A/N: Whoa so new names, I'm kind of nervous now lol. Hope I do this story justice! Thanks for the reviews/alerts/favorites/reading!
"Welcome to Big Bear Lake, children!" Sikowitz fan fared the campgrounds in front of them.
"Big Bear? I thought they only do skiing here?" Andre wondered.
"Is there a BEAR here?! Oooh I should have brought Mr. Longneck, he loves bears!"
"I think the bears around here would swallow Mr. Longneck whole, Cat. They're not like teddy's that you see at the stores," Jade told the naïve girl.
"Why would they eat Mr. Longneck? He never did anything to them?!" she started to chew on her hair.
"Because bears are hideous and angry creatures," the Goth girl spited.
"Like Jade," Tori joked.
Andre and Beck stifled laughs until Jade glared at them.
"Tori!" Andre faked being appalled.
"Don't be scared, Cat. They just named the place Big Bear, but there are no bears here." Beck told her.
"Then why would they call it Big Bear?" she furrowed her brow.
"Because a long time ago, Grizzlies lived here, and when the Indians discovered it, they named the place after them," Robbie smiled.
"That makes sense," Cat smiled back.
"Anyways," Sikowitz gestured with his hands, "This is a small campground, but it doesn't really matter, there are about 200 incoming freshmen, but only 120 signed up to be here this summer. Now, the rangers at the camp will be chaperones for the boys' cabin and girls' cabins while the staff have their own cabins. Girls, you take the east cabins, boys, follow me to the west, and we'll meet in about an hour back here. To our cabins!"
The boys reach their cabin on the west end of the campsite, closest to the lake. Sinjin was put in another cabin with Burf, his unusual vegetable-loving sidekick, and Sikowitz while Robbie, Beck and Andre were in the current one.
"Ok, so there's one bunk and one single," Andre noted.
"And I'm guessing none of us want the top bunk, right?" Beck assumed.
Robbie and Andre nodded.
"So, how are we going to choose who gets the top bunk?" Robbie asked.
"Well it has to be fair how we decide so once we know the person who gets the top, the other two go for the single," Beck explained.
"Sounds good. So how do we decide?" the nerd asked.
"Not it!"
"Not it!"
"No it! Awww I never win at these games!"
"You get the top bunk, Rob," Beck pointed to the least favorable bed.
Robbie tossed his bags on his mattress and sat on the steps.
"So then, how are you guys going to decide who get's the single? Want me to count down to be fair?" Robbie suggested.
"Andre you want the single?"
"Sure, thanks man."
"What?! That simple?" Robbie was dumbfounded.
"Yup," Beck said unpacking his clothes on the bottom bunk. Andre was doing the same at the single bed across from them.
"Robbie, close your mouth before bugs get in them. We're at a camp," Andre laughed at the nerd's shocked expression.
The girls' cabins were on the east end of the camp, closest to the kitchen and main office (where the ranger's station was located). Tori, Cat and Jade were placed in the same cabin, of course, and when they opened the doors, they were faced with the same sleeping situation as the boys.
"I call the single bed," the Goth girl slammed her bags on the separate mattress.
"What? Jade you can't just call it, we need to be fair!"
"Ooh can I get the top bunk?!" Cat climbed up the steps and settled in.
"Guess you get the bottom," Jade told her.
"Ugh..." Tori grunted.
"What? Did I already ruin your little camping trip?" Jade babied Tori.
"No, I'm not going to let something as small as sleeping arrangements get me all flustered during the camping trip. I'm a mature adult here and I surely can handle your aggressive nature," Tori maturely spoke as she unpacked her clothes.
"Ugh, Vega half the words that come out of your mouth are so annoying," Jade complained.
"You're one to talk," she stabbed back.
"God, if you're so into getting the single, then take it," Jade crossed her arms.
"I'm not saying I wanted the single," Tori defended.
"Then what? You want the top bunk?"
"No, the bottom is fine."
Then why are you complaining?"
"I'm not complaining, I'm just saying that we need to compromise sometimes."
"But you're fine with the bottom bunk, what's there to complain about?"
"Ugghhhh stop fighting please!" Cat whined from the top bunk.
The two girls looked at the petite red head, on the verge of crying, forgetting she couldn't deal with screaming that well. "Can we try to be nice to each other this month, please?" she gave them puppy dog eyes.
"Fine," Tori said.
"Fine," Jade emphasized more.
The two girls glared at each other before exchanging fake smiles and continuing to unpack.
Sikowitz knocked on their door about a half hour later.
"Hi Sikowitz!" Cat waved frantically from her top bunk, which was now covered every inch in pink – blankets, pillows, sheets, and night lamp shade at the rail.
"Hi Kitty-Cat. Oooh your bed is so pink! Like a tomato," he exclaimed, earning a giggle from the redhead.
"Tomatoes are red…" Jade corrected him.
"Yes, yes they are," the hippie acknowledged.
"Then why'd you compare it to pink?" Tori wondered.
"Compare what?" he asked.
"Cat's bed," Tori pointed up.
"Hiii," Cat obliviously greeted.
He looked at Cat's bed. "Oooh Cat, your bed is so pink!"
"I'll give you $2 to get to your point," Jade held the folded money up to her teacher's face.
Sikowitz gladly took it and got back to his original reason for dropping by. "Just want to let you know you ladies can explore the camp grounds and at around 5 meet in the main hall. We're going to have staff meeting during dinner," he informed them.
"Great. See you then!" Tori nodded as he walked off to the boys' cabin. "Want to explore the lake?"
"Oooh maybe there will be ducks in the water!" Cat hopped off her bed and ran to the door.
"We should find the motor boats," Jade gasped with delight. Her expression made Tori nervous as the three girls left their cabin.
It seemed like the guys had the same idea as they all found each other at the upper deck minutes later. The gang hung around the lake for several hours dipping their feet in the water, skipping rocks as a competition to see who could do it the best, and eventually found a canoe big enough for the six of them to paddle about a hundred feet from the deck and back. There were geese in the water and the gang had breadcrumbs to feed them. All was going well and they enjoyed their fun before they had to head back to the grounds for the staff meeting.
Bringing the canoe back, Jade and Tori out of nowhere started bickering about nonsense, no one understanding how they grew angry in the first place.
"Ugh, do I really have to deal with a whole month with you?" Jade complained.
"I thought camp would be great since I could get away from Trina, but I totally forgot… you're worse!" she retorted.
"Well!" Jade said appalled.
"Yes, Well!" Tori mocked her and walked away.
"Don't you walk away from me, Vega!" Jade sped up.
Tori turned around and stuck her tongue out, causing Jade to reach the edge of her patience. She took one step and started chasing the Latina.
"Aw dengit."
"We better stop them before they hurt each other."
Beck and Andre tried catching up to the two girls before someone got hurt.
Not bothering to get in the middle, Cat walked slowly towards her friends with Robbie by her side. He noticed her disturbed expression.
"What's wrong Kitty-Cat?"
"They're never going to get along," she softly muttered under her breath, still looking ahead at Andre and Beck holding Tori and Jade down. They all knew of Cat's anxiety. She once fainted in the janitor's closet from Beck and Jade's bickering. He could only imagine how much Cat could handle with Tori and Jade this summer, let alone in the next five minutes.
"Hey, don't worry about them. I'm sure Beck and Andre are reasoning with them to calm down at least during camp so we can all enjoy it," he told her.
"You're probably right," she agreed seeing Beck and Andre scold the girls, their heads sulking and shaking hands as peace offerings.
"And remember what I promised? This will be the best summer ever," he cheerily said, causing the crooks of Cat's mouth to rise, a faint smile forming.
"Oh yeah!" her bipolar mood suddenly changed.
"Tonight after the meeting I'll swing by your cabin."
"Why?"
"Surprise," he simply stated.
Cat's eye grew with amusement. One of her favorite words was "surprise" and she was more than anxious to know now.
"Yay I love surprises!" she cheered.
"Now promise you won't act like this in front of the freshmen," Beck told the girls.
"Ok."
"But if they annoy me-"
"Babe."
"Fine."
"And promise to try not to bicker in front of Cat. You know she can't handle that," Andre added.
"We'll try."
"I'll try more."
"No I'll try more."
"No I'll-"
"Tori! Jade!" Andre stopped them.
"Ok," they both sulked their heads.
"Now shake hands," Beck said.
The two looked at Beck like he said the most foreign thing in the world. Knowing they wouldn't do it, Andre took Tori's arm while Beck took Jade's and extended their arms in front of them. Tori and Jade eventually made contact and feebly shook hands.
"Not as legit, but you know. Works for us. Now let's eat!"
Inside, the staff were grabbing plates and helping themselves to a dinner buffet. The gang sat at a large table closest from the buffet. Jade and Tori did as they promised and sat amicably at the table with Robbie, Cat, Sinjin and Burf, while Andre and Beck helped themselves to seconds.
"You think they're going to last all summer this way?"
"God I hope so. I mean, I've got to deal with Jade too, man."
"Oh yeah," Andre chuckled. "good luck with that. There's going be freshmen girls swarming around here. I bet Jade would love to torture one of them in place of Tori if they attempt to hit on you or something."
"Oh God, you're right," Beck realized.
"But you and Jade don't bicker as much as you used to," his friend noticed.
"That's because we compromised a lot of things before getting back together. I mean we knew we'd get together, but after the Full Moon Jam that night, we talked it over. Jade's getting better."
"That's good, bro," Andre patted his best friend's shoulder.
"So how's the music coming along?"
"Oh man, Tori and I are going to make a duets CD this summer. It's going to be legit!"
"Really? That's great dude. It's about time you two record all the songs you performed. They're so awesome."
"Thanks. I mean, who knows what will happen senior year, let alone after our own graduations. So I want to work with Tori as much as I can. We're like the dynamic duo."
"I think about that too. The future."
"With Jade?"
"Especially with Jade," Beck answered. Andre had meant it being talking about things with Jade, while Beck took it as Jade being the subject regarding the future. There was more to Beck than he surfaced in front of everyone. The cool, calm and collected guy of the group had worries of his own. Though he wouldn't let his demons out… Not yet.
"Well, we still have time to think about the future man. Let's just have fun this summer," he said before walking back to the table with his mountaintop of food.
Beck agreed, following close behind, looking at his girlfriend and exchanging smiles. He had been doing a lot of thinking but until now had only subtly said something aloud to Andre. Hopefully, Beck thought, by the end of this summer his decisions would be more clear.
A/N: I want to explain the titles. Someone PM'd me about it. I'm going to name each chapter after a song from the show. The meaning of the song doesn't necessarily reflect the chapter. Rather just the title (for the most part).
I named Chapter 1 'Countdown' because it made sense to me... Here's a countdown to the start of this fic, and within the story, Trina and Sinjin were counting down to the end of their ceremony.
Chapter 2 - 365 Days. This one was heavily emphasized on Beck's own plot. He's basically worried about the future so every day counts for him.
I'll explain each title in an author's note at the end of each chapter. Read it or don't read it, just my randomness.
Happy Super Bowl Sunday to any football fans :)