**This series will hereafter be referred to as SC in the title, because 'Summer Camp' takes a long time to write. This chapter is Sasuke and Jax's time to shine. I guess this is an AU where they're not trapped in a hospital, and Sasuke's not dying. The shtick for the cabin Arethusa was that they were the Arethusa Snakes and that was like a recurring thing. Warnings: Snek picture above. Enjoy.**

     It was way too hot to be outside. Why was Jax going to summer camp? She had no idea. Maybe her mom just wanted her out of the house. Dana had been the one to suggest it to her, after all. But no matter how it happened, here she was, following as the staff rolled her luggage into her cabin. Dana had wrapped her in a hug, told her to behave, and left, and that was it. Jax was by herself. Well, that wasn't entirely true; everywhere she looked, there were people. But she felt like she was by herself. 

     At the same time, Sasuke's parents had just finished helping him unpack. After teary hugs and goodbyes (most of the tears from Mina), Sasuke was left with his counselor and cabinmates. He missed his family already. 

     "Hey there, welcome to Devil's Den!" the counselor had said. "Sasuke Tanaka?" The boy nodded. "Welcome, welcome! My name's Steve, I'm gonna be your counselor. Come on in, make yourself at home."

     "Welcome to Arethusa!" Jax's counselor greeted with a smile, leaning against the outside wall of the cabin. Her gaze flicked to the clipboard in her hand. "What's your name, hun?"

     "Um...Jackson," Jax said quietly.

     "Jackson? Nice to meet you. I'm Zoe. Is this your first year here?"

     Jax nodded. "You can call me Jax, if you want. It's kind of my nickname."

     "Ooh, that's really cool," Zoe said.

     "Y-you think so?" Everyone had thought that nickname was weird.

     "Yeah, that's awesome, welcome!" Zoe said cheerfully. "Come on in!" 

     Jax followed Zoe in. The cabin was lit with the dim glow of fairy lights. Girls the same age as Jax were sitting on their chosen beds. One was writing in her  journal, another playing ukulele, another nestled in a hammock, another drawing. The atmosphere made Jax relax a little. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

     Sasuke looked around his cabin. He had been the last of his cabin to arrive, so his cabin was full of boys his age. He was sitting with them on a couch that took up one wall of the cabin. The boys were laughing uproariously at stupid jokes that only teenage boys would find funny, and Steve was laughing right along with them, and so was Sasuke. With each passing minute, he felt more and more welcome. 

     About an hour had passed when the cabins were all called to meet in the dining hall. The dining hall was an enormous room that was muggy despite the ceiling fans and echoed each whisper that was spoken. The entire camp was clustered into a circle as the camp director welcomed them all. He then challenged everyone to meet at least five people that weren't part of their own cabin, and the hall was filled with voices as everyone mingled around.

     No thank you, Jax thought, I'm happy with the girls in my cabin. All the other cabins were loud and gossipy. Jax had already began devising a way to never leave her cabin.

     Sasuke hung back, his fear returning. He looked around for anyone willing to talk to him, and his eyes found a girl that was also avoiding the crowd. She had intelligent silver eyes and hair the same color, woven with shades of blue. Sasuke took a breath and made his way over to her.

     "Hi."

     Jax jumped. How long had he been there? 

     "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

     "It's fine. You didn't."

     Awkward silence. They kept a distance away from each other.

     "I'm Sasuke," he blurted, extending his hand to shake hers. "I'm in Devil's Den. It's my first year here."

     Jax couldn't help but smile. Out of pity, of course.

     "Jax. Arethusa. It's my first year, too."

     "Really?"

     Jax nodded. "Yeah. I have no idea what's gonna happen here."

     "Then we can be clueless together!" Sasuke said. "I have no idea either. So why be alone and confused when we can be...together and confused?"

     A giggle escaped Jax's lips. "Don't you want to hang out with them?" she asked, nodding her head towards the larger group. 

     Sasuke looked at them. He shrugged. "I guess we're kinda gonna have to hang out with everyone," he said. "So it's not a matter of wanting to. But, when we get a choice, do you want to stick together?"

     Jax sighed. "Sure. What the hell. It's nice - surprising, but nice - to see someone so eager to hang out with me."

     Sasuke smiled. "Well...surprise, I guess," he chuckled.

     Jax laughed. She was intrigued by this new friend of hers. There was something about him...she didn't know what it was, but it made her want to trust him.

     Ugh. Feelings.

**Arethusa was a couple cabins down from mine, but we never visited. As for Devil's Den, I'm pretty sure that cabin didn't really exist. I walked the entire campus a billion times and never ever saw their actual cabin. At breakfast and dinner, we sat right next to them, and the girls in my cabin kept fawning over their CIT, but that's the only evidence I have that they actually were a real thing. Illuminati confirmed.**