Castaways {Jariana}

Never Let Me Go

"Oh, shit", Jai groaned as he leaned his head back against the hard plastic of bulkhead. He was sitting on the lid of the tiny toilet and his knees were squashed up against the sink. However, that's not what made him groan. He found what she was trying to hide from him. It was one of those silly teen girl quizzes: Is He Your Soulmate?

She'd answered almost all of the questions, but it wasn't finished. Plus, she'd written little comments in the margin where a yes/no answer didn't completely explain her answer.

You can say anything to him.

"Yes." Jai instantly remembered their conversation about lesbians.

You've known him for a long time.

"Yes." Jai remembered her sitting across the table from him in Kindergarten. God, he hadn't thought of that in years.

You were friends before you dated.

"Yes." She added some notes to the margins of this one. "We were best friends in fifth grade and went to the school Valentine's Day dance together. I guess that counts."

Every time you see him your heart drops.

"Yes." Ariana had circled the 'yes' answer about ten times.

He always seems to say the right thing at the right time.

"Yes."

You have never been in a fight before.

"No." She noted, "Sometimes, it seems like that's all we do."

You started dating because of peer pressures.

"No." "We don't date. Maybe, that's because of peer pressure. I hope that's the reason."

You started dating against what everyone said.

"No." "See above."

You have been dating for a year.

"No." "See above again. This is getting stupid."

You have liked each other for a year.

"Yes." "Well, I've liked him since middle school, but I'm not sure about him."

Everyone wants him.

"Yes." "God, yes."

His best quality is his looks but sometimes he can be a jerk.

Nothing is marked, but she wrote out to the side, "His best quality is his heart, but sometimes he can be a jerk."

He's perfect.

He has flaws but I love him anyway.

The last two weren't answered and Jai was just about to tally up the score when a loud boom came from just outside the plane and the aircraft shook with reverberations. Jai jumped and ran out of the tiny room, the magazine abandoned on the floor.

"What's going on?", Ariana screamed as she met him half-way.

"I-I don't know, but we should get buckled in."

"Oh, God! Jai, we're going to die!", screamed a very frightened Ariana, as the plane rattled and shook and sparks started shooting from the ceiling.

"Calm down, Ariana. There's no need to panic", soothed Jai.

"You idiot, we're about to crash into the middle of the Pacific ocean. THIS IS THE PERFECT TIME TO PANIC!"

"Yeah, you're right. I just meant we shouldn't waste our time panicking when it doesn't help anything."

At this point the flight engineer stumbled up to check on them.. He handed them each a "Mae West" life vest and told them, "Put these on, kids, and make sure you are securely buckled. Whatever you do, stay buckled and don't get up. I'm going to check on the cargo."

"We're going to die, aren't we?", Ariana asked him, her voice shaking.

"Well, kids, I don't mean to sound dire, but now might be a good time to start praying." He continued on toward the cargo hold in the rear of the craft.

"I guess this is it", Ariana said as she resolutely took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I guess so. Listen, Ariana. I need to tell you something", Jai said hesitantly. "I-I just wanted you to know I've always thought you were cute... I mean I've always liked you. What I'm trying to say is..."

"What! You wait until now to tell me this. You couldn't have told me four or five months ago? You know, when you didn't already have a girlfriend and we weren't both ABOUT TO DIE! You really are an idiot! My God, I've had a crush on you since eighth grade and you wait until it's too late to do..."

Suddenly, Jai reached over and grabbed the back of her head with his right hand and pulled her toward him as he leaned over to capture her lips in a passionate kiss. She started to fight him at first, by instinct, but quickly relaxed into his strong embrace and returned his affection with equal fervor.

Without warning, the plane pitched forward sharply as it started to lose altitude. The engines were screaming as if in pain. They both pulled back from the kiss, but held onto each other tightly.

"Don't let me go, Jai", Ariana had to shout over the roar of the plane, "I love you."

"I love you, too. And I'll never let you go", he shouted back to her, as they hang onto each other for dear life.

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Well. I think I'm going to end the Chapter spree here. ☺️