7 Days of Camp

Prologue

•Kaila's POV•

"Kaila, time for bed!" my mom yelled down the hall.

"Okay!" I yelled back. But I wasn't ready to go to sleep. Not yet.

I was online, researching local church camps. Ever since getting back from Fusion, I'd been having a withdrawal. Since we didn't live in Wisconsin anymore, I wouldn't be able to go this summer.

Oh yeah, maybe I should explain.

My dad got a job offer in Chicago, Illinois, and he took it. I didn't blame him-the job was amazing. But I missed my friends back home, and all the memories I had from Fusion.

We'd lived here in Chicago for about a year now. Luckily, I'd kept up with Amber through texting and other social media apps. But I hadn't really kept in touch with Hunter...

If you're wondering who he is, I suggest you don't ask. It's too hard to explain. But since you're already wondering, I guess I'll try.

Hunter was my camp crush at Fusion. I was practically in love with him-although I would never admit it! But I hadn't seen or talked to him in almost a year. That didn't mean I'd forgotten about him. Oh, gosh, no. But it did mean I was having a major Hunter withdrawal. Which was sad.

"Kaila, I still see your light on!" Mom called.

"Ugh." I groaned inwardly and shut off my laptop. I could look at camps again tomorrow. Time for sleep, I guess.

- - -

•Hunter's POV•

It was the last week of school, and I was super excited to be done.

"Yo!"

I turned around to see my best friend Alex running towards me.

"Hey, man. What's up?"

"The temperature. It's summer! Finally!"

"I know! What are you gonna do this summer?"

"Probably beat all the levels of Black Ops 3. Duh," Alex replied.

I rolled my eyes. Alex was obsessed with video games. "Are you going to Fusion?"

"No, not this year."

"How come?"

"Well, since my parents stopped going to church, they don't want me going."

Oh, that's right. Alex's parents had uprooted him from the church. He still came on the occasional times when he spent the night at my house on Saturdays, but other than that, he wasn't really seen in church much. I felt kinda bad. It had always been something he loved. But I guess his parents felt differently.

"I'm sorry, man. I'm not going either, though. My family is taking a road trip to Chicago that week. It's just for my dad's work, but he's making the whole family go. Ugh, I won't even have anything to do."

"That sucks. But at least it's just one week. I'm sure you'll find something to do," Alex said encouragingly.

"Yeah...I hope so."

- - -

•Rain's POV•

It was just another Saturday at Chick-Fil-A and I was cleaning up some tables, when my best friend Emily Summers approached me.

"Hey, Rain. How are you?"

"I'm good. You?"

"Great. Camp starts in just two weeks!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Do you want to come?"

"Of course!"

Last year had been amazing. I'd gotten saved, met tons of new friends, and even found my now-boyfriend Lincoln. It had been the best summer ever! How could I pass up the chance to go again?

"When is it?" I asked.

"June 1st through 7th," Emily replied.

"Okay. I think I'm free. But I'll have to ask off a lot of days."

"Same."

We went back to our jobs and I set my mind on a replay of memories from Encounter Camp. That always put me in a good mood.

- - -

•Lincoln's POV•

I woke up Sunday morning excited to go to church. I'd always liked it, but now that my girlfriend Rain came with me, it was even better.

We'd become official about nine months ago. A lot of people would say, "When I first met so-and-so, I had no idea they would come to mean so much to me." But that wasn't the case with Rain and I.

I knew, from the first moment I saw her, that she was something special. And when I dug deeper, got to know her past and everything she was dealing with, it only attracted me more.

I couldn't wait to see her today. She'd been working almost every day this week, and the one day she didn't, she'd had family time with her mom. Luckily, though, Chick-Fil-A was closed on Sundays, so she was always available for church.

I got dressed in a white button-down that complemented my tan skin, and a pair of dark jeans. Our church was kind of laid-back, meaning you didn't have to wear a suit and tie every week. That was one thing I liked about it.

After getting ready, I got in the car and went to pick up Rain.

When I got to her house, she was waiting for me on the front steps. "Oh no, am I late?" I asked.

"No, I just stepped outside like two minutes ago." She kissed me on the cheek, sending a chill down my spine.

She looked gorgeous, as always, in a white sundress and tan sandals. Her long brown hair was down, with a few strands pulled back.

"I like your hair," I said. I'd always loved her hair straight. She wasn't wearing any makeup-at least that I could see-which only made me like her more. Don't get me wrong, I did like her with makeup. But it always impressed me when girls could go out without makeup and seem completely confident.

"Thanks," she replied. "Oh, hey, we're matching! Well, kind of."

I looked down at my shirt and realized that we were, in fact, both wearing white. "Hmm, well I guess we'll have to get a picture together," I said with a wink.

So before leaving, we had her mom take a photo of us. "You guys are so cute," she said as she handed back my phone.

That's what I liked about Rain's mom. Even though she was attracted to women, she was very supportive of mine and Rain's relationship.

Her mom being a lesbian didn't really bother me, or change the way I felt about Rain. In fact, it was what brought us together in the first place.

However, she did tell me a few weeks ago that her mom had reached out to her ex-husband, Rain's dad, and they'd met up a couple times since then. Maybe things were finally going to change for their family.

"Well, we'd better get going. Don't wanna be late," I said, and opened the car door for Rain. She got in, and we drove off to church.

I couldn't wait to hear what the message would be today!

- - -
A/N: So, here's the prologue! This just kinda introduces the four main characters and shows you what they've been up to in the past year since Encounter and Fusion. Hope you enjoyed. And don't be a silent reader! 😉 I love seeing your comments!