Jackson sat on the sand, watching the waves of the ocean move. A few meters behind him, Melissa stood there, watching him from afar.

What do I do? Melissa wondered. I want to help him, but how can I if he doesn't want my help? Arghhh, I have to get a grip. This is the guy who's been avoiding you, remember? What about your promise to stop liking him?

Melissa, frustrated, sank to the ground. She absentmindedly started to draw his name on the sand. Nathan sat down beside her, and noticed Jackson's name written on the sand.

He spoke. "You like him a lot, don't you?" Melissa snapped out of her reverie. "Oh Hey Nathan! Sorry, I didn't notice you there."

Nathan smiled. "Don't worry about it. So, Jackson on your mind huh?"

Melissa looked startled. "How do you know?"

Nathan nodded towards the sand. "You wrote his name on the sand."

Melissa looked embarrassed. "Oh yeah." She laughed unconsciously. "I promised myself that after what happened, I wasn't going to let him run my emotions and my feelings. But it's getting harder to do that when I see him hurting like this."

Nathan placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Mel, Jackson is one of the strongest people that I know. I'm sure he'll be fine, but you've got to stop and think about yourself for a change. If you let Jackson take over your life with the way he's been treating you, you're going to end up extremely hurt."

Melissa slowly nodded. "You're right." She stayed silent for a moment. Then she spoke. "What needs to be done around here? Do we need more water?"

Nathan was surprised but glad that she was taking his advice seriously. "Uh, yeah, we do."

Melissa nodded. "I'm on it." She stood up, walked to get the water jugs, and disappeared into the forest.

Cut to dinnertime.

Everyone was sitting by the fireplace, eating the usual fruits and coconuts. Taylor had actually gone fishing since Jackson was a bit preoccupied. So there was plenty of fish for everyone.

Melissa was taking on Nathan's advice pretty well. She realized that if she got any closer to Jackson, she would be in some major trouble, so she stopped trying to get close to him. She sat beside Eric, and in an attempt to stop thinking about Jackson, she struck up a conversation with him. Surprisingly, they had a decent, fun conversation. They were laughing and talking, completely oblivious to their surroundings. Melissa didn't realize how funny Eric could be. She found herself comparing him to Jackson. Though she was head-over-heels in love with Jackson, she always felt somewhat tense around him. She always tried so hard to please him, to get him to confide in her. She always seemed to be making a fool out of herself. But with Eric, she could actually just be herself, and she was having a lot of fun! She was having such a good time that she didn't notice that everyone else had finished eating and was staring at them, Jackson included. Jackson was just sitting there, watching them with that unreadable stare of his. As he watched Eric and Melissa laughing and talking, he didn't know what to think. What's going on with Mel? She never really talks to Eric, let alone joke around with him. She usually tries to talk to me at least once a day, yet today she hasn't even said a word to me, or even tried to talk to me. I know that's what I wanted before, because she was slowly getting on my nerves, but I'm beginning to really miss her.

Melissa and Eric were laughing so hard that they nearly fell off the log. But then they noticed that everyone else was looking at them, their mouths agape. Both immediately stopped their conversation.

"What?" Eric said.

Nobody spoke for a while, but then Nathan bravely said, "You guys hardly ever have a conversation, yet today you guys are actually, laughing together?"

Melissa and Eric looked at each other.

"Well, just because we didn't talk before doesn't mean that we'll never have some fun together." Melissa said good-naturedly.

Eric nodded his agreement. "That's right. Psshh"

Melissa burst out laughing right there. "Oh Eric. Must you always say 'psshh' all the time?"

Eric pretended to glare at her, but couldn't keep the grin from appearing on his face.

"Yes, I must. It's my charm." He winked at her, causing her to giggle again. Once again, everyone just stared at her. Jackson was just looking at her with disbelief.

As everyone was sleeping in the crammed tent, Jackson laid on his back, trying to get the image of Melissa and Eric out of his head. How did this happen? I can't believe that they were flirting!!! Melissa is so not the flirting type. I mean, even with me, she never really flirted. She just tried to talk to me. But now, she was actually FLIRTING with a guy who she doesn't even like!! Or does she like him now? Argh, why is this bugging me so much! I mean, it's not like I actually LIKE her. I did avoid her after finding out how much she liked me. and I was annoyed by her constant chattering whenever I came into view. Yet, why do I miss her now when she's doing what I wished for all along?

So what do you guys think? Sorry it took me so long to update. Hope this is long enough for you. and i hope i satisfied eveyrone with that little scene of Jackson missing Melissa. ;) R&R