gold rush [the wilds, toni shalifoe]

chapter 15

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Agreed."

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

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