(Untitled)

[turnthebadinme]

It was day five of her stay on Tabula Rasa, and Serena was more than ready to jump ship and strike out for home. Had this been Capri or Dubai, she could've chartered a G5 and been back in Manhattan by midnight. The chances of even a van der Woodsen getting her pretty little hands on a private jet here, however, were probably even smaller than the

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[octavia_minor]

It wasn't often that Octavia spent time on the beach. One habit that even more than six months on the island hadn't been able to rid her of was avoiding the sun, despite the fact that most of the women on the island seemed to enjoy -- even desire -- its effects. Her litter was useful for keeping her shaded, though, and so she was sprawled out on its cushion as she rode over the sand, a light breeze rustling the gauze curtains that covered her machine.

She sat up when she saw Serena, and ordering the litter to stop, pulled a curtain aside so she could swing her legs over the edge and face the other girl, her bare feet just barely brushing the sand. "Hello," she greeted, offering a smile. "What's that you're reading?"

[turnthebadinme]

"Octavia, hey," Serena greeted, looking up at her with a grin. Even after riding in the litter, she was still kind of in awe of the thing. She'd been able to call for a car whenever she wanted one at home, but that was totally different from floating along a beach. "I just grabbed some magazines from the shelf, but..." Her smile faltered a moment, but she shrugged and it was back. "My boyfriend got published in the New Yorker."

From the looks of it, the issue had come out a couple months after Thanksgiving, which was one of the more messed up things about this place. Time was more than a little screwed up. She couldn't help wondering what had happened in those missing months and if everyone was okay.

[octavia_minor]

'Boyfriend' was a term Octavia could make sense of easily enough -- she'd heard it tossed about on the island, surely -- but 'New Yorker' was something that sounded entirely foreign. Very slightly, she furrowed her brow, careful not to let the expression be mistaken for displeasure. "New Yorker?" she repeated, the words strange to say for the first time. "I've not heard of that. What is it, exactly?"

[turnthebadinme]

Serena had never met anyone who didn't know New York. It just wasn't possible or even really conceivable. Even for a girl who could spend her summers jetting across Europe, Manhattan was the center of the world. "It's a magazine," she said, a little more subdued as she lifted it up to show Octavia, closing it before holding it out to her. "It's printed in New York City, which is where I'm from. Manhattan."

It struck here then, just how far from home she really was. The last time she'd been gone from home for long had been a disaster. Just thinking about Eric made it hard to keep a smile on her face.

[dr_robchase]

He still went for his daily swims, just not always at the same time. So when he'd been out for about an hour and wandered to his bag, he hadn't expected to find anyone nearby, but that was the chance you took on the Island. He grasped his towel and started to dry himself off, offering a polite smile. "Hi," he said, simply, trying not to drip all over her magazine.

[turnthebadinme]

Serena had been so engrossed in reading Dan's story, she hadn't even noticed the guy come up out of the water until he spoke. It was just, the story was about her. Of all the things Dan could've written about and had published, it was about her.

When she did look up, though, with a ready grin and a word of greeting on the tip of her tongue, her eyes widened. Okay, so people had mentioned that James Bond and Han Solo and people like that were around the island, but she hadn't yet actually met anyone she recognized as anyone but a movie star double. She'd only ever caught a couple episodes of House, but she was pretty sure she knew this guy. "Hi," she said, sitting up a little more, smiling. "Uh, how's the water?"

[dr_robchase]

"Definitely warm," he said, trying not to shake droplets onto her. "I'm sorry, I can move my stuff further down the beach if you want?" Truth be told, he was glad for people appearing like this, and being so close. Otherwise, he might never talk to people.

[turnthebadinme]

"No, it's cool." Serena drew her knees toward her, laying the magazine flat against her lap. She let a hand rest on the page, fingertips skimming briefly along the title. "There's plenty of room here. I'm Serena." If she was stuck for the foreseeable future, it couldn't hurt to meet people. They didn't know her name here like they did at home.

[manwithstyle]

Albus had been in a rather foul mood since the end of March, though he felt the mood perfectly warranted given the circumstances, as he had been afflicted with a rather horrific Muggle ailment. The very idea that he had had, of all things, worms writhing about inside him, was not one that sat particularly well. After all, for a young man accustomed to the sophisticated methods of wizarding medicine, Muggle solutions seemed primitive and unreliable at best. Indeed, he remained unsure as to whether or not it was the Island or the ministrations of Doctor Tam. He suspected, however, that it was the former, as it seemed that all of the Island's sick had miraculously recovered come the first of April

[turnthebadinme]

Serena let the magazine fall to her lap and then slide off as she moved to her knees, arms out as if she could prevent him from falling. Once he had regained his balance, though, she was sinking back, kneeling and grinning a little.

"It's totally alright," she said, punctuating her words with nods and a little wave of a hand. With the other, she reached for the abandoned magazine, drawing it back to her. Maybe it was stupid, but the magazines, especially this story, seemed like just about all she had of home right then, other than Blair. God, without Blair, she wasn't sure what she would have done. "Are you okay? That was pretty close there."

[manwithstyle]

"Yes, of course," Albus replied, waving off her assurances and concerns with a wave of his hand. "I ought to have been paying more attention to my surroundings but I must confess that I've taken to ignoring them as much as possible as of late."

Denial, he thought, was a marvelous thing.

[turnthebadinme]

Serena let her free hand fall against her lap with a shake of her head. "So I take it you're not a big fan of the... accidental tropical vacation?" she asked, eyebrow arching as her smile grew into a grin. She sat up a little straighter, half-bouncing once. As beautiful as the place was, she couldn't really imagine anyone really being happy there for long. It had only been five days and she was way past ready to leave.

[sickof_swimming]

Ariel came out of the ocean, pulling the underwater breathing device from her mouth. She flopped down on shore with a few deep breaths, feeling exhilarated from the long swim.

She realized, belatedly, that she'd sat down awfully close to someone else. "Sorry," she said, flashing an apologetic smile at the other girl.

[turnthebadinme]

Serena shrugged, the grin returning to her face as she was pulled from her reading material. "It's no problem," she said. "Hi." The girl looked exhausted, but in the really good way of having just done something strenuous but fun. It was enough to make Serena consider going for a swim herself.

[sickof_swimming]

"Hi," Ariel replied, still slightly breathless. The other girl was very pretty, and though Ariel couldn't possibly know everyone here, it always made her a little curious to come across a face she didn't recognize. She supposed her intrigue of the humans would never quite leave.

"Are you new here?" she asked, head tilted to the side as she squeezed the water from her hair.

[turnthebadinme]

Serena smiled brightly, almost laughed, her legs tucked in toward her. "Is it that obvious?" she asked. "I'm starting to think I have some kind of new person sign on I haven't noticed." She didn't really mind, though. There were fewer people on the island than had attended Constance, so sooner or later, the new kids probably just popped out.

Sitting up a little straighter, she tilted her chin higher. "I'm Serena. I just turned up last week with my friend Blair."

[texas_forever]

It's been a long week for Tim. After the whole thing with Ginger and then avoiding his best friend and taking shit from Coach and then that disaster of a date with Isabel, he's been spending most of the day licking his wounds and keeping as far away from general civilization as normal.

But, when he notices the girl on the beach, he can't really resist it. Never has.

His flip-flops kick up sand behind him as he wanders over, dressed only in a pair of swim trunks and his hair blowing across his face from the wind. The bruises and scratches on his neck and shoulder are healing, but still more than evident, but he's gotten past the point of caring.

"Hey," he says with a grin, squinting against the sunlight. "Whatchya readin'?"

[turnthebadinme]

"The New Yorker," Serena replied, but then she tilted her head up, pushing her hair back out of her face to tuck it behind her ear, and saw who it was. The fall Friday Night Lights started airing, she'd been just ending her wild girl life and tucking herself away in a Connecticut boarding school where she'd been trying so hard to be good that watching TV was about all there was to do. All that partying and alcohol had hit a little close to wounds still open at the time, but she'd liked what she'd watched, which had been enough to know Tim Riggins when she saw him, or at least the guy who played him. It was, apparently, really hard to be sure here.

Grinning, Serena shrugged. "The bookshelf kept giving them to me. That, and... Page Six." She tapped the stack beside her. Some of her oldest friends were named in there.

[texas_forever]

There's something about the way she smiles at him that feels familiar, a recognition in her eyes that he'd been used to back in Dillon. It feels weird here, almost foreign. No one's looked at him like that in almost a year and he'd been starting to think no one ever would. It's weirdly refreshing even if it doesn't make any sense. Tim's pretty positive he's never seen this chick before in his life.

"Page Six?" Tim asks, tilting his head a little to try and see what she's talking about, lips twisted into a crooked sort of grin, already trying real hard not to think about Isabel.

[turnthebadinme]

"What, you've never read the Post?" Serena asked, a brow raising slightly. He probably hadn't. "Page Six is the gossip column." It felt a little weird to realize she could tell him her name and he wouldn't know it, though it had been in the pages of the Post time and again, strew across the gossip columns of New York and the internet. Lily had despaired about that constantly. Word in their circles was that there were only four times a young lady should have her name in the papers: at birth, when presented to society, for her wedding and when she died. Serena, by those standards, was no lady, but then, neither was anyone else. "It's one way to catch up on what's going on at home, anyway."