BEDHEAD ᶜᵒⁿⁿᵒʳ ᵇᵉᵈᵃʳᵈ ˣ ᵒᶜ

prologue

June 15th '23

it was the dead of night at their preferred meet up spot, the walmart parking lot. the two cars were parked next to each other and as always kacey had slide into addy's backseat. addy's minivan had much more room for the two girls to mess around. openly bi addy was the first not so straight girl questioning and closeted kacey had met. some random party last year, both had drunk a little too much and it was the first of many heated backseat make out sessions. for seven months addy had someone to call her unofficial girlfriend but that was all, her UNofficial girlfriend, but she wanted something more than that. she was sick of being a secret. she really did like kacey but there was such a fine line that she wasn't willing to cross, at least for tonight addy would savor the taste of kacey's lips on hers. the two eventually had to break apart for air and started their usual conversations about work and other what nots

"so, we got our co counselor assignments last week" addy said, staff week for the day camp she'd worked at for the past two years was long and over but she still hadn't found the time to tell kacey her news. "micah's my co" as soon as the words fell from her lips she could see kaceys demeanor change. no longer looking at addy like she loved her but with panic. micah and kacey went to the same school but she was a year younger and it's not like they knew each other.

"that's a bad joke addy,"

"it's not a joke"

"what do you mean it's not a joke?" kacey had started to raise her voice at this point

"micah and i will be spending our summer together but don't worry i won't say anything." addy held out her pinky but her gesture was ignored

"we can't be sure, especially if i'm not there to make sure you don't slip up" kacey didn't trust her and that was the must brutal slap to the face addy could think of. "i just know things about micah and i don't trust him not to pry if you give him something by accident,"

"you wouldn't even come up in conversation, he barely knows you!" addy was shouting back now. she felt the hot tears running down her face

"i just can't risk it addy. no one can know, i can't deal with the aftermath." the silence that followed hung heavy in the air. this wasn't the first time kacey thought people were catching on. normally the break would last for a week or so then she'd text addy saying she made a mistake. this time felt different, addy was angry and sick of this back and forth.

"you're so ashamed of who you are," addy spoke softly, "i can't imagine how hard that must be but i can't keep being your experiment. i don't deserve that." kacey was crying harder now looking at addy with so much hate. her face made addys heart ache.

"it's pretty late i'm gonna go." once kacey's car was out of view addy finally lost it. her chest tight as she sobbed. only stopping to shakily call her brother to come pick her up. her brother and their best friend were there as quick as they could but addy still felt numb.

June 16th 23

"carley" addy said, as she pulled back her brunette hair due to the heat. "i can't get you cheez it's, todays snack is pirates booty. you can either take it or leave it and wait for lunch." finally the nine year old girl gave in taking the snack from micah's out stretched arm. while he looked uninterested he still snuck his hand out for a sneaky hi five which addy happily returned.

"i'm going to get gatorade from the staff lounge, you want?" micah asked just loud enough for addy to hear

"oh! yes yellow please and thank you" addy and micah didn't seem like they'd get along; micah was stoic and cold while addy was bright and bubbly but they shared the same sense of humor. their personalities balanced each others out and their campers loved them both. addy walked through the grass, trailing behind her campers. they were walking to the art tent which was basically a break for her and micah, as the art staff had everything under control. addy found a red plastic chair and placed her bag on the table. the camp wasn't big, she could see the other end of the camp from the art tent. it was just some piece of land off of a busy street with one small indoor space for lunch and a couple tents. there really wasn't much of anything besides the hundreds of campers. addy had been involved with her communities jewish population for a while now, being in the chicago suburbs you basically had to be. she had gone to jewish overnight camp in wisconsin but after a while learned it wasn't for her. she got the jewish day camp gig from her temple where she worked over the school year. that was the one thing that set addy apart from other 17 year olds, how much she worked. her best friend, mallory black, helped her get her first real job their freshman year. the small coffee shop book store combo had been the black's cozy corner of chicago for the past decade. mallory was set to take over from her aunt after she graduated college, but for now she and her best friend were weekend baristas. addy was pulled from her thoughts when she felt a new presence. micah was holding a yellow gatorade bottle in front of her.

"you're thinking too much," he stated bluntly

"yep" she grabbed the bottle from him

"are you gonna tell me what's wrong or do i have to guess?" he asked. addy looked up at him not responding "alright fine" micah reached for another red chair and sat on it backwards causing addy to roll her eyes. "did a camper pee on you during your bus route? or is something really interesting happening at books and brews without you? did a camper call you mommy again, oh wait did you call the camp director mom?" micah was making himself laugh as his guess got more outrageous. "your neighbors had a failed science experiment that melted your car. you tried out for AGT and simon cowell called you ugly. oh i got it! your brother was kidnapped by a pack for rabid raccoons" they were both laughing now, their campers were looking up from their art projects to figure out what was so funny. with the mood lightened addy was much more prepared to tell micah the truth

"i got dumped last night," she chuckled a little bit, "and technically it's your fault" for a beat he was silent before laughing

"holy shit, you've got to be joking. i'm sorry for laughing but what?" micah's face was a mix of disbelief and sympathy. that's all addy didn't want: sympathy

"please don't feel bad, it sucks right now but it's kinda a funny situation plus it's not what you think" she went on to explain the situation, they joked about it and the irony of it but addy kept her promises. she never told him kacey's name only stating she went to his school. at least she's gave a good story for mallory tomorrow

Summer Speaks!!
guys we don't mention the fact that you haven't heard from me in months. anyway who doesn't love some good ole exposition don't worry next chapter will be more interesting
xoxo
Summer