The Spark

The "Snake-Thing"-Reprise

 "So, tell us the details of your walk back!" Percival said excitedly as I tucked him into bed. "Was it nice?"

"Did you kiss?" Johnny asked, snuggling under his choirboy cloak.

"Did you go hunting together?" Henry asked, carefully placing his hat with his shoes.

"Did you do anything more than kiss?" Bill asked. I flushed at all the questions.

"Uh...well...he kissed my hands," I stammered. A loud, "ooooooOOOOOHHH!!!" rose from all four boys, their cheeks rosy and flushed with excitement.

"They kissed, they kissed!" Henry trilled excitedly.

"I've been waiting for this moment since I caught you guys in the tree!" Bill said happily, clapping his hands.

"Boys, boys?" I said. "Maybe we can talk about this in the morning. It seems too exciting a topic to calm you boys down to go to bed."

"I'm completely calm!" Percival cried excitedly, sitting criss-cross applesauce, hands in his lap, eyes wide and trying to feign innocence.

"Me too!" Bill said, mimicking Percival's position.

"Me three!" Henry chimed in, following suit.

"Me four!" Johnny said, sitting in the same position. I sighed good naturedly, four pairs of eager eyes on me.

"Then why don't we go to bed if we're completely calm?" I suggested.

"Can't you tell us more about your date?" Percival pleaded, clasping his hands together.

"Pleeeeaaase?" Johnny asked.

"It wasn't actually a date, boys, it was just the two of us having fun together," I said. "Now let's get to bed, all right?"

"Okay, fine," Henry said begrudgingly, snuggling under his choirboy cloak. "Can you tell us a story, though?"

"A love story?" Bill asked.

"Yeah, a love story about a boy and a girl who fall in love on a desert island awaiting rescue!" Percival trilled happily, bouncing a bit. I shook my head, smiling.

"How about the one about the beauty and the beast I told you two nights ago?" I asked.

"All right, fine," Johnny said agreeably. "That one's okay too."

~

I left the shelter that the boys were sleeping in, breathing in the cool, salty beach air. Suddenly a pair of arms snaked around my waist, making me jump.

"Look alive, Y/n!"

"Sheesh, Jack," I giggled. "One of these days you're going to scare me something awful if you keep sneaking up on me like that."

"Maybe you're just fun to scare," Jack teased, spinning me around to face him. "Can I walk you to your hut? Or d'you want to sleep in mine this time?"

"Probably mine," I said, shrugging. While I didn't mind sharing a shelter with Jack and Maurice, I felt uneasy about being in the general vicinity as Roger. "Nothing personal, though."

"Of course," Jack said, kissing my forehead. "Let's go." I smiled as we walked, hand in hand, down the beach and to the shelter I shared with Ralph and Piggy. Piggy was snoring gently, and Ralph was curled up on his side.

"And here we are!" Jack said in a mock-gallant voice. I gave him an over-the-top curtsy.

"Thank you so much, you're such a gentleman," I said in a playful voice. As I turned to go into the shelter, Jack put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.