Summer Camp~ FINISHED!

Chapter 1:
As I heard the laughter coming from outside my cabin, I got out of bed. I had left the window open for this reason, so we could catch the boys before they pranked our cabin, and all of us inside. Instantly the other girls were awake; Gretchen gave me an excited grin and a nod. It was time to get this prank moving. Becca had her video camera ready, to catch the boys on tape. They were quietly talking outside her window, saying how they should go to the front door and they split up. Gretchen and I, dressed in the uniforms we had put together that looked exactly like our counselors', climbed out the other window, armed with flashlights and a bullhorn. Becca climbed out after us with the camera, and closed the window part way behind us. I saw one of the guys disappearing around the back corner of the cabin and moved to follow him; I was almost sure it was Jason. As they walked towards one of the windows, we saw Jason, Cory, and Mike crowded around the window, about two or three yards from where we were hiding in the shadows. I turned on the bullhorn, pointed my flashlight at them and said,
"And what do we have here?" We could see them visibly stiffen, and one at a time they turned towards us.
Cory stuttered out, "H-hi. We w-were just vis-visiting the girls. We'll... we'll just go back to our cabin now. haha... sorry to bother you," as they all tried to inch away.
"Hold on a minute. You boys have got some explaining to do. You do know that we could send you home for this, right? Sneaking out, after curfew, to one of the girls' cabins. Serious offenses there... very serious," Gretchen said, shaking her head in mock disappointment. The boys were too scared to catch the sarcasm; their faces were all frozen in shocked and scared expressions. I didn't know how much longer we could keep this up; Gretchen looked like she was about to break down and start laughing, and I'm sure I did too. As I was deciding whether or not to keep going, Jason stepped forward.
"Ma'am we are truely sorry. You see, we were trying to get into the girls' cabin so that we could... get their answers for the scavenger hunt we had this afternoon. We thought we could impress you and have all the correct answers when you asked about them tomorrow. Since we know how smart women are, you two being prime examples, we thought maybe we could trade answers with them or bribe them into giving us the answers. We wanted to trade this afternoon, but we didn't get the chance. We weren't going to actually go into the cabin; we were just going to knock on the window and talk to them our here." Gretchen finally broke down and started luching, I laughed as she did, and Becca came out of the trees, still recording, and said,
"Haha... that was a pretty lame excuse Jason. You might want to come up with something a little bit more believable in case you ever get caught by REAL counselors!" As it dawned on them, the boys slowly got a shocked, then almost mad, then mischievous look on their faces.
"You tricked us," exclaimed Jordan, as we headed around the cabin. "I thought you guys had been caught!" Cory nodded and said,
"We were supposed to get you, it was gonna be good too! I guess we'll have to be more careful next time. Ordinary girls; this would've been easy as pie. But I guess you three aren't quite normal, are you?" He caught my eye and smiled. I noticed Mike was looking at Gretchen and I inwardly smiled.
"Nope, we're nothing like normal girls, trust me," I answered, and I gave him a smile before closing the cabin door. Becca and Gretchen were sitting on the bed, laughing at the tape, and as I watched them laugh histerically, I decided that this was going to be a good summer.


Chapter 2:
"Alright, here's what we're going to do. Obviously, Abby, you're going last. I'll go first, then you can go Mike, then you Jordan. We've gott make this good. Amber, we'll get you a lead, but their strongest guy is... haha strong,"- said Cory, but I interrupted, saying,
"He thinks he's tough. And he might be... when he's dry. But when he's wet, it just weighs him down. I've got this one covered."
"Well, I'm glad you're confident... but some of us aren't as good of swimmers as you. Frankly, I don't think I've ever swam in a relay like this. It's pretty intense... and the lake looks really long from this angle," said Jordan as he looked across at the other team. It was the final race of the day, and the two best teams were going head to head. And the other team liked to play dirty... they had been warned by many of the other teams to just steer clear of them and race, because those guys were all dangerous. They had decided to swim one length of the lake each, and I was afraid of what that big guy could do when he hit the water. Maybe I could out swim him... but what if he got to me before I could start swimming? But the fact that I could outswim him made me feel better.
"Okay, first swimmer out on the dock," said the camp leader, John, and Cory gave me a quick wink and a smile as he stepped out onto the dock next to the guy from the other team. Mike and I made our way down to the other end of the lake, all the while screaming at Cory and cheering him on. He finished about two body lengths in front of the guy he was swimming against, and I felt confident. Until I saw the guy Mike was swimming against... he was a BEAST! He didn't swim too well, but he was pounding the crap out of the water, sending waves every which way, and Mike was being tossed around on those waves like a rag doll. I helped Cory out of the water and watched as the other guy slowly caught up to Mike. Jordan dove in right before the other team's swimmer, and got about half a body length behind the guy he was swimming, so I was nervous. The other team members turned to look at me and laughed. I was in a hot pink Nike bicini, and I probably looked like a harmless little girl who was just trying to look cute.
"You're making her swim against him," one of them asked, pointing at me and then to the guy who was about to go against me. As they all turned away, I decided to try and get them to pity me.
"Okay look, could you please go easy on me? I've never swam more than a pool width and I'm really scared," I asked, in the cutest voice I could muster. I pouted out my lower lip and gave the guy puppy dog eyes, and he laughed.
"Yeah, I'll just stay right in front of you. Tell me if you need help, and I'll get you to shore." I smiled and said,
"Thank you so much!" As we both lined up, I tried to look scared, but inside I was feeling pretty smug. As he dove off, and swam his first few strokes right before I dove off, Cory gave me a smirk and a wink. I dove off and caught up to him right away. I tried to give him a little space, but figured I could get by him pretty fast. Well, I didn't give him enough space, because he caught me. He must've seen me coming up behind him so fast, because when I got next to him, with only about two or three yards between us, he grabbed for my foot and yanked me under, trying to get over me and finish. I almost paniced, but decided against it, since I was in the middle of a lake. When I came up, he was in front of me again, and Cory was screaming at him to get off me, that was cheap, taking advantage of a girl liek that. I waved at him so he would stop, and started after the guy. As I was trying to decide how to around him, about half way through the race, he looked at me, and I saw, underneath all the cockiness, a little fear. He was afraid of being this far out in a lake, and he was trying to hide it. As I started getting closer to him, I kept my head out of the water long enough to say,
"Look, we're both scared of being out here, so why don't we not play dirty and just finish the race? Please?" He looked at me for a second, and I thought he was going to agree, but he laughed. He lunged at me again, and I decided it was time to start the out-swimming-him part. I put my head down and started pulling away from  him, but not as fast as I would've liked. He was faster than I thought. But we were both tired, and he couldn't quite keep up. I lifted my head and my heart leaped for joy. I was only about ten yards from the dock, and all of my team was crowded around the dock, along with most of the camp, cheering for us. They all wanted us to win, not the other team. When I looked back, I regreted it. The guy had his head out of the water, and was barreling toward me, all the fear in his eyes gone, or masked by pure energy and rage. He really wanted to win... well, so did I. I lunged for the dock and missed, and I had to grab for it again. I was still too far away to get a good hold on anything, so when I felt his hand on my leg, I knew I was going under. But I had touched the dock; we had won. As I turned to face him, I saw teh rage in his eyes, and I got scared. He pushed me under and kicked me, hard, right in the stomach. I doubled over, not even sure which way was up, and waited for him to let me go, so that I would float back to the top and air... But he wasn't letting me go! I thought I heard a muffled yell, and a splash, and then there was someone on the other side of me, trying to get me up on the dock and out of the water. I was pulled and lifted up on the dock by three or four people, and I lay there gasping for breath and doubled over for a minute. While I was laying there, I opened my eyes and I saw Cory getting out of the water with a bloody nose... uh oh. I couldn't see the guy I had swam against, so I assumed he was still in teh water, but I could hear him.
"She cheated! I saw her dive off early when her teammate touched! I saw it!" He kept saying, and my stomach did a flip flop, I looked up at John, and he glanced at me and rolled his eyes. He knew the guy was lying; I breathed a sigh of relief. I stated to sit up and all of a sudden the lifeguard (where did he come from?) put a hand on my shoulder and told me not to move until he was done with Cory's nose.
"It's not broken, is it? Don't feel broken," said Cory, as he winced when the lifeguard put preassure on his nose.
"No, its not broken. He didn't have enough leverage to do any damage; the water was in teh way. Just tilt your head forward for a minute and pinch your nose," said the lifeguard, turning to me.
"Did you swallow any water? Did he hurt you anywhere?" I replied,
"He kicked me right in the stomach, but I don't-" He interrupted, saying,
"Lay back, let me feel your ribs. Like I said, he didn't have enough leverage to break anything, but we've got to check just to be safe." I looked over and saw the other team screaming at each other, and one of them (probably the one I swam against) was being yelled at for almost seriously hurting a girl, or something like that. They were too far away; I couldn't hear everything they were saying, just snatches of a conversation. I laughed at them, and winced as pain shot through my stomach. That was going to be a very nasty bruise, that's for sure.

Chapter 3:
The sun was shining and through the trees and birds could be heard, making everything seem dreamy and absolutely beautiful.
"I'll race you to the creek!" Gretchen broke the silence, challenging us all to a race. She was at the head of the line, so she got a head start. How was I gonna beat her? The short cut- I looked behind me and when Cory was looking away, I slipped off the trail, taking care not to do too much other than lead Bunny where I wanted her to go. She was a born and raised 'off-road' kind of horse, and knew this forest like I knew my house. As I turned off onto the short cut, I saw Cory looking my way, but I wasn't sure if he saw me. Then he turned off after me, and I knew he had. Oh well, a little competition never hurt anyone. Cory's horse, Spitfire might've been fast, but only when he had large openings to run in. He was a big horse and I knew he wouldn't be able to keep up with Bunny and I on the small trail. As I raced through the tree branches, I kept watching for the trail. The short cut I was taking got close to the trail at one point and I wanted Gretchen to think she had a good lead on everybody. As we came up to the spot, I got low in the saddle and tried to make the least amount of noise possible. But it didn't matter how much noise I did or didn't make, because I couldn't see Gretchen on the trail, or anyone else for that matter. I urged Bunny along, and checked to make sure Cory hadn't caught up. As I came out near the cree, I didn't see anyone, so I dismounted and sat down, letting Bunny drink and making it seem like I had been there for a while. Gretchen came rushing out of the main trail, smiling, and when she saw me she laughed and said,
"I knew it! I knew you would find a way to get here before everybody else... where's Cory? I know you two were together." I looked mockingly shocked and said,
"Why do you think we were together?" Gretchen gave me an 'oh-please' look and said,
"You two have been pretty much inseperable lately. I know he's coming right behind you. I just laughed, and Cory came riding towards us from the short cut.
"I knew you took it! I thought I saw a red flash through the trees and then I remember the short cut," he said, as he smiled at me. "Where's everybody else?"
"I know they were coming... they were right behind me," said Gretchen. Just then, Mike came out of the trail, with Jordan and Becca right behind him. Jason and Andrew were there a few minutes later, and all of them wanted to know how we had gotten there before them, since Cory and I had brought up the rear of the line. We just looked at eachother and laughed.
"It's a secret," I said, smiling.
"Well, this guessing game is fun and all, but you guys aren't going to guess and I'm getting hungry," said Cory. Of course we all agreed, so we remounted and went back to get dinner at the cafeteria. The sun wasn't shining, and the clouds were beginning to look ominous when we got to the barn. We hurriedly got our horses' tack all put away and the horses in their stalls. All the horses in the barn were restless, and I knew it was going to storm. If we could just get to the cafeteria before it started, we could just wait out the storm there and finish our food. We could probably even get to our cabin, since it was pretty close to the cafeteria. But we weren't that lucky. About halfway to the cafeteria and about a half mile away from the barn, it started downpouring. There were a few little sheds and shacks along the side of the road and we all scrambled to get in them. Cory and I ended up in the tiniest shed together, and I didn't really know where everyone else was.
"You know, I think this is the first time we've been alone together since I met you," he said, his voice surprisingly close to me. I reached out and grabbed his arm, so I knew where he was and said,
"Yeah, I guess it is." I had been trying to sound a little mysterious, but it only came out weak. I could feel him moving closer and he put his arms around my waist.
"Maybe we should take advantage of it," he said, and I almost jumped. His voice was right next to my ear. As my eyes adjusted, I could see the faint outline of his head and shoulders, and as he leaned towards me, I tilted my head. He kissed me lightly at first to see how I would react, so I put my arms over his shoulders and kissed him back. I couldn't believe it; I was making out with Cory, in a shed, during a thunderstorm... and loving every moment of it. The moments turned to minutes, and way too soon the rain stopped pounding at the roof and I thought I heard voices. Cory opened the door, taking my hand and stepping out. It was still raining, but we made it to the caeferia, got burgers and then just went to our cabin. We decided to go get changed, and let the boys try to start a fire in the living room. As we walked around the corner toward our room, I turned to Gretchen and Becca and said,
"I have something to tell you guys!" I could barely contain my excitement as I pulled them down the hallway and into our room, and as soon as the door was closed, I blurted out,
"Cory and I kissed in the shed, while we were waiting for the storm to calm down!" Becca squealed and Gretchen's eyes got really wide as she smiled at me.
"I knew he was going to! And I could tell something happened by the look on both of your faces when you came out. And you held hands the whole way to the cafeteria!"
"Was it really that obvious? I was trying pretty hard to keep calm and hide it," I said, laughing. Becca nodded and said,"Even I knew something was up and I just met you! Yes, it was obvious. Not blatantly obvious; I don't think any of the guys picked up on it, but to us girls..." We finished changing and headed back out to the living room where there was a small fire going.
"it's getting there... it'll be warmer soon," said Jordan, before I could make a smart remark.
"Okay, I'll leave that to you Jordan," I said, with a smirk on my face,"You seem like an expert."
"Well, I AM a boyscout," he said, witha mockingly hurt expression on his face. I laughed and sat down next to Cory.
"Woah! You're freezing! I don't have any shorts you guys can wear, but I've got some tshirts that'll probably fit you. Let me go get a few... and I'll grab you guys some sweatshirts," I said, getting back up to go get the clothes. Gretchen came with me, to help. We handed out tshirts and sweatshrits, and then we sat down to eat. We had gotten big burgers and the guys ended up splitting the rest of mine, Gretchen's and Becca's, because we didn't finish them. Then we all sat around the fire and talked, each of us telling a story or a fact about ourselves. When Emily walked in, I could feel Cory pull away a little and I could see all the guys start to fidget. Emily smiled and said,
"You guys can spend the night, as long as nothing happens. I can trust you girls, right?" We all nodded, and the guys all nodded and I could hear Cory let out his breath once she went to her room. I laughed and said,
"You thought she was gonna kick you guys out, didn't you? Emily's much cooler then that." I waved at her as she poked her head around the corner and giggled. We went back to talkinng, and soon people started dropping off to sleep. When I looked around, everybody was asleep except Cory and I. Gretchen had her head on Mike's shoulder, and he had his head laying on hers, and his arm around her. They were so cute together. When I looked up at Cory, I saw that he was staring at the fire with a far off look in his eyes. I asked him if anything was wrong and he answered,
"Exactly the opposite. I was just wondering if this day could get any better. It's been perfect so far." I smiled and snuggled closer to his chest, laying my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled the blanket over both of us. I sighed and said,
"Don't worry, tomorrow will be better." He laughed, and I fell asleep to the steady rhythm of his breathing.

Chapter 4:
"Wake up! Wake up! We're gonna be so late!" Gretchen was yelling and it was way too early. I hated when she did this...
"What time is it?," I asked, rolling over and rubbing my eyes. Cory yawned in my face, and his breath stunk! I made a face and he laughed.
"It's eight thirty already! We've got fifteen minutes to get down to the mess hall! I forgot there's a camp meeting after breakfast," she said. I sighed and got up.
"Relax Gretchen, it won't matter if we're two minutes late. We might as well go as is, and come back after, since today is our day off anyways." The guys all got up, after much grunting and groaning and somehow we got to the meeting before it started at nine, much to Gretchen's relief. It wasn't anything important, just a 'friendly' reminder of the rules and a quick role call to make sure no one had left. After the meeting, the cafeteria opened back up and we all got something to eat.
"I can't believe we've been here for two weeks already. We're already three thirds of the way through, and we've only done like half the stuff on campus," said Andrew, as we left the cafeteria to head back to our cabins. Jordan nodded and said,
"I know what you mean. But at the same time, I feel like I've known you guys forever." Cory laughed,
"Yeah, like we're a family... but right now, lets just think about today. And before anything else, I need a shower. We'll go back to our cabin, and then come over to your once we're done showering. Since I'm sure we'll be quicker than the three of you." So we split up to take showers and get ready. As the three of us walked back, I felt kind of alone. It was just the three of us, not all nine like it had been the past days, and it felt weird. I glanced at Gretchen and Becca, and I knew they were thinking the same thing. I took a shower first, grabbing a pair of shorts and a tshirt and going into the other bathroom to finish getting ready. I heard the door slam and loud voices, and I knew the guys were in the other room. I laughed and peeked around the corner. They were all sprawled out on the furniture and when I saw Cory... I pulled my head back into the bathroom. In his gym shorts and a tshirt, with a baseball hat on and sneakers, he looked much cuter than I could ever hope to look in a tshirt and shorts. I looked at myself in the mirror and laughed... oh well, why not? He had seen me like this for the past two weeks, today was no different. Tonight, though, I was going to blow him away. The dance that was always held for the campers was tonight, down at the local club, and it was going to be awesome. i smiled to myself, and went to talk to the guys.
"What do you guys want to do for a couple hours? We've got, like, three or four hours to kill before we shoould start getting ready for the party... any preferences?," I asked, as I sat down next to Cory on the smaller sofa. They all just kinda shrugger and I heard a few 'I don't really cares' so I shrugged and said,"I brought my DVDs and it looks like there's a DVD player hooked up. We could watch a few movies. Is that good?" They were all fine with it, so I gave them my book of DVDs to look at and I went to the bathroom to talk to Gretchen and Becca while they chose.
"Is it cool if we just watch a few movies today? I know we just kinda bummed out last night, but we only have three or four hours until the party tonight," I asked, looking from Gretchen to Becca.
"Yeah, that sounds like fun. Whose choosing?," asked Becca. I said,
"I'm letting the boys pick the first one, we'll choose the second." Becca rolled her eyes and ran into the other room, saying she had to make sure they didn't choose something stupid. Gretchen and I came out a few minutes later, after she had finished getting ready, and the guys were all waiting, and Becca was in the arm chair.
"What are we watching?," I asked as I sat down next to Cory. He smiled and said,
"Transformers. That good?" I said,"Oh yeah! I love that movie!" He laughedand started the movie. I snuggled down on the couch and layed my head on his shoulder, so he put his arm around me.
"Hey, don't get too comfortable down there!," said Andrew, getting snickers all around. I laughed and Cory said,
"Oh don't worry, we will." The movie was, obviously, good and when it was over, Cory got up to go get drinks for us.
"I think we should watch... Step Up!," I said, and Becca gasped and said,
"Yeah! Yeah! That's, like, my favorite movie EVER!" I smiled and Gretchen said,
"I've never seen it... what's it about?" I gave her a quick summary, and she agreed that it sounded good. When Cory came back, he asked what we were watching, and I told him Step Up with a huge smile on my face. He rolled his eyes and said,
"Should I go get the tissue box?," with a smirk on his face. I stuck my tongue out at him and said,
"No, I'll just use your shirt!" We started the movie and I could tell all the guys were bored. But they hadn't objected when I had offered, so too bad. I did use Cory's shirt, but only twice, and both times he laughed at me. When the movie was over, it was almost 5 so I told the boys to go home so we could get ready. We decided to meet at around six fifteen by the buses. I gave him a kiss on the cheek as he left and got up to go get my dress. Gretchen and Becca followed me, after saying goodbye to the boys. I grabbed my dress and held it up to me in front of the mirror. It was a cocktail style dress with lots of ruffles at the bottom and a tight midrift. There weren't any straps, but a glittery mesh material went around my neck, connecting to the dress at the bottom of my bust. It was a light turquoise color, and I loved it. It had been my homecoming dress from two years ago, when Gretchen hadn't come to homecoming, so no one there had ever seen me in it. As I let Becca put some make up on me, I turned my back to the mirror. She took a long time, and when I got up and turned around, it shocked me. All my acne was gone, and I looked older and a little more sophisticated then I normally did. It was Gretchen's turn, and I was surprised she was letting Becca put her make up on. I left the bathroom to get my dress on and fix my hair. I pulled my dress on carefully, taking care not to rub it against my face too much. Then I grabbed the mousse, hairspray and gel, and went into the other bathroom so I had the mirror to myself. I pulled my hair back, but decided that I was going to leave it down. I pulled just the top part back, making sure to leave my shorter layers down to frame my face. I stuck a bunch of bobbypins in and made sure it was secure. I threw some glitter over my head, to add some sparkle to my hair and shoulders, and pinched a little onto my face. I shook my head a few times, to dislodge any loose glitter and to make sure my hair was tight enough, and I put on my silver dangles and my silver pendent, with my bracelet to match. When I went back to the other bathroom, Becca was putting the last bit of make up on her own face, and Gretchen was getting her dress on. They both looked beautiful, Gretchen with light pink eye shadow and lipgloss, and Becca with dark blue eye shadow and mascara, with dark red lipstick. Gretchen was wearing her red spaghetti strap dress and Becca was wearing a yellow-goldish dress that reminded me of Belle's dress, from Beauty and the Beast, only it was just a little short and strapless. Once Gretchen and Becca were ready, we al got our shoes on and grabbed our purses as we headed over to the buses. It was only six, but we wanted to get there before the boys and surprise them with our appearances. Gretchen had curled her hair and put a clip by her ear so that it was pulled off her face, and Becca had put hers up, in a curl up-do that looked adorable on her. As we waited for teh guys, I looked around at the other little groups of people, with all the sparkles and shiny shoes, I knew this was going to be a really fun night. Of course, I would say the three of us looked the best dressed, but that's just my opinion. It was a cooler night, and I knew the deck was going to be really crowded, all of them under eighteen, since it was an eighteen and under party. As I was looking around, Cory came up behind me and almost lifted me off the ground, half spinning me so I was facing him.
"Wow. You look beautiful," he said, with a smile on his face. He had on a black button up shirt with a pink pinstripped white tie and a hat that was black with a white and pink design, and he looked so handsome. I laughed and said,
"You look quite handsome if I may say so myself." I sniffed his chest.
"You smell really good too!" He laughed and twirled me around a few times. We all got on the bus, which was just a school bus to take us to the club, since so many people go each year. We drove for about ten minutes, and the entire time everyone was chatting and laughing about this and that. We got there at around six thirty and since the doors didn't open until seven, we went down the street and bought ice cream cones. As we sat on the bench eating our ice cream in cocktail dresses and ties, we got some odd looks. It was entertaining to see people glance at us and then do a double take. Once the line started moving into the club, we got up and got in line. The sun hadn't gone down yet, and it was still warm out, even though it was seven in the evening. Once we got past the guards, it only got hotter. The dance floor was packed with glittering dresses and flashing jewelry. Everyone from camp was there, and then some... but it was an eighteen and under party, so no alcoholic drinks could be found, and there weren't too many drunks being loud or obnoxious. So the music was almost loud enough to hear, or maybe it was too loud to understand, who knows. As we hung our coats and put our shoes in a locker, my stomach did a flip flop. What was going to happen tonight? I had only been to a club a few times and never with a guy who I knew. I looked over at becca and she gave me a wink and a smile. We migrated out onto the dance floor slowly, because of all the people, and, of course, right away we paired off. Cory and I danced together, Gretchen stood near us, with Mike right next to her, Becca danced with Jordan and the rest of the guys just kinda hungout around us, looking for girls in the crowd. A few times I thought I saw Mike holding Gretchen's hand, but I couldn't really tell... and I wasn't really paying attention, I'll admit. Cory was a really good dancer, and he kept me at ease. He kept pointing out funny things around us, like how some guy was trying to get girls to dance with him by just grabbing them from behind, and the drunk couple over on the other side of the dance floor who were yelling at eachother. And when the slower songs would come on, he would spin me around and I would lay my head on his shoulder. He was very charming the whole night, and he didn't get carried away with his hands or try to make out with me... it was like he knew I wanted to take it slow. At twelve thirty we decided to go back to the bus, since it was leaving for the camp grounds. We went back to our cabin to change, and then we decided to go over to the guys cabin. Their counselor was really cool and said he trusted them enough to let us stay, so we pulled an all-nighter in the boys' cabin. They had all kinds of food, and I learned that I wasn't very good at poker. Then one of the guys decided that it was PS2 time, and they started playing Need For Speed. I was actually pretty good at it, and I beat all of them except Cory, since it was his game. It was a fun night, except for the fact that I gained ten pounds from all the junk we ate. As we headed back to our cabin early Sunday morning to change and freshen up a little, I looked around, at the  campus and all the kids. This had been our home for the last two weeks... and there was only a week left to enjoy it. Just the thought of leaving this place and the people I had met made me want to cry... especially Cory.

Chapter 5:
All too soon, it was Friday. With everything packed, the cabin looked bare and empty. It didn't feel like home anymore, and all the memories that had been made were just that; memories. As Gretchen, Becca and I walked out the door for the last time, I looked over my shoulder at our cabin, our santuary for the past three weeks. It would feel weird to sleep in my own bed, with no bunk above me or bed nex tto me filled with Gretchen and Becca. As we lugged our suitcases around the last corner of the road, I sucked in my breath. There they all were; this was it. This was the last time they would all be together for a long time... much too long. Hugs were exchanged, goodbyes were said, and bags were thrown into trunks. The nine of us decided to take a car to the airport together, and we got some lunch at the airport cafe. We shared memories and remembered funny stories. As we all got up, Cory grabbed me by my elbow and steered me away from the group, over by a window. He looked me in the eyes, and said,
"I love you. That's a fact that will never change. You've changed my life this summer, and I won't ever forget it. I only live in West Virginia, so it isn't like we won't ever see eachother again, but unless we're together twenty-four/seven, it won't be enough." He pulled me into a tight hug, and I barely choked out,
"I love you too," before the tears fell. We stood there, holding onto eachother, for minutes, but it seemed only seconds. When he kissed me, it had an edge to it, almost a sorrow, and it wasn't like any of our other kisses. It had a longing to it, like he was already missing me and I him. We walked back over to the group, and goodbyes and hugs were exchanged once again, along with the promises to see eachother soon. As Gretchen and I boarded the plane, I looked back at all the guys' smiling faces, and I saw Cory give me a wink as I got on. I sent him a text with the lyrics,
"You make me smile, please stay for a while," from Bubble and he texted back
"I love you :)" I knew I would see him again, I just wondered when.