The Creeps [open]

[Claire Littleton]

Spreading out the garish towel she'd salvaged from someone's luggage across the sand, Claire sat herself down gently. She'd wandered the camp for a little while, smiling as easily as she could at everyone who happened to chance a glance her way. Everyone seemed to have someone, or they'd found someone at least and they mostly sat or meandered in groups. Claire had talked to a few others, but not really in great detail. She'd not really met anyone she could yet call friend. Not that she could really blame them...she looked about ready to burst which was probably off-putting considering the situation - it'd hardly be convenient to be the heavily pregnant woman's friend when she suddenly went into labour.

"You won't do that to me, will you?" She murmured softly with a slight frown as she rested her hand lightly across her large neat bump, rubbing her thumb in a small soothing circle as if the baby could feel it. Maybe it could, how was she to know?
She also supposed that the baby didn't have much control about when it was born and whether or not she would suddenly go into labour here. She didn't want to have her baby here.
People have been giving birth for millions of years, all on their own. No hospitals, no nothing...
She let a soft sigh part her dry sore lips, still absently moving her thumb in soft reassuring circles over her stomach. A nice thought, but it didn't have the reassuring effect that she'd have really wanted. She wanted to be safe and she wanted her baby to be safe, and having her baby here wouldn't guarantee safety at all.

She hauled herself up into more of a straight backed position, moving carefully and arduously with one arm now wrapped protectively around the stretched fabric of her t-shirt. She was just out of the flickering ring of firelight from the nearest huddled group, a mere silhouette on the edge of everything. The sun was nearly completely down, the sand was soft and firm beneath her, she could hear but not really see the reassuring lapping of the ocean a few feet in front of her.
She closed her eyes and breathed in the pleasant salty breeze.
It was her favourite time of day. She loved the beach and she loved sunset and she just found this perfect. Or it would be perfect if it weren't for the fact that she was stranded on an island, her baby probably would not wait, and she was beginning to think that maybe help wasn't coming. If she closed her eyes, she was back in Sydney.
She'd love to be back in Sydney right now.

Humming softly under her breath, Claire kept her eyes closed. She could feel the slight breeze now rather than just being aware of it because of the salty air that clung to the back of her throat. A few strands of wavy blonde hair displaced themselves and brushed up against her forehead, so she lifted her hand to tuck them back behind her ear before resting it back on her stomach, still humming softly.
The crisp crunch of feet on sand behind her killed the quiet melody in her throat, and she instantly shifted round a little to watch for the source of the noise. Seeing nothing but darkness, she continued to look sternly into the dimness of the beach behind her, before hesitantly turning back round to watch the tides again.
This island gave her the creeps sometimes.

[Charlie Pace]

Twisting a ring on his middle finger, Charlie stared thoughtfully at the sand beneath him. For the past half hour he had been sitting where the sand just barely ended before meeting up with the wide jungle. He wasn't fond on sitting near the water only because the smell of salt water was too strong for him. Groups were now gathering around small fires they had created. Of course, he couldn't help but feel a little left out. Unlike some people on the island, he hadn't known anyone on the plane so there for he was alone.

His gentle blue eyes scanned the tents that survivors had created. With each passing hour, Charlie was losing hope of rescue. It was almost to the point of thinking he was going to be stranded on the island of the rest of his life...even die here. Blinking away the thoughts, his gaze rested upon one lone figure out on the beach. Earlier Charlie had heard some people talk about a pregnant woman surviving the crash, so the rumor was true. He didn't even want to think about how stressful it must be for her.

Grinning to himself, he knew it was time to do what he knew best. Charlie lazily picked himself up off the ground and tried to casually head over to where the blonde headed girl sat. The sand beneath his feet crunched lightly as he walked. Charlie nearly panicked once the woman turned around at the sound of his clumsiness. Luckily she hadn't seen him. Biting his tongue, he began having second thoughts on whether or not he should introduce himself to her. No words could explain the sudden urge of wanting to know about her. It was like an invisible line drawing himself towards her.

"Come on Charlie" He whispered to himself, shaking all second thoughts he had, away. Closing his eyes, he took one last deep breath and then confidently walked up to her. "Mind if I sit?" He asked her softly, although didn't wait for an answer. He was going to be intrigued by this person no matter what, so he decided he might as well start off now. Carefully setting himself down, Charlie placed on a goofy grin before saying, "So...the sunsets nice, isn't it?"

[Claire Littleton]

Claire glanced up belatedly, then next to her as he sat down. She didn't have time to object, not that she intended on objecting.
In fact, she had a rather opposite urge to clasp his hand and thank him profusely for approaching her of his own free will, rather than only talking to her because they'd run into her, or were bringing her something to eat.

"It's perfect," She replied with a soft smile directed out to the horizon, before she looked back sideways at him and noticed the goofy smile across his face and had to cover her own involuntary grin quickly by looking back out at the sea.
It didn't feel quite right to be smiling on a deserted island where the hope of rescue was growing more and more and more remote.

"I'm Claire," She nodded after a moment, feeling that introductions would be done eventually so she might as well start them off.
She offered him her hand casually, keeping the other resting on her bump.
She knew the second the baby kicked she'd feel it, but she wanted to be extra careful and not miss it. She'd barely felt the baby move since the crash and as time went on and she thought it out more and more, this baby seemed like the only one she actually had and was in increasing disbelief about the fact she'd been planning to give it up to start with.

[Charlie Pace]

Charlie blinked as a rare but comforting cool breeze passed by. He would've given anything to be near something cold, but on a deserted island that wasn't very common. Leaning back on the palm of his hand, he glanced at the person beside him. Not wanting to be rude, Charlie tried to keep his eyes away, from staring at her belly. From the looks of it, she could give birth within weeks maybe...or so he thought.

A small grin crossed his face once she replied to his lame comment about the sunset. He wished he could've came up with some catchy phrase to tell her but for now it seemed as though that was enough. "I'm Charlie..." He spoke with eagerness filling his voice. "So...how do you like it here?" He asked her teasingly, "Nice beaches, beautiful sunsets, not to mention the luxurious jungle behind us" Grinning, he was hoping he could lead the conversation to something other than being stranded.

"Oh and of course the five star tents we have here" Charlie added. Earlier he had built his own tent back at the caves. It was nothing special though, just a spare blanket from the plane along with a small amount of tarp to hang over his head. At least he didn't have to worry about the rain pouring down on him, the caves took care of that. Luckily there hadn't been a flood yet.

[Claire Littleton]

Her smile grew easier when the breeze blew past. She'd been sadly mistaken with her efforts to find somewhere cooler so far. The jungle offered shade, but the humidity remained. The torrential rain failed to break the heat as it just soaked everyone and then went away again. She was much too afraid to go swimming as of yet, in case the current caught her and dragged her out.
She was seriously toying with the idea of thanking this man now. He seemed to bring her good luck - although the thought of that was almost laughable. A person can't bring good luck.

"Nice to meet you Charlie," She loved that eagerness and optimism in his voice, and this time her grin came without her trying to hold it back.
Then she laughed softly, "Not to mention, the evening entertainment."
At this, she glanced back behind her at the small gatherings around fires. From here, it didn't sound like anyone was talking at all. From here, it seemed as if they were just sat dejectedly around fires. She didn't really know what was happening over there.

"From the sounds of it, we must have it good here," She shook her head wryly, still smiling faintly.
She didn't much want to think about being stranded, and much as he was only trying to lighten the mood, she couldn't inject the same amount of light-hearted enthusiasm into her speech.

[Charlie Pace]

Seeing her grin, Charlie couldn't help but smile himself. It was good to see that he had brightened up her evening. Which of course was his plan all along. "Yes, well I am known for my thrilling entertainment" He teased with a soft shrug. "Y'know, if you wanted some hula dancing lessons, you could just ask" He grinned to himself with a slight chuckle. He then ruffled his dirty blonde hair a bit before staring back at the ocean.

"Yup, beautiful scenery, too" Charlie noted on her comment. The beach truly was a nice sight to see during the evening with the sunset. By now the sun was almost completely gone, it was getting darker now and more campfires could be seen around them. Too bad he had no idea how to start a fire or else Charlie would've created his own and invited people to come over. Well, he probably would've only asked Claire.

Charlie thought about asking Claire about her baby. He wasn't sure if she was comfortable with the subject or not, or even telling a total stranger about her life. He certainly didn't want some random person asking him personal questions. "So er...was the baby's father on the plane or something?" He asked her softly. Charlie was sure that if the father had survived the crash, he would've been sitting next to Claire instead of himself.

[Claire Littleton]

"I think I might take you up on that some time," She laughed quietly.
She couldn't really imagine a grown man giving hula lessons, let alone the man next to her. Although she'd been struck by a brief mental image, which was probably have been his intention.
She was lucky she'd somehow gotten the camp comedian to come and sit next to her.

"Oh...no," She paused halfway into the sentence, surprised by the remark. She still thought about Thomas...a lot, but not because she'd want him back. She certainly didn't, nor did she want him around their baby. Now, when she looked back, he wasn't anything more but a petulant child and she was glad to be rid of him.
Surprised by the vicious nature of her own thoughts, she just smiled weakly and spoke her next sentence down to her stomach, "No, just me and the baby."

She paused a moment longer, before deciding that she didn't want him to say anything in response to her spaced out reply and added, "What about you? Did you have anyone on the plane with you?"
It wasn't exactly tactful, but she wasn't sure how else to phrase the question. She might have just rubbed salt in some wound or another without even realising. He probably didn't have anyone with him, or he'd probably be with them right now and not her.
What questions was she supposed to ask though? There were hardly many etiquette rules of 'what to do and say politely when your plane hurtles out of the sky and you're left stranded in the middle of nowhere'.

[Charlie Pace]

Charlie managed out a short laugh. The thought of him hula dancing was pretty outrageous, but it wasn't like he would mind if he was ever given the chance to. It was quite a silly image left in his mind now which was probably in hers also. Luckily Claire wasn't offended by his question, but he could tell it made her feel a little uncomfortable. He nodded slightly, not knowing what else to say to her response.

"Oh well....at least no one got hurt" He replied, wondering if she was happy she was alone on the plane or not. Now probably wasn't the best time to ask about her past, considering they just survived a plane crash which was pretty traumatizing. His gaze wondered around camp, or at least the people who decided to settle along the beach and not the caves. His head jerked back to Claire once she asked him a question in return. "Nope me either, I guess we're pretty lonely people" Charlie joked even though it wasn't very funny.

By now the sky was very dark, the sun had disappeared completely and was replaced by the moon. Crickets could be heard in the background and smoke from the camp fires filled the air. To Charlie, it felt like summer camp. "So, where's your um...." He paused trying to think of the word. "Tent?" He asked thoughtfully. "Not that I'm thinking of heading out or anything....just thought y'know, maybe you could use a little company...well I could" He quickly noted, mentally slapping himself for sounding so stupid.