Disclaimer: Sadly, I do NOT own the show "Lost". However, I do own my Original Character ( Kennedy White ), as well as her background, and her plot on the island.
Author's note: Well, I hope everyone enjoyed that little moment between Sawyer and Kennedy at the end. Aw, Sawyer has a soft spot! Will it last? The better Kennedy tries to understand him, the more confusing he gets. I hope everybody likes this chapter. If you like, you know what to do. :)
{Kennedy's POV}
"Megan White." The school principal announced and my sister walked up to the stage and received her diploma. I'd never seen our parents so happy. Even in a dorky cap and gown, my sister was absolutely stunning. She was the valedictorian, which was something our parents would expect or accept anything less than.
"Pay close attention to your sister, Kennedy. In three years, you'll be up there giving a speech. You may need to take notes." My mother said to me crossly. I looked at my feet shyly.
It hurt when my mother would cram it into my head that I'd never be as good as Megan, but I tried to never let it show. My dad seemed to love us equally, but our mom was a completely different story. I gave her a confused look when she pulled a small notepad out of her purse and put it in my lap.
"Here's a pen." She added, handing me one of her expensive ink pens.
xXx
Days had passed, and no one had come for us. People were finally starting to realize that the chances of rescue were growing very slim. I'd suspected this, but for everybody's sake, I still wanted to hope.
The memorial service from last night had been playing through my head all morning. Sawyer held me to his side the whole time, then after it was over he walked away as if we were complete strangers. I still hadn't came up with an answer for his behavior nor what I truly thought about the man. Was I drawn to him? Yes. Did I feel like there was something else there beside the fact that he'd saved my life? Yes. Was my feelings for him anything other than friendly? I'm not sure. I tried not to think about that too much. If rescue did come around, I'd never see Sawyer again and any kind of feelings for him would have been for nothing. So I wasn't going to try and find these feelings, - if they even existed - they were much better off being hidden.
I was walking on the beach, just trying to get in a little bit of exercising. That's when I saw a woman out in the ocean calling for help. Although the others saw her too, no one would go to help her. Finally, I saw Jack come out of nowhere and jump into the water. He swam as quickly as he could to get to her. Worry grew in my stomach for the woman and for Jack.
When he came back, he was carrying Boone onto the beach. Kate and I helped pull him to shore as the doctor ran back into the sea for the woman.
"Stay here with him." Kate instructed me as she went to keep an eye on Jack.
"Boone?" I said softly to the young man lying in the sand. He was conscious, just barely though. His intense eyes looked at me.
"Hi." He coughed. I gave him a weak smile. "Did he get that woman?" He asked. I looked toward the ocean, seeing Jack heading back.
"I think so. What were you doing out there?" I asked curiously.
"Trying to help her." He answered with heavy breathing. I felt stupid for forgetting that he was a lifeguard.
I gasped silently when Boone set his head onto my lap. I didn't know what to do or say, so I just sat there stiffly.
"Should I move?" He asked, noticing how tensed I was. He coughed a little.
"No, you're okay." I said shyly. I knew I'd be lying if I told him that I wanted him to get the hell off of me. I liked Boone. Not so much in a relationship way, but more as a very comforting friend. He was sweet.
Everyone crowded around as Jack brought the woman onto the beach. I didn't move because of Boone, but from what little I could see from where I was sitting, it looked like the lady didn't make it.
"Is she okay?" The young man asked me, looking toward the crowd.
"I don't think so, Boone." I said quietly. I saw the pain in his face, it made me sad. He laid there in my lap for a few more minutes, then he got up and walked away. My guess is that he kind of blamed himself, even though it wasn't his fault. He'd almost died trying to help the woman.
I soon felt the need to leave. With the burning of the bodies last night and then another death today, it was all a little too much. I walked away, not really sure where I was headed. I saw Sawyer sitting on the beach, reading. I didn't expect him to speak to me as I walked past him.
"So, you got yourself a cuddle buddy now?" He said to me. What was he talking about?
"What?" I demanded, stopping in my tracks. The dirty blonde man set his book in his lap, a sneaky grin across his stubbly face.
"You and Mr. Lifeguard, I saw you two cuddling over there. You go through men pretty fast don't ya, Red?"
"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" I asked glaring at him. I wasn't sure where this side of me had come from and why it flared so much around Sawyer. Maybe because he was a bit of a prick, I thought to myself.
"Well, seeing as how I was your shoulder to cry on last night, and now Boone is using you as a head rest. You seem to be getting around." Sawyer smiled. I honestly had the urge to hit him. I, someone who'd always been too cowardly to fight my whole life, was ready to smack that damn grin off his face.
"Listen, it's none of your business who I am friends with. And why do you care? What happened to Bad-Guy Sawyer?" My throat was full of acid dying to come out, but I still had some self control left.
{Sawyer's POV}
"I never said I cared one bit, darlin'." I smiled just like the smart ass that I was. Finally, I'd gotten a rise out of her. Something different than that shy, fragile kid she'd grown up to be. Maybe I did care that she had Boone all comfy in her lap, but she didn't have to know that.
I couldn't help myself from eying her from head-to-toe. Her red hair had a slight curl to it, giving it a sexy, messy look. Her too-thin frame was tensed from her annoyance toward me. Clothes were filthy. Still, she was perfect eye candy for me. Speaking of eyes, hers were absolutely stunning, they had a wild look to them. If she was in one of those Playboys I had in my stash, her page would probably be the most visited.
{Kennedy's POV}
I was about to say something back, but I noticed Sawyer eying me in a weird way. He reminded me of one of those pervs that like to mentally undress you.
"What the hell are you looking at?" I snapped, feeling very pissed off.
"Don't go a gettin' hot headed now." He chuckled. If only looks could kill, I'd give him the meanest death glare he'd ever seen. And by the way he went about, I'm sure he'd seen his fair share.
"Why do you do this?" I demanded, feeling stressed and aggravated.
"Well, I find reading very calm-"
"You know that's not what I meant!" I raised my voice. "Why do you act like a nice guy one minute, and then turn into a complete asshole the next?"
"Wouldn't you like to know, Red?" With that, Sawyer went back to his reading, having no more acknowledgement that I was there. I saw that as my cue to leave. I was so tired of this game of cat and mouse. Just when he had me thinking that this attitude was all for show, he does bullshit like this.
xXx
"You think you're all noble and heroic for coming after me, I was fine." I watched Boone walking after Jack as I was coming back from my spat with Sawyer. "You're not the only one who knows what to do around here, you know that? I run a business! Who pointed you our savior, huh?"
I headed towards the two. After just being in an argument myself, I didn't want to see anyone else having one.
"What gives you the right? Look at me. Hey, I'm talking to you!" Boone tried to get Jack's attention as he started to stare off into space back towards the jungle. "Look at me, Jack. Where are you going?" The doctor started to walk off in the direction that had caught his eye. "Where are you going? Hey!" Boone demanded, but it didn't help.
"Hey, what's going on?" I asked him once I made it to his side, watching Jack continue to run away.
"He thinks he's such a hero, thinks he should get all the fucking credit. I was saving that woman until he stepped in and decided to take over."
"But Boone, you were drowning. And since when is lifesaving a contest here?" I asked him, hoping that I'd make him less upset with Jack. He seemed thoughtful for a moment, taking in what I'd said.
"I just wish that he'd realize he's not the only one who wants to help people around this place." He replied, looking into my eyes. I understood what he meant, I knew what it was like to be in the shadow of someone else.
"I understand. Just try not to get yourself killed anymore, okay?" I smiled weakly at him. I was taken by surprised as he hugged me. When he pulled away again and looked at me, he gave me a crooked smile.
"Sorry." He laughed at himself a little. I was just as embarrassed as he was.
"It's okay." I looked at my feet shyly, trying to hold back a grin.
"Hey, Hey!" I watched as the boy with the dog ran across the beach to Kate. "That pregnant lady fell down."
I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach.
"You okay? You look pale." Boone said to me.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I need to go." I said, following Kate as she hurried to Claire. We found Charlie and the black man carrying her, she was unconscious.
"What happened?"
"She just dropped." Charlie answered Kate.
"It must be the heat." The brunette guessed. "Is she breathing?"
"I think." The black man replied.
"Come on, let's get her inside."
We went to Jack's shelter and they laid her down. Charlie untied her shoes as Kate tried to wake her up. My whole body was shaking now, bad memories were flooding my mind. Finally, Claire came to, but she was still in bad shape.
"She needs water." Kate said. Charlie ran to where the last of the water supply was being kept. I watched him look around the totes, seeming alarmed and unsuccessful.
"The water's gone." He said. Kate and I gave him worried looks. "Someone's stole it."
xXx
The next hour was frantic. Kate, Sayid, Hurley, and I were trying to find the missing water, with no such luck of course. It was also hard to find out who had taken it without letting people know that it was missing. I felt a little guilty that we'd left Charlie with Claire, her being ill and pregnant. But pregnancy and I didn't enjoy each others company.
I was with Kate and Sayid when Hurley came running up to us.
"Uh, the Chinese people have water." He told us. That little fact was enough to make the three very suspicious of the Asian couple we'd barely seen. Still, unfamiliarity didn't keep us from confronting them. Well, Sayid and Kate confronted them, and I was just along for the ride.
"Where did you get this?" Sayid asked the Asian woman as he showed her one of their empty water bottle. After getting no response, he asked two more times.
"She doesn't understand." Kate said.
"She understands me." The Iranian corrected her. "Did you steal this water?" He interrogated the Asian woman again.
She started to say something back in her own language when Asian man approached us yelling.
"Okay, just take it easy alright? We just wanna talk, alright?" Kate tried to calm him down. Then, she picked up the water bottle. "This had water in it, is it yours?" The man didn't respond, he kept his eyes on Sayid. "Who gave you this?" Kate tried again. The Asian man pointed to his right. Looking in that direction, we found Sawyer sitting there, smoking a cigarette.
I sucked in a deep breath. No.
Kate angrily started to stop his direction, but Sayid held her back.
"I don't see the water." He said in a whisper.
"And?"
"You go after him now, he'll give you nothing. If you wait, a rat will always lead you to its hole." The man explained, still whispering so that the Asian couple couldn't hear. This made Kate hesitate and decide to wait. When she and Sayid walked off, I remained there. Would he really do something like that? Would he take the water and let everyone else do without? I thought this through in my head, examining his two, very different sides. Then, in a few seconds, I felt like I had my answer.
xXx
We followed him carefully through the jungle, knowing he'd lead us to his secret stash. Then, just as Sayid had predicted, he stopped at a suitcase and began going through it. That's when Kate jumped him and pinned him to the ground.
"Well, it's about time."
"For what?" Kate asked.
"I made this birthday wish four years ago." Sawyer said, showing his perverted side.
"Where's the water?" Kate demanded. The blonde quickly rolled over, pinning Kate. He whispered something inaudible at my distance.
"Get off of me." The brunette ordered. Sayid took action by dragging Sawyer up and pushing him toward my direction. We had him cornered.
"Give us the water now!"
"Touch me again!" Sawyer dared the man as Kate started going through his stash. "You really think I stole your damned water?"
"We know you gave two bottles to the Koreans."
"I don't give nothing to nobody." Sawyer assured.
"It's not here." Kate said after giving up her search in the suitcase.
"I traded Mr. Miyagi the last of my water for a fish he caught. We worked it out caveman style." Sawyer explained.
"You gave him your last two bottles?" Kate asked suspiciously, doubting every word he said.
"Water has no value, Freckles." Sawyer said. Since when had he given her a nickname? "It's gonna rain sooner or later. Hell, I'm an optimist." He added. He walked back towards his private stash, giving me a dark glare as he did so. "You too?" He asked me. I looked at my feet, not knowing what to say.
"Hey, leave her alone." Kate said. She took my hand as we started to leave left Sawyer to his privacy.
"Hey, forgot something." We both turned back as he tossed the U.S. Martial badge at Kate. "Seeing as you're the new sheriff in town, might as well make it official."
xXx
"Here's your thief!" Charlie called out to everyone in the middle of the night, pushing Boone to the ground.
"Where'd he hide it?" The black man asked.
"I don't know. This wanker had three bottles on him. Why'd you do it, pretty boy?" Charlie answered, picking Boone up and pushing him around. As people clustered, I fought my way to the scene.
"It was sitting in the . . . just sitting in the tent. Jack just took off." The brunette man tried to defend himself. Angered voices shouted at him.
"Claire could have died!"
"I tried to give her some sooner, but it just got out of hand. No one would have understood." The water thief tried to explain.
"What is going on?" Kate rushed in.
"Somebody had to take responsibility for it, it would have never worked!" The young man attempted to convince them that he was doing the right thing. As Charlie made another go for the thief, I got in front of Boone and Sayid pushed Charlie away.
"Leave him alone!" A familiar voice shouted. Everyone stilled, turning their attention to Jack.
We'd all been worried about him, and there he was.
"It's been six days, and we're all still waiting. Waiting for someone to come. What if they don't?" Jack paused, letting the words sink into everyone. "We have to stop waiting. We need to start figuring things out. A woman died this morning just going for a swim, and he tried to save her and now you're about to crucify him? We can't do this. Every man for himself is not gonna work. It's time to start organizing, we need to figure out how we're gonna survive here."
Survive. That word was a little scary, but I knew what Jack said was true. It was a matter of life and death now.
"Now I found water. Fresh water, up in the valley. Take a group in at first light. If you don't wanna come, then find another way to contribute. Last week most of us were strangers, but we're all here now. And God knows how long we're gonna be here. But if we can't live together, we're gonna die alone."
After Jack's speech, we agreed to divide the rest of our water supply among everyone. I didn't say anything to Boone. I know he was trying to help, but it was a big deal when you stole the whole camp's water.
xXx
{Sawyer's POV}
"So, how's it feel?" I asked a sulking Boone as I walked up behind him.
"How does what feel?" He asked.
"Taking my place at the top of Everyone's Most Hated List." I said with a smile. The kid didn't say anything. "Sucks, don't it?" A more accurate way to put it would have been calling it Kennedy's Most Avoided List, but I think the water thief got the hint just fine.