Hillwood forest RP

((Oh god, somebody stop them!))

"Let go of Rhonda!" Harold said loudly as he tugged harder on Curly's shirt. "So that I can pound ya for making me lose my Mr. Fudgie bar. If Big Gino's goons are gonna take me out then you're going down with me!"

Rhonda let out another screech and forced herself out of Curly's grip. "Not from Squirrels!"

"No way!" Curly grabbed onto Rhonda, squeezing her tightly. "You just want her to yourself, and I'm telling you you can't have her!"

Rhonda dropped her purse on the ground, once more in Curly's oddly powerful clutches.

(( The imagery of this whole scene makes me so happy. XD ))

Harold could feel the rage building inside of him, but it wasn't just about the Mr. Fudgie bar. Something about Curly telling him that he couldn't have Rhonda had set a fire blazing in Harold's blood. With a roar of anger, he finally tore Curly away from Rhonda and slammed the smaller teen up against the nearest tree.

"Keep your hands off of her!" He yelled, reeling back his arm and getting ready to punch.

"Whoa-uff!"

Rhonda tumbled to the ground, seeing stars and shaking her head to clear them. "Harold!"

Gino's palm closed over Harold's arm. No physical pressure was applied, but the message was crystal clear. "Don't do anything you might regret later."
In spite of his diminutive size, the carefully calculated menace which crept into Gino's voice chilled his threat to the bone.

Harold honestly couldn't say what stopped him - Gino's threat or Rhonda's shout. In any case, he relaxed his arm and dropped Curly to the ground.

He knew that he should apologize to Gino for the Mr. Fudgie and beg forgiveness, but there was something much more important on his mind right now. He shrugged Gino off and turned to where Rhonda had fallen to the ground.

"Sorry." He muttered darkly. "For almost hitting your boyfriend."

With that he turned and stalked off into a nearby patch of trees.

((ETA: Freddie, I love love LOVE your Gino. He's so menacing and PERFECT. Also, I totally want him to get romantically involved with the group, much to his chagrin. XD))

Rhonda blinked. "Wha- he's- yo-you!" It wasn't very often Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd was left speechless, this was apparently one of those times. She stood up, and for a moment seemed unsure of what to do with herself. Part of her seemed to be jerking towards Curly and Gino, another part was yelling at her to pick up her purse, and the third part was telling her to go defend the fact that Curly was by far not her boyfriend. Stalker? Very likely. Boyfriend? Nooooo.

In the end, her pride seem to win out, and she stalked over to Harold and whapped him in the arm. "He is NOT, my boyfriend."

Gino's hard brown eyes gazed steadily at the retreating Harold, then turned downwards to inspect the damage to his suit. He plucked the ice cream bar off with wet sucking sound and casually tossed it into the grass. "This is... unfortunate" Gino said mildly.
Afterward he unbuttoned his jacket and shrugged his arms out of the sleeves, revealing the white dress shirt underneath. Gino loosened his tie a little. He spoke to both Curly and Rhonda without bothering to look at them. "I don't let this kind of disrespect go unpunished, but just in case you're wondering... none of you are going to be sleeping with Big Ceaser over this."

Gino paused for a moment before adding, "...Yet."

((I appreciate that, Alyssa. I'm trying to take him down sort of a twisted path of redemption. I think he'll always be a criminal/business man at heart, though. He's in a place where all his power counts for nothing, but Gino didn't get to be "Big" Gino for no reason. He's got an intense personality, a lot like Helga does.))

Harold shrugged her off.

"Look, don't worry about it." He said, backing off. "It's okay if you like him or whatever. I know he's crazy about you." He looked away from her. "Anyway, I shouldn't have... Y'know." He clenched his fists for a small second. His mind was flashing with what could have happened if Gino and Rhonda hadn't stopped him. What if he'd really hurt Curly? The kid was a freak, but they were already dealing with an injured Helga and the fact that they seemed to be relying on nothing but Phoebe's map skills didn't help to ease his guilt. What could they possibly do if any of them got seriously hurt?

He rubbed his arm awkwardly.

((I definitely like where you're going with him. I also like the idea that the kids are currently a bit frightened of him, but the further into the woods the good and the more time that goes by and he no longer has access to any "leverage" so to speak the less they're going to really fear him. So that loss of control will be interesting to see him deal with.))

Rhonda gaped.

"I've been trying to get him to leave me alone since fourth grade. The guy swung down like Tarzan and asked me to be his squirrel Queen- no, not even asked, Harold! I don't know where you got that idea! You shouldn't have tried to hit him, but I can hardly stand him! So don't you... don't even insinuate, that I like him that way!" she shook her finger in his face, then threw her hands up and turned to look the other way, crossing her arms. "Plus you don't know who I like."

(( EDIT: Yeah, Nefarious, Gino is actually frightening me. But in a really good, fantastic sort of way!! ))

((Dear God, Nefarious, I think I've just fallen in love with Gino because how you play him. ....stop doing that! ^_-))

Curly stood back, trying to figure out exactly what had happened. He was crazy yes...but stupid enough to anger Gino and Harold? Crazy, yes...but Curly was certainly not suicidal. He watched Harold and Rhonda, his hands clenched into fists at his side. He wanted to speak up, to say something, anything that could get Rhonda to pay attention to him.

Instead what he did was potentially the craziest thing he'd ever done, but hey, it would get Rhonda to notice him...

And so, he, in possibly the stupidest fit of burning passion....

punched Gino in the face.

((...What? I think Curly's nuts enough he might try to take on Gino, if he thinks it'll get Rhonda's attention. Not at the same time as Harold, obviously, but....))

((Oh my god. Perhapsormaybe I think I love you.))

Just as Harold was about to ask Rhonda who she really liked he heard a loud slam from somewhere behind them and a handful of loud gasps. He turned around to find Gino decked out on the ground with Curly standing over him in a triumphant pose.

"Well, shit." Harold said as he stared on in shock.

Rhonda turned to look, and her mouth dropped open, hands falling to her sides.

"Oh my God."

((Ha ha, I love you too squirreltamer. In a non building-shrines to you out of gum sort of way.))

Curly stood over Gino, breathing so fast he was almost hyperventilating. "Did I...Did I really just do that?" he asked weakly. When the others nodded at him, he huffed up his chest, deciding to make the most of what was certain to be his last day alive. "...Yeah. Yeah I did! Cause you don't mess with me!"

"Heh, way to go, psycho!" Helga caroled from her sleeping bag. Phoebe sighed and stepped over to continue her medical ministrations.

"....!!" Arnold, who had been watching the exchange between them all silently, having just been about to step in and break it up numerous times, only to stand back upon what would happen next.

But this took the cake and he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Curly....! What did you do that for? You might have seriously hurt him!"

"I don't know! He was looking at Rhonda, and Harold was looking at Rhonda, and...and....It was like the zoo all over again, I just blanked and next thing I know I'm standing over a body!" He glanced up at the horrified faces. "...What? They weren't human. Or dead. ...Except a lizard, I think..."

"He's not dead is he?" Harold asked, eyes widening. "Oh man, Curly. What if you killed him?" He could feel the panic rising in him. "Ahhhh! We're gonna go to jail - be access-omplices to murder!"

"It was a crime of passion!" Curly insisted. "And I'm a minor, don't they go easier on minors?"

Curly had gotten Rhonda's attention, alright, but probably not in the way he had hoped.

"You punched BIG GINO in the face because he was LOOKING at me!?"

And then something inside Rhonda snapped, something that had possibly been building and building since fourth grade. She strode over to Curly, grabbed the front of his shirt, and pulled him level with her face.

"I am NOT, yours! Got that? Not your woman, not your girlfriend. So stop treating me like it! We're stuck out here in the forest, Helga's hurt, we're totally late, and now Gino's out cold! Your obsession with me should be the LAST thing on your mind! I don't really care that you're all over me all the time, I'm used to it, but I do when it's causing this much trouble!"

She was gasping for breath, perhaps having been holding this in all day, but she let him go after having said her peace, and stalked away to sit beneath a tree and glare.

(( Figure Rhonda's gotta snap after a day like this. Hehe. ))

It was too much for Curly. Rhonda had rejected him before, but he'd always been able to laugh it off, treat it like a joke. Not this time. This time it was serious.

He trembled before choking out "...Sorry. I'll. I'll just go."

((No, I don't think Rhonda was in the wrong. But that wouldn't stop that from hurting Curly's feelings))

"Rhonda..." Harold whispered softly as he watched her walk away, suddenly sobered by her words and attitude.

He shot an apologetic yet firm glance in Curly's direction and then chased after Rhonda.

"Wait up!" He said as he reached out to grab her hand. "Rhonda, are you -? Are you okay?"


((ETA: Someone needs to stop Curly from leaving!))

Rhonda stopped at Harold's touch and nodded slowly. "I'm... I'm okay. Just all the time- It'd be different if he just left me alone sometimes! Every day- usually I can put up with it, but after today... I'm not his." she was tearing up a little, but dammit she'd been walking through the forest and her makeup hadn't smeared yet, she wasn't about to let it do so now.

(( LET IT BE KNOW THE PLAYER OF RHONDA FEELS VERY BAD AND WANTS TO CUDDLE CURLY NOW. D: ))