Wish I could come back down
Regulus stared out the window, blasting music in his headphones. They drove past miles of forest, impossibly green. Regulus wouldn't last a day at this ridiculous camp. He didn't even know why he let Sirius convince him to be a counselor, but here he was. For one, Regulus hated children, something this camp was infested with. And then there was the James problem. He absolutely, positively hated James Potter. But the boy was working at the camp, so the next 9 weeks would be hell. Every time Regulus thought about Potter, his stupid glasses, stupid face, and messy hair, he just wanted to-
"REGULUS BLACK," Sirius yelled in his best Walburga impression. Regulus took his headphones off, glaring at Sirius. "What did you need to bother me for?"
"We've arrived, idiot."
Regulus looked out the window. They had stopped at a clearing in the forest where cars were unloading. There were three cabins right at the front of the camp, all labeled with different wildlife names. He opened the car door and grabbed his guitar from the back seat. Sirius handed him his duffel.
"Here. I'm gonna head to the staff parking lot, but Lily should be around to assign cabins and get you settled in." He hopped back in the car and drove off, leaving Regulus standing stiffly with his duffel and guitar. A hand touched his shoulder. Regulus jumped back at the touch.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't ask if you like to be touched. That's my bad. I'm Lily. I'm the Camp manager of Bearclaw." She smiled warmly. She was freckled all over, with green eyes and red hair. "That's alright." He said shortly. "Ok, well I'm here to check you in, so. Regulus Black, I'm assuming?" She smiled. God, this girl was so happy. It annoyed him.
"Yes."
"Alright, so you are in the Lynx Cabin. Your other counselor is James, so he'll be sharing quarters with you."
Fucking great. Just his luck. Regulus held back a groan as he walked towards the Lynx cabin. There were stairs up to a wooden cabin, resting on the hillier side of the forest. He forced the front door open, plopping down on a dusty beanbag. It was a large room, filled to the brim with beds. There was a small bathroom and sink at the back of the cabin. Three bunk beds lined the walls, as well as a full-size bed with a pullout trundle. For the counselors, he assumed. If he was the first one there, it was only fair he got the real bed. He set his stuff down on the nightstand and fell back onto the bed.
Regulus put his headphones in, closing his eyes with a sigh. This may have been his only peace for the next 9 weeks, so he would make the most of it. His phone dinged.
Sirius
Counselor meeting at 8:00. Be there
He closed the message, reaching for his guitar. He absent-mindedly plucked out a melody, something new that might turn into a song. The sound of footsteps on the stairs invaded his lovely silence.
"Sirius Black, I have arrived," A voice singsonged outside the door.
The door opened and James Potter burst through. He threw his arms around Regulus. "Pads! My love, how I've missed you," He said dramatically, squeezing harder. He fought his way out of James' hold and pushed him away roughly.
"Not Sirius. Don't touch me." He snapped.
James' face fell. He reached for his glasses and put them on. "Oh shit. Not Sirius. Sorry, it's dark in here. Sirius and I have always shared a cabin so I just assumed that we would-"
"I don't care. Just get off my bed."
"Ok. Sorry, Reggie."
"Regulus. My name is Regulus." He said firmly. James gave him a lopsided smile. "What, so no nicknames? Cmon, it's fun. Reg, Reggie, Regu. Take your pick." Regulus groaned. "You are ridiculous. Call me Regulus or call me nothing."
James jumped off the bed. "Whatever you say, Reg." He grinned. Regulus' phone buzzed again.
Evan
Ok, so you know the camp you're working at?
No. it's not like I'm here right now.
Me and Barty are counselors!!!!
Wait, really?
Yep. We're almost at the camp. Wanted to surprise you.
Regulus grinned at his phone. His friends were idiots. But they'd make the time pass easier at the camp. "You're smiling." James chuckled softly, looking up at Regulus. Regulus schooled his expression back into place. "Not anymore. It's kind of the effect you have on me." He said dryly.
James barked out a laugh. "You're so mean." He giggled. Regulus rolled his eyes, turning back to his phone.
At the meeting, Lily gave each counselor a lanyard with a whistle and a nametag. "Alright, counselors. So, on your nametag, you need to make up a name inspired by nature. Just pick something and write it down. Also, put your pronouns if you want to."
Regulus scanned the room uncomfortably. Evan and Barty were late, so he was stuck with a bunch of loud, giggly counselors. "Can it be a color?" A blonde girl asked.
"I wanna put red."
"Fine, Marlene." She smiled fondly.
The boy in the corner was very quiet. He was wearing a bowie shirt and had lots of scars. Regulus watched as he wrote down 'Moony' on his tag. He didn't know what to write for himself, as he wasn't very well acquainted with nature. James leaned over, smiling. "I'll help you pick a name. Put... fish." Regulus glared. "Why in the world would I put fish? I can't even swim." He whispered.
"That's what makes it funny. And don't worry, I can teach you to swim." Regulus was about to argue, but Lily told them to hurry up and pick their names. He reluctantly jotted fish down. James saw and smiled at him. The door to Lily's cabin opened. Evan and Barty burst through.
"Hi, sorry we're late, folks," Barty said.
"All fine, just sit down and take a lanyard." Lily smiled
They sat next to Regulus, and Evan reached over to ruffle his hair. Regulus ducked out of the way. "Hey, Reggie," Barty whispered. "It's about fucking time you arrived, I've been dying over here," Regulus complained. Barty glanced pointedly at his name tag, furrowing his brows.
"We're writing ridiculous nicknames on the tags." He clarified.
"Oh, great." Evan grinned. He wrote 'Even'. Regulus shook his head.
"No, it's supposed to be like nature shit."
"You're telling me you can't find anything that's even in nature?" Evan countered.
"You're an idiot." He looked over at Barty, who wrote 'Edward Scissor'. Regulus groaned.
"Okay! So if everyone has picked their nicknames, we can start out with schedules. Wake time is 7:30 every morning, and breakfast is at 8:15. Camp Bearclaw is a free-roam camp, so as long as a counselor okays it, the kids are free to do any of the activities we offer here. We have a couple different job rotations, so let's start with James and Regulus."
After the camp meeting was over, Regulus was ready to hurl himself into the lake. Every single job rotation he had was paired with Potter. It would quite literally be impossible to avoid the prat. He had this need to make Regulus like him, and it was exhausting. Regulus just wanted to hate the boy in peace. But something about his crooked smile made him forget himself. He just wanted to put his-
"Reg!"
Speak of the fucking devil.
James jogged to catch up with him. Regulus didn't turn around, walking faster.
"Reggie, don't ignore me."
"It's Regulus."
"Knew I could get a sound out of you," James smirked.
"As a matter of fact, I make lots of sounds. Just not with insufferable prats like you."
"I prefer the terms: hilarious and lovely, but whatever suits your fancy."
Regulus tugged the cabin door open.
"Nothing about you suits my fancy. Perhaps if you stopped trying to be my friend, we could change that. I don't want to fucking talk to you. It's bad enough we're stuck together for the next 9 weeks." He declared, finally turning to face James. The boy furrowed his brows.
"Well it can't be that miserable, can it?" He grumbled.
"Are you upset that I don't want to be your BFF?" Regulus mocked with a raise of his eyebrows.
"No, I just. What is so terrible about me? I wanted to... I just thought that we could be friends. I don't know, it was stupid." He murmured
"Don't get your panties in a twist. I don't really like anyone." The corners of his mouth pulled up in a smirk.
"But I want you to like me. Everyone likes me."
This arrogant, pompous, prat.
"Well, first things first, I don't like arrogance. And I'm not some box you can check off. Stop trying, and maybe you'll earn it." He said.
"Okay. You will learn to like me yet, Regulus Black."
"The full name is the first step in the right direction, Potter." Regulus chuckled.
"James. Call me James?"
"Not there yet, Potter." He deadpanned.
The next morning, campers started arriving. All the counselors were up by 7:00, setting up for when the kids got here. It was a mess of duffel bags and tiny children running around in shorts. Regulus had a clipboard and was checking kids into the camp, and assigning their rooms. A little boy with messy blonde hair skipped up to him.
"Hi." He smiled widely. He couldn't have been more than 7.
"Hello. I'm checking you in, so last name please?" Regulus attempted a kind tone, but it came out a little condescending.
"Thatcher."
Regulus scanned down the list, finding his name. He was in Lynx, with him.
"Alright, so looks like you are in the Lynx Cabin. I'm one of your counselors, and James is the other." Regulus pointed at James, who was over near the lake, lifting a kid above his shoulders. "That's him, over there. If you have any questions, I'm here."
"Why does your nametag say fish?"
Regulus shrugged. "James picked it."
"Boring." He said, skipping off to the cabin.
Regulus' watch turned to James, who had a little girl on his shoulders. He was smiling and pointing out different parts of the camp. James' eyes locked onto Regulus, and he grinned, waving. Regulus turned red. He awkwardly waved back, burying his face in his clipboard.
By the end of the day, the Lynx cabin had six kids, all from the ages of 7 to 8. He lay on his bed, playing guitar softly. The kids were bustling about the cabin, fighting over beds and drawer space. He felt a tap on his shoulder. It was one of his campers, the shortest and youngest of the 6. His nametag said, Adam.
"Regulus?" He asked meekly.
"Hi. How did you know my name?" Regulus furrowed his brows. It wasn't on his nametag.
"I asked James. He said you're lovely. Think he likes you a bit. He kept talking about your hair." Adam grinned.
My hair? Regulus flushed. It didn't mean anything. James was just like that, nothing more.
"Well, okay. Did you need something?"
"Can you take me for a walk? Just through the path in the forest? I need some quiet time." He whispered. Regulus immediately understood the need for quiet time. And this boy seemed sweet.
"Yeah. Of course, I'll take you. We don't even have to talk." Regulus said gently.
"Thank you." He smiled, taking Regulus' hand in his own.
They walked in silence, hand in hand. It was comfortable, the quietness of the woods at night. Adam's breath hitched. Regulus could hear the sounds of him beginning to cry. He stopped walking, stooping down to look at the boy. His face was red, tear-stained.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Miss home. Miss my brother." He whispered.
"I get it. It's hard to be away from home like this. But maybe we can make the cabin feel like a new home for us? Put some lights up, make some decorations?" Regulus suggested. He didn't know what the protocol was for crying kids.
Adam nodded, wiping his nose.
"Want me to carry you back on my shoulders? You'll have a better view that way."
He nodded again.
When they got back to the cabin, Adam was still on his shoulders, playing with his hair. James' jaw dropped when he saw them. He frowned.
"Where did you two go?"
"Just went for a walk. He needed some quiet time." Regulus explained, gently setting Adam on the floor. Adam hugged Regulus tight around the waist, whispering a "thank you" in his ear. Regulus smiled, ruffling his hair.
Adam trotted off to bed. James was still gaping at him.
"What, Potter?"
"Nothing, it's just, you're really great with him. It's nice."
"Well, I can be good with kids. Just because I'm not a human golden retriever doesn't mean I can't work with children." He snapped, immediately regretting his harshness. James simply smiled, shaking his head.
"Golden retriever, huh?" He teased. Regulus blushed.
"Shut up."