Work Text:
Emma Ross was standing alone at night around a campfire inside Camp Kikiwaka. The beautiful blonde was busy trying to fix her makeup in peace. She would have done it in the Woodchuck cabin, but she could hardly get any sleep due to Lou's constant snoring.
So far, her first day in this forsaken campsite ended all right. Despite having to be constantly embarrassed by Hazel (which involved her trying to shoot an arrow at Emma, making her fall in the mud pit, and especially getting lost), she managed to last a day without breaking down. Plus, she managed to make new friends in this place in the form of Tiffany and Lou. Tiffany was always a brainiac urging for knowledge. Of course, her parents always pressured her to study harder so she would have less chances of failing in the future. As what she would usually say, study now, have fun later.
Lou on the other hand, was a little bit odd. She was always hyperactive and a bit goofy-looking, but deep down, she always had a big heart and would even stand up for her friends whenever they needed it. Her size was also a huge advantage as well, which would make her the brick wall of the Woodchucks. So far in Emma's eyes, she actually made good company.
However, it was different since her snoring always kept Emma up at night. It kept her up at night so much, she just had to get some air in hopes that Lou's snoring would go away. Even when she was outside, those snores would emit right to Emma's brain, which made it so much as an earworm.
"Ugh, I wish that snoring would go away," Emma sighed. "Sometimes I wish I had cotton balls huge enough to plug in my ears."
Despite all that snoring, Emma tried her very best to ignore it all by fixing up all her makeup. That still wasn't saying much since that sound was nearly like a dial tone to her.
Meanwhile, someone had ran out of the Grizzly cabin, coughing over and over. This figure kept on hacking and gagging like a cat who was slowly dying of suffocation. Luckily, he managed to take out some deep breaths, which made him calm down.
"Oh man, why did I have to hear Jorge's large farts in my sleep?" The figure groaned. "I swear, I'm this close to puking. I need some air."
This figure was very similar. That dirty blondish brown hair, that lean muscular figure, that brilliant pearly white smile, and those hands built for essential guitar playing. To be honest, he was too cool for this camp. And he was proud of it.
He went by the name of Xander.
And so far, he was begging to get some air just like Emma, who didn't know he showed up. And Xander didn't even know she showed up as well. So the cool guy managed to take a seat on the log. But when he turned around though...
...
...
...
...
...he saw Emma!
"YAAAAAH!" Both Emma and Xander yelped.
Suddenly, Emma ended up falling off the log chair while Xander managed to keep his balance. And to think that having to be scared by the legendary Kikiwaka creature while sitting on top of a tree was scary enough.
"Xander?" Emma gasped while blushing.
"Oh, Emma!" He gasped too. "I am so sorry, I didn't see you there! I swear, I didn't see you coming!"
"Eh, it's all right. At least you weren't Hazel with a bow and arrow in hand." Emma nodded.
"She has one of those?" Xander gulped.
"It's a very long story," Emma nodded. "I rather not talk about it."
"No kidding." Xander nodded too. "I had enough of her to begin with. It's like having to live with my grouchy aunt."
"I agree, it's also like having to live with my brother Luke for all these years." She replied.
"I definitely wouldn't want to be in your shoes for sure." Xander chuckled.
Emma also chuckled as well. She could definitely relate to Xander in so many ways. Having to live with crazy relatives in their lives. They never really knew how much the two became good company with each other. The tension between them grew so quiet with each other that the bonfire was this close to fading away.
But just to break off the tension, Emma struck up a conversation with him.
"I don't know why that Hazel's always attracted to you," Emma sighed. "I'm pretty sure no one wants to be around her when she's armed with a weapon."
"You kidding me?" Xander chuckled. "She thinks that we're meant to be together. Even when a pretty girl tries to get near me, Hazel ends up swatting them away like a bug zapper. I don't know about you, but I'm getting sick of tired of her telling everyone she's mine when in reality, I don't even have feelings for her in the first place. Not once have I shown any compassion for what she's done."
"It's too bad she's blind to see what's going on." Emma replied while watching the fire close-up.
"I know." Xander nodded. "Why can't she see for once that I don't love her?"
"Well, she'll have to get used to it one of these days." Emma replied again.
"I agree." He nodded again.
"I just wish that you could find someone who can at least understand what you feel." Emma reassured him nicely.
"Maybe I could find her for sure." Xander said with a smile.
That was the only reason why Emma's stomach turned to butterflies. Alongside his soft light brown hair, Xander always flashed that perfect smile at her. It was like a weight had gotten off of Emma's shoulders. Whenever he was near him, all of her problems (mostly surrounding Hazel) were immediately gone just like that. It was like an angel had come down, and took shape in the form of a really cute camp counselor.
Emma wanted to make sure this conversation kept on going for long, so she kept it going.
"So, you're a really good guitar player." Emma replied. "I'm very impressed."
"Thanks." Xander blushed a little. "I've been playing a lot since I was nearly 12. It nearly took me two years to finally become a pro for sure."
"Wow, two years?!" Emma gasped.
"No lie there." Xander smirked. "After I'm done being a camp counselor, I'm thinking about getting famous, going out on world tours, selling out millions of records, and become a victim of a weird internet death hoax saying I've passed away at age 27. I probably won't though."
"I shudder a little bit of that death hoax though." Emma cringed with a smile.
"You won't have to worry about me though. I really love it here." Xander sighed.
"Me too." She nodded.
So far, this conversation between the two of them went really well. All Emma and Xander did was laugh at each other's jokes, share a little bit of life's stories while not having to be creeped out by either Lou's snoring or Jorge's big butt blasts. Or perhaps a crazy short-haired blonde telling Emma that Xander was hers, when in reality, they weren't a couple in the first place.
However, Emma started to grow a bit tired. It must've been because of the log that she and Xander was sitting on, or perhaps watching the fire for a very long time. Still, things were good until...
...
...
...Xander's arm was wrapped around Emma's shoulder.
Suddenly, her entire face blushed as a result. Emma never imagined how warm, tight and cuddly Xander was. He was almost like a blanket to him, or perhaps a soft big teddy bear sleeping right next to a seven year old girl in hopes that she could have sweet dreams and not be afraid of anything. Yet still, Emma felt a bit bothered.
"Xander, what are you doing?" Emma gasped.
Feeling a little bothered himself, Xander took in a deep breath and let it all out.
"I figured since the fire was dying out a little bit, I figured you could use some warmth." Xander replied. "After all, it gets a little breezy when the fire gets a little too low. Please forgive me if I'm doing something wrong, I understand."
Xander was afraid that Emma would go all apecrap on him and start beating him down with a tree branch. The cool guy was thinking of that exact image. He knew that was the first image on his mind when it came to a ticked-off Emma.
But to his surprise, Emma didn't flinch, back away, or unleash his anger on Xander.
Instead, Emma smiled sweetly at him.
"It actually feels nice..." Emma whispered.
"I know." Xander nodded with a whisper as well. "It beats having to sleep inside a cabin, that's for sure."
"Yeah..."
With another soft whisper, Emma decided to lay her head around Xander's shoulder like a pillow, drifting off to sleep. To make things a little nicer, Xander even managed to stroke her precious blonde locks. It almost felt like touching a breezy cloud through her fingers, or perhaps a ball of fluff that tickles you until you drift off to bed. With every stroke, Emma fell into a deep princess-like sleep all through the night.
So far, three hours had passed and so far, Xander still laid awake looking at the dying fire. It nearly resembled the fire that Emma had lit on him from the inside. As if she lit her entire soul with passion and love that even he couldn't explain. Emma wasn't like any other girl that Xander met. She had determination, drive, spirit and a huge heart that made her so beautiful and gorgeous in his eyes. She was like a Barbie doll coming to life, he thought to himself.
Xander looked down and realized that Emma was still in that deep sleep.
However, he noticed a very interesting smell coming from her. It smelled so much like strawberries. Sweet tasty fruity strawberries that you can eat to your hearts content. To Xander's shock, it wasn't coming from her perfume. But instead...
...
...
...that strawberry smell came from her lips.
As much as Xander didn't admit this much, he actually was crazy for strawberries, especially if they were sweeter on milkshakes or shortcake. An urge appeared inside him. All Xander could focus on those strawberry-flavored lips of hers. He wouldn't imagine of kissing her. He wouldn't think about kissing her. Heck, he wouldn't even dare of kissing her.
But he wanted to kiss her so bad.
"Hmmm, I guess she won't even notice..." Xander thought to himself.
With Emma wrapped around his shoulder, Xander lightly caressed her by her chin. Trying to breathe in nicely, he closely approached her face and kissed her tenderly. The feeling was rapturous. The feeling was incredible. And the feeling was by far amazing. He now imagined himself on Cloud Nine with Emma riding beside him.
But in the middle of the kiss, Emma awoke again and gasped.
"Xander!?" She yelped.
Uh-oh, now Xander was on hot water. Trying to prevent a real beatdown from happening, Xander sighed out and gave her a calm reason.
"I'm sorry about that." He replied. "I... I just wanted to see what it felt like to kiss you. I mean, you're so beautiful and gorgeous and pretty, I just couldn't help but do that. I understand you want to kill me and maim me for doing that to you. But if you want to thrash me like a wild animal, I can totally understand. I won't hold anything against you. Do what you must if you want. I'm ready."
Then, Xander closed his eyes, praying that this beatdown would be quick and painless as possible. He was ready to accept his consequences. And if he wanted to go out like a champion, at least he would die cool as a cucumber. Xander was ready for everything Emma would throw at him.
After a few seconds, Emma responded the best way she could know how...
...
...
...
...by kissing him back.
Xander was shocked yet again. How could he not expect a beatdown coming from a beautiful blonde like Emma. Instead, the only thing that was being pounded into submission was his lips, being smushed and puckered by Emma's. Suddenly, it was worth the defeat he had got since Emma's kiss had relaxed everything inside him.
After only 8 seconds of that kiss, Emma broke off of him. And to his amazement once more, Emma had smiled once again.
"You, um..." Xander said, losing a bit of his voice. "You didn't kill me."
"I'd never do that, Xander." Emma nodded. "I really like you enough not to kill you."
"You actually like that kiss?" He smiled back.
"It was actually nice," Emma whispered. "Maybe we should actually do this again."
Not having to worry anymore, Xander calmed down and spoke back.
"Yeah, we should..." He nodded.
And then, the two shared another kiss. This time, the kiss was long, sweet and passionate (sorry, no tongues included), which was very sweet enough to know how much Xander had truly felt about Emma. And how Emma truly felt about Xander.
Without a shadow of a doubt, it was all what the two wanted in the first place.