Desmond
Castaway
"See you in another life, brother..."
Posts: 75
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Post by Desmond on May 21, 2007 18:40:19 GMT
"And why would I wanna do that?" He responded flatly, his expression set in a slightly confused frown, even though she couldn't see his face. He sighed and turned over to lie on his back again, shuffling closer to her deliberately, just to prove that he wouldn't leave her just yet, and was not prepared to. He didn't want to seem clingy, and he never considered himself that sort, but maybe he was and just didn't know it? He refused to let go of Penny until the last minute. That was his problem. Not wanting to be proved wrong, and not backing down even when defeat is inevitable.
It might have got him killed if he hadn't found himself on the island. A small price to pay. He turned his head and looked at Jane with a reassuring smile. "I'd never run anyway, walk briskly, maybe, but never run," he added, mock-punching her as lightly as he could on the shoulder.
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Post by Jane on May 21, 2007 19:32:56 GMT
"You might think differently if you knew me," Jane grinned in spite of herself.
Desmond punching her in the arm was so completely reminiscent of her brother. She simply couldn't help it. Then of course, the thoughts and memories of her brother and all the other people in her life that were dead just made the thought sour while it was still fresh in her mind. Why could she no longer think of anyone without the thoughts turning to sadness? Jane had come to hate her memories.
"I'd say you couldn't run fast enough," Jane mumbled. She turned to looked quickly at Desmond to see if he heard that then looked back at the clouds. She was doing it again, becoming melancholic. Jane needed to work on her demeanor.
"So is cloud watching and being philosophical the only fun you have in this snow globe?" Jane asked, forcing her self-loathing aside in exchange for a happier conversation.
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Desmond
Castaway
"See you in another life, brother..."
Posts: 75
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Post by Desmond on May 21, 2007 19:43:38 GMT
"Aye, I'd say that was the only fun I get..." he said, smiling when she accused him of being slow at running, "When all the people you get to hang 'round with is this stuck-up bunch, with their, "I don't wanna talk to you, I'm busy building a raft, making giant signs in the sand and trying to distance the swim," you don't really know anyone to have fun with," he concluded, looking across his shoulder at the sorry looking lot milling about on the beach and sheltering under their tents. Of course some were nice enough, Hurley and Charlie knew how to have a good time, but it seemed like the rest had forgotten.
Having fun wasn't supposed to play a part in life here, he thought. You ought to be glum and whiny, dawdling about and moaning about how hard life had suddenly become. He never blamed them, but at least he didn't throw his down-and-out mood over people as much as they did. He saw the look in Jane's eyes, that same look that other's had told him he had sometimes, so he didn't try to make matters worse for her. Of course he didn't know her, but it would be her choice if she wanted to tell him anything, and he wouldn't dream of forcing her into it.
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Post by Jane on May 21, 2007 19:50:52 GMT
"Aw, I don't know. There's always golfing," Jane smirked. Desmond didn't actually look like the golfing type but she could be wrong. Besides, she had never golfed before Hurley built the course here either. Jane tried to think of all the stuff she did before her friends had disappeared and use them for suggestions.
"Let's see, I've had lots of fun swimming, or going hunting. I even trekked to the Black Rock for the hell of it once. It wasn't all that spectacular, to be honest," she chuckled. "The lagoon is a nice place to go, or I've been chased by the Others a time or two. I wouldn't recommend getting shot though. That wasn't any fun at all!"
Jane laughed a little. Her remembering all the things she did before that didn't include the hatch made hr realize exactly how boring she had become. Something else to work on, and since she no longer cared if the Others kidnapped her, Jane was pretty sure she had nothing to lose by going on more adventures.
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Desmond
Castaway
"See you in another life, brother..."
Posts: 75
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Post by Desmond on May 21, 2007 20:07:23 GMT
"Th' Others? Ha what I'd give to be chased about by them every once in a while. It'd keep me in shape after all this dossin' about here!" Desmond replied with a laugh. He thought on golfing for a second. That had always been more of an older man's sport to him, but he wasn't exactly young anymore, and Jack, Charlie and Hurley seemed to enjoy it. Maybe when all those recent events had slunk to the back of his mind, he'd give it a go. Besides, he thought he had better give golf clubs the honour of being used properly, rather than as lightning masts.
Now that Jane was rounding off all the things she considered fun, Desmond had forgotten to add hunting to his list, even when sometimes he only pretended to, and he was intrigued when she told him of the Black Rock. He had only taken a trip through the jungle to the Pearl, and that was nothing short of a sharp shock, to say the most. He could never say the hatch was fun. The same old records and the same old routine, plus the same old computer.
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Post by Jane on May 21, 2007 20:16:34 GMT
"Meh, the Others are highly over-rated. They were right under my tree once and didn't find me," Jane mused.
She thought she saw a wisp of smoke fly through the sky as she was looking at the clouds. She wondered whose campfire was running amok, but never gave it thought beyond that. Personally, Jane had yet to run into old Smokey outside of the jungle. Him being up in the air on the beach never entered her mind.
"Anyway, someday you'll have to let me know when you want to go for an odd adventure. I need to get back off the beach again." Jane smiled at the sky, the alcohol in her system making her more like her old self again. "I think I'm becoming boring and I can't have that. It'll ruin my image."
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Desmond
Castaway
"See you in another life, brother..."
Posts: 75
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Post by Desmond on May 21, 2007 20:22:20 GMT
"Aye, I will. Beaches are pretty overrated too, wouldn't y'say?" Desmond replied with a new brightness to his voice and eyes after her invitation. It'd be nice to travel one-on-one with someone outside the camp, if it only resorted in camping out under a tree in the pouring rain, as it usually did.
"Y'ain't boring! Far from it--" Desmond began, but he thought he'd cut his sentence short, and did so, in case she took his compliment the wrong way as people sometimes did. He looked down with the same smile that he had worn when she had first spoken to him.
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Post by Jane on May 21, 2007 20:32:46 GMT
"Heh," she chuckled lightly. "I would've said the same thing a couple of weeks ago, but I've found myself in a bit of a rut lately. Can't seem to leave my tent except to go for water or food." Jane turned and smiled. "But thanks for saying so. At least that means the image is still in tact."
Jane sat up and took another drink. She began to think about how stupid it was for her to invite someone to go out on an adventure with her. She always brought danger on everyone it seemed and she was tired of having to be saved all the time. That's one of the reasons she quit exploring the island. Jane couldn't seem to stay out of trouble. Still, Desmond was a big boy. If he chose to follow her out sometime, he'd probably be fine.
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Desmond
Castaway
"See you in another life, brother..."
Posts: 75
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Post by Desmond on May 22, 2007 18:29:23 GMT
"As far as I know, y'image is all still there," Desmond said, still lying flat on his back, and having to look up at her, "And that's absolutely nay problem," he added with a smile. He knew what she meant. The survivors wanted to be rescued of course, but they did it in such a dull way Desmond didn't think it was possible. At least the Others provided an aspect of danger to their lives every once in a while. He hoped Jack wouldn't kill them all, then there would be no-one to chase them anymore besides that smoke creature that skulked the jungle.
He had found himself only venturing so far inland anymore though, and so he thought he might be beginning to join the sorry survivors. The prospect of another "adventure" sounded much better than what fruit to eat tonight, or who to have an argument with...
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Post by Jane on May 23, 2007 0:27:24 GMT
Jane grinned at the comment that was made to her back. She swirled the liquid in the bottle again and looked out on the horizon. She saw nothing but blue skies and even bluer water. Nope, no boats, she snickered knowingly in her mind. Jane highly doubted they would be rescued any day soon. That meant she really needed to get off her butt and do something. The question was what would she do? She'd done everything there was to do except go look at the Other's village, but even she didn't really desire to trek there. They'd probably kill her unless they were the ones to take her there.
"So what haven't you done since you've been here, Desmond?" Jane asked looking for ideas. Besides, it looked like she might have a new adventure buddy and if she could find something he wanted to do but hadn't done, so much the better. Jane turned so she could look down on Desmond while she waited for a response.
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Desmond
Castaway
"See you in another life, brother..."
Posts: 75
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Post by Desmond on May 24, 2007 18:47:46 GMT
"Ah, I haven't driven a car, watched TV, read the sports page in the Daily Mail, bought anything from one of the shops in the high street, gone to the cinema to watch some action movie with a name like, "Die Again Tomorrow 2.5," kissed a girl..." Desmond said, adding the last one onto the list to see if Jane was paying attention. There were a lot of things he missed, but more than often, he had forgotten about them already. The things he mentioned Jane wouldn't be able to do anything with, so he was being far from helpful in that respect.
He looked up at her with arching eyebrows and a grin. He would suggest they go sailing on his boat, but that had been taken by the Others. Anything that sprung to mind had either been done before or completely ridiculous.
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Post by Jane on May 24, 2007 19:07:55 GMT
Jane was listening. It was something she was pretty good at, even half inebriated. In response to his last item on the list, Jane merely grinned.
"I can't help ya with most of that stuff. I mean I am a girl, but I don't go around kissing random men in snow globes," she joked. "The others you listed, well, Hurley did find a van I heard. So there is that. And Nikki told me about some televisions in another hatch somewhere, which I understand you went to. So ya can't say you haven't watched a little bit of tv..." Jane smirked at Desmond and raised an eyebrow at him in return. He was a lot more conversational and fun than she had given him credit for.
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Desmond
Castaway
"See you in another life, brother..."
Posts: 75
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Post by Desmond on May 24, 2007 19:17:46 GMT
"I dunno if you'd call a few blank TVs, one of which was turned off soon after it first came on, alot of watchin', that's not much at all! And I'd probably try and drive a van like I sail a boat, badly, and all wrong! For th'record, I don't go 'round kissin' random, half-drunken girls I've only just really met either, so th'feelin's mutual!" he explained. He frowned, and then looked up again. "Plus, I reckon Locke will blow up the hatch with the TVs in soon enough! Makin' things explode seems to be the only thing he's good at nowadays!"
He sat up, and his back ached slightly straining it too much, but he managed to set himself into a sitting position similar to Jane's. He inhaled all that sea air deeply, and ended up coughing anyway, making him dizzier than before. He turned to look at Jane and smiled vacantly.
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Post by Jane on May 24, 2007 20:56:08 GMT
Jane watched the vacant look in Desmond's face after he sat up and it made her grin. They would be a sight if they tried to stand up at this point. Both of them straggling about, trying to walk straight and failing miserably. It's a good thing we don't have any place better to be, she mused in her foggy mind.
"So TV is out. Got it. And no drinking and driving. It's against the island law I hear," Jane giggled feeling the weight of the world being lifted off her by the drink in her system. "And since there's to be no kissin' then I s'pose we ought to think of something else. Hmmm. Can ya swim, Desmond? I don't think there's a law against that. Though I'm not talking about right this minute. I doubt highly I could take a wave right now."
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Desmond
Castaway
"See you in another life, brother..."
Posts: 75
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Post by Desmond on May 26, 2007 17:14:45 GMT
"Aye I can swim, saved Claire, remember? Got a bit of a strange technique, but it works!" Desmond replied, vaguely thinking if he should give her a demonstration, but then realizing he'd sink before he'd get not but three yards into the sea. Plus, he'd heard that one should swim one hour after consuming anything, he never understood the theory of that rule, but stuck to it like it was a law.
He sat up a little straighter and crossed his legs, grabbing hold of his ankles and leaning forward slightly. It cleared his head a little, but he had moved too quickly and it eventually made him twice as dizzy.
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Post by Jane on May 26, 2007 17:45:57 GMT
"Oh yeah, I did hear something about you saving Claire," Jane said, mentally smacking herself for forgetting the new island hero. "Blame the drink, Desmond. I normally am not this scatterbrained."
Well, maybe Jane could be scatterbrained occasionally, but why admit to another fault? She had a feeling if she stayed here much longer she'd be admitting a lot of things. The crazy thing about that was that Jane was beginning to feel like she couldn't leave right now if she wanted to. If the poor girl stood she might stumble, though she doubted she'd pass out just yet. Although if Jane were honest with herself, she didn't even want to try to leave.
"Whatever this vile stuff is I have to admit it's strong. I don't think I can remember ever being even slightly drunk this early in the game," Jane commented with a laugh. She looked at Des and wondered quite a bit about him and what made him tick. Jane realized she was staring and looked away.
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Desmond
Castaway
"See you in another life, brother..."
Posts: 75
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Post by Desmond on May 26, 2007 18:00:42 GMT
"It does its job, and that's all that matters I suppose," Desmond said, breathing a light laugh, "We're all a little forgetful sometimes, thank God for small mercies, I say," he added with a warm smile, even if it was also an amused sort of smile.
Desmond looked at her, and he could see she was still thinking straight enough, as she had that distant look about he had come to know happened every once in a while. Come to know? He had known her for all of an hour or so. He wasn't thinking straight at all, but thinking straight was damned depressing, and so was being alone. He had three years to be alone and think straight, and now he needed to treat himself to a bit of mindlessness and company.
He saw her stare, and then turn away. He wore a confused frown, and reached out to touch a finger to her chin gently, and made her turn her head back to him. He didn't know what reaction he'd receive from her for doing so, but it could pass as a drunken gesture, unfortunately he was thinking a lot straighter than he had before. "Stare all y'like, Jane, I'm gonna be here long after you go..." he said quietly.
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Post by Jane on May 26, 2007 18:54:11 GMT
"Sorry," she mumbled.
Jane felt like she was being rude by staring to begin with, but being caught staring was worse. Especially with the gentleness Desmond was showing her. Desmond had definitely taken Jane by surprise with his touch, and it made her flush with embarrassment. Jane felt tingles go down her spine with the gesture and knew she had to be past drunk for feeling it. It made her face more red (if that were possible) just thinking Desmond might know what an emotional fool she was being inwardly.
If Jane thought she could walk away with some dignity, she might try. As it was, she would be left with zero if she were to go now, between all the stumbling from her inebriation and the fact she was caught staring so rudely. So, Jane sat there and realized once again that she was staring as she experienced all of these thoughts. If there was a rock big enough, Jane would certainly disappear under it.
Trying to bring herself from her staring stupor, Jane ended up grinning a little. "I guess there must be something about you Desmond that just makes me want to stare. Maybe it's the beard," Jane chuckled.
No, it's his eyes. Jane knew it as soon as she said the other. There was something deep and almost painful she sensed when she gazed into them. Jane recognized the look. It was the same one she often held in her own.
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Desmond
Castaway
"See you in another life, brother..."
Posts: 75
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Post by Desmond on May 26, 2007 19:14:15 GMT
"Don't be sorry, I feel too sorry for myself as it is!" he said with a brave smile. He could see she had been embarrassed, judging by the pink shade of her cheeks. He shouldn't have touched her like that, that was a stupid thing to do. He felt a pang of guilt and considered getting up and leaving her to her own, before he did something else he'd regret. He was like that, always getting cold feet. He'd done it far too often. Cowardice. That was what it was. If there was something he couldn't bear to face, he'd walk away with his tail between his legs.
He wasn't going to do it this time. He didn't want Jane to see him grappling with inner turmoil, she had enough of her own to deal with. The way she spoke gave him the impression she had something weighing heavily on her heart, as did he. They were one and the same in that respect.
Then again, if she persisted on staring at him, maybe he could stare at her in return, read what was there in her eyes. It was selfish to allow her to ponder about him without him being intrigued by her back, which he now was. He knew all about his own life, and knew how it went, every little detail, but here was a new story. One that he hadn't heard before.
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Post by Jane on May 26, 2007 23:54:17 GMT
Jane ended up keeping her grin as Desmond was kind enough to let her off the hook. Of course, the way he did it, the words he used, merely confirmed Jane's thoughts of what she had determined she saw in his eyes. There was definitely some deep pain inside him, and something else, too, though she had yet to figure that out. Jane determined she would if given the opportunity.
"I don't feel sorry for you, Desmond. I can't without feeling sorry for myself, and I choose not to linger on that aspect of my life right now," Jane answered. "And that, my friend, would be a poor waste of this slight inebriation."
As she spoke, she noticed it had become her turn to be under the microscope, so the grin she'd worn for the comment slowly faded as she simply let Desmond return her stare. She wondered what he would see. Would it be the woman she had tried so hard to run from, or the one she had tried so hard to become?
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