Guys. I was completely blown away by the positive feedback to the original one-shot of this story. I originally had no intention of continuing, but a few people asked for second chapter and I had another little idea, so I figured I could make this a two-parter. Hope you enjoy!
For those of you unfamiliar with the game Capture the Flag, I've added a brief explanation at the bottom.
The distant notes of a bugle float through the open cabin windows and tug Jess slowly back to consciousness. Eyes closed, she touches her fingers to her lips and smiles, replaying the events of the previous night in her head.
After their adventure at Cabin 4D, she and Nick had held hands all the way back to camp, her stomach churning in a way she could only describe to Cece later, when she had recounted the whole story to her friend in a whisper back at the cabin, as wanting to throw up but in the best way possible. Jess could still feel his fingers warm and rough against her skin and smell his scent in her hair, an intoxicating mix of sweat and wood and campfire smoke.
The group had parted at the fork in the path that divided the girls' and boys' sides of camp and Jess had lingered, hoping for one last moment between her and Nick. But under the prying eyes of their friends, Nick had given her only a quick peck on the cheek and a "See you tomorrow, Jess," before heading back to his cabin with Schmidt and Winston.
And now it is tomorrow and a whole blissful day at the lake with Nick lies before her. Jess feels a tingle up and down her spine at the thought of it.
"Jess!" she hears a voice shriek and seconds later, something hurls through the air and lands next to her on the bed with a soft thump. Jess opens her eyes and sees a pair of hazel eyes staring back at her.
"Ouf, good morning, Leah," she says to her favorite camper.
Leah pushes her glasses up her nose. "Jess, can you braid my hair again this morning?" she asks, bouncing up and down on the bed.
Jess extracts her arm from underneath the covers and squints at her watch. "Okay, but only if you're ready for breakfast in five minutes." Leah gives a squeal of delight and scrambles off of Jess's bed and over to her own bunk.
Heavy with exhaustion, Jess drags herself out of bed and shuffles over to the cabinet where she keeps her clothes to get dressed. She briefly considers putting on one of her sundresses but decides that's too impractical for a day at the lake and settles instead for shorts and her favorite tank top. In the cracked mirror next to the door, she sweeps on some mascara and spends extra time brushing out her long, wavy hair. As she's finishing up, Cece appears in the mirror behind her with a grin.
"Putting in a little extra effort today, huh?"
"Maybe," Jess says, smiling back. She dabs on a little bit of lip gloss and examines her reflection with satisfaction, then turns around for Cece's inspection. Cece looks her up and down with a critical eye.
"You look really cute, Jess," she pronounces at last. "Just one thing." Reaching under her bed, she rummages in her duffel bag and emerges with something clutched in her fist. "Here, wear this. For good luck," she says and holds out her favorite silver charm bracelet.
"Thanks, Cece," Jess says, taking the bracelet and giving her friend a quick hug.
Jess feels a lightness in her whole body as she walks along the path to the lake, the sun warm on her bare skin and the long grass tickling the tops of her feet. She finds herself noticing, as if for the first time, the sweet scent of clover in the air and the melodious chirping of the birds overhead.
By the time she reaches the beach, Nick is already there, unlocking the door to the boathouse. When he hears her crunching up the gravel walkway, he turns around and they exchange goofy grins.
"How was the rest of your night?" he asks as they gather lifejackets and oars from airless depths of the shed.
"Good," she says. "I didn't get a lot of sleep though." She can feel her ears turning pink and looks at the ground.
"Yeah, me neither." He heaves a cardboard box off of a shelf and starts digging through it for his whistle and clipboard.
"Really?" Jess looks up, her heart hammering against her chest.
"Yeah, Winston snores like a wounded rhinoceros," he says with a snigger.
Jess nods quickly. "Oh, right," she says, a little disappointed.
They finish dragging the equipment onto the beach and, after the campers arrive, settle themselves in their usual spots at the end of the pier. The day is already hot and Jess stretches her legs all the way out in front of her and plucks at her tank top. She lifts her eyes up to Nick, who is watching her with a small smile on his face. The way his eyes crinkle in the corners makes her skin prickle and she smiles back.
"So, last night was really great," she ventures at last.
"Yeah, it was pretty fun," he says, nodding in agreement.
The smile slides off her face and she looks at him blankly.
"Fun?" she repeats in a tone of disbelief.
"Well, yeah," he says, uncertainly. "I mean, not the part where you bit my tongue or when our friends scared the crap out of us, but the kissing was pretty…um…fun." He trails off. She's still staring at him. "Wasn't it?" he asks.
"Yeah," she says slowly. "Yeah, sure. It was fun." She sits up abruptly and swings her body around so her legs are dangling over the edge of the dock, toes skimming the water. Nick squints at her in confusion.
"Uh, Jess? What's wrong?" he asks.
"Nothing," she says, crossing her arms over her chest and staring out at the lake. "Nothing at all."
Nick sighs. He's learned enough about women to know that "nothing" usually means the opposite and that whatever "nothing" is always somehow turn out to be his fault. He must have said or done something and it must have been in the last five minutes, because she definitely hadn't been mad when she got there. Mentally, he reviews their conversation but comes up blank.
"Seriously, Jess, what's the matter?" he asks again.
"I told you, nothing." She won't look at him.
"Then why are you sitting like that?" he demands with a hint of irritation. "And why are you being so weird?"
Jess turns to him at last, eyes flashing. "I'm doing my job, Nick. You know, the thing we're being paid for? Just because you want to sit around and goof off all day doesn't mean I have to."
"Fine!" Nick snaps, his bewilderment shifting to annoyance. He straightens up and turns to the lake, crossing his legs, and they both watch the boaters without speaking.
The hour creeps by in silence. Jess waits for Nick to apologize or at least say something, anything, but he just continues to sit there, eyes trained straight ahead. She forces herself not to look in his direction. When the bell rings for lunch, Nick blows his whistle and as the campers return to shore, he and Jess drag the canoes onto the beach without a word.
"Sooo, how did it go?" Cece inquires excitedly when Jess trudges into the dining hall a few minutes later and joins her at their cabin's usual table under the window.
"Ugh, Cece, it was awful." Jess slumps into a chair, feeling her eyes prick with tears.
"Oh no, babe, what happened?" Cece asks, eyes wide with concern.
"We got into a huge fight. He said kissing me was 'fun.'"
Cece waits for Jess to continue. When she doesn't, Cece raises her eyebrows and prompts, "And?"
"Fun, Cece. Like it was just some casual hook up to him. Like I'm some good-time Sally he can just hit and quit anytime he feels like it." She tears the crust aggressively from her grilled cheese sandwich.
"I think you're overthinking this a little bit, Jess," Cece says. She peels the two halves of her sandwich apart and, eyeing the congealed orange cheese with a grimace, reaches for her salad. "Guys aren't that great at expressing their feelings sometimes. That doesn't mean he doesn't like you. I mean, he went looking for you in the woods last night. He held your hand all the way back to camp. That doesn't sound like he thinks it's just a hook up."
"You think so?" Jess asks. Cece nods. Jess rests her arms on the table and buries her face in the crook of her elbow. "If that's true, he must think I'm such a jerk," she says in a muffled voice. "I guess I should talk to him when we get back to the lake this afternoon, before this gets any stupider."
"You can't," Cece tells her. Jess looks up, frowning. "We have the camp-wide Capture the Flag game this afternoon, remember? Girls versus boys?"
"Oh yeah," Jess says, deflated. She glances over at Nick, who is sitting with Winston and his cabin on the other side of the room.
Nick stares broodingly at his plate and nudges the food around with his fork. Poking at the pulverized remains of his lunch with a sigh, he shoves the plate to the side and reaches for his dessert.
"So how did things go with your lady?" Schmidt asks, sliding into the seat next to Nick and waggling his eyebrows.
"Not great, Schmidty," Nick says. He takes a long gulp of fruit punch and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. "She got pissed at me for something and we didn't talk all morning. I have no idea what I did wrong."
"Women, man," Winston says, shaking his head.
"Don't even try to understand what they're thinking, Nick," Schmidt adds. "It's like with me and Cece. I never know what's going through her head and she seems to hate me most of the time. But man, you should see the way that girl fills out a bikini top." He lifts his eyes to the ceiling, hands folded across his stomach, then turns back to his friends with a wide smile. "Did I tell you guys she let me put my hand under her shirt the other day?"
"Yeah, over the bra," Winston says with a chuckle.
"It's still boobs, Winston," Schmidt shoots back. "How close have you gotten to boobs this summer?" Winston ducks his head and mumbles something under his breath about "laying the groundwork."
"Thanks, guys, this has been real helpful," Nick says, rolling his eyes. He shovels the last bite of blueberry pie into his mouth and pushes his chair back from the table.
Jess spies Nick heading towards the lunch line for a second slice of pie and jumps up, making her way across the crowded dining hall to meet him.
"Hey, Nick," she says, leaning casually on the table.
"Hey," he answers coolly, without looking up.
"Pretty good pie, huh?" she asks awkwardly. He grunts in response. "Look Nick," she says, twirling her hair nervously around her finger. "I just wanted to say…"
"It doesn't matter, Jess," he says, cutting her off. He reaches for the last slice of pie but Jess gets there first and snatches it away, forcing him to look at her.
"Nick, I'm trying to tell you something," she says, holding the plate behind her back. "I want to apol…"
"Seriously, Jess, it's fine," he says gruffly. He lunges for the pie and Jess backs away a few steps.
"O-okay," she falters, shifting from one foot to the other uncertainly. "Well, I guess I'll see you at the game this afternoon. Gotta go get my team ready to do battle." She turns to slide the pie back onto the table.
"Yeah, good luck with that," Nick says, with a hint of a sneer. Jess whirls around, her eyes narrowing.
"What did you say?"
"I said, 'Good luck with that,'" he repeats. "I think we both know the Red Team has pretty much got this in the bag."
"Are you saying you think the boys can beat the girls?" Jess asks, hand on her hip.
"I'm saying I know that my cabin will beat your cabin," he says challengingly.
"Well that's just…I can't believe…" Jess sputters, feeling her face flush. She squares her shoulders and meets his eye defiantly. "You are going down, Miller!" she shouts at him.
"Bring it on, Day!" he yells back.
They both notice at the same time that the entire dining hall has fallen silent and all eyes are now watching them. Jess clears her throat and pastes on a tense smile.
"What I meant," she says through gritted teeth, "is that I very much look forward to some friendly competition this afternoon, Nicholas." Shooting him a final glare, she drops the plate of pie onto the table with a clatter and stalks away to rejoin her cabin.
Twenty minutes later, Jess, Cece and the rest of the girls are gathered on the athletic fields where the game is being held. Cece is leading the campers in some warm up stretches and Jess claps her hands to get everyone's attention.
"Listen up, Blue Team," she shouts, pacing up and down the field in agitation. "We have one goal today: to crush the Red Team! I want to wipe the smug smiles off their faces! I want them on their knees, crying for their mommies! I want them to wish they'd never been born!" She looks up and throws her fist into the air. "Now who's with me?"
"WE ARE!" the girls scream back.
"We're going to kick their butts!" Leah yells, jumping up and down.
"Yeah! Girls rule and boys drool!" Jess says, giving her a high five.
"Uh, Jess, maybe you should dial it back a little. Or a lot." Cece whispers. "This is supposed to be fun, remember?"
"It will be fun when we take those boys down, Cece," Jess hisses. Cece sighs.
"Okay, men, huddle up!" Nick calls to his cabin and the campers gather around him and the other counselors. Winston has swiped some eye black from the sports equipment shed and all of the boys wear dark smudges under their eyes.
"I'm not going to lie to you, men, this isn't going to be easy," Schmidt says, crouching down to their level. "The enemy is well-fortified and victory is by no means guaranteed. Not all of you will make it back. But in war, sometimes you have to sacrifice the needs of the few for the good of the many." The boys stare at him blankly.
"The most important thing is to go out there and destroy those girls!" Nick adds, pumping his fist, and everyone cheers.
"Uh, I think what Nick means is that the most important thing is to go out there and have fun," Winston says with a nervous chuckle, shooting Nick a reproachful look.
"Uh, yeah, that too," Nick agrees sheepishly. "Okay, hands in, 'Go Red Team' on three. One, two, three!"
"GO RED TEAM!" the boys holler.
They line up along the boundary that divides the Red and Blue Teams' territories and Nick finds himself face to face with Jess. He crouches into a runner's stance and they square off, eyeing each other warily. Nick can't help noticing that she looks kind of cute when she's mad, her mouth twisted into a pout and her blue eyes blazing. Distantly, they hear a whistle tweet, signaling the beginning of the game and with a shake of his head, he banishes the thought from his mind.
Several hours later, the game is still in full swing. Half of the Blue Team, including Cece, has already been captured by the Red Team and Jess is starting to feel slightly less confident about their victory.
She shades her eyes with her hand and looks out at the field, considering her options. Schmidt is guarding the jail but he seems momentarily distracted and Jess follows his gaze to Cece, who is demonstrating a particularly complex yoga pose to a few of the bored campers. Jess decides there's a good chance she'll be able to tag all of the prisoners before he notices, if only she can make it over to the jail without getting caught.
Calling her remaining campers to her, Jess squats down with her hands on her knees. "Okay, team, it all comes down to us," she says, looking around the circle. "We're going to mount a daring rescue of our teammates. I need all of you to create a diversion at the other end of the field, while I make a break for the jail. It's going to get real out there pretty fast, so I need all of your heads in the game!" The other girls nod seriously. Jess calls, "Break!" and the team gets into position. One by one, Jess watches them dart over the line and scamper back as the boys give chase.
With the Red Team preoccupied, Jess makes her move, running at full speed in the direction of the jail. She's halfway across the field when Nick appears out of nowhere, careening towards her. With a shriek, Jess makes a wide loop and reverses direction, racing back towards the divide with Nick close behind.
Just as she's crossing back onto her own side, Jess feels his hand on her shoulder, pulling her to a halt. They both look down. One of Jess's feet is planted firmly in the girls' territory, the other on the chalky white line that divides the two halves of the field. Nick smirks and jabs a finger at Jess.
"You're out!" he crows.
Jess frowns. "What are you talking about? I'm on the line!"
"Yeah, that means you weren't on your side, Jessica!"
"Everyone knows the line is neutral territory, Nicholas!"
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!"
They're standing almost nose to nose, both red in the face and screaming at the top of their voices. Jess wishes she didn't think Nick looked kind of attractive right now, with his jaw set and eyes glowering intensely at her.
Suddenly they hear shouting and cheering coming from the other side of the field and both swivel their heads in the direction of the commotion. Leah is pelting across the field, something red clutched tightly in her fist. One of the boys from Nick's cabin is bearing down on her, arm outstretched, but she's a good five feet out of his reach and only a few dozen yards from the line.
"Go, Leah, go!" Jess yells, jumping up and down. "It's all up to you! You can do it!" Leah looks up to beam at Jess, waving the red flag in the air. She doesn't see the branch lying on the ground in front of her until it's too late. The toe of her sneaker catches on the piece of wood and she's sent flying through the air, landing sprawled out on the ground with a dull thud.
For a tense moment, everyone is silence. Then Leah opens her mouth and lets out a wail.
In one movement, Nick and Jess turn and charge across the field to Leah's crumpled form. Nick reaches her first and, scooping the little girl into his arms, starts to sprint back in the opposite direction, towards camp. Jess trots after him. Over his shoulder, she can see Leah's knee covered in dirt and gravel, a trickle of blood oozing from a bright red gash and soaking into the sleeve of Nick's t-shirt. She feels slightly sick.
Minutes later, they're pounding up the stairs to the infirmary and bursting through the screen door. Mrs. Richardson, the camp nurse, looks up from her desk in surprise and Nick and Jess both start talking at once. The nurse holds up her hand to silence them and then points to Jess.
"She fell playing Capture the Flag," Jess explains quickly. "Her knee is bleeding." Mrs. Richardson comes out from behind her desk and peers at Leah's leg.
"Ouch, looks like you took quite a spill," she says sympathetically to Leah, who gives a shuddering sob and nods. "Let's get you cleaned up in the other room and take a look at that knee."
Nick lowers Leah to her feet and the nurse helps her limp into the examination room. Jess and Nick both take a seat on the bench in the waiting area and Jess closes her eyes and leans her head back against the wall with a sigh.
"I feel like this is all my fault," she says quietly.
"What are you talking about?" Nick asks, still sounding grumpy. "Did you put that branch there?"
"No," Jess says. "But if I hadn't been taking that stupid game so seriously, she never would have gotten hurt." Nick's expression softens a little.
"Well I guess we're both kind of guilty there," he says. They're both silent for a moment.
"What's been going on with you today, Jess?" Nick asks finally. "And don't say 'nothing,' I know it's not nothing," he adds, turning to face her. "I though things were good between us after last night."
"I thought so, too. And then today at the lake…" She fiddles with Cece's charm bracelet, unable to meet Nick's eyes. "That kiss meant something to me. I thought it did to you too. And then when you said it was fun, I started thinking maybe you just wanted…" Her throat feels tight and she can't go on.
"Is that what this is about?" he asks with surprise. "That wasn't...Look, it was fun kissing you. It's supposed to be, right? But I didn't mean…It wasn't just…" He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "I-I really like you, Jess."
Jess feels a warm swoop of pleasure in her stomach. She swallows hard. "I like you too," she says softly.
"Then what the hell have we been fighting about?"
"God, I don't know," Jess says with a small laugh, covering her face with her hands. "Ugh, this is exactly what I didn't want to have happen. Everything is so complicated between us now. Maybe we were better off just being friends."
Nick slides down the bench until he's right next to her and bumps his knee against hers. When she looks up, he's smiling at her.
"If we were just friends, we wouldn't be able to do this," he says. Putting his hand on her knee, he leans forward and kisses her. It's softer than the last time, his lips barely brushing against hers. Jess kisses him back, her palm on his chest, and her lips react instinctively, pressing more firmly against his. Nick responds with a little hum of pleasure and sweeps his tongue into her mouth, a little tentatively (like sticking a leg in a bear trap, Jess thinks, and almost giggles).
They're just starting to find their sweet spot again when the inner door swings opens and they hear someone clear their throat. Startled, they spring apart and look up guiltily to see Mrs. Richardson standing with Leah in the doorway. Jess presses her hand to her lips self-consciously.
"Every damn time," Nick mutters under his breath.
"Well, we've got her all patched up," the nurse says, looking at Nick and Jess with a twinkle in her eye. "Just a little scrape. She'll be back on her feet and causing trouble again in no time." She turns to Leah. "No more Capture the Flag heroics for a while, okay, Leah?"
Leah nods and with a wink at the two counselors, Mrs. Richardson returns to the other room. Leah looks from Jess to Nick.
"Were you guys kissing?" she asks, scrunching up her nose.
"No, of course not!" Jess says as Nick furtively wipes her lip gloss from his mouth. "Boys drool, remember?" She and Nick exchange smiles over Leah's head.
Seeing Leah open her mouth to speak again, Jess says quickly, "Hey Leah, I think that knee of yours needs a rest. How about I give you a piggyback ride back to the cabin?"
"Okay!" Leah agrees and relieved, Jess bends down to let the little girl climb on her back.
Jess and Nick walk the path through camp in silence, letting Leah chatter away about the game and her new glow-in-the-dark band-aid. They can't hold hands, but Jess feels him brush his fingertips against her elbows a few times, making her shiver. When they reach the fork in the path, they stop and Nick and Jess turn to face each other.
"Well that was really fun," Nick says. Jess glances at him quickly. He's looking at her sideways and a grin creeps up his face. "Too soon?" he asks.
"Yes!" she says, laughing and swatting him on the chest. He chuckles and looks up at Leah.
"Well, kid, that was one of the greatest games of Capture the Flag I've ever seen," he says. "I hope next time, you'll be on my team." He holds up his hand and the little girl giggles and gives him a high five. He turns back to Jess.
"And I guess I'll see you at the lake tomorrow?" he asks, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah, I guess you will." She smiles at him and licks her lips. "Goodnight, Miller."
"Goodnight, Day." He smiles back and starts to walk away. Halfway down the path, he turns back and calls to her, "Hey, Jess!" She looks over at him.
"I'm really looking forward to not being friends with you!"
Jess grins. Maybe, she thinks, this doesn't have to be that complicated after all. She and Nick both like each other. They want to be together. What could be simpler than that?
"Me too, Nick!" she yells back. "Me too!"
Capture the Flag is a popular summer camp game in the States (and probably other places?), where two teams compete to try to steal a flag from the opposing team's territory. If you're tagged while in the opposing team's territory, you go to "jail" and can only get out if someone from your team comes and tags you.