Rest day. Cameron will be back soon, and Toni needs to step things up if she's ever going to get Mike to say something. Thanks for reviewing, AnonBrowser, lordgemini, OmniIBIBUltraInstinctGodzilla and Derick Lindsey.

I tried very hard to forget Dawn during the rest day, but I still felt terrible about sending her home without letting her warn her teammates. It just wasn't easy to look at Scott's smug expression during breakfast at the mess hall, but it was kind of hard not to go in after my run without Jo asking questions, since I usually did join her and the other Maggots. Cameron wasn't back yet, but the other four were there as per usual. I grabbed the space next to Mike as fast as possible, although he was talking to Zoey on his other side. Brick and Jo started their usual competitive talk, although it was starting to get a bit more flirty than I'd thought at first.

I nudged the others. "Can you believe those two?" I whispered. "I just got that they must like each other and just can't say it."

Zoey giggled. "I can't believe I didn't notice before!"

Mike paused, thinking. "I guess, looking back…yeah, I see it. Mainly from Brick. But maybe that's just because Jo isn't exactly the kind of person I'd imagine flirting."

"This is kind of a flirty show, huh?" I said, flirtatiously myself. "Like, about half the cast hooked up here in their first season. Not to mention most of them are still together. Even those who had strained relationships in later seasons seemed to get through the show without breaking up. And then I spent, like, the whole second half of last season picking out every second Alejandro and Heather were trying really hard to pretend they weren't interested in each other."

"Well, that was an easy one," Zoey laughed. "They weren't as good at hiding it as they seemed to think they were. It was funny – I didn't think either of them could be referred to as cute, but together, they really were."

I agreed with Zoey wholeheartedly, but I didn't say so. Instead, I gave Mike a questioning look, hoping he would reply too. It took a second, but he just sort of shrugged and said "I didn't watch Total Drama for the romance, to be honest. What appealed to me was the friendships and teamship. I loved how everyone, even the weird, outcast types, got friends. Like Gwen, being so aloof, I thought she seemed shy underneath. But she made all those friends and got a boyfriend. And even though a lot of people didn't like Izzy's craziness, I liked that despite it all, Owen liked her for who she was, and she managed to make friends with Noah and Eva. And I know they weren't exactly friendly people."

That told me a little more about Mike's motivations. "So you're not hoping to find a girlfriend or something?" I teased, getting a little flirtatious again, looking him in the eye and leaning forward a little. "Cause, you know, I'm pretty sure you've already made a few friends."

Mike laughed, although I could hear an uncomfortable note in his voice. "I'm not opposed, but I suppose, maybe. A few friends is enough for me. And I wouldn't say no to the million dollars, either."

"Hey, that's going to be my money," Zoey said playfully, "So give up your claim for it, at least soon."

"It won't be today, that's for sure!" Mike shot back, laughing with her.
"Well, I can't win it," I quickly chipped in, "So you two can have at it with just about everyone else, but somehow I don't think you've got an easy run."

Dakota hadn't been in the mess hall with the rest of us, but I gave her an account and asked if I was doing the right thing. "Keep going," she encouraged. "It might take a while. Just keep working at it and he'll say something eventually." She paused, then added "You know, it was good to get to know one of the old contestants. Bridgette seemed really nice."

"She is." I told her. "We got on really well last season. And tomorrow I've got someone else coming to the show. I called in a few of my old castmates."

Dakota looked excited. "So tell me, who else is coming? Please can I know? I promise not to tell!"

I shrugged. "I guess so. I asked Lindsay to come tomorrow. She's helping judge a fashion competition." I went on to tell her the names of everyone else I'd asked to come back, from someone who I'd asked to help hide the statues in the mines for the seventh episode (don't worry, I had precautions to make sure everyone got out on time), to a food critic much, much later in the season. Even though I didn't quite know whether I could trust Dakota, she'd proved a lot to me already, and I believed her when she said she wouldn't tell.

Then, I changed the subject, asking "So have you tried talking to Sam between challenges?"

Dakota shrugged. "A little. If I'm doing one of your chores and I go past him, he always calls out hi and asks how I'm doing. No one else seems to even remember I'm here."

"You can change that," I told her. "I mean, if you'd really like to help me with Mike, you should go talk to Zoey. She'd be pleased to have someone else want to be her friend, and she doesn't have any other girls to talk to apart from Jo, and she's not exactly the easiest person to talk to."

Dakota looked thoughtful. "Well, she's not the kind of person I'd usually hang around with in public, but we are on an isolated island, so I guess she'll do. Maybe I can talk her into a makeover or something. And…by the way, why didn't you ask me about the fashion show tomorrow? It's, like, something I really would know about!"

"Look, I'm sorry, but Lindsay is super popular and people want to see her again," I said defensively. "I didn't know you were a fashion guru. But I'd love your opinion on what kind of fashion I should wear."

Dakota eyed me critically. "Well, the ponytail's better than your hair loose," she said grudgingly, "But you could really pull off a more goth look. Like, the perky goth type. You've got that kind of energy – part pretty, part alternative, part not caring either way. It's not the kind of style I'd consider for myself, but if those black things are what you want to wear, you can pull them off. Try a bit more contrasting makeup with your face or something. And add some pink." She suddenly smiled. "You know, if you'd like to keep in touch, I could do some wonders with your look. I mean, you probably know a lot of goth culture is about opposing the trends. But I wouldn't mind being seen with one who could pull it off and doesn't look like a faker."

I smiled shyly. "I guess. I keep in touch with my other Total Drama friends, and I've ended up hanging out with you a lot, so we kind of are friends." And as I said it, I realized that I did consider Dakota a friend. Not the kind of friend I had at home, or even on the last season, but she was a much nicer person underneath all the diva fakeness that, at first, I thought was all she had to her.

Cameron got back before dinner time, fully recovered. I was actually called to the dock to meet him. "Hey," I said, grinning. "So, recovered from giving your team yesterday's win?"

Cameron smiled back, a little guarded. "I think so," he said, but he sounded confident enough. "You know, that's the kind of thing I expected when I signed up for this. I'm really starting to feel like a normal teenager who doesn't live in a bubble."

He still didn't look like one, but I didn't share this thought. "Everyone's on their way to the mess hall," was all I said. "You might want to go join them!"

Cameron nodded, starting to jog away, but then he turned back and added "You know, Zoey's a really nice person. And she likes hanging out with you."

"Why are you telling me?" I asked warily. "I know that she's a cool person."

"I got the feeling you don't like her much," Cameron answered. "She said you two were really getting along at first, but now she's thinks you suddenly stopped liking her and she doesn't know why."

"Oh." I decided not to go to the mess hall that night. "Well, tell her that I still like her, and if I seem like I don't, it's not anything she's done." Pretty much a lie, but I really didn't want Zoey to think I disliked her, even if it was true. And it wasn't quite true. I liked her as a person, but I also resented her as a rival. It was a hard feeling, and the resentment kept pushing me to be mean to her. I didn't want to, but at the same time, I did.

I did come out after dinner. While Zoey was in the showers, I took the chance to talk to Mike alone, flirting for all I was worth. I watched him carefully to see if he was getting any reaction. He definitely seemed to be looking at me a little bit differently just before I saw Zoey coming out of the communal area, her hair loose and hanging down her back instead of in their usual bunches, but I couldn't be sure. Either way, she smiled and sat down on the other side of Mike, asking "So what were you guys talking about?"

"We were actually talking about the next Total Warriors movie that's meant to be coming out this summer." Mike explained to her.

"I haven't seen all of them," I added, "But I knew you guys had, and I figured I'll catch up when we get home, and then go see it."

Zoey smiled. "I heard it's supposed to be good, too. You know, we have the cutest tiny little cinema in my town – it's like one of those retro ones, with cushions and bean bags instead of chairs, and old-fashioned self-service popcorn machines. But it shows modern movies. Maybe when it comes out, a few of us could go. Make it a group thing."

"Maybe," I shrugged, trying to make it seem like I wasn't bothered either way. "If I can."

When I went back to my trailer, I even checked the confessionals just to see if anyone said anything I needed to know about me. No one had. There were a few minor confessionals, but nothing about me at all. Oh well. That would help me keep my mind on the fashion challenge tomorrow.

Hopefully that didn't seem too OOC there. Dakota didn't have much character in canon, but I figured she'd know about more trends than just the one that she follows. Also, Cameron getting the feeling Toni dislikes Zoey – I attribute it to the same reason he recognizes Mike's disorder as early as Episode 3 (since it was actually him who brought out Svetlana).