Camp Payback by J. K. Rock Page A

suffocated by his world as I did in mine. We were so different, yet the same where it mattered.
    “I’m leaving.” Javier turned, but I held his arm a second longer, hating for him to go like this. Stupid, idiotic Vijay. I could kill him. Maybe I would.
    Vijay sauntered toward us, kicking up sand as he stopped.
    “What’s the matter?” Vijay taunted. “Gonna go home and cry to mommy? Oh, wait. You don’t have a home…or a mommy.”
    Javier’s arm flexed beneath my touch, so rigid it felt like stone.
    “Knock it off, Vijay,” one of his cabin mates, Julian, spoke up. He came over and put a hand on his friend’s arm but was shaken loose.
    “This is between me and Little Orphan Annie over here,” Vijay sneered, just quiet enough so the counselors wouldn’t overhear.
    My head swiveled between an eerily still Javier and a restless, jittery Vijay. While my ex had more muscle, there was something in the coiled intensity of Javier’s body language that, deep down, made me feel like Vijay wouldn’t stand a chance. Javier could give him the pounding he deserved and, man, did I want that. But even more, I didn’t want Javier to get kicked out of camp.
    He might have to hold back, but I sure as hell didn’t have to. I noticed some of the counselors had joined Gollum down by the shore, while others pointed to the sky. None were looking our way.
    The first round of fireworks whistled as they rose, followed by a loud popping that captured everyone’s attention. Everyone except the three of us, and possibly Julian, who still hovered nearby.
    “Shut it, Vijay.” My blood boiled at his stupid smirk. My hand rose, ready to smack it off his face. “You make me sick. Acting like Mr. Bad Ass around people who aren’t allowed to fight back. Yeah, that’s super awesome of you.”
    Vijay’s face darkened. “You’re one to talk, you uptight little—”
    “Enough.” Javier’s steely voice made the tiny hairs on the back of my neck rise. His unwavering eyes held Vijay’s. “Not another word about Alex. Ever.”
    Applause broke out after another flower of fire exploded above the lake, and I could have joined them. Javier was standing up for me. Or with me. For once, I wasn’t fighting alone. A round of fireworks went off in my chest.
    I glared at Vijay. “Don’t you ever call me a prude again.” I jabbed him in the chest. “I just have better taste than to hook up with a loser like you.”
    Vijay and Javier lunged, but before they collided, a bunch of the Wander Inn guys jumped Vijay and dragged him back to the shadowed edge of the forest. Javier stumbled, his unchecked momentum carrying him to the sandy ground. He knelt on the beach, his chest heaving, hands opening and closing in tight fists.
    “Sorry about that, guys,” Julian apologized, extending a hand to help Javier up.
    “Just keep him the hell away from Alex.” Javier released a pent-up breath. “Or he’s leaving camp in an ambulance.”
    “So will you, Javier.” Julian put a hand on Javier’s shoulder. “Don’t leave camp over something like this. It’s not worth it.”
    Javier shrugged, his tense face starting to relax.
    But I was still fuming. “And tell Vijay if he bothers Javier again—” I threw an arm around Javier’s slim waist. “—I’m going to show his text messages to Gollum. He’ll know what I’m talking about.”
    “Um. Okay. That’s cool.” Julian waved and stepped back. “Later.”
    “You didn’t have to do that,” Javier’s low voice murmured in my ear once Julian melted back in the shadows. I had to strain to hear him over the crowd. “I was handling it.”
    “I already got you in trouble once. I wasn’t going to let that happen again. In fact, if you want to go back to the mess hall, I understand. I attract problems you don’t need.”
    My shoulders slumped. I may have won the fight, but I’d lost my chance with Javier. I’d practically clawed Vijay’s eyes out instead of acting girly and squealing for