I guess I should’ve known the minute I stepped into that van that I wasn’t going to see him again.

The way his smile was able to light up an entire room.

The way his laugh was so contagious that not even I could resist it.

The way he would fool around with the kids in his cabin one moment, and the next have them all gathered around him as he read them a story.

The way he would give me that look that made me feel like I was the only one in the world that mattered.

But I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

Flashback

“Oh my goodness, when are you going to grow up? You’re supposed to be a counselor, not one of the kids!”

I threw my hands up in exasperation. It was time for the kids to head over to the mess hall for lunch, but Chanyeol was running around with paint all over his face, trying to catch one of the campers. Placing my hands on my hips, I glared at him.

Chanyeol grinned and straightened up, running his fingers through his hair with those paint covered hands. I hate it when he does that.

“Chill out Cass! It’s not like there’s not going to be enough food. There’s always enough food. Now get back here Kevin or else you’re not getting any dessert!”

I sighed as he took off once again before making my way over to the mess hall. However, before I made it up the steps, I was tackled to the ground.

“Hey Cassie, I saw you talking to Chanyeol earlier.” I groaned before looking up into the eyes of my best friend and my co-counselor.

“Katie, get off of me! Just because you’re fit doesn’t mean you’re light!” I giggled as Katie pouted before she moved off of me, allowing me room to breathe.

“But Cassie, I did see you talking to Chanyeol. What do you think? Hot, right?” I just sighed. Katie had been talking about Chanyeol all week and how we would make “such a cute couple”. Honestly though, I have no idea what goes on in that head of hers.

“Katie, nothing is going to happen. We’re just camp counselors and I’ll never see him again after next week.” Although it didn’t take much effort to say that, I felt a pang in my chest at the thought of not seeing that dorky face of his. I shook my head to clear my thoughts as Katie sat looking at me.

“Cassandra.” I flinched. Katie never said my whole name unless she was serious.

“I can tell by the way you look at him that it’s not just that. And I can tell by the way he looks at you. By the way he’s looking at you.” Surprised, I looked up at her as she pointed behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, I spotted Chanyeol looking at the two of us, just sitting on the ground by the stairs of the mess hall. Blushing I quickly stood up and brushed the dirt off of my shorts.

“Come on Katie, you’re thinking too much.” I stretched out my hand for her to take and pulled her up. Chanyeol had looked away but I spotted a shade of pink on his cheeks. Smiling softly to myself, I turned around and made my inside.

I didn’t see him turn around and smile as he watched my retreating figure.

For the rest of the camp, we’d tease each other and then turn away to hide our respective blushes. He’d ruffle my hair, I’d whack his hand away, he’d grin that dorky grin of his, I’d pinch his adorable cheeks. The entire time, Katie was watching us with that knowing smile of hers, but a hint of sadness could also be felt.

One day, after another session of playful bantering, I was making my way to the arts and crafts tent before Katie popped out of nowhere, grabbed my hand, and made a run for our cabin.

Surprised, I tripped a few times on the way. “Katie! What’s going on? Stop for a minute, I’m tripping over everything!”

Katie just ignored me and kept running towards our cabin. When we finally got there, she pushed me in, and locked the door behind her.

“What’s going on?” Katie had that serious look on her face again. “Katie?”

“Cassandra. Tell me, truthfully. What are your thoughts on Chanyeol?”

“Oh not this ag–“

“I’m serious! I don’t want a repeat of what happened last time!” I looked up into her eyes, her genuinely worried eyes. I knew what she meant by “last time”. I knew all too well.

I sighed and rested my head in my hands. “I understand your concerns, but don’t worry, I don’t feel anything for him.”

What a lie.

“What a lie.”

Surprised, I looked up again and her eyes had changed. It was no longer worry, but plan frustration.

 “You’re in love with him. I told you. I told you last week but you were in denial. You still are! So what are you going to do? We’re leaving tomorrow. Are you going to tell him or not?”

Now I was getting frustrated. Katie always knew how I felt and it was annoying sometimes. But she was right. I did like him. Both of us were going to leave camp and go back to our respective homes and I was probably never going to see him again. Putting on the best fake smile I could muster, I just smiled at Katie before leaving the cabin.

The last day came way too soon. It felt like those two weeks away from home went by in the blink of an eye. I was trying to stuff my sleeping bag into its cover when I heard a knock on the door.

“In a minute!” Groaning, I pushed myself up and away from the mess that was my nighttime cocoon, and walked towards the insistent knocking.

“Yes, yes, who is it?”

I opened my door to reveal none other than…

Kyungsoo. At least I hoped his name was Kyungsoo or else that would’ve been awkward.

“Hey, what brings you to my neck of the woods?” I smiled at him and a small blush formed on his face as he held something behind his back. Curious, I tried to see what he was hiding but he just moved away.

Kyungsoo was adorable, I’ll admit that, but at the moment, I was a little frustrated. I had a lot of stuff to pack and very limited time. Putting a hand on my hip, I stared at him, waiting for him to speak up.

“Um… Cassie… I know I haven’t known you for very long, but will you accept this?” He moved his hands from out behind his back, and in those small hands lay a few pieces of chocolate and a lanyard that I recognized to be similar to those made in the arts and crafts tent. 

I knew what the poor boy was implying, but I simply didn’t feel the same way. I sighed, and watched as his bright expression immediately sank.

“Kyungsoo, you’re a sweet guy, but I don’t think I’m the one for you. You keep the chocolate, but if you’d like, I’ll finish the lanyard for you. I’ll make sure to always have it on my person, just in case I run into you again.”

I gave him a hug and watched as he left, head hung low. I held up the lanyard to my face to inspect the intricacy of the handiwork. When I removed it from my line of sight, I came face to face with…

A camp T-shirt.

I laughed as Chanyeol stooped down to my height and waggled his eyebrows, in that Chanyeol sort of way. Although my face showed delight, my heart was aching as I remembered this was the last day I’d see him in quite possibly… forever.

My smile was faltering and it seemed like Chanyeol could tell. He grabbed my hand and started walking to some unknown destination.

Irritated because he had yanked me away from my still unpacked sleeping bag, I gave him a nice punch to the shoulder.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

I frowned and put my hands on my hips.

“Dragging me away from unrolled sleeping bag, of course. Can’t you tell when a girl is busy?”

“Nah, your sleeping bag can wait. I wanted to take you out for a walk before we leave.” Chanyeol laughed, but the smile never reached his eyes. He reached for my hand and I let him hold it. His larger hand encased my smaller one, spreading warmth that formed a blush on my cheeks.

Chanyeol turned around and I followed along. After a while, he slowed his steps and allowed me to catch up to walk side by side. We walked in comfortable silence until Chanyeol came to a halt. He turned to face me and I took this opportunity to drink in his appearance. His tousled brown hair was long enough to droop over his eyes, but not enough to make him look girly. His camp T-shirt was slightly dirty, probably from chasing kids around all of the time, and his blue basketball shorts was covered in dust.

But his eyes. Oh my goodness, his eyes. The dark brown depths captivated me and wouldn’t let me look away. I hadn’t realized that my mouth was open until he chuckled.

“Cassie, I knew I was good-looking, but you’re just inflating my ego here.”

Embarrassed, I quickly shut my mouth and looked at the ground. My feet were so much smaller in comparison to his, making me feel that much more insignificant. I looked to the side at our shadows, his taller one towering over mine. I hadn’t realized until now, just how safe he made me feel whenever we were together.

“Cassie…” Chanyeol’s deep voice became deeper, if that was even possible. Curious, I looked up at him. His face had become more serious, and I could tell that something was on his mind.

I put my hand on his cheek and he unconsciously leaned on it. But then he started to lean closer to me. Shocked, I stood there, frozen in my spot.

OMIGOSH. PARK CHANYEOL IS GOING TO KISS ME. WHAT. WHAT. WHAT.

As Chanyeol leaned closer, his rand reached into his pocket and pulled out…

A pen.

He stopped mere inches from my face and that stupid grin spread itself across his face once again.

I really wanted to slap him.

“Can I have your number?”

Yup. Definitely wanted to slap him.

Forcing a smile onto my face, I took his pen from his hand and scribbled my number messily onto his palm. Embarrassed by my thoughts and hoping he wasn’t able to tell, I put the pen back into his hand and took off running back the way he came.

“I’ll see you later!” I shouted back at him and ran like my life depended on it. How could I have been so stupid? That was so embarrassing. I just wanted to roll up into a ball, hide in a corner, and never come back out.

When I finally made it back to my cabin, I cleaned like I never cleaned before. I knew I had to hurry up before I had to face him again and that embarrassing situation. Besides, he had my phone number now, so he could always just text me if he wanted to talk.

Yeah.

He’ll text me.

End Flashback

I should’ve known that I was hoping for too much. A text. One little text to let me know that he was still out there and remembered me.

One text to show that maybe he was interested in me.

But I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to write this! I was originally planning for this to be a one-shot, but since the background story took so long to write, I'll just make this into a two-shot.

Hope you guys like this!