Where in God’s name was this guy leading me to?! This “shortcut” was taking longer than if we had taken the regular path. I was starting to get a little scared.

“umm, Justin? This is taking forever and my feet are killing me. Where’s the exit?” I asked, a hint of panic in my voice. I was getting creeped out. I was in the woods, alone, with this guy I barely knew. That had disaster written all over it.

“Oh, don’t worry. We’ll be out soon.” He assured me.

Somehow, I didn’t believe him.

“Are-are you sure? Cause we’ve been in here a while.” I said again, sounding really unsure. I could tell he noticed that because he stopped dead in his tracks and turned around.

“Listen, Courtney, I know where I’m going. Just keep following me- ok?” he said, his voice forceful. I was kind of afraid of him, and again, I think he noticed. His look softened and he said in a gentler tone, “I’m sorry. I have a bit of a temper. It’s just that- no, never mind.”

He turned and started walking again. Curiosity aroused, I asked, “No- what’s wrong?”

He didn’t turn around, but he stopped again. “I really like you, Courtney. And Duncan isn’t exactly my favorite person on the island.”

That shocked me. He liked me? Damn. That’s twice in a day, I must be looking good. Wait, back on topic. He likes me, I like Duncan. He hates Duncan, Duncan hates him. This was not gonna be fun.

We started walking again. It was then that I realized that we were still alone. In the woods. Together. Damn.

I had to get out of here.

----------

Where the hell was Justin?! I’ve been looking for like 20 minutes! If that Princess-stealing slimeball is with my Courtney- oh, no.

Courtney. Shit.

Where’s my Princess?! I’ve seen every other camper – exclude Justin – except her. Bridgette and Geoff were down at the beach; Trent, Gwen, and LeShawna were sitting outside the Gopher cabins just talking; Beth and Lindsay are in the cabin getting yelled at by Heather because they accidently dropped Heather’s hair straightener in the lake; Katie and Sadie were in the bathrooms painting each other’s nails, squealing about some new Hollywood hottie; Harold was writing something completely geeky; and everyone else – mainly Owen – was scarfing down Chef’s rank food.

But Courtney and Justin weren’t among the other campers. Unless—

Damn. The woods. The freakin’ woods.

Courtney didn’t come out of the forest after I left. Or at least, I don’t think she did. I didn’t see or hear her. Which meant that there was a good chance Justin was trying to – no, I couldn’t think like that. It won’t make me feel better.

I started jogging in the direction of the forest. The camera crew started jogging, too, but with all that equipment they weren’t exactly catching up. Chris, on the other hand, was doing a good job keeping up. So I sped up a little more so I was over a jog, but under a sprint.

Chris was still following me, but he now seemed to be having trouble. He and the camera crew were still hoping to get some good fighting footage. I started to speed up even more when Chris yelled, “Duncan – *puff gasp* - slow down, man!” That just made me run faster. The point of me going faster is so that he can’t catch up. Duh.

I was silently beating myself up for being on the other side of camp. It was at least a 10 minute run to the forest. Crap. I ran as fast as I could (and that’s pretty fast. Hey, I’m a criminal. I escape the police a lot) until I was sure of two things: A) Chris was waaay behind me, and B) Courtney was in the woods with Justin. I shouldn’t be wasting my energy if she was simply at the beach and I’d missed her somehow. I could be doing better things with that energy – beating up a certain male model, for starters.

I hate Justin. He can have any girl on the planet, yet he goes for mine. Doesn’t exactly make him my best friend.

When I reached the forest I slowed down so I could look for Princess. I was getting cramps in my side from running so much, but I didn’t care. Courtney was all that mattered now.

I was well into the forest when I heard a yell. Without hesitating to see who it was, I took off at top speed again.

----------

“Justin – unhand me!” I yelled. He wouldn’t let go (Damn he was strong) so I screamed. There was nothing else I could do. He had me pinned against a tree, asking for “just a small kiss”. I knew that wasn’t what he had in mind. Were all guys pigs? Well, if so, the only pig I actually wanted to pin me against a tree had a police record and was probably running around camp looking for Justin. If only he knew.

“Come on, Courtney,” he whined. “It won’t take long. Duncan doesn’t ever have to know. It’ll be our little secret.”

“UGH! LET GO OF ME!” I yelled as a struggled. He didn’t seem to like that. So he took my arms and pinned them to my sided. I winced cause it hurt to have my hands forced down like that.

He looked at me with an angry expression. “I’ve been good for too long, Courtney. I love you, and I’m going to do everything I can to make you forget that Duncan ever existed.” He said forcefully.

“Every\thing?” I squeaked.

“Everything.” He answered. And he crushed his lips against mine.

He pulled away suddenly. Was he coming to his sense? No, because he looked to his right, ears perked up. He heard something. I cocked my ears, listening.

I heard it too. Footsteps. Getting louder and louder.

“We have to get out of here.” He said. He started pulling me in the opposite direction of the footsteps. I wouldn’t go. What if it was Duncan? I needed him to tear Justin limb from limb. But Justin had other plans. He picked me up and started running, his hand covering my mouth.

“Sorry, Courtney. I just can’t let you go.” He said, as the footsteps of the unknown person started fading away, replaced by rushing wind.

How did I get into this mess?