------ thirteen ------
Martha and Marcus were hitting it off. Grace had to chuckle at the sight of them snuggling, whilst sleeping peacefully. They were definitely going to be endgame, already acting like an old married couple.
Toni had been sitting next to her for some time, holding her hand under the sand. They didn't talk, instead just sitting together in a comfortable silence, occasionally smiling at one another. Sometimes Grace would get lost in the girl's deep brown eyes. They were the window to the soul after all and the brunette's eyes were beautiful.
When Grace didn't look at them, she'd take in her surroundings. There was Leah who sat on one of the many dunes, scribbling something down in the journal Nora had given her earlier that morning to help her sort her thoughts. However, the girl appeared to be rather displeased. Whatever she was writing down, she did in an aggressive manner.
Other than that there was not much happening. The day was seemingly to be very dull. Most of the girls were sleeping or just sitting around like Grace herself. Only Shelby and Rachel weren't with the group. While the latter had left camp an hour ago to go to the lagoon, the former had been missing for a few minutes and was likely to return soon.
She had done so the last couple of days, wandered off to where no one could see her. Dot and Grace were the only ones to know why. The brunette had learned about the girl's dentals not too long ago and quite frankly didn't really care. Due to her perceptive nature the Texan knew a lot about everybody, yet she would never use it against anyone.
Grace on the other hand had known about the dentals for several years at that point. Shelby had trusted her enough to tell her about them. They were the only visible imperfection about the blonde girl who was just as keen on holding up her mask as Grace. Next to the cheerleader, she hadn't told anybody, even Andrew remained clueless.
To the girl it too was especially important that the rest of their little group wouldn't find out anytime soon which was exactly why she would always sneak out, before taking out her dentals to clean them with the cool sea water.
------ thirteen ------
"Hey, party people!" Rachel, who must have returned from her short trip shouted from a hill. "Who's ready to fucking feast?" Thus, she held up a bag filled with oysters up to the sky. Her action was followed by screams of excitement. The girls were cheering at her as the athlete made her little dance of victory.
"Come to mama," Dot spoke to the mussels as they roasted them over the small fire.
"Fucking proteins," Toni commented, taking an oyster like the rest.
"Hell yeah," Dot continued. "You know, I can already feel my health meter coming back up to 100."
"You true fucking geek. Please tell me that wasn't a gaming reference," Fatin joked.
Dot's "Can't do that" earned her a light chuckle from the girl.
"I know these are little animals and all, but they're so good, and I can't stop eating them. What's wrong with me?," Martha said guiltily, speaking up for the first time, seemingly being in food heaven on cloud nine. Marcus, you gotta be careful now, these oysters might steal your girl!
"You should give yourself a pass, like, for invertebrates," Nora concluded. "And starvation situations", Leah added. Both attempting to make the native girl feel better about herself. To which the others all agreed.
"You're not eating any mussels?" Martha asked, looking at Shelby and Grace who were the only ones not to even touch them. The blondes both sitting around the fire place rather awkwardly.
"Mm, no, no, I'm good," Shelby quickly said, quickly brushing off the idea of eating the oysters.
"Why not?" Leah queried suspiciously. Apparently, Leah had a feeling that there was something off with the pageant queen. At least, so it seemed. Every now and then, she'd throw the blonde a certain look that wouldn't go unnoticed by Fatin and Grace.
Or maybe, she was just annoyed by the girl, sometimes Shelby's everlasting positivity she had built up to cope with bad situations could be unnerving. But Grace had a feeling it was more than that. In her paranoia, Leah had started seeing enemies everywhere and in everyone.
"Oh, I'm beyond allergic to shellfish. I had a single popcorn shrimp at my cousin's birthday party. My windpipe shut like a trap," Shelby confessed, the other blonde nodding at her comment. "Yeah, that was beyond traumatising. I thought you'd die," she agreed.
"Well, you're missing out," Fatin concluded, before nodding towards Grace. "So what's your excuse?"
"I'm not sure. You know, I'm, like, somewhat of a mussel virgin. I have absolutely no idea how to eat these little thingies," she chuckled, smiling at Fatin bashfully, before eventually grasping one of the oysters reluctantly. Just like she had expected, the girls bursted out in laughter at her comment, making her feel a bit ashamed at her helplessness.
"Look, ideally these would be eaten with garlic butter and crispy fries on a terrace in Barcelona, but salut," she explained, holding up the oyster to salut them.
"Fucking one-percenters," Toni mumbled as she cracked open another oyster, it must have been her fifth. The girl was eating like there was no tomorrow, which in her defence isn't too far fetched when you're stranded on an abandoned island.
"Damn, Toni, you're plowing right through them," Nora commented on her antics.
"Just trying to stay on brand, you know?" she told them, before going on licking the mussel with a passion, letting them all know what exactly she was hinting at. While Grace just shook her head amusedly, the others burst out in fits of laughter once again - everyone except for Shelby who was visibly uncomfortable with the entire situation. "Well, I mean, okay. You gotta admit all right, the shape of these things..."
"Shape and texture," Leah pointed out, agreeing with the brunette.
"Yeah, right. I mean, you know, it's kinda like a..." Toni began, eyeing Grace nervously much to Shelby's surprise.
"Like a pussy!" Nora yelled out, pointing at hers, while she finished what Toni had started. Her unexpected shout gave the girls a fright, before their laughter increased even more. This only helped Fatin's theory that Nora was in fact very edgy.
"If you wanna know how to eat this soft, beautiful treasure, I can show you and it does not take garlic butter," Toni joked as she turned towards Grace, helping her out, while also wanting to fluster her.
"Well, show me then, Ms Shalifoe," the blonde replied, raising her eyebrow.
"All it takes is finesse," Toni assured her. Then, she licked the mussel more intensely than the last time, practically going down on it, obviously pretending it was something much different. The girls were loudly cheering her on. In the meanwhile, Grace was busy trying not to be a blushing mess, failing miserably. Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by Dot and Fatin who were exchanging knowing looks.
"This is more action than any of us have gotten," Fatin laughed, flashing Grace a short grin which didn't help with the girl's situation, only causing her to further redden in embarrassment. "I've never wanted my phone so fucking badly," she continued, seemingly not getting enough of it.
"Would you stop!" With that Shelby set end to the laughter and fun. She made the group feel just as uncomfortable as she had been before. Grace could feel Toni's anger rising from across her. She knew what this was about and how this wasn't going to end well for either party.
"That was hilarious, and Shelby has no shill," Dot chuckled awkwardly, attempting to ease the tension, yet not doing a good job. She was aware of the blonde's beliefs just like Grace was. Though she certainly didn't know the full story, she knew enough to tell how this was going. The keyword was church.
"Excuse me, I have chill," she said harshly. Her voice was as sharp as a knife, much colder than usually, making Grace shift uncomfortably in the sand. "I guess, I just..." she took a pause to find the right words for what she was going to say next. "I don't see the humour in that sort of thing."
"Hey, what do you mean, "that sort of thing"?" Toni queried, ready to fight the Texan any moment now.
"You know," she said. "Pornographic gestures. I'm a Christian, all right. From a very Christian home, so I'm allowed to be a little skeeved out." Pornographic gestures weren't what 'skeeved her out' that was clear to most of the group, anyone except for Martha, who was blinded by adoration, saw that.
"Get the cross out of your ass. It's fun to be filthy," Fatin spoke absently.
"I mean, that's not all that's going on here," the basketball player told her. "Don't bullshit me, Shelby, 'cause the vibe that's coming off you right now, I've felt it too many times not to know what it is." The girl masked her sadness with a heavy layer of anger, but it was slowly beginning to show.
"What are you saying, Toni?" Martha asked quietly, though she didn't really want to hear the brunette's answer to her question.
"I'm saying that she can't stand that I'm gay, Marty. That's what fucking skeeves her out." By then Toni was furious, about to explode any minute now.
"That's not true." Martha was quick to defend her friend.
"Look, I'll be as honest as possible, because y'all deserve that. I do believe that way of life is a sin," she admitted. She didn't notice the sympathetic glance Grace was giving her. During that moment, the cheerleader must have been the only one pitying the Texan. Different to the rest she knew about the battles she was facing.
Toni jumped up on her feet immediately, ready to lunch herself at the blonde. "I can't fucking believe this," she exclaimed. Her actions were accompanied by a soft "Toni" from Grace, trying to calm down the raging girl.
"I'm sorry, but everything that I've ever known has taught me that. Hey look, there is no hate in my heart," Shelby told her. "I just feel sorry..." She only made it that far, before being interrupted by the basketball player.
"Fuck you!" she spat. Hurt was prominent in both hers and Shelby's eyes.
"Toni, calm down," Grace tried again this time the brunette had heard her, but the look she gave her, made Grace regret ever having said anything in the first place. Immediately, she wished she could take it back.
"What the fuck, Grace," Toni spoke. "She's being a fucking homophobe, I got every right to be offended at this," she proclaimed, before storming off, leaving the group behind. Just as Grace was about to go after her, Fatin took her arm, holding her back, saying that she needed some time alone.
------ flashback ------
It was a warm Friday evening, one of those days where the temperature was high enough to make elders drop dead if they spent too much time in the heat. Decidedly it wasn't a good day. In fact, it was a horrid day. Grace's mother had gotten worse again, after everything was so good for so long and then of course, she had just witnessed her boyfriend, cheating on her with Krista Findley.
"Can I have one?" she asked Dot from behind, taking the girl by surprise. She had spotted the girl smoking on the outdoor hallway, across from her family's flat and decided to come over to her.
"I didn't know you smoked," the Texan said as she handed the blonde a cigarette, she gladly took. It was true, the blonde wasn't smoking on a regular basis, she had only had two cigarettes before and she didn't enjoy them much, but if they helped her mother to regularly cope with stress why couldn't they help her just this once.
"Well, today I am," she told her, confidently lighting the cigarette. Yet as she took a drag from it, she began to cough uncontrollably, making Dot chuckle. "Bad day?" she asked at which the blonde nodded.
"Dave is cheating on me," she explained, only to see by the look in Dot's eyes that she already knew this before her. "I saw him dick deep in Krista Findley today, after third period. We had a free period. He was very productive, I'd say. He obviously used it to learn more about female anatomy," she clarified.
"And the worst part is that I didn't even care. I wasn't angry or sad or even disgusted. Just nothing. I mean, he could cheat on me with seven more girls and I don't think I'd care very much. Am I not supposed to feel something? Look, I'm only feeling sorry for the girls he's doing it with because, let's face it, he's a terrible kisser."
"Maybe, you should break up with him," Dot suggested, not quite understanding why the girl was dating him in the first place. Dave was obviously an asshole.
"Naw, I don't know. My dad really liked him."
------ thirteen ------
written: 22 March, 2021
A/N: Thank you for reading this chapter. Also thanks for all the votes and comments. I really appreciate your support.