TITLE: Afraid of the Dark
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Shannon is afraid of the dark.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters from Lost and am not making a profit. If they were mine, then there would be more Shayid moments.
Thanks to Mrstater for reading through this and making it much better. Thanks for your support while I wrote this too.
Nighttime was when Shannon missed home the most. Boone and the others probably thought she couldn't live without the parties and the clubs. She did miss the nightlife, but it wasn't what made her homesick. Every night she wished she could be home, because there it wasn't so dark.
Shannon hated to admit it to anyone, and in fact never had, but she was afraid of the dark. It was an irrational fear that had developed after her mother's death. At six years old, she thought her mother would come back to visit her, so she left a light on for her. After a while she realized that it was silly, but by then, she couldn't sleep without the light.
She remembered being eight years old and lying to her new big brother about why she left the light on, telling him that it was so she could see to get out of bed in the middle of the night. Which, when she thought about it, wasn't a complete lie; it just ignored the truth that she hated the darkness.
It was worse now, where there was no light at all that could sneak into her tent and allow her to sleep better. She was trying to get used to the darkness and had a ritual to help her fall asleep. She curled into a ball, wrapping her arms around her legs. She stared out into space, or sometimes she closed her eyes -- but usually they shot back open, because it was just as dark with them shut. Typically, just as she was drifting off to sleep, a noise startled her awake. With a pounding heart, she lay as still as she could, straining to make sure the monster wasn't going to get her.
The lack of sleep was starting to get to her. Even Sayid noticed; while they were translating the maps, he'd asked if she was getting enough sleep. She smiled a little in the darkness at the memory. Maybe if she thought about Sayid, she would be able to sleep. Already she felt less afraid. She was starting to develop a small crush on him. She rolled her eyes; it wasn't worth lying to herself. She had, in fact, developed a huge crush on him. She just hoped he didn't realize it. He was way out of her league.
Shannon threw off her blanket and stood up. She was tired of lying there, terrified of the pitch-blackness. She found her shawl and wrapped it tightly around her shoulders. Maybe Sayid was keeping watch tonight. She stumbled through the dense darkness toward the fire, reaching out in front with her arms in case there were unseen obstacles.
After what felt like hours, she was next to the fire. She had thought that she had been moving quietly, but Sayid turned around.
"Is everything okay, Shannon?"
She nodded as she sat down beside him. "I couldn't sleep."
"You have been having trouble sleeping for a while."
Shannon smiled, Sayid had noticed. Then as she thought about it, of course he would, she was probably screwing up their maps with her lack of sleep.
"Would you like to talk about it?" he asked.
She didn't answer right away; she didn't want him to laugh at her, as her stepmother had when Shannon flipped out when she woke up in the middle of the night to find her light turned off. Instead, Shannon decided to watch the way the fire cast shadows across his face. .
"It's stupid, really," she finally answered.
Sayid turned to face her. "I am sure it is not stupid." He swept a piece of hair out of her eyes; her skin tingled where he had touched. "You do not need to tell me."
She bit her lip, bracing herself for his laughter, "I'm afraid of the dark," she softly admitted. She finally allowed herself to look into his eyes, and was surprised to see that they held nothing but concern.
"Your fears are not stupid, Shannon. I am sure many here are fearful of this darkness."
"You're not."
He laughed, "Everyone has their fears."
She leaned closer, almost touching him. "Tell me what you're afraid of?" She took his hand. "I won't laugh," she said seriously.
He smiled at her and leaned in closer as well. "I do not like snakes," he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her.
"Really?" she asked. "Snakes?" She was trying not to smile. She thought of Indiana Jones and thought maybe a snake phobia was fitting for Sayid.
"I thought you said you would not laugh."
"I'm not laughing, I'm just smiling. I never said anything about smiling. I won't tell anyone that you don't like snakes." She looked at him closely. "You aren't just saying that you're afraid of them to make me feel less stupid are you?"
He smiled back at her, his eyes sparkling in the fire. She knew he wasn't going to answer her. Shannon was glad she'd braved the darkness to come find Sayid. He had a way of making her feel better. And she thought that he might just be flirting with her, which she really didn't mind at all.
She sighed. "I guess I'll just have to find a snake and bring it to you."
"I doubt that you would pick up a snake."
"I'm not scared of snakes."
She wasn't; they were just plain old gross. She didn't really want to touch one, but to find out if Sayid was telling her the truth she may just have to do it. Or maybe she would find a stick to pick it up with.
She yawned, the lack of sleep catching up to her once again. "I should go back to bed."
Sayid reached out and took her hand. "Why don't you go to my tent, it is closer so you will not have to go as far in the dark and you will be able to see the fire from there."
She smiled at him. "You wouldn't mind?"
"I would feel better knowing you were not afraid."
"Thanks." She leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek. She wanted to kiss his lips, but she wasn't going to ruin her first friendship.
"Sleep well," he said. "If you would like I can assist you with moving your shelter so you will be able to see the fire."
"I would like that, thank you." She hoped he meant he would move her tent closer to his. "Goodnight."
She went quickly to Sayid's tent and like he said, she could see the fire from there. She resisted the urge to examine some of his belongings; instead, she just lay down on his bed and closed her eyes.
She wasn't sure if it was the fire glowing in the distance or the knowledge that she was in Sayid's bed, but she quickly feel into a deep sleep, unlike any she had since crashing on the island.
The End.