-Avery-

The following night, Devin showed up to dinner, took some food and left. Avery had been hoping that Devin would sit with everyone, but he was beginning to understand that some nights Devin just wanted to chill by himself in his cabin. He couldn't blame him, since the others had little patience for Devin after getting to know him and working with him. He'd have to try harder to encourage everyone to get along.

When there was a brief lull in conversation, Sam looked his way. "Avery."

"Uh huh?"

"I have a question for you. I know it's probably none of my business, but did I see Devin leaving your cabin early this morning?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

He immediately felt his face turn red. It's not that he was trying to hide what he and Devin were doing, but he had to admit that he'd rather no one else know. He didn't want to get in trouble for it.

"Okay, look, I can't exactly blame you," she continued. "We all know how difficult it is to be out here without anyone. I rarely see my boyfriend, and some of us aren't with anyone at all. So I get it. And I know it has to be even harder for you, since your options are limited as a gay man, but....Devin?"

"I'm sorry. I know it's not professional," he apologized, finally speaking.

"I don't think that's what she's worried about," Marc cut in. "We're not going to think any less of you professionally. You're the hardest worker we've got, and nothing changes that."

"Hey, if I was single and there was a hot guy here, I'd be all over that," Sam said. "But Marc's right, it's not that you're hooking up with someone here, it's that it's Devin. I mean, seriously? Devil? Of all people?"

"Alright, leave him alone," Peter said. "Avery doesn't need to explain himself."

"Sorry, Avery," Sam apologized. "But I just have to know one more thing - did he force you into this? He's a bit of a bully, so it wouldn't surprise me."

He shook his head, feeling his face heat up even more. "I'm not going to do anything I don't want to."

She looked skeptical. "Promise me that you'll come to us if he gives you trouble, okay?"

Just when he thought the situation couldn't get any more awkward, Devin chose that moment to appear. Judging by the smirk on his face, he'd overheard enough of the conversation to know exactly what was being discussed.

"Avery's definitely not as innocent as you all think he is," Devin said, clearly amused with himself.

"Enough!" Marc barked.

Avery stood up from the table, wanting to be anywhere but here.

"Avery," Amanda said, gently putting a hand on his arm.

"I'm...I'm gonna go," he said, his face burning. He left his food on the table and quickly walked out of the building.

-Devin-

If looks could kill, Sam's expression would have murdered him ten times over. "You are such a bastard," she hissed.

"Nah, that'd be you," he said. "You're the one who embarrassed him by bringing this up in front of everyone."

He saw the sheer rage emanating off Sam lose its bluster for just a second, and he knew he'd gotten to her. And he knew she knew he was right.

"You could have had a little more tact," he continued, shrugging. "Maybe talked to him personally instead of announcing to everyone he works with that he's fucking the volunteer."

"Devin," Peter warned.

"You are horrible," Sam shot back. "You truly are the devil."

"Maybe I am," he replied. "But I never said anything about what Avery and I are doing. You're his friend, and you're the one who just betrayed him."

He saw Sam's chin tremble and her eyes well up with tears. That was a bit of a surprise, since she seemed so tough and always had a comeback for him. 

"I didn't mean to hurt Avery," she said, her voice breaking when she said Avery's name.

"Just go back to your cabin, Devin, please," Amanda told him. "You've caused enough trouble tonight."

"I didn't do anything!" he insisted. "I just walked in here."

"Devin, get out," Marc snapped, clearly at the end of his rope.

He turned and left, rolling his eyes. Of course they were going to paint him as the bad guy. Yeah, he'd definitely made things worse by stirring the pot, but he was annoyed with Sam for bringing up him and Avery in front of everyone. As much of a jerk as he was, he knew how Avery felt about what they were doing and he'd kept it quiet for Avery's sake. He wasn't a complete heartless bastard.

He wanted to fall asleep next to Avery again, but he knew there was no chance of that happening now. Hopefully Avery wasn't going to stop hooking up with him completely. That would really make the rest of this camp experience unbearable.

-Avery-

The next morning he got dressed quickly, hoping he could get to the kitchen and grab something for breakfast without seeing anyone else. He still felt embarrassed and didn't want to face any of his coworkers yet. While he knew they were all too good-hearted to judge him, he wished they didn't know about him and Devin. He didn't want them to think any less of him, and he didn't want this information getting back to Mitch.

He heard a knock on his door and reluctantly went to answer it. However, no one was there. There was just a plate of pancakes drizzled in syrup sitting in front of his door. As bad as he was feeling, he couldn't help but smile. He knew exactly who had done this. Devin was the only person here who would drop food and run.

Speaking of Devin, he was annoyed with him for making that comment. At the same time, he envied Devin. Devin didn't worry about his sexuality or what people might think of him because of it. Avery tended to play it safe and talk about his love life as little as possible, and he never talked about sex. He wished he had some of Devin's confidence and could be more unapologetic about who he was.

He ate the pancakes, which were all odd shapes and a little doughy in the middle. He had almost finished them when there was another knock on the door. This time, it was Sam.

"Can I come in? Or do you hate me?"

"I don't hate anyone."

She smiled softly. "That's a typical Avery answer."

As she sat down at the table, she looked quizzically at what was left of the pancakes. "Where'd you get pancakes from?"

"Devin."

"Oh, so he's the one who made a huge mess in the kitchen and left it. But I should have guessed that anyway."

He chuckled. "It's not the first time he's brought me breakfast, so it's probably not the first time there's been a mess left behind."

"Well, I still think he's the devil, but I guess there's a lot I don't know too," she admitted, a sad smile on her face.

"It's okay, Sam."

She shook her head. "It's not. I'm sorry about last night. I should have talked to you about it alone. I guess I just wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one looking out for you. I worry about you having anything to do with him."

"I know you meant well."

"I'm not the only one. Devin meant well too, in his own twisted, fucked up way."

"What do you mean?"

"He called me out after you left. Said I should have talked to you personally instead of putting your business on blast to all of your coworkers. And he's right. I wasn't a very good friend to you last night."

"Don't beat yourself up over it. You've been a great friend to me for years."

She smiled and shook her head. "You're way too sweet. I wish there was a nice, super hot gay guy here instead of Devin, because you deserve better."

"He's got his moments," he replied, feeling the need to defend Devin.

"Maybe," she said, rolling her eyes. "But even when he's right, he just puts things in the worst way possible. He's infuriating and he knows it."

"I'm getting used to it."

"Well, you don't have to put up with him today. Someone else is taking him so you can have a day on your own. Speaking of that, we should get going."

When he stood up, Sam reached over and hugged him. "I'm sorry, again."

"Don't worry about it."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the old iPod she carried with her everywhere. "I want you to borrow this today so you have something to listen to while you work, since you'll be on your own. I made a playlist for you."

"That sounds awesome," he told her. "You make the best playlists."

"I hope you'll like it. I think the first song is something you need to hear right now."

"What is it?"

"'Bad Decisions' by Ariana Grande," she replied, playfully bumping her hip against his.

He broke into a smile. "Why am I not surprised?"

-

As the hours passed by, he was grateful that he had a day on his own. It gave him time to think - about his salmon project, about his coworkers finding out that he was hooking up with Devin, and about Devin himself. He also spent plenty of time zoning out and listening to Sam's playlist, which was a lot of fun.

When he pulled up to the camp towards the end of the day, he saw Marc and Peter working on one of the trucks. He waved, still feeling anxious about facing them after last night.

"How was your day on your own?" Marc asked.

"It was nice. Sam let me borrow her iPod."

"Well, you deserve it. If you want another solo day anytime soon, let us know."

"Thanks. Do you know when everyone else will be back? I want to make dinner for the group tonight."

"Amanda will be back within the hour. Not sure about Devin and Sam."

"Devin went with Sam? They're going to kill each other," he said, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"My money's on Sam," Marc replied.

"It's alright, Avery. I told them both that they need to work it out," Peter said, coming around the truck. "I'm fed up with both of them. We all know Devin's trouble, but Sam needs to quit antagonizing him."

"I don't think anyone can antagonize Devin," Marc said. "He's got a monopoly on that."

"Either way, could you all try to make more of an effort with him?" Avery asked. "I'm not saying this because of, um, because I think he deserves special treatment or anything, but it would be nice if we could all get along. I know he's difficult, but I think he feels alienated sometimes."

"We've tried, Avery. But any attempts to make conversation with him are met with one word answers or sarcastic comments. He hasn't made an attempt to get to know any of us, unless you count him trying to get to know me better physically."

"He's just harder to get to know. It took a little time, but he's told me stuff about his life and we get along."

"Maybe you're the Devin whisperer," Marc suggested. "I don't think the rest of us are going to have any luck."

"So you're just going to give up on him?" he asked quietly.

Marc immediately looked guilty as he sensed Avery's disappointment. "I'm not saying that. Look, I promise I'll try again with him, okay?"

"I will too," Peter said. "I appreciate that you've put so much effort into teaching him and making him feel more comfortable here. I know it's not easy."

Content with their answers for now, he set off for the kitchen. He was determined to make tonight's dinner better than last night's.