Ch. 14 Not Ready
AN: Yes, this is the entire EricTaylor Chapter! Yippee!
Eric was yawning as he napped under the tree. It was a long day- the day after the plane had almost found them. Now that no one had any hope left, all were depressed and the air and aura of the place was dismal. No one really bugged on him, so he took the opportunity to nap. He felt a small breeze along his face. He let out a loud yawn and shifted uncomfortably against the tree. Almost as soon as he began to fall asleep, he felt a shadow cross his face.
"Hi Eric," it was Taylor, smiling at him.
"Hey Taylor," Eric patted the ground next to him, "what's up?"
"Not much," Taylor grinned, "you?"
"Tired and slightly depressed," Eric shrugged, "guess we're never going home."
"Yeah," Taylor sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, "at least its, well, it's not too bad."
"What do you mean, it's not too bad?" Eric gasped, "There isn't plumbing, for heaven's sake!"
"True," Taylor laughed, "I'm just saying that there are some benefits."
"Like…?" Eric asked.
"Us, maybe," Taylor rolled her eyes.
"Oh, yeah. Definitely. This is nice," Eric nodded his head enthusiastically.
"You make it sound so convincing," Taylor joked, then leaned in to kiss him.
They continued kissing, but then Taylor broke apart.
"Eric, I have something to tell you," Taylor murmured nervously.
"Yeah?" Eric asked.
"I… I think I love you," she murmured. Eric jumped back.
"What?"
"Ok, that's not the answer I was hoping for…" Taylor sighed.
"I'm serious. I think it's too soon," Eric said, looking a little afraid. Taylor stood up and put her hands on her hips.
"Oh really? Then it might interest you that Daley and Nathan started with love! And for Melissa and Jackson it took 6 days? This isn't soon!"
"It's soon for us! I think… I just don't think we're ready!" Eric sighed.
"Well I do! And if you don't think so, then you can go be with Abby you bastard!" Taylor shoved mud in his face and ran off crying.
Eric sputtered out mud and stared in shock as she left.
Eric, still in shock, went to go get advice from Nathan.
"Hey Nathan, what did you do when Daley told you she loved you?" Eric asked bitterly.
"Um… I kissed her? Why?" Nathan asked.
"Because, well… weren't you a little freaked?"
"No, I was pleased because I told her I loved her first. If Taylor told you she loved you and you don't know what to do, talk to Jackson. Melissa told him first, I think," Nathan shrugged and went back to his work.
Eric sighed and went looking for Jackson. Nathan called him back first.
"Oh and Eric?" he called.
"Yeah?" Eric asked.
"Don't do anything to hurt her feelings. If she loves you, she can turn nasty. Oh and sometimes saying nothing at all does the trick."
"Now see, Nathan, my problem is that I've already said something," Eric sighed.
"Uh oh. What?" Nathan asked.
"I… I said… it wasn't time for love…" Eric grimaced.
"Ooh. Bad choice of words, Eric. If she said she loves you, and you don't love her, well… you should really hug her and tell her, gently, that you don't love her quite yet. But you will soon."
"I know that know, obviously, but I'm trying to make up with her and she won't talk to me."
"Just go up to her and say you're sorry. Tell her what I told you to say. Or something better- like 'I'm sorry- I love you too. I just didn't realize until we spent a day apart,' et cetera. You know. Comfort her. Just make sure you don't break her heart again."
"I broke her heart?" Eric asked, shocked.
"Um, duh, Eric. You probably made her hate you too. So if you want to fix this, I'd get going," Nathan smirked.
Eric went wide-eyed and ran off, looking for Taylor.
Eric ran into the jungle, and walked over to where Daley was.
"Hey Daley, do you know where Taylor is?" Eric asked, panting.
"Um, she went to the well. She's pretty pissed at you," Daley admitted. Eric ran off to the well, nervous not even beginning to describe how nervous he was. When he found her, sitting by the well, crying, he didn't know what to do. Call out her name softly? Place an arm around her shoulders? Finally, he made a drastic decision.
"I love you!" he gasped, then ran off. Taylor watched as he ran, in shock. Eric ran back to camp, and ran to the beach and waded his feet in the water.
What have I done? She thinks I'm a freak of nature…
Suddenly, Eric felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Eric?" Eric turned around to face Taylor.
"Yes?" Eric looked down at his shoes, feeling hot under Taylor's gaze.
"Maybe you aren't such a jerk after all," she blushed. Eric looked up, grinned, and kissed her gently.
She broke away, grinning, "You're not a jerk at all."
"One would hope," Eric grinned.
"I'm sorry. I know that you have a slight fear of commitment," Taylor raised her eyebrows.
"Not so much a fear of commitment. More like an 'I have my whole life heady of me' set of mind."
"I'm glad you dropped it," Taylor shrugged.
"Yeah. Hey, when did you stop being so… ditzy?"
"When you asked me out, duh. Although, according to Daley, I'm still clueless."
"Well, that's something we have in common," Eric laughed.
"You're not clueless. You're just lazy," Taylor laughed.
"Lazy? I'm honored! That's the best compliment I've had all day!" Eric gasped.
"Really?" Taylor gasped.
"It's the only compliment I've had all day, but still…" Eric laughed.
"The only one? Aww, poor baby," Taylor laughed.
"Thanks. I needed the comfort," Eric laughed. Taylor giggled and kissed him again, and Eric wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in closer.
At least I didn't lie, Eric thought happily.
At least I didn't lie.
(1, 001 Words) The next chapter is the last! Oh, that makes me sad. So be it! Come, Patsy! (Yes, I am quoting Monty Python and the Holy Grail.) Anyway, the next chapter is jammed pack with lots of stuff. It would have been two chapters, however…