The eighteen boys were quite surprised when Sehun approached their table at breakfast that morning, looking up at his exhausted face. 

"Since when do you have enough time to have events for us three days in a row?" Taeyong teased, Ten leaning on his shoulder

Sehun rolled his eyes. "My boyfriend is busy, alright? Now come to the art shack later, we're gonna do pottery." About half the group cheered excitedly while the rest just sorta looked around, since they didn't know how to do it. "I'll teach you, alright? So see ya later." 

As soon as he was gone, Johnny leaned in close to everyone. "He has no idea how to make them. We'll just to teach you." 

"It's not like you guys will be any good either," Jisung said quietly.

"Hey!" Johnny cried, but everyone knew it was true. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Everyone paired up when they got to the art shack (since there weren't enough work tables for everyone to have their own), Chenle and Jisung immediately reaching for each other and grabbing one first. 

"It's so easy. Mine was really good last year," Jisung said as Chenle slapped the clay down. "My parents still use it at home, and I only took one try!" 

Chenle froze nervously, sitting down next to Jisung on the chair. He didn't want to mess up Jisung's work. "Where's Sehun?" He asked softly. Jisung looked around then shrugged, looking at Chenle. 

"Shall we?" He spoke. Chenle started, and Jisung began to spin the table. Chenle breathed a sigh of relief when they got the dip in their bowl without a problem.

Jisung's placed his weirdly big hands on the side of the clay and Chenle followed suit, his hands looking like a baby's next to Jisung's. He followed every move Jisung did, and slowly, it started to actually look like a bowl of some sort. 

"Good," Jisung mumbled, as the bowl began to turn into more of vase or cup thingie. The smile fell off Jisung's face, and suddenly, the walls got too thin and the bowl collapsed. 

Chenle looked worriedly back and forth at it, wondering why he had to mess it up in front of Jisung. 

"Don't worry. We'll just try again," Jisung said, smiling at Chenle and remixing the clay. And with that expression, Chenle couldn't help but smile back. 

At the table next to Chenle and Jisung's, Taeyong and Ten were restarting their own bowl. 

"I can't believe our own children are better at this than us," Ten said, sighing at the middle schoolers before looking up at his boyfriend. 

"Why don't we know how to do this?" Taeyong asked, slapping the clay back down with frustration. 

"Because last year we just left to go make out." 

Ten sighed. "Of course we did." He began to laugh and Taeyong followed suit, the two of them making another attempt on their bowl. Taeyong cupped his hands around the side while Ten tried to begin the dip, but somehow their clay just...didn't want to work. There were lumps everywhere, and the top edges kept curling and collapsing. 

Taeyong rolled his eyes and stopped the work table, looking over at Ten. 

"Why are we bothering? Making out would be so much more fun," Taeyong mumbled, sparing a glance at Jisung and Chenle to make sure they weren't listening. 

"But I don't want them seeing," Ten responded. Taeyong gestured with his head into the woods, and Ten's expression morphed into a grin. "You're a genius."

"Come on, let's go," Taeyong responded and they took each other's hands, running into the woods with a giggle. 

"What are they doing?" Jaemin asked. 

"Making out," Donghyuck bluntly responded, without even looking up, as Jaemin rolled his eyes at him. Jaemin wished he was doing this with Jeno, as they'd made their bowls together last year (and it had been so romantic), but Donghyuck grabbed him and Mark grabbed Jeno before they could do anything else. 

Jaemin sighed as he molded the clay. "Wouldn't you rather be with your boyfriend?"

"Abso-ing-lutely. But more important matters are at hand," Donghyuck responded, running clay covered fingers through his hair. "Your crush on Jeno's gotten worse."

"And why is that any of your business?"

"Because I want it to be," Donghyuck responded.

Jaemin pouted, pausing for a moment. "It is getting worse!" He whined quietly, not wanting Jeno to hear. "I like him so much and it . I've liked him for a whole year now, but nothing's gonna happen, you know? He doesn't like me, and I'm too scared to ever admit it. He's just....he's just so cute." 

"You don't know that he doesn't like you."

Jaemin sighed. "I'm sure he doesn't." 

"I'm telling you, you don't know that for sure. I mean, I thought Mark would never like me." 

"Then...then why did you flirt with him so much?" 

"Because I wanted to at least try, you know?" Donghyuck explained. "I knew that having Mark was worth any amount of humiliation. Don't you feel that way?"

Jaemin flushed, looking down at the bowl, which Donghyuck had already finished, and ignored his statement. Donghyuck grinned, he knew that at least he was getting somewhere. So he spared a glance at Mark, and Mark looked back at him. Donghyuck gave the thumbs up, their symbol that Jaemin liked Jeno. Mark nodded, now it was his turn to pester. 

"So..." Mark started awkwardly. "Jaemin's your best friend, eh?"

Immediately, Jeno blushed, and Mark had to hide his smile. "Uh, yeah....my best friend." 

"He seems like a good best friend for you," Mark responded. He sighed, not knowing how he could possibly get this secret out of Jeno. "It must be weird not having a boyfriend at camp." 

"Yeah," Jeno responded dejectedly. 

"Would you date anyone at camp?" Mark asked. 

"Well..." Jeno started, shyly looking down at the clay. "Uh-huh. I really like someone here." 

"Who is it?"

"It's....I like Jaemin," Jeno whispered so only Mark could hear. He quickly sighed, leaning away. "I like him so much and it . I've liked him for a whole year now, but nothing's gonna happen, you know? He doesn't like me, and I'm too scared to ever admit it. He's just....he's just so cute." 

Mark stared at the table in happy surprise, secretly making the thumbs up symbol where Jeno couldn't see. A short distance away, he heard Donghyuck squeal. 

"What was that?" Jeno asked. 

"Nothing," Mark responded. "But anyways, Jeno, let me just tell you: you definitely have more of a chance than you think." 

~~~~~~~~~~

After taking a bathroom break, Jungwoo returned to his seat with Yukhei. He crammed into the tiny chair, blushing as Yukhei's muscular thigh pressed against Jungwoo's much smaller one.

When Jungwoo looked at Yukhei, his face was contorted in shame. But when Jungwoo looked at the table, he realized: Yukhei had completely destroyed their bowl. It had been really beautiful before Jungwoo went to the bathroom, but now, it was a crumpled up mess. 

"I-I'm sorry," Yukhei stuttered. "My hands are too big." They both looked down at his massive, clay caked hands. 

"It's okay!" Jungwoo said cheerfully, he was too distracted by how close together they were to care about a stupid bowl. "I can fix it. Can you spin the thingie?"

Yukhei nodded and bit his lip, spinning the work table as Jungwoo threw himself into fixing up the bowl. He reformed the rim, got rid of the lumps on the inside, and even added a little design to the outside. When he was done he picked it up, nervously showing it to Yukhei. 

"Is it good?" Jungwoo asked, and Yukhei showed him that bright smile. 

"It's perfect. Let's put it in the kiln." Yukhei said, the pair standing up to walk to the shelves where people rested their bowls. "You always know how to make everything better." Yukhei smiled down at Jungwoo, and Jungwoo blushed back up. He still didn't know how to take all of Yukhei's compliments, but he was starting to accept now that they were going to come. 

Just behind them, Yuta and Renjun were walking up to the shelf. "I'm ing glad this is over," Yuta grumbled to Renjun. "Like, what right does Kun have to come in, take my pottery partner from me, wrap his hands around my boyfriend's hands, and make really good bowls? How the am I supposed to live up to that?" 

Renjun sighed; he'd been listening to Yuta's ranting for almost an hour, since they'd been the last two left to pair up for pottery. "Yes, Yuta, thanks for sharing." He started to walk back to the work tables. "If you wanna make another with me, you can." 

"I'm staying here," Yuta responded. 

"Hi," Sicheng suddenly spoke. Yuta looked around, noticing Kun wasn't there with him and perking up. 

"Hello love," he said, his demeanor changing in a matter of seconds. Sicheng placed his stupidly perfect looking bowl and looked back at Yuta.

"Can I have a hug?" He asked quietly. Yuta's heart burst at that and he pulled Sicheng into an almost too tight hug. But Sicheng just sighed back contentedly, snuggling into Yuta's arms.

"I miss you," Yuta mumbled into his hear. 

"Why?" Sicheng giggled obliviously. "I'm right here." 

Yuta sighed. "I know." 

"Sicheng!" Kun suddenly called, and Sicheng immediately left the hug. "Wanna make another bowl?"

"Yeah!" Sicheng responded, and Yuta tried to hide his crestfallen expression. "See you around!" 

"Yeah. See ya," Yuta respondedly clearly. He sighed, making sure all of Sicheng and Kun's bowls would be safe in the kiln. "That's why I miss you," he mumbled to himself. 

As Yuta left the shelf Doyoung and Jaehyun came up behind him, placing their bowls on the bottom. 

"I wonder what his problem is," Jaehyun mumbled as he walked away. Doyoung shrugged. 

"Probably the whole Sicheng thing." 

"Yeah," Jaehyun responded as they looked over the dishware they'd already made. A cup, two vases, a plate, and some bowls housed the bottom row where Doyoung and Jaehyun put their things, the phrase 'dojae' carved into the bottom of each one. 

"We did good this year," Jaehyun said. 

Doyoung nodded. "I want the plate." 

"But the plate's our best work!" Jaehyun whined back, just as Taeyong and Ten came to the kiln area (with Ten attempting to pull his shirt up to cover his neck).

"Which are yours?" Taeyong asked, and Jaehyun pointed. 

"Aw, you guys! How come you're good at everything?" Ten whined. 

"Yeah, we haven't even made one. Including last year," Taeyong responded. 

"And whose fault is that?" Doyoung teased. Ten gave Doyoung the finger, and they walked away with a giggle. 

Back at the work tables, Johnny and Taeil were working on their second bowl, Taeil sitting on Johnny's lap so they could fit in their chair (they didn't want a repeat of last year, where Taeil fell of the chair and got a massive bruise right on his ). 

They'd been concentrating so hard that when they looked up, they were both in a state of shock. 

"What the is happening?" Taeil mouthed. Mark and Donghyuck were mouthing like crazy people at each other, Jungwoo was trying to salvage crumpled up pieces of clay, Yuta was glaring at Sicheng and Kun, Ten was trying and failing to hide his hickeys, Renjun was yelling at Chenle and Jisung, and Doyoung and Jaehyun were laughing maniacally at their friends. 

"Wait, where's Sehun?" Johnny asked. They both looked around until they finally spotted Sehun hidden behind the art shack. He, of course, was making out with his boyfriend, cigarette in hand. His boyfriend threw his cigarette into a nearby stream, and Taeil and Johnny shared a wide eyed look. 

"I think this is the only camp I've ever been to where the counselors are wilder than the campers," Taeil said with surprise, watching as their bowl collapsed into itself from their brief lapse in concentration. 

Johnny sighed. "Welcome to Camp Purple," he said, rubbing the top of Taeil's thigh, and they shared a smile.