She staggered through the dripping forest, brushing the occasional branch, leaf, or vine out of her path. Before long the scene she had been seeking was exposed. If it weren't for the fact that it had been days since they had crashed, and there was still no sign that they were going to be recued anytime soon: Lauren wouldn't even think of complaining about where they were; Sure there was a lot of rain, and it was exceedingly hot, and they were losing an unhealthy amount of weight… but she was with her best friends in the most beautiful place she could have ever imagined.
The waterfall was a good twenty feet tall and set in against a small cliff: Joe, Liam, and Clark and climbed up there the day of its discovery and reported back that the waterfall was at the end of a small river that travelled back a few yards before turning into yet another, much higher, waterfall. The fresh falling water was the clearest anyone had ever seen, and though the girls were disappointed it was missing a romantic cove behind it, they couldn't complain when you could see straight down, for what had to be, over fifty feet. This drop was a near perfect circle in the water at the immediate bottom of the waterfall, but the pond itself expanded out further in a not-so-perfect shape. The remaining body was quite shallow, maybe 6 feet deep at its greatest depth.
Snapping herself from her appreciative daze, Lauren focused on the people enjoying the crisp water. Jackson, the filmmaker, was there spending time with two other women from their flight. The oasis was also the setting for Jaime and Joey, who were in a very deep discussion on the other side of the pond. Joey's hands were flying as he spoke, Jaime still looked peeved, but Lauren could tell she was making an effort to listen to what their lanky friend was saying and trying to keep an open mind.
"What have I missed?" Hot breathe tickled her right ear.
"FUCK-Darren!" The little spy screeched, tearing the humongous leaf she had snooping from behind, "Christ, were you trying to kill me? Because I think it worked." She asked with scared eyes, "I think I am dead now, and I am speaking to you as a ghost."
The more famous of the two chuckled, gripping her petite shoulders gently he guided her back to a face-forward position, successfully putting her head back in the game.
"So what has happened thus far?"
"Previously on 'Dikrats'", She dropped her voice three octaves, putting on her best narrator voice, "12 friends crashed onto a tropical island and the result? Love is being rekindled", She looks pointedly at him, "and secrets are being spilled. The drama is just heating up."
Darren rolled his eyes, "You don't know, do you?"
"Nope."
The two continue peering out from behind the foliage. Their breath stops in-tandem as the subjects of their mission embrace and smile cautiously at each other.
"Are they just okay now, or have they admitted their undying love for each other?" The woman asks.
"Lo, you know this isn't actually a reality drama."
"I know ,I know" She sighs defeatedly, then cracks a smirk and looks back at her long time friend, "This is more like a mediocre fanfiction where we all are going to fall in love with each other and then live happily ever after."
He laughs and straightens himself up from their crouched positions, "Well, I don't know about you, but I am pulling for a happy ending." Placing his palm on the small of her back, he guides the both of them back in the direction of their beach.
They were about the step through the line of trees when Darren caught her upper arm and pulled her back. The half hour walk which had been previously upbeat and light, suddenly turned much more serious, not grave, but enough for the smaller to turn and focus.
"Do you think if I asked her, she'd say yes." He said softly. There was no need to explain further, Lauren understood.
"Yeah… Yeah, I really do." She nodded. The corners of his lips lifted a bit before her looked back up to meet her gaze again.
"Do you honestly think it will work this time. You know, because I feel like this is my last shot." Darren was not a hesitant guy, not many successful actors are, Lauren after about 8 years of knowing him, and knowing him well. The brunette could not think of a single time she had ever seen her curly haired friend this distraught, this nervous, this cautiously hopeful about anything. Knowing this was for her best friend made her feel like the Grinch with a growing heart.
She put a dainty hand on his shoulder, smiled a watery smile, and looked into his earnest green eyes, "She would give you all the chances in the world, Darren, because she loves you. I think we all have just been waiting for you to pull your head out of your ass and realize that she feels the same way about you."
Giving him a small squeeze, she stepped out onto the blinding sand, leaving lover boy to his thoughts in the trees.
"I swear everyone is falling in love except me." She muttered to herself as she passed Brian and Meredith making out under the tent. Squinting towards the ocean, her gaze landed on the backwards capped and shirtless Joe Walker, who stood placidly in the surf. Her hands, which had been shielding the sun from her eyes, dropped down to rest on her waist, "Rather, everyone's love is being reciprocated out here except for me."