The Swing

Chapter Three

Warning: some strong language

The rest of camp was unusually uneventful, as Xara had expected considering the excitement of the first day.

She and Sophie had done all the usual things: hung out together, swapped tales of the year they'd spent apart, played sports and gone shopping. Xara was a little disappointed she hadn't seen more of Jack, if she was honest with herself. Since the first day, especially since they had spent time together in the clearing at the swing, she had missed his company, and each evening after dark she'd found herself sneaking out of her dorm and sitting alone on the swing, thinking, reading books, listening to music - anything to get her mind off Jack. She probably would have found it easier to forget him if she had forgotten the swing, too.

Tonight, the final evening of camp, was no different than the others: Xara waited until the chatter from other dorms faded, then quietly slipped out of the dormitory she shared with a snoring Sophie. Feeling her way through the darkness, she found herself at the edge of the forest lining Camp Archwilio. She squinted into the darkness until she spotted the silhouette of the swing, and made a beeline for it. Xara untangled her earphone wires, perched on the swing, and finally allowed herself to collect her thoughts.

Tomorrow they'd go home, and Xara couldn't help feeling disappointed that she never made an effort with Jack. She couldn't blame herself, though - every time she approached him, Sophie would drag her away, rambling about loyalty to team Blue. There was always time to establish a friendship at college, but Xara planned to distance herself from anyone she suspected of being part of Karma. She didn't need that on her reputation if it got out.

A gentle breeze swept through the clearing, sweeping Xara's long, curly hair into her eyes. As she brushed it away, she noticed a silhouette at the edge of the forest, moving towards the clearing. Twigs snapped under their feet as they approached in the darkness, closer and closer to the swing. Xara started to panic, thinking it was one of two people: Susan, coming to punish her for being out of bounds at night; or a stranger, set on attacking her. She steadied her shaking hands, bundled her earphones into her pocket, and braced herself.

"Xara?" It was Jack, his black hair slightly tousled, a book in one hand and his phone in the other. "Xars, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question." Although she felt calmer that she was in no danger, the adrenaline kept coarsing through her as it did whenever she caught a glimpse of those brown eyes. Even through the darkness, she could see the fires dancing in them.

"I came here to read. I do it every evening. How about you?"

"But... I've been coming here every evening, too. How have we not crossed paths?"

"I usually come here later," explained Jack. "I wanted a bit of an earlier night tonight, what with it being the last night and everything."

There was a moment of silence, before Xara willed herself to break it. "I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to spend more time together... Sophie would've slaughtered me."

"Well, we can make up for lost time now, if you want." Jack smiled, hopping on the swing as Xara settled at the base of the wizened oak tree it hung from. For the next couple of hours - although to Xara it seemed like several days - they swapped life stories and discussed their many common interests, after which they lay on the forest floor, gazing at the stars. She turned her head to face to Jack, who noticed after a few seconds and returned her gaze. And for a moment, it was just the two of them, enjoying each other's company under the stars illuminating Camp Archwilio. In those few seconds, Xara felt as though she could be content with nothing but Jack's presence. He made her feel both safe and adventurous; simultaneously calm and giddy. And she couldn't think of a place she would rather be, or a person she would rather be sharing this with.

A shooting star streaked across the sky, and Xara and Jack closed their eyes tightly in unison, unaware they were wishing for the same thing. She let her head fall to the side once more, and found Jack staring at her this time. The fire in his eyes was now just an ember: calm and certain, warm and glowing, with the potential to flare up again but only with the right fuel to ignite it. Xara started inching closer to him, but the invasive thoughts from when they first met came back to her. She didn't want to be just another one of Jack's throwaway girls, a momentary fling he'd have forgotten about the next week, and at this epiphany she stopped herself, taking a deep breath and sitting up.

"Xars?" Jack's use of her nickname stung a little. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I think we should be getting back to our dorms, it's late..." she mumbled, starting to make her way to the edge of the clearing.

"I'll walk you back, then," he said, "it's easy to get lost here." Xara just smiled, and allowed him to slip an arm around her waist, guiding her through the woods. "How's your head?" enquired Jack.

"It's... better," said Xara shortly, leaning into his side a little. "Thanks for helping me out at the hospital."

"It was the least I could- holy shit..." Jack trailed off, cursing at the sight the pair were met with when they reached the edge of the forest. Camp Archwilio was engulfed in smoke, but not the warm, friendly kind emitted by bonfires, no - this was thick, dark, relentless tendrils forging their way across the grounds from the windows of what used to be the dormitory building. Sections of the building which weren't charred and blackened were eerily illuminated in flickering crimson. Fire alarms sounded in the distance, urgent but fading, almost as though they were giving up along with the infrastructure of the dormitories.

"What the fuck happened here?"