Wow. So I wrote this two days ago, but waited until today to publish it because today makes a year since its prequel "Save Tonight" was published. I just thought that was a fun coincidence. I'm hoping to write some more F29D stories soon because I just really love this show and this fandom, even though the fandom is almost entirely dead. For those people who have just got into this show, I promise that we were actually an amazing fandom, but the show has been over for almost 6 years (how strange is that?) and I guess that's what happens after all this time.
I hope you guys like this. I tried to stay away from the whole "I wanna get rescued so I can be with the girl" thing because that has always really bothered me and a lot of the older stories mention that. Like they're stranded on a deserted island, that is NOT the main reason anyone wants to go home. Anyways, enjoy!
Cody Jackson laid in sleeping bag, staring at the chipping ceiling above him. There hadn't been any noise from any of the others for quite some time now, so he assumed that everyone else was asleep.
He didn't know how they could possibly sleeping right now. Worry had taken over his body, with every beat of his heart, it pumped through body and he wasn't even the one taking off tomorrow.
But it had been his idea. The guilt came flooding back and he squeezed his eyes shut.
Jackson had never been one to worry too much, despite the difficulties he'd had in life. He knew that there was no point in worrying over what couldn't we changed, that he'd just have to deal with it as best he could, and there was no point in worrying in over what could be changed when it could be changed.
But this scared him.
They had no idea where they were, but they were about to let Melissa and Abby take off in some boat that was older than the pilot. If they were back at camp, Daley would have put it up to a vote and he guaranteed it would have lost. And with good reason to. What if they never saw the girls again? What if rescue came tomorrow night, but they were already lost at sea?
Their only chance for rescue scared him more than the possibility of being stuck here for the rest of his life. How twisted was that?
The island had food and water and shelter, no matter how difficult they could be to find. The boat would only have what they could bring and right now, they didn't have much to give Mel and Abby.
The silence resonated through the ruins. There wasn't even any snoring. It just made him even more restless.
Jackson thought back to earlier. He had wanted to talk to Mel before she left. Eric's little talk had prompted him to tell her how he really felt. To tell her that it was her he wanted, not Taylor. To say goodbye. But when he looked over, she was asleep.
The guilt coursed through his body again, this time clutching at his chest. It wasn't just the fear of being the one who shipped them of to uncertain doom. It was the pain he put her through, too.
He hurt her. She had been nothing but kind to him and he had hurt her. She didn't deserve to have her feelings played with just because she made the mistake of liking him. He hadn't meant to do it, but it happened anyway and he couldn't figure out a way to fix it without putting himself on line. He did try to explain the day before they left, twice actually, once when she was mad at him and the other when Abby and Eric were trying to get her to come with them, but both attempts were truly pathetic, if he did say so himself.
His time was running out, quicker than he wanted it to. Once, when he was about six, he had asked his mom why the weekends went by so fast and if he really had to go to school the next day, she just said time went by quickly when you were getting ready to do something you didn't want to. Back then, he had just grumbled and turned back to the television, but he could see the truth in her words now. Hell, he could feel it now, and it was painful.
The way Jackson saw it, he had two options: wake her up now and tell her or wait until morning and do it then. Waking her now wouldn't be fair. She was gonna have one hell of a day tomorrow, they all were. She needed the sleep. But if he waited until the morning, there was no guarantee he was gonna get a chance to talk to her alone. There was really no debate. He was gonna wait, give himself time to plan exactly what he was gonna say.
Besides, the prospect of telling her scared more than he was going to admit.
True to his mom's words, morning came way too early for Jackson.
He watched Melissa all morning, waiting for the right time to go up to her. She had been alone quite a few times, but by the time he'd get the nerve to go up to her, someone else always showed up. He was getting more and more anxious that he wouldn't get the chance to talk to her.
It was almost go time and Jackson was starting to feel his spirits falling. He wasn't gonna get his chance. Everyone was finishing their packing when he looked over and saw Melissa sitting by herself in the middle of the room, making sure she had packed everything. They were by no means alone, but this was the best he was gonna get.
All his planning was going out the window. There was no time for a long-winded conversation about 'feelings', but he had enough time to tell her the truth.
Jackson made his way over to Mel, looking far more confident than he felt. He crouched down and looked seriously into her eyes. "Are you sure about this?" he asked, concern written all over his face.
If she said she didn't want to do this, he'd call the whole things off in a heartbeat. After spending a good portion of last night imagining all the imagining all the terrible things that could happen, he didn't want to send anyone who had anyone who had the slightest doubt about this, let alone Melissa. At this point, he wasn't even sure he'd want to send anyone who was sure they wanted to go.
The blatant worry in her eyes felt like a knife in his gut. "Do we have another choice?" she asked in return. This was the first time she had shown any hesitation in the plan, but before he could call it off, Eric interrupted.
"It's now or never," he said, looking as nervous as Jackson imagined he looked himself.
Melissa stood up and Jackson knew he had missed his chance, but the sick feeling in his stomach was more fear than regret.
He stood up anyways and went along with the plan.
When the boat catches fire, he feels calmer than he has for days.