Dodgebrawl

A certain couple sat under the dock, quiet as they awkwardly listened in on Heather and Cody's argument.

Lindsay opened her mouth to say something, but Tyler immediately covered it with his hand. No way they were getting their cover blown, especially while that Heather chick was so pissed off.

He didn't want to know what she'd try and hit him with when a dodgeball wasn't on hand.

It didn't take long for the telltale sound of heels on wood to begin to fade away, signaling Heather's departure, and Tyler let out a sigh of relief as he took his hand off of Lindsay's mouth.

"What was that for?" Lindsay asked, more confused than upset.

"Babe," Tyler whispered, "If Heather found us down here, she'd totally kill us!"

Lindsay gasped. "No she wouldn't!"

"Did you hear how she was talking to Cody?" Tyler shot back.

Honestly, Cody was such a bro for taking the heat off of him and Lindsay. He definitely owed the guy big time for that save.

Maybe he should get to know him better.

"Yeah, but -" Lindsay tried, only for Tyler to gently cut her off.

"Linds," he muttered sweetly, "Heather threw a dodgeball at my kiwis earlier for just waving at you. Do you really think she wouldn't, I don't know, throw a canoe at me for this?"

Tyler was trying to be serious, but Lindsay's giggles were music to his ears as she reacted to his ridiculous idea. How crazy would Heather throwing a canoe at him be?

Oh wait.

"What was Cody talking about with you, Heather, and Beth being in an alliance?"

Lindsay froze like a deer in headlights.

Maybe that wasn't the best conversation topic.

–

Between If You Can't Take the Heat & Who Can You Trust? - Morning

Tyler was feeling good. His heart was beating, his blood was pumping, and his muscles were strumming to the beat of whatever tune had flitted into his head for the moment.

He wished he had headphones.

Oh well! You don't always get everything you want in life, but Tyler had just about everything he could ask for. He wasn't going to whine about the one thing he was temporarily lacking. He didn't need headphones to get a good workout in!

Even if this Island kinda sucked, it had done so much more good for him than bad.

Speaking of, Tyler emerged from the woods just in time to see Lindsay walking away from the dock. He hurried over to her, shouting her name as he did so.

"Hey, Linds!" He called, finally getting her attention.

"Hi, Tyler!" Lindsay responded happily, "I was looking all over for you!"

Tyler blinked. "You know I run at this time of morning, remember?"

Lindsay nodded. "Yep!" She prattled, "Cody reminded me!"

Tyler held back a fond sigh. As much as he loved Lindsay, and he hated to even think it, she could be a bit of an airhead at times. Even more than he was!

And that was saying something.

"You were hanging out with Cody?" Tyler asked, "How's he doing?"

Lindsay frowned at the question. That was all Tyler needed to understand that the answer would essentially be 'not good'.

"I don't know!" Lindsay mumbled, "He was all sad, and I think I made him feel better, but everyone has just been so mean recently, and I don't know why!"

Shit. Pretty girlfriend about to cry. Tyler was not prepared for this kind of emergency.

"Woah, Linds, calm down!" He tried, "It can't be that bad, right?"

Lindsay sniffled. "It is! Greta and Lafonda have been so angry lately, Omar keeps running away from everyone, and Heather has been so moody since the paintball challenge, it's like I've had no one to talk to besides you!"

"Well," Tyler began, unsure, "What about Cody? He's on your team too, right, and dating Heather? Maybe he could talk to her?"

"Cody's dating Heather?" Lindsay repeated, confused, "I didn't know that!"

"Wait, he isn't?" Tyler questioned, "Geoff told me they were totally a thing!"

Lindsay scratched her head. "I don't think Heather even likes Cody that much, since he ignores her all the time."

Huh. Maybe Cody wasn't as much of a player as he thought.

"Well, your friends with Cody, right?" He continued, "You can talk to him, yeah?"

Lindsay sighed. "Not really, but I want to!" She brightened a bit at that declaration, "He's a sweet guy, but we haven't really talked before today! He's usually too busy with Owen or Brenda or Trevor. He doesn't get mad when I say his name wrong, and even offered to help me with some of them!"

"That's great, babe!" Tyler cheered, "Just make sure to save some time for me, allright?"

He was only half-joking with that last bit. He thought Cody was a solid guy - after all, they had gone on morning runs together on more than one occasion - but you never know when someone tries to steal your girl.

Especially when that girl was Lindsay.

"Of course, Taylor!" Lindsay giggled, wrapping him up in a hug despite the fact that he was covered in sweat, "I always wanna spend time with you!"

Tyler grinned, hugging his girlfriend back tightly. Lindsay's nose wrinkled.

"After you shower, first!"

–

Who Can You Trust? - Before the Vote

"There you are, Tyler!"

Tyler blinked in confusion as Harold pointed at him dramatically, before resting his hands on his knees and panting. The nerd was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and it looked like he was exhausted.

"Dude, you good?" Tyler asked.

"I've been looking all over for you!" Harold ignored Tyler's question, choosing instead to continue his dramatic monologue. "We don't have much time!"

"Much time for what?"

Harold groaned, before grabbing Tyler by the shoulders and shaking him rapidly. "Time to ensure our survival on the island!"

Tyler (gently) pushed Harold off him, but the guy still crumpled like a wet napkin.

He winced. "Sorry, but you need to chill."

"Noted." Harold wheezed. "But you need to listen."

"Sure."

"We need to vote out Geoff tonight."

"Huh?" Tyler was taken aback. He wasn't sure where this was coming from. "Why do you want me to vote Geoff?"

"Because," Harold explained, "It's our last chance to save ourselves from the rest of the team!"

"Dude, what are you talking about?" Tyler questioned, "There's no way we could vote Geoff off!"

"Oh, there most certainly is, my friend!" Harold shot back, "There's a really good chance that DJ votes for Geoff, since he got Bunny killed and all -"

"Bunny died?!" Tyler gasped, "How?!"

Harold snapped his fingers. "Oh, right. You weren't here for that. Long story short DJ gave Bunny to Geoff to watch while he did the rock climb, and - We don't have time for this! The voting is going to start soon!"

Tyler just watched as Harold paused, struggling to gather his thoughts.

"You and I," Harold tried, "We're not so different in this game, all things considered. We're both at the bottom of the team's food chain, we're both madly in love with a fair maiden on the other team, and we both need to stick together because of that."

Tyler blinked again. Who was Harold in love with?

"Besides," Harold continued, "I consider you a better friend than the rest of the guys, considering you got them to stop pranking me and everything, y'know…"

He shook his head. "Regardless, I know Duncan and Geoff want me eliminated, and Courtney wants you gone. With DJ voting Geoff, the two of us combined could take advantage of the split vote, shake up the team dynamic, and stick around a bit longer in the game. Otherwise, we're both goners the moment they get the chance!"

Tyler paused, taking the brief time he had to process Harold's words. "You're right," Tyler agreed, "But, I mean, maybe our time has just come in the game, you know? I respect wanting to fight to the end, but if the team wants us gone, maybe we should just… go?"

"Are you an idiot?" Harold sneered, taking Tyler by surprise, "Do you give up in the fourth quarter just because you're down two scores? Do you let the other team come back from behind and win just because 'they really want it'? Where's your fire? Your will to win? You're really happy with just letting go and giving up that easily?"

Just like that, Tyler felt it.

That fire. That desire to win. That hunger for victory.

That sweet, sweet, hundred thousand dollars.

"Besides," Harold practically begged, "The longer you stay, the longer you can be with Lindsay!"

Hook.

Line.

And sinker.

Tyler finally nodded.

"Alright, Harold," Tyler finished, offering his hand, "You've got yourself a deal."

—

A/N: Two updates in one day? I'm cooking.

Nearly forgot about this bad boy, decided to crank out something that had been sitting in my head for a while - it helped that half the scenes in it came from the past two chapters.

Tyler's a cool guy - got screwed in canon. Maybe things will be different?

As usual, hope you enjoyed! Suggestions are welcome (I haven't forgotten about the ones that were already posted, just need some more scenes for them)! Don't forget to review!