During the outdoor activity, when Pavel found himself alone with Pooh, a strange tension hung between them. Their silence was heavy with everything they didn’t say, as if every gesture or unspoken word spoke volumes about their secret thoughts. Climbing a steep slope, Pavel briefly lost his balance, and Pooh’s firm hand caught him just in time. This contact, however brief, left an imprint on Pavel, a warmth that quickly spread throughout his body. His heart skipped a beat, as if suspended between the fear of falling and the astonishment of feeling Pooh so close. 

 Pooh, with apparent calm, murmured: "Be careful" before gently releasing his hold, but Pavel felt that this moment marked a turning point in their relationship. It was not only physical attraction that he felt, for the first time, he wondered if this mystery around Pooh was not also an invitation to cross the limits of what he knew... and he was not sure he could resist it. But a strange curiosity and a desire to go further in the understanding of this complex being that stood before him.

This interaction, although brief, left Pavel destabilized. Each moment spent with Pooh, each touch, each look, made this tension between them rise, a tension that they could ignore less and less.

Pooh watched Pavel out of the corner of his eye as they climbed the steep slope together. Ever since their confrontation in the locker room, he had noticed the furtive glances, the nervousness hidden behind Pavel's usual arrogance, and above all, this strange intensity that manifested itself every time their eyes met.

At first, Pooh had found it amusing. Seeing this supposedly imperturbable "Bad boy" get flustered over so little distracted him. But over time, he had felt something deeper, a mixture of curiosity and satisfaction, at the idea that Pavel was perhaps the only one who saw his darker, more authentic side. It was as if, without saying anything, they shared a secret that no one else could understand. 

Today, as they worked together, Pooh noticed that Pavel's attitude continued to evolve. He saw him trying to hide his gaze, feigning an indifference that he was no longer fooling anyone, and this vulnerability that he let show, even unconsciously, awakened something in him. Perhaps a desire to push him even further, to test him, to see how far Pavel would go to understand the real person behind his smile. 

When Pavel slipped and Pooh grabbed his arm, he felt the shiver that ran through his comrade at the contact. Pooh, despite his impassive face, also felt this strange warmth. Pavel’s look, a mixture of surprise and nervousness, made him want to smile—a real smile this time, without a mask. But he held it back, contenting himself with a murmured, “Be careful.” A subtle but real inner struggle crossed his mind. Showing more to Pavel seemed tempting, yet dangerous. 

As they continued on their way, a troubling thought crossed Pooh’s mind. What if this game he was playing with Pavel was drawing him in too? The idea that Pavel could pierce his own defenses, see beyond his mask, pleased him as much as it frightened him. Maybe it was time to stop smiling just to hide and finally start smiling to reveal something real. 

After the event was over, as each team presented their work to the camp, Pavel couldn’t help but follow Pooh with his eyes, noting every detail of his movements. Ever since they had gotten closer during the ordeal, something inside him had awakened, an almost irrepressible need to discover what was hidden behind that facade of smiles. This mystery had become a bittersweet obsession, an enigma that he knew he had to solve, no matter the risk of being discovered. It was then that he noticed a detail he had never paid attention to before: Pooh never joined the others to get ready for bed. 

Intrigued, Pavel decided to follow him discreetly, putting off his own bath to see what Pooh did once alone. When the other students dispersed to take their shower, Pavel stayed back, watching Pooh out of the corner of his eye. The latter, true to his habits, waited until most of the students had left the place before heading quietly towards a more isolated area of the camp.

Pavel, out of breath, followed him, unaware of what he was going to discover… He did not know what he hoped to discover, but something inside him pushed him there, like a call that he could not ignore, unable to turn back.