Zenon's Game Chapter 19

"You always this antisocial, Candy?"

His voice cut through the music in my earphones. I turned the volume up.

"Go away," I said when Zenon's body appeared next to mine, "Please."

Almost forgot my manners.

"I won't."

He clearly forgot his.

I refused to look at him. I didn't know why he left the others to join me, but he shouldn't have. I remembered what he said to Tamara when she complained about me: We have better things to talk about.

So I said to him now, "I thought you had better things to do."

"I do." He agreed and sat down beside me, "But I want to be here."

His words replayed in my head. Is he high?

"I don't know why," he admitted, thinking the same thing, "but I do."

There was nothing I could do to make him leave and I didn't want to. It was nice having someone sit beside me. The cool air brushed past us, playing with my hair as it went. We heard the sounds of the campfire behind us and gasps from the frightened campers listening to ghost stories. We sat side by side in silence.

Until he broke it.

"Can I have one?" He pointed at my turkey and mayo sandwiches.

I had made them for the other counselors, though no one wanted any. I nodded, still avoiding looking at him.

Then he picked my phone up without permission, sandwich in his other hand. He checked the music I was listening to, while he bit half his sandwich.

Swervin - A boogie wit da hoodie feat. 6ix9ine

He raised his eyebrows, "Didn't expect that. Weren't you singing Shawn Mendes the other day?"

"You saying I can't have a diverse taste in music?" I asked, "A girl can be into Shawn Mendes and Lil Uzi."

"Nah, I'm surprised because you are the most PG girl I've ever met. You freak out when I take my shirt off, you never swear, you-"

"Ok, ok, I get it."

He knew more about me than I expected. Just talking about his shirt off made me blush.

He smirked and leaned over. He took the earphone out of my left ear and his fingers softly brushed my earlobe, sending shivers down my neck. Then he came closer and put the earphone in his right ear.

Curvy little body, love your surfaceYeah, I'm all on your body, make you nervousI like the way you keep up with your earnings

I didn't realize how nervous I was. Our knees were almost touching, and he was listening to my playlist... that's personal.

I thought everything was right, that's when you leftSwervin'How you look so perfect on your worst days?

I can relate...

lol. I smiled at my own joke.

And Zenon noticed.

I forgot that we were listening to the same lines, feeling the same beat, and damn was that boy perceptive. He looked at me, almost like it was for the first time.

"I haven't known you for long," he spoke sincerely, his voice had a soothing effect, "But your eyes don't light up when you smile. You're not happy, are you?"

I didn't say anything back. I couldn't. My breath was caught. How could he have noticed?

He continued, "I saw how you changed when we were on the beach the other day. You turned into someone different. Carefree, and your smile lit the place up."

I battled with myself. Do I tell him? Do I tell Zenon Albert my feelings? Does he actually care?

He took my phone out of my hand and put the music on pause.

I guess he does.

I took the earphone out of my ear and my hair accidentally fell over my eyes. I brushed it aside, feeling his eyes on me the entire time.

"I fell in love with a boy who didn't love me back," I said, "Same old story."

A real classic.

"You had a boyfriend?" He sounded surprised.

I tell him my heart's been crushed and that's what he focuses on??

"Yes."

Why was that so hard to believe?

I tried to push the memories from flooding back. The last thing I needed for my nonexistent social life was to break down in tears in front of the only guy who talked to me.

"And he broke up with you?"

"He cheated on me and left me for her. My friends chose him as well. I don't have many friends to begin with, not sure if you noticed that," I joked at my own sad life, "But now I only have one."

"They were never friends if they're that fickle."

Good point. "Anyway, that was a month ago. We broke up about a month ago."

One brutal month. Full of ice cream.

He nodded and said, "Then I'm a good distraction for you."

Was he trying to comfort me? I expected cocky jokes from Zenon Albert but the problem with this joke... is that it's real. He really was a good distraction.

"What's your distraction then? You must be here for something." I said, realizing that I had no idea why he was at Camp Beaver Hill.

He didn't need the money, and this wasn't exactly his vibe.