Two years later – Camp Fun, Oregon
Deron was sat alone in the crowded cafeteria cabin for lunch, and his eyes were down, examining the scars and fresh wounds on his forearms.
His gaze shot up as a group of raucously laughing friends walked through the wooden hut with trays of food in their hands. His wild blue eyes lit up in awe and wonder as he spotted the teenage girl leading the group. Deron mused at the thought of her being a 'Queen Bee'; there was no denying that the friends surrounding her admired her deeply. She did not seem the usual Queen Bee however, she looked as though she had substance and cared more for her friends than fashion.
Deron found himself unable to tear his gaze away from her. Luxurious, waist-length brown hair floated in long tendrils around her face, bright blue eyes shone out from under long lashes, her luscious lips pouted, shining with pink lip gloss; and she boasted a figure to die and go to Heaven for.
She and her friends around her were dressed like rockers and punks, suggesting they were into very similar music types to Deron. They wore baggy fit jeans, studded belts and each wore a top of varying designs, from Gothic-type corsets for the girls to Cannibal Corpse and Iron Maiden t-shirts for the boys.
When all seven friends began striding in Deron's direction, he quickly dropped his gaze and studied his food anxiously, desperately hoping that they would leave him alone and not cause him any trouble - he didn't want any trouble.
Out of the corner of his blue eyes, Deron became aware that the group of friends had stopped right beside him. Slowly, his eyes travelled up the long slender legs to his right, his gaze falling upon the face of the not-so Queen Bee. He tried to look as innocent as possible to avoid any trouble.
The Queen Bee waved girlishly at him and beamed, showing a white grin and perfect teeth. "Hi! I'm Amanda Jewell. Just wondering if we could join you and sit on this table? The rest of the winged monkeys in this camp are occupying the other tables!" she said jovially, a gentle British lilt in her voice.
Deron stared in bewilderment, amazed that they wanted to sit with him, be seen with him. Despite being confused that someone actually wanted to sit with him, Deron stuttered an answer. "Um…Yeah, sure… Go ahead… Don't mind me." He said nervously, putting on a slight smile.
Amanda clapped happily. "Yay! Ok, thanks!" she squealed joyously and sat down animatedly, right opposite Deron and put her tray down on the table. It was full of fruit and the healthier options the Camp offered, with a trifle sat in the corner of it.
The rest of the group followed suite, sitting down heavily on the bench seat. A wild-haired punk sat next to Deron, and patted him on the back in gratitude. Deron fought the urge to flinch and accepted it cautiously.
As the other members of the group descended into chat and began eating, Amanda smiled and reached across the table to Deron, wanting to shake hands. Deron took her hand guardedly and shook it, smiling shyly. "Hey. I don't think I caught your name?" Amanda grinned politely.
Still bemused at the fact this gorgeous girl wanted to talk to him, all he could do was mumble a reply. "My…name is… Deron" he said mutedly, snatching another nervous glimpse at Amanda. She was stunning.
Amanda still grinned warmly. "Hey there Deron! As you know, I'm Amanda. I'll introduce the rest of the gang to ya!" she offered, then patted the back of a girl next to her. "This is Casey Nichols, she's my best mate!"
Casey waved shyly. "Hey." She beamed, offering her hand for Deron to shake. He did so, warmly. Casey too had brown hair, although hers was straight and shoulder length. She had welcoming hazel eyes, and a friendly face.
Amanda then introduced the next person. "This is James Swift. He's a loon, but a cool one!"
A strawberry blonde haired guy with a goatee waved over at Deron. "Hey dude." James was extremely tall, had a gentle face and ice blue eyes. Judging by how close he was sitting to Casey, Deron figured they were either a couple, or fancied each other like mad.
Amanda then introduced her next friend. "This is Brandon. He is James's brother and also a loon!" she finished, rolling her eyes.
Brandon waved too. "Hey, 'sup!" Deron waved back anxiously.
Amanda carried on. "The final three, sitting on your side are Lily Wilson, Chris Thorpe and Isaac Brooks." She gestured at these last three friends to be introduced. They all waved at Deron, grinning, their mouths stuffed with food, providing him with a very grim image indeed.
Deron nodded in acknowledgement, and smiled at them. He couldn't believe there was a whole group of them and he had been accepted by each and every one of them. All of a sudden, he felt very privileged; he had never been accepted this well before.
Amanda continued to speak, gazing at Deron with her beautiful, almond-shaped blue eyes, smiling, and her teeth so perfect and white, they transfixed Deron. "So, why have you had to come to this craphole this summer? My parents made me come so I could learn to be 'responsible'." She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Like I need to learn responsibility, I'm only 17! Jeez!" she gushed in frustration.
Deron began. "…Well, I…My parents…" he paused, thinking about what his explanation could be without sounding uncool, and not revealing the real reason. "…They go to some island on vacation, so they sent me here… Get rid of me for a while!" he forced a laugh, trying to sound convincing. In actual fact, this was as far from the truth as possible, his parents actually sent him to Camp in order to try and learn social skills, in a desperate attempt to try and stop him getting beaten up at every school they put him in.
James sighed. "Bummer, man. It must suck to have your 'rents go on vacation to some nice island and stick you in this dump!" he said, apathetically.
Deron nodded nervously. "Yeah it does suck… A fair bit! From what I've experienced so far, anyway."
Amanda smiled, and then brushed her waist length hair away from her face. Deron watched in awe as the luxurious locks glided along her shoulders, away from her breasts. He suddenly realised he was staring, and dropped his gaze sheepishly.
Amanda noticed this and grinned again. "So, Deron, fancy chilling with us later? Even doing some of the activities with us? Beats doing it without us!" she chirped.
"Umm, Yeah…sure!" Deron replied gratefully; glad to be not doing something alone for once.
Amanda smiled in acknowledgement, and studied Deron in intrigue. Any self respecting red blooded female could see that he wasn't a bad catch. She was fascinated by his long, dirty-blond hair and piercing blue eyes – all in all, a pretty handsome guy. Her gaze discreetly flicked down to the cuts and scars on Deron's arms and back again. Maybe there was more to him than he was letting on to her.