A/N: Omg. Elizabeth-of-many-names, I totally wanted to reply to your reviews and tell you that this chapter would be up soon, but you didn't log into an account, so I couldn't. Hahaha. I'm working on it! PS, I totally expect Darren Criss, Chris Colfer, a pink elephant, and a rhinosaurous to be arriving in the mail shortly, thank you very much. xD

Also, another shout out to anyone who's not in the know about this already: This is just part of a really big universe of fics that are all interconnected. If you go to my profile page, you'll see a complete list. There are several by me and, at the point, I believe two by gillasue345, so check those out, please!

"Today is going to be totally awesome!" Phoenix said excitedly.

From the bathroom, he heard Brendon laugh. "Are you excited?" he asked sarcastically.

He'd woken up super early that morning and gone to bother Brendon. Now he was sprawled across the bed as Brendon brushed his teeth and got dressed. He kicked his feet up, only to be warned by Brendon to keep his shoes off the bed. He immediately kicked off his topsiders and resumed his previous position, stretched across the other man's bed.

"Get up," Brendon said, slapping him on the back. Phoenix merely grunted, turning his head to peek up at his friend. Brendon raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Sit up. I'm gonna put some more wax on your dreads," he said, motioning for Phoenix to straighten himself.

Phoenix complied, folding his long legs in front of him as Brendon climbed on the bed behind him. He sat impatiently as the other coated his dreads in the thick wax. He was like a little kid, fidgeting and constantly in need of something for his hands to do. He played with his jewelry a lot when he was bored or nervous.

He always wore the same jewelry, everyday. Seven hemp bracelets, a brass ring on his left hand, a hemp ankle bracelet, and three necklaces, two on leather cords, one shorter hemp circle resting on his collarbone. He also always wore a hair tie around one wrist, but there was really no need for that anymore, since he could just take two of his dreadlocks and knot them around the rest now.

About halfway through their routine, someone knocked on the door. Brendon called for them to come in and Abigail entered.

"Well, don't you look simply adorable," Phoenix said, grinning widely. She was all decked out in her patriotic gear. Her shorts, which hit mid thigh, were dark blue with little white stars printed on them. She wore a scoop neck red t shirt with a white tank top underneath. They had all worn the colours to celebrate the day-both the boys in denim shorts with some variation of red and white on their shirts-but she actually looked…. cute. In a sisterly sort of way, of course.

"Shut it," she quipped back, making a face at him as she slicked her copper hair back into a neat tail, "Are you ladies almost done with your beauty routine? We gotta load up the vans here, pretty soon."

"Just finishing," Brendon said, unaffected by the teasing. That was more of Abigail and Phoenix's thing, really, and Brendon was usually the one who put them back on track when they got carried away. They'd been doing it since they were 10, the first time they met in Uruguay. At the time, Phoenix's parents were both a part of Doctors Without Borders, and Abigail's family came on a mission trip with their church. Phoenix remembered their first meeting fondly.

His family had only been there a few days, so he was still missing the friends he'd made in Colombia. They were boarding down in the same compound as a group of about a dozen church goers on a mission trip, and Abigail was the only other kid close to his age. They bonded quickly and, unlike all the other friends he'd made in various places, stayed in close contact after they went their separate ways.

A few years later, his dad was injured and they decided to go back to America for a while. They ended up in New York, less than a hundred miles from where Abigail's family lived, so they got to see each other every few months. Then, after high school, they went to the same college, roomed together, and the rest was history.

Phoenix was pulled out of his trip down memory lane as Brendon slid off the edge of the bed and went back to the bathroom to put up the wax and wash his hands.

"Ready," Phoenix said, hopping up and clapping his hands enthusiastically, grinning widely. He loved the Fourth of July. There were other celebrations, in other countries he'd lived in, that were the equivalent, but nothing compared to the Fourth, for him. Even when he lived in South America, his parents always celebrated the Fourth because it symbolized the birth of the freest country in the world. Where you could be whoever you wanted, no matter where you came from or what you looked like.

Some people told him he was naive to think so, but he just thought they were too pessimistic. America was a great place. It wasn't perfect, by any means, but it was great. People were blessed, and they had every right to celebrate.

They walked together towards the edge of the camp where all the campers, along with most of the counselors and other staff members, had gathered.

"There's my favourites," Phoenix announced as he approached Dean, Blaine, Beth, and another girl from Abigail's group. Terra, he thought. The two girls were chatting animatedly and only paused a moment to wave happily to the trio of adults. Dean and Blaine turned their full attention to them.

"Cuuuurls," Abigail said affectionately, smiling and ruffling his mop of dark curls. Blaine looked happy, which was good. Because that meant he was tolerable and Dean could be friends with him, which meant his favourite camper was happy.

"Plan for today, childs?" Phoenix asked, leaning one hip against one of the vans and crossing his feet at the ankles.

Dean shrugged. "Not really, just gonna wander around and see what looks interesting. Maybe find a roller coaster, if they have one there," he said. Blaine nodded enthusiastically at the prospect of riding a roller coaster.

Terra scrunched her nose. "I'm not sure if I could handle that," she admitted.

Beth smiled and touched her arm comfortingly. "It's okay. They mess with my stomach, too, so I'll sit out with you, if they want to ride one," she said. Terra nodded and smiled appreciatively.

A minute later, the head of the camp, Harriet Jones, called him and the others that were driving over to review the maps one more time. A few minutes later, when they all had the route straight, it was time to load up. He glanced over at Abigail and Brendon, who still stood by the four campers he'd they'd been talking to earlier.

Their groupings had changed, though. Now Blaine and Dean had their backs to each other. Dean and Beth were talking animatedly, like they did almost any time they interacted. He'd noticed the way the two of them had paired up in small group and thought it was cute. Beth definitely had a crush on Dean, and Phoenix was pretty sure that Dean liked her, too. It was adorable, really. He remembered when he was that age, first starting to take dating and stuff seriously, when being someone's boyfriend started to mean more than just holding their hand.

It seemed like Blaine and Terra had something going, too. From a distance, Phoenix saw Blaine laugh and put his arm around the girl's shoulder in a friendly manner. It was rare to see Blaine buddy up to someone like that, he had noticed. Abigail expressed a lot of concern about him, so he'd started to notice a lot of little things that the curly haired boy did. Like, for example, how he was painfully shy and deathly silent around anyone but Abigail (and, by extension, himself and Brendon), Dean, and, now, Terra.

In any case, if the way that Terra blushed and tucked her hair behind her ear when Blaine put an arm around her shoulder and how Blaine seemed comfortable around her were any indication, the two shy kids were totally crushing on each other. Phoenix grinned as he walked towards the knot of people. It was adorable how they were pairing off.

As he approached, he slung his arms around Brendon and Abigail's shoulders. "Load up!" he called to the crowd around him, jerking his thumb at the big van. It was more like a baby bus, really. He went around to the driver's side and entered the normal door as people started lining up. He started the ignition and opened the folding doors to allow the stream of people onboard.

The drive was short and peaceful. Parking was a bitch, but that was to be expected. As they got off the bus, Phoenix, Abigail, and Brendon began to hand out wristbands. "These will get you on all rides and into all the various fun house… things. But food and drink are all extra, as well as the games. You've all got cash, right?" Phoenix called out and got a general response of "yeah" in return.

He scanned the crowd one last time as Phoenix and Abigail put bracelets around the last kids' wrists. "Okay!" he announced, "Don't go anywhere out of the fences. Yeah?"

"Yeah," they all returned.

"And find one of us if anything happens. Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"And be back here at what time?"

"7:30."

"Good," he said and nodded, then waved his arms towards the large fair, "Now scram!"

The kids all cheered and scattered. He watched, grinning as Dean, Beth, Blaine, and Terra all headed off together before cutting away from them and heading in the opposite direction. For a while, he wandered around with Abigail and Brendon, mostly chatting. Brendon didn't have a stomach for a lot of rides, especially high ones, so they only tried a handful of more tame ones.

He could feel Abigail practically twitching by his side, and knew she wanted to go on something big and tall, but didn't want to ditch Brendon. Phoenix rolled his eyes at her. She was too nice for her own good, some times. She should know Brendon well enough to know he wouldn't mind waiting if they went on a few extreme rides without him. But it was sort of amusing to watch her tweak out, too, so he decided to remain silent.

Every few minutes he saw another group of kids from the camp among the crowd. About an hour after they'd arrived, he spotted Beth and Terra again, standing near the fair's one small roller coaster. He vaguely remembered Dean and Blaine saying something about riding the roller coaster earlier, and figured they were probably riding and the girls were waiting.

He started to say hi to them, but two kids stopped as they went by, talking to Brendon, asking if they were going to get to do a music day again any time soon, and he got distracted. When he looked back at the girls, they were with Dean and Blaine again. He watched as the two pairs parted, though not in the composition he had expected. The boys headed off one way, and the girls in the opposite, both pairs waving happily to the other.

He watched Blaine and Dean walk off hand in hand as Beth and Terra approached them, waving.

"Hi, Phoenix!" Beth called out to him.

"Hey, kiddo! Are you-" he cut himself short as his brain finally caught up to what he'd seen.

His gaze snapped back to the boys as they disappeared into the crowd, but he couldn't see anything below the shoulders. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, creasing his brow, before dragging his gaze back to the girl in front of him.

"Uh, sorry. Are you guys having fun?" he asked, smile back in place.

"Yeah," she beamed, nodding enthusiastically.

"Oh, Beth! Let's go on the 'll be fun!" Terra said at her said, pulling on her arm.

Beth waved at the three adults as she was dragged away, laughing, then turned and followed her friend.

"I'm so glad that Terra's making friends," Abigail said. Brendon and Phoenix both nodded.

"She was even more shy than Blaine was, when they first got here. They've both come out of their shells so well and made so much progress. I'm so proud," she said reminiscently.

Phoenix grinned at her, pushing the thoughts of what he'd seen to the back of his head. He must have been imagining it. "You should be proud of yourself. You've helped them both."

Brendon nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Abby. That's what you do," he shrugged and spread his hands out before him, "You help people. And you're really good at it." He laughed. "You've had plenty of practice with me, we all know." He grinned and slung his arm around her shoulder affectionately.

"I feel a group hug coming on," Phoenix announced and, ignoring Abigail's protests, wrapped his arms tightly around his two friends. He and Brendon both jumped a little, bouncing and jostling Abigail between them until she was laughing and pushing them off.

"I'm tearing' up guys, I really am. Now shove off," she said, rolling her eyes affectionately at the two men. She straightened up, smoothing her shirt down, "a proper lady can not be seen in the intimate company of two men at once. It would tarnish my reputation."

"What? Are you worried the cute blonde running the lemonade stand will see you?" Brendon asked with a wink. Phoenix glanced to his left at said lemonade stand. In the window was a short, thin girl with cropped blonde hair that barely reached past her chin.

He looked back at Abigail and saw her blushing guiltily, a sure sign that she'd been checking out the girl and he just hadn't noticed. "Geez, Abby. You sure have a type," he said, then held his hands in front of his chest mockingly. Abigail half screamed, half scoffed at him and slapped his hands down.

"Her boobs aren't that big," she defended, "Ds. DDs, maybe. That's still in normal range. Besides, it wasn't that. She winked at me earlier. And she's cute! Nice eyes."

"Yeah, I'm sure you've been looking at her eyes," he snickered, earning himself an elbow in the ribs and another blush that made it worth the sore spot.

After that, they wandered around again for a while before all three started getting hungry. It was Phoenix's turn to pick up the tab, so Abigail and Brendon found a place to sit while he went to go get some food for them.

"Three corndogs, a Pepsi, a Mountain Dew, and a lemonade, please," he ordered, sliding a twenty to the guy behind the window, taking his change a moment later and waiting for the corndogs to finish frying. He leaned on the counter, tapping his fingers as he waited, glancing around absently.

He'd all but forgotten about Dean and Blaine by that point. It had only been a split second glance, he decided, and he hadn't even seen anything clearly. They'd probably just been standing close and brushed hands. That happened all the time when you were walking next to someone.

As if it were an act of divine intervention, just as he was dismissing what he'd thought he'd seen for good, he spotted the two boys again. They were sitting across a table from each other, a dozen or so yards away, a half eaten funnel cake between them. His eyebrows shot up at what he witnessed then.

Phoenix watched in surprise as Blaine leaned over, smiling minutely at the blonde, and tipped his chin up with a knuckle. He said something that Phoenix couldn't hear and swept his thumb over the corner of Dean's lips where a bit of powdered sugar lingered.

"Here ya go, sir!"

The voice behind him scared Phoenix and he jumped a mile, whipping around to face the man who held out the food for him. "Oh, yeah. Thanks," he said, smiling as he took the food and drinks, balancing it all precariously.

When he looked back at the two boys, Blaine's hand was back on the table and they both looked a little red in the face. As he walked back towards Brendon and Abigail, he tried to rationalize things.

Okay, that wasn't that big of a deal. It was totally normal, he told himself, I wipe stuff of Brendon's face, sometimes. I mean, it's not that weird, right? Right. Some guys might not do it, but they're meat heads. Dean and Blaine are just comfortable with each other. And they're close, now! And, it looked like they were blushing, but it's really hot. They were probably just hot. Hell, I cuddle with Brendon all the time. It doesn't mean we're gay. Just friends. So, they could totally be just friends. Yeah. Just really good, bromantic friends. Totally.

He snapped his attention back into reality as he reached the other two. He passed out the corndogs and dropped the Pepsi in front of Brendon. "In honor of Miss Blonde Boobs, over there," he said, jerking his head towards the small stand and presenting the lemonade to Abigail.

She rolled her eyes, but accepted it, making a face at him. He just grinned shamelessly, mind back on what was in front of him again. They chatted easily as they ate, but Phoenix was a little distracted. He watched Dean and Blaine get up from across the crowd and head off together, walking close enough that their arms brushed.

They sat there for about twenty minutes before the crisis that was bound to happen occurred. One of the younger kids was really upset about something silly and his friend came to find the first group of adults that he could find-them. Brendon held up his hand when Abigail went to stand up and follow the boy and followed him instead.

"You two go. Ride some exciting rides. I'll catch you later," he said over his shoulder as he followed the boy. Abigail looked at Phoenix and grinned.

"Ferris wheel time!" she exclaimed and tugged Phoenix along by the hand. He stumbled for a step, then quickly caught up by taking a few extra long steps. He held out his arm for Abigail, who smiled and linked her arm through his. "Why, thank you, my fine sir." He snorted and pulled a few of his dreadlocks over his shoulder as they walked.

Now that he was suspicious and it was on his mind, Phoenix was keeping an extra eye out for Dean and Blaine. He spotted them as they approached the ferris wheel, and kept his eyes trained on them as often as he could. When they got close, he strained his ears to pick up on their conversation. He could hear Dean talking.

"Fine," he overheard the blond boy saying exasperatedly, "if you won't let me ki-"

Someone a few feet away from Phoenix laughed loudly and he couldn't hear the next few words, but he quickly tuned back in.

"in public, then let's go on the ferris wheel? It's very private."

He watched as Blaine smiled coyly and Dean grinned mischievously, tugging the curly haired boy by the hand until they got in one of the cars for the ferris wheel.

Without really thinking about it, Phoenix darted towards the one right behind them. "Hey!" Abigail protested, "I wanted to go on the blue one."

Phoenix waved his hand dismissively. "Deal," he said and made a face at her pout. She rolled her eyes and settled down beside him, peering out the window, practically brimming with excitement.

"I looove ferris wheels. Everyone below looks like little bugs," She said, pressing her forehead to the bars as the made their ascent.

Phoenix hummed in reply, not really listening. His eyes were trained on the cart in front of them. They were below it at the moment, so he couldn't see inside. As they neared the top, however, he could see more and more of what was inside. He saw the tops of their heads first, and noticed how close they were. As Phoenix and Abigail's car moved even with Dean and Blaine's, he could see them clearly.

His jaw dropped.

They were full on, no shame, making out. He'd seen such an intense mac session, and he'd walked in on quite a few, in his day. Dean was halfway onto of Blaine, leaning over him and pressing him into the seat. And Blaine didn't seem to mind, either-he slid his hands down Dean's back and into his back pockets.

A few a moment of gaping, Phoenix got his wits about him again and tapped Abigail on the arm, still staring at the two campers. When she didn't respond, He looked over at her and tugged on her arm. "Abby," he hissed. Finally, she looked at him.

"What?"

"Look!" he said, pointing back towards the two boys, looking at them again. His jaw dropped in shock again.

They were sitting, very innocent looking, next to each other in the car. They looked perfectly friendly and not at all like they'd been sucking face ten seconds ago.

"Oh, it's Blaine and Dean," she said.

Phoenix sputtered. "But… they-they were-"

"Hi, boys!" Abigail called waving to them. They both looked over. Blaine blushed guiltily, but Dean was smooth and waved. Blaine smiled and waved a second later. Phoenix held his hands up, unsure of what to do.

"But…."

Abigail looked at him out of the corner of her eye and he sighed heavily, hanging his head. He raised his hand and waved to them as they started moving again, beginning their descent.

"What's wrong with you, weirdo?" Abigail asked as he sighed again and leaned back in his seat.

"Nothing," Phoenix said and smiled at her.

She gave him a funny look, but then shrugged and stood as the ferris wheel came to a stop at the bottom. They got off and Abigail dragged him towards the roller coaster, the opposite direction that Dean and Blaine headed off in.

"I think I'm going crazy," he muttered to himself.

The rest of the time they spent at the fair passed uneventfully and Phoenix didn't see the boys again until they got on the van. He watched them suspiciously in the rear view mirror as he drove back to the camp. They were sitting suspiciously close in the dimming light and he couldn't see the hands that rested between them. He imagined that they were holding hands.

When they got back to camp, he was in charge of passing out watermelon with Brendon as everyone got settled in for the fireworks display. As the colours started to illuminate the sky, he grabbed his own slice of watermelon and watched Dean and Blaine from across the group. They were sitting close together.

He watched as Dean leaned over and whispered in Blaine's ear. The other boy blushed and nodded, then they stood off and headed towards the cabins as the display started winding down. Phoenix noticed that they were standing extra close and hummed softly in the back of his throat.

"Hmmm… Maybe I should do bed checks tonight," he said to himself as he tossed his watermelon rind in the trash.

~break~

Today had been the best day of damp yet, by far. He looked over at Blaine and smiled. Their hands were close on the grass and he took the liberty of sliding his fingers over another inch to brush against Blaine's.

Dean sighed contentedly as he chewed his watermelon. Watermelon was definitely his favourite fruit. It was juicy and delicious and got you just the right amount of messy. It was the perfect Fourth of July food. Plus, he'd read somewhere that it was a sort of aphrodisiac and heightened sexual drive. He grinned deviously.

Let's test out that theory.

The other boy glanced down at their hands, then up at Dean and smiled shyly. It was adorable. Really, really adorable. Dean bit his lip, considering something, then leaned over and whispered in Blaine's ear.

"Why don't we split? Go back to the cabin early?" he said, letting his voice carry his real intent. He'd been dying all day to kiss Blaine, but his…whatever they were, wouldn't let him in public. Thirty seconds on the ferris wheel was definitely not enough.

Blaine blushed and smiled before nodding. Dean grinned again and stood, brushing grass from his shorts. They walked back to the cabin in silent anticipation.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Dean grabbed Blaine by the wrist and pulled him close. Blaine's lips twitched upwards slightly and Dean smiled as he leaned in. He pressed a gentle kiss to his cabinmate's lips at first, but Blaine returned it with much more fervor.

Dean grunted softly and took a few steps forward until Blaine was against the bed and they both fell onto the sheets together. Blaine's hands came up to Dean's hips and he squeezed gently, sending chills up Dean's spine. He pushed his tongue forward and Blaine's lips parted with little resistance or hesitation. One hand went to his dark curls, fingers weaving into the mass. The other pressed itself flat against Blaine's chest.

It seemed that what he'd read about watermelon was right, because Blaine was being way more aggressive than usual, and it was definitely affecting Dean more than it ever had before. Things were getting really heavy and Dean was starting to think they were going to go further than they had before.

Then the door opened.

"AH! I knew it! I knew it!"

Dean jumped a mile, popping up off the bed at the same time that Blaine sat up bolt straight.

"I knew I wasn't going crazy!" Phoenix exclaimed from the doorway.

Dean was breathing heavy and his heart was racing. He glanced next to him at Blaine, who was as white as a ghost and looked like he might pass out. "Shh! Phoenix!" Dean said, running forward. He pulled his counselor inside and shut the door behind them.

"Ha! I saw you guys are the fair, earlier. But nobody else seemed to. I thought I was going freaking' nuts. Oh my god, guys!" he exclaimed.

Dean put up his hands to silence the man. "Phoenix," he begged, "Please. Please, you can't tell anyone. You have to promise me."

"I don't know, Dean…."

"Nixie. Please," he said, then glanced back at Blaine, who still looked on the verge of fainting. "Look at him. Do you see how scared he looks?" he whispered lowly to the counselor.

Phoenix took a good look at Blaine, then turned his eyes back to Dean, looking torn.

"Please."

Phoenix sighed. "Fine, fine. I promise. But if anyone else blows the whistle on you two, I had no prior knowledge. Got it?" he said, raising his eyebrows and sticking his finger in Dean's chest.

Dean smiled widely and nodded vigorously. "Yeah, yeah, totally! Thank you so so much, Phoenix!"

Blaine looked a little less grim, but still freaked out. He kept silent the whole time.

Phoenix started to head out the door, but paused and looked over his shoulder, considering. "So, uh, you guys are… involved. You… uh, I'm assuming you know what you're doing…. and uh, how to be…. safe?" he asked awkwardly, cheeks darkening a shade.

"Oh, god. Phoenix, just get out," Blaine said, burying his face in his hands.

"Gladly!" he said before shutting the door and leaving them alone again.

AN: Well, here ya go. xD Did I do well with Phoenix? I love him, but I found him really hard to write, for some reason. I'm not sure why. Reviews are crack. ;D