i'll be holding on to you

Jaz couldn’t help but start to giggle all over again when Theo chucked the water bottle at her because she was a child and had no self control, obviously. Shaking her head, Jaz let out a long sigh. “Probably not, if I’m being honest.” She grinned where she sat, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. “I knew it! You totally love me. I’m a very lovable person. All sunshine and rainbows all the time.” Jaz scrunched up her nose, just the idea making her feel all weird and funky inside. Warm and fuzzy she was not. “Well, you know, I can’t stop you from thinking that. It’s your delusion, darling.” Grabbing the water bottle he’d thrown at her, Jaz chucked it back at his head. “You’re a tool, you know that?”

Being on his daily afternoon break was the time he dreaded the most. Between lunch and dinner, he did nothing but sit around and watch all the events unfold before him. Theo watched the kids chase his fellow staff members around the yard, while others had a splash war in the lake. It was his alone time, and he hated being alone.

Jaz made it a point to frown obnoxiously when Theo talked about embracing the karma. “The fun is I just mess with you, I don’t actually maim and/or kill you. I’d say that’s a good thing all around.” A genuine pout formed on Jazlynn’s face because she much preferred it when he was on the ground. Having people stand over her just really did not sit well with her. She was the alpha, dammit. “Is that so? I think the universe just has a sick, sick sense of humor and keeps shoving you in my face. I can’t escape. It’s kind of terrifying actually.”

Tyler scowled, crossing his arms. “Zombies are scary? Lies. Zombies are not scarier, so you obviously have no idea how the world works. Obviously.”

Jaz raised a brow. “To little kids? Hell yeah. Zombies are fucking terrifying.” She scoffed, shaking her head. “I think you’re mistaken. I know perfectly well how the world works. You’re the one that doesn’t. Obviously.”

Honestly, Jaz only wanted to wake Theo up and pester the shit out of him, but the fact that she managed to nearly scare the hell out of him sent her over the moon. She could only laugh harder when he rolled his eyes, shooting him a sarcastic thumbs up at his words. “Please,” She managed through labored breaths and tears from laughing so hard. “You love the attention.” Taking in a few deep breaths, Jazlynn finally started to calm down. “Besides, hanging out with me automatically makes you cooler. So, I’m basically doing you a favor. You’re welcome.”

“I defintely don’t look stupid. I look badass, thank you. You’re just jealous. Green does not suit you, Matthew.”

“Really?  I think you’d make a good Megara.  Or Mulan, maybe!  Okay, they aren’t Princesses, I guess.  I think that the better wording for it would be Disney Heroines.”  Still, she loved Ariel so she wasn’t going to complain.  “Thanks!”  Devie giggled, scooting over so that Jaz would have room to pull herself up.  “That’s actually a really cool idea, though.  I think half of the kids at camp would love to become mermaids!  Or mermen, I don’t want to discriminate.  I wonder how many of them have seen Disney movies.  They’re still a thing, right?  Even though they were a thing when we were growing up, kids still like Disney, right?  I’m going to have to take a poll or something.  It would be a disaster if kids didn’t know about Disney.”  Laughing again, she pulled her feet from the water and crossed them yoga style.  “I miss sharing a cabin with you, by the way!  I mean, don’t get me wrong, my new cabinmates are great, and the kids are wonderful too, but you were a good cabinmate.”

Jaz smirked, largely amused. “I could be down with Meg. She was a badass, definitely. And she landed herself a God, so clearly she knew what she was doing. I like Heroine. Makes me feel like a legit super hero, you know?” Snickering, Jaz shook her head. “You’re welcome.” Toweling off her hair, she sat next to Devie, letting her feet skim the water. “Mmm. Never. I think they would too, though. We could give everyone mermaid names and make little name tags and put ‘em on all the bunks.” A slow grin spread over Jaz’s face at the idea. This was definitely something she was going to have to invest her free time in. “Oh, definitely. My younger siblings all love them and still watch them. All. The damn. Time. I can quote The Lion King word for word without even thinking about it. I’m sure they do, but poll away, cap’n.” She chuckled, continuing to drag her feet through the water. “Yeah? I miss you too. Pretty sure you’re the only cabinmate I’ve really liked, so if you could just come back to me that’d be wonderful. Thank you.”

Jazlynn’s laughter gradually died down as the other girl shook her hand. Nodding, Jaz smiled. “Nice to meet you, AIley. I like the name.” It was interesting and not something she heard often. That was something she could appreciate. “I take it you’re new to this whole camp counselor thing, too?”

The last thing Jazlynn expected when she went to greet one of her fellow counselors was to be practically jumped. And over a candy wrapper? She’d learned way early on that you told no one about that shit and you hid it well. Clearly this girl had so much to learn it wasn’t even funny. “Sure about that?” Jazlynn inquired, a brow lifting quizzically. Smirking, Jaz chuckled. “Secret’s safe with me. But if you really want to keep the rest of your contraband a secret, you’re really gonna have to work on your lying skills. And I suggest a better hiding spot. This one kind of blows.”

Connor looked around and let out a sigh of relief. He was happy to be back at Camp Greco. Not only was it his “happy place”, but it was his last summer and he was going to make the most of it. “I don’t think anyone will understand how fuc-reakin’ happy I am to be back here,” he said, catching his curse word. He was going to have to get back into the habit of holding those words in.

It was a rare moment Jaz found to actually sit down and relax for more than ten seconds. and she was determined to enjoy her peace and quite. But a voice, much too close for her liking, suddenly interrupted her moment of solace. A soft chuckle escaped at his almost curse word because she knew that struggle all too well. “Nice save, comrade. I think you’re safe. No one but me to hear you.” She smiled half-heartedly up at him. “Welcome back to the madness. I’m Jazlynn.”

“Okay siren, let’s calm down.” He splashed her with more water to get her attention, he was pretty sure her eyes were glazing over at the prospect of bringing men to die, but he was willing to ignore that for the greater good. Though he did swim a little further out of her reach. At her excitement, Percy grinned and let his mind think out a prank. “Well, it has to be rated PG, at least while the tweens and infants are here. So I’m no stealing her clothes while she’s in the shower. We could leave little bits of food under her bed and let the raccoons get her. Or we could do the classic move her mattress out on the lake and watch as she wakes up…”

Jaz sputtered at the water assaulting her face and pouted. “Alright, alriiiiight. Jeeze. No need to drown me.” Though, the fact that he put a little more distance between them brought Jaz a special kind of joy. Kicking out her feet, Jaz leaned back to float on her back and scrunched up her nose at the raccoon idea. “As much as I think Devie’s reaction to raccoons invading her cabin would be hysterical, one of the kids would probably try to pet one and end up with rabies and I will not be a part of that.” Smirking, Jaz righted herself and began treading water. “The mattress surfing, a la The Parent Trap, I am here for.” She chewed on her lip for a moment, “She’s probably the lightest sleeper ever, though. so we’re going to have to figure out a way to keep her asleep while we move her.”

Grinning, Jazlynn looked around quickly trying to find something, anything, to help her fuck with Theo because honestly it was probably her new favorite pastime. Grabbing a long twig, Jaz used it to reach over and poke Theo’s ear. “Rise and shiiiine, princess. Time to get up!”

“You start with telling them their entirely too young. That’s generally a good place.” Narrowing her eyes, Jazlynn had to seriously work at not totally going off on this girl because honestly?! “Okay, I get not being comfortable with talking to them about, but why the hell would you just send them away without trying to find someone who would actually talk to them first.” Jaz sighed, shaking her head. “Which kids wanted to know?”

“Frogs don’t have feelings,” Jessa scoffed, then called out in likeness, “Yes, I did, frog! Better not show your face ‘round here anymore!” Perching a hand on her hip, she dropped her head a bit with a chuckle, “Yeah, well you were pretty super without the cape, so I think you’ll be okay without it. You got a name, Supergirl?”

Jazlynn gasped dramatically, her hands flying to cover her heart and a pained look on her face. “How could you?! He could have been your knight in shining armor, you know. If you believe in all that fairytale bullshit.” Grinning, Jaz nodded her head. “Well, thanks. I do, but I kind of like Supergirl better.” She laughed, extending her hand to the blonde. “Jazlynn. Promise not to tell my secret, Princess?”

Tyler scowled. “But… In my experience, someone asking for film means it is not the best idea. That worries me, and I have to wonder how I could twist the idea to work properly.

Jaz had to bite down on her lip to keep herself from snickering because accurate. “You might be on to something there, kid. Mmmm, you’d have to seriously commit, honestly. And maybe drop the monster and switch to, like, zombie or something.”