"It was a beautiful operation," Ryan said as he sat crossed-legged on his cot. "Close your eyes and picture it."

Luke smiled from his own bed and closed his eyes. "Okay," he said. "Let's hear it."

It was after lunch and the boys were in their cabin for their hour of mandatory Bible study. Luke had kept Eli's necklace hidden safely in the pocket of his khakis for the rest of the day. Eli was scheduled to be back from the detention center by three, and the boys eagerly awaited him to see the look on his face when he had the necklace back in his own hands.

"So Paul heard his old man talking to Ricky by the lake a few weeks ago," Ryan said, illustrating the story with his hands. "And as these chums are talkin', Paul overhears Ricky say that he's allergic to peanuts—"

"I can see where this is going," Luke said, grinning with his eyes still closed.

"So Paul starts collecting peanuts from his meals the next few days," Ryan said.

"No easy feat," Paul chimed in from his own bed.

"And it just so happened that today before breakfast, Andy asked us to create a diversion during morning mass," Ryan said.

Luke snapped his eyes open and looked across the room at Ryan. "I knew you guys had something to do with it!" he laughed. "How'd you get the peanuts into his food?"

Ryan slowly looked over at Noah. He pointed to him. "Actually, it was all Noah's doing."

Luke looked over at Noah, whose head was bent low. The man smiled slightly when he looked up at Luke. "I took a chance," he said. "When I said I was going to the bathroom, I actually stopped by Ricky's table as he was eating with a few other counselors. Turns out, he was in the military, and we started talking about life on the base. I slipped Paul's crushed peanuts into his oatmeal—"

"And the rest is history," Ryan said, making a slicing motion through the air with his hand.

Luke smiled widely at the men in his cabin and let out a laugh. He shook his head. "I can't believe you guys did this," he said.

"We wish you coulda been there to see Ricky do his unintentional little striptease at the pulpit," Paul said, laughing. "It'll take years of prayer for God to forgive that one."

"Is he going to be okay?" Luke asked.

Ryan waved him off. "He'll be fine," he said. "Nothing an EpiPen and some holy water can't fix."

The cabin of boys laughed at Ryan's joke, all save for Charles, who had been silent the entire time, reading from a passage in the Bible on his bed like a good little boy. He glanced occasionally over at Luke and Noah, his eyes shifting between them as though they were on the dance floor together and he was stuck in the sidelines.

"What kills me," Ryan said, sitting back in his bed, "is that our sweet little Noah over there was in on our plan from the start."

"Yeah," Paul said. "You gave us all a shock on that one, Mayer."

Noah lowered his head again, that playful smile illuminating his face. "What can I say?" he said. He slowly looked up at Luke. "I guess a part of me was just made to get into trouble."

Luke looked at Noah and beamed. He felt his heart fluttering in his chest, light as a bird's wings, he felt a rush of warmth flood his body and trap itself in the pit of his stomach. At that moment, all Luke could think of doing was grabbing Noah's head in his hands and laying a kiss right on his lips.

"God, would you listen to yourselves?" Charles yelled, snapping the Bible shut and sitting up on his bed. He looked around the room as though he were the only sane one there. "You think you're all partners in crime or something!"

"Relax, Chuck," Ryan said. "We got Eli his necklace back, that's all that matters."

"So what?" Charles barked. "Sooner or later, Pastor John's gonna put the pieces together and he's gonna can all our asses!"

"No one's stopping you from ratting on us," Luke said, giving Charles a daring look.

Charles stood from his bed. "Don't even tempt me, Snyder—"

"Hey!" Noah said, standing and turning to face Charles. He put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We did it to help Eli," Noah said. "If it were me, you'd do the same thing."

Luke watched as Charles melted at Noah's words, his touch, his soft tone. Charles nodded slowly and avoided Noah's eyes. Luke thought for a moment that he could see the man blushing.

"Yeah, you're right," Charles said. He shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Heads up, guys!" Ryan said as he peered out the window. "Eli's on his way."

The boys quickly abandoned their Bibles and stood at the head of their cots. Luke touched his pocket to make sure Eli's necklace hadn't leaped out of place, and glanced around the room at the anxious, smiling young men. He caught Noah's eye and nodded his head towards him, a sign of forgiveness from last night. Noah gave him a half grin and looked towards the entrance of the cabin as Eli walked in.

Eli stopped in the doorway and looked around at the expecting faces. He seemed different than the boy they had eaten their meals with—quieter, more reserved, as if one of the counselors had given his soul a lobotomy. Eli let out a nervous laugh and looked once more around the room.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"We have something for you," Ryan said. He motioned towards Eli's cot and told him to sit down.

Eli did as he was instructed and sat at the head of his bed. His bunkmates crowded around him, Luke at the forefront. They were all smiles.

"Close your eyes," Luke said.

Eli looked up at the giddy faces around him and held up his hands. "Look, I know you guys are gay and all, and I respect that, but I've told you a thousand times—I like girls."

"Just close your eyes," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

Eli hesitantly did as Luke told him and waited. Luke pulled the chain from his pocket and held it in front of Eli's face, the Star of David dangling before him like an ethereal moment from G-d, Himself.

Sensing something in front of him, Eli opened his eyes and looked at the chain in Luke's hand. His mouth opened slightly and he let out a sort of half-laugh, half-sob. He eyed the necklace up and down to make sure it was real, then took it from Luke's hand and cupped it in his palm. Eli looked up at his fellow campers as they crowded around him, tears of overwhelming happiness filling his eyes.

"How did you—?"

"It was Luke's idea," Noah said.

Luke looked at him and smiled. "No," he said, shaking his head. "We all helped." The two exchanged lingering smiles before focusing their attention on the humbled Eli.

"You shouldn't have done this," Eli said, tracing his fingers along the points of the scared star.

There was a moment of silence, a moment of reflection within the group as they all thought of why they had helped Eli in the first place, why they had stuck their own necks out for someone who wasn't even considered "one of them" by gay standards. But the reality was right there in front of them, hardly worth trying to analyze.

"Hey," Ryan said, giving Eli a tap on the shoulder and a grin. "We're all in this together. We gotta look out for you, same as you gotta look out for us."

Eli pressed his quivering lips in a thin line and nodded. He lowered his head and sniffled, then looked up and smiled at his friends. "Thank you," he said. He put his hand over his heart. "Thank you so much."

0000000

That night at dinner, Luke watched as his friends laughed and joked with each other. Eli's spirits seemed to have lifted considerably after getting his necklace back (even though he had to hide it under his pillow than wear it), and the mood was light and more cheerful than Luke had ever seen since he arrived at the camp. He ate his food silently and smiled at the good nature of his new friends.

Noah nudged Luke as he sat beside him. "Hey," he whispered, noticing Luke's quietness. "That was a really nice thing you did for Eli."

Luke looked at him and smiled. He shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal and tried his hardest to keep from blushing. "It was a team effort," he said, motioning his head towards his other bunkmates as they talked amongst themselves.

Luke looked at Noah, studying his face. There was something Noah's eyes, a spark of something in him that made Luke question why Noah would often look at him like that. He seemed to be doing it more often than not, but Luke had always shrugged it off as it being part of Noah's good nature. Still . . . he didn't look at the other campers that way.

Realizing he may have been holding his gaze a bit too long, Luke blinked and concentrated on his food. He glanced over at Charles on the other side of the table, and saw he was staring at him with an intensity that was almost frightening. Whatever spark of warmth Noah had given Luke with his eyes, Charles' look was the exact opposite—cold, judgmental, and altogether filled with hatred.

"Luke, tell us again," Ryan said.

Luke tore his eyes away from Charles and looked at his friend directly across from him. "Huh?" he asked.

"C'mon, c'mon," Ryan said, waving Luke towards him. "Tells us again what you said to Pastor John, the thing about the worms."

Luke smiled and faked a groan. "I'm tired of telling that one—"

"Aw, come on!" Eli cried.

"Yeah, be a sport!" Paul said, flicking a pea at Luke with his fork.

Luke laughed and shook his head. He probed at his food again, expecting his bunkmates to goad him on further, when the mood shifted suddenly.

"Well look who it is," Ryan said, staring out across the mess hall.

Luke turned his head to where Ryan and the rest of his cabin was looking, and saw Jamie slowly snaking around the tables, collecting trays.

"What's he doing out?" Noah asked, watching the man.

"They put him on clean-up duty for the rest of the month," Eli said. "I wasn't in the same room as him, but they say he was a real pain in the ass in the detention center."

Luke looked over at Eli, and his friend gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry," Eli said. "He can't come within thirty feet of me. And as long as I'm around you guys, he can't touch us."

"Damn," Ryan said under his breath. "And I was so hoping he'd ask me to the summer ball."

The table erupted in giggles and hushed laughter as a counselor walked by their table. When he rounded the corner and surveyed another table, Ryan leaned in close to Luke.

"So come on, Snyder," he whispered. "Tell us the part about the worms!"

0000000

After dinner, Luke followed his bunkmates, as well as the other cabins in the west end, to the main lodge where a movie projector had been set up in the chapel. Luke sat with his cabin in a designated area near the back, just close enough to see the large screen they had put up, and far away enough to see the heads of almost all the other boys in the camp.

"What's this?" he whispered to Ryan, who sat next to him on his right.

"Movie night," Ryan whispered back. "Every Friday night, they show an anti-gay film to scare us into being straight."

"Problem is," Eli said on Luke's direct left, "these movies are so old and out-dated, no one buys into their meaning."

Luke chuckled and a hush came over the crowd as the lights were dimmed and the projector roared to life. The legend 'Boys Beware' appeared on the shaky, black and white film, and a collective groan came over the crowd. It was a propaganda film from the 50's, similar to education films that warned of the dangers of Communism and friendly relations with the Japanese shown in so many classrooms of the time period.

Luke sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He watched in silence for a few minutes, scoffing at the ridiculousness of the film.

"'It looks innocent enough, doesn't it?'" the cheesy narrator said in the film as the camera passed by a group of young boys with their thumbs stuck out near the road. "'Lots of young people hitchhike—seems like a good way to get from one place to another.'"

"Were people really this stupid back then?" Luke asked, leaning closer to Eli.

"It seems they're just as stupid today," Eli whispered back.

A few men down the row, Noah watched the film with bored, glazed-over eyes. He sighed at the production value of the shabby film, its use of light and camera angles, its jarring voice-over and saccharine montage music. Were he doing an anti-gay propaganda film, God forbid, he would at least have the decency to plot the film at a reasonable pace.

"Pretty bad, huh?" Charles whispered to Noah as he sat next to him.

Noah shook his head. "The close-ups alone are giving me an aneurism."

Charles chuckled at his friend's comment. He watched as Noah stared at the screen, how his soft blue eyes followed the motions of the actors, how his strong jaw clenched in unbearably cheesy parts. Charles found himself smiling. He closed his eyes briefly and pretended he wasn't at camp but back at home, in his own backwoods town at his own movie theater. He pretended this was a avant-garde film Noah had picked out, and they were watching it together, just the two of them, with no eyes watching or judging them . . .

Noah felt a hand on his and tore his eyes away from the screen. He looked down and saw Charles' fingers brushing the back of his hand. Noah pulled away quickly and nearly jumped from his seat.

"What're you doing?" he cried, louder than he would have liked.

Charles put his hand in his lap. "Sorry," he said, not looking away from Noah.

"I could report you for that," Noah said in a hushed voice.

Whatever good feeling Charles had was now gone, slapped away by the harsh words of the man he had grown to love in such a short time, a man he knew would never come around until . . . until . . .

"I don't get you, man!" Charles cried. He looked around as a few campers glanced his way and lowered his voice. "You say you're straight, but then you act all lovey-dovey around Snyder like he's—"

"What?" Noah cried, staring at Charles in disbelief.

"You heard me!" Charles whispered harshly. "I've been listening to your little late-night chats when you think everyone is sleeping—I've seen the way you look at each other—"

"Luke is my friend!" Noah said below his breath. "Nothing more! You know I'm straight—"

"Stop kidding yourself, Noah!" Charles hissed back. "The second he arrived, a light blinked on inside of you, and you know it."

"That's not—!"

Charles didn't give Noah a chance to explain himself. He raised his hand and looked towards a nearby counselor. "Bathroom?" he called.

The counselor nodded and Charles made his way out of the row, using every fiber of his being to not look back at Noah. Noah slumped in his seat and stared at the projector screen. He looked down the row as Luke sat with Ryan and Eli, and used every fiber of his being to will Luke to look at him.

Once in the bathroom, Charles splashed cold water on his face from the sink and stared at his reflection in the mirror. How could he have been so stupid? And what was so damn special about that Snyder kid that Noah got all googly-eyed at him with the snap of a finger? Even worse—had they talked about him behind his back during their late-night chats? Had he fallen asleep too soon to hear the sordid truth about everything he had suspected?

"You looked like a man who just got a wake-up call."

Charles whipped around at the sound of the voice and saw Jamie standing in the doorway of one of the stalls, a mop in one hand and a bucket of cleaner by his feet. He was smiling in that maniacal, plotting way he seemed to have mastered over the years. Whatever they did to try and calm him down in the detention center, it obviously didn't work.

"What do you want?" Charles asked.

Jamie laughed. "Same thing you do," he said. "Revenge."

Charles took a step back and raised his head higher, sensing a moment of opportunity. "Eli?" he said.

Jamie nodded. "That punk got me cleaning puke for the rest of the damn month," he said, nearly spitting venom with his words. Jamie smiled again and took a step towards Charles. "I'm guessing you got let down by your little crush, huh?"

Charles looked to the side, anguished by Jamie's words. He found himself nodding slightly.

Jamie struck the mop head on the tiles and held the hand in front of his face. "Maybe we can help each other," he said, raising his eyebrows.

Charles looked at him. He gripped the sink behind his back as if it contained the last bit of decency he had, then nodded towards Jamie when he thought about the look Noah gave him when he tried to touch his hand—startled, disgusted, hardly the same enamored look he often gave Luke.

"If you want to get back at Eli," he said. "You have to go through Luke."

Jamie's already twisted, demented smile grew even larger, casting dark shadows on his otherwise handsome face. "That's what I was hoping you'd say," he said.

To be continued