After Doyoung and Jaehyun had sent everyone else to start setting up, Chenle and Jisung lugged the last of the art supplies down to the art shack. Key in hand, Chenle unlocked the door and propped it open. This is where he was going to spend most of his time for the next month, and he couldn't wait. This was the best place in camp he could possibly spend so much time in. 

He turned back to look at Jisung, setting down a box full of clay and heaving. This is the person he was going to spend most of his time with for the next month, and he couldn't wait. This was the best person in camp he could possibly spend so much time with. Despite the distance, they had remained best friends for all of these years, just counting down the days until camp began and they could hang out. 

But Chenle didn't want to be best friends anymore. He hadn't wanted to be best friends for five years, at that point. He was old enough now to want to kiss, want to hold, want to be with Jisung, as far more than just friends. But it couldn't be. He couldn't ruin the magical friendship they had worked so hard for. 

So he put on his signature bright smile. "Ready?" 

Jisung grinned back, and Chenle almost died. "Of course." 

~~~~~~~~~~

The campers weren't arriving early enough for breakfast but they did need lunch, so Kun and Renjun had raced to the kitchen to begin cooking for everyone. As it was their first time in the kitchen, and as Yukhei didn't have anything else to do, he had snuck in to help them out. 

They were chattering loudly, laughing and reminiscing on all times, when Kun and Renjun fell silent. 

"What is it?" Yukhei asked with furrowed brows. 

"What...what happened with you and Jungwoo?" Renjun asked. 

Yukhei sighed and looked at the countertop. He knew people would be curious; he had to talk about it at some point. But even nine months later, thinking about it still hurt. 

"So, even though we were long distance, everything was perfect all through high school, right? We were super happy together, so we decided to go to the same college. And that summer was all great too. The first week of college was perfect, actually...it was so nice to be with each other in the real world, right? Until..." Yukhei sighed again. "Jungwoo and I are really different, right? I'm loud, he's quiet... I've always had a lot of friends, he's always just had a few close friends, we have really different interests... but that's always why it always worked. We complimented each other. But when we got to college, it all changed. So I'm on a football scholarship, so I had to join the team. And I wanted to. Plus, my brother was in a frat and he loved it, so I joined one too. Not one of those awful ones where they're dirty and mean to girls, but a nice one. Jungwoo supported all of that, at first...he's a theater design and technology major so he took this art class and made these friends...they're nice! They just didn't like me...they thought Jungwoo was, I dunno, uncool or something for dating a frat boy....he didn't listen to them at first but more and more cared about what they thought... and then... he dumped me." 

Kun and Renjun looked at each other in shock; they didn't think Jungwoo would ever do something like that. 

"I mean... he didn't have a lot of friends in high school, right?" Renjun asked, and Yukhei shook his head. "Maybe he was just so excited about having friends that he lost track of what was important." 

Yukhei nodded. "I tried to introduce him to my friends, but it was hard for them to relate to each other... I know he likes having friends that share his interests..." 

Kun and Renjun frowned; it was weird seeing Yukhei so down. But this was Camp Purple. Anything and everything gets fixed here. 

~~~~~~~~~~

"You guys can be like mini counselors!" Mark said, forcing a smile on his face. The sixteen to eighteens just glared back at him.

After introductions and everything, Mark took his age group to hang out and get to know each other. They had immediately decided they thought Mark was lame, and half an hour of talking had not done anything to change that. 

"Dude, why would we want that? We are sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen year olds who came to summer camp to be campers. The only reasons we would do that would be to get out of having a real job, and see our camp boyfriends. Done," one of the campers responded. 

Mark almost put his face in his palms when he heard voices walking towards his group. He looked up to see Donghyuck leading a pack of thirteen to fifteen year olds, clearly hanging off his every wanted. 

"Donghyuck! Donghyuck! Donghyuck!" They cheered. Of course they loved him already. Mark wanted to scream. 

"Hey Mark! How's it going?" Donghyuck said smugly. Mark and his campers just glared back, and Donghyuck laughed. 

"Finally, you've earned the respect of the thirteen to fifteens," Mark teased, reminding him of that first year when the thirteen to fifteens wanted nothing to do with him. Donghyuck made a face and walked on, and Mark giggled to himself. 

He then turned around and sighed at the glares of the older campers. This would be a tough summer. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Finally, it was time for the counselors to eat. Contentedly, Taeil got his food, waiting for his boyfriend to show up. 

Taeil knew Johnny had arrived when he slammed his tray down on the table. Taeil looked up to see Johnny somehow looking like a mess already, hair sticking up in places, eyes exhausted. 

"How's your first day been, babe?" He asked tiredly, shoving food in his mouth. 

"Oh pretty good. The campers are all pretty busy with first day stuff so nobody's been in the store yet except other counselors. I'm just setting up, getting the lay of the land. How about you? How are your campers?" 

Johnny made a face. "They're...they're twelve. Well, ten to twelve. But most of them are twelve." 

Taeil made a face of pity. "I see." That was all of the explanation he needed. 

~~~~~~~~~~

For Jeno and Jaemin, this first day was already going so smoothly. Giving up on trying to make them like him, Mark just took his campers to the pool. Since they were older, Jeno and Jaemin didn't need to keep as close of an eye on them as younger kids, so they had time to just talk. 

"So baby," Jaemin spoke quietly and lowly, leaning over in their tall lifeguard chairs. "Are you excited for what we've been.... talking about?" 

Jeno stiffened, gripping the arm rests of the chair and down into the pool. Once they had turned sixteen, Jaemin had asked him if he wanted to.... do it. Once they were all back at camp as counselors of course. 

Jeno didn't want to. He had known it then, when Jaemin had asked him a couple years ago, but he had hoped he would change his mind when they were together again. He hadn't. He wasn't ready. He knew that. 

But Jaemin didn't. When Jaemin first asked, he had responded with a very enthusiastic yes, and since it was over text, Jaemin of course believed him. And every time it had been brought up Jeno had given a similar response, and Jaemin thought Jeno was just as ready as he was. But now they were together, and it was getting harder and harder for Jeno to keep lying. But he couldn't just make Jaemin think he changed his mind, right? And he couldn't disappoint his sweet boyfriend, who had never pressured him or done anything without a very excited yes, by telling him he didn't want to. So he had to keep this up, and hope he and Jaemin would never get the chance. 

"Of course," Jeno answered, mustering a big smile. "I'm super excited." 

Jaemin grinned back and they both turned to watch the campers. But when Jeno wasn't looking, Jaemin gave him a confused glance out of the corner of his eye. 

~~~~~~~~~~

It was the first day, and already some camper's bed was broken. Taeyong and Ten were fixing the bunk in one of the eight to nine year old cabins. 

"Do you think this is how it'll always be? Stuff breaking down every day?" Ten asked. 

"There's three maintenance people. If stuff wasn't breaking down every day there would be less of us," Taeyong answered. 

"There's barely three, Yuta ditched us for Sicheng already," Ten mumbled. 

"I feel like that's how most of camp will be. But you can't blame him; they haven't even spoke in three years." 

Ten hummed and the couple got back to putting the bed together. This wasn't like past years, where they were rushing to talk and kiss and hold each other. Now they had been together 24/7 for years, and comfortable silence was all they needed. 

"After traveling all these years, it's nice, you know," Taeyong spoke softly. 

"What's nice?" Ten looked at Taeyong fondly, and Taeyong gave him a gentle smile back. 

"To be home." 

~~~~~~~~~~

Sicheng had never been more exhausted in his life. How did five six and seven year olds hold so much energy in those tiny bodies? 

He had been running around and playing with them all day, and somehow, they wanted more. Sicheng had even laid down in the grass, and immediately they all started climbing on top of him. 

"Who wants to play tag?" A voice suddenly shouted. The kids all screamed and got off of him immediately, and Sicheng sat up. There was Yuta, with that big grin on his face, here to save him, as always. "I'll be it!" Yuta shouted, and ran. The kids ran away from him, and all Sicheng could do was watch with fond eyes. He had missed Yuta so much it hurt, but he couldn't tell him just yet what had happened. They needed time, they needed to be alone, and Sicheng had to not be so damn tired. 

Seeing Yuta's giggle Sicheng somehow found the strength to stand back up, following the little kids in running away from Yuta. But he felt a tap on his back. 

"You're mine," Yuta whispered in his ear. "I mean, it." Sicheng held onto Yuta's arm for a brief moment, giving him a bright smile before running after the little boys at top speed. 

~~~~~~~~~~

It was after dinner, after the campfire, after all of the campers were (hopefully) asleep when Doyoung and Jaehyun were finally done for the day. They sat in the attic office, the little room on top of the dining hall, watching the empty fields and the lights turn off in the cabins. 

"Do you think it was a good day?" Doyoung asked, turning to look at Jaehyun. 

"It was the best."