𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 - 𝐡𝐬𝐦𝐭𝐦𝐭𝐬 (𝐢𝐢𝐢) | ✔

seven

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Seven: nothing we can't do
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Auditions were finally over and all people could talk about was Jett's amazing performance. Juliette was speechless. As far as she knew, Jett was a quiet kid who did not seem to want to be there. But, yet again, those are always the most fascinating ones. They always have something incredible hidden in them.

She was exhausted, maybe not physically but mentally; auditions were always a rough time. Normally, she would have asked E.J to go take a walk with her but, seeing how stressed he was as well, she decided to go to the dining hall alone. Some months before, she would have never dared to do that, she was far too anxious for it, but she had to learn to take care of herself and not depend on anyone else. Once she got there, she took a look around and chose to sit in the same table they had sat in that morning, since it was empty. She took a bowl of yogurt with fruit and granola and sat, looking around her at the few people that were there.

Soon, however, her loneliness was broken by Ricky, who approached her from behind and covered her eyes with his hands.

"Thanks," he said, taking a grape from her bowl and putting it in is mouth as he sat beside her.

"You owe me a grape," Juliette pointed at him with her spoon, "and you know I don't forget."

"You tell me," Ricky laughed. "I still remember you pestering me for three days because I took one of your cookies."

"Well, you shouldn't have taken it."

"How are you, Juli? You know, with the food and everything," his mood changed, now becoming completely serious.

"Everything's better. E.J's been helping me like crazy and he has really made a difference," the girl admitted, now picking at her yogurt. She did not dare to look at Ricky.

"I'm sorry. For not being there for you. I should have even if we had...  you know."

"Ricky, please," she pleaded, now looking at his brown eyes, brown eyes that she could draw from memory (and she had done so many times before), "stop it. Let's... forget about all that. Let's pretend nothing happened and... start again."

"The start of something new?"

"The start of something new."

—

Night fell over Shallow Lake and the counsellors had given them some free time to enjoy all around camp. Juliette, who planned on staying in bed staring at the ceiling as she heard Kourtney complain, saw her plans frustrated by a blue-eyed boy who irrupted in her cabin.

"Why are you not ready?"

"Ready for what?" She asked, looking at her side and seeing Ben staring at her.

"The bonfire?" He said, as if it were the only possible answer. "You owe me some gossip."

"Oh my God I had totally forgot," Juliette admitted, now sitting up.

"It's okay, I always have a backup plan." Ben then threw her a Camp Shallow Lake hoodie and some candy bags which included (but were not limited to) Juliette's favourites: twizzlers and Reese's. "Let's go, it's about to start."

Under the almost burning look of her cabin-mates, especially Maddox's, she left with the boy, a smile plastered on her face as she put on the soft and warm hoodie, perfect for that chilly night. Side by side, they walked towards where the bonfire was to be lit. As they walked, however, she could feel their hands brushing from time to time, almost imperceptibly; she was unsure as to whether Ben was doing that on purpose or it had been an accident, but by the fifth time it happened, he looked down and interlocked their pinkies. For her, it was an innocent gesture, something she did with her friends whenever they were walking as a gratitude gesture. Ben, on the other hand, smiled softly and looked at the sky, looking for a constellation to point out to the girl.

By the time they arrived to the designated spot, the bonfire was already lit and a couple of teenagers had occupied some of the logs that were used as seats. Ben, after covering the log with a blanket, gestured for her to sit down, and so she did. She immediately felt the heat from the fire in her face, making her smile at the warmth.

"Your hair matches the fire," Ben attempted to joke by her side, wiping off the sweat from his hands in his shorts.

"Wow, I've never heard that one before."

"Really?"

"Absolutely not. My dad used to tell me that Apollo had given me my hair," she recalled, smiling faintly. "It helped, considering that my red hair was not very popular among the kids at school."

"Well, if it counts for anything, I think it's great," Ben whispered, the smile permanent in his countenance. "Now, tell me, who's Ricky and do I have to target him on prank night?"

She laughed, not even questioning how Ben had learnt his name. "He's my ex-boyfriend, we dated for some months. Let's just say that... we didn't have the best break-up."

"Did something happen?"

"We weren't in the right headspace. So we broke up. But the worst part was that, for some time, I completely lost him. I had grown so used to having him around all the time, counting on him for everything, having him be every single one of my firsts that, when we stopped talking to each other, it really took a toll on me. I was planning on getting over him this summer by not seeing him at all, but I will now have to do it seeing him every day."

"That is what Camp Shallow Lake is for," he smiled, reassuringly, caressing her hand. "Believe me, previous counsellors had to deal with couples that broke up here. There is nothing we can't do."