Forgiveness is for humans, not beasts

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Chapter 1: A sarcastic surprise

Ralph lounged on his bed, peering out the window with a bored gaze, silently watching the last trickle of reluctant students return to school in the lit up darkness. Two hours earlier, his parents had dropped him off at the front entrance of Sernan Academy, a private boarding school. His mother quickly waved him a farewell as his father drove away. He had felt a pang of loneliness creeping in his stomach as he strained his eyes to follow the car until it receded too far in the distance for him to see. His parents seemed proud of him; after all, he had been the leader of the island, according to the press, and he had gotten an invitation to this school based upon that fact. Still, he couldn't help but feel replaced when he came home to find his parents had gotten another son in the lapse of his absence.

He sighed, glancing at the clock by the side of his bed that read 9:46 P.M. During the school week, students were required to be within their campus walls by eight in the evening, and it was lights out by eleven. This was a very prestigious high school, and he was joining as a freshman with two months until his birthday, which would make him 14. He squeezed his pillow tightly, assuring himself by it's tangible presence that he was, in fact, off of that damned bloody island.

He was often fearful that he would wake up one day to find out that his new life was just a fabricated dream, although the opposite was true. It was the island that came into his dreams and took him away from this world, the world of civilization. His eyes darted towards the door, wondering if his unknown room mate would ever show, with slight curiosity gleaming through his bright eyes.

Jack bounded through grey, austere hallways with rows of doors to rooms that held no distinguishing properties, besides the room numbers neatly plastered at the center of each door with precision. He shoved his hand in his pocket in search of the crumpled up piece of paper that held his schedule and room number. He let out an aggravated grunt when he had to go down three different hall ways and a flight of stairs before he reached his desired door. He captured his composure before he laid a hand on the door knob. He had been wandering the campus for hours, refusing to receive or ask for any directions.

He turned the door knob with a flick of his wrist, trailing his suitcase behind him once he got the door open, and shut the door with his foot. He looked up to meet beautiful crystal blue eyes glaring up at him, and he dropped his baggage, striding right up to the fair haired boy. He knew who this boy was as soon as he locked gazes with him, although he hadn't seen him in person since he chased him through the burning trees of the island. Ralph had refused to see him since they had entered the navy ship.

Ralph had a short blond halo of hair over his angelic face, locks of hair spilling over his forehead, draping right above his eyes. His skin had lightened, returning to the color of a sugar cookie instead of the burnt chocolate chip his skin had carried from over exposure to the sun. He wore clean clothes, rather than the tattered rags that had been barely worn towards the end of their duration on the island. The clothes Ralph wore now consisted of the uniform of the school, long black pants and a button up white dress shirt with a tie under a black overcoat, which held the emblem of the school on the left breast pocket. The clothes looked restraining after days of hardly wearing anything, and Jack could tell that Ralph thought so, too, since his tie and overcoat were laying nearby on the floor, and the buttons of his shirt were undone. He noticed that Ralph's muscles were still very developed from the island; they even looked a little refined. He would've let out an amused chuckle at the sight of Ralph's disheveled uniform if it hadn't been for the oppressive stare that he had felt on him ever since he had entered the room. To his satisfaction, when Ralph stood up before he could completely close the gap between the two, he found that he was much taller than the other. It was as if something had stunted Ralph's growth on the island, and he stood slightly below Jack's chest. Another part of him felt guilty, something on the island might have stunted his growth.

Ralph quickly stood before Jack reached him, not wanting to be in any form of submissive pose with that red head in the room. They both remained silent, both unwilling to utter a word without the other saying something first, intently staring at one another as if even staring was a form of contest between the two. The room became an irrelevancy as they concentrated, society disappearing, both of them returning to the island. Jack snarled menacingly, his emerald green eyes slightly slit as he balled his claws into fists at his sides.

Ralph took in even breaths, trying to remain in control of himself, but he sometimes found it very difficult to not let his instincts control him. Instead of boxing, he took an interest in martial arts, wanting to have quick precise movements that he could use to defend himself against people, without losing control and becoming a savage.

Jack took another step closer, daring Ralph to say what he knew must be on his mind. The silence suffocating him. He growled, "Say something!"

Ralph smirked, as if he had won a small victory, but his expression soon turned to anger. "Out of the billions of people on this planet, I just had to get stuck here with you!" His voice was filled with such immense hatred that it felt palpable in the air, almost visible.

Jack was silent for a moment, smirking at a silent victory of his own. "I knew you were going to be here when I enrolled." He commented, sounding offhand about it, knowing that it would make Ralph angry. He shoved his fists in his pockets for effect, grinning caustically.

Ralph pushed Jack to the ground, quickly pinning him by the shoulders before he could even react, his blood boiling with rage. He loosened his grip on the boy under him once he realized what he had done. He had made the first step towards violence; Jack hadn't been the savage this time. He started to get off of him, but Jack flipped them around once Ralph loosened his grip.

He laughed right in Ralph's face. "Who's the savage now, Ralphie boy?" He asked, pressing down on Ralph's arms with as much pressure as he could, using his legs to restrain Ralph's.

Ralph made a sound that was close to a growl at the back of his throat, squirming under Jack's hold in an attempt to shake the grasp on him. He gnashed his teeth together. "You still are! You killed Piggy! You turned those boys into savages, just like you! We would have been rescued, before Simon and Piggy died if it wasn't for your obsession with hunting!" He refused to let the wall of water that formed over his eyes fall as tears, looking up at Jack's freckled face with disdain.

Jack took enjoyment as the boy below him squirmed in his grip, having proved that Ralph was no better than him was just an added bonus. Ralph's tender warm flesh against his own made him feel drunk with desire and power, clutching Ralph's wrists with even more force. He suddenly relented on the ferocity of his force, feeling a pained guilt at the sight of the glinting prison of water that encapsulated the fair haired boy's eyes. He frowned a little. "I didn't kill Piggy, that was Roger, and what about you? You may lo-" He stopped himself before he said that Ralph looked like an angel, quickly amending himself. "You act so high and mighty, but you're just the same as me! You helped kill Simon, you're just as guilty as me!" He had hated Piggy; what made that bloated bloke so appealing to Ralph any ways? What had Piggy done that had warranted such high standing in Ralph's opinion? Jack pulsated with so much anger that he didn't notice when his nails dug into Ralph's wrists. A slow trickle of blood spilled out. He glanced down in shock at Ralph's crimson wrists when the fair boy let out an involuntary pained cry.

Ralph bit his lip so hard the blood started to drain out. "But you meant it! You said that's what I'll get, and that there was no tribe for me any more! You went at me with intentions to kill! I came there only to reason with you, but you wouldn't stand to listen!" He said in a low voice, wrapping his legs around Jack's once Jack had relaxed, flipping them around so that he was on top again. He held down Jack's wrists. "You were hunting me like an animal Jack! I'm only human. I'll concede that Simon was as much my fault as it was yours, but the difference was that I never intentionally turned into a beast on that island, Jack. I attempted to keep my humanity, even when my sanity was running thin! I never hunted somebody down, or forced somebody into my tribe! I never had somebody torture anybody! Do you have no remorse? Do you not feel any guilt?" He yelled at Jack, incredulously.

Tears that he had shed on many nights engulfed Jack's eyes and he tilted his head away from Ralph, "I'm not a beast, Ralph! I do regret what I did on that island and I know now that what I did was wrong, but I was just so infuriated! I just wanted to be in control. Nothing else mattered after that. I..I..I wasn't going to kill you, Ralph! Really I wasn't, I just wanted-" He stopped abruptly, still not knowing what he had wanted to do with Ralph. He looked up at him, "I'm sorry, Ralph."

Ralph quickly looked away from him, not saying anything. He allowed the silence to calm him as he returned to their boring room, rationality of civilization comforting him. He usually had control over his emotions, but in less than five minutes Jack was able to unerve him to such a degree that his newly reformed civil nature was cracked. His usual calm and level headed fascade that he had crafted while studying martial arts proven to be no more than a mask that fell in the face of a hint of calamity.

Ralph became aware that he was still on top of the red head and finally got off of him, offering him a hand up. Jack took it, still waiting for Ralph to say something, anything. Ralph closed his eyes. "Why did you go to this school, knowing that I was here, and that I didn't want you any where near me?" He asked, walking across the room to his dresser, trying to avoid dripping any more of his blood on the ground. He pulled out a safety kit conviently stashed underneath his sock drawer, and begun to bound his two scratched wrists with bandages. He slowly pressed his tongue against his lips that were painted with his own metallic internal liquid. The taste made him yearn for meat of any kind, but he bit down on his tongue to supress that sudden craving.

Jack wiped his eyes with his bare arm, "Why do you think my decision for coming here had to do with you? What if I just happened to like the curriculum?"

Ralph turned towards Jack, looking at him pointedly, "Are you serious?"

Jack sighed, "Well if you really must know, in the story we gave the press…I'm the second in command, in control of the choir boys, remember?" Ralph nodded, putting his hands up for him to enlighten him further. Jack nodded a little, "Well, this school practically begged you to join, because they saw you as a leader who took charge. Plus, I think it was a huge publicity stunt on their part. Any ways, with me being second in command, they figured I was probably a good friend to you and that we worked well together. They didn't want you to feel alone, and they thought it would be a nice surprise for you to room with somebody you could relate to." He finished, outstretching his arms a little, "Surprise!" He said sarcastically, chuckling a little.

Ralph was taken aback, not by real surprise, but from the fact that Jack could change his temperament with such ease and speed. He took in Jack's fiery red hair. It jutted down from his forehead, partially hiding his devilish eyes. His speckled face could mimic innocence, although Ralph had thought of Jack as a monstrous beast. He was wearing camouflage shorts and a simple grey t-shirt; the matching camouflage jacket hugged his waist. Ralph hated his ensemble, the clothes a constant reminder that Jack was a hunter. "Take those stupid clothes off!" He yelled without thinking. When he had reaized what he had said, his face tinged into a bright red at the implications that statement could make, "I mean, because the camouflage reminds me of hunting, and well…you know, bad memories get brought up along with that."

Out of all the possible reactions that Ralph could have had to his sarcastic surprise, Jack hadn't expected Ralph to yell that. He stood still, looking at Ralph in disbelief as he tried to rationalize Ralph's extremely out of character words, until Ralph finally explained himself. Jack nodded, not needing further clarification to understand which memories Ralph was referring to. He untied the jacket sleeves wrapped around his waist, and began to shrug his clothes off.

Ralph looked away, "You don't have to change in here!"

Jack smirked, "Ralph, we've bathed together before, why shouldn't I get changed in here? Besides, it's almost time to go to sleep, and I sleep in my boxers any ways."

Ralph, realizing that making a fuss over the matter was unnecessary, decided to quickly change the subject. "You didn't answer my question earlier."

Jack gave Ralph a side ways glance, "what are you talking about?"

"Earlier when I asked you why you enrolled in this school, knowing that I didn't want you any where near me. You told me why they invited you, but I didn't ask why they invited you. I wanted to know why you enrolled." Ralph explained, turning towards the fiery red head again.

Jack shrugged in response, starting to pack away clothes in his dresser to make himself appear busy.

Ralph frowned. He let himself fall back on his bed, turned on his side to face Jack, and propped his head with the palm of his hand. He tried another question, "Did you really mean what you said earlier? Are you truly sorry?"

Jack turned toward Ralph, nodding, "I regret what I could have done to you on that island. I was the epitome of order in my class, Ralph. Remember how I led those choir boys when we first arrived on the island? I used to be so orderly, always following the rules to the letter, but I lost myself on the island. I feel guilty to this day, and if there was any way to compensate for what I did, I would do it in a heart beat."

Ralph thought that Jack was being sincere, but he just couldn't find it in his heart to forgive. He would pursue this at a later point in time, at the moment he was just too worn out to say anything more.

Author's note: If you liked my story at all, I really recommend Sing the little children by el bastardo if you want a fiction with them still on the island, or Retribution by CircadianLily for an aftermath fiction. If you check either of the stories out, tell them that their stalker sent you ;)

Edit: All the edits on the above chapter were all thanks to el bastardo! I am forever in her debt! Please show her some love by checking out her stories, especially the one that I mentioned above! If you think I am a good writer in even the slightest, you have to go check her beautiful works of literature out!