*Um, so I wasn't actually expecting this, but this is sort of the last chapter...whoa. I was planning on at least one more chapter, but then I liked the way this ended, so, I guess enjoy?*
Gwen woke up, groggy again and rubbed her head. Brushing the dirt and leaves off her skirt, she located the fire a few feet away, LeShawna being the only attendant. She walked over.
"Hey, Girl. Sleep well?" LeShawna greeted her. Gwen smiled weakly.
"Well enough." She responded, then added, "Where are the guys?" LeShawna laughed a bit and pointed behind her back with her thumb.
"The three of them thought they'd go all macho-man and look for some more food so we don't have to keep eating these boring energy bars." She said, making a face as Gwen pulled two out of the ruddy backpack.
"At least they're keeping us alive." The Goth countered, shrugging before tossing one to her friend. She made another face, but unwrapped it anyways as Gwen did the same. The two ate in silence, the only sounds being the rustles of trees and bushes in the breeze and the occasional cry of a cicada. "How long have they been out there? You think they're okay?" Gwen asked suddenly, eliciting a suspicious eyebrow raise from her friend.
"Yeah, but why are you so worried?" Gwen sighed, knowing LeShawna would find out sooner or later. (She was just that good!)
"Okay, so Trent kissed me the other day, and Duncan just knew!" Gwen whisper-yelled, her voice cracking in nervousness. LeShawna's eyes widened.
"Really?" She gasped.
"Yeah, and Duncan said that if I wanted to go with Trent that I should, but..."
"You still got a thing for Danger Boy?" She guessed correctly, and Gwen nodded.
"I don't know. He was just really cool about everything, and for some reason that makes me swoon even more!" Gwen was frustrated, She wasn't appreciative of her emotions and ever-changing mind right now. "What would you do?" She suddenly asked. (Right now Gwen would take any advice she could get!) She watched as LeShawna tossed the now empty wrapper into the flames, and they stared as it blackened and shrunk until it was nothing but a few shreds of paper.
"I don't know, Girl. Trent's sweet, but Duncan ain't going to go crazy on you."
"That's because he's already insane." Gwen said inaudibly under her breath. She laughed at her witty remark. Inwardly. Her insides sobered up when she turned to LeShawna, who continued.
"But Tren't isn't going to end up in juvie on you."
"Good point." Gwen moaned. She groaned in frustration and slammed her head into her kneecaps. "Why is this so frustrating?" Instead of responding, LeShawna massaged one of Gwen's shoulder soothingly. Suddenly, one of the boys in question popped out from the forest nearby, panting heavily.
"Duncan? What's the matter? Find a wild C.I.T. in those woods?" LeShawna smirked and let out a giggle as Gwen stifled a laugh.
"What?" Duncan wheezed, clutching his chest and kneeling a bit. "No, but...found...cabin...doors unlocked...let's go..." The girls managed to decipher little of Duncan's labored speaking, but what they did hear piqued their interests sufficiently. The two set to work gathering their stuff and extinguishing the fire as Duncan slung the backpack with their food and water bottles in it over one of his shoulders. His breathing was starting to regulate again, and Gwen was glad about that, as she was worried the second she heard how heavily he was gasping. (Duncan rarely gets winded, so when he does you know he's run a lot.) Once they were ready, they began to trek through the forest on the path Duncan had marked with notches in bark of the trees.
"So explain what happened again." LeShawna urged as she pushed a branch away from their path. Duncan did the same with a branch farther ahead, breathed, deeply, then began to explain.
"Harold, Trent, and I were walking around in the forest looking for some more food when the dweeb-" LeShawna smacked the back of his head. "Ow! Hey!" They shot each other hard glances before Gwen cleared her throat, reminding them both of the story. "R-right. Anyway, Doris was gonna find some fuzzy caterpillar or something when he tripped over a rock and ended up ramming into the wall of an old cabin." Gwen and LeShawna's lit up.
"A cabin?" Gwen gasped.
"With beds?" LeShawna added.
"And sunscreen?" Gwen then wondered aloud, noticing her skin was starting to get a painful pinkish tint.
"And showers?" LeShawna then asked as she used the squirt-cap of her water bottle to hose down her armpits.
"Whoa, whoa, slow your roll, kids. We didn't even go in yet." Duncan told them.
"Why?"
"Well, Harold's pretty sure some one...s are living in it. He and Trent are scoping out the area as we speak. I was sent to get you guys." The delinquent explained, "Apparently I can't work with either because I may be the cause of their immediate deaths or something."
The trio came across the cabin a few minutes later. It was dilapidated, but large enough for them to stay in for a while if need be. Gwen and LeShawna wanted to continue to stand in amazement of the building, but Duncan shoved the two into a bush, where they were greeted by Trent and Harold.
"Gwen!" Trent said, his green eyes immediately lighting up. "Glad to see you slept well, did you ea-"
"Do we have a plan yet?" Gwen cut him off, sending him a discouraging eyeroll.
"We've been staking the cabin out for exactly two hours and twenty-four minutes." Harold whispered. "We've heard a few things that sounded like voices and saw a human-like figure in the window six minutes ago."
"So there's someone living there?" Duncan asked rather aggressively, dropping the backpack in Trent's lap, causing the boy to suck in air in pain. Duncan didn't notice, and instead looked to Harold intently for answers.
"Most likely, yes. Although it could also be the case of a poltergeist like the one in-" LeShawna suddenly clapped a hand over the redhead's mouth. The others looked at her curiously until she pointed to the small opening that gave them a view of the cabin. There was a creaking noise ringing out in the clearing and suddenly the door flung open. Out stepped a man, no more than thirty, with blonde hair and a relaxed button-down on paired with swim trunks and a longer shirt underneath the button-down. He strode laxly around the building.
"Hey!" Duncan suddenly whispered. "Does he look familiar to anyone else?" The other four squinted at his silhouette, more because they were trying to think.
"Wait a minute! That's not one of Chris' deranged interns is it?" LeShawna said as quietly as she could. Again the other's squinted at the man who seemed to rummaging through a huge shed.
"Oh my gosh!" Gwen gasped. "It's Billy!"
"From Camp Wawanakwa?" Duncan asked her.
"Look!" She ordered him. "The hair is a dead giveaway!" Soon, the other four came to the same realization. LeShawna suddenly stood up.
"Hey yo Billy!" She called. The blonde man whipped his head around and his jaw dropped.
"Shawnie?" He questioned. The others emerged somewhat bashfully and Billy's expression got more shocked, if it were even possible. "Gwen? Trent? Doris? D?" He questioned. "How many more of you are hiding back there?" He had stepped closer and was now helping them out of the bushes.
"It's just us." Gwen said.
"Well, wow." He gasped, looking each of the castaways up and down. "I didn't expect to see you guys all the way out here!"
"Wait? All the way out where?" One questioned, to which Gwen added, "Where are we?"
"You don't know?" Billy laughed. "You're all the way out on the far end of Wawanakwa!" Now it was the five's turn for their jaws to drop.
"W-what?" Duncan stuttered, his hand somehow finding it's way to Gwen's shoulder. She immediately relaxed beneath his palm, a strange sense of comfort warming her body. Billy eyed them for a moment.
"Yeah, you're on the outskirts, you know, the woods." They nodded. "Want me to bring you to the dock or something so you guys can get a ride?" He then asked, taking in their dirty and disheveled appearances.
"I don't think I can walk much more." LeShawna said, pointing to her now tattered leather sandals, torn, dirty, and still a little soggy from their days at sea. The others nodded in agreement, their shoes being in a similar shape. Billy shrugged with a small smile.
"I'll grab the ATV." Cheers rang out as Billy backed out of the shed they had seen him rummaging through earlier atop a big green ATV. The teens eagerly hopped on and held onto each other tight as the vehicle rammed into stubborn tree roots and narrowly dodged trees. (Gwen made sure she was holding onto LeShawna.) Soon, they reached their old campsite and examined it, steeping themselves in memories while Billy made a phone call.
"It's nice to be back, isn't it?" Someone whispered in Gwen's ear, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.
"Trent!" She whined, "Don't do that." Defensively, she folded her arms over her chest. He placed a hand on her shoulder and although it was gentle, she shrugged it off harshly.
"What's the matter?" He asked her, irritated. She scoffed.
"You! You are the matter! J-just leave me alone! I don't want to hear it, and I don't want you!" She screamed. Immediately, she regretted her harsh words, but for some reason, as Trent sullenly stalked away, it felt to her as if the weight of this whole island was lifted off of her shoulders. Gwen closed her eyes, relishing in the feeling until Billy broke the illusion.
"'Kay, so Chris isn't 'gonna be able to get a boat or anything here til tomorrow. So, in the meantime, you guys can hang out here. Shower and sleep and do whatever the heck else you need to do." He took a whiff of the air. "Just shower!" As Billy walked away, Gwen and LeShawna stepped into their old cabin. Luckily, when they left the island all those months ago the interns were supposed to pack everyone's things and did a pretty crummy job of doing so; the girls had no problem finding at least some of their articles of clothing somewhat cleanly. They showered swiftly using whatever products they happened to find there and then just lounged around as they let the guys have the communal washroom to themselves. While the guys showered, Gwen sat herself at the end of the dock, watching the waves crash into each other. She felt someone plop down next to her and found it was Trent, hair dripping as if he had just hopped out of the ocean.
"Yes, Trent?" She mumbled.
"You love him." He deadpanned, his eyes gleaming with the reflection of the ocean.
"No I don't! Well, I don't know if I-"
"Wasn't a question." He mumbled glumly. She looked at him, puzzled. "I saw it Gwen. When we were out there, and we first though that something was coming to get us, you were mor concerned about it him!"
"I-"
"And then the other night, you looked so happy sleeping next to him. It's-it's frustrating, but you love him." He whispered. She bit her lip, suddenly feeling a whole lot guiltier about her outburst earlier.
"Trent...I'm sorry." She apologized.
"I love you." He responded. He got up from his relaxed position and Gwen stood up instinctively too. They stood there awkwardly before simultaneously pulling one another into a tight hug. They squeezed each other tight for a moment longer. Gwen pecked Trent on the cheek while he did the same. When they pulled away, Trent was gone. Gwen sighed again, plopping herself back down on the dock. Soon she heard footsteps and instead of seeing Trent as she had expected, Duncan was there, his shirt clean.
"Hey." He greeted.
"Hi." She whispered. "You alright?" Man, He still reads her like a book. She sighed and looped one of her fingers through his shoelace as she spoke, her eyes trained on his shoe.
"Me and Trent are officially done with each other." She sighed after a while.
"Good to hear."
"He said he's done chasing after me because he knows I'm in love with you." She said unsurely, biting down hard on lip. She was surprised they hadn't bled yet. Suddenly though, She found her lips covered with Duncan's, and she melted into his arms like putty. He broke away from her all too soon.
"S'a good thing I love you, too, Pasty."
*Um, yeah, maybe I'll write an epilogue, but the way I see it there isn't anything left to write. I am planning a sequel or a companion piece of sorts, inspired by watching the move The Dead Poet's Society in English class. xD But for now, please review this! I'd appreciate it so much, thank you for what you've done so far!*