That Little Bit—

Disclaimer: I don't own Flight 29 Down or any of its characters, just this particular story.

A/N: First, I would like to explain the title. It can go two ways, whichever you would like to interpret it. The first that I thought of had to do with Taylor: note that the word "Bit" is just two letters short of "Bitch." I may explain it more situationally later in the story. The second interpretation could be that these couples are so close; they're just being given a little push into the relationships. Anyway, hope you like this story, and leave reviews because that's the only way more will come! Rated M for later sequences, although probably not much language.

A/N #2: Sorry for the first long author's note! This story takes place within the episode titled "He Said She Said He Said." By the way, check out my other stories at my pen name Luvbunny114.

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Daley sat with her legs under her, reforming the circle of rocks they had used as a fire pit for the past few days. Just as she had finished placing the last stone, a rustling emitted from the trees and Nathan was reaching over her shoulder, dropping a load of heavy branches and sending rocks rolling out of place in all different directions, some rolling under the nearby brush. Daley huffed and rolled her eyes, turning to Nathan accusingly.

"Sorry," Nathan said, backing away slowly and shrugging his shoulders apologetically. Daley let out a breath and stood up.

"It's okay," she replied, swiping at her shins to remove the grass and pebbles that had left indentations in her skin. "Just be more careful next time?" She wasn't mad at Nathan. The two had reached some sort of friendship or agreement or something after the initial distress over the leadership issue, and it wouldn't be broken over firewood and a couple of stones. Daley turned and dug through the brush for a rock she had seen roll through, and she heard Nathan doing the same across the clearing. When they had gathered the missing stones and Nathan had helped her replace them in their spots, he said, "Bye," and left, apparently to find Jackson or Melissa to help him with something. When the sound of his crunching footsteps dissipated into the forest, Daley stopped pretending to move the stones around, as if each millimeter of movement was just barely out of place, and sat on the largest, sturdiest rock and set her chin on her palm pensively. She heard a twig snapping to her right and dropped to her knees, lest Nathan come back to find her sitting there daydreaming like some ignorant teenage girl. Like Taylor would, were she in the same situation.

And speaking of the devil…

"So, Daley," came Taylor's voice before the rest of her, stumbling out of the woods and regaining her composure, which today read I'm not as clueless as usual today, and it has to do with you, "couldn't help but notice you and Nathan."

"Wow, nothing gets past you," Daley replied, getting back to her feet and again wiping her shins off. She sat again on one of the larger stones and said, "Hey, if you walk a little while further you might be able to find Nathan again, only this time he'll be with Jackson and Melissa. Jackson: tall, kinda spiky brown hair in the front, usually wearing a tee-shirt and khakis. Melissa: a bit shorter than Jackson, pretty quiet, dark hair." During this whole sarcastic monologue, Taylor looked at Daley as if she were some poor, naïve child who was completely unaware of something right under her nose.

"You must have some idea of what I'm talking about!" Taylor said suggestively. When Daley continued to stare at her with a What's your point? expression, Taylor was prompted to sneak in a bit closer and say, in a way that made her point painfully obvious, "You and Nathan."

Daley rolled her eyes and attempted a snort at the suggestion, but Taylor didn't seem to want to let go of the notion that there could be something going on.

"Seriously, Taylor, what would make you think that I like Nathan? I mean, sure, we get along now. But that's just because none of us will be able to survive if we can't get along with each other. We're being mature. Being mature doesn't mean that we're in love or something."

"Well, I don't know about him, but I definitely saw something coming from you a few minutes ago, if you know what I mean."

I can't believe this, Daley thought. How can Taylor tell what I'm thinking when I'm talking to Nathan… and why does she not know how he felt?

Despite her desperate need to keep to herself, Daley had the sinking feeling that Taylor had finally figured her out, at least, in this particular situation. But, for once, she had to agree completely with Jackson: having relationships on the island would be pointless and even reckless. One breakup or even just a progressive relationship between any two people could cause problems. However, she didn't want Taylor to see all of these thoughts running circles through her mind behind the veil of her eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I can't say I do," Daley said with a crooked, self-assured smirk. True, this attitude was a complete bluff, but if it could just make Taylor go away, it would be worth it.

"Oh-kay," Taylor said, her voice dragging annoyingly, hints of disbelief trailing behind her as she turned slowly back toward the smatter of trees hiding the clearing from the beach. "But take it from someone who dated Nathan: he doesn't like to be kept waiting. Whatever it is that he wants, if he has to wait too long, he won't want it anymore." With that striking note, Taylor turned her attention fully away from Daley and headed carefully back through the trees.

Daley's eyes trailed after her for a moment, mulling over her last words. While she didn't want Nathan to lose any interest in her that he currently had with news of waiting for rescue, she wasn't about to act like some lovesick sixth grader, parading around with him as soon as humanly possible. It couldn't happen; she and Taylor both new it, no matter how much Taylor tried to provoke her. It would just make life more complicated than it already was, and, since everyone had just begun to enjoy the comforts of some sort of order and system, she highly doubted that they would make way for her to screw it up.

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As Taylor went back down to the beach, she spotted Melissa by the water washing some clothing in a basin. Taylor grinned slightly and strutted (if it was possibly for her to strut in the sand) toward Melissa. She didn't look up, and Taylor cleared her throat a bit before chiming, "Hey Me-el."

Melissa looked up and brought her hand to her forehead to shade her eyes from the sun. "Oh, hey, Taylor," she replied with a smile. "I was just washing some clothes. Wanna help?"

Taylor looked as though the suggestion were one she wouldn't consider in a million years, but she simply said, "Thank, but I'm here on business."

Melissa dropped the shirt she had been scrubbing over the side of the basin and shook her hands off, water droplets sinking into the surrounding sand. "Business?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah. What's going on with you and Jackson?"

Melissa rolled her eyes and sat back on her heels.

"You're a little late there," she said with an inward sigh.

"Oh… wait, what happened?"

"Jackson and I agreed that it would be best to wait until we get off this island to see each other," Melissa explained, a twinge of delight evident as she revealed the information.

Taylor looked confused, and in her head Melissa thought, Okay, she's not that slow!

"What?" she asked pointedly.

"Well, no offense or anything, but doesn't he, like, have a life at home? I mean, why should he hold onto stuff that happened on this stupid island?"

And for once, Taylor had a point. Melissa knew that Jackson was an unpredictable person and she was just so… predictable. How long could he stay interested in someone like her when he was so different?

And also, he had said that when they were rescued he would call her. But what did that mean? When she got home she would probably call Nathan and Daley a few times, but it didn't mean that she wanted to date them! Calling someone wasn't a binding contract to date them. Oh no, she had gotten a completely wrong impression of Jackson, and she needed it straightened out right away.

Daley's red hair and braids pulled Melissa out of her panic and she tried to smile. Failing miserably, looking something between a squint and a grimace, she looked back to the basin and busied her hands washing again.

"Hey, Melissa," Daley said, hardly looking at her as she headed straight toward Taylor.

"Hi, Daley," Taylor said to her with a devilish, I-know-why-you're-here grin.

"Taylor, I need—"

"Daley!" came Nathan's voice from the trees, and soon he was heading in Daley's direction. "Daley, we need to talk," he said seriously, looking as though he were about to corner her and force her to listen to him.

"Oh, Nathan, I really need to talk to Taylor right now."

"Really?" Taylor interjected faux-innocently. "What about?"

Daley whipped her head around, looking over the water, hoping for some sort of a diversion. She wasn't ready to talk to Nathan just yet. When nothing came she looked desperately back toward the three of them, Melissa still on the ground scrubbing the life from a formerly bright green shirt.

"Hey, guys, come check it out!" Lex ran across the beach with a full smile that he hadn't worn since he had been assigned to build the new shelter. "Come look!" Taylor and Melissa made a beeline back to the camp and away from the awkward state of conversation.

"I'll be there in a minute, Lex," Nathan said, turning toward the open water where the sun was beginning to set. Lex was going to show them that he had finally figured out how to build the new shelter, which they had all known he would do anyway. It wasn't shocking news, and Nathan could afford to take a few minutes before congratulating him.

Lex looked understandingly toward Nathan before turning to his sister. "Day?"

Daley looked back at Nathan, who was still looking out over the water, then at Lex. "Okay, let's go," she said, steering him around by the shoulder and leaving Nathan alone.

When he heard them leaving, Nathan sat carefully in the sand, his hands sinking in as he set them behind him, leaning back and letting his hair fly back off his forehead.

What should he do now? He wasn't mad at Melissa; she had tried hard to keep his secret. But Taylor and Eric circulating rumors, Daley pressing, and – for Melissa, probably most of all – Jackson's insecure questioning had gotten to her.

But it wasn't as though Daley had given some sort of sign about what she was feeling when Melissa said it. So he couldn't be sure how to react, because he didn't know what action he was reacting to. Should he just screw the odds and ask her out (whatever that meant here)? Or should he just try to forget about the whole thing and act like nothing had ever happened? He had to see what Daley wanted to do before he made his decision.

With a gnawing feeling in his stomach, Nathan lifted himself from the ground and turned to the camp. He could see the group in the distance standing around a wooden structure, with Lex in the middle making something at the top of the structure spin. He walked up to them and stood, half-listening to Lex's explanation of the roof he had constructed. The only thing that he observed, besides Daley, was the strangely analytical stare that Melissa was directing toward Jackson. Nathan wrote it off as some weird, secret crush thing and continued focusing his attention on Daley. They finally finished congratulating Lex and Nathan turned toward Daley. She knew what he wanted.

"We gotta talk," Nathan said firmly.

"Yeah," Daley agreed and they both turned to the woods.

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A/N: Sorry to all of you who were hunting for something more M-rated, but I'm trying to build the story a bit. I've also been working to finish this in less than a week to try to accommodate the happenings in the series… I'm not sure if that'll work and I'll still be able to put in the stuff I want, but I'll address that when I get to it. Please read and review!