This wasn't good. Shit, this wasn't good at all. What was he thinking, how could this have possibly been a valid thought in his mind at all.

"Suspended, during the last week of school?" His mum was an unstoppable whirlwind of anger, pacing the kitchen at an alarming rate. "How does that even happen?"

He looked up from the tabletop curiously. "They didn't tell you?"

"Jeez, of course they told me," she muttered, palming her forehead as if she had a headache. Okay, more than likely she did, and because of him. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. How do you even set a classroom on fire?"

"It wasn't my fault." If that didn't sound desperately fake, he didn't know what was. "It was an accident, the burner just...I hit it with my elbow and it flipped over and..." The unconvinced look was enough to make him sigh and give up. "I really didn't mean to."

She seemed to deflate slightly at his sincere tone, crossing her arms. "I'm sure you didn't, but this isn't something we can just let go."

Of course not, he'd already known that. Getting kicked out of classes a week earlier than expected, damaging school property and his parents having to pay for half the crime; there was no getting off easy on that one. "Yeah, I understand. You want my phone and my laptop?"

Because that was the usual deal: take away the things he was most attached to, sometimes with the added exception of cleaning the entire house or just cutting off the wifi entirely, which was much more torturous in his opinion. That's what he was expecting. He could handle that.

His mum just stood there, though, a pensive look on her face that made Dan worried. God, was she thinking of some new and more effective way to punish him? His heart sank in his chest at the prospect.

"Actually, I have a different idea." And shit, yeah, that definitely wasn't good.

She left the kitchen, and Dan had the chilling feeling akin to being put on death row. Which was highly over reactive, he knew, but he blamed his vivid imagination.  She returned a minute later, carrying her laptop and setting it down in front of him hesitantly. The bold, bright yellow lettering actually made him squint, and he barely made out the top section of type; 'Camp Overfell'

"What the hell is this?" He questioned, proud that he managed not to vomit as he scrolled through the website. It was full of pictures of overly happy teenagers, all wearing shorts and T-shirts and giant smiles full of teeth. They looked like they were being held at gunpoint. 

"A camp, for kids your age," she explained, sitting next to him and watching the screen as well. "It lasts the whole summer, and it's gotten a lot of great reviews, it's supposed to be a really great place."

Troublesome teens need a break from their lives? Camp Overfell is a friendly
and fun place for teens between
fourteen and eighteen years old, full
of fun activities and calming
exercises that will guarantee a
relaxed summer!

His stomach was twisting just reading it. "What's this got to do with me, then?"

"Your father and I think it would be a good idea for you to go--"

"What? No," he was quick to immediately dismiss the idea. "Mum, this place is for people in straight jackets, or who are into public humiliation or something. Not me."

She sighed, a tired sound that made Dan instantly feel guilty. "It may seem a bit washed up, but I think it could really be good for you."

"That's bullsh--" he cut himself, he was already in enough trouble. "Two months in this place? I can't do that, I have...friends here, and things to do. I can't just leave, and especially not to this death trap."

"Well, you haven't got a choice," she said firmly, a tone that left no room for arguing. "It's either here, or get a job."

"I already have a job."

"Spending ten hours a month helping your father clean the garage and getting paid for it is not a job, Daniel."

"So not fair," he scowled, fixing his gaze back to the computer with a grimace. More yellow text and more cringe worthy pictures and more reasons to just run away in the middle of the night. "I don't want to waste my summer here."

She patted his shoulder sympathetically and gave a pitting smile. "Should have thought about that before setting your classroom on fire."

"I didn't do it on purpose!"

And so for next week, he spent more time than usual searching the web for every detail about the place. There really were great reviews, but the 'glowing' kind, with lots of exclamation points and emojis that convinced him no more than his mother had. It seemed too childish for his taste.

Registration ended four days from now, but it felt like he had no time at all.

***

"Summer camp? You're fucking with me, right?"

Dan shook his head and kept his eyes on his shoes. Chris flicked the cigarette he was holding, letting a few still burning embers fall to the dry ground of the alleyway they were occupying. There was a group of their other friends not too far away, but they'd long since separated themselves. He'd come to say goodbye.

"That's complete and utter bullshit," Chris continued, taking another drag and letting smoke unfurl from his mouth. "They're just trying to find a way to get you off their backs, you know. Selfish parent move, if you ask me."

"Yeah, don't remind me," Dan muttered darkly. He really hoped he didn't smell like ashes when they came for him, they'd probably make him stay in that godforsaken camp longer than planned. "Just wish they'd understand my side of things for once."

Chris hummed in agreement and smirked at him. "So. How's the life of being an arsonist?"

"It wasn't fucking arson." Dan frowned. Was no one listening to him? "Yeah, I started it, but it wasn't supposed to catch on the curtains. Who puts fucking curtains in a chemistry lab anyway? That's just bad safety method."

He ignored Chris's laughter, getting more and more irritated the longer he stood here. If they were gonna do nothing but tease him about what had happened, then he didn't see the point of wasting his time there. But he didn't have anywhere else to go, and he had approximately twenty minutes before his parents were coming to get him and drive him to....he couldn't even think it.

"Hey," Chris said with a shrug, "I'll bet there are a lot of hot guys, though. Hot, shirtless guys. Possibly wet or sweaty. Ooh, hot, shirtless, wet-slash-sweaty older counselor guys. That would be fun."

Dan shoved an elbow into his ribs with a laugh. "I'm not perpetually horny like you, sorry."

"Shame." Chris shook his head in mock disappointment and wrapped his lips around the cigarette. "We could have a real and proper goodbye, like real and proper friends."

"I don't think goodbye sex is in the handbook of friendship."

"Tell that to PJ," he said with a wink, pointing towards the only other person Dan considered himself close to, a curly haired kid with glasses and sneakers so beat up, he had to use duct tape to keep the soles in place. "Last month, when he left to America for that trip or whatever? Spent the whole weekend together, never left the bed. I think I have pictures."

"God, shut up." Dan shoved him away before he could pull out his phone. "You're honestly the most disgusting person I know."

Chris bowed dramatically. "Greatly honored by that, really, it means a lot."

Him and Chris had met last year, two guys who didn't run in any particular social circles. So they'd joined the small band of outcasts, the ones who wore too much black and did questionable things with their free time. They didn't know each other well, and probably never would have if Chris hadn't punched that guy in the face for tossing Dan's lunch tray all over him. They'd ended up in detention together and had been friends since, and Chris would swear he still had the bruised knuckles to prove it.

"You know I love you," Dan said, only half joking, but almost immediately regretted it when Chris pulled him into a bone crushing hug. He was totally gonna smell like smoke now. "Okay, fuck, get off of me, that's enough sentiment for the year, I think."

Chris grasped his shoulders. "I think that's quite possibly the nicest thing you've ever said to me, Dan Howell."

"Yeah, and the last time, too," Dan shoved his hands away and started walking out to the street, where he'd said he would meet his parents. "Have a great fucking summer."

"Won't be fun without you, boo."

It was already staring to get warm, too warm for his normal wardrobe of black on black layers, and it only caused him more trouble. He would have to buy new clothes if he was going to be out in the sun everyday like this. The thought alone made his face twist into a scowl, and by the time his parents pulled up, his mood had darkened considerably. He wanted to stay here.

"Have you been...smoking?" His mum asked from the passenger seat when he climbed inside, her nose wrinkled against the obvious smell.

"What? No," he said as casually as possible. He'd tried it once last year, and immediately given up on it after practically coughing up a lung. That didn't mean he was going to sell Chris out for it, even to save his own neck. "Walked past a group of kids who were, sorry."

They definitely didn't believe him, but decided to leave it alone, for which he was eternally grateful. The silence that permeated the car after that was peaceful after the hectic week he'd had so far. He sulked in his bad mood for a while, and eventually fell into an uncomfortable sleep, leaning against the door awkwardly.

A two-hour drive to the middle of fucking nowhere, he wasn't going to be conscious for that.

***

It was so much worse than he'd imagined.

"Actually," he said, dropping the two bags he was carrying to the ground, uncaring of the dirt that was going to get all over them. "How about I just go and stand in the middle of the road, and you guys can floor it? I think that's more reasonable than this."

"Lighten up," his father said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. He was a tall man, almost seven feet at this point, and Dan was getting close to that himself. The difference was, his dad was built with muscle and Dan was just skin and bones. "By the end of the summer, I'm sure you won't want to leave."

"I seriously doubt that."

His mum came around then and picked up one of the bags. "Okay, enough death glaring, Dan. We'll go get you registered, and you can go check the place out if you want. Meet back here in an hour, and we'll give you all the information, yeah?" At least he wouldn't have to sit through that boring ass seminar, then.

"Fine," he muttered darkly and sulked away, dragging his shoes through the dirt as noticeably as possible, so they would know he didn't want to be here.

There weren't many other people here, and it either meant that the camp wasn't as popular as it seemed online and nobody would actually be here, or they just hadn't all arrived yet. He was hoping for the first option, praying for it actually.

It was big, that was for sure. An entire five-acre land plot with twenty cabins on each side of the wide lake, one side for boys and the other for girls. There was also a pool, for those pretentious kids who claimed they couldn't possibly swim in such a dirty lake. A rec room full of games and activities, but no wifi; a mess hall that could hold seven hundred kids, and bathrooms near the edge of the cabins. And surrounding the whole thing, a scarce forest with trees that towered over the place almost sinisterly. Him and trees didn't get along so well. Actually, most all of nature in general wasn't his thing, but trees were an entirely different and creepy species of their own.

He was going to walk around the lake, try to avoid falling in as best as possible, when a rustling noise from the forest interrupted. His first irrational thought was that there were definitely fucking monsters in there ready to claim his soul. But he looked closer and saw it was just another kid, sitting high up in the branches and drinking from what was clearly not a soda bottle.

"Are you getting drunk in a tree?" He said loudly, laughing as the kid nearly fell, muttering curses and glaring down at Dan viciously

"Jesus fuck, I thought you were Heidi," the kid, a guy, said in relief. He started climbing down, and Dan panicked, his usually stoic and asocial nature telling him to run for it; jeez, he hadn't been looking for a conversation here. But the guy dropped to the ground and grinned at Dan widely, still clutching the clear bottle in one hand. "New here, huh?"

Dan crossed his arms defensively. "Maybe. Why?"

"You've got that fresh faced, 'life is unfair and I don't want to be here' look about you," he said amiably, then stuck his hand in Dan's face. "I'm Finn, three consecutive year camper here at Overfell."

"Sounds morbid," Dan said, but shook his hand anyway. "Dan, and I'm here against my will, so I think the whole 'life is unfair' bit is a good fit for me." Finn shook his head and laughed. "Don't you think drinking in a tree is a bit of a safety hazard?"

"Only place I can do it," Finn said with a sigh. "The downside to coming here every year is having to bring my older, much more responsible sister with me, and she's like a fucking bloodhound, I swear, I can't do anything fun with her around."

Well, he could understand that much. "Better than having your parents force you here just to get away from you for a whole two months."

"Ooh, that's a low blow." Finn winced. "It's honestly not that bad here, the counselors are pretty chill about most things, but curfew is at eleven and you don't want to get caught breaking that rule, trust me. And no nude swimming, not really a rule more a warning, your balls will probably wither into nothing."

"And alcohol?" Dan asked with a smirk, and Finn rolled his eyes.

"You're not gonna tell on me, are you?"

"Not if you share." He didn't smoke, but drinking wasn't completely off the table. Finn raised an eyebrow and gave him a pleased look.

"Deal."

***

a/n: remember when I used to be fucking terrible at writing first chapters, and now it's pretty much all I can write now, amazing.

I know this is like the fourth new story I've started since the start of this year, but I literally have eighteen stories in my drafts and I think I should start writing what I want to write and not force myself to finish stories I have no ideas for.

This story is gonna be told in two parts, for the two months that Dan's gonna be at the camp, so don't get confused by that.

I've fucking always wanted to write a summer camp au, and I decided to to work on it over the summer, for you know, more impact or something? I've been to a summer camp once in my life when I was eleven years old, so this may not be an accurate portrayal of all camps in general.

Okay that's all really, hope you guys liked this first chapter, peace :3