Eli has gone to do some groceries as I pack my stuff to leave again. He offered a few clothes, but I refused and said I'll buy some soon.

I don't want Minho on my roof with all the questions again.

Lyndon and Newt are going to Newt's house today. His parents were too busy to pick him up this Friday, so they're going from Sunday to Wednesday. I'll ask Thomas and Teresa for a sleepover later.

I've been at Eli's since Friday night, and now it's Sunday.

We haven't had any more intimate moments. I haven't tried, neither has he. We did go out once, but that was that. I guess we can still be friends after all, and forget about our first meeting.

It takes suspiciously long for Eli to come back from the groceries. "Sorry," he apologizes when he's finally back. "It was busy in the store. Wanna have lunch before you leave?"

Not gonna decline that.

We sit down at the table. He brought a baguette, which I gladly take a piece from.

"Okay. Tell me again. You went into that hut with the boy you like—"

"I never said I like him. I said he's an idiotic, awful—"

"Whatever." He waves it off. "And you shared the bed, then woke up to you two cuddling."

"Yes." I sigh. "And it was awkward. We had to untangle, fix our clothes, and then wait for Janson to arrive."

Eli chuckles as he fills his glass with milk. "Be glad he at least didn't walk in on you."

"Yeah, alright. You've got a point. But still. It was awful."

Once we're done, I have decided it really is time to go. I've convinced everyone I'm just at girl friend, but I'm not always the best liar, and Lyndon knows damn well I don't have many friends outside the camp.

Eli drives me back to the camp. I hug him, thank him, and tell him we'll meet up soon again.

Then I start making my way back to hut two. It was nice to be away from the camp for a while, but I've got to admit that I missed it a little bit. Especially my friends.

I step inside the hut. Perhaps I'll spend the rest of the day buying some new clothes. I'll lend someone from someone.

Until I see what's on my bed.

Oh, well. Guess I won't need to buy anything.

There's a whole pile of clothes. Women's clothes. And they seem pretty nice, too.

I sit down to go through them. Plenty pairs of shorts, a few sweaters, colorful tops, a summer dress, and even the expensive white romper I wore when I first arrived.

Below the pile, I find a note.

Thought you needed this, is all it says.

My first thought goes to Eli. I told him about my clothes. The grocery shopping took him suspiciously long. He's kind enough to do something like this.

But then the romper would be such a coincidence, and I don't think he'd spend that much money on me. We've only known each other for like a week.

Lyndon isn't supposed to know about our hut. I think he has asked Newt about it by now, since we betrayed ourselves back there, behind the Homestead. But no, I don't think Lyndon would give me clothes in this way. He for sure wouldn't add such a mysterious note.

Minho hates me too much to do this, Thomas is broke as hell, and I know Teresa was at home. Perhaps the girls did something.

Whatever. I'm happy enough to just change. And since most kids are reuniting with their parents in the third week before they resume the camp, it's not busy here. I can wear the romper without it getting dirty. It's my favorite anyways.

Curious about which friends did stay here or are already back from their reunion, I walk into the cafeteria.

Clearly not a lot.

The tables are very empty, even though lunch was served at one, and it's only a few minutes past one. At our usual table, I only see Minho.

How does he manage to not look lonely even though he's all alone?

And then he sees me.

No turning back now.

I quickly smash some food on a plate in case we don't have anything to talk about and then I'll at least have something to do (eating), then slide across from him.

"Hi."

"Hey. What's up?"

"Not much," I say. "You?"

"Not much."

Well.

"Did you visit your parents?" I ask carefully.

"Yeah. I went with Jeff in the weekend. We visited his parents. It was nice."

I nod. "Great."

Jeez, arguing with him is way better than this awkward interaction.

"And you? Lyndon said you were going to a friend?" A short pause. "Oh, he left about an hour ago, by the way. Was sad he couldn't tell you bye."

"Yeah. It was good," I say fast.

I don't like how nice we're being today.

"Are you okay?" I randomly blurt out. Sometimes, it's nice to ask. What's up is so much different from a genuine are you okay.

Surprised, he looks at me. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

Okay. No 'are you saying I don't look hot' or whatever his usual reply would've been.

"I don't know." I shrug. "I figured you'd be with Thomas. And back in the Shack, you had some crazy mood switches. Unless that was from the whole Eli thing, something's going on."

I have no idea when I philosophized about this, but I guess it's the truth.

"Thomas is with Teresa," he bites out.

Ah, right. Forgot about that. Minho doesn't like talking about subjects that could be considered about his feelings.

"I thought you were his wingman."

He looks back down at his plate, resting the side of his head on his palm. "I am."

"You sound really excited about it."

For a second he looks up, only to scowl at me, and then he looks back down, picking at his food.

"Anything going on?"

I swear to god, if he snaps because of this question and will yell at me not to put my nose in his business, I will—

"They're all too busy with their lovely boyfriends and girlfriends," he says harshly, to my surprise. "Thought Thomas and I were best friends, but he seems to like you and Teresa way better. Newt? He's suddenly glued to Lyndon. Whenever I talk to him, I'm also talking to Lyndon. And I like Lyndon, but they should both know other people exist, too."

I'm too stunned to speak, though my mind going through all his words, as if it's scanning them.

Minho definitely has a point, I conclude.

"And now Newt has completely left the camp with Lyndon, and Thomas is too busy with his other friends and crushes. The days I spent in the Shack have always been the days we would have a sleepover at Newt's. I figured we'd have that sleepover later, but apparently not. And I don't want to tell them that, because I feel selfish. And I wish them every happy thing in the world, so I also don't want to ruin their fun. And I also have no idea why I'm telling you all of this."

Wow. I'm really not sure what to say now.

"I'm sorry my friendship with Thomas made you feel like that. I wasn't purposely trying to take him away from you," I start. "But I get what you mean. And it's not selfish. You just... miss your best friends. You have the right to. And you can tell them that. I'm certain they will agree, Minho."

His eyes get a little bigger, as if some kind of hope is filling them, but that sounds too spiritual.

"Yeah, maybe." He lets go of a breath. "Thanks. And don't hang out less with Thomas. I should just ask him to hang out sometime. And Newt, too."

I nod. "Do that, and I think it'll be okay."

After a few seconds of silence, his head tilts to the side as a grin forms on his face. "You're really not that mean."

"And you're really not that tough," I snap back, and then regret it.

But he doesn't mind. Thank God. "I guess I'm not. Are you planning to actually go to your parents, too?"

"No." I shake my head. "I don't like my stepmom and my Dad gave her my mom's necklace. I'm pissed at him."

"How come you don't like your stepmom? She like Cinderella's stepmom?"

"She and I just can't get along. And I can't get over the stupid fact that my mother won't come back to life. Lyndon calls her 'Mom', Dad married her only a few years after my mother's death, she acts like she's my biological mother and can yell at me as much as she likes... I hate it. Sometimes, she's nice, but I can't get myself to be nice back to her."

His eyes trail over my face for a few seconds. His lips stay a bit curved up as he speaks. "I think you have decent reasons. As long as you don't completely destroy that woman with mean words, it's okay you can't get along."

I feel a smile appearing on my face, and I can't control it. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He smiles back. My stomach does one of those stupid flips at it.

I take a few bites of my food, even though I'm not hungry. Just so I don't have to say anything, since I have no idea what to say.

"Are your parents nice?" I eventually decide to ask. "Don't take that offensively."

He chuckles. "Yeah, they're awesome. My mom's that bake mom, you know? Always got something handmade at home, and always making sure you're full. My dad's a funny guy, even with his dad jokes, and he's always in for a game."

My heart warms at the idea. "I'm glad. Is the homemade food edible enough?"

"I would've let you taste something if I brought it with me."

We look at each other for quite a few seconds. I hate making eye contact, but I won't allow myself to move until he does.

His eyes have gained a twinkle in the meanwhile. "Actually, we still have the whole freaking week, and half of our friends are gone. You should have a taste of the things she makes this week. Today."

My eyebrows fly up. "How far away from the camp do you live?"

"Quite some miles, but I know how to ride a motorcycle. I can hire one. We can go right now."

The faster I agree, the less I'll think about how bad this idea is. So I agree, for some reason. I agree like we didn't hate each other just three weeks ago.

"Also, you're wearing that romper again. The one you wore when I pulled you into the pool."

"I'm surprised you remember."

"I for sure remember it was see through and you were wearing red—"

"Okay, enough." I give him a push. "But yeah, I'm wearing it again. Since it won't really get dirty today."

"It will on that motorcycle. Go change. I'm sure you have plenty of clothes," he hints.

My mouth somewhat falls open at the way he says it.

He holds his hands beside his head as he takes a few steps back. "What? You seriously think that Eli bought you new clothes?"