Glimpsing the Fandom
by Dreamality
Disclaimer: Lost and all related characters, settings, plots, etc. belong to J.J. Abrams and ABC. I claim no ownership and make no money from this venture.
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Chapter Two: Jack Wishes to Rewrite Fan Fiction
By the following day everyone in both the beach camp and the cave camp was abuzz with rumors about this mysterious laptop that supposedly knew all about their adventures on the island. Claire and Charlie had told Jack about it first, who naturally spread it to Kate when he went to see her at the beach the next day.
Other duties kept Jack busy most of the day, leaving no time to go see the laptop. He himself was still quite skeptical and wondered if Charlie and Claire had not just made the whole thing up. After all, a laptop in the middle of a jungle? It was highly improbable and completely illogical. Still, he couldn't get his mind off of it as he fished, brought water to the beach, gathered bananas, and tried to dispel the constant arguments among the survivors.
When he finally had a moment to spare he hurried down the path Charlie and Claire claimed the laptop lie on. He had to stop and blink a few times when he found Kate leaning her elbow on a table, reading something on the screen of a wireless laptop computer. When he drew closer he saw a picture of himself at the top of the screen, followed by a large block of writing.
"Kate, this thing actually works?" Jack exclaimed. Kate looked up in surprise and quickly minimized whatever she was looking at, looking slightly ashamed.
"Jack! Didn't hear you come up. Uh, yeah, it's real. It works. But I can only get to certain websites. There's no way to contact anyone. I checked that first. It only goes to websites that are about… well, us. I can't get to any search engines or e-mail services or anything," Kate answered. She demonstrated by opening a new browser and trying to get to Google, Hotmail, Yahoo, CNN, and AltaVista just as examples. Each time only a blank page came up. Then Kate opened the 'Favorite Pages' sidebar and clicked on a page titled 'Lost Fan Fiction.'
"What's that?" Jack asked curiously, drawing his chair closer to her under the pretense of getting a better look at the screen. Really it was an excuse to get closer to her. A subtle whiff of her hair made Jack close his eyes to concentrate on the smell. How she managed to smell nice with no shampoo or soap was beyond Jack, though that didn't stop him from enjoying it.
"Fan fiction? Apparently it's stories about us. About me, mostly." Kate made a face of disgust as Jack began to glance over the links. "These people write about me getting it on with everything that moves!"
This outburst made Jack bust up laughing. Kate, however, was not amused as she scrolled through a long list of links that all led to stories involving her and any number of other people, but mainly Jack, Sayid, and Sawyer. Jack's eyes widened when he saw a few listing the pairing as "Kate/Locke" and "Kate/Jin." Honestly, were these people mentally disturbed? Locke was probably old enough to be her father, and Jin, besides being married, did not speak English and appeared to have a very controlling, if not abusive, personality.
"Have you read any of them?" Jack asked.
Kate blushed and looked down. "A few," she admitted reluctantly.
"And…?"
"And what?" Kate raised an eyebrow at him.
"And what do you think? Was there any truth to them?" Jack pressed.
"Most of them were crap. People were making up stories about my history, trying to make me out like some kind of 'damsel-in-distress' victim of circumstances type person. Like a martyr," Kate answered. A shadow came behind her eyes, giving her a slightly wistful look. As usual Jack had to bite his tongue keep from asking about the past she seemed so keen on burying.
"What about the romances? Seems like you're very popular with me, Sawyer, and Sayid," Jack pointed out.
"Why do you care?" Kate's tone was teasing but it still made Jack flush with shame. He hoped her piercing gaze could not see the thoughts that were just behind his eyes. "Are you asking me who I would prefer to hook up with, out of the three of you?"
"No!" Jack exclaimed, a little too passionately. "Of course not. I don't care. Why would I care?"
"Mmm-hmmm." Jack hated the knowing look she had plastered on her face. "I better get back to the beach. You go on and stay here awhile. Maybe check some of these out, see who I'm most passionate with." Kate winked as she stood up and walked away, patting Jack's shoulder in passing. He watched her go, struggling very hard to keep his eyes from dipping below the waistline, and then turned back to the computer.
Jack hesitated for only a second before seizing the mouse and clicking on the first Jack/Kate story he saw. He read a few of those before moving on to Kate/Sayid stories, and finally Kate/Sawyer. Every word he read filled him with a darker and darker feeling. In all the stories, Kate and Jack were considerably more boring when compared with Sayid and Kate, who shared a beautiful understanding of each other's pasts and were able to flower a perfect love, and Kate and Sawyer, wherein their passionate anger usually transformed into passionate love about halfway through. In the Jack/Kate relationships it seemed like the authors paired them together just because, as if they were somehow meant to be, though it was never explained why. In other stories Kate was made out to be ridiculously affectionate while Jack's flowering language as he 'praised her beauty' bordered on effeminate.
When his eyes were so tired the words were blurring beyond comprehension, Jack closed the browser and trudged back up the path to the caves. Only one other person was sitting by the fire. Locke. He said nothing when Jack seated himself on the log beside him.
"Have you seen this new computer?" Jack asked after a moment or two of awkward silence.
Locke nodded. "I have. I went down earlier today to peruse a few websites."
"And did you come across any… what's it called? Fan fiction?" Jack asked.
"I did, actually. I thought it was rather amusing. Especially the one concerning myself and the polar bear. After it died."
Jack looked at Locke incredulously. Although the older man's mouth twitched towards a smile, he was otherwise so serious that Jack knew he was telling the truth. "Didn't catch that one. I just saw the ones about… well, Kate. And… everyone else."
"Is something bothering you about the fan fiction, Jack? You know there's a reason it's called fiction," Locke pointed out gently.
"Yeah, I know, but…" Jack sighed, clearly frustrated.
"But it still concerns you," Locke finished, and Jack nodded. "You want to know who I think Kate will choose."
"It has felt like a competition, as much as I hate to admit it. It's clear that Sawyer is attracted to her. With Sayid it's hard to tell, but they definitely understand each other. Then… there's… well, me. And I just… don't really know. If she… I know she's not worrying about that kind of stuff. She's too smart for that. It's childish, really, to be thinking about love when we need to focus on surviving." Jack realized he had just come as close to babbling as he ever had in his life and promptly shut his mouth before Locke realized what a pathetic, lovesick puppy he was turning into.
"You know, I've always liked polar bears," Locke commented. Jack frowned, not following his train of thought. "While I would never pursue a romantic relationship with one, the author of the 'fan fiction' I mentioned did somewhat correctly capture my infatuation with those animals."
"You're saying… that the… the fan fiction could be true?" Jack asked slowly, not quite believing.
"I'm saying that the fan fictions all had elements of reality, but it is possible that the authors misinterpreted our actions or our motives behind our actions. I'm also pointing out that we all have control over our own actions. We are not expected to act out these stories word-for-word. We can create our own stories," Locke said. Jack nodded and sat there a moment longer, staring into the fire as he contemplated what Locke was saying.
"Jack, I'm telling you to go to her," Locke said, somewhat exasperatedly as if he were dealing with someone of inferior intelligence.
"Oh!" Jack exclaimed. "Oh." He stood up. "Right. Thanks, John." Jack disappeared into the jungle, heading straight for the beach. He was about to create his own fan fiction, with himself as the main character and Kate as the heroine, and there would be nothing boring about this relationship.
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To Be Continued…
Author's Note: Wow! I can't believe what a response this fic has gotten! Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I'm so happy you like it! I'm sorry this update is so late. Unfortunately with the semester coming to a close soon I have to cram for finals, and that leaves very little time for feeding my plot bunnies. They're beginning to gnaw on my brain, so if this chapter was a little OOC, blame them. They're driving me crazy. Hope you all liked Jack's reaction to fan fiction!
Coming up next: Sayid and Sawyer discover what slash fiction is.