Episode 8 (Serena Season 1)

Serena's fingers brush across my cheek and up the line of my jaw,

so soft that I shiver even in the tropical sunlight.

When the touch drifts back to my hair, parting strand from strand,

her lips part and I draw in a sharp breath, feeling my face flush with color.

Serena: "There it is."

MC: "W-what?"

After a second,

Serena's hands withdraws and I see a glittering green beetle between her fingers, wiggling its legs.

I jerk backwards as she tosses the bug back into the lake and it lets out an aggravated buzz.

MC: "Ah!"

MC: "Oh my god, was that in my hair?"

Serena: "It was probably swimming in the water with us earlier."

MC: "Ew, ew, ew."

(Way to ruin the moment, beetle.)

(I was about to get a more personal examination.)

Serena: "I think you'll live."

MC: "Oh, I'll live."

MC: "I'm just grossed out."

MC: "At least it didn't bite me."

Serena: "Do you still think all the animals here are going to attack you?"

MC: "At this point? Totally."

Brushing my hair behind my ear, I clear my throat, hoping to recover some of the moment,

but Serena lays back down in the sun, hands laced back behind her head.

It's a great view, but I can't help being a little frustrated.

A. Is that all?

B. Thanks for getting it.

C. You got interrupted.

---

B. Thanks for getting it.

MC: "Thanks for getting that."

MC: "It was a pain in my... haiir."

(Oh, that was lame.)

---

Serena: "It caught my eye."

Serena: "Don't worry about it."

(I swear she was leaning close for another reason.)

MC: "I just... thought you were going to say something else."

MC: "After the young comment and everything."

Dark eyes flicker away from mine, Serena's expression inscrutable for a moment.

I'd give anything to read her thoughts for a few seconds,

just to know whether or not I'm missing something.

Serena: "It wasn't an insult."

Serena: "Just an observation."

(And that's not really an answer.)

(Wait, does she think she's too old for me?)

Serena: "But I think our clothes are dry by now."

Serena: "We can get dressed and go back to the resort, which should have less beetles."

Serena: "As long as someone didn't leave the front door open, anyway."

There's no sense in arguing with her,

but my own personal grumbling rolls on my head as I slip back into my clothes.

The heat lingering on the back of my neck has nothing to do with the sun,

and refuses to go away when I think about Serena leaning close again.

(Wanting her to kiss me definitely chalks one up on the crush column.)

(But that makes sense.)

(Gorgeous doctors don't just wash up on...)

(Okay, in this case she did.)

(My bad.)

Serena: "?"

MC: "Huh?"

Serena: "...Are you coming? It's a long walk back."

MC: "Sorry."

MC: "Too much time in the sun, I guess."

Serena: "Does your head hurt?"

MC: "Um, no."

Serena: "Stick your tongue out."

I mumble a faint sound of protest,

but her raised brow is enough of a prompt for me to give it, sticking out my tongue for her inspection.

Serena shrugs, then turns around to start heading back into the jungle.

Serena: "You're fine."

Serena: "No heat stroke."

MC: "...Oh."

(Of course that's what she was checking for.)

I follow a few steps behind Serena, stepping over vines and broken trees,

keeping an ear out for anything skittering or crawling through the bushes.

But there's nothing but the rustle of wind through the trees,

silence leaving me to spiral back into my own thoughts.

(At least if I'm not sick, that means I wasn't seeing things.)

(She was starting to open up to me and something shut that down.)

(But what?)

Dinner is quiet too, especially since Clyde isn't there with us.

None of the guys really seemed worried,

but Serena's face keeps a tight frown while we're gathered in the lobby,

listening to Logan talk about materials he might be able to strip out of the resort's extra rooms.

Logan: "Not everything's salvageable, of course,"

Logan: "but we should be able to patch up any holes and fix up doors if we need it."

Arthur: "That's good to hear."

Arthur: "Perhaps tomorrow--"

The front door swinging open cuts Arthur off,

and Clyde strides into the lobby with his head held high, a swagger in his step that I haven't seen before.

He gives us a messy salute, sweat dripping down his brow from the humidity outside.

TK: "Finally."

TK: "Where the hell have you been all day?"

Serena: "Wait, he was out all day?"

Clyde: "I was just going for a walk, Serena."

Clyde: "No worries."

MC: "No worries?"

MC: "You wanted Serena and I to stick together because of all the animals."

MC: "Unless that was just a girl thing."

Clyde: "Aw, sheila, it's nothing like that."

Clyde: "I know you're both full of fire."

Clyde: "But no wild beast is gonna sneak up on me."

Clyde: "I even ran into a bear on the way back here."

Logan: "A bear? Are you serious?"

Clyde: "It took one look at me and fled."

Clyde: "Knows who the real king of the jungle is, aye?"

I stare as Clyde drops into a boxing stance and starts punching the air,

grunting under his breath with every feigned strike.

This goes on for at least a minute before he stops, flashing a broad grin our way.

Clyde: "Could have taken 'em with one arm behind my back."

(Clyde does look like he's built enough to tackle a bear, but he's usually not so... cocky?)

(Something's off here.)

TK: "Did he hit his head out there or what?"

Serena: "I was about to ask the same thing."

Clyde: "Ey, Logan! I still got some steam to blow off."

Clyde: "Arm-wrestling match, you and me."

Clyde: "Right now."

Clyde slams his fist down on the nearby table, hard enough that I think it's going to buckle,

and Arthur startles a bit in his seat.

Logan lets out a weak laugh, hands folding together in his lap.

Logan: "Uh, well--"

Clyde: "Come on."

Clyde: "You're a strong, capable man."

Clyde: "Just what I'm looking for."

TK: "What about me? I could take you as easily as Logan can."

Clyde: "Yeah? That's what I like to hear!"

Clyde: "Hell, I could wrestle you both at once."

Clyde: "One on each arm!"

Clyde's boisterous laugh fills the whole room and I'm surprised to see TK so eager to take him on.

Logan mostly looks grateful that the attention's been taken off of him.

(Is whatever Clyde has contagious? Or is TK just being competitive?)

(The ever-present dilemma: strange island fever or the male ego.)

TK starts up and I give him a wide berth,

watching as he walks right up to Clyde, who is smiling a little too wide.

Clyde raises up his arm and flexes,

muscle bulging against the line of his shirt and looking like it's about to pop.

(Wow, he really is ripped.)

(...And that's not the priority right now."

MC: "Guys, please."

MC: "Let's not start a fight club here."

Clyde: "Just a bit of good fun, ."

Clyde: "I won't rough him up too badly, promise."

TK: "Hey!"

Serena: "That's enough."

Even without raising her voice,

Serena's words cut through the room like a sudden burst of cold air, making everyone go still.

I straighten up as she walks by me, putting herself directly between TK and Clyde.

Clyde: "Serena--"

Serena: "You're coming in the other room with me so I can check you out."

Serena: "I'm not sure what you got into out there today, but I don't like it."

Serena: "Am I clear?"

Clyde has the grace to look embarrassed,

shrugging at TK like there's nothing he can do.

Clyde: "Doctor's orders, eh?"

Serena: "Damn straight."

Serena: "And TK, stay here."

Serena: "Quit provoking him."

TK: "Hey, fu--"

MC: "TK, don't."

MC: "He's probably sick."

MC: "Let Serena do her job."

TK rolls his eyes but relents, sitting back down in his seat.

Arthur's brow is tight with concern,

but so is Serena's as she leads Clyde out of the lobby.

(I don't even think she's mad.)

(That's worry all the way down.)

A door down the hall slams shut, separating Clyde and Serena from the rest of us,

and Logan lets out a deep sigh.

TK curls up in his chair, glaring off into the distance, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

Logan: "Man, that was weird."

Arthur: "That's quite the understatement."

Arthur: "Since the moment I met Clyde, he's been the picture of a gentleman."

Arthur: "Mature, reserved."

Arthur: "Certainly not someone who goes around trying to box bears."

(Even when we were getting drunk on champagne, he didn't seem rowdy.)

(If he and Serena drank together, I don't think she'd tolerate it either.)

Logan: "He must have whacked his head on a branch or something."

Logan: "I've heard concussions can make you act like a totally different person."

MC:"He didn't look hurt, just... really energetic?"

TK: "You're just saying that because he's buff."

MC: "What? No."

MC: "You were the one climbing all over him for an arm-wrestling match."

We glare at each other for a good minute before Arthur clears his throat, breaking the tension.

Arthur: "We should consider all the possibilites."

Arthur: "Whether the cause is injury or illness, we don't want it to happen to more people."

Logan: "Well, I promise I'm not going out alone to punch a bear."

Logan: "...I'd bring Hope along, at least."

TK: "I'm not sure how she'd hold up against a bear."

Logan: "As a distraction, maybe? I don't know, TK."

Logan: "Considering all the weird animals in this place,"

Logan: "we're lucky the bear didn't follow Clyde back here and try to climb in through the window."

Fear sends a cold shiver up my spine before I glance back at the lobby windows,

none of which look sturdy enough to keep out a bear.

(The bird and capybara were bad enough, not to mention the beetle in my hair...)

MC: "Yeah."

MC: "But whatever's up with Clyde, Serena will figure it out."

MC: "She's a great doctor."

TK: "You would know, tripping over yourself every day."

MC: "The floor broke under me! I didn't trip."

MC: "Besides, you're the one making her job harder by getting in Clyde's face."

TK: "My manhood was at stake! He challenged me."

(He challenged Logan, but you know, details.)

Serena: "If you were actually secure about your... manhood, you wouldn't feel the need to prove it."

I jump at the sound of Serena's voice coming from behind,

but there's no sign of Clyde when I turn around.

Her expression still looks grim, arms crossed and posture tight.

Arthur: "Is Clyde alright, Serena?"

Serena: "In a manner of speaking."

Serena: "There was some bruises on his knuckles from punching a tree, but otherwise I couldn't find any injuries."

Serena: "No signs of concussions or any other head trauma."

MC: "But is he still acting strange?"

Serena: "Very."

Serena: "My only guess is that too much sun and not enough water has thrown him for a loop."

Serena: "I put him to bed with plenty of water."

Serena: "Not that he wanted to drink it."

Logan: "Why?"

Serena: "Water is for the weak, apparently."

Logan: "Oh, great."

Logan: "I'm not really into caveman Clyde."

Logan: "...Although he quit ragging on my inventions."

TK: "He was an arrogant jerk."

(We've only got room for one of those.)

(The island isn't that big.)

Serena sighs as they chat back and forth, irritation cutting a deeper line into her brow.

A. You doing okay?

B. Is Clyde going to be alright?

C. Don't worry.

---

A. You doing okay?

MC: "You doing okay? I know Clyde is your friend."

Serena: "I'd be better if I knew what was really wrong with him."

---

Serena: "Right now, all I can do is treat the symptoms."

My best efforts can't even crack a hint of a smile out of Serena's fae, and my heart sinks a little.

A. Let Serena vent to you.

B. Back off.

---

B. Back off.

It's probably best not to push her right now.

She needs some space to figure this out.

---

Serena: "For now, I think we should all get some rest."

Serena: "A lack of sleep will make everyone loopy."

Logan: "You got it, doc."

Logan: "I'm exhausted."

MC: "Me too."

(Especially after all the swimming.)

Arthur: "Fingers crossed."