AN: Kind of a long one! Worth it!

The end of June was a blur of campfires, races, s'mores, days on the lake, and huge games of Truth or Dare. But before anyone knew it, it was already the Fourth of July.

John woke up on that morning, particularly tired. He rolled over to see Alex across from him. He was so cute when he was asleep! Alex yawned broadly and opened his eyes. He smiled when he saw John looking at him.

"G'morning, cutie," he murmured over to him, grinning.

John blushed. "Morning, Alex." Then he realized that their bunk-mates weren't in the room. "Where's Herc and Laf?"

"Them, the Schuylers, and Maria are all helping set up for the big night," Alex explained. "So, I guess it's just you and me today."

"So what do you want to do today?" John asked, his heart pounding. So many things could happen when you spent the day with someone.

Alex smiled. "Whatever you want to do."

"Uh, I really don't care. You got any ideas?"

Alex sat up slowly. "Um, Juniors and Seniors are allowed to visit the town just down the road. There's a coffee place there, if you want to...?"

John smiled and sat up as well. "I'd love to!"

Alex looked over at him and laughed. "Your HAIR!"

John blushed and quickly tried to pull it back into its signature ponytail. "It's always a mess in the mornings, I'm sorry."

"No, no!" Alex said quickly. "It's cute! I didn't mean to offend you or anything!"

John grinned. "Well, it's already pulled back so TOO LATE!"

The two boys laughed and climbed out of bed, took showers, and got dressed.

Once they were both ready, John and Alex signed themselves out of the camp and headed down to the coffee shop.

The menu of things to order was huge.

"I didn't even know they made this many flavored of coffee," John muttered. Alex laughed.

"What do you want?" he asked, pulling out his wallet.

John turned red. "Alex, you don't have to...."

"Yes I do!" he interrupted. "It's my job! You're my boyfr-best friend, best friend, I mean."

Alex and John blushed and turned away from each other. Had Alex been about to say-nah.

"I'll take a black coffee," Alex ordered.

"I'll have a caramel frappe," said John.

The boys got their coffees and went to sit in a cozy corner of the shop together, away from everyone else.

"So," said Alex, sipping his drink, "how are you liking camp so far? Enough to come back next year?"

John smiled. "Definitely," he replied. Then he added, "Here I've actually got friends!"

They laughed. It was nice, sitting here, talking with Alex about random things. Why did he have to be so cute? Why?

Once they finished, John and Alex left the coffee shop and explored the little town. At some point, Alex slipped his hand into John's, claiming it was so he didn't get lost. Wow, that was REALLY nice.

Soon, they came upon a bookstore.

"Ooo," said Alex, looking in the store window. "Can we go in there?"

John laughed. "If you don't take as long as you do in the library, then sure!"

"No promises!" Alex exclaimed, pulling John in with him.

John had never seen someone so adorable in his life. Alex's eyes lit up the moment they stepped in the shop.

"Wow," he whispered.

John chuckled. It was strange seeing a 17-year old, taller than him, looking at all these books like a little kid. (AN: I AM AWARE THAT IRL JOHN IS TALLER WOULD YOU GUYS JUST STOP CRITICIZING ME AND LET ME MAKE MY OWN VERSION)

"Go," he said, urging him forward. "I'll be over there." John gestured toward a small area with a circular seating area.

"Really? Thanks, John!" And he was off! Exploring every inch of the shop, commenting on all the novels, noting which ones he had read, taking pictures of ones he wanted to.

Three hours later, Alex came back to John, empty-handed, but happy.

"I think I'm ready," he said.

"Ok," John responded, standing up. Alex immediately took his hand in his own again. John felt so, so, PROTECTED, so LOVED. Why did Alec have to be straight?

A few minutes of silence passed as they walked down the quiet street.

"What do you think of this place?" Alex asked John curiously.

"Well, it's quiet downtown."

Alex checked his watch. "We have two hours before the ceremonies begin. Want to just hang out in the cabin?"

"Sure."

Once they were back in the cabin, Alex turned to John and grabbed him by the shoulders, sending chills down John's spine. Then he pulled him in for a tight hug.

"Thanks for dealing with my craziness, John," Alex whispered to the smaller figure in his arms.

"Anything for you," John replied, blushing furiously. Then he pulled away from Alex. "I got you something."

"What? You didn't have to-"

"Yeah, I did," John said in return. "You've done so much for me, it was the least I could do."

John pulled a thick notebook out of his bag. It was leather-bound and had a cursive letter "A" on the cover. Alex gasped and took it from John's hands.

"Oh my gosh," he murmured, still in shock. "Thank you so much, John."

"Do you like it?" John asked nervously.

"Like it? I LOVE IT!" Alex responded, jumping up and down. "This is so COOL!"

John laughed at Alex's reaction. He was a precious one, all right.

John looked down at his hands, and realized that he had a coffee stain on his shirt. "Dang it," he muttered. "Alex, what shirt should I change into?"

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, looking up.

"I got some of my frappe on my shirt. What should I wear?" John pulled off his shirt and threw it aside, then began rooting through his bag.

Alex's eyes widened a little. "Wear your orange v-neck," he said. "You look really cute in it."

John and Alex both turned red and looked away from each other with a little smile.

"Ok," John said, finding and putting on his orange v-neck.

Soon, it was time for the two to leave for the Fourth of July celebration. They walked down to the bonfire, hand-in-hand. Herc raised his eyebrows when he saw them approaching.

"See I'm not the only one who had a productive day," he observed. Alex and John blushed, but didn't pull away.

The night was spectacular. Never Have I Ever was quite an interesting game; too many people found out personal things about John, in his opinion, however. But, on the bright side, Alex was BI!

The s'mores and barbecue was John's favorite part, however. The fire was so warm, and Alex was so warm, that John actually fell asleep against him. When he woke up a few minutes later in a daze, Alex was carrying him back to his bed, bridal-style. He laid him down carefully and smiled.

"Goodnight, princess," he murmured.

Then, Alex kissed John's forehead.

And headed back to the bonfire.

Like he had planned it.

John may have not been able to stay awake long enough to see the fireworks, but boy, did he feel them.