A/N: The title of this chapter is supposed to be a play on "Aleheather." I feel like I didn't quite spell that out enough, so I just wanted to leave a note covering my bases. Please, I'm begging, leave reviews telling me what I'm doing right and wrong. I'm moving back to college tomorrow, so my writing schedule will be jacked up for a little bit. I'll finish the story obviously but I might not get back to my pace of three chapters a week. Thank you guys for everything, hope ye enjoy.
"I'm gonna fucking die."
James was staring at the tightrope that he had to walk across. A conservative guess was that it was an inch wide and over 400 meters long. He had to cross this surface covered in Chef's finest kitchen grease without the benefit of a safety harness like Alejandro had. He looked to his left to see Alejandro a little less scared. Chris stood behind the two, beaming contentedly.
"Anytime you guys wanna start is fine. Not like we have a thirty minute show or anything."
Alejandro walked out onto the rope casually. He was a gifted balancer and had no problem with the challenge. A glance to his right told him that James still hadn't stepped out onto the rope yet.
James took a deep breath. He had to dig into his past to remember how to do this. Count to four, inhale, count to four, exhale [1]. He could do this.
He walked back a little bit, confusing the campers watching on the video projector back at the hurdles challenge.
"I knew he couldn't do it," Heather crowed triumphantly. Ever since his failed ploy to "get to know her" on the first night, she'd harbored an extreme dislike for James. She had told him things nobody else knew. Really personal, scary, deep thoughts. Why hadn't he used them against her yet? That's what Al would have done. The only conclusion she could come to was that he was holding onto them for an especially embarrassing moment. She wasn't going to let him have that opportunity.
"I mean, can you blame him? I sure wouldn't go out there. Nuh-uh, no way, especially with no harness." Leshawna answered back.
Izzy stared at the screen, a smile dawning on her face. "No no, keep watching. Izzy thinks he has a trick up his sleeve."
James rocked back on his heels slightly. His lips formed a word that the campers couldn't make out before he did something they didn't expect.
He started sprinting at the tightrope.
His feet hit the rope and although he stumbled slightly, he regained his balance and kept going. His feet were landing perfectly on the rope as he was staring at the other side. The middle of the rope had the most kitchen grease applied to it, and his feet hit the slick spots quickly. His body weight shifted to one side slightly, causing the other campers to start yelling at the screen as if they could change the outcome. Gwen and Zoey covered their eyes while Heather began to regret her words and her attitude. Maybe, if he lived, she'd hear him out.
James felt it too but leaned the opposite way in order to balance out his body weight. Despite only taking a fraction of a second, he felt like the process took a lot longer. With his feet firmly under him again, he kept up his mad dash for the other side. When he was ten meters from the other side he dove for the bank. He rolled forward before collapsing on his back, taking hitching breaths the entire time.
"James wins the second challenge! Jesus bra, that looked tense. So glad I'm not you." Chris remarked.
Alejandro walked onto the bank a minute after James finished. " 'mano, where did you learn to do that?"
James smiled wide. "I dated a Russian gymnast for a while and she taught me some things. Thanks Anya, wherever you are."
The campers back at the hurdles collectively let out a breath they had been holding ever since James stumbled. Leshawna slid over to her friend Gwen before whispering, "Hear that girl? The Russian taught him some things. I wonder what else she taught him, if ya know what I'm saying."
The two giggled, while Harold looked on. He knew that his Leshawna wouldn't be unfaithful, but he sensed that Gwen looked a little too eager. Danger was an aphrodisiac, but still.
Chris walked the two competitors back towards the group of campers. "Alright, now because this was a best of three series, we're gonna have our final challenge here. This one is going to celebrate the sword fight that Alejandro had with Cody while Heather was restrained."
Heather's ears perked up at the last part. She stood up and started to run but was quickly pulled back by Chef. Chef looked down at her and grinned. "Guess what, girlie, that part's staying the same."
"Instead of using sticks with pillows on each end, you'll be fighting with these." Chris brandished swords that had gold handles and a transparent tube encasing the blade. "These bad boys are another experimental weapon. Contact with any part of the body causes temporary paralysis, and in order to win your opponent has to be off the platform entirely. Oh yeah, and by the way, the sharks around the island are pissed. They haven't eaten in weeks!"
Alejandro looked over at James. "What about the flames? I remember that the fire seemed to be a rather large part of the challenge last time."
"Already taken care of." With a snap of his fingers, the campers turned their attention to a platform floating just off the beach where the elimination ceremonies were held. The platform was a large metal square with a stake close to the back. At Chris's snap, fires were lit on both edges of the platform, providing a natural barrier.
Alejandro and James picked up their swords and took their positions on the platform. Chef tied Heather to the stake behind them and hightailed it out of there. The two guys circled each other warily. Alejandro had the stance of a knight with both hands on the hilt of his sword while James held his sword with one hand as he had been trained by an Olympic fencer.
Heather was not thrilled to be in this situation. "You know, I really don't know who to cheer for here. Chris, is it possible for both of them to lose?"
Alejandro lost interest in the fight. "That's exactly your problem. That right there is why I broke up with you."
James remained on guard, trying to see if this was some distraction. He had to admit, it was working well.
Heather glowered at Alejandro. "What does that mean?"
"You assume things are your birthright. You can never appreciate what you have at the moment."
"I told you I was sorry."
Alejandro chuckled bitterly. "Sorry isn't nearly close enough, senorita."
"You're better than riddles, Al. Spit it out."
Alejandro's right eye started to twitch. James had been raised to perfectly embody Canada, and the biggest stereotype about Canada is that every Canadian is polite. He looked at the exes before declaring that "I'll give you guys some space." He then walked to the edge of the platform to allow the two to hash it out.
Alejandro dropped his sword and jabbed his finger accusingly towards Heather. "You pushed me off a volcano doing irreparable damage. You ignored me for a year while my body recovered in a metal prison. You then tried to ignore me again when I came back. Then, after we had both been eliminated and found happiness with each other, you let money get in the way. Again."
Heather had no response. She just stared ahead at Alejandro.
"And that's not even the worst part." He turned to face the campers who were still on the beach and played to his audience. "Friends, would you like to know the straw that finally broke the camel's back?"
"Don't tell them, please. You can hate me all you want but don't tell them", Heather pleaded.
The campers stared at Alejandro raptly. Seeing the Queen Bee reduced to something this pathetic had been a dream for many for a while. Gwen and Leshawna had huge grins on their faces, Zoey and Courtney were eagerly nodding, and Harold was looking forward to getting a window into the relationship. Lightning and Izzy were staring at the angry exes' facial reactions. Dawn, on the other hand, was concerned. Her auras were telling her that this could only end badly.
James felt like a jackass. A couple (ex-couple?) was having an emotional movement and he had to stand there and observe. He tried to keep his face blank but he secretly was worried. Whatever happened behind closed doors with the couple didn't deserve to be revealed. He hoped that whatever the secret was wasn't that bad.
The secret was that bad. Alejandro continued, "This girl cheated on me. Multiple times."
A collective gasp rose. Chris had been looking at himself in a handheld mirror, but those words caught his attention. This drama was going to be better than the dud of a challenge.
"This girl, who I had shown kindness and forgiveness and even love to, cheated on me. After everything. What was I supposed to do?"
Heather dropped her head. "It's...it's not that simple, Alejo."
"Don't you dare call me that. You called me that when we were happy. Don't let that name escape your lips."
"Girl, that's low, even for you." Leshawna was no fan of Alejandro but even she could acknowledge that he deserved better.
"I wanted to surprise her, so I dropped by her house one day. She lives three hours from me so it didn't happen all that often. When I got there, there was already another car there that I didn't recognize. I went in and I found another guy outside her bedroom." He turned back to his ex. "What do you mean it's not that simple? Explain, por favor, we have nothing but time here."
Chris looked at the camera as he sighed. "They keep forgetting this is a twenty-two minute show."
Heather scanned the area desperately. "Can we do this somewhere else? Somewhere private? Please, Alejo, please."
He crossed his arms. "It's here or it's nowhere."
Everyone Heather saw was glaring at her with more hatred than she'd ever seen. Alejandro was no saint, so if they were feeling this mad on his behalf she must have really screwed up.
She mumbled something, which only James caught. His eyebrows shot up and he briefly forgot what he had been doing, which was trying to look like he wasn't paying attention.
Alejandro turned. "One more time? I didn't catch that, sadly."
"I said, he was a therapist. I'd been seeing one since after World Tour. He was making a house call because I missed my last appointment."
Leshawna snorted. "Yeah right, she's still trying to play us. We're not fools, we can see through this, queenie."
Gwen analyzed Heather's face. Over the three years that she had known the Queen Bee, she had learned that Heather's tell was a slight upwards curve on the left side of her mouth, almost like she was happy to be lying. That curve wasn't there right now. Either Heather had gotten much better at lying or she was actually telling the truth. But, how could Heather be in therapy? That didn't make sense. Everything about her personality demonstrated outward strength. What could she be so upset about?
Heather continued. "Did you not notice how quiet I was? How I barely left my bedroom? Alejo, I was depressed and you didn't notice or care."
"You don't get to talk to me about depression, puta. Where were you when I was recovering from lava burns that you caused? You deserved everything you felt, and more," Alejandro snarled.
Heather's cheeks burned but she said nothing. Alejandro turned away from her to face the campers on the beach. "Who among you has been mistreated by this girl? Her behavior is enabled by a reality-show host who cares more about ratings than his contestants and by the complete absence of love she has at home. Wombats, I beseech you, vote her out at the next opportunity."
While Alejandro was speaking, James crept up behind him. He patted Heather's shoulder briefly before getting into position. "Sorry Ale, I really have to go to the bathroom and this is taking a little too long."
He rammed Alejandro off the platform with his shoulder, catching the Spaniard by surprise. He dove into the water a second later and swam furiously towards the shore. He kept the frantic pace up as he sprinted to the outhouse.
"And James wins for the Wombats! Muskrats, you guys have an elimination ceremony tonight. Oh, and Chef, you might want to untie Heather. You know, if you want to."
The cook piloted a small boat up to the platform and untied Heather from the stake. Before she could hitch a ride, he was gone. She looked towards the beach and saw the entire group of campers staring back at her. She couldn't meet their eyes.
Confessional
Leshawna (supremely happy): That was the best thing I've ever seen on this show! That witch got embarrassed, Alejandro lost, and that skinny no-class having bitch got embarrassed! I've been waiting years for this!
Gwen: I should be happy seeing my biggest enemy ever miserable. Leshawna certainly is. But, I don't know, I feel kinda...guilty? Like everyone automatically took Alejandro's side during the breakup. Was she actually in therapy? It's like kicking a dog, if the dog's been trying to bite you for three years but just got bitten itself.
End of Confessional
Courtney met the dripping wet Spaniard as soon as he got to the shore. "What the hell was that? You let your guard down!"
Alejandro looked towards the outhouse. "That pendejo took advantage of me. It was a mistake but not one that I'll repeat." He took his shirt off to let it dry in the sunlight. It had the added effect of hypnotizing Courtney, which Alejandro was counting on. His bronzed and chiseled body overrode any thoughts the CIT had been having seconds before.
"Now tell me, did you get Izzy to vote with you tonight?"
Still staring at his pecs, Courtney answered dreamily, "Uh-huh. Izzy's voting with me. You don't have to worry."
He smirked. "Good. Harold's gone and we're one step closer to the finals. All we have to do is convince the Wombats to vote off Heather and that pendejo and victory is ours."
Lightning strolled over at that moment. "Man, you never turn your back like that! Sha-rookie mistake!"
"Silencio, Lightning. I had something more pressing on my mind at the time."
Lightning opened his mouth to yell back but Courtney subtly shook her head. No. Wait. The jock nodded.
The campers started to migrate back towards the cabins. Gwen stayed behind on the beach slightly for Heather. Heather already looked downcast after swimming back from the platform but looked even more miserable when she saw who was waiting for her.
"Come to make me feel worse? It's a hard job but I bet you can find a way."
Gwen chose not to answer and instead kept looking at her. "You weren't lying about therapy."
"Glad to know the person who hates me the second-most here can tell the truth."
"You know what James said to me on the first day? He said that the root of your problems is that you're insecure and don't know how to handle it. He said it more nicely than that, but the idea is true. You know what I think?" Gwen paused. How she handled the next part would decide how the conversation would end. She could already tell that Heather was upset, and for some reason saying James's name didn't help.
"I think that you're so used to burying your true feelings to keep up your Queen Bee image that you can't tell what you truly feel anymore. You assume the worst from everyone all the time and when you're proven right, that hurts you more than you want to admit so you retreat further into the Queen Bee character that you've created. Heather, this sounds weird to me too, but please, open up to me. If you're this badly off, you need to talk to someone."
Gwen relaxed, exhausted by the effort behind her little speech. Heather didn't know how to react. Her internal voice was telling her she needed to yell at this weird girl for daring to insult her, but a smaller part of Heather, one that hadn't gotten a lot of attention recently, cried out for Heather to accept the offer. Heather started to open her mouth but tears filled her eyes immediately. She fought back the tears enough to tell Gwen to meet her on the cliff that night so she could explain things.
Confessional
Gwen: My damn conscience. If she sets me up here, she's so gone.
Heather: Ok. I can do this. I can trust...Gwen. It's gonna be nice to talk to someone about this for free.
End of Confessional
Chris had gathered the Muskrats for another elimination ceremony. "What happened guys? Two losses in two challenges. Rough. Regardless, someone's gotta go home. I know you all wanted a less intense challenge today, so you got one. Happy?"
Alejandro shook his head. "I could have torn my niños, I could have fallen into a rock quarry that could have killed me, and I argued with my ex. Still pretty intense, Chris."
Chris turned to Chef. "They just don't stop complaining, do they? You had a safety harness for god's sake. Anyway, moving on, if you get a gold medal you stay for another week. Repulsive silver means you're flushed.
Today's gold medals go to: Izzy. Lightning. Leshawna. And Courtney.
Harold, your teammates are still mad at you for helping a competitor yesterday. Alejandro, you turned your back on your enemy in a sword fight. Not smart, bra."
Harold started chewing his nails nervously. Alejandro merely sat back and watched the show. He was sure that his alliance would come through, and that nerd would finally be sent home. He smiled. His bigger problem was convincing another team to vote its own members off but he thought he knew just the trick.
"And the final gold medal goes to
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Harold!"
Alejandro shot out of his seat. "Qué?!"
Courtney smiled. "Sucks to suck, Al."
He turned to her. "You...you didn't."
"As nice as you are to look at, you're a problem I didn't need. Tell Jose I said hello."
Alejandro was too stunned to resist Chef dragging him to the toilet.
Confessional
Courtney: He asked me if Izzy was voting with me. I didn't lie, he just didn't ask who she was voting for. (smirks) Arrogance is a problem, Al. Only problem left is Lightning.
End of Confessional
Teams: Woeful Wombats (James, Heather, Gwen, Zoey, Dawn, Brick, Geoff, Dakotazoid)
Malicious Muskrats (Alejandro, Izzy, Lightning, Harold, Noah, Leshawna, Courtney)
Voter (who they voted for): Alejandro (Harold), Izzy (Alejandro), Lightning (Alejandro), Harold (Alejandro), Leshawna (Alejandro), Courtney (Alejandro)
Alejandro- 5 votes
Harold- 1 vote
Eliminated: Alejandro
Izzy brooded silently. She had learned a while ago that she was her best counsel because very few other people really understood her. Courtney had approached her about voting Alejandro off but being careful about it. Izzy was more than happy to go along with the plan because she wanted Alejandro gone, even though she had to look a little dumber in the process.
For some reason, people always doubted her. It had something to do with how outlandish her stories sounded, which she could acknowledge. Even now she was sitting down for tea with a bear in the bear's cave.
She thought back on Courtney's behavior. Normally, she would have reminded her team that she was a CIT after every other step. Instead, this season, she was quieter and more serious. This could be troublesome. If Courtney had finally learned her lesson from her first four seasons, she could potentially make any number of moves. She could easily recruit Leshawna and Harold, and once the merge came, there was a chance she could get Gwen back if she apologized for mistreating her former friend. If she had Gwen, she basically also had Zoey and Brick. Dawn, Lightning, and Heather were all wildcards. Lightning would likely follow Dawn wherever she went, and nobody could really tell with Heather. That left James. He would hear her out regardless but he seemed distracted.
Then again, Izzy was too. She turned back to the black bear. "More tea, Mr. Fuzzy Paws? I'd hate for my friend to be thirsty."
[1]: Anybody want to take a guess what game this isfrom?