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Some times, late in his cabin or early in the morning in the radio shack all Dylan can think about is his strange coworker Ryan. He feels as though he has climbed inside of him and is resinating behind his ribs, and he can't figure out why that is. In the lodge he sees Ryan sitting alone, headphones in and a blank expression on his face, which is typical for him, but rather than scaring him away - like the rest of the counsellors - it draws Dylan in. It makes it so all he can think about is the other boy who loves to wear metal band t-shirts and tell innocent kids stories about ghosts. The boy who hangs out with the two Hackett kids when no one else will and the boy who spends his free time sat on the dingy ground underneath the lodge, alone.
Dylan wonders why he feels so drawn to him, why he feels the need to be with him, or near him. Sure, he already came out ages ago, and has made it abundantly clear to his fellow campers of the fact but too many times has Dylan had his heart broken by another straight guy who inevitably chose a prettier, smarter and overall better girl. After all, what was so interesting about Dylan? More specifically what would Ryan find interesting about Dylan? Ryan spends his time listening to theories about cryptids (or so Dylan heard from Kaitlyn) in the wild and Dylan spends his time studying quantum psychics, quite polar opposites if you ask him.
Jacob tells Dylan that he thinks Ryan is a weirdo recluse, and maybe he's right, but weirdo recluses can be nice guys, right? Emma says he's creepy and Abigail and Nick haven't had anything to say about him other than that he is abnormally quiet. Dylan knows he shouldn't form his opinions on someone based on what other people tell him, but something about simply going over to Ryan during group activities and striking up a conversation haunts him and he is puzzled by this. He has never had this problem with friends - or anyone really - ,and this is what he spends his time alone in his cabin thinking about. Thinking about what could be if he just said hello, or gave him a wave, or sat next to him during dinner, or helped him gather fire wood, or asked him what he is always listening to with those worn out ear phones - the possibilities are endless and Dylan has gone over each and every one already in his head within the one week he has been at the summer camp.
He really only has one friend at Hackett's, Kaitlyn and when Dylan confided in her about Ryan and how he just could not stop thinking and theorising about him, she seemed also irritated. As if the concept of Dylan having some type of thing for the guy had threatened her. She simply just mumbled something and changed the conversation and although he had only knew her for a week, Dylan knew basic social skills (debatable if you were to ask anyone else other than Dylan himself) and understood that she was not exactly happy to hear about his underlying emotions for the freak (again, as Jacob would say). That night - again, alone in his cabin - Dylan analysed this interaction and came to the conclusion that Kaitlyn also had a thing for Ryan which was just great, another boy Dylan was interested in was going to be swept away in one foul swoop. Just as usual.
He knew that nothing is definitive and nothing in the future can be confirmed, and that he could just approach Ryan and introduce himself, most likely adding some sarcastic joke into the conversation somewhere, but that concept seemed almost too foreign to Dylan. Any time they even made eye contact nervousness washed over Dylan in a wave of emotion and his knees would shake, which for him was, as he would recount to Kaitlyn, fucking weird! But if he stood by and longed for someone who probably thought he was some annoying dude who broadcasted daily messages over the camp intercoms every morning, he would have no idea what could happen. So, Dylan decided that the only way to go about this was to make a plan. A plan where he finally speaks to Ryan and doesn't collapse on the ground or stumble over his words like he does every time in his imagination. But that plan is for tomorrow, today he will sit in the radio shack and think about what is to come.