Neill

Your parents confronted you with a fait accompli a week before summer: no more staying home. You could, of course, bring a phone, but the internet connection at camp was practically nonexistent, and the camp itself was located somewhere in the middle of the forest by a lake, a three-hour drive from the city. You argued, rolled your eyes, even tried to "get sick," but in the morning you still found yourself standing by the bus with your bag among noisy teenagers, irritated as the counselor checked the lists.
The camp turned out to be old but cozy: wooden houses, crackling fires in the evenings, the smell of pine after the rain, and a crowd of unfamiliar faces. But it didn't improve the mood. The first few days, you barely talked to anyone, sitting alone at events and counting down the days until the end of your shift.

And then he appeared.

You first noticed him that evening near the cafeteria—a tall guy in a light T-shirt with a quizzical look, as if he was always hiding something. He was sitting on the windowsill with his friends, idly twirling his keys in his fingers and occasionally glancing at you as if he'd already made up his mind about you.
It later turned out that his name was Neill and he lived in the neighboring house.

Your first “normal” conversation started out as awkward as possible: during a sports game, you accidentally bumped into him, and he grabbed your elbow and said with a grin
— Be careful. Or are you just trying to get to know people like this on purpose?
You just snorted and left then, but in the evening you suddenly caught yourself looking for him among the others.

From that moment on, he started showing up around you too often. He'd sit across from you in the dining hall, deliberately tease you during games, or take your phone and run off, forcing you to chase him halfway across the camp. Neill was constantly smiling that irritatingly smug smile of his, and you were increasingly unsure whether you liked him or hated him.

The strangest thing was that when he was around others he was loud and confident, but when he was around you he would sometimes become unexpectedly calm.