Chapter 7: If You Look In Someone's Eyes, You'll See Their Soul
A chapter of answers, moments of weakness, and moments of fun.
Scary Girl's Room (Playa Des Losers)
04:30 PM
As soon as he entered the room, Damien was filled with dreadful memories of when he stepped in there the first time. Horrible hallucinations about his old teammates risking their lives in the challenges they were put through; water filling an endless maze, rising more and more; voices of the days prior still haunting him. And of course, an undying drill caused by the jackhammer that Scary Girl used to chase him with.
He still didn't know what caused those nightmarish visions. If he had to guess, the anxiety that build up in him the day he was sent at the resort, in combination with the knowledge that Scary Girl was next to his room, was the reason for that weird trip.
But all of that didn't matter right now. He was there to talk to Scary about what happened some hours prior.
After the girl locked the door, to avoid anyone of the interns getting in without knocking, she turned to Damien. Fortunately, she seemed to be in a better mood than when she had a breakdown that morning. Her smile was still nowhere to be found, but at least she looked like she had some time to clear her mind, and finally calm down.
Before he could speak, Scary Girl took the lead in the conversation.
"Hi, sorry for the mess. I don't invite people here very often." She said casually, like they were just going to chill together for the afternoon, instead of having a serious conversation.
"Oh, don't worry. My room is also not the cleanest, hehe." He had to bring the subject up, they couldn't just ignore it. "And what if she doesn't want to bring it up? She let you in, but it's not like every time you two talk you need to have a serious moment. Maybe she just wants to relax a bit. Can't you just think about what the others want, instead of just trying to get them to talk about what you want? You're so selfish." He hated when his brain was going against himself, but maybe he should listen it more often.
While still lost in his thoughts, Scary Girl set down in her bed and waited for Damien to take a seat.
"Are you just going to stay there?"
"Huh?" He finally snapped out of it, and realized how awkward that must have felt for Scary to just look at him standing up looking at the void.
"Oh! Sorry!" And he set down next to her.
For a short moment, the two didn't know how to start the conversation, but Scary took the lead once again.
"You want to talk about what happened before, right? And also, about yesterday, I suppose."
"I mean, only if you feel like you want to."
"No, you're right. You deserve to know. Especially after… that" She looked from the opposite side to where Damien was sitting, to avoid eye contact.
She took in a deep breath and started talking.
"So… I have this thing. My doctors and therapists say that it's a case of sadism, combined with lack of empathy. There's no real solution for this type of stuff y'know? Just… lots of therapy, some pills, that type of stuff. Not that I ever took any, that is." She wasn't saying this with signs of regret, she just looked a little disappointed in herself.
Damien didn't say a word for the entire time, simply nodding and listening to everything Scary had to say. And she had a lot to say.
"Also, when you live in a circus that always moves from town to town, the money will be primarily put into the attractions, paychecks, and food for the animals. Not into giving medications for your daughter's mental health."
Damien looked surprised at that revelation. He did suspect that her background would have been just as weird as she was, and the looks of a circus freak finally made sense. Scary Girl seemed to notice his surprise, and immediately jumped back into the conversation.
"Oh, right. I guess it's not very often that you hear someone living in a circus. Especially in 2023. I should probably explain this too." She looked back at him, to see if he actually wanted to hear her story or not.
When he realized that she was waiting for a response, Damien gave her a wave to indicate that she could start.
"So, this circus is the only thing my family from the side of my father inherited from my great great grandfather. The side from my uncle always treated us like trash, so for sure we weren't going to get any financial help from them. They inherited my grandfather's mansion, most of the money, and a stable job in the company that used to be owned by him. My dad was always seen as the black sheep of the family, and that led us to be basically nomads for as long as I can remember. I don't even think I was supposed to be in this world…" And she stopped. She took a quick look at Damien and took another big breath before speaking again.
"I mean, they probably didn't want a daughter. But they weren't careful enough, I suppose." She forced a little smile at that, even if it was clear that she didn't find it funny. Damien was still silent, carefully listening to every word she said.
"They did make sure to put me to good use tho. My first clear memory was me practicing the introduction speech for the viewers. I guess I can't really blame my parents for not giving me the best life. Circumstances never really worked in our favor." She stopped again for a couple of seconds. Damien thought that would have been a good moment to say something, but before he could even open his mouth, Scary Girl said one last thing.
"I could blame them for other things… But I don't think I'm ready to share that part of my life." And with that she finally gave Damien time to process everything.
"Man, now I feel like a selfish jerk for wanting to get her out of the room this morning…" After having finally taken in all those information, Damien spoke for the first time since Scary started her story.
"I won't lie, that was a lot to take in. But I understand, it must have been hard to grow up in such a messy life. However, there's a thing I don't understand. Where does the sadism part fit in with your life? And your obsession with blood and death, and gory stuff, y'know?" He was very scared as he was speaking. He didn't want to say the wrong words and upset Scary Girl. But fortunately for him, Scary simply said "Hum" and answered his question with no problem.
"Well, the first time that I felt happiness in seeing the others in pain was… after someone I really didn't like got hurt. It was just so satisfying. Days later that event, I kept having this feeling of adrenaline inside of me every time someone in the staff got hurt while practicing their tricks. It just lighted up a part of my brain I didn't know I had. The part that gave me a feeling of joy for those sweet seconds."
"So basically, it's like when you get a notification on your phone? It gives you dopamine." That was the closest thing Damien could come up to make a comparison.
"Can't tell. I never was very popular on social medias, and I only use YouTube to listen to music or watch creepypastas!" Her eyes light up as she was speaking. Clearly, she was that type of kid in your class that would be into creepypastas and urban legends.
"Uh, yeah I should have expected that."
"Anyway, as I was saying, it gave me so much adrenaline and joy seeing others in pain that I wanted to try to hurt them by myself! So, one day I…" She stopped talking for a moment. Then she turned her head to the other side.
"Sorry, I don't feel ready for that." Then she turned back to look at him.
"Oh, it's okay! You don't have to say something you clearly are not comfortable with." The two teens stayed in silence for a moment before Damien remembered the other question he asked Scary before.
"So! What about your interests in horror and the goth style?" He asked, hoping that this wasn't going to be too much of a heavy topic to talk about.
"Oh right! Well, living in a circus makes you realize a lot of things. I always wondered why so many kids found clowns scary, so one day I painted my face and dressed up as one. I did scare some kids, but I was never able to get them to fear me like they feared the adult clowns. So that was when I discovered the horror genre! One day I asked a kid that was older than me if I scared him dressed up as a clown. He said no, and I asked why so many people were afraid of the other clowns but not me. He showed me this one book, about a killer clown hunting down young teens! He told me that book was a big factor into why many people didn't like clowns. He said I could have the book, because he never really liked it himself, and that was the moment my life changed! Over the years I was able to buy for myself some horror novels, and I fell in love with the idea of scaring people. If hurting wasn't a legal option, I could at least pull the scariest pranks ever! And then one day I saw her…" Her eyes were brighter than ever, this was probably the best memory in her life from how much she was emphasizing this moment.
"A beautiful girl, with black dyed hair and teal streaks. Pale skin, blue lipstick, and black eyeliner. I think that day was the first time I saw anyone pull out the goth style. And that day was also the first time that I had my awakening." Her smile was finally back on her face, however this smile looked truly genuine, and not even close to be as her usual creepy one.
"Woah, I didn't know you were into girls!" That was actually a surprise. Damien theorized that she might have had a crush on him while on the island, but he always tried to push the thought away. Mainly to keep his sanity. But now, he was more intrigued into knowing more about this girl's tastes.
"I do! I like both boys and girls! But I honestly don't really care about what gender it is. I am of the belief that I'm only attracted to whoever screams the most, but I couldn't find any sexuality for that. So, I guess I identify myself as pansexual!" She smiled happily at that.
Damien never thought about his sexuality. He wasn't really a guy that was very interested in love anyway, even if he had a few dates in the past. But he still had to find the one that could give him true happiness, and if that person was either a boy or a girl, it wouldn't have mattered to Damien. At least that's what he always told to his friends, who often poked fun at him for failing miserably with every date he had.
"I was so fascinated by the goth style that I stole the phone from my mother to look it up. Two months later, I was able to dye my hair by myself and I asked my grandma to sew my first goth dress. It's a bit close to the one I'm wearing now, but it was less circus-doll like!" She was finally happy again. A conversation that was caused by a breakdown, was now turning into something more lighthearted.
Scary Girl talked about the time she discovered cosplays, and how she got so good in her athletic skills at the circus. Damien mainly listened, but sometimes he would make some comments of surprise or showing interest in her words.
Without they even noticed an hour had already passed since Damien got into her room and were only made aware of that when both of their stomachs started grumbling. At that point Damien checked on his phone, only to see that the clock said "05:45 PM"
"Oh man! It's been an hour or so already!" He put a hand on his head, getting immediately a flash about the task that MK gave him in the morning. Sure, no one was expected to arrive to the island until it was evening, but if they did send the injured players to the resort, he would still have to help take care of them. It did bother him that he was basically being forced to do someone else's job, but to be fair, Damien would have probably helped the two unfortunate campers by his own volution, without MK's blackmail.
"Hey! You said you brought food, right?" Scary Girl snapped him out of his thoughts, switching the focus on the grumbling stomachs of the two teens.
"Oh right!" He then turned to his side where he placed the food previously taken from the restaurant area. "Do you want chips or chocolate?" He asked.
"Chocolate please!" And he handed her the chocolate bar. Damien instead opened the bag of chips (making sure it didn't snap) and took a handful of them.
"Mh! Do fuo want to fee fomefhing?" Scary Girl asked Damien with the mouth still munching the chocolate. Damien didn't seem to understand at first what the girl asked him, but understood better when she took the remote for the TV in her room.
"Oh, nothing in particular. Just please, nothing horror related. I can't handle that type of stuff while I'm eating." He hoped this wouldn't turn against him. Giving this type of information to someone like Scary Girl wasn't the brightest idea, but she seemed to not be in the mood to scare him. Especially not after she told the story of her life to Damien… well, not everything of course.
"I wonder what was that she didn't want to tell me before. What could she blame her parents for? Lack of education? Making her work at such a young age? Not loving her enough?" A voice in his head asked, but soon another one would speak up.
"I don't think that's your business, if she didn't want to tell you then you shouldn't push it."
"But it's by pushing it that we finally got to talk. And now she seems to be happier. So why would we keep these questions for ourselves?"
"Cause she's the one that didn't want to talk about it. Stop trying to make excuses to justify your need for answers. Stop trying to get into others' business."
"Damien!" Scary Girl was talking to him, and he didn't even notice.
"Oh! Sorry, I was just… thinking."
"You were dissociating from reality. It happens to me often, I guess it's just easy to get lost in your thoughts." She smiled at him, but not with her creepy smile. In fact, just like the other time, this smile was genuine. It was kinda weird seeing her without the mask of the creepy girl. Not that the side of her that everyone knew on the island was gone, not at all. It was still there, just less predominant.
"Yeah… I guess you're right." Damien replied, scratching the back of his head a bit embarrassed.
"Anyway" Scary Girl spoke "What do you want to watch?" and she turned her attention back to the TV.
They did some zapping for a couple of minutes, trying to find something that both of them could enjoy. They immediately skipped over the news channels, of which Damien vaguely recalled what they were talking about. Some kind of school with historical figures or something like that. Probably some social experiment or whatever. Then they got to a channel that was broadcasting a movie about a giant girl terrorizing the city. Judging by the quality of the movie, it probably came out in the late 2000s. While Scary Girl found it kinda of appealing to watch a girl destroying a city, it still was kinda lame, so they skipped over. Finally, they settled to watch the Pokémon anime that was getting a marathon of the early seasons.
"Oh, I remember watching this as a kid! Man, it's been so long!" Damien was happy to rediscover one of his favorite childhood shows, and Scary Girl was entertained enough every time the Team Rocket would blast off again.
They spent the rest of the afternoon watching Pokémon episodes, eating chocolate and chips, and drinking soda and water. They ended up watching the entirety of the marathon, and when the last episode ended, they finally turned the TV off.
"Woo, that was allot!" Damien stretched himself off from the bed and cleaned his shirt from all the crumbs of chips. He usually wasn't the guy to eat a full bag on the same day, but to his surprise, he was actually able to do it.
"Huh, I guess that's how Zee feels every day."
Scary Girl also stretched herself and got out of the bed, just to immediately fall back on it.
"If only I could live like this every day…" She was lost in her thoughts. Damien would have liked to reply that this type of habit wouldn't be healthy, but seeing Scary Girl so relaxed and at peace for just those brief moments made him change his mind. He took his phone and looked at the time.
09:58 PM. Mh, back at the island they should be having the elimination ceremony at this time. Which meant that the two injured players might come soon.
"Well, that was nice. But now I think I really gotta go!" Scary Girl raised her head a bit, looking a bit sad but understanding.
"Sure, sorry I kept you hostage for today!" She let out a few giggles at her own comment.
"Oh, don't worry! It was very nice to have some time to relax. I really wasn't able to get any in these days, y'know?" Damien made his way to the door, but before opening it he turned back to look at Scary.
"Hey, do you want to join me? I'm going to check if the injured campers are coming here or not." At that Scary made a perplexed face, mixed with a hint of slight joy judging by the sparkles in her eyes.
"Someone got injured?! Who?" She asked, jumping up and down on the bed and clapping her hands. Right… she might have acted semi-normal for the time Damien had spent with her in the room, but at the end of the day she still did have that uncontrollable feeling of joy in seeing others getting hurt. He almost forgot about that. Although a bit uncertain on whether or not mentioning injured players was a good idea, Damien cleared his throat and started explaining.
"Don't know who specifically, but I heard from Caleb that they were part of the Frogs Team. It's still unsure if they are coming here or if they are going to a hospital, so there's 50% chance that no one will join us for today."
Scary Girl sat there on her bed for a moment, with a smile on her face. This one was, unfortunately, caused by someone being in pain. Despite this smile, she looked thoughtful. Unsure on what to do, Damien simply waited for a response from her.
"Maybe it's better if I stay here." She ultimately said. Damien knew this would have been the best for everyone, but he still felt regretful for leaving her alone after the day they had spent. He then came up with an idea.
"Hey, if you want, I can come back later. We could go for a swim at the pool after I'm done. Only if you're up for it, of course." Scary Girl put her hand on her chin and thought about it.
"Sure! But I honestly don't really feel like swimming. Maybe we could simply sit by the edge of the pool?"
"Yeah, no prob!"
Playa Des Losers
10:05 PM
And that's how they left each other.
Damien made his way to the main hangout area for the ex-contestants, aka the pool, where usually the eliminated players would be dropped by the drone.
Caleb had already arrived, and he was sitting on one of the stools at the kiosk. Nichelle still had to show up.
"Hey." Damien waved his hand to Caleb, who replied in the same way.
"Hey. You want to welcome the two unfortunates?"
"Yeah. So, it's confirmed that they're coming here?"
"Yep, the interns said that Chris and Chef couldn't afford an actual hospital for them, so they are coming here to be taken care of in the medical tent."
"We have a medical tent?" Damien was quite surprised by that. Even if he had to expect that they would have at the very least some medications.
"Yeah, I was also surprised. But I'm not that shocked that they didn't bring them to a hospital, they are very cheap on health and safety if you couldn't tell."
"I figured that out." Damien replied sitting on a stool next to Caleb.
"So" Caleb started "were you able to relax in the end?" Weird, why would Caleb ask something like that out of nowhere. Sure, they had their talk before, but it's not like they were ever that close.
"Yeah, thankfully." Just to be sure, Damien didn't mention anything about Scary Girl, but he had to admit that he was indeed more relaxed.
"That's nice to hear." After saying that, he looked past Damien and raised his hand to whoever was coming. Damien turned his head to where Caleb was looking and copied the same gestures of the good-looking guy.
"Hey guys!" Nichelle waved back at Caleb and Damein, with Axel next to her. The Hardcore didn't wave, nor said anything, she simply looked at both of them and made a nod with the head.
The two girls also set on the stools of the kiosk before Axel spoke up.
"You discovered who got injured?" the question was primarily for Caleb, but she seemed to be asking to the entire group, as she clearly wasn't aware of the identity of the two contestants. Caleb simply limited himself to shake his head, and so did Damien.
"So, what were you two talking about?" Nichelle asked the boys, who both looked at each other like they were asking for approval from the other to talk about their conversation to Nichelle. They seemed to agree, so Caleb started explaining.
"Oh nothing, really. We were just talking about our day. How was yours?" Axel slightly straightened up at that. Damien knew that something had happened between the two girls, and he also knew how secretive Axel was about her personal life. But Caleb couldn't know what transpired some hours prior.
"It's been good, the usual y'know!" Nichelle waved off the question easily, and Axel loosened a bit. The actress was pretty good at hiding her emotions… oh right! She was an actress! Damien completely overlooked that part of Nichelle, as he never got to talk with her on the island, and overall didn't care that much about how popular she was. Mh, why would someone like her even care about competing in Total Drama? Surely not to gain popularity. Maybe her agents thought this would have been a good idea for her career. If that was the case, then Nichelle should probably consider hiring new agents.
"What about you Axel?" Damien asked, knowing that the problem the two girls seemed to have was now fixed. Axel looked at him with her usual unexpressive eyes, but she gave him a weak smile.
"It's been fine." And that was everything Damien needed to hear.
The four of them kept talking for some minutes, before Nichelle finally asked a dreadful question, one that Damien hoped no one would ask.
"Hey, where's MK? She's supposed to be here too." Damien started to sweat cold at that.
"Quick! Come up with an excuse, anything!" His mind was running quickly through all the possible answers he could give to the others, without them suspecting anything.
Caleb and Axel both gave Nichelle a shrug, and then they all turned to Damien in the hope that he would have an answer.
"Um, she's… sick! Yeah, she told me that she ate something from the restaurant area that was probably expired, and she asked me if I could take her place in helping the contestants from her team. I said that I would have helped either way, so I accepted!" Damien tried his hardest to look confident in his answer, and without putting up fake smiles since he learned how those would only make people more suspicious about his words.
The others looked at each other, slightly confused. But before they could say anything, something interrupted them.
"O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies may stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise, to keep thee steadfast through the years from east to western sea, our own beloved native land!" Two weak voices were singing the Canada anthem.
They all turned to look at the source of the singing, just to see Wayne and Raj being dragged with the drone in two gurneys, with bands over their heads, black eyes, and probably some missing teeth.
As soon as the drone dropped them on the ground, the inters of the resort all quickly came over and dragged them to the medical tent. The four ex-players followed them, with concerned looks on their faces.
"You guys, could you look over them while we quickly go grab some painkillers and anesthetics?" An intern girl with freckles asked the group of teens. They all nodded, and the interns started their search for medications.
The group looked at the hockey bros, they were really in a bad shape. Not being able to keep himself in silence in front of this, Damien spoke up.
"Guys! What happened to you two? Did the raptors came back?!" Unfortunately for Damien, neither Wayne nor Raj were able to properly respond.
"No eggs bro! Ugh…" Raj replied weakly.
"Yeah coach! We need more syrup and bees to make syrup… argh" Wayne added.
They all exchanged looks of concern, but they collectively agreed to stop asking questions, at least for the night.
When the interns finally came back with the medications, the four of them were dismissed for a bit and got told to wait outside of the tent. That gave them enough time to talk about the situation.
"Man, they look in a horrible state." Damien started.
"No kidding, they seem like they got hit by a truck." Axel added.
"Considering the type of challenge Chris comes up with, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case." Caleb joined in.
"Do you think they'll get proper medications here? I mean, we only have the interns and ourselves to take care of them. Wouldn't it be better to take them to a hospital?" Nichelle asked with concern.
"Yes, that's what I told them. But the interns responded me that Chris and Chef went a bit too out of budget with the challenges this season, so they couldn't afford proper health care and safety. That's why Chef has been so strict with Chris when it comes to endangering us in the game." Caleb replied with a rather annoyed look on his face by the negligence of the two hosts for their lives.
"It's not like they were any better in the other seasons." Axel scoffed, also pretty pissed off by the mindset of the show. Damien expressed his concerns since day one on the island, so it wasn't a surprise that he was quite mad about the incident.
Nichelle, however, was absolutely livid. She was having none of it.
"Oh that's it! Not only this stupid show made me look like a joke and ruined my career, but they are also so cheap that they can't even afford basic health safety!" She was turning red by how angry she was, making Damien and Caleb quite surprised by her sudden outburst. Axel didn't seem too surprised, but she was also getting slightly concerned.
"Y'know what? I'm calling my mom! If this C-Tier show cannot afford a hospital, I will make them!" She quickly grabbed her phone and walked away from the group, leaving everyone off guard.
They couldn't properly hear what Nichelle was saying, but by her body language it was clear that she was anything but calm. The phone call kept going for two minutes straight, before Nichelle turned her head to the group with a big smile on her face and gave them thumbs up.
She finally ended the call and came back proudly. The others looked still a bit confused, but they figured out what Nichelle talked about in the call.
"So, how did it go?" Caleb asked.
"Okay, so, I couldn't get them to an actual hospital, but my mother said she will pay the production to get a doctor here to take proper care of them!" And she swiped her hair proudly.
The others got a relived smile on their faces as soon as they heard the news, and they all cheered for Nichelle's good action.
Playa Des Losers (Pool Area)
10:30 PM
Since it had already been 30 minutes of wait to be called back from the inters, the group decided to go back to the kiosk near the pool. They all set on the stools and took something to drink from behind the kiosk. Usually there would be an intern to serve them, but of course that day was the exception, therefore they served themselves.
They chatted about how awful the show was, and Damien discovered more about how far some seasons went. Leaving the campers for themselves in the nature, without even having the cabins where to sleep or leave your stuff was all types of insane negligence for the lives of a bunch of 16 years old.
"Y'know, in retrospect, we could have had it worst. At least we had a place to sleep, and we get to stay here when we get eliminated." Damien pointed out. The others agreed on that.
"You're right on that! I would have probably never signed the contract if it wasn't assured that we would at least get some sort of safety outside of the challenges." Caleb said, taking a sip of his smoothie.
"I'm sure you would have done wonders in Pahkitew Island, Axel!" Nichelle looked over to the other girl and put a hand on her shoulder. The Hardcore slightly smiled at that, but quickly returned to her unexpressive face.
"Of course, who else would have been better fitted for a surviving situation like that. If I was there instead of that zombie fanatic, I would have showed everyone how to actually fight zombies! He was nothing but a coward." Axel proudly said, clearly taking her zombie obsession very seriously. The others never understood where her belief in the zombie apocalypse originated from, but no one ever asked to avoid Axel's fury.
"Do you think the others are gonna be fine on the island?" Damien asked with some concern in his voice. The group looked unsure on how to respond, but by the way they exchanged looks they all knew what the answer was.
"Honestly, I don't know. I thought no one would get seriously injured, and yet here we are." Caleb was the first one to reply. Nichelle and Axel both agreed with Caleb, and Damien knew the eye candy was right.
They stayed in an awkward silence for some minutes, unsure of how to restore the conversation to a lighthearted one. Then Nichelle straightened up.
"Wait, I know how to check if they are fine!" They all looked confused, before Caleb seemingly understood what Nichelle was talking about. At least, judging by his loud "Ooooh!".
"What? What is it?" Damien did not understand.
"We can watch the episodes! They got a big TV in the restaurant area! We could look at that to see how the guys at the island are doing!" Nichelle said excitedly.
"Wait, we can watch the episodes as they are being made?" Damien asked, not aware of that information.
"Not as they're being made, but the day after the recordings are done. That means that tomorrow the episode that got recorded today will be ready to be broadcasted." Caleb explained to Damien.
"So, by doing that, we'll be able to see how Wayne and Raj got hurt. Right?"
"That's the idea, yes."
They couldn't continue their conversation for too long, as they were called back by the interns in the medical tent.
Medical Tent (Playa Des Losers)
10:40 PM
"We got a call from Chris. He told us that a proper doctor will visit them tomorrow. I don't know how they were able to afford it, but somehow, they did." The same intern girl with freckles explained the group as they walked in the tent.
Wayne and Raj were now sleeping, with some interns checking their injuries and taking notes on some notepads.
"We gave them the painkillers. We didn't even need to do anything that they fell asleep by themselves. With the news of the doctor coming to see them we decided to leave them off like this. We are not properly trained for medical emergencies, y'know." She explained. Of course, the production didn't bother giving the inters a good training for this type of situation. Damien rolled his eyes annoyed, and the others didn't seem much happier.
"So, what do you need us for?" Caleb asked. The girl blushed a bit seeing Caleb next to her, but she contained herself.
"We need at least one of you to check them out for the rest of the night. We have to get back to the island to help prepare the next challenges, and you guys are the only ones left here. I'm sorry to ruin your time here, but we are really struggling with working both here and at the island. And this situation doesn't make it easier. Chris is not very comprehensive towards us." They all looked at her with sympathetic looks, knowing it wasn't the interns' fault for the lack of both personal and safety.
"I'll stay." Damien raised his hand, and everyone looked at him weird.
"Are you sure? You were not part of their team, you don't need to do this if you don't want to." The intern told him. But Damien shrugged.
"It's okay, I don't really have anything better to do, and I'm not really feeling tired. I can do it." That was just half of the truth. Sure, he would have probably proposed himself for this role either way, due to his good nature, but there were other reasons behind his staying at the tent. He did have something better to do, he told to Scary Girl they could have spent the time together at the pool, which fortunately was near the medical tent. The other reason was, unfortunately, MK's blackmail. If he stayed there at least he would be sure that MK would have kept her mouth shut about him and Scary Girl.
The others still looked at Damien with confused looks, but ultimately accepted his sacrifice for them.
"So it's settled then, thanks Damien." Caleb put a hand on Damien's shoulder, as a sign of gratitude.
The interns soon left the tent, and after making sure Damien would be fine Caleb, Axel and Nichelle also left. It would have been a long night probably.
Medical Tent (Playa Des Losers)
11:05 PM
Damien waited for some time, making sure Wayne and Raj were still asleep. Those poor boys, they didn't deserve this kind of injuries, no one deserved this. Not even Chase and Ripper. Whatever happened to them would have been revealed to everyone at Playa the next day. But before that moment, Damien could only speculate about what caused those scars, marks, and broken bones.
For as much as he wanted to make sure they were okay, Damien had still something to do. He made sure no one was around and stepped out of the tent. He then entered the resort and made his way to Scary Girl's room.
He silently walked in the hallway, and when he finally reached her door, he knocked as quietly as he could.
Just some seconds later, Scary Girl opened the door and looked at Damien. She now had her pigtails once again, and her make up looked like it was made just some minutes ago.
"Are we ready to go?" She asked.
"Sure." And so they headed back to the pool.
Playa Des Losers (Pool Area)
11:10 PM
They set on the edge and stared at the sky above them. A slightly cold breeze run through their hair, or rather, Scary Girl's hair. Damien still had his hat on.
"So, who got injured?" Scary Girl asked, tilting her head.
"Wayne and Raj, you remember them?"
"Yeah! The hockey players! I chased them with the jackhammer!" She giggled a bit at that. Damien looked a bit upset by this but decided to let it slide. Scary Girl, however, seemed to notice his reaction. Her creepy smile was replaced by a look of guilt.
"Sorry, I… I still can't control this part of me." She looked down at the pool, slightly kicking her feet in the water. Damien felt a pit to his stomach. He couldn't understand what she felt, or how she felt, but he nonetheless understood that it wasn't something easy to deal with.
"Hey, have you tried getting help for… y'know." Damien asked and tried to see the reaction the girl's face, but she kept looking down. This was giving him a horrible feeling of déjà vu.
"I told you, my parents don't have enough money for that. And living in a moving circus doesn't help either. Plus, I started to accept this part of me. I know it's not a good thing, but really, what can I do?" And she finally looked back at him. Damien heard before that if you look in someone's eyes you can see their soul, and Scary Girl's soul right now was feeling hopeless. She was right, what could she do? Even if she put her all into getting better, the situation simply didn't work in her favor.
"Right… yeah, you're right." Damien replied, feeling just as hopeless as she was. He hated this. He hated being unable to change the events. He couldn't make sure Priya and Millie were safe back at the island due to his own "Vote Damien off the island" campaign, he couldn't fight back MK's blackmail, and now he couldn't help Scary Girl.
The two teens set in silence for next ten minutes, both looking at the pool. The silence was interrupted by a deep breath coming from Scary Girl. She then turned to look back at Damien and spoke up.
"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to feel bad for me." Scary Girl said, with a sincere smile on her face.
"How can I not? I just wish you could live a normal life like we all do." Damien responded, feeling guilty with each word.
"This is my normal life. Well, aside from opening up that is." Damien looked at her for a moment before replying to her.
"You never talked to anyone about this?"
"No. Usually I cause some problems to someone I care about, I feel guilty, and when I confront them, I just can't stand faking my persona… and I simply run away and never see them again. None of the people that saw me like that ever came back in my life. But of course, there's nowhere I can really run away here." she left out a few weak laughs before adding "I guess living in a moving circus it's helpful for something." And her stare was now towards the stars in the sky above. There was such a nice atmosphere. Complete silence, a good breeze, stars that are not hidden by the cities' lights. It would have been perfect if it wasn't for the topic they were talking about.
Damien also looked up at the sky. He didn't get to see the stars very often, being a city boy he wasn't really used to this.
"Wow, they're beautiful…" He let out that without even thinking. It just came off as natural. Scary Girl looked at him, then back at the stars.
"You never saw them?"
"Not very often. I'm not really a fan of the outdoors, so I don't get to see them living in the city." They stayed like that for some time, before Scary Girl pointed at some stars.
"Do you know what constellation that is?"
"No, I never learned any constellation. You can probably guess why." She then took his and used it to point some specific stars in the sky.
"Do you see it?"
"Kinda. I'm not really sure which star I'm supposed to look at."
"Here, follow these directions." And she moved his hand to make him see the constellation she was also looking at.
"Do you see it now?"
"Yeah, I do!" Damien was pretty excited by this. It was his first time seeing any constellation.
"That's the Scorpius! See? That is Antares, his heart and brightest star! And that is the curve of its tail." She kept using his hand to point to the stars she was talking about, and as she looked at his face, she could see him being completely in awe for something. It was new seeing Damien like this. It was new to not see him either scared or stressed. It was… nice.
"Do you know of the myth behind the Scorpius?" She asked.
"No. What it is?"
"The most common says that the hunter Orion declared he could kill any animal in the world. He then met the scorpion, and that was the only animal that defeated him. Even Zeus watched this battle. He then raised the scorpion in the night sky, and his constellation has been there ever since." Such a fascinating story. Damien never was for believing into the myths about the Greek Gods, but he nonetheless found entertainment in hearing such magical narrations. They always felt to him like the core of human creativity, and everything that came after was just the translation in modern times of such creativity.
"It's so fascinating." A smile he didn't even know he had was now on his face. Scary Girl kept looking at that smile… it actually felt good? It was good to see someone else happy?
"What's wrong with me?" She pondered in her mind. No matter now, she brushed off that thought and instead focused back on the stars. She moved Damien's hand to show him another constellation.
"And that one is Orion, the hunter I mentioned before. The myths say that he was the son of Poseidon, and he was supernaturally gifted as a hunter. It's never specified how he died exactly, but the two most known theories are that he was killed by the scorpion, as I told you before, or that he was killed by the bow of the "Goddess of the Hunt" Artemis." She explained as she was directing the boy's hand.
"Okay, wait, I see it! That one there, right? The one that goes like this?" And he moved his hand to show what he was looking at. Scary Girl nodded to that, and he felt proud for getting it right.
"He looks so happy. He looks… good… Wait! What am I saying?!" Scary Girl turned for a moment to the other way and took a look at her face in the reflection of the water. She was blushing.
She immediately shook her head, making the blush go away. Damien snapped out the awe he was having by watching the stars, and instead looked at her.
"You good?" He asked slightly confused and concerned at the same time. For all he knew she could be having another breakdown. Fortunately, that wasn't the case.
"Yeah, all good! Just had something in my eye!" Scary Girl responded, tilting her head. It wasn't the best job at hiding her emotions, but acting scary was the easiest way to put people off and make them think she's just crazy. Damien seemed to not want to push the conversation and turned his focus to the sky.
They spent an hour or so like that, watching stars. With Scary Girl telling the myths behind all the various constellations, and Damien being in awe by everything.
"And that is Polaris, the North Star. And if you follow the stars like this…" Scary Girl led Damien's hand one more time "you can see the Ursa Minor! It's pretty popular!"
"Yeah, I heard about this one. And about Ursa Major too!" Damien said excitedly.
"Ursa Major is that one over there! You see?" Leading his hand again, she showed him the most well know constellation among all of them. Damien was visibly stunned by the beauty of this one, more than the others.
"And what's this one's myth?"
"It's myth is intertwined with Ursa Minor! Zeus was smitten for a nymph, Callisto. Zeus's wife, Hera, was jealous, and turned Callisto into a bear. Callisto then encountered her son Arcas. There, Arcas was about to shoot the bear, but Zeus intervened by turning Arcas into a bear as well. He then raised both of them permanently in the night sky."
"Woah, you really do know a lot about these myths, don't you?"
"My grandma taught me how to read the stars, and she would tell me about these myths as bedtime stories… it was such a long time ago now. I was like, six or something. And now ten years later I'm here, telling the same myths I've been knowing for so long to someone else… It's funny how everything evolves in life, and yet everything stays the same. Do you get it?" She turned to look at Damien's face. Scary Girl learned that if you look in someone's eyes you can see their soul, and in Damien's eyes she saw a soul that understood what she asked but couldn't let it out completely.
"Yeah, kinda. I can see the metaphor." He wasn't being totally honest. He probably knew what she meant, and simply tried to be vague to avoid any personal question.
They came back looking at the sky and stayed in silence for the next twenty minutes or so. The silence was broken by a soft yawn coming from Scary Girl. She brushed her hands on her eyes, but she was clearly getting sleepy.
"Feeling tired?"
"A bit. Getting two breakdowns on the same day takes you all the energy." And she let out a small laugh before yawning again.
"Go get some sleep, you need it."
"What about you?"
"I have to stay here, to check on Wayne and Raj." Scary Girl looked back at the tent, and then back at Damien. She then nodded and stood up.
"Alright. Have a good night."
"Good night." And so she left.
Medical Tent (Playa Des Losers)
01:44 AM
Damien made his way back to the tent, hoping nothing happened to Wayne and Raj in the time he was away. Sure, the tent was close enough to hear them if they woke up, especially with the eternal silence of the night, but he couldn't help feeling worried for leaving them alone for so much time.
He stepped in and saw that the hockey bros were still asleep. Damien let out a sigh of relief and set on a chair next to their gurneys.
"Thank God, you guys are alright- erm, I mean, you definitely are NOT alright in your current shape. I meant that you're alright since I left, heheh. Sorry about that." The only thing that responded to him was just a dead silence. Of course, no one else could respond to him.
"Why am I even talking to you? I'm just disturbing your sleep. Sorry guys- argh I did it again!"
Understanding that he was probably starting to act up due to his lack of sleep, he decided to get comfortable on his wooden chair and closed his eyes.
Just a couple of minutes to rest wouldn't be too bad, right?
And he was fast asleep.
A.N: And so here we are, with Chapter 7 done! This is currently my favorite at the time of writing this. I really enjoyed writing the characters interactions in this one, and I think they came out decently enough. As for the art of Chapter 5, 6 and now 7, I'm still unsure on when they'll be done. BUT they will get done... eventually!
For now enjoy this chapter, give me your feedbacks and opinions, and we'll see each other whenever Chapter 8 will be released! Later skaters!