John slowly opened his eyes. A thin stream of golden light came through a window. John looked around and realized he was in a hospital bed. A hospital bed from Camp Revolutionary, to be specific.

John turned his head slightly to the left and saw a boy. He looked exhausted, and as if he had been crying. Alex yawned and looked up. He jumped when he saw John was awake.

"JOHN!" he yelled, flinging his arms around John's weak body. John flinched. Alex quickly pulled away, realizing he was hurting him.

Then it all came back to him.

All of it.

James Reynolds.

The tree.

Alex.

Maria.

Herc.

Laf.

Eliza.

The girls.

A single tear ran down John's cheek.

"How do you feel?" Alex asked, sniffling.

"Ok, I guess," he responded. "What happened to...?"

Alex's face grew dark. "Got what he deserved. He was sent home." Then John noticed the black eye. He put his hands to his mouth and his eyes widened.

"Oh my gosh," he whimpered. "Alex, your eye!"

Alex smirked. "You should take a look at yourSELF! Besides, any injury is worth you," he finished, blushing.

Then John remembered something else.

"Wait, Alex," he said confused, "you shouted something just before I passed out. It was like, 'John, I love-'. What were you going to say?"

Alex turned even brighter than he already was. "I, um, I-"

At that moment, Herc and Laf burst into the room.

"MON AMI!" Laf cried, seeing John was awake.

"Hey, you're alive!" Herc joked.

When John wasn't looking, Alex sent them a silent look of thanks and relief.

"Hey guys," John said, grinning to see his friends. "How long have I been out?"

"2 1/2 days," Alex replied. "The nurse said you just need to rest your body. It's a miracle you didn't break anything."

"Yeah," Herc teased, "and Alex hasn't slept since you got decked! He's been by your side this entire time!" Laf nodded enthusiastically and smiled broadly.

"Wait, WHAT?" shrieked John. "What the hell, Alex?! You need sleep!"

Alex gave a weak smile. "You're worth it," he said. "You're my best friend."

Laf chuckled. "Wishes he was more than that," he muttered under his breath.

Alex looked up at the Frenchman, alarmed.

"What'd you say, Laf?" John asked. He wasn't suspicious of anything. He just didn't hear what he said.

Laf rolled his eyes. "You HAVE to have figured it out by now," he sighed.

Herc turned to his boyfriend. "Let's leave them so John can get it."

The two left the room and John turned to Alex.

"What'd Laf say?" John asked.

"Nothing," Alex said quickly.

"Um, ok?" John was tired of this. He felt like his friends were keeping something from him. "Uh, we can hug now, I think," he said, blushing. "Just lightly."

Alex sprang up, excited to be able to hug his best friend, but caught himself before he hurt John. He tenderly wrapped his arms around the small figure. John sighed into Alex's shoulder.

"You're the best, Alex," he whispered into his ear.

"Not as amazing as you," Alex said, pulling back gently.

*****FOUR DAYS LATER*****

John was ready to get out of the hospital room now. Alex helped him around since John had to go on crutches for a few days. John loved every second of it. Any time with Alex was good time.

It was nearing the end of July. John was soon able to get off crutches. He couldn't believe he only had one month left.

"Hey," Alex said, coming up to John and throwing his arm around John's shoulder.

John blushed. "Hey."

"Guess what? So, each year, our friend group plays a huge after-dark game. Tonight we're playing hide-n-seek I partners. You maybe wanna-?"

John grinned. "I'd love to!"

John spent the rest of the day looking forward to what lie ahead that night.

Oh man.

Alone.

With Alex.

In the dark.

John quickly shook that thought out of his mind.

At 10:00pm that night, the Revolutionary Crew began to get ready. They all dressed in black to lower the chance of them getting spotted. Alex, of course, added his letterman jacket.

"Ok, we said we'd go meet everyone by the fountain," Alex told the others. "Let's go." Alex grabbed John's hand and lead him out. John blushed, surprised, but in no way upset.

When they got there, the group was already waiting for them. Each partner group sent forward a representative to play rock-paper-scissors until they got a pair to be the seekers. Maria and Peggy were going to be doing that for the first round.

"Ok," Maria said, in a hushed whisper, "you guys have got 2 minutes to hide. Ready? And...go!"

Alex grabbed John's hand and sprinted off into the darkness.

"Let's hide here!" Alex suggested, pointing to a large cluster of trees on the edge of forest.

"Ok," John agreed. The pair quietly crouched down into the knot of branches.

A moment of silence passed.

"You know, John, it's been great getting to know you this summer," Alex murmured into John's ear.

John felt his face grow hot. "It's been great getting to know you, too," he replied.

Alex smiled a little. "You don't get it, though. I don't just mean that you're pretty cool. I don't just mean 'see you next summer'. I don't just mean that you're another person that I'll forget until next year."

John was confused. "What DO you mean, then?"

Alex took a deep breath. "John," he said, speeding up his heart-rate and his friend's, "what I mean is I like-"

"FOUND YOU!" Peggy whisper-shouted to John and Alex. The two boys quickly sprung apart. Had they really been that close?

John chuckled and pulled himself up, blushing. "You got us!"

Alex laughed and got up too, but he flipped Peggy off when John wasn't looking. The realization of what she had done dawned on her face. She mouthed a 'sorry!' to Alex and turned away, embarrassed at what she had just done.

John and Alex were the second group to be found, so they didn't have to seek anyone. This time, John picked their hiding spot while Aaron and Theodosia seemed.

And man, was it going to be a night to remember.