"I'm telling you!" Tyler insisted, "The guy was like seven feet tall!"
DJ rolled his eyes in amusement. "And you just so happened to win the game anyways? Even with half the linemen bigger than me and faster than Owen after he smells breakfast?"
Tyler nodded rapidly, Lindsay giggling along beside him. "Yes!" He shouted proudly, "I'm the starting quarterback for my high school's varsity team for a reason! I'm good for those kinds of plays. I'm definitely going pro after college! The CFL will be lucky to have me!"
"The CFL?" Cody interjected, raising an eyebrow. "Wouldn't you rather play in the NFL?"
"Maybe! But I'm a proud Canadian!" Tyler raised a fist to the air. "I'll bring pride to the CFL and make the States recognize Canada as equals in the sport of football - er, the gridiron football!"
"I don't think a single person could raise an entire sports league that high," Bridgette commented offhandedly as she polished her surfboard, "And you'd probably make a lot more money in the NFL if you got there, y'know?"
"It's, like, not about the money though," Lindsay giggled, "It's about the… uh… principle, right Tyler?"
"Yeah!" Tyler crowed, "Lindsay gets it!"
He wrapped an arm around his girlfriend tightly, pulling her in close and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek in appreciation.
DJ sighed fondly and Bridgette chuckled at the couple, while Cody looked away from the somewhat intimate moment. He certainly was happy for the duo, but it was weird seeing them so happy so often now. It certainly helped that Tyler had stuck around for much longer than last time, and therefore had copious time to strengthen their relationship.
Also, he was a little jealous. Only a little though! He really was happy for them.
They were all camped outside the former Bass cabin, now the Guys' cabin, sitting along the steps or hanging off the railing of the porch. They were a somewhat odd group (and DJ and Tyler had been pretty insistent that Cody and Bridgette could hang out with them), but it was nice to just sit back and talk with some of his friends.
Did they consider him a friend? He knew Bridgette did - they were pretty close again, probably the closest two on the island outside of the remaining couples - and Lindsay was pretty nice to him in general, but what about Tyler and DJ? He had spent some time with both of them, but he couldn't help but get an odd vibe from the jock sometimes. DJ had also been somewhat awkward around him recently, which was weird, but it wasn't like there was anything he could do but hope they liked him.
"Anyways, do you guys watch the NFL?" DJ questioned, "I'm not the biggest fan myself, but have you seen some of the moves the Patriots have been doing lately? I really think… that… uh…"
Cody couldn't blame DJ for trailing off awkwardly, what with Heather of all people walking up to them - her scowl doing all the talking for her.
"Hi Heather!" Lindsay greeted happily, taking one hand away from Tyler to wave at her.
Heather ignored her, shifting her gaze towards Cody.
He fidgeted a little, but only because there were so many people around them. He'd grown accustomed to Heather's antics a long time ago.
"Um, can we help you?" Bridgette tried politely, ever the diplomat.
"I need to -" Heather cut herself off sharply as she spoke, her scowl deepening as she pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled. "I would like to speak with Cody, privately."
Tyler and DJ gave Heather a weird look, and the rest of them weren't that far behind. Cody wasn't too shocked at her attempt to be polite, but it was still weird that she was adhering to their deal.
Maybe she was changing…
That thought brought a small smile to Cody's face.
"Sure," He finally said, hopping up to his feet with a carefree shrug, "I'll see you guys in a bit?"
"We'll be here!" Bridgette confirmed, DJ nodding along silently.
Tyler and Lindsay shared a weird look, with Lindsay giving her boyfriend an 'I-told-you-so' kind of smirk.
"So what's up?" Cody asked, coming to a stop in front of the queen bee.
"Did you not hear me when I said in private?" Heather hissed, voice low as she grabbed him by the wrist and started dragging him away from the group.
Cody put up zero fight, and was more or less content to get led away by his almost-friend.
Until Tyler decided to open his mouth.
"Don't have too much fun now, you two!" He jeered, snickering at the way the two of them froze like deer in headlights. Lindsay giggled along airily, and something told Cody she didn't really understand what Tyler was insinuating.
Cody tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't help the small amount of blood that rushed to his face. He still took it better than Heather, who looked like she had just sucked on a lemon.
Bridgette looked between the two of them, slightly confused - Cody had explicitly told her that they weren't a thing, but Heather looked like she got caught pretty off guard. DJ just looked away and coughed into his fist awkwardly, trying not to pile onto the tension.
"Ugh!" Heather shouted, more than a little pissed, "Let's just go!"
And with that, she latched onto Cody's wrist once more, hurriedly dragging him away to where there would be no prying eyes.
"So…" Tyler began slowly, glancing around at the remaining teens, "What're the odds on them making out?"
Bridgette shook her head at the jock, exasperated. "It wasn't exactly nice to call them out like that, you know. Besides, Cody told me that they weren't even a couple! Whoever's spreading these rumors really doesn't know what they're talking about."
"Can you blame me?" Tyler shot back defensively, "Heather's been nothing but a bitch to us all summer. It's only fair that we get to make her sweat a little from time to time! Did you see the look on her face?"
"Yeah," DJ chimed in, "It's just a little fun, Bridgette. Besides, Tyler's right, Heather does kind of have it coming most of the time."
Bridgette just sighed, eyes lingering on where Cody and Heather were walking away from. "It's not Heather I care about getting laughed at."
DJ patted her back reassuringly. "Think of it this way, Bridgette," he tried, "At worst, Heather is gonna be all snooty and rude to Cody, and he won't take that kind of treatment and nothing will happen. We don't even know why she wanted to talk with him."
She wasn't convinced. "And at best?"
"Well, maybe he'll break through to her somehow." DJ shrugged. "Besides, they might make a cute couple."
Tyler gagged at the thought of Heather dating anyone. He pitied the poor bastard that ended up falling for her of all people.
–
"We need to talk."
Cody raised an eyebrow. "You could've fooled me!" He joked, "I thought you were taking me to go play darts."
Heather silenced him with a sharp look. "It's getting to the point where we need to start focusing more on our strategy."
"Our?" Cody repeated quietly, low enough that Heather missed it.
"People might not be very open or obvious about it, but alliances other than mine are forming," she continued, "And I can't let that happen."
"Whoa, slow down!" Cody interjected, "Who said I was a part of your alliance?"
Heather's frown intensified. "You want to win, don't you? Working with me is your best chance to make it to the finale."
"I've told you I don't really care about winning, haven't I?" He tried.
"And I've told you that you are insane to do anything other than go for the win now!" Heather reminded, "What, you're gonna try and coast for the rest of the competition just like that? 'Oh, everyone here is too nice, there's no way they'd vote me out!' Did you forget that Chris told us there'd be a jury for the finale? Do you think people wouldn't vote you off just because you're friends with anyone and a shoo-in to win if you get there?"
She shook her head. "Wake up, Cody. You're one of the biggest threats left in the game, and anyone with an IQ above room temperature can recognize that. If you don't want to win, then fine. But you definitely want to stay and keep being chummy with everyone, yeah?"
Cody paused. She was right in a way, all things considered. Geoff had been booted out of the final six last time around in a manner similar to how she's describing, but people wouldn't vote him out like that, would they?
Heather smirked. She knew she won him over the moment she mentioned getting voted out. A fear of being ostracized had been one of the only things she found that was able to frighten Cody.
"So work with me!" She ordered, "Together, there is no way the rest of these losers can hold a candle to us! We'll destroy them!"
"I…" he tried weakly, "I don't know about destroying them, Heather. They're our friends!"
Heather wrinkled her nose. "Where's your fire? Your drive? Where's the guy who tied up the phobia challenge by spending five minutes in hell with a psycho-fangirl? Where's the guy who was willing to eat the most vile dredges Chef could find in his kitchen? Where's the guy who was seconds away from passing out during army training and found it in him to pull himself together and win the challenge?"
She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts, before reopening her mouth for one last line. "And stop saying 'our' friends! None of those people are my friends!"
Cody was too deep in thought to offer her a rebuke at her abrasiveness. He didn't know how Heather knew, but he had been a tiny bit untrue to himself up until this point.
Cody did want to win. He wanted to win Island, he wanted to win Action, and he really wanted to win World Tour. He knew there were more important things than winning though - and helping his friends from being harmed by each other, the show, and themselves was bigger than him winning.
But damn, if Heather didn't know just what made him tick.
Besides, he did have to try and keep her in the game - at least long enough to get her head shaved and deserved humbling.
If Heather winning was the outcome of Total Drama Island, he may as well have never gone back in time in the first place. The results would be disastrous.
"Alright, fine," he relented, "I'll work with you. For now."
Heather nodded. "Good! First up, let's be open with each other. Lindsay is completely under my thumb, and Izzy isn't far behind. I know you and Bridgette are close, so you should have her vote in your pocket, right?"
Cody winced, already not liking how Heather was speaking about their fellow competitors. "You really should be nicer to Lindsay, the girl thinks you and her are best friends. But, uh, yeah," he added as an afterthought, "I could probably get Bridgette to vote with me if I had to."
"If Lindsay thinks that we're friends that's on her," Heather explained, "I treat her terribly, and she should have gotten it through her thick skull that we are only alliance partners and nothing else."
"Don't even try that," Cody shot back. "You're aware that you treat her horribly, but I know you pretend to be nice to her sometimes. The way you treat her is awful - do you not remember our deal?"
Heather looked pissed, clearly unhappy with the direction the conversation was going. "You're still on about that?" She whined, "That was weeks ago!"
"It's an ongoing arrangement," Cody reminded, "And Lindsay is the most important person you should at least try and be nice too, got it?"
Heather looked like she wanted to kill Cody again, but swallowed her pride and nodded. "Fine! Happy?"
"A little," Cody agreed. "I hope you change your mind on her."
w
"Doubt it," Heather sneered, "But since you're asking for so much from me, I think it's only fair that I get something in return."
He cocked an eyebrow. "And what could you possibly want from me?"
"Nothing much," Heather said simply, "Just the right to choose who we vote out next challenge."
"Depends on who you want to vote off," Cody said suspiciously, "I'm not going to vote for one of my friends if that's what you -"
"Oh my God," Heather groaned, cutting him off, "You consider everyone here your friend!"
Cody blushed, actually embarrassed at being called out like that. "T-touché."
Heather sighed. "Look, it's not gonna be Bridgette or DJ or weird goth girl - who you really should steer clear of, by the way - or someone you're actually close to, got it?" She said, "It will be someone who isn't close to either of us and is a threat to our chances of making it to the finale, alright? Just trust me on this."
Just trust me on this. Cody could have laughed. In what world would he ever trust Heather before she learned to be human?
This one, apparently.
"Alright, fine," Cody relented, "Do you have anybody in might right now?"
Heather giggled. "Oh, I have a few people in mind! But don't worry," she soothed, "I'm sure I'll make a decision by tomorrow's campfire ceremony!"
He did not appreciate the dark glint in her eyes as she spoke.
What had he gotten himself into?
–
Whatever it was that Chris used to wake Cody - his sleep schedule had finally started to revert back to what it had been in his mid-teens - and the rest of the campers up, it certainly sounded like a canon.
And based on the sound of an explosion going off shortly after, it probably was a canon.
You couldn't ever get complacent here, that was for sure.
Cody rubbed his eyes tiredly as he walked out onto the porch of the cabin, shivering slightly at the crisp morning air. Even his scarf (which he had forgotten about over the past few weeks) wasn't enough to fully protect him from the slight chill.
"Yargh, maties!" Chris shouted through his megaphone, doing his best attempt at a pirate impersonation, "Meet me at the amphitheater in five minutes, and I'll tell you about today's challenge!"
The host certainly looked the part of a pirate, but the accent could definitely use some work.
Not long after, DJ walked out onto the deck behind him, yawning loud enough to alert Cody of his presence.
"What do you think he'll have us do today?" He asked, leaning down onto the railing as they watched the girls begin their morning ritual of shouting at each other.
"No clue," Cody answered coolly, shrugging his shoulders, "I guess we'll have to 'find' out, huh?"
Cody gave himself a pat on the back for that one - just because he wasn't going to reveal to anyone that he was a time traveler didn't mean he couldn't have a little bit of fun sometimes.
Besides, DJ was none the wiser, just nodding along as the pair watched someone (probably Leshawna) throw a makeup kit through one of the Girls cabin's windows.
"Should we break them up?" DJ asked, perturbed and somewhat worried.
He shook his head. "If you want to get between that, be my guest!" He elbowed the gentle giant, laughed slightly as DJ shuddered at his words, "But if you value your life, I'd suggest we get going, yeah?"
"Y-yeah!" DJ agreed, "Let's do that! I-I'm sure they have everything under control over there!"
Neither of them looked back as the shouting slowly turned into screaming - they valued their lives (and their manhood) far too much to dare to intervene.
–
It wasn't a long walk to the amphitheater by any stretch of the imagination. In no time at all the two of them were sitting in the bleachers along with the rest of the campers, staring up at Chris and Chef Hatchet dolled up in pirate outfits with a white tarp between them.
Cody wasn't worried about the challenge, even though he knew he couldn't say the same for his competitors. Hunting for a key wouldn't be so bad, unless he got one of the bad ones.
He really wasn't up for stealing from a bear.
"Well, my little scallywags," Chris drawled, trying his best to lower his voice, "Have we got an adventure in store for ye!"
He raised his hands dramatically, causing the fake parrot on his shoulder to teeter over. The host tried to sit it back up quickly, but it was too late to hide.
"What's with the tarp?" Tyler asked.
"All in good time, laddie!" Chris continued, "Who here has a hankering for a good old-fashioned treasure hunt?"
Gwen groaned, rolling her eyes all the while.
"Now, this treasure hunt's got a twist, mateys!" Chris explained, "What you're looking for isn't hidden, and it isn't treasure!"
"If there's no treasure then what's with the eyepatch and the plastic parrot?" Duncan questioned, slouching forward lazily. Courtney quickly hit him on the back of the head, causing him to immediately straighten up (albeit with a dirty look shot his girlfriend's way).
"Argh, shiver me timbers! Good question, me boy!" Chris threw the fake parrot off his shoulder in the middle of his tirade, clearly no longer caring about keeping up the poor charade. "You're looking for keys… to a treasure chest!"
On cue, Chef ripped the sheet covering whatever was on stage off, revealing a handful of shiny treasure chests. "Inside each of these chests is a treasure that will pamper you landlubbers! And, one of these chests will even give you invincibility!"
That got some people's attention, eyes glimmering at the prospect of making sure they got to stay through one more bonfire ceremony.
And arguably more importantly, making sure a target of their choosing wouldn't have that same protection.
Chris laughed, still somehow using that ghastly pirate impression. "Now, come 'round and pull a clue out of this bucket, or you'll have to walk the plank!"
He continued to talk, even as everyone made their way onto the stage and picked up a clue. "These clues will tell ye where your key be stowed!"
"What?!" Courtney shrieked, "A b-bear?!"
Chris snickered, dropping the accent for a second as he took a look at Courtney's (and the others') hints. "I was hoping you'd get that one. Heather, Chef's fridge, nice! I hear he brushes it daily for fingerprints!"
Cody gave his own clue a weird look, unsure exactly what it meant. It showed a key inside what looked like submerged in a pot or a cauldron of some kind, but he didn't remember anyone having -
"Ah, Codester!" Chris interrupted, patting him on the shoulder. "That there is the septic tank! For the washrooms!"
He dropped the piece of wood in disgust immediately. "Can I opt out?"
"We were thinking some of you might want to do that!" Chris chuckled, "So we decided that you have to at least make an attempt to get your key. Otherwise, the Boat of Losers will be holding some extra passengers tonight, clear?"
Cody deadpanned. "Crystal."
"Great! Now," Chris finished, reattaching the accent, "All you scallywags! Go find your keys, and bring them back by 6 P.M., Eastern Standard Time to open up the chest and get your loot! Fare the well, young scallywags - now get to it!"
—
Confessional: Heather
"Ugh, I don't know who came up with these lame-o challenges," she whined, "And memo to Chris, those pirate tights to not exactly flatter your legs, savvy?"
—
Confessional: Courtney
"How is this fair?!" She groused, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation, "I've seen some of the challenges the others have to do - DJ has to climb a tree, Lindsay has to go bother some bees, and all Heather has to do is dig around in Chef's fridge! What is this?!"
—
Cody stared down at the toilet in front of him in disgust. He knew what Geoff had to do to get his key last time around, and that was not an option for him. Cody wasn't a germaphobe by any means, but there was a big difference between being afraid of dirt and swimming in a septic tank.
Did Chris think he was funny when he gave him a snorkel?
Okay, it kind of was. It was just much less amusing when he was the one who had to deal with it.
But yeah, no. He wasn't swimming through literal shit to get some deodorant.
What other option did he have though? He wasn't going to call it quits here, even if Heather hadn't given him that pep talk he wasn't willing to just give up over this.
Well, what goes down has to come up somehow…
"What're you up to?"
Cody turned in surprise at the voice, only to get a face full of… piercings and dye?
"Uh, hey Duncan," Cody offered, giving the delinquent a cautious look, "You ok? You look a little crispy."
Duncan wrinkled his nose at the reminder, eyeing the slight burn marks on his shirt with distaste. "Don't remind me. At least I don't have to take a dive through a toilet!"
"Yeah, don't remind me please." Cody sighed. "There's gotta be a way for me to not have to actually… ugh! This is horrible."
Duncan smirked, clapping Cody on the back as he leant down towards the filthy toilet. "Well, today must be your lucky day!"
Cody stared at the punk like he had three heads. "You think?" He responded sarcastically, "What gave you that impression?"
Duncan rolled his eyes at the geek. "You should be thankful I'm even deciding to help you, you know. I could be putting my skills to use for literally anyone else, and instead I'm here in the communal bathrooms about to reverse a toilet for you."
"You can do that?" Cody asked in awe, "What kind of stuff are they teaching you in juvie?"
He snorted. "Whatever they felt like."
Duncan got up close and personal with the toilet, taking the top off the back and getting right to work on messing with it. "It's a great way to cause a distraction, y'know?"
"Distraction for what?" Cody inquired.
"Whatever I needed!" Duncan laughed, replacing the top and starting to loosen up some of the pipes. "Whether it was so I could steal food from the cafeteria, get one of my knives back from contraband, or give someone else time to hide stuff, it always worked like a charm! No one wanted the bathrooms to flood, after all."
With a final kick to the pipes, Duncan stood up and dusted his hands off. "You might want to head outside for a sec," he warned, chuckling all the while, "This could get ugly."
He didn't need to tell Cody twice. One second later and he was gone, patiently waiting for Duncan to finish… whatever he was doing.
Cody hoped that he didn't actually flood the bathroom - having to use the confessional for a few days definitely wouldn't be worth some deodorant.
A roar echoed from inside the communal bathrooms, and before Cody could blink Duncan was outside with him, thankfully clean and with a key in hand. He tossed the thing to Cody, who was smart enough to avoid actually touching it, letting it fall to the grass lamely.
"There ya go, squirt!" Duncan said, wiping his hands off on his shirt as a low rumble began to emit from the bathroom again, "We might wanna get outta here before Chris shows up."
Cody looked at Duncan weirdly. "Thanks," he said gratefully before narrowing his eyes slightly, "But what's the catch?"
Duncan gave him a weird look. "What makes you think there's a catch?" He whistled innocently, which only served to confirm Cody's suspicions. "Can't a guy just help out his fellow competitor when he needs it? Prevent him from embarrassing himself on national television?"
"They can," he admitted, "But not you."
Duncan smirked. "Catch on fast, do ya? You're as smart as everyone says, I'll give you that."
"So what do you want?" Cody repeated, unconsciously clenching his fists. He forgot about how much he hated this guy.
"Right now? Nothing. Just consider this a freebie if you will, yeah? A helping hand from one man to another." Duncan responded coolly, which only served to put Cody even more on edge. "We guys should stick together after all, with the way the girls have been picking us off. Hard to trust any of them, honestly - I wouldn't be surprised if they were gunning for one of us tonight!"
That line of thinking threw him for a loop. Mostly because Duncan was, for all his connivery and deceit, was right - and he was being honest with Cody. Next challenge was where he'd formed the Guys Alliance last time around, and that was with only four guys left in the game.
What kind of plans was he making now, when they could be down 7-3 by the next challenge? Duncan was smart and wanted to win the game - a dangerous combination that guaranteed he'd have a plan for whatever came his way.
What if he was the one Heather was gunning for tonight?
"Alright," Cody agreed, "Sure. Thanks for the assist, Duncan."
Duncan flashed him a toothy smile. "No problem, friend."
As Duncan turned on his heel and walked away, Cody could only cringe at the thought of being friends with such a douchebag. Just the way he said the word sent shudders down his spine.
He looked down at his key, and then turned back towards the bathroom, where he could see water slowly seeping out from under the door.
At that moment Cody decided he could think about all this stuff later. Right now, it was time to go turn his key in and end this stupid challenge.
…and maybe wash it off in the lake before he touched it. He could smell the crap on it from here.
—
Confessional: Duncan
He twirled his key lazily in his hand as he sprawled out atop the confessional seat, eyeing the camera lazily. "Cody's not an idiot," he explained, "He knows just as well as I do that the guys are on the downswing here, and that we need to do something about it."
"Unfortunately, he also knows better than to just blindly trust me." Duncan rolled his eyes at that, as if dealing with all this was beneath him. "So I had to get my hands a little dirty. So what? It's a small price to pay to convince him of my good intentions, especially since if I get Cody on my side, Bridgette will be on board too. Between those two, Courtney, and DJ, I'll have this game in the bag!"
He suddenly stopped twirling his key around, sitting back upright as he turned his nose up as if he smelt something foul. "If only Tyler wasn't such a liability. If it weren't for his IQ resetting every time he talked to Lindsay, he'd actually be useful!"
—
"Hey guys!" Izzy called, being the last member of the group to arrive at the bonfire pit, "What's up?"
"Izzy," Duncan snorted, "You've got a snake on your head."
Izzy waved him off. "I know, but don't worry!" She reassured, "He's friendly!"
The snake (which was also coiled around her torso) seemed to take offense to that statement, choosing to take the time to bite down on Izzy's head again.
"See?" Izzy asked as most of the other competitors gasped, "Kisses!"
Cody could only look on in concern and mild fear with the rest of the teens as she collapsed onto the ground, the snake finally slithering away from her unconscious body.
Well, most of the rest of them. Lindsay looked strangely apathetic to the whole situation, staring down at the ground so sadly Cody thought she might burst into tears at any moment.
What was that about?
"Should we get her to a medic?" Courtney asked, raising a hand to her mouth in concern.
Chef appeared out of nowhere the moment the words left Courtney's mouth, sighing all the while. "I got it."
"Yargh, it be time to claim your treasure!" Chris exclaimed, ignoring the whole Izzy situation, "Those fortunate enough to bear a precious key, come forth with it!"
Duncan rushed forward, key in hand as he curiously opened his chest to find…
A chocolate bar and a bag of chips.
"Is this the best you can do?" He questioned incredulously, looking towards Chris.
"And my key isn't even working!" Courtney (who, on a side note, was covered in fur and slight scratches) cried, "What's with this stupid challenge?!"
"Oh yeah," Chris chuckled, "I forgot to mention that some of the keys don't open up any chests!"
"WHAT?!"
It took Duncan, DJ, Tyler, and Bridgette to hold Courtney back from lunging at Chris, who seemed to merely be amused by her Eva impression.
"I fought a bear for this key, and I don't even win anything?!" She snarled, nearly breaking free from their combined hold, "This is so unfair!"
Chris rolled his eyes. "It's always fair this, unfair that with you, isn't it?" He questioned, "Maybe you just need to learn that life isn't always fair, kiddo!"
Courtney just continued to struggle against the people holding her back, desperate to get to Chris and tear him a new one.
Suffice to say that if looks could kill, Chris would certainly be six feet under by now.
"Oh, look!" Heather exclaimed, briefly distracting everyone from the fact that Courtney was ready to commit murder on live TV, "An invincibility pass! Lucky me!"
Courtney screamed.
—
Confessional: Duncan
"Sometimes," he said, smirking, "Sometimes that girl really gets me going!"
He howled like a wolf.
—
Cody just tuned it out as he opened his treasure chest, revealing a single can of body spray.
"Wow," he said drily, "Cologne. Woo-hoo."
Chris shrugged, finally turning away from the ticking time-bomb next to him. "Well, it was supposed to be used to help cover up all the stank from the septic tank, but you were able to somehow stay dry!" He explained happily, "Codester, care to tell the viewing audience at home just what kind of magic trick you pulled to get your key?"
He faked a shudder. "I-I'd rather not," he lied.
"Suit yourself!" Chris said flippantly, either believing Cody or not caring enough to press him on it.
Knowing the host, it was likely the latter.
Oh well. It wasn't any skin off his back. Unless nobody decided to fix the washrooms.
Then he might have a problem.
–
"I hope everyone got the treasure they were looking for, and more!" Chris exclaimed, "But now, it's time to do your duty and send one of you off the island for good. So cast your votes… and I'll see you buccaneers back at the campfire after sundown! Argh!"
For some reason, he slipped back into the pirate accent midway through his spiel again, which only hastened Cody's departure from the group.
If he never heard Chris McLean's pirate impression again, it would be too soon.
"Cody!"
The geek paused as someone called out to him, a relaxed smile on his face as he turned to see Bridgette walking towards him.
"Hey Bridgette," he greeted, "What's up?"
"Oh, you know," Bridgette replied easily, "The usual. The girls have been trying to kill each other for like three days straight now, but I'm sure you've been able to figure that out yourself."
Cody sighed. "Yeah, if the way they were looking at each other didn't clue me in, the noise from your cabin at every time at night kinda did."
She winced. "That bad, huh?"
"Meh," Cody shrugged, "Moreso for the rest of the guys. I can sleep through some shouting, but now I know for a fact that DJ can not."
Bridgette giggled, and the two of them fell into a comfortable silence for a moment.
"Can I ask you something?" Bridgette whispered after a few seconds, "Um, in private?"
Cody blinked in surprise, but nodded along nonetheless. "Sure, walk with me?"
Bridgette nodded eagerly, and the duo began to move even further away from the campfire area (and all the prying eyes that had been watching them as well).
Heather tsked silently as they left her range of hearing. She hated being left in the dark about these things.
–
"So," Cody asked, turning towards Bridgette once they were a decent ways away from everyone, "What's going on?"
Bridgette looked away. "Um, well…" She began awkwardly, "How do I put this…"
Cody raised an eyebrow, but remained silent, unwilling to interrupt Bridgette in whatever she was doing.
She sighed, and finally turned back towards him. "I don't know if there's a right or wrong way to say this, but I just wanted to know if we could form an alliance?"
He froze like a deer in headlights at Bridgette's proposal.
This was… not what he expected.
"I don't know if you're already in one or not," Bridgette continued, "But I just don't really trust anyone else right now aside from maybe DJ, and even then I think he's in kahoots with Duncan right now. The girls are ready to tear each other apart and I just don't know who to turn to and -"
"Bridgette." Cody cut through her ramblings with two hands on her shoulders, locking eyes with her and forcing her attention back on him. "Breathe."
She did as instructed, taking a deep breath and slouching back down. "Thanks, sorry about that."
Cody cracked a smile. "Don't worry about it. I've had my fair share of panic over this game, you're not alone."
Bridgette nodded along, still slightly embarrassed. "So, um, yeah. Would you maybe be interested in working together…?"
"Absolutely!" Cody said without a second thought. "I'd be happy to work with someone I actually trust, you know?"
Bridgette sagged in relief. "Thank goodness!" She groaned, "I didn't want to sound like I wanted to win so badly I was going to use alliances or anything, but since I've come so far I can't just give up, you know?"
Cody nodded in agreement, thinking back to his and Heather's little talk they had the other day. "Yeah, I completely understand."
Oh yeah, Heather. He was pretty pissed at her after she told him who she wanted to vote out tonight, but there wasn't anything he could do about it now except go along with it - he'd confront her after the vote (and maybe even during the vote depending on certain people's reactions), but he'd given her his word. Tonight, she had his vote.
And that meant she had Bridgette's vote tonight now as well.
"Okay," Cody began, "Well, we can talk strategy later, but for now we have to go and vote someone out."
Bridgette nodded. "Alright, did you have someone in mind?"
He sighed through his nose. "Unfortunately, I do."
Sorry, Lindsay.
—
Confessional: Heather
"I'm really getting into this game!" She idly picked at her nails as she spoke, as though she didn't have a care in the world. "I can play these losers like a violin! And Cody? Piece of cake!"
—
Confessional: Bridgette
"I'm really glad Cody was willing to work together with me," she admitted, "I don't want to make it seem like I'm only here for the money now, but if I just keep on coasting along trying to keep everyone from killing each other, it could be me next!"
She sighed. "At least I know we should be safe tonight, but after that? Who knows who'll be sent home next!"
—
"And now," Chris began, "The moment we've all been waiting for. The moment of truth… Marshmallow time! You know the routine, whoever doesn't get a marshmallow, it's curtains for you!"
He made a big showing of slowly choosing who to send out the first marshmallows to, but Cody didn't buy into the worry most of the other campers were showing.
He just wanted this vote to be over.
"Heather, Cody, Gwen, Leshawna, Courtney, Bridgette, DJ, Duncan, and Izzy!" Chris shouted, flinging marshmallows to each person as he called their names, "Marshmallows for the lot of ya!"
Tyler froze, looking around the campfire in confusion as he realized that only one marshmallow was left on Chris's plate. "Wait, what?"
Lindsay didn't say anything, only able to continue to stare despondently at the ground like she had been for the past few hours.
"Tyler, Lindsay!" Chris called, "Who's ready to walk the Dock of Shame?"
"You guys voted out Lindsay?" Tyler asked in disbelief, looking around at the other nine teenagers, "No way!"
"No way is right, Tyler!" Chris interrupted, "Because they didn't vote Lindsay out. They voted you out!"
…
"Huh?" Tyler asked, dumbfounded. "Me?"
Chris nodded as he tossed the final marshmallow at Lindsay, snickering as it bounced off her head. "Yep! Sorry you had to find out this way, dude."
He turned towards Duncan in shock. "You guys voted me out?!"
Duncan shook his head, a somewhat surprised look on the delinquent's face. "Don't look at me, man. If I were you I'd check with your girlfriend who can't even look you in the eye."
"No…" Tyler gasped, looking towards Lindsay in disbelief, "There's no way you voted for me, right?!"
Lindsay refused to meet his eyes, body shaking as tears threatened to fall from her face. "I-I…"
"Ah-ah-ah!" Heather interrupted, "We shouldn't be discussing how the votes went down right now! After all, Tyler here has an appointment with the Dock of Shame, does he not?"
Chris nodded. "Correctamundo, Heather! Tyler, you've got a hot date with the Boat of Losers, let's get a move on!"
Just like that, all the fight in Tyler's eyes died as he realized the gravity of the situation. He stood up silently, slouching forward as he hurried to escape the prying eyes of the rest of the cast.
"Tyler!" Lindsay cried, finally regaining control of herself as she chased after him, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Tyler ignored her pleas, and all they did was encourage him to make it to the Boat of Losers quicker. Once Lindsay realized that her efforts were in vain, she collapsed in on herself, falling to the ground lamely as the tears began to flow freely.
Cody narrowed his eyes at Heather, who had already begun to make her way over to Lindsay and 'comfort' the distraught girl. So that was what she was planning this whole time, huh?
That was the final straw for him. No more playing nice with Heather. She may have been the one to inspire him to compete to win, but he would make damned sure that that was her greatest mistake. He offered her chance after chance to better herself, and she took that kindness and threw it back into his, Lindsay's, and everybody else's face.
She wasn't going to get away with this one. Cody wouldn't let her.
–
A/N: Yeah, been a while again lol. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to write, but then sometimes I get the urge to write a whole chapter out in two days like I did with this one. Semester will be over in about a month, so after that stuff should come out a lot more often.
But onto the chapter! Cody and Heather's partnership was rather… short, wasn't it? Tyler got the boot, and Lindsay voted for him for some reason - a reason that will be explained in more detail next time, as usual! But why did Heather throw away a potential ally? Why was this the straw that broke Cody's back? And will Bridgette and Cody make it to the end and bring us a friendship finale? Tune in to find out!
Tell me what you think of the chapter! Been some time since the last one, so I'm curious to see how you guys think it stacks up with the last few.
Hope you enjoyed! Make sure to review!
P.S. I'm kinda sending this one out without really reviewing it for errors, so if it's rough, let me know and I'll go through and correct it - just wanted to get it out tonight, so sorry in advance haha.