Embrace Yourself

That night, Brady sighed to herself as she laid on the bottom bunk. She had been awake for an hour and a half now and there was no way she was falling asleep anytime soon. After the meeting everyone went back to their rooms and Aly and Brady talked for about an hour before deciding to go to bed. She wasn't sure if Aly was awake at the moment, but she didn't care because she wanted to get out of there.

Brady slowly climbed out of bed and grabbed her jeans that were at the foot of her bed. She quickly changed out of her pajama pants and threw on a sweatshirt before she grabbed her shoes. As she started to slip her shoes on she heard Aly stir in her bed. Aly pointed unlocked her cell phone so there was light in the room, and she looked down at Brady.

“Where are you going?” Aly asked curiously as she let out a yawn. “You’re not tired?”

“Not at all,” Brady responded as she stood up and started towards the door. “I’m going out to walk around.”

“Well, I’ll cover for you if someone comes in,” she commented.

“Thanks,” Brady said with a slight smile. “You don’t want to come with?”

“Nah,” Aly declined as she shook her head. “I am too tired right now. And I think we’re getting up relatively early tomorrow so I don’t want to be dead tired all day.”

Brady just nodded her head and opened the door before walking out. She headed down the hallway and down the stairs of Carver Hall quickly and quietly so no one would hear or see her. Once she got outside, she pulled the hood of her sweatshirt up and stuck her hands in her pockets as she began to walk around Camp Hope.

It never scared Brady to be by herself in the dark—she actually enjoyed it. She didn't worry about someone sneaking up behind her or someone jumping out at her. She liked the dark and she didn't mind being by herself at night time. She thought it was relaxing to just look at the night time scenery and considering this was a new place for her she was excited to go exploring for the night. Getting up early was the farthest thing from her mind as she strolled around the camp, and she didn't care if she was tired in the morning or not.

As Brady walked deeper into the woods that were just outside of Carver Hall, she noticed a lake with a dock a few yards away. She glanced around to see if anyone was following her or if there was anyone else present, and when she saw that there wasn't she headed towards the lake. She walked down the dock and once she got to the end of it she stared out at the water. The water bobbed up and down from the wind that was blowing and Brady felt relaxed. She sat down at the end of the dock and crossed her legs underneath her as she stared at the pretty, yet dark, view that was in front of her.

+

“There’s no way I’m going to sleep anytime soon,” Louis commented from the bottom bunk. He and the guys were supposed to be asleep by now and none of them were even remotely tired. Louis was never used to going to bed this early, and being trapped in the tiny room with his friends was making him restless, and he wanted to go out and do something.

“Does anyone want to go outside with me and walk around?” he asked his friends. “Maybe it’ll help us get tired.”

“I’m not going,” Harry said from the bottom bunk of his and Niall’s bed. “I’m not getting caught.”

“Same,” Niall sighed as he stared up at the ceiling. “I’ll just lay here til I fall asleep.”

Louis glanced over at Zayn from where he was lying on the twin bed, and he shook his head. “Go yourself, Louis. If Mark catches us we’re dead meat.”

“Agreed,” Liam stated from above Louis on the top bunk.

Louis rolled his eyes and sighed to himself, before he got out of his bed and threw on a sweatshirt. He didn't mind going out by himself, but he was hoping that someone would actually want to accompany him. He wasn't worry about getting caught because it wasn't like he was going to cause any damage or intentionally disturb anybody. He wanted to go out and get some fresh air, and that was it.

“Well, whatever,” he said as he opened the bedroom door quietly. “I’ll see you guys in a while.”

All of the guys bid Louis goodbye before he was out of the room and heading out of Byron Hall. He made sure that he was completely silent as he passed the other rooms and walked down the stairs. He opened the door to leave the building and shut it quietly behind him before he started off into the cold darkness. He jammed his hands into his pockets and let out a deep breath.

He looked around the camp for a brief moment until he decided to head into the woods to see what he could find. He always loved to go into any woods to explore. He didn't mind getting his shoes dirty or getting the bottoms of his pants muddy. He liked to be adventurous, and the fact that he could get caught at any moment caused a rush of excitement to surge throughout his body.

He stopped in his tracks once he got into the woods and saw a lake and a dock surrounded by hundreds of trees. He didn’t stop because he was surprised to see a lake at a camp, he stopped because he saw someone sitting at the end of the dock alone. Their hood of their sweatshirt was pulled up and the person didn't move a muscle as Louis watched them. He couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl from the back, but Louis knew that he or she wasn't supposed to be out at this time (well, neither was he didn't mind being a hypocrite).

Louis slowly inched towards the dock and once he was about to step onto it, the person that was sitting at the end turned around quickly and looked at him. He noticed that it was the girl that he shared a table with in the dining hall. He couldn't quite remember her name, but he definitely remembered the face. The straight, long, brown hair that hung past her shoulders and her nose piercing that he didn't think most girls could pull off were the two things that stood out to him. He walked towards her slowly and cocked his head to the side.

“You’re not supposed to be out here at this time at night,” he commented. “Especially alone.”

“And you are?” the girl asked smartly as she watched Louis take a seat next to her. “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do when you’re doing the exact same thing.”

“Fair enough,” Louis sighed as he crossed his legs. He looked out across the water and it was silent between him and the girl for a few minutes, before he turned to her. “What was your name again? I recognize your face, but I can’t remember your name.”

“Brady,” the girl said, her tone clipped. “Harry, right?”

“Louis,” he chuckled. “But close. Harry’s my friend.”

“Oh,” was all Brady said as she looked down at her lap. “Whatever.”

There was another awkward silence between Louis and Brady and neither of them knew what to say. It was obvious to Louis that Brady didn't really want to talk to him, and he was sure that she didn't even want to be at the camp. But he couldn't blame her, because he was positive that no one wanted to be forced here against their will.

“So,” Louis began as he tapped his fingers on the dock. “Do you like it here so far?”

“No,” Brady answered truthfully as she looked over at him. “It sucks asshole.”

“Sucks asshole,” Louis repeated, his lips curling into a smile. “I haven’t heard that one before.”

“So, do you like it here?” Brady asked Louis, feeling like she had to keep the conversation going to avoid making things awkward.

“Yeah, it’s kinda cool,” Louis responded as he looked over at Brady. “I like helping people and everything, so I think I’ll enjoy it here this summer. My dad is Mark, so that’s the only reason why I’m here, if I’m honest. He got us jobs as cooks this summer.”

“‘Us’ as in your other friends that were in the kitchen at lunch?” Brady wondered.

“Yeah, them,” Louis said with nod. “We just thought that this could be a fun experience.”

“I see,” Brady sighed as she looked up at the full moon that was over her head.

“So, tell me about yourself,” he suggested casually as he ran his fingers through the cold water. He looked over at Brady to see that she was beginning to get up from where she was sitting.

“Where are you going?” Louis asked her as he watched her head down the dock. “Did I say something?”

“No,” Brady said, lying through her teeth. She didn't feel the need to tell Louis about who she was or where she came from. She didn't want him to judge her about her past and she wasn't here to make friends (Aly was the only exception). She didn't need Louis to counsel her and guide her through her experience here. She knew she had to be here and there was no way around it, and that was it. If she wanted to change she could do it herself; she didn't need some stranger helping her.

“Well, where are you going then?” Louis repeated as he rose to his feet.

“I’m tired. Going to bed,” she said, not turning back to look at Louis. “Night.”

“Oh, goodnight,” Louis muttered, and soon enough it was just him on the dock. He sighed to himself as he sat back down and put his hands in his lap. He wasn't sure why Brady all of a sudden put her guard up, and maybe it would be harder to make friends here than he thought.