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Michael cursed as he yanked the friendship bracelet string too hard, and the knot tangled, showcasing green instead of light blue. “I have no idea how you guys do this,” Michael said, tossing his botched bracelet across the table, almost hitting Clarisse who was similarly struggling with her bracelet. and crossing his arms, “It’s impossible.”
“It’s not too hard,” Silena said, reaching across to pick up Michael’s feeble attempt at a chevron, “Do you want me to reshow you?” Her bracelet was so intricately knotted it literally had letters and hearts showcased, how she even managed an “S” was beyond Michael’s comprehension.
“No, I’m done with that bullshit,” Michael swung his legs over the bench so he could stand. “I’m going to get lanyard and do a box, at least that shit is easy once it’s started.”
Michael’s boyfriend, Jake, shook his head in faux exasperation, but Michael could see from his small smile that he was actually amused by his antics. “You said you weren’t going to give up this time.”
“Well, I’m a filthy liar,” Michael shot back as he walked over to the lanyard station.
Chris, the only one of their little sextet who was smart enough to not start with friendship bracelet making, glanced up from his drawing—a dark honestly disturbing piece, but Michael had been helping care for him while his mind was in shambles, so he probably deserved a little bit of concerning art, “Isn’t Apollo the god of truth?”
Michael shrugged as best he could as he was measuring out the light blue string. “Probably. Dad’s the god of a lot of things.”
“He’s such a poser,” Chris’ girlfriend, Clarisse, said, discarding her own bracelet.
Beckendorf sighed, picking up Clarisse’s discarded bracelet, “You shouldn’t insult the gods, Clarisse, especially now.”
Silena hummed, “We’re already at war.”
“And my dad’s known for smiting people he doesn’t like,” Michael added.
“I don’t give a shit,” Clarisse said, crossing her arms, “But, fine, whatever, we can talk about something else.”
“Oh, I have something,” Silena jumped. “You know Lacy, right? Our cabin’s newest member? She’s like ten years old; blond pigtails, braces, super strong Brooklyn accent?”
“We know Lacy,” Jake said. Michael finally gathered all his lanyard and made his way back to Jake’s side, sliding into is place on the bench—which had a small booster so he could reach better, much to his chagrin, but Jake had threatened Clarisse if she made fun of him, so Michael wasn’t as upset about needing it. “What about her?”
“She has her first camp crush,” Silena squealed, “It’s so adorable, watching her fawn over the kid.”
“At ten?” Michael asked, passing his lanyard to Jake to start. “Isn’t she a little young?”
Michael gathered he said something odd, though he wasn’t sure what was so odd about his observation, since the others were all looking at him funnily. “What?”
“I liked you when we were ten,” Jake said slowly, passing back Michael the started box stitch. “I mean, not to the magnitude I like you now, but I definitely wanted to marry you then,” Jake turned, running his fingers through his hair, his face a brilliant red.
“You did?” Michael glanced around, “Did you guys have crushes at ten too?”
Beckendorf shrugged, “Yeah. Like Jake said, the crushes aren’t as strong when you’re little, but they’re for sure there."
“You weren’t like, weirded out by romance?” Michael asked. When he was ten, romance never even crossed his mind. Now that he thought about it, romance never really crossed his mind until he was thirteen and he started to fall for Jake.
“Clarisse and I got fake married right before you came to camp at that age,” Silena said. “I ‘proposed’ to her with a ring pop and a box of Daddy’s chocolates, and we got married in the Big House.”
“I remember that!” Jake said, leaning forward, “Beck cried in our cabin that night because he wanted to be the one to marry you.”
Beckendorf kicked his brother under the table. “Why would you say that!”
“Wait, that’s so cute,” Silena said, pressing a kiss to Beckendorf’s cheek.
“Weren’t you Silena’s best man?” Clarisse asked.
“I wasn’t going to let her know I was upset,” Beckendorf admitted.
Silena squeezed Beckendorf’s bicep. “I’ll get you a ring pop and a box of Daddy’s chocolates.”
Beckendorf grinned.
“As disgusting sweet as that was,” Michael said, “I’m still confused.”
“There’s nothing to be confused about,” Clarisse said. “Silena gave me a ring pop and asked me to marry her, I said yes, and we had a fake ceremony where Lylla was the officiant and Beck was Silena’s best man. Mine was Sherman, though if I remember correctly he complained the entire fake wedding that he wanted to go back to the cabin—”
“He did do that,” Silena reminisced.
“—And Annabeth was the flower girl, and Connor was the ring bearer.”
“Let me guess,” Chris said, leaning forward slightly, “My brother ate the ring pop?”
The four who were there nodded assent. “I demoted him,” Silena said. “Just had Annabeth be the ring bearer too.”
“I did say we shouldn’t pick him,” Clarisse said. “But nothing confusing about that, Yew.”
“That wasn’t what confused me, asshole,” Michael spat. “I just—I didn’t even start thinking about romance until I was thirteen and started liking Jake. I never even thought I was straight as a kid because it didn’t even cross my mind to think about people like that.”
Clarisse frowned, leaning forward to rest her head on her fists. “Wait, how many crushes have you had?”
“One,” Michael said, nose scrunching in confusion, “Like normal.”
“You only ever liked me,” Jake asked, eyes widening.
“Why are you all looking at me like that?” Michael shifted uncomfortably. “You’re only supposed to like who you’re dating, right?”
“You can find other people attractive,” Silena said, “Like, obviously I love Charlie the most, but I’ve had other crushes—on people I’ve known in real life, on celebrities, and on fictional characters.”
“On fictional characters?” Michael said. “What?”
“I had the hugest crush on Bob the Builder as a kid.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’d never lie about my love of Bob the Builder.”
Michael looked around the rest of the group. “You’ve had crushes on celebrities too? And fictional characters?”
Chris shrugged. “I liked Kim Possible as a kid, so yeah.”
“But they’re—you can’t—you don’t even know them!” Michael exclaimed. “How can you want to date someone you don’t even know?”
“Crushes don’t need to be obtainable, Mikey,” Jake said softly, “You don’t control who you find attractive.”
“Sexuality isn’t a choice, Yew,” Clarisse spat.
“I know that,” Michael said, “I didn’t choose to like Jake, I just got to know him well over the four years we were friends that I started to fall for him. I didn’t choose that.”
Chris frowned, as if Michael were a lockpick he was unable to crack. “You’re gay, right?”
“Well, yeah,” Michael said, “I like a boy, and not a girl.”
“A boy?” Beckendorf reiterated, “Not boys in general?”
“I said that,” Michael repeated. “Dude, I have a boyfriend, why would I like another boy?”
“We just told you crushes aren’t a choice,” Clarisse said, “Even if you have a boyfriend, lots of people have little crushes on other people. I mean, have you read about the gods drama?”
Michael waved his hand in dismissal. Accidentally smacking Jake with his half-finished box. “They’re gods, not humans, it’s different.”
“Gods are modeled after humans,” Jake said, “They get their powers from being like humans.”
“Oh—” Michael slumped back. “So, it’s not normal to only like your boyfriend?”
“Normal is subjective, Mike,” Silena said, “Besides, I think it’s sweet, you’re like Jake-sexual.”
Jake wrapped his arms around Michael’s waist and pulled him closer. His booster screeched as it slid across the bench. “And even if only one percent of the population feels like you, that’s still eighty million people, so Silena’s right. And even if you were the only one, that makes you special in your own way.”
Michael curled up against Jake. “If you say so.”
Beckendorf tapped his fingers on the table. “We have computers in Cabin 9, we can do research for you to see if there’s a term for people who only like one person.”
“I don’t want to look and find out I’m alone,” Michael admitted. “I thought up until ten minutes ago everyone felt the way I do, and to find out that’s not it, it’s a lot.”
Clarisse crossed her arms. “I know I make fun of you a lot, Michael, but that being said, if anyone makes fun of you for this, I’ll fight them.”
Michael grinned smally. “Thanks, Clarisse.”
“You don’t have to look,” Jake said. “We’ll support you either way.”
“You’re our friend, Mike,” Chris smiled.
“Even if you are a feral goblin.” Clarisse added.
“I’m gonna bite you,” snapped Michael, but for once, his words had no real bite to it.
“Michael!” Silena ran into Cabin 7, where Will was attempting to teach the rest of the cabin to square dance during their break while Michael watched from his designated recliner he got Travis to steal for him when he became counselor.
“Howdy, Silena!” Will called, tipping his bright pink cowboy hat with a tiara attached to it. He grinned so wide that Michael could see one of his missing molars. “Wanna learn to square dance. It’s fun!”
“Maybe another time, Will,” Silena said. “I need to talk to Mike real quick.”
Michael stood up. “I’ll be right back. Will, you’re in charge.”
“Got it, partner,” Will called, before grabbing Kayla’s arm and began to dance again.
Michael followed Silena outside, noticing the slight skip in her step. “What is it?”
“Remember last week when we were talking about how you only like Jake?”
“Kind of hard to forget when my entire world view was shattered.” Michael grumbled under his breath.
“Well, I was doing some research on sexualities with Beck, and I found a term that sounds just like you, and I had to tell you! I know you didn’t want to look at yourself, but I found it on my own.”
Michael’s eyes widened slightly. “Really?”
“Yeah!” Silena bounced slightly. “Ironically, it’s called demiromantic!”
“Bit on the nose,” Michael said, “What’s it mean?”
“That you don’t have romantic attraction until you form a deep connection with someone first!” Silena’s hands shook as he squealed. “You said you didn’t start liking Jake until you knew him well, right?”
“Yeah,” Michael’s eyes widened even more. “So, it is normal?”
“I told you, normal’s subjective,” Silena calmed down slightly. “But I told you you weren’t the only one.”
“I’ve got to go tell Jake,” Michael breathed out. “Watch my siblings?”
“Of course!”
And Michael ran through camp lighter than ever because, even if he didn’t feel just like his friends, there were still people out there who felt just like him. And that lifted a weight off his shoulders that had settled there the week before.