PEGGY'S POV

Last night was eventful. Alex sobbed all night. I tried everything I could to calm him down, and I just couldn't. In the end I had to go and get Buddy, he's one of the dogs we have on camp. He always helps cheer Alex up. Luckily, if Washington were to walk in he wouldn't question it. A dog, a boy and a girl in the boys cabin. He knows how Alex is- seeing as he is Alex's foster parent. Him and Martha both foster Alex, which means that when Alex is like this we don't get questioned. They just let it be. Because they know that if they try to interfere Alex will explode. All of his anger, fear and hatred will come out at once. I've only ever seen it once before, and trust me, it was terrifying. But he would never lay a hand on any one from our group, he wouldn't hurt a fly, the only time he gets violet is when he's in a fight.

"Lex... come on, we need to go to breakfast. I'm sure Orpheus still wants to see you!" I said, trying to pull him out of bed. But Alex has a skill, he can put on a mask. People won't see this side of him when we leave the cabin. He'll be the same Alex that he normally is.

He finally gets out of his bed and goes into the bathroom to change.

A few minutes later, Alex emerges from the bathroom in black jeans, a white t shirt and a black and red flannel tied around his waste. He looks like the normal Alex. He put the lead on Buddy and we start the walk to the dog kennels.

Once we reach the kennels, he goes up to Buddy's pen, taking the lead off of him and stroking him for a few minutes.

Once we had finished putting Buddy away we start the slow walk to the cafeteria.

He opens the door, like the gentleman he is, and allows me to walk through. He follows close behind and we make our way to our normal table. As we approach we see two trays of food in our normal spaces. Alex has a note placed on top of his water; it reads:

Hey Alex!

Didn't see you last night, but I thought it would be best to give you some time with Peggy. Come round to my cabin whenever you're free! We need a catch up, we miss you so much! Speak soon!

From,
Orpheus and Eurydice

Oh yeah! I completely forgot we were supposed to go see Orpheus. Nice of him to save us some food though. As we finish reading the note we look up, the whole group is talking, not even sparing a glance, except John. He looks confused, ashamed even.

"Hey john! Sleep well? I know the beanbags aren't the most comfy things in the world but they're okay!" I say, trying to get him involved in our conversation. Alex pats the chair next to him, gesturing for John to come and sit there.

"Yeah. Yeah I slept okay." He murmured. He feels guilty. My god John is so much easier to read than Alex.

"Alex do you think we would be able to talk outside for a minute?" John asks. He better tell him his feelings. If not he's got a one way ticket to hell, I'll bitch slap him down there if I have to.

"Oh, yeah sure!" Alex replies, seeming as happy as ever.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see which way this goes.

3RD PERSON POV

Both boys walked outside of the cafeteria, standing just to the left of the large building. They stared at each other. Both not knowing what was about to happen.

"Sorry about last night. I just didn't know what to say. I mean, UGH. Okay, so, Alex. I like you too. We've literally known each other for a day and I care about you so much. I just, I don't know if I'm ready to take it the next step yet. But I promise, when I'm ready, I'll make us official. Deal?"

"Deal." Both boys shook hands.

They walked back into the cafeteria next to each other, but not touching.

PEGGY'S POV

They aren't holding hands. They aren't smiling. They just look... calm? Casual? I don't know. I really hope this went the way it was supposed to.

We all eat and make our way back to our cabins. Activities start today, and luckily we're all in the same group (along with the SMFDR UGH). The Washington's try to keep groups together, it's just lucky that John was put in our group too. Our first activity is hiking. That's not too bad. I guess it gives us all time to bond as a group.

Washington's voice booms behind us "CAN THE REVOLUTION PLEASE MAKE THEIR WAY DOWN TO THE LAKE TO START THEIR FIRST ACTIVITY." Haha, funny I know. The Washington's know all of the group names, some of which include:

- the revolution (obviously)
-the SMFDR (ugh)
- the Hadestown folk (cool)
- Westerburg (the heathers... ugh)
-the outcasts (a few small groups)

We used to have another group, the French. We didn't call them that, obviously, it's just what they went by. Eponine was in that group. Marius, Eponine, Cosette, Javert, Jean Valjean and more. They were a nice group. Javert and Valjean were always fighting. Just like Hamilton and Jefferson really. They stopped coming after Eponine and Marius we're both killed. We never saw them again.

We all make our way down to the lake, dressed in walking boots and clothes. When we get there Washington is standing, waiting for our arrival. We all gather in a circle around him wait for his instructions.

"Hello! Morning all! Hope you're ready for some hiking today, we're going to be heading out to the Valamore river. It's about two miles that way." He says as he points in the direction of the river.

(I DON'T THINK THATS A REAL PLACE GUYS I JUST MADE IT UP)

"I will be needing people to take different roles, so I've already delegated as to stop any fighting." He says whilst looking at Alex and Thomas.

"FIRST. We need a map reader. For this I have chosen Eliza and John."

"NEXT. Someone to remind us when to drink water. For this I have chosen James Madison." Wow, that's a pretty bad role. But I mean, James looks happy with it.

"MOVING ON. First aider. For this I have chosen Alex." Honestly that is perfect for Alex. His first aid skills are AMAZING. But they have to be, he has to constantly deal with kids falling off horses 24/7.

"FURTHERMORE. Our vice first aider is Hercules." Not bad. So if it's Alex that needs help he's basically just gonna carry him. I mean, that's all he usually does anyway.

"LASTLY. We obviously need people who will calm Alex and Jefferson down when they get in an argument. For this I have chosen Peggy and Angelica." Oh. Okay. That's cool with me.

"LETS GO!" He says, and we all start walking towards the woods.

- TIME SKIP -

"We're not lost. Just not completely sure of where we are." Eliza says. Of course she's trying to reassure people, it's all she ever does. I mean, I love her for it- but sometimes she just needs to look after herself and not everybody else.

"Nah, we're totally lost. Why don't we just go back the way we came and then take the other path." John says, honestly that's the best idea we've got. Washington won't help us because he says we need to 'figure it out for ourselves'. It's not the first time I've been to the river, he just makes us come a different route every year.

"Let's just got back, and follow last years route." Alex suggests. Looks like we're doing that as everyone starts moving back down the path.

After about 10 minutes of walking down the dirt track we were on everyone was engrossed in their own conversations. Eliza and Angelica were just gossiping about nonsense, Hercules and Laf were holding hands and whispering sweet nothings to each other, me and John were just walking silently and Alex and Thomas were arguing. Again.

I don't know what their arguing about, but it's probably nothing. I walk a bit faster, trying to hear what their saying. I only hear parts, but from what I could hear it wasn't anything serious. Probably some petty issue that has escalated into an argument.

We walk for another 10 minutes, and we're only about a mile away. We are all pulled out of our conversations as we hear heaving panting in the group.

We all listen to who the panting is coming from when we look at James Madison. He looks exhausted. Alex runs in front of James and makes him sit on the floor, whilst his breathing quickens.

ALEX'S POV

We all hear the panting and I suddenly see Madison, struggling for breath. I make him sit down and ask the others to leave us for a minute. I get out his inhaler from his bag and sit in front of him.

"Okay. James, look at me okay. Just look at my face, and we're going to breath, nice and slow. Okay?"

He nods slightly, attempting to slow his breathing. I place his hand on my chest and ask him to follow my breathing. He manages to slow his a bit, and looks a little bit more relaxed.

"DA- WASHINGTON. I'M GONNA TAKE JAMES BACK SO I'LL CATCH UP WITH YOU GUYS SOON!"I shout, in an attempt to get their attention. Washington offers to help get him back, but I think I can manage. I take my radio out from my rucksack and put it on my belt, just incase I need to call for help again.

"Son, take care of him okay. I don't doubt that you will make sure he gets back safe but please don't forget that the path is rough and you need to stay alert too."

"I will, turn on your radio just incase. I'll see you soon." And with that I turn around and head back to camp with Madisons arm around my shoulder.

We make it back to camp within 15 minutes and at this point Madisons breathing is pretty much back to normal.

I take him over to the reception and ask them to take him to the first aid station.

They take James through and I decided that while I'm here I might as well get Buddy out, he could do with a good walk anyway. I make my way over to the kennels and the people who run it already know who I'm here for so I don't have to sign him out.

I get Bud and start the walk back to the group, it takes me a lot less time because I'm on my own and I vaguely remember the route. It's about 25 minutes until I see the group, Bud runs ahead to see Peggy as he knows her and Washington very well. Everyone turns around to see where the dog came from, Thomas looks terrified as Bud sniffs his leg.

"You okay there Thomas?" I laugh, he looks so scared but it's actually hilarious.

"GET THIS MUTT OFF ME!" He screamed. How dare he call him a mutt. I walk a bit closer to the group and whistle, Bud runs right back to my side and Thomas looks a lot more relaxed. As I walk past him I punch him.

"Call him a mutt again and I won't be so kind." I growl just loud enough for him to hear.

"How is James, Alex?" Washington asks.

"Oh yeah, he's fine. He's in reception now so."

"Good, thank you son." I cringe at the word son and I think everyone notices because they all look at me.

"Okay, well I think Bud wants a run so I'll be back in a minute" I say, just an excuse to get away from this whole situation. I run ahead with Buddy and we reach the river. He drinks from the river and jumps on top of me, pushing me to the ground in a fit of laughter.

"Hey Bud! How ya been?" Peggy says in a high pitched voice like she was talking to a baby. He runs over to her and jumps on her too, she comes straight to the ground laughing like I did. We both lie on the floor and wait for the group to come whilst Bud lies in-between us with his belly towards the sky. We stroke his belly and he kisses our faces.

"Buddy! Come here! Hey bud!" Washington says. He's always had a soft spot for Bud. He lets me bring him home after camp and he lives with us. Bud runs up to him and rolls on his back. God, he's so cute. John is cute. WOAH. I HAVEN'T SPOKE TO JOHN FOR AGES! God. I'll go see him now.

I wave at John, trying to get his attention. "Hey! John! Come meet Buddy!" I exclaim.

"Oh, yeah sure." He seems a little nervous. Maybe he doesn't like dogs. He slowly walks to me, being careful to avoid the dog at all costs.

"Don't worry, he doesn't bite. Hold on I'll get him to stay still." I say, i whistle and Bud comes running up to us both and John slowly starts moving backwards. I grab his hand to keep him there. And I don't let go.

"Bud. Sit." I say, and he sits straight away without hesitation. I kneel in front of him and he licks my face, to which I feel John tense up.

"Hey, it's okay. Come here." I move John's hand onto the back of Buddy's head, and slowly move it so that he's stroking him. As he strokes him more his confidence grows and a smile is placed on John's face. We stay like this until I tell Bud that he's a good boy BECAUSE HE IS. He jumps on top of me and John tenses again. I lie on the floor whilst Bud kisses my face and eventually lies next to me, under my arm.

John lies down too, next to me. He looks so adorable in the sunlight. His eyes are alive with curiosity. He looks calm. Chill. I like it. After a few minutes Buddy gets up to go play with the others. We immediately sit up when a loud splash comes from the river, I look over to see Buddy splashing in the water with Eliza and Angelica. The river isn't deep so it comes to their knees. Looks like Bud is winning over everyone's heart today. Now it's just for me to win John's.