Two chapter's today cause it's Neon's Birthday!:3

Gwen's POV

I was awakened once again, but this time it wasn't by a bullhorn, it was by an argument. I crawled down the ladder and put my clothes on as I saw Courtney and Heather going at it.

"You've had the thing for three days! Give it up!" Heather screamed. The laptop. I had completely forgotten about it after the incident with Cody interrupting Duncan and I.

"It's not like anyone's been complaining about it!" Courtney defended herself.

"Now I'm complaining! So give it!" Heather demanded. I was pulling my shirts over my head, so I didn't hear what was happening after that, but they were going at it for sure.

"You're just jealous that I have it and you don't!" Courtney shot back.

"Is that so? Or are you just jealous that I got to the million and you didn't?" Heather asked, right in Courtney's face. They growled and got in fighting stances. Courtney was about to swing when the bullhorn blared, not that it mattered for us, since LeShawna, Bridgette, Sierra, and I were already awake because of the fight.

I yanked Heather's arm away and eventually out of our cabin to walk to the clearing.

"Why did you let her keep it so long if you were going to whine about it later?" I whispered to her as we walked.

"Because I wanted to see what she was up to!" She yelled.

"And was that helpful?" I asked almost sarcastically.

"All I know is she's constantly E-Mailing her lawyers concerning a 'pending lawsuit', plus their bill." She whispered in my ear, tickling the little hairs there.

"Pending?" I asked, "Then she must be suing someone else, because the one I got was way past pending." I commented. Yeah, after last season, she sent Duncan, Heather, Chris, and I all to court.

"I know, mine too. Now do you think I'm not paranoid?" She asked eagerly.

"I guess not, we'll just have to watch her." I said. We stopped the conversation there since we had arrived at the clearing along with everyone else. Chris was standing there as always.

"Alright, so today's challenge begins at the beach!" He exclaimed. Courtney interrupted him quickly.

"Excuse me, Chris, but where is DJ?" She asked. I, too noticed the big lug wasn't there.

"Infirmary." He said simply.

"Yeah, Dude was screaming all night about 'Mama's spice.'" Duncan added. We all looked at him senselessly.

"Well, it's okay, guys! We're still strong!" Bridgette tried to motivate her team. Poor girl.

Once we arrived at the beach, Chris stood in between two wheelbarrows.

"Oh! Are we having a baby carriage race like we did last time? Can I be the mommy? That way, Cody can be the daddy..." She said, trying to kiss the little brunette. He turned his head as far around as it would go and started flailing his arms in Sierra's direction in an attempt to subdue her, which was only partially working.

"Sierra!" Harold whined, "Let him go, or you could cause a respiratory-" Harold was cut off by a punch to the back of the neck, delivered by Duncan.

"Can we just get on with it now?" He asked.

"Fine. The first part of the challenge is for each team to make it from here to the infamous Boney Island!" He announced cheerily.

"Well, that should be easy for us, right guys?" Bridgette asked her team, "I mean, we did really well with the canoes last challenge." She said with a sheepish smile. It disappeared when Chris jumped over to their team area.

"Except this time, boat's are outlawed!" He announced, all the while keeping that annoying, cocky smirk plastered on his face. We all groaned heavily. "You can only use the items found in your team's wheelbarrow, excluding the wheelbarrow. Plus any other crap you find here or in the woods. First team to get everyone there wins round one, and may even get an advantage in round two." He said, winking at the closest camera. "Alright, then, GO!" He yelled, we scrambled over to our wheelbarrow and peeked inside.

There was a rope in there, and it was LONG, not to mention very tough. There wasn't much else in there, except for a pair of bicycle handlebars that looked like they had just been torn off a rusty old bike, two pairs of long shears, and one sparkler.

"Ugh, how are we supposed to make it all the way to Boney Island with all this useless junk?" Courtney asked as she disappointedly looked at the contents of the wheelbarrow. I looked at all the items again, and an idea sparked.

"Hey guys! Why don't we make a zip line?" I asked excitedly. They all stared at me blankly.

"How?" Sierra asked.

"Well, we could get someone to climb one of these huge trees and another fast swimmer to make it to Boney Island. Then, they can climb a tree over there, tie the other end of the rope, and use the sparkler to tell us it's finished. the rest of us can use the handlebars to get across the rope." I explained. Courtney's face wrinkled up.

"Why should we listen to you, boyfriend kisser?" She asked, saying the last two words venomously.

"Got any better ideas?" I asked, with as much venom in my voice as hers. We stared at each other for a good two minutes before Courtney dramatically twirled around, smacking me in the face with a few pieces of her hair.

Confessional

Heather: Wow, Gwen stood up for herself. *folds arms over her chest* I'm impressed. *nervously* But I still don't like her!

LeShawna: Ooh, Baby! That's my white girl!

End Confessional

"I'll swim!" Heather and Courtney called at the same time. They glared at each other.

"I should swim! I'm probably faster, and more fit than her little C.I.T. butt." Heather insulted Courtney.

"Well, this 'little C.I.T. butt' won four swimming medals at last year's C.I.T. summer olympics!" Courtney said, folding her arms over her chest. LeShawna stepped up and pushed Heather's chest, causing her to topple backwards into the polluted waters of the ocean.

"Oh well, Heather's already soaked, might as well send her." I said quickly while smiling thankfully at LeShawna.

"That's for defending yourself, baby." LeShawna whispered in my ear. I hugged her quickly before wrapping the rope twice and then knotting it around Heather's exposed stomach. I then handed her the sparkler.

"Try not to get this wet, but if you do, dry it off fast." I said. She stuck the long, wooden stick in her ponytail of black hair and then waded out to the ocean. She was greeted by someone from the other team doing the exact same thing as us. You could tell by a tiny green speck that it was Duncan. I quickly turned to look at the other team. They were copying us!

"Copycats!" Courtney said, pointing an accusatory finger at them while the rest of us glared.

"What?" Noah spat, "It's not like these guys are the freshest cookies in the bakery!" He defended his team's actions, although Geoff and Bridgette were now staring at him. "What?" He asked them. "Oh, just go, Bridgette!" He yelled. She then proceeded to hop up the tall tree gracefully. I looked frantically to my team to see how they were doing. Problem was, we hadn't exactly picked a climber yet. Courtney had taken that role on, however. She was using the two pairs of shears to pull herself up the tree, sticking them higher into the trunk when she needed to. Her strength was probably the only thing that allowed her to do that.

Courtney kept going until she was standing on a very big branch.

"This should hold all of us!" She called as she tossed down the amount of rope we had, making sure there would be enough for Heather to pull away. I grabbed onto the tough rope first, pulling myself up as fast as I could. I struggled at some points, but eventually made it to the branch easily. I looked down at my remaining teammates as they each gradually made it up here. Sierra made the climb with Cody slung over her shoulder, effortlessly and without ease. This, however, was not the story with LeShawna. She was struggling with pulling her own weight, as well as trying not to crush Harold, who was inching his way up underneath her. At one point when the two were almost all the way up, Harold pushed LeShawna's backside in an attempt to speed her up. LeShawna started cursing and screaming incoherently at him, obviously annoyed.

Confessional

LeShawna: I know that boy knows better than to touch this booty!

End Confessional

At that point, we all just grabbed a hold of the rope and hoisted them up the rest of the way. I caught a glimpse of LeShawna glaring hatefully at Harold while he just giggled with a cheesy grin on his face.

I then looked at our opponents. They only had Bridgette and Noah to send over.

"Guys, let's go!" I screamed as I pointed to the other team. Courtney frantically looked at Boney Island in the distance for the signal. We watched for not even two seconds when we saw the sparkler soar through the sky before burning out in the water. "Go!" I screamed to Courtney, who grabbed a hold of the handlebars and rode off. Five minutes later, the handlebars came whirring down the line. I grabbed a hold, lifted my legs, and hopped off the branch. Soaring through the air was invigorating. I could feel the wind through my hair, melting into every pore within me. I closed my eyes to enjoy the experience just about when it was ending. I hopped down off the set of handlebars, and smacked it back with enough force so that it would reach the island. I was greeted by Courtney and Heather having a stare-down. I was bored with that and eventually decided to look to the other team. They were standing on a tree branch with about the same thickness as ours, possibly even on the same tree. The only difference between their system and ours is that they hadn't wrapped this end of the rope around the tree trunk. No, instead the only support they had coming from this side was Duncan, gripping the rope in a way that made it look easy. It makes sense I guess, considering his strength.

"Wee!" squealed Sierra as she sped over to us, Cody once again slung over her shoulder. Cody's eyes were shut tightly and it looked like tears could pour out any second. They stepped onto the branch with us and waited for the last two. I looked back to the other team, who still only had Geoff and Duncan there. Duncan suddenly looked back at me. He did a fancy little salute that I was hoping he didn't learn off the street as some gang symbol, and I giggled in response. He looked like he was about to say something when Geoff literally grabbed his head and turned it to face the front of him. I saw them glare at each other and silently argue while I just frowned.

LeShawna came by soon enough, just as Noah got there for the Killer Cavemen. LeShawna had caused the rope to droop a noticeable amount, but had still managed to get across. She mustered up momentum before thrusting the handlebars back along the rope. We then waited a few minutes for them to come back carrying Harold, but he never came, nor did Bridgette.

Chris appeared on the creepy shores underneath us on the branch.

"Get down here!" He screamed up. I could faintly see him cupping his hands around his mouth.

"But where's Bridgette?" Geoff asked sadly.

"And Harold?" I added.

"All will be explained when you GET DOWN! Geez, I could risk a lawsuit with you guys up there!" He yelled, and although that last part was more to himself, Courtney quietly answered him.

"Don't worry, Chris, you're already getting one." She muttered darkly as we all hopped down off the tree. We saw the rope that wasn't ours come down slightly along with the group of males.

"I don't see my Bridgey bear down here." Geoff grumbled.

"That's because she's been kidnapped! Harold too." He added, looking to our team. We didn't really freak out or anything, we were more confused. Geoff on the other hand, oh, he was freaking out.

"What are you talking about man? Aw, man, where is she?" He screamed, walking in a circle and looking aimlessly from treetop to treetop.

"Chill man, that's your final part of today's challenge." We all stood silent as we listened to the host. "Your team member has been kidnapped and somewhere here on Boney Island. Whichever team makes it here first with their found teammate wins today's challenge."

"What about the first challenge? Who won?" Noah asked.

"Well, no one was really looking, so who knows?" Chris said.

"Ugh, do we really have to find that dweeb?" Heather scoffed.

"No kidding." Courtney added.

"You do if you want to win." LeShawna said to the both of them.

"Go!" Chris screamed. The three remaining members of the Killer Cavemen took off in separate directions as we did the same. I was lurking around the ominous grounds of the fog-ridden island when I heard conversation. I hid behind a tree and spotted the three boys walking by.

"Bridgey! Bridgey, can you hear me?" Geoff was calling as he looked around.

"'Ay, Malibu! Come out here and I'll give you a granola bar or-or a carrot, or whatever else you vegan guys eat!" Duncan yelled. Noah said nothing but appeared lost in thought. He then stopped walking, causing the two larger boys who were walking behind him to stop as well.

"Am I the only dude left on this team who isn't strung up on some girl?" He asked out of the blue. Geoff whistled innocently while Duncan spat, then folded his arms over his chest.

"I am not strung." He said. Geoff and Noah lost it laughing.

"Oh-Dude...Dude, that's!" Geoff got out.

"What?" Duncan asked irately.

"Dude..." Noah trailed off while looking him square in the eye, "your foot popped!" He yelled, causing Geoff and Noah to go into even more fits of laughter. Even I giggled myself, despite not even knowing what they were talking about.

Confessional

Duncan: My foot DID NOT pop! *pauses, then raises a fist* I'm going to pound somebody if that made the cut.

End Confessional

Suddenly, I heard faint moans and groans coming from somewhere near. The guys must've heard it, too, as they stopped mocking Duncan and started scanning the thick forests with their eyes. Suddenly, Geoff pushed Noah and Duncan aside and ran to a nearby bush. He emerged with a sickly-looking, barely-conscious Bridgette in his arms bridal style.

"Let's go!" Duncan yelled, and they all ran for the shores of the island. I don't know why, but I followed them from a distance. As I was running, I saw Heather, and she was dragging Harold by one skinny arm while the rest of him was dragging on the floor.

"They've got Bridge already. Go!" I whisper-yelled to her. She nodded and picked up the pace, still dragging the nerd behind her. I watched the whole thing after that. Harold had woken up right when the they were neck-and neck. He looked dreamily at Heather and muttered:

"Boobies." It was easy to tell he wasn't fully awake yet. But not ten seconds later, he woke up fully, but misunderstood the situation, and began flailing his arms about, releasing Heather's grasp she had on him. They were now both on the ground, watching as the Killer Cavemen safely carried Bridgette over to Chris and Chef.

"Killer Cavemen win!" He yelled. The three well ones cheered, while I sighed heavily. The rest of our team darted out of the woods then. They had all apparently watched the scene as well. Cody, Sierra, Courtney, LeShawna, and even Heather glared at Harold, who was still on the ground, and still confused.

"Squids. Looks like you guys are the losers today. See you at the ceremony!" Chris called.

It was nighttime back on the island, and our team was sitting in front of the crackling fire and Chris, fresh from casting our votes. Heather and I still voted for Courtney.

"So Screaming Squids, your first real campfire ceremony. How does it feel?" He asked. He was practically rubbing it in our faces that we lost! Oh, that jerk!

"Crappy. Now, just give me my marshmallow!" Heather demanded, almost standing up.

"Okay, okay, sheesh." He said, picking up a fluffy white marshmallow and tossing it to Heather. "LeShawna." He said tossing her one, which she immediately popped in her mouth. "Sierra and Cody." He tossed each of them one. Sierra caught both of them squealed, and then force fed Cody's to him. "Um...awkward. Gwen!" He yelled. I smiled as I grabbed the marshmallow in one of my pale hands before eating it. We were down to the final two: Harold and Courtney. "And the final marshmallow goes to..." He trailed off. The suspense was killing me myself. Who was it going to be? "Courtney!" He screamed, tossing her the final marshmallow. Heather and I sighed in defeat while Harold scoffed.

"Gosh, Chris, you must've read those wrong. My team knows better than to eliminate me and my mad skills." He said, looking at us hopefully. Out of the corner of my eye I could see LeShawna shaking her head.

"Harold man, you got four votes out of six possible ones against you." Chris said. He sighed and got up from his log as he sadly trudged over to the dock. LeShawna kissed his cheek quickly, causing him to grin and smile sheepishly. Our team watched from a distance as Bridgette, who was feeling way better by now, quickly hugged him. Geoff did some weird guy handshake with him after that. Harold turned around to us, ready to make a speech until Duncan picked the kid up and tossed him onto the back of the boat. He laughed at the fallen teen as the boat slowly drifted away. The Killer Cavemen came to join us by Chris.

"Okay, well...go away!" Chris yelled. We dispersed and started to walk to our cabins, although I hadn't moved. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Want to go for a walk or something?" Duncan offered. I smiled at him and was about to accept the offer when I saw Geoff sling his arm around Duncan's neck, holding him in a light headlock.

"Love to, man, thanks for the offer!" Geoff exclaimed. Duncan was not amused.

"I wasn't asking you." Duncan said threateningly.

"Later." Geoff nodded to me as he walked away with Duncan.

Confessional

Gwen: Just so we're clear, Geoff: Duncan is my boyfriend.

End Confessional

I walked to my cabin alone and did all my usual stuff like all the other girls were doing, aside from Courtney and Heather, who decided to continue their argument from this morning. After a while of their yelling I had tuned everything out. Everything, that is, but:

"'Night, Pasty."