Okay. Now this is where the film was probably at its least engaging. Hopefully I can do better with this. Although I am mixing up timelines, since Heather starts preparing before the frog hunters arrive.

Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse, Alice Queen of Madness and the guest reviewer.

When it got properly dark, there was only one path left down the bayou, and Cody's family and friends left, while the frogs stopped for the night.

"I think there are mushrooms growing around here." Cody said, now that he knew the frogs' distaste for bugs. "Bye, guys! Oh, and don't tell Sierra I'm hanging out with a couple of frogs – otherwise I know she'll try to 'rescue' me again."

Alejandro's eyes lit up in interest. "Sierra, hmmm? Is she your girlfriend?"

Cody gave a sigh. "No, but she'll tell you she is. I'm holding out for another girl. Gwen – I talk to her every night. She doesn't say much, but..." his face became dreamy. "I think she likes me."

Heather wasn't listening to the conversation, and found the mushrooms quite easily. When Harold accidentally ended up getting a thorn stuck in his scales and Cody tried to pull it out for him, Heather was getting the mushrooms, having to call on all the bounciness in her frog body.

"Hey!" she called to Alejandro, who was watching the scenery silently. "Do you want any of this?"

"Just a little bit, please!" he called back.

Heather gave an exasperated sigh and yelled back "I mean if you want any food, come prepare it! I'm just telling you that I got the mushrooms, so if you want any, get over here!" She began chopping up another one, stunning the other frog.

"How do you do that so fast?" he asked.

Heather smirked at how impressed he appeared. "And you've been teasing me all day about being a waitress." she laughed. "It's not just once that I've had to help out cooking and chopping vegetables. What, haven't you ever done it? Oh, that's right, you're royalty. So you're useless at any life skill."

Alejandro raised his eyebrows at her jab. "I may not be a pro at cooking, but I am certainly not useless." With that, he (more slowly) chopped up one of the mushrooms. He couldn't cut as finely as Heather, nor was he as quick, but he was actually quite good. Much better than Heather had expected.

"Where did you learn that?" she spluttered.

Alejandro just laughed at her shock. "In our family, we don't always have the servants do everything. My brothers and I all learned a fair amount in the area of domestic chores, although we didn't have to do them often."

Heather gave a sigh and muttered under her breath "So that's why you're not concerned about getting a job."

But they weren't aware of the three pairs of eyes watching them.

"Oh, those two look good." muttered a ginger-haired guy. "I can almost taste them."

"Mmmm, frogs..." the chubby man next to him almost drooled. "Let's get them!"

"We have to be quick!" exclaimed the third man, this one clearly all muscle and no brains. "Let's go, Scott!"

"Shh!" hissed the ginger man, Scott. "We don't want them to hear us coming for them."

Unaware of that, Alejandro continued on his conversation with Heather. "You know, I have finally figured out what your problem is."

"Oh?" Heather said sarcastically. "So you finally worked out that you actually have flaws? Cause you're my problem."

Alejandro ignored the insult. "You're terrified of human interaction. That's why you act the way you do when someone actually likes you."

Heather would have denied this if she hadn't been shocked at how accurate the observation was. She was afraid of letting people get close to her. She tried to shrug the comment off with a sound of exasperation, but Alejandro knew he'd hit a nerve, and he smirked. Heather's coldness was fun enough, but seeing her vulnerable was so much better, in its own way.

Finally, the girl spoke up again, having regained her composure. "Well, I figured out your problem in two seconds. You think you're so perfect because you've had everything handed to you and the only girls you've ever met are vapid, dumb girls who think you're perfect just because they're too stupid to think otherwise. I must be the smartest girl you've ever met, not that it probably says that much."

"I've met plenty of smart women!" Alejandro said, his voice still level. "But you're right that you are more observant than many of them. I've never met anyone like you."

Heather ignored him.

"And most of the other ones I met knew how to have fun with other people." he added slyly.

Heather whirled around. "Listen! I have had to work two jobs my whole life, so excuse me if I don't have time for royal parties and flirting with everyone!" She turned away for just a moment.

It was enough time for her not to notice Scott sneaking up and netting Alejandro. At least, his cry of shock made her instantly aware when one of the other men went for her. Her quick reflexes had her slipping out of his grip instantly.

"Sha-damn, these things are FAST!" he exclaimed.

To be fair, their escape was one of the easiest things they were going to face that day. They were caught at different times, but it was Heather who was caught as the men left.

"What happened to your one?" the biggest guy asked as Alejandro had escaped.

"Shut it, Owen!" Scott snapped. "At least we got one!"

Heather was trapped in a box, which the last guy sat on to make sure she couldn't get out.

But Alejandro didn't even stop to think as he used his long tongue to stick to the boat, practically jet-skiing towards the boat, jumping on Owen's head and causing the men to try to catch him again. But of course, that meant they forgot that they had another frog caged, and left the unlocked box so Heather could get out.

Sure, the two might have been tiny green amphibians, but they were smart.

"Those frogs aren't normal." Scott conceded, admitting defeat. "They're smarter than any we've caught before."

Heather smirked, looking at the three bumbling frog-catchers. Then she spoke. "Yeah, we're even smart enough to talk, if you morons try to listen!"

"DEMON FROGS!" Owen screamed, and the men disappeared into the depths of the bayou, presumably just to get away from the scary talking frog.

Alejandro was still laughing when Heather went back to find her mushrooms. He'd already decided that he was interested in Heather, but that little quip had made him like her even more. He'd dated a few girls with that same wit, but never for a long time. As far as he was concerned, concentrating on Heather for a while would be more fun than he'd anticipated. "I think that I may have underestimated you." he said with a smirk.

Heather shrugged, grinning in spite of herself. "I didn't do too badly for some waitress who's terrified of human interaction, did I?" she teased, giving a sigh of relief to find her mushrooms untouched, so she kept preparing them.

Alejandro didn't return to chopping the one he'd started on, just watching Heather. "How do you get that done so fast?" he asked. "My brothers and I could never do it that quickly." Of course, he omitted the fact that one of his brothers was much faster than him (although he still couldn't have sliced as finely and fast as Heather).

"Did you do it almost every day since you were seven?" Heather said simply. "I've been making stews and things for a long time. Baking, too."

Alejandro remembered her saying that she was catering Lindsay's party, and used it as an opening. "You must be good at it." he said softly, in the voice that he used that usually made a girl melt. "I mean, you said you were catering that party, and I know how desperate the host was to make it successful."

Heather, of course, didn't melt. "Lindsay's a friend." she muttered offhandedly. "She usually asks me for those kinds of jobs." She didn't mention that she was being paid half a million, or that Lindsay would probably have asked her even if they weren't friends. To be honest, she wanted to simply accept the compliment, but her pride wouldn't let her. She didn't want to be friendly. Her mind kept reminding her that it was Alejandro's fault she was a frog at that moment.

They didn't talk for the rest of that night.

Okay, okay, guys, just a timeline. The "Ma Belle Evangeline" will happen on a different night, giving Heather and Alejandro one extra day to get to know each other before they reach Dawn and Leshawna. Also, Mal's shadow won't catch up for a little while.