It was wrong. It was oh so wrong but oh, did it feel so right. [Name] knew that what she was doing was wrong. It was one of the things that parents feared happening when their child went away to camp for the summer. It was one of the things that everyone thought was unethical, something that wasn’t allowed.
[Name] knew all of that and yet she still couldn’t find the feelings inside of herself to make herself care about it all. This was the second month; the second month of her being in camp, their second month of participating in the oh so wrong.
[Name] snuck silently out of her cabin, the flimsy screen and wooden door creaking slightly as she pressed it back against its frame. [Color] eyes wandered over the darkness that was the camp grounds, searching for any flash of light or sign of other students or counselors wandering about. When she saw that her cost was clear, [Name] stuck her hands into her pull over hoodies pockets, her [color] legs picking up speed to a fast walk as she dashed across the open field separating her cabin from the mass of woods beside the lake.
They’d been meeting in the same place for two months: the outcropping of rocks that formed a cave on the other side of the lake. [Name] knew these campgrounds by heart and she was sure that he did as well. After all, she’d been coming here for over six years and he’d been a counselor almost equally as long.
The only sounds that greeted [Name] as she made her way through woods were chirping crickets and the sounds the leaves made when she crushed them underfoot. She was glad that she’d decided to wear her hoodie tonight, since the wind coming off of the lake sent a chill through her bones, making her shiver. She knew that her [color] legs were probably covered with goose bumps as well, seeing as how she’d only worn short denim shorts and sandals tonight.
Branches slapped at her skin, but [Name] was used to them. She was an outdoors type person, the active one of her family. As she made her way closer to the rock outcropping and therefore closer to the edge of the opposite shore, she was able to hear the sound of the waves sloshing gently against the sandy shore. The sound made her smile and if she didn’t already have a plan to be somewhere, she would go and sink her toes into the sand and let the water lap up over her feet.
When [Name] finally reached the rock outcropping where they were supposed to meet, she smiled in excitement, wondering how this encounter would go between them. At first, she couldn’t see him so she didn’t know if he was there or not. Stepping underneath the outcropping, she stood with her hands in her pockets to wait patiently for his arrival.
The sound of crunching leaves grabbed her attention and her [color] eyes turned in the direction of the sounds. The familiar head of short black hair the first emerged from the trees made her smile. When dark grey eyes landed on her form, he smiled slightly, making his way over towards her.
As soon as he was within arm’s length, [Name] reached out for him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Shuhei did the same, putting his arms around her and pulling her closer to his body, leaning down to press his lips against hers softly. [Name] couldn’t believe how lucky she was; over all of her years of coming here, Shuhei had always been her favorite counselor. She’d even grown to have a little crush on him, something that she had not been bold enough to let him know until just this year. She could remember their first encounter clearly; this was the same exact place where it happened. Shuhei had been out here to escape the hectic job he had and [Name] had come to escape her cabin mates. They’d talked with one another and almost every night after that, they met here, their signature place.
[Name]’s hands were sliding up his back to play with the ends of his black hair and his hands were sliding up underneath the back of her hoodie when Shuhei suddenly pulled away from her, a scowl on his face that caused [Name] to frown in confusion. “What’s wrong Shuhei?” she asked curiously. Normally if something was bothering him, he’d talk to her about it before anything else.
Shuhei opened his mouth to say something, but no words or sounds came out. Instead, he shook his head and walked out from underneath the rock outcropping, going to stand next to the edge of the lake and looking out over the water. Biting her lip in worry, [Name] fixed the back of her hoodie before following after the tall male, coming to stand next to him at the edge of the water, looking up at him.
Shuhei avoided her gaze, continuing to look out over the water as he tucked his hands in his jeans pockets. After a few minutes, he turned to look down at [Name], a sad look on his face. [Name] felt chills go up her back and she wondered what was about to happen between them.
“Shuhei-“
“We can’t do this anymore, [Name],” Shuhei said, interrupting the girl and leaving her shocked for a few seconds.
“W-what do you mean?” she asked, taking a step back from him. Shuhei sighed, reaching to run a hand through his short hair then down his neck. “We can’t see each other anymore [Name]. We just can’t,” he stated softly.
[Name] shook her head, a lost look on her face. “Why?” she asked, looking up at him in despair. They never fought, they never argued. Why was Shuhei saying this all of a sudden? It made no sense; had he fallen in love with someone else?
“It’s for your own good [Name]. I’m leaving the camp as a counselor which means that I won’t be back next summer. And we live completely across country from one another,” he stated sadly. He didn’t want [Name] to think that this wasn’t affecting him as well. He’d somehow fallen in love with the sweet and caring girl over the past two months. He wished like hell that he didn’t have to quit his job as a summer counselor and they lived closer together, but he had to and they didn’t.
None of it made sense to [Name]. She didn’t know why he had to suddenly quit his job, to go home across the country. She wished that she could convince herself that it wasn’t her fault, but she kept thinking that it was. What if someone had seen her sneaking out to meet him, had followed her? Soft hands on her shoulders broke [Name] out of her reverie and she blinked, looking up at Shuhei with sad [color], teary eyes.
Shuhei swore softly under his breath before pulling [Name] flush against his chest, his arms wrapped around her tightly. He squeezed her closer, resting one of his hands on the back of her head as [Name] wrapped her arms up around his shoulders, pressing her face against his chest as she started to cry. Shuhei was doing everything in his power to keep himself from crying; he could see that he was crushing this girl, the one that he’d fallen in love with and the one that didn’t deserve any of this.
“I’m so sorry [Name],” he said softly, turning his head to kiss her hair softly, taking in the last few moments that he had with her.
“I love you Shuhei,” [Name] said against his shoulder. Although her words were muffled by the cloth of his shirt, Shuhei could still understand what she’d said. Tears leaked from his eyes; they’d always joked about which one of them would be the first to say that they were in love and now, Shuhei wished that she wouldn’t have told him that at all. Squeezing her one last time, Shuhei let her go and turned away quickly, heading back the way that he’d come through the woods.
[Name] watched him go while crying silently all alone, knowing that it was no use to call out for him, to beg him to come back to her and tell her that it was all just a joke. Her legs suddenly felt weak and [Name] sat down on the ground, pulling them up to her chest and resting her head on her knees. Her summer love was over but she knew that she’d never be able to love anyone like she had loved Shuhei. He was the one for her, she’d known that. And now he was gone.