Alexander swept the floor angrily. He had slept horribly last night, too busy thinking about Aaron and what the hell his stupid ass uncle meant.

Did Aaron accidentally let it slip about what he truly thought of the lgbtq+ community? If so, is that why his uncle thinks Alexander corrupted him?

Of course, that wasn't the only thing that had kept Alexander awake. There was the fact that his body was a bit sore from 'punishment'.

"Alright, everyone. Time for lunch."

Alexander gagged. They called the shit they fed them lunch? That stale bread and some cheese that was probably all sorts of disgusting.

Nevertheless, he followed the nun obediently still deep in thought. They arrived at the dining hall and all campers rushed to get the best food left.

Alexander followed the crowd, grabbing food absentmindedly, before going and sitting in a hard, stupidly uncomfortable seat. He dug into his food, mouth twisting with distaste at the bland, horrible flavor.

"Why do we have to eat this shit?" Someone grumbled.

"Yeah," Someone else said. "And look at the pastor's prissy nephew. He should have to eat this horrible food as well."

The first person snorted. "If this could even be called food."

Alexander paid no mind to the rest of their conversation, instead perking up at the mention of Aaron. He looked around, searching for the younger boy.

He grinned when he spotted him. He picked up his tray and rushed over to his friend.

"Hey, Aaron!" He said gleefully, taking a seat beside him.

Aaron looked up startled. "Alexander!" He said.

"How're you doing?" He asked, grabbing his rock hard bread and taking a painful bite.

"F-Fine." Aaron stammered, quiet.

Alexander frowned. "Is everything alright?" He asked.

Aaron stared down at his lap and nodded mutely.

Alexander scowled and grabbed his wrist. Aaron's eyes widened and he looked at him.

"What's going on Aaron," Alexander demanded. "Something's up and I want to know what."

"R-Really Alexander, it's nothing." Aaron stammered, trying and failing to escape his grasp.

Aaron's attempts to escape only caused Alexander to tighten his grip. "I know something's wrong Aaron. Is your shitty uncle doing something?"

Aaron flinched and Alexander knew he'd hit the head on the nail.

"Aaron," he said, softer this time. "You can tell me what's going on. I won't tell anyone."

"Uncle Timothy found out." He whispered after a long pause.

Alexander frowned. "Found out what?"

"He found out that I don't hate lgbtq+ people and that I actually support them." Aaron sniffled, tears starting to build in his eyes. "I don't know what he's going to do once summer break is over Alex. I'm scared."

"I won't let that bastard hurt you, Aaron," Alexander said, reaching over and hugging the younger boy.

"But what can you do?" Aaron whispered. "You live in New York. I live in New Jersey. You can't stop him. You shouldn't make promises you can't keep."

"So maybe I can't stop him from hurting you," Alexander admitted. "But I can help to counteract it."

"How?"

"I'll send you letters."

Aaron blinked and looked up at him. "Letters?" He asked.

Alexander nodded, squeezing him a bit. "Yes, letters. Are you always first home?"

"Yes. Uncle Timothy has to stay at the church for services. He normally gets home around five."

"Perfect. Check your mailbox every day. Including the weekends. We wouldn't want your bastard of an uncle to find any of the letters I'm going to send, now would we."

Aaron looked shocked, his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide. "You're going to send me a letter every day?" He asked.

"Well, at least the days that I can," Alexander said. "This way, whenever your uncle does something bad, you can read them and feel good again. I don't want to see you hurt Aaron. You're my friend and I want to protect you."

Aaron hugged him back. "Thank you, Alexander." He whispered, pressing his face into his chest.

Alexander patted his head, ignoring the stares and glares of his peers around them. Right then and there, he promised that he would never let anything harm Aaron ever again. He refused to let his friend be hurt again. Anyone who dared to even think of hurting the younger, innocent boy, was going to answer to him.

"Alright!" A nun called. "Lunch is over."

Alexander slowly disentangled himself from Aaron and stood up to put his lunch tray away.

"Wait, Alexander," Aaron called, grabbing onto his sleeve.

Alexander turned and stared at his friend in confusion. "What is it?"

"Uncle Timothy will get mad if he sees us together." Aaron quickly explained. "Tonight, do you want to meet at the lake?"

Alexander grinned and nodded. "Sure thing. After curfew?"

"At ten o'clock," Aaron said firmly.

"Will do. See you then Burr Bear."

He watched with a tiny smirk as Aaron's eyes widened and his face flooded red.

He walked away and set his lunch tray down before walking over to the waiting nun.

"Since you took so long," she said, obviously irritated. "You get to wash all the dishes tonight."

Alexander scoffed and went to join the others in the line. "Whatever you say, lady." He called as he walked away. He smirked when the nun glowered, her face turning quite an ugly purple.

"I would suggest breathing," he said. "Otherwise we'll all infect you with our gay."

The nun only seemed angrier as a couple of people muffled their snickers.

"If I hear one word out of your mouth again young man, you will be punished." She growled. Alexander shrugged. Honestly, they never learned their lesson, did they. A simple whipping wasn't going to discipline him. It was only going to make him hate them more and give him all the motivation to make their lives as difficult as possible.

As the nun barked orders, he kept quiet. The only thing holding him back was the thought of seeing Aaron again in that clearing. He knew that if he was snarky again, the nun would punish him after all the chores were done and he didn't want to be so exhausted and sore that he couldn't enjoy his time with Aaron.

He rolled his shoulders and started on his chores, the thought of Aaron's flushed face not leaving his mind for a single second.