𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭

ᏩᎾᏆNᏩ ᏔᏆᎢᎻ ᎢᎻᎬ FᏞᎾᏔ

On the other side residing close to her body, Jack spoke softly to the girl in front of him trying to read her face. She looked as if she would throw up any second and a sweat had broken out on her forehead.

"Isla, what's wrong?" He whispered, she just shook her head looking away from his tan face with tears in her eyes and heat burning in her hand. She couldn't gather words together her chest aching and the burn in her palms controlled.

"let me help you" he gently said dragging her eyes back to him with his thumb and pointer finger on her chin to meet his own hazel eyes.

"how" she trembled underneath his touch and the pressure of the white envelope. He sighed at her state, he couldn't fathom why she was like this.

"how about we go for a walk and clear your mind?" she thought for a second and the idea of the natural area around her seemed calming as well as jack's presence by her side.

"okay" she whispered, bringing herself to her feet wobbling slightly from the nausea she currently was feeling. Jack held her steadily before spinning to see Daniel observing and gave him a wave indicating they were leaving for a little bit, he nodded back understanding before continuing to find a can of beans.

Kristen sat by the fire watching the two leave slowly the girl uneasy as she walked, her heart sad for the poor girl who took the news with difficulty. She could only imagine the feeling that her parents hadn't come for her, she hadn't got the chance to grow up - do the girly things, shop with her mother like Sydnie had with her.
As his mother she couldn't help but see the connection between the two and wondered what was going on and how it came about. It seemed unlikely anyone would fall in love out here but his actions displayed something she hadn't expected to see by her son; it was as if he would do anything for her, like she had felt about his father. There was no doubt in her mind that she was gorgeous, stunning but Kristen couldn't help but recognise her name, similar to some documentation called ISLA.R.PHEONIX in the White House in her current position. It was held closely to the president but Kristen didn't find anything but a coincidence to such a lovely, unique name like Isla.

"Kristen. I'm thinking the same thing. He's in love" she laughed at the young boy beside her, his comment far from her concerns and thoughts

"Zach, I think you're right" to which he smiled brightly watching the pair disappear through the trees, forgetting her recollection.

☾☾☾

The tree top remained green with peaks of blue sky belting through the leaves. The ground crunched with every step the two took, Jack making landmarks while Isla controlled her breathing, she'd never felt this kind of anxiety before but Jack's normal attitude made her feel grounded in the crazy experiment. She felt her secrets sitting on the top of her tongue as he smiled at her; tell him it's your fault they are all here, that you are some crazy mutation with "fire powers" and that your friends or my father is under threat her mind ran. But she ignored the internal voice and listened to Jack beginning to speak

"Can you hear that?" He whispered excited, holding her hands making them come to a stop. He closed his eyes smiling so she followed him, allowing her ears to listen to the sound he was indicating. It was a soft rush of water into a pool, she thought it was a river for a second but she realised. A waterfall. She opened her eyes smiling only to see Jack's already open watching her soft face. She felt a blush wanting to run to her cheeks and a flustered feeling as he calmly confirmed that it sounded as if a waterfall was near by.

"Can we go to it?" He nodded thrilled at her suggestion. Slowly letting go of her rough hands he leads the way through the thick, density of the forest. His pulse was racing at the proximity of them, Isla hot on his heals with her hand close to his body incase she would fall. Her heart beat as this had been the longest time alone and something had shifted between them but she didn't know what. She has been with these guys for so many days now in the nature, the trees and greenery catching her eyes but now all she could see is him, the rest a meaningless backdrop. She didn't know what an infatuation felt like, or in simple terms.. a crush!

He looks back, almost able to keep the grin from his face but failing as he stares at the beautiful girl. No matter the distance he tried to keep from her, the attraction remained constant. They could be at the ends of the earth and still he would feel pulled toward Isla. They were like magnets.

The sound of the water grew louder until it came into view, the white water cascading down a series of rocks - flowing gently around its cave like lagoon. The rocks glistened and the sounds of the Forrest surrounded the cocooned pool of aqua water. It was beautiful and Isla's breath had been caught in her throat. For the brutality of the test, the sights they could experience beat the old bedroom with Polaroids hung on the wall and a scruffy bed cover any day.

"It's amazing" she breathed out, his curls bouncing as he nodded agreeing with her. He felt like he could let go as he stood by the magnificent view, like the pressure he placed on himself could dissolve. Slowly he turned to glance at her only to meet her gaze where she held a mischievous grin.

"What?" He said furrowing his eyebrows

"You wanna go for a swim?" She smirked and he felt his blood racing and a blush now rising to his own skin immediately as she chuckled, walking down the rocky terrain towards the lagoon's edge. She felt her nerves edging at her stomach as she listened to his feet climbing down to be by her side. Isla gently raised her shirt over her head revealing her toned stomach and pulled her shorts down quickly, embarrassed and unsure of what she looked like. She hadn't looked in a mirror in years. Left in her under garments she sprung forward, throwing herself into the bright blue water as Jack felt intense with emotion. He couldn't but help to have looked at her body and was now feeling like he couldn't speak. Her body was naturally tanned olive, curved but toned from the heavy duty of living in the test, skin somehow smooth and her legs longer than they seem since her shorts were a mix matched fit. Her hair slicked down her back as she rose to the surface swimming around, facing away from him before she spun to stare at him in his dumbfounded state.

"Come on! It's actually nicer in than out" she said as she paddles around the cool water of the cave and with her outburst he quickly pulled his shirt and shorts off before diving in. She was exactly right about the water - a perfect temperature and crystal clear making him feel the cleanest he'd been since he left society.

The anxiety Isla had been experiencing felt washed away with the current and all her thoughts had disappeared as she swam carelessly in the lagoon. She tried to avoid his gaze but she couldn't help it finding herself staring at him and his broad chest. She hadn't had this sort of interaction with a guy ever and felt confronted as he moved closer to her smiling.

"This is perfect" he said floating around her and she smiled as the water dropped from his droopy curls.

"It's nice to escape" she whispered becoming still and hot under his watch and the world slipping away from the pair as they inched closer and closer till they were centimetres away. She didn't look at him keeping her eyes down until she felt his fingers tilt her head up to stare at his brown eyes intensely. She could barely breathe, confused but maybe comfortable with how she was feeling. Jack was emotionally just the same, words tight against hus tongue as he tried to gain control in what he was about to say as he stared at her. He melted at her face and there was no denying it anymore, he vowed he wouldn't, what he was feeling was okay and they could be saved eventually and he wouldn't want anyone by his side but her. He cleared his throat trying to not burst with emotions but he was unable to as he firmly said,

"I love you."

And in seconds his lips were against hers.

☾