Sorry the first part of this chapter is kind of crummy. I wrote it while I was in a slump. The second half was written while I was in a much better mood ^_^
But please enjoy regardless, and I'm sorry for such a wait. Enjoy!
Most of the campers were already done with the next hole. However, there were only a few left, including Marilee, who still hadn't come back. She was too busy getting ready… Ready to show off her mad mini golf skills.
Keith was starting to worry about her. Maybe her knowing about her sham of a terrible past was a bad thing… His nervous feelings lessened when he heard random music coming from nowhere. It sounded like the music they placed on TV when something epic was going to happen.
"Where is that epic music coming from?" Keith asked, suddenly hearing the music out of nowhere. "It's like something insanely awesome and weird is going to happen…"
Duncan looked around for the source, and when he finally found it, he seriously didn't know whether to worry or laugh. "Well… It's weird, all right."
The music was somehow coming from Marilee. She was completely decked out in golf garb, including khaki shorts, a blue sleeveless polo, and even going as far as a fingerless golfing glove on her left hand. She was carrying her putter and walking back toward the group, almost in slow motion.
When she finally arrived, she merely crossed her arms and asked, "So is it my turn?"
"She's back," Geoff muttered, grinning ear to ear. "Team captain, here I come!"
"Uh… Yeah," Chris said, sort of confused about her new found enthusiasm. "Right after Courtney goes."
Marilee rubbed her nails on the front of her shirt and laughed as Courtney took her place by the starting point of the next hole. She smiled and smugly said, "You can give up now if you want, Court. Nobody would blame you at all."
"Excuse me?" Courtney asked, clearly offended. "You dress up a bit and you suddenly think you're the female Tiger Woods? Ten minutes ago, you wouldn't get within three feet of a golf ball!"
"Let's just say my perspective has changed." Marilee leaned on her putter and added, "You're looking at a mini golf prodigy here, honey."
"That's not something I'd really broadcast," Courtney muttered, rolling her eyes and finally putting. Her ball rolled through the super-swirly course, but stopped about three inches away from the hole.
"Ooooh," Marilee sighed, mocking sympathy. "A little short, huh? Let Mari take care of that." She pushed Courtney aside, dropped her ball on the grass, and gave it a quick smack. It basically took the same route as Courtney's ball, but it knocked the former CIT's ball into the hole, hers going in shortly afterward.
Courtney, as well as several other golfers, gaped at that spectacle, then turned back to Marilee. "How did you do that?"
Marilee crossed her arms, a smug smirk on her face. "It's all in the flick of the wrist." She strutted by, quickly adding, "An ounce of talent doesn't hurt, either."
"Untalented? She did NOT just call me untalented!" Courtney fumed. "I'll let you know, I have many talents! I have more capability in my big toe than that little tramp has in her entire body!" She crossed her arms and her eyes narrowed. "I'll show her. I'll win team captain if it's the last thing I do!"
*T*S*R*
DJ walked up to the start of the outer space themed hole, dropped his orange ball and putted it. It bounced off the UFO and into the hole. He was just about to cheer until he realized something. It was bigger than the previous holes. "Wait… Was that a black hole?"
"You know it!" Chris exclaimed from the sidelines with the others. "You'd better appreciate it, too! It took a huge chunk out of our meal budget!"
On the other side of the island, Chef was taking a can of garbage out to the back of the mess hall. After he sat it down, he stared at it for a moment, looking like he was considering something. He looked around to make sure nobody was around, picked the can back up and ran through the back door of the kitchen.
Back at the golf course, Chris jerked his thumb to the Bleachers of Failure. DJ sighed in defeat and took a seat next to Trent, who had also been eliminated that round for losing his ball inside one of the many craters on the course.
Marilee walked up to the starting point and dropped her ball. She used one hand to cover her mouth as she yawned, and used the other to hit her ball. It bounced off most of the moon rocks and straight into the right hole.
"Marilee, I'm actually impressed," Chris told her, checking something on his clipboard. "You've gotten a hole in one on every hole. Even for something as weak as mini golf, that's pretty fdifficult to do. On to the next hole!"
*T*S*R*
After managing to get his ball in after a whopping total of twenty three hits, Cody walked to the sidelines in silent defeat. Marilee met him at the starting point, using Camille the putter to prop herself up. "Cody, my good sir," Marilee began, making Cody look up from his feet to her. "Pick a tree."
Cody looked over at the course again. The theme for that course had apparently been a rainforest theme, which had been one of the reasons for his downfall. There were so many tropical trees, it had been hard for him to see the hole or get his ball past them.
"Uh… The tallest one," he said, pointing to the one at the very end, right by a big clump of trees by the hole.
She winked as she prepared to putt and said, "Watch this." She hit her ball a little harder than usual, making it bounce off the tree and away from the hole.
"Ha!" Courtney scoffed as she ran up to the two, clearly elated. "You finally missed!"
"Waaaaaaait fooooor iiiiit…" The three turned their attention back to the ball, which was still flying. It bounced off one of the many other trees, off of another one, and landed straight in the hole.
Courtney glared, while Marilee smugly smirked. "You think you're sooo great, do you?"
Marilee crossed her arms and strutted off. "Pretty much."
"That. Is. It!" Courtney exclaimed, clearly ticked. "I am going to take her down if it is the last thing I do! Only a few more holes until the end of the challenge. When I win and she doesn't, it'll surely knock her down a few pegs… Unless she wins second place." Her lips curled into a thoughtful pout as she went over several things in her mind before muttering, "Drat, I hadn't thought of that…"
Keith was about to make his fiftieth hit so he could finally finish that round, but stopped mid-putt when he saw someone approaching. However, she wasn't approaching him in a particularly normal manner.
Marilee had managed to place Camille between her feet so that she could hold it like she would have in her hands. Using her hands as her new feet, she walked on her hands toward him, looking as smug as ever. Wobbling slightly to keep her balance, she gently swung her legs over her head and putted her ball. After winding past every obstacle, it fell safely into the hole.
"Wow, impressive, Mar," Keith complimented, grinning even though he knew she had beaten him.
Her arms started to feel like jelly, not used to using them for such things. Unable to support her own weight any longer, she let out a small whimper and collapsed flat on her back.
He smirked and shrugged. "Well, it was impressive."
Marilee sat up, rubbing her head as she stood up and picked Camille back up. "What can I say? I can't be epic all the time. But I'm sorry you're not going to be team captain."
"What makes you think I won't?" he asked.
Raising an eyebrow, she pointed out, "Keith, it took you twelve putts to move the ball five feet."
"…" Keith nodded. "Yeah… That is indeed a good point." He shrugged. "Oh well. I didn't want to be team captain anyway. Good luck, babe." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and walked toward the Bleachers of Failure.
*T*S*R*
Since there were only three golfers left, Chris lead them to the Bleachers of Failure to announce something to the losers.
"We're down to the final three golfers!" Chris announced cheerfully. "Marilee, Candace and Courtney! And I've got to admit, any of them would make pretty good leaders…" He looked back at them and added, "Even you, Candace… I guess dumb people have been decent leaders in the past."
"I think Chris assumes I'm stupid because I'm so happy all the time," Candace mused, still smiling widely despite the insults. "And Owen's… specialness probably doesn't help. Not that that's a bad thing! Owen's an awesome guy! And I'm gonna win this for him, because that's what he would want!" She placed her hands on her lap and added, "I wish you were still here, bro. We'd be great co-captains! But since you're not, if I do win…" She tapped her chin and grinned. "I have somebody else in mind…"
Chris motioned to everybody to follow him and said, "If you all will follow me to the final hole, we can get started!"
"Why do we have to get up?" LeShawna asked. "We've been able to see the holes just fine from here."
"This hole takes place inside… It sort of needs to. Now let's go and get this party started!"
"Did he say party?" Zoey chirped. "I wanna go! Who's birthday is it?"
"I don't think he meant an actual party, Zo," Selena told her. "Right, Chris?"
Chris didn't answer, but he merely smirked.
*T*S*R*
Selena, as well as the others, gaped as they looked at their surroundings. "I guess maybe he wasn't lying for once…"
He sure wasn't, because inside the building where the last hole would be, it definitely looked like a party. A disco party to be exact, what with the colorful lights waving this way and that, huge disco ball spinning above their heads, and the floor tiles that lit up anytime anybody stepped on them.
"How much money is in your budget, anyway?" Courtney asked, practically having to yell over the loud, funky music.
"Actually, this was a donation," Chris stated.
"Who the heck would donate all this?" Jovie asked.
Chef, was smiling widely, walking with a certain strut toward a tent he had thought had been perfectly hidden. He popped up the collar on his white polyester disco suit and fluffed his black afro wig. Once he walked inside the tent, he didn't look so funky fresh when he saw that it was completely stripped of its decorations.
Chef growled in frustration and threw his wig on the ground. "Dang it! He found my Disco Hideout!"
"Anyway, this hole's kind of special," Chris explained, gesturing to the dance floor.
"Oh, really?" Gwen sarcastically asked. "We hadn't noticed!"
"Will you let. Me. Finish?" Chris slowly asked, his patience thinning with the contestants' constant commentary. "For this hole, you will not only have to get the ball in the hole in as few hits as possible, but you have to do it in style! Do the Hustle, the Funky Chicken, even a little groove is fine. Just get as down as humanely possible if you want to win! Now let's give our lovely disco ladies a chance to get dressed."
"Dressed? Courtney questioned. "What do you mean dre-" Before she could finish, Marina whisked both Courtney and Candace away, promising to explain on the way.
Marilee straggled behind the three, looking like she was thinking something over. After a few seconds, she stopped following them completely and headed toward the exit.
Geoff stepped in front of her, making her momentarily stop. "Mar?" he asked, slightly worried. "W-Where ya going? You aren't quitting, are you?"
"Hold Camille for me, Geoff," she said, handing her putter to him. She lightly shoved him aside and muttered to herself, "I have some funky threads to find…"
*T*S*R*
"I hate you, Chris McLean."
"Flattery will get you nowhere, Courtney."
Courtney growled, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms over her revealing, one strapped tank top. She and Candace had been forced by the interns to change into 70s garb. Well, Courtney was forced. Candace was all for it. She absolutely adored the funky purple go-go dress and the white boots that had been provided for her
Candace was the first to putt. Doing a funky little dance up to her ball, she hit the ball with one final spin, making the tile the ball was on light up even brighter than the others.
It was about to make it in the hole, but one of the tiles suddenly raised from the floor, bouncing the ball right back to her.
"What was that about?" Courtney asked Chris.
"Oh, did I not mention that they do that?" he smugly asked.
"Do you ever?" Courtney asked, exasperated.
Chris thought it over, then nodded in agreement. "Touché."
Candace straightened out her purple go-go dress, shuffling back up to her ball. With one more hit, she managed to sink it in the hole.
"Ooooh, a hole in two," Chris observed, impressed. "That's going to be hard to beat. You're up next, Courtney."
The former CIT rolled her eyes, leaning her putter against the wall so she wouldn't have to keep holding it. "Please, Marilee isn't even here. Why should I bother?"
The host looked around, nodding when he didn't see the blonde. "Hmm. So she isn't."
"Sh-She'll be here soon!" Geoff said, running up to the two. "She's just-"
"I dunno, man," Keith interrupted, walking up to the group. "Mar's been gone for a while. Maybe she chickened out."
"Noooooo!" Geoff whined, childishly stomping his foot. "We were so close!"
Keith sighed, disappointed with his girlfriend. "Dang it. It would have been awesome having my girlfriend in charge."
As the two looked down at their feet sadly and Courtney was pumping her fist in victory, a blur flew past them all at lightning speed. Geoff blinked, wondering what on earth had just happened, but Keith interrupted his thoughts. "Dude, weren't you holding Marilee's putter a second ago?"
Geoff looked down at his empty hand and blinked. "Huh? Where'd it go? It was just here a second ago!" Before anyone could even take a guess as to the putter's whereabouts, someone skated up to them, skidding to a stop on a dime.
The skater was Marilee herself, but holding Camille firmly in her hand and dressed in an entirely different outfit. A much funkier one, I might add. Not only had she clipped a waist-long ponytail extension in her hair and huge hoop earrings, she had, for some reason, brought a bright red strapless disco suit with her on the island. To say the least, she looked stunning.
"How many wardrobe changes is she going to go through today?" Courtney asked, exasperated. "What is this, Vegas?"
"Whoa," Keith mumbled in awe. "That outfit makes me wanna…" He looked back over at Geoff, who he figured would not want to hear how much he wanted to make out with her, and finished, "It makes me wanna… tell you that you look very nice. Uh, nothing else…" He glanced down at the flashing floor to avoid any eye contact.
"Oh, really?" Courtney crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the finely dressed blonde. "I think she looks like a fire hydrant!" She looked at Chris, who looked like he was jotting something down on his clipboard. "Chris, she can't just use her own clothes like that, can she?"
The handsome host looked up from his clipboard and shrugged. "Why not? I'm giving her bonus points for creativity. And the roller skates?" He pointed his pen at her and winked. "Nice touch."
"Why did you bring that here, anyway?" Keith asked Marilee, referring to her outfit.
She placed her hands on her hips and proudly stated, "A girl can never be too prepared in the fashion department."
"And the skates?" Geoff questioned. "I don't remember you having those back home."
Marilee's smile faltered and she looked down at her feet. "Oh, these aren't mine."
"Where'd you get them then?" Candace asked, joining the small group after finally getting her ball from the hole.
Marilee's eyebrows scrunched in thought, and she merely shrugged and muttered, "I dunno."
"But she took forever to get here!" Courtney complained, starting to regret her choice of forfeiting. "That has to count for some sort of disqualification!"
"Sorry, Courtney," Chris insincerely apologized, tucking his clipboard under his arm. "I call the shots and since I never said the game was over, she still has a chance."
The brunette groaned, then pleadingly asked, "Well, can I at least take back my forfeit?"
Chris tapped his chin with his pen, then tucked it behind his ear and said, "Tell you what? If Marilee doesn't get a hole in one, team captain is yours."
Hearing this challenge, Marilee tossed her huge fake ponytail away from her arms, wiped her forehead with her arm, and looked around at her course.
"YOU CAN DO IT, SIS!" Geoff screamed at the top of his lungs.
"GEOFF!" Marilee yelled, covering her ears and eying him. "I'm right next to you!"
He looked down, seeing that she indeed was right next to him. "Oh… I knew that. I just thought yelling would emphasize my point."
Marilee gave him a small smile, took a deep breath, and gripped her putter tightly. She skated over to the starting point, dropped her ball, then skated several yards back. At the point she had skated toward, she was alone, but all eyes were on her.
"Okay, you can do this, Marilee," she uttered, giving herself a barely audible pep talk. "Sure, for the past couple of weeks, you haven't had the best of luck, but this is your chance for something good to happen for once… Geoff is counting on you, Keith is counting on you… Courtney's counting on you to lose, but you don't really care about her, so it won't be that bad if you disappoint her… This is your time…"
After taking another deep breath, she quickly started skating toward her ball. The music started to play louder and she was getting closer and closer. When she finally reached it, she skated around it in a smooth circle twice and fiercely hit the ball.
All eyes went from Marilee to the ball. It bounced from one tile to another, each tile flashing a different fluorescent color. Suddenly, one of the tiles raised from the ground, causing her ball to bounce straight toward the ceiling. Courtney was almost certain that that had sealed her fate as one of the newest team captains, until she saw what was happening next.
The golf ball flew toward the twirling disco ball, and bonked right off of it. The spin made it fly toward the hole and, believe it or not, landed straight inside it.
A roar of cheers broke out, and Marilee dropped poor Camille, too excited to use her hands properly. "W-We won?" After a second, she broke out in a huge grin and exclaimed, "I DID IT!"
"YES!" Geoff cried, ecstatic. "Team Captain Geoff, Co-Captain Marilee and the Dream Team! I can just tell we're gonna go big or go home!" He thought it over for a second, then added, "But hopefully the go big part… Going home wouldn't be that good at all…"
Marilee spun around, Keith being the first person she saw, about twenty feet away. She grinned even wider and started skating toward him at breakneck speed.
"Way to go, babe!" Keith cheered, holding his arms out to catch her.
"OMIGODI WONWOOHOOYAYGIMMEAHUGPUDDIN'POP!" she blurted out in one long string of words. "IDIDN'-" Before she could finish, she crashed into Keith, knocking them both to the ground.
They both groaned, Marilee laying on Keith on her stomach. After letting out a pained moan, she pumped a fist, muttered, "Woo hoo… I win…" and let her body relax, causing her to roll off of him and onto the lit up floor.
Courtney, who had been silent up until then, let out a gasp, crushed. "What? How did she- Why did- Wh- GAH!" She finally gave up on her unfinished questions and looked down at her feet, crestfallen.
Duncan walked up to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "There there, princess. You'll get 'em next time."
Courtney looked over her shoulder at him, letting a small grin creep onto her lips. "Aww. That's actually sweet of you, Duncan…"
"I know, I'm a saint…" Duncan slid his hand down to the small of her back, smiling. "So you wanna make out?"
"And, of course, you ruin it," Courtney deadpanned, smacking his hand off of her and storming toward the crowd. Duncan rubbed his sore hand and followed her, unaffected by her attitude.
"Yay!" Candace exclaimed, helping Marilee to her feet. "I'm gonna be a team captain now!"
"You were going to be one whether she won or not," Courtney snapped, crossing her arms over her scantily-clad chest.
Not seeming to notice her bitterness, Candace chirped, "I know, but I'm still excited!"
Courtney didn't respond to that, merely waiting for Chris to get the whole competition over with.
After Marilee helped Keith to his feet, Chris proclaimed, "Okay, after that, Marilee is clearly our first place winner! And Candace is taking home the silver!"
"I get silver, too?" Candace asked.
"He just means you got second place, hun," Jovie told her.
Candace looked a little saddened by this statement. "Aww."
"Uh…" Chris looked down at his pen and held it out to her. "You can have this if you want. I think it's just silver paint, but I have like twenty of 'em back at my office."
She instantly perked up. "Yay, thanks!" Candace took the pen and held it up in the light. "Oooh, shiny…"
"What, she gets a team captain position AND a free pen?" Courtney protested. "And since when do you give people anything?"
He crossed his arms over his chest, matter-of-factly. "Because, seeing Candace sad was so out of character for her… which made me act out of character…"
"And I'm guessing you just being nice is out of the option?" Keith asked, not looking impressed.
Chris looked up at the ceiling, actually thinking it over. "Yes. Yes, it is. Anyway, since Marilee has Geoff, these two are officially the co-captains for our first newest team."
"Yeah!" The siblings high-fived, both extremely stoked.
"And Candace," Chris continued, "Since Owen is not here to be your partner in crime, it's time for you to pick a lone sibling to be your fellow co-captain. You're choices are Keith, Cody, DJ, Heather, Courtney or Gwen. Choose wisely… In other words, don't choose Keith."
"Hey!" Keith whined, crossing his arms and pouting like a little kid.
Candace bit her lip, nervously smiling as she thought it over. She looked at each of them, who had eager looks on their faces, sans Keith, who was still pouting, and Courtney, who just wanted to get the whole thing over with so she could take a nice hot shower.
"Uh… I chooooooooose…." Candace looked back at Chris. "Can't I choose them all?"
"Nope."
"Rats." Candace turned back to them, stroked her chin for several more seconds, thinking as hard as she could about this important decision. She seemed to have finally made her decision, because she smiled and walked over to the one person none of them had expected her to choose.
"I pick Courtney."
As several people raised confused eyebrows and whispered to each other about this choice, Courtney sighed and began, "Great, now that she picked, can we-" When she realized who exactly she picked, Courtney blurted out, "Wait, what?"
"You heard me, silly billy!" The cheerleader wrapped her arms around the brunette, giving her the tightest hug possible. "Hi, Co-captain Courtney!"
She released her, and once Courtney was able to breathe again, she asked, "But why me? Why me out of all these people, most of whom are your friends?"
"That's exactly why I chose you over them," Candace stated, straightening her purple patterned dress free of wrinkles. "I'm already friends with all of them. You, on the other hand, I haven't really gotten to know as well. And what better way to become friends with somebody than lead a team with them, am I right?"
The former CIT was genuinely shocked by this. "R- Really?"
Candace gave a bubbly nod, her sincerity visible from her smile.
"Wow…" Courtney let a small smile slip onto her lips. "That's really nice of you… Thank you!" Happiness consumed her as she threw her arms around her new co-captain, and Courtney was definitely not the type to hug people, so she must have been truly moved.
"Aww, I know," Candace not-so-modestly said, hugging her back.
"If you two are done with your little love fest," Chris interrupted, looking like his patience was thinning. "Okay, once you girls get changed back into some less blinding clothes, everybody meet me at the camp fire pit to find out whose team you're on."
Geoff raised an eyebrow. "You mean we don't get to pick?"
"Nope." Chris shrugged. "Can't be nice all the time."
LeShawna rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, giving Candace an eighty seven cent pen must have taken up all the generosity in your poor little body for the next two months."
Chris wiped his forehead free of sweat and nodded in agreement. "Boy, you're telling me! Now get to it!"
*T*S*R*
Heather, sitting on the steps that lead to the lake shore, looked out at the lake, deep in thought.
Candace, who was back in her civilian clothes and had been looking for someone to hang out with until Chris was ready, couldn't help but notice Heather. She could tell something was amiss, so she slowly approached, sitting next to her. "Hey, Heather! How's it going?"
Heather looked to the side and tried to smile upon seeing her friend. "Oh, hi. I'm okay, I guess."
Candace raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. "Hmm, that's weird. You sure don't look okay."
Heather sighed, looking back out at the lake. "Gwen still hasn't forgiven me. LeShawna's still mad at me, too. I've tried apologizing, but they won't even listen!" She hid her face in her hands and muttered, "I wish I had never acted like I did last season…"
"Why did you act that way?" Candace asked. "Was there even a reason, or were you just a… uh…" She tried to think of a nice way to put it.
"Total bitch?" Heather suggested, knowing it wasn't far from the truth.
"Uh…" Candace sheepishly grinned. "Yeah…"
The Asian girl removed her hands from her face, opting to look at her lap instead of at Candace while she told her tale. "I don't really know why I acted so horribly. I wasn't that awful back home… Okay, maybe I wasn't the nicest girl around, but I wasn't like I was last summer… When I first came to the island… I wanted to win so badly." Heather paused for a moment, then continued, "I guess I figured that being nice would show weakness, and you know what they say about survival of the fittest…"
"How did your friends back home react when you got home?" Candace asked.
Heather's frown got even deeper and she mumbled, "I lost all of them. Every. Single. One." She wiped her eyes free of tears that threatened to escape, and Candace was quick to wrap a caring arm around her. "Nobody wants to be friends with TV's worst reality show star…"
"Oh, sweetie," Candace soothingly said, trying to think of something to contradict what she just said. "You weren't the worst. Have you ever watched Jersey Shore? Snooki is waaaay worse than you were."
Heather couldn't help but laugh. "While I can't really deny that, it doesn't mean that helped my old friends like me again," she said, now completely free of tears. "But I guess it's okay. There was a group of girls at school who were nice to me. Th-they really helped me better myself… They were much nicer than my old friends, anyway."
"Your old friends were the popular mean girl types, I'm assuming?" Candace guessed. Heather nodded in response and Candace nodded as well. "There's a bunch of them on the cheer squad. Like there's this one girl Ashley who is always so mean to everybody, even when they don't do anything wrong and she always wants to be on top of the pyramid even though that's my position and she makes fun of this chubbier girl on the squad named Haley, which is totally mean and I think Ashley got a boob job last year 'cause-"
"Candace, is there a point to this story?" Heather interrupted, not seeing where she was going with her ramble about fake-chested Ashley.
"Oh. Right." Candace blushed. "My point was that it's better to hang out with people who make you feel better about yourself, not worse. That's what I do. I talk to Ashley because I sorta have to and I'm nice to her, even though she isn't back… But my true friends are the nicest people you could ever meet!"
"I still wish LeShawna and Gwen would forgive me," Heather told her, resting her chin in her hand.
The cheerleader nodded. "I hate to tell you this, but I think it's going to take more than a verbal apology to convince them that you've truly changed. Actions speak louder than words, you know."
Heather thought over what she had said and nodded. "You're right. You know, you're totally not stupid. The opposite, actually. Chris shouldn't keep assuming you are."
She shrugged, still smiling. "Eh, it comes with the title of being Owen's sister. You get used to it. And I'm sorry I chose Courtney over you. If she wasn't here, you totally would have been my first choice!"
"That's fine, I think it was sweet why you chose her." Heather smiled and gave her a hug. "You really are a good person, Candace."
"Aww… I know!"
"We'd better get going," Heather said, standing up and helping Candace up, too. "Marilee's probably got all her hair extensions out by now."
"You go ahead," Candace told her, dusting her butt free of the sand that was on the steps. "I need to check on something before I leave."
Heather looked confused by this, but shrugged and started walking off. "Okay, see you later, then."
Once Heather was out of sight, Candace walked down the steps, faced them, and placed her hands on her hips. "I know you're under there, DJ," she called out, a smug smirk on her face.
A pair of dark eyes peered out at her from a crack in the steps and he slowly stepped out from underneath them. "H-How'd you know?"
"I saw you wander under there a few minutes ago." DJ looked panicked for a second, until Candace placed a hand on his arm and told him, "Don't worry, big guy. Heather didn't see you."
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop!" DJ pleaded. "I was looking for Bunny and went under there and didn't want to just walk out and have you guys think I was creepy and-"
"DJ, DJ, it's okay!" Candace interrupted him, giggling at his nervousness. "I know you're not the type to spy on people." Once DJ breathed a sigh of relief, she asked, "So how much did you hear?"
"Pretty much her entire explanation," DJ said, sitting down on the steps. "Wow, she must have had it hard, but at least it made her the person she is today."
Candace nodded in agreement, taking a seat next to him. She was silent for a moment, until she turned her head toward him and said, "I think she likes you. Like, like likes you."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah. Do you… feel the same way about her?"
DJ looked down at his lap. "I think so. But I'm not sure I'm ready for a relationship with her. My momma says you can't rush romance."
"Marilee and Keith kind of rushed and they seem to be doing fine," Candace said with a shrug. "And you and Heather have technically known each other for a year now. That's not really rushing."
DJ thought over that. "Hey, you're right!" DJ clapped her on the back. "Thanks, girl. You're smarter than most people give you credit for."
Candace smirked and rolled her eyes. "Don't I know it."
*T*S*R*
Once everybody was around the campfire pit, Chris took his place in front of the group. "Here's the moment you've all been waiting for. Geoff, Marilee, get on up here. Time for the new teams, and new team names!"
"Whoop de doo," Duncan muttered, twirling a mockingly enthusiastic finger in the air.
"Duncan, this is serious!" Courtney told him. "What if we're not on the same team?"
"Why, thank you for bring that up, Courtney!" Chris said, pointing to Duncan, Selena and Zoey. "Because the Calivers are the first family to join Team Anderson."
"Yay!" Selena cheered, running up and giving Marilee a big hug.
Duncan looked at his girlfriend apologetically as he and Zoey walked up and he fist-bumped Geoff.
"Y-You can't do that!" Courtney protested, stomping her foot on the grass. "You're doing this just to spite me!"
"I am not!" Chris argued. "Oh, wait… Yes, I am! Keith, you're up next, buddy."
Courtney gasped as Keith walked past her and toward the team.
"He lets Marilee be with her boyfriend, but won't let me be with mine?" Courtney fumed. She slapped herself on the forehead and said, "Okay, you know what? Whatever. I won't let him get to me, and I won't let Duncan and me being on separate teams affect our relationship. I mean, the two of us can handle that… Right?"
Keith walked up to the group, wrapping his arms around both Marilee and Selena. "Hey, girls. It's going to be great being on the same team as you two lovely ladies," he flirtatiously purred.
Selena giggled, but wrapped her arms around him back, in a friendly manner. "Uh, Keith, I kind of have a boyfriend, you know… And a Duncan," she told him, jerking her head in Duncan's direction, who was giving Keith the stink eye.
"What a coincidence!" Keith cried out, releasing Selena and hugging Marilee so tightly, she let out a small cough. "I happen to have a totally smokin' hot girlfriend, and I only do monogamy. Tough luck for you, Selena."
"Oh, gee." Selena rolled her eyes and laughed. "I don't know how I'll ever live without you, Keith Carlisle…"
Keith nodded, mockingly knowing her fake pain must have been horrible. "I know it will be tough, but you'll have to go through with your life, completely Keithless."
He gave Marilee a big kiss, making Geoff gag behind them. "Dude, I'm right here!"
Keith stopped smooching Marilee and the two shot Geoff a look. "Consider it payback for having to watch you snog my sister ten times a day."
Geoff considered this, then sighed, "Got me there."
Chris loudly cleared his throat so that he would be the center of attention once more. "Anyway, to finish this team off, we've got Trent, Grace, and everybody's favorite teddy bear of a guy, DJ!"
"Hey, step-sibs!" Geoff greeted Trent and Grace, shortly after giving DJ a fist bump.
"Don't call them that!" Marilee hissed, tugging on his ear so his head was level to hers. "Our parents are just dating!"
Grace raised a confused eyebrow and looked up at her brother. "What's he talking about, Trent?"
Trent looked down at her, worry evident in his eyes. "Uh, nothing…"
"I know I should tell her, or I should call my dad so he can explain it, buuuuut…" Trent sighed, shaking his head. "I don't think either of us know how to break it to her… Dad dating might be too much for her to handle…"
"Congratulations! You all are officially The Fighting Ferrets!"
"Yeah! WOO-HOO! Yeah, we're the…. Fighting Ferrets?" Geoff stopped cheering, once he registered their ridiculous name into his brain. "Dude, seriously?"
Chris ignored him and pointed to Candace and Courtney. "Heather, Gwen, LeShawna and Jovie, Cody and the Wonder Twins," he listed, the latter name referring to Herbie and Xavier. "Meet the leaders of your new team, the Raving Ravens!"
"Do you do shots of whiskey while you think of these team names?" Gwen skeptically asked.
"No!" Chris shouted defensively. "… I may have had a glass of wine or two while in the thought process, but no whiskey…"
"Yay!" Candace cheered, hugging each and every individual member, Heather the hardest. "We're gonna rock this competition!"
"Weeeeell…" Chris smiled his Chris-like smile. "Noooooot exaaaaaaactly…"
"Huh?"
"Since you only got a hole in two and Marilee got a hole in one, that technically makes you today's loser, which means that your team will be in the hot seats tonight."
"Oh…" Candace looked down at her feet. "I hadn't thought of that…"
"Don't you worry your stupid little head, Candace," Chris reassured her, earning him several glares from the new team for insulting Candace. "Since it would be pointless for the team captains to be voted off first thing, you and Courtney will receive immunity for tonight.
The two breathed a sigh of relief, and Chris added, "But I honor of your hole in two, you'll be voting off two of your teammates!"
After a round of gasps and much protesting, Chris held up a hand and silenced them. "No arguments! Before we vote, you'll need to move your things. The Ravens will be staying in the old Bears cabin and the Ferrets will be bunking in the Wolves cabin. Get moving!" The Ravens glumly headed to grab their possessions and the Ferrets did the same, with much less gloom.
Chris turned toward the camera and grinned. "Now seems like a good time for a commercial break, huh? Unless you all want to see more of me…" He grinned even wider, then stopped and gripped his jaw in pain. "Ow! Never mind, smiling that hard is going to ruin my beautifully chiseled jaw." He rubbed it and pouted. "I dunno how Candace does this twenty four seven…" He noticed the camera was still running and continued, "But we'll be right back to TOTAL! SIBLING! RIVALRY!"
I hate Jersey Shore. And Snooki. Somebody should just smack her… Oh wait… Somebody DID. C:
But don't think Gwen and Shawnie are cool about Heather being on their team. They're FAR from cool… :O