Once the sun was engulfed by the darkness of night, the boys came together to go to bed. Liam had thrown together a ratchet looking canopy (if you could even call it that) that would work for their first night. He had not-so-carefully sewn four extra large Hawaiian floral shirts together. Then he used some rope he found in the plane to tie them to a few decently sized branches he found sitting around. He figured they'd work for the time being.

"That was some show tonight," Zayn commented, shuffling through a few of the shirts Louis left out for sleepwear. Most people packed shorts and tank tops so it was hard for Louis to even find jackets for cooler weather. "Great performance, might I add," he said as he shimmied into a grey, lightweight jacket.

"You better shut up if you know what's good for you," Liam warned. Zayn could hardly make out his face, but he knew it was probably one of Liam's knowing glares. See, Liam had this special thing that helped him avoid getting into trouble, but Zayn didn't seem to have it: consideration for other people and their feelings.

"It's not my fault the boyfriends are having trouble in paradise," Zayn replied.

"Really, you should just stop it, Zayn," Niall said, fed up with all of this shit. They were supposed to be working together to get out, not hating each others guts.

Harry looked over at Louis. He wished he could see Louis' blue eyes. He had always loved them and he thinks he might just love them until the day he dies. There was something special about them. Something that made Harry feel so much better, yet so much sadder. Maybe it was the way Louis looked at him that made Harry sad. The way his eyes fell when he frowned made Harry want nothing more than to make him smile. But he was the reason Louis wasn't talking and why Louis had been crying. He was Louis' pain and all he wanted to be was Louis' happiness.

Louis stood, trying to find anything to keep him warm. He really wished Zayn hadn't taken that jacket, he was really hoping he'd be able to use it. But he eventually picked out a scarf and long sun dress he could use as blankets. At least they were something. When he chose what he needed he sneaked a glance at Harry. It was getting so much darker with every second and Louis couldn't even really see Harry's face, but he could see his hair and how wild it had got with small gusts of wind blowing all day long. Louis went forever without wanting to run his fingers through Harry's hair and now those feelings are all coming back and he just wanted to push them all away.

.

All of the boys tossed and turned that night as they tried to sleep on top of suitcases. Their idea was proved unsuccessful and eventually Zayn spoke up, "okay, so, like, does anyone have any good bedtime stories?"

Louis stared at the sky, enjoying the stars, as Liam told some shit story about a king who turned his son young again because his "baby boy" grew up too fast and how he had to go to some stupid witch to turn him back. Liam made it seem more dramatic than it really was, but all of the guys continued to listen. Niall often time made remarks, claiming that the witch is "a stupid bitch ass whore" who should "shove that bottle of lizard guts up her ass". Harry actually laughed once or twice at Niall's comments.

When the stories finally stopped rushing in, Niall asked the group a question, "do you really think we'll get off?" And even though Niall already asked all of them individually, he really wanted to know if that would change when it wasn't just him. Liam said he hoped so, but he doubted it. Zayn said they were probably going to rot once their free peanuts where out and they realized they're incapable of survival. Harry said the same as Liam. And finally Louis said that they would, because if they didn't then he had given up on all hope of there being a god.

"I kind of feel like we're meant to be here you know," Harry said from out of the blue and this kind of caught Louis' attention. "It's just that maybe there is a god and maybe he wants us to solve our differences, find a common ground, create memories together to share with others. Maybe this isn't just about us, but something bigger. I know we don't like each other—yeah, I hate you, too, Zayn—but maybe we're meant to be something together, you know? Something totally awesome like The Avengers."

"I love how you compare us to guys in tights," Zayn says.

Niall cleared his throat, "uhm, excuse me, but Iron Man definitely doesn't wear tights. He's made of iron, not nylon, duh."

"But even so, why would a god have us live and the rest perish? It just doesn't seem right," Liam pointed out.

Harry let out a sigh, "some things cannot be explained. There might be some things a god can't even control."

"Aren't gods supposed to have control of everything?" Zayn asked, seeming genuinely interested in the conversation. He was intrigued. Fascinated. He wanted to hear more.

Harry rolled over onto his back, placing his arms behind his head. He looked at how vast the sky was. How the world seemed to expand on for millions and millions of miles. And he thought about he and this island were just specks of dust compared to the rest of the galaxy. Even then, he's considered nothing when looking at how many galaxies there are out there. And there were so many possibilities of life on other planets in other galaxies, but they seemed to unreal. Out-of-reach. He was beginning to think if they even existed. Maybe scientists were just really good story tellers, making up these ideas of these worlds to make the general audience scared, crave more lies, and realize their ultimate doom will mean nothing to the rest of the universe.

"Can something really have control of everything? We think we can control our whole lives by the decisions we make, but that isn't the case," Harry said. "We live our lives picking out what to eat for breakfast, what clothes to wear, but we can never control the events of that day. We cannot control whether or not someone crashes into us while we're driving down the street. We can't control how someone will react to something we say or do. We have no control even though we are raised to think we do."

Louis listened to everything Harry had to say, but he didn't voice his own opinion. He agreed with Harry. You were taught as children to make decisions on your own, but there was hardly an emphasis of what your decisions might lead to. One bad decision leads to another and another and the chain of dominoes continues to fall until you reach the end. The final domino. The last bad decision you'll make.

"You know what I told my brother the last day I saw him?" Niall asked once there was a silent pause in the conversation. None of the boys answered his question so he continued to talk, "I told him that I hated him. I yelled it at him from across the room and I was crying when I said it because-fuck-I was just so angry at him. I was so fucking angry at him and for what? Leaving me? Obviously he had to leave some time. He had to leave for college eventually. But I was angry at him for leaving me behind. Leaving my to fight my own battles on my own. Leaving me to find myself. Now it just seems so stupid. A stupid, pathetic thing to say."

Louis looked over in the general direction of where Niall was laying. "You'll get to say sorry someday," Louis said.

Niall let out a bitter chuckle, " and when's that gonna happen?"

The boys finally fell asleep, but they didn't sleep well. Niall had nightmares. Zayn was cold all night long which led to some serious bags under his eyes. Harry only dreamed of Louis. Louis only dreamed of a better place. And Liam tossed and turned all night, dreaming about the family he left behind.

They woke up when the sun gently touched their faces, as if greeting them with a warm hello. Then they gathered for breakfast which was the same thing as dinner minus the cookies. Then they each changed their clothes, picking out something that wouldn't make them too hot as the sun rose with each hour. Liam went back to work sewing. Niall helped Liam. Zayn went out to explore on his own (which all of them told him not to do). Louis went off to find some more wood so they could have a fire tonight. And Harry followed Louis, yet again.

"Don't take another step," Louis said without turning around.

"I just--"

"Not today, Harry. Just, not today."

So Harry walked in the opposite direction from Louis and Liam and Niall. He just needed to clear his mind. He needed to think about what he can do. What will fix this between him and Louis. All his staring at the ground ended up in him running into Zayn who was smoking a cigarette.

"Sorry," Harry mumbled, side-stepping to let Zayn by.

"Hey," Zayn said, "what's got you all sad and shit?"

Harry looked up at Zayn, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not really anything you need to be a part of," Harry said.

Zayn dropped his cigarette butt and shoved it into the ground with his foot. "Look, kid, I have to be on an island with you and Pretty Eyes so I'd really like if you'd just work out your shit. Now what you did was a douche move. Like, the biggest move any douche-bag could ever make. We all get that. But what you gotta do isn't say sorry or please forgive me. You have to show him that you actually want to make a difference, you know? Like, you have to show him you'll be there for him."

"He's not really accepting my help."

"Yeah, yeah, he's Sir Piss-A-Lot right now, but when he's ready, be there. It's always nice to know there's someone you can count on," Zayn said, pulling out another cig.

"You're going to die if you keep it up. Where did you even get that pack?" Harry asked.

Zayn lit the cigarette and smirked, "like a man doesn't bring an extra pack of cigs." Zayn exhaled. "want one?" he asked. Harry took Zayn's offering and the two went to sit on a rock to smoke. "You know, this doesn't mean that I don't still hate you."

Harry smirked, "of course not, Zaynie."

---

Question: Will Harry put Zayn's advice to good use?