Our young hero, or rather, the unfortunate soul of this tale, Camille "Cammy" Kamdev, was nearly sixteen and extremely sure she was allergic to the Australian bush. She scratched her back on the green door frame of their four-man—or rather, four-girl—room, much like a brown bear uses a tree trunk to satiate an itch they can't reach.

Scratch. SCRATCH.

"So good!" she murmured in her own little heaven at the first sign of relief. The moan escaping her lips drew her friend's attention away from the sneaky K-pop ogling—aka, googling on a contraband tablet Cammy had sneaked into their 'no gadget camp'.

"Oh my god, Cammy-Kamila! What are you doing?" Her best friend, Becca-Banana, nicknamed thus for her love of bananas, burst out laughing—nearly rolling herself off Cammy's bottom bunk in a hysterical fit. "You look like a—" She couldn't even finish that sentence, but we can be pretty sure she would have said a brown bear too if she could. Instead, Becca toppled backward and landed on her buttocks with an audible THUD!

It was Cammy-Kamila's turn to laugh at her friend, despite still pretending to be a brown bear in desperate need of a good scratch. "Did you just roll over like a sack of potato, you turd?"

Becca snorted like a little piglet from somewhere on the floor and thumped her head on the bunk frame when she re-emerged from her fit. As she brushed her head to calm the pain, she eyed Cammy still attached to the doorframe.

"Seriously. What are you doing?"

Cammy ignored Becca as she dug her shoulder against the doorframe and nearly melted to the floor in relief when it hit the itchy spot. "I swear I'm allergic to the damn bush! Ever since we got here, my shoulders have been so itchy and I just can't get rid of it. I bet I have giant hives there."

Becca pushed herself up off the floor and skipped to Cammy. "Show me."

Cammy reluctantly left the floor and the doorframe and turned around, lifting her t-shirt up for Becca to examine what must honestly be an allergic reaction.

"So? How big and ugly is it? I hope it goes away by my birthday." Cammy tried to catch Becca's attention.

Becca poked at her shoulder blades.

"So? How bad does it look? What is it?"

"You're so bloody skinny, girl. I think I can see your bones!" Becca-Banana poked her shoulder blade again. "You should eat some more—"

"Don't you dare say banana or I swear, I'll leave you to sit with Big Bert in the bus!"

Everyone knew Big Bert—the six-foot-four child in a big man's body—had a thing for Becca. There were even rumors it was because she was so tiny, like a doll.

Behind her, she could hear her friend gasp a don't-you-dare gasp. "Bananas are healthy, you know?"

Cammy suddenly clammed up then, not because of what Becca had said, but the sight that had caught her eyes outside their open door.

Reggie Sanchez, the dream-boat. The boy with that really cute dimple, the one you could die for—was striding right towards their cabin. His bag hoisted on his back and that lopsided smile that always made Cammy's heart flutter and her cheeks flush red, plastered on his gorgeous caramel face.

Their eyes met, momentarily, so minuscule a moment that it would have been meaningless for others but not Cammy.

"Do it," Becca said, leaning on Cammy's shoulder in a hushed whisper. "He's really cute!"

Cammy shoved Bec away, flustered. "And if he says no? The entire school next year will make fun of me. Cammy-Kamila, the serial loner."

"If you don't ask him, I will?" Becca grinned beside her.

"I thought you don't like him," Cammy teased, though somewhere inside, the prospect of Becca liking Reggie made her feel green with envy. "Like I said, bullshit. You like him too."

Becca shrugged, though a faint smile was on her lips, Cammy was sure. "He's alright."

"He's alright? Really?"

"Who's all right?" The silky voice that belonged to Reggie floated behind them suddenly.

"No one. Nothing!" Cammy jumped back nervously. "We were, we were just..."

"Talking about a celeb." Becca came to her rescue, hovering beside Cammy, throwing obvious glances at Reggie and her. "What brings you, Reg?"

Cammy stole glances at Reggie from beneath her lashes, unable to help herself. 'Please say me,' her heart was saying. For as long as Cammy could remember—a major exaggeration, of course—she'd liked Reggie. Reggie was going to be her birthday wish, she had decided.

Last night, in a desperate moment to steal a glance at Reggie during dinner, she prayed under her breath. "Dear Cupid. Dear God of Love. If you exist, please, please, please, can you make Reggie like me for my sixteenth birthday? That would be the best gift ever. EVER. Thank you!"

Reggie—stood outside the door—flashed Cammy his heart-flutter-inducing smile. "Mr Tam wanted me to round up all the stragglers. You guys ready?" He peered past them at the yet-to-be-packed debris on Cammy's bed. Becca's debris!

Cammy cursed in her head. The mess wasn't hers, but she could imagine what Reggie must be thinking. Cammy-the-messy-loner. There was no way he'd fall for her now. Not unless Cupid answered her prayer and shot the boy in the heart with one of his arrows. If only.

Cammy smiled back awkwardly. "We're..."

"We're almost done, Reggie. Cammy was just helping me finish up."

Reggie nodded, warmly smiling at Becca for a moment. A moment Cammy saw. A moment that caused her fluttering heart to hitch. Did they just have a moment? Reggie and Bec?

No. No. Cammy stomped her foot—or imagined it, rather. There was no way she was going to have Reggie think of her as a stomper. Instead, she hurriedly pulled Becca away from the moment and back towards the bunk.

"Come on. Let's finish packing your junk or I'll just throw them in the bin. And what was that?" she asked in a hush once they reached the bunk.

"What was what?" Becca shrugged, grabbing her multiple magazines and shoving them in her backpack.

Cammy glanced up at the door, hurt that Becca was pretending nothing had happened. That Reggie hadn't just given her a cursory glance, but a full look, the eye contact deep and meaningful.

Reggie was still by the door. He awkwardly waved at Cammy as he eyed Becca again. "Hey, Bec!" He stepped in, rushing to aid her friend. "Let me help you with that."

And there it was again, that deeper-than-the-ocean eye contact as he grabbed the bag off her friend.

"Go ahead, Cam. Mr Tam was asking if you wanted to sit upfront with him, in case you get sick again. Bec can sit with us."

Cammy's flutter died. Ugh. She would never live that down, would she? She reluctantly grabbed her bag and marched out. As much as she hated the idea of sitting up the front with Mr Tam, or hated the idea of Reggie and Becca sitting together more, she knew she didn't want to be that girl that threw up all over other students again.

Motion and Cammy didn't mix, obviously.

"Why did I even bother coming to this stupid camp?!" She gritted her teeth and dragged herself away from the pair.

'For Reggie, of course!' her heart said. The moment he had asked Bec and her if they were coming, Cammy had decided—she was going. She had completely forgotten about the motion sickness thing.

Her back itched uproariously beneath her bag again, adding another layer of misery. All she wanted to do was throw herself against a tree. Or on her bed once she got home and cry... but not in front of Reggie.

Cammy couldn't help it. She glanced back once, only to see Reggie laughing at something Becca had said. The laugh lit up his entire face. A face she loved. A face she wished would laugh at something funny she'd say too.

"Who am I kidding!" Cammy sighed, forcing herself to turn back around and away from the sight. "I can't even manage a stupid sentence in front of him."

'Maybe one day,' her stupid heart replied. Not that Cammy was convinced, of course.

WC: 1382 TWC: 1382

[A/N: I've never written a teen-fic romcom, so obviously I'm wondering if I portrayed these characters all right? What about the concept? Intriguing enough? 😃 Tell me, tell me! I welcome all feedback as it helps me improve this story in the long run.

Do you have a guess? Thoughts? Can sniff out what's about to happen, share it. Let's see if you nail it in the head. But either way, thank you for coming on board this Cupid train. I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I plan to. ]