"Last time on Total Drama…"
"The teams went head-to-head in a relay race for immunity! Falling boulders, water obstacles, killer animals, and trapezes, there were some unpleasant surprises in it for everybody! The Jaguars had a strong lead, but Julia's forethought closed the gap when a sudden phone call risked turning Bowie into Jaguar food! And when Ripper and MK's fighting distracted them from the challenge, Axel was able to breeze right through and win it for her team! But hey, they had some self-awareness! Knowing they were both on the chopping block, Ripper and MK made a pact to turn both their alliances against a mutual enemy; Scary Girl! Ripper and Chase followed through, but when MK, Bowie, and Raj flipped at the last second, that was a wrap on Ripper!"
"The Jaguars were having some teamwork problems, so Priya took it upon herself to get everybody working as a team! Yeah, that worked about as well as you'd expect. Bowie and MK were having none of it, and teamed up to sabotage not only their own team, but the other team as well! A certain influencer caught them, but in a classic "Boy Who Cried Wolf", no one believed poor Julia! Now no one knows who to trust, and the drama is just getting started! Right here, on Total! Drama! Island!"
—-
Nighttime had come and gone, and the morning hadn't proved any more pleasant than the evening before.
Damien and Priya were the first to make it to breakfast; Priya was an early riser, and Damien had wanted to check up on her after the mess of yesterday. Everyone had gone to bed in a bad mood, but Priya easily suffered the worst of it. Getting stolen from was bad enough, but on the one day Priya had been so excited for? Damien really wanted a word with whoever pulled that.
But of course, Damien had no idea who that actually was. There were a whole ton of suspects, and Damien didn't wanna run around pointing fingers! MK, Bowie, Julia, Emma, Scary Girl… a one in five chance was not a risk Damien wanted to take! So for now, his plan was to comfort Priya. His teammate picked aimlessly at her food, and Damien still found himself at a loss for words. What could he say to make this better?
"Aww, why the long face?"
Luckily, Bowie beat him to it. He and Raj arrived together, and Bowie took the spot to Priya's left. Raj sat next to him, and the couple set their trays down and Bowie eyed Priya curiously. When Priya didn't say anything, Damien took it upon himself to answer for her. "She's still a little bummed out after yesterday. Real stressful stuff, y'know."
"Hey, it's all good!" Raj piped up with a smile. "We'll figure out who did it! It's like one of those sick detective shows, y'know? Like Sherlock Homes!"
"Sherlock Holmes, Raj." Bowie corrected. Raj chuckled sheepishly, and Damien couldn't help but crack a smile. At least they were in a good mood, right? And hey, it never hurt to stay positive! Usually! "But he is right. We'll find our thief sooner or later."
For the first time that morning, Priya spoke up. "You… don't sound very worried."
Bowie waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, Priya. That's because I'm not!" He chuckled at the incredulous look Priya gave him before continuing. "I mean, I know I didn't do it. MK was with me all day, Chase and Damien were together, Raj was always with somebody, and you going to the Rhino cabin when we could've come back any time is way too risky!"
"And Scary Girl?" Damien reluctantly prompted.
"Dude, if it was Scary Girl, just let her keep the stuff." MK dropped her tray onto the table, before sliding into the seat across from Raj. "Otherwise she's gonna maim us, and I'd honestly rather keep my face."
"MK!" Priya scolded, crossing her arms with a disapproving frown. "Don't talk about her that way, Scary Girl's our teammate! She wouldn't do that, okay?"
As if on cue, Scary Girl joined them, taking the seat right next to MK. "Ooooh!" She squealed, eagerly looking around the table. "Who's getting maimed!?"
"If this were a sitcom, I guarantee we'd be hearing a super generic laugh track right about now," MK commented, fiddling with her fork as she spoke. "Still think Psycho McMurder over here "wouldn't do that"?" In turn, Scary Girl grabbed the fork from MK's hand, and yanked the girl closer by the collar of her shirt.
"Do we have a volunteer?"
"Woah, okay!" MK yanked the fabric from Scary Girl's pale hand, and jumped to her feet. "Somebody switch seats with me!" Scary Girl blinked innocently, her smile unfaltering. Man, that girl was creepy! Damien admired Priya for befriending her and living!
Speaking of Priya, she sighed and stood up, bringing her tray along with her. She walked around the table and sat down directly next to Scary Girl, while MK took the now vacant spot between Damien and Bowie.
Bowie shook his head with a click of his tongue. "Honestly, MK, your big mouth is gonna be the death of you one of these days."
"Yeah? I'll believe that when I see it."
"Famous last words."
Chase was the last to arrive. He showed up with his tray of food as MK and Bowie went back and forth, and practically tossed it onto the table. Damien winced at the sound, and a few people glared at their newly arrived teammate. Chase either didn't notice or didn't care (and with Chase it was a 50/50 shot for either), and took a seat next to Priya without a word. The Jaguars, save for Raj and Scary Girl, exchanged confused looks, but Chase having nothing to say was rare!
No one dared question it.
—-
The Rhinos weren't really having much better luck.
Axel clearly hadn't slept, Nichelle was still pretty moody after yesterday, and Julia really required no explanation. Normally, it'd be Wayne to cheer the group up and give them motivation for the next challenge. The guy was an endless source of energy, and Caleb respected the morale he brought to the group. Unfortunately for them, Wayne hadn't showed up for breakfast yet. Which meant it was up to Caleb and Emma to cheer things up a bit. Lucky day. But to be completely fair to Emma, she was trying.
"So, guys!" The blonde began, warily scanning the tired faces around the table. "Um… have any dreams last night?" Despite her best efforts, all she got in turn was a couple glares, plus some mockery courtesy of Julia.
"Girl, please." The influencer rolled her eyes, scrolling through her phone disinterestedly. "Nobody's having any good dreams with you around!"
"Hey!"
"hEy!"
Of course. "Hey, now, that's enough." Caleb gently scolded Julia. He'd grown pretty used to intervening in fights at this rate. And as much as he wasn't fond of Emma, he could appreciate that she was trying. "Let's try to cheer up a little, okay? I know we're all stressed about yesterday, but we can't do anything right now. So let's focus on the things we can do. Alright?"
"Um, hello? In case you forgot, everyone ganged up on me yesterday! I have a right to be angry!"
"You do," Caleb agreed. "But not to let it affect our performance as a team."
[CONFESSIONAL: CALEB]
"To be perfectly honest, I don't particularly like a whole ton of my teammates. The ones still on the island, anyway. Julia's a perfect example." Caleb sighed and shook his head. "She's a strong competitor, but that hardly matters when she's rarely willing to work with the team. I swear, the next time we lose…"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
"Whatever," Julia scoffed, returning her attention to the phone in her hand. Caleb kept any retort to himself. Julia would get what was coming to her eventually, but right now he had no interest in starting a fight.
Luckily, their savior soon arrived in the form of Wayne. "Ey, boys, mornin'!" He greeted the group cheerfully, as if nothing had happened. He balanced a ridiculous amount of food on his tray as he cautiously set it down, and beamed at the rest of the team. "Real sweet o' the coaches to give us all this grub, eh?"
"And where have you been?" Axel demanded, shooting a half-glare his way. Maybe it was a good thing that Wayne was painfully oblivious, judging by how he didn't pick up on it at all. The last thing they needed was another fight.
"Stayed in the cabin," Wayne explained as he took his seat. "Doin' one last sweep, ya know? Real bummed out about losin' my lucky whistle, so…" He shrugged. "Wanted to see if I just put it somewhere or somethin'."
Nichelle set her fork aside before chiming in. "Oh! Any luck?"
"Nah. Was really hopin', but uh…" The dirty blond smiled sadly. "Got some dang bad luck today, eh?"
Caleb frowned. On one hand, he was glad Wayne showed up in a good mood nonetheless. He wasn't really sure how much longer he could handle Emma awkwardly trying to start a conversation. On the other, though, he did feel bad for Wayne. He seemed pretty disheartened by the whole ordeal, and it looked like all his friends (however much Caleb disapproved of them), were Jaguars. So he offered what support he could. "I'm sorry to hear that. Was it important to you?"
That got him a nod of affirmation. At the very least, Wayne seemed to brighten up a little. "My pops gave it to me! Been usin' it since I was, oh, maybe seven? 'Round there! Always got it on me before a big game!" His smile dropped. "He's gonna be real upset when I tell 'im I lost it, though."
"Hey, don't think like that!" Emma reassured him. "It'll turn up!"
"Besides, it's just a whistle," Julia added. "Not the end of the world. So… maybe get over it?"
Wayne opened his mouth to retort, but Caleb raised a hand to silence him. "Ignore her. You'll find it sooner or later, I'm sure." Would he? Caleb had no idea. But if lying made him feel better, then it was the best Caleb could offer. Luckily for him, Wayne seemed to buy it instantly, nodding with a smile.
"Yeah… yeah! I'll just keep lookin' later! Hey, thanks, guys!"
"Don't mention it."
"Right, so, changing the subject," Julia spoke up again, and Caleb internally groaned. "How the heck do you plan to eat all that? For reals, you should consider dieting."
Nichelle proceeded to choke on her food, and Emma gasped. Wayne, however, took it in stride. "Nah, no biggie! I'm great at eating!" He answered with a smile. "Won a whole bunch o' eatin' competitions! Heck, I eat stuff in my sleep sometimes!"
Silence fell over the table as everyone stared at Wayne. Emma and Julia didn't look surprised, but even they seemed pretty confused. The only thought going through Caleb's head was that that could not be safe.
"...I didn't eat our stuff, if that's what you're thinkin'. For serious, I checked!" The hockey player briefly paused. "Could look again, though?"
"Wait, how exactly are you checking–" Nichelle began. She was abruptly cut off by the signature high-pitched screech of the speakers.
"Oh, campers!" The contestants collectively groaned upon hearing Chris's voice. "It's challenge time! Meet me at the docks! Oh, and I'd change into your swimsuits if I were you!"
Caleb felt his blood run cold. A swimming challenge…
Just great.
—-
Emma was the first of her team to finish changing. They were taking turns, so she didn't really blame anyone for taking longer, but she had, like, no idea if they were supposed to wait for the rest of the team or just go straight to the docks, or…? Chris was terrible at specifying!
"Morning, Emma."
The mention of her name got the blonde's attention. She turned to spot Priya approaching her, Damien in tow. "Priya, hey! Morning!" She turned her focus toward the boy with Priya, offering him an enthusiastic wave too, which Damien returned (with a little less energy). "How are you feeling? Yesterday got pretty messy, huh?"
Her friend sighed, and Emma immediately felt bad for bringing it up. In her defense, she wasn't trying to upset Priya or anything! But Priya looked pretty stressed the night before… Emma would have wanted someone to ask her in that situation. That was fair! …Right?
"It's been exhausting," Priya answered with a weak smile. "But Damien's been great, so I guess I'm feeling a bit better. Kind of." That earned her a smile from Damien. Emma almost wished she could switch teams! …But that'd mean getting stuck with Chase and Bowie. Ugh. "What about you?" Priya's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "You had a rough couple of days this season, right? How are you holding up?"
"Well, I'm managing! It's been kind of hectic, but I think I'm handling it… well…"
Emma trailed off. Speaking of Bowie, he and his little posse were on the move. He passed Emma without sparing a single glance her way, even though she knew he saw her. He always glared at Emma when he saw her! What the heck? Just for good measure, though, Emma gave him a good glare. Served him right for ignoring her!
Priya seemed to take note of it regardless. "Are you and Bowie still fighting?" She asked, successfully regaining Emma's attention. "I thought maybe you'd have made up by now."
"Yeah, right!" Emma forced a laugh, almost no amusement at all behind it. "I am never going to be friends with him again! Sure, we had some good times together, but we're done!"
Priya and Damien exchanged odd looks. Emma suddenly felt a little self conscious as they looked at each other, then back at her. "Well…" Priya tried again, offering a timid smile. "It does kind of look like you miss him. And he was trying to look out for you, right? I… I think?"
Miss him? Miss him? Miss Bowie? "I do not miss Bowie!" Emma snapped. Priya recoiled, and the blonde let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. That was like… wow. But I don't! Really! He voted off Chase behind my back, and like, yeah, Chase is totally the worst, but I didn't think that at the time! He totally backstabbed me on purpose!" Damien started to say something, but Emma went on. "And then, he called me pathetic! Like, how am I the pathetic one when you're so threatened by somebody else's relationship, right!? You know what I mean?"
Damien waited a minute, just in case Emma wasn't finished. After a few beats of silence, he spoke up. "Sorry… when was all this, exactly?"
"You were long gone by then. Don't worry too much about it," Priya patted her teammate on the shoulder, before returning her focus to Emma. "Okay, so Bowie definitely handled things… pretty wrong, I guess. But I still think maybe he thought he was doing what was best for you?" Emma snarled, and Priya raised her hands placatingly. "O-Okay, maybe not the right thing, but I think he was probably trying to! All I'm saying is, sometimes all you have to do to fix a friendship is be open to it! I was totally at Millie's throat last season, and look at us now!"
That was… weirdly true. Emma hated to admit it, but Priya did have a point; she was furious with Millie when that whole notebook thing happened, and yet Emma could easily recall their final goodbye this season. Smiles, hugs… but whatever! It didn't even matter. Bowie and Emma weren't like Priya and Millie. Bowie was a two-faced, backstabbing, lying little…!
A hand on her arm snapped Emma out of those thoughts. She looked up to find that the hand belonged to a smiling Priya.
"Just think about it."
—-
Ugh.
Don't get Julia wrong, she was always happy to show off a new swimsuit. But the downside to a swimming challenge? No. Phones. None. And what was Julia supposed to do without her phone!? Talking to any of her buttknuckle teammates was totally off the table because ew, Julia had standards! This was literally the worst. It was whatever, 'cause, like, the other Rhinos didn't want to talk to her anyway. But that was a problem of its own.
[CONFESSIONAL: JULIA]
"So, here's the thing; Bowie and MK totally made me look sketchy. To my entire team! So now, if we don't win, who do you think they're gonna vote for, huh!? ME!" Julia took a deep breath, humming to herself as she simmered down. "Which means I have one option, and one option only; WIN."
[CONFESSIONAL END]
Whatever this challenge was, Julia would have to go all out to win it. And she would. Her teammates couldn't vote her off if they won! And why not, right? It got Julia to the final four, why shouldn't it take her far again? That was her logic, and she was sticking to it!
—-
Bowie arrived at the docks before long, Raj and MK right on his tail. It was about time they had a swimming challenge! Bowie was beginning to think he packed a swimsuit for no reason! And that was a crime of its own, thank you very much.
Sometime while their little trio awaited the rest of their team, Wayne approached them. "Mornin', gang!" He greeted them with his usual gusto, and Bowie really had to learn where he got all that energy! "How's it goin', eh?"
"Hey, dude!" Raj was the first to answer, to nobody's surprise. The hockey bros shared a fistbump. "Pretty good! Totally beat'cha here."
That earned him an offended gasp from Wayne. "Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Ahem!" Bowie interjected, loudly coughing into his fist. As adorable as their little back and forth could be, it got a little… repetitive. "Good morning, Wayne." He changed the subject, nodding at the dirty blond. Wayne grinned, and enthusiastically waved back.
"Heya, Bowie!" After a moment of what Bowie assumed was thought–it was a little tough to tell with Wayne–he turned his attention to the third Jaguar. "Ey, MK! G'mornin'!"
While Bowie wasn't necessarily surprised, he felt sorry for Wayne when MK didn't answer him. MK was no socialite, but she could stand to be a little easier on the poor thing! But of course, Wayne being Wayne, the hockey bro hardly seemed to take the hint. "Still wearin' your hat, eh?" He tried again, cheerful as ever. "Solid choice! Hats are pretty sick, yeah?"
…
MK completely ignored him. Did she have a heart of stone, or what!? But Wayne was equal parts clueless and determined, and Bowie kind of wanted to see where this went! So when Wayne started with a long tangent of "MK! Hey, MK! MK! MK! MK! Hey, MK!", Bowie didn't stop him. He forced the smirk off his face and watched amusedly as MK's eye twitched, and her shoulders visibly tensed.
"Hi."
[CONFESSIONAL: WAYNE]
"MK's sure not talkin' to me a bunch…" Wayne muttered, a thoughtful expression crossing his features. He shook his head, and a smile made its way onto his face. "But s'all good! She's for sure a li'l shy, but I think I'm gettin' through to her!"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
[CONFESSIONAL: MK]
MK groaned, head in her hands. "Why me?"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
It was a one-word greeting, and not a very friendly-sounding one at that, but Wayne seemed satisfied. MK huffed and rolled her eyes as Wayne turned his attention back to Raj. "So, what'cha think, Raji, what're we doin' today?"
Raj tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Oh! What if it's like a race? Y'know, like those ones on TV? We'd for sure crush that, eh?" Bowie smiled. It was just like Raj to forget that Wayne wasn't on their team.
"For sure!" Wayne eagerly agreed. "I'm a dang good swimmer, ya know! Get done that thing in a minute flat!"
"I'm not bad myself," Bowie finally chimed in. Both boys turned to look at him as he spoke. "Did I ever tell you I'm on the swim team back home?"
Raj gasped. "No! Since when? What's it like? Can I watch you practice? When'd you start? I'm a good swimmer, too! We can practice together! We… hey, quit lookin' at me like that!" The brunette bashfully demanded of a smirking Wayne. "I-I'm just askin'!" Unfortunately for poor Raj, his face only turned redder when Bowie started to giggle. And how could he not? Raj was just adorable! "Uh… um…" The brunette awkwardly scrambled for some kind of distraction. "Hey, uh, MK! Whaddaya think the challenge is?"
"Nope. You leave me the heck outta this."
—-
"Hey, Emma."
Emma let out a long, VERY frustrated sigh. She didn't even have to look to know who was talking. But she did anyway, and of course, there was Chase. Chase, with his stupid smug look on his stupid smug face on his stupid smug head attached to his stupid smug body! Ugh. He'd be a stupid, smug body in a second…
"Hey."
"So, what do you think? I got a new swimsuit! Pretty sweet, right?" And immediately, Chase was talking about himself. Of course. "I wanted to get one with our logo, but y'know," He shrugged. "I blew all our sponsor money for the month."
[CONFESSIONAL: EMMA]
Emma giggled to herself, giving the camera a manic grin. "See that? See? He blew all our sponsor money for the month? WE'VE BEEN HERE THE WHOLE MONTH!" The blonde crossed her arms in a huff. "He's just that irresponsible! Like, he was at home for maybe five days this month! How do you blow all that money in five days? OHOHO, BY BEING CHASE!"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
"One, you look terrible!" Emma snapped, jabbing a finger into Chase's chest. "And two, there is no "our" sponsor money anymore, there is no "us" anymore!"
Chase, as expected, was unfazed. "Hey, c'mon! You know you can't resist my rugged good looks! Rawr, am I right?" He chuckled to himself, still smirking under Emma's gaze of pure murder. She'd respect his confidence if she didn't hate him so much!
"No, you're NOT right!" The blonde shouted, grabbing a fistful of Chase's hoodie and yanking him toward her. "You are literally the worst! You don't look good, you don't sound good, you don't act good! YOU DON'T ANYTHING GOOD!"
Chase snickered. "Grammar much?" Emma snarled, a crazed look swimming through her eyes. "Yup, okay, good talk!" He yanked himself out of Emma's grip, and ducked behind his teammates for protection. Emma smiled. Total coward! But at least he could go be a thorn in somebody else's side for a change!
—-
Damien winced. Emma was still seething from her encounter with Chase, who had taken shelter behind Bowie's trio, and coincidentally next to Damien. Did Chase ever listen to Damien's advice? No, he did not. But still, a guy could try, right?
"You really oughta start hearin' her out," He suggested, putting on his best 'I'm-just-advising-I'm-not-telling-but-actually-I'm-telling' voice. Chase looked his way, visibly unimpressed. "I mean it! Think she'd maybe be less… y'know… peeved if you listened to her every now and then. Know what I mean?"
Chase groaned. "Dude, you keep saying that! But Emma's just like that! I mess with her, she gets super mad and yells, she dumps me, and then takes me back eventually!" You'd think for a guy saying such messed up things, he'd show a little more concern. Damien thought that, anyway. He was wrong. "It's how it goes! It's fine, dude!"
"That seems… not fine…?" Priya awkwardly chimed in. Damien nodded, silently voicing his agreement. All that got from Chase was a very theatrical eyeroll.
"Look, man, I just think–"
Priya stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "I think maybe you should drop it," She advised him in a hushed tone. "Chase won't listen." Unfortunately for them, Priya definitely wasn't talking quietly enough to prevent the camper in question from overhearing. But fortunately, he seemed to take it in stride.
[CONFESSIONAL: CHASE]
"Uh, yeah! Goody-two-shoes are so lame!" He trailed off, silently thinking over something. "Is… is it 'goody-two-shoes', or 'goody-two-shoeses'? 'Cause, like, you call one person a goody-two-shoes, what if there's more than one? What do you call them? Still goody-two-shoes?" Just like that, Chase was back to his usual enthusiasm. "Dude, this is the most important thing anyone's ever said!"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
—-
Chris sat on a lifeguard chair in the middle of the lake, overlooking the campers waiting on the docks. A little in front of the chair was a floating dock. One side was lined with gold paint, and the other with silver. A few feet behind the gold side was another floating dock, lined completely with gold paint, with a Jaguar emblem in the middle. Behind the Rhino side, a dock lined entirely with silver paint, and a Rhino emblem. "Campers! Welcome to your next challenge!" He greeted the group cheerfully. Never a good sign. "Today's challenge is simple! In a moment, Chef will pick up each team and bring them to one of the floating docks!"
"Each team will take turns sending a teammate up to the dock in the middle. There, one person from each team will face off against each other! Both will have a dueling stick at their disposal, and anybody who touches the water for any reason gives the other team a point! The team with the most points after an hour wins! Any questions?" Damien raised his hand. "Any non-safety related questions?" Damien lowered his hand.
"Yeah, I got one!" Chase piped up. "Does everybody on both teams have to go up, or can we just send one person over and over again?"
"Excellent question!" Chase grinned. "The short answer; no. The long answer; no, but if the game ends in a tie, I'll be picking one person from each team at random to participate in a tiebreaker. If anyone from either team hasn't gone, they take priority! Now, anybody else?" This time, nobody spoke up. "Wonderful! Chef! Come pick 'em up!"
—-
The Rhinos just stood around for the most part. Caleb wasn't especially surprised, honestly. This was kind of an awkward position to be in, especially considering they had no clue who the Jaguars were sending out. And Caleb didn't want to just voluntell somebody. He hated when his teachers did that… but that wasn't the point. Looked like it was up to Caleb to take charge again. "So…" He began, his voice cutting through the silence. "...Any volunteers to go first?"
His teammates looked at each other for a moment, then back at Caleb. After a few seconds of agonizing silence, Axel spoke up. "We oughta send out somebody in the middle," She suggested. "Strength-wise, I mean. See if we can figure out their strategy before throwing' our strongest players at 'em."
"Uh…" The attention turned to Emma, the blonde awkwardly gesturing across the lake. "I think they're just waiting for us to pick somebody?" Caleb glanced over his shoulder, just to check. Sure enough, the entirety of their rival team was just… staring at them.
Nichelle sputtered in shock. "That is so lazy!"
"Um, ever heard of the phrase 'work smarter, not harder'?" Julia snarked, earning herself a pretty dirty look from Nichelle. Axel, too. Caleb was gonna have to break up a fight at some point. He just knew it. "Probs not since you don't do much of either, but for reals, try to keep up!"
"That's enough. We need somebody to go first. I'll do it if no one else will, but–"
"I got this, boys!" Wayne cut him off with his signature grin. "I'm pretty dang tough, ya know? Net us that point in twelve seconds flat!" As soon as the words left his mouth, the Jaguar team huddled up and began what looked like a pretty heated discussion. Well, it was their problem now.
Caleb patted Wayne on the back with a nod of approval. "You got this. Try not to think too much, okay?"
"He'll be fine," Julia scoffed. The influencer barely spared them a glance as she spoke. "He, like, never thinks anyway."
"Yeah!" Wayne brightly agreed. The Rhinos exchanged awkward glances as they watched the cogs turn in their teammate's head. For a while.
…
"Hey!"
—-
"First match!" Chris announced, rubbing his hands together deviously. "Wayne from the Royal Rhinos versus Raj from the Jagged Jaguars! That is a matchup I did not see coming!
"Ready, Raji?" Wayne prompted, tossing his dueling stick from one hand to the other, then back again. He tried twirling it before that, but he kinda dropped it. Chef seemed real mad when he had to bring it back. "Ain't goin' easy on ya!"
Raj's grin widened, almost matching Wayne's own. "I ain't scared of you!" He shouted back. Both boys readied themselves. "Gonna beat'cha harder than our eating competitions!"
"Ohohoho! Them's fightin' words, Raji!"
"Yeah!? BRING IT ON!"
Wayne barely had a second to react before Raj came at him. He narrowly dodged a jab to the side, then another to the head. "Ha!" He taunted, swinging his own weapon in retaliation. "I already know all your moves!"
His dueling stick swung right into Raj's shoulder, but his best friend barely flinched. Instead, he came back with even more energy than before, landing a solid hit right in Wayne's abdomen. Wayne felt all the air suddenly escape his body. His shocked wheeze alarmed Raj, who abruptly stopped. "Crap, you okay?"
Dang, that hurt! He had to take lessons from Raj or something! Wayne took a minute to regain his composure, before finally straightening up. "All good!" He confirmed. Raj visibly relaxed. "Game on!"
And just like that, they were back to fighting. Every hit one landed, the other returned with double the force. Their smiles never faltered as the boys fought on, the cheers of their teammates nothing more than jumbled up noise. "So I was thinkin'," Raj began at some point during the duel. He spoke in a slightly hushed tone, and Wayne tilted his head a little, just to let Raj know he was listening. "There's a lot of spots for a picnic, right? Was hoping I could get some advice."
"For sure!" Wayne batted at Raj as the pair spoke. Raj jumped back and raised his own dueling stick, ready to strike back in retaliation. "What's up?"
Wayne raised his dueling stick to block the incoming hit, taking the opportunity to shove Raj backwards. "Woah! Clean hit!" The brunette launched himself forward again, and Wayne barely threw himself out of the way in time. "Whaddaya think's more romantic? The beach or the forest?" Huh. Wayne didn't actually think about that! "The forest's got flowers n' stuff, but all those commercials for romantic stuff always got beaches! And I dunno what Bowie'll like more!" He turned around and made another lunge at Wayne.
Raj, ya dummy!" Wayne chuckled. The sound of metal meeting metal barely disturbed their conversation at all despite the struggle, both giving it their all to push each other toward the edge. "Sand always gets in your food! Does Bowie like eatin' sand?"
"Uh…" Raj paused to consider this. "I dunno, I didn't ask!"
Well, dang. Wayne was joking, but it was super important now that he thought about it! "You gotta ask 'im, bro!"
Things were looking pretty bad for Wayne. Raj had gained the upperhand, and with one step back after another, Wayne soon found himself dang near cornered, and Raj was still tryna push him off! Still though, he had to help his bud! "It's a surprise! I can't ask him!"
"Aw, crap! What about MK? Or Emma, maybe!"
"Bowie still doesn't like Emma," Raj answered with a shrug. "And MK gets super mad about this stuff! It's hilarious! But I think if I ask her for love advice I'm gonna have to go back to the hospital!"
Wayne let out a hearty laugh. "HA! Sick, bro!" He and Raj both suddenly paused, and Raj actually looked a little hurt. "The joke, the joke!" Wayne clarified, and Raj's smile returned. "You goin' to the hospital would suck, dude!"
"Quit talking to him and FIGHT!" Came a shout from somewhere behind Wayne. Oh yeah, he kinda forgot about that part!
But just in case, Wayne wanted to check. "Awright, Raji, talk all done?"
"Yeah! Thanks, dude."
"Go get 'im, tiger!" Raj beamed at the encouragement. "Also, sorry!"
"Huh?"
Wayne abruptly stopped pushing back, and leapt out of Raj's path. His friend let out a screech of shock, stumbling forward before (unwillingly) diving headfirst into the water. Cheers erupted from the Rhino team, and Wayne raised his dueling stick above his head with a grin.
No more than a few seconds later, Raj emerged. He coughed up some water, and Wayne crouched by the edge of the dock to meet him. "Aw, no fair, dude! That's cheating! You totally cheated!" Despite Raj's complaints, a big smile had etched itself onto his face.
"Beat'cha fair and square, Raji!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Wayne wins the first match of the challenge, and takes a point for the Rhinos!" Chris announced, only serving to encourage the Rhino's cheers. "The Royal Rhinos are the first onto the scoreboard at 1 - 0!"
Raj chuckled. "Good game."
"Good game, good game!" Wayne echoed with a grin. His smile shifted to something softer as he added; "Good luck on your date, man. You're gonna sweep 'im off his feet!"
—-
MK stayed toward the back of the crowd. For once, she kept most of her snide remarks to herself.
She was still 100% thinking them, though. Seriously, how did Raj lose to Wayne? Heck, even she beat Wayne in a one-on-one fight! And sure, she only won because she had the element of surprise and Wayne screwed up, but Wayne was always screwing up! That was like, half the battle!
'Course, if she said anything she'd be forced to face the wrath of Bowie, A.K.A Sir Simpsalot, A.K.A frickin' founder of the Raj fanclub, apparently. "You need this alliance" was a phrase MK often found herself mentally repeating in their presence.
Speaking of, Raj swam back to the docks and hoisted himself up. Bowie helped him to his feet, while MK looked on in disinterest. "You two sure were chatty up there!" Bowie commented, offering Raj one of the towels that had been left folded-up on the dock. "What were you talking about?"
Raj, who had been about to dry himself off, proceeded to malfunction. His face flushed a vibrant red, and he began uselessly stumbling over his words. "What? No! Yes! Um… hockey! Hockey stuff! Ya know! Like, uh… goals! Yeah! Goals!" MK stifled a laugh. Real classy. It was pretty obvious that whatever they were talking about was not hockey, but who was she to call it out? That was the fun thing; MK really didn't care.
Whatever it was, though, Bowie dropped it quickly enough, and Raj's relief was clear. The rest of the team got to debating their next player, a discussion that MK stayed out of. Real talk? She was barely listening. She'd pick up on it if they said her name, but otherwise? Dude, who cared? It wasn't like the guys on the dock were actually doing anything anyway, so as far as MK was concerned, she could just chill out unless her teammates decided to force her into this. All she could really do was pray that they didn't. The only person on the other team MK could take in a fight was Nichelle. If she tried with anybody else, she'd prolly crack her skull open. And MK had no idea how hospitals worked, so she was not risking any medical bills. She couldn't afford that crap!
The surrounding quiet got MK's attention. She looked up, presuming the others had figured out their next player. This assumption proved correct when Priya stepped forward, awaiting Chef to come pick her up. When he finally did, his motorboat sprayed Priya, Damien, Bowie, and Raj with water. MK chuckled to herself, raising a hand to hide her smile.
That was why she was hanging in the back.
—-
Priya hopped off the boat, and onto the floating dock. She grabbed her team's dueling stick off the floor, frowning at the now wet handle. It wasn't unusable, but it would affect her grip a little… but that didn't matter! They were down a point, which meant the Jaguars needed Priya more than ever! But luckily, she had some support!
"WOO-HOO!" Priya didn't have to look to know the voice belonged to Damien. "YOU GOT IT, PRIYA! IT'S ALL YOU!" Her fist clenched around the dueling stick, and she slammed it down with a confident grin. She could do this!
[CONFESSIONAL: PRIYA]
"I trained for this kind of this all the time with my dad!" Priya beamed, and waved at the camera. "Thanks, dad!"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
That confidence faltered a little when Chef arrived with her opponent. Caleb stepped off the boat, and Priya was pretty sure she saw it bob up a little without the extra weight. Did that sound rude? That felt really rude…
"Priya," Caleb nodded at her, grabbing his own dueling stick off the ground. "Was hoping I'd get a chance to go against you."
Oh! Priya… did not see that coming! But he didn't sound condescending or anything… "Really?" She asked, failing to hide her disbelief. "Um… why?"
All that got her in turn was a shrug. "You're a fierce competitor. I respect that."
Priya felt her face heat up a little. She didn't get compliments often! "Hey, thanks! I bet you're really good, too!" She briefly paused. "N-Not that, like, you haven't been doing good, I've just been so focused on my own team that I haven't really paid attention to what you're doing, you probably already proved you're really good, just um–"
"It's alright." Caleb chuckled. "Don't give yourself a crisis."
"R-Right!"
"Next up," Chris began again. "The de-facto team leaders themselves! Priya from the Jaguars versus Caleb from the Rhinos!"
Caleb raised his weapon, his expression dead calm. "Ready when you are."
"Count of three?" Priya offered.
"Count of three."
"One…" Priya began, subtly adjusting her stance.
"Two…" Caleb continued.
"Three!"
And just like that, Priya sprung into action. She lunged at Caleb, who really didn't look all that concerned considering someone was going at him with a dueling stick. It didn't take long to find out why. Caleb effortlessly batted her away, sending Priya flying across the dock. "Sorry. It's not personal."
Priya landed with a yelp, and a few of her teammates gasped.
"Come oooooon, Priya!" Raj cheered. "Go get him! HOOT! HOOOOOT!" Okay, she didn't really understand the cheer, but she still appreciated Raj trying to support her!
"Right!" Pushing herself back to her feet, Priya dove forward again. She could do this! She could do this!
She could not do this.
Caleb one-handedly grabbed Priya's dueling stick before she could land even a single hit. Yeah, brute strength would be pretty convenient to have right now… he tossed Priya aside, and great, now he had her dueling stick! Crud.
Wasting no time, Priya got back up. Again. She grabbed ahold of whichever dueling stick Caleb tried to hit her with (she wasn't really paying attention to color right now), and flung herself over his head. Some people oohed and aahed, and even Caleb looked impressed. And that's when it hit Priya.
Caleb was too strong to take down in a fight. But Priya was faster.
She didn't give him the luxury of turning around. Priya leapt back into the air just as Caleb tried for another hit, and the Jaguars erupted into cheers.
"C'mon, Priya! Go, go, go!"
"Not gonna lie, this is actually sick. GET HIM, PRIYA!"
"PRIYA! PRIYA! PRIYA!"
"Get that crown, girl! You got this!"
[CONFESSIONAL: CALEB]
"This is probably bad."
[CONFESSIONAL END]
Priya landed again, and Caleb spun around to face her. Back up into the air she went, before Caleb had the opportunity to even try anything. He tried looking up, but squinted as the shining sun obscured his vision. Priya felt herself smile. If she could just keep doing this…
And keep doing that she did. Every time Caleb would turn to face her, Priya would bolt somewhere else. She'd be in front of him one second, and gone the next. The Rhinos tried cheering their teammate on, but their efforts proved futile as Caleb slowly began to lose track of Priya entirely. And that was when she struck.
Taking advantage of Caleb's confusion, Priya launched herself into the air one last time. She vaulted over his head, and landed directly behind the Rhino. Caleb started to turn, but Priya wouldn't give him the chance. She took a deep breath,
Focused herself,
And kicked Caleb square in the back.
He stumbled forward, and fell into the water with a SPLASH!
—-
"And Priya takes the first point for the Jaguars! 1 - 1, and anything could happen!"
Axel watched Caleb return in stunned silence. She had to admit, watching the giant that was Caleb get taken down so quickly by a small girl like Priya caught her a little off-guard. It shouldn't have, really; Axel was barely taller than Priya herself. Still, she expected Caleb to last longer than three minutes, at least. So when Caleb arrived at the dock and hoisted himself up, Axel was the first to speak. "What happened?" She demanded. "Figured you were a chump, but going out that quickly? That's just pathetic!"
"I may be strong, but agility isn't my strong suit," Caleb explained, accepting a towel from Nichelle with a smile. "We'd have been better off sending you out, honestly. You've definitely got us all beat in that department."
That much was true. She had every scrub on this team beat by a long shot! Not that she'd tell them that.
Axel felt a hand on her shoulder, looking up to Nichelle's smiling face. "Cut him some slack, Ax."
"Never call me that."
"Yeah, okay." The actress giggled, and Axel scrunched up her face in disgust. Ugh. Nichelle and her giggly… pinkness. City girls made Axel want to gag. "But for real, Priya's a tough gal to beat! She's a real powerhouse, y'know?"
"Totally!" Emma agreed, seemingly popping out of nowhere. Axel always forgot that Emma was around… felt weird when somebody else was the wallflower. "Priya's so strong! And she did win last season, so…"
Everyone's mood instantly dropped when Julia joined the conversation. "We didn't forget. We were all there too, and some of us weren't making out with Chase the whole time." She added with a sneer. "Soooo…"
Emma was just about to retaliate when Caleb stopped her. "We aren't doing this again." He scolded them with a resigned sigh. "Emma, Julia, please don't make me separate you."
Nichelle snickered, lightly elbowing Axel. "He sounds like a dad!" She whispered, and Axel's mouth twitched slightly as she forced a smirk off her face.
"Hey, I'm just saying it like it is." Julia defended nonchalantly, raising a shoulder in a half shrug. "Maybe tell Princess Pity Party to literally get over it?"
"If you two don't quiet down, I'm dunking you both."
[CONFESSIONAL: CALEB]
"Patience…" Caleb muttered to himself. "Just have patience…"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
Well, that was unexpected. Caleb's sudden threat rendered the whole team silent, and he looked pissed, for lack of a better word. For once, Axel sympathized. The guy obviously had some issue with Emma–Axel still had no idea what his deal was there, but it was none of her business–and Julia was making herself out to be a problem for everyone.
"H-How 'bout we don't dunk anybody, eh?" Wayne awkwardly broke the silence, somehow still maintaining his upbeat demeanor. "Actually, dunk the other guys! Nab us some points, ya know?"
His efforts were in vain. Nobody looked convinced. Not even Emma, who was normally pretty optimistic herself. Guess even Wayne positivity had its limits. But while Axel really didn't care for what any of these chumps had to say, she also didn't much care for their drama either. At this rate, they'd lose again. "Look," Axel finally stepped in, moving toward the middle of the group. She waited until she had the whole team's attention to continue. "Clearly you all got some problems. Well, tough! Your problems aren't our problems. But know what is our problem?" Axel waited a few seconds. Nobody said anything. "Not blowing this challenge! Julia, shut your trap." The influencer gasped, and Axel might have been intimidated by the look sent her way if it weren't so pathetic. "Emma, get it together! You keep arguing with Julia, she'll just keep talkin'!" Emma guiltily looked away. "And Caleb, if we lose a single point because you chose now to lose it and threw one of our teammates off the docks, so help me I promise I'll throw you off the tallest cliff I can find!"
[CONFESSIONAL: JULIA]
"Complaining about throwing a teammate into the water." Julia deadpanned, filing her nails nonchalantly. "Coming from Axel." Surprisingly, Julia exuded a calm, almost tranquil expression as she slipped the nail file back into her pocket. "But if she wants to chew out the team, who am I to stop her? Her and Emma were already fighting last time we lost. The angrier she makes them, the less chance I go next!"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
"Now," Axel stepped onto Chef's boat, making sure to give each Rhino an equally menacing look on her way out. "I'm gonna go get us a point, and you lot are gonna FIGURE IT OUT! Clear?" There were some reluctant murmurs of agreement (except Wayne, who was a little more eager), and Axel nodded in approval. "Good."
…
The Rhinos watched as the boat sped off, taking Axel with it. Some were more baffled than others, but none had been expecting any of what just transpired. "Dang, girl!" Nichelle gaped. "Anyone else think maybe that was too far?"
"It wasn't," Caleb reassured her with a pat on the shoulder. No one seemed to notice just how exhausted he looked. "It really, really wasn't."
—-
There he was. Centerstage. The whole camp watching. In front of him was his opponent. Vicious, brutal, and unrelenting, but one Chase was willing to take on at any cost. Not for him, but for his bro. For Ripper. Chase stared her dead in the eye, and Axel stared right back. The Rhino gripped her dueling stick tightly while Chase put on his most fearsome expression. He didn't move. He didn't speak. He just stared. Menacingly.
[CONFESSIONAL: CHASE]
"Axel kicked Ripper overboard last season, and she totally embarrassed him last challenge." Chase wiped away a single tear, his voice breaking. "But I'm gonna avenge him! I'm gonna do it, man! For Ripper!" He shook off the sudden bout of sadness. "Luckily, girls are super easy to take down in this kinda thing. Just intimidate her with your natural charm, and boom! Trust me, it's worked on Emma like, twice!"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
Axel lowered her weapon.
[CONFESSIONAL: CHASE]
"See?"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
While Chase was busy looking smug, Axel turned back to her teammates with a baffled expression. They all looked equally stunned, which meant Chase's plan was totally working! Wicked! Nichelle shrugged, and duh, obviously she couldn't figure out his master plan! Julia made some kind of jabbing motion, whatever that meant–
"OOF!"
A shot of pain in his jaw put an end to that train of thought. Chase barely had a second to react once Axel had raised her dueling stick, and that wound up not being nearly enough time to dodge the sudden swing.
He stumbled at first, before feeling the wooden platform disappear beneath his feet. He plunged into the freezing cold lake, eyes screwed shut.
"Axel takes a point for the Rhinos! Dunno how that happened, but I'll take it! It's 2 - 1, folks!"
Seriously? How did that not work!? Chase emerged after only a second or two, looking past his unintentionally discarded dueling stick to get a gauge on his teammates' reactions.
And man, did they look angry.
—-
That last round was a mess, and Raj kinda stood aside for most of the fallout.
MK, Priya, and Damien all awaited Chase's return at the edge of the dock, and the first two were mad. Bowie looked pretty upset too, but it was hard to find a good time to ask what was up over all the arguing. And there was a lot! Total dogshow. He kept glancing at Emma, though, so maybe something to do with that? Or was jealous of Emma's hair or something. Which was crazy talk! Bowie's hair was great!
"Chase!" Priya cried as the aforementioned camper climbed back onto the dock. Her tone was steady and even, but something about the look on her face made Raj think maybe she was gonna drown Chase. "What the heck was that!?"
"Give 'im a sec, Pri, he just got back." At least Damien was chill, though! Cool guy!
[CONFESSIONAL: BOWIE]
"Chase screwed up, but I won't say a word." Bowie chuckled to himself. "I think Priya and MK have it covered. So I intend to sit back and enjoy the show."
[CONFESSIONAL END]
To Priya's credit, she took Damien's advice to heart. She stepped back to give Chase some room to get up. And when he actually did, that was when the hounding started. "What were you thinking!?" Priya demanded, furiously gesturing with her hands as she spoke. "I don't… why were you just standing there? Chase, what happened!?"
"It was strategy!" Chase immediately went on the defensive, avoiding all eye contact in the process. "You intimidate your opponent, and then take 'em out while they're cowering in fear or whatever!"
Priya deeply inhaled, massaging her temples with a frustrated sigh. "Chase… it's Axel. What were you going to intimidate her with?"
"...My lovable charm?"
[CONFESSIONAL: PRIYA & DAMIEN]
Priya and Damien shared the confessional. Damien eyed his teammate worriedly as her eye twitched, and her nails dug deep into her arms. "Damien," She began, her voice shaky as the Jaguar seethed. "Can I borrow your hat?"
"My hat?" Damien echoed. "Yeah, sure. How come?" He removed the accessory and offered it to Priya, who calmly accepted it with a nod and a smile.
Right before screaming into the hat with the rage of a thousand suns.
Damien looked on with wide eyes. His expression gave away his cluelessness on how to fix the situation. Nonetheless, he tried anyway. "There, there, Priya, let it out…" He weakly consoled her. "You, uh… you need a minute, or…?"
Still screaming.
"I could, uh… go?"
Still screaming.
"...You can keep the hat?"
Still screaming.
"R-Right! You just, uh… you do that, then."
[CONFESSIONAL END]
Damien guided Priya to the corner before she blew a fuse. Solid choice. Even Raj was kinda mad. Dude totally threw the point! Not cool!
"Dunno if you got the memo, Prince Charming–" And there goes MK! Out of the corner of his eye, Raj caught Bowie subtly smirking. "–But just 'cause Ripper's not here to give us all secondhand embarrassment doesn't mean you have to start."
Chase didn't take that well. "What!?" He squawked, immediately honing in on the noirette. "Dude! You literally lost the whole challenge for us last time! Plus, you haven't even gone up yet!"
"Okay. Personal space, first off all." MK took a step back. "Secondly, I didn't lose the challenge for anybody! Ripper had the key! And just to be clear, the fact I haven't gone up means I haven't affected the team's score! You lost us a point for nothing!"
"It was a totally valid strategy!"
"You just stood there!"
"yOu jUsT sToOd tHeRe!"
As the fighting went on, Raj leaned toward Bowie. "Uh… maybe we should stop 'em?" He meekly suggested. The hockey player felt his face heat up when Bowie wrapped an arm around his shoulders and shot him one of those super dang pretty smiles.
"We'd best not draw any attention to ourselves," The bleach blond answered simply, as if it had been clear all along. Bowie was smart like that. "I'm sure Priya will sort it out in a while, and they do not want to mess with Priya. I have seen that girl at her angriest! Things will work out."
Raj smiled. "Think so?"
"I know so."
—-
"Ohohoho, now this is a good one! TDI Newbie Damien versus Star-Turned-Laughingstock Nichelle!"
Just to be clear, Nichelle had no idea what she was doing up here.
One minute she was with her team. Emma and Julia had stopped arguing in favor of celebrating Axel's brutal victory, and Nichelle was totally in on that! Girl took Chase out in ten seconds flat, who wouldn't celebrate? But then the Jaguars picked Damien to go next for the team, and her team decided he was a good opponent for Nichelle. And like, yeah, sure, but she had like, two seconds to react! Julia literally shoved her into the boat! She could still hear Caleb admonishing her from here! Man, she did not envy Julia.
By the looks of it, Damien didn't want to be here any more than Nichelle did. And she didn't blame him! That Chris guy couldn't even give them a creative challenge? How was beating the crap out of each other a television-worthy challenge!?
"Who cares?" Nichelle mumbled to herself. "Just get it over with."
"...Sorry?"
Nichelle snapped back to reality, and yeah, maybe she had forgotten Damien was there. Embarrassing, but she didn't have time to dwell on it! "Doesn't matter!" She declared instead, nearly tripping over her own feet to pick up her dueling stick. "I'mma take you down right here, right now!"
"Uh… we talkin' like, violently…?" The Jaguar inquired, raising his dueling stick in front of his face for good measure. "W-Would really rather nobody gets hurt, if you catch my drift– WOAH!" Nichelle had taken the open opportunity to swing at Damien. Unfortunately (or fortunately for Damien), he jumped out of the way in the nick of time, and Nichelle nearly lost her balance when the end of the dueling stick hit the platform. "Hey, woah, calm down!"
"Um, excuse me? I am calm!" The actress insisted, taking another swing. "I am trying to win this challenge!"
"Oh, yeah. My ba– ACK!"
—-
"Go, Damien!" Priya whooped, pumping a fist as Damien ducked and dodged past every swing. "Go! Go! Go!"
She had to admit, she felt pretty bad about making Damien go out there, but it was a little uplifting to see him giving it his all anyway! Or maybe Chase just really lowered her standards for teammate performance? Either way he was trying, and Priya was grateful for that much! And she knew he wasn't in any real danger; all Nichelle's hits were slow, and way too clumsy to hurt anybody. Damien was fine! Probably…
"C'mon, dude!" MK shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Just finish the job! Not that hard!" Priya frowned and, with her hands on her hips, turned to give MK a disapproving look. "What? I wasn't insulting anyone!" Priya narrowed her eyes. "...On our team!"
Bowie chuckled, and MK's expression suddenly shifted to one of annoyance. It kind of made sense; half her conversations with Bowie were just him having to tell her to quit picking fights. Good advice, actually! "Why don't you diss the other team after we win?"
"After?" MK snickered. "Geez, dude, overconfident much?"
"We'll win!" Priya declared, her tone leaving no room for argument. Confidence was key, right? She thought so, anyway. Her teammates exchanged a look Priya couldn't quite place, but both shrugged it off. Hey, that was a good sign!
Amusement crept into Bowie's features as he shook his head. "Give it a day and you're back at full throttle, hm?" He mused with a smirk. "You bounce back quickly, don't you?"
[CONFESSIONAL: BOWIE]
"That's just fine; I'm not out to crush anybody's spirits, after all! What am I, Julia?" Bowie chuckled at his own joke. "No. So long as the team's divided, I've got everything I need. Priya's still an asset anyway!"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
"Hey, yeah!" Priya realized after a second of thought. "You're right! I didn't even notice before, but… I do kind of feel better!"
A scream suddenly caught their attention. Priya turned her focus back toward the game just in time to see a frantic-looking Damien sticking his foot out to trip Nichelle. The actress, unable to stabilize herself, wound up falling forward into the lake below.
"Oooh! Damien takes Nichelle out, and we're back at a tie! Two points to two! Buuuut…" Chris trailed off, leaning back with a frown. "I'm also getting bored… START HURTING EACH OTHER!"
Still wide-eyed, and breathing a little too heavily from what Priya could see, Damien peered over the side of the dock. Nichelle emerged from the waters before long, saying something the Jaguars couldn't quite make out. Whatever it was, Damien seemed happy with it, offering his opponent a thumbs up as Chef's boat arrived to return him to the team.
They were definitely winning this!
—-
"Hey, it's alright, calm down, you did your best."
"Um, yeah! And lost!"
It went without saying that Nichelle wasn't the happiest when she got back to the docks. On top of failing to land a single hit on Damien, she was a little… lacking in the physical skill department, so the swim back had been a little difficult for her. Caleb felt terrible for not helping, but Chris had made the rules abundantly clear; entering the water for any reason gives the other team a point. To be perfectly honest, Caleb had considered it anyway. He'd prefer Nichelle didn't drown. But in the end, she'd made it back on her own. The least he could do was pull her out of the water and offer some words of encouragement.
"Don't be so hard on yourself," Caleb tried again, motioning for Emma to bring him a towel. "Those dueling sticks are heavy. Good on you for keeping balance after swinging one around that many times. You're improving, Nichelle. Really."
"For sure!" Wayne chimed in, and Caleb breathed a silent sigh of relief. He'd been running out of things to say… "Ain't goin' anywhere overnight, ya know? Gotta really work for that first goal!"
[CONFESSIONAL: WAYNE]
"Real talk, I was crazy bad when I started playin' hockey!" Wayne laughed fondly at the memory, leaning back with a smile. "Hit the puck right into my eye one time! Cried a whole bunch, but ma said I'd figure it out eventually!"
…
"...Also kept askin' how the heck I did that in the first place."
[CONFESSIONAL END]
"It's not like it even matters," Julia added. "You already went, so it's not like you have to go again, even if it's a tiebreaker!" Caleb cautiously nodded. Maybe it was just because he disliked Julia, but he didn't like where this was going. Granted, he disliked a third of his team by now. "At least you screwed it up now so you can't screw it up for us later." …And there it was. In record time, too.
Nichelle sighed, staring dejectedly into her lap. She ignored the towel Emma held out to her, and Caleb suppressed a grimace. "Julia," He warned. "Nichelle is sensitive. Be nice." He was met with a disinterested scoff, but Julia thankfully stopped talking.
Really, Caleb almost hoped they'd lose the challenge. It was no mystery that both they and the Jaguars had cooperation problems, but unlike the Jaguars, theirs could be traced back to one person. On the other team, there was the issue of Bowie's ridiculous decisions made for no good reason (and no, Caleb was not biased, thank you very much), Raj's deal with being attached to Bowie at the hip, Chase's suicidal/homicidal idiocy, Scary Girl's… everything, and MK's general lack of regard for the team as a whole that contributed to its instability.
On his team, on the other hand, things were simpler. Despite his disdain for Emma, Caleb had to admit that she held herself together well enough to not be a complete nuisance to the team. What Nichelle lacked in skill, she made up for in spirit. Her friendly attitude was always welcome. Axel had a bit of a temper, sure, but she showed restraint and even small bits of kindness where it counted. Plus the skills she offered the team were nothing to sneeze at. And Wayne wasn't necessarily the brightest, but he did have gusto, skill, and strategic know-how. Caleb had sort of taken the role of leader for himself, albeit accidentally, but Wayne was easily a strong contender. Which just left Julia.
Julia, from a strictly skill-based standpoint, was a respectable teammate. He'd been keeping track of the happenings of each challenge. Nearly the last person from their team to be caught during the hide-and-seek challenge, second only to Wayne. She showed extreme drive in the paintball challenge, risking the penalty to take Bowie out. And she had no trouble at all slowing Bowie down over their legs of the obstacle course, and closed the gap enough for Axel to effortlessly pass the Jaguars. She was strong, determined, and strategic. Caleb respected that. But when she caused the team to start fighting every twenty minutes, it was easy to start losing patience. And she was a special case on top of that; she was nothing like Axel, who was an alright person with some temper problems, or even MK, who seemed to genuinely struggle to control herself. He'd been there for episode one, and he'd seen episodes two and three after they aired.
The Julia he saw was sweet, cheerful, and maybe a little ditzy, but a kind girl nonetheless. And really, that annoyed Caleb the most. He sympathized with Axel. He sympathized with MK, to a certain extent. But Julia? Julia had already proven that she could control herself. She was just choosing not to. And it's not like he was asking her to go back to that unaware sweetheart from season one. Not if that wasn't who she really was. But if she could control her temper, why didn't she?
Caleb sighed. He'd really rather not dwell on it right now. With the challenge still going on and all… still, though, it might be smart to separate Julia from the group for a little while. She and Emma had been at each other's throats all season, Axel was clearly starting to lose her patience, and now Julia was bullying Nichelle. He was sending that girl home the first chance he got…
"Julia." The influencer looked up, raising a brow when Caleb called her name. "You go next. You're tough." While she didn't look exactly pleased to be ordered onto the playing field, she at least seemed satisfied with the small bit of praise Caleb had tacked on.
He only said it so she'd listen, but no one had to know that.
—-
"Ohhhh…. that could be a problem."
Bowie was the first to take notice of exactly who from the Rhino team Chef brought to the middle dock. Julia daintily stepped off the boat, but he knew all too well what hid behind that serene expression. He'd seen it for himself time and time again. Raj gently nudged Bowie with a quizzical look, and the bleach blond weakly smiled back. He could take Julia, if he really wanted. Before she'd gone and absolutely lost it, he beat her in a fight on Honey Mountain! But that girl rammed him off a motorcycle and nearly got him killed by Jaguars! So thanks, but no thank you!
Julia waited with a satisfied smirk, and Bowie could tell even from a distance that she knew she'd already won. Luckily, he wouldn't be worrying alone. Priya spotted her before long, and her cheery demeanor turned dead serious. "Great…" She sighed as soon as her gaze landed on the influencer, smacking her forehead with a groan. "I was wondering when they were going to send her out." She clasped her hands together, her expression shifting into one of determination. "Huddle up!"
The five of them, (Himself, Raj, MK, Priya, and Damien) all huddled together, wearing matching looks of worry. "Right, so what's the plan?" Damien spoke up. "'Cause, man, no offense to Julia, but that girl's crazy!"
"Not that big a deal," MK lazily chimed in. "Just pick whoever's life we value the least and hope she has mercy."
Bowie scoffed. "Um, after that disaster? We are not sending Chase again!"
"Why'd you immediately go for me!?"
"You know why!"
"Woah, hey, chill!" Raj interjected. "No pickin' favorites! Everyone's life is important, yeah?" Bowie smiled. Leave it to Raj to save someone like Chase by being a total sweetheart!
MK, on the other hand, wasn't convinced. "No favorites, huh?" She pretended to ponder, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Okay, so maybe we should send Bowie."
"What!?" Raj choked on air, shifting his attention toward MK with wide eyes. "No! What if she hurts 'im, man!?"
"Case in point."
All the aggression triggered the manic giggles of a certain teammate, and literally everyone's heads suddenly snapped in Scary Girl's direction. It felt as if a lightbulb had appeared over Bowie's head as his expression suddenly brightened, and he turned toward the rest of his team with a smirk.
"...Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
—-
Seriously, what was taking so long!?
When Julia got off the boat, the Jaguars panicked. It brought a smug smile to her face seeing them all freak out at just the sight of her. For reals, it barely mattered who they chose! She'd already beaten Bowie more times than she could count, Raj was way too easy to distract, MK was super scrawny, and a fake-out could send Damien crying back to Priya, let alone a real hit! Priya might be a problem, but it was whatever! Julia was still liking her chances. So yeah, she totally had this.
At least, that's what she thought.
Turned out, Julia forgot one very… special player. Her eyes widened as the group separated, and allowed Scary Girl through to get on the boat. Memories of a dark forest flashed through Julia's mind. Scary Girl's sing-songy voice calling her name, looking every which way to identify the sound… she shuddered. That girl was not okay.
Julia bent down to pick up her dueling stick as Scary Girl arrived, internally solidifying her determination. Yes, Scary Girl was terrifying, but her team needed to win if Julia wanted a shot at the million. She was not going to let some psycho circus freak get in her way!
The boat had only made it halfway when the girl in question suddenly leaped off. A stunned Julia could only watch as she did a triple frontflip in midair, before making a landing that Julia would almost consider impressive if Scary Girl wasn't crazy. The purple-haired girl, still low to the ground, snatched her dueling stick up before rising. She wore a horrific grin, and Julia all of a sudden wasn't so confident. If she lost this thing, she did not trust this girl not to kill her!
Which just meant she had to win.
"Well then!" Chris chuckled, amusedly watching as Chef struggled to turn the boat around without hitting either dock. "Looks like we've got Scary Girl from the Jaguars, and Julia from the Rhinos! Now that is a fight! Have at it, girls!"
For a moment, neither girl moved. Julia wasn't scared, but she'd rather know what this lunatic was trying before she tried anything back! Scary Girl, on the other hand, didn't seem worried at all. At. All. She didn't move. She didn't blink. As far as Julia could tell, she wasn't even breathing. But she refused to let her guard down. Maybe Chase was dumb enough to monologue in the middle of a fight, but Scary Girl eyed her in the same way a vicious animal might look at its prey, sizing her up, and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. But Julia was unbeatable. That freak wouldn't get her perfect moment!
…
Okay, any minute now.
…
…
…
Any minute…
…
…
…
…
…
…
Julia shifted uncomfortably. Was she supposed to just go for it, or what?
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
Okay, what the heck was taking so long!?
—-
"What's she doing?" Raj inquired as the baffled Jaguars looked on in confusion. "Thought we weren't s'posed to do that?"
Chase groaned, and most of the team glared at him. "Seriously!? What's with her and randomly throwing challenges!?"
"You shut it, mister." Bowie huffed. "You have caused nothing but problems since this challenge started!"
"Oooooooooh!" Chase grimaced as MK taunted him. "Chase is in trouuuuuuble!"
"Hey, I'll kick you again! Don't try me, dude!" The daredevil snapped back. Priya sighed.
"Woah, why are you threatening me? I never threatened you. You need to control your temper." If looks could kill, MK would have been a dead woman. She grinned smugly at a visibly irritated Chase. Both Bowie and Raj watched in amusement, the latter snickering into his fist.
"Priya!" Chase whined. "She's messing with me on purpose!"
In Raj's sixteen years, he'd never seen anybody look as done as Priya did at that exact moment. "MK, stop messing with Chase." MK rolled her eyes, but listened well enough. Kinda. She whispered something to Bowie, who smirked in response. Prolly keeping the trashtalk quiet. Made good sense! Coach got real fed up with it back home…
[CONFESSIONAL: MK]
"'Kay, maybe I'm bein' a jerk, but that was my bad leg he kicked, just so we're clear!"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
[CONFESSIONAL: CHASE]
"You blow up one clearing, and everybody starts antagonizing you! So not cool! Wayne and Raj blew up the microwave! Damien blew up half the mess hall! Get on their cases! I caused the least amount of property damage! Sure, it was only 'cause Chef made me, but where's my credit!?"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
"Think Scary's okay?" Damien changed the subject, to everyone's relief. "Not like her to pass this kinda thing up." True! Raj didn't know Scary Girl super well, but he was pretty sure she liked screaming and stuff. Oh! Idea time!
"She likes screams, yeah?" He got a few weird looks for the question, and his teammates all looked at him like he was crazy. But hey, he was chill with being crazy! Kind of! Bowie would still like him if he was crazy, right?
It took a few seconds before Priya finally answered him. "I… guess so." She reluctantly admitted, curiosity overriding concern. "Why? What were you thinking?"
"Team spirit!" Raj whooped, to the further confusion of his teammates. "She likes screams! So we scream! Encouragement!" MK and Damien instinctively covered their ears, and Bowie shook his head fondly. "YO, SCARY! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA– mmph!"
Bowie slapped a hand over Raj's mouth. "Raj–" He tried through his laughter, to no avail. The rest of the team seemed divided between hilarity, annoyance, and pure confusion. Some were a mix of all three. "Raj, honey, I love you for trying, but… I don't think that'll do it."
Raj mumbled into Bowie's hand, causing the bleach blond to remove it. Once he did, Raj obliviously asked "Do I gotta yell louder?"
"No!" Priya chimed in, patting him on the back with an apprehensive smile. "That was, um… good! Great team spirit! Just, um… maybe we could do without the screaming?"
"Aww…"
[CONFESSIONAL: PRIYA]
Priya groaned, head in her hands as she silently lamented. "Why is this so hard!? I mean, I knew leading the team wouldn't be easy, but MK and Chase both keep acting up, Raj is nice, but I don't even know what's going on in his head, and Bowie's a total wildcard!" Priya took a deep, calming breath to steady herself, standing up with new determination. "It's fine! This is fine! I'll… figure something out!"
…
"...Somehow."
[CONFESSIONAL END]
—-
Um, okay, weird. One of the hockey guys screaming wasn't really what Julia expected, but whatevs. Scary Girl still wouldn't move. Did she fall asleep or something? Julia wouldn't put it past her to sleep with her eyes wide open. She experimentally waved a hand in front of her opponent's face. No reaction.
"Fine," She decided aloud. "Who turns down a free win?"
A free win it was not. Surprise! Julia swung, and Scary Girl had moved to block faster than the eye could see. Julia gasped, and Scary Girl's grin only widened as she pushed the influencer back. "Oh, so now you can move!?" She yelped, just managing to catch herself before she fell over the side. Fine! This girl got booted fourth. Julia won immunity for herself left and right, with the whole competition against her! She was so winning this thing, crazy freakshow or not!
Unfortunately for Julia, Scary Girl didn't give her the luxury of another swing. She raised the dueling stick above her head, and brought it down with way more force than what was necessary. Was she trying to kill Julia!? The blonde sidestepped the blow, and Scary Girl's neck cracked as she turned her head to stare at her opponent/victim. Her grin never faltered, and Julia's unease only grew under her unrelenting stare.
"Why are you making this so difficult?" Julia was taken aback by the question as Scary Girl straightened up, raising her weapon for another strike. "You should stop trying now. I'll put you right to sleep."
"You stop trying!" This time, it was Julia that blocked the hit. "I am winning, one way or another!"
"YEAH!" An apparently cheered up Nichelle shouted. "THAT'S IT! YOU GET HER, JULIA!"
"What do you think I'm doing!?" Seriously. Who made the teams, and why did hers have a collective IQ of four? Total buttknuckles. "WOAH!" Julia narrowly dodged another swing. "Stop distracting me!"
"Oh, my bad girl! You keep doin' what you're doin'!"
[CONFESSIONAL: EMMA]
Emma smiled, her hands folded neatly on her lap as she spoke. "Okay, I can't deny that she's kind of… bad in challenges, but Nichelle's, like, so nice!" She pushed a strand of hair out of her face before continuing. "Even to Julia! I guess she's the type who doesn't want to hurt anyone! We need more people like that in the world. And less Chases. If he comes near me again, I'm gonna punch him to Saturn!"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
Needless to say, things went on like that for a while. Every time Julia thought she was safe, Scary Girl would bounce back to attack her again. Sometimes she hit her, sometimes she didn't. But none of that mattered to Julia. As long as she stayed on, she could take any amount of hits. As long as she stayed on, she could still take the point. As long as she stayed on, she could stay in the game. And that was motivation.
So, she waited. Not idly, though. Duh. But with each pained wheeze, each dodge, each narrow brush with death (and that was not an exaggeration!), she would wait. Just one opening was all she needed to take this psycho down! Just one. One opening… so she waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Until finally, she found it.
Julia watched Scary Girl's movements closely. What she found was… interesting. Scary Girl always swung as hard as she could. Normally, that would literally suck. Like… getting bludgeoned to death? No thank you! But in this case, it could be Julia's way out. And why? Easy; with all that force, Scary Girl's grip loosened for a few precious seconds after each hit. And if she could get the dueling stick away from Scary Girl in that short window of time? Boom!
"Might wanna pick up the pace, ladies!" Chris shouted through his megaphone, momentarily distracting the duo. "Got thirty minutes left on the clock!" Thirty minutes? Please. Two was all she needed.
Obviously, finding a window of opportunity was no easy task. Every time she tried, Scary Girl would be readying herself for another hit by the time Julia could dodge and turn around. But really, when was Julia ever above playing dirty? She waited until Scary Girl swung again, this time ducking under the dueling stick to ensure a quick enough reaction. Julia stuck her foot out, tripping Scary Girl as she stepped back. For most, that'd be a wrap. But she knew better; Scary Girl had, like, freaky agility. But she didn't need Scary Girl to fall in. Just a few extra seconds of vulnerability. And guess what? She got them!
It didn't take long for Scary Girl to stabilize herself, but by then it was too late. Julia easily knocked the dueling stick right out of her hands, and the crowd fell silent as it landed in the water, far out of reach. The Rhinos erupted into cheers, and a grin spread across Julia's face. "Ha!" She barely flinched when Scary Girl's head snapped in her direction. "Why don't you go get it? Go on, fetch! Save yourself some trouble!" The influencer cackled, clutching her own dueling stick so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Scary Girl didn't move at first. She looked between Julia and her now discarded weapon. But instead of giving up, or performing some ridiculous stunt to retrieve it without touching the water, and yes, Julia totally expected her to, she turned back toward Julia. Her signature grin hadn't dropped even a little.
Julia, now with the upperhand, jabbed Scary Girl in the stomach. Scary Girl took a step back.
Another jab. Another step back.
She jabbed Scary Girl again. Yet again, the Jaguar stepped back.
Finally, Scary Girl's heels lined up with the edge of the dock. Julia felt her grin widen. One more hit, and she was finished. Julia brought the dueling stick back, too caught up in her own victory to notice the way Scary Girl's smile had fallen, her blank stare nearly burning a hole right through Julia. She jerked the dueling stick forward, and…
Scary Girl grabbed onto the other end.
"Hey!" Julia gasped, yanking on her side of the dueling stick. What ensued was a rather aggressive bout of tug-o-war. The blonde tried desperately to wrench it out of her opponent's grip, to no avail. "Give me that!" She demanded, giving the metal handle another tug. Scary Girl tugged back, and Julia stumbled forward from the unexpected force.
Both teams were on the edge of their seats. Nichelle, Axel, Emma, Wayne, Priya, and Raj all loudly cheered and hollered in support of their side. Caleb, MK, and Bowie watched with great interest as the girls fought. Chase was just yelling something about a girl fight. Creep.
Julia was abruptly snapped out of those thoughts when she felt the ground vanish beneath her feet.
It took her a second to process what was happening, and by then she was already in the air. Scary Girl had taken her brief moment of distraction and swung the dueling stick over her head, taking Julia with it. The influencer screamed as she was sent hurtling through the air, but it was far too late to do anything about it.
She clung tightly to the dueling stick as she landed, and was briefly submerged in the freezing lake before the dueling stick floated back above water. She emerged to the Jaguars screaming their lungs out in celebration, and Chris raised the megaphone with wide eyes. "OH! With the cards stacked against her, Scary Girls takes down Julia in an impressive maneuver! Now things are getting interesting! Three points to two for the Jaguars, folks!"
Julia grimaced. She was so getting voted off…
—-
Emma only really started paying attention to Julia's fight halfway through. At first, she was thinking Julia totally had this, and when she knocked Scary Girl's dueling stick into the water, that feeling just came back stronger. And she did really wanna win, but seeing Julia get flung was a close enough second. So Emma wasn't disappointed!
Her teammates seemed to feel the same way. Caleb whistled, and Axel muttered a "Not bad," as Nichelle and Wayne lifted Julia out of the water. Really, Emma wanted to be mad, but it was Julia, and that was such a cool stunt! She so wanted to try that!
Julia, on the other hand, wasn't pleased. She glared daggers at Axel, and Emma was suddenly glad she kept her laughter in. The influencer wrung out her hair before going on the offense, jabbing a finger into a disinterested Axel's chest. "She launched me into the water, and she is on the other team!" She snapped, and Emma caught Caleb rolling his eyes. Geez, you know it's bad when even Caleb is losing his patience…
"I'm going to interject before this goes anywhere," And immediately he was playing peacemaker again… poor Caleb. "Julia, she was just appreciating the stunt, not the fact you got dunked. Please don't start another fight." Emma was impressed with how well he kept his cool in these situations. Emma had been wanting to punch Julia all day!
Julia looked like she was about to say something back, so Emma stood up and spoke before she could. "Hey, so… it's fine if I go up next, right?" She suggested, giggling nervously under the watch of all her teammates. "I mean, I was thinking since I haven't yet, y'know…"
By the look on his face, Caleb knew exactly what she was doing. But could you really blame Emma for wanting to get away from… this? He sighed, and gestured for Emma to go. "Sure thing," He agreed, and Emma felt herself relax. "Good luck."
"Thanks! I'll come back with a point!"
If only Emma knew who she'd be facing. Maybe then, she wouldn't have been so eager to volunteer.
—-
Yep! It was Chase.
Emma's blood ran cold when she saw him get onto Chef's boat. She could literally see his whole team arguing with him on it. Of course, Chase literally never listened. UGH! Stupid Chase, and his stupid… everything! Emma was totally taking this opportunity for everything it was worth, though; hurting Chase was always a solution!
Chase hopped off the boat, and approached her with a smile. "Hey, babe!" He brightly waved, and Emma internally groaned. "Man, what a coincidence! You're here, I'm here, what're the chances?"
Immediately she shot back with, "It's not a coincidence, you saw me come here!"
"Yeah, but coincidences are more romantic, so let's agree that it was!"
Before Emma could throttle him on the spot, Chris chimed in. "Buckle your seatbelts, folks, 'cause this one's gonna get painful! Lovergirl Emma for the Rhinos versus the On-Again-Off-Again Love of Her Life, Chase! Begin!"
"He is not the love of my life!" Emma cried, jumping into action without hesitation. Chase yelped as she jumped at him, leaping back just in time to avoid a heavy hit. "He's an insufferable manchild!"
[CONFESSIONAL: BOWIE]
"Who'd have guessed?" Bowie let out a long sigh, his usual flamboyance nowhere to be seen. "Come on, Emma, you're better than this!" He crossed his arms, leaning his back against the wall with a conflicted expression. "I hope she's better than this."
[CONFESSIONAL END]
Chase gasped, a look of offense crossing his features as he blocked another blow. "Yeesh, Ems, harsh! Why are you so mad at me!?" Despite his frustration, Chase actually wasn't fighting back! Which makes him that much easier to take out, Emma reminded herself with a smile. "Emma?" Chase tried again. "Hey, c'mon! At least talk to me!"
"I did talk to you!" Emma grunted as she went in for another swing. "You just don't listen!"
"What!? I'm great at listening!"
Great at listening? That was like saying Bowie was a totally loyal, non-backstabbing friend! Or that Julia was a decent, functioning member of society! The blonde let out an incredulous laugh. "Oh, yeah!? What's my favorite food!?" Her grin widened when Chase sputtered helplessly, unable to come up with an answer. "That's what I thought!"
"Woah, but– no!" Chase defended him both literally and metaphorically, leaning back matrix-style to dodge a hit. "I know all your least favorite foods, though! That should count for something!"
Emma's eye twitched. "No, it shouldn't! You only know that because you always use it to mess with me!"
"I do not! Remember that one time where I bought out the store's whole supply of banana pudding so you wouldn't have to see it on the shelves?" Chase chuckled, and Emma suddenly understood all the women who had killed their husbands in history. "Now that's love!"
"You waited for it to expire, AND FILLED MY ROOM WITH IT!"
People from both teams cringed. Some gagged at the thought, and a couple disgusted comments rang out here and there.
[CONFESSIONAL: DAMIEN]
Damien retched, before slapping a hand over his mouth. "Is that even safe!? Man, I don't even wanna think about the smell… yech!"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
[CONFESSIONAL: PRIYA]
"Wait, that's… actually not so bad?" Priya wore a puzzled expression, clearly conflicted. "My parents once filled a room with pudding to test how long I could hold my breath!" She closed her hands into fists, thinking to herself for a second before shaking her head. "...But Emma wasn't training! So it is bad! I think… right?"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
[CONFESSIONAL: AXEL]
"Who buys perishable food? Buncha weirdos…"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
It… actually felt a little better knowing that all these people were on Emma's side. All Chase's friends up and stopped talking to her after she dumped Chase, so it was honestly a welcome surprise! And a confidence boost equaled a motivation boost in Emma's books!
"Yeah, as a joke!" Chase argued. "And it was hilarious!" He ducked down as Emma's dueling stick cut through the air directly above his head. It brushed past his hair, which Chase seemed to take more offense to than if Emma had actually hit him. "Hey! Watch the hair!"
"I hope you lose all your hair, and it gets donated to a PIG!"
"Woah! Aggressive much?"
Emma swung again. This time, Chase didn't move out of the way. He let his own dueling stick drop to the ground, and grabbed Emma's instead. Okay, what the heck? The blonde bared her teeth as she wrestled him for the weapon, but Chase didn't give in. "Hey, Ems, c'mon," He tried, offering one of his signature charming smiles. Those didn't work anymore. "Don't you think this has gone on, like, way too long? Seriously, people are gonna start thinking we're actually done if you don't show up on the stream sometime soon! Wait, is that what you were going for!?" He laughed, and Emma felt the heat rise to her face. "Dude, that is wicked! You shoulda told me!"
"I am telling you, Chase! And I need you to listen for once!" Emma cried, making another attempt to yank the dueling stick away. "We are done! I'm done! You are the worst person I've ever met, and I am so. Done. With. You!" With each word, she tugged again. Nothing. Why was Chase so strong!?
For a moment, Chase looked hurt. "C-C'mon…" He stammered weakly, taking her hand with one of his own. "You don't really mean that! We always get back together, it's just what we do! Look, I dunno why you're so messed up about that, but maybe just calm down and–"
Yeah.
Okay.
Nope.
She's done.
Emma was D-O-N-E done listening to this. With an almost feral scream, she delivered a swift kick right where the sun doesn't shine. Everyone gasped (except Chris, whose laughter matched Emma's internal laughter). Chase's grip on the dueling stick loosened, and she took her chance to pry it out of his hands.
"Hit him, Emma!" One of her teammates cried. Emma couldn't really tell who through all the seething rage, but she was pretty sure it was a girl. "Hit him!"
Taking whoever's advice to heart, Emma raised the dueling stick over her shoulder as if it were a baseball bat, and swung. Hard. The rubber padding struck Chase right in the side of the head, and her stupid, crummy ex-boyfriend was sent flying into the water.
The whole camp cheered.
—-
Chris cackled almost maniacally at Chase's misfortune. "Ouch! That's gotta hurt!" His laughter slowly died down, and he wiped away a single tear as he chuckled. "With that, Emma ties the scores at 3 - 3!"
Bowie tuned out the bickering when Chase got back. He had heard enough yelling that day, thank you very much! Priya and MK were really laying into him, and Bowie assumed Damien was busy preventing a murder, the poor thing.
So he stood off to the side. He never had any issue with a little spice on occasion, but he'd sit this one out. There was a lot pressing on his mind anyway. Especially after witnessing that. The words and advice of his allies still resounded in his mind, bouncing around like one of those infuriating screensavers that never actually hit the corner.
"All I'm saying is, you handled that pretty badly."
The longer he thought about it, the more true it became. Emma was clearly going through a rough time, and emotions were high. She was acting totally irrational, and Bowie stood by that statement! But… was he really so much better? Was his behavior so much better?
"Me an' Wayners fight, but I wouldn't wanna stop being friends forever! He's my bro, bro!"
Was he really willing to let everything he had with Emma go because he disapproved of her choices? Because she made a bad decision and he abandoned Emma instead of supporting her? Did he want to stop being friends forever because they fought?
"Plus, now you're just provoking her on purpose, so I'm not really sure what you thought was gonna happen."
What did he think was going to happen? What did he even want to happen? Every nasty glare sent Emma's way, every condescending comment, every fight started… what was he planning to achieve from any of it? He always did blame Emma for the way their relationship was now, but how much did Emma really try to provoke him in contrast to how much he provoked her?
"...But Wayners told me that all the stuff he said was really dumb, but none of it would be as dumb as losing me as his best friend."
…And there it was. The sudden epiphany that had been far too long coming. Emma did something stupid. Bowie said something stupid. But the dumbest thing he could've done was ditch Emma's friendship.
Because that's what it was in the end, wasn't it? Emma never ditched him for Chase. He ditched Emma over Chase. Emma only left after Bowie insulted them. And don't get Bowie wrong, getting back with Chase was quite possibly the dumbest thing anyone had ever done. But was there even the smallest chance that he could have worked with Emma instead of against her on it? Even the slightest possibility that he could have reasoned with her instead of just… leaving?
"I blame my mistakes on everybody else!? You got mad when I didn't do what you thought I should, so you ditched me, and now you're acting like it's my fault!?"
Bowie openly winced as Emma's rant came back to haunt him. He'd thought about what she said before; a hundred times over, in fact. But now, when all was said and done, he had a new reason to think about it;
Emma was right.
He did exactly what she said he did. And he found that that hurt more than anything. When he refused to think about it, things were easier. It was so much easier to just blame it all on Emma, and write her off as a bad person and a worse friend. And it was still Emma's fault!
But… it was no more her fault than it was Bowie's.
"You feelin' okay?"
Bowie weakly smiled. At least through everything, he still had Raj. The hockey player watched him rather worriedly, and Bowie couldn't help but feel another twinge of guilt. After all, the last thing he wanted was to upset Raj because of his own issues. Again. "I'm just fine," He lied through his teeth. Raj raised a brow skeptically. "Just doing a little thinking is all!"
"About Emma?"
Hmph. When did Raj get so perceptive? "Guilty," He admitted with a sigh. "There's a lot I hadn't considered yet." He let his gaze drop to the wooden planks beneath them. "...Raj. Do you think I could have done something differently? That would have prevented… this?"
The brunette suddenly appeared very nervous. "Uh…"
[CONFESSIONAL: RAJ]
"Look, man, I don't wanna hurt Bowie's feelings! If I say yeah, he might think it's all his fault!" Raj gestured wildly as he rambled, the slightest hint of panic in his eyes. "But I don't wanna lie to 'im either! I'm not good with words n' stuff! Wayne'd know what to say…"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
Fortunately for Raj, his silence spoke volumes. "...I guess so, hm?" Bowie chuckled sadly. Really, he hadn't needed Raj's confirmation. But a second and third opinion had gotten him to this point… maybe it'd have gotten him farther. And he was not going back to MK about it!
"Um–" Bowie met Raj's gaze when the latter suddenly spoke up. "–I think… I think maybe if you miss her, maybe talk to her? Or don't! Your call! But, like… she was your bud, right? She prolly misses you, too!" He kept to a hushed tone, which Bowie appreciated. He'd prefer not to get the whole team involved. But somehow, Raj's voice became even quieter as he added "...I'd miss ya if I was her."
That got a smile out of Bowie, and Raj instantly perked up. Sure, Bowie was still in a bad mood, but it was really hard to stay completely upset with a cutie like Raj saying those things. He took Raj's hand and gently squeezed it. "Thank you, Raj. But…" His boyfriend's expression fell again. "I don't think I'll even get the chance to talk to her."
"Ey! Don't say that!" Raj argued without hesitation. "Sure ya will! Just gotta make the chance, y'know!"
"...What did you have in mind?"
"Weeeell…" Raj turned, and Bowie followed his gaze to the middle dock. Oh. Well, that was a horrible idea.
But it was all he had.
—-
"Not bad, Prep." Axel commented as Emma returned to the dock. Behind Axel, Nichelle looked on in awe. Emma's cheeks turned a little pink. Nichelle LaDonna was admiring her! Wayne gave her a thumbs up, and even Julia seemed impressed. "Didn't think you had it in you."
The one exception was Caleb, who barely gave Emma the time of day. She was used to it, but seriously, what was his problem with her? Whatever. The blonde shook it off with a smile, instead deciding to focus on the people who were on speaking terms with her. "Yeah, well… it's Chase, so… motivation!" She giggled. "Right?"
Nichelle, Wayne, and Julia all looked at her like she had three heads. Axel, on the other hand, enthusiastically pumped a fist. "Yeah!" Well, she did have a competitive streak… "Forget the guy. Long as you can deliver that kind of beatdown, you're fine."
"As… effective as Emma's methods were," Caleb interjected, and the attention turned to him. Emma wasn't surprised, since Caleb was practically their leader, but it did sting a little. That was totally her moment! "I think we should move on. Wayne?" The Rhino in question tilted his head. "You haven't gone in a while. No pressure, but if you want to take a turn, then–"
"EMMA!"
Emma jolted. Somewhere on the other team, someone had very loudly called her name. Startled but curious, the blonde turned to spot Bowie hopping onto Chef's boat, with a thumbs up from Raj. "You and me!" Her ex-best friend demanded. "Right now!"
"Oh, for crying out loud…" Caleb grumbled under his breath, shaking his head with a sigh. "Alright, Emma. Your call."
Huh.
What did Bowie want with her?
—-
Honestly? Bowie could not believe that worked!
He assumed the Rhinos would have laughed in his face, and sent someone like Caleb or Axel out to crush him instead. It's what Bowie would've done. But to his surprise, a disgruntled Emma got right back in the boat after barely being out of it for barely five minutes. The bleach blond nervously glanced over his shoulder, finding slight comfort in the way Raj smiled at him.
Emma was less than happy to see him when the boat pulled up. Maybe it was because of him, or maybe it was because she literally just finished fighting Chase, but the look in her eye was not a friendly one. "Emma!" Bowie awkwardly greeted, forcing the best smile he could muster up. Spoiler: It wasn't a very good one.
[CONFESSIONAL: MK]
A perplexed MK pondered to herself inside the confessional, hardly paying any mind to the camera. "Why'd he make Emma go again? Is– is he gonna beat her up?" She chuckled incredulously. "I mean… not the choice I woulda gone with, but I guess people can't bug you if you hospitalize 'em? Geez, dude…"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
"Bowie." His friend-turned-enemy's voice came out cool, calm, and yet somehow absolutely vicious. Was now a bad time? It was probably a bad time, wasn't it? Bowie was starting to have some regrets… scratch that, he was regretting everything. Bowie swallowed as Emma picked her dueling stick right back up. That girl was seriously fine with two fights back-to-back! Well, that was Emma for you. Her vengeful energy was admirable when it wasn't directed toward him.
"Eight minutes left!" The host's voice momentarily distracted Bowie. "This might just be our final showdown! Ex-besties Bowie and Emma are facing off for the final point, and it's anyone's game! Although, Emma looks pretty mad! Would not want to be Bowie right now!"
Speaking of her vengeful energy not being directed toward him, it totally was. Emma launched herself at Bowie before he could even grab his dueling stick, and Bowie rather ungracefully threw himself aside just in time to avoid an instant knockout. "Woah, woah!" He cried, raising both hands in front of him placatingly. "I just–"
"I don't want to hear it!" Emma shrieked, and Bowie suddenly realized that it may be best to keep moving. "I! Don't! Want! To! Hear! It!"
"Okay, I– WOAH!" Bowie leaned back as Emma swung again. "Can you calm down for a– ACK!" He ducked. How fast could this girl swing!?
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Bowie pushed past Emma to grab his dueling stick, nabbing it off the ground just as she turned to face him. "You're always telling me what to do! Literally, you're such a control freak!"
What!? "I am not a control freak!" Bowie argued, landing a hit on Emma's ribs. He cringed a little, but if Emma was so dead-set on fighting him, he'd just have to fight, too! And better! But Emma only came back stronger after the hit. Typical Emma. Bowie shoved past her again, raising his dueling stick in self-defense. "I just know what has to be done, and I do it!"
"You always told me what to do! Or– or what was best for me, or– you never respected any of my choices!" Emma retorted. Um, so not true! "It was always, vote for her! Flirt with him! Do this! Do that! But when I want to, I dunno, get back with Chase or something, you just leave!? Why do you get to decide what I have to do!?"
"Emma, are you kidding me!? I was right!" He was! Emma almost instantly regretted it! Sure, so he didn't handle it well, but he was so right to discourage Emma and Chase getting back together! Why couldn't she just see that!?
"I don't care WHAT you were, Bowie!" Bowie flinched back. He was not used to Emma yelling at him like that. It was like… scary, but also just… sad. "It doesn't matter what it was about, it matters that you couldn't support me!" The blonde laughed, and yet there was no humor behind it. Just pure malice. "Oh, no, wait! Not couldn't, that's giving you too much credit! You didn't! You could have, and you didn't!"
Bowie opened his mouth to argue, but wound up a little preoccupied with the whole not dying thing. "Emma! Can you just listen for a second!?" He tried, but his words fell on deaf ears as the enraged girl went in for another blow.
…Yeah. Survive first, talk later!
—-
"Dang… should we… I dunno… maybe tell Emma to cool it down?" Nichelle meekly suggested as the Rhinos watched the duel with varying reactions. "N-Not that girl's wrong! But like… might affect how she's doin', like, fight-wise…?" Nichelle didn't know Emma super well, but she was a nice gal! She did not deserve to be so frustrated out there! And on international television, too…
Caleb wasn't nearly as concerned. "I think it's best she lets it out now," Maybe it was Caleb's status as their unofficial leader, or the unwavering calm in his voice, or maybe just the fact Nichelle looked up to him, but the actress felt a little more at ease with his reassurance. "She has to get it out of her system at some point. Emma won't hurt him badly, and she's tough. Something tells me Bowie couldn't hurt her if he tried."
"You just wanna see Bowie take a beatdown," Axel accused, although Nichelle could've sworn she detected the faintest hint of amusement in her voice. "Admit it!"
"That's not true, Axel." He denied, his neutral tone unfaltering. "I may not be on the best of terms with Bowie, but I don't want to see anybody injured." Caleb paused, rethinking the second half of his sentence. "...Well, I wouldn't feel bad if he tripped or something. But I do think being beaten with a dueling stick is a little far. Don't you?"
The brunette scoffed. "Nah. But fine, be a goody-two-shoes."
"Hey, it's all good!" Nichelle reassured Caleb with a smile, lightly nudging him in the arm. "No shame in it! 'Cause, like, I'm not sayin' I'd beat her up, but if someone had a dueling stick and a problem with MK? I am in on that!"
Caleb shook his head, but the corners of his lips twitched upward in a ghost of a smile. "You two are terrible, you know that?"
—-
"Why can't you just listen to me!?"
"I'm done listening to you!"
Bowie was sure it had been at least three minutes, but Emma still hadn't budged. And he understood her anger. Really, he did! But he was not as bad as she was making him out to be! And was it really so hard to just listen for like, ten seconds? "Emma, come on!"
"No! You have literally never respected me! What, am I supposed to be some… helpless little lamb!? That you can just boss around!? Huh!?" Bowie winced as the sound of metal against metal met his ears. He never thought it'd be Emma attacking him like this!
"Oh, come on! Of course not!"
"WELL, THAT'S WHAT IT FEELS LIKE!" She bellowed. Emma went for one hit, then another, then a third. "Okay, so maybe getting back with Chase wasn't the smartest thing ever, but why couldn't you just… I don't know, care!? If it was such a bad choice, why am I pathetic for making it!?" Her voice broke slightly, and Emma did nothing to hide the hurt dripping from her words. Bowie wouldn't look Emma in the eyes.
He couldn't.
—-
The Jaguars stood in stunned silence, as equally dumbfounded as the Rhinos had been. They'd all expected a little drama from this, but wow. Part of Priya hoped they'd talk it out, but now… didn't really seem like the time. She still had faith, though! Just maybe not now.
"I was mad, okay!?" Bowie shouted. "I didn't mean that!"
Some teammates, though, were focused on other things. "Duuuuude, look at that!" While most of the team wore either shocked, worried, or stone-faced expressions, Chase was beaming. "Y'know, they're technically fighting over me!"
"You can't just stop meaning something, Bowie! If you didn't mean it, why did you say it!?"
Priya was about to tell him off again, but Damien beat her to the punch. "That's… not really somethin' to brag about, Chase. They're havin' a real tough time out there, y'know? Let's show a little respect." Priya caught Damien's eye, and gave him an appreciative smile. She seriously admired how well he handled Chase! She wasn't really any good at it… but Emma was her friend-ish, so maybe she was biased?
"I don't know, okay!? I was just… frustrated! What do you see in that… dollar store influencer wannabe that makes you keep running back to him!?"
"Aw, come on, Damien!" Chase scoffed with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Live a little, Captain Buzzkill!"
While they both stayed out of the confrontation for the most part, MK and Raj watched the ordeal with varying levels of annoyance. It did make Priya feel a little self-conscious, but she didn't read too much into it. After all, Bowie and Raj were dating, so obviously Raj wouldn't be super happy with Chase, and everything annoyed MK. Scary Girl, on the other hand, seemed all too eager for a fight to break out. Hard pass!
"It's none of your business, okay!? Just let me live my life!"
Thankfully, Raj changed the subject. "Things're gettin' pretty intense over there…" He muttered thoughtfully, brows furrowed in concern. "Hope Bowie's okay…" That was enough to move the attention back to the ongoing fight. The Jaguars watched with worry and interest as their fellow teammember took hit after hit both physically and emotionally. Priya winced.
It reminded her of herself and Millie.
"Emma, please! I am trying to understand you here! Why are you making it so difficult!?"
MK shrugged. "Eh, he's prolly fine. Worst case scenario, Emma hates him, never wants to speak to him again, and his closest friendship is ruined forever." Raj tensed. "No big deal."
"Why do you have to understand!? Why is it such a big deal what I'm doing!?"
Everyone turned to stare at the beanie-clad girl. "...Man, I can't even tell if you're bein' sarcastic or not." Damien commented, voicing exactly what was on Priya's mind.
"Well– I don't– that's–"
"L-Let's maybe keep sarcastic commentary out of this, okay?" Priya suggested, earning an eyeroll from MK. "Just for clarity's sake…?"
"No, I'm serious! Why!? Why does it even matter what you think is best!? Why can't you just mind your own business, Bowie!?"
"Dude, lame…" Chase grumbled. "You guys are total snowflakes, get over it!"
"BECAUSE YOU'RE GREAT, OKAY!?"
…
…
…
…
…
…
All the back and forth bickering instantly came to a halt. Everyone froze. None of them expected that, of all things. And how could they? Sure, emotions were running high, and things were getting intense, but… wow. This time, it was MK who said what everyone was thinking.
"Holy crap."
—-
"Uh… wow," Chris muttered, half-chuckling to himself. "I did not see that coming!"
He wasn't the only one. The Rhinos were stunned into silence by the unexpected outburst, with the exceptions of Axel and Julia. Caleb and Nichelle shared matching shocked expressions, while Wayne watched the display with great interest. It made sense enough, given Bowie was his friend and all. Was he? Caleb never paid much attention to it, really.
Julia was the first (and only) teammate to speak. She jumped at the shouting, but looked up curiously after a few seconds. "Oh, tea?" …Well, that was more or less expected. Julia had spent most of her downtime boredly staring into the water as if a phone would suddenly emerge from it and drop into her hands. Normally, he wouldn't mind, but it would have been nicer if the water kept her distracted. You know, enough to refrain from talking. Forever.
…
That sounded a lot more murderous than Caleb intended.
Either way, though, Julia wasn't at the center of his focus at the moment. Instead, he kept his eyes trained on the chaotic scene several feet ahead of him. Bowie and Emma had been arguing for a while now, but Caleb figured it had to end eventually. They'd get tired of yelling, or Emma would double down on her strategy of using the dueling stick as a baseball bat. Either option worked, really. He wasn't particularly invested in Bowie or Emma's personal relationships anyway.
Nichelle did not share that stance.
The actress's hand was enclosed around Caleb's wrist (as much as it could be, anyway), and she didn't dare look away for even a moment. Was she even blinking? As much as he liked Nichelle, he really worried for her sometimes. Just to be safe, he snapped his fingers in front of her face. Once, then again for good measure.
"Huh?" Nichelle looked around like she'd just been woken up. "What? What is it?"
…Yeah, they'd really have to talk about that.
—-
"...What?"
It was all Emma had to say. All she could say. Out of all the words to come out of Bowie's mouth, those probably had to be the ones she expected the least. In fact, she wasn't sure she'd heard those words in years. So… why now? After everything?
"You're…" Bowie hesitated. Emma's glare softened, just a little. "You're great, Emma, okay? You're smart, passionate, and the spiciest queen I have ever met! So I just… I don't get why you keep running back to that guy when he's–and I'm just being honest here–absolutely horrible to you!" Emma averted her eyes, focusing on the rippling of the water below them instead. "You're incredible, Emma! You deserve someone who sees how great you are! And there's like, a thousand people who do! So I don't understand, why Chase!? Why do you always run back to Chase when there's so many people out there who see everything I do!?"
"I-I…" Emma didn't have an answer for that. Why did she go back to Chase despite everything? The pranks, the put-downs, the jokes at her expense… Why did she put up with it? Why did she keep returning to him every time? She always said she was done. That she was finished with Chase for real this time. But she never was, was she?
Bowie sniffled, wiping at his eyes. "Emmie, listen. I know I messed up, okay!? It's just… you're the best friend I have ever had, and it kills me inside every single time I watch you go back to him, because I know he'll hurt you! He is hurting you! And I just can't take watching him hurt you again, and again, and again! Because you deserve the world! And you deserve someone who's happy to give it to you! Just… please, Emma." He barely even whispered that last part. Emma finally looked up, eyes meeting Bowie's for the first time in forever. That turned out to be the final trigger, and Emma found herself blinking back tears. How long had she been waiting for someone to say those things to her? Even she didn't know. "I don't understand, and I know I didn't try to understand, but I'm trying now! So please, explain it to me! Make me understand! A-And– and no matter what the reason is, we'll figure it out together! That's…" He trailed off. "...That's all I want. Just to be together again. And whatever that takes, I'll make it happen, okay!? Just talk to me!"
…
Just talk to me.
It felt like forever since anyone wanted Emma to talk. Not just commentate on a stunt, or promote some brand, or just say what they wanted her to say, but talk. Talk about what she wanted. Talk about how she felt. Talk about the things that had been weighing on her mind for days, months, years.
Because when was the last time it had mattered to anyone?
When she spoke to Chase, he'd laugh it off. When she spoke to the school counselor, she'd tell Emma that there were students who were really struggling, who actually needed her time, and to just break up with Chase if he was bothering her so much. When she spoke to her– Chase's friends, they'd rag on her for taking a few little jokes so seriously. No one ever wanted to know how Emma felt. No one cared how Emma felt.
But now that someone was listening… what was Emma supposed to do with that? What was Emma supposed to say? It was almost funny; for years she'd had so much she wanted to say, so much she was desperate to just scream to a world that didn't care. But now that someone wanted to hear it… she had nothing. Everything she'd thought about in the past, all the ways she'd thought of conveying it, all the conversations she'd had in her head, where she could pretend someone was listening just… poof. All gone, right when she needed it most.
Emma gingerly brought a hand to her face, surprising herself when it came back wet. When did she start crying? How come she hadn't noticed it before? When he came back into focus, Bowie's worried look etched itself into her brain. It was just a facial expression, and yet right then, it was everything to Emma. Bowie was worried. Bowie cared.
Bowie wanted to listen to Emma.
And that was the last straw. Finally, all that pent-up grief and anguish from years of… well, everything, spilled out. Emma tried to maintain some amount of composure. She really did. But when all was said and done, the emotional side won out, and Bowie scooped her into a hug as the blonde broke down into tears. "I-I don't–" Emma tried as she sobbed into his chest. "I d-don't know, Bowie! I just… I-I don't…!" Somewhere, through the ringing in her ears, Emma could faintly hear the other campers murmuring amongst themselves. It was all just white noise to her. "You're right! You were always right! He– he doesn't even care, Bowie, he never cared!"
"Wha–!?" Chase let out a strange, unexplainable noise of offense. "OW!"
Emma felt Bowie's arms hold her a little tighter at the mere sound of Chase's voice. "Thank you!" He called out to whoever had stopped him. Emma couldn't see who he was talking to. When he returned his attention to Emma, the annoyance and hostility she'd grown so used to was gone. In its place was something gentle and soothing, that she wasn't sure she'd ever even seen from Bowie before. "Let it out, Emmie," He whispered, rubbing circles on her back. "It's okay. You're okay. I know. Just let it all out, okay? I'm here, Emma."
I'm here. Words she wished someone would say to her for years. "I j-just… I keep thinking it'll be different this time!" Emma wailed. "But it's not different! It's–" She hiccuped. "It's NEVER different! Never! I-It's always somebody making fun of me, or– or something at my expense, or… I-I thought– I don't– my friends… our friends, m-me and Chase's, they're always in on it! And it's like… why do they hate me so much!? Why does Chase hate me so much!? Why am I the butt of every. Single. JOKE!? A-And if I can't make my own boyfriend like me, what CAN I do…!?"
"Oh, Emma…" Bowie sighed. Emma was practically crushing him by now, but not a single complaint left his mouth. "I-It's not you, okay…? It never was! Some people are just awful, and he's one of them! You're not a bad person, Emma, and you're not some kind of… I-I don't know, failure, just because Chase wasn't good to you! All you were was unlucky! I promise. Okay?"
…
"Okay, Emma?"
"O-Okay…"
So they stayed like that. Maybe it was five minutes. Maybe it was ten. But still, there was something Emma felt she had to say. "I'm sorry, Bowie!" She sobbed, forcing the words out through the tears. "I… C-Chase shouldn't have come between us, I-I'm sorry, Bowie, I'm sorry!"
"Shhh…" Bowie gently shushed her, and yet it felt anything but condescending. "No. Emma, listen, we both messed up. Like, getting back with Chase was a horrible decision–" Emma winced. "–But when your self esteem's that crushed, I don't blame you! You didn't let Chase come before our friendship, okay? I did. I knew it was a bad choice, and– and I was upset that you made it, but… you were right, Emma. About what you said the other day. If it was such a bad choice, I should've supported you anyway. And I didn't." Emma risked a cautious glance up as Bowie's voice broke. "I wanted to get him as far away from you as possible, b-but I should've talked to you, and… and insulting you after I got caught was… I should never have done it. I shouldn't have snapped at you, or just… left you to figure this out alone…! You needed me more than ever, and…" He let out a shaky sigh. "I wasn't there. I'm sorry, Emmie. I'm so sorry…"
And just like that, the waterworks came back tenfold. Emma cried into Bowie's shoulder, and Bowie stroked her hair soothingly. Emma knew everyone was watching, and she knew this would probably be put into an episode for the whole world to see, but that was a problem for future Emma. But right now, all Emma could think about was one thing;
She wasn't alone anymore.
—-
Priya sniffled, wiping away a single tear. She didn't expect things to go the way they did, but that was… heartwarming. She felt a mix of happiness for the duo, pride in Emma specifically, and pure rage with Chase for making her feel that way in the first place. How far do you need to push the poor girl to cause that!? She spared a single glance at the offender, and was genuinely surprised by what she saw.
Chase wasn't smiling. Or annoyed. Instead, his expression was made up of some blend of shock, confusion, and slight horror. Well, at least he was semi-self-aware. Poor Emma… heck, Priya wanted to go over there and give her a hug right now!
Still, though, she was happy for her. Even if Emma wouldn't say it, she could tell the blonde missed Bowie. A lot. Throughout the tear-jerking reunion, Priya held a steady grasp on her self control. It was actually really hard to not cry, but she was managing! Damien, though? Not so much. Priya smiled fondly as she turned to get a better look at her friend, who was currently ugly-crying like there was no tomorrow. He really wore his heart on his sleeve, huh? Maybe it was awkward, but it was also kind of sweet. Scary Girl was the polar opposite, donning a wide grin. Priya was ninety-five percent sure she was just happy people were crying.
And then there was MK and Raj. Raj was positively glowing with pride. His eyes, too, were a tad watery, and he held a hand over his heart as he sniffled. MK seemed mostly unmoved at a glance, but even she'd been rendered speechless. No snide remark. No sarcastic comments. No insults. All she'd said since was "Wow. I… wow.", which Priya felt summed up her own feelings pretty well.
…Sheesh, the Jaguar team had never been so quiet before. It was almost funny how such an aggressive, hostile team that was constantly subject to infighting could share a single moment of silent solidarity over one of their own getting along with someone on the other team. But to be honest?
Priya wasn't complaining one bit.
—-
"Uh… hello? Guys?" Chris awkwardly cleared his throat. "Sorry to interrupt this… heartfelt reunion, but it's a half hour show, and you've got seventeen seconds left on the clock, so…" He raised his megaphone and shouted into it, "MOVE IT!"
Emma sniffled, finally pulling out of the hug. She'd cried all she could, and man she was tired now… she looked past Bowie to catch a glimpse of her team. Maybe it was her way of apologizing for what she was about to do, or maybe she was trying to gauge whether or not they'd kill/vote her off for it. But in the end, Emma was done caring. So she rose to her feet, taking a deep breath in. When she finally spoke, her voice came out drained and raspy. "...I can't do it."
"What?" Bowie stood as well, gently setting a hand on Emma's shoulder. "You can't do what?"
"This!" She shrugged the hand off. "The challenge I mean. Like, all that, and now…" Emma sighed. "I can't hurt you, Bowie. Not after everything." The blonde gave him a weak smile as her team protested, and reluctantly made her way to the very edge of the dock.
"What's this? It looks like Emma is giving Bowie the point! How noble!" The host chuckled. "Stupid, but noble."
Stupid it was. But Emma had done all sorts of stupid things before, right? What was one more? Yeah, she'd probably get voted off for it. But she'd go home happy. And to Emma, that was what mattered most. Probably. And if she didn't, it'd be Bowie going home, so… it was worth it.
That was her thought process in the moment, before she felt a hand take hers. A surprised Emma looked to her right to find Bowie standing next to her, hand in hers. "Oh, please." He chuckled, shaking his head fondly. "A point you're given for free is not a point, now is it?" His smirk shifted to something softer as he added "...Together?"
Emma smiled. "Together."
"Three…"
"...Two…"
"...One."
…
Hand-in-hand, Bowie and Emma stepped off the dock.
—-
Yeah, Chris was not happy. "WOAH! What'd you do that for!?" He demanded as both contestants returned to their respective teams. He let out a long, very irritated sigh. "Well, I hope you're both happy, because we just timed out, and now we need a tiebreaker round! Again; Half. Hour. Show!"
To say Bowie couldn't care less would be a massive understatement. So what if they needed a tiebreaker? They had a tough team, and for Emma? Well, he could take a loss just this once, worst case scenario. Bowie was in an alliance of three in a team of seven, and he really doubted anyone aside from Chase would have any issue with him. And if Chase did, well good! Because that boy would have a massive problem soon. But the point was, with three out of seven votes guaranteed to not be for Bowie, and three very likely to not be for Bowie, there was virtually no chance he'd be eliminated that night. Immunity or no immunity, he was safe and he knew it.
Bowie had barely climbed back onto his team's dock when, to his surprise, Raj scooped him up with a big smile. "YEAAAAAAAH!" He whooped as he spun Bowie around, and the bleach blond found himself laughing, too. "GO, BOWIE! Told'ja you could do it!"
A brief scanning of the crowd showed Priya consoling a sobbing Damien (How sweet! Bowie didn't care for that.), Scary Girl murdering some water bug, Chase appearing rather deep in thought for a change, and MK watching him and Raj with clear disinterest. Not that he blamed her, or anything. Everyone wanted to look at Bowie. "Can I ask why you threw away the winning point, orrrrr…?" Raj and Bowie instantly glared at MK. "...Yep, message received."
The host loudly cleared his throat, successfully drawing the attention of both sides. "If I may continue," He gave both sides a pointed glare. Everyone shut up. "Thank you! Rhinos, seeing as every member of your team has gone at least once, we'll be picking a name at random!" He gestured toward Chef's boat, which now carried an intern holding a hat with several folded-up papers. The boat sped toward Chris's lifeguard chair as he continued. "Jaguars; not only did you let Chase go twice for some reason, you also forgot someone! Seeing as only one of you didn't go, MK, you're up by default!"
"Crap!" MK kicked at the floor, glaring at it as if it was somehow responsible. Talk about a grouch.
Bowie giggled behind his hand, earning himself a classic MK glare. "Hey, don't look at me!" He raised both hands in mock surrender with a smug smirk. "That, missy, is karma! You could've volunteered anytime you wanted!"
[CONFESSIONAL: MK]
"Okay, that's true, but I already got hurt twice, I should get a pass!"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
"S'all good, MK!" Raj reassured her with a smile as he set Bowie down. He raised a hand to pat her on the shoulder, but MK instinctively smacked it away. "Wooooah-kay! Sorry… but really! You got this! You'll take 'em out, no prob!" Bowie decided not to intervene, but he knew the same thing MK did; the other team had a trained survivalist, an athlete, Julia, and a giant. MK was short, scrawny, and maaaaaaaybe not the strongest. Like, at all. He just loved Raj's positive outlook, but he'd rather face the facts; they were doomed.
But Priya, as all good leaders should, opted to lie to make her feel better. "Yeah!" She agreed, approaching the group with forced enthusiasm. "Don't worry about the strength part of it! Just, um… focus on what you're good at! Like, um… you're a fast runner, right? If you outmaneuver them, they'll never catch you!"
MK narrowed her eyes. "...Me and my barely-functional leg will be sure to take that into consideration."
Ha! Bowie was pretty sure if Priya were a turtle, she'd have retreated into her shell right now. It definitely looked like she was trying! "O-Oh! Right! Um… heheh… yeah… um…" …Well, Bowie could save her just once.
"What Priya means is, there are other methods you could use to win," Bowie explained, to Priya's visible relief. "Because let's be honest, you are not getting anything done if you brute-force it. Just saying! But at least there's a chance, however minimal! Right?"
"That is… very dependent on who I'm fighting."
—-
Meanwhile, the Rhinos were pretty pleased with how things had turned out.
"Okay!" Nichelle placed her hands on her hips, her cheery demeanor back at full force. "We got this, team!"
"For sure! MK's tiny, right? Just pick 'er up n' toss 'er in! No biggie!" Wayne added, equally enthusiastic. Axel was getting real tired of all the happy rainbow crap over here, but if it made these chumps not screw it up, then whatever worked. Maybe she'd get picked, if they were lucky. She'd have that point before Chris even counted them in!
Caleb chuckled at the mental image, but shook his head. "Let's refrain from throwing anybody, okay?"
"AHEMhypocrite!" Axel loudly coughed into her fist, and Caleb shot her a stern look. The survivalist glared right back, before Caleb eventually cracked and looked away.
"Alright!" Chris announced. "And the person fighting for the Rhinos iiiiiiis…"
Nichelle clapped, either not noticing or not caring about Axel and Caleb's unspoken arguing. "Whatever we do, it'll be fine! Girl's goin' down, no problem!" She boasted. "I mean, any one of you could take her on like, a hundred times over!"
"Okay…" Julia raised a brow. "And what about you?"
"Nah, don't worry about it!" The actress dismissed Julia's concerns with a wave. "I mean, what're the chances that I'll be–"
"...Nichelle!" Chris smirked. "What are the chances?"
The camper stopped in her tracks, eyes wide with horror. Axel wasn't sure whether she should groan, or give into the urge to laugh mercilessly at Nichelle's misfortune. She didn't much believe in the supernatural, but if jinxes were real, Nichelle definitely jinxed herself. Axel's amusement barely lasted a minute, though, and was soon replaced by half-sympathy when the Jaguars began celebrating. It was kind of pathetic that she was so weak the Jaguars saw her as an insta-win, but it was her own fault. Maybe she should've joined Axel for training more often!
"Uh…" Nichelle fumbled, frantically searching for some kind of escape. "C-Can you do a redraw?" And immediately, she was trying to get out of it. What a coward.
"All randomized draws are final!"
The Rhino groaned, and Caleb immediately moved to offer support. What was he, her personal teddy bear? "It's alright, Nichelle." He spoke gently despite the sudden tension. It was not alright, but if false confidence would win them this game, then bring it. "I know you can do this. You and her are probably around an equal match, right? You'll be fine."
"We are not an equal match, Caleb! Did you see her on that first obstacle course!? Season one!? I mean, she wasn't great, but she got up the dang wall!"
"True," He agreed. "But that doesn't mean she's better than you at everything, and you've been really trying lately. She hasn't. And isn't her leg hurt, too?" Nichelle nodded. "Right. So even if she's a little stronger than you, she's also at a disadvantage, which makes things about equal. Wouldn't you say?"
"I mean…" Nichelle sighed, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "I guess. But what if I can't do it?"
"You'll have tried your best." He lowered his voice, but because of Axel's close proximity, she could still pick up on what he was saying. "And if we lose, you're not going home. Trust me." Caleb then raised his voice to normal level as he gently ushered her forward. "Now you go show her what it means to be Nichelle LaDonna."
The actress hesitated as Chef's boat pulled up, looking to… Axel for support? She didn't sign up for that! "...Fake it 'till you make it," She advised with a shrug.
"Axel!"
"She put me on the spot!"
Caleb sighed, massaging his temples with a grimace. "Look, Nichelle, you know Axel's a little… critical sometimes. Don't take it to heart. I know you can do this, okay?"
"Okay…" Nichelle deeply inhaled. "Okay! I can do this! I can do this! IcandothisIcandothisIcan…"
She couldn't do this.
—-
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Chris stood up, arms held out dramatically as he announced the matchup. "For our final match… MK from the Jaguars, versus Nichelle from the Rhinos! Who will come out on top? Just wait and see! Ready, ladies?"
MK scoffed. "Ready as I'm ever gonna be,"
"Ready!" Nichelle squeaked out.
"Fight, fight, fight!"
…
Well, here she was. Nobody moved at first. Guess MK was just as apprehensive as Nichelle herself. Don't get her wrong, she was so down to take MK out! MK was like, her sworn enemy! The Heather to her Gwen! The Ice Dancer to her Cadet! The Julia to her Bowie!
…Yeah, scratch that. Using examples of people she actually knew personally felt pretty dang weird.
But still, Nichelle kind of felt like a superhero up here, facing off against her greatest rival in a duel to determine the fate of her team! She always thought being a real superhero would feel a little less… terrifying, but she had to do this! For the team and, most importantly, for her pride! The Rhinos needed a point, and she could not fail them! Because if she did, well, then her failures would be broadcasted on live TV for everyone to see all over again! Which was just… wonderful!
"...Why are we standing here? Is– is this a staring contest, are we having a staring contest right now?"
Oh, right. MK. The noirette eyed her both cautiously and amusedly, and Nichelle couldn't decide which she hated more. But it didn't matter! Today was the day she finally taught that girl a lesson! Nichelle raised her dueling stick and went at MK in a full sprint. For the Rhinos!
…
…MK awkwardly sidestepped out of the way, and Nichelle was barely able to stop before she stumbled over the edge. The infuriating sound of MK's laughter met her ears, and Nichelle growled. "What're you laughin' at, stringbean!?" She demanded, whipping around to face the other girl.
"Uh… you?" The Jaguar shrugged, speaking like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Like, I know not having to ever do anything prolly means you never had to think either, but try it, maybe. Opens a heck of a lot of doors."
"You think you're funny!?"
"Kinda."
"Ignore her, Nichelle!" Caleb called. "She's just trying to get under your skin! Don't listen to a word she says!"
"Rude! I don't just try, I excel." MK bragged smugly. Nichelle's eye twitched, which she thought only happened in movies! "Not that it's hard with you, but eh, what can ya do?" Nichelle swung the dueling stick again, aiming right for her head this time. Unfortunately for her and very fortunately for MK, the latter calmly ducked with more than enough time to spare. "Geez, dude, headshots? Scary Girl I understand, but you are not skilled enough to justify being that violent!" She cackled as she dodged yet another swing. "Ha! Missed me again!"
"Just! Stop! Moving!" Nichelle demanded, swinging again with each word. MK, who clearly had no intentions of not moving, dodged Nichelle's pathetic swings with ease. "I will not lose to you!"
"Like, me specifically, or my team? 'Cause technically you've already done both." She jumped out of the way just as Nichelle brought her dueling stick down, and the rubber padding hit the wooden platform instead. "And with how you're doing here, you're prolly gonna do it again." She added with a smirk. "Like, I haven't even tried to hit you, and you're already failing miserably! Can we get a Nichelle LaDonna Epic Fail Compilation or something? I have like, three dollars in my wallet that I'll give to whoever makes one first!"
"Oh, would you SHUT IT!?" MK rolled her eyes as Nichelle shouted, and the actress was reminded all over again of why she hated this girl. "I am not gonna lose to you, and I am not gonna lose to your team, and I will not! Fail! Again! You hear me!? I WON'T LET YOU HUMILIATE ME AGAIN!"
"Don't need my help, princess– hold up." Uh… what? Flabbergasted, Nichelle lowered her weapon. "Again? Whaddaya mean again? When have I ever humiliated you? Dude, we talked like, twice."
The blonde paused at the sheer audacity. "Um, hello!? As if you don't know! Maybe you forgot, but I do not forget these things! Season one!? Remember!?"
"What the heck did I do in season one!? You lasted three episodes! When did I have time to do anything!?"
"YOU ONLY LASTED SIX!"
"I mean, your entire friend group put together only lasted six episodes, and there's three of you, so…"
"Would you shut your mouth for a second!?"
"Are you gonna say anything worth listening to?" Nichelle snarled and MK sighed, gesturing for her to carry on.
Finally. "I mean the day I got eliminated! That stupid obstacle course!? Y'know, the one where we had to climb that wall, and– and the barbed wire, and the grease, and the numbers!?"
"Well, yeah, I was there. You'd think you'd know that considering I lasted longer than you," MK snarked, only fueling Nichelle's rage further. "Guess you're not the brightest, huh? That what Caleb's around for? He the brain and the brawn, or what?"
"Leave him out of this!" The actress snapped. MK flinched back, clearly not having expected that, but recovered quickly. "I'm talkin' about my turn! When I was struggling, you just stood there and mocked me! "Find the number! She's really bad at this! Why didn't you tell us any of this before!?"! What, you think I'd just let it go!?" Nichelle pointed an accusing finger at her opponent, too focused on her rant to notice the suddenly blank expression on MK's face. "I could've done it! I could've won for the team, but you just had to go and RUIN it! Would it have hurt you to keep your mouth shut!? Now everyone's makin' fun of me everywhere! I'm a total laughingstock!"
…
…
…
…
…
…
MK burst into laughter.
Nichelle froze up, and her face burned with humiliation as the shorter girl just laughed and laughed, barely paying any attention to Nichelle. "W-What!?" The actress shouted, desperate to maintain any shred of decency she had left. "What's so– why're you laughing!?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." MK's laughter soon died down to a chuckle as she recomposed herself, taking a deep breath in, then out. "But lemme see if I have this right; you lied to literally the whole world, including our teammates, your lie made Emma nominate you to go last, you completely failed in every aspect, got caught in your own lie, and lost it for the team. And now, because you don't wanna admit that you're useless, you're antagonizing me?"
The actress averted her gaze, stammering uselessly in defense. "W-Well– well, I– you were– oh!" She reacted just in time, blocking an unexpected hit from MK. Her amused smile had completely dropped, leaving nothing but pure malice.
"You suck," MK hissed, venom dripping from her voice. She pushed against Nichelle's dueling stick and Nichelle took a step back. As she did, MK took another step forward. "Our whole team thought you sucked!" Nichelle took another step back. MK took another step forward. "You wanna know why anyone said anything different? You wanna know why, Nichelle!?" She didn't. She really, really didn't. Nichelle took yet another step back. MK matched it with another step forward. "So that you wouldn't screw it up for the rest of us! And then what'd you do, Nichelle, huh!? You screwed it up for the rest of us!"
With one final shove, Nichelle stumbled backward. MK had backed her to the very edge of the dock, and Nichelle was left with nowhere else to go. Nothing left to do, but glare at her rival with pure hatred that, for the first time, was evenly matched. "...Least I own my screw-ups, but you? You humiliated yourself. And now you wanna pawn it off on me. Real mature. Really, props to you."
"Nichelle, ignore her!" Caleb shouted. But Nichelle was nearly certain that even he knew his efforts were in vain. She would've been happy to at least put up a good fight, but… this was it. She'd completely lost it for the team in under five minutes. She really couldn't do anything.
"D'aww, what's the matter, Nichelle?" MK taunted with a sneer, getting in the blonde's face as much as her short stature would allow her. And what she said next? That was the final straw.
"You wanna tag in a stunt double?"
Suddenly, something inside Nichelle snapped. A stunt double? That's what she'd been reduced to? Just… some fake, stunt-double using poser!? Everything she'd done, everything she achieved, it just meant NOTHING!?
That… that was not it. That was not all there was to Nichelle. And this snarky, arrogant, confessional-watching wannabe was NOT about to tell her otherwise! MK seemed to take notice of her change in attitude, judging by the confused look on her face. But that didn't matter. It didn't matter. Nichelle saw red, and nothing else mattered but shutting this girl up.
So, with a battle-worthy cry and an unexpected swing, Nichelle struck MK right in the stomach, leaving the noirette winded. A few people gasped, but Nichelle couldn't have cared less if she tried. "Woah, okay, uh–!" MK started to back away. She wouldn't get the chance. With an almost feral glint in her eye, Nichelle kicked MK's feet out from under her. The Jaguar landed hard on her back, dropping her dueling stick in the fall.
[CONFESSIONAL: JULIA]
"Um, wow." Julia tapped her fingers against her knee, still stunned by the display. "Respect. I don't super care about MK normally, but she totally tried to frame me yesterday! That's a little thing I like to call karma." She giggled. "Sorry not sorry!"
[CONFESSIONAL END]
[CONFESSIONAL: BOWIE]
"Aaaaaaaaaand, she blew it."
[CONFESSIONAL END]
MK crawled backward as a seething Nichelle advanced toward her. She frantically felt around for her dueling stick, not daring to take her eyes off the actress for even a moment. "Uh… h-heeeeeey, so… just so we're clear… you, uh… you do know the goal's still just to knock me off the dock, right?" She chuckled anxiously. Her nervous grin subtly shifted into one of panic when she didn't get an answer. "...Nichelle? Nichelle!?"
Her hand found the dueling stick just in time. MK screwed her eyes shut and held the weapon out just as Nichelle went in for another blow. The noirette yelped, but was left uninjured after the first hit. What worried her was the many, many more that followed. Nichelle's attempts to pummel the Jaguar were mostly fruitless. No matter how many times she tried, MK would barely block the hit. Each attempt left the actress more furious than the last. She did not have the patience for this! And yet that's how it went on. Over, and over, and over again.
…Until it didn't.
Nichelle's patience was limited. Especially right now. So when she had had enough of this, she had really had enough. And so, Nichelle raised the dueling stick again. And with one foul swoop, MK's last line of defense was knocked clean out of her hands, and sent flying into the surrounding lake.
"...Welp!" MK chuckled, staring out at the discarded dueling stick with a hint of panic in her voice. "That can't be good." She watched helplessly as the weapon drifted away, only distracted by the large shadow suddenly looming over her.
"I am not a loser," Nichelle bellowed over an increasingly frightened MK. "I am not pathetic," She took a step forward and raised her dueling stick above her head with a crazed look in her eye. "And I do not need A STUNT DOUBLE!"
Everyone got an idea of what was about to happen only seconds before it did. And MK herself only had time for a word and a half;
"Oh, shi–"
—-
The Jaguars winced as MK shrieked. Bowie and Priya in particular were more desensitized; they'd seen plenty of beatings on this show before, half by people much stronger than Nichelle. But others, particularly Damien, were having none of it. Not that any of them blamed him, given his general lack of experience, but he sure wasn't used to it.
"Someone stop her!" He cried, frantically looking around for backup. "Guys!?"
Priya patted him on the back. "S-She'll be okay! This stuff happens all the time on Total Drama Island! It's fine! She's fine!" She offered him the best smile she could muster up, but it really did nothing at all to soothe him. Both winced as their teammate took a particularly nasty hit.
"Ouch!" Raj winced. "Clean hits, but… sheesh."
While the other Jaguars watched in either shock, horror, or sympathy, Scary Girl joyfully hopped up and down as she laughed almost maniacally. "Again! Again!" She cheered after every hit. Bowie not-so subtly stepped away from her.
"CHRIS!" Damien frantically waved his arms to get the host's attention. Chris muttered something like "here we go," before turning his body toward Damien. "Man, do somethin'!"
Chris chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Relax, Damien! She's fine!" Chef loudly cleared his throat, and Chris peered over the side of his chair to find his co-host glaring daggers at him. With a long, dramatic sigh, he rolled his eyes. "Fine. HEY, MK! SHOUT IF YOU NEED HELP!"
MK let out another scream. Whether it was one of fear, pain, or confirmation was up for debate.
"...Yeah, I still can't tell!" Chef facepalmed.
—-
The Rhinos were no less surprised than their counterparts. Julia was almost impressed! She never saw that coming out of Nichelle, of all people! For reals, she'd kill to have her phone on her right now! Her MySelfiegram fanbase would literally lose their minds! Ugh. Julia officially hated water challenges.
Axel was the most vocal about her support. "YEAAAAAH!" She cheered, punching the air with insane levels of energy. "ATTA GIRL, NICHELLE! YOU GET HER! I shoulda covered dueling stick battles in her training!" Julia scoffed. Gross. Who woke up at like, 2 AM just to get all sweaty?
"I mean… wow." A still exhausted Emma quietly spoke up. "Nichelle's the last person I expected that from!"
Wayne and Caleb had nothing to say. Caleb lingered by the corner of the dock, watching the predicament with an unreadable expression. Wayne, on the other hand, was like an open book. He looked absolutely horrified by what was happening (not surprising at all, traitor), and seemed more stunned into silence than quiet by choice. But as long as he was silent, Julia really didn't care.
Finally, the team watched as Nichelle rolled MK off the dock with a dueling stick, pushing her into the lake. MK was moving, so she was clearly semi-conscious at least. Julia would've gone for the knockout, but whatevs. Nichelle threw her dueling stick to the ground with pure rage in her eyes as Priya and Damien pulled MK out of the water. Julia was already prepared to celebrate before Chris said a word.
"The Royal Rhinos win the challenge!"
—-
"I can't believe it! I can't believe we lost again!"
The challenge had ended a little while ago. The campers had dried off, changed, and Damien and Priya did a quick checkup on MK, just to be safe. They'd do a more thorough one later. She was definitely out of it for a bit, but she was back to her usual self before long, albeit very angry, which Damien figured was understandable. Chase had gone on a walk, Bowie and Raj had gone somewhere and taken MK with them, which just left himself, Priya, and Scary Girl, the latter of which watched them from her bunk rather than engage in conversation. Damien himself sat on his bed, listening the best he could.
"I know, Pri." Damien nodded sympathetically as Priya ranted, the latter pacing back and forth around the cabin. "I'm real bummed out, too. Whole lot happened today, huh? Try not to take it too personally, yeah? It's not anyone's fau–"
"It's everyone's fault, Damien!" The brunette cried, throwing her arms up in the air. "It's a team effort! If we lose, it's everybody's fault!" Damien recoiled as Priya snapped. After a moment, she sighed. "...I'm sorry. I'm not trying to take it out on you, just… so much has happened! I'm just…"
"Overwhelmed?" Damien suggested.
Priya weakly smiled. "...Yeah. overwhelmed. It's like no matter what I do, nothing ever goes right for the team!" Damien patted the spot next to him. Priya hesitated, briefly looking away. When she looked back, Damien nodded.
"I hear ya, Priya." He gently bumped Priya's shoulder once she sat down. "But'cha gotta remember that you can't control everything. I know you're doin' your best, but sometimes, things'll just go wrong. You can't keep blaming yourself, y'know? You've only ever done right by the team, so quit bein' so hard on yourself."
"I know, but…" She sighed. "I keep feeling like there's something I could have done, you know?"
Damien understood that much. But he still felt awful for Priya. He saw every day how hard she was trying, and to watch it constantly fall apart on her was… not great. "Nah, I get that. But when you start thinkin' about it, there really wasn't, know what I mean? No one knows what Chase was doin' the first time, and he just jumped right on that boat the second! Bowie just wanted to be there for a friend, which I can't really fault 'im for. And MK shoulda kept quiet, but no one coulda seen Nichelle's reaction coming! MK didn't see it coming, and she was the one up there! We lost because of a whole buncha stuff that was outta your control. So let it go, Priya. Before you drive yourself crazy."
"That's…" Priya began, before suddenly stopping. "I mean, you're right, but…"
"I know, it's rough. Just promise me you'll try to take it a little easier on yourself, yeah?"
She seemed to consider it for a moment before nodding. "...Okay," She finally agreed. "I promise. Thanks, Damien." Keeping the relief to himself, Damien held a fist out. With a giggle, Priya gave him a fist bump, and he smiled. At least she was feeling a little better, right? Yeah! "Um… by the way…" She added, shifting uncomfortably.
Damien raised a brow. "What's up?"
"...Do you know who you're voting for?"
"Not yet." He shook his head. "Why? You want me to vote with you?" To his surprise, (and slight dread), Priya nodded. He was planning on voting randomly, but… guess this worked, too. "Who'd you have in mind?" Priya's expression darkened, and Damien swallowed nervously.
"Chase."
—-
Caleb kept mostly to himself after the challenge.
Not physically, of course. He sat on the front steps with Axel and Nichelle, the latter of which was working on applying some mascara as they spoke, while Julia and Emma stayed inside. Caleb had no idea where Wayne had gone, but he trusted him not to get up to anything crazy. But while Axel and Nichelle were heavily engaged in whatever conversation they were having, Caleb kept his mouth shut. It wasn't that he was angry with Nichelle; it was perfectly normal to lash out after all that. But truthfully… he was a little worried. She seemed better now, but that sort of thing still wasn't like her at all. Not to mention what would happen when this episode aired. Caleb decided to ask about it discreetly.
"So," He chimed in for the first time since the conversation had started. "Bit of a hectic day today. Especially for you, Nichelle. Are you feeling alright?"
"Who, me?" Her mirror snapped shut, and Nichelle eyed him curiously. "Oh, yeah! Things got pretty crazy, but I'm fine now. As long as I don't see her for the rest of the day…"
"I understand that. I've never seen you so angry before."
Axel slapped Nichelle on the back. Probably a little harder than intended, judging by the way Nichelle winced. "Not bad for a rookie," She commented, bringing a smile to the actress's face. "Can't say I saw it coming, but hey. Means I can move you up to some better training."
Caleb could see the panic in Nichelle's eyes. "H-Hey, now, I don't know about any of that, I mean, I was just–"
"I was kidding."
"Oh." Nichelle blinked. "Most people, y'know, smile when they're joking!" She pouted, puffing her cheeks out.
Caleb cleared his throat. "But Nichelle, you aren't going to make a habit out of that sort of thing, are you?"
"What?" She looked pretty surprised by that question. "What do you mean?"
…Lovely. They were both staring at him. Well, he dug himself into this hole… "I'm just saying, you might have taken it a little far. I understand why you reacted the way you did, but that was too much."
Nichelle didn't say anything at first, although she looked a little hurt. "...But I won the challenge for us! Aren't you proud?"
"You don't even like beanie," Axel added.
This wasn't how he'd imagined this conversation going, but… he'd make it work. "Come on." He put a hand on Nichelle's shoulder, and she brightened up a little. "Of course I'm proud. I knew you could do it. And it's true that I don't like MK, but MK probably likes not being attacked. And does MK strike either of you as a graceful loser?" The girls shared a glance. Nichelle shook her head, and Axel muttered something in the negative. "Exactly. It's alright to be angry, Nichelle, but you beat her up. Not only that, but now she's probably going to want to beat you up right back. Attacking people does have consequences."
The blonde paled, and Axel grimaced. "O-Okay, so… what do we do?"
Axel pulled a crossbow out of her hair. "Medically evacuate her."
"Absolutely not." Caleb snatched the crossbow out of the survivalist's hands, to Axel's dismay. "We aren't going to kill anybody, and we aren't going to severely injure anybody either." Axel huffed, crossing her arms. "Listen. As far as MK knows, Nichelle, you're stronger than she is."
"But I'm not!"
"We know that. But you just demolished her in a fight. Even if there's a chance she wants to see you hurt in retaliation, the chances she'll go for it are low. Just steer clear, and everything will be okay. I doubt she'll want any trouble, but be careful. And if things go south, you've got Axel and I right here to look out for you." Axel opened her mouth to speak, but Caleb instantly cut her off. "Axel, we are not under any circumstances shooting anyone with a crossbow."
"Fine. Then what if–"
"No. Weapons."
—-
The leaves crunched beneath Chase's feet as he walked.
He had no clue how long ago he left. Didn't really care either! He'd spent the better part of the day wandering aimlessly through the forest, occasionally stopping to stare at some tree and imagine himself climbing it. His teammates broke up into their little groups or whatever after the challenge, but all of them seemed kinda mad at Chase. And for what!? He didn't do anything wrong!
…But Emma did say that–
Nope. Didn't matter. Emma had no idea what she was talking about! She was just… getting emotional again, that was all! Like she always did! Chase didn't do anything wrong. He knew he didn't! They were prolly still mad at him for his wicked explosion prank! Which, by the way, was epic! The rest of the team just didn't get Chase. And he didn't need them to, either! Those guys were lame anyway. Go talk to Emma, what did they know!?
"Can you be reasonable for two seconds!?"
"Don't even try to talk to me about reasonable!"
Ooooh, there was totally a fight going on! Forcing all those worries out of his head, Chase crept toward the source of the noise. He pushed past a few bushes and hid out behind a tree, peeking out to catch a glimpse of the drama. The tree gave him a nice view of a clearing, where Bowie, MK, and Raj were gathered. MK held an ice pack to her head with a pained expression (man, Nichelle really did a number on her!), while Raj worriedly crouched at her side. Bowie was the only one of the three standing up, and it was pretty obvious by the looks on their faces that he and MK were the ones arguing.
"Bowie, dude, I get you're peeved or whatever, but you still have to vote for the good of the alliance, not the good of someone who's on the other team!" MK hissed. Bowie scoffed and rolled his eyes. So, they were talking about tonight's vote? Cool! Maybe Chase could figure out who they were voting for?
"What, so you'd rather we keep him!? Are you blind, or were you too busy complaining about nothing to see what happened earlier!? Who's him? The only guys still on the team were Chase, Bowie, Raj, and Damien, and Bowie and Raj were part of the conversation. What did Damien do?
…
No way were they talking about Chase right now.
MK winced. "First of all, do me a solid and don't yell? I already got a splitting headache. And… everything-ache. Could really do without you making it worse. And hey, I hate him as much as the next guy, okay? I'm not saying we should vote off Scary Girl because I like Chase, I'm saying we should vote her off because right now, we need to focus on dismantling Priya's alliance! We all vote Scary Girl and get Chase on our side, then we're good to go. Plus, he'll owe us for the save!"
So Bowie wanted him gone, and MK wanted Scary Girl gone? How did that whole conversation even happen? What was Raj's stance on all this? And why the heck did Bowie want to eliminate him!? He didn't do anything wrong!
"Girly, no. You are a whole new level of crazy if you think he's getting away with what he did to Emma!" He didn't do anything to Emma! Seriously, what the heck!? "We need him gone now!" Bowie insisted, hands on his hips.
"No one else likes him either!" Rude. "If we try to get rid of him later, everyone's still gonna be on board! It's not like we're making a pact to take him to the finale, we just can't vote him off right now! But Priya, Damien, and Scary Girl are clearly in a three-person alliance, so if we get rid of Chase now, it'll be a three on three! So we take out a member of that alliance, and worry about Chase later! Raj, back me up here!"
"Uh…"
"Don't drag him into this!" Bowie snapped, and MK winced again. "Even if the votes tie on the next elimination round, there will still be a tiebreaker! It doesn't automatically mean one of us is going home! Right, Raj?"
"Guys…"
"Oh, you can bring him into this but I can't?"
"You already brought him into it!
"Guys!"
"Dude, what kind of backward logic is that!?"
"Because everything you've said is just so much smarter–"
"HEY!"
Bowie and MK both froze. Heck, Chase froze! Raj had one heck of a loud voice. Maybe Chase could get him in on some kind of prank later… he didn't really look super mad, though. In fact, once MK and Bowie were both listening, he seemed totally fine. "There we go! Sorry guys, things were just gettin' kinda heated. Figured maybe you both oughta take a walk?" Aw, lame.
MK let out a humorless laugh. "Dude, I've had to sit here listening to this guy rant about some random dude I don't even remotely care about, over a failed relationship I still don't care about. If I could take a walk, I woulda done it twenty minutes ago!"
"R-Right! Okay. That's chill. Um… Bowie?"
"This is IMPORTANT, Raj!" The hockey player instantly shut his mouth. Bowie's frustrated expression vanished, instantly replaced by one of regret. "Oh, Raj, I…" He sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you, it's just… UGH! Chase, you know? I'm so sorry, Raj."
"Nah," The brunette shook his head, taking Bowie's hand with a tender smile. "I know you had a rough day, man. Guess all this Emma n' Chase stuff's pretty complicated." The bleach blond nodded. "I know you're mad at 'im. I don't really follow what's going on with 'em, but I know how he treated Emma is bad. I think maybe I'm kinda with MK here, 'cause, y'know, wicked strategy stuff, but if you really want him gone, we'll do it. Right, MK?"
"Still be pretty stupid to vote for Chase now–" Raj narrowed his eyes. "–But, you're kinda the leader here, dude. Don't necessarily agree with it, but whatever you wanna do…" MK looked away. "...We'll back you. Just… think about it, 'kay?"
Chase couldn't get a good look at Bowie's face from that angle, but it looked like he was smiling a little. "I'll think about it." He relented. Raj gently nudged him, and Bowie rolled his eyes fondly. "And I shouldn't have yelled at you either. I'm sorry, MK."
"Meh." She shrugged. "Not like I don't get why, so whatever. Besides, you're always a headache. Was just more literal this time."
"You make it very difficult to be polite," Bowie grumbled, sitting down at Raj's insistence. He leaned back with an exhausted sigh. "Ugh… what a day."
"For real, dude."
Raj didn't seem nearly as bothered as his fellow Jaguars. "S'okay, Bowie! I got a good feelin' tomorrow's gonna be great!"
"Oh?" Bowie raised a brow amusedly. "What makes you so sure?"
"Just a hunch!" Only Chase noticed the smile Raj hid.
…Well, he'd sure as heck heard all he needed to. Chase snuck away without a sound, already fuming. Why was Bowie gunning for him!? Everything that happened wasn't his fault! Sure, he kinda messed up the challenge, but half the team messed up the challenge! He would prolly have to vote for Scary Girl if he even wanted a chance at staying in the game, but what were the chances of that working out!? And all because of some dumb lover's quarrel with Emma!? It wasn't even Chase's fault!
It wasn't Chase's fault.
It wasn't Chase's fault.
It wasn't Chase's fault.
It couldn't have been. Everyone was just ganging up on him and taking Emma's side because they liked her more! That was it!
It wasn't his fault!
Right?
—-
The Rhino cabin was pretty quiet. The only noises Emma could hear were her own breathing, and the sound of Julia typing at lightspeed on one of her many phones. She thought about maybe going on a walk, but after the day she'd had, Emma didn't really have the energy for it. So she'd decided to stay in, and maybe try to catch a few Z's.
…But she couldn't sleep. Now that she and Bowie had talked things out, all she could think about was how things might work out at the elimination ceremony. She knew the chances of Bowie being eliminated were probably really low, but she was still worried. What if something unexpected happened? What if the team figured he was a threat and voted him off?
…No, no, that wouldn't happen. He had Raj with him, and Wayne had mentioned something about MK being friends with Raj and Bowie. Emma kind of doubted that, but maybe Wayne had mistaken an alliance for friendship? Bowie was the kind of guy to go for an early game alliance, and MK didn't really seem super keen to be around them whenever Emma saw the trio. It'd answer a lot of questions. So that was three votes for Bowie not to be eliminated…
Priya might vote for Bowie. She knows the game, and she was with him in the finale, so she probably already knows about all his skills and stuff. Maybe Damien, too, since he seemed really tight with Priya. Chase would probably do something stupid, like vote for Priya or something. Honestly, with how things were going, Emma would be alright with anyone being eliminated so long as it wasn't Bowie or Priya!
"Attention, Jaguars!" Emma tensed. "Please meet me at the campfire, pronto! One of you is going home!"
She took a deep breath to calm herself. Bowie would be okay.
—-
The tension was almost unbearable as the Jaguars made their way toward the campfire. Chase's hands were stuffed into his pockets, and he refused eye contact with any of his fellow teammates. Priya downright glared at him, while Damien watched her rather worriedly. Scary Girl, being Scary Girl, skipped along the trail without a care.
Just like before, Bowie spent the walk whispering to Raj and MK. The two nodded along as he spoke, and the bleach blond sent a nasty look Chase's way before straightening up again. Who would go home that night?
Well, it was anyone's guess.
—-
"Jaguars!" Chris greeted, clasping his hands together with a smirk. "Twice in a row, eh? Not your best performance. But man, you guys made for some killer drama today!" He chuckled. "Chef, let's hear it!"
Chef stepped forward, clearing his throat. "Chase," He began. The daredevil averted his eyes. "A lotta people ain't too happy with the effect you've been havin' on Emma. Plus, you messin' around cost your team two points, and the game!"
[CONFESSIONAL: CHASE]
"...Whatever."
[CONFESSIONAL END]
"Bowie!"
"Um, what in the fresh heck did I do?"
"Emma handed you the winnin' point on a silver platter, and you turned it down."
Bowie scoffed, a look of outrage crossing his features. "She literally just finished having an emotional breakdown!"
Chef shrugged. "Was all I had on ya. And MK,"
"Aw, this again?"
"You had it all wrapped up," MK clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. "You coulda won it for your team! but instead, ya got cocky and provoked Nichelle, and she beat'cha up."
[CONFESSIONAL: MK]
"Did she? Wow, I hadn't noticed."
[CONFESSIONAL END]
Chef stepped back and Chris took over, approaching with an intrigued look in his eyes. "Jaguars," He began with a smirk. "Cast your votes."
—-
After a few tense minutes, Chris returned with a plate of six marshmallows. "The votes have been cast, and all decisions are final. You know how this goes! If I call your name, you get a marshmallow. If you get a marshmallow, you're safe! If you do not get a marshmallow, then you must leave immediately, walk down the Dock of Shame, and be taken away by the Bucket of Tears! Let's begin."
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…
"Raj." Chris tossed the first marshmallow Raj's way, and the hockey player eagerly caught it.
…
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"Priya," The girl in question smiled, catching her marshmallow with ease.
…
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"MK," MK lazily raised a hand to catch the marshmallow. The shot completely missed and hit her in the face.
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"Damien,"
"Woo!" Damien caught his marshmallow with both hands, smiling at the thumbs up Priya gave him.
…
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"...And Bowie!" Raj silently cheered, and Bowie accepted his marshmallow with a sigh of relief. "Chase, Scary Girl." Chris solemnly picked up the last marshmallow off the plate. "This is the final marshmallow of the ceremony. If you do not receive it, then it's the Bucket of Tears for you! Now, without further ado, the final marshmallow goes to…"
…
…
…
…
…
Scary Girl fidgeted nervously with the lace of her dress.
…
…
…
…
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Chase barely moved an inch, staring directly at the ground.
…
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…
"Okay, whatever!" Chase abruptly stood up, dusting himself off. "C'mon, dude, enough with the suspense! It's pretty obvious I–" He paused when something light hit him in the cheek. He cupped his hands together to catch the object, looking down to find a marshmallow waiting in his hands.
"Sit down, Chase!" Chris ordered. "You're safe!"
"Wait, really?" Stunned, Chase looked over his shoulder at the trio from earlier. All three of them were downright glaring at Chase. He awkwardly looked away.
"What!?" Priya stood too, still reeling from the shock. "Wait, but… Bowie? Raj? MK? Why?"
Bowie crossed his arms, turning his head the other way. "We don't have to explain ourselves to you."
"No," Scary Girl agreed, calmly rising to her feet. She reached into the pocket of her dress and retrieved a spork, which she brought to Bowie's neck without hesitation. "But you'll have to explain it to me."
Chris clapped twice. "Chef? A little help?"
The co-host cracked his knuckles, and effortlessly lifted Scary Girl up by the collar. "Aww…" She pouted, crossing her arms as she was carried away.
"Well," Chris shrugged. "Guess that's better than the last death threat she tried."
Bowie's head snapped in Chris's direction. "The what now!?"
—-
Scary Girl was carried all the way down the dock by Chef, followed eventually by the host himself. "Weeeeell, I didn't win… but I made some new friends! I just looooove Damien and Priya! I wonder what makes them scream the loudest?" She giggled as Chef tossed her into the boat. "I'll find out! After all, I have lots of playdates planned! Whether they want to come or not."
Scary Girl peeked out over the side of the ship as it sped off, waved away by Chris. "Oh man, I will not miss her!" He chuckled as he lightly elbowed Chef, who nodded with a grunt. Chris turned back to the camera, flashing it a toothy grin. "We're down to twelve, and things are really heating up! Are MK and Nichelle sworn rivals now? How long will Bowie and Emma's rekindled friendship hold up? Will Chase survive to the next elimination ceremony? All that and more next time, on Total! Drama! Island!"
—-
"Is this seriously necessary?"
Bowie and Raj had decided to hang out on Bowie's bunk for a little while after the ceremony. Bowie really needed the company. He still felt a little bad for voting Scary Girl off. He'd only done it because MK and Raj had a point, but still felt so… ick. Speaking of Chase, he seemed to at least realize he was on thin ice. He didn't say a word to the rest of the team, instead throwing a bouncy ball at his headboard over and over. On the bunk across from Raj's, Damien and Priya were checking up on MK again. She clearly wasn't very happy about it, and Bowie might have felt bad for her if it weren't her own fault.
Speaking of which…
"Hey, MK?" The trio looked up, all wearing matching curious expressions. "Remember this morning when I told you your big mouth would get you killed, and you said you'd believe that when you saw it?" Raj snickered, and Bowie caught Priya covering a smile. MK was unamused.
"I hate you."
—-
[A/N: Hello, hello! This was quite a long chapter! I thought I'd never finish! I still remember saying that most of the chapters wouldn't be as long as the 9K word one. This one was 28K, which is crazy! It also means the story has reached 100K words in total, so thank you very much for supporting me and this little passion project of mine for this long! I was a little worried as I was writing this, since I realized halfway through that I don't actually know how to write fight scenes or emotional scenes, but all the events of this chapter are going to lead to some massive character development next chapter, so I couldn't scrap it. I just hope I did the characters justice. Thanks for reading, and I'll hopefully see you all next week!]
