"Let's go. Let's go!" EJ exclaimed, honking his horn as Ashlyn made her way to his car. "Last one in's a rotten egg and that's no yolk."

"Ugh! He's on a dad joke kick 'cause he's taking us all on a road trip." Ashlyn said, getting into the backseat with Carlos in the middle and Kourtney on his other side.

"That is completely false, and I just have one question." EJ said, looking at the three in the back. "What's orange and sounds like a parrot?... A carrot."

"Is he okay?" Carlos asked, looking over at Ashlyn.

"Just for a final headcount, who's not here?" EJ asked.

"Big Red's gotta work." Ashlyn informed.

"Sebbie's gotta milk." Carlos explained.

"Nini's with her moms." Ashlyn explained.

"Ricky's with..." Carlos started but was cut off by EJ pressing on the car horn as he held eye contact.

"We don't say her name." EJ said, seriously before changing the subject. "And why are you all coming to the world's greatest camp for two weeks?"

"Because there's a secret celebrity!" The three exclaimed together.

"Oh. I was actually looking for, 'because we all love each other,' and something, something 'Wildcats!'" EJ said.

"Yes!" Ashlyn said, pointing at her cousin.

"Hey, G, come on." EJ said, looking out the window as the girl approached the car.

"There she is." Kourtney said. "Okay braids!"

Gina quickly stopped outside the car as she prayed quickly before getting into the car.

"What'd you wish for?" EJ asked, looking over at the girl.

"Well if I told you that, then who knows what would happen." Gina said, smirking at the boy as she looked around the car. "So, where's the girlfriend? I thought she was coming with us to camp?"

"She was. I mean she is. It's just her trip to LA lasted longer than a few days so she'll just meet us at the camp." EJ explained as a smile appeared on his face.

"More like a few weeks." Kourtney said, holding her hand out. "Am I the only one who's been going through Soul withdrawals."

"Definitely not." EJ said, shaking his head.

"Aw, look he's blushing just talking about her." Ashlyn said, causing the entire car to aw. "We love #Walkwell!"

"Yeah, yeah." EJ said, shaking his head as the smile didn't go away.

"Let's go!" Carlos said, excitedly

...

Soul stepped into the airport, hand in hand with her mom.

🎥
Soul, East High Junior

LA has been amazing and I love working with Jamie and Quinn but I do miss home. Especially the people.
🎥

"Soul!" Mom called, causing the girl to snap out of daydream. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine." Soul said, nodding her head as she sent her mom a smile. "I'm just gonna miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you too, bug." Mom said, pulling her daughter into a tight before pulling away, smiling at the girl. "But you're going to be fine! You'll have a great time and you'll be with all your friends, Gina and EJ! Didn't you miss them?"

"Yeah, of course I miss them all like crazy!" Soul said, nodding her head. "It's just I haven't been away from you for this long in a long time."

"Hey, you're going to be just fine! I'm just one call away." Mom said, grabbing her daughter's hand, giving it a small squeeze. "Night or Day. You call, I'll be there to answer."

"Thanks Mom." Soul said, pulling her mom into another hug.

"Flight 107 to Salt Lake is now boarding."

"That's you." Soul said, pulling away from the hug, smiling at her mom. "I love you."

"I love you." Mom said, placing a hand on her cheek, smiling from ear to ear. "I'll see you soon. 2 weeks."

"2 weeks." Soul agreed, nodding her head.

"Bye, Bug." Mom said, sending one last small smile before dropping her hand as she made her way to boarding.

"Bye.." Soul muttered to herself, turning around as she wrapped her arms around herself, making her way out of the airport and back into the Uber.

"Where to ma'am." The driver asked, looking back at the girl.

"Camp Shallow Lake, please." Soul said, smiling at the driver.

...

"Camp Shallow Lake, y'all. My second home." EJ said, stepping onto the campgrounds followed by the other four.

"Don't you have a second home, Caswell?" Gina asked.

"Well, my second second-home." EJ explained, walking backwards as he ushered them to follow. "Come on. Seriously, I came to this camp as an athlete and became an athlete-actor. You came to Shallow Lake one way and you just become something else. It happens to everyone, though."

"Wow. And I thought this was a vacation." Ashlyn said.

"Are those Wildcats I see?" A girl said, rolling a wagon behind her. "What's up, Rocket Man?"

"Hey, how you doing, Gadget?" EJ said, pulling the girl into a hug.

"What language are they using?" Gina asked, smiling with her teeth closed, leaning towards Ashlyn, causing her to shrug.

"Ready for a good summer?" EJ asked.

"Oh, yeah dude." Maddox said , punching the boy in his chest.

"Alright. It's been five minutes and I already miss Seb." Carlos said.

"Oh, and I miss Biggie." Ashlyn said, wrapping an arm around the boy. "But remember how we said we weren't going to do that? This is our Wildcat summer adventure and we're going angst-less."

"I just feel naked without my angst." Carlos said.

"Alright. I'm just gonna need to collect your phones, snacks and all electronic devices." Maddox said, holding out a bucket that said No Phone Zone; Free Your Mind. "Basically, anything that brings you joy. I'm only half kidding. But you know it's actually pretty great once you get past the withdrawal. You'll have so much fun, you won't miss your phone."

"Hey, it's only for two weeks." Carlos said, placing a hand on Kourtney's back.

"But Sasha doesn't know that." Kourtney explained, kissing her hand before placing it on her phone screen.

"Sasha is your phone." Carlos reminded the girl.

"I just got her, Carlos. She's too young to understand what any of this means." Kourtney explained, taking a quick selfie, kissing it one last time before placing it in the bucket.

"Rocket man." Maddox said, walking up to the boy with the bucket out.

"Just one second. I'm just making sure my girlfriend is still on her way." EJ said, looking at his phone as he typed away.

"I'm already here." Soul said, smiling as she stood behind Carlos and Ashlyn, causing everyone's head to quickly snap in her direction. "Hi guys!"

"Soul!" They exclaimed, causing Soul to wrap her arms around Carlos and Ashlyn as she chuckled, moving over to Kourtney before making her way to Gina.

"Gina!" Soul exclaimed, excitedly throwing her arms around the girl.

"Soul!" Gina said, sounding just as excited, wrapping her arms around her, hugging back just as tight causing the two to rock back and forth before letting go. "Oh my god your hair! It's blonde."

"Yeah, I decided I wanted something new." Soul said, grinning at the girl. "But what about your hair! You're blonde too! These braids definitely suit you!"

"Thanks." Gina said, grinning from ear to ear, looking over the girl's shoulder, causing Soul to turn around.

"Hi." Soul said, smiling from ear to ear as her eyes landed on the boy.

"Hey." EJ said, pulling the girl into a bear hug. "You made it!"

"I told you I would." Soul said, speaking into his chest before leaning up and kissing the boy, causing them to smile at each other as they pulled apart.

"I'd hate to break up this beautiful moment but I really need your phones." Maddox said, holding out the bucket towards the couple. "Rocket man."

"Yeah." EJ said, quickly placing his phone into the bucket.

"Here you go..." Soul said, placing her phone in the bucket, freezing as her eyes locked with the person holding the bucket. "Maddie?"

"Soul!" Maddox said, smiling at the girl.

"It's been too long!" Soul said, quickly moving herself from her boyfriend as she wrapped her arms around the shorter girl, causing her to wrap her free arm around the girl. "How are you?! How's the family?"

"I'm doing good and the family... they're the same." Maddox said, trying not to say too much but Soul still understood what she meant.

"Babe, you know Maddox?" EJ asked, wrapping his arm around the girl, causing her to look up at him.

"We're cousins!" The two said together, smiling at each other.

"Her mom and my dad are actually siblings." Soul explained, causing the boy to nod.

"What a small world." Gina said, smiling at the two.

"Hey, I gotta run but we should catch up." Maddox said, pointing at the girl.

"Of course." Soul said, nodding her head, causing the girl to turn around as she walked away.

...

After going off and exploring the camp grounds, Soul noticed EJ causing the girl to smile as she made her way to him.

"Wow." Soul said, putting her arm on the boy, causing him to look over at her.

"It's not bad right?" EJ asked.

"It's so nice." Soul said, looking around before looking back at the boy. "It's just like how you explained it."

"It's the best summer ever." EJ said. "And just wait till you meet the celebrity guest. Which should be you Miss half a million streams on Youtube."

"Stop." Soul said, shaking her head as she chuckled. "I don't know about all that."

"Okay, since you refuse to give any clues at all." Ashlyn said, approaching with Kourtney, Carlos and Gina. "I'm just gonna go ahead and assume it's Gloria Steinem."

"I'm going with Oprah because Oprah." Kourtney explained, causing Gina to nod in agreement.

"Legally, I'm obligated to say Greta Gerwig." Carlos said.

"I have no guesses." Gina said, shrugging her shoulders, causing Soul to chuckle.

"It's all going down at the amphitheater tonight." EJ explained. "You guys are gonna be all 'damn-phitheater."

"Yeah, he's sorry." Soul said, smiling at the group in front of them.

"It's just hitting me now that you two are gonna be a thing all summer." Carlos said, pointing at the two standing close to each other, causing them to look at each other with a smile before looking back at the group.

"Well, as a thing-in-law, I have never been prouder." Ashlyn said, smiling at the two.

"And as the best friend, I could never be happier." Gina said, grabbing Soul's hand as EJ moved.

"Okay, so, basketball is over there. The pool is behind me. And if you all follow my gaze to the south here. You will see the Camp Shallow Lake barn and playhouse." EJ said, pointing at the things as the group walked. "Where young EJ has played such roles as Danny Zuto, of course, the dentist from Little Shop, and the Music Man."

"Speaking of rotten eggs, yes, I know what you did last summer." Kourtney said, looking over at the Caswell boy.

"And that concludes the tour. Now, if you follow me this way..." EJ said, dragging them over to where the cabins and bunks were. "Boys' bunk, girls' bunk, mountains, ocean, and sometimes there's bears."

"Got it." Kourtney said, causing her, Carlos and Ashlyn to all look behind them before looking back at the boy.

"Okay, I will see you all tonight for the big announcement. One more thing." EJ said, making his way away from the group before turning around, jogging back to the group. Beelining straight to Soul, lifting up her chin as he gave her a quick kiss. "See you later."

"Of course." Soul said, smiling at the boy, causing him to grin before he turned back around as he left.

"Come on lovebird." Gina said, grabbing the girl's arm, pulling her after Ashlyn and Kourtney into the girls' bunk.

"Oh! This is deeply round." Kourtney said, looking around the room.

"Six sides is some next-level feng shui." Ashlyn said.

"And some zero-level privacy." Kourtney said.

"Wait, okay." Gina said, causing the girls to group together. "Should we spread out our bed assignments or do the new-girl cluster?"

"I kinda want the top bunk." Soul said.

"I want the top bunk." Gina said.

"Fine, I'll take the bottom." Soul said, shrugging her shoulders.

"I want the bottom." Kourtney said.

"I want the top bunk." Ashlyn said.

"I want that one!" Gina said, pointing at the top bunk on the far left, quickly pushing through the group as she tossed her stuff onto the bed as Kourtney tossed her stuff on the bed directly underneath beside Soul with Ashlyn above her.

"Guys, I can't believe so many of us showed up for this." Soul said, chuckling at their recent shenanigans.

"Yeah. I mean your boy EJ talked a pretty big game." Kourtney said, causing Gina to bump shoulders with Soul.

"I was expecting, you know, more a Four-seasons-y vibe." Kourtney explained.

"He gets so excited when he describes camp." Ashlyn explains, causing Soul to nod. "And the only reason I never joined him is 'cause I spent the last six summers LARPing in Minnesota. Live-action roleplay? Anyone?"

"Yeah. Sully and his friends do it all the time when they are campaigning for their DnD games." Soul said, causing Gina and Kourtney to snicker as Soul quickly covered her mouth. "Don't tell them I told you that."

"We're gonna learn a lot about each other this summer, aren't we?" Kourtney said.

"My best character is a sewing wench from Gondor." Ashlyn said.

"Okay. I'm gonna check out the restroom." Kourtney said, turning away from the girl as she walked to the only door in the cabin that led into the bathroom, before quickly turning back around. "Ooh! And now I've done that."

"Come on, Kourt. This is gonna be a great summer." Gina said.

"Yeah, this guy I know kinda promised." Soul said, causing them all to chuckle.

"I'm glad you've got someone here but Howie's off to college, Nini's on the road, my mom's a little too old for camp." Kourtney said, rambling.

"And we'll be right beside you every day." Gina said, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder as the three surrounded the girl, as they grabbed each other's hands. Letting out a chuckle before the door bursts open.

"Yes, my ladies in the Honeycomb." Maddox said, entering the bunks followed by another girl. "Once again, I'm Maddox."

"I thought your name was Gadget?" Gina asked, confused.

"Gadget?" Soul asked, sounding confused.

"Ooh! No, yeah, it's also Gadget." Maddox informed, causing Soul to raise an eyebrow. "Yes, my camp name. Everyone gets one. It's super fun. Oh, um, that is actually my bed." Gesturing to the bed Kourtney was on, causing her to point at herself. "Yeah, I made some deep memories in that one over the years. I actually knocked out my two front teeth on that bulletin board during a massive pillow fight."

"It is all yours. All good. I am out." Kourtney said, quickly standing up from the bed, quickly grabbing her things, moving it to the other bottom bunk beside Soul.

"Thanks." Maddox said, making her way to the bed as she took a seat, smiling up at the girls. "So, lots of new faces. Another non-Wildcat in the corner. Who's got secrets?"

That caused Soul to let out a snort as everyone looked around at each other.

...

"Hi, there." Soul said, wrapping her arm around EJ's as she caught up to him, causing him to look over at her with a smile.

"Souline Walker from the Honeycomb, right?" EJ jokingly asked, grabbing her hand as he intertwined them.

"I guess that means I'm a local." Soul said, jokingly.

"I still can't believe you're here." EJ said, looking at the girl adoringly with a smile, causing her to smile at him. "I mean I can't believe it's been over 2 weeks since I saw you."

"I know." Soul said, pouting as she looked up at him. "I really missed you though. I think I kinda drove my mom crazy talking about how much I missed everyone and Salt Lake."

"I missed you too." EJ said, grinning. "And everything is all about to get just a little bit more exciting."

"Okay, who is this famous person and why isn't it one of the Real Housewives?" Carlos asked, approaching the couple as he wrapped his arm around EJ's other arm, while Gina walked by Soul's side as Kourtney walked beside her with a lantern in her hand.

"To me, a celebrity is someone who gets a bunch of questions about their skincare regimen." EJ explained.

"And I just learned that I am a celebrity." Carlos said, letting go of the boy as the three slowed down as the couple continued walking.

"Well, I may need a couple of tips because, go figure, bonfires make me jumpy." Kourtney admits.

"Kourt, what are we doing out here in the boonies?" Carlos asked, wrapping his arm around the girl.

"I don't know, maybe camping with our friends." Gina sarcastically said. "And something about a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

"I really hope it's worth it." Kourtney said.

"We're gonna have to really work hard to maintain..." Carlos said.

"The lifestyle to which we're accustomed." Kourtney finished.

"Finer things club, we're bringing it to camp." Carlos said, pointing at the girl.

"Ugh! I just wish I had the internet so I can google some camp life hacks." Kourtney said.

"Now where's the fun in that, Kourt." Gina said, smiling at the duo, making her way ahead of them.

"I might know a way. Did you happen to bring your lucky V. Hudge phone?" Carlos asked, plotting causing the laugh.

After a few more minutes everyone was seated around logs as Maddox made her way onto the stage with her guitar.

"What's up, new campers?" Maddox exclaimed into the microphone, causing everyone to clap and cheer. "I thought I'd sing a little song. Maybe one or two of you wanna sing along."

Welcome to the Shallow Lake of your dreams
Where are the days are full and nights are serene
On the way back to your yurts, don't forget the lake is dirt
If you fall in, no one will hear you scream (ah!)

At Shallow Lake, at Shallow Lake
We dive right into every friendship that we make
At Shallow Lake, at Shallow Lake
Each year we come from near and far to sing our hearts out in a barn
The stars of Shallow Lake
One, two, three

At Shallow Lake (there is no lake), at Shallow Lake (it's all a fake)
When you eat the tacos, that's your first mistake (big mistake)
At Shallow Lake (Shallow Lake), at Shallow Lake
Don't go to far into the woods, or you'll be gone for good
Under the stars of Shallow Lake

"EJ, that was really cute." Ashlyn said, sitting behind the couple and Gina with Carlos and Kourtney, causing them to turn and look at them.

"Yeah, we sing it every night." EJ said, excitedly with a big smile followed by a laugh. "I'm just kidding."

"What's next, the blood sacrifice?" Carlos sarcastically asks, leaning forward.

"Now, give it up for the Wood!" Maddox said, gaining the Wildcats attention as everyone began clapping and cheering. "He loves some noise! Yeah!"

"All right, all right, settle down. Settle down!" Dewey said, taking her place on stage, causing it to go silent. "For those of you who don't know, I'm your camp director, Dewey Wood."

"Dewey Wood?" EJ called out.

"Yes, he would!" The returning campers chanted back.

"Dewey Wood?"

"Yes, he would!"

"I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. It's another summer. Let's have fun. Friendship is magic. Be careful what you flush. Okay?" Dewey said with little to no emotion, causing Soul and Gina to look over at each other, raising their eyebrows. "Now, I know the reason we have many new faces here is because of the exciting news. This summer, Camp Shallow Lake has been selected for a very special opportunity, and to tell you all about it, here comes a very familiar face."

"Are you ready?" EJ asked, looking at his girlfriend with a smile, causing her to smile back.

"What did you do?" Soul asked.

"Mr. Corbin Bleu!" Dewey announced, causing everyone to cheer and clap as the group of Wildcats were the first to all quickly stand up as they clapped and cheered.

"Light 'em up!" Corbin said, causing confetti to come flying into the air. "Yes. What, what? What, what? Oh, I am so excited to be here at Camp Shallow Lake. You guys, I can't wait to tell you about what we've got planned this summer. My pals at the House of Mouse have given us the keys to the Magic Kingdom. And that means you guys are gonna be the first camp on the planet to premiere a global blockbuster which became a Broadway sensation. Does anyone have a jacket? It suddenly got cold in here."

EJ and Soul quickly made eye contact as the boy mouthed cold, causing the girl to shrug her shoulders.

"We're gonna put on Frozen!" Corbin announced, causing everyone to once again cheer and clap.

"Wait, really?" Gina said, excitedly grabbing onto Soul's arm, shaking it.

"Oh my god!" Ashlyn excitedly said.

"Best summer ever." EJ said.

"Very excited." Corbin said.

"Are you telling me that I get to meet the Corbin Bleu as in the original Chad Danforth." Soul excitedly said, causing her and Gina to squeal.

"And there's more." Corbin said, pulling a paper from his coat pocket. "So, this camp was chosen by Disney Theatrical's licensing agent, MTI, to do the first ever production of this Frozen script in advance of the release of licensing rights to high schools everywhere. And this camera is gonna be following us all around because we're also making a documentary about the show, and it's gonna premiere on Disney+, and it's gonna break the Internet. It's very meta, you guys."

"Hang in, is that camera gonna be here all summer?" Ashlyn asked.

"Well, not in the yurts." EJ said.

"Wow, I just realized why that health form we filled out was, like, 20 pages long." Carlos said, coming to a realization, causing the group to look at him. "I think I signed a release."

"I knew I should've read that thing." Kourtney said, letting out a gasp as she quickly fixed her hair.

"And hey. I know there are some real live Wildcats out there." Corbin said, causing the group to stand up before they quickly sat back down. "And I look forward to signing headshots for you all later this summer. Cause it's all going down at Shallow Lake. So watch this space. Thank you."

Everyone stood up as they all clapped and cheered one last time.

"I don't remember how to breathe." Ashlyn said, holding her chest.

"I don't remember how to worry." Kourtney said.

"I'll see all your beautiful faces later." Corbin said, waving to the campers. "Thank you."

"Oh, my gosh. Carlos, are you okay?" Gina asked, causing the three in the front to turn around to face the other three.

"It's better than Greta Gerwig." Carlos exclaimed.

"Definitely." Soul said, letting out a chuckle as she smiled at the boy, looking back to the stage. "Where did he go?"

"I'll be right back." EJ said, letting go of the girl's hand as he made his way to where the man and his cameraman went.

After a few minutes and no EJ, Soul got worried so she followed the direction he went.

"Hey, everything okay?" Soul asked, approaching her boyfriend, watching Dewey walk away as she turned to look at him.

"Uh, yeah. Just a small change of plans in the celebrity arrangement." EJ explained, quickly looking at the clipboard in his hands before looking back up at Soul. "But nothing is gonna ruin our perfect summer together. Because I am the guy who shows up, remember? Nothing's gonna get in our way."

"I know you are." Soul said, smiling at the boy as she grabbed his free hand, intertwining their fingers, causing them to smile at each other. "Besides who said anybody would?"

...
[Soul, EJ, Both]
It's you and me for the rest of our lives together
We're not breaking up, we're not falling out
We won't change (I hope)
Living perfectly, so happily, 'til forever
When it comes to trust
There's nothing that we can't say (I hope)

We're not worried
Definitely not worried at all
So disturbing
How all of these stars align (like, how?)
We're not nervous
And totally unconcerned with
Things uncertain (and there's a lot)

We're gonna be fine, so fine
Ain't no doubt about it
It's working out right, all right
All I'm thinkin' 'bout is
How everything's gonna be okay
No complications in our way
It's fine, we're fine
Ain't no doubt about it

Honestly, if you're asking me, we're not crazy
Yeah, we're old enough to know we're in love
That's no lie (but I'm 17)
If you promise me that we'll always be on the same page
Then I promise, too
I'll be choosing you every time (every-every time?)

We're not worried
Definitely not worried at all
So disturbing
How all of these stars align
We're not nervous
And totally unconcerned with
Things uncertain

We're gonna be fine, so fine
Ain't no doubt about it
It's working out right, all right
All I'm thinkin' 'bout is
How everything's gonna be okay
No complications in our way
It's fine, we're fine
Ain't no doubt about it

We're not worried
Definitely not worried at all
So disturbing
How all of these stars align
We're not nervous
And totally unconcerned with
Things uncertain

We're gonna be fine, so fine
Ain't no doubt about it
It's working out right, all right
All I'm thinkin' 'bout is
How everything's gonna be okay
No complications in our way
It's fine, we're fine
Ain't no doubt about it

...

"Guys, look who I just bumped into." Gina said, quickly stopping beside the couple, dragging the boy behind her, causing the couple to look over at them.

"Do you have room for one more?" Ricky asked, causing the couple to look back at each other before looking back at the two teens in front of them. "Group hug?"

...

Hi guys!! Hope everyone is doing well! I've been trying to get these chapters together for you beautiful people! Also to help with any confusion; the song EJ and Soul sang in this chapter was more of a song in your head. Like how Gina sang Balance! My thought was more like Julie and Luke in Perfect Harmony from JATP! I hope that makes sense!