Morning at Camp Willow Creek didn't arrive quietly.
The peaceful silence of the forest slowly gave way to voices, footsteps, and the distant clatter of someone dropping something metal near the fire pit. Sunlight pushed through the thin curtains of the cabin window, filling the small room with warm light.
Ray was still lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering if his head would ever stop pounding.
Across the room, Kate shifted under her blanket, clearly awake now but not moving yet.
Outside, the camp was already starting to come alive.
And for the first time, it really felt like summer camp had begun.
After a few more minutes of watching a spider crawling slowly across the ceiling, Ray decided it was time to finally wake up.
He groaned softly as he pushed himself upright, one hand pressing against his forehead. The hangover hadn't gone anywhere. If anything, sitting up made the dull pounding behind his eyes worse.
The cabin felt warmer now that the sun had climbed higher, thin streaks of light stretching across the wooden floorboards. Dust floated lazily through the air where the light touched it.
Ray swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat there for a moment, letting the room settle around him.
Across the cabin, Kate shifted slightly under her blanket again. The mattress creaked quietly as she moved, the sound carrying easily through the small space.
Outside, the camp was fully awake now.
Voices passed by the cabin. Someone laughed loudly. A door slammed somewhere nearby. The faint smell of breakfast drifted through the open window.
Ray glanced toward the small pile of muddy clothes near the door, memories from the night before slowly crawling back into his head.
Not all of them.
Just enough.
He exhaled slowly, rubbing his face with both hands before standing up and stretching his stiff back.
The first official day at camp had started whether he was ready for it or not.
And judging by the noise outside, everyone else had gotten the memo already.
Ray shifted his weight where he stood beside the bed, his voice still rough from the night before.
"Don't you think we should get something to eat?"
His eyes drifted toward the blanket covering Kate. Only the faint outline of her shape beneath it showed she was awake.
Ray looked at the blanket Kate had pulled over herself. She moved slightly, the mattress creaking under the small motion, but she didn't answer.
For a moment he wondered if she had fallen back asleep.
Outside, the camp continued to wake up. Footsteps passed by the cabins, voices called to each other across the clearing, and somewhere in the distance metal clanged against metal.
The smell of breakfast drifting through the open window wasn't helping his empty stomach.
He scratched the side of his head, glancing toward the door and then back at her bed.
Maybe she's just not a morning person.
The memory of the night before surfaced again—her helping him inside, half dragging him across the cabin when he could barely stand.
She helped me… so I guess I'll return the favor.
Ray stepped closer to her bed.
He didn't wait.
In one quick motion, he grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it away, tossing it onto the floor beside the bed.
So she had fallen asleep again after all.
Ray looked down at her face, noticing her closed eyelids, the morning light touching the faint freckles across her skin. Her red hair was slightly messy from sleep, strands spread loosely across the pillow.
For a moment she didn't move at all.
Her breathing was slow and steady, the kind that only came with deep sleep.
Ray stood there beside the bed, watching her for a second, suddenly unsure whether waking her up had actually been a good idea.
Ray hesitated beside the bed, unsure whether he had made the right call.
For a moment nothing happened.
Then Kate's eyelids fluttered open.
The second she focused on him standing there, her eyes widened and she shot upright in the bed.
"What are you doing?!!"
The sudden movement made the mattress creak loudly beneath her. Her hair fell messily around her face as she stared at him, clearly startled, still halfway between sleep and full awareness.
Ray instinctively took half a step back, raising his hands slightly as if he'd just been caught doing something suspicious.
Ray didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned away from the bed and faced the cabin door, rubbing the back of his neck like he suddenly found the wooden floorboards very interesting.
"You helped me yesterday, so I didn't want you to go hungry all day."
His voice was calmer now, a little awkward but sincere. The morning light from the window stretched across the room, catching the pile of clothes still lying near the door and the blanket he had tossed onto the floor moments earlier.
Behind him, the cabin was quiet again except for the faint sounds of camp outside—voices drifting between the trees and the distant clatter of dishes from the breakfast area.
For a moment the cabin stayed quiet.
Then Kate let out a small, tired sigh.
"Fine. Food is a good reason to wake me up."
She made a sleepy, annoyed face for a second, her brows tightening as if she were still deciding whether to be angry about it or not.
Then she pushed the blanket aside and stood up from the bed, stretching slightly as her feet touched the wooden floor.
Her red hair was still messy from sleep, falling loosely around her shoulders as she blinked a few times, trying to fully wake up.
Outside, the camp noises continued to drift through the open window, the smell of breakfast growing stronger with every passing minute.
Kate glanced down at herself for a second, suddenly remembering the small problem with getting ready in a cabin meant for two people.
"Remember our deal—don't look. Or I WILL…"
She tried to come up with something threatening to finish the sentence, something properly mean or intimidating.
Instead, the words caught in her throat.
She just let out a small gasp and froze for a moment, staring at Ray.
He was already facing the other way.
Standing near the door with his back turned, looking deliberately toward the wall like it had suddenly become the most fascinating thing in the cabin.
Kate blinked once, slightly thrown off by how quickly he had followed the rule.
Ray kept his eyes fixed on the wall in front of him, folding his arms like he was bracing himself.
Don't look at her naked body. Her tits are not that...
But they kind of are... Fuck!
"Why the hell is she so hot…" he muttered under his breath.
He squinted slightly at the wooden boards in front of him.
"This wall's color, though… that's something else."
Behind him, Kate stood completely still for a moment, caught between finishing getting dressed and processing what she had just heard.
The cabin stayed quiet except for the faint rustle of fabric as she started reaching for her clothes. Outside, voices and laughter drifted past the cabin as people headed toward breakfast, completely unaware of the awkward standoff happening inside.
Ray kept his eyes fixed stubbornly on the wall, arms still folded like a guard standing at his post.
"If you're a pervert," Kate said behind him, her voice still carrying that sleepy irritation, "at least be one with class and respect."
"Hey, it's true though," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
A moment later she stepped closer and gave him a gentle push on the shoulder, the gesture clearly meant as a signal that he could turn around now.
Ray turned slowly.
Kate was standing a few steps behind him, now dressed in a simple, loose summer dress. It was completely different from the white dress she had worn the day before when she had looked almost like she had stepped out of some fairy-tale version of camp.
This one was casual—something quick she had thrown on without much thought. Her hair was still a little messy from sleep, and she looked far less put together than the confident "princess mode" version of her from yesterday.
But somehow the more relaxed look suited her just as well.
Ray blinked once, then glanced away again, clearing his throat slightly as the awkwardness from a moment ago crept back into the room.
Outside, a burst of laughter passed by the cabin as more campers headed toward breakfast, the smell of food drifting in through the open window.
Before they stepped outside, Ray paused for a moment.
He glanced back at Kate one last time, a small smirk forming as he looked her over.
"So a princess can look good in any dress," he said with a smirk.
Kate rolled her eyes immediately and pushed him toward the door, though the corner of her mouth lifted slightly in a smirk.
Ray stumbled a step forward from the shove, letting out a quiet laugh as he reached the door.
Kate opened it, and the morning noise of the camp spilled inside—voices, footsteps, and the distant clatter of breakfast dishes waiting for them outside.
Together, they stepped out of the cabin and into the first real day of camp.