Thank you for those of you who read my story. It really means a lot to me. And yes there is JackxRalph fluff in this chapter! Read and see, and you might get a kiss scene at the end as a reward ;).
*Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Lord of the Flies.
[Chapter Four]
The hot afternoon sun beat down on the island mercilessly. A fair boy lay huddled underneath dense foliage, begging the shadows to consume him. Ralph's eyes were squeezed shut. He tried desperately to forget the four words Jack Merridew had said to him earlier.
"Because I love you!"
Ralph pounded his forehead with his fist. Damn it Jack…what kind of trick was this? A small voice inside the boys' head suggested, Maybe this isn't a trick at all… Ralph quickly dismissed it. Jack Merridew wasn't capable of love. And Jack was a boy! Surely he didn't think Ralph was a girl! "Boys don't like boys." Ralph mumbled, pulling his legs up to his chest. He remembered Jack's tear stained face, and how he had been the voice screaming Ralph's name. "Boys don't like boys…" he mumbled again.
Jack stood on top of Castle Rock watching all the other boys playing. He made sure to put on a new coat of war paint before the others had woken up. He couldn't stop cursing himself for what he had confessed to Ralph. Jack was sure he had scared the fair boy away for good. And even though the last thing he wanted to do right now was run into Ralph; another part of him wanted nothing more. He could barely keep himself under control when thinking about the boy. His blonde hair, his sun kissed skin, and his honey eyes. Oh how wonderful Ralph must taste against Jack's lips.
A dark shape formed to his right, and Jack turned to see Roger standing next to him. Roger glanced at his Chief quietly.
"The prisoner," Roger mumbled, "where is he?"
Jack didn't feel like dealing with this right now. He kept his cold eyes forward, so as not to give anything away. "He snuck off last night. I tried to find him, but had no luck." Jack found it easier to lie to Roger than to lie to Ralph. And, as far as the Chief knew, Roger would never question his answer.
"Don't you want to go hunt him?" Roger asked, excitement nipping in his tone. Jack gazed into his dark eyes.
"No. He won't last long on his own out there. I don't want you to go looking for him. Understand?" This was completely honest. The thought of Roger finding the fair boy almost made Jack visibly cringe.
"What if I'm in the woods and happen to see him?" Roger asked curiously, a smirk dancing onto his lips.
"I told you, don't touch him." The authority in the Chief's voice disappointed Roger. "If I find out you did anything to him…well you know our punishments." Roger frowned and turned his attention to his spear.
"I see." He said, and Jack had a sense of panic. "You want to kill him for yourself." Roger said and the smirk returned to the dark boy's face.
"Yes." Jack said quickly. "So, no one touches him until I say, spread the word to the other biguns." Roger nodded and left his Chief.
Ralph's stomach moaned hungrily, and the fair boy punched it to try and shut it up. The fruit trees he knew of had all run out, or the fruit was rancid. With the power of starvation, Ralph stood up, and began walking (what he believed) West. He moved awkwardly through the dense foliage. Creepers grabbed at his ankles, and Ralph's face met with the forest floor. The fair boy sat up, spitting the familiar taste of dirt out of his mouth.
The shadows of the trees and bushes began to stretch, swallowing up the island. Once again Ralph's stomach growled. The fair boy angrily began moving forward again. Ralph popped out of the woods and onto the white scar of beach. He gazed up toward Castle Rock; toward the place Jack had run to. Jack… Ralph shook his head and spat on the ground. "Who cares about Jack?" He growled to himself, and then a brilliant idea came to his mind. They must have food up there. It would be another patient night of waiting for the savages to go to sleep, but in Ralph's mind, it was definitely worth it.
The sea swallowed up the sun, and the only light on top of Castle Rock was the dim glow of the fire. The littluns lay huddled in a mass fast asleep, and most of the biguns had begun to doze off. Roger sat down next to Jack. The dark boy looked incomplete without his spear.
"We ran out of meat tonight. We should go hunting tomorrow." Roger gazed at his Chief concerned. The red head has been unusually quiet today. "And maybe we can find Ralph." Roger smiled.
Jack couldn't bring himself to grin. "I agree." Ralph… The blonde was probably terrified of him. The rejection Jack would feel from the boy might just destroy him.
"I'm going to sleep." Roger mumbled and melted back into the darkness.
Jack stared at the flames, hoping they held some answer to his predicament. Damn it Ralph, why do I want you? Jack picked up a stick and threw it into the flames. What had come over him? Why couldn't he control his mouth when Ralph was around? Jack flipped his red hair out of his face. Memories flashed in the fire. He remembered how Ralph looked with short hair and pale skin. He remembered Ralph's honey liquid eyes, filled with optimism. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could never remember himself.
Jack stood up and threw water onto the small remaining flames. Darkness enveloped the entire mountain, and he found it oddly comforting. The Chief sat back down and stared into the open space. The world was empty. He quietly hummed the melody of a song he had learned from school earlier in the year. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Jack frowned as he tried to remember the lyrics. They had completely slipped his mind, and his fragile song came to an abrupt end.
Ralph quietly crept up the jagged rock face. He could barely see, and a few times feared his bumbling would get him discovered. Ralph's cut feet finally hit flat ground, and he could just make out fuzzy blobs of white lying down around a smoking pile of wood. Ralph was careful to avoid the sleeping savages and headed toward the pale smoke.
The fair boy knelt down and felt the rough rock surface with his hand. He cursed quietly when his hand skimmed over a dry bone. Those savages! Eating every single bit of the pig! Ralph felt around the ground desperately, and then he felt a cold hand wrap gently around his wrist and pull him forward.
Ralph's face smacked into a wall of flesh, and it took everything in him not to cry out. A second hand slid over his mouth, and hot breath warmed his right ear.
"What are you doing here?" Jack Merridew whispered harshly into his ear. Ralph tried to pull away from the boy but Jack held him fast, keeping the blonde tight to his chest. Ralph bit down onto Jack's palm, and the savage hissed.
"Let me go." Ralph whispered frantically but Jack pulled him back close. The savage lowered his head back down to Ralph's ear.
"I just want to know why you're here." He said calmly, but in reality he was having trouble calming his nerves. Every vain pulsed excitedly at how close the fair boy was to him.
"I'm hungry. I wanted to find food." Ralph reluctantly said, not bothering to break away from Jack's grip. Ralph was thankful for the darkness, because an unwelcome blush had crept onto his face.
"I'll get you something to eat." Jack whispered. "But you have to promise you'll follow me." Jack began to unwillingly loosen his grasp on the fair boy and Ralph whispered a quick agreement.
Jack stood up slowly, his body elated by his recent contact. He could see Ralph's rough form stand up as well, and the Chief motioned for him to follow. Jack silently floated over the hard rock but he could hear Ralph awkwardly try and avoid loose pebbles.
"This part of the mountain is a bit steep." Jack warned quietly, and began easily heading down the rock face. He heard a small squeal from behind him and small pebbles scraping against the rock surface. A shaky hand shot out and caught Jack's shoulder. "You okay…?" Jack asked, his voice cracking from the sheer joy of Ralph touching him.
"Yes." Ralph's breath was hot behind Jack's neck. It sent shivers of pleasure down the red head's spine.
"Keep holding on to my shoulders." Jack whispered, searching for Ralph's other hand and bringing it to his side. "This part is tricky."
The boys awkwardly clambered down the edge until they were engulfed in creepers and thick foliage. Ralph still held onto Jack's shoulders unaware of the joy it was giving the red head. Then Jack abruptly stopped.
"There's a fruit tree right here." Ralph could see Jack's arm reach out and grab at one of the shadows. The fair boy let go of Jack and held out his hands greedily for the fruit. He felt the familiar cold skin hit his palm and dug into the fruit ravishingly.
"Jack," Ralph said after gulps of food. The Chief flinched. "What you said…earlier…" Ralph could only make out the glint in Jack's eyes, but the rest of his face was a mystery in the darkness. "…did you mean it?" The silence answered his question on its own.
"That depends." Jack said quietly, inching closer to Ralph. "Should I mean it?"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ralph asked irritably.
"Should I mean it?" Jack inched to the fair boy a bit more, lust pulsing through his veins. "What if I did? What would you do?" Hot blood boiled behind his skin. I want you.
"I don't know I—no one ever…" Ralph trailed off, at a loss for words. So what if Jack Merridew did love him? Ralph would never admit it, but the thought almost comforted him. "I'd…ask why. Why do you…love me?" Ralph swallowed his embarrassment.
"Because," Jack breathed, the distance between him and the fair boy only mere centimeters, "I'm…addicted to your smell, your skin, your hair…" These words flooded from Jack's mouth without permission, but he let them pass his lips. The animal in Jack began creeping its way to the surface. "…and…" he said quietly, "…I want to be addicted to your taste." The distance between the boys disappeared as Jack brought his mouth to meet Ralph's lips.
Sorry this was so horribly written. I actually made this while watching the super bowl. Thank you so much for reading! And even though not that many people read this, I'll continue to keep my boredom at bay!