prologue

He sat on the beach, dark eyebrows furrowed in thought. He breathed in and let the salty air fill his lungs and whip through his hair. The taste lingered on his tongue as he exhaled, trying to calm himself. He had just had another spat with Shannon. This time it had been over a flipping pair of sunglasses. The pair she had been using had gotten scratched, causing her to throw a fit and un-relentlessly blame Boone for the scratches. Little fights like these had become common occurrence between the two since the plane had crashed. The rescuers were, as Shannon insisted on putting it, "late" and the later they were to being saved, the shorter Shannon's temper became.

It was ridiculous, Boone thought. The more in denial she became, the crazier she got and the more she took her frustrations out on him. Although Boone was dealing much better than Shannon over the current situation – being stranded on a deserted island with a bunch of strangers and his raging step sister – he couldn't help letting his feeling catch up with him once and a while. It was rare when he got a moment alone. He was always eager to help with the camp. Helping out served as a distraction. And keeping busy kept his mind off Shannon, then it was exactly what he needed to do.

Shannon was his step sister – no blood relation whatsoever, and he had been madly and painfully in love with her for years. It was only recently that she had found out and used him to her advantage, tricking and manipulating him into believing that she felt the same for him. And no matter how hard Boone tried, he couldn't not forgive her. He couldn't stay mad. The only solution to the problem, as far as he was concerned, was to forget about her. Forget the way he felt, pick up the pieces and move on. However, this was proving to be exceedingly difficult as they were constantly within close proximity of one another. And although he loved her in a way he shouldn't, she was his sister, and it was his duty to protect her and keep her safe. Of course, Boone being her knight in shining armor was exactly the opposite of what Shannon wanted.

It was at this moment, one of the few he had gotten to himself in the past few days, where Boone decided he was going to move on no matter what it took. A way was sure to present itself. In the meantime, he needed to stay focused on survival and sticking things out on the godforsaken island until help showed up.

He sighed, his torrid emotions swelling up in him once more. In his own frustration he picked up a near by stick and began to snap it violently, tossing the pieces towards the surf. He stared down the beach, back towards the camp, where he could just make out his sister, trying to bribe Charlie to hold a palm over her face while she lay tanning. Boone looked away, his blue eyes spacing out as his gaze trailed down the empty shoreline.

"Hey."

A voice from behind him caused him to break his daze. He looked up to see a tall, slender brunette looking down at him with concern. This was Kate, who was undeniably, the beauty of the group. She had already captured the attention of both Jack and Sawyer and it was very obvious to the rest of the group that she was gorgeous. Of course Boone had never fully registered Kate's attractiveness before, only having eyes for Shannon. Kate sat down beside him and tucked her knees into her chest.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." He replied. "Just needed a break, you know?"

Kate nodded. Boone surveyed her from the corner of his eye. She was strikingly attractive, especially up close. The sun accented her light freckles and deep brown eyes. She looked tired and stressed, like she also had a great deal on her mind.

"It's actually not that bad of a place if you want to get away." She laughed grimly.

"It is growing on me a little." He smiled, stretching his legs out in the warm sand. He realized this was the first conversation they had had together, just one on one.

"How've you been?" He asked, studying her face closely.

She paused before answering, looking down at the sand and kicking it with her feet.

"I'd like to say I'm okay. But this whole thing has been—"
"Overwhelming?" He suggested.

She laughed. Her laugh was a soft giggle and it made Boone smile without realizing it.

"That would be one way to put it. What about you? How've you been?"

"Aside from being in a place crash, stuck on an island and wanting to kill my sister, I'm doing alright."

Their eyes met and they laughed a little, both thankful that they were still make a joke.

"Good." She smiled. "That's good."

"Kate?"

Boone looked up to see Jack approaching them from the camp. Jack clearly had become the unofficial leader within the past few days. He was tall, muscular and seemed to radiate a natural sense of leadership and goodness.

"I should go." Kate said, standing up. "This is a good spot though." She remarked, brushing the sand off her pants.

"I usually hide out her when Shannon's in a bad mood." Boone grinned. "So I'm up here a lot."

Kate returned the grin and chuckled.

"Well, let me know if you want some company."

"Okay." Boone nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that."

Jack called for her again and she turned to go.

"See you later." She waved and jogged down the beach towards Jack. Boone watched her go, noticing that he was feeling pleasantly better after their brief conversation.

Keeping himself distracted. That had been his plan to get over Shannon. And as his eyes followed Kate's long legs running down the beach, he wondered if he had just stumbled upon the perfect thing to keep him occupied.

---

Author's Note: This was just sort of an idea that randomly bounced into my head one day. I have wanted to try a Lost fic for a really long time. I know that this pairing is a bit left field but after I saw this pic of them together . I thought WOW that might actually work! So please review, let me know what you think and if I should keep this one going :)