Teenage Castaways

Chapter Thirteen || Fawn

It was a seventh day. Since we lost track of the days of the week, we just counted the days one through seven and then repeated them. Day one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Day one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...

On the seventh day, all three camps, plus Killian and Lexie, came together for dinner.

Adeline had hunted a great deal of meat and Emma had collected some berries. Chad had agreed to bring drinks.

"Everything is set," Pierre said. We were sitting around the fire and talking about the dinner. "You two are free to do whatever you want today."

"We should swim," I suggested to Adeline, who was sitting beside me on the log. Occasionally we would go for a swim in some older clothes before the hours when the sun was high.

"Sure. Could I invite Eel and Ruby?"

Suppressing a groan, I nodded. Elijah and Ruby appeared to be Adeline's new best friends as they always hunted together. They were all hunters and I... well, I wasn't.

"Great!" Adeline beamed.

"Are you sure they're up?" Pierre asked.

Relief washed over me. I almost forgot that Ruby and Elijah were nocturnal like Emma.

"No harm in asking," Adeline said. "We're swimming early. Who knows?"

Nodding, I got up with Adeline and we headed east to Camp Avión. There, we found Mateo and Elijah eating biscuits by their fire.

"Greetings! Take a seat, if you want," Mateo said. "I'd offer you a biscuit but these are the last two. They're stale anyway."

"Thanks," Adeline nodded, taking a seat beside Elijah. I stood alone, off to the side. "We were wondering if you wanted to go swimming with us. Maybe Ruby too."

"Oh, I'm about to head to sleep, sorry," Elijah said. "Maybe next time."

Yes! No third-wheeling today.

Adeline deflated a bit. "Yeah."

I felt a twinge of guilt for being happy.

"Want me to come?" Mateo offered.

Adeline shook her head and got up. A pang of sympathy for Mateo rushed through me. But I knew he was closer with Elijah anyway. He wasn't at all as close to Adeline as I was.

"Come on, Fawn," Adeline said. "Let's go."

Getting up, I followed her west toward Camp Ginger Ale. I forgot who named the camp, but I could bet it was Chad.

"This always happens," Adeline grumbled as we walked. "They're always sleeping during the day. It's so unfair."

I suppressed a scoff or a snort.

"I should have stayed quiet. Making friends sucks," she murmured, her voice becoming more downcast than anything.

What? I was hurt. Was I not a friend? Or did I suck like she said?

"No, don't say that." Impulsively, I grabbed her hand. It was cold and hard, but delicate in its own way. "We can just go alone. You and me."

Adeline ripped her hand away. "Leave me alone. We're opposites, you know? You don't know anything about me and I don't want to be alone with you. You're like a puppy, you know that?"

"Cute?" I whimpered, holding back a sudden wave of tears. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry.

"No! An ugly mutt of a puppy. One who just follows me around and depends on me so much."

Tears flowed from my eyes, like a dam breaking loose. She doesn't mean this. She can't mean this.

Adeline shook her head. "I'm spending the day alone." Turning on her heel, she stalked down the trail, leaving me in tears.

I really thought you liked me...

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Adeline was quiet all dinner long. We ate by the shore, watching the sky change colors as the sun set. Chad had brought tiny bottles filled with water. They clearly weren't always filled with water though.

"These are the last of the berries," Emma said, passing around some mysterious fruit. "That I could find anyway."

"I'm thinking of starting a little farm," Mateo revealed, chewing on a bit of meat. "I need something to do anyway."

Elijah snorted. "You already fish, build, and keep the fire alive during the day. But if you want to add farming, go for it."

I watched Jovie nudge Chad. "You could do that, lazy beans."

Over the course of the days on the island, Jovie had grown a bit more muscular. Chad, on the other hand, had gotten even scrawnier and sick-looking.

Ruby let out a laugh. "But then he couldn't drink his little tequilas by the shore all day!"

"The horror," Jovie laughed.

"Wait. You have drinks? How old are you?" Emma asked, narrowing her brown eyes.

Chad rolled his eyes. "I drank them all. Now we just use them as bottles." He snorted. "You're drinking from one right now."

Emma frowned. "Yippee..."

Looking up from my meal, I scanned the "table" which was really just three logs placed beside each other. The way people sat was almost the exact same as the first dinner.

Chad and Jovie sat together with Ruby beside them. Mateo sat beside Elijah who sat beside Ruby. Adeline sat near them. On the other side, I sat beside Emma and Pierre. Beside us, Killian and Lexie made out.

They were the "married couple" of the island. Living alone together, no one really saw much of them besides when Lexie went to visit Jovie for food.

There was a rumor that Lexie went to visit and "talk" to Chad, but I always assumed it was a lie. Of course it was a lie. People got bored on the island... so they started rumors.

One that went around saying Elijah and Adeline were dating, which I knew for sure was fake. There was also Jovie and Chad, but that was also fake... for now. Someone had even said Lexie was with child.

They were all fake! What a waste of time.

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Laying in the sand, I soaked up the sun, not that I needed it. Though I had made sure to apply a generous amount of sunscreen.

It's time for me to let go.

Adeline wasn't interested in me. She had made it clear. Maybe, in time, she could grow to change her own opinion, but I couldn't rely on that. My happiness had to come from within if it was to be stable.

Wow, I almost sounded wise.

Rolling to the side, I felt my toes touch the water. Then the waves receded and my toes dried.

I was alive, with a cottage, food, water, great friends, and more. There was no reason for me to be upset about not having a girlfriend. Having a partner was stressful anyway.

But I still felt sad.

It's okay to be upset. You know you're great and if Adeline doesn't wish to date you, that doesn't mean you're unworthy. You can still be friends with her.

But she doesn't even want to be friends.

You still have Pierre! And Emma!

You need some time to process this, but once you do it'll be better.

Taking a deep breath, I stood up and started toward Camp Ginger Ale. Chad needed help building something. Hopefully, he could actually give something back, but I doubted it. No matter, I would help him either way.