Hope y'all are enjoying this so far!

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Chapter 12: What About the Pillsbury Dough Boy?

Bryn

The next morning, Bryn rolled out of her bed and made herself look presentable by putting on some denim shorts, a blue t-shirt, and some makeup that consisted of liquid foundation, powder, mascara, and eye shadow to hide the dark circles under her eyes. The rocking of the boat had been violent last night which didn't help with her already raging seasickness. Bryn wasn't sure how long she could pretend she was all right, but she was going to try for as long as she could.

Bryn exited her room right and headed to the cafeteria. Everyone was already there, eating and drinking.

"Morning, Bryn," Derek greeted with a smile. She didn't say anything but returned the smile sincerely. Bryn just wasn't in the mood to say anything, mainly because her stomach felt like it had been on a rollercoaster for the last twenty-four hours.

"Are you hungry, Bryn?" Luke inquired. She shook her head and made herself some tea with lots of some French Vanilla creamer. She was in love with the stuff.

She sat down next to Luke and attempted to keep her eyes open. Last night had been hell and she hadn't gotten much sleep. "We should arrive in Sicily mid-afternoon tomorrow," Silena announced.

"So what are we going to do to pass time today?" Hannah queried, shoveling some pancakes into her mouth. Bryn usually loved pancakes but this morning, they seemed like the evilest thing on earth. She took a sip of her tea to get over the wave a nausea hitting her.

"Practice fighting I guess," Luke said. No one objected and so once they finished breakfast, the five of them headed off to the training arena. Derek and Silena went straight for the rock climbing wall. Derek immediately got a head start on her and she shouted, "You should try out for the role of Peter Parker or whatever Spiderman's real name is!"

He laughed but didn't slow down. Hannah and Luke started sword fighting. Luke kept getting the better of her but she didn't lose without a fight.

Bryn decided to lone it and went for the archery targets. She pressed the two diamond studs on her bracelet and Striker, her bow, formed. She grabbed a handful of arrows and started firing. Her aim was dead on. Her target finally couldn't hold anymore arrows in the center (she had also run out) so Bryn went up to it and pulled them out. When she went back to her firing position, she noticed a button on a table next to her. Curiously, Bryn pushed it. Her target started moving. Grinning, she got back into firing stance and started firing arrow after arrow. Soon, there were no more left. They were all stuck in the bulls-eye part of the target. Noticing it had gotten really quiet, Bryn turned around to find everyone staring at her.

"Remind me never to piss you off," Luke mused.

"That's going to be impossible," Bryn replied with a grin.

"Probably. Just promise not to shoot me."

"… Fine."

The rest of the day passed with no mishaps. Luke did get a nasty welt on his arm from when he was practicing archery and then Derek surprisingly got a bruise on his shin from when he and Silena were sword fighting and she was fighting for the upper hand after Derek had knocked the sword out of her hand and she had kicked him in the shin. Bryn noticed that the two of them were grinning at each other like little kids. She decided right then and there she was going to talk to Derek to convince him to ask her out.

At five, everyone decided to go get dinner. Bryn got a cheeseburger but it didn't look very appetizing thanks to the seasickness. Luke and Derek had heaped their plates with hot dogs, cheeseburgers, and buffalo wild wings. Silena and Hannah stuck to pizza.

"Do you watch the show Psych?" Luke queried. Everyone nodded. "So, Shawn brought up a very good point in the bloopers for season four."

"What is it?" Hannah prodded, batting her eyes at him. For some reason, the gesture irked Bryn.

"When the Pillsbury Dough boy bends over, do you see dough nuts?" Luke said. Derek started choking on his hot dog and Silena hit him on the back as she laughed. Hannah was in hysterics and even Bryn was smiling and chuckling.

That's when jokes started flying, mainly from Derek and Luke. It was only around eight that they slowly stopped. The mood became solemn.

"So what are we doing when we get to the island?" Hannah asked.

"We try to find a way in and rescue my parents," Luke replied.

"We need a plan. Who knows what we're going up against," Derek pointed out.

"We have no idea the geography of the island save for the fact that it has an active volcano. Why don't we just wing it? That always works for me," Silena said.

The more the group discussed what they were going to do, the sicker and sicker Bryn felt and the more annoyed she got with them. To try and keep her patience in check, she played with her bracelet that turned into her bow, opening and closing the clasp.

Finally, her patience snapped and she stood up. "I'm going to bed. Wake me up when you create a decent plan."

Everyone seemed taken aback by her sudden outburst but Bryn didn't care. She stormed away and when she was sure she was out of their sight, ran as fast as she could to her room.

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Luke

"Let's turn in for the night," Silena suggested. "We're all tired and that doesn't help our moods."

Luke was hesitant to stop the conversation but he had to admit he was tired. He slid out of the booth and heard something fall to the floor. Looking down, he saw Bryn's bracelet, Striker. He pocketed it and lagged behind everyone else so that he could knock on Bryn's door without being questioned. He waited until Silena, Derek, and Hannah entered their rooms before he knocked on Bryn's.

"I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone!" She shouted.

"You forgot your bracelet," Luke told her.

"Just… leave it outside the door. I'll get it later," she replied, sounding hoarse. He didn't like the way she sounded and knew something was wrong.

"Let me in, Bryn," he ordered.

"No!" she yelled back. Reluctantly, Luke used the master key he had been carrying around and opened the door himself. When he walked in, his attention was immediately drawn to the bathroom.

"Bryn!" he exclaimed in horror as Luke saw her slumped up against the counter's cabinets. He knelt down next to her and in the light, she looked sick and pale.

"Damn it, Luke, I told you I didn't want to talk to anyone," she said weakly.

"What happened?" Luke inquired firmly.

"This… is what happens… when you get severe… severe sea sickness," Bryn answered with a humorless smile. Her eyes were half shut. "I've been sick ever since I left the table. I think I've washed my teeth and used mouthwash about ten times already."

Luke cupped one of her cheeks and her eyes fluttered open. "Why didn't you want me to know you were so seasick?"

"I don't like anyone to know my weaknesses," Bryn whispered.

"Come on," Luke said gently, lifting her up. "Let's get you to bed."

Even though she was weak from the seasickness, she was still relatively strong and grabbed onto the counter.

"No, I'm fine."

"Bryn, I hardly call this fine. You look like you're about to pass out!"

"I didn't sleep at all last night… that might have something to do with it," she murmured. Bryn reached for her tooth brush and brushed her teeth. Then she used more mouthwash. The whole time Luke kept his hand on her waist in case he had to suddenly catch her. It was a good thing he thought like that because the moment she stopped bracing herself, she collapsed towards the floor. Luke deftly and quickly caught her. He lifted her up in his arms and walked to the bed. He contemplated whether he should continue holding her and sit in the bed with her or if he should just lay her down on the bed and sit in a chair next to her. His decision was made when she wrapped her arms firmly around his neck. So, with a nervous stomach at the thought he might end up falling asleep with a girl in the same bed as him (let alone one with a personality that changed faster than a Ferrari could go from zero to sixty), he pulled back the covers and sat down. Bryn never let go of him.

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Two romantic chapters in a row :) hope you liked it! Please review if you want to know what happens when they wake up!