When everyone returned to Camp Kikiwaka for another summer, Lou surprised the Woodchuck and Grizzly campers with a treehouse that she had built with Gladys' permission during autumn. She knew how much Jorge and the girls had wanted a place to hang out when the mess hall and Great Lawn were busy, so she watched a tutorial and got her dad to come out and help build the place.
All of the campers were so excited once they saw the treehouse that, to be fair, Lou started a sign-up sheet and made a schedule for everyone to take turns using it during the week. The campers had dibs during the day and counselors and CITs used it in the evenings.
After four weeks of sign-ups and schedules, Lou realized that hardly anyone booked it on Monday nights. She told Emma and Xander, and the three of them decided to start a weekly movie night. Lou suggested inviting their other friends, but Emma voted against it. She said that she needed a break from Jorge's joke book and that she didn't want to watch Zuri and Tiffany argue over who would sit beside Griff. Xander didn't care either way, but he said that Ravi should be invited regardless. So, in the end, Monday nights became movie nights for Emma, Xander, Lou and Ravi.
It was the third Monday of the movie night tradition when Xander, Lou and Ravi were setting up for the movie. Lou had brought a basket of cushy blankets and pillows. Ravi worked on the mini projector. And Xander collected all the miscellaneous items that the campers had left behind during the day.
"Look, a toy car," Xander grinned. He moved the red car through the air while he made "vroom vroom" noises.
"Why do you have a girlfriend and I don't," Ravi said flatly.
Lou chuckled as Xander shrugged good-naturedly. She announced excitedly, "I'm gonna go help Emma bring the popcorn. Do you guys need anything?"
"Nope," Xander said as he tossed the toy car into a plastic container.
Lou looked to Ravi for a response, but he was staring at one of the blankets on the floor. She snapped her fingers in front of his face to get his attention. She repeated, "Do you need anything, Ravi?"
"No! I'm good," he said in a rush. "Thank you."
"Alrighty, I'll be right back and then we can start the movie! Emma says it's so romantic," Lou said as she walked towards the ladder.
"Sounds good," Ravi said as he gave her a thumbs up and a bright smile. He waited until she climbed down the ladder and disappeared from view. "And she's...gone!"
Xander sniffed a green glob that he picked up from the ground. "Dude, what do you think this…" he started to ask.
Ravi clutched Xander's arm and cried out, "You've got to help me!"
"Whoa, what's wrong, Ravi?" Xander asked as he furrowed his brow in confusion. He scanned the floor of the treehouse. "Did you see another spider?"
"No, it's Lou," Ravi said in a shaky voice.
Xander let out a light laugh as he patted Ravi's hand that was still latched onto him. "Bro, Lou's not afraid of spiders," he said calmly.
"Forget the spiders!" Ravi said, exasperated as he let go of Xander's arm. "I need you to get me out of this. I don't think I can handle another movie night with her."
"What?" Xander asked as he watched Ravi pace in the tiny space. "Are you two in a fight or something? You should talk to her. I always like to start with a hug…"
"Hugging is part of the problem," Ravi half-shouted as he paused beside the ladder. He glanced down at the ground below to make sure no one was there. He turned back to Xander and said, "I tried to get out of movie night earlier today by saying I had a tummy ache, but Emma had to ruin everything by saying, 'Why don't you try some herbal tea? That always helps at home'."
Xander chuckled and pointed at Ravi. "Your Emma voice is funny."
"Focus, man! I spent the afternoon with a bladder full of peppermint tea and no solution to my actual problem."
Xander picked up a pillow and then sat down to see the screen. As he wedged the pillow between his back and the wall he said, "Dude, I'm still not following. Can't we talk about this after the movie?"
"You're not listening," Ravi huffed. He plopped down on a blanket across from Xander with his arms crossed. "I need you to cover for me when I make an excuse to leave. And it needs to be believable. Lou loves tradition and she'll want to know why I'm leaving. Emma won't care at all."
"Okay, I'll help you," Xander said. He held a finger in the air to keep Ravi from celebrating too soon. "But first you have to tell me what's wrong. You're my CIT, and it's my job to make sure everything's cool with you."
"I'm a counselor now and I appreciate your concern but…"
"If you don't talk, I'm not listening," Xander said sternly as he crossed his arms. "Which means this whole conversation never happened and you'll have to face Lou and fix whatever argument you're having with her."
Nearly thirty seconds went by as Ravi and Xander had a staring contest for who would cave first. Finally, Ravi's shoulders deflated and he sighed. Xander cheered and gave himself a high-five.
"It's the cuddles," Ravi mumbled as he picked at the fuzz of the blanket beneath him. Now he wouldn't make eye contact.
"The what?" Xander asked as he leaned forward slightly to better hear his friend.
Ravi exhaled and looked up. "The friendship cuddles. You know… during the movie when she gets all cozy and content… she starts resting her head on my shoulder or she'll wrap her arms around me… And she holds my hand because hers get cold so easily."
Ravi felt his face getting warmer from not only embarrassment but from the memory of Lou's snuggles.
"Oh," Xander drawled as he nodded. "Ravi, that's easy." He flicked his wrist like Ravi's issue was no big deal. "Lou will totally understand that you need your space. You know she's a hugger, but if you say you don't like it…"
"The problem is that I like it too much!" Ravi interrupted. He grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it to his chest. "And now I can't stop thinking about her!"
"Can't stop thinking 'bout who?" Lou asked as she popped up from the ladder.
"Ah!" Ravi screamed. He leapt forward into Xander's arms.
"Let go of my boyfriend, Ravi," Emma said in a bored tone after she climbed in with Lou. She handed Lou the bag of snacks and then moved over to where Xander and Ravi were. She shoved Ravi away from her boyfriend and then fluttered her eyelashes. "Miss me, dear?"
"You know it," Xander grinned. He kissed his girlfriend on the nose and then laughed as she giggled.
Ravi watched their display of affection. He hated that he felt a bit jealous that Lou was unpacking snacks and starting the movie instead of asking if he missed her. He picked up the pillow he had discarded earlier and placed it behind his back as he settled into the corner of the treehouse.
"Uh, I think Ravi has to leave," Xander said once the battery-powered lantern was turned off. There were still fairy lights in the tree, so his wink at Ravi was visible.
"Why are you winking at Ravi?" Lou asked as she sat down with the couple on one side of her and Ravi on the other.
"Um, uh," Ravi stammered. He had been caught up in explaining his issue to Xander that he had failed to think of a good excuse to leave.
"Cause he has to go do… stuff," Xander answered weakly.
Lou turned to Ravi and gave him an innocent look. "What stuff?" she asked.
"Important stuff," Xander offered.
Emma smirked and raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend. "What important stuff does Ravi have to do? These are the only plans he has all week."
Lou chuckled. Ravi would have glared at his sister if he wasn't so busy trying to come up with a better excuse. Xander gave Ravi an apologetic look before he put his arm around his girlfriend and turned to watch the movie. Emma snuggled into her boyfriend's arms after she offered him some popcorn. Her eyes focused on the screen as she munched on her snack.
Lou shuffled closer to Ravi. She whispered in a worried tone, "Is everything okay?"
Ravi felt guilty. He knew how much Lou enjoyed movie nights. And she had worked so hard on building the treehouse. He didn't feel like lying to her so he gave her a small smile and nodded. She smiled brightly in return and then shifted her gaze to the screen.
For Ravi, the first thirty minutes went by with no problem. Lou had draped a blanket over her legs and rested her head against the wall. She giggled at all the funny parts of the movie and muttered whenever something unrealistic happened. Ravi himself hadn't paid much attention to the movie. He had been too busy staring at Lou and anticipating when she would move closer.
"Are you sure you're okay, Ravi?" she whispered. "You keep staring at me."
"Sorry," Ravi apologized as his face heated.
"It's okay. But if something's wrong…"
"I'm fine. Really," he whispered in a rush.
Lou shrugged and then refocused on the movie. She grabbed a handful of popcorn and munched on the snack.
Ravi frowned. He hadn't meant to get caught staring at her. But like he had told Xander: he couldn't stop thinking about Lou. Her pretty face. The way she laughed. How she smelled like strawberries. He had been so worried leading up to movie night that he would have to deal with her being so close that he hadn't thought about what it'd be like to have her not be close. He pouted as he wondered what made her stay out of his personal space today. If he had known that he had nothing to worry about, he could have enjoyed the movie. He liked romance movies.
"Hey, um, aren't you cold?" He winced once the words left his mouth.
"Not really," Lou replied in a whisper. She hugged her blanket closer. "Brought my warm blanket tonight."
"Oh...right." Ravi nodded. He watched her go back to watching the movie. His heart sank. He didn't want that stupid blanket keeping her warm. He wanted to keep her warm.
"Those are the shoes, Lou!" Emma exclaimed as she shifted in Xander's arms and pointed at the movie. "That the blonde girl has on! My friend in New York did wardrobe for this movie and I told her she had to get someone to wear those shoes. Aren't they cute!"
"So cute!" Lou agreed as she lifted her back from the wall. She tilted her head to the side to stretch her neck. She sighed and then leaned back against the wall.
Ravi used the toe of his sock to lightly kick the basket that Lou had used to bring the blankets. He would have never guessed that he could be mad at inanimate objects, but he was livid. Stupid blanket. Stupid wall. He glanced over at Lou and saw that she now had a pillow that she was squeezing. Stupid pillow.
Soon there was only twenty minutes left in the movie and Ravi regretted ever complaining about Lou's friendship cuddles. She had stayed away from him the entire time. And it was horrible. He missed the way that there was grass in her hair and he could feel her laughter in his chest and how he felt safe with her strong arms around him. He needed her friendship cuddles.
"Uh… Lou?" Ravi whispered. His heartbeat quickened as she looked over at him. His voice was shaky as he said, "I'm a bit cold. Would you mind sharing your blanket?"
Lou glanced around the treehouse. She had brought plenty of cozy blankets, so she wondered why he didn't pick up one of those. She shrugged and made her way over to his corner. She wrapped the blanket around them both and linked her arm with his. She interlocked their fingers.
"My hands are cold," she whispered. She gave him a smile and asked, "Better?"
He could feel the warmth of her shoulder. He could smell the popcorn butter on her breath. He could see the reflection of the fairy lights in her eyes. He decided that he didn't care if she was all that he could think about. He liked thinking about her.
"Much better," he replied.
She smiled and then went back to watching the movie. He promised himself he'd never waste another Monday night of friendship cuddles again.
Inspired by the moonlit_sunflower_writes Tumblr post: friends to lovers never had a bad track. "scared i'll ruin what we have" SLAPS. "friendship cuddles while secretly dying inside" BANGER. "teasing each other and holding eye contact for a little too long" KILLS ME. and don't even get me STARTED on "screaming i love you in the middle of a heated argument."