Training

Emily POV

I pull through the gates that announce "Serenity Hills" and park my car in one of the staff parking spaces. The majority of the spaces are already taken up by the rest of the staff.

The camp is fairly isolated; the closest town is half an hour away, and the camp itself is located in the woods.

The only other time I have been here was when I was being interviewed for being a counselor back in March. I wanted something fun to do over the summer to avoid spending it with my mother and my asshole stepfather. Now that I know that they were planning to set me up with some of their friends' children, I am very grateful that I have this place as an escape.

I get out of my car and walk to the trunk, which I have already popped to get my bags out of. As of right now, I'm not planning on leaving this place until the end of summer. I manage to get all four of my bags out, but I do struggle since they each weigh between fifteen and thirty pounds.

I look around at my surroundings, trying to remember where the chapel is. We're all supposed to be there by seven-thirty for training to begin, and it's already seven-ten.

Suddenly, I hear a deep voice ask, "Do you need help? You look a little lost."

I turn around quickly to face the man. He is incredibly handsome. He's well-built, tall, and well-groomed black hair. I almost melt on the spot from hormones when I see him.

"Y-yes. I need to find the chapel for training."

He grins boyishly when I stutter. "Let me show you where it is."

I'm about to protest, but he continues by saying, "I was just heading up their myself. Just let me grab my things from my car."

I nod, but he doesn't see it because he's already on the other side of his car. He walks back a minute later with a backpack and suitcase.

We stand there awkwardly for a minute before I offer my hand and say, "I'm Emily, by the way."

He takes my hand, and I instantly feel an electric shock jolt through my arm. I know he feels it too because of the shocked gasp he lets out. He gives my hand a firm shake then lets it go.

"I'm Aaron. It's nice to meet you, Emily."

We both start walking up the rock pathway that leads to the chapel. Except for the trails in the woods, all of the pathways in the camp are rock.

"What cabin are you in, Emily?"

I awkwardly shift one of my bags and grab my handbook. Upon seeing my struggle, Aaron wordlessly grabs my backpack and slings it over his shoulder.

"You really don't-"

"I'm happy to help you in any way, Emily," he says with sincerity.

I look down at my handbook to avoid him seeing me blush. Curse my pale skin that makes it obvious when I blush! "It says here that I'm in Cabin Four."

"Really? No way! I'm in Cabin Four, too! I guess we will be seeing a lot more of each other than I originally thought."

I look up at him and see a wide grin covering his features, dimples indenting his face. This summer is going to be even better than I originally thought.

"That's awesome! I can't wait to get to know you, and everyone else, better!"

We enter the chapel together and drop our things off in the room that Aaron tells me is where all the campers keep their shoes when they come in for chapel.

When we enter the main room, I'm confused when I see that there's no chairs. All of the staff members are sitting on the carpet in a huge circle.

"Where does everyone sit?" I whisper to Aaron.

"On the carpet. David and Erin have found that it brings everyone closer together." Then, after a second, he asks, "Have you never been to camp before?"

"Not once in my life."

Aaron and I sit down next to each other in an available space we found. Everyone chatters quietly as we wait for training to begin.

"Why have you never been to camp before?" Aaron asks.

Thankfully, the couple who owns and runs the camp step into the center of the large circle.

The man, David Rossi, is the first to speak. "Welcome, staff, to your summer at Serenity Hills! I'm thankful to see so many familiar faces, as well as some new ones! Erin and I both hope that everyone has an amazing summer here."

The woman, Erin, walks up to him and wraps her hands around his arm. "We both think this is the best place to spend a summer. However, we are both quite biased."

Everyone politely chuckles at the joke.

Dave speaks up again. "Now that the formalities have been taken care of, it's time to discuss training. We will start each day this week with team bonding. We have two types of team bonding for each day: cabin and staff. The cabin bonding will be with the two Counselors and their respective Junior Counselors. The staff portion will be with everyone on staff here. Erin and I both firmly believe that, to function as a team, we have to be able to trust one another with our lives. Each day we will begin with staff bonding and then separate into cabin bonding. Team bonding, as well as all other activities, will be handled by our fabulous Activities Director, Penelope Garcia."

A woman almost directly in front of me waves a very bedazzled hand at everyone.

Erin chuckles quietly at her husband. "Don't worry, everyone. The team bonding is nothing too strenuous; mostly just trust falls and hikes. I want everyone at the amphitheater at nine for team bonding, so that gives everyone a little over an hour to bring their things to their cabins, get acquainted with one another, and set your things up for the summer.

After we finish team bonding, we will eat lunch and then come back here to discuss rules, both for the campers and yourselves, and start basic training. Let's make this a great summer!"

The couple leads us in prayer and then dismisses us.

Aaron and I both walk into the shoe-room, and he once again grabs both of our backpacks and slings them over his shoulders. I roll my eyes but don't argue because I know it's a fruitless endeavor. The room is crowded with everyone gathering their things.

As we start walking down the small patch of paved walkway, I ask, "So, where's Cabin Four and how do we get to it?'

"Cabin Four is kind of by its lonesome on a side path to the main road. We'll take a shortcut through a trail," he points just ahead of us into a clearing of the woods, "and later I'll show you how to make your way around the camp on the main road."

"Thank you for helping me, Aaron," I say as we step off the rocky road and onto the dirt trail.

"Anytime, Emily. And I mean that."

I give him a sheepish smile.

"Why have you never been to camp before?" He asks again.

I look down at my walking feet to avoid his gaze. "I never really got the opportunity because of how much my mom's job had us traveling as a kid."

"What does your mom do?"

And there's the million dollar question that I don't want to answer! "She's a U.S. ambassador."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"What was it like growing up?"

"It sucked."

He drops the topic. "What do you think of Serenity Hills so far?"

"I love it. I can definitely see it becoming one of my favorite places. How about you? It's clear to me that this isn't your first time here."

He chuckles softly, once again showing off his dimples. "I've been coming here since I was in fifth-grade. It's been my favorite place since."

"This is Cabin Five," Aaron states as we make our way off the trail and end up next to a cabin.

He leads me onto the main road and down another dirt trail. We walk a good hundred feet in before we're standing at the steps of another cabin. "And this our cabin, Cabin Four."

The porch is wide and is lined with benches that make up the railing. There's two doors; one for each side of the cabin. The girls and I will be on the right side while Aaron and the boys will be on the left side.

"I guess this is where we part ways," I murmur.

"At least for now. I have a feeling that I will be seeing a lot of you this summer, Emily."

He hands me my backpack. With that, we both make our way into our separate sides.

I flip the switch by the door to turn on the lights. The door shuts behind me, and I lean against it as I take in the room. To my left are some shelves to keep luggage, and to my right there are five sets of bunk beds that are lining the walls.

I drop my bags on the mattress closest to the door, and then I make my way a little farther into the room and see that our restroom is against the same wall that the shelves are on. There's a sink on the wall in front of the door, a toilet with a shower curtain surrounding it to close while we use the restroom to the left of the sink, and a small shower to the right of the sink. There's also a small trash can in front of the toilet for girls to put their… items.

Just then, I hear the cabin door open and close and a woman's voice saying, "Hello? Where are you?"

I step out of the bathroom and into the main part of the room to greet the woman. She has blonde hair and could fit into a keyhole because she's so tiny. I can't help but feel envious of her small frame. She's also wearing a grin that takes over her entire face. I feel like I can already trust her.

She holds her hand out for me, and I take it, giving it a firm shake before releasing it. "I'm JJ, your Junior Counselor. You must be Emily."

"That would be me. It's nice to meet you, JJ."

"You too! And no need to be so formal; we're going to be living with each other for the next two months. Trust me, you'll be counting the days until you get to go home after a week with me." She crosses the room and places her things on the bed directly across from my own.

"I will certainly keep that in mind."

She walks back over to me. "I'm guessing this is your first time here?"

I let out a quick laugh. "Is it really that obvious?"

She shakes her head and places a reassuring hand on my arm. "Not at all, sweetie. I've just been coming here since I was in second-grade. I know all of the in-and-outs."

"Has everyone been coming here for that long? Aaron said he's been coming here since he was in fifth-grade."

Her eyes bug out at the mention of him, peaking my curiosity. "You've met Aaron?"

I furrow my eyebrows. "Yeah. He's the men's Counselor for our cabin."

Her demeanor quickly changes to being serious. "Stay away from him, Emily. He's bad news."

"What do you mean?"

She huffs out a sigh. "Last summer, he and another Counselor, Haley, got involved. The relationship didn't end well, and all of the staff got dragged into it. It was extremely awkward and frustrating for everyone to deal with. That's why I heard that they're changing the rules so that relationships between staff are no longer allowed."

She walks back over to her bunk and starts putting the bedding on the flimsy mattress. I turn to my own bunk and do the same.

"That doesn't seem fair that they would change the rules because of one singular mishap," I muse.

"You weren't there to see everything go down. Besides, things will be better this way."

I frown at her statement but don't try to argue with her again.

About fifteen minutes later, I hear JJ say, "It looks like you packed to be here the entire summer without going home at all." She comes over and starts helping me fold my clothing.

"That's because I did."

"You do realize that we're able to go home during the weekends in-between camps, right?"

"Yes, I do realize that. I just don't want to go home."

A knock on the door interrupts us.

The offender opens the door just a crack and calls, "Hello?"

JJ walks over and opens the door wide open. "You can come in, Spence."

She then turns to me. "Emily, this is Spencer, AKA Spence. He is Aaron's Junior Counselor for the summer."

I wave at him. "Hey, Spence."

He waves and gives me a smile. "Hi, Emily. Welcome to Serenity Hills."

"Thank you."

Aaron leans up against the doorframe so that he's propping the door open with his body. "What's this? A family reunion?"

JJ glares at him and says, "Hi, Aaron. Break any hearts lately?"

I choke on my own spit at her blunt question, and it looks like Aaron is having a very similar reaction.

"Nice to see you, too, JJ," He mumbles.

"You two are still fighting about this? It was a year ago," Spence says, clearly exasperated. "I'm done hearing about this and being caught up in the middle of it."

He walks out the door and back to his side of the cabin.

Aaron rolls his eyes. "Emily, are you ready to head to the Amphitheater?"

I nod. "Yeah, just let me grab my Kavu."

JJ looks between us with barely masked interest. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Emily," she warns.

I pick up my bag and meet up with Aaron in the doorway. I turn to face her and say, "You have nothing to worry about, JJ."

Both Aaron and I walk out of the cabin and down the steps onto the trail.

"I'm guessing she told you about what happened last summer?"

"Vaguely. She mentioned something about you and a counselor named Haley. She said that you two dated and then broke up."

His face turns stoic, and I find myself wishing he would let his emotions show like he did earlier. "That pretty much sums up what happened. The funny thing is that JJ isn't even friends with Haley. She's just mad about how big of a bitch Haley is."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

He shakes his head. "Haley and I agreed not to tell anyone what happened. I'm not someone who breaks promises. I'm sorry, Emily." He looks angry as he explains. Not at me, but at the whole situation.

"That's very honorable, Aaron. There's no need to apologize to me."

We reach the Dining Hall a few minutes later and turn left at an octogonal pit thing that's lined with wood boards.

"What's that?" I ask.

He looks to what I'm pointing at. "That would be the ga-ga pit. You will learn how to play later today, no doubt."

"I'm up for anything."

We reach the Amphitheater right at nine. The Amphitheater is nothing more than a slab of cement on the ground with wooden beams holding up the ceiling. There's approximately ten folding chairs set up on the flooring, and there's also two folding tables in the center.

The entire area around the Amphitheater is grass. In the distance, I can see a large field with a few structures, old boats, and walls that I assume is a paintball field.

All of the staff gathers in the grass and sits down in a circle. Aaron and I sit down next to each other again.

Once everyone has arrived, Penelope Garcia walks to the center of the circle. "Hello, everyone! As Dave and Erin told you earlier, my name is Penelope, but feel free to call me Pene or PG. I am the Activities Director here at Serenity Hills, and I absolutely love it!

Before we get started with our team bonding, I want us all to go around the circle and announce your name, age, and what grade you're in. Let's start with," she spins in a quick circle with her index finger extended, and when she stops, it's pointing at me, "you!"

Oh joy.

Aaron squeezes my arm reassuringly.

"My name is Emily Prentiss, I'm twenty-one, and I am going to be a senior in college."

"Wonderful, Emily! Now it's your turn, Aaron!"

He groans from beside me. "My name is Aaron Hotchner, I'm twenty-two, and I just graduated from college."

"I'm Jennifer Jareau, but everyone calls me JJ, I'm seventeen, and I'm a senior in high school."

We continue to go around the circle. From what I can tell, there are twenty counselors, twenty JCs, and approximately fifteen other staff members.

"Splendid, my lovelies!" Penelope exclaims. "Now it's time for staff bonding! Today we're going to be playing paintball. It will be JCs versus counselors."

"How will we tell who's who?" A man who just announced himself as Derek asks.

"I was just getting to that, my chocolate adonis." She holds up two different colored helmets. "JCs will wear the blue helmets, and counselors will wear the red ones."

Twenty minutes later, I'm hiding in one of the watchtowers, shooting at people through the open cutout in the wall. Aaron is also with me, but he's guarding the entrance into the tower, shooting anyone who attempts to gain our stronghold.

"You're a good shot, Emily," he announces when I shoot a fourth person.

I smile at the compliment. "You're not half bad yourself, Aaron."

"Thanks."

We gather back in our circle after we finish our game of paintball. Counselors won, of course, with Aaron, Morgan, and me being the only remaining survivors.

Morgan walks over to us. "You guys are amazing. Though, not nearly as amazing as me," he says with a smirk.

Aaron shoves his shoulder. "The most humble person I know. Definitely not the first impression you want to make on Emily, though."

Morgan nods. "True. Well, let me redeem myself to you, Emily. What would you say to eating lunch with me and my friends today?"

"Depends. Who are these friends you speak of?"

"Garcia, Reid, JJ, Timmy, Allie, and," he cuts a quick, nervous glance at Aaron before mumbling, "Haley."

Aaron inhales sharply from beside me.

I gulp slightly, not knowing what I should choose. "Let me think about it, but it sounds like a good group of people you have as friends."

He nods. "That's perfectly fine. Anyway, I have to go talk with baby girl." He walks away towards where Garcia is standing and talking to Dave

"You can sit with them at lunch. If you want," he whispers, his mouth inches from my ear.

His breath on my ear sends shivers down my spine. Before I can put much thought into it, he pulls away from me. I frown.

"I want to sit with you, but I would like to sit with all of them." I look up at him with pleading eyes.

"Emily…"

"I know how you feel about Haley, but you're friends with the rest of them, right? You wouldn't even need to talk with her."

He releases a sigh. "I'll sit there with you, but you owe me. Big time."

I see something in his eyes that I can't quite read, but it intrigues and frightens me at the same time.

I barely contain my grin. "Deal."

"Alright, my lovelies!" Penelope once again announces from the middle of the circle. "For today's cabin bonding, you will be hiking on one of the trails. The trail can be any of them, so you can all decide on one together! We will hand out a list of questions for each of you to answer. Now, have fun, be careful, and get to know each other!"

We all get up and go to our cabin groups.

"Which trail do we want to take?" Spence asks.

I shrug my shoulders. "Which trails are there?"

"Friendship, Team, Peace, Faith, and Water," JJ answers.

"I think we should take Water. It goes by the lake and has the most beautiful scenery of all the trails," Aaron comments.

"Agreed."

"I'm up for it."

"Sounds good to me."

A few moments later, Dave comes over to our group and hands Aaron a piece of paper.

What is your favorite color?

What is your favorite song?

What is your favorite movie?

What is your favorite food?

What is your favorite thing to do?

What is your favorite memory?

Who is your role model?

What is something painful you have experienced?

Do you do any sports?

What is the best gift you have ever received?

What is the worst injury you've had?

What is your worst fear?

"We have to answer all of these questions?" JJ grumbles.

Spence frowns as well. "Yes, Jayje, no matter how much none of us want to."

"I think it'll be fun," Aaron and I chorus and then laugh at ourselves.

"Like hell it will," Spence mumbles under his breath.

I look around at the gorgeous view surrounding me. On my left is the forest, and on my right is the camp's lake. It is absolutely stunning, and I can't get enough of its beauty.

Aaron clears his throat. "Let's start on the questions."

1) What is your favorite color?

JJ- "Mint green."

Spence- "Yellow."

Aaron- "Red."

Me- "Teal."

2) What is your favorite song?

JJ- "The A Team by Ed Sheeran."

Spence- "Anything Bach."

Aaron- "Hound Dog by Elvis."

Me- "Secret Love Song by Little Mix."

3) What is your favorite movie?

JJ- "Radio Rebel."

Spence- "Star Wars. Anything and everything Star Wars."

Aaron- "National Treasure."

Me- "The Parent Trap."

4) What is your favorite food?

JJ- "Pizza."

Spence- "Chicken nuggets."

Aaron- "Steak."

Me- "Salad."

5) What is your favorite thing to do?

JJ- "Hang out with friends."

Spence- "Read."

Aaron- "Spend time with family."

Me- "Sing. Terribly."

6) What is your favorite memory?

JJ- "My first time at camp."

Spence- "Graduating from high school."

Aaron- "Doing stupid shit with friends."

Me- "Spending time with my grandfather in the French Alps."

7) Who is your role model?

JJ- "My mom."

Spence- "Stephen Hawking."

Aaron- "J. Edgar Hoover."

Me- "My grandfather."

8) What is something painful you have experienced?

JJ- "My sister's suicide."

Spence- "Putting my mother in a sanitorium."

Aaron- "Saying goodbye to my father."

Me- "Attending every governmental affair with my mother with a fake smile on my face as she tried to set me up with every eligible bachelor in the room." Everyone bursts into a fit of laughter.

9) Do you do any sports?

JJ- "Yes. Soccer."

Spence- "With what coordination?"

Aaron- "Rugby and football."

Emily- "My mom forced me to take ballet until I turned eighteen."

10) What is the best gift you have ever received?

JJ- "My sister's necklace."

Spence- "My mother's knowledge."

Aaron- "Cards Against Humanity."

Me- "My mother's staff helping me escape governmental affairs."

11) What is the worst injury you've ever had?

JJ- "I broke my collarbone playing soccer once."

Spence- "Do paper cuts count?"

Aaron- "Fractured ankle."

Me- "I cracked my head open when I was three."

12) What is your worst fear?

JJ- "Hurting someone."

Spence- "Being a disappointment."

Aaron- "Trusting someone I shouldn't."

Me- "Losing someone I love."

"Well, now that that's out of the way, how about we teach Em here how to play ga-ga ball," Aaron states, desperately trying to change the topic from the final question.

"You don't know what ga-ga ball is?!" JJ exclaims.

"Nope. I've never even heard of it."

JJ's mouth drops to the floor. A second later, she's grabbing my wrist and dragging me down the trail back to the DH. Aaron and Spence trail behind us.

"I think I'm gonna sit this one out, guys," Spence says.

JJ shakes her head, but she doesn't bother to turn around. "Not a chance, Spence. You're playing, whether or not you have good hand-eye coordination."

"No use arguing, Spencer," I hear Aaron whisper.

"I know," he grouses.

"So how does this work again?" I ask for what must be the millionth time.

JJ throws her head back in frustration. "If the volleyball hits any part of your body that's under your hips, you're out. You can hit the ball with your hands. No double touching the ball or hitting it out of the pit. The only time double touching is allowed is when it has hit the boards in between the touches. Got it now?"

I nod. "Sounds simple enough."

She chortles at that. "Just wait until the campers get here; they take their ga-ga playing to the extreme."

Aaron comes running over with a volleyball he found in the supply shed. "Let's play ball!"

He hurdles into the pit to join JJ, Spence, Timmy, Morgan and me.

Everyone touches the boards, so I do the same.

"Okay, Em. Aaron is going to throw the ball. We can't leave the wall until it has hit for the third time."

"Got it!"

Aaron throws the ball into the air. On the first bounce, everyone yells, "Ga!" On the next, they scream it again. On the third bounce, they shout, "Ball!" and everyone leaves the walls in a frenzy.

Timmy is the first to reach the ball, and he hits it straight at Morgan, but Morgan manages to hit it away from his feet just in time. The ball hurtles toward Spence, and he isn't quick enough to stop it from hitting him.

"Sorry, Spence. You're out," Timmy says in his cheery way, but he runs to the ball and hits it.

"Thank God," Spence mumbles as he climbs out of the pit.

Morgan narrowly misses the ball Timmy shot at him. "Stop being such a sour puss, Spence."

JJ runs toward the ball and punches it lightly toward me, allowing me a chance to save myself. I run up to it and hit it full force at Aaron. The ball flies toward Aaron, and even though he puts his hands down to protect himself, he isn't quick enough to save himself.

"I'm so sorry, Aaron," I call as he climbs out of the pit.

"I'm sure you are."

A second later, the ball hits my shin.

Aaron laughs as I jump out of the pit. "Serves you right!"

I shove his arm, knocking him back slightly. "Whatever."

He laughs even harder. "Someone's a sore loser."

"Damn right I am. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere at any of my new schools if I wasn't competitive." It strikes me only after the words have escaped my mouth that they are too serious for this moment.

Aaron sobers up quickly. "I'm sorry, Emily," he whispers.

He raises his hand to my face, hesitates, and then gently tucks a stray hair that has fallen out of my ponytail behind my ear. He keeps his hand on my cheek for a few lingering seconds before he places it back by his side.

After a few more seconds, I shrug. "It was what it was. I got used to it, and I was eventually able to make some friends that I still talk to."

"That's good," he hums, his voice slightly hoarser and lower than a minute ago.

"Hey, princess. You ready to meet the group?" Derek says from behind me, scaring me slightly.

I'm currently waiting in line for food in the DH with Aaron, JJ, and Spence. Aaron is beside me, glaring at Derek.

"Definitely! I'm just happy I have a group of people willing to be friends with me," I muse, trying to be funny, but failing miserably.

The blonde, floppy haired Timmy walks up beside me and puts his arm around my shoulders. "Ah, don't say that, sweet pea. I'm sure you have a ton of friends in that inner circle of yours." He lightly ruffles my hair and boops my nose.

"Their all over the world, but yes, I do suppose I have a lot of friends."

"What about friends, gumdrop?" Penelope asks, joining us in the line for food.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it, baby girl."

A blonde woman whose name I don't remember sidles up next to Aaron and takes his arm, but he quickly shakes her off. She frowns and doesn't back away, even after he's pushed her off of him.

"Are we playing tap-tap?" The woman inquires.

"Don't we always, Haley?" Timmy replies.

Ah, so this is the infamous Haley. I stealthily look her up and down as I size her up. She and I are completely different physically.

"What's tap-tap?"

Everyone in the group halts their conversations and looks at me with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"When you take a sip from your drink, if you don't double tap it when putting it back down, whoever catches you gets to give you any dare of their choice. The game gets wild, but we, as well as the campers, absolutely love it," Penelope answers.

Oh, goody. This is about to get interesting.

"Sounds fun. Can't wait to play," I lie.

Aaron seemingly catches my lie and gives me a wary look, but I just look away from him.

"You didn't tap-tap!" Aaron exclaims.

I throw my head back with a groan. "Alright, give it to me. What's my dare?"

He thinks for a minute, and then his eyes light up with an evil glint. "I dare you to stand up on your chair and sing I Love the Mountains."

I grimace. "Not. Happening."

"You did say you love to sing," he comments.

"Yeah, in my shower when I'm totally and completely alone."

"You have to do it, gumdrop. It's the rule," Pene singsongs.

I groan. "Fine."

I stand up on my chair, shaking slightly as I do so. I quickly look around at the long tables filled with people.

"Hey, everyone!" Derek shouts. I glare at him. "Emily is about to sing for us!"

Everyone stops their conversations and looks over to where I'm standing on my chair. I blush wildly as I curse my pale skin that makes my blush obvious.

I clear my throat before I start singing as well as I can. "I love the mountains, I love the rolling hills. I love the flowers, I love the daffodils. I love the fireside when all the lights low.

Boomdiada, boomdiada, boomdiada, boomdiada, boomdiada, boomdiada, boomdiada, boomdiada."

I look straight at Aaron for some reason unbeknownst to me as I sing the next verse. He stares back at me with an unknown look. "Heart and soul, I fell in love with you. Lost control just like a fool would do. Madly, that magic night we kissed under the moon mist.

Boomdiada, boomdiada, boomdiada, boomdiada, boomdiada, boomdiada, boomdiada, boomdiada."

(I do not own this song. It was written by Houaida.)

I sit back down as quickly as I can while the whole room applauds me. Everyone at my table is staring at me with their mouths agape.

"What?" I finally ask.

"You can sing," Derek states, astonished.

"Yes," I say slowly. "What does that matter?"

He shakes his head. "I'm just surprised, princess."

"You are a very good singer, Emily," Aaron whispers in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

I pick up my slice of pizza and take a large bite. "This pizza is really good," I mumble.

We once again sit down in a giant circle in the chapel. Aaron is sitting on my left and JJ on my right.

Pene steps up to the middle of the circle, followed closely by Dave and Erin.

Erin is the first to speak. "From what I could tell, it looked like all of you had a wonderful time during staff bonding, and I also hope that you had a wonderful time during cabin bonding.

Now, I hope the seminar we're about to have won't bring down your spirits." She motions to Dave.

"It's time to discuss rules. There's very few, but they're all important.

The first rule: no fraternization between staff. This rule is new this year. I expect you all to respect this rule. Next rule: you and your cabin have to be on time for every scheduled event."

He continues listing the rules.

"Now, I'm going to hand over the conversation to Pene to let her discuss activities."

Pene steps forward and flashes everyone a dazzling smile. "Okay, so for each session, we will have a kitchen raid and water balloon fight. The kitchen raid will be separated by cabins. Cabin sides can work together or not, but you must do it on your designated night at your designated time frame. The water balloon fight will be on the last night of every session. It'll be staff versus campers.

There are some activities that are for certain sessions. The giant swing and paintball, for example, will only be available for the final two sessions. Those will be the seventh- and eighth-grade session and the ninth- and tenth-grade session.

The ninth- and tenth-grade session will be the only one we play Hunger Games. The game can get dangerous, but I'm counting on all of you to make sure everyone stays as safe as possible.

During each session, there will be two night games. One on Monday night and the other will be on Thursday night. We will play other games throughout the week, but those are the two biggest nights for games.

We will have dance parties intermittently throughout the week. They will be held in the OC during the hour between free time and dinner. They will last approximately forty-five minutes so that everyone who has joined will have enough time to walk to the DH."

Erin once again speaks up. "I think that just about covers all of the activities. Now it's time to discuss the duties of the staff and some final things."

Two days later, Aaron and I are walking down a dirt trail that is all mud due to last night's rain.

"So, what has been your favorite thing so far?" He asks.

I think for a moment before I say, "Getting to know everyone better. Especially Pene, Timmy, JJ, Derek, and Spence."

"What about me?"

"Hm. I guess it's been nice getting to know you too," I tease.

He feigns pain. "Wow. I welcomed you here, helped you get everywhere without getting lost, and this is the thanks I get?"

I chuckle and nod. "It appears so."

Just as Aaron is about to say something, I slip and fall into the mud. Instantly, there's a shooting pain in my left ankle, and I wince. Thankfully, I'm able to mask my pain before Aaron sees it.

Aaron gasps and crouches down to observe me. "Emily, are you alright?"

I give a clipped nod. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just help me up."

He takes my arm and gently helps me to my feet. I immediately pull my left foot up when the pain worsens.

"You're not alright, are you, Emily?" He whispers in my ear before taking more of my weight upon himself.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." I try placing my foot on the ground again, but it hurts too much to keep it down for more than just a few seconds.

"You can't even put weight on it. Let me help you."

"I'm honestly f-" I shriek when he lifts me up in his arms and starts carrying me bridal style towards the DH.

"It's alright to admit you need help, Emily," he whispers, placing a gentle kiss to my hair.

"Not if there's no one there to listen," I mumble sorrowfully before I bury my face in his chest.

I feel rather than hear him inhale sharply. He tightens his hold on me so that my body is practically wrapped around him.

"I'm here to listen," he promises quietly.

Fifteen minutes later, I'm sitting on the bed in the Nurse's Office at the DH. Aaron is waiting outside the open door while the nurse looks me over.

She prods my ankle gently but stops when I wince.

"Well, I know it's not broken. You most likely sprained it when you tripped," the nurse says.

"Great. When can I get out of here?"

Aaron steps into the doorway to glare at me. "You're injured and you need to be taken care of."

"Aaron, you know you're not allowed in here when I have a patient in. Out."

She shoos him out the door before turning back to me. "He is right, though, Emily. You need to rest and allow your ankle time to heal."

I grimace. "It's fine. I can walk on it."

"Emily!" Aaron yells from outside the doorway.

"No interfering, Aaron, or I will close the door!" The nurse hollers back.

I chuckle at their banter but stop when the nurse grabs an ace bandage from off her desk.

"I don't need it to be wrapped, honestly. I'll be fine without it." I try to stand up again, but I collapse in a heap on the floor.

Both the nurse and Aaron come rushing to my side to help me back onto the bed. Once I'm laying down again, Aaron keeps his hands on my shoulders while the nurse wraps up my ankle.

"There you are, Emily. You're good as new." The nurse smiles brightly at me.

"Thank you," I grumble. I glare daggers at Aaron.

Aaron helps me up from the bed. I carefully put weight on my left foot, and after the initial pain, it stops hurting.

Aaron and I slowly make our way out of the DH and back to our cabin.

"Emily, you have to let people help you," he whispers.

I sigh. "It's not easy for me to ask or accept help, Aaron."

He stops me in the middle of the path. "Why?" He asks earnestly.

I close my eyes so that I can't see how he reacts. "My mother always told me that accepting help was a weakness, and that asking for it was even worse. I learned how to be reliant on myself. Also with moving around so much, it never felt like I could trust anyone. We would be in one place for a couple of months before we would be somewhere new. The only person I ever trusted enough to ask for help was my grandfather."

He hugs me closely. "You can always trust me, Em. That's a promise."

I nod against his chest. "Thank you, Aaron."

He pulls away and places his hands on my cheeks. "Meet me on the porch tonight after JJ falls asleep."

"What for?"

He gives me a cheeky smile and places a kiss on my forehead. "It's a surprise."

"Goodnight, JJ," I say with a fake yawn as I lay down in bed, pretending to close my eyes to go to sleep.

"Night, Emily. Get a good night's sleep." She flicks off the lights and walks over to her bed.

I wait for a few minutes to be sure she's asleep. When I hear her snoring quietly, I get up from my bed, grab my shoes, and meet Aaron on the porch. I shut the door as silently as I can behind me.

I walk over to where Aaron is standing.

He throws me a smile and offers me his hand. "How about we go for a walk?"

I lace my fingers with his hand. "Lead the way."

We walk, hand in hand, all the way to the lake. He then guides me to the end of the dock. We both sit down with our feet dangling above the water.

"So… are you going to tell me what this is about?"

"I just wanted to talk and get to know you better."

I smile. "What do you want to know?"

For the next two hours, we talk about anything and everything under the sun.

Every night for the rest of the week, Aaron and I meet up on the porch before walking down to the lake. We talk about everything on our minds, and I come to think of him as my best friend.