Keith stumbled out of the Fighting Ferrets cabin, fully dressed and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He had just gotten up, a little later than the others. Walking past the window of the girl's side of the cabin, he stopped seeing that somebody was still sound asleep. His favorite lady, to be exact.

Marilee had kicked her covers off in the middle of the night, so he could see she was dressed in just a midriff t-shirt with a bright blue M on it and blue pajama shorts. Her hair was tied back in a sloppy ponytail and she had no makeup on, so she didn't look nearly as fabulous as usual. Still, Keith couldn't help but stare.

"Having fun, stalker boy?"

"YAH!" Keith shrieked, spinning around to find Jovie looking at him, eyebrow raised and hands on her hips. "J-Jovie! Shouldn't you be… y'know… Raving it up with the Ravens?" he lamely asked.

"I was, but then I saw you standing over here and wanted to see what was up," Jovie explained, looking him over. "So what exactly are you doing? As if I didn't already know the answer…"

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, trying to think of a good excuse. "I-I was just-"

"Being Edward-Cullen-stalker-creepy?" she suggested, letting a small smirk creep onto her lips.

Holly looked around the Confession Cam, confused. "I dunno why, but during breakfast back at the intern headquarters, I got this really weird feeling. Like someone, somewhere on the island just insulted Edward…"

"Well, can you blame me?" He rested his arms on the sill of the open window and dreamily sighed, looking back at Marilee. "She's amazing…"

Marilee scrunched her face a little, grumbled in her sleep, then let out a loud, unladylike belch. She sloppily flopped onto her stomach and scratched her bum like a she-Neanderthal before letting out a huge snore and falling silent once again.

Jovie rolled her eyes and muttered, "Yeah, the girl's a princess among paupers…"

A dreamy look in his eye, Keith sighed and said, "I know, isn't she?"

Jovie gave him a skeptical look before shaking her head and walking off.

"Weeeeell, looks like Keith and Marilee are still in the Honeymoon Phase," Jovie told the viewing audience, looking slightly grossed out. "So, yeah… They've become that couple. You know, that fool couple that's all lovey dovey and they kiss every five seconds and you just wanna slap some sense into them?" She crossed her arms. "I'm just glad I'm not on the same team as them anymore so I don't have to see them suck face as much…"

Jovie stepped out of the Confession, humming a happy little song. She didn't expect Marilee, dressed and prettied up, to be standing outside, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. "That thing isn't sound-proof, you know."

Jovie's eyes widened slightly, and she looked upward. "Uh… Why, whatever do you mean, my dear friend Marilee?" she asked, trying to sound innocent.

The blonde's eyes narrowed. "I heard all the stuff you said about Keith and me… And I thought you were my friend!"

"I am!" Jovie said, looking even more nervous than before. "But can y'all honestly say I'm lyin'?"

"G-Get out of my way," Marilee grumpily told her, completely avoiding her question and pushing her aside. "I have stuff to vent about…" She stepped into the Confession Can and slammed the door.

"The nerve of that Jovie!" Marilee yelled, arms crossed angrily. "I heard everything she said! We're not some lovey dovey idiot couple!"

"Uh, yeah you are, girl," Jovie, still outside, said, almost afraid to admit it.

"Am not!" Marilee whined. "Nobody else thinks that!"

"Yes, they do!"

"What?" Marilee gasped. "They do not!"

"Oh, they don't, do they?"

"No!"

"Why don't you ask one of them, then?"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"GOOD!"

Everybody had arrived to breakfast except Keith by now, poking at their lumpy meals with displeasure. Marilee was the last to sit down at the Ferret table. Slamming her tray down, she grumpily started eating her slop.

"Uh…" Selena, who she had taken a seat next to, could not help but notice Marilee's attitude. "Something on your mind?"

"Jovie said everybody is all grossed out by Keith and me," Marilee said, mouth full of mush. "Grossed out, can you believe it?" she asked, some of her mush oozing out of her mouth and dripping back into her bowl.

Selena cringed, looking a little greener than she did before. "Uh…"

"I mean, do we irritate you?" Marilee asked, wiping her mouth off with the napkin.

Selena looked up at the ceiling, thinking it over. "Weeeeell…"

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Marilee swallowed and gasped. "Oh, my gosh… You actually do think that!"

"No, I don't," she lied, answering a little too quickly.

"Then why'd you have to think about it, huh?" Marilee crossed her arms and glared at her friend. "I can smell your lies…"

Selena looked around the outhouse, then sniffed her left pit for a split second. She sheepishly covered her underarms. "I guess I should wear stronger deodorant…"

"Well, it's just…" Selena looked down at her lap and admitted, "Seeing you guys sort of reminds me that Zack and I hardly got to spend any time together before we became… an item." She looked back up at her. "Do people still call couples 'items' or is that an old person thing?"

"Oh… Really?" Marilee frowned. "Sorry. I… I didn't really think about it like that."

"It'll probably be the same with DJ, now that he and Heather are an item… Wait, you never answered my question."

Once again, Marilee ignored her question. "Okay, you two and Jovie don't like Keith and I being so affectionate, but… Maybe the others don't feel that way."

"Oh, we do!" Courtney called out from the other table.

Marilee pouted and said, "Hey, I thought we were cool now!"

Courtney nodded. "Yes, we are 'cool,'" she told her, air quoting the last word, "but that doesn't mean I can't be honest…"

Marilee rolled her eyes and grumbled, "Okay, so four people think it! That doesn't mean-"

"Oh, it's not just them," Gwen piped up, LeShawna nodding soon after. "It's all of us."

"Oh, come on," Marilee laughed, rolling her eyes. "That's a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think?"

Gwen raised an eyebrow, then called out, "Well, is it, everyone?"

A chorus of agreements with Gwen's first statement rung out from all the campers, sans Marilee. After it calmed down and was silent once more, Marilee stood up in a huff. "Okay, know what? You people can all go to-"

"Hey, everybody."

Every head turned to stare silently at Keith as he stood in the doorway of the mess hall, staring back at the faces blankly. After a moment, he scanned the room and asked, "What?" He subconsciously wiped his mouth off and asked, "Do I have something on my face?"

"Okay, so, like… thirteen people think that Keith and I showing our infatuation for each other is nauseating. Big whoop!" Marilee exclaimed. "I'm sure there are thirteen people out there somewhere in the world who think making out with giraffes is a-okay, but that doesn't make it true!" Her eyes widened and she cringed in disgust. "Ugh. Now I'm going to have that image stuck in my head all day…"

"Seriously, is calling a couple an item out of style?" Selena asked, frustrated that Marilee never answered her. "I want to know so I can sound as groovy as possible!"

*T*S*R*

It was time for the challenge to begin, so the campers were gathered by the campfire pit, waiting for Chris to announce the challenge to them.

Chris stood behind his oil drum podium, dressed in his pirate costume from last year. "Campers, you remember the Paintball Deer Hunt from last year, right? Today's challenge is loosely based on that…"

"How does that relate to you dressed up like Jack Sparrow?" Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chris snapped his fingers in her direction. "Arrg! Excellent question, Gwen. Today's paintball hunt is… Pirates versus Ninjas! The Fighting Ferrets will be playing the role of the Pirates while the Raving Ravens will be the ninjas."

"Well, that's not fair," Selena piped up, looking disappointed. "If they're the ninjas, then they'll obviously win!"

"I beg to differ," Cody said, crossing his arms. "Pirates were master fighters, especially with weaponry like guns. We're the ones at a disadvantage here."

Selena stood up and rolled her eyes. "Please! Ninjas were way better fighters than pirates, 'cause they didn't need guns to fight people… Just a sword and a few other sharp things. And using those actually takes skill, while any moron could use a gun!"

"Pirates have way more skill than people give them credit for," Cody shot back. "And they're much more skilled with swords than ninjas!"

Selena stormed over to where he was standing and yelled, "At least ninjas aren't famous for scurvy!"

Cody glared at her and spat back, "At least pirates don't have a crappy anime!"

Selena gasped, shocked that he would even say such a thing. "Hey! Naruto is an awesome anime, you baka!"

"Uh…" Trent looked around confusedly for a moment, then back at the camera. "They do realize they were sort of insulting themselves for a while there, right?"

Courtney shook her head, then rolled her eyes and said, "That conversation proves that the only thing stupider than an argument online is that same argument in real life…"

"Hey, you two!" Chris yelled, snapping the two out of their battle. "You can finish your nerd war after I'm done explaining the challenge!" Once the two were calmed down and seated, he continued, "Anyway, it'll be your goal to shoot anyone from the opposite team. The team with the least people shot wins, and once you're shot, you're out!"

*T*S*R*

The competitors had gathered by the opening of the forest, where two boxes were sitting by Chris' feet.

Chris dug around in the first box, pulling out several black ninja masks with one hand and a few colorful shurikens . "Our ninja friends will be wearing these stylish masks and using these paint-filled… pointy… star… thingies…"

"The black mask must be slimming," Selena mused, tapping her chin and smirking. "Maybe it will make Courtney's big, fat head seem less big and fat…" She looked back at the camera and shrugged. "What? I've been trying to be nicer to her! What I say in here doesn't count! And we're not on the same team anymore, so it'll be easier to avoid her… I wonder if it would be mean if I stabbed her with my paint sword or whatever weapon we're getting…?"

"Won't those… hurt?" Jovie asked, worried.

"What? Oh, they're just paint balls shaped like pointy star thingies, not actual metal ones," Chris explained, packing the last of the shurikens into the pouch of a belt for them to wear.

"Uh… Do you even know what those 'pointy star thingies' are called?" Gwen skeptically asked him.

Chris shook his head. "No, but that seems like a good name for it. I like it, at least…" He shrugged it off and continued, "Anyway, while you Raving Ninjas get geared up, you Fighting Pirates pay attention." He dug around in the second box, pulling out a pirate hat similar to his. "You guys get to wear these pimpin' pirate hats and eye patches!"

Duncan rolled his eyes and said, "You probably only think they look good because you're wearing them.."

"That… is true," Chris said, not looking the least bit ashamed. "But, for some reason, we're short one eye patch. Do you still have yours handy, Marilee?" he jokingly asked.

A few of the campers laughed at the thought of her doing do, until she sheepishly reached into the pocket of her shorts and pulled the eye patch out. The laughter was replaced with silent, confused glances.

Chris hadn't actually expected her to have it, so he too look perplexed. "Uh… Why did you keep that thing? And why were you carrying it around with you?"

Marilee shrugged, placing the eye patch over her left eye. "Why not?"

"… Guess I can't argue with that logic," Chris mumbled, tossing her a hat. "I wouldn't even know where to start." Putting his signature grin back on, he continued, "And as for your weaponry, you'll get…" He reached into the box once more, pulling out what looked like a miniature pirate-aged cannon launcher. "These wicked sweet paint cannonball shooters!"

He pulled the fuse on it, launching a bright green paint ball out. Gwen and Courtney quickly ducked to avoid being hit, and the paint bomb splattered onto the tree behind them. "Hey!" Courtney yelled, straightening herself once more. "You can't do that to us!"

"Noooo… But they can," Chris said, jerking a thumb toward the Fighting Pirates, who were suited up with their hats, eye patches and paint cannonball launchers. "Once you've got your gear on, you'll get a five minute head start to find a hiding spot in the woods. Get those masks and pointy star thingy-holding belts on and let's get started!"

Geoff adjusted his eye patch, then his pirate hat. He chuckled and said, "Dude, I am digging this hat!"

Duncan grumpily adjusted his hat, fiddled with his eye patch and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. "Dude… Words cannot describe how much I am not digging this get-up…"

"Look at this silly eye patch!" Selena said, pointing to her covered eye. "It will be super hard to aim and fire when half of my vision is gone!" She crossed her arms over her chest and said, "Ninjas don't wear eye patches, because they don't poke their eyes out with their weapons, because they're not stupid. See? Ninjas are much cooler than pirates!"

"These shurikens are going to be hard to throw," Cody commented, looking over his weapons through the eye slit in his mask. "That's why pirates are so much better. They get stuff that's easy to shoot, like cannons and guns." He sighed and added, "Man, the Fighting Ferrets got lucky…"

"I can't believe we have to wear these wack masks," LeShawna, slightly muffled from her mouth being covered from the black material. "It's the middle of summer! We'll be sweatin' like dogs and stick out like sore thumbs!"

"This is the perfect challenge," Grace stated, arms folded smugly. Her smirk disappeared and she added, "Well, the hat and eye patch isn't… That part is dumb. But still, it'll give me the perfect opportunity to sneak off and put my plan into action…" She giggled evilly and then sighed with joy. "Aren't I smart? I'm already plotting at a fourth grade level!"

The Fighting Ferrets, temporarily the Fighting Pirates, had gotten a good head start away from the Raving Ravens, now the Raving Ninjas. Geoff stopped and turned around, facing his teammates. "Okay, dudes, I think we should split up."

"Good idea, Geoff," Marilee said, nodding in agreement. "There's power in numbers, but in this situation, it'd only make them more powerful… Okay, split!"

Most of the phony pirates raced off in different directions, but Marilee and Keith stayed put. Raising an amused eyebrow, Keith strolled over to his girlfriend and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Looks like it's just you and me, sweet thang. I saw a really comfy bush nearby, and I was thinking-"

"Keith, we have a challenge to do," Marilee strictly told him, slapping his arm away from her. "There's no time for that."

"What?" The skater looked crestfallen. Yesterday, she would have jumped on the chance in an instance! "Mar, what's wrong? Is it me? Do I smell weird?"

Marilee rolled her eyes, even though the eye patched one wasn't visible. "You smell fine. I'm… I'm just not in the mood."

"Why not?" Keith asked, repeatedly trying to put his arm back around her, but painfully failed each time. "Did something happen at breakfast? Everybody got real quiet when I walked in and I never found out why."

"I-It was nothing," she lied, looking down at her feet. "But we need to split up… The five minute head start should be over any second now…"

"Okay…" Keith gently grabbed her by her chin and titled her head so that she would look him in the eyes. "But you're still my widdle Mar-bear, right?" he asked her in a baby voice, giving her a smile.

She couldn't help but smile back. "Yes. And you're still my cuddly widdle puddin' pop…" She allowed herself to give him a small peck on the lips before running off to hide from the ninjas… and Keith.

"Honestly, Jovie and the others gave me sort of a wake-up call," Marilee admitted, looking sheepish. "I guess I was getting out of control with Keith. It's just he's a lot sweeter than I thought he was when we first got here… And his lips are so sooooft…" She traced the outline of her own lips, wishing her fingers were the tender lips of her favorite skater boy. "… Do you think it's too late to take Keith up on his offer with the comfy bush?"

"I-I've been a good boyfriend, haven't I?" Keith asked, looking rather worried. "I've made out with her, given her a goofy pet name… Uh… Made out with her…" He sighed. "But I'm good to her, right? I'm beyond nice to her, I never push her too far…" He scratched the back of his neck and asked, "What did I do wrong?"

*T*S*R*

On the other side of the forest, the Raving Ninjas were making their way through, already sweating from the masks.

"Ugh…" Gwen stretched her mask slightly, in order to cool off a bit. "Do we have to wear these things?"

"Chris never really specified, but I guess so," Candace said, fiddling with her weapon belt. "Unless you want to be disqualified, but you don't wanna do that, right?"

"With this heat, that's starting to not sound that bad…"

"You can't disqualify yourself!" Courtney told her. "We're already short by three people! We can't give the other team more of an advantage!"

"Well, Zoey and Grace probably won't be that useful to them, so they don't really count," Cody pointed out.

"And Marilee and Keith will probably find themselves a comfy bush and play tonsil hockey the whole time," LeShawna commented, laughing slightly.

"Still, that doesn't mean we should just up and quit!" Courtney told them. "We're a team and we need to work together. That means none of you are giving up!"

Jovie, who had looked rather stressed throughout their entire trek, finally stopped dead in her tracks, making the others stop and look back at her. "I don't think I can do this!"

Courtney, sounding exasperated, cried out, "Did you not just hear what I said?"

"Seriously, why don't more people listen to me?" Courtney asked, frustrated. "When I have a good idea, people just seem to think 'Oh, let's all ignore Courtney and give up like a big bunch of quitters!' I'm probably the most competent member of my team. I'm not saying I'm perfect…" She looked down at her lap and sheepishly admitted, "Even though I act it sometimes… But nonetheless, the others should take my winning strategies seriously! I was a CIT, for goodness sake!"

"This is way too violent!" Jovie said, almost sounding appaled by the thought of doing the challenge. "Fighting like a bunch of savages, that's what we'd be doing!"

"C'mon, Jov!" Candace said, walking up to her and patting her on the back. "This is all just pretend!"

"Still, what kind of example is this setting for the poor little kiddies who are gonna be watching this at home?" Jovie questioned. "It's stuff like this that makes kids so violent!"

"This isn't exactly a show for children young enough for this mild violence to be impressionable to them," Gwen pointed out. She tapped her chin with her finger, thinking something over. "And for those that age who do watch this when it officially airs, they're probably going to stop after the one Owen got voted off of, because of the huge lacking in fart jokes after he was gone…"

"But this still goes against everything I stand for!" Jovie protested. "I just organized an anti-violence rally two months before coming here! How will doing something like this make me look?"

LeShawna sighed, resting a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Baby girl, I know you're just trying to help… everybody and everything, but you can't throw the challenge just to prove a point! Please, try being a little more open-minded, okay?"

Jovie looked hesitant at first, but sighed and said, "Okay…"

"Maybe my team's right," Jovie said, not looking the least bit happy. "Maybe I do take things a bit too seriously. Like that time I stopped talking to Marilee for two days for not recycling her juice boxes… Or how I glare at people who eat meat products… But I came here to try new things and in order to do that, I'll have to be more open-minded. I can do this!" She paused, face-palmed and muttered, "I hope…"

Cody could smell her nervousness from a mile away, so he walked up to her and said, "Chill, Jovie! The Codemeister's got your back! Just stick with me and I'll make sure everything goes smoothly."

Jovie smiled, though it was clear she was still nervous. "Thanks, boy. Okay, let's go!"

*T*S*R*

Selena whistled quietly, strolling through the woods like there wasn't even a challenge going on. She was hunched over from carrying the heavy paintball cannonball shooter, but didn't look that pained. "So far, no awesome ninjas in sight. Guess I gotta find some sooner or later so I can shoot them with my big, dumb cannon…"

She heard some rustling from behind a nearby bush, so she quickly spun around and fired at will. Unfortunately, all she did was hit a tree and make a startled DJ scream and jump out from behind the bush, only to trip on his own feet.

"DJ?" She ran over and helped him up. "I'm sorry! I thought you would be one of the ninjas!"

DJ dusted himself off, the put the pirate hat that had fallen off back on. "That's alright. I was a little squeamish, anyway. I don't like sneaking around like this."

"Duncan and I do it a lot," Selena admitted, scuffing the ground with the tip of her black boots. "Duncan does it so he doesn't get arrested, but I just do it 'cause I like to." She got a mischievous look on her face and added, "Once while I was lurking around, I overheard my uncle Scott and aunt Laura talking about what they got Duncan for Christmas, and he gave me ten bucks to tell me whether they got him something lame or not! I spent the money on candy canes and a light up Rudolph nose!"

"Uh…" DJ scratched the back of his head. "That's… cool."

"Y'know, Selena reminds me of Izzy sometimes," DJ said. "Except she isn't completely insane… And she isn't on the run from the RCMP… Or is she?" DJ scratched his chin. "With Duncan as a role model, anything could be possible…"

"Hey, are you okay?" Selena asked out of the blue. "Y'know, after the whole Heather thing?" The two started walking and she added, "I felt sort of crummy after what happened with Zack… But then again, Heather's elimination wasn't your fault…" She looked down at her feet, suddenly crestfallen.

"It wasn't your fault, either!" DJ assured her, patting her on her petite shoulder. "Besides, I don't think Zack really cared about the money. He just seemed like he was there to play the game and have a good time."

Selena nodded, looking a little less sad. "That's true. And I'll bet he's enjoying Playa de Losers. And Heather probably is, too."

DJ nodded, remembering that. "Yeah, I'll bet she is… I just wish I could be there with her…"

Before either could add anything else, Selena noticed something high up in one of the trees and stopped, DJ stopping soon after. "Deej, look!" She pointed to one branch in particular and cooed, "Those squirrels are wrestling! How cute!"

DJ finally found what Selena was looking at, and his jaw dropped immediately. "Uh, Selena… They aren't wrestling."

She cocked her head to the side, giving him a look of pure innocence. "What are they doing, then?" She looked back up at the creatures and squinted her eyes. "Are they playing leap frog? If they are, that squirrel on the top isn't doing that good of a job."

DJ, too embarrassed to explain to her what was going on, shielded her eyes with his hand and gently shoved her so she would keep walking. "Ask somebody else later…"

"I can't believe those squirrels!" DJ exclaimed, sounding both disgusted and embarrassed. "Just doing…. that out in broad daylight! Have they no shame?"

Selena and DJ kept walking until DJ had to make a quick pit stop, leaving the teen girl to sit on an abandoned rock, and hum a small tune. She hear some more rustling from the nearby vegetation, so she quickly sprung up and shot her paint cannonball launcher at random places. She didn't get a ninja, but she managed to hit some trees, the ground, and one of the naughty squirrels. That still didn't make either of them stop 'wrestling.' "Fudge!" Selena whispered to herself, throwing her shooter on the ground childishly. "I have such suckish aim!"

Almost immediately after saying that, out popped Gwen, her eyes widening in shock after seeing her brother's new girlfriend. Her onyx orbs quickly narrowed and she hissed, "You…"

"I think Gwen's still mad at me," Selena said, looking a little worried. "I didn't mean to make Zack snap and have everyone get mad at him and vote him off! If I could change that, I would in a heartbeat!" She sighed, resting her chin in her palm. "Why can't my boyfriend's sister just realize I'm not perfect and try to get along with me?"

"That sounds like something Courtney would be saying about you," Jovie piped from outside.

"Stop trying to be a peace maker, Jovie!" Selena whined. "It's different with me and Courtney!"

"Really? How so?"

"…" She lifted her pirate hat up so she could scratch her head and said, "Uh… Because… I'm awesome."

"That's not exactly the most valid argument," Cody said, also outside the confession can.

"… Your mom's not a valid argument!" Selena lamely replied.

"That was probably the worst comeback ever," Jovie commented, Cody seated next to her in the outhouse.

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but it's nice of you to try and help Marilee and Selena." He sheepishly shrugged. "Too bad they're both too stubborn to listen…"

Jovie grinned and shrugged. "Marilee seemed to follow my advice after it sunk in a while. Maybe Selena will, too… Wait, why are you in here with me again?"

"It's hard to talk to people through these thick wooden walls," Cody said, knocking on the wall next to him. "But it's sort of crowded in here with the both of us…"

Jovie's brows knitted together and she snapped, "Is that a crack at my bodacious booty?"

"What, no!" Cody exclaimed, flustered. "I-I just meant-"

"Ha ha, I'm just teasin' with you, boy," Jovie said, playfully nudging him.

Selena grabbed her cannonball shooter again and tried to look threatening. "I'm warning you! I've got this cannon shooting thingamabob, and I'm not afraid to use it! … As you can tell," she finished, quickly glancing at the many splats of paint around them.

"Oooh, scary!" Gwen mockingly said, waving her hands in phony fear. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at Selena once more. "And why are you just sitting here? Shouldn't you be off taking advantage of people and getting them kicked off the island?"

"I didn't mean to get Zack voted off!" Selena exclaimed. "I really did like him! I'd trade places with him if I could!"

"Then why don't you?" the Goth snapped. "He was much more useful than you were, anyways!"

Selena held back a small whimper, suddenly getting angry, and she finally took another shot, which Gwen quickly dodged by falling to her knees. The Goth quickly got back on her feet and jerked the pouch of her utility belt open, attempting to yank one of her paint shurikens out. However, she ended up yanking them all out and they splattered by her feet in a big, colorful mess.

"Stupid, crappy paintballs!" Gwen hissed angrily. She looked back up at Selena, who was smirking widely.

The blonde cocked her cannonball shooter at her, a look of determination in her eyes. "When you're off the island, tell Zack I'm sorry."

Gwen, wide-eyed, ran off with Selena not far behind. DJ finally came back, only to be passed up by the two, who were both screaming at the top of their lungs. The Jamaican Canadian blinked, then asked himself, "How long was I gone?"

"Okay, so in retrospect, ticking off a member of the other team with a fully loaded gun probably wasn't my smartest move, "Gwen mused, yanking on her mask in discomfort. "But Selena seriously creases me, so I couldn't help it. I don't know what my brother sees in her… Still, I probably could have played that interaction a little better…"

*T*S*R*

Grace made sure nobody, especially not a cameraman, was around, then threw her eye patch and hat on the ground. Once that was done, she walked through the bushes, right into the secret production campgrounds. "Secret, my butt," Grace muttered. "A three year old found this place without even trying…"

She wandered toward the main building, seeing nobody so far. Once she stepped inside, she noticed Mia laying on the couch in the lounge, texting away on her cell phone. Grace walked over to her, but Mia did not notice her due to her height. "Hey!" she harshly yelled at her.

Mia looked down to see the three year old and raised an eyebrow. "What the heck are you doing here? Isn't the stupid challenge going on right now?"

"I don't have time for an interrogation," Grace bluntly said, sounding far too serious for her age. She crawled onto the couch next to her, placing her hands in her lap. "I saw something yesterday that caught my interest…"

Once again, Mia raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? And this concerns me… how?"

"You ask too many questions." Grace pulled a video camera from behind her back, only making Mia even more confused.

"Why do you have a camcorder? And how'd you just pull it out from behind your back like that? Your skirt doesn't have any pockets…"

Grace rolled her eyes. "What did I just say about questions?"

She turned the device on, tilting the screen so Mia could see. The shot was of the ground at first, but eventually panned to Mia. It was clear that it was filmed during yesterday's challenge, since you could see the hole Heather and Gwen failed at. The camera shook a great amount, but you could still see Mia walk out from behind a tree and hand Heather a maroon golf ball, who seemed to have lost her original ball. She nodded gratefully at her step-sister and walked toward the beginning of the hole. Mia walked back behind the tree, but stuck out enough so that Grace had still been able to film her. She pulled a remote control out of her dress pocket, grabbed the joystick, and grinned spitefully. Just as Heather hit the ball and it made its way onto the bridge above the small body of water that was meant to be the obstacle, Mia jerked the joystick roughly to the right. The ball flew off the edge of the bridge and into the water, ultimately leading to Heather's defeat.

Mia, mouth gaping in shock, glared down at Grace. "Okay, so you got that on camera. Big deal! Why do you care?"

"Why did you want Heather to lose?" Grace asked, a serious look still on her face. "Because you knew that if she won for the entire season, she wouldn't share any of her money with you?"

"It was in the stupid contract!" Mia snapped, crossing her arms. "Apparently, step-siblings don't count as real siblings in Chris' eyes, so I wasn't even given a chance! I would have been the only one in our family who had a chance, anyway. Heather lost any chance of making it once she turned into a spineless loser!"

Grace nodded in understanding. "I see… So you couldn't stand to let her have something you thought she didn't deserve, am I right?"

"Well… yes," Mia said, shocked at Grace's intellect.

Grace shook her head and muttered, "People always underestimate me…" She looked back up at her and continued, "You knew that Chris picked the teams by the losers from every other hole. The ones who lost at the odd numbered holes would be on the winning team and the ones who lost on the even numbered holes would wind up on the losing team, so you made Heather lose on an even numbered hole! You knew that since she'd be the least popular member of her new team, she'd most likely be voted off!"

"Yes, okay!" Mia yelled. "Tell me what this has to do with you at all before I toss you into the piranha pool!"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to do that if I was you…" Grace smirked and sat the camera down between them. "Because I'm gonna show Chris this video."

Mia gasped once again and quickly snatched the camera away. She ripped the DVD out and snapped it in half with her hand, then cockily grinned back down at her.

Grace shrugged nonchalantly. "That's okay. I made copies."

Mia's smirk disappeared. "Fine. Go ahead and show him! I already got Heather kicked off, and that was the only reason I signed up to be a stupid intern in the first place."

"Don't be so quick to defend yourself, Mia," Grace said, crossing her arms smugly. "You haven't even heard my proposition yet."

"Proposition?" Mia scoffed and said, "Fine, I'll humor you. Tell me about your cute little proposition."

Grace frowned at Mia's mocking tone and told her, "You help me out a little bit, and when Trent and I win, I'll split my half of the five hundred thousand dollars with you." Mia's eyes widened. That proposition was not so little or so cute. It was too good to pass up, that's for sure. "But, if you don't do what I say, I'll show Chris the tape, you get fired, and you get nothing!"

Mia stared at her for a moment, then looked up toward the ceiling in thought. Either work a little and get a lot or sit back and get nothing? Hey, she hated work, but she loved money more! Still, being a little girl's lackey? That would be pretty pathetic…

"You've piqued my interest. What would I have to do, exactly?"

Grace waved a hand, like it would be nothing. "Oh, nothing much. Just help me with a few challenges. Maybe give my team- or just me and Trent- an advantage. You'll barely have to do anything." She extended her small hand toward the older girl and asked, "Deal?"

Mia thought it over for several more seconds, then devilishly grinned and grabbed Grace's hand, giving it a good shake. "Deal."

"I have a good feeling about this alliance," Grace told the camera, grinning an evil grin. "I've lulled everybody into a false sense of security, so nobody would expect it. I've stood aside quietly and they've all assumed I was just being a brat early on, so they've basically forgotten about me. They'll never see it coming!" Her eyes narrowed spitefully. "That idiot Gwen should be gone by this time next week, and when this dumb show's finally over, we'll be the winners!" She crossed her arms and added, "And I didn't really make copies of the DVD." She chuckled. "Oh, Mia's more gullible than you'd think…"

"That kid is a total brat!" Mia fumed angrily, fists clenched tightly. After a few seconds, her anger faltered. "But I guess I was worse when I was her age… But not nearly as verbose. Did you hear her talk? What three year old do you know that talks like that? …Still, this is too good of an offer to pass up. Twenty five thousand dollars can buy a lot of shoes." She smirked and added, "This is the start of a beautiful alliance…"

*T*S*R*

Smack in the middle of the forest, Candace was walking along, happy as she could be. But, of course, that wasn't saying much with her. She was singing a Lady Gaga song to herself, hoping no one was around to hear her less than perfect voice. "Let's have some fun, this beat is sick! I wanna take a ride on your disco-"

She suddenly got a huge pain in her head, and stopped walking to rub her temples. "Owie!" She leaned on a strong oak tree for a moment, still rubbing her head. "I feel weakish…" She thought over what she had done today, trying to think if she had done anything differently than she usually did. Something must have been done differently in order for her to feel this bad this quickly! She had eaten breakfast, she took a shower, and she did everything she normally did in the morning. Still, she couldn't help but feel like something was slipping her mind…

"Maybe I should have taken some ibuprofen before coming out here…" At the mention of the word 'take', Candace immediately straightened herself up, brown eyes wide. A very bad word slipped from her lips and she quickly dug around in her pocket, pulling out a small medical device. "No, no, no! How could I forget to take it? I never forget!"

She put the glucometer up to her finger, letting the lancet prick her finger. She barely felt the pain, having done it so many times before… She waited for the results, blanching when she received them. "Oh, God… My blood sugar's getting pretty low…"

The usually chipper girl was starting to feel even weaker, so she slid down to take a seat by the tree. "M-Maybe somebody will come by," she told herself, a small, optimistic smile on her face. "This forest isn't that big! I'll just rest myself up for now, and if nobody comes, I'll hopefully have enough energy to make it back to camp to take my shot…"

She leaned her head against the tree trunk and as the minutes passed, the bright side of things were quickly fading on her, which they rarely did. Wrapping her arms around herself, like she was giving herself a little hug, Candace quietly muttered, "Stupid diabetes…"

AAAHHH!

WHAT'S WITH ALL THE CLIFFHANGERS, KELSEY?

…

I dunno. Cliffhangers are fuuuuuun.

But what's in store for our beloved campers? What will become of Keith and Marilee? Will Grace and Mia's alliance last more than one episode? Will Selena shoot Gwen? Will those squirrels ever finish their sexy game of leap frog? Why are we just now hearing about Candace's diabetes? (There actually is a reason I waited so long to reveal that last part. This is one of the rare things that I didn't come up with ten minutes before writing the chapter…)

Find out next time on Total! Sibling! Rivalry!

PS- Thanks to Ironbloodaika for the challenge idea! You rock, Clark! :D