Serendipity

Camp Buddies

What am I feeling? Why did my heart feel something strange? Am I falling for him?

No. No,no Jill. Jack's a BIG no-no. He's one of the pests of your life. Jack's looking at me, still smiling. He laughed. I smiled on the inside. His laugh is amusing.

"Jill? You're blushing!?" Daine said. She looked at me with a shocked expression. I tried to hide my face.

"I am not!" I said, covering my face with my hood. Suddenly she started to tickle me. I laughed so hard, I wasn't able to hold my hood anymore. I felt like the two boys were staring at me. "Daine, stop, please, I can't breathe anymore," I said, still laughing. Then I was smiling, when Daine stopped. They were all looking at me. The boys were smiling. My smile faded. I narrowed my eyes at them.

"What!?" I said,annoyed.

"You look beautiful when you're smiling," Jack suddenly said.

My heart thumped louder. I was speechless. My eyes grew big. I felt my face was turning red. He's still staring.

"Uhm, excuse me for a minute, I need get something," I said, and I ran towards the camp. I sat beside the campfire. His words were stuck in my head.

"You look beautiful when you're smiling,"

Wait.Am I, daydreaming!? No Jill, no. Stop.

But you have feelings.

SHUT UP, subconsc- whatever you are!

Subconscious mind, Jill.

You're not helping. You're confusing me.

I'm not confusing you. You're confusing yourself. I'm just telling the truth.

Excuse me? What truth?

Truth that you like Jack.

Nuh-uh. I don't like him.

Yes you do.

I don't.

YES YOU DO.

Oh whatever. I don't, okay? I don't have time to argue with you. Besides, you can't control me.

I can't control you, but you can't control your feelings, too.

I DON'T LIKE JACK!

"Who said you did?" a voice behind me said.

Oh my gosh. That went too loud.

"Hey," the voice said. I turned around, my heart beating louder and louder. It was Jack. I stared at him. It was like I was falling into the grass I was sitting on.

"Uh, hello?" he said, confused.

Suddenly I put my pissed face on.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to sound pissed.

"Your friends left me," he said, grinning.

"Excuse me? Friends? I only have one friend here, which is Daine,"

"Oh yeah. My bestfriend and your bestfriend left me," he said, emphasizing such things.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Why are you like that? It's like you hate every boy in the world," he said, his face becoming sad.

"I-it's not that I hate them. It's just that they're annoying, and they're mischievous, and---"

"Did you ever think how boys think about you?"

I stopped talking. I was silent for a moment.

"Who cares about what they think of me? I don't care. This is who I am."

He sat down beside me. I can't stop stealing glances.

"They think you're a girl who hates boys, but is most likely to be liked by boys," he said.

"Liked by boys? Ewww," I said.

"Why? Don't you like that? Girls at my school are dying for the boys to like them," he said, laughing, "and I think they're funny,"

I crossed my legs. "They're not funny. They're despicable," I said, shaking my head sideways.

"Same. You don't have to be someone else just to be liked by other people... You just need to be yourself." he said, being serious.

I noticed that suddenly there was this air of sadness around us.

"At least that's what I did. I changed everything, for one girl to love me. But it was not worth it. She left me, in pieces." he said, his eyes watering.

Suddenly my impression on him changed. He wasn't a troublemaker.

He was just a troubled boy.