Hello once again everyone! It feels like ages since I've started a new story! To clear up any confusion, here's a bit of info on who these characters are:

Marcus Carter is the son of William Carter and Charlie. He belongs to filius-umbra-finis on , who's a really awesome roleplayer and was very kind to let me write a story using her OC. Marcus is 14 years old in this story, and he has younger twin sisters, Dorothy and Amelia, who are ten.

Hazel Higgsbury is the daughter of Wilson and Willow. She is 15 years old, and she has a younger brother named Finn who's 11.

Now, on with the story!

"Do I really need to go?"

"Marcus, we've gone over this." Charlie gave her son a look as she set his suitcase on top of his bed. "You can't spend your entire summer indoors. The fresh air will be good for you."

"But a summer camp?" He raised his arms in exasperation.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "And what's wrong with a summer camp? Your sisters are going."

"Of course they are, they love the outdoors. They'll be in their element there." He brought his hands to his chest. "Me? Not so much."

As if on cue, two young girls came bursting into the room, dragging two matching suitcases behind them.

"WHOO! Camping!" One of them shouted.

Charlie smiled. "Hello you two. Almost ready?"

"Almost!" The other girl replied, then jumped onto Marcus's bed.

Marcus sighed in exasperation. "Mia, what did I tell you two about barging into my room like that?"

"What?" Amelia flopped on her back, looking at him upside down. "Mom's in here."

Her twin sister, Dorothy, leaned on the foot of the bed. "And your door was open."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. He was never going to learn his lesson when arguing with two ten-year-old girls.

Charlie glanced at him, then back at her daughters. "Girls, why don't you go see if your father needs help getting the car ready?"

They were both back on their feet in an instant. "Sure! Let's go!" Amelia chirped as they grabbed their luggage and darted back out of the door as quickly as they had come.

Marcus stared at the door momentarily, then back at his mother. "You see?" He motioned to the open doorway. "They're way more cut-out for this kind of thing than I am."

Charlie leaned forward and brought her hand underneath his chin. "Marcus, I know this will be something that's out of your comfort zone, but your father and I really, really think that this outing will be good for you. Even if you don't believe me now."

He sighed. The truth was, he didn't believe her, but he wasn't about to say that aloud. "Okay…"

She smiled. "I know you can do it. It's just for one month. Then, you can do whatever you want for the rest of the summer." She brushed his dark, messy hair out of his face. "Besides, it's either that or working as a stagehand at the theater."

"I know." He didn't care much for the idea of working at that theater for his whole summer. "I think I'll stick with the summer camp."

She smiled again. "Good." She kissed his forehead, then turned and walked towards the door. "Don't forget, you need to be all ready and packed by tonight. We're leaving first thing tomorrow morning."

He watched her enter the hallway and disappear around the corner, then flopped face-down on his bed, sighing into the sheets. He was not looking forward to being gone for an entire month.

Charlie sighed to herself and shook her head slightly as she walked down the hallway and towards their open front door.

Her husband, William, was currently in the front yard helping Dorothy and Amelia put their suitcases into the trunk of their car. He'd just finished putting the last piece of luggage in the back when Charlie came out to join them.

"Ah, there you are." He smiled as she came up to them.

"Thanks for the help, Dad!" Dorothy grinned as she and her sister trotted back towards the house. "We're gonna go get our backpacks now!"

Charlie glanced back at them as they ran past her, then back at William.

He took her hands in his. "So, were you able to talk with him?"

She shrugged and nodded. "Yes, I was." She sighed. "He's reluctant, but he said he'll go."

He nodded in return. "Good. His sisters were looking forward to him coming with them. I didn't want to crush their spirits."

She smiled. "Speaking of which, we'd better go see if they need any help." She took his hand in her and led him back into the house.

"Lantern?"

"Check."

"Mosquito spray?"

"Check, again."

"What about sunscreen, bedsheets, and hiking boots?"

"Check, check, and check." Finn made a few more notes on the list in his hand, before handing it back to his older sister, Hazel. "I'm pretty sure that's everything."

Hazel quickly skimmed the list in her hands. "I think so too." She folded the list, then turned back to her own suitcase. "Ugh, stupid thing." She climbed on top of it, trying to compress it as much as possible.

Finn watched as he picked up his own suitcase. "Are you sure you didn't pack too much stuff?"

"Hey, it never hurts to be prepared." Hazel shot him a look as she worked on fastening the latches on her luggage. "Mom taught us everything she knows about being a girl scout." She climbed back down from her suitcase. "If a natural disaster happens while we're at camp, we'll be ready."

He rolled his eyes. "I know. She gave us badges, remember?"

She smirked at him. "You mean the ones you keep in your room to remind you that you're an honorary girl scout?"

His cheeks turned pink. "W-well, it's not like I'm gonna throw them away!" He sighed. "You promise you won't tell anyone at camp that?"

She laughed and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Promise, lil' bro." She picked up her suitcase. "Now come on, let's get these things out to the car."

They had made halfway down the staircase when their father climbed down the ladder from his lab in the attic. "Ah, there are the campers now!" He stated enthusiastically as he removed the safety goggles from his face. "You two almost done packing?"

"Almost, dad." Hazel replied as she dragged her suitcase down the steps.

"Ah, good, good!" Wilson trotted down the steps after his kids. "You two are going to have so much fun there. It'll be the perfect opportunity to put your camping skills to good use!"

"Mm-hm." Finn made a sound as he pulled his luggage down onto the floor from the last step.

Wilson followed them down and towards the front door. "Also, if you happen to see any tree frog while you're out there, feel free to collect some! I've been meaning to study those creatures for quite some time now."

Hazel sighed to herself. "We know."

"Wilson, they're going to camp to have fun over the summer, not fuel your strange experiments." Willow stated as she appeared around the corner.

Wilson turned to his wife. "Ah, I didn't even see you there, dearest!" He took her hand in his. "And for the record, I was simply suggesting that they collect some frogs if they happen to see any."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, mister. But if you're going to be dissecting those things, I don't want to hear about it."

He gave her a smile. "Wouldn't dream of it. Now, how about we help those two get their luggage out to the car?"

"We're already out here!" Finn's voice echoed from the front yard.

Both parents paused and looked in the direction of his voice.

Wilson blinked. "Ah, right. Let's get going."

"It says here that Mountain Meadow Ranch is a family-owned summer camp located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains." Amelia read the camp's brochure aloud in the car as they drove.

Marcus leaned up against the car window, watching as their hometown became nothing but a speck in the distance.

Amelia flipped to the next page. "its activities include fishing, arts and crafts, archery, and horseback riding."

Dorothy gasped excitedly. "We can ride horses?" She leaned across the seats. "Hey Marcus, would you wanna ride a horse with us?"

Marcus averted his gaze from the window to glance at her. "Uh, I'm not really much of a horse person. I mean, I've never ridden one before." He paused. "Wait a minute, have you two ever ridden a horse?"

Dorothy leaned back. "Wellll, not really. Unless you count the pony rides we went on for our eighth birthday!"

Marcus fought the urge to shudder. He didn't ride that day, but he was stuck with a pony who liked to nibble. A lot. Ponies freaked him out enough as it was, and something told him an entire horse would not be any better.

Eventually, the camp came into sight. They pulled up into the gravel parking lot, and got to work getting the luggage out.

Marcus dragged his suitcase out of the trunk as he looked about. Campers and parents were bustling everywhere, gathering luggage, seeing their parents off, and making their way into the ranch.

William stepped out of the car. "Well kids, here we are."

Dorothy and Amelia already had a map out and were studying it closely.

"What kind of monsters you think we'll find here?" Amelia asked her sister.

"Probably all sorts of scary ones, especially if we look around in the woods here." Dorothy drew a large circle around the forests outside the camp.

William knelt down. "Alright you two, don't forget you're also here to spend time at the camp itself, and not just looking for monsters outside of it."

"We know, dad!" Amelia replied as they folded the map up.

He smiled. "Good. Now have fun, and don't drive the counselors too insane."

"Got it!" They replied in unison. They were about to turn and run into the camp, then when suddenly turned back to their father.

"Hugs!" Dorothy chirped as they practically tackled William. "Love you, Dad!"

William wrapped his arms around them. "I love you too."

After they released him, they trotted over to Charlie, who knelt down for a hug as well.

"Love you, Mom!" Amelia grinned.

Charlie laughed. "I love you girls too." She kissed them both. "Have fun, okay?"

"We will!" They replied in unison once again, then turned to carry their luggage into the camp. "Bye!"

Charlie and William waved, then turned to Marcus, who was still standing next to the car, looking much more reluctant to leave.

Charlie walked up to him. "Marcus, I have only one request." She put her hands on his shoulders. "You will talk to at least one person here, and you sisters don't count."

He sighed, and gave her a half-hearted smile. "Okay."

"You'd best listen to your mother, son." William strolled up behind them.

Marcus glanced at him. "I know."

Charlie gave him a hug. "Have fun, okay? And don't forget to write."

"I know, Mom." He leaned down to pick up his suitcase. "I better go find my Dorothy and Mia before they get too far."

"I know, you should." Charlie stepped back and took her husband's arm. "See you in a month, sweetie."

Marcus managed his best smile as he waved and walked into the camp after his sisters.

"So where do you think camp orientation is?" Dorothy flipped through the camp brochure.

"Dunno." Amelia looked around them. "It said we were supposed to find the cabins we were assigned to first, and then they'd start orientation after that."

"How're we supposed to find that out?"

"Beats me. Maybe we'll have to ask someone." Amelia glanced around her for any counselors, then stopped.

Sitting on the steps of a cabin was a young girl, about Dorothy and Amelia's age. She had thick, red hair that was braided into a ponytail behind her back. Her large, brown eyes glanced around occasionally, as if she were looking for someone, but mostly remained focused on the ground.

"She looks sad…" Amelia said softly, taking her sister's arm to get her attention.

"Hm?" Dorothy looked up from the brochure to see what Amelia was looking at. "Oh…"

She looked to her sister. "Wanna go say hi?"

Dorothy smiled back. "That's exactly what I was thinking!"

They trotted up to the cabin's steps together, and put on their best smiles. "Hello!"

The young red head seemed slightly taken by surprise by the two girls greeting her. "H-hello."

"We saw you sitting over here by yourself…" Dorothy began.

"So we thought we'd stop and say hi!" Amelia finished. "My name's Amelia."

"And I'm Dorothy!"

The girl glanced at them back and forth, then reached out her hand to shake with them. "…I'm Aimée."

"Aimée?" Amelia repeated as she sat down on the steps next to her. "That sounds kinda French."

Aimée nodded. "Mm-hm, it's the French version of 'Amy.' My family lives in Paris, but my mom is from America."

The mention of Paris immediately made Dorothy's eye light up. "Really? I love Paris! I've always wanted to travel there!"

Amelia nodded. "We live in America, but our dad's British, so we can relate."

Aimée sat up a little, and glanced between the two of them again. "So… are you two twins?"

"Nah, she's just my stunt-double." Dorothy motioned to Amelia next to her.

Aimée stared at them, tilting her head to the side.

"…Yes, we're twins." Amelia added.

Aimée stared at them a moment longer. "Oh! You were making a joke! I'm sorry, I didn't realize…"

Dorothy put a hand on her shoulder. "It's totally fine! Hey, you wanna come to orientation with us?"

Aimée smiled. "I'd love to. Where is it?"

Amelia glanced around again. "Well, we don't really know…" Then, she spotted an older looking camper making her way past the cabin. "Hey! Maybe we can ask her!"

Hazel shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked ahead of her, trying to see where Finn had gone off to. Her thoughts were interrupted when a trio of girls came up to her.

"Hey there! Do you know where camp orientation is?"

Hazel looked down to see three girls, two of them almost completely identical, staring back up at her. She blinked, having been taken off-guard. "Um, I've heard they're going to be gathering underneath the flagpole at the center of camp." She pointed in the general direction in which all the other campers were headed. She looked back down. "And you three are…?"

"I'm Dorothy, and this is my sister, Amelia."

"And we are the Carter Twins!" The two girls smiled and struck a pose.

Hazel blinked. Why did the name 'Carter' sound so familiar to her? Then, it struck her. "Wait," she knelt down to look at them closely, "are you two by any chance related to Maxwell, the magician?"

Dorothy and Amelia exchanged amused looks. "Related?" Amelia giggled. "More like he's our dad!"

Hazel blinked again. Dad never told me he had kids. She thought to herself. "Oh," she said aloud, "so, are you two his only kids?"

"Nope!" Dorothy grinned. "Our older brother's here at the camp too!"

"Older brother?" Hazel raised an eyebrow. How many kids did this man have?

"Dorothy? Amelia? Is everything alright?"

Hazel's thoughts were interrupted by another voice. She stood up, and came face-to-face with a boy who looked as surprised as she felt.

His dark eyes stared at her in confusion, and he had messy, dark hair that looked like it was always in his face.

She took a step back, giving him some personal space.

Marcus watched her for a moment, then looked down at his sisters. "What are you two up to?"

Dorothy grinned. "Hi Marcus! We were just asking for directions to orientation!"

Marcus looked back to Hazel. "And, I'm assuming you gave them directions?"

Hazel stared at him for a moment. So he was the Carter boy. "Yes, I did." She replied curtly, then picked up her suitcase. "In fact, I was just leaving to go there now." She turned on her heel and walked further into camp, not waiting for a response.

Marcus stared at her for a moment, then looked back down at his sisters. "What was that all about?"

"Dunno." Amelia shrugged. "Oh! Marcus, this is Aimée."

Aimée walked up to him. "Bonjour, Marcus."

"Bonjour?" Marcus knelt down. "Are you from France?"

She nodded. "I live in Paris with my family."

Marcus stood back up. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Aimée. Would you like to come with us to orientation?"

Aimée smiled. "I'd love to!"

"Let's go!" Dorothy and Amelia chirped in unison.

Together, they turned as a group and walked into the camp. Marcus smiled at his sisters, glad they were able to make a friend already.

As they walked together, his mind kept going back to the short conversation he had with that girl. Why did she act like that? He sighed, maybe he'd find out eventually.

In case anyone's wondering, Aimée is the youngest daughter of Wigfrid and Wes. She has an older brother name Wayland, but he might not be appearing in this story. Thanks for reading!