Disclaimer: Watch the pretty coin…You will believe me when I say I do not own Lost In Blue…Therefore you will not sue me…

Chapter 6: Presents and Friendships

What should I do? Summer thought sadly as she walked along the beach. John's so upset. How can I cheer him up?

Something caught her eye. She walked towards it, wondering if maybe it was a jellyfish that had washed up on shore. As she got closer she realized that it was an empty bottle. I could use this to bring John water since he's going to have trouble with getting out of the cave for a while, she thought as she picked it up.

Continuing her walk up the beach, Summer became lost in thought. She wasn't paying any attention to where she was going and stepped on something sharp. "Ouch!" Looking down, she saw that she had stepped on a shell. Picking it up, she said out loud, "You're sharp, but kind of pretty too…"

Looking around, she saw that there were lots of shells all over the beach. "I could make something really nice out of these…I could make something for John!" She opened up her bag and rummaged around for a while. Finally she found it.

"I knew this old sewing kit would come in handy. I can use some thread to make a necklace out of these shells." Suddenly, a strange thought occurred to her. "But would John like it?" she asked the seagull that had landed next to her. It flew away. Looking back at the shells, she muttered, "Well, it's the thought that counts, right?" And she started to gather some of the nicer ones.

Later…

"Hey John," Summer said as she entered that cave. He merely grunted at her. She tried again. "I found a bottle on the beach we can use to get water to you."

A curtly said "good" was his response. Summer was getting annoyed at him. Keep calm, keep calm. This is hard for him, her rational side thought. But another side grumbled, He still shouldn't treat me this way. With a sigh, she tried one last time.

"I made something for you."

"Hm."

"I hope you like it," she said and showed him the present with a big smile on hr face.

"…A necklace…?"

Summer's smile disappeared. Her shoulders sank and she turned away. "Yeah…I'm going back out then…"

"No! Wait!" John made a grab for her, but she was too far away. He tried again and reached her ankle this time. "Look, I'm sorry. I was afraid that I wouldn't be much help anymore. That I'd be a burden to you."

Summer was silent for a few agonizing moments for John. When she spoke, her voice was shaking. "You would never be that to me. You know why? Because you're my friend. I couldn't stand seeing you so unhappy. I thought making you something would help, but I didn't know what else to make…"

"Summer, come here." She turned around and John saw that she was crying. She sat down next to him without looking over. The necklace was still in her hand. John took it from her. She didn't seem to notice. He put his arm around her and pulled her closer next to him. I've been sulking around so much that I didn't even think about what it was doing to her. He held up the necklace and studied it for a moment.

"You know, you did a good job on this. It looks incredibly good." He put it on and looked at her. "How does it look?"

"Good," she said, breathing in shakily.

"You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah."

"Good, you better be," he said with mock sternness in his voice. "Now you get some rest, little lady, because tomorrow you're going further in and I want to hear all about it. Got that?"

Summer looked up at him and giggled. "Yes, sir, general, sir!" she said saluting him. He laughed long and loud.

I tried not to make this too mushy. Hopefully it didn't turn out that way…Sorry it was so short, but I have a great idea that wouldn't fit into this chapter.