"Where have you guys been? We've been looking for you?" Kai says, almost angry. It would have sounded concerning if you weren't scared of whoever was in the boathouse. Which, it couldn't have been Kai in the boathouse because of the speed it would have taken to get from there to this side of the beach. So, thankfully you haven't been caught yet.
"Seeing as there's two of us and one of you, we are taking you to jail for the red team. We were trying to hide near the beach so we could tackle anyone who had our flag, but there weren't any great spots so we figured we would just wander until we found someone. Which we did, you!" You chime in. This was so stupid and not believable whatsoever. But Rodrick wasn't saying anything and you needed to come up with something.
Kai looks between both of you and quickly pulls out a flashlight. Where the hell did that come from? He quickly flashes it three times to his left and you see out of the corner of your eye a light also flashes three times. From the direction of the boathouse. Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
"I'm serious, guys. Where have you been? There's a giant storm rolling in, you should have heard it on your walkies. Why didn't you respond? We've been looking for you!" So that thunder was bad news. Which meant you were going to get hit with a storm. Maybe it's a good thing you left that island. No way that thing could withstand a large storm.
"We never got any walkies, Kai. We've been looking for people for like an hour and you're the first person we ran into." Oh no. This was not good. Where did the walkie talkies come from? Why does Kai have one and why didn't you? Overhead, the thunder kept rolling in. The clouds now covered the galaxy you could see from earlier.
"Yes you did! Everyone got walkies at base camp for their team..." Kai looks between the two of you again. His brow furrows and then you see the realization. "You guys never intended to play the game did you? This whole spring break is just a chance for you to fuck around. You know, some of us actually were worried about you guys when Madi said she couldn't find you. She literally gave herself up to Heather and asked for our help to find you. She would rather lose the game to make sure you were safe." Oh no, Madi. God, that felt awful hearing. Madison was too sweet a person for this world. She was worried about you and Rodrick.
"So why didn't you call it in?" Rodrick finally speaks. You assumed he wasn't saying anything because if he did speak, it probably would have been to tell Kai to fuck off.
"What?" Kai asks, almost laughing. His eyes darted to the left as if he was waiting for something to happen. Or looking for an escape route.
"If you guys were actually worried about us in the storm, why didn't you go to Mr. Underwood or Mrs. Baxter and get on the intercom for us? And why did you flash your flashlight instead of using the walkie talkie to say you found us?" Rodrick steps in front of you, putting an arm out to keep himself between you and Kai. This wasn't going to be pretty. Rodrick had also brought up some interesting points.
"The storm is messing with the range. It's crackly." Kai is silent and stares at Rodrick, as if he was sizing him up. He quickly tried to flip this on Rodrick. "Why were you on a canoe, Rodrick? The island is off limits. If you are found there, you are automatically disqualified." Kai saunters up to Rodrick, coming face to face with him.
"Also the island? A little cliche isn't it? Where you and Kai had a date? What? Do you just reuse locations for all your whores?" From the wooded tree line comes Heather, who looks smug.
"Did you just call [Y/N] a whore?" Rodrick turns to Heather and steps forward. You quickly grab his arm to make sure he doesn't go any closer. Rodrick may have once joked you were a whore, but that didn't mean others could say it.
"Also, did you just call Kai a whore too?" You ask, totally confused. Seems pretty counterintuitive to insult you, but also her best friend. You held onto Rodrick's arm. This was not going to end well now.
"Nevermind." Heather purses her lips and crosses her arms. "You are a whore, [Y/N]. Found your clothes in the boathouse. Which I guess explains why you always smell so fishy. Guess Rodrick likes stank pussy, huh?" Heather smiles and cocks her head to the side, falsely acting surprised. Under your hand, you feel Rodrick's forearm tighten. Rodrick would never hit a girl, but shit, you might.
"So what is this then? Are you going to just bully us or are we going to get back to the game?" You ask, stepping in front of Rodrick this time. He would go after Kai and you would go after Heather (sorry Madison). If it came down to it, of course. Hopefully it won't.
"You guys weren't even playing the game!" Kai yells, your attention going back to him, he takes a deep breath. "Look, this is a long time coming. I have beef with both of y'all. And it's being settled tonight." Kai points his finger to the ground, as if to solidify what's going to happen. Suddenly, the rain breaks out overhead, drizzling and then coming down to a gentle rain. You knew it wouldn't stay this way. You hear on the intercom telling students to head to the main lodge for an indoor game. But you knew you couldn't leave to go back. Rodrick tries to take you away, but you pull him back.
"You know what? Fine, Kai. What's with the sudden change in personality? What is your issue with Rodrick and I? And you, Heather? I thought we were friends? Or at least friends for Madi's sake." You throw your hands up and wait for a response from either of them. You watch as Kai steps closer once more and feel Rodrick once again tense under your arm. Heather's face changes slightly with the mention of Madi.
"Rodrick was mine first. And-" Kai begins but Rodrick quickly cuts him off. You can't hold Rodrick back this time.
"Yours? You told everyone to show up and watch us kiss! You wanted to embarrass me. And then you called me gay and said I came onto you. And then it doesn't even make sense years later when you came out as gay to everyone! You became popular and I became the outcast, the Black Sheep. Which I always was, wasn't I? You took Madi and then Heather came along and you guys got to be one happy friend group!" Rodrick yells and you watch as the vein in his neck, the one you had kissed many times, was popping out.
"Wait, that's not what you told me. You said Rodrick told everyone you were gay Kai and that he embarrassed you?" You say, confused. Kai did say that he and Rodrick kissed, but everyone saw and Rodrick covered it up by saying Kai kissed him first and called him gay. You told Kai you wouldn't tell Rodrick, but something wasn't right.
"Wait, you knew?" Rodrick asks, turning around to face you. Shit. As if the rain can sense something bad was happening. The rain starts to pour down. You were only wearing your cute pajamas that now had you soaked to the bone. It was hard to see 20 feet in front of you, the rain was coming down that hard.
"Kai had told me this sob story and told me not to bring it up. I didn't because it made you seem homophobic and I didn't want to embarrass you or ask about what your sexuality was. I thought maybe you had some angsty feelings with Kai and maybe you still felt them. That's why you hate him. I thought Kai was my friend and he asked me to keep it a secret." Your eyes start to tear up. You felt bad keeping this from Rodrick, but you felt worse knowing you were lied to about what happened. You should have asked Rodrick about it right away. You should have known that Kai was a shitty person.
"Rodrick ruined our friendship because he caught feelings. And yeah, I wasn't ready to admit I was gay just yet, but he is a piece of shit with nothing going for him and he ruins everything he touches. Ruined Heather's 16th birthday party, ruined our friend group, ruined his reputation by becoming this weird emo boy. It's honestly sad you are attracted to him [Y/N]. He's a loser going nowhere fast." This whole time you were looking at Kai, but as soon as your eyes turn to Rodrick, you see he's crying. Your breathing starts to pick up. The wind starts to pick up. If there was ever a moment for Mother Nature to match your feelings, it was now.
"He's coming with me to Maine. We're going to open a shop and-" Your breath catches in your throat, causing you to stop speaking. You know now. Maine was where you were heading. New York held too many memories and at least Maine was a nice time for you. It could be nice for Rodrick too.
"Oh and don't even get me started on the little miss main character over here." Kai turns to you.
"What have I even done to you? I've been nice to you this whole time!" You scream over the howling wind. You could barely open your eyes from the pounding rain.
"We have history too, [Y/N]! Do you want to know why my dad isn't around anymore?" Kai yells over the storm. What on earth could Kai have against you?
"You said it was because he was in the military. That he pressures you to join so you don't like being around him." You yell back. You should really get inside somewhere. What if lightning starts to strike?
"He used to be. Before he got a dishonorable discharge because of your shit fucking family. You're just like your addict mother, you know. Seeing you take all those shots back to back really proved that. Not to mention all the weed you smoke and the weed you definitely have in that bag of yours!"
"How do you know about my moms addiction? My Father-" You start to say, once again cut off by Kai.
"Yeah, your fucking father! He covered it all up. Your mom didn't even need to do rehab or go to jail, just house arrest Meanwhile, my dad got sent to prison for selling her drugs and then rehab. He then died in rehab when he OD'd. If it wasn't for your fucking family, everyone would know what a shitty person your father was. How he just spends money to cover up any problems in his life. Well, that didn't happen for my family! I grew up knowing your family was the cause of all my family's problems. So yeah, day one, I did seek you out. I got close to you. And I'm getting my revenge!" You see Heather reach into her pocket. There's no way she has a gun right and is about to be an accomplice to murder? This isn't that type of revenge where he tries to murder you, right? Right?
"What the fuck, Kai!? This isn't some teen drama where you can just get 'revenge,' it's people's real lives. I can't control that my mom did drugs or your dad sold them or that my shitty dad covered it up. We both are the product of our parents' bad choices, and all we can do now is try to live our lives to the best of our ability. That means being kind to each other and not letting the past trip us up!" You try to reason, but you knew there was no reasoning with a psycho. This was ridiculous. No way was he serious.
"You can make it up to him, you know?" Heather says, stepping forward, next to Kai. There's something devious in her eyes, her make-up was running down her face. You imagine yours was too. You glare at her, not even wanting to ask what you could do.
"Rodrick, drop out of Battle of the Bands. And we will let everything be square. We won't bother you ever again, you just have to withdraw your name from the competition." The storm keeps raging on and you could see lightning in the distance. You really needed to move inside. Now.
"You can't ask him to do that. You can't." You cry out. This meant the world to Rodrick. Kai could stay mad at you forever and you wouldn't care. But Rodrick needed this. He needed to win the Battle of the Bands. You felt that your high school experience wouldn't be complete without seeing him on a stage.
"Well if that doesn't change your mind, I think you need a little motivation." From Heather's pocket, she pulled out something small. You couldn't see what it was until she let go of the chain to dangle from her fingers. The gold chain held a teardrop shaped black opal.
Your Mother's necklace.
"How do you get that?" Your breath has slowed now. Everything felt like it was underwater and it technically was. Everyone was drenched from the rain. "How did you get that?" You scream. The last time you saw that, it was in your bedside drawer, on Halloween, on your birthday, when your Father gave you the necklace that belonged to your possibly alive/possibly dead mother.
"Maybe next time, don't leave your room unlocked at a party where someone might be looking for a way to blackmail you." Heather says, smiling and laughing. Her and Madi. They were in your room having sex. But you couldn't imagine Madi doing something like that. She was too sweet and was still nice to Rodrick. She wouldn't. She couldn't. You liked her being your friend. She had been so nice to you all week. But then again, Kai and Heather had been nice to you all year and were doing this.
Wait, Kai was there too. He was on the couch outside your room. He was being lookout. Fuck, they really had planned this.
"Forget it. I don't care about my mom. I never met her and I don't even know where she is right now or if she's even alive. It means nothing to me." You say, trying to sound as strong as possible. Suddenly, Rodrick steps forward and says something after all this time.
"Kai, that's taking it too far. I'll drop out just- just give [Y/N] her necklace back." Rodrick says quietly. You shiver under the cold, wet weather. While you are flattered by Rodrick's commitment to you. His band was more important than some necklace.
"Rodrick, no. I don't care about that stupid thing." You grab the necklace that was around your neck that Rodrick gave you. "This necklace is important to me. Not that one. Please don't do this..." You beg Rodrick, holding onto his wet shirt. He grabs you by your shoulders and looks down at you.
"I've never told you this... But after your dad gave you the necklace from your mom, he stopped me on the stairs to tell me something." Rodrick pauses, searching your eyes.
You remember that moment. There was something strange about it. You never asked him what had happened.
"Your dad said he didn't like me and the fact I was a boy wearing eyeliner or whatever, but he told me one thing and I won't forget it." Rodrick takes your face in his hands. "He made me promise to look after you. To put you before anything else because no one in your life had done that for you. I am not breaking that promise, my love. I won't. I can't." Rodrick let out a sob and it broke you. If this is what it means to love, the good and the bad, you never wanted to see Rodrick cry again.
"You might want to find your mom again one day. She might be dead and it's the only thing you'll have from her. I don't want you to regret this." Rodrick runs his thumb over your cheek, as if to get rid of your tears. But with the storm it was hard to tell tears from rainwater.
You were interrupted by Kai once more.
"Make a choice. Text Mabel now that you are dropping the Battle of the Bands and then both of you give me your phones. No chance we are letting you break this agreement, got to cover our bases." Kai says, and Heather nods. Rodrick pulls out his phone and quickly sends a text. He throws his phone to Kai, who catches it with ease. Kai nods to you, waiting for your phone too. You bite your lip and shake your head. You couldn't betray Rodrick for your mom, a woman you never met.
"I can't. I won't." You croak out. Your lip trembles from the weight of your words.
"You refuse... I have Heather throw the necklace in the lake. Bye coked out mommy forever." Kai threatens. You shake your head again and watch as Kai takes the necklace from Heather and dangles it in the air. "Last chance." He raises his eyebrow awaiting your answer. You look at Rodrick and think about what he said. You've only known for a few weeks the truth about your mother. What if you change your mind?
You trudge towards Kai. You look up at him through your lashes, glaring with sadness. Heather takes your phone and you look away. "You're cruel, Kai. I trusted you." You say, quietly.
"Big mistake." Kai says as he whips your necklace through the air, towards the lake. You watch as Rodrick leaps towards the lake to try and grab the sinking necklace.
"Rodrick NO!" You scream as lightning races across the darkened sky. You were able to grab him by the collar before he could even reach the water. Lighting had struck right where the necklace had fallen.
That could have been Rodrick. He could have died.
A silence had fallen over your group. Hopefully Kai and Heather would see how far they've gone. The sound of the rain echoed around you as lightning kept striking.
"There you campers are!" Mr. Underwood shouts. You turn around and see Mr. Underwood in a bright yellow raincoat with matching rain boots. "We've done a headcount and all four of you were still missing, didn't you hear the announcement over the intercom?" His flashlight shone in all of your eyes. Mr. Underwood didn't understand what had happened, but he ushered you back to the main lodge where everyone was still waiting. No one could go to the cabins because of how bad the storm was.
When you entered the main lodge, everyone was staring at you. Madison quickly ran to hug Heather and bring her a blanket. Mrs. Underwood did the same and brought you, Kai, and Rodrick some blankets. But you couldn't handle this. This somber feeling that nothing even mattered at this point. Battle of the Bands was over. Your mothers necklace is gone.
Something in you snapped. You walked over to Heather and bitch slapped her so hard you had hoped it would break her face so she would need to get plastic surgery. Again.
"You are such a bitch. I'd expect the revenge plot from Kai, but not you Heather. And certainly not you Madi." You spit out. Madi looks at you in horror.
When Heather's face came back up, you noticed you split her lip. There was a silent anger behind her eyes and she screams from the bottom of her bitch heart and jumps on top of you. There you were, rolling around on the ground. From the corner of your eye, you watch Rodrick punch Kai.
See? A good boyfriend fights with you, not just for you.
However, Kai has more muscle than Rodrick and fucking rocks him back.
And there you four were. Fighting each other with punches, slaps, and kicks. Madi kept screaming to stop. Someone had pulled you off Heather, but not before you bit her arm. Hard. You were feral. It took Mr. Underwood and Mrs. Baxter to pull you off. Someone pulled Rodrick off Kai. Mrs. Baxter was yelling at you, but it felt muffled.
Somehow Mrs. Baxter loaded you and your things into a van along with Rodrick. You don't remember the way home. You don't remember much. It's a blur and you catch whispers of sentences.
"I don't believe.... How could.... NO prom... definitely not graduation... Lucky I don't expel..." But you don't care. Nothing Matters.
Mrs. Baxter drops you off first. Then Rodrick. Mabel tries to ask you about Rodrick's text. You just head straight down to your room. You just sit in front of your bed.
You feel something touch you minutes later.
It's Rodrick.
He holds you close to him, both of you just like that, sitting on the floor, still soaked.
He picks you up and takes you to the bathroom. He sets you gently down on the counter and turns the shower on. You can hear the water fall, the steam rise.
He slowly takes off your socks, your pants, your underwear, your top, your bra.
And he does the same.
You feel numb. You feel cold.
But Rodrick brings you into the shower. He has you face him and starts to wash your hair. His long fingers are gently massaging your scalp. He grabs shampoo and conditioner and works his way through a cleaning process. You let him take a loofah and scrub your body. Feeling starts to come back into your cold, numb body.
Memories start to come back into your cold, numb body.
You lean into Rodrick's chest and begin to sob. The feelings and memories flooding you all at once. Rodrick holds you in his arms. Both of you are naked. Not caring what the other looks like. Rodrick had seen you naked one other time before, in this very bathroom. But this was different.
You slowly started to slide to the shower floor and Rodrick followed. You both sat on the shower floor, letting the water run over your skin, bringing heat and feeling back. You aren't really sure how long you were in there for.
You remember Rodrick taking you out. You remember Rodrick drying you off. You remember Rodrick brushing your hair. You remember Rodrick dressing you in another pair of Pajamas. You remember Rodrick tucking you into bed and following in after you, holding you as you fell asleep.
You don't remember if you cried yourself to sleep. You also don't remember if Rodrick cried himself to sleep either.
+AUTHORS NOTE+
I hate to say it, but this was a fun chapter to write even though it was painful. I couldn't stop writing it and couldn't pull myself away from my laptop.
Do you guys think it would be crazy if I finished this story before the Watty nominations end (AKA tomorrow night)? I don't know, but I kinda want to!
There's only so much left to happen. What do you think WILL happen? Did you see Kai's betrayal coming? Or even his connection to y/n? Or that he lied about that kiss years ago?
Thank you all for reading this story. I truly love these characters and will feel so sad when this ends.