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Ben
Ben wouldn’t say he’s observant or anything, but being constantly afraid for your life makes you notice things others wouldn’t. In this case, he’s noticed something going on between the two younger campers, Brooklynn and Darius.
Now, you have to understand, those two went through a lot together in the two days they’ve known each other. Brooklynn was there when Darius and Kenji were almost eaten by raptors, and she and Darius were almost buried alive in mud during their gyrosphere misadventure earlier today. Near brushes with death will bring people closer, no doubt.
What he’s saying is they’re getting really cozy on the couch in the common area. Looking at each other with lingering stares, laughing, bumping shoulders. Yeah, it’s pretty innocuous, and honestly it’s probably nothing but friendliness, at least at this stage.
But he’s seen this kind of behavior before- Himself.
He hasn’t thought about it in a while. After all, he tries (probably in vain) to conceal the fact that he’s… well, gay. But not that long ago- maybe a year before he came to Camp Cretaceous- there was a boy in school that he got along with. Said boy helped him reach a book on a high shelf in the library, and the two hit it off right away. Ben did all the things he’s seeing Brooklynn and Darius do- and then some. When they got more comfortable, they started getting more involved. Hands, shoulders, face. Ben clung onto him a lot. They even shared a kiss or three.
And then the unthinkable happened. You see, the guy was a basketball player for the school team, and some of his jock buddies must have seen them at some point. To prove he was ‘just teasing the little guy for fun’ the guy locked him in a filthy porta-potty for hours. A teacher noticed Ben sobbing in there and broke him out.
Since then, he’s carried hand-sanitizer everywhere. He’s even learned to make his own so he never runs out. He doesn’t want to remember the feeling of being dirty. He doesn’t want to remember… him.
A tap on the shoulder from behind him breaks Ben out of his horrible-memory reverie. It’s Kenji, tall as ever, cute as a button. He’s looking down at him with a quirked eyebrow.
“Uh, dude? You good? You’re looking kinda green in the gills.”
Oh, no. He can’t tell anyone what he’s thinking about, least of all Kenji. Ben maaaay have a thing for the taller boy, but he doesn’t know if it would even go anywhere. Well, it would just be a summer fling if at all, so why risk it? No, Ben will just find excuses to be near him and enjoy his company while he can, no need to make things more complicated so early into camp. Still, he has to make up some excuse right now or Kenji will think something is definitely up.
“Oh, yeah. Just kind of hungry. I’m gonna go find one of my carob bars.” A good lie. No one knows he’s carrying around seven of the things in his fanny-pack right now.
“Don’t know what a ‘carob bar’ is, but you do that.” Kenji gives his shoulder a light squeeze and offers a small smile before he strides toward the couches.
Ben turns toward the rooms but stops to look over his shoulder one last time.
He sees Brooklynn, Darius, and Kenji chat away. Then Darius gives Brooklynn one of those looks.
First love may not always work out, but it is an experience worth having. The lighter than air feeling of experiencing these things for the first time is indescribable, and even if it doesn’t last, it will remain with you for the rest of your life. Even now, even with what he went through later, Ben hopes he never forgets how he felt those first few days.
Darius and Brooklynn have a lot to look forward to.
---
Sammy
Y’know, having five new friends would be amazing if they weren’t running for their lives all the time. And yes, even if Ben was… gone now, she still had considered him a friend.
Yasmina hurt her leg a while ago, and it’s barely doing better, so Sammy, Darius, and Brooklynn are in search of medical supplies for her, thus leaving Kenji in charge of looking for usable lumber at camp. Despite the worries the others have, Sammy thinks Kenji can be pretty capable. Mostly.
Seeing Yaz hop around, aggravating her injury put an ache in Sammy’s heart and she would do anything to make her and Yaz’s pain go away. They anticipate some kind of dinosaur encounter while searching, so the three of them carry around wooden planks, though what they’ll do against, say, a T-Rex, Sammy doesn’t know. What she doesn’t anticipate however, is being the third wheel to Brooklynn and Darius.
When Darius and herself were chatting about antlers and stego plates, Brooklynn made up some weird noise that only she heard to get their attention. Sammy gets it. Maybe she’s jealous that she’s taking up Darius’ time. But Brooklynn has nothing to fear from her. Darius is a sweet kid and is fun to talk with, but someone else has her eye.
Anyway.
Sammy tries to strike up a conversation between the two, but they seem to be in their own little world. Not wanting to interfere, she’s now trailing behind them, allowing the two space to freely chat amongst themselves.
She sees the way they laugh together, the way they causally bicker, the way Brooklynn always has a quip to Darius’ interjections. It’s really cute.
It reminds her of the rapport she has with someone else. Someone who is probably pushing herself too hard back at camp and isn’t taking care of herself. Someone who Sammy wishes she could tell her feelings to. But more importantly, someone who Sammy wants to be okay more than anything. Her thoughts motivate her to refocus on their mission.
She rushes ahead of the two and calls behind her.
“C’mon y’all! Last one there’s a rotten egg!”
The other two look at each other before smiling and race after Sammy.
---
Yasmina
So. Ben is alive. And those hunter’s that were taking care of them? Turns out Brooklynn was right and they were evil. Go figure.
Anyway, it was a bit of an ordeal dealing with them. Lots of dino-herding and motorcycles and tunnels. Yaz herself was almost eaten by the Rex, but in the end, though, the six of them were able to handle them and save the watering hole dinosaurs. All in all, an eventful past couple of days.
They’re not entirely sure what happened to Mitch, but the fact that Darius and Brooklynn were by the docks waiting for them, Tiff must have gotten away on their boat. It sucks for sure, but at least they were all okay.
They all joined in a big group hug, and even though Yaz might have complained, she really is grateful she has the others. No offense, but looking at how Ben coped being alone makes her think of her own prospects should she be (God forbid) left alone. Anyway, yeah, group hug. Before she joined in, she saw the way Brooklyn immediately latched onto Darius, who was hugging Ben. Smirking as she did, she herself latched onto Brooklynn, with Kenji and Sammy not far behind.
She’s been noticing the dynamic their group has, specifically Her with Sammy, Brooklynn with Darius, and Kenji with Ben. It’s kind of funny to her, the way the six of them kind of just split up into pairs.
Of friends. Yup.
Friends.
Okay, who’s she fooling. Yaz has a thing for Sammy. She just doesn’t want to say anything. Sammy is the first person she ever let into her bubble and doesn’t want to mistake her friendly feelings for anything more. They do spend a lot of time together, but as she previously stated, that’s just because of the way they kind of split during the gyrosphere adventure that’s persisting even to now. Now that Ben is back, Kenji has been staring him down like a hawk. Must have missed his buddy.
What was she originally talking about? Oh yeah. Brooklynn and Darius. Those two are so obvious. Late night ‘pep talks,’ reassuring glances, the hugs. What is with everyone here and hugging?? It might be that they're just really friendly, like how Sammy is with her, and she’s off the mark, but there’s nothing wrong with a little speculation.
If they are building toward something more, then they are. If they aren’t, they aren’t. Simple.
That said, the two are currently walking back to camp alone, the rest of them having decided to ride on Bumpy. As the distance between the two and the rest of the group grows, Yaz’s knowing smirk grows.
Kenji asks her what the heck she’s making that face for. She doesn’t tell him.
---
Kenji
Kenji knows what's up with Darius. Little dude has his eyes set on someone, someone he knows doesn’t share his feelings, someone Kenji also has feelings for: Ben.
Yup. Ben.
Shocked him when he figured it out but it all makes sense. Darius has been staring at Ben a lot. He sees the guy talk constantly to Brooklynn about God knows what. She’s Darius’ closest friend (next to himself, of course) and he probably needs someone to share what he’s feeling with. When they thought Ben was... gone, little dude was so heartbroken. Well, so was everyone, Kenji especially, but yeah, Darius definitely took it hard.
It’s kind of sad, liking someone who doesn’t feel the same. Kenji will admit, he’s been there before, but not when it comes to Ben. He knows the other teen has feelings for him, and their heart to heart the previous night proved it. Still, since Darius is his friend, he can’t help but feel bad.
The group is currently doing a raid of the hunter’s camp before heading to main street to scrounge around for swimsuits. They’ve pretty much picked it clean by now, but the fact that Sammy was able to find some canned fruit means it was worth coming.
Kenji can’t help but check Ben out a little while he’s working. The other teen may be dirtier than a kitchen rag right now, but in Kenji's mind, that doesn’t stop him from being cute.
Then, Kenji notices Darius looking right at Ben too. He’s got this weird look on his face. Ever since they stayed behind together during the paragliding incident, Darius has been giving Ben these looks. What they mean, Kenji couldn’t say. Longing? Concern?
In any case, it stirs up a primal instinct in Kenji.
Without thinking much of what it was he was carrying, Kenji reaches for a wooden crate and proceeds to lift the thing like it was nothing. In fact, the dang thing weighed a frickin' ton, but not wanting to give up, he controls his face from showing any sort of discomfort or strain. And, might he add, he made sure a certain part of him was on display for Ben while he did this.
Of course, Ben got an eyeful.
Yes, Kenji is lifting heavy objects like a peacock would flaunt it's feathers. No, he will not be taking critique at this time. As bad as he feels for Darius and his obvious pining, Kenji can’t help the small smirk that plays on his lips before he sits the thing down on top of another crate. When he turns around, exaggeratedly wiping his brow as if he broke a sweat, he looks at Ben, who's cheeks are brighter than normal. The other teen notices he’s been caught and goes back to doing whatever he was doing.
Kenji then turns his attention to Darius, but he isn’t even nearby anymore. He scans the camp and sees him talking to Brooklynn near one of the yurts. Aw, heck. It may have been his intention, but he feels bad he scared Darius away.
Oh well. Kenji just hopes the kid can sort out his feelings and move on.
---
All
“OH. MY. GOD.” Brooklynn’s voice rings loud and clear as she and Darius talk on the upper deck of their new boat. The four sitting below all look up, and see the two smile sheepishly before moving out of view.
The four of them share a look before they burst out laughing. When the laughter dies down, Sammy is the first to speak up.
“Okay. So, I’m not the only one who sees what’s going between them right?”
Yaz guffaws. “No way. The two of them are so obvious, we all see it. Kind of hard not to.”
“I noticed it back before the Indominus broke out. Super cozy, if you know what I mean.” Ben chimes in.
The three of them laugh again.
Kenji, however, scratches his head, confused at what they're talking about.