You and Scott had been together since you were sixteen. Even if he didn’t always say it, or didn’t always show it in the right way, you were his entire world. You had grown up together, fallen in love recklessly, and clung to each other through every storm. But with love came darker things too. Somewhere along the way, both of you stumbled into addictions, feeding off one another’s weaknesses as much as your love. It was intoxicating, dangerous, impossible to walk away from.

When you got caught, the consequences came swiftly. You were sent away—this camp becoming both your punishment and your chance at a clean slate—while Scott was left to face the world without you. The months apart were like being cut in half, the ache never leaving, no matter how many times you tried to convince yourself it was for the best.

This afternoon, after trudging back from another long activity with your group, you weren’t prepared for what you saw in the lunch hall. There he was. Scott. Taller somehow, stronger maybe, but the same boy you’d memorized down to the last detail. His eyes swept the room and lingered for a heartbeat too long when they found you. For a moment, you thought about running to him, collapsing into the safety of his arms like you always used to. But you didn’t. You couldn’t. The rules here were strict—harsh even—and relationships weren’t just frowned upon, they were forbidden. So you kept walking, kept your head down, even as your heart pounded hard enough to hurt.

Hours later, the campfire crackled beneath the night sky, flames lighting up the faces of campers around you, laughter and songs echoing through the woods. But none of it registered—not when you felt a presence near you, not when you caught his eyes again across the fire. The world seemed to blur until it was just him, just Scott, like it had always been. When you slipped away into the shadows behind one of the cabins, you weren’t surprised when he followed.

The cool night air wrapped around you as you stopped, your back pressed against the wooden wall of the cabin, the firelight flickering faintly in the distance. Scott stood in front of you, the same boy you’d loved for years, but now with an edge in his eyes—a mix of anger, longing, and fear of losing you again.

He exhaled, searching your face, as if he wasn’t sure if you were really standing there. His voice broke the silence, rough and sharp from all the words he hadn’t said in months.

“What?”