Red

19

TRIS'S POV

Van grabs my wet sweatpants from the floor and carries them as we start making our way off the plane. "Why don't ya grab yourself a water?" Van tells me as he points to the water bottles.

I nod my head and grab one of them and take a sip. I hadn't realized how thirsty I actually was until now. I take a few more sips and end up drinking about half the bottle.

"Thirsty, eh?" Van chuckles. I nod my head and silently stand, waiting for him to say something else. "Do you wanna take off my sweatshirt? It's pretty hot out there. I don't want you to get overheated," he says.

I nod my head and take it off, leaving my in my Strokes shirt. Van holds his hand out for the sweatshirt so I hand it to him. "I'll let this dry, too, since the bottom is kinda wet," he explains to me. "Let's go see what the lads are up to." He puts his hand over my spine on my lower back and leads me outside.

We walk over to the fire that a few people were trying to get going. "Hey, Van," a guy with black hair says after turning around to see who it was. He looks down at me and smiles. "I'm Alex," he introduces himself, holding a hand out for me to shake, which I do.

"I'm Tris," I say shyly. I was never good with meeting new people.

"Gettin a fire going, I see," Van nods over toward the fire.

"Oh, yeah. Bob's caught a lot of fish, he has. We're gonna try and cook it," Alex explains to him.

"Gotcha. I knew Bob was useful for something around here," Van jokes. He takes a seat on a towel and I sit next to him.

"Yeah," Alex chuckles. He takes a seat as well, his legs out in front of him. "Think we'll ever get off this island?" He asks.

"I don't know, mate. Hard to say, ya know. I sure hope so, but I can't say I think it'd be likely," Van says his thoughts while shrugging his shoulders.

"Hm," Alex hums. "Well, I'm fine here. Just wish I had a few more pack of cigarettes with me," he laughs.

"Oh, yeah?" Van chuckles. "Feeling the same way."

I didn't know Van smoked. It didn't make sense. He was a doctor; shouldn't he be against smoking? I decide not to ask him about it. I don't know how he'd react.

I zone out of the conversation Van and Alex were having and make designs in the sand to entertain myself. I should get my sketchbook one day and draw in there one day. I mentally thank myself for forcing myself to bring it with me.

//—————

VAN'S POV

"Hey!" I yell, noticing two boys who looked to be around my ages standing by the entrance of the plane. One of them was that guy, Mike, who demanded everyone listen to him on the day of the crash, even though he was the most unfit person to lead anyone.

Tris jumped when I yelled and I seemed to get the attention of everyone else around. "Stay here, Tris," I say quietly to her as I stand up and walk over to the boys.

I could feel all eyes on me, but I didn't mind at all. "What's goin on?" I ask the boys. I glare at Mike and he smirks back at me.

"Relax, relax, Van," Mike says. He crossed his arms across his chest. "We were just lookin."

"Lookin for what?" I ask him.

Mike chuckles. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He asks. The cocky smirk was still plastered on his face.

"Yeah, actually, I would," I answer.

He lets out another chuckle, and he looks back at his silent friend who looked much more scared than Mike did. The friend gave make a smirk back, but I could see the uncertainty clearly.

"Lookin for anything we want," Mike tells me.

I step closer to him so our faces were only a few inches apart. "Listen here, Mike," I growl, grabbing the collar of his T-shirt. "I suggest you and your mate go lookin anywhere but here. Because, right now, it's two versus, I don't know, maybe forty. Odds are stacked against ya, aren't they?"

Mike scowls and pulls my hand off of his shirt. "Maybe this time," he says. "But, I've got a hell of a lot more people on my side than you do on yours." That was true. He had maybe fifteen more people than I did, but that didn't scare me at all.

"Well, I look forward to seeing them," I retort. "Now, get out of here."

Mike scoffs and turns away. He and his friend wander back into the woods and I stand still, watching them until they are out of sight, before returning back to the fire and taking a seat.

"Woo!" A voice cheers. I look across the fire to see that it was Bondy. He starts clapping. "Nice job, mate. Scared em off real good, you did." A few other people around the fire agree with Bondy.

I laugh. "Hopefully enough for them to not come back, eh?" I say. "I'm not about to let some pricks like them act like they can control us. They're not taking anything from us. Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Alright, mate!" Bondy says. "First piece of fish for ya, then." He comes over and hands me a plastic plate and fork from the plane.

I grab the plate. "Thanks, Bonds," I say. He nods his head.

"I'll be back with some for you two, Tris and Alex," he says before turning away to go back to the fire.

Sam comes around a few minutes later and takes a seat next to Tris. "Hey there," he says to her.

"Hi," Tris says. I could tell she felt a little nervous with both me and him around.

"Wanna go play catch with me and some others?" He asks her. He had a hopeful smile on his face. 

"I...I-um..." Tris starts, but is at a loss of words.

I cut in for her. "Tris's leg is actually bothering her today. I think she needs to sit this game out, right Tris?" I say.

She immediately nods her head. I did want her to have fun, but I also needed her to learn that not respecting me had consequences. And this was a consequence.

"Aw man," Sam frowns. "Maybe another day then, yeah? Hope you feel better." He smiles at her before standing up and leaving.

I grab Tris's hand and give it a squeeze. "Good girl," I whisper so only she could hear. She nods her head and looks down, avoiding making eye contact.