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[fakejaded]

When it was all over, more than anything else, Britta was tired. Maybe the wounds hadn't been real, but she was still aching from running all over the place and worn down from all they'd seen and dealt with. That it had all gone back to normal afterwards should have been reassuring, but really it just seemed like adding insult to injury, like they

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[wingerguarantee]

It wasn't actual luck they crossed paths. Jeff had spent the time he'd heard the news that something had happened telling himself he absolutely wasn't worried. He apparently hadn't convinced himself enough to not immediately head off to find her when he heard they'd been brought back.

He had, in his mind, a number of things he was planning on saying to her (most of which really came down to 'what you did was stupid'), but most of that dissipated once she was standing in front of him. The key, of course, being most.

"Well hey, since you brought it up, I did tell you what a stupid idea it was, didn't I?" he replied, arms crossing against his chest. That she thought she had a right to sound annoyed at him was helping him completely ignore the relief that hit him just seeing her in one piece. "Though, honestly? I'm finding it hard to gloat when saying that was such common sense to begin with."

[fakejaded]

"God, you are so predictable," Britta said, and though she'd stopped walking for a moment, she started again now. The stupid thing had been thinking for just a second that he might care enough to try and comfort her after the ordeal she'd been through (mostly she knew better, but there was always just a moment where she thought he might surprise her), but that was hardly unexpected. When it came to Jeff, it seemed like all she did were stupid things. She softened as she passed him, too worn out to hide how exhausted and hurt she was, even if she knew she'd started it. That really just made it worse. "Can you please just not? For one day, just... don't, okay? Save it for tomorrow or something."

[wingerguarantee]

She was unbelievable. He knew for once he had every reason to be annoyed. Yet here he was, now, feeling the always uncomfortable weight of guilt settling on him as she brushed past him. And for what? He hadn't just been trying to be contrary when he told her going to another island with practically strangers was a bad idea.

His knee-jerk response was to just let her go be miserable at someone else. He'd long realized it made life so much easier when he convinced himself he didn't give a shit. Against his better judgment, he instead turned and followed, closing the space between them and falling in step with her. He just told himself it was to his own benefit that he at least make sure she gets back to her hut. What better way to prove he wasn't predictable and she was wrong about that too, right?

"I still think you should have known better," he clarified, glancing over at her. Before she could get a word in edgewise (and he knew retort was coming), he then added, "Did you go get checked at the clinic

[fakejaded]

Britta shook her head, though it was more an answer to whether or not she was physically okay than to his question. "I'm fine," she said. "I went, but... it all disappeared when we finished the game." She hadn't even been hurt that badly, but it was still unsettling, both knowing she had been injured and the way it had vanished. All that was left was the exhaustion and bewilderment.

The horrible thing was, she knew he was right. She hated it when Jeff was right, but she'd known better. Admitting she'd just been stubborn would have stung too much, so she kept walking, but didn't try to outpace him this time, trying to hide her surprise that he'd bothered to follow. She wasn't about to say she wanted him to stay, especially since the last thing she really needed in this mood was to struggle with the additional problem of whether or not she actually wanted Jeff around (or, more honestly, the fact that she did).