a/n: i hope i've kept scarlett and mal mostly in character? they seem to hate each other but im sure there's qualities in each other that they can come to appreciate with some time lmao
This hardly seems fair, in Scarlett's opinion. These past few weeks have been absolutely torturous to her mental state. The treatment she had endured whilst competing on Total Drama had already been a difficult journey; that incompetent idiot to Maxwell had also enlisted her to work as his subordinate throughout the entire show. And to think; he actually believed himself to be the most diabolic being to ever grace the planet. Had Scarlett only focused on herself – the course of action which she originally had chosen from the very start – that purple-haired pest would have easily put himself inside the Cannon of Shame, leaving her with all the time she needed to gain full control over the artificial island.
Scarlett would have studied each contestant thoroughly and mapped out a physiological profile for them respectively. She would have observed their strengths, phobias and habits, in order to calculate their weak points and eliminated them accordingly to their level of usefulness. Gaining the trust of her fellow competitors was but her plan all along; playing into their naïve preconceptions of her seemingly plain outer appearance to secretly but swiftly carry out her strategy until the teams inevitably merged. Total Drama was a pathetic excuse of television program, a stale way to torture and publicly humiliate teenagers who were too delusional on bitter rivalry, pointless drama and hopelessly stupid crushes.
Utterly foolish. Nothing appealed to Scarlett more than the million dollars, and after having analyzed the first four seasons of the show, she was more than confident in her ability to win the price money if she constructed a solid strategy. When the news came of Scarlett's acceptance in the latest season, she was delighted to be able to put her plan into motion.
It turned out to be quite different from what she had imagined.
Scarlett had been forced to eat disgusting food, – completely unfit to be even named as such! – been electrocuted, forced to traverse an unstable cave with the last person whom she ever wanted to speak to again. It was likely that spending too much time around that imbecile might have left Scarlett affected by his stupidity now, and if by any chance she catches him around this resort, she will personally make sure that he won't survive his next food poisoning. By now, he will do well not to refer to her as his assistant in evil ever again. Scarlett looks forward to that.
Which is to say, it is about the only thing she looks forward to. Returning to Plaza Des Losers after nearly having the suitcase with the million dollars in her possession is considerably shameful if not utterly embarrassing. Especially when considering how she had succumbed to the deceit of the remaining players. That basically confirms her previous statement about Max being a bad influence.
Chris, however, seemingly shows no concern for Scarlett's homicidal tendencies following her elimination and the security risk it poses the former contestants; as is written with miniscule letters at the bottom of their contracts. Likewise, he made it pretty clear that the money spent on security guards would decrease the luxurious standard of his newly renovated cottage and he can't have any of that.
Scarlett could probably kill every single one of these previous contestants and he wouldn't even bat an eye. Legally, he is allowed to.
Luckily for them, Scarlett doesn't have any immediate plans to hurt anyone (except Max). Her elimination has left her in a strange state of contemplation, with little to no desire to converse with anyone. Which is quite fortuitous for the genius, considering how nobody dares to even be near her. Scarlett spends most of the days on her bed with a book – one she has likely gone to great lengths to find. God only knows why nobody on this forsaken resort reads nothing but brochures – or simply sit near the pool with her legs pulled to her chest. In the latter case, she observes the other teens with a gaze so intense and scrutinizing that most of the time it doesn't occur to her when they shoot her strange glances. Not that it matters.
Once the season is over and the winner announced, she will return home and hope that her chances of getting into the university of her own choosing isn't completely ruined.
While Scarlett is sitting close to the pool and trying to relax under the shade a nearby parasol, she feels a presence approaching. The person occupies the chair next to her, but seemingly opts to silently stare at her instead of striking up a conversation. Scarlett remains silent, hoping this stranger has simply mistaken her for one of the other redheads on this resort. She waits for the inevitably string of nervous apologies, the scrambling of clumsy feet and ensuing silence.
It never comes.
Scarlett waits ten minutes before she ever so slightly tilts her head to the side, slowly opening her eyes to reveal the person's identity. It is none other than Mal. He not-so-strategically cheated and lied his way to the finale of the previous season but unfortunately didn't win the prize money when the island of Wawanakwa sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Mal sips on a drink from the tiki bar, wearing a pair of swimming trunks and a shirt. He looks quite pleased with himself, prickling Scarlett's skin with his gaze and she is having none of it.
Scarlett refuses to indulge him in his taunting and says nothing to it. She closes her eyes and focuses on the calm, tropical breeze that plays with her red locks.
"I'm surprised you aren't paying me any attention, Scarlett. Am I bothering you?"
A reply doesn't come immediately but Mal shows no signs of being bothered by it.
"If the way I'm not acknowledging your presence is anything to go by, I'd reckon you are."
Scarlett leans back to make herself more comfortable. Telling someone off feels oddly refreshing; it's likely the first time she has been able to voice herself since she came. It feels as if a burden on her shoulders has been relieved; not entirely but just enough to allow her to breathe.
The look on Mal's face is not one the redhead is fond of. He isn't overly offended or visibly disturbed by her rude comment in any way. His head is cocked towards her with a sly smirk that almost shows the gap between his teeth. Is Scarlett amusing him?
"Sarcasm, huh? That's a first. Interesting."
Scarlett understands that Mal won't disappear on his own volition, so she decides to help get the message across. "Why, Mal, surely you mustn't think that fear is the only emotion one can feel towards you," Scarlett continues, meeting his gaze with a calm and leveled glare of her own. She curves her lips upward to display superiority. "Pray tell, does Courtney despise you for causing the breakup between her and Scott? Are Gwen and Cameron anxious around you for injuring them during the finale? Do Alejandro and Heather avoid you for almost sending them to their imminent deaths?" the redhead inclines her head and bats her eyelashes condescendingly. "And ah, how could I forget Zoey! How is she? Does the death of Mike still haunt her as you had hoped for? Does she hate you as you've always wanted her to?"
Mal smiles, dark and unbidden. "She does, thank you ever so much for asking. However, I can't help but notice your own lack of fear towards me," he replies, looking as if he takes great pride in all of the aforementioned accomplishments. "You've seen what I'm capable of, what I'm able to do. You're aware of just how dangerous I can be, as you've just wonderfully explained and yet," he gives her a look-over as if he is carefully studying her. And appreciates what he sees. "You don't seem the slightest bit intimidated by me. I wonder how so."
Scarlett lets her eyes idly drift to their surroundings, and notices how some of the girls are huddled together around the bar, whispering delicate secrets that she no doubt is the center of. It makes her want to return the favor with a glare of utmost irritation, one that will silence them indefinitely.
"Make no mistake, Mal, I have nothing in common with these imbeciles," Scarlett says, her head turned back to lean against her soft chair. She closes her eyes and tries to relax. "I am my own master. No one will bend me to their will."
"None except for Max, I take it?" Mal asks with a hint of surprise laced into his amused voice. Scarlett's entire body tensed something awful. "I find that strange to believe, given your capabilities."
"Max was merely a pawn for my plans, he was expendable," she retorts hotly. "I'd never associate with someone so incompetent lest he was useful for something." Scarlett slowly turns her face away from Mal, hoping her facial features are lax and unreadable. She will not let Mal see how his taunts are getting to her.
"Of course," Mal concedes. He puts his empty glass on the small table between them and reclines in his chair with a stretch of his arms. "Oh well. I suppose this is to be expected. Perhaps I simply overestimated you?"
Scarlett's head snaps up at this remark, her face twisting into a look of utter disbelief. Her cheeks are hot as she stares at the pleased face Mal makes, seemingly to fuel the fire burning within her. It works perfectly.
"Pardon? You overestimated me? How dare you insult my intellect," she stressed through grit teeth. Gone is any attempts of relaxing her mind and soul, she is completely and utterly determined to strip the Malevolent One of any amusement he may have. "I may be the only person on this show with an exceptional mind, one with an IQ score that far surpasses every one of yours combined. You state that my strategies weren't thoroughly planned out, yet you reside here with the rest of us who failed to win the money. Sounds familiar? That's the sole purpose of Plaza Des Losers! Shall I leave you to interpret its meaning or is that simple Spanish beyond your simple understanding as well?" Scarlett snarls, unrestrained and determined to take Mal apart.
"You were struggling the entire season to keep Mike and his personalities imprisoned; was it by mere chance that you ended up the only survivor? Was it an impulsive action to eliminate Mike? Unlike me, who actually planned to kill five contestants."
Scarlett's cutting words seem to strike a nerve inside Mal because his smirk fades immediately. He quickly turns just as red as Scarlett as he sits upright and close to her.
"What? You think my choice of disposing of Mike was impetuous? To think you have the nerve to speak to me that way!" Mal sneers. "Juvenile prison inmates cower before my feet, Scarlett. I can make you pay dearly for those words."
"Your threats are humorous, Mal," Scarlett counters, not an ounce of her shaken by the other's promise for revenge. "I own butcher knife sharper than any of your attempts to outwit me. Touch me and I'll have you join my dear brother in therapy."
"Is that so? I wonder how humorous it'll be for you to suddenly find yourself impaled with your own knife?" Mal's dark smile hints promisingly of such a cruel fate. "Even you must be familiar with cruel irony, darling, seeing as how you ended up here."
Scarlett is unaffected by this display of intimidation. As much as she can appreciate Mal's way of life and the way he faces her with an equal amount of venom dripping from his fangs, shes likewise despises Mal with a passion. Her fingers curl around the edge of the chair, craving the assuring touch of a wooden handle beneath her palm and the sharp steel attached to it. "I'll see to it that you'll be stuck humming until your vocal chords shred themselves before I return home. I dare you."
The two masterminds proceed to lock onto each other in an intense bout of glaring, in what they regard as an unspoken battle of will, mind and mental fortitude. Despite themselves, their heads are considerably close but neither seem bothered by the proximity. Unfortunately for them, onlookers who had little knowledge of their argument saw this as a heated debacle the likes of which could resemble what Duncan and Courtney went through before their blooming relationship took to air, and rumors quickly spread of Mal and Scarlett's obvious feelings for one another.