"So, just to be clear," Rachel began, looking around. Some of the others raised their heads, guessing what the swimmer was going to say. "Nobody is going to talk about this?"

Martha shrugged, picking up some branches from the ground. "I guess they'll talk about it when they're ready."

The night before, when it had all happened, all the girls except Fatin had been hugely shocked by what had happened just feet away from them. They wouldn't have expected at all that Lydia would have feelings for Shelby, or vice versa. They were close, yes, perhaps the ones who had gotten to know each other the most apart from Rachel and Nora, but at Shelby's words weeks before, none of them could have imagined that their relationship would cross those boundaries.

Since then, the group had decided to leave them alone on more occasions, as if that would make it easier for them to tell them what had been going on between them. Lydia was still resting even though her condition had improved a lot the day before, and of course it was Shelby who had stayed with her in the camp, both of them stoking the fire in the small campfire. The other girls had agreed to divide up the other chores, but really they were just whispering about their latest discovery.

"But I didn't know Shelby— after what she said," Leah began, not quite knowing what words to use. "And Lydia, I didn't know she was gay, I thought—"

"What? Now we must have stickers on our foreheads that say it for us?" Toni interfered, raising her face for the first time, and the others fell silent.

The tension could be cut with a knife in the air. Toni returned to her task of chopping at the lower branches of the trees with the small axe they had gotten weeks ago, and now her thrusts were stronger. Martha glanced at her briefly, worried for her friend despite the ongoing arguments they'd had the last few days, and from Toni's clenched jaw as she spoke of Lydia and Shelby she feared the worst.

Leah instantly shut up, knowing she hadn't used the best words. Dot put a hand on her shoulder, reassuring her. "I think what Leah tried to say is that we didn't expect it from Shelby after what she said. She comes from a very Christian family back in Texas, so I kind of understand where she comes from. I'm not saying I support that, but she's probably been raised by those ideas from her father —he's a very Christian man. I heard sometime he used to perform a treatment to cure homosexuality. Imagine being raised in that sort of house. That sucks, man."

"But how can she say those horrible things when she herself is a part of that community?" Rachel continued. She had no bad intentions, she just wanted a reasonable explanation.

"She must have it all internalized. If she's grown up hearing bad things about it, it's normal she's grown up thinking it's a sin. Even when she likes girls," Nora spoke quietly. Martha and Fatin nodded.

"Maybe here she's found someone that makes her feel like she's normal," Fatin contributed. "And honestly, you can't be surprised she's fallen for Lydia. That girl is a fucking angel."

This seemed to trigger an immediate reaction in Toni, who turned to them all with her hands on her hips and her brow furrowed. "Are we gonna talk about this all day or are we getting the work done?"

Martha had known Toni since they were little girls. She knew when she was happy, when she was sad, when she was frustrated and when she was angry. And right now she could feel the last two feelings very closely, and she didn't know how that affected her. Martha knew that Toni wasn't Shelby's number one fan, but she was beginning to worry that the reasons were other than she had originally thought.

Seeing that no one was answering her question, but rather standing still at her sudden outburst, Toni snorted, picked up the axe and whatever else she had collected and moved to another area to continue her task. The other Minnesota girl thought seriously about whether she should go after her, but decided she had better not, as Toni always used to take out her anger on her, and she thought it was not a situation to take any more stress.

"Do we have to be worried about that or...?" it was Dot who asked. She looked at Martha, for being Toni's best friend, and at Fatin, for being closer to Lydia than anyone else there.

"She'll come around," the former replied, shrugging her shoulders softly.

They all finished their tasks in silence. They decided not to disturb Shelby and Lydia, who were still lying in the sand at the camp, but rested on the edge of the beach when they were all finished. All except Toni, who was still walking around as if nothing else existed. From her position, however, Fatin could almost see the smoke rising from her head, and wondered again why the girl was so suddenly angry.

In the small camp, Lydia and Shelby were silent. They hadn't spoken more than necessary since their little altercation with a happy ending the night before, contrary to what the other girls thought. When Lydia had woken up, considerably later than the others, still with a faint headache, she had already seen that it was Shelby taking Toni's position from the day before, and assuming the shifts had changed, she hadn't complained about it.

The truth was, spending time with Shelby was always nice. She knew when to keep quiet and when to lighten the mood, and Lydia appreciated that, because sometimes she liked to enjoy the silence, and sometimes she appreciated it when the Texan made her laugh with her anecdotes. But now was perhaps one of those times when she would rather have someone else join in their short conversation. The night before had been too tense, and Lydia, used to Shelby's mood swings, didn't know if she should kiss her again or if she should leave the subject alone.

"Can I braid your hair?" Shelby asked suddenly with a gentle smile. "I can't braid my own anymore, so..."

Lydia simply nodded, thinking that maybe the Texan was in a good mood and she wouldn't be the one to snatch it. So she positioned herself in front of her, between her legs, almost resting her back against Shelby's chest, who moved to be closer to her, and began to comb her hair with her hands. "How are you?" Lydia finally decided to ask, not turning her head so as not to get in the way of the Texan's rhythm.

"Shouldn't I be the one to ask you that?" Shelby laughed. "You're taller than me, I can't reach those hairs, lay back."

Lydia complied. She lay gently on her lap, and watched from underneath as Shelby struggled to coordinate her fingers to braid her hair. "How is it?" she asked again. Seeing that Shelby didn't answer, she added, "My scar."

The Texan smiled a little. "It's not that bad. It makes you look badass, if I do say so myself. Anyways, it's not uglier than these guys," and she pointed to her false teeth, which made Lydia laugh lightly.

"Such a drama queen. But really, how are you? After last night I've been meaning to ask you."

The girl smiled quickly, and Lydia could detect the nervousness behind her green eyes. "It's fine," she said quickly. "Everything's fine. You're here and that's what matters, right?" Lydia held her gaze for a few moments, trying to detect what her true emotions were, and it didn't take her long to discover them, because Shelby slowly stopped smiling, narrowed her eyes as she looked out at the horizon, where the other girls were resting. "Do you think they know?"

The Englishwoman followed her gaze, and instantly knew what she was referring to. "Honestly, I think so. Blimey, they would be blind if they didn't see us. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I just wanted to tell you what I couldn't with words, but I didn't think about them being so close."

"You don't have to apologize for that. After all, I poured my heart to you, the least I could expect was a kiss," Shelby smiled, "I know it doesn't make sense, but I'm scared. I'm scared of what they'll think of me after everything. I guess old habits die hard."

Lydia understood a little more about the image she had of Shelby. Why she was in beauty pageants, why she went to the gym, why she went to church every Sunday. The girl needed to maintain a perfect, canonical image of herself, needed to have no aspect of her life to be judged by, because thanks to her father's words, she already had the biggest burden of all: liking girls.

"I'm sure they'll understand. And if they don't, they're gonna mess with me too," Lydia frowned jocularly, flexing her biceps still weakly, trying to coax a smile from Shelby and succeeding. "Really, try not to worry about it. We're together now, yes?"

"Braid looking good, miss," Fatin interrupted them from a distance, approaching carefully. Shelby looked away momentarily, aware that Fatin already knew what was going on between them, and that whatever happened last night only added fuel to the fire. "They're onto you. Are you planning on telling us? It's more than obvious now."

"Are you... mad?" Shelby dared to ask, her fingers still tangled in Lydia's hair, who looked at her with some sadness.

"I assure you, Shelby, nobody is mad. We have bigger concerns than you sexuality," Fatin smiled a little, and though they weren't the most appropriate words, Shelby breathed a little easier. "We're not here to judge anyone. They are just... wondering."

"We will tell them only if you want to," Lydia reassured her again, shaking her braid out of the sand and gently stroking her arm. "Thanks for the heads up, Fatin."

The girl gave them a salute, walking away to conceal her absence from the group of girls, who were still talking to each other, but about different things. Fatin was glad that none of them really had any objections to the recent relationship between her friend and Shelby. Except for Toni, of course, who had left a while ago and hadn't returned yet. None of them had missed the venom in her words, her scowl whenever one of them made a comment about the two girls, but especially Fatin had noticed it and didn't understand the basketball player's real reasons: was she jealous? And if so, why?

"There's one way to tell them without actually telling them," Shelby crooned close to Lydia's ear, who giggled at the touch and tickle, but paid attention. She knew that Shelby, despite the confidence in Fatin's words, still wasn't too convinced about telling them so soon, especially with everything that had happened over the past few days, with their comings and goings and the British woman's absence. It was clear that the Texan was more about acting than talking, so she averted her gaze slyly to the front for a moment and quickly crouched down to where Lydia was lying, pressing her lips to hers.

Lydia was surprised but thought she knew what was happening, so she said nothing and simply returned the kiss. She noticed the heat in her cheeks when Shelby pulled away, and when she opened her eyes she saw that the girl's cheeks were rosy too, and sent her a quick wink.

"Okay, wow, guys, get a fucking room," Dot exclaimed once they all approached the small camp, pursing her lips in an expression of mock disgust.

"Never better said," Rachel pointed out with a playful smile on her lips, inciting cheers from the rest of the girls.

Lydia laughed gleefully, while Shelby practically covered her face with her hands, looking genuinely embarrassed. Still, she was deeply relieved that, when she uncovered her eyes, none of them seemed to have an accusatory word for her, or a derogatory gesture, but all of them were smiling, seeming to be in good spirits, and joking with each other. Even Leah, with whom she had had her ups and downs, seemed to be happy for her, nodding slowly as their gazes met, as if with that fact things were back to normal.

"How are you feeling?" Dot asked, this time addressing Lydia.

"As if a truck backed up and ran over only my head."

Dot raised her eyebrows, impressed. "Oddly specific, but okay. Toni will check your stitches, as soon as she arrives, that is."

As if by magic, the brunette appeared from the woods, emerging with a scowl and lips pressed into a thin line. Lydia hadn't seen her all day, and she had to admit that it was like a breath of fresh air for her to see her appear, for she knew that she had done the most for her during the time she had been away and she truly felt safe if Toni was around. However, the expressions of the rest of the girls were hesitant and somewhat conciliatory, so Lydia didn't ask too many questions when they saw that many of them were leaving for the beach as Toni crouched down beside them, Shelby included.

"Feel like I haven't seen you all day," Lydia tried to make conversation, leaning her back against a log while Toni gently probed her wound.

"I've had things to do around. Not a quiet day here, y'know," her expression was still serious, her jaw tense and her lips pursed, but her tone of voice matched how she felt when she saw that Lydia was okay.

"Everything okay? Things seem... tense. Did I miss something?"

"Yeah, well, lying here all day with Shelby is not exactly what someone would do to keep themselves up to date," Toni murmured, but Lydia frowned when she detected the sarcasm in her words.

"Well, sorry if I can't run a marathon, damn."

Toni sighed, wiping the cotton wool from her forehead. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said it like that."

"I want to know what's up with you. I thought we had already overcome the bad mood stage," Lydia sat up, approaching Toni, who seemed somewhat reluctant to contact the Englishwoman.

"It's been some stressful days, that's all."

Lydia didn't seem to buy it, but didn't press the issue any further. She didn't want to burden Toni, who already seemed tense enough being around her, so she let it be. She remained silent for the rest of the time that the Minnesota girl inspected her wound, which was slowly healing, according to Toni's loose remarks, "If you ever feel like talking, you know I'm here. We are friends, right?"

Are we?, Toni really wanted to say.

"Yeah, friends," Toni cleared her throat as she nodded. "All done for today. You can walk to the beach with the rest of them, if you want."

Lydia turned around. "You're not coming?"

"Remember when I told you I don't hurt anyone if I'm alone? Some things in my head to sort out. Talk to you later, Lydia."

The blonde watched silently as Toni stomped across the sand in disguised fury and frustration, as if something had happened to upset her. She watched her until her silhouette disappeared into the undergrowth, listening to the leaves rustle wherever the Minnesota girl went, and Lydia decided that, as much as she wanted to go after her and discover the root of her problems, pushing her wasn't going to be the solution. So she walked to shore as best she could, her head a little better but her heart heavier than before.

However, it wasn't just Toni who occupied her thoughts right now. Lydia knew that things were going better than ever, ironically. The girls were laughing with each other when she arrived at the shore, joking about who knew what, working together all those days to divide up the chores and trying to make the atmosphere in which Lydia woke up as peaceful as possible. But there were still many unanswered questions in Lydia's head, and even if she wasn't sharing them with anyone, the time had come to share them with —probably— the wrong person.

So, with a nod, she indicated to Leah that she wanted to talk to her in private. The girl rose quickly from the sand, raising her eyebrows as Lydia quirked her lips into a smile for the rest of the girls, quickly making up an excuse to pull her away from the rest of the group. Neither seemed to suspect anything, even Nora's hesitant look went unnoticed by the two girls.

"What's up? Are you alright?" Leah asked as they moved a little away from the crowd.

"I need something from you."

"Okay, shoot," Leah nodded, feeling curiosity creep up her body.

"First, I need you to promise me two things. The first one is that you can't tell anybody what I'm about to tell you," Lydia said with determination, and Leah nodded quickly, as if promising silently. She was deeply surprised when the Englishwoman grabbed her cheeks and looked at her intensely. "The second one is that I need you to stay with me, okay? I need you to stay sane and to keep me sane, because God knows I probably shouldn't be after this."

"Lydia, you're scaring me."

"Leah... Something happened the other night."