Flight 29 Down - I Won't Stand Alone

Chapter 3 - Being Strong

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Amber blinked. "You, you're, you're joking, right?" She stuttered, stunned.

"No…" Daley gave her a look.

"I mean, what do you like about Jackson? No offense, but he's not really your type." Amber felt like she was backed into a corner.

"He's just so…collected, unselfish, and his looks aren't too bad either." Daley had a faraway look in her eyes.

"Uh, yeah, I, uh, gotta go. Catch ya later Daley!"

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AMBER -

I can not believe Daley likes Jackson. I mean, it's not that I don't like Daley, but, well, it just doesn't fit. Taylor likes Eric, Eric likes Taylor, Melissa likes Jackson, Jackson likes Melissa, Nathan likes Daley, and Daley likes…Jackson. She sounded genuine, but maybe she's a good liar. I gotta look into this!

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Amber rushed to find Lex.

"I need your help!" She dragged him to the trees, away from the group. "Who do you think your sister likes?"

"I'm…not allowed to speak about that!" Lex said fearfully.

"Ugh!" Amber stalked off.

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Nathan walked up to the fire and saw Melissa staring into space.

"Hello? Earth to Mel!" He waved a hand in front of her face.

She jumped. "What?" He pointed to the fire, which was close to dead. "Oh. Sorry." She smiled apologetically.

"I need your opinion. Do you think there's something fishy about Amber?" He asked.

"Why would you think that?" Melissa said, going back to boiling and filtering.

"I don't know. She just doesn't seem like a very likely candidate for Jackson's sister."

"Well, it's the same with you and your sister, and everybody accepts her." Melissa replied.

"Did Amber ask you who you liked?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah…"

"I'm gonna go talk to Taylor and Eric!" he walked away.

"Okay then." Melissa got back to work.

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"Jackson!" Amber ran up to him. "I have to tell you something!" She whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" He said.

"So nobody hears!"

"But nobody's here…"

"Whatever, Daley likes you!"

Jackson blinked surprisedly. "How do you know?"

"She told me, duh!"

"Oh."

"So, what are you going to do?" Amber asked.

"You know all those schemes you come up with? I love those." Jackson smiled at her pleadingly.

"You're on your own, lover boy!" Amber patted his shoulder and walked away.

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Amber walked up to the plane, humming Island In the Sun. She saw Lex trying to fix the radio.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Trying to fix this radio!" Lex sounded frustrated.

"Let me look at it." Amber sat down, and looked at it for a minute. "You just have to connect these wires," She connected them, "and plug this in here," she plugged a wire in, "and turn it on!" She pressed the on wire, and they heard static.

"How did you know how to do that?" Lex said, amazed.

"I took a technology class I thought would be useless up until now!"

"Where? When we get back I HAVE to take it!" Lex said excitedly.

"Hartwell Junior High. It's the advanced class." Amber said.

"Great, I'm going there next year!"

"Well, I'll be going now!" Amber left, and headed for the tents.

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AMBER -

I wrote a song! I probably shouldn't put it on here, cause Taylor wants to publish them or something, but I'm going to anyway. I named it, Be Strong.

Are you swimming upstream,

In oceans of blue?

Do you feel like you're sinking?

Are you sick of the rain,

After all you've been through?

Well I know what you're thinking,

When you can't take it,

You can make it,

Sometime soon I know you'll see,

Cause when you're in your darkest hour,

And all of the light just fades away,

When you're like a single flower,

Whose colors have turned to shades of gray,

Well hang on,

Be strong.

We're taking each step,

One day at a time,

You can't loose your spirit,

Let live and let live,

Forget and forgive,

It's all how you see it,

And just remember,

Keep it together,

Don't you know you're never alone,

Cause when you're in your darkest hour,

And all of the light just fades away,

When you're like a single flower,

Whose colors have turned to shades of gray,

Well hang on,

Be strong.

No you're not defeated,

And soon you'll be smiling once again,

Then you won't have to feel it,

Let it go with the wind,

Time passes us by,

And know that you're allowed to cry,

Cause when you're in your darkest hour,

And all of the light just fades away,

When you're like a single flower,

Whose colors have turned to shades of gray,

Well hang on,

Be strong.

(A/N: I did not write this song, it's Be Strong by Delta Goodrem)

So, what do you think? What am I thinking, you're a video camera! I'll shut up now!

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Amber turned off the camera, and went to put it and her guitar away.

When she came out of the tent, she met up with Melissa.

"Hey, dinner's almost ready, so you can head down to the fire." Melissa stopped to tell her.

"Okay, see you there!" Amber walked off.

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They were all eating quietly.

"So… Anyone do anything exciting today?" Daley said awkwardly.

"Amber fixed the radio!" Lex exclaimed.

Amber looked up and saw everyone's eyes on her. "It was easy, I just had to connect a couple wires!" She assured them, hoping Lex wouldn't make a big deal about it. She hated being in the spotlight. Which was why only Taylor, Lex, and Jackson knew about her singing.

"I found a couple of good fruit spots!" Jackson said, diverting attention from Amber. Soon, everyone was babbling away like normal.

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A/N: Sorry for not updating for so long, I've been really busy! I hope this isn't horrible… I had it all written out, then I changed something that completely altered the plot, so I had to rewrite all of it. Also, if any of you have seen Johnny Pacar's Disney Channel movie, Now You See It, I wrote a story for that that hasn't gotten very many reviews, so it would really make my day if you guys would read it! Happy Thanksgiving!
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