L I V E and L A U G H

Hopefully this summer will allow me to break free of this stigma holding me in place. I want to move on from the past and finally step foot into the present.

[littlebethdavis]

Canoeing Lesson // Ben and Beth

[littlebethdavis]

  Beth smiled. “Yeah you’re getting the hang of it. I told you it wasn’t that bad.” The afternoon sun bounced off the blue water, making the lake glitter. “It’s kinda relaxing isn’t it?”

Once they got close to the middle of the lake Beth put her oar down, letting the boat float. She stretched her legs and waited for Ben to do the same thing so they could rest and just talk. “Now that I’ve got you out here all to myself,” she joked. “Tell me more about you.”

[ben-winters]

Ben hummed his agreement, the picturesque scene around them relaxing him in a way he wouldn't have been able to achieve back home. He noticed Beth get more comfortable after letting the boat drift, and stretched out as well. 

"Not too much to tell, honestly. I'm a pretty simple guy." Ben replied, stretching his arms to the side of the boat and lifting his face toward the sun. "What about you, Miss Canoe Extraordinaire? Got any more talents up your sleeve?"

[seb-booth]

  If you die on the job can I tell the world who you are? The story would be worth more when you are dead. If you are a serial killer and you get arrested I can direct a lawyer towards you. I’m not promising that he will be a good lawyer though. Just don’t kill me.

[ben-winters]

I hereby give you my expressed permission to submit any information you have over my identity, whether it may or may not be a cover for a possible superhero alter ego. Aw dude, I knew you cared. 

[ben-winters]

Poolside Hangout || Ben & Jacelynn

[jacelynn-calder-rps]

  "I love to laugh, especially when there’s a humor filled friend beside you cracking jokes." Jacelynn was pointing towards him in the saying, flirting.

Jace looked at Ben with a big smile, practically ear to ear, and walked toward him. Her arms were wide open waiting for him to stop her before she could hug him. 

[ben-winters]

Ben grinned before tackling her under the water, cackling. He was taken under for a moment as well, and came up with a shake of his head to get the water off. "Payback is a bitch, Jace." He laughed, running a hand through his hair to fix it.

"Didn't you learn from Wonderland? Never trust the ones always smiling, because the Cheshire Cat is one twisted kitty." He joked, floating back against the water. He let the water settle around him for a moment, calming down, before asking, "So what brought you to camp, really?"

[littlebethdavis]

Canoeing Lesson // Ben and Beth

[littlebethdavis]

  Beth laghed. “Get in.” she motioned to the wooden boat. She started to push the boat into the water before hopping in. The water was calm, perfect for canoeing. Beth laughed at Ben. “Have you never been canoeing before?” she asked, laughing lightly. She could tell by the way he looked he wasn’t too familiar with this type of thing. Beth wasn’t much of a pro with it either, but she didn’t think it was too hard. 

She sat facing him. “Ok so you take the oars.” Beth started sarcastically and raised a brow. “And just row… in time with my oars.” It seemed like he was catching on. After all, it was just canoeing, it was pretty easy. 

[ben-winters]

Ben hurried to get in the boat as Beth pushed it into the water, nearly missing it as he haphazardly threw his legs over the side. "Ah, no, no I haven't. That obvious? I thought I was pulling off the suave first timer pretty well." Ben told her, balancing himself before sitting.

"Oars, gotcha." Ben said absentmindedly as he focused on his hands and Beth's strokes, trying to time them right. "Like that? Hey, this isn't so hard." He laughed, pleased with himself.  

[will-thedaring-deactivated20130]

I can't stop eating.

[will-thedaring-deactivated20130]

  I’m not sick yet, but I will be if my diet of candy and pizza continues.

[ben-winters]

I don't know, maybe you just haven't built up enough of a tolerance. Maybe you just have to eat more. I'm a good influence,  you should listen to me.

[ben-winters]

Poolside Hangout || Ben & Jacelynn

[jacelynn-calder-rps]

  "The adrenaline you get from going to the hot tub after the pool is amazing." Jacelynn laughed thinking about how she did that with her mom at a hotel in Georgia. "Has anyone ever told you, you have a cute laugh? It’s the first time I have heard it." 

She put her arms over her head. “Victory.” Jace giggled at their jokes. “I’m sorry.” She brought her arms down and asked. “Would you like a hug, Ben?” 

[ben-winters]

"I know, it totally is!" Ben scratched the back of his head, chuckling. "Ah, no, not really, But thanks." He said, smiling. "I think you can tell a lot about a person from what they laugh at. Humor is part of the soul." He said over dramatically, ending with a toothy grin.

"Sure, come here," Ben told her, hopping down from his concrete perch and jumping in the water. He held open his arms innocently, a mischievous glint in his eyes. 

[will-thedaring-deactivated20130]

I can't stop eating.

[will-thedaring-deactivated20130]

  Normally I’d embrace it, but I’d rather not throw up right now. Plus, emptying my stomach will just give me another reason to eat some more.

[ben-winters]

Aw, man, you sick? That's got to suck.

[will-thedaring-deactivated20130]

I can't stop eating.

Send help.

[ben-winters]

Dude, what's wrong with not being able to stop eating?

[littlebethdavis]

Canoeing Lesson // Ben and Beth

A smile crossed Beth’s face as she slipped on a pair of jeans shorts and a white tank top over her bikini. She had agreed to take Ben canoeing, which she was slightly excited for. Going canoeing was something she rarely did at home, so she could easily associate it with Camp Minnetonka, which she missed dearly. This camp was like her second home so it was nice to be back and settled in. After her father had died, Minnetonka had been somewhat of a safe haven for the then fourteen year old Beth. Beth left her cabin and began walking towards the beach, where there was already a canoe waiting. All of the other teenagers were splashing around in the water or sunbathing. She smiled her signature toothy grin, happy to be back. The blonde looked around for Ben before spotting him walking her way. “You ready to go?”

[ben-winters]

Canoeing. Ben was going to learn canoeing. It was something he had never done, and had never really given much thought to doing, and so it was perfect. Nothing about it reminded him of home or his friends or anything other than new experiences in somewhere fresh. Somewhere with no memories attached. Camp would give him new memories, ones he never had to associate with anyone but himself. It would be great. And it was going to start with canoeing. 

Ben was walking around the beach, kicking up sand while looking for Beth. The sun was warm and the water didn't look too intimidating, so he was excited. This was new. This was good. He spotted his blonde instructor a little ways down the beach and jogged to meet her. "Hey! Yeah, I'm psyched. Can't wait. Where do we start?"

[ben-winters]

Poolside Hangout || Ben & Jacelynn

[jacelynn-calder-rps]

  Jacelynn made a defeated face jutting out her bottom lip a little. “Well if you are going to sit at the edge, then why be in the swimming pool?” She teasingly said as she put her arms behind her head.

She looked at Ben, seeing him moving his foot to splash her. Jace had no time to react and just stood there, letting him get the water in her face. “Really? Now who’s the jerk?” Jacelynn hit the water to splash him. “I guess I am still the title holder.”

[ben-winters]

"I like to get super hot and then jump in. It's like that hot tub effect; when you sit in a hot tub for a while then jump in a cold pool and it's an amazing rush." Ben laughed, swirling his feet in the water. "Have you ever done that?"

"Woah! Record-winning attempts at jerkitude, Jace. 'I'm wounded." Ben said, mockingly throwing an arm up over his face and clutching at his chest. "You have broken my frail little heart."

[seb-booth]

  Wow! I promise to keep your secret identity and not sell you out to the papers. Did you just admit that you are a serial killer? I mean it sounds like you know the tools of the trade.

[ben-winters]

Man, I bet you could make a killing from the Daily Bugle. Did I? I could have been trying to throw you off. Or I could just be trying to advise you on how to stay away from serial killers. The world may never know.

[kayla-jensen-blog]

  Ew. That’s disgusting. You’d have to eat an extremely large amount of food to eat yourself into a coma. And then dying. Yeah, that sounds like the ideal death, I think.

Really? I’ve been dancing since I was three. 

[ben-winters]

Hey, don't knock it. Either way it's death, so I might as well die full.

See, you have the face for it. Expressive. I don't know, I don't anything about dancing. 

[kayla-jensen-blog]

  I think I’ve heard of some people eating themselves into actual comas. That doesn’t sound extremely pleasant.

Ballet. I love dancing.

[ben-winters]

Oh my, God. I don't know if that's horrifying or the way I want to die. I am so torn.

I can see that. You look like the dancing type. How long have you been doing it?

[ben-winters]

Poolside Hangout || Ben & Jacelynn

[jacelynn-calder-rps]

  Jacelynn chuckled turning away from the splash. “It is fair to dunk someone in a pool.” She kept the smile plastered on her face, trying to stay happy for as long as she could. 

"If you count making smores a camp activity they offered, then no. I don’t really know what to do anyway, it’s all so much." Jace walked around in the water trying to remember the last time she was in water, besides a shower.

[ben-winters]

"It is not proper pool etiquette to dunk while someone is obviously comfortable. Against concrete. Yeah." Ben chuckled, pulling himself up to sit on the edge of the pool. The concrete was warm from the sun, and he probably wouldn't be able to sit on it for too long before wanting to get back in the water.

"Hey, s'mores are a critical part of a camp experience, or so I've heard." He flicked his foot at the surface of the water, splashing towards Jacelynn as she walked. "I hope they have some organized activities soon. That'd be cool. We could get to know more people." 

[seb-booth]

  Are you a superhero? If you are I promise not to tell. You never know these days. That is how you probably lure your victims. They expect a old man with greasy hair and crooked teeth.

[ben-winters]

I am. I totally am, man. You caught me. Yeah but if you expect a serial killer to look a certain way won't you be less suspicious of them because it would be too obvious for them to be a serial killer?

[kayla-jensen-blog]

  Oh, come on! That cannot be true. I bet you’d be good at some sport. 

[ben-winters]

If eating and sleeping were sports, I'd go pro in under a day. Well, I guess there's competitive eating. But that sounds potentially dangerous. 

What about you? What do you like, other than cheering?

[ben-winters]

Poolside Hangout || Ben& Jacelynn

[jacelynn-calder-rps]

  Jacelynn nodded, and said. “Then let’s make you have the best summer ever!" She swam to the edge pulling him back in the water, dunking him. Jace smiled at him once he came back up, posing like she was a statue, acting like she didn’t do anything. “What?" She bit her lip knowing the feeling he was going through, just trying to bring his mood up. Jace actually felt happy for the first time in five months. She was not faking her smile like she did with her family.

[ben-winters]

Ben held his breath when he felt himself being pushed under, laughing a bit when he came back up. He splashed Jacelynn halfheartedly, "No fair, jerk." He chuckled, but he understood what she was trying to do. He could appreciate the effort, so he tried to let himself unwind from the unwelcome reminder of his twin. 

"So have you done any of the camp-ly activities offered yet?" He asked, resuming his position against the side of the pool. The sun was warm, and he absently thought he would actually get a tan this summer.