Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

When Mel drove up the winding gravel road in her SUV and first saw the large, wooden building at the front of the camp, all the anxiety she’d been feeling the past few weeks since she got the job settled fully into her skin. The sprawling “parking lot” in front was just more gravel, but there were already a few cars and trucks parked in their own made-up spots, so she followed suit, parking next to a dark pickup truck and sitting there for a few minutes, breathing deeply.

The Pine Tree Mountain sleepaway Camp (PTMC) was located an hour outside of Pittsburgh, near its namesake. The mountain in question was more of a hill, really, but it existed on a map and was able to be hiked, so that seemed reason enough to name the camp after it.

Mel had taken the job as part of a way to suck up to Dr. Abbot, her mentor at school and one of the senior counselors at the camp. He was head of the occupational therapy department and had taken a liking to her when she explained she wanted to work with young kids with special needs. She needed to be accepted into the masters program that he ran, so when he’d brought up the fact that he works at the sleepaway camp during the summer and they needed people to be counselors, she jumped at the opportunity.

He’d raised an eyebrow at her, questioning whether or not she had the applicable skills they were looking for. At the time, they’d had two openings: culinary arts instructor/camp cook and theater counselor. Mel had panicked at the options, but assured him she had spent four years in her high school drama club and enjoyed dressing up and going to the renaissance faire. He’d been satisfied with that answer.

That was why, on the last day of May, she had packed up her bags, driven out of the city, and headed to Mount Pine Tree. 

When she walked through the door of the front building, she was surprised to find it smaller than she was expecting. The main room had two desks, one to the left and one to the right, and a door on the opposite wall that she knew also led outside because it was wide open. There were a few other doors along the walls likely leading to more rooms, but they were all closed. 

There was only one person in the room with her; she was sitting at the desk to the right when Mel walked in. She was a black woman with short hair cropped close to her head. She wore a red t-shirt with the camp name and mascot on the front—a cartoonish pine tree character with a big smile. When she looked up and saw Mel, she grinned widely and warmly. It set Mel at ease, just for a second.

“Hi,” she said, standing and putting her hand out very formally. “I’m Heather, one of the directors here. You must be one of our newest counselors?”

“Yes, ma’am, hi,” Mel said quickly, putting down her bags to grab at Heather's hand. “I’m Melissa King, the counselor for theater. Oh, but I only go by Mel.”

Heather nodded along like she wasn’t babbling. “It’s great to have you with us, Mel. You’re Abbot’s student, right?”

“Yes!” She beamed at the question. “He’s the one that told me about this opportunity.”

“He talks fondly about you,” Heather said. Her voice was soothing and it gave Mel the tiniest bit of confidence that everything would be okay. “Today is just for staff, so don’t be too nervous. Tomorrow afternoon is when the little monsters get here, so that’s when the real fun begins.”

Mel knew she was joking, but it didn’t exactly make her feel better. She forced out a small laugh, hoping it was convincing that she wasn’t internally terrified.

Heather looked at a piece of paper on her desk, finger tracing down the page and stopping when she found what she was looking for. “Ah, so, you’ll be in our Girl Elks cabin,” Heather said, looking up at her brightly.

“Uh, Elks?” Mel said, shifting a bit on her feet.

“Oh, yes, sorry,” Heather said, shaking her head a bit. “We divide up the campers by age and gender for their cabins. The youngest kiddos are the Cubs and Kits, the tweens are called the Falcons, and the older kids are the Elks!”

Mel quickly tried to catalogue that information away for later. 

“We have counselors stay in the cabins with the kids, to make sure they’re not up to any funny business at night,” Heather continued. “So, you’ll be staying with the Elk girls!”

She said it so simply, like this all made sense. Mel had never been to summer camp as a kid, they’d never been able to afford it. She had no idea the ins and outs or what would be required of her or the kids. But before she could express any of that to Heather, a man walked in through the open door on the opposite side of the room.

He was about her age, early twenties, tall, with a mess of dark hair flopping over his forehead. He had bright blue eyes and a smirk on his face that held mischief behind it. But what Mel noticed first and immediately, was that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. He had dark swim trunks on and slides and his tan skin was glistening from the water he’d apparently been swimming in. He had broad shoulders and an expanse of chest with dark hair on it, and the faintest outline of abs on his stomach. Mel could feel how wide her eyes were and quickly averted them to the floor so she wouldn’t be staring.

“Hey, Heather,” he said, drawing her name out as he swung into the room with a hand on the side of the doorframe. “What’s for dinner tonight? McKay and I were wondering…” 

“Robby said we’d get pizza for everyone,” Heather said, like a mom exasperated by her kid. “Actually, I’m glad you’re here. Langdon, this is Mel. Mel, Langdon.”

Seeming to finally notice she was there, he straightened up, his smile turning more genuine as he walked up to her and held his hand out. She took it, still not making eye contact.

“Nice to meet you,” he said easily.

“You too,” she squeaked back.

“Mel is going to be in the girl Elks cabin,” Heather said. “You can show her where that is and help her get situated? I’m still waiting for the other new guy, I don’t want to miss him when he gets here.”

The man—Langdon—tsked at her, shaking his head. “Making me do all the work, Heather? I expect a raise for this, I’m not in charge of training the newbies.”

Heather raised an eyebrow at him, looking amused by his antics that Mel didn’t fully understand. “I wasn’t gonna have you train, but since you offered so nicely, here.” She handed him a packet of papers. Mel tried to see what it was, but Langdon held it at his side where she couldn’t see it. “Go for it, senior counselor. I know you were just splashing around in the lake doing nothing anyway.”

He laughed and Mel felt more left out of the joke than she usually did. “Alright, fine. C’mon, Mel, I’ll give you the grand tour!”

He didn’t wait for her before he headed for the door again, leaving her to quickly scramble for her bags on the floor and run after him. 

When she crossed the threshold of the cabin to the outdoors, she was met with the warm, bright sun beating down on her. There was a wide expanse of grass splayed out before them, with multiple structures on the edge of the woods to the left and a couple larger structures on a large cobbled pavilion to the right. In the center of the green, there was a large amphitheater with wooden stands around the biggest firepit Mel had ever seen. Beyond everything, opposite the building she’d just walked out from, there was a lake, sparkling blue. A few people were in it, swimming and enjoying the day; a couple more were on the sand, laid out under the sun.

“So,” Langdon said as he began to lead her towards a few of the smaller buildings, “are you excited for your first summer as a camp counselor?” He didn’t have the upbeat, cheery tone that she expected from a summer camp counselor. Instead, he sounded more like he was being sarcastic, which didn’t do much to help her anxiety.

“Um, I’m pretty nervous to be honest,” she said, running her hand over the rough strap of the bag on her shoulder, relishing in the way it felt on her skin.

“Ah, don’t be, everyone here is so great,” he said. “Hey! Let me take that for you.”

He didn’t give her much of a choice as he grabbed the larger bag swinging in her hand. He easily hoisted it over his shoulder and she found her eyes drawn to where her bag was touching his bare skin.

He led her down a row of cabins, each one with a number above the door on the outside.

“You’re in the last cabin,” he said, “cabin 10. That’s where the older girls will be staying.”

“The Elks," Mel noted, mostly just to make sure she had remembered correctly.

But then he shot her a big goofy grin, like she’d said something funny. “Exactly! I’m in cabin 9, with the older boys. I love the older kids, they’re a fucking riot.” Mel’s eyes widened, surprised by his vulgarity. “Also, these cabins are the best because they’re the closest to the lake.”

As they walked up to the last two cabins in the line, she could see that cabin 10 was, indeed, only about twenty feet from the start of the sand. Closer to the water now, she could see the other people in the water, presumably the other staff members. A couple of them were floating on large floaties, while a few others were just splashing around and talking. An older woman with light hair was laying in the sand, seemingly tanning.

Langdon opened the door to her cabin, leading her inside. She followed, looking around at the small quarters. There were eight bunk beds placed a little too close together, four lining each wall. In between each one were identical four-drawer dressers.

“It’s… not much,” Mel said.

“Yeah, no, they don’t spend a lot of time in here,” he said, smiling. “It’s mostly for sleep and storage, you’ll see. Your bed’s over here.”

He led her down the middle aisle to the back of the cabin. On the right, there was a door that led to a small room—the bathroom, she learned, when she peaked inside—and on the left there was a twin bed. This one actually had sheets and a thin blanket on it. He deposited her bag onto the end of the mattress.

“You get that dresser,” he said, pointing to her own four-drawer unit next to the bed, “and you don’t have to sleep in a bunk bed.”

“Shoot, I was really hoping to relive that part of my life,” she said, hoping that her sarcasm landed—it usually didn’t.

But Langdon grinned widely at her again, rocking back to lean on her dresser, hands in his pockets. This close, she could see the details of his face: chiseled jaw, little chin dimple, tiny freckles speckling his skin. He really was gorgeous in a simple, effortless way.

“You had a bunk bed as a kid?” he asked, watching as she put her bag down by her bed.

“I did, my twin sister and I shared,” she said.

“Okay, this is very important, it’ll tell me a lot about you.” He was staring at her intensely. “Did you sleep on the top or bottom bunk?”

“Uh, bottom?” She shifted a bit uneasily under his gaze. 

He nodded sagely, like that told him everything he needed to know about her. “I also had a bunk bed when I was a kid. I was on the top bunk, my brother was on the bottom. If you met us both, it would make sense.”

Mel was lost, but she did the thing she normally did when she lost track of a conversation: smiled and gave a small laugh. It seemed to appease him, because he grinned a bit wider.

“Um, what activities do you lead here?” she found herself asking, because it had been on her mind for a while. 

“I’m so glad you asked!” He pushed off the dresser, framing his hands in the air like a marque. “Outdoor adventures! Things like hiking, rock climbing, rafting.”

“Really?” Mel asked. “That sounds like so much fun!”

He grinned, nodding emphatically. “Yeah! It’s kind of perfect for me because it keeps me occupied and gets the energy out. Robby says if I don’t have something keeping my attention at all times, I’ll get up to no good.”

“Robby?” There was so much information being pelted at her, she was going to get a migraine if she didn’t lay down or something.

His brows furrowed and he cocked his head a bit at her. “You didn’t meet Robby when you interviewed? He’s the camp director.”

“Oh, I didn’t interview,” Mel said, shrugging. When his eyebrows raised, she added, “Um, Dr. Jack Abbot got me this job.”

His face lit up in recognition and he snapped his fingers at her, causing her to jump. “That’s right! God, Abbot talked our ears off about you yesterday. I didn’t know if it was you or the other new hire.”

Her face was bright red, she could feel it. “Nope, that’s me. Good to know he likes me for real and not just as a student.”

“Oh yeah, he said you’re super smart and have a lot of potential. That’s real praise from Abbot.” He was watching her with a small smile on his face, eyes studying her intently.

She was surprised that this—objectively attractive and cool and outgoing—man was so interested in just talking to her. Most people tried to end conversations with her quickly, like they wanted to get away from her. She knew she could be awkward or come off strange, but Langdon didn’t seem to notice or care. 

“Um, I should probably get my things settled, right?” she said, looking around at her bags and bed. 

“Oh, yeah of course. Here,” he said, handing her the packet of papers that Heather had given him. The front read in bold letters: PTMC Counselor Information Packet. “We’ll have an all hands staff meeting at six today at the campfire. That’s where Robby will go over introductions and information for the summer. Heather said we’re getting pizza so it’ll be chill, nothing too intense.”

She was surprised that he offered up the reassurance so easily, like he could already tell what was going to make her anxious. More surprising, was that his easy tone actually did reassure her quite a bit.

She nodded. “Okay, thank you.”

“And in the meantime, you should come hang out on the beach with us!” He was looking at her excitedly. “It’s such a beautiful day out and it’s nice to chill before the kids get here. Plus,” he shrugged, “good way to meet everyone.”

Mel really just wanted to sleep for the next four hours before their staff meeting, but she knew that that was not a good way to make a first impression, so she smiled and nodded. “Yeah, for sure. As soon as I’m done unpacking, I’ll change and head over.”

His grin was so bright it could probably have burned her if he stayed for too long. “Perfect. See you out there. Oh, and Mel?”

“Yes?” 

“If you ever need anything,” he said, his voice dead serious again, “I’m always here and happy to help. Just ask, okay?”

She wasn’t sure why it choked her up a little to hear that. Maybe she had just never had someone be so kind and understanding towards her immediately upon meeting her. She gave him a tight smile, all she could muster, and nodded once, not meeting his eyes. “Yeah, thank you.”

***

She had packed three bathing suits—two that were one-pieces and very kid friendly and one that Becca made her buy because her “boobs look great.” Having seen what the other counselors were wearing, she knew the latter was the appropriate choice for the day.

So, after carefully unpacking all her stuff and reading through the first few pages of her information packet, she stepped into the small bathroom next to her bed—she knew she was alone, but it still felt too out in the open to change in the empty cabin. The bathroom had about two square feet to stand, a compost toilet, and a little hand pump sink. She was familiar with these from the renaissance faire she’d been to the previous summer.

She walked out with a large, loose t-shirt over her bathing suit, walking the shockingly few feet it took to get to the sand with a towel and her phone in her hands. As she got closer to the water, she could make out the people more and more. 

There were now two women on the sand, soaking up the sun on their towels and talking. When Mel approached, they both turned to look at her, bright smiles on both of their faces. The younger one had a baseball cap over her reddish brown hair and was wearing a black, high rise bikini. The older one that Mel had seen on the beach earlier had her blonde hair in a neat bun on the back of her head, wearing a muumuu that covered most of her and large sunglasses that obscured half her face.

“Hi!” The younger one said. “You must be Mel!” She stuck her hand up to Mel to shake. “I’m Cassie, but one of the campers is my kid, so the kids call me Ms. McKay. And this is Dana, she’s one of the nurses here.”

Mel shook each of their hands in turn.

“Pleasure to meet you, kid,” Dana said, giving her a secretive smile that Mel didn’t quite understand. “Between Abbot and Langdon going on and on about you, I feel like I already know you!”

“Oh, I just met Langdon,” Mel said, confused.

She couldn’t see, but she could hear Dana roll her eyes. “I know,” she said, leaning back on her towel and apparently ending the conversation.

“You seem to make quite the impression,” Cassie said, smiling up at her genuinely. “You can feel free to go swimming or you can totally sit with us!”

Mel appreciated the clear choice, even if she knew what they were before. It was nice to have someone say that they didn’t mind if you sat with them, less stress. “Yeah, that would be great, actually,” she said, laying her towel out next to Cassie’s. “I just put on sunscreen, so I don’t—”

“Mel!” Langdon was running out of the water, soaked once again, straight towards her. He ran up to her and then, seemingly not having anything to do once he got there, began bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Are you coming in the water? C’mon you gotta meet everyone!”

“Oh, I was gonna sit for a minute…” she said, looking down at her towel on the ground.

He grabbed her hand, which caused her to jump a bit. She wasn’t used to people just grabbing her and she certainly hated when they did. Surprisingly, though, she didn’t hate his touch that much. It was a firm pressure on her palm, one that felt reassuring, rather than distressing.

If he noticed her reaction to him grabbing her, he didn’t show it. He tugged on her hand, his wet in hers, pulling her towards the water and the other camp staff treading in a loose circle further out. 

“Hang on, hang on,” she said, laughing at his enthusiasm. “I need to take my shirt off.”

He let go, crossing his arms and waiting for her. “Why did you wear that anyway, we’re going swimming.” His voice held mock irritation that he seemed to play up a bit so she would know he was joking. Again, she was struck by how quickly he seemed to know her.

She shed her t-shirt and put it and her phone on her towel in the sand. She thought about asking Cassie to watch it, but then remembered that there wasn’t really anyone around to steal her stuff. No one that she wouldn’t be working and living with for the next few months anyway.

When she turned back to Langdon, she found him staring at her with his eyebrows raised slightly, mouth open like he was about to say something. She felt very on display, remembering how much skin she was showing and Becca’s comments about the bright red bikini.

“Uh,” she said, weaving her hands together uncomfortably, “Did you…?” She gestured to the lake.

Langdon blinked a couple times, shaking his head and putting his easy smile back on. “Yeah, yeah, c’mon!”

He grabbed her by the wrist this time, practically dragging her into the water. 

It wasn’t cold at first, but it got deep fast. The sand turned to large rocks under her feet, which turned to smaller rocks that pinched. She absolutely hated the sensation, but Langdon assured her it didn’t last long. When they were almost up to her hips, it started to get cold and Mel began to get overwhelmed. Too much at once.

Langdon had let go of her a long time ago, so her hands were free to twist together, her shoulders coming up to her ears as she tried to follow him.

Then, a few feet in front of her, he dove under the water, sending a wave of water splashing over her. She jumped at the cold water hitting her dry upper-body, goosebumps immediately speckling over her skin. She began counting in her head to control her breathing, the last thing she needed was to cry in front of all her new coworkers.

“Langdon, you dick,” one girl said, wading over as he came up from the water, shaking his head out like a dog. “You got her all wet.”

He looked back at her, only just realizing her discomfort. He stood abruptly, looking concerned. “Shit, Mel, you okay?”

She nodded. “It’s just… cold.”

The girl came closer, standing up in the water next to her. “You get used to it,” she said, voice soothing. “Honestly, it feels so nice once you’re in it. I’m Samira by the way.”

She was smiling kindly at Mel, pearly white teeth glinting against warm, brown skin. Her dark hair was wrapped up in a messy bun at the top of her head, but there were curly tendrils loose around her hairline, framing her face like a halo. She was wearing a bikini with little blue flowers on it.

“Mel,” she introduced herself, not able to say much else.

Samira nodded. “Jack’s told me about you!”

“Jack?” Mel frowned in confusion at the other woman.

“Oh, uh, Dr. Abbot,” she corrected, looking away like she was embarrassed. “He told us all about you.”

“Yeah I keep hearing that,” Mel said, a little disgruntled by the fact that everyone seemed to know her through Dr. Abbot, but she couldn’t say the same about them.

Someone else was swimming up to them now, but Mel couldn’t see most of them. Instead, they were wading through the water with only their wide, brown eyes and top of their head above water, like an alligator coming to eat her.

Langdon rolled his eyes. “Mel, this is Santos,” he said. “She thinks she’s tough and cool.”

The alligator, Santos, popped her head above water, glaring at Langdon. “I heard that,” she said. Then, turning to Mel, “What’s Mel short for?”

“Melissa,” she answered, nodding happily at being asked a different question for once.

But then Santos gave her an unimpressed look, turning her lips and eyebrows down at her. “Boring,” she said, then swam off.

“Yeah, that pretty much sums her up,” Langdon said, but he was laughing a little behind the disapproving shake of his head. “Are you coming in the water or not?”

“Don’t push her, Langdon,” Samira said, shooting him a glare.

Mel, though, was actually feeling better. Staying in one spot had given her the opportunity to sink her feet below the sharp shells in the sand and get used to the water temperature. 

She took a few steps forward and held her nose, pulling her feet out from under her to sink below the water line. She felt her braid sink last, slowly getting soaked from the outside in. It was cold, but refreshing, washing over her skin and leaving a thin layer of goosebumps that almost immediately began to go down. When she came up, pushing the water out of her eyes, she found Langdon grinning at her.

“You were right,” Mel said, turning to Samira, “it does feel really nice.”

“Okay, come on,” Langdon said, grabbing her hand again—he must just be a touchy person—and dragging her even further out into the lake, until only her toes could touch the bottom. Here, she rejoined Santos and met the last two people she had yet to: a younger girl named Victoria and a guy a few years older than her named Donnie, a counselor and a nurse at the camp respectively.

Mel continued to be surprised by how nice everyone was. There were still the moments where they looked at her a bit strangely, or she said something that wasn’t quite correct, but for the most part they were warm and welcoming. She was glad she came out and met them all before the meeting. It was good to feel like she at least had some grasp of who these people were before their bosses or campers were around.

And, most surprising of all, was Langdon’s presence. He stayed at her side the entire time. When she decided she wanted to lay on the beach for a bit and dry off, he came with her despite not having a towel to sit on. When she said she wanted to shower and change before the meeting, he shot up to walk her back to her cabin and show her where the staff showers were.

And throughout it all, he actually talked to her, listening to her about how she ended up at the camp, how she ended up in Pittsburgh, her education, her goals for the future.

He offered up plenty of details himself: a farmboy raised in North Carolina who came up to Pittsburgh for college. He had worked at PTMC for the past four years and was about to go into med school, hoping to be a surgeon one day. He told her about his studies, why he chose Pittsburgh, and how he was about to sink himself hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, but he knew it would be worth it because he wanted to be a doctor since he was six years old.

The time passed so quickly, Mel didn’t even register that they’d spent hours talking, or that she felt like she’d already made a friend in that time, despite never really making many friends over the course of her twenty two other years of life. But he was comforting and comfortable, and she felt like she could already rely on him to be there for her. So maybe the summer wouldn’t be so bad.

***

Robby was a bit intimidating to Mel. She didn’t meet him until they all gathered for the staff meeting at the amphitheater. Abbot and Robby were starting the campfire, a laughably small amount of kindling inside the massive fire pit. When she saw Abbot, she called his name running up to him.

He turned, grinning. “There’s my favorite student,” he said, putting his arms out to hug her, which she accepted gratefully. Since she first started visiting him during his office hours a couple years ago, he’d become something between a mentor, a friend, and a father figure to her. “How’s your summer been so far?”

She laughed. “It’s only been two weeks since finals,” she said. “I’ve been sleeping all day and avoiding my masters program application.”

He rolled his eyes at her, but there were crinkles at the sides that indicated he was joking. “Okay, well, let’s make sure we work on that a bit this summer,” he said pointedly.

“You must be Mel,” the other man tending to the fire came around, offering his hand to shake. “Robby, great to meet you.”

“I’m sure Dr. Abbot’s told you all about me,” she said drily, her eyes flicking to Abbot. “You’ve been telling everyone about me, I’ve heard.”

Robby’s eyebrows jumped up, his head pulling back, like he wasn’t expecting her to joke like that. Abbot, to his credit, just shrugged and rolled his eyes a bit. “Okay, so I like to brag. Take it as a compliment.”

“Okay,” Robby said, his eyes flicking between the two of them. “Let’s get seated and start the meeting. Heather should be here with the pizza any minute.”

“Mel!” Langdon waved her over to the seat between him and Samira, at the end of the line. She took the seat, watching as everyone slowly took their own.

There were two new people in the group that she hadn’t met on the opposite end of the row: one younger, wide eyed girl with her hair in two braids down the back of her head and a mousy looking guy with tired eyes. She asked Langdon if he knew who they were. He shook his head, “No, I’ve never seen them before. You weren’t the only newbie this year, I guess.”

“We don’t usually get so many new hires,” Samira said, looking over as well. “They like to hire consistently year-to-year because it’s good for the kids to have recurring faces and not spend a lot of time training. A lot of us were campers here as kids, too.”

Mel was half paying attention to Samira, half distracted by Langdon’s thigh pressed against her own. He had no one sitting on the other side of him, but there he was, glued to her side. She felt warm.

“How long have you been a counselor?” Mel asked Samira.

“Four years, same as Langdon,” she answered, eyeing him from across Mel’s lap. 

“Oh, wow, so you two must be close,” Mel said.

“She’s the sister I never had,” he said, voice sickly sweet.

Samira rolled her eyes playfully, but smiled at Mel. “Yeah, we follow each other on Instagram and I get to see all the stupid shit he does on his close friend’s story.”

“I’m living my best life, Mira,” he said, reaching his arm behind Mel to shove Samira’s shoulder.

“Don’t call me that, you dick!” She reached over Mel’s front to grab the front of his shirt, laughing as they squabbled. Mel pressed her arms and legs together to make herself smaller between their flying limbs.

Robby cleared his throat loudly, watching them from where he was standing in front of the fire. Abbot, standing next to him with his arms crossed, was watching them with a small smile on his face. 

Langdon and Samira both sat back, Samira looking embarrassed and shoving her hands into her lap, Langdon grinning like a little kid. And his leg was still pressed against hers.

“Okay, so I want to start off this meeting by saying thank you to everyone for getting here on the right day at the right time,” Robby said, looking around with a closed lip smile on his face. 

A few people chuckled and Langdon leaned down to whisper, “Last year the cook got the dates wrong and was three days late,” into her ear. His breath was warm.

“We have kind of a low turnout this year for campers,” Robby continued, “which is always unfortunate, but we know that numbers fluctuate from year-to-year, so nothing to worry about. And I personally think that some of our best years are with fewer campers. We can really give everyone our full attention, and it allows us to be a bit more flexible with the schedule.”

“Pizza!” The call came from behind them. Heather was walking down the hill from the large building at the front of camp—the administrative building, Mel had learned—holding five large pizza boxes. Dana jumped up to help her, while everyone else immediately lost focus on Robby.

They laid the boxes out on the second tier of the stands with some paper plates on the side, all of them huddling around to grab slices. Mel was content to wait on the outside of the circle for her turn, but Langdon, bigger than her, made his way to the front and waved her to go in front of him. 

Once everyone had settled with their pizza slices on their laps, an exasperated Robby began the meeting again. 

“Okay, so like I was saying, we have fewer kids this year than last year. Which is funny because we actually have one more staff member than previous years.” He waved his hands to the other end of the assembled people, to where Dana, Donnie, and the other new girl were sitting. “Donnie has recently become a father!”

A cheer went up, people clapping while Donnie performed a very modest pantomime, thanking them all. 

“Aaaand because of that little miracle, he will not be here full time at PTMC,” Robby continued. The cheers around Mel turned to joking boos, Langdon next to her shaking his head and yelling at Donnie about being disloyal. “So,” Robby continued, raising his voice over everyone to quiet them, “we have brought Emma on as our intern, to assist Dana and fill in the gaps. Everyone please welcome her and be sure to be extra nice, she is now the youngest person working here. Congratulations, Javadi, you’ve moved up in the world.”

More laughter as Victoria, in the middle of the group, shook her head, embarrassed, and lowered it to her pizza.

“We also are going to welcome our newest cook and culinary arts counselor, Dennis Whitaker.” Robby waved a hand to the mousy looking boy, now sitting next to Santos. “He goes to school for culinary sciences and wants to teach cooking in his future. We are excited to have him and see what he cooks up for us. He will be in cabin three with the Kit boys.

“Which brings us to our final newest addition.” Robby’s eyes found hers and Langdon nudged her shoulder with his. “Melissa King, comes highly recommended by Dr. Abbot. She will be in cabin ten with the girl Elks and will be leading our theatre program.

“I hope you will give them all a warm welcome and our returning counselors will be good guides as they get their footing over the next few days.”

The meeting continued for another hour, with Robby and Heather going over the schedule for the summer, how days were organized, what wake up and bedtime looked like. It was a lot to remember, but it was all in the packet Heather had given her so she could stay up late and study it.

It helped, too, when Langdon leaned over and said, “Don’t worry about getting it all down. We mostly all follow the same schedules, so you won’t be alone ever. Most important thing is just make sure you know where all your kids are.”

That was a simple direction that she could follow, at least.

When the meeting wrapped up, Robby, Heather, Abbot, and Dana took their leave, heading to the administration building where their bunks were. The rest stayed by the fire, talking about their lives and enjoying the chilled night air. There was no alcohol allowed at the camp, so they sipped their sodas and finished off the last few slices of pizza. Langdon stayed close to Mel the whole time.

“So,” Samira said, after they drifted back onto the topic of work, “what has everyone been up to this past year?”

“I dated a professional wrestler,” Santos said. “Legally, I can’t tell you which one, because I had to sign an NDA. But, it was pretty sick.”

“That’s cool,” Dennis said, “I didn’t know any professional wrestlers live around here. How did you meet him?”

“Who the fuck are you talking to?” Santos asked, eyebrow raised, and half the assembled group laughed. “What about me suggests I would date a man? Tell me because I need to change it immediately.”

Mel felt bad for laughing when Dennis’s face turned bright red and he began to stammer out an apology. 

“What about you Samira?” Santos shot back, ignoring Dennis. “Who have you dated in the past year? No one, like usual?”

“Trinity,” Samira said, voice edged in annoyance. “I actually have been dating someone, but… I can’t tell you about it.”

Santos snorted. “Does he live in Canada and go to another school?” she said, eyes wide and mocking.

“Santos, you said your girlfriend made you sign an NDA,” Langdon said. “How is that more believable?”

“Eh, he has a point, Santos,” Cassie chimed in.

“Okay, first of all, she wasn’t my girlfriend,” Santos snapped. “It’s called getting laid, no strings attached, thank you very much.”

“That is not the flex you think it is,” Victoria said, shaking her head slightly and staring at the now-dying fire with wide eyes.

“And second of all,” Santos continued, ignoring Victoria, “how’s things with your girlfriend, Langdon?” She cocked her head, clasping her hands together under her chin. “On again? Or off again?”

Donnie ooohhed, hiding his mouth behind his hand. Samira snorted, shaking her head and taking a pointed sip of her soda. 

Cassie cringed, baring her teeth and pointedly not looking over at him. “Damn, Santos,” she said in an exhale.

Mel, on the other hand, could only stare at Langdon. Her stomach was swirling uncomfortably, the pizza and soda making her nauseous. She wasn’t sure why the information that he had a girlfriend was so shocking to her—after all, he was an attractive pre-med student who was charming and kind and funny—but it was a shocking revelation after spending hours talking to him when she never came up once.

He was not looking at her. Instead, his eyes were narrowed at Santos, his mouth open slightly as he glared. “Thank you so much for asking,” he said, tone cold. “We’re off again. Abby got mad that I wanted to work here again over the summer.”

Santos squinted her face in a fake smile. “Hm, I give it two weeks until you’re begging her to be back on again. Fucking pathetic.”

“Oh-kay,” Cassie said, putting her hands out and standing. “I’m putting an end to this as the only adult in the room. Everyone go to bed, we’ve got kids coming at two tomorrow.”

Everyone mumbled their agreements and goodnights. Mel found herself moving through the motions, numbly saying goodnight to everyone as they all headed back to their cabins.

Langdon fell into step next to her. “Hey,” he said, hands in his pockets and staring at the ground. “Sorry about that.”

“You and Santos don’t seem to like each other,” she noted, because she didn’t know what else to say.

He sighed as they came up to his cabin. “We… have our differences. We’re more like a cat and dog. We can live in the same house and work together, but… we don’t always see eye to eye. Honestly, sometimes I think we’re actually too similar. You’ll see once the kids are here, once we lock in we’re kind of unstoppable. We’re banned from being on the same Capture the Flag team.”

She laughed at that. “Okay, I guess that makes sense.”

They were standing outside cabin nine, watching each other in the dim lighting from the moon. She didn’t want to end the conversation but she didn’t know how to ask him what she wanted to.

“Hey,” she said, instead. “Thanks for being so nice and helpful today. I was honestly pretty nervous coming here, but… I’m feeling a lot better now because of you.”

The smile that creeped up his face was warm, gentle. It felt like a safe, secret smile meant just for her.

“I’m really glad.” He squinted at the ground, a small grimace. “Not to make you feel worse, but I could kinda tell that you were nervous. Which makes total sense,” he added quickly. “It’s definitely intimidating. I’m glad I could help you feel better.”

She smiled warmly at him. “Okay, well, good night,” she said after a few seconds of silence.

He stared at her for a few more seconds. “Good night, Mel. See you tomorrow.”

She turned and walked the ten feet to her cabin, opening the door and stepping inside without looking back. It was only after she closed the door behind her and locked it that she heard him go inside his own cabin.

***

Mel was responsible for eight girls ages 13 to 15. She worked very hard to learn their names from the moment she met them, but with her brain operating on overtime to learn names and faces and routines, it was an uphill battle. 

They were excited to meet her due to her status as one of the newest counselors, she learned. It took her by surprise, the way the girls crowded around her before bedtime on the first night and asked her a million questions: How old was she? Where was she from? Why did she get a job at the camp? Did she have a boyfriend? Who was her celebrity crush? How many times have you kissed a boy?

It was all a bit overwhelming; she’d never had a girl group of friends in high school, or any friends at all, really. It was a bit hard to relate to them, or to understand why they cared so much about her personal life. But she liked getting to know them.

Most of them had been going to the camp since they were young and they knew the ropes pretty well. It made things easier for her during the first few days: they were always there for roll calls; they told her where they were going and when; they were quick and efficient with their shower time. They were almost too independent, some of the older girls stepping in to help the younger ones when they could.

It also helped that Langdon was usually close by. He was a fan favorite amongst the kids, she learned very quickly. They would call his name, running up to him and climbing on him if they were young, tackling him to the ground if they were older. He loved messing with the kids, knew all their names, and seemed to be everywhere at once to have the most fun with them.

Being the counselor for the boys in the same age group—the Elks—they spent a lot of time together too, which relaxed Mel a bit. He clearly knew what he was doing and was a lot better at leading and entertaining, so she was happy to take a backseat and let him do his thing.

The camp had the same schedule week to week: Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays were regular scheduled camp days, with blocks for specific camp activities; Tuesdays were all-camp activity days, where the whole camp would participate in activities together; Fridays were field trip days for the kids (and an opportunity for the counselors to get a day off); and Sundays were free-days, where nothing was specifically scheduled for the day, but everyone could choose what they wanted to do.

The kids had pre-made weekly schedules for their usual camp days, with blocked off periods led by counselors in groups based on age and what activities the campers chose for their interests. It reminded Mel a lot of high school.

Mel was in charge of the theatre program, which she found out quickly was easier than most of the other activity sections. Three times a week, she met with about 23 kids across all age groups and worked with them on doing a play for the last day of camp. 

She was planning on having them write their own play together, spending the first few weeks of camp dedicated solely to that. Then, once all the parts and the script was written, she would start actual rehearsals and building sets and props. It was actually exciting, thinking about it all coming together. 

It was nice, too, that five of her campers in the girl Elks cabin were involved in the theatre group; she felt like she could continue to get closer to them. Sometimes some of the other counselors would pop by to check in on their campers, especially the counselors for the youngest ones, rotating to different groups to spend time with everyone. Langdon, though, would stop by when he could, sometimes spending over an hour with their little theatre group, despite the fact that none of his kids were involved.

She tried to join him for his outdoor adventure activities too, but things like rock climbing and ziplines were not her thing. She would usually stand back and watch all the kids have fun together with Langdon, despite how much he would try to coax her to join them.

“You have to face your fears, Mel,” he said one day during the second week, while she watched from the ground as six of their campers climbed up the completely vertical rock wall. He had a harness on, but was mostly on the ground due to them being the only counselors around. 

“It’s so high!” Mel said, gesturing at the wall. “It’s like, what, twenty feet?”

He was grinning at her, eyebrows raised. “Thirty, yeah.”

“Oh, great, that’s worse,” she grumbled. Mel was not interested in putting herself in any imminent danger or pushing her luck—having two dead parents will do that to you. 

He laughed at her, but it wasn’t mean. He did that a lot, like she was the funniest person he’d ever met, which would be surprising to her having spent twenty two years barely getting a chuckle out of most people. 

“I promise, by the end of the summer, I will get you on that rock wall,” he said. When she shook her head at him, he added, “Even if it’s only ten feet up! I will get you on the wall.”

She wasn’t sure why the whole thing made her blush, probably because the campers were starting to listen and join in on goading her into a harness and up the wall—to certain death, surely—but she found herself looking to get the attention off her. 

“You know, Langdon,” she said, raising her voice so the kids would hear. “I haven’t even seen you climb at all today! Why are you not up there?”

The kids immediately started jeering, telling Langdon to get on the wall. 

“Okay, okay,” he said, putting his hands out in a settle down gesture. “Listen, I’ve been up and down that wall more than all of you combined, I deserve to be on land every so often.”

And that gave Mel an idea. “Who thinks they could beat Langdon in a race up the wall?”

Immediately, all the boys raised their hands, talking over each other to say they wanted to race him.

He turned his head to glare at her, but there was no heat behind it. “What a great idea, Mel,” he said, gritting his teeth in a fake smile. 

“Everyone who beats Langdon up the wall gets to line up first for dinner tonight,” Mel said.

“Mel!” Langdon said, but he was laughing. “I wasn’t aware you were capable of evil.”

“Devon?” Mel said, grinning and looking at one of the large fifteen year old boys shouting that he wanted to race. “You want to go first?”

“Yes, Miss Mel,” he said, nodding. The kids weren’t required to call them by any sort of honorific, but the kids had heard Langdon sarcastically call her Miss Mel on the second day, and that had really stuck with all the kids.

Langdon was staring at her, expression caught somewhere between awe and amusement. “Okay, fine,” he said.

Mel watched gleefully as he raced seven kids total up the wall, easily beating the first few before quickly tiring out. She enjoyed watching him—the way his biceps strained against his t-shirt, his face and body slowly getting sweatier in the June heat, the way he’d grin proudly when he won. After the seventh, he was panting hard and leaning against the wall groaning. 

“Okay no more, I’m done. White flag, I surrender,” he said, sweat-soaked hair falling over his forehead. When the kids started to boo at him, he said, “Hey, I’m not as young as I used to be!”

Which, of course, started a “Langdon’s old” chant amongst the kids. The helpless look on his face made her laugh until her stomach hurt. 

“Okay, okay,” she said, finally catching her breath. “Come on guys, it’s almost time for dinner. Start putting all the gear away and packing up.”

“That’s my line,” Langdon said, walking up to her.

“Unfortunately, I think you lost all authority with them,” she said, shrugging. “I’m the captain now, Langdon.”

He barked out a laugh. “Very funny. I’ll get you back for this.”

She took it as a promise. 

***

Besides Langdon, Mel spent a fair amount of her time with Samira, too. The other woman was sort of a kindred spirit to Mel, she found, and they gravitated together a few times within the early days.

Samira had been working at the camp as long as Langdon had, but both seemed to not have made many meaningful connections. Samira even went as far as to say she didn’t like Santos and Victoria annoyed her. When Mel asked who she did like, Samira had thought before saying, “The nursing staff are okay.”

When Mel pressed, Samira had explained that she was often the odd one out. She didn’t get along as easily with the other counselors and sometimes she didn’t feel she was the best with the kids.

“That’s what Langdon has, you know?” she said once. “He might get on everyone’s nerves and be a dick sometimes, but he’s really good with the kids. And Robby loves him, so he gets whatever he wants.”

Robby did not love Samira, it seemed. Mel noticed the way they barely spoke to each other, or how Robby would be gruff with her for no apparent reason. It was surprising to Mel, because Robby seemed so caring when it came to the other counselors. Samira dodged the question when Mel asked about it, though.

Samira did water sports at the camp, which Mel loved. They would do things like kayaking, snorkeling, beach volleyball and badminton. She liked those activities more than the sports that Cassie would do, or the dances and aerobics Trinity did.

The more time she spent with Samira, the more she liked her, though, grateful when Samira echoed the sentiment. 

“You know,” she whispered, a little conspiratorially one day. The group of young kids they were watching were well occupied playing sharks and minnows in the water. “I’ve never had a real girl best friend before? Like, one to gossip and share clothes with.”

“You want to share clothes?” Mel asked, brows furrowed.

“God, no,” Samira said, shaking her head. “But it’s the sentiment that counts. I would let you borrow clothes, if you needed.”

Mel nodded, thinking she understood. “Yeah, I would too.”

The other counselors were nice, mostly, but Mel could see that she got on their nerves sometimes, or they didn’t understand her. Cassie kept to herself mostly, wanting to spend as much time as possible with her kid. Javadi was only eighteen, about to turn nineteen, and Mel found she didn’t have a lot in common with her, nor did they make conversation easily. Dennis had been quickly adopted by Santos, the two making an odd pair of friends that Mel didn’t quite understand. Santos kept calling him “Huckleberry” for some reason and Dennis seemed to be the only person who didn’t mind her attitude.

And Santos was her own beast entirely. She was surprisingly good with the kids, which Mel supposed made her pretty redeemable, but with adults she seemed to take pleasure in insults and put-downs, specifically towards Langdon. She would tease Mel often, making jokes that she knew would go over her head or saying things that she knew Mel wouldn’t like.

But despite all of that, Mel actually thought that Santos liked her, if her attitude towards Langdon was anything to go off of in terms of people she disliked. She would always ask Mel if she was okay if she thought Mel seemed down. She would give Mel her oatmeal cookies because she didn’t like them. More than once, she purposely chose Mel to be on her team for whatever game they were playing—though that also may have just been a way to dig at Langdon.

There were even times where Santos would be having a bad day and she (and, by extension, Dennis) would plop herself down by Mel at the campfire. She wouldn’t even talk usually, just sit close and grumble along to the campfire songs. Despite its weirdness, Mel liked it.

Mel had never had friends before, except for Becca, but here at camp, she felt like she was fitting in a bit. Even the kids liked her, her girls in Cabin 10 being the most welcoming group. They reminded her of when she and Becca were kids, playing games and giggling and doing each other’s hair. 

It was funny to her now, to think that she’d been so nervous when she first got to PTMC. She’d gone twenty two years of her life feeling like a complete outcast at every school, job, or event she attended. PTMC wasn’t perfect, there were still moments when she would feel like that, but it was getting rarer and rarer with each passing day. Twenty two years, and Mel finally felt like she could be herself, comfortable, and happy.

***

It only took a couple weeks of camp for Mel to understand why the Friday field trips were so important for the counselors. They were free to join if they wanted, but most of them needed the break. So, Robby, Heather, Dr. Abbot, and the nursing staff took the kids in a big yellow school bus and carted them away for the day.

As soon as it pulled out of the parking lot on the second week, Santos let out a, “Thank fucking god.” Mel couldn’t agree more.

“It gets easier the further into the summer we get,” Langdon said, at her side as they walked back into the administration building. “They have more energy now, but trust me: by the end of July they’ll be little zombies walking around.”

“Hopefully they don’t try to eat our brains,” Cassie said. 

“Don’t worry, half of you will be safe,” Santos said, leading the way back out towards the cabins. “I’m going swimming. Anyone want to come?”

A few people mumbled their agreement, but Langdon grabbed Mel’s elbow gently, holding her back from the group.

“Did you want to go swimming?” he asked, looking at her with a surprising intensity.

“Uh, I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll read on the beach or something,” Mel said, looking after the group heading back to their cabins.

“Or…” Langdon said, cocking his head at her, a small smile tugging at his lips, “we could do something else.”

She frowned at him. “Like what?” 

“It’s a surprise,” he said, a sparkle in his eyes. 

She looked at him skeptically. “What kind of surprise?”

“You don’t get to ask questions,” he laughed. “Then it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

Mel’s heart rate was skittering a bit. She was really just messing with him, there probably wasn’t a situation where she would say no to doing something with him, especially alone together.

“Okay, fine,” she said.

He beamed at her, sending her stomach fluttering. “Perfect,” he said, grabbing her hand and dragging her away from the cabins. 

He touched her a lot now. She had originally thought it was just because he was a touchy person—and he could be overaffectionate with Samira, too, at times—but he only did it with Mel when they were alone or he thought no one was looking. Like it was something secretive, special between them. And that was becoming a real issue.

Everything felt so secretive between them, like they were operating on a different plane of existence than everyone else. They could have a conversation with three other people, but it would feel like they were having their own conversation within that. They would be on the same team in Capture the Flag and it would be like they could read each other’s minds. There were times where she would lie awake in bed at night and think of him, only for him to text her seconds later.

It was a closeness and intimacy she had never felt with anyone before, not even her twin sister, and it scared her a bit.

He led her through the woods, talking about how happy he was that the air was dryer, but that it was probably going to rain over the weekend, which would suck for the kids. When she realized where he was leading her, she stopped in her tracks.

“Langdon,” she said firmly. “No.”

He had a shit eating grin on his face as he turned to her, hand still wrapped around hers. “What do you mean ‘no?’”

“I mean no,” she said emphatically. But looking at him grinning at her, so close, she couldn’t help the smile that began to pull at her lips. Her heart was beating so loud, she thought he might be able to hear it.

“Mel,” he said, schooling his face into a pretend serious expression. “There’s nothing to worry about. There’s no kids around, just me. And I won’t let anything happen to you, okay?”

She sighed, trying to let the pressure on her chest melt away. “Okay, fine.”

He grinned again, immediately turning and dragging her the rest of the way through the trees into the clearing where the thirty-foot-tall rock wall stood ominously. A pit settled into her stomach.

“Never mind,” she said, turning back towards the trees.

“No!” Langdon yelled, grabbing her around the waist so that her back was pressed to his front and pulling her back awkwardly with him. “No takesies backsies!”

They were laughing, her face red and her heart beating fast in his arms. Her head was back against his shoulder as she—weakly—fought against him. But his arms were strong and he was well built behind her and he easily scooped her off her feet, swinging her towards the rock wall where there were already two harnesses laid out for them.

She squealed in delight as he carried her, even though his arms were digging into her waist enough to probably bruise. “You are such an asshole!” she said with no real anger behind it.

He gasped dramatically as he put her back on her feet, spinning her to face him. “Mel! You swore!”

She rolled her eyes at him. “I swear sometimes,” she grumbled. “When it’s deserved.”

“Hm, I’d hate to get on your bad side,” he said. He was closer to her now, their faces only a few inches apart. She could feel his breath on her face, smell the cologne that he had on, feel the skin of his forearms under her hands where she was apparently bracing herself against him. His hands were still on her waist. 

“You don’t have to go very high,” he promised. “But I want you to try. It’ll be fun.”

She shook her head, smiling and looking at the trees because that was easier than looking at his pretty blue eyes. “Okay, yes, I will.”

His eyes lit up. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she grumbled. “I trust you.”

He pulled away from her finally, causing mixed feelings of loss and relief to wash over her. He grabbed the harnesses, walking her through how to put it on and connect it securely to the ropes hanging down. 

“What if it snaps and I fall and die?” she asked him, deadpan.

“Don’t be silly,” he said. “Falls from less than thirty feet have an 80% chance of survival.”

Mel cocked her head. “I know you said that to be a jerk, but that actually makes me feel a bit better.”

He grinned. “I knew it would.” 

He showed her how to get on the wall, picking the hand and footholds that would be the best options. She had seen him coaching the campers and, at the end of the day, the wall was made for kids, so it was easy for her to get the hang of it.

He climbed with her, staying close so she wouldn’t feel alone as she ascended slowly. He cheered her on with every movement she made, making her head fuzzy.

Halfway up the wall, there was a red horizontal line that marked the highest the young kids were allowed to climb. As she reached it, she made the mistake of looking down, her stomach somersaulting and her throat getting tight. Her heart hammered against her ribs as she squeezed her eyes shut and began taking deep breaths.

“Hey, hey, Mel,” Langdon said, putting his hand on her arm to soothe her, though it had the opposite effect at that moment. “You’re okay, remember you’re on the ropes, you’re safe.”

She nodded, her eyes still shut tight. “I… I can’t,” she gasped out.

“Okay, okay, hey,” he said, and she could hear that his voice was closer. “Do you want to get down?”

She nodded her head aggressively. 

“Okay, that’s fine. I’m gonna propel us down,” he said, his voice hesitant. “It’s, uh, gonna feel like you’re falling a little bit, but I promise you’re not.”

She let out a breath, opening her eyes just enough to squint at him. “Okay,” she said weakly.

He smiled at her. “There’s my brave girl,” he said.

And before she had time to even register that, he was moving to wrap himself around her, clicking their harnesses together with a hook and pulling her close. The intimacy of it was almost enough to sober her up. Almost.

“Okay,” he said, voice right next to her ear. “I need you to let go of the wall. I know,” he added, laughing slightly, when she groaned loudly. His laugh reverberated through her back. “It’s scary. But just trust me.”

She took a deep breath to steel herself before she let go of the wall completely. Langdon, secured to her and wrapped almost uncomfortably around her, kept her held nearly in the same position she was before. She leaned into him slightly, now the only thing grounding her.

“Okay, ready?” he asked. She nodded. “One, two, three!”

She gritted her teeth as he pushed off the wall and they fell a few feet before he reconnected them with the wall. He was going slow, she could tell, but she appreciated it because it didn’t feel as bad as he’d made it seem.

She opened her eyes just as he jumped off the wall and they hit the ground, a little rough with the both of them still latched together. They rolled onto the grass, laughing again as they struggled to disentangle themselves. 

He unclipped them, rolling onto his back and laughing. “See? That wasn’t so bad!”

She shoved his shoulder, laying down next to him. “I’m not doing that again!” she said, but she still couldn’t get the smile off her face. 

He put his hands up in surrender. “I won’t ask you to! You tried it once, that’s enough. I’m proud of you.”

He said it gently, looking over and smiling at her sweetly. Her face warmed. “Thank you,” she said.

They stayed in the grass like that for a while, only wandering back to the main part of camp to see what they could scrounge up for lunch—Dennis was adamant that he wouldn’t cook on Fridays.

“Oh there you two are,” Santos said, as she, Javadi, and Dennis walked up to them at the picnic tables. Langdon had thrown together two sandwiches for them—his piled with every type of meat they had, hers a simple ham and cheese. “Where did you run off to all morning?”

“We were rock climbing,” Mel said simply, smiling warmly up at Santos. 

The other girl dropped into the seat next to Langdon, causing him to glance over at her with a suspicious look. Javadi and Dennis also sat. All three were still wearing their bathing suits.

“Was that all?” Santos asked, faux innocence lining her voice. “Are you sure?”

Mel frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”

“What do you want, Santos?” Langdon cut her off before she could speak.

“We came to invite you guys to dinner,” she said, looking between them. “Bus will be back around seven, so we figured we’d pop over to the pub in town and grab some food around five, if you guys wanna come.”

Langdon bobbed his head, considering that. “Yeah, that sounds fun,” he said. “Mel?”

“Oh, I can’t,” she said, her heart sinking a little at the fact that she couldn’t go. “I’m visiting my sister this afternoon.”

Santos snorted. “Just tell her you’ll see her some other time, c’mon, don’t be boring.”

Mel blinked a few times at her, hurt by the comment. She knew Santos didn’t know the situation, but it still felt like an inconsiderate thing to say.

But before Mel could voice her explanation, Langdon snapped, “Shut the fuck up, Santos. She said she’s not going. Let her be.”

“Oh-kay,” Santos said, eyes wide as put her hands up defensively. “Touched a nerve apparently. For both of you.”

“What are you guys, now?” Langdon asked, voice edged as he waved his finger at the three of them. “A little gang?”

“Well, you and Mel are always off together,” Victoria said, her eyes widening pointedly at the table. “Some of us have to make friends, too.”

“I will say that Santos has mostly just forced me to stay with her because we work with the same age group,” Dennis said, nodding. 

Santos rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Huckleberry,” she grumbled. “I’m the only one here who could survive being a lone wolf with no friends.”

Mel pondered that for a moment. She had certainly never had any real friends outside of her sister growing up, but she didn’t like to vocalize that the way Santos did. She mostly didn’t say anything because she really wanted friends, like Langdon and Samira. She wondered if maybe Santos’s bravado and pushing people away was just her defense mechanism, a way to keep people away because she didn’t actually want anyone to be close to her.

Mel felt bad for her.

Before she could even think about saying anything, an alarm went off on her phone, causing her and Victoria, next to her, to jump. 

“Oh, I have to go get ready,” she said, silencing the alarm and standing. She went to reach for her plate, but Langdon put his hand out.

“I’ll take it,” he said. “You go get ready.”

Santos mumbled something, but Mel didn’t hear or want to find out what it was. “Thank you,” she said, smiling at Langdon. Then, to everyone else, “Have fun at dinner!”

When she saw Becca later that day, she told her all about the job, the new friends she made, and the kids that she worked with. Becca gave her ideas on what to do for the play and told her about the dance classes she was taking. It was nice to see her sister and feel like things were normal; to get out of the PTMC bubble she’d been trapped in.

What she didn’t tell Becca, though, was the way that Langdon wasn’t just a friend. He was much more than that to her, already. So thoughtful, so caring, the only person that could read her like a book, and Mel wasn’t sure how to feel about him sometimes. Because having this friendship was so beautiful and precious and rare to her—it was something that she needed to cradle in the palm of her hands and keep close to her heart.

But, when she was awake late at night in her twin bed, texting or thinking about him—always him—she thought that maybe there was a spark of something more between them. She thought that maybe he liked her a little too much to just be her friend, that his attention was sometimes a bit too undivided. And maybe she really liked that thought.

But those were things she couldn’t tell Becca, because they only existed late at night when exhaustion was making her think silly things.

***

One of Mel’s favorite parts of camp was the campfire they had every night. Robby would take the time to give speeches to the campers about kindness and friendship, run through scheduled activities for the next few days, make announcements, and lead them in campfire songs or games. At seven, the young kids would go to bed, then the middle age group at eight, then, finally, she and Langdon would take their older kids to their cabins at nine. 

It was a nice way to unwind at the end of the day, with songs and games that the kids mostly led themselves, the counselors could relax a bit. Sometimes they’d even get s’mores.

One night, at the end of June, they were all piled onto the amphitheater stands while Abbot and Robby were building their fire, the kids chattering away. Mel was tired, looking forward to the next day—Sunday—where they could relax a bit. Her girls wanted to do crafts and go swimming, finally starting to tucker out from the summer. 

Mel was watching Robby when he looked back at her. “Frank!” he called, waving his fingers over.

Mel looked around, confused. Who the hell is Frank?

Then Langdon, next to her—always next to her—nodded to Robby, putting a finger up to tell him he’d be there in a minute. He was having an intense conversation with a 13 year old about whether the moon landing was real.

“Your name is Frank?” Mel blurted out as he excused himself from the child.

He looked at her confused for a second. Then, his face split into a grin, huffing out a small laugh before dissolving into full-body laughter.

“Did you—did I never tell you that?” he asked, rubbing tears from his eyes.

“No one has ever called you Frank!” she defended, embarrassed by the faux pax she had committed, but unable to keep herself from laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.

“Langdon!” Robby called again.

Langdon—Frank!—still laughing, pointed at her while he walked backwards away from her. “I’m not done with this conversation!”

“Did you know his name was Frank?” she asked the boy he’d just been talking to.

The kid shrugged. “Sure,” he said noncommittally, causing Mel to furrow her brow.

She watched as Langdon walked up to Robby, saying something and jerking his thumb behind him. Robby looked up at Mel for a second, then began laughing at what Langdon was saying.

She wanted to melt into the earth.

The rest of the night, Langdon kept looking over at her and laughing, causing her to shake her head in embarrassment, trying and failing to not laugh along with him. 

“I promise I’m not laughing at you,” he said as they were walking back to their cabins with their kids after the fire. “I totally understand how you didn’t know. But it’s funny that we made it almost a month without you knowing my full name.”

She wrapped her arms around her middle. “Well you don’t look like a Frank,” she defended.

“Yeah, why do you think I go by Langdon?” he laughed. “The only people who call me Frank are my dad and Robby.”

“Freud would love that” Mel deadpanned, thrilled when he barked out a laugh.

“Miss Mel,” one of her girls, Maddie said. “Who’s Freud?”

“Yeah, Mel,” Langdon taunted. “Who’s Freud?”

“He created the fundamentals of psychology, Maddie,” Mel said, a few more girls listening now. “But a lot of his theories are controversial now, so…”

“I want to be a psychologist when I grow up,” a different girl, Adrianna said. “I’m taking AP Psych next year, it’s gonna be so cool.”

Mel bid Langdon a goodnight as he funnelled his boys into their cabin. Then, to Adrianna, she said, “That’s great! I love when women go into STEM fields. I think you’d do really well as a psychologist.”

“Miss Mel,” a fourteen year old, Ellie, said, raising her hand despite the lack of need for it. “I want to be a surgeon!”

Mel beamed at that as they crowded into cabin 10 together, mentally taking a count of how many girls she had. “Have you talked to Langdon about it? He wants to be a surgeon too.”

Ellie’s cheeks turned pink and she nodded. 

“Of course she has,” Adrianna said, flopping down on her bunk, one of the closest to Mel’s. “She’s obsessed with Langdon.”

“I am not!” Ellie cried.

“I mean, who isn’t?” Bianca, another fifteen year old, chimed in from her bunk. “He’s the hottest guy here.”

There was a murmur of agreement between the girls and Mel suddenly felt like she had stumbled into somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be.

“I like Dennis,” Maria, a sweet, sensitive thirteen year old said. “He’s so cool.”

“Mmm, Donnie is definitely the hottest,” Adrianna said. “I faked a stomach ache last week just to spend an hour with him.”

“Adrianna, I shouldn’t hear things like that,” Mel chastised.

“Okay, who do you think is the hottest, Miss Mel?” Adrianna turned on her, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, uh.” Mel’s eyes were wide and she was twisting her hands together. “Girls, all of us counselors and staff are friends with each other. We don’t think about each other like that.”

“Well, obviously Langdon likes her,” Bianca said, laying back on her bed.

“Yeah, obviously,” Adrianna said. “But I wanna know if Miss Mel likes him back.”

“Wh–what are you guys talking about?” Mel said, face heating. Her whole body felt warm and buzzy.

“Adrianna and I have been coming here for eight years, Mel,” Bianca said, lifting her head to give her a critical look. “Langdon has never cared about anyone the way he has fully attached himself to you.”

Bianca could be an overly dramatic girl—it was why she was going to get the lead in the play—but Mel had a funny feeling that she wasn’t overexaggerating this time. Especially when Adrianna made a face at her and nodded.

Mel shifted on her bed. “Guys, Langdon and I are friends. Yes, good friends, but just friends.” Her eyes were wide as she looked around at the group of unconvinced teenagers.

“Maybe for you, Miss Mel,” Adrianna said. “But definitely not for him.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Mel said, her palms getting sweaty and her anxiety spiking. “Let’s get ready for bed.”

The girls begrudgingly agreed, flitting around the cabin getting ready for bed and settling down finally. 

Mel stayed awake that night, thinking, as she usually did, about him. The whole thing felt like such a whirlwind: twenty two years of feeling alone and suddenly she had someone who understood her, cared about her, went out of his way to spend time with her. He was a marvel to her, special beyond anything she’d experienced before.

But having it confirmed by outsiders to the relationship, staff and campers alike, that it was an anomaly for him too was jarring. It thrilled her and worried her all at once. Could she let herself believe that she was special to him? That he cared enough to want something more with her? Did she even want to cross that boundary when she stood to lose her only real friend?

Her phone buzzed next to her face, screen lighting up with a text from him. She opened it immediately.

Langdon: i can’t fall asleep bc i keep laughing about the look on your face when you realized my name was frank lol

Langdon: gn ❤️

She smiled, laying her head back and closing her eyes.

***

Fridays were Mel’s favorite days. Not just because she got a break from the kids and usually spent most of her day with Langdon, but also because she got to see Becca every week.

But the first Friday of July, when she picked Becca up from her center to go out to dinner, she was nervous. Nervous because she’d made the decision to tell her the full story with Langdon.

It had become undeniable to her that she had feelings for him, which was only half the problem. She still wasn’t convinced that he felt the same for her, which meant she definitely couldn’t be honest with him because they still had two months of camp to go. She needed to be able to talk through it with someone.

She had thought about opening up to Samira, but she wanted to get someone’s perspective from the outside before she started involving people who were potentially a bit too close to the situation. And she’d never kept secrets from Becca in the past, so why should she do it now?

When she explained the circumstance to her, over steaming bowls of ramen—Becca’s choice, despite the July heat—Becca had listened intently, taking the whole thing in.

“Mel,” she said after a while, “I knew you liked him.”

Mel laughed a bit, eyes wide. “What?”

“Since you first told me about him,” Becca said, nodding. “I knew you liked him.”

Mel was confused, feeling her face try to settle on one expression as she thought back to the first conversation they’d had about Langdon. “What… No, Becca, I didn’t like him back then. We really were just friends, at first.”

Becca scrunched her face, lips pulling back in a smile. And then she laughed at Mel, causing Mel’s jaw to drop open. “Mel, you’re so silly,” Becca said simply, using her chopsticks to fill her mouth with noodles.

“What does that mean?” Mel said, starting to get a bit annoyed that Becca wouldn’t listen to her.

Becca chewed slowly, thinking it over. “When you first told me about him, you just went on and on and on and you had this look on your face. It’s the same look as when you told me about Danny Bridger in high school.”

Mel’s face flushed bright red. Danny Bridger had been her biggest crush all four years of high school. She didn’t think they spoke once. “That’s… Becca.” Her voice was sharp, chastising, but she didn’t have an argument against something she couldn’t observe herself.

“Listen, Mel, maybe you just didn’t realize you had a crush on him,” Becca said, shrugging. “And that’s okay! What’s important is that you’re happy.”

That was a line stolen from their mother, who had always told them that as kids when they were overthinking their social interactions. Mel did not appreciate hearing it under these circumstances.

She sighed, pushing her glasses up and putting her face in her hands, shaking her head. “I don’t know what to do, Becs,” she said honestly. “I don’t know if he feels the same and I can’t… ruin that friendship, you know? Especially not when we work together.”

Becca nodded sympathetically. “You might just have to wait it out, Mel.”

Mel groaned, digging the heels of her palms into her eyes. “That’s so hard, Becca.”

Becca grinned at her. “Do you want to kiss him?”

“Yes,” Mel groaned miserably. “And hug him and sleep with him and spend the rest of my life with him, I think.”

“Wow, Mel!” Becca was beaming now. “You’ve never felt like this about anyone.”

“I know,” she groaned again.

“This is so exciting!”

“For you,” Mel hissed, dropping her hands. “For me this is torture.”

Becca thought about that, her lips pursing. “I think you should just keep going the way you have been. If he feels the same, he’ll tell you eventually, right?”

“I hope so,” Mel said, swirling her chopsticks around her mostly still full bowl. 

When she dropped Becca back off, her sister hugged her tighter than she ever had. Becca didn’t like hugs usually, but she would make exceptions for important people and moments. The fact that she felt like this was one of those moments got Mel a bit choked up. 

She felt so pathetic.

By the time she got back to camp, the kids were still on their field trip. The other counselors were around the firepit when she walked out onto the green, roasting marshmallows and laughing together.

“Mel!” Langdon said as soon as he saw her, jumping up and running to her.

He hit her like a linebacker, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her off her feet and over his shoulder while she laughed. 

“Langdon!” she yelled out, screeching into the early night air. “Put me down!”

She was pushing off his back, lifting her head to watch the administrative building get further from her as he walked her down to the firepit.

“No, no,” he said. “You’re too perfect to walk on your own two feet, I’ll Uber you.”

“Jeez, you could at least carry her bridal style, Langdon,” Cassie said, laughing at them as he set her down gently next to the fire.

“Nah, she could’ve struggled out of that,” he said. He grabbed a stick and put a marshmallow on it.

“Langdon’s a little buzzed still, if you couldn’t tell,” Samira stage-whispered to Mel.

Mel tipped her head back, laughing. She sat down next to Samira, watching Langdon roast his marshmallow over the fire. “How was dinner?”

It was the only thing Mel kind of regretted about Fridays: her weekly plans with Becca meant she couldn’t go out with the other counselors for dinner and drinks. She hated that she was alienating herself from them, but Becca would always come first.

“It was good!” Victoria said. “They had a trivia game going, so we joined.”

“We did not win,” Cassie said, grimacing. 

“Well if those stupid Yale researchers weren’t in town, we would’ve been fine,” Santos said, shaking her head bitterly. 

Langdon was intently rotating his marshmallow over the fire, brows knit and tongue poking out slightly. Mel couldn’t help but watch.

“We held our own though,” Dennis said. “We got third place.”

“Did you get a prize?” Mel asked, interested.

“We got one free entree with another purchase,” Santos said, voice flat. “The food wasn’t even good.”

Langdon finally stepped away from the fire, walking over to sit next to Mel and holding the stick out to her. The marshmallow was a perfect golden brown, not a single burnt part. Exactly how she liked it. 

“This is for me?” Mel asked. He grinned, nodding. She took the stick from his hand, noticing the way he was pressed against her, even more than usual. “Thank you.”

“Robby just texted,” Samira said, looking at her phone. “Bus is about thirty minutes out.”

“Fun’s almost over, kids,” Santos grumbled.

“Are we the kids or are the kids the kids?” Cassie asked.

“You think I’m threatening the kids to take away their fun?” Santos asked.

“I mean,” Victoria said, laughing slightly, “I wouldn’t put it past you.”

When the campers finally got back, the counselors were thrilled to find them wiped out from their day. Langdon, almost completely sober now, kept teasing his overexhausted campers.

“We’re gonna do laps tomorrow, guys,” he said, walking all the older kids down to their cabins. “All morning. At least fifty laps around camp.”

“You’re lying,” one of the younger boys said, punctuating it with a yawn. 

“No, he’s right,” Mel said, watching her girls march in silence for the first time since she met them. “We have to wake up extra early, too, because you have to run those laps before breakfast.”

They looked at each other, grinning over the heads of their teenagers grumbling for them to stop lying. Langdon shot her a wink, which she tried—and failed—to not let her stomach flip at.

Less than an hour later, all her kids were passed out in their bunks, at least three of them snoring. But Mel wasn’t particularly tired, in fact, she was actually a bit riled up from the day. She and Langdon had spent a few hours on the beach and in the water, then she’d taken a nap before seeing Becca.

She was scrolling through her Instagram feed when he texted.

Langdon: r u awake?

Mel: Yeah, what’s up?

Langdon: can’t sleep

Mel: Me neither :(

Langdon: meet me outside?

Mel didn’t think twice about it. She sent him an affirmative text and hopped out of bed to get shoes on. The kids were so dead asleep, she barely had to tip toe to get out the door.

There was no explicit rule stating that they had to stay in the cabins with their campers all night. In fact, the rule was that they should exercise their best judgement and were allowed to leave if they deemed it necessary. She knew the rule was for emergencies, not for counselors who wanted to take a stroll together, but her kids were older and she trusted them to be okay without her for an hour while they slept.

He was already outside when she got out there, grinning when he saw her. She shut the door behind her quietly, then walked out to stand next to him.

“Do you leave during the night a lot?” she asked.

He bobbed his head back and forth. “I have issues sleeping,” he said honestly. “That’s why I always text you so late. Going for walks has always helped.”

She hummed in response, looking around at the nearly pitch black camp around them. It looked a bit spooky at night. “Where do you usually walk to?” she asked.

“Just the trails around camp,” he said. “Nothing too far.”

“Are there, like, animals out there?” she asked, a bit worried.

“Animals? In the woods? Surely not,” he said sarcastically, causing her to stifle her laugh and shove his shoulder.

“Shut up, you know what I meant,” she said. “Like, bears and stuff.”

He shrugged. “I’ve never seen any. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

“No,” she said, embarrassingly quickly. “I do. I do. Lead the way.” She gestured towards the woods, letting him guide her as usual.

They picked their way down a well-trodden path. She’d been on it before with him and the kids. It was a small hike, an hour long loop where half of it followed the lake. 

“How was Becca?” he asked.

Her heart rate picked up, remembering the conversation she’d had with her sister earlier. “Good,” she said, nodding. “She’s doing really well. I was worried that only seeing her once a week would make her upset, but… I don’t know, she’s kind of thriving.”

Langdon nodded at that, listening closely. “From everything you’ve told me about her, she seems pretty independent.”

“She is! I think maybe I’m the one that can’t let it go,” she mused. “I just… worry about her so much.”

“I think it’s more than fair for you to be a bit overprotective, given everything you guys have been through,” he said. 

“Yeah,” she said, a bit sadly. “I don’t know, maybe I should start seeing her less. How often do you see your brother?”

Langdon snorted. “I haven’t been home since Christmas. Actually, that’s the only time I go home, ever. And it’s usually a quick trip.”

“You never talk about your family,” she noted. She didn’t say it to pry, it was simply an acknowledgement of the facts. He would mention them sometimes, she knew both his parents were still living and that he had an older brother, but beyond that she knew very little.

“Uh, yeah.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, grimacing a bit. “Let’s just say they’re no prize.”

“Oh, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” she said quickly. 

“No, I’ll tell you about them eventually,” he said, sounding resigned. “Just not tonight.”

She nodded at that, and they fell into a warm silence, picking their way through the trees until they came out by the shore, far from camp. 

“C’mon, let’s sit,” he said, walking over to a patch of large rocks further back from the water. 

She followed, accepting his hand when he offered it to haul her up. They sat there for a while, next to each other, looking out at the dark lake.

“You know, I’m really glad you’re here this year,” he said quietly. “I’ve never had someone here that I was this close to.”

“I’m glad too,” she said. “I’ve never had anyone that I was this close to.” 

An embarrassing admission, but he turned and looked at her without pity. Instead, he just looked honored, like it was his proudest achievement. They were close now, not quite touching, but close enough that they barely had to whisper above the sounds of the waves hitting the shore. His hair was floppy and down over his forehead, nothing sticking it back like usual. He looked so soft to her and she thought, against her better judgement, that right now would be the perfect time for him to kiss her. If he wanted to.

“You’re cold,” he said, catching her by surprise. She hadn’t even noticed. “Here.”

And before she could stop him, he was pulling his red PTMC hoodie—with that ridiculous pine tree mascot—over his head and handing it to her.

“Now you’ll be cold!” she argued.

He shook his head. “I’m good. Take it.”

She knew he wouldn’t let her refuse, so she took the hoodie and put it over her head, slipping her arms into it. It was huge on her, the arms flopping past her hands. She put them out to show him and he laughed.

“You’re ridiculous,” he huffed, but he took each sleeve and gently rolled it up until her hands were free. His hands lingered on hers for a few seconds too long.

The hoodie enveloped her, overwhelming him with his body heat and the smell of him. She sighed happily into it. “Thank you,” she said.

“Of course,” he said. “Can’t have you catching a cold. We need our best counselor out there.”

“Oh I am far from that,” she said. “But thank you.”

They were looking out at the water again. Whatever errant thought she’d had about him kissing her, it was clear that moment had passed. She was still very happy with the hoodie, but she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

So instead, she rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying the moment with him as much as she could. He relaxed into her immediately, resting his head on hers and sighing contentedly. 

They stayed like that for a while, only heading back when Mel started to doze off on him. When they said goodnight to each other, she forgot to give him the hoodie back. Just as well, too, because she got to fall asleep surrounded by the scent of Frank Langdon.

***

They began meeting every night. It was nice to be alone together, away from the staff and kids. Sometimes they would go for walks or just sit and talk or even just sit in silence. It was like they just needed to be near each other, like they couldn’t sleep if they hadn’t been in each other’s presence immediately before.

She also never gave him the hoodie back. And he never asked for it. 

It was rare that she got to wear it, but she often slept in it and would wear it on cold nights or mornings. If anyone, staff or camper, noticed she was wearing a PTMC hoodie that was too large for her and had last year's design on it, they politely didn’t say anything.

It filled her with some weird sense of pride wearing it, like she had won. Like it was a trophy. 

And she especially loved the way he would look at her when she was in it, like he was proud that it was his hoodie she was wearing. Like he had given it to her as a way to claim her as his.

The play was coming along well. The campers had (inexplicably) decided to write a horror themed play based around one of Robby’s spooky campfire stories. It was a bit dark and Mel had run it by Robby before approving, but he had laughed and given her the go ahead.

So she let them write the script about the girl who died in the lake and came back to haunt the camp. Kids were so… interesting. 

With all the parts casted and rehearsals starting, she just had to figure out the set and props. Victoria was helpful with that, being the arts and crafts counselor. She helped Mel brainstorm ideas and they planned on doing a crossover class with the arts and crafts session that took place at the same time as Mel’s theatre session.

They were almost halfway through the summer now and the kids were a lot slower than they had been at the beginning of the year. She didn’t have to repeatedly tell them to go to sleep or keep as vigilant an eye on the flight risks. They didn’t want to do the long hikes anymore and they weren’t as aggressive during capture the flag or dodgeball. It was a relief to Mel.

She was feeling good, relaxed. For the first time in a long time, it felt like everything in her life was going smoothly and she was on top of all of it. Becca was good and happy in her center, Mel was employed at a job that she actually liked, with coworkers who seemed interested in her, she was a shoe-in for Abbot’s masters program, and there was a cute boy that she really liked who—she was growing more and more certain—actually liked her back.

Her whole body felt light as she moved through the days, not taking for granted how fulfilled she felt by her life. She knew that once she was back in school she would not feel this happy or relaxed; she had to enjoy it while she could.

But one night, in mid-July, she woke up from a sound sleep by a noise she didn’t recognize at first. She and Langdon hadn’t gone out that night, both of them agreeing they were too tired. She had fallen asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. But now, she was fishing through grogginess to understand what had woken her.

She checked her phone, the screen lighting up her corner of the cabin: 1:07 a.m. She frowned and looked around at the cabin. All eight girls were sleeping peacefully in their bunks. So what had woken her?

She sat up in bed, trying to figure out if she had just dreamt a weird noise or if it was actually real, when she heard distant voices outside. Her heart rate picked up.

They usually slept with the cabin windows open to allow for breeze to get in, so it wasn’t unusual to hear things outside, even voices sometimes if a counselor was out or Robby and Heather were walking around. But this late at night was unusual. The voices were talking and laughing, but she couldn’t make anything specific out.

Something settled into Mel’s stomach, something she hadn’t felt in a long time: dread. It could be anyone out there, including trespassers. She didn’t want to have to be the one to go out there in the middle of the night and check who was out after hours, but she knew she was one of the responsible adults at camp and it was her job. Hopefully it would just be a few campers sneaking out and she could give them a stern talking to before sending them back to bed.

Mel stood, putting Langdon’s hoodie on over her t-shirt, and sneaking as quietly as she could to the door. It creaked slightly as she opened it and stepped outside, but it was a faint noise in the hum of the woods around them. 

She stayed by the cabin, looking around the camp in the darkness. Nothing seemed out of place or amiss, just cool night air under a half moon and rustling leaves. Maybe it had just been hikers… out at 1 a.m… maybe.

Then, she heard another noise: splashing. Her head whipped to the lake. There, far out in the water on the opposite side of shore from the cabins were two people, swimming in the lake with their arms around each other.

And Mel knew one of them.

She stumbled back, hiding in the shadows between cabins 9 and 10, peering around the corner to watch. Her stomach sank, the feeling of dread mixing with something so much worse. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed, like her chest was collapsing in on itself, and hot tears pricked at her eyes.

There, in the water, in swim trunks and no shirt, was Langdon. He was crouching in the water, hands around the waist of a woman who was sitting on his lap, her hands on his shoulders. Mel couldn’t make out enough details this far away in the darkness, but she could see a skimpy black bikini tied around her back, dark hair piled on top of her head in a messy knot.

They were talking in hushed voices, but they carried easily through the air over the lake and to where Mel was standing. She couldn’t make out the specifics, but she could hear the familiar, flirtatious tone to his voice, could hear him laughing, could see them kissing.

A wave of nausea rolled through her and she truly thought she would throw up right then and there.

“Not fair, is it?”

Mel jumped out of her skin, thoughts of vomit pushed from her head as her fight or flight kicked in. Mel was always more of a fawn, though. She turned around to the voice, eyes wide in fear. Then, seeing it was Santos behind her, she let out a breath of relief, relaxing.

“What the hell, Trinity?” Mel snapped as quietly as she could. “You scared the fuck out of me.”

Santos grinned like she was proud, but put a finger to her lips. “Sh, Mel, the kids will hear you.”

“Why are you out here?” Mel hissed, annoyed.

“Same as you.” Santos nodded out to the water, where the happy couple were walking to shore now. “Got woken up by Lover Boy.”

Mel watched miserably as Langdon settled back on the sand and the woman settled herself over him, straddling his hips. When they started making out, Mel had to look away.

“Pretty fucked up,” Santos said. “He’s been leading you on for weeks and then he pulls this shit.”

“We’re just friends,” Mel said robotically, half a response to Santos and half an acknowledgement to herself.

“Well, he’s still not allowed to do this. It’s against the rules to bring people onto camp property,” Santos said. “You gonna rat on him?”

Mel whipped her head around. “No, of course not.”

“Why not?” Santos asked, looking offended for some reason. “He’s been fucking around with you and then he brings his girlfriend over behind your back. Doesn’t that make you upset?”

Yes.

“Trinity,” Mel said softly. “He’s still my friend. I’m not going to get him in trouble.”

“Even if he’s making stupid decisions?” she asked, eyebrows raised.

Mel shrugged. “If you tell anyone about this, don’t involve me,” she said. 

Santos shook her head, looking almost disappointed. “I don’t understand you, King.”

“Good night, Trinity,” Mel said pointedly.

She got one last look at the couple on the beach—his hands were under the other woman’s bathing suit, over her back, her ass, her breasts—and carefully moved to the front of her cabin, entering as quietly as possible, and getting back into bed.

She ripped his hoodie off, throwing it to the floor and glaring at it before lying back. She stared at the ceiling for the next five hours, not getting another minute of sleep.

***

He pretended like nothing had happened and it infuriated her. 

He was treating her the exact same, close and touchy and funny and kind and overstepping in a way that—prior to the night before—had convinced her he liked her. Egg on her face, she knew better now.

She was surprised by how angry she was. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt like this, an undercurrent of agitation at his very presence near her, bubbling in her stomach like acid. She wanted to yell at him, to push him away every time he got close, to leave PTMC and delete his number and never come back.

But, at the end of the day, they were coworkers and she needed the job. She could not run away, nor could she start a very public fight with him. So she gritted her teeth and bared it, careful to not look at him or talk to him any more than absolutely necessary. When he made a joke, she didn’t laugh. When he brushed her arm, she pulled away. When he sat next to her, she got up and moved. 

He noticed, she knew, but he didn’t bring it up until the third day after it happened. She had left his hoodie on his bed, washed and folded—she wasn’t a monster—without a word to him. Let him find it like she had found him with his… girlfriend? Hookup? Lover? It didn’t matter.

She was eating dinner with her girls at the dining pavilion, invested in the story Bianca was telling about the food fight that took place in her school last year. She felt a tap on her back and she looked up, finding a very stressed looking Frank Langdon standing over her.

“Hi?” she said, chewing through a mouthful of food.

“Can we talk?” It wasn’t really a question, more of a demand, but he was clearly waiting for her to answer.

“Sure,” she said, then to the girls at her table, “I’ll be right back, okay?”

She got up, following Langdon in silence as he led her away from the pavilion and back towards the administration building. She followed him onto a path beyond the treeline, where no one could see them and, hopefully, no one could hear them.

He turned on her, arms crossed over his chest. Here, she could see how tired he looked, how worn out. His tan skin looked pale and there were bags around his eyes like he hadn’t been sleeping. Probably sneaking around every night with her, Mel thought. His hair was also messed up, like he hadn’t been styling it like normal, or maybe running his hands through it too much.

“What’s going on?” he asked, his voice a lot softer than she expected. She had expected him to be mad at her, to snap or yell. But he just seemed… defeated, almost.

Unfortunately for him, though, that did nothing to quell her anger. “What do you mean?” she asked, feigning innocence.

He let out a scoff, sounding almost offended at the question. “You’ve been ignoring me, you don’t answer my texts. And now you gave me the hoodie back? What’s wrong?”

“I just figured your girlfriend would probably prefer to have it,” Mel snapped, not intending for it to come out as vitriolic as it did.

Langdon flinched, face sobering as realization hit him. His jaw worked, trying to form words that didn’t seem to be coming. Finally, he said, “You saw us?” He sounded scared.

Mel let out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, you weren’t exactly subtle.”

“Shit, Mel.” He looked panicked, eyes wide and helpless as he stared at her. Good. “I didn’t… I wasn’t thinking,” he said. “She talked me into it and I… I didn’t think anyone would see. Least of all you.”

“Yeah, well, I did,” Mel said, shrugging. “Who is she anyway? Some girl you met at the pub last week?”

He let out a strangled noise. “No, she’s… Abby. She and I have been dating for the past four years.”

It would’ve hurt less if he’d punched her in the gut. “Oh,” she said, voice breaking on the single syllable. Tears immediately formed in her eyes, her heart in her throat. 

“No, wait,” he said, frantically, hands out in front of him. “That came out wrong. We’re not together together.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” she snapped, so loud that he jumped back, looking actually scared now.

“It’s complicated. We have been on and off dating for four years. She’s… It’s not… a healthy relationship.” Every word seemed to be pulled from by some force, like he was choking it out against his will. “We fight and we argue and we get back together and we say awful shit to each other and then we repeat the cycle and it’s… I don’t know.” 

He sounded so defeated. But Mel didn’t care.

“Then why do you still talk to her?” she asked.

“Because she’s important to me. She was the first person I became friends with when I moved to Pittsburgh, she was my first serious relationship, she’s still my friend. I can’t just cut her out of my life!”

“So you live with her treating you badly?”

“It’s not… we’re getting better about it,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “She was camping up here with friends a few days ago and wanted to see me. And I was feeling… I don’t know, lonely? It just happened, I don’t know how.”

“You know, Frank,” she said, enjoying that his first name hit him exactly how she wanted it to, “you should probably learn to take responsibility for your own actions at some point. Santos was right about you.”

“Hey, that’s not fair,” he said, pointing a finger at her. “I know that I fucked up, okay? I wouldn’t do it again, ever.”

“So you’re done talking to her?” Mel had no right to ask that, she knew, but part of her was still holding onto the hope that he would choose her over Abby.

His guilty expression said it all though. “I can’t… do that. She means too much to me.”

They stood there for a minute in silence, neither talking or even looking at each other. 

“So,” Mel said when she finally got the courage to ask, “where do I fit into that?”

His face fell. “Mel,” he said, taking a step towards her. She took a step away. “Mel, you are so important to me. I know I fucked up, and I know I have shit to work out, but you… I can’t lose you. I think you’re like my best friend.” Then he set his jaw, looking at her determinedly. “No, I know you’re my best friend.”

“We just met, Frank,” she said, because, in the grand scheme of things, it was true. 

“I know that. Which is why I know it’s true.” He took another step towards her, his hand finding his hair again, like he didn’t know where else to put it. “Mel, I’ve never met anyone that I’ve connected with like you. It’s like you’re in my head and I can’t get you out and I just…” He was breathing heavily, leaning over towards her like he was begging. For a second she thought he’d get on his knees. “Mel, I don’t even think I can live without you at this point.”

It was overdramatic, ridiculous, even. Mel was head over heels for this guy and even she didn’t feel that strongly about him. But, he said it sincerely, looking into her eyes with desperation. She swallowed the lump in her throat, nodding and mulling over everything in her head.

“Frank,” she said softly, her hands wringing together. How did they get here? “Why did you…?” Lead me on? Act like you wanted me? Make me fall for you? “I feel like I’m going crazy,” she said, a humorless laugh pushing its way past her lips.

“No, no,” he said quickly, finally stepping up to her and putting his hands on her upper arms. He moved them soothingly up and down, stooping to meet her at eye level. “You’re not crazy. Mel, I’ve been acting like an idiot. I shouldn’t have…” His eyes unfocused, looking for what to say. “I wasn’t a good friend to you. And I’m sorry.”

She knew he meant it, could hear it, could feel it. 

“I want to be your friend,” he said. 

“Just friends.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes,” he said firmly. “Just friends. I can do that, I promise.”

She felt a little dizzy, like she’d just stepped off a roller coaster, gravity and her body not quite aligning correctly. “I think…” she said, distantly. “I think I just need some time?”

He swallowed, blinking a few times at her, trying to read her expression. He nodded, letting go of her and taking a tentative step back. “Okay,” he said gently. “Okay, yeah, I can do that.”

She nodded. “I want to be your friend, too,” she added, to make sure he knew. “But… I just need a bit of space.”

He nodded again. “Of course, whatever you need. I’m here for you, whenever you want.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds, sitting with this… whatever it was between them. Mel still didn’t feel like she had all the answers she needed, like she understood him the way she thought she did a week ago, but her anger had diffused at some point during their conversation. And that was a step forward.

“We should probably get back,” Mel said, not meeting his eye.

“Yeah. I’m gonna go grab something from my cabin. Can you watch my group for a few minutes?” He was shifting restlessly on his feet, watching her carefully as if she might explode at him again any second.

“Sure,” she said, turning away from him and heading back towards the dining pavilion.

When he returned, he didn’t sit next to her at dinner or the campfire. He was kind and spoke to her when necessary, but he wasn’t overfamiliar in the way he usually was. He wasn’t pushing, and she appreciated that.

She knew that they would find their way back onto even footing, that this was a stumble in their relationship, not a fall. Yes, it had hurt her, but at the end of the day, he didn’t owe her anything. They weren’t together, they had never even kissed, they were just close. What claim did she have over him, really?

But the point remained that he was her closest friend. The only person not blood related that saw her for her and accepted her wholly for it—actually liked her because of who she was, not in spite of it. Even he had said he felt the same about her. That wasn’t a relationship worth losing just because he didn’t want her the same way she wanted him. 

They just needed space, time to themselves to remember who they were when they weren’t codependently spending every spare moment together.

The issue was, though, that their relationship was like a rubber band: the further they pulled apart, the more tension put on it, the quicker and harder they would ultimately snap back together. Mel was kidding herself if she thought any differently.