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The sun blazed its heat on the fair haired boys already sunburned back as he sat with his legs laid straight out, the sea dipped its waves onto the equally hot sand soaking his feet in the process
He huffs out a sigh. At first the idea of being stranded on an island with no authority seemed fun, like in his adventure books about young boys dealing with problems all on their own like big kids and learning about the meaningfulness of friendship or whatever.
It's not like Ralph didn’t have friends or even a fun time outside of the straining hours of school but it's never quite compared to his favourite novels like coral island, which he would reread until his father eventually kicked him out to go out and kick around a ball like any normal child his age.
So when he found himself in the situation he hoped for the best.
Sure, piggy wasn’t much of any interest to him and jack was a little snobby, but he figured that maybe if he tried hard enough he could sway them into being what he wanted them to be like.
But Ralph quickly learned he would have zero luck as he was appointed group leader.
he was therefore given the responsibility of doing everything around the island as the children, staying true to their nature, would rather play in the sun for hours on end then go through with chores .
The thought of his overbearing amount of things to do made him violently punch the sand and grimace at the thought.
He still had his supposed friend piggy but he was ultimately no fun and too sensitive for Ralph's picky taste.
Jack had also proven to be lacklustre.
But Ralph didn’t know what he expected from a catholic choir boy as his main way of proving worthy when they were considering a leader was the fact that he could sing a sharp c like anyone really cared or remembered, Ralph certainly didn’t.
Making things worse when he formed his batty hunters that he let run around and scream like wild animals
So Ralph was left with simon. The same boy that really showed his grace by fainting like a pansy on the day of the crash. Pathetic, was all that he thought of the meek boy. He was always quite queer whenever he built the measly shelters with him, always talking about nature or how cruel the hunters were towards the animals, like who really cared? Without them they would be forced to eat bananas until they rot.
Ralph wasn’t crazy popular among his peers but he wasn’t strange or quiet.
But he bets Simon was definitely that kind of kid. No one spoke to him anyway, not even his fellow choir boys. But Ralph didn’t feel bad. no, really he didn’t. It's not like he’s thinking of him as he stares out into the horizon and digs his fingers into the burning sand.
Ralph bit the inside of his dry cheeks as he contemplated searching for the weird boy. Sure his company wasn’t the most thrilling but it was better than nothing right? And it’s not like him being such a space cadet is worth his time. As it's been decided Ralph swiftly stands up and moves away from the beach and deeper into the island entering the humid jungle that simon tends to reside.
The reason he had nothing in particular to do today was because he had given up on the huts a while back after Jack brushed off his complaints and this made him make peace with the fact most boys just slept wherever it was shaded during the night. And as for watching the fire he had taken his turn early this morning and even though time was a bizarre concept now he could tell it was at least late afternoon. He couldn’t hunt as that was only a role for the precious choir boys and it's not like he could pick fruit from the tall trees all by himself, though he supposed he hadn't had a reason to seek out Simon's company and he could figure something to do with him that was meaningful
As he thought of this Ralph realised the oddity of his idea and thought he must be deprived. or worse, going loopy like the very own boy he was looking for.
He moved slowly through the bushes and trees as he also had not thought of the fact that finding Simon may be a difficult task as the island was quite large and he had not remembered where he last saw the boy.
The earth was grainy and hard against his bare feet and the heat was getting unbearable but he salvaged on and could hear the whoops and hollers of what he assumed to be the hunters celebrating yet another kill. He came across many other boys and asked if they had seen him to which they all responded no, or even asked who Simon was in the first place.
Ralph, Feeling a bit fed up, sat himself down on a large rock and took his face in his palms. He stared down at the dirt and felt quite annoyed at his increased boredom and as he was ready to doze off in the most inconvenient place he felt a light tap on his now tender back.
He yelped in pain and quickly turned his head around to see the dark haired boy he gave up on finding.
“Hi Ralph, I was searching for you and had no luck until I saw your bright red back through the trees,'' Simon said and gave him a sheepish smile.
“You know if you were a prey hiding from a predator it'd be no good you stick out like a sore thumb just so you know…” simon then proceeded to go off
Ralph didn’t understand his strange talk but smiled back at him.
“Simon! I was searching for you too. You see I was wondering if you could uh” Ralph stopped as he didn’t actually need him for anything thus proving how strange it was he sought out his company. “Could you stay with me for a while?”
Ralph continued but the intimacy of his wording made him sound like a scared and helpless littlun making him regret his sentence afterwards.
Simon stared at him for a moment, and then awkwardly looked away
“Oh! Alright, I mean I wasn’t doing much to begin with but… Hey! You like animals, right? Or more so Reptiles i guess” simon said sounding more excited at the last part.
Ralph was a little confused as he didn’t know what kind of reptile Simon was on about, he thought about them discussing a potential beast at the fire and some children bringing up snakes and other creatures. Ralph knew Simon was weird at best but if he was gonna pull out a snake he was officially bizarre and quite hazardous at that. Due to Ralph not responding Simon began to think about the looseness of his words.
“It's not dangerous or anything! Or at least i dont think it is. Oh! And it's not a snake or anything like that!” Simon cried.
“Look, I'll show you, just follow me!” Simon said then proceeded to turn around and start running
Ralph decided it was best to just go along with this and ran after the shorter boy.
They both wondered for quite some time but Ralph tried to trust Simon's way of direction and just hoped wherever this creature was there was shade and water nearby.
Eventually Simon came to a stop and crouched near the jungle floor looking intently at something the fair haired boy couldn’t figure out. So Ralph lowered himself beside the boy and his eyes came to look at a large branch in front of the two of them.
His eyes scanned it until they met with the strangest thing indeed. It was pretty well blended into the branch, had small eyes and a large tail that curled in on itself. Ralph couldn’t quite figure out what it was. He knew it was a sort of reptile based on Simon's word and his own knowledge, but what kind?
“It's a chameleon, you know when they feel fright or a desire to mate they change colour! They also change for a plethora of different reasons but it’s mostly emotion based and when they camouflage they can hide themselves from predators!” Simon spoke happily,
He seemed to know alot about strange things like this. But at least someone would know as if Ralph were on his own he would probably try to eat it.
“So can I touch it?” Ralph questioned.
“I mean you probably could but why would you wanna disturb its day? I mean how would you like it if a massive giant started prodding at you?” Simon spoke passionately.
The other boy thought about what Simon said and came to the conclusion that he wanted this “chameleon” to feel at peace and would rather not interfere with its doings. They crouched, staring at the reptile for a few moments as it did much of nothing probably in fear of its latest spectators.
they both stared at the new creature for a while, the feeling of the zoo back home flooding Ralph's memory. He remembers the delight he felt staring at the array of exotic animals.
but most of all he remembers his astute interest in the horses back at his own home. The fascination he felt is similar to what Simon probably feels towards the chameleon.
Ralph looks at Simon through his eyelashes.
Simon’s deep eyes met his immediately.
The blonde quickly looked down at the ground, feeling a blush creep up his face.
good thing I don't change colour when I'm scared.
Ralph feels his cheeks warm slightly and remembers how his mother use to say he always had red adorning his face when he got embarrassed.
well, at least not completely.
Simon eventually got up and dusted off any dirt on him and stretched his arms out. Ralph followed his actions feeling the sweat and dirt on his body making him cringe and intensely miss baths at home.
“Simon, let's clean off at the beach, I think we may eat soon anyways as I could hear the hunters making a racket through the trees” Ralph said. Simon only nodded and they both walked out of the jungle to make way onto the beach.
As they arrived they found not alot of people were actually at the beach except from the occasional stray littlun playing around in the sand.
They both quickly kneeled down to cover themselves in the more cooling water as the sun started to set, making the sky bleed with purples and reds blending nicely into each other.
It looked like the watercolour paintings Ralph would make when he was a littlun himself at school, the more he thought about school the more his stomach ached. He never thought he would miss the school he loathed over the years but being away from his home made him miss the most mundane things.
He turned his head to look at Simon who was like him: staring at the beautiful sky. He supposed Simon would have an appreciation for these kinds of things and wondered if he missed home as much as he did.
“Simon, do you ever think about home all that much nowadays?” Ralph spoke softly.
“Yes I suppose I do. I miss reading and riding through forests on my bike, this climate is also a tad too hot for what I'm used to.” Simon responded. “but I mean back home specifically at school I didn’t have a lot of company I guess. Most kids never paid much mind to me and my parents were all too busy. But, now I have you to keep me company and Piggy if you can say that”. Simon continued.
As Simon said this Ralph felt strange inside he always thought Simon to be weird so him confessing he enjoyed Ralphs short lived company made him feel a bit bad for his cruel judgement.
It's not like they spoke an awful lot during this day or any other time so he guessed Simon must be pretty deprived. A bit like him he guesses.
Simon looked away seemingly a bit flustered at his own strange remarks and instead opted for looking at the sunset ahead.
Ralph stared at the boy's side profile and the dip of his lips and nose, and how his thick black hair stuck to his soft face. Ralph then smiled and put an arm around Simon's back.
“Yeah we do have each other don't we?, and I mean it’s better than spending time with those batty hunters” Ralph responded with a smile.
He then proceeded to ruffle around the shorter boy's hair. Simon giggled at Ralph's action and leaned into his touch as Ralph's hand stayed resigned on top of his head.
They stared off into the sunset together until a plethora of sand was suddenly kicked into their back. Ralph turned to see the much taller boy being Jack, staring right down at them.
“Me and my hunters were looking for you two everywhere! We killed a pig again, A big one. So come get something to eat you are all skin and bones” Jack smirked as he spoke seeming mighty proud of his kill.
He then lent out a hand towards Ralph to help him get up, Ralph took it and got up from the sandy ground. Jack however didn’t do the same for Simon and left him behind as he walked onwards with Ralph.
“ What are you doing hanging around with simon? I told you he was a bit queer” Jack then spoke in a hushed tone.
Ralph looked back at Simon walking behind them and the boy gave him a weak smile before he turned his head back.
“ I don’t know, I guess I was a bit desperate” Ralph felt a pang of embarrassment and responded with an awkward giggle as he spoke