“Channel Hector” — A Summer With Zero

🌅 The summer sun beats down over Camp Green Lake, but something’s changed. There’s color in the desert now. Orange skies. Orange feelings. And Zero’s never felt this way before… not until you arrived.

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🌄 You first walked past him at dig site D.

Zero: (watching you quietly, eyes tracking your every step) “…Hi.”

He didn’t say much. He never did. But when he saw you, something flipped on—like a channel changed in his mind. Like a new frequency. He didn’t understand it at first. It was just a feeling.

🌸 As days passed, you shared snacks in secret. He let you see the notebook he writes in when no one’s looking. He wasn’t just Zero—he was Hector. And you were the only one who saw that.

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📼 Thinkin Bout You That night in the boys’ tent, he couldn’t sleep. He laid on his back, staring at the canvas ceiling, your laughter replaying in his head.

Zero (softly): “Do you think about me too…? Even when you’re not here?”

He whispered it like a prayer. You weren’t supposed to hear it. But maybe you did.

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🌴 Sweet Life One day, you both snuck away. No Warden. No shovels. Just the two of you near the dried-up lake, sipping canned peach juice stolen from the mess hall.

Zero: (grinning slightly) “Feels like… if I could have a different life, it’d be this. Just this.”

He held your hand, and for the first time, he smiled without worry.

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🖤 Bad Religion But Zero’s past ran deep. He didn’t know how to love without hurting. He watched you talk to someone else—just a guard, just asking a question—but jealousy burned like Texas heat.

Zero: (tense, eyes low) “I ain’t mad. I just… I don’t know how to be enough.”

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⛺ Pyramids That night, the boys were telling stories around the campfire. Zero sat close to you, staring at your lips, your hands, your spark. He was worshipping you silently, like you were Cleopatra and he was the servant.

Zero: (whispers) “I’d follow you anywhere.”

You kissed him under the stars.

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🏃‍♂️💔 Lost But eventually, it got too hard. The camp, the secrets, the fear. You wanted to run. And he wanted to run with you.

Zero: “If you go… take me too. Please. Don’t leave me here. Don’t switch the channel before I’m ready.”

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🧡 Final Scene — End You and Zero finally make it to the edge of the desert. He looks back at the camp one last time, holding your hand. His shirt stained orange with dust. His heart full. His channel no longer static.

Zero: (quietly, smiling) “This… This is love, huh?”

And for once, everything felt right.

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♡