One Week Later...

"I saw the blue first!"

"Okay?! I grabbed it first!"

Maya and Devon were shouting over each other, fighting for the bag of blue jerseys. The rest of us stand and watch them go at it for what felt like forever. Tyler was the first to get fed up with it, yanking the bag from both of them.

"Since you idiots can't be civil, my team will take the blue jerseys."

Maya and Devon stand completely dumbfounded, yet they don't bother arguing any further.

Today was a free day, so counselors got to choose what they wanted to do with their campers. Devon, Tyler and Maya wanted to play a round of soccer, despite the age gap between their groups. Taylor and Ashlyn's campers were making friendship bracelets in the mess hall.

My kids wanted to do something a bit more lowkey, so I felt that sightseeing was a great activity today. Aiden decided to tag along, claiming that his presence—and I quote—would scare away the bears.

We both stand outside campgrounds, counting heads to insure we don't leave anyone behind. I furrow my brows when I count seven instead of eight.

"Um, has anyone seen Danny?"

Zarah pushes up her purple glasses and rolls her eyes like the sassy girl she is, "Why is Danny always the problem?"

"Because he's a crybaby—" Ethan starts.

"Hey! What did we say about name calling?" I butt in before they start getting out of hand.

"Uh, sunshine?" Aiden calls out to me from behind, "I think I found it."

I slowly turn as I reply, "First of all, don't call me that. And second of all, for the love of God, stop referring to them as it."

When my eyes lock on him, they drift down to find Danny hugging Aiden's leg like a koala. Aiden drags himself over to his group, seeming unfazed by the child latching onto him.

"Danny, what in the world are you doing?" I ask with a crack of a smile on my lips. Something flashes in Aiden's eyes when they scan my face for a moment.

"Don't make me go, Y/N!" He pouts, turning his head away.

I sigh and kneel down in front of him. I tap his arm to grab his attention, "It won't be as scary as you think. I can hold your hand if you'd like—"

"No! You can't do that!" He shrieks, violently shaking his head.

My brow shoots up, "Why not?"

"Because you're a girl, duh." Xavier says from where he was kicking pebbles with Henry and Gabby.

I roll my eyes and grab Danny's shirt, prying him off of Aiden. I glare up at the blonde snickering at the whole situation, proving to be completely useless.

Aiden claps his hands, gaining the attention of his eight-year-olds, "Alright, you suckers. Let's get this show on the road."

---

So far, our scariest encounter has been when one of Aiden's kids tripped over a lump in the dirt path. There wasn't much to see out here right now, besides an occasional bird here and there.

Luckily, kids seem to be easily impressed by anything out in the wild these days. It was a clear sign that they needed to be outside more often.

Aiden was in the front while I lingered in the back for safety purposes. My hand that's been holding Danny's for the past thirty minutes was starting to grow clammy, but I wouldn't dare let go. The last thing I need is a child having a breakdown in the middle of the woods.

We stopped after a few more minutes for a water break. I sit down with my back against a thick tree, providing the perfect amount of shade for my group. I watch the kids pull small bottles out of their packs. I was surprised to see that they all brought water. There were usually a couple that would forget, and I didn't bring enough spares today.

I take a swig from my own bottle and look to my left to see Aiden pulling his phone out of his pocket. His lips press together in a firm line as his thumbs fly across the screen rapidly. This was the fifth time he's been on his phone since we left camp. How the hell does he even get service out here?

Every time he's unlocked his phone, it's as if it sucks the life out of him. And every time he catches me looking, he returns to his normally cheery self. It's eerie how easily he can flip that switch.

I set my bottle down and walk over to sit down in front of him. He glances up from whatever conversation is ruining his afternoon, immediately giving me his full attention before I even tried asking for it.

"Missed me?" He smiles.

"What I miss," I pluck his phone from his hand and shut it off, being respectful enough to not look at the message thread he had open, "Is a time where people could go a few hours without looking at their phones."

He reaches for it defensively, panic setting in his eyes, "No, give that back!"

I extend my arm out of reach and shake my head, "This walk will be good for you, and so will time away from your phone. You're glued to it like a magnet."

"Y/N, c'mon. You don't get it."

"Alright, enlighten me."

He pauses, considering it until he mutters, "...Screw you." I almost laugh at how he needs to take a few seconds before saying it, finding a substitute for the profanity he wanted to spit out. I've been training him to keep his language PG around the kids.

I hand his phone back, "Try and stay off of it. If you feel like you need something to do, walk with me and we'll find something to talk about."

His eyes soften as his lips curve up. But this smile isn't like most of the ones he delivers. It felt warmer, more genuine.

"Sure thing, sunshine."

Whatever warmth was creeping up my chest washed away with that stupid nickname, "I told you to—"

"—Stop calling you that. Yeah, yeah."

He gets up and offers his hand, which has just become a norm for him to do, "Come on. I think the kids have had enough time to cool down."

I lift myself up and my hand stays wrapped in his for longer than is considered appropriate. Surprisingly, he is the first to pull away. He spares me a quick glance, searching my face for something, before returning to his group to round them up.

When we begin to walk again, this time with Aiden by my side, I hear a faint buzz in the pocket of his shorts. I discreetly look over to see his hand inch toward it. But he second-guesses and drops his hand back down to his side.

Something in my chest tightens once I take in the fact that he actually listened to what I wanted. But him not answering made him appear even worse than when he does.

Theories began to brew in my mind. Maybe he had a toxic girlfriend at home? That would explain why he's so tense when he texts. But when I had asked about his parents last week, he got weird about it. Maybe he's going through family drama right now.

Or maybe you should just mind your own business, Y/N.

Yeah, that's always an option too.

"Hey." A hand taps my knuckles.

"Hm?" I blink away my thoughts and meet Aiden's gaze watching me curiously.

"Nothing. Just making sure you're still with us." He shrugs his shoulders and stuffs his hands in his pockets.

I then notice that he has a small, pink backpack slung over his shoulders with characters from "My Little Pony" printed on the back. I chuckle and nudge his arm, "What's up with the backpack."

He glances over his shoulder before realization sets in, though he doesn't look embarrassed, "Oh, Emilia's back was hurting so I offered to hold her bag for her."

"And I thought chivalry was dead." I grin, finding this image of him amusing. But something inside me found the action sweet enough to consider almost attractive.

Come on, can you blame me? A guy that's somewhat good with kids and shameless about it?

"Y/N! Y/N!" Wendy's small voice shouts from behind us, "Danny's crying again!"

I groan and turn back around to check on him. I hear Aiden say teasingly, "Duty calls, sunshine."

"How about you suck my—"

"Language." He cuts me off, echoing what I'd been nagging at him about the past few days. I shoot him an annoyed glare and walk over to the sobbing boy freaking out over a butterfly on his nose.