"Emma really doesn't fit in, does she?" a voice asked.

I turned to find Adeline, small bright eyes, soft strawberry-colored lips, mid-back length hair... She was really pretty and really smart and...

"Urm, yeah," I managed to say, hiding my blush in a wavery voice.

Adeline began flipping around the rocks, searching for the perfect one. I watched her for a bit until scanning the land on my own for rocks I could use.

"She's low-key useless," Adeline remarked, after moments of searching.

My eyes flicked to her. "Not... not really. I mean... Pierre gave her a... a job... right?" Why was it so hard to speak? My nose crinkled.

"I guess... It just feels unfair that we have to work extra hard for her to survive when she doesn't help out equally."

What were we supposed to do? Throw her out to the wolves? I scoffed. "Emma is... she's nice."

"Is that meant to be rude?" Adeline let out a huff. "Am I not nice?"

"No, no!" Was that really a rude thing to say? I don't think it is... "Sorry, I can't... can't talk sometimes."

"You sure don't talk a lot... but you've talked to me."

That was before I started to develop feelings for you! That, plus being one-on-one is enough to make me go crazy...

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Don't be. I don't talk that much either. Only when I have something to say. I'm not a mindless chatter-box like some people."

I chuckled awkwardly. My eyes fluttered over a rock that would work perfectly. "I think I found a rock. I'm going... going to lug it back to camp."

"Need help?"

I bit my lip. "Uh... no... no. I should be fine. Thanks for the... the offer." I rushed away and rubbed at my blush.

Ugh! I was such a mess!

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"Should we make out?" Jovie said, catching me off guard.

"What-"

"They're doing it." Jovie nudged her head toward Killian and Lexie, who were practically the same organism with how close they were. Luckily, their clothes were still on. The lifeboat would have become a much tighter space if they removed those important layers of fabric.

But our clothes were withering away, along with our health and sanity. We really need to be rescued soon...

I turned my attention back to Jovie. I had never kissed anyone before. Putting on a show was all part of my personality and I didn't want the truth to come out. But maybe this ginger would be good practice...

"Sure, babe," I crooned with my most husky voice.

Jovie wrapped her arms around me and lifted my legs onto her lap. Holding my torso, she leaned me down enough so that my face was even with hers. Impact. Our lips, crusted and dry, met.

It was less than magical, but Jovie knew what she was doing.

"You're a really good kisser," she smiled.

"Whatever..." I blushed. She must be lying.

She gazed at me for another moment until deciding to go talk with Lexie, who had by now stopped lathering up Killian.

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There was a little buzz beside our boat one day. A little boat with a little boy in it, riding the waves. I could have sobbed. He rushed away too fast to talk with him.

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I washed the salt out of all the clothes I could find and hung them on a line I created outside my house. I felt like I was living in a cozy cottage. Smiling, I went to go get some water for myself.

"Hey, Fawn," Pierre said, coming out the side of the forest with a pile of sticks in her hand. By now, light paths had been worn into the island.

"Hi. I washed the clothes so they should be ready to divide up tomorrow," I said with a smile.

"That's good! Thanks for washing them all again."

"Of course."

"I should have some time to poke through the bags soon myself."

"Tell me if you find anything extraordinary." I smiled again awkwardly. Please let me go and get some water now. "I didn't manage to look through everything. I just pulled out anything that felt like cloth."

Pierre chuckled. "Alright. Well, I'll let you go now." She winked.

I frowned playfully, as if I didn't want the conversation to end. It wasn't that I hated socialization, I was just so painfully awkward and unaccustomed to chatter.

Today is one of the bad days. Just like the day on the shore with Adeline. Goodness if I had a dime for each time I replayed that conversation. You'll be just fine tomorrow and your stutter will vanish. Yeah, the stutter comes and goes, but the awkward shyness never seems to.

I bent down to the water and took my hands to form a cup. Sipping some of the water, I felt the urge to wash myself. Salt stung and I knew I was sunburnt to some extent, even with my darker skin tone.

Slowly, I undressed down to my bare undergarments and slipped into the cool, freshwater. I let the fast-moving water rush down my body until I finally felt free of salt.

That was refreshing, I thought to myself as I climbed out of the stream. I clothed again and headed back to camp.

It was time to get to work.

There was a storage hut to be made.

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The storm had finally caught up to us. Except we couldn't fight it. Because of our sunburnt skin, fish had been hard to come by as swimming in the ocean stung. We were all dehydrated and starving.

When Ruby crawled onto the boat, we were somewhat surprised.

"The raft broke," she fumed, explaining her appearance. Rain was pouring down so her brown hair was slicked to her face. Snatching the tarpaulin, which Killian had been hogging, she spread it over the boat.

Jovie and I got up to help her. Soon, the rain had stopped pouring into the boat. But the waves still smashed into the boat and caused Killian to fall into the bottom of the boat.

"Dammit!" Killian shouted, clinging to the bench. He got back up and shivered alone, lying on the bench like a stray puppy in the rain.

Jovie started humming to herself.

"Stop that," Ruby said.

Jovie didn't stop. Stretching out on the bench, she began to sing with her nose touching the tarpaulin. It was some Christina Perri song that I barely knew the words to. But I knew the tune.

Ruby groaned and rolled over to face the wall of the boat.

Hugging myself, I wished for the storm to end. My life had been boring, passionless, and dull. I tried to be a bad boy and I tried to party, but I was always hindered by something. My parents' disappointment. Their death. My foster parents. Schoolwork. Studying. A sunk boat!

An urge to take a drink passed over me. But I knew I would just become more dehydrated.

I was only sixteen. Why was this all so grueling?

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The small dot was back. Closer and closer it came toward the island until it was finally at our shores. But they wouldn't be the only ones to join us.

Later I would come to know of a tiny little guy in a tiny little boat and two other guys, who did survive the plane crash.

The more the merrier?