Archive of Our Own

What are a bunch of young adults who just experienced their first real taste of independence supposed to do with their summer vacation if not organise a camping trip!

“Literally anything else that doesn’t involve bugs and dirt” Regina George would probably argue.

Nonetheless, there they were, Regina driving herself, Cady, Gretchen and Karen while Damian and Janis trailed close behind, to a camping site of their choice, both cars packed to the brim with camping gear, windows rolled down so the warm summer wind could blow on their hairs. They had been on the road for a while, enough that Karen’s head rested on Gretchen’s shoulder for a quick nap and even Cady, whose hand was loosely holding Regina’s, was starting to struggle to stay awake, the open road singing a captivating lullaby.

Regina can’t help but briefly stir her eyes from the highway to watch as the sun shone perfectly on Cady’s pale skin, making shy freckles appear. Her hair somehow looked redder and there was a pink tint to her cheeks. A perfect picture, the type of image people would write poetry about.

By the time the pavement becomes dusty and rough and thick trees take over the scenery, everyone except Regina had been lulled to sleep, leaving the blonde to enjoy all by herself the road trip playlist Gretchen had created, occasionally humming or tapping her fingers on the wheel to the beat.

Their peace is interrupted when the music stops, Cady’s phone loudly ringing instead, making everyone jump awake, the ginger scrambling to slide the screen to pick up, her eyes having a lot of trouble adjusting to the afternoon sun.

Janis’ voice echoes through the speakers of Regina's car before Cady can say anything.

“Is Regina lost? This isn’t the spot we picked!” She is way too loud for anyone who just woke up from the blissful experience of falling asleep in the car. Cady blinks repeatedly, trying to assess where they are, only to see Regina smirk evilly from the corner of her eye, making her raise a curious eyebrow.

“Bitch if you thought you were actually gonna make me sleep on hard cold ground you don’t know me at all” Regina replies with a villainy cackle.

“This is considered kidnapping and authorities will be warned.” Janis complains and hangs up.

—

“Regina what the fuck!” Janis runs up to the blonde who proudly stands in front of a massive tent from a glamping site. The short artist drops her backpack to the ground in disbelief. Soon, everyone else is joining them, Cady motioning to hold Regina’s hand and Karen sleepily clinging to Gretchen.

“Girl we are not all gonna fit in there” Damian observes correctly, since as big as the tent was it wouldn't fit six people, which is why Regina turns around to face him with a wicked smile.

“You losers can get eaten by the wildlife as much as you wish! Cady and I will be comfortable, warm and most importantly, safe from bugs!” Regina announced, to everyone’s shock. Cady could only giggle in response.

“Are you gonna allow this?” Janis directs herself to Cady. “You have the most experience camping out of all of us!” She gestures to all the gear the ginger had brought with herself.

“Which is why I am the most deserving of a luxurious experience, provided by my rich girlfriend” Cady tiptoes to reach Regina’s cheek for a quick kiss, further feeding Regina’s ego.

“Water!” Karen suddenly yells out, bolting from Gretchen’s hold to the big body of water behind the pre-prepared tent. Everyone takes a moment from their bickering to follow her, admiring the view. Even though they were all city kids, except for Cady, of course, who had lived most of her life in research sites with her mother in Kenya, they could find it in themselves to appreciate what Mother Nature had to offer. The lack of service on their phones was somewhat unnerving, especially for Regina and Karen who were chronically online, but even them accepted the peacefulness of the mountains and their different shades of green, how the water sat still enough that it perfectly reflected the sky and the trees and even the occasional buzz of a bumblebee tirelessly bouncing from one flower to another.

Gretchen insists on taking a group picture with her polaroid camera, while they still looked presentable.

“And haven’t been eaten by a bear” Regina added, before the picture got snapped, brightening everyone’s smiles except Janis’ who gives her a disapproving scowl.

It was perfect.

The way they organised themselves into little working factions without a clear leader was endearing. Turning out to make quite an efficient pair, Cady and Damian had dutifully taken over setting up the two tents, using her expertise and his strength. Gretchen and Karen took off to gather wood for their campfire -having to stay within earshot at all times, per Cady’s request- and Regina and Janis were in charge of unloading the cars, somehow fighting the entire time.

“Okay now you just loop that over this long sti–” Damian repeated the instructions Cady had given him.

“We are in the forest Regina! There’s gonna be bugs!”

“And if you’re not careful I’m gonna stomp you like one!”

“What the hell is that suppo-”

“You’re short!”

“Hey!” Cady warned. “Be nice!”

“Sorry Cady.”
“Sorry babe”
Came in unison while still shooting each other annoyed glances.

When the tents are set up and the other couple returns from collecting enough wood, it is time to blow up air mattresses and spread out sleeping bags, which Regina takes as an opportunity for some alone time with Cady inside their classy tent.

“I hope you aren’t upset about the upgrade..” Regina stood awkwardly inside the tent, unsure of what to do with herself. Cady had just finished taking off her hiking boots and was closing the mosquito-preventing mesh from their tent.

“Well I wouldn’t actually mind camping out with the others but if this is the compromise that keeps you here then I am more than happy to comply.” Cady wraps her arms around Regina’s neck and brings her in for a sweet kiss, something Regina was yet to grow accustomed to doing in front of their friends. Though she supposes the mesh gives them a sense of privacy and if they really wanted they could actually close up the tent entirely.

When they separate, they can finally take in all the commodities they have available. The bed looks ridiculously comfortable and fluffy, there is even a proper closet, a couch with a small coffee table, a sink and a mini fridge, all on top of a massive rug that takes over most of the flooring.

“I guess this will do.” Regina hums in approval, watching Cady’s eyes jump from one piece of furniture to the other with a growing smile.

“It will indeed.” Cady faces her girlfriend once more, tiptoeing for another kiss when, outside, someone interrupts them.

“Stop being gay and let us use your mini fridge” Janis demanded, with Damian behind her holding onto two coolers filled with their food for the weekend. Cady rests her head on Regina’s chest giggling while the blonde tries to conjure a witty remark to make up for the blush on her cheeks.

“I think I forgot my bug spray in the car” Regina grumbles, opening up the mesh and exiting her tent with her shoes barely put properly on.

“Take your shoes off before coming in” Cady warns, making it Janis and Damian’s turn to grumble.

After everything is properly put away and organised, they sit around the unlit campfire, rearranging the chairs already placed there so they can be closer to their person.

“Now what” Regina asked, sunglasses on, letting Cady reapply sunscreen on her arms and legs. Curious glances are shared between everyone, truly unsure of what to do.

“I’d say we have one hour until we have to start preparing the fire on the grill for dinner” Cady comments after the extended period of silence. Had she known that her friends were this clueless she would have prepared them a guide to camping, perhaps even a powerpoint presentation would have been adequate before they left for their adventure.

“We should go swimming!” Gretchen suggested, especially after seeing how excited Karen had gotten over the water. They all turned to face the view behind them, on the other side of the river other campers were swinging off a rope on a tree and landing on the water with big splashes, making it evident that the water is safe to be swam on.

“You can’t expect me to set foot in that disgusting water without any showers available.” Regina scoffed, earning a glare from Cady.

“We walked by the bathroom and showers while looking for service!” Karen points out.

“Yeah they didn’t look too bad, actually!” Gretchen herself wasn’t thrilled at the thought of cold water and the chance of a creepy crawler sneaking its way into her towel but the bathroom looked pleasantly clean enough, probably due to it being a glamping site and not a normal communal camping one.

“C’mon Gi, live a little!” Janis is the first to unceremoniously take her shirt off and slide her shorts down her legs, making a run for the small wooden pier and cannonballing into the cold river water with a scream of excitement.

“That crazy motherfucker has one thought and acts on it! No more consideration put into it!” Regina complains, unbuttoning her blouse.

“Isn’t that why we love her?” Damian nudges her, taking his own shirt off and, oh the benefit of being a boy, already in his swimming trunks, beelining for the water much like Janis had, only his scream is more like a shriek compared to his friend’s.

“Ugh” Regina was about to complain about something else when her eyes fell on Cady. Her girlfriend’s perfect body glistening in the sun, her chest pale enough it could reflect light, if not for the fading evidence of a hickey or two left by Regina. The curve from her ass to her thigh so ready to be grabbed, kissed, anything Cady would let her do. When did she become the owner of such an unholy bikini, in that shade of light blue that always drove Regina a little mad?

“You coming, Gi?” Gretchen asks in an airy tone, noticing the blonde had frozen in place, watching Cady walk away with Karen, hand in hand. If Gretchen was being honest with herself, she too had fallen behind due to her own girlfriend’s distracting body. The way the sun made her caramel skin shimmer like gold, dark curls bouncing just above her ass–

“Are we seriously this down bad?” Her voice wakes Gretchen from her own daydreaming.

“We have hot girlfriends! How could we not be!” They finish getting undressed and slowly approach the pier, laughter and screaming already being heard from the water. The two friends opt for sitting down on warm wood instead of jumping in like the others had, unsure if they wanted to taint their skin in murky water. Regina puts her hair into a messy bun and Cady would risk her life if anyone disagreed that it wasn’t the most attractive thing a woman could do.

While Damian was busy picking Janis up and throwing her progressively as far as he could like she was a little child and Karen was lightly splashing Gretchen’s legs, trying to coax her in, Cady propped her torso on the pier, and stole a kiss from Regina.

“You look so pretty” Cady smiles at her girlfriend. She was aware that Regina had a lot of struggles with her body image, so for her to comfortably be in her own skimpy swimwear felt like a massive deal. In moments like these, Cady understood she was no better than a man, the way she ogled at perfect breasts and biteable thighs.

“You taste funky” Regina scrunches her nose adorably, bending down slightly to meet Cady in another quick kiss.

“That was tits!” Janis, with a strangely nasally voice, yells out, bursting the little bubble the two girls could feel themselves being pulled into.

“Janis, you're not supposed to be inhaling the water!” Gretchen warned in horror.

“What??” She asked way too loud, wiping water from her eyes.

“Okay baby girl you’re done” Damian laughed and star-fished on the water, enjoying the sun.

After much convincing from Karen, Gretchen lowered herself onto the water with squeals and deep breaths, but encouraged by Karen’s claps, finally dipped her whole body in the water. Returning to the surface earned her a big kiss from her girlfriend, who picked her up bridal style and swayed her like a baby.

“They’re adorable.” Cady nods her head over at the sweet display of affection between their friends. Regina observes them with adoration in her eyes. Perhaps she could handle the bugs and dirt if it meant she got to watch her friends be happy and carefree.

“What??” Janis’ nose is scrunched as she shakes her head from side to side, trying to rid herself of the water in her ears. It makes everyone break out in laughter and Janis grows more confused.

Regina does eventually dip more than just her toes in, after Cady convinced her the water wasn’t that cold, though it very much was, and the sounds Regina made as she lowered herself were the highest pitch any of them (maybe except Cady, in other contexts) had ever heard from the blonde.

“Janis if you splash me I’m actually drowning you” Regina threatened as she sensed the smaller girl creeping up behind her.

“Pft, as if you could catch me.” Janis scoffs, raising a challenging eyebrow. Regina turned around with an offended gasp. Their eyes squint in competitiveness, looking around for whatever bet they could make.

“First one to the floaters wins” Regina tests, nodding towards the slightly distant floaters that line out a safety zone for swimmers.

“First one there and back wins” Janis adds, holding intense eye contact.

“Must we really–” Gretchen tries to interrupt.

“Oh you think you have that type of stamina, uh?” Regina laughs condescendingly, only fueling Janis’ ruthless side.

“What makes you think you do, uh?” Janis mocks her tone and in the meantime, Regina is already taking off.

“I don’t know, ask Cady!” She screams out as she swims as fast as she can.

“This cheater!” Janis groans before swimming after Regina. Cady submerges herself with a sigh to avoid the teasing looks her friends give her.

By the time the two girls return, everyone is wrapped in towels and sitting on the pier, legs dangling in the warm air. Regina pretends the swim didn’t absolutely knock the air out of her lungs as she lifts herself onto the pier. Cady promptly stands up and hands her her towel.

“Real mature, babe” Cady mocks with a kiss on her cheek. Regina gives her a pointed look, unable to say anything until she has her breathing in check. She would never admit it but there was a second during their race that Janis had actually caught up to her and she genuinely had to try to outswim her.

“You’re—” Janis clumsily puts one leg on the pier and rolls herself on top of it, opting to lie down for the time being. “You’re a fucking cheater!” She manages to yell out before Damian throws a towel in her face.

“We should wash up before starting dinner” Cady interrupts what’s about to be another bickering fit. “Or else we will be too tired to do it after” She truly is the voice of reason this weekend.

No one prepared her for how difficult it would be to decide who would use the one shower head first. Well, it was obvious that Cady had to be the first, since without her they were more likely to set fire to the whole forest. Then, everyone made compelling arguments: Regina wanted to go right after in the off chance there was a limited access to hot water and Gretchen was quick to jump on that opportunity too; Janis instantly complained that Regina was a cheater therefore she should be the last one to shower and in the end, the only way to settle it was with several intense games of rock-paper-scissors, also known as the universal way to make decisions. Regardless, Regina, who had finished second to last in their little tournament, just ended up joining Cady during her shower and much to her dismay, by the time it was Janis’ turn, there was still, in fact, hot water left.

“I shouldn’t have picked such a fancy place” Regina thinks aloud while brushing her hair, back at their tent with Cady.

“Gi?” Cady captures the blonde’s attention who encourages her to continue with a ‘hum’. “Why do you and Janis fight so much?” The question is filled with a type of genuinity that scares Regina a little.

“What are you talking about? We haven’t fought a single time today?”

The observation leaves Cady’s mouth agape.

“You literally just said you wished you hadn’t picked such a fancy place just so Janis wouldn’t have hot water!” Cady’s voice rises in frustration. She could never wrap her head around their dynamic.

“Cady, that's just how we show affection towards each other.” Regina puts down her hair brush and moves to her girlfriend, looping her arms loosely around her neck. “If we are being nice to each other, that’s when you should be worried.” Still, Cady eyes her with concern, wrapping her arms instinctively around Regina’s waist. The kiss she places on her lips tells her to not trouble herself with such thoughts, so Cady drops it, even if she doesn’t get it at all. Something about growing up an only child in the savannah, Karen tells her later that night.

The plan for dinner was simple: make fire, cook burgers and hotdogs, assemble said burgers and hotdogs. There needn’t be that many people for that, Cady decided. Janis was extremely keen on aiding Cady with the grill so she would be in charge of that. Her eyes fell on Gretchen and Damian who were sitting by the unlit campfire, conjuring the best playlist to accompany their night. Looking for Karen, suddenly worried she had wandered off and gotten lost, finds her crouched down on a patch of grass, collecting flowers. Regina was sitting on one of the chairs near the grill, legs crossed and rhythmically bouncing, phone in hand scrolling through who knows what.

“Move along baby, I’m not getting my clothes dirty” Regina cautioned as soon as she noticed Cady make her way to her. The ginger didn’t know that behind her sunglasses, Regina had been observing Cady measure everyone’s skill and utility for the situation at hand.

“C’mon babe” Cady pouts, sitting on Regina’s lap. “I just need someone chaperoning Jay while I get everything ready for dinner” She starts kissing her cheek, down to her jaw, to her neck, each time her lips connected with pale skin making her case more compelling.

“Fine” Regina sighed under her breath, doing her best to hold in any noise that would be too much for her friends to hear.

Cady thanked her with a kiss and soon, Janis and Regina were observing the ginger skillfully use these fire starter white squares that smelled delicious, in both their opinions and much to Cady’s horror.

“No you can’t taste it!! Are you out of your damn mind!!” Cady was starting to regret ever coming on this trip, while Regina and Janis argued it probably wouldn’t be that bad if they tasted it. At least they were on the same side, for once.

They watch attentively as Cady pours a bag of coal onto the fire, at first seemingly killing it, only for it to power through and progressively eat away at the coal, turning it from black to all shades of white and grey. It takes time for it to happen, enough so that it allows Janis to grab her phone and go around taking pictures of everyone and for Regina to absolutely bask in how attractive Cady yet again looks. There are beads of sweat forming on her forehead from the intense heat of the grill and it just adds to the way she skillfully manoeuvres every tool and does things with so much confidence. Everything she does is just so incredibly hot, much like the fire she is controlling.

“How did you learn all this?” Regina inquires as a distraction when she feels herself bite her lip while looking at Cady’s forearms flex and relax.

“Years of watching people around me doing it, I guess.” Cady responded without much thought, blissfully unaware of the way her girlfriend was undressing her in her mind, picturing her all sweaty and flustered in a whole different scenario.

“It’s really fucking hot” Regina blurts out before she can hold herself back. Cady flashes her a weird look. Of course it’s hot, it’s literal fire they’re dealing with! It isn’t until their eyes meet that Cady realises she isn’t talking about the grill.

“You’re adorable” Cady chuckles, pecking Regina’s lips and returning to the fire, leaving the taller girl slightly flustered.

Soon, Janis comes back and the ‘Cady’s Masterclass on How to Get a Grill Dinner Started’ continues.

“That name is long and lame” Janis sighs, shaking her head disappointedly.

“You’re such a dork” Regina sighs, shaking her head adoringly.

“Okay so now, we are gonna actually put the grill on top” She describes as she does it, being careful to not get burnt “And all you have to do is make sure the coals stay red, with this” She hands Janis a fan that feels like it is made out of hay, and the long metal stake Cady had been using to stir the coal. “The more oxygen you give it, the hotter it will get” She explains, Janis’ eyes already trained on the coal, watching the effects of her fanning. “If you give it too much, it might start a fire again, but we don’t want that! Or else the food will get burnt on the outside and it won’t cook on the inside!” Cady instructs before going inside her tent to fetch the meat.

“Fan the fire” Janis motions up and down, left to right, trying to understand which way was more effective. With her arms crossed over her chest, Regina feels as entranced.

“Fan the fire” She repeats.

“You guys are so weird.” Cady observes, holding onto the several boxes of burger patties, cheese and sausage cans. It appears neither woman hears her.

After placing a couple of patties and sausages evenly scattered across the grill, Cady retires back to the tent to prepare an assembly station, cutting open several buns, washing lettuce and tomatoes which she then cuts in perfect slices and places them on a plate, so once the meat is ready she can efficiently prepare the burgers. Furthermore, she prepares the assortment of fruits they had brought, placing them back in the mini fridge to not attract bugs.

Something in her gut tells her to glance outside, an uncanny feeling that something was about to go wrong, only to find sweet Karen distributing flower crowns she had skillfully made with the limited resources of their ‘in ear-shot’ safe zone. Okay, everything is fine.

Damian and Gretchen were scrambling in their tents looking for the speaker one of them swears they brought, while Karen is nominating Regina and Janis co-rulers of the fire kingdom.

Cady swears she had only glanced away for a minute. Not even that! When she looks back, with the intention of leaving her tent and bringing the buns and salad outside, her eyes fall on the grill and the flames that engulf their dinner.

“Oh my fucking god” Cady rushes outside, hands too busy to zip the tent back up and the urgency of the situation requiring her to embrace the dirt ground bare foot. She sets the plates down on the picnic table in front of the tent, bugs landing on the food no longer a priority in her mind as she catches a glimpse of a sausage completely charred.

Janis, Regina and Karen are still, somehow, blissfully unaware. The artist maintains a steady lifeline of oxygen that feeds the flames.

“Move!” Cady yells out, snatching the fan and metal pole out of Janis’ hands. She courageously moves untouched coals on top of the flames with the stake, hissing at the heat oozing off the vicinity of the grill.

“Fuck.” Janis and Regina say at the same time, acknowledging they messed up. Cady, with a deep breath, comes up with a plan in a matter of seconds, calmly asking Janis to fetch her a plate where she placed the burnt food. In the meantime, Cady urges everyone to not come any closer as they gather around her, worried that they would get hurt.

“Good thing we brought a lot of extra food” Cady jokes, placing fresh sausages and patties on the grill once she was able to calm the fire down.

“Cady I’m so sorry” Janis started, looking between the ginger and the ruined first attempt at dinner, nearly disintegrating into black dust with the wind. Regina bit her lip nervously, unable to shake off the feeling that she should have paid more attention, she should have just done what Cady asked and watched over Janis.

“Please, burning the first few things that land on the grill is part of the experience” Cady explained, handing Janis back the tongs used to flip the food, a gesture that proves she is still trusted around the grill.

Regina feels butterflies in her stomach. Her girlfriend is so incredibly cool, she realised. If this had happened with her parents, they would have started yelling, blaming her and decidedly ruin the whole trip. Cady, on the other hand, handled everything calmly, rationally, without making anyone feel bad about it. Regina didn’t know it was possible to love someone more than she loved Cady.

“Plus, I’m just glad no one got hurt.” Cady adds. Like on cue, a red coal falls to the floor and sweet Karen, who was just on her way to give Cady her flower crown and declare her royalty of something, innocently picks the coal up.

“Karen no!!” Cady is too late to warn her friend, who had dropped the coal back to the ground, looking at her fingers.

“Ouch!”

Gretchen scrambles back to her feet at the sound, taking her girlfriend's hand and analysing how it grows increasingly redder.

“Oh my god! What should we do! We need to call 911!” The short girl looks at everyone and anywhere for answers, reaching for her phone and cursing at the lack of service. “What if her fingers fall off!”

Regina, once again, observes Cady jump into action.

The ginger takes Karen by the wrist, separating her from her girlfriend and guiding her inside the tent, promptly running Karen’s hand under the lukewarm water.

“You’re gonna be okay.” Cady reassures as she notices how glassy the taller girl’s eyes had become. “Does it hurt a lot?”

“It’s burning a bit” Karen bravely admits.

“You’re doing great” Cady rubs her back comfortingly. “The flower crowns turned out so pretty, how did you learn how to make them?” She takes the crown her friend had made for her from her hand and places it on her head, making Karen smile and break out into a detailed story about loving to go on picnics with Gretchen and teaching herself to make them from pinterest, and how she was invested in collecting flower crowns from every new spot they would go together.

Outside, Janis makes an extra effort to not mess anything up, flipping the burger patties probably more times than necessary and only fanning when she felt the coals were dying out. Damian and Regina encourage Gretchen to take deep breaths so that she stops freaking out as aggressively, since not knowing how Karen was doing was driving her into hyperventilation.

Once Gretchen is slightly calmer, Regina peeks inside the tent, where Cady is holding Karen’s hand under the running water, eyes trained on her friend as she speaks. If she thought she was in love with Cady before, this whole situation proved that somehow her heart had space to love her even more. Not only for the way she once again handled the situation with cool-headedness but how her whole demeanour made people feel at ease, the attention she always pays to whoever is speaking makes you feel important and cared for. Regina felt unbelievably lucky that out of all the people Cady could be dating, she had picked her.

Cady and Karen come back from the tent a couple of minutes later to a pleasant surprise. The table had been set, on two separate plates were the assembled burgers and hot dogs along with bags of chips opened and conveniently rolled for easier access.

“Finally! We need the drinks and the ketchup from the fridge!” Janis smugly walks past the two girls when she sees the look of utter shock in Cady’s face.

“Baby!” Gretchen latches herself around Karen’s waist, holding onto the hand that got hurt and sighing with relief when she acknowledges that there wasn’t even blistering happening.

“We’ll put some more ointment before bed” Cady pats Karen’s shoulder and moves to sit down next to Regina, the blonde already mentally communicating for her to navigate towards her.

“Ointment?” Regina asks with a raised eyebrow, instantly wrapping an arm around Cady’s shoulders as soon as the ginger sits down on the bench. Cady replies with a nod.

“Burns, cuts and bug bites” She explains as if she is reading it off the label.

“First a fire expert, now a nurse, aren’t you just the coolest little thing?” Regina coos and though she sounds rather condescending, Cady knows it's her way of flirting and teasing her. She would never share that the particular tone brought shivers down her spine.

There was still some clarity in the sky, but the sun was evidently lowering down and due to the mountains surrounding them, it would get darker earlier than they expected, making them feel like they should eat with a certain urgency, that is until, as they finally all sit down to enjoy their meal, fairy lights tied from one tree to the other all around their camp site lit up, additionally contributing to the enchanting feeling of camping with your friends, with no ‘grown ups’ around.

This time it is Janis that insists they take a photo, before digging into their hard-earned dinner.

“Regina are you wearing Tommy Hilfiger in the fucking woods?” Janis asked incredulously upon zooming in on the photo.

“It feels like sportswear to me! And at least I’m not wearing pyjama pants!” Regina retorted, reaching for a secret bag of chips she would refuse to share with anyone (but Cady if she gave her a kiss) and dumping half of it on her plate.

“I’ll let you know it is very trendy to wear this style outside these days” Janis barks back. Soon, everyone is contributing to the conversation on what they think the most ridiculous fashion statements of the year are.

Gretchen insists on hand-feeding Karen pieces of food, in order to avoid her girlfriend ingesting any of the ointment. Damian controls the volume of the speaker he eventually found, still in his car, further adding to the dreamy atmosphere they found themselves in.

The food was great, their drinks were cold, and Regina’s hand didn’t leave Cady’s lap for a second. It couldn’t get much more perfect than this.

After wrapping up the dinner with mangoes, peaches and grapes, Damian and Gretchen agree to take care of the dishes, since everyone else had been involved in cooking dinner and Karen was injured and was getting the absolute princess treatment from her girlfriend, even if the taller girl assured her she was fine and that it didn’t hurt anymore.

In the meanwhile, Janis started the campfire, after watching Cady do it on the grill, she felt confident enough she would be able to do it without the pressure of cooking food on it and just letting the fire be fire. It worked out better than Cady expected.

Despite the newly founded heat source, the chill of a riverside night was settling in, making everyone pop into their tents to change into hoodies and jackets. Regina, definitely not intentionally, forgot to pack anything warm to wear, and she totally didn’t account for the fact that Cady would have packed an extra sweater which she quickly offered to her girlfriend. This was absolutely not a ploy so that Regina could be further engulfed in the essence of her girlfriend, at all.

“How did you remember to bring a s'mores making kit, but not warm clothes!” Cady scolded, though she was more than happy to lend Regina anything she wanted and was absolutely thrilled to see her girlfriend in her nerdy university sweater.

“I don’t know, baby! I would be so lost without you!” Regina groans with fake despair, only using it as an excuse to cling to Cady, hugging her tightly and taking a big sniff of her hair, now a mix of their shampoo and smokeyness from the grill. It was a combination that made Regina feel needy and clingy, she learned.

The friend group sat around the fire, Regina insisting Cady sits on her lap to ‘warm her up’ when she had refused to substitute her shorts for pants, Gretchen holding two sticks with a marshmallow for her and the other for Karen and Damian and Janis were in a heated discussion about which type of chocolate was the superior one for s’mores.

Everyone contributed to the conversation, no conclusion was achieved.

The s’mores are delicious and only a handful of them melt off into the fire, which, taking into account how the dinner preparations had started, felt like a victory to everyone.

It was mandatory they told scary stories. Regina and Janis immediately make a competition out of it, claiming they have the best horror stories, only for Regina to describe an experience so rich and privileged that no one could relate to it, and for Janis to go on so many tangents that everyone completely missed the apex of the story.

Damian’s is certainly the most entertaining to listen to, creating different voices for each character, getting up and acting out every other scene he describes, but ultimately being rather predictable due to how much he hypes it up. Cady describes the time there was a pride of lions stalking around the camp she was staying at with her mom back in Kenya, all the zoologists unbelievably interested in analysing the behaviour of the animals instead of freaking out like a normal person would; when the ginger reveals the pride was just searching for a lost cub that had gotten extra interested in their huts, it made the experience for her friends way less scary. Karen declares that, presently, grabbing that red coal had been the scariest moment she could remember.

The grand victor of their story time was, to the guess of no one, Gretchen, who was strangely into creepypasta podcasts and, after overcoming the growing anxiety from so many pairs of eyes watching her, recalled approximately five stories in a row, her friends even placing a flashlight under her chin for added effect, and completely immersed in the way her voice changed depending on the intensity of the tale.

Karen and Regina couldn’t be prouder. Karen kept to herself that Gretchen refused to listen to the podcasts at night, or if she did, she would have to be present and hold her hand.

The fire had reduced to a few flickering flames. No one had any idea what time it was, their phones long forgotten since they couldn’t provide any exterior entertainment and each other’s company being more than enough to occupy their brains. Still, the sky had long turned completely dark and the moon smiled upon them instead of the scorching sun. There was still a pleasant tune playing in the background, like Damian and Gretchen had timed perfectly when they would start to wind down.

Gretchen and Karen are the first ones to announce they are heading back to their tent. Cady insists on reapplying the ointment on Karen’s fingers, as further precaution. The couple, as much as they love their friends, are most used to existing as one inside their little bubble, so, after an entire day of dealing with Regina and Janis’ antics and the excitement of being out on vacation, they were ready to wind down in each other’s familiarity and quiet.

When Cady returned outside, waving goodbye to Karen and Gretchen as they retreated to their tent, Janis, Regina and Damian had moved back to the table, Uno deck in hand.

“You’re cheating somehow” Janis accuses Regina perhaps a million times.

“Get good, kid” Regina sticks her tongue out every time.

“Will someone please just win? We have been at it forever!” Damian complained, rightfully so. They have had to turn the deck around three times and whenever someone was close to winning they would somehow have to grab more cards, permanently making them prisoners of the cards.

Discreetly, it is Cady that wins. Regina and Janis demand an immediate rematch.

“Nuh-uh, you guys take this way too seriously, I’m out!” The boy throws his cards on the table and heads to the bathroom before retiring to his shared tent with Janis, half whispering-half screaming for her to not wake him up when she heads to bed.

“One more!” Janis begs as Regina and Cady communicate with their eyes that they should get to sleep soon, too. “Unless you’re scared to lose!” Janis knows exactly how to push Regina’s buttons, so they play three more games. Cady wins them all.

“Damn, you guys suck!” She chuckles to herself, pride blooming in her chest.

“Whatever, no one likes a sore winner, Cady” Regina shrugs, covering her mouth to yawn.

“Yeah, Cady, you’re the one who sucks” Janis rubs sleep out of her eyes while putting the cards away. Cady learns she doesn’t like it when the two of them gang up on her, regardless of it meaning they are on the same page.

Regina makes Cady check the inside of their tent, firstly for spiders, then mosquitos, then snakes and the ginger sets her foot down when bears are brought into the mix. In the distance, they hear Damian squeal when Janis unzips the tent, and a vague ‘’Relax, dude!”, making the couple break out in laughter.

“Gretchen is sleeping, everyone shut up!” Karen whispered loudly, and even being separated, everyone was sent into a giggling fit.

“Holy shit, I’m exhausted.” Regina sighed exaggeratedly as she lied down on the surprisingly comfortable bed, now, more than ever, happy she wasn’t sleeping on an air mattress inside a sleeping bag.

“How are you liking camping so far?” Cady asks, already having settled herself in bed while Regina completed her extensive skin care routine. She opens her arms for the blonde to lay her head on her chest, cuddling each other close. Hands instantly find their way to smooth hair, absentmindedly curling its ends on her fingers.

“It’s fine, because you’re here.” Regina confesses, adjusting her body to find the most comfortable position, which would be one leg over Cady’s own and one arm around her stomach, pulling her impossibly close.

“Regina George, ever the romantic” Cady kisses the top of her head with a smile.

“I mean it, baby.” Regina lifts herself up from her spot so she can look Cady in the eyes. “You were amazing out there! I don’t know how you manage to stay so collected when everything around you is going wrong.” She thinks back to the many moments where, if it hadn’t been for Cady’s presence and guidance, she would have packed her things and left for a hotel.

“Nothing I hadn’t mentally prepared for happened. Why do you think I brought ointments and extra food? Things are bound to get out of hand and staying calm in the wilderness is key” Her analysis of the situation has a scholarly tone to it, and Regina realises that Cady’s serenity not only comes from experience but also her own struggles with overthinking every little situation, before it even happens. Still, she places a soft kiss on pretty pink lips.

“I can’t believe I love a freaking nerd this much” Regina teased with a smile. Cady could only capture her in another kiss, hand previously entangled in blonde locks finding the back of her neck and lightly scratching the skin there.

“I love you too, Reg.” Her voice lowered in a way that shot all sorts of feelings through Regina’s body.

They meet each other in a more fervent kiss, Regina propping herself more comfortably over Cady, hands travelling to the inside of her shirt and tracing random patterns on her sides.

“We shouldn’t” Cady manages to say between kisses, only for Regina to bite down and gently pull on her bottom lip, making the ginger hold in a series of sinful sighs.

“You started it” Regina groaned as the hand that isn’t playing with the baby hairs of her nape met her ass, affirming its presence with a squeeze.

“And then I realised that our friends are not that far away and that you wouldn’t be quiet if your life depended on it.” Her words are more for herself than Regina, as what she preaches contradicts what her body does, unable to not touch her girlfriend in all the ways she knows makes her melt.

The whimper stuck in Regina’s throat is reminder enough that what Cady speaks is painfully true, so she reluctantly returns to her cuddling position, not missing how the ginger’s heart beat thumps against her ear maybe faster than her own. Hearing it slow down to a steady rhythm is what lulls her to sleep.

Regina stirs awake to the uncomfortable feeling of the lack of presence of her girlfriend’s body heat. Checking her phone, the white numbers read just over three am, indicating that she hadn’t even slept that long.

She was about to turn to the other side and go back to sleep when the reason why she had woken up in the first place hit her. Cady isn’t in bed. She sits up, squinting around the tent for ginger hair. None in sight.

Her next instinct is to grab her phone and call Cady, only to be annoyingly reminded that they had no service. Facing the night alone it is, she thought to herself.

Exiting the tent, she notes that Cady’s shoes aren’t there. Maybe she had just gone to the bathroom, Regina considered, though the behaviour felt uncharacteristic, since Cady would always go before bed precisely so she wouldn’t wake up in the middle of the night. The fairy lights had been turned off and as much as the moon shines in the clear sky, Regina wouldn’t risk not knowing what she is stepping on, so she uses the flashlight in her phone to navigate around the campsite. Flashing the light on her friends’ tents, it seems everyone is peacefully asleep. Regina makes the short walk towards the bathroom, shining the light at every weird shadow and noise that comes from the trees and dodging what feels like a million flying critters.

“Cads?” She asks, to no avail. “Fuck” She curses under her breath, returning to the tents with increasing worry in her chest.

Her eyes scan the horizon from the spot next to her car, where they had first taken in the place. Trees, mountains, river, the other campsite on the opposite side of the river, weird silhouette in the pier, more trees, more mount-

Wait, weird silhouette in the pier? Regina retraces the path with her eyes, finding someone, or something, lying down on the pier, hair dangling in the air, nearly touching still water. Her footsteps are faster than when she had previously been searching for her girlfriend, now with a clear goal in sight.

“You scared the living shit out of me, Cady!” Regina tries to whisper as much as she can, but coming down from being so worried about the ginger made her voice a little loud.

“Hey Reggie” Cady sat up, but showing no intention to get up or move from her spot. The nickname and her voice indicated that something was troubling her.

“What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?” Regina hesitantly sits down next to her. Cady immediately rests her head on her shoulder, looking up at the sky. Impulsively, Regina wraps a protective arm around her waist.

“Just taking in the stars.” Cady replies with a soft shrug, scooting closer to Regina. The comment makes the blonde also look up.

“Woah.”

“Right?”

“There’s no way those are all airplanes, right?” Regina innocently wonders, genuinely never having seen a sky as starry as this. Finally, Cady chuckles.

“I’m pretty sure those are all stars.” She concurs and sighs when the laughter dies down. Regina was never good at providing comfort, perhaps it being one of the reasons why being with Cady was so easy, since the ginger had an unmatched emotional maturity. In situations like these, however, she wishes she knew the right things to say or ask. Instead, she pathetically looks down, enchanted by how Cady’s eyes reflect the stars and how the glow on her skin is so different from when it is hit by the sun.

“What’s on your mind, pretty girl?” She acknowledged she should probably ask, when Cady’s longing eyes stay trained on the night sky. It takes the ginger a few heart beats to reply, most likely studying her feelings to come up with the best way to describe what goes on in her head.

“I think…being outside all day like this, reconnecting with nature, has made me realise how much I miss Kenya.” Cady explains. “When I first moved to America, the sky felt like it was upside down” While the ginger opens her heart to Regina, the blonde replies with a snort.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh but how is that possible?” She apologises and kisses Cady’s forming pout while sharply looking up at her.

“In Kenya’s southern hemisphere, where I spent most of my time, the sky is like… reflected” She launched into an astronomy class, gesturing with her hands how the constellations were mirrored from one hemisphere to the other.

“Woah, I had no idea.” Regina’s previous mocking tone turned into genuine surprise and interest. “That must have felt so weird!” She puts herself in little teenager Cady’s shoes, the picture not being that hard to paint considering the ginger had told her many stories about how disorienting it had been from being homeschooled in another continent to getting thrown into the American public school system. She now understands how puzzling it must have been to experience this unfamiliarity on so many levels it literally reached the sky.

“It was really strange at first.” Cady agrees. “But after a while you find comfort in the uncomfortable.” Regina nods, herself having done the same by living with her less than ideal, while very rich, family.

“Would you ever go back?” Regina brings them back to Cady’s initial comment about how she missed Kenya. The ginger shakes her head.

“I have no reason to.” Her voice suddenly determined. “I have found a new life here” Regina becomes aware that Cady is no longer looking at the sky, but at her. “A new star that inspires me” She continued.

“Cady…” The blonde is at a loss for words. There was something so tender about the way her girlfriend was looking up at her, how her bottom lip was tucked between her teeth. Cady had always been so vulnerable with her, regardless of Regina’s clumsiness around dealing with emotions.

Just thinking back to when they started seeing each other, Regina was freshly getting acquainted with being out of the closet now that she was free from the shackles of her family, and, though she had slept with a handful of girls, she had never thought she would be one to settle into a relationship. Still, Cady showed her what it felt like to be loved, cared for, to always have one person to fall back on without feeling like a burden. Of course she was close with her friends, Gretchen and Karen were more like family than the people that gave birth to her, and Janis and Damian’s company was highly entertaining and so very valued by her, but it was different with Cady.

If Regina was to fall back on her bitchier tendencies, it was likely that Karen and Gretchen would apologise a million times for things that weren’t even their fault, Damian would straight up ignore her for days at a time, and Janis would be a bitch back, while Cady took the time to understand why Regina reacted the way she did, and not only that but also called her out on it, though never in a judgemental way, just in hopes that she learns from her mistakes and doesn’t make them again. Cady made her want to be a better person.

Now, in front of her, her sweet girl makes a declaration that makes her heart flutter and her stomach fill with butterflies. She has lost count of how many times she has fallen for Cady all over again today. No, this is deeper than falling in love. It's more detailed, more intricate.

“Regina…” Cady’s eyes flutter from Regina’s to her lips, leaning steadily in until they connect. Even the kiss feels different for the blonde, making her wonder if it feels different for Cady too (not that she would have the courage to ask). She has kissed Cady countless times, through smiles, tears, after fights to make up, during fights to shut each other up. None of those times amount to the meteorite shower travelling through her heart when she feels Cady’s soft lips against hers.

It finally registers in her brain. She wants to spend the rest of her life with Cady.

—

The next morning, the couple is the last one to join everyone for breakfast. Still, unbeknownst to them, there is somehow freshly made coffee, hash browns, toast and scrambled eggs.

“You did all this without burning the campsite down?” The taunting comes from Cady, accepting the warm mug of black coffee Regina hands her, while the blonde goes back to dig in the fridge for her creamer.

“What can I say, I’m a fast learner” Janis leans back on the bench smugly “Plus you guys sleep like rocks, we were in and out of your tent like ten times and you didn’t even notice” She finishes with a bite of her eggs. Cady flashes her a bright smile in acknowledgment.

Everyone falls into small conversations about how the first night in a tent felt like. Cady notes how quiet Regina is during breakfast, not eating much more than a piece of toast, preferring to cling to the energy the coffee provided. The only indicator that they aren’t in some sort of fight is that Regina hasn’t stopped touching Cady in one way or the other: hand around her waist, or on her thigh, or holding her own hand, even holding her gaze longer than usual while Cady is contributing to the chat on behalf of both of them.

The group agrees to go on a hike that morning, trying to take advantage of the low sun before it gets too warm out and they would probably have to return to the river to cool off. There was a trail near the site, and a couple other campers had the same idea as them which was reassuring, in case they got lost or hurt.

Regina was consistently in the back of the line while Cady would often be leading her friends. It especially made Janis feel uneasy, as the blonde wasn’t returning any of her witty remarks or engaging in much of anything unless her name was actually mentioned.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Janis manages to ask, once the other four had sped up a bit and Regina had fallen more behind. The blonde looked at her shorter friend in a way that if Janis didn’t know any better she would assume her friend was high. She was caught in some sort of daze, air in her voice and fog in her mind.

“I’m gonna marry Cady one day” It is the first time she says it out loud.

It leaves Janis as dumbfounded as Regina had felt when she first realised it.

When they return to base, everyone beelines for the water, and Regina allows herself to have fun. She doesn’t worry about her hair or her body or how loud she is being. She hugs Cady and kisses her in front of everyone without a second thought. And my god, is it all so worth it, to be the reason why Cady smiles so brightly it outshines the sun, to actually see the love of her life in a brand new light, one that bound them forever.

Gretchen, Karen and Damian all share worried looks between them, much like Janis believing there must be something wrong with their otherwise reserved friend. Not Janis, however, who observed the two women with new found warmth in her heart, even longing to find love as pure and true as they had.

Camping, Regina decides, is her new favourite thing to do and she can’t wait to do it with just Cady. She decides she is obsessed with Cady’s natural scent mixed with the smokeyness of being on the grill. She appreciates the quiet of nature, the green of the leaves and, strangely enough, how she can’t see the bottom of the river. She is no longer afraid of the unknown, because Cady will always be there to rescue her, to aid her, to adore her. She loves the way Cady tucks her legs on her chair by the campfire with a book in her hand, occasionally looking up at the sky and taking deep breaths, grounding herself in nature.

“Are you okay, my love?” Cady asks, reaching her arm out to her girlfriend when she catches her just watching her read. Regina swiftly holds her hand, dangling it in the air.

“Never been better, my angel.” Cady shoots her a soft smile and returns to her book, not finding anything that proves Regina’s words mean differently. Consequently, Regina is melting inside.

That night, after more s’mores and frustrating uno games, Regina is extra excited to return to her place in Cady’s arms.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Reggie? You barely said a word today.” Cady can’t help the increasing worry in her chest, feeling like maybe last night she had overshared and somehow scared Regina off. The thought makes her want to throw up.

“I have honestly never felt happier in my life.” Regina admitted, and Cady breathed in deeply, properly relaxing for the first time that day.

“Oh thank god” She giggled to herself. “I thought our conversation last night had been.. too much” She urges Regina closer, suddenly no amount of touch being enough.

On the contrary, Regina wanted to reply, but settled for kissing Cady’s shoulder and enjoying the steadiness of her breathing.

—

“Baby” Regina nudges Cady slightly, caressing her face and gently kissing her forehead. The other girl is sprawled on the bed, drool threatening to fall from a squished cheek. Regina giggles lightly. “Cadyyy” Her voice comes out as a melody, pecking her lips repeatedly until she feels the ginger kiss back.

“Hm?” She slowly blinks herself awake. “Was’ wrong? Y’okay?” She grumbles, turning around to properly face her girlfriend.

“Everything is okay, baby.” She reassures her first. “Get up, let’s go look at the stars!” Regina prompts as she gets up in advance to grab her and Cady their sweater and hoodie respectively. The words strike Cady to excitedly get up.

“Wait really?” She quickly puts on the hoodie Regina throws her way.

“Yes, really! C’mon!”

Cady unmistakably bounces on her feet, on their way to the pier. It reassured the thoughts running through Regina’s head.

The blonde is the first one to lie down on the wood, thankful that the day had been warm enough for it to dry by the time she had planned to bring Cady back out. The redhead is ecstatic to lay her head on Regina’s shoulder, and would be more than happy to sit in silence with her girlfriend and look up at the sky but Regina quickly fills the silence.

“Do you recognise any constellations?”

“Uh, are you kidding me? Don’t you know you are dating the biggest nerd ever?” Cady chuckles. “Of course I recognise all the constellations”

“Tell me about them then.” This makes Cady sit up.

“Really?” Regina nods, not understanding why her girlfriend appears so surprised, pulling on her hoodie so she lays back down against her. This sets Cady off into the biggest ramble about stars Regina has ever heard, never having imagined how much the ginger actually knew. Still, she was happy to pay attention to everything she said, hum in acknowledgement and ask questions when she finds appropriate. There is something incredibly charming about Cady’s endless knowledge.

“What made you want to learn more about astronomy?” Cady asks, her information dump coming to an end after what felt like hours of talking.

“I just wanted to know more about something you are clearly interested in.” Regina kisses her lips when Cady looks up at her with curiosity.

“Well now it’s only fair you tell me about something you are interested in” Cady counters, not being able to help feeling self conscious about how much she talked.

“I’m interested in your thoughts about marriage.” Regina gathers the courage to ask what she has been meaning to the entire day. Cady hastily sits up and faces the blonde.

“Why would you be interested in that?” Cady can’t help the waver in her voice. Regina bites her lip before sitting up too, grabbing Cady’s hand to hold it on her lap.

“Because.” Regina takes a deep breath. “I hope one day I can get married.” She looks in Cady’s eyes. “To you.” She can feel her cheeks getting flushed with Cady’s face of absolute shock.

“Regina George, are you proposing to me right now?” Cady asks with a gasp, eyes turning glassy. The blonde chuckles and shakes her head.

“Not right now, no. Though it did cross my mind.” Regina reflects on all the thoughts she has had the past 24 hours. “But I wanted you to know that it is my intention to do so one day. With a proper ring and all the pomp and circumstance you deserve.” She asserts her intentions with a nod.

“Regina I– I don’t know what to say..” Cady searches Regina’s eyes for any sign of mockery, waiting for the pin to drop and her girlfriend to hit her with a ‘Sike!’

“You don’t have to say anything now. I just wanted to tell you that I’m in this for life.” Regina starts. “As a matter of fact, I can’t even think about what life was like before I met you. Like, I only started to really live once you were in my life.” She makes up as she goes, never having been good at pouring her feelings out like this. “Cady I love you more than anything in this universe. I don’t even want to imagine what it would feel like to not have you by my side, to not see you grow to be the best mathematician that ever existed, to be your arm candy when you end up winning some big award” For some reason her eyes are tearing up. “I want to watch your eyebrows furrow when you get frustrated at an equation, to be the person you come home to after a long day– God Cady you are everything to me.”

“Reggie” Cady doesn’t try to contain her tears, she lets them flow freely while her lip trembles in a pout. “I love you so much” She sniffs, trying to come up with something equally as romantic to say, but the only thing that comes out is a sob. Regina laughs, her own tears now falling. In embarrassment she pulls Cady into a deep kiss. It is salty and wet from their conjoint crying but neither of them mind. In that moment, they need to feel connected to each other, hands finding wet cheeks and soft hair, lips dancing to the sound of a ballad in their heads.

That night, the moon blesses the promises they make, the stars become the safe keepers of their love, and, one day, the whole universe will have beared witness of the commitment they made.