TYLER

Tyler did not expect to find Corinne in Jeremy's house when they agreed to drink and plot against the crown tonight, but he wasn't so surprised when her violet eyes met his across the small hut, lazily sprawled over the armchair. Damned woman, Tyler thought as his eyes scanned her dishevelled hair and her satisfied smirk. The dress she wore was exquisite, but carelessly thrown over her knees, not hiding anything.

"Hi, Ty." Corinne smiled and Jeremy walked in through the small door in the corner. He was shirtless.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you'd be coming later." Jeremy rubbed his neck and smiled awkwardly.

Tyler felt a pang of jealousy spreading its festered talons towards his soul. He was offended, too, which surprised him. Why Jeremy? Couldn't Tyler offer more in this wretched world? Probably not, he was nothing but a farmer.

Corinne smiled cunningly, like she heard every thought that passed through his head.

"Dmitri and Mika are coming soon." Tyler murmured. He hated the whole thing now. This was supposed to be a meeting in a secluded house where no one heard them. Now, he'd have Corinne looking over his shoulder and taking in every single word he uttered. She was worse than the government; she was actually smart.

"Hey," Tyler called for Jeremy, "how are we gonna talk with her here?" He lowered his voice.

"Nah, man, we're not gonna talk today." Jeremy chuckled, but it sounded a bit nervous. "No way we can talk in a full house."

"I thought it was going to be just us, you, me, Mika and Dmitri." Tyler mumbled, but Jeremy waved away with a hand.

"I called other people, too. We're gonna party for the end of the week." Jeremy walked away to bring in more chairs, leaving Tyler alone and frustrated. He should have expected something like that, no one taking him seriously. Why would anyone ever take him seriously?

Soon enough, the place was crowded with people. The small hut seemed to fit more people than one would assume and Tyler felt claustrophobic. Doubts began crawling through his mind. this was not a good idea. Why did he think he could ever see this... revolution through? Everyone knew he was incapable of sticking to his ideas and plans. For fuck's sake, he barely finished high school with all the bullshit that happened with Greg and Andrew.

One beer went down and Tyler grabbed another. People roamed through the house, some he's met and some he hasn't. Dmitri and Mika drank not far off, including the other farmers. Off-kilter harmonica played somewhere and Tyler breathed in the sweaty, wine-filled air.

His night of scheming and plotting turned to a night of drinking.

"Tyler!" Jeremy called for him, they were in the middle of the room, playing beer pong. The normalcy of that sight stung vividly. Being on this island was all-consuming, one slowly lost all the things that home was made of. "Wanna play?"

Tyler would have said no, if it weren't for Corinne's coy smile.

"I'll play." She said and Tyler downed his beer, feeling the liquid dance around his stomach.

"So will I." He got up and stepped in front of the large table laden with cups of half-spilled beer and a couple of ping-pong balls. And so, the dilemma began. To win and prove he was better or lose and get mind-numbingly drunk.

"Corinne," Jeremy called from the opposite side, "wanna join me?" His lopsided smile was uncertain.

"No." She stood next to Tyler, with one hand resting on the table and another playing with her black hair. "I wanna play against you." She smiled sweetly, but Tyler knew there was nothing innocent or coincidental about her smile.

"I'll play with you." Mika joined the table, already visibly drunk. The kid was barely fifteen, this place was probably an alcoholic heaven for him.

"Alright." Tyler murmured, nervousness creeping through his spine. He wished he knew what was going on; he was thinking with his dick again.

Jeremy's eyes danced across the table and he stretched his wrists. Tyler glanced at Corinne sideways; still leaned on the table with her cleavage rising and falling. Goddammit, Tyler thought and focused on Jeremy.

Jeremy threw the ball but it hit the edge of the cup, splattered some beer and fell out. Corinne smiled and took the ball. In Tyler's ears, harmonica became louder.

Corinne aimed and threw the ball, which landed directly into the cup. Jeremy chugged the contents of the cup and Corinne made a little dance next to Tyler. A smile that emerged on her lips was possibly the first happy smile he's ever seen on her.

Mika was the next to throw the ball and it flew perfectly to Tyler's cup. Tyler picked it up and drank greedily, wanting to forget where he was and all the things that turned complicated in his life. The next shot was his and he missed, frowning as the ball hit the edge of the cup; the impact making the beer spill.

After a couple of turns, Tyler's vision blurred and his inhibitions were down. Corinne took the ball.

"How are you so good at this?" Tyler asked, hoping he wasn't completely slurring.

"Getting nerds drunk for the first time in their lives was a hobby of mine in college." She hiccupped and a giggle escaped from her lips, which made Tyler smile. "They always thought they could calculate the right angle," she aimed, "when in reality, it's all about practice."

The ball fell straight into the cup.

"Yes!" Corinne smiled and bumped into Tyler awkwardly. He sneaked his hand around her waist, hoping the gesture seemed more natural than it felt in his head. Jeremy and Mika hissed at the ball in their cup and Jeremy chugged down the beer. Eyes of his soldier friend turned darker as he noticed Tyler's hand around Corinne's waist.

"Careful there, Tyler." Jeremy said suddenly. "We don't want you to be too hungover for our shift at the gates tomorrow."

"You're guarding the gates together?" Corinne's head snapped towards Jeremy and he smiled while nodding. Tyler suddenly felt like he wasn't in on the scheme.

"Tyler wants to prove he can be a good soldier." Jeremy shook his head, as if to say that wouldn't be possible. "Oh, well, I need to take a piss!" He put down the cup and stumbled away.

Corinne's eyes met Tyler's; drunkenness shone through her dilated pupils, but she kept her posture steady and her smile knowing.

"You're trying to make him jealous." Corinne said, but did nothing about Tyler's hand that still firmly held her waist. His fingers grazed her back and he swallowed the remains of beer in his mouth.

"You're letting me." Tyler answered. The booze and the nervousness collided in his gut and jolts of electricity spread from her back through his fingers. Why now? He wondered as he stared in her violet eyes.

"Every man needs a little competition." Corinne said, a faint smile lingering on her lips, waiting, expecting. Goddammit, he wanted her. With all of her crazy scheming and manipulating, with all the coldness and walls.

"Come home with me." Tyler squeezed the words out, his eyelids fluttering as all the booze finally kicked in. This was definitely alcohol speaking. Corinne chuckled and these were the realest, gentlest smiles he's ever seen on her.

"Greg kicked me out, remember?" She said.

"I don't care." Tyler shook his head, his fingers grazed her soft hair that fell down her back.

"I think you need some water." Corinne stepped away from him and he lacked the warmth of her body next to his.

Tyler leaned on the table as his world spun around. He better start drinking wine, because no exercise will rid him of eventual beer belly. So, he grabbed some wine as he waited for Corinne, deciding that was the only thing he was capable of doing.

His dreams and plans of whatever tumbled under the rug when it came to action. Was it his fault? Or, were people simply too passive to do something meaningful? He didn't know, but it didn't stop him from feeling guilty and ashamed.

His father would be especially condescending if he could see him miserably fail here. He would say that he told him so. He would say Tyler would never do anything awe-worthy, or even remotely significant. And he was probably right.

Corinne returned with the water and nodded towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" Jeremy's voice reached them but Tyler was too focused on the idea of silence to turn his head around.

"Ty needs some fresh air." Corinne shouted back and opened the door for Tyler. He stumbled out of the house, finding himself on the lone stony pathways. The smell of summer lingered in the air; salt and fruit and warmth.

Nausea filled him as everything in his vision spun from side to side; making it hard to walk, or talk, or think. He dropped on the ground, wanting to stop existing for a moment.

"Drink this." Corinne sat down next to him and gave him a bottle of water. Tyler took a sip and wondered why the heck he brought the bottle of wine with him. He did not think he was this drunk when he was inside. Corinne stared ahead, her skin contrasting the night around her. Tyler couldn't quite explain it, but power radiated from her; raw, unbound power that didn't ask for reason or purpose.

"You look like this place." Tyler said suddenly, observing her features, her sharp gaze, her elegant nose and her hair, gosh, her hair. "Your eyes are like the water and your skin is like sand and your hair is like the trees-"

Her lips widened and her eyes glimmered: "You're drooling over me, Ty." The smile turned into a grin and Tyler rubbed the back of his neck.

"I know." He winced as blunt, fluttering pain awoke in his stomach. "I'm fucked."

This made her laugh. Truly laugh. The sound reverberated from the walls; it was the first time he heard her laughter. It stirred something within him, something he did not want to acknowledge. So, naturally, he blamed it on the booze.

"Come home with me, Cor." Tyler bumped into her shoulder and she let out a chuckle.

"Your desperation is endearing." Corinne shook her head, still grinning.

"Gosh, I wish I had my own damn hut." Tyler buried his face in his hands, his world beginning to spin the moment he closed his eyes. "Just to get some peace and quiet." He lifted his head, trying to stop the spinning.

"If it's any consolation, I hadn't felt peace since I've been ten years old." Corinne grabbed the bottle of wine and, after taking a sip, placed it between them.

"I can't tell whether I admire you or pity you." Tyler admitted. Alcohol lowered his inhibitions and he couldn't help it. He needed answers from her, he needed to understand her.

"Pity me." Corinne's smile faded. "Admiring me would mean you wish to become more like me. And trust me, you don't want to be like me."

"I could use your strength from time to time." Tyler looked at the empty pathways around them. Flickering candle lights came from the nearest houses. Simple people enjoying their simple evenings with troubles handled with love and friendship. Maybe that was why he was so fucking attracted to Corinne; he recognised the same brokenness within himself.

"I'm sorry." She said suddenly, pinning her hands beneath her thighs. Tyler's eyes went wide and he could not believe he heard those words leave her mouth. But he didn't want to ruin the moment, so he let her talk. "For calling you a coward on the beach. You're not a coward."

Somehow, hearing her say it had more meaning than hearing anyone else say it. It was like her compliments had more impact because all she ever served were insults.

"Why did you invite me on the raft?" Tyler asked; words out of his mouth before he thought about them. "Back when we were on the ship, the raft was already halfway in the water and that crew member said him and I should find a new raft. But you called for me and I jumped." He remembered it clearly. Corinne's chuckle was short.

"I wanted to see what you would do." She shrugged.

"Is that why you do everything you do?" Another slip before he thought about it. Corinne's sigh was free of annoyance for once; she didn't mind these questions.

"Sometimes I think I just want to see the world burn." The honesty of the answer took Tyler by surprise and his head snapped at her, wondering if there were other things she'd tell him.

"Aren't you ever afraid there'd be consequences?" He asked and Corinne's shoulders slumped, but her face was devoid of emotion; no fear, no remorse.

"If everything I did led me straight to hell, I'd burn that place to the ground, too." She said and the fact... he believed her, caused shivers to run down Tyler's spine.

"What are you doing with Jeremy?" He changed the subject.

"I'm sleeping with him." She shrugged.

"I figured that much." Tyler's chuckle lacked humour. "But why?"

"Having a soldier on my side seemed like a good idea." Corinne said. "But it doesn't mean anything. Nothing ever means anything with me, Tyler. That's why you should stop ogling me."

Tyler instantly removed his gaze and focused on the stones stuck in the dirt next to his feet.

"Why not Greg?" Tyler uttered the question, unsure why he even wanted to know. There were so many things he could focus on, yet, he chose to spend these moments with her. And as he dared a glance at her, he found a frown and a smidge of sadness.

"I would never do that to Greg."

"So, you care about him." Tyler probed, digging to find anything human within her.

"It's time to go to sleep." Corinne got up. "You've got a shift at the gates tomorrow, don't wanna miss that."

Tyler got up, but before Corinne opened the door to the hut, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her closer. Surprise flashed in her eyes as they found themselves closer than ever. The touch of her body glued to his sent bolts of electricity down his spine. The anticipation and fear and excitement surged through him, almost unbearable.

His hands found their way around her waist and she didn't shove him away immediately. Her wide eyes and her parted lips were proof enough that this wasn't a part of her plan.

"You're wasting your time." She said.

"I like a challenge." Tyler traced the curve of her hip with his fingers, barely able to stand the thudding in his chest and her hitching breath did not help.

"You'd give up before you even dug out everything under this surface." She put her hands on his chest and pushed him away slightly, but Tyler didn't mind. The excitement disappeared as fast as it came.

"I guess that's it, then." Tyler's smile was brittle and strained, but he neither understood nor wanted to understand the feelings that stirred within him.

"What do you mean?"

"The role we're playing." Tyler stepped away. "I'm weak and you're scared."