(Courtney's POV)
"God, why does that stupid, ignorant, selfish buffoon have to be so...so...so damn DIFFICULT?!" I think to myself, stewing in my own frustrations as my back rests up against the rear wall of the confessional outhouse; I wasn't exactly in the mood for getting chewed out by Heather for how loud I could get at times.
"All he had to do was listen to what I had to say, say thank you, and leave! Why did he have to make it so difficult?!" I cry out in my mind, swinging my arm back in frustration; Immediately, I pull my hand back, a sharp stinging coursing through me as I face the consequences of pounding my fist against the confessional wall, but the pain isn't enough to quench my anger.
"I mean, I voted out Bridgette for him! BRIDGETTE! One of the only people left on this island who had any sort of sense left in them, and I voted her off because...because..." My thoughts trail, and a high-pitched screech escapes my throat, one surely to be heard throughout the entire island.
Grasping at my own hair, the sensation of it knotting and clumping together only irritates me further; My thoughts continue to twist and turn, centering entirely on this...this ENIGMA who continues to haunt me with his every action, the same one whose every action in this game seems to perfectly counter my own and leaves me scrambling for things that should come naturally to me: Challenge immunities, voting allies, overall victory, all of them keep escaping right out of my grasp, slipping free from my fingers when I am right on the cusp of grabbing them for myself, and it's all his fault!
Shooting up to my feet, I start to pace around the confessional, trying to simply walk off these thoughts, or perhaps just tire myself out so that way I can fall asleep; There is sure to be a challenge coming in the next couple of days, so staying awake like this is only going to hurt my chances even further than they already have been. And yet, regardless of what I try to do, all I find myself able to succeed in is continuing to think about him and his...his ridiculous luck!
"I mean, seriously, how did he even get Bridgette voted off in the first place?! It's not like she was the primary target on the island! Heather wasn't immune for this vote, so if ANYONE should have gone home, it should have been-" At that, my train of thought stops, as a realization clicks in my mind, sending my mental cogs turning once again.
"Heather. She wasn't immune. She was up for ELIMINATION, and yet she managed to survive while getting Bridgette sent home in her stead? How the hell did the votes get so skewed that Bridgette wound up getting the ax?" Continuing to pace, I try to mentally run through every possibility in regards to the voting to figure out just how Heather could have even survived tonight's vote. "After all, with who is left in the game, there had to have been a minimum of three people who automatically threw their votes onto her. There's no chance in Hell that Gwen or Trent didn't vote for her, and considering DJ was on the same team as Bridgette and I, he probably went along with those two in the votes! So without counting Geoff's own stupidity-" I catch myself as a growl forms in the pit of my stomach, stopping myself from growing even more irritated than before by simply ignoring his blatant act of ignorance. "Even WITHOUT him in the picture, who could Heather have swayed to..."
For a few seconds, I pause; Both mentally, and physically, as my pacing comes to a screeching halt. The answer to my own line of questioning is right there, practically laid bare in front of me. It's such a simple solution, and in the terminology of Occam's Razor, the simplest solution typically serves as the correct one, but...
"...There's no way, right? She...he...those two..."
...
...
...
"DAMNIT!"
Letting my leg fly into the side of the confessional with a solid kick to the wall, I let out a frustrated snarl upon finally understanding just what had to have happened in tonight's...yesterday's...in THE PRIOR elimination ceremony.
"Of COURSE that...that SNAKE roped Noah into voting off Bridgette! How else could she have survived?! She knew the writing was on the wall for her, and with nobody else on the island who would have been willing to work with her, she must have...taken advantage of Noah somehow, just to secure his vote for the night! And with that walking butterball friend of his basically serving the same purpose as that blonde bimbo Lindsay-"
Upon mentioning Heather's alliance mate, my body shivers in disgust, conjuring a mental image which I decidedly never wish to think of again for the rest of my lifetime; Whether it be Noah or not, for him to be flanked by someone who'd act like that...I shudder once more, and quickly get myself back on track, my pacing renewed.
"Regardless, those four, working together? OF COURSE that was enough to get rid of Bridgette! She just used Noah and Owen for their votes and got them to vote off Bridgette! She got my ONLY friend left on the island voted off, and...and..."
Coming to a dead halt once more, I can feel my fists shaking out of indignance, my eyes shutting tight as I try to ignore the other part of this realization that I have had; Specifically, the part of it that helps me truly understand what a complete and utter fool I have been made out to be, thanks to that damned enigma and the queen bee who used him in the ceremony prior.
"...And I was the one who truly helped them pull it off..."
With another island-shaking roar, I kick the confessional wall once more, and continue stewing in my own simmering fury, unable to rest until I finally formulate a plan not just capable making things up to Bridgette for how unceremonious her departure from the game truly was, but also of getting rid of the enigma that has been a thorn in my side for what is now far too long...
(Gwen's POV)
"For the last time, all I told him was to show off his bad boy nature, not to go around two-timing with the only girl on the island worth kissing. It's a shame you were the unfortunate soul who got stuck kissing a green-haired delinquent, but it's not like I wanted him to do that in the first place."
...It has been almost twelve hours now since the elimination ceremony took place, and I still can't wrap my head around what the hell that statement was supposed to mean.
It wasn't surprising how Noah acted like his usual, sarcastic self during our time talking with one another; That was something expected. But...those words he spoke to me about Duncan, they didn't feel like sarcasm.
Believe me, I know how sarcasm sounds. But that...I don't know what that was meant to sound like. Was it him trying to crack some kind of joke at my expense? Making fun of how everyone around here suddenly feels sorry for me, all because Duncan lied to me about my own boyfriend, and got me to kiss him? Ever since I woke up today, our interaction just keeps on replaying in my mind, and I just don't understand it.
Honestly, I don't understand him.
When we all first arrived here, the guy was a total recluse: He talked to nobody, he only ever moved to get from point A to point B, he only showed any sort of care when it came to whatever book he was reading at the time, and then all of a sudden, he acts all shocked when he gets voted off for not putting any effort into the challenge? It felt so strange at the time, but ever since he came back, it's like he's an entirely different person! He's actually talking to other people, and for more than just to belittle them or make a sarcastic remark at their expense this time, he's putting in effort on the challenges, he's even going into the confessional now! Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention to him during the early parts of the game, but I swear I never saw him go in there, even when Chris had told us all to film that opening confessional on the first day of the show. But now, now that he's back on the island? He's pretty much glued to the damn thing, using it practically all the time.
Resting my head against the pillow beneath me, its rock-hard nature makes falling back asleep almost impossible; Something I wish I could do right about now, given how Chris just made the call over the loudspeaker about thirty minutes ago that today would be one of our few days off between challenges. Instead, I simply get up out of my bunk and start throwing on my usual attire, trying to get the resident enigma known as Noah out of my mind.
-0-
Once I'm finished changing, I take a deep breath as I step out the cabin, ready to face yet another day in this hellscape known as Camp Wawanakwa; "What is it going to be today, world? Chris pulling a bait-and-switch on having the day off? Heather's usual bitchiness being targeted at me again? Courtney's incessant whining and complaining? Whatever it is Chef threw onto a plate in order to 'feed' us?"
Surprisingly, despite my own negative thoughts, the first thing I'm made to experience is none of these lovely options; Instead, a soft smile forms on my face as I spot Trent heading into the mess hall. Unaware of my presence, he simply waltzes on inside, giving me the perfect opportunity. Following behind him, I manage to slip into the mess hall as well, and whilst still undetected, I keep to the walls of the cafeteria area, not wanting to get caught out before this idea of mine can come to fruition. Watching as he sits down at one of the tables, I approach him from behind, each step being taken with purpose, and once he's in my sights...
Jumping up from behind him, I watch as Trent panics, scared half to death by yours truly; The sight of it causes me to chuckle, which finally gets my boyfriend to realize just who it was that spooked him in the first place.
"My boyfriend..."
"Jeez, Gwen, you nearly gave me a heart attack. Give a guy a bit of warning next time, will you?" Trent says, the scowl on his face giving me pause, fear shooting through me for a moment; Had I gone too far? Was he really upset with me? After a few seconds, though...the scowl makes way for a smile, and my relief turns into laughter as he grabs me, forcing me to sit down next to him.
"Hey, it's what you signed up for when you started dating the scary goth lady around here."
"Scary goth lady?" Trent asks jokingly, looking around the entire mess hall, much to my own enjoyment, "I don't see anyone like that here; Just the beautiful woman with an alternative lifestyle sat next to me."
Feeling myself blush, I look away from Trent for a second, before glancing back over at him, still smiling all the while.
"So, what's got you awake so early?" Trent quips, the sun having already been hanging high in the sky by the time I stepped outside, indicating the time as closer to noon than it was the typical wake-up time out here during challenge days.
"Oh, well, outside of clearly needing my beauty sleep," Trent rolls his eyes at this, forcing me to stifle a mid-sentence laugh, "I was...just thinking, a bit."
"Thinking? What about? Got some inspiration for your next grand piece of artwork?" Trent asks, this time letting me be the one to roll their eyes at such an exaggerated comment.
"Nah, just...something about last night's elimination ceremony." I state, letting a melancholic sigh escape my lips; I may not have shared a team with her, after all, but seeing Bridgette get voted off last night was...unexpected, to say the least.
"Yeah, I get it," Trent sighs, "seeing Bridgette go like that...that really sucked." Trent rests an arm on the table, propping his head up with his hand. "I really thought we had Heather's number this time..."
"I know, Trent, but..." My face falls, going through the process of recognizing that the queen bee is somehow still on this island all over again. "We'll get her next time. As long as we can prevent her from getting immunity, then we-"
"Or," Trent suddenly cuts me off, "what if we just focused on making sure that one of us gets immunity instead?" Trent offers, before quickly adding onto his own point. "I get it, making sure Heather's life remains as much of a living Hell on this island as possible is good and all, but we are in the final nine of this game, Gwen! The two of us, we're so close to winning that hundred grand!" Trent exclaims, giving me pause for a couple moments...before I finally relent.
"...You're right, Trent," I sigh, "we should start focusing more on making sure we stay in the game. I just..." I trail off, leading Trent to take my hands into his own, looking me right in the eyes, which once more brings a blush to my face.
"Again, Gwen, I get it. Losing Leshawna right when the merge hit, losing Bridgette, it sucks. Genuinely, it really sucks, but that's just how this game seems to go, unfortunately. So, if our friends and allies keep getting picked off, then it'd be better for us to make sure we're not the next ones out."
Hearing Trent's words, I nod in what feels like forced affirmation, before letting out another sigh; Having to actually 'play the game' like this, and strategize, and prioritize voting over friendships...it's all so sickening to me, but...Trent is right, in some regard...
"Yeah..." I mutter, trying to just get past this as best I can; However, as I do so, and subsequently try to re-focus my mind onto something that isn't just 'playing the game', that damned interaction with Noah slips back to the forefront of my mind, like an earworm that just won't leave the back vestiges of your mind, and my face falls once more. With Trent right beside me, though, an idea comes to mind: Maybe the best way of getting rid of this conversation once and for all is to just...talk about it with someone?
"So...question," I start, breaking the silence that had formed between us.
"So...answer?" Trent replies, getting me to smile once more, before shaking it away.
"Since you and him share a cabin together, I...figured I'd ask you this," Trent cocks his head to the side, confused at my reasoning. "Do you know what Noah's deal is?"
Upon me asking this, Trent's confusion fades away, and an indiscernible expression forms in its place. "His deal?" He asks, needing clarification.
"Yeah, like...you notice how, ever since he came back to the island, he's like a completely different guy?" Trent nods in response, giving me some relief that I'm not going completely crazy; At least, when it comes to this, anyhow.
"Yeah...now that you mention it, he has been acting really different..." Trent ponders on this for a moment, before continuing his response. "Maybe that's why he was so weird when we last spoke." At this, I feel my attention shift once more, focusing now on what was meant by the part of 'when they last spoke'.
"Wait, you and him talked? When?" I ask, with myself now the one who is needing clarification.
"Well, me and him...we talked a couple days ago, after Duncan had gotten voted off, and-"
"Was this about what Duncan said?" I cut Trent off, not needing to got through this discussion again. "Look, Trent, we both agreed that the kiss was his fault, not mine." I state, before something in my brain itches at me to continue on. "And it wasn't Noah's fault, either. Sure, he gave the advice to Duncan, but Duncan was the one who misinterpreted it, so don't go blaming him, either." As soon as the words leave my mouth, I find myself feeling confused by why I had even felt the need to defend Noah in the first place; It's not like he can't defend himself, so why did I...? Thankfully, this thought is cut off by Trent's...rather curt reply to what I mentioned.
"I know that, Gwen. Noah said the same thing you did, but..." Trent trails off, his gaze flickering away from me. "The way he said it felt...weird." He says, and almost instinctively, I cross my arms at this.
"It felt weird?" I question, my gaze narrowing ever so slightly at this choice of wording from my boyfriend.
"The way he was talking, I mean." Trent says, trying to alleviate my concerns. "It felt like he was just...playing me, y'know?" He questions, speaking rhetorically with his own concern being bared. "He was talking like how Heather does..." Trent hesitates once more, giving me the chance to cut in.
"Really? It was that bad?" I ask, now having different concerns coursing through my mind, specifically in regards to that conversation. "Look, I get that Noah can be kind of...snarky," I state, trying not to bad talk him too much, "but for him to be comparable to Heather? You might be looking too deeply into things, Trent."
"The guy made it out like he was using Duncan as a pawn, Gwen!" Trent suddenly exclaims, taking me aback with his tonal shift.
"...What?"
"Noah, he..." Trent pauses, calming himself down with a deep exhale. "Him and I talked, and he let slip the fact that he was trying to get close with Duncan, in order to save his own skin. He said it was because he didn't want to wind up being bullied like some of the others on the island had, but..." Again, Trent hesitates, but this time, I'm not given enough time to cut in, as he goes to continue on. "Then he brought up how Duncan had done the same thing to Geoff and DJ, and mentioned how he might have been trying to pull the same stunt on Courtney, or on me, and-"
"Woah, okay, hold up there." I stop my boyfriend from continuing any further. "What do you mean by him 'doing the same thing' to Geoff and DJ? What, do you mean him being friends with them?" I jokingly comment, trying to add some levity to this discussion while also leading Trent into a further explanation, but the humor in my comment seems to fall flat.
"Yeah...exactly," Trent says, confusing me further. "He said that Duncan was just using Geoff and DJ for the votes, that he was only friends with them because they were useful to him." He explains, and while I still remain perplexed by what was meant by this, it's what Trent mumbles out next that truly alarms me. "Scary thing is, he actually had a point, too..."
"He had a point?" I ask, my tone a touch harsher than intended, which I quickly rectify by putting a hand on Trent's shoulder. "You just said that he was talking like Heather does, and now you're saying he had a point?" I re-state, wanting to make sure he understood what he just told me.
"I know, babe," Trent says, incidentally sending butterflies fluttering through me at his nickname usage, "but he just...if what he said was true, and Duncan was just using Geoff and DJ for their votes, then...do you think he could've been trying to rope us into that, too?" He asks, and while it seems ridiculous at first, the weight of his words soon bear down onto me, forcing me to think more and more on what originally seemed to be nothing more than paranoid ramblings. "Do you really think he'd be so heartless that he would...y'know...just act friendly to me, to us, until he could ditch us?"
For a couple seconds, my mind draws a blank on how exactly to even reply to this hypothetical situation. Duncan never really seemed to be like that, from the brief bits of time I spent with him, but...he was constantly bullying Harold and Tyler, or messing with Courtney, or just hanging around with Geoff and DJ...was he really just using them?
"I...I don't know, Trent..." I mutter, to which Trent sighs in reply.
"Neither do I, Gwen. That's why I've been trying to focus more on the game, on just getting immunity, because...if I don't, and I start thinking about who here is actually my friend or who is just using me? I might just go insane." He states simply, but even such a simple response is enough to floor me, as more and more pieces seem to click together in my mind; Noah's words, the way he spoke to me last night, how he apparently didn't want Duncan to do what he did, or at least not to me...
"Was Noah...trying to protect me? Did he somehow know that Duncan was going to..."
"No, there's no way. Noah might be smart, but there's no way he could have known about what Duncan was going to do. Sure they might have been stuck in the same cabin together, and Noah might have been trying to get close to him, even if it was just to ensure his own protection, but there's no chance in Hell that Noah was actively trying to protect me from him...right?"
(Noah's POV)
Stretching myself out, I allow myself a small exhale as I turn to the next page in my book, thoroughly enjoying the silent day I've had thus far. With DJ too pre-occupied trying to comfort Geoff after Bridgette got voted off last night, and Owen thankfully being enthralled enough with the prospect of giving himself indigestion by means of overeating, it's granted me some much needed time to myself.
Or, at least, it would, had there not been the rather aggravating presence of one emerald-eyed guitarist trying, and subsequently failing, to...okay, I'm not sure what he is trying to do, to be honest. What I do know is that for the past five minutes or so, he's done nothing but act like an unhinged stalker, constantly keeping an eye on me without caring just how creepy he looks just about now. Admittedly, I shouldn't be as distracted by this as I am right now, considering the fact that other than his own annoying presence, this day has been going fine for me thus far, but with how the other people on this island are...I may as well just nip this in the bud now.
Setting my book down, I turn my head towards the musician, keeping my eyes firmly hidden behind my sunglasses; Knowing my luck, the moment I take these things off will be when the sun decides to shine directly into my eyes, and I'm well aware of how bad I already appear, let alone how much worse it'd be if I had to get glasses.
"Okay, Trent, I'll bite. What do you want?" I call out, causing him to...jump at the sound of my voice; "Did...did he really think that he was being stealthy?" I think to myself, shaking my head as he walks over, his expression as unreadable as ever.
"What do I want?" He asks, clearly playing dumb, to which I sigh, lifting my glasses slightly higher on my face to pinch the bridge of my nose in annoyance.
"Yes, Trent. For the past five minutes, you've been watching me like a hawk does its next meal, which means you want something from me. What is it?" I drawl, before looking down at my book. "And make it quick; You should already know this based on how you were stalking me, but I've got some reading to get back to."
"Fine, fine, you got me, Noah." He says, opting to sit down next to me, much to my own misfortune. "I'm confused about how the last vote went."
"And you thought I would be the best person to go talk to this about?" I ask, cocking an eyebrow at his logic pathing.
"Well, I tried talking to Gwen about it, but she doesn't know anything about it either, so I figured that, since you're one of the smartest guys here, you could help me figure it out?" He offers, and while I realize that his ego stroking is simply bait for me to accept this proposition...it draws me in nonetheless.
"First of all, Trent, based on the competition here, you don't need to say I am 'one of' the smartest people here." I quip, knowing that this will only serve to annoy him; A bit of payback for him wasting my time. "And second of all, what is there to be confused about? Bridgette got voted off with Heather and I in the bottom three. What, you wanted to give Geoff some competition over the surfer girl?" I sardonically reply, only for my eyes to flicker over towards him clenching his fists in anger. "Relax, Trent, I'm just joking. I know you and Gwen are tight, but I also figured that if you're going to waste my time with this sort of question, I may as well try to find some fun in it."
After a few seconds, Trent relaxes his hands, letting out a breath in the process that must have been stored up during my comments.
"Well, even if it's simple for you, Noah, I still don't get how Bridgette got the ax over Heather. I mean, hello, it's Heather? One of the meanest, fiercest, toughest competitors on the island? How did she stay in the game over Bridgette?" Trent wonders aloud, to which I finally turn my glance towards him, ready to answer his concerns.
"Because she's nice, Trent." I curtly reply, garnering a look of perplexity from the guitarist. "Look, it's real simple here, Trent," I go to continue, ensuring he can't cut me off with any further asinine replies, "we're getting into the end game, and knowing what Chris said back at that whole brunch thing, those of us who made merge are going to be on the jury for the final challenge." I explain, leading Trent to...remain just as confused as before.
"But I thought you got eliminated back at the dodgeball challenge? How do you know about what Chris told us during that challenge?" Trent asks, making me sigh once more, already regretting trying to explain things to him...
"Trent, Chris had me watch every episode of the show that I missed while I was off the island, that way I'd be caught up on the drama going on around here." I explain to him, and this time, his face lights up in recognition. "Now, if I may continue?" After a few seconds, Trent nods, and I clear my throat. "Okay, with that explained, voting off Bridgette over Heather was a simple matter of playing the long game. Heather might be a fierce competitor, but one thing she isn't is liked. Even if she makes the finale, which she more likely than not won't, putting those in the merge onto the jury for the final challenge means, more likely than not, Heather would fail to win the hundred thousand dollar prize. On the contrary, Bridgette is kind, pretty, athletic, and kind of smart in some very specific, very niche situations. Put all those things together, and you have someone that makes for easy bonds on the island, thus ensuring that come the finale, she would get the support of those on the jury." I conclude, hoping that Trent had the brain power to follow along with my reasoning...
"...Okay, and?" He asks, clearly having not followed along, and my own sigh of annoyance serves as a reminder of just how difficult it is to appeal to the 90% rather than the 10%...
"And...if I didn't vote her off here and now when I had the chance to do so, her friendship with Geoff and DJ was going to make it nearly impossible to vote her off in the future." I state, exasperation on full display; However, it's this exasperation that gets me speaking without thinking, as my next words slip out without much thought put into them. "It's just like Leshawna all over again..."
"Woah, what's that supposed to mean?" Trent suddenly asks, and I find myself on the defensive once more, mostly thanks in part to my own words, as Trent looks at me with surprise and irritation.
"Come on, Trent, isn't it obvious?" I rhetorically ask, making sure to quickly cut him off before he decides it's a question he needs to answer. "If Leshawna didn't get voted off during that challenge, I'd probably have been the one sent back home." I state, sighing once more as Trent's eyes narrow.
"Okay, so why did you have to target her, then?" He asks, but presses further before I can answer. "Couldn't you have just targeted Heather instead? After all, it doesn't sound like you're giving her any raving reviews."
For a couple moments, I muse on this; Trent did have a point, after all. There really wasn't much reason for me to target Leshawna over Heather when it came time for that ceremony, outside of some admittedly petty revenge for how she treated me after I got eliminated, but Trent doesn't need to know about that. Shrugging my shoulders, I turn away from Trent, acting quite lackadaisical about this conversation despite the chance it has on backfiring against me, as per usual at this point.
"I just figured it'd be better to play up to those already running the game than try to rock the boat too much. Duncan let it slip that he was voting off Leshawna alongside some guy's alliance he formed between himself, Geoff, and DJ, so I decided it'd be better for me to play along with what he wanted, rather than risk being made into his next target."
"Oh, so you were just using Duncan!" Trent exclaims, once more missing the point of what I had just explained, and at this point, my patience is running rather thin with the musician...
"Right, I was using him by...going along with his voting decision and giving him a greater benefit in the game, in exchange for my own security?" I snark, rolling my eyes. "Seriously, Trent, are you even hearing yourself right now? You sound like a bigger idiot than Lindsay, somehow. Stop trying to come after me for every little thing like I'm some huge threat to you, because trust me, if anyone here on this island is a threat, it sure as Hell isn't me." I snap, wanting this conversation to be done and over with, but knowing Trent, that rest just isn't going to come; The musician is way too persistent for his own good, and unless things somehow get turned off of me and onto someone else, there's just no way that he'll-
At that, my thought process stops, and a plan begins to formulate in my mind; One that, hopefully, will get Trent off my back, at least for a little while, and provide me with the peaceful day I was having prior to his earlier stalking and this subsequent conversation. Letting my face fall into an introspective glance, I wait for Trent to catch sight of it, and make sure that he believes the silence to be not quite as purposeful as it is in actuality, before speaking up.
"Hmm..." I muse, drawing his attention further, before purposefully ignoring it. "But, even then, with just those four people, wouldn't there still not be a majority going against Leshawna?" I wonder aloud, getting Trent to glance at me in surprise.
"...Yeah, wait a second!" Trent exclaims, falling right into my own reasoning.
"Hook..."
"You're right, Noah! That'd only be four votes, and with that many of us left in the game, there's no way it only took four votes to get rid of Leshawna." He pieces together, before then looking back at me.
"Indeed," I start, turning towards him, "and with you, Gwen, and Leshawna all voting the same way as well, then there'd be three votes put onto one person..." I mutter, still in the process of piecing together my own attempt at an excuse for where Trent can go to figure out the answers to this riddle; However, I don't even have to do the work, since Trent decides to do it for me.
"Plus I got Bridgette to vote with me as well, so that'd make it a tied vote!" He exclaims, much to my shock, but I refuse to let it show, as I shake it off with ease.
"Okay, so that's four votes a piece; Four for Leshawna, and presumably four for me," I say with a slight glare at the musician, who doesn't seem all too affected by this sudden call-out, oddly enough, "which means there'd still need to be a major swing in who votes who to get this settled. Knowing Owen, he probably just voted off Heather because she was mean to him or something, but all that leaves is..." I trail off, attempting to lead Trent down the same pathway I did Duncan; Get him to realize Heather voted alongside me, send him off to go deal with Heather, and get him out of my hair, hopefully until the next bonfire ceremony, at the latest.
"It leaves Heather." Trent says, seeming to fall right into place...
"Line..."
...Until he cuts off my attempt at a response. "So, what did she offer you, then, Noah? A spot in her alliance? Safety from elimination? What did she bribe you with to keep her, or to keep you, from being eliminated?"
With the rather abrupt shift in tone from Trent, having him go from following along with my pathing to suddenly jumping to conclusions that Heather and I had worked together on the vote to get rid of Leshawna, "Not a WRONG conclusion, mind you...", I find myself reeling from the call-out, the feeling of my eyes widening beneath their shady covering making me all the more thankful I had brought these sunglasses along with me back to the island. Knowing that the jig might very well be up, I take a deep breath, trying to keep myself from shaking, and after shutting my eyes for a moment to reset them to their neutral state, I pull my glasses off and give as honest of a look to the musician as I can muster.
"...Okay, Trent, look," I start, pausing for a moment as his emerald eyes glare in my general direction, "I had to do what I had to do to stay alive in this game, okay?" I offer, trying to get him to see my side of things...and when he doesn't give a reply, I take it as a reason to continue speaking. "I will forever be adamant in saying that I wasn't using Duncan, that much you cannot and will not take away from me. However, with Heather..." Again I pause, having to choose my words carefully here, especially since for once, telling the truth on this matter seems to be the best pathway out of here.
"I was feeling desperate. I knew that, unlike Courtney, most people here...didn't exactly think of me as a fan favorite when it came to this show, so I felt like I was going to be on the outs. I found out about Duncan's vote pretty much on accident, so that covered four of the votes I needed, but when I realized I'd need more than that to stay alive, I..." I take a deep breath, trying not to let my expression crack any further than it already has. "I struck a deal with Heather. I'd vote with her in a future ceremony of her choosing if she and Lindsay voted Leshawna off." I explain, before then giving my own glare to Trent. "I get it, it was a foolish act of self-preservation, but don't you dare tell me that if you were in the same situation I was, with a hundred thousand dollars on the line, that you wouldn't try and pull the same thing!" I bark out, letting some anger out on the musician, but upon seeing his emerald eyes flash with indignation, it gives me pause; At first, I flinch back, expecting him to yell back at me over what I'd done...but after a few seconds, a look of recognition flashes on my face, as the realization dawns on me that his indignation...it isn't aimed at me.
"...I get it, Noah..." Trent seethes, taking a deep, albeit hollow, breath to try and calm his nerves. "You got played by Heather, just like everyone else has, but why did she want Bridgette gone?" He asks; At this, a light shines in my mind.
"Because..." I hesitate, making it seem as if I am just as unsure of my own words as I was before. "...Because Heather was mad at Bridgette for taking Gwen's side of the cabin rather than hers, okay? Everything else I said about her? About how her, Geoff, and DJ had that alliance? About her being kind, and athletic, and all that other stuff? That's what she wanted me to justify it as, in case other people asked me about it." I tell Trent, making it seem as though I am rambling more than I truly am with how fast the words come out of my mouth. "I swear, man, she was the one who wanted Bridgette gone! She secured all the votes, she told me what to tell the others if they asked, I didn't want her gone! I mean, not this early, anyhow, since I do want to win, and everyone would need to get eliminated at one point or another, but-"
"I get it, Noah." Trent states, indignation flashing once more...before he suddenly stands up, and I take a gulp of air, needing to check if this gambit of mine worked out.
"W-Where are you going, Trent?" I force myself to stammer, earning a glare from the musician before he turns his back to me.
"I'm going to go have a little chat with Bridgette. Take care of yourself, Noah." He curtly replies, and goes to walk off, leaving me alone with my book once more...and as I slip my sunglasses back over my eyes, a smile cracks on my face, as I watch the musician walk out of my line of sight.
"...And sinker..."
(Heather's POV)
...Letting the cabin door slam shut behind me, I take a breath to myself as I examine the room: No Gwen, no Courtney, no Lindsay...nobody here to disturb me. Thank God for that, because after yesterday...I need the time to relax.
Getting onto my bunk, I shake my head as the events of the day prior replay in my mind once more, and a scowl forms on my face because of it.
"...God, yesterday could NOT have been any more humiliating. I, Heather Lemieux, had to BEG for help...and from NOAH, of all people! Noah! That...that scrawny little dweeb, he FORCED me to...to join HIS alliance, just so I could stay in this game!"
"At least he had the decency to actually help me out..."
"But even still, I don't NEED help from other people! I've NEVER needed help from other people to get where I am now! God, it makes my stomach churn even THINKING about that nobody and him being so...so MOCKING of us, to force us into that position in the first place! God, it sounds so pathetic!"
"...It makes me FEEL so pathetic..."
Before my thoughts can go any further, a knock at the cabin door brings me back to the present moment, and with nobody else here unfortunately, that means I'm the one stuck answering whichever idiot it is on the other side.
"Maybe it's our oh-so-fearless leader swinging by to ask about where Courtney is again, in the hopes he can somehow get lucky enough to be her rebound guy?"
As I approach the door, though, I stop for a second as I see that Trent is on the other end; With my scowl deepening ever so slightly, I look away from him as I open the door, folding my arms in annoyance.
"Ugh, what do you want?" I ask, making it perfectly clear to Wonderwall here that I'm not exactly in the mood to listen to him right now.
However, fate seems to have a funny way to force me to listen, as Trent pushes me on the shoulder to get my attention turned his way.
"What I want is to understand what the Hell your problem is, Heather!" Trent yells out, taking me aback; This was...certainly new, but it didn't make him make any more sense than he already had.
"What my problem is?" I scoff, shoving him back. "You're the one who just shoved me! Like, if anyone here's got a problem, it's clearly you." I state, point blank, before looking to shut the door in his-
"No, the only problem I have is the fact you're still on the island right now! Everyone knows that you should have been voted off last night, not Bridgette!" Trent exclaims.
"Oh, we're still on about this?" I ask, my scowl deepening at this turn of the conversation. "News flash, Wonderwall, Bridgette was like, one of the strongest competitors left on the island! Her and Geoff were a couple, which we all know is just another term for an alliance, and it was either getting rid of her, or getting rid of you." I respond, prodding Trent in the chest for emphasis. "So really, you should be thankful I decided to cut you and the freaky goth girl a break after what happened between her and that convict on the dock."
"Oh, cut the crap, Heather!" Trent calls out, wiping the smirk that had formed on my face just a mere split-second earlier in an instant. "Just call it like it is; You got lucky that Noah was there to save you! I know it, Noah knows it, and you know it too, Heather! Stop acting so delusional that you're some grand empress of the island or whatever, because you're not! You're just some girl acting like a wanna-be popular girl who's gotten so deluded that you've convinced everyone else around you that this is who you are! But I know better than that, Heather, and some day, everyone else will, too!"
As soon as he is finished with his rant, Trent takes the door and slams it shut behind him, leaving me stood just behind the doorway, in utter shock over what I'd just heard.
"I...got lucky?"
Not even realizing I had asked this out loud, rather than in my own mind (not that it'd matter, given there's nobody else here), I manage to make my way back to my bunk, laying myself down as those words repeat over and over in my mind: "I got lucky...I got lucky...I got lucky..."
After a few repetitions of this, a rather intrusive thought comes to the forefront, and while I'd be all too happy to just ignore it, for whatever reason, it keeps sticking around, forcing me to face it head on.
"If...If I really did just get lucky this time around..."
"Which I DIDN'T, obviously."
"But...but if I DID get lucky...then..."
"Then it means Trent was just getting in my head before the next challenge...and it's clearly working."
"Well...even if that is true, then wouldn't it also mean that..."
"...Noah saved me?"
A/N: So, apologies for the delay on the chapter; Wound up hitting some writer's block part-way through writing this about a week and a half ago and just let it sit until I finally had the inspiration on how to get around the issue I was having. Hope people are enjoying the story thus far, and please remember to leave a favorite, follow the story for any future updates, and/or drop a review if you've got any thoughts on this that you want to share thus far! Until then, this is MrLeedles, signing off~!
REMAINING CONTESTANTS: Courtney, DJ, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Noah, Owen, Trent
ELIMINATED CONSTESTANTS: Ezekiel, Eva, Justin, Katie, Tyler, Izzy, Cody, Beth, Sadie, Harold, Leshawna, Duncan