Cody fidgeted, slightly uncomfortable at the stares he was receiving from Bridgette, Trent, and Heather. They weren't much better, though - each of his compatriots was as quiet as he was, seemingly waiting for someone else to start so they could jump in.
…
Yeah, this was officially awkward now.
"Uh… did you guys need something from me?" Cody asked, shrinking away from their gazes, "Because if that's all this is, then -"
Trent put up a hand to stop him, Cody's words sputtering to an end as any action left him.
"You didn't have to do all that, Cody," he began quietly, his voice carrying itself powerfully across the group regardless, "There are things that aren't worth winning the challenge."
"It's fine!" Cody said quickly, "I mean, I'm okay now, right? Everyone else had to face their fears, mine was no different!"
"Yeah right!" Heather responded, unamused, "Lindsay and Sadie needed to get a haircut. DJ had to touch a baby snake. Duncan hugged a cardboard cutout. Tyler had to sit next to chickens! There is no way you're comparing this."
Trent gave her a sideways glance. "She's right, you know. We all might have had to face our fears, but most of ours were way tamer than yours. And you had to deal with that crazy chick all day, dude! We wouldn't have voted you out if you bailed, bro."
He turned to Heather next, confused. "And why are you here anyway? Don't tell me you actually do care about other people."
Heather scoffed. "Of course I don't! I'm only here to get answers, and make sure nerdboy doesn't have a mental breakdown and turn into another Izzy."
Trent rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say. Bridgette and I are here because Cody is our friend, and because we were worried about him."
"As if!" Heather shot back, causing the two to bicker, seemingly forgetting the fact that Cody and Bridgette were still there, awkwardly watching them.
Bridgette swallowed a lump in her throat, stepping closer to Cody so he could hear her over Trent and Heather.
"Cody?" She whispered, causing Cody to turn to her, "Has… has something like this happened before? Your fear was really specific, and you seemed really on edge last night. I don't want to assume anything, but…"
Cody didn't respond at first, memories of World Tour, and his time after the show had ended flashing through his mind.
He may have put those events in the past, but it wasn't like he was just able to move on. He would never forget what Sierra had done to him.
Especially not after today gave him such a stark reminder.
"Cody?"
He blinked, having briefly forgotten where he was. He wasn't with Sierra anymore, he was safe. He was with Bridgette, Trent, and Heather.
Cody was with his friends.
Trent and Heather had stopped now, too, both looking at him with varying degrees of concern.
"...Yeah," Cody admitted quietly, to Bridgette's horror, "Pretty much exactly like this. The only difference is that this was only for today, last time it was years."
"Years?" Bridgette repeated quietly. Heather looked like she had eaten something particularly sour, and Trent wasn't much better off. "Oh my God…"
"Dude," Trent said sternly, "You seriously shouldn't have done that last challenge today. Nobody would have blamed you."
Cody's eyes hardened. "Look, I appreciate all of your concern," he began, ignoring Heather's 'I don't care!', "But what happened happened. It doesn't matter whether I should've done it or not, because I did. I needed to do this!"
He was ready to really blow off some steam on Trent, the words forming in his mind to start an endless tirade that might wake the rest of camp up, but the fire in him died out as Bridgette grabbed his hand, looking at him pleadingly.
"We're just worried about you, Cody," She said, "We just wanted to make sure you were going to be okay, we're not trying to upset you."
Cody let out a breath.
"I… I think I will be," he said, a small smile back on his face for the first time today, "I.. thanks you guys. I mean it."
Bridgette and Trent smiled at him (the latter offering him a fist bump) while Heather merely scoffed and just walked away.
Trent and Cody followed after her, but before he could get far Bridgette grabbed him by the arm, causing Cody to turn to her with a quizzical expression. He couldn't tell thanks to the light no longer being cast on her face, but Bridgette was blushing slightly.
"I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out tomorrow, after lunch," She offered, "Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to! It's no big deal -"
"Bridgette," Cody interrupted, "That sounds wonderful."
Bridgette could only smile sheepishly in response.
–
"Yo, Codester! Over here!"
Cody slowly approached Geoff and Bridgette on the beach, the duo waving him over (albeit Geoff doing so with much more enthusiasm).
"Hey guys," Cody greeted, feeling much lighter than he had yesterday, "What's up?"
"Dude!" Geoff clapped him on the back eagerly, almost making the shorter teen fall over. "Bridgette's gonna teach us how to surf!"
Bridgette laughed good-naturedly. "I don't know about all that," She chuckled, "But I'll try my best! It's kind of hard to master surfing without any waves, as you might guess."
"I've always wanted to surf!" Geoff cheered, "This is awesome!"
Bridgette and Cody both laughed at his eagerness.
"Well, you're gonna have to hold your horses for now," Bridgette said, "Because to start, you need to learn how to actually use a surfboard, which means practicing mounting, balancing, and moving around on it."
She gestured to her own surfboard, laying on the sand as though it was floating in the water, its fin somewhat dug into the ground.
"Geoff, since you're so eager, why don't you go first?" Bridgette gestured to her board for emphasis. "Show me how you would try and stand on a surfboard, as if you were in the water."
Geoff whooped, quickly hopping on the board. However, he was unable to find his footing, and quickly slipped off, Bridgette giggling to herself as he face planted into the sand.
Cody winced. "It's that tough, huh?"
"Nah," Bridgette replied coolly, "It really isn't that bad…"
She watched as Geoff hopped right back onto the board, only to come flopping down again. "At least, it shouldn't be."
Bridgette sighed, moving over to correct Geoff's egregious posture.
Cody hoped it wouldn't be too long before he had a chance to try!
–
It was a long time before Cody had a chance to try. Geoff was incredible - at least, incredible in the sense that it was unreal how bad he was at this - and it took a lot of time and effort on Bridgette's part to just keep him from falling over.
Cody wasn't exactly a natural, but he certainly was better off than Geoff was. He got his fair share of sand to the face, but surfboarding had come to him pretty well. At least, as well as it could have without any actual time spent surfing.
After several arduous hours of being shown the ropes, Cody, Geoff, and Bridgette had finally taken a break, dinner (even if it was Chef Hatchet's cooking) starting to sound very appealing.
"I'll be right back, guys!" Bridgette called out, "I'm going to grab us some towels!"
"Need a hand with that?" Geoff questioned, "I've got, like, two of them."
Bridgette smiled, but shook her head. "It's only a few towels, it's no big deal."
"Oh yeah!"
Bridgette waved as she walked back to the Killer Bass cabin, a bounce in her step as Geoff stared at her retreating form longingly.
Cody didn't notice Geoff's internal struggle, more focused on getting rid of the small crabs that had made their homes in his shoes. He did take notice, however, when Geoff walked over to him, sat down, and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Codester, man," Geoff began seriously, "I need a favor. A big favor."
Cody blinked. "A favor? What kind?"
Geoff smiled fondly. "You know Bridgette pretty well, right?" Geoff didn't wait for a response, continuing quickly, "You know how totally awesome and hot she is. I'm really into her, man."
He glanced over to Cody, his easygoing smile still plastered on his face.
"I wanna be with her the same way you and Heather are together, ya know?"
Cody froze. If he was drinking water, he surely would have done a spit take at that moment. As it was, he had to settle for choking on his spit.
"W-what!?" Cody almost screamed, barely able to formulate words, "Me a-and H-heather -"
Geoff put up a hand to stop him. "Yeah, bro, like the two of you. You're not as subtle as you guys think! But I… uh, what's the word? Digest?"
"D-digress, I think you mean, but -"
Geoff snapped his fingers. "Yeah, Digress! That one! Anyways, like I said, I really like Bridgette, bro, and I was kinda hoping I could get some alone time with her today, try to get to know her some more, you dig?"
Cody nodded in understanding, finally figuring out where Geoff was getting at. "You want me to leave now, so the two of you can spend some time together, right?"
"Man, you really are a smart guy!" Geoff chuckled, "No wonder Heather is into you!"
Cody just nodded in agreement, not wanting to get into that again.
Truth be told, there was a small part of Cody that had actually begun to harbor his own small crush on the blonde surfer - she was far and away his best friend on the island, barring maybe Trent, and they had shared a lot of close moments together. She was an awesome girl, just like Geoff said, who in their right mind wouldn't like her?
But Cody was, above all, a realist. He knew he never had a lot of luck with people in general, much less girls. He was shocked at the amount of friends he had made last time around, even if most of those friendships didn't last, and this time he had come out even stronger in that department somehow.
He knew Bridgette and Geoff were pretty much meant to be. They were one of the strongest couples in the show that Cody could remember, aside from Tyler and Lindsay, and they truly were in love. Could Cody get in the way of that, even for his own happiness? Would Bridgette even choose him over Geoff if it came down to it?
He knew the answer to both of those questions was a big, fat, resounding no.
Cody would never put himself or his wants above those around him - much less his friends.
"I'm back, this time with 300% more towels!"
Bridgette's voice shocked Cody out of his thoughts, while Geoff bounded over and gratefully took one of the aforementioned towels Bridgette had brought.
"Thanks, dude!" He said, grateful.
"No problem! Cody, I've got one for you, too! There's no way you want to be soaked and cold!"
He quickly got up as well, also receiving a towel thankfully.
"Hey, uh, sorry about this," Cody said sheepishly, getting both Bridgette and Geoff's attention, "I kinda forgot, but Owen had asked me to show him some of my keyboard tricks before dinner, and I totally lost track of time. Is it okay if I head back a little early?"
"Aw, really?" Bridgette asked sadly, "The party was just getting started!"
Cody flinched. "Yeah, I know, it's kind of a dick move -"
"I was just kidding!" Bridgette laughed, cutting Cody off before he could show any more remorse, "Besides, Owen's great. I'd hate for you to tell him that I'm the reason he was stuck waiting around for you!"
Cody had pulled that lie out of his ass. Sure, Owen liked listening whenever he and Trent would play together, but that was pretty much as far as his interest went in terms of music.
Owen was a simple man, though - all Cody needed to do was give him a portion of his dinner and Owen would cover for him no questions asked. Especially when Cody's dinner was a noticeably higher quality than everyone else's.
"I'll make it up to you guys!" He called out as he jogged back to his cabin, Geoff giving him a not-so-discreet thumb's up while Bridgette waved.
"I'll hold you to it!" Bridgette called back, before turning back to Geoff.
Cody smiled as he turned back to the campgrounds.
It didn't do much to soothe the small pang in his heart.
–
"Bass, Gophers, today's challenge is a true summer camp experience," Chris explained, "A canoe trip. You'll be paddling your canoes across the lake…"
He paused for dramatic effect.
"To Boney Island!" Chris said it with a ominous voice while waving his fingers, but it didn't really have the effect he had hoped for. Well, for the most part at least - Owen looked terrified, as well as Tyler, but the rest of the teens were unaffected.
"When you get there, you must portage your canoes to the other side of the island, which is about a two hour hike through treacherous, dense jungle!"
"We've gotta pour what?" Geoff asked, scratching his head in confusion as Bridgette and DJ looked at him in disbelief.
"'Portage'," Chris repeated, making air quotes for emphasis.
It didn't help.
"Dude," he said slowly, almost disappointed in Geoff, "Walk with your canoe."
"Oh."
A moment later, Chris's ever present smile was back. "When you arrive at the other end of the island, you'll build a rescue fire that will be judged by me. The first team to paddle home and return their canoes to the beach is the winner of invincibility. Move!"
Everyone began to rush towards the beach, where the canoes awaited, but Chris stopped them.
"Almost forgot!" He chuckled, "One more thing I should mention - legend has it, if you take anything off the island… you'll be cursed forever!"
Last time around, Cody had dismissed the accompanying thunder in the air as a trick from Chris and the producers, to really scare them about the island. Now, though?
He wasn't so sure.
"Yeah, haha!" Owen cheered, raising his arms, "A cursed island!"
Everyone stared at him in silence and confusion until he put his arms back down, embarrassed. Cody patted his back gently.
"Now," Chris ordered, "Get in your canoes and let's have some fun!"
Owen jumped for joy again, and the rest of the campers set off to begin the challenge.
All except for Beth, that is, who came running out of the bathroom up to Chris, a strand of toilet paper still connected to her shoe.
"What'd I miss?" She panted, out of breath.
"Canoes." Chris said simply, jerking his finger towards the beach and the rest of the contestants as Beth started running again.
—
Confessional: Trent
"Chris told us to pick a paddle partner," Trent explained, "I normally would've gone with Gwen or Cody, but after all the stuff that's been happening, it might be best to let those two be for a bit."
—
As the campers made their way down to the canoes, Gwen wasn't exactly sure who she wanted to take the canoe trip with.
Leshawna was her first choice, but Izzy had already taken Gwen's best friend away. Heather was an automatic no, and Lindsay and Beth weren't exactly much better, being Heather's lackeys and all.
Owen was an option, Gwen didn't mind him most of the time - but if he farted, she might actually die of asphyxiation right then and there.
That of course left Trent and Cody. Great.
She was still mad at Trent about ditching her during the last challenge, not that anyone would blame her. She had to face being buried alive all by herself just because Trent couldn't stare down a mime. A mime!
He could've at least done something other than chucking the walkie-talkie and running away. A heads up would've been cool.
But her only other option was to go with Cody, and she wasn't ready to open that can of worms yet. She still felt awful about what had happened, but what could she do? Say 'Hey, I'm sorry I called you a mentally ill psycho, you were just really weird the first few days. Wanna let bygones be bygones?'
As if.
She glanced over at Trent, who was giving her a sideways look, tilting his head to the side as if gesturing behind her. Gwen took a quick peek, and sure enough, Cody was there.
Now's your chance, he seemed to be saying.
Fuck. Trent was right, wasn't he?
"Hey, Trent!" Cody started, passing by Gwen with hardly a thought, "What's say you and I -"
"Trent!" Lindsay called out, rushing over with Beth and grabbing his shoulder, "You have to come with us!"
Trent offered Cody an apologetic shrug before walking away with the duo, Cody looking on in betrayal.
An awkward silence prevailed between the two of them, Cody and Gwen both realizing exactly what kind of situation they were in now.
"Hey, partner," Gwen said awkwardly, just as uncomfortable as he was, "Looks like it's just us left, huh?"
"Yep," Cody sighed, already moving towards the canoes in quiet acceptance, "Guess so."
This was gonna be a long day.
–
The canoe ride was quiet.
Cody wouldn't have it any other way.
He may have promised Trent that he'd talk to Gwen at some point, but how was he supposed to even look at her now?
The tension was brutal now, but if they were actually talking to each other?
At best, it'd probably kill him.
"So… another crappy challenge, huh?" Gwen tried, wincing when she saw Cody tense up.
"At least it isn't as dumb as the Awake-a-thon, right?"
Cody just shrugged stiffly.
This wasn't going how Gwen had hoped.
"Look, Cody, I get it. What I wrote was fucked up, and I'm sorry," She said, "But it was taken out of context."
"What context could possibly make it better?" He questioned, holding back an eye roll.
Forgiveness is a sign of maturity. Wouldn't things be better this way?
Cody jolted upright at the voice - the same one that he had heard the day he had traveled back in time.
Why was he hearing it again? What was it? Why did it want him to forgive Gwen? Why -
"- I know, it's stupid, but let me explain!" Gwen pleaded, "On the first day, you seemed really friendly, but you kept getting all quiet and contemplative at random times. Then, you were crazy focused on the hot tub challenge, and even blew up at Courtney - and then that morning, you seemed to be so much like me, and then Noah -"
Cody held up a hand to stop her. He didn't need to hear anymore.
"Gwen," he said seriously, "Do you still think those things about me?"
She shook her head so fast Cody thought it might fly off. "No, not at all!" She protested, "After that morning in the woods, when you explained why you were so upset at Noah, and why you acted the way you did, I just felt awful. I wanted to scribble it out of my diary, or at least write something after, but then… you know…"
Gwen trailed off, sighing sadly as she looked out over the water. "I've never had an… easy time making friends either, as you could probably guess. But here, with Trent, Leshawna, you… I'm just afraid that I messed things up with you for good. And I'm sorry."
Cody smiled slightly. Oh, how the old him would have longed for this moment! He only let that thought flicker through his mind for a moment - he wasn't about to leave Gwen hanging.
"Gwen, I'm not going to lie," He began, pausing to find the right words, "I considered you one of my closest friends here before that whole diary thing. It really hurt to hear that stuff."
Gwen winced, but stayed silent.
"But if you really mean that," Cody continued, "And you're really willing to try and make things straight between us, then I can be willing to move on, too."
Gwen did say anything, but her smile told Cody all he needed to know.
…Wait, was this fog always here?
–
"I think I saw something!" Lindsay whisper-yelled, the forest alive with movement.
Cody hadn't been too big of a believer of the supposedly cursed Boney Island, but reliving these experiences had him questioning that idea.
The tree that had gone down in the right in front of them did little to soothe his thoughts.
He didn't know how he had forgotten this, but wooly beavers and prehistoric geese were seemingly the least of their worries - even without the bread Cody had brought with him in his pants last time.
He shuddered at the memory, even as he was running for his life.
"Owen!" Cody called out, only moderately out of breath, "Fart! It might disgust the geese and make them leave us alone!"
"You got it!" Owen said with a grin, even as the rest of the Gophers reared away in horror.
A moment later, and a noxious bomb began to quickly waft through the air, the team frozen as they held their breath both literally and figuratively.
Somehow it worked, and the geese either retreated or passed out due to the levels of toxic exposure they were receiving from Owen.
"It worked!" Gwen announced, seemingly awestruck by the chain of events that had led them to this moment.
Cody would've taken a moment to think about it more as well, but it was at that moment the Killer Bass came running up from behind, ready to take the lead -
They sputtered to a stop as they all got a taste of what the killer geese had just gone through, each in their own little world of agonizing pain. Harold collapsed to the ground, seemingly stuck between hyperventilating to get any clean air into his lungs and not breathing at all to keep Owen's poison out. DJ let go of his canoe in a vain attempt to cover his nose and mouth, nearly dropping it on Bridgette in the process.
Cody almost screamed at that, but thankfully Bridgette ducked away just in time, giving DJ a look that yelled 'Are you crazy?!' as he realized what he had nearly done.
"Come on!" Izzy pestered, uncaring for the state of the enemy team, "The race isn't over yet! We still have to burn stuff!"
Loathe as he was to admit it, Izzy was right.
They had a challenge to win.
–
They had been walking for a good hour by now (at least), and Cody was starting to feel the strain of holding a canoe over one's head for the first time.
It had taken much longer than originally, sure, but it still left him feeling dissatisfied with himself. By the time they had gotten to Greece back in World Tour, he was able to use some hastily made wings to fly himself dozens of meters into the air - carrying a canoe would have been a cake walk to him!
It just meant he'd have to up his workouts.
"Woah, guys? I, uh, don't want to panic here, but I'm shrinking!"
Oh. Right.
Cody watched, slightly panicked, as Lindsay cried out and rushed to Trent's aid, inadvertently getting stuck in the quicksand herself.
He had quickly located a suitable vine to swing to their rescue (this time without any of the aggrandized actions he had taken the first time around), quickly diving down and grabbing onto Trent's flailing arm. Cody heaved, using what little strength remained in his arms to help his friends out from the quicksand pit, nearly falling off in the process, but it was enough. Trent and Lindsay were pretty nastily coated in sand, Lindsay spitting up a fair bit of the stuff, but they were safe once the trio had swung back over to solid ground.
"Woah…" Trent said, awestruck, "Thanks bro, you're a lifesaver!"
Cody blushed, the cheers from his teammates not helping the redness in his cheeks very much. "It's nothing, everybody here would do the same!"
Trent shook his head. "Even if that was true, you're the guy who did it. You saved us!"
"My hero!" Lindsay cooed, quickly wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug that made him even redder, "Where did you learn to do that?"
"Would you believe me if I told you I've tried it before?" Cody half-joked.
"Wow!"
As nice as it was, especially because it was Lindsay, Cody tried to pull out of her hug, still trying to focus on winning the challenge. However, before he could, he froze as he felt a soft pair of lips kiss him on the cheek, much softer than Sierra ever had.
"Thanks again for saving us, Colby!" Lindsay said happily.
"Uh…" Cody's brain took a vacation the moment she had kissed his cheek, too unqualified to handle this situation.
"Aren't you supposed to be dating Tyler? Should you really be going around and kissing other boys?" Heather questioned the blonde, one eyebrow raised as she scowled.
"Of course I am!" Lindsay responded flippantly, "I was just giving Colton a thank you! I always gave my daddy a kiss on the cheek whenever he protected me from bullies!"
"Is there something wrong with blondes?" Leshawna whispered to Gwen, who rolled her eyes in response, "I swear, it's always something with those two."
"This is very touching guys," Gwen shouted to the team, "But we've got a challenge to win!"
That kicked Cody's mind back into gear, the idea of losing the challenge for his team not on the top of his to do list for the day.
It didn't fully snap him back to attention, though, as the reminder to warn Beth against taking anything cursed from Boney Island slipped his mind for good.
Uh oh.
–
The fire building process was going smoothly. Well, as smoothly as it could when their competition had a lighter to immediately retake the lead with.
Cody wasn't worried though. He knew what was going to happen.
In fact, Harold just burnt up the Bass' paddles. Shouldn't Izzy be -
FWOOSH
Cody wasn't exactly prepared for the sudden explosion that Izzy caused, but he was far enough away that it only left him coughing up soot and singed by smoke, somehow.
Any closer and he would've been fried, probably for good.
Yikes.
"We have our fire building winner!" Chris screamed from his helicopter… the Chriscopter? Cody had seen that thing enough times that he was starting to think Chris just had his own helicopter for personal use. "Point for the Gophers!"
"Where did you learn to do that?" Heather asked, incredulous.
Izzy shrugged from her spot in the sand, even more burnt than Cody.
"Oh you know, I spent a summer training with the reserves," She said, getting up close and personal with Heather, "Yeah, I got into some trouble there and like, blew up the kitchen by accident, heh, which is why the RCMP is like, still all over my butt. I am so totally AWOL!"
Heather could only look on in fear, frozen at the terror that was Izzy at her finest.
Cody didn't blame her. He did wish Izzy would stop giving him a side eye, though.
–
"Alright, guys!" Heather barked out as Owen pushed their canoe into the lake, "Let's get a move on!"
Leshawna and Izzy were right behind them, but Cody pulled his and Trent's groups back for a moment.
Time to play matchmaker.
"Guys," He began, allowing his voice to slip into a confident tone for the first time in forever, "Since you're both a bit shaken by the whole quicksand thing, we should split you up! How about I go with Lindsay and Beth, and Gwen can paddle back with Trent!"
"Sounds cool." Trent said calmly, but Cody could tell he was barely holding back a big grin.
"Okay!" Beth nodded fervently, her and Lindsay each grabbing one of Cody's arms and dragging him over to their canoe.
Tyler watched as this happened from where he stood with the rest of the Killer Bass, a small frown on his face.
–
Confessional: Tyler
"Look, I know I shouldn't worry about Lindsay, she's an amazing girl, don't get me wrong!" He began nervously, eyes darting around the confessional as if someone was listening, "But I've been a bit paranoid lately about my chances here. I'm not exactly, well, the most important member of our team, and I'm not really good friends with anyone either. If I get voted off, I'm kind of scared Cody could steal my girl!"
"Geoff told me how he and Heather are apparently a thing," Tyler rambled, "But I don't know, dude. He and Bridgette are pretty tight, and I've seen Beth drooling over him more times than I could count. And now Lindsay's fawning over him?"
He sighed, leaning his head against the wall.
"I just hope I'm overthinking things again. My parents always tell me I'm at my best when my thinking cap is off."
–
"What are we going to do without paddles?!" Courtney wailed, before shoving Harold into the sand, "This is all your fault!"
"You guys could get someone to swim behind the boats and push them," Izzy chimed in from her canoe, stopping to make sure the Bass heard her, "I did that once with this huge, like, sixty foot yacht, the whole crew had to flutter kick for like eight days to get to shore, and like four of us got eaten by sharks. Hah, I didn't not me, but it was really insane. Okay later! Watch out for time travelers, by the way, I -"
Cody watched as Leshawna paddled hard, making Izzy fall into the back of the canoe, worried about that last line.
Was she onto him?
How would that even be possible? Izzy's crazy, isn't she? He hadn't done anything overly suspicious, had he?
No. There was no way that he had let anything important slip. He was fine. He just needed to focus on paddling, and keep a straight face.
Easier said than done.
It became bearable once he saw DJ pushing the Killer Bass across the lake at an insane speed, Cody watching in disbelief with the rest of the Gophers as their chances of winning dropped to zero.
Sure, he had seen it before, but it was incredible nonetheless.
Especially when the Bass hit the shore, and were all sent flying across the beach.
"You cost us the game!" Leshawna accused with a snarl, pointing at Izzy once the Gophers finally made it back, "You. Are. Dead!"
Izzy laughed. "Right. Okay, you are so lucky that my license to kill is currently expired."
As Leshawna picked up a paddle and began to chase Izzy, Cody thought about that last line.
Once upon a time, it had left him amused, and he had even laughed at it.
Now it just made him scared.
–
A wolf howled in the distance, the campfire ceremony fully underway as the nine remaining Gophers sat nervously next to each other in the dim light of the fire.
Well, most of them. Heather seemed indifferent about the situation, and Izzy was smiling as though someone had just told her a wonderful joke.
"And now, the always anxiety-inducing marshmallow ceremony!" Chris said with a devilish grin, spinning the marshmallow plate on a finger. Cody whistled in appreciation, despite his nerves starting to act up.
"When I call your name, come and get a marshmallow!"
"Beth."
She ran quickly to the oil drum Chris stood behind, cherishing one of the marshmallows in her hands as if it were a long lost treasure.
"Trent."
"Gwen."
The two smiled fondly at each other, before making their way up to Chris together, hands accidentally touching as they reached for the same marshmallow.
"Owen."
He peeked out from behind his hands, previously having been covering his eyes in anticipation. A smile quickly found its way back onto his face as he rushed to grab a marshmallow, Chris needing to pull the plate away from him lest he devour all of the sweet treats that remained.
"Heather."
She simply looked up from her nails, before getting up quietly.
"Leshawna."
Chris paused for a moment, allowing Cody to feel the pressure amp up. What had he done to be in the bottom three - did someone vote for him?
Lindsay and Izzy weren't bothered. Lindsay was braiding a few strands of her hair to pass the time (he didn't know why, the campfire ceremony was pretty short, and there were $100,000 on the line), and Izzy simply smirked confidently.
"Two marshmallows left, kiddos," Chris taunted, "Who's it gonna… be…?"
The loud whirring of a helicopter caused Chris to pause, glancing up in confusion with the rest of the cast.
"Izzy!" A megaphone blared, "We know you are down there! You are under arrest!"
Leshawna gaped. "You mean all that trash you were talking was true?!"
Izzy smiled. "No. Just the RCMP part. See ya!"
She suddenly stood up, before throwing her fist up at the helicopter and running off towards the woods.
"You'll never get me alive!" She screamed, the following laughter echoing for several agonizing minutes even as the chopper's whirring sound disappeared.
Chris shrugged, before tossing Cody and Lindsay the remaining two marshmallows. "Well, guess that wraps that up. Good night everyone!"
No one moved, too dumbfounded to respond.
Cody didn't blame them. He really hoped Izzy didn't come back at the merge.
Knowing his luck, however, he had a sinking feeling he'd need to be on high alert from here on out.
—
A/N: Yeah, this chapter took me longer than I wanted to come out, sorry :/
University is rough, and I'm already behind on a class somehow, so that takes priority I guess. Lame.
A few things:
Geoff is very funny for me to write for some reason.
SPOILER: Yes, Izzy is the one who has been voting for Cody. Yes, we will see why eventually.
Going off of that, I had the idea of maybe writing some short stories to accompany this - nothing much, just 1-3k words of a few snippets that would be interesting to the plot that we wouldn't see normally, since Cody is the main character.
A typical chapter would, for instance, show a random character, let's say Bridgette - We'd see what happened during the Sucky Outdoors for the Killer Bass that led to them having a good night's sleep inside a tent, why Geoff was on the beach with Bridgette and Cody the day after Phobia Factor when it was planned to just be the two of them, and we'd see why Bridgette and DJ were partners for this challenge, and what differences arise from that. Nothing major, just a few snippets I thought people might like. Scenes would be short.
Hope you all enjoyed!
(Chapter was supposed to be out last night, but ofc, something breaks whenever I try and upload. Thanks FFN.
