I'm sooo sorry for not updating sooner! I've been busy w/ school and stuff. But i tried to make this chapter longer than the first one. Hehe. Enjoy! and thank you SO much to all the reviewers. You guys rock. Your reviews have been so encouraging!
After Melissa walked for about 20 minutes, she decided to head back to the camp. When she arrived, everyone else was awake, and sitting around the fireplace. When she approached the others, Nathan was the first to notice her.
"There you are!" Nathan smiled at her. "We were wondering what happened to you." Melissa smiled faintly, but her attention was mostly on Jackson, who, when Nathan spoke, continued to ignore Melissa. Don't talk to him. Just leave him alone. Melissa ordered herself. Eventually, you'll stop liking him, and things can get back to normal. Remembering what she decided earlier, she smiled brightly at Nathan. "I was out for a walk since I woke up extra early today." She then walked over and sat beside Nathan, careful not to make eye contact with Jackson. The gang ate some breakfast- the usual fruit, fish and coconut. After breakfast, the gang split up to get some work done. Nathan went out to look for more firewood. Eric and Taylor were being lazy again, and Lex was, as usual, trying to figure out how to fix the radio. Jackson was lugging water, and Melissa boiled the water. Usually, Melissa would have been thrilled to be working alongside Jackson, but after what happened, she was dreading it, and feeling very uncomfortable.
The two did their work silently, not speaking. After Jackson left to haul for more water, Melissa felt relieved. This is not easy… not talking to him. This silence is unbearable! She thought. Just then, Nathan came back to camp. He walked over to Melissa. "You okay?" He said. "You looked very uncomfortable." His face was etched with concern. Melissa looked at him, and said, "No, I don't know what to do, Nathan. I'm trying hard not to let it bother me too much, but it's driving me crazy!" "What do you mean by 'it'?" "I mean, I made a resolution to stop liking Jackson. But it's really hard." Melissa sighed. Nathan gave her a sympathetic look. "It'll take time, Mel. But it'll happen soon, I'm sure." Melissa sighed. "I sure hope you're right."
A Few Days later…
Melissa was slowly starting to get used to not talking to Jackson. It used to be really hard to keep from speaking to him, in an attempt to get his attention, but Melissa started to adjust to not talking to Jackson. She found herself enjoying the talks that she was engaging in with Nathan. They started talking more again, like old times. Before, they never had some time to just chill and hang out, just the two of them. Now, they would reminisce about middle school, about their childhood. It was a lot of fun! As for Jackson, he was glad that Melissa left him alone… he needed to think. No offence to Mel, but she sometimes tried to talk to him when he needed some alone time. Now, he finally got it. Things were finally looking up to him now. Everyone was happy, or so he thought. Jackson began to relax around Melissa, and things between them seemed to ease up a bit. Melissa also no longer felt tense around him, and could actually relax. Lex, Eric, Taylor and Daley were also in good spirits, as things were working out really well for them. There was plenty of water, everyone was healthy; they were surviving. At least, for the moment. Until Eric did something he shouldn't have- he saw Jackson's video diary.
Eric was bored, as usual, so he was wandering around aimlessly, trying to find something interesting to do. As he passed by the fireplace, he noticed the video camera resting on top of the cooler. He picked it up, thinking he should do an entry while he was bored… he did an entry already this morning, but he figured, "Well, there's nothing else to do! Might as well do something! Pshh." The way he figured, he was the last one to use it. So he pressed play, but instead of his face appearing on it, Jackson's face did…. Eric knew he should turn it off, but he couldn't resist the curiosity that boiled up from within him. He always wondered what the brooding fellow was hiding from the rest of them.
He was always by himself when Melissa wasn't talking to him. So Eric watched the video. As Jackson went on about how he didn't want to go home, Eric's curiosity grew. He continued watching it, only to be horrified at what he discovered!! He was so intent on watching the video that he didn't notice that Lex was watching it behind his shoulders. Man! This is definitely something worth gossiping about! I should tell the group what I discovered. This guy is dangerous!!!! Eric thought. Lex was thinking something completely different. Oh no! Knowing Eric, he's probably going to blurt it out and accuse Jackson when we don't know the whole story to this! What do I do? Lex thought for a moment. I have to stop him from showing the video. Tomorrow morning, before everyone wakes up, I'm going to take all of the tapes. I know it's wrong to steal the tapes, but this is the only way to protect Jackson's secret.
So the next morning, he took the tapes. Then there was the whole trial that took place, to figure out who took it. Daley figured it out, and then Jackson told Lex to get the tape. When everyone saw it, Jackson left. Everyone went to look for him. Then the storm hit. A huge storm. Eric was lost, and scared. Then Jackson showed up. After finally convincing him to come back, they went back But while Eric was in the tent, talking to the others, Jackson tried to run away again. But Melissa was there to stop him. Melissa ran after him. "Wait! What if there's a monsoon?" Melissa knew that she shouldn't be talking to him, after all, she had promised herself she wouldn't. But she also knew that if she didn't say something, he would leave. And it wasn't safe. She cared for him too much to let him go and get hurt. So, there she was. Trying to convince him to stay. He was hurting. He was confiding in her. With a heart full of compassion, after he said, "Where do I belong?" she couldn't resist. She threw her arms around him, trying to comfort him. She felt his arms fold around her, holding her tight. "Right here. You belong here. We need you." Finally, after Nathan came out, and begged him to stay too, he finally agreed. They went into the tent. All was well, everyone was safe. But the next morning, something terrible happened.
The storm had ruined everything that they owned. The gang was forced to start all over again. "What do we do?" Taylor moaned. "We start all over again. From scratch." Jackson said.
Cut to the next day.
"We have to figure out what to do, now. Jackson? What do you propose?" Daley asked. "Yeah, what do we do Jackson?" Chimed in Nathan. Jackson was sitting on the log, getting more annoyed by the second. "Guys! Stop, okay?? I don't KNOW what to do. I think Daley should take a shot at this. I'm no good at leading." He walked away to the astonished faces around him. "What is he saying?" Nathan asked. "I think he just resigned." Melissa said, worried. She really was worried about him, but she knew that he would just be annoyed with her if she tried to talk to her. I mean, he was avoiding her. That event last night where he accepted her hug was just because he was hurting. Today they were back to where they were, avoiding each other.
So what do you think?? I hope you enjoyed it. I don't know when I'm going to update next. Maybe over the weekend. But i'm not making any promises. Again, thanks for all the reviews!! I hope you'll continue to review.. hehe. They keep me going. Take care everyone!
