"Boy, does this bring back memories," the Warden said as he sat down on an all-too-familiar stump. "So… what did you want to talk about? I mean, it must be something personal if we had to leave the tent."

Gwen was about to say something, but she stopped herself. She wasn't sure how to word what she was about to say.

"…Something wrong, Gwen?" Cody inquired.

She sighed. "Cody… I'm…sorry."

"…Huh?" This caught the Warden off-guard. "Sorry for what?"

Another pause followed, in which Cody was able to piece together what she meant. "…Gwen, you didn't make me this way, if that's what this is about. And besides, I like being this way! It's a lot of fun to bend reality."

"Look… I know you say that, but… don't you just wish you had a normal life?" she asked with concern.

"Nah. Normal life is so boring. What's so fun about mortgages and responsibility and all that nonsense? I love being, as 'normal' people like you would put it, 'weird'."

"…Okay, I'll agree with you on the mortgages and responsibility thing," she said, somewhat conceding. "Still… don't you ever get lonely?"

"Of course not," Cody said with a grin. "I've got Jared and Alice and Jailbot and the Twins and the gay prisoners and Bird and Gary and Jackknife and a hell of a lot of psychopathic killers and rapists. I'm never alone!"

This last part freaked Gwen out a little, but she kept her sanity long enough to ask Cody one last question:

"Did… Did you miss me?"

…

Cody was at a loss. He couldn't answer, because he was afraid that he'd actually be wrong – that he'd find some sort of fault. Maybe she was trying to break him, to admit he really did long to be normal again. …Nah, she wouldn't do that.

…

But it was working.

He did miss his family, his hometown. He did miss his friends on the TDI cast, the people he met on this very island, as well as Playa des Losers. And most of all, he missed her. He did. He really did.

So when he found out about the reunion, he knew right then that he had to go. He wanted to see his old comrades of Wawanakwa again, especially her.

But… God… He couldn't even tell who she was when he did meet her again…

A normal person probably could've figured it out, even if her appearance did change a little. Really, the only thing different was her hair and her skin tone, which still was a little pale, but not as extreme. But everything else… the eyes, the up-turned nose, the smile, the smirk… it was all there.

But he still didn't recognize her before. What, was he expecting her to stay the same forever? The same blue/black hair, blue lips, somehow arousing super-pale skin tone, and Gothic apparel… Did he really think she'd be like that forever?

A normal person wouldn't have thought that.

All these thoughts seemed to pile on Cody at once, and he fell off the stump, sobbing.

If Gwen wasn't concerned before, she damn sure was now. "Cody!" She knelt down next to him. "Cody?"

He suddenly rose up to his knees and enveloped her in a bone-crushing hug, waterfalls shooting from his eyes.

"Cody! Calm down!"

Instantly, the waterworks stopped, and Cody looked at her with a look of undetermined emotion.

"…You alright, Cody?"

He inhaled through his nostrils, a sniffle heard by the two of them. "Yeah, I'm fine… I just… I don't know. But… to answer your question, yeah… I missed you."

Gwen smiled at this, which warmed Cody's twisted heart, practically making it melt (or perhaps literally). He smiled back at her. "I guess smiles really are contagious." He slowly got to his feet and extended a hand for her, which she gladly accepted, and he pulled her up.

"Too bad I'm not in your league now, huh," Gwen said with a wink. "I'm a sucker for overly-sensitive types."

Cody chuckled and added, "You're not out of the running yet."

"Oh, really?" she said in a suggestive tone. "What about Alice…?"

He shrugged. "Well… I don't know… I'm starting to think that maybe that's mostly due to my femdom fetish. I had a little crush on Eva once, too."

Gwen couldn't hold in her chuckles anymore. "So… did your crush on me have anything to do with your femdom fetish?"

"Hmm… No, but it helps my case."

It was just too much now. The two couldn't contain their laughter anymore, and they, for the most part, scared most of the smaller wildlife away.

Cody sighed after the laughter died down. "Thanks, Gwen. I guess I really needed that talk after all."

Gwen shrugged. "Hey, what are friends for? Now c'mon. Let's get back to the tent."

"Do we have to?"

This startled Gwen for a few seconds, but then she understood. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, maybe we–"

"OH SHOOT! I THINK HE'S GONNA KISS HER!"

"…What the hell was that?" a shocked Cody said, dumbfounded. An equally dumbfounded Gwen simply looked at nothing with wide eyes.

They heard another voice. "Noah! Dammit! I know you're new to stalking, but you don't just shout like that! We're supposed to be incognito!"

"DAMMIT, IZZY, IF YOU DIDN'T FORCE ME TO EAT SEVENTEEN PIXIE STIX DURING OUR LAST MAKE-OUT SESSION, WE WOULDN'T EVEN BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION!!"

"NOAH! THAT WAS CONFIDENTIAL! Now they know about our secret BDSM play!"

"…WELL NOW THEY DO, IZZY! THANKS A FRICKIN' LOT!"

"Oh… Oh, crap…"

Gwen, now completely freaked out, turned back to Cody. "Let's continue this conversation elsewhere."

"Agreed."

-X-

"The Warden and his lady friend are getting closer."

"Maybe we can find some amusement out of this."

"But not of the fatal variety."

"No, of course not. These people are too amusing and interesting to kill."

"Yes, and I'm sure the Warden would be most upset if we did so."

"Even banish us to the… giant ball pit of death…"

"No. Anything but that."

"Oh, I'm sure that'd be our fate."

"Hold me, dear brother. I'm scared."

"…What are we? Hansel and Gretel from Black Lagoon?"

"Or the Ashford Twins."

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

…

"But seriously. Hold me."

"Oh, alright."

-X-

'Tis a short chapter, but I hope it'll satisfy you all for a while.

Happy Easter, everyone!