CHAPTER EIGHT
"WESLEY"
"PIPER, YOU'RE NEVER GONNA BELIEVE what i just suckered out of one of the younger campers," gil exclaimed, bursting into their cabin at nine p.m., after being gone for two hours.
"where've you been," she asked, pulling a pair of sweatpants on.
"i've been humoring the younger campers. and look at what one of them gave me!" he sang, grabbing pipers arm and forcefully pulled her to her bed. gil reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag of what looked like weed.
"holy shit!" she laughed, and gil smiled at the sight of her laughing.
he pulled out two wraps, and motioned for piper to grab the magazine on the table by her bed. she handed it to him and he poured the weed onto the magazine, and laid the wraps next to it.
"you ever smoked before?" gil asked, and piper
shook her head.
"a few times," piper said, and gil smirked.
"good," he finished rolling one of them and handed it to piper. when he was done rolling his, he stood up and locked the cabin door, then led piper to the bathroom. he shut the door and cracked the window as piper hopped up on the sink, then gil sat down on the toilet.
he pulled a lighter out of his pocket and lit his joint, then piper pressed hers between her lips and leaned down, letting him light hers for her.
they both took long drags at the same time, and seemed to both have the same idea as they blew the smoke at each other. they giggled softly, and continued taking hits.
"y'know, i think this might be the most fun i've ever had," piper said seven minutes later, as gil cleaned up the weed and put the roaches in the plastic bag.
"in this shitty place?" he asked, and walked over to the closet. he tucked the small bag next to the mini fridge, then grabbed two waters from it and flopped onto pipers bed. she laid down beside him, staring at the ceiling, feeling the weed intoxicate her system.
"yeah. this shitty place is a lot better than home," she muttered, the light dancing around her eyes.
"got that right." gil turned to look at piper, and she turned to look at him, too. "doroha?"
"yes, gil?"
"what are your nightmares about?" pipers breath caught in her throat, and she swallowed hard.
"my past," she said softly, turning away from him and looking back up at the ceiling. "i used to live in london with my mother and father. when my father left, my mother was devastated. she started drinking, and doing drugs. a lot of them. she lost her job, so she started prostituting." piper knew gil was staring at her. she could feel his burning gaze, filled with sympathy, and she knew if she looked at him she wouldn't be able to keep from crying. "she got herself mixed up with some bad people. and then she... she," piper took a deep breath, and forced it out of her. "she started to sell me for my body, too."
gil felt his heart drop, and he placed his hand on top of hers as she continued, her voice shaking.
"it got better when she met my first stepdad. he was from america, but was visiting london for the summer. when he went back to america, we did too. i was about twelve years old by the time i realized that it was in fact not normal for young girls to be having sex with adult men for money." piper averted her gaze off of the ceiling and looked towards gil, smiling sadly. "that's what the nightmares are about."
gil nodded sullenly, taking in all of the information piper had just given him, knowing by the time of her voice that the small amount of stuff she had just told him wasn't even half of what she had been through. but he didn't push it.
his story seemed microscopic compared to hers, and he couldn't help but tear up.
"come here," gil said finally, pulling her up into a seated position and yanking her towards his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "you deserve so much more than what you've been given, doroha," gil muttered against the side of her head, pressing a chaste kiss to her hair when he finished his sentence. "much, much more."
"you do too, gil." that was all piper said, but it was more than enough. he pressed a kiss to the side of her head, breathing in her scent.
he never wanted to let go.
DINNER TIME FINALLY CAME AROUND, so gil and piper made their way to the cafeteria. pipers head felt fuzzy, the after effects of the weed making her drowsy.
they ate quietly, basking in their silence whilst enjoying each other's company. the voices of the other campers echoed through the dining hall, and piper groaned.
"they're all so infuriating," she mumbled through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
"drown em' out," gil answered. "no point listening to them."
"it's impossible to drown them out," piper groaned, holding her head in her hands. "people give me headaches."
"that's cause you're grumpy," gil said, smiling wide as piper threw a spoonful of peas at him. "we goin to the campfire tonight?"
piper looked up at gil and gave him a glare that said 'fuck no.'
"alrighty then," gil said, mainly to himself, and they finished the rest of their meals in silence.
"so if we're not going to the campfire," gil started, kicking pine ones aggressively as they walked towards their cabin. "what are we gonna do?"
"hell if i know, but i can't deal with all of those dumbasses right now." piper waved her hands aggressively with her words, pointing in the direction of the campfire.
"we can go to the playground," gil offered, and piper felt her heart skip the smallest of beats in memory of what had happened last time they'd gone to the park.
"splendid."
"say that again please."
"splendid."
"very good. we have to stop at the cabin because i need my ciggys," gil ran ahead, and piper watched him, smiling softly as he tripped over his own feet, but caught himself before he fell.
"you're piper, right?" a voice asked, and she turned. "i'm wesley, you were in my group the day you kicked max in the balls."
piper smirked to herself fondly at the memory.
"that's me," she said, studying his features quickly. he had curly blonde hair, and deep brown eyes that hadn't left her body. he was tall, and had terrible posture, but was overall pretty cute. piper turned back around, walking towards her cabin.
"where we going?" wesley asked, coming up behind her and placing himself at her side as they walked.
"i'm going to my cabin." wesley laughed, stopping for a moment because his legs had carried him faster than pipers could carry her.
"you share a cabin with gil, right?" wesley asked, and piper glanced at him quizzically.
"yes."
"you two stole the mini fridge, correct?" piper laughed softly, and moved her hair away from her face. she looked up at wesley, a small smile on her face as she nodded.
"yeah, that was us." wesley laughed.
"i saw you guys run in there that night, my cabin has a straight view of the cafeteria." piper nodded, and her cabin came into view. she watched gil run down the steps, and look around before his eyes landed on piper. he jogged over to piper and the unknown boy, his eyebrows lowered.
"who's this?"
"wesley," piper said, grabbing one of the bottles of water gil had grabbed for them.
"i was here last year too," wesley said. "you're gil?"
"nice to meet you, or see you again," gil said with a cocky smile. "but i don't really remember you." gil turned towards piper. "ready to go?"
piper nodded, then turned back to wesley. "nice to meet you!" she said as gil dragged her away.
wesley watched the two disappear into the forest, running a hand through his hair before accepting defeat, and retreating back towards his cabin.
PIPER AND GIL LAID IN THE GRASS, SIDE by side, their pinkies touching lightly. each of them had a cigarette in their opposite hands, puffing and blowing smoke, talking quietly.
"so, what'd you think of wesley?" piper asked, smiling cheekily at gil.
"he seemed chill," gil said, shaking his head softly. "gives me fuckboy vibes though."
"perfect, just my type." gil rolled his eyes, and shook off his slight hurt.
"want me to roll a joint? ive got enough weed left for one."
"sure," piper said quietly, averting her gaze from gil, and turning it to the sky. "gil?"
"yes, pipe?"
"what was your first impression on me?" gil put the half-rolled joint back into the bag carefully, and turned towards piper. she laid still, her eyes not meeting his, though she felt his burning gaze on her skin.
"i thought you were beautiful," gil said softly after a moment. "i knew immediately that i wanted to know you. and i've only known you for a few days but i feel like i've known you forever." gil placed his hand on pipers arm, rubbing soft shapes on her skin with his forefinger. "you were mesmerizing, doroha."
piper smiled softly, and turned her head so she could meet his gaze. she forced the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes back, and grabbed gils hand.
"thank you," she said shakily. "i think that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." gil gazed at her with a sad smile, squeezing her hand.
"anytime honey." he released her hand and leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, then returned to his previous task. when he was finished, piper sat up, and they sat shoulder to shoulder.
gil pressed the joint to his lips, sucking in as he held the flame up to the end of it. he took a few hits, before handing it to piper.
he coughed a few times, and piper took a few hits then did the same.
they repeated to process until it was too small for them to smoke, and gil dropped the roach back into the plastic bag.
"i feel amazing," piper said, letting herself fall back into the grass.
"me too," gil said, and dropped down beside her.
"gil, you know you're the best friend i've ever had?" gil smiled at her, flashing his teeth.
"i'm honored, doroha. and i feel the same about you."
piper smiled, and reached her hand out towards his. they laced their fingers together, their hands each fitting perfectly with the other.
—
remember wesley, he's gonna be important