Chapter Text
You woke up from a nap abruptly to the sound of your third alarm. The moment you saw the time on the little clock beeping on your nightstand, you knew you were completely doomed. "Fuck, I'm late." You cursed under your breath as you rushed towards the bathroom with a stack of clothes you somehow didn't manage to pack yet. You brushed your teeth while you tried your best to pack the clothes inside the small bag without having to give up on some of them in order to make them fit. Claire had told you to not bring many clothes since Chris insisted on all of you wearing a uniform. But what if the uniform got damaged? Or worse, what if it didn't suit you? You needed to be prepared for any outcome. You were almost done when you heard a car horn in front of your apartment. "She's here already?" You said to yourself, running towards the small window in the living room. In front of the house, there was a black pickup truck that you recognized immediately. "Are you coming or do we have to wait for you another hour?" Jill said from the driver's seat. "Just 5 minutes." You said, already walking away from the window to finish packing everything.
Once you were almost 100% sure you had everything you needed, you headed out, locking the front door before running towards the car. "You really need to work on fixing your time management if you don't want Chris getting annoying about it." Jill chuckled as she started the engine. "This is Carlos. I think you haven't met before." She added. A tall brunette boy sat in the passenger seat. "Carlos Oliveira. Camp counselor, occasional lifesaver, and currently the only person in this car with good music taste." He said, reaching his hand out to greet you. "Don't listen to him." Jill said, rolling her eyes. "See? They never appreciate true talent." He said with a huff. You couldn't help the small smile tugging at the corner of your lips. "Quick question before we get there..." He added out of the blue. "Are you good with teenagers? 'Cause I'm still figuring that part out." He said once he knew he got your attention. You looked at Jill through the rear view, not really knowing if he was joking or being serious. But judging by his expression, he was completely serious. "Chris called you even though he knew you had no idea how to deal with teenagers? That's character improvement." You joked. Chris was the type of person to have everything extremely measured and controlled. It surprised you to know that he actually trusted someone who had no idea of how to deal with teenagers to work at a teenager summer camp.
"So... You're the famous friend Claire wouldn't stop talking about?" Carlos said after a short silence. You shyly nodded. "Good. We can use you to balance out Leon's personality." He joked, nudging Jill's arm. "Leon?" You asked, confused. "You don't know him?" Jill asked, looking at you through the rearview mirror. You thought about it for a second and then shook your head. "I thought Claire told you about him. He's probably the only boy on earth she calls a friend." Jill joked. "I think I've heard of him, but never really met him in person." You admitted quietly. "Well, guess this summer will be the time you two finally meet." Carlos said, leaning back in his seat. "Don't get fooled by his looks, though." Jill warned you. "What do you mean?" You asked with curiosity. "You'll see." Jill said with a low chuckle.
After a few more minutes of comfortable chatter, the three of you finally arrived at what would become your residence for the next month. To be fair, the moment you saw the cute 'Welcome Campers!' banner hanging between two trees, you felt like you were about to live the best summer of your life. Little did you know what was awaiting you in there. You took off the pickup and walked to the trunk, where your luggage was messily spread. "Claire should be-." "Hey, you!" Claire cut Jill off, running towards you with a huge smile plastered on her face. It's been almost two months since you last saw each other. "Hey!!" You said, opening your arms to greet her with a hug. "I thought you wouldn't make it in time for them to pick you up." Claire said, hugging you back with a teasing tone. "You know me too well." You admitted. Claire hugged Jill as well while you took your bags out of the car. "Am I not getting a hug from the amazing Claire Redfield?" Carlos said, opening his arms already. "I bet you'd prefer to get a hug from Chris." Claire joked, disappearing into Carlos' arms. "It's always nice to get a hug from my homies." Carlos laughed. "Did someone call?" Chris said, walking towards you from the inside of the camp. "Nice to see you came in time." He added, seeing you standing next to his sister. "Why is everyone so surprised?" You scoffed, hugging him.
"Okay, let me show you around." Claire said, grabbing your arm and practically dragging you into the camp. As you walked around, you saw the teenagers you would be responsible for during the next month. Some of them were chatting together, and some others were saying goodbye to their parents. Claire didn't stop talking about all the camp rules, how annoying her brother was about safety protocols, and how excited she was that you actually accepted a position on the staff crew this year. After a few more steps into the camp, a blond guy around your age caught your attention. The boy was carrying a pair of huge boxes into the cafeteria. "Oh, that's Leon." Claire said as soon as she noticed you staring at the boy."The one carrying half the camp on his back?" You joked, pointing at him. "The one who's about to become a pain in your ass." Claire laughed with a warning tone."Leon!!" She called him. The moment he looked your way, and your eyes met, a weird feeling crept up your spine. "You know, I can hear you even when you're talking at a normal volume, right?" Leon said, leaving the boxes on the floor and walking over. "Maybe it was intended." Claire teased him. "This is Y/N. Try not to flirt with her from day one." She added. For some reason, that comment made heat rush to your face. Or maybe it was the way that Leon was smiling at you. "I don't do that." He complained, never breaking his eye contact with you. "Sure." Claire rolled her eyes.
After a short chat with Leon, you and Claire continued your little tour around the camp. There were cute wooden cabins spread around the field, some kayaks stacked in the background view, next to them, there was a giant rock barbecue, where you guessed you would do the bonfires at night while eating dinner. "I saved the best for the last." Claire said, grabbing your hand and dragging you towards the area where the kayaks were stacked. As you got closer, an amazing lake reflected the sunlight. "Wow." You said completely amazed. "I know, right?" Claire said proudly. "Chris didn't want to rent this place because 'it was dangerous'. Now that we're here, I'm glad I convinced him to rent this one instead of the one he wanted." Claire added. "Let's go, let me show you our cabin." Claire said, already walking away. When you were about to leave, you bumped into Leon hard enough that you had to take a step back. "You okay?" Leon steadied you by the elbows before letting go. "Yeah." He smiled. "Good. Would've hated to scare you off before you even unpacked." He said with a grin. You were left there completely speechless, watching him as he walked past you as if nothing had happened. 'What's wrong with him?' You thought to yourself, looking away when he looked back, probably to check if you were still staring.
The staff's cabin was cozy, with three beds displayed in each room, one for the girls and one for the boys. "You can leave your stuff here and unpack later. We're about to welcome the campers in about 10 minutes." Claire said, pointing at a small wardrobe next to one of the beds. You simply nodded, grabbing your bags and placing them in the bed to organize them a little before heading out. You spent about 5 minutes organizing your stuff, thinking about the camp, and how amazing this summer could be. And suddenly, the thought of someone you never expected to slip into your thoughts appeared. Why were you even thinking about the way he looked at you? He was just another counselor. You were probably overthinking. "You're staring again." Leon said with a lazy grin, leaning against the doorway of the cabin. You rolled your eyes immediately, trying to ignore how unfairly good he actually looked in the camp uniform. "I'm trying to figure out if you're always this annoying." From outside, Claire's voice immediately cut through the silence. "Oh my God, they're already flirting!" She laughed. "Five bucks says those two are gonna be either dating or trying to kill each other by the end of the summer." Carlos added, crossing his arms and looking at the scene you and Leon made inside the cabin. You felt your cheeks burning while Leon seemed to be enjoying it a little too much.
Somehow, you managed to finish getting ready for the welcome party in less than 5 minutes. As you walked out of the cabin, you greeted a few campers with a huge smile, meeting Jill and Carlos along the way towards the cafeteria. Once you arrived, you sat at the table with the rest of the team. Leon was, for some reason, nowhere to be found. "Where's Leon?" You whispered to Claire, who was sitting in front of you. "You're already asking about him?" Jill teased, nudging your side with her elbow. "It's not-." "Missed me already?" Leon said, sitting next to you. You went completely silent, slightly moving away when you noticed your shoulders and knees were briefly brushing. The cafeteria was filled with cheerful chatter from the campers sitting on the nearby tables, but all you could hear was your heart rate giving you away whenever Leon brushed your shoulder with his.
Chris clapped his hands once, waiting until the chatter died down. "Alright, everyone. Welcome to the camp another year." A few of the younger campers cheered, earning a small smile from him. "For those of you who are new, I'm Chris. I'm the camp director, which basically means if something catches fire, breaks, or somehow ends up in the lake..." He glanced down at Carlos. "...I'm the one who gets blamed." Carlos raised both hands. "In my defense-." "Don't." A wave of laughter spread through the group. Chris continued with a small shake of his head. "Now, you've already met some of the team, but I'll introduce everyone properly. This is Jill." He gestured towards her. "She keeps this place running, so if you need anything, she's your first stop." Jill gave a small wave. "This is Claire." His expression softened. "She'll be helping with activities this summer and... well... if you want to party, she's probably your best companion." Claire grinned and waved enthusiastically. "He is Carlos." Chris pointed at him. "The fun one." Carlos added immediately. "Sure." Chris ignored him. "This is Leon." Leon offered nothing more than a lazy nod from where he stood. "He'll probably be your pick when it's raining." Chris added. "And finally..." He looked towards you. "...Our newest counselor. Make her feel welcomed." A chorus of greetings followed. Chris folded his arms. "This camp has one rule above all else: the teenagers come first. Keep them safe, make sure they have the best summer of their lives, and if we do our jobs right..." He looked around the group with a small smile. "...We'll probably have one too." He added. "Now, let's get to work." He clapped.
Dinner went smoothly, with loud chattering, laughs, random stories, and longing gazes you exchanged with Leon every now and then. You hated to admit it, but every time you caught him looking your way, your stomach tightened for reasons you refused to think about. You just met him a few hours ago, why were you acting like he's been your crush for the last decade? Once dinner was over and the cafeteria was fully cleaned, campers started to head out towards the bonfire area. "You go first. I need to get some mosquito repellent from my bags." You said, walking towards the staff cabin before anyone could say something else. The cabin light lit up the place just enough for you to not trip over some of the bags you left scattered around the floor near your bed. "Where the hell is it?" You muttered under your breath, rummaging around the drawers on your nightstand. "If you can't find it, I have one in our cabin." A familiar voice said from the doorway. You froze immediately, as if someone had thrown an ice cube on you. "You keep getting quite nervous when I'm around. I'm going to start thinking you really like me already." Leon said, walking over with his arms crossed. You scoffed, getting up from where you were crouching. "You're being too exaggerated." You complained, slightly stepping back when you noticed how close he was. His blue eyes gleamed with a warm gold glow reflecting the nightstand's dim light. "We'll see." He teased. "If you want the repellent." He added, walking away. "Just knock on the cabin next door. Chris might not let you in, but I'm not that strict." He said before finally walking away and leaving you there completely speechless. This summer, for sure, was going to be hell. But, for some reason, you couldn't find a reason to complain.