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this was mentioned on the application but i'll mention it here again anyway since it applies to this specific chapter. i'll try to add specific content warnings and stuff but hopefully you didn't apply if you're going to be upset by the stuff mentioned in the rules cuz i might forget stuff

c/w: alcohol, underage drinking

~ iMeowmeow654

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Approximately 20 Hours Remaining↞

"God, I fucking love that movie," Cass said, momentarily distracting themself from the realization that they would have to wheel the projector back into storage in the dark. "I can't believe you'd never seen it before, Mickey!"

"Me neither... That one kid puking chocolate everywhere was so gross! But... my favorite part was probably the badass werewolf girls."

"Language, you two!" Lucy frowned. "There is a child present."

"What? Who?"

Johnny frowned even deeper when he realized Lucy was talking about him. He liked being young, but not that young. "I'm sixteen...!"

"You're still a camper," Lucy insisted. "That makes you a child."

"Sixteen is not--"

"Alright, alright, let's break it up," Jackson interrupted Johnny for the second time that night. He then cleared his throat, glancing at his watch. Running out of time. He clapped his hands loud, drawing all attention to him. "Everyone, listen up! I planned something a little special for us all after the movie at a spot down by the lake, so... I'd like to lead the way, if you wouldn't mind?"

A general murmur of agreement made its way through the crowd, everyone eager to see the "something a little special."

Jackson took off through the trees.

Jackson had not told Cass about this part. What in the absolute hell? Now he was gonna have to find his way back to this random part of the woods from whatever random part of the woods Jackson was leading them to right now and clean up? It was already almost midnight. They hoped this surprise wouldn't take long.

"Why did I agree to this again? It was supposed to be my special awesome cool movie night and now I'm heading off to--"

"SH!" Michael shushed him, then dropped his voice to a quiet, quiet whisper. "Don't ruin the surprise, Cass. Come on, try to cheer up? Don't you like... y'know? Partying and stuff?"

"But there isn't even gonna be any--" Cass looked around suddenly, and recognition dawned on his face. "Wait, actually... I think I might've stashed a bottle of peach vodka somewhere around here. It looks familiar. I forgot about it until now!"

Michael blinked. "I continue to be amazed by just how much illegal crap you managed to smuggle into camp. Did Mr. Addison just forget to check your bag?"

"No, he did. Just not well enough," Cass smiled a wide, faux-innocent smile. "Oh, perfect! It's just over here."

Cass disappeared off the trail Jackson was leading them down, sharply diverting into the trees on the left.

A chill shot up Michael's spine.

Don't let Cass go off alone.

In absolutely every other possible circumstance, Michael would've trusted Cass to fetch the alcohol all by themself, but something here did not feel right. Every cell in his body seemed to be screaming--don't don't don't don't. He had no idea why--what could even possibly happen to him? Michael was sure it would only take a few minutes...

Michael tried to shake the feeling away. But it wouldn't go.

"Hey, Cass! Wait up!"

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Jackson pushed a low-hanging branch out of the way. The forest came to an end right here, instead giving way to a gravely beach on the lakeshore. He held the branch for everyone else to pass through as well.

On the beach was a fire pit, currently empty, surrounded by chairs, and... Jackson's surprise for Lucy. 

Jackson, with the help of Calvin and Benny, had strung up battery-powered fairy lights all around the campsite. They had set up a small table, and on that table was a Tupperware container with the lid on it.

"Happy birthday, Lucy."

"What? It's Lucy's birthday?"

"Oh, gosh..." Lucy looked around, the lights twinkling in her eyes. Then, she slowly turned to Jackson. "You... uhm. You really remembered?"

"Of course, Lucy... We've been friends all summer. Of course I remembered. Even if no one else did." Jackson jokingly tossed some dirty glances around.

Indigo's face grew hot. "Hey, I--! We--We weren't together at the beginning of summer! I helped you today, Jackson, you don't get to take all the credit."

"Oh... That's why you were distracting me all day, huh, Indy? To keep me from finding out?"

Indigo put her arm around Lucy's shoulder, rubbing her head against Lucy's cheek. "Obviously. There's absolutely no other reason I might've possibly wanted to spend all day with my beloved girlfriend."

"Mmm, of course not."

Benny gagged once again at seeing Lucy and Indigo's public displays of affection.

Jackson made his way over to the table, prying open the Tupperware. Inside was a cake--classic vanilla with smooth, bright pink frosting and sprinkles. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a pack of candles, and began strategically placing them into the cake one at a time.

Lucy's eyes lit up even more when she saw the pink frosting--her favorite color. "Wow... How--How did you manage all this, Jackson?"

"Well... I didn't do it alone by any means... Benny had to sneak me into the kitchen and help me make that cake. And it was Indigo who told me your favorite color. Calvin helped me most with the lights. Cass and Michael let me steal their movie night, too. I didn't know that Johnny was still gonna be here, or I'd have come up with something for him to help with, too."

Jackson reached into his pocket again, and then his other pocket. Then the first one again. "Dammit. Where the hell did I put my lighter?"

"Oh, I've got one!" Johnny blurted out, handing it over. 

"And what exactly does a sweet, innocent boy such as yourself have a lighter for?" Tory teased, making her presence obvious for the first time the entire night. She'd mostly kept to herself, sitting in the back during the movie, and hardly socializing at all.

Johnny scoffed, rolling his eyes at her as Jackson started lighting the candles on the cake. Jackson counted each one out as he lit them. "...Seventeen... And eighteen! Congrats, Lucy! You're old!"

"You're... aware that you're eighteen, too, yes?" Lucy tilted her head. "And so are Samuel and Benny?

"You're old, too, forgive me. We're all old. Well. The only way to deal with that horrible realization is with cake, I think."

"No happy birthday song, please," Lucy pleaded, sliding up in front of the cake. "I'd rather just blow out these candles right away... before the wax melts into the cake."

"Ew." Samuel stuck out his tongue in disgust.

Lucy blew out her candles before anyone could possibly start singing. Cheers erupted, whooping and celebrating Lucy's eighteenth birthday with only minutes until midnight.

Lucy plucked out the extinguished candles, and Jackson cut the cake. He looked around, quick, counting up the number of counselors (and Johnny) to check how many slices he'd need.

"...Huh. Has anyone seen Michael and Cass? I swear they were here just a second ago..."

"They probably just snuck off somewhere to make out," Tory snickered. "Or more than make out."

"What? No, they're--they're not..." Samuel hesitated. "...dating, are they?" 

"No, they definitely are. Come on, Johnny, back me up. You see how they interact."

"...I thought they were just friends. Sorry, Tory."

"Guys, it's none of our business, really..." Lucy crossed her arms. "Just.. they should know better than to wander off into the woods by themselves so late!"

"Yeah, that's like... horror movie survival 101," Calvin mused. "Especially if they are having sex."

 "Cass is too smart for that, I think," Indigo said.

"...Is he?" Johnny wasn't so sure about that, in the kindest way possible. "Have we met the same Cass?"

"Well... They watch all those horror movies! I'm pretty sure they have the classic little spiel from Scream memorized..."

"...Are you guys talking shit about me?"

Cass appeared, lurking under the cover of darkness and trees, with Michael just behind him. He held a heavy, glass bottle at his hip, a little under two-thirds full. "Without even giving me a chance to defend myself... Unbelievable."

"No, no, Cass! Of course not, never."

Cass huffed, blowing a loose curl out of his face. "And to think I was gonna share my vodka with you. Now, I'm just gonna have to drink all of this myself."

"Ah, aha. No." Michael said. "The bottle was full when you got it. You've drank enough for the night, I think. That... that's a lot of vodka, Cass. I don't even know how you drink this stuff straight out of the bottle."

"I like the peach kind...! Come on, Mickey, I'm fine. I'm not even drunk."

"That's because you drank all of this in less than ten minutes," Michael said, gently taking the open bottle from Cass' hands. "You'll feel it soon. Now, let's be nice and share?"

Cass did not seem very happy with this arrangement, but they didn't protest. Too hard. "...Fine. Look at me, being all responsible."

Michael handed the bottle off to Tory, who seemed very excited to accept it. She downed a good portion of it (less than Cass), before offering it up to the next person who wanted it. 

Lucy decided she wanted to take a sip, but the moment that the vile liquid touched her lips she spit it into the dirt. Disgusting. Samuel didn't even bother to try, knowing perfectly well that he was not one for shots. He preferred sweet drinks that actually tasted good when he had anything. He and Lucy joined Michael in the sober corner. So did Indigo, who preferred not to drink if Lucy wasn't.

Jackson, Benny, Johnny, and Calvin were then allowed to share what was left of the bottle--meaning that the four of them combined drank about the same as Cass.

It was approximately 15 minutes after his arrival to the party before Cass was knocked flat on his ass. Or, rather, knocked over a log on his stomach with his knees in the dirt. They let their head hang down, hair falling and obscuring their face.

Michael patted the top of Cass' head gently, "How did you not know this was going to happen?"

Tory had consumed hardly any less than Cass--making her second heaviest drinker of the night--and yet she still seemed fine. Drunk, still. Obviously. But they could still walk, and their speech wasn't slurred. "Are you... some kinda lightweight? I would've expected more from you, Cass."

Cass was drooling into the earth below, and he let out a loud groan of distress. They didn't respond to Tory's taunting.

Until... "You better not throw up and ruin Lucy's birthday party."

"I'm not gonna--" Cass' head shot up and they wiped some drool from the corner of their mouth. His face was flushed a very vibrant shade of red. "I'mmmm... Fuck. Not gonna throw up. No. Ugh. Nnn. It's not even her birthday anymore...! It's gotta be Thursssday by now..."

Listening to the way that Cass stumbled over his words made Michael realize that it was probably in Cass' best interest to get some sleep right about now. They did all have to pack up and leave tomorrow morning, after all, and Michael was beginning to suspect that Cass was going to have a wicked hangover. Not to mention Cass was in no condition to put the projector away, so that would also need to be done tomorrow.

"Well... I hate to cut things short for you, Cass, but I think I should get you to bed." 

Cass grumbled quietly in protest, but was far too drunk to actually fight Michael off. Michael was able to pick Cass up (with some effort) and sling Cass' arm over his shoulder to support them. Cass immediately clung onto Michael for dear life.

Well, at least that would make things easier. Michael highly doubted that dragging Cass' drunk ass back to the cabin was going to be an easy feat. Michael gave his polite goodbyes and his birthday wishes to Lucy, and Cass made some noises that kind of resembled words, and then off they went.

The other campers stayed up for several hours longer. The alcohol and the cake ran out quickly, but the fun stuck around for much longer. By the time all of them ended up back in bed, the sun was just beginning to peek up on the horizon. And even then, that was really only because the batteries on all the fairy lights died, and the sun wasn't quite high enough to provide a comfortable level of light.

Al in all... Lucy couldn't have wished for a better birthday.

Approximately 15 Hours Remaining↞

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Michael and Cass show up late and leave early

what great party guests :)

at least they brought the alcohol i mean

but the birthday girl didn't even drink it lol

~ iMeowmeow654

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