I'm just about to start off on my morning jog when a familiar figure bumps into me.

"Oh…hey, Linka," Wheeler grins apologetically.

"Hi." I try to grin back, but lately I don't feel like smiling much.

"It feels like I haven't seen you in ages!" Wheeler exclaims. I wonder why. I eye him warily. Why is he being so friendly all of a sudden, after two days of ignoring my existence? "I miss hanging out with you. We should do something…"

I perk up. I knew it: he doesn't really care about Laura, after all!

"Da, sure," I say calmly, fighting down a massive grin. "How about tonight?"

"Um…" Wheeler suddenly looks shifty and is avoiding my gaze. "Well, I was going to go to dinner at that Chinese restaurant we saw the other day."

"That sounds good."

"Well, um…I had plans for two…but, um, you can come, too, if you want to…" He glances at me and then turns away again when he sees the icy glare on my face. So clearly he takes me for some kind of fool. He really thinks I would want to sit there and watch him and Laura on a date?

"You know what, Wheeler?" I say slowly. Inside, I am exploding with rage, but I know I have to keep calm, sensible, and rational. I don't want him to think I'm getting carried away with stupid emotions like jealousy. "I don't think it's such a good idea."

"Yeah, you're right. That was pretty dumb of me to ask you and-"

"I don't mean that," I say impatiently. "I mean you and Laura…in general." Wheeler's eyebrows rise slightly but the rest of his face betrays no response.

"Why not?"

"Because…you know you'll just break her heart when you leave," I reply. Somehow my reasoning doesn't sound as convincing out loud as when I went over it in my head…

"Break her heart?" Wheeler laughs. "Come on, Linka, we barely even know each other." So why have you been all over each other since day one, I wonder bitterly, but keep my thoughts to myself. "It's nothing serious," he continues. "We're just having a little fun. If you made the effort to get to know her you'd see she's a great gal. She reminds me a lot of you, actually, but really easy-going and fun!"

I can feel my eyes bulging in disbelief. First, he accuses me of not making the effort to befriend Laura, then he implies I am no fun to be around!

"Are you saying I'm not fun?" My voice is at a much higher pitch than normal. "I am fun! But there are times one needs to be serious and-"

"Right. That's pretty much all the time for you," Wheeler mutters.

"Really?" I say frostily. "Well, I'm glad I know what you really think of me. That you hate being around me and-"

"It's not like that, Linka," Wheeler interrupts. "It's just…sometimes you…you're a little uptight!"

"What?!" I'm practically yelling now. As if it's not enough for him to parade his affections for Laura in front of me –in front of all of us– he seems to be going out of his way to insult me.

"Linka…" Wheeler groans. "I knew you would take this the wrong way."

"How else should I take it. Or is 'uptight' a compliment in New York? Maybe I should go and ask Laura?" I retort sarcastically.

"Forget it, ok," Wheeler sighs. "Look, I'm not in love with her or anything, Linka. It's just nice to be with someone who doesn't play hard to get!"

"What do you mean by that?" Somewhere in my mind I know exactly what he means but I haven't prepared myself to have that conversation with him.

"You know what I mean, Linka," Wheeler says, looking straight at me for the first time.

"No, I don't. Anyway," I continue quickly, "all I'm saying is be careful how you treat her. And you could be more considerate of everyone else's feelings when you…when you're together. Ma-Ti and Kwame-"

"Ma-Ti and Kwame?" Wheeler repeats. There go the eyebrows again; arched in scepticism.

"Yes. Why are you smiling like that?" I ask irritably, as a small grin sneaks across his features.

"You really need to start being honest with yourself, Linka," he replies, his smile broadening.

I think I preferred it when he wasn't looking at me, because now that his eyes are fixed so intently on my face, I can feel a fiery blush creeping through my body.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" I say, as calmly as I can.

"I'll break her heart? Is that the real reason you don't want me to go to dinner with her?"

"Oh, not this again Wheeler…" I sigh. "I've told you before, there is no-"

"Ok, all right," Wheeler cuts in, his smile fading. "I hear ya. I will tone it down, ok?" Something about his quick concession annoys me; he didn't even try to fight back as he normally does whenever I tell him there's nothing between us.

"I didn't say tone it down!" I say hotly. I know I am contradicting myself, but I can't seem to stop the angry words flowing out of my mouth. "You two can do what you like. I do not care."

"All right, fine, then. We will," Wheeler replies, all traces of mirth now gone from his face.

"Ok," I reply coolly.

"Good. Well, I'm taking her out to dinner."

"Fine."

"We may not be back till tomorrow morning…"

"You're such a comedian, Wheeler!" I snap. I can feel my hands shaking. He has the ability to enrage me like no other person I've ever met!

"Who said I was joking?"

I sigh with frustration.

"Well, I can see that this has been a waste of my- what is so funny?" I ask sharply, noticing the return of the grin, tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Oh, I was just thinking about something Laura said earlier. She's so witty …it's nice being around someone new for awhile. Someone different."

Ouch. So, apparently I'm no fun, uptight, and unfunny compared to Laura. Clearly they have a lot more in common than Wheeler and I do, and get along better, but I never expected Wheeler to ram this fact home so brutally. He seems to be going out of his way to make sure I understand that the comparison between me and the American girl is not in my favour. Well, he's definitely made his point, and more harshly than necessary. I get it.

"I know, I know. She's perfect. You don't have to keep going on about it," I mumble. I suddenly can't look at him anymore, as a rush of emotions threaten to overwhelm me.

"She really is. I can't think of a single bad thing about her…" Wheeler begins.

"Whereas you can think of a million for me, clearly…" I try to sound light-hearted but I can feel my voice quivering. I am forcing myself to keep my face blank, but I can feel the tension of the last few days building up behind my eyes, and I don't know how long I can fight it for. I have to get out of here, away from him.

"Come on, Linka, you're just-hey, you're not going to start crying, are you?" He looks at me softly, genuine concern on his face for probably the first time since we've landed on this island.

"No!" I say defiantly, quickly blinking back the wetness collecting at the corners of my eyes. There is no way I'm going to let him see me cry. Especially not when I can't even explain to myself why I feel so sad.

"Linka, if it bothers you so much, I won't do it," he says gently. What do you care what I think! I think bitterly. It's not like you've shown any consideration for my feelings lately. But, then, I don't even know what those feelings are…

"I've told you, it doesn't," I say loudly. "Don't be so full of yourself, Wheeler; not everything revolves around you. I. Don't. Care." Maybe I'm being too harsh, but I hate the weakness that comes with being emotionally exposed like this. My defence mechanism whenever I'm on the verge of losing control is to put up walls around myself, to drive everyone else as far away from me as possible.

Wheeler's face darkens, so I know I've been successful but I don't feel victorious in any way.

"If that's the way you feel, fine," he says evenly, turning away from me.

"Fine!" I have to stop myself from shouting as walks quickly towards the hotel. He can do what he damn well pleases. I've seen over the last few days what an insensitive, uncaring, idiot Wheeler is, so Laura can have him!