Chapter Text
Julia was quietly sitting in the mess hall, scrolling through her phone and pretending to care about the grub in front of her. Chris hadn’t confiscated this one yet, but he might as well have with the shotty service she had in this middle of nowhere camp. To top it off, the only other people worth speaking to were Nichelle, a movie star who just got voted off for being a complete and utter failure, and Chase, a video influencer that even being in the vicinity of would send her IQ to 0. So that left her alone, taking every muscle in her body to keep up her persona.
Suddenly, a fairly muscular blonde boy sat across from her, dropping his tray onto the table. “Hey, Jules! Breakfast smells good today, eh?”
Dimwit hockey guy #1 was one of the hardest to keep her cool in front of. Everything the hockey bros did disgusted her, and she wasn’t sure either of them had any brain cells in their collective minds. However, she was determined to not get kicked off for becoming enemies with the seemingly nicest guys on the island. “Hey… hockey guy! Breakfast is great. Superb,” she muttered, grumbling under her breath.
Wayne smiled innocently, sitting down across from her and beginning to chow down on his food. Julia would gag at watching him enjoy the food, but, considering she hadn’t eaten anything of nutritional value in days, throwing up was the last thing she wanted to do. So she tried to feign a smile back, looking back to her phone. Mouth full of food, the boy continued to chatter while she ignored him. “Challenge yesterday was somethin’ else, eh? Did you know Nichelle’s movies weren’t real? Me and Rajie sure didn’t. I think he’s real upset about it. He’s been in bed all morning! So not like him, y’know? But it could be something else. Do you think it’s something else?”
As Wayne looked at her expectantly, Julia sighed, realizing he wanted her input in conversation. “I don’t know. Have you tried… talking to him?” she mumbled, raising an eyebrow at him.
His face lit up, gasping. “Huh! I didn’t think of that. You’re so smart, Jules!”
Julia blinked for a moment, processing the fact that he was being genuine. “…of course I am. Stop calling me Jules.”
Wayne scratched his cheek, looking away. “Oh. Sorry.”
Julia stood up, slipping the phone into her pocket. “Whatever. I need to go do my beach yoga.”
Wayne swiftly jumped up. “Can I come?”
Internally groaning, the girl balled up her fists to try and relieve some of her pent up anger. She had to try and stay nice, which was hard when some people don’t know what personal space is. “Fine. Sure. Whatever. But you can’t talk during yoga.”
“Sure thing, Jule- Julia,” the boy flashed a grin at her, and she sighed in response. He was just like a puppy.
Apparently Wayne didn’t catch the hidden meaning of ‘can’t talk during yoga’, because he happened to be talking every step of the way to the beach. Julia wanted to slam her head inside of a tree. Or his. Or both.
“So, when I was 10, or maybe… 9? Rajie and I had this huge collection of lady beetles. Or was it stag beetles…? I don’t remember. Well, we kept them in a bunch of jars with leaves for them to eat. Then they got real big, so Rajie and I let ‘em free. It was like a mom sending their kid off to college, eh,” Wayne nodded smartly.
Julia was not listening. “Cool.”
Wayne tapped his chin in thought. “Rajie’s always better at rememberin’ stories, eh. He used to write ‘em. And I’d draw the pictures.”
Clicking through her playlist to see what music she could play, the girl responded in a monotone voice. “Thought you guys liked hockey.”
“We do!” Wayne assured proudly. “But we like stuff other than hockey, eh.” He turned his head, getting a better look at the girl beside him. “You like stuff other than yoga, right?”
There he goes, expecting an answer again. “Well, yeah.” She brushed her hair behind her shoulders. “I used to bake a lot.”
Wayne’s eyes lit up again. “Wow! Really? That’s so cool!” Julia gave a soft smile in return, unsure how to respond to his enthusiasm. And his bright, ocean-like eyes felt like they were piercing into her soul. “What kind of stuff did you bake, Jule-Julia?”
“…cupcakes, macaroons, sugar cookies, that sort of thing,” she replied softly, shrugging. She felt shy talking about her life outside of the one she portrays online. “…now I usually just cook the healthy vegan recipes I post online, though.”
As they reached the beach, Julia noticed the boy had stopped behind her. “Oh, I forgot! I packed healthy snacks! Wait here, eh!”
And he jogged off. Though Julia could’ve easily gotten rid of him at this point, she had nothing better to do. So she stayed at the beach, recording herself doing some light yoga.
About 15 minutes later, a panting Wayne came back with a handful of snacks, offering to share with Julia. There was only a small variety- protein bars, carrots, a canister of cashews- but this was honestly better than anything she had eaten in the past week, so she wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity. And she had just finished her yoga- she didn’t really want to do more than what she needed for posting- so the two sat on her beach towel, munching away at the snacks.
“Dang. Snacks from home really make you miss it, eh? Wish I could have my mom’s mac ‘n cheese right about now.”
Julia shrugged nonchalantly. “Not really. I don’t talk to my parents anyway.”
Wayne gave her a concerned look. “Huh? Why?”
“Don’t want to. Talking to them isn’t worth my time.”
“Oh.” Wayne fidgeted with his hat. Julia prided herself on the fact she got the more outgoing hockey bro to feel awkward. His tone shifted to one a bit softer and more serious. “Weeeellll, if you want, you can always talk to me, Jule-Julia.”
Though his genuineness made her want to shove sand in her mouth, she couldn’t help but smirk. Was he this bad of a flirt? “Aren’t I doing that right now?”
Wayne chuckled. “Oh, yah. Obviously. My bad.”
She picked up a cashew, holding it in the direction of the other. “Catch.” She moved her hand back and forth, then tossed it.
The jock leaned back and caught it in his mouth. “Aw, that was a good toss! You sure you never played basketball?”
“And smell as sweaty as you? No thanks,” she teased, sending a smirk in his direction.
He dished it right back to her as he raised his eyebrows and his own smirk grew. “Aww, I thought I smelled beautiful. Like a bunch of roses.” He feigned heartbreak, clutching at his chest.
The girl rolled her eyes, looking toward the beach. “You’re a dork.” She enjoyed the playful banter, allowing herself to keep up some of her social skills. Not that she’d ever admit to liking hanging out with Wayne.
“Breakin’ my heart over here, Jules, er-”
“It’s fine. You can call me that.”
She heard him gasp. “Really? I can call you Jules?”
She looked back to him, his excitement barely contained. “Only because it’s embarrassing to watch you try and not.”
He beamed brightly, his smile almost contagious. Hiding her own, Julia looked back to the water, popping a carrot into her mouth.
——
“Did that happen?”
Raj, who sat on his couch, furrowed his brows at his best bud. “Of course it did! Don’t you remember?”
Wayne shook his head. He was sprawled out on the floor, listening to the alternate captain tell a story. “Nope. Sorry, bud.”
Bowie, who sat next to Raj, whose legs were thrown over his, chimed in. “Raj, are you sure you didn’t dream this? I don’t think Julia would ever even consider going on a date with Wayne. I don’t think he’s her type. No offense, Wayne.”
Wayne put up his hands. “None taken.”
“I swear it happened! I remember he grabbed all these snacks and took them to the beach. He told me about it after!” Raj was starting to get frustrated, crossing his arms.
“Babe, it’s not a big deal. Maybe it happened. But I’m not sure this was a date?” Bowie placated, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“We didn’t even kiss, eh,” Wayne added.
“You don’t have to kiss on a first date. Bowie and I didn’t,” Raj grumbled.
“We had made out twice before, and we made out, like, the next day. We didn’t kiss at our actual date because you were so nervous,” his boyfriend chuckled, poking at the brunette.
He pouted, looking the other way. “Shut up.” He giggled shyly as Bowie pressed a kiss to his cheek. “B-but a picnic on a beach is pretty romantic, eh? I think it’s a date.”
“That’s true, I guess.” Bowie shrugged.
“We could ask Julia if she thinks it’s a date,” Wayne mused.
“She would NEVER admit to that happening.” Bowie sighed, leaning back into the sofa. “Well, you said there was another date, right, Raj? Maybe you telling it will help jog Wayne’s memory.”
“Oh yeah!” Raj lit up, sitting up. “So this one happened right before the merge…”