Chapter 11
NOAH
Sleeping was damn near impossible that first night at Camp Beaver.
Not only was I hyperaware of all the breathing sounds from my team, I was crazy uncomfortable trying to sleep with my binder on.
Some time before dawn, when everyone else was soundly asleep, I gave up and quietly slipped out to visit the shower block.
Thankfully, the shower cubicles had a tiny amount of privacy, with plastic curtains enclosing each stall, but still I was glad to be the only one awake. Even so, I rushed through my shower and quickly dressed without seeing anyone else.
“Where have you been at this time of morning?” Xavier asked as I approached our cabin. He was heading out with his towel slung over his shoulder, making me realize how right I’d been to shower so quickly.
I rolled my eyes and made to walk past him without answering. It was way too early, and I was way too undercaffeinated to deal with Xavier Stone, but he grabbed my arm to stop me.
“Little Dude, I’m talking to you. It’s bad manners—-”
“Shut the fuck up, Godzilla. I barely slept because you snore like an old man and I haven’t had coffee. So, politely, unless you have coffee or bubble tea stashed in your pocket, I’m not in the mood.” I wrenched my arm free of his grip while he stared at me in bewilderment.
When I started walking again, he just had to get the last word. “I do not snore!”
My response was an extended middle finger as I opened the cabin door and quietly let myself into the partial darkness. Several of the boys were still fast asleep, and to be fair, none of them actually snored, but Ace was awake and watching me as he ran his fingers through his white--blond hair.
“Noah,” he said softly. “Can we talk, please?”
I bit the inside of my cheek, sorely tempted to tell him the same as I’d told Xavier, but Ace wasn’t as arrogant as Xavier and he would push the issue, so I’d have to deal with him at some point. Why not now?
“Sure,” I finally responded on a frustrated sigh. His brows hitched like he hadn’t been expecting me to agree, and he stood up from his bunk to gesture toward outside.
I frowned, eyeing his bare chest and loose pj pants. “You’re not going to put clothes on?”
A brief look of confusion crossed his face before he eyed me with a touch of suspicion. Then he smirked, like he’d just read my freaking mind about how attractive I found him.
“Nah, I’m good like this. Unless you have a problem?” He tilted his head to the side, challenging me. Dickhead.
I clicked my tongue, shaking my head. “Nope. Just figured you’d be cold is all.” I tucked my towel and dirty clothes away, then followed Ace out of the cabin once more.
He’d at least stuffed his feet into a pair of unlaced sneakers, so he wasn’t barefoot on the forest path as we made our way away from the bunk houses, but surely he was freezing?
The sun was barely above the horizon, and a distinct frost clung to the grass as he sat down beside one of the cold firepits.
“Sit with me,” he said, gesturing to the log beside himself. “For the optics, if nothing else.” He nodded toward one of the tree--mounted cameras, and my breath hissed out from between my teeth.
“You didn’t want to talk in one of those camera blind spots that Minnie found last night? Surely this isn’t an on--screen chat to have.” I reluctantly sat down on the log nonetheless, keeping as much gap between us as I possibly could without falling off the end.
Ace shook his head. “The cameras don’t have sound. They’re relying on us to wear mic packs for audio.”
“Oh,” I said, frowning up at the closest camera.
“That’s probably a good thing.” Otherwise they’d have a great sound bite from last night of me telling Xavier to go stomp on Tokyo, or this morning when I told him to eat a dick.
Whoops, I really needed to be more aware of the footage being collected this week; it was a lot worse than inside Mount Olympus.
At least the footage collected inside the house was edited by Ace… Although I doubt he’d be going out of his way to protect my image now.
“Fine, what did you want to talk about then?”
Ace exhaled heavily, sounding irritated.
“I want to discuss the fact that you’re going out of your way to avoid me, and it’s not going unnoticed by the rest of the team.
It won’t be long before producers notice and decide to play it up on--screen, and considering the live stream during our attack—-”
“I get it. Fans will sink their teeth in and run with it,” I muttered, understanding the logic despite how pissed off I was.
“I don’t really know what you want me to do about that, though.
You are the one who insisted I stay on the team, despite the fact that my very existence seems to disgust you.
How did you expect this to go down, Ace?
You thought you could bully me with legally binding contracts and I’d…
what? Thank you? Go back to how things were? ”
The more I spoke, the more worked up I got, until my hands were trembling and I needed to clench my fists in an attempt to hide the shaking.
“No,” Ace replied with a frown as he shook his head. “No, that’s not… Shit, Noah, I didn’t mean for things to go as far as they did, but I also don’t regret that they did. And I’m pretty confident you were just as into it as I was so—-”
“What?” I cut him off with annoyance and outrage, shifting on the log to give him my full attention. “At what point did you think I was okay with being treated like a whore and having cash thrown at my feet, Ace?”
His eyes widened and his lips parted slightly as he seemed to search for the right words. “That’s not the part I was talking about,” he finally whispered, his voice rough.
I scoffed. “Oh right, you think because I came that I somehow forgot the disgusting way you spoke to me? Don’t flatter yourself, Ace. I was just horny and my vibrator was dead after my ten--day hospital stay.”
Panicked and on the verge of tears, despite my caustic words, I pushed to my feet with every intention of getting the hell away so he wouldn’t see through my bullshit. But Ace was quicker than I gave him credit for, shooting to his feet and grabbing my wrist before I could escape.
“Don’t lie to me, Eight,” he growled, dipping his head low as if to speak directly into my ear since I refused to look at him. “There’s something between us, and you damn well know it.”
I gave a derisive snort. “Yeah, you’re right.
There is something between us—-anger and resentment.
Because you turned out to be a totally different person from the one I thought I knew.
But for the sake of honesty, seeing as there are no longer any secrets between us, let me fill you in on just why your callous offer to pay a subscription fee was so offensive.
I never consented to be on CB:AO. I never gave my permission to be filmed or photographed at all, let alone have it posted online for a million sleazy fucks like your bestie to jerk off over.
I certainly never saw a damn cent of the subscription money, nor was I ever in control of that account.
When I found out, it was shut down, and the person responsible was sued, but that doesn’t change how utterly violated, humiliated, and betrayed I feel.
But no, Ace, by all means, make your shitty little jokes, throw money on my bedroom floor, and call me a whore.
All you’re doing is solidifying the fact that you are not the man I thought you were two weeks ago but are definitely the man other people told me you were. ”
This time when I jerked my arm free of his grip, he let me leave. Tears streamed down my face, but I ignored them as I sought out that tree from last night, the blind spot where I could sit in the dirt and cry alone.
Not that I was alone for long…
“Hey, Twin,” Skye greeted me as he appeared from around the fat trunk of my new favorite tree. “What ya doing out here?”
I sniffled, wiping my face with the cuff of my sweater. “Crocheting a blanket, obviously. What about you?”
Skye flashed a grin, shrugging. “Hunting for narwhals, of course. Seen any?”
I laughed through my tears at the silliness. “Not recently, but I’ll keep an eye out.”
Skye hummed thoughtfully, sitting down beside me in the dirt and draping his arm around my shoulders. “Ace said he upset you. Want me to kick his ass?”
“You haven’t already? Minnie would have.” I was mostly joking, but as soon as I said it, I grimaced. “Actually, he really would. Don’t tell him.”
“Maybe I should. What’d he do? Ace, I mean.” Skye hugged me into his side, resting his head on the top of mine.
I swallowed hard, revisiting the conversation with Ace in my head before I sighed. “Doesn’t matter. He’s just showing his true colors, and I’m feeling like an idiot for not trusting my brother’s judgment sooner.”
Skye didn’t respond immediately, just giving another thoughtful hum as he hugged me.
“He’s been weird since the attack. I’m by no means defending whatever he’s done to upset you, but I don’t know that the way he’s behaving right now is the best representation of Ace.
What was your brother’s beef with him, anyway? ”
“I actually have no idea,” I admitted. “Miles wouldn’t ever tell me, just insisted that Ace, Xavier, and Z were all the spawn of Satan and not to trust anything they said.”
“Okay, I can see how you might agree with him about Xavier. He’s been a total dick to you. But do you believe that’s true of Z?” Skye released his grip on me somewhat, and I sat up straighter to face him.
It was a good question. “No, not really,” I groaned, rubbing my forehead.
“But Xavier, for sure. You know I used to have a crush on him when I was younger? How embarrassing.” Skye burst out laughing, and I punched him in the arm.
“Thanks a lot, Twin, really supportive. Remind me why I tell you things again?”
“Because I’m your best friend, obviously,” he replied with a loopy grin as he got to his feet.
I rolled my eyes, taking the hand he extended to help me up. “Oh, yeah, then how come you told Minnie about Torin kissing me, hmm?”
Skye at least had the grace to look a little ashamed, despite his nonchalant shrug. “It was in your best interest. He needed to know he had competition. Actually, how are things going with Tor?”
I huffed, dusting off my pants as we headed back toward the path. “Not. I was actually starting to think it was an impulse thing and that he wasn’t interested, but then yesterday he was… I dunno. Flirtier than usual. I’m wondering—-”
A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the air, cutting me off and sending birds flapping out of the trees.
Skye and I exchanged a startled look, then took off running back toward the cabins. Regardless of how tense our team dynamics currently were, the idea of any of my guys being hurt made me want to hurl.