Summer camps FOREVER
So I was getting read to post this all, and I realized I had no idea what to say in this entry. So I went to my trusty etben and asked her for advice.
etben: hi, I'm pearl! and I'm awesome! and I like summer camps, and stories about summer camps!
etben: SO SHOULD YOU ALL.
Which, uh, made me giggle! Which I figure is pretty good, so there we go. I'll add a little bit more, though, which is: me and fox1013 and etben have more in common than JUST all being awesome and young and adorable. We also all love summer camp AUs! fox1013 and etben have lots of actual summer camps experiences, actually, and they have really SMART thoughts about summer camp space and why it's awesome and interesting in fiction, whereas I am kind of like "....awwwww! teenagers! bein' cute! NAWWW."
Anyway, the three of us very firmly believe that we should share our love with others, in the hopes that you too will understand the awesome! And, you know, if you got inspired enough to write some summer camp snippets of your own, there would be NO COMPLAINTS from our front.
If you go over to their journals, you'll see some How I Met Your Mother geekiness from fox1013 and etben has due South cuteness on hers. I went with Wilby Wonderful, behind the cut. Obviously there is SO much more you could with those three fandoms, of course -- but also? We have a theory that pretty much ANY SINGLE FANDOM can be improved through judicious use of the summer camp au.
(The single exception here is perhaps Supernatural. As we concluded last night, it would .... pretty much be two guys hiking in the woods with their dad.)
Anyway! Here we go.
*****
Duck notices the new kid the first day, first thing. "The new kid": that's what everyone calls him, not his name, not even some stupid nickname like Duck got stuck with. It's a big deal, being new. Everyone else had started together, back when they were six, the same couple of people year after year after year. Ten years of the same people, and now there was a tall, gawky guy who stared at the dirt at his feet all the time and only looked up when the grown-ups were talking to him.
Duck takes the bottom bunk when the new kid takes the top one.
After a week, the new kid smiles back at Duck when he says hi and good night and good morning, and says something when Duck comments on the weather. After two weeks, they're having actual conversations -- short ones, but still. They sit together at meals. Duck's doing different activities than he usually does: hiking instead of baseball, arts and crafts instead of swimming in the lake. He goes to movie night, and it's just him and the new kid and all the little campers, because all the guys their age are putting together a secret poker game and drinking the beers Buddy scored from somewhere. Duck sits on the couch between the new kid and some seven year old who seems to think Star Wars is actually really scary. Duck shoots the new kid looks once in a while during the movies; he's always rapt.
Three weeks. Duck sneaks out into the woods. He's hidden his cigarettes and lighter out there, by one of the trees. The camp would bust him so hard for smoking if they knew, but Duck is good at keeping secrets. He's sitting in a pile of soft leaves, leaning against an old mossy oak in a small clearing, and there's a cracking sound behind him, like a twig. He looks and it's the new kid, standing there looking sheepish.
"Hey," says the new kid. His name is Dan. Dan the new kid. Dan.
"Hey," says Duck. He smiles. "You're not going to rat me out, are you?"
"No -- no," says Dan. He comes a little closer, and it reminds Duck of wild birds, the way they come slowly to you when you hold out a little food, even when you know they'll jump and scurry away if you breathe wrong.
Dan sits down cross legged next to Duck. Duck offers him a cigarette silently, but he shakes his head.
They're both quiet for a while, as Duck finishes his cigarette. He stubs out the butt in the dirt and turns his head to Dan. There's a word on his lips but he loses it; Dan's already facing him, too, so they're close, and Duck doesn't have anything to say. They're both quiet, just looking at each other.
Finally Duck says, "So do you--"
And the new kid says, "I thought--"
And they both stop at the same time. The new kid shakes his head a little and looks away.
This is it, Duck thinks, and he makes up his mind. "Hey, Dan," he says, and when he turns his head back toward him, Duck leans in and kisses him on the lips.
"Is that okay?" says Duck.
Dan licks his lips and says, "Yeah. Yeah, it's. It's okay."
Duck kisses him again, lets his hand rest on Dan's leg and feels Dan's hand on his shoulder. It's sweet and it's soft and it's completely and utterly brand new.
etben: hi, I'm pearl! and I'm awesome! and I like summer camps, and stories about summer camps!
etben: SO SHOULD YOU ALL.
Which, uh, made me giggle! Which I figure is pretty good, so there we go. I'll add a little bit more, though, which is: me and fox1013 and etben have more in common than JUST all being awesome and young and adorable. We also all love summer camp AUs! fox1013 and etben have lots of actual summer camps experiences, actually, and they have really SMART thoughts about summer camp space and why it's awesome and interesting in fiction, whereas I am kind of like "....awwwww! teenagers! bein' cute! NAWWW."
Anyway, the three of us very firmly believe that we should share our love with others, in the hopes that you too will understand the awesome! And, you know, if you got inspired enough to write some summer camp snippets of your own, there would be NO COMPLAINTS from our front.
If you go over to their journals, you'll see some How I Met Your Mother geekiness from fox1013 and etben has due South cuteness on hers. I went with Wilby Wonderful, behind the cut. Obviously there is SO much more you could with those three fandoms, of course -- but also? We have a theory that pretty much ANY SINGLE FANDOM can be improved through judicious use of the summer camp au.
(The single exception here is perhaps Supernatural. As we concluded last night, it would .... pretty much be two guys hiking in the woods with their dad.)
Anyway! Here we go.
*****
Duck notices the new kid the first day, first thing. "The new kid": that's what everyone calls him, not his name, not even some stupid nickname like Duck got stuck with. It's a big deal, being new. Everyone else had started together, back when they were six, the same couple of people year after year after year. Ten years of the same people, and now there was a tall, gawky guy who stared at the dirt at his feet all the time and only looked up when the grown-ups were talking to him.
Duck takes the bottom bunk when the new kid takes the top one.
After a week, the new kid smiles back at Duck when he says hi and good night and good morning, and says something when Duck comments on the weather. After two weeks, they're having actual conversations -- short ones, but still. They sit together at meals. Duck's doing different activities than he usually does: hiking instead of baseball, arts and crafts instead of swimming in the lake. He goes to movie night, and it's just him and the new kid and all the little campers, because all the guys their age are putting together a secret poker game and drinking the beers Buddy scored from somewhere. Duck sits on the couch between the new kid and some seven year old who seems to think Star Wars is actually really scary. Duck shoots the new kid looks once in a while during the movies; he's always rapt.
Three weeks. Duck sneaks out into the woods. He's hidden his cigarettes and lighter out there, by one of the trees. The camp would bust him so hard for smoking if they knew, but Duck is good at keeping secrets. He's sitting in a pile of soft leaves, leaning against an old mossy oak in a small clearing, and there's a cracking sound behind him, like a twig. He looks and it's the new kid, standing there looking sheepish.
"Hey," says the new kid. His name is Dan. Dan the new kid. Dan.
"Hey," says Duck. He smiles. "You're not going to rat me out, are you?"
"No -- no," says Dan. He comes a little closer, and it reminds Duck of wild birds, the way they come slowly to you when you hold out a little food, even when you know they'll jump and scurry away if you breathe wrong.
Dan sits down cross legged next to Duck. Duck offers him a cigarette silently, but he shakes his head.
They're both quiet for a while, as Duck finishes his cigarette. He stubs out the butt in the dirt and turns his head to Dan. There's a word on his lips but he loses it; Dan's already facing him, too, so they're close, and Duck doesn't have anything to say. They're both quiet, just looking at each other.
Finally Duck says, "So do you--"
And the new kid says, "I thought--"
And they both stop at the same time. The new kid shakes his head a little and looks away.
This is it, Duck thinks, and he makes up his mind. "Hey, Dan," he says, and when he turns his head back toward him, Duck leans in and kisses him on the lips.
"Is that okay?" says Duck.
Dan licks his lips and says, "Yeah. Yeah, it's. It's okay."
Duck kisses him again, lets his hand rest on Dan's leg and feels Dan's hand on his shoulder. It's sweet and it's soft and it's completely and utterly brand new.