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“Spend the night with a bunch of strangers who could turn into zombies while I’m sleeping? Hah! No thank you.” Shawn said in a concerned tone into the confessional.
Shawn wasn’t gonna sleep next to some strangers he just met today, that’d be crazy! Especially since he was constantly scanning his environment for potential zombie threats from his training. He roamed away from his new team because for one, they’re incompetent and can’t even make a decent shelter—which is like… zombie survival 101! Second of all, who knows if zombies are roaming around in this weird island; they might even be among the people he met today!
Whilst Shawn was preoccupied with his train of thought, he left the confessional and just before he was ready to begin scanning the surrounding land mass he heard a voice come from behind him.
“What a weird team we have, am I right?” A somewhat familiar voice said, coming from behind.
Shawn’s stomach sank, is this a zombie coming for him!? He reflexively turned around frightened to face his perceived foe in a defensive position. When he saw who creeped up behind him it was one of his team members, that guy wearing the blue sweater vest. Dave, I’m pretty sure his name was.
“Huh!? Where’d you come from, zombie!” Shawn shouted back at his newly found opponent with a mix of terror and aggression in his demeanour.
“What?” Dave questioned. “Uhhh no? If I was a zombie do you think I would be talking to you right now?” He said with a puzzled expression on his face, directing his gaze of Shawn and his paranoid attitude.
Dave’s words seem to soothe Shawn’s anxiety, at least a little. However he was still on his guard. “Well you dunno what could be hiding around here! Besides, why are you following me?”
“You seriously expect me to deal with those freaks? I mean let’s get this straight… a guy who only makes weird sounds, two girls fighting over a bucket of glitter, and a WIZARD? Oh and uh, the other girl… but she’s besides the point.” Dave sighed, crossing his arms in the process.
Shawn dropped his defensive pose and returned to his previously semi-relaxed demeanour, Shawn has always found it quite hard to relax completely; I mean zombies could be around every corner! You never know when you’ll have to spring into action. “Fine… you can come, I’m foraging for berries—but I have my eye on you-” Shawn said, faltering as he heard an intense vibration in the ground. Who knows what was about to happen! Amidst the chaos he grabbed Dave by the collar and pulled him into the bush, observing the onslaught on moose that rushed across the environment. Dave looked up at Shawn while he was waiting for the coast to be clear, once it was okay to come out—Shawn let go of Dave and stumbled out of the bush. Dave got up and cleaned the dirt and debris off his clothes, to a pretty excessive extent at that.
“Hey thanks for- are you KIDDING ME?” Dave shouted out, about to thank Shawn for saving him from being trampled by a moose when he saw the wizard tower being knocked down in the distance.
“I didn’t save Dave because I liked him, I did it as a test to see if he was a zombie! He could’ve tried to eat me because he was so close, of course I was ready to fight if I needed to. Though he seems safe… for now. Sometimes you have to take calculated risks in the apocalypse!” Shawn told the camera in the confessional, he always figured himself as more of a lone wolf type; but Dave didn’t seem too bad to have around. Though he figured that he’d have to be wary in case Dave showed any signs of turning.
“Campers! Please come to the designated area for rolling!” Chris said over the speakers that were scattered across the island. A little bit later, after Beardo’s elimination the outro of the first episode commenced.
“Campers, you’re dismissed until tomorrow.” Chris told the camper as he and chef went off to wherever they go after rolling, Shawn didn’t really care too much about them. He figured the opposing team had already gotten settled into their dwelling so Shawn was gonna forage for some berries like he was previously planning too and hopefully find a very, very high branch he was sleeping on at night to avoid zombies trying to plot a sneak attack. Quickly following what Chris said, his team quickly dispersed back to wherever they are going to sleep tonight.
“Hey Dave, do you wanna forage for berries? We were gonna do it earlier anyway.” Shawn caught up with Dave as he was leaving, he did somewhat enjoy Dave’s company earlier. Shawn is used to being alone a lot so someone actually being willing to come up to him and speak was appreciated, even if he wasn’t necessarily expecting it.
“Oh yeah I forgot about that, today has been kinda, well… REALLY crazy.” Dave said, chuckling to himself slightly. “Sure though, I don’t really have anything else to do here.”
“Sweet!” Shawn declared happily, moving his attention away from his teammates; and to the forest where he was previously exploring. He started to make his way into the depths of the woods and Dave soon followed. “I’m gonna teach you everything you need to know about zombies!” Shawn told Dave, pleased with himself for taking on a mentor role.
“Ummm… no offence but I don’t really think there’s any zombies here, if there were I’m pretty sure we would’ve known by now.” Dave responded haphazardly as he proceeded to tread through the thick and crowded woods, searching for a clearing in the trees.
“That’s the number one reason why people get eaten by zombies! You never know when a walker will show up, so you always gotta be on guard! Come on man, that's just basic stuff.” Shawn told Dave, heading forth through the trees; once they found a suitable spot to forage they started to collect whatever they could in the surrounding area—with the moonlight casting a dim light across the forest.
“Uh right, isn’t that a bit of a sad way to live though? I mean you must be stressed all the time having to worry about zombies constantly.” Dave peered his head over the bush to gaze at Shawn, who was busy carefully scanning the berries to see which ones were edible and safe.
“Well the walkers won’t be able to get me! I’m fine as long as I can survive and protect myself when the apocalypse inevitably comes! If other people don’t get it then that’s their problem, not my brains.” Shawn said dismissively, he didn’t really give a clear answer about his stress; and he didn’t exactly want to delve deep into that either. Deep down though, it did stress him out a little—I don’t think many people exactly want to live in paranoia constantly but to Shawn he had become numb to it from worrying about walkers.
“Must get a little lonely sometimes huh? That’s what I’m guessing anyway.” Dave asked. Shawn thought his new questions were a little prying; and took his attention away from trying to teach Dave about how to protect himself from zombies. Shawn was a little flattered though, that someone actually cared enough to talk about these issues with him—he thought about it a little but he never had anyone to actually speak about it with; so he just repressed those emotions because it didn’t serve him and his endeavour to protect himself from zombies.
“Eh, I mean it’s whatever… I appreciated you trying to talk before the whole moose incident. Speaking of which, you should probably watch out for them too.” Shawn said, dodging the question directly again. He knew he wasn’t good at facing vulnerability, most of the time he didn’t even know how to be emotionally open with other people because of his paranoia. Wrapped up in the conversation, he began to lose focus on what the actual objective was; to forage for berries, and was more focused on Dave and his safety.
“Yeah… heh, no problem. Anyway, I think I’ve foraged a… somewhat decent amount of berries? Enough for the night at least.” Dave said, giggling slightly when Shawn verbalised his appreciation for Dave and him following him yesterday. Even though Dave just initially followed Shawn because he was tired of his team full of freaks, Shawn wasn’t so bad, Dave thought he was a good guy at heart after spending the time foraging with him. To be completely honest, Shawn was aware that Dave didn’t follow him to actually be friendly to him and that he was just getting away from the team; but he still appreciated it regardless.
“Show me how many berries you foraged, I think I’m gonna call it a night.” Shawn said, stumbling over the bushes and plants and clumsily catching up to the bush that Dave was foraging at. Dave got up, brushed down his clothes and showed Shawn his berries… yeah, there was barely anything there at all. Shawn figured Dave was enraptured in the pleasantries of their conversation, which Shawn was too. “Come on, there’s barely anything—that won’t do you.” Shawn replied to Dave showing him the basket.
Shawn gazed down into his own bag, normally he would’ve gotten a whole lot more; but he was focused on Dave. He got a lot more than Dave though, as he was an experienced forager as part of the training process for the apocalypse. “Here, take mine. You’ll need it a whole lot more than I do, food storage training was part of my training.” Shawn told Dave, gesturing to him to take the basket.
“You foraged those berries yourself, are you sure? I’ll be fine, probably… if the moose doesn't get to me first.” Dave replied in a slightly concerned tone, but Shawn only held the basket closer to Dave; he wanted to do something nice for Dave because at least he was willing to put up with him. Plus! He’s a newbie in zombie training, he needs to pass the lower levels first! “Come on man, just take it, let’s trade resources; that’s a major part of zombie survival.” Shawn told Dave.
“If you say so.” Dave said, as they exchanged bags their hands accidentally touched and they looked into eachother eyes in a mix of embarrassment and awkwardness. Dave’s hand was warm and nice, which was a nice substitute to the cold night air. “Oh uh..” Shawn said, averting his gaze from Dave in embarrassment—even though he secretly liked it. “Ah…” Dave said, looking down. “Well, I’m gonna head back to the team, they’re probably wondering where we are—you coming?” Dave asked, probably to try and distract himself and Shawn from the awkward situation that just ensued.
“Nah, I’m gonna sleep on the branch of a high tree. So if any walkers show up then they won't be able to get to me while I’m asleep and vulnerable.” Shawn said, smiling subtly, it was less because he was happy with himself and more to reassure Dave and to tell him that he was fine and he’d be alright.
“Shawn, there’s no zombies anywhere remotely near here.” Dave sighs, his tone a little defeated. “Just stay safe okay? Make sure you don’t fall off a branch either.” Dave says as he scans the high branches of the trees surrounding them. “We need you alive for the challenge tomorrow.” Dave says somewhat sarcastically, like he’s trying to lift the mood of the conversation.
“Dave I’ll be fine, trust me; I’ve done this loads before.” Shawn said, trying to reassure Dave of him sleeping high up. Dave replied to Shawn with a slight solemn smile as he walked off in the direction that his team members wandered off to with the bag of berries that Shawn gave him. “Thanks for caring about me though…” Shawn mumbled under his breath, he was a little embarrassed from being vulnerable and expressing his gratitude for Dave.
“Anytime, good night Shawn.” Shawn didn’t actually expect Dave to hear what he had said, but honestly he figures this outcome was better than if Dave didn’t hear him. “Good night Dave.” Shawn replied as he watched the figure of Dave leave his line of sight.
Shawn sighed and looked down at his bag, he hoped that Dave would enjoy the berries that he foraged. Anyways, no time for waiting around; zombies could be sneaking up on him anytime now. Especially since it’s night and his vision is slightly obscured, he scanned his environment and found a tree with the highest branch he could find. He went up to the tree trunk and looked up. Shawn felt exhausted from today but just a little more energy and he could finally rest after that long day. He started climbing up the tree, using up all his energy and might to make his way up to the top of the tree. As he climbed up to the highest branch, he put his basket in a safe position and leaned against the tree. Usually it’s a lot easier for him but it’s been a long day, I mean between the zeppelin and the challenge… he’s lost his vitality for today. After a few minutes of staring into the sky and gazing up at the stars, he closes his eyes and starts thinking about his recent experience with Dave. The chilly night air was cooling on his skin, but nothing he hadn’t dealt with before. Dave’s hand was really warm… and it felt nice. He’s not really used to human touch, usually he prefers to stay away from it… you know, with walkers and everything he has to be careful. After a while of thinking about Dave and how his long day went, he started to drift off the sleep.
Shawn awoke to the sun shining on him and the birds chirping, he rubbed his eyes and stretched. He could hear some other familiar voices below him.
“Wow! I would’ve given you a bite if you asked!” The first voice replied.
“I’m sorry but that’s a-“ The second voice responded, as Shawn looked down he saw Sammy and Jasmine from the opposing team foraging for food. Sammy picked up a Manchineel fruit.
“Manchineel fruit, the Spanish refer to it as manzanilla de la muerte aka the little apple of death.” Shawn interjected, as he climbed down the tree where he was previously slumbering.
“He’s right, well it probably wouldn’t have killed you but it would’ve made your mouth blister something awful.” Jasmine told Sammy.
“Oh! My hand! It’s so itchy!” Sammy gasped, looking at her red blistering hand while scratching it to alleviate the itching.
“Congrats princess, you just got your first lesson in survival 101—know your flora. Lesson two, soak your hand in water, scrub it with sand, swelling gone!” Shawn told Sammy, Shawn liked to give advice to people about survival issues as he was very knowledgeable and experienced. He did like to take on that mentoring role, after that exchange he had with Dave yesterday. After all, you can’t rest when zombies are chasing after you!
“Oh… but, I’m supposed to help you with the foraging.” Sammy said to Jasmine, somewhat disappointed that she failed to identify the proper fruit to eat.
“You won’t be of any help when your hand swells up like a wicket-keepers glove.” Jasmine explained to Sammy, as she stared at Jasmine awkwardly. It was clear she didn’t understand what she was talking about. “Cricket? I-It’s a game… just go.” Jasmine replied to Sammy’s confusion as she left.
“Huh. Didn’t get many berries, did you mate?” Jasmine said, pointing to the almost empty bag of berries Shawn had on his person.
“Oh haha, yeah well Dave did most of the work. We were out foraging, when you’re in groups it’s harder for the zombies to corner ya!” Shawn spared Jasmine the details because she didn’t want her nosing in his business with Dave. In most cases he would’ve explained the situation, however considering the intimate circumstances surrounding last night it would be extremely awkward to disclose that information to someone who’s basically a stranger.
“Dave ey? That scrawny little guy? Hmmm… well I suppose you can never judge a book by its cover.” Jasmine replied to Shawn, thinking briefly for a moment. Yeah, it probably didn’t make much sense for Dave of all people to be the one bringing in all of the berries.
“Campers! The only good thing about this morning is that it’s gonna get worse, for you! Haha! There’s a path heading into the forest, follow it to today's herctacular challenge!” Jasmine and Shawn stared at each other in silence, they seemed to mutually agree that Chris was a pretty weird guy.
As Shawn followed the path towards the challenge, he caught up with his team and started to walk with them. Each member seemed to be carrying a handful of berries, Dave was carrying the bag so he could only assume that it was Shawn’s original bag that fed the team. As he started walking with them, Dave gazed behind and looked at Shawn. Their eyes locked in unison, as Dave drew his gaze away in a scattered fashion; probably to avoid creating attention about last night to their team members. They both seemed to mutually agree that keeping the events that happened last night secret was the best course of action, to save both their dignities.
“See, this is teamwork. Way to go Dave!” Sky cheers to Dave.
“Oh. Haha, all in a day's work.” Dave said somewhat awkwardly, though Shawn could tell he was trying to mask it with a feigned enthusiasm. Probably not just because of the events that happened last night but because of all of the eccentric characters on his team. As they approach the area where the challenge takes place Chris explains the instructions to the campers. Shawn picks a spot throughout the challenge, as Sky suggests—he settles on the zipline part. Seems easy enough, I mean it’s only transporting a pig… what harm could be done right? Plus, he’s good with high stress situations, so it was only natural for him to fall into the role.
After the challenge starts, Sky pushes up the pig to Shawn over the incline and he takes the pigs front paws and carries the pig on his back. “See little guy? To survive this game, you gotta use your head.” Shawn reassures the pig, not long after the pig bites Shawn’s helmet. Luckily it didn’t hurt because he had a helmet on, however the fear of his brain being eaten by a zombie struck fear into him and he started screaming in response to this. In his flurry rush, he thought of last night and how Dave reassured him; even when he was nervous. Even though his stomach sank to the bottom of his gut he still managed the courage to hook the pig up to the zipline and glide down with it because of Dave. “AHHH! GET OFF ME ZOMBIE!” Shawn screamed as he glided down the zipline as the pig was biting his head. When he descended to the next part of the obstacle course he threw the pig the Sugar and started to collect himself from the hyperventilating.
Topher descended soon after him, after Chris declared the commercial break it gave the contestants a brief respite from the strenuous. Shawn couldn’t believe to himself that he actually managed to persist in that situation and overcame his fears, well momentarily. It might’ve just been the adrenaline talking but Dave being considerate to him last night gave him the courage to make the decision to continue on with the challenge. He decided to roam around the obstacle course, one—to see the future challenges his teammates would have to endure and secondly to check up on how everyone was doing, and especially Dave. Well, extremely because of Dave. Okay, maybe it was entirely because of Dave. As Shawn went up to the part of the course Dave was present they exchanged a brief glance, Dave smiled at Shawn and glanced away quickly. Shawn didn’t want to be too forward with his feelings because that would be weird, and he wasn’t fully sure if Dave even reciprocated his attraction yet. Dave’s presence just had a calming effect on Shawn, as if being near him all of his worries dissipated. As Shawn roamed around for a little while in his train of thought, eventually it was Dave’s turn to lead the pig forth. He keenly watched on as Ella handed Dave the handle of the leash that was around the pig.
As Dave ran the opposing teams pig threw grease onto Dave, making him visibly uncomfortable. As he ran through the grease covered track he eventually started freaking out. “Ahhh! Sanitizer! I need hand sanitizer! It’s sandpaper for scrubbing!” Dave screamed out, Shawn sprung into action and rushed over to Dave who was clearly distressed.
“Dave! Man, you’re okay. Alright? I’m here Dave, you don’t gotta worry.” Shawn consoled Dave, trying to comfort him in the process. Shawn gripped Dave on the shoulders to try and talk sense into him. Dave’s hyperventilating seemed to dissipate as Shawn gazed into Dave’s eyes with a comforting, yet slightly concerned expression. As Dave started taking deep, controlled breaths he turned his attention to Shawn and stood there; Shawn smiled a little to reassure Dave and Dave smiled back as a gesture of affection. “You okay?” Shawn mumbled again, admittedly a little embarrassed by the close proximity they are to each other.
“Hah… yeah… hah… sorry, germs just… kinda gross me out.” Dave said, still trying to get his breath back momentarily. Shawn stopped gripping his shoulders and took a step back. “Thanks though, Shawn.” Dave said, looking up at Shawn. Shawn could tell that Dave was blushing a little and this came as a shock to him, he wasn’t used to someone actually reciprocating his feelings. Shawn wasn’t even used to feeling things for people that deeply anyway, he figured that if he got too attached and they got taken by the zombies then it could cause more pain than it was worth.
“You know, I never really figured that Dave was some germaphobe. Though I guess that time where he kept dusting off his clothes when I grabbed him into the bush was a little weird… I’m really glad I was there to calm him down though.” Shawn said in the confessional, he left; a little disappointed that his team didn’t win the challenge… but he was glad that he was there for Dave. Just as the challenge was wrapping up and people were starting to disperse, Shawn quickly caught up with Dave—who seemed to be waiting for him.
“Shawn!” Dave said, taking his gaze to Shawn and walking over to him. “Bummer we lost…” Dave sighed. “All thanks to that stupid wizard… I know who’s got my vote tonight.” Dave shouted slightly, just enough so his team members could hear it from a distance.
“Ditto… but at least you’re alright and that’s all that matters.” Shawn said, trying to console Dave from the second consecutive loss in a row that their team has endured. Though, he’s not all too worried and he hopes that Dave isn’t either—since he’s pretty sure that wizard guy is gonna go next. “Well, to take our minds off it you wanna go foraging again? Everyone thinking you got all those berries was pretty funny.” Shawn chuckled to himself softly.
“Yeah, it was a little awkward.” Dave said, chuckling along with Shawn. Dave looked around the area surrounding the challenge finish, everyone had already dispersed but who knew what was hiding out there. “Let’s go somewhere more private to forage, if the cameras picked this up that would be pretty embarrassing.”
“Yeah, definitely. This island is so big, who knows what’s roaming around.” Shawn replied to Dave. Dave nodded in response to Shawn’s statement and quickly followed suit when Shawn started to tread into the deep thick forest.
“Hey… thanks for calming me down earlier. I hope you don’t think I’m weird or anything, dirt just makes me squeamish. Pretty stupid decision to come to this island, huh?” Dave said, somewhat defeated that he couldn’t overcome his fear. Shawn picked up on the tinge of insecurity and tried to console him.
“Hey it’s alright man. We both did our part in the challenge so there’s really nothing to worry about. Okay?” Shawn said, being mindful of all of the rocks and thorns strewn out across the forest. “Yeah I guess you’re ri- is that a cave?” Dave said, poking his head out behind Shawn as they stopped by a clearing.
“Hmmm, guess you’re right.” Shawn said, wandering over to the cave's entrance and peering inside, after scoping out the insides briefly Dave and Shawn could hear footsteps coming from behind them. It was their team.
“Nice find Shawn! Now we can sleep peacefully… well, as peaceful as you can get in a place like this I suppose.” Sky said, as the team members scurried their way inside of the newly discovered cave.
“Oh nah, it was actually Dave here who found it. Not me.” Shawn said somewhat cheerfully, patting Dave on the back slightly as a sign of affection. Dave smiled somewhat awkwardly and sat down carefully on the rocks.
“Wâneyihtam Maskwak, please head to the elimination campfire area.” Chris announced from the speakers, there were a lot of groans from Shawn’s teammates; but they made their way to the campfire ceremony.
After a… not so surprising vote, Leonard was eliminated from the show. Shawn didn’t talk to Leonard much but Dave didn’t seem to like him very much so it’s whatever. When the cameras stopped rolling, Shawn leaned over and whispered to Dave.
“Wanna go foraging? We kinda forgot again... heh.” Shawn asked Dave. Dave reflexively blushed a little by hearing Shawn whisper in his ear, but after a few seconds of being paralysed by Shawn’s intimate gesture he nodded. “Y-Yeah, let’s go.”
Eventually Shawn and Dave found a bunch of bushes in a clearing with a view of the waterfall in the distance. As the night grew darker the moonlight dimly brightened upon the surface, honestly; it was really a beautiful sight. Shawn barely stopped to take in his environment, because he’s so occupied scanning it for potential threats he can forget to notice the beauty in things. “It’s beautiful tonight huh?” Dave interjected his train of thought, almost as if Dave knew what Shawn was thinking.
“Yeah… this might be weird for you, huh? Being out in the wilderness like this, you don’t really come across as the type to enjoy camping much.” Shawn said, picking some berries off the bushes that he was glancing at.
“This is definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity for me, I mean, this and getting picked for the show of course.” Dave giggled to himself softly as he started picking the berries in suit of Shawn. “What about you?”
“Oh yeah, I go out a lot. It’s all part of my zombie training, I mean you never knew when your shelter is gonna get destroyed at a moment's notice, ya know?” Shawn replied to Dave, in fact—being around Dave actually made Shawn think less about zombies and more about the comforting sensation he got being around Dave.
“It must get lonely being all alone in places like this, how’d you manage? I think I would go insane if I had to live here alone.” Dave peered up from his bush after he accumulated an appropriate amount of berries.
“I’m just used to it, I never really had many friends. So I was just used to being alone I guess, with the zombies and all… I just wanna protect myself. I don’t wanna be in pain, I don’t wanna be hurt, and if nobody else will protect me then who will, ya know?” Shawn blurted out, almost like a waterfall of emotions flowing out of his mouth. Which was pretty fitting, considering there was a literal waterfall behind them. Shawn wasn’t really comprehending what he was saying in that moment, deep down he knew all those things were true but he never had someone he could rely on like Dave. Someone he could trust and someone he could truly be vulnerable with to disclose information too personal.
“Awww, Shawn. I’ll always be here for you, you can count on me. Even if I’m not really all that experienced in outdoorsy stuff.” Dave said with a comforting smile on his face, trying to reciprocate the previous time earlier today during the challenge when Shawn comforted Dave. He got up from the bush, dropped his bag and went up to give Shawn a big hug.
Shawn was caught off guard by the hug, but he didn’t resist it at all. If anything he embraced back and held Dave within his arms, Dave was so warm… way better than anything that sitting out in the cold rain at night could offer. He could feel the heat radiating off of him and he indulged in that euphoric feeling for the brief moments that they touched. When the hug subsided Dave looked down at the ground, somewhat embarrassed and somewhat blushing and Shawn did the same. “Well… we could probably head back, I’ve foraged enough tonight and the teams probably worried.” Shawn said, breaking the silence; but it wasn’t an awkward silence like the previous times they spoke. Shawn felt like he could trust Dave, and that he wasn’t going to hurt him.
“Oh, yeah, today's challenge kinda exhausted me.” Dave laughed briefly as they exchanged glances, right after Shawn was on route to the cave that they had previously discovered he tripped over a rock and fell in a puddle of mud. “Aw man!” Shawn said sharply, surprised by the fall, and for ruining the intimate moment between them.
“Shawn, are you okay!?” Dave said in shock, as he rushed over to Shawn and helped him up from the muddy ground; getting mud all over his clothes in the process. Dave didn’t even process it though, because his affection for Shawn was beyond his fear for germs. Their affection both subsided each other's fears, and together they enhanced each other's strengths. “Yeah… my clothes aren’t though.” Shawn sighed. “Thanks for helping me up though, sucks about my berries.” Shawn said, pointing to all the muddy berries covered across the ground. “It’s fine Shawn, my bag will be more than enough.” Dave tried to reassure Shawn.
“Uhhh, you okay Dave?” Shawn asked cautiously, pointing to the dirt on Dave’s clothes, covered in mud and dirt from helping Shawn up off the ground. Dave looked down to see all of the mud covering him, admittedly he didn’t even register that fifth was on him to begin with because he was too concerned about Shawn. When he did see the dirt, he did have a somewhat shocked look on his face but he looked collected when Shawn was around, because Dave knew that he could count on Shawn. “Yeah… it’s nothing.” Dave responded.
“We should… probably go wash off.” Shawn replied, pointing to the waterfall in the distance. Sure their clothes would get wet and it would be pretty annoying to wait for them to dry, but it was better than nothing.
“We don’t really have a choice do we, I don’t wanna be stuck in muddy clothes.” Dave responded to Shawn, nodding in agreement that they should clean themselves in the waterfall, nobody will see right? He just hoped that the cameras won’t catch them washing themselves together anyway.
They hastily made their way over to the waterfall and Dave immediately stripped down to his boxers, he seemed very eager to get out of his dirty clothes. Shawn gulped at the sight of Dave’s slim yet toned body, he averted his gaze, then looked back, then averted his gaze, then looked back in a blushing flury. “It’s only awkward if you make it awkward, you know?” Dave said, somewhat amused by Shawn’s bashful attitude towards seeing Dave’s body.
“I guess you’re right.” Shawn stripped down to his boxers too, and the two boys made eye contact with each other half naked. It was kinda weird, but Shawn also liked it too. Dave seemed to enjoy staring at Shawn’s body too, which made him kinda embarrassed but a good kind of embarrassed which he couldn’t describe. Anyways, he stepped into the waterfall and waited for Dave to join in, letting the water soak his body thoroughly, rinsing all of the dirt and debris off. Dave stepped in the waterfall after a brief moment and stood right next to Shawn, which made Shawn a little bit nervous. Dave began to wash the dirt off too, while directing his gaze up to Shawn.
“This really wasn’t on my agenda for today.” Dave said as he smiled playfully. “Yeah… Well, I’m glad it happened. I know we’ve only known each other for a short while, and we met under circumstances where we’re on some TV show filled with weirdos, but I really like you Dave… and I enjoy the time I spend with you, you know foraging and stuff… makes me feel like someone in this world actually appreciates me, ya know?”
When Shawn made his emotional speech, Dave’s cheeks started to creep in with red slowly. It was clear that he was trying to hide the blushing but that didn’t fool Shawn, just as Shawn was about to speak again Dave holds Shawn’s waist and goes on his tiptoes to kiss him passionately on the lips. Letting the waterfall drip on both of them as Dave tastes Shawn’s insides, wrapping his tongue around every crevice of his mouth; indulging in the feeling of ecstasy he got by being intimate with the guy who’s helped him overcome his fears, and the guy that he helped overcome his fears. It was clear that Shawn wasn’t again the kiss, and Shawn did the exact same, Shawn’s hands crept along Dave’s back; feeling all of the body heat radiating from the one person that he truly appreciated. This was bliss.