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Listen. Tommy didn’t want to be at a fuck ass summer camp where a whole bunch of troubled kids are shipped off to because mommy and daddy are too busy to take care of their kids.
Sure, it was better than being at home where he would have to endure the drunk wrath of his father and manipulative words of his mother, but it didn’t mean he had to be happy about it.
“Come on Tommy, stop being such a pout. We’re going to have fun!” Tubbo shouted, pulling on Tommy’s hand as he dragged the blond teen into their assigned cabin, all while a glare was plastered on Tommy’s face.
“You do realize this is just outdoor babysitting, right?”
Tubbo rolled his eyes. “I’m not stupid Tommy. But it’s surely better than staying home for the summer, right?” His friend paused at this, staring at him with a more serious look than what he previously had.
Tommy didn’t have to even think about it, but he pretended he did. Tubbo crossed his arms and gave Tommy a knowing look, but didn’t interrupt their silence. “Yeah. I guess it will be better. So long as I’m not forced to sing camp songs or some shit,” he relented.
That seemed to be all the approval that Tubbo needed, who continued his efforts in dragging Tommy into the cabin.
Inside was exactly what Tommy expected from a wooden cabin in the middle of the woods in buttfuck nowhere for a summer camp. There were two sets of bunk beds, with the first set already taken. There was a door to the bathroom and two boys unpacking their suitcases.
One of the teens looked up when the two of them entered the room. Heterochromatic eyes shining brightly. “Hi! I’m Ranboo.”
The other kid, a blonde boy wearing a purple hoodie looked up as well, giving a small nod, a smile not on his face.
“That’s Purpled,” Ranboo explained in the absence of a name.
“That’s a stupid name,” Tommy said. Tubbo shot him a glare and elbowed him in the side.
Purpled looked up with an amused smirk to his face. Tommy was just glad he didn’t look too mad. He really didn’t want to get beat up during his first day at camp. It wouldn't set a record, persay, but it definitely wouldn't be the best. “At least I don’t have a basic ass name. How many other Tommys have you met?”
“At least my name is on keychains,” Tommy shot back. The two boys were smiling now, and Tommy had a feeling that they were going to get along just fine.
Tubbo and Tommy unpacked their suitcases. They chose the same bunk, obviously, with Tubbo crawling into the top bunk before Tommy could protest, leaving Tommy with the lower bunk.
There was a knock on the door, causing Tommy to look up from where he was putting away his clothes, hands catching over worn fabric and sewn in patches to hide the holes that they gathered from wear.
A pink haired man walked into the cabin. “Hi. I’m Techno, I’ll be your camp leader for this cabin.” His voice was an even monotone, and his face held no excitement.
Tommy smiled. “What short straw did you draw to be sent here to look after teens at a summer camp?” he teased. There was a rush of fear in the back of his head that always showed itself whenever he annoyed adults.
He could practically feel the whispers of bruises and cuts, but he loved the adrenaline that came with pushing the limits, finding that line in the sand.
Techno raised an eyebrow, looking particularly unamused. “Despite how it may seem, I actually do like to work here. Me and my friend Niki have been co counselors for the past three years,” he deadpanned.
Tommy frowned at the lack of reaction, and Techno seemed to notice it. He didn’t like the knowing look on the counselor’s face.
“Whatever. Can I finish unpacking, or are we going to have to learn the camp motto or some shit?”
Purpled snorted, while Ranboo looked aghast. He couldn’t see Tubbo’s reaction since he was sitting on the top bunk above him, but he could practically feel the brunette’s glare. He always hated when Tommy put himself in harm's way. Which meant that he also hated Tommy’s parents.
“I just wanted to check in and introduce myself. This is the time where I scope out any potential troublemakers so I can drown them in the lake before camp officially starts.” Tommy snorted in surprised laughter.
“I’ll make sure to wear a lifevest whenever we go over there.”
Techno gave a ghost of a smile. “Maybe that was all part of the master plan.”
After a few more pleasantries, Techno left with the promise of coming to retrieve them for dinner, leaving the four boys to their cabin.
“So,” started Purpled after the door closed. “Do you two know each other from outside of camp?” he asked.
Tubbo nodded, who was now sitting on Tommy’s bed in a criss-cross. The shorter boy was fiddling with the fabric of Tommy’s long sleeve, being careful not to pull it up enough to expose the hand shaped bruise that wrapped around his forearm.
A warning his father had said, grabbing his arm before he left the car for camp.
Tubbo, who was far too used to it, simply looked over the bruise with a carefully neutral expression. Tommy was grateful.
“Yeah. We’ve been best friends for our whole lives,” Tubbo responded, finally dropping Tommy’s sleeve in favor of laying down on his back, staring up at the springs of the mattress above the two of them.
“That’s cool,” Ranboo said. “I just met Purpled now, but I have a feeling we’re all going to get along.”
Tommy couldn’t help but agree, telling the others as much.
When Techno eventually came back to the cabin, telling them that dinner is ready, the five of them filed out of the cabin together while Techno gave a brief tour of the camp, having already gotten one when they first arrived.
“The lake is down that way. There’s no restrictions on when you can go because we trust you not to drown,” Techno said, pointing towards a worn trail thad lead through the woods.
Tommy snorted. “Five bucks says I get that privilege taken away by drowning.”
Techno didn’t even turn to look at Tommy. It was a little scary, not being able to see his face to gauge his reaction, but it was adrenaline pumping at the same time. “If you want to drown in that gross water then be my guest.”
The counselor continued on with the tour just like that, and Tommy found a frown forming on his face at the lack of reaction. He was expecting something more. An instinctual part of him was prepared for pain.
Eventually they made it to the cafeteria, which was a small indoor room where you got your food and then there were wooden benches and tables in the outside area surrounding it. There were already a good bit of campers sitting at the tables, talking amongst themselves.
“I’ll be sitting at the counselors table if you want to meet the others or have any questions,” Techno said as he walked away, heading towards a table with two other people already sitting down.
There was a girl with pink hair, a similar shade to Techno’s, and a guy with buzz cut hair and multicolored sunglasses on.
“Holy shit this chili looks good!” Tubbo shouted when they got through the dinner line, grabbing a bowl with enthusiasm and grabbing the ladle, filling up a healthy serving of chili and pouring a helping of cheese on top so that it could melt into a beautiful top layer.
Tommy had to agree. Not only did it look good, but it smelled good too. His mouth started watering pretty much as soon as he walked in, reminding him that he didn’t have breakfast that morning.
“Anything is better than whatever the fuck Schlatt calls cooking, Tubbo. That man shouldn’t be allowed near a kitchen,” Tommy deadpanned. Schlatt, Tubbo’s father, relied heavily on made to go meals and take out. For the safety of the entire household.
“Better than nothing,” Tubbo teased. The two of them developed a dark humor with the others' problems. Tommy burst out laughing, while Ranboo and Purpled looked confused. Maybe even a little concerned.
Tommy filled up his own bowl with chili, his stomach practically growling. “You make a fair point Tubster.”
The four teens found an empty table and sat down there. Tommy found out where the drink fountain was and filled his cup up with soda. There was steam coming off of the chili, and he dipped his spoon into the bowl, waiting a bit to let the bite cool off before tasting it.
His eyes widened, and he looked over to Tubbo, who was watching his reaction. “We’re going to be eating like kings while we’re here,” he said. Tubbo whooped, and dug into his own bowl, practically melting into the table.
“You guys are so dramatic,” Purpled teased, though there was a smile on his face as he too dug into the chili. He didn’t look as grateful for the tastes as Tubbo and Tommy, but there was still an appreciative look to his face.
“Ranboo? Consensus?” Tubbo asked.
Ranboo took a careful bite of the food before putting down the spoon and resting his elbows on the table, fingers sprayed across their lips as his brows scrunched. They looked to all the world like an intense food critic, and giggles rose from the table as they awaited Ranboo’s judgment.
“Ah yes. I taste the tomatoes, the… chiliness.” The entire table broke into laughter, and Ranboo was somehow able to keep their composure. “Quite an exquisite dish if I do say so myself.”
Tommy wiped tears out of his eyes as the laughter died down. “Judge Ranboo has spoken. Let’s rejoice!”
The rest of dinner passed in similar fashion; laughter and jokes filling the hour or so of them sitting at the table as the sun slowly set and with its descent rose the moon.
“Look,” Tommy pointed out, interrupting Purpled’s story of the time where he apparently got into an alligator fight? “You can see the stars really well here.” He pointed to the sky, which was mostly dark at this point.
Sure enough, you could see a plethora of stars through the trees, twinkling brightly.
“It’s because there’s not as much light pollution out here than there is in the city. We use warm LED lights that are solar powered to reduce our contribution,” Techno said, startling the table from where he had silently crept up to them.
Tommy tore his eyes away from the stars to glare at the pink haired man. “Of course you would know that. You’re probably a nerd for light pollution or some shit.”
Techno only shrugged. “I mean, working outdoors tends to give you an appreciation for nature. This camp works to limit our pollution. Be it from trash, carbon emissions, or light pollution.” Techno did sound sincere about it, and Tommy couldn’t find it in him to argue with that. Not without sounding like an asshole.
“Are we doing anything for our first night or are we just going back to our cabin?” Ranboo asked. Techno’s attention turned to him, and Ranboo seemed to shrink slightly at the attention. Tommy wondered if it was because they were shy, or if they too had bad experiences with adults.
Maybe he’s going to hell for thinking such a thing, but Tommy kind of hoped it was the latter. As much as Tubbo does his best to relate to him, Schlatt was a parent that tried, despite the man’s issues. While he wouldn’t wish his situation on anyone, it would be kind of cool to have someone to relate to.
Yeah, maybe that’s an awful thing to say.
“Niki is taking her cabin to the campfire to make smores, and I think Jack is joining,” Techno started, gesturing towards what was supposedly Niki’s cabin. Tommy learned that Niki was the one with pink hair, and Jack was the bald bitch.
That’s apparently all the counselors there were, with a grand total of fifteen campers. Niki’s cabin has six campers, and Jack has five.
“I wanted to give you guys the option. We can go to the smores, or I can take you into the woods and we can do some stargazing.”
“That sounds like the perfect setup to murder us,” Tommy pointed out, giving Techno a suspicious look.
Techno looked unamused. “Do you know how much paperwork I’d have to do if you died here?”
Purpled laughed at that. “That’s what you’re worried about?”
The pink haired counselor shrugged once more, causing the boys to laugh. “I mean, that means that I won’t kill you, I guess.”
“Lead the way into the woods, bossman!” Tubbo shouted, standing up from the table and putting away his now empty bowl.
Tommy and Tubbo had seriously considered licking the bowl clean before Ranboo kindly pointed out that they can probably get seconds. Tubbo got seconds, whilst Tommy got thirds.
He totally didn’t regret it. His stomach wasn’t upset with him, shut up.
Techno led them into the woods. By the time they got to a point where they couldn’t see the lights of camp behind them anymore, it was completely dark out.
Tommy could only see what Techno illuminated with his flashlight, and he cursed himself for not thinking to bring his own.
The crickets were chirping and their footsteps were crunching on top of broken twigs and dried leaves. Tubbo seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, talking to Ranboo about the different types of insects they walked past.
Tommy and Purpled stayed in the back of the group. Purpled wasn’t a very talkative boy, but he had chill vibes, and so Tommy liked him.
“Why are you here?” Tommy asked when the three people up ahead were preoccupied. Purpled looked at him weirdly, waiting for him to elaborate. Though, Tommy would put money on the fact that he knew what Tommy meant, and was just waiting for him to explain more.
“No perfect family gets sent to summer camp. Not one as small as this. Why are you here?” Tommy wasn’t normally this blunt- especially with people he’s just met, but something about Purpled told him that he could be more straightforward with him. It was refreshing.
Purpled shrugged as they continued walking, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. “My older brother has full custody of me and usually works more during the summer. This place was cheap as fuck so I was signed up so that I could have a place to go in the summer where there was a lot of food and didn’t have to worry him.”
Tommy nodded. “What about you?” Purpled asked.
The blond snorted. “Parents wanted an excuse to get rid of me. I’m only fifty percent sure that they’ll pick me up.” Purpled laughed, an understanding type of noise.
Tommy felt kind of free telling someone else about it. Sure, Tubbo knew every aspect of his life, but aside from him not many people knew about his personal life.
“We’re here,” Techno announced, stopping in a clearing of trees where you could clearly see the sky above. Even though the lights from camp weren’t much, and apparently weren’t completely bad for the environment, there was still a big difference in the star’s visibility.
“Woah,” Tommy whispered beneath his breath. From the smug look that Techno sent him, it must not have been as quiet as he thought it was.
Tubbo made his way back to Tommy’s side, now considerably much more quiet. The boy had a very short social battery, and so many new things in a day probably took a lot out of him.
One time Tubbo and Tommy went to a kid’s birthday party at an arcade and Tubbo ended up crashing and falling asleep in the photo booth. Tommy found him asleep when it was time to leave and ended up helping a very tired Tubbo stumble his way to the car where Schlatt picked the two of them up.
He had ended up staying the night at Tubbo’s house because his parents forgot he wasn’t home and locked him out of the house when they left to go to the bar. It wasn’t the first time something like that had happened.
“You going to stay awake this time?” Tommy teased. Tubbo shouldered him.
Techno laid down a tarp that he had stashed in his backpack and laid it down on the ground. It was large enough for all five of them to lay down on their backs and look up at the sky.
“See that one up there?” Techno asked, pointing to a bundle of stars that kind of looked like a fucked up circle with two tails. “That’s Ophiuchus. It comes from the ancient Greek word ‘serpent bearer’. People say it looks like a man grasping a snake.”
“That is not a guy grasping a snake,” Tommy pointed out. He couldn’t even pretend to see that image.
Techno ignored him. “That over there,” he continued, pointing towards another bundle. “Is Hercules. Most people think Hercules is Greek, but they’re confusing that with Heracles, who is greek. Hercules is a roman hero.”
“Are there any constellations of big men with a lot of wives?”
“No,” Techno deadpanned.
“Shame. I’ll find one and name it Tommy.”
“I’ll find one as well and name it Tubbo,” chimed Tubbo.
“My constellation will go to war with your constellation,” Tommy declared.
Techno sighed. “That is just not how that works.”
Tommy turned his head to stare at the bitch who keeps attacking his dreams. “You’re a bitch,” he let the man know, before turning his head back to the stars.
It was terrifying to not keep the adult within his sights, but he lived for the thrill of living. And occasionally pushing right to the edge of death.
Another half an hour passed before the novelty of the stars wore off, and Techno led them back to the camp, where the boys headed off to their own cabin.
He didn’t say goodnight to Techno, but he could feel the man’s eyes on him as he walked away.
“You can’t keep being rude to Techno. He can get you kicked out,” Tubbo scolded when they were in the privacy of the cabin.
Ranboo and Purpled were getting ready for bed over at their own bunk, and Tubbo was holding his pajamas in his hand, staring at Tommy with a knowing look.
The blond rolled his eyes. “He won’t, though. My parents pay for this place.”
“Yeah, but what would your parents do if you got kicked out?” Tubbo asked. Tommy shivered at the idea, and Tubbo nodded. “Yeah. I don’t need to save your ass again. I’m not saying be a suck up, but try not to start any fights with the adults.”
Tommy winced at the reminder of the last time Tubbo had to bail him out.
He had snuck off to a party without telling his parents, and he managed to get home right when his parents were drunk enough to be angry but not enough to be tired and lazy.
They had been so angry that he had snuck off that they began taking their anger out in the form of violence. If Tubbo hadn’t heard his yelling from the front porch from where he and Schlatt had dropped him off and asked Schlatt to help, he probably would’ve ended up in the hospital.
He had spent the next week at Schlatt’s house until his mom texted him, asking him to come home.
“I’m just trying to see where the boundaries are. I guess I won’t start shit, though,” Tommy relented, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
Tubbo narrowed his eyes at him. “I don’t believe you, but okay.”
Tommy broke out into a smile and threw a sock at Tubbo, who shrieked in offense. “Go put your pajamas on so I can use the bathroom.”
Tubbo flipped him off as he walked away into the bathroom, and Tommy fell against the tough mattress.
Eventually the lights were turned off and Tommy said goodnight to Tubbo and his new friends, falling asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillows.
===
“This is stupid,” Tommy declared, staring at the brightly colored construction paper and glue sticks in front of him with disdain.
Techno sighed, having heard Tommy’s disapproval for the arts and crafts activities for the past thirty minutes now. “We’re going ziplining later today, but for now you can either participate or sit there and sulk. I don’t care either way.”
Tubbo, who was cutting out yellow construction paper with a smile, piped up. “I’m going to make a paper model of a nuke!”
Tommy groaned and slapped his hands over his face. “Stop making nukes Tubbo.” He turned to Techno, an idea brewing in his mind. “Is there anything I can’t make with the arts and crafts?” he asked.
By the way that Techno’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, the camp counselor was catching a drift of Tommy’s plan.
“Technically no. Just don’t go making anything inappropriate.” Techno met Tommy’s mischievous stare head on, and Tommy felt his irritation growing when Techno didn’t specifically tell him not to do something.
He wanted more of a reaction. Something that he was used to. The more that Techno failed to punish Tommy’s behavior, the more upset the blond got.
Tommy sighed and angrily grabbed a pair of squiggly scissors, a paint marker, and a dark red sheet of construction paper and got to work, chatting with Tubbo Purpled and Ranboo while he was crafting.
“What are you making?” Tubbo asked Ranboo, gesturing to the purple paper that Ranboo was cutting lines into at the ends.
“I’m making a paper allium flower. I made a lot of these at home. I have a bouquet of them,” they said, showing an already made paper flower.
He used a skewer that was provided for the crafts (which Tommy thought was a bad idea) and wrapped the frayed paper edges around the skewer to make the flower effect. It actually looked pretty cool.
“I’m just cutting the paper into tiny squares, I don’t really have an end goal in mind,” Purpled chimed in, showing the collection of said squares piled up on his side of the table.
“I’m with Purpled. I’m just biding my time until it’s our turn to do the zip line course,” Tommy said. That was on the agenda they were given for the day, and Tommy wouldn’t lie and say he’s not excited to go zip lining.
Tubbo perked up. “Same! I’ve never been before, unless you count that one ropes course that we did back in primary.”
Tommy snorted at the memory. “I don’t think that counts. You somehow got your leg trapped in one of the rope bridges and they had to shimmy you out and you then stayed on the ground the rest of the time,” he said with a laugh.
“Listen! It was scary to be trapped up there!” Tubbo defended. The table broke out into laughter.
When the allotted craft time was complete, Tommy was excited to show Techno what he made. When the pink haired counselor came back to the craft table, Tommy immediately shoved his drawing in the man’s face, practically hitting him in the nose.
Techno grabbed it from Tommy’s hands and looked at it before sighing, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“An art recreation of my death is not what I meant by expressing your creativity,” Techno deadpanned, handing Tommy back his art, who took it with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
He added fake (albeit glittery) blood and everything! What is this man’s problem? “Wh- that’s it?” Tommy asked, perplexed.
Techno raised an eyebrow. “Yes, that’s it. What, do you want me to yell at you or something?” Tommy winced slightly, and he had a feeling that Techno’s ever observant eyes caught the movement.
“Whatever. Let’s just go to the zipline now,” Tommy grumbled, falling in line with Tubbo as Techno led the way to the course. Tubbo shot him another knowing look that Tommy ignored, not wanting to get into his problems right now.
“Tubbo, Ranboo, Purpled, you three go up ahead. I’m going to talk to Tommy for a second,” Techno said.
Tubbo, ever the faithful friend, stayed behind while Ranboo and Purpled walked towards the metal ladder that would bring them to the zipline platform.
Tubbo, Tommy knew, wouldn’t leave until Tommy told him to. Tubbo would raze the ground for him if he so much as gave the word. It’s what he loves about his best friend. He likes being fought for.
Tommy nodded his head to Tubbo, though, and the brunette reluctantly followed after the other two, leaving Techno and Tommy alone. Tommy clenched his fists to keep his hands from shaking.
“Tommy,” Techno started with a sigh. “I have a feeling that you don’t have good relationships with adults in your life. I want you to know that I will never yell at you. I will never lay a hurting hand on you nor will I do anything to try and harm you.”
The blond gawked at the man, at the bluntness he used. “I don’t trust that,” he admitted.
Techno nodded like it was easy. Like he wasn’t confusing Tommy. “That’s understandable. I just- we’re going to be spending the rest of the summer together. I don’t want you to be acting out because you’re scared.”
“I’m not scared!” Tommy yelled, getting defensive. “Besides, why do you even care?”
Techno was silent for a moment before speaking. “Because if I don’t care, then what adult will?” he asked.
Tommy opened his mouth to answer, words on the tip of his tongue and yet not being able to leave his mouth.
“I’m not like the people that hurt you, Tommy. If you give me a chance, I’ll prove that to you,” he said.
Against Tommy’s will, tears formed in the corners of his eyes. Those were the words that he went to sleep dreaming of being said to him.
Techno opened his arms with a reluctant look on his face and after a few moments of debate, Tommy allowed himself to be engulfed in a hug by Techno. He didn’t cry, didn’t make any noise. A few tears fell, and that was all he allowed himself.
“I think I want to let you prove that,” Tommy admitted.
“Then I shall do just that,” Techno said, no, promised.
When Tommy finally broke away from Techno and joined his friends on the zipline platform, none of them mentioned his watery lashes.
Tubbo gave him a side hug, though, with a proud look on his face, somehow seeming to know what the two of them had talked about.
Tommy realized that he might actually want to be at this fuck ass summer camp. It definitely beats being at home.