Author's Note: Hello again! Ok, so this chapter is for TheOnceAnonymous14. Today is her birthday and she was the first one to review this story and actually responded to my desperate plea for chapter ideas with the prompt of this episode (He Said, She Said). I really hope you enjoy this! I almost went a totally different direction and still might write it up at some point but for some reason the idea of Melissa really letting Jackson have it was appealing to me today. Also, I have another little surprise. So I like to make fanmixes to go with my stories and Volume 1, the one from Jackson's perspective is posted on my profile page for everyone to download and enjoy. It has the song that this series is named after and a lot of other great stuff. Melissa's volume will be coming soon. I also posted the link to a Melissa/Jackson video I did recently. I'm really proud of it, so enjoy that too. Please review if you read this, and especially if you download the fanmix. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THEONCEANONYMOUS14 (is it 15 now lol?)!

Worn Away

After her talk with Nathan, Melissa remained sitting on the plane wing long after her friend had returned to camp. She stared at the place where the gently lapping water met the sand, such a soft touch between the two that for a moment she entertained the silly romantic thought of their meeting being a lover's embrace. Then a random day in her science class back at Hartwell passed through her mind, reminding Melissa that the tide was actually stealing sand from the beach, washing it out to sea bit by bit, grain by grain. In a few hundred years this island would probably be half the size it was now.

Melissa drew her knees up to her chest and rested her head sideways against them. She no longer wanted to see the water slipping up to the beach and back out to sea. The idea of being worn away so slowly that no one could see it happening hit a little too close to home for her comfort.

She was glad Nathan had forgiven her for her slip up about his feelings for Daley but his earlier words still rung in her head despite her best efforts to block them out.

"I can't believe you told them, all of them," Nathan snapped. "Including Daley!"

"I'm sorry," Melissa implored, desperate to make him understand. "I tried to keep your secret, Nathan, but the more I covered for you the more questions got asked and the more lies I had to tell…it all just…unraveled."

"So you're saying that I can't trust you?" Nathan spat.

That had hurt more than Melissa had really been able to say and more than Nathan's later words had really been able to undo. She could understand his anger and in a lot of ways his reaction was completely justified. It was just the idea that one day of mistakes could somehow outweigh all her days of loyal friendship, that somehow eleven years of memories could be swept away by one blurted confession. She knew Nathan was in the middle of an extremely trying situation and it wasn't fair to try to make it about her, which is why she'd accepted his apology without comment. Selfishly…silently…she just wanted credit for all times she'd done things right.

Taylor was the one who had done nothing all day but attempt to turn everyone against each other and yet the next time she performed an act that could be considered halfway human Jackson would probably throw her a party.

Jackson.

He was yet another reason she was avoiding camp for the time being.

She didn't want to admit it out loud but Jackson's opinion of her mattered just as much at this point as Nathan's. It hadn't escaped her notice in the past few days how Jackson had started to praise Taylor for little things. A smile for boiling the water, a lingering thank you for charging the batteries, all the things Taylor was supposed to be doing anyway, things she complained about as often as not. Melissa worked as hard as she could day in and day out and still made an effort to be pleasant and friendly to everyone, but Jackson hardly seemed to know she was alive some days. Jealousy wasn't a particularly noble emotion and the neediness that backed it up wasn't especially flattering. It wasn't like Melissa did her chores or was nice to people because she hoped to be praised for it. It was just that on tough days, days like this, it would be nice.

Instead she'd had everyone ambushing her and demanding explanations like they couldn't trust her judgment on whether something needed to be told or not. Just the thought that Jackson had been among those who literally backed her into a corner had Melissa feeling another emotion she didn't often like to give into…anger.

Unfortunately for Jackson he chose that moment to make his presence known from where he had apparently come to stand near the wing.

"So," His voice broke into her thoughts, and Melissa eased her head off of her knees and turned to face the boy she was usually so glad to see. "Nathan and Daley, huh?"

Melissa fought the urge to roll her eyes and wasn't at all sure that she'd entirely succeeded.

"What's so surprising about that?" She countered, not feeling particularly motivated to engage in a conversation with someone she was so conflicted about at the moment.

Jackson seemed a little taken aback by her answer.

"Uh, I don't know, the fact that they spent the first few weeks here trying to kill each other?" He half chuckled at the memory then trailed off as he took in Melissa's lack of response.

Finally, Melissa shrugged. "Things change, we're all stuck here together. Eventually you start to see people for who they really are."

"I guess it makes a weird kind of sense," Jackson leaned against the wing and Melissa fought the urge to shift further away from him. "They're kind of like the same person underneath all the initial hatred."

"Kind of," Melissa answered noncommittally, turning her gaze back out to the sea in an effort to avoid looking at Jackson.

She knew if she met his eyes for too long her anger was going to drain out of her and she wanted to hold on to it for just a few moments longer. It might have sounded strange if she tried to say it out loud but the intense heat of anger was actually a welcome relief from the numbness that had been creeping up on her more and more lately.

"I don't think Daley saw it coming," Jackson continued, seemingly unfazed by her less than enthusiastic responses. "Her face when you said it…"

"I'm not really comfortable discussing this," Melissa broke in, finally turning to face him.

"What's wrong?" He eyed her with something resembling concern but Melissa didn't let it soften her tone.

"We shouldn't gossip about them," She said firmly, wishing suddenly and ridiculously that she hadn't worn her hair in those silly folded up pigtails that day. How did she expect anyone to take her seriously when she looked like a five-year-old?

"I wasn't trying to," Jackson seemed genuinely shocked at the accusation.

"What did you think we were doing?" She demanded, aware that she sounded shrill and somewhat crazy but not having the strength to rein herself in.

"Talking," Jackson offered bluntly, raising one eyebrow slightly and leaning back as though afraid she might physically bite his head off instead of just metaphorically. "We're friends, we talk."

"You mean confide?" Melissa laughed, but it sounded harsh and humorless to her ears. "And when Taylor tells Nathan we were talking about him?"

"She'll probably think we're in cahoots," Jackson tried for a joke but Melissa pressed on.

"By this time tomorrow Nathan and Daley will probably be mad at me for talking about them behind their backs, so I'll have to tell them before they find out some other way. Then you'll be mad at me for telling them and then…and then…" Melissa trailed off realizing that she was rambling and not making much sense in her frustration.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, Mel," Jackson reached out to place a calming hand on her shoulder but Melissa shrugged him off.

The look of hurt that flashed on his face was brief but Melissa caught it. She could tell he was finally catching on to the fact that good, sweet, accommodating, little Melissa was really mad this time.

"What's really bothering you?" He asked locking eyes with her as though he could physically keep her from looking away through the intensity of his gaze alone. Melissa thought he probably could.

"How could you?" The words burst from someplace within her that Melissa had spent the better part of the last hour trying unsuccessfully to subdue them. She could feel tears threatening to make themselves known, pricking the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them away more irritated by the weakness they represented than anything.

Jackson reeled back as though she had slapped him. "How could I do what?"

"What everyone else did," Melissa took a shuddering breath. "Gang up on me, back me into a corner, pressure me to betray a friend. Eric, Taylor yeah, and Daley can be pushy but you…I never thought you would do something like that."

"Mel," Jackson sputtered for a moment clearly clueless how to respond. "It wasn't like that."

"Of course it was, Jackson," Melissa shook her head, refusing to backpedal now that she'd finally had to tell the truth about her feelings for once. "That's exactly what it was like."

"We were just worried about Nathan," Jackson insisted. "And Taylor was driving everybody crazy with her theories, we had to get everything out in the open or she never would have let it go."

Melissa could practically feel her blood boiling at the mention of Taylor's name.

"Come on, Jackson, that's bull," She told him flatly. "You should have trusted me. Did you honestly think if something serious was wrong with Nathan that I wouldn't have spoken up? Have you forgotten that I know exactly what it's like to have my secrets exposed to everyone? Have you forgotten that the same thing happened to you? I know the difference between curiosity-fueled drama and what people really need to know. And Taylor…"

She trailed off for a moment, closing her eyes to gain the strength not to resort strictly to a petty jealous rant. When she opened her eyes Jackson was still staring at her as intensely as ever.

"So because Taylor can't mind her own business we should all suffer? We have to shut down all of our lives and make sure her curiosity is satisfied because it's what? Easier than making her face reality and grow up?"

"She's trying," Jackson defended and Melissa felt her last thread of self-control snap as though it were a physical strand stretched taut between her heart and her mouth.

"I'm trying," Melissa sobbed, her voice catching as the tears that she had been forcing back bursting out all at once. "Everyday I try but it doesn't matter. It never seems to matter."

"Mel," The way he said her name it was like it physically hurt him. Melissa felt it echo in her own chest before settling there as a weight that made it hard to breathe. "Mel, don't cry."

"Maybe I need to," Melissa told him even as she swiped at her face in an attempt to wipe away tears that were only replaced by new ones moments later. "I don't need your permission."

"Mel, please," He tried again, and this time it was his voice that caught. "We all know how hard you try. I know it."

"That's the problem," Melissa wished she could stop blubbering but it didn't seem to be in the cards at the moment. "Everyone just takes it for granted that I'll do what I should do, what's expected of me, and no one ever seems to consider that it's hard. It's so hard to do the right thing all the time, Jackson."

"It's hard for me," Jackson said softly, reaching out as though he was going to brush a tear away from her face but seeing her tense he merely left his hand outstretched in the air. "You make it look easy."

"It would be easier if I had someone to talk to," Melissa sighed, and Jackson's hand fell back to his side. "Someone who wasn't more wrapped up in all the drama around here than what really matters."

"You do have that, Mel," Jackson insisted, his clear, blue eyes beseeching her to give in and forgive him. "You can count on me."

"I thought so," Melissa shook her head, desperately trying to gain control over her emotions. How had things gotten to this point? The entire day seemed more and more like some kind of bad dream. Surely this couldn't be reality where she was sobbing like a baby and alienating the one person she most wanted to think of her as strong and stable.

"I'm sorry," Jackson broke in quickly, his tone, his posture, the look in his eyes all begging her to believe him. "I didn't think. I was just…"

"Just caught up in Taylor?" Melissa offered, her tears finally seeming to slow to a trickle. She was feeling exhausted, emotionally and physically.

"Mel," Jackson stretched her name out like a plea and reached out as though to pull her into a hug.

Melissa resisted at first, batting his hands away and struggling against his insistent yet gentle grip on her arms. Finally the exhaustion was too much and she crumpled into his arms, somewhat ashamed of how good it felt to be there.

She could no longer see Jackson's face but she could hear him clearly when he spoke again.

"I was just jealous," He told her, words that washed over Melissa and sat in her mind for a few moments before she was able to process their possible meaning. "Totally, ridiculously, out of my mind jealous."

"What?" Melissa gasped, breathing in both a welcome rush of air and the indistinct but comforting scent that was somehow instantly recognizable to her as Jackson.

"I didn't care when Taylor told me Nathan was plotting world domination," Jackson chuckled, gathering her a little closer to him. "I checked with Daley privately to make sure they were ok, but it wasn't a big deal."

"What changed?" Melissa asked, her heart pounding so loud she was sure Jackson must be able to hear it.

"Taylor said she'd seen you and Nathan…you know, together," Jackson answered, his voice betraying a slight tremor of nervousness or embarrassment or more likely both. "I know she's full of it ninety percent of the time, but still. The thought of you with Nathan…with anyone…I didn't like it."

"Why not?" Melissa whispered, hardly trusting her own voice anymore.

She felt as well as heard Jackson take a deep breath before answering. His hand came up and wound it's way into her hair as best it could given the little girl twisted pigtails she was still regretting.

"Because of me," Jackson admitted softly. "Because I only want you to be with me."

Melissa felt lightheaded from the sudden rush of emotions brought on by his admission. She was on the one hand so happy she wanted to leap up and cartwheel down the beach. On the other hand she was still irritated, and wasn't sure she was willing to let 'I hurt you because I care about you' pass as an excuse in this situation.

She drew back a little until she could see Jackson's face again, noting his expression was equal parts terror and hopefulness.

"And it took Taylor's craziness to make you realize this?" She asked, a small smile making its way on to her face despite her best efforts to keep it in check.

Jackson returned her smile instantly with one twice as big and three times as bright.

"I was getting there on my own," He reached out and brushed away a tear track on her cheek and this time Melissa leaned into his touch rather than pulling away. "But her craziness helped speed the process up a bit."

"That's stupid," Melissa tilted her head and gave what she hoped was a passable approximation of annoyance but she had a suspicion it was more like affectionate than anything else.

"Totally stupid," Jackson murmured, leaning forward and dipping his head down until his lips met hers briefly, pulling away before she had a chance to fully register his actions.

"Really stupid." He continued, leaning down and capturing her lips again, only to pull away as fast as he had before.

Melissa was catching on by this point and despite her underlying shyness and exhaustion from the range of emotions she'd allowed herself to experience today, for the first time in a long time she didn't hesitate before acting on her feelings.

"Incredibly stupid," She hummed leaning forward and pressing her lips gently against his before pulling away as quickly as he had previously.

"So freaking stup…umph," Jackson started only to be cut off not to mention practically smothered as a grinning Melissa leapt forward to initiate a kiss far deeper and longer lasting than any of those that came before it.

It was stupid. Waiting to expose your feelings until someone pushed you into it, or backed you into a corner, or until you simply couldn't hold them in anymore was a stupid strategy, one that was bound to leave you feeling lonely and emotionally wrecked. Melissa knew this applied as much to her as it did to Jackson, probably more.

She'd felt for weeks like she was being worn away to nothing, like so many grains of sand beneath the pressure of the tide, disappearing bit by bit while no one noticed. Now she realized that it had been partly her fault for putting up a wall around herself, a wall that took the form of a smiling face and a determination to keep up an impossibly cheerful front. Luckily it turned out that her wall could also be worn away and with each brush of Jackson's lips against hers she felt it disintegrate a bit more.