No pain, no game, no gain, no rain…wait, Camp Castaways does have rain. Whatever. Let's start the chapter. And the challenge isn't in it yet. Thanks for reviewing, LaViolaViolaRosa, thedragonrooster, lordgemini and GucciManeLaFlare.

The next two days were not much fun. We had to stay on opposite sides of the cabin with the tape still across half of the cabin. Heather said barely anything to me, except for a few snide remarks about my hair and clothes and even saying I was a crybaby who couldn't speak up for herself (probably because I'd said nothing in that argument before and just let Bridgette speak for both of us), which was the only comment that really got to me. I knew she was just trying to make me prove I wasn't, though, so I kept quiet. Lindsay didn't say anything much. She never said a mean word to anyone without Heather prompting her, she just agreed with everything Heather said. Okay, she spoke to me once – she wanted to know what brand of makeup I used, but when I told her, she just shrugged and said "Oh, okay. I only use designer, anyway."

The day before the boys were due to return, I was sitting on the cabin steps, finally getting to make a start on Dracula. Gwen came up and sat down next to me. "Funny you're reading that book when I thought I was the goth," she said, laughing.

I put it down. "Summer reading list. I've had barely any time to get to it until now. Have you read it?"

"I keep planning to," Gwen said, "But not yet. I've seen pretty much every movie version in existence, though. Even that really old one with the bats on strings and Bela Lugosi using that really weird voice that no real Romanians have." She gave a sigh. "I often wish I could have met him. But he'd have to wait in line for about a million artists I'd also really have loved to meet."

I smiled at that. "You've got, like, a list of famous people from the past that you wish you could meet?"

"Mostly, they're all dead," Gwen admitted. "If a time machine ever became real, I'd go back to their times and talk art with them. Salvador Dali's first on my list, but I've got a whole lot more. You know, all my inspirations."

I hadn't even known until then that Gwen was into art herself. "How did I not know you were so into art?" I asked. "Have you drawn anything while we've been here?"

Instantly, Gwen's face looked a bit more defensive. "I'd rather not show you anything right now," she said, her voice a little harsher than usual. "It's all just quick sketches to remind me of what this place looked like so I can do them properly at home."
I held up a hand. "Okay, that's fine, I was just asking. Anyway, if anything, your sense of style is a work of art."

Gwen's face immediately went back to normal, and she laughed. "When the kids at school started ignoring me, I figured I might as well just be what they expected. A lot of the others who were treated the same way had gone goth, and once I did too, I made friends with a few of them – we had a lot in common. Once I realized the goth look suited me, I kept going with it, and sort of figured out my own style based on it. I'm not emo or anything – I was just that quiet arty kid that goes around with the other goths. At least, this way, I get to have some fun with it – and yes, it's sort of an art statement." She paused and said "Anyway, that's not the reason I was going to talk to you just now. You know how I said I'd find out for you if Leshawna was interested in girls or not?"

"What did you find out?" I asked softly.

"I'll put you out of your misery right away," Gwen said. She smiled at me. "She has no problems at all with dating girls. She's sort of got that attitude that we're all human beings. When I asked her, she just said that just because she wouldn't get the same anatomy, it didn't mean that the girl wasn't as human as a guy and if they were the right one, she wouldn't care what they were."

"Thanks," I said softly. "I owe you a tonne."

"Just tell her before I get kicked off and consider it paid!" Gwen said, laughing. We chatted a little longer before I went back to Mina and Lucy's letters.

Still, the whole weekend was tense, mostly. Let me set the scene for the boys arriving back. I was reading again, hanging out on the grass next to the dock for once. Gwen was sketching on the dock and Bridgette was also there, polishing her surfboard. Heather and Lindsay were both reading magazines, and Leshawna was scoffing chips on the seat nearest me. Everyone was stony-faced.

So we weren't very pleased when the guys were back, full of their weekend. Spa treatments, good food and most of all, all five of them seemed more polished, somehow. I hadn't noticed much change before, but now that I saw them after treatment, they looked happier and healthier, more like they had when we'd first met, instead of the four weeks we'd been here for. I had to wonder, how had I changed? I hadn't yet noticed my roots coming in or anything (although I did notice Lindsay's dark-mouse roots when she took her bandanna off at night – but maybe those had been coming in before the summer began).

The only thing was – Owen offered us these chocolate-covered cherry blossoms, just before Leshawna threw her sandal at him. Soon, those chocolates were in the water, and Owen started wailing.

"It's okay, dude," Geoff told him, "The ladies are just a little jealous."

"Yeah, who can blame 'em?" Duncan added. "They can barely stand each other, while us guys are tighter than family!"

Yeah, they said that just as Chris told us via intercom that all teams were dissolved. "From now on, it's every camper for themselves!"

This made me feel anxious. I mean, we didn't just stop having friends because of this change, at least, from my point of view. What if my friends turned on me? I had to struggle not to think about that. I mean, DJ hadn't turned on me last week, even though we weren't on the same team any more.

"I am down with that!" Leshawna declared, in complete contrast to me. Again. "Bring it on, Chris!"
"Then get ready for this!" Chris declared. As he finished speaking, a boat arrived. Carrying an old camper.

As it turned out, bringing Geoff back was just foreshadowing things to come. We hadn't seen this old camper for over two weeks, and I hadn't really gotten to know her. But she was smiling at everyone as she hopped off the boat and arrived back.

"Hey, guys! It's good to be back at camp! Even though I never actually left the island! I've been living in the woods all this time!"

It was Izzy, still talking a mile a minute and smiling in an unsettling way. She said she'd taken the boat, but then jumped off and swam back, living in the forest with the animals and making friends with a family of beavers. The boat, she claimed, had found her and brought her to the other side of the island, where the camp was. I wasn't sure if I believed her, but whatever was or wasn't true, she still actually sat down to scratch her back with her foot like animals did, following this up with a howl before adding "So, what's new with you guys?"

Before we could start the challenge, of course, Chris let Izzy settle in while it was all set up. Bridgette didn't come with us, though. The guys were mostly separated around the camp, so she went off by herself too. Before she went, she whispered to me "I think I should talk to Geoff now, since I was always planning to," and then went to follow him.

"Um, guys," I said before she arrived with the rest of us, "There's only six beds. Where's she going to sleep?"

"She'll go home soon anyway," Heather shrugged. "Or one of us will, probably. Me and Lindsay will vote for one of you so that no one will have to sleep on the floor. Or…" and here she gave me a smirk, "Since you brought it up, she can have yours and you can sleep on the floor."

Now that comment didn't get to me. "Does that mean she won't be sharing your bed?" I asked sweetly, and turned away before she could say anything more, cutting her dead entirely.

Leshawna burst out laughing and held out her hand for a high-five. Wow, the electricity really crackled when our hands touched, despite it all being a friendly gesture. Okay, maybe she didn't feel it, but it was hard for me not to feel excited, even though I knew it meant very little.

As it was, when Izzy arrived, she looked around and asked "Does anyone mind if I sleep by the window? After all that time in the wild, I'd feel weird sleeping in a bed again." We all agreed. No one wanted to give up a bed, although I would have much more happily taken a room without Izzy. I didn't like sharing with Heather, either, but at least I knew what to expect from her.

Oh well, I'd have to see what happened in the challenge before I decided who to get rid of.

I love Izzy, but if she was real, I get the feeling that a lot of people would find her rather unsettling. She has a bit of a slasher smile, she's masochistic and although she has a regular laugh most of the time, she also has a manic laugh. Peyton, quiet and anxious as she is, would never quite feel comfortable around someone like her. And by the way, Gwen wanting to meet Salvador Dali comes from her World Tour bio, where she said her dream date would be a sketching party with him. Maybe she realizes she's not ready to get serious about anyone yet.