A/N: This story is rated T, and this chapter does have a little bit of mature language. Nothing you can't say on cable TV, so it's not too bad, but just thought I should give you guys a warning!

Kendra gave Vanessa a pleading glance. Warren had been ranting about maturity and respect for the past five minutes without so much as a break for breath. Kendra hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise, and Bracken's expression was inscrutable.

"I find it utterly unbelievable you two would be so foolish. Do you have any respect for yourselves? For the adults around you? The sneaking around you guys did was unexpected and undeniably wrong. I cannot believe that you two have lied to all of us. Bracken? The number of times I asked if you were dating her is uncountable. And every damn time, you said no. You've permanently lost my trust. Both of you." Warren seemed to finish, shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts.

"Where were you headed?" Kendra asked softly, eyes cold with fury.

Warren, who had opened his mouth to continue, paused and looked at her. It struck Kendra that it wasn't disappointment radiating off of him, it was anger. "What did you just say?" Warren asked in his "I'm-Warren-Frickin-Burgess-You-Can't-Possibly-Talk-To-Me-That-Way" tone he usually reserved for Seth.

Kendra stood, crossing her arms and meeting Warren's gaze defiantly. "I asked you where you were headed. Did I stutter, Warren?"

Vanessa covered her mouth with her hand to hide a laugh, eyes widening in amusement.

Warren flinched, glancing at Vanessa. "Why does that matter?"

Kendra smiled dryly. "Well, I believe you just stood there yelling at me for five minutes about sneaking around while dating someone when you were just about to go off somewhere with Vanessa. Or," Kendra tilted her head in mock confusion, "did I misread the situation?"

Warren's lips tightened. "That's not the same… you can't possibly compare-"

"Compare what, Warren? You're sneaking off with your girlfriend, and currently lying to me about it."

Warren shook his head. "She's not my girlfriend-" He began.

Kendra scoffed. "Well that's great. But Bracken is my boyfriend. I'm sixteen years old, and I'm in a relationship. You're not my parent, Warren. You're not my older brother. You're not even my cousin. You're my second cousin. So butt the hell out of my life."

Rolling her eyes, Kendra stormed off. When Warren called her name, she didn't bother to turn around. Right now, she needed to let herself be angry.


Vanessa found Kendra sitting on a bench outside the Turtle Cabin. "You're not good at hiding, mija."

Kendra gazed at Vanessa warily. "I wasn't trying to hide. If Warren wants to find me, he can."

Vanessa sat down gracefully beside her. "Hell of a scolding you gave him. You should've seen the look on his face as he watched you walk away. I think the word I'm looking for is 'flabbergasted'."

That drew a slight smile out of Kendra. "Do you agree with him?" She asked.

Vanessa chuckled. "The day I agree with Warren Burgess will be a scary day indeed."

"That's not an answer."

Vanessa sighed. "You're the most mature sixteen year-old I've ever known. And as much as I dislike him, Bracken is quite literally a creature of purity. Plus, I consider myself a die-hard feminist. So if any guy tried to tell me when and whom I was going to date, I'd lose it quite like you did back there."

"Still not an answer." Kendra said, raising her eyebrows.

"I think that you're responsible enough to date. Your parents aren't in the picture, however, and under normal circumstances they would set the ground rules."

"You think that I should tell grandma and grandpa." Kendra finished, leaning back on the bench.

Vanessa grimaced. "When I was your age, if someone recommended I willingly put myself in a situation that would result in possibly strict rules, I would've laughed in their face."

"You were a wild child, then." Kendra intuited.

"As if you couldn't already tell," Vanessa smirked. "But you are the farthest you could be from being a wild child, so I know you were going to bring the situation to your grandparents eventually without someone telling you to."

Kendra took a deep breath. "You know me well. It's just that things got so busy here, and they have enough worries on their mind. But I guess another reason I waited was that I'm scared they'll forbid me from seeing Bracken."

Vanessa studied Kendra. "You really like him, don't you?"

Kendra met her gaze evenly. "You really like him, don't you?" She repeated, not talking about Bracken.

Vanessa crossed her arms. "I asked you first."

Kendra buried her face in her hands. "I might have told him I was falling in love with him…" She said, cheeks warming.

Vanessa brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "How sweet. Did you mean it?"

"I think so. Yes, I did. I didn't get to finish saying it because Warren interrupted, but I think Bracken got the message. And I don't know how he's reacting because it was only our first kiss, and we didn't really have time after-"

"Wait," Vanessa cut her off, "Warren interrupted your first kiss?!"

Kendra nodded solemnly. "Yep."

Vanessa threw her hands in the air. "Men!" She cried, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure Bracken reciprocates your feelings, Kendra. Remember, I was the one to catch that he liked you in the first place!"

Kendra smiled at the memory. "So, what's going on between you and Warren?"

"It's… complicated."

"Story of my life."

Vanessa bit her lip. "Warren and I have some history from when we were both Knights, before I revealed that I worked for the Sphinx. We had sort of an on-again, off-again relationship until the revenant made him an albino. He fell off the grid, and by that time I was loyal to the Sphinx, so I made myself forget he ever existed. There's still a lot of… chemistry there from those days."

"Are you dating?"

"I don't know what we're doing," Vanessa admitted. "It seems like some days we get along great and we both know what we want, then other times he's distant and unsure. Or maybe I'm the one that's distant and unsure. We haven't quite figured out what we want, I guess."

They sat in silence for a moment, each immersed in their own thoughts and problems. Kendra finally spoke up. "Thank you, Vanessa. For listening and supporting me."

Vanessa smiled warmly at Kendra. "Of course. You're like the sister I always wanted, Kendra. And I'll do anything to make up for…"

Kendra understood. She took Vanessa's hand, squeezing it gently. "You already have."

After another silent moment, Kendra jumped. "What time is it? I feel like our free period should have ended ages ago."

Vanessa's eyes widened. She pulled a phone out of her back pocket, and she flinched as she looked at the time. "Dammit."


The rest of the day seemed to go by in a blur for Kendra. She was late to her sports "course" in which they played tag football. The girls and boys were separated so Kendra didn't have the opportunity to talk to Bracken. After sports, they had a "Safe Nature Exploration" lesson from Tanu.

After asking Kylie if they had ever been given a lesson like this, Kendra discovered the lesson was mandatory for every cabin after the incident with Genna occured.

"You are not to stray from your cabin group at all." Tanu reminded them as they exited the room after the lesson, "We just want to ensure your safety."

After the lecture, the Turtle Cabin was given thirty minutes to explore the camp museum. With their buddy cabin.

Pros of having time with the Koala Cabin: She got to see Bracken.

Cons of having time with the Koala Cabin: She had to face Bracken and find out how he reacted to her comment (declaration of falling in love?), and even worse: she had to face Warren.

Kendra decided to focus on the lesser con, just to get it over with. It took her all of three seconds to spot Bracken with his cabinmates. It just so happened that the exact second she laid eyes on him he looked up and they made eye contact. There was no way Kendra could avoid him now.

Kendra pretended to be really interested in one of the exhibits (a really old shovel) until Bracken sidled up next to her. Alone, thank god.

"Hey," He said softly, also examining the exhibit.

"Hey," Kendra responded.

"About earlier-" Bracken began.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out, and I definitely didn't mean to get you in trouble with Warren." Kendra interrupted, speaking so quickly her words blended together.

"Are you taking back what you said?" Bracken asked.

Kendra stilled. "No," She finally said, shaking her head. "I meant it."

Bracken took Kendra's hand. "Good. Because I feel the same way."

They stood motionless for a moment until Bracken squeezed Kendra's hand. "I think you need to have a talk with Warren." He said, nodding towards the back of the museum.

Kendra followed his gaze. Warren was standing in front of a clothing exhibit, obviously trying not to look at them. "Yeah, I probably should. Did he yell at you after I stormed off?" She asked.

Bracken shook his head. "No. He looked at Vanessa, realized she wasn't going to back him up on this one, looked at me kind of helplessly, and then started walking in the opposite direction. Vanessa gave me what I think was supposed to be a supportive smile, then went off after you. I thought it would be best for you two to have some girl time. You know, to talk."

Kendra sighed. "My pride wants me to wait for Warren to approach me. I don't want to back down on this, Bracken."

Bracken shrugged. "I'm not here to tell you what to do. But I'll support you no matter what you decide."

Kendra glanced at Warren once more, then squeezed Bracken's hand. "Let's enjoy the museum. At least one of these things has to be older than you, right? Otherwise I can't possibly consider it a legitimate museum."

Bracken chuckled. "You'd be surprised."