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Ben Hartley

"I'm kind of a misanthrope. Not a choice, just a fact."

0 · 965 views · located in Sapphire, North Carolina

a character in “Something Like Fate”, as played by Magical_pineapples

Description




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{"We live alone, We die alone. Everything else is just an illusion.” }
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|{Full Name}|
Benjamin August Hartley.

|{Nickname}|
Ben {Common; liked}||Benji {Often; hated}||Gus; {Family Only}.

|{Birthday}|
14th February.

|{Age}|
Sixteen.

|{Ethnicity}|
English 93%||American 7%

|{Sexuality}|
Heterosexual.

|{Year at Camp}|
Fourth year at Merrie Woode.




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|{Quirks || Habits || Oddities}|
{ Hums To Himself, A lot. } { Taps fingers on things when nervous } { Feels Obligated To Comfort Those Who Are Crying, Even if He Doesn't Know Them/Dislikes Them } {Bad Extended Eye Contact} { Has Tiny, Almost Illegible Handwriting } { Makes Silly Faces While Focusing } { His Feet Bounce When He Sits } { Leaves Sticky Note Reminders For Himself Everywhere } { Posture Becomes Perfect When Angry } { Has a Constant Supply of Twizzlers On Him } { Doesn't Drink Soda or Coffee, or really anything Caffeinated } {Leans on things while speaking to people} {Carries around hand sanitiser wherever he goes}{Bits His Tongue A Bit While Smiling} {Flushes when embarrassed}

|{Talents || Strengths || Skills}|
⚘Art in general⚘ Brooding⚘ Memorizing⚘ Dealing With Children⚘ Patient⚘ Sketching⚘ Comforting People / Cheering Them Up⚘ Resolving Conflicts⚘ Making Others Look Good⚘ Optimistic⚘ Encouraging⚘ ⚘British accent

|{Flaws || Weakness}|
⚘Naive // Overly Trusting⚘ Lacks Self-Preservation⚘ Pushover⚘ Two Left Feet⚘ Flirting ⚘ Prone to Falling For People Too Easily⚘ Passive // Weak Willed⚘ Lactose Intolerant⚘ Lack of Punctuality⚘ Perhaps Overly Cheap, Money-Wise⚘

|{Hobbies}|
{ Painting } { Sketching || Drawing } { Cooking } { Going To Art Museums || "A lot of friends back at home are in their art programs, so I also check out youth scultures." } {Reading} { Daydreaming } { Pottery } { Cleaning || "My mom used to clean when she was nervous or bored. I guess I inherited it from her." }

|{Fears}|
øDying Aloneø
øLifeø
øHurting Othersø
øSpidersø
øBreaking His Paternal Traditionø


|{Secrets}|
Wants to become an artist
Falling in love with Judith Ahlström & he hates it

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|{Personality}|
{Honest, Sweet, Passionate, Perfectionist, Quiet}

At his core, Ben is his father's and his mother's son, both of whom are the sort of people that are admirable in their honesty and general kindness. Raised in a home where lying was the ultimate crime, where it was not the thing itself but the fact that he lied about it which led to punishment, he has grown up to believe that honesty is the best policy. He is not really blunt, far too quiet for that and not the type of person who will say the first thing that comes to mind, especially if it is cruel, but if he is asked a question he will answer genuinely nine times out of ten. Of course, if he's supposed to be keeping a surprise secret, he can keep his lips sealed, but when it comes down to the things that matter, it can be trusted that he will not be insincere with people. It is not really his strong suit to be deceitful or cunning, rather a more honorable and faithful sort of person. In fact, should he try to use underhanded methods in a competition, he would likely fail terribly, not being well suited for it. He is a believer in giving people honesty if they ask for it, and silence if it is necessary, though he will never actively lie to a person's face. He would feel guilty doing so, and would likely fail at it.

Also from his parents, and his grandparents even more, Ben was taught to be kind to other people, especially those who clearly need a gesture of generosity from others. If someone is injured, he will do his best to help them, even if doing so hurts his team. Perfectionist though he may be, the young man also is want to put the needs of others above his own desires if the situation calls for it. Besides, helping others and making people smile simply makes him feel good- it's like a little rush of dopamine for him. He's the type to always remember people's birthdays, and to leave little gifts for them, or to lend people money without expecting to get it back. In those senses, he is perhaps a little bit on the naive side, but it is simply his way. He may be majoring in business, but perhaps the business world isn't entirely what he is cut out for, as far as being able to pull yourself out on top goes. Ben wants to be able to succeed without having to hurt others. Even more, he wants to be able to win despite helping his competition, because that only means his team was that much better.

When Ben does something, he never does it halfway. That may work well enough for some people, but not for him, and especially not for something that he has come to love. He is incredibly passionate when it comes to doing the things which are important to him, drawing and baking alike being perfect examples of this. His favorite thing is not to succeed at everything, but to succeed at that which he has put himself out there doing- which he has worked as hard as he possibly can to prefect. Of course, he likes to do things well when he does them, and has been a perfectionist ever since he was seven years old and his art teacher first told him that he had the extraordinary creativity ever seen. Since then, perfection is what he aspires to, and even if he doesn't always reach it, Ben works and pushes himself until he is numb trying to get to it. He expects the best possible from himself, and becomes somewhat frustrated when he doesn't reach that- energy which he only places into working harder.

One thing that most people do notice about Ben is the fact that he isn't really the most loquacious of people. Chattiness doesn't run in his blood, and isn't something strongly found in the young man. He's more of a doer than a speaker, believing that actions speak louder than words. Besides, his grandmother, upon hearing him say something rather stupid in his adolescence, told him that it was 'better to be quiet and thought a fool than remove all doubt.' Strangely, he took that to heart, becoming more of a quiet person than he had been before. His quietness has a certain observational quality to it, making it clear that while he says nothing, he sees everything- or seems to, anyway. Regardless of the contents of his quietness, it is there all the same. He speaks, of course, but never chatters.




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|{Likes}|

Drawing Sketching Camp Winning Competition Grapes Fruit smoothies Accents Button-up shirts Alliances Work ethic Snow The color blueBlue eyes Hot chocolate Snowboarding Wilderness Camp fires Rural areas Wood floors Vanilla Scents Somewhat shy girls Honest Precision Cafes Baking




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|{Dislikes}|

Losing Undeserved arrogance Dirty tactics in competition Very warm weather Sand on his feet Feeling ignorant Bullies Being intimidated Tiny handwriting Excessive optimism Naivete Thunderstorms Ghost stories CaramelChewing gum Iced Tea Hot tea Tobacco Abusiveness Betrayal




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|{Place of Origin}|
London, England.

|{History}|
Lucas was born to what he'd consider a rather run-of-the-mill family, to be frank. His mother is a English maiden whom his father met while studying in London. She is a very practical person, Eloise Hartley nee Bernard, and had been working as an intern at the buckingham palace, with the hopes to eventually become a curator, when she met Lucas's father, an American man named Andreas Hartley. He was a confectioner- or rather, similar to her, someone with the hopes to become one, studying in a culinary school in London. Their courtship lasted while Andreas was in school, culminating a few weeks before he was planning to return to America to work in his own father's confectionery shop, when he proposed to her. She accepted, but remained in London for a year while Andreas returned to America, finishing her internship.

After that year, she moved in with Andreas in a small apartment, and began applying for citizenship. The two conceived around two years later, eventually giving birth to their first and only child, a little boy with his father's blue eyes named Benjamin. He was raised the son of a confectioner and a curator, so while he considered his life to be fairly average, with an average-income family and simply attending the typical years for someone in the public school system. In school, he got along fairly well with his peers, but was never a particularly loud person. Rather, Lucas was more of a follower than a leader more often than not, or the sort of person who would quietly take over the entirety of a project to ensure that it was done correctly. One must understand that, beginning from a very young age, his mother enrolled him in art school- it was a good way for him to interact with other children his age.

Anyway, his art teacher instilled in him a sort of perfectionist side, one that led him to be the sort to take over projects in order to 'do them right' as was previously mentioned. He wasn't necessarily popular, but was in a comfortable state throughout his education career. It was simply assumed that he would become a confectioner like his father and grandparents, but they decided that they wanted for him to get a degree in business, having grown up learning to bake for his entire life. Thus, when he ended primary education, Benjamin continued on for the next several years to prepare for taking the Matura.

Around this time as well, his art teacher, despite the fact that Lucas had started only going once a month or so, recommended that he join the art exhibition. Why did his teacher, an alumni of the team, choose him above people whom he knew were better? Simple. The art exhibition was intended for those with special creativity, and Benjamin had been able to manipulate light since he was around seven years old, a power inherited from his mother, and one which had been accepted surprisingly easily by his father's side. Interested, Benjamin entered one of his works, thus, he came to be on , and has been for several years now. Having recently passed the matura, he will be attending early courses at Harvard University next year, and thus has decided to retire from art after this year's international art competition. After all, art has been a lifestyle for him, but confectionery is what is expected for him to go into, so that is what he will do. It's been his entire life.




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|{Other}|
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Character Dialogue || #9fd671

Face Claim || Freddie Highmore

So begins...

Ben Hartley's Story

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Cassandra Bennett Character Portrait: Alicia Morales Character Portrait: Charlotte Van der Veen Character Portrait: Sophia Stanford Character Portrait: Ashleigh Smythe Character Portrait: Liam Woods
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Setting
93 Degrees Fahrenheit | 33.889 Degrees Celsius
Sunday, April 4th, 2014 7:22 AM

A trumpet sounded from a distance, loud and melodic in its usual 'To The Colors' anthem as scouts rose the American flag into the clear blue skies. Everyone had a part to play; dining halls had to be swept, mopped and pristine dinnerware were acquired to be displayed orderly, every watercraft were pulled out from its position in the shed and were instead lined up beside Lake Fairfield according to their size and shape, washrooms were scrubbed clean as expected, varies workshops had each booth displayed out into campgrounds, the cabins were to be dusted, cleaned, and assigned to the appropriate campers that were soon to arrive, and lastly every staff member put on their best smiles for these campers. A year had past since they had last seen them, and now they were determined as ever, hoping that these last five months would be spent in true enjoyment at Merrie Woode summer camp.




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----->outfit<-----




Summer Camp. The words took a dreadful outlook upon Judith. Five month of pure horror with other campers she knew ever since she first attended Merrie Woode; others who inconspicuously tried to make her life a living hell more so than it already had been since the death of Jamie last year, her life little by little was beginning to accumulate all things suffering. Course she tried to look at the positive side, but it was difficult. Besides, who would be around to make sure she never forgotten her inhaler? Surely the others wouldn't. Half never even spoken a hundred words to her let alone acknowledged her appearance. She was only a forgotten soul at the center of earth; a mystery amongst various insights. Though, she never cared. Whatever the others thought, it was theirs to observe. No comment needed.

She leaned her head against the car window, watching as the scenery zip by, a tableau of dark green fir trees, bright rays from the sun reflecting off of the cars, and clear blue skies from above. "Beautiful? Isn't it?" her father took casual glances in the back towards her.

"Every year." She smiled vaguely.

Her father chuckled and flicked on the radio; turning it to the classical station. Judith heard the first few bars of Yiruma's River Flows In You, which was the very piece she was supposed to be working on while at camp before her Julliard audition in September. She felt some kind of cosmic coincidence. She began to concentrate on the notes, imagining herself playing, feeling grateful for this chance to practice, happy to be cool in a car with her melody and her family. She closed her eyes.

"Em? Em, honey, wake up." Someone softly shook at her shoulder. Alarmed, Judith jerked awake. It was her mother."We're here." she said.

Judith looked passed her and fair enough she spotted the sign declaring it to have been Merrie Woode. "Right." she rubbed at her eyes before grabbing her two luggages, hopped out the car, and shutting the door behind her at the same time her father met her with a duffel bag that withheld all her necessities. He took one look at his daughter, his Judy, and pulled her into a hug. "You have fun, okay? Jamie may not be here, but she's always watching over you."

The sound of Jamie's name only made Judith clutch her father even closer. "I will. You know I always will."

A minute passed. Two. Then, her father released her. She turned to her mother, and instantly she was embraced. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, mom." Then, she let go; slinging the duffel bag over her shoulder she managed to roll her luggage down the rugged concrete. Halfway toward a staff member that awaited her, she turned around- her hair whipping at her face- and looked at her parents. They were standing with arms linked over each other as they looked back at their little girl. They knew that she would only be away for the summer, but it was as if they weren't enjoying the thought of her leaving. Josephine raised a hand in goodbye, before walking down a little stone path lined with dark hedges and met face to-face with a tall, balding man, "Miss Ahlström! Welcome back. " He said casually, smiling warmly. "You may remember me as Michael McDonnell, founder of Merrie Woode. Anyhow, here's your schedule," He handed her a paper filled with useful information. Then, he pointed in the direction of her cabin.

Cabin 4: Gray Whales.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Charlotte Van der Veen Character Portrait: Ben Hartley
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"Benjamin August Hartly," His mother had pronounced his full name for the thousandth time during the drive to Merrie Woode. Benjamin was used to becoming absent to the world in his own humane way. Whether it was sketching, reading, or simply daydreaming, but in this case it was neither. It was Judith's piano playing. He remembered her sending him a copy of it last year and ever since then it somehow always seemed to engulf him into a world unknown. The sound of the piano chords projecting a melodic tune to Hall Of Fame became memorizing in a way that left Ben imagining Judith playing the song in front of him. The way her fingers would move effortlessly, gracefully across the keys in unison; the way her long red hair would occasionally fall over her face. He often enjoyed her love for the instrument. And to be honest, she was undeniably talented that at times would leave Ben slightly jealous of her. Just slightly.

He snatched the ear-buds from his ears, and hit the pause button on his ipod. "Yeah, mum?" Ben watched as his mother flipped through the Camp Merrie Woode program;'oohing' and 'aahing' every now and then.

"It says here that 'fencing has become one of the more popular activities and provides a unique opportunity to try for the first time as a novice or to develop skills for those more experienced at the sport'. You should try fencing this year, hunn."

Ben became dubious at his mom's words. There were two things with what she was inquiring. First, Ben hated fencing. After joining the fence team for the first time last year and nearly was left with an eye detachment, he took an oath to never join fencing again. Second, since when was he active? Surely Ben was physically fit in his case, but he was no body builder. The only sport he became engaged in was snowboarding, and that was it. Others left him with an emphatic negation on his part.

"I am not joining fencing. Not after what happened last year."

This time it was his father who joined in on the conversation. "Oh c'mon, son. It wasn't that bad."

"Dad," he uttered with an exasperated snort. "I'm not joining. Besides, I have my mind on one thing this summer."

His father smiled as he took glances at his son in the rearview mirror, "Like, what?"

Ben didn't answer. He didn't have to. Instead he looked out the window letting his thoughts roam free as he rolled the ipod in his palm.


It wasn't long before they finally arrived. The sign was huge indicating the site as Camp Merrie Woode. Ben scanned around the campgrounds, noticing that nothing had changed. The camp director, Micheal McDonnell, was there happily greeting people, and familiar faces were everywhere. When he caught sight of red hair, almost instantly he grabbed for his suit cases and a duffel bag before hopping out of the car. "See-ya," And he was out. He only had took three steps before he heard his mother calling him from behind.

"Benji! Hunny, you forgotten your sun screen again."

It was then had he stopped in his tracks, awfully embarrassed. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but he shut it almost instantly as his cheeks began to flush. Grabbing for the sun screen, he left without a word.

Again, his mother was heard. "Where's my kiss?"

At that Ben ducked his head as he moved with quicker strides away from her. "I'll call you later!"
Moving towards Judith, the camp director called for him, but he made no intentions to stop. "I know, I know. Cabin 6. Bobcats." Obviously, his mother wouldn't let him leave without first telling him which cabin he was in.

Ben was only five feet away from Judith. Four, three, two, "Hey." He said to a girl with jet black hair who he didn't even know.

He chickened out. Yet again.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Judith Ahlström Character Portrait: Charlotte Van der Veen Character Portrait: Liam Woods Character Portrait: Theodore Matthews Character Portrait: Lucas Woods Character Portrait: Ben Hartley
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outfit







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Dylan breathed in the warm earthy air around him as he looked up from the paper he held in his hand. Damn was he was glad to be back at Merrie Woode, glad to be around people that were more approachable than the ones in school. It was going to be his last year like Theo's so they promised to live it up and make it the best year they ever had. Hey there's no harm in ending the their time here with a bang? Literally . . . as in fireworks, trust me that's definitely the idea that's running through Dylan's head right now. The grin began to pull at the corners of his lips before Theo's voice snapped him out of his little diabolical plans. " I know, It's straight bollocks I tell ya."

In the slight heat of the moment Dylan's little Irish accent slipped through along with some of it's slang. Dylan's expression went from pouting to a small chuckle that escaped his lips upon hearing Theo say how much trouble they caused last year."Yea? If they thought we were trouble last year they're going to absolutely love us this year mate." Dylan only had seconds before Theo had threw himself at him but the lad managed to catch him, somewhat, what he could anyway Theo was way taller than him so you can picture the struggle. The lad in sync began making faces at the camera and posing along with Theo. His first pose was a playful tongue sticking out at the camera and the rest followed naturally as he attempted hilarious poses with his bro.

" Hey Lucas! Be a darling and get my good side." Dylan jokingly says in the best girly voice he can produce as he poses one last time before Theo was back onto his feet. Brushing off his shirt slightly Dylan gave Lucas one of his goofy smiles before running his fingers through his hair. " It's been going dreadful! You know how school is with all the people. . . and crowdedness, Anyway I'm just glad to be back, kind of sad though it's our last year here." he let out a sigh but recovered quickly before continuing. " So how was your . . . Winter and all? " a small chuckled followed after his question.

Dylan caught Theo from the corner of his eyes looking as if he was searching for someone desperately and he automatically knew who he was looking for. When Theo found his little target but chose not to approach Dylan simply just placed his arm around Theo's shoulder in a reassuring manner. The lad's eyes met Colton's as he waved gently with a smile upon his lips before turning his gaze back to his friends and catching Theo's look. Dill rolled his eyes with a small grin on his face as if saying, I'll do more than sit on you, I'll tie your tall ass up if I have too. Suddenly a familiar redhead caught Dylan's peripheral vision causing him to slightly turn his head and look at her. Judith, was the girl that caught his eyes but when does she not? He felt like an idiot around her but his crush wasn't that big that he'd mess up his words around her, stutter a bit yes but never not complete a sentence around her.


Before he knew it, Dylan had spaced out and was absentmindedly staring at her for a good minute before catching himself. He saw Ben, a chill guy he only knew by name awkwardly make his way towards Judith but suddenly turned and spoke to the odd girl not to far from her. The short girl with black hair was very interesting looking and Dylan was drawn to interesting. He'll make note to introduce himself later.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Charlotte Van der Veen Character Portrait: Lucas Woods Character Portrait: Ben Hartley
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--->outfit<---




The place wasn't so bad. The woods surrounding the camp was similar to the woods in Washington except less depressing. There were bright colors here. Yellow, orange, green, and red. In Washington there was just brown and grey. Sure there were the autumn colors as well as the green leaves in the warmer months but they were swallowed up with the gloom and doom atmosphere the woods gave off. It was one of the reasons Charlotte loved Washington. She would have a little trouble ignoring the bright color for her sketches but she would manage and find a way.

"Hey." Charlotte kept going hoping that the word was directed at n someone else but she looked around and saw no one else around. Not to mention the fact that the person who addressed her was looking directly at her.

Oh, spit! I'm the only new girl here, just like that camp leader said. Does that mean everyone's attention is gonna be directed at me? This is gonna suck. I'm gonna have to keep answering the same questions over and over again. "Where are you from?" "Do you like it here?" And then the bragging about what each and every person thinks of the camp. Charlotte shook herself from her mental rambling and looked to the boy that came up to her. No smile on her face. That was something earned.

"Hey." Charlotte replied back. She looked around and saw that several people were arriving pretty fast. Then she remembered the guy with the camera. Lucas was what he said his name was. It took everything she had not to grab his camera and smash it. She really didn't like her picture being taken. Especially, by a stranger. "You're not gonna take my picture too, or anything, are you?" Charlotte looked the guy over. He seemed well dressed. Which meant he most likely wouldn't be the type to hang out with her type of crowd. Charlotte waited for his answer.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Judith Ahlström Character Portrait: Liam Woods Character Portrait: Hollie Knight Character Portrait: Theodore Matthews Character Portrait: Lucas Woods Character Portrait: Ben Hartley
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"Hollie."

Hollie had taken a total of two steps away from Judith, not even bothering to hear her reply, though she doubted the girl would have answered anyway. Why would she? They weren't friends, she didn't owe Hollie an answer and in return the fake red head didn't care enough to even listen. That was when she heard her name, catching her off guard as she quickly tried to turn towards the voice. Unluckily her heels did not have the same idea and she stumbled slightly, her foot landing in a patch of drying mud as she caught herself regaining her footing. She grimaced as she quickly brought her foot away from the brown mush a frown on her face. The only thing she hated more than dirt was mud. Why she decided to come to camp every year, one that was surrounded by woods and dirt was a total mystery. One of the many weird mysteries and bizarre things Hollie did.

Letting out a hiss, she bit her lip as she tried to wipe the gross substance off her pink shoe and onto the grass only to no avail. Setting here eyes with a glare, Hollie turned to yell at the person who had startled her, only to see Lucas kneeling with a camera pointed at her.

The mean and nasty expression she usually wore slid off her face as she smiled for the pictures turning so he could get her "good" side.

"You're going to let me see those before you print them out, right?" Hollie asked raising her eyebrow as she watched Lucas jump to his feet, he didn't seem to hear her as he took off in another direction saying a farewell to her. "At least delete the ugly ones!" She called after him watching as he stopped in front of new people. Rolling her eyes she turned to Liam who despite looking identical to his brother alway seemed cuter to Hollie.

"Ah thanks Liam." She smiled genuinely at his compliment before glancing down at her muddy shoe. "I stepped in mud and these are new, they are going to be a pain to clean." She sighed tucking hair behind her ear before her eyes flickered up to meet his again.

"Well I guess as good as school can get." She gave a small laugh at his slight stutter, not in the mean condescending way, but more along the lines of a girlish giggle as she laughed along with him. Her brown eyes watched him drop his stuff off.

"Definitely not, I absolutely hate this camp." She answered bitterly responding to his question as she studied the area around her hatefully. "I don't know why I keep coming back...hmm maybe it's to see you." She winked playfully at him before lightly pinching his cheek. "Well aren't you the gentlemen." Handing him one of her rolling suitcases she headed towards her cabin opening the door and stepping in. She placed her bag to the side and glanced around the cabin. "Well thanks, I really needed the help. Do you need any help, I know you had quite a bit?"

If it had been anyone else she would have never offered to help. In fact she wouldn't have even said thank you. The best she would have done was shove her suitcase at them without insulting them. But Liam was her friend, one of the only people who could tolerate her, and despite as much as she would deny it, she liked having friends. There was no way she was going to scare them off with her bad attitude.




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Colton eyes scanned the people and area around him as he desperately searched for Judith, trying to keep his eyes from wandering back to Theo. As far as he was concerned, as long as he didn't see the tall boy he wouldn't see him. He could still feel his eyes slowly inching there way to Theodore's as he looked over each face.

"Hey Colton!" A familiar voice rang out giving Colton the excuse he needed to stare at the boy he had been trying to avoid. As he turned around he could finally clearly make out Theo's blue eyes, the ones that he always thought he could drown in if he stared too long.

The tall boy takes a step forward, hand in a wave, and Colton raises his hand to bite the inside of his thumb(a nervous habit he's always had), as he tries to work out a decision in his head. He continues to watch Theodore as a wild debate goes off in his head, as he argues over if he should turn and run or slowly slip away, but no maybe he'll stay and let Theo walk towards him and embrace him. It would be nice and it was definitely harder now that they were looking at each other to turn away. It doesn't matter though because the tall boy makes the decision for both of them as he stops giving the wild haired boy a smile that just spells friendly.

Colton waves back awkwardly his hand barely raising into the air as stares at Dylan and Theo. The two turn back around and Colton pushes hair away from his face letting out a low relived sigh.

"Fuck." He mutters shaking his head as his eyes trace over Theo's body. He catches sight of a vaguely familiar boy his camera still raised, and Colton hopes he hadn't taken a picture of his stunt in the bushes, but he can tell by the angle of the camera that he probably did.

He turns away, back on his hunt for Judith, halfway happy that Theo didn't approach him and the other half disappointed. The friendly smile kind of irks him, but what had he expected? Especially after he had blatantly ignored the boy and was still avoiding him. It wasn't like Theo should be tackling him to get his attention, Colton wasn't that special. Besides Theodore had a number of men and women who Colton was sure would be happy to spend just one night with the blue eyed heartthrob. He couldn't expect him to wait forever, especially if he never planned on talking to him again. Plus it was just like Theodore with his nice and caring nature to do as he wanted, abiding by his wish of staying away from him.

"Colton!"

Colton turned, a smile already on his face as his eyes finally landed on the red head he had been searching for. Momentarily forgetting about his boy troubles.

His face mirrored Judith's and they shared their excitement as he ran to her gathering her into his arm as he hugged her, lifting her off the ground and swinging her around once. He gave her a light squeeze before drawing back slightly a somber expression over taking his features.

"I'm sorry." He apologized in a whisper. Even though he didn't say exactly what he was apologizing for he was pretty sure Judith would understand. When she had lost her sister he had called and tried to be there, but not nearly as much as he could have and for that he was sorry. Placing a brotherly type of kiss on her forehead he released her from his arms completely.

"Now I hate to cut our PDA short, but is that Ben over there? We should go say hi." Linking his elbow through her's he began practically dragging her toward the boy who he was so inconspicuously playing a wing man for.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Judith Ahlström Character Portrait: Cassandra Bennett Character Portrait: Charlotte Van der Veen Character Portrait: Ben Hartley Character Portrait: Colton Nobel
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"I'm sorry," those were Colton's exact words as they embraced each other. And Judith despised it more than ever. For a year she's been reminded everyday how sorry it was that her sister was dead. But who is there to blame? It was no one's fault. Nobody knew that the plane would never make it back to its home base, or that hundreds would've died. It just kinda happened; an unexpectedly conspiracy. However, Judith didn't cry as much as she thought she would. She knew her sister wouldn't want her living in grief because grief is like the ocean, it comes in waves, ebbing and flowing, sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim. At least that's how the Ahlstrom sisters' saw it, and surely she wasn't going to let anything ruin her summer at camp. This was her second to her last visit after all, then she would be off to new possibilities wherever the wind blows. And maybe, just maybe finding love along the way.

Colton was at least a foot or two (maybe four) taller than Judith, so of course she had to stand on her toes as she squeezed him harder. "It's okay," she gave out a small chuckle; sniffing as she went. "I'm okay." It wasn't long before Cassie came over to the two, her hips swaying side to side and the hugest smile covering her face. "Hey, Judith, how are you?"

"I'm great actually. Thank you." Judith practically mumbled from within Colton's chest nearly suffocating from his grasp before he had finally let go.

"Now I hate to cut our PDA short, but is that Ben over there? We should go say hi." At that, he and Judith linked arms, and Judith linked arms with Cassie. Together, they moved over to Ben with a strangely intriguing girl with black hair whom Judith obviously hadn't seen before.

New kid. She thought; however, it wasn't the new girl she had her eyes on. It was Ben. Seeing him held an awkward feeling in the pit of her stomach. They hadn't talked since, well, since forever. And of course he tried to call him, but usually he'd let it go to voicemail and when he actually did pick up the conversation usually ended with hey, uhm I'm going to have to call you back. But he never did call her back. It was weird. Judith had spent week after week figuring out what she ever did to him for that type of disregard. The thing was she never did anything to him. Or did she?

Judith stared at him, waiting for a reply, a smile, anything. When he never did, "Hi," she said as she lowered her eyes away from him.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Judith Ahlström Character Portrait: Cassandra Bennett Character Portrait: Charlotte Van der Veen Character Portrait: Ben Hartley Character Portrait: Colton Nobel
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It took a massive meteorite falling from the sky at two hundred miles per hour for Ben to take his eyes off of Judith; however, when the girl next to him finally spoke he turned his attention to her. "You're not gonna take my picture too, or anything, are you?" she asked. Her voice was small, like a child's yet audible. And her feature was haunting in the most intriguing way possible; long hair the color of charcoal with skin extremely pale. She's not exceedingly beautiful, but something about her left him interested. To his surprise, she met eyes with him; waking him from his trance. He urged on a convincing cough before responding, "N-no. Don't mind those guys. They do that every year. Trust me, I know." He waited before continuing. "I'm Benjamin, by the way. Benjamin Hartly." He made no attempt to extend his hand out in gesture. So, he instead followed with her footsteps.

It wasn't long until Colton came arm in arm with Judith, and Judith with Cassie; however, he let his eyes land on Judith. It was weird seeing her after all he did try to ignore her calls. He didn't mean to push her away; tied between his own emotions he was. An emotion between love and hate. Love because the more he see's her or even hears that sweet voice of hers, he just melts. Hate because, well, it's not everyday you like your best friend. It was literally, totally unacceptable yet he can never get over the fact that he might actually love her.

Love. It's a single word, a wispy thing, a word no bigger or longer than an edge. That's what it is: an edge; a razor. It draws up through the center of your life, cutting everything in two. Before and after. The rest of the world falls away on either side. It was Judith who held him at center. And when she stood in front of him, he made the attempt to avoid pushing back a strand of her loose strand from her face as he done thousandths of times. A "friendly" gesture it was, but to Ben it meant more.

He opened his mouth to respond, and closed it almost immediately "Hi," she said curtly at the same time Ben's heart dropped when she lowered her eyes.

He wanted to tell her how he felt about her, but he didn't know how exactly. He wasn't quite sure of his emotions at this point, so he returned the greeting, "Hi." He said before letting the awkwardness engulf them.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Judith Ahlström Character Portrait: Cassandra Bennett Character Portrait: Alicia Morales Character Portrait: Charlotte Van der Veen Character Portrait: Sophia Stanford Character Portrait: Ashleigh Smythe
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Setting
77 Degrees Fahrenheit | 25 Degrees Celsius
Monday, April 5th, 2014 8:22 AM

So, it's the first day at Merrie-Woode, right? The campers had a chance to reunite with their peers, if new they got a look around camp, and even met with their campmate(s) whom they may or may not like. But that's just life. Now enough with the blah-blah stuff, It's time to start the day off right. The staff at Merrie-Woode have a list of plans for all the fellow campers. Those of who will follow obediently with a smile planted on their faces which indicate the meaning of being a "happy" camper, and there are others who will use their stay at Merrie-Woode as an advantage to only cause chaos. Hint, hint, the staff has their eyes close on three stooges that are known for causing great catastrophes: Elias Addiks, Dylan Negovanlis, Theodore Matthews. With the likes of Cassandra Bennett hoeing around. May these four (delinquents..) be surveillance.

The dining hall is where we lay our scene, each camper are (hopefully) enjoying their breakfast; scrambled eggs, bacon, potatoes, sausage, and stacks on stacks of pancakes. Since there's only eight minutes left, Mr.McDonnell has decided to make an announcement of who is in what group and with who for our Color War activity, thus giving each of them a map of Merrie-Woode:

"The yellow group includes campers Cassandra Bennett, Hollie Knight, and Charlotte Van Der Deen.

The orange group includes campers Mackenzie Irving, Theodore Matthews, Ben Hartly, and Colton Nobel.

The blue group includes campers Judith Ahlström, Lucas Woods, and Dylan Negovanlis.

The green group includes campers Elias Addicks, Liam Woods, and Ashleigh Smythe.

The red group includes campers Johnathon O'briens, Alicia Morales, and Sophia Stanford.

The purple group Ciana Moore, Brooklyn Harrison, and Kit Grimshaw.

Now attention all campers. Whether or not you like any of your teammates, we are to be respectful and work as a group. Today's color war activity is Capture The Flag. Each team is given at least three riddles that each pertain to where the color of your flag is located. It can be anywhere for example, in the dressers, in the toilet, etcetera. The team who has collected their total of three flags, and report back to the drama station wins. Have fun. And remember to always be a happy camper at Camp Merrie-Woode!"



Riddles:

Yellow Group

1. Little critters are the worst to deal with. It's a good thing that they're kept outside in the__________.
2. Way down deep in the blue sea, betcha can't find me. Where am I?
3. The ________ is forbidden to all campers.

Orange Group

1. Ben Hartly is well known for ending up in the_______.
2. The _____ ______ is always prohibited to boys.
3. Archery is to field as basketball is to______.

Blue Group

1. I wake up in the morning, put my foot to the floor, and make a fifty-yard dash to the bathroom door for the _______.
2. Vegetables are easy to plant.
3. Never go there at night.

Green Group

1. A place set for three meals daily.
2. Where we meet and sing songs.
3. Feeling tired, well Theodore?

Red Group

1. Black and white ball.
2. Horses. Horses everywhere.
3. Two paddles made for two people.

Purple Group

1. Fire is hazardous, but not for marshmallows.
2. I never seen you before. Go get registered in the _____ ______.
3. Looking for a flag, well there's an even bigger one.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Judith Ahlström Character Portrait: Cassandra Bennett Character Portrait: Alicia Morales Character Portrait: Charlotte Van der Veen Character Portrait: Liam Woods Character Portrait: Hollie Knight
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The usual breakfast-overhauled. Charlotte could at least look forward to enjoying a full breakfast. Was this the usual breakfast camps had? Charlotte's mind thought to her cabin mate, Alicia Morales. Out of all the people at the camp Charlotte think getting paired up with Alicia was the best. She was quiet and interested in art as well. Charlotte couldn't muster up any courage to ask to look at Alicia's artwork and sketched in her journal all night. Hardly a word was shared between the two but it wasn't an awkward silence because between them was the energy and understanding of an artist at work. Charlotte drew an odd picture of Benjamin as well as the guy with the camera that night. She forgot his name already.

While eating Mr. McDonnell made an announcement concerning groups and a Color War activity. As he handed out maps of the camp site Charlotte could feel her hunger dissipate.

"The yellow group includes campers Cassandra Bennett, Hollie Knight, and Charlotte Van Der Deen." Mr. McDonnell announced first. Charlotte didn't know who either of them were and didn't bother looking around. She knew that the regulars of the camp would notice her name as being new and figure out who she was, quickly. She didn't want to meet any eyes that were possibly looking at her. Analyzing her. Maybe even judging her.

"Now attention all campers. Whether or not you like any of your teammates, we are to be respectful and work as a group. Today's color war activity is Capture The Flag. Each team is given at least three riddles that each pertain to where the color of your flag is located. It can be anywhere for example, in the dressers, in the toilet, etcetera. The team who has collected their total of three flags, and report back to the drama station wins. Have fun. And remember to always be a happy camper at Camp Merrie-Woode!" On the back of the map were the riddles for each team.

1. Little critters are the worst to deal with. It's a good thing that they're kept outside in the__________.
2. Way down deep in the blue sea, betcha can't find me. Where am I?
3. The ________ is forbidden to all campers.


Charlotte had no clue what to make of each riddle. Especially, the last one. She didn't know the camp rules. The inevitable was coming now that breakfast was coming to an end. Charlotte lifted her head to see who this Cassandra Bennett and Hollie Knight were.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Theodore Matthews Character Portrait: Mackenzie Irving Character Portrait: Ben Hartley Character Portrait: Elias Addiks Character Portrait: Dylan Negovanlis Character Portrait: Colton Nobel
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outfit

Despite the previous days' unfortunate run-in with Colton and the atrocity that was Dylan and he being in different cabins, Theo's night isn't bad. Actually, he would go so far as to say it was great. Elias and he were bunked together, so naturally they sat and talked for forever, or at least until Elias passed out. There other roommate, Ben, was a kid Theo also knew. A kid that had a reputation with him for ended up in the infirmiry. It was like anytime they went out to do something fun, the next day Theo could find him there, almost guaranteed. After a while he stopped asking about it, maybe he was just really clumsy. The thought doesn't occur to Theo that it could, in fact, be his fault.

None of them stayed up incredibly late, he doesn't think. The only thing that has Theo going to sleep before dawn was the idea that he might be able to corner, er, talk to Colton tomorrow, and he didn't want to be a zombie for it. Not that Theo ever really got tired... he acted a lot like the energizer bunny, or maybe the little train that could, because it didn't matter how many (or how few) hours of sleep he was running on, he was always ready to the next party that he could bring life to. Naturally he's up earlier than everyone the next morning, having actually gone to sleep at a normal time, and he goes for a shirtless run even though it's a little chilly, because who needs clothes?

After a quick shower and ten minutes to pull out clothes and get dressed, it was time for breakfast. There was no question as to who he was going to sit with, because the moment he laid eyes on Dylan he had found his breakfast buddy. Well, make that a breakfast trio, but it was already pretty obvious that Elias and he would be sitting together. The 2/3s of their trio that were bunked together were both back to their usual antics, Theo friendly and funny and all things nice, Elias loud and laughing, with him around Theo never had to worry about if his jokes were going to be funny or not, he would probably laugh either way (even if it was at him, rather than the shitty joke).

It's not long before the camp director enters that there is a horrible tragedy. Theo looks over at Elias, wide eyes expression his hurt, bottom lip stuck out as he pouted. Something is said in Dutch and he doesn't understand it in the slightest, but he's quick enough to throw back his own French retort. "Enfoiré." Fucker. But a second later Theo is turning and stealing a pancake off of Dylan's plate, and all is well in the world once again. It doesn't take much to make Theo happy.

After the announcement of teams, Theo finds himself staring dumbly at the still half-full plate in front of him, no longer hungry in the slightest. The butterflies that had so recently started to calm down got ten thousand times worse than they were yesterday. He glanced over to Dylan with a nervous expression and sheepish smile. "Looks like the non-existent gods are on our side today, huh?" The brunette sighs, kisses his palm then slaps it on Dylan's cheek, and pushes away from the table to bound over to where he's seen Colton with Judith and some of those other type (if Ben was at the table with Dylan/Elias/Theo then he probably dragged him there too (; ).

"Hey Colt, other ones." He winks at those still hanging around, acting like this wasn't going to be the most difficult day of his life. "Seen Mackenzie?"

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Theodore Matthews Character Portrait: Mackenzie Irving Character Portrait: Ciana Moore Character Portrait: Ben Hartley Character Portrait: Brookylnn Harrison Character Portrait: Kit Grimshaw
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[Outfit]

Breakfast was never an appealing time of day, not for Mackenzie at all.

It just made her think of all the times she was called fat, useless and the sorts. She used the cafeteria to just sit down and reflect on yesterday. As soon as she got on, she forced on a smile for her photo because it was either that, or being the odd thumb and not having a picture at all. Though hers would obviously be the worst looking one there, the horse faced child could never smile properly.

She got to see Judith again, she found out they were room mates. It was a pleasant surprise, she liked Judith compared to some of the other campers. The brunette never saw what was wrong with Judith, as other people called her horrible names. Personally, she liked Judith more than any other camper she knew here. She was glad Judith actually reciprocated her feelings, honestly she wasn't even sure if she could room with anyone else here without them saying something that would make her want to do something horrid to them.

But after dwelling on her thoughts for too long, her eyes darted up to look up to one of the camps instructors: Mr. McDonnell, he told them that colour wars was going to happen, which meant that the girl had to be put in a group and well, socialise. She hated these games because of her innate lack of communication and listening skills. That's why any team she's put in would never win. Though she wasn't openly expressing herself as others were, though it was funny.

"The orange group includes campers Mackenzie Irving, Theodore Matthews and Colton Nobel."

"Great." She muttered to herself, she knew them from the last time they were at camp. But being Mackenzie Irving, she never socialised with them so it was hard to know whether they'd get along or not. It shouldn't be too hard to find them all. The brunette thought she might as well find the group now, she got up from the table she sat on and went to find the boys, yes, she was the only girl in that group. A group full of boys she barely even knew.

When the girl did get round to finding them, she took a deep breath pointing down with a finger as she decided to find out if she was in the right place. "Hey, this is the orange group, right?" She asked, three boys, they were the only group with four people so this should make sense. The only reason she liked this group so far was because her favourite colour was orange.





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Outfit
Kit liked yesterday, liked his morning, liked his food. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, sausage, it reminds hi of what his mother makes at home, though hers is better in his opinion but he gulfed it down happily. The male was happily reunited with good friends like Theo and Ben, as well as finding out that Cassandra was here too. Thinking about that made his heart skip a few beats.

He was roomed with Colton Nobel, who is a pretty sweet guy actually. Although he includes a lot of profanity in some of his sentences, which is not pleasant to hear. But overall, he can't complain. Kit was one who liked to get his rest so he tended to sleep as soon as it got really dark and it benefited him actually. He woke up not actually being too tired.

While he gulfed his food down happily. Then his eyes averted up as McDonnell talked about the first activity of the week, colour wars. He took a deep breath and turned when a young red headed girl somewhat gagged on her orange juice. He chuckled a little to himself, quietly so no-one can hear him.

"The purple group includes campers Ciana Moore, Ben Hartley, and Kit Grimshaw.

"Ciana.. and Brooklyn." He muttered to himself, trying to remember those names in his head. "I'm looking for the purple team" He called out to see if anyone would respond to him. He hoped people knew Kit was him, he was glad the camp called him Kit though, Christopher was too long for him and it never did feel like he was a 'Christopher', he's always referred to himself as Kit since birth.

The male continued to look around the dining hall for his team mates to find out where they were.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Theodore Matthews Character Portrait: Mackenzie Irving Character Portrait: Ben Hartley Character Portrait: Colton Nobel
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A yawn escaped Colton's lips as he sat up in bed, running a hand through his tangled bed head.

Yesterday hadn't been as bad as he expected. It went rather well, no awkward conversation with Theo, Judith didnt seem the slightest bit upset with him for his lack of friendship and he hadn't died from walking in the heat. So far so good.

Colton raised his arms above his head as he began to stretch, checking his phone for the time. It was earlier than he had expected, he had always been a rather early riser, but it seemed pretty early even for him. Maybe he was restless and had a lot on his mind, this was his last year after all. Tip toeing out of his bed, Colton quickly got ready before grabbing his camera and stepping out into the morning air. Now was the perfect time to take pictures, the lighting was beautiful and it would look gorgeous the way it shined off the trees. Colton whistled, trying to make some sound the morning quietness getting on his nerves.

Snapping a picture Colton checked it out on the camera. Frowning slightly he deleted it before trying again, he couldn't seem to get the right angle, maybe he would ask Lucas how he got the heavenly angles he did. He and Lucas had hit it off almost instantly. They had ended up in the cabin after all the greetings with friends and he had asked Colton about one of his cameras. Boom they clicked, talking for at least two hours about different cameras and their love for photography.

Kit also seemed pretty cool. They hadn't talked to much, except for the exchange of hellos and names.

Rising his camera he was about to snap another photo when the steady sound of jogging feet filled his ears. There was only one person Colton knew who would be jogging this early. Theodore Matthews. Pressing himself against the tree he tried to hide behind the trunk. Don't see me he chanted to himself as he watched a shirtless Theo come into view.

Great there went his picture time, he was so not going to be caught with Theo alone. Letting out a sigh he slowly walked back to his cabin, he could always take pictures from the safety of his cabin.

As he sat on his bed waiting for the others to wake up, he realized there was no way he would be able to avoid Theo no matter how hard he tried. Maybe he should just talk to him, and maybe they could become friends. Things could go back to how they use to be when they were young boys. It was fun then, no worries and nothing but laughs stupid dares and pranks. It could be him, Theo, Elias, and Dylan like it once was. Back when he and Theo were just friends.

No. There was no way they could ever be just friends again. Not after everything they had been through. Even when they were boys Colton had always felt something for the blue eyed boy who always put others before himself. There was no way Colton could stand just being friends, exchanging friendly smiles and watching as Theo found someone else. No matter how difficult it was and annoying he would just continue to hide and avoid.

When everyone had finally woken up, Colton trudged over to the dinning hall feeling deflated. He slowly ate his breakfast picking at it mostly and periodically letting out sighs. Glancing over at Theo's table he noticed the laughing and joking they were doing, like they had no care in the world.

Colton stuck out his bottom lip. That was no fair, Theo was having the time of his life and he was stuck over here being the complete opposite. Then again why shouldn't he be, it was Colton who started the mess. Sitting up straight Colton sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. Starting now he was going to have fun. This was his happy place and dammit he was going to be happy. Taking a huge bite of his pancake he chewed with determination before swallowing it.

Colton laughed lightly at Judith's comment. "You know we could always protest, signs and everything." He smiled at her before turning at the sound of Mr.McDonnell voice. He explained what they would be doing, calling out the groups. Colton's eyes widened as the color drain from his cheeks. "Shit." He muttered glancing over at Judith horrified, and patting her back as she began choking on her orange juice. It was there lucky day.

None of this was going according to plan, he was suppose to avoid Theo and have fun, not be stuck with him all day.

"Hey Colt, other ones." Colton shivered involuntarily as he heard Theo's voice.

Be happy, this is fun Colton reminded himself before turning to Theo. His dull less attractive eyes instantly met blue ones. Colton stared at him dumbly trying to think of a response as the butterflies dancing in his stomach laughed at him. He bit his lip as he continued to stare, a slight awkwardness filling the air a the longest of the eye contact and no speaking. Damn he wanted to apologize so bad, he wanted to spill his feelings, instead he awkwardly nodded a couple times letting out a fake cough.

"Hey Theo it's been so fucking long." He didn't understand why he had to curse in that sentence, or why he couldn't have just replied with a hey. He literally had probably said the worst thing, he had seen the guy yesterday. Plus Theo had been trying to talk to him since summer camp had ended last year. The reason they hadn't seen each other was because of the fact that he had been ignoring him.

"Seen Mackenzie?" As if on cue a brunette appeared who he assumed was Mackenzie. Colton pointed to her tearing his eyes away from Theo as she asked if she was in the right group.

"Yep, welcome to the winning team. Now does anyone know what the hell these riddles are talking about?" Colton responded trying to change the subject and calm his blush.