Day Fifteen

They mostly walked in silence until they came to another small, clearing type area. Hunter dumped all of her branches down as Shelby and Toni followed suit, crouching down as she began to look through the more flexible vine-type pieces that lay across the floor of the clearing area.

"It's genetic, by the way," Shelby told them both, motioning to her mouth incase they had forgotten what she was talking about. "When my baby teeth fell out, the other ones just never came in, incase you were wondering."

"I wasn't," Toni said, not looking up from the pile as Hunter passed her another handful of smaller sticks. The blonde however did look at Shelby, sending her  avery tight lipped smile as she nodded in acceptance of the information.

"I kinda was," Hunter admitted, both of the girls looking at her in surprise. "What? I've shared classes with you since we were kids, of course I wanted to know how it happened since it wasn't like I'd ever noticed it before."

"Yeah well, I'm not fishing for sympathy," Shelby continued after being slightly surprised that Hunter was even aware they shared classes before since she had never really acknowledged her. "But it hasn't not been hard."

Toni scoffed and Hunter knew that the girl had just opened up a can of worms by saying things had been hard for her. While Hunter knew the past year of her own life had been hard, she was faintly aware of the fact that Toni had a significantly harder life than her even if she didn't know all the details.

"Okay, Becky, maybe don't talk to me about hard," Toni muttered sarcastically, stuffing some more of the twigs into one of the drawstring swag bags they had found ages ago. 

Hunter grabbed her own, ramming it full of sticks as she wandered through the trees and slightly further away from the argument that she knew was brewing.  

"Nobody believes me when I say this but I do have actual problems, like, way more than you can imagine."

"All right, great. Let's hear them," Toni said as she rose to her feet in a challenge, squaring up to the girl even though she knew Hunter would complain about it later. She loved Hunter, she did, but her annoyance towards Shelby was rife and ready to go.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to have to be pitch-perfect every second? To be watched like a hawk for the slightest bit of weight gain or the tiniest wobble in my heel or... or if my hem is just a centimetre off regulation or I say the wrong thing about international politics? Well then, God help me."

Hunter blinked from where she was crouched, thinking about how Shelby's issues were ones that she would have killed to have. Instead she got hateful parents and an abusive boyfriend.

"So you're complaining about being judged when you literally signed up for that?" Toni pointed out, little sympathy in her voice as she voiced the same thoughts that Hunter was thinking.

"I know. I know but... but I'm not just talking about pageant stuff. It feels like everywhere I go, somebody's asking me to like... to meet some kind of expectation," Shelby admitted with a softer tone, Hunter almost feeling some sense of relation to what the girl was saying. She understood that feeling all too well. "It's a lot is all. The pressure."

"Yeah well, my dad's been a no-show since day one, and my mom's in and out of rehab like it's the fucking White Castle so nobody expects shit  from me. Doesn't feel great either. Do you know how many field trips I've had to bail on cause no-one's been there to sign my permission slip? You know, I don't give a fuck about going to the planetarium. It just would have been nice to have someone there to say that I could."

Hunter felt her heart literally break in two at hearing the tiredness in Toni's voice as she told the story, thankful that even with parents who hated her that they were always around to do things that she had taken for granted before like signing permission slips.

"Yeah but like you don't..."

"But like what? Shelby, you know, if you're trying to out-sad me, it's a losing fucking battle."

"But you're free. Don't you see that? You don't have to answer to anybody!"

"And neither do you!" Toni yelled back, aware that Hunter was probably getting annoyed with the arguing back and forth between the two girls. She was getting frustrated with Shelby's excuses and this was the last she was going to say on the matter. "Not right now, anyway. I mean you're on a deserted island a million miles away from whatever bullshit expectations that you left behind. You know, you're free here, Shelby, and if you're not taking advantage of that, then I don't know what the fuck to tell you."

Hunter hummed in agreement from where she was tying up the final bag full of twigs, her noise going unnoticed by the other two who seemed to be in some heated stare off. She turned around, about to open her mouth to break up their argument when Shelby lunged forward, her hands on either side of Toni's face as she pulled the girl into a kiss.

Hunter dropped the bags in her arm as her mouth fell open in shock. She had expected a lot of different outcomes to their argument, but Shelby kissing the girl she seemingly hated wasn't one of them. Hunter wished her first thought had been that Shelby was kissing the girl she fancied, but rather it was the sudden realisation on as to why Shelby was the way she was when it came to Hunter and Toni's sexualities. She had internalised homophobia that was stopping her from being truly herself. She didn't necessarily hate them because they were into girls, she hated them because they had the freedom to be themselves without apology.

They kissed for a moment before Toni moved away slightly, both of the other girls watching as Shelby sprung backwards as if she had just been slapped in the face. The blonde looked frantically between Toni and Hunter, realising what she had just done in the moment and instantly felt a blind panic overtake her.

"Shelby, wait!" Toni yelled out as the girl took off, turning around to look at where Hunter was still standing with a dropped jaw. Toni blinked a few times in confusion the same way that Hunter did, both of them instantly picking up the bags of twigs and rushing after the girl.

"Shelby, stop!" Hunter called out, worried that not only was the girl going to fall and hurt herself but that she was going to do something she would regret.

__

"Do you think we should like intervene?" Leah asked as Nora and Rachel fought each other on the sand, the other girls standing watching them battle to what seemed to be the death.

"Not yet, let's see where things go," Fatin decided, eating one of the bags of nuts they'd managed to savour from the tidal surge. Martha nodded from beside the girl, having just taken a swig out of the vodka bottle they had found in Jeanette's bag.

"Agreed."

Leah side eyed the bizarre green hood shaped like a frog that the girl was wearing, but decided it was probably best not to ask why she had decided to even bring it let alone wear it. Dot was sitting on a recliner from the plane in the distance, ignoring all of the drama as she took a moment to herself.

The twins continued to fight between themselves, hurling back and forth insults about how the other one needed the other more and how neither of them were their own person without the other. If Hunter had been there, Fatin thought, she'd be pitching in small quirks about how her and Hudson managed to co-exist fluently unlike Rachel and Nora.

"Okay, I really think we need to do something," Leah repeated as the girl's fighting seemed to increase, concerned that they were all going to end up getting seriously injured in this fight between the sisters.

"Don't get involved," Martha replied, shaking her head as she watched it eagerly. "When me and my sisters fight, it's to the death."

Fatin held up her toothbrush as if it was a microphone, watching the action with hungry eyes. She knew they probably should stop the girls but this was some decent entertainment that they'd all been missing out on.

"Ouch!" She said in a fake stadium voice. "That was a knee to the tit ladies and gentlemen but wait! Rachel's not down and out yet. She retaliates with a heel to the twat! Shit! The drama is popping, the stakes are high. Where will it end? Who will come out on top?"

Dot got up from her recliner at that point, unable to relax from the yells and screams that were coming from the sisters and getting annoyed at the rest of them for not doing anything to stop it.

"Stop it! You're both acting like shitty five year olds!" Dot yelled at the twins, acting like an angry mother scolding her children. The two continued to fight and roll around in the sand, causing Dot to just grow more agitated. Her eyes noticed the light on the ground as she sighed deeply. "One fucking job."

As Dot bent down to pick up the lighter, Nora and Rachel slammed into her and caused her to go flying to the side and bump into Fatin who dropped her clean toothbrush on the sand.

"Oh, what the hell, Dorothy?"

"Oh come on, like I meant to do that!"

"Yeah right," Fatin replied as she bent down to pick up her toothbrush and make sure that it was in one piece. "You've all been giving me shit about my toothbrush since the jump. This was obviously a targeted attack. You better hope it still works."

"It's gonna work," Dot snapped, a piece of her a little concerned that it was no longer going to work. 

Fatin raised the toothbrush in the air, pressing the button and huffing slightly as it whizzed while turning on. Her smile dropped as quickly as it came as the toothbrush whizzing slowed down by the second, proving that it was going to stop any moment.

"It's dying!"

"I've never related so much to a toothbrush," Leah muttered to Martha, the girl looking at her in slight amusement.

"Dot look what you fucking did!" Fatin snarled, holding her dying toothbrush in the air to show the girl what she had done. 

"Come on, don't put that on me, it was on its last legs. And guess what Fatin? If you put in the same amount of work as, I don't know, just moving your arm a goddamn little, you'll get the same goddamn job done."

Fatin gasped loudly as Dot started rubbing the brush over her own teeth, in and out of her mouth. Martha looked to Leah with the same look of disgust that the other girl was wearing as they both watched the brewing fight between Dot and Fatin.

"I wish Hunter could see this," Martha admitted, knowing that the girl would be able to stop the two friends from arguing. "But I'm also kinda enjoying it."

Everyone gasped in surprise as Fatin reeled her arm back, smacking it directly into Dot's nose and sending the girl straight onto her back. Leah and Martha both shared a look of extreme surprise, never having expected the argument to turn that physical so quickly.

As Nora bit Rachel and Leah went to help Nora get back to her feet, the girl smacked away Leah's so hand that the girl yelped in pain, complaining now about how hard it had stung. It also happened that that moment just so happened to be when Toni and Hunter finally caught up to Hunter, moving in front of the girl and attempting to calm her down.

Just as Hunter went to say something, she was knocked flat on to her face by Rachel and Nora who was clinging to her sister's back like a koala bear. Hunter hissed as her already injured lip burst again, raising her hand to the blood pouring down her chin as she looked up at Toni and Shelby.

"What the fuck?" Toni asked as she too was smacked to the ground a second later, rolling over so that she didn't land on Hunter who was sitting up in a confused motion.

"STOP! EVERYBODY STOP!" Dot yelled out as Shelby sat on a rock, ignoring the commotion that was going on as the blonde thought over what had just happened between herself and Toni - and to an extension, Hunter too. "This right here, this ain't happening. If we go out, and I'm not so sure that we won't, it's not gonna be at each others throats cause there is zero fucking dignity in that."

"What do you mean 'go out'?" Fatin asked, a slight hint of resentment in her tone in memory of her poor toothbrush.

"I've been thinking. First few days of this, we were on every paper, every channel, news vans in front of your houses, sticking microphones in front of your moms and your dads and your dogs. A couple more days go by and maybe its only the local news. A few more days and... country A invades country B. Elijah Wood dies, Sasha Obama rips a bong, and then...we're no longer in the conversation. The world's moved on."

Everyone went silent as they realised that Dot was right.

"And I mean, maybe we've got some diehards out there, people who love you enough to keep making noise and pounding the pavement, but it's been... it's been 15 days and searches don't last forever. Not without leads and not without cash. We are stuck here. The least we could do is not kill each other, cause trust me, this place can take care of that just fine on its own."

Fatin reached out as Dot finished, passing her the bottle of vodka that they'd all began to share. Dot nodded as she took the bottle, taking a swig of it too.

"Jeanette might have been the lucky one. The one who went out quick," Dot told them all as she chugged some of the drink, the blood still dripping from her nose from where Fatin had punched her. 

_____

"Pretty wild afternoon, huh?" Toni asked Hunter as they both walked back to where they had abandoned their pile of firewood after chasing after Shelby. The blonde was ignoring the two girls and they thought it was maybe best to leave her to it, knowing that there was going to be a lot going on in her mind right now.

It was obvious to them that Shelby didn't mean to actually kiss Toni because she was interested in the girl but because she was trying to express something that she'd never really been able to do before and Toni's words had hit the nail on the head for her. Hunter wasn't mad or anything, but rather worried at the toll this would have on the other Texan - especially once they finally got home and off this island.

"That's one word for it," Hunter replied back with a small smile, wincing slightly as the fresh skin on her busted lip tugged a little. It had stopped bleeding again since Rachel and Nora had knocked her into the sand, but it was still stinging. She'd had her fair share of burst lips in her past year, but this one didn't seem to want to stay healed at this rate. "Didn't expect her to kiss you, that's for sure."

"What?" Toni asked, turning to her with a cheeky grin spread across her face. "Jealous?"

Hunter laughed as she pushed Toni's shoulder, noticing how the girl stumbled slightly as she tried to readjust the branches that she had piled lopsidedly in her arms. Hunter rolled her eyes at the girl, moving forward and taking a few of the ones off the top of Toni's pile to make it easier to balance for her.

"You wish," Hunter breezed back, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she sent a smile back to the basketball player, feeling the butterflies in her stomach flutter as Toni threw her head back in a  laugh that Hunter knew came straight from the heart.

The air between them was full of the same tension as per usual, but before Hunter acted upon her desires she knew that she had to ask Toni about what she had confessed to Shelby earlier. Pulling the girl to a stop and dumping the branches on the ground, Hunter lifted Toni's pile as she also dumped that on to the ground. Toni raised an eyebrow as Hunter sat on a broken tree stump, patting the space beside her as an invitation for Toni to sit down.

"I want you to tell me your story, if you're willing," Hunter told her as the girl sat down beside her, her knee rubbing against Hunter's as they cozied up next to each other on the branch. If Hunter was worried about the others getting concerned about how long it was taking them to get the branches, she didn't know it. Toni wasn't worried either as she knew that no-one was gonna be in a rush for anything after Dot's emotional speech about how they likely weren't even in the news anymore.

"Okay," Toni breathed, taking a deep breath before she started. She started by telling Hunter how her father had never really been there for her, before going on to explain in depth about her mom's drug and alcohol addiction that had meant she kinda dreaded going home after school hence why she'd always hang out with Martha. She paused for a few moments before eventually opening up about her last relationship: a girl called Reagan who she had basically moved in with until her anger got the better of her and she accidentally had hit her while trying to fight back against some guys in a parking lot.

She told Hunter about how she had moved in with Martha, how her mother had set up a blow-up mattress for her on the floor beside Martha's bed. She told Hunter about the constant nagging in her mind that everyone was out to screw her over, since almost everyone in her life had: minus Martha. She told her about her overwhelming feeling of loneliness when Martha no longer needed her and replaced her with Shelby. She told Hunter how she had always wanted a twin like Hudson, but was forever glad she didn't have to watch them endure the hardships she had been through.

Eventually, the conversation changed from what their pasts had been to what their presents currently were. Toni told her about the music she had loved before their plane crashed: lots of Drake, lots of Skepta and even a little big of The Notorious BIG. Hunter had laughed at that, contrasting it to her polar opposite music taste that pretty much consisted of mostly Taylor Swift, some One Direction and from that, a lot of Harry Styles.

Hunter told her about how her favourite colour was yellow, but not like the pastel yellow that people were so obsessed with but rather bright, unfiltered sunshine yellow in all of its purity. Toni laughed at this, saying that if yellow was a person it would look just like Hunter. Hunter told her that she was going to become TikTok famous one day, something Toni didn't take seriously at all.

"TikTok? Dude, we're in 2019, not 2014!" Toni had burst into laughter, causing Hunter to nudge her side as she rolled her eyes, knowing that some day everyone would start to love the app the way she did.

"Shut up, Miss Toni 'I got kicked off the basketball team for throwing my own piss at someone' Shalifoe," Hunter teased back, Toni now pushing her lightly as she tried to wipe tears of laughter from her eyes. They'd truly shown each other the deepest parts of themselves that no-one else had even been given the proper opportunity to see and it was as if something between them had shifted from two strangers with a lot of feelings to something...else.

Hunter turned to face her, noticing how close their faces were as she hitched her breath slightly. She hadn't expected Toni to have turned at the same time and their noses to be brushing against each other without having to move.

"It's your choice, Toni," Hunter breathed, so quiet that she doubted even a mouse passing by would have been able to make out what she said. The slight dilation of Toni's pupils told her that the girl had heard exactly what Hunter had said. "Do this, and we can't go back. Do this, and we're both in this together for the long haul - no matter what this island throws at us. Do this, but don't you dare break my heart."

Toni nodded, her nose rubbing against Hunter's as she leaned in so their lips were almost touching. Hunter went to place them together but Toni moved her head back ever so slightly as she uttered the words that Hunter had been craving to hear.

"I could never," Toni muttered, finally crashing her lips into Hunter's as she placed her hands around her waist, pulling Hunter flush against her as they embraced each other. Hunter had kissed Toni before, on the beach before the mussels saga but this time it was different - this time it wasn't just some harmless flirting between two girls who had barely met but a passionate kiss between two individuals who were destined to become one.

_____

"Here, boiled and cooled if you're thirsty," Toni said as she reached out the bottle of water to Shelby, the blonde girl refusing to meet her eyes as she looked at the bottle.

"I'm fine," Shelby said as she tried to avoid looking at Toni and Hunter, the later having rushed to pull one of her hoodies on as soon as her and Toni had returned from collecting the firewood - even though it was rather warm out. Fatin, of course, had noticed the significantly large hickey on the blonde's neck but could tell that the atmosphere wasn't right for her to ask what the fuck had happened when they were getting their firewood. 

Hunter knew that the girl was assuming a lot more than what had actually happened: they had made out, for a while to be honest and Toni had given her a hickey before they both decided it was best to head back before someone was sent to find them... in whatever state they would have been in had they continued.

"Okay," Toni replied to Shelby, passing the water to Hunter who took it gracefully. She smiled at the girl before taking a sip, Fatin snatching it from her hand straight after and gulping some down.

"All right, well, now it's just too fucking quiet," Dot told everyone as they sat in silence around the fire, Leah trying to sleep on her knee. Hunter smiled gently at the girl knowing that while she was a little insane with paranoia, she didn't mean any of them harm. She was also very aware that Leah had been avoiding her since accidentally bursting her lip that morning, and knew that she had to get the chance to tell the girl that it was okay. "Hey, uh, this might be the apocalypse talking but aren't you gonna suggest some 'never would I rather' shit?"

Everyone looked to Shelby in a slight hope that she would dance at the idea, soaking up any opportunity to pitch a new icebreaker to the group that she had no doubt learned during her time as a youth pastor. The blonde didn't bite however, her knees still hugged to her chest as she tried to avoid the gazes of Hunter and Toni. She shook her head without saying a word, everyone feeling a little disheartened as they took in the shittiness of their situation.

"God," Rachel breathed out at Shelby's refusal. "We're really gonna die here."

They all sat in silence for a moment before Fatin brushed against Hunter's arm as she lurched forward, her eyes narrowing as she looked upwards into the sky in utter confusion.

"Does anybody else hear that?"

"Hear what?" Dot replied, fiddling with some rope before noticing that Hunter had also risen to her feet, her hearing picking up what sounded like... a plane engine? But surely not, Hunter thought, how in the world was she hearing that?

"HEY! A PLANE!" 

All the girls jumped from their spots as if a shotgun had gone off to start the race, everyone screaming and waving their arms frantically as they noticed the small white plane suddenly come flying into view.

"HE FUCKING SEES US!" Dot yelled as the pilot circled them for a moment, all of the girls now crying tears of nothing but joy. As Hunter looked over to Toni and saw her and Martha clinging on to each other, she couldn't help but burst into laughter as Leah and Fatin wrapped their arms around the blonde, screaming in delight into her ear.

They were going home.

____

"So, how did it feel when you saw that plane?" Dr Faber asked as he visited Hunter, having been checking up on the girl and gathering more information from her on instruction from Gretchen. The woman had been interested in them all, but Hunter's thoughts always intrigued her more since she was able to also watch Hudson's reactions to similar events.

"It felt fucking fantastic, obviously," Hunter told him, a smile breaking across her lips as she winced slightly as the healing scar from her chin and across her jaw twinged at the sudden movement. "Until it didn't."

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? You've fucking heard my story, and I assume the others told you it too."

"What I meant, was when did that feeling stop?"

"When we realised the pilot wasn't coming back for us. Who does that? What sick person finds nine missing teenagers on a beach in the middle of fuck knows where and then just leaves them there? Who could be that cruel?"