Stranded in Paradise [An II Au]

By Saying Something Stupid Like

Sorry if this one is short
—
The night was lonely. OJ could agree with that. He sat in the cave as he had been for the past few days, his coughing fits having gotten worse. With every cough he made, a bit of pulpy orange juice came out along with it. OJ knew there was no way to escape this. From the venomous snake bite to the contaminated water he drank, he knew this island was going to seal his fate.

He knew he was going to die soon.

He just wasn't ready yet.

He...he just couldn't die yet. He couldn't.

There was so much he wanted to say to everyone. There was so much he wanted to say to Fan, to Pickle and Bomb, to PAPER. Everyone around him who saw him as a friend...even Salt, whose relationship with OJ was borderline obsessive at most. He couldn't leave without saying goodbye. He just...he just didn't want to. All that talk before, all that confidence he had that he was going to survive for Paper's sake. And yet here he was, slowly suffering.

He just couldn't take much more of it.

Leaning his head back against the wall again, he just continued to stare into the void, tears stinging the corner of his eyes. Staring into complete and utter nothingness. Maybe when he woke up, he'd be back home. He's finally be with Paper again, and everyone back home who he loved. Perhaps it would all just turn out to be some sort of dream. Perhaps...

Perhaps none of this is real in the first place.

OJ slowly closed his eyes, drifting away into some sort of slumber as he rested his arm on his thigh.

His eyes closed...

And he fell back asleep...

...

...

OJ woke up to the sound of someone sitting next to him. Slowly turning his eyes towards the person, his tiredness turned to surprise when he saw Fan sitting there, knees tucked into his chest. He was looking outside of the cave at Bowbot, Nickel, and Test Tube, watching as they told spooky stories to the others to try and lift their spirits. No words came from the hand fan's mouth. Yet, the unbearable silence was broken by OJ's groggily yet sultry voice. "Fan...?" He said, catching Fan's attention. Though he hesitated to leave for a moment, he knew he couldn't avoid OJ any longer than he already had. So...he just turned around and listened to what he had to say.

"I'm...sorry," OJ started, "That wasn't what I meant when I said some people don't want to change. It's not that change is a bad thing, it's just...it's hard to actually accept change, you know? I...don't think I can accept it...I'm...happy with how my life is right now. I'm glad you're changing for the better, Fan...I'm...sorry for giving you the wrong impression."

"...I-...I should be the one apologizing! For running away like that, for reacting that way, for not listening to you! I just...just reacted poorly to it all...I...I'm sorry for everything..."

"Fan...it's not your fault. None of it was. You just reacted poorly...I can't blame you for that."

"...Y-...You don't hate me, do you?"

"Of course not...You're still a great friend to me...I'm...glad we have someone as special as you in the crew..."

OJ smiled and pat the spot next to him, requesting for Fan to sit next to him. The Chinese hand fan obliged, getting up from the ground and setting himself down next to the breakfast beverage. "...What do you plan on doing when you get home, Fan?" OJ asked as Fan leaned on his shoulder.

"Hah...I'll probably update my blog. I've got so much to say to my viewers...I don't think they'd even believe me when I say we were stranded on an island with a bloodthirsty serial killer for a while..."

"...I'll probably get to talk to everyone again, catch up on how the hotel's been doing. I'm just...hoping Paper is taking this whole...temporary manager business...seriously. I've got faith in him. Which reminds me...I still need to fulfill my promise to Floory to let him meet everyone else back at Hotel OJ."

"Ah...I bet he'd get along with everyone so well...if they uhh...got used to him popping around randomly."

OJ shrugged and laid his head down on Fan's head.

"Hey, Fan..?" He said to the male sitting next to him.

"Hm?"

Fan chuckled slightly, "Haha...You're welcome. Do you...want to go out and join the others? Bowbot's got some good stories up their sleeve!"

"OJ?"