Camp Buddies(Modern AU Aris Jones X Reader)

3) Hand In Hand

Eventually, the bell rang though the air letting us know breakfast had came to an end. After shoving the last piece of bacon in my mouth I motioned for Aris to stand up.

"Are you ready to find out today's attraction?"I asked.

"Don't you know?"

"That's the best part. Nobody knows. Do you remember filling out a suggestion sheet before you came here?"I asked.

"Yeah, but I didn't pay attention to what I checked off,"He admitted.

"You really should have. The boxes that are the most checked are put onto the list first. If anyone has an extra idea it's voted on by counselers. Of course some people just put stuff like shut this place down or make it shorter."

"Really? Those answers were shared?"He asked, turning red in the face.

"No. I snuck a look, but something tells me you put one of those answers."

He was almost beet red now completely blowing any hope of cover.

"I put just let me leave before I get to the gates,"He confessed.

"That's a desperate attempt. Did you actually think that would work?"I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No. I just really wanted them to know I wasn't here on my own free will."

I had figured out that much a while ago. I mean I had found him hiding in a forest. Granted I was there too, but I was bored out of my mind.

He was a random boy with a nice face who was as awkward as they come. It wasn't in a bad way though. It's like I had said from the very beginning. He's cute, and if I'm being honest kind of adorable when he's flustered.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

The choice of the day was a hike. It was an obvious choice who my partner was.

"Does anyone actually listen to them talk?"He whispered.

"That's rude. I happened to enjoy listening to all the animal and plant facts,"I deadpanned.

"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have assumed that. You've just been here so long that I thought you'd be tired of it by now,"He rambled.

He stopped when I started laughing and realized I was joking.

"That was plain cruel,"He complained.

"I'm sorry. It was just the perfect set up. How could I resist?"I asked.

He rolled his eyes so I playfully nudged him. He thought I didn't notice, but I still saw the corners of his mouth lift into a small smile.

"What do you usually do on the hikes then? Tune everyone out?"He asked.

"It depends. My friends weren't big on the headphone trick, but we'd usually crack jokes,"I explained.

"Did you bring yours today?"He asked.

I pulled the MP3 player up my sleeve.
"Can I have a listen?"He asked.

"If you want. My playlist is all over the place though,"I warned.

"Don't worry about it. Mine is too,"He shrugged.

I pulled my hood up, and he did the same. I got closer to him to hide the cord. In fact, we were so close that our shoulders bumped every time we walked. I assumed that it would feel odd to be this close to him, but it felt natural in a way. It felt the way it did to be home.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

We kept towards the back but made sure to keep a lookout. At one point we had switched music to find out our taste was extremely similar. For example, Coldplay and Sleeping At Last were both relaxing and soft. The Neighborhood and Arctic Monkeys also had a somewhat similar vibe. It wasn't nearly as much, but it was still there. We both shared a love of Wallows, and we even had some of the same songs on our playlists.

He went to skip a song when the Counselor turned around. In an attempt to hide it I grabbed his hand. He had the exact same idea because he interlocked our fingers. She was just pointing at something before turning back around.

Even when we were sure she wouldn't turn back around I kept my hand in his, and he didn't pull away either. For the rest of the time we kept walking hand in hand.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

At some point we had stopped for a break. I ripped open my fruit snacks, but he was clearly eyeing them.

Normally, I would protect these treats with my life, but for some reason I didn't mind with him. I handed him the bag and took out another. For the rest of the break we just sat next to each other with our hoods down and huge grins on our faces.