S U R V I V O R
Based on the book 'I Will Survive' by Samantha Connolly.
A/N: Well it's been a while, hasn't it? Anyway, here's chapter 8... I'm gonna try and update my other fic more frequently as well, it's been sitting around for WAY too long for my liking. And probably yours too.
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Chapter Eight
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"Why the hell did you tell-"
"Eighty-four percent think it's a good idea-"
Hermione and Julia broke off at the exact same moment, staring at each other somewhat warily.
"What were you going to say?" Julia asked, lifting her large sunglasses to the top of her head, her eyes fixed on the other woman's face.
"It's nothing," Hermione said quickly. "You go ahead."
After another moment of speculation, Julia cleared her throat and continued. "Eighty-four percent of the audience voted that Hermione and Draco should get together. They think that you two would make a cute couple," she explained to the two. Draco looked slightly amused while Hermione was trying hard not to let her mouth drop too far open in shock.
Me and Draco? Do the audience know about our little visits to the lagoon or something? I'm sure we haven't acted anything out of the ordinary on camera.
She was snapped out of her thoughts by Laurie's protests. "That's not fair! How come she gets him and I don't?" she screeched.
Hermione was aptly reminded of what any normal woman would have said in a situation like this. "Sorry, but he's all mine," she joked, grinning and poking her tongue out at Laurie, who scowled back.
"Laurie, the audience thinks you're already involved with Alex," Julia said, checking her clipboard. "So it's only fair that Hermione gets Draco."
"That's ridiculous," Alex said hotly. "I already have a girlfriend who I'm very happy with." He frowned. "Is it because of those scenes we were doing?"
Julia looked interested. "Scenes? Sounds like good stuff."
Alex did not look particularly pleased. "Can you please make sure you're careful as to how you broadcast that? I don't want people to take them the wrong way."
"Hm, that's a good point," Julia said thoughtfully, jotting down a quick note. "I'll have to be careful with that."
Alex seemed slightly more relieved at her words.
Julia clapped her hands once everyone had gotten over the initial surprise and shock at the viewer opinions. "Alright. Now, to be honest, things on the island haven't been particularly exciting lately. The ratings so far have been great, but we'll need something other than the same old same old in order to keep the audience interested and coming back for more. As I recall, when I interviewed each of you guys the other day Hermione complained about there not being enough time for romance."
"I wasn't complaining, I was just stating facts!" Hermione said hotly, jumping up.
"Exactly. You said it yourself. Facts," Julia replied triumphantly. Hermione shot her an annoyed look and sat down as Laurie tugged on her arm. "So in order to make some relaxationg time for you guys, we're going to build a hot tub here near your shelters. I'm sure that after a few months you would have built one out of twigs or something anyway," she said, flapping a hand at Draco, who looked slightly murderous.
"You don't have a hot tub on a deserted island, twigs or no twigs!" he argued. "Building one will ruin the whole natural aspect of the show. It'll just turn into another of those fake reality shows."
Julia tutted. "Yes, but this is a reality show, and I know what will spice it up. So don't you worry, Draco, I'll make sure your show gets the best ratings out of all the other shows on TV."
"That's not the point," he sighed, shaking his head.
Laurie piped up. "Please, Draco! Let her do it! I'd give a limb to be in a hot tub right now."
Draco looked around at the other contestants. Hermione, despite her disagreements with Julia, looked hopeful and so did Alex. He sighed again. It was his job to make this show realistic and natural, but he really couldn't risk having the contestants spending the rest of the show moping around and sulking because he refused to let them have a hot tub installed. It would ruin things. "Alright... fine."
A cheer erupted at his words. Julia grinned at him and put on her sunglasses again. "Good choice, Draco. Well, we might as well make a night of it, and have a couple of crates of wine 'wash up' later. That should make things interesting. And don't be afraid to get down and dirty, either. You're all adults, there's nothing barring you."
"There's cameras around," Hermione said doubtfully, playing her part as the prudish librarian.
Julia smiled at her. "Look around - there's plenty of bushes. Use them to your advantage. We can always edit anything too explicit out later, you know. So go wild!"
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Hermione felt Laurie's gaze on her as they gathered wood to add to the fire. Eventually, as they worked nearer each other, Laurie finally spoke. "So what did you guys get up to without us knowing?"
Hermione looked at her, trying her best to feign surprise. "'You guys'?"
Laurie rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. Stop playing stupid. You and Draco, of course! I heard you when Julia was about to speak. 'Why the hell did you tell her about us?'" she mimicked, adding to the end.
Funny thing was that she'd hit the nail right on the head; it was exactly what Hermione had been about to yell at Draco. She tried not to show her discomfort and composed herself, putting on a thoughtful expression on her face as if she was trying to remember when she'd said that. After a while she smiled. "Oh, that," she said flippantly. "I was just shocked at what Julia had said. I thought he'd told her that to boost the ratings or something. So what I was really about to say was 'Why the hell did you tell her something like that when you know it's totally false?'". She tried not to look Laurie in the eye as she 'accidentally' dropped some of her armful of wood pieces and bent to pick them up, brushing sand off her graze as she did so to stall a bit more.
When she looked up again, the other woman was still staring at her suspiciously. "Are you sure there's nothing going on between you two?"
"Of course not," Hermione said indignantly. "Julia's just weird like that. You should know that by now. I mean... you and Alex?" She shook her head, laughing. "Don't know what she's on."
Laurie laughed as well, thankfully. "Well, who cares. I'm just looking forward to tonight. Ahhh, it'll be so great... especially with the fact that we have wine." She winked at Hermione. "And who knows what else. Who knows, you might be able to get it on with Draco after all."
Hermione choked at the thought. "Uh... we'll see, I guess."
"You don't sound that enthusiastic," Laurie said, looking at her strangely. "Come on, it's Draco Malfoy. I'd have him in a second."
Funnily enough, Hermione felt her chest tighten. "Really? So have you done anything yet?"
Laurie shook her head, and Hermione let go of the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "But let's see what happens tonight, hm?"
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"I'm not having an affair with Laurie," Alex said for the billionth time as Draco skinned the wild pig on camera.
"I know," Draco replied, getting slightly irritated. "You told me that half a minute ago."
Alex sighed sadly. "I know, but I'm just so worried! What if Julia broadcasts the scenes the wrong way? My girlfriend would kill me! I don't want to die young! And anyway, I love her."
Kenny finished off his carton of juice and started the film rolling. "I'm sure she knows it too," Draco answered as he turned to smiled into the camera. "I'm trying not to cut the skin too much because once dried, it becomes a great material for making shoes or clothing," he explained to an imaginary audience as Alex helped him cut the carcass as an example. He tried to keep his smile calm and steady while at the same time trying to ignore Alex as he muttered under his breath about something like 'kitchen knives' 'skinned' and 'like this pig'. The camera kept filming for another few minutes until Kenny signaled to stop, and Draco relaxed.
Alex's worries bubbled over again. "Do you really think that Julia will try to put a suggestive angle on Laurie and my acting? It's just an act..." he said nervously.
The blond man looked at him dubiously. "Well, all I can say is that Julia really loves her job."
"And I really love my girlfriend!" Alex moaned, looking stricken. He looked around randomly for an Island Eye. "I miss you, honey, I really do!" he yelled, waving frantically. Over on the beach, Hermione and Laurie looked over, shrugged, and waved back. He groaned, putting his face in his hands. "Great. I bet my girlfriend is going to apply all the knowledge you just gave her on skinning me alive."
Draco laughed. "Don't worry. I'm sure she knows you love her. Things'll work out."
"There's nothing going on between me and Laurie," Alex said again. That's a billion and one times, Draco thought tiredly, but the next sentence made him perk up. "Just like there's nothing going on between you and Hermione."
That means there is something going on between you and Laurie, Draco wanted to say, but he didn't think Hermione would like it very much if he told all. Judging by the paling of her face and her yelling this morning when Julia mentioned them as a couple, she obviously didn't want anything to leak out. Why? Does she have someone watching the show whom she doesn't want to reveal this to? He dismissed the thought. She wouldn't have done anything with him if she did. Hermione wasn't a two-timing sort of person.
"Of course there's nothing going on between us," he said, smiling amiably.
"And I'm a man who's happy with his girlfriend."
"Right."
"Right."
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Night soon arrived and found them sitting in the hot tub, each with a glass of wine in their hands. Hermione didn't have a particularly high alcohol tolerance, so she carefully sipped her glass of wine in tiny amounts and took every chance she could to get out of the tub and empty her wine into the sand. She noticed that Draco hardly drank any either; the level of the wine in his glass barely went down. However, Laurie and Alex were making it up for them by drinking most of the alcohol. The latter looked slightly red in the face and the former was prone to sudden giggling fits. Kenny had disappeared onto the ship, probably hoping that they'd act more naturally without a camera in their faces.
At first everyone was slightly uncomfortable about all sitting in the tub together and apologized profusely everytime they touched someone else. But soon they were feeling so relaxed and warm that they stopped caring and just lay comfortably in the tub. After all, it was only feet and calves.
And muscular chest and abs. Well, in Draco's case at least. Hermione was trying her best not to look but her eyes were always irrevocably drawn to him. If that wasn't bad enough, he seemed to notice her doing it too, and whenever their gazes met he was smirking.
They'd started off sitting at right angles to each other but somehow Laurie had scooted over next to Draco and Alex had shifted next to Hermione. They were split into two pairs, but to Hermione's annoyance it was the wrong pairs. But she couldn't exactly wade over, push Laurie aside and sit down next to Draco. It would make it obvious that there was really something going on between them.
So instead Hermione settled for being opposite him. Which was just as well, because occasionally she felt his foot nudge her leg and when she looked at him he was grinning at her. It felt like they were sharing some kind of secret flirtation that none of the others could see. Well, at least she hoped no-one was noticing it.
There wasn't much conversation as everyone was enjoying the warmth of the water and sighing in contentment. But after a while of talking about random topics things eventually moved to Alex's girlfriend. "I met her at a wedding," he announced. "She was the bridesmaid, and when I saw her I just thought she was so beautiful. I guess you can say it was love at first sight."
Laurie peered at him. "You thought she was beautiful in a bridesmaid dress? Wow, that's love."
Alex nodded as he swirled the wine in his glass. "Yep." He looked a little forlorn. "I should do the confession cam. I really wish she was here. I miss her very presence."
Hermione was trying not to laugh and was about to fail miserably. One look at Draco told her he was suffering similarly.
Laurie opened her mouth to say something but apparently Alex wasn't finished. "I love her, I really do," he said feverishly. "She's amazing."
This time Hermione couldn't stop her splutter of laughter and coughed a few times to conceal it. Draco looked at her, laughing silently.
Laurie finished her wine with an audible gulp and giggled as she rose out of the water. She stumbled slightly and fell against Draco, who helped her back onto her feet. "Oops, sorry about that, Draco," she giggled again and leaned out of the tub to pour more wine, her butt nudging against his shoulder. Draco had an undecipherable look on his face, but Hermione didn't see any hints of enjoyment in his expression. Which was good.
Alex was staring with his mouth open and Hermione 'accidentally' elbowed him in the jaw as she did a fake yawn, effectively interrupting his gaping. Draco laughed and Laurie turned around sharply, slopping a bit of wine into the tub. "Did I miss something?"
"No, nothing," Draco said lazily, and Hermione ignored the suspicious look Laurie shot at her. "So, anyone want to hear what tomorrow's challenge'll be?"
"Oh man," Laurie said with a groan. "Can't we forget about that for just one night? I just want to relax right now..." As she spoke she stretched and smiled up at Draco. "Come on, enjoy yourself. Stop thinking about tomorrow."
"I am enjoying myself," he said, amused. Hermione hoped that he didn't mean that he was enjoying the way that Laurie had draped herself over him.
"That's good," Laurie said, giggling again as she stood up, causing a small wave. "Sorry guys, I have to go use the little girl's room. Don't go anywhere," she said, patting Draco's shoulder.
Upon her leaving, Alex leaned drunkenly out of the tub and looked for more wine, causing another wave. "I think I should go easy on tomorrow's challenge," Draco said, raising an eyebrow as Alex mumbled to himself while he refilled his glass. "God knows how they're going to feel tomorrow morning."
Hermione laughed. "Yep, they're gonna have a hell of a hangover."
"So are you enjoying yourself?" Draco looked at her, smiling.
She smiled back, feeling strangely euphoric. "Sure. This hot tub feels awesome," she said while wrestling his foot, which was brushing her thigh, away.
He smirked. "That's good to hear."
Alex soon sat back into the tub again, causing yet another tidal wave. Hermione looked around. "I'd better go check on Laurie, just in case she gets lost," she said, climbing out of the tub.
"Right, and I can have a man to man talk with Draco," Alex said.
Hermione ignored Draco's pleading look, and left with a grin on her face.
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She found Laurie in the trees behind their huts, their designated toilet spot. It was surprising that she'd managed to find the place in her drunken state, but Hermione wasn't complaining. It saved her having to look for her everywhere which would undoubtedly be a long and tiring search.
"Hey, Hermione," Laurie said a little too loudly, giggling as she waved at the other woman. "Do I look flushed?" She started laughing. "Oh man, did I just say flushed? No pun intended."
Hermione raised an eyebrow in amusement and made random unnecessary adjustments to the blonde's hair. It was sad how some people looked perfect even when they were staggeringly drunk and were close to foaming in the mouth. "Any luck with Draco?" she asked innocently.
Laurie shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Nothing at all. I'm beginning to think that he might be a man's man."
Heavenly music started playing in Hermione's mind. "Oh. Too bad. Well, there're always other fish in the sea."
"Yeah," Laurie nodded. "Just because Draco's not working out doesn't mean I can't have some fun tonight." She tipped a wink at Hermione. "I think Alex is missing his girlfriend, if you know what I mean."
Alex had made that obvious, but it was clear that Laurie wasn't talking about it on the same level. "What do you mean?"
"Well, Alex's toned up a bit in the last couple of days... it could be fun. It would be better than abstaining any longer," Laurie said, making a face.
That didn't sound good. "Listen, you don't want to do this," Hermione said, trying to discourage her. "Alex is taken. Everyone would know if you tried anything."
"We could always do it under a bush," the other woman said flippantly, giggling again.
"I don't think people are that blind," Hermione muttered. "Come on, Laurie. You're drunk, you don't really want to do this. Imagine how you would feel the next morning."
Laurie narrowed her eyes at her. "You want him for yourself, don't you? Well hands off, I bagged him first."
Hermione tried a different tactic. "The audience will hate you if you do this. Your votes will drop and you'll lose your chance to get the money. You don't want to lose the prize just for a bit of fun, do you?"
"Oh please," Laurie laughed. "Audiences love a bitch. It's him they won't be voting for, since technically he's the one cheating. I'm perfectly innocent."
Hermione tensed up, but then relaxed with a smile. "Oh, I get it. This is one of your scenes, isn't it? Wow, you really got me there." She brushed a hand through her hair. "Jeez, Laurie, you've got some talent."
Laurie narrowed her eyes at her. "I'm not acting, Hermione. Well, try this for one of your scenes. Audiences love a wronged woman even more than they do a bitch." She put on a mournful face. "'He said he loved me...'"
A surge of anger burst through Hermione and she grabbed Laurie by the shoulders roughly. "Ow, you're hurting me," Laurie whimpered. "Leggo."
"Don't even think about doing anything, Laurie," she growled. "If you so much as peck him on the cheek you'll be in big, big trouble. I'm serious." With that, she let go with a disgusted expression on her face and stalked away.
At the same time Draco emerged from behind a tree, feeling slightly shocked. What the hell was that I just heard? he thought dumbly. He walked over to Laurie, who was hugging herself, looking slightly frightened. When he approached, her head whipped up and her eyes grew wide.
"Did you hear all that, Draco?" she asked, glancing around. "I didn't realize you were there..."
He shook his head. "No, I only caught the last part," he said. "What happened?"
Laurie flung herself into his arms. "Oh, it was horrible," she sniffed. "I just said how much I admired you as a friend and Hermione started shaking my shoulders and threatening me not to go near you..."
Draco would never have believed her if he didn't see it with his own eyes. He was unpleasantly surprised that Hermione could be prone to such a jealous rage; if this was what she was like, then she had really changed from how he remembered her. The Hermione he remembered was somewhat violent and sharp-tongued, but she would never be like this over such a petty matter.
"I'm so glad you came, Draco," purred Laurie as her hands roamed under his shirt and over his bare skin.
Great, this is just what I need, he thought as he gently pried her off himself. "I don't think you're used to drinking this much. Your body's probably not taking it so well," he said as he put an arm around her to steady her and helped her back to the shelters. "Come on, let's get you to bed."
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I'm doneeeeeeeeeee! Hallelujah! This took a long time as well but at least it wasn't an 7 month hiatus like Sugar and Spice. -.- Anyway, I'm planning to do some speed-writing and get the next few chapters typed up before the end of the holidays so the oncoming schoolwork won't disturb my update schedule too much like it has in the last year.
