Before Garraty could react, McVries grabbed him by the shoulders and dunked him under the water. He pushed his way back up to the surface, gasping. McVries was laughing.
Garraty decided that the best course of action to take was to take him, the fact that they were both completely naked be damned. McVries went down, still laughing and choking when he got water in his mouth. He pulled Garraty down with him. Garraty just managed to keep his head above water, wondering when the last time he'd had this much fun was.
They battled in the sea for a few more minutes before making their way for the show. Garraty collapsed on the sand and immediately regretted it. He was going to need to re-wash before he put his clothes back on. And he was probably going to get a sunburn. Damn it. He picked himself up and headed back out, getting the sand off of him as efficiently as he could. It took a lot less time than it had before, because there was no McVries to distract him. Once he got done and out, a freshly dressed McVries handed him his clothes. The other boy's black hair stuck to his face, to his scar…
The scar… Garraty really wondered about the scar.
He asked about it as he got dressed. "So, how'd you get the scar?" he asked. McVries looked startled.
"The scar," he said. He sounded almost bitter. Garraty wondered if he shouldn't have waited to ask this question. "Love sucks, Ray Garraty. Or maybe it doesn't when you have a normal girl; I wouldn't know. But all romantic love I've ever known sucks."
"Oh," Garraty said, unsure what to say. Now fully dressed, he realized just how hungry he was. "I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat."
"That's a fantastic idea," McVries said, slinging an arm around Garraty's shoulders and walking him back to the place with the fire and the fruit. Pearson was watching the fire with the other bespectacled boy – the one who'd liked writing. Harkness. The fruit was mostly gone, only a few bananas and a mango were left. "Anyone mind if we take these?" McVries asked, scooping up two bananas and the mango. Pearson waved a hand at them.
"Take it," he said, shrugging. McVries grinned at Garraty and took off through the trees. Garraty followed, having nothing better to do. Also, he wanted that mango. If he didn't follow McVries, he'd be stuck with one runty banana that wasn't even ripe yet.
McVries eventually stopped in a pretty clearing. He sat down on a fallen tree, and Garraty sat beside him. McVries handed him one of the bananas wordlessly. Garraty ate quickly, eying the mango.
"I thought we'd share it," McVries said, shrugging. "I mean, it was either that or rock-paper-scissors, and I suck at rock-paper-scissors."
"Okay," Garraty said. McVries took a bite of the mango and handed it over to Garraty. Garraty bit off the other side and handed it back. They passed the fruit between them, and eventually McVries tossed the weird skinny pit-thing away from them.
"This is a decent place," McVries said. "A hell of a lot better than New Jersey."
"Better than Maine, too," Garraty said. "Except the fact that we'll be stuck with fruit for a while."
"Fruit for the rest of our miserable lives!" McVries said, grinning at Garraty. Garraty grinned back.
"Hate to break up your lovely little date, but we're having a meeting," Olson drawled. Garraty glanced up. Olson was standing a few feet away, looking at them with raised eyebrows. Garraty flushed a little and stood up. "Coming, McVries?"
"Yeah, yeah, hold on," McVries muttered, throwing a banana peel at him. Olson rolled his eyes and walked away. Garraty followed him, glancing at McVries, who looked pissed. McVries seemed to have a mood-swing problem.
Back at their lame little camp, Parker was standing in the center of the group. Everyone except Abraham and Barkovitch sat – Abraham stood leaning against a tree near the edge of the group and Barkovitch was slouched against a tree on the opposite side, glaring at them – and McVries and Garraty saw nothing better to do but join them.
"Finally fucking joining us?" Parker asked. McVries gave him the finger. He rolled his eyes. "Anyway. We're gonna get… organized, or some shit. Really, if it was up to me, you'd all just do whatever you goddam want. But people keep asking me 'what they're supposed to do' and 'what's going on' and to be honest, it's just really fucking annoying. So. This is what we're going to do. Abe's in charge of building shelters so we don't fucking freeze if there's a storm or something. Baker's in charge of body burial. Davidson's in charge of food. I'm in charge of all you bastards. If you want to complain, complain to McVries because I don't want to fucking hear it."
"What happens once we start going savage?" Stebbins asked. Parker muttered something obscene under his breath and sighed.
"Well, freak, we're just not gonna let that happen," he said. "Why the hell would-"
"That's what a few dozen British schoolboys thought, too," Stebbins said, nodding. "They went psycho."
"Look, if you're tryin' to reference that goddam book about the goddam island and pig head or whatever, just shut the fuck up," Parker said. "Who the hell would be psycho enough to try and fucking kill a pig. I don't even know if there are pigs on this goddam island."
"It'd be nice if there was some sort of animal," some kid said. "I don't want to eat fruit forever."
"Someone can lead some guys to fish or whatever," Parker said, waving a hand dismissively. "Now, we've got like half a fucking day left or whatever. Abe, get these guys building. I'm going to go take a nap. I'm fucking exhausted."
"Feel like slipping off to fish?" McVries asked Garraty. "Isn't it stereotypical for people who fish to be from Maine?"
Garraty rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever," he said. "Let's go."
This chapter was fun so much Gavries goodness.