Episode 11 (Serena Season 1)

I regret my joke about Logan as soon as we get back to the resort.

Clyde managed to round up everyone for dinner with a loud and boisterous cheer,

but I can tell something's wrong when Logan sits at a table away from the rest of us,

face practically buried in his food.

(So Clyde's acting wild, Arthur's talking a million iles an hour,)

(and TK wants everyone to open up and be his friend.)

(...Which means happy, social Logan turns into a recluse? That's not good.)

MC: "Hey, Logan."

MC: "Do you want to come over and sit with us? I can get the other guys to quiet down a bit."

Logan: "..."

MC: "What's going on? You feeling okay?"

Logan shakes his head before pointedly looking away from me,

using the lid of his can to slowly mash his food into even more unrecognizable mush.

I wait a minute longer, hoping he'll decide to say something else, but the cold shoulder never drops.

(I'd understand if he looked tired, but it's more like Logan is being... why?)

(And if it's the same thing affecting him that's making the other guys act weird, we're four for six.)

(Unless I'm behaving differently too.)

(Would I know?)

MC: "Oh, that's super creepy."

MC: "What if I don't even know I'm sick?"

Serena: ", you're fine."

I turn around to see Serena standing behind me, a light twinkle in her eyes,

and when I smile at her, she smiles back without reservation.

MC: "I really hope so."

Serena: "I've been keeping an eye on you too."

Serena: "You don't have to worry."

MC: "Is that the only reason you're keeping an eye on me?"

Serena: "...I didn't say that."

Her smile widens a few centimeters, and I stifle a soft laugh.

Having something positive to latch onto makes the rest of this a bit less stressful.

MC: "Do you think we should go out to the lake and try for the fish?"

Serena: "It's late."

Serena: "I doubt we'll be able to see more than a few feet in front of us, much less in the water."

Serena: "But there's dozens of cans in storage here."

Serena: "I doubt they're all vegetables."

MC: "I'll help you look."

Not all of the cans even have labels,

but I sit down next to Serena and start sorting through the stack we have in the corner,

setting all the bean, vegetable, and fruit ones to the side.

It's quiet except for the clink of metal until I hear footsteps come up behind us.

Arthur: "Still peckish after dinner? You two must have worked up an appetite on the beach."

MC: "Um."

Arthur: "But there's nothing wrong with that."

Arthur: "It's amazing how many varieties we have here, isn't it?"

Arthur: "Perhaps we could reorganize them into the best combinations and set them side by side for new meals?"

Arthur: "But taste buds vary, of course."

Arthur: "I could survey everyone and find out what they like best,"

Arthur: "and then prioritize the cans by flavor, in order to--"

MC: "We're actually just looking for some meat in here, Arthur."

Serena: "Don't bother, ."

Serena: "His filter was turned off hours ago."

Arthur: "Meat? Oh, we could do so many things with meat."

Arthur: "Or perhaps we should let Clyde go hunt down that bear for something fresh."

Arthur: "I could help put the fire together..."

Even if he can't stop talking, Arthur isn't in any danger just standing there,

so I tune him out as Serena and I keep going through the stacks.

I'm about to give up when I spy a can of tuna and reach for it.

Serena's fingers brush right over mine to grab it,

but she hesitates when our hands meet, palm cupped against my knuckles.

A blush rushes up to my cheeks when her thumb makes a purposeful circle over my skin,

enough to make me jolt before she grabs the can.

Serena: "Jackpot."

A. Flirt back.

B. Flounder.

---

B. Flounder.

I can feel myself turning bright red, my mouth opening and closing like a fish.

It's not fair that she can touch me like that and then act like nothing happened!

---

Serena: "Can you see if there's any more of these?"

MC: "Yeah, of course."

(She's such a tease.)

Serena manages to scrounge a sealed box of crackers out of another cabinet and cracks open the tuna cans,

passing it all to the guys to eat.

Logan tries to shy away,

but a glare leveled his way makes him shove three crackers at once right into his mouth.

MC: "Any idea how long it might take to work?"

Serena: "I'm not even sure that it will work."

Serena: "The only way to tell is time."

It's kind of a boring watch hanging out on one end of the table,

especially with Arthur reciting the scientific names of every fish he knows,

but I keep an eye out in the hopes that any of them start looking better.

After an hour, Serena's patience is getting frayed.

Serena: "Alright. Clyde, stop pretending that you're Hercules."

Serena: "Arthur, we're going to play a new game where you go find a pencil,"

Serena: "and write all these names down instead of saying them out loud."

Serena: "And TK, I'm sure your grandfather loved you very much."

Serena: "We're all pinnacles of mental stability here."

Serena: "Logan, I'd be happy you were quiet if you weren't clearly sick."

Serena: "So it's time for everyone to go to bed."

Logan: "I'm not sick, I just--"

Serena: "Bed."

Serena: "Or just go to your rooms and close the door."

Serena: "Either way is fine."

Clyde: "I don't think she's kidding around, boys."

Clyde: "...Can I take the crackers with me?"

Serena: "Yes."

Serena: "Just go."

Clyde snatches the box before TK can grab another cracker and gets a grumble of protest,

but the rest of the guys follow suit without much prompting.

Once the clatter of footsteps and Hope's whirring fade away, I let out a laugh.

MC: "You don't mess around, do you?"

Serena: "Part of being a doctor is making people do what's best for them."

Serena: "Some patients take more convincing than others."

MC: "What about me?"

Serena: "Why don't you come here and find out?"

(That's an invitation I won't refuse.)

I squeeze into the chair next to her, scooting it over so we're elbow-to-elbow,

and Serena's mouth quirks in amusement.

Serena: "See, you're easy."

MC: "Oh my god."

MC: "You walked me right into that."

Serena: "Sorry, not sorry."

MC: "You just wanted to get me alone again."

Serena: "It's a lot easier to talk when Arthur isn't reciting the encylopedia right next to us."

A. What did you want to talk about?

B. Tell me about you.

C. Kiss Serena.

---

B. Tell me about you.

MC: "Talking I can do."

MC: "Although I'd like to find out more about you."

Serena: "About me?"

MC: "Being a doctor is pretty impressive, but I know there's more to you than that."

MC: "So, where do we start?"

---

Serena: "This almost seems like an impromptu date."

Serena: "A terrible one in an empty resort."

MC: "At least it's not in the middle of the jungle."

Serena: "True."

Serena: "Context matters."

Serena: "And I'm not sure."

Serena: "I told you my hobbies."

MC: "Painting and kickboxing."

MC: "Which is a great combo, by the way."

Serena: "But how about you?"

MC: "Um, writing and traveling, I guess."

MC: "Which is why I jumped on this assignment."

MC: "And my job in general."

MC: "It's not easy getting paid to put words on a page."

Serena: "The upside of endless hours and debt in medical school is that they do tend to hire you after it."

Serena: "Did you always plan to be a journalist?"

MC: "I'm seeing where it takes me."

MC: "That's the fun part, you know?"

MC: "And I usually try to put a positive spin on my articles to make people's days a bit better."

(Sometimes that means posting an endless spam of kittens after the fact, but I do what I have to.)

It's nice to just sit and talk with Serena, even if it's just exchanging little tidbits back and forth.

For the first time since the crash, I feel like a normal person, more settled in my own skin.

At least until I yawn.

Serena: "Tired?"

MC: "I guess we got caught up for a while down here."

Serena: "Then let's get you to bed too."

My heart skips a beat as Serena follows me upstairs,

teeth worrying at my lip while I try to figure out whether to invite her into my room.

(It doesn't have to go anywhere.)

(Sleeping with her the other night was nice by itself.)

Serena: "You shouldn't go to sleep with that look on your face."

I must have been frowning,

but it's wiped right off my face when Serena kisses me, her fingers framing my cheek.

It's easy to melt into the feeling, and so much harder not to chase it when she pulls away.

Serena: "If any birds come knocking at your window, you know where to find me."

Serena: "Good night, ."

MC: "Good night."

(Ten points for the sendoff.)

(Wow.)

When my eyes flutter open, it's still dark outside, faint rays of sunrise just breaking through the window.

Grumbling and shifting in the warmth of the sheets,

I'm just trying to figure out what's woken me up when I see someone sitting on the end of my bed.

MC: "Who the fuc--"

Serena: "It's just me."

MC: "Serena."

(Holy shit, my heart's beating a million miles an hour.)

MC: "Is everything okay? Why are you in here?"

Serena: "I thought I was going to have to make a really tough decision."

(That doesn't sound good.)

Serena: "I didn't know whether to let you sleep so I could keep looking at your angelic face,"

Serena: "or wake you up so we didn't miss a single moment of this wonderful day together."

(Huh?)

MC: "Uh."

MC: "Run that by me one more time."

Serena: "If you'd like, dearest."

My jaw drops as it hits me,

and I can't find any relief in Serena's smile when she reaches over to take my hand,

locking our fingers together.

(No, no, no.)

(Why did it have to happen to her next?)

(She's the doctor! How am I going to fix this?)

A. Did something happen last night?

B. How are you feeling?

C. Did you check on the guys?

---

B. How are you feeling?

MC: "How are you feeling?"

Serena: "Wonderful."

Serena: "But I always do when I'm around you."

<p style="text-align:center;">---

(At this rate, she's going to start serenading me.)

I spend a good minute wracking my brain for some kind of solution to this, but Serena has other ideas.

She brings my hand to her lips, pressing kisses across my knuckles,

and I internalize a groan before pulling my hand away.

(What's the polite way to say 'I don't wnat you in my space,')

('because if you're not in your right mind that's kinda weird'?)

('Lowered inhibitions' is what she said about Clyde.)

(Shit, when did she even get sick? Before or after we...)

MC: "This is going to be a rough day."

Serena: "It seems perfect to me."

MC: "Yeah, because you think the sun is shining out of my ass right now."

MC: "Which as it turns out, is only cute in theory."

I know my sarcasm has gone right over Serena's head when she smiles,

and I wish more than anything that I'd gotten a deadpan remark right back.

MC: "Let's just stick to holding hands for now, okay? I'm an old-fashioned kind of girl."

(I'm really not, but I'll take any excuse right now to make sure she doesn't get too touchy-feely.)

Serena: "I should have known that about you."

MC: "Let's just get up for the day, okay? One step at a time."

Serena nods, but doesn't move.

I resist the urge to slump back against my pillow and just hide under the blankets for the rest of the day.

MC: "Just give me a minute to get ready."

Serena: "Oh."

Serena: "I'll be waiting for you right outside the door."

(Of course she will be.)

As soon as the door to my room closes, I make my way out of bed, trying to come up with a plan,

only to have all my thoughts stop short when I realize Serena is happily humming under her breath outside.

(We're so fucked..)