As Friends Are (Xun.)

[Cameron Osiris]

Summer was here at last. Cam felt a twinge of sadness roll through his body as he packed up his truck with today’s goodies. He could feel his time at Hammel coming to an end, and he wasn’t ready to say goodbye to everyone he loved. But he wasn’t going to let that get to him, not today. Not when he had a lovely picnic for himself and Xun to share. And yes, he had told his friend to also pack some swimming trunks – they were going to the lake!!

Cam ran a hand through his hair, letting out a sigh as he sauntered back to the dorms. And to think, he had only just started dating Matty and everything. He didn’t want to breakup with him just because he was leaving, so what was he going to do? Besides, they had until the end of summer to enjoy one another, and Cam was planning on staying as long as possible, and as he had promised everyone else before, he was going to visit over the breaks when he could.

“Xun!” Cam knocked the door a few times obnoxiously. “Are ya ready yet?!” Cam was excited to go, and was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet in order to expend some of the energy he had.

[Deleted]

Xun sped through packing his bag with things - literally. It took him all of about one minute to pack in his swimming trunks, extra cloths, snacks, a towel, water bottle - anything he thought he might need for his day out with Cam. The Chinese boy knew his friend's time at Hammel was coming to an end soon, so he was looking forward to spending the day with the blonde boy and hopefully making some memories that would last for a long time.

He jumped at the knock on his door, quickly tugging on his shirt and tossing his bag over his shoulder, giving one quick spin around to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything before he opened the door and gave Cam a big smile. "I'm ready, I'm ready," he assured him with a small chuckle, closing and locking the door behind him. He looked back at his friend, who showed his excitement much more obviously than Xun did (it wasn't that he wasn't excited, he just didn't bounce around as much), and laughed. "Be careful you don't get a sprain with all that jumping," he teased, turning to head off down the hall beside the older boy.

"So, ah, you drive?" he asked, glancing at Cam. "I... Should probably get my license sometime, I just haven't gotten around to it." Xun smiled sheepishly and passed a hand through his hair. "Is it hard?"

[Cameron Osiris]

Hopefully Matty wasn't the overprotective type. From what Cam had gathered so far, he was more than welcome to hang out with his friends, and hadn't seen the need to warn Matty of his happenings today. He didn't start dating the brunet to have a collar around his neck, so, hopefully this was all good. It just wasn't something Cam had thought about doing beforehand.

"Shut up," Cam said playfully, nudging Xun and giving a laugh. So what if he was springy, at least he wasn't faking happiness.

"Yup, truck and bike," Cam said conversationally. Last summer he had been showing off his bike quite a bit, but the novelty had worn off to the point of not needing to brag about it all the time. He still loved it though. Cam shook his head 'no'. "You only really need to get one if you think you're gonna use it." What was the harm in public transportation or walking? "I don't really like paying for insurance or gas, but hey, I least I can go wherever I want, whenever I want." Freedom always had a price.

Getting into the front seat of his truck, Cam pushed on his shades and checked the back seat to make sure the cooler was still alright. It was a bit of an older one, and sometimes the top popped off and that sort of defeated the purpose. "Hope ya like sandwiches," he said, a charming smile on his face. "Oh! And I managed to find some of those shrimp cracker things you like," he added, backing out of his parking space and onto the road.

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Xun had few friends, and no one that would be jealous of him doing anything, so he had nothing to worry about. He was also unaware of Cam's relationship status, but it wasn't his business, and he didn't feel the need to ask; they'd kissed once, and it was nice, but he'd determined that they were just friends after talking to Nao, and that was perfectly fine. Xun wasn't looking for a relationship, the idea of that made him... Uncomfortable.

He just snickered at Cam's nudge; his cheeks were already hurting from smiling, and they hadn't even done anything yet. Something about the blonde just made him happy and smile more than he did with anyone else.

"Bike?" Xun repeated, slightly confused. He assumed he meant an actual bicycle, so for a minute he looked bewildered until he realized Cam meant something else. "Ah, that sounds fun," he said aloud, imagining what it must be like to ride a motorcycle. Then again, he could probably run as fast as one and get the same sensations. Xun nodded a bit with what Cam was saying. "Yes, and I don't have a job, so... I wouldn't have any way to pay for that stuff anyway," he said with a hint of embarrassment. "That does sound nice though. I usually just... Walk or run where I need to go." Most everything he needed was in downtown, so he could be there in just a few minutes if he tried, and had the energy built up.

Xun clambered into the passenger seat, tucking his long legs up against the dashboard as he shut the door behind him. He glanced back as Cam did and saw the cooler. The Chinese boy's eyes lit up. "I like food," he stated, which involved pretty much anything edible. He smiled even wider at the mention of one of his favorite treats. "You are the best," he determined, buckling his seatbelt as they pulled out onto the road. Xun looked out the window for a few moments, staring at the passing scenery before he glanced back over at Cam. "How much longer are you going to be in town?" he asked, nervous for the answer. Saying goodbye to one of his few friends was going to be hard.

[Cameron Osiris]

It seemed lately that anyone Cam was interested in was extremely nervous about having a relationship at all. He secretly hoped that it wasn’t because there was something inherently scary about him, but rather that some weren’t as sure of themselves as he was of himself.

Cam nodded his eyes wide. “Yeah, a bike.” And at that moment, Cam stopped walking and pretended to be crouching over a motorcycle. He pantomimed his hands on the handlebars, twisting them and making a vroom sound. “Any good at charades?” He teased Xun with a smile, straightening out his legs, hoping Xun got the picture. Cam shrugged. “You have the rest of your life to work, you’ll probably get a car at some point I’m thinking.”

“I like food too!” Cam chimed in enthusiastically. Being a foodie was good fun. He grinned over at Xun before looking back to the road. “I just wanna make people happy.” It was probably his motto. He was going to miss driving here, he knew it like the back of his hand. But part of him was also excited to take the drive to Princeton – something about long highways soothed him.

“Until the end of August,” Cam said, following the signage to the lake. It wasn’t the highways he was going to miss most of all, but the people. “So I still got a whole month to have fun with you!” And everyone else, but Cam like making people feel special. Getting out of the car, Cam grabbed the basket and walked close to the edge of the water.

Cam chose a spot and spread out the traditional red and white checkered picnic blanket. He just hoped the traditional ants wouldn’t join them. Sitting with his legs crossed on the blanket, Cam opened up the basket and brought out a sandwich. “So,” he began, unwrapping the plastic wrap from his food, “did I tell you I have a boyfriend?” A sure fire grin accompanied the statement.

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Cam's pantomiming definitely made Xun catch on to what he meant. Xun's first language was actually Chinese, so there were some times when English words or double-meanings went over his head. He chuckled at the acting. "I bet you look very, ah, cool on it," he commented with a smile. Xun nodded at the comment about work. "Yes... Although, I did hear there might be some openings at that sporting goods place at the mall, so I may look into it." There was little Xun cared about more than wushu and food, so he needed to work in one of the two fields, or at least something similar.

He grinned at Cam's announcement. "You... You are good at making people happy, I think," Xun responded thoughtfully. "At least, for me." He supposed he couldn't speak for other people, but the Chinese boy didn't know what the blonde could possibly do to make people unhappy.

The end of August.... Xun frowned. "A month will go by quickly," he murmured. Then again, time often went by fast for the speedster, like his shortened life span was just going even faster than most. Still, he had to smile as he followed Cam to the edge of the water. "I'm sure you have a lot of people to say goodbye to," he commented. He seemed the type to have a lot of friends, which was why Xun was so confused sometimes why Cam had befriended the awkward, quiet athlete.

He helped unfold the blanket and settled down on it, fumbling around the basket until he grabbed another sandwich, which he bit into eagerly. "Mmf?" he replied around a mouthful of food, eyes wide. Xun swallowed it before going on. "A boyfriend?" he repeated, a little surprised. "Is... Is he okay with you leaving?" Xun realized this might be a rude thing to say and added,"I mean, I am happy for you, that's great!" But... Yeah. Long-distance relationships sounded hard.

[Cameron Osiris]

“That’s definitely why I bought it Xun, to look cool.” Cam said, only partially teasing. He actually enjoyed tinkering around with the motor now and again, but mostly he looked awesome riding it, and looked even better in his homemade movies featuring it. “Well if you do apply, you can always use me as a reference! Not sure how much that will help, but…” Cam offered a smile. All he ever wanted to do, was help those he cared about.

“Well you can only speak for yourself,” Cam said, giving Xun a reassuring smile. So long as he knew he could make one person happy, it was motivation to keep working on the rest. He had made people unhappy before, but his intentions had never been to do so. Some things were just bad luck, and bad timing.

“I’m gonna make the most of it,” Cam said, though honestly his entire time back at Hammel had seemed to slip through his fingers without much notice. “I’ll get to everyone,” Cam said confidently. He wasn’t going to let anyone down. Xun really shouldn’t have been surprised though, Cam really liked spending time with him.

Cam giggled a bit, taking a bite of his own sandwich as Xun rearranged his sentence. “Yeah, a boyfriend,” Cam confirmed. He used the time it took to swallow to think of a good answer for the next question. He smiled a little, giving a shrug. “I think he’s happy I’m doing my dream, but he’s gonna miss me. I’m gonna miss him…” Cam looked off at the lake, zoning out. “But that’s a good thing right? If he wasn’t gonna miss me, then, why was I dating him?” Cam smirked, taking another bite. “Aren’t cha gonna ask who he is?”

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“I will keep that in mind,” Xun replied, smiling wide enough so that his teeth actually peeked through. Hardly anyone could make him do that; Cam was one of the rare few. He didn’t know how he would reference Cam in a resume, but he would try.

“I guess that’s true,” he admitted with a small blush. Xun just had a hard time believing someone so upbeat and supportive could hurt people. “I…. I’ve tried to be more optimistic lately, because of you,” he added quietly, with embarrassment. “M… Maybe I’ll make more friends that way.” Xun was alright with the few friends he had, but he wasn’t opposed to more.

He looked up and nodded, glad to hear Cam was going around to everyone. “I… I am glad to get to spend time with you before you go,” he said softly. “But I’m glad you have so many people that care about you. You deserve it.” It was just also too bad he would have to say goodbye to all of them.

Like a boyfriend. Wow. It seemed like only the other day that Cam had kissed him, and now… “Yeah,” he said softly. “I… I hope it works out for both of you. I’m sure he really likes you if he’s going to, um, try the long distance thing.” He was zoning out a little too when Cam asked if Xun was going to- “Oh! Um… Who is he?” Well, now he just felt dumb. “Uh… Do I know him?” It was unlikely, considering Xun really didn’t know too many people at Hammel anyway.

[Cameron Osiris]

Cam blinked a couple times, the picture of surprise. "Really?" he asked, finding Xun sweet for admitting the reason for his optimism. Cam would carry that comment with him into University, for when he felt like he had never made a difference at all. "Well it's worth a shot, right?" Cam asked, still touched at the other boy's words.

"Good, I'm glad you made time for me." Cam wasn't going to think that he was a priority in anyone's life. He just wanted people to know that he cared. "I dunno if I deserve it, but I am pretty damn lucky to have them. People like you." He smiled broadly. If this was the way he'd go out, he'd take it.

"Yeah, we'll see what happens," Cam said, stretching himself out on the blanket, taking in the last summer rays. He tilted his head back slightly, a coy smile on his face. "Mathis," Cam said, giving a little sigh afterwards. "He's just... I dunno, I like how happy he is."

Cam curled back on himself and gave Xun a little nudge. "But enough about that, we have to go swimming!" He wasn't one to abide by the whole, don't go swimming after you eat rule. Rules were meant to be broken.

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Mathis… “I… I don’t think I know anyone by that name,” Xun said slowly, wracking his brain. Nope, nothing came to mind. Still, he was happy for Cam, as shown by the small smile on his face. “It’s good for someone like you to have someone happy as well,” Xun told him. They could bounce their happy optimism off of each other. “I, uh…. I kissed someone else….” he mentioned meekly. Xun hadn’t really told a lot of people about what had happened between him and Nao – really, he’d only told Brooke – but he thought Cam might like to know.

Swimming! Yes, swimming, that sounded good, especially now that Xun’s cheeks were burning self-consciously after his admission about Nao. “Swimming sounds great,” Xun agreed, standing up and quickly peeling off his tanktop, underneath which was a surprisingly toned figure for one who seemed so skinny and lanky. Thank you, wushu. With a glance at Cam to make sure he was following, the Chinese boy made his way down to the water, picking his way through the rocky shoreline and a few logs and sticks strewn around. “Watch out for broken glass,” he warned as he evaded a piece of said object. The last thing he wanted was an injury to ruin their day.

Once he reached the edge of the water, Xun dipped his feet in and shivered. “It’s coooold,” he said. Fortunately it was hot out, so it actually felt pretty good.