Camp Wakiki

Sun fell all around Darcy, lighting up her blonde hair. Sweat was beginning to dampen her hair in the place where it met her forehead, but she was too hot to care. All she wanted to do was make the mile long walk from one of Wakiki’s many lakes to the staff lounge – the only place in the camp with air conditioning. The cafeteria had fans, but that was nothing compared to the cool air the lounge would provide.

With visions of ice cubes and snowflakes in her mind, she stepped across the large field, seeing the building in the distance. Usually, Darcy stuck to the trails when making her way across camp, but she was too hot to do that, and for once, she was thankful she had listened to Lila when she told her about the shortcut through the field.

Darcy was so focused on her thoughts that she almost didn’t see the arrow flying through the air. She’d almost walked right into it. Her hands went to her chest, as she took a jump back with her heart racing.

Before she had time to process what was happening, Liam Payne was running over to her, a worried look on his face. He had reached her in seconds, and was gripping her shoulders in his hands. His face was right next to hers, his eyes soft as he spoke.

“Darcy, are you okay? I didn’t hit you, did I?”

Darcy shook her head quickly, her mouth not able to form words.

He breathed out, relieve that he hadn’t just mauled the girl. “Don’t you know not to walk out onto the shooting range?”

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” she said, her voice apologetic. “I didn’t know where I was.

Liam let out a deep breath. “It’s alright. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Darcy bit her bottom lip, as she watched Liam’s face go from worried to relieved. It was strange not seeing him with a smile on his face, because she was so used to him wearing one. It seemed like every time she looked at Liam he had his arm wrapped around Violet and was smiling wildly. She wondered if Violet was the only thing that made him smile like that.

“Where are you headed?” he asked, as he moved towards the arrow that had fallen a few feet away.

“Back to the staff lounge,” she said. “I’m going to die if I don’t get to the air conditioner soon.”

Liam chuckled, as he picked the arrow from the ground. Tossing it between his hands, he looked back at her, before throwing it towards her. She quickly caught it, the feathery end landing just between her fingers.

“I’m headed that way too,” he said, as he began walking in the direction she had originally been going. “I’m meeting Violet before dinner. We can walk together, if you’d like.”

She nodded her head quickly, as he smiled back at her. “The arrow?”

“Keep it,” he said, with a nudge of his head. “As a souvenir of the day I nearly murdered you.”

Darcy chuckled, before stepping next to him, as they made their way toward the tree lined end of the field. Just past the woodsy portion lied the staff lounge and they would be there in only seconds, and Darcy suddenly found herself wishing the walk was just a little bit longer. There was something about standing next to Liam that made everything just feel so different.

When the two were a few hundred feet away from the staff lounge, Darcy spotted Violet in the distance, already waiting for Liam to return to her. Liam’s smile grew wider at the sight of his girlfriend, and his pace quickened slightly, forcing Darcy to hurry her steps to keep up with him.

They were just a few feet away from Violet when the small girl went running into Liam’s arms. He lifted her easily, holding her with little effort on his part. They stood like that for a moment too long, with Liam squeezing her tightly and Violet wrapping her arms around his neck.

Darcy simply watched as the two had a moment that could only be described as something out of movie. The worst part was, it was like that every time they saw one another. No matter how long it had been, they were running to each other like they worried they’d never be able to again.

Each of one of those moments only pained Darcy’s heart more, because it proved that the boy she’d been pining over since she first saw him the year prior was totally and completely in love.