Everyone has Secrets by Pippin's Lady Knight

Hurley watched them all through hollow eyes. His CD player blared in his ears and managed to drown out the crashing of the waves on the shore. He winced as he looked down at the small screen, and saw the blinking low battery sign.

He sighed, and decided to let the song play out, not daring to think of what he would do when his batteries ran out. Beg Sawyer for more? Year, right. He had barely gotten Sawyer to give him the Frick'n manifest. And that was only a couple pieces of paper. Nope, when these ran out, he was screwed.

He saw Charlie, kneeling down by Claire. "Huh," he thought, "For someone, who doesn't remember anything, she sure looks like she remembers him."

Claire smiled, and took a cup out of Charlie's hand. Hurley looked away, suddenly feeling like he was intruding on something important, something that didn't concern him and never would.

He wasn't the kind of guy pretty, blonde; memory impaired Aussie chicks dug. And definitely not the NOT impaired ones either. He sighed, and let his eyes scan the rest of the beach.

There was Shannon, and Sayid. Apparently Boone hadn't gotten to Sayid like he had told Hurley he would. The way he had said it made Hurley wonder just WHY Boone wanted his sister to be so alone. But those two had always been a little off, so who knows?

And there was Kate. Perfect Kate as always...but flirting with Sawyer. "That's a change, normally she's mentally fused to Jack's hip." He mused. Then with a chuckle, he turned away the thoughts in his head, and went back to listening to his music.

He scolded himself for not listening. REALLY listening, that is. Hurley was the kind of guy that could hear a song a million times, but until something gave it meaning, he had never really LISTENED to it. He wondered what was going on in the real world now.

Yeah, the real world where if someone committed arson, or beat the hell out of their fellow man (even if he did only speak Korean), they were safely detained until their court trial. But not here, here on the island, anything goes. And oh, did it GO.

His mind roved again, and he distantly thought of the French woman Sayid had found.

Hurley had asked about her, but Sayid had been dodgy. More dodgy than normal that is. Being continuously vague in his description. Nothing more than saying she was tan, with long brown hair that was a bit curly, stirring green eyes, oftener spiteful, than kind, and a strong muscled frame.

And so Hurley pondered on her, building a woman in his mind. Some one wild, and unpredictable with a crazy laugh, and hair that she always left down. Someone with secrets.

But someone who actually shared them with him; because he had secrets too. And he yearned for someone to tell them too...so many things in his past stirred up when he landed on this stupid island. But not like any of the others cared. They were so wrapped up in their own problems, they never saw past the disguise of his smile, or his constant joking.

Nope, they didn't really care about him. Being like he was.

Hurley knew he was big. He had always known he was big. And he didn't need the others to remind him. But they did. Subtly of course, sometimes probably not even knowing that they were.

Little things like glancing just a second to long at what he put on his plate. Or mentioning stuff about the way he walked, which was LOUD they all said. But hey, he couldn't really help that, now could he? He was the way he was.

Which just happened to be a big, loud walker.

But the thing he hated most, the ONE thing he hated most... was when they asked him for food.

Not innocently, like "Hey Hurley, pass me a banana, man." But more like, "Hey, you've got some food stashed somewheres, am I right?" And that coupled with the look they gave him, the look that said, hey big fat guy, where's all the food you been hoarding?... It was almost too much sometimes.

Which was why he had tried to kill himself.

His face contorted when he thought about his attempted suicide. And if those damn neighbor's had left off with complaining about the loud music for a couple more minutes...just five would have done it... he wouldn't have to say 'attempted'.

Hell, he wouldn't have to say anything at all. He'd be dead, and there'd be no Hugo Reyes stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere.

But the other's didn't know that, now did they?

He absently felt the scar hidden beneath his shirt, and remembered the people in the hospital telling him to breathe in and hold it, so they could yank the tubes out.

He ran a hand across his eyes and pushed those thoughts away too. Willing his vision of the French woman, Danielle, to appear. But then he noticed that he could hear the sound of the ocean loud and clear.

He looked down at the screen of his CD player. It was blank. Blank. His batteries were dead. And he had wasted them, wasted them on thoughts he could have thought anytime.

"Son of a Bitch." He said without emotion. And that was when he decided. Decided for good...

Now that he had nothing left to comfort him, he was going to go find something. More importantly, someone...

Her name was Danielle, and she wanted Hurley to tell her his secrets...

END

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Wrote this awhile ago...finally decided to post it. \

Tah!

Pippin's LK