While saddened Alfred that everyone spent their days apart, everyone was still his friend. If anything, it allowed him to make a new one! Because he spent each day with Matthew he found they only got closer as he learnt more about him. Like how Matthew could be really bright and energetic and complemented Alfred's energy. He also verbally and intellectually challenged him in ways that only rivalled Kiku or Dad. He was also really passive-aggressive whenever he was annoyed or angry, much like Dad. Behind Matthew's pleasantly reserved nature, there was a restrained chaos buried deep. Alfred also picked up that strangely, Matthew wasn't shy. If it wasn't for his nerves, everyone and even Matthew himself would be able to see him as cool, calm and collected. His confidence just wasn't as high as it should have been because, for reasons unknown, he never had friends before. Alfred thought that whoever was snubbing Matthew must seriously have some complex. It was obvious (and stupid) that Matthew blamed himself for not being able to make friends instead of the snobs. So Alfred promised to be his first friend while secretly scheming to have him befriend everyone. It's what he did. Alfred was a problem solver.
Now that he knew how Matthew felt, Alfred really understood how intimidating it would be to come to camp at all. It seemed that it put a lot of pressure on Matthew and stopped him from having fun... So Alfred personally took it upon himself to make Matthew as comfortable as he could be while making up for lost time!
Day 2
After breakfast, Alfred bid farewell to his grown-up friends as they scattered and asked Matthew what he wanted to do that day. The other boy shrugged, suggesting 'any sport Alfred wanted to do.' Wisely not suggesting hockey, Alfred quickly located a basketball and a spare court. He did think about finding an ongoing game, but he didn't think Matthew would feel comfortable crashing a stranger's game yet, even if the more the merrier.
Heracles was sleeping under a tree of a spare court, likely the reason the court was spare. Alfred weighed his options before deciding to wake him, saying he needed a referee (and perhaps a friend for Matthew). The counsellor rubbed his eyes and commented about seeing double before agreeing and counting how many times Alfred lost to Matthew.
"No fair," Alfred commented out of breath as Matthew snagged the ball from him. "Don't tell me you're gonna join the Olympics or something."
"I'm just fit," Matthew shrugged and shot a goal over Alfred's head. "I have an ice rink membership and I play a lot of sports."
"Lemme guess, hockey and hockey eh?"
"It's not just hockey... Mainly hockey but I do play other sports."
"Yeah, I bet you play all of them. Must make you super popular right," he teased and elbowed Matthew playfully. "Betcha have plenty of friends cus of it."
Matthew shook his head, almost sadly. "Not really," he shrugged. "There isn't anything wrong with me but..."
"But what?" Alfred pried.
"But I don't know." Matthew hesitated. "I've tried to make friends but... I don't know." He seemed to withdraw in himself again and Alfred stepped in to play the hero.
"Well forget those losers, they don't know what they're missing out on," Alfred said with confidence as he failed to snatch the ball back. "I'm your friend now! And maybe you just need some help making friends and I'll be your friendship wingman and you'll be crying by the time this camp is over because you'll have made so many lifelong friends and now you gotta leave them behind."
"Thanks." Matthew passed the ball to him. "But I don't need to befriend everyone here... or cry in front of everyone."
"Uh yeah, you gotta. Or at least be acquainted with everyone here." Alfred slam dunked the ball in. "I was being dramatic about the crying thing, I wouldn't wanna cry in front of people either. I meant at least make a couple of friends then grieve when you have to go back home and leave them behind. Like me. I expect a little bit of tearing up knowing you'll have to wait another year to hang out with me."
"Uh, well I guess but we all have phones so it's not like we're going to lose contact forever..."
Alfred sighed. Clearly, Matthew wasn't getting it.
"Oh well, I'll cry then. Now keep your head in the game!"
They kept playing until they noticed that Heracles had checked out at some point and was napping on the bench.
"Do you dare me to 'accidentally' send the ball his way?" Alfred impulsively joked as he pretended to ditch it in the counsellor's direction. Matthew quickly shook his head and Alfred laughed.
"I'm kidding don't worry." He reassured. "I'm not that much of a dick. Or at least not to Heracles, he doesn't deserve it. Maybe Mathias or Elizabeta or Augustus. Those guys would definitely do it to me, no hesitation."
"So does that mean you deserve it?"
"Oh yeah definitely." Alfred laughed as he tried to spin the ball on his finger. "Didja wanna check out the ice rink?"
Unsurprisingly, Matthew agreed to that.
"Yeah I didn't think you'd say no," Alfred kicked the basketball under the tree for the next person to use then led Matthew to the closed rink.
"Y'know, I just realised it's probably way smaller than whatever rink you have at home."
"Probably," Matthew agreed as he tried to see through the small dark window on the door. "But I don't mind, eh. I thought I was gonna miss the ice but it's pretty cool there's one here."
"Damn right," Alfred elbowed him to encourage enthusiasm. "I bet we could easily claim a part of the ice and hog it. Maybe you can teach me how to ice skate!"
"You don't know how to skate?" Matthew gasped like it was so scandalous. Alfred quickly got defensive.
"Well I kinda live in the middle of nowhere and I doubt it's that hard. I've done rollerblading before so it's probably the same!"
"I guess it's similar enough. You'll probably pick it up."
"Yeah I bet I will. Plus I'll have a good teacher."
"You don't know if I'm good at teaching or skating."
"Well, stereotypes say you'd be good at skating and I'm a quick learner so it'll work out. No arguing!" Alfred added when Matthew looked like he'd rebuke his statement. "Anyways, I'm so thirsty. Let's go get some water."
Their sidequest for water led them to lunch, which turned out to be very successful for Alfred's secret objectives. He brought up the ice rink, mentioned that Matthew was a talented skater (presumably, how would he know? But he had faith) and skated back home. Then everyone was asking about it and Matthew was more than happy to talk about it while Alfred listened in. It turns out the rink was near where his Papa worked so he would go there and spend the whole day zooming around on skates with earphones in. Honestly, it sounded pretty fun to Alfred.
When the conversation inevitably moved on, Alfred gave Matthew a questioning look to see if he was alright. He did put him in the spotlight after all. Luckily, Matthew just gave him a carefree smile back. Mission success.
The air was still warm, even when the sun was setting and it was just before bedtime. Alfred was lying on the deck outside the cabin while Matthew sat beside him. True to his word Felix had come to visit, only without the sneaking but he promised he would another night! He brought his friends with him and they migrated to sitting on the steps as they talked about their own thing. Alfred wasn't listening, right now, he was using the last of the sun's golden light to devise battle plans.
Using a camp map he noted down who was in which cabins and what sneaky routes would be best to take advantage of blind spots while asking for Matthew's council, who sat against the railing next to him. But Matthew jerked up when a phone rang and ran inside to check it out.
"If it's Yao's you should give it to me!" Alfred called out.
"It's mine!" Matthew called back before the ringtone stopped. Oh? Alfred slunk into the cabin. It was a friend's obligation to annoy and embarrass their friend if they were on the phone. Plus he was curious, sue him. But he realised he wouldn't be able to eavesdrop as easily as he thought when Matthew wasn't even speaking English. All the sounds of French just sounded like one big word as they all rolled together and Alfred internally cursed. Ugh, French. Sabotaged.
But it was amusing to listen to, even if he couldn't understand. Alfred sat on the closest bed and stared at Matthew, trying to put him off as he made the weird sounds that were a foreign language. Seriously, it just sounded like he was trying to hack something up and when Matthew just raised an eyebrow at Alfred's apparent ineffective attempt to sabotage him, Alfred lost it.
It seemed that his uncontrollable laughter was exactly what he needed to make Matthew crack a smile as he tried to stay serious, but couldn't stop himself from being infected by Alfred's silliness. He was sure that whoever Matthew was talking to could hear him but Alfred didn't hear his name in conversation so no doubt Matthew was too embarrassed to say he knew whatever idiot was interrupting his phone call.
Alfred managed to get himself under control by the time Matthew hung up, but his face was still flushed from laughing so hard.
"Sorry Mattie. It is super cool and all you can speak another language, but you just sound like this."
He attempted to recreate some of the notable sounds Matthew made and got carried away as Matthew tried to hold back laughter.
"Papa could hear you," Matthew informed. Alfred snorted, thinking of the poor man who had no idea what was going on.
"What was he saying?" Alfred just had to know. The potential humour was too good.
"That he was glad I was having a good time and that I should hang out with my friends instead of talking to him."
"Damn, that's actually so wholesome."
They were interrupted as Yao came into the cabin and crashed on his bed, dramatically freeing his hair from his ponytail as he did.
"Ayah, I can't even be bothered." He sighed as he riffled through some bags by his pillow. "Matthew, can you pleeeease do my hair again?"
"Yao!" Alfresd 'tsk'ed. "You grew it. You dew it."
Yao wound up a hair tie and flicked it at him, stinging him on the cheek. Alfred gasped and caught it as it fell.
"You're going to regret that." He said as he loaded it on his fingers and shot it back, making Yao squawk.
"Yeah, I can do it." Matthew said, holding back laughter at the antics.
"Thank you so much, you're a lifesaver," Yao said.
Alfred watched as Matthew started working on forming the hair into plaits with a talent he didn't know he had. Huh. But the scheming cogs were turning in Alfred's head. This was an opportunity to make him a friend.
"How comes you suck at doing your own hair?" Alfred stood in front of Yao, wisely out of reach.
"I'd like to see you deal with hair this long."
"Yeah, no thanks. But aren'tcha lucky you have a good friend like Mattie who can do your hair for you?"
"Well, he's a better friend than you. I don't see you offering to help."
"I never will." Alfred wiggled his fingers. "These are elite gaming tools. Plus I don't know how. But luckily you have a friend that does now and he's in your cabin too! Isn't that right Mattie?"
Matthew looked like a deer caught in headlights, completely unsure of what Alfred was trying to do.
"Eh, yeah, I guess?" He questioned.
"Perfect!" Alfred inserted, over whatever Yao was gonna say. "And if you teach me how to plait I can join in! What do y'all think?"
He could see Matthew hesitate and wait for Yao's response. Yao tsked.
"Fine, but you're not doing my hair." Yao relented, falling right into Alfred's trap. When Yao wasn't looking Alfred sent Matthew a wink, which didn't really loop him in but did make him suspicious. The seeds have been planted...
After lights out, he couldn't keep himself from smiling, a telltale sign for others that he was scheming. Good thing the dark hid it so well.
"Guys," Alfred whispered. "Anyone up for sneaking out?"
"No." Toris instantly replied.
"I'm asleep," Yao said. Alfred had an inkling he was lying.
"Mattie?" Alfred asked, pausing as he waited for a reply. He had to really strain to hear it.
"But we snuck out last night?"
"We can sneak out again!"
He didn't hear a response back as Matthew debated. Alfred thought better than to push him into it. He was such a terrible influence.
"Hey, it's fine if you don't wanna risk it." He said as put his shoes and glasses on. "I'll pave the way and test the waters and all that. Y'all can join me another night."
He supposed they didn't need to join, even if it would be so much better with friends. Alfred was still going out and living on the edge so it wasn't like he was missing out on his youth.
Alfred had to stop himself from wildly giggling as he crept out the door.
"Are you going to do this every night?" Matthew asked.
"Maybe but probably not," he whispered back. "It's a novelty."
"Don't get caught."
"I'm not planning to," Alfred smirked and slipped from the cabin. The camp was shrouded in grey but he could make out the line of buildings in his row of cabins. A devious idea formed.
He ran along the path to the very end where he knew the last of his friends were spread out and skidded to a halt. He rolled his shoulders and dropped to a running stance before taking off. He flew towards the first cabin, onto the deck and rammed his knuckles against the door before turning tail and running towards the next cabin, then the next until he was back at his own cabin. He leaned on the railing as he caught his breath and tried not to lose it to chaotic laughter. He ducked down behind the railing as he saw a few silhouettes emerge. He debated going for a second round but figured he wouldn't cause too much of a ruckus too soon and ducked back into his cabin.
"That was quick," Matthew whispered.
"Yeah I just ran around the cabins. It's just fun cus you know you're not meant to do it." Alfred quickly returned to his bed as he tried not to laugh knowing everyone would figure out what he did in the morning.
Day 3
Breakfast the next day was as eventful as ever, especially when his friends asked each other if they all heard 'the knocking' and Alfred failed to pretend like he didn't know what they were talking about...
He was sad when the group once again went their separate ways. Alfred thought it might get easier, but it also felt like he was running out of time to make more memories with his friends. He felt stupid, it was only the first week! But he knew how fast camp went and soon it would be week 5... then 8...
Alfred rubbed his hands vigorously into his face. He'll just not have to think about it.
"We should go hang out with the horses today," he suggested to Matthew as they began wandering through the camp. "Shared trauma builds friendship."
"What's so traumatic about horses, eh?" Matthew asked hesitantly and Alfred wondered if he was actually nervous.
"They're big and scary and stare at you like this," Alfred bulged his eyes comedically to demonstrate. "Imagine if they were carnivores. They're already big and clumsy enough as it is. My dad went overboard when I was growing up making sure I was terrified of horses so I wouldn't wander into paddocks to 'pat the horsey'. Luckily Elizabeta's tough love here got me over my fear. But the horses here are really nice so I didn't have to worry anyway. You're not worried are you?"
"I've never been near one. I live in a city so not many people have them."
"But are you worried?" Alfred pressed. If Mattie was worried, it was up to Alfred to protect him.
"Not really." Matthew shrugged, sounding sincere. "They're around kids all day so logically they'd have to be safe."
"Ooooh, you're brave. But yeah I guess that's true."
He could see a group of kids already flocking the horses but got excited when he noticed it was Peter and Charlotte's group. Plus he could see Zach there, which was a solid give-away.
"Babysitting again Zee?" He said jokingly as he failed to sneak up on Zach.
"Peter saw you coming. And yeah, I couldn't say no."
"Zee! You're weak. How can you not say no? Just move your mouth like so," Alfred demonstrated. "NO."
"You're dense. Enjoy being an only child on my behalf."
"Hey, I'm only kidding! They're like my kids too!"
"You shouldn't have kids at your age," Zach laughed and Alfred chortled. Peter and Charlotte ran over from where they were buckling helmets on.
"Alfred! Are you going to hang out with us today?" Peter shrieked as he crashed into the teen in question.
"Yeah, you better be here to join us!" Charlotte added. Alfred was really feeling for Zach who couldn't say no to his sister and honorary brother.
"Yeah of course I will!" Alfred pretended to cave but was really thinking about now Matthew had an opportunity to make some more friends. "Whatddya think Mattie?"
"Sounds good to me."
For most of the day, they rode around in their small group through the tracks around the camp, which Zach had thankfully memorised. Because they spent the day together, there was plenty of opportunity for Matthew to bond with Zach and the kids. With Zach; their shared love for nature. Zach raved about New Zealand and Matthew raved about Canada while Alfred just listened. This was the first he heard about how his friends spent their time back home and he wasn't going to pass up on that friend lore.
But he did feel bad for eavesdropping when somehow it came up that Zach felt invisible compared to his brother. Alfred felt especially bad when he remembered joking about Zach being left behind that one time... and that when they first met he thought Zach was Australian like his brother and was lectured about the big differences between New Zealand and Australia. Alfred swore to make it up to him later so he wouldn't feel neglected.
Matthew also got to bond with the kids, which turned out much more lighthearted with just a silly sense of humour he could mirror and that let him play off them so well. Alfred was proud and enjoyed adding to the chaos that Peter and Charlotte stirred. Kids were just so fun to let loose around.
After they went back and got off the horses Alfred approached Matthew while he was alone.
"See Mattie, you're doing great! You've made, like 3 new friends today!"
"I don't know if kids count..." Matthew smiled anyway, clearly just as happy with the development.
"Of course they do! Plus it's even better cus they look up to you and it's cute. Age doesn't matter! Uh-" Alfred sweated when he realised his mouth ran him into trouble again. "I don't mean it weirdly y'know. I just mean that you can have a valuable relationship at any age."
"That's really wise Alfred."
"Yeah, I know. I'm actually really smart but I just have a silly goofy personality y'know?"
Not many people realised that both could be true. That someone
could enjoy having silly fun and not equate to their intelligence. Alfred didn't mind that was assumed of him, but he felt like he was getting close to Matthew and hoped he didn't think he was a moron or something.
"Yeah, I know," Matthew said casually. Alfred didn't get to say anything in reply when Peter was running up to ask him what was taking too long, he and Charlotte wanted to do something else.
Overall, Alfred had a blast and it was successful for his schemes. He'd have to hang out with Peter, Charlotte and Zach (if he was too weak to say no) again!
Tonight was movie night, so of course he was going to watch The Lorax, and naturally, Matthew was coming with him. The hall felt a little empty when he noticed none of his friends came. Honestly, it made him feel a little bit empty. He tried not to think about whatever they were doing and if it was better than just watching a dumb movie.
"You okay?" Matthew somehow picked up on his sourness and Alfred quickly backpedaled to save the mood.
"Yeah, I just missed this is all," he said lamely, immediately wondering why he lied as he led them to a secluded corner. Matthew never gave him the impression that he was judgy and Alfred had shared things before! "Just kinda bummed that everyone else is not here." He added, just to get it out there. Matthew nodded.
Since it was the two of them Alfred lead them to hide at the back. Being semi-secluded it gave them some semblance of privacy and Alfred could talk freely. During the movie, he criticised the plot and characters non-stop. Matthew responded every time, so Alfred assumed he wasn't being a bother.
"What kinda dumbass name is Aloysius?" Alfred scoffed. "Could you imagine carrying a watermelon around for nine months and then pushing it out just to name it Aloysius?"
"Maybe it's meant to be stupid on purpose so we don't take him seriously."
"He's goofy looking, we aren't taking him seriously anyway," Alfred said in mock hostility. "Do you think that 'the onceler' is his legal name? Is that what it says on his birth certificate?"
"Maybe he's related to Aloysius and it's tradition to give their kids stupid names?" Matthew suggested.
"They can't be related! They're completely opposite to each other. Also, the onceler is so stupid. What kinda dumbass doesn't know how to run a business. He cut down all the trees then, oh no, there were no more trees left! He needed those trees for his business to keep booming so he shot himself in the foot."
"Even if he didn't care about the environment you'd think he'd care about his business and think to plant more trees. I guess he's just stupid." Matthew agreed.
"Y'know you can tell me to shut up if this is annoying. Unless you say something I can't really tell." Alfred whispered.
"It's fine. I'm actually used to it. Papa does it too."
"Another reason our dads would fight. My dad tells me to shut up and just watch."
Matthew smiled with amusement and Alfred could only imagine the chaos between their mortal enemy parents.
When the counsellors paused the movie for the intermission Alfred quickly hustled Matthew up so they could grab some popcorn first. He basically dragged Matthew over to where Michelle had set up a table with popcorn and juice. With Matthew by his side, he was struck with a wonderful idea. He needed to gather some intel.
"Hey Michelle, can you tell us apart?"
"Of course I can Alfred! You're wearing your jacket!"
"So if I wasn't wearing the jacket you wouldn't know?"
"Ohhh, I don't know," she said as she inspected them, though Alfred could tell it was exaggerated. Hmm, that meant that it was actually obvious and she was pretending it wasn't. "I think you could trick me."
"I don't think I can," Alfred said, pretending to be bummed out. But really, he was calculating... most of the lights were kept off during the intermission so maybe...
"Luckily I know what would cheer you up! Would you like buttered or salted popcorn?"
"Uhhh gimme some buttered popcorn and apple juice."
"Sure!" She smiled sweetly and handed the loot over before turning to Matthew. "And you?"
"Can I please have buttered popcorn and orange juice?"
"Oh, you're so polite! Of course! Now I hope you enjoy the movie!"
"Thanks, we will," Matthew reassured as Alfred said goodbye and pulled him away.
"Damn, and you said you didn't want to be stereotyped. My dad wishes I was that polite." Alfred chucked. "Anyways, I have an evil plan. If the only way she can tell who I am is because of the jacket then methinks I should take it off. Whatdoya say that next movie we attempt a little switch and get 'em next time?"
He expected that Matthew would think about it for at least a couple of seconds but was surprised when he shrugged.
"Yeah, we could try."
When the movie finished it wasn't long until it was time for phones to be collected. Matthew sprinted towards the cabin, determined to call his dad. Alfred bolted after him, clipping his shoulder on the doorframe as he skidded to a halt inside the cabin. Yao was lounging on the bed scrolling on his phone and the bathroom was shut, presumably being hogged by Toris. It could've even been Feliks if Toris was somewhere accounted for, because that would totally be something he'd do, but Alfred deduced it must be Toris. He knocked just to be sure.
"Toris?"
"I'll be five more minutes!" Toris called back, and Alfred fist pumped at his detective skills.
"I could've told you who it was," Yao commented. Alfred ignored him, instead finding his phone and checking on Matthew who was pacing on the phone.
"Hello Papa," Matthew smiled as he listened to the other person on the phone. Alfred launched himself onto Matthew's bed, almost face-planting into the polar bear. While he waited for Matthew, Alfred rolled onto his side as he went through his bedtime routine; appeasing the green Duolingo owl and scrolling through memes Kiku sent him. But he was distracted as he tried to remember why the polar bear was tickling his brain. Something about it was familiar.
Matthew's call was cut short by Elizabeta's arrival, who told him to wrap it up. Now it was time for Alfred to pull his stunt again, and it started with making sure Elizabeta didn't get suspicious. He'd have to offer a reasonable amount of resistance for her to buy it.
"Can't I get an extra minute too? I have to say goodbye to my love." He held his 'phone' over his heart and tried to pull a pathetic sad face. Elizabeta fixed him with a stare that made him nervously chuckle.
"Fine, I'll say goodbye now." He kissed his phone and handed it over. He fought to keep the smile down until he was sure she was far away.
"Sooooo, what did your dad have to say?" Alfred pestered. He couldn't say for sure why he was so invested in Matthew's dad, maybe he was just making conversation?
"He just asked about what I did today and told me about his day, not much really."
Alfred hummed as his eyes fell back on the polar bear and-
"Oh! I had a bear like that when I was a kid. Exactly the same but brown!"
"Oh, that's cool," Matthew said passively as he stared fondly at the bear. "I've had him since I was very young."
"Yeah I think you said. What was his name again?"
"Kuma?"
"Why do you say that like it's a question?" Alfred teased. "I can't remember what my one was called, shit I can't even remember where it went. That's kinda sad actually. Toy Story messed me up and now I'm gonna have a hard time sleeping tonight because I'm thinking about that poor teddy."
"Was it cute?" Yao gasped and Alfred was reminded of Yao's violent love for all cute things.
"It looked just like Kuma but brown so, yeah?"
"You seriously need to find it then! Bring it next year!" Yao pouted. "I'll bring my panda too!"
"This is a scam isn't it?" Alfred squinted suspiciously. "We'll bring them and they'll go suspiciously missing, won't they?"
"Matthew," Yao cut in seriously, "If Kuma goes missing, check my luggage. He's seriously so cute."
"You'll go missing first," Matthew said darkly.
"Woah," Alfred chucked, "you got intense fast! I wouldn't mess with Kuma if I were you Yao."
"I was only joking, aru. Promise!"
"Eh, I know..." Matthew hesitated. "Sorry..."
"Ayah, it's fine!" Yao said and held up hair ties. "Could you please do my hair again?"
"Yeah, seriously Mattie! Don't apologise." Alfred added as he sat next to Yao. "Banter is really fun! Plus I'm sure Yao's only joking about stealing our cute bears. And if he isn't, we could have Steve's creepy koala to guard them!"
"What even happened to that thing?" Yao shuddered as he recalled many of their younger years being haunted by that evil bear.
"Nobody knows," Alfred said mysteriously, "Legend has it that it roams this very forest, watching from the trees, waiting for unsuspecting campers to drop down on and eat their brains like some kinda zombie!"
"I think Steve just stopped bringing it after it made too many kids cry." Yao insisted. Alfred shrugged and filled in a confused Matthew.
"Steve had this bear and it looked like it ate the souls of missing campers and everyone hated it but then one day we just never saw it again. Which could be creepier anyway. Like, you know how you freak out when you see a spider but then when the spider disappears..." Alfred laughed at his own theatrics. "I'm just being dramatic! I'm sure he just left it at home and it's not gone zombie in the woods."
"I guess I'm lucky I never saw it," Matthew said.
"Damn right," Alfred said. "Now I'm gonna shower, will you be alright out here?"
"Why wouldn't we, that koala isn't in the forest," Yao said, missing the real meaning of why Alfred was asking. Alfred looked at Matthew, making sure he knew it was his call if Alfred stayed with him or not.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks."
"Okay! Just checking!" Alfred gave a thumbs-up. Just as he shut himself in the bathroom he could hear Matthew striking up a conversation with Yao, sounding like he was doing fine without Alfred there to navigate. Mission success.
Day 4
"How are you adapting to the heat?" Alfred asked Matthew over breakfast. Yesterday the warmth crept up on him while they were horsing around but he forgot that it might affect Matthew more than him.
"I actually forgot about it," Matthew paused in surprise as a pancake hung off his fork. It did not escape Alfred just how much Matthew conformed to the Canadian stereotype of loving pancakes absolutely soaked in maple syrup. "I'm not really feeling it right now, but it is still morning."
"Guess that's true," Alfred mused as he ate his cereal. The cereal was a mixture of at least 5 different boxes, call it a trail mix if you will. "Just let me know if you get overheated. It's my senior camper duty to look after you y'know."
"Is senior camper a thing?" Matthew sounded sceptical.
"It is now! Anyway, it's gonna be hot today so about about some water stuff. We could check out the canoes?"
"Like, really?" Feliks launched himself over the table to enter their conversation. "We were totally gonna go canoeing today too!"
"Perfect!" Alfred's grin was making his cheeks hurt. "We should have a race! Us versus y'all!"
"You're on!" Feliks looped an arm around Toris and Ravis, who seemed less enthusiastic.
"No way you'll beat us." Alfred pointed a finger gun at his new friend. "Mattie's super sporty."
The day was spent having fun on the water and this time Alfred remembered to put on sunscreen because being sun-smart is important. He couldn't help the bittersweet feelings that arose inside him as his small group had mindless fun. While it was barely a whisper compared to old times, somehow it was just as meaningful that they were all still here and still the same friends he treasured all this time.
Also, he and Matthew won just as predicted.
After dinner, Alfred and Matthew were the only ones in the cabin. Alfred tried not to feel so sad at the empty feeling he was left with. It meant no competition for the bathroom. When he announced his intentions to shower at the same time as Matthew, they got stuck in an infinite polite loop of 'no you go first' which Alfred decided to break before they were there all night.
"Alright! I'm going! Call your dad or something while you wait."
Matthew was happy with that arrangement so Alfred locked himself in the bathroom as he vowed to speedrun what he needed to do so he wouldn't hold up Matthew...
No, the camp had unlimited hot water and his dad wasn't there to remind him otherwise. He'd probably be ages.
Fortunately, his signature jacket didn't stink as much as he feared, even his his shirt was much more questionable. Don't ask about his socks. Luckily he had a solution. He found the right temperature for the shower and jumped in with the clothing in hand. He was an experienced camper and when you were out in the unforgiving wilderness sometimes you just had to do what you've gotta do. When the clothes were clean enough he tried to give them a sniff but it was hard to tell if they were stinky when he just ran soap over them. Figuring they were good enough he tossed them onto the bench outside and moved on to cleaning himself.
The bathroom was filled with thick steam that made him struggle to find his glasses. He used his towel to wipe them clear only for them to fog up again. He sighed and pushed them to rest on his forehead. He changed into fresh clothes, bundled up his soaked washing and stepped out of the bathroom.
Even blurry, he could make out Matthew doing Yao's hair again while Im hung off the bed scrolling on his phone. Alfred had forgotten just how much Matthew looked like him... he vowed that by the end of camp, they would have to pull off an epic prank! If Matthew wore a hat and Alfred's jacket... He mused the possibilities as he hung his wet clothes on the deck railing outside then made it his mission to annoy everyone.
"Mattieeeee," He whined as he flicked his glasses back down to see his friend's faces in more crispy detail. "You were gonna show me how to plait so I could definitely not mess up Yao's hair."
"Oh, sorry. I'll show you tomorrow?"
"Don't apologise Mattie! It's fine! Tomorrow's a new day."
"You're not doing my hair," Yao growled. Alfred pretended to be heartbroken and wiped a tear away.
"You could try with my hair," Matthew added as he ran a hand through his hair. "That's if you really want to..."
"Is it long enough?"
"Probably. It just won't be very long." Matthew shrugged as he finished Yao's hair.
"Then heck yeah! Yao, how many hair ties doya have?"
Yao sighed and held up a whole packet of clear elastic ties.
"Perfect! Tomorrow then!"
With the shower free Matthew excused himself while Yao and Im did their own thing so Alfred fished his phone from his bag. Despite never being able to put it down for longer than an hour at home, he never had it on him at camp.
He ignored the long list of notifications he had. If he got distracted now then he'd lose his Duolingo streak. He completed a lesson in three languages, one for each of his closest friends. If he had a dollar for each good friend who spoke English as a second language, he'd have 3 dollars. Well, Lovi and Feli shared Italian... So 4 friends 3 languages. But wait a minute, that's 4 languages now. Sure, he and Matthew weren't as close as could be, but Alfred had a feeling they were on that track. Maybe he should learn some French too! Then he could butcher 4 languages!
Not to say he could really speak any of the languages he practised... But still, it's the thought that counted. It did give him respect for his friends who could speak more than one language. That shit was hard.
With the green bloodthirsty owl out of the way, Alfred checked his notifications. What he didn't expect was to see a message from Dad. His finger hovered over it as he contemplated opening it before ripping the bandaid off and tapping. There was a picture, screenshotted from Facebook of a stick with marshmallows where a fire extinguisher should be, reading 'in case of fire break glass'. Alfred stared at it. It was painfully unfunny.
He decided to check whatever Kiku had sent him.
He was still on his phone by the time Matthew got out of the bathroom and collapsed on his bed. Alfred rolled off his to join him.
"Damn, you smell delicious," Alfred said as he collapsed on top of Matthew, who 'oofed' at being squashed.
"It's this," Matthew struggled to pull out something from his bundle of clothes with one arm pinned under him. Alfred checked out the conditioner, helpfully labelled 'raspberries & cream'.
"Huh, I think that's my aunt's favourite brand then cus she always smells like that. Or at least her hair does. Sometimes I wanna eat it."
Matthew groaned into the covers and Alfred pushed himself off him.
"You good?"
"That shower was so comforting," Matthew replied as he pulled his pillow closer and hugged it, his weak soaked hair flopping and dampening it. "I could never move again."
"Did you at least call your dad first?"
"Yeah, he couldn't chat long though. He was busy."
Alfred was used to his dad always being busy, but he was still impressed that Matthew's dad made time for him.
"What a King."
"Eh?"
"Y'know, he made time for you and all. He sounds like a good dad."
"He is."
Mathias collected their phones that night. Alfred always suspected there was some sort of hidden intelligence to the man so he made sure to keep up an unsuspicious facade when handing over his decoy phone.
The minute they were without a counsellor, Toris, with little enthusiasm, informed them that Feliks would be sneaking over. The reason for his little enthusiasm about his best friend coming over was that he was dead tired. Solution: Alfred would hang with Feliks instead. It was the perfect opportunity for Matthew to solidify his friendship with Feliks i battle! Well, not really a battle and Alfred would be there, but still.
Turns out they had a lot to talk about, which isn't too surprising since Feliks could talk for ages on just about anything. Alfred just sat back and let them go at it while he scrolled through memes on his phone, occasionally reminding them to be quiet because Yao and Toris were sleeping just there!
It was a good thing Alfred kept his phone because how else would he know that it was 2:30 a.m. when they actually went to bed.
Day 5
Alfred vowed to get 8 hours of sleep tonight. His eyes just wouldn't stay open when he woke and his phone was too blurry to make anything out, even when squinting through glasses. He checked the weather first, if it was going to be too hot then he'd better just leave his jacket with his stuff. Yesterday he was carting it around for no good reason and he didn't want to get the precious thing ruined.
He frowned when he saw there was some shit weather on the horizon. But at least the ice rink is open tomorrow!
During breakfast, he heard Feliciano begging Lovino to do fencing while his brother stubbornly, or rather routinely refused. It was just so Lovino to oppose his brother for no reason other than conflict. Naturally, Alfred offered that he and Matthew fence with him. It had been ages since he'd hung out with the twins and Alfred was really missing them. Over the past few years, they'd grown really close. Feli was just so fun and silly and Alfred couldn't help but act stupid with him. Together they had one brain cell and it was Lovino's. Feli was so clingy too that Alfred liked to imagine it was like having a younger brother who looked up to him while Lovino was the older brother who wanted to keep them in line but was actually amused by them. Sometimes he felt like he was their third twin. He even had the weird hair do-licky that stood up to match! They used to be inseparable and now...
Alfred pushed away the hollow feeling. He would hang with them today!
Feliciano was more than excited about Alfred joining, much to Lovino's exaggerated disdain. Really, it was a good thing Alfred knew Lovino loved him otherwise he'd be really worried! Lovino changed his mind about fencing, saying he now had to beat the both of them. Perfect! They had two pairs! The pasta twins and the clones. Hopefully, Matthew could bond with them too, he had a silly little hair loopie too so he'd fit right in.
"I've never fenced before," Matthew said as they dug out the fencing equipment from the shed.
"That's fine! I'll teach you!" Alfred handed him a helmet and sword only a moment before Feliciano jumped onto his back.
"Veeeeeeeee, Alfred's very good at fencing! He always beats me!"
"That's because you treat it like a game!" Lovino snapped and flicked his brother with the sword.
"Owwww," Feliciano whined and wrapped himself tighter around Alfred. "But it is a game!"
Lovino insisted with great effort that it wasn't 'just a game' while Feliciano just eloquently said "but it is." Alfred giggled when Matthew gave him a questioning look and set out to teach him the basics even with his friend perched on his back.
Alfred wasn't much of a teacher, but he didn't need to be when Matthew picked it up all too easily. Must be his sporty intuition. His hand-eye coordination rivalled Alfred's when he was playing video games. Specifically after 10 minutes to 3 hours, anything after that his fingers were jello.
They had a couple of matches before they reached a turning point and Alfred no longer won. But he still had fun, even when his friend's tone shifted and he was hit with that calculating gaze that Matthew seemed to reserve for sports. But Alfred knew he wasn't taking it too seriously because Matthew still pitched in with the banter. If one good thing came about not having a big group, it was all of them ganging up on Alfred saying he wasn't responsible enough to hold a blunt sword.
But Lovino was there, so he made up for the loss of digs at him, so it worked out. Everytime Lovino made a dig Alfred just said "mamma mia" in a mocking voice and had to block Lovino's sword before he actually managed to cut his tongue out.
Feliciano was enthusiastically cheering Matthew on, which Alfred could tell was boosting his confidence. Meanwhile, Lovino gave the best compliment at all, saying to Matthew he couldn't give him any suggestions to improve and he had no complaints about his form. Alfred internally fist-bumped at Matthew's blossoming friendship! And since he mastered fencing, Alfred insisted that he be knighted. He made Matthew kneel before tapping the sword on either shoulder and telling him to rise.
"Now that he's one of us, we should all do one of those battles where you fight someone and the winner goes to the next round until we have one winner! Then after that we should do teams! Pasta twins versus the clones!"
"-Clones?" Matthew questioned.
"-Pasta twins?!" Lovino scoffed sounding unsurprised but still disappointed.
"-Veeeee, I love pasta!" Feliciano sing songed.
They fenced for the next hour and it went well, then Lovino was getting bored and Feliciano was swinging off Alfred's arm as he suggested what they should do next. They got sidetracked when a group of kids passed by and suddenly younger voices were calling out their names. Peter and Charlotte had spotted them once again and Michelle decided it would be nice if they all joined her, making the decision for them.
Alfred was reminded that another movie was on tonight when Peter excitedly asked if he was going. Alfred was on the fence about going because, well, he's old now. So instead he put the decision in Matthew's hands and really, he should have predicted what the outcome was. Matthew took one look at the adoring little pests and he'd let them drag him off anywhere. Lovino was steadfast in not seeing the movie and while Feliciano wanted to keep hanging out with them, he didn't want Lovino to be lonely. So Alfred pinky promised that they'd hang out again and he could keep his brother company.
At dinner, Alfred was distracting himself by catching up with everyone's day, but he still smiled when he spied Matthew talking to the pasta twins. Mission success.
As the hall was being set up for the movie, Peter and Charlotte bound over to him and Matthew, grabbing them as they chose where to sit. Right at the front was apparently the perfect fit. Alfred anticipated neck issues tomorrow. He was wrong when he was rolling around on the floor halfway through the movie desperate to find a comfortable position before his head rolled off his shoulders.
He was grateful for the intermission and desperately stretched to fix his sore neck as he headed towards the snacks. But then there was a tug on his sleeve as Matthew called his name.
"Do you still want to try and switch?" He whispered and Alfred mentally slapped himself for forgetting.
"Hell yeah! Do you?"
"Yeah. I'll need your jacket."
"Oh right," Alfred quickly shrugged it off.
"You'll have to act like me," Matthew said as he put it on and Alfred was hit with a strange uncanny feeling. His clone wearing his jacket was just like looking in a mirror. "Wow, this is heavy eh?"
"Yeah..." Alfred said and blinked as he willed the feeling away. He had an epic prank to do. "Um, will you be fine with your... y'know?" He didn't want to out Matthew's social anxiety or remind him of it. Not when he seemed so comfortable.
"Yeah," Matthew said and moved to where Michelle was handing out the snacks, "it's hard to explain but... I'll be fine."
Alfred didn't question it and followed his friend as he worked on his facade. He was now Matthew so he had to think like Matthew. Good thing he saw how Matthew acted last time. All he had to do was be a polite Canadian eh?
"Alright Alfred what can I get you?" He heard Michelle say and he almost answered-
"Yeah, can I get uh a buttered popcorn and some apple juice?" Matthew answered.
"Here you go! And Matthew?"
"Uhh, buttered! And orange juice, please." Alfred had to be conscious to keep his voice down. Alfred spoke with a booming voice that demanded attention and Matthew did not. That would give him away.
"Here you go! Enjoy!"
"Thanks!" He smiled and quickly darted away before he broke down into laughter and gave it away.
"Did that actually work?" Alfred snickered.
"I think so. That was fun," Matthew said with a wide, infectious smile. Alfred strongly agreed.
It wasn't until the end of the movie that Alfred realised they forgot to swap the jacket back. Oops. The kids didn't notice so Alfred smirked and gestured to Matthew, silently asking if they wanted to continue and Matthew shrugged in a way that said 'sure, why not?'
When the movie finished he, Matthew and the kids threw some rocks into the lake at their insistence as everyone tried to make the biggest splash. When the kids still hadn't picked up on the switch and Matthew looked like he was boiling, Alfred reluctantly took the jacket back and tied it to his waist. Still, he couldn't keep the smile off his face when he realised just how easy it was to swap. They would have to do it again...
He forgot about that momentarily as he tried to outsplash everyone by ditching the rocks into the water. Alfred said he could make the biggest splash if he grabbed the arms and Matthew grabbed the legs and they threw one of the kids in there. The kids just laughed, foolishly thinking he was joking... Before the end of camp, he will be tossing those kids in the water!
Afterwards, he and Matthew walked the kids to their cabins while rubbing and rolling their shoulders. Alfred wished them goodnight and told them to "sleep tight, I'll know about it if you sleep loose. That's how the bed bugs getcha."
That left him and Matthew to roam the night how they saw fit. A few kids ran around with their last bit of freedom before bedtime and all the cabins were lit up with light and life. It was an atmosphere that Alfred drank in as they wandered slowly back to their cabin while he commented on the ice skating. He made sure to announce his intentions to pull a 'student surpasses the master' by the end of the summer. What he expected was for Matthew to laugh good-naturedly and said he could try. But instead, sweat formed on his forehead as Matthew stared into his very soul in a way that said 'I will destroy you'.
"That won't happen." An intense aura radiated off of the Canadian, and Alfred was abruptly reminded of the turbulent chaos he knew was restrained within. Alfred knew better than to assume reserved meant docile or passive. Matthew was full of passion... especially for the ice. Good thing his friend was such a kind person otherwise Alfred might actually be in danger from threatening to usurp his ice skillz. He chuckled nervously and changed the subject.
But still, he could tell that Matthew had an intensity to him that was only held back by his softer personality. Something that would let him do what needs to be done with no hesitation. He'd make a threatening enemy. Especially when people would assume nothing of him because he was just so polite and act like you're crazy for picking a fight with him. Maybe that was his evil scheme all along... trick people with his kind and innocent appearance... Okay, maybe Alfred was being a bit dramatic... thank goodness Matthew was an ally then.
"No mercy in the rink, eh?" Alfred chuckled.
"Well, maybe not until you get used to it," Matthew suggested as his friendliness came back.
Alfred bit back a smirk. Now he had to get good at skating so he and Matthew could have an epic bloody battle to see who came out on top and make camp history!
"Wait," Alfred slammed his arm out and cropped Matthew in the neck. "Oh shit, sorry."
"Eh, it's fine. What is it?"
"No, it's not I could've murdered you!" Alfred protested. Why was his friend so forgiving? "But anyways look!"
He pointed to Michelle who was walking around their row of cabins... with the phone bag.
"Eh?" Matthew said, confused.
"You haven't called your dad!"
Matthew's eyes widened and he sprinted to the cabin. Alfred blinked and then raced to catch up. He got in the cabin to see Matthew was rapidly texting and Alfred leaned on his shoulder as he did so. He didn't mean to look as if he was being nosey, per se, but he happened to see what was being typed. Because it was in English. It was just a quick retelling of the day and an apology for not having the time to call him.
"How comes you're texting in English but whenever you call it's in French?"
"Oh, just for privacy I guess," Matthew shrugged like he hadn't thought about it before.
"Shit, I didn't mean to get in your privacy like that by having a look!" Alfred threw his hands up and stepped back. "I was just being clingy and well, y'know?"
"No, it's okay... I guess I'm just used to using French when speaking to him in front of other people because I only want to speak to him and not anybody else. I guess I just did it because I was kind of nervous about everyone knowing what I was saying. But uh, don't worry about it now."
"That's kinda cool though! You have a secret code with your dad!"
There was a knock on their door and Michelle came in, looking for the offerings.
When Matthew checked his phone, Alfred snuck a look too. No reply from his dad. He couldn't tell if Matthew was upset, but he'd have to distract him if he was!
Once Alfred handed over his decoy phone and Michelle wished them all goodnight, he rifled through his bag in looks for a distraction.
"Mattie, do you know how to play bullshit?" He asked as he pulled out a deck of cards.
"Yes, I do. But just how much stuff do you have in there?"
Alfred turned his attention back to his open bag to see it stuffed with cards and board games. He pushed the bag to Matthew to let him look for himself.
"Pretty much anything you can think of! I knew I'd have to entertain myself somehow!"
"And you brought this on a plane?" Matthew looked impressed.
"Something something bargains and point system," Alfred explained. "My dad's pretty smort."
"I brought some stuff in case I was... bored... but, eh, not this much."
"Oh, what did you bring?"
Matthew hesitated to answer before settling on showing. He grabbed a bag and put it between them.
"Ooooh, unboxing video!" Alfred joked. "You gotta pull things out and introduce them."
Matthew chuckled and started pulling things out.
"So, I brought a drawing notepad and a pencil case. Um, I got this puzzle book, it's got crosswords and stuff like that. And I got these books that I was given and I just haven't read yet. I know it isn't a lot but, I thought it would last me if I didn't have anything else to do."
"You're used to entertaining yourself, huh." Seems he and Matthew had that in common. He thought of some of the strange things he got up to when he felt lonely at home.
"Yeah well, Papa gets busy and I don't have friends."
"Well that's in the past now cus you got me! We'll still be friends after camp so you could just hang out with me when you're bored! Online that is. How does that sound?"
"Yeah... I'd like that."
"Great!" Alfred said as he dug out his real phone. "Here add yourself on everything."
Matthew took it but hesitated.
"I only remember my number."
"That's fine! Put it in and I'll add you on everything else later."
Matthew did that and Alfred threw his phone back into his bag to sort out later. Right now, he had to rope as many people as he could into playing bullshit.
Day 6
The upcoming shit weather was shittier than he thought when there was an announcement during breakfast. With a heavy heart, Augustus informed the innocent younglings that there was going to be no water play the next day. The volume in the hall kicked up as mildly distraught children started talking. Alfred could hear his own table grumbling about it but he wasn't particularly bothered. He was planning on skating the whole time anyway. He suspected Matthew wouldn't want to do anything else! By the time camp finished they were gonna be Olympic-level skaters!
He did feel bad for some of the kids now having to miss out on the staple summer camp activity, but hopefully, they saw some cool lightning or something to make up for it!
As soon as they were out of the hall, Matthew took the lead by storm as he bolted straight for the ice rink, ignoring Alfred's protests and pleading for him to 'slow down, it's not open yet!'
It was less than 10 minutes later that Tino let them in and led them to where the equipment was. They got ready in record time because Matthew reaaaally didn't want to have to fight with children for that ice. Alfred had only just clipped his helmet on and Matthew was already on the ice, seamlessly transitioning like a duck into water. Alfred awkwardly and clumpily walked towards the edge of the rink, struggling to weave through the group of children who were running to the benches to put on their skates. He held tightly to the edge as he stepped onto the cold hard surface. With little grace he got on, almost did the splits, and slowly edged around the rink towards where Matthew was casually doing figure 8's.
Matthew raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you've done rollerblading?"
"Yeah. I have. Just gimme a sec," Alfred scoffed as he pushed away from the edge and tried to move towards Matthew. Instead, he just shuffled on the spot.
"Oh, I was just asking to see how good you were..." Matthew clarified. "Just copy what I do."
Alfred watched as he skated in circles around him and tried his best to copy. With a little practice, he was moving at a steady speed around the rink. There were a couple of times when he had to lunge for Matthew's arm, particularly when a kid skidded out on the ice and threatened to take Alfred with them. Thank goodness for the helmets. He made sure the kid was alright before carefully skating off. He'd call the day a success if he didn't end up cold and bruised from a fall.
Luckily he didn't fall, even if it came close a couple of times. He was fortunate enough to get Matthew to show off his sick ice skating skills, much to his amusement and amazement. Then Alfred noticed he wasn't the only one gawking and hesitated, if his buddy was uncomfortable then he'd have to jump in and hog all the attention, something he was damn good at. But Matthew was fine, rhythmically moving without any signs of slowing. Was it because he got into a 'role'? or just got into the zone or something when he did sports. That happened to Alfred whenever he played baseball.
Once Matthew had shown off his sick moves Alfred attempted to recreate the stunts for himself. He impressed himself by somehow figuring out how to slowly spin with Matthew's guidance. He didn't have the guts to attempt to spin any faster though. By the end of the day, he could say that he improved a lot, but he was nowhere near challenging Matthew to a race/obstacle course across the rink or to some kind of dance-off on the ice. Maybe by week 8...
Alfred didn't get to see any Canadian rage at being kicked off the ice, but he didn't look exhausted at all despite moving around for the entire day. Alfred's feet were so numb from being crammed in shitty skates. Though he supposed that was a small mercy. He didn't want to feel them ever again. Once he slumped down on the bench he didn't even want to bend down to take the skates off. He really felt like he could pass for a zombie with the jagged movements and noises he was limited to.
Matthew seemed perfectly fine right next to him, if only a little quiet. Alfred groaned as he tilted to the side and crashed into him, making him jolt when he suddenly had to hold up the both of them.
"How long do you usually go to your rink for?" Alfred's eyes slipped shut. To conserve energy.
"A couple of hours, sometimes all day. I'm used to it." Matthew's answer rambled through him.
"I am gonna sleep well tonight." Alfred blindly pulled at his skates and grappled with his helmet until they came off. They were taken from his hands as his support (aka Matthew) removed itself from him.
"How are you walking?" Alfred flopped on the bench like a fish as he watched Matthew hand everything back.
"I don't know. My body's still in motion? But if I sit down for too long then I probably won't get back up. My ankles really hurt because I'm not used to these skates... if that makes you feel better?"
"Guess that checks out but at least you can feel your ankles. If I stand Imma die."
"You can't die Alfred! Everyone here would miss you so much." Tino said. "Though I can understand the feeling. I'm surprised you were on the ice all day. You should stop by the kitchen to get some ice for your ankles before dinner. We wouldn't want them to get swollen!"
"Hey, that's actually a good idea." Alfred jerked and looked for Matthew, finding him ready right beside him. Ugh, time to get up...
"That was some impressive skating," Tino smiled at Matthew. "How long have you been practising?"
"As long as I can remember," Matthew shrugged. "I probably started around 5?"
"I've been skating all my life too! We should compare techniques sometime!"
"I'm not really trained, I just like to skate how I feel and everything I can do I either figured out or learnt from watching other people."
"I'm self-taught too! Don't sell yourself short, you've got natural skill. I bet you could go to the Olympics if you really honed it."
"I don't know about that. I just like to do it for fun. I like listening to music and just skating around. I'm not competitive unless it's a game." The way Matthew's face darkened, Alfred could only picture how ruthless he was when it came to a game of hockey. Now he really wanted to see that... as long as they were on the same team. He'd have to hustle the counsellors to organise a game.
"Trust me, I get competitive too," Tino's sweet smile seemed darker now and Alfred was reminded there was a reason he had the top score of all the arcade's shooter games... "But I understand how you feel about just skating around. It's very freeing, and I like listening to heavy metal. It's a great way to destress."
Alfred remembered one time when one of the counsellor's phones went off. Everyone was startled to hear aggressive heavy metal but was completely shocked when Tino reached into his pocket and turned it off. That taught Alfred a valuable lesson in judging a book by its cover.
Alfred put his weight back on the bench as he figured he didn't need to get up just yet. He'd let Matthew and Tino's bonding run its course first.
After dinner Alfred and Matthew settled into their cabins, slumped on their beds determined not to move. Or at least Alfred was. Nothing could get him to stand again today. Not even if he really had to pee or -shit he forgot to brush his teeth... one night should be fine. Hopefully.
Yao came over to Matthew to get his hair done. Matthew was too determined to keep his ankles in good condition for more skating tomorrow. Alfred was feeling queasy at the aspect of doing it all again on the next day. Sure he'd probably lose a lot of weight from all the nyooming, but he'd probably also lose his feet and have to get peglegs like a pirate.
Because he wouldn't leave his seated position for any reason, he missed out on Matthew showing him how to do hair. He sighed dramatically as Matthew promised the next night, but was more than pleased when Yao struck up a conversation with Matthew. Alfred smushed his face into his pillow as he listened to them talk. It would seem that Matthew was quite comfortable with Yao now, Alfred would have to check in later to be sure. They talked about how Matthew would often do his Papa's hair, the terminology for a lot of things went over Alfred's head but he was fascinated by how often Matthew seemed to be hanging with his dad.
Alfred bit his lip as the empty feeling returned.
After phones were collected, he was far too tired to do anything but sleep. He bundled himself up in the blankets and thought about how fast the week seemed to fly. Yet somehow camp felt like it hardly started.