Camp // RM

in which cassie bonds with a younger version of herself

<a/n: so obviously it's been a while since I've really updated this story properly. I want to finish it, but I'm worried there are some continuity errors. I know there are probably some that only I recognize, but if y'all see any, feel free to let me know (but be nice bc i'm sensitive). Aside from that, I hope you like this chapter! I want Cassie's story to have more layers than just a boy-meets-girl-they-fall-in-love-then-some-angst-then-sex-then-its-over story like I usually write. Let me know if you're okay with that direction!>

2012 // Cassie

"WOOOOOOH!" Lottie yelled out the window of my beat-up Nissan. Her blonde hair flew behind her in the wind. Hazel laughed and held her dark bangs against her forehead.

It was the first time the three of us were allowed to drive to camp all by ourselves. We packed up and headed out a few days after our graduation ceremony. I was happy they were having a good time and were excited for camp, but anxiety stirred in my stomach as I thought about what I'd have to tell Ryan when I saw him.

As Lottie and Hazel prattled on about their camp bucket list, my mind wandered to the folder wedged at the bottom of my suitcase. My acceptance packet from Georgetown. Back at home, my acceptance to Chapel Hill was similarly placed under my now not needed high school notebooks and folders. And my formal acceptance to Georgetown was probably in the back of a mail truck somewhere.

At the end of the day, Georgetown was the obvious choice for me. I would be able to continue to dance with my home studio in DC while in a crazy good history program that fed right into Smithsonian internships and jobs. It just... made sense. Chapel Hill's history program was good, but nowhere near Georgetown's. And job prospects there were scarce compared to DC.

My palms began to sweat and my chest rose and fell faster the more I thought about Ryan's reaction. He had been so excited when I agreed to go to Chapel Hill with him in the Fall... what would he think when I broke the news to him? Did I make a mistake? My mom told me not to choose a college because of a boy... but I still couldn't shake the feeling that I'd be happier with Ryan at a school with a slightly less intriguing history program.

I banished the thoughts- if Ryan truly cared about me the way he said he did, he'd be okay with me going after my dream of working at the Smithsonian.

We pulled up to camp just before check-in closed and dinner opened. I had received a couple of texts from Ryan on our way, telling me to drive safely and that he couldn't wait to see me. I simultaneously smiled and cringed, feeling the sick irony that I knew something that could possibly change everything.

After getting our stuff and checking in, we made our way to the cafeteria. Ryan met us halfway. As soon as I saw him, my anxiety melted away. Of course he'd be fine with everything. Even so, I didn't have to deal with it right that minute, so I decided to let it be for the time being.

"Cass!" He lifted me up off of the ground and spun me around, planting a kiss on my lips. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and squeezed him.

"I missed you," I said, nuzzling my face into the crook of his neck. He kissed the side of my head before lowering me back to the ground.

My head was no longer swimming with thoughts of how he'd respond when I dropped the bomb that I'd broken the promise I'd made to him almost a year ago.

"I missed you too, cutie," he replied, reaching out and touching my hair. "Your hair's different," he said. He was right- I'd tried to create an ombre effect, which ended in the bottom half of my hair turning a bright orange. Instead of fading up into my natural dark chocolate-colored hair, there was a distinct, uneven line where the bleach stopped. I'd toned the hell out of the ends, and eventually ended up with a less orange (but still yellow) blonde. I was in love with it.