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EJ Caswell is a lot of things. Dumb? Yes. He once tried to bribe Miss Jenn into giving him the role of Troy. That was pretty dumb. Unhinged? Definitely. Who could forget the extreme measures he took just to get Nini the lead role? His guilty conscious definitely wouldn't.
And EJ won't deny these things. He's able to admit his faults.
But if there's one thing EJ Caswell isn't, it's oblivious. He can see what Ricky Bowen is doing. He can see the way Ricky strums his guitar extra loud when Gina Porter's around. He can see the way Ricky glances at them holding hands but quickly looks away before Gina notices. He can see the way Gina laughs awkwardly when the three of them are in a room together. He's not blind.
So I guess you could add paranoid to the list of adjectives. But can you blame him? Homewrecker Bowen had already ruined one of his relationships. He couldn't let that happen again.
And his plan would have to start with making sure Ricky and Gina weren't cast opposite each other.
EJ and Val had almost the entire cast list picked after they wrapped auditions. Kourtney was Elsa and Gina was Anna - there was no doubt about it. Choosing a male lead was a little harder, but they managed to narrow it down to two choices:
Ricky and Jet.
Ricky went all out at auditions to the extent that EJ had secondhand embarrassment just watching. A Kristoff costume? Was that really necessary?
But he had a strong voice and his acting skills had improved significantly, EJ noted. Val was even in awe of his singing, and take it from EJ, she is rarely ever impressed.
Jet was the complete opposite. He was a newbie at camp too, but he made it very clear from the start that he didn't want to be there. He practically threw away his audition just with the attitude he came in with.
But he was the best singer EJ had ever heard. Comparable to Broadway even. And he knew better than anyone what it was like to lose a role over lacking "emotional connection to the material."
"Ricky's playing Kristoff," Val declared later that evening.
"What, no!" EJ rushed out. "Jet's audition was, like, ten times better. Plus Ricky's played the lead in our school's past two productions. It's someone else's turn to shine."
"This is summer camp, EJ, not East High. Jet's audition was decent, but it lacked the charm for Kristoff. This is the world's summer camp premiere of frozen. It has to be perfect."
"Yeah, I get that. But the stakes are much higher here than they were at school. He might be able to handle it, but Ricky definitely can't. Trust me. You don't even know the half of it."
"EJ, were you even paying attention to Jet's audition? He practically spoke in monotone the whole time. The only thing he has going for him in his voice. Plus..." Val leans in close, lowering her voice to a whisper. "How will it look if our leading man is on probation?"
"Are you serious?" EJ was basically whisper-shouting. "We don't know the kid's story! He might not even be in trouble with the law - all we know is that his parents sent him here because he got in trouble. It’s not right to judge him."
"Even if he wasn't in trouble, Ricky's audition was still better. Ricky's the lead."
EJ's voice raised a little higher, frustration evident in his tone. "I'm the director. I'm gonna be putting this whole thing together. I get the final say in who we pick."
"You're right," Val said, softly. "But let's just put it this way. If you don't choose Ricky Bowen, the camp's board of trustees might just hear a little story."
EJ scoffed. "Story?"
"Two words: Emily Pratt."
EJ could feel himself freeze up on the spot. "You're blackmailing me?! How do you even know about..."
"Don't ask questions. Now if you want to avoid getting kicked out of camp forever, I suggest you get that cast list posted."
"And what happens when Gina and Ricky end up having zero chemistry?" He asked. "I mean, have you even seen them talk to each other since we got here?"
"Don't worry," Val assured him. "I have a plan."
And so that's how EJ Caswell was forced into choosing his girlfriend's ex-best friend, or ex-crush, or ex-whatevertheyhadgoingon to play her love interest in the musical. Ricky would be happy, that's for sure.
Jet, on the other hand, was not.
* * *
"Welcome Campers...to Camp Shallow Lake's annual...drumroll please...NEWBIE INITIATION NIGHT!!!" Maddox exclaims, shouting even though she’s holding a microphone to her face. The majority of the campers cheer, but there's a few new faces out there just sitting with a look of confusion. It's a mix of awe and fear.
"How many of you here have seen the movie Camp Rock 2?" Val asks through a separate microphone. Almost everyone's hands shoot up. "We're gonna play a simple little game called 'Introducing Me' so that the newbies can get to know each other a little better."
"The rules are simple," Maddox begins. "EJ will lead us by playing the chords to 'Introducing Me' from Camp Rock. Everyone will partner up with one person, preferably someone they don't already know. The two of you will tell each other as much about yourselves as you can until we reach the chorus. If you know the lyrics, sing along. When the chorus ends, switch partners, and the process will repeat. The song will play on a loop until everyone has spoken to each other. Does everyone understand?"
"We're supposed to give our entire life story in less than thirty seconds? What if we accidentally, like, start trauma dumping or something?" Kourtney panics, turning to Ashlyn.
"Relax, Kourt. I'm sure they just want to know about our favorite colors, food, stuff like that."
"Quick question." Carlos shoots his hand up. "Do we have to sing about ourselves to the tune of the song? Or are we just talking?"
"Just talk," Maddox explains. "We want to learn as much as possible about you in a very short time span."
"Everyone ready?" Val asks. "Alright EJ, let's begin."
Ricky finds himself partnering up with Jet as EJ starts singing about how he's good at wasting time and how he think it's necessary for lyrics to rhyme and the various ways he's likes to eat cheese.
"Hey man, I'm Ricky. We share a bunk right?"
"Do we? I hadn't noticed."
"I figured. You told EJ you were good without talking."
No response.
"Jet." He finally speaks up.
"What?"
"Jet. My name is Jet."
"Jet, that's a cool name. Like Jetpack?"
"No, like Jet." He deadpans.
"Alright. Jet. So where are you from?"
"LA. Not too far from here."
"That must be nice, living on the beach and all. I'm from Salt Lake City."
"East High?"
"Yeah."
"Of course," he mumbles. "You're one of the High School Musical kids."
Ricky doesn't know exactly what he means by that, or why his tone is so short, so he changes the topic.
"So are you excited for this production at all?"
"No." He scoffs. "It's bad enough I got forced into coming to this dirty camp, now I have to play the worst Disney villain of all time?"
"There's nothing wrong with Hans. It's a solid role. Besides, I saw your audition earlier. You've got a great voice."
"I know." Jet sounds annoyed. "But it's no surprise they cast pretty boy as the lead instead. Especially when he's friends with the director. Congrats, I guess."
Was that what it was? EJ gave him the role because they were (somewhat) friends? Did Miss Jenn do the same thing? Did she just hand him the lead role because of his dad?
He opens his mouth, getting ready to retaliate when...
"If you wanna know, here it goes, gonna tell you there's a part of me that shows if we're close..." Val, Maddox, and EJ sing louder, gesturing for the campers to join in.
"...For your perusin', at times confusin'
Slightly amusin', introducing me!"
Ricky searches for a different partner.
On the other side of the campfire, Gina and Kourtney partner up, despite already knowing one another. It's been two hours since EJ and Val posted the cast list and they can't stop smiling.
"Can you believe this?" Kourtney shrieks. "The two of us, playing leads in Frozen?!"
"I know!" Gina grins even harder. "Frozen was, like, my favorite movie growing up. I can't wait to see how it turns out."
"Me too, me too."
When EJ starts to sing the bridge, Ashlyn makes her way over to Gina.
"I'm so proud of you, Gi!" She exclaims.
Gina pulls her into a hug. "Thank you! And I'm glad to know I have someone I can trust as my understudy."
"Of course. But um, you don't think things will be too awkward...with um...Kristoff?"
"Kristoff?"
"Ricky. I remember how hard it was for you last spring."
Gina laughs. It's not a real laugh, but she laughs. Ashlyn, always the meddler.
"I can handle myself, Ash. Besides, that's all in the past. It's a summer of firsts - a fresh start."
"Well I'm glad." She smiles. "Break a leg, Gina."
The song plays through a few times until everyone has partnered up except for Ricky and Gina. This doesn't go unnoticed by Val, but they're running out of time and need to move on.
The rest of the evening consists of making s'mores, singing songs, and the crew just goofing off. They do a few ice breakers here and there to get to know one another. Ricky tries to enjoy himself but it's weird being there without Big Red...and Jet won't stop giving him death glares.
"It is time," Maddox says. Val nods and pulls out a flashlight, illuminating her face.
"It's camp tradition to sit around this fire and tell our best scary stories. Any newbies want to give it a go?"
"I will." Ricky volunteers.
Ricky ghost story is...boring to say the least. He starts it out with "It was a dark and stormy night" and by the time it's over, everyone has already forgotten it.
"You call that a ghost story?" Jet laughs. "It's a good thing you can act."
Gina and EJ share a laugh they've been holding in. This kid's whole demeanor is really starting to piss Ricky off. Ignoring his roommates, insinuating that he didn't earn the lead fairly, and now insulting him in front of the whole camp?
"Well do you have a better idea?"
"Of course I do. Haven't you ever heard The Legend of the Woman in the Woods?"
EJ, Val, and Maddox exchange glances. Maybe they've heard it before.
"The legend of what?" Carlos asks.
"The Woman in the Woods."
When nobody says a word, Jet continues.
"Okay, this is so stupid, but..." Ricky assumes he's not giving up this too-good-for-camp facade, even when he turns on the flashlight and shines it on his face. "One time I went camping with a few friends not too far from here. In fact, if you follow the walking trail you'll get there pretty quickly. There was a camp store nearby and we stopped to get bait because we were going fishing in the morning. We made small talk with the worker, you know? Where we were from, what our plans were, etc. But when we mentioned how far deep into the woods our tents were set up, she kept insisting we move.
"She started mumbling something about 'the woman in the woods.' She wouldn't tell us any information other than that her spirit haunts the area, but she did hand us a brochure on Shallow Lake's urban legends.
"At first, we thought she was some crazy person or something. But when we got back to our tent, we started reading the story. Before Shallow Lake started theatre camp, the adults in the town nearby would get together to put on Shakespeare productions. If I remember correctly, one year the casting director was best friends with one of the girls auditioning, and she unfairly gave her the lead role in Romeo and Juliet. Her understudy was livid. So one night The Understudy lured Juliet into the woods for a "'cast bonding session.'"
Gina shifts in her seat, having been newly cast as Anna and all. Ricky just rolls his eyes. This is directed at him.
"Juliet was told to meet the cast at the cabin deep in the woods. But when she got there it was empty. Until Ms. Understudy jumped out of nowhere and brutally murdered her.
"The Understudy was never caught for her crime, as Juliet's body was never discovered. She became the lead, but disappeared right before opening night. All of the cast members swear up and down that they heard singing coming from the woods that night, and The Understudy went to investigate. Legend has it, Juliet haunts Camp Shallow Lake. Her singing can be heard from deep in the woods, but anyone who's ever gone to investigate it hasn't returned."
"You just made that up," Ricky says, flatly.
"No, he's right," Val speaks up. "That's the story we tell campers every year. How'd you know all that?"
"He didn't just come up with that off the top of his head. I was on that camping trip with him," Maddox says.
"I didn't know you guys were friends," EJ states.
Maddox laughs. "Jet's my half-brother."
"No way," Ricky chuckles. "That's even less believable than that story."
"It doesn't end there." Jet stares at Ricky as if he's just seen a ghost.
"Now this group I was with, we're not ones to be spooked by a ghost story. But when we heard singing that night we all freaked out. It was only a matter of time before we packed up and ran out of there.
"The next morning we went to the cops and explained everything, hoping they could figure out the source of the singing before something bad happened. But we found out something different instead. That camp store we went to had been abandoned for five years. Nobody worked there. And the brochure we read was gone."
As if on cue, the fire goes out. Everyone jumps. A few people scream. Even in the dark Ricky can see Gina cuddled up close to EJ…
EJ flips on his flashlight so he can see to start a new fire. "So you think that woman was...?"
"Yep," Jet finishes. "We think she was the woman in the woods."
"Now THAT," Gina says, "was a ghost story."
"You're right," Ricky sighs, defeated. "Good story, Jet."
"Who said it was just a story?"
He turns his flashlight off.
* * *
When Ricky gets back to his bunk that night, it's quiet. Too quiet. Carlos is asleep. EJ had left the campfire earlier than him but he hasn't even gotten there yet. Jet’s nowhere to be found. And Ricky can't sleep.
Staring up at the ceiling, Ricky notices something scribbled in black ink. It's so dark in their room that he has to squint, but he manages to make out the words:
"BEWARE THE WOMAN IN THE WOODS."
Was that there before? Had he just not noticed it?
Ricky shoots out of bed immediately. And when he does, a piece of paper flies off his bed and onto the floor. He hadn't noticed that either.
Ricky climbs down his ladder, skipping a few steps, and snatches the paper off of the floor. In scribbled pen, it reads...
"Ricky, meet me in the woods after Newbie Night. Signed, GP."
Who's GP?
Ricky's heart is beating really fast and his palms are starting to sweat and he can feel himself getting ready to start shaking and then...
EJ bursts through the door.
"EJ!" He shrieks, jumping. "You scared the hell out of me!"
"What," EJ laughs, "did you think I was the woman in the woods?"
Ricky rolls his eyes for about the fifth time that night. "Look at this note I got."
EJ furrows his brow as he reads over the letter. "Who's GP?"
"I don't know! I think we should be more worried about the fact that someone is trying to meet up with me at this time of the night."
"Maybe it's one of Corbin's camera crew. I think they wanted to get some private interviews done. It can't hurt to check."
"You're probably right," Ricky agrees, but it doesn't ease his fear. "Will you come with me?"
"No," he laughs, looking at Ricky like he's crazy. "I'm going to bed."
Ricky forces himself to believe what EJ's saying and makes his way out to the fire pit. The whole time there his hands won't stop shaking.
When he reaches the area, it's empty.
"Corbin?" He calls out. "Mr. Bleu? Are you there?"
Suddenly, someone bumps into Ricky. He lurches forward and spins around, eyes filled with terror.
"Sorry Ricky!" Gina rushes out, looking up from the paper in her hand. "You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. You just scared me."
"That story really freaked you out, huh?"
"No," he lies.
"Whatever. So why'd you want to meet up here?"
"Meet up here? What are you talking about?"
Gina sighs and hands him a note. It's identical to Ricky's - word for word, but instead of being signed with the initials 'GP' it's signed with 'RB.'
"Gina...I didn't write you this note."
Gina's eyes go wide and she snatches the paper back from Ricky. "Then who did? I just assumed RB meant Ricky Bowen."
Oh. GP. Gina Porter.
Ricky hands her his paper. "Well then by that logic, GP must stand for Gina Porter?"
"Who would try to get us to meet up in the middle of the night?"
"I don't know. EJ told me that Corbin's been wanting to do more interviews. Maybe we're supposed to do one together?"
"Then where is he at?" Her voice sounds very impatient.
"Not here, apparently."
"I can see that."
There's a few seconds of awkward silence before Gina speaks up again. "This is ridiculous. I'm going back to bed."
"Wait," a new voice pops up. It's Val.
"Jeez." Ricky jumps again. "Is everyone tonight just appearing without notice?"
She ignores his question. "Corbin wants the two of you to meet at the cabin in the woods. The Barn's locked for the night and now's the only time he can get interviews of you guys as he's taking the day off tomorrow."
"Do you know who these notes are from?" Gina asks.
"No idea," she says, but she doesn't even really glance at them. "Probably the camera crew."
"Then why would-"
"You guys better get to hurrying. You know he doesn't like to be kept waiting." And with that, Val leaves.
Gina heads towards the walking trail and Ricky jogs to keep up with her.
"Where are you going?"
"To the cabin? You heard Val. I'm going to get to the bottom of this."
"Come on, Gina! You said it yourself; this is ridiculous. You can't walk through the woods alone in the middle of the night!"
"Why not? Besides, last time I checked he wants both of us there."
Ricky grimaces, but ultimately decides to follow after her. If something bad happened and she was alone, he'd never forgive himself.
As they enter, Jet pops up from the other direction.
"Where did you come from?" Gina asks.
"Interviews," he says, keeping it short.
"How far into the woods is this cabin? How exactly do we get there?"
"It's not too far. Just follow the walking trail."
"And you didn't see, I don't know, a ghost or anything, right?" Ricky knows it's ridiculous, but he can't stop himself from asking. Jet lets out a chuckle in response.
"He laughs!" Ricky exclaims.
"Goodnight, you guys," Jet says, shaking his head and exiting the woods.
The walking trail is full of rocks, and Ricky keeps losing his balance.
"How come I'm the only one who keeps tripping over these rocks?" He whines.
"I'm a dancer, remember?" Gina says, as if the answer was obvious. "Dancers have good balance."
"Oh yeah?" Before thinking about his actions, Ricky grabs her wrist and twirls her around. Gina is so taken aback that this time, she's the one who falls.
"Sorry," Ricky says, anxiously. He holds his hand out to help her up. "You okay?"
Gina swats his arm away. "I'm fine. Let's just not, okay?"
"Not what?" Ricky's clueless at first. Gina thinks he's faking it.
"Come on, Ricky. Take a hint. Let's not just act like everything's normal again."
Now Ricky knows exactly what she's talking about. Things haven't been normal between them for a long time. He can't pinpoint exactly when they stopped talking. He'd been too caught up with his Nini drama to notice. He tried so hard to keep things from changing. And he failed.
"What happened, Gina?" His voice cracks. "Things used to be so easy between us. We could share a laugh over anything. And now it's like you're a..."
"A what?"
"A stranger." His voice goes quiet.
"I think you and I both know exactly what happened."
As things get silent between them again, Ricky focuses his attention on the woods. The trees are kind of hard to make out in the dark, but the path is getting easier to walk on. It’s smoother now. There's a light breeze. The moon is glowing. It's a crescent moon tonight.
It's a tactic he's picked up since he started therapy. Whenever he's anxious, he focuses his attention on the room. Or in this case, his surroundings.
The sky is navy. He can spot the Big Dipper from where they're walking. Gina's flashlight is on, leading the way. Wait, Gina has a flashlight?
Nobody gave him a flashlight.
"Where'd you get the flashlight?"
When Gina lets out an exasperated sigh, Ricky worries that he may have spoken too soon. "I think it's EJ's. I found it near the campfire when he took off after Newbie Night."
"Where'd he go? Not that it's any of my business. He just got back to the bunk super late."
"Probably another meeting with Val or Maddox and the other counselors. That's all he seems to do anymore."
Ricky isn't oblivious to the annoyance in her voice.
"So you and EJ, huh?" Ricky tries to keep his tone blank.
"Yep."
He chuckles. "I thought you didn't do dates."
"Yeah, well that was before the right guy showed up." She knows that's got to sting, but she doesn't really care. "Is there a problem?"
"No, there's no problem. I'm really happy for you, Gi."
"Well thanks." Gina attempts a smile, but her gaze shifts to the ground.
"Are you though?" He asks.
"What?"
"Are you happy, I mean."
"Yeah." Gina forces another smile, but she can't make eye contact with him right now. This isn't a conversation she wants to have with Ricky Bowen of all people.
"It's just...he's so focused on this musical. Which is a good thing, but like, it's driving both of us crazy. He just wants everything to be perfect, but for that to happen he has to spend all his time with the other camp counselors. I've barely seen him since the first day. And I think he's really enjoying directing, like, he's even been talking to me about maybe going to film school. I don't want to stop him from focusing on that. But sometimes it seems like that's all that matters to him anymore.”
Ricky let's her vent. He's a good listener.
"Sorry. I didn't need to tell you all that."
"That's okay," Ricky smiles. "There's just some things we can tell each other, right?"
This time Gina really finds herself smiling. "That's right." What she really wants to say is "that used to be right" but she can't find the energy to be petty right now. She also doesn't want to unpack why it was so easy for her to start venting, about EJ, of all things, to him.
"So now it's my turn to be nosy..."
"Hmm?" Ricky perks up.
"What happened between you and North High's Belle?"
Ricky laughs really hard to the point of where Gina can't help but laugh along, even though she doesn't know what they're laughing about. "Lily? She's crazy."
"Yeah, I could've told you that," she chuckles. "But I wanna know what went down."
"Well...there's not much to tell," he begins. "For starters, she was kind of controlling. Never really wanted me to hang out with you guys. And the way that she spoke about my friends, especially Nini..."
"Nini?"
"Yeah. It's not important what she said. She was just really jealous. She really has it out for the wildcats since Miss Jenn didn't give her the lead this spring. And because she got North High disqualified from the Menkies."
"WHAT?" Gina shrieks so loud Ricky swears all the campers are going to wake up. She gapes at him, wide-eyed. Ricky can't look away from her eyes. They're brown, like his. But there's a sheen to them, a glimmer. Maybe it's just the moonlight, but they're sparkling.
Gina breaks eye contact first, clearing her throat. "Sorry. You were saying?"
"Yeah, so one night Lily invited me over for a 'family dinner.' But when I got there, all of a sudden her dad had some 'work emergency' and her siblings were all going to friends houses, so it ended up just being the two of us. She took me to her bedroom and we talked for awhile. It was nice at first, but then I mistakenly asked her how the Menkies was going. She went down a rabbit hole of how bad North High performed, and how they didn't stand a chance if the cast didn't step things up. I told her that we ended up dropping out because it got too stressful. And she used that as an excuse to insult Ashlyn. She also assumed Nini suggested we drop out, since she wanted to keep the rose song in the musical. And when I told her that's not how it went, she wouldn't listen. Anyways, long story short, it turned into this big argument. She was all like 'this isn't gonna work if you're still hung up on your ex' and kicked me out. All because I didn't excuse her talking badly about a friend. But on the way out the door, I went to grab my coat. And when I opened the closet, guess what fell out?"
"What?" Gina asks, intrigued.
"My harness."
She slaps her hand on her mouth in shock. "Oh my god, Ricky! You could've gotten so hurt...I mean hurt more than you already were! You had a broken wrist and Miss Jenn...she told you to jump off something high!"
"Yeah, but it worked out okay, remember? Those smoke machines really did the trick. Besides, I'm glad I didn't have to put on that thing. I think I’m traumatized from harnesses."
"Okay but still. What if you had attempted it without the harness?"
"That's exactly what Miss Jenn said when I told her. So she had Mr. Mazzara go through the East High security cameras and took the footage of Lily breaking into the auditorium and stealing the harness to the Menkies committee. And North High was disqualified."
"Seriously? Why didn't Miss Jenn tell us any of this? Or you?"
"Miss Jenn told me not to. Everyone was preparing for summer and we were all trying to forget about the Menkies. If the contest didn't matter to us, then why would it matter if North High got kicked out, you know?"
"Yeah, that makes sense. But it still would've been nice to celebrate," she teases.
"For sure. I'll have EJ get us some champagne once camp's over."
Gina laughs, but Ricky can't help but notice her tense up at the mention of his name.
And then it's silent again.
Gina has to squint hard in the dark. She's nearsighted, but it only really gets bad at night. If it wasn't for the flashlight, she'd be blind right now.
Ricky follows closely behind her and won't stop glancing over his shoulder. Suddenly, he stops dead in his tracks.
"Ricky?"
"Shh," he hushes her. "Do you hear that?"
Unless he's referring to the crickets, or the shuffling in the bushes nearby, which is probably just a bird or something, Gina does not, in fact, hear that.
"Relax Ricky. The cabin can’t be much further.”
"I think we're being followed," he mumbles.
"By who? The Woman in The Woods?" She laughs a little too loudly for Ricky's liking.
"That's not funny, Gina. You know she targets lead actors."
"Come on, Ricky. It was just a ghost story. Ghosts aren't real. Neither are urban legends."
"I know. Maybe I wouldn't be so worried right now if anyone BUT Jet had told the story." Then, lowering his voice, he adds on, "I think the guy has it out for me."
"Jet?" Gina's giving him the same look she gave him when he told her about North High's disqualification minutes ago. "Maddox's brother? Doesn't talk? You can't be serious."
"I'm as serious as you can get. That story was directed at me."
"How so?"
"During the 'Introducing Me' game, he basically told me that I only got the lead because EJ was the director. Then he wouldn't stop staring me down. Then he told THAT story of all stories. Plus, I heard he's only here because he got arrested and put on probation..."
"Ricky...” Gina interjects. “Jet is not on probation."
"Then what's up with all the rumors?" He queries.
"Maddox didn't tell me and EJ everything, but I got the gist of it. He was kicked out of school. There's a big difference between getting expelled and going to juvie."
"Really?"
"Really. I don't know where the rumors came from but they need to die down. It wasn't even that big of a deal, he just hacked into some computers or something. And besides, your audition was amazing. If anyone deserved Kristoff it's you. But if I'm being honest, I'm a little worried about the same thing. If EJ just gave me the role because..."
"Hey, that's not true, okay? Don't doubt yourself. You have twice as much talent as anyone out there."
"I could tell you the same thing."
The two smile at each other. It's been months since they've had a conversation like this.
Something snaps under Ricky's foot and he nearly jumps out of his skin.
"OH MY GOD! WHAT WAS THAT?"
Gina picks up two halves of a stick. "Way to ruin the moment, Ricky! IT'S JUST A STICK."
"Sorry..." He shuts his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. "I'm just a little paranoid."
"A little?"
"Okay fine. I'm very paranoid."
"Aww, is Wicky Bowen afraid of a wittle stick?" Gina puts on her best baby voice.
"Ha ha. Very funny."
Then, and Gina doesn't know why she does this, she loops her arm around Ricky's, guiding him through the walking trail. "Come on, let's get this over with."
"This is like a horror movie." Ricky shutters.
"I'm sorry, I know you don't like horror."
"Hey! I like horror. I'll have you know, Countdown is in my top ten favorite films list."
"Oh please. We watched the first thirty minutes of Final Destination at Big Red's last fall, and you didn't sleep for an entire week!"
"Hey!" He throws up his hands defensively. "That one's brutal."
"It's not even really horror, Ricky! It's more supernatural."
"Well excuse me if my favorite thing to watch isn't a bunch of plane crash survivors getting impaled to death."
Gina laughs. "I'm surprised you got on a plane over spring break after watching that movie. How was that, by the way? Seeing your mom?"
Gina shouldn't care. She's the one who told him ten minutes ago that they couldn't pretend like things were normal again.
So then why did it feel like everything was normal again? Like no time had passed. Like nothing had changed...
He looks a little sad and suddenly Gina wishes she hadn't brought it up.
"Sorry. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"No, no, that's okay. It was really nice, actually. I hadn't realized how much I missed her. I tend to do that with people..."
He looks straight into her eyes and Gina swears her heart stops beating for a second when he says, "...I think I made that same mistake with you."
Why is he doing this?
"But um, I don't really like Chicago. It's too busy for me."
She nods, pretending like he didn't just say what he said. "I lived there for a summer. You couldn't drive anywhere, traffic is so bad."
"Yeah."
Ricky can't take another awkward silence. The whole night has gone back and forth between banter and silence.
"Gina, I'm so, so, sorry for-"
"Stop." Her actions mimic her words. Ricky nearly runs into her. "What happened to the trail?"
They've reached the end of the gravel. All that's left is trees. An owl whistles in the background.
Ricky groans. "Where is this cabin at?" It's got to be at least 2 a.m. at this point, he thinks.
"I'm going to kill Val." Gina mutters under her breath. Ricky can barely hear her. "Let's just head back to camp."
And then suddenly, there's another noise. It's not an owl this time.
Someone's singing.
"Gina! Do you hear that?"
"Ricky I told you earlier that-" but Gina cuts herself off. Because this time, she does hear it.
Someone's singing. It's too far away to make out what the song is. But they're close enough to know that that voice definitely does NOT belong to a man.
"Oh my god...Jet wasn't lying!"
Ricky's panicking. He's breathing so heavy that it's starting to rub off on Gina. Her heart is racing. The voice seems to be growing closer and closer. Gina swears she can hear footsteps but maybe her mind is just playing games. Something rustles in the trees.
"Ricky." She looks him dead in the eyes. "Run."
The pair takes off sprinting down the trail. Ricky hasn't ran this fast since he was trying to make it to HSM auditions on time. Gina starts to wish she hadn't put that sweater on because now she's starting to sweat. But they can't stop running...
Until they reach the point where the trail splits off into two.
"Which way did we come from camp?" Ricky demands.
"I don't know! I don't even remember there being more than one path!"
So in a panicked and irrational thought, they go with option C: neither; and start running through the woods. They zigzag through the trees with no sense of direction at all. They just want to escape. Because the voice is getting louder. And they can't make out who it belongs to.
And then finally, the singing stops.
"I think we're in the clear."
Ricky lets out a sigh of relief before breaking into a fit of laughter.
"What's so funny?"
"I thought I was the only one scared by that story."
"Shut up. It might not have even been The Woman in the Woods. It might've been some crazy psychopath trying to kill us."
"I guess we'll never know."
The crickets are chirping extra loudly. Ricky's panting with his hands on his knees. Gina tries to catch her breath and then takes a seat on the grass.
"What was it that you were apologizing for?" Gina asks.
"Apologizing for?" He questions, sitting next to her.
"Yeah. Right before the singing started. You were apologizing for something."
The memory hits Ricky like a bag of bricks. He thought he escaped a painful conversation.
"Right." He takes a deep breath. "Gina, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for how everything went down this winter. My parents getting divorced was the hardest thing I've ever gone through, and you understood that better than anyone else I know ever could. And then I thought you were leaving for good and I started spiraling. If I had reacted in any other way..."
Ricky's still not 100% sure what Gina meant in that dressing room on opening night of HSM.
All he knows is that he shouldn't have quit on them.
"I shouldn't have..." He really tries to say it. But he can't. Because she's with EJ now.
"Say it," Gina whispers. But he can see the nervousness in her eyes. He doesn't think she needs to hear this right now.
"I don't know," he finally decides on. "Maybe things would have been different. Just know I'm really, really sorry for how I treated you."
Gina's expression is blank for a few seconds, but she finally cracks a smile.
"Well you've come a long way from your homecoming apology."
Ricky can't help but let out a laugh. "And you've come a long way from Miss Wonderstudy."
For a second everything feels alright between them. They're sitting against some bushes and they're probably going to wake up with poison ivy in the morning and they still don't know where they're going, but none of that matters because everything feels okay.
Everything feels normal.
And then that damn singing starts again. This time it's accompanied with a piano.
On impulse, Ricky grabs Gina's hand and squeezes it. She knows that she should let go. But she's frozen and Ricky's petrified. Their hands entwined is the only thing keeping them grounded.
"Gina," Ricky whispers. "Any chance you think that singing might be coming from camp?"
"I don't know.” Her voice is even quieter than his. "Only one way to find out."
Gina stands up and brushes the dirt off her pants. She holds her hand out to Ricky, which he reluctantly takes.
"Anyone who's ever gone to investigate the singing hasn't returned," Ricky warns her. "Just a reminder."
"Ghosts can't hurt you, Ricky. They're transparent. They can't even touch you - they'll go right through."
"I didn't know you were a ghostbuster?"
Gina rolls her eyes and leads the way. They follow the singing.
"I don't think anyone's coming to Camp Shallow Lake to kill us," she assures him. "It's probably some camper who can't sleep and needed something to do. Jet's story didn't mention anything about the woman being a piano player."
"That's true," Ricky says. But he still flinches when some leaves crunch under his feet.
It doesn't take long for them to find the source of the music; each step they take the singing grows louder. Gina crouches behind some bushes and orders Ricky to squat down. When she peers around the corner, she lets out a sigh of relief.
"It's The Barn."
"Thank God." Ricky can finally breathe. They’ve made it back to camp. "But that still doesn't explain the singing."
The singing is has reached its highest amplitude. The Woman in the Woods is really belting those notes.
"I'm gonna go check it out." Gina says before she can psych herself out.
Ricky tries to follow her but as soon as he exits the woods, he trips over a log, rolls to break his fall, and knocks over a trash can.
"Classy," Gina snarls. "Real classy. Now the ghost is really going to get us."
But Ricky's not paying attention to what she's saying. He's frantically grabbing at a crumbled up piece of paper.”
"What's that?" Gina asks, but she doesn't really want to know why he's digging for trash.
"It's mine, sorry. Must've fell out of my pocket."
"Another note?"
"No, it's um..." Ricky laughs nervously. "It's kind of stupid."
"That's okay. I'm sure I've showed you something kind of stupid before."
"Okay." He shakes his head in embarrassment. "When I was like, 7, maybe, I made this bucket list of things I wanted to do before I turn 18. And my birthday is opening night, so I have less than two weeks to get everything else done."
"That's cute." Gina crouches down next to him so she can read it.
"Well, I don't think number 19 will happen..."
Walk on the moon.
"But..." her finger lands on number 12.
See a ghost.
Ricky laughs. "I guess I forgot about that one."
"Let's get it done, then." Gina gestures towards The Barn.
"I don't know, Gina. You remember what Jet said."
This is getting insane. If Ricky brings up that story one more time Gina is going to smack him.
"Well at least if you die, you'll die doing what your seven year old self wanted."
He still looks nervous.
"Maybe we can scare off the ghost before she scares us."
Gina's grinning, and it's not long before Ricky catches on.
"On the count of three, we're going to burst through those doors and yell as loud as we can."
"On three or after three?" Ricky teases. Gina gets a sense of deja vu.
"On three. Ready?"
He nods.
"One," Gina says.
"Two," Ricky follows.
"THREE!" They throw open the doors and let out the loudest scream they can possibly manage.
And Ashlyn practically jumps out of her skin.
"ASHLYN?" They shriek in unison.
"You guys nearly gave me a heart attack!" the redhead exclaims.
Ricky starts laughing, and once he starts he just can't stop. Gina joins in and eventually she's laughing so hard that her sides are cramping.
"What's so funny?" Ashlyn demands.
"We thought- we thought," Ricky begins through fits of laughter. "Sorry...G-Gina. You're gonna have to...have to...take over. I can't breathe."
"Ricky thought you were the Woman in the Woods."
"Hey! It wasn't just me!"
"I don't wanna hear it, Ricky! You spent the whole walk thinking we were going to be attacked by a singing ghost!"
Ashlyn stares at them, mouth agape. "No! Oh my god...I just couldn't sleep! I figured I might as well work on a new song or something!”
"We get that now." Ricky's finally starting to calm down. "Well that was an adventure, but I think it's time for bed now. We can just tell Corbin we got lost in the morning. Goodnight, Gina."
"Wait, Ricky. Let me see that list again."
Her hands her the paper with a look of curiosity.
"You never completed number 1?"
Stay awake for 24 hours.
"Ha! Big Red and I attempted that sooo many times. We could never make it past hour twenty."
"That surprises me," Ashlyn mumbles.
"Ricky what time did you wake up this morning?" Gina asks.
"Eight. Why?"
"Ashlyn, what time is it right now?"
She glances at her watch. "Almost three o'clock."
"That's only five hours to go," Gina notes. "We may not have been able to complete number 12, but what do you say we knock off the first task? How does that sound?"
Ricky gives her a flashy smile. "That sounds great."
And so that's how Ricky and Gina end up spending the rest of the night together.
They sing songs with Ashlyn until about four a.m. when her voice starts giving out and she decides to head back to bed.
They talk about the musical, their future plans, anything they can think of until they run out of things to say and decide to go ghost hunting again.
And this time neither of them are scared. Because they're no long heading into the unknown. Everything feels familiar.
It's almost six o’clock when they head out to the lake to watch the sunrise.
"I always loved watching sunsets," Gina tells him. "It's the only thing that stayed the same everywhere I went. This is the first time I’ve ever been awake for a sunrise.”
But even as the sky gradually lights up from orange to purple to pink and then to blue, Ricky can't focus on that. He can only focus on her.
Gina knows he's staring, but she doesn't say anything.
She didn’t want Ricky to pretend like everything was normal again.
But now it feels like they aren’t pretending anymore.
* * *
”Here's the ten bucks I promised you," Val says, slapping two five-dollar bills onto the table Jet's having breakfast at. “It was a great story. Didn't know you had that in you."
Jet rolls his eyes and looks up from his plate of french toast.
"Just go a little easy on Ricky, okay? Don't want to scare our leading man off before opening night."
"I'll try. So did Kristoff and Anna pass their chemistry test that you were so set on them taking?"
"With flying colors." She gestures to the pair at the table behind them. Ricky and Gina are practically dozing off on each other's shoulders in the cafeteria.
It's a good thing EJ wasn't there yet to see them.