𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿.

forty six.

   "JJ!" I shake the boy, "JJ!"

   He groans, rolling over on our cot. Don't ask how we ended up sharing, apparently Pope ran out of palm to make them with and everyone figured we should just share.

   "What is it?" he rubs his red face.

   A lot of things have changed since we were stranded three weeks ago. We learned to catch fish, which is all we've been eating (aside from the occasional crab), Pope learned to make almost everything we'd need, and we've all done our part to survive.

   We've been surviving together.

   Of course I still miss home. It's where my dad is, and where Pope's parents are, and the Chateau. But I know not all of us want to go back.

   Who knows if we'll ever even have the option.

   "JJ sun's not up yet."

   I don't know what time it is. We've decided sunrise here is at 6 and sunset is at 9. Who knows how wrong we are.

   JJ grins, "well let's go."

   I stand, straightening out my jeans-turned-shorts. My hair has been chopped to my jaw and my skin has grown tan and sunburnt.

   JJ pulls himself up and we sneak off from our campsite together. We walk for about ten minutes before we reach the little beach cove we discovered.

   Bellamy is there.

   A green sea turtle I named after seeing him the third day we were here. He's in the sand, probably sunbathing.

   It took a while but now I can walk right up to him without him caring. Only me and Kie though, sometimes he lets JJ and Sarah. He absolutely hates John B though.

   I pull off my shirt and drop it in the sand beside him, sliding off my shorts as well. JJ follows my lead, ditching his shirt.

   Living on this island has made us get used to a few things.

   I think we've all seen eachother in our underwear, specifically when Pope and Cleo take our clothes to wash them with this herb he found to get rid of the stench.

   One time the boys had to wait hand and foot on us when our periods all synced up and we had no pads or pain relievers. That was a nightmare.

   Anyway you could say that brought us a whole lot closer.

   "What're you waiting for?"

   I snap out of my thoughts, looking up to see JJ already knee deep in the water. I grin, running in after him. I pounce on his back, the two of us toppling over into the waves.

   I feel JJ's arms wrap around me as he pulls me up. I smile as I look out over the water, the sun starting to rise.

   I love mornings like this.

   JJ's hands feel warm on my sides as they turn me to face him. I let him pull me to him, my legs going around his waist.

   There's one more thing I forgot to mention that changed.

   I pull my eyes from the orange of the sunrise to the blue of JJ's eyes. My eyes go from his eyes to his freckles to his lips and back again.

   Being stranded on an island with a boy you almost had sex with must do something to your psych. Ever since our argument that day and JJ almost dying our friendship has been different, more sensitive. We always hover near each other and never go too far.

   I think the fear of losing one another has made us paranoid.

   "Do you ever..." JJ pauses, "think about- about that night?"

   I immediately know which night he's talking about and I hesitate. I don't know if I should lie or not. I settle on the truth and nod my head, "yeah, sometimes."

   "Do you regret it?"

   "Do you?" I ask.

   His eyes pull away from mine for a moment. He seems to be carefully articulating his words, something JJ almost never does.

   "I don't," he decides.

   I smile, "me either."

   "Did it mean something?"

   "You're my best friend," I nod, "of course it meant something."

   JJ grins, "you are one lucky girl."

   I roll my eyes, "you're the lucky one."

* * *

   "That's so nasty!" I groan as Sarah tells us about her and John B's rendezvous last night.

   Kie sighs, "we really did not need to know that."

   "As long as you do it nowhere near us I'm good," Cleo shrugs and I laugh.

   We make it to the small watering hole in the middle of the forest and drop our stuff. It's a Wednesday, which means it's a bath day.

   Pope washes all our clothes and we all take turns coming to the watering hole to bathe. This day is basically just a cleaning refresh day. We go through all our supplies and stock up and rebuild anything that's broken during the week.

   The boys have been kind enough to lend us their shirts and jackets to wear while the rest of our clothes are being washed.

   "Hurry up Cat!"

   I quickly slide off JJ's shirt, rushing to jump into the water. I've never really been a fan of skinny dipping but you can't deny the rush of cold water over your body.

   I lower my chest into the water as I take some mushed herb from Cleo and run my fingers through my hair. We normally use this as a gossip sesh seeing as there's nothing to do but talk here.

   "So," Sarah grins, "I woke up and you and JJ were gone."

   I smile, "we were watching the sunrise, we do this literally every morning Sarah."

   Kie nods, "true."

   Cleo looks between us, "I don't get it. Haven't you two been best friends for years? Why is this weird?"

   "It's not!"

   "It is! He likes you!"

   "He doesn't."

   "John B won't wake up early to watch the sunrise with me."

   "Because John B is the epitome of laziness."

   "Hearing no lies-"

   "Still!"

   "You're delusional!"

   Sarah splashes me and I shriek, "hey!"

   I push water towards her and it's her turn to yell.

   "Cat? Are you guys okay?"

   I hear JJ's voice from where he sits at a rock facing the opposite direction, sharpening his blade. Sarah wiggles her eyebrows at me, mouthing things that I ignore.

   "We're fine!"

   JJ isn't here for any special reason.

   Bathing leaves you kinda defenseless so we always have someone sit. It was first created when we weren't sure if the island was abandoned but it just kinda stuck.

   For some reason JJ always volunteers to do it.

   Cleo sighs, "I'll say this, that boy follows you like a dog on a chain."