Archive of Our Own ^beta

There is a certain hierarchy to bus seating arrangements. When one is in school, they are quickly able to discern one’s personality and social standing from where one usually sits on the bus. In the front, there are the polite kids. Sometimes introverted, but often can converse and interact with their follow front-runners. In the center, these tend to be your everyday people, who often flock to the same exact seat in the hopes of sharing it with a friend, or at least someone they know. In the back, you’ve got the loud ones. The delinquents, the really social people, who make the most of a bus ride together. The true party people.

However, there is a section one tends to overlook. It is niche, but it can exist. See, usually within the fourth to sixth rows from the back, reside someone not often social enough to be in the center, not quite put-together to get in the front seats before they’re filled, and not wild enough to be in the back. They usually sit alone, and play on their phones or handhelds until it’s time to get off.

Oz sat in the fifth row from the back on the bus most days, usually the right side of the bus. And today would be no different, even if this occasion wasn’t for school.

Oz fiddled with his phone a bit, using his two duffel bags that he had brought as an armrest, occasionally glancing out the window. Long gone were the tamed trees and buildings of the suburban city he’d seen years ago when he was in earlier years of schooling, and had taken the bus. By now, they were going through farmland, not quite at the forest that was their destination. Spooky High had let out for summer just a mere 2 weeks ago. But now, he was on his way to Monster Camp. For the next few weeks, he’d be roughing (or potentially crashing someone’s RV) with other young monsters like him. With far less adult supervision than he was used to. He’d heard about how Monster Camp was this great time, so he decided...sure. Why not go there for the first half of his summer vacation?

But as he took a glance out into the aisle of the bus, seeing various people chatting amongst themselves, having fun, and two dudes just flat-out punching each other in the back to see who would pass out first, while others jeered them on and recorded (seriously, isn’t he bus driver supposed to stop stuff like this?), Oz knew there was...well, a stronger reason for why he came here.

Oz thought back to a few weeks ago, when Prom was approaching. He’d told himself he’d find a date for it, but even after a few weeks of trying to get on someone’s good side, he just...didn’t find the confidence to ask anyone out. He was on friendly terms with a few more people now, sure, but prom-level? Oz couldn’t bring himself to do it. He figured not asking and keeping some potential friends was probably safer than making himself look like an idiot by asking one of them out. He sighed to himself. He...he had to try again now that camp had started up. If he missed this chance, he may not have any more chances. He was young. If he didn’t find love now...who knew what life would be like for him.

The bus suddenly lurched, causing most of the people on the bus to gasp in shock. Oz looked out the window. That lurch was the feeling of going over a massive rock in the road, and it was a sign that their journey was nearly over. The bus slowed a bit to match the looser terrain, as they headed into the forest, the pavement replaced with dirt, gravel, and the occasional big ol’ lurching stone. Fuck those stones. Oz narrowed his eyes slightly. Okay, let’s review the game plan. There’s a new deadline. At the end of camp, there isn’t exactly a “prom”, but it serves the same MacGuffin endpoint. The last day or so was basically when any counselors or authority went out for an end-of-the-year staff party to celebrate, doing...well, whatever it is they did. Probably some combination of drinking and weird sex. So, since nobody was supervising, that tended to happen with the campers left behind, except throw irresponsibility, drugs, and probably manslaughter into the mix, and so was dubbed “Midsummer Mayhem”, unofficially. Counselors wouldn’t return until their hangovers faded anyway, so all you had to do was make sure you got on the bus the day after, and nobody could prove you did anything.

But Midsummer Mayhem wasn’t just about getting absolutely wasted, getting freaky with your fellow campers, and adding to the kill count of the mythical scapegoat “The Backwoods Backstabber”. From what he’d heard from others, Midsummer Mayhem was the time many people chose to ask someone out. So instead of just spending time with friends and random campers, it became more like an epic date. You got to get wasted, freaky, and slaughter with someone you love, and the relationship tended to continue even after camp ended. So, very much the same purpose as prom. Oz sighed. It couldn’t be that tricky, could it? He’d already started warming up to certain people before summer hit, he just needed them to be there again so he could continue where he left off. Polly, Liam, Vera, and Miranda...at least ONE of them had to come...right?

Soon, the bus wheezed to a stop, and people began to get off. Bus hierarchy quickly began to come into play once again, as the people in the front and middle began to file off. Meanwhile, the back of the bus filed into the aisles, blocking Oz from leaving his seat, at least until they got past. So, Oz took the time to put his phone away, and heft up his duffels, squeezing out of his seat with them once the last person passed by, and following out. After that, Oz stepped down from the bus, feeling the spot he’d been standing on moments ago vanish as the bus peeled out of there. And so Oz was left looking out over Monster Camp as various fellow campers walked into it, some still chatting, others more focused at the camp. Oz could see a scouting cabin and some sort of manor first, but beyond that seemed to be a central campground. To the left, the forest looked much denser, perfect for exploring and hiking, and to the right, was some sort of gladiatorial-looking dome. Finally, behind all that, seemed to be a large lake, perfect for swimming. Oz took a breath. Looks like he wasn’t going to run out of things to do, at least. He hoped.

Oz quickly scanned the other campers that had come on the bus. Let’s see...no...no...no...he didn’t recognize anyone past being acquaintances he was familiar with. O-one of his interests had to have come, right? See, look, there was Scott. Big friendly guy he was friends with, just...not someone he was personally interested in romantically. Scott hung out with the others a lot, surely one of them must be...no, he seemed to be talking with someone Oz didn’t recognize. There was someone else he was vaguely acquainted with...and another...there’s another stranger...and...oh, there’s Damien, currently slamming another camper against a large rock. Oz would consider Damien a friend, they’d certainly had spent time together during school, but...Damien felt like too much to keep up with as a boyfriend for Oz. Oz glanced around a bit with worry...no...none of the people he actually had feelings for at school came…? In retrospect, people like Vera and Liam made sense, they didn’t seem to be very much for the outdoors...and Miranda, too, for that matter. But he at least figured Polly, the party girl, would have come simply for the end of camp! Little did Oz know, that Polly had much bigger party goals in mind this summer, and was already a few states away, passed out against a toilet after she wondered what whiskey and cocaine would do to her when blended.

Oz felt a bit of panic. So it was back to basics. Find someone he liked, and try like mad to make them like him back. It was school all over again...he couldn’t afford to mess it up this time! He just...had to find someone he was interested in! His brow furrowed. Yeah! His degenerate nature of hopelessly finding his peers attractive would surely aid him once more! He could do this! And it all started with his first step into camp!

Boy. Oz felt pretty silly for building himself up like that when his first step ended up with him tripping over a stone he had completely overlooked during his internal monologue. Soon, Oz met dirt, leaving his face nice and caked with said dirt, which probably had swapped grossness with countless shoes at this point. He sighed. Why did he expect anything less? Oz was about to push himself up, and try to just be on his way, and hope nobody noticed, when he saw two lace-up black boots with pink laces step in front of his vision.

“What’s up, Stranger?” The owner of the boots squatted down, offering a hand to Oz. Lifting his head a bit, he was better able to see them, seeing she was a cat girl. She had black jeans with rips across the front of her legs, and a white t-shirt with a skull graphic on the front, covered by a denim jacket with a yellow button on it that had a face with X’d-out eyes on it. She had two colored bands, a pink one on her wrist, and a gold one on her upper arm, as well as three spiked bands, one on her neck, other wrist, and tail. She had pink hair going down to her neck, with one side of her head shaved on the right side. But Oz was mostly looking at the amused face staring down at him. “Need a hand?” she asked.

Oz took the catgirl’s hand, nodding quickly. “T-thanks.” He stood up, with her assistance, brushing himself off quickly and squatting down to grab the two duffels again. He looked back to the girl, and realized something...yeah, he definitely knew this girl! He let his head tilt to one side. “Hey, aren’t you the shopkeeper from school?” Oz could remember the times he occasionally visited her shop, trying to get something that might help him have a better shot at winning someone over. He still didn’t quite understand how she got half the items in her shop…

The girl folded her arms as one of her eyebrows quirked. “I mean...yeah. My name’s Valerie. Kinda thought you might know that with us being classmates and all.” Shit. Oz put up his hands and stuttered a bit, but Valerie smirked and pushed down one of his hands by the wrist. “Save it, it’s cool. I know you had your mind on other things at school.” Valerie snickered a little. “You’re weren’t as subtle as you thought you were.” Oz blushed out of sheer embarrassment, lowering his hands back down again. “I-I see...thanks for being understanding, I-I guess…?” Valerie flashed a peace sign and a grin. “It’s chill. We’re young. I get it. That’s probably why you’re here, right?” Oz froze, nearly dropping his duffels. How the heck did this girl see through him like that? “W-what do you mean?” Valerie shrugged. “I mean...you weren’t really at prom. I was selling booze and coke out of the bathroom, but I didn’t even see you once. There’s no way you just gave up, right?” Oz paused, before looking down, shifting from foot to foot. “...maybe.” Valerie looked back into the camp, many campers already starting to set up before the fun began. “Well, I didn’t see any of the people you were buttering up the whole year come in here...good luck. Guess you should consider broadening your horizons, eh?” She put a hand on her chin, looking a bit amused. “Guess I should be grateful. Means the “desperate lovesick kid” market’s still gonna be open while I’m here. Lemme know if you need anything again, alright?” Valerie waved, stepping backwards. “I’m gonna go get setup, catch ya ‘round.” Oz barely had time to drop a bag and wave back before Valerie turned and left into the grounds. Oz re-grabbed his duffel, his brow lowering as he thought, one of the dark matter phobias that were his loyal companions rubbing its’ chin for thematic emphasis. ‘Broaden his horizons’, huh? Hmm…

WEEK 1.

After Oz had finished meeting Valerie, he’d went in, talked to a camp counselor to get his tent, and managed to get it pitched in one of the few remaining good spots, a nice flat spot of ground, and unpacked some of his personal effects, abandoning the tent for the time being to go have some fun. His first stop? The Camp Dome.

Now, it’s one thing for someone to go about slashing up campers in the dead of night with a machete. That’s sick. But sanctioned sport-based murder? Completely fine! And such, this was what essentially happened in the camp dome. Archery, Tug-of-War, Capture the Flag, Potato Sack Racing, and more occurred frequently at the dome, a new match of something-or-other happening bihourly. But considering someone usually got trampled, impaled, or simply just beaten to death in these games quite frequently, you’d have to be an idiot to participate in one of them. Or, just bored.

Oz contemplated which he was. Perhaps the former.

Oz was (un)fortunate enough to decide to participate in a dodgeball match (some things just never change, huh?), leaving him squaring off against an assortment of blood-thirsty opponents that are hoping to see if they can make a dodgeball-sized hole in someone’s body. Now, while he did have a stint in dodgeball back in high school, he wasn’t fully confident in his own athleticism. But he had to at least get some form of notoriety if he wanted someone to like him. Nobody wants to date a pussy...do they?

Oz’s stint in dodgeball did work in his favor, however. He was adept at avoiding rubber balls tossed his way, whether that be shifting to the side, leaping or bending over the shot, or leaning back and flailing his arms that would no doubt look much more awesome in slow motion. All the while, he retrieved balls and whipped them towards his opponents, occasionally making a dent in the slowly-dwindling number of opponents.

Of course, that wasn’t to say he had time to relax. His own side was taking numbers, the slayer, one of his greatest allies in this war, had taken an unfortunate shot to the calf, and after a rageful argument with the ref that called it, had chased him out with the intent of slaying him, meaning...well, catching a ball would not be enough to bring her back among his ranks. Other allies had fallen in battle, and some of the more threatening opponents were getting harder to knock out. Damien had roped Scott onto his team, and, unfortunately, that team was not Oz’s. So two heavy-hitters were pelting his side with dodgeballs, with some of those balls being on fire. Oz was fairly sure that was against the rules, but then again, when did that stop Damien? Scott, while being the big oaf he is, was still the star of the football team. He knew how to throw a ball, and catching them hurt. Oz knew this because he’d managed it a few times, the raw power of the ball too great to actually dodge, but every time he did, Damien would simply catch someone else’s throw, and Scott would be right back into the fray. It truly was chaos.

After Oz threw his latest ball, hearing it satisfyingly ping off some chump’s face, he glanced around to see who he had left. Some skeleton, who was basically asking to get smashed into pieces, the Coven, who had lasted this long by using their magic to launch their balls like spells at the opponents, and...Valerie. Huh. What an interesting coincidence. Nothing more.

Valerie seemed to also notice Oz, and managed to make her way over to him, narrowly avoiding a flaming dodgeball, her fur notably singed on the back of her neck. She spoke through her teeth. “Jesus, this is the last time I get talked into one of these games. You look like you at least know what you’re doing. You got some sort of plan to take these guys down? I may have my reflexes, but my plan of “dodge forever” feels kind of unrealistic right now.”

Oz pondered a moment, one of his phobias shoving his head to narrowly avoid the ball he’d been distracted from. He glanced up. While Scott and Damien were a formidable team, there still weren’t many opponents left. They had three people left, making the numbers still in Oz’s favor. Wait...okay, Damien just sent a ball sailing through that skeleton, who went down like a bunch of bowling pins. He and Scott celebrated with the motherfucker of all high-fives, before quickly turning back to trying to wale on Oz and Valerie. Valerie basically tugged Oz aside, not wanting to lose the closest thing they had to an ace in the hole. Oz stumbled, nearly tripping over a long-thrown ball, when he stopped. He glanced down, then looked over at the Coven,seeing them launch another ball across the gym, managing to peg some sucker in the side of the head who hadn’t expected such a long shot. Hmmm…

Oz kicked the ball he’d nearly tripped over up into his hand, pressing it into Valerie’s. “Okay, stop throwing balls for a minute. I’ll keep em’ distracted, I want you to get as many balls to the Coven as possible. Then-”

“Joy, Hope, and Faith,” Valerie interrupted.

Oz looked to her, before jumping back to avoid a dodgeball that sailed between them. “W-what?”

“Their names are Joy, Hope, and Faith. Hope’s the small one, Faith’s the tall one, and Joy’s the-”

Oz waved his hands. “Right, sorry. Go get the balls over to Joy, Hope, and Faith right now, and tell them to ease up on throwing until they have a nice stash. Then, let em’ have it.”

Valerie paused, before nodding, catching on slightly. “Right. Got it.” Valerie quickly ran off, picking up another ball as she scrambled over to the witches. Oz quickly covered Valerie’s fleeing by hurling a ball at Scott. It pinged off his shoulder, but Oz knew it would only be temporary. Damien turned to see who threw it, and he seemed to scowl and sneer at the same time. He snowled. The ball in his hand seemed to get set alight immediately, before it sailed towards Oz, who raised a ball he’d picked up in preparation to deflect it, letting the ball rebound back into the opposing territory. Damien rushed forward and scooped it back up. “Ha, nice try idiot, let’s see you do that again!” It took only a moment before he threw the ball back to Oz, and the same thing happened again, holding up the ball, rebounding it towards Damien. Damien had lost the sneer in his snowl. “...uh...well you DEFINITELY can’t do that a third time!” Another toss. Boink. Oz did it a third time. Oz’s rebuttal consisted of another ball being thrown at Damien, who had to resort to dodging this time to avoid it. With Damien’s ego getting the better of him, he rushes off to get another dodge ball. And so the game is afoot. Meanwhile, Valerie managed to catch a ball from one of the remaining allies of Damien, only to pass off the ball she caught to the coven, amassing a stockpile. The guy who came back in had no idea about the plan, and ended up grabbing a ball to fling at Damien, who turned the motion of catching it one-handed and throwing it at Oz into one, single swing. Soon, Scott was back, only increasing the amount of balls Oz had to avoid. But it was okay. Oz had wanted this.

It wasn’t until they were down to the last few balls that Damien realized what was happening, noting the absurd pile of balls over by the girls. “...hey, what a fuckin’...Scott, stop!” But it was too late, as Scott had thrown his ball at Oz, who threw himself to the ground to avoid it. Valerie scooped it up, and was ready to pass it to the coven, who were readying their balls. Damien gritted his teeth. “God...dammit…” Damien glared at Oz. While he wanted to pummel his face in, Damien would much rather win. So he simply sneered. “Too late, motherfucker, say goodbye to your loser aces in the hole!” Damien quickly lit his ball on fire, this time passing it to Scott. Damien smirked. “Scott, get those bitches!”

Considering there were very few girls to consider “bitches”, he didn’t need clarification, He began to wind up, and Oz realized what was about to happen. The coven didn’t look ready enough to retaliate, they needed to charge their spell a bit more, and there was no way they’d be able to function properly if their ranks broke. Oz glanced between them and Scott. Oz narrowed his eyes. There was only one way he could make sure his counterattack went off without a hitch.

Well...probably not, but it was the only one Oz could think of. Perhaps it was the selfless leader persona he’d built up in high school dodgeball that got the better of him. Time seemed to slow down as he broke into a sprint, heading towards the Coven and Valerie. As the ball left Scott’s hand, flames flickering off of it, Oz leapt into the air. He pivoted his body as he sailed across the field, facing the ball.

As the flaming ball started to close in on Oz’s stomach as he sailed past the Coven at the perfect time to defend them, Oz realized the answer to his earlier conundrum. Was he an idiot, or just bored? He was most definitely an idiot.

. . .

“...w…..p…”

“...co...on...et u…”

“...you didn’t get hit that bad, wake up already, dork…”

Oz slowly blinked awake, rubbing his head as he sat up. Sure enough, he was in the medical tent on a cot, and looking up, was staring right into the grinning face of a bemused Valerie.

“That was a stupid stunt you pulled off.”

Oz chuckled awkwardly. “Y-yeah...I kind of panicked, I didn’t have much of a backup plan.”

Valerie shrugged, shaking her head. “Hey. Whatever let us win, right?”

Oz blinked, looking up with confused hope. “...w-wait, did we?”

Valerie flashed a thumbs-up, nodding. “You got it. After you took that ball right to the gut, we just let em’ have it. You kinda plowed through Faith, but technically she didn’t get hit with a ball, soooo...she was still in, and we went ham on those bitches.”

Oz let out a sigh, slumping back. “...that’s good…”

Valerie smirked, patting Oz a little through the sheets. “Whatever, nice job, stranger. I’ll let the nurse know you’re awake, heal easy, tiger.” She got up, and pushed her way out of the tent through a flap. It was at this moment that Oz realized...did Valerie wait with him to wake up? How long had he been out…?

The second thing Oz realized was that he hadn’t actually felt Valerie’s pat. So, he simply lifted his sheet and peered at himself. Huh. He didn’t remember having a large hole in his abdomen. He shrugged, already getting a needle and thread out to just close the hole. Good thing getting a giant hole in his abdomen wasn’t exactly a new experience! Odd that it happens every few months, though. Oh well, looks like Oz’s quest for a date would have to pause for a short bit so he can actually heal.

WEEK 2.

So, after healing up from a hole being torn through your body, what’s a guy to do? Relax with the simple, only semi-laborious tasks involved with being a Monster Scout, of course! Truly the most refined and skilled of monsters can grow wholesome values and life skills they’ll 100% use in the modern, technological world, represented by thin pieces of cloth you sew on a cute-ish shirt and necktie. Monster Scouting is based on Arts, Survival, and...Something, Oz couldn’t quite remember. But hey, Monster Scouting looked good on a resume, right?

Granted, Oz was deciding to avoid some of the more tricky, laborious tasks for now, since he wasn’t fully healed from his dodgeball injury. So instead of getting tangled up in knot-tying, building a shelter, or defeating Gorgg the Legendary, he was more focused on the Arts. So, today, he painted!

Currently, Oz was seated at a large window on one side of the Scout HQ, looking out towards the scenery. He carefully eyed each piece of fauna, slowly recreating them bit by bit on his canvas. If he wanted his scenery-painting badge, he needed to impress Scoutmaster Mumford. He’s been wrapped up in art for so long, he’s...quite picky about it. Granted, when one views art from the egyptian era to today, you have a large experience to base your critique on. So Oz had to really bring his A-game as he gave careful, deliberate strokes across the canvas.

Oz took a step back, checking over all the happy little trees so far that he’d painted, wanting to make sure he’d gotten them just right before painting over them for the closer layer of foliage. He rubbed his chin, before looking to his right, deciding to ask for his neighbor’s opinion. “Hey, what do you think of this so far?”

As it turned out, Valerie had parked her canvas next to Oz’s, working on her own great masterpiece, glancing over upon being addressed. She lowered her brush, taking a moment to examine Oz’s work. “Those sure are trees.” After a pregnant pause, giving her critique time to sink in, she elbowed Oz in the side, chuckling. “Kidding. Looks good so far. Now lemme get back to my painting…” Oz decided to see how she was doing, only to blink. She certainly wasn’t painting the scenery. No...that looked a lot like “The Persistence of Monstrosities”, a Salamander Dahli piece. In fact...it looked exactly like that painting, at least so far. Oz looked down, and saw Valerie discreetly was holding a tablet with one hand, showing that very same painting. Oz looked up to Valerie, cocking an eyebrow. “Uh...what are you doing?”

Valerie didn’t even give Oz a glance, still working diligently on her painting. “Exactly what it looks like I’m doing. I sell these to Scoutmaster Mumford at night, he seriously thinks they’re the real thing.” She grinned to herself as she continued to paint. “Dunno why he doesn’t question what I’m painting right under his nose if I never turn it in…” She snickered to herself. Meanwhile, Oz admired her work...he had to say, she did a great job at it. The recreation was impeccable and perfect...he wondered what she could make if she did something original. However, just as he was contemplating this, he looked up, and...oh, no. That was Scoutmaster Mumford, coming this way. Oz tapped Valerie’s shoulder and pointed, and after looking annoyed for a moment, took a glance over there, eyes widening as she hissed inwardly. “Shit…!” There was no way to just hide the painting, at this rate, she was about to be busted...Oz can’t let that happen, right? He quickly thought of a plan.

Oz stood up dramatically, waving a sweeping arm between Scoutmater Mumford and the painting. “Halt! Not a step closer to this painting! You are disrupting history as we know it!”

Scoutmaster Mumford stopped, but looked visibly confused, eyeing Valerie’s painting as the catgirl sheepishly grinned, praying Oz knew what he was doing. Scoutmaster Mumford folded his arms. “...that looks suspiciously like-”

Oz held up a finger, somehow instantly changing into a victorian bowler hat, a monocle, and a false moustache within an instant. Thank goodness for the emergency victorian-era disguise kit! “Looks like? Good sir, you insult her craft!” Oz gestured towards the painting, his voice adopting a more british accent. “For THIS...is the genuine article!”

Scoutmaster Mumford looked at the painting again. Then at Oz. Then at Valerie, who looked very much like she just wanted to slink under her chair and disassociate. Then finally back at Oz again. “...how on earth is this the genuine article if it’s being painted right in front of me?”

Oz fiddled his moustache, pausing. “...I’m afraid that since you insist, I must explain myself. For, you see, my associate here and I are time travelers. We try to make sure that any disruptions in the flow of time are corrected, as not to disrupt the present and future.” Oz held up a finger. “And, as things currently are...Salamander Dahli has come down with an unfortunate bug! This comes at a terrible time, since this means instead of painting this famous masterpiece, he’s stuck in bed...surely you can recognize the issue this presents?”

Scoutmaster Mumford just looked baffled. “...uhhh…”

Oz spun around, starting to pace. “If the period of time he would have been inspired and painting is taken up by such sickness, time itself is at stake! If this painting never existed, the butterfly effect would be in full play! The very world of art itself may be wildly different because of it! But no fear! For we have the solution! We have already talked with Salamander himself, and he understands the situation! We have taken it upon ourselves upon his commission to do the piece in his stead! Of course, we have to make it as perfect a replication as possible to make sure time is not affected by slight differences! Even the littlest of strokes may result in total catastrophe...so, please! To keep the flow of time safe, do not draw attention, and allow Valerie to finish this masterpiece!”

Scoutmaster Mumford stood in silence, stunned, the pregnant pause letting fear creep into Oz’s heart. Shit, did he go overboard? Was he even going to believe him?

Scoutmaster Mumford then nodded, and provided a strong salute. “Who am I to stand in the way of such brave defenders of the arts?” He sniffled, a tear to his eye. “This reminds me of the travesty of classic arts being hoarded and destroyed in some of our darkest times...I will keep your secret safe!”

Valerie glanced at Oz, amazed this worked, before tugging on her jacket. “Yes, yes, thank you very much, Mumford. Now, since I technically have all the time in the world, if you’d like a genuine, freshly made “The Persistence of Monstrosities”, I could always make one when I finish with this…”

Oz slipped his disguise off, going back to his painting as Scoutmaster Mumford and Valerie began to talk some business. Looks like Valerie’s forging business is safe...for now.

Later on, as Oz exited the Scout HQ, Valerie tugged him aside, leading him along by his wrist. Valerie flashed a peace sign. “Nice one back there. You saved my ass.”

Oz rubbed the back of his neck. “O-oh, it was nothing, it just seemed like it was important to you.”

Valerie laughed to herself. “Hell yeah it’s important to me, don’t wanna lose a good venture. I don’t even have to worry about Mumface busting me anymore, this is gonna be sweet. You can expect a cut coming your way.”

Oz stopped a moment out of confusion, inadvertently tugging Valerie back. “Wait, what do you mean a cut?”

Valerie turned to face Oz, putting a hand on her hip. “Hey, I may love it when people throw money at me for doing shit, but I’m still an honest business gal. You deserve a cut of the profits for making my job so easy.” She wore a smug smile. “Not a huge cut, but still a cut. I’ll slide the cash into your tent when no-one’s looking. Lemme know if you’ve got any other bright ideas to boost business, Ozzy.” She began to walk backwards, flashing another peace sign, before heading off on her own. Oz put a hand on his chest, slightly flush. Well, well! Not only have you started to gain more favor with Valerie, Oz, but now you’re making money, as well? I’m sure your mother would be proud.

WEEK 3.

Next up on Oz’s adventures, curiosity seems to have gotten the better of him. An old, somewhat out-of-place manor sat on a hill on the campground. It was rumored to be haunted by spirits (not ghosts, duhhh, Polly’s too cool for that sort of crap), who plague and antagonize anyone who enters. Many people were dared or hazed into the manor, while others went there for an adrenaline rush, rituals, solitude from the living, or, in Oz’s case, pure curiosity.

Oz kept quietly through the manor, glancing around. While he was the embodiment of fear itself, he could definitely still fear it. His little phobia friends were quite active, keeping an eye out for ghosts, given a nice boost of energy by being in such a fear-filled location. Slowly, he walked down the hall, occasionally spinning around to check behind him, swearing every few times he did that, he saw just the tail end of a spirit vanishing around the corner. Breathe in, Oz...breathe out.

Oz continued down the hall, sweating slightly as he approached a door. It was supposed to lead to another wing of the house, where Oz intended to explore...he heard the library was extensive, maybe he could just...snatch one of the books for some reading. What spirit would mind one or two or ten missing books? Soon, he was only feet from the door. He took a slow step forward, reaching out with a trembling hand towards the knob. He slowly clasped it, and started to turn it to open the door...and…

All of a sudden, he was grabbed from one side, and whisked into another room. Oz started to scream, only for a meaty hand to cover his mouth after only a moment of horrified shrieking erupted from Oz’s mouth. Oddly enough, this hand seemed to belong to Scott! Scott put a finger over his lips. “Shhh! Valerie said noise is really bad here!” Oz looked quite confused by this statement, when Valerie stepped over, pinching her forehead. “I said to get Oz in here, not scare the living crap out of him. Jesus…” Oz glanced around the room, and sure enough, it seems like there was a two-way mirror lining one wall, allowing these two to have presumably seen him walking down the hall and looking back like a paranoid moron. Creepy, and also fairly embarassing…

Valerie pulled Scott’s hand off of Oz’s mouth. “Glad to see you stop by, stranger. I’ve got a favor to ask you, you seem to have a knack for pulling a good idea out of your ass on the spot. See, it kind of turns out this random manor actually has an owner.” For real? Haunted manors had owners? Oz assumed it was owned by, like, the spirits or something. “Anyway, turns out he wants his place back, but can’t stand all the spirits. Soooo, I may have sold him on the idea of Spirit Extermination, aaaaand he may have given me a downpayment, so I’m kinda obligated to actually do the work.” Valerie then pointed at Scott with finger guns. “I recruited Scott because if all else fails, we can use bait.”

Scott chuckled. “Yup! I do my best at everything, so I’m sure I’ll be great bait!” It seems Scott’s fine with anything, so long he’s having fun.

Valerie shifted her pointing to Oz. “Now. This is where you come in. You’re gonna play the part of a spirit we’re gonna be exterminating to really sell this. I just need you to figure out how to make this whole thing look real so the owner buys it. I don’t care what weird-ass method you’ve got up your sleeve, just bring it out. You’ll get a cut of the payment for it, like when you saved my forgery business. Are you in?”

Oz blinked, digesting all that information at once. He rubbed his chin. Obviously he had to help her out. “Of course I’ll help, the question is the ‘weird-ass method’ part…” How would he make spirit extermination believable? It had to really look like a spirit was being caught and/or destroyed...hmm. Y’know, this reminded Oz of that one spirit-busting device he made once in middle school-hey wait a minute. Oz dug around in that hammerspace pocket everyone seems to have for situations like this, and dug out what looked a lot like some suped-up telescope with spikes and a trigger attached to a backpack with tubing. “Well, I’ve got this thing I made a while back, I-”

Valerie snatched it before Oz was done speaking, looking it over. “Thank you, this seems real enough to me. We’ll just have Scott here fire whatever this thing is at you, and bam, “exterminated” “spirit”. Oz blinked, holding up a finger. “...a-actually, I-” Scott took the device, sliding it on his back, holding the telescope-looking thing with both hands. “Alright! I get to do the shooty part! Coach always said I had great aim!” Oz was starting to get worried, oh God. This was supposed to be a functional device, Oz can’t remember if he really finished it or not. “B-but-” Suddenly, a white sheet was thrown over him, and Valerie began to straighten it up, lining up the eyeholes with his eyes. Valerie patted his shoulders. “Alright, go hide, my dude. Just pop out and pretend you’re a spirit, and do whatever it is your master plan is. See you in a bit! And while Oz was sputtering in an effort to try and stop them, the two were gone, and Oz watched in disbelief as the duo walked down the hall through the two-way mirror. Oz...had no plan. He had no idea what that thing would do. He really, really hoped firing that thing was nothing like football.

Roughly an hour later, Valerie was walking through the manor, Scott at her side, leading the owner of the mansion along. “Thank you for coming along to watch our demonstration, sir. Once we come across one of these spirits, you’ll see just how Scott here deals with them, right, Scott?” Scott smacked the device into his hand a few times, before replying in a semi-monotone, clearly rehearsed response. “Yep. I am 100% trained in using this device, and this is not my first time. This will be incredibly easy. High Five Valerie.” Valerie cleared her throat in a desperate bid to avoid the client from catching on. “ANYway, we should find a spirit soon...I can sense them…” She licked two of her fingers, and held them up, looking around. She picked a direction and headed that way, heading into another room.

Behind a couch in said room, Oz lay petrified with fear. He had no idea what he was about to face, but he certainly can’t back out now that he’s heard them enter. He closed his eyes. If he didn’t finish the device, he’s about to make Valerie look like a fool. If he did finish it, he could have any number of things fired at him. Just go ahead, Oz. Get up, and face certain doom...for love! Oz quickly climbed out from behind the couch, leaping into action, as Valerie gasped, pointing at him. “There it is!” Oz, still cloaked in the sheet, making him appear vaguely ghostly, waved his arms. “Ooooooo, what are you dooooing in my manooooor...leave noooooow, or-”

Suddenly, Scott opened fire, yelling with a determined passion, as a huge blast of light erupted from the nozzle of the device, firing a beam straight past Oz, who jumped aside with a horrified shriek as the beam absolutely decimated anything that was in it’s way, leaving scorch marks on the walls. A moth that had been flying near the light a few seconds ago just dropped dead, fluttering down. So, effectively when little Oz had made this device, he determined the best way to make sure something intangible like a spirit could get destroyed, he decided making a death beam that can kill all life would ensure it could kill spirits. Oz stared at the spot just a few feet away where he could have been killed. “H...HOLY FUCKING SHIT.” As he heard the hum of the device firing once again, he yelped, leaping out of the way as Scott fired again with a battle cry. “C’mere, spirit, meet your doom!” Valerie looked a bit panicked as she saw Scott turn, dragging the beam of light across the wall, leaving blackened scorch marks as it went, tugging on Scott’s sleeve. “...Scott. Scott. Buddy?” But no, Scott was far too preoccupied to listen. He let out an eager howl as Oz had to dive out of the way of the beam to avoid instant, painful death, before getting up and scrambling out of the room. Nope. Fuck that. Dying isn’t worth it. Oz could hear his own breathing in his ears as he bolted down the hall, his phobias hanging off of him to avoid being left behind, only for Oz to hear the horror that was Scott slamming the door open as he got ready to pursue the “spirit”.

Roughly an hour later, and Oz was on his back, panting outside the manor, costume long ditched as he’d hung it up in a door frame to deceive Scott, who he was pretty sure was still blasting it, judging by the loud, laser-based sounds and howling coming from inside the manor. He wiped his brow of sweat. Whelp...he fucked that up majorly. How was he supposed to remember that thing was an actual death beam?

He heard the crunching of shoes on stone ground as Valerie exited the manor, sitting on the steps nearby, looking down at Oz with a fairly neutral, but shaken look on her face. She ran a hand through her tail, trying to smooth out her fur a bit. “...so, wow. That was a death beam. That’s...impressive.” She let out a shaky sigh, finding a patch of singed fur on her tail. “Think it might have been a tad...overkill.” Oz put a hand over his face, sighing. “...sorry. Kind of forgot what that thing could do...s-sorry for ruining everything…” Things were silent for a moment, before Oz felt something land on his face, protected by his hand. He blinked, grabbing it and sitting up to see what had landed, only to see some dollar bills in his hand, neatly bundled. Oz looked up at Valerie, who shrugged. “You got lucky. While Scott was focused on basically murdering you via death beam, he actually got some ACTUAL spirits, if you’d believe it. So...technically, you solved my problem, and somehow it ended up working out. It...seriously should never have worked. But it did. So, I kind of have to thank you, I guess.” Oz blinked, unsure just how thankful Valerie actually was, but...hey, he ended up helping her out in the end, right? He just wondered how much property damage the homeowner had on the house after that...regardless, it was better than a total fuck-up! He lay his head back, holding the money to his chest in relief…

WEEK 4.

Ah, the lake. One of the staples of summer camp. Sometimes for the wrong reason entirely! Looking at you, J.V.! With a dock that probably hasn’t seen actual repair in decades, a boat that’ll sink if you look at it funny tied to it, and dubious quality water with who-the-fuck-knows lurking beneath the surface, it’s where teenagers to to swim, play, and probably fuck each others’ brains out under the water where they think no one will notice them! As Oz passed by the dock on one of his swimming laps, he passed such a couple. Yeah. I’m sure you two are under that dock kissing for atmosphere. Keep it classy, dudes.

Oz swam to shallower waters, walking back to shore, starting to towel himself off. He’d taken to the lake not just for fun, and a relief from the beating sun, but also so he could help improve himself. After all, appearances mattered, right? If he was more fit, perhaps the person he ended up asking out would be more likely. Or, at minimum, he can show off his body to them without needing an excuse to do so! But only if they happened to be there, too, of course, which left that miniscule benefit up to chance.

Speaking of Chance, as Oz began to towel off, he couldn’t help but look over as he heard a commotion nearby. It seems a game of water volleyball was just finishing up, and as the winning team exchanged high-fives, Oz realized in shock...hey, that was Valerie! With her jewelry removed, and sporting a nice, sherbert orange bikini, with a one-shoulder bikini top with a jet black skull graphic on it, with matching tie-side bottoms, Valerie was certainly stunning in her swimsuit, at least Oz thought so. After the small celebration with her team, and sportsmanlike congrats to the other team, she let herself fall back into the water to cool off a bit. This...certainly confused Oz, for cat-related reasons. After a few moments of watching Valerie lay back in the water, Oz suddenly felt a wave of self-consciousness for watching her. He went back to toweling himself off, assisting with drying off his phobias, when he heard movement in the water again after a short time. He looked back, seeing Valerie appeared to be done with the lake for now, like him, as she sauntered her way back on shore, running a hand through her hair to flick some accumulated water out of it. She smirked a bit when she saw Oz, the glance down and up his body not lost on him. “Hey, stranger. Fancy seeing you here.”

Oz quickly waved to her. “A-ah, hi, Valerie! Congrats on your win!” Valerie put her hand on her hip. “Oh, you saw that? Pffft, those guys were pushovers. Better than something that might legitimately kill me at the Camp Dome, right?” The two shared a laugh, before Oz held up his towel. “You look p-pretty wet, do you need to borrow my towel?” Valerie folded her arms, smirking. “Hm, I bet you noticed, didn’t you?” she said, poking a finger into his chest, causing Oz to bashfully step back. Valerie continued. “Nah, I don’t need a towel.” Oz tilted his head, scratching it. “O-oh, really? I thought…” Valerie put up a hand. “Something like, ‘cats hate water, why is this weird bitch strangely cool with it’? Easy. I don’t hate water, persay. Being wet is another story.” She held up an arm, showing off how soggy the fur looked. “I feel like I’m draped in a wet blanket or something. I kinda just wanna fall to the ground and die lugging this around. Thankfully, I don’t need to.”

Before Oz could ask how that could be, she walked over to a bush, dragging out what appeared to be an industrial fan, hooked up to a generator. She reached into her top, pulling out a key from the strap, unlocking a hatch on the generator that protected the power switch. She flicked it on, before going to the fan, and turning that on, standing back. After a moment, the fan roared to life, as Valerie stoically stood there, arms apart, her fur being blown back almost like she was in a wind tunnel. After about ten seconds of this, she reached over with her foot and flicked the fan off, and as her fur settled, it appeared shockingly dry. Even her swimsuit looked fresh out of the dryer. Sure, she looked a bit fluffier than usual, but she was already getting to work smoothing it down. Valerie looked over to Oz, arms crossed again. “You just need the right tool for the job.”

Oz, still piecing together how she managed to get a fan and a generator into camp with her, walked over. “Oh, wow, that’s...actually really ingenious of you, Valerie! Can I have a go? My swimsuit’s still really damp.” Valerie thought a moment. “Hmm...okay...twenty bucks.” Oz stiffened a bit. “T...t-twenty?!” Valerie shrugged. “It’s a free market, man, I ain’t giving people rides on this for free, even if you HAVE helped me out a few times. Pay up, or no blow.” Oz looked down at himself, then waved his hands in front of him. “I...think I’m good, actually.” Valerie chuckled a bit. “Fair. Maybe someone else, then.” She grabbed her phone from the bush, as well (she certainly picked a secure, inconspicuous bush, huh?), and got on it, deciding to kill some time as she waited for business.

Oz simply was about to head off to go take off his swimsuit and dry off down below, but as he walked by the lake, he heard a familiar howl. Or rather, howls. He turned his head, wincing, only to relax. Turns out, the Wolf Pack was not, in fact, nearby, and instead in the lake, and judging by the rippling water and shell-shocked person nearby, it seems they successfully chucked someone across the lake. Hmph. Jerks. His gaze went downard, and he noticed a group of four towels, and a very conveniently placed football.

...Oz glanced between the towels, the Wolf Pack, and Valerie.

Lightbulb moment.

Oz slinked over, gathering up the towels, and carefully hiding the towels in a bush. Not near where he stole them, but not so far that they’d be hard to retrieve. Casually guarding this bush, Oz put his hands behind his back, and waited. Inevitably, the Wolf Pack came out of the water, high-fiving one another, before coming back to find...eh? No towels? Their leader looked around, confused. “Eh? What the hell? Someone took our shit!” He knelt, picking up the football, examining it. “But they left the most prized possession of all? What a shitty thief…” He spiked the football, leaving one of the other members of the Wolf Pack to catch it in his mouth. “Dammit! How are we gonna get dry now? They said ‘no wet dog smell, or else you’re gonna be in timeout until you smell good’! That sucks!”

As the Wolf Pack began to rant to one another, Oz looked over at Valerie. Yep. She had her eyes on the Wolf Pack. After a slow, sinister grin crept onto her lips, she whistled, quickly catching their attention. The four crept over, a little less friendly than usual, given the natural nature between cats and dogs. “The hell do you want?” Valerie smirked. “So. I heard you four desperately need to get dry?” Their leader folded his arms, skeptical. “Yeah…? And what of it?” Valerie took a step to her left, patting the industrial fan a bit. “Well, I cooould let you boys take a whirl on this bad boy…” Just as the Wolf Pack got excited, panting as they approached, Valerie pushed the leader back, getting a fierce look in her eyes for a second. “Easy, big boy. $30.” They dropped their jaws, and started to protest, and then Valerie continued, “Each.” The leader punched his palm threateningly. “What the fuck are you trying to pull, huh? We’re not paying that!” Valerie shrugged. “Hey. Not making you. You could always just remain wet. I know you’re not dumb enough to lay a finger on me...right?” She glanced over at the lake, looking at the lifeguard. The Wolf Pack followed her gaze, looked irritated, and then they began to fish around on their person for the dough. One by one, they each shelled out cash, and soon Valerie was counting her money as they took turns on the fan. Once they were done, they stormed off, still peeved they were down $120 because their towels got stolen.

After a good minute to make sure the Wolf Gang was nowhere near, Oz approached, folded (but slightly leafy) towels in his arms, handing them over to Valerie. Valerie looked confused, quirking an eyebrow. “...uh. Thanks. How did you ever guess I wanted four...disgusting-looking...towels…?” Oz rubbed the back of his neck. “H-heh, thanks. I’m sure the Wolf Pack wants them back.” Valerie looked puzzled a second, before looking at the towels, then where the Wolf Pack walked off, before looking back at Oz with a cruel smile. “Oh, I like you. I like that a lot. Well played.” Valerie began to pack up her things, towels included. “I’ll make sure to offer them back when I see them next. I’m thinking…$50 each will probably work. Pays for itself after they’ve gone to the lake twice, amiright?” She held up a peace sign behind her back to Oz, focusing a bit on packing up her stuff to give him her full attention. Once she was done, she faced Oz again, now patting his shoulder, rather pleased by the crimson shade his cheeks took. “Thanks for the assist, Ozzie. Catch you later.” Her tail curled around Oz a moment, before flicking away as she began to walk off, pushing her things away with her. Oz watched her go, staring a bit, before becoming quite flustered when he realized she seemed to be swaying her hips just a bit more than normal for him…

WEEK 5.

Oz relaxed in his tent a bit at the end of a long day. Dinner had finished a bit ago, and honestly, he just wanted to chill in his tent before going to sleep tonight. Not yet changed into pajamas, he relaxed with his phone as he checked how the rest of the world was doing. Did technology really make the point of going camping obsolete? Probably not, but it was still slightly surreal to peek into what the rest of the world was up to, since he hadn’t seen much of it for a good month or so.

However, midway through his casual scroll through current events, he heard some ominous pitter-patter on his tent. Oz paused, before unzipping the front of the tent, and sticking a hand out. Rain droplets met his black flesh, and he withdrew his hand. Well...no bother. It’d of course rained a few times during his time here. But he was in a tent, so what? He just needed to make sure he brought his umbrella if he needed to go take a leak. Oz went back to his phone, but after a few minutes, realized the sound of rain on his tent was...getting louder. And more intense. He’d been laying down, so when he noticed it, he glanced up, only to see the ceiling was...much lower than he remembered. He scrambled up, cautious of the lower ceiling. Shit, his tent was taking on water? This rainfall was a lot heavier than the other ones! Oz quickly brought out a tarp, starting to wrap up some things he particularly didn’t want to get soaked, in case the tent didn’t hold, realizing a dilemma. He only had the one tarp, but there was no way he could protect his stuff AND himself...if he just covered everything with a tarp, the ground below was still uncovered, so if anything leaked there, it would be for nothing. So if the top did start leaking and breaking through...whatever was uncovered was going to get soaked. He didn’t want to sleep soaking wet in a soggy sleeping bag, but at the same time, he’d rather not have wet clothes and electronics, either...he glanced about worryingly, knowing he’d have to sleep soon, so he had to make a choice. Uh...a-ah…

Suddenly, his tent unzipped, and Oz immediately faced it, going through the options in his head. Hazing bullies come to torment him in a time of strife, or counselor checking on people to rescue them from the rain? As it turned out, it wasn’t quite either. A very familiar purple face stuck her way through, reaching out a hand. “C’mon, nerd, come with me.” Oz hesitated a bit. “...w-what? But-” Valerie gave him a half-lidded annoyed stare. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were content with sleeping underwater tonight.” Her eyes widened as she got a bit more intense with her demand, clearly desperate. “Just come on, I’m here to help you, dude!” Oz blinked, sliding a few things in his pockets, wrapping the rest up in the tarp, and taking Valerie’s hand. Quickly, she was running, leading him along by the hand, drawing him close to keep them both as much under the umbrella she was carrying as possible.

Out here, Oz could see just how bad the rain was. Rainfall was actually so heavy, it was to the point of obscuring vision more than a few yards, almost creating a fog of war of sorts. Anywhere unfortunate enough to be low ground was now swamped, with some unfortunate and unwise campers now swimming and trying to save whatever was in their tents. It seemed there was a bit of flooding, but only in the low areas, thankfully Oz would be above the water level. But the dirt road they were running on was starting to soften, who knows how safe it’d be to walk on once it was saturated with water? Valerie had an iron grip on Oz’s wrist as she made a beeline for an RV, flinging open the door and throwing herself in with Oz, leaving the two a mess in a pile inside as they panted, recovering from the run. Valerie shoved Oz off of her onto the carpeted floor as she shut the door, closing the umbrella, sliding it into a holder by the door. Oz rubbed his head, getting up as he looked around the interior.

It was certainly a high-end RV, with the carpet kept clean, a nice-looking kitchen to one side, and a decorated bedroom on the other. The walls were purple and pink, much like Valerie herself, with some posters hanging up, a desk, some personal stuff against the back wall, but also clear storage for her shop. There were boxes of wares, and a big fuck-off locked box that presumably held all the cash Valerie seemed to have. The bed was pretty large and cozy-looking, with a bunch of pillows, and even a handful of plush toys. Valerie stepped past Oz, sitting down on her bed, throwing her arms out casually. “Welcome to Casa De Valerie. Make yourself at home.” Oz walked over, slowly sitting himself down on the bed with her. “...wow. You’ve really been staying in a nice place like this all this time, huh?” Valerie grinned. “Better than sleeping on the ground, right?” Oz nodded, wishing he’d realized sooner...though, in retrospect, he’d probably have had to pay to crash at her RV, and she only had the one bed.

As Oz looked around more, he noticed a picture on the nightstand. There, it showed two girls, arms over each other’s shoulders, posing for the camera. One, was, obviously, Valerie. The other was...huh? Vera? The gorgon girl that Oz had been interested back in school? He faced the picture better, interested. “Hey, why do you have a picture of you and Vera here?” Valerie blinked, raising an eyebrow. “...uh...she’s my sister? Duh?” Oz looked back, bewildered. “W-what? Seriously? You two are sisters?” Valerie blinked, then smirked, then snickered, covering her mouth. “...you really didn’t think the two girls with the last name ‘Oberlin’ might be related to each other in some way?” Valerie laughed some more, hugging her stomach. “Bwahaha, I know you didn’t know my name, but seriously? You really are something.” Oz felt flush, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Geez, he needed to get better at names. “W-well, hey, in my defense, y-you’re...well...you don’t SEEM related...unless…” Oz curiously lifted a hand towards Valerie’s hair, upon which she smacked it away. Valerie rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “No, I’m not part gorgon, you don’t need to check my hair for snakes. It’s...a long story. I’ll explain it to you sometime.” Valerie turned on the bed, looking at the photo, a faint smile coming to her lips. “...anyway, we’re both pretty business-savvy bitches. Gives us a lot to talk about. I love her, she’s a great sis.” She sighed. “I know she’s cold and calculating on the outside...and inside, but there’s a side to her you probably haven’t seen. She’s more than just a businesswoman. She’s someone who knows what she wants, and takes it with all she’s got.” Valerie stuck out her tongue. “She just needs to learn how to loosen up a bit more, y’know. Like me.”

Valerie then lay back, arms behind her head. “Anyway, it looks like the rain’s not gonna clear up. You can crash here. My treat.” Oz nodded, getting up. “T-thank you...say, why’d you do this, anyway?” Valerie glanced to Oz. “...uh, because leaving a friend out in the pouring rain is kind of really not cool?” Oz shook his head. “N-no, I mean...why me? Don’t you have other friends at camp here?” Valerie paused, looking away. “...well, yeah, but...I mean...you seem like you’d need the help most, or...something…” Oz was quiet, blushing a bit. He looked over himself a little. “...a-anyway, um...I don’t have my pajamas, I left those back at the tent in all the rush...where do you want me to sleep, exactly?” There was some rustling on the bed behind Oz, who wasn’t quite paying attention. Valerie replied, “The bed. Duh.” Oz then looked up in confusion. “...wait, then where will you sleep?” He turned around, only to see Valerie had made good use of her time, and was tossing her shirt away as she remained only in underwear, kicking her jeans off of her legs, looking at Oz with a slightly smug look on her face. “...the bed. Duh.” Oz stared in disbelief, before putting up his hands. “W-wait, you want us to *share* the bed? Are you sure...!?” Valerie nodded, laying back on it. “What, you allergic to cats or something? It’ll be fun. Why don’t you just get ready for bed already?” Oz felt a bit flustered. “W-well, I...l-like I said, I don’t have my pajamas…” Valerie rolled her eyes. “Well I’m not going to let you sleep in my bed with dirty clothes. So I guess you’ll just have to make do.”

Oz paused, before sighing. Fuck it. He reached up and slid his shirt off, tossing it aside, heart racing. He couldn’t believe something like this was happening. Just leaving his clothing crumpled in a pile, he slid off his pants, leaving himself half-naked as he sat on the bed. He slowly rolled onto it, on his back, before he felt Valerie’s leg brush his as her tail laid across his legs, slightly cooked at the end. “There. Was that so difficult? Don’t you dare think about hogging the bed now, you hear?” Valerie reached down, pulling up the covers over the two of them, before putting her arms behind her bed with a sigh. Oz was just left a blushing mess, letting his leg stay pressed to Valerie’s. Gosh...he’d never...this felt like such an achievement, and yet, he was still nervous that it really wasn’t. After all, she...could just be being friendly? But...Oz’s head still swam with confusion. He felt like he was going to miss out on something if he didn’t...see where this could go. He turned his head, looking over at Valerie as she looked up at the ceiling. “...Valerie?” Valerie didn’t look, just simply answered. “Yeah?” Oz looked down, gathering his courage. “...could I...do something crazy?” Valerie now turned her head, looking amused as she stared at Oz. “...yeah, sure, whatcha got.” Oz looked up to Valerie nervously, letting himself get psyched up for what he was about to do.

Oz scooted closer, before finally just pressing himself against Valerie, giving her a kiss. He couldn’t help but hold it, as if he instinctively worried it might be the only one he’d ever get. After a few seconds that felt like hours to Oz...he felt her returning the kiss, as an arm was draped over him. Oz, for the first time in a while, let himself relax in relief. He continued to give kisses to Valerie as the two locked lips, before he felt things change a little, as her tongue moved to access his mouth (did he even have a mouth? He can kiss, at least, so he’s gotta be doing this somehow.), and Oz allowed it, deepening their kiss. His heart was racing, fireworks were going off inside him. This felt like a huge step forward. He’d never done this before, but so far, his instinct was helping to guide him along. He slowly shifted his position, slowly getting atop her as the kiss continued, feeling her velvety fur against him as things got more close between them, and-

Oz felt a finger jab into his chest, bringing everything to a halt. He stopped the kiss, leaning back, to see Valerie half-lidded as she stared at him, looking a bit unamused. “...what do you think you’re doing?” Oz was blushing, quickly worried. Oh God, he fucked up. He fucked up everything somehow. He trembled slightly. “I...I-I’m sorry, I thought-” Quickly, the finger moved to Oz’s lips (seriously questioning the whole mouth thing a lot right now…). “Shh. Shh. Look at me.” Oz looked to Valerie, making eye contact, as she had a strong look in her eyes. She pushed Oz over, rolling on top of him, propping herself up with one arm, not breaking eye contact the whole time, soon trapping Oz on his back. She was seated on his stomach, one arm on his shoulder, still staring. She pointed with her pointer and middle finger at her eyes, using her free hand. “Look at me. Look. At. Me.” Oz felt a wave of intimidation wash over him, feeling a mixed of confused feelings. Should he feel intimidated or aroused at this? Valerie leaned in a bit, gripping his shoulder, whispering a bit. “...I am the captain now.” She followed this up by diving right back into the kiss they’d been having, having established her role in things now. Oz slipped right back into it, allowing himself to place a hand on her side as things got more intimate, letting himself revel in this victory…

---

A few days later, and Oz was in the forest. He needed this walk to clear his head. After everything that happened a few nights ago...where did he stand? Clearly Valerie liked him, but...did she like like him? Or was that just for that night? Stuff like that wasn’t exactly proof of a relationship nowadays, so...had he made it? Or was there still something left to go? He’d never been in a relationship, dammit, how’s he supposed to be sure? He continued to walk, blushing as he thought back to that night.

Either way, he definitely set in stone what track he’s on. Valerie...she was just incredible. Her beauty, her teasing attitude, her raw intelligence and skill, it was all drawing him to her. He definitely had to ask her out. Midsummer Mayhem was just around the corner. But...goshhhh. He couldn’t chicken out. He just couldn’t. Not after all this. So why did he still feel nervous?

Suddenly, Oz stopped in his tracks. He felt that odd feeling before...it was...something ripping and tearing through the very fabric of space...dimension traveling. A thorn in his side when he was actually back at school, trying to win over people...he continued to show up, doing the exact same thing, except more obnoxiously. His suave, tone-deaf grace may not have made him the most popular person, since he never actually succeeded, but…his presence certainly contributed to the factors that made Oz reconsider asking someone out. But if he was here (assuming that was HIS dimensional traveling and not some other dimensional being’s), then...who was he going after?

“Ugh, fuck off, creep.” Oz would know that voice anywhere...Valerie?! Oz quickly followed the sound of his voice, rushing through the woods desperately. No, no, no, even if it sounded like she wanted nothing to do with him, he couldn’t even allow the slightest risk. He quickly rushed his way over, soon seeing the two in a clearing, with Valerie folding her arms, and the Interdimensional Prince leaning on a tree, with a smoldering look on his face, pursing his lips a bit for a truly sultry look. The Prince glanced over, and rolled his eyes at Oz. “Ah, of course. I should have expected you would show up. You truly are a thorn in my side sometimes.” Actually, he’s the thorn in Oz’s, but oh well. He put the back of his hand to his forehead. “Will you seriously not allow me one shot at love? Truly you are what this dimension refers to as a “player”...surely the others you’ve won over are enough for you?” Oz felt a burning anger in his chest, but that good ol’ fashioned nervousness won over it. Valerie’s tail flicked, low to the ground. “Alright. Now can you just leave me alone? I’m not interested in you.” The Prince reached out and grasped her hands, making Valerie wrinkle her nose as her eyes widened. The Prince gave her a dreamy look. “Oh, please, my love. Allow me to present my argument. We both know you can appreciate value. I can provide you with anything and everything you want. My servants can serve you however you wish, I have the funds to allow you a life as lavish as you desire. And I just haaate to brag,” No, prince, you don’t, “But I’m quite confident in my abilities in bed. Everything you could wish for and more...just marry me, and it’s all yours. You could be a queen. Surely you must dream of such a life, correct?”

Finally, Oz blurted out, interrupting the prince. “That’s not what she wants at all!” The Prince dropped Valerie’s hands, looking to Oz. He chuckled a bit in confusion. “What...whatever could you mean? Everyone wants the world, whether they admit it or not, and such a girl as her clearly values...um...value!” Oz gripped his collar, certainly not used to blowing up at someone like this, but he felt like it was needed. “Y...you don’t get her at all! Sure, Valerie wants money, riches, luxury, and probably even power! The difference is, she actually wants to seize it herself, instead of just having it handed to her! It’s demeaning the way you want to go about it! Let her enjoy the satisfaction of winning it for herself, not...not just letting her have it because you want to get with her!” The Prince look dumbfounded, unable to understand this. “...really? And you think she could have this with you or something?” Oz rubbed the back of his neck. “W-well...maybe! But I at least want her to go about it her way, let her take what she wants, instead of just forcing it on her…” The Prince thought a moment, before he tossed back his hair. “Well...if she wants to earn her desires...then I am aware of the tactic of “playing hard to get”! Come at me, my love, you should explain to ME why I should marry you!” He stood there smugly, while Oz just felt his anger boil over.

Oz wound back a fist, ready to smash it into that smug jaw of his, when he stopped. He looked over at Valerie, and then gestured to her, unwinding his punch. Valerie stood there, her own punch winded back, smirking when Oz allowed her the privilege of taking a swing at him. “Heh. Thanks.” She then finally swung her fist, suckerpunching him in the side of the head (The Prince completely blind to all of this, focused on a dreamy, closed-eyes look at the time), causing him to topple over against a tree, holding the side of his head, whimpering. Valerie shook her punching hand a bit after the rather epic slam, looking to Oz with a grin. “Well, he went down like a ton of bricks. Thanks for explaining why he’s a douche to him. I didn’t think you had it in you to blow up at someone, or even think of hitting them.” Oz put his hands up a bit, sweating slightly. “H-heh...I honestly don’t do it that often...he just rubbed me the really wrong way somehow.” To further his point, he kicked the Prince while he was down, causing a pained “oh!” to erupt from his body as he lay there in pain. He looked down at him victoriously, only to feel a kiss get planted on his cheek, causing him to gasp and blush. Valerie laughed as she pulled away from the peck on the cheek, facing The Interdimensional Prince. “What do you say, wanna beat the shit out of him for a while?” Oz looked to Valerie, looking quite happy about the suggestion. “S-sure! I’m down to do anything with you, Valerie.” He started to kick The Prince again, while Valerie shook her head. “As if that wasn’t obvious…” Soon, Valerie joined in with Oz, kicking The Prince as he lay there in pain, weakly begging for mercy. But mercy is nothing compared to the power of romance!

WEEK 6.

The sun was long gone from the sky, and all that was left was the soft glow of the moon up above. Camp wasn’t quite over, yet, but it was the last quiet week before the rockin’ Midsummer Mayhem began. As such, while the rambunctious antics of many campers weren’t slowing down, they were at least taking it a bit easier in preparation. After all, you need your energy for such a thing! So, many campers had turned in early to stock up on sleep, or at least get their nightly rituals started earlier to allow more time for rest.

As such, Oz was left alone at the campfire for now. He’d stayed behind after everyone else left, staring into the flames a bit. He was trying to psyche himself up in the last few days before Midsummer Mayhem. He didn’t want to chicken out, not again! What kind of man would he be if he didn’t? He had to focus. He knew the positives of asking outweighed the negatives. He just had to keep fighting that doubt that resided within him, of her possibly blowing him off and making fun of him for thinking she’d EVER go out with someone like him…

It was during this silent brooding that he heard some of the underbrush crunch behind him. He took a look towards it, and out came Valerie. Her eyes were wide, before she shook her head, chuckling to herself. “I’d say I’m surprised you’re still here at the campfire, but we kind of have a knack for conveniently running into one another.” Oz chuckled. “I just...needed some time to think about something. What about you?”

Valerie stepped out, and Oz noticed a strap over her shoulder. She swung it around, revealing an acoustic guitar, which she held while sitting down next to him. “Heh...I like to come here after everyone else is gone sometimes and play this bad boy.” Oz looked at the guitar in fascination, leaning forward. “Really! I never knew you played, Valerie.” Valerie flashed a peace sign as she began to tune the guitar a bit, practicing some strongs. “Yup. Kind of a guilty pleasure of mine, actually…” She sighed softly. “Sort of a family thing. When we’re not busy with business, I like playing for them. It can be pretty relaxing at the end of a day. I’m still learning, though.”

Valerie began to strum the guitar a bit, playing a nice melody on it, before she got started with actual playing. As Oz listened, he recognized the song. It was unmistakably ‘Hey there Delilah’. She continued to play, looking somewhat blissful as she started. But as she got to the chorus, she looked slightly frustrated. She messed up the first try, before trying again, leading into it again, only to make a similar mistake. She sighed, and was about to continue playing anyway, before Oz reached over. “Hey. May I?” Valerie looked over, before nodding, shifting to allow him access to the guitar. He shifted his hand onto the neck, sliding his fingers into place on the frets. “Okay, strum that part.” Valerie did so, and Oz slid his fingers across the neck a bit, sounding much more like how it was supposed to sound. Valerie looked over at Oz a bit. “...I never knew *you* played, Oz.” Oz chuckled a little bit. “...it’s..a hobby.” Valerie watched Oz’s fingers as they continued to play for a bit, before Valerie grabbed his wrist, smiling. “Hang on. Let’s take it from the top.” She tugged Oz closer, lifting up her guitar, pulling Oz into her lap. Oz blushed, letting her guitar rest on his lap, as they sat so intimately together. He put his hands on the strings and neck, and felt Valerie’s slide into place near his. She smiled. “...just go ahead and start playing. I’ve got this.” Oz nodded, and began to play ‘Hey There Delilah’ from memory, but as he did, he heard an extra sound added to it...the base. Of course. One of the greatest accompaniments to the guitar, it added an underlying harmony and tune to the song that wouldn’t sound the same without it. Oz sighed as he enjoyed the harmony he and Valerie created, looking up to the sky, seeing the moon above as the soft glow of the campfire flickered down below.

Yeah. Oz felt like...he could do it.

SHORTLY BEFORE MIDSUMMER MAYHEM…

Oz’s heart raced a bit. Yeah, in a moment of romance, self-assurance felt much different than it did a day or so later, when the emotions wore off a bit. It was the afternoon before Midsummer Mayhem began (it started the night before, essentially, so the afternoon was the safest time to actually make your move), and Oz knew this was the moment. So, he went to the one place he figured he was likely to find Valerie.

Oz approached Valerie’s RV, knocking on the door. He stood there, nervous, but ready. After a minute, the door opened, and there stood Valerie, in her classic outfit. She leaned on the doorframe, smirking. “Hey, Ozzie. Whatcha here for?” Oz inhaled, then exhaled, straightening his posture, and holding out a hand. “...Valerie. I really want to know. Would you be my date to Midsummer Madness?” Valerie’s eyes lit up. She didn’t seem surprised at this stage, but she did look like she was hoping he’d ask. “Midsummer Madness? With you? Hell, yeah! You’re super fun to hang with.” She took Oz’s hand, stepping down, before putting her arms over his shoulders, looking amused at him as their eyes met. “So, what were you hoping to get out of this, lover boy? Getting high together? Getting freaky together? Maybe even getting our murder on together?” She gently grabbed his chin, toying with him. Oz’s cheeks tinted red, but he kept the confidence he’d gained over the summer. “I was hoping to get...you.” Valerie paused, before leaning in, giving Oz a loving kiss on the lips, the two sharing a romantic moment by her RV in the loving kiss that felt like it’d last a lifetime. She broke the kiss, flashing Oz a wide grin. “I was hoping you’d say that. Now c’mon. Let’s figure out what we wanna do, and raise our own little bit of Hell.” She dragged Oz inside her RV, well aware Oz was more than happy to be along for whatever ride she wanted to take.

It was a life-changing Midsummer Mayhem. Just like the weeks that had led up to it. Oz and Valerie reveled in one another, making passionate love, doing whatever they wanted, getting wasted out of their minds, enjoying life’s most intense pleasures, and even getting a little revenge that’d end up on the evening news in due time. But the best of it came after the dust had settled, when everyone was partied out, and were just resting to be prepared to take on whatever hangover awaited them tomorrow, so they could pack up and leave before anyone in charge showed up. But Oz and Valerie were comfortable, up atop Valerie’s RV. Cuddled close to one another, sharing a guitar as they serenaded one another, and made clear of their feelings for one another. They loved each other, because it was their moment, and nobody could intrude. Just a night for them, and them alone.

That summer changed everyone. It was the start to many things.

The Coven learned of their potential talent in sports. When they weren’t off saving the world, they followed a career of professional athleticism, being an unstoppable trio in the world of soccer. Good thing magic isn’t strictly prohibited.

Damien ended up catching the mysterious Backwoods Backstabber, and left his head on a pike for the authorities to find later. He was hailed as a hero for about 3 minutes until the awards ceremony he attended for it burned down for the exact reason you suspect.

Scott pursued his surprise spirit hunting talent, and ended up forming the Spectre Squad with his friend, Polly. After 2 movies and a TV show, their career as spirit hunters ended, and Scott fell back on football.

Oz and Valerie’s relationship started there, and truly was life changing. The two went into business together after high school, with some legitimate, and not-so-legitimate practices. Oz was there by Valerie’s side as she found her grip on the capitalistic world, just like her sister. From shopkeep, to store manager, to founding her own market empire, to online marketplace CEO. Valerie truly had everything you needed, wanted, and ever could own, not letting anyone keep her down. She ended up with everything she wanted. Riches, relaxation, luxury, but most of all, a doting partner for life, that would ensure she would always, truly be happy.

And it all started one summer. A life-changing summer. A summer that taught us to not be afraid of what was to come, but to seize it as our own. To chase our dreams, to not sweat the little things, and to just enjoy ourselves. And it would be a summer we’d carry on to lead the rest of our lives with.