Day Twenty-One
Fatin
"So, you've dragged me back into here just to ask me questions about Hunter?" Fatin asked, her arms crossed across her chest as she looked between the men in confusion and annoyance. "Do you know how it looks for two middle-aged, clearly depressingly single by the way, to seem so obsessed with one teenage cheerleader?"
Agent Young and Dr Faber tried to keep their composure at her words, knowing that Fatin was known for her snarky comments towards others. It didn't help that she had gone defensive as soon as they told her they wanted to know about what happened on day twenty-one, especially since Toni and Hunter had refused to go into much detail about day twenty. Agent Young opened his mouth to reply but shut it immediately, unsure how to even respond to that.
"I can assure you that we are asking questions about Miss Boyd for nothing but legitimate investigative purposes," Dr Faber replied, his eyes narrowing a little as he tried not to show his frustration with the girl. Gretchen was getting on their tail about the missing days that the girls hadn't told them much about, and the gap between day seventeen to day twenty-two was clearly annoying the ringleader.
"Hmm," Fatin muttered as she leaned back, waiting on the men to continue their question.
"Like my partner was saying," Dr Faber continued as he motioned to Agent Young who was adjusting his tie. He still wasn't entirely sold on what they were doing to the girls but he knew he was in too far now to back out. "How would you describe the atmosphere in the camp the day after Hunter stormed off?"
____
"So, did I hear what I thought I heard last night?" Leah asked Hunter as the two girls waddled in the shallow water, trying to hopefully find some fish or something they'd be able to eat. Shelby had gone with Martha and Nora to look in the forest for potential food sources while Rachel and Dot had gone to check if there was anything they could find washed up on the other nearby beaches. Toni and Fatin had been given the day off by everyone, instead being given the task of manning their camp and making sure that their small fire didn't die out.
The situation had became rather drastic for them all since Dot had announced they literally had next to no food left. When the girls had witnessed the plane fly above them, they had pretty much eaten all of their supplies and everyone was starting to get a little loopy as starvation started to kick in.
Hunter looked up at Leah as she untucked one of her braids from the back of her sweater that she had just thrown on. It was Hudson's old sweater, and she certainly was needing the home comfort knowing that there was a high chance she was going to starve to death soon. The braids were a new look for her, having gotten them done by Toni that morning as Dot explained the plan for the day to everyone.
"Well Leah," Hunter answered back in a teasing tone, noticing the way Leah was smiling at her with a quirked eyebrow. The girl had certainly been getting more and more paranoid but Hunter was just glad to see that she had calmed down for now - but maybe that was the hunger that was doing that to her. "That would depend on what you think you heard."
"I'm pretty sure I heard the wonderful Miss Shalifoe tell you that she loved you and you replying," Leah noted, a smile on her face as Hunter blushed a glorious shade of red. Leah burst into laughter at her response, knowing that the girl didn't think anyone had heard their exchange. "Yeah, I hate to tell you this but we all heard it. I don't know why you guys thought we were all asleep but literally everyone was still awake."
"Shut up," Hunter groaned, grimacing as her foot brushed some coral or something as they paddled through the water. The chances of them catching fish were low and certain a last resort especially since they were all aware that even if they did catch something, Shelby was allergic and they would risk giving themselves food poisoning again like they did with the mussels. Hunter didn't think she could go through all that again. "Are you joking? Leah, please tell me you're joking!!"
Leah shook her head as Hunter almost threw herself into the water in sheer second-hand embarrassment for herself. She had sworn that everyone else was asleep or she wouldn't have announced to Toni that she thought she was maybe in love with her too. But it's not like it really mattered because Hunter wasn't even sure if Toni was aware of their exchange.
"Leah, it's not funny! I don't even think Toni was fully awake to even realise what she said or remember how I replied since she didn't mention it at all this morning. Like who would do that if they remembered that they had just professed their love for someone and had it returned?" Hunter exclaimed as she sat down on one of the big rocks that was placed in the shallow water, not caring that she was getting the back of her shorts a little bit wet. They were already pretty wrecked and ruined so it wasn't like a little sea water could make it any worse.
Leah sniggered as she rolled her eyes at Hunter's dramatics, wondering if this is what it felt like when she was so dramatic about Jeff. Her eyes flickered back over to the camp where Fatin and Toni were sharing the plane seat that had washed up, engaged in a deep conversation. Leah's lips quirked a little as she turned back to Hunter, pointing over her shoulder to where the two seemed to be having a deep conversation.
"I bet you that they're having the exact same conversation we are," Leah told the girl, shrugging before noticing that Dot and Rachel were just returning from their beach searching. Without either of them saying a word, Hunter and Leah both seemed to agree that they too had spent enough time looking through the water for fish and would call it a lost effort for now. By the looks of it, Dot and Rachel had also returned empty-handed so they could only hope that Nora, Shelby and Martha had some better luck than the rest of them.
Hunter and Leah held their socks and shoes in their hands as they walked back across the sand to where the others were beginning to regather. As soon as Hunter and Leah seemed to be within hearing distance, the cheerleader watched as Toni elbowed Fatin and ended their conversation, looking to Leah who send her a smug smile as if to say 'told you so'. Hunter still wasn't convinced that they would be talking about that, but it didn't matter because she needed to speak to Toni anyway about yesterday's earlier events.
"Permission to abandon duties, captains?" Hunter asked Dot and Rachel who had naturally been taking up the position of team leaders over the past few days. Dot had always been in charge but ever since she had told them all she was fed up of it, Rachel had taken over some of the responsibilities like helping with inventory and giving everyone jobs to do.
Rachel smiled at the girl, a tired and tight lipped one, but a smile all the same. They hadn't always seen eye to eye since Hunter had a much more laid back approach to things but she was starting to realise that the cheerleader always carried through with whatever she put her mind to and Rachel respected that. She nodded, sitting down on the sand as Leah did the same.
"Yeah, I don't see why not," Rachel admitted while Dot shrugged too, looking at Toni who was trying to act like she wasn't looking at Hunter but she clearly was. Fatin and Dot shared an eye roll at how Toni and Hunter were once again back to beating around the bush, just wanting them to hurry up and figure out what they wanted from each other.
"Permission to also abandon duties?" Toni asked suddenly, Hunter's head snapping around to look at the girl who wasn't looking at Rachel or Dot but the blonde instead. Hunter smiled softly at her as everyone around the fire sniggered and rolled their eyes at the duo, wondering if they could literally make it anymore obvious that they were wanting some time alone.
Toni jumped to her feet with a grin across her face as Dot sighed before nodding, a small smile on the girl's face as she watched the basketball star then pause and remember the predicament she was in. She hadn't meant to tell Hunter the night before that she loved her, it had just slipped out and even though Hunter had replied she was concerned that the girl only had said it back because she felt pressured into saying it after accidentally hurting Toni earlier on that day.
Hunter motioned with her head for Toni to join her as she began to move away from the group, her eyes trailing up and down Toni once before she realised what she was doing. She blushed a little as she turned on her heel, hearing the soft thuds of Toni jogging to catch up with her as they walked away from the group to the hollers and cheers of the others.
"Use protection!" Fatin and Dot called out after them, Rachel and Leah both sniggering as Toni turned around and flipped the middle finger at them. Hunter did blush a little, a small embarrassed smile falling across her face as she and Toni continued walking.
___
"Let me get this straight," Agent Young asked Fatin as she continued explaining her experience from day twenty-one. "Toni and Hunter went off to try and find more food?"
"Yeah," Fatin said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She rolled her eyes as she looked between the two men while shaking her head. "Isn't that literally what I just said?"
"And you're 100% sure that's what they were doing?"
Fatin knew that's not what happened at all. But there was something about the way these men were asking so many questions about the girls that made her not want to tell them everything she knew about the couple. If they didn't seem to know that Hunter and Toni were a couple - then Hunter and Toni hadn't told them. And if they did know but were trying to act like they didn't, Fatin didn't understand why they would do that. So until she say Toni or Hunter, she had no intentions of talking about their private life.
"Obviously. What else would they be doing?"
____
"I love you." "I'm in love with you."
Toni and Hunter both looked at each other in surprise at them both speaking at the same time, instantly bursting into laughter as they realised what had just happened. They'd walked for a solid half hour in silence, finding their old cave that Dot had them sleep in for a while before bats literally had taken a shit in her mouth. It was almost comforting but also a little surreal at how much had changed since they had last been there.
"Well, I guess that answers my question," Hunter joked as she smiled at Toni, the girls both sitting inside the cave. Toni raised an eyebrow, turning her body so that she was facing Hunter. It certainly didn't answer her question but she was intrigued to know what it was that Hunter had been questioning.
"Your question?"
"Yeah, I thought you said it by accident in your sleep and didn't realise," Hunter admitted as she turned to look at Toni, playing with the girl's fingers as they sat and listened to the waves bashing against the shore outside of the cave. "I didn't think you actually meant it."
Toni shook her head, a huge grin across her face as she placed a palm on Hunter's cheek. The blonde lifted her own hand to keep Toni's held against her face, smiling as she looked at the dark haired girl.
"No, I meant it," Toni said before her smile faltered a little. "But I thought you were just saying it because you felt like I pressured you into, and I don't want you to do that. Like I don't want you to ever feel like I'm making you do-"
Toni was silenced as Hunter crashed her lips into Toni's, the girl pulling back as soon as she had realised that Toni had stopped getting herself so worked up. Toni's pupils were dilated as she pulled back, a smirk falling on her face as Toni looked at her in surprise.
"You never pressure me into anything, Shalifoe," Hunter breathed gently, running her own hand across Toni's jaw as she went in for another kiss. "I love you, because you're you - not because I feel like I have to."
Toni smiled at that, running her hands around Hunter's neck and pulling her forward so that their foreheads were resting together. The sun was starting to dip in the sky now - but it was still an hour or so until the proper sunset. Hunter looked away from Toni for just a second as she looked outside of the cave, turning back to look at the girl with a smile on her face.
"This was where I think I first started to get feelings for you," Hunter admitted, Toni laughing loudly as she threw her head back with a chuckle.
"Yeah, I think I had feelings for you from the moment you asked for vegan cake on the plane," Toni admitted, placing another gentle kiss to Hunter's head as the blonde sniggered a little. Hunter leaned slightly closer to the girl, her eyes staring into Toni's. She was inches away from her face now, and as if the tension had became too much for her to handle, the blonde cheerleader moved forward, slamming her lips against the basketball player's.
Her hands wove their way into Toni's long hair, before slowing beginning to move across the girl's body. Hunter moaned as Toni broke apart from their kiss and attached her lips on to her neck, nibbling and nipping at the exposed flesh. As she found Hunter's soft spot and the girl whimpered, the raven haired girl sucked and bit at it, causing the skin to swell slightly.
Hunter laughed as she swarmed a little, lightly pushing at Toni's shoulder as they pulled away from each other for a short moment.
"What the fuck Toni, did you just give me a hickey?" Hunter asked, her eyes wide as she continued to laugh at the girl who was sitting proudly in front of her. Toni sent her a flirtatious smirk, a grin wide on her face as she ran her finger over the mark she could see forming.
"Just letting everyone know who my girlfriend is."
"Oh, is that what am I now?" Hunter teased, noticing how Toni blushed a little and fumbled over her words as she realised what she said. "Yes, Toni. We can be girlfriends, if that's what you want."
Toni's grin got even wider if that was possible and she shut Hunter up by taking control of their kiss and connecting their lips once more. Toni moved backwards a little as Hunter moved so that she was almost sitting in her lap, pressing her lips against Toni's as if it was her only source of oxygen. Toni placed a hand on Hunter's back as she pulled her as close as she could, the other hand resting on the girl's waist.
"You're so hot," Hunter rasped in between kisses, both her hands now resting on Toni's face as she felt Toni's hands move down to rest at her hips and fiddle with the hemline of Hudson's sweater that she was wearing.
"I was about to say the exact same about yourself," Toni teased back, licking Hunter's lip for entrance. The blonde eagerly granted it, their tongues exploring each other's mouths. She reached down, grabbing at the hem of Hunter's sweatshirt before harshly tugging it off and throwing it to the side. Just as her hands were grasping for the hem of the borrowed shirt from Fatin that Hunter was wearing, she paused.
"Are you sure this is okay?" Toni checked. Hunter placed a gentle kiss to Toni's lips before reaching down and pulling the shirt off herself, quickly doing the same to Toni's as the dark haired girl stared at her in nothing but pure love.
"Toni, you're the only thing that's always okay," the Boyd said, smiling softly at the girl she was holding against her. Toni chuckled slightly, going back to what they were doing. She slowly allowed herself to lie down, Hunter straddling her as the usual top let the cheerleader control their pace.
Hunter knew at that exact moment that she was never going to give up on Toni Shalifoe, no matter where this island took them.
____
"Would you describe your relationship with Hunter as closer than how you are to the rest of the girls?"
"Yeah, I guess," Fatin said, shrugging as her harsh tone dropped a little as she thought about her friendship with Hunter. They were like kindred spirits, having both had similar upbringings with the difference being that Fatin's parents once loved her, whereas Hunter's never had. Both girls were aware that after they got back from the retreat that their parents wanted to send them to boarding schools and Fatin knew that was what had helped them to bond so quickly. "You could say that, yeah."
"That's what she said," Agent Young told Fatin, noticing how the girl smiled genuinely for the first time since they had brought her into the room. "That you're one of her closest friends."
"I'd do anything for her," Fatin told the men, almost confirming their suspicions that she wasn't telling them the full details of day twenty-one. "And she'd do anything for me."
Fatin looked between the men for a moment before huffing as she crossed her arms again.
"So like I said, day twenty-one was uneventful. We didn't find any food, Hunter and Toni found no supplies and everyone was miserable since we figured hope was lost of a rescue. Can I go now?"
____
"Nice hickey," Fatin told Hunter as the two girls rummaged through their remaining clothes pile, looking for a thicker hoodie for Hunter since Toni was now wearing Hudson's sweatshirt - something that the rest of them all noticed but didn't comment on. They'd all see the mark on Hunter's neck and they had all figured exactly what had happened when the girls went away for an hour.
"Thanks," Hunter joked, smiling at Fatin with a twinkle in her eyes. "I think it really matches my eyes. If you're jealous, I'm sure Toni won't mind if I give you one too?"
"Watch it, Boyd," Toni teased as she walked by the two girls, a sarcastic grin on her face as she rolled her eyes at the best friend's antics. She herself was heading over to Martha, planning on telling the girl what had happened between her and Hunter. "I don't know how they do it in Texas but usually girlfriends don't give other girls hickeys."
Fatin's jaw dropped as she turned around to smack Hunter on the side, her eyes wide as she squeaked in delight at the words that Toni had just used. Hunter laughed, pushing Fatin jokingly as she pulled on a simple sweater that she was sure Leah had been wearing earlier.
To be honest they might die of starvation soon, but at least they had each other. At least they had their friendship.
Hunter knew three things by the end of day twenty-one:
1. Toni was her girlfriend and she was hopelessly in love with her
2. Fatin was her literal platonic soulmate
3. Whatever happens to her next, at least she was surrounded by the family she never knew she needed.