Everyone had kind of been expecting Izzy to be eliminated next, so when Trent showed up at Playa des Losers three days after Eva's return, everyone was quite surprised. Eva glared at everyone, making sure everyone would follow her rule and not ask Trent anything that night.

The next day he was happy and ready to show of the midnight blue swirls across his chest. He puffed out his chest, strutting like a peacock to the pool bar, telling anyone who would listen that Gwen was his soulmate.

"Ah, ex-squeeze me?" Cody said when he heard. "Are you sure?" Courtney rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe Cody still thought Gwen was his soulmate. She could do so much better, and obviously had. The others all gathered around Trent at the pool bar to hear his tale.

"Well, she kissed me, and then later I checked and my mark was this colour," Trent informed him.

"Ah, yes, but are hers coloured?" Cody elaborated. Trent looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean? Of course, that's how it works," Trent said patronisingly.

"Not necessarily," Cody informed him smugly. "Just ask Harold."

"Where is Harold?" Trent wondered, looking around.

"Oh, he doesn't come out when Courtney's around," Cody said.

"Why not?" Trent looked to Courtney. She pursed her lips.

"Harold switched the votes and got me eliminated," she seethed. Just thinking about it made her angry all over again.

"Oh, so it wasn't Heather," Trent noted. "But why'd he do it?"

"I have no idea," Courtney realised. "He didn't tell me and now he's avoiding me."

"Yeah, because you keep trying to kill him," Beth pointed out.

"Can you blame me?" Courtney snapped.

"So Harold… his soulmate is Leshawna?" Trent asked. "But he isn't hers?" he clarified.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Cody nodded.

"Wow, that's gotta suck. But I've never heard of it before, so it's gotta be rare right? I mean there wouldn't be two people whose soulmates didn't match on the one island…" he said anxiously.

"You're probably right," a melancholy voice came from behind them.

"HAROLD!" Courtney yelled, ready to throw her hands around his neck and strangle the life from him.

"Wait, don't hurt him!" Trent cried.

"Why not?" Courtney retorted angrily.

"Just let him talk," Trent pleaded. Courtney glared at Trent and Harold respectively.

"He has five minutes," she warned.

"So what happened?" Trent asked.

"There's not much to tell," Harold shrugged. "We kissed. I already knew she didn't have the marks. But there was nothing I could do. I was already gone," he sighed.

"While you're talking, why don't you tell me WHY you got me eliminated," Courtney growled.

"I was just trying to get back at Duncan for always picking on me," Harold explained. "I saw you guys kiss and I knew he'd be devastated if you left." Courtney wanted to strangle him all over again. He'd gotten her kicked off over a kiss?

"I hate you so much Harold! Why did you have to take it out on me?" Courtney yelled. "You could've kicked off Duncan!"

"Yeah in hindsight that would've been a better decision," Harold agreed.

"Okay, five minutes is up," Courtney decided, lunging at Harold.

"Help!" Harold shrieked as Courtney's hands wrapped around his neck. Tyler and Beth jumped in and tried to pull Courtney away.

"Let me have this!" she yelled.

"Courtney, I just noticed your marks are green," Trent interrupted. Courtney was being held back by Beth and Tyler while Harold ran off.

"So what?" she shouted. "Let me go!" she snarled at Tyler and Beth. They backed away slowly, having decided Harold was far enough away. Courtney glared at them but turned to Trent, smoothing her hair and clothes after her outburst.

"I mean… did they… was it… who…?" Trent stammered. What was his problem?

"Duncan. Didn't he tell you?" Courtney snapped. She had kind of just assumed everyone would know by now. He didn't exactly care about showing off his chest, and she knew he slept without a shirt. And Trent had told them all earlier that the teams had been dissolved and all the guys were sleeping in a cabin tomorrow.

"No… I mean… I didn't… he didn't…" Trent looked at her with a troubled look in his eye. "Uh… maybe you and I should go somewhere private." Courtney looked at Trent's sympathetic face and noticed how he couldn't seem to meet her eye and her heart dropped. She glanced at the people around her, feeling self conscious. She looked back at Trent. Something was definitely wrong. She knew she wasn't going to like whatever he had to tell her.

"What is it?" she asked quietly. Trent glanced around before leaning in. He dropped his voice low so no one else could hear.

"Duncan… his mark… it's still black," Trent told her apologetically. Courtney felt all the air leave her lungs, and her eyes fluttered shut, the words hitting her like a brick to her stomach. It couldn't be true.

"Are you sure?" she asked desperately. Maybe this was just some cruel trick. Trent just nodded. Courtney's throat closed up, and she did her best to keep her voice steady as she spoke.

"I think I need to go and lie down," she choked out. She turned and left quickly, the tears already pricking her eyes. She couldn't let them see her cry. She was grateful Trent had done her the courtesy of keeping it quiet for now, but she was sure it wouldn't be long before everyone knew.

She made it to her room without breaking down, but once the door was closed she couldn't hold the tears in any longer. She collapsed face down on her bed, sobbing. She wanted to be angry. She knew how to deal with that. She wanted to scream at the injustice of it all. But all she could do was cry, and feel hopelessly, hopelessly alone.

Duncan found a nice cave for his hiding spot in the hide and seek challenge. It was remote and the perfect place for a meeting with the guys in order to establish an alliance. Once all the guys were there, Duncan began his proposal.

"Listen up boys, we're in trouble, okay? There are six chicks on the island and only four dudes," he informed them seriously.

"I know!" Geoff exclaimed. "Nice odds!" Duncan gave him a slap. That was so not the point. And what did Geoff care anyway? He'd already found his soulmate.

"No, buttbrain! Bad odds!" Duncan corrected him. "If I noticed it, chances are that sooner or later, they're gonna notice it too, and when they do, they're gonna pick us off one by one. We've gotta do something about it," he declared.

"It's not like they're exactly getting along," DJ pointed out. "Remember this morning? Owen and I were waiting to use the bathroom when suddenly we hear a fight break out. It did not sound pretty," DJ shook his head.

"Which is why we have to act now," Duncan told him.

"I don't know, dudes. Bridgette and me, we kinda hooked up," he shrugged with a grin. Duncan rolled his eyes. Of course everyone knew Bridgette and Geoff had hooked up by now, and even if Duncan hadn't walked in on them, Geoff always had his shirt open. It wasn't exactly a secret. "I don't feel right about joining an alliance without her," Geoff finished.

"Let me tell you the truth about women. They're all sisters! And when push comes to shove they're gonna stick together! Haven't you ever seen a chick flick before?" Duncan scoffed.

"Well… yeah… but..." Owen said noncommittally.

"Look, man, now's the time, while they don't see it coming! While we have the element of surprise!" Duncan convinced.

"Geez… I'm just not sure…" Owen hummed. Well, Duncan could think of a way to make him sure. Her dragged Owen out of the cave and hung him over a fairly small ledge. Owen didn't know that though.

"Are you sure now?" Duncan asked threateningly.

"Okay! Okay! Okay!" Owen shouted in fear. "We'll form our own alliance!" he agreed. Duncan dropped the big guy, pleased with the results of his intimidation tactics. Owen breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wow, Duncan. Juvie really made you a scary dude!" he chuckled nervously. Duncan grinned menacingly and the two of them made their way back to the cave.

"Good. Now that we're all agreed, guys unite and save our butts from elimination," Duncan said, holding his hand out.

"Agreed!" DJ and Owen put their hands on top of Duncan's. Duncan looked up at Geoff.

"Uh, are you in dude?" he said expectantly. Look, he could appreciate that Geoff and Bridgette we're soulmates. But this was still a competition. A competition where he knew he would be booted next if the girls got their butts into gear and formed a girl alliance. And that meant he needed Geoff on his side. Was he being selfish? Probably. He'd never quite mastered the skill of not being selfish. But Geoff and Bridgette would still be soulmates after the competition was over, and Duncan was sure she would forgive Geoff. Geoff hesitantly put his hand on top of the pile, to Duncan's pleasure.

"I am so psyched!" Owen cried happily. "A dude's alliance! I love it! It's so manly! Yeah! Come here!" he grabbed Duncan and DJ by the head and kissed both their faces, much to Duncan's disgust.

"Alright now clear out," Duncan told the guys.

"What?" Geoff said in surprise.

"I was here first, dude. This is my hiding spot," Duncan informed him.

It was all strategic, Duncan swore. Voting Bridgette off had nothing to do with his weird jealousy he felt whenever he saw Geoff and Bridgette together. She was good at sports and everyone liked her. That was it. They couldn't afford to keep her in the game. He just had to convince Geoff.

"Why don't we vote Heather off?" Geoff suggested. "She's got dirt on all of us, dude." Duncan groaned inwardly. Sometimes Geoff was so stupid.

"Because we can't," Duncan reminded Geoff. "She's got invincibility again. Besides, everyone likes Bridgette, and she's great at sports! We might not get another chance dude." Duncan hoped his speech was convincing enough. "All in favour of booting Bridgette?" DJ and Owen put their hands in again, signalling their agreement.

"That settles it," Duncan said, despite Geoff's reluctance. He'd just have to hope Geoff saw the light before it was too late. "Here's to the guys alliance! Geoff." Duncan looked at the blonde pointedly. Geoff bit his lip before putting his hand in. Duncan breathed a sigh of relief.

The guys broke apart and Duncan headed out to the forest to try and sneak a cigarette. He'd managed to steal a pack from Chris, plus he still had his own lighter. Unfortunately he was stopped by Heather.

"What do you want?" he scowled.

"Who are you guys voting for?" Heather asked him.

"Like I'm gonna tell you," Duncan sneered.

"If you tell me, I'll vote with you. I'll even act surprised when whoever it is gets booted," Heather offered. Duncan considered it for a moment. He still didn't know if he could totally rely on Geoff, and Heather's vote would cinch the deal.

"Fine. It's Bridgette," he divulged.

"Great! See you at the campfire ceremony! Oh and you really should quit. Smoking kills, you know," she smiled, pretending to be concerned about Duncan's health.

"Yeah, just like you kill the mood," Duncan muttered, putting the cigarette away. Heather skipped off to cast her vote and Duncan sighed and went after her.

Duncan scowled as Geoff confessed that he hadn't voted for Bridgette. He should have known he couldn't trust that guy.

After Bridgette had left on the boat of losers, Duncan sought out Geoff.

"You broke the alliance," Duncan stated angrily.

"Oh, come on, dude. I love her! What would you have done if it were Courtney?" Geoff defended.

"I don't love Courtney, but that's beside the point. Even if I loved her, and even if she were my soulmate, I would've voted her off!" Duncan said, but he was lying through his teeth. He knew if Courtney were still there, there would be no way he'd let anyone get rid of her. And he certainly wouldn't vote for her himself. "This is a competition, man!" Duncan reminded Geoff. "Not a dating show."

"Yeah, well. Maybe when you meet your soulmate you'll understand," Geoff sniffed. "I don't regret it."

"Well, you still have to face the consequences of breaking the alliance," Duncan told him. "DJ, Owen," he called. "A little help?" Geoff gulped as DJ and Owen emerged from the shadows like hitmen. They grabbed Geoff by the arms as Duncan wrapped him in a sleeping bag and tied a rope around him, before the three of them strung him up in a tree.

"Now hopefully you'll learn your lesson," Duncan called up at him as he, DJ and Owen went into their cabin.

Just wondering if anyone is actually still reading this lol