☀️ MORNING – CAMP GROUNDS
The camp was already loud.
People running around, teachers yelling instructions nobody listened to, music playing faintly from someone's speaker.
Andrea stood near the edge of the clearing with a paper cup of burnt coffee she immediately regretted taking.
She looked exhausted.
Mostly because she was.
Mostly because of him.
"Rough night?"
Andrea turned slightly.
Bill.
Of course.
He stood beside her with his hands tucked into the pockets of his oversized jacket, dark hair messy from sleep.
Unlike Tom, Bill looked fully awake when he stared at people.
Like he noticed too much.
Andrea looked away first.
"I slept fine."
Bill hummed softly.
"That's a lie."
She narrowed her eyes.
"You always analyze people this early in the morning?"
"Only the interesting ones."
Andrea scoffed quietly.
"I'm not interesting."
Bill looked at her for a moment too long.
"That's also a lie."
The noise around them blurred slightly.
Andrea hated how calm he was.
Tom was chaos. Loud. Distracting.
Bill was worse.
Bill paid attention.
"You don't like people much, do you?" he asked.
Andrea crossed her arms.
"People are disappointing."
"That sounds personal."
"It's realistic."
Bill smiled faintly.
"Tom likes you."
Andrea almost choked on her coffee.
"No, he doesn't."
"He does."
"You're insane."
Bill tilted his head slightly.
"And yet I'm still right."
Andrea stared at him.
"What exactly is your problem?"
"My problem?" he repeated softly. "I don't have one."
"Could've fooled me."
Bill looked toward the cabins where Tom was laughing with Georg and Gustav.
Then back at her.
"You just look familiar."
Something in his tone made her chest tighten slightly.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He hesitated.
"Like someone trying very hard not to feel anything."
Andrea's expression hardened immediately.
"You don't know me."
"No," Bill said gently.
"But I think you're trying very hard to make sure nobody else does either."
Silence.
Andrea suddenly felt exposed.
Like he'd opened a door she kept locked.
She hated it.
"I'm going to activities," she muttered.
Bill watched her leave.
"You should be careful with him," he called after her.
Andrea stopped walking for half a second.
Then kept going.
She didn't ask which him he meant.
🌲 CAMP ACTIVITIES 🪵 TEAM CHALLENGE
"Alright everyone!" the instructor shouted. "Today's first activity is paired survival tasks!"
Groans immediately.
"You'll work in teams of two!"
Andrea already knew this was going to end badly.
Then—
"Tom Kaulitz and Andrea Johnson."
Of course.
Again.
Tom looked way too pleased about it.
"This is getting suspicious," he said, walking toward her.
Andrea grabbed a rope from the table aggressively.
"Don't talk to me."
"Ouch."
"You're annoying."
"And yet you keep ending up with me."
Andrea shot him a glare.
"Not by choice."
Tom grinned.
"Still counts."
The activity was simple in theory:
Build a shelter in under an hour using ropes, wood, and tarps.
Simple.
Except Tom refused to take anything seriously.
"You tied that wrong," Andrea snapped.
"No I didn't."
"Yes you did."
Tom looked at the crooked knot.
"…Okay maybe a little."
Andrea groaned.
"You're impossible."
"And you're controlling."
"Because someone has to think."
Tom stepped closer suddenly, taking the rope from her hands.
"I can think."
Their hands brushed.
Andrea froze for half a second.
Tom noticed.
Of course he noticed.
A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Relax," he murmured.
Andrea immediately pulled her hand back.
"I am relaxed."
"Sure."
Across the field, a girl from another class walked over toward Tom.
Blonde. Pretty. Confident.
"Tom," she smiled. "Need help?"
Andrea instantly looked away.
Not her problem.
Not her business.
Tom glanced at the girl.
Then at Andrea.
Then back again.
"We're good," he said casually.
The girl blinked.
"Oh. Okay."
She walked off awkwardly.
Andrea frowned slightly.
"You could've just let her help."
Tom shrugged.
"I didn't want her help."
"Why?"
His eyes flicked toward her again.
"You ask a lot of questions for someone pretending not to care."
Andrea's stomach twisted annoyingly.
"I don't care."
Tom stepped closer again.
"Liar."
A cold breeze moved through the trees.
Andrea looked down, tightening the ropes harder than necessary.
Tom watched her quietly this time.
No teasing.
No jokes.
Just watching.
"You know," he said eventually, "you're different when you stop trying so hard."
Andrea glanced up.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You smile sometimes."
"I do not."
"You do."
"I literally don't."
Tom laughed softly.
"There it is."
Andrea blinked.
"What?"
"That look."
"What look?"
"Like you forgot to be angry for a second."
That—
That hit somewhere dangerous.
Andrea looked away quickly.
"Shut up."
But this time…
There wasn't much bite behind it.
Later that evening, Andrea sat alone outside Cabin 12, knees pulled slightly to her chest.
The campfire crackled in the distance.
Laughter echoed through the trees.
Then—
Footsteps approached.
She already knew who it was.
Bill sat beside her quietly.
Neither of them spoke at first.
Then—
"He's already looking at you differently," Bill said softly.
Andrea stared ahead.
"That's not my problem."
Bill studied her profile carefully.
"No," he murmured.
"I think it's going to become yours."
And for the first time—
Andrea wasn't sure he was wrong.