“It doesn't help to get too familiar to make friends. You need boundaries, between you and the rest of the world. Other people are far too messy. It's all about lines. Drawing lines in the sand and praying like hell no one crosses them.”

-Meredith Grey (Grey’s Anatomy)

- - -

01

- - -

It all began with an argument.

“You cannot be serious,” I spoke angrily to my mother as she stood in front of my bed where I lay.

“Izzy, honey, it is really not as bad as you make it out to be,” she sighed, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Not bad? You’re sending me to summer camp, neglecting the fact that I have no choice in whether or not I go, for eight weeks, oh yeah Mum, it’ll be a real joy.”

“David said that Lucas thoroughly enjoyed his time at Camp Richmond,” Mum attempted to reason.

“Of course freaking Lucas enjoyed it, he’s a guy, and the stupid camp is an all-boy’s camp,” I spat.

“I told you Isabel,” Mum said impatiently, “they’re accepting girls now.”

“Oh well that’s going to go down well isn’t it,” I snarled. “Why are you even sending me there? I don’t need a personality make-over, I’m not depressed.”

“I’m sure it will be very beneficial Isabel.”

“If you want to spend quality time with David, then why don’t you just send me to stay with Dad?” I cried out, frustrated.

“Your father is busy.”

“I’m not going.”

“You’re going Isabel, and that’s final. Now start packing.”

- - -

- - -

It never used to be like this. There used to be a stage where my mother and I got along quite fine. But then again, nothing lasts forever. Once she met her precious David after the horrible divorce she never looked back and a gap was wedged between us, an empty, horrible space. Of course, with David brought his son Lucas - whom my mother adored.

I guess her seeing David ruined a lot of things, but when she married him, well, that was the last straw.

From the beginning I’d resented him for just existing in our lives, I never wanted to meet him when Mum brought him home, and I refused to meet Lucas. Once I was eventually forced to meet him, I didn’t bother spending quality time getting to know either of them. I was perfectly content ignoring them, and it seemed that they were perfectly content with doing the same.

But my hate for David has grown immensely now. I knew it was his idea. My mother never would have thought to send me to summer camp. She would have let me wander around town and spend my time hanging out with my friends, all plans of which now I was forced to break.

Summer camp. My stomach drops at the prospect of it all.

I’ve never actually been to a summer camp, so I wouldn’t know what it would be like. If I were to be sent to a summer camp, I automatically assumed that it would be an all girls summer camp. Not that I can’t be trusted around boys - I can. My mother is quite old fashioned in that sense though, and believes that teenage boys are only after one thing - sex.

Of course they are, and I have never dared to challenge my mother on this belief. All men are the same. And the thought of sharing most meals with a large proportion of males for eight weeks is enough to make me shoot myself. But David has managed to manipulate my mother into sending me there.

I bet he’s hoping I’ll do something scandalous, like get pregnant, and then they’d be able to disown me.

Such a comforting thought.

My mother had gone to the trouble of printing out a list of every single item of clothing I’d need. To make sure I’d followed her rules, she checked my bag before we left. She’d printed out her own checklist as well. Just to make sure.

I pointedly ignored David and my mother on the way to my school. The bus had been scheduled to pick the kids up at the highschool, Rockwall High, and we had to meet there at an ungodly hour. 6:30 am.

We arrived to excitement and chaos. The younger children were either crying or going crazy with excitement. The older kids hung back, standing silently next to their parents as said parents mingled with other parents. I scanned the faces and recognised a few. Some were in my classes, not that I’d ever spoken to them, but I’d know their faces anywhere. They acknowledged me by 

giving me a nod. I raised my hand slightly as a wave, and of course my mother was watching everyone I waved to and asked me all about them.

It isn’t that I don’t like these people in my class. I just never really have the opportunity to speak them. I have my social circles and they have theirs, and generally, mine doesn’t clash with any others, so I feel no need to speak to them. Though I probably should, and I can tell that when I come back to school, ‘refreshed and revitalised’ from camp, I’ll know them well enough to talk to them.

Then I saw him.

He was one of the school’s worshipped gods. Incredibly good looking, but he was the quiet, intense type. No one dared to talk to him, so we all admired him from afar, most were too afraid to even have anything to do with him, but when asked who the best looking male in our school was, you are guaranteed to be told that it is Will Sanderson.

I’d never really spoken to Will before either. Maybe run into him a few times in the hall and apologised, but that was it. Will never really spoke to anyone. Except his friends that is, the very privileged students. But even to them, it seemed he said nothing. I often wondered what it was like to be Will. Having so many people want to be his friend, idolising him, you’d think that he’d accept it all and have the biggest ego. But supposedly he doesn’t.

I was shocked to discover that Will was actually attending the same summer camp as I was. It was common knowledge throughout the school that Will went to camp every summer, but I never once thought it would be Lucas’ camp. Will at camp would be seeing him in a different light, in a different environment.

“Ooh, who is that Isabel? Is he a friend of yours?” Mum asked, motioning not-so-subtly towards Will.

I’m sure I went an unflattering red colour.

“No mum, I don’t really know him, apart from the fact that he goes to my school,” I answered truthfully.

Mum strained her neck and continued to observe Will while I attempted to act like I didn’t know her. Her face lit up and she began to walk in the direction of where Will and his family were standing, grabbing hold of my arm and dragging me along with her leaving David standing there yakking on his cell phone.

“Delia Sanderson, why I haven’t spoken to you in forever!” my mother said in a high-pitched voice to the woman standing next to Will. At the mention of Will’s last name I came to a stomach-dropping realisation. My mother was friends with Will’s mother.

“Janie!” Mrs Sanderson said in an equally high voice, and kissed my mother on both cheeks.

“This is my daughter Isabel,” my mother introduced, motioning to where I stood, looking absolutely mortified.

“This is my son William,” Mrs Sanderson replied, motioning to Will with a proud smile.

Will gave a small smile and then went back to a neutralised expression. Our mothers began to chat about anything and everything, and I could feel Will observing me, trying to place my face with my name, and trying to think if we’d met before. I could feel him glance me up and down.

“Hi,” his deep voice muttered.

“Hi,” I replied nonchalantly.

I kept my cool, and strangely enough, my voice didn’t go all squeaky. I wasn’t one of those dorks who fainted at the sight of a popular kid. No, I kept my cool. I act like their superiority doesn’t matter and talk to them like I’d talk to any other random. I think that this surprised Will a bit, even though he didn’t feel he was superior.

Before Will could start a conversation, not that he was going to, the bus which would lead us to the place of doom arrived. My mother bid Delia Sanderson farewell and we walked back to David, whom I’d noticed had been joined by Lucas. Lucas and his slimy, smug smile that I wanted to punch off his face.

David chucked my bag into the bus, and my mother gave me a hug with tears in her eyes. David patted my shoulder and I edged away.

“Have fun, kid,” Lucas said with a smirk.

“Fuck you,” I replied before stalking off to the bus.

I didn’t even bother waving to them when the bus pulled away.

Heaving a sigh I placed in my white earphones and turned on my iPod, resting my head against the cool glass of the window as I tried to block out the shrieks of the excited kids around me. Not to mention blocking out the annoying conversation of the two airhead girls in front of me whose conversations consisted of “like no way, he was like so hot and I was like, um, yeah.”

Oh yes, I sought the company of This Day & Age.

Will was sitting up the back, not the back back, but two rows in front of it, he had the seat to himself, like I had mine and somehow I gathered that it was HIS seat, as in he had sat there every other year. No one dared to sit with him, instead they stared in awe, as if he radiated that superiority that was handed to him on a silver platter at school. All the younger girls were drooling over him, every two seconds giggling and whispering to each other about his hotness.

I’d never really given Will that much thought before. I accepted the fact that he ruled the school silently and went on with my life. He was slightly intimidating, not that he was mean intimidating. He just radiated that intenseness that freaks me out. His smoldering eyes, filled with feeling or sometimes filled with nothing. For someone like me, who can read people, who doesn’t expect anything, not knowing anything about Will’s personality aside from the gossip which has a higher chance of being false than it does true, is startling, is threatening.

Why I was even thinking about Will surprised me. I don’t intend on becoming best friends with the guy. I don’t really intend on anything. Will was one year older than I was, meaning he graduated already, exams were over, rumour has it he did splendidly and got accepted into every single University he applied to. So the notion of even thinking of anything long term with Will was insane, was absurd. Will wouldn’t be the one to stick around, he’d be the one to leave Clearwater and change the world.

Being rational, the only reason I was thinking about Will was because he was the only person I knew. Soon enough I’ll make friends and steer clear of him, but his presence is as comforting as it is unnerving, gives me a feeling I’m not alone even when I am, because at least I know someone.

The drive lasted a few more hours. Someone had placed in a DVD though not many people were really paying attention. Most were still socialising, meeting new people, making new friends, talking to old friends, and Will, like myself, sat alone, sat silently, and sat unaffected. The only difference would be was that I was glimpsing at him every few minutes to check on him. I don’t know why, but I was. He remained solemn, staring out the window, every few minutes checking his iPod, occasionally clicking a few things.

Once his eyes met mine. I was watching him and he looked up, his baby blues meeting my green. There was no arrogance in his gaze, no embarrassment. He only tilted his head and stared at me, his eyes filled with curiosity, before giving up on me and diverting his gaze elsewhere.

Something inside me wished he hadn’t looked away, something wanted him to come over to me, to say something. To acknowledge me as a person instead of someone who he’d seen a few times at school, someone whose mother his was friends with. But then that feeling went away. I went back to staring out the window until the bus stopped.

The chatter got louder as everyone stood up, stretching, yawning and then taking forever just to get off the bus. I felt remarkably better as I stepped out into the fresh air, now free from the stuffy bus. The luggage department of the bus had been open and everyone was going through searching for their bags, tossing any stray bags aside with no care. I found mine stranded in the middle of a crowd. I was far from impressed.

We were instructed to follow a path, lugging our bags along with us, the sun beating down on our backs as we moved through the green until we came to a campsite filled with cabins paths leading elsewhere. According to the brochures my mother had shoved in my face, this place was huge.

I could feel myself beginning to burn as we dumped our bags in the middle of the campsite. Our surroundings were trees, tall, green and radiating that strange tree-like smell. The stray strands of hair which weren’t gathered up in my ponytail clung to my face and neck which was becoming even more drenched in sweat. Glancing around I was able to see that my peers were in the same position as I was aside from Will and this other boy, who was quite handsome. They both looked as if it wasn’t 40 degrees and we weren’t going to die of heatstroke.

Only Will would be able to look so unaffected by everything.

I sat on my duffel bag, digging through my carry-on backpack for my water bottle and praying to God that somehow my water hadn’t diminished in amount since the last time I really glanced at how much was left. As I chugged on my water, relieved to have a plausible amount left, I observed the people around me. There were around one hundred people by estimation; boys and girls were divided, each shooting the other silly glimpses. Some of the boys were suggestively winking at the girls who burst into a fit of giggles with their little friends.

Someone cleared their throat and the sounds of a megaphone being switched on could be heard. Everyone became silent.

“Welcome everyone,” a man in his late twenties with dark messy hair said to the group. “Now for those of you who are new, we hope you enjoy your time at the camp, for those who are old, it’s great to see you guys back here again and are hoping for another wonderful summer.”

The old boys gave a cheer and I rolled my eyes.

“For you newbies, I should explain to you the rules of the camp. Firstly, there are four groups, teams, divided into colours, red, blue, yellow and green. Now each team is delegated a leader. Now before any complaints, these leaders are chosen at random. Of course they have to be sixteen years and over, but we’ve picked these randomly for fairness.”

Teams? What exactly did we plan on doing? Competing?

“Now you have areas, Red and Blue on this side, and then over there is Yellow and Green. Some days activities will be scheduled, others will contribute towards the competition. You will have days off where you are able to mingle with others, but it is preferred that aside from those days you are to spend time with your team. You will sit with your team during meal times. The only people you won’t be sitting with will be your leaders, as they will have to share a table with each other.”

Eh, made sense.

“The curfew is at eleven o’clock each night, though we decided to be lenient and each Saturday the curfew is two, so bear with us. There will be NO, and I mean NO, teams in each other’s cabins after ten. Yes the curfew may be eleven, but you must be in your area at ten, and if anyone is caught acting inappropriately, you will be punished. We don’t need a scandal on our hands guys, so please, especially being co-ed now, keep it in your pants.”

To the last sentence everyone let out a snicker.

“Okay,” the guy smiled. “Now we have all that clear, it’s time for the teams.”

Everyone cheered, and I made a pathetic attempt to clap my hands. I didn’t care who got what, I just wanted to know my team and then go do something.

“Blue team leader is William Sanderson.”

How surprising...not. I expected Will to get something like a leader, and it seems everyone was rooting for him too, as the entire group gave a big cheer, even those whom had no idea who he was. Will gave a solemn nod and showed no hints of happiness or a smile, but I knew he must be feeling some joy about this.

“Red team leader is Isabel Rush.”

I froze on the spot. A leader? ME? Everyone looked around as if to try to distinguish who I was, I merely looked at the man with wide eyes. I was a newcomer, I was female. Was that even allowed? Was I going to be murdered in my sleep because some old-boy desperately wanted to be the leader of the red team?

My eyes met Will’s and he gave me a small smile, a sort of soothing, encouraging one.

It was weird.

“Green team is Garrett Billington.”

“YES!” the boy who was so unaffected like Will cried out as he gave a punch in the air triumphantly. God, even as his face formed into a triumphant smirk I could tell that his name said it all; arrogant snob. He was obviously someone who has been losing sleep in anxiety on whether or not they received the leader position.

“Lastly, but certainly not least, Yellow team is Mara Wilson.”

Another female, another anonymous, everyone glimpsed around for this Mara person. But she, like me, did not make her presence known. Maybe her little sorority of friends had whispered words of encouragement or excitement, but I was guessing that she was just as shocked as I was. Maybe those views are a little farfetched though.

“Can all the leaders come up to the front?”

I made my way up there, brushing dirt off my shorts and running a hand over my ponytail. Garrett stood up the front with a smirk, Will a look of nonchalance, and Mara with a beaming smile. I just stared.

Our teams were delegated randomly, meaning it wasn’t some ‘oi, you there in the orange shirt, my team’. They were all about fair in this place. So once I had gathered my red team, twenty people, all staring back at me, some with contempt, some with a bored look, some who looked so excited and some who looked like all they wanted to do was cry and go home.

I wanted to apologise to them for having me as a leader. It’s not like I wanted it or anything. I didn’t even know about it. So as I stood there awkwardly, I began to hate my family even more than usual.

“Um, hi,” I said.

They all stared back blankly; some raised their eyebrows as if to say ‘what a loser’.

“I’m Isabel and I’m going to be your group leader this summer. Hopefully we’ll all, you know, do well and win the competition and do this with as little fights as possible.” I said this as lightly as possible, but I gained no reaction from my group.

Okay, different approach.

“Look, I know majority of you don’t want to be here, and frankly, neither do I. But we’re all going to have to suck it up and make do with the situation because we can’t do anything about it. We’re in a competition now. Meaning, we’re going to have to be the best. The fastest, strongest, and, of course, the coolest. Now, let’s make all of the other poor suckers here wish they were on the red team, and try to have some fun. Personally, I really don’t want this summer to suck,” I said.

Smiles slowly began to appear on my team’s faces.

“Alright,” I said as I picked up my bag. “Let’s go.”

And I led my troops into our area.

-

Dinner was another story in itself. If I thought managing my group would be hard, I would probably be running home if I had to manage the entire camp. The dining room was in chaos when I walked in. People were fighting over seats, food, and people. The noise level was already beginning to give me a headache and I already sort of missed my deathly silent, awkward dinners at home.

Due to a little crisis back in our cabins (apparently Lynette, one of the fifteen year olds, had called dibs on the top bunk, but Amelia took it anyway causing a big dispute and both girls refusing to leave until they got it sorted out), we were the last team to arrive, which was good and bad. It was bad due to the fact that all the good food was basically already be gone. It was good though, because I wouldn’t have to sit at a table alone and wait for the rest of the leaders to arrive.

Everyone at the leader’s table turned to look at me as I placed my tray of food down next to Mara and across from Will. Will just watched me solemnly, Mara gave me a grin and Garrett looked me up and down and winked at me. I inwardly cringed.

“Wow, you guys are pretty late,” Garrett said to me.

“Yeah, there was a dispute over the beds,” I replied as I picked at my food.

“Dispute? Wow. I didn’t know people still used that word,” Garrett commented, smirking.

“I could use quarrel, argument, disagreement, clash, row, fight, a difference of opinion, if you would prefer,” I said sweetly.

Garrett stared at me blankly. “Wow.”

“Has anyone ever told you,” I began, “that you say ‘wow’ too much?”

Garrett leaned in next to Will and muttered, “Dude, what is with this chick?”

Will’s lips curved upwards in a small smile. “Hello, Isabel.”

“Will.”

“I’m Mara,” Mara chirped.

“Isabel,” I replied, giving her a small smile.

“I’m Garrett,” Garrett said smoothly. “I’m the one you dream about at night.”

I cocked my head to the side. “You’re right.”

Garrett’s grin widened.

“I dream about strangling people like you every night,” I finished with a smile.

Mara giggled and Garrett’s grin fell off his face.

“Do you know someone called Lucas Gregory?” I asked them.

Garrett’s face lit up. “You know Lucas? Man, that guy is awesome. We were on the same team for years. He was the green leader, two years in a row. He’s like, my hero or something.”

I put Garrett on my ‘never-speak-to-unless-necessary’ list.

“I can’t stand that guy,” Will said.

“So how do you know Lucas, Izzy?” Garrett asked.

“He’s my step-brother,” I said dryly. “And don’t call me Izzy.”

I have a personal vendetta against nicknames. I’ve never liked them, and growing up with a name like Isabel, everyone comes up with millions of nicknames which you get bombarded with. I like my name the way it is, and I don’t want some nickname. You either call me by my name, or don’t talk to me at all. Of course, my mother calls me nicknames anytime she wants, but no matter what I say to her, she won’t stop, so I gave up on her.

“Whoa, you’re semi-related to Lucas? How awesome,” Garrett replied.

“It’s not awesome,” I said coldly. “I hate him.”

A silence fell upon the table as everyone finished off their dinner.

“So you said I can’t call you Izzy. Can Will?” Garrett asked and pointed to Will.

“No,” I answered.

“What about Mara?”

“No.”

“Your best friend?”

“No.”

“Why not?” he asked.

“Because I hate nicknames,” I replied.

“So does that mean you’d have to call Will William?”

I sighed. “I hate people giving me nicknames. I don’t care if anyone else has a nickname. Unless of course, Will actually would prefer it if I called him William,” I explained.

“Well, Will?” Garrett turned to him expectantly.

“Just call me Will,” Will told us.

We all nodded.

Dinner finished fairly soon after that, and as leaders it was our duty to round up our team and get them all safely back to our areas. Somehow on the walk back, my team mixed themselves with 

Will’s and they were all chatting away and making new friends. I was up the front leading them and Will was at the back making sure no one was behind.

It was strange, yet pleasant at the same time, knowing Will had our backs.

When we arrived at our areas, we then had to sort everyone properly and make sure no one had snuck into the other team. I was exhausted by the time everyone was walking into their correct areas. I stood at the entrance, making sure everyone got in and Will was doing the same thing at his. He intrigued me, I had to say. He always had, but this new proximity of closeness was making him much more of a mystery to me.

I began to head into my area when I was stopped by a voice.

“Hey, Isabel,” Will called out.

I turned to look in his direction. The lights around the camp shone down on his face, showing the small smile he had on.

“Goodnight,” he said.

“Goodnight, Will,” I replied, and headed back into my area and my cabin.

A/N: Hi there, new story is posted. :) I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm not too sure when the next chapter will be out, but hopefully soon. This story is initially a part of a little series I have. It'll follow some people who Isabel associates with. But those will probably come much later. Anyway, I hope there weren't too many grammatical or spelling errors. From the reviews I received from 'The Invisible Girl', people said they would read this, so I hope all of you TIG readers enjoyed this. It's different to TIG, so give it a chance, please. :)

Reviews are very much appreciated, and I apologise for the incredibly lame author's note. xD

-K.