"Water?" Eric asked Abby.

"Thanks." She said, wiping her mouth as she drank as much as she possibly could. She glanced at the outsiders, as she had taken to calling them. "How long do you think they're going to be here?"

Eric shrugged, taking off his shirt. Lourdes and Ann were helping Melissa, Taylor, and Daley weave something other than a huge piece of cloth. "I don't know." He took a shovel and started to help Abby with the digging.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "You like Hal as a friend, don't you?" She asked him.

"Yeah." He said, still focusing on digging. "What about Maggie?"

"She's cool." Abby said. She sighed and leaned on her shovel, wiping the hair out of her face. "I just wish that they hadn't come. It's changed everything."

"Well these holes aren't going to dig themselves you know." Hal grinned as he walked up to them, taking a shovel. Eric grinned back.

"Nice to know you're helping out. I was beginning to think all you'd said you'd done was just you talking." Eric joked.

"I'm going to go take a break." Abby said abruptly, dropping her shovel and leaving.

Hal motioned towards Abby's retreating back. "What's up with her?"

Eric went back to digging. "She used to be all sweet and everything, then she went into the jungle. Let's just say it wasn't pretty. She came back a whole different person. Imagine Lourdes vanishing for a while, then coming back and starting to act like Maggie."

Hal whistled. "That's harsh." They both dug for a while. "So what about you and her?" He asked all of a sudden.

Eric jerked. "What? Me and Abby? Come on."

"Everyone can see it." Hal insisted. "It's like, Jory and Ian. They aren't together, but everyone knows they are."

Eric rolled his eyes. "Okay, maybe I thought she was cute. But I spent too much time paying attention to Taylor and not her, okay? Then she comes back all hardcore, and I figure I've got no chance with that."

"I didn't look at Lourdes until Karen died. And now we're together." Hal countered.

"Yeah, but Lourdes didn't go all 'survival of the fittest'." Eric replied.

"Dude, just go ask her out. You'll be fine. Otherwise, you're going to end up like Ben."

"What's wrong with me?" Ben asked, coming out to help.

"Nothing." Hal and Eric said together. Ben gave them a death stare. "Okay, we were talking about the fact that you don't have a girlfriend. But it's not for trying." Hal added hastily.

"Eric with who?" Ben asked. "'Cause if it's Abby, I'd ask what you're talking about. Abby's already Eric's girlfriend."

Eric started. "What? We're not going out. We're just close."

"Yeah, real close." Jackson said, coming out of the foliage.

"Where are all these people coming from?" Eric moaned.

"Where are all who coming from?" Anne joined the little circle surrounding Eric.

"It's is this an intervention? Because I have no feelings for Abby." Eric panicked.

"Just go talk to her." Jackson coaxed. "She's never turned down someone before."

"And besides, you said it yourself." Hal smirked. "You like her."

"Yeah," Eric said. "But she'll kill me in a heartbeat if I asked her."

"Just try!" Anne said. "If she kills you, I'll put you back together again."

"Fine!" Eric burst out. "I'll ask her." He stormed off. He went to the beach. It always helped him think. The ocean was where he'd nearly died, and ever since then, he's had this strange connection with the ocean.

"It's beautiful." Abby joined him, looking at the sunset. It was true. Red ochre and vivid yellow streaked across the sky while the clouds where a princess pink. Eric's throat closed at the sight of her. She was hot, he'd admit that, but she'd reject him in an instant. He remembered Hal's words though. And he figured, what the heck.

"Wannagoout?" He asked her quickly.

She stared at him for a moment. "Okay." She said, then turned and faced the sunset. Eric took deep breaths. He wasn't dead. That was a good sign.