The Past Doesn't Always Matter Chapter 4: Music Always Helps, a lost fanfic

A/N: I would like to thank:

audiodream

BuckyBug

pinkstar1409

seth4summer

scouse-jater

honeyduck

Ella Jullian

steam rolled harry potter

jimmy-barnes-13

Orlando-crazy

simp

for all of the great reviews!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Because of You' by Kelly Clarkson or Lost

MUSIC ALWAYS HELPS

Kate was walking along the beach after she visited Claire. She was thinking as usual. She suddenly had an urge to do something that she hadn't done in a long time. She walked over to Charlie who was playing his guitar.

"Hey Charlie, could I have a go?"

"Sure," he replied, "I didn't know you could play."

"I haven't played in ages, but I think now's a good time to refresh my memory," she smiled at him.

She sat down and started to strum an introduction and then started to sing quietly.

I will not make, the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself
Cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did,
You fell so hard
I've learned the hard way
To never let it get that far

Kate didn't notice that Charlie was staring at her with his mouth open. He was obviously in admiration of her musical talent and her beautiful voice.

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid

Kate was so involved in her singing that she didn't even notice that she had an audience.

Claire was watching, holding Aaron close, with tears in her eyes. Sawyer came out of his tent to see what was going on and stood there gob-smacked and without a smart-ass remark for once. Rose and Bernard wrapped their arms around each other and watched on with sad smiles.

I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake
A smile, a laugh everyday of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with

Sayid tried desperately to hold back tears as he thought of Shannon. Locke watched showing no emotion on his face, even though you could tell that he was touched. Eko surveyed her sadly, understanding the grief she was singing about.

Kate poured so much sadness and emotion into her lyrics that even Jin understood as he draped a protective arm around Sun's shoulders, who was also trying not to cry. Ana Lucia was watching in awe, despite the jealous voice at the back of her head.

I watched you die
I heard you cry every night in your sleep
I was so young
You should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else
You just saw your pain
And now I cry in the middle of the night
For the same damn thing

Luke (who had arrived a few minutes earlier) smiled, leant over to a speechless Charlie and said proudly, "I taught her when she was twelve and I was about fifteen, it wasn't very good for my ego when she turned out to be better than me."

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I try my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you
I don't know how to let anyone else in
Because of you
I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty
Because of you
I am afraid

Jack watched and listened to Kate playing from the trees at a distance and finally understood all of the guilt, regret and pain that she had experienced in her life and felt his heart breaking at the thought of all those terrible things happening to her.

Because of you
Because of you

Suddenly everyone started clapping and Kate looked up shocked, as if she'd just come out of a daze.

"Well now I feel like a bloody, not to mention talentless, idiot!" laughed Charlie.

"That was beautiful!" exclaimed Claire wiping away her tears.

"Why didn't you show us you could play before honey?" asked Rose with a small smile.

"You could be the next American Idol with a voice like that!" Hurley yelled over the crowd.

"Well, well, well ain't you just full of surprises Freckles!" drawled Sawyer when his brain started working again and he had snapped out of his shocked trance.

"It was nothing, really," muttered an embarrassed Kate.

"Come on Katie," Luke butted in, "Stop being so modest, you won competitions back home, and didn't an agent once contact you when you were only, what, fifteen?"

"Shut up Luke," mumbled Kate as she blushed.

"Hey everyone!" shouted Sawyer, "Here's a rare sight! Freckles is blushing! Come on everyone, this is something you don't see every-OW!"

Incase you were wondering, Kate punched him in the arm.

"If you don't shut up, you'll find yourself with an injury much worse than a bullet in your shoulder and then you will become a rare sight," threatened Kate.

Sawyer was about to retaliate when Luke cut in, "I'd listen to her, when I was seventeen and she was fourteen, I accidentally slipped a secret of hers to her friends and…let's just say I started to regret taking her to karate lessons," he winced at the memory. "I was three years older than her, not to mention more experienced, and it still hurt!"

At the mention of 'karate' Sawyer decided to back off.

"Needed to clear your mind?" asked Luke when the crowd cleared away.

Kate smiled at him and answered, "Yeah, you were right. Music does always help."

A/N: Once again, thank you for all of the reviews!