Shawn and Paul had not said a word since their explosion on land. Shawn had been the more stubborn of the two and had even refused to sit beside Paul when they were getting back into the boat. They had not mentioned the argument to their companions but Paul assumed they would not need to. Their voices had raised and they had ruined in a mess of emotions – it was obvious what has transpired behind that bush.
Regardless, Shawn had won the argument. The three strangers had got into the boat with their luggage alongside them and Kate had pushed them out onto the river. The ride had been long and tedious. He had sat solemn with his arms folded across his chest and Shawn had tried to play along with the strangers. He laughed at their jokes, told his own and for the most part tried to be himself. Tried to be himself after he had told Paul he hated him.
Paul could not take another ruckus laugh from the strangers. His patience was already thin and he wanted nothing more than to get out of the country. Eventually, they had landed on a small island where they had tied the boat up. It was here on the island he began to question the three strangers.
"You're clearly not here for a vacation," Paul said bluntly from where he sat on a rock near their small log fire. The ginger man looked up from his plastic cup of coffee and smiled awkwardly. Paul furrowed his brow, he looked like such a slime.
"We fancied a change. We had to reach Driftwood and decided a car was too ordinary." He took another sip of his coffee. Paul still had yet to learn their names, another worrying sign from the three strangers.
"We got ahead of ourselves and lost control of the raft," the female Texan said with a faint smile. "It was terrifying. Once my head was under the water, I was convinced that was it for me."
"We were lucky," The bearded man rumbled. He glared at Paul. "We were lucky you people were kind enough to give us a lift."
"Yeah well, you could have done us the favour and just taken the radio we offered," Paul bit back not in the mood for games. The huge man and Paul locked eyes and although he doubted the beast would raise a hand, Paul did not like to tempt fate. He threw a stick near his feet onto the fire. The bearded man continued to stare. Paul was about to open his mouth and demand an explanation but quickly shut it when Shawn and Kate approached the group.
"We have fish." Shawn said almost childishly yet proudly. "If you don't like fish, tough. You'll have to have tinned potatoes."
"We ate all the pasta at lunch," Kate grumbled. She could still taste the tough, prosthetic like pasta she had consumed many hours previous. She dropped the slippery fish onto the ground and then herself where she began to prepare.
"Who could turn down a good piece of fish?" The woman drawled with an all too friendly smile directed at Shawn. Too friendly for Paul's comfort. He felt himself shift on the rock when his still husband smiled back, that crooked sarcastic smile he did when he felt playful. He wanted to grab Shawn and just shake him. Make him see sense but it was too late. He was lucky if Shawn even accidently glanced in his direction. Paul sighed, he felt unwanted and uncomfortable among these people. He looked at Kate who was smothering the fish with salt and then sticking sticks down their throats and out of their fins. He knew how they felt, sort of.
"What do you guys plan to do in Driftwood?" Shawn asked casually once he taken a place on the ground and sat cross-legged. "Beth, you mentioned something about a friend…?"
Of course Shawn had learnt their names, why would he not have? He had been spending what previous awake time he had with them. The woman who Paul now knew as Beth sat up a little straighter from her position on the floor. She glanced at the two men, both of them looking directly at her.
"He's just an old friend and we'll be spending the rest of the week with him. We went college together."
"You went to college? I did that for like a term, what did you major in?" Shawn was on a roll and the woman looked awkward. Paul raised his eyebrow, it seemed like a reasonable question and nothing too personal for Shawn. Her eyes met Shawn's.
"Something to do with social…. communication." She answered.
"No way, that's what I did. Texas?"
"You haven't told us about you three," The ginger man interrupted. "You're on vacation?"
"I'm not. I'm working." Kate stabbed the sticks into the ground near the fire so they actual fish was engulfed within the flames. "I was hired by these two clowns to make sure they don't die on the water. You three should have hired someone similar."
"So you two are on vacation?" Beth asked looking from Shawn to Paul. "That's sweet, a guy's holiday to escape the daily grind? I bet your ladies back home miss you dearly, I know I would."
Her eyes were back on Shawn and this time they practically twinkled. Paul cleared his throat which caught her attention. After their argument, she knew what their deal was. She was changing the subject and keeping it rolling.
"There are no ladies back home. He's with me."
"Oh so you're…" Beth trailed off.
"Married." Paul said firmly.
"On a break." Shawn muttered.
On a break? What did that even mean? Begrudgingly, Paul sat back against the rock and stared at the small log fire that lit up the darkness of the night. It reminded him of the time in the arena bathroom not so long ago. When the Deadman had walked in, walked in and persuaded him to go home and spend time with his lover. That stupid idea that had left them off worse now. He wanted Shawn to crumble but he knew better than that now. It was beyond Shawn letting his emotions get the better off him. He was hot tempered and stubborn. Although an attractive at times, very dangerous at others. But he could not fault Shawn for one thing – at least he had made a decision and stuck to it. Something he had been bugging Shawn to do for years.
The bearded man cleared his voice and said,
"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope us coming along wasn't a factor in your decision."
Paul shot his head up and glared at the smug bearded fellow across from him. He was big, maybe the same size as himself? He could take the bastard if he had anymore wiseass remarks like that one. Paul felt his fists clench.
"It was brewing…" Shawn said softly more to Paul than to the bearded man. He could tell by Paul's posture he was getting riled up. "It was nobody's fault but ours."
"Gaz," Beth said firmly to the bearded guy who in turn met her gaze at the saying of his name. "Go get some more firewood."
"We have plenty." Gaz growled.
"Well you can never have too much on a cold night," The other man said with a delightful smile. "Go be a dear and get the firewood."
"If you've got something to say to me Gaz," Paul began but Shawn grabbed a twig from the floor and threw it at him. Shawn mouthed 'no'. Paul felt himself unable to not oblige his husband and instead swallowed back his words. "No, you stay here. I'll get the fucking firewood. Give me something to do."
Paul got up from the rock and for a brief second, from the way Shawn had shifted and his eyes glistened, he thought Shawn was going to stop him. But as soon as it had appeared, it had gone again. Replaced with a solemn look which Shawn kept firmly on the dirt. It was too good to be true, it always was. He stomped into the foliage and away from the group. He needed to get away, he didn't want to hear their faint whispers or wishy-washy banter.
He kept walking. Stepping over rocks, stomping through thorny bushes until he reached the end of the mini forest and stood at the rivers side. The flow of the river did little to calm him. If anything, the constant rush and splashing of the rapids made Paul even tenser. He wanted to scream. Damn them all, damn those strangers, damn their sarcastic guide and damn Shawn Michaels. Damn him to hell. He kicked a rock into the river with a splash. Damn him.
"Paul…?" the feminine voice caught his ears. Paul spun round on his heel and watched their guide break through the foliage. He raised an eyebrow, she actually spoke like a woman and not a sergeant major. "I need to talk to you."
"Shawn can handle your bill. I want to get off before River Dale, I want to get off as soon as we get near land and I can hail a cab. Shawn must have given your our details, if there's not enough just send an invoice to me. I'll patch it up."
He turned back around and glared out into the water once again. Kate stood at his side and crossed his arms across her chest.
"That's not what I want to talk to you about."
"If it's about Shawn and I then just save your breath. I've apologised, it's up to him to forgive me. I can't do anything beyond that."
Kate shook her head.
"Listen to me before you start ranting. I don't want you to get off the raft."
Paul blinked a few times wondering if he had heard their guide correctly. He turned to face her and she did the same. He saw an unfamiliar look of worry sketcher on her face from the moons dim light.
"I don't trust those three and I think Shawn's too determined to prove you wrong to admit these people don't seem right. That or he really is stupid, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt here."
"Once I get off the raft then Shawn will have nobody to prove to. You'll be fine with him, he's not some blonde haired weakling who needs protecting. He's a man."
"Do you expect me to believe that? The guys an emotional wreck and you're telling me I'll be fine with him? Paul, I'll drop the fee. The fee isn't worth this."
"Kate… we don't even know if those guys are trouble. They could just genuinely be idiots who would rather tag along with us than call the ranger."
"Maybe you're willing to risk that but I'm not. I've been watching them and they're not right. You've seen it too so don't deny it."
"Yeah… I don't like them. I think it's suspicious they won't let us call the ranger and I didn't like how that Beth reacted when Shawn asked her about her college major. But other than that, I don't know… I'm just bitter because my plan with Shawn fell through."
"It's more than just bitterness if I'm feeling it." Kate muttered. She looked back through the foliage hoping neither one of their guests were lurking in the greenery. She heard Paul sigh and turned her attention back him to.
"I'll think about it… I might be able to get Shawn talking to me tonight if I keep on at him. He might realise where we're coming from."
"Even if he doesn't Paul, please don't get off the raft. I think you'll be doing both Shawn and me more harm than good if you do."
With the final word on her side, Kate slinked back through the bushes towards their rag-tag group. Paul ran his fingers through his long hair and let out a long hollow sigh. How the hell had his vacation turned into this? After dinner he would work on Shawn. He had no other choice. Kate's word hung heavily around him and for the first time in so long: Paul genuinely felt quite scared.