Hey! Thanks to anyone who reviewed last time. Your critcism and approval really helps me to make the story better and I'm glad to get it. Well, here's the chapter. Enjoy!
Piggy and I walk back to camp and see Ralph sitting on a log chomping on fruit and pig. He sees us and jogs over.
"Hey guys! Ya catch anything?" Piggy holds up three medium size fish.
"Ralph, me and Leah were talking, we think that we should build a sundial."
"Ah, Piggy, not that again!" Ralph whines.
"It could be really useful!" Piggy insists. Ralph looks like he's about to say no, but I make a puppy dog face and he gives in.
""I'll think about it okay?" Piggy's face lights up and he smiles brightly. Piggy heads off to… I actually don't know where he's going. Ralph and I take a seat on the log he was previously occupying. I grab some meat and fruit and eat hungrily. The littluns are all running around the beach, chasing after Piggy. I notice one boy is missing.
"Where's Simon?" I ask. Ralph shrugs.
"He's always going off on his own to God knows where. He took off as soon as we finished the last of the shelters." I look over to where the row of shelters is. There are eight of them. "One is for the littluns, the last one's for Samneric. They both snore and talk in their sleep. You can stay with Robert, Piggy, and Mike; Roger, Bill, and Maurice; or Jack, Simon, and me." I think about it. From the looks of it, Roger would like nothing more than to gut me like a fish and dance on my grave, so that one's a no. As much as I like hanging out with Piggy, I can smell his roommates from a mile away. They have a most unfortunate case of B.O. That leaves me with one option.
"Jack, Simon and you" I say. He smirks.
"You decided that real quick. Do you maybe have a little crush on somebody, Leah?" I laugh.
"Yea, Simon's a real cutie ain't he?" Ralph's eyes widen. He looks shocked and… disappointed? It's my turn to smirk. "Gotcha" He smiles and chuckles. "So what's on the agenda for the afternoon chief?"
"Well the shelters are all finished, Piggy's looking after the littluns, and Samneric are watching the fire. Looks like we just get to hang out. Wanna go for a swim?" he asks. I start fiddling with the hem of my t-shirt. "Unless, of course, you're afraid of getting your clothes wet." he adds teasingly. I glare, grab my backpack, and disappear into the seventh shelter, the one that I now share with Jack, Ralph, and Simon. Ralph looks confused. I come back out wearing a White Sox t-shirt and black Sofees.
"Let's go!" I grab his hand and pull him up. We run to the pond where I went fishing with Piggy and I immediately leap into the water. I swim over to the ledge to see why he's taking so long. I look up and see him taking off his shirt and doing a cannon ball into the water. It was all I could do to keep from drooling. In addition to having a handsome, angelic face, Ralph's got a six pack. Now normally, I'm not the boy-crazy kind of gal, but can you really blame me for thinking that this island keeps getting better and better?
"What are you looking at?" Aw, shit, have I been staring?
"What's wrong Ralphy, afraid to get your clothes wet?" he looks slightly embarrassed for a second, but gets over it quickly.
"Nah, I just didn't want to deny you the pleasure of seeing me in all my shirtless glory" I laugh.
"Wow, how thoughtful of you" I reply sarcastically. He smirks.
"Oh come on, admit it. You like what you see" is his cocky come back.
"Yes Ralph, you're gorgeous," I say kiddingly (but meaning every word0, "Can we swim now?" he nods and dives under water. I get out and climb onto the highest of the nearby rocks. "Look out below!" I cry as I leap high into the air and then dive into the water below. Ralph laughs.
"That's nothing. Watch this." He climbs onto the rock and jumps up. He flips twice midair, then dives down, slicing evenly through the water.
"Show off!" I yell. Ralph laughs and splashes me with water. I splash him back and soon we have a full-scale splashing war on our hands. Eventually, our play is cut short by our growling stomachs. We head back to camp but Ralph, I'm glad to report, leaves his shirt off.
When we return, neither Simon or the hunters are back yet. So we just sit by the shelters and talk.
"How long have you guys been here?" I ask him. He shrugs.
"I'm not sure really. A month, two months tops."
"Wow. That's a long time. But at least it means you guys have gotten the hang of surviving out here. That's good right?" he laughs.
"Yea, I guess. So you just got here huh?" I nod. "Do you know what the date is?" I'm slightly surprised. He's been on this island over a month and that's the first question that comes to mind?
"Yea, it's July 30th." I tell him.
"That sounds about right. So how'd you get stuck here?' He asks.
"My family was on vacation in London for two weeks. We were on the flight back when our plane crashed. We were floating around in a raft and a storm came and I fell overboard. The waves pushed me in this direction and here I am" I explain.
"Wow. That sucks. But at least you landed here. You'll be safe here with us until we get rescued, I promise." Ralph assures me. I smile.
"Thanks Ralph" A loud whooping sound comes from the forest. The hunters emerge from the dark carrying a dead pig. They've abandoned the tattered remains of shirts they'd had on in the jungle. My jaw drops slightly, and once again, I'm barely keeping from drooling. If I thought Ralph looked good without a shirt on, then Jack's drop-dead gorgeous. This kid is smoking hot. But seeing as Jack is carrying a dead pig (and sweating like one), I definitely prefer Ralph's company. The boys cook the meat over a small fire for what seems like forever. Finally, the pig is done and everyone digs in happily. I see Piggy, still playing with the littluns, looking at the food hungrily. I finish off the last of my meal and get up to take over the babysitting. Ralph stops me.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm gonna go watch the littluns. Piggy deserves a break, he's been watching them all day." Ralph smiles and nods in agreement. I walk up to Piggy and tap him on the shoulder. "Go get some food. I'll take over from here." Piggy smiles gratefully and rushes over to where the boys are eating.
I watch the littluns for the rest of the night. It's actually kind of fun. They remind me of my little brother and my younger cousins back home. When the sun starts to go down and the littluns get tired, I walk them to their shelter and get them ready for bed.
"Sing us a song!" Percival shouts. The boys agree. "But not a lullaby!" he adds."Yea, we hate lullabies!" Henry interjects. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jack walk in and occupy a corner, but I ignore him. I start singing my little brother's favorite song, "Good Riddance" by Green Day. As I get into the song I remember there's a reason I rarely sing this song (besides the fact that it's about death.) My voice cracks as I try to sing a particularly low note. The littluns don't seem to mind, but I hear Jack snickering in the corner.
"Oh, like you could do better!" I snap. He smirks.
"Wanna bet?" He continues the song where I left off. His voice is rich and deep and calming. I feel myself drifting to sleep along with the littluns. Once I get over the initial shock of hearing such a beautiful sound coming from the leader of the hunters, I join in with the harmony. By the time we reach the finish, each of the littluns is snoring softly. Jack and I walk out. "You're pretty good" he admits., "Just stick to the higher notes from now on, 'kay?"
"You're not so bad yourself" I say, deciding to ignore the last part of his comment.
"Thanks. I was head of the choir before I came here. All the hunters were in the choir." This surprises me a bit.
" I used to be in the choir too!" I exclaim, "Of course, I was never head of the choir. I caused too much trouble for that" He laughs.
"YOU were causing problems?" he asks in disbelief.
"Oh yea, I used to be a real smart ass. Eventually, my choir instructor suggested that sports might be a better fit for me. Or military school. He was really pushing for military school."
"I can definitely see you in military school. You look like a real killer to me." I smirk.
"Yep, that's me." We sit there staring at the fire in awkward silence for a while. "I thought you guys were all from England"
"We are." he confirms.
"Then why don't you have an accent?"
"I lived in Milwaukee till I was 9"
"Oh, that's cool. What part of England do you live in?""London. We all go to the same school."
"It's an all boy school?" I ask curiously.
"Nah, that's just lucky for you" he replies.
"Oh yea, I feel so fortunate." I answer sarcastically. He scowls.
"It could be a lot worse. The view's nice. I mean come on! Look at me!" Jack exclaims somewhat sarcastically, gesturing to his bare, muscled chest.
"That supposed to make me like this place more?"
"Hey!" he answers indignantly. I smirk.
"I'm sorry Jack. You're godly. Happy?"
"Damn right!" he smirks. We sit quietly and I shiver. "Are you cold?" he reaches for the black cloak he's sitting on.
"No, I'm fine." I grab my Michigan sweatshirt out of my backpack and pull it on. I tuck in my feet and arms until all 5'2" of me is hidden inside. He laughs.
"Nice." I smile brightly. "It's getting dark. I'm going to bed. You coming?"
"Nah, I'm gonna read a bit." I say, waving my new copy of Lord of the Flies in the air.
"Okay, just don't stay out alone too long." he warns.
"Who are you, my dad?" I tease.
"Just being careful. Never can be too safe with the beast out there," he says.
"Yea, yea, yea. Good night Jack!"
"Night!"
Ralph's POV
I hear Jack and Leah talking outside by the fire. I don't like how well they're getting along. That kid's up to something. I remember a conversation I had with him a few weeks ago.
"Come on, lighten up! There's no adults telling us what to do. No girls. Although I wouldn't mind getting a little every once in a while" Jack said. I laugh.
"Yea, like you've ever gotten any." Jack shrugs.
"Still wouldn't mind."
I scowl at the memory. Is that what he's trying to do with Leah? It better not be. She deserves better than that.
Jack's POV
I walk into the shelter and see Ralph lying on his back with his eyes open. He smikles when I come in by myself.
"She turn you down?"
"Bet you'd like that wouldn't you blondie?" he figures out that, technically, she didn't turn me down and a worried look crosses his face. Well, what do you know? Blondie's got a thing for Leah too. More competition between me and him. Excellent.
What do ya think? Did I do okay? What do ya think about both boys liking Leah? Any guesses on who whe might end up with? I already know of course, but I'd love to hear who you think it'll be. And, of course, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story and any suggestions you might have so pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase review!