Time.

The indefinite, ever-moving development of our existence and events of the past, present, and future all regarded as a whole.

Time is unbroken and forever unfolding. Its laws remain grounded. Durations of time are set in stone. Seconds, minutes, hours, and so on. They never change. At least not till now.

One thing about the island, is that it defies those laws. Time moves slowly here, and I'm beginning to doubt that it's only in a figurative sense rather than literal.

Time unfolds far slower than it should, allowing this grimy build up of tension to have more leg room in our anxious minds. A singular second is equivalent to a minute here - what should be sixty seconds.

Piggy and I stare at the ground distantly, our heartbeats syncing with the ticking of a clock. My fingers tangled themselves up in knots as the hazy fog clouding my ears began to dissipate.

The anticipated idea of rescue should have already arrived, but it has drifted away like a plank of wood on a body of water. Now, we wait for the conch to attract a certain group of painted hunters. My eyes heavily drift up to pick out a certain lone twin who was sitting across from Piggy and I. A sad expression was plastered across the features of his face that I normally associated with mischief and happiness. I drop my head to the side and adjust my stance, pretty much forcing myself into his line of focus.

That finally cued him to speak.

"Sam was supposed to be on fire watch," Eric spoke out of the blue. "He... he was supposed to be there- with Jack and Rapper. And... and a few of the others, but- don't know."

My expression was unwavering. Poor Eric must have been in some form of shock, stammering nonsense with wide eyes. I don't know what I'm supposed to answer with. Jack did this. Despite the more intimate relationship I've imparted on with him, no one can deny that he was most at fault. He had no right to take an opportunity like that away from us.

An enthusiastic rumble off in the jungle opposed our somber ambience greatly as whoops of celebration could be heard in the jungle. Whoops of ignorance. Ignorance is bliss. They should consider themselves lucky that they didn't have to suffer the glimmer of false hope that we did. They didn't have to watch their one ticket home be crushed. To be acting so happy- to even be celebrating at a time like this is pure ignorance. Their hollers and chants were quickly approaching the treeline, making Piggy jump at the notice. Ralph continued pacing back and forth in an irritated manner, mumbling here and there.

"Ralph! Veronica! You won't believe this!" Jack's voice finally broke the air that once created a slight distance between us.

Hearing Jack's upbeat attitude rubbed me the wrong way. Eric's eyes drifted up from the ground to the nearing hunters, devoid of any emotion.

Simon sat to the far left of the platform and didn't show any signs of anger or what would necessarily be defeat, just sadness.

"We killed the pig, we cut its throat, we spilled its blood!"

The stupid chant finally ends as the painted boys stood upon us, holding their first kill, roped up. I recoiled at the pig's stinking corpse that had flies hungrily buzzing around it.

"Vera! Look!" Jack sprung over while I kept my gaze focused ahead and away from him. He could frown all he wanted for all I care.

"Sit down, right now." Ralph shot firmly. Jack ignored, and tried to grab my shoulders to get me excited over the news. A mosaic of blood and charcoal distastefully streaked in thick lines down his cheeks

"Ralph! Vera! We killed a pig!" He exclaimed. "We hunted it! We hunted it through the trees and we killed it! Isn't that great!?"

Ralph stood tall, straight-faced like a statue, finally resembling the Colonel figure he was titled as.

"You let the fire out." The monotone phrase didn't quite deliver so effectively, barely scraping the surface of their joy-filled adrenaline.

"You should have seen the blood!" Sam opened his arms to show off the red stains on his once white shirt. "There was so much of it!"

I see the twins make eye contact momentarily before Eric snapped his gaze elsewhere, and Sam rolled his eyes.

"You should have seen the way it squealed while the blood sprayed!" Luke jumped in, sharing a solid high-five with Jack. Seeing this, I rub my hands over my face.

"You let. The goddamn. Fire. Out." Ralph repeated. That finally caught the blonde boy's attention.

"It's ok." Jack assured. "We can light it again. But we killed the pig! Isn't that great?" He was practically jumping on his feet.

"The fire, Jack. You let it out." The chief steps closer, more menacingly this time. Jack scoffed, catching onto Ralph's seriousness and brushed it off again.

"Yeah yeah, we heard ya' the first time, colonel." He smacks him a few times on the shoulder. "But at least we have the pig, and then next time we'll-"

"There was a helicopter!"

The ball dropped, and the air suddenly hangs heavy like wet plaster. It clogs my throat and halts my breathing.

"There was a helicopter, and you let the fire out!" Our chief tosses the conch over to me. I sharply catch the object midair and stare at it, feeling dumbfounded. The shell was as smooth as it was the day we found it. The stripes and speckles are still in the same painted position, keeping it's natural design undisturbed. My thin fingers traced one of the swirls as I let out a sigh of exasperation.

A crest-fallen expression sinks over Jack's face, and he begins visibly shaking while rethinking some choices.

"Are you serious?" He asked in a breathy whisper.

"Ask your girlfriend," Ralph spat, nodding to me. Jack desperately turned to my attention to confirm his suspicion. I gulped before answering.

"Don't you get it, Jack?" I say, low and quiet. "There was a helicopter. It's gone."

As soon as the words leave my mouth, my eyes began to burn with tears. A few of the little ones begin to cry at the news. Childish, noisy wails.

Jack on the other hand exhaled sharply, finally sitting down in disbelief with the rest of his group.

"Hey, man. I-I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry." His broken apology buffered as he struggled to even stammer out a sound, unable to make direct eye contact at anyone in particular.

"It's not the only helicopter we'll see." He tried to justify. "Lesson learned. We'll just relight it, and- and everyone can calm down."

"Calm down?" Ralph loudly repeats as if Jack threatened to bomb a school. Roger had remained quiet the whole time, yet didn't seem the slightest bit affected. I made eye contact with him for a second before quickly tapping out and relinquishing my gaze.

"If you hadn't let the goddamn fire go out, they would have seen it!"

"Hey, man, we were hunting!" Jack retorts. Please, shut up, I thought to myself, silently begging he wouldn't cause any more issues.

"Great, killed a pig!" Ralph laughs like it was amusing. Truthfully, it was an unbelievable situation that you wouldn't know what to expect from, but at least you wouldn't think to make an argument such as the one Jack made.

"Face it, Merridew. You fucked up. We could have been rescued." Exactly so. Ralph was at least handling the situation well. I mean, I thought so, yet that sentence hit one of Jack's nerves. The blonde stands up forcefully before yelling in Ralph's face.

"Back off, man! I'm sick of your shit and so's my gang!" At that, I need to put my two cents in.

"Your gang?" I would say intervening out of frustration is a dumb thing to do since you don't tend to have much of a filter when you're mad. Jack stares at me momentarily.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ralph asks. I put a hand on his shoulder.

"What it means, Colonel, is that if you know what's good for you, you'll stop trying to run everything."

A pop rang through the air as Ralph's fist connected with Jack's left cheek. So much for handling things well. Then again, that's what Jack had coming for him. Sure enough, a fight breaks out between the two rivals.

With all his force, Jack kicked Ralph hard in the gut, knocking him down. I cried out by how aggressive it was, but he quickly recovers from the hard blow.

He pulls Jack in by the shoulder and uppercut punched his jaw, only infuriating the blonde more. When Jack turned his head back to a neutral position, that's when I saw the trickle of blood.

Ralph gets tackled. I watch as they pitifully roll around. Surprisingly, no one tried breaking them apart. Jack dominated the chief and delivered punch after punch in blind rage, not thinking about the consequences. Blood splattered to the ground next to them, tainting the sand. Frantic, Piggy screams for them to stop, but the attempt didn't have an effect.

When he finally gets a hint of movement, Ralph wraps his leg around to flip over, and hold Jack down by his chest. It's hard to watch him thrash under the restraint. Karma finally kissed his ass when the chief punched back, splitting Jack's eyebrow.

Piggy stole my attention, appearing to be on the verge of tears. I raise my hands to calm him down. It wasn't the biggest deal. We both stop and freeze when Ralph clutches a handful of blonde hair and heaves him up to his feet before delivering one more right hook. With a twisted expression, Jack manages to shove Ralph back down, and kicks him repeatedly in the chest.

Pathetic. Absolutely unbearable to watch them embarrassingly tackle each other to the ground like it can somehow reverse time and solve the issue. I roll my eyes. We're supposed to stay unified, but this doesn't help shit. Wincing at every blow, I try to speak at them.

"Both of you get your heads out of your fucking asses." I demand promptly. Ralph jumps back up and delivers another punch to Jack's nose.

"Veronica, shut the fuck up!" Jack loudly yells back, likely because he wasn't wanting any distractions. I inhale a breath and start a march forward to give him a piece of my mind, but I jerk back suddenly at the next move -- He served Ralph a hard blow to the head. Piggy then lunges forward out of defense for his friend.

"Stop it, now!" The weaker boy feebly attempted. Merridew shoves him to the ground, allowing our chief to take the moment for recovery.

I know good and well that Piggy won't last one second in a fight with Jack. As soon as the blonde yanked Piggy up by the collar of his shirt, I dart to his aid. Not the best idea.

Pushing Piggy out of the way, I don't know what hit me as a painful strike sends me down on my knee, tossing my neck unnaturally.

The backhand that Jack threw had been meant for Piggy, but I got it instead. I've processed it fully now, and what the fuck... My cheek stings like hell, and a cramping sensation engulfs my neck. Groaning, I touch the now sensitive area and hiss in pain. Ralph and Piggy rush over to help me up, and I meet Jack's horrified gaze.

The boy stares at me, wide eyed and shaking his head a few times in shock while everyone's adrenaline rush subsides. Setting my jaw, my hands lower away from my cheek. My dark hair has fallen over my eyes, and a glare darkens over my face as I slowly walk over to Jack. I've never wanted to slap the shit out of him more than I do right now.

"Veronica- I- I didn't mean... It wasn't supposed to-"

Silence followed after my hand made contact with his face, leaving the hue of a red mark in the vague shape of a hand.

"Don't act like you didn't deserve that," I mutter darkly through gritted teeth. Jack clenched his jaw, and kept his eyes closed, inhaling a breath of air for some solace.

Roger stood up at an instant, making big strides in my direction. Not even Jack would have noticed the tall boy's action quick enough.

"You little bitch-" Using a fist, he pulled back and launched a blow that struck harder than Jack's backhand. With the force being so great, and happening so suddenly -- I did not realize that I'd hit the ground right away. Ralph curses out and knelt at my side. Blinking, I was left stunned. Small stones punctured my skin on impact, popping small beads of blood from my arm.

Roger was still charging at me, but Jack takes action by forcefully yanking him back by the shoulder.

"Back the fuck up, Rog'!" He bellowed and jabbed the more aggressive boy in the chest with an elbow, sending him stumbling back a few feet. In courtesy of the big irons rings that hugged Roger's knuckles, a huge cut etched into my cheek bone. As I was becoming more aware of what happened, the hot pain grew more apparent. Gingerly, my finger tips grazed the throbbing wound.

After arguing with my attacker, Jack turns back to me and Ralph -- A word forms on his lips like he was contemplating what to say, but no sound left his mouth. Instead, he turns back to everyone else.

"I'm sick of all this shit!" The blonde starts yelling louder, getting close up to some individual faces. Piggy wrinkles his nose in disgust.

"I'm gonna make another camp for hunters, and guys who wanna have a little fun!" Flustered from the pain coursing to my wounds, I find myself speechless that Jack disregarded everything.

"No..." I said barely above a whisper with shock evident in my voice. My stomach drops at the announcement, recalling when he divulged the possibility of this plan to me. I prayed it wouldn't ever happen, but here we are.

"That's crazy! You're not thinking straight." Ralph stressed. "We gotta work together! C'mon whaddya say?"

Jack scowled at us. "I say fuck you all, and your dumbass fire!"

Neither Ralph or I could possibly have expected the truth in that phrase, but it dangles painfully in our faces. At this point, I want to throw my head back and scream a scream loud enough to shatter glass. The boy I cared about glances over to me multiple times, and with each look, a flash of guilt was evident.

"Let's get out of this bitch." Jack nods, addressing his hunters. I stare at him firmly, trying to let my eyes get the message across. It's like I had a bit of doubt, as if he wouldn't dare.

It may sound stupid, but even with everything that happened, this will only send things further off the rail.

The group gathers up their pig and spears while the rest of us watch. One boy hops down from a tree branch, trotting close behind.

"I'm with ya, Jack," he voiced. My gut dropped even further at that sight, and I feel Ralph exhale the same way.

"Right on, Larry!" Jack rejoiced. I shake my head. Fucking traitor. Simon joins at my side, and grabs my hand for support. Thanking him, I express a genuine smile.

Eric watched Sam leave with the rest, looking like he was building up the courage to say something but ultimately chose against it. Sam on the other hand didn't look back once. I thought the event was over, but apparently one more thing had to be said.

"When you other brats get older, or get hungry enough... you can come join us too!" The chief of a second tribe concluded. That was that.

"What... The... Fuck." Eric prompted himself. The boy seemed to be recovering alright after watching his brother defect from the group. At least that's how it seemed. "So, what now?" He asked curiously.

"Don't know yet," Ralph says, staring ahead still.

"Are you alright, Veronica?" The quiet worry was conveyed with the simple utter of a question.

My stiffened lips curled reassuringly with the mobility half dried plaster. I failed miserably at offering a smile. Cursing inwardly, I swallowed back the sudden pressure in my throat, cobbling together every last scrap of composure to appear outwardly collected and in-control for the many goggled eyes laser-beaming at me like floodlights. It intensified the already heightened vulnerability.

A second slipped by, and my face ultimately crumbled. I jerked into sudden cries like a whiplash. This threw my on-viewers in for a loop, caught off guard and puzzled. They stood awkwardly until I regained the composure.

"Let me see your injury..." Ralph softly takes hold of my chin, turning my head for a closer inspection. "It's gonna bruise, and probably leave a scar for some time. We'll get that cleaned up." He touched the tender skin around the wound, and I hiss in pain. At that, he flinches back in apology for hurting me.

"Ralph, I'm so sorry." I spilled. He arches a brow. "Nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry that we let Roger get at you. It was a sick thing."

"Well, the rings didn't do me any justice." I try to add humor. Saying that, I graze over my own rings that I wore. But these are prettier, and more dainty for someone with slim fingers.

"Why did you do it?" Piggy spoke up. "You didn't have to help me, and you got the hit, plus a punch from Roger. So... why did you do it?"

I smiled and took hold of Piggy's hand. "Because you're my friend." I answer simply. His face lit up, like it was the first time he'd heard someone say that. "But... you got hurt and- I'm really sorry."

Exchanging a look with Ralph, we shake our heads. "It wasn't your fault, Piggy. It wasn't my fault either. Or Ralph's, or Simon's."

We all sit in silence to let the statement stew in the air. "Well, I shouldn't have attacked him in the first place," Ralph admitted through a sigh. We all muse about it for a moment, taking that into consideration.

"Yeah? Well Jack had it coming for him anyway." I say. "If anything, this proves we're better than them."

Eric looks confused so I continue what I was saying. "Because we help each other and can stay loyal. Jack's group was wrong for what they did." Piggy nodded sorely.

"I just said... I just said that we should have a meeting and..." Ralph's voice carries away. I pursed my lips in thought.

"What Jack was saying is stupid. He doesn't have many standards on what's important. We'll keep decent, as we are." At my declaration, a few of the other boys who stayed with us walked over. Tony, Pablo, Greg, Will and some more little ones.

Simon takes my hand again, squeezing softly for comfort.

"Jack's horrible." Piggy remarked. Ralph pats him on the shoulder. "It's alright, maybe he'll come to his senses." To me, it seemed far-fetched, but I'd still cling to that sliver of hope.

"He did keep me safe from Roger, if that counts for anything." I bring the event back up. "I would say it does."

Ralph nods in agreement. "Right. He obviously has some humanity." He jokes. A smile cracks on my lips. I then take Ralph's injuries into account.

"Well, are you alright?" I take the sides of Ralph's face. "He hit you pretty good..." There were some bruises clouding his skin, a cut on his jaw, brow, and lip. The biggest cut that was actively bleeding traveled shortly on his temple.

Ralph chuckles to himself. "I'll be just fine." He pats my hand which rests on his cheek. Feeling doubtful, I back off and wrap my blazer tighter around my body.

"You guys don't really think Jack will come back, do you?" Pablo asks, shifting nervously on his feet. Unfortunately for him, Pablo doesn't receive an answer, and he doesn't for the rest of the day either. Only the future will be able to tell us that one.

♕︎♕︎♕︎

With Simon and his nurturing second nature, he offered to clean my injury, which I obviously accepted. We sat together while he dabbed the cut with saltwater.

"Ouch," I breathed, resisting every urge to flinch back. "Sorry," he apologized sheepishly and looked closer at the wound.

"At least Roger didn't get you in the eye." Simon dunks the scrap of fabric into a coconut shell that is filled halfway with water. I watch him wring it out before gently scrubbing away the dried blood that claimed the area on my skin. It doesn't hurt as bad this way, when he didn't have to clean the actual cut itself.

"Saltwater will kill the bacteria and help the pain," he said simply. That, and the fact that we don't have any first-aid kits nearby, this will have to do. Hell, I'll take anything.

Ever since we got on the island, I always chose to be wary around Roger. Now, more than ever. Luke and the others never posed as such huge threats in my eyes. Then again, I was used to the sexist remarks. It's a little embarrassment that won't hurt anyone. Roger, on the other hand, made his intentions clear a long time ago. What's even scarier, is that I ignored it for so long.

"I want Jack to come back." Those words left my mouth faster than I wanted them to, and I mentally berate myself for being so careless with my words. Simon slowed his movements down, and hit me with that thoughtful expression that sat so naturally on his face.

"I understand that," he answers kindly, setting the makeshift rag down in the sunlight to dry.

"He cared a lot about you, and I know he still does. He isn't all bad if he'd still be protecting you the way he did."

Entranced by a vibrant butterfly, I flip a switch in my brain and regained the habitually, regal manner that used to be so effortlessly complied to me. Rising up from the flat boulder we were seated at, I followed after it, still speaking to the quiet boy.

"You think so?" I smooth down the front of my shirt and blazer. Simon hops up and skips over at my side.

"Definitely. You just need to keep him sane," the boy teases. My eyes drifted upwards as the butterfly finally fluttered off into the blue sky. Simon gives me a side glance before talking.

"You know, lots of people think that butterflies symbolize hope and endurance." He explained. Of course, my mother had told me that. When my aunt died, we always associated her with butterflies. For a Christmas one year, I bought my mother a wind chime with metal butterflies dangling from it. She cried when receiving the gift.

When I grew up and fell in love
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead?
Will we have rainbows day after day?
Here's what my sweetheart said...

Humming as we watch the blue sky above, we let ourselves slow.

"Others think they symbolize freedom." I add. Simon picks up a small stone, feeling it's ridges. "I feel really free here," he says.

I chuckle knowingly and respond, "Maybe we're a bit too free here," subtly addressing the ordeal with Jack.

Que será, será
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Que será, será
What will be, will be.

"Some people say that life is an ocean of bumpy hills," Simon spoke up with a sigh. "Ups and downs. Hard parts and easy parts." He turns to look at me. "Even though this hill may seem neverending, it isn't. The easy part will come, and it will be amazing. I promise."

That was his way of telling me not to fret. Easier said than done. I cracked a smile for the sentimental boy. Someone could only wish to be as optimistic right now. We both start strolling through the jungle-forest and approach the rocky cliff that Jack and I had discovered long before. A gust of wind bursts over to fan our faces. The sensation made me want to cry in an odd way, just out of stress. Then, Simon says something to catch my attention.

"Hey, look!" I see him crouched down, retrieving something near the edge of the cliff. Putting all of my bets on it being a lizard, I prepare to chuckle with an arched brow. When he stood up with a chunky pink stone, I was pleasantly surprised.

"It's a natural rose-quartz crystal!" he exclaims happily. It made me remember that I had a rose-quartz necklace back home. "That's so cool! I've never seen a natural one outside so big!" I cup my hands to insinuate that i'd like to take a closer look.

When it drops into my hand, I rub a thumb over it, taking notice of the powdery substance that layered it. "Nice find, Simon!" I toss it back to him. He stares at it in thought for a moment, seemingly thinking with a certain ease. Catching me by surprise, he hands it back, pressing it to my palm.

"You can keep it." I blink a few times, ready to thank him, but ultimately hand it back. It's not everyday you find such a nice crystal out in the wild. I sure wouldn't just give up. Before I am able to do so, he begins talking.

"Those help us restore inner peace, and healing." He smiled at my astonished expression. "I'm sure you could use a bit of that, I'm all set." The boy closes my fingers around the quartz, and pats my hand. I hesitated before answering.

"Oh. Well... thank you, Simon." I stuff the pale pink stone into my pocket. Not being very sure of the whole appeal of crystals with healing energy, I find that they're gorgeous nonetheless.

As if he read my mind, Simon then proceeded to say, "Even if you don't believe in that stuff, I think you'll find it's a pretty item to hold onto. For a keepsake."

Together, we hike back to camp as the sun slowly escapes the day's grasp, making room for its friend, the moon.

♕︎♕︎♕︎

Sitting around our fresh fire wordlessly, I can sense Simon playing Rock Paper Scissors with Pablo. Ralph had a grim look etched on his face, likely replaying the events of earlier. With Jack and his group being gone -- including a few extra traitors -- we were close to outnumbered. The sky was turning black, and the wind was growing chill. An earthy smell of rain lingers heavily in the air.

"I saw them up on the opposite side of the island," Will spoke up, addressing the others. "Pretty far from the mountain. They have a whole camp called 'Castle Rock'." He twiddled his fingers in the air to symbolize quotation marks.

Me and Ralph simultaneously start laughing, and soon enough, Will starts chuckling too. "What do ya think they're doing up there?" Piggy asks. I look over to him.

"They caught a pig earlier. They don't have the fire or my glasses.. so what do you reckon they did with it?" The question hangs in the air with our grey smoke. Eric catches on and makes a gross face.

"You're saying they ate raw pig?" I want to gag at the thought of them ripping into the bloody pig, munching on raw flesh. The sounds that disgustingly came with the vision makes me feel sick in the stomach.

"That'd be stupid," says Piggy. "They'd get trichinosis!" Another sensation fills my throat, and the puking feeling returns.

"What's that?" Eric cocked his head to the side. The nerdish boy takes a bite into the roasted fruit he'd been eating. We stare at him impatiently as he sloppily chews and swallows the food. "It's bugs that lives in pigs!" Mango juice dribbles down his chin.

The piece of fish that the twin brother grasped fell from his hand. Melodramatically, his jaw dropped. "Right..." Eric trailed off, gulping hard. "I knew that."

Piggy rolls his eyes. With the conversation ending, I dug into my pocket and clutched the crystal in my hand, hoping it'd provide some closure on everything. I didn't really know what to expect.

Glancing up to the tree line, I jumped back as Eric emerged from the darkness. Only it can't be Eric. That's impossible, because Eric is right here with us. So it's Sam then. I tap Ralph on the shoulder urgently. He flashes me a weird look when I point behind him. He too seems surprised at Sam's appearance.

"What do you want?" Eric says flatly. Sam didn't answer his brother, not even glancing over. Ralph had to say something instead. "What do you need, Sam?"

The painted twin glances over his shoulder anxiously to the foliage behind himself before talking. "Jack wants fire. He sent me to ask you guys."

The thickness of the horrible tension between the two opposing twins could be sliced with a butter knife, even I felt myself squirm as they shot harsh glares at the other.

"Jack can come get it himself," Piggy stated in a petty tone. Sam gave him heavy eyes and instead turns to Ralph for a more 'true' answer. With all eyes on him now, the chief puts his hands up, flustered.

"I- fine. Yeah, that's fine. Get your fire and go."

Sam sneers at his brother and stuck the end of a thick stick into our flames. Eric struggled to keep a neutral face, pretending to be unbothered.

Testing the water with Eric's limits, it was evident that Sam had been lingering longer than he had to for the sole purpose of irritating him more. Fed up, Eric finally snapped.

"What are you even here for, f'real?" He hissed hypercritically. "Don't you people have some pigs to play tag with?"

This makes Sam satisfied that he got a reaction. Tossing the blazing stick into the fire -- the one he intended to bring back to Jack -- he crosses his arms and stands there firmly.

"At least us people make ourselves worth something." He eyed his brother evenly. "Jack and Roger were right about you being the little bitch out of us two."

An exasperated sigh emits from Ralph and we both try to hold back smiles. Come on, this is funny to watch. Why have television when you have two angry twins? Eric visibly struggled to keep his cool.

"What is y'alls issue?" Will asks, sounding bored. Both twins snap their head over to him at once.

"He's being a dork!" They both say in perfect unison while pointing accusing fingers at one another. We all kinda smile at that little bit in amusement. They shot harsh glares at each other right after.

"You're supposed to get fire and leave..." Eric turned his head away so he didn't have to look at Sam. Sam just shrugs.

"Nah, I told him I could go, so I really don't have to be there right away."

Sam wore a smug expression. Eric on the other hand, being the proud and touchy kid he is, was taking deep breaths, clawing to appear just fine with Sam's mental torture.

"Why? Is there an issue with that, dork?" The painted twin approached closer with a hard expression. Ralph shifts in his seat, preparing to jump up if anything escalates. I didn't realize how tightly I gripped my crystal.

Eric's temper flared up. He whipped around and yelled loudly. "Why don't you just leave us alone!?"

"I don't have to be bossed around by you and your stupid leader!" Sam retorts even louder. "All you do is whine like the rest of this group of kindergartners!"

As if we had a case of Déjà Vu on our hands, Eric reached his breaking point and shoved Sam hard in the chest. Sam endured the push with ease, and instantly shoved Eric back down onto his seat with an audible 'thud.'

I wanted to groan at this twin quarrel. "Can you guys grow up already?" I quiz loudly. They both ignore me. Grunting, Eric punched his brother in the stomach, causing him to almost fold in half. The breath must have been knocked out of Sam, because he broke into a fit of coughs. His brother stood there in the sand, watching.

Something must have come over Sam, because he pounced on top of his brother, pinning him down. Ralph and I jump up, telling him to back off. It didn't matter anymore; Sam punched his brother relentlessly in the face, stomach and even his chest.

Ralph and I hear the air rush out of Eric and we start screaming at them to stop, too afraid to intervene in fear of one of us getting hurt. At least that was my thought process. Ralph stormed over and tore Sam off of Eric. The painted twin was still fighting the air as he was getting dragged away.

Will goes over to hold Eric back, but finds that it wasn't even necessary. Eric just sat up, breathless and in pain.

"That's enough! Calm down and stop hitting him." Ralph grunted to the thrashing Sam. I crouch in front of Eric to view his injuries. The boy bled from his nose and busted lip, plus now sporting a black eye. "You hurt him!" I screamed back at Sam.

He finally stops and looks over, then a sense of reality floods his face at Eric's condition. Stupidly, he had fought him in a blind rage, not knowing when enough was enough.

Eric wheezed, recovering from the blows to his stomach and chest.

"I... didn't know." Sam sputtered a justification, not making a move to approach his brother. Eric strained to open his eyes, his vision was likely blurry from the fight.

"He pushed me first-" Sam continued, guilt seeping into his tone. "He- He had it coming!"

"Just leave us alone!" The beaten twin barked, startling Sam for a second. Ralph and I stand there awkwardly, the rest of the boys had all tuned into the ordeal. I go to grab Eric's arm, but he yanks back and stumbles slightly to get away from everyone. Sam opens his mouth to speak until Ralph grabbed his shoulder.

"Just get your fire, and go." He shoved another stick in his hand. Reluctantly, Sam retrieves his fire and is now the one sending anxious glances to his brother.

"Yep. Go on." Ralph calmly repeats. With nothing to say, Sam skulks back into the tree line, slipping over to the dark side. As soon as he leaves, everyone seems to relax with a simultaneous exhale.

"Eric, are you okay?" I reached out to him, but he flinched back. "I'm fine," he answered shortly. When he starts to leave for his shelter, I try to follow.

"You're hurt, let me see." Trying to gently coax the boy, he only dashes quicker away. "I said I'm fine!" And he hid away in his hut.

Shaking my head, I walk back over to the campfire. Ralph rubbed his temples in stress. I can't blame him honestly.

"Did you get hurt when you broke them apart?" I ask seriously. The brunette shakes his head. "No, but I didn't have a lot of fun with that," he cracks a smile. I chuckled helplessly.

"Well it seems Jack and Roger aren't contributing anything positive to their twin quarrel."

Ralph rolls his eyes as if to say go figure.

"They're down right idiots," he grumbled bitterly and turned to look at my face.

"How have you been?"

The prospect of him checking on me wasn't a surprise, but I just didn't have a solid answer. I had a bunch of little answers that were tossed into a big mix.

"Ralph," I spoke softly. "Do you remember that glass bottle that Jack found?"

The brunette nodded earnestly. "Yeah, the guys kept annoying me when they'd argue over it as if it wasn't just a damn bottle."

My lips formed a line of contempt as I prepared to reveal what I'd been keeping to myself.

"Ralph, a few weeks ago- or, I think it was a few weeks ago... I- ugh," I grunted, feeling flustered. "Doesn't matter- On the day we found Benson after he ran off the first time, I was going to bed when I found the glass shattered outside my hut."

He looked at me with confusion. "Someone spilled it near your shelter?"

I exhaled sharply when he didn't immediately catch my words.

"No, Ralph. Someone planted the glass right outside the doorway. Right where I would step. They hid it under the sand just slightly."

He blinked in surprise, that being the last thing he'd expect.

"But... who would-"

"- Roger." I quickly intervened. "He's targeted me in more ways than one."

"And you're just now thinking to bring this to me?" pressed Ralph.

"How could I have talked about it back then!?" I exclaimed shrilly, throwing my hands up.

"What gave it away that it was Roger?" The follow up question made me give him a dumb look that he immediately caught.

"Fair." He gave a curt nod.

"I know it was him because he's the one who had it last before he broke it. I mean, if you haven't noticed by now, Ralph, Roger is the least keen on me."

He put his hands in surrender as if it would help me settle.

"And after that when they brought us all those red fruits, Roger handed me one that he stuck glass in."

"He what?" Ralph blew up. "How did you- why did-" he closed his eyes to process what I said. Sighing, I leaned back on my hands.

"Jack saw a slit in it before I could take a bite. We thought it had worms in it or something till he cut it open."

"First of all," Ralph spoke over me. "Why didn't you say anything? I'm even more surprised that Jack didn't go blabbering about it even if he didn't know it was Roger who put it there."

I feel utterly helpless at finding an answer that addresses my lack of voice when that was all going on.

"There was no proof?" I shrugged at my meek explanation.

"Well you had your suspicions, no?" He arched a brow. "I wish you would've said something. I trust that your gut knows better."

"Look, I'm sorry!" I said in a staggered hiss, waving my hands in front of me slightly like I was presenting something invisible. Ralph pinched the bridge of his nose, groaning in exhaustion.

"He knew you'd instantly realize it was him, and he knew you wouldn't end up taking a bite of that fruit," Said Ralph monotonously. "But he also knew you wouldn't speak up about it considering the circumstance. That was his leeway in doing it to you."

"Why though?" I flung my hands up with a definitive sourness. "What's his point in all of this? And why is he targeting me?"

"He's just trying to scare you," Ralph frowned solemnly. I shook my head, not accepting that brushed up answer.

"No. This is personal." I say for certain. "Whatever he's doing, it's personal. But why me? He doesn't even know me like he knows all of you."

I dart my head around the group who was listening in to catch their faces for some closure. Devoid of information. No logical answers to be offered. And so my rant persists.

"He would know exactly how to break all of you one by one in no time! He knows you all like that. But me? He met me a few months ago and he wants to make my life a living hell! If he really only wanted to assert his place here and mix up problems, he would've first taken out the ones he already knows everything about. Why is he so fixated on me?"

Ralph shrugs his broad shoulders with a tired ambience.

"That's an answer that only you would be able to get out of him, V."

Groaning out, I throw my head into my hands, and feel Ralph pat my back.

"The only reason Roger would focus on you is if he had some motive," Piggy cut in, making me lift my head.

"Clearly," I shot dryly. "But what would that even be?"

"Maybe you have something he wants," offered Will.

"Or maybe he has something planned to come out of all this," Simon added. The words whirled endlessly in my head like a hurricane, and the eye of peace has yet to come. I would say that all of the above is a great possibility, but the ever-running question that blared above all, is why? Even with those possibilities, it doesn't explain what I want to know.

"You know what I think?" Ralph speaks up. All eyes turn to him, the authority figure who is always the one receiving questions.

"I think we're all sleep deprived and staying up talking about this doesn't help the current problem at hand." He stated. I purse my lips in thought, wavering side to side. Sleep did sound tempting.

"I'll watch the fire tonight," Simon gently volunteered." None of us argued. It's been one hell of a day. The wind was picking up, and we all took notice of it. Out in the far distance, just above the line on the horizon, white flashes lit the section of the sky.

"There's gonna be a bit of rain," Ralph observed. I shrugged. "Fine by me. I love the rain."

Ralph helped me up, and I dusted myself off. As we started walking in the direction of the shelters, I start thinking about the events of the day, ignoring the itchy heaviness of my sand-filled shoes.

When I climbed into my makeshift bed, I pondered the events that occurred. It all was so chaotic, and now I don't know if Jack will ever come to his senses. And if he does, I hope it's soon. Finally, I give into a fitful sleep.

♕︎♕︎♕︎

Something woke me up in the late hours of the night. I don't know what it was, but it was probably the multiple nightmares that startled me awake the last three times. I need to go for a walk before I try to sleep again.

I try to scope out some clearing in the jungle, one that I haven't seen before. But it doesn't help when you can't see where you're going. The trees of the dark jungle swirled with a ghosty forest-like ambience, standing like noble knights shielded by noir armor.

Darkness blankets the island, filling the once glorious jungle with demonizing shadows to its brim. I have already tripped over one too many branches and stones, to where I just wanna go back to camp at the moment. The black tranquility of the sky was dappled by a poetry of stars, connecting to shifted constellations.

A hand suddenly grips my shoulder and an overwhelming sensation of fear erupts in my gut. Ready to cry out, another hand clasps my mouth shut. Starting to struggle in the hold of my captor, I find myself surprised when I'm turned to face only Jack. The fear subsides to a pulp.

Furrowing my brows, I mumble something incoherently with his hand muffling my words. Jack groans and drops his hand.

"Hey, Vera." He immediately takes me by my shoulders, and walks me backwards to sit on a log. My mouth was still dropped open in confusion.

"Why the hell are you sneaking around?" I say in a hushed whisper. The blonde rolls his eyes and sits at my side, squared to face me.

"Stop stalking me-" I paused when he cups my jaw.

"Let me see how bad he hit you." Jack starts studying my face. Like Ralph did, he touched his fingers to the bruised area surrounding the scabbed wound.

I come to my senses and shove his hands away. "Don't fucking touch me and explain what the hell you're doing out here." My voice was raised this time.

"I wanted to see you," he admits.
"I didn't get a chance to talk to you earlier."

I roll my eyes and scoot away. "Yeah? Well you would be able to 'see me' every single day if you hadn't decided to defect like the immature piece of shit you are!" With the snappier I got, the more drained Jack appeared.

"Yeah, I'm not sorry for making a second tribe." He answered flatly. My heart sped up in anger, and I wanted to blow up on him.

"Veronica, I'm sorry I hit you. I truly didn't mean to. When I saw who was in front of me, it was already too late."

I scrunch my nose and make a face at him. "Yeahhh, I bet you feel like a real bitch for that, don't ya?" I bit back. His brows bobbed momentarily in acceptance for every word I said.

"Yes, I do." Jack says and cups my jaw again. This time, I don't move and let him feel satisfied with the little 'man savior' complex.

"Fuck, Vera..." He sighed under his breath while looking at my cheek. "I'm so sorry for Roger. I didn't expect that to happen. I deserved that slap back."

I nodded. "Yes, you did."

He pressed his tongue to the inside of his own cheek.

"Right, well, I didn't want you to get hurt. I had to make sure you were alright. Vera, I'm so damn sorry."

He stroked my uninjured cheek with a thumb, and I wanted to melt into the touch all over again.

"If you're so sorry, then-" I stop to process everything that happened. It's hitting harder, but I've always seen it coming from a mile away.

"...then why'd you leave?" I sounded more vulnerable than intended. "We could have gone home, Jack."

He kisses my forehead, his lips pressing on my skin for a few moments. I should have pulled away right then and there.

"I had to."

"No, you didn't have to. You fucked up, and acted childish. Ralph can at least recognize where he went wrong. Just come back. I still wanna be with you."

He starts shaking his head. "What if you come join my tribe?"

I recoil at the proposition. "What?"

Jack scrambles to grab my hands and pull me closer.

"Come back with me, and I can take care of you," he tries to hold my face, but I push his hand away.

"I don't need you to take care of me. I'm loyal to Ralph because he doesn't have faltered morals."

He chewed his thumbnail to come up with more reasoning. "Just wait till you see the good that comes out of this!"

I raise my hands up and stand up from the log. "No good could possibly come of this." I retort. Jack also rises from the log, bowing his head in what seemed to be mock surrender.

"Call me an optimist."

I scoff in disbelief. "I'm leaving now." Muttering curses and insults under my breath, I try to leave the area as dignified as possible to finalize my point. I get stopped when my back is slammed against a tree- my arms pinned above my head. It wasn't forceful, so hitting the tree didn't cause me any pain, thankfully. Then, I meet that knowing smirk. Yep, that damned smirk which I swore i'd never melt to so many months ago.

"Oh? Are you doing this now?" He mused innocently, cocking his head to the side. His lips were so close to mine, I could feel his breath graze my skin.

"Let me go, Merridew." I say indifferently. So, he does -- letting my arms go and placing his own hands on the tree above my head. Crossing my arms, I try my best to keep my frame pressed firmly to the tree to create some distance, even if I didn't want to.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you looked in the moonlight?"

That's it. One phrase, and I give in. Crashing our lips together, I let go of any grudge I had. Maybe i'd regret it later, who knows. But I only have one person on my mind; Jack.

His hands roughly explored my body, sculpting down my waist and thighs. I inhaled sharply, and he smirked against my mouth. He muttered something while taking my hips, and pulling me closer to his while my fingers run through his blonde hair in pure bliss. This isn't right, I know.

Releasing pent up frustration in an intimate form can be more harmful sometimes, or it can fix old scars. Right now, I'm just digging myself a hole. Who knows, maybe some good will actually come of it. I just need to be with him right now.

His lips were like honey, and they collided with mine so perfectly. Jack then unbuttoned the first few buttons on my shirt to easily travel his lips down my neck. The way he can just flip that switch in my brain boggles my mind. He always knows just what to say and do. Ignoring that itch in the back of my brain which was telling me to stop, I wrapped my arms around him to pull him closer.

He pressed his lips into my neck in the most sensitive area, and my eyes fluttered closed. Then I think of all the horrible things Ralph and Piggy would say if they saw me. Fuck. More thoughts to shove away. Gasping at a sudden feeling, Jack's arms hooked under my thighs and he lifted me up against his hips, still keeping me pressed to the tree. Next, he trailed kisses down to my collar bone and I shove my dark hair behind my neck to keep it out of the way. Seeing how i'd react to spontaneous courses of action, he fed into it even more. We went on for what felt like hours till we wound up out of breath.

"I'm telling you, Sawyer," he whispered in my ear, tingling my skin. This sends a cold chill down my spine and I shudder. "I can read you like a magazine, whether you wanna admit it or not."

When he pulls back to view my face, sincerity returns. "Damn you, Jack," I muttered. He stroked my cheek tenderly. "Yeah yeah. I know you still love me," he chuckled. My heart skipped a beat at the word love, but I caught myself.

"Listen..." he starts, the tone already making me wanna tear my hair out. "I'm sorry for hitting you. It was meant for Piggy, and I didn't see you in front of me." Jack explains softly. I divert focus from his eyes, and down to his chest.

"And about Roger... fuck, I literally want to beat the shit out of him." Jack tightens his fist.

"But... you forgive him because he's your best friend?" I presume knowingly, dreading the already predicted answer. Jack doesn't respond, and he seems to glance elsewhere. At that, I sighed. I don't need him to say anything to know what was inferred. I planted my hands on his shoulders and squirmed out of the straddle so I could stand on my own, back still against the tree.

"I had a long talk with him, though." He mumbled. I roll my eyes. Yeah, like that would do anything. Jack sees that I still wore his name tag on my blazer. When I see that he notices it, it dawned on me how degrading it was to wear it, even if Jack had good intentions.

"Can you just-" I inhale sharply and make fists in front of my face out of frustration. Taking a breath, I continued. "Just... please come back."

Jack shakes his head solemnly. "I can't do that, Vera. You know I can't." The blonde attempts to take my hands, but I shove them away.

"Yes, you can, Merridew!" I say loudly, slicing the tranquility of the night. He tries to hush me, but I continue ranting on. "It takes zero effort to man up and come back!" I shove him one more time in his chest, breaking us apart.

"Veronica." He firmly stops me. "I'm not coming back. Ralph is a terrible leader. I understand why you're mad. Really, I do."

Despite his calm speech, I promptly crossed my arms over my chest. "Just know that there will always be a place for you at Castle Rock. Think about it, kay?"

My heart lurches, and I want to sob right there, but I don't. I want to argue and yell, yet I don't. Instead, I graze one of the stripes of pig's blood on his cheek, and he looks confused.

I can't help but think to myself; red is such a pretty color... Pulling back, I meet his eyes one more time.

"Have a good time up there," I nod to the direction of his far away camp. At that, I turn on my heel, but stop when he gently takes my elbow, so I turn around hopefully.

"Yes, ma'am. Thanks for the fire." Jack whispers. Thunder suddenly braced the air above us, adding all the more intimacy to our state of relation.

I look up to a sky that was now molten silver being stirred in a rolling pot, twinged with grey clouds that assembled in the swirling abyss. Stars dulled down as they were caked over by a purple haze. The boy smirked at the sound of the lighting cracking a whip.

"And enjoy the storm. It's gonna be a big one." That was it. No more words to offer. At this point, I can't even describe what I feel for him, whether it's good or bad. From there, we split apart into our what is now; two different worlds.

You're the only one who tried to find the good parts of me.