, with letter beads spelling out "PUFFERISH". Jimmy treasured those bracelets, wearing them every day, Scott too.

A flash of red and brown appeared behind a tree momentarily as Bigb and Pearl made their way into the forest. The boy stopped, grabbing Pearl's hand. It was still dark, and Bigb was nothing if not paranoid. The two paused. "Ren?" He asked cautiously, to nowhere in particular. There was some shuffling behind a nearby grove of trees, and Ren slid out from behind them.

"Uh- hey dudes!" The dog hybrid stumbled over his words slightly, appearing flustered.
"You alright man?" Bigb chuckled, walking over to him and taking his hand to lead him back onto the path. Ren only nodded, perking his ears up and looking around the group.

"How'd you end up all the way over there?" Pearl questioned. The brunette shrugged.
"Dunno, exploring?" He didn't sound entirely sure of himself.

The group continued into the forest for a minute, stopping when the purple-eyed leader, who they'd since learned was called Xisuma, shouted into the treeline.
"Hey, whoever's hiding in those trees there, I'm gonna need you to come out. You'll get lost!" He seemed satisfied as Doc slid back into the group sheepishly, glancing at Ren with a look that resembled embarrassment with possibly a bit of masked annoyance.

"Please do not climb the trees here!" Xisuma sighed, turning to his left to see Bdubs and Skizz sat halfway up a tree, offering a hand to Tango who was dangling precariously from one of the lower branches.

The leader sighed again, exasperated. These kids were really something else. It flips so quickly between feeling like he's having normal conversations with his actual friends, with kids much smarter than their years to feeling like he's babysitting a group of wild eight year olds.

It was still pretty dark out, but thay didn't have much time before the sun would start to rise, so they had to pick up the pace. Jimmy snd Scott lagged behind, chatting about random things. The blonde made Scott's heart race, and he just hoped the other couldn't see him blushing as he took his hand. Jimmy gladly accepted the touch, walking closer to his friend to let their shoulders gently brush each other.

The taller boy blushed, feeling that familiar tingle in his stomach that he always got around the blonde. He was torn between loving and hating the feeling, knowing that these things were just a casual act of friendship for Jimmy, torn between wanting to isolate himself until the feelings faded or let it all out, cry to him and hug him and tell him exactly how much he meant to him.

"Hey, we're nearly there!" Lizzie popped up beside him, pointing to the top of the hill only a few feet away. She was right, and the sun was starting to rise. Scott glanced at Jimmy, then took a deep breath. It's gonna be okay, he thought, lightly squeezing the shorter boy's hand.

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923 words

Ehehe flower husbands
And trans boi martyn my beloved- I actually live for this headcannon

- Volpe