Chapter 4

The day Claire passed out, Jack disapeared into the jungle rambling about some man watching him, and someone stole all of the water, Emily had had just about as much of the island drama as she could stand. She decided to go and look for some firewood for that night. She passed Sayid and Hurley setting up some tarps.

"Where are you off to?" Sayid asked.

Emily stops walking, "I don't know. I thought I'd get some firewood for tonight. Jack said that he'd chopped some and left it in the jungle. He couldn't carry it all."

"Dude, you're actually volenteering to get firewood?" Hurley laughs.

She shrugs, "Nothing else to do."

Sayid turns back to the tarp, "Don't go too far into the jungle. It's getting dark."

She nods, continuing her walk down the beach. She starts walking along the edge of the jungle when something rustles in the bushes. "Hello?" she calls.

Nothing. She walks towards the noise and stops when she sees someone knelt down looking through an open suitcase. Not just looking, but literally throwing clothes behind him while looking. "What the hell are you doing?"

"None of your business." he says.

"You shouldn't be rummaging through other people's suitcases. Especially a dead person's."

He turns to look at her, "How do you know this isn't my suitcase?"

"I don't."

He turns back to the suitcase, throwing it aside and opening another one. "I need a cigarette. I ran out the day after the crash. It's been five days."

Emily leans against a tree, looking up at the sky. It was getting darker by the minute. "Did you ask Sawyer?"

"Who?"

Emily feels a smile spread across her face. "The loud, Southern guy that's always smoking?"

"Him? Yeah, I asked him. He told me to screw off. I didn't have anything to trade. That he wanted."

"I could talk to him for you if you want. He'd probably just give them to me."

He laughs, "I'll bet he would."

Emily looks at him confused, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He turns to look at her, "It means that unfortunately I don't have your assets to trade with."

Who did this guy think he was? She couldn't believe this. "He's old enough to be my father."

"That's usually how girls like them, isn't it?" he asks. A cocky smile spread across his face.

Emily could feel her blood pressure rising more and more by the second. "You're.. you're disgusting. I'm leaving. Find the cigarettes yourself. I was just trying to help you out."

"What are you doing out here anyway?" he says.

She whips around, her face blistering hot because she was so mad. "What? How is that.."

"..Any of my business? It's not. It's just a question. I've never seen you anywhere alone is all. Sitting alone. But never completely alone. The Iraqi's usually somewhere around."

"Sayid. His name is Sayid.. and I go places on the beach alone. What do you do, watch me on the beach like some kind of a stalker?" She should have left then, but something made her stay there with him. She had no clue what. "I could ask you the same thing. You couldn't look through suitcases on the beach or in the fusel lodge?"

"Sawyer.. or whatever the hell that jackass' name is has pretty much taken everything."

That was true. Sawyer had been going through everyone's luggage since the crash. He hid everything in various places around the island. Mostly in his tent. "So, I hear you're like the only kid on the island without any parents that were in the crash."

"So?"

"You looked older. I didn't think you looked young enough to.."

She cuts him off, "I'm sixteen.

He throws his hands up in surrender. "Alright, ok. You're sixteen. I've got it. Why so tense?"

"Maybe I'm just sick and tired of people repeating my age over and over again. It's like a thing around here."

"Well, they don't think you can take care of yourself. Which, let's face it, you probably can't.
You're a kid. It comes with the territory."

"Speak for yourself! What are you a year older than me?"

He moves closer to her until he's only a few inches away from her face. "Sorry, Sweetheart. Nineteen almost twenty. I stopped being a kid over a year ago. Guess I'm too old for you, huh? But hey, look on the bright side. We can still be friends."

He tugs at the bottom of her tank top and she shoves him backwards. He catches himself. "Touch me again and you'll get a preview of how friendly I am."

"I'm Derek."

She sighs and couldn't help but smile. "Wow, you're.. why am I still here? I'm going back to the beach." She turns, looking at her surroundings, and realizes that she has gone too far out and has no clue where she is.

She turns back to Derek who's gone back to the suitcases. "I thought you were leaving?"

"I'm trying. I just- I don't know how to get back."

He nods his head, "That's a predicament."

Emily rolls her eyes, "Look, can you just walk me back to the beach?"

Derek looks back at her, "Are you serious?"

"No, I'm lying just so you'll walk with me. It's part of my clever plan to spend more time with you."

"Well in that case.." Derek stands and picks up his backpack, "Let's go."

"Forget it." Emily says, turning to leave.

Derek grabs the back of her arm, "No, I'll walk you back. You'll either get lost or eaten by whatever it is that's in this damn jungle, and then I'll have to save you and blah blah blah.."

She pulls her arm out of his grip, "What did I say about touching me?"

"Look, I don't need you turning up missing or dead on my conscience. Plus, what I really don't need is an Iraqui, some Southern, chainsmoking jackass, and a doctor with a God complex after me. You're not worth all of that trouble, Sweetheart."

"Thank you and my name isn't sweetheart, it's Emily."

"Can I call you Emmy?"

She starts walking ahead of him, "Not if you expect a response."

As soon as they started to walk again, a sound filled the air. Emily stopped in her tracks and felt the breath leave her body. It was the same sound everyone had heard from a few nights ago..