Tabitha is so glad it's finally summer. After everything that happened last semester, she's ready to chill out with her friends at summer camp and have a summer romance with EJ. She had never been to summer camp before but hearing about all the good things about Camp Shallow Lake EJ had told her she decided to go with him and their friends. 

"Okay, do you have everything you need?" Spencer, Tabitha's dad asked her from where he stood, leaning against door in Tabitha's room. Tabitha had been staying at her dad's this week since her mom was spending time with her friends this week. 

"Yeah, I got everything." Tabitha replies, zipping up her purple-colored suitcase. She picks it up off her bed, turning to face her dad with a nervous smile as she fiddles with the bracelet she always wears. Specifically the one that matches to the bracelet EJ always wears. "Is it weird to be this nervous just for summer camp?"

Spencer chuckles lightly, opening his arms for a hug. "Awe, come here." Tabitha walks over to hug him, already feeling relaxed by his hug. Her dad's hugs were always the best. His hugs made her feel safe and comforted. "This is your first time going to summer camp so of course you'll be nervous. But don't worry, I'm sure you're going to have a blast. And if not, you can ask the camp director to call me or your mom to come pick you up." 

"Thanks, dad." Tabitha smiles. "I love you."

"Love you too, kiddo." Spencer responded. 

Tabitha's smile widens when she heard the sound of a car honking outside and she pulls away from her dad. "That's EJ. He's picking me up and then we're gonna go pick up the others so we can all go there together."

Spencer nods. "Is Maeve going to camp?" He questions as Tabitha went to go grab her suitcase. "I don't think you said if she was or not."

"Yeah, she is." Tabitha nods with a small smile on her face. As she rolls her suitcase behind her, she and her dad began to walk down the hallway to the door "Marc is going to pick her and Gina up. They'll be driving behind us on the way there since we all can't fit in EJ's car."

"Okay, have fun." Spencer smiled. 

"I'll try." Tabitha gave her dad a side hug before she opened the door, smiling widely when she saw EJ standing by the passenger door of his car.

EJ smiles brightly upon seeing her. "Hey, babe." He notices her dad at the door, and he waves at him, smiling politely at him. "Hey, Mr. Nelson."

"Hi, EJ." Spencer greets. He points at them with a stern expression on his face. "You guys be safe, okay?"

"We will, dad." Tabitha reassured him. Spencer nodded, waving at them both one last time before he went inside and closed the door. EJ helped Tabitha with putting her luggage in the back of his car and then opened the door for her. Tabitha thanked him and got in the car. He kissed her on the cheek, earning a smile from her, and he then closed the door before he went to the driver's side.

"Love your new hair, by the way." EJ commented, smiling at Tabitha as he got in the car.

Tabitha grins, running her hand through her short hair. "Thanks. I just thought to do something different for the summer with my hair." She then leaned forward to kiss him. EJ kissed her back, of course, smiling into the kiss.

After pulling from the kiss, they're both smiling at each other with a light color of blush on their faces. He then turns forward and starts the car. "Alright, let's go pick up the others."

****

First the couple picked up Carlos, Kourtney, and then Ashlyn. Marc, Maeve, and Gina were parked at Ashlyn's house already since they had planned with EJ and Tabitha to meet there. 

EJ honks the horn to signal to Ashlyn to hurry up. "Let's go, let's go." He grins. "Last one in's a rotten egg. And that's no yolk." 

Tabitha groans, leaning her head back on the seat. "He has been doing dad jokes non stop." She looks back at the other three with a pleading expression. "Someone get him to stop."

"I wish I could." Ashlyn sighs, getting into the back where Carlos and Kourtney are. "He's on a dad joke kick 'cause he's taking us all on a road trip." Ashlyn grins at Tabitha when she notices her short hair. "Tabi, love the hair."

Tabitha glances back at her with a smile. "Thanks, Ash."

"That is completely false," EJ argues, his lips forming into a grin. "And I just have on question."

"Please not another dad joke." Tabitha muttered.

"What's orange and sounds like a parrot?" EJ asks. "A carrot." He then laughed at his own joke.

"And it's another dad joke." Tabitha sighed heavily. She forced a smile when he grinned at her and patted his arm. 

"Is he okay?" Carlos asked, obviously concerned for EJ. Tabitha didn't blame him because to be honest she was getting concerned for him as well.

Tabitha glances at Carlos, shrugging her shoulders. "Honestly, I don't know anymore."

EJ chuckles, rolling his eyes. "Okay, just for a final headcount, who's not here?"

"Marc, Maeve, and Gina are not here-well, they are, but they're in Marc's car behind us." Tabitha rambled, pointing over her shoulder at Marc's car that was parked behind EJ's car.

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

"Sebbie's gotta milk." Carlos replied.

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

"Oh, and Ricky's with-"

Tabitha jumps, startled when EJ suddenly honked the horn which interrupted Carlos' sentence. EJ looks at everyone with a stern expression. "We don't say her name." Tabitha looks back at Ashlyn, sharing an amused smile with her. His stern expression turns happy when he asks, "And why are you all coming to the world's greatest camp for two weeks?"

Ashlyn, Carlos, Kourtney, and Tabitha grin at each other, the four of them excitedly exclaiming, "Because there's a secret celebrity!"

EJ"s face falls, disappointed from their answer. He shakes his head. "Oh. I was actually looking for," He smiles as he says, "'Because we all love each other' and you know, something, something 'Wildcats!'"

Ashlyn nods, pointing at him. "Yes."

"We totally also meant to include all that." Tabitha reassured EJ, smiling sheepishly at him.

In Marc's car, Maeve and Marc were arguing on who would be in charge of the aux chord during the road trip as they waited for Gina, who still hasn't left the house yet. "I clearly have better music taste than you." Maeve spoke from her place in the back while Mac was in the drivers seat.

Marc chuckles. "All you listen to is Disney songs, Taylor Swift songs, any songs from any members of One Direction, and Big Time Rush songs."

"And that's why I have better music taste." Maeve smirks. She scoffs, rolling her eyes. "I mean, who would like to listen to country songs the whole trip there?"

"Hey, country songs are good! And that's not the only thing I listen to, alright? I like a lot of pop and rock music." Marc defends himself. He narrows his eyes at her and points at her. "Aren't you the one who had a Blake Shelton poster when we were younger?"

A look of embarrassment appears on Maeve's face while she avoids eye contact with him. "Yeah, maybe." 

Before Gina had got in the car, she stopped and made a wish in her mind. Marc smiles brightly at her when she gets in the car. "So, G, what did you wish for?"

Gina smiles playfully at him. "Well, if I told you that, then who knows what could happen?"

Marc chuckles softly, rolling his eyes. A smile made its way to his lips when she leans over and kisses his cheek. Gina pulls away, smiling. She glances back at Maeve, laughing lightly. "So, were you guys seriously arguing about your music tastes?"

"Yeah," Maeve sighs. She leans forward, resting her right elbow on the side of Gina's seat, and points at Marc with an annoyed look on her face. "Please tell Mac that my music taste is better than his." 

Marc looks at her with offense and scoffs. "Not true."

"Okay, how about I settle this." Gina suggests, pulling up her playlist on her phone. She grins at her boyfriend and friend. "What if we listen to a little bit of HSM 2 and Camp Rock?"

Maeve grins at her. "That is a great idea!" She facepalms. "Why didn't I think of that?"

In EJ's Car, Tabitha pulls up 'Start The Party' from Camp Rock on her playlist at the same time EJ pulls up 'What Time Is It' from High School Musical 2 on his playlist. At the same time, Gina got 'Start The Party' on her playlist while Marc got 'What Time Is It' on his playlist.

"Summer." Tabitha grinned at EJ and in Marc's car Gina had said 'summer' at the same time, smiling at Mac.

EJ smiles at her. "Summer." Unbeknownst to him, he spoke in unison with Mac, who was smiling back at Gina. 

Ashlyn looks out the window with a smile. "Summer."

Carlos takes the sunglasses he was wearing to trade them out with a different color of sunglasses. "Summer." At the same time, Maeve had put on her sunglasses as she spoke in unison with Carlos.

"Summer!" Kourtney exclaimed excitedly, looking out the window.

EJ started his car and started driving with Marc and the others right behind. "What time is it? Summertime. It's our vacation. What time is it? Party time." In both cars they all raised their arms up which caused Tabitha and Gina to freak out since that meant EJ and Marc weren't holding onto the wheel anymore. At the same time, they both reached forward to hold onto the wheel. "That's right, say it aloud." Then the girls grab onto the boy's arms, putting their hands back on the wheel before the girls let go. 

"What time is it? Time of our lives." Everyone in both cars shimmed their shoulders leaning back and forth as they sing together. "Anticipation. What time is it? Summertime." Then they all do the shuffle arm dance move, but of course, EJ and Marc kept one hand on the wheel while doing the dance. "School's out. Scream and shout."

"Finally, summer's here." Ashlyn leaned her elbow on the window and smiled. 

"Ooh." Maeve leans back against the seat, crossing her arms with a smile on her face. "Good to be chilling out."

Tabitha leans her arm on the window she rolled down earlier and smiles as she looks out the window. "Yeah."

"I'm off the clock," EJ sang.

Tabitha continues looking out the window with a smile as she sings. "Hey." 

Mac sings the next lyric. "The pressure's off."

"Ooh." Tabitha and Maeve harmonized their voices together.

While EJ smiles at Tabitha, Marc smiles at Gina as he and EJ sing, "Now my girl's is what it's all about."

Carlos leans forward, resting his elbows on both Tabitha's seat and EJ's seat. "Ready for some sunshine."

"Ooh." Tabitha and Maeve sang again.

Carlos leans back against the seat as Kourtney sings, "For my heart to take a chance."

"I'm here to stay," Gina sings, smiling as she looks out the window. "Not movin' away." She glances at Marc with a soft smile. "Ready for a summer romance."

"Everybody ready. Goin' crazy. Yeah, we're out." Only Tabitha and EJ sing the first part before everyone else sings the rest. "Come on and let me hear you say it now. Right now." At one point during the road trip, the teens stopped to trade seats and give the drivers a break from driving. In EJ's car, Kourtney was driving with Carlos in the passenger's seat and Tabitha sat between Ashlyn and EJ in the back. In Marc's car, Maeve was driving, Marc sat in the passenger seat and Gina was in the back.

The next time they stopped they went back to the seating arrangement they all had before. "What time is it? Start the party!" 

"What time is it? Start the party!" The group decided to stop again to have some fun by doing some TikTok's and take some selfies together and to get a break from being in the car for so long. Carlos was the one in charge of being the videographer and photographer for the videos and selfies. "What time is it? It's time to party."

After they were all done, they got back into the car to continue the road trip. "That's what this summer's all about."

"What time is it? It's summertime. It's time to start, start, start the party." Everyone danced around in their seats as they sang along to the songs, having fun and enjoying their time together on the way to the camp.

Everyone screams excitedly when they spot the welcome sign of the camp, all happy to know that they were almost there. They all stopped at the sign to take a selfie of them by the sign. 

Ashlyn stood on the left side, pointing at the sign with a smile on her face. Marc stood between Gina and Maeve behind the sign, pointing down at the sign as he grinned. Gina put her hands underneath her chin as she smiled. Maeve leaned one arm on top of the sign, smiling while holding up a peace sign. Kourtney smiled with her arm raised and did a peace sign. EJ and Tabitha kneeled on the ground with their arms wrapped around each other. Carlos knelt on the ground a bit in front of the group and smiled at his phone he was using to take the picture on, having to raise his arm high and lean back slightly to make sure everyone was in the picture.

Once they got to the camp everyone got out their luggage and walked to camp. Tabitha glanced around the camp with an excited smile. Right when they walked in the camp you could see a playground off to the left, a pool area beside it, and some picnic tables playground the playground. A welcome desk center was off to the right where counselors were welcoming new campers. A barn was near where the group stood to their left. There were kids everywhere, talking, playing games, and overall just having fun and a good time. This camp was just how Tabitha pictured a camp would look like.

"Camp Shallow Lake, y'all." EJ smiles. "My second home."

Tabitha tilts her head to the side, looking at him with confusion. "But you already have a second home."

"No, my second second-home." EJ corrected himself.

"How about you call it your third home?" Maeve suggested.

EJ points at her in a sign of agreement and nods. "Yep, I'll call it that. Good idea, Mae."

EJ starts walking backwards, gesturing for the rest of the group to follow him. "Come on." Everyone follows EJ as he continues to walk backwards. As they all walk, they glance around at everything with excitement. "Seriously, I came to this camp an athlete and became an athlete-actor." He then turns and moves to walk beside his girlfriend, intertwining his hand with hers which made her smile at him. He smiles back at her before glancing at everyone. "You come to Shallow Lake one way, and you just become something else. It happens to everyone, though."

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

"Yeah, I didn't come here to get be completely changed." Marc chimes in. "So if that's what gonna happen, I'm out." He turned to leave, but Gina set her bag down to grab his arm and pull him back.

Marc laughs a bit, smiling at Gina. "I'm just joking, babe." Gina smiles back at him and lets go of him to pick up her duffle bag. "I just can't believe I'm going to camp with a bunch of Wildcats." When he notices the looks the others sent him, he quickly adds, "Don't take it the wrong way, please! I never thought I would be friends with kids from East High," He smiles at them all. "But I'm glad I am."

-ˏˋThe camera pans over to Marc, who was sitting at one of the picnic tables. He smiles at the camera. "I've been to summer camp before, but never to Camp Shallow Lake. So I'm looking forward to this summer. Being in a relationship with Gina meant I would have to spend some time with her friends and they actually aren't that bad." A surprised expression appears on his face, shaking his head. "Wow, I can't believe I just said that." ˎˊ-

A red-haired girl with silver streaks in her hair walks over to the group, rolling a wagon full of things behind her. One thing in particular that caught Tabitha's eye was a bucket that read 'no fone zone'. Yes, phone was spelt like fone on the bucket; Tabitha thought that the spelling was odd. She should've assumed that this camp didn't allow electronics, but she didn't think about it. She frowned because now she was going to miss not having her phone for two weeks.

The red-haired girl smiles at the group. "Are those Wildcats I see?" She furrows her eyebrows when she saw Marc. "Wait, you're not a Wildcat. Who are you?"

"Marc." Marc replies, waving at the red-haired girl. "Junior from North High."

"Nice to meet you, Marc." The red-haired girl smiled at him.

Marc returns the smile.  "Yeah, nice to meet you too."

The red-haired girl then glances at EJ with a smile. "What's up, Rocket Man?"

EJ lets go of Tabitha's hand, going over to stand by the red-haired girl with a wide smile on his face. "How you doing, Gadget?" He then did a handshake with her. 

Gina leans over to Ashlyn to whisper to her, "What language are they using?"

Ashlyn chuckles, shaking her head. "I don't know."

"Ready for a good summer?" EJ asked the girl who had the nickname 'Gadget'.

She smiles, playfully punching his shoulder. "Oh, yeah, dude."

"Yeah." EJ grinned.

"Alright, it's five minutes in and I already miss Seb." Carlos frowned.

"Oh," Ashlyn wraps an arm around his shoulders to comfort him. She frowns. "And I miss Biggie. Remember how we said we weren't gonna do that? This is our Wildcat summer adventure and we're going angst-less."

Carlos shakes his head. "I just feel naked without my angst."

"Alright," Gadget picks up the bucket, smiling at the group. "I'm just gonna need to collect your phones, snacks, and all electronic devices. Basically, anything that brings you joy. I'm only half kidding."

Maeve chuckles. "You're real funny." Her eyes widen when she realized Gadget was serious. "Wait, you're not joking?"

"Nope." Gadget replies. EJ gets his phone out of his pocket, putting it in the bucket. Gadget then walks over to the rest of the group. "But, you know, it's actually pretty great once you get past the, uh, withdrawal." Gina and Marc puts their phones in the bucket next, then Ashlyn, and then Carlos. "You'll have so much fun, you won't miss your phone." 

When Gadget gets to Kourtney, Kourtney closes her eyes and shudders, doing her best not to cry. Carlos rubs her back comfortably. "Hey, it's only for two weeks."

"But Sasha doesn't know that." Kourtney frowned.

Carlos slowly nods. "Sasha is your phone."

Maeve chuckles lightly, smiling at Kourtney with amusement. "You named your phone?"

"Of course I did." Kourtney nodded as she kissed her hand and then pressed that hand to her phone. 

"I just got her, Carlos." Kourtney said to Carlos. "She's too young to understand what any of this means." She held up a peace sign as she took one last selfie. She kissed her phone putting her phone in the bucket. 

"It'll be tough, but I'm sure we can all survive without our phones for two weeks." Tabitha spoke reassuringly, putting her phone in the bucket along with Maeve.

As Gadget walks away, Kourtney covers her mouth when she began to sob. "Don't look." Carlos turned her to face the other way.

"Mama loves you!" Kourtney called out to her phone while she sobbed.

"Oh," Carlos grimaces. "Don't do that."

"Well," Tabitha glances at Maeve with an amused smile. "This is definitely gonna be one interesting summer."

"You got that right." Maeve nodded in agreement.

A/N first chapter of season 3 !! i forgot how much i missed ej & tabitha. & mac & gina, they're adorable!! lowkey just added the add-libs in the mashup song so i could have more singing parts for tabitha & maeve lol