Camp Cretaceous: What Do We Do Now?

by Ecaetheerein

We thought it'd be fun… We thought we'd be safe… But we didn't realize the horror waiting for us on the island. Claws, teeth, screaming… so much screaming. But despite the challenges, we survived the night. Well... some of us. And now that we've been left on the island, we're faced with the challenge of surviving until help arrives... If it arrives...

47. Ep47 Safe and Sound

Author's note:

Soooo, I don't have Netflix and would rather have no spoilers from season 4... even though I know a LOT right now. And from what I've heard from disgruntled friends, the new season is... a disappointment. So to rectify this atrocity, I give you, Safe and Sound.

I can't recall any suicidal parts... but this is Brooklynn centered, so I'll put a warning JUST IN CASE! ALSO GORE WARNING FOR DREAMS! And discussions of inappropriate conduct... no smut, nowhere close, but it's discussed.

I hope to be able to post the next chapter on Christmas day, but... no promises. I can't garuantee that I'll finish it in time... but Christmas is my goal.

And about Mostspider5's comments, yeah, she's a close friend and we were hanging out at the time she commented those. She's a troll, lol.

Anyways, enjoy this early chapter! (early considering the last couple of chapters, lol)

---

"Justin and I are fighting over yee haws cause I said we gotta haw every fourth hour for all the hawless yees, but he said he only yees and doesn't haw and says it's weak to haw and yee! IS HE TRYIN TO FIGHT THE FOUNDER OF THE YEEHAW CLUB ON THE RULES?! And I told him to go be a lone Yee but he got the nerve to ask me if I'd still haw to his yee, like YOU SAID YOU WERE GONNA REFUSE TO HAW, YOU DON'T GET A HAW! NO ONE GETS A HAW IF THEY DON'T HAW THEMSELVES!"

"And of course Mama and Holly don't understand, they think I'm being ridiculous, but if Justin is gonna be a part of this family, he'd better yeehaw correctly! And course Holly thinks I've been infected by Kenji not goin crazy over something but she thinks is stupid!"

"Honestly, Sam, I thought Kenji hacked your phone at first," Yasmina answers.

"You're a little more eccentric today than usual," Ben comments.

"THE YEEHAW IS SERIOUS BUSINESS!" Sammy insists.

"Wait, what was the last sentence?" Ben asks. "The one about being infected by Kenji?"

'Uhhh… I'm dslyexic," Sammy excuses, she herself not understanding what she wrote.

"HOW DARE HE QUESTION THE YEEHAW QUEEN!" Kenji answers as if on cue. "THE YEEHAW CULT *cough, cough* club *cough, cough* SHOULD TAKE CARE OF THIS TRAITOR!"

Sammy sends laughing emojis.

"A cult you say?" Yasmina sends with a curious emoji.

"No, Yaz, no murder, no cult, none of that," Ben scolds.

"This isn't a cult," Sammy says. "Wait, how many people does it take to make a cult?"

"I think it takes a couple of people, you just gotta spread the cult," Kenji informs her.

"Well y'all better haw every fourth hour for all the hawless yees and spread the word!" Sammy sends with laughing emojis.

"What are you high on?" Brooklynn asks.

"Weed probably," Yasmina responds. "Her Mama made her take it the other day."

"SHE MADE US WEED THE GARDEN!" Sammy protests. "THAT'S DIFFERENT!"

All she got from the athlete were devious emojis.

Darius sits on the couch, chuckling as he reads over the conversation. "What's so funny?" Mrs. Monell asks, setting her purse on the counter.

"I'm not sure if my friends are funny, quirky, or just plain weird," Darius snickers, waiting for Brooklynn to finish getting ready for school.

"Depends on who you're talking about," Brooklynn's mother comments.

"Haha, true," he nods, checking the time on his phone and putting it down. They were going to be running late if Brooklynn didn't hurry up.

"What takes a girl so long to get ready?" he wonders to himself.

Brooklynn's bedroom door opens and she hopes down the stairs. Posing at the bottom, she pops her foot back and grins at Darius, clearly wanting his opinion on her outfit that took so long to pick out.

Darius casually looks at her before blinking and looks again. He had gotten used to her pink jacket and jeans on the island, then readjusted to her depressed outfit of a couple different sweatpants and oversized T-shirts—just enough variety so that she didn't seem too depressed at school.

Once again, she had completely changed her outfit to go with her hair, and it made him do a double take. The first thing he noticed was her hair. The now vibrant, hot pink, black tipped locks were pulled up into a high ponytail. She had a pair of large hoop earrings that looked dangerously close to getting tangled in her hair, and despite being inside, had on a pink version of Kenji's island sunglasses.

The most eye-catching part of her outfit had to be her tight tank top that matched her hair color. Over it was a black, loose, crop top hoodie that almost reached the bottom of her rib cage. Completing her look were black jean shorts and white Converse.

Darius can't help his jaw dropping. "We're going to school, not a catwalk," he blurts out before he can stop himself.

Her pleased grin made him feel happy for her. "Who says I can't dress up for fun?" she says as she comes to stand behind the couch.

Darius gets a closer look at her makeup and is floored. "It's school, why do you look so gorgeous?"

She laughs and he isn't sure if it was natural blush or makeup that tinted her face pink. He himself feels his face heat up at his words. "It's a compliment for her," he reminds himself. "She wants my opinion. Preferably a good one. And… I mean, she is cute… Hey, don't be embarrassed, Darius, what kind of a friend would you be if you thought she was ugly? She's a good friend… I'm happy she's feeling confident in her appearance. I'm proud of her for lifting herself up and trying to heal."

As he's thinking, he notices that black eyepatch covering her left eye. Around him and the other campers, and sometimes the other families—anyone who acted more like family to her than her own—she would take it off. He had noticed, though, that recently she had been wearing it more often. Even around him and the others. Darius understood why she wanted to wear it, but he still hated it. Even if she was missing an eye, it was covering up a part of her beautiful face. It was separating her from the others in a way.

"Is she trying to pull away from us?" Darius wonders, paranoid. "Are we losing all progress we've made and going back to pleasing the Internet?"

The thought terrifies him passionately. He wanted to rip that eye patch off her face and let her be real with someone. With him…

"Calm down, maybe she's just gotten used to wearing it and it's not really a conscious decision," he tells himself.

"Come on, we're going to be late," Brooklynn says, taking his hand and pulling him off the couch.

Darius gets a better glimpse of her face and notices that she had flawlessly covered up her scars with talent only skilled makeup artists had. Anger flared up. Anger that she felt the need to cover up something that added to her uniqueness. He thought the scars looked cool… but Brooklynn didn't. "Because she has to meet the standard of beauty… the toxic one set by the world that teaches her to starve herself and cover up any slight imperfection."

"Come on, Darius," he tries to reason with himself. "She just wants to dress up and look good. You can't blame her for that. She's been feeling like crap for a while now and hasn't had the energy to look presentable. You can't be mad at her for wanting to look pretty."

"Yeah… but she can't be trying to impress other people," the other side of him argued. "The problem lies in motive… if she's doing it to make other people look so that she can feel good about herself, that's not okay… Is it? Is it fine to want to impress other people? Is that why most girls dress up? No… that's not why she's doing it… she feels pressure to look a certain way and that's why she's dressing up… Gah, but I can't tell her what to wear… and she does seem happy with her new look…"

"Are you okay?" Brooklynn asks in concern as they buckle up.

"Yeah, just… anxious," Darius admits, biting his lip.

Brooklynn leans in and gives him an awkward side hug. The boy gets a whiff of her perfume. He scrunches up his nose, trying to figure out what it was. "... Did you get candy perfume?"

She giggles. "Mayyyybe," she says in a teasing, sing-song voice.

Darius has conflicted feelings. On one hand, she seemed so much happier and like herself… On the other hand, he only knew the Internet-craving Youtuber and the depressed, vulnerable Brooklynn. He wasn't exactly sure who was the real one… and if it was a mix of the two, what were the ratios?

The boy felt a little worried. He hadn't seen her act this way in a while. The last time she acted so… peppy, was on the island before they were abandoned. And it scared him to think that she might be reverting back to her old self.

"But you want her to be happy, don't you?" a voice asks.

"Yeah, but I don't want her to feel the need to suck up to random people who butt in with their unwanted opinions!" he argues with himself. "I want her to be happy and confident in who she is and not feel the need to please others!"

"Maybe she is confident and happy…"

"No… it's a little too soon… I'd love it if she could get over depression that easily, but it's too soon…"

"Maybe she's just having a good day…"

"Or maybe she's pretending to because she knows I get anxious and doesn't want me to worry because she feels bad when I worry because it makes her feel like a burden… But what if she knows that I know all that and she's… wait…"

"I didn't know you had that hoodie," Brooklynn's mother comments, breaking his thoughts.

"I got a lot of stuff," she chuckles. "I forgot I had this. I wanted to go for a baddie, skater girl vibe today."

"I have no idea what either of those mean," Darius says.

Brooklynn chuckles. "A baddie is confident, fierce, and a trendsetter. A skater girl wears loose, comfortable clothing that's easy to skateboard and be athletic in. I kinda wanna join Yaz in some sort of sport when she gets back on her feet. I wonder if Yaz would like skateboarding…"

"You skateboard?" Darius raises an eyebrow.

"No… but I wanna try it," she shrugs.

"Hmmm, maybe I'm overreacting," he thinks. "I mean, trying to be like someone else isn't exactly good, but at least she's looking up to Yasmina… But does Yaz skateboard? Or wear that type of clothing?"

Darius studies her outfit as she chats with her mother, and comes to a dreadful theory. He discreetly searches up something, and gets that shaky, anxious feeling. "That hoodie definitely gives off Leah vibes… Seems to be a staple for her…"

Indeed, many of Leah's outfits that popped up on his search bar included a crop top hoodie. Usually black and of the same design Brooklynn had.

Darius lets it sink in. "Is she trying to be like Leah?" he worries. "... Leah still seems to have influence around here… What's going on? Why would she be trying to dress like Leah? Is she trying to mesh together the good things from both worlds? The fashion and fame of the Internet life while emulating her older sister, Yaz? … Does she feel like SHE did something wrong and Leah was innocent? Is she trying to suck up to Leah in some small way?"

"Maybe she's just trying to look confident and fierce and Leah happens to have the same look she went for…"

The boy searches up "baddie" and looks through the results. The celebrities he figured would pop up were there. The Kardashians, Minaj, Grande. Probably a couple Tiktokers he didn't recognize. Not surprisingly, he recognized Leah in the search results. "Seems Leah is just one of the model baddies for other girls to follow…" he thinks. "So is she trying to be like Leah or just following the fashion trend Leah's a part of…"

The two head into the school, but he can't focus on his work. All he can think about—or more accurately, worry about—is his friend. The teachers would call on him a couple times to check if he was listening, but he couldn't care less. It wasn't like the classes mattered to his grade, anyway.

Finally, the bell rings and class is dismissed. Darius packs up his bag and limps out of the classroom. Ben comes up behind him, having noticed his behavior in class. "Did you pay attention at all?"

"What does it matter? I'm not graduating, anyway," Darius shrugs.

"Yeah, I'll be honest, I don't care what the outcome of this year is, either," Ben nods. "It looked like something was on your mind, though."

Darius chews on his lip, trying to decide if Ben would understand his struggle or not. "I'm worried about Brooklynn… Especially her new outfit…"

"What's wrong with her outfit?" Ben frowns.

"No, that came out wrong," Darius groans. "I mean, I'm worried she's going back to impressing society by conforming to their standards."

"Ahh," Ben nods, understanding what he meant. "Yeah, I understand your concern."

"She said she used her hair to show changes in videos and such," the boy continues. "She wanted to do the same to show her mental and emotional changes… And I'm assuming outfits tie into that. The only problem is her outfit is a big change from what it used to be. It's fiercer, more confident than she usually is… Well, it was her on the island, but it isn't her now… Maybe she's trying to dress like someone she wants to be… But that's an issue because she bears resemblance to Leah! That hoodie is almost identical to what Leah wears! She can't be trying to imitate Leah, now! That's only going to end in disaster, one way or another. I-Is it normal to be this panicked and obsessed over the meaning of your friends outfit? Can you obsessively think about your friends outfit in a friendly way? Is this normal?"

Ben cackles. "Are you sure this isn't a crush, Dare?"

Darius's face heats up. "No! She's just a friend! I just get very worried about her, that's all. And beauty standards and fashion are important to her, so it's important to me."

Ben quirks an eyebrow at his friend, not believing him, but lets it go. "Well, I agree with you. It is important to monitor any changes in her behavior and whatnot."

"She claims she's doing better and beginning to heal, but I doubt it," Darius murmurs. "I feel like she's faking it… Trying to act better so we'd stop worrying."

"Yeah, sounds like something she'd do," Ben nods.

The boy's conversation ends as they come upon Brooklynn and Yasmina talking with some other girls. Well, Brooklynn talking and Yasmina awkwardly sticking with her silently. "For real, you got mad drip!" one of the girls smiles. "Where did you get it?"

"Uh, I'm not sure," Brooklynn laughs. "I forgot I even had this."

"Your wardrobe must be worth a fortune," another one says in mock jealousy.

"Considering a lot of it is merch from other influencers, yep," Brooklynn grins.

As his friend gets showered with compliments, Darius finds himself having mixed feelings again. On one hand, he was thrilled to see her smiling and laughing and conversing with other people. It was definitely an improvement from where she was before. And it was great to see her being accepted and encouraged by other people instead of getting torn down.

On the other hand, these same people had sent her into a panic attack before… They were what Sammy referred to as the popular group, and while they seemed nice, Darius didn't want them to have any influence on Brooklynn. He certainly didn't want them reinforcing the idea that Brooklynn's worth was influenced by her looks…

Brooklynn sniffled, curling up into a ball on the couch next to him. "It… Leah was so nice… She was so nice to me… It's hard sometimes for me to wrap my head around her being manipulative and mean… Maybe it's hard because she was nice and I'm subconsciously biased… Maybe that explains why I was such a jerk to you… Maybe those comments were right and I should kill myself…"

Brooklynn's entire confidence in herself had been repressed by her parents' neglect. Then it was built up by Leah so that she could manipulate it for her own purposes. Now that her idol had bullied and framed her, Brooklynn had no idea where to turn for her confidence… it broke Darius's heart. He wanted her to find it in herself… He wanted her to see how much she was truly worth as a person. Not as an influencer. Not as a follower or Leah's butt-kisser. Not for her beauty or even for her talents. Not as a girlfriend or even as a friend or a daughter or a sister. He wanted her to see who she was as a human. As herself.

Watching the girls compliment her made him feel worried, and he felt horrible about it. But he did not trust the girls. They had no idea what Brooklynn had gone through. They didn't know her. How could they possibly lift her up in the way she needed? And they didn't know the girls. He didn't know the girls. They were foreigners; like a pack of predators moving in on her. Darius feels that overwhelming protective instinct welling up in him. That same feeling he had on the island when he was having dreams of their deaths…

The boy tries his best to squash it. "They're not bad… Sammy says they're nice… Think of them as herbivores. They're a herd of… a herd of Triceratops. They're not out to eat Brooklynn… They could hurt her and trample her underfoot… but they're not out for her flesh."

It helped in a small way.

Two boys pass by to leave the school and glance at Brooklynn. The instinct to protect her rises up again and Darius stares at the boys. The boys glance a second time at the group and his blood begins to boil. "What is going through your mind?" he growls in his head. "What do you think about her? Where is your mind going? If you think of her in any way that is inappropriate and unbefitting of her, SO HELP ME!"

Understanding Yasmina's position on depriving someone of life, Darius stares at any boy walking past, daring them to make a move on his friend. He tries to compare the situation to the island again… and concludes that boys were like raptors, preying and hunting down their next meals. He had heard Kenji describe in vague detail the way he thought about girls and dating… and he wasn't even out to hurt them… How much worse would it be for boys who seemed to take pleasure in breaking girls' hearts?

"Where's the kid who pushed me?" Darius hisses to Ben.

"Matthais? He's still suspended. Won't be back until Wednesday," Ben informs him.

Darius nods. There were only two boys that he knew of at the moment that were jerks. Matthias and "Gilbert." He didn't know Gilbert's real name, only that Sammy called him that because he reminded her of a character of the same name… Anne of Green Gables, if he remembered correctly… Yasmina agreed with Sammy's parallel, but referred to him as "Carrots."

"Nice hair, Pinkie," a boy passed by and yanked on Brooklynn's ponytail.

Instantly, Darius's fist connected with the boy's arm without a thought. "Hey!" he snapped.

"Back off, Carrots," Yasmina hisses like a feral cat, encouraged by Darius's reaction.

The boy sputters. "Carrots? I'm not even a red head!"

"What's your problem?" Darius snaps.

"What's your problem?" Carrots tschs.

"You just come over and pull her hair!" Darius exclaims, anger rising.

"It was a compliment," he sputters.

"Nice abs," Darius says sarcastically, then slams his fist into the boy's stomach.

The boy grunts in pain.

Darius moves forward, but Brooklynn blocks his path. "Darius, don't! You'll get suspended!"

"So what?" he snaps.

"Kenji and Ben have already been suspended, it's our turn!" Yasmina protests, whipping out the cow castrator clamp Mr. Gutierrez gave her. Ben has moved around Darius and over to the athlete; he had his arm around her torso and was preparing to hold her back should she lunge forward.

"Let it go!" Brooklynn pleads, looking up at Darius. "He just pulled my hair, it's not something worth fighting over."

Darius puts his hands on her sides and moves her to the side, leaving him with a path towards Carrots. It was also easier to push Brooklynn behind him if he needed to protect her physically. "It's not nothing, he's touched you without consent!"

"Technically, pulling someone's hair without their consent is considered battery and can be a crime," Yasmina points out with disturbing knowledge of crimes and laws.

"Ha! I could also charge you with battery for punching me," Carrots points out, crossing his arms.

Darius moves forward, but Brooklynn grabs his arm and tries to hold him back.

"Enough!" Ben snaps, holding Yasmina back. "Just walk away. We don't need to fight over this."

"Yeah, take the high road, Prince Charming," Carrots sneers at Darius. He glances warily at the clamps in the athlete's hand and leaves the building. The kids who were watching go about their business as well.

"How did you even get those into school?" Ben asks Yasmina as he lets her go.

"What's gotten into you?" Brooklynn asks, still holding onto Darius's arm.

"He can't just put his hands on you!" Darius protests, grabbing her shoulders. "I'm not going to stand by and let him mistreat you like that!"

"You don't need to get into a fight over it," Brooklynn says softly.

"I'd get eaten by a dino to protect you, what makes you think I'd stand down here?" he states firmly.

A pink tint creeps up on her face. "I appreciate you being so protective of me… but what happened to being on defense instead of offense? Why don't we let go of what we can and save the punches for the bigger fights?" Her eyes flit to the ground uncomfortably.

Darius relents reluctantly. "Fine… I just hate seeing someone push you around…" He notices he's gripping her shoulders tightly and holding her close. A little embarrassed, the boy lets her go. "Did I hurt her? Is she uncomfortable with the way I grabbed her? Why is she looking at me like that? When did she get short… She's five, three, right? I'm like five, five? We used to be able to look at each other on the same level…"

"Hey, Terminator and Ponytail express, can we get going now?" Yasmina interrupts his thoughts.

Darius's face contorts with laughter. "Okay, Tony Stark. Let's head home."

The four head out of the school building and look around for their other two friends. Darius sees Carrots climb into his car, and mentally flips him off. He couldn't fight the kid now… but next time, if he ever touched Brooklynn, he'd pick a fight. He wasn't about to back down. This guy might act like a dinosaur, but he wasn't as dangerous as one. Darius had a more even playing field with this threat.

Now that he had the advantage of being the same species as their threats, Darius could protect his friends.

---

"I'm too skinny… I'm a walking skeleton… I'm a hideous Holocaust survivor…" thoughts bombard her.

"I'm such a fata**... I need to lose more weight… I'm too ugly and flabby… I look like I have a dad bod… People think I'm ugly…"

"People think I'm too skinny… They think I'm anorexic…"

"People say I'm too skinny because they're jealous… they're fat themselves…"

"I'm too fat… I need to lose more weight… no one wants to hang out with a fat person…"

Brooklynn hangs her head, her hair forming a waterfall around her face. The warm shower water gently pelts the back of her head as she sits in the tub; it felt like a gentle massage to her. She stares at her body, again, unsure what she saw. How was it possible to see two different bodies? The poor girl didn't understand her thought process… She thought she was overweight, but thought she was severely underweight at the same time!

Before the island, she had kept her weight somewhere between ninety and ninety-five pounds. Skinny enough that she wasn't fat, but also kept her thick enough to avoid suspicion and skeleton comments. She wanted to be thin, sure—she saw the beauty standards and the weight comments online—but she didn't want to be as thin as paper—no one thought a stick figure was flattering. Part of her daily routine was religiously watching her weight and making sure she stayed at a constant… She couldn't lose her figure. At ninety to ninety-five pounds, she was skinny enough that she had a more hourglass figure, but thick enough that no one hounded her about eating.

On the island, dieting took the backburner to surviving. She couldn't be worried about her figure when she could die of starvation at any point in time. As hard as it was, Brooklynn had pushed away her fear of gaining weight and ate when she could. Better to gain weight there then lose it… she was already losing weight, anyway.

Then she had her fight with Darius… Brooklynn wasn't sure why, but that had triggered something… She didn't care if she was starving, she just couldn't allow herself to gain weight… She just couldn't… That's when she dropped down to about seventy-five pounds… Her all time low… Over the past two months of recovery, with strict diets given by the hospital and constant management from her friends, she had gained about six pounds… Leaving her at eighty-one pounds currently.

Brooklynn groans. "Why did that fight trigger this… I was doing well beforehand… I wasn't starving myself and I wasn't overweight… I was at a constant, healthy weight… Or slightly unhealthy weight, according to the doctors… Why did that trigger it… Was it just depression? Was it just suicidal? Is my anorexia a subtle way I've tried to kill myself with? Was I just so depressed, I didn't want to eat? … Does this have to do with Darius? Am I trying to impress him?"

"Darius doesn't care what I look like… he loves me no matter how much I weigh," a gentle voice reminds her.

"I don't deserve his love…" Brooklynn weeps. "He loves me despite everything I do… He can't… It's not possible… How can he love me despite all my shortcomings? … He loves me, though… He truly seems to love me… Is it genuine? Is it pity? Is he pitying me? No… Darius is an angel… He's amazing… A truly amazing guy… He sees the same thing in me… How else can it be explained? He thinks I'm innocent and kind and a good girl… He doesn't know my secret… he wouldn't love me if he knew… He'd be horrified… That's it… That's what's going on… They all can't possibly love me just because they love me… They think I'm someone I'm not… they think I'm like them… Kind and loving and pure… They'd leave if they found out the truth…"

"You're a beautiful young girl who's been lied to by society and goaded into starving herself to feel pretty," Yasmina's words on the island come back once again.

"Except I'm not pretty… I'm ugly… Everyone likes to remind me of that in the comments…" Brooklynn argues.

"You made mistakes, but we all did," Ben said. "What matters is that you moved forward and changed. No need to beat yourself up about it."

"My mistake can't be fixed… I can't change it… I can't move on… It's always going to be a weight from my past… I'll never be able to rid it… I can't get back what I've lost… I'm a horrible person…"

"You have no idea how many people would be hurt if ya left," Sammy said, looking down as she held a sick Brooklynn in her arms. "There'd be a hole in our hearts where you used to be."

"No, there wouldn't!" Brooklynn shouts in her head, tears squeezing out through her eyes. "There wouldn't be if you knew the truth! I'm just as bad as Leah! I've betrayed the ones I love! You guys think I'm someone I'm not! You guys think I'm someone perfect and good! You don't know! … You don't know…"

Brooklynn pulls her knees up to her chest and sobs. "You guys couldn't possibly love me… I didn't earn your love… You think I'm good… You think I'm sweet and pure and good… I'm not… You say I don't have to earn your love… I don't have to earn your approval… because you think I'm like you… You guys think I'm on the same level of goodness as you guys… You guys are so pure… so good… so kind and compassionate and loving… so loyal and forgiving… I can't measure up to you guys… You guys are angels… I don't deserve your love… You don't deserve my lowly friendship. Darius deserves someone better to love him… Yasmina deserves a friend who hasn't done what I've done… Sammy deserves someone on the level of kindness and innocence as her… If Kenji wants to protect me like an older brother, he deserves someone worthy of that protection he wants to give… Ben deserves someone with the same level of love as him…"

Brooklynn blows her nose with her hands, letting it wash away with the water. "They can't love who I am… They love who they think I am… How could they love the real me? They think the real me is a helpless puppy… a depressed little girl… someone who deserves their pity and love… In reality, I'm a demon… a sinner… a… a… a girl unworthy of their selfless love… They deserve better… and I don't deserve their friendship… Why did I get so attached to them? I'm only setting myself up for heartache! Sooner or later, they'll realize who I am…"

Memories flash through her mind. Violent, traumatic memories… Horrible memories of the event she so desperately wanted to forget… the aftermath she wanted to hide… the lies she told to keep her secret…

"No wonder my parents don't want me…" she sobs. "They know… They found out while I was on the island… But why haven't they exposed me? … Why are they still taking care of me? Why didn't they abandon me like I always feared?"

"Maybe they truly love me no matter what I've done," a soft, gentle voice murmurs.

It was drowned out by the guilt. "Their reputation. They can't let anyone else know what their daughter has done… they're keeping my secret out of self-preservation… And they can't just abandon me… not without the other families finding out… Once again, I've trapped them in a situation they can't escape… just like their marriage…"

"Brook?" a voice makes her jump.

"Yeah?" she says quickly, her head snapping to attention and her arms covering her chest instinctively.

"We have thirty minutes until we need to go to school," Darius informs her through the door.

"Oh, right," Brooklynn sighs. "Do you need the shower?"

"Nah, I just need my toothbrush," he chuckles. She hears the faint sound of sniffing. "Yep! I can go another day without showering. Can I come in to get my toothbrush, though? I won't look!"

Brooklynn laughs. "Well, you certainly can't smell as bad as you did on the island." "Yeah, the shower curtain isn't see-through."

She hears the door open and sees his shadow through the shower curtain. "Thanks!" he says, swiftly grabbing his toothbrush and toothpaste and whisking out the door. He gently shuts it behind him.

Brooklynn looks down and sees the water tinted pink, with her razor in her hands. Her heart jumps, before she remembers. The pink water was merely the dye running out of her hair, and she had sat down in the tub to shave her legs. Still, she checks her body to see if she had accidentally—or intentionally—cut herself. No cuts.

Sighing with relief, she re-lathers her legs and shaves as quickly as she safely could. After accomplishing that, she finishes up her shower, and dries off. Wrapping the towel around her body, she looks outside the door, doesn't see anyone, and skitters to her room. She quickly checks to make sure Darius wasn't in there before locking the door and dropping the towel.

"Brooklynn? Where's the razor?" her mother knocks on the door.

"In the shower," she replies.

"Did you cut yourself?" her mother asks. After learning about her daughter's self-harming habits, she had confiscated the razor blade. Brooklynn had to ask for it when she wanted to shave.

"No," Brooklynn sighs.

Her mother rattles the door, and the girl begrudgingly unlocks it and opens it. Mrs. Monell does a quick check of her body to make sure she didn't harm herself before leaving.

Brooklynn re-locks the door and opens her closet. "What do I wear…" she murmurs, looking at the clock. She had twenty minutes. The stress of getting ready on time begins to set in. "Uhhhh… What look am I going for…"

Being an influencer, she always had to give off an image. The Youtuber gave careful consideration to the image she was putting off, both with her outfit and her behavior. "Well… Darius did say my hair color gave off a more confident, bada** feel… and I do want to be that way… like Yaz… Hmmm… what would give off Yaz vibes?"

Brooklynn thinks for a moment. Yasmina was strong, athletic, and brave… but how did that translate into clothes?

"Hmmm… do I have anything that gives off apocalyptic, Hunger Games, Tomb Raider vibes?" she asks herself. She laughs. "So, tight tank tops, belts, and braids…

"Hmmm… Skater girl vibes could go with Yaz," Brooklynn mumbles. "But I also want to go with the baddie aesthetic… Except Yaz doesn't really give off that. She's a bada**, but she's not the traditional trendsetter… Leah's more like the typical baddie…"

Brooklynn groans and begins to rifle through her shirts. She pulls out a black, crop top hoodie and stares at it. "Hey, have you seen my hoodie? The black one that says SAVAGE?" Leah asked over a phone call.

"Uhh…" Brooklynn said. "I don't think so, but I can check and see if it got mixed up in my backpack." She searched through her backpack and found a hoodie that was most definitely not hers. "Sorry, guess it ended up at my house," she told her friend sheepishly.

"Eh, you keep it," Leah said. "I got a lot. You could use it, anyway. Show off your inner bada**."

Brooklynn shakes her head, ridding her of her flashback. She knew who gave her the hoodie… but she still wanted to wear it. It felt confident and fierce… She knew it would make it seem like she was still associated with Leah if people put two and two together… the other Youtuber had worn it several times in her videos. Would the campers think she was going back to Leah? Would they think she was a traitor? What would Leah think? Would she see it as a subtle shoutout? Would she think Brooklynn was throwing her shade? Would she see it as a tribute or a threat?

"... I don't want to tread on her toes…" Brooklynn mules over it. "I can't provoke her… The normal reaction to losing a friend would be to throw out all the stuff they gave you, right? So if I wore this, she'd see it as a subtle tribute, right? I'm not actually trying to get back with her… Am I? No, I'm not… But would it be better? The campers deserve better… but Leah doesn't… I don't deserve the love from my friends… maybe I deserve what Leah's given me… Maybe if the others see me associated with her, they'd finally want to ditch me… But I don't want them to leave me…"

"They deserve better… I deserve worse…"

"They're the first people who truly care about me…"

"They don't know my secret! They deserve better! How can I accept it?! They can't give me unconditional love, I have to earn it! I've done nothing to earn it… I don't deserve it…"

Tears slip out, and Brooklynn slips on a pink tank top over black shorts. After looking at the clock, she realizes she's spent five minutes thinking it over and decides.

She slips on the hoodie.

Heading over to her dresser, she pulls out a brush and with a bit of difficulty, tames her hair into a high ponytail. She pulls out large hoop earrings and gets to work on her makeup. Unfortunately, she took a bit more time than she wanted to to expertly cover up her facial scars and fill in the scarred part of her eyebrow. Fortunately, that meant she had only one eye to fix up, so the time seemed to even out in the end. The girl went for a darker, smokey eye with thicker eyeliner than she was used to. No time for fake eyelashes; mascara was all she could use. Completing her look with a red lip tint, she pulls out pink shades that remind her of Kenji's cool kid shades on the island—gave her a good chuckle—and checks her phone.

Seeing that she had two minutes, she takes the time to check her text messages and spray on perfume. After laughing and adding in her two cents to Sammy's rant, she checks her list of sponsors. She hadn't checked it in a while, and wanted to see if there were any new ones or if she had lost any. "Hopefully Leah's darn name is gone," she thinks. To her relief, it is.

The feeling didn't last long as she spots another name. One she didn't expect. Brooklynn sat there in shock, reading and rereading over and over again the name, unable to believe it was still in there. "It can't be… It can't be…" she thinks as her numb shock turned to quaking fear. "Sponsor? Still?! Why am I still associated… After everything that happened… After everything…"

Her trembling goes from fear to fury. Her parents were the ones who controlled her sponsors. "Why haven't they taken my name out?! Why am I still associated… They don't want to hurt their reputation… They don't want the public eye seeing everything… They'd rather ignore what happened and keep me affiliated than expose themselves!"

The knowledge left her with a sense of broken trust and cold fury towards her parents. Masking her anger behind a fake smile, she shakes herself loose, and skips downstairs. Posing at the bottom of the stairs, she pops her foot back and grins at Darius.

The boy does a double take, and looks her up and down in shock. "We're going to school, not a catwalk," he blurts out.

Her fake smile begins to turn into a real smile. He never failed to make her feel better… as long as her guilt didn't interfere. "Who says I can't dress up for fun?" she asks, coming up behind the couch and looking down at him.

The boy blinks in amazement. "It's school, why do you look so gorgeous?"

Brooklynn laughs as she blushes. She was flattered by his words. "Does he really think I'm that stunning?" she asks herself. "He seems genuinely starstruck… But he's not shallow like that… he doesn't care about looks… right? Or am I just too ugly for him to see as a love interest… COME ON, BROOKLYNN! DARIUS ISN'T LIKE THAT!"

"Why would I question that?!" guilt shouts. "Darius is an absolute angel! He wouldn't be that selfish and shallow as to love me purely because of how I look! He tries to see past appearances and see who I truly am… and all I'm doing is setting him up for heartache… when he finds out…"

Brooklynn's chest constricts at the thought. "What will happen? It would shock him to his core… He'd be devastated… How could he look me in the eyes ever again? He deserves so much better… And I can't keep it from him forever… I can't tell him my secret, but I can't lie to him either! … How would this be fixed? How could I tell him without horrifying him… How would I keep this under wraps without lying to him… The only thing would be to leave… Leave all of them…"

"I don't deserve their friendship, anyway… They deserve a better friend… I could push them away… Make them hate me… maybe then it wouldn't hurt them as bad if they found out…"

Brooklynn blinks back tears. "I don't want to leave them! They're the only true friends I've had! … But I don't deserve them… I haven't earned their love…"

"Guys, let's go to school," her mother speaks up. "You're going to be late."

Brooklynn looks down to find Darius lost in thought. "Come on, we're going to be late," she says, taking his hand and pulling him off the couch. The three head to the car and hop in. Milton had spent the night at Brandon's house, so that the two pairs of siblings didn't feel like they had to share every moment with each other. "Are you okay?" Brooklynn asks, noticing Darius's subdued behavior.

"Yeah, just… anxious," he bites his lip.

Brooklynn smiles softly, understanding. "He's probably going through a small anxiety attack," she thinks, giving him an awkward side hug.

She hears the boy sniffing. "... Did you get candy perfume?" he asks in confusion.

Brooklynn giggles. "Mayyyybe," she says teasingly. Despite herself, she was enjoying the reaction she was getting from him.

"Your outfit looks cute," her mother compliments her.

Brooklynn feels the muscles in her face twitch in anger, but she hides it. "Yeah, I actually wanted to get dressed today."

"Cause you probably don't want a depressed daughter… that would look bad on you, wouldn't it?"

"That's good," her mother smiles in the rearview mirror. "It's awesome to see you doing better."

"Less work for you, isn't it?" Brooklynn coolly asks in her head. "Yep, Yaz is doing better… I think I've found the motive to move on," she lies.

"That's great," she says. "I'm happy to see your spirits lifting."

"You have to say that because Darius is in the car," Brooklynn thinks bitterly, looking at her friend who is still lost in thought.

"I didn't know you had that hoodie," her mother changes the subject.

"I got a lot of stuff. I forgot I had this," she chuckles wryly, lying. "I wanted to go for a baddie, skater girl vibe today."

"I have no idea what either of those mean," Darius says, paying attention, apparently.

Brooklynn chuckles. "A baddie is confident, fierce, and a trendsetter. A skater girl wears loose, comfortable clothing that's easy to skate and be athletic in. I kinda wanna join Yaz in some sort of sport when she gets back on her feet. I wonder if Yaz would like skateboarding…"

"You skateboard?" Darius raises an eyebrow.

"No… but I wanna try it," she shrugs. "Really, I just want to be more like Yaz… any of you guys would be a good role model."

After a bit more small talk with her mother, they arrive at school and head inside. Brooklynn's first class was with Sammy, but neither of them cared to pay attention. Half of Brooklynns attention was spent on imagining her life as a homeschooler, the other half was obsessing over her dark thoughts. "The rest of this year is pointless… Like trying to earn my friends love… They'll give it, but I shouldn't have it… They deserve better…"

Really tired of those thoughts going on repeat, Brooklynn decides to daydream about being homeschooled. She knew her mother probably wouldn't be able to do it… So what if Mrs. Gutierrez did it? She was home anyway with the ranch. Running the ranch was her and her husband's living. So what if Mrs. Gutierrez homeschooled the whole group in exchange for work?

Brooklynn would wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, and head over to the ranch with Milton. The others would meet her with their siblings and start school. The younger kids would be in a separate room, the elementary room. The older kids would be in the middle school/high school room. Mrs. Gutierrez would wrangle and teach the younger kids, while the older students would watch an online tutor or something. Perhaps Miriam would sit in to supervise them, since she had graduated.

Brooklynn tries not to laugh out loud. That probably wouldn't work. Miriam was one of them and wouldn't stop them from goofing off. They would do maybe two hours of school, then help around the ranch until lunch time. Then back to school for a couple of hours before helping out again with the ranch. Then perhaps they'd have dinner, hang out for a bit, then head back to their houses to sleep.

"How much work would you do if you were homeschooled?" Brooklynn asks. "More than public schoolers? Less than public schoolers? That would affect how much work we do on the ranch…"

Making up her own reality, Brooklynn spends the next class imagining her life as a happy homeschooler on the ranch. Several times, she almost bursts into tears in the middle of class; the daydream was so beautiful and emotional that it hurt to know it wasn't real. There in imaginary land, everything was perfect. Sure, they had still gone through Isla Nublar, and her, Sammy, and Yasmina still had their injuries from the island… Yasmina's step-father was still there… But their PTSD was practically nonexistent there, and Mr. Fadoula was their biological father; the abuse Yasmina and her siblings endured never happened. Darius's father never died. Kenji's mother never died. Brooklynn's parents loved her to pieces. Leah didn't exist. The secret never happened. Life—besides Isla Nublar—was wonderful.

Things were a fairytale dream for Brooklynn… She had six mothers, in a way. She imagined herself sewing and designing clothes with her mother, having long, deep conversations about problems and things Brooklynn was dealing with while they worked. She'd learn how to cook like a five-star chef from Mrs. Gutierrez. She'd work in the garden with Mrs. Fadoula. Mrs. Bowman would truly be like a second mother; if her own mother wasn't there, she'd go to Darius's mother. Brooklynn didn't know Mrs. Pincus as well as the others… she didn't know Kenji's mother at all… but in this wonderful world, she'd have a bond with them, too.

Oh, how she longed to grow up with the fathers she knew now. She had seen how Mr. Gutierrez played with his daughters and wished she could've had that childhood. Here, she did. He'd let her play with the animals and his booming laugh would be a childhood memory. Mr. Fadoula would join her on adventurous Youtube videos and show her how to be stronger physically. Maybe in that world, she'd be a gymnast or do Parkour like she always wanted to. Ben's father, again, she didn't know very well… But he would be a good father. Kenji's father would be like the rich uncle, spoiling her and the other children. Darius's father… She didn't know him, but she wanted to. From what Darius said, she knew she would love him. He'd be an awesome dad, going down rabbit holes of random research she suddenly wanted to do with her. He'd probably be the only father who was up-to-date on all the latest slang terms.

Oh… her own father… Where would he be in this land? Brooklynn bit her lip, realizing she had no idea where to fit him in…

All the siblings she'd have… Rio, Habeeba, Sandra, and Shelby would be her adorable little sisters who annoyed the heck out of her, yet she still loved them to pieces. They'd play dolls and take care of the animals and do each other's hair and dress up. Sammy, Yasmina, Miriam, and Holly would be her older sisters, the ones she came to for advice. She'd hear all their stories and experiences and learn from them, so that when she fell in love, she didn't have the same heartache they did. She'd hear all the latest gossip from them, and she'd be at Holly's wedding… Kenji, Brandon, Milton, Ghaleb, and Ben would be her older brothers—despite the fact, as she reminded herself, that Ben was younger than her—and would be ridiculously overprotective of her. No guy could talk to her without the boys interrogating him, and all she had to do was say someone hurt her for them to go beat them up. She would be smothered, sure, but it was better than exploring the world naively and unprotected.

The other campers' families would be her family, too. Uncle Ces would be her crazy uncle, the Gutierrez men would give her plenty of stories to tell on the Internet, Ben's cousins would give her something to roll her eyes at, Kenji's step-sister would be such a joy to have over—wait, how would Kenji have a step-sister if his mother was still alive? "Okay, she's an exchange student who became a sister to him," Brooklynn decides.

And Darius… oh, Darius… things would be so different between them. Brooklynn's secret wouldn't exist… She would be an angel like him… She wouldn't be anorexic or depressed or suicidal at all. She'd be the perfect weight and size, and be beautiful… Darius would look at her the way he did that morning all the time in that world. He would be captivated by her beauty… and he would love her. And she would be able to love him. Oh, how she desperately wished this dream was real! If only she was a better person… If only she didn't have this secret looming over her head… Then… Maybe then… she could fall head over heels in love with Darius… He could sweep her off her feet and pull her into the strong hugs he gave on the island. They would sit outside on the grass in the summer, gazing up at the stars. He'd go on and on about dinosaurs and she'd lay there, listening with a smile, her heart fluttering with love. The two would sit in front of the fire during cold winter nights, wrapped in a blanket. His arm would be around her, holding her close. The firelight would illuminate his warm, brown eyes as he leaned in for a kiss…

"No!" Brooklynn tells herself. "He deserves better… This world doesn't exist… don't get your hopes up like this… You're just making your heart ache, Brook…"

Her second class ends, disrupting her thoughts. As she leaves her classroom and walks through the halls to her next class, an older boy passes by. "You look like a chicken wing after I've eaten all the meat off of it," he laughs, looking down at her legs.

Those words stab Brooklynn in the heart, making her remember all of her insecurities about her appearance.

"Oh, back off, Carrots!" Yasmina snaps, hobbling up behind Brooklynn. The kid had already run ahead and didn't hear her.

"Carrots?" Brooklynn asks in confusion.

"Long story," Yasmina rolls her eyes, irked at the boy.

Now very insecure about her legs, Brooklynn felt like school took an eternity to end. Finally, to her relief, the students are dismissed, and she heads out of the classroom with Yasmina. The two head down the halls until they're stopped by Sophie and her friends. "Oh my lawd, your hair!" Joanna exclaims. "It's soo pretty!"

"We were talking about it and I just have to say, it's dope," Mckenzie comments.

Brooklynn's spirits start to lift a bit. "Really?" she asks, then remembers she's supposed to be confident. "Yeah, I just got it done a few days ago."

"I love Converse," Mia says. "I just gotta say, I love yours. They look awesome. I wish I had them."

"She's got, like, fifty pairs of Converse," Sophie laughs, pointing to her friends' checkered Converse.

Brooklynn laughs. "Thanks!"

"Ooh, and that hoodie is somethang awfully chic," Mckenzie says. "Show's off how snatched you are."

Brooklynn feels a happy blush come on her cheeks. After being told she looked like a meatless chicken wing, being told she looked snatched made her feel so much better.

"For real, you got mad drip!" one of the girls smiles. "Where did you get it?"

"Uh, I'm not sure," Brooklynn laughs. "I forgot I even had this."

"Your wardrobe must be worth a fortune," another one says in mock jealousy.

"Considering a lot of it is merch from other influencers, yep," Brooklynn grins.

The girls begin to converse with Brooklynn about her outfit and makeup, and her confidence begins to rise. She also noticed looks she got from other students—particularly guys—passing by. Good looks. Intrigued glances from guys and approving smiles or jealous eye-rolls from girls. All in all, Brooklynn begins to feel the confidence she wanted to convey.

Out of nowhere, her head is pulled back as a familiar boy grabs her ponytail and yanks it. "Nice hair, Pinkie."

To her surprise, Darius seemingly appears out of thin air and punches the kid's arm. "Hey!" he snapped, practically livid.

"Back off, Carrots," Yasmina hisses, remembering what the kid had said to Brooklynn earlier.

The boy sputters. "Carrots? I'm not even a red head!"

"What's your problem?" Darius snaps.

"What's your problem?" Carrots tschs.

"You just come over and pull her hair!" Darius exclaims, breathing like a provoked bull.

"It was a compliment," Carrots sputters.

"Nice abs," Darius says sarcastically, punching the kid in the stomach.

The boy grunts in pain as Brooklynn's eyes widen. She had never seen Darius get violent before… she'd seen him so angry that he came close, but he had never punched anyone… On the island, he had shoved Kenji, but never punched… And here, he had punched the kid twice!

Darius moves forward to attack again, but Brooklynn blocks his path. "Darius, don't! You'll get suspended!" she tells him nervously, putting her hands on his shoulders to hold him back.

"So what?" he snaps, looking at her. His eyes were aflame with anger.

"Kenji and Ben have already been suspended, it's our turn!" Yasmina protests, whipping out the cow castrator clamp Mr. Gutierrez gave her. Ben arrives on the scene and is holding back Yasmina, arm around her stomach and feet sturdily apart in case she tries to lunge forward.

"Let it go!" Brooklynn pleads worryingly, turning her attention to Darius. "He just pulled my hair, it's not something worth fighting over."

Darius puts his hands on her sides above her waist and moves her to stand next to him. She was no longer between the two boys, but what held her attention was his hands… "It's not nothing, he's touched you without consent!" he says, snapping her back to reality.

"Technically, pulling someone's hair without their consent is considered battery and can be a crime," Yasmina pipes up, just waiting to have a chance at the kid.

"Ha! I could also charge you with battery for punching me," Carrots tilts his head and crosses his arms.

Darius's face contorts in anger, and he steps forward. Brooklynn quickly grabs his arm and tries to hold him back. "Don't get in trouble! Not over this! Not for me…"

"Enough!" Ben snaps, holding Yasmina back. "Just walk away. We don't need to fight over this."

"Yeah, take the high road, Prince Charming," Carrots sneers at Darius, causing the boy to growl. Carrots glances warily at the clamps in Yasmina's hand and leaves the building. The kids who were watching go about their business as well.

"How did you even get those into school?" Ben asks Yasmina as he lets her go.

"What has gotten into you?" Brooklynn asks in confusion, refusing to let go of his arm in case he decides to bolt.

"He can't just put his hands on you!" Darius protests, grabbing her shoulders and holding her firmly in front of his so that he could look her in the eyes. "I'm not going to stand by and let him mistreat you like that!"

"You don't need to get into a fight over it," Brooklynn says softly, shocked to see him get so overprotective of her…

"I'd get eaten by a dino to protect you, what makes you think I'd stand down here?" he states sincerely.

Brooklynn blushes. He was so sure… so honest… He truly felt threatened by that kid… He truly felt that she was threatened by him… There was also an air of accusation about his tone… as if her asking him why he was protective was questioning who he was… "I appreciate you being so protective of me… but what happened to being on defense instead of offense? Why don't we let go of what we can and save the punches for the bigger fights?"

She realizes how close he was, how tightly he held her shoulders. How just a few inches made him seem so much taller and stronger… How his resolve to fight anyone who touched her made her stomach turn in knots. That old familiar feeling came up… stronger than with any other boy that had caused it… She was falling for Darius harder than she wanted to… Her eyes dart to the ground, hoping that the ground could somehow mute her feelings she hated and loved at the same time.

She can feel his shoulders drop in surrender. "Fine… I just hate seeing someone push you around…" He lets go of her shoulders. Brooklynn raises her head to find him staring at her. She stares back for what felt like an hour, unsure if she should look away or keep staring. What was going through his mind? Why was he so riled up? Was this a friendly response to someone threatening her? A romantic response? Simply PTSD from the island? Did he love her? Romantically? Or just as a friend… Why couldn't she move?!

"Hey, Terminator and Ponytail express, can we get going now?" Yasmina interrupts her thoughts.

Darius's gaze is broken and he laughs. "Okay, Tony Stark. Let's head home."

Brooklynn laughs, too, but the emotion wasn't behind it. As the four stand outside and wait for Sammy and Kenji, Brooklynn watches Darius. The boy was alert and tense, standing guard like he did on the island…

"Relax, Darius, please," she begs in her head. She could see on his face; he wore the same look Yasmina did when she talked about Leah. The boy had that murderous look on his face. "Don't do this for me… I don't deserve it… Don't get in trouble for me… Please, don't get hurt because of me… I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt fighting for me! Don't do this… not for me… Find someone better… Someone worthy of your love… Please…"

"Don't leave me…" a small part of her cries as they pile into the car. "Don't leave me…"

---

"Congratulations!" Sammy exclaims as Yasmina enters the ranch living room. "Yer pregnant!"

Both Kenji and Yasmina look up at the same time. "What?" Kenji sputters.

"That's news to me," Yasmina lifts an eyebrow. "How did you find out before I did?"

Sammy is wheezing on the couch. "Yer Mom is pregnant! We heard the news this morning."

"What, I haven't heard that," Kenji's eyes widen. "You got another sibling on the way?!"

"A half sibling, technically," Yasmina corrects him, sitting down in between him and Sammy. "A true born Fadoula…"

"Are you mad, upset, or happy?" Sammy asks as Kenji heads to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"A little bit of all that," the athlete admits. "Happy because I do love my siblings, and I'll love this one. Mad because I don't like my siblings all the time. Upset because now he'll have a biological child…"

"Don't worry, he'll love y'all the same," Sammy assures her.

Yasmina smiles. "You're happy today. Like, actually happy."

Sammy smiles. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Uhhh, how about what we talked about at our last sleepover?" the athlete says, quirking her eyebrow.

The parapelgic grimaces. "Yeah… As much as my pride wants to deny it… I guess I was being a bit irrational… Kenji and I talked two days ago. He made great points… I just… honestly don't wanna deal with my other feelings."

"Yeah, acting happy is your way of ignoring your feelings," Yasmina nods. "At least you're admitting it."

Sammy nods. "I don't like those other feelings…"

"Kenj, what did you say to make Miss Stubborn move?" Yasmina asks, turning around to look at him. "Kenji?"

The boy was standing at the kitchen island, his eyes glued to his phone with a pale face. "What's the matter?" Sammy asks in concern, her brow furrowing together.

"Lydia is officially pressing assault charges," Kenji says numbly. "Assault and battery… I have to go talk with my Dad's lawyer today… the preliminary trial is in a week…" He mutters something profane under his breath, looking like the world was caving in around him.

"It's okay, just take a deep breath," Yasmina instructs.

"The media has been feasting on this story for days now," Kenji rants panickedly. "People are hating me… Calling me names and sending mild death threats. More extreme people are calling for the cancelation of me and even of Brooklynn for having me on her channel."

"Whiskey, tango, foxtrot, this is getting out of hand," Sammy breathes, starting to feel worried.

Yasmina starts laughing. "I'm gonna use that expletive. And Kenj, just take a deep breath and calm down, okay?"

"How can I calm down after hearing this?!" Kenji snaps. "I'm being falsely charged for assault and battery and now I'm going to trial for it! And this won't be forgotten! Even if I'm proven innocent, the Internet will remember this! They'll always bring it up when they want to make me look bad! They'll use it to cancel me when they don't like me! I'm always going to be guilty in the Internet's eyes! And now I'm taking down Brooklynn and you guys with me purely because of association… That's all if I'm proven innocent…"

"We can deal with the publicity aspect later," the athlete assures him. "You're never going to be able to appease everyone, and that's a fact. There's still people out there who hate Brooklynn and me because they believe Leah. You can't change their opinions, and if you know you're innocent, you shouldn't have anything to fear."

"With the Metoo movement, you're guilty until proven innocent," Kenji murmurs. "Imagine how this could affect job opportunities, family life, etc. You guys are already being affected in some way by this. This whole situation is just a big disaster… The trial is going to make me so nervous."

Yasmina's shoulders slump. "I can't deny the public and media aspects of this situation… You got a point… Legally, though, I don't think you have anything to fear."

"How am I supposed to prove my innocence?" Kenji asks in despair.

"It's not your job," she insists. "Legally, you're innocent until proven guilty. It's the prosecutor's job to prove you're guilty. You can provide evidence to further prove your innocence, but it's not your burden legally."

"Well, how do I prove my innocence, then?" he shrugs, stressed.

"More importantly, how will she prove your guilt?" the athlete asks. "When did this happen?"

"Exactly a year ago, in a couple of days," the alpha male states. "Well, the party happened a year ago. In the end of May of 2015 is when I confronted her and she exploded."

"So that's a year ago," Yasmina nods. "What evidence would she bring? Physical? Any physical signs of assault would be long gone by now. How about photographic evidence or videos and recordings? She'd have to provide those and witnesses to prove you did it, and does she have any?"

Kenji thinks for a moment. "Her best friend was there both times… I think she was videoing the first encounter with her phone… And I think a teacher saw her push me into the classroom…"

"So anything her friend caught on camera would prove you innocent," the athlete shrugs. "And if the teacher saw or heard anything, they could be a witness in your favor. I'm just saying, it's going to be hard for her to prove you actually did anything."

"And there's a chance you might not have even been the father in the first place," Sammy points out. "You said the girls were speculatin' who the father was, and while timeline-wise, it makes sense, there's no proof now that she's had the abortion… Unless they somehow preserved the baby and kept it… which just sounds wrong. I don't wanna think about that, let's forget what I said."

"Sammy's right, at this point, I think the case leans more in favor of you," Yasmina assures him. "Plus, you could get your teachers and classmates to testify to your character. You never struck me as the violent type, and from your description, Lydia doesn't seem like the type to take abuse."

"Well, to be fair, just because you're a strong natured person doesn't mean you can't be abused," Sammy points out. "I mean, you don't seem like the type to take crap, but look at your past."

Yasmina semi-gently slaps Sammy's cheek, but she wasn't angry. "Yeah, you have a point. My whole argument is that I think you have the odds in your favor, Kenj."

Kenji nods, slowly inhaling.

"Odds in his favor?" Ben asks, walking through the back door.

"Where did you come from?" Sammy asks as Yasmina tenses up.

"Your Dad was working on the front porch," Ben explains. "Something about the porch boards coming loose, so I came around back." He glances at Yasmina and lowers his gaze, then turns to Kenji. "Did she finally take you to court?"

Kenji and Sammy glance at each other, the awkwardness between their two friends not going unnoticed, but they decide to ignore it for the time being. "Yeah… I was just talking about how it's a big disaster…" the alpha male murmurs.

"Can't deny it'll be an issue you'll deal with longer than the trial, but I doubt you'll be prosecuted," Ben smiles. "From your account, she'd have a challenge proving you did it. Maybe if she was on Instagram or Snapchat, she could bring physical evidence by showing pictures of bruises from around that time, but that would still be a little hard to use as evidence."

"Yeah, that's what Yaz was saying," Kenji points out.

Ben's gaze shifts to his amputee friend, then uncomfortably shifts to the ground. The amputee, on the other hand, was pointedly staring out the window, like a hunting dog locked on its target.

"Are you two okay?" Kenji asks broaching the subject.

"Yeah, of course," Ben says quickly.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Yasmina says, almost talking over Ben.

Sammy and Kenji didn't believe it for a second.

"I don't think she can win this case," Ben quickly changes the subject back to the accusations.

Sammy chews on her lip in thought, her brow furrowing. "Why is she accusing you, though?"

"Cause she wants attention and money?" Yasmina suggests. "Being the b**** she is?"

"Language," Sammy grunts. "Can she get money out of this kind of trial?"

"I don't think so…" Ben purses his lips.

"And would she put herself in the victim position for attention?" Sammy asks. "The vibe she gives off is a headstrong, rebellious teen who likes to intimidate the boys."

"Yep," Kenji nods quickly. "Lydia was scary. Intimidated all the boys."

"So why would she go and present herself as the victim?" Sammy asks.

The other three think about it. "You have a point…" Yasmina murmurs.

"Do you think she hates Kenji that much?" Ben asks.

"I don't know… she seemed like she just wanted to forget about the whole situation…" Kenji sighs.

"So what would she get out of accusing you and taking you to court?" Sammy asks.

"The only thing that makes sense is that she hates Kenji," Yasmina says. "Nothing else makes sense."

Kenji checks a notification from his phone and sighs. "My father and I have to go see my lawyer in New Jersey… We have to leave in twenty minutes."

"I can come with you if you want," Ben offers quickly.

"Yeah, if you want to come," Kenji nods.

Ben smiles sympathetically. Glancing uncomfortably at Yasmina—who had refused to look at him the whole time—he follows Kenji out of the house.

When they were gone, Sammy turned on her friend. "What's all of that?"

"What?" Yasmina shrugs aggressively.

"What's going on between you and Ben?" Sammy prompts.

"Nothing," Yasmina insists. "We're fine."

"So why didn't you look at him?"

"Do I have to look at him all the time?"

"No, but it's a little weird to not look at him at all."

"I saw something outside…"

"Ben was acting funny, too."

"Well, I can't control him," the athlete shrugs coldly.

"I'm not stupid," the parapelgic crosses her arms. "You two are acting weird around each other. And ya were actin' kinda strange at our last sleepover, too."

"You're being irrational," Yasmina insists.

"Did something happ—are you okay?" Sammy starts to say before noticing her friend's pained face and labored breath.

Yasmina grasps her amputated leg, biting down on her lip and grunting in pain. "Phantom… ah," she gets in before the pain hits again.

"Phantom pain?" she finishes for her friend. "What do you need? Ice packs? Pain relievers?"

"No, massaging it can…" Yasmina starts to say, then groans, holding her right fist to her forehead to try to manage the pain.

Sammy tries to help massage the amputated leg. The phantom pains come in waves. "It's like cold knives st…" the athlete begins to explain, then stops due to the pain. She clenches her fists to cope. "... Stabbing my leg… Ah… It… It… Ow… Owww… "

"Is it gettin' better?" Sammy asks in concern.

Yasmina nods, grimacing. "Yeah… It's starting to fade…"

"Does it get triggered or does it just happen?" she asks.

"I think it gets triggered," the athlete mumbles. "It was worse back in the beginning. I've heard that colder temperatures can trigger it, and it hasn't happened as often here in Texas."

"Do you want a blanket?" Sammy asks.

"No, I'll just get my nubbin warmer," Yasmina sighs, pulling a sock out of her sweatshirt's pocket.

Sammy bursts into laughter. "Your what now?"

"My nubbin warmer," Yasmina repeats. "I heard another amputee refer to their stump as their nubbin. She also suggested turning the sock upside down so that the heel part goes over your knee."

Yasmina shows off her nubbin warmer, which only makes Sammy laugh harder. "I guess you do have a use for the other sock," the parapelgic snorts.

"Yee," Yasmina nods.

"Haw," Sammy replies, snickering at the look of surrender on her friends face. "Well, besides this and whatever is going on between you and Ben, how's your day been?"

"School, bleh," the athlete gags. "And I'm worried about Brooklynn. She seems to be doing better since Monday… But not really. She's acting happy and… a little too much like her old self."

"I think she's doing a lot better," Sammy frowns. "I don't see what the problem is."

Yasmina sighs. "It's like she's too much better. We kinda went from super depressed, can't get dressed, to all of a sudden super fashionable and on social media and whatnot. It just seems like such a drastic change, that I wonder if it isn't real."

"I don't think it's fake," Sammy says. "I mean, you changed pretty drastically."

"Has she addressed why she snapped at everyone?" Yasmina asks. "We went from moody and snapping at everyone for no reason, to completely peachy."

"I guess that's a good point…" Sammy mumbles. "Maybe she's going through a happy phase?"

"I think she's faking it," the athlete states. "She was super irritable and snappy before, yelling at you guys for seemingly no reason. I mean, what was it that started it for you?"

Sammy thinks for a moment. "I noticed she was a little off and tried to push her to open up."

"I think Ben said she started getting irritated when he asked her if she'd leave her Youtube channel," Yasmina mutters.

"Kenji said it started with talking about Leah…" she murmurs. "And Darius's was something about the channel or Leah… or was it a social injustice issue… I don't think Darius gave a definite answer about what their fight was."

"So, she gets triggered when we talk about Leah, and her channel, as well as any attempt to get her to open up," the athlete nods. "And now, all of the sudden, she's no longer angry and irritable, and she's back on her social media platforms? Doesn't it seem a little odd?"

"Maybe…"

"She seems to feel guilty about her problems… I know from my own experience, I felt like a waste of your time and worry… I have a feeling Brooklynn is dealing with the same thing. And this glow up and newfound happiness is actually a way for her to make us stop worrying."

"Like me actin' like everythang is fine?"

"Exactly," Yasmina nods. "She's trying to pretend her problems don't exist, and/or making us stop worrying about her."

"It certainly sounds likely… But there is a chance that she actually is happy," Sammy argues.

"Yeah… I just don't want to drop my guard just yet," the athlete sighs. "I'd rather assume that she's hiding something and it turns out to be a false assumption, than to assume she's fine and have her…"

"Yee, I'm not sayin' drop yer guard," she nods. "But… maybe I just want to believe she's doing better, but I feel like she's not completely faking this."

"I want her to be better, too," Yasmina agrees. "I just don't believe her yet. I've seen too much to drop my guard yet…"

"Still thinking about her suicide attempt?" Sammy asks.

The athlete nods. "My Mom had a round of morning sickness today… I've never been sensitive to throw up before, but it sent me into a panic attack today… All I could think about was Brooklynn… Remember holding her in my arms when she was sick…"

"That was a really stressful couple of days," the parapelgic murmurs.

"I don't want to let her go and believe things are normal, only to find her dead in her house…" Yasmina shivers, tears welling up.

"Yeah, even if she says she's doing better… even if she's actually doing better, we're not dropping our guard any time soon," Sammy agrees. "We've seen too much and know too much to let her go."

Yasmina nods. "I know I might be overreacting about her doing better, but her unresolved anger issues bugs me the most. I think I'll talk to her about it soon."

"Well, if it's still an issue, you'll get a fight," Sammy warns her.

A mischievous smirk creeps up onto her face. "Lucky for me, I've never backed down from a fight."

---

The lights dim. The audience falls silent. The curtains lift, and a stunning ballerina stands alone on the stage. Her costume was immaculate white with wispy feathers lining her tutu and shoulders. The bodice was designed from pure white satin and bejeweled with silver, gold, and white diamonds. From her back fell long, thin, chiffon wings, attached to her hands by a ring on each pointer finger. Her brown hair was pulled up into a bun with a glittering, jeweled crown and soft, white feathers. Though the audience couldn't see it, her makeup was flawless.

The orchestra starts off with a classic Nutcracker number, and the ballerina begins to dance. Darius watched from the wing with the other campers as Brooklynn performed for the audience. They were all captivated by her graceful moves.

The music takes a more upbeat and modern turn as Brooklynn prances around the stage. Darius looks around the stage. On every side except for the audience's, there were huge mirrors. It looked like many different people were dancing in sync—except for the fact that only one of them was white. While Brooklynn's costume was perfect and beautiful in every way, her mirror counterparts were a different story. Hair astrew, costume torn and muddy, feathers and jewels missing. Even parts of her clothing were missing, leaving her looking dirty and unworthy of being on stage.

The music changes to a darker theme. Darius's first thought was that the Mouse King would come to kidnap her. Instead, the wooden floor turns to red hot coals underneath her feet. Brooklynn doesn't seem to notice, and continues to dance.

"Brooklynn!" Darius calls out, not caring if the audience heard him. The coals would burn through her shoes and hurt her feet if she didn't stop dancing!

"Get off the stage!" Sammy wails.

"Stop dancing!" Yasmina shouts.

Brooklynn turns her head to look at them, but continues to dance, unaware of the danger she was in.

"Stop! You're going to hurt yourself!" Kenji tells her.

"You're dancing on coals! Your feet are burning!" Ben insists.

Still, Brooklynn ignores the warnings and keeps on dancing.

"Brooklynn!" Darius shouts, pacing the edge of the burning coals.

"Stop!" Yasmina shouts, stepping foot out onto the coals. Her shoes begin to burn as well. She screams in pain, takes a couple more steps, before giving up and taking Ben's hand. Him and Kenji pull her back to safety. "It's no use…" she pants, looking at her burned soles. "If she doesn't stop herself, we can't help her!"

Darius doesn't want to accept it. He looks out to the stage and sees her ballet slippers start to burn through. As the song takes a more upbeat turn, Brooklynn screams. The heat from the coals reaches her feet and torments her, yet she refuses to stop dancing.

Darius sits up straight, and his head swivels around in panic. He can still hear Brooklynn's screams in his head. Trying to process what he had just dreamed, he focuses on a small detail first. "Mad Russians Christmas," he pants, remembering the name of the song she danced to.

"Christmas Eve in Sarajevo is better," Brandon mumbles from next to him in bed. "It's the most iconic TSO song."

"Huh?" Darius grunts. "No, no, that's what she danced to."

It takes a few seconds for his brother to turn over. "Did you have the ballerina, Black Widow dream again?" he groans, a little annoyed he was woken up yet again by his brother's dreams.

"No, this time she was just a ballerina," Darius pants, running his hand over his hair. "She was dancing on hot coals. We all tried to tell her what was going on and begged her to stop dancing, but she ignored the warnings and pain and kept dancing… Yaz even tried going out to get her, but the coals burned through her sneakers."

"She had two legs in your dream?" Brandon asks.

"Yeah, and Sammy could stand," Darius nods, then shakes his head. "But that's besides the point. She was in trouble and not listening… We all gave up trying to help her… Maybe I need to try harder to help her… keep her safe and off the coals…"

"Or maybe you need to let her learn her lesson of not dancing on hot coals," Brandon murmurs sleepily, already dozing off.

"Nah, God can't be telling me that," Darius waves him off, lost in thought. "Why would he be telling me to back off… This has to be a warning… She's ignoring some form of warning and hurting herself in the process… If Yaz gave up, it must be something difficult… or maybe that just means I need to be a better friend… Yaz is the strongest, most physically enduring friend we have… if she couldn't do it… Maybe that means Brooklynn can't… no… I've seen our daughter… But I've also seen her die… No, this has to mean I have to step up. She needs our help. Yaz is the hardest worker… If she couldn't do it, that means I need to try harder… right?"

Darius turns to his brother, but finds he's already snoring. Left without any help deciphering his dreams, Darius sends a silent prayer to the Lord, asking if he was correct about the meaning, before laying back down to try to fall asleep.

The next day after school, Darius and Brandon head over to Brooklynn and Milton's house. While his older brothers stay in Milton's room to play video games and Brooklynn changes her outfit—something about her bra being uncomfortable, which he felt embarrassed knowing—Darius paces downstairs. Still agonizing over his dream, he lays down on the couch, letting out a frustrated sigh. "How can you stop someone from hurting themselves when they're not listening to you?"

He contemplates the ways to get his friend to stop dancing on hot coals in his dream. He knew he couldn't step out onto the coals… Yasmina had already tried that… What if he were to throw a rope around her and pull her back? Images of her resisting the rope and falling onto the coals and burning herself flash through his mind. Darius shakes his head. "No… trying to force her out would result in more pain for her… The only way would be to stop her from going onto the dance floor in the first place… Once she's out there, there's really no way to save her without harming yourself…"

"Maybe Brandon was right…"

"No, I can't abandon her… This whole thing is a vision. She's not actually dancing on hot coals… If we were to coax her to the edge of the stage, though, she would be close enough for us to grab and pull to safety… Maybe that's what I'm supposed to do… Coax her close enough that we can safely pull her out of danger… or at least keep her from going farther out on stage."

"Hey, Darius, you wanna be in my new video?" Brooklynn asks, coming down the stairs. Her face falters, almost as if she wanted to take back her suggestion.

"Maybe I look worried," he thinks, sitting up. That's when his eyes are drawn to her shirt. While what she had changed into certainly looked more comfortable, it was… dare he say… revealing. She had on a pink, comfy looking shirt that was open in the front. Strings crisscrossed down the center of her torso, revealing her boney sternum and navel.

"No," he says before he can process what came out.

"No, what?" Brooklynn asks in confusion and a little bit of hurt.

"I… um…" Darius stutters, trying to figure out how to come back from his fumble. It wasn't that she didn't look good in the shirt… It was just a little too showy and didn't fit right with how little weight she had. Darius knew the types of comments it would draw if she filmed herself in it, and didn't want her to put herself out there for those predators.

"Does this make you feel a certain way?" Brooklynn asks, noticing his gaze kept darting to her shirt.

"Wha—No, no, no, no, no!" Darius immediately gets up from the couch, face heating up at the idea of looking at her in that way—of course, now he couldn't think of anything else! "I just… You'll get comments…"

Brooklynn looks confused and offended. "What comments?"

"Well, you know… the bad kind," Darius mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So, I look ugly in this," she says, hurt.

"No! That's not what I said," Darius grimaces. "I… ugh, how do I put what I'm thinking…"

"Brand, is this shirt ugly?" Brooklynn asks, turning to him as he comes downstairs.

His eyebrows lift, but his expression is unreadable. "No, looks pretty cute," he shrugs.

"Darius says I'll get comments, bad comments," Brooklynn crosses her arms.

"Probably," Brandon nods, making her jaw drop. "You still have Leah's trolls on your feed, right?" he asks.

"Yeah?" she raises an eyebrow.

He shrugs. "They'll most likely capitalize on that. Make comments about your appearance because it shows off a lot."

"So I look like a skinny slut?" Brooklynn says, wrongly filling in what she thought they meant.

"No!" Darius slaps his face, knowing this conversation would most likely end in disaster. "You don't look ugly or like a slut. It just shows off your body… It's not a bad thing, unless you're going to post a video in it where everyone can see it."

Brooklynn stares at him in shock, and Darius covers his face with his right hand, knowing he had made it worse.

Brandon sighs and chuckles. "Since we've broached the subject, I'll be honest, B. While it looks cute on you, it does show a lot more skin than most people are used to seeing from you, and it shows how much toll your body took on the island. While I don't see an issue with you wearing that and showing off, and I don't think you should be skinny shamed, other people don't think the same. I don't see a problem with you wearing it around the house, but if you're going to post a video wearing that, you might want to get prepared for bad comments."

"People shouldn't be judging me for my appearance or thinking about me in that way," Brooklynn protests.

Darius can't help but laugh. "Yeah, but that doesn't stop them."

"You're expecting immoral people to behave morally," Brandon explains. "Telling a rapist that it's wrong to rape doesn't stop them. Telling them that they shouldn't do it doesn't stop them. It's against the law and very immoral, but they. Don't. Care. Reminding them of that doesn't change a thing. Same thing here. It's wrong and hurtful to make bad comments at your expense, but these cyberbullies don't care."

"I wish you could post whatever you want wearing whatever you want, but that isn't the reality," Darius agrees. "Would you be okay with someone making a sexual comment about you?"

"No, but I shouldn't let haters stop me," Brooklynn argues.

"Can you do that?" Darius prompts, knowing her. "Can you shrug off the comments and ignore them? Or are they going to simmer and torment you at night."

She crosses her arms again and glares at him, knowing he had a point.

"Listen, Young B, that's how it is with all creative arts," Brandon says. "Authors, musicians, influences, singers, movie directors, all of it. If you're gonna show the world something you've made, the world is going to criticize it. Writers and movie directors stories will be torn apart, musicians and singers will be listened to with a critical ear, influencers will have their videos and content challenged. The problem is how you respond to it. If I can't handle the idea of someone criticizing my music, then I won't post it. You have to be comfortable with being criticized."

Brooklynn slowly nods.

"Your field is especially difficult with this because the content they're criticizing is you," Darius adds. "Influencers and media personalities are putting themselves out there as the content."

"And if you're not strong enough to know who you are and let the negative comments slide by, then you shouldn't post," Brandon nods. "Hate to say it, but right now, I don't think you could do that."

"You think I would let the negative comments become my identity?" Brooklynn huffs irritatedly.

"Isn't that why hate comments make you so upset?" Darius asks. "Because you put your worth in who the Internet thinks you are?"

"Just because I'm an influencer doesn't mean I'm addicted to the Internet's attention!" she snaps.

"I didn't say you were addicted," he states. "Although it sounds correct," he thinks. "I said you find your identity in it."

"Why don't we ask this," Brandon interrupts before Brooklynn could snap at his brother. "Let's say you post a video wearing that shirt. Some old creepy dude watches your video and finds… finds your shirt and exposed skin exciting."

Brooklynn gags at the thought.

"Maybe he has inappropriate thoughts because of this," Brandon says. "He starts thinking about you in ways that aren't okay."

"Brand, I'm having a hard time not imagining this," Darius groans, his gag reflex initiated.

"Yeah, for real, that's a really uncomfortable thought," Brooklynn nods.

"There are guys out there who will do that," Brandon explains. "Look, you're trusting guys on the Internet way more than you should. Most girls do."

"What do you mean?" Brooklynn asks.

"Alright, I'll level with you," the older boy sighs. "We notice your shirt. Guys would notice your shirt. It's very eye-catching. There's a reason that people say showing skin distracts the boys, because it does. That doesn't make it right, but they're not wrong. Now, when I—or any other respectable guy—notices it, we'll turn away. Think about something else. I respect you. I see you like a little sister. I don't want to think about you in that way. If another girl were to wear that, I would look away and think about something else and respect her. It's a matter of respect."

"But…" Brooklynn murmurs.

"But the creepy guys who don't respect you think differently," Brandon continues. "Guys who oogle and catcall women on the streets don't respect them. All they see is your body, not you as a person. It's wrong and I wish I could knock some sense into them—"

"—Or just knock their lights out in general," Darius butts in.

"—But I can't," Brandon says. "And yelling at them and reminding them that it's wrong to stare at you that way doesn't do a darn thing. If they don't have respect for you as a person, telling them that they're wrong won't do much to change that."

"Expecting them to do the right thing and not think that way won't do you any good," Darius sighs. "The safe way to think is that if they can do something, they will. Be cynical of the faceless people on the Internet. You have no idea what intent they have watching your videos. They could be a five year old who finds your hair pretty or a middle schooler who likes your action videos, or a creepy old man who likes how cute you are. The point is, you don't know, and you shouldn't trust them."

"We're not telling you that you should change," Brandon says. "But we do want you to keep in mind how other people might act. If you're fine tuning out the negative, sexual comments or comments about your appearance, then by all means, wear it! But if it makes you really uncomfortable and bothers you, maybe you should think about covering up a bit more."

"We just want you to be safe and sound," Darius says, worry rising up at the thought of what could possibly happen… "I want you safe and sound…"

She looked unhappy, but understood their point. "Yeah, yeah, I get it…" she mumbles.

"We're not forcing you to change or anything," Brandon reminds her.

"Yeah, yeah!" she snaps, heading upstairs. "Just wish I was more confident…" she mutters as she practically stomps upstairs.

Darius and Brandon glance at each other. "Was it wrong to bring that up to her?" Darius hisses when she was out of range.

"No, I think it's an important thing to bring to her attention," his older brother shrugs. "I think it's an important thing to bring up to all teenagers, regardless of age or gender."

Darius smiles, relieved he wasn't picking the wrong battle. "Thanks for fixing up my mistakes… Not sure why my words were so fumbled…"

"You seem to do best with actions," Brandon grins. "I'm the wordy brother."

"Thanks," Darius nods. "Hmm… She listened to our reason… we've coaxed her closer to our side… This is what my dream meant… If we can slowly pull her closer to us and out of the reach of Leah and the predators… Maybe she can start to heal… Maybe she'll truly be safe and sound then…"

---

"Another love?" Brooklynn suggests, playing the audio on her phone.

Yasmina listens for a second. "No, I don't recognize that song."

"As the world caves in?" Brooklynn plays another.

"Heard it, and it's great, but it's not right," the athlete mutters, rolling onto her back and staring up at the living room ceiling.

"Before you go?" Brooklynn tries again.

"Nah, but that song just reminds me of you," Yasmina says, turning her head to look at her friend.

The sincerity of her friend's gaze scares the girl. "No, please don't be worried about me…" Brooklynn thinks, changing the song in an attempt to change the subject. "Uhh, Dusk till dawn?"

"Haven't heard that…"

"Experience?"

"Aw, love that, but no… I wonder if Rio could play that on the violin."

"Umm… Let me down slowly?"

"... Nah…"

Brooklynn sighs in frustration. "How about Train Wreck by James Arthur?"

The two girls listen to it. "Aww, that's what that song is called," Yasmina says, much to her friend's disappointment. "Not it, but definitely a good song to have… you know, for when you're feeling a certain way."

She sighs but relents. "Yeah, I've been looking for this one, too… the 'Pull me out' part just hits hard."

"Yeah, and the way that part is repeated over and over again makes it feel emotional," Yasmina agrees. "It's like your thoughts are on repeat… You can only think of one thing, and that's that you need help."

"I don't deserve to be pulled out of my train wreck…" guilt murmurs. "I deserve to smolder in my mess of a life… All I'm doing is pulling my friends into it… Look at Yasmina, she wasn't depressed or suicidal before, but now she is!"

"That could be explained by the island…" reason talks.

"Yasmina still deserves a better friend… a better sister… She shouldn't care so much about me… She needs to stop… She'll hurt herself loving me so unconditionally…"

"Ugh, sorry about pestering you over this," Yasmina apologizes, breaking Brooklynn's thought process. "I heard it yesterday and can't find it now… I know it was in one of those Tik Tok shorts… I don't know why I get so obsessive over finding these random songs stuck in my head…"

"It's okay, now I wanna find it," Brooklynn groans. "What was the tune again?"

"The lyrics were 'Mmm, mmm… mmm, mmm… mmm, mmm…' repeated over and over again," Yasmina says. "Well, somewhere between an mm sound, and an ooh sound… The beat was simple. It was just a piano and voices that I can remember… The voices sounded layered, like it was one person, but they overlapped his voice to make multiple people. And it felt sad… and numb… but also peaceful… Like you had lost a loved one in the past and you were thinking about them… You miss them, but the raw emotion from losing them has gone numb… you're not at peace, but you're not tormented, either."

"Ah, no wonder you're looking for that song," Brooklynn says, then realizes how wrong that sounded. "Oh no, now she's going to think I'm going to kill myself!" the girl worries. "Did one of the characters you draw lose a loved one?" she quickly covers up.

"One?" Yasmina laughs. "The majority have!"

"Who's that?" Brooklynn asks, looking at her friend's sketchbook.

"Someone I saw at school," the athlete murmurs, showing the drawing. The drawing revealed a happy looking girl with a freaky muppet sitting on her shoulder. "I'm not sure what's going on. I saw a lady walking down the street with the same muppet/Star Wars creature sitting on her shoulder. I'm not sure if there's a Star Wars cosplay convention around here, or if I'm going crazy… And no one else seemed to think that it was a problem, or even something noticeable."

"Maybe she's just weird in general?" Brooklynn shrugs.

"You've met her, she was part of the group talking to you," Yasmina states.

Brooklynn looks again. "Oh, Mia… When did she have that on her shoulder?"

"This morning when she walked in," she sighs. "It disappeared the next time I saw her."

"I'm inclined to think you're crazy," Brooklynn says, earning a gentle slap in the face.

"I truly did see it," Yasmina grumbles. "Oh! I need to show you my new walker!"

Yasmina stands up and uses the couch for balance as she hopes towards the living room closet. Brooklynn sits up from laying on the living room floor. The Fadoula's come back into their house with the puppy, and Roxie comes over to attack her. "Stop it!" Brooklynn squeals, shielding her face from Husky licks and bites.

"Don't attack Brooklynn!" Mrs. Fadoula scolds, coming over to pick her up. Roxie skitters away, and Yasmina's younger siblings chase her around.

"Tada!" Yasmina says, showing off her new crutch. It was a hands free crutch that strapped around her thigh and provided a brace for her knee and stump. "It's a little awkward at first, but now I can walk around without the cumbersome, long crutches," she says, looking happy to be able to walk again.

Brooklynn claps, grinning in delight for her friend. "My Mom used one of thoses when she broke her foot. How did I not think about suggesting that before?"

"It's fine," Yasmina waves her off. "Only problem is—Stop it! This is not a chew toy!" She tries to shoo away her dog as the husky puppy attacks the crutch. Jabari catches the fluffy dog and carries her outside.

"The puppy loves to chew on it," Yasmina grumbles. "She's… How old is she? She was born November 30th…"

"Exactly sixteen weeks," Brooklynn fills in.

"Look at you knowing math," Yasmina says proudly, making Brooklynn laugh. "So, it's been about fifteen weeks since we first went to camp…"

The two girls are quiet. "Imagine how weird it will be when our one year anniversary comes up," Brooklynn murmurs.

"Yeah…" Yasmina whispers, staring at the couch.

Commotion arises outside. "What's going on?" her mother asks as she trots to the window. Mr. Fadoula follows.

"Roxie ran away!" Jabari exclaims, opening the front door and sticking his head in. The group could hear Habeeba calling after the dog.

"Should we come?" Yasmina asks as her parents and Ghaleb rush to get outside.

"No, you two can stay here," Mrs. Fadoula says, grabbing a handful of treats to try to lure their runaway back before racing outside.

Brooklynn and Yasmina stay still for a moment, watching the laters family run down the street after the puppy. Mrs. Fadoula climbs into the car and drives after them while the rest of the group follows on foot, trying to catch up with Habeeba and the dog. "Welp… guess you guys got a bolter," Brooklynn comments.

"I question my parents' life decisions," Yasmina replies, deadpan.

Brooklynn laughs as Yasmina sits down next to her on the couch, taking off her crutch. "Are you okay?" Yasmina asks, outright. "You seem happy."

The pinkette stares in shock at the athlete. She snorts. "Yeah, I think that came out wrong…"

"Ya think?" Brooklynn raises an eyebrow, but starts laughing herself.

"What I mean is, you seem less depressed than usual," Yasmina rephrases.

"You're still not helping yourself."

"Okay, fine, I can't phrase this in any nice way. What's going on? You go from super depressed to all is peachy, and new outfit and whatnot. Are you really feeling better? Are you trying to feel better? It just seems a little off. The switch, I mean."

Brooklynn stares at her friend. "No, no, no, even if I act happy, they're all still worried about me! No matter what I do, they're worried! They should not be this worried! I thought I was the one with anxiety!"

"You don't need to constantly worry about me," she reminds her.

"Yeah, I know, but I can't stop it," the athlete sighs. "Too much has happened and every change you make, I notice. It's like PTSD… After seeing you… fall so low that you tried… I just… I'm worried about you pretty often, Brook… It's hard for me not to be. Knowing that you are depressed and that you've tried to end your life… I'm just… I'm scared… scared that… I… just… I don't want to lose you…"

Brooklynn is moved to tears as she watches her friend pull her legs up to her chest and blink back tears of her own. "Yaz, I am happy. I am doing better. You don't have to worry."

It was a lie. But seeing Yasmina so worried and scared made her feel horrible about admitting that this was an act… And she was acting happy for this very reason. Her friends were already worried to death about her… they didn't need another reason to feel worried… Brooklynn needed to get better so that they could stop having anxiety over her…

"Or it'd be better if I slowly pulled away… for their own good…"

"I know…" Yasmina murmurs. "It's… I guess it's hard to accept… No, not hard to accept, I want to accept it… I just don't believe it… If I… If I let my guard down… If I don't keep an eye on you… I'm scared I'll lose you forever… And it sounds horrible, but I don't believe you're okay."

The athlete turns to her. Brooklynn hardly ever saw her looking this open. Usually, the introverted runner was closed off. Very rarely did she open up so vulnerably… and it showed in her eyes… Perhaps the saying 'Eyes are the windows to the soul' was true… Brooklynn felt as if she could see right through Yasmina just by looking in her eyes.

Should she hug her? Should Brooklynn comfort Yasmina? Her friend was baring her soul to her… What should she do? Brooklynn wanted to hug her, to assure her that she would be okay. That she wasn't going anywhere and that Yasmina didn't have to worry. She didn't have to be anxious and afraid of losing her. That it was all going to be okay.

But she couldn't bring herself to do it. It was a lie… and she had lied to Yasmina so often… Brooklynn knew she wasn't okay… She knew she couldn't promise Yasmina that she would be there… For goodness sake, she was muling over the thought of pulling away and ending her life, how could she swear that she wouldn't do that?

Yasmina's eyes change. The openness that was there before suddenly disappears. Her usual expression returns. Her soul was once again hidden. "You're not okay," she says decisively. "You're pulling away."

"Wh-no I'm not," Brooklynn says quickly, blinking back tears.

"Don't lie, I can see it in your eyes," Yasmina insists. "I've worn that look too many times."

"What look?" Brooklynn asks, sounding more hollow than she wanted to.

"That indecisive look," she explains. "That look when you want to open up desperately, but you're too scared to do so. That internal conflict where you want to be honest and trusting, but you just can't bring yourself to do it out of fear."

Brooklynn looks away, knowing there was no way to hide it… Yasmina knew too much… She understood too much… "No, she deserves a better friend, don't draw her in more by making her trust you," fear cries.

Despite knowing she couldn't play it off, Brooklynn still tries. "I think you're still paranoid," she lies. "I'm doing much better. I've found motivation to overcome and I'm much healthier and happier."

Yasmina blinks unbelievingly. "So what made you so snappy before?"

"Huh?"

"When you snapped at Kenji for talking about Leah. And when you snapped at Sammy for trying to talk to you about your problems. And when you snapped at Ben because he brought up your channel. And when you snapped at Darius for whatever reason."

Brooklynn quickly gets up and heads to the kitchen, using a glass of water as an excuse. "It was depression," she shrugs. "Irritability is a symptom."

"Really? Well, if you're not depressed, why are you getting so heated about this subject?" Yasmina prompts, strapping her leg back into the crutch.

"Because you're pestering me," Brooklynn says, trying her best not to snap.

"I'm paranoid, remember?" Yasmina says, limping over to the island. She leans on the counter to get closer to her friend. "So why does it make you scared?"

"I'm not scared," Brooklynn insists strongly.

"Well, you're certainly irritated."

"For a reason."

"Obviously, but why?"

"Because you're being paranoid!"

"We don't get mad at you if you're paranoid."

"Oh, trying to guilt trip me, now, huh?!"

A look of excitement passes the athlete's face. She had hit a nerve and she knew it. Brooklynn smacks herself mentally. She had given too much away. "You know what? It's fine. Nothing's wrong. You're just dealing with PTSD."

"And you're hiding something," Yasmina pushes.

"Irritability for no reason is a sign of depression," Brooklynn insists.

"I thought you weren't depressed," Yasmina counters.

"I'm not, anymore!" Brooklynn snaps angrily. "My snapping before was irritability for no reason, and this is irritability because you're being irrational!"

"I know irritability for no reason, I know irrationality, and I know you," the athlete says, keeping her composure, much to the fury of the pinkette. "You're acting differently."

"You're reading in too deeply," Brooklynn seethes.

"And I know defensiveness, too," Yasmina adds. "You're hiding something and you don't want any of us to catch on."

"You are too frustrating!" Brooklynn snaps heatedly. "You and Sammy! You two are more like moms than my own mother! Why is everything a sign of something bad or horrible hidden away?! Why can't you just let me go?! Why—" She stops herself before she gives away too much.

"You're acting suspicious," Yasmina calmly insists.

"You'd be angry, too, if I was pushing you!" Brooklynn barks.

"True, but I'd react worse if I was hiding something," the athlete nods. "I know your lying face, Brook."

"You don't know me!" Brooklynn yells, throwing her glass forward. The water splashes Yasmina in the face, shocking both of them. As the athlete's eyebrows lift in surprise and she opens her eyes, Brooklynn gulps. "I done f***ed up," she thinks, knowing there was no way this wouldn't be a fight now. What should she do? The only way out of the kitchen could easily be blocked by the athlete… Besides, she was stuck in the house… Unless she locked herself in a room long enough to let Yasmina calm down…

"You…" Yasmina starts, her calm composure starting to break. Her anger wins out and that calm, in-control nature is replaced with irritation.

"Little…"

Brooklynn takes her chance and bolts for the hallway.

"S***!" Yasmina shouts, lunging at her friend. She grabs Brooklynn's arm tightly.

Brooklynn shoves her friend back, throwing her off balance. Yasmina grabs the counter, takes a split second to steady herself, and lunges at the pinkette as she tries, once again, to escape. Her full force hits Brooklynn and the two almost topple over. When she regains her footing, the athlete wraps her arms around her friend's shoulders, holding her there. "This conversation is NOT over!"

Growling in frustration, Brooklynn reaches down and behind her to unstrap the crutch. Noticing what she was doing, Yasmina tries to shake her off. Brooklynn gets a hold of the crutch, and takes it. Throwing her neck back, she headbutts the athlete, knocking her backwards. Having a leg up over her friend, Brooklynn tries to run again.

"Hey! Give me back my f***ing leg!" Yasmina protests, rolling onto her stomach and crawling forward with unnatural speed. She wraps both arms around Brooklynn's left leg, tripping her friend.

Brooklynn grunts, slides the crutch down the hall, and tries to escape. The two wrestle on the floor, with Brooklynn attempting to escape and Yasmina trying to keep her there. "Let me go, Yasmina!" Brooklynn shouts, kicking her legs as her friend tries to hold them down.

"We're not finished, yet!" the athlete snarls, resorting to Jiu Jitsu to make her friend submit. With difficulty, Yasmina wraps her left arm under Brooklynns neck, her right arm under her armpit, and clasps her hands together.

Brooklynn shouts in frustration and kicks her legs like a toddler throwing a tantrum. She pulls her friends ponytail and tries to free herself before giving up. It was no use. Yasmina's martial arts was superior to Brooklynn's hair pulling.

Resorting to distraction, she chuckles. "No fair, aren't you supposed to pick on someone with your own skill set?"

"I'm missing a leg and you took my crutch, we're even," Yasmina says gravelly.

"We're not even, you're pinning me down," Brooklynn protests. "You know what kind of jokes Kenji would make if he found us."

"If I was in guard, that would apply," the athlete says, not deterred by the humor.

The pinkette groans. "Let me go!"

"No, we're not finished," the older girl states. "What is going on? Why are you closing off so much?"

"I'm sorry, wouldn't you get irritated if we tried to force you to open up, ya b****?" Brooklynn snaps.

"And wouldn't you get worried if I was clearly hurting and shutting down?" Yasmina retorts.

The front door opens as Yasmina's family returns. "Hmm, got her in side control, huh?" Mr. Fadoula asks, coming to the beginning of the hallway and looking down at the girls.

"Yeah, just a little argument," Yasmina grins sheepishly.

Her step-father chuckles. "That's not fair to Brooklynn."

"Exactly what I said!" the younger girl exclaims.

"Why don't I help give you a leg up?" Mr. Fadoula suggests, picking up Yasmina.

"I find that offensive!" she laughs, still holding onto Brooklynn as she's picked up.

"Yazzy, drop it," Ghaleb scolds.

Yasmina and Brooklynn untangle themselves, chuckling. "Let's take this to my room," the athlete suggests.

Brooklynn groans, knowing she couldn't escape this talk.

Yasmina closes the door and sits on the bed next to her friend. Sighing, she says, "Yeah, yeah, I know I'd get angry if you guys made me open up when I wasn't comfortable… and I know I can't make you do it… But why are you hiding it?"

"I'm not hiding anything…" she grumbles, pulling her knees to her chest and hiding her face from the older girl.

"You can't solve a problem if you pretend it doesn't exist," the athlete mutters. "Even if you don't talk right now, can you at least answer the question. Ask yourself why you're hiding whatever it is? Work through the problem?"

Brooklynn doesn't answer.

"Sometimes the reason you hide your secrets and struggles is completely irrational," Yasmina continues. "Evaluate why you're hiding this… Is it reasonable? Is it out of fear? Is it out of shame? Out of confusion? Do you think we'd hate you? Are you just overwhelmed and don't know how to deal with it?"

Tears slip out. "She knows… She has a feeling… She knows my shameful secret…"

"I don't care what it is," the older girl states. "You can talk to me about it. There's nothing you can tell me that will make me leave you. Guarantee, whatever your secret or problem or whatever this is, is, won't drive me away."

Brooklynn is silent. "Is there anything I can do to push you away?"

"It'd take a lot," Yasmina sighs. "You'd have to become truly heartless and cruel… and even then me and the others would fight for you…"

"So I'd have to become a murderer or a disgusting person to drive you away?" the younger girl murmurs.

"To a point of no return," the athlete says. "You could murder someone for a justifiable reason and I'd accept it. You could make horrible mistakes and change and I'd take you back. For me to give up on you, you'd have to become truly evil… And with how much I care for you and stand with you, that's almost an impossible level to reach… That's a Leah level, and even then, I'd still fight for us."

"... You're kind of concerning," Brooklynn mumbles. "Accepting that I committed murder?"

"Well, I can't want to commit it and then get mad at you," Yasmina protests, making Brooklynn chuckle. "My point is, I highly, highly, highly doubt that whatever it is you're hiding will push me away from you… I've gone through some s*** myself. I might be able to relate to it…"

"You can't relate to this… You're too good… None of you are at my level of filth…" Brooklynn thinks.

"I won't push you any further on this subject…" Yasmina sighs. "For now… But I'm not going to stop worrying about you… I still remember that night on the island… When you tried to kill yourself… Please, just try to get better and work through this, okay?"

"I will…" Brooklynn murmurs, knowing it was a lie. Already, her thoughts were contemplating ways to nicely push away her friends… She didn't want to hurt them, but she couldn't keep letting them get closer to her… Part of her didn't want to lose them… Part of her was terrified of life without them! "It's better for them if I leave their lives…" guilt explains. "I'm selfish if I want to stay…"

"Do you want to talk or work through whatever storm is in your head?" Yasmina asks. "Or do you want to join my family in a game of Spoons?"

"Spoons?" Brooklynn asks.

"Yeah, a card game where you have to get four of a kind and then grab a spoon as quickly as possible," she explains. "If you don't get one, you're out. We occasionally play a messier version where the spoons are in a bowl of water. Grabbing them quickly results in getting splashed in the face by yourself. If you're skilled, you can pick em up in a way that splashes the person in front of you."

Brooklynn laughs. "You wanna get wet?"

"First of all, I already am, thanks to you," Yasmina points to her drying hair. "And second, are you assuming I don't know the elite strategies in this game?"

"Alright, let's see how well you do in this game," Brooklynn laughs, helping support her friend as they head to the kitchen table. As the competitive, intense—and very wet—game goes on, she attempts to push her anxieties to the back of her mind… It almost works…

---

"Is she okay?" Yasmina asks worriedly, looking down at Brooklynn lying in her arms. The girl was getting sicker by the minute. Her face was horribly pale and the Compy venom was racing through her veins, leaving purplish black lines tracing her body and face.

"I don't know, the medicine isn't working," Sammy whimpers, trying to hydrate her friend.

"I should've noticed… Should've seen the bite mark," Yasmina murmurs, looking at the infected bite on her friends arm.

"You were the only one who saw her without her jacket," Kenji says, his voice destroying the athlete. He didn't sound angry; he sounded betrayed.

"I should've seen the signs," Darius laments, pacing on the deck of the makeshift camp. "I should've noticed she was hurting! I've failed her…"

"It's not your fault," Ben states, placing his hand on Darius's shoulder. "It's Yasmina's," he turns to her. "You knew she wasn't okay, and you didn't do anything. How could you just ignore her? How could you be so selfish?"

"No, I didn't mean for this to happen!" Yasmina sobs, holding her friend close as she begins to grow cold. "I didn't know! I didn't know she was this hurt! I thought she was getting better… I thought she was happier!"

"She was faking it!" Ben shouts, the raw emotion cutting Yasmina like a knife. "You knew that! You ignored her! You let her think she didn't matter to you!"

"I'm sorry," Yasmina wails. "There has to be a chance this can be undone, right? She can't die! Not like this! Please, she has to live!"

"No, you have to live with the consequences of your actions," Ben says, stone cold.

"Sammy, there has to be a way to save her, right?" Yasmina pleads, staring hopefully at their medic.

Tears well up in the cowgirls eyes and she shakes her head. "She's cold… Like how you treated her…"

"No… No!" the athlete shouts. "Noo!" She holds Brooklynn even closer, feeling her friend's body grow cold. "No, you can't leave! Please, come back! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I wasn't there… I'm sorry I didn't try harder! Please, please! Please, just breathe! Come back!"

Brooklynn's lifeless body convulses as she begins to throw up blood. The warm, sticky liquid ends up on the athlete's face and jacket. The horrible sound rings in Yasmina's ears and her heart jumps.

Startling herself, Yasmina sits up in her bed, panting. "Glad it was just a dream…" she murmurs, turning to look at her friend in the bed next to her. Her heart stops. Brooklynn was lying in bed, the sheets astrew and her body twisted horribly. Long, bleeding gashes ran down her torso, arms and neck. Her stomach and other internal organs had been ripped out of her torso, reminding Yasmina too much of the carnage she saw on the island. Brooklynn's eyes stared lifelessly out the window as a trail of blood trickled out of her mouth.

A wail escapes her lips as she shakily leans over her friend. "Brook…" she gasps, gently touching the younger girls face. "No!" she sobs, wanting desperately for this nightmare to end.

A sound catches her attention and she turns to find a creature standing at the edge of her bed. Half human and half Scorpius rex, the thing perched like a bird on the railing of the bed. It's eyes were red and slitted, but human shaped… yet way too large for it's head. It's smile reached its ears and was filled with malicious looking teeth. The claws were horrendously long and bloody, and blood trickled down its chin.

Yasmina lets out a gasp, shriek mix at the sight of the thing. It merely grins even bigger, tilting its head at a ninety degree angle. Slowly, it lifts it's clawed hand up to its mouth, feasting on suspicious looking flesh. Yasmina knew it was the remnants of her friend, adding insult to injury.

"They taste good," the thing hisses, it's grin making her feel sick.

"They?" she breathes.

The creature contorts its back horribly and slithers down out of view, revealing Habeeba standing against the wall, horrified. Her face was pale with shock and she was trembling uncontrollably. "Don't let him eat me," she whispers.

"Beebee," Yasmina hisses in horror.

"Save me from Charlie," her younger sister starts to cry as the creature slithers up close to her, licking the side of her face with its bloody tongue. Its mouth stretches wide open and it comes closer to her.

"No!" Yasmina shouts, lunging forward, desperately to save her sister.

The monster's tail whips around and smacks her in the face, sending her sprawling on the floor. She looks up in time to see the creature devouring her sister, eliciting horrible, traumatizing screams from the girl that would be burned into her mind forever.

Finally waking up, Yasmina freezes in fear, her sisters screams still playing in her mind. "She's fine!" she quickly tells herself. "Habeeba is fine…"

Yasmina feels something move in her arms. Becoming aware of her surroundings, the first thing she notices is that her face is half buried in her pillow; her mouth and nose was exposed enough to breathe, but she couldn't see. The second thing she noticed was that her arms were wrapped comfortingly around Brooklynn; they were both still in the same position they fell asleep in. The third revelation was that there was another presence in the room…

If Yasmina could make a sound, it would either be a scream of terror or a swear word. "No, no, no! Not sleep paralysis! Not hallucinations! Not tonight! Please no!"

Her sleep demon didn't get the memo.

Something heavy sits on her chest and she feels the usual suffocating feeling. Her heart races as Yasmina tries to move a muscle. She needed to preserve her life! She needed to remove whatever was sitting on her! She needed air!

Yasmina feels the sensation of something sharp stroking the side of her head, as if the demon was caressing her. A shiver of horror runs up her spine. Then she remembers her dream. "Brook? Brooklynn!" she cries out, fearing for her friend.

To her panic, Brooklynn is removed from her grasp. Now without sight and any form of contact other than the monster, Yasmina is hyperventilating. Was she? Was this all a hallucination? Where was Brooklynn? Why couldn't her lungs properly inflate? "God, would this end already?!" she screams in her head as she drifts into sleep again.

---

Brooklynn stirs at a disrupting sound. By muscle memory, she reaches out, grabs her phone, and enters her password. It was a text from Kenji. A ridiculous "Good morning" gif. She chuckles. "Good morning to you, too," she yawns as she texts a response.

She hears Yasmina move behind her, then the athlete surprisingly pounces on her. "Brook!" she just about shouts.

The girl jumps in shock. "Wh-What?!"

Yasmina sighs with relief and relaxes, resting her head on the pillow and practically laying on Brooklynn. "I thought you were dead…"

The pinkette puts away her phone and snuggles in close, allowing her friend to protectively wrap her arms around her. "What happened?"

Yasmina sighs and describes—in detail Brooklynn didn't exactly want—what happened. "You were gone," she whimpers. "You were taken away."

"I think I just got up to use the restroom," Brooklynn says.

"That was one of the scariest dreams I've ever had," Yasmina breathes. "I thought you were dead… three times… I don't want to think about it becoming a reality."

"Well, there's no monster, so you don't have to worry," the pinkette assures her.

"The idea of losing you…" the athlete doesn't listen. "I can't handle thinking about it. It… It gets my heart racing so fast, I… Brook, I can't… I don't know what I'd do… You and Habeeba are my little sisters… If either of you died, I… I'd go mad… Insane… I don't think I could live if I lost you guys… or any of you…"

"It's okay," Brooklynn insists, not understanding the severity or sincerity of Yasmina's words. "I'm here."

"Don't die…" Yasmina whispers. "Please don't die…"

"It's okay…" Brooklynn says.

"Don't leave me…" she whimpers.

"Um, it's a school day, so we kinda have to go to class," Brooklynn reminds her.

The older girl gives her a bit of pouting gibberish before sighing. "We can sleep in, right?"

"Not really," Brooklynn murmurs.

"Mehhhh," Yasmina grumbles, finally letting go of her. Brooklynn sits up and stretches her neck and arms. "Is your stomach okay?" the athlete asks, feeling her stomach.

Brooklynn squirms under her touch. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"I just can't convince myself that you're safe and sound," Yasmina trembles.

"It's okay," Brooklynn smiles at her, failing to register how shaken her friend was at the thought of losing her.

"I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'd never let you go," a song comes back to haunt her as she gets ready.

Brooklynn feels horrible at the lyric, remembering how she wanted to push away her friends for their own good… "Yasmina would be hurt so much… I'd be hurting them deeply…" reason states. "Maybe I'm being irrational… Maybe I'm not so bad for them…"

"You've seen what you've done to her, Yasmina deserves a better friend than you!" guilt cries loudly.

Still unsure whether she wanted to push away her friends for their own safety, or try to make their relationships work because she needed them and they seemed to need her, Brooklynn gets ready for school. She assured her friend thousands of times that she was safe and sound…

Oh, how she hated lying to her friends.