You're not a freak.

Total Drama was that reality show where a bunch of teenagers competed in potentially deadly challenges with the goal of trying to be the last one standing and win a million dollars.

The most recent season, Total Drama Pahkitew Island saw a new group of 14 campers compete on a new island, living outdoors, foraging for food and water in the wilderness and having to overcome the many crazinesses of the place.

The season had everything, Grease, Wild Animals, Megalomaniacs, Bootlickers, Hating Twins, Songs, and Robots.

Yep, Robots, because it turns out that the beautiful and natural island was not so natural, but a completely artificial creation of Chris, and which brought problems when it started to fail, but with some work, a catastrophe was barely avoided.

After almost two weeks, it came down to two campers, Sky, the aspiring Olympic gymnast, and Shawn, the conspiracy guy. And the finale was… a disaster on many levels, but in the end, it was Sky who came out with his hand up.

That's when the broadcast cut out, with Chris, Sky, Shawn and his girlfriend Jasmine aboard the helicopter, flying away from the island.

But not everyone was out. And now, the remains of a robot bear lay on the ground in front of a cave, with a long stretch of oil indicating that it crawled a bit, losing nuts and bolts, until its head was crushed by a rock, and gave way to a new trail, this time, it was droplets of a red liquid, and pieces of brown and blue-green cloth. Which entered a cave.

From inside the cave came out moans, which echoed through the walls of the place. A boy full of cuts, with his clothes torn to shreds and very little hair. He was trying to cover his multiple wounds with parts of his shirt, which now served the sole purpose of making improvised bandages.

Dave: That should be enough. Gh. Shit, I still can't stand up.

That kid was Dave, another of the campers from the now-ended season. What was he doing there? Well, that's a sad story.

Dave: I'm lucky to be alive. But for what, I'm stuck here, with hundreds of other of those robot animals, and I'm too injured to go get food and water. So I'll most likely die here, malnourished and dehydrated, like an animal in captivity.

The boy laughed at his own misfortune.

Dave: How appropriate.

The boy was basically resigned to the fact that this place would be his grave, so he started to do what many people do when they think or know they have a limited time to live, review their life, but he focused on those almost 2 weeks, and especially, on one person.

Dave: I think this is for the best, after what I did, I'm so much worse than everyone else combined, at least they had contemplation for life. And they didn't throw a tantrum over something stupid.

The boy punched himself, causing him pain not only in the face, but also in his hand, and in his shoulder which had a part of his clothes as a bandage.

The brown-eyed kid started to cry in that same position, with half an arm resting on a rock, and his head lying on the ground, he felt so disappointed, not with other people, but with himself, and all because he was not able to handle his stupid feelings, and ended up committing a drastic act that could have cost the lives of two people, a boy who was the closest thing to a best friend, and a...

???: Dave.

The echo of that voice made him open his eyes.

Dave: S-Sky? N-no, it has to be my imagination.

???: Dave.

Dave: Yeah, that's it, it's just my subconscious, I'm imagining voices.

???: Dave.

The boy turned around and his eyes almost popped out when he saw a black-haired girl standing at the entrance of the cave. His face turned pale, and a bunch of feelings crossed his body in less than an instant.

Dave: Gah. Get away from me.

The boy quickly crawled as best he could in his condition to hide behind some rocks, though he well knew that was useless. For he had already seen it. The girl was a little surprised by his reaction, but decided to approach. Something that did not go unnoticed by Dave when he heard the echo of her footsteps.

Dave: No. Don't come any closer. Don't take another step.

Sky: Dave I...

Dave: Go away. I don't want to, I don't want to... I don't want to hurt you.

Sky sighed.

Sky: It's okay, I won't come any closer. But I do want you to listen to me… I wanted to apologize to you… for everything I did the last few times we saw each other. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that in the woods, or thrown that horn at you so Chef would strike you with the pasta. And most of all, I shouldn't have played with your feelings like that. I should have told you everything after you confesed, no matter how much you refused, it's just... Well, Keith. He and I… We had a very strong argument back at home, and in the middle of the anger we didn't break up properly, but somehow, I always felt that we stopped being something a long time ago. I planned to break up with him before coming here. But they called me to the blimp. And I thought I wasn't ready to move on, so I refused to find anyone else...until I found you. And I hurted you... I never wanted to do that... I really like you Dave.

Dave heard it all from behind the rocks, he knew all those words were sincere, but they didn't make him happy. They only increased the anger he felt towards himself.

Dave: I don't… i don't deserve it.

Sky: Dave...

The boy stood up (using any rock to keep his balance) and looked straight at her Black eyes.

Dave: Sky. I'm not a good person, I rejected Ella without considering her fragile self esteem, I caused problems between Shawn and Jasmine when I told him he had to take down the other team's zombies and never apologized for it, I prejudged everyone from the first instant, I insulted your sister's sport and her, ignored you on multiple occasions when you wanted to explain the whole "but" situation to me, tried to kiss you against your will when we left the spheres, acted like a arrogant jerk at the night challenge, yelled at you, threw a tantrum, and when I had the truth in front of me, instead of accepting it. I almost took the life of the closest thing to a best friend, and the person I care about most in this world next to my family. I almost killed both of you because I was unable to control my emotions.

As he spoke, his voice broke more and more, and he had begun to cry again. Until he fell to his knees in front of Sky, who kept looking at him sadly. Until a smile crossed the boy's face, which clashed with his tears.

Dave: Ironic, isn't it? I kept calling everyone freaks. And in the end, I'm the biggest freak of them all.

The boy simply waited for Sky to leave, but the gymnast didn't. Instead, she kneeled down to be on his level and wrapped him for a hug.

Sky: No. You're not a freak. Just someone who made mistakes. Just like me, just like Jasmine, and just like Shawn. We all made mistakes at some point in our time here. and being in full competition didn't make things any better. But what really matters, is not letting those mistakes define who you are.

Dave didn't know how to react, so he just rested his head on Sky's shoulder, lifted his trembling arms and hugged her back. It felt good, the vanilla scent of the athlete and the beating of her heart against his cheek were bringing him back to peace. Despite everything, she still had that effect on him, able to calm him down, even in the most stressful situations. Dave broke away and realized that her beige arm-less shirt was now full of red stains from his exposed wounds.

Dave: Sky. Your clothes, I'm sorry, I forgot that i...

Sky used her finger to shush his mouth.

Sky: It's okay. Besides, I'm responsible for your scars existing. It's only fair that I carry something of them.

The athlete removed her hand from his mouth. The two connected eyes once again, and started to get closer, they closed their eyes and prepared their lips...

Chris (Megaphone): Sky. I have no idea if you can hear me, but if you're not back in 5 minutes, then you'll have your whole life to search for Dave or what's left of him. Of course, in this place, that life won't be so long.

They both snapped out of their little moment and moaned in frustration. Somehow, Chris always managed to interrupt all the good stuff. It's like he had a sixth sense.

Sky: I guess we have to go back.

Dave looked at her in a mix of confusion and worry.

Dave: But... what about the others?

Sky: I think a conversation with them will work. And if not. I'll back you up.

The gymnast held out her hand. Dave, for the first time in a while, let a smile of true happiness cross his lips, and accepted the help, then walked out with Sky helping him to stay up.

They both arrived to the elimination área, where they were awaited by Chef, Shawn, Jasmine, and a clearly not so happy Chris.

Chris: oh well. At least it's one lawsuit I won't have to deal with.

Dave decided to ignore the host and focus on the couple of survivors. It was definitely an Odd moment, with Shawn being the first to break the ice.

Shawn: Nice to see you well dude.

Dave: You're not angry?

Shawn: A little bit. But i Guess i didn't really help by laughing at you for being Sky partner or starting that stupid slap fight in the mud. Guess i also got affected by the whole competence stuff in some way.

Dave: It's okay. I'm so sorry for dragging you into that madness Shawn. And I'm also sorry for causing trouble between you two after the water challenge.

Jasmine: What are you talking about?

Dave: I was the one who told Shawn that you and your team were zombies. We were at a disadvantage and needed to recover, it was the only thing that would ensure a Shawn victory. I didn't think it would cause so much trouble.

Jasmine watched him for a moment and sighed.

Jasmine: it's okay mate. It's not entirely your fault either. I was the one who decided to reflect that hatred towards you and convinced Sky that you were an enemy, even without knowing that. I guess no one here is completely innocent.

Chris: hey, I don't want to interrupt your nice conversation. But I would like to leave this place. I have contracts to renew.

The 4 teenagers rolled their eyes and boarded the helicopter. Once in the air, perhaps because of all the accumulated emotions, he ended up with his head resting on the chest of Sky, while the couple of survivors made friendly jokes towards them, like singing them the typical melody of kissing under a tree. The 4 of them laughed, like what they were supposed to be. A group of friends. A weird, dispair group of friends, with many problems, and who hurt each other at some point. But friends at the end of it all.

Dave averted his gaze for a moment and watched as Pahkitew became a mere speck on the horizon, until it disappeared altogether. He wasn't sure what would happen now, he didn't know if he and Sky would decide to take the next step, if they would decide that this would be the last time they would see each other at all, or if maybe it was best to stay as they were.

The only thing that was clear to him was that he should remember everything that happened to him, and everything he did, not as a sign of who he was. But as a sign of who he would never be again.

-THE END-