Welcome To Correcamp

< t w o >

I can't tell if the hallways are closing in on me or stretching out before me. I mean, I know they aren't doing either, because, duh: physics.

I'm walking down the final stretch of the hallways before I reach the exit to the fields. I will still have to trek a moderate distance before I get to the bleachers along the football field, where my circle of friends normally spends our lunch breaks, which means I still have some time to calm my nerves. As for now, my mind is ailed by my anticipation for my reunion with Neil.

"Why are you so freaked out about seeing Neil again?" Nate asks, their hand comfortingly resting on my shoulder.

"I'm not freaking out," I insist, casting him a side glance as we slowly walk down the corridor.

"Ivy, I can feel your heart racing," they argue. They squeeze my shoulder, easing my muscle which I now realise is tense, along with the rest of me.

After a moment of hesitation, I slow my gait even more and I turn to face Nate. "I..." I start to explain, struggling to form words. My gaze drops to the floor, as if I might be able to find something there to help me speak my mind. "It's hard to explain, really..."

"Last year he seemed to come out from nowhere and suddenly he was all you ever spoke about," Nate said. I think back to meeting Neil on the bus, the corner of my mouth twitching into a smile.

"True, I... Thought fondly of him," I say.

"That's an understatement--"

"It doesn't matter," I curtly interrupt. "We got involved with each other, but it wasn't anything serious; I took it upon myself to ensure that we didn't take things further."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Nate inquires.

"Well," I start, again searching for words. "Let's just say he wanted to take things further, and make us official. I verbally agreed, but I was fully aware that I was in no ways near ready for that. Especially since I'm still closeted at home and my parents would kill me if they found out."

"They wouldn't really though, I mean how could you know?" Nate optimistically comments.

I deeply sigh. "My parents are head of the Catholic Church in town. They've raised me in the most heteronormative ways possible. They are extremely homophobic -- have you ever wondered why I've never invited everyone over to my place for a get-together even though we're rich and own one of the biggest houses in town?"

"Well, now that you mention it--"

"It's because most of the people I associate with are queer, and if my parents find out about that, they'd pluck me from this school and most likely deposit me in one of those super-Christian High Schools on the other side of town."

"Oh, okay I get it," Nate comments, looking down to his feet. I guess he's probably making a mental note to avoid the Dunnelworth family. "So then what happened?"

"What happened?" I repeat, looking down to Nate from my height of about a foot more than them. "When?"

"With Neil," Nate explains. "He wanted to take things further and you agreed, but... didn't really?"

"Oh," I catch on, looking ahead as we finally reach the exit after about four hours of walking. From the door, we can see the football field and the bleachers, where our group of friends have already gathered. To get there, we will have to follow a paved pathway, walking past groups of other students who commune alongside the path.

It's just a stretch of fields between us and the bleachers.

Is he going to be there? I mean why wouldn't he? He's looking for me, isn't he? And we've been sitting there since freshman year, so he knows where I am. Or rather where I normally am; where I'm going to be. Is he just waiting there? For me? Having a casual discussion with all my friends whilst waiting for me? I mean, yeah, he probably is; that's the Neil Pearce I know.