The Adventures of Teen Island

Fight Again

Tony's POV
This is an awful idea. I wouldn't be surprised if she just turned me away at the door... or I guess I should say the dock. She's still at work right now. Oh God I hope I don't get pushed in the water. My fur is sensitive to salt water. I have to keep my tail from going between my legs as I go up there. Here goes nothing. "Stephanie?" I asked. She turned to me and her smile dropped. She rolled her eyes and turned back to her clipboard. "What do you want? Are you just here to mock my job again?" she asked. "No. I actually need to talk to you" I said. She huffed. "I don't want to hear anything you have to say" She snapped. "Stephanie, please. This is important" I said. She hesitated. "I'm working" She said. I looked down. I went to walk away but a cloud formed above my head and I looked up at it. I looked back at Stephanie who looked back at me. She waved her hand and the cloud disappeared. "You can talk while I work" She said, turning back to the water. I smiled and walked back over to her. "I'm guessing you know about what the king said?" I asked. "He says a lot of things. Be more specific" she didn't look at me. I raised an eyebrow. I don't think she knows. How could she not know? "Wait. You don't know, do you?" I asked. She looked at me and raised an eyebrow before turning back to the water and raising her binoculars. "He's gonna disband the bandits." I said. She froze. She slowly put her binoculars down and turned her head to me. "He's getting rid of you?" She asked. "Unless we can get a minimum of ten members" I said. She turned away again. "He cant do that. The bandits are a necessity. Without them, the island would collapse" she said. "He doesn't seem to care" I shrugged. She took a deep breath. "Its not that he doesn't care. He just wants more control. He's taking this opportunity to get rid of you because he knows he cant control what you guys do" she said. "What opportunity is that exactly?" I asked. She went silent. "See Stephanie. There is no 'opportunity.' He says its because we only had two members, but Carter and I know, just like you know, that that's a load of shit" I said. "You shouldn't speak like that. Especially since you worked for him yourself" she said. "That's exactly what's going on here Stephanie. He would rather have us work for him then work for the people. Just because we're a monarchy, doesn't mean we have to be communists" I snapped. She gripped her spear. "He is NOT a communist" she growled. A storm cloud appeared above us. We've had this argument before. Its the same one that caused our break up. I sighed. "I know you don't understand. I know you cant see what's right in front of you, but I need your help Stephanie" I said. Her head perked up and she turned her whole body to me. She's pissed. "What exactly do you want from me here?" She asked. I hesitated. "We need five more members. Courtney agreed as long as you were ok with it" I said. She furrowed her brow but didn't speak. "Just think about it. We only have till the end of the week" I said. She didn't say anything. I turned around and went to walk away but stopped. I turned to her again. "You know, maybe I am wrong. Maybe he's not a communist. But you know as well as I that something is going on in that castle. What do you think is gonna happen when someone finds out the truth?" I asked. She hesitated. "What is the truth?" She asked. "I don't know. No one does, but if the bandits are gone, no one will ever know, and it'll only get worse" I said. She looked to the side. I stared at her for a moment. "I'm sorry Stephanie" I said. She looked back up at me. "I really am sorry." I said. I turned and walked away.

Stephanie's POV
I came home and plopped down on the couch. I took a deep breath. "Long day I see" I heard. I looked up. Courtney isn't home. Oliver, our other roommate, is in the kitchen putting away dishes. "Got a visit from Tony today" I said. He chuckled to himself. "Sounds fun" he said. I rolled my eyes. "What'd he want?" He asked. "Apparently the king is disbanding the bandits unless they can get ten members by the end of the week" I said. "What? That's crazy" he said. "I know. Courtney said that she'd join if I was ok with it, but I don't know" I shrugged. "What do you mean you don't know? You hate the bandits. Why didn't you just say no?" Oliver asked. I sighed. "That's what's been troubling me all day. The king wants more control over the people that 'work for him' but he knows that he cant control the bandits no matter how hard he tries. The bandits only had two real members since the last ones left. I understand why he's taking the opportunity to get rid of them now, but I also don't understand how he doesn't see how essential the bandits are to life on this island" I said. "Its definitely impressive that they held this place together so well with only two people. They've been working their asses off" Oliver said. I looked at him confused. "What?" I asked. "Yeah, I see them all the time. In the markets, on the beach, around all the hangout spots. Those two somehow have managed to be everywhere, protecting everyone at once, even without a full team. I bet they're exhausted by now" Oliver said. "I didn't think about that." I said. That explains why Tony said there was no opportunity. The bandits were still doing an amazing job even with only two members. Maybe Tony was right. Maybe the king really doesn't care about the people. He only cares about what affects him. "Stephanie?" Oliver asked. "There was another weird thing. He apologized to me." I said. "Why?" Oliver asked. I shrugged. "I don't know" I said. "Maybe for the break up? For the fight? For bothering you at work?" Oliver suggested. I shrugged again and looked down. "Are you ok?" He asked. I hesitated. "Mhm" I hummed.

I'm in my room, laying on my bed, staring at the ceiling. Someone knocked on the door. "Come in" I said. Courtney came in. "Are you here to talk about the bandits cause Tony already talked to me. Even Oliver talked to me" I said. "I'm worried about you. Oliver said you seemed distressed" She said. "I doubt he knows what distressed means" I groaned. "Stephanie, are you ok?" She asked. I squinted at the ceiling. "I don't know anymore. I always thought I was right in our argument. Granted, I'm still right about some things, but I'm starting think that maybe he was too" I said. "What do you think Tony was right about?" She asked. "That the king doesn't care about the people. That he only cares about himself" I said. Courtney laid down next to me on the bed. "What are you gonna do?" She asked turning to me. I looked at her. "Should I do something?" I asked. She nodded. "It'd be weird if you didn't" she said. I took a minute to think. I ran my eyes over her, laying in front of me. She's very pretty. "Are you gonna say something, or just continue to check me out?" Courtney asked. "What?! I'm not checking you out" I protested. She raised an eyebrow with a smirk. I blushed. "Shut up!" I said, sitting up. She laughed and sat up with me. "What are you gonna do!?" She asked. "I'm gonna quit my job!" I exclaimed. She was taken back. "Not what I was expecting" she said. "I got demoted to dock watcher. I'm done" I said. She giggled. "So, what should I tell Emma?" She asked. "Tell her, she has three new bandits" I said. "Three?" She asked shocked. I nodded. I walked to my door and stuck my head out. "Hey Oliver! We're joining the Teen Bandits!" I yelled. "Okay!" He yelled back. I looked back at Courtney. "I'm proud of you Stormy" she said. I smiled. "Go tell Emma" I said.