I do not own Bunk'd. Story based on the tumblr prompt "rained on picnic."

Lou checked her phone again and sighed. She should've known that wearing a cute sweater and curling the ends of her hair were wasted on her no-good boyfriend. She grabbed another heart-shaped homemade cookie from the Tupperware container on the picnic blanket. It was Saturday, officially one week away from Valentine's Day. She had hoped to start off the week with a romantic picnic in the park, but Eric was a no-show. Again.

"Looks like rain," she mumbled to herself between munches of chocolate chips.

Her eyes drifted back down from the grey clouds to the park around her. Earlier, there had been a few people flying kites and a little girl holding tight to a leash as her dog chased the wind. Now there was barely anyone at the park. Lou glanced over her shoulder and spotted another picnic blanket in the distance. She tilted her head to the side as she tried to think of the guy's name.

"I know him...He goes to my school… What is it," she said to herself as she turned away. She glanced up at the sky again. It was heavier with clouds. She packed away her cookies and rolled up her blanket.

In the distance, Ravi frowned down at his phone. Not a single reply had been sent to his many messages. He rolled his eyes as he tossed his phone into the open picnic basket. He hadn't bothered taking out any of the food he had packed because he knew his date would be late. But he hadn't anticipated her not showing up at all. He had been planning on asking her something important. Well, important to him. He had a feeling she was mostly dating him out of boredom, but having a girlfriend for Valentine's Day seemed so romantic and now that he had a chance to ask someone, he didn't want to waste it.

Thunder rumbled above him. His eyes widened as he stared up at the dark sky. He grabbed his phone out of the basket and called his date. It rang and rang. No answer. He blew a frustrated breath out his nose and then called his brother, Luke. Also, no answer. He sent a quick text message to Luke:

Bad weather and she didn't show up. Can you pick me up?

As he looked up from his phone, he saw someone familiar hurry by. It was Lou Hockhauser, a senior and one of the nicest people at his high school. She gave him a quick smile as she continued up the grassy slope. He couldn't help but smile back at her even though he was annoyed with his current situation. If it started raining, he would be stuck until someone decided to respond to his calls.

The sky immediately poured buckets of rain down onto the park.

Lou made it back to her truck without getting completely soaked. She tossed her bag with the food and blanket behind her and let out a breath. Her hair was slightly damp from the rain.

"So much for curls," she said to herself as she checked her reflection in the rear-view mirror. She grabbed a hair tie from the cupholder beneath her radio and wrangled her hair into the band.

"And so much for my picnic," she said as she watched the rain fall heavy outside her window. She could barely make out the image of someone running toward the tree beside the parking lot. The person stopped beneath the barren tree and huddled their picnic basket close to their chest. Lou squinted as she leaned closer to the driver's side window. Suddenly, she remembered his name.

She partially rolled down her window and shouted, "Hey!"

He looked around like he wasn't sure that she was talking to him as the rain continued to fall. The parking lot and park was empty except for him and an abandoned soccer ball.

Lou continued to shout, "Ravi, right? Do you want to sit in my car?"

Ravi didn't need to be told twice. The tree he had been huddled beneath offered no coverage due to its leaves being shed in the winter and he had no idea when his brother or date would arrive. He sprinted over to the truck and got in on the passenger's side.

"Thanks," he said, slightly out of breath, as he placed his basket on the floor beside his soggy shoes.

"No problem," she said as she tried not to laugh at his disheveled appearance. "It's really coming down out there." She reached behind her and grabbed her hoodie from the backseat. She handed it to him and said politely, "Put this on. Your jacket is… a watered-down mess. But this is my favorite hoodie, so you're guaranteed to be comfy."

"Uh, thank you," he said as he took the hoodie. As he swapped his jacket for the hoodie, he could understand why she was one of the nicest people at his school. His ears were already cold, so he put on the hood and snuggled into the warmth. He frowned at the rain outside the windshield and said, "And here I thought I had planned everything out so perfectly."

Lou turned to face him as she leaned back against the driver's side door. She pointed at his basket and asked, "Were you having a picnic, too?"

"Yeah, but my girlfriend hasn't shown up, yet," Ravi said. He mimicked Lou's posture and leaned back against the passenger's side window. He wiped away a raindrop that had rolled from his hair to the side of his face. "I mean, she's not technically my girlfriend quite yet. I was going to ask her during our picnic."

"Aww, how sweet," Lou cooed.

"I thought so," Ravi mumbled. As much as he would like to go on a tangent about his dating life, he didn't want his first real interaction with Lou to be a girl talk about his relationship woes. Instead, he asked, "How do you know my name?"

"We go to the same school," Lou chuckled.

"Yeah, but you're popular," Ravi said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Lou snorted. "No, I'm not."

"Trust me, Lou Hockhauser. You are."

His words lingered in the air as they both sat there in silence. Rain pelted against the outside of the truck. He tried to think of something else to say because they were just staring at each other and it wasn't awkward, which made it awkward to him.

"So...um…" he started.

"I remember you from the science fair last year," Lou interrupted. "You were like the first freshman to win in a long time or something. I remember my chemistry teacher making a big deal about it."

"Was Mrs. Armstrong your chemistry teacher? She was my mentor for the science fair," Ravi asked excitedly.

"Yep, that's her. She spent most of the class period talking about how proud she was of Ravi Ross. Not that I minded. She totally forgot about a pop quiz that I had forgotten to study for, so thanks for that."

Ravi chuckled, "You're welcome."

"You're also Luke's little brother, right?" Lou said as she turned on the engine of her truck. The temperature had dropped some and she wanted to turn the heat on.

"That's me," Ravi sighed. "The other Ross."

"If you want to talk about popular, Luke Ross is popular," Lou said as she opened the vents so that the warm air blew on both of them. "Is the heat okay? I'm getting kind of cold."

"No, thank goodness you turned it on. I wanted to ask but I didn't want to seem rude." He held his hands in front of the vent and let the air warm them. "And Luke's lucky that our sister decided to live with our mother in Europe or she would outshine him."

Lou raised an eyebrow. "Is that how you feel? Like your brother outshines you?"

Ravi felt his face heat with embarrassment. He shook his head and said, "No! That's not what I…"

"It's okay to feel that way sometimes," Lou shrugged. "My best friend Xander is practically perfect."

Ravi chuckled, "You're friends with Xander and Luke. And you're dating Eric, one of the best athletes at our school. I'm really curious about your definition of popular."

"How do you know who I'm dating?" Lou asked with an amused smirk.

"I'm no gossip, but I do know things," Ravi stammered. He winced at how dumb his response sounded, but she just giggled and rolled her eyes. He remembered her words from earlier and added, "You said you were on a picnic, too? Were you waiting for Eric?"

Lou frowned and crossed her arms as she leaned her shoulder against the driver's seat. She answered, "Unfortunately, yes... But it's not like I want to date him."

Ravi raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Well…" Lou scrunched her nose as she tried to find a way to phrase her thoughts. "He's sort of a…"

He waited a moment for her to complete her thought, but when she didn't, the said the words for her. "He's sort of a jerk," he said.

"Exactly," Lou nodded in agreement.

"I know. He hates my guts," Ravi said. "He never fails to remind me of such during gym."

"Of course, he's bullying a sophomore," Lou said in a frustrated tone. She rolled her eyes. "He's so immature. Sometimes he really makes me feel like a mule munching on bumble bees."

Ravi blinked. He wasn't sure of what that meant, but he guessed it couldn't be anything good. He asked, "Then, if you don't mind me asking, why go out with him?"

Lou uncrossed her arms. She knew exactly why she continued to date the jerk. But she wasn't ready to confess her inner thoughts to Ravi. He was practically a stranger. She hadn't even told Xander why she put up with Eric, even though her best friend had asked several times.

She responded in a quiet tone, "You wouldn't understand."

Ravi did understand. Most of the time he didn't like his almost girlfriend either. But he really wanted a Valentine. And he was sure that Lou's situation was slightly different than his because she probably had plenty of other dating options.

He glanced out the windshield and said, "Wow, the rain has gotten worse. Thanks again for letting me sit in here. I'm not sure when my brother will show up. I sent him a text to pick me up."

Lou reached for her bag of picnic supplies. She said, "No problem. Do you want a cookie?"

"Sure," Ravi said as he reached for his basket. "Would you like a sandwich? I haven't eaten, yet."

Lou's eyes brightened and she grinned at Ravi. She kicked off her shoes and said, "I've got an idea. Hold on a sec."

He watched her toss the bag and then climb into the backseat. She pulled the picnic blanket out of her bag and spread it along the bench seat. She placed some Tupperware containers in the center and said, "Hand me your basket."

He wordlessly handed her the basket and watched her unpack the containers that he had neatly organized. Once she had finished, she announced, "I present to you, truck picnic. It's a picnic. But in a truck."

Ravi's eyes shined with laughter. "Creative," he said.

"Well join me!"

He kicked off his soggy shoes and made his way to the opposite side of the backseat. Even though he could still feel some of the damage he had taken from the rain, it was warm and toasty in the backseat of the truck. The air smelled like chocolate chip cookies and his stomach growled at the sight of one of his sandwiches. He had skipped breakfast to prepare for the picnic. Lou chuckled at the sound and handed him one of the sandwiches.

"So, Casanova, who's the lucky lady you were going to ask to be your girlfriend today?" Lou asked as she bit into her sandwich.

"Hazel Swearengin," Ravi replied.

His answer caught her off guard and caused her to choke on her food. Ravi leaned forward and patted her back as he glanced around for a drink. He snatched a water bottle from beside a container of grapes and twisted off the top. She took the bottle from him and settled down after a few drinks of water.

"So, you know her," he said jokingly as he leaned away from her.

"Only since we were nine," Lou said flatly. She took another drink of water and then asked, "Why her? You don't seem crazy."

Ravi gave her a small smile and replied, "You wouldn't understand." He knew he was just using her own words from earlier, but if she didn't have to explain herself then he figured that she wouldn't really expect him to explain himself.

"Try me," Lou replied in a tone that left no room for argument as she picked apart her sandwich.

Ravi blinked. He couldn't believe she was actually interested in his love life. Not only was he an underclassman, but they didn't really know each other. Today had been the most time he had ever spent with her. But she had kind eyes and he thought maybe it'd be nice to share his feelings with someone other than his pet lizard.

"Uh, it's a bit embarrassing...But I've kind of always been...sort of a hopeless romantic," Ravi explained. "Emphasis on the hopeless."

Lou looked shocked as she gave him a bright smile, "No way! Me too! My Grandpappy read me a fairytale when I was barely out of diapers and I've been a romance addict ever since. I can't get enough of those sappy movies or books. And I keep waiting for something half as sweet to happen to me in real life."

"Exactly!" Ravi exclaimed. "And I know it's sort of foolish because I'm only sixteen, but I can't…"

"Stop yourself from hoping that butterflies in your tummy are real and that perfect moment when you lock eyes with someone and your heart does backflips exists and all your romantic efforts aren't in vain because one day you'll have an amazing Valentine," Lou completed his sentence in an exuberant rush.

"Right! Exactly!"

The rain had slowed but neither of them noticed as they gazed at each with dopey smiles.

"Maybe you do understand," Ravi said in slight awe.

"Yeah," she replied with a nod. She broke eye contact to pick up a heart-shaped cookie. "And I keep hoping that Eric will magically change from a toad to a prince. That's why I planned this picnic. Next Saturday is Valentine's Day." She broke the cookie and offered him half.

"I had hoped to take Hazel on a date each day leading up to Valentine's Day," Ravi said as he accepted the other half of the heart.

"Weird! I had wanted to do the same thing for Eric. I mean, it's not like he'd appreciate it, though."

"Tell me about it. Hazel skipped our date last weekend to help Xander paint his garage, which I wouldn't have minded if she didn't leave in the middle of the date. Especially when she was the one who drove us to the restaurant and left me there."

"That's why she was dressed up when she came over to Xander's," Lou wondered aloud. She didn't mention that Hazel was giving Xander googly eyes the entire time.

"You helped them paint? She told me he didn't need any extra help." Ravi added flatly, "She was checking him out the entire time, wasn't she?"

"Have you tried the apple slices?" Lou said, lifting the bowl up to him and changing the subject.

He raised his eyebrow at her but didn't push for more answers. He took a slice from the bowl and thanked her.

"Looks like another car is pulling up," Lou said as she saw headlights pull up beside the truck. The rain was lighter but the sky was still dark as if it were nighttime instead of late in the afternoon. "Is it your brother?"

Ravi leaned over the passenger's side seat to look out the window. Through the rain he could see that the car didn't belong to Luke. He couldn't help feeling grateful that his time with Lou wasn't ending just yet. He returned to the backseat and said, "It's not him."

"Good," Lou smiled. Her eyes widened slightly and she corrected herself, "I mean, I'm sure he'll be here soon."

He smiled back at her and confessed, "I was really hoping it wasn't him."

"Me too," she replied honestly. She opened a container of homemade parsnip chips and asked, "Did you go to the winter talent show? I heard Lexi Gomez sang a cover of some song and then asked out Taylor Johnson while she was still on stage."

"I did! And it was so romantic," Ravi said as he collected more apple slices. "Hazel has been adamant about me learning how to play guitar. I could guess why. And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the winter talent show, because Hazel was shooting spitballs at freshman the entire time."

Lou wondered if Ravi knew about Hazel's obsession with her best friend, Xander. Everyone else at their school certainly did because Hazel was anything but subtle. And Xander had been playing guitar in the school courtyard during lunch for years.

"Well, if you need anyone to listen to you practice, I've got years of experience listening to Xander. He's been playing guitar since we were ten," Lou said.

"I would never make you suffer through that. I'm horrible at the guitar, but I do have an appreciation for other musical instruments, especially those that may be more traditional in other countries but not necessarily for a garage band here."

Lou grinned and leaned forward. She waved him closer as if she had a secret to tell him. She said, "Not many people know this, but I can play the washtub bass and the spoons. I love jug bands."

He laughed and said good-naturedly, "And I thought I was weird."

Lou playfully rolled her eyes and pushed him lightly on the shoulder as she said, "Whatever."

"Oh look, the rain stopped," Ravi said as he glanced out the window.

"It has," Lou said as she looked out the windows at the grey evening and damp-looking park. Her eyes settled on the passenger's side window where she could see part of the car parked beside them. "Huh, that looks like Eric's car," she murmured.

She climbed back to the front of the truck and stared out the passenger's side window. Now up close, she could clearly see that it was indeed her boyfriend's car. She gasped as she realized that not only was his car there, but inside of it he was engaged in a fierce tongue battle with a pigtailed blonde.

"Jerk!" Lou shouted angrily as she pushed open the door and hopped out of the car.

Ravi scrambled from the backseat of the truck and swiftly followed her outside as she banged against the driver's side window of Eric's car with her fist.

"Roll down the window, Eric," Lou demanded angrily as she stepped back and crossed her arms.

As Eric rolled down the window, Ravi instantly recognized the girl with him. He glared and gasped, "Hazel!"

Hazel looked unfazed as she kept her arms lazily draped around Eric's shoulders. She was wearing the Mega Mutants sweatshirt that she had bought last weekend to match Ravi's when they had gone to the game's convention together.

"Not only are you cheating on me," Ravi huffed angrily, "But you're wearing our matching sweatshirt! Lizardo would be ashamed."

"What's the geek talking about?" Eric asked Hazel as he gave Ravi a disgusted look.

"He's talking about how he's dating her, you slimeball," Lou said in irritation. She debated dragging him out of the car to hogtie him for being such an idiot.

"Oh yeah," Hazel mused as she toyed with one of her signature platinum pigtails, "I keep forgetting that we're dating."

"Lovely," Ravi responded sarcastically as he crossed his arms and paced the space between the vehicles. "I'm so disappointed in you, Hazel!"

"Me too!" Lou added. She flailed her arms as she widened her eyes at Hazel. "I thought we were frenemies?"

Hazel let go of Eric and gripped the window frame on the driver's side to poke her head out of the window slightly. She gave Lou a genuinely hurt expression as she said, "We are! You know I love to hate you and I hate to love you!"

Ravi stopped pacing to stand beside Lou and give Hazel an incredulous look. He said, "Then why are you making out with her boyfriend?"

"He's pretty, Ravi," Hazel pouted.

"Right," Eric grinned as he leaned over to check himself out in the driver's side mirror.

"And that's all he is," Hazel added as she propped her elbow on the steering wheel.

"Hey!" Eric protested.

Hazel shushed him and continued, "Which is why he's perfect to waste time with. There's no chance I'd ever be this idiot's friend," she snorted as she pointed her thumb at Eric. "He's the worst. But I like you, Ravi, as a person. You're like my best friend now."

"Are you kidding me! Your best friend that you forgot you were dating and cheated on?" Lou scoffed. She put a sympathetic hand on Ravi's shoulder and leaned closer to ask him gently, "Are you okay?"

His glare that had been directed at Hazel had lost its intensity. Part of him was still extremely angry, but another part of him was shocked that she had admitted to enjoying their time together to the point she considered him a friend. He had thought she was just boredly going along with dating him.

"I am so glad that I didn't ask you to be my girlfriend," Ravi huffed as he shook his head at Hazel.

She frowned and her eyes softened as she gazed at him. "Bless your geeky little heart. You're a great guy. But Ravi, you know that you and I could never be. My heart will always belong to another…"

Eric raised his eyebrows at her and asked, "Me?" He let out a breath and stammered, "Wow. I don't know what to say. I…"

"Xander!" Hazel cheered as she clasped her hands beneath her chin and sighed dreamily up at the grey sky. A raindrop rolled down the side of the car and splashed her shoulder as she remained partially out the driver's side window.

"Meh," Eric shrugged. He winked at Lou and said, "You look cute today, babe."

Lou let go of Ravi's shoulder and shook her fist at Eric. She threatened, "I will knock those teeth right out of your dreamy face."

Worried that she might do it, Ravi held his arm in front of her and said in a calm tone, "He's not worth it, Lou."

Lou grumbled but didn't move forward. She said through her teeth, "We are so over, Eric."

Eric gave her a blank look as he asked, "Wait, what? I thought you broke up with me on Wednesday."

Lou rolled her eyes, "No, I warned you that we were going to break up if you didn't change. Obviously, you're still a jerk."

"See," Hazel said nonchalantly, "looks like this was all just a simple misunderstanding." She slapped the window frame and leaned back into the car. "Welp, see you losers Monday. You can go back to whatever you were doing in the back of Lou's truck."

Anger flamed in Eric's eyes as he glared at Ravi. His nostrils flared as he shouted, "What! You're cheating on me with that pipsqueak!"

Fear gripped Ravi and flashbacks of Eric shoving him in the lockers during freshman year flashed in his mind. He had a feeling there would be a lot more of Eric's wrath in the hallways in his future. He was too afraid to speak as a chilly wind blew by.

"Hey!" Hazel swatted Eric roughly on the shoulder. "Don't talk to my friend like that!" She grabbed him by the collar and growled, "From now on, if you mess with him then you're going to have to deal with me."

Ravi had always known that Hazel was a little on the insane side. But he couldn't believe she was cheating on him, praising him, and sticking up for him all within the same half hour. He would have laughed if it wasn't all so completely nuts.

"You're the cheater, Eric," Lou sneered. Fresh raindrops began to lightly scatter the parking lot. "And for the record, Ravi and I were just hanging out. He's actually a good person and a good boyfriend that would never cheat, unlike you, slimeball."

Ravi couldn't help but look over and smile at Lou. He whispered, "Thanks."

She heard him and gazed back at him as the rain fell with more urgency. Her truck continued to rumble in the background.

Hazel interrupted their peaceful silence by saying, "Whatever. He's wearing your hoodie."

Before either of them could argue back, Hazel rolled up the window and returned to kissing Eric. Lou shook her head and motioned toward the truck. Ravi followed her into the vehicle and just as he shut the passenger's side door the rain poured.

"That was…" Ravi started.

"You know, I don't even want to talk about it," Lou said honestly. She closed her eyes and sighed as she slouched in the driver's seat. "Why did I ever waste my time with that idiot?"

Ravi wanted to think of the perfect response to make her feel better, but he had barely processed what had just happened. All he wanted to do was go home and fall asleep.

"Text your brother not to worry about heading out. I'll take you home," Lou finally said as she straightened her posture and clicked on her seatbelt.

Ravi nodded and put on his own seatbelt. The drive to his house was quiet except for the directions that he gave to his house as they both pondered the long day they had just had.