Roleplays after Out of the Blue: Part 2

Arizona
Arizona sighed as she sat on her bed, fiddling with a little piece of paper in her hand. She sniffled a little, and balled her hand in a fist, crumpling the paper with it. She felt around on her desk a bit, until her hand landed on a book. She quickly grabbed it and shoved the paper in the book.

She quickly ran out of her room, clutching on to her plain, brown book and her cane. She didn’t really care where she was going as long as she was away from there. All of a sudden, Zona ran into someone. “Sorry…” She muttered.

Ry:
Ry’s mind was much clearer than after the challenge now that he’d had his talk with Dakota, but the fact still remained: he needed to punt Ashley. She had ruined him in that challenge and no doubt was bragging about in a confessional somewhere or grinning from ear-to-ear…

Sighing in annoyance, he ruffled up his hair, still clutching his wet and gross beanie, and turned the corner, blind eye not giving him much leeway about what was to his right.

Bumping into someone, he had half a mind to add in a nasty quip like ‘nice one,’ but he looked over to see who it was and let out a breath of relief. “Oh, hey, Arizona.” Ry mumbled, leaning against the wall and feeling thankful she didn’t see his annoyed glare that had followed the bumping.

“Uh…” He paused, not sure what to exactly say. “Some challenge, huh?”

Arizona softened realizing it was Ry. She was still a little frustrated, but a little less frustrated. She sighed just a little bit. “Yeah. Some challenge all right.” She scuffed the ground a little with her shoe. “It’s always fun when your teammate walks around and tries to do things for you…”

Zona clutched to her book as if it were her lifeline and “looked” down. “It didn’t really go well for me. I just got so frustrated at my team, you know…They said I-” She stopped and shook her head. “It’s not important. But that was not one of my most favorable challenges.”

Ry wrung out his beanie calmly, listening to Arizona talk to him about her side of the challenge. “I wouldn’t know how that feels, honestly. I’m stuck with a kid who can’t lift a finger, the woman form of Atlas, the human form of Aphrodite, and Dennis the menace. But…I guess I can understand how it sucks to not be able to be trusted…” Ry hadn’t been distrusted because of his vision, but he was distrusted with scissors once here and with everything else at home.

“What’s going on with your team?” He asked, leaning back against the wall. “The first few days here, I could have sworn you were the most compatible team…but now you’re doing worse than Dennis and Lavender on a daily basis.” 

Zona leaned against a wall. “I thought we were getting along just fine. But then Alice told me my team thought I was a burden…She said Matt left me in the burning building.” She could feel little tears in the corners of her eyes.

Zona clutched dearly onto her book and sighed. “The last thing I wanted was to have this place feel like school, and now that’s exactly what it is.”

“Hm…?” Ry lifted an eyebrow at that statement, but let his voice do all the talking with it. “Why would Alice tell you something like that…? Isn’t that a little harsh to tell someone to their face?” He wondered about this, but he couldn’t place Alice as anything like Ashley and Dennis were…or even less like Lavender. “Are you that’s true? I did happen to talk to some of your teammates, you know? All…except Alice.” He paused, letting that sink in and to think on if he’d ever exactly talk to Alice.

“I mean, Matt seemed pretty chill about his team and they all looked thrilled to have you there when you won the first challenge. Mallory said she thought it was ‘neato’ you were here, too… Mika…she kinda… Er…if I remember, she saved your life, but I guess I never really chatted up with her about the team.”

Pausing briefly, he thought about the second challenge, leaning his head against the wall. “And…from the looks of things when you were trapped in the building, Matt was yelling at Alice about something… I’m not a brain–Well, I am kinda, but I think there’s some…discussions you need to have with the teamaltogether.” He put a lot of emphasis into that last word, knowing some people didn’t like confrontation.

Zona thought for a moment. “Did they really say that?” She asked. She didn’t really trust many people but Ry seemed like someone who was worthy of trust.

“Maybe I should talk to them.” She sighed, looking guilty. “But I pretty much turned them away. would they still want to talk to me?” She blushed a little bit thinking how Matt wouldn’t want to talk to her after how she’d snapped at him.

“Yeah, I have no reason to lie to you, Arizona.” Ry shrugged, his hoodie scratching against the wall to give some indication he’d moved. “If I were to lie to you, then I’d be named Ashley. Oops. Did I say that out loud?” He asked, voice dripping with venom about Ashley. “Sorry… I have bad blood with her. If she talks to you, go to someone else.”

He cleared his throat, his advice he’d given to everyone out of the way. “Anyway, I’m sure they’d want to talk to you. It’s…better than leaving things out in the middle of an ice lake, right? At first it’s okay, but then spring comes…and you lose it for good, eh?”

Zona nodded seriously, understanding that Ashley wasn’t a good person to talk to. She thought she was sensing conflict, but, then again, in this game, it could be anyone.

All seriousness aside, Zona thought about it. “You’re right Ry.” She smiled wide. “You give really good advice. Thank you. You’re a good friend.”

Ry’s eyes widened slightly at her usage of words, taking a few strained breaths, he managed to utter “Friend?” in a confused tone. As with every time someone on this show used the term, he pulled back into confusion as to how they could see him as a friend.

Reaching into his pocket, his fingers graced the stone he’d found during the challenge. Was she serious…? Or was she just pulling his leg to get him off her back?

Arizona raised an eyebrow. Ry seemed…confused about something? “Is something not okay Ry?” She asked, a worried tone in her voice. “We…we are friends, right?”

Zona wondered if what she said was wrong. ''Maybe I was too forward? Next time I should ask before I do something like that.'' She made a silent note in her head and sighed a little.

Ry paused, feeling a little shocked and surprised that she was asking him if they were really friends…or friends at all. Honestly, when people look or hear about him, they usually turn away from the idea of friendship. He was really dizzy from the fact that so many people here–five now–considered him a friend to them.

“W-Well,” he started, running a hand through his hair to try to collect his thoughts. “I’m just not used to being called that, honestly. I mean, before I came on this show, I was friendless, nobody wanted to be anywhere near me; I was often called the ‘emo under the willow’ at my school… So… When I came here, I expected the same treatment, but…” He paused, piecing together his thoughts.

“It’s not that you calling me a friend is bad, but…it’s more of a shock to hear from someone. I mean, are you serious about wanting to be my friend?”

“Who would I be if I was being tactical and I wasn’t being serious? I’d be…I’d be a bad person! And why would I want to be a bad person? I’ve lived my life around bad people. I’d succumb to the pressure they always put me through. And I couldn’t do that.” Arizona frowned a little.

Zona looked directly at Ry with blind sightless eyes. “Of course I’m serious about wanting to be your friend.”

Ry bit the inside of his cheek as he listened to Arizona reveal a bit about her past, prompting him to remember that others here were suffering with unspoken demons as well. Moving his hand through his hair again, he let her continue talking and then cracked a small smile, which fell back to its neutral stance moments later. “…Thank you,” he mumbled softly, staring at the floor.

Glancing back up, he stared her in the eyes now. “Hey, Arizona, wanna talk about some stuff? I know it’s not much, but I’d listen to you if you need to vent about your past and such.”

Arizona smiled kindly. She would’ve leaned in to hug Ry, but she just stood up a bit straighter. “I will always be by your side. No matter what.” She said seriously.

She thought for a second. “You know, back at home, I might need to vent. but here…I actually don’t. I used to feel horrible because I’m blind. Because I used to be teased about not being able to see. But here’s the thing.” She tapped the ground with her cane twice. “I’m here, on this show, even though Chris is trying to kill us, and they’re sitting at home.”

Ry sighed softly, but he was more relieved when he let out his breath. It felt…kind of nice to know he’d just gained another friend AND an ally on top of that. “I’ve got your back, too, Arizona.” He told her, opting to not punch her arm playfully. “Just come to come when you need me, if you ever do.”

Ry snorted at her observation, finding it funny and cool how she just bluntly said that. “Kudos to you, too, for running right into the danger zone, too. Most people with sight wouldn’t be nearly as brave as you. Plus, if they were watching you on the first episode, you brought your team victory, which most of them would have just sat there and let Matt take the lead because…Well, he’s five times their size.” He crossed his arms and leaned his head back against the wall.

“You’re really independent and strong, you know? I don’t know if you’re told that enough, but I think you’re the strongest person here.”

Arizona smiled, knowing that she had gained a good friend. “Thank you, Ry.” She wasn’t one for accepting help, physically and emotionally, mostly because everyone thinks she needs it, but i was reassuring to know that someone had her back.

Zona thought for a second. “I guess I did bring the team to victory during that first challenge.” She smiled, acknowledging her achievement. “Matt bumping into all that stuff would’ve slowed the team down a bit.”

She smiled wide. “My brother always tells me I’m strong and independent. He’s told me my disability makes me stronger.” Zona paused for a second. “It’s nice to hear it from someone other than my brother.:

“You wouldn’t have done nearly as bad as my team did…” Ry mumbled, remembering the incident that left him with a concussion and a headache afterward. “Dennis was being a little bastard and Lavender was the butt of the joke…then everything went to crap when I said they needed to shut the hell up and we went tumbling down.”

He looked around for a moment, then back at her. “You did great at the challenge, honestly. I don’t know how you did it, but you proved your worth in there. Yeah, you had some setbacks with red and blue, but I’m sure that next time you’ll have a ton of expertise whatever the color is.” He told her reassuringly. Yeah, Chris was a thunder ass but Arizona wasn’t dead and had managed to get out of dying before, so he knew that it wouldn’t be a problem for her. “You’ll kick ass.”

Ry smiled about this, albeit small. “As they always say, ‘our disadvantages can be our enemies disadvantages.’ I’m blind in one eye but I can aim and hit a target easily; you’re blind completely and can drive a speeding sled down a dangerous mountain. I firmly believe, though, that more people should tell you it, because it’s a true statement. You’re not helpless, you’re not weak, and you’re definitely not defeated, ergo you’re stronger than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Mika:
Rounding the corner of the hotel corridor, Mika was too preoccupied with thinking over what she was about to do to really see more than 3 feet in front of her — so it came as no surprise when she collided with someone coming the opposite direction. Looking up to see that the person she had bumped into had been the person she was looking for in the first place, she grinned slightly before noticing the expression on Arizona’s face, beginning, “Zona? It’s me. Mika. Are, are ya alright?”

Arizona stiffened a little bit. She clutched tightly onto her book and cane. The last person she wanted to talk to was someone from her team. But, she guessed she’d have to eventually.

“Hello Mika.” She said, trying to be formal. The cracking in her voice broke that. “I’m perfectly fine.” She said, biting her lip and attempting to hide the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes.

“No you’re not,” Mika stated bluntly, wondering why the girl was being so distant, and what she’d done wrong. “I mean, uh, no offense, but you look like you’re gonna cry.”

Resolving to be a bit more gentle with her turn of phrase, Mika decided that she’d need to convince Arizona to actually talk to her if she wanted this conversation to go anywhere. “Are– Are ya goin’ anywhere in particular? I reckon we need to talk. I might not be the brightes’ on our team, but I get that something’s up. And I need to know what’s happening.”

They had only made it to the third challenge so far, and Mika refused to stand for any team drama so early.

Dennis:
Truth be told, Dennis was always bored. But he wasn’t going to tell Arizona that. After all, she had decided not to tell him what he asked. Not that he really blamed her much.

“Nahhhh,” he drawled, “The Baroness! She got me out during the challenge and I ain’t gonna let bygones be bygones, Sedona!” He had found his nickname for this one. A city in Arizona, of course.

Come Little Children (Open Rp w/ Ry)
Ry couldn’t take being around the others, their celebratory cheers and pained groans just hurt his chest, so he took his leave immediately after making his ‘dignified’ confessional. He was actually hoping that no one saw him leaving the place in tears…

Sighing half-heartedly, he made his way to his room, changed his clothes into some shorts and a Miku Hatsune T-shirt, grabbed his bag and umbrella, and headed out again. He didn’t know WHERE he was going, but he figured it would be twelv—no infinitely better than any time he would spend here or in his room.Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved the half-opened bag of pocky he’d found in Ashley’s room and threw it on the ground, finding no interest in his favorite snack anymore; it was the cause of everything that was bothering him.

Sure, Dakota said it was fine, but…he’d listened to Ashley first AND doubted Ry almost immediately, not even giving him a chance to explain… He blamed Ry right off the bat…

Stepping out on to the streets, he watched the soft darkness of storm clouds make their way across the sky, blowing his hair gently out of his face, revealing the dark etchings of his depleted mood. “L-Like I care… I…” He mumbled to himself, pulling his umbrella out and slowly making his way down the street, opening the light purple star patterned protection from the wetness that was sure to follow.

As a small clap of thunder echoed across the sky, Ry’s dark mood only thickened, making him seem like the worst person to even THINK about approaching. His shoulders were slumped, he had dark circles under his eyes, his eyes were puffy from crying, and his shoulders were shaking.

He just needed alone time… Well, that’s what he’d tell himself anyway.

After a good few minute walk, enjoying the gentle breeze, he sat himself down on a rather old looking fountain just as the raindrops started falling from the sky.

Letting them gently bounce off the umbrella, he figured he would just sit here and hum his creepy songs to ward off anyone who thought him approachable.

“Come little children… I’ll take thee away…” He softly sung to himself, voice wavering slightly. “Into a land of enchantment…” He sighed, spinning the umbrella around, causing the water to splash the face of a poor, unsuspecting passerbyer.

Ry didn’t bother apologizing, though, and just kept on singing his melody, eyes devoid of any emotions; he looked like a corpse that escaped the tomb.

The Baroness:
The celebrations of the night had come to an end once the loud claps of a thunderstorm rolled in. Of course The Baroness had felt the storm come in; spending years out at sea can allow you to pick up on some slight cues a thunderstorm is heading your way.

The Baroness, being a sucker for a good storm during the day, went outside along the empty city streets to dance in the current drizzle of rain pitter-pattering off any surface it were to touch. The Baroness was always at her best when it comes to something involving water; which would explain how well she thought she did in today’s challenge.

The Baroness continued to strut down the street with a scallywag’s swagger for a couple of minutes untill her ears filled with the sound of unimaginable horror, shocking the pirate into reality.

“Come little children… I’ll take thee away…” She heard a voice creepily hum softly, filling her ears with the song of sirens. Red flags went off inside the pirate’s head; one thing she was always terrified of was quiet, soft singing that filled your ears, especially after she learned of the legend of sirens whisking sailors away.

No, nononononono no! The girl thought in her head as the voice continued with “Into a land of enchantment…”

The Baroness mildly started to freak out, looking for the source of the singing….until she snapped back into reality when she was drenched in the face by water. The Baroness, once her eyes were open, scowled for a moment, not happy with what had just occured, until she realized it was Ry who had done it. She noticed he looked…gloomy, as if something was bothering him.

”..Ye know the challenge be over lad.” The Baroness told Ry quietly to try and get his attention. “Oh, n’ ahoy there Ry. Out enjoyin’ the rain too?”

Ry kept the umbrella over his head as the rain began to fall harder, not even bothering to answer Baroness right off the bat.

What was the point?

He felt like he’d ruined himself today by letting Ashley trick him… HIM. The one who was at least a step ahead…tricked by Ashley. Now…now he wasn’t sure if Dakota trusted  him anymore or if he still had a friend or if he was even liked by anyone, because this stupid rumor was probably spreading and nobody would believe him over Ashley AND Dakota…

“No…” He whispered softly, voice wavering and cracking as he said that simple word. Normally, he’d be saying something sarcastic, but he just didn’t have it in him to do so right now…

If his team had lost today, they would have heard about him ‘hitting’ Dakota’s camera…and they would vote him off, because they probably all would feel like Ry had actually done it… He would have failed…he did fail…

“I’m just…here.”

The Baroness waited…and waited…and waited for an answer. She had a hunch something was…off with Ry. No, not a hunch; she knew for a fact what was wrong with Ry, and it started with an “Ashley.” She saw what went down earlier; how Ashley betrayed her own team right in front of her eyes; how she framed Ry. It disgusted her; if there’s one thing she hates in this world, it would be a traitorous wench like her.

She Barely heard Ry whisper “No” as the rain started pouring harder and harder, an occasional flash of lighting followed by the rumble of thunder breaking the monotony of the rain. The pirate girl barely knew what to say; what would bring him out of this slump. What if it hurts him more? What if she looses a friend? She can’t handle that happening to her a second time. She had to be brave; and so, she attempted to speak up.

“….I saw…what Ashley did early….” The Baroness finally spoke up, not knowing if this would set him off more. “…I got the fookin’ wench good fer it…I did.”

Ry’s eyes slowly shifted over to stare at the Baroness, facedevoid of much emotion. He felt like he’d been hit by a train, but he just…couldn’tpull himself up from the tracks again. Wait, did that make sense? He didn’t know right now, but it was dark and menacing enough to be good enough his ears.

When Baroness spoke, he nearly dropped his umbrella. “You…you fucking saw what she did?” He asked, clutching the umbrella and standing up to face her. “You know it wasn’t me! You know I didn’t do it, then! I…I would never do it to Dakota, but…but he blamed ME over Dennis even! I just…I…”

He suddenly took on a darker look, his mood darkening. “I. Want. Revenge….” He uttered, moving forward to stand in front of the Baroness, glaring up at her. The glare wasn’t meant for her and he sincerely hoped she didn’t take it as if it were.

“Fucking Bitchley is going to learn… Help me do something? Help me burn her room, help me ruin something important to her, or help me cover her room in buckets of pig’s blood or…or RED PAINT!”

The Baroness wasn’t surprised at Ry’s reaction once she told him what she saw. She knew he’d probably respond in shock; after all, she had just told him she witnessed what actually happened and not what Ashley had gotten people to believe. Hopefully it was the right move of her to do.

“Aye lad, I be seein’ what that wench did. Ain’t right to sabotage ‘er own team like that; ‘specially not if she was gonna frame an innocent!” The Baroness spoke in outrage as Ry got up to face her. He looked…mad; not the angry kind of mad, but rather, the insane type of mad. His face was contorted between a look of joy that someone believed him, confusion about the whole ordeal, and of course, the anger he was already experiencing.

Ry suddenly looked darker, moving in front of her, mood taking a turn for the worst. He looked up and…glared at her? ….Why was he glaring at her, she was on his side! Had it not been for what he said next, she would have taken a defensive stand.

“Revenge eh..?” She murmured under her breath as she contemplated what to do next. She hated Ashley’s guts, yes, but…does she want to physically involve herself in this war? Yes…yes The Baroness did. She had betrayed her own team mate and framed someone innocent; she was not going to stand there and let Ashley bully her way to the top.

“Aye, be more than glad to help!” The Baroness chanted loudly. “Red paint be perfect, cover the walls n’ cover the floors with it!”

Ry let out a sigh of relief with the Baroness on board with the whole scheme. He expected her to just leave him in the dust again with this whole thing. He REALLY needed her support since Ashley decided to pull that huge stunt on him. That bitch…had pulled her last act of betrayal.

“I don’t know what we’ll do, but I want her to get the damn message that I’m not fucking playing around with her anymore.” Ry seethed, clenching his fists. “I’d get Dennis, but I don’t want her dead…yet, so I trust you to help me. Make. Her. Suf. Fer.”

When she said that his red paint ploy was good enough, he nodded. “I want her to see that message… Maybe we’ll just throw paint on her door, make it a warning sign, then if she pulls something at eliminations….THEN we’ll coat her room in a fucking flurry of messy paint!”

His hands had long since turned white from stress and he took a couple breaths, trying to put himself out of this mood. “That bitch is going to get a warning, then I’m going to ruin her possessions, then…then I’ll make her wish she was never born….”

Ry’s sigh let The Baroness know she had done the right thing; he was glad to have had her on his side, and she was glad to be helping. Being a total jerk to everyone was one thing; betraying your own team, especially to frame someone innocent, was something this pirate would NOT stand for.

“Believe me matey, I can make ‘er suffer.” The Baroness said bluntly when Ry ‘demanded’ her to do so. “Killin’ ‘er be a bad move cause ye both might get marooned, but a good foggin’ could do ‘er good.” The Pirate girl continued to explain, coming up with an idea for what to do with Ashley.

She shrugged when Ry suggested only throwing the paint on the door. She would have loved to have coated Ashley’s room in the stuff, but alas, Ry was right; it’s best to warn her before they pull the full thing. “Aye, ye be right. Do some minor harm first, then make ‘er regret it if she do somethin’ stupid.”

“Like I care if I marooned…but I suppose killing is off the table for now…” Ry mumbled, losing himself in his dark thoughts. Oh, what they used to do to people like Ashley back in the old days made his heart flurry at the thought of it happening to her. So many lovely things crossed his mind: burning at the stake, branding her face as a traitor, skinning her alive, dunking her in a lake with concrete tied to her legs… He sighed softly, knowing those dreams could never come true with the humane society existing.

“I’ve got loads of red paint left over from Todd’s elimination,” he told her, crossing his arms slowly and smirking cruelly. “The paint she threw at him will now be the paint she sees everyday, showing her that her biggest mistake was thinking she could get away with framing… I want to find some yellow paint, too… The colors of her treachery…” He snorted loudly. “They also happen to be the colors of ketchup and mustard…though spraying those two condiments around her room will be fun, too.

“What about we add some mayonnaise for that needed effect? I love when a disgusting scent is left in a room for an extended period of time… Let’s coat the inside of her door, too!” He quickly stopped himself, not wanting to take this too far…yet.

“I be carin’ if ye be marooned though matey.” The Baroness admitted, not liking Ry beating up on himself. “M’ sure other lubbers’ be carin’ too!” She continued to try and help perk Ry up. The pirate girl might be a pirate, but she had a huge heart in the right place. She could only hope Ry would slowly accept that heart as his own.

“Hmm…Mayonnaise might stink up the whole hall if ye be askin’me bucko. Don’t use that, but splatter red paint like ye be blastin’ a cannon from a ship t’ sink ye enemy!” The Baroness cheered with Vigor, still wanting to let the boy she was in on his plan. She might have hated Ashley as much as he did, but she felt that there was no need to anger anyone else on that floor through what they did.

“Please,” Ry mumbled, crossing his arms and grinning evilly to himself. “I shouldn’t have gotten so worked up over the bitch’s schemes… It’s just she hit home with this one and I don’t care anymore. If I get killed, kicked off, or whatever, then FINE, but they’ll all know the truth eventually. So don’t worry about what happens to me… I’ll be fine—relatively speaking.” He added the last part without missing a beat.

When she mentioned mayo stinking up the hallway, he sighed in annoyance, knowing she was fully right. “Yeah… I suppose that’s right…but what if I shove it in her pillow?” He asked, raising a tiny eyebrow at this thought. “She’d be the only one who smells it and the hall would be spread the scent… Plus, I have some incense in my room that I’m not using if the scent DOES come around… I can use my b—vase to hold the sticks.”

The Baroness simply sighed, unsure of what else to say to Ry now. “If ye say so bucko. I mean, it’d be kinda, ye know, bilgey t’ see ye be walkin’ the plank….” She bellowed out, a slight sadness panging in her voice. The fact he could say all of that without any real sense of personal care being astonished the Pirate Girl; can people really be that hard on themselves?

A snicker and slight smirk came across her face when Ry mentioned shoving it into Ashley’s pillow. “Aye me matey! That be a wonderful plan.” She cheered. “She be gettin’ mayo fer days she be! N’ ye got yer fancy scented vase or whatever it be called t’ keep ye, well, smellin’ fresher than a spring mornin’!”

Ry looked at the Baroness calmly, not sure why she’d feel any emotion toward him ‘sleeping with the fishes,’ as she would say. He’d always thought that he wouldn’t be noticed until a stench picked up. Who would notice? Would anyone remember him if he did pass? These were all things he thought about frequently. Do…friends actually get emotional if another dies on them like in the movies?

His tiny eyebrows scrunched up slowly while he thought about this, not sure he entirely understood friendship. He’d heard that most things on the big screen were to be taken lightly, so he always took everything with a grain of salt. “Well, I wouldn’t want you to go ‘findin’ out the combination to Davy Jone’s Locker’ on me, either, so we’re even in the weird way.” He told her, voice not pushing much effort behind it even though he meant it genuinely.

If Ry wasn’t so hard on the inside and so avoidant of his laugh, he would have burst into a fit of laughter at Baroness. She literally thought he meant a vase with flowers. “…Too bad Dennis’s vase broke…at the party….because the floor below us could…” He stopped, sucking in a quick breath. “Could…have smelled like daisies on a spring day…too…” He cleared his throat quickly, trying to contain himself.

“But…let’s go paint her door and stuff some mayo in her pillow…”

The Baroness watched Ry’s eyebrows scrunch up in discomfort. She wasn’t sure if she said something wrong to him or not; and if she did, she hoped he could forgive her. It was clear that her way with words was….unique, to say the very least; although she had a hunch Ry was picking up on her way of speaking, which gave her hope he was just deep in thought. When Ry said that he wouldn’t want her to find his Davy Jones’ locker combination, she smiled; knowing that he understood what she meant.

She nodded at Ry explaining about Dennis’ vase, although she had no clue why Dennis would have brought a vase here for. “Aye, it be a mighty tragedy that Dennis’ vase be broken. Well…not sure how much ‘a tragedy it be for me, but I ‘sume it’d be a tragedy for him or you?” She started to ramble, not having picked up on Ry’s sarcastic response. She was never the best at picking up sarcasm, of course, having always taken things literally.

“Well, Godspeed then! We be havin’a  Wench’s room t’ paint n’ stuff up!”

Dakota:
Dakota had been deep in thought as he walked by, his attention now focused on his newly repaired camera. All the stress of him thinking it was ruined made him… well in his opinion, kind of mean. While Ashley was able to help fix the camera itself, the film inside of it was still ruined. A set of memories, just gone. He couldn’t even remember if they were important ones or not.

Other then that, his head was spinning with all kinds of confusion. Ry and Ashley certainly didn’t like each other and one of them was definitely lying to him. While Ashley was his teammate and gave him every reason in the world to distrust Ry, he just couldn’t. Something about her made him not completely trust her words. While she’s made some good points, it’s never been 100% proven to him that Ry was a bad guy. Though by that logic, it’s never been proven to him that either of them were really good either. It seemed like the only person Dakota could really trust was Gaile.

“Gaile..” He murmured, just the thought of her made a smile creep onto his face. For a brief moment, all the stress vanished. However, he quickly shook his head. “No. Gotta focus.”

That moment was when he passed by Ry, only for him to get assaulted with raindrops. He let out a soft noise that could only be compared to the whimper of a puppy before looking up to see who his assailant was. “Ry…!”

This had been the worst day of Ry’s life…even worse than–No, this probably beat any of the times he’d been a pile of bruises on the floor of his home. What could be worse than that? Well, let’s see…

He’d finally made his FIRST ever friend…only to have him distrust him, call him paranoid, and leave him being the one suspected of breaking his camera; then his first friend kiss him and all Ry did was run off in terror…like a coward; then he’d made an enemy, who had successfully shattered his thought process, made him regret living, and hating his entire existence; then he had a teammate, who just ditched him instead of warning him about the balloon that hit him in the back; and finally, EVERYONE probably blamed him for what happened to Dakota. His only upside was that, for now, everyone was focused on the fact that Arizona had started crying her eyes out for some reason and Mika had been screaming at Matt about something…

“Come li–!” Ry’s vocals immediately stopped when he heard the familiar voice right next to him, prompting him to jump up immediately and move away from the other teen, eyes widened and umbrella clasped tightly in his hands.

He bite his lip harshly and stared directly at Dakota, eyes still widened and heart racing. His friend…his friend? Was he still considering him a friend? He said the incident was okay, but…but he believed ASHLEY over him… That…that hurt him worse… his stone heart felt like it had been dropped in the ocean and erosion was eating it away.

“….”

Dakota shifted under Ry’s gaze. He didn’t like this feeling. Clearly there was still some bad blood between them. Unable to handle looking at Ry, Dakota glanced down, fumbling awkwardly with his camera. His heart was beating a mile a minute in his chest.

“I guess….. you really don’t like me anymore, huh….?” Dakota said pathetically. “I…. I’m sorry for everything…..” The small boy clutched tightly at his camera as though it was his lifeline, squeezing his eyes shut. After everything he did, he wouldn’t be surprised if Ry really did hate him. Dakota was so quick to turn against him, so quick to call him paranoid, and he even kissed him without warning. He let out another small “I’m sorry….”

Ry’s gaze followed Dakota’s in glancing everywhere but at him, trying to avoid any eye contact that could lead to him being found out with crying. Taking a few steps back, he tried to control his breathing, but he was starting to feel light-headed from everything. “I…I don’t hate you…” He informed him, eyes narrowing slightly but body trembling in the thick air.

It was true; he could never hate Dakota… He just didn’t have it in him to hate the first person to make him smile; the first person to give him hope; the first person to make him feel…anything. But… But with everything that happened, he felt betrayed and scared.

“I just…I…I don’t know how to feel…” His grip on the umbrella slowly loosened and he kept his stand, trying desperately to stop his annoying trembles. “About…about the….” He paused, biting his lip. “…kiss…”

Dakota snapped his gaze up, his brown eyes filled with tears. He was truly relieved to hear that Ry didn’t hate him. He couldn’t help but give a small smile upon hearing that. “Thank goodness….” He murmured in a sigh of relief.

However when the conversation turned back to the kiss, Dakota’s face flared up again and he looked off to the side. “…….I…. I know you didn’t like it…… and I won’t do it again…”

Ry took a deep breath and stared at Dakota, seeing eye staring right into his soul. “Why did you kiss me, though? Why?” It had been on his mind ever since it happened. Was it a crush? Was Dakota dared to do it? Did he get told to do it by Ashley? Why…? Why would he kiss him? Ry was a monster wearing human skin, so why would anyone look at him and think ‘wow, you’re really kissable!’

“I don’t understand it! Why would you kiss me?! I’m…I’m just… I can’t understand why you’d kiss me, Dakota!” He shook his head in confusion. “I…I just can’t see why you would! Was it a dare?! Were you dared to do it?! Were you getting money out of it?! Why?! Just why would you kiss a monster like me?!”

“I don’t think you’re a monster!” Dakota nearly shouted back, however raising his voice so loud caused his voice to crack and out of embarrassment he went back to talking quietly.

“I kissed you…. I…. I don’t know…! Because I like you I think?? I… I’ve never really had a crush on anyone before…. and you’re a boy so it’s weird—” He quickly shook his head. “N-not weird. I didn’t mean weird… I meant confusing… I-I’m sorry….” He shifted in his place, “Because I like you….. a boy… and I also like G— A girl! ….. Actually, that is weird, isn’t it? Liking a boy and a girl….”

Ry took a step back at the loudness in Dakota’s voice, almost like it was a learned trait of his, and stared at him in disbelief. If he didn’t think he was a monster, then why would he believe ASHLEY over him…? Was he…just less trustworthy than her…? It caused his chest to ache just to think about it.

When Dakota explained himself, however, Ry’s gaze shifted from hard glare to soft and understanding. He couldn’t like Ry, because he liked G… He paused, knowing that there was only one person here with a G name, making him almost crack into a laugh, but he contained it. “…Dakota, you… Of course you don’t remember our talk about that…” He mumbled softly, walking back over to the fountain and taking a seat on it, then patted the spot next to him.

Yeah, he was still in a lot of pain about being treated like he was a monster, but he knew that his feelings were…less important than anyone else’s. He’d learned this for so many years that he just didn’t see it as anything else, unless it came to Dennis, Lavender, and Ashley. Fuck those guys; they can look out for their own damn selves.

“I guess…I need to explain things to you again…” He mumbled, looking over at him. “And we’ll try to assess what you can do about G—A girl.”

Dakota puttered over, taking his seat next to Ry. He silently came to the understanding that though Ry liked him as a person and as a friend, he didn’t like him as anything more. Which was pretty okay for him, he just didn’t want Ry to hate him, as long as they were still friends he was fine.

“Explain what….?” He asked, looking to Ry curiously as he scooched up next to him so he was under the umbrella as well.

Ry felt uncomfortable about the distance they had next to each other, seeing as they were nearly touching again due to Ry’s umbrella not containing a large span…and the gun he’d scored from the hunt with Dennis was taped to the top of the inside.

“I…” He mumbled, scooting an inch over. “I’m going to talk to you about sexuality again.” He informed him, voice calm despite the air of tension he still felt from the challenge. “…Do you remember my sexuality?”

“….You like boys, yeah? So that makes you… uhm…. gay!” Dakota announced, mostly just to himself, giving himself a mental pat on the back for remembering. He looked over at Ry, giving him a soft smile. Of course, he could feel that there was still tension between them but he was hoping that it would pass with time.

Ry slowly nodded, crossing his legs and giving them a dainty bend like he normally did in this setting. “Mmhm… I’m gay, but that doesn’t mean I’m necessarily into anyone on this show, so… don’t get any ideas!” He tried to warn, feeling a little ridiculous now that he said it. But he just didn’t want anyone trying to pair him up… Crushes got you hurt…

“Okay, but you, on the other hand, say you like both boys and girls; me and G—a girl.” He said this statement in mild amusement. “But that means you aren’t straight anymore, Dakota. Well, it means you were never necessarily straight anyway…. This makes you ‘bisexual,’ meaning you have attraction aesthetically and sexually to both girls and boys, see?”

When Ry warned him to not get any ideas, Dakota’s smile fell momentarily and he shifted in his seat, mumbling quietly. “I get it… you don’t like me…” under his breath. It felt to him as though Ry was constantly rejecting him. Which he only needed to really do once.

When Ry mentioned sexual attraction, Dakota’s eyes widened and his face flushed a deep hue. “Wh-what?? N-no! Their is nothing sexual about the way I like you OR Gaile—” He slapped his hand over his mouth, letting out a soft whimper of defeat. And here he was, thinking he was doing so well in keeping his feelings for Gaile a secret.

“N-No, that’s not what I meant! I mean, the other guys on this show: Derby, Matt, Todd, Benny…Dennis. I…” He stopped, hanging his head in sorrow. He was awful with people and phrasing… “I didn’t mean or want to hurt you… I just didn’t know how to react and…” He sighed loudly, covering his face and running his hands through his hair, knocking his hat off and sending it into the fountain, revealing more of his tired and stressed features.

Ry raised his eyebrow at him, trying to gauge Dakota in general. Well, he certainly was young for his age… had he even hit puberty yet? How old was he anyway? Wasn’t the age limit fifteen? So…was he even fifteen ? Did he lie about his age to get on the show? “So…you like Gaile, too?” He asked, trying to act as if it weren’t obvious the moment he’d tried to hide it with ‘a girl.’

“O-oh….” Dakota sputtered out softly, gently fidgeting with his camera. “I’m sorry I thought– …. ah…… I’ve just been assuming the worst of you since the challenge. I’m sorry Ry. I know you’re a better person then what I’ve been making it seem…. Everything in my head is just so fuzzy right now…” He trailed off, looking down as Ry’s hat fell and landed in the fountain. Immediately he reached in for it, for a second nearly losing his balance, however he caught himself.

Dakota scooped the red beanie out of the water, being very careful as he rang it out and held it back out to Ry, offering up a small smile along with it. “You’re my best friend Ry. I mean that. I’m sorry I haven’t been treating you fairly….”

He then gave a sheepish nod, glancing away from the other teen. “Y-yeah…. I like Gaile….. though to be honest I don’t think that will work out either.” He began to swing his feet back and forth slowly as he stared at the ground. “She’s so pretty… and wonderful… and can do so much better then me. Someone like Todd or Matt would suit her better….”

Ry’s face showed sorrow still as Dakota said all that to him. It was like his high school every single day, his home life every single day, and…just everywhere he went every single day. Nobody ever looked at him and said ‘he looks really cool!’ No, they always assumed the worst of him. They always thought he was some criminal in disguise, some beast in a cage, or something worse than those two combined. It disheartened him and made him wish the worst on everyone, and he never would have thought of things like that before he turned twelve; but, like with most things, things change. He was a sadistic bastard, who silently watched and hoped someone got trampled by a rhino, caught the plague, or just keeled over and died.

Snapping his attention to Dakota, he caught the last bit of what he was saying regarding him, nearly gasping in surprise. “Best…friend…?” He asked, voice mixed with confusion and shock. “I…I… What do you mean I’m your best friend? Shouldn’t…you mean that to someone else?” His mind clicked into several modes of confusion, layering each one with denial that Dakota had even said that. “You can’t mean that about me…” He mumbled, accepting his beanie back with a soft nod of gratitude.

When Dakota looked away, he knew that it was his fault Dakota felt so…disheartened. It was HIS fault that he’d made Dakota feel like this…it was his fault… He’d lived to become the monster he hated the most: Joey, the one who ruined crushes for him and smashed his confidence to pieces. Well, he hated the idea of crushes; he denied any that came his way and tried to move on, but he couldn’t do that with Dakota… He’d give him what he never had: hope. “How do you know?” He asked, crossing his legs. “Just because Todd and Matt have muscles, doesn’t mean they fit her needs or wants. Even though you’re not my type Dakota, you’re wonderful and amazingly sweet, which any girl needs in her life. I mean, who knows, one day you could grow into a strong man with muscles…but right now, you have what she needs more than anything: a personality that’s uplifting.”

Dakota gave a small nod, “Yes. You’re my best friend.” Dakota insisted, giving Ry a bashful smile. “Since I got here you’ve always been looking out for me. I can… I can tell you just want me to be happy. It’s the same vibe my brothers give off, actually…..” He mused, before his smile brightened. “Of course! You’re always so good to me, Ry! Like one of my big brothers! No wonder I feel so close to you…”

His gaze returned down to his camera. “Though…. besides from my brothers, I don’t really have a lot of friends honestly. For a long while it felt like since I had them, I didn’t need anyone else, you know? But you changed that. Or… at least, were one of the people to change that. Does that make sense? I feel like I’m just rambling.”

Dakota shrugged. “I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem like the pretty girls ever want boys like me, you know…? Zeke always says I’m just a late bloomer and when I’m finished growing I’ll be a total ladykiller….. which to be honestly I don’t know what that means. Probably something good….? But anyway.. she’s just…. out of me league.”

Ry gave a soft nod, feeling a little strange to actually want to look out for someone other than himself. It was true… He had been looking out for Dakota A LOT since he first encountered him in the elevator: warning him about Ashley, warding off Lavender’s advances, making sure Baroness knew to leave him out of this, and trying to keep Ashley from finding out that Dakota was his friend. He’d done all of this for… Well, he wasn’t sure what. Dakota gave him a bracelet and called him a friend. It was…a nice feeling. “I do want you to be happy…” He mumbled, looking at him and smiling. “I just…you’re the first person to look at me…and… Well, you didn’t make me feel like I was a freak.”

Ry looked forward, smile fading back into his neutral look. “Well, I know you know this, but I never had a friend…until I met you. It’s….it’s really nice to finally say ‘friend’ when I refer to someone. Yeah, that sounds a little dumb…I suppose, but I’ve always been told that I’m a friendless freak, and the kids at my school are watching this now,” he paused, flipping off a camera he could see in the distance. “Well, they can’t say that I’m that anymore, because you saved me from my loneliness, and I…I’m so happy you came here, even though this place is trying to kill us all, it feels nice to have a friend. Thank you…and I…I hope I can remain your friend when this ends…”

When he moved on to his brothers telling him he was going to be a ‘lady killer,’ Ry almost choked on the thought of Dakota becoming ANYTHING like that. Sure, he could get a little taller, but him becoming one of those macho guys who girls swoon over? Okay, and Ry would get a boyfriend who cared about his feelings one day. “Well, I don’t know exactly what that means, and I really can’t see you becoming anything like that…but… I feel like you could snag Gaile. Honestly, she’s a great person and…would probably react better to a kiss than I did, but I wouldn’t recommend kissing her so…out of the blue.” He paused, not believing he was about to say this: “I could try to test the waters, so to speak, and see if she has feelings toward you, you know?”

Dakota silently listened to Ry talk and when he saw him smile, he felt so much joy well up inside of him that by instinct, he lifted his camera and snapped a picture of Ry’s smiling face. It really was one of his favorite things to take a picture of.

“Well Ry, you don’t have to worry about those people anymore.” Dakota finally added. “They can all just put a sock in it now! You’re nothing close to a friendless freak now and you never will be!” The small teen giggled before looking forward. A thoughtful expression made it’s way onto Dakota’s face and he went silent for a minute before finally looking back at Ry.

“You know…I have so much fun with you and Gaile I almost forget this is a competition… I know you and I are on opposing teams and everything but how about a secret alliance?” Dakota then made a face. “Unless of course we’ve already agreed to that and I just don’t remember… “ He said bashfully before continuing on. “But… ah…. I figured…. we could try making it to the finale together? Unless you have someone else in mind for that.”

When Ry mentioned talking to Gaile for him, Dakota squirmed, letting out an embarrassed whimper before covering his face with his hands. “As….as long as you don’t mention my crush…!”

Ry looked taken aback by the sudden flash of Dakota’s camera and let out a soft snort of amusement. “Well…I guess I had that coming since it’s rare to see me smile, huh?” He rubbed his arm and placed his wet beanie next to him, not feeling like holding it any longer.

“Oh, I still have to worry about them since I go back to school with them once the show’s over…but if I can, then I may just beat their asses and take Valedictorian. I’m making a speech up in my mind right now. They’ll wish they’d died in their mother’s womb when I’m through with them…” He blissfully informed Dakota, not aware of how dark that sounded. “But…thank you for saying all this. I’ve made four friends on this show…and that’s four more than I came on here to. I guess, it’s kinda nice to feel welcomed into a small group, even though…we’re kinda different. Gaile might enjoy this reference; we’re the Breakfast Club of Total Drama Colors, huh? We have a Meme, A camera boy, a 90’s Princess, and a…dark kid? I guess that works for me. Though…I could add in Dennis, but I doubt he’d use the term friend to describe me.” He mumbled, lowering his umbrella slightly and showing Dakota the gun.

“Wait! But…what about Ashley? Didn’t you want to stay neutral because of her?” He asked, eyes suddenly widening in shock. “If you ally yourself with me, then you’d be going against her…but you would be joining up with me, Todd, Gaile, and the Baroness…” The thought of Ry dragging Dakota down farther were inevitably on his mind. “Are…you sure you’d want to do this?” He asked, voice becoming deathly serious.