"Have I mentioned that this seriously isn't a good idea?"

"Yes…but do it anyways."

"I don't want to."

"Well, you're going to."

"Claire, I am not a hairdresser."

"Shannon, quit being a little bitch and get on with it," Claire stressed as she plopped down onto a tree stump. Shannon stepped toward the blonde and raised the knife high in the air. Claire turned in time to see the glint of the knife. "What the hell are you doing? I said cut my hair…not cut of my head!"

"I told you I had no idea what to do!" Shannon said, letting her arms fall back to her sides. "Why do you want to cut your hair anyways?"

"I want to look different for the wedding. All Charlie has seen me as is the long-haired hippie mother…now I want to show him the perky, cute woman I was before."

"You're damn lucky I love you and am going to try. If I fuck up though you have to promise not to kill me," Shannon said in a low voice. She picked up a lock of Claire's curly, blond hair and used the knife to cut it. As the severed pieces floated to the ground she decided it would be better for all involved if she was relaxed; she did the one thing that always relaxed her, she talked. "So how are you going to keep this little…'haircut'…secret long enough to reveal it at the wedding?"

"I figure I could wear my bandanna or maybe just…hide from him? I could say that it's bad luck to see the bride the week before the wedding."

"Won't work. It's only bad luck to see the bride the day of the wedding."

"Oh, well…oh, my god! I just thought of something! I could stay with you and Sayid until the wedding! I could tell Charlie that I don't think it's right to be sleeping with him the week of our wedding, you know, propriety and all that."

Shannon froze in the act of cutting several more locks of hair. "Umm…"

"I won't be a bother, I promise! I just…I want to please Charlie."

"Honey, sleeping with him probably will please him a helluva lot more than avoiding him."

Claire blushed. "Shannon! You know what I mean. I want to surprise him. Make him feel that he makes me feel like I'm beautiful."

"Well, you certainly aren't a ogre."

"Bitch."

"Slag."

"Alright, alright. So how's it going?"

Shannon studied the slightly lumpy, slightly off kilter cut of Claire's hair. "Good," she lied, "Coming along great." Please, God, send me someone who can cut hair!

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" A voice called from the forest.

"Kate?" Shannon called back.

"Yeah?"

Thank you God!

(Flashback)

"Are you sure this is best?" Shannon asked as she lowered herself from the trellis and into her lover's arms.

"Yes! We'll elope and by the time we get back they'll have cooled down."

"Alright…I…I love you Matthew!" Shannon said as a terrible sense of foreboding fell upon her. She clenched her fists in his shirt and pulled him close. "Never forget that. Promise. Promise me!"

"I promise. Come on Shan. Our life waits."

Shannon giggled and began to run across the large estate her family owned. She and Matthew climbed the large stonewall and practically Road Runner-ed their way out of the area. They were home free. Or so they thought. Neither noticed the sleek, black Lexus that pulled out of the gate and followed them at an appropriate distance. If Shannon had noticed she'd of known that the driver was none other than her brother Boone.

"So, where we going?" Shannon asked through the giddy feeling in her stomach.

"Vegas, baby, Vegas!" Matthew yelled.

"Viva Las Vegas!"

(End Flashback)

"Hey Katie!" Claire yelled as she started to turn her head.

"Don't move! You'll…mess up my flow," Shannon explained. She gestured for Kate to remain quiet and come closer. She gestured wildly to the asymmetrical haircut before her. Kate, in turn, gestured for Shannon to give her the knife. Then shaking her head, she started to rectify the mistake Shannon had wrought on Claire's head.

Shannon moved to sit in front of Claire and keep her distracted. "So you want to move in with me and Sayid? Really think that is a good idea?"

"Well…"

"With Shannon and Sayid? Oh, Claire!" Kate said as she fought to keep her giggles to a minimum.

"Shut up, she's totally welcome."

"Well…"

"Come on! You and Sayid keeping your hands to yourselves long enough to not embarrass Claire horribly? Hah!"

"Shut up, Kate! Ain't like she could stay with you and Sawyer…you guys are louder than us."

"No way…"

"Yes way…"

"Look! All I wanted was to surprise Charlie but if it's such a big problem…"

"Shut up Claire, this has nothing to do with you!" Both women shouted at the same time.

"At least Sayid and I waited until we were officially together before hopping in the sack, you were still juggling Jack and him when you guys 'got together.'"

"I can't believe you said that, especially considering how you teased every male in the vicinity before settling on Sayid…including Charlie."

"You flirted with Charlie?" Claire asked, though she was definitely ignored.

"Oh! That you would even bring that up, you skeezy little…"

"Ladies, calm down. None of this is important…. Charlie always belonged to me," Claire said matter-of-factly. The three girls cracked up and finally let some of the tension ease. Though it was a fact that there was an abundance of males compared to females, the competition for couple hood still waged. To Shannon the island was a more dangerous dating scene than Los Angeles, and they were killers there…literally. She'd couldn't count the number of times she'd turned on the TV and seen a News Report about someone getting killed in a crime of passion.

"Yeah, well…can't say I didn't try."

"You better not be trying again anytime soon."

"Claire, honey, my man is way cuter than your man," Shannon laughed as she watched Kate finish fixing the mess that Shannon had made.

"My man is the cutest."

"Your man is my brother so…shut up."

"What?"

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Whispers."

And as if conjured from dreams from the woodwork around them stepped shadowy figures. They started toward the girls, and as one they stepped into the light. They were frightening, they startling, but most of all…they were familiar.

Haha! Do my pretties know whom I speak of? Do you?

Soundtrack for this chapter (once again has nothing to do with the chapter, just happens to be what I'm listening to) is Damian Rice's "Delicate". I swear I love that man.