It was morning when I opened my eyes again. I quickly scanned the room for Ben. He sat in the corner and seemed to be sleeping. They'd tied him up tightly and sometime last night, he'd calmed down. I brought my hand to my neck which still hurt badly. I had difficulty breathing properly and was nursing a terrible headache but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't be mad at him.

He was sick. Maybe Ollie had been too, I didn't know. I couldn't even pretend that the island hadn't affected me too. That dream was proof of that even if I hadn't had another one since then.

And then there were my unmistakable feelings for Mikey. Could the island be behind that too? I hated the thought but I had to consider that possibility. What if we got off the island and we didn't feel the same way? I hated that thought too.

I glanced around the empty house. "Where was everybody" I wondered. Ben seemed tied up good but I still didn't feel safe here.

I sat up properly bringing both my feet to the cold bare floor. As shitty as yesterday had been, I was still glad to be able to sleep on an actual bed.

I tried to stand and was instantly hit with a wave of pain that forced me to stagger and seek balance on the wall closest to me.

I felt terrible.

I took short, shallow breaths to avoid the pain in my throat as I tried to regain my composure.

When I thought I was ready to move, I did and started the journey to leave the house.

▼・j61;・▼

The air outside was crisp and rejuvenating. The island was warm but not too hot. I ran a hand through my hair before placing the rogue strands behind my ears then set out to the lake to look for the team.

They weren't at the lake as it came into view but the closer I got, I heard a rhythmic thudding coming from the forest and the closer I got to that, I heard familiar voices talking and laughing.

The forest's trees here were very sparsely placed so it wasn't difficult to navigate until Mikey, Doug, Gabe and Ollie came into view.

I smoothed my dress and touched the tips of my hair unconsciously.

They were taking turns swinging at a tree with the axe we'd found a long time ago. It felt so long since we came to the island. Much longer than it had actually been.

I watched Doug swing the axe wildly at the tree, catch it terribly and vibrate from the recoil. He dropped the axe and exclaimed and the boys laughed. I smiled.

When I got close enough, their gazes turned to focus on me. I let out a small wave.

Doug who still had his hands encased in his laps reacting from the pain spoke first, "glad you could join us, my lady" he said mockingly.

I shot him a look which was entirely for show. Most of that stuff had stopped bothering me a long time ago.

"Wanna have a go?" Gabe asked picking up the axe.

I shook my head.

"Cat got your tongue, Fahey" Doug asked.

I shot him another look "it hurts to talk" I groaned weakly.

Mikey's face filled with concern but he didn't say anything.

"Last night was rough huh?" Gabe said with genuine concern "Sorry you had to go through that. This island is really kicking our ass".

Ollie broke off from the group of boys walking past me and heading for the compound.

I turned and said in the loudest voice I could muster.

"Ollie.." I groaned from the pain.

He stopped.

"You don't have to go" I continued fighting through the pain.

He turned and gave me a weak smile before leaving.

"I cannot believe you two still haven't figured your shit out" Doug said.

"Hey, leave it alone" Gabe replied before taking position and making a proper swing at the tree.

I sat and watched the three of them chip away at the tree. Mikey had made solid progress into their end goal of felling the tree before dropping the axe at the base and making his way over to me.

Doug picked up the axe, "where the fuck is Ollie? It was supposed to be the four of us doing this"

Gabe shoved him lightly. "Just swing okay? We don't need him. Do it properly this time".

Mikey closed the gap and sat next to me resting on the same tree. I smoothed the dress skirt again unconsciously.

"How are you feeling?" He asked turning to me.

I nodded and smiled.

"I'm sorry I didn't wake up early enough yesterday"

"I'm fine" I croaked and coughed "coach saved me"

"You sound terrible"

I tried to laugh but it hurt too bad.

My head fell on his shoulder and I closed my eyes. Neither of us said anything. We just sat there. I felt him put his arm around me and I adjusted to fit better.

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"I thought Ben was just losing his shit but he really did see y'all kiss, didn't he?" I heard Doug say.

I rose my head to lose at him but didn't reply. Mikey didn't either.

"Look, I'm not even going to pretend to understand what's going on between you two. All I care about is getting off this island and as long as you two do your parts, you can do whatever else you want"

Gabe walked up to Doug carrying the axe, "we're taking a break, getting some food" he told us "we'll be back at the house".

Soon Doug and Gabe had disappeared out of sight.

I turned to Mikey who did the same. I shifted my weight to get a better angle, placed both hands on his face and kissed him. And then I kissed him again. And again. Then I kissed his neck, and his chest.

"What are you doing?" He asked

"Sshhh"

My heart beat so quickly as I tried to steel myself.

A lot was uncertain right now but I knew what I wanted right now. I wanted him to be my first. Even here.

I kissed lower and lower and ignored him every time he said my name. If he even once protested, I wouldn't have the strength to go through with it.
And when my face eventually got below his belt, he did.

"Jo, stop"

I did. My head eventually came up to meet his.

"Not here, please" he said simply.

▼・j61;・▼

When we returned to the compound, Coach, Tommy and Tate were back and eating with the rest in the house. The leftovers from last night still smelled good after being heated on a fire.

They sat around the pot eating at the same time rotating a spoon between themselves. They had left some for Mikey and I in one of the plates. One of Ben's hands had been freed so he could eat. He ate alone and quietly in the corner. He seemed to have a cloud over his head but he seemed fine.

There was small plastic container beside coach that I didn't recognised but I didn't comment on it.

When the group was done eating, Mikey and I washed their spoon and ate in silence.

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"Tommy was right" coach had begun "there's a boat on the shore but there's no paddle. It seems we'll all fit but we won't be able to take anything except the clothes on our backs. We'll head to look for the new island as soon as we manage to craft those paddles. We'll need atleast four but if we can make a few more, that'd be great. How long until that tree is down?"

"Not long coach, maybe an hour tops" Gabe replied

"Good" he continued "we'll all help out. We need to hurry with this."

We all nodded.

"Now there wasn't a paddle on the boat but we did find this hidden below the boat floor" Coach then placed the plastic container in front of us.

"We got..." He started removing and placing the contents on the floor "a flare gun, a first aid kit, compass and what it says to be a personal locating device"

The last one was a small block that looked like a sat phone. It only had two buttons and flashing light.

"Now, I already followed the instructions on the back and pressed the button and then this light started blinking. I hope to God this actually thing works".

That was all a nice bit of good news. For the first time, it seemed like we finally had a good plan and a way off this island if we could make a paddle. We all felt good again.

"As for the flare, we only have two shells so I'm going wait for night to fire the first one. In the meantime, we need to get working on that tree, all good?"

"Yes coach!" We chorused. It really was good.

"Alright, back to the tree. Let's get moving"

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I hadn't taken a bath today and since we couldn't go to the spring anymore, I decided to take a swim in the lake. I searched through my clothes for something appropriate for swimming and had almost given up hope when I saw it. It was an orange Smoothies Electra one piece swimsuit that I'd seen Gaby wear all too many times on our trips to the pool. I had been with her when she picked it up at the mall and shed even jokingly asked me if I wanted one.

Well now I had one.

I grabbed the swimsuit and a towel went behind the house to strip and put it on since Ben was still in the house. I wished we could blindfold him. Knowing that he was probably staring at my every action unnerved me even if all this morning, he had seemed like the Ben I remembered from school.

The swimsuit hugged my body tightly and accentuated the subtle curves that I shouldn't have had but did. My legs looked extra long too. I carefully tucked even if I barely needed to and made my way for the lake.

I checked corners hoping everyone would be in the forest. Even if I didn't feel all that self conscious anymore, I'd rather not have dealt with the comments.

As soon as I was sure no one was around, I ran as fast as I could, dropping the towel on the ground before making a huge splash with a cannonball into the lake. The cool water felt so good against my skin.

This brought back so many memories. Dad rarely came with us but Mum, Gaby and I loved the pool and we loved swimming. Mum had swam competitively growing up and had made sure we'd learnt at a very early age.

"Kids! Stop running by the pool" I thought of mum shouting as Gaby and I ran crazily around the pool.
I must have been 9 then and Gaby must have been 12. She was chasing me for something I had done or taken or maybe we were playing a game.

I had been running laughing happily determined not to let her catch me when I heard her scream followed by a loud thud.

"Gaby!" I heard my mum scream.

I turned and saw Gaby on the wet floor. Blood spewed from her temple and flowed freely into the water.

I forced my eyes open pulling myself out of whatever that was and only then did I realise.

I was underwater and sinking.

With all my strength, I kicked and pushed and swam until my head emerged from the water. I took consecutive deep breaths until I was satisfied I'd gotten enough air.

'What the fuck was that' I wondered.

One second I was fine and then next, it seemed like I was sucked into a memory that wasn't even mine. Whatever that was had never happened.

I tried to gather myself. Even if I was still shaken about what had just happened, I needed to focus on getting out of the water.

As I started making my way for the lake shore, I heard two sets of voices get louder and louder until Doug and Gabe burst from the tree line removing their clothes as they ran. Soon as they were both down to their briefs, they both jumped in the water whooping and laughing as they did.

Without wasting any time, they both started a race towards the other side of the lake.

Not long after them came Coach, Mikey, Tate and Ollie carrying two logs of wood in pairs.

"Now boys get some rest. We still have work to do" Coach said as both pairs dropped their logs. Mikey and Tate took off their clothes like the boys before them did but much more casually got in the water.

"Come join us coach" Tate yelled from the water.

Mikey chimed in "yeah coach".

"No you boys have fun" he said brushing them off before making his way for the house.

Ollie turned and followed.

"Ollie!" I shouted as loudly as I could. That hurt.

I tilted my head subtly gesturing for him to come in "The water's great" I managed.

He just shook his head and walked off.

▼・j61;・▼

Mikey closed the gap between us smiling the whole way. I did too.

"I bet that swimsuit is pretty sexy on you" he said grinning as he floated a few feet from me "I can't wait to see you get out of the water"

I blushed.

"How's your voice?" He asked.

"Better" I whispered quietly.

"I wish we were alone"

I blushed again. Mikey always seemed to know how to make me melt. He pushed all the right buttons. I swam closer and that's when I felt something pull at my leg and drag me into the water. I screamed which sent waves of pain through my throat.

I swam up as quickly as I could to find Doug laughing. I angrily splashed water in his face "Damn it Doug, grow up!". Pain shot through my neck again "Ow! Ow! Ow!" I whimpered.

He laughed harder. Mikey laughed too.

"It's not funny" I said quietly before splashing them both.

▼・j61;・▼

Eventually the three of us got to talking.
"So are you guys gay or what?" Doug asked. "I mean you don't even look gay because you look like a guy and a girl hooking up and it's super confusing"

"Why does it matter?" Mikey asked him.

"Because." he replied abruptly "nobody gets you two anymore. You're sneaking around, disappearing randomly and we all see how you two look at eachother."

We didn't reply.

"Are you fucking?" He asked.

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"Are you fucking?" He asked again matter of factly like he was asking me about the weather.

"No, we're not fucking" I replied. At this point, I wasn't even worried about the pain. Doug had me on the spot.

"Jo, do you realise what you have on right now? You're wearing a bikini" he was looking me dead in the eye "are you transgender?"

"It's not a bikini and I don't see how any of this is important right now" Mikey stepped in.

"Whatever, It's a simple question, let her answer the question" he replied.

"You just called me 'her'" I told him.

"Did I? Well shit maybe I did. I'm confused. Aren't you?"

"I am okay!" I said finally "is that what you wanted to hear? That I'm confused and scared out of my mind? That I don't know whether I'm trans or whatever else? That I don't know what the fuck's going on or that I might be in love with my best friend??"

I froze. Half processing what I'd just said and half realising who'd just heard.

The whole lake was quiet and everyone in it was looking at me. I'd had enough of being in the water. I turned and started swimming to shore.

"Good talk" I heard Doug say finally.

▼・j61;・▼

My humiliation wasn't over however. As I reached the shore and started leaving the water, I realised everyone could now see my entire outfit and especially my butt and I'm sure they were still staring.

I steeled myself and made for the towel. I wrapped it around myself and made for the house. Coach who had just been coming out saw my face and knew something was wrong.

"You okay there, Fahey?"

"Fine, Coach" I replied.

He didn't press.

"Alright boys, time's up. Let's get back to work"

As I walked past him, I thought "Damn it coach, couldn't have come out a couple minutes earlier?"

▼・j61;・▼

Thanks for reading this far into this adventure. Please be sure to leave a review if you can. I always enjoy hearing from you.