Chapter Text
After a few days of getting to know each other, Jayce thought Viktor was pretty cool. Okay, perhaps that was a lie—Jayce thought Viktor was really cool.
Jayce had never met another kid his age who was just on the same level as him in every sense. They shared a lot of common interests, and in terms of intelligence, they were an even match. Back in high school, Jayce would always be top of the class—he was pretty sure if Viktor was in his class, he could give him a run for his money.
And even with their mutual love of science, when it came to topics of interest they didn’t share, Viktor was keen to listen to what Jayce had to say, and Jayce found it easy to reciprocate that enthusiasm. Jayce had a love for geology and caves, and Viktor would actually listen when Jayce told him about some of his favourite caves. So whenever Viktor started talking about computers and coding, Jayce found himself actually paying attention and his interest in the topic growing too.
It was a huge world of difference to whenever Caitlyn came round to his house and would start poking at Jayce’s rock collection, but wouldn’t listen to him explain what the different rocks and minerals were.
With Viktor by his side, Jayce was certainly enjoying summer camp a lot more. Their days were quite structured, and structure was something Jayce liked because it helped him focus. Their mornings were usually occupied with classes, but they were nothing like the classes at school. It was a lot more interactive, doing activities and science experiments rather than solving problems on worksheets.
Counselor Heimerdinger was also a scientist, and his classes were some of the best. Jayce found himself sitting up straighter with rapt attention whenever it was a morning they got Heimerdinger. He noticed that Viktor seemed to enjoy those lessons with Heimerdinger more than the others too.
After lunch, there were more activities, but each camper was allowed to decide which ones they wanted to pursue. The choice was almost endless, and Jayce had to wonder just how much his mom paid for him to attend this camp. There were various sports to play, a lake and a pool to swim in, art classes, nature trails to explore… The list went on and on.
However, Jayce would only ever pick an activity that Viktor also wanted to do. He wasn’t keen on any of the sports, and the first time Jayce asked Viktor about going to the lake or pool, Viktor hesitated first before saying no. Which was fine. Jayce would much rather spend his afternoons with Viktor than on his own, or potentially with those boys he had started his summer camp experience with.
Sometimes he’d see them around, in the morning activities, or at the canteen, and Jayce could swear he could feel their eyes burning into the back of his head. Whenever he would chance a look at them, they would be smirking and sniggering—not much different from high school then. However, it was hard to care about what others thought when Jayce actually had a friend at summer camp. And so, he was happy to do any activities Viktor wanted to pursue in the afternoon.
They’d done an easy going nature trail one time when Viktor’s leg was feeling up to it. Jayce had convinced Viktor to go to an art class, and Viktor actually seemed to enjoy it. And sometimes they’d just go hang out in the library, quietly reading next to each other, and still, Jayce enjoyed it thoroughly more than just being on his own.
Sometimes, while they were sitting in oversized bean bag chairs in the library, each reading their own book, Jayce would let his eyes wander off the page and to Viktor instead, watching the way he twirled the hair on the back of his head when he was deep in concentration, and Jayce would just smile to himself.
They’d been at camp about a week, and the morning started like every other, with a knock on the cabin door from one of the staff members to tell them it was time to get up.
Jayce was an early riser and found he jumped out of bed as soon as they got their wake up call. Viktor, on the other hand, wasn’t as much of a morning person. It usually took him longer to get ready than Jayce in the mornings, mainly because he was still so groggy from sleep.
But something was off about Viktor this morning. He didn’t stir at all after the wake up call, or even from Jayce moving around the room to brush his teeth and get dressed for the day.
“Hey, wake up sleepyhead! Didn’t you hear the wake up call?” Jayce said as he pulled the camp’s branded t-shirt over his head.
His chest tightened with concern when he noticed Viktor curl in on himself even more in bed. He had his back to Jayce, so all he could see was the back of Viktor’s head and his mop of messy brown hair.
“I don’t think I can get up this morning…” Viktor eventually replied very quietly. “I’m, eh, not feeling well…”
Jayce could almost hear his own heartbeat as it thudded loudly in his chest. He couldn’t help it—he was worried about Viktor.
“Um, okay… Do you need me to bring you any breakfast from the canteen?”
Even lying down, Jayce could see Viktor shake his head.
“No thank you.”
Jayce worried his bottom lip.
“Okay…”
He didn't know what else to do, or what else to suggest, so he carried on with his day as planned. But going to the canteen for breakfast without Viktor just felt wrong.
Jayce found he could barely eat, moving his cereal around and around in his bowl as he worried about Viktor. It didn’t feel right to just leave Viktor on his own and let him suffer. And what if he was really sick? Surely he needed to see the camp nurse? Or Heimerdinger? Just someone who might be able to help.
Much like the morning Jayce asked for a new cabin, he skipped what remained of his breakfast and went to find a member of camp staff. Conveniently, he found the same young man that had helped him the last time.
Jayce explained that Viktor wasn’t feeling well, and how he felt a grown up should probably check in on him. And of course, the member of staff was happy to help and asked Jayce to lead the way back to his cabin.
A few minutes later they were at the cabin, and Jayce decided to wait outside whilst the member of staff knocked on the door and said a greeting before going in to check on Viktor.
Jayce used his shoe to trace patterns into the dirt on the ground, just something to do while he waited. The member of staff came out of the cabin a lot sooner than Jayce expected, and he looked pale, like he’d seen a ghost.
“What’s wrong?” Jayce couldn’t help but ask when he saw the look on the staff member’s face.
“Oh! Nothing…” he replied. “I’ve just…got to get a different member of staff for this. Y’know…girl problems… I won’t be a moment!”
He walked off quickly towards the main hub where the canteen and Heimerdinger’s office were, and Jayce was left standing on his own, feeling rather confused as to why the person he’d asked couldn’t help Viktor.
He waited and soon another member of staff returned, this time it was the young woman who’d been with Viktor the day they met in Heimerdinger’s office. She came with a small bag and carried a box of something Jayce recognised. He’d seen them many times in his bathroom back home—a box of tampons.
“Hi Jayce,” the member of staff greeted, “I’ll just be a moment while I help Viktor with his…problem. Why don’t you head back to the hub for this morning’s classes?”
Jayce didn’t respond with words, instead he just nodded, but even as the young woman entered the cabin to check on Viktor, Jayce found he couldn’t bring himself to leave just yet.
His mind was buzzing with a thousand questions and concerns. He always assumed from their first meeting that Viktor was a boy, and the cabin assignments at this camp were same-sex. Had Jayce got it wrong from the start? Was Viktor not a boy? But surely he would have corrected Jayce if that was the case, right?
The cabin door had been left slightly ajar and Jayce couldn’t resist the temptation to get closer and see if he could overhear anything. What he did hear broke his heart—he was sure he could hear Viktor crying.
“It’s okay Viktor… These things happen,” the member of staff tried to sooth Viktor.
“It’s not okay! I got my period right before I came to camp, and I didn’t think I’d get it again until the final week. How could I get it again so soon?”
Jayce could hear and feel his own racing heartbeat in his ears whilst he eavesdropped on the conversation.
“You’re young, and when you’re young sometimes your period isn’t regular, instead it’s all over the place. It’s not your fault Viktor.”
There was another choked sob from Viktor, and Jayce found he didn’t want to hear anymore. He walked away quietly from the ajar door but still didn’t return to the hub for classes. In all honesty, he just wanted to make sure Viktor was alright. How was he meant to sit in one of the classes and enjoy the activities when he knew Viktor was back in the cabin in distress.
“Oh Jayce, you’re still here?” the staff member said as she emerged from the cabin, closing the door behind her.
“Yeah…” Jayce replied. “I just wanna check Viktor is okay.”
She walked towards him and smiled softly.
“That’s nice of you. I think Viktor is feeling a little sensitive at the moment, but I’m sure he’d appreciate knowing you were worried about him.”
Jayce nodded and said goodbye before approaching his cabin carefully. He opened the door slowly, almost acting as if he was trying not to scare away a wild animal. Viktor was sitting upright on his bed, still tucked under his sheets despite it being another warm, sunny day, and his eyes were red from crying.
Jayce approached his bedside, but he hated being stood up, so instead he sat down cross-legged on the floor.
“You okay?” Jayce asked, because he had to ask, because it was the main concern burning at the forefront of his mind.
But as soon as he asked, he regretted it, because Viktor was crying again.
“No! I’m not okay! Because now you’re probably going to ask to switch cabins and I’ll have to call my mom and go home!”
Viktor let out a huge sob that wracked his entire body, and Jayce could feel the panic rise in his throat.
“Hey, hey, hey, what are you talking about? Why would I ask to switch cabins again?”
“Because… Because… You don’t want to share your cabin with…a girl.”
Viktor said the last word so quietly, something like embarrassment or shame at uttering the word.
“But,” and Jayce looked at Viktor with a confused expression, “you’re not a girl, right? I mean…you told me your name was Viktor, and we always use ‘he’ and ‘him’ to refer to you… If I was getting it wrong, why wouldn’t you correct me?”
The two boys were looking at each other, and Viktor actually looked relieved at Jayce’s words.
“I’m transgender, Jayce. I was born a girl… But I’m a boy.”
And suddenly it was like the final piece of the puzzle fell into place. A lot of curious things about Viktor finally made sense.
Viktor never got changed in front of Jayce, opting to change in the bathroom instead, whilst Jayce wasn’t bothered about changing his shirt in front of Viktor, or being shirtless. And Viktor always tended to wear t-shirts slightly on the bigger side, they were practically hanging off him.
Jayce realised why it was Viktor hesitated that time he asked him if he wanted to go swimming. Despite it being something Viktor might want to do, he had to refuse, because he couldn’t remove his shirt in front of others.
“I signed up to summer camp as a boy, so they put me in a cabin with three other boys. But…when I couldn’t use the communal showers with them, they got suspicious, so I had to ask to move. At one point, one of the staff members suggested putting me in a cabin with girls, and making me use the girls’ showers instead…”
Viktor trailed off and grew quiet, the unshed tears that clinged to his lashes began to fall as he cried again.
Jayce reached forward, placing a hand on the bed, as close as he could to Viktor, without invading his personal space.
“Viktor, I wouldn’t even dream of asking to switch cabins now. The last few days with you have been great… I’ve never had as much fun with a friend before… We are friends, right?”
Even though tears ran down Viktor’s cheeks, he smiled weakly at Jayce, the biggest look of relief on his face.
“Yeah… You still want to be my friend?” Viktor asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.
“Of course!” Jayce replied immediately. “Viktor, I…don’t have many friends at school. You’re like, the first proper friend I’ve ever had. Do you really think I want to lose the one good friend I’ve made?”
Viktor smiled and wiped away his tears.
“I… I don’t have any friends at high school either.”
Jayce felt a pang of sadness in his chest, but he continued to put on a brave face and smile in return at Viktor.
“Friends then?” Jayce asked.
Viktor immediately nodded.
“Yeah. Definitely.”
Jayce eventually joined the morning activities alone and let Viktor recuperate in bed. He had explained that it was the period cramps that were unbearable, and thankfully the kind member of staff that had visited earlier brought Viktor some painkillers for him to take, as well as the choice of tampons or sanitary towels.
But after lunch, and with the freedom to choose whatever he would like to do, Jayce opted to head to the library and borrow a couple of books, returning to the cabin with them. Viktor certainly seemed to be in better spirits than he had been in the morning, and Jayce hoped his selection of both fiction and non-fiction books had something Viktor could read.
It was…nice. In his own way, Jayce wanted to make sure Viktor didn’t feel left out. Even if it was just for the day. Like he often did when they went to the library together, he’d occasionally glance across to the other boy and watch him read, quietly smiling to himself as he did so.
It was time for the evening meal, but Viktor still didn’t feel up to leaving the cabin. Jayce found he couldn’t help but worry—Viktor hadn’t eaten anything all day. And even though Viktor swore he was fine, Jayce had his doubts.
While in the canteen, sitting alone and eating his meal quietly, he decided he would take something back to the cabin for Viktor. They weren’t really supposed to take food back to their cabins because it attracted wildlife, but surely an exception could be made for a camper who hadn’t eaten all day?
Jayce waited until the majority of the other kids finished their meals and left the canteen, and he surveyed what was left from the buffet line while he cleared his tray. There was still plenty of dessert left, and that evening there was a particularly nice looking chocolate cake on offer. Jayce carefully removed the napkin he was hiding in his pocket and used it to grab a slice and wrap it up before trying to slip it back into his pocket.
“Mister Talis!” came the unmistakable voice of Heimerdinger.
“Ah! Counselor Heimerdinger!” Jayce exclaimed, his face growing hot at being caught red handed.
“I know the temptation to take food back to your cabin is very great, but rules are rules!”
“I know sir! But…it’s Viktor.”
Heimerdinger paused his reprimand at that.
Jayce managed to explain to Heimerdinger how Viktor had been sick in their cabin all day and hadn’t eaten anything. Once he was able to explain that, Heimerdinger practically pulled him into the kitchen to fix him a large serving of that evening’s food to take back for Viktor.
“Just make sure you dispose of it correctly! Bring it back to the canteen if you have to!” Heimerdinger said before Jayce almost ran back to the cabin with cutlery in his trouser pocket, and two plates, one filled with the savoury food, and the other a generous portion of the chocolate cake.
When Jayce got to the door, he realised he didn’t have a free hand to open it.
“Uh, Viktor? A little help please?”
Jayce waited patiently and eventually heard the familiar noise of Viktor’s crutch against the wood floor.
He opened the door for Jayce and his eyes grew wide when he saw the food Jayce had.
Viktor assured Jayce there was no way he could finish it all by himself, so he sat next to Viktor on his bed and helped his friend with the leftovers, all while explaining how Heimerdinger caught him trying to steal the cake.
Viktor laughed and smiled, and Jayce felt a sense of pride knowing he’d managed to bring this joy to Viktor’s day.
“You didn’t have to do that, Jayce… But I appreciate it,” Viktor said before taking his first bite of the slice of chocolate cake. “Wow, this cake is amazing!”
Jayce held back, deciding to leave more of the cake for Viktor seeing as he liked it so much.
“You’ve got a sweet tooth, haven’t you?” Jayce pointed out.
Viktor looked at him then, a slight blush to his cheeks.
“Ah, you’ve noticed,” Viktor replied, seemingly shy now that Jayce had pointed it out.
“Hey, don’t stop on my account! I’m just glad that I picked chocolate cake to steal for you. Glad to know that it would have been the right choice.”
He smiled at Viktor, big and toothy, which was something he didn’t often do because he was self-conscious about his braces.
Once Viktor had his fill of food, and Jayce cleared the leftovers by eating them himself, he got ready to run back to the canteen to get rid of the plates properly, as Heimerdinger had asked. He popped on his trainers, grabbed the plates, and was ready to leave the cabin, when Viktor called out to him.
“Hey, Jayce?”
“Mm-hmm?” he replied.
“Thank you, for everything you’ve done for me today,” there was a slight pause while Viktor looked away and worried his bottom lip for a moment. “I’m glad I’ve got a friend like you.”
Jayce beamed at that and felt his chest swell with pride.
“Anytime.”