Chapter 21: Pitch A Tent – Friday, July 8th, 2011

The guys safely arrived at the camp site and found a perfect place to put up their tent. Nathan brought a tent big enough for all the guys to share. When they pulled out the tent, Dario and Nathan began to argue on the best way to put it up. "This is my tent, so I think that I know the best way to put it up."

"I'm not debating whether or not this is your tent. I'm just saying it would be faster if we put it up my way." Dario was annoyed that Nathan did not want to listen to his idea.

Chad realized that they were never going to put the tent up as long as Nathan and Dario argued about how to do it. He turned to Will, who looked unsure about what to do as well. "Will, you decide. Whose way do we follow?"

Will did a double take when Chad told him to choose. He did not like being put on the spot like that, but he noticed that everyone looked at him to decide how the tent would go up. "I guess it would make sense to do it Nathan's way since it is his tent."

Dario began to cuss in Spanish. He tried to not let the fact that Will chose Nathan over him get him upset. He knew that his sister wanted him to play nice, but he really wanted to give Will a piece of his mind.

The guys began to put up the tent according to Nathan's instructions. Sonny realized the tension had rendered them all quiet, so he decided he needed to start the talking again. "So what are we going to do after the tent is up?"

"Well, there is a lake nearby. We can all go swimming," Will answered.

"I think hiking would be nice at some point during this weekend," Nathan added before telling everyone what to do next.

"I say we go hiking tomorrow and just relax tonight," Will suggested.

"You guys can go ahead and swim after the tent is up, but I will probably go find some firewood to build a fire." Nathan figured some time away from Dario might be good for the both of them.

Chad looked at Nathan. "I'll help you." Nathan nodded his head and smiled at Chad to show appreciation in going with him.

The guys stood back after the tent was up. "It's up! Looks nice!" Sonny walked over to Nathan and patted him on the back making Nathan feel a bit uncomfortable.

Sami walked into the living room at the DiMera Mansion to find Kate having a drink by herself. Trying to avoid Kate altogether, Sami quickly turned around to leave. "Where are you going, Sami?"

Sami took a deep breath and turned around to talk to Kate. "I came down here to get Johnny's crayons, but I do not see them."

"You might want to check your eyesight because they are right here." Kate picked them off of the sofa and handed them to Sami. Sami forced a smile to thank Kate. "You know… I really don't think you have what it takes to be a DiMera's wife."

Sami smirked at Kate. "Oh Kate, are you threatened by the fact that in a month I am going to be Mrs. EJ DiMera? You better pay attention because I am going to show you how it is done!"

"Looks like I came back to Salem at the right time," a voice came from the door. Kate and Sami turned around to see Lucas holding Allie. "Harold let me in."

Sami immediately went for Allie and gave her daughter a hug. "I have missed you so much. It's so good that you're here!" Kate went over and gave Lucas a hug. Sami turned to Lucas. "So how long are you in town?"

"A little more than a month. I took some time off from work because I know how much Allie missed her family here." Lucas smiled at his daughter as he knew she was happy about taking a vacation to Salem. Allie nodded with a smile.

"Well, Will has gone camping for the weekend, but Johnny and Sydney are upstairs." Sami turned her attention to Allie and made a silly face. "You want to go see your brother and sister upstairs. They're coloring!" Allie nodded her head.

"I can take her upstairs. I think it would be good if the two of you talked." Kate took Allie and the crayons from Sami and headed upstairs with her granddaughter.

Sami could not help but smile at the thought that Allie was home. Lucas crossed over to the other side of Sami. "So I heard the news. Am I supposed to congratulate you on your engagement?"

Sami glared at Lucas knowing he was being sarcastic. "Oh… we are already at this point in your visit back to Salem. Let's talk about how all my decisions are hurting my children. You know, I really don't want to get into this right now."

Lucas crossed his arms. "Well, they are. I've been told that Will hasn't been doing so well recently. Should I be worried?"

"For the record, Will gave his blessing for my engagement to EJ." Sami smiled.

"That doesn't answer my question. Is Will okay?"

"Yeah." Sami said in calm voice. She did not want Lucas to know that she only half believed Will was okay. She had noticed he seemed to be better but questioned if that was all a front. "He's fine."

Gabi walked over to Abigail and Melanie and handed them their drinks. "One coke and one water with lemon. Can I get you anything else?"

"Not right now." Melanie smiled at Gabi, who seemed upset.

"It's so annoying that I got called into work because I have to cover Sonny's shifts now since he went camping. Did you know that Will had to beg Mrs. Brady to let Sonny go?"

Hearing Sonny's and Will's names together made Melanie think about the kiss she witnessed on the pier. The guilt was really starting to eat at her, but she knew that she promised Will she would keep his secret safe.

Abigail tried to make Gabi feel better. "Don't worry, Gabi. Tomorrow we will make up for it with our girl time." Gabi smiled and walked away to another table to take the customer's order.

Caroline walked out from the back and noticed Adrienne walk in. Adrienne spotted Caroline and rushed over to talk to her in private. "Hey Caroline, I was hoping that I could have a moment of your time to talk about my son."

Caroline did not want to talk about Sonny. "Well, I am a bit busy at the moment. Maybe we can talk later."

Adrienne was not going to take no for an answer. "Caroline, I know what you said about my boy. What you said about Sonny was homophobic and extremely rude."

Caroline turned back to Adrienne. "I'm sorry that we have to have this talk, but I will not apologize for what I said because being gay is wrong as it is a sin!" Caroline placed her hands on her hips. "You should be ashamed of yourself as a mother for allowing your son to live like that. Do you have any idea the disservice you're doing to Sonny by telling him being gay is okay?"

Adrienne was taken back by Caroline's incredibly nasty comments. She had hoped that they would have a peaceful discussion about it. "You know what? I am done trying to play nice and make this work because it's clear to me now that it won't. There's no way in hell I am going to allow my son to work in this type of environment." Adrienne turned around and stormed out of the pub.

Caroline adjusted her sleeves. "Fine by me."

Will and Dario sat on a small cliff to allow their feet to dangle into the lake. They were both shirtless, but had on swim trunks. Will had on blue trunks while Dario had on yellow. Dario decided to seize this moment alone to talk to Will as Sonny decided to help Nathan and Chad look for firewood. "I hate what you did to my sister," Dario admitted.

Will did not know how to respond at first but knew that they needed to talk this out if they were going to have fun this weekend. "I know. It sucks. I'm hoping that some time and perspective will help make things better."

Dario shook his head. "It's hard being mad at you Will. Like I said, I hate you for what you did, but I know that you would not intentionally hurt my sister, so I think you are just doing what you think is best."

"Yeah. I wish there was a pain-free way to go about this." Will felt better knowing that Dario felt he did the right thing.

"You know she still loves you right?" Dario looked down at his feet in the water. "She's hurting big time and wants to talk to you about it, but she's too afraid to come to you herself. She thinks it will make it easier for you if she stays away even though it hurts her even more." Dario gave Will a quick glance. Will started to feel really guilty. Dario heard someone coming behind them. He turned and saw Sonny. "I'm getting in the water." Dario dropped into the lake and swam towards the middle of the lake.

Will watched as Sonny walked closer in a shirt and orange swim trunks. Sonny started to take off his shirt causing Will to watch closely. Sonny finally arrived next to Will as he finished taking off his shirt. Will could not keep his eyes off of Sonny's body. Sonny caught Will checking him out. Taking a seat next to him, he playfully pushed Will to the side. "I caught you, mister. You may like what you see, but you should keep your eyes on the prize!"

A bit embarrassed, Will looked back at Sonny. "Prize. What prize are you talking about?" Will noticed that Sonny was now staring at Dario. "Dario?"

Sonny looked back at Will and laughed. "No. The prize is the one that you really want. Chad is who you want. Not me." Sonny winked at Will.

Will looked down. "Well, unfortunately I'll never have Chad. He's straight. Trust me, I know." Will thought about Mia and how they had Grace. He also figured that Abigail and Chad were sleeping together. He knew both of them were not virgins.

Sonny noticed that thinking about Chad depressed Will. He figured that either way he talked about Chad, Will would only feel worse about it because he knew what it felt like to fall in love with a straight guy. "It makes you sick to your stomach, huh?" Will nodded. "Well, let's not talk about Chad. Maybe you should start thinking about how you're going to tell your family and friends?"

Will became apprehensive at the thought of coming out. "I don't think I am ready for that yet. I still have to get used to this I guess."

Sonny smiled while placing his arm around Will pulling him closer. "No rush. Just do what you're comfortable with." Sonny removed his arm from Will and smiled. Will smiled thankful that he had Sonny to help him through all of this. He was learning a lot from Sonny on this trip.

"Hey!" Dario shouted. "Are you guys going to swim or not? It's getting kind of lonely out here by myself."

"Of course!" Sonny shouted back. He looked at Will and smiled. They got up and jumped in.

Chad and Nathan stood back and looked at the camp fire they just started. "Looks awesome. Will was right… you do know what you're doing out here." Chad patted Nathan on the back. "Will also told me that you weren't sure if you should come or not."

Nathan poked the fire a bit with a long stick. "Yeah. I guess I did not know how things were going to play out with Dario here. Melanie decided that she wants to be with him. " Nathan frowned as he thought about the situation. "I'm still in love with Melanie," Nathan admitted, "and I believe Melanie still loves me. I think she's just afraid to be in a relationship with me, so…"

"So what?" Chad asked.

"I don't know. I really don't understand it all."

"Don't worry man. Things will work out in your favor. Maybe you will meet someone else." Chad smiled at Nathan. "You know, girls are so confusing sometimes and so complicated!"

Nathan smiled and agreed.

"I'm happy that Abigail and I were able to smooth things over, but sometimes it's hard picturing a future with her. I mean, even when I was dating Mia, I could see a future with her, but not with Abigail."

Nathan gave Chad a strange look. "You do like Abigail, right?"

Chad realized he made a mistake talking about Abigail like that to her cousin. "Yeah, I do. I just hope that things work out between us." Chad looked at the fire. "I'm going to head over to the lake. You coming?"

Nathan walked over to a cooler. "I might later. I think I should start cooking dinner." Nathan pulled out some steaks.

Chad smiled. "I appreciate you stepping up like that, but I hope you're not avoiding the lake because Dario is there. You deserve to have some fun as well."

Nathan faked a smile. "Nah… I am fine. I love cooking in the wild! It's fun to me. Don't worry… I'm not avoiding anything."

"Okay then. I'll see you in a bit then." Chad grabbed a towel and headed for the lake.

Back at the lake, Will began to splash water onto Dario and Sonny who were wrestling in the water. Will stopped for a moment when he noticed Chad taking off his shirt to join them. Will tried to make it less obvious this time that he was checking Chad out. Sonny had caught him earlier, but he could be more upfront about it with Sonny. If Chad caught him, Will did not know how Chad would respond.

Chad looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun was now hiding behind a few clouds. He got into the lake and swam his way to the others. "Water feels nice."

Dario and Sonny stopped wrestling. Dario got an idea. "Hey, we should play chicken since we have the four of us here."

Sonny smiled and swam closer to the shallow end. "I'm on your team Dario. Will and Chad can be on the other team." The other guys joined Sonny. Sonny bent down so that Dario could get on his shoulders. "I'll be on the bottom. You can be on top."

Will and Chad looked at each other. Will felt a bit uncomfortable, but he told himself that he needed to get over it as they were only playing a game. "I'll carry you on my shoulders." Chad approached Will and knelt down so that Will could climb on. Once Will climbed on Chad's shoulders, Chad stood up. "You ready, Will." Will declared he was ready.

Sonny stood up holding Dario on his shoulders. Dario gave Will a threatening look. "You're going down! The both of you! Team Dario and Sonny will bring down Team Chad and Will for my sister!" Sonny began to laugh. "Let's get this show on the road!"

Chad looked up at Will. "I got you, Will. Trust me." Will nodded his head.

The four guys got closer to each other. Dario grabbed Will's shoulders and started to pull him down. Will fought back and grabbed Dario's arms to put the pressure on him. "You're going down, Will Horton!" Dario and Will began to grunt as they continued to bring the other down. Sonny and Chad got in on the action by screaming at each other and using their strength to bring the other team down. Unfortunately for Will, Dario got the upper hand and made Will fall off of Chad. Dario immediately raised his hands in victory! "Yeah! Take that!" Sonny helped Dario down, and they gave each other a high-five.

After Will fell into the water, Chad grabbed Will and pulled him back up close to him. "Sorry, I let you go, but I still have you." Will looked into Chad's eyes and could not help but smile. It felt good to be in Chad's arms. Not letting Will go, Chad turned to the others, "We want a rematch!" Sonny and Dario agreed. Releasing Will from his grasp, Chad knelt down again to let Will climb on top of him, but Will froze. "What is it?" Chad asked looking up at Will.

Will realized that when Chad held him, he became aroused and if he tried to climb on Chad's shoulders now, Chad would feel Will's boner on his head. "Maybe we should switch this time. I'll be on bottom, and you can be on top!" Will hoped that Chad would agree.

Chad stood back up. "Do you guys want to switch out who is on top?"

Dario looked at Sonny. "That works for me."

Sonny grabbed Dario's arms and made him flex. "I think you're strong enough to hold me." Dario knelt down so that Sonny could climb on. Will did the same for Chad.

As soon as Will stood up with Chad on his shoulders, Chad did not waste any time to let Sonny and Dario know who he thought would win. "You're going down Sonny!"

"I'm not worried, Chad! I don't quit. I'll keep attacking you until I win!" Sonny shot back.

"Oh, you might put up a good fight, but in the end I get what I want!" Chad and Sonny immediately grabbed each other to force the other down. Will looked up at the two struggling and wondered who would win.