The Sand Witch Project
POV. Third person
Chris begins the narration, "last time, on Total Drama Action. A girl with vision," he said as she showed LeShawna, "vision that took her past everyday thinking. But when the chips were down, and even when the chips came back up again, she was the only one who could rescue them. Searching for a cure for the disease afflicting her dearest friends. A challenge was won, a cure found, but will her betrayal…", Chris is sitting in the gallery of the awards, "gross disease movies make me crave a little corn, but it's time to put the snacks away, kiddies", now Chris is in the rest area, "because after this totally terrifying episode, there won't be a stomach left unturned."
*Growl*
The latrine next to Chris made noise, disgusting the presenter a bit.
"Hold on to your buckets, it's time for some TOTAL... DRAMA... ACTION!"
-0-
POV. Cody
Duncan and Justin kicked a ball at each other, DJ slept in between them. This was one of those rare times when no one was fighting, we were just scattered around doing our own thing.
"Heck, why do I keep losing?" said Trent, who was playing cards with Gwen, Harold and LeShawna.
"Maybe why do you always try to collect all the cards with the number nine?" Gwen teased him.
"Uh, you're not going to let me forget that, are you?"
"Not anytime soon."
It looks like they've gotten over their breakup and are now trying to be friends again, that's good. Last time everyone teased Gwen about it. I know she's not one to make good decisions, but this program did take care of throwing it in her face.
"Don't you love this LeShawna? You, me, the cards, let me show you my amazing card shuffling skills," Harold said, he was taking advantage of the situation to get closer to LeShawna, but from the way she rolled her eyes I don't think she was falling for it.
"Come on Butchie, play dead," Izzy and I were sitting at my trailer's doorstep, she was trying to teach the prairie dog some tricks. But he just folded his arms and ignored her, I think he doesn't really like Izzy that much.
"So how about... Oh, I know, military drag," she said as she offered him a peanut, but the gopher just rolled his eyes and slapped the peanut away.
Izzy looked at me with some resentment, "it's not fair, how do you make it look so easy?" she asked, "you don't even speak their language."
"Hahaha, honestly... I don't know, I just thought they could understand me, so I started talking to them that way with that in mind, and all of a sudden, I felt like they didn't just understand me... but they also wanted me to understand them," it's a pretty weird feeling, like something you know you can do, but you don't know how.
Izzy looked at me questioningly as she cocked her head, "you're so weird."
The truth is that I'm quite weird in a slightly different way now, but when you live everything that I went through, it's hard to worry about that, I guess for others it's strange from their point of view.
"Are you worried that it's too weird?"
She shook her head, "It makes me envious, because you're always doing amazing things."
"Says the eighth most wanted person by the army", for me Izzy is the most incredible person I've ever met, without question, even if sometimes she is a danger to herself or those around her.
"Hahahahaha, Izzy has her own thing too," she said more animated now.
I grabbed one of the DJ sandwiches, "maybe he'll listen to you if you give him the right motivation," I told my girlfriend.
She took the sandwich and knelt near the gopher, "Hi Butchie, I know our relationship didn't start off on the right foot, and I pretty much stole your position in the burrow, but now we're on the surface and I'd like us to get along, so... Would you accept this peace offering?" she said as she offered him the sandwich.
He sniffed it and it looks like he wanted to try it, but his pride wouldn't let him, he reminds me a bit of Heather.
In the end he accepted the sandwich, but reluctantly, "squeal, squeal, squeal (I'll take it, but don't think that will make me forget that you stole my place in the burrow, you better sleep with one eye open, comrade)."
"Aw, I love you too, my friend," Izzy said.
"I don't think he said that," I said, looking at the little prairie dog.
"Of course he did," Izzy said with conviction as she looked at me, behind her Butchie shook his head, I guessed it. Out of nowhere Izzy became serious, "...You know? A few days ago, I told Heather that I like her romantically", I widened my eyes, the prairie dog raised an eyebrow without understanding, "I meant it... I think, at some point... Izzy started liking girls," she said reflectively.
... well, this adds to the long list of things Izzy says that leaves you thinking, and like all the other things on that list, the first step to moving forward is talking.
"So... Does that mean you don't like boys anymore?" I asked, not quite sure if it was the right question.
Izzy got up and took my cheeks, then planted a kiss on my lips, then pulled away and put her forehead against mine, "I don't know, but I do know that I liked doing that, so Izzy still likes Cody, and that's what matters most to me," she said happily.
I smiled too, "then I think it's all right," I replied, "... If you feel lost or have doubts about something about this new stage of you, you can talk about it with me, I don't know if it would be helpful... but at least you won't feel alone trying to figure it out," I know all too well how hard it is to try to fix everything yourself.
She kissed me again, "now I know why I still like Cody," she said humorously.
"I thought it was because I'm crazy and I talk to animals."
"That too," she continued with our kiss.
Butchie rolled his eyes, "squealing (horny apes)", at least I have a partner, buddy.
-0-
POV. Lindsay
"It's good to be able to talk to you my friend," I said to Beth as I fixed her hair.
"Thank you for fixing my hair," she said.
We haven't had many opportunities to interact, but right now everyone seems to be getting along, so it's okay if we hang out. I ate one of the sandwiches we stole from the service store, I couldn't help it, they are too delicious.
"So... you and Justin have become a little close, haven't you?" asked Beth.
"Oh yes, we're good friends right now."
"... and... Is that all?"
"Uh, I think, why?"
"Agh, react already! She's jealous that you're spending more time with the model than she is," Heather said from the lounger where she stood.
"That's not true!" said Beth immediately.
"Yeah, sure," Heather replied with some sarcasm.
"I'm serious, I was just curious that Lindsay is now friends with someone as perfect and handsome as Justin," she said somewhat dreamily... That's weird.
Heather took off her sunglasses and looked me straight in the face, which made me feel a little uncomfortable, "you can think what you want about me, that I'm a bad friend, a traitor, or a cruel person, but don't think that means others won't be willing to betray you when they get the chance," I rubbed my arm unsure, Heather's words immediately made me think of a certain geek, "there's a million dollars at stake, don't think I'm the only one willing to do anything to win," she looked at Beth, "and I wouldn't trust the wannabe follower of a pretty-faced Adonis, especially if she's jealous of another follower," she said, looking at me now.
That did bother me, "Beth and I aren't followers, no more."
"Are you very sure about that?", she asked me, I didn't know what to say to her, I'm not a follower of Justin, he's my friend, he understands me, "be careful with those who approach you, nothing guarantees that they are your real friends, you could be someone's second without knowing it, some are simply followers by nature".
"I guess you didn't have a lot of friends at school," Beth said.
"Pff, everyone wanted to be my friends," she said as she put her sunglasses back on.
"Well, I don't know how to respond to that," Beth said discouragedly.
"Because you two are spineless," Heather commented, at least she's talking to me again, that's something.
Confessional.
Lindsay
Lindsay held up an X-ray of her skull, "you see those little bumps back there? Those are totally a spine; I am not a follower, like at cheerleading, I'm right in the middle of the pyramid, and when all my sisters and I decide on something, like where to go shopping or whatevs, I'm always the third vote, that's not..." she turned off when she realized that if she's a follower by nature, maybe that's why Heather never takes her seriously, "oh well I can change, ah, if that's okay with you guys."
Beth
"I'll admit that I'm a little jealous of Lindsay's friendship with Justin, something I can't achieve so far... but I'm not going to start a fight with my best friend over that, Heather doesn't know what she's talking about," although she said that didn't seem very sure.
End of confessional.
...
POV. Cody
"Attention all Total Drama victims, please meet me in the northeast corner of the Studio Palooza, bring lozenges, the screaming's gonna hurt", well, it's time for some cheap horror movie scenes.
-0-
We made it to the set on top of the mountain, a waste of time if you ask me, we'll have to go back down to do the challenges.
"We walk all the way over here and Lieutenant Slick can't even be bothered to show up?" complained Heather.
"Maybe he's racked up too much overtime figuring out new ways to torture us," Justin commented, I wouldn't be surprised.
"AHHHH!", out of nowhere the presenter fell from the sky screaming. And as Chris fell to his apparent death, I did the smartest thing I could think of at the time... hide behind DJ.
*Impale*
*Splash*
And that's how you avoid getting smeared with fake presenter blood.
"AHHHHHHH!", they all screamed in terror when they were smeared with the presenter's blood nailed to one of the lights on the set.
"What just happened!?" asked Trent, upset.
"Did he really kicked the bucket?" asked Gwen skeptically as she looked at Chris's skewered corpse, "we're never so lucky."
Justin walked over and waved his hand in front of Chris's dead face, "ah, Guess the producers don't like paying overtime."
As if it were a real horror movie, Chris came back to life, "I'm worth every dime."
"Aw man. I was just gonna call dibs on your boat," Duncan said disappointedly.
" It's the magic of cinema, boys, and girls! I'm absolutely, perfectly, Chrisally fine," the presenter said, "Wanna see how it's done?" he asked.
"No," was our collective response.
That didn't stop him from explaining it to us in detail anyway. As a geek, movie lover, band musician, and tech-savvy, I was very familiar with the concept of special effects. I was the one editing the music videos for the Drama Brothers at the time, and I enjoyed every moment.
I paid attention again when Chris finished his boring explanation.
"Time for today's totally terrifying, blood-curdling horror movie challenge," the host said, honestly between the camp killer challenge and Jack the Ripper, this was the least scary horror-themed challenge of the three, "to figure out which team gets which challenge, a scream-off! Think of every great horror movie you've ever seen."
"Oh my gosh, you guys. Did you see that one with the possessed rug that learns to walk and smother cats?" asked Izzy, "Or did I make that up?", if you didn't I'd have a lot of questions to ask.
"Ha, horror-themed, this challenge is ours," Gwen said as she high-fived Duncan.
"All horror movies have one thing in common, fantastic screaming from actors… and the killers who snuff them," Chris said, "each team, pick a serial killer, the rest of you will be the screamers, if your serial killer can make you scream the loudest, your team wins."
I think this challenge would have made a lot more sense if the killers aimed to scare the opposing team, but this works in our favor so I'm not complaining. Also, this challenge will be blatantly fixed, so there's not much I can do.
-0-
"We have to pick Duncan, of course. Have you ever seen someone so serial killery?" just waiting to meet Mal, Heather, I couldn't say if there are victims to his name or not.
"Plus, he nailed the other acting challenges," LeShawna said as Beth nodded her head.
Heather offered him the mask, but chef took it off, "DJ's gotta do it."
"And why is that? Aren't we supposed to choose?" asked Gwen annoyed.
"Because I say so, soldier! Don't question the orders of your superiors!" the military cook shouted in Gwen's face, knocking her down.
After that outburst no one wanted to oppose the big man, so he gave the mask to DJ and left.
"Since when does Chef interfere with challenges?" asked LeShawna as she helped Gwen up.
"Since now, apparently," Beth said.
Confessional.
LeShawna
"Something strange is going on here," she said suspiciously.
End of confessional.
"Well... it looks like we'll go with DJ then," Gwen said after standing.
-0-
POV. Lindsay
"You guys gotta let me be the killer," Justin said, "the mask offers good protection for my beautiful face", I honestly think Izzy should be the killer, she's very scary normally... I hope I can't read the thoughts.
" Okay, I am such the better scarer. My own dog is terrified of me, okay?" said Izzy, I was about to support her, but Harold interrupted me.
"Hello, I'm the one who has extensive cinematic knowledge about horror feature films, I know exactly what makes the most famous killers in history terrifying, like Michael Mayers, Hannibal, Scream, blah, blah, blah."
"Don't take offence Harold, but you're not scary at all," Justin said, I agree with that, I think even Beth would have a better chance of scaring me than Harold.
"Why don't you do it, Trent? You're starting to become irrelevant to the plot at this point," Izzy said.
"What? What plot?" he asked, confused.
"The one on this show of course, what did you think I was talking about? Hahahahaha", uh, I'm confused again.
Should I also volunteer to be the killer? I don't know anything about how to be scary, provoke and be sexy yes, but not scary.
Justin put his hand on my shoulder, "Lindsay, you think I should be the killer, right?"
"Ehhhhh, I-", Izzy pulled me into her cleavage, wow, she smells like Cody.
"Not at all! Lindsay thinks Izzy must be the killer, doesn't she, buddy?" she asked me straight up as she crushed my cheeks with her hands.
"Uh..."
"No! It must be me!" said Harold.
"I..."
"Guys, I think we should at least vote," Trent said.
"Okay, everyone has a vote," Justin said, which relieved, "which means Lindsay is the deciding vote, choose," Shit!
"I choose...!"
-0-
POV. Third person
"Alright, the first few competitors prepare yourselves for your killers to enter," Chris said. Harold and Beth exchanged a look, she greeted him, and he smiled at her, " And then, I want huge, massive, ginormous screams, we'll be measuring the volume on our scream-o-meter. Lights, camera, action!"
Scenario 1...
Harold was standing next to a tree while picking his nose. A mysterious figure was watching him from the bushes, and it slowly approached the unwary nerd from behind, trying to make as little noise as possible.
*Crack*
"Hello?" said Harold when he heard a twig break, "Is anyone there?"
Trent in the assassin mask snapped up from the bushes, "BOO!"
"AHHHHHHHHHH!", Harold's scream reached a little past the middle on the scream-o-meter, "gosh, Trent, killers don't scream 'boo', gosh, besides, you're supposed to get close giving a characteristic hint of your presence to build tension, like walking lame, or taking deep breaths, blah, blah, blah, blah," Trent stared him with a blank stare as Harold launched into a lecture on horror clichés.
Confessional.
Harold
"Of course my scream was fake, I just did it for the competition, Trent's performance was so full of plot holes that I was hardly scared, I have nerves of steel after all."
*Fall*
"He's coming for me!" something fell on the trailer making a noise, which frightened Harold causing him to throw himself to the ground in fright.
End of confessional.
...
DJ and chef were standing in the corner of the stage near Beth, "I don't think I can do this," DJ said.
"Woahhhh," but chef scared him by making him go on stage and bump into Beth head-on.
"Oh, hello DJ."
He looked at the chef who nodded his head, DJ put on his mask, and tried to scare Beth.
"A-...," but the farmer couldn't make the slightest sound, "I'm sorry, I really tried."
Confessional.
Beth
"When I was ten, and they were doing my tonsillectomy, there was a freak accident and the doctor's earring fell in my throat, I can't scream ever since... Uh, I think maybe I should have told this to my team beforehand... oops."
End of confessional.
"And with a solid 50 from Harold, the Killer Grips gain the lead with one," Chris said.
...
Scenario 2...
Now on the stage there was a latrine, LeShawna was sitting inside, "there is some serious indignity going on in this scenario. I mean, I'm being filmed sitting on the potty"
...
Trent walked over to the latrine door, now he had to scare Izzy, which he thought would be very difficult, even if she managed to fake it.
He mentally counted to nine preparing to be as scary as possible, then slammed the door open.
"Arrrrrrrrrgh!" she yelled to the best of her ability, but Izzy was nowhere to be found.
"Izzy?"
"What's up, Trent?"
The guitarist turned around only to see the lunatic standing behind him eating a sandwich.
"Izzy! You were supposed to wait in the latrine for me to scare you," Trent said.
"But I didn't feel like going, so I thought I'd eat something first, hahahahahaha," that was Izzy's seemingly logical response.
Trent slapped his forehead in frustration, forgot the most important rule when dealing with Izzy, expect the unexpected.
"Oh, speaking of which," she pushed him aside as she entered the latrine, Trent grimaced in disgust.
...
DJ opened the latrine door, "oh, ah, I busted in on your private moment," he said looking away from LeShawna, who was just sitting on the toilet, "Boy, is my face red."
"You wanna win? Do the scene, DJ," she told him.
"Arrgh".
"Pff hahahahaha, I'm sorry hahahaha, I'm sorry, I'm supposed to be afraid of this marshmallow? This, this big ol' kitten of a DJ? Hahahahahaha."
Chris stood outside the latrine, "neither of the two killers scored points for this round, which means the Grips are still in the lead, maybe they can win this after all."
Chef peeked out from behind the latrine, "If DJ won't step up, the other half of the alliance has to."
...
Scenario 3...
The setting had been modified to resemble the interior of a cabin in the woods.
Sitting in an armchair were Lindsay and Justin, "alright guys, this is the third and final scene, you're gonna have to act your faces off," Chris said.
Justin read the script, "oh wow look at this, according to the script we have to kiss passionately," Justin said with a smile to Lindsay.
She turned red, "Oh, really?... Uh, I'll do my best then," she said not so surely.
Justin put his arm around Lindsay's neck trying to reassure her, "don't worry, it's just a kiss between friends, it doesn't have to be weird or awkward right?"
"Are kisses between friends a thing?", Lindsay hadn't heard of that before, I hear about friends with rights... though she didn't quite understand that; They have rights to do what? However, she was sure she had never heard of this before.
"... yes, they are in Scandinavia," the model said a little nervously, but Lindsay didn't notice.
"Oh, I see, foreigners have weird customs," Lindsay said naïvely.
Confessional.
Justin
"I don't even know it's Scandinavia, I think it's a type of salad, whatever, this is a perfect opportunity, there's no doubt that after a taste of these velvet lips, Lindsay will be totally crushed by me, then I'll be able to use her vote to dominate this team and have a trophy girlfriend in the process," He leaned into the chair, "I'm a genius... but a handsome one, yes."
Lindsay
"Scandinavians are weird."
End of confessional.
...
POV. Cody
It is ok... This was definitely planned.
I was sitting on the couch rereading the script for this scene for the fifth time, a couple kissing.
Look to my partner for this scenario, Heather.
She had wide eyes and a red face as she read the script, whose idea was it to pair us up for this scene?
"No, no, no, no, no way, I'm not going to do this," she said nervously.
"It's a shame, since your team is behind the Grips, you wouldn't want them to take the lead, would you? Hahahahaha," Chris knows very well that Heather's weakness is her pride.
She glared at him with murderous intent, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" she accused.
"Hey, it's the geek, or the punk," Chris said mockingly, "pick your poison."
Heather gritted her teeth in annoyance and crossed her arms. I put my hand on her leg causing her to startle a little and look at me, "uh, if it makes you feel better, I doubt Izzy will call you out for this," I said half-jokingly, half-seriously.
"It doesn't make me feel better," she said, rolling her eyes.
I shrugged, "well, I tried."
She took a deep breath once and slapped her cheeks, "I do it for the money, I do it for the money, I do it for the money, I do it for the money..."
Well, that certainly sounded... wrong, in more ways than one.
-0-
POV. Third person
Justin approached Lindsay closing his eyes and pursing his lips, but suddenly opened them, "I don't look weird pursing my lips do I?" asked the model worried about her appearance even in this situation.
Lindsay narrowed her eyes, "I don't think so."
"Good," he put his hands on Lindsay's shoulders, and walked over to her slowly.
Lindsay also closed her eyes and pursed her lips in anticipation. Then, their lips touched and they started kissing slowly, it wasn't an exaggerated kiss, after all, it was a kiss of friends, so Justin had to be careful not to ruin the moment and make Lindsay walk away, so he kept the slow pace for a while.
After a while something seemed strange to the model, by now the blonde should already be trying to go further, that is, she was kissing the most handsome guy in the entire program, many would kill to be in her position.
He for his part was enjoying the kiss, Lindsay smelled great and her lips were incredibly soft, not to mention how close he was to her attributes, he had to hold her shoulders so that his hands wouldn't try to wander, she was just what you would expect from a beauty of her caliber.
But she wasn't even trying, she hadn't even moaned once, which made things a little awkward for him, as his pride (narcissism) told him that he couldn't finish this kiss without her showing at least a little more enthusiasm.
But sadly, the situation was not on their side.
"Ooga booga, ooga booga, ooga booga!", Trent appeared out of nowhere behind the couch making a chant that sounded more like a mating call, than a creepy scream. Justin reluctantly parted ways with Lindsay.
Confessional.
Lindsay
"Kisses from friends are really weird, I felt absolutely nothing... even though it was Justin."
End of confessional.
"Oh no, ah," the model said half-heartedly, getting only two stripes from the scream-o-meter, "I'm sorry bro, I just can't risk my pipes any further. What good is a face like this without my warm, yet manly tones to back it up?"
Both boys looked at Lindsay expectantly, "Ah?", she only got one stripe.
Confessional.
Lindsay
"Yeah, after surviving a bear attack by the skin of my teeth last season, I can hardly get scared by Trent with a mask... maybe picking him in the heat of the moment wasn't the best idea, but everyone kept insisting that I choose," she laughed, "I remember how scared Cody was that time, but he just jumped on the bear, just to save me, can you believe that? It was from that day on...", she was silent for a moment with her eyes open, "... It was from that day that... we... We became... Best... friends...", she faded as she spoke more, "... that he... It became... my best friend...", she said with a small sad smile, "he even cried when I was expelled the... first... time...", Lindsay's eyes widened with apparent realization.
End of confessional.
-0-
POV. Cody
"Let's get this over with," without any warning Heather grabbed me by the cheeks and leaned a little over me.
I opened my eyes surprised; I didn't expect her to be straight to the point like that.
Just as I could feel her breath on my lips she whispered, "You're not allowed to enjoy this."
Then she kissed me.
I opened my eyes wide, at first she just froze there with her eyes closed, a shudder ran down my back as I breathed in her scent and felt her soft silky lips against mine, Heather is the one who takes very good care of her body. This was very different from Izzy's rough lips and wild kisses.
After a while, she pulled away a little, just enough to look at me, her eyes were a little glassy, we were both panting, and her cheeks were very flushed, "hum, what's wrong? Are you going to act shy now nerd? What happened to all that annoying gallantry of yours? This is just a challenge, isn't it?" she asked me mockingly, "Are you enjoying this?"
"Uh... I-", I couldn't continue because she resumed the kiss immediately, only much more enthusiastically, leaning over me to the point where I was trapped under her and lying on the couch.
For a second I was on the verge of reflexively panicking, as this reminded me of what happened to Sierra at Niagara Falls, an event I recalled very lucidly recently.
But Heather wrapped her arms around my neck deepening the kiss, I closed my eyes managing to relax, she is not Sierra, don't forget that.
Little by little I began to get carried away by the situation, to the point that I even caressed her leg, making her shudder again, "hmm~", she even let out a small muffled moan.
What's wrong with him? She almost looks like someone else right now, how much has she gotten carried away? How much has it been suppressed so far? Uh, my head is spinning.
I could feel her tongue rubbing my lips, I opened them letting her in and immediately tried to dominate mine, her body pressed against mine wasn't helping here. I was well aware that this was escalating too much, but it was very difficult to muster the lucidity to step aside.
"Boo... Uh... I'm sorry... I think I'm interrupting something?", shit, DJ is out and I can't exactly scream with Heather's mouth on mine, Wake up woman! You're acting out of line!
Luckily as I just mentioned, she's not Sierra, so I was actually able to muster enough strength to force her apart.
"Ah," I was finally able to breathe, there was a thin trickle of saliva between us.
Before she could reorient herself again, a huge shadow hung over the three of us.
*RMMMM*
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!", the three of us screamed in terror as the chef, wearing a jokey mask and a chainsaw, stood on top of us.
*Boom*
DJ collapsed on the couch between us.
"Well, looks to me like DJ and the well-named Screaming Gaffers have won," said Chris, I refuse to think that he's not aware of the chef's secret alliance, "seeing as they buried the needle. Join us after the break to see if DJ's still alive, DJ? Answer DJ," the camera stopped rolling, "okay, chef, put DJ on the floor and come with me," the host said, it looks like someone is going to be scolded for interfering with the challenges.
While the chef placed DJ on the floor and the others came over to see how he was doing, I looked at Heather.
She looked a little lost in thought, as she touched her lips with her fingers, it's hard to tell what's going on in her head right now.
Someone tapped my shoulder, I turned around to see Izzy with the biggest, most malevolent Cheshire cat grin she's ever done.
I immediately looked away from her with the heat invading my face.
But before I could even think about running away, I felt her arms wrap around my neck and her head rested on my shoulder preventing me from ignoring her.
"I saw eeeeeverything~," she sang in my ear, "that was a pretty passionate kiss hahahahaha, it certainly surpassed the previous one, was it good? Who kisses better, her or me? Do her lips taste like cherry? Hahahahaha," she rocked back and forth as she asked me awkward questions, as if she were a gossip girl who wants to know everything about her friend's first kiss.
I'm not afraid that my girlfriend saw me smooch with another girl, but there's no way in hell she's going to pass up the opportunity to tease and embarrass me for this.
"Does Cody still want to kiss Izzy?", that soberly asked question took the heat off my face.
I raised my hand and put it on her head, rubbing it like a cat, "Cody still wants to give Izzy many, many kisses," I didn't even have to think about it. Kissing Heather again was quite an experience, but it didn't mitigate my love for Izzy in the least, ours was much more than displays of affection and sex at this point.
I could feel her smiling on my shoulder, "then it's all right," she said, loosening her grip.
"And yeah... her lips tasted like cherry," I said with a smile.
She looked at me expressionlessly.
"Pffff, haha," and a second later she burst out laughing as she clung to my shoulder, "I'm jealous."
"Of her or me?"
"Yes."
"...", we're really not a normal couple at all, there's something very wrong with us, definitely.
...
After that intimate couple's chat, we approached the others who were surrounding DJ.
I chose to stay away from Heather, give her space, let what happened settle and avoid discomfort for the time being. At least it seemed less spaced out and a little more sober now.
Duncan moved DJ with his foot, "So... What do we do with the brave gentleman here?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Well, we've got to wake him up," Gwen said.
"You're right, Gwen," Chris said as he got into the circle we formed around the hunk.
"Mm...", DJ writhed on the floor, if I remember correctly, I think it was at this point that the guilt began to consume him.
"Is he breathing?" asked Beth.
"I think he's saying something," Leshawna said.
"Uh, Mama?" said DJ unconsciously.
"We're going to sit him down for now," Trent said.
He and Duncan sat him on the couch while he babbled.
"How do we wake him up?" asked Lindsay.
I come up with something, "oh no, the stew is burning," I said out loud.
"No! Someone put out the fire! If it goes over its doneness, it will be ruined!" shouted DJ waking up suddenly, "uh, I have to see Chef, where is he?" he asked looking around.
"Chefs in a meeting with the producers, a disciplinary meeting, he's in trouble~," Chris sings with amusement, "Not allowed to mess with the challenges."
DJ looked worried as Chris said this.
"I knew something was up," Leshawna said.
"You're like Albert Einstein with better hair and girly bits," Harold said, that was a terrible compliment.
"Moving right along, it's time to pack up those overnight bags, loser Grips; you and your sleeping bags are spending the night in the dining hall," they looked disappointed, "Gaffer winners, back to the comfort of the trailers for a little R and R, I'll see you there in half an hour," said Chris.
-0-
POV. Lindsay
Chip led us to the service tent where we would spend the night. It wasn't too bad, at least it was still better than the camp cabins.
"Then Lindsay...", Justin started talking to me, "What do you think of the kiss scene?" he said.
"Ours or the other team's?" Who did that scene for the other team?
"Uh, I'm talking about ours."
"Oh, what do I think of what?"
What did you think of the kiss?"
"It was… okay?"
"..."
"..."
"Do you think I'm a good kisser? Didn't you suddenly feel a... insatiable desire for more?" he asked, intrigued.
I blinked twice, "no... not at all... I didn't feel anything... was I supposed to feel anything? It was just a kiss from friends, wasn't it?"
Justin now looked a little unsure, "huh... yes, you weren't supposed to feel anything, I was just asking you because... Oh, I was afraid that maybe the kiss was bad, you know, nobody likes to be told they're a bad kisser."
Oh, what was just that, Justin is unsure of his kissing abilities, you wouldn't imagine that with his face. I put my hand on his shoulder, "don't worry Justin, you're not a bad kisser, the girl you're going for is sure to fall at your feet."
"Well, you're not showing it."
"What?"
"That I'll have to find out... with the girl that I like and all that."
"Oh, good luck with that."
Confessional.
Justin
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!", the model let out a cry of frustration, "How is it possible that her naivety plays against me so much like this!? And she didn't feel anything when she kissed me? Not even the slightest hint of attraction? What's up with that? Look at me! How can she be so blind as not to fall in love with this? Argh, my future trophy relationship seems more and more impossible."
End of confessional.
"Hey Trent look, I just found half a piece of cheesecake under here," Izzy said to Trent, who grimaced.
"Uh, better not-," Trent couldn't finish the sentence before Izzy put the cheese in her mouth, disgusting, "forget it."
"Guys, you mind joining us here? I'm about to tell you why this film lot was abandoned and closed," Chad said.
"Uh great, I love stories of abandoned places, just hope it's chronologically correct with other similar events that I know of," Harold said.
"Maybe if you shut up Harold and let me do my job you'll find out," Kyle scolded him for interrupting him, "very good," he put a flashlight under his face and turned off the lights, the truth was a little scary, "Ronnie the Rent-a-cop, a designated security guard who worked here for twenty-five loyal years until her mysterious death right here… ON THIS VERY SPOT" shouted Chip causing my heart to almost go out, okay, now I'm scared, "Now, he desperate and uneasy spirit walks the lot. No one has ever managed to spend a whole night in this craft service tent."
"Because they were killed by falling sets?" asked Justin.
"'Cause… of the haunting! Your task? Spend the whole night here without leaving this tent. If you manage to do so, your team gets invincibility, and nobody goes home. Track any psychic phenomenon using these ghost-meters", Why do all the names of things around here have a meter at the end? "And just in case", Trent waited for Carl to give him the flashlight, but instead gave him a keychain, which looks cute, looks like a baby flashlight.
"Oh thank you... really," Trent said sarcastically.
"Good luck," after saying that Kyle left.
-0-
POV. Heather
We were waiting at the campfire in the rest area, when will they let us go to rest at once? I bit my lower lip lightly, I just want this day to be over and rest my tangled head on the pillow. But knowing Chris, he probably has more work for us in mind.
I can't get the kiss off my head, we were about to cross a line there, I was about to let him go further, I didn't remember this being like that when I said goodbye to him at camp, yes, it was exhilarating, and a little exciting, but that was because of the heat of the moment, it happened after a while, But this?
It's not right, I've already accepted that I like him, I told his girlfriend to her face (who doesn't stop looking at me with a damn smile of complacency every time we exchange glances for a while), I think I might like her, I'm not so sure about that, I only had some experiences with girls in high school and out of mere curiosity, We all have them, but it didn't get anywhere, so I'm not sure there, better to handle one problem at a time.
I accepted it, but even that wasn't enough to anticipate what was going to happen.
I liked it, I really liked kissing him, the face of surprise and confusion he made, seeing how the confident geek who constantly flirted with me with mockery disarmed himself nervously while kissing him was extremely exciting, it made me feel that I had the control again, that was what I liked the most.
I sighed, if the me who got off the yacht with a disgusted face towards the people I was going to interact with for 8 weeks, had seen me passionately exchanging saliva with a nerd, who made fun of me countless times and cost me a hundred thousand dollars, she would most likely slap me in the face telling me how disappointed she is that I am her.
Well, my old self, no one tells me how to live my life, I'm the only one telling others what to do.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose; now what kind of nonsense goes through my head? I'm going crazy, it's a slow and sure journey of no return to dementia, surely Izzy would be proud of me.
Enough of rambling, I'm just going to pretend that nothing happened, the last 12 hours never existed, otherwise it will be the same as on the island, and this time my goal is before anything else... I wouldn't expect anyone here to understand that.
Finally the obnoxious presenter made an appearance, "the Killer Grips are sitting in the craft services tent like sitting ducks, your task is to make like special effects gurus, and frighten the pants off them hahahahaha, or at least scare them enough to get them out of the tent before dawn."
"How are we supposed to scare them?" I asked Chris.
"It's your call, but if you get them out, your team wins invincibility and nobody goes home… Oh, just so you know, I told them some cockamamie story about a security guard who died on set hahahaha."
"How are we going to pull this off?" asked DJ, it shouldn't be that hard, Trent is superstitious, Harold is a coward, Justin faints if his hair is badly styled, for Izzy you just have to leave a candy trail to the exit and as for Lindsay, any moderately loud noise should suffice.
The gentleman guitarist should have chosen his team with his head instead of his heart, I bet he regrets a lot of things right now.
"If you don't mind, I'd love to be the first one to try to scare them," Beth said, raising her hand and surprising everyone.
Confessional.
Beth
"I can stand Lindsay being closer to Justin than I am, I can turn a blind eye every time he compliments her, but to go around making out with him is going too far, we're friends my friend, but it's not fair at all, so I'm going to get revenge in the most harmless way there is, with a good scare."
Heather
"And finally, the farmer starts to show her true colors."
End of confessional.
"Hahahaha...", Duncan stopped laughing when he noticed that no one else was laughing, "oh, were you serious?", I don't blame him for being surprised.
I looked at Cody, just to find out what he thought! He always had a crazy plan for this kind of situation, but right now he seemed more curious about whatever Beth had planned. Seriously, what can she do to scare the other team?
"Just follow me," Beth said angrily.
"This will be interesting," I said curiously, it doesn't matter if it doesn't work, it's just the first try.
-0-
Now we were gathered outside the service tent, we looked out the window, the other team was playing cards.
"Alright Beth, we're following you here, what's the plan?" asked Gwen.
Beth grabbed megaphones from somewhere and threw one at Miss Goth.
"I found these in the makeup trailer while sniffing around once," she lit one and spoke, "they make you talk in a creepy voice," she said, "we can use them and say scary things."
"Wow, that's a good idea," Leshawna said.
"It doesn't hurt to try," Duncan said with a shrug.
I guess there's no reason to go against it here, grab one of the megaphones, "alright Gaffers, it's time to scare."
-0-
POV. Third person
Trent and Harold played cards surrounded by the other Grips.
"Do you think we should be worried about the security guard Chris mentioned?" asked Trent.
"Dude, I thought you'd put all that superstitious madman shtick behind you," Justin told him.
Confessional.
Trent
"It's a work in progress, all right?" he said with his arms folded and in a bad mood, "between beating Gwen and controlling my obsession with number nine, I haven't had time to stop being superstitious," he said sarcastically.
End of confessional.
"Don't worry guys, I watched a lot of ghost movies and once went to a convention about Ghostbusters, I'm more than prepared for any paranormal entity that wants to come for us," Harold said while holding the ghost-meter.
"I once thought there was a ghost that lived in my bathroom and spied on me every time I sang in the shower, every night I felt his creepy, sinister gaze on me, but it turned out that I was just myself in the mirror all the time, what a twist, right? Hahahahahahaha," Izzy spoke with her characteristic hyperactivity provoking confused looks from her teammates.
"Okay...," Trent said, not quite sure what to make of this.
Suddenly, the lights in the place went out.
Everyone got nervous, "What's going on?" asked Lindsay nervously.
"Calm down, it's just the light," Izzy said.
"Izzy~," sang a creepy voice causing her eyes to widen, "I know what you did~".
"It wasn't my fault! They forced me!" she said in a panic.
"... Still, I know!"
"AHHHHHHH!" the redhead screamed in fright.
"... 7... 8... 10, 10... 8... 7... 6...".
"Who's counting!? And why are you skipping the number 9!? Don't you know it's there for a reason!?" Trent complained fearfully.
"Ugly, horrifying, unattractive, monstrous, disheveled..."
"It's a lie! I'm very attractive! And I'm not disheveled!" shouted Justin.
"Bad breath, wrinkled eyes, dry lips..."
"Get out of my head!" said Justin in a panic.
"Traitor..."
Lindsay's eyes widened, the image of Cody popping into her mind, "I'm not a traitor."
"Bad friend, you don't deserve him, leave him, repent."
Lindsay was sad to be told all this, thinking that the ghost was referring to how she had been behaving with Cody over the past few days. Not knowing it was Beth trying to get her away from Justin.
"Everyone behind me," Harold said, "I'll take care of the ghosts," he said in karate poses, completely forgetting to see the ghost-meter without a signal, "you spirits from beyond have nothing to intimidate me."
Duncan leaned out of the window where the nerd had stopped, "Doris," hewhispered close to her ear.
Harold's eyes widened, "They know about me!" he cried in fright.
He threw the ghost-meter into the air in his panic, Lindsay saw it and caught it, realizing something.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!", while the others ran to the exit in panic.
"Guys... Wait."
"AHHHHHH!"
"I SAID WAIT!", everyone stopped at the cry of the blonde, "The ghost-meter's aren't reading a thing", she showed them the device.
Confessional.
Lindsay
"Wow, can you believe I figured that out and Harold didn't? Who's the fool now?"
Harold
"Of course I noticed, I was just acting so I wouldn't look so arrogant," a background noise was heard in the trailer, "They're coming for me!", Harold fled the scene.
End of confessional.
The Gaffers stopped the eerie whispers when they realized they weren't going to fall for it anymore.
"See? The voices stopped," Lindsay said, "maybe it was just Chip trying to scare us."
Confessional.
Chris
"Really!? We're one season and seven episodes in, and she still can't say my name properly?" the host crossed his arms, "someone must really hate me."
Behind Chris, a little prairie dog with a sack and a seagull with a rope peeked out of the sides of curtains.
He turned when he felt their gaze, but they left, "how weird, I would swear that someone was watching me, and how to blame them, I mean, have you seen this face?" he said while smiling at the camera with bright teeth.
End of confessional.
-0-
The Gaffers were gathered in the kitchen, Beth looking a little disappointed that her idea didn't work.
Confessional.
Beth
"Part of me is glad Lindsay caught the trap. But the other one was hoping she would run away scared, I hope that doesn't make me a bad person."
End of confessional.
"Well, I have to admit it was a good try," Duncan said, "I'd give it a 6," Gwen elbowed him, "okay, 6 and a half," she rolled her eyes, "okay now it's my turn," the delinquent said excitedly.
He gathered a bunch of ingredients in a bowl and began mixing them, getting a blood-like red goo.
"Fake blood, what a genius," Gwen said getting exited too, "I remember I used to stain my door with it so my brother wouldn't enter my room, I would write things like 'you'll be next' or 'just try it', hahahaha, yes, mom had to send him to therapy for a month", the others looked at the goth somewhat worried.
"Oh~, do you consider yourself an expert?", Duncan picked up a little with his finger, "here, what do you think it's missing?".
She didn't hesitate to try it, next to DJ, Cody hit his forehead hard and shook his head.
"Hmm... I say it needs more corn syrup," said the goth.
"Just what I thought," the delinquent said.
Confessional.
LeShawna
"Am I the only one who thought that was a little weird?"
End of confessional.
"I'll get you more," DJ said, going to get it.
"Respect, Duncan, it really looks like blood," LeShawna said.
"Perhaps, too much," Beth said a little green.
"Devil's night, my brothers and I used to wait outside kindergarten with this goop dripping off us, ha, one year, I gave a dozen five-year-olds seizures."
"And… respect deleted," the Big Sister said.
DJ arrived bringing more corn syrup, Cody looked at him, "woah DJ, you really know your way around the kitchen."
DJ looked a little tense from the compliment.
-0-
"Uh... I'm not sure that's how this is played," Lindsay said, she and Izzy were sitting at a table with a bottle between them.
"That's the Bulgarian version," Izzy said as she swirled the bottle very quickly, "remember, if it points at you you have to kiss me, and if it aims at me, I have to kiss you, fun, isn't it?"
Confessional.
Lindsay
"I have to remember not to go to Bulgaria, the Bulgarians have very strange games."
Izzy
"Now that I'm sure I like women too, I've been wondering," she said in fake glasses and a scientist's coat, "How much do I like them? Is it just visual appreciation? Could it be that I just like Heather? What will it feel like to kiss one with romantic intentions instead of friendly ones? Well, my friend (guinea pig) Lindsay, she's about to make a contribution to science by helping me figure it out."
End of confessional.
The bottle stopped spinning pointing at one of the empty spaces between the two girls, but Izzy kicked the table causing it to move pointing at Lindsay.
"Yes! I win... wait, what do I win?" said the blonde.
"You have to kiss me," Izzy said mischievously.
"... oh... Oh," she said, realizing.
"Remember, those are the rules you can't retract," Izzy closed her eyes and pursed her lips waiting for her.
Lindsay swallowed, then leaned slightly over the table and slowly approached Izzy.
The three boys who were playing fish on the ground stopped everything they were doing, watching the situation expectantly in silence, they were boys after all.
As she approached, Lindsay opened her eyes looking at Izzy's lips, this wasn't the big deal, just a kiss from friends, she had already done it with Justin and didn't feel anything, so it should be fine, but Izzy was Cody's girlfriend, which means that he is constantly kissing these lips, she couldn't help but wonder what he would think if he saw this.
Just when Lindsay had her lips inches away from Izzy's.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."
Lindsay turned around as Izzy snapped her fingers in disappointment. The closed kitchen window was dripping blood.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.", everyone but Lindsay moved away from the wall and tried to run away again.
"Wait...", but Lindsay stopped them seeing that the ghost-meter didn't activate yet, "What does it smell like?", she approached the wall.
Izzy also made it more curious, "it smells like ketchup," she said.
"Exactly, Harold, lick the walls," Lindsay said.
"Why do I have to?" the nerd complained.
"I SAID LICK THE WALLS!" yelled Lindsay, causing Izzy to startle and blush.
"Okay! Gosh!" the nerd approached the wall hesitantly, then licked it, then smiled, "hey, it tastes like corn syrup," the others walked away from the exit.
-0-
Duncan closed the curtain through which he was looking. Heather was covered in the fake blood on the window counter.
"Anyone else have any brilliant ideas? Anybody who's not Duncan?" the annoyed queen bee said.
"DJ hasn't said anything and anybody that quiet's gotta be thinking something," Leshawna said. I was suspicious of him from the first part of the challenge.
"I don't like scaring people, Mama said it's not gentlemanly, and...," he said.
"Well, mama ain't here, is she?" said the Big Sister starting to get annoyed.
"And Papa Duncan wants to win and go to bed! So?" the delinquent said with an intimidating look.
Confessional.
Duncan
"Not to mention, it would all be in the hands of the nerd."
End of confessional.
"All right?" Duncan asked DJ threateningly, he lowered his head, resigned.
-0-
Izzy was looking for lice on Lindsay's head like a monkey, when suddenly the lights went out again.
Duncan was outside by the lever, "night has fallen," he said over a communicator.
DJ looked at the Grips gathered together in the dark, "excellent work, Eclipse. Foxy lady, you there?" he asked over the communicator from the kitchen.
LeShawna was standing outside by the window, "Foxy lady at the ready."
The Grips looked in all directions waiting for any surprises, Izzy was clinging to Lindsay's waist with her head under her breasts.
"Remember, everyone, this is just Chris trying to scare us," Lindsay said as she stroked Izzy's head, "and Lindsay's team doesn't give up."
"Wait, I thought we were Team Harold Gosh!" the nerd said.
"We never agreed on that," Trent said.
"Waaaaaa~", out of nowhere a female voice began to lament scaring everyone.
LeShawna was the one who did the vocals with one of the megaphones.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Harold screamed again like a child as Heather, dangling by a rope in a police officer's uniform, swung in the air in front of the Grips.
Cody and Gwen were making a concerted effort not to drop her.
"How much does she weigh?" complained Gwen.
"Believe me, she weighed more before," the geek told her, with the other hand he spoke for the communicator, "Crow, Seagull and Harpy took off successfully," he said in the communicator.
"I'd better be Crow," Gwen said.
"It's a real ghost!" said Trent, terrified.
"Every Justin on his own!" the model said.
"AHHHHHHHHH!", the three boys ran away.
"I won't let you go, my friend," Izzy said, clinging to Lindsay.
"Guys, wait! The ghost-meter still won't activate!" said Lindsay, hoping they would come back.
Unfortunately, with pinpoint accuracy, DJ threw a fork which pressed a button on the machine to turn it on.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!", both girls ran out of the place past LeShawna.
"And that's how we win it, Woo hoo~!" the big sister celebrated.
Inside, Heather lifted her police cap, "Yes!" she said happily. DJ approached her with a depressed look, "DJ? Are you okay?"
The burly man raised his head, but instead of Heather he only saw his mother, "Mama hates a cheater, Devon Joseph! I'm very disappointed in you, poopy-doo."
In the real world DJ, he lowered his head as Heather begged to be taken down.
-0-
Now we are once again at the Gilded Chris Awards Ceremony. The Grips were deciding who to vote for.
Confessional.
Trent
"Looking at our track record so far, putting together a team based on jealousy, grudges and little strategy was perhaps the dumbest thing I've ever done... I'm not saying I want to get kicked out for that or anything."
End of confessional.
"And now, fraidy-cat Grips, it's time to announce who will not win a Gilded Chris this week! Who deserves to go home bitterly disappointed, tears in their eyes?" Chris said. Chef arrived wearing the pink dress again, probably as punishment, handed the results to Chris, "and the Gilded Chrises go to...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Izzy!" he said as he tossed the prize to her, "Trent... Harold... still on the chopping board Lindsay, Justin," the host said.
"What? I can't be going. Why would people be mad at me? Izzy?"
"I didn't vote for you," said the lunatic.
Confessional.
Trent
"Harold promised me he would talk less in the mornings if I voted for Lindsay, sorry, nothing personal."
Harold
"Izzy is my rival for the leadership position, and I get it, she has skills that almost match mine, but Lindsay trying to be the leader? No-oh, that's out of line," the nerd said.
Justin
"I voted for Lindsay, at first I thought having someone almost as attractive as me, would boost my status in this competition, but it's no use if the other party doesn't do the obvious and falls head over heels in love with me."
End of confessional.
"And the final Gilded Chris goes to...," Chris said, making Lindsay tense.
"Stop!" until DJ and the Gaffers arrived, "I'm gonna do what I should've done long ago, make mama proud, I'm voting myself off."
"DJ," chef said with a nervous laugh, "why don't you and I have a chat before you do anything stupid?"
"No, Chef! I'm not listening to you anymore! Chef and me… we had an illegal alliance", everyone in the place except Chris gasped, Cody did it to keep up appearances, "He's been tutoring me in tough, coaching me through the challenges", Chris looked reproachfully at the cook, if he was faking it or not, no one would know, "I'll miss you all", he said completely determined.
-0-
DJ opened the door to the lame-o-sine as members of both teams looked on.
"Hey DJ," the burly man turned around to see Cody looking at him with a smile, "a cheater would never make this decision," he said.
This made the guy smile, "take care DJ," Duncan told his friend, "Just try not to cheat again... without me."
"Uh... I'll keep that in mind," he said, then climbed into the lame-o-sine which he tore off immediately. DJ peeked over the top saying goodbye to everyone.
Chris stood right in the middle of the crowd, "And with that incredible turn of events, will the remaining competitors be able to bear the most horrific, stomach-churning, gut-wrenching challenge ever!?" the host said in dramatic fashion scaring the competitors.
"What would it be...?" asked Gwen.
"Chef's food!" said Chris cheerfully. More than one had a green face with bewilderment, "hahahahahaha, find out if our competitors survive next week here, in TOTAL... DRAMA... ACTION!"