Camp Revolutionary: Tomorrow They'll Be More Of Us [COMPLETE]

Chapter 11

"Uh, Aaron?" said Alex. "Why did you just fall out of a tree?"

"It's 2am. I thought you weren't even coming back to camp this year," John said, slightly annoyed that Aaron had to make his entrance during his and Alex's special moment.

"H-hey, guys," Aaron said, standing up, face completely red out of embarrassment. "Didn't think I'd run into anyone tonight," he muttered, silently cursing his now-twisted ankle.

"Why don't you have a seat and tell us exactly what's going on here," John said, patting the blanket. He wasn't about to have his night ruined without a good explanation.

Aaron awkwardly limped over and plopped down on the blanket next to them.

"What do you mean?" he said nervously, scratching his neck and looking down. "Nothing's going on."

"Hold up," said Alex, equally annoyed as John, "you didn't come back to camp without an explanation, you've been avoiding any kind of contact with all of us since May, and you just fell out of a tree at 2am. I think you have some talking to do."

"I just didn't want to come back, okay?" he said, picking at the grass. "I, uh, I got a summer job."

"I know for a fact that you worked at a cafe down here last summer," John said. "What was the problem with returning to that job?"

Aaron sighed and put his face in his hands.

"Wait, did something happen with you and Theo?" Alex asked. "She's been kinda distant from us, too."

Aaron slowly nodded his head.

"What happened?"

"I- I was stupid, and she broke up with me in May," he muttered. "I don't hang out with many people here other than her, so I took my name off the registration in May. I didn't want things to be awkward."

"What stupid thing did you do?" Alex laughed. "It couldn't have been that bad."

Aaron looked up and glared at him.

"Not that bad?" he said. "Not that BAD? She hasn't said a single word to me since we broke up. She blocked me on everything. I tried to go to her house to talk to her about it but she refused to see me." He shook his head. "Not that bad, huh?"

Alex and John exchanged nervous glances. Theo was just about the most caring and understanding person they knew. It must've been really bad for her to do all that.

"What'd you do?"

Aaron took a deep breath and kept his eyes focused on the ground.

"In May, she had a pregnancy scare," he said. "But it was a false positive. I thought it was real, though," he said, shaking his head. "And instead of supporting her through it, I was stupid. And I kind of ghosted her and stopped responding."

John and Alex looked at each other as Aaron continued.

"About a week later, she texted me saying it wasn't real," Aaron continued. "And I responded telling her thank god and that I was sorry I stopped responding, but then she texted me saying we were done, because she didn't want to be with someone who would react like that." He looked up, tears brimming his eyes. "I can't say I blame her," he sniffled. "I was just really scared and unprepared and I didn't know what to say or do. Which I know isn't an excuse at all," he added quickly. "I just wish I could go back and change what I did. I came here because I thought that maybe she'd be willing to talk to me this time."

John leaned forward and gave Aaron a tight hug.

"I understand why you did that," Alex said quietly. "It's a terrifying thing, thinking you're going to be a parent before you're ready. And the stigma society has about kids born out of wedlock and teen parents- well, that certainly doesn't help at all," he admitted. "I've never had a scare like that before. And I really don't think I'm going to," he said, smiling and glancing at John. Alex turned back to Aaron. "But if she really WAS pregnant, she'd need you more than anyone else."

"Alex is right," John agreed, letting go of the hug. "Parenting is scary as shit. No one's truly prepared for it. But the last thing any kid needs is to grow up without a parent."

"It could make them feel unwanted and unstable," Alex added. "And it puts a lot of stress on the other parent, having to raise the kid, take care of the house, and make enough money to support a family."

"I know she's not really pregnant," John said. "But if she were, I think you'd be a great dad." He put his hand on Aaron's. "Theo doesn't expect you to be perfect. She just wants you to be there for her and care about your future. And the fact that you realize and admit that you were wrong for that reaction and came all the way back to a camp that you're not even enrolled in just to tell her that says a lot about you."

Aaron smiled as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"I guess so," he said. "I'm just really scared that she won't listen."

"Well, why don't we help you?" said Alex. "We'll ask Theo to hang out tomorrow, and maybe if you 'coincidentally' show up, she'd be willing to talk. And if it goes well, maybe you could talk to Washington about re-enrolling." He paused. "Even if it doesn't go well, you should talk to him about it."

Aaron nodded slowly.

"That's probably our best bet," he said. "Thank you guys so much," he continued, looking up and smiling at the two. "I'm sorry if I barged in on you. I swear I didn't mean to fall out of the tree."

John smiled sleepily.

"Lucky for you, I was just awake enough to have this conversation," he said. "But now I really need to go to bed."

The three stood up.

"Thanks so much, guys," Aaron said, smiling. "Tell me where to meet you all tomorrow, okay?"

Alex and John nodded.

"Wait, where are you staying?" Alex asked as Aaron started to turn away.

"Oh, some guy named Connor caught me hanging out here yesterday. His room has two extra beds, so he's letting me sleep there."

Alex and John smiled at each other.

"What?"

"We know Connor," Alex said. "He's a good guy. I'm glad he took you in."

Aaron smiled.

"I am too," he said. "Thank you guys again so, SO much. See you tomorrow?"

"Yep!"

John and Alex waved to Aaron as he went towards the cabins.

"Too tired for the picnic tonight?" Alex asked as John nodded off on his shoulder.

"Yeah," John said sadly. "I'm really sorry. It was so, SO sweet for you to plan all this. Could we maybe do it again another time?"

Alex nodded and smiled at the sleepy and adorable boy on his shoulder. He kissed his forehead.

"Of course, my love," he said. Alex gathered everything back into his basket and picked up John bridal style to carry back to their cabin.

"Night, Alex," John said, with his last bit of consciousness.

"Goodnight, John," Alex said, smiling softly. "I love you."