"Man the starboard! Clear the poop deck! Man overboard!"

"Billy! Shut the bloody hell up!"

"Ooooh, I see Danny has his crankypants on," Billy retorted bitterly.

"Do you think I enjoy this stupid boat ride? I'm nauseous as fuck."

I rolled my eyes. "Danny, shut up. Do we look like we wanna be here with your complaining ass?"

Casey snickered beside me.

Danny shot at him, "What's so funny, lover boy? Is it the fact that Sammy rejected you for the tenth time this year?"

Casey shut up and gave me a hurt look before going inside to the kitchen, er galley. I followed after him, calling his name. "Casey! Casey! I didn't tell him anything!"

Granted, I did tell Marissa.

Note to self: Boys make her bird-brained.

He grabbed a bag of Doritos from behind the counter and sat down on the other side of the galley, far away from me.

"Casey, I can barely walk on this damn boat. Don't make me go all the way over there."

"Why."

"Why? Because if I get over there I'll kick your ass for making me."

His voice was monotone. "I meant why you won't go out with me."

My shoulders drooped. May God strike me down with lightning right now. "Our parents are dating, Casey. We discussed this already. I can't do this."

He crossed over to me in a few long strides. "You want to go out with me. But you won't. Sammy-"

I cut him off. "No. Don't. Don't ruin what we have left. Please." I leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek and went out onto the poop deck or starboard or whatever it's called.

"Captain Pratt! Get away from the landlubber before he infects you with meanie germs," I called out to Billy.

"Sammy Keyesta! Danny is a terrible grumpy-pants." He jumped down from the deck and gave me a Billy-like hug. He leaned over to whisper into my ear, "Don't worry about Casey. He really cares about you. Think about giving him a chance?" He leaned back and yelled, "All hands on deck!"

Billy Pratt has the power to summon the dead. Right after he yelled that, Casey, Danny, Marissa, Heather, and even the flipping captain gathered to where we were.

I really can't stand this boat ride. Lady Lana and Warren tried to get us all to bond so they forced me, Casey, and Heather to go on this family bonding boat retreat. Riptide III was on loan to Santa Martina from some other place called City Island, I think. We were all allowed to bring (ahem, drag) one friend. I brought Marissa, Casey brought Billy, and Heather brought the sleazebag.

Casey glanced at me and I sighed.

Casey.

That's a whole 'nother story.

He didn't seem to get the concept that Lana and Warren were serious about each other. And as much as I wanted to do something about it, I couldn't. But that didn't stop Casey from asking me out incessantly.

"I propose we make merry and eat cookies!" Billy shouted.

Heather sneered, "Cookies go straight to my thighs, drama geek!"

"Would you rather we all have an orgy?" he retorted.

"Gross," Danny protested. "I don't wanna see Anorexic Keyes naked."

I rolled my eyes and said, "Like I want to see the itsy bitsy Danny naked."

Danny walked closer and got in my face. "What was that, Keyes?"

"Get out of my face, Urbanski," I warned.

"What if I don't?"

A voice from behind Danny said, "Then we're going to have some problems."

Casey.

Of course.

He grabbed Danny by the collar of his shirt and glared at him. "What seems to be the problem?"

Danny scowled, "You're defending the girl who's rejected you a million times. Get it through your head. She doesn't care about you at all."

I gave an indignant shriek. "What do you know, you pretentious prick?" I stormed off the deck, tired of the bullshit out there.

What was happening to everyone?

We were fighting more, yet still drifting apart.

Casey and Danny were leaving to college this year, in Seattle I think.

I groaned. I'm too tired to think clearly.

A voice interrupted my muddled thoughts. "Sammy?"

I looked up to see Casey standing in front of me, worried. "Are you okay?"

Shrugging, I muttered, "I dunno. I have a headache."

"Want me to ask the captain if he has Advil up there?" he asked.

I chuckled softly. "You're sweet. But you don't need to. I'll go."

He looked at me sadly and then offered me his hand. I took his hand hesitantly and he pulled me into a warm embrace. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'll stop. I don't want to lose you."

Before I could answer him, we heard Marissa yell, "Fucking hell!"

We ran out to the deck where she was looking out onto the water. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" She looked at me with wide eyes. "Sammy!" She looked genuinely scared, with tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "Sammy," she cried. 'We're in trouble. T-The captain…"

"What about the captain?" I asked, worried now.

"He's gone! Sammy, he's abandoned ship! Mutiny! Uhm-"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"HE TOOK THE MOTHERFUCKING LIFEBOAT AND LEFT US AND I THINK THE BOAT IS SINKING."

"…"

I heard Casey breathe hard next to me. In two seconds, he had grabbed me from around my waist and dragged me inside the galley where the life jackets were kept and where the lifeboat should have been. He pulled the floor open and grabbed one of the battered life jackets and shoved it into my arms, looking at me with wild eyes. "Put it on," he ordered.

"But what about-"

"Don't start!" he shouted. "Put it on."

I complied, scared of how composed Casey became worried as fuck Casey.

We gathered the rest of the jackets, intending to hand them out to our friends when the boat lurched. Marissa ran in, the tears flowing freely down her face now, and said, "Billy's trying to steer the boat towards an island he found on the radar, but what if we- I mean how- Sammy, I don't want to die!"

Billy?

Billy can drive a boat?

Kudos.

Danny and Heather ran into the galley. "What the fuck is this I hear about the boat sinking?" Heather yelled.

Marissa said bitterly, "Danny, zip up your pants."

Heather stepped in front of him and told Marissa, "Stop staring at my boyfriend's package."

"What package?" I joked.

Everyone turned to look at me.

Like You're making a joke? Now? Are you serious?

I scowled, "You wanna spend our last minutes yelling about bullshit? Everyone shut up, put on a lifejacket, and sit tight hoping Billy can get us close to the island before we fucking drown." They all scrambled for the lifejackets and ran to opposite corners of the boat.

Marissa went upstairs to go "help" Billy. It was quite clear she couldn't stand watching Heather and Danny suck each other's face off and grope each other. Hell, I couldn't stand to watch that shit. Casey grabbed me and sat us down on the other side of the room, as far away as possible from his sister and former friend.

I really don't know what happened between Danny and Casey. It happened so suddenly. It- came up out of the blue uninvited.

I can't believe we might die and I'm making jokes, what is wrong with me today?

Sometime during their junior year, Casey and Danny began acting hostile towards each other. Of course, since Casey and Billy hated each other, Danny started pressuring poor Billy to pick a side. Which didn't work out like Danny expected.

Billy was more friends with me and Marissa and Dot and Holly than he was with Danny.

So he didn't mind picking Casey's side in all of this. I think Casey told Billy why he hated Danny, but whenever I asked Casey, he would tell me that it was too complicated and stupid. Not to be egotistical or anything, but I felt like it had something to do with me.

"Sammy?" A quiet voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Yeah, Case?"

"What if we die?"

I tried to joke, "Well, we've had a good run, eh?"

He didn't answer. All he did was pull me closer to him, onto his lap, and buried his face in my hair. I sighed. "Try not to think about it, Casey. Think about everything happy in your life. What makes you happy?"

Without a beat, he answered, "You."

"Oh."

"What if we die…and you and me never-I mean-"

I put a finger to his lips, not wanting to hear the rest.

"There's water in the boat!," Heather shrieked.

Fuck.

Before Casey could say anything, I grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down and kissed him. He tensed for a second, obviously not expecting me to do that. But when I curled my fingers into his hair and pressed myself closer to his body, he responded quite eagerly. He put his hands on the sides of my face and deepened the kiss.

What was I doing?

I feel like I'm leading him on.

What if we do survive?

What if he expects me to date him if we get back to Santa Martina?

Why don't I give a fuck about my mom and Warren at this point?

Damn. I care for this man way more than is good for us.

The boat lurched suddenly and I fell backwards, bringing Casey down on top of me and breaking the kiss. His face was so close to mine that our noses were touching. He was breathing heavily and staring deep my eyes.

God, those eyes.

Those deep, rich, Easter egg eyes.

Those kind, sincere eyes.

Making me feel guilty as hell.

I broke eye contact and let my eyes trail down his face to his swollen lips. I blushed, knowing that was my doing.

"Hey lovebirds," Billy hooted. "Get out here!"

Casey got off of me and offered me a hand to help me up. I ignored it and got up myself. I can't even look him in the eyes anymore.

He grabbed my wrist and turned me to face him. I looked away and pulled him outside.

I had failed to notice how the rocking of the boat that made me nauseous had ceased, so it was a shock when I walked out and found that we were on fucking land.

LAND.

I turned to Casey and threw my arms around him. He was ecstatic as well and spun me around until I pulled away from him, wanting to get off the boat.

I jumped off the boat into the wondrous sand, stumbling a bit.

"Whoa, Sammy Keyesta! Slow down. You don't have your land legs yet," Billy said, coming up behind me to steady me.

"Who needs land legs? All I want to do is lie here in the beautiful sand! I just might start kissing the ground."

Danny snickers behind me, "Better than kissing Casey, I bet."

"Is that something you fantasize about? Kissing Casey? Trust me, it's better than what you imagined," I retorted.

Casey, who has been standing around silent, smiled widely. As if he thought that I regretted kissing him or something. He probably did, especially after my reaction.

Heather started whining. "Dannnnnny, I think I cut myself on a stupid broken shell."

"Get over yourself," he snarled. "We're gonna be stuck here for a while, so get used to it."

She gaped at him, as we all did. If he wanted sex, he stayed on her good side.

"So Captain Billy," I said, "what do we do next?"

He looked at me surprised. "Uh…could we all push the boat more inland? I'm guessing if we can get the boat farther up the shore, we'll have a safer place to sleep for the night."

Me, Casey, and Marissa looked at each other like Yeah, sure, seems legit. But Heather yelled, "Are you guys mad? I'll chip a nail!"

Everyone yelled simultaneously at her, "Shut up!"

I added, "Just help us push the bloody boat if you don't want to sleep on top of broken shells and sand."

She grumbled, but nevertheless, she headed towards the back of the boat which was still in the water.

"Okay guys," Billy said. "If we push when the tide is coming in, it'll be easier to get it farther inland."

I nodded in agreement. "You know, Billy, if we get some logs and maybe find a way to push the boat onto them, we can roll the boat in."

His eyes brightened, happy that someone was taking him seriously.

Danny muttered, "I'll get some logs." And he set off into the trees.

Heather's eyes flared. "I can't believe I'm taking orders from a narc and a dumbass."

"That 'narc' and that 'dumbass' are going to keep us from dying," Marissa barked. There was this no-nonsense tone in her voice. As if she snapped when she thought she was going to die. Now there's a chance that we could live and she wasn't going to let any slackers prevent that. I have a feeling she's going to be the one to enforce every important decision.

About ten good sized logs came rolling down the sand towards us with Danny walking down behind them. "Found your blasted logs."

Five hours later, we managed to roll the boat up the sand and right under the tropical trees. It was not, under any circumstances, easy in the slightest. I mean c'mon, the boat weighed tons even with the logs to roll it on. And under the brutal sun? Ha! The boys had taken off their shirts while Marissa and I ripped our jeans to make them shorts. Marissa and I were one minute away from throwing our shirts off too.

When Billy yelled, "That's far enough!" we collapsed onto the sand.

Danny groaned, "I nominate Billy as leader."

"Ugh! Hold up! Since when are we choosing leaders? We aren't even going to be here long. Someone will find out we're missing or the captain will help them find us. It's the least he could do after abandoning us." Heather felt that she was actually making a good point. Ha.

I explained to her, "The captain is always supposed to go down with its boat. And he took a lifeboat that could have fit all of us in it and left us. That's criminal. And Billy said that this island wasn't even on the map. He only found it because it was on the radar equipment."

Her eye twitched. "Then I nominate Sammy. I am not taking orders from someone who flunked out."

I am ninety percent certain all of our eyes bugged out. I shouted out, "Hold on, I can't be leader or anything, okay?"

Billy grinned at me. "We can lead together, Sammy Keyesta."

Casey shrugged. "I'm good with that. Billy and Sammy are great in a crisis and I feel completely safe with them in charge." He shot me a shy smile and everyone else mumbled their agreement. Marissa stood up and pointed to me and Billy.

"If anyone has a problem with their decisions, you can take it up with me." She sounded very…scary.

Billy raised his eyebrows. "I suggest we all get some rest inside the boat."

"Agreed," I groaned. "We need to go look for food and water sources in the morning. The food and water in the galley won't last long. Ughh, I don't even want to get up." I looked over at Casey and joked, "Carry me, peasant. Or else Marissa will enforce it."

I didn't expect him to get up and pick me up, carrying me inside the boat. I yelped and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I was joking."

He smiled. "You're tired. And you're co-leader now. It's the least I could do."

I closed my eyes and sighed. "Why are you so sweet?"

"Why are you so perfect?"

My eyes flew open. "Casey-"

He set me down on the floor and pulled off a few cushions from the seats in the galley to form a makeshift bed.

The others followed us and started doing the same to have something to sleep on.

I ran a hand through my hair. This morning, I was shoveling Corn Flakes in my mouth, cursing my mother.

And now we're facing death.

Yay.

A/N: I dunno if anyone remembers me saying that I was so sure I was gonna fail Living Environment and go to summer school so I promised that if I didn't go to summer school I would update once a week so hey fuck me because I actually passed. Lucky you, huh?

This story is based on a combination of the Island series by Gordon Korman and the show Flight 29 Down. So yeah. Erm, I wrote most of this when I was half asleep so that's why it sucks. So if you wanna know what Riptide III looks like, just google it. It's a fishing boat in City Island that I love ever so much :3

…See you next week ;-; damn.

OH AND PLUS GO ON MY PROFILE TO VOTE WHO BILLY BELONGS WITH OKAY BYE NOW