Camp Idol

Episode 5

Cori instantly reheated and broke away from Tanner as Nicky continued to watch them uncomfortably.

"I, uh, thought you might be thirsty," Nicky said tentatively, holding up the glass of juice.

"Thanks," Cori climbed out of the water.

"You just missed it, Nicky!" shouted Kole. "She fell in and took Tanner right with her!" His eyes teared up as he laughed, so delighted by his band mate's misfortune he had even momentarily abandoned his towel.

"Are you alright?" Nicky asked with concern.

"Yeah," she looked at her feet as Tanner joined them on the dock.

"Here's your shirt," Tanner handed her the sopping tee and gave her another stare.

"I'm sorry..." Cori said guiltily, but Tanner only continued to look at her.

"Tanner, you act like you've never seen a girl in a swimsuit before," Axel leaned against the dock. "Hey, that actually looks kind of familiar..." he added, recognizing his sister's suit.

"Whatever," Tanner grabbed a towel and began to walk away.

Cori gazed after him, face still hot.

"Was that why he had been staring?" she wondered. "And because he liked it or because he thinks I look stupid?"

"Well, here's your juice," said Nicky after a moment, handing her the glass. "I made it myself," he told her with an unsure chuckle.

 "Thank you," Cori smiled at him, but couldn't help glancing back at Tanner who was already half-way back to the cabin. When she turned around, she found Nicky was now watching her with an almost disheartened expression.

"You don't have to drink it if you don't want to," he told her at last, starting for the end of the dock. "Oh, and by the way-" he paused, "the swimsuit looks nice." Nicky gave her a slight smile then dove into the lake.

~~~

After being strongly encouraged by the guys, Cori was still enjoying the cool water several hours later. 

"You're already wet," JM had pointed out. "You might as well swim with us."

So Cori had dipped back into the lake with the others (and Kole had reclaimed his flotation device).

"I wonder what Tanner's doing," Axel wondered that afternoon.

"Probably sleeping again," decided Kole.

"He's missing out," JM frowned.

Nicky shrugged and pulled himself onto the dock.

"Is anyone else starving?" he asked.

"YES!" Kole sat up so enthusiastically, he nearly fell off of the inner tube.

"Yeah, I still want steak," said Axel bitterly.

"Sure. Would you like that with or without a side of food poisoning?" JM laughed.

"Can we at least still have the s'mores?" Axel pleaded. "I never got to have them last night."

"Now that we can do," grinned Nicky, pulling on a black tank top. "But we're gonna need some more firewood from the shed first. Who wants to go with me?"

"Don't look at me," Axel squinted lazily.

"I'm too tired from swimming," said Kole, carrying his inner tube down the dock.

"Why don't you take Cori?" offered JM, in a manipulative attempt to also get out of the chore. "She hasn't gotten to see much of the island yet."

"Would you like to go for a walk?" Nicky asked Cori. "The woodshed is just a couple minutes that way," he nodded towards the trees beyond the cabin.

"Sure," Cori slipped on her flip-flops.

"Cool," Nicky smiled and turned back to the guys. "We'll be right back. Get the marshmallows and roasting sticks out," he told them.

"You heard him," ordered Axel, waving Kole and JM on.

"You're the one who wants the s'mores!" Kole shouted. "You get it!"

"It's probably better that way," JM looked amused. "There won't be any chocolate left if Kole finds it first!"

"We'll be back," Nicky said again, shaking his head and gesturing Cori ahead of him. "Let's go," he grinned.

~~~

"How much do you wanna bet they don't have any of the stuff ready when we get back?" Nicky laughed as they hiked through the woods.

"You think?" Cori frowned. "Axel sounds like he really wants s'mores."

"So you do wanna bet?" Nicky suddenly stopped to look at her questioningly. "How about this? If they don't have everything ready by the time we come back, you have to sleep on the couch tonight."

"I told you I could sleep there. It's no problem, really," said Cori quickly.

"I'm just kidding," smiled Nicky. "Well, about the couch. We're still on for the bet. I got it! If you win, you can pick anything from my closet to wear for the rest of the week. But if I win," he paused. "If I win, then you have to camp outside with me one night. We have two tents but we never get to use them. I think the guys like their beds too much. Do we have a deal?" he stared at her anxiously.

Cori faltered for a moment, but she instantly knew her answer. When any member of Miracle 10 invites you to go camping, you say-

"Yes," she replied at last.

"Awesome!" Nicky grinned and resumed walking. "The shed's just up there. Come on."

~~~

Just as Nicky had said, a tiny, weathered shed was nestled amongst the trees just a few yards away.

"Do we have to chop the wood ourselves?" Cori eyed the chopping block.

"Not today," Nicky smiled, opening the door to the shed and revealing a large amount of pre-cut logs. "Our manager likes to make sure the place is stocked for us," he explained. "I think he goes a little overboard though. Watch your step," he added as he entered the shed.

Cori followed him inside, but with the mass quantity of prepared firewood, there was only a tight space for both of them to stand between the logs. 

"I'm not really sure why the shed isn't closer to the cabin," Nicky began, but the rest of his thought was drowned out by a sudden pounding on the roof. "It's raining???" he shouted in surprise as they both turned to look out the door.

The sky had instantly changed from pouring down bright sunlight to pouring down heavy raindrops without even the slightest warning. It sounded like a million drums as the flash storm pelted the shed. Then, with a boom of thunder, a strong gust of wind slammed the door shut creating a double bang and casting the shed into dimness.

"So, I guess we're stuck for awhile," said Nicky. "But at least we have shelter."

"Yeah," Cori shifted awkwardly beside Nicky in the cramped space, nervously aware of how close they were standing, but also happily realizing how jealous Dezarae was going to be. However, there wasn't a whole lot of room to maneuver, and Cori tripped on a piece of firewood, stumbling right into Nicky's chest.

"Be careful," he gasped, grabbing her by the arms and helping to right her again.

Cori looked up at him, feeling her embarrassed face becoming as pale as the light they were standing in.

"Sorry there's not much room in here," he said. "Let's just stay still so no one get's hurt, okay?"

Cori nodded slowly and Nicky let go of her arms, but otherwise, did not move. So together they stood, just inches apart, silently waiting out the storm.

~~~

Time moved in a strange way inside of the shed. The storm beat on the roof and rattled the walls, but Cori's utmost concern was being stranded with one of the most popular members of Miracle 10. Each second seemed like a minute, yet each minute like a second as her heart pounded just like the rain. Glancing around uncomfortably, she tried not to make too much eye contact with Nicky. They were standing too close, so it felt weird to look directly at him.

"It sounds like it's letting up," said Nicky after what seemed like forever. "Wanna try and make a run for it? I mean, we're already wearing waterproof clothes," he chuckled.

"Okay," Cori breathed, glad to finally be getting out of the stuffy, awkward shed. 

"Alright," Nicky smiled, but before Cori could turn for the door, he reached out and grabbed her arms again, pulling her even closer.

"What are you doing?" gasped Cori.

"I'm just trying to get to the door," he laughed, carefully rotating to change places with her. "What did you think?" he added, pausing briefly to grin back through the haze before opening the door. "Hurry before it starts raining harder again!" he called, dashing out the door.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Cori followed after him.

~~~

"Well that was good timing!" Nicky smiled at Cori when they entered the cabin just as a crack of lightning broke the sky.

"You finally made it back," Axel called from the kitchen. He was kicked back in a chair, wearing a soft hoodie, ripped jeans and a disgusted look.

"He's mad about the s'mores," mumbled Kole, who was sporting a backwards snapback, plain v-neck and crunching on a bar of chocolate.

"Where's the rest of the stuff?" asked Nicky, joining them in the kitchen.

"No point in digging out marshmallows without a fire to roast them over," sighed Axel.

"Yeah, you obviously weren't carrying back any firewood in this weather," added JM. He had changed into a fuzzy sweater and was wearing his oversize glasses again.

"So you didn't get out the sticks or crackers either?" Nicky questioned.

"Nope," JM wrapped his arms around his legs. "Looks like it's more noodles for dinner."

Nicky chuckled, a large grin breaking across his face.

"What are you so excited about?" demanded Axel, but Nicky only turned to Cori and whispered.

"Guess I won," he smirked.

"Hey, no fair! It rained so they didn't have to get the stuff out anymore," Cori murmured.

"A bet's a bet," Nicky smiled, and Cori suddenly felt a surprisingly nervous jolt. "It's too rainy tonight... but tomorrow night you're my camping partner," he added before spinning back to face the guys.

"How long were we gone anyways?" he wondered.

"Half an hour," JM told him.

"Where's Tanner?" Nicky asked.

"Upstairs. I think he's totally re-designing your room now that you're moving to the couch," Kole chuckled and Axel grimaced.

"So, you guys haven't eaten yet?" Nicky continued his inquiries.

"Kole has," JM nodded at his candy wrapper.

"Nobody wants old noodles again," groaned Axel.

"Come on, there's plenty of other things to eat," Nicky told them.

"Really?" Kole began to excitedly fling open all the cupboards. "Oh! Hey!"

"What did you find?" asked Axel hopefully.

"Flashlights!" Kole grinned, holding up a black flashlight.

"Those aren't edible, Kole," JM teased.

"I know that," Kole rolled his eyes. "But at least we'll have light tonight now that all our cell phones died."

"Yeah, but I still want my phone," frowned Axel.

"For what? There's no service here," Nicky furled his brows.

"To take selfies, obviously," said Axel.

"Agghhh," the rest of Miracle 10 booed teasingly.

"Can't you just be happy about the flashlights?" laughed Kole. "It means we won't have to sit around in the dark again tonight."

"You know what else it means?" Nicky's eyes twinkled and everyone looked at him. "Flashlight tag!"