Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Why did I let Owen talk me into this

As the speedboat grew closer to the island, Noah debated on whether he should take the wheel from the poor intern and drive himself home.

Sure Owen is his best friend and all but a reality show? On an island no doubt. Owen claims Noah owed him a solid, but Noah didn’t care enough to actually prove that, but here we are. As the boat cleared its spot next to the dock, he stepped off cautiously, unsure how safe this place appeared to be.

“Buddy you made it!” Noah didn’t get enough time to dodge as his best friend pulled him into a spine crushing hug.

“Owen..put me down..” he rasped, definitely sure his friend had collapsed his lungs.

The bigger teen let out a chuckle, putting Noah back on his feet.

“I’m just surprised you made it!” He smiled meekly.

“I highly doubt that,” Noah says. “But if I owe my buddy a solid, why not”

Owen was about to respond as someone cleared their throat.

“Ahem, host of the show here?” Noah looked behind his friend to see a slightly pale man folding his arms.

Ah yes, Chris Mclean, the very egotistical television show host, how could I forget Noah thought quite bitterly, following Owen over to the group of other ‘campers’

They were gathered for a while, Noah watching with zero interest as the rest of the cast filed onto the dock. Aside from watching everyone gawk at this kid named Justin –maybe he glanced too but who’s to say– he’s pretty sure he zoned out for a good ten minutes.

“...and here we have two more campers to shake things up!”

Noah comes back, Two extra? He quickly did a head count. We have our twenty-two already, what is Chris up to?

“Now, give an ‘enthusiastic’ welcome to, Sierra” Chris says, as a brown skinned girl with dark purple hair steps off the boat. She waves rather shyly at the group as Chris goes on saying, “and Alejandro!”

This seems to catch Noah’s attention, as he watches the tan skinned boy step off the boat. God, another stereotypical pretty boy?

Alejandro flashed his green eyes at everyone saying “Buenos dias mi amigos” he had taken a bow while doing so. Noah only rolled his eyes.

“Wow, check out the new guy” gawked Owen, who was never really hard to amaze.

“He’s not all that lunchbox, just another model industry teen, big whoop” he folded his arms as he spoke, glaring at Alejandro with intense suspicion.

“Alrighty campers, if you’ll follow me, we can tour your grave- I mean the island” a mischievous chuckle was let out, causing some distress among the kids.

They all walked in a conglomerated group, talking amongst themselves in staggered conversations. Noah had no intention of doing that whatsoever, trekking silently next to Owen, who by contrast was chatting it up with the loony redhead who banged her head against the dock moments before.

Big guy is too friendly for his own well being Noah thought, finding his own roaming.

He was brought back again by the smell of too much expensive cologne creeping up behind him. This ‘Alejandro’ had caught up to him and began to match his pace.

“Hola..Noah is it?” he asked, the question seemed harmless.

“Yes..what’s it to you?” Noah says, keeping a small enough distance from him and Alejandro.

“Well it’s my duty to acquaint myself with the lovely people of this show, is it not?’ Alejandro says, a pristine toothy smile forming at his mouth.

“Right..” Noah looks off to the side, relieved that Alejandro had eventually hung back and began chatting with Justin.

At least he can relate to that model snob, won’t be surprising if we find them sucking face in the bathrooms later, if this place even has a decent one

Noah strained his ears back to Chris’ monologue, nudging his arm into Owen’s side. “What is he blabbering about now?” whispered Noah, making sure the host didn’t hear.

“Something about the communal bathrooms, and now we’re heading to the mess hall” Owen replies.

Chris leads the group into a large cabin, showing them around and eventually introducing them to ‘Chef Hatchet’ who does not at all seem friendly. They finally make it to the cabins with Chris explaining the bunking ordeal, girls on one side, guys on the other. The host also decides the teams, listing off everyone’s names into two teams.

The Screaming Gophers and The Killer Bass.

And of course Alejandro is on my team

Chris tells them to get unpacked and meet him at the top of the cliff in an hour, and to wear their swimsuits. Noah doesn’t know what to expect but then again he couldn’t care less. He contemplates snagging a top bunk to avoid sleeping directly under one of his teammates, then again he doesn’t feel like putting in effort to climb, so he chooses the latter, the bottom bunk.

Noah tosses his duffel on the closest bunk, sitting on the edge of the frame. He does painfully watch his friend attempt to befriend the others, but instead comes off making out-of-context comments, thankfully Owen stops talking before Noah could step in.

He let his thoughts roam again, taking a bit coming back to reality. It’s a known fact Noah zones out constantly, been that way since he was a kid, but he knows it’s going to be infuriatingly hard to keep his full attention for this competition.

He couldn't have the others thinking he was a geek with a staring problem, he’s completely fine with just geek.

Noah began digging through his duffel, pulling out a generic brand of swim trunks. He obviously can feel the slight stare of Alejandro, but chooses to bypass it. Eventually the teens make their way to the communal bathrooms to change, Noah rapping his fingers against his crossed arms as he waits. As quickly as he got his turn, he hastily makes his way into a stall and gets dressed.

Noah half stares at himself in the mirror, shrugging with a tone that says, ‘good enough’ and walks out of the bathroom to find Owen. He immediately does and stands beside him, waiting for the challenge to start. Everyone finishes about ten minutes later and they begin making their way up the hill.

It was a long trek Noah definitely didn’t sign up for, dragging his feet as he walked. Alejandro catches up with him, flashing yet another toothy smile. “I see you are having trouble my friend, this is a very steep hill, it is understandable.”

Noah looked at him, not sure if he was serious or not. “I’m fine Prince Charming” he pauses for a breath, "Just not used to this kind of stuff” Noah rolled his eyes. Alejandro only chuckled slightly, continuing to match Noah’s pace.

”Is this your first time? Being on a reality show that is” Alejandro had asked, his gaze wandering between Noah and the view of the water below.

“Yeah, and my agent has many more lined up for me” he replied sarcastically, shrugging. “My friend signed up and wanted me to come, that’s all”

“Your friend? I assume that is Owen, right?”

Noah simply nodded, trying to end the conversation, but to no avail, Alejandro pressed on.

“It would be easy to assume everyone here wants the money for either pointless parties or mindless shopping sprees, but something tells me you are not a part of either” Alejandro grinned, striding closer to Noah.

The teen looked at Alejandro like he had grown a second, maybe a third head too. “I guess school? some people want to have a future in this world” he said, giving the tanned skin teen a ridiculous grin, staring at his feet while he walked

Alejandro parted his lips to say something more as Chris pulled out an air horn and blared it through his megaphone. “Campers! For your first challenge, each team member will need to dive off of this one-thousand foot drop into the water below, but there is a safe zone you need to land in to stay safe” Chris says, “Oh, and don’t forget to look out for sharks” the host let out a snicker as he stepped far away from the cliff's edge.

Oh he has got to be kidding

“Of course you don’t have to, but, those who do not attempt will have to wear this,” Chris pulls out what seems to be a chicken hat from a crate next to him, “and take the stairway of losers back down to the bottom, good luck”

Noah looks between the teams, who immediately start discussing who would go first. The Killer Bass step up to the plate, Bridgette being the first one to jump. Noah peers over the cliff, seeing she had succeeded. It didn’t lessen his worries though. He watches as each member of the opposing team makes the jump, some easy, some excruciatingly painful. Noah watches painfully as two members of the opposing team take the easy way out, but they may just lose it for their team now.

It was the Gopher’s turn now. Before they decided who would go first, Chris had offered them a bit of extra help if they could beat the Bass’ score. Noah observed as his team jumped off the cliff with ease. Two of his teammates had some, difficulty, before they eventually made it down.

The time came for the cynic’s turn, rethinking his life choices immediately. “Just jump man!” one of his teammates called from below. Before he could reply, he was given a hard shove in his back. Noah stumbled off the edge, plunging towards the murky blue below. The wind blew sharply against his bare skin, making him cringe. Although he landed safely, he felt his heart racing.

What the fuck was that?

Noah waded in the water, squinting his eyes up to see Trent making his way down, succeeding as well. Before he could wipe the water from his vision, a large splash beside him interrupted.

Alejandro emerged from the waves, his long hair hanging drenched over his eyes. He pushed the strands behind his ears, smiling at Noah.

“See? It was not that bad” Alejandro smirked as he began swimming to shore.

Easy for you to say he thought, following suit. He hadn’t even touched sand before he heard the blood curdling cry of his best friend plunging into the water.

Noah was about to cheer him on, but a tsunami-like wave suddenly began rushing towards the shore. The campers still in the water scrambled to reach the beach, some weren’t as lucky. Noah blinked his eyes open, letting out a pain ridden groan. He positioned his body to sit on his butt, looking around at the disheveled campers. “Nice work big guy” he muttered to himself, surprised to see an outstretched hand in front of him.

“Need a hand mi amigo?” Alejandro beamed, quite innocently in fact. He didn’t look injured one bit. He must have made it to shore before him, but Noah’s head was pounding too much to think.

Noah took the taller boy’s hand, using it as a crutch and stood to his feet. Chris is already at the bottom, awaiting to explain the next part of the challenge. “Alrighty! Winning by a point, the Screaming Gophers win the first part of the challenge!” His statement was followed by a mixture of groans and cheers. “And because they beat the Killer Bass’ score, they get these” Chef stood closer to the grass with multiple pushcarts.

“What’re those for? To carry our broken and dismantled bodies?” Noah jeered, crossing his arms to keep his body from racking.

“Uh, no, you need them to carry those incredibly large boxes back to camp, don’t be so pessimistic” Chris says, rolling his eyes.

“Wait, if the Gophers have those, how are we supposed to take our boxes?” Courtney asks, adjusting the chicken hat from falling off her head.

Chris shrugs and replies “You gotta carry ‘em yourself, chicken”

The Killer Bass let out numerous groans, starting to try and get a headstart with their grueling task. “Gophers! Get to it” Chris says, mounting an electric bike that he got from who knows where. Noah and his team make their way over to the boxes, while a few go ahead and snag their wheelbarrows. While he attempted to help with one of the boxes, he couldn’t stop himself from shivering. The mixtured feelings of being drenched in water and the cool breeze did not do well for him.

Just my luck

“Everything alright Noah?” Alejandro asked, walking up beside him with his head tipped in concern.

“Y-yea..just c-cold” Noah says, blowing breaths into his cupped hands in an attempt to keep warm, but to no avail. “Stupid anemia” he muttered.

“If you want, I would be more than happy to carry you with the box back to camp” He gestured to the already stationed wheelbarrow. Noah furrowed his brows, “A-are you s-sure? You’re a-already charioting that h-huge ass c-cart”

Alejandro only smiled, “It would be my pleasure”

Noah would never turn down a reason to not doing anything, gladly climbing onto the farm tool and seating himself atop the wooden box. Once he was comfortable, he gave a lazy thumbs up to the other teen, who nodded and began to depart. The rest of the team began following immediately after, like some sort of hive-mind.

Noah pulled his knees to his chest, resting his head on his arms. His body had not ceased shaking, only lessened. He mindlessly rubbed his forearm, wincing at the touch. Noah pulled the limb closer to him to inspect, finding a small forming dark purple bruise.

Great

————————————

The Gophers eventually made it back to camp, but upon seeing they were there early, they mutually agreed to change back into dry clothes. After completing their side task, they immediately began the second part of the challenge.

Chris showed up on his bike and said, “Oh! I almost forgot to mention, you have to use your teeth to open up the crates” he gave a mischievous chuckle before driving off.

Ay dios mío

Alejandro had no intention of doing that, and ruin his pristine white smile? Of course not. He glanced at his teammates, who had already begun going along with Chris’ foolish rule. He notably watched a struggling Noah, complaining that he had a splinter stuck between his teeth. Alejandro quickly thought of another way to get the crate open, and while not letting his team down. He noticed a somewhat loose screw on one side of the crate, and upon inspecting the rest of the box, there were multiple.

Alright, I can work with this

Alejandro glanced around for a second, spotting a hammer on the grass near an open box. He quickly snagged it and got to work. It took him a couple minutes, multitasking to make sure he wasn't caught. He wedges the hammer’s claw behind the nails, plucking them out instantly.

The crates walls fell almost on command, kicking up dust in the process. Alejandro swiftly stuck the hammer in his back waistband to be discarded later. The noise alerted his team, who had just gotten theirs open. He gave a dramatic bow as his teammates gave staggered words of admiration.

Alejandro surveyed the items in each crate, trying to put together what they were building. Noah slid up beside him, glancing at him through his peripherals. The cynic had begun strumming his teeth using his pinkie finger to snag the splinter out, “Any gears turning in there yet?” he asks.

Alejandro was slightly startled by the shorter teen’s appearance, shaking his head in response. “Nothing” was all he could say.

“It’s a hot tub” Noah replied flatly, flicking the splinter away with his index finger and thumb.

“What makes you say that?” Alejandro asked, rightfully skeptical.

Noah shrugs, “Makes sense doesn’t it? We plunge to our deaths in freezing lake water? Winner gets a nice reward”

Alejandro processes his words for a moment, giving an approving smile at his teammate. “Excellent thinking mi amigo, let us inform our team of your brilliant idea” he grinned, walking over to the others, with Noah close behind him. Alejandro elucidates his team, the others letting out cheers of approval for Noah’s suggestion.

The Gophers quickly begin building the contraption, while the Bass quickly catch on and scramble to pick up the pace. Both teams finish their hot tubs as Chris comes back around to judge both projects. The Gopher’s looks like a model you’d find in one of those home goods store catalogs, while the Bass’ look like it was put together by bears, messy and undone, also leaking water at an alarming rate.

“Well you don’t need me to judge this but, The Screaming Gophers win today's challenge! So that means, I’ll be seeing the Killer Bass at our first ever elimination ceremony” Chris says, grinning.
“Oh, and enjoy the hot tub party you earned for yourselves Gophers, the ceremony will take place after dinner, I’ll see you then Bass” the host stalked off after that. The Killer Bass had no intention of sticking around to be ridiculed and began making their way to the mess hall.

Leshawna had snuck up next to Noah, picking him up in a hug saying “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about stringbean!”

The rest of the team joins in giving the teen their praises. Alejandro only grinned, joining in himself. “Bravo mi cerebrito! Thanks to your quick thinking, we have secured the first challenge” he smiled, slapping Noah on the back, making the shorter teen cringe just slightly.

“Please, anyone could’ve figured it out, I just did it faster” Noah gave a sardonic grin, folding his arms. “Ah ah, do not act modest my friend” Alejandro chuckles. Noah rolled his eyes, making his way over to the cabin’s porch and sat down, perching his head in his hand at an angle. The rest of the teens wasted no time throwing themselves in the soothing water, while Alejandro’s attention was focused on the cynic.

“Will you not be joining? You are the reason for our success after all” the taller teen took a spot next to Noah, not exactly giving them distance between one another.

Noah only shrugged, “I’ve had enough water related activities for one day” an unenthusiastic eye roll followed his statement. Alejandro’s gaze flitted down, catching Noah’s slight arm graze.

“Are you alright?” he asked, tipping his head.

“Yes?” Noah said, furrowing his eyebrows in slight discomfort. He grazed his arm again, only this time surprised when Alejandro yanked it up.

“What the hell man?” Noah growled, trying to pull his arm away.

The tan skinned teen inspected the injury, looking at his companion with worry. “You have a bruise, why did you not say anything?” Alejandro asked, lowering his teammate’s limb gently.

“Like any of you would care, we may be a team now, but we’ll leave each other for dead when we get the chance” Noah rolled his eyes, averting his gaze.

“Try to be positive for once my friend, we are a team, we look out for one another” Alejandro says. He stands to his feet and makes his way into the cabin. He swiftly returns, settling himself back down in the same spot.

Alejandro took Noah’s arm in hand and began applying a light cover of bandage. “Perfecto, good as new” he smiled, letting the teen retreat his arm.

Without any sort of thanks, Noah folded his arms, crossing one leg over the other. Alejandro felt his eye twitch, taking a silent breath.

What is this guy’s problem?

“I wonder how long you’ll keep this up” Noah mutters, probably not to himself if the other could hear.

“Keep what up exactly?” Alejandro asked, trying to seem innocent to Noah’s claims.

Noah raises a hand and drags around in the air as if he was covering Alejandro’s body and said “This faux personality, no real teen is this nice to others”

“Have you considered that I just have manners? They’re not hard to learn or use my friend” Alejandro felt his voice slipping from his casual politeness.

Noah shrugs once more, “We’ll see, amigo”

Alejandro silently curses to himself, wanting to change the subject. Luckily Noah beats him to the punch. “I’m gonna crash, you coming or are you gonna hang with everyone else for dinner? I don’t think I can stomach Chef’s food right now”

Alejandro glanced between his team and the anti-social teen who could care less with his answer. “Sure, I am a bit weary myself,” he said, standing on his feet. He grabbed the door handle and pulled it open, his gentleman gesture not phasing the cynical teen. They both head inside, hoping the thick wooden walls could drown out the gathered voices.

Alejandro had changed into a simple black tank top and navy blue shorts. His gaze flitted toward the other teen, who had just finished pulling a white tee over his head and to his surprise, only having boxers on for bottoms.

The tan skinned teen averted his gaze to the wooden floor, taking the hair tie off of his wrist and putting his hair into a high ponytail. He could feel Noah’s hard gaze burning into his head.

He quickly climbed to the top bunk, getting comfortable under the covers. He hears the creaking of the other teen climbing into bed as well. Alejandro felt his eyes flutter shut before he was interrupted.

“Y’know how you asked what’d I do with the prize money?”

“..Yes..? you said school did you not?”

“Yeah well, even though I have my college credits –I’m taking some early courses in high school– I wouldn’t mind doing an actual year or two”

“What would you find yourself doing?

“I always found coding and technology worth my time”

“That sounds interesting, especially for you mi cerebrito” Alejandro smiles, quite sincerely at the fact that Noah had an idea of what he’d do for his future. His own parents assumed he’d just take a spot in the financial or business field, and never bothered asking for clarity. Alejandro doesn’t even know what he wants, he always thought he didn’t have a choice so he didn’t try to explore his options.

“...Alejandro? You still there?”

“Yeah..still here..” he replied rather flatly.

“Well I’m gonna turn in..night man” Noah went radio silent after that, light snores following quickly.

Alejandro took that as his signal to crash as well, positioning himself on his side. While he was exhausted from the day, his mind was still awake with thoughts. He wished to silence them, at least until the next day.

He ignored them as much as could, allowing sleep to overcome his aching body. He did not know what tomorrow would bring, but he would be ready for it, he had to be.

Chapter Text

Alejandro is rudely awakened by an air horn to the loudspeakers. He stumbles off the side of his bunk, falling face down on the floor.

“Dios mío, ¿cuál es el daño?!” He said angrily, standing to his feet.

“Good morning fresh meat! You’ve made it to another day, for now,” Chris chuckled before continuing, “get dressed and meet me by the flagpole in t-minus sixty minutes” there was crackly static before he went silent.

The rest of the Gopher guys began staggering out of bed and making their way to the bathrooms. Noah was sitting upwards on his bunk, letting his eyes adjust to the bright rays that peered through the windows. He had a major bedhead, his normal straight hair fluffed up in unruly strands. His gaze flitted towards Alejandro, furrowing his brows as he did.

“Why are you on the floor?”

“I do not want to talk about it.”

Noah shrugged, getting out of bed and grabbing his toothbrush from his duffel. Alejandro was following a bit after, a toothbrush and a few hair and face products tucked under his arm. The two walked in silence, mutually agreeing to save each other the morning breath. The line for the men’s bathroom was quite long, meaning it would be quite the wait.

What had felt like hours (it was only twenty minutes) passed by quickly, allowing both teens their turn. They again remained silent while they washed up, Alejandro flitting his gaze towards the cynic every so often. He watched Noah fumble with his hair, failing to get it to— however he found it normal. He continued with his own routine, coating his face with one of his products. It was a light shade of blue —a sickly one really— one too bright and could land a plane, or crash it.

Alejandro’s ears tune in to Noah’s distressing mumbling, watching as he throws his hands to his sides. He sighed, concluding his facial routine and drying off with a towel. He moved to stand behind Noah, receiving a rightfully concerned look from the boy. “I know what I am doing just— hold still,” Alejandro inspected the unruly mess, trying to find shape to it.

He ran his fingers through his teammates' dark brown locs, almost losing himself in them. He snapped out of whatever those thoughts were and continued the task at hand. He put the final touches before stepping beside the teen again, looking in the mirror at his work. “Perfecto.”

Noah looked in the mirror and shrugged. “Thanks, I guess.”

“I put my hair dresser skills to work and all I get is ‘Thanks’, I am quite insulted.” Alejandro said dramatically, twisting a strand of the cynic’s bangs around his finger and tugged, watching it snap back into place. Noah rolled his eyes, “My hero.”

“Can you two chatty cathy’s hurry up in there? Other people need to go ya know!”

“I swear to god, before this show ends, I will strangle that green haired bastard.” Noah cursed, grabbing his toothbrush and leaving the bathroom, making sure to slam the door open. He heard Duncan yell a few curses before he walked in, scowling at him.

Alejandro wasted no time with his departure, heading back to the cabin. Upon entering, Noah had just finished getting dressed, pulling his crimson sweater vest over his head. “You clean up fast.” He chuckled, rustling through his duffel for clean clothes.

“When you live with eight sisters who all take longer than you combined, it’s a skill you develop” Noah replies, rolling his eyes.

Alejandro would’ve commented about his own siblings, but didn’t want to get himself worked up, so he refrained. He instead got dressed himself and pulled his scrunchie out, feeling his hair falling back to his shoulders. He quickly ran his fingers through it, shaking it out to get the natural style he rocks all the time. “How do you make it look so easy?’ Noah mumbled, his head turned away. Alejandro could see a bit of crimson in his face.

“Mostly genetics mi amigo” Alejandro smiled slyly, cringing as the loudspeaker came on again.

“T-minus five minutes, get to it!”

Alejandro sighed, “Shall we?” he said, looking at his teammate. Noah only shrugs in response, making his way outside. They arrive at the flagpole, most of the others already there. A good majority of them looked exhausted, not exactly thrilled with the wakeup call Chris gave them. Once both teams are all there and accounted for, the host comes out from the mess hall.

“Morning campers! How’d ya sleep?”

He was answered with multiple scowls.

“Ooh, touchy. Anyway, we’re starting off with a twenty kilometer run around the lake—”

“Uh, Chris? What about breakfast?” Owen piped up from the back of the group “I can’t be the only one wondering right?”

“Hah, that’s funny” Chris said, not exactly thrilled with the interruption. “On your marks..”

That set most of the campers to get into a running position, awaiting the signal.

“Get set..”

Alejandro stretched his arms and legs, making sure he wasn’t stiff, preventing anything that could slow him down. He glanced at Noah, who had his arms folded, rolling his eyes. “I did not sign up for this” Alejandro assumes that’s what the boy muttered.

“Go!”

The campers dashed off, starting their very long and excruciating challenge. A few campers outstretch their speed, which Alejandro knows will hurt them later on. He thinks back to what his older brother, Carlos, told him when he tagged along for his soccer practices as a kid.

”Remember hermano, the key is to lengthen your strides and take your time, it will help you not collapse the first few seconds in.”

Now, Carlos is an international player for his home country, which meant he wasn’t able to visit as much. The two were close as kids, practically best friends, and by leaving, an empty void was left in Alejandro’s chest. He absolutely despised his second older brother, José, and would never even think to try and replicate that with him.

So he threw himself into a dozen extracurricular activities to keep his mind busy. Of course it had overworked his brain, something a twelve year old kid should never have to deal with early on, but he was determined to make his parents proud of him. Even still, it wasn’t enough. Being outshined by José pushed him deeper in his own insecurities, making him strive harder just for his parents' attention. If only he knew what he was doing to himself back then.

Alejandro shook the thoughts away, not wanting to distract himself too much. He could worry about his well being after he’s won the hundred grand. He can go home a true Burromuerto.

He was now focused, his mind only on the task at hand. Alejandro snapped his head around as he heard Heather shout a curse to Noah, who bumped into her to pass her slow speed. “Maybe you should think not to wear heels in the forest next time!” Noah quickly retorted as he caught up to Owen, who wasn’t too far ahead.

The two spoke in hushed tones to one another, leaving Alejandro confused. Why was he worried about what two strangers to him were whispering about? It didn’t concern him, but it always upset him if he didn’t know something that was happening around him. He never fully understood the cause of these emotions, then again he didn’t exactly dwell on it long enough to care.

Still, he was here to win money, not to make new friends.

Keep your head in the game idiota!

From what he assumed, Alejandro is halfway there. He could see the camp, a little speck of brown, not far in the distance. The rest of his teammates weren’t far behind, as for the other team, they weren’t even in eyesight.

A loud thump behind him caused Alejandro to skid to a stop. He turned to find Noah, face first planted into the ground. “Ay dios mío…” Alejandro pinched the bridge of his nose, heaving out a heavy sigh.

Owen had stopped as well, kneeling down to help his friend, but halted as the boy held up his hand.

“I’ll deal with him, just keeping going, we need to get back to camp first.”

“Oh..well alright, thanks Al!” Owen had called, continuing the challenge.

Alejandro tried to ignore the nickname as he lifted Noah upright and hung the boy over his shoulder like a ragdoll.

“I am not losing this challenge because of you.” he muttered to himself, sprinting off towards the camp.

Alejandro soon made it to the mess hall —a little too harshly— tossing Noah on the nearest table. The rest of the team piled in not long after, all definitely out of breath. From what he could determine, the Killer Bass still had a long way to go, which was perfect for them.

“What happened to him?” Gwen asked, pointing a finger towards the unconscious teen.

“I guess he passed out during the challenge, even though he did not get far when it started” Alejandro says, rolling his eyes, “I know he’s lazy and all but honestly, Owen lasted longer than him, no offense my friend.”

“Oh none taken dude!” Owen chirped, the comment flying over his head.

“Should we get him help?” Trent asks, looking concerned.

“Oh oh! I could give him CPR, that always works right?” the bigger teen pipes up, looking between his team, who didn’t exactly oppose.

As if on cue, Noah shot up like a bullet. “Absolutely not,” he says, looking at his friend. “Look, Owen, buddy, I love you, but don’t ever put your face near mine.”

“Oh little buddy you’re okay!” Owen exclaimed, a bit dramatic, before pulling his friend into a crushing hug.

Alejandro stared blankly at Noah before clearing his throat. “Excuse me, what? You weren’t even unconscious?” there wasn’t any anger lining his question, but more of confusion. Well, maybe there’s a little bit of anger, or concern, whatever. He had carried him all the way back to camp, for nothing?

“Oh, yeah, I didn’t feel like walking after a while so—” he shrugged, nonchalantly. Noah seemed to have no remorse with what he did, leaving Alejandro more disoriented.

“We got here first didn’t we? Don’t make a big deal out of it.” Noah says sneeringly, swiping something from under his fingernail.

He was about to say something to the boy but Gwen interjected. “Wait, if we’re all here before the others, that means we won the challenge!”

Her statement caused the rest of the team to cheer, before they were interrupted by Chris bursting into the mess hall. “Hold your horses! that wasn’t the challenge.” he says, letting out a cackle. “Once the rest of the Bass get here, I’ll explain the real challenge, ‘til then, just hang here.” he promptly left, leaving the Gophers to their own devices.

“How was that not the challenge? There is no way I walked in the forest in high heel wedges for nothing.” Heather seethed, breaking the nail file she was using moments before.

“Oh calm down prom queen, and stop exaggerating.” Noah spats, pulling out a book from one of his many pants pockets.

“Oh shut it you twerp, you barely did the run with us, we could easily vote you at the next ceremony for slacking off.” Heather rounded on him, pointing a well manicured finger in his face.

“But you won’t, will you? You can’t afford to get rid of me honey.” Noah smirked, his gaze even with the girl.

“Will both of you hush it already!” Leshawna butted in, shoving Heather back away from Noah. All hell breaks loose between the three as everyone tried to separate them. Alejandro took this time to slip out of the building, making his way to the confessional. He takes one last glance behind him as he shuts and locks the door.

“Por el amor de Dios, ¿puede esto empeorar? ¡Estoy en un equipo de niños!” Alejandro huffs, before taking a deep breath, looking into the camera. “Obviously my team needs some— assistance, if we want to succeed,” he’s silent for a moment. “Although Heather has quality authority skills, she doesn’t get along well with anyone, socially at least, Owen follows what anyone says like he doesn’t have a backbone, but Noah? He’s a wildcard for sure, one minute he’s in it and the next he wants nothing to do with anyone, it’s confusing!”

Alejandro looks at the camera like he's expecting some sort of response, quickly going back to his rant. “The others haven’t been of use to me yet, but if I cannot find one for them, they have to go, it’s strategic, if you serve me no purpose you get cut” Alejandro says as he drags his thumb in the air over his throat.

“I’m here to win, and I’ll do whatever it takes to do so.”

——————————

He makes it back to the mess hall, finding that the Bass had finally arrived. He slips back to his team, glancing at Noah, who looked disheveled, dawning a small scratch just under his left eye. Alejandro decided to question him about it later.

Chris comes back in, blowing the air horn —Why? Who knows— and says “Alrighty campers! As a reward for finishing my little run, Chef has prepared you all a feast!” He extends his arm, to which Chef is pulling back a purple curtain to reveal a finely filled table with different varieties of food.

“I promise there isn’t a catch, now enjoy it before Chef feeds it to the sharks.” The two men leave afterwards, the teens all rushing to the table to dig in. Noah sat back with a look of disgust, going back to his book. “Oh little buddy! You gotta try this! It’s to die for!” Owen barks through his stuffed mouth. Alejandro watches as Noah recoils and says, “That’s all you big guy, go wild.”

Alejandro seated himself next to the cynic, leaning his head on one hand. “I suppose I should ask why you are not partaking in this? Might be the only edible food we’ll get during this show.” he turns to Noah, tilting his head.

Noah only shrugs, not looking up from his book. “Not hungry.” was all he replied. He glances up briefly at Alejandro, quirking his brow. “You don’t seem eager to indulge in that either, food not fancy enough for you? Your majesty.” he says, mockingly.

Alejandro smirked, rolling his eyes. “If you must know, my body is a temple, I do not partake in such things mindlessly.”

Noah nudges Alejandro in the hip with his shoe. “Bullshit, go eat an apple or something, we don’t need one of our strongest players passing out due to starvation.” he says, flipping the next page, slightly cursing at the paper cut he just gave himself.

“It is not starvation cerebrito, it is simply awareness” He narrowed his eyes, standing from his spot and venturing over to the ‘massacre’ of a table.

Alejandro values his limbs, every last one of them. He definitely will not lose one due to starved teens, anything but that. He quickly swipes an apple before glancing at Noah, motioning to grab a second one. He quickly retreats back to their shared table, shining one of the apples off on his shirt. He took a bite, the crunching effect echoing through the mess hall. He shrugged off the side glances he got before his attention was dragged back over to Noah.

He takes another bite before tossing the second apple into Noah’s lap, causing the boy to look up. Noah holds the apple up, furrowing his brows. “I said I wasn’t hungry.”

Alejandro points a finger at the boy, a stern gaze hardened on his face. “So? We do not need our smartest player to go out on us during the next challenge, so eat.” he smirked, biting into his apple again.

Noah rolled his eyes, taking a small bite of the fruit. Alejandro noticed the constant face scrunches from his teammate as he ate, making him wonder what was wrong. He would most likely ask Noah about it later, just finishing his own.

The other campers cleared the table soon after, each of them occasionally letting out groans of satisfaction and a bit of pain. The loudspeaker crackled on, telling the teens to make their way to the campfire pit.

Both teams filed out to the open area, taking their spots either on or next to a stump. This made Alejandro feel like it was an elimination ceremony, but that couldn’t be right. For one, it was daytime, and two, both teams were present. What is this challenge?

Chris walks up and stands at the barrel podium. “Campers! Welcome to an event I like to call, ‘The Awake-a-Thon’ ” the host grinned, looking between the kids. “I’m sure you’re wondering why it’s named such, you all remember that wonderful feast you had a bit ago? Well, turns out, a lot of food can make you real groggy and—“

“Get to the point, McLean.” Duncan snarked.

“You all will be pulling some classic all-nighters, the last camper to fall asleep will win immunity for their team, have fun.” Chris stalked away, leaving the campers a bit uneasy.

————————

It’s been twelve hours. All twenty-three campers were still kicking, but some were going to drop like flies soon. Alejandro has never been fully awake like this before, and it’s definitely getting to him. He looks around, finding that some of the other campers are keeping themselves occupied. Owen is blabbing out how easy the challenge is, then immediately clocks out. Lindsay and Beth are..standing on their heads? For some reason. Gwen and Trent are making conversation in an attempt to stay busy.

Alejandro watches as Heather pulls the two naive girls aside, just kind of brushing it off, as it didn’t concern him. Noah is quietly reading his book, yawning every so often. The boy doesn’t seem phased by this at all, as if he does this daily. Alejandro decides to try his teammates’ tactic, sildling up next to the cynic on the stump. “What’re you reading?” he asked, leaning his head on one hand. Noah glanced at him, flipping the page. “You wouldn’t like it.” he answers simply.

“Try me.”

Noah sighs, dog-earring the page he’s currently on. “It’s about coding, although I’m already very knowledgeable on the matter, it doesn’t hurt to keep learning.”

“This is what you want to go to college for, correct?”

Noah nods, rubbing one of his eyes. “What about you? What gets the gears in that pretty little head goin’?” he smirked. Alejandro glanced off to the side, wondering if he should even share. He could say the wrong thing and things could go to shit. He doubts his family are actually watching this ridiculous show, but he was nervous nonetheless. He bit his tongue and met Noah’s questioning gaze.

“I have a soft spot for fossils.” he admits, smiling as he shoves Noah lightly in the side at the boy’s snickering.

“Okay okay, you like Paleontology, go on.”

“Well, I’ve always found them interesting since I was a kid, but I was never able to get that much into it.” he stares at the ground, losing himself in thought. He knows why he couldn’t, he chose not to. He felt that it wasn’t important enough for a Burromuerto to occupy themself in. A stupid thing really, but he loves his family, he would never want to do anything to disappoint them.

“Alejandro?” Noah asks, raising a brow

“Huh-? Oh, just lost in my own head, my apologies” he smiles weakly. “Please, continue explaining your book.”

Noah rolls his eyes, smirking. Alejandro leans his head on his hand again as the boy goes on to spout everything he knows about the subject. From simple binary code to the ways you could build your own website. Funny enough it didn’t bore the teen, rather, it fascinated him. Noah noticed the atmosphere between the two during the conversation, causing him to stop. Alejandro lifts his head up, confused. “You stopped?”

“Just surprised I didn’t absolutely bore you to sleep.” Noah says, opening his book again. Alejandro slightly frowned. Had he made a wrong facial expression? Could he have possibly said something without knowing? Either way, his interest was still piqued.

Watching Noah open his book back to where he left off, Alejandro sat a bit closer to the boy, resting his head on top of his. He glances at the pages as Noah flips the pages, trying to keep up with the boy’s fast reading ability. It felt nice though. He knew his body was naturally warm, and contrasting with Noah’s cold body, it had evened out. Albeit, he couldn’t ignore the warm and tight feeling in his chest.

There’s nothing wrong with this, right?

————————

Another twelve hours go by. They’ve hit the twenty-four hour mark.

Chris decided to make matters worse for wear, unveiling a stack of fairytale books. As he began droning on, a few campers went down for the count.

This doesn’t phase the cynic nor the charmer.

Noah yawned for the tenth time in that hour, tugging on his shirt collar. Alejandro noticed how much the boy fidgeted in his clothes. They did have the same garments on for an entire day so far, and although it was unsavory to not be clean, Alejandro felt (somewhat) fine.

Noah groaned, pulling at it again. He muttered something under his breath, trying to concentrate on anything other than the uneasy feeling in his skin. Alejandro couldn’t exactly stay comfortable in his position, pulling his head away.

“Noah, you’ve been moving around for hours, is something the matter?”

“No, everything’s fine.” he deflected, huffing.

“Does it have something to do with your clothes? You keep pulling at them.”

“I said I’m fine” Noah snapped, causing some fatigued glances to look their way.

Alejandro refrained from asking anything else, putting some space between them. Noah had gone back to reading his book, an awkward silence filling the space around them. He was tired, exhausted even, they all were, and they were bound to get snippy with each other. But Noah didn’t seem upset, per se, he seemed overwhelmed. Alejandro noted how quickly the boy had answered his question prior.

Alejandro decided to let Noah be for now.

—————————

They’re forty hours in.

Noah has abandoned his book in trepidation that it would be a bore, causing him to fall asleep. His knees were pulled to his chest, watching the firepit with some unnerved concentration. He surprised himself that he made it this far. A few of his teammates were still going, but the Bass had the lead by one. He thought for a moment, an idea sparking. Noah glanced at his team briefly, turning to face the opposers.

He purses his lips, softly whistling a tune, one he faintly remembers growing up with. His mother had always sang the sweet sound when he had trouble sleeping. It was perfect that he remembered how it went. Just as planned, four more players from the Bass go out, putting his team in the lead once again.

Noah cranes his neck to find Heather glaring at him. He dismissed her reaction, snickering lightly to himself when he hears her ‘allies” go down too. Unfortunately that tied the teams up.

The cynic supposes there’s nothing else he can do for the time being, his eyes finding Alejandro sitting two stumps away from him, on the ground with his back against it. Noah moves next to him, pulling his knees to his chest once again.

Alejandro notices him now, a small smile peeking at his lips. “I suppose you got bored of your book?” he chuckled.

Noah rolls his eyes, “Is it a crime that I want to converse with my teammate, y’know, whatever it takes to win this challenge?” he retorts.

Alejandro holds his hands up in surrender, “Alright alright, mis sinceras disculpas amigo.”

“No acepto tus disculpas.”

Noah smirks as Alejandro stares at him with a mixture of surprise and confusion. “I did not know you spoke Spanish, have you been holding out on me?” he smiled, folding his arms.

“Oh definitely, but I also happen to speak French, German, and the occasional Pig Latin.” Noah says, listing off the languages with his fingers.

Alejandro grins and asks, “¿Qué opinas de este desafío hasta ahora?”

He rolls his eyes and replies, “Es una absoluta mierda.”

Alejandro simply nods in agreement. “Who do you think the Bass voted off at their ceremony?” he asks, turning his gaze towards the boy.

Noah shrugs and says, “I’m fairly certain it was Ezekiel, he didn’t know when to shut up and said some stupid shit, in the end he got the boot.”

“I suppose that makes sense.” Alejandro says, kicking a pebble by his foot.

“I mean, would you say something just because your parents said it was okay to?” Noah rolls his eyes, not exactly noticing Alejandro’s sudden mood switch.

Alejandro made no comment, quickly changing the subject. “Do you have a favorite color?” The question is innocent, but Noah treads carefully.

“Eh, I guess...cobalt blue.”

“Mysterious huh?” Alejandro grins. “You have a favorite song?”

“I don’t like music.”

“¿Qué? Why not?” Alejandro shifts his body so that he’s facing him.

Noah shrugs, “Wasn’t really something that interested me.”

Alejandro chuckles softly. “You are not a normal person.”

“So I've been told.” Noah feels his eyes flitting shut, jolting when a firm hand shakes his shoulder. “Don’t go out on me yet mi amigo, come on, do you have a favorite movie?”

Noah yawns, “Alright alright...I guess Napoleon Dynamite.”

“I do not think I’ve heard of it.”

“And you say I’m not normal.” Noah retorts.

“Well I apologize that I am not on the train of mainstream movies, I mostly grew up with telenovelas.” Alejandro says, smirking at the cynic.

Noah nudged the boy in the side and chuckled lightly, staring at his shoes. He fidgets with a loose shoelace, letting himself wander. Sometimes it’s just therapeutic to just, not, think about anything, let his mind take control rather than him. Sure it freaked his family out, his sisters especially, who kept their distance with him often. His mother had often thought about seeing a doctor to pinpoint his reasoning for doing it so often, but Noah refused, insisting he was fine.

He’s a normal kid. Or at least that’s what he tells himself when he spirals over the littlest things. It’s not his fault really, it’s just something that happens, and he doesn’t always come out of it on his own. Noah hates himself for it, that he has to rely on others for his own issues, it’s exhausting.

Noah is brought back by the dual sounds of Katie and Sadie snoring from their spot on the ground.

“Funny..they even fall asleep together” Alejandro had piped up, letting out a yawn. Noah smirks, rolling his eyes again.

—————————

Eleven hours go by, putting them fifty-one hours in. The fatigue is starting to get to Noah.

“It’s crazy..”

“Hm..?” Alejandro mumbles, yawning as he looks in his direction.

Noah points his finger, “Justin, he hasn't moved in over..fifty hours..”

Both boys stand to their feet, carefully making their way over to the model. Noah folds his arms, staring intensely. No normal person could stand for this long, it couldn’t be done. Noah walked closer to him, poking his face.

The model jolted, flitting his eyes open. His eyelids had been poorly ‘painted’ over as a facade. Courtney, who had been watching, pointed it out, loud and very obnoxiously. Chris perked up, a maniacal grin on his face. “No way, this I have to see” he makes his way over as Noah backs up, pulling Alejandro with him.

“Oh that is so cool, but, you’re still out dude”

Justin sighs, seething at Noah before he walks off. Noah waves at him, smiling sarcastically.

Alejandro quirks his eyebrow. “You are aware Justin is on our team right?” he asks.

“Yes, and I don't care, that was a stupid move that could cost in the next challenge” Noah says, walking back over to the stumps, sitting cross-legged. Reluctantly, Alejandro follows his lead.

——————————

The sun had risen again, for the maybe fifth or sixth time, Noah had stopped counting.

He had his head on his arms with his knees tucked, letting out another yawn. “I would kill..for a coffee right now..”

“Are you kids not human or something? Fall asleep already!” Chris had walked up to the final five contestants still awake, sipping at what Noah assumes is a latte.

“Chris, I swear to god—“ Noah could hear Duncan mutter, who had been staring daggers at the host.

Noah glances around, making a mental note.

Himself. Alejandro. Duncan. Heather. Eva.

Easy enough he supposes. Duncan and Eva are the only Bass members to the three Gophers. Just a little more to go.

“Alright, you five stay here, the rest of you, go take a shower! You all reek” Chris says, scrunching his nose up. The sleep deprived teens hastily make their way to the bathrooms to freshen up.

“Since you all don’t know when to quit, ‘cuz I thought you would two days ago, I’ve decided to take some extreme measures.”

Noah furrows his brows at what the host means, eyes widening at the thick book he slaps onto the barrel podium.

“The history of Canada, a pop up book; chapter one.”

Chris continues to ramble as the five teens groan.

“Life why do you hate me so..” Noah manages to mutter, knowing he’s in for a very boring ride.

It only takes until the end of the first chapter that snags Eva and Heather into its trap. Noah feels like he’s going to pass out. Alejandro doesn’t look any better, his normally sheen hair looking unkempt. He had tied it in a low ponytail to try and preserve it but a few strands had gotten away from him. Noah almost feels bad, well, almost.

Even after these long three days of somewhat 'bonding', Noah just doesn’t seem to trust the guy. His charm and witty remarks are bound to do some damage soon, he just doesn’t know when. He’ll need to keep him on his toes to figure out his whole shtick. When he does, it’ll be sayonara to pretty boy and hello one-hundred grand.

He’s got this in the bag.

—————————

Alejandro blinks his eyes, swearing that he’s hallucinating. He’s never not gotten sleep before. A solid eight hours a night, respectively.

He watches as two of teammates go down for the count, leaving the cynic and punk with him.

“Alright! Bathroom break anyone?” Chris asks, surveying the teens.

“I’ve held it this long..I can go all day.” Duncan says, smirking at the two boys. He’s clutching his legs.

He’s a terrible liar.

“You sure? I think another ten chapters might actually kill you.” Noah snarks, quirking his brow.

“Yeah fuck that.” Duncan hisses, standing to his feet and begins making his way to the communal.

“Five minutes! As long as you don’t mind the extra company.” the host snickers. Duncan flips him off as a cameraman trails behind.

Alejandro looks at Noah, who’s holding his head in one hand, his other arm hanging off a knee. He’s not stopping any time soon.

He thinks for a moment. He could somehow sabotage Duncan, but he’s already too far gone. Can’t do that.

Alejandro could mess with Noah to insure himself invincibility, or, he could throw the challenge to gain Noah’s trust, possibly in hopes to be allies farther down this twisted game.

He chooses the latter.

Alejandro lets out a yawn, letting himself fall off the side of the stump. He slumps to the ground, closing his eyes.

“And that’s one more camper down! Two left.” Chris chuckles, tossing the book aside.

Alejandro could feel a small kick in his leg followed by a grumpy voice saying, “Weak.” He wanted to shoot right back up and tell Noah off, but he had to follow through with his plan. He just hopes it isn’t in vain.

—————————

Noah eye rolls at his teammate, watching the boy snooze softly. “Great..now it’s between me and metalface.” he mutters, stretching his arms.

He almost feels himself slipping –just barely– before seeing an intern hand Chris a piece of paper. A smile appears on his face as he says, “We’ve just received news! Duncan took a dive on the can,” he snickers before continuing “Which means the winner of the Awake-a-thon is Noah! The Screaming Gophers win!”

“Woo-hoo..” Noah deadpans, yawning for the thousandth time.

Chris blows an air horn to get the remaining campers in the campfire out and to go get cleaned up. Noah groans, standing to his feet. His knees immediately wobble.

Guess that’s what happens when you sit for almost three days straight.

Noah balances himself, making his way to the cabins. He immediately collapses on the bed, digging his face into his pillow. He really needs peace and quiet after all of this or he will freak out, and no one wants that.

“The things I do for money..damn this show.” he mutters, rubbing his eyes.

The sun had descended once again. Noah could hear the voices of the Bass heading to the pit for their second elimination ceremony. Knowing they had a good streak lessened his worries, but not completely. Streaks can end at any given time, and it was vital they all kept it that way.

The rest of the guys pile into the room, prattling a bit loud for his liking. Noah tosses one of his boots at them, watching them either squeal or duck for cover.

“Shut. up.”

Justin scowls at the boy, “Watch it, you totally could have hit my face!” Noah flips him off before sprawling out across his bunk. Everyone eventually gets into theirs, some dozing off right away.

Noah mutters to himself as Alejandro makes the bed creak to get into his bunk. When the noise finally settled, he was able to shut his eyes for more than five seconds. He drifts off.

This is definitely going to bite me in the ass tomorrow.

Chapter Text

BWAPPPPPPPP

Noah jolts up, banging his forehead against the top bunk. He clutches his head in his hand as he curses, “Godammit!”

He falls back on his pillow, shielding his eyes. He wasn’t ready to get up yet, hell, he barely slept last night. Insomnia is a piece of shit and it’s even worse when doubled by something as sadistic as yesterday’s challenge.

”Campers! Hope you’re all well and rested, freshen up and get your butts to the mess hall, pronto!”

Noah wants to march right up to the host and wring his neck for this. He deliberately plants his face in the pillow, closing his eyes. If Chris wanted him out of this bed he’d have to do it by force.

He could hear the tired voices of his teammates climbing out of bed, making their way to the bathrooms. Noah drowned out their collective noises with his pillow. He had ignored the fact that his blanket had fallen on the floor due to the dumb wake up call, not bothering to pick it up.

Noah only desired peace and quiet.

Once he finally found a good position to doze off into, he felt the blanket being pulled back over him, a warm hand squeezing his shoulder before the tingly sensation ebbed away. He somewhat ached for it again, but instead shoved the thoughts aside.

Noah debates on getting Owen back for this.

—————————

Alejandro lingers by the door to their cabin, shutting it softly behind him. After all that happened yesterday, Noah deserved a little more time to rest, he just hoped Chris would agree.

He made his way to the communal, walking in and going for the sink. He had begun brushing his teeth, surprised when Owen sidled up next to him.

Alejandro quickly spit into the sink before dawning a faux smile. “Buenos días mi amigo, is something troubling you?”

“Well uh— it’s just, I’m worried about Noah”

Alejandro furrowed his brows.

“I mean— back home, he really values his sleep, and after I heard that he won, it makes me anxious”

The boy fidgeted with his fingers as he stared at the tiled floor. Alejandro supposes he could get some information out of the teen, something that could give him the one up. He inclines further.

“Why would it make you worry?”

“Noah can be like— a totally different person when he’s exhausted. He gets moody and just shuts down! I know I’m his best friend and of course I respect his space but…I don’t like when he’s distant.”

Alejandro almost feels sorry for the guy before remembering his mission. No friends, you need to win

“Owen, I’m sure Noah will be alright, once he’s got something to get him going, he’ll bounce back” Alejandro doesn’t know why he’s speaking as if he knows Noah personally, but they need to win today’s challenge, their streak cannot be broken.

“Well if you say so, I’m gonna go get dressed, Thanks for the pep talk Al!” Owen chirps before leaving the bathroom.

Alejandro wants to punch the wall. Instead, he continues freshening up and heads back to the cabin himself.

He swings open the door to find Noah sitting on the edge of his bunk, awake, bouncing his leg. The other guys are all conversing with each other, cackling with laughter between words.

Alejandro sees the daggers Noah stares at them with, making him raise a brow. He pushes it aside as he digs through his duffel for clothes.

The loudspeaker crackled on harshly, followed by Chris’ voice telling them to pick up the pace. Alejandro wants to strangle the host. He doesn’t like being rushed, and like his mamá always said, you can’t rush perfection.

Sure that boosted his ego a lot growing up but he didn’t care. Alejandro glanced over to the boy again, seeing that he was clasping his hands around his ears. He admits that along with their cabinmate’s conversations and the host’s impatience announcement, it was a lot going on at once.

He quickly finishes up, alerting his teammates to go ahead and make their way to the mess hall. They obliged, leaving the room.

Alejandro watched as the boy fell back onto his pillow. He covered his eyes with his hands, letting out a shaky sigh. Noah obviously noticed Alejandro’s presence still lingering, letting out a weak reply. “I’ll be up in a bit..just give me a minute..”

Alejandro seemed content with his words, leaving the cabin right after. He didn’t know much about reading people, but knew something was up with him. Alejandro mentally curses to himself.

Stop caring! He may be your teammate now but soon you will be up against each other, snap out of it!

Alejandro reached his hand up to his necklace and thumbed at it. It was a habit his parents wanted him to quit, but as hard as he tried, it didn’t work, he just couldn’t help it. Alejandro threw his hands back to his sides, looking ahead with weak confidence. I got this. I’m fine.

He entered the mess hall, quickly sitting down at his team’s table. They were eating some kind of…oatmeal? mashed potatoes? Alejandro couldn’t stomach any more ideas about the mystery dish, pushing the bowl away.

His attention is drawn away as he watches Chris taunt the Bass at their table. Duncan looks like he’s going to actually kill the guy. He was the last camper on their team standing, it would make sense that he’s the most exhausted.

Chris slowly backs away, leaving the weary teens alone, for now. Alejandro decides to make conversation with his team, and maybe put his charm to use. He goes for the easiest kill.

“Lindsay, Beth, you two are looking quite exquisite today.” his words rolled right off his tongue, a confident and sly smile peeking at his lips. The two girls giggle in unison, earning a glare from Heather. She then turns her stone hard stare on Alejandro, who counters it immediately. “Oh my dearest apologies, you are looking lovely as well Heather.” he says, watching delightedly as she huffs, folding her arms.

“Look everyone, It’s Noah!” Chris is standing at the door, clapping as the boy walks in. The rest of the Gophers began cheering for their teammate who had yet again won them a challenge. It was becoming a pattern really.

Noah trudged in, yawning before sitting down in the empty spot next to Alejandro. He unwittingly knocked his head against his shoulder, mumbling. “..I can’t feel my face..”

Alejandro felt his body chill for a moment. “¿Estás bien?”

Noah yawns before saying, “Yeah I’ll be fi-” Alejandro flinches as a spoonful of their breakfast splatters across Noah’s face.

“Missed me!” Heather giggles, settling her hands on her hips.

Alejandro looks up to see the cause of the throw, finding an apologetic Courtney. “Sorry! I was aiming for her.” she says, making a face at the other girl.

Noah groans and scrapes the muck off. “Great.”

“Alright campers listen up, your next challenge starts in ten minutes! Oh, and be prepared.” Chris chuckles before addressing the camera crew. Something about doing a jump cut from the mess hall to the outside. Confirming his thoughts, a few members herd the kids out to the beach, where a large glass box case lies on the sand.

They all filed into the transparent room, forming a ragged circle around the host. Alejandro glances as Duncan trudged in, slumping on the bleachers. It makes him glance toward Noah, wondering if he’d do the same.

He’s sleeping. Standing up.

Noah’s arms are folded with his head somewhat leaning on his shoulder. He’s jolted awake by Chef blowing a whistle, muttering something to himself Alejandro is sure isn’t television friendly.

Chris goes on to explain the game before telling the Gophers a specific rule for them. One person has to sit out each game.

Maravillosa.

Heather immediately starts barking instructions, much to Alejandro’s better judgment. “Alright, who’s gonna sit out first with the twerp?” she jabs a finger towards Noah, who glares at her. Gwen shrugs before saying, “I’ll do it”

Alejandro watches as both teens make their way to the bleachers, turning his attention back to his team. The game begins soon after, a flurry of rubber flying back and forth across the court. Alejandro managed to dodge a few stray throws, getting his first out with Tyler. Leshawna made a second out with Harold, who is awkwardly face planted in the glass.

Let’s hope none of these hit the face.

Soon after, a player on the Gopher’s team had to switch out. Alejandro looked between Gwen and Noah, surprised on who of the two stands to the plate. Noah trudges onto the court, only to immediately be knocked in the head by a throw from DJ.

“Sorry!” the boy called meekly.

“Yeah…don’t worry about it…” Noah says, quickly retreating back to the bleachers. Alejandro lets his gaze linger on the boy before going back to the game. He just wants to make sure he’s alright, nothing more. Because if he isn’t, we’ll lose, it’s all strategic.

Alejandro looks up to see a ball flying at him, letting himself get pummeled in the gut. Not the wisest choice really, but he had to make it believable. He clutches his side with one arm, making his way over to the boy. Noah had been chatting with Gwen for a minute, turning his attention to Alejandro sitting down. “Huh, you didn’t last as long as I thought you would.” He smirked, leaning his head on his hand.

Alejandro rolled his eyes, nudging Noah in the arm. “Says the one who got hit before even stepping onto the court.” he retorts, ignoring the glare he’s receiving. “Anyways, did it hurt?”

Noah shrugs and says “I’m just peachy.” he lets out a yawn, staring blankly ahead of him.

Alejandro hooked his finger under Noah’s chin, pulling his face towards him.

“What are you doing?” Noah asks, furrowing his brows.

“Your lip is busted.” Alejandro replies simply, letting the boy’s face go.

“Like I said, I’ll be fine.” Noah rolls his eyes, turning away. He swipes his thumb across his lip, wiping the small prick of blood on his shirt.

The game drones on with the Gophers in the lead. Alejandro’s team had cycled through all of their players at least three times, with the exception of Noah. He had resorted to reading a book, not caring about the outcome.

Heather had become impatient with the stalling Alejandro was doing for him. “Our dear teammate is still exhausted from yesterday, we must expend the others for this challenge.”

Alejandro, along with Owen, Leshawna, Justin, and Izzy, lined up on the court for the next round. He had noticed the Bass poking Duncan with a stick to wake him up, unfortunately it worked. They had been huddled for about five minutes, seemingly discussing their strategy.

Soon the Bass lined up, Chef blowing the whistle loudly. The Gophers all threw their balls at once, each opposing team member dodging successfully. Katie has collected them, quickly tossing them to the rest of her team, who simultaneously countered the attack.

The balls beelined for Owen, knocking him out cold. He and the rest of the members stood over him, making sure he wasn’t too badly hurt.

Oh, that cannot be good.

—————————

One by one, Alejandro’s team are knocked out of the court. He rubbed a sore spot on his shoulder, muttering curses to himself. He makes his way over to the bleachers, sitting down by Noah, who still had not looked up from his book.

“Come on, a little more effort out there people.” he snarked.

Most of the team glared at him, Alejandro included. “Noah, cállate!” he hissed. Noah recoiled at his sudden raise in his voice, causing Alejandro to take a breath. “It is best if you stay seen and not heard, that way you don’t have to play, you got it?” he said, looking at him with a look of uncertainty.

Noah scoffed, “Sure, whatever you say.”

The Gophers got into a huddle in an attempt to figure out a way to win the next round. “Not that Noah here cares,” she glares at him at that, “but we are not losing another round, everyone got that?”

Both teams make their way back onto the court, one team more confident than the other. Heather had walked off looking for Lindsay as soon as the game started. She eventually returned with the girl, glancing towards Noah. “How are we doing?”

As soon as she asked, Beth was being pummeled with red rubber.

“Sports, not my forte remember?” he replied, flipping a page in his book.

“You know, you could at least give it a shot and pretend to care.” she spat, shoving him in the shoulder. Alejandro frowned, not exactly pleased with the way Heather was treating him in his state of being.

“Why would I willingly embarrass myself?” Noah retorts, slamming his book shut. “And I’m not the only one who's been sitting out.” he says, jutting his thumb towards Justin. The boy gasps in offense, folding his arms. “I already got hit in the face once, I am not doing it again.”

Noah looks at Heather with a sarcastic smile, “But if you’re so desperate, fine, I’ll try.” He stands to his feet, making his way onto the court. Alejandro catches the maniacal grin from Duncan, troubled by what it meant.

Alejandro watches as Noah is able to dodge two of the throws from the punk, immediately getting blindsided by the others. He’s knocked onto his back, slightly banging his head on the polished wood. The Bass began cheering loudly, causing the rest of the Gophers to stand over him with intense glares.

“You said I had to try, you didn’t say I had to win.” Noah says, folding his arms.

“Nice going twerp.” Heather spats, stalking out of the arena. Everyone else follows her out, leaving Alejandro and the disheveled boy on the floor.

“I thought I said seen and not heard. You did the complete opposite.” Alejandro places his hands on his hips, furrowing his brows at the boy’s low chuckling.

“That’s not even in my DNA man. I’m not capable of that, or anything really.” He says, rolling over to be flat on his stomach.

Alejandro sighs, taking a spot on the floor next to him. He’s hesitant before speaking. “Is this something more than just losing the game?”

Noah mumbles something like a ‘no’ in reply. “I’m definitely going home tonight…no doubt about it.”

“Let’s not completely give up. Maybe I can convince the team to vote for someone else.” Alejandro suggests.

Noah turns to sit upwards, pulling his knees to his chest. He only shrugs in response. Alejandro pats his back softly. “Well, time to rip the bandage off.”

—————————

“Alright Gophers, the votes are in.” Chris begins, holding up the tray of marshmallows.

Noah bounced his knee up and down. He shouldn’t be worried of what he already knows, but it’s still nerve wracking. He’s pulling at a cuticle, not stopping until he feels a familiar sticky liquid. Everyone else on his team had a marshmallow, besides him and Heather.

“The camper who’s getting the boot is..”

Noah shut his eyes tight.

“Nobody!” Chris cackles, tossing them both the last two campfire treats.

“What!?” everyone exclaims in unison.

“You think I was just gonna let you all vote off the guy who won the challenge for you all yesterday? The amount of backlash from fans would be crazy.” Chris says, clutching a hand to his chest before smiling widely. “You live another day Noah, for now.” The host stalks off, leaving the Gophers to their own devices.

Noah is still reeling. He was sure he was going home. What made the host change this to a non-elimination round at the last second?

“This is unacceptable!” Heather scowls, glaring at Noah. “This isn’t over you little weirdo.” She then turns to Lindsay and Beth. “Come on you two.” she says, walking off, along with those on her side.

Noah watches as they go, turning his gaze to stare at the ground. The tightness in his chest had not ceased yet. Gwen, Trent, Izzy, and Owen had sort of gathered in front of the boy, offering their comfort.

“For the record, none of us voted for you dude.” Trent said, looking towards Gwen, who nods in agreement. “Yeah, you won the last challenge for us, it would’ve been inhumane to send you home.” she says, affectionately nudging him in the shoulder.

Noah shrugs and says, “Thanks for not being heartless monsters.”

Alejandro finally speaks up. “We may have gotten lucky today, but Heather is still a big threat, and though she has many allies, we won’t stop until she’s off this island.”

The rest of the group cheers in unison, all making their way back to the cabins. Noah and Alejandro are left in the campfire pit, alone.

Noah folds his arms, staring at the other boy. “I’m guessing you had something to do with this?’ he asks.

Alejandro looks at him. “Whatever do you mean?”

“We both knew for a fact that I was going home, what did you say to Chris?” Noah is standing now, hands on his hips.

“Let’s not dwell on this right now. It’s been a long day and we should get some rest.” Alejandro smiles, a bit too much for Noah’s liking. “I’ll see you back at the cabins.” he turns and leaves, walking off into the woods.

Noah is the only one left, the fire from the pit burning brightly.

He doesn’t believe a single word. Every letter and vowel feels like acid dribbling from the guy’s mouth. Alejandro had suggested finding someone else to eliminate, if he couldn’t do that, why not sway the host deeper into his own thick ego? Then he lied to his face about it. Why is Alejandro persistent in keeping him in the game?

Noah isn’t an idiot. He won’t be made out to be one either. He’ll figure him out, and when he does, it’ll all be over for that eel.

This is only the beginning.

Chapter Text

BWAPPPPPPP

“Alright campers! No more beauty sleep! Time to show us what you're made of!”

Alejandro presses his hands against his ears. Was this going to be every morning? He sighs exasperatedly, sitting upwards on his bunk. He stretches his arms before hopping down to the wooden floor.

He turns to the bottom bunk, finding a still sleeping Noah. Somehow the boy was not affected by the wake up call so he gently shook him awake. “Morning cerebrito, come on, we have another challenge.” he states, grabbing his toiletries from his duffel.

The boy blinked his eyes open, groaning loudly. “I haven’t got a decent night’s sleep in almost a week and this is what I have to deal with…”

Alejandro chuckles, “Unfortunately my friend, yes.” he says, walking out of the cabin and making his way to the bathrooms.

It wasn’t much long later that everyone made their way to the field where a large theater and bleachers were set up. Both teams had their designated seating areas, each contestant taking their spots. Alejandro found himself sitting next to Owen and Izzy, trying his hardest not to show his discomfort. He glanced towards where Noah sat, a row down next to Gwen and Trent.

Noah had slumped his head against Gwen’s shoulder, the girl whispering something in his ear causing him to chuckle. Alejandro couldn’t help but feel a bit excluded. He didn’t know why, again, he doesn’t know these people at all, but still.

Alejandro turns his attention to Chris, who’s giving his spiel on the stage. “This week’s challenge is a summer camp classic, a talent contest!”

Owen excitedly stands to his feet and pumps his fists in the air. “Yes! Awesome!”

Alejandro rolls his eyes.

“Each team has eight hours to pick their three most talented campers, those said three will represent their teams in the show tonight, anything goes—“ Chris pauses to glare at the campers. “As long as it’s legal.”

Duncan snaps his finger from his spot on the other side. Who knows what he would’ve done for his talent.

“Chef will be the one to judge you all based on the ‘Chef-o-meter,’ the team who loses will send a camper home tonight, good luck.” Chris promptly makes his way off the stage, letting the teams get to work.

———————

Noah clamps his ears shut as Heather loudly blows on a whistle. The team had gathered on their cabin’s porch to discuss what their plan was.

“Okay, I’m the team captain, so here’s how this is going to work—“

Noah isn’t down with that, loudly interrupting her. “Who said you were team captain?”

“Oh she did! Just now.” Lindsay pipes up, bearing the most innocently stupid smile ever.

Heather glares at Noah, “Lindsay, Beth and I took a vote and I won.” She retorts.

Noah folds his arms. “That’s so democratic of you.” He states sarcastically, feeling a nudge in his arm from the boy next to him. Alejandro makes a face mocking Heather, causing Noah to snicker in reply.

The girl however catches that, putting on her best faux smile, “Alejandro, you’re okay with me running this aren‘t you?”

Alejandro looks at her, returning the gesture. “Of course, whatever you think we should do will surely lead us to victory.”

Heather seemed pleased, going back to her original speech. “Beth, Lindsay and I will be the judges.”

Noah huffs. “Whatever.”

——————

Noah watches as his best friend downs an entire bottle of soda, turning his head when Alejandro kicks his foot.

“Are you going to audition?” He asks.

“Absolutely not.” Noah replies flatly. “You should though, I know there’s something worth showing off in that head of yours.” He says, playfully poking Alejandro’s temple.

Before the boy could reply, Gwen nudges Noah, causing him to turn his attention back to Owen. The bigger teen is puffing up his chest, holding air in his cheeks before letting out the most gross and probably impressive thing that could ever leave his lips.

Owen burps loudly. Not just that, he burps the alphabet, straight through, without stopping.

Some of the others —including Noah— give him his props. Trent even goes to high-five the boy. “That was awesome man.” He says.

Noah notices the look of slight disgust from Alejandro. Sure belching like that wasn’t seen as an impressive feat to everyone but, his face gave more away than it seemed.

“As— ‘impressive’ as that was Owen, we’re not doing that for this competition.” Heather glares at the boy. “That’s absolutely disgusting.”

Trent defends him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “You know how hard it is to do that in one sitting?” He looks at Heather with an unbothered smile.

“Ooh! I can also do Beethoven’s fifth!” Owen had turned to face his butt to everyone, promptly being stopped with frantic pleas.

“Mi amigo, let’s, not, wipe out our entire team with your— ‘talent,’ alright?” Alejandro says, frowning at him. The others voice their agreement, causing the bigger teen to deflate. Noah sees this, quickly going to his aide.

“It’s alright big guy, you did great.” He says, offering his hand for a fist bump.

Owen happily returns it, having already forgotten his previous sadness.

After a bit more discussion, Noah begins to get bored. He glances at Gwen, who’s already standing to leave. He quirks a brow and asks, “Where are you going?”

“Anywhere but here.” She shrugs, stalking off. Noah doesn’t care enough to go after her, thinking she had the right idea. He stays, waiting for something ‘exciting’ to happen.

———————

Alejandro blows a strand of hair from in front of his face, watching as Heather performs a ballet act. It isn’t bad, in fact it’s actually impressive.

He remembers wanting to try it as a kid, seeing it wouldn’t be a problem because anyone could enjoy it. His parents immediately shut that idea down, saying it was ‘unbecoming’ of a Burromuerto.

Gymnastics were his second option, only getting his wishes granted because of a distant cousin who was famous in the sport. It was refreshing for him, how he was able to move freely around the gym mat, performing moves most couldn’t do. Of course he excelled at that, relieved he retained the knowledge.

It would come in handy for this unpredictable show.

Heather soon finishes her set, receiving welcoming feedback, including his. She glares at her two allies, the pair quickly voicing their praise. “I think Heather should be in the show!” Lindsay says, Beth nodding her head vigorously in agreement.

“Alright, I guess that means I’m in.” she states proudly, clapping her hands together. “Why doesn’t everyone take five?”

The rest of the team disperses for the break, Alejandro’s gaze trained on Heather pulling Lindsay aside. She whispers something into her ear, watching the blonde slink away. Whatever Heather was up to he’d stop, especially when he could do it better.

“I’m heading to the confessional, I shall be back shortly.” He says to no one in particular and walks off.

Alejandro carefully follows the blonde girl, making sure he isn’t heard. He observes from afar, watching Lindsay put a pair of binoculars to her face. He follows her gaze, seeing Gwen sitting on a stump not far away, writing in a journal.

Oh, so that’s how Heather wants to play.

He plays it off, walking up to the girl. “Oh Lindsay there you are! I just spoke to Tyler a moment ago, he was looking for you.” he says, acting ever so innocently.

Lindsay looks at him and gushes. “He was? Really?”

Alejandro nods. “Of course, some would say he really likes you.” He winks at her for good measure. “He’s over by the communal bathrooms.” he says, pointing just behind her.

“Eeee! Thank you Jalapeno!” she squeals before dropping the binoculars and runs off.

Alejandro feels his eye twitch. Could no one get something as simple as his name right? “Cabeza hueca incompetente.” he mutters, grabbing the previously discarded tool.

While it could be easier to just take over the girl’s job, it might be better to get information out of his teammate by simply working the charm, can’t hurt right? He dumps the binoculars, strutting over to Gwen. “Oh there you are!” Alejandro smiled widely, standing not far in front of her.

Gwen presses her journal to her chest in surprise, ceasing upon seeing who it was. ‘Oh, hey Alejandro, what’s up?” She obviously didn't expect him to find her, but played along. Alejandro smiles, going to speak again.

“Well, I had begun to get restless watching the others audition, I figured you had the right idea to take a walk.” he says, pointing a finger. “May I sit?”

The goth bites her lip and replies. “I’d rather just sit here, alone, if that’s okay?”

Alejandro nods. “Of course.” He turns to leave, stalking off back into the woods. Although he’s a bit troubled that his plan didn’t work, he doesn’t count this as a loss. He’ll find a way to make things click, he always does.

———————

Noah groans, pulling at his hair. This had to be the most excruciating thing he ever had to witness. They were continuing their auditions at the picnic benches. Noah wishes he went with Gwen, wherever she is.

Izzy did some ‘rattlesnake’ dance, causing Owen to watch in some weird awe. “Oh she’s good.” He had said to Noah, only giving his friend a scoff in response.

Following that trainwreck, Beth is doing some baton routine. She’s twirling both wands rapidly, sparks flying off both of the ends. Oh yeah, the batons are on fire.

“Are you sure this is safe?” Heather says, leaning away in caution. Leshwana and Lindsay —back from her previous face sucking session with Tyler— did the same, looking unsure.

“Oh yeah! I’ve been practicing!” Beth replies, proceeding to throw both batons in the air. They quickly fall back down, causing Owen to shriek.

Noah quickly ducks behind the bench, covering his head, not knowing where that death stick could fall. He hears a swift extinguish of the fire, deciding that it was alright to come out. Everyone follows suit as Beth chuckles nervously. “I kind of missed the catching class.”

“No really?” Noah says sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “We never would've known.”

“Dudes, that bush is on fire.” Trent points to a nearby shrub, which is currently engulfed in flames.

Before Noah could comment, Justin is bursting out from the bathrooms, spraying the flames with an extinguisher. Of course everyone around him gushes, Leshawna especially as she walks over to hand him a water bottle. For some reason, Justin found that as an excuse to tear off his shirt to drink the beverage.

Noah rolls his eyes, folding his arms. Why did this model snob have to flaunt everything all the time? He can’t lie, Justin was attractive, but he was also obnoxious. At least when Alejandro works his looks and flirts with others, he’s not all over the place with it, it’s simple and nice, and he enjoys it so much.

Noah blinks, wondering why his mind went to the Peruvian teen.

He glances at Trent, surprised that he was in awe as well. Noah did notice how the guy stared longingly at the model, slightly worried. It might have just been the effect Justin had on everyone so he simply ignored it.

“Alright, so it’s me, Trent, and Justin.” Heather says, dragging the model’s name out dreamily. “Any objections?”

Noah opened his mouth to speak as everyone else shook their heads no, deciding to hold his tongue. No sense in making those who don’t like him even more pissed. He had begun to notice the lack of a certain tanned boy along with the goth.

“So what’d I miss?”

Noah lets out a yelp, backhanding the figure behind him.

“Ow! Joder!”

Noah turns to find Alejandro pinching the bridge of his nose, clearly the victim of his ‘attack.’ Instead of apologizing, he smacks his arm. “Don’t sneak up on me like that idiot.” he says, turning to walk off.

“What?! It isn’t my fault you have the frail nerves of a deer!”

Noah rounds on him, pointing a finger in his chest. “Okay you know what–” he stops, seeing the tinge of hurt in the boy’s eyes, something only he notices apparently. He sighs, folding his arms. “Alright I’m sorry, you happy?”

Alejandro’s lips instantly turn into a smile as he smacks a hand on Noah’s back. “All is forgiven mi amigo, now I’d like my question answered if you don't mind.” he says, letting out a chuckle.

Noah feels his face flush slightly, regaining himself before answering. “Yeah uh— we just chose our three for the show.” he says, looking at his shoes. “Heather, Trent and Justin.”

“Hm, Heather and Trent are already spoken for, what did Justin audition with?” Alejandro asked, stroking his chin in thought.

“Oh you know, absolutely nothing.” Noah replies bitterly. “All he did was do something hot and now everyone thinks he’s the best thing to happen since sliced bread.”

Alejandro furrows his brows, “Something hot?”

“He put out a fire then took his shirt off.”

“Wait what fire?”

“Beth lit a bush on fire doing a baton thing.”

Alejandro's confusion deepens. “Alright then?” he says, rubbing his nape.

Noah turns his attention to the familiar goth walking over to him, stepping over the burnt spot in the ground in the process. “I’m not even gonna ask.” she says, looking at him. “Good, best if you don’t.” he shrugs.

By this time, everyone had gone to just hang out near the cabin, having completed their task. Noah sits on the cabin steps, reading a book he borrowed from Gwen. He had to admit she had good taste, they weren’t that much different.

He noticed Alejandro had disappeared again but didn’t opt to pull out a search party. The guy can do what he wants, when he wants to. Noah isn’t a babysitter, plus he barely knows the guy, he’s not wasting energy on something as stupid as that.

Noah goes back to reading.

———————————

It’s a simple plan.

Sabotage the other team, make them lose, win the challenge. Easy.

Alejandro slinks over, hiding behind the stage curtain. The Bass had been hanging around as well, already having chosen their three for the show.

“Can you really stand on your hands for twenty minutes?” Geoff asked, fidgeting with a wheel on his skateboard.

“Wanna bet that I can’t?” Bridgette counters, pulling out a chocolate bar from her hoodie pocket.

The rest of the team had thrown in their bets, stepping back to let the surfer do her thing. Alejandro smirks from his spot, eyeing a loose rope. Bridgette had already begun walking, being close enough for him to entangle the thread around her foot.

She had lost her balance, unraveling a stagelight above. It came crashing down, directly onto an unsuspecting Courtney, smashing her violin in the process. Alejandro didn’t expect anyone to get hurt, only wanting to ruin their chances of winning. But no one could blame what they didn’t see, it was just a freak accident to them.

He makes his escape, sneaking back to his team. With one of the Bass’ three out and no time to choose another teammate to enter the competition, the Gophers were sure to win.

————————

Noah holds his head in his hand, watching the stage with disinterest. The competition was starting in a couple minutes and those not performing had to sit in the bleachers and watch.

Gwen and Trent walked up a few minutes later, throwing Noah into their conversation. “Dude, did you hear what happened with the Bass?” Trent asked. Noah furrows his brows in confusion, “Uh no, but I’ll assume you’ll tell me.”

“That blond girl, Bridgette? made a stagelight fall on Courtney.”

“On purpose?”

Trent shrugs. “Who knows, it’d be crazy if it was.”

“I hope she’s okay– not that I care, she’s on the other team.” Gwen fumbles over her words, hiding the rising red in her pale face.

Noah opens his mouth to speak, stopping upon seeing Alejandro make his way over. “So good of you to finally join us.” Noah comments, crossing his leg over the other as Alejandro sits next to him.

“My apologies, something…came up.” he says, glancing off to the side before replacing his features with a wide smile. “Did I miss the show?”

“Nah you’re just in time.” Trent chimes in, pointing towards the stage.

Chris stood in the middle, giving a short spiel. “Alright! First up for the Gophers is Justin!” The rest of the team applauds, cheering him on. Noah only clapped in a bored and slow manner.

Music from unseen speakers started as the model began doing different poses. He ended it by sitting on a stool and dropping water over him, doing a dramatic hair flip that sprayed water across the stage.

Noah felt like throwing up. Is this what people find attractive?

Chris walks onto the stage, clapping as he did. “Well, I have no idea what that was,” he placed a hand on his shoulder and went on. “But danggggg you’ve got some moves dude!”

The Gophers sing their praises, Trent a little more than the others. Noah rolls his eyes, clearly not impressed. Alejandro notices this, smirking. “You must admit, he is attractive.”

He shudders and replies, “God not you too. I thought you were better than that.”

Alejandro chuckled softly. “It seems you have a personal vendetta against Justin, may I ask why?” he asks, leveling his gaze with him.

“I have nothing against Justin.” Noah retorts, folding his arms. “I simply don’t like how he flaunts his– everything– like a damn peacock, it’s annoying.”

“Oh? Interesting.” Alejandro smiles, inching closer to him. He’s so close their noses are almost touching. “Doesn’t seem to be a problem when I do it.” Noah has to turn his head to hide rising red in his face. “Yeah no, it definitely is.” he says, flicking Alejandro in the arm.

The boy lets out a small shriek, glaring at him. “You are no fun.” Noah smirks, “It’s what I’m known for.”

The competition goes on, Dj having gone for the Bass and receiving some low scores from Chef. Ouch. Chris introduced the next person for the Gophers, who was Trent. He went up on stage, seating himself in the chair. “This one goes out to that very special someone” Trent smiles, tearing his gaze away. He started strumming the instrument, his voice flowing with the notes. It was a simple tune, soft and sweet.

Noah glances toward Alejandro, who’s tapping his fingers against the wooden seat. Although he despises any form of music, Trent’s wasn’t that bad, still not his thing though.

Chris is onstage again, applauding the teen’s performance. He quickly ushers him back to the audience, turning to the camera. “Three down and three to go but the Bass are totally losing so far.” he chuckles before continuing. “Let’s hear it for Bridgette!”

Noah is losing interest fast, partially because nothing truly exciting is happening.

He stands corrected after Bridgette absolutely– well, we’re not going in depth with will we? Long story short, they take a short intermission to clean things up. After Bridgette falls off stage into Tyler’s arms, sending Lindsay into a small frenzy, they continue the competition.

“The Killer Bass really needs some help to pull ahead of the Gophers, but, with no further delay, here’s Heather!”

Noah watches as the girl struts onstage, sitting down on the stool from earlier. Weird, he doesn’t know any ballet that requires sitting. “I was going to dance for you all, but I’ve decided to switch things up.” she smiles innocently, pulling out a dark covered book with a latch on it.

The gears finally click. Noah turns to Gwen, who’s looking more pale in the face than normal. “She wouldn’t.” she says to him, probably hoping it’s all a dream. “Unfortunately, she would.” Noah says, the input clearly unneeded.

Heather begins reading from the page she flips to, smiling proudly as if she sees nothing wrong with what she’s doing. “That girl Courtney from the other team seems interesting, hope to see more of her during this weird show.” That was the last entry Heather read before Gwen stood from her spot and stormed off. Noah watched her go, turning his gaze back to the stage.

“That was actually pathetic Heather.” he sneers, a few others from both his team and opposing voice their agreement. The girl only scoffs, stepping off the platform.

“Wow, that was seriously messy.” the host comments, taking his place center stage again. As he announces the last person of the night, Noah stands and leaves as well, ignoring the questioning looks from his team, and Alejandro.

————————

Noah finds himself walking through the dark woods with no sign of the goth. He rounds a tree, finding her sulking on an empty patch of grass. He walks over to her and sits down, leaving a respectable amount of room between them.

He remains silent for a bit, pulling at blades of grass beside his shoe. Noah jumps slightly, finding that Gwen had slumped her head against his shoulder, fiddling with the cloth.

“You wanna talk about it?” He asks.

Gwen blows a strand from her face. “I’m gonna kill that prep.”

Noah chuckles. “I would not recommend, yet.”

They quiet again before Gwen sighs, standing up. She pulls him with her, not at all struggling. Noah thinks he should put on a few pounds, being the weight of a doll isn’t exactly ideal.

“Time to face the music.” Gwen says, interlocking her arm with his and begins walking back to the others. “You sure about this?” He asks, looking at her worriedly.

“Yeah I’ll be fine, she just ruined my chances at a love life.” she shrugs. “Sorry you won’t get your summer gay romance.” Noah says, nudging her.

Gwen chuckles. “It’s alright, let’s just get this over with.”

————————

They both make it back to the group, finding the Bass cheering amongst themselves. It was a no brainer who won. Noah takes a short instant to glare at Heather, who only sticks her tongue out in reply. He immediately spots Alejandro talking to Trent, pulling Gwen along.

“I’m assuming we lost?” Noah asks, rolling his eyes.
Trent rubs his neck and replies. “Yeah, big time.”

Noah notices Alejandro’s face twisted up in an irritated manner. He’s folding his arms, muttering small curses to himself. “Anything you want to share with the class?” He asks, snapping the boy out of whatever daze he was in.

“Heather is gathering votes for another teammate, and she caught your friend in her little web.” He huffs, jabbing his thumb towards Owen, who stood not far away stuffing his face with a slice of cake.

Noah groans, leaving Gwen with the boys as he walks over to his friend. “Owen, what the hell?” he asks, standing in front of him with his hands on his hips.

The bigger teen pauses between chews, his eyes darting from the dessert to his friend. “Oh come on little buddy, it's two layers!” he whines, only receiving an unimpressed glare.

“Alright, who did she tell you to vote for?” Noah asks, finding that more important than his friend’s sweet tooth.

“Justin. She already has Lindsay and Beth in on it and I think she somehow got Izzy too?” he shrugs, taking another bite.

“Okay, we can work with this. So that means she only has five votes for Justin, then that makes six votes against her, meaning she’ll finally be getting the boot.” Noah does a silent victory dance, relieved something might actually go his way for once.

“Sorry I let her get in my head little buddy.” Owen sulks, looking at him with those sad eyes puppies do.

“It’s alright big guy, either way, she has enough people against her. Reading someone's personal shit doesn’t exactly make you the most liked person ever.” He rolls his eyes.

“Gophers! Make your way to the campfire pit, someone is going home tonight!” Chris calls from the stage, pointing his thumb behind him.

“Well that’s our cue.” Noah says, walking back over to the group with Owen in tow.

As the team makes their way to the pit, Noah hangs back and pulls Alejandro by the arm. Before he could speak, Noah ducks behind a tree.“What?” Alejandro asks, looking at him with a confused gaze.

“Just making sure we’re on the same page here.” Noah says, staring at him intensely. He knew Alejandro was known for being slick with his words.

“Yes, unless you think otherwise.” Alejandro smirks, holding Noah’s hand up and brushing his thumb across his knuckles.

Noah scoffs, pulling his hand away. “As long as we’re in agreement, then that’s all I have to say to you.” he turns on his heel and walks away before the other boy could argue. Things have to go right, once Heather is gone, the other threat is his eel of a teammate. Noah had to keep him on his side for now however, play along until the time was right. Everything seemed simple in retrospect, but he knows what it’ll take to win.

Why can’t he keep his big mouth shut.

Noah fumes, watching Justin walk the dock of shame and onto the boat. He made sure this would go right, but who decided to go left? Whatever, he was too exhausted to think about this right now. He still hasn't caught up with his sleep yet and it was throwing him off course.

Right as he’s settling into bed, a loud shriek from the girl’s side of the cabin causes him to jolt up. He walks out onto the porch, finding Gwen out as well. She’s snickering into her palm.

“I’m scared to ask.” he says, walking over to her rubbing his arms to try and stay warm. Shorts and a tank top probably wasn’t the best clothing option but it was warmer in bed.

“I heard the Harold kid brought a red ant farm.” she smiles.

Noah puts two and two together. “No way.”

Gwen chuckles, pointing to a frantic Heather trying to shake the bugs off in the grass. Noah cackles for a moment before holding up a fist to her. “Nice one.” he says as Gwen returns in.

Heather may not have been voted off, but she got what was coming to her. You could say she got her just desserts.

Chapter Text

“Noah. Noah!”

He jolted up, looking confusedly at the pair of eyes staring at him. “Wha–? What is it?” he could feel a dripping substance on his cheek, ignoring it at the moment.

“I was in the middle of talking and you fell asleep in your pancakes.” Gwen raises a brow, pointing to his face. Noah could easily guess it was syrup sliding down his cheek and almost onto his clothes. “Eugh, gross.” he muttered, grabbing a napkin from the middle of the table, wiping the sap off.

“Guessing you haven’t caught up on your sleep yet huh?” the goth asks, poking at her food with her fork. The events from yesterday were still deep wounds and Noah could see it clear as day.

“Not even—” he pauses to finish cleaning up. “Having a fixed sleep schedule and that stupid challenge aren’t exactly doing it for me, I prefer my normal five a.m. to five p.m. thank you.”

“Yeah, like that’s any better.” Gwen rolled her eyes playfully.

“It works for me so meh.” he stuck his tongue out as Gwen tapped him on the head with her unused spoon.

Both loners had been the first to arrive at the mess hall with the rest of the teams piling in soon after. For the time being it had only been those two and three people from the Bass. Noah enjoyed the brief silence, a bit annoyed when it came to an end.

Noah paused his conversation when Alejandro joined them, watching as he took a seat. “Buenos dias Noah, Gwen.” the boy smiled widely when he spoke.

“Morning Alejandro.” Gwen says, flitting her gaze between the Peruvian and him.

Noah ignores the look, sticking his tongue out at his food. The pancakes were cold, far from soft and the sap had a weird aftertaste. He decided to wait until dinner to eat again.

“Is everything alright Noah?” Alejandro asked, quirking his brow.

“Yes, why do you ask?” Noah says, nudging the plate away.

“Well for one, you aren’t eating and two, there’s syrup on your nose.”

Noah looks at the boy puzzled, reaching up to touch it. He retracted his hand away, silently cringing. He quickly wipes it off, beginning to bounce his knee. No doubt his face would have a sticky residue later, making a mental note to fully clean up. He refuses to show his discomfort in front of the others.

The teens finish up breakfast and are all led to the campfire pit. Chris is already there, flipping through some cue cards and tossing them to the side upon seeing the campers.

“Morning fresh meat! Today’s challenge will test your outdoor survival skills. Not gonna lie to you, some of you may not come back alive–” he’s interrupted by small gasps as returns them with a chuckle. “Just joking, all you gotta do is spend one night in the woods, everything you need is at your team’s campsite in the forest. You just gotta find it.” The host tosses a map and compass to both teams, Alejandro and Courtney grabbing both respectively.

“Oh, and watch out for bears, lost a couple interns in pre production.” Chris pulls at his collar before continuing. “First team back for breakfast wins invincibility.”

Noah opens his mouth to speak before being rudely interrupted by Chris blowing an air horn. “Well, off you go.”

Leshawna is first to voice her worries. “Did he just say there were bears in here?”

“Ooh, I had an interaction with a bear once!” Owen chirps, patting his arm. “Let’s just say his head looks real nice up on my mantle.”

Izzy only fuels the flames, going on about the time she thought a bear ate her neighbor's pet cat. Noah raises a brow. He knows for a fact Owen is talking right out of his ass. For as long as they had been best friends, he knew everything about the boy, and what his house looked like. There was no bear.

“Alright, let’s tone down the dramatics big guy, we gotta get moving.” Noah says, pointing to the departing group. He catches a glimpse of Gwen walking ahead, making note to catch up with her.

“You got it little buddy.” Owen smiles, following after the team with Noah in tow.

The trek starts off pretty well with everyone following Alejandro. The boy was reading the map intensely, staring down at it as he went. Noah supposes with Justin gone, the team’s resident pretty boy fell onto the Peruvian, meaning that the team could be swooned by him alone now. He has no idea what to make of that now but is aware it may not end well.

Noah quiets his thoughts. As long as they win he wouldn’t have anything to worry about. Surviving would be good too, he'd rather not get eaten or mauled by bears before he has an associates degree.

He continues to walk in silence.

———————————

It’s quiet for a bit, something Courtney is grateful for. As long as she could focus and lead them to their site, things would be okay. She couldn’t afford to lose with their two win streak, she refused to.

A pair of squeals causes her to lose concentration for a moment, cursing to herself. She didn’t think too highly of the two best friends, only that they could slow them down if they stopped to look at every single thing. She wasn’t heartless mind you, only determined, and if it means ditching a few members for a bit, she’ll do that.

She heightens her speed, hoping the rest of her team will get the hint. Thankfully they do, Courtney making sure the girls have gone past the horizon and out of her vision.

Finally, some peace and quiet.

Her mind trails off to the talent show yesterday. While it would be fun, having friendships wasn’t something Courtney planned on doing during this show. With so much money on the line, you couldn’t trust anyone, so she refrains. She still wonders how it could work.

Courtney quiets her thoughts and keeps moving.

———————————

The Gophers continue on as Noah takes this time to catch up with Gwen. “For someone wearing platform boots you move fast as hell.” he says, having to bend over and catch his breath as the goth chuckles lightly. Once he’s done, he glances at her. “You gonna be alright?”

She shrugs, rubbing her arm. Noah understands. He only gives her a nod before hanging back with the rest of the team. Whatever happens today, he hopes Gwen isn’t at the worst of it.

Gwen speeds ahead of the group, sliding past Heather as she does. The girl hisses in reply as she scratches her arm. “She is so the next person getting voted off.”

Trent plays dumb and inquires, “Who?”

“Ugh who do you think?” she states, glaring at the goth. “She dumped Harold’s red ant farm in my bed!”

“Gee, I wonder why she did that.” Noah deadpans, folding his arms.

“Yeah, I mean you did read her journal outloud to the world.” Trent shrugs.

Heather spins on the group, causing a chain reaction of everyone stumbling to a stop. Noah knocks his nose against Alejandro’s shoulder, glaring at the girl as he rubbed the sore spot.

Heather counters, glaring at the group. “So?”

“So? That was pretty harsh.” Trent says, rubbing the back of his head.

“Whatever, she is going down.” she spats, turning to walk again.

Noah rolls his eyes, folding his arms again. He kicks a few pebbles as he goes, glancing over Alejandro’s shoulder every so often. “You do know where we’re going right?” he pipes up from behind.

Alejandro’s body shook with a chuckle. “You doubt me? One must have more faith in his teammate, plus I’ve been reading maps since I was a child, I know what I am doing.” Noah suppresses a scoff. “That means nothing, we’ve been walking for over an hour now.”

“We won’t get anywhere if you keep complaining my friend, I know where we’re going, trust me.”

Trust you? I have more faith in a coconut than a slimy son of a—

His thoughts are interrupted as he knocks into the Peruvian again. “Okay what the fuck–” he cuts himself off, seeing the campsite supplies set up by a large oak tree. Alejandro turns to him with a snarky smile. “Like I said.”

“Ugh, will the both of you stop flirting? We need to set up our tent before it gets dark.” Heather barks, pulling apart the set.

Noah looks at Heather baffled. Flirting? As if. The look on Alejandro’s face gives away nothing but smugness as he walks over to the pile of supplies.

The Gophers get to work building their campsite, taking numerous precautions courtesy of Alejandro. At some point the Peruvian had wrapped his hair in a high ponytail to continue working, causing some of the other girls to swoon.

Noah ignores it, finding himself helping Trent with firewood and manages to carry a large plank by himself. It’s not an everyday occurrence where the cynic actually participates in exercise based activities, so he keeps it to a minimal.

Once he drops off his share of the work, he plops down in front of the tree, watching the others zip by. His eyes find Alejandro rather quickly, surprised that he was now down a garment, his red shirt tied around his waist.

Great, the guy is showing off his muscles and has his hair tied back. He’s making it harder to dislike him right now.

Noah curses to himself, not pleased that he’s falling for Alejandro’s tricks. He was better than that, and he is. He’s brought back to reality as Owen pipes up from the ongoing silence. “Yeah uh— there’s no food here?” he looks around confused, fingers on his chin.

“Well this is a survival task Owen, it’s in the instructions.” Alejandro chimes in as he finishes nailing in the last peg for the tent. Noah catches the minor disgust in the boy’s voice.

He opened his mouth to speak, clasping his hands over his ears as his best friend let out an obnoxious attempt at a bear call. It doesn’t last long, thanks to Heather, but he hadn’t yet let his hands fall. Instead he stood to his feet and walked off, hoping that wandering around would bring him back down to earth.

———————————

Alejandro watches as Noah walks off, a confused look engraved in his face. He agrees that Owen’s antics were rather unpleasant, but what happened with the cynic seemed different than it appeared to be.

Owen had volunteered to gather food for the group with no one opposing. Alejandro supposes that less work for them is nothing to argue against. Everyone converses among themselves as Alejandro double checks over everything. He’s caught off guard as Heather pulls him by the arm away from the others.

He furrows his brows as she lets him go, placing her hands on her hips. “You. What is your deal?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You and the twerp. What’s going on with you two?” Heather says, waving her hand dramatically.

Alejandro is taken aback by the question. “What are you implying?”

Heather scoffs. “You have a soft spot for him.”

Alejandro lets out a cackle. “A soft spot? Heather, you are quite the comedian. But no, I assure you, the only feelings I have for him are merely strategic. You understand that, yes? Lindsay and Beth clearly mean nothing more than a vote to you.” He manages to point the finger at the girl who rolls her eyes in return.

“Whatever, just know where you lie in this game, you can’t develop anything for anyone.” Heather stalks off back to the group, leaving Alejandro alone.

He mutters to himself, starting to walk back as well. He’s slightly upset that someone had caught on this early, but that person being Heather doesn’t surprise him, maybe he can work with this.

Alejandro sits back down with the group, waiting for Owen to return. He noticed Noah hadn’t come back yet, a pit of dread pooling in his stomach. He tries to swallow his worry but it isn’t effective. He takes his mind off things by dragging his finger through the dust, letting his heart guide the lines. It’s a jumbled mess of scribbles but it helps ease his mind.

It’s ten minutes before Owen returns with a bundle of bass tied up with a rope. Ironic is it not? The boy bellows out in an obnoxious caveman voice saying, “I am man! I bring fish!”

“Are you kidding me?” Heather says, a bit astonished by the boy’s fishing knowledge.

“Aw man you’re awesome.” Trent praises, joining the rest of the group as they huddled around Owen. Alejandro reluctantly does the same, folding his arms. Sure it was impressive, but he couldn’t have the bigger teen seen as an asset, it would make him a favorite and harder to vote off.

He’s broken out of his thoughts by a loud crunch sound from Izzy, who bit into the raw food. “I guess we should cook it first.” she said a bit embarrassed, causing Alejandro to mutter to himself. “Estoy en un equipo con una lunática.”

“How do you know how to fish?” Heather questions, pointing a finger at him.

“My grandpa taught me, I even caught a shark once and it bit me on the butt! Check it.” Owen then turns just to flash the team, causing them to recoil in disgust. Alejandro covers his mouth in an attempt to keep his breakfast down. He’s silently wishing to be on another team, or off the show all together.

“That is so awesome!” Izzy exclaims.

This is definitely going to be a long night.

———————————

“Sierra, can you pass me that peg?” Courtney asks, holding her hand out.

“Oh sure.” Sierra replies, placing it in her palm. The purple haired girl stepped aside awkwardly, watching the group continue working.

“She’s pretty stand offish isn’t she?”

Courtney turns to see Bridgette walk over. She’s somewhat fond of the blond, having talked to her a bit before the talent show. She knew the stagelight was an accident and didn’t hold a grudge.

“Yeah, but I don’t blame her.” Courtney shrugs, finishing up. Bridgette helps expand the cloth to put over the pole, struggling a bit.

Courtney notices Sierra fidgeting on her feet like she wanted to say something. She supposes this will be a good way to help her come out of her shell. “Sierra, you think you can help Bridgette?”

The girl looked surprised. “You want my help?” She seemed eager to do so, but uncertainty seemed to hold her back.

Courtney nodded. “Go ahead” She stood back to allow her to work. It was like a blink of an eye when Sierra exclaimed, “Done!”

Bridgette stands impressed. “Wow, that was incredible!”

Sierra flushes. “You think so?” she asks, clearly not normally approached with compliments.

“Absolutely.” Bridgette holds her hand up for a high five as Sierra gladly returns it. Courtney admires the girl’s knowledge, knowing it would be helpful down the line.

“When’s dinner woman, I’m starving.” Duncan cackles obnoxiously.

“I hope you don’t expect a response for that.” she retorts, doing her best to ignore him. The boy clearly had every intention of bothering her, poking her with lackluster insults. She returns them boldly as Duncan goes to throw another one, diverted by the sound of footsteps.

“Hey guys look what I found!” Dj held up a baby rabbit in his palms with a beaming smile on his face.

“I never had rabbit stew before but what the heck.” Duncan smiles mischievously before Dj blocks him with his hand. “No man, it's my new pet!”

“So while you were playing Snow White you couldn’t find any food?” Courtney huffs. “I guess it’s bugs and berries for dinner.” This wasn’t how this night was supposed to go.

Sierra perks up. “Oh! I know a recipe that could spice things up,” she pauses, face flushing again. “If that’s alright.” Courtney could see clear as day that she gravely needed some help speaking up for herself.

“Well, it’s the best chance we’ve got for actual food, what do you need?” Courtney asks, curious to see how this could go.

“Okay seeing as we’re a bit limited here, I guess a metal bucket and the berries,” she pauses as she walks over to the pile of firewood. “Maybe some flint? I could get this fire going in no time.”

“You got it. Bridgette, you get the bucket, we should have one in our supplies, Duncan, if you can manage such an easy task, you gather enough berries for all of us, I’ll gather the fire starter—”

“They're usually found beside waterbeds, so in our case a river.” Sierra chimes, shooting her an apologetic look. “Sorry— didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

Courtney smiles. “It’s alright, now everyone get to work.” she ventures off into the forest, listening intently for sounds of water. There had to be one close by, it being their source of drinking after all.

It didn’t take long to find it as she pushed through a bush and walked out onto the open. The large stretch of water lay in front of her as she breathed a sigh of relief. As she walked up to the bank, she spotted a figure she hadn’t noticed before.

Is that..? Noah?

The boy was laying in the grass with his eyes closed, making Courtney’s heart drop. She remembered Chris’ warning about bears being in the forest but it didn’t look like the boy was injured. She approached him carefully, keeling down to place a hand on his shoulder.

Noah reacted quickly upon contact, sitting up and moving away from her.

“Hey! Hey it’s just me—” She holds her hands up to show she wasn’t a threat. Courtney sighs to herself, watching the boy’s shoulder relax.

“What’re you doing out here?” he asked, glaring at her.

“I’m trying to get something for my team, what are you doing playing corpse by the river?” she counters back, not afraid to go back and forth.

Thankfully she doesn’t have to, watching as Noah stiffened a bit and rubbed his nose with his shirt sleeve. “Just needed some air– It’s– It’s nothing.” he pulls his legs to his chest, digging his face into his arms.

Something was clearly up, causing Courtney to take a seat on the grass next to him. She enjoys the silence for a moment before speaking again. “Do you want to talk about it? Just because I’m on another team doesn’t mean I can’t be comforting you know.” she says, shrugging her shoulders.

“It’s not that–” Noah begins, lifting his head up slightly. “I just don’t know how to talk about it. It’s so many little things that just set me off and it’s frustrating. I’ve told my best friend all of this but he can’t remember it all the time and I don’t exactly like repeating it.” The boy finds himself ranting, throwing his hands around.

“Well, Owen can be a special case from what I’ve seen, but the best thing to do is be patient with him. He seems like a good guy. You know he’s not doing it on purpose, right?”

“Of course he isn’t. But it gets overwhelming at times being the sensible one.”

“That’s understandable. Maybe you can talk to him about it? Get him alone away from the cameras and sit down.”

Noah shrugs. “I guess. Bottling everything up seems alright too, but whatever.”

Courtney manages to chuckle. “You’re a weird one aren’t you.” That gets a smirk from the boy. “I try.”

They sit in silence for a little longer. Courtney glances over to find Noah staring off into space, thumbing his sweater vest. “Is that helping you?”

He looks at her perplexed. “Excuse me?”

“Doing that.” she points to his hands. “Does it help when you deal with breakdowns?”

“I guess– Wait what makes you think I had a breakdown?” he’s looking at her accusingly, as if it’s something she shouldn’t know.

“My little sister had them a lot when she was younger, after it ended she’d hold onto her stuffed dog for hours. I figured the same is happening with you.”

The cynic sighs. “Kind of. This vest is gross anyway, I spilled syrup on it this morning.” he let go of the garment, fidgeting with his fingers now. An awkward silence grows in the atmosphere. Noah had slumped onto his back again, closing his eyes.

Courtney didn’t mind the quiet but the whole interaction felt deeper than it seemed, she could tell what was wrong but kept her words to herself. She lets her gaze wander towards the river, watching as a trout or two swam by down the bank.

“I should get back to my team now.” Noah says, sitting up to stand to his feet.

“Alright, be careful on the way back. Bears and all.” Courtney says, standing as well.

Noah gives a one shoulder shrug before walking and disappearing into the woods.

Courtney sighs heavily, going back to the original task. She traces her hand along the bank, trying to find pieces of the mineral. It did not disappoint however, landing herself three large stones. “This should be plenty for Sierra, time to head back.” she says aloud, turning and disappearing into the woods.

She arrives back to the campsite, jumping at the sight of the red splattered spots on Duncan’s face and shirt. “What did you do?!” she exclaims, running over to check him out.

“Jeez buzzkill, it’s just berry juice. I may have started a food fight with Geoff but we replaced them, no biggie.” the punk shrugs, wiping a splotch of juice off of his face.

Courtney glances over to Geoff, confirming Duncan’s words. The surfer was covered from his face to his chest with red juice stains. He chuckled nervously, waving his hand to her. She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh.

“Whatever, both of you go clean up, the river is that way, we’ll get started on dinner.” She pauses and points a finger at the both of them. “You have ten minutes, take any longer and you’re both sleeping with the bears.

They oblige, promptly walking off into the woods. “Mhm, Sierra this should be enough right?” she asks, handing her the stones.

“Yes, thank you.” she smiles. “Now everyone should back up, sparks could go anywhere and I don’t think it would be good if I barbecued our team.” she chuckles nervously. Courtney didn’t stick around to prove that theory, quickly standing to her feet.

Sierra clinks the stones together, directing the shot towards the pile of firewood. Small sparks fly around as the girl continues. After a few lights, the wood engulfs in flames, burning brightly.

“Nice work Sierra.” Bridgette says, giving her a thumbs up.

The girl smiled bashfully, continuing her tasks. She quickly sets up everything, using a shaven stick to stir the mixture. Courtney thinks to question how she managed to carve the wood but she holds her tongue. The less she knew the better.

Duncan and Geoff return shortly after, drenched head to toe in water. “I said to clean up, not go swimming.” Courtney folds her arms, glaring at the two.

“Relax princess! You’re such a stickler.” Duncan chuckles before his face scrunches up. “Wait have any of you seen tweedle dumb and tweedle idiot?”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen them since we left camp.” Brigette chimes in, glancing at Courtney.

She only shrugs and waves it off. “Maybe they’re back at camp or something, it’s not good if we leave the site to find them. We’ll deal with it in the morning.”

No one opposes that, gathering around the campfire. The fire feels nice, like a big warm hug. It definitely helps with the cold air breezing through the forest. Everyone breaks into conversation soon after, swapping stories from back home. Courtney didn’t mind it, not that she shared anything herself, but the atmosphere felt normal, for the first time this entire show.

It wasn’t all that bad.

———————————

Alejandro rolls his eyes for the fifth time in ten minutes. Owen started droning on about how he and his grandfather managed to kill a bear. It was almost believable until he mentioned the mammal was ten-feet-tall. Alejandro called bullshit when he started but now Owen was pushing it.

He opted to leave and look for Noah but something kept him in the ragged circle everyone had formed around the campfire. It could be the darkness or the warning of bears but his skin itched every minute that went by that wasn’t searching for the cynic.

“Hey, has anyone seen crazy girl?” Heather pipes up, glancing around.

“I think she had to pee?” Lindsay says, just as confused.

“That was over an hour ago.” Trent says, the worried atmosphere growing. He cups his hands around his mouth and calls out. “Izzy? Izzy!”

Alejandro cringes as Owen calls her name louder. A rustle in the bushes catches everyone's attention as Owen walks over to it. “Woah! Thought we lost you for a minute—” the bigger teen freezes up, his teeth chattering loudly.

A large grizzly bear rose out of the bush, its claws raised and teeth bared. Through Owen’s frantic panicking and stench from Cody peeing his pants, he felt his eye twitching again. Alejandro watches as the boy runs around the group and put his leg out, causing him to trip and fall deep into the gravel.

“Everyone into the trees! Climb into the trees!” Heather cries, running towards the large one behind their campsite.

Alejandro runs over as well, assisting the other girls onto the branches. He makes sure they’re all situated before climbing up as well. He’s a gentleman no matter the situation. This was just perfect. Instead of being warm by the fire they’re stranded in an old tree and it was freezing.

“Now what’re we supposed to do?” Trent asked, looking between the group.

“Don’t look at me.” Heather says.

“It was your idea to climb up here.” Gwen shoots back, folding her arms.

“Well why don’t we ask the bear hunter, what do we do now?” she calls, glaring up at him.

“Don’t ask me!” Owen cries, clinging onto the bark.

Alejandro feels his eye twitch again. “You said you killed one, didn't you? Or should I just call bull right now.” he seethes, pointing a finger at him. Owen is silent at the accusation. “¡Perfecto! We’re stranded up here because you wanted to show off.” Anger is bubbling in his stomach, refraining himself from saying anything more. He knew Noah wouldn’t appreciate the way he was speaking to his best friend, but how could he not? Alejandro didn’t think highly of the guy for an absolute amount of reasons.

A cracking sound snaps him out of his thoughts, eyes widening as Leshawna falls off the branch and onto the ground. Alejandro watched as she hugged against the bottom of the tree as the bear grew closer to her. Everyone began calling to her frantically, shouting all different ways to escape.

Then something very unexpected happened. The bear talked.

“¿Qué?” Alejandro furrowed his brows.

The bear somehow takes off its head to reveal…Izzy?

Owen slides down the tree bark, letting out a sigh of relief. “Oh I did not see that coming!”

Alejandro is far from irritated, he’s flat out pissed. “Are you kidding me? ¡Maldito sea este equipo y este desafío!” the boy curses angrily, jumping down from his branch. The rest of the team is giving him a concerned look causing Alejandro to quickly regain himself, not wanting his facade to falter.

“Izzy, while I know you thought it would be funny, it was downright dangerous, please refrain from the pranks for the rest of the night.” he states, his composure as calm as he could keep it. He feels like it just went through the girl’s ear right out the other as she shrugs, grabbing one of the previously abandoned fish off the stick above the fire.

Everyone else does the same, reforming their ragged circle. Alejandro chooses to stand, his previous worries returning. He finds himself glancing around the empty forest again. It’s been too long since he saw the cynic, afraid to even fear the worst. Noah was completely capable of being on his own, well mentally, not physically, he’d say this to the boy’s face, it’s just honesty.

Another rustle in the bushes breaks Alejandro out of his thoughts. His heart practically melts at the thought of the boy being okay, too bad his heart was louder than his brain because it isn’t Noah. It’s another bear.

No one reacts however, assuming it was a joke by their dear host. Trent and Owen poke and prod at the bear while Gwen voices her concerns. “Guys that one actually looks real—” she says, looking around in rising panic. Everyone was now moving away from the creature with Owen taunting the beast more and more.

“Owen, if you know what’s good for you, get away from the bear.” Alejandro hisses.

The boy ignores him however, managing to pull a tuft of hair off the creature’s head. Yeah, that’ll do it. The bear roars, sending the Gopher’s back into the tree again.

Dios mío, ¿por qué yo?

———————————

Noah blew into his hands in an attempt to warm up. It felt like the temperature dropped below Antarctica as he trekked through the woods. He spent a bit more time walking around to collect himself, not wanting anyone to question him when he got back. They probably would anyway but the less they know the better.

A thick visible trail smoke paints the sky ahead, meaning he would be back at the campsite soon. He continues putting one foot in front of the other, letting his mind wander. He thought back to the interaction with Courtney, an unsettling feeling slowly creeping into his skin. Had all of that been recorded? Noah just hoped the camera crew had the decency to not include it.

It’s nothing wrong with what happened but he was never very vocal about it. He’d just like to keep things hidden for now.

He pushes through a thick bush, almost tripping when he had to step over an overgrown bit at the base of the plant. Noah walked further before feeling a drop of water hit his nose. He looked up, only to receive pouring down rain onto his face. He coughed and sputtered, wiping his eyes.

“Well that's just great!” Noah spats, throwing his hands up in frustration.

He ignores it all, just hoping the tent was warmer than being stuck out here. Noah makes it back, pushing strands of hair away from his face. The cynic wished he was dreaming because at the foot of the tree stood the biggest bear he’s ever seen.

“Holy shit—” Noah tries to walk backwards, tripping over his own foot. It may have been fear that caused him to do such a stupid thing but he’s too frozen to question it more. The bear had turned its attention towards him, stalking over with a low growl.

Noah tries to move, his limbs failing to motion with what his brain is rapidly yelling for him to do. The bear parts his jaws to let out a roar as Noah feels himself being swept off the ground. He looks up to see Alejandro, feeling his arms cradling his back and legs. Noah doesn’t get a word out as he feels himself being thrown into the air. Another pair of hands grabs ahold of his wrists and yanks him onto the branch.

Once his mind stops reeling, he looks over to see Trent with a firm hold on his shoulder and Alejandro climbing the bark, settling himself next to him on the branch. He wants to say something but is too unsettled to do so.

“That was way too close, are you alright dude?” Trent asks him, the words taking a bit to register in Noah’s mind.

“Y-yeah, I’m good.” Noah finally responds, glancing cautiously below the branch he’s perched on to see the bear camping at the bottom. He turned to see Alejandro’s worried gaze lingering on him, his lip quivering in an attempt to speak. It’s barely above a whisper but somehow over the rain, Noah could make out the words.

“Gracias a dios estas bien.”

Noah still didn’t get it. He didn’t get why the Peruvian acted this way, they just met. It all could be mind games, trying to throw Noah off so that he'd mess up and get himself voted off. It’s the easiest answer that calms his racing thoughts.

He’s exhausted from everything at this point. He lets his eyelids drift shut, slumping his body against the nearest grounded surface and goes to sleep.

———————————

A quick shake to the shoulder causes Noah to jolt up. He flicks his gaze around quickly, seeing most of the team now on the ground. He glances over to find Alejandro staring at him. “¿Estás bien mi cerebrito?” he asks, his head tilting slightly.

Sleep is still pulling at Noah’s eyes as he lets out a yawn and replies. “Fine.” Alejandro smiles. “Good, now we have a challenge to complete. We don’t know if the Bass already have a lead against us.” he says, beginning to climb down the tree.

Noah attempts to hold onto the branch and shimmy down, only to miss the tree entirely and plummet to the ground. He finds himself in the firm hold of his teammate, who’s smiling smugly at him. Noah rolls his eyes and folds his arms. “What? I can’t even get a thank you? You wound me mi querido.” Alejandro chuckles smoothly.

“Just put me down so we can get going.” Noah retorts, glaring at the boy.

Alejandro only tightens his grip on his body, giving Noah a smirk. “¡Aquí vamos!” He exclaims, dashing off. The rest of the team follows the Peruvian, starting their long run back to camp. The wind whips against Noah’s face uncomfortably, forcing him to dig his face into Alejandro’s clavicle.

Moments later he feels them halt to a stop. Noah looks up to see they arrived at camp, cursing to himself at the sight of the Killer Bass. They had lost. Someone else was going home tonight.

“Thanks to you we lost the challenge!”

Noah cranes his head slightly to the sound of Heather’s irritated voice and a dazed Owen with his back against the ground. Izzy stood with her hands up in surrender while the other girl glared daggers at her. What had she meant by that?

“Not so fast Gopherinos.” Chris smiles smugly. “It seems The Killer Bass are missing a few fish.” The host points two finger guns towards the team, all bearing confused looks on their face.

“What? Katie and Sadie aren’t here?” Courtney says, her eyebrows kitting up confusedly.

On cue, the two girls ran up to the campsite, looking a bit worse for wear. Their legs and arms looked battered and there were sticks and leaves in their hair. Katie huddled against Sadie while catching her breath.”Oh Em Gee, guys it was like super scary out there!”

Sadie nodded in agreement. “Totally! A bear chased us back here!”

The girls began explaining frantically their events from the night prior, eventually hugging one another and breaking into sobs. Sobs of happiness? Noah supposes, though he can’t actually tell.

He fake gags at the display though, forgetting he was being held when Alejandro’s chest rumbled deeply with a chuckle. Right, the boy carried him back to camp. He was perfectly capable of walking yet Alejandro insisted because it was “quicker.” Though, he didn’t want to be put down either. The idea of being held made him feel content but he’d never admit that outloud.

“Are you two done?” Courtney asked, and Noah swears she drew blood from the way she’s gripping onto her forearm. Katie and Sadie nod in response.

“Good, because thanks to you we just lost the challenge!” she exclaims, throwing her hands up. “¡No puedo creer esto!” she curses, balling her fists at her sides.

The outburst of curses somewhat surprises Noah. He figured as much but then again it opened a new pit of dread in his stomach. Alejandro could use this familiarity to his advantage, and Courtney was obviously very determined to win. It was a recipe for an alliance disaster.

Luckily Noah carried the language on his tongue, he could stop whatever they planned. Well, to an extent, the two of them combined could crush him easily and he’s not taking any chances.

“Like I was saying, because every Gopher member is here, that means they win today’s challenge! And with that comes a reward, an all expense paid trip to the tuck shop!”

Noah covered his ears as the rest of his team cheered, surprised to find Alejandro’s gaze lingering on him. He ignores it, lowering them and folds his arms in turn.

“You can put me down now.”

“¿Qué?”

Noah rolls his eyes. “You’re still carrying me.”

“Right, mis disculpas.” Alejandro says before carefully placing Noah back onto his feet. He dusts himself off and leaves the boy’s side quickly before making his way over to Gwen.

“Hey Gwen—“ he says, glancing over his shoulder briefly.

She looks at him with a quirked brow. “Dude, you’re lucky you weren’t bear food last night, where did you even go?”

“Unimportant— what exactly did Owen do to tick off Heather? She blamed him for something and I don’t know what.” Noah was beginning to get antsy, hoping whatever happened wouldn’t backfire against the boy.

“Right…Owen might have been the reason we slept in a tree last night.” She sighs. Gwen began explaining what happened that night, from the bear calls to the storytelling, a fake bear then the real deal, it was all a lot.

“Shit, that does sound like him.” Noah taps his fingers against his arm. “Did Alejandro make any comments about it?”

“Not that I can remember.” Gwen replies, raising a row. “Are you sure you weren’t hurt last night? You seem frantic.”

“I’m fine–” Noah answers quickly, glancing over his shoulder. “I just don’t trust the guy and I have every reason not to.”

“Yeah, he gives me major chills.” Gwen agrees. “We can worry about this tomorrow, we get to blow off a ton of money so let’s go.” she chuckles, grabbing Noah’s hand and dragging him behind her.

Noah lazily skids his boots against the ground, glancing behind him again. Alejandro was nowhere to be seen, making his skin tingle. Technically he wasn’t a current target of the Peruvian but he was still worried.

Just stay on his good side Noah and you’ll be fine.

It all sounded easy in his head, but the guy was slippery. You can’t be too careful when swimming in unknown waters.

Chapter Text

Courtney lets out a tired groan.

She glances up as Bridgette is walking over with a sobbing Katie, who for some reason is holding a piece of wood. The girl continued to cry as Bridggete leaned over to Courtney and whispered, “It was a long goodbye–”

Before she could speak, a group of footsteps made their way over to the campfire pit. She folds her arms at the sight. “You guys here to rub it in?” she narrows her eyes at the lot, not really in the mood for jokes.

“We had some extras left over from the tuck shop, thought you guys would want some.” Trent says, shrugging a shoulder.

She didn’t buy it for a second, making direct eye contact with Noah, who tried to avoid it by digging his nose back in his book.

“Owen stank up the cabin and we need time to air it out.” he sighed, rolling his eyes.

Courtney cursed silently under her breath and looked up as Dj let out a shriek, her eyes darting to the dish of fallen dessert on the ground.

Cody bent down to the plate, pulling out something small. “It’s just a gummy worm man.” he chuckled and tossed it into his mouth, ignoring the collective ‘ews’ from his team.

“Sorry for trippin’, snakes just freak me out!” Dj apologized meekly, sagging his shoulders. Tyler rested his hand on the boy’s back in comfort. “I feel you man, chickens give me major creeps.”

“You’re afraid of chickens?” Gwen asked, quirking a brow at the boy. Tyler slumped his body, looking at his team with embarrassment. “Wow man– that’s really lame.” Duncan smirked, letting out a snicker.

“It’s a genuine fear to have, metal for brains.”

Courtney glanced over to see Noah looking up from his book, narrowing his eyes at Duncan. The punk only scoffed, flipping the other off. Soon everyone had filed onto the rest of the tree stumps, each taking a turn to share. Though, she noticed a familiar red missing from the Gopher’s team.

——————————

“It’s insane! Everyone started this big friendly sharefest as if forgetting we’re pitted against each other for a hundred grand. Beth droned on about her mortal fear of being covered in bugs, Harold is somehow afraid of ghosts, even Heather admitted her fear of dogs.”

Alejandro folded his arms, looking towards the camera of the foul smelling confessional. “Of course I have nothing to share, a Burromuerto does not expose himself to weakness.” he said, his fingers tapped against his forearm in thought.

“I do wonder if Noah is afraid of anything, someone that sarcastic and closed off surely fears something. We shall find out momentarily.” He smirked at the lens, standing and exiting the confessional and made his way back to the fire.

He arrived back quickly, taking a seat near Courtney. It was the only one open and he wasn’t one to complain. He crossed his legs and sat up straight. He turned his attention to Gwen, the next one to share her phobia.

“Being buried alive.” the goth shrugged, glancing towards Lindsay.

“Having to touch icky stuff is so– well– icky!” the girl flapped her hands in a grossed out manner.

“Flying is the worst, crazy stuff man.” Owen said, looking at Izzy. “Yeah, I would never go up in a plane.”

“Hail seems so deadly dudes.” Geoff said, gazing wearily at the ground.

“Being left alone in the woods.” Bridgette spoke.

“I’m with you on that.” Katie said, hugging the piece of wood she had for the past hour or so.

Cody tapped his chin in thought. “I guess being put under pressure.”

Trent shrugged his shoulders. “I hate mimes, like a lot.”

Sierra pulled at her braid anxiously. “Talking to new people freaks me out.”

Alejandro groaned internally. This was definitely a waste of time, especially if no one had any actual fears.

Courtney folded her arms. “Well I’m not afraid of anything.” she held her head up high, a prideful smirk on her face. Alejandro respected that, how she was able to keep up a mask in front of the others. It showed what kind of family she came from.

“Oh please princess, everyone’s afraid of something, even you.” Duncan smirked, pointing at her.

“Really? Care to enlighten us Mr Know-it-all?” Courtney retorted.

All eyes turned towards the punk, who grew more uneasy by the second. “Fine! Fine– I don’t like doctors alright?” he groans, resting his head in his hand.

“See that wasn’t so hard was it?” Noah said with a smirk, setting his book down.

Had he been reading this whole time? It wasn’t something Alejandro noticed, or rather particularly paid attention to. Not that he was watching the boy’s every move, it was just a minute detail.

“Okay brainiac, you haven’t shared anything either, same goes for Al over here.” Duncan narrowed his eyes at the two, all attention now directed towards them

Alejandro’s eye twitched at the childish nickname, trying his best to ignore it. He glanced at Noah, the boy clearly not giving Duncan the time of day. “I’m not afraid of anything, and even if I was, I wouldn’t share it with strangers I just met.” Noah scoffed, leaning back on the stump with his legs crossed.

All attention was left directed at the Peruvian. “Neither am I, sorry mi amigos.” he apologized, flashing them a confident smile.

Duncan masked a snarky remark by coughing into his hand.

Noah furrowed his brows at the punk. “You wanna repeat that?”

“I’m just saying you, princess, and Al here are lying out of your asses.” he shrugged.

Noah rolled his eyes and went back to his book.

The gathering ended soon after as everyone departed to head back to the bunks. Alejandro waited until no one was looking and swiftly grabbed Noah and Courtney by the wrists, ducking them behind a tree.

“Ow ow ow! Can you let go?” Noah wriggled in his grasp, trying to pull his hand free.

Courney only narrowed her eyes at him, looking him up and down. “I don’t know what you two are up to but I want no part of it.”

“Woah woah hold it, I’m not a part of whatever this is. I’m just as much a victim as you are.” Noah took his turn to glare at the Peruvian.

“Will you two keep it down? I don’t need the others hearing.” Alejandro rolled his eyes, quickly replacing his expression. “As much as I hate to, I agree with Duncan. You two are holding out.”

Courtney and Noah shared an unimpressed glance.

“I’m just saying, sometimes you have to be a team player.” he said with a smirk. “It wouldn’t make you look good if you hold out on us.”

Noah narrowed his eyes, placing his hands on his hips. “Alright, whatever. I don’t like clowns.” the cynic shrugged, turning to look at Courtney.

“I’m not the biggest fan of blood.” she shuddered slightly, rubbing her arm.

Alejandro smiled. “See, that wasn’t so hard was it?”

Noah scoffed. “I hope you didn’t think you would get something out of us so easily.” he said, folding his arms.

Alejandro blinked, taking a second to understand what the cynic meant. “Ah of course.” he felt himself hesitating to speak again, his previous words shaky. There were no cameras out here right? The episode was over so the interns would be cooped up somewhere to begin editing. He bites his tongue.

“I have claustrophobia.”

It felt unnerving to reveal such a thing out loud. He felt exposed and vulnerable, something his father would definitely scold him for doing if he knew. He thumbed his necklace nervously, feeling his breath hitching in his throat at the thoughts racing in his head. His chest felt tight and his vision blurred. He had to snap out of it, it would be embarrassing to have a panic attack (or rather a tantrum as his father called them) in front of complete strangers, how would it make him look? His parents? It was unbecoming.

“...jandro? Alejandro!”

His vision regained, meeting the mix of confused and worried gazes from both teens. He cleared his throat and straightened up, running a hand through his hair. Cálmate, eres mejor que esto.

“Are you alright? You kind of zoned out for a second.” Courtney looked at him concerned. Noah must've felt the same, as he looked at him with furrowed brows.

“I’m fine, do not worry about me.” he replied coolly, taking in a deep breath. “Let us get to our cabins, yes?” he looked between the both of them with a firm grin.

They agreed with no objections. The walk was short before Courtney split off to her cabin, Alejandro and Noah to theirs. He could feel Noah’s skeptical glances burning into the side of his head, shrugging it off. He made enough of a fool of himself already, not speaking would be best for the both of them.

——————————

The next morning arrived fast, all the campers currently joined in the mess hall. The breakfast was bland but no one paid it any mind, instead engaging in their own scattered conversations. A whistle silenced the chatter, all eyes turned towards the host.

“Campers, your next challenge is a little game I like to call; Phobia Factor! Prepare to face your worst fears!”

“Worse than this?” Noah held what was supposed to be a sausage on a fork, dropping it onto the table with his tongue out in disgust. It rightfully earned a snicker from Alejandro, which was met by an equal one from Noah.

“Now for our first victims, Heather! Meet us all in the theater, we have a furry little guy for you to meet.” Chris said mischievously, causing the girl to do a spit take with her drink, splattering in Trent’s face. Gwen held back a chuckle as her name was called next.

“You and me on the beach, with a few tons of sand?” the host chuckled.

“Wait how'd they know those were your worst fears?” Lindsay asked, a clueless look on her face.

“Because we told them.” Gwen said with a groan, slumping her body in a defeated manner.

Lindsay quirked her brow, looking at Beth in confusion. Noah scoffed and rolled his eyes. “The campfire last night genius.”

Alejandro sighed a quiet breath of relief. Only the ones who shared theirs by the flames were in trouble it seemed. He was safe for now. The host went on, listing off other names and where they’d be for their part of the challenge.

A bit later everyone was led out to a small field where an inflatable pool full of worms was set up for Beth. Alejandro was surprised how easily she passed, thinking back to how she whined constantly about the fear.

As Chris led Bridgette and Katie out into the woods, Alejandro is startled by the sound of a rickety yellow plane riding up to the group, Chef at the controls respectively. By the look of terror on Owen and Izzy's faces, it’s no surprise who this was meant for.

Amidst the wait, he finds Noah trying to soothe his panicking friend. It was nice to know the cynic wasn’t completely heartless, but he felt as though Owen was overreacting just a bit. He had gone in many planes as a child, the fear of flying or heights never phased him.

Owen and Izzy are sent up into the air, leaving the others to continue the other parts of the challenge. Alejandro watches it all play out with disinterest, seeing that Noah feels the same. They had been winning by only a point so far so things weren’t exactly looking good.

Eventually they were led to the theater for Heather’s challenge. As everyone filed into the stands, Chris made his way on stage with a small dog, a chihuahua to be exact. The host seemed to struggle keeping the canine back as it squirmed and wriggled in his hold. The dog seemed harmless, looking around with bright and playful eyes.

Heather was shaking in fear. Chris dropped the leash, letting the chihuahua sprint at the girl. She let out a shriek and ran off stage with the puppy following after her. Alejandro rolled his eyes, tapping his fingers against the wooden seat.

The day dragged on with both teams making their attempts. It bored Alejandro quickly, finding himself catching a few yawns here and there. Afterwards, everyone made their way to the beach where Chris stood next to a premade hole with a shovel. There was a glass coffin-like box about maybe two inches in the ground, a small sliding door on the very top of it.

He watched as Trent gave Gwen a brief talk before she had to climb in. He couldn't hear a word they said, though he assumed it was the same kind of reassurance Noah gave his friend prior. Gwen was soon buried, leaving Trent sitting on the sand next to the goth’s timer.

Alejandro wonders how the other team is doing with their challenges.

——————————

“Come on Duncan, just get it over with.”

The Killer Bass hadn’t had much luck in this challenge so far. Harold ended up falling in the toilet after he was spooked by a fake ghost, Sierra hadn’t managed to have a conversation with one of the interns without absolutely breaking down, and Katie got way too scared to be in the woods alone for more than five minutes. They needed the points more than ever.

“No way, I’m not letting them anywhere near me.” Duncan retorted, glaring at Courtney. All the punk had to do was allow the doctor to take his temperature, but he wasn’t exactly cooperating.

“Dude c’mon, it’s so easy!” Tyler called from his spot on the cabin’s steps.

Courtney was well aware that overcoming a fear isn’t exactly a walk in the park, it can be extremely nerve wrecking for most people. She put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, leaning in to whisper in his ear.

“Hey it’s alright if you can’t do it, just say the word and you can walk away.”

Duncan sighed, straightening up. “It’s fine, I got this.”

The punk walked over to the doctor, his eyes squeezed shut and his fists balled tightly at his sides, but as quickly as he went over it was done before he knew it. Courtney was the first to cheer, followed by the rest of the team.

Maybe this wasn’t a total loss after all.

——————————

Noah sighed with disinterest. The day had been slow and agonizing to watch. So far two more of the Gopher’s lost it for the team. Lindsay couldn’t manage to clean one of the bathroom’s toilets and Cody wasn’t able to diffuse his trash bomb fast enough.

Thankfully the challenge was done, The Gophers winning by five points against The Bass with four points. The host gathered them at the theater for one last announcement before the elimination ceremony.

“So as you all know, The Bass will be sending someone home tonight, landing The Gophers another win–”

The mix of cheers and groans sounded from the bleachers.

“Or they would have if this challenge was over! Looks like we have three campers who thought they’d make it out easy, and forgot we film everything..” he let out a mischievous chuckle.

Noah furrowed his brows in shock, turning to look at Alejandro. The boy’s face was drained of color, his hands gripping the wooden seat roughly. He knew the Peruvian already acted weirdly to the whole challenge so this wasn’t surprising. Noah then turned to find Courtney’s gaze, only to meet a similar expression to Alejandro. This wasn’t good.

“Now first up, Courtney! You ready for a swim?” He smirked, waving his hand towards the stage, which held a small pool hopefully full of fake blood. “For your challenge, you have to sit in the pool for exactly one minute. But to make things interesting, if you manage to complete this, I’ll give your team triple the points.”

He watched as the girl walked up the steps of the stage and towards the kiddie pool, her eyes dark as she gazed into the red goo.

“While we wait for the upcoming trainwreck, Noah! There’s a birthday party classic waiting for you!”

Noah blinked in confusion, practically falling out of his seat as loud laughter sounded behind him. He quickly got to his feet, backing away from the figure. “This lovable clown is named Twinkle, all you gotta do is let him hug you and you’re done.” Chris snapped his fingers with a smile.

The cynic took a few more steps away from the clown before dashing off somewhere in the woods. He heard the calls of his team behind him, but he was too startled to pay attention to whatever they were saying. The childish jingle of the circus attraction’s shoes sounded louder with every step, making Noah push harder with every stride.

Sure it sounded like a foolish thing to be afraid of, but his childhood was scarred because of the face painted creep. One bad family trip to the circus completely fucked him over, too embarrased to even mention it again. But of course this sketchy show would exploit his fears for a quick buck. It was power hungry nonsense that wasn’t appealing to him in the slightest.

Noah hit a few quick turns around a thicket, hiding behind a larger tree just a few feet away. He tried to stop and catch his breath, each inhale shaky and uneven.

He peeked around the tree, not spotting the clown. He sighed a breath of relief, immediately cursing himself for letting his guard down. Of course the creep didn’t go away. Noah groaned, gathering a second wind and running further into the forest. He needed to collect himself before he collapsed, deciding that climbing a tree was best.

He gripped the wood and pulled himself onto a branch, cursing his lack of upper body on the way up. Noah eventually found his footing, situating himself awkwardly. He watched the clown search for him below, sighing heavily in realization that he could be stuck there for hours.

Fuck.

——————————

Alejandro tapped his fingers along the seat, wishing that if he held his eyes shut long enough he’d somehow disappear and spare himself the embarrassment. That didn’t happen unfortunately, seeing how he was forced out of his seat by Chef. Alejandro attempted to push the overbearing anxiety away, facing the host.

“Glad you could join us.” The host rolled his eyes. “As I was saying, for your challenge, all you gotta do is spend five minutes in this insanely cramped box.” Chris smiled, directing his hand towards the wooden crate.

Alejandro swallowed hard. “Of course, whatever secures our team the win.” He flashed a nervous smile, quickly standing up straight.

Soon he was shoved into said uncomfortable box, slightly jumping as he heard Chef nailing the thing shut.

”He can breathe in there right?” He heard Courtney ask.

”Yeah yeah he’ll be fine, now get back to your own challenge!

Alejandro wanted to take a breath to relax himself, but the very idea already freaked him out. He figured the best way to win this thing was just to stay still, don’t think, don’t say anything. Of course he had no way to tell the time in there and had to trust that the host would remember or even choose to let him out. What a predicament he’s found himself in.

What feels like the three minute mark goes by, the Peruvian finding his hand clutching his pendant. It helps in some ways but not all.

”You’re a minute in big guy! Four more to go!”

It had only been a minute? Impossible, though it seems like time isn’t in your favor when you’re fighting off a panic attack. Alejandro doesn’t exactly have room to move to adjust himself, making the situation even more anxiety inducing.

He doesn’t know how he’s going to get through this.

——————————

Noah carefully scaled down the tree, looking over his shoulder constantly. It had been ten minutes since he hid himself in the tree, hoping the clown took the hint and left.

After double and triple checking, he deemed it safe to make it back to the theater. He didn’t care about not completing the challenge, only thankful that he didn’t completely break down on national television.

He wondered how the others were doing, hoping they were having better luck than him.

Noah made his way onto the stands, watching Courtney still trying to complete her task. She was halfway submerged into blood, her eyes shut tight as she squirmed around. Chris glanced at his watch. “Thirty more seconds Courtney!” The host then turned to the crate not far away. “You doing alright in there Alejandro?”

The cynic raised a brow. Had Chris really made the Peruvian simply climb into a crate? Not exactly an original idea for one with claustrophobia but then again this is a trashy reality show.

“Never better!” Alejandro replied, sounding uncertain.

Noah had already been one to see through the charmer’s facade, catching on that this challenge may be putting a number on him. His thoughts were interrupted by Courtney letting out a shrill of panic as she crawled out of the pool. Her midsection and below were soaked with the sticky red liquid, making Noah mentally cringe. He’s partially glad he doesn’t have a fear of blood.

“Ah so close.” the host snickered. “Guess you guys might be sending someone home tonight.” He turned his attention back to the box. “You’ve got a minute left Al!”

Noah tapped his fingers on his arm patiently. A single minute begins to feel like an hour, making his skin crawl uncomfortably. Soon the timer goes off and Chef begins unhooking the nails from the crate. Alejandro stumbles out awkwardly, immediately straightening up to face the others. “Aha see? Simple and easy.” he smiled, waving a hand in the air. Noah notices the subtle shaking in the boy’s hands.

“And with that the Gopher’s win yet again! Killer Bass, I’ll see you at the campfire.” Chris signals everyone to disperse from the theater. Noah stands to his feet, quickly finding Alejandro walking off to who knows where with Courtney following close behind.

He doesn’t think it’s his business to worry about whatever is happening, nor does he care. He instead opts to follow his team back to camp, and maybe catch a few z’s while everyone heads to dinner.

Noah goes to grab the cabin door’s handle, halting as he hears muffled cries and comforting words coming from inside.

”Estuve demasiado cerca de fracasar, ¡todos lo habrían visto!” That was Alejandro.

Noah only knew Spanish to an extent, so whatever was said was definitely foreign to him. He pressed his ear closer to the door to listen further (so much for not eavesdropping.)

”Pero no lo hiciste. Don’t beat yourself up about it.” That was Courtney.

In other circumstances he’d be ticked that the Peruvian was mingling with a girl from the opposing team, but with what he’s witnessed so far, he's not upset at all. Was it concern he felt? Probably not because he didn’t trust the guy one bit.

Noah doesn’t exactly consider himself a very empathic person, mostly because he never understood how to. It would be exhausting for him and possibly it would set him off as well. Not a good mix in the slightest.

He stumbled on his heel as he shuffled away from the door upon hearing the sound of growing footsteps. Noah quickly hopped down the cabin’s steps, hiding on the side of the building. He watched as Courtney emerged from the room, surprisingly alone. He raised a brow, tapping his fingers along the thick frame of the building in thought.

Noah blew out a huff of air, making his way to the mess hall.

Chapter Text

Sleeping that night was nearly impossible.

Alejandro could recount the times he tossed and turned under the covers.

The events from the day before sat uncomfortably in his mind, embarrassment and shame oozing out of his body.

He could just hear José now, giving his parents another reason to think of him as a disappointment. It honestly wasn't fair.

He had to work twice as hard for attention from the people who are supposed to love you unconditionally.

As he sat at the mess hall table poking at his food, he could sense a pair of eyes boring into him, judging, pitiful, it was gross.

Thankfully he was saved from an interaction by the interns gathering them from their seats and herding them outside. It was a seemingly nice day, why not enjoy it, aside from the possibly deadly challenge heading their way.

They make it to the beach where Chris stood waiting. “Bass, Gophers, today’s challenge is a true summer camp experience, a canoe trip!” He then turned to show the canoes lined up against the shore. “You’ll be paddling your canoes up the lake to Boney island.” The host attempted at making the place seem frightening but Alejandro wasn’t phased by it.

“When you get there, you’ll have to portage your canoes to the other side of the island, which is about a two hour hike through treacherous and dense jungle.”

“We gotta por-what?”

Alejandro turned to see Geoff raising a brow in confusion, rubbing his neck.

Chris rolled his eyes. “You have to carry the canoe dude.” Even Alejandro knew that, and he wasn’t even from Canada.

“Once you get to the other side of the island, you’ll build a rescue fire that'll be judged by me. First team to make it back around and return their canoes to the beach will be the winner of today’s challenge. Now get moving!”

Both teams began heading over to their canoes, pausing as the host called out. “One more thing before I forget, legend says if you take anything from the island you’ll be cursed forever.” he wiggled his fingers around in a horrific manner.

Alejandro only scoffed, rolling his eyes. He obviously didn’t believe in such a thing, why would anyone? He’s sadly proven wrong when Owen cheers. “A cursed island? Alright!”

God he couldn’t stand the boy. Everyone turned to look at Owen questioningly before he let out a nervous chuckle. “Alright, everyone pick a paddle partner and let's have some fun!” Chris smiled, waving them off.

Alejandro thought briefly. The obvious choice for his partner would be Noah, and he wouldn’t deny that. Only issue with this is that he wasn’t in the mood for the cynic’s looks.

He wanted to forget that yesterday ever happened, and hoped to whatever god there was that Noah would get the hint.

“Stop daydreaming and hurry up.”

The Peruvian blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. Noah was standing by the canoe with his arms crossed, a brow raised in question. “Are you coming or not?” the boy asked, rolling his eyes.

Alejandro flashed a smile and made his way over. “Ah, lo siento mi amigo.” he said, grabbing his life vest and strapping it on. Noah tossed him one of the oars and climbed into the canoe. “Let’s get going, we’re already behind.” he said, resting his face on his hand.

“I have to get the boat in the water perezoso.” Alejandro retorted, lifting the canoe slightly off the ground and beginning to push it towards the water.

“For the record, if I had helped we’d be way too far from the team. Just saying.” Noah shrugged, grabbing an oar.

Alejandro rolled his eyes, using his oar to push them away from the shore and onto the water. “Of course, just start paddling.” he said, pushing the wooden paddle through the waves.

It was pretty amusing to watch Noah struggle for a bit, a few chuckles almost escaping Alejandro’s lips. The cynic spewed a few hushed curses before turning his head to glance behind him. “Not a word.”

Alejandro smirked. “Do not worry mi amigo, there is no judgment from me.” He could hear Noah scoff before putting his oar to the water again. They eventually catch up with everyone else as they begin to notice the rolling fog.

“Guess we’re here.” Noah says, glancing around. As soon as they hit the shore, Alejandro hopped onto the sand, pulling the canoe out of the water.

His back was turned for a moment until he heard the sound of shuffling, turning to find Noah falling into him.

Alejandro groaned as his body hit the ground, a bit dumbfounded as his gaze met Noah’s. He quickly replaced his expression with smugness. “Didn’t expect you of all people to fall for me cerebrito, but it was bound to happen.” He smirked.

Noah scoffed, pushing himself off to the side. “Yeah, as if.” he said, standing to his feet and brushing himself off. Alejandro stood as well, craning his neck to see the large mountain ahead, which ironically was shaped like a skull.

“Hey lovebirds! Let’s go!” Gwen called with a smirk and Noah retorted by flipping her off.

Alejandro chuckled to himself, pulling the canoe over his head. Noah wasn’t much help carrying the boat obviously, going on about how if he tried to help they’d lose. The Peruvian decided to just let him have it.

It quickly turned into a footrace to the other end of the island, both teams trying their best to ignore the potentially scary shit happening around them.

Unluckily enough, both teams end up running into a pack of wooly beavers. Perfect. It turns into another foot race to escape the beasts, running into a dead end. Thinking it was safe, a flock of rabid geese appeared from behind the jagged rocks of the mountain side.

Already knowing how easily the cynic gets winded, he decided to throw Noah onto the top of the boat. Ignoring the confused cries from the boy, Alejandro continued running, finding himself a bit ways away from the rest of the team.

“Will you just stop and let me down!” Noah exclaimed, half dangling off the edge of the canoe. Alejandro reluctantly obliged, placing the boat softly onto the ground. He had gotten them away from the geese hadn't he? Why did the boy have to make such a fuss?

“What is it? You’ve been complaining this whole challenge so far.” Alejandro rolled his eyes, placing a hand on his hip.

“Well if you had stopped and paid some kind of attention, you’d know we’re not even with the team anymore.” Noah retorted, throwing his hands up in the air.

It hadn’t been his initial thought. The main concern was getting them both away from the literal, foaming from the mouth, prehistoric geese.

Alejandro fixed his gaze towards the cynic.

“Do not fret dear Noah, as long as the rest of the team makes it to the second part of the challenge, we’ll be fine. There are more than enough capable contestants.” He had a forced smile on his face, trying to keep his image. This pessimist will not get on his last nerve.

Noah only scoffed, kicking at a pebble in the dust. “Then where should we go from here ‘your majesty.’” The sarcasm oozed off his tongue, though Alejandro dismissed it..

Alejandro pondered for a moment, holding his fingers to his chin in thought.

“Well, we started traveling south from the lake, and seeing how far we are into the forest, I’d say I ran us off southeast.” He did a quick turnaround, glancing up towards the sky. “We head north to get us back on the trail Chris intended for us. Simple and easy.”

He was quite proud of his quick observation. As he mentioned a day prior, reading maps was a cakewalk to him as a child, learning how a compass worked wasn’t any harder. The Peruvian turned to the cynic, an appalled look on his face.

Alejandro reveled at this. The cynic fixed his lips to speak again. “Right— So let’s get going, I’m not losing because of a little detour.”

“Of course. A single loss is a loss for everyone.” He noted, grabbing one end of the canoe and fixed his grip on it, raising it above his head once more.

“Would you like to help carry or would you rather hitch another free ride.” he asked, trying to keep his small smirk hidden.

“Whatever. For the record, you aren’t funny.” Noah said, walking over and raising his arms to hold his own end. Alejandro shrugged, adjusting his grip to allow the other to grab hold.

They began their trek to the other end of the island, neither boys saying much to one another. The silence made things a bit awkward.

“If you’re thinking about talking, don’t. The less conversation the better.” Noah snarked, slightly turning his head to glance behind him.

Alejandro rolled his eyes. “Right, because we’d have nothing to talk about. The more you deny it the more it will hurt you cerebrito.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” The cynic’s tone sounded defensive.

“Admit it, you enjoy my company.” Alejandro said, a knowing smirk on his face.

“And you must be delusional if you think that’s true. I simply tolerate you, there's a difference.” Noah retorted. The unseen red in his face said otherwise.

Alejandro laughed. “My you are a comedian today, but I’ll take your word for it, for now.”

Despite Noah’s denial of claims, the two indulged into conversations about any and all topics that came to mind. At one point the conversation had Alejandro going deep depicting true and false points of the topic. It even had Noah agreeing with him, surprised someone was on the same page as him.

“I can’t imagine you’re this ‘charming’ as an only child, you’d surely wear your parents out.” The Peruvian chuckled, truly interested in his home life. “You mentioned you had sisters before, did you not?”

“I did, I have eight of them.” Noah chuckled, narrowly avoiding a stone in the path.

Alejandro found himself inclining further. “Tell me about them.”

Noah craned his neck, his brow furrowed immensely. “You sure? You did hear me say eight right?”

“I did, my hearing is impeccable mi amigo.” Alejandro chuckled.

“Alright, the oldest is named Aadhya. My mom had her right before she moved to the states from our home country. Once that went to shit, she found better living here. She’s basically been our second mom for as long as I can remember. Then maybe about a year or so after Aadhya, she had the twins, Nadja and Naomi. They’re known as the troublemakers of the family and always attached at the hip. They do things conjointly, even if that’s causing mayhem wherever they go.”

Noah stopped to smile at that, continuing on.

“Two years after the disaster twins came Amani. She’s the social media fanatic who knows who’s doing what. It’s a little scary to think about but she came out fine. Then there’s Sara, the artistic one every family has to come with. She’s actually in college now to major in fine arts. Then it was Dhiya, the sporty one. She was on four different sports teams in high school. I still wonder to this day how she managed that, but the trophy case in her room says otherwise.”

The cynic stifled a chuckle. Alejandro surprisingly found himself staring as the other’s hair bounced on his shoulder as he did. His face flushed as he brushed it off, allowing the boy to keep going.

“Now there’s Thanya, the sort of hippie one. She’s just very spiritual and never gets involved with our petty sibling fights. I kinda praise her for her patience because I swear it’s like a warzone every morning.” He waved a hand around dramatically, cursing to himself as the literal boat above his head wobbled in his grasp. He quickly swung his hand back up to regain his balance.

“And now it comes down to the youngest ones of the family, my sister Kavi and me. They’re the one I look up to most besides Aadhya. Other than Owen, they're the reason I’m on this damn show in the first place. It’s only fair if I try and win this thing or something.” Noah said the last bit with a shrug.

Alejandro blinked, reeling with all the information. Wow. He couldn’t even imagine that many José’, he’d go insane having to deal with that, but Noah adores his siblings, that’s the only difference.

“I told you it was a lot to explain.” Noah said with a smirk.

“Ah but I enjoyed every minute of it mi cerebrito, you come from an interesting family. I can relate with that.” In different ways than most.

“Uh-huh. Now, do you know where we are?” the other asked, glancing around.

“We should be coming up on the beach soon, so possibly another hour.” Alejandro replied, peering ahead at the trail.

What definitely felt like years passed by, they finally arrived back with the rest of the team. The Bass were nowhere in sight, which surprised him seeing how long they'd been split up.

“Hey! Where the heck have you two been?” Heather was the first to “welcome” them back, a visible frown on her face.

“We got run off by one of those stupid geese.” Noah responded first, letting the canoe go and walking off.

Heather flitted her gaze to Alejandro, narrowing her eyes. “He is correct, and sadly we got separated. But the other team is nowhere in sight, we have no need to worry.” He flashed a smile at the girl, who responded with a scowl.

“I will figure you out, you can’t keep this up for long.” Heather poked him square in the chest.

The Peruvian only chuckled, taking her hand in his own. “It is alright to feel threatened mi espada, but just because the others have cracked you does not mean they will get me.” He raised her hand to his mouth flirtatiously, watching the girl retract it quickly.

“Ugh!” Heather huffed, storming off.

Alejandro smiled to himself, amused by the reaction. Amatuer. He found his way over to Noah, who stood talking quietly to Owen. As much as he’d love to converse with the bigger boy, (not) he made his way over to where Leshawna and Heather were starting up the rescue fire.

Before he spoke, he noticed Heather’s facial expression change. A smug smirk appeared as she waved to something behind him. With a glance, he noticed that the Bass finally made it to the beach. DJ and Harold were carrying Geoff for some odd reason but it didn’t concern him.

He watched Courtney throw down their pile of sticks as Duncan reached into one of his shorts pockets. Alejandro furrowed his brows, curious as to what he was doing. The punk had a lighter! Surely that wasn’t fair right?

The punk quickly flicked a few sparks onto the wooden sticks as Courtney bent down to help it spread, blowing quick breaths. Chris flew above the teams in a bright red helicopter. “No rule against lighters kids! Edge, Killer Bass.” he said with a chuckle, causing Alejandro to roll his eyes.

The Gophers continued gathering sticks despite losing their lead. As Alejandro dug around near a bush, he noticed a rather strange totem. It looked like one of those props you’d see in some old timey adventure movie.

He recalled what Chris said about taking things from this place, an idea sparking in his mind. He stuck the thing back in its place, finding Beth walking up to the spot. “Ah Beth, you’re looking lovely today.” He flashed the charmer smile as the other girl giggled.

“Say, why don’t you check the bush over here, it’s bound to hold what we need to win this challenge.” He said, placing a hand on her shoulder as he pointed behind him. It worked flawlessly as Beth nodded happily in response.

With the downfall of one contestant underway, he decided to continue his current assignment. Noah stood not far off, his arms crossed and a huge smirk on his face.

“What’s got you all worked up?” Alejandro asked, finding the source. Harold had thrown his team’s oars into the fire. “I see.”

“It was almost too easy.” Noah chuckled, turning on his heel back towards the group. He opened his mouth to ask what he meant, his attention drawn away by Izzy.

“This should do the trick, it’s a handmade firestarter I made from tree sap, and other stuff I found lying around.” She said before a maniacal smile appeared on her face. “You all should probably stand back, this is gonna be big.”

She didn’t have to say it twice as Alejandro led Noah backwards by pressing his arm against the other boy’s chest. Everyone else got the clue, reeling back as well. Izzy tossed the glob of sap into fire, causing a huge explosion that blew the kids back a few feet.

Alejandro had his arm covering his face, removing it to see the aftermath of Izzy’s creation. He tried to move forward, stopped by the feeling of something gripping his shirt. He turned to find Noah’s trembling hands holding onto him as he pulled away.

“Shit–” His voice was slightly shaky as he pulled his arms closer to his chest.

“Are you alright Noah?” Alejandro asked, wanting to reach out towards the boy.

“Just fine– not a huge fan of loud noises is all, don’t worry about it.” Noah dismissed any need of him wanting comfort, walking off.

Alejandro reluctantly let him go, letting out a small huff of defeat. It was frustrating to say the least, wanting something so bad only for it to slip from your grasp. He dismissed the thoughts, cursing himself for feeling vulnerable. It wasn’t acceptable of a Burromuerto man, he would not let this ruin his image.

“We have our fire building winner! Point to the Gophers!” Chris shouted from above, who steered clear of the flames.

With everyone filing back towards the canoes, Alejandro couldn’t help but wonder. The same incident occurred during their overnight stay in the woods. He felt stupid, why didn’t he catch on sooner? He could have helped him right?

Snapping out of his daze, he noticed Noah standing off to the side talking to Courtney. She had his hands resting on hers, speaking soft words to him. He raised a brow at this. Before he could intervene, they separated from another going back to their own teams.

The Peruvian stood by the canoe, waiting for his teammate to join him. Noah eventually does, not saying much upon his return. Alejandro finds himself staring as he begins pushing the boat back into the water. He figured Noah wanted to be left alone, preparing to row them back to the camp himself.

“You gonna hand me an oar or what?”

Alejandro turned to look at Noah confusedly. “I assumed you wanted to be left alone mi amigo, is that not the case?”

“That’s for me to worry about, just hand it over.” Noah says, extending his hand out and rolling his eyes. Alejandro obliges, handing it over to him.

“I wonder how the other team will get home.” Noah said, glancing behind him.

“I’m sure they’ll figure it out, and if they don’t they’ll know who to send home.” Alejandro replied, with a little too much certainty.

“Yeah, sure.” The cynic shrugged.

The Gophers began rowing their way back to camp, mostly taking their time thinking the Bass wouldn’t be a threat. They’re sadly mistaken when a flash of red zoomed past them splashing water on most.

Alejandro ran a hand through his now soaked hair, trying to see what happened. “Dios mío, what was that?”

Noah grumbled, trying to wring his hair out. “No idea, I was blinded by water if you couldn't tell.” He said sarcastically.

The Gophers eventually make it back, appalled to find the Bass waiting on the beach. Heather was the first to speak, turning to point at Izzy. “This is all your fault weird girl! If you didn’t give them the idea we could've won!”

Alejandro had his turn to glare at the redhead, simultaneously wondering what Izzy even told the other team. He didn’t care at the moment, only upset they lost.

“The Killer Bass are the winners! And Courtney, I’m impressed.” The host complimented before leaving to go elsewhere.

“What exactly does that mean?” Gwen asked, who walked up next to Noah. “I’m wondering the same.” The cynic agreed, a hand resting on his hip.

“It was insane dudes. Miss CIT here pushed all the canoes back to camp, with us in it!” Duncan replied, wrapping an arm around the girl’s shoulder. “This is one insane chick.”

Courtney rolled her eyes with a smile. “Oh please it was nothing.”

The rest of her team continued to congratulate her as the Gophers looked on with surprising defeat. Alejandro couldn’t help but notice the rising red in Gwen’s face. He saw Noah whisper something to her, in which the goth replied by shoving him in the shoulder. Noah only chuckled, folding his arms. “You know I’m right Gwen.”

The Peruvian was surprised himself, but more so impressed. Courtney clearly had raw strength, unlike he’s ever seen. This would definitely be useful down the line.

——————————

The dreaded marshmallow ceremony came around, it being a no brainer of who was going home. Everyone had received a marshmallow so far, the numbers coming down between Lindsay and Izzy.

“One last marshmallow folks. The person who doesn’t receive it will walk off the dock of shame and take a long ride on the boat of losers. So, who’s it gonna b–”

The host was abruptly cut off by an overhead helicopter shining a light down onto the campfire pit. A man shouted down saying they’re looking for Izzy, who apparently had an interesting past.

“You mean all that stuff you were talking about was true?” Leshawna called out above the sound of the helicopter’s propellers.

“Nah, just the RCMP part. See ya guys!” Izzy stood abruptly, pointing upwards to the vehicle, shouting a taunt before dashing off somewhere into the woods. She was heading home anyway so it saved Chris precious breath.

Noah removed his fingers that were plugged in his ears from the noise, being the first to speak. “And now I doubt that’s the weirdest thing we’ll see on this show.”

“Eh, we’ll see.” Chris chuckles. “Well that wraps that up, g’night everyone!” he closed out, making his way back towards the camp.

Everyone began making their way back to camp, most hoping to get some much needed sleep. Alejandro matches Noah’s pace, wanting to discuss today’s events. “I can’t help but agree with you mi amigo, this show is clearly unpredictable.”

“I hope tomorrow has more to offer, actually, I retract that statement.” Noah said with a shudder.

“I’m sure the next few days will be…very interesting.” Alejandro responded, sounding more ominous than he should’ve. He thought back to the totem Beth stumbled on, smiling to himself deviously.

The pieces will fall in place very soon.

Chapter Text

God she never knew body parts could hurt so much.

Courtney sat up stiffly in her bunk, her body still sore from the day prior. The slightest movement caused her to hiss in pain, wanting to fall back onto her pillow. Although she won her team invincibility, it probably wasn’t the best choice.

The Bass had offered up DJ due to his size and obvious strength but the guy couldn’t swim, it wouldn't be worth anything if he ended up drowning. Courtney was mostly just their last defense.

As she staggered her way towards the communal bathrooms, she’s stopped briefly by someone she definitely wasn’t expecting.

“Hey– Uh, I just wanted to say what you did yesterday– It was really cool, even if it meant my team lost.” Gwen stammered over her words, her face gleaming with a familiar red. The growing smile on the goth’s face is what caught Courtney’s attention the most.

“Oh, thanks. I did what I had to really.” Courtney really didn’t have to, but she felt as if she had to prove something to her team. The world always seemed to have a hard time accepting if a woman possessed the same strength qualities as a man, causing her to hide that part of her.

Reality TV really brings out one's true self.

Before Gwen could speak again, the PA system crackled to life with the host’s voice blaring out. “I hope you all are ready for the most challenging challenge yet! Breakfast is in three minutes at the campfire pit!”

Courtney sighs, quickly stretching out her arms. Time to get this over with.

——————————

Does bad luck even exist?

Sure people have their superstitions and methods to rid themselves of such a force, but does it truly exist?

Although Noah grew up in a very spiritual family, his aunts, uncles and grandparents heeding many warnings during their annual gatherings, it never phased the cynic in the slightest. He hadn’t felt like it would affect him so he ignored any and all signs.

He wishes he listened to his family’s words, maybe his heart wouldn’t be beating out of his chest.

Noah bounced his leg around, biting his almost non-existent nails. He didn’t know why he felt anxious, but something was definitely wrong, he could just feel it. He realized he was drowning out Chris’ spiel when a tin can smacked him square in the forehead.

The cynic rubbed his forehead, keeping some very colorful words to himself.

The host chuckled. “Today’s challenge is about survival. We’re going hunting!” Chris pulled out a neon green gun, which Noah hopes to god is fake.

Duncan spoke up first, a wide grin on his face. “Alright now that’s more like it.”

“Isn’t that a paintball gun?” Harold had asked, walking up to the host. “Why yes Harold, yes it is.” Chris proceeded to demonstrate and shoot the geek square in his chest.

“So we won’t be killing anything right?” Bridgette asked, wanting to be sure this challenge was humane.

“Negatory! This is the first ever paintball deer hunt. I'll explain the teams once we head into the woods.” The host closed out his speech, giving the kids just about ten minutes to finish up.

Noah had no intention of indulging in the pitiful breakfast that is canned beans, opting to sit himself on a stump and just read for the time being.

Soon enough the contestants were led to the set up of a wall covered in color coded paintball guns and a large crate residing in front.

“Alright, time to break down the teams. Hunting for the Bass are Geoff, Bridgette, Harold and Tyler.” He tossed the four their own guns. “You’re all locked and loaded with bass blue paint.” Chris smiled, continuing on. “And hunting for the Gophers are Lindsay, Beth, Owen, Leshwana and Alejandro. You all are using orange paint.”

Noah watched as Chris handed them camouflage hats and bright orange visors, presumably to fit the challenge better, not concerning their safety. It didn’t take a genius to figure out the role everyone else would take.

“The rest of you are now deer! You’ll get these antlers and noses,” He paused to hold up both objects before turning around. “And little white tails.” A short and stubby fluffed tail poked out from under the host’s shirt.

Noah physically cringed, and clearly he isn’t the only one not fond of the ordeal.

“Eugh, no way am I wearing that.” Heather said, folding her arms.

“There is no way I’m a deer.” Duncan huffed, staring daggers at the host.

Chris only shrugged with a smile. “Too bad, ya got no choice. If any of you deer take your costume off and your team is toast.”

“You act like it’s the end of your little reputation.” Noah remarked. “As if you ever had one.”

This caused a few snickers from his team and a sharp glare from the punk. Alejandro only raised a brow at him.

The rest of the proclaimed deer began putting on their accessories and their headstart into the woods. It wasn’t anything too hard at first, but things began to get boring. Noah thought about stowing away in a tree but that was too much work. Lost in thought, he looked up to realize he was no longer with the other deer of his team.

Great.

Noah trudged through the barren forest, the eerie silence becoming a bit uncomfortable. Aside from the itchy headband and nose, things weren’t so bad. As he rounded a tree, he knocked smack into a larger body, sending him to the ground.

“Sorry! I didn’t see you there.”

The cynic looked up to find Sierra extending out her hand. He reluctantly took it, finding his footing. He glanced around to make sure no Bass hunters were ready to ambush him, surprised that it was only the purple haired girl in front of him.

“I got kinda lost, but I see I’m not the only one.” Sierra smiled.

Noah was definitely not lost. He knew if he walked back the way he came he’d be fine. He wouldn’t tell Sierra that though, so he thought on how he could spin this around.

“Yeah, this forest is pretty huge.” Noah said. “Maybe sticking together will give us a better chance of finding our team.”

“That sounds reasonable, as long as it’s a truce as we try to find the others. Deal?” Sierra held out her hand. She was definitely smarter than she seemed, Noah had to give her props for that.

“Deal.” He put a hand on his hip, grabbing a single finger on the girl’s hand and shaking it.

Sierra hadn’t seemed offended by the gesture, beginning to turn in the opposite direction. Noah followed at a close distance, simultaneously studying her.

Her arms and shoulders had some structure to it, the defined ridges in almost every crease. It reminded him of Courtney in ways, but due to the CIT’s longer sleeves he couldn’t tell that well. Noah made a mental note not to get on her bad side, if she even had one.

The pair continued on, slowly nearing the sound of arguing. The cynic held his hand up to the other, signaling her to stay still and quiet. Noah peered through a patch of bushes, finding numerous members of his team. Heather, Lindsay, Beth, and Leshawna were all covered in orange paint.

“Guess that little alliance failed.” Noah snarked before turning back to head into the woods, Sierra close behind. “Let’s get back to finding your team, we’re putting a target on each other’s back just being near one another.”

Sierra nodded, looking off into the trees. The two hadn’t said much of a word to one another, something Noah was silently grateful for. Unbeknownst to them, a body lurked in the bracken behind. A loud whistle sounded as Sierra let out a yelp, rubbing her arm in pain.

Noah darted around, eyes searching for the source. It had to be someone of the Gophers, he just didn’t know who. A rustle drew his attention as he hid behind Sierra, shielding himself from any shots that could land on him.

“Calm down cerebrito, I'm not here for you.”

Noah internally groaned. Alejandro slunk out of the bushes, blowing at the tip of his paintball gun. “Didn’t think I’d find you here, or with this lovely lady.” He smirked and winked at Sierra with the comment, the girl silently reeling.

“Don’t let it get to your head, we were lost.” The cynic rolled his eyes, folding his arms.

Alejandro slightly narrowed his eyes, shrugging it off. “No matter, I’ve already tagged Duncan and DJ, and Sierra here was my third. Our ‘team’ hasn’t been much help so I took things into my own hands.” He chuckled, blowing an air kiss to who Noah hoped was Sierra. “Adiós!”

“Guess that means he’s after Courtney now, good luck to him.” The purple haired girl said, rolling her eyes with a smile.

Noah raised a brow. “Why wish him good luck?”

“Because Courtney is like the ultimate powerhouse! He won’t get her that easily.” Sierra immediately recoiled, embarrassed for her sudden fangirl reaction over the CIT.

He smirked, putting a hand on his hip. “Right. Anyways, you’re out now so I’m gonna keep movin’.” He waved the girl off, watching as she did the same and disappeared into the trees.

——————————

Courtney stumbled through a patch of ferns, her faux antlers getting caught every so often. She had found her own path to steer onto as to not become the hunter’s catch, her progress doing well so far.

Quick movements alerted her and acting on instinct, she tackled the figure and ultimately pinned them down.

“Wait–!” a voice pleaded, writhing underneath the Latina.

Courtney pulled herself up, dragging the unfamiliar along with her.

“Okay first off, ow! Second, what was that for?”

The CIT’s vision adjusted, surprised to find Gwen staring at her with a raised brow. Courtney immediately let go, her face flushing with embarrassment. The goth was no longer phased, dusting herself off.

“I thought you were a hunter, I guess my guard was a bit too strong. Can you blame me?” Courtney retorted, folding her arms.

“I guess not.” Gwen shrugged, turning away to hide her face. “I’m gonna head back to camp, I’m pretty sure I failed the buddy system by losing Trent.”

“Well, go back the way you came.” Courtney replied, glancing over her shoulder every so often.

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“And why is that? I’m pretty sure my sense of direction is more accurate than yours, no offense.

Gwen slightly rolled her eyes. “Do what you want, we’re not even on the same team.” she said, starting to walk towards the CIT.

“That’s fine by me.” Courtney said, walking towards the goth.

Unfortunately neither girls thought their ideas through, landing smack into one another and tangling their faux antlers. As much as they yanked back and forth, the head pieces didn’t budge. They couldn’t risk taking the antlers off either, it could risk the win for their team.

“Just great.” Gwen groaned, knowing Courtney wasn’t fond of the situation either.

——————————

An hour and a half of non-stop walking and mild paranoia makes him regret not going with Alejandro for protection, unfortunately his ego was too big for that so he didn’t. He started fidgeting with the hem of his sweater vest, eventually knocking head first into Cody.

Noah lands rather awkwardly on his back, groaning in pain. “Ugh— Cody?”

The boy in question sat up from his sprawled place on the ground, yanking the empty bag of chips from under his body. “Awh man, there were like five more good chips in here!”

“Christ dude, what are you doing?”

“Playing the game? Isn’t that we’re all doing?” Cody replied, shaking the bag of chips towards the ground, only to receive a large pile of crumbs on the grass.

Noah rolled his eyes. “I mean you having a snack break in the forest. Where’d you even get those?” He didn’t really care for the most part, only making sure Cody knew for himself what was happening.

“I found ‘em after a run in with Heather and the others.” Cody shrugged, pointing behind him. “ I think Beth got them for her and she didn’t want them I guess. Barbeque is totally a good flavor right?” He discarded the bag, immediately diving into a pile of blueberries nearby.

“Yeah whatever, how long ago was this?” The cynic asked, glancing around frantically, spotting a littered trail of chip crumbs leading towards them.

“I don’t know, maybe like an hour or so? What’s the big deal?”

A loud echoing roar causes both boys to practically jump out of their skin. Out from the trees hobbled a large grizzly bear. As Noah suspected, its furry jowl was covered in the crumbs. It stood on its hind legs, baring its teeth with a low snarl.

Noah firmly gripped Cody’s arm, leaning in slowly to whisper to him. “Do not…move..or speak.” He tried to keep his own body from trembling, not wanting to alert the bear even more.

Cody ignores him entirely, pulling free and grabbing a handful of berries, trying to reason with the thing. Noah mentally slapped himself, cringing further when the bear roared directly in their faces, giving them a whiff of salmon and bug breath.

The two boys make a run for it as Noah pushes to keep the other boy ahead of him. He was sure he could outrun the bear if motivated, Cody on the other hand spent more time screaming than putting motion into his stride. He definitely would’ve been bear food.

With the bear hot on their heels, Cody yells above the sound of grunting and Noah’s deafening heartbeat in his ears. “Why is that thing so eager to chase us?”

“Oh I don’t know, maybe because you led him to us, touched his food and we’re dressed up like deer for christ’s sake!” Noah retorted, wanting to slap Cody senseless. “Just shut up and run!”

After what felt like forever, Noah’s legs threatened to give out on him. The bear neared closer and closer, now attempting to swipe at the teens. It nicked Cody in the leg, causing him to trip and faceplant square into the ground. Noah quickly halted, groaning in annoyance.

As the bear readied itself to chomp down on the other boy, he silently regretted what he was about to do.

He lunged forward, knocking Cody out of reach. A sharp sting shot right through his body, shutting his eyes tight to fight back from looking, Noah’s head ached terribly and before he knew it, his vision faded into a murky black.

——————————

Alejandro huffed irritatedly as he trotted through a patch of trees. It had been over an hour and he hadn’t been able to find Courtney. This was supposed to be an easy feat.

His mind wandered to the cynic, wondering of his whereabouts. Alejandro hoped he didn’t get himself caught, especially with how lazy the guy could be. He doubted that though, he knew Noah could get around quickly if motivated enough.

Alejandro’s thoughts were interrupted by the familiar voice of the host crackling the P.A to life. “Attention human wildlife and hunters! Time to head back to camp and show your hides, we’ve got scores to tally up!”

“Maravillosa.” He muttered, hoisting the paintball gun onto his shoulder and began making his way back. Even if he couldn’t find Courtney, he managed to take the rest of his team on his own, which was an accomplishment he could live with.

He eventually made his way back and couldn’t help but smile proudly at the sight. It didn’t seem like everyone had made it back yet so it would be a wait. It wasn’t long thankfully as a rustle in the bushes tore everyone’s attention. A few snickers and laughs were let out, Alejandro covering his own mouth as well. The spectacle that was the entangled Courtney and Gwen stumbled out, their faces burning red.

“Oh this is priceless!” Duncan smirked, holding back his own laughs.

“Can you all stop gawking and just help us!” A flustered Gwen exclaimed, dragging her hands across her face.

“Duncan I swear to god–” Courtney seethed, flailing an arm to try and strangle the punk, obviously to no avail.

“Easy Courtney! The medical tent is only equipped for one and it’s being used right now.” Chris warned, pointing behind him with his other hand resting on his hip.

As the two girls were helped being untangled, Alejandro’s thoughts wander. He hadn’t seen Noah return to camp at all and his worries began to become louder. He drowned out Chris’ spiel, his hand reaching up for his necklace charm. He instead squeezes his hand into a fist tightly, pushing away the annoying habit.

Stop worrying, he isn’t your problem and you don’t care about him.

Alejandro tuned back in, finding that Chris deemed the Bass the winners, despite half of their points weren’t even of deer. As always he could make use of this, and he intended to do so.

He slunk his way over to Cody, who fidgeted with the bandage on his arm. “Cody! I heard of the unfortunate incident, I hope everything is okay?”

“Oh yeah no I’m fine, I think Noah took the worst of it though. Poor dude.” Cody said, rubbing the nape of his neck.

“Hm? What do you mean?” Alejandro inquired.

“The guy knocked me aside and I just scraped my arm trying to get away. I didn’t think bears liked chips! I feel really bad though.”

“I think you might be right, perhaps it was something else. Perhaps…bad luck?” A small grin began to grow on the Peruvian’s face.

“You think someone took something from the island? Chris did say it might be haunted.” Cody looked uneasy, rubbing his arm.

Alejandro smiled, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Maybe I can help. I heard the rest of the team are going to vote for you, let me work my magic and you might not have to go home tonight.”

“Really? Oh thanks Al! You’re a lifesaver!” The smaller boy goes in for a hug as Alejandro catches him with one hand and pushes him away. “It’s my pleasure.” He smiled widely.

After leaving the other boy, he made his way over to the lovable Owen, ready to finalize his plan.

“Ah, just the man I was looking for.” Alejandro spoke, sliding up to him. “I was just talking to Cody and he told me what happened. A shame really.”

“Yeah man, I just hope my little buddy is okay from the accident.” Owen sighed.

“Is that what Cody said it was? An accident?” Alejandro tipped his head slightly with an innocent look.

Owen raised a brow. “Are you saying it wasn’t?”

“I do not know mi amigo, Noah gets the worst of the attack and Cody only gets a scratch? Sounds a bit sketchy to me, but don’t let me change your mind. I just thought as Noah’s best friend, you should know the truth.”

The bigger boy’s expression darkened as the grin on Alejandro’s face grew slightly. He left the boy alone, waiting for the whole thing to pay off.

Nighttime neared than expected as the Gopher’s made their way to the campfire pit. “I mean seriously? Twice in a row? What is wrong with you people!” Heather said, staring at the rest of the team with resentment. “I just can’t wait for Beth to get kicked off.” She said, folding her arms.

Alejandro responded to her whining with an eye roll, watching as Chris began another spiel. Gwen thankfully cut it short as the host began to read the votes. It came down to Heather and Cody, the boy looking a bit too smug for his own good.

Chris tosses the last marshmallow to Heather.

Cody stands in protest, turning to the rest of the team. “Guys it was an accident I swear– It was just bad luck or somethin’! Al tel ‘em!”

The Gophers turned to him as Alejandro shrugged innocently. “I have no idea what you mean.”

Cody only looked more baffled as Chris led him to the dock of shame. The boy continued his cries as he was taken away, Alejandro smiling to himself. As everyone dispersed from the pit, Heather grabbed him by the arm. “You and I both know Cody isn’t remotely capable of leaving someone to get mauled, the guy’s too chivalrous for his own good.”

“Of course he isn’t, the others don’t know that though. I simply used it to my advantage.” Alejandro replied, smiling mischievously.

“Ugh, just stay out of my way pretty boy. I’m trying to win a hundred grand here.” She frowned, poking him in the chest.

“As am I, we all are. Just play the game and maybe you’ll get close enough to winning. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other things to tend to. Adiós mi espada.” He blew her a kiss as he left, ignoring the pit of dread growing in his stomach.

He just hopes all of this is worth it.