Okay, I'm back with chapter two. Please keep reviewing; I truly enjoy them.

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Romen

Chapter Two

Kept in the Dark

"Shannon, wait!"

Shannon cocked her head to the side. Jack was running towards her, his pale face covered with sweat. He looked rough. The red rims under his eyes told Shannon how hard he had worked to keep Boone alive. She turned away, running one hand over her face and heaving a sigh. "What?"

"Where are you going?" He stopped besides her, his chest heaving as he drew in breaths.

"I'm going to find Locke." She felt her jaw tighten as she said his name. "Don't worry, you don't have to be the hero and follow me just for your own ego"-

"You're not going to be able to find him."

She stopped, pitting on her heel. "What?"

Jack shook his head, looking down before glancing up at her. "John's been missing since yesterday."

She felt like someone had knocked all of the air out of her. "Doesn't anyone know where he is?"

"No. He just disappeared."

Shannon felt her face twitch. "You know why he's gone, don't you?" Before he could answer, she continued. "He killed my brother."

"Shannon"-

"And if he didn't kill him, he knows more than he's saying." She looked away, biting her lip. "Didn't you ever wonder what they were doing out there?"

Jack put one hand on the back of his neck, his eyes trailing along with Shannon's towards the jungle. "They said they were hunting."

"They said they were hunting, but did they ever come back with food?" She paused. "Give me the key to the suitcase."

"Shannon"-

"Give it to me, Jack."

Jack hesitated. "Do you even know how to use a gun?"

"I can learn." She could see that she was getting no where, so she continued. "Look, Locke knows something about the death of my brother that he isn't telling us. We could all be in danger."

"Shannon, I'm not going to let you get into the haliburton. You don't even know where it is."

She frowned. "You could always tell me."

Jack looked incredulous. "You know, you should really go rest."

She just stood there as he walked away, feeling even more helpless than ever.

Shannon looked down at the note in her palm, glancing up at the teacher as she unfolded it even though the class was already over. It was from Marcey.

Can you believe the dress code changed again? Good grief!

Shannon rolled her eyes, stuffing it in her text book as she stood, pulling the strap of her bag over her shoulder.

She hated those dumb school uniforms. She hadn't gone to these preppy private schools until her father had remarried. She sighed, turning to leave the classroom.

"Shannon? Can I speak with you for a moment?"

Shannon internally groaned as she turned around, walking over to her teacher's desk. "Yes, Mr. Sanders?"

He pulled a drawer open, taking out a file and setting it down on top of the desk. "Your essay was excellent. You have a talent for writing that I haven't even seen in my best students."

Shannon felt her jaw drop. "Really?"

"Yes." He took out her essay and began flipping through it. "The emotion conveyed by the main character- the helplessness she feels, her anger, her grief - it is all so real. This is good enough for publishing."

"Thank you, Mr. Sanders." Shannon couldn't help but beam. He was the only teacher that she respected and liked, and receiving a compliment from him was something to be appreciated. "Do you really think that it's that good?"

He nodded, putting it back in the file. "I do. Still, the fact that you don't turn in your homework is really hurting your grade. If you can keep work like this up for the rest of the year, you may be making A's in this class."

That evening, Shannon called Marcey to brag to her. They had a very strange friendship, she would admit it, but it was one that had existed since they were in fifth grade.

"Can you believe that? I mean, he said that if I keep working, I may be able to bring my grades up!"

"Wow." Marcey sounded very unenthusiastic. "Hey, are you coming to the party at Tad's tonight? It's going to be fun."

"Well...I have homework..." Shannon's voice trailed off into silence.

"You never let that get in the way before! And besides, your parents are out of town, right?"

"Well, yeah, but"-

"So you don't have anything stopping you. I'll be there to pick you up tonight, 'kay? See you later!"

Shannon frowned as she listened to the dial tone, setting the phone down and chewing on her lip.

"Sawyer."

He looked up from his book, pulling his glasses down before taking them off and setting them down. "Good morning Sticks. What brings you around these parts?" His eyes suddenly became sincere. He looked down, playing with the cigarette between his fingers. "Look, I'm sorry about your brother"-

Shannon interrupted him, crossing her arms impatiently. "I need you to do something for me."

Sawyer cocked one eyebrow higher than the other, leaning back. "Is that so? And what makes you think that I'll agree to go into this little endeavor of yours?"

"Because." She walked over, sitting down next to him and putting her arm on his chair. "Because it has something to do with Jack, and I'll make a trade."

He frowned. "Jack?"

"Yes, Jack."

Sawyer nodded. "I'm listening."

TBC...

Fanfare. The responses:

aurorasmist: Thanks. This story just kind of came to me after I watched "Do No Harm". I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well!

alexis: Thanks. I hope that you liked this chapter too. :)

AbiSnocom: Thanks! I hope that I updated soon enough. I wanted to get this out there while I still could lol.

Orlando Hope: Thanks. I'm glad you like it. Yeah, I am going to miss Little B a lot. I didn't realize how big of a part of the show he was to me until it was too late.

Please keep reviewing!