A/N Short note this time: I like this chapter :)

Warning: Fluff alert! It won't be like this all story, I swear. Although, some fluff is nice :) Especially after last chapter's angst.

Disclaimer: Even though I am spending my first few days of summer writing this story, I don't own anything other than Riley.

Guardian Angel: An extra-ordinary being who protects another being.

"Ugh," Ralph muttered when the last shelter collapsed again. Simon and I picked up the branches again and started to rebuild the final shelter again. That's all we had been doing for the past few days. Everyone else had either left the beach to slack off and do who-knows-what or hunt. It was annoying. Really annoying. Ralph, Simon and I were the only ones left to build shelters. And this one just wouldn't stay up. It kept collapsing. The first shelter we made was great – because everyone was helping. The second one was decent enough. Then there was the one we were building now.

I turned my glance away from the shelter and onto Ralph. He was working on the opposite side of the shelter, completely focused. I noticed he was working shirtless – not something I would've usually been aware of. As I was staring at him, the whole shelter came down again. The three of us sighed and sat down.

"Why don't we take a break?" Ralph suggested to the two of us, "We can go down to the beach for a while." We stood so we could leave, when a figure came out of the forest.

Jack had a frustrated expression on his face. He threw down his spear in aggravation.

"What are you so pissed about, Jack?" I asked him. I was so annoyed with him. He thought he had a right to be angry? All he had done for the past week was hunt without catching anything. We had tried to build a shelter so we could survive and no one even cared. All Jack wanted to do was kill a pig.

"I'm trying to get us food! What are you so bitter about?" Jack seriously needs anger management. The littlest things sent him into a rage. I'd still rather make him angry more than I would Roger. At least Jack never hit me.

"We've been trying to build shelters for everyone all week, and you've been hunting. That's what I'm so bitter about." As we were fighting, there was a strange glint in Jack's eye. Not hate or annoyance, but maybe… infatuation? Whatever it was, it made me hope that Ralph would continue the argument in my place.

"Do you want to eat?"

"We have lots of fruits to eat," I heard my guardian angel's voice say as he walked in front of me, "What we need now is shelters."

"I don't believe I was talking to you, Ralph. I think I was talking to Riley, so if you would be so kind…" Jack snarled as he tried to shove Ralph out of the way. Ralph didn't budge, but I spoke up anyway.

"We're done talking, Jack," I said, grabbing Ralph's toned forearm with one hand. I turned around expecting to see Simon, but he seemed to have disappeared. He must've got tired of the repetitive fight and left already.

I reluctantly let go of Ralph's arm once we were out of Jack's eyesight. I had come to terms with the fact that I liked Ralph more than a friend, but I didn't want him to figure it out. We were on a desert island for God's sake – that's no place to start any kind of romance. And it was kind of upsetting. If I had met Ralph in any other way, maybe we could've had something. But no, not now. Not while we're stranded on an island.

I looked up at Ralph, who was about five inches taller than me. I caught him staring down at me.

"What are you thinking about?" His question reminded me of our walk up the mountain a week ago. I smiled, because I was thinking about the exact same thing I was while going up the mountain.

"Nothing in particular," I gave him the same reply that I did a week ago. He smiled down at me, knowing exactly where my answer was coming from.

"How's your foot feeling?" He asked, bringing up the subject of my sprained foot.

"Much better. I don't think it was sprained, just sore." I was able to walk on it without searing pain now. It didn't hurt anymore.

We exited the jungle and stepped onto the sandy ground of the beach. We made our way over to a log and sat down, just watching the ocean. Further to our right, we could see most of the boys playing in the sand and water. I wondered if maybe Ralph wanted to join them, but he made no move to go – something I was very happy about.

We had some pointless conversation after a few minutes of silence. We talked about irrelevant things like our favorite colours, what foods we were craving, favorite animals, things like that. Before we knew it, the sun had started to set. I noticed most of the boys had left – the water got cold at night. There were still a few littluns playing, though.

I stared straight ahead as the sun disappeared. Bright pinks, yellows and reds highlighted and streaked the darkening sky, mesmerizing me. It was beautiful. I noticed Ralph doing the same thing as me – staring into the hypnotizing sunset. I rested my head on Ralph's shoulder – something I had become accustomed to after he rescued me from Roger. Ralph had kept Roger away from me since the close call last week, and I was grateful for that. I had never told Ralph what Roger and my mother used to do to me at home, but I had a feeling he knew. I would tell him eventually, but I didn't want to ruin this one, perfect moment.

A perfect moment. That's exactly what this was. For this one moment, I was able to let everything go. All of my family problems, my current life problems, my past, my future. I let everything go other than what I was feeling right now. Right now, everything felt magical with the bright colours stroking the sky. Right now, Ralph's arm around me felt like the most comforting thing in the world. Right now, I knew there was nowhere I'd rather be.

I re-positioned my head so that I was closer to Ralph. He used his arm around me to pull me closer into his side. At that moment, when he rested his head on top of mine, I realized that maybe – just maybe – being stranded on an island wouldn't stop us from being happy together. Me and my guardian angel.

But then the moment passed. The sun had slipped into complete darkness, leaving us for another night on the island. Another night of hearing littluns cry and scream in their dreams. Another night of getting glares from my brother and weird looks from Jack. Another night of shivering and sleeping in sand without any shelter to protect us from the harsh weather. But that also meant another night of feeling Ralph's strong arms hold me and protect me. Another night of me waking up on his warm chest and hearing his steady heart beat. And maybe being stuck here with Ralph was worth it. Maybe, as long as he was here, everything would be okay.

I pulled away from his shoulder, bringing Ralph out of his deep thought.

"What are you thinking about?" I turned the tables and took his question, expecting him to answer 'Nothing in particular'. And he surprised me when he didn't.

"You." I couldn't believe my ears. That was the way I wanted to answer his question so many times. He caught my eyes. I realized again just what a beautiful green his eyes were – dark green and shimmering in the vivid light of the moon.

I think he realized I didn't have a response to that, but nothing more needed to be said. His face moved slowly towards mine, as I moved mine towards his. Gently, he closed the empty space between us, his lips lightly lingering on mine. He surprised me when he didn't force more than just a light kiss on me, and for that, I was grateful.

His lips stayed there for a few more seconds, and for those few seconds, I experienced eternal bliss. It was a thoughtless sensation, and when he pulled away, my lips tingled. I could still feel the gentle touch of his lips on mine.

I smiled, as did he. In this one night, Ralph became the most important person to me – there was no one else in my life worthy of that title. My mother did nothing but hurt me. Roger had his moments, but with our extended stay on the island, he was becoming increasingly scary. Ralph and I sat there a few more minutes, with his arm held tightly around me, both of us just grinning.

Soon, boys started to pile onto the beach – the younger ones headed for shelters, older ones preparing for another night on the beach, since we didn't have a shelter yet.

Ralph and I let go of each other and made our way over to the sleeping area, acting like nothing had happened. We both laid down, making ourselves comfortable. When we were, I rested my head on his bare chest, and fell asleep to the feeling of his lips pressed to the top of my head.

A/N Yay! They're together :) Chapter 3 in the actual book is about Simon's place in the forest, so I wasn't sure what to write about after the argument. I thought it was time to get the romance started.

Please review and tell me what you think! Did I rush the romance? Would you rather see Riley with Jack? I have to know these things so that you guys can enjoy the story more!

REVIEW! ;)