⌚ 5:08 AM

When El woke up an hour earlier and couldn't for the life of her fall back asleep (is this what she gets for falling asleep easily last night?), she decided to hop out of bed, get her flipflops on and head out.

The air, albeit slightly humid, is cooler than the searing heat El has grown to tolerate. She heads to that one spot by the lake, the one with the cursed poison ivy, and sits - checking for poison ivy beforehand, of course. She doesn't have shorts or anything on her bottom half so she's extra careful. The huge The Lion King tee shirt she has on is enough to separate her bottom from the moist grass.

El doesn't know why she's out here, really, but she's glad she decided to be. The sky is slowly growing to be a more orangey pink, brightness slowly spilling onto the dark canvas. The sun is peeking from behind Ashwood Hill - its reluctance just like El's when it comes to Grace. The pier, still adorned with ripped streamers and dim fairy lights looks like it's seconds away from collapsing on itself. Her eyes follow the utter stillness of the lake...until it isn't still anymore. Ripples appear seemingly out of nowhere and El thinks it's the wind but it obviously isn't, it's S.S. Taylor.

Oh, joy.

And there's Finn, rowing about. It's as if he's bringing the sunlight along with him - the closer he gets to El, the brighter the sky grows. El contemplates leaving, but the prospect of returning to the same cabin that Grace is sleeping in makes her anxious. Staying, it is.

Finn drags the oar across the water with a certain finesse that El most certainly lacks, he's all muscle and angles. (Grace is all fluidity and curves, not like that's of any relevance.) Eventually, he gets to her, when the sun is almost halfway out of its hiding place. He grins at her. "Up for a ride?" He pets the old wood of the boat.

Boats. El really hates boats. She shakes her head. The motion makes her a bit woozy.

"You sure?" Finn lets S.S. Taylor touch the shore.

Then again, El hated a lot of things that she doesn't anymore. (See: Grace, Isaac, singing, among others.) Maybe this will be healthy for her. "Why not," she mutters, rising.

It takes a lot of steadying and grabbing onto Finn's stupidly firm arms for El to get into the boat, sit across from Finn, and calm her nerves. She must look like a lost, mangy puppy. Finn really sucks at stifling his laughter. El glares at him.

"Hi," he says when he finally gets his shit together and pushes off the shore.

"Are you going to whisk me away to some far off castle now?" El asks, sarcasm dripping into her raspy morning voice.

"And let you escape from your 'problems'? No way."

"Why the quotation marks around 'problems'?" El raises two fingers on each hand and does the standard air-quotes gesture.

"Why'd you say there's quotation marks?"

"I just hear that kind of thing. So...why the quotation marks?"

"It's really just one problem, though, and not even a huge one," Finn says. "Grace...that's it."

El is about to object, tell him that she has way more problems than Grace. Then she realizes - no, she doesn't. Her parents? Lionel? Totally blown out of proportion. Not problems at all. Half-solved already. It dawns on her at that moment: Grace is the biggest problem she's facing right now. And she isn't lying when she says she still wants to get whisked away to some far-off castle.

The way Grace has made El feel scares her. It scares her enough to want to run off to a castle that doesn't exist. Or does it?

"The only castle I know about is the one my uncle owns in Norway." Finn turns the boat around. "I'd bring you there, but I'm too broke."

El snorts. "Same here. Who fucking knows when I'll pay off these loans."

Finn nearly falls off the boat, he's so consumed by his laughter. El cracks a smile at this. And then that smile disappears when the boat rocks so ferociously, El's elbow is met with the water.

She swears and Finn stops.

He apologizes and El accepts it.

And so he starts rowing again, his oars barely grazing the water as S.S. Taylor moves slowly across the glassy lake. The sun is totally visible now, its still slightly orange rays reaching downward and petting the surface of the lake. El peels her eyes away from the water to look at Finn in a totally non-creepy way. He's beautiful, she figures, with his golden hair that catches fresh sunlight and his lake-blue eyes and his tan skin. A few weeks ago, she wouldn't hesitate to jump on that. (Did she really just think that?) Now, she's satisfied with just appreciating his aesthetic value.

His lips curl into a vicious smirk. (He has really nice lips. It's a shame he can't use them properly.) "I really appreciate that you're checking me out, El, but let's be honest. Wait, no...lesbihonest," his smirk widens, "you don't have the hots for me anymore."

El's face is so warm she wants to dunk it into the lake. Still, she's determined to out-sass him. A long time has passed since she's broken out the sass. "If we're being accurate here, Finn, I prefer you'd say let's bisexual honest." The words taste very foreign to El, but she gets used to the taste pretty quickly.

Finn is blatantly trying to maintain his smirk, but his entire face has lit up into a grin. "Is this you coming out?"

"No," El replies. "I don't want there to be a coming out. It's no big deal." She means for her tone to be light. It comes out with a slight edge to it. "Honestly, though, I think you ruined kissing guys for me."

The accused one is too busy being overjoyed to look offended. The boat jolts forward - he seems to row faster when he's excited. "Ouch, El, I'm so offended."

"I'm sorry," she bites back.

"I know I suck at kissing, okay," Finn adds. "I've never really seen the appeal. I don't know."

Basking in how comfortable their conversation is, El tells him, "You seem to have enjoyed kissing Grace. And done a few more things."

"Two words: Acting."

This is when El loses it and nearly tips the boat over again. The worst part is, she actually thought this exact statement a few days ago. "You're," she gasps between chortles, "terrible at Math."

"And kissing."

"Still," and El is serious again, "it's one thing to be awful at it. But you seriously don't like it?" El can't even fathom the thought. She hates that she thinks of Grace's lips against hers and how great that felt, but hey, hormones. How could Finn have not felt the same?

"No," he shakes his head, "not really. I don't hate it...I just don't love it either, you get me? It's weird."

"No. I don't get you. Kissing is great."

They both laugh again. It boils down eventually, and an easy silence settles between the two. El really is fond of Finn. Now that she isn't completely smitten by him or anything, she loves his company. As her twelve year old self would say, he's a cool dude. A cool dude that she really doesn't want to get into the pants of anymore since she thinks she'd prefer a certain pair of short shorts anyway and he doesn't seem to like his pants being invaded. She respects that.

El breaks the silence with a stupid statement, as usual, "But how much more chicklit romantic comedy can we get?"

"This is chicklit romantic comedy?" Finn jerks his head towards them both. It's a wonder how his arms haven't grown tired when he's been rowing for so long. "I was thinking more teen fiction novel."

"If you give me the oars, it'll be white feminist literature from the eighteen-hundreds."

"As much as I'd love to do that and uphold old-fashioned white feminist values," he says and El cannot be more stunned. (She knows she says she isn't attracted to him anymore but damn, that was some sexy stuff.) "We're in the middle of the lake and I wouldn't trust you with my baby." He pats the prow of his boat.

"Why were you out here, anyway?" El asks him.

"I could ask the same question to you."

"Answer mine first. Why?"

"I like to row around," he shrugs. "Calms my nerves."

El's breath hitches in her throat. By the glint in Finn's eye, he seems to be well aware of what he just did. He said those exact words back when they've only barely known each other. And now, well, now El has a brother. (A painfully beautiful, female-empowering brother. Who is constantly trying to hook her up with his best friend.)

"Fuck you," she whispers. It's as if a train hits her. That felt like forever ago. Now, everything's so close to ending.

How rich is that, huh? Nostalgia. What a bitch.

⌚ 6:00 AM ON THE DOT

The horn is louder out on the lake, and this time, El actually falls into the water. Good thing Finn holds onto his oar tightly and gets her back into S.S. Taylor.

"Jesus," El grits out.

Finn says nothing, merely grinning as he rows back to shore. Dick.

(Unfortunately, El still hates boats.)

⌚ 12:16 AM

El doesn't know if Lionel found out that she let Cabin A skip out on hiking that one time. Either way, this seems to be fate's way of getting back at them, since they were bound to hike today, anyway. And despite the cool morning, the day has shaped up to be one of the hotter ones El has witnessed this summer. When she had first informed her cabin that their activity today would be hiking, they'd complained (obviously).

"Again?" That was Brittany. "We just hiked like, last week!"

"Look, I don't decide on what we do, okay? Lionel just assigns the counselors our specific activities for the day." El had perched her hands on her hips - her customary authoritative pose. "You have a problem with hiking, take it up with him."

The complaints had faded away immediately, and El had grinned. She misses being the sassy counselor. She trusts that Finn putting her in a great mood this morning, she'd be able to uphold that image for at least today.

Now, with the blazing sun high above Camp Ashwood, Cabin A has taken refuge beneath a huge mass of oak trees as they eat the lunch they've packed: a tuna sandwich and a carton of apple juice each. Some binged on all their trail mix then and there, and they've only been hiking for barely two hours. El keeps the cookies Will has packed for her (like that time how many weeks back) in her backpack, afraid to even share a crumb with anyone.

Even though El loves her campers, she is not giving up any of her cookies.

She's exhausted. Not only because she woke up at the ass crack of dawn, fell into the lake, and went hiking. The sun acts like an additional fifty kilogram weight on her shoulders, taking the phrase "the sun beats down on her" quite literally. She's also maybe been thinking of how she really hasn't seen Grace today (she - Grace - was late to breakfast) and that's weird to her. It wears her tired mind out.

El rips a piece from her tuna sandwich and chews. She eyes Cabin A, who are sitting in the grass around her, each with their own sandwiches in hand. Bianca catches her eye and grins before turning back to Laura, who is raving about Anne of Green Gables and how "despite the sexism of the period it was written in being super obvious, Anne is literally goals." The way they look at each other ticks El off slightly. Puppy dog eyes. Ugh.

Then El realizes she's being immature - jealous of twelve year olds? Really? How much more bitter can she get?

Suddenly, a piercing scream from one of the younger campers jolts El out of her thoughts.

"What's wrong?" Her voice is caught between urgent and not-really-giving-a-shit-oops.

"W-we heard something," Michaela whispers.

A rustle emits from the bushes behind them.

Jana jumps into Michaela's arms. "What i-is it?"

Another rustle. Heavy footsteps.

More screams from Cabin A. El rises, tucking her sandwich back into her backpack. "Okay, let's calm down now - "

Rustle. Footsteps. A groan.

"It's a bear!" Cassie wails. "I know it's a bear!"

Rustle. Rustle. Footsteps. Rustle. Groan.

Embarrassingly, El braces herself. A few beats pass, the rustling becoming louder, more violent, until...

"Josh, for Christ's sake, don't touch the poison ivy unless you want to end up like El's vagina - oh, hey, El."

Three seconds to guess who it is. Three. Two. One.

Emerging from the shrubbery a few feet from El and standing before her in all his five-inch penised glory with a bunch of pre-pubescent boys in tow, Counselor Isaac Salib in the flesh.

"Ladies," El tells her cabin, raising an eyebrow, "that isn't a bear. It's worse."

⌚ 5:42 PM

Isaac actually isn't a pain in the ass when he isn't competing with El. She finds she actually likes talking to him, because despite his skewed opinions on some things (which El fixes the instant they exit his mouth), he's actually very smart. This makes the hike more bearable, now that both Cabin A and Cabin F have merged together. In hindsight, that wasn't a very good idea since it's hot and sweaty and hormones are boiling within every pre-pubescent body trailing behind the two counselors. El makes sure no one kills anyone.

"Interesting," Isaac says now, as they reach a bend in the trail and head back to where they came from.

El has been telling him about the people who've given her shit because of her skin color. She hikes her backpack up slightly. "That's all you have to say about the time my own grand-aunt called me the n-word?" The words are meant to bite but she's grinning.

Isaac just told her about how his first girlfriend's brother said he was a terrorist and El countered it with her story about racist Great-aunt Linda.

"You didn't let me finish," Isaac replies. "Interesting how someone could have a stick so far up her ass."

"At least it isn't a paintbrush up a dick," El retorts. "Same implication."

Isaac blushes, his brown cheeks adopting a faint pink tinge, and quickens his pace. "How many times do I have to apologize about all that? I was raised like that and I'm now a changed man! Girl power!"

"Mm," El hums, catching up with him. "You don't have to apologize, really. I'm just saying, that one time you brought rape into the conversation - "

"I get it." Isaac rolls his eyes and snickers. "Grace sorted me out on that one. She really can be convincing once she's backed you into a wall with a frying pan in hand."

El can just picture it - the tiny blonde pinning Isaac to the wall, glaring up at him, holding a cast iron frying pan up to his nose. She snorts at the thought. "When did that even happen?" She doesn't ask: Why didn't she tell me she was doing that? because she already knows the answer.

Grace hates her guts, that's why.

"When we had archery against each other. The Sports Shack apparently considers frying pans as rackets." Isaac beams.

El holds back her laughter. She just shakes her head as she grabs at a branch and bends it out of the way to let the cabins pass. She lets the branch snap back into Isaac's face.

"Funny," he says, picking leaves out of his mouth.

"I'll be here all night," El says wryly.

⌚ 7:14 PM

El can't quite put her finger on the reason why she's been feeling okay recently, but she's decided to make the most of it while it lasts. She teases Jason and Luke about their matching outfits, and she plays footsie with Finn, and she gives Isaac the stinkeye when he accidentally lets "faggot" slip out (after an immediate apology and wide eyes, she forgives him), and she makes sure to push Louise against Will unnecessarily often. Isaac is in on this, too, doing the same to Will.

This makes Will very red and Louise very amused. El and Isaac share a high five behind the two, which El never thought would happen. Then again, she never thought a lot of things would happen but they've been happening left and right. (See: her father not being her father. Grace having - had? - a crush on her. Maybe reciprocating the feelings.)

She's ripping a chunk from the biscuit in her hand with her teeth when the air shifts. A chill travels down El's spine. She wipes at her lips with the back of her wrist, risking a glance up and yep, it's no surprise that Grace has just sat down beside Finn. And brought the cold air with her.

It's the first time El has seen Grace today and she hasn't realized what she's been missing out on until now. Grace has a tray with a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup atop it - of course she's too classy for fried chicken and biscuits. She tucks a strawberry blonde lock of hair behind her ear (El tries not to think about how much she wants to have her hands through that hair) and bites her sandwich. Grace's eyelashes, coated in mascara, are long, El notices when Grace sets the sandwich down. As she chews, her pink lips are pursed - El finds herself staring shamelessly at them, reveling in the tingle her own lips are experiencing.

Louise elbows El under the table. "You're being too obvious, you idiot," she mumbles.

El pries her eyes away from Grace - who hasn't even batted an eyelash in her direction, by the way. "I am not."

"You are," Louise says amusedly.

"Whatever." El swallows the piece of biscuit she's been chewing and pops a piece of chicken in her mouth.

Grace slurps her tomato soup. How the hell can she make slurping red sludge look that majestic? El actually gives up, she thinks. There's no way she can figure out how Grace can be so...Grace. Strangely, she's fine with that.

"Hey, Grace," Mari chirps from beside El, grinning slyly.

Grace smiles pleasantly at Mari and somehow El feels she isn't even in Grace's periphery. That's not a big deal. Nope. "Hi," Grace says.

El aggressively cuts into the fried chicken thigh in front of her, her knife colliding loudly with the metal tray. She doesn't mean to, of course but that doesn't stop the eight other counselors staring at her. Grace is incredibly interested in her sandwich. Finn in particular is grinning widely at El, but she glares at all of them and continues to eat in silence. El occasionally glances at Grace in hopes of the blonde glancing back at her. It's no surprise she pays no attention to El.

So Grace still isn't going to budge? Fine.

El isn't either.

⌚ 11:24 PM

"Hello?"

"Hey, mom," El breathes into the phone pressed against her ear.

"H-hi, Elizabeth." Lisa Thropp sounds incredibly relieved. "You're calling me. Is anything wrong?"

El winces at the name but she says nothing of it. Her mother doesn't sound like she's been crying or anything, so that's fortunate. "No. Nothing's wrong. I just - I wanted to see how you were doing."

Finally, El has let go of her stubbornness. She finds that in the deepest recesses of her soul (how pretentious does that sound?) she's forgiven her mom for being such a hopeless person. That's what she got for being a hopeless romantic, and El can't blame her for that. Her mother also got fucked up by a man thirty years older than her, then again by her husband, so she needs someone right now. El has decided to be that someone.

She thinks she's happy that she did.

"I'm doing fine," El's mother replies. "I'm better. Getting better."

El smiles against the phone and hopes that Grace is asleep above her. Listening for the soft, hollow breathing, she hears it, so Grace seems to be slumbering. "That's good."

"Have you heard from your dad?" El knows her mother is trying her best to keep her voice even - El does that the exact same way.

El doesn't want to upset her. "No. I haven't."

"Oh." Her mother sounds disappointed.

"Have you?"

El's mother sighs. "No."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's fine. We just need to finalize the divorce and - "

El's throat tightens. Right. The divorce. "I forgot about that." She chuckles nervously, just as her father does.

"The divorce? I try to forget about it." El's mother's tone is bland, tired. What happened to the mother who screams about big, big, big days? "Too bad I can't. The last time I heard from your dad we were arguing about who would be getting custody."

"Of what?"

"Of you."

Maybe El should move out. "You know you don't have to do that. I'm legally an adult. I don't have to live with either of you. Technically."

"Right," El's mother chokes out. "Yes. That's what I forgot. You're not my baby anymore, huh?"

"Mom, I don't want to sound like David Cook, but I'll always be your baby, okay? I just feel like I need to widen my horizons." El didn't even think that, but now that she's saying it out loud, she realizes it's true.

"When did you get so grown up?" El's mother asks wistfully.

"Funnily enough, when I went back to my childhood."

El can hear the smile in her mother's voice. "Camp was a good idea, then?" She sounds smug. Only a touch of sadness is left.

El certainly wasn't expecting new friends in the form of counselors and campers, finding her biological father, converting sexist assholes, and a crush in her former female high school enemy. She doesn't regret any of it, though. "Yeah," she breathes into the phone, "I guess it was."

___________________________________________________

a/n: GUYS DO U SEE THE ART UP THERE LIKE WOW RIGHT THANKS SO MUCH HEATHER I ADORE U (dedic goes to her bc obvious reasons) and i guess it's also to make up for the lack of grace/el in this chapter

i'm also insanely proud of that first scene oops and i'm loving the whole dynamic between isaac and el heck ye cHARACTER DEVELOPMENT even tho this chapter is short af

++ it's mothers' day for me rn (2:oo am to b specific) and i wrote the last scene bc of that. just wanted to say that if ur lucky enough to still have ur mothers, pls pls pls value them and love them and make this mothers' day gr8 ok don't do what el did and take some notes from grace bc u might regret not making that effort to show ur mom u love her

FINALLY how would any of u feel if i would host a one shot competition? would u join?? or am i being a pretentious prick for thinking anyone would??? tell me!! and comment :-)