`` in solitary ,, {open}

[Avarei Winter]

Avarei was used to being alone. She didn't mind it all that much anymore. But being hated? That was a new feeling all together. The blonde had been walking along the long, deserted stretch of sand for almost an hour, and she had finally reached her spot. It was the place she always used to come to when she wanted to be alone, back when she had friends. Now, it was just one of many places where she would be by herself. Still, it was the only one that she felt safe in. Why exactly that was, no one else could seem to understand. A few said it was the sea that did it. The steady breaking of the waves and the salty spray on her arms and face that reminded her of home. They were wrong.

Quickly, she scrambled up the rocks and onto the little ledge that was shaded by the trees that overhung from the cliff top. With her legs swinging freely high above the white sands of the beach, Avarei delved into her canvas passenger bag and pulled out her sketchbook and pencils. This was why she came here. The view was incredible. The vast, slightly curved coastline below, teamed up with the bluest waters she'd ever seen. To Avarei, this beach was something more than just a comfort blanket. It was utterly magical.

With a contented smile fixed firmly onto her face, Ava flipped through her book, trying to find the sketch she'd done from up here at the end of last year's camp. It had become a sort of tradition for Avarei. Every year, at the start and end of camp, she would sketch the view. Always on the morning of the first and evening of the last day. No matter what the weather. Her last one had been during a storm. The movement of the waves as they broke against the rocks below her was breathtaking, and the thrill of having to scale the cliff face when it was time to leave still made her heart race. Back then, she'd had all her friends there to help. Tyler had been waiting at the top with Jess, and he'd helped pull her up when she nearly fell. It had been terrifying, yes, but still a treasured memory. One she was in no danger of forgetting thanks to her drawing. Each picture evoked a certain memory. Each one made sure she would never forget the magic. That, and they were a good way to see how she'd progressed in her art. After a last look at her stormy sea sketch, Avarei turned to a fresh page and started to draw the bright, airy summer's day in front of her.

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[Tyler Bradford]

A year was a long time. They always moved so fast, flashing before your eyes, but when you look back on it, so much seems to happen in so little time. It felt like forever ago that Tyler had last been on the island. It also felt like forever ago since he last shaved more than a day ago, back in his dorm in Melbourne. Rubbing his lightly stubbly chin, Tyler smiled bitterly to himself. What a tosser, he thought to himself. After everything that had happened...it had just totally slipped his mind. He was back on the island and it had only just dawned on him that his old friends from The Elms would be there too.
“Shit.” It was the most coherent thought in his head at that particular moment, so he let it out. The only ears it fell upon were those of a nearby seagull. It peered at him with emotionless black eyes and hopped out of his way when he came close to it. Tyler kicked out with his foot, and the white bird took flight, screeching and wheeling on the sea air.

Tyler stopped to gaze at the sea caves, gaping holes in the pale ochre cliff-faces. He remembered swimming to one with Charlie and Lauren. They’d stayed there all day, messing around in the shallow water between the stalagmites that rose from the floor of the cave. Sighing, he scuffed his trainers through the sand and looked away from the cliff. Looking towards the cliffs on his own beach, he smiled faintly. A pair of legs hung from the edge of a ledge. A pair of very familiar legs, from a very familiar ledge. It took him a few moments to consider, but being the brash young man he was Tyler decided to brave it. Walking towards the cliff, he clambered up the uneven rock face and pulled himself up onto the ledge.

He made sure not to sit too close to the girl who was engrossed in her sketching. Tyler sat in silence, watching her carefully. Her wavy blonde hair fell over her face, hiding it from his view. She hadn’t changed much. She was still petite, soft looking. She was still the same Avarei she had been last year. Minus their friendship, he guessed. Tyler had been a complete ass to everyone, and he knew it. A small smirk pulled at his lips. It had all gone so fucking to plan. Sometimes he wished it hadn’t, to be honest. He wished that no one had believed that Avarei was a prostitute; he wished Lauren hadn’t cheated on Charlie with him for as long as she did. He wished none of it had ever happened. But at the same time, he felt a sick kind of satisfaction. He’d severed all his ties – he’d got what he wanted in the end. His smirk turned into a soft smile as he waited for Ava to acknowledge him.

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[Avarei Winter]

Hearing the surprised scream of a gull somewhere below, Avarei was jolted roughly back to earth. Nervously, she peered over the edge of the rocks, trying to see what was going on. From the sound of it, someone was trying their hand at seagull-throttling. When she saw the familiar figure below, Ava damn near fell off the ledge. Tyler. She'd not forgotten that he'd be here this year. But what was he doing on her bit of the island? Everyone knew this was where she came to think. Everyone. So, what waras he doing here? It could be that he'd just been wandering around and ended up here, but somehow Ava doubted it. If she'd learnt anything last year, it was that Tyler Bradford was always up to something.

Suspicious, but not stupid, Ava went back to her drawing before he spotted her, trying to focus on sketching the particularly weird-shaped cloud that had been irritaing her for the past 10 minutes. With her long, blonde hair forming a thick curtain between her and the vocalist that had just sat down beside her, she fought to ignore Tyler for as long as she could. There was no way she was going to speak first. Not until she knew what he was planning.

Eventually, the silence, and the pressure of being stared at so attentively got to her.
"Tienes una problema?.." do you have a problem? she finally asked, turning toward him. "...est-ce que je peux vous aider avec quelque chose, ou non?" can i help you with something, or not?As she spoke, Avarei couldn't help smirking. For some reason, chopping and changing between languages always amused her. It made her feel as if she had an advantage.

[Tyler Bradford]

Tyler’s sly little smile turned into a full blown grin as he waited for the girl to speak. He found these games he played more amusing than leaving live to its normal course. The boy loved to mess things up and reshuffle the cards. In sort, he liked screwing everything up for everyone else. Just when he was starting to wonder if the girl was actually going to talk, she started gibbering in other languages. His grin stayed fixed, and he tried not to laugh. Did Ava seriously think her little trick would throw him off guard? Tyler forced his lips together, keeping a broad smile on his face.
“No, no hay problema” (no, no problem) he returned quickly, the amused expression still on his face. Had Avarei forgotten that he was a Spanish student also? Apparently so. The French had confused him a little - Tyler hadn’t done French in a long time and he was obviously a little rusty. He tried anyway,
“Je suis tout à fait bien, merci.”(I am quite alright, thanks.)

He pulled one of his legs up onto the ledge, swinging his other leg gently and feeling the heel of his foot knocking against the pale tawny rock face below them. A refreshing breeze came in from the sea, stirring the stiff warm air that sat heavy and torpid with heat over the island. He felt hot and sticky, sweating uncomfortably. Tyler wasn’t great with sweat. Although he loved the heat, he really did despise getting sweaty. Normally he doused himself with antiperspirant every morning, but he hadn’t had a chance since arriving on the island. Without a second thought, he stripped off his shirt and tied it to the belt loop of his white denim shorts. Well, it wasn’t anything Ava hadn’t seen before, right?

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[Avarei Winter]

When the cocky idiot beside her replied without hesitation, Ava felt like pushing him off the ledge. It was so... frustrating. He'd been able to just escape all the judgement and drama, but she was left behind to try to clear up the mess, and it was harder than it looked. In all the time he'd been away, she'd almost forgotten that Spanish couldn't confuse Tyler, but she picked up on the slightly off pronunciation of his French with a smirk. He was more than just a little rusty.
"vous êtes un bâtard complet, vous savez cela ?" you're a complete bastard, do you know that? she asked, making a point to speak un peu faster than she usually did.

Ava had just enough time to wonder if Tyler had realised she was using the more formal "vous", rather than the friendlier form of "you", "tu", and doubt it, before he was suddenly pulling off his shirt and baring his chest. Even in her new disdain for the boy, Avarei couldn't help ogling his exposed flesh for a moment. He'd gained a lot more muscle since she last saw him. Furious with herself, she cast her eyes quickly back down to her sketch, focussing her attention again on that annoying little cloud that just wouldn't go right. It hardly seemed fair to her that after all this time, he could still make that familiar pink tint appear in her cheeks.

"So, to what, or who, do I owe the torture of your company?" she asked, turning to look at him once more when she'd regained her composure. "Remind me to murder the sod later, all right?"

[Tyler Bradford]

As she continued to babble away in French – something he couldn’t give a rat’s ass about – he yawned widely and closed his eyes. The sun warmed his face and his lungs were full of sea air. It was almost like being back home again in the blink of an eye. Back in Melbourne. He never thought of England as ever having being his home anymore. Home was where the people you cared about were and to be perfectly honest, Tyler didn’t have an iota of care for any one he left behind. You might say he was selfish but ... no really, you’d be right there. Tyler was all about himself. What was the harm in that? It was eat or be eaten, right?

Not completely meaning to, but maybe sort of subconsciously doing it, he leaned back and propped himself up with his hands behind himself. The sun warmed his chest in a more pleasant way to the stifling heat that had built up against his skin under his shirt previously. Glancing over at the girl, he searched for a reaction to his shirtlessness. Ah, there you go. He smirked faintly to himself, noting the colour that had risen in her cheeks. He still had it in him, obviously. Not to brag to himself or anything, but Tyler mused over the surfing and working out he’d been doing since he moved to Australia. It did wonders to your physique, you know. He felt like more of a lady killer than before.

The girl’s remark was obviously meant to cut him, but Tyler just smiled in a blasé manner.
“Sorry hun, there’s no one to blame. Tsk, no need to get violent,” he drawled, his English accent not even slightly tainted by Australian. He’d made it his personal quest to keep his accent for as long as possible.
“Just felt like saying hi.”

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[Avarei Winter]

Noticing the smirk that was slowly spreading over Tyler's face, Ava rolled her eyes and sighed lightly. He might have grown up on the outside in the past year, but he was still just as arrogant inwardly. That thought alone was more than enough to snap her out of her previously flustered state, and for the second time that day, Avarei wondered why she hadn't seen that darkness in Ty before he'd messed things up for her. Shrugging, she went back to her sketch again while he prattled on in his usual un-poetic drawl.

"I see." Ava said nonchalantly, once he'd finished indulging his ego. "so... ruin any more lives lately, or have you managed to find some of your own kind to breed with over in the land of oz?" she continued coldly, not bothering to look up from her artwork now, as she took great care to shade a crevice in one of the rocks opposite her ledge.

This whole experience seemed so alien to her. What exactly was a person supposed to do when she ran into her best friend's ex, who she slept with, and who went on to ruin her life? As far as Ava could tell, there was no real protocol for the situation, and she didn't have the faintest idea how to act. He must have known what she felt for him back then, and she just couldn't get her head around why he would do this. Why anyone would do this. And then there was Jess; she'd been almost as damaged as Ava had been, and she just didn't see how Ty could have hurt his girlfriend this much. They'd been the perfect couple, until he went berserk and messed it all up.