camp triple pine//lawrusso

23. a romantic (or lack thereof) evening under the stars

The evening was indecisive. 

Some moments were warm and humid, while at certain moments, a cool breeze riffled through the pine trees, creating a smooth sort of rattle of the needles. Daniel had brought a blanket to lie on, and was using his jacket as a pillow. He still had the strawberry clip in his hair from earlier, and he occasionally ran the pads of his fingers over the soft wood, feeling comforted, as if his friends were right there with him.

"Can't sleep?"

Daniel jolted upright, looking behind him for the voice, 'Johnny' on his lips before he saw it was Bobby Brown. He cocked his head to the side, looking over Bobby curiously, not saying anything for a moment.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

Daniel shook his head, patting the flat rock beside him. "It's not exactly the Ritz, but it'll work, right?"

Bobby shrugged and nodded, sitting down beside Daniel. "You know, my family's a couple neighborhoods down from Encino. But it's not quite Reseda...no offense."

Daniel shrugged. He didn't really take offense to people implying--or straight-up saying--Reseda was a shithole. They were only speaking the truth, after all. It was when Encino assholes said it, really, and Bobby was--

"Middle-ground?" Daniel asked.

"Huh?"

Daniel supposed he meant middle class. He'd been thinking of the word "middle-ground" since his first time with Johnny. The town outside the camp, it wasn't Encino and it wasn't Reseda. It was some middle-ground it seemed, where things like background and future expectations didn't matter. Everyone was just spanned out and social under the blazing California sun, just like his mom had wanted when they first moved here. The people seemed happy. (And, sometimes, admittedly, Daniel imagined himself among them. Truly, wholly happy and fitting in.)

Bobby seemed to register the comment. "I'm more middle-class, yeah. I'm not from the country clubs and all that, I mean."

Daniel nodded. Bobby could sure go on about nothing. He was a good guy, though, and they were so similar...it was a wonder Johnny didn't hate him like he used to hate Daniel. Probably because Bobby didn't try to go in on Ali.

"What are you doing out here?" Daniel asked, because he felt he should.

"Could ask you the same," Bobby hugged his knees and looked out over the cliff. It was here Daniel felt he could see the full scope of the world, as if the stars spanned out in the vast sky below him as well, as if he could jump into it. "I just woke up and noticed you were gone. This really is the best view, though. It's a good place to bring a girl...if you're into that sort of thing..."

The way he said it, hesitant and breathy, made Daniel sit up, his blood running cold. His mind immediately went to the fact that this was in fact a rather steep cliff, and if Bobby knew...

"What makes you say that?" Daniel asked, trying to keep his voice level.

Bobby gave him a curious look, but his eyes held no hatred. In fact, he looked almost relaxed. Daniel half-wondered if he were stoned. "Just...sometimes, people would say stuff, in school or the dojo. Stuff about..." his eyes flickered down to Daniel's lips. Daniel never felt for a moment that Bobby liked him. Johnny was different, there was a certain energy about him (Jessica had a thing about identifying energies, like when she gave tarot readings at sleepovers). Bobby, though, was a hundred percent straight. He was just being weird. Very weird.

"They'd call you a fairy, things like that." Bobby looked down at his shoes. "I wanted to tell them to knock it off, but I didn't want them rounding on me. Besides, we were all pretty pissed at you, so I did my fair share of shit-talking. But, I mean..." Bobby looked, for the first time, like he didn't know what to say next. And it was an odd thing, because he was usually so prepared. "You're my friend--our friend, now. If you are...you know, gay, that's okay. I don't want you to feel like you can't, you know, be true to yourself or anything."