A/N: Welcome to Chapter 3 of Reality Check! Prompt #3: "Oh, so you're the camp counselor my little sibling keeps talking about."
Mello swatted at a mosquito perched on his arm - the third one in as many minutes. Sunlight streamed through the rustling leaves above; twenty different kinds of birds chirped and squawked in a cacophony of nature sounds. He shifted his weight around on the rough wooden bench, trying to avoid getting a splinter in his ass. The papers attached to the clipboard in his hand kept fluttering in the wind, making it extremely difficult to fill out these damn forms.
Not to mention, Near would not shut up.
"-and last year, we rode horses to the lake and had a picnic, and-"
"That's great, Near," Mello snapped in irritation. "Can you hold off on the stories for ten minutes so I can get you registered? I can't concentrate."
"The forms are not difficult; your concentration is simply weakened due to the fact that you are in the wilderness and you would rather be at home," Near droned, twirling his hair. He continued, "And at the lake..."
"Ugh," Mello groaned, trying to tune out his little brother long enough to complete the emergency contact information, "I hate nature."
"He was so amazing," Near continued, "And the way he taught us to row encapsulated the methods of physics and buoyancy that-"
"Who are you blathering on about, again?" Mello interrupted, flipping to the final page in the lengthy registration packet.
"There is a camp counselor who taught canoeing," Near explained. "I think he is an extremely talented instructor, and I admire his methods used in teaching children of all ages and levels of proficiency."
"Oh, really?" Mello feigned interest. He jotted down as many of Near's food allergies as he could remember, trying to recall the last time his little brother had a tetanus shot
"Yes, and he also quite enjoys video games, and he is very good at archery, and sometimes he compares the lake to Keats' poetry, and-"
"Wait, he does what?" Mello asked, finally paying attention. "Your counselor read Keats?"
"Yes, and Dante and Frost. He can recite several lines of Paradiso from memory. He also built a wifi booster that works all the way out here, so he spends most of the night tinkering with his computer. When we complete a skills course efficiently, he will sometimes let us sit in his room during free time so we can watch him work. Last year, he taught us how to put together a computer tower." Near smiled, using his toy robot's arm to point toward the registration table. "There he is. The one with the goggles."
Mello locked eyes with the mysterious camp counselor for a brief moment.
Oh, shit.
He felt his heart race. Tanned arms, defined muscles, shockingly green eyes, and a smattering of freckles across his cheeks and nose. The man gave Mello a small wave before bending over to help a little girl with her bags. Mello had to drag his eyes away to keep from staring at how his toned thighs peeked out from his cargo shorts.
"Hey, Near?" He asked casually, "Do they need more chaperons at this camp?"
"They are always accepting applications for more staff," Near said, confused. "Do you know somebody who is interested in exploring nature and instructing children?"
"Not really," Mello said. "But I was just thinking... I might be bored while you're at sleep-away camp. Maybe I can hang around here for a while."