- Chapter Seventy-Two -

Play Ball!

Teams falling into place without the final two players officially being selected off the middle-school court, it was Elena versus Nathan, Cassie versus Joey, Nadine v Dells, and Sam v Chloe. Husband against wife, childhood rival against long-term compadre, and... two good friends that were willing to intercede on behalf of a pair of idiots locked into "a thing". Complex as the working environment was, neither woman required an explanation, nor did they need to be asked. They just did it.

Pre-game bolster at a high, as they lined up in preparation to annihilate the other side, it was the kids that kicked things off. Mostly aimed at Joey, the bespectacled blonde jerked her thumb along her throat before turning it down, "You guys are going down!"

Snorting, Joey returned with matching conviction, "Think so, four-eyes?" Helicoptering as usual, Mary-Elizabeth shrilly scolded her son from the sidelines, earning a half-a-shrug. In a lazy gesture of appeasing his mother (and more because it meant that he got another shot in at the birthday girl), the boy corrected himself, "Sorry, I meant to say pipsqueak."

"Hey," compelled to speak because she had heard it all between being runty for her age and then hitting a freakish growth spurt over a single summer, the heiress stepped in, "she's still growing. Can you say the same?"

Less than thrilled by the intervention, Cassie frowned at the teen, "Butt-out! I don't need you to stand up for me, understand? If I need help, I'll ask for it!" From the chilly reception to the glacial glint behind her cherry-colored frames, the blonde made it apparent that the heiress was the last person she could be counted upon to call. Possibly even during an emergency too, but that remained to be seen.

Chloe came up behind Dells and lightly clapped her on her good shoulder, "Good teamwork, mate."

Meanwhile, the adults weren't just idling by as the children bickered. Stoked to have have all the sheer upper body strength on their team, Sam felt just as confident as any of them that victory was in the bag. "Girl's right, you know? The only workout we're gonna get is showing you guys some restraint."

"Oh, you think so?" Personal already, Elena scoffed at her brother-in-law, "We're no slouches. But it's great that you already have your excuse ready for when we mop the floor with you!" The rest of the exchange came without words, her hazel gaze flickering off to the side, as if to say he should be used to it by now.

Nate chimed in, acting in defense of his big brother, "That remains to be seen, 'Lena."

Squabbles overlapping one another, a certain petty thief just so happened to overhear (and approve of) what the other camp was getting into. Whatever was going on between them personally, it was nice to hear the young woman going to bat for his niece, even if the girl didn't appreciate it in the slightest. Feels great, don't it? "I thought it was funny, Cass."

Disgusted, the birthday girl thought it was just her uncle sticking his neck out for his lady friend, and the heiress took it as him just trying to win points. Both cringing, the two girls shook their heads in unison; Dells followed up by going on Elena's other side to further increase the distance, and Cassie flat out told him that there was nothing funny about it. Joey agreed, which even caught Cassie off-guard.

Under a similar impression, Nathan consoled his sibling, "There's always next time, buddy."

Frowning at the little punk more than the ladies (and Joey), Sam took a healthy swat at the back of Nate's head. "Oops, my bad. You're so full of hot air I thought you were the ball."

"Boys, play nice, or you're both gonna be outta there faster than you can spit in a glass and call it clean." More than acting as the ref, Sully laid down the law in as clean a manner as he could for the virgin ears in the crowd. And Mary-Elizabeth. Woman was strung so tight that they'd all been lectured a handful of times when there weren't even any minors present.

[Get Your Head In The Game, Get Outta That Shirt]

Several minutes into the first round, neither team had come ahead of the other on the scorecard that the referee was keeping. So far it was neck-and-neck, three-three.

To no one's surprise Nathan and Elena had both edged ahead of the rest as the most competitive. Each made it a point to cheer for their teammates when one of them made a score and suggesting how next time they might be better when a shot got blown, blocked, or otherwise dropped. Which would have been fine, if that didn't mean that their mouths weren't constantly running. Nate talking nonstop was not a new concept to anyone, however it was an accusation that wasn't often aimed at Elena.

"Good one, Cassie! But next time, try to time your jump a little better, so that you have more room to send the ball to a teammate with better reach."

Flying from one end of the beach to the other, the girl covered more ground any one else out there, and she was one of the few that still took her parents seriously every time. Coming just shy of getting the ball to Nadine to hammer over the net, she had only just managed to keep the ball in play. She knew that her father was right about her timing.

"Alright, good hustle people, let's go!" Clapping her hands at her team as they smashed the white cannonball between them to Chloe, the blonde captain addressed the weak-link in their defense. "Ella, remember that your shots are lower than normal. You gotta aim higher!"

Held back by material that was made more for casual wear than an active day out, the heiress kept coming up short every time she had tried to keep the ball from crashing into one of her millions of cracks. Restrictive as the fabric was, they realized why she was wearing it, and no one there was so heartless as to say that she either remove the handicap or get lost. More self-conscious than anyone actually cared, Dells was merely embarrassed that this was what she was showing them.

Attempting to follow Elena's advice about how to overcome her unique circumstances, the problem was that she had about twenty years of muscle memory going against her. Lashing out at the ball when Joey passed it back around to her to try and clear the opening over the net, she had overcompensated, miscalculated, and not only completely missed the window of opportunity but had managed to hurt her own teammate in the process. Ball a hot potato, Daniella had accidentally sent it veering for the back of Chloe's head.

Fortunately, the resulting blow wasn't too bad, earning a discombobulated frown that cut deeper than any glare could. "Same team, remember?"

"I am so sorry!" Acting as if she had just thrown a baseball through the window of the nicest old woman on the block and had killed her, Dells covered her mouth with both hands. She's taken plenty of balls to the head in gym, so the young woman knew how badly it could hurt.

Snickering at the show, Sam strolled over to the net and took a peek underneath to survey the scope of the damage, "See? I warned ya." Sparing a look over at the victim, he chuckled, "Well, I didn't know this would happen per say, but I did warn you."

Hesitating to reach out to Chloe, Daniella felt bad enough without being reminded that this was on her. Biting her lower lip, she spun around to hold a quick conference with Sullivan. "May I step away for a moment?"

Everyone else was still actively involved in the game, and even Chloe had bounced right back to form, so Victor didn't want to interrupt. He didn't see any harm in letting the girl do whatever it was she felt like she had to leave for, although depending on how long it took, the teams would be uneven, and that was hardly fair. Thinking of Nathan first and foremost, he nodded his head in permission... with a caveat.

"Right, Sam," Victor spared half a glance at the field before making his selection, "you're out until she comes back."

"What? Why me?" Straightening up to his full height, the man frowned at the young woman's back as she removed herself from the game. He was sure that she was still listening, but she wasn't about to change whatever little fancy had crossed her mind. Just like another Adler I knew.

Sully had an easy answer on his hands, but he didn't use it, figuring that the historian had probably heard it enough for one day. "Because you touched the net." It was better than 'because I said so', at least.

Dismissed, the grizzled brunette followed his blonde phantom to the sidelines, stopping just shy of breaking into that ridiculous concept that was her personal space bubble. What space was left for them? Really? Head tilting slightly in his direction to acknowledge that she was aware of his presence, the heiress refused the courtesy of fully looking at him. Once again. At least something about her was consistent today.

"You know, you didn't have to play." Elena would have understood, they both knew that.

Hand clasping the ruffled front of her robe as if she were trying to hide something, Dells allowed her grasp to loosen somewhat. Contemplating stripping out of the skin-saving safety hazard, she voiced her agreement, "No, I know. I wanted to be out there. I still want to be..." Gazing fondly across the horizon at the bag of mixed nuts he was stuck with for the rest of his days, the heiress tugged at the end of her braid again. "I... I just..."

Clicking at long last, the unbashful adventurer realized that Sleeping Beauty was uncomfortable about letting the others see her body. Calling horseshit, that she knew on some level that most everyone there was kinder than her mother had ever been, it ran deeper than that for her. Dells was reluctant to let the world at large see what Angel and Ashely had done to her. What those punks did before them.

Sam also realized that she hadn't heard the one thing that might have actually helped to hear in a crisis like this, not from anyone. Not Chloe, Nadine, Logan or Rafael from what he could recall, and more importantly, not from him. The one other person that had had the best opportunity to see the extent of the damage, the one that she would be most likely to believe.

"Dells..." Almost tempted to touch on some variation of the same question he had been on the verge of asking when Elena had stolen the heiress away, the elder Drake brother groaned, "You're really gonna make me say it, aren't you?"

Hope and despair intermingled, her eyes twinkled silver and sapphire, light hitting them at a low angle that couldn't be seen. "Say what?" Honestly oblivious to where this was going, the heiress felt her lashes fluttering against her cheek when he whispered the answer into her ear.

Painting the picture in his mind of the dirty sorceress he gladly would have taken his time with, he just as easily could have said the same of the sopping wet wilted sunflower in the shower, or the starry-eyed waif on the dock. Knowing that his family was just behind them, that there were witnesses all over, the so-called expert touched his knuckles to the upper arm of the princess. All things considered, he wasn't expecting that she would pay him any more heed than she had any other time that day, yet he needed to know that she would hear his words.

Breath hitching in her chest, Sam had sounded so sincere when he said that, yet it couldn't be forgotten that his own brother had been successfully lied to for weeks.

"Even with the scars...?" Ashamed of each mark and divot, the young woman had already thought little enough of her own body before it had been mutilated. The pressures of having the wrong shape, of being too flat or too long or not slender enough compounded with new features that could never be changed or fully go away... All of it was probably the third or fourth thing cued up in her mind to serve as nightmare fuel.

Laughter on his lips, the thief took a chance and stroked the girl's arm in a comforting fashion, "Seriously? What, you thought I was interested in you for your mind or something?"

"Oh good," head dipping low as if she could turn it in his direction at any moment, the heiress returned the joke with a telling chuckle, "I thought it was just me. Can you imagine? Us, for any other reason than because I remind you of someone else."

Joke dying a little more as the truth became a bigger and bigger part of it, any and all mirth had suffocated at the hard 's' of 'us'. Daniella hadn't intended to kill the mood by bringing them face-to-face with one of the largest issues currently ailing her. Honestly, it had just kind of happened.

Glancing in Sam's general direction, the young woman truly hated that she couldn't run to him for comfort. Fuck the fact that people were watching, for once it wasn't good manners that was containing how she conducted herself in public - it was that she was still having a hard time reconciling what he had done. Daniella desired little more than to confide that she was less than confident about the trauma her body had undergone, to coil herself in his arms as he told her that she was beautiful, even if it was just a lie to get her through the moment.

"Sam..." Tremulous and oh so tender, merely saying his name had sent a piercing pain coursing through her still-beating heart. On one hand, a world without the man was unfathomable, yet on the other, how could they go on living in the same space now that she knew she was only a replacement? Am I masochistic enough to learn to be alright with that? More importantly, are you willing to give me that time?

Aware that the historian was close enough to sweep her right back off her feet at a moment's notice, he was still holding on to her arm. Even though there was a crowd. Moved, the young heiress was uncertain if she was trying to apologize without explaining herself or if she was accepting that he was already fulfilling his half of the fantasy. Even though I spat in your face too... He was still there.

"Yes?" Playing up an adorable innocence that had long ago been abandoned, he grinned to salvage the situation, even though it was a bit late for that.

Words collecting in her throat and going unused, the heiress may not have been able to say any of the things going through her mind in that moment, but perhaps she could show it? Subtly shaking her head no, that he should never mind what she had been about to say, Dells also brought her free hand over his wrist. Lingering to communicate that she wasn't trying to remove him, the storm shifted from one part of the open scenery to the other. Hope is still alive, she hoped to convey, please, just bear with me a little bit longer.

Her plea must have gotten through to the roguish explorer on some level, because Sam unfurled his right and transitioned it over hers. There was no interlacing of fingers, although there was an encouraging squeeze for support. "I got your back, you hear me, baby girl?"

Eyes dangerously close to meeting the face that had been etched into the middle of her mind's inner third-eye or whatever, she returned the pressure with a small nod. Daniella really did want to just have one normal afternoon for a change, one happy memory to hold on to when she was done and gray. It helped a lot to hear those words, and she wished that she could return that favor sooner rather than later.

Not entirely ready to take the plunge, the insecure heiress took a deep, steadying breath. She could do this, she could! Fingers moving to untie the open front of the duster, Dells stalled herself mere inches from the finish line, toying instead with the snowy layers. Rolling his eyes, he was aware that this was something she had to do for herself, but that didn't mean he had to let her go unchecked - the girl had had enough of that in her life.

"Nice try." Tugging at her arm with purpose, he etch-e-sketched her hand to about where the hole in her shoulder could be found, leading her fingers where memory told him the scar was healing. "You're more than this. Remember, you got yourself out of that jam."

It was true, Dells had been the one that had escaped from the Orange Tiger Association, and she had done it all by herself. She was a survivor, when it came down to it... why shouldn't she be proud of that fact? Taking yet another deep breath, the heiress nodded as she steeled her resolve. If she could jump out of a second-story window and tell off her mother, she could take off her coat and get into the game. No one there was an enemy...

Nerves peaking before they could plateau, Sleeping Beauty danced before she could stand; shedding the unnecessary layer of clothing before her brain could argue against it, the heiress ripped the band-aid off. Technically required for living, it seemed to the young woman that her brain had gotten in the way more than it had helped today.

Discarding the jacket in the sand, no one was bothered by its removal. No one cried out in horror, Mary-Elizabeth hadn't slapped a protective hand over her son's eyes, and nobody stopped dead in their tracks to point. No one cared.

Except for Sam. Grinning like he meant it (at least that was how it looked through her peripherals), the thief smiled at the young woman like she had just run a marathon or beat down Rocky in his prime. Although the way he saw it, Dells had, in her own way. It was easy enough to tell someone what it was they should do or how they had to feel, but going through a traumatic experience had a certain way of making it feel like the whole world was against you. It might not have solved a damn thing, but having even one person there to believe in you, to talk, could make all the difference in what was a mountain and what was a molehill.

"Good job, Dells." Genuinely proud of her for this victory, Sam knew that one win didn't equal a cure, that she still had a long road ahead of her. He also knew that this wasn't the time to burst her bubble and remind her of that fact.

Too joyous to remember that she wasn't looking at the thief, in the time it took a fly to beat its iridescent wings, the heiress smiled at the thief. Like a child, she had wanted to share this accomplishment with someone important, with someone trusted, with the person that had made it possible. "I did it!"

"Yeah, you did." In that moment, Sam's smirk faltered. Not because he suddenly thought she didn't earn this, but because he wasn't sure which mattered more to him: Daniella's success, or that she wanted to celebrate it with him. That after all day - or more specifically, after the massage that had backfired and damn-near ruined everything - the princess had finally graced the pauper with a single glance.

Troubled, her own smile flickered and cracked in half - time had caught up quicker than she would have liked, or maybe it was memory. Either way, Dells turned away as soon as she possibly could, cursing all the stars in the sky and giving herself whiplash. So close... We were so close to going back to the way things were before!

"Baby girl," hope springing eternal, he gave her hand a final squeeze before letting it go, "you and me gotta sort this thing out."

He may have let go of her, but Daniella still hadn't let go of Sam, not yet. Convinced that everyone was still too engrossed in the game to be paying them the slightest bit of attention, the heiress rested her forehead against his shoulder, words barely a murmur, "I'd like that."

[Coffee May Be For Closers, But Lunch Is For Everyone]

Score literally lost to the wind when Nadine and Sam got into a heated disagreement about whether or not Joey's move was illegal, as Sully sorted them out he'd loosened his hold on the paper long enough for it to slip free of his grasp. Shielding her onyx her eyes from the sun, Chloe made light of the irony there (which blew right over Cassie's head). Naturally Nathan and Elena had come over to weigh in if they thought the point should count or not. Dells used the break to wrap her arms protectively around her chest, asking the pickpocket what it was she had said about teamwork earlier. Despite being in the center of the debate, Joey stared up at the sky and asked why they couldn't just make up their mind already.

Cassie had been the only one to notice the sheet of tally marks flying free in the breeze, but it was way out of bounds and she knew better than to try and interrupt when everyone was in the zone. Also, as she gazed around, the bespectacled blonde caught sight of more people coming down from the parking lot.

"Hey!" Bellowing across the egg-white sand, one of the new arrivals hailed the girl in glasses, waving so enthusiastically that her plastic bangles seemed almost neon in the sun.

"Stella Rose!" Shouting back, the small blonde shrugged over at the ongoing argument once more before darting over to her friends. Well, she called Stella Rose her friend, but in truth they were closer to adversaries; fighting over everything, from grades to who had the best birthday party, it was probably only going to get more intense the older they got. "Dylan, Kielo, Jenn! You guys made it!"

Kielo was more there because Jenn was, but semantics. Dylan was the first to properly greet the birthday girl, mop of dark curls obscuring her frames as he swung her around. Once he had set the girl down, Jenn waved while yanking Kielo over so they were a legitimate cluster, not a cluster plus one. Stella Rose was the last one, more interested in pointing out the rest of the gang helping their parents set up lunch.

"Hope no one minds that we're a little early. My mom just thought that it would be good to make sure everyone was fed." Indicating a mousy brunette that had made a bee-line straight for Mary-Elizabeth, Stella Rose finally offered Cassie one of those empty, one-armed half-hugs.

Wandering over to the mob when it caught his attention that Cassie was suddenly surrounded by her schoolmates, Joseph nodded at Dylan. Guy was alright in his book, but he really hadn't been overly friendly with the others, what with being two years or so older. Stella Rose tried to flutter her lashes all pretty and mature like, but he was more interested in Cassie.

Lightly tapping the twerp's shoulder to get her attention, he gesture back over at all the adults, "You wanna tell them that the game's over, or would you rather wait for them to figure it out from themselves?"

Thoughtful, the lady of the hour peeked back over his shoulder at the group, unsurprised that they were acting like they were still in the middle of a volleyball game. Please, that ended minutes ago, either by the arrival of her peers or because they took Joey seriously. Pft, Joey.

On one hand, it was always funny to watch them realize when they'd been had, but on the other, they might be annoyed that they were late to the table and therefore missed out on all the best dishes. Jenn's dad was a really great cook, but there was no way he was going to make enough to feed that many people, especially when Cassie's dad and uncle had the room to eat like someone that had been marooned for a month.

"Nah, they look like they're really into it." About to leave it at that, the girl frowned when she saw Stella Rose trying to flirt with her best friend. Like eww! "Hey, Stella Rose, why don't you go bring them over?"

"Can't Kielo or Dylan go? Er, Dylan?" Kielo may as well have been a mute for how often anyone but Jenn heard a peep from creepy. "I outta stay with you two and Jenn. Help set everything up, or save seats, or whatever." Clearly trying to get out of doing the least fun job on the planet, the brunette latched herself on to Jenn's side, nuzzling close. "Nine, right? Gotta make sure that there's enough places for everyone."

Riveted by the battles between former best friends for life, Dylan had eventually peered around Joey to survey the stalled game, and Kielo had already done a headcount.

Intentional or not, Cassie had been about to say that that was right, but Joey answered before she could, "Ten. Her uncle brought a guest."

Crush on Cassie's uncle no secret, Jenn looked thoroughly crestfallen at the news, "He what?!" Bad enough that the blonde liked to feign ignorance every time her buddy would drool over a member of her family, the girl remembered why everyone was there and at least made an effort to cover her tracks, "I mean, like, wow! He usually goes to these things alone, right?"

Kicking at the sand, the spectacled blonde shrugged, "Usually."

Totally not understanding it in the slightest, Joseph shook his head in his friend's direction. For all the crap he liked to give her, he gave Cassie more credit than that. "Yeah, Ella... Seems pretty serious." Turning over to the starry-eyed flower leaning into his own sunlight, he pointed the young woman out, "Someone should go get her at least. She doesn't know any better, and it's not fair if she misses out on Jenn's dad's cooking."

Stella Rose was suddenly all for going to go grab the teen at the very least, "Oh, well if you say it like that, then it's doing a kindness, isn't it?"

Over Stella Rose and the games she liked to play with people (as well as her totally obvious thing for Joey), Dylan rolled his eyes at the lot of them and started back towards the picnic area that was scattered with tables and benches. Most everything was already sprawled out on the table, just waiting to be devoured, and even Mary-Elizabeth was bailing on the nonexistent volleyball game with Stella Rose's mother in tow.

Brokenhearted, Jenn was still stuck on what Joey had said about that Ella person. Edging around Kielo for a better look and even standing on her tippy-toes, the preteen didn't see anything remarkable or remotely special about some ditsy blonde bimbo. "How serious is serious?"

Pretending to vomit, it was Cassie that answered bitterly, "Urgh, too serious. Uncle Sam promised me that we'd get to spend time together sometime soon, but he's been so preoccupied with her it's almost like he forgot about the rest of us."

About me! She considered saying that last bit, but chances were that it would get taken the wrong way and someone would accuse her of having an ego. Not to name names, Stella Rose. Honestly, Cassie could care less what the occasion was - she just wasn't happy about her uncle's new relationship, because it was totally taking away from the little time they already had. He promised me...

"Well, she was just in an accident, Cass." Joey had some inkling what it was like to miss family members that took to the road for long stretches at a time, but he also understood that sometimes other people needed the attention more. Maybe that was the difference a couple of years made? "And it's a new thing too. Think of Vicky - do you play with her as much as you used to?"

Stumped, she shook her head in disagreement, "That's not the same."

Eager to win points, Stella Rose sided with Joey, "It totally is! He's just, like, relating something you understand so you can get a grasp on what your uncle is going through. It's no secret that you have the ultimate family - your uncle will totally deliver and take you wherever you wanna go."

"Unless she's some kind of monster. Then bitch gotta go." Merciless, Jenn sounded a little too hopeful that it would turn into their very own murder mystery or something. "What? I'm just saying!"

Much as Cassie wanted to say that Ella was the worst, the truth was that they really hadn't interacted enough to get a good sense on the young woman. Ella seemed to be trying to engage today, but honestly, most times her head was either a million miles away or she had removed herself from the given situation. The distance didn't seem to be personal either, as Rafael had hardly said six things to her since they had arrived on the island.

Dashing Jenn's blood lust like the tide crashed over the land, the birthday girl couldn't do it, she had to tell the truth. Bemoaning what it was her parents had done to her, the blonde grudgingly admitted, "Ella's fine, I guess. We haven't really spoken much since she's been here, but I haven't really tried to talk to her either."

Attempting to make fetch happen, Jenn was prepared to kick up all the stones on the shore until she found what she was looking for. Speaking of gandering, the preteen hadn't taken her eyes off the young woman since she'd been identified, watching intently as the tall blonde stranger had picked something up out of the sand and began to shake it off. "Freakish tall, isn't she? Maybe she uses that height to-"

Interrupting before any outlandish accusations could be hurtled, Stella Rose held up her hand as if she were going to slap the other girl. "Stop it Jenn, just stop it. Please, for everyone's sanity. Your little crush was never going to go anywhere."

"She's about his height, I think." Joey could really only reference the time they were huddled together on the sidelines during the game, but like the others he hadn't exactly stopped to watch their every move. "Bit shorter, maybe. You're a Hobbit, Cass, is she really tall next to you?"

Beyond biting her tongue, Jenn wasn't paying attention to Joey's answer in the slightest. Her gaze was locked on Stella Rose for daring to insinuate that there was no future for her and Cassie's hot uncle. She supposed that the one silver-lining about this new blonde tramp was that it showed he liked them young. "And yours is?"

Nervously throwing a look in the boy's direction, for once she was glad that he was preoccupied with Cassie. Grasping at straws, Stella Rose turned to Kielo, "You wanna do something about your friend?"

"Hobbit?! Screw you, Jojo!" When trash talking, the blonde hadn't meant what she said, but at this time she was strongly reconsidering it. Who knew, if he kept it up she just might shove it in herself. "And yeah, Ella is weirdly tall for a girl, fyi. Maybe if you kiss enough ass, she'll let you go up on her!"

Kielo shrugged. Not a very vocal sort, Kielo did agree that Jenn was barking up the wrong tree, but at the same time there was nothing too wrong with dreaming.

Jenn could have kissed Kielo just then, for not destroying what was left of her fantasy, "See, Kielo gets it. I can dream... Oh."

Having made the journey from the scrapped game to the group of Cassie's peers, the heiress was in the middle of fixing her no longer pristine duster as she approached. Visibly stung, she had definitely overheard what the girl had so coldly said, however she had enough class to take it in stride. Holding her hand out, she offered Joey it. "Sorry, I don't think we've formally been introduced. I'm... Ella." For a moment, Daniella almost blanked on her name, her gaze fixated on the blonde.

Reading the look on her face like an open book, Joey firmly took the offered extremity and gave it a vigorous shake, "Joseph Cutter. But you can call me Joey. Everyone does." Dropping the greeting almost as soon as it started, the Brit pointed out the line-up of usual suspects, "That there's Jenn, Kielo, and Stella Rose."

Polite but shy, Kielo nodded curtly, internally summing up this new stranger; traveled as the people in Cassie's life were, it wasn't very often that they got to meet anyone they didn't already know. Mannered enough, Stella Rose also shook Ella's hand, taking note of the large bandage under one eye. That seemed... unusual? Jenn was by far the most critical, not hiding the fact that she was staring.

"You look like shit." Between the patch on the young woman's face and how disheveled her hair was, the preteen wasn't impressed in Sam's taste in women.

"Jenn!" Aghast, Stella Rose had the sense that there was something special about this new girl, something... lucrative, perhaps? All she knew was that you didn't have manners like that out of nowhere. "Don't be a bitch."

Used to worse, Dells shook her head and pulled her open coat closed over her chest, "She's not wrong. Anyone would look like hell after having large panes of glass removed from their body."

"Large... glass?" Not part of the inner circle and therefore not forewarned of the 'accident' that 'Ella' had just found herself in, none of the kids were any wiser about the situation. Cassie obviously knew that that wasn't the real story, but she wasn't about to go shouting that out. "What happened to you?"

What indeed...

Author's Note:

Rick, Rick, Rick! Yeah, Freaks of Nature is another movie I totally love and quote all the freaking time... Mean Girls, Fired Up, you know, all the classics! But if you squint, there are probably more. If you haven't noticed, references are like, 80% of my humor. Puns too. Ok, so maybe I laugh at almost anything, but those two things seem to get me the most. And I can't remember if Kielo was the guy's name or not in the movie, but every time I think of the Kielo in this story, I picture the tour guy in Touristas.

Also also, since we're talking about the kids, there are a few more that haven't been introduced yet (it felt like there would be more than like five kids on the scuba dive, but maybe that's just me?). I left them as blank as I could, so you guys can use your imaginations! As for Joey, I can't recall if I explicitly gave him a hair color or not, and if I didn't, I'm toying between brown/blonde. So in future, you may see one, the other, or both for him. Or none at all. We'll just have to see. Geographically speaking, I'm not sure where the island actually is, so I went with kind of genero names. Plus, who can predict what the names will be like in the 2030s anyways?