As You Like It
Chapter Nine
Disclaimer: The title of this chapter Everybody Hates Hugo belongs to J.J. and Co, along with Lost.
Chapter Nine: Everybody Hates Hugo
His name was Kyle. He was born in Connecticut and raised in New Jersey. That would explain the accent, which Alex didn't mind at all. In fact, she kind of liked it.
So what did he want to know? Kyle asked, sitting down next to her in the caves.
Alex asked, turning towards him.
That guy, Kyle said, trying to remember names, That too, Kyle nodded.
Kyle had already been a resident of the caves for almost three hours and in those three hours Alex was able to tell who trusted the newcomer and who didn't. Though Jack wanted to know more about Kyle(of course, nothing less was expected), Alex was sure that he was okay with him being there.
What makes you think he wanted something? She asked curiously.
Because you told him you know me, Kyle said and then continued in a whining tone, come on, tell me!Fine, fine, Alex rolled her eyes, don't act like such a baby. I just told him what you told me. You're from Jersey and you work with boats.
Kyle studied her.
And how do you know that's true? He asked in a more serious tone than before.
Had Adam told the rest of the crew about her abilities? Or was Kyle just trying to flirt? And if he was, was she okay with it? Was it okay that she was okay with it?
I know these things, Alex stated.
Psychic aren't you? Kyle snorted.
Alex pursed her lips but then decided to play along.
she laughed.
Their laughter slowly drawn out and they soon found themselves stuck in one of those awkward silences. In truth Jack had been very cooperative about question her knowledge of Kyle. He believed her when she said that he was on the boat with Adam being one of Adam's friends and that she really didn't know who he was. Okay, so half of that was a lie, but still. At the moment, she wanted to know more about Kyle's island life than past, and she had a hunch that Jack did to. Where did he camp? What did he eat? Had he seen anyone else on the island?
Kyle said, breaking the silence, you going show me around?
Suddenly feeling empathetic for him, Alex smiled and replied,
Across the Caves
Across the caves Charlie sat watching Claire watch nothing. She refused to speak with him since her confession, and Charlie was afraid that she was embarrassed. Even worse than that, maybe it was just a spur of the moment thing and she didn't really like him at all.
Would you give me a hand with these? Asked a disgruntled voice above him.
Charlie looked up to find Hurley juggling a handful of freshly caught fish. Standing, he took two of the bass from him.
Charlie said and sat the fish on the ground next to him.
Hurley raised an eyebrow.
Dude, I meant help clean them, he said irritably.
He obviously wasn't in one of the best of moods.
What's with you? Charlie asked, taking one of the tools Hurley had been using to clean the fish.
Since Jin's death, Hurley had taken over the job of fishermen. He wasn't the best but he was getting better, and anything at all was better than nothing.
Hurley muttered, taking a seat next to Charlie.
Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the hammock, Charlie mumbled bitterly and began cleaning the fish.
While working Charlie caught himself every so often glancing up at Claire, who was now sitting(though not talking) with Sun.
What do you think about Claire? Charlie asked before stopping himself.
Hurley snapped out of his own daze and looked at Charlie, perplexed.
Excuse me? Hurley said.
Charlie repeated, what do you think about her?
Raising an eyebrow, Hurley's eyes trailed to Claire.
he began, she's..Australian.
Charlie rolled his eyes.
he said, I mean, if this were one of those things were you had to say one positive thing about someone else, what would you say?She's Australia, Hurley repeated.
Charlie shook his head and sighed in frustration.
Hurley said. Being Australian isn't a bad thing.
Charlie sighed again.
Sorry if I'm not the bachelor of the year, Hurley muttered.
Charlie realized that maybe Hurley wasn't the best person to talk to about this kind of stuff. For one thing, he never ever mentioned a personal life- he was worse than Jack. But he knew one thing, he was not going to go to Locke about relationship problems, so he wanted to get some kind of response out of someone to convince himself that he was insane.
Come on, Charlie said, you're not that bad.. he tried to think of something to boost Hurley's confidence, you're funny. Everybody likes the funny guy.Everybody likes the funny guy, Hurley agreed, but nobody loves the funny guy.
Hurley stood up, putting the half-clean fish back into the net.
Thanks for trying, Hurley muttered as he left, and took the last fish from Charlie.
At the Beach
Kate was standing on the shore, trying to sort things out. She didn't go to the caves in hopes of avoiding Jack, but even more she wanted to avoid Sawyer, who still resigned at the beach, so she decided on picking a spot further down the beach, one that she knew Sawyer wouldn't want to take the time to walk to.
The kiss had lingered in her mind throughout the remainder of the night and rest of the day. She felt guilty going back to Jack afterwards, even though that's what she told Sawyer she wanted to do, so she camped on the beach a few miles down and figured Jack would believe her if she said she hadn't felt comfortable walking through the jungle at night. However, her original intent was to go straight to Jack, confess what had happened, and most likely break down in the process, but halfway through the jungle a flashback of Jack telling her about Sarah came rolling back to her, including the expression on his face as she told her about the divorced. She wasn't going to let that happen to him again if she could help it.
Then it came to her that the kiss wasn't really her fault. Sawyer did make the first move, right? But every time she thought that she'd remind herself that she choose to just take a swim, and the guilt would start all over again.
Someone's steady running pace caught her attention. Kate looke up and was surprised to find Jack running the shore line down the beach, heading her way. For a moment Kate considered dashing into the jungle to hide, but she realized that Jack might've already seen her. She then told herself there was no reason to be afraid of Jack, and waited for him to reach her; but instead of stopping to talk, Jack just ran right by. Kate frowned.
She called, startling him.
Jack turned and jogged the distance back to her.
he said, reaching her, I was..uh..
He waved towards the ocean as if that were supposed to be the answer. Kate knew that most likely he was off in his own reverie(who isn't when they go for a run) and nodded. Jack was so sweaty that Kate had to hold back from laughing. The sleeveless shirt Jack was wearing was soaked, and Kate wasn't even going to question the smell coming from it.
Training for the Olympics? She teased.
Jack laughed.
Just needed to get my mind off things.
Kate bit her lip. What if something else she didn't know(or did know) was already bothering Jack? How could she bring this down on him on top of everything? Forget that, how could she be so selfish and bring herself into something like this? And for what? A few one-liners and reassurance that she may not even need? But when she factored that reassurance in, she realized how valuable it could be. If they were to get rescued, would she be able to bring herself to letting Jack stop his life to help her out? Or whether get help from Sawyer, who was probably already on the run himself?
She realized Jack was saying.
Kate looked up and Jack offered her a smile.
Just wondering if you were still there, he explained.
Sorry, it's just, Kate coughed before she could stopped herself, I'm sorry Jack but you smell.
She waved her hand in front of her face to try and keep the air moving.
I was thrown out of the caves, Jack laughed, Charlie said not to come back until I've dated Elizabeth Taylor.
Kate laughed despite the fact that someone was already suggesting Jack getting involved with someone else.
It's only a joke, she reminded herself.
I'm even thinking about diving in there, Jack said, nodding towards the ocean.
Not a bad idea, Kate teased with a grin.
A sudden feeling of mischief came over Kate, and she reached out and shoved Jack towards the ocean.
He cried in surprise, and recovered by splashing Kate with a handful of salty sea water- really cold salty sea water.
She shivered as the water hit her.
She explained. It's cold! Jack teased sarcastically.
Shut up! She laughed and screeched when the water hit her again.
She fought back by reaching down into the ocean, running her fingers through the sand on the bottom, and flinging it towards Jack. The sand mixed in well with his already damp shirt and Kate laughed, thinking Jack looked like some kind of spotted seal. She was splashed again and Kate responded with the same action. The game seemed to be going well until Kate felt herself being knocked down. She expected her head to hit the ocean floor and looked up when it didn't. Jack was over her, smiling with pride.
I won, he announced proudly.
As happy as I am for you, Jack, and I really am, Kate squirmed under his grip, joining a Polar Bear Jump group wasn't on my list of things to do on this island. Jack said with a grin, it was on mine.
Kate laughed even though Jack was obviously trying to hard. It was like watching a chick flick. When their laughter eased the two found themselves in a very awkward position in which something could either be started or left alone. Just when she was contemplating what to do(and it looked as if though Jack were doing the same), Kate realized that she recognized this position: she had been in it at least twice with Sawyer before.
Jack asked when he saw the change in her once eager expression.
The thought of Sawyer brought back the memories of night before and guilt about the kiss, and Kate realized that whatever happened today would be only out of guilt, which wouldn't be fair to Jack.
Kate glanced around, trying to think of an excuse and shivered from the freezing temperatures of the sea water, I've got to go.
She pushed Jack off with her with ease and left him standing alone and confused, watching as she walked off.
A few miles down
Kyle and Alex were watching the everyday life of the beach crowd: Shannon lounging in the sand, different people doing different odds and ends around her.
And that's Larry, Alex finished, pointing the glasses-wearing man out, he's a freak.Well with a name like Larry.. Kyle laughed.
Alex exclaimed. My grandfather's name was Larry, thank you.
Kyle continued to laugh at his own joke until his eyes fell on Sawyer and Michael who had some old sheets of paper surrounding them, clearly making an outline of something.
What's with them? He asked curiously, pointing.
Alex looked up to see what he was looking at.
she said, recognizing the two, that's Michael and Sawyer. Michael has a kid, Walt, he's maybe ten. And Sawyer..well..he's Sawyer. I think they're designing another raft.
Kyle raised an eyebrow. You mean there was one before? Alex corrected.
And you don't think that's a sign? Kyle asked.
It's not up to me anyway, she shrugged.
Kyle continued to watch as Michael began drawing on the paper.
You know, he says, too bad that cruise ship didn't go by here.I don't get that lucky, Alex sighed.
Kyle smiled.
Some of us do.
Alex wanted to scream in frustration when she caught her self smiling as well. She felt herself being absorbed by Kyle's charm, and she wasn't sure what that meant. She had been on the island for three months, which meant it had been three months since Adam had died. Was it too soon or had she waited to long to consider a future love life? She had certainly never considered it, probably because of the fact that everyone around her up until now had been either five years younger or older than herself. But now there was a variable: Kyle, a guy who couldn't of been two years older than she was with the charm of a prince. If it was all just an act, she could never be sure. She never got much psychic response when around him, and the only reason she was sure that he wasn't dead was the fact that others could see him as well. Unless they were all going crazy.
Kyle said just as she finished her thoughts, when are we going to tell them?
Alex turned to him.
Tell them what? She asked cluelessly.
What really happened after we crashed, Kyle finished.
Alex met eyes with him and then turned away and continued watching the beach camp. Sawyer and Michael were now arguing over something and Sun was trying to break them up. She hadn't told them before and she didn't need to now. It didn't matter, no need to live through it twice, something she definitely didn't want to do. The guilt of it was the main part, the reminder that it was all her fault. She still wondered why she didn't see it coming. Had she still been in shock from the crash? Hell, from the whole night? Waking up in her room, finding herself drugged, the whole robbery.
They don't need to know, Alex replied, watching as Sun successfully broke up Jin and Sawyer before fist were thrown.
Kyle studied her for another moment and sighed as he too turned back to the beach.
Author's Note: I hope that chapter wasn't too fluffy for you. Thanks to CrazyforMaggieGrace(darn you for changing to such a long screen name! j/k!), Whirl-wind2005, and Crazyhorsegirl88 for reviewing! You guys rock!
Coming up next, in As You Like It:
One of the survivors isn't what they seem, which drastically changes the mood of the camp(both of them) and leads to the beginnings of the finale story.
Thanks again!
Until next time..
+ October Sky