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Time Jump~

Shawn Mullen's POV~

"Day 26
July 19, 2018

Because Rockbrook Camp is now in possession of the necessary materials, today is the first of three days in which EVERYONE will be working on setting up the fundraiser. The competition has been put on hold until after the fundraiser, which is planned to take place early next week.

Also, it's almost been a week since Victor put his arm around my shoulders for the first time, and he's been doing it at least twice every day since and getting more confident in doing so. I wonder if his family is aware of him becoming attached to me; that's what's happening, right?

Anyway, I've talked A LOT about Victor lately, so I'll end this entry by saying I'm excited to get to work today! I'm not exactly sure what I'll be scheduled to do, but at the end of each day, we all get to watch a movie on a projector outside the cabins... and there will be snacks!

—Shawn Mullen"

In the morning, I was maneuvering carefully in one tree along one of Rockbrook Camp's many main concrete paths and draping a string of fairy lights over several branches before passing it to Carly in the plant next to mine. The two of us had been repeating this process for a while now.

Standing on the shaded grass below us, Markus commanded our movements and relocated the metal ladder when required. "Thank you again for helping the camp by doing this; it means a lot to me and Maria, but predominantly her. The camp has been in her family since 1954."

With a cap on her head, the brunette sports coach smiled, genuinely happy to assist. "Of course."

I extended my leg to cement myself on a close branch. "It's a good thing the camp had the money to buy all the stuff needed for the fundraiser. Now it just needs to make it all back."

"And then some."

Markus was optimistic. "I have faith," he claimed, "especially since the fundraiser will run for a good two or three days, depending on the weather. I can't believe Victor came up with the idea."

Instinctively, I almost revealed how the conclusive concept came to be but snickered instead. "He's one of those people who pretends not to care but secretly cares more than everyone else."

"As his father, you'd think I'd have learned that by now, but I can't blame myself, not when he is how he is. I'm grateful for him regardless, though. Maria didn't even want to tell him about the camp's situation out of fear he'd run off and tell everyone he came in contact with, like you two."

Carly nodded her understanding but became confused and curious about another stem of the topic. "What about the rest of us? Surely you had to tell us at some point, right?" she quizzed.

Markus bobbed his bald head. "You were brought up briefly during one of our meetings, and as dismissive as it may sound, we didn't think to tell you soon to prevent any unwarranted panic."

"Makes sense. Is the camp's financial situation the reason why the cash prize for the competition was never specified? I've been thinking about that lately but wasn't sure if I should mention it."

"It is, yeah. We knew we wanted to have the competition still, though, as it's a tradition. Luckily, the prize money always varied, so we would have given out something anyhow, just not much."

"Who's in the lead, Carly?" I questioned, mentally crossing my fingers for a fortunate response.

"Phillip, followed by Victor in second and Albert in third," the woman replied. "Those three have been moving up and down in the same spots for what feels like all summer now. You're in sixth."

"You know, I said multiple times that I don't care what place I end up in, but I've realized I'm always either in sixth or seventh, so maybe I'll try to push myself to at least be in the top five."

Markus suggested advice. "Just don't push yourself too hard. Remember, this competition is just a fun thing for the counselors. I don't want you spraining an ankle for a medal and fifty bucks."

Everyone laughed.

After I climbed into the next tree that did not have any lights swooping through its branches yet, I began the next conversation. "So how is Victor doing on proving himself this summer, Mark?"

The camp leader huffed disparagingly. "Don't tell him I said this, but I'm surprised by how much he's doing. We all knew he could do more than game, but the fact that he came out here so willingly and started proving us wrong so fast was... unexpected; that's Victor for you, though."

I smiled. "Well, I don't know what he's told you, but as one of his coworkers who's hung out with him quite a bit over the past month or so, I know he's trying pretty hard, so it's nice to hear that."

Three of us continued to sprawl lights from tree to tree until lunch. By then, the sun had caused the temperature to rise, so progress had slowed, though groups of campers and counselors resumed preparing the fundraiser. I was a counselor who remained in the shadows for a while.

Time Jump~

I eventually left the lodge when I overheard someone say Victor and a few others were pitching a tent by the camp entrance. I walked to the place in question, and sure enough, the gamer with thick eyebrows was helping Albert, another counselor, and several campers raise a pop-up tent.

I elevated a palm to my face to block the afternoon brightness out of my squinting orbs. "Howdy, folks," I greeted. "You need one more set of hands? I'm done with the lights for now, so I'm free."

Victor accepted my offer tiredly, his hairline slick and the pits of his T-shirt moist with sweat. "My overbearing mother just left a minute ago to check on the campers drawing signs and banners."

After posting beside the older brother, I began erecting the back-left corner of the pavilion, which was going to be where future visitors would pay for access to the charitable event.

Albert, also hot from the uncomfy July heat, was relatively quiet over the next few moments but soon began a discussion when he was closer to me than anybody else. "It's pretty funny how this fundraiser came up not too long after I told you about my fair idea in art, huh?" he smirked.

I immediately sensed the false humor in the art teacher's voice but kept calm and sniggered, wishing to maintain a positive mood. "I hope you're not suspecting me of stealing your idea. If I did, I would've had to know about the camp not making money, but we were all in the dark."

"Mm, I wouldn't be surprised if you knew about that since you and Victor are around each other almost twenty-four-seven, a hell of a lot more than any other pair of us anyway. Maybe he trusted you enough to pull you aside sometime last week and let you in on the family secret."

"That's definitely possible, but don't you think he'd let you and Carly in on the secret, too? I mean, you guys might not spend as much time together as he and I do, but we're all friends."

Albert shrugged. "I don't want to make it into something it's not, man. As I said twice already, I'm just saying it's funny. Besides, you wouldn't have gotten any benefit from the Rockbrooks."

"True," I chuckled. "Have you learned anything about Kaine, by any chance?" I asked, not only for the Santiago member's sake but also to diffuse the tension by moving to a different subject.

"Nah, that kid isn't letting go of whatever he's got a hold of. Well, he won't let it go to me, at least. Maybe something is going on at home, in which case we don't have the right to pry."

"One could argue we don't have the right to pry at all. Either way, I agree but will still hope he'll come around soon. For all we know, this fundraiser will convince him to talk to us, you know?"

"He was pretty 'out of character' when the news broke out about it; that's for sure. Even Maria told us before she left that she was excited to see what designs he's come up with so far."

"Speaking of," I spoke, assuredly now, "I thought you'd have stayed in the lodge after lunch to work on the designs, too. What made you want to come all the way here to set up a boring tent?"

"Eh, I just thought I'd get out and stretch my legs while I have the chance. I love art and all, but that doesn't mean I want to be stuck inside all day. I already am on days the kids have art class."

"Fair enough."

Victor approached me a dozen seconds later with one of the tent's constructive poles. "Sydney's coming," he complained with an irritated mutter. "Just ignore her, and maybe she'll go away."

Thereafter, the younger sister with black glasses stopped at the pavilion, commenting with an unimpressed expression. "This is all you've gotten done so far?" she questioned. "It's not—"

The gamer promptly went against the easy-to-follow recommendation he had given Albert and me less than a minute ago. "We literally just started after we left the lodge, fool!" he interrupted.

"I know, but it's not even half-finished yet, and you've got, like, six people working on it."

"And what, exactly, are you doing?!"

"Criticizing your work," Sydney responded casually, "or at least what little is done of it. Before you get more of an attitude, though, I've been working my butt off in the art room all morning."

"Then get back to it. We don't want you here."

"Since when have I cared about where you don't want me?"

"You're always whining about me being around you, but you're the one always around me."

"When you go around me, you're annoying. When I go around you, I annoy you. See? I just came around you, so now you're annoyed, which was my goal; as your sibling, that's always my goal."

Victor slid the thin but sturdy rod he had been gripping into its proper place. "Whatever."

With a blank face, Sydney picked up an armful of poles and handed one to her brother with a circle beard when he was ready to position another. They continued to operate together while periodically chatting. Meanwhile, Albert and I functioned individually yet just as sufficiently.

Ultimately, the pop-up tent was completely erected.

Victor sighed, took off his Rockbrook Camp cap, wiped the perspiration from his forehead, and ran his fingers through his dirty-blond hair before plopping his hat back on. "Okay, I'm done."

Albert picked up his bag and slung its strap over his shoulder. "I'm going to find Carly and see if she needs help with whatever she's up to. I'll probably see you three back at the cabins tonight."

As the Molina member sauntered away, Victor addressed his sister and me. "I need to stop at the bathroom and wash up for a minute. I'm going to Lookout Point after, the shed. Meet you there?"

Sydney shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure."

"Yeah, I could use a break there, too," I exhaustedly stated, to which Victor reacted by nodding and wandering off afterward, and began walking toward Lookout Point with his blonde sibling.

At this time in the afternoon, the sun was on its way down for the day, and an infrequent breeze whisked through the trees. In almost every direction, people were doing something benefiting the fundraiser, such as pitching more tents or staking informative signs and lovely garden lights.

"You know," I commenced, "I noticed your family discussing something when you all were alone, but I only figured you were talking about repairing the shed, not the camp not making money."

"Why?" Sydney queried.

"I just knew fixing up the shed was something Victor was interested in doing since he mentioned wanting to fix it up to me, like, the day before I first saw you four talking away from everyone."

"Well, as dumb as he is, it's not a bad idea, considering the first thing you see before turning the corner at the top of Lookout Point to see over the grounds is that freaking sixty-year-old... thing."

In the blink of an eye, I was washed over with anticipation. "Sounds like we and the rest of your family can fix it up then, as long as there's enough money for it after the fundraiser, obviously."

Sydney exhaled. "I don't know if I'd live too long alone with my brother, but if you, Carly, and Albert help us, yeah, I would be down for that. My mother would be happy to see it fixed up."

Time Jump~

Sydney and I reached the peak of Lookout Point a while later and busied ourselves swiftly by sorting items in the shack into two categories: the things to trash and the things to keep. Soon, Victor ascended the incline of the rocky mountain, his hat's visor shielding his face from the sun.

Sydney snarked with an expanding grin. "I'm surprised you made it here without keeling over."

"Shut up," Victor grumbled, glaring even after he looped his arm around my shoulders and hovered his hand by my chest. He gazed at the cleaning improvement. "What are you doing?"

I gestured to the combination of piled belongings on either side of the shelter. "Organizing all this," I answered, "to hopefully renovate the shed with any extra money from the fundraiser."

Victor simpered as if abruptly timid, emotionally touched. "You really want to do that with me?"

"I told you I would the first time you mentioned wanting to do it."

"I know, but repairing it isn't going to be as easy as putting up a tent, and it's not part of your family," Victor remarked, then recoiled. "Oof, I didn't mean for that to sound as bad as it did."

I laughed and cringed, too, when I drifted farther into the gamer's comfort, though he had no issue and even readjusted his limb around me. "You can't repair this all on your own, Victor."

"Says who?"

Again, Sydney sassed, tossing a broken fan into the growing stack of junk. "Anybody you ask."

The pestered brother scowled once more, his dark brows furrowed. "I wasn't talking to you."

"Oh well."

Victor continued glowering at the knelt camper, then glanced uncomfortably at me temporarily before staring at whatever his stunning eyes landed on. "You freaking... screwball," he mumbled.

Snickering, I rubbed the assistant counselor's lower back, hoping to relieve him of the tension caused unsurprisingly by Sydney. "Here, how about we get a headstart on tidying all this, hm?"

The older sibling let his heavy arm fall but kept his hand on my body until I safely stepped over a bundle of withered planks. "Are we going to get Carly and Albert involved in fixing this up, too?"

Sydney shrugged. "You already got Shawn involved. You might as well at least give the other two an opportunity. They'd have another reason to come up here anyway and give us less to do."

"Well, I don't know where they are, so we'll have to ask them the next time we see them. In the meantime... can I ask what you and Albert were whispering about earlier, Shawn? At the tent?"

I released a puff at the sudden request but honestly credited Victor and Sydney enough to spill the beans. "He not-so-subtly accused me of taking his fair idea and sharing it with your parents."

"Why do you say 'not-so-subtly'?"

"Because he tried playing the whole thing off by reassuring me it was only a coincidence, but his passive-aggressive tone said otherwise, at least to me. I guess I could be overreacting, though."

Sydney tested me bluntly, which naturally made me a little nervous. "Did you steal his idea?"

"No! He told me about his fair idea because he wondered if bringing it up to your parents would give him extra points for the competition. I took that idea and came up with the fundraiser idea."

Victor wore a neutral voice. "Then you told me because I told you the secret earlier that day."

"Exactly. I mean, if you want to be technical, yeah, I took his idea, but I turned the fair into a fundraiser because I promised you I'd think of some kind of possible yet fun solution, so I did."

Syndey was stumped. "But why is he mad? He didn't even know about the camp not bringing in money until it was announced, which, now that I think about it, likely wouldn't have happened yet if you weren't aware of the situation since you were the one who suggested the fundraiser."

"Well, he's acting as if he knows Victor told me about the situation, and since Victor told me and not him, he's probably not happy with either of us. I don't know why he cares, though. I'm not gaining anything, my name isn't being cheered or displayed on a sign, I'm not getting paid, or..."

"He must be one of those people who wants credit where it isn't one hundred percent due, gain or no gain. I can't exactly blame him, to be honest, since you probably wouldn't have thought of the fundraiser without knowing his idea of the fair. Try talking to him and bringing up that fact."

"I'll have to unless I want to risk souring things between him and me or him and Victor. What if he was being genuine earlier, though, and really did just see the whole thing as a coincidence? I don't want to bring this topic up to him again and make him annoyed by reminding him of it."

"Listen, if he's your friend, he'll understand where you're coming from. 'Honesty is the best policy' and all that bullcrap; that's why I always tell Victor he's overweight and unattractive."

Victor whipped around at the speed of light and glowered at his younger sister. "Sydney, you literally look like a canned sardine," he spat, his words articulated with nothing but passion.

As expected, the immature Rockbrook siblings engaged in their typical tit-for-tat. All the while, I shook my head with a grin, then began pondering ways to ensure everybody, particularly Albert in this case, would continue to get along with those around him daily, specifically Victor and me.

Time Jump~

Every counselor and camper was at the cabins that night, as were Markus and Maria. The camp leaders were readying the movie on a large projector, whereas everybody else was roaming, running, talking, eating, and more underneath the starry sky. Today was a long day for us all.

Albert had been clouding my mind since my conversation with Victor and Sydney atop Lookout Point. To finally brush him away, I waited for him to be alone near the fenced swimming pool and approached him. He spotted me exceptionally quickly and offered me a welcoming simper.

"Hey," I modestly greeted. "What are you doing all the way over here?"

The art teacher answered coolly. "Just getting away from everyone for a while. You?"

"I, uh... first wanted to ask if you would want to help Victor, Sydney, and me fix up that shed if we have the money for it after the fundraiser. Maria would really appreciate it because of its history."

Shockingly, Albert barely gave the question any thought. "Yeah, sure. Have you asked Carly yet?"

"Nah, she's been escaping me all day. Then when I saw her for the first time since we put lights up this morning, she was with her campers. We'll have to ask her later tonight or tomorrow."

"Sounds good. And the other thing you wanted to talk to me about?"

I blurted out the truth. "I wanted to talk to you about what you brought up to me this afternoon."

Albert rolled his orbs. "Dude, it's fine, okay? Seriously, man, all I did was put two and two together, and I made an assumption. If it's wrong, my bad. If it's not, well... I'll say more."

Sighing, I leaned against the barricade. "Victor did tell me about the camp's problem. After, I took your fair idea and turned it into this fundraiser idea. I didn't mean anything bad by it."

The Molina member blew out a breath, pondering. "Yeah, I figured Victor told you. I'm not mad at him, just... disappointed. I thought he was my friend as much as he's your friend, you know?"

"Totally."

"Hell, maybe he is but told you for a whole other reason that isn't any of my business, like how Kaine's business isn't ours. Regardless, I'm not holding any grudges. I'm sorry, though, if I came off a little too rough at the entry tent earlier. I was just thinking I wasn't enough in Victor's eyes."

"Does that mean you're going to talk to him about this?"

"Eh, I don't think it's worth taking that far. Besides, as I said, he probably told you for a reason that doesn't concern me. I don't want him feeling pressured into sharing that reason with me."

"Well, in that case, just to put all this mess, big or small, aside for good, I accept your apology. And because I could've just told you everything right then and there but didn't, I'm sorry, too."

Albert shook my hand powerfully. "Apology accepted, man," he stated. "You better go on and take a good spot for the movie now. God knows we worked ourselves pretty damn hard today."

I laughed and walked away from my cabinmate with renewed energy. To celebrate, I strolled to Sydney, who was tending a stocked refreshments table behind the chairs and the logs. She had claimed the job earlier to show her appreciation to the counselors for helping Rockbrook Camp.

I was presented with a couple of disposable straws after I requested a cold drink, which was free with the snacks, and knitted my brows. "Uh, why are you giving me two of these?" I questioned, disdainfully as a result of already knowing where the straightforward discussion was heading.

"I'm Victor's sister, Shawn," the teenage Sydney explained obtrusively. "If you don't think I haven't picked up on the moves he's been making on you, you're just as stupid as he is."

"I just need one," I asserted sharply as if offended.

Sydney gave me one straw. "Victor isn't exactly afraid of making his moves on you in public, so I'm, like, ninety-nine percent sure our parents know about you two also. They haven't told—"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, Rockbrook. Thanks for the straw."

"Yup."

Seconds later, I collapsed onto one of the plastic seats in the rear to let the children sit closer to the projector, which displayed the beginning credits of a comedy movie. The married couple sat in the back as I scribbled lazily in my logbook. Carly was in the front with the girls in her cabin.

The assistant counselor soon came to a pause by the chair on the left of mine and pointed at it conveniently once I was finished writing my second and final entry of the day. "This one taken?"

I shook my head, an abundance of butterflies already taking flight within me. "Nope."

A tad shyly, Victor gripped the bottom of his furniture and dragged it until it was merely several inches from me, then fell back onto it with an exhausted puff, kicked a foot onto his knee, and rested his right arm on the back of my seat behind me. The darkness of the night hid my blush.

"Day 26
July 19, 2018

Phew! What a day! And this was only the first of three. Tomorrow and Saturday will be just like today. It's time for tonight's movie, though, so I won't complain anymore. Instead, there are three things I want to talk about: Albert, the shed at the top of Lookout Point, and Victor.

I think Albert's relationship with Victor and me took a slight hit today because he assumed (correctly) that Victor had told me about the camp's "situation" and that I used his fair idea to inspire the fundraiser. Hopefully, the conversation I just had with him mended whatever broke.

If not, maybe time will heal the leftover wounds. The good news is that Albert seemed fine with me, though, so he *should* feel the same about Victor. If he doesn't, I'll have no choice but to defend Victor. This is his camp at the end of the day. He'll tell whatever he wants to whoever.

Something more lighthearted? Victor and Sydney are letting me help them restore the shed! Unfortunately, we have to wait for the fundraiser to end to know if we have the expenses needed to make the full repairs, but at least we're talking about it. Carly and maybe Albert can help, too!

Lastly... Victor. Not only did he put his arm around my shoulders again, but Sydney straight up told me to my face that he's been flirting with me. I'm obviously not shocked, but now that it's confirmed, I can really start reciprocating my feelings toward him without worrying or fearing.

Anyway, I'm tired as all hell and just want to chill, so I'm going to wrap this up here. Fingers crossed the next couple of days will fly by because I'm super pumped for this fundraiser!

Good night!

—Shawn Mullen"

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