Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The dirt crunched under the wheels of the car. Tom huffed as the wheels came to a stop in the parking lot, which in his opinion looked like it hadn’t been used in at least 15 years. “I don't want to go to summer camp, this is stupid, and just a waste of time” He complained, bringing up the same points his mother had heard the whole trip.

“I know Tom, but I think it will be good for you to get out of the house this summer!” She reasoned, giving him a soft smile. She had already gotten out of the car by the time Tom just started to open his door. As she travelled from one side of the vehicle to the other, he grumbled in response, grabbing his bags. “If you really don't have fun, If it's really so awful, you can send me a letter saying you want to come home, and i’ll come pick you up as soon as i can, ok?”

As soon as he stood up and out of the car, his mothers arm was on his shoulder, and her eyes filled with sincerity. Finally, with a low mumble and a resigned sigh, Tom agreed. “Ok. I'll try to have fun at camp.” She was beaming at him, the same smile he beamed when he talked his friends into going to see a scary movie, or play a simple prank. It seems that traits like that really did run in the family.

“Now, you’ve got everything? There’s still time for me to run home if you forgot?”
“I’ve got it all, mum.”
“ You’re sure?? Toothbrush, at least two weeks change of clothes, deodorant, binders-”
“Yes, I've got it all. I even made a checklist of everything.”

Tom handed the slightly crumpled paper to his mother, watching as her eyes scanned every word and doubled back to make sure there was a check there. After reading the list over 3 times, She nodded. “ Alright, good. Did you bring notebooks? Your phone, or Switch?” Tom was glad his mum let him bring electronics to camp with him. He knew some parents didn’t want their kids to have any at camp, so he thought he was pretty lucky. “Yeah, a couple of notebooks, and both the phone and Switch. I’m hoping to have enough free time to finish up my island-”

And just like that, they were talking about his plans for Animal Crossing until the next car rolled up. “What time is the bus supposed to get here?” Tom glanced at his watch - broken, but he got so used to wearing it, he still put it on every morning - after questioning. “Four thirty, maybe five is what I read online. It’s Three thirty now.” He grimaced. She said that he’d get to camp at about 9 on the way here. That would be such a long time on the bus.

Would it? He figured it didn’t matter, It would feel like a long time anyways. That’s the funny thing about ADHD, innit. Whether the bus ride was one hour or four, it’d feel just as long and pain-stakingly boring, especially if his phone or switch died. He was wondering if he should ask his mum to go get a portable charger, since there was plenty of time before the bus got here.

Now he noticed the other car. He should have noticed when it first pulled up, The stereo system was turned up so loud you could hear the car coming from miles away. But he didn’t notice the vehicle until the door opened, fully releasing all the sound that had been trapped in the metal walls. Soon, a boy came bounding out, pulling 3 bags that looked about 4 times his body mass. Tom noted his longer brown hair, cutting off just above his shoulders, and the many patches sewn on the oversized green shirt and jeans. A woman got out of the driver's seat and took the bags, setting them on the hood of the car. The boy pulled out a bee-shaped plush backpack.

Tom wondered how much the backpack would fit. His own bag carried quite a bit, but that was because it was a red and white duffel bag. He’s seen some plush bags and it never looked like they could hold that much. Maybe he just had it for the vibe.

He now noticed how his own mother had walked off to the side, speaking quickly into her phone. He couldn’t make out what she was saying, but it was definitely important, and urgent. With a shrug, he moved to turn back and continue observing the other vehicle, but his body was stopped mid-turn.

“Hello! Are you here for the camp? I’m so excited, one of my friend’s dad works there and he’s gone for a few years, and I’m finally old enough to go!” The words came out of the other boy's mouth like a waterfall, and Tom had to take a few seconds to process that he was supposed to answer. “Oh? Uh, yeah. My mom signed me up. I don't know anything about it. My name’s Tom. Tommy, Simons.” The other boy had stepped back now. Tom noticed the difference in height between them. Usually, he would assume the kid was younger than him, but they must be the same age as Tom was also just old enough to go to the camp, according to his mother.

“I’m Toby! Or tubbo. It’s nice to meet you!!” Before Tom could continue, his mother was back and speaking to him.

“That was the branch manager, I’ve got to get back home for a call. Can you wait here on your own for the bus?” Tom nodded as soon as he processed the question. “Alright, give the people this money and paperwork. Have fun honey, I love you, bye!” The money and paperwork were quickly handed to him, and he responded back with ‘Bye, love you too.’ He watched her climb in the car and give him one last wave and a “Have fun at camp!” He realised that now he really was going to go to camp, and be away from his home for at least 3 months. Probably more but 3 was the biggest number that was processed.

Tubbo didn’t waste a moment and started asking Tom plenty of questions, filling up the silence.

“So, how old are you??”
“ 16.”
“ Me too!! Do you live close by?”
“My house is maybe 20 minutes away, Yours?”
“ About 2 to 3 hours!”
“Thats,, far.”
“ Yep! Oh! Pronouns? Mine are he/they!”
“ He/him. Why do you want to go to camp so bad?”
And they continued to talk until the next car showed up. The next car was smaller, and instead of a younger kid getting out of the back seat, an older kid clad in a yellow sweater and dark blue jeans opened the door to the driver's seat. He scanned the area behind a pair of pink or rose, Tom didn't really know the difference between the colours, tinted sunglasses. Once he noticed Tubbo, his lips formed a smile and he gave a small wave. Tubbo responded by yelling and running up to him.

As this interaction transpired, Tom noticed that there was another kid in the car. Tom couldn't see much of their body or face, as they were intent on reading a red covered book, but he could see their hair. It was dyed a darker bubblegum pink, though brown roots were showing at their scalp. He could also see that they wore glasses, and he assumed they were reading glasses.

Soon, Tom’s attention was torn from the kid by Tubbo bounding over to him, with the boy in yellow striding behind him. Now that he was closer, Tom got a good look at his face. Wavy brown curls fell over almost half of his face, and he had to push them back behind his ear every few minutes. He had a generous amount of piercings on his ears as well, but not enough that they looked heavy or overwhelming.

“Hello, Toby tells me you’re a bit new to the camp. Meaning you’ve heard nothing about it. My name’s Wilbur, and I’ve gone the past few years. So feel free to ask any questions.” Tom’s eyes quickly scanned the older boy’s shirt. It was yellow, with dark blue lettering. “The Dream Summer Camp” was displayed in arched lettering on the top, with a few years on the bottom in mirrored arching. Before Tom could ask anything, Wilbur continued talking. “My Dad is one of the co-owners of the camp, you’ll meet him when the bus gets here. Maybe, I’m not sure if he, Jordan, or Schlatt is driving the buses today.”

Tom stood there, shuffling his feet before remembering that his mother told him not to because that got dust and mud all over his favourite converse. And then he remembered he should talk to Wilbur. “Oh! Yeah, Cool. I’m Tommy. Simons. I,, I like your sunglasses” He almost flinched at how his voice cracked at the end of his sentence.

But Will only smiled at him. “ Nice to meet you, Tommy,” He turned to the vehicle he had arrived in.” and that, in the car, is my sibling. Their name’s Techno. It just got a hardcover copy of their favourite book, so you’ll have to excuse them.” He walked over to the car and lowered the window from the driver's side door, then walked around to the passenger side, where Techno was still reading. With one quick movement, Wilbur had swiped the red book and quickly appeared next to Tommy.

“Wilbur, Give me that back. Phil said you can’t steal any books I paid for myself” They cried as it ran up to the area the 3 were standing. Now that they were out of the car and closer, Tom got a good look at them. The pink hair was braided and stopped at their elbows, and they wore a white button up shirt with high-rise black pants and taller black boots. They also had a pink jacket on. Tom noted both the siblings had piercings, but Techno had a lip piercing while Wilbur did not. It also had freckles that covered its face and cheeks.
Wilbur just laughed in response to their complaints. “I’m not stealing it, Techie, I just borrowed it to make you come socialise.” He stated as he tossed the book back, being careful not to let it fall. Techno caught it, then turned their attention to Tommy. He suddenly felt small compared to it, and wanted to shrink back and disappear into the woods. He could feel their eyes scan him over, until they stopped on his jacket sleeve.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Techno.” They held out their hand for Tom to shake. He did so, relieved. Then he realised why Techno was probably scanning him. He had many patches on his clothes and bag, and it was probably checking to make sure that he wasnt homophobic or transphobic. The teller was probably when they noticed his trans pride flag on the sleeve. “I’m Tommy.” was his simple reply, and Techno gave a nod and the slightest resemblance to a smile of approval.

And so, they stood and talked as other cars arrived and more kids were dropped off. There were about 15 kids, other than the 4 of them, waiting by the time the bus got there. The large, new-looking, bus rolled into the lot, and Tom was ready to get on after Wilbur, Techno, And Toby. He noted that Wilbur and Techno didn’t need to give over paper or money like Toby or he did, probably because their dad owned the place, so they didn’t have to pay to go.

He also noted that the driver was most likely not their dad, as Wilbur just gave him a nod when he entered the bus, and Techno offered no reaction, as they were focused once more on ‘The Art Of War’. The driver had longer black hair, and red framed, thin sunglasses. Tom handed him the money and paper, and after a second the driver smiled at him and said he was ‘good to go’

Tom moved to the back of the bus, where Tubbo and Techno were already sitting together. Tom tilted his head and was about to ask about it when Wilbur spoke up. “Tubbo likes the window, and Techno wanted the aisle seat. But I also wanted the window seat, so it looks like you’ve got to sit by me, gremlin.” Tom scoffed and sat down. It took an hour or two to wait for everyone to arrive and load all their clothes onto the storage area of the bus, but soon the engine purred as they started off to the camp.

Tommy was a little scared, if he was being honest. But it seems like he made a few new friends, so he didn’t think it would be as awful as he feared. As he thought about this, the bus barreled off toward adventure.
Or maybe just a summer camp where a bunch of teens can be silly and have fun.

Chapter Text

“Ok, wait. So, why do you make the weaker axe instead of the best one? You have the materials for that one”
“Yeah but I’m using this axe to get resources for the trees that I planted for the landscaping, so I don’t want them to actually-”

Tom was interrupted by Techno clearing their throat loudly. “Sorry to interrupt the conversation, but We’re here, so Tommy, you should start to put your notebooks and Switch away.” As the bus pulled into the parking lot, he saved the progress he had made on his Animal Crossing island, as Wilbur handed him the notebooks the older had been flipping through.

The bus trip was not as horrible as Tom had feared. He, Wilbur, Techno and Tubbo had been talking the whole time, and Wilbur had asked about Animal Crossing. Somehow, the boy had never played any game of the series ever. So Tom had spent most of the ride explaining his favourite game series to Will, who listened and interacted with genuine interest. Tom wasn’t used to that. Well, not from anyone around his age, that is.

Once he got all his belongings back into his bag, Tom turned to look and see if Tubbo was prepared to get off the bus. The shorter boy had just finished the bracelet they were making for Techno, quickly stuffing the left-over materials into his bee plush backpack. The bus had already come to a stop, and the kids in the first row were already out, the second row just standing up.

“You know, Will, I’ve never heard Jordan’s ‘Welcome to Camp’ speech. Only Dad and Schlatt’s. I wonder how his will be.” Techno noted to their brother. Wilbur nodded in response as he moved the rose coloured sunglasses back down onto his face. They were prescription glasses, meaning he could use them to help with his vision. Tom learned that on the bus ride too. “Yeah actually, I’ve never heard his either''

After a few moments, The group was moving up the bus and out the doors. Tom noted how nice the temperature was still, even at 9 in the evening. Before he could think about it for much longer, the man who had been driving the bus spoke up. "Hello new, and old," A playful glace at Wilbur and Techno. " campers. My name is Jordan, I'm one of the head counselors here! I know you all are super excited to get your camp experience started," Tom frowned slightly. He did not want it to start.

"But first, I have to go over the rules." Tom listened to him speak while observing the part of the camp he could see. It was bigger than the assumed it would be based on the shape of the parking lot and the bus. There was a big wooden arch over the pathway leading into the camp, with 'Dream Summer Camp' at the very top. So the sweater Wilbur had was a camp one then. Tom looked back at Jordan for a second when he got to the 5th rule of camp.

"Every Camper, Cabin leader, counselor, everyone, is free to express themself here. They can wear what they want, given it covers all personal areas, use whatever names they want, whatever pronouns, all of that. If anyone harasses another camper for these things, they will be immediately be sent home."

Tom was surprised. Not that they respected people, just that the punishment was that severe. Usually, everywhere he's gone, when they say things like that, all they do is tell the harasser that its not nice and send them on their way. The blonde leaned over to Will, also tugging on his sweater to get the taller to lean down. "Do they actually do that?" He whispered to the older boy. "Like, send people home?" Wilbur nodded, still looking at Jordan.

"Yeah, if you report it. Once someone refused to use the correct pronouns for Techno and now he's banned from the camp." Oh, Tom though, That's good to know. He nodded, to let Will know he understood and didn't have any more questions. Tom continued to servery the area. Though the 'gate' he could see trees that seemed to be bearing some fruit, as well as some flower and berry bushes. At the moment, there were two people picking fruits from the trees. One was on a ladder, with a basket full of apples, Tom guessed since they looked red and round, but he wasn't close enough to tell, set on their hip. They looked to have shoulder-length light blonde hair that faded to pink. But not the same pink as Techno's hair. Their hair was more of a light bubblegum or pastel pink.

Tom couldn't see the other person, who was holding the ladder, as their back was turned to him. As soon as he noted this, Jordan clapped his hands. " Alright, now that the rules are out of the way, We'll go to registration, which really means you just get nametags, and then we'll decide what cabin everyone goes to!" He started walking, and the group followed. Tom was glad he was in the back, and with the owner's kids. He didn't have to figure everything out on his own.

Soon, the group was walking past the two people, and Jordan waved as they passed. Tom caught a "Hello Niki and Puffy!" but before either of the two could respond, Niki gasped and jumped down from the tree branch she was on. This enticed a gasp and objection from Puffy, but Niki already had Wilbur in an embrace. "Will! You were supposed to tell me what bus you were on!" Her voice was soft, was Tom's first though. Like pillows, or cotton candy. Wilbur laughed, returning her hug. "I know! I'm sorry Niki, I was distracted on the bus by a gremlin." A smile in Tom's direction.

He scoffed jokingly and stuck his tongue out. "Fuck you." Niki's attention was turned to him. "Oh! Hello, you must be a new camper! My name- Hello tubbo - is Niki! It's lovely to meet you!" Toby had ran to hug her in the middle of the sentence, so he assumed they already knew each other. " My name is Tom. Nice to meet you too," He mumbled, suddenly fascinated with the ground. Why was he so scared? It was just telling someone his name. And they were friends with Will and Techno, so he should know they're at least a decent person.

" Niki uses she/her and pie/pies pronouns by the way, and pie's ok with they/them" Puffy had set the ladder down and taken the basket of apples, Tom was correct, now walked over to greet them. "I'm Puffy! I'm one of the cabin leaders. Sheep/sheeps for me, but she/her is ok too!" Sheep smiled. Tom returned the gesture. He noted that sheep had an outfit that almost looked like a pirate costume. But not a crappy Halloween one, it looked really nice. Her hair was brown at the top, that peaked out under the pirate hat, fading into white. "Oh Shit! I'm sorry Niki, Puffy, but we need to catch up to the group and register Tommy and Tubbo! See you at the cabin selection!"

Wilbur quickly grabbed Tom and Tubbo's wrists, running to catch up with the group. He was right, they had fallen behind the group quite a bit, but Wilbur caught up soon, dragging the two boys along. Tom turned his head to look back, seeing that Techno was still talking to Niki and Puffy. He assumed it was talking about its book as they kept waving it and flipping to random pages.

Wilbur had led them to a big wood cabin, where a man with long-ish blone hair and a woman with longer black hair sat behind a fold out table. The man's hair would go a bit past his shoulders but Tom noticed he had it pulled into a short ponytail. He wore a black t-shirt and a few beaded and woven bracelets. The woman's hair was pulled into a braid, very similar to Techno's. She also had a black t-shirt on, as well as a black sun hat. They were talking and laughing with each other before Jordan approached them.

Quickly, they got everyone a nametag with their pronouns. It was a simple procedure, the man would ask 'what's your names and pronouns', and the woman would write it on a nametag. It shouldn't be stressful, but it was. Tom's hands were shaking slightly, and it felt like he was trying to breathe through a blanket. Not impossible, but difficult. As the line shortened he started fidgeting more, until

"DAD! You said you were on cabin selection duty today, not sign-ins!"
"I know Wilbur, but Schlatt had something come up so me and Kristen had to take over"
"Where's your sibling? It was so excited to tell the about their book"
"Techno's talking to Niki and Puffy I think, mum"

So, this was Wilbur's dad? They didn't look anything alike. Which wasn't that odd, he just wasn't expecting that. Tubbo peaked around and waved to him. "Hello Phil!" Phil smiled. "Hey Tubbo, Still he/they?" He asked as he watched Kristen write down the brunette boy's name and pronouns. Tubbo nodded, taking the nametag and putting it on, then stepping to the side. Tom opened his mouth to speak, but Wilbur spoke for him, while wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "This is Tommy, he/him!" Wilbur winked at him, and Tom realized Will must have heard, or maybe seen, how nervous he was.

"Nice to meet you Tom. It seems like Wilbur likes you, huh?" Phil smiled as handed over the sticky paper peice. Tom nodded as he took the paper. "Yeah, but I don't like him. He's a wrongun. Doesn't even know how to play Animal Crossing!" He joked, and Kristen laughed. "I know! I've tried to get him to play it but Noooooo"

Wilbur quickly pulled him away as Tubbo followed them. "I've got to go, for the cabin selection, but just stay here and wait for it to start." The taller brunette said once they stopped. Tom nodded, and as Wilbur walked away he looked down at his nametag. They only knew him as Tommy. He realized maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he feared.
But he still didn't want to be at camp!

Chapter Text

It had been 30 minutes since Wilbur had left them to wait for cabin selection. Techno had returned however. It had grabbed two maps, one for Tubbo and one for Tom. The log-cabin building they were just at to register was called the Community House, and the area they currently were sat in, which was filled with benches and a big fire pit, as well as plenty of open space was the Community Courtyard.

Techno frowned. "It usually doesn't take this long for it to start,, I hope everything is ok." Within seconds, Jordan, Phil, Kristen and, some other man that Tom hadn't met yet walked into the large area. He had a NY baseball cap on and a blue sweater. He had short brown hair and side-chops. He scanned the area, looking at all the new kids who had gathered around. The man looked tired, and almost sick, but he seemed to be doing alright. Soon, Phil spoke up, into a microphone, amplifying his voice and getting everyone's attention.

"Hello new campers! I hope you all like the camp so far, or at least what you've seen of it! Now it is time for you to be selected for your cabins, which sounds stressful but It's just the cabin leader's choose people," He explained, looking over as the leaders walked over and stood in a line. There was Puffy, A person with short blonde hair and a green hoodie, another person with a red and black jacket and short brown hair that had a headband with little red horns on it, someone who looked a bit older with a white hoodie and gold medal around their neck, a shorter person with a purple t-shirt and blonde hair, as well as another shorter one with shoulder length hair and a green hoodie as well. Tom assumed they were related to the other person with the green hoodie. That was everyone standing in line right now.

Where was Wilbur? He said he had to leave for this right,, Phil sighed then spoke again. "Alright, let's get starte-" "WAIT!!" Everyone turned to look where Wilbur was running up to the area, fully outfitted in a revolutionary uniform, with Niki and another person running up with a big piece of cloth. "We're here!!" The person, who had orange hair but brown roots showing, and Niki stepped apart to show the cloth, which Tom realized was a flag. It had three stripes and a black semi-circle at the end, with 3 X's across the middle row.

Tom looked at the 4 Head counselors, noting their reactions. Phil, Kristen, and Jordan were trying not to laugh or smile at the performance, while the other man looked at Wilbur with a blank expression, seeming a little tired of this. Does Will do this every year? He wondered. Phil leaned up to the microphone once more. "Ok, now we can get started. First let's go down the line and, cabin leaders, say your name and cabin name" Him and Kristen were now turned away from Wilbur, laughing softly.

Puffy started, as she was the first and closest to Phil.

"Puffy, Sheep's Fleet"
"Dream, Pandora's Cabin"
"Bad, My cabin is the Eggpire!"
"Punz, My cabin doesn't really have a name?"
"Purpled, Tiredtwt."
"Drista, Chaos cabin."

Before saying his name and cabin, Wilbur took a deep breath. "I am Wilbur! President of L'manburg! We are a nation built on-" "Wilbur, please. It's 10:30 at night, could you just speed this up?" The man with the NY hat had grabbed the microphone and interrupted the boy. "Aw,,Ok Schlatt, if you say so."

Phil laughed and took the mic back from Schlatt. "Well now that that's out of the way, We'll get you all into cabins. The leaders will pick you for their cabins, and if you'd like to be in a cabin with a friend, just follow each other if one gets chosen. We aren't really strict about the cabins, but some people are more enthusiastic about the cabin competition and all of that." Wilbur's voice was not the only one that rose from the line. To Tom's surprise, Puffy also gave out a hearty cheer, and then he realized why sheep was wearing the pirate outfit. So at least Wilbur wasn't the only one committed to their cabin theme.

For the next 20 minutes, kids were picked for their cabins. Some people went to the groups that were formed in pairs, a few groups of three, and One large group ran up before Purpled could even say a name. The leader, or first kid to run up, had brown/black hair with light blue tips and glasses. Though Tom didn't see the others, he noticed that one had flowers up their dress and on their head, while another had a green bucket hat that resembled a frog. They must have known Purpled well because they all pulled him into a group hug, and that was the end if that Cabin's selection.

For a moment, Drista looked like chaos was going to pick Tom, but Wilbur tapped her shoulder and shook his head. Once Chaos Cabin had all their new members, it was Wilbur's turn. "Ok Wilbur, you're next. Please, don't make a big deal of this. It's almost 11 and kids still have to unpack." were the words Schlatt spoke to him before he started. Will frowned a bit, but soon smiled as he turned to Tom. "Tom. I want Tommy to be in my cabin. And Tubbo too." He was surprised. He had just met Wilbur, but he sounded so sure in his decision to pick him. Tom was dragged up to where the rest of the group stood by Toby. Niki, Wilbur, and the other kid, who Tom learned was named Fundy, smiled at him, before Wilbur spoke again. " I'll also take Jack and-" Fundy tapped on the taller boy's shoulder, whispering something and pointing to a person sitting under one of the trees on just the outer area of the clearing. "Eret!" He continued, louder this time. Their head shot up at their name, and the momentary look of confusion on her face melted away as he smiled and got up. Tom noticed that they had almost a King or Monarch's outfit on, with a flowy button-up, higher waisted pants and a corset, complete by a thin red cape.

Soon, the selection finished up, and everyone walked back to their new, or old, cabins. Normally Tom would have looked or noted on the appearance of the other cabins, but he was too tired as he walked. His new cabin however, looked a bit different. it was a two story cabin, the only one, and had a big version of the L'manburg flag on the front. out of the windows and on the railing of the porch were a wide variety of pride flags. Tom also saw that the wood was a bit darker than the other cabins, as he stepped through the door frame. " Alright, Tubbo, you get first choice on your bed, then Tom, Eret, and Jack" Wilbur explained once everyone funneled in.

"Hey! Why do I have to pick last?" Jack objected, causing a laugh from Wilbur, Niki, Fundy, and Eret. Though no one offered him a reason, and he just huffed. Tubbo noticed a bunkbed against the wall, and tuned to Tom. "Tommy, let's get the bunkbeds!! you can have the Top bunk if you want!" He didn't really mind, so Tom nodded. Toby cheered and ran over to the drawers, grabbing his bag and filling up half of it with their belongings. Tom wondered when their bags got there, but he was too tired to ask as he began to unpack as well. There were many hoodies, button-up shirts, not not the Hawaiian style ones, graphic tees and jeans in the bags, along with some of his favorite jackets and other belongings.

Everyone started getting ready to sleep, as the new members were unpacking. Tom caught glimpses of things the others got out of their bags. Jack had a gaming headset, but they didn't seem to have a cord. Tom wondered if they were noise cancelling. He caught a glance of Eret pulling a pink dress with strawberries dotting all over it, as They chatted with Fundy. Then, he saw a key-chain on Tubbo's backpack he hadn't noticed before.

"Hey, where'd you get that key-chain? I thought this was your first year at camp?" Toby looked up from unpacking his second bag of items. "Oh that. My dad sent it to me last year on my birthday. He got it for free since he works here" Tom was a bit taken back. " He works here??" "oh yeah, he was the one who told Wilbur to hurry up. My mom and him are divorced, and I haven't been able to see him over the summers because of the camp. But-" As if on cue, the door to the cabin was almost slammed open, earning a yell of "Don't slam the door!! It breaks the hinges!" from Niki in their small kitchen area, with Schlatt standing there in the doorway. "Hey kiddo, sorry I couldn't greet you when you got off the bus, allergies and miranges" The man strolled across the room to Toby, offering him a hug. Tubbo smiled and have him a one-armed hug as he continued to unpack. They talked for about an hour, and during that time Jack, Eret, Fundy, and Tom went to sleep. As Tom's eyes grew heavy he heard Tubbo telling Schlatt about the bus ride, and Niki and Wilbur laughing from the kitchen.

When he woke, the sent of fresh bread and pastries filled the cabin.

Chapter Text

The first thing Tom noticed when he woke up was the smell of pastries. For a second he almost called out to ask his mom what she was making, then he remembered. He was at camp. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, letting out a quiet yawn. "Hey, you woke up before Tubbo! I'm surprised" Tom looked down at the couch that Eret was reading a book on. Then he leaned over his bed and looked at Tubbo, who was indeed still asleep.

"huh,, me too. How late did he stay up talking to Schlatt?" He asked while climbing down from his bunk, moving to look through his clothes. " Eh, not too long? I know they went to sleep before 2:00 " Tom nodded as he shuffled through his clothes. He had just opened his mouth to ask what the temperature for the day would be before Niki stepped into the room and spoke way too chipper for (Tom had to look at the clock) 7:30 in the morning. This felt like being at school. "I'd suggest wearing a t-shirt for a while, but it does get chilly at night so keep a jumper or something like that out," She commented as pie walked past him and over to Eret on the couch and setting a plate down in front of them " Blueberry pancakes, with eggs and a croissant. There are other pastries in the kitchen cooling as well. Could you go get the others and tell them I'm done cooking?" Tom looked at the food on Eret's plate. It looked amazing, and he wondered if he helped Niki first, he could get some.

"I can!" He quickly stood up from where he was fishing out his one comfortable pair of jeans. Niki laughed and nodded. "Ok, Clearly Tubbo is still asleep, so you just need to find Wilbur, Fundy, And Jack. If I had to guess, Wilbur is at the lake, Fundy's either with him or at the camp store, but I have no clue where Jack would be. Eret's still gonna come with you because you don't know the layout of the camp yet, And" Pie quickly ran into the kitchen and back, holding some kind of danish in her hand. "Take this. You'll have to eat when you get back." Oh, Tom was already getting something? But, Niki seemed like she had asked Eret what she wanted, and pie hadn't asked him. But he was still happy. He looked over at Eret who was putting on their shoes. Then Tom realized

"I haven't changed yet!" The food would get cold if he had to change before going to find everyone, and Eret was ready to leave, He didn't wanna make him wait, and- "Hey, Hey, it's alright. Plenty of kids go looking for cabin mates in their P.J.s in the morning. No one's gonna look at you strange or judge you, I promise" Niki had moved the danish out of his hands and held them lightly. Tom hadn't realized he was shaking, or that his breathing had quickened, but it was slowing now. He took a deep breath and nodded. Niki gave him a smile in return. Then, she handed him the danish and acted like nothing had happened. "Alright! Good luck finding Jack" Pie laughed as Tom stepped out the cabin door with Eret.

"So uh,, Who should we get first?" Tom mumbled. He wasn't gonna lie, Eret kinda scared him.... Well, Not scared, but intimidated more like. She was so tall and seemed really cool and like he was already friends with everyone here. Before Tom could think more, they spoke. "Wilbur, I would say. Fundy may be with him so we can get two birds with one stone, And it may take a while to find Manifold." He smiled at Tom "Plus, The lake is a really fun place to hang out, so you'll really need to know where that is first." And with that The two started walking to the lake. Now that tom was more awake, He looked at the other cabins as they walked by. The one next to theirs, Chaos Cabin, certainly lived up to the name. The outside of the cabin was covered with paint, stickers, and anything else appropriate you could stick on a cabin. He could hear yelling in the cabin, but it didn't sound mad. Just playful.

The next cabin they passed was The Eggpire. The first thing he noticed was how the cabin was painted a few shades of red and Maroon, with some blue paint splatters here and there. Someone had clearly tried to paint over them before, but whoever put them there just added more. Then his attention turned to two people sitting on a swing they had on the porch. One of them he recognized as Bad from yesterday, but the other person he hadn't seen before. They had on a blue hoodie and beanie, with brown pants on. They had darker skin, and black hair with blue highlights as well. Based on how much blue there was on them, Tom assumed they were the one who put all the blue on the building. Eret must have noticed him looking at them. "That's Bad and Skeppy. Their friends. Or dating? or,, in denial about dating? I'm not sure. I don't think they are either" He joked. Tom laughed a bit too as they continued walking.

They passed TiredTwt, which he thought was a funny cabin name. As they walked by, he noticed Purpled and the person with blue tips walking out of the cabin. Tom assumed their name was Walli, because a shorter girl in a purple hoodie yelled that name and he started running. The actual cabin was really pretty, covered in flowers and other things Tommy assumed was meaningful to the group inside. The person with the frog hat was sitting on the roof, Tom wasn't sure how he got there, and the flower person was speaking to them on the ground. Walli ran past then and Purpled followed, yelling something about getting food. Tom looked over at Eret for an explanation. "The Community House has breakfast, many cabins get food there. We, however, have Niki " Tom nodded.

Before he could look at the next cabins, Eret walked between the Tiredtwt cabin and another one. The path to the lake went through the woods, which confused Tom as he figured it'd be right off the side of a main area, like in movies. But no. Tom and Eret had to walk through a ton of trees. Though there was a dirt path. Tom noticed it used to be brick, then gravel,and now it was dirt. There were a few leftover components of the other path types, but mainly it was just dirt, and it was getting worn down too. Before he could look more, they arrived at the lake. There was a little bit of a field between where the sand started and the trees ended. The 'beach' or shore area was bigger than Tom thought it would be, but it wasn't a big shore. There was a little dock, leading out into a lake that Tom personally thought was way too big. He couldn't even see where it ended, just a big sheet of water. The dock looked new, and He realized it was replaced recently. There was remains of an old bridge under the current one. Wilbur was sat at the edge, and a little boat was perched in the water, and Wilbur was talking to whoever was in it.

Eret quietly walked over to the end of the dock, but neither of them noticed. Eret waited a few steps back, and nodded to Tom. He was confused for a second, then he realized Eret wanted him to get Wilbur's attention. Tom took a couple steps forward. They didn't notice him still, and he continued to walk forward until he was right behind Wilbur. "Jesus Fuckin' Christ man, We come to tell you Niki made food and you don't even say hi?" Wilbur jumped from Tom's loud announcement of his presence, almost falling into the water. The person in the water laughed, and Tommy looked at them. They were leaning out of the boat on the edge of the doc. It didn't look comfortable to Tom. Their hair was pink, but in the sun it looked almost orange. He couldn't see the design on their shirt, but the base of it was white.He couldn't see the bottom half of their body because of the boat. "Well Will, It seems our meeting today is over" They said, smiling at Wilbur. He sighed and draped his body across the dock dramatically. "Yes, farewell my love! I shall wait, in longing, for our next meeting, in the early-"" I am hungry, hurry it up!" Eret called, and started walking away.

He jumped up, quickly saying an actual good-bye. " Bye Sally, be safe getting back to your camp, See you tomorrow!" He quickly ran after Eret, and Tom waved good-bye to Sally, earning a wave back as they climbed all the way into their boat and started rowing away.Tom caught up to Wilbur quickly, then started asking questions. "Who was that?" "Her name is Sally." "How do you know her?" "She's my partner." "Oh,, what camp does she go to?" "One across the river. Can't remember the name. " Tom nodded as they got back to the cabins, Eret still a few steps in front of them. "Bet you can't beat her back to L'manburg" Will challenged Tom, motioning to the person in front of them. He nodded, taking the bet and started in a dead sprint past them. "Wh-Huh- Hey!" They called as Wilbur passed them as well, running now. Tom reached the cabin first, sprinting through the door and cheering. Soon the other two arrived as well, Eret being out of breath. "Well, I'm gonna eat now. Come back when you find Fundy, and someone will help you look for Jack." He said as they sat down on the couch once more. Wilbur had already left to get food from the kitchen, so he nodded and walked back out the door.

Niki said Fundy would be at the camp shop which, he had seen yesterday,was attached to the community house. So he knew where he was going. He looked down and noticed that he still hadn't changed out of his P.J.s, and didn't have a binder on either. He frowned and looked around, hoping there weren't a lot of people awake yet this morning. But, to his dismay, people were crowded in and around the Community house. Tom frowned and ran in the direction of the shop, quickly looking for Fundy. He was stocking a shelf of mugs and other cups, chatting with whoever was behind the counter that day. Tommy grabbed the Brunette's sleeve and mumbled that Niki made food, and started to drag him away.

"Hey! Tommy, I'm glad you're in the shop, what's your shirt size?" The person at the counter, Kristen, smiled and waved him over. Tom wanted to run away. He liked Kirsten, she was cool, and know she'd know he wasn't cis, and probably treat him different and- " I think, probably a Mens Medium? A small might be ok but it'd be a bit of a tighter fit, and maybe a bit short?" She had two shirts in her hands, her nails were painted black with a purple sheen, with the same decal that was on Wilbur's sweater from the bus. "Uh,,, medium probably." He let go of Fundy, crossed his arms over his chest and walked over to the counter. "I don't have money right now though. I don't need a shirt." She smiled, shaking her head as she folded the shirt up "Every camper gets a free shirt! Don't worry about it! and if that gets dirty or you ever need a replacement, you can get another one at no charge too." He nodded, and grabbed the shirt and Fundy's sleeve again, "Come on Foxboy. It's food time." Fundy questioned the nickname, as Tommy dragged him back to their cabin.

Fundy groaned and complained half way to the cabin, but Tommy learned some things on their walk. it turns out he works at the store, even when the camp isn't open. He was also a distant relative of Wilbur's and they took him in when,, something happened to his parents. Tom wasn't gonna push what it was, and soon he was opening the door of the cabin and grabbing clothes to get changed before looking for Jack. He grabbed a sweater, blue with a fuzzy wording decal, some brown pants, and the binder he had on yesterday. Tubbo was talking his ear off about a TV show that he watches with his dad after school, but stopped once he saw the outfit. "Its, gonna be really hot out today, maybe you should wear a t-shirt?" Tom frowned and shook his head. "It's fine, I don't get hot anyways," and with that, he walked into the bathroom to change.

Once he had changed and brushed out his hair, he walked out of the bathroom and put his dirty clothes in the bag he brought with him. Everyone was sitting around, quietly eating. Tommy wanted to ask who was gonna help him find Jack, but he didn't know if they'd get mad at him. It was nice and quiet now. He shouldn't disturb, so he started to walk out to the porch and maybe look for Jack on his own, before Niki called him. "Tommy, where are you going? You haven't eaten yet" Pie noted, going to get him a plate. "Oh, I just figured, you'd want me to go get Jack first so he could eat," He trailed off as he walked over to sit by Tubbo. Niki responded to him, but Tom couldn't hear her over Tubbo resuming his conversation about the TV show. Soon, Tommy was given a plate, told that " I'll make you a more personalized meal tomorrow, sorry I didn't have time to get it now" Tom shrugged to tell pie that was ok, and started eating.

He was almost done with his plate when the door of the cabin was basically slammed open, which earned a chorus of comments to 'Not slam the door!' and a sheepish sorry. " THEY WON'T LET ME PRACTICE THE GAMES!" Tom looked up and realized it was Jack who just barged in. Well, now Tom didn't have to look for him! Wilbur started to explain that 'of course not, that would be unfair to everyone else who is new'. Tom kindly interrupted Toby, and asked what Will meant. "Oh, we'll play some games later today. I think there's volleyball, cornhole, and others. Dad's just gonna play Uno with his group today, so if you don't feel like playing any physically taxing games just come with us." Tommy nodded and Toby continued his previous train of thought. He got up and put his dish in the sink, Niki said pie'd wash them later, and sat back down to listen to Tubbo's infodump until the games started