Volanta

Oliver wasn't sure how much longer they could go wandering before they were going to be too weak to continue. He and Pippa were both starving, but neither of them said anything so they wouldn't discourage or annoy the other. There were a handful of berries in Pippa's bag, and they hadn't found any of the bushes they knew of. Oliver felt it was better to be hungry than risk eating anything poisonous.

While he was still a little sore, he was glad Pippa was feeling better. At least they could walk without him worrying about her getting even more hurt. He would've loved to run the vials of water through tests, but there was a much bigger issue at hand. The jungle was getting thicker, and Oliver felt that his map was wrong. Either that, or the jungle itself had changed. Oliver wouldn't have been surprised if that were the case. This island was surprising him more and more every minute.

He noticed Pippa fall a little behind, having a harder time getting through the thick plant life than him. She watched her step as Jasper moved along the low branches of the trees near her, and Oliver saw she was trying not to trip over the vines on the ground. She stumbled, and Oliver caught her, lifting her back on his feet.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said, turning a little red.

Oliver realized that he still had his arm around her and he stepped to the side a little too quickly and tripped backwards over a vine. Pippa tried to catch him, but he was a little too big and heavy, so she just went down with him. She fell on top of him, and they both scrambled to move apart but got tangled in the vines and only made the situation even more uncomfortable.

"Stop struggling," Oliver said. "I have a knife in my pocket."

He managed to get the switchblade out and cut them free of the vines. Pippa moved away from him and nearly fell again with how quickly she stood up.

"I think it's time to take a break," Oliver sighed.

Pippa was happy to oblige, plopping herself down on a fallen log. Oliver sat beside her, stretching out his back with a deep sigh. He suddenly became alert when he heard a twig snap, looking over his shoulder. There was nothing there, and neither Pippa nor Jasper seemed to have noticed.

"Do you feel like maybe... we're not alone?" Oliver asked her quietly, looking around.

"What? Why?" she frowned. "Did you see something?"

"No, but I keep hearing things," Oliver mumbled. "It's probably just the jungle."

"Maybe it's the rest of the crew," she suggested. "I didn't hear anything, though."

"I doubt it," he said. "They wouldn't sneak around like that. Well, Peter might. That man is out to get me."

"No he's not," Pippa smirked. "Your fixation on Peter is incredible to me. I'm thinking that maybe you're the one who fancies him."

"I do not fancy him," Oliver said defensively. "I just don't like him. There's something shifty about him. Especially around you. He doesn't have good intentions. I can just tell."

"Why do you care what his intentions with me are?" she questioned.

"Your father wouldn't like him," Oliver continued.

"I didn't ask what my father wouldn't like," she said. "I asked why you care so much."

"Stop it, Pippa," Oliver said, looking down when he felt his face turning red.

She went silent, but he could tell she was studying his expression as she pet Jasper's head. Oliver wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to her. They were stuck in a jungle together. He couldn't admit to her that he genuinely cared about her well-being. She deserved better than Peter, or anyone waiting for her at home. They wouldn't appreciate or relate to her.

They wouldn't be good for her like you would, right Ollie?

Elliot's teasing, sarcastic voice rang in Oliver's head, but he pushed the thought from his mind. So that's what all his mixed feelings had come to. At the end of the day, he felt he was the only one who understood Pippa, and he was just as head over heels as anyone else. Not for her good looks, either. She was the only one he felt he could talk to, with the knowledge that she actually understood what the hell he was saying. And now that he'd come to this realization, he knew she was way too good for him. He couldn't offer her anything but a shallow grave in an unknown jungle with nothing but shame to her name. And so, he buried the thoughts deep within himself. It was probably just jungle madness.

“You’re acting weird,” Pippa said, finally. “We should keep going.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Oliver said. “I have a bad feeling, and I think we should just take a moment to clear our heads.”

“So you can criticize my choice in men some more, just like you criticize everything else?” she accused.

“What?” he asked, brow furrowing in confusion. “I don’t criticize anything.”

She stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder and rolling her eyes. Jasper hopped off her lap and disappeared into the bushes ahead.

“You criticize everyone, Oliver,” she said. “You’ve been judgemental of Peter since you first looked at him.”

“Because Peter is no better than dog shit,” Oliver said, watching her try and move forward.

“Why? All he does is try to get my attention,” she scoffed. “Are you jealous of him or something?”

Oliver went silent. Her eyes widened, and she turned to face him, studying his expression.

“Oh my god, you’re jealous of Peter, aren’t you?” she said quietly.

“No, I’m not jealous of Peter because you give him attention,” Oliver said a little too quickly. “He’s just constantly trying to make me look bad in front of you.”

“Why do you care about how you look in front of me?”

“I never said you,” Oliver said defensively. “I said ‘everyone’. He makes me look bad in front of everyone.”

“That is not what you said,” Pippa said, her nose and cheeks getting a little red as she grew more and more frustrated. “For goodness sakes, Oliver! Just say what you mean!”

“I don’t know what you want from me!”

“You’re impossible!”

She glared at him and stormed off into the bushes, not waiting for him to get up.

“Pippa!” Oliver called. “Don’t go alone!”

“I’m not alone, Jasper is… somewhere.”

“Pippa, just wait! You have no idea what is up ahead,” Oliver said, getting up and following a little ways behind her. It was hard to run and catch up in that terrain. “There could be another cliff up ahead.”

“Leave me alone!”

Oliver scowled in frustration and attempted to catch up to her, but both of them were almost tripping and falling. Oliver still had a nagging feeling that they weren’t safe there. He no longer felt as if they were being watched, but something was off about the trees. It was like they were strategically placed, and some of the branches looked like they had been cut.

“Pippa, I’m serious,” Oliver called again. “There’s something weird here, and you need to slow down.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

“I will tell you what to do, because contrary to popular belief, I am the leader of this investigation and I need to start acting like one! So you better start listening!”

And then Oliver got a slap in the face. A literal slap in the face.