Matt came up the steps to the main cabin and stood beside Bam as he watched the crew unload equipment in the rain. "You weren't expecting her to be here." He said quietly, a statement rather than a question.
Bam's knuckles turned white as he gripped the handrail. "I don't even know what to say to her."
"Well you'd better figure it out quick. She's on her way over here." Matt slapped him on the back and descended the stars two at a time.
"Hey, Toby!" Matt cut October off at the pass. "How's it going? Wasn't expecting to see you here. Whatcha doing?"
October flashed him a brittle smile and pulled her sunglasses over her eyes. "A calendar, Matt. Your adoring fans need a calendar and I've been commissioned to take the shots."
Matt laughed loudly. "Me in a calendar! That's pretty cool."
October smiled a little more genuinely. "Yes, I'll be sure to make you the centerfold." She quipped and tried to sidestep him on her way over to Bam. Matt effectively stepped to the side and blocked her. She looked at him sharply. "Matt." She said with a little bit of warning in her voice.
Matt put his hand on her forearm and leaned in closer so she could hear his low voice. "Just give him some time."
October looked up at him in surprise. "Time! Matt, I've given him two months. Do you think this has been easy on me?"
Matt took a step back and leveled his gaze at her. "No. You don't know how hard its been." He replied. "On all of us." He added.
"How hard what's been?" She shot back. Matt looked at the ground and shook his head.
"And there it is." She spat.
"There's what?" Matt asked.
October waved her hand. "Whatever it is that you- or Bam- won't tell me. No one is telling me anything and I'm supposed to just stand idly by and eat all this bullshit people are trying to feed me." She turned back to where Bam had been standing only to see he had left the verandah of the main cabin and was no where in sight.
Matt put his hand back on her arm. "Give him some more time."
October jerked her arm away from his grasp and stalked off towards the beach in the hopes that Bam had gone in a different direction.
~*~
Jane Bennett was a filthy stinking liar and if October ever got her hands on her she would pull her petticoats up over her head and push her to the ground on her bustle. If Jane Bennet even wore a bustle. October wasn't quite certain of the exact underclothes that were in fashion in that era. Perfect Indifference! Fuck perfect indifference! She hadn't even talked to him and already she wanted to fling herself into his arms and cover his face with kisses, rip his clothes off and- "No." She aloud to herself. "No." She repeated, as if it would help.
She spent the entire day avoiding him while she photographed everything and everyone but him. Toward the late afternoon, she grew tired of being so tense and walked out into the clearing and dropped her equipment. The day had been incredibly draining. She surmised that she had enough footage for the day so she leaned against a fallen log and closed her eyes.
Bam hadn't seen October all day. That was by design. He made sure he was in a different part of the island than she was. With the help of his brothers, he had managed to stay away from her, even though his heart was with her everywhere she went.
Finally, the last van of people and equipment left Browntown and he was alone. Even his brothers had taken the skiff into town for the evening in search of pizza and beer and girls. He was left to his own devices and his own thoughts. He had been tense all day and was glad to be able to relax now that he was by himself.
He walked out into the clearing and took a deep breath. October was back in Alaska. October was back in Browntown. That had to be a sign that she still had some kind of feelings for him. Or maybe she was simply there for a photography contract.
He blamed Myra for bringing her here even though she didn't know that he and October had been together. He imagined Myra being eaten by a bear. It could happen. There were lots of bears on Chicagoff island.
Chomp. There goes her arm. Chomp. Her other arm. Chomp chomp. No more legs. Now she can't even run away. Chomp. Chomp. That was her head. Chomp chomp chomp chomp. That was her ego. It's so big the bear would have to take at least four bites, Bam thought bitterly. Chomp. Five for good measure. Then he did something so uncharacteristically like himself, that even he was surprised.
He giggled.