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What’s up, Brooklanders! Ugh, why is she doing this in her own head??
Anyway, here’s the scoop: Yaz and Sammy are being super suspicious and Brooklynn intends on getting to the bottom of it.
Okay, before we continue, she needs to clarify what she means by suspicious. Basically: Brooklynn has noticed that Yaz and Sammy are in love. Maybe they're even together.
She first noticed their over-friendliness a while ago, back before the whole Indominus escape. During the rogue Sinoceratops incident, Sammy made it her life’s mission to be Yaz’s friend, and after breaking down the track star’s walls, the two became closer. Brooklynn definitely saw the lingering gazes the two shared. Whether or not it was romantic at that time was irrelevant. Something had started.
Then Brooklynn’s phone went missing.
Needless to say, whatever curiosity she had towards the other two campers went out the window when Sammy straight up lied about taking it and Yaz took her side on everything. Okay, maybe Brooklynn didn’t throw away her curiosity completely, more like put it waaaay in the corner of her mind, because the way Yaz stood up for Sammy was very sweet and loyal and didn’t go unnoticed by her.
And then Sammy outed herself… Y’know, as a spy.
After a pep talk with Kenji and then a heart-to-heart with Sammy, Brooklynn was on good terms with everyone again, and after a brief tiff about the being a spy thing, Sammy and Yaz were back to being inseparable.
The next time she observed any sort of exceptional closeness between the two came a few weeks later when the three had a ‘girl’s day’ i.e. investigating the weird noises Brooklynn heard. Y’know, typical teenage girl stuff. The two were talking about various things by themselves, laughing and being pretty cozy. If Brooklynn didn’t feel left out, she might have left the two to chat amongst themselves the whole time.
If she was being honest, her suspicions are based more on a bunch of little things rather than any sort of big event. The way their eyes linger when they sit together, the way they always have something to talk about, the way they’ll volunteer to do chores together, the way they have inside jokes. Sure, you might be able to explain these away as just friendly, but Brooklynn has a killer instinct for finding a scoop, and her gut tells her there’s more to it than just being friends.
When Darius told her he had the same inclination that something was up with them, she was thrilled. Finally, validation that she wasn’t being a creep, making up a romance about her friends in her head. He may have run away from her during the convo, but she knows he sees it, too. Especially that night. The two popped off fireworks together, celebrating the group scaring off the ouranosaurus. Then, Yaz spent the rest of the night with her arm around Sammy while the other laughed at Kenji’s dumb jokes. No way Brooklynn is making the thing up in her head.
She’s kept trying to talk to Darius about it, since she knows he knows, but it seems as if the other teen is always busy. It briefly entered her mind that he may be avoiding her, but that was quickly shoved away. Darius isn’t the kind of guy to do that.
Having someone to talk to about her theories would be nice, but she knew that it wouldn’t be the same as actually knowing. Still, she can’t just walk up and ask them, could she? Well, she could, but when she brought up the idea to Darius that one night, he kind of balked at her.
There has to be a way to ask without making it obvious.
---
Brooklynn’s prayers were finally answered some days later when the group was trying to fix the boat with the equipment from Kenji’s penthouse. No, sorry, his ‘P-House.’
“Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?” Sammy walks up to her and Darius as they’re trying to seal up the hole in the boat’s hull.
“Kind of busy right now, but--”
“I need your help with something personal.”
Oh. OH.
Brooklynn turns around immediately, completely abandoning whatever it was she was doing. “Spill everything.” As she ushers Sammy away, she can vaguely hear Darius grumbling.
“So, I was thinking--”
“Let me guess! You have a secret crush?” Brooklynn was so dang excited to get an answer. Even if she didn’t already have an idea what Sammy wanted to tell her, she would have jumped at the chance to chat anyway. Gossip is always fun, and she’s been sorely missing out while trapped on the island.
Okay, time to put her theory to the test.
“Is it Darius? Kenji?” She leans into Sammy’s space before she finishes. “Yaz?”
A beat passes before Sammy speaks up, but Brooklynn doesn’t miss the way her brows furrow and a slight look of panic crosses her face.
“What?” Aha! It may not be a yes, but it wasn’t a no! Brooklynn had expected a bit of a non-answer, so nothing surprising here.
What is rather surprising is the quest that Sammy put them on. Sammy wanted her help, and she was going to give it to her. And while she does this, she’ll work in a few more questions, test the waters a bit.
In the meantime, Brooklynn may have gotten a little too into helping Sammy with her search for secrets to give Mantah Corp. and ended up not helping at all, but it didn’t stop the influencer from trying to get anymore details about the Texan’s feelings for Yaz. She eventually gave it a rest when Sammy gave her nothing.
They give Sammy’s idea a try and head for the under-construction site and what do you know, they find an actual building. They venture inside and find what appears to be a lab of some kind; Definitely the kind of place with secrets worth taking.
As they search the place, the Texan girl speaks up.
“Hey… Brooklynn?”
“Yeah? Find something?”
“Oh, not yet. I just…”
Okay, Sammy looks a bit down. Is she still upset about the whole searching the tunnels thing? Or maybe she’s upset about the invasive questions Brooklynn has been asking about her and Yaz? Oh, dang, she made everything awkward didn’t she?
“Look, Sammy, if it’s about what I was saying about you and--”
“You’re right.”
“Huh?”
“I said you’re right. About me having feelings for Yaz. You caught me off guard earlier, and I didn’t know how to respond to your questions. But I just wanted to get that out there.”
If Sammy wasn’t looking so down, Brooklynn would have high-fived herself. But as Sammy is looking not-well, she decides to try and comfort her instead.
“Thanks for telling me. Sorry I was so pushy, though.”
The other girl gives her a small smile, but her brows are still furrowed. “Naw, it’s fine. I guess I was just being obvious, huh?”
“You both are.”
Sammy looks at her like she said something dumb. “What do you mean ‘both?’”
“I mean both you and Yaz are pretty obvious about your feelings for each other.”
The Texan scoffs at her.
“Trust me. Yaz does NOT have feelings for me.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.”
Sammy considers this for a minute. She sighs, then turns toward Brooklynn.
“I appreciate you trying to make me feel better but-”
“I’m serious! The way she looks at you--”
“Stop!”
That's the second time Sammy has yelled at her today. Way to go, Super-Star.
“Sorry, just- I don’t wanna talk about this anymore. Let’s go back to searching, okay?”
Brooklynn doesn’t want to drop it. If she was right about Sammy, she has to be right about Yaz. From what she can tell, Yaz was a bit of an introvert, but because of Sammy, she’s really come out of her shell. The looks Sammy gives her, she’s seen Yaz return. There are just so many signs. This is NOT one-sided. But, the other girl insists that they stop talking about it, so Brooklynn will respect that.
“Hey, Sammy?”
“Brooklynn…” Sammy’s voice is almost exasperated.
“I just want to say… if you ever wanted to talk. About anything, not just that thing you told me to stop talking about, just let me know. I’ll be there to listen.”
The other is quiet, but in an uncharacteristically small voice, yet sweet as ever, she replies.
“Thanks.”
With that, the girls go back to searching
--
Another hybrid dinosaur would be the perfect thing to give Mantah Corp info about. Too bad the dino in question, the incredibly freaky Scorpius Rex, is running rampant on the island.
When Brooklynn and Sammy make it back to camp with Darius in tow, Ben and Kenji are mostly done with gathering all their supplies. Yaz, however, comes running in and says the boat can’t launch with the storm approaching. Great.
After a very touchy conversation between the boys, the group takes to shoring up the camp in case the Scorpius Rex decides to make an appearance.
As Brooklynn works, she makes it a point to be within earshot of the other two girls. Yes, it’s eavesdropping. No, she doesn’t care.
“Don’t we just make the best team ever?” Sammy’s voice is as enthusiastic as ever, despite the probable danger coming their way.
“For now.” Oh?
“For now? What do you mean?” Sammy’s voice turns from enthusiastic to worried in seconds.
“I mean- Let’s be real Sammy. This friendship has an expiration date.”
“What? That’s not true.”
“Sure it is. Open your eyes. We have nothing in common other than running for our lives all the time. And once you take that away what do we have? Nothing.” While she can hear the hesitation in Yaz’s voice, Brooklynn can certainly hear the resolve as well.
“You don’t mean that!” She has never heard Sammy’s voice sound so… desperate. “You’re my best friend! After we get home--”
“If we get home.” Yaz interjects. “And even if we do somehow survive all this, you’ll go back to Texas, and I’ll…” The two are silent for a moment. “Face facts, Sammy.”
“We’re not best friends. We never were.”
Brooklynn whips her head around to look at Sammy. The girl is clutching her arm, her face contorted in hurt, unshed tears welling in the corner of her eyes. If she weren’t paying close attention, she might not have heard the rest of their conversation.
“Was it 'cus I said I liked you?” The question makes Brooklynn stop half-heartedly working on whatever she’s doing.
“I’m sorry.” is Yaz’s reply.
Sammy walks away. To be precise, she walks in the direction Brooklynn is ‘working.’ She returns her attention back to the wheel attached to the upside down jeep and pretends she didn’t hear that whole… thing.
Well, this is messy.
---
As Brooklynn sits on her knees hugging Darius, assuming the worst has happened with Sammy, her heart breaks, not only for her friend who may die, but for her other friend who is sobbing above the other, clutching sickly green hands and begging her for forgiveness.
The shock they all felt seeing Sammy was attacked, the squeamishness she felt when she pulled the spines out of the girl, the panic that set in when Yaz went running off to the lab alone, the feeling of hopelessness they all feel seeing that she isn’t getting better with the antidote.
None of it compares to the heartbreaking things Yaz is whispering to Sammy.
“Come on. Please wake up. You’re the best friend I ever had. Forget what I said. We’ll always be best friends, no matter how far apart. It may not be easy or perfect, but… please, wake up.”
Even though Yaz pulls closer to Sammy and says it in a low voice, Brooklynn can still hear her.
”I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I… I like you, too. I should have told you when you told me. I should have said it earlier. So you gotta wake up, okay? You have to forgive me. I can’t... “
Brooklynn hugs Darius even tighter.
---
Okay, they’re not even hiding it anymore. Well, more specifically, Yaz isn’t hiding it anymore.
Good news? Sammy is better! Not 100%, but definitely better. The antidote worked, though it sure took it’s time. Nevertheless, Sammy is most certainly alive.
Bad… no. Weird news? Yaz is being 100% extra. No seriously. She’s basically codling Sammy, going above and beyond to make sure she’s taken care of. She also not so subtly plants kisses on Sammy’s cheeks, much to the Texan’s protests. The red in her cheeks look better than that sickly green, though.
Kenji is either distracted or just really focused, because as he leads the girls to the boat while Darius chases after Ben, he doesn’t seem to notice the lovey-dovey stuff Yaz is doing. He does notice the track star being abnormally nice to them, but he basically scoffed at Brooklynn when she brought up the kisses.
Huh.
It’s whatever. He’s probably worrying about something else. Can’t see what’s right in front of him.
As she continues to observe how sweet Yaz is being, and seeing how happy yet flustered Sammy is, Brooklynn can’t bring it in her to be upset at Kenji’s dismissal.
They eventually stop so Sammy can rest, and Yaz takes this opportunity to go get more water for her.
Now that Sammy is alone and Kenji is out of earshot, Brooklynn can finally ask her some questions. She joins Sammy on the log, trying to be as nonchalant as possible, but when she looks at the other girl, she’s already got an eyebrow raised.
“What?”
“Go ahead. Ask your question.”
“Ah. Okay. Well, I just wanted to confirm-”
“Yup. We are. And you were right.”
“Oh?”
“About her feeling the same.”
“Oh, yeah. Called it.” Brooklynn isn’t sure why she’s being awkward. Maybe it’s because Sammy read her like a book and knew what was up before she even spoke. She then recalls part of the conversation she totally didn’t eavesdrop to hear from earlier.
“Sammy I’m sorry.”
“Huh? For what?”
“Even though I was right and Yaz felt the same, you were probably worried she didn’t, which is why you made me stop talking about it right? Cuz you had confessed and she didn’t say anything back.”
Sammy looks at her with her jaw dropped. “How did you know all that?”
“I might have been keeping tabs on the two of you for a while now?”
“So you overheard when I confessed to her?”
“What? Oh, no. But back before the Scorpius attacked, I heard that whole ‘we’re not friends’ thing Yaz tried pulling.”
Sammy looks down sad a bit at that, and Brooklynn immediately backtracks.
“Anyway, I’m just trying to say that I’m sorry if I caused you any unnecessary stress.”
The other girl is quiet at that for a moment, but nods in understanding, and shoots her a grin.
“I appreciate you saying that. Thanks. You’re a good friend Brooklynn. Just do me a favor?”
“Sure.”
“Stop being so nosy.”
Brooklynn flushes at this and stands up, chuckling awkwardly. “You got it.”
Yaz returns and makes some comment about Brooklynn having sunburn.
---
They’re finally going home.
Kind of hard to recap what has gone on in the past 48 hours, and frankly, Brooklynn wants to forget the last six months if possible. Well, besides making five life-long friends, but yeah, the rest of that was trash. She and said friends are currently on their boat, heading toward Costa Rica, leaving Isla Nublar behind them.
Brooklynn fell right asleep after they shipped off; being kidnapped is tiring after all. She awakens and finds herself on a deck-couch across from Darius, the sky littered with stars with the sun having set a while ago. On the couch next to Darius is Yaz and Sammy, wrapped up in a single blanket, heads leaning against each other. Ben is probably in the front, while Kenji is on the bridge.
Kenji has a bit of a tiff with Darius right now, but she made sure to reassure the young teen that Kenji will come around. She knows what a close bond those two have and would hate to see the end of the friendship the two built during their stay on the island because of her. Well, not her specifically, but she’s kind of at the center of the problem. She’s sure it’ll work out. Eventually.
Her attention goes back to Yaz and Sammy and she notices the Texan stirring awake. Not wanting to be caught watching them, Brooklynn closes her eyes and pretends to be asleep. She risks a peek, opening one of her eyes and catches Sammy standing above Yaz, who’s now laying down, covered by their blanket. Sammy leans down and places a chaste peck on Yaz’s cheek, the track star sighing but not visibly waking up. She watches as Sammy heads up to the bridge, presumably to relieve Kenji.
“Hey.”
Brooklynn turns her head and sees that Yaz is looking right at her.
“Oh. Uh.”
“I just wanted to say… thanks.”
“For what?”
Yaz yawns and settles back in, her voice going soft.
“For talking to Sammy, being there for her, checking up on her. It means a lot to her. Means a lot to me, too.” Yaz is barely audible as she says that last part.
As sleep also starts to take her again, Brooklynn can’t help but smile at the thought. She doesn’t feel like she did much of anything, but those words touch her.
Even if it was for nosy and selfish reasons, she’s glad to hear that her snooping had some good come out of it.
And despite what she promised Sammy, she probably won’t stop doing it.
2024 Redraw!
