Camp Idol

Episode 7

"What are you doing?" Cori stepped aside nervously as Tanner walked into the room, turning his flashlight on her.

"I never found my slippers last night," he said simply, swishing the light to the floor.

"Oh, that's right," Cori frowned, turning her own light towards the bottom of the bed and kneeling down to resume the previous night's search.

"I don't understand where they are," Tanner muttered as he peered beneath the vanity. "Nicky better not have borrowed them."

"Umm, are they pink?" asked Cori, spotting something fuzzy near the wall under the bed.

"Yeah," Tanner spun around. "Do you see them?"

"I think so," Cori stretched her arm under the mattress. "I can't reach them, though," she sighed, sitting back up. "My arm's too short."

"I'll do it," Tanner scooted over and extended his own arm. "Got 'em!" he said, pulling out the slippers and looking very satisfied.

"Good," smiled Cori, glad that they had found his slippers.

Shining the light back on Cori, Tanner turned his gaze upon her face.

"Why is he staring at me?" Cori's heart zoomed as he watched her. They were sitting so near, she could smell his minty toothpaste.

"Thanks," he said at last, a small smile cropping up on his lips.

"No problem," she shrugged, but her heart continued to clang because Tanner continued to stare.

"What?" she breathed unsurely.

"There's still some mud on your cheek," he grinned. However, before Cori could even think to rub it off, Tanner raised his thumb to his mouth, licked it, and then proceeded to gently wipe her cheek. "There," he said, examining his cleaning job. "Goodnight," he added, standing up and exiting the room.

For the longest time, Cori remained frozen on the floor, holding her hand to her cheek in disbelief.

~~~

The sun shown bright the following morning and Cori was surprised to hear a light tapping on her door just as she opened her eyes.

"Tanner?" she brightened instantly, bounding from the bed to the door and throwing it open.

"Hi, Cori," Nicky U was standing in the doorway.

"Oh, hi," Cori looked at him curiously. "I wonder what he's doing here," she thought.

"Can I come in?" he asked and Cori nodded, allowing him to enter the room. "I need to talk to you about something," he said, oddly making his way towards Tanner's closet.

"Is it about me staying here?" Cori worried. "I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to get stuck here! And I can still sleep on the couch!" she feverishly tried to correct the situation, but Nicky didn't seem to notice. Instead, he grabbed one of Tanner's shirts and took off his own.

This time, however, Cori didn't look away. Nicky's fit back was perfectly defined and she watched as he pulled Tanner's tee over his head.

"Why is he putting on Tanner's clothes?" Cori stared in confusion as Nicky turned back to face her.

"I need to talk to you about something," he said again, stepping near her.

"What?" Cori looked at him puzzledly.

"There's something I've been thinking a lot about lately," he told her, taking another step closer. "And I was wondering if it would be okay..."

Cori raised her brows curiously.

"...to do this," Nicky finished, suddenly swooping in, and drawing Cori into a tight hug.

Cori inhaled, deeply astonished, as she felt Nicky's strong arms around her- but was even more astonished to find her own arms hugging him back. She held him close, her heart nearly rocketing through her chest and then-

Cori woke up.

"What the?" Cori blinked around the room. She was completely alone except for Tanner's teddy bear which she was squeezing tightly. "Ah!" she bolted upright, dropping the bear; her arms still beating with the memory of her dream hug. "That was weird! Why did I dream that???"

Cori took a deep, steadying breath, and as calmly as she could, changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top. However, when she walked to the mirror and saw her reflection, her panic returned with full force.

"Oh no!" she gasped, staring at her mirror image in horror. Her shoulders, cheeks and nose were bright red, completely sunburnt. "Oh no, oh no, oh no! I should have used that suntan lotion Nicky-" Cori paused. It suddenly felt strange to say Nicky's name. "Okay, stop it," she shook her head. "It was just a dream." Cori gazed into the mirror. "Ah, but I wish this was a dream. What am I going to do?" Poking her glowing shoulder, she quickly recoiled. "Ouch!" she frowned. "I can't believe this! How am I supposed to show my face? I look like a clown!"

Quickly surveying the desk, Cori wondered if Tanner had anything she could use to try and cover the burn. However, just as she picked up a bottle of foundation, there was a knock at the door.

"Busted!" thought Cori, putting back the makeup and cracking open the door.

"Morning!" Nicky U was standing in the doorway.

"Oh, hi," feeling like she was having déjà vu, Cori quickly pinched herself to make sure this wasn't a dream. "Ow!" she grimaced with pain. She was definitely awake.

"I was just coming to make sure you didn't miss breakfast," Nicky began. "Oh, you got a sunburn!" he frowned, stepping into the bedroom.

"Yeah, it looks stupid," Cori threw her hand over her nose, but Nicky pulled her arm down with a smile.

"It's not that bad," he told her, looking at her sun-baked cheeks. "You just look like you're blushing," he chuckled.

"Blushing? I'm not blushing!" Cori quickly looked to her feet, strongly recalling her dream now that Nicky was in the room.

"You'd better put something on that," he said with concern, moving to Tanner's desk and looking through the bottles. "Here. This lotion has aloe in it. That's good for a burn." 

"Thanks," Cori accepted the lotion and turned to the mirror to apply some to her face.

"Oh! Make sure you get some on your back! It's really red!" Nicky spoke from behind her.

"Okay, thanks," Cori began to reach over her shoulder, but Nicky quickly grabbed the bottle and pumped some lotion onto his palm.

"Here, let me," he said, rubbing the cool lotion on the back of her burnt shoulder.

"You don't have to," Cori told him awkwardly.

"It's okay. I got it," Nicky smiled at her through the mirror and continued to her other shoulder.

Cori tensely watched his reflection. His brown bangs were perfectly smooth above his sparkly eyes, his even nose, his pink lips...

Catching herself with surprise, Cori looked away from his face, but she still couldn't help but notice his hand on her back as he treated her sunburn- the soft hand connecting to the strong arm that had just been wrapped so tightly around her moments before she woke up...

"All done!" he grinned. "Come down to breakfast when you're ready. I'm gonna go make sure Kole didn't already eat your share." Nicky turned for the door. "Oh, and don't forget- tonight we're camping!" Shooting her one more smile, he left the room.

Cori gulped and stared after him.

~~~

"It was just a dream," she reminded herself when she had combed her hair and exited the bedroom. "But then why does it feel so weird to be around him? It's not like you like him. You like Tanner-" she was telling herself when Kole's voice floated up from the kitchen, making her pause on the balcony.

"Look, guys! I really did find something last night! Check it out!" Kole exclaimed, and Cori peeked through the bars of the railing as he passed something across the table.

"Ew! That thing is gross! Get it off the table!" Axel groaned.

"What is it?" Nicky stepped from the counter to look.

"It's a magazine!" Kole told them.

"Or what's left of one," JM laughed.

"Only the cover's really messed up," said Kole, opening the damp booklet. "I found it underneath a bush, so the rain didn't soak it all the way through. But look!"

"A Miracle 10 magazine?" Axel scoffed. "How did that get out here?"

"It's Cori's," said Tanner, pouring a cup of coffee, and making Cori's heart nearly stop.

"Huh?" everyone looked at him in surprise.

"She had it the other night when I found her," Tanner explained.

"So you mean she did come here for autographs?" Axel frowned.

"No, I didn't!" thought Cori.

"Makes sense," shrugged JM. "Why else would someone come out here?"

"I don't think so," said Nicky. "She was just trying to get out of that camp across the lake. Besides, how would she have even known we were here?"

Cori sighed, thankful that the always-kind Nicky had believed her.

"Good point," JM agreed. "But why did she have the magazine with her?"

"She must be a fan!" Kole grinned. "I mean, who wouldn't be?" he held up a full-page picture of his own face.

"Hey, there's a page missing," JM pointed at the tear in the binding where Dezarae had ripped it and Cori's eyes widened in realization.

"There is?" Kole looked back at the magazine. "I wonder what it was," he flipped through the pages. "Hm," he said after a minute. "There's pin-ups of almost all of us."

"So who got torn out?" wondered JM.

"Nicky," answered Kole.

At this, everyone turned to stare at Nicky.

"What?" Nicky looked at them.

"He's probably taped to Cori's bedroom wall," chuckled JM at last, causing Cori to blush for real.

"Or crumbled up in the trash," shot Tanner suddenly.

"What?" Cori stared through the railing. "Is Tanner... jealous?"