Chapter Text
“And just like that,” Hi says when he comes back to the shady patch under the steps where the pack has been sitting, “We’re empty nesters. Our kids grew up. Left us behind. I bet they never even visit.”
“You’ve had them for two months,” Ben says dryly, stretching out in the grass. “Thank God they’re gone. Ten-year-olds are exhausting.”
“The girls in my group all agreed you were the hottest counselor,” Hi tells him gravely. “You’ll break their hearts talking like that.”
Shelton snorts from where he’s lounging, too bone-tired to bother to wave the kids off on their coach back to the city. Hiram had clicked far better with their charges than any other Viral anyway, save their fascination with Ben’s stoicism and undeniable hotness.
“I’m about ready to get out of here too,” Tory admits, tossing her messy braid back over her shoulder. “Someone needs to save Coop from Whitney.”
“Poor mutt,” Hi commiserates. “Yeah, I need to get back online. My mother’s going to convince herself I’ve been dead the entire time if I don’t call her soon.”
“I’m shocked she let you do this,” Shelton says.
“It looks good on applications.” Hi shrugs. “Plus, you guys are here. And more importantly, I’m eighteen and she can’t stop me.”
“That’ll be the main reason.” Ben hauls himself to his feet with a groan. “We need to start putting our bags in the minivan. Tor, come help?”
Shelton is aware that he and Hi haven’t been invited because they’re a striking combination of useless and lazy. He’s fine with that.
“I’m not gonna miss the Odd Couple,” he muses, looking over to the large house that they’d barely even stepped in during camp.
The counselors who weren’t Chance and Ella slept in the cabins with their groups and the indoor activities were held in the lodge, a fancy but rustic building with a large kitchen, classrooms, and massive activity halls.
Apparently, the rest of the Claybourne family live in the mansion. Cousins in their twenties, a handful of aunts and uncles, and Chance’s grandfather Tobias, the patriarch. Shelton has only seen them a handful of times. They’re just as handsome as Chance, but much less charming to the point of being weirdly reclusive.
Hi had asked a few times why a family so rich was all living in one countryside manor together when they could probably all afford five houses each. Chance had popped him on the back of the head and said that some families valued connection and time together. He hadn’t received much pushback, though Hi had later commented that this was the most unrelatable Claybourne trivia so far.
“They’ve been creepy since school finished,” Hi says. “They’re gonna have a freaky vampire wedding in that house. Have you seen Ready or Not? They’ll probably hunt Tory as a reception game.”
“Mm, I like her chances.”
“Oh yeah, she’d burn that place to the ground.” Hi grins widely, then grows a little more somber. “Man, I wish summer never had to end.”
“You were in your element with those radio announcements,” Shelton agrees. “And they somehow find you funny. They didn’t listen to a word I said.”
“Aww.” Hi nudges him. “The shy teacher’s pets adored you. King of the first aid cabin!”
“I could have been great if this place wasn’t technology-free,” he grumbles. “I could teach them coding. Something they’d actually use.”
“Not everyone is a future MIT prodigy,” Hi teases. “Getting to emcee their talent show might be where I peak. I was hilarious.”
“Can it with that talk.” Shelton kicks him, though only gently. “Though you should seriously host open-mics at college.”
“I could be a slam poet.” Hi stands up and offers his hand to help Shelton to his feet. “I like rhyming. Cat in the hat, and all that. Come on, we should go get our phones.”
They trudge back into the lodge where August, Chance’s uncle and the head of the camp, is waiting. Shelton hates to say this about a Claybourne, but he likes him. He’s warm and funny and good with the kids. And stupid hot. Ugh.
“Hey, boys,” he says as they let themselves into the office. “Thanks again for all your hard work. I’m always cautious of bringing on new counselors, but you and your friends have been terrific.”
“We’re national treasures,” Hi agrees at the same time Shelton squeaks out a thank you.
“You’ll be glad to have your phones back, I’m sure,” he says, holding out the box that they had been left in for safekeeping. “I’ve heard all the complaints from some of your colleagues.”
Their colleagues include Ashley and Madison, who Shelton assumes have been experiencing catastrophic levels of Instagram withdrawal, and Jason, who Ben had slightly harshly commented on the first night would probably struggle without being able to Google how to breathe.
“Time away isn’t so bad,” Shelton says, blatantly lying. So sue him, he likes it here. “A break from social media might have cured my anxiety.”
“Masterful gambit, Sir,” Hi shoots back cheerfully. “Damn, my phone is dead.”
Shelton checks his. “Mine too.”
“Oops.” August rolls his eyes, not unkindly. “You should have turned those off before handing them over. You can charge them at the airport.”
“What’s a few more hours?” Shelton tucks his phone into his pocket and tries not to scream inside.
“That’s the spirit.” August clubs his shoulder gently. “Go and collect the others. We’ll leave in ten.”
They head back out into the warm late afternoon sun, taking a moment to survey the beauty of the camp grounds when they’re not overrun with kids. A large leafy glade with dirt paths running through the woods on all sides. The lake out in the distance beyond the manor and the little island in the middle of it. In the other direction, a highway far out on the horizon, looping away through the hills and back out to civilisation.
It makes him dizzy for a moment to think just how isolated they are.
Help would take hours to get here. He’s surprised parents even let their kids come.
“Are you guys done mooning around?” Ben yells up from where he’s hauling the last of their bags into the minivan, Jason at his side cramming suitcases into the limited space with all his might. “We’re kinda ready.”
Shelton feels it’s a little unfair that they’re the only ones being called out for not helping when Ashley is perched on a log in the center of the glade making no move to acknowledge them and Madison is already glued to her phone again, typing as if she’s fighting for her life. Maybe she is. Shelton has seen girls’ comments sections.
“Where’s Tory when you need her?” Hi huffs, hopping down the steps and collapsing the handle of a bag that’s sticking awkwardly up out of the pile. “You guys need to pay attention to how these things work.”
“Ella and Chance graced us with their presence.” Ben huffs out a sigh. “Tory went on a walk with them.”
“They came down from their thrones?” Hi mock-gasps. “I can’t believe we missed that.”
“They’ve been working the whole time too,” says Jason good-naturedly, though he looks like he’s trying not to laugh. “They’re good counselors.”
“They could at least have slept in the cabins,” Shelton offers. “We only saw them for big-group activities.”
“I slept in the cabins,” Jason says, a little proudly. “Chance used to give me a room in the manor too.”
“Wow,” Hi says seriously. “You had it all and they took it away. He was probably just threatened by your boy next door good looks. Chance is very insecure.”
Ben rolls his eyes. Jason laughs slightly bashfully.
Shelton looks away, doing his best to control the twist of jealousy in his gut. Hi is only messing around, and what’s more, seems completely oblivious to the nature of Shelton’s feelings for him. Either that or he’s stalwartly pretending not to know to avoid an excruciating rejection. It could really be either.
When he looks back, he briefly catches Ashley’s eye. Her expression is thoughtful, for once in her life, but she looks away before he can try to figure out what she’s thinking.
“Ooh, there’s a charger in here,” Hi says, snapping him out of his reverie. “Can we flip the engine on for a minute so I can get some juice? I need to check my emails.”
He disappears inside the front seat, then emerges a moment later.
“I can’t get it started,” he frowns. “I’m bad at heavy machinery. I need some kind of big, strong man to help.”
“You’re getting me,” Ben says mercifully before Jason offers and Shelton has to kill himself in front of everyone at this camp and change the trajectories of their lives forever. Again.
When he exits the van after a full minute, his face is troubled.
“Hi’s not being an idiot,” he declares, as Hi mimes beating his chest. “Van’s dead.”
“What?” Shelton finally hurries down the steps into the glade. “You tried everything?”
“Yep. Nothing.”
“August drove it up here just fine like an hour ago.” Jason’s brow furrows.
“Does that mean we’re stuck?” Madison finally looks up from her phone. “We can’t walk out of here.”
“Did I hear my name?” August comes out of the lodge, his relaxed expression now mildly concerned.
“We can’t start the van,” Ben says. “Something’s up with the engine.”
Shelton is expecting some mild concern, perhaps frustration, but August goes very, very pale.
“Let me see.” He barges past all of them and starts fiddling with the ignition with no more luck than Ben or Hi. “Fuck. Shit.”
They exchange glances. August has never cursed around them once, and has told them off multiple times for running their mouths anywhere the kids could hear.
“I’m sure we can get it sorted,” Shelton says tentatively. “Or we can get a rental?”
“Not before tomorrow,” August says, and then slams his hands into the car. “Goddamnit!”
“What’s going on here?”
Chance’s voice carries across the whole clearing as he walks in with Ella and Tory at either side. It’s a weird sight.
“The van isn’t starting,” August tells them, voice low. “I don’t know how we’re going to get the counselors to the airport tonight.”
Chance’s face turns serious. Ella starts picking at her lip.
Tory gives them a curious look, then looks over at the rest of the pack.
What’s up with those weirdos?
Shelton can only shrug.
“Okay.” Chance runs a hand through his hair. “Okay. We don’t have any other vehicles that can manage the country road.”
“We can’t get repair or a rental here before morning.” Ella is only saying facts, but she’s looking pointedly at Chance and August as if there’s something else she’s telling them.
The three of them look at each other in silence. Shelton briefly, wildly wonders if they’re communicating in their minds but rules it out. August has nothing to do with whatever is happening with Chance and Ella these days.
When Chance suddenly speaks, it makes all of them jump.
“Go back into the lodge,” he says, voice stern. “All of you. You can stay the night and we’ll call the town in the morning.”
“Claybournes can’t demand stuff 24/7?” Hi raises an eyebrow. “Why bother being rich?”
“Stop joking around!” Chance shouts, and even Hi flinches. “Go into the lodge, and stay there. Don’t go wandering around the damn woods at night, we’re not dealing with having to search you out as well.”
“We have to stay another night?” Ashley scowls. “We have flights booked.”
“We’ll sort those out for you,” August says. “Just get a quiet night’s sleep, you probably need it.”
“There’s more than enough in the kitchen,” Chance tells them. “Make a fun night of it. Play party games, eat your hearts out.”
“We could have a bonfire!” Jason looks enthused. “The lake isn’t far, we couldn’t get lost there, right?”
“I told you to stay inside!” Chance throws his hands into the air. “Do none of you listen?”
“Chance is just concerned about the wildlife,” Ella says placatingly. “We sometimes get bears in the area after the campers leave. Kids always leave something worth sniffing out, you know what it’s like.”
“Bears?” Shelton asks, alarmed. “I did not know this place had bears.”
“You hold a summer camp where there are bears?” Ben raises an eyebrow.
“We’re just being careful.” August pinches his forehead. “Please stay inside to make everyone’s lives easier.”
Chance gives him a pointed look as Ella shifts uncomfortably.
“We’re going to go and check on things at the house,” August says finally. “See if we can perhaps get a call in for first thing in the morning.”
“You’re leaving?” Tory’s brow furrows. She looks as suspicious as Shelton feels. “Already?”
“I’ll update you as soon as I know more,” August says, his kindly tone back. “Be ready to leave first thing.”
And then the three of them are gone, speeding back towards the grand house without a glance back.
“Um.” Shelton says as they disappear. “That was really weird, right?”
“What is their fucking problem?” Ben starts unloading the luggage again.
Tory chews her lip. She clearly wants to say more, to speculate on something, but Jason, Madison, and Ashley are still here. They’re stuck with them for now.
“Are we listening to all that crazy?” Ashley hops to her feet for the first time since she got her phone back. “It’s way too nice not to skinny-dip.”
“You would so die first in a slasher,” Hi tells her. “Some guy in a clown mask is rubbing his hands together right now.”
“Sure thing, blender boy from Unfriended,” she replies without flinching.
“I love that movie!” Hi says, delighted. “I would keep a blender on my desk too if my mom let me. I wouldn’t stick my head in it though.”
“He was possessed,” Ashley points out. “He didn’t just decide to do that.”
“I could be mentally stronger than a ghost.”
Everyone else stares impatiently at them.
“It would be a waste not to get into the party food,” Jason cuts in, thinking about food as always.
“Good drinks too.” Madison links her arm through Jason’s and rests her head on his arm. “Wasted on two months of being teetotal.”
“They seemed pretty serious about us staying indoors,” Tory says uncertainly. “Have you ever seen August that wound up?”
“They looked worried,” Shelton echoes, glad he’s not the first to speak. “They really don’t want us out there.”
“We’ll take bear spray,” Jason promises. “And a first aid kit, just in case.”
Shelton glances over at the rest of the pack, knowing they’re as cautious about Chance and Ella as he is.
He doesn’t know why they could possibly be so adamant that they stay inside all night, or what the hell they’re up to now, but it’s clear that the others aren’t going to be swayed from their party idea.
Besides, one other thing is certain. Tory is going to make them sneak out to try and find out what Chance and Ella and his family are hiding from them. They’ll be out in the woods in the dark no matter what.
They may as well have some fun first.