Page 12 of Glamour & Gumballs

Maybe.

Okay, fine, making friends wasn’t one of my fortes. Not even a little.

But for the sake of not ending up married to an abusive asshole, I could learn.

Hopefully.

Until then… well, I didn’t like Reid much. At least Kyle had been polite and friendly when he tried to give me a nickname. Reid had basically ignored me.

So, why not try to get him out the way I’d seen Molly get rid of Julian? I could stick with him. Focus on him. Pay attention to him.

Or I could try, at least.

I nodded at the ocean, my mind made up.

I was going to cause chaos.

Somehow.

three

ERIN

Making friends on the island turned out to be even harder than making friends back at home.

Every time I tried to start a conversation with a guy, he would chat pleasantly for all of one minute before finding an excuse to walk away, heading right into a group of other guys.

And I wasn’t comfortable enough to talk to a whole group.

So, I went looking for someone else, until they did the same thing.

The only person I didn’t try to talk to was Rhett, because he still looked murderous. As much as I disliked my situation, and didn’t feel like I was in danger, I wasn’t ready to be killed by a gorgeous fae dude.

My frustration grew as the day went on.

The men had obviously figured out Molly’s strategy in the last season—or had at least realized that befriending her made them a target—so they were keeping things neutral with me when they weren’t in a group.

Eventually, I gave up on friendship and plopped down at the base of a tree that kept me somewhat shaded from the rain. Plenty of water still leaked through its leaves, but it was better than being out in the middle of it.

I spent the rest of the day watching the guys build. They didn’t seem fazed by the rain, chatting away as they built multiple shelters. They were a lot more effective than they had been in the episode I’d seen of the first season. Experience was probably to blame for that.

And they weren’t building one big shelter the way they had the last time. Instead, they put together four medium ones. The medium ones seemed sturdier than the large one I’d seen on the first season, which was probably necessary considering the rain hadn’t stopped.

The wind started picking up around dinner time. My teeth started chattering, but no one seemed to notice. Even if they did, they’d probably rather let me suffer than risk getting close to me.

Harker was the only fire elemental on the island, so he cooked a small pot of rice for everyone to share, blocking out the storm with his wings.

Kyle eyed me when he handed me the leaf that was functioning as my bowl. I assumed he’d been elected to give it to me since everyone assumed I wouldn’t choose him.

I probably wouldn’t, so they weren’t wrong.

“You’re cold,” he said.

“Nah,” I said, teeth still chattering.

His forehead creased in concern, and he crouched down in front of me.

My hand shook as I lifted the leaf to my lips and bit into the sticky pile of rice. The empty pit in my stomach made it the most delicious thing in the world.

---