Author's Note: This one's just a little short...!
OOOOOOOO
"Take any bed that doesn't already have someone's stuff on it," River told the boys as they entered the cabin.
"Where are you sleeping, River?" Brian asked.
When River pointed to the bed by the door, there was a scramble as several of the boys all tried to get the bed closest to it, and Ian couldn't help but feel a little smug about that. Better River than him, as far as he was concerned.
"Where are you sleeping?" Sammy asked Ian before he'd even managed to finish congratulating himself.
Shawn grinned at the way Ian forced himself to not scowl.
"Over there," the New Yorker said, pointing at his bed. Sure enough, Sammy went over and tossed his pillow on the bed right underneath it, and then looked at Ian, who was carrying the rest of his stuff, silently asking for help.
Bah.
Ian scowled at Shawn, who was sitting on his bed watching the show, but he nonetheless dropped Sammy's gear on the bed under his own.
"Thanks."
"Yeah."
"All right everyone," River said, before they could say anything else. "Gather around over here…"
The boys all did as they were told, each of them walking over to stand close to River's bed, where he was sitting between Chad and Wilson.
"What's my name?" He asked them as Ian walked over to lean against one of the upper bunks.
"River!" They all shouted in unison.
River pointed at Shawn, who was closest.
"And him?"
"Shawn!"
"And him?"
"Ian!"
River grinned.
"Good! Now, if you have any problems at all, and we're not around to fix it, you know who to ask for, right?"
"Right!"
"Good. Now, according to the schedule, we're supposed to spend some time getting to know each other – which only makes sense since we're going to be living together for the next week, right?"
"Right!"
"So, let's go in a circle, and when we get to you, I want you to say your name, and where you live, and what's your favorite food, okay?"
As they went around the circle, Shawn had to be impressed at how River had taken charge. The Californian might not have ever gone to summer camp, but he was a natural with the kids, and he was really good at getting each of them to answer the question he'd just posed to them without letting them simply say one word, or one kind of food. Ian wasn't being too terrible, either, Shawn admitted, even though he was keeping out of the line of sight as much as possible. He hadn't scowled too much when Sammy had come over and climbed up on the bed he'd been leaning against, and he hadn't moved away – which would probably have crushed the little boy.
When the food question was answered, River asked them another one, and then another, giving the boys a chance to learn about each other without making the questions anything too hard. And then, much to Ian's annoyance and Shawn's amusement, he turned the tables, and told the boys that they could now ask him and Ian and River anything they wanted to know.
"Are you really from California?"
River nodded, but before he could answer, Grant interrupted.
"My dad went to California last month."
"I've been there."
"Not me! My sister says California is going to fall off the map when they have an earthquake."
River grinned.
"I've heard that, too."
"And you still live there?"
There were impressed looks.
"Yup."
"Have you ever seen a shark?"
"Have you ever seen a movie star?"
"Have you seen Kobe Bryant?"
"Do you know my Uncle Jared? He lives in California, too."
"Hey guys, you know, Ian's from New York…" River told them, tossing his friend an amused look, more than ready to thrust him into the limelight to see what the kids did.
"Really?"
All eyes turned to the New Yorker, and Shawn knew that it was just a reflex when Ian scowled.
"My brother went to New York."
"My dad's been there, too."
"Do you know the Yankees?"
"Wh-"
The ringing of the bell interrupted the questioning, and Shawn smiled at just how quickly Ian straightened up.
"That means it's time to go down to the main building," he told the boys, more than ready to change the subject and get it off him.
"Are we eating?" Sammy asked. "I'm hungry!"
"Me, too!" Brian agreed.
"Me, three!" Chad said.
Ian looked at his watch, and shrugged.
"We're supposed to be."
"I want you guys to stay with us, okay?" River said as they all headed for the door in a rush. "We don't want to lose any of you so soon."
"No…" Ian agreed, muttering to himself as he watched them running down the hill ahead of him and Shawn, chasing River who had taken off like he was shot from a cannon. "We can't have that…"