Chapter Text
The camp
Mike was standing with his other classmates in line, the sun beating down on them as the teachers droned on about the agenda of this animal wildlife camp they had gone on a school trip for. It was a school trip for the students that had chosen animal welfare as their chosen subject.
The students at Bearington high had an additional subject the last two years where they could choose between a select few subjects. This was so the students could prepare for picking something to study in the future and giving the students some fun classes that they chose themselves. You could choose between a few generic subjects like Gym, arts and craft, home cooking and a few others.
The class Mike was in was farm life and animal welfare. It hadn’t been his first choice, but arts and craft were full and that meant some students had to be content with their second choice. He didn’t mind though. Mike had always had a love of nature and animals, often sneaking over to his uncles farm to help with the chickens and bunnies he had there.
The class was focused on what to expect in farm life and some history of how farms had evolved with technology. It was also focused on animal welfare for both farm animals like cows and sheep and on wildlife like deer, wolfs, beavers and so on.
Mike suspects this class was an attempt to get the younger people in town to have an interest in the towns main income. This town wasn’t small to say the least, but it didn’t start to grow until the animal rescue and welfare camp started.
It started as a camping area that had a small petting zoo connected to it that a few farmers opened up. This was a simple way to get a little income for the volunteer rescue senter a few of them had started. Having had many incidents of improper hunting activities leading to injured animals and endangered local species to need extra help.
This ended up being a huge hit and the camp and rescue ended up expanding and multiplying to what it was today. A camp where you could take a tent, your camping wagon or rent a cabin while pretending to be in tune with nature and wild life. If you were lucky enough while staying there you could witness up close some of the rescue animals. Altho this was rear and very controversial. The camp also provided the mandatory camping experience like walks in the woods, camping fire and a pleasant and big lake by the cabins.
“Alright, now to the room assignments!” The teacher Pete yelled and Mike snapped out of his wavering thoughts. “Some of the cabins are in different sizes, so the amount of people assigned to them are a bit odd numbered”
A small groan spread through the crowd of students
“I know I know, just bear with me okay? I promise we did our best to give people the best assignments. Now moste of you will be in groups of 4, but a few will be in 3 and two…”
‘Great’ Mike thought. ‘That must mean I get a room for two to myself’. He had already talked to the teachers about needing a room for himself. His autism already made him super sensitive and in need of a safe space to retreat to, but the biggest reason for having his own cabin was his bed time problem.
Mike had the extremely embarrassing problem of still wetting the bed at 16. It’s not like him and his family hadn’t tried to help him with it, but after a lot of trial and error from them and doctors alike, it was concluded that this was something he probably would struggle with all his life.
The last straw was probably that he hadn’t stopped having day time accidents at the age of 12 and how they became more frequent as his mental health declined when they kept trying to fix him. Excepting that he would always struggle with incontinence and helping him overcome the shame he felt from it was more important. Despite that the shame was a constant companion.
“And last but not least, we are going to have Mike and Andrew in cabin 8. if there are any problems with the room assignments, take it up with miss Mavie» his blood ran cold. ‘No no no no! That’s not what was planned! I haven’t mentally prepared for this, not to mention my-myyy… thing!’ Not even in his mind could he admit to the diapers. ‘No! They were incontinent aid, that’s all.’
Mike’s eyes swiveled towards Andrew looking over the tall handsome classmate before quickly looking towards the teacher Pete. “Now everyone go to their cabin and get comfortable with the room and your roommates for this trip. Stretch your legs after the long buss ride because we will meet back here in two hours to start the activity’s! Now scram!”
With murmurs and shuffles everyone started to go to their assigned cabins with no fanfare, but not Mike. He was frozen. This was not supposed to happen. The teacher having expected this reaction out of him jogged over slowly til they were close together in as much privacy as possible.
Without introductions he started “I know this isn’t what we had planned, but this was the only option.” Pete looked over Mike seeming to asses his mood and how much he could handle
“Since two of the cabins are in repair because of weather damage and that they had already started remodeling some of the others… It was simply not enough cabins.”
Mike knew that it had to be a good reason for him to not be getting his own cabin. He also knew that having a tent alone was out of the question and he suspected Pete knew that too. He was after all one of the better teachers that always went above and beyond to help him accommodate to both his accidents and his autism.
“You okay buddy?” Mike just nodded looking slightly behind Pete
Understanding that he was too overwhelmed to speak for the moment Pete continued “Andrew is a really nice guy behind all those piercings and dark hair. He is also already a bit familiar with this place as he spends his free time volunteering here. He doesn’t have a lot of friends in class since he transferred here last year, so this could be a good opportunity for you both!”
He hadn’t known that about Andrew. He knew he had been a bit secluded since he came here, but he also looked like the type of guy that would bully Mike if he found out about his problems. That wasn’t a chance he could take. Although maybe he had been wrong about him. He can’t be a bad guy if he was spending his time here helping out, could he?
Without him noticing Pete had steered him towards cabin 8 and they were now standing a few feet away from it. “Now go get comfortable with your new roommate and try to give him a chance. And I bet he won’t even notice the diapers if you stay discreet.”
Mike visibly flinched. Desperate it having been said in a low voice Mike quickly looked around to see if anyone heard. Of course no one had. They were the cabin farthest away from other people and they were far enough away from his own cabin for Andrew not to have noticed. That was if Andrew was even in there to begin with.
Pete seeming not to have noticed the flinch patted his back a little to hard and walking away with a quick “I’ll see you both in a little under two hours! Have fun and get to know each other!”
Mike winced at the well meaning but childish encouragement before stealing himself. With a gulped he walked up the few stairs and opened the cabin door.
Looking over the dim room he found himself blinking quickly a few times before the room became clear to him. The light was on, but coming from the bright sun outside made the room look dark before his eyes adjusted.
With a quick once over he noticed that even tho it was sparse, it was quite cozy. The walls were painted white over the wooden planks with pictures of dried flowers that had a text of their qualities on it. The room was split in two with a bed and each side and a dresser under a window that was framed with old floral curtains in the middle.
The dresser was slightly too big for the middle, so the beds were pushed a little away from the inner wall to give it space enough to open and close. ‘No cozy corner to hide in, but the smell is nice and clean. Over all, better than I expected.’ He thought to himself
Andrew was sitting in the middle of his bed on the right side of the room. He had headphones on and was scrolling on his phone, seemingly waiting for him. The slight sound of maybe rock or alternative music came out of the headphones in the silent room. Noticing Mike entering the room he turned the music down and shifted one ear piece to the side.
“Hey, I hope it’s okay, but I just took the right side since you hadn’t come yet. I was going to wait so we could choose together, but patience isn’t my strong suit.” Andrew said with a chuckle. Swallow Mike looked down and walked to the other bed to plopp his big duffel bag and backpack on the bed.
“It’s no problem! I don’t mind this side.” Silence. The awkward air seemed to raise and mikes hands started to shake slightly as he started to unn sip his bag.
“That’s good” Andrew said tentatively after a few seconds before understanding Mike wasn’t going to say anything else. “I also took the top drawer, but you can have the other two. I didn’t bring much”
Mike still hadn’t looked over, oblivious of how it could come across as rude or dismissive to other people as he started to unpack. He was still trying to calm himself down and to not show how overwhelmed he was.
“Ahhh thanks!” He croaked out understanding, sadly a bit late, that he had to answer. Cursing his hormones for the involuntary voice crack he hoped Andrew didn’t notice.
Taking out some of his comfort items he placed them organized on the bed first. He planed on storing them away somewhere other than his bed, but this gave him a good overview.
Taking one thing out at a time he checked if everything survived the buss ride. His solar powered power bank he had been gifted last Christmas. It was one of the more expensive ones after having gone out on walks too many times where his phone lost power and his parents couldn’t get in contact with him. His noise canceling headphones. His sketch book. Some fidget toys and calming things he liked.
He halted a bit before pulling out his comics and manga, but thought it wasn’t a big deal since everyone at school had already seen him with them at least once by now. Then lastly his switch came out.
He knew he had packed too much for only one week, but better safe than sorry. Besides, his power bank was more the capable of powering his headphones, switch and phone without a worry.
After some rustling from his back he hears a soft “no way! Is that the manga Claymore? Such a classic that so few know about! And is that Junji ito uzumaki. It’s my favorite of his books. Maaan you have a great collection.”
It was said with a slight envy, but no judgement or malice. Mike perked up immediately. Visibly straitening his back and finally giving Andrew eye contact.
At first Andrew took a step back with the shock of how close they were. It hadn’t seemed so close when they were both bent over the bed looking at his things. He blushed slightly hoping the dim light hid his reaction.
“I didn’t mean to pry, I just got a bit curious. I love manga.” Andrew said sheepishly. With an adorable smile Mike replied instantly “Really?! Me too! I have been getting really into some old classics lately to get a break from the overwhelming fandoms, but fell in love with them! I have already finished the claymore manga once, but I wanted to re read it this trip. I brought the first four books, but wanted to bring seven of them. One for each day, but thought it that was overkill even for me. Have you seen the anime? Because after reading the manga I couldn’t help but hate the anime.”
Noticing how he was rambling on Mike quickly shut up. Now he definitely had a slight blush. Andrew only chuckled slightly. Relaxing his posture he answered as if Mike hadn’t gone from silent and brooding to cute and bubbly in a matter of seconds “No I haven’t seen the anime, but I prefer reading manga more then watching anime. That way I can listen to music while I read”
Mikes smile got even bigger “I used to like anime more, but now I totally get you! I read way more then watch anime”
They continued chatting and time flew by. Mike had no idea there was anyone in class like Andrew! He was funny and didn’t seem to mind his babbling. They also found out they had more things in common. One of them being how they both played switch and a lot of the same games at that.
Andrew only had a switch he shared with his three other brothers, but he loved playing Mario cart and the occasional Zelda if I was lucky enough to have the switch for himself.
They also had interests that they didn’t share, but both seemed eager to learn.