Week 6: Under the Sea Week – Jake

After the insanity that was "Fairytale Week", Jake and Amy got back to what was really important: using children as a means to compete with each other over a stupid bet. The week's theme was "Under the Sea" (lame), so there were a lot water sports involved and a lot questionable fish sticks during lunch.

Jake's team was down one, but he had confidence in this week's activities. Pool volleyball was first and he knew he had the advantage.

"Clock's ticking, Peralta. You better hope your team doesn't suck as much as they usually do" Amy said with a hand on her hip.

"Ahh, Santiago. It's nice to see that you're just as competitive and critical of children as you were two weeks ago. I suggest you don't get too gloat-y though because we're right on your tail" Jake replied and they both smugly smiled at the other.

At the end of the day, Jake's team did win pool volleyball. Over the next couple of days Amy's team won at pool basketball, while Jake's won another relay race. This had evened their score twelve to twelve.

"We'll have to end the games soon. If we wait too long, you won't be in a speedo for the entire week" Amy said one day during free time.

"Ha! Sure we'll end it soon, but it's not like I'm going to have to wear a speedo anyway. You're going down" Jake replied.

"You wish. I'd start man-scaping if I were you" She stood up so she could leave dramatically, but not before Jake got the last word in.

"Yeah, well I'd start practicing your make-out technique on a teddy bear if I were you" he said, earning him one of Amy's best "you're disgusting" glares.

Another reason this week had be christened "Under the Sea" was that it was the week that the whole camp went on a field trip to a nearby aquarium. Well, it wasn't really "nearby", but it was one of the closest destinations once you were off of the mountain.

On the day of the field trip, all of the campers and staff piled into two yellow buses. Jake, Amy, and their group sat all the way in back with Jake and Amy seated together. Jake wasn't looking forward to this ride. Buses were hot, sticky, and the trail back to civilization was snaky. He liked the idea of sitting and talking to Amy for a while, though.

He found himself trying to get her alone a lot. He wanted to spend time with her and whenever he did his stomach would do back-flips. He wasn't an idiot. He knew what all that meant, but he tried to shove it to the back of his mind. He didn't want to deal with that right now. He just wanted to enjoy his summer. He worried about the bet though. What if he won? A part of him felt he'd have to tackle these feelings head-on if it came to that.

For now, he put those thoughts aside and asked Amy if she had ever heard of H.H. Holmes.

The bus ride down was pretty much just as awful as Jake imagined. By the time they reached the aquarium Jake's head was pounding so badly he couldn't see straight. Amy handed him two Tylenols and offered her water bottle.

"This better actually be Tylenol, Santiago. I came out here to have a good time, not be taken advantage of" he said.

"Ha-ha. Just take it. The longer you wait, the longer it'll take to make you feel better" She said as she took her own dose.

"Cheers," he said, as he swallowed the pills, "Thanks"

"No problem, now let's get off this god forsaken bus"

When everyone was off the bus and inside the aquarium, Terry had an announcement for the staff.

"Hey everyone, the education staff are going to take the kids into the back classrooms for the next hour and a half for an educational program. During the program, you are free to explore the aquarium, but please be back by 1:30 to pick up your campers. Have a good time, we'll see you soon" He said, as the kids filed into the classrooms.

"Sweet! Free time. Want to go pet the sharks?" Jake asked Amy, a giant grin on his face.

"Yes. Absolutely" she said and they were on their way.

They stopped by the shark habitat first, which was also filled with sting rays and horseshoes crabs. Jake liked the sting rays the most because they would come up to the edge of the tank, wanting to be touched and were super slimy. He heard Amy laugh next to him as she placed two fingers on a bonnethead shark swimming by.

"Want to see the otters next?" she asked.

"Sure!" he said, and they washed their hands. They walked towards the back of the aquarium in towards the bigger exhibits.

"Hey, we never really talked about this, but you handled that situation with Aaron really well. I think you really helped him deal with it" She said, smiling kindly. Jake felt the familiar sensation of his heart beat booming louder than usual in his chest.

"Nah, it's nothing. I've just been there, y'know? You were great too. I kind of wish someone would have reminded me that my mom was going through a lot when my dad left, just like I was"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, y'know, I kind of blamed her for my dad leaving. I dunno, I was just super bratty when it was all happening" he said and he felt self-conscious of what kind of face he was making because Amy's expression changed rapidly. Her eyes had widened and she tilted her head slightly.

"You were seven. I wouldn't expect you to have the same capacity for empathy as a twelve-year-old. Have you seen Rosa's kids? I saw one little boy literally pull a girl's pig tails. Then Rosa scared him so bad that I'm pretty sure he's never going to touch a girl again"

"Yeah, whoever decided to hire Rosa really knew what they were doing" Jake said, laughing as they came up to the otter exhibit.

"Aww they're cute" Amy said, looking at them.

"Yeah, they are" Jake said, looking at her.

An otter swam in front of them, got on her back and began cleaning herself. Amy was enraptured by the creatures and an odd pang hit Jake. It was an annoying feeling, but he wanted her attention. He wanted her to stop looking at these silly, water-dog things and to look at him. He liked it when she looked at him. It was such a selfish feeling and he felt guilty for even having it.

"Hey they have a tunnel over there, wanna go through?" she asked, looking at him once again. A wave of relief passed through him and he smiled involuntarily.

"Sure" he said and headed towards the large archway.

"You know, I've been meaning to say something else to you" Amy said, looking down.

"What is it?" he asked and his heart leapt in excitement.

"It's just…I'm sorry I didn't talk to Aaron sooner. I should have made it a priority-"

"What? No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have blamed you for that. That was a real dick move. I'm sorry" he said, as they reached the mouth of the tunnel.

"It's fine, it's in the past" she said with a big sweeping gesture.

"Already forgotten" he said, a nervousness creeping into his veins. She kept smiling like that and he kept feeling his blood tingle. He watched her tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. He thought of tucking it for her. He thought what her hair felt like, what it smelled like. He told himself to settle down.

"Jake, I know I give you a hard time a lot, but I'm really glad you ended up being my partner. I honestly thought this whole summer camp thing was going to be awful, but it sucks a lot less when I get to spend it with you" She said, smiling through those huge, ridiculous, endearing glasses. Why did she keep saying things like that? He felt his heart melt and seep through his rib cage. She might kill him at this point. What else could he do?

"Amy?"

"Hey! I know that look. Do not make fun of me. I just said something really nice, let me have this Peralta"

"Amy, I like you"

"What?" she asked, confusion burning on her face.

"I like you. A lot" Jake said, an awkward smile happening before he could stop it.

"Oh, I…oh, um…wow. Oh, Jake. I don't know what to say. Um, you are so cool Jake, I just-I don't know how to do this. I've never, y'know-I just I don't know how to do this-and I-I-I can't" she said, trying her hardest to be as sensitive as she could, but not knowing the procedure. He knew that. He knew that, but his heart didn't shatter any less. His smile fell, but promptly reappeared.

"It's fine, totally fine, don't even worry about it" he said, doing his best not to upset her anymore.

"Jake, I'm so sorry. I-"

"Seriously. Don't worry about it. Hey, wanna go see the Lionfish? I hear they're super poisonous" he said and she looked surprise.

"Yeah, sure" she said, following him out of the tunnel.

"Sorry to just spring that on you" he said, doing his best to sound casual.

"It's okay…" she said, her voice smaller than it was five minutes ago.

"Okay"

"Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we still be friends?" she asked and Jake's heart broke all over again. It didn't break because she reinforced her disinterest in a romantic affiliation with him. It cracked and shattered because it made him remember that Amy had no friends other than him. He was reminded that he was important to her, because he was a friend. Something precious. He felt horribly guilty and selfish for shaking that foundation.

"Of course! You can't get rid of me that easy. I still gotta take you to Sal's Pizza and the Polish place. Then, I need to kick your butt at laser tag" he said, and he saw flickers of that illuminating Santiago smile.

"I'm totally going to kick your butt at laser tag"

"You wish"

AN: Chapter six is out! Boom! We got a little angsty there, but never fear friends, this story has a happy ending.

I used to work at an aquarium so that was kind of the inspiration for the field trip.

Thank you so much for reading! I'm always very humbled by your reviews and favorites, so thank you! Chapter seven will have more fun developments. 3