It was morning time after breakfast and Sicheng had brought his campers (the five to sevens) to the art shack. With the painting of pots, Sicheng clearly couldn't do it all on his own. So Chenle and Jisung were in the throes of helping him out, teaching the little kids how to paint and not get paint all over themselves or cry when they made a mistake. 

Working like this was Chenle's dream. Not the kid part or the art shack part, but the being with Jisung part. They made a great team, keeping the kids under control while still having the times of their lives, talking during the free moments, laughing at the kids antics once they were done for the day. It was perfect, and Chenle never wanted it to end. 

Jisung didn't have to know just how much Chenle enjoyed it. How Chenle felt when Jisung's paint covered fingers brushed against his hand by accident, how his calm voice when talking to the kids sent shivers down his spine, how when he complimented a drawing he did on a bowl for a kid, Chenle had to go hide out and squeal in the bathroom. He couldn't mess up their friendship with his excess feelings. He just couldn't. 

Chenle looked up for a moment to see him, the object of his affections since he started middle school. Jisung looked back at him and grinned, shy with almost everyone but him. Chenle pretended like he didn't notice the way Jisung was quiet until they were alone, chatting up a storm, how the sound of his laugh always carried farther when they were together. Jisung kept on looking at him and Chenle couldn't even hold that contact and looked back down at the seven year old's painting. 

"Mr. Chenle?" The kid asked. 

"Yes honey, do you need more paint?" 

The little boy shook his head. "Why are your cheeks pink?" 

Chenle sighed to himself. He was in far too deep. 

~~~~~~~~~~

It was breaktime now for Chenle so he made his way out of the art shack, breathing in the fresh air and thinking about who was free  to talk to while he got his half an hour off. But as soon as he was outside he was stopped by two of his friends. 

"Renjun? Kun? What are you doing here?" 

"We need to talk to you," Renjun said firmly. 

"About Jisung," Kun added. 

Chenle knew what they meant and immediately flushed red. "Don't you guys have to make lunch?" 

"Lunch is corndogs today. We've got all the time in the world," Kun answered. 

Chenle immediately filled with regret; the last time they were all campers he had admitted his crush on Jisung to them after they incessantly pestered him. Maybe that had been a bad idea. Definitely that had been a bad idea. If he had known he would get called out on it, he wouldn't have told them. 

"Have you told him?" Renjun asked, dropping his voice to a whisper. Chenle looked panicked back at the art shack. 

"He can't hear you! He's got screaming five year olds in there," Kun whispered. 

"Fine," Chenle groaned. 

"So, answer the question." 

Chenle pouted. "No I haven't..." 

Kun and Renjun made a dramatic show of sighing and rolling their eyes. "Come on!" Kun whined. 

"Why not?" Renjun added. 

"Because...because he doesn't like me back." 

"What the hell makes you think that?" Renjun said. 

"I dunno, everything?" 

"He totally likes you..." Kun mumbled. 

"What happens if he doesn't like me back and I tell him and then I ruin everything?" 

"What happens if you never tell him and then you settle on the fact that you're not going to be with him and then you meet someone else who you like but not as much as you like Jisung and you decide to marry him but then fifty years later Jisung confesses he liked you back all along and now you're married to this ing weirdo who isn't Jisung and you die thinking about what could have been?" Renjun answered. 

"I understand where you're coming from Chenle. But it's not an issue because he totally likes you back. He's just shy," Kun answered. 

"How do you know?" 

"I'm technically an adult; I can read these things." 

"But...you're literally the only single counselor..." Chenle said. 

"Not for long, you should have seen him the other day with this guy from the food company with the eyebrows..." Renjun piped up.

"Wait, what?" Chenle asked with a smile. 

Kun quickly shushed both of them. "This meeting is not about me. It's about Chenle." 

"True," Renjun said, regaining his firm stance. "Now Chenle, how long have you liked him for." 

Chenle paused shamefully. "Six years." 

"Six years?" Kun and Renjun gasped. 

"Come on. It's time," Renjun said. 

"I think it's the year..." Kun said hopefully. 

Chenle just shook his head slowly and looked down at his watch. "Look, my break is up now. I have to good." He put on a cheeky grin. "Good luck with eyebrow boy." 

Kun glared at him and Chenle went back into the Jisung, immediately remembering the conversation he'd just had. He couldn't look Jisung in the eye, just rushing around to try and help the kids. 

Jisung looked him over. Jisung thought he knew Chenle pretty well, and he looked positively frazzled. "Are you okay?" He mumbled once all the kids where distracted. 

"U-um yeah! Of course! Uh...how about you go on your break?" Chenle answered nervously, still looking everywhere but at Jisung. 

"...okay." Jisung gave him once last side glance before heading outside, thinking about where he would sit to get a few moments of peace and quiet. 

But suddenly, he was stopped by two people he actually did want to see: Ten and Taeyong. 

"Hey sweetie! How's it going?" Ten asked. 

"Are you liking working at camp?" Taeyong added. 

Jisung knew his camp parents well and although it all seemed sweet, there was something sinister in their voices, and Jisung knew something was up. 

He made a face at them. "Guys, what's going on?" 

"We just wanted to talk to you," Taeyong said. 

"About you and Chenle's...friendship," Ten finished. 

Jisung froze completely still. His friendship with Chenle was something he cherished more than anything in the world. He hated himself for it, but, it was also something he wished was so, so different. He had liked Chenle since he was eleven years old, since he had chosen him out of everyone in the whole camp to give a cheek kiss to. It was his first time feeling butterflies like that, and ever since then, all of his affection had gone to the too loud boy one year his senior. 

But it was a secret, and his deepest secret too. Jisung had never told anyone in the whole world, not even Ten or Taeyong or people who didn't come to this camp. And it was because he was a hundred percent sure that Chenle did not feel the same way. To Chenle, he thought, what they had was always completely and totally friendship, nothing more. If Chenle ever found out, it could totally ruin their friendship.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Jisung answered, fidgeting nervously. He knew he was a terrible liar but he could at least try. 

"Come on Jisung, are you gonna make me say it?" Ten spoke. 

Jisung took a few deep breaths. "Fine. I...I like him. B-but please don't tell anyone okay? Please, I've never told anyone and if Chenle finds out everything will be ruined..." 

"What do you mean?" Taeyong asked worriedly. 

"Chenle clearly doesn't like me back. If he finds out I like him that might ruin our friendship." 

Ten snorted. "Jisung, that is in no way an issue. He clearly likes you back and has for years." 

Jisung slowly shook his head. "I don't think so..." 

"Why not?" Taeyong said. 

"He...he just doesn't. A-anyways, why are you asking me about this?" 

"Well... he definitely likes you, and you definitely like him. We wanted to encourage you to tell him. Just give you a little push," Taeyong said. 

Jisung respected and loved Ten and Taeyong like family, and he normally trusted them on anything. If they encouraged him to do something, he would do it, because almost always they were right. But this time...he couldn't. He really thought they were wrong. 

"I-I'm sorry to disappoint you guys...but I can't. I know he doesn't feel the same and it's okay. I'm okay with just being friends." 

Ten and Taeyong shared a brief look and Taeyong rubbed his shoulder. "Alright. If that's what you think is best then you should stick with it." 

"It's okay," Jisung said, looking at his phone. "Oh. My break is up, better head back." 

"Alrighty kiddo," Taeyong said, and the three of them shared a hug. 

"Everything will work out for the best, I promise," Ten added. 

Jisung nodded, and walked back in to the art shack. Chenle and Jisung shared a tentative look before staring back down at the ground. Jisung now felt just as frazzled as Chenle had been.