Summer Camp (Conman/ Kleinphy fic)

Chapter Six: Sadness and Swimming

After admitting his fake feelings towards Alana, Jared had had enough drama and stress for the day and decided to go take a nap. When Jared arrived back at the cabin, however, he found Connor laying in his bed, his face buried in his pillow.

"You okay, dude?" Jared asked, kicking off his sneakers. Connor didn't answer. In fact, he didn't even show any signs that he had heard Jared. Jared walked over and tapped on Connor's elbow. "Dude?" Connor peeled his face off the pillow, Jared noticed his eyes were red and puffy, like he'd been crying.

"What?" Connor asked coldly.

"I just wanted to know what's wrong." Jared gulped, taking a step back.

"None of your business." Connor growled, burying his head back into the pillow.

"Okay." Jared crawled into his own bunk, listening to Connor's uneven breathing. After a couple of minutes, Jared heard Connor mumble into his pillow.

"Zoe always wins everything."

Jared hesitated, was Connor talking to him?

"She gets good grades, has all the friends, is great at sports. She's even our parents' favorite, it's not fair." Connor said, barely audible. Jared slowly rose off the bed.

"Have you told her you feel this way?" He asked softly. Connor snorted.

"No way." He wiped tears from his face, letting out a sigh. "It's fine, I was just being dumb." Jared nodded, leaning on the top bunk.

"Do you need anything?" Jared smiled.

"Ugh, I need you to stop being so nice to me, it's disgusting." Connor scrunched up his face and stuck out his tongue, making Jared laugh.

"Okay, okay." Jared grinned, rolling his eyes. "Are you hungry? We're kinda missing dinner."

"Fuck yes, let's hurry." Connor jumped off the top bunk, not bothering with the ladder. Jared pulled on his shoes as Connor wiped his eyes, trying to make the redness go away.

"Okay, I'm ready." Connor said, giving Jared a genuine smile.

Fuck, Jared could've melted right then and there.

Jared and Connor walked silently to the cafeteria, though it wasn't awkward. Somehow it was comforting just to have Connor beside him, even if they weren't actively engaged in dialogue. However, that comforting feeling quickly faded away as they arrived at the cafeteria.

Evan, Alana, and Zoe were waiting for them at the table. Jared quickly got his food and headed over.

"Jared, why don't you sit here next to Alana and I?" Evan grinned at him, patting the seat. Jared glared at him as he plopped down his tray, watching sadly as Connor sat a couple of seats down.

"How are you feeling, Alana?" Jared smiled at her. He was genuinely concerned, she had seemed upset earlier, but he could also feel Evan's eyes burning the back of his skull and it kind of pissed him off.

"Oh, I'm all better!" Alana smiled. "It's just a game and there will be plenty of others!" Jared nodded, playing with his food with his fork. Tonight's gourmet dinner was a crusty bowl of mac and cheese with a side of suspiciously crunchy green beans.

"So we have a bit of free time after dinner." Zoe piped up, glancing around the table. "I figured we could all do something together like swimming or volleyball."

"I think I can speak for everyone here in saying that none of us want to do anything competitive." Jared chuckled. The others nodded.

"Swimming sounds fun." Evan nodded, averting his gaze when he made eye contact with Zoe.