AN: Oh booooooyyy it's been a long while since I've last had the ambition to write more! I deleted my old stories because they didn't age well, especially since I wrote them so many years ago that I just want to revisit the ideas and produce work that I'm really proud of! This story is a roleplay I thought of and did with my best friend SpaceKatEyes and I'm finally putting it all into a readable story for you guys to enjoy! I'm still shaking off the rust of writing fanfiction, and writing in general, so I hope you guys enjoy! ~ 2 Weeks Ago
"Dear dedicated members of our community, parents, and children. I extend a heartfelt thank you to our past campers, counselors, and volunteers throughout the decades of Camp Chocobo. My dutiful son Roxas and I are saddened, but thankful, for the opportunity to have created so many cherished memories throughout the years with your children and our crew, and we here at Camp Chocobo believe that with the camp experience we gave them, we provided the tools to give them ability for creativity and innovation to lead great lives. Thank you for coming out to-" I've heard this speech over a thousand times already but it never gets any easier to hear. I tune out my father's heart wrenching words as I tip my hat to hide the quiver of my lip and the tears at the corner of my eyes.
The buzzing fluorescent bulbs and the shaved wood aroma of the town's rec center bring me back to reality as I shuffle awkwardly next to my father as he closes out his speech, explaining the horrible reality we're facing. I peak out into the small town gathered before us, seeing many stricken faces over the news while others begin to murmur with gossip as they fan themselves from the damp heat settling in over the hall. Our camp is closing for good... Summer camp just isn't what parents what their kids to do anymore, especially in a small town like Twilight Town.
Why trust total strangers and put your 13 year old in a camp with a gaggle of other kids the same age and hope for the best? As my dad closes his speech, keeping up the fake facade of being unfazed by his own words, a spiky brown haired man almost launches about of his seat, taking a step forward. His eyes widen with disappointment, his voice steeled with determination.
"You can't just give up! The camp is what really makes our town so great!" A hush falls over the crowd at the outspoken citizen saying no doubt what was on everyone's minds. I try not to wince at the words, knowing all too well that this wasn't an overnight choice we made, and my father knows that all too well. I sneak a glance at Cloud before swiping at my eyes.
"Sora-" "Your camp has been open for generations, and you guys have more than done your part to help out the community! Roxas, how many times have you stepped in to help fix the schoolhouse in the winter? Or Cloud! Our vet Kairi who graduated youngest of her class? Went AND volunteered at Camp Chocobo to this day as your farm vet!" Kairi, now singled out of the crowd, blushes and waves it off with a simple smile.
"It wasn't hard to realize my love for caring for animals, and you are my best customers." She adds in, the same determination now growing inside her as well. The crowd excitedly murmurs as Sora continues, moving to step up to the stage we were on. Always one to make people come together out out of nowhere, classic Sora…
"Exactly! You help kids find potential and thrive, don't we as a community deserve to respect them enough to help?" He addresses the town, who all shout their agreements. Cloud is rendered silent, familiar with Sora's positive outbursts. I should have known Sora would have never sat quietly while we announced our closing, and I'm all too happy to be proven right. Sora's been clued in on our money problems for a long while now, but I was too ashamed to say we were finally out of options.
Of course Cloud is too proud to ever want to ask for help, even though I've wanted to ask and at least do something rather than have my 'pride' and shut down… Although with Sora's help in rallying the town to come together… "I say we raise money to keep the ranch open, and help our our neighbors!" Sora's proclamation gives me all the inspiration I need as an idea fleshes out in my head.
"A festival," I whisper to myself as Sora prattles on, Cloud just silently letting him tire out. "A festival!" I move to take the podium, Sora's face breaking into a million watt grin as if he was waiting for me to finally stick up for my camp, which is something I should have done ages ago.
"If we get local business sponsors and volunteers and invite parents and kids to come, we could get together a festival! We could sell tickets to raise money to pay off the debt and even get old campers to come and help!" A hard silence settles over the crowd as my excited words linger on their minds. My heart beats against my ribs as I take a deep breath, trying to calm my frayed nerves as I continue. "I know It's a lot to ask for, but-"
"I'm in!" Kairi stands from her chair, her hand thrown in the air and stretched high. "I would be proud to help my camp, and my town." Sora joins her side and throws in his hand too, giving me a solemn nod. More and more people throw their hands up in the air, each one shouting out a different idea and theme until it's a mob of people happy to show their love for their friends and community.
I look over my shoulder to Cloud, hoping that he wouldn't be too upset with taking the lead on this meeting. He merely gives me a soft gaze with a slight smile, saying all I ever needed to hear. I face the town once again, pride swelling in my chest. This is gonna work!
Present Day
"This isn't gonna work." I heavily sigh as I lean back against hay bales stacked behind me. I rub my temples before shoving away the computer perched in my lap, meaning to be careful, but it's a miracle that thing still works at this point. Frustrated, I get back to my feet and pace along the wooden floor of the loft, glancing down at the barn below only to be met with broken machines and rotted wood from old fences.
At least it's quiet with the junk, there's no reason to come in and look at broken machines we can't afford to fix. Thankfully that means the barn is a quiet sanctuary I can come to be alone. So I can realize how stupid I was to think this was ever gonna actually work. I angrily groan as I sit back down, glaring at my computer before grabbing it once again just to make myself even more frustrated. Maybe the numbers magically changed in that two second fit of anger?
Nope.
I close the spreadsheets, clicking angrily with my mouse and I resign myself to Facebook.. Even with all the tickets already sold, and all the money we would make after the weekend, we're still behind on our goal. By a lot. We'll need a miracle at this point. "Fuck," I sigh to myself as I go the page I set up a couple years ago. It's just a group for old campers and volunteers who want to connect and share memories or catch up on how the camp is doing.
I already posted about the ranch closing, and how we need volunteers and donations for the festival. I've gotten a lot of unexpected responses, but along with that a lot of people who are in their own trouble and can only send 'thoughts and prayers'. Thanks Janice, but we'll need about 6 different gods on our side if this is going to work.
I post a quick update on the page about where we're at currently compared to our goal, spouting off some shitty inspirational message that I can't find the heart to care. The usual updates, someone got engaged, someone's upset and wants memes to feel better, a missed connection 5 years ago. I leave a few comments on different posts, just the usual 'congratulations!' and 'hope you feel better!'.
It really has been a while since I've been on here though, I've been so depressed about the camp and it doesn't help to see all the happy people reliving old memories... Is that what our camp is going to become? Some old ditch to be paved and turned into a strip mall, for people to forget we were even here and what we did? I take a deep breath as I try to calm my thoughts, remembering why I stopped visiting this page so often. But I have to focus on the festival now, and even if we fail, it'll still make people really happy and be a boost to the community. It sounds nice, but it stills hurts to think about...
I almost jump out of my skin when I hear the barn door creak open, the afternoon light pouring in and making the dust dance in the sun's rays. Sora stands in the doorway with his boyfriend and my best ranch hand Riku. "Roxas, don't tell me you forgot! We're going out tonight!" I peak over the ledge of the loft where he waves, Riku giving me a once over. "You look like shit!" He calls out with a laugh.
"So come look like shit at the bar tonight," I roll my eyes as I sit back with a laugh. "Gee,thanks." Honestly, I totally forgot… I've been so busy with my regular chores and adding a whole festival on top is making me ready to explode. As I go to shut my laptop, a flash of red catches my eye. "I-I'll be right down!" I call out mindlessly, hyperfocused on slowly scrolling down the page to see the video that caught my eye.
'Guys! The lead singer of Bleeding Nobodies went to our camp! How exciting, I shared a cabin with a future rock star!'
Bleeding Nobodies…? I feel like I've heard of them before, that sounds so… familiar. I feel like I would know if someone famous went to our small town camp, but recently I've been living with my head in the ground.. Almost literally. A wave of anxiousness floods into me, my heart speeding up as I start the video. I know I saw, or maybe I just thought I did? I skim the video, my heart gaining speed as the shaky camera phone finally focuses in on the lead singer, the video blurring in and out until I'm finally able to make out a familiar face.
My heart drops into my stomach as my breath catches in my throat, my entire body frozen as I find the will to pause the video.
"Axel?"
A smile spreads across my lips as memories flood my mind, the nostalgia all too sweet to bare as I click on the attached picture, softly gasping. Lead singer Axel in his youth at camp! It pictured a young boy with bright red hair and a rebellious grin, our camp logo printed boldy on his yellow shirt, posed with a 13 year old me. I haven't seen this picture in years! Wait, wait I'm totally missing the point-
Axel became a famous rockstar?! My stomach twists in guilt as I slam my laptop shut, my mind racing and my heart not doing any better. There's no reason to feel guilty, I didn't do anything wrong! He's the one that wanted that kind of life in the first place and I have my place here at the ranch and it's as it should be-
"Roxas, come on! Riku finally got the truck started, let's go before it stalls out again!" Calm down Roxas, just relax, it's fine, it's not like he even knows about happened anyways, and I'm sure he's okay with his life- "C-Coming!" I hustle down the ladder and I brush off the hay and dirt as I follow Sora out of the barn. It seemed like just yesterday that picture was taken, but in reality…
"Do you remember that boy that I used to hang out with at camp a lot? The one with the red hair?" I follow Sora into the truck, climbing in the bed and settling against the small window to talk to them as we head out of the camp. Sora gives me a bewildered stare before glancing at Riku.
"Uh… Yeah I remember him, you guys were inseparable. And he got you into a shit ton of trouble all the time-" A smile plays at my lips at the fond memories of us exploring way too often to be safe, and then later getting yelled at by my dad and then getting rewarded by my mom who just gave us a wink and a smile. "Plus you two were obviously crushing on eachother." Riku chimes in with a shit eating smirk, making me flush at the feeling like we were 13 again.
"I do- DID not!" They both burst out laughing at my tone, sending me back 10 years ago to when we were stupid preteens again.
"Step off Seifer! Who cares if I Roxas and I hang out all the time, he's my best friend." Axel angrly steps in front of me protectively, holding arm out to stand his ground. "Cuz that's super gay of you guys to always be with each other! You hold hands like a guy and girl should, I bet you kiss all the time too!" He sneers evilly at the both of us, more so towards me. "S-Shut up-" I try to cut in, wanting to be brave like Axel always is.
"Who cares if we hold hands all the time?! If that makes me gay then I'm SUPER gay! I'll always be there to hold Roxas's hand, and kiss him too!" Axel deflects, puffing out his chest and moving to stand next to me, grabbing my hand and staring Seifer down with his new found growth spurt, a shit eating grin plastered on his face with confidence. Seifer angrily glares down both of us before turning on his heel, kicking up dirt and stomping away.
"Whatever lamers, being gay is dumb anyways!" I chew on the inside of my lip before furrowing my brows, giving his back my middle finger. "That was super badass Roxas!" Axel hypes, causing us to laugh in our excitement of brushing Seifer off our backs and giving him the worst gesture in the world. "And all that stuff about kissing and hand holding, I was just-" "I-I would, would like that."
My face burns as I turn away with a smile, tightening my grip on his hand. Axel's excitement falls and changes into embarrassment, his voice faltering as he looks away too yet keeps his grip tight.
"O-Oh. Just don't go holdin' anyone else's hand or nothing, got it memorized?"
"Always…" I whisper to myself as we head down the gravel road, a private smile gracing my lips as I look back at the camp in the distance.