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Time Jump~

Shawn Mullen's POV~

"Day 39
August 1, 2018

Happy August!

Even though camp began in June, I'm considering today the start of the second half. I'm excited for it! We don't have to worry about Rockbrook Camp's future since the fundraiser was a huge success, Kaine is REALLY beginning to come around, and Victor and I are still... rendezvousing.

This traditional competition between the counselors is getting serious, too. Last I heard from Carly, Victor is in 3rd, and Albert is in 2nd. I'm rooting for them both, but I hope Victor pulls through. Not only do we like each other, but he's here for a purposeful reason, unlike Albert.

Anyway, today's plans? Fishing and canoeing! And because we're throwing the fish back into the lake, I'm looking forward to both activities. The environmentalist in me would've caused me to die with the fish had we been keeping them; pretty funny since I'll never go vegan/vegetarian!

—Shawn Mullen"

After breakfast in the lodge, Maria led Victor, Carly, and me to Rockbrook Lake. Also tagging along were a couple of other counselors and half the children. The mother was lugging a hefty tacklebox, whereas the rest of us carried borrowed fishing poles owned by the summer camp.

We saw Markus's group at the boathouse farther down the embankment when we arrived at the stream. The stirring trees around us waved in the wind, casting shadows of branches and leaves as we settled in a horizontal line with sufficient space between every person beside the water.

Maria passed rubber earthworms to all the fishers, and I attached mine to the hook at the end of my thin line. The activity started as soon as the first counselor cast his bait into Rockbrook Lake. I was about to follow suit when Kaine abruptly approached me and pointed toward the dirt trail.

"Are we allowed to get away from the others for a bit?" the Santiago member wondered aloud.

I nodded and motioned to Maria that we were stepping aside. She silently permitted us to leave temporarily, and I guided Kaine to the path everyone had traversed to reach the calm river. The lush ambiance was lovely, especially at this time of the day, the sun shining through the canopy.

To keep from sounding too suspect, I kept my tone mellow. "So... is everything okay?" I quizzed.

Kaine bobbed his head, distracted. "I think so. I just... Are you and Victor dating? I don't mean to get up in your business, but your relationship with him has to do with why I want to talk to you."

"No, you're not getting up in our business at all. We haven't exactly been keeping to ourselves in public, after all," I chuckled. "With that said, though, I, um... actually don't know if we're dating."

"Oh."

"I mean, if it still matters, we've been acting like we're dating, but we haven't talked to establish anything yet. I guess we should probably get on that. Why are you curious to know about us?"

Kaine sighed, keeping his gaze on the ground as if he were mortified. "I know it's stupid and funny, but the whole reason why I came to camp was to hopefully... figure out my sexuality."

Although I was relieved to hear the explanation I had been waiting for, I was, more importantly, moved emotionally. "That's not stupid or funny. And I'm not saying this because I'm a counselor, but this is one of the best places to figure that out! You spend every day around kids your age."

"Yeah, maybe."

I leaned against a tree and folded my arms across my chest as if to hide my happy heart. "What have you been doing so far to help with this? Have you talked to another counselor or camper?"

"No, as far as I'm concerned, you and Victor are the only people who should know since you're, you know, queer. I didn't know that until recently; that's why I never told you or Albert before."

"Albert?"

For the first time today, Kaine snickered. "I might be a teen, but I'm not that dumb, Shawn. I know you and him have tried to get me to tell you in art class what's been going on with me."

I mentally slapped my forehead, regret making me want to vomit. "I am so sorry about that."

"It's whatever. I'm telling you this now, and that's all I care about. I was wondering if there's anything I could do or something because I'm so freaking tired of not knowing this already."

With an explosive sigh, I racked my brain for the correct words to say. I demanded myself to do right by Kaine. "There are... people of all ages trying to figure this stuff out about themselves."

"How did you figure it out?"

"Um... I don't really know," I replied honestly. "I've just always known, I guess. I'd look at men and think they're attractive, you know? And then I'd look at women and think they're gross."

Kaine smirked momentarily, his posture swaying. "I wish it were that easy for me."

"I wish it were that easy for you, too. But you were smart coming to summer camp. You might not see that now, but there will come a time when you realize how valuable these months are."

"I hope I realize it before camp is over."

"Even if you don't, I promise, Kaine, you will go home knowing more about yourself than you did before getting on that bus. How much more depends on how much you're willing to do to learn."

"What can I do?"

"Hang out with boys and girls. If you find yourself getting butterflies around one, that might be your answer. If you find yourself getting butterflies around both, that might be your answer. No matter what, you don't need to stress about this. You have plenty of time to get it all resolved."

The adolescent camper exhaled again, refusing to make eye contact. "I have to admit," he murmured, "it wasn't the answer I was hoping to hear, but... I know you're right, Shawn."

I put a hand on the teenager's shoulder. "Hey, listen, whether you decide your sexuality today or in twenty years, Victor and I will be here for you until camp ends. You can count on us, all right?"

Kaine nodded. "Thanks. I, uh... I hope you and he make it. I know I haven't spoken to either of you much over the weeks, but you two and Albert have always been my favorite counselors."

"Aw, that's really sweet. But now, before you think you can get away without me making you flustered, you should know we're all proud of you for being more active since the fundraiser."

"I knew you were going to pick up on that right away."

"It was kind of hard not to."

Kaine pondered for a moment, ending his thoughts with another puff. "I'm not shy. I've just had a lot on my mind, so before, I didn't want to feel like I was... ruining everyone's fun, you know?"

"I believe you, considering you've always had fun in Albert's art classes and during some other activities. Can I ask what made you want to participate in the fundraiser as much as you did?"

"Same reason about not wanting to ruin everyone's fun by sulking around. I guess I also knew how important it was to the camp. Even if Victor wasn't a Rockbrook, I still would've helped."

"Well, as I said, all of us counselors are very proud of you. And I hope the next few weeks will be easy and fun for you. We don't want you going home regretting not enjoying your time here."

"You won't have to worry about that anymore, not when I know I'm not alone in... whatever it is I'm going through, Shawn. Will you tell Victor about this, or are you going to have me tell him?"

"Which would you prefer?"

"Doesn't matter to me."

"In that case, he already claimed me to be his canoeing partner, so I'll tell him when we're all out on the water later. Knowing him, he'll track you down on our way to dinner after, so be ready."

"It's hard to be ready for Victor; he can be... a lot."

"Yeah, he can be. He's got a good heart, though. Hell, I don't have to tell you that. He's done just as much for you campers as he has for his family's camp. I can see why he's a favorite of yours."

"I would hope so, seeing as you like the dude."

Laughing merrily with pink cheeks, I gently shoved the smirking Kaine back toward Rockbrook Lake. "All right, kid, let's get back to the others before Maria sends a search party out for us."

The two of us returned to the stream, and Kaine wandered to his fishing pole, and I walked to mine. Seconds later, our baits were beneath the water, and our bobbers floated on its surface.

The beautiful mother with blonde hair and dangling acorn earrings paused next to me. Unlike everybody else, she was only supervising, not fishing. "Is everything okay with Kaine, Shawn?"

I nodded strongly. "He's been dealing with stuff, so he's relying on me and Victor to help him out. He's okay, though. He only needed a minute alone with me to get a few things off his chest."

Maria beamed. "It's always great to know the campers have enough faith in their counselors to seek their guidance; that tells me all of you, including my doofus of a son, are doing your jobs."

I fondly snickered. "Mark actually told me on the first day of setting up the fundraiser that he was surprised at how much Victor's been doing. Are you in the same boat as him on that?"

"Yes, but don't tell Victor, please. I'll never hear the end of it."

"That's literally what Mark told me and Carly! You guys have this poor man putting all his time and energy into this camp, and his parents don't want him to know they acknowledge that."

Maria knew I was joking, so she giggled. "He's a giant pain in the butt most times, but he's also a sweetheart. I can only hope he's been having enough fun this year to come back next summer."

"Well, you know if his parents can't persuade him, I can't either. I don't even know if I'll be back anyway. But for the record, I've been having a hell of a lot of fun, especially because of Victor."

"Oh, we know."

I shut my eyes, smiled, and inhaled deeply all at once. "Yeah," I exhaled, nodding, "I figured you had to have known about us by now. We never did make even the smallest attempt to hide it."

Grinning warmly, Maria touched my arm. "I promise not to tease you any more than that little bit, Shawn. I just finally found a silly way to inform you that Mark and I are aware and took it."

"Thanks, I suppose, for that and for, you know, letting me get close to him. He's a good man."

"And you are, too."

Before another word could be uttered, a camper reeled in a catch, and Maria jogged to her. In the meantime, I blew another big breath, content with my associations with Kaine and the Rockbrook family. All I needed to do, however, was speak to Victor to define our relationship.

Time Jump~

A while after lunch, the groups swapped locations and activities, with Maria's at the boathouse and Markus's fishing. Because the wet canoes and their wooden paddles were already set to go, we five counselors began handing out lifejackets to the keen campers in case of an emergency.

At some point, Carly stepped alongside me. "I don't know about you, Shawn, but I'm much more excited for this than I was for fishing. As a coach, I'd choose balls over fish any day of the week."

I tried and instantly failed to hold back a tight smirk. "As a gay man, I agree," I acutely opined.

Carly wheezed. "Anyway!" she hollered, amused but settling down relatively swiftly as if she believed my joke was too inappropriate. "I saw you with Kaine earlier. What was that all about?"

"Eh, just some personal stuff he's been dealing with. In fact, while he's on my mind, thanks again for coming to tell me about him on the Fourth of July. He's opened up quite a bit since then."

"Good for him! I'm sorry I can't help much more, though. He seems to have taken a liking to some of the other counselors more than me. I didn't do anything to make him hate me, did I?"

I merely laughed. "I don't think so. He just likes counselors like Albert because he teaches art class, which is one of Kaine's favorites. He'd like you more if you weren't in charge of sports."

"Well, at least he's got a couple of people in his corner. Too bad points aren't given out for that."

"Oh yeah, I wanted to get an update on the competition. How are Victor and Albert doing?"

"Still in third and second, though if Albert plays his cards right, he can pass Phillip by the end of this week. Now if Victor plays his cards right, he can get bumped up to second early next week."

"Assuming Phillip doesn't play his cards right, too, though."

"Of course."

"Who are you rooting for?"

The brunette crinkled her brown eyebrows, feigning outrage. "You can't ask me that, Shawn!"

"Why not?! I like Victor, so I'm rooting for him. I can only guess you're rooting for Albert."

The grinning Carly scoffed, shaking her head. "If I'm being forced to answer, then yes, I'm rooting for Albert since he's been my friend for many years. I have to support him through and through."

"Honorable. Do you regret not entering the competition?"

"Mm, you would think so, but it's actually been kind of nice seeing things from, like, a panoramic view, you know? Being able to step back and encourage others to push forward from there."

"Like a coach!"

"Exactly!"

Maria suddenly blew her whistle to earn everyone's attention, then gestured to the bunch of canoes in the water surrounding the piers. "We're all set to go! Grab a partner and hop on in!"

Carly bumped me delicately with her elbow. "Talk to you in a while. Have fun with Victor."

"Have fun with... whoever," I sniggered.

Seconds after the Padilla member jogged away, Victor looped an arm around my shoulders and kissed me dearly. "About freaking time I get you alone. I couldn't even get you alone at lunch."

"Yeah, it's a little hard to be alone with someone in a cafeteria full of forty people. God, I can't even remember the last time I had breakfast, lunch, or dinner with only one other person."

"Then let's take advantage of now."

The two of us waited for the plethora of children to hop into a painted canoe and paddle away from the shore before we stopped at a slender boat of our own. Cautiously, Victor helped me down into the spacious hull, and then I reached for his hand and assisted him in joining me.

I let my palm linger on the sibling's squishy waist, squeezing it affectionately. "Perfect!"

"If my father and sister were here, they'd have said something about me sinking it or falling overboard," Victor presumed with a growing beam. "Well, no, they probably said something already when they were over here or after our groups switched. I hope a fish spikes them."

"Didn't you say Sydney looked like a canned sardine one time?"

The gamer gasped, his deep-blue eyes wide. "Yes! Oh my god, fishing is the perfect camp activity for her, Shawn. She's going to catch a freaking sardine and be like, 'I am alive, my brethren.'"

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but you won't find any sardines in Rockbrook Lake."

"Hey, break it to Sydney, not me; she's the one who will never see her biological family again."

Chuckling, I motioned onward. "All right, let's get this thing going, man. I just finished talking to Carly, and she said if you play your cards right, you can move up to second early next week."

"Sweet!"

Before long, Victor and I were settled properly in our canoe and out on the peaceful water. All around us were other occupied boats, but they were far enough away to ensure everyone had privacy with their companion. Fish swam below, and above, a flock of birds flew into the forest. 

I quickly remembered my genuine discussion with Kaine and, feeling incredibly comfortable with Victor, let my words come rolling out. "Regarding our relationship, where do we stand?"

Thankfully, the older brother with a circular dirty-blond beard did not seem surprised by my abrupt query. Instead, he looked rather confused. "What do you mean?" he quizzed meekly. 

"Well, it's been a little over a week since the first day of the fundraiser, and since then, we've been acting as boyfriends, so... are we boyfriends, or is what we have just a summer fling?"

For the briefest moment, Victor panicked as if he had never given any thought to one of the two possibilities I had mentioned until now. "I mean, I want something more than a fling. Do you?"

"Absolutely."

Victor disguised a breath of relief with an airy snicker. "Then we're boyfriends! Which is not only good for us, but that's probably what my parents would want to hear when the time comes."

"Actually, your mom came to me this morning and told me she and your dad know about us."

"Yeah, they've been messing with me a lot. At least now I can tell them confidently that I've got a boyfriend, though. I mean, I already considered you my boyfriend, but now I know for sure, so..."

"A fling never crossed your mind?"

"Not really. Like, yeah, as a bisexual man, I had a giant crush on you in the early days of camp, but it wasn't until you encouraged me to be, you know, positive about my body shape that I really started crushing hard on you. What about you? Did a summer fling ever cross your mind?"

I shrugged. "At first, I would've been down for one but would've regretted it more and more as we did things that boyfriends do, so I would've been heartbroken well before the end of August."

"It's a good thing you brought this up then. We should've dealt with it already, but..."

"Hey, we would've talked about it later this month anyway, but yeah, I'm glad we dealt with it now. Just... keep in mind that we'll still have some things to think about at the end of camp."

Victor nodded and stretched his hairy leg to brush his calf against mine. I simpered sheepishly but managed to hold his gorgeous gaze. He was handsome regardless of what he was or was not dressed in, but the Rockbrook Camp cap on his head made me want to pounce on him harder.

I gestured at my boyfriend's accessory emblemed with the camp's logo. "I have to buy myself one of those. I keep meaning to but haven't stopped at the camp's general store in, like, weeks."

"Shawn, you just got confirmation that you're dating the son of the people who own this place. You don't need to buy anything," the sibling affirmed. "I'll just get you one and whatever else."

"But I want to support the camp."

"Just promise to wear it in public."

"Easy enough!"

Victor smirked, took off his hat, combed his fingers through his dirty-blond hair, flipped his cap, caught it by its visor, finally leaned over to give it to me, and kissed me. "Borrow mine for now."

Knowing he would not tolerate a refusal, I accepted the assistant counselor's offer. "Thanks, but just so you know, I didn't want to take it from you, so now you're forced to go all day without it."

"I've been wearing that damn thing nearly every day since I bought it. Trust me, I can go until sunset without it. I do have to ask, though... do you seriously have a kink for me wearing it?"

"Goddammit, I knew you were going to bring that up one day!" I complained, hunching over and burying my face in my palms. "I went this fucking long without getting embarrassed, and now..."

"Listen, I just want to know my boyfriend's preferences! And why they are his preferences."

After sighing greatly, I erected my posture and shrugged carelessly. "Okay, yes, I have a kink for you wearing your stupid hat. Why? I don't fucking know, all right? You just look hot wearing it."

"Forward or backward?"

"Both."

"Good to know."

Humiliated but happy, I stared into Victor's orbs, his wide grin making their outer edges wrinkle, and they remained creased for the majority of the next few hours. I also enjoyed the canoeing activity and viewed it as a date to remember thanks to us confirming our romantic relationship.

Time Jump~

That night, I turned my light on in Cabin 8 and plopped onto my mattress before digging out my journal and beginning to write today's second entry. Before I could finish, though, the door opened, and Albert walked into the shelter with his belongings, dropping them all on his bed.

"Evening," I welcomed.

"Evening," the art teacher greeted. "How was your time with Maria? Victor catch a lot of fish?"

"Um, he caught a few, yeah. I mean, I wasn't exactly counting how many he caught, but I'm pretty sure I overheard him bragging to Sydney in the lodge for catching more than she did."

"Nice. Was he a good canoer? He didn't struggle with the paddles or fall in the water, did he?"

I furrowed my brows, dubious. "You're trying to learn about your opponents, aren't you? Dude, you know Victor isn't a threat, right? He's just playing the game. Don't think too much about it."

"Hey, I'm the one ahead of him! If I should be getting info on anything or anyone, it would be Phillip. I swear, Shawn, that man is a force to be reckoned with. I'm just bringing up Victor since I thought you'd want to... show him off to me, for lack of better phrasing, or scare me with him."

"I know, but you're asking me about him instead of, you know, me," I chuckled awkwardly. "It's just a little... disrespectful, don't you think? It makes me feel like you don't care about my day."

"I asked you about your time with Maria."

"And then you went straight into talking about Victor before giving me a chance to reply. I was even going to tell you about Kaine. He talked to me this morning. He's all right, just fighting personal stuff that I don't think you can relate to. I can't really be specific without permission."

"Nah, I get it. I'm glad he was able to have enough trust in you. But you just reminded me of when Victor trusted you enough to tell him about the camp's problem. Me and Carly? Nope."

"Seriously, man?"

Albert huffed and unclipped his cheap necklace from around his throat before positioning it on his rigid nightstand. "I'm just making conversation, Shawn. Whatever I'm thinking, I'm saying it."

"And I'm just saying to you how I feel about what you're thinking and saying to me. Let's just leave it at that, though. I don't want the kids to barge in on us in the middle of something."

The Molina member, as if ignoring me, did not respond to my suggestion. I sighed to myself, then peered down at my journal to continue and finish taking notes about today's memorable events.

"Day 39
August 1, 2018

Today was a great start to the second half of camp! Kaine opened up to me about his struggles regarding his sexuality, Maria practically gave me her blessing to allow me to be interested in her goofball son, and Victor and I confirmed we want to be boyfriends rather than a fling! (Phew!)

I told Kaine this, but I'll say it here, too: I'm very proud of him. He started off camp hanging out in the background, for the most part, but has since let himself be more comfortable around the other campers. I only wish I could help him more with his sexuality. I'm still here for him, though.

Next, Maria let me know she and Mark are aware of the romance between Victor and me, and I'm okay with that! They were obviously going to find out eventually anyway. Knowing I can wake up every morning without fearing they're h*mophobes or simply don't like me will stop headaches.

Speaking of Victor, we had our first kiss (and more) on the first day of the fundraiser, but since then, we didn't really acknowledge our relationship until we went canoeing together today and talked about it. To keep it short and sweet, we agreed to date, but I need to admit something.

I'm nervous. Why? Well, what if the only reason we agreed to date is because this is the start of a new relationship and we're letting our excitement get the best of us? What if we want to be in a committed relationship but later realize we're better off seeing what we have as a summer fling?

Am I overreacting, or is this a genuine fear? Because I can see this season ending one of three ways: 1) we're dating. 2) this was a fling. or 3) we said we were dating because of our excitement but came to realize at the end of August, for one reason or another, that we'd spoken too soon.

All right, what I'm trying to say is, I'm not stupid. I know how a lot of summer relationships end. People in our position always WANT to date after the season but realize they shouldn't, for whatever reason. I guess there's nothing I can do but wait a few weeks and see what happens.

Lastly, I want to talk about Albert. He's been acting... differently lately, and it's all because of this competition. Is he seriously going to put his friendships at risk just to win a medal and a few bucks? I don't know. I'm going to keep an eye on him, though. I don't want him hurting Victor.

Okay, I think that's all I have to talk about. As I mentioned, today was a great start to the second half of camp! (Aside from the nerves and Albert's attitude at the last minute.) Bring it on, Day 40!

Well, I mean, don't bring it on now, please, because I have to get some sleep. Good night!

—Shawn Mullen"

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