Private Finished Secretly Sorting... Competitively

The position he and Kal spent the briefest moment in was probably the closest Cam would get to the guy carrying him. Which was kind of a shame, since it had been a nice feeling, being in Kal's arms. Well, arm. Nevertheless, Cam felt the temptation to remain in the position. But he had enough shame and awareness of their company left to step away. His face was flushed, partially out of mild panic over the possibly broken shells as well but mostly because his heart was pounding from the sudden and all too brief close contact.

"Oh, thank god. Me? No no, I'm completely fine, you caught my fall. I'd ask if you were okay but I doubt someone as feeble as me could even put a dent on you."
Cam said and laughed a bit nervously, but from his face you could see that he indeed was asking if Kal was okay, since his concern matched Kal's.

The whole challenge, and most other things aside from Kal and how his closeness had felt, had been wiped from Cam's mind so when Kal reminded him Cam blinked a couple of times and looked at his own bins. Had he actually won? Though for both their sake Cam wanted to leave the massage for later. When he had calmed down, like Kal said.
"Uh huh, that's a great idea, muscles. Best one I've heard since around 30 minutes ago."
Cam tried to grin but it was diminished by the fact that when he called Kal muscles the scene from mere minute ago flashed to his mind again.

Skye almost made Cam jump, he had been that immersed in the strange, though good strange, mood that was around him and Kal. He turned to smile at her and made a slight bow. He was eternally thankful to the girl for stepping into the scene.
"Well thank you, lady of the rain. Seems like damsel beat sir Shellsalot."
Cam snickered at Kal, back to joking. He didn't miss the look Skye gave Kal, but it was none of his business and thus Cam nodded, beaming just like Skye
"Sure, we'll go take a breather. Come on, Ernesto."
Cam stepped towards Ernesto and paused slightly, when his ankle ached as he relied on it. But Cam didn't react in any way outside the slight pause, and kept smiling as he walked over to Ernesto and nudged for the old man to get up. He did, and followed Cam outside after sending a suspecting look at Kal and Skye. On their way out Ernesto muttered something like "Well done" to Cam and the young man smiled at the older one.

Once outside Cam leaned on the wall and slid to the ground, sitting on the floor. He rubbed his face with his hands and groaned a bit, his face was still a bit hot. Ernesto looked down on him and shook his head a bit, clicking his tongue.
"You stupid boy. You hurt your ankle, didn't you?"
Cam looked at Ernesto from between his fingers, almost glaring, and sighed.
"Just a bit, it's not big. And I will always have at least one ankle that can't be sprained or hurt."
"Don't give me lip, kid. I'm not blind, far from it. Your aura tells me everything."
Cam's eyes widened a bit and he blushed a bit again and groaned, leaning his head against the wall.
"This used to be so much easier, Ernesto. But now I'm all over the place. You'd think friendzoning someone would be easier."
Cam let out a small bitter laugh, and Ernesto squatted down next to him.
"Why should you...friendzone...him? Youngsters these days, words all over the place..."
"Well, it's...so complicated. Look, I know it's obvious that I like him a lot. I just...my last crush is the reason why my life is now more or less a mess. I'm scared, damnit."
"Scared he'll be as big of a spineless asshole as the last one? Boy, you're delusional."
That made Cam laugh a bit and he grinned at Ernesto, feeling bit better.
"You know, maybe I am."
"So you're still going to...friendzone him?"
"I...I really don't know. I don't want to, but I should. I don't want to drag him into my messes."
"Boy, everyone is a mess, others just hide it better. If you let him see yours and he still sticks around it might just be worth it."
Cam looked at Ernesto surprised, that was actually good advice. So unexpected.

Eventually Kal returned with some lemonade, and Cam was able to send him a genuine grin now that Ernesto had calmed him down. He attached his prosthetic back and stood up, still ignoring the ache on his ankle.
"Foxy damsel sends his thanks, sir Shellsalot."
Cam chuckled and took some lemonade from the tray. After Ernesto saw Cam drinking it he took lemonade as well, and drank it.

Cam waved his hand a bit dismissively when Kal thanked him and sipped his lemonade with a smile.
"I'm getting a win and a massage from it, plus your mom will be happy. That more than enough pays back for the trouble. Or more like there was no trouble at all, I had fun."

Cam smiled mischievously at Kal's comment on nicknames and tilted his head a bit, with a playful look in his eyes.
"I don't know, muscles Shellsalot. I have quite the imagination. I can conjure you an embarrassing nickname or two out of nothing, easily."
Cam chuckled and reached out a bit to bump Kal's shoulder with his hand lightly. But decided against it, and instead raised his lemonade glass slightly in a salute.

Cam leaned his back against the wall, casually lifted his sore ankle and crossed his legs so he wouldn't stand on it. The pain was slowly increasing and under Cam's pant leg the skin was getting red.
Kal suggested some days when they could go surfing, and without even thinking if he had something on those days Cam answered
"They're as free as...just pretend I said something witty here. I wouldn't want to ruin my reputation as the smooth joker."
Cam grinned, if he had some plans on those nights he'd have to cancel them. There was no way Cam was missing surfing with Kal.

Ernesto had mastered the technique of blending in the background and it was as if he was non-existent as he looked at the two young men. Especially he observed Kal, he was thinking what Cam had said moments ago about being scared. Kal seemed like a good boy, his aura was mostly pure and peaceful. But Ernesto's sharp eyes could see the storm beneath the calm. He sure as hell hoped that storm wouldn't be unleashed upon Cam.

Cam faked a smug expression and pressed a hand to his chest, looking at Kal with pseudo condescending eyes.
"I am an ancient being from another universe, after all. I have made up nicknames for several millennia. But I respect your efforts, young one."
Cam's demeanor broke after saying that and he cackled a bit to himself. As for Ernesto, Cam just ignored him though the man was indeed keeping a keen eye on them.

"Great cover. You make jokes for me and give me a free massage. What would I do without you?"
Cam chuckled and drank some of his lemonade, only a moment later realizing how his words sounded. Cam had to get a grip, he was usually in control in situations like this. He mentally slapped himself and moved on, wouldn't want that weird mood up again.
"I hope it won't be too chilly though, I get cold easy."
Cam adjusted his position a bit and had to lean on his ankle a bit. The flash of pain almost made him flinch, but Cam masked it as pretending to shiver and snickered.
"I'll probably arm myself with half dozen blankets."

Cam's eyes were still rusty, and he couldn't see the full extent of auras as Ernesto did. He had not seen even a glimpse of what was beneath Kal's calm exterior. While Ernesto considered if he should tell Cam about it Cam finished his lemonade and smiled at Kal.
"That sounds like a plan. I'll just bring my awesome self in a wet suit. And a little surprise."
Cam finished his sentence with a small mysterious smile and winked. He had a plan.

'But you're the only masseuse, only person, who I want to be caught by'
Cam thought to himself, externally only answering to Kal's words by snickering and sticking out his tongue at him.

Surprisingly the same image that Kal had floated to Cam's mind, though in his fantasy Kal was right there by his side under those blankets from the start. Just imagining it made Cam feel all warm, mostly inside, and he sighed a bit while tilting his head to the side. Cam smiled widely at Kal, he was looking forward to surfing even more now.
"Best part about getting cold is getting warm again, after all. And what better place to do that than next to you."
Cam grinned, he was referring to how Kal spread warm, humid air around him and Cam could feel the effects even now. He didn't hate it at all.

"Look forward to it. I swear you'll be shell shocked when you see it."
Cam couldn't resist putting in one last seashell pun, even though it was kinda weak. His surprise wasn't probably going to be that shocking, but he couldn't help his dramatic flair. And perhaps there was a small prank buried in his surprise. Just a small one.

Cam could guess the cough from Skye was a sign, even before Kal swiftly moved to end the conversation. It was disappointing, Cam didn't want to leave. But Ernesto was sending him a look that spoke volumes, and Cam couldn't help a small sigh of disappointment. But he fixed his demeanor soon enough and smiled at Kal.
"Yup, that sounds about right. Don't forget the blankets, sir Shellsalot."
Cam chuckled and pushed himself upright, leaning on both his feet. His ankle was basically screaming, but it wasn't anything Cam hadn't experienced before.