Flight 1D Down.

You know those breathing exercises that they make you do to prepare yourself for labor? Well, they don't work when you're on your way to meet One Direction.

The three of us didn't speak, too exhausted and nervous to start any sort of conversation. We had been playing their entire album in the car, and I could feel my nerves starting to get the better of me. I tried to wipe off some of the perspiration building up on my palms by rubbing them on my black jeans. I felt clammy, and nauseous. The closer we got, the more it hit me that I was going to be face to face with the voices serenading me from the radio. And with the state that I was in, I was probably going to vomit on them. Fantastic.

When we arrived, we were ushered towards a smaller, more private gate at the end of the airport. My damn handle on my suitcase kept squirming around in my hand, thanks to the extremely attractive sweat. A rather distinguished gentleman in a cliche black suit introduced himself, stating that he was Jeremy, the contest organizer. He said something about how everything was very exciting and informed us that we were waiting here for the boys; I guess they were running a bit late. I didn't exactly mind, it gave me more time to pull myself together. When I heard Casey gasp beside me, I froze.

Oh my God. Oh my dear Lord in Heaven.

I saw Harry first, his large and carefully styled bedhead catching my eye right away. He was turned to Niall, laughing about something that had been said before, his dimple on his cheek prominent. He was even more attractive in person. Evelyn better tap that for my own sake and sanity.

Niall threw his head back, his obnoxious laugh echoing through the rather empty airport. I relished over the fact that I had just witnessed Niall Horan laugh in person. But then I felt creepy, so I decided to let that thought go.

Zayn sauntered in behind those two, his face a bit worn. He looked about as tired as I felt. His hair, much like Harry's, was perfectly messy. He had a bit of stubble on his chin, which made him look even more like a Greek God.

Louis had a bounce in his step, clearly the only one out of the lot that was a morning person. He swung his arm around Zayn's neck, grinning, only to be shoved off seconds later by the grumpy boy. Well, at least Lou looked excited. I could almost hear Casey's internal shrieks beside me when she saw him.

Then I saw him, and I briefly considered curling up into the fetal position; I just couldn't take it. Liam Payne led the boys forward, taking control the way he usually did. Pictures did not do that boy justice whatsoever, he was even more beautiful in person if that was remotely possible. He had a carefree smile on his precious face, making my heart swell up like a balloon. And my Lord, was he tall. Well, compared to myself, at least.

Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson were really walking towards me.

And I wasn't dreaming.

Or hallucinating.

I hoped.

When they finally made it over to us, I noticed Evelyn yawn. I didn't blame her, I was exhausted as well. Liam gave her a confused look, but she didn't notice at first.

"Are we that boring, already?" he asked, faking a hurt expression. She erupted into a fit of nervous giggles and shook her head, causing him to smile, "I'm Liam," His voice sounded even more wonderful in person, very soothing and friendly.

"Hi, I'm Zayn," he mumbled, sleep in his voice.

"I'm Niall!" crowed the Irish blonde who seemed to be eyeing Casey. If Lou didn't go for her, she would happily take Niall, considering he happened to be her second favorite. Though, once again, she would never admit it.

"Hello, I'm Harry!" His voice very slow and deep, kind of clashing with the bright cheeky grin that lit up his adorable face. He definitely was checking out Evelyn. In fact, they all were.

"And I'm Louis," chirped the overly excited, blue-eyed boy. He flashed Casey a mischevious smile, and I saw her gulp in response. Normally, I would have laughed at her expense but I didn't want to embarrass her.

I kind of just stood off to the side as all of the boys gawked at Evelyn and Casey, feeling a bit awkward. Being the ugly friend really sucked sometimes, let me tell you. Evelyn waved at them hesitantly, and kept her eyes on the ground, acting a bit shy. I cleared my throat, earning a glance from Liam. I willed my knees not to buckle as I stared into his big brown eyes.

"I'm Cody and these are my two best friends," I smiled, and he smiled back, "That's Casey," I pointed to her, who in response raised her hand and wiggled her fingers at them, trying to be cute. I noticed Niall shoot Harry an approving glance. Oh, boy, "And Evelyn's on the end," I informed, taking on the role of authority. I was always the one to introduce us. She confidently stuck her hand out to Louis, and I faintly heard him laugh and say something about wanting a hug. I thought about the fact that Evelyn didn't hug strangers, regardless of them being International Pop Sensations or not.

I felt a sneeze tickling my nose and I rose my hands up to my face, preparing for it. After making a few unattractive facial expressions, I let out a high pitched yelp. I hated my sneezes, they sounded like one of those annoying mini-dogs. I sniffled and bent down to pick up my suitcase.

"Bless you," a voice said, surprising me. Standing up straight, I was suddenly face to face with a broad and toned chest, "Up here, love," Liam joked, raising my chin up with his index finger, forcing me to look at his perfect face. He towered over me; he had to be at least a foot taller. Getting a sudden burst of confidence that I pulled out of my ass, I raised my eyebrows at his humoured expression. Let the short jokes begin.

"Not even five minutes and you're already cracking a joke about my height? Thanks so much," I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest and cocking my head to the side, trying to appear somewhat tough.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself," Liam mused, giving me a once-over, "You're so tiny, it's adorable!" he exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief, as if he'd never seen a legal midget before. I fought against the urge to squeal considering he had just called me adorable. Or actually, he called my height adorable. Regardless, he found some part of me appealing and that was enough to allow me to die happy, I thanked him softly, feeling the heat flood my cheeks, hoping that he didn't notice, "Anyways, it's nice to finally meet you," he continued, scratching the back of his neck, a smile still painted on his face.

"You too, Liam,"

We were told that we needed to get a move on, and start making our way to our private plane. It was small compared to any other plane that I had seen, but it was nice. It made the whole experience a bit more personal, if you ask me. I stole a glace at Casey as we boarded, knowing that she was never really all that good with planes. Why the hell would you sign up for a Flying Start contest if you didn't like airplanes?

I'll admit I didn't exactly care for the whole taking off process of flying, but for the most part planes didn't exactly bother me. As long as I didn't think about the worst case scenario, that is. I sighed and reassured her, and myself, that we would be fine, and that the chances of us crashing were very slim.

The plane was incredible with a bright atmosphere, making me feel extremely safe. The interior was a soothing cream color with matching leather seats and light brown woodwork for the mini-tables. There were only four rows of seats, two in each row. I wondered idly who would claim the seat beside me as I tried to figure out how to open the overhead compartment, Harry doing the same. Louis ended up opening them both for us, rolling his eyes at our incompetence. Watching as Harry snagged the seat next to Evelyn, I grabbed the window seat, clutching my pocketbook close to my chest. This was it.

"Is this seat taken?" Liam asked, plopping down in the comfy leather beside me.

"It is now," I said, running my hand through my long brown hair. I wasn't going to lie, I had hoped that Zayn would have been the one to sit with me so that I could have slept, knowing that he would be out cold as soon as we took off. But this arrangement was nice, too, and I wasn't complaining about the fact that Liam had dubbed me worthy enough to sit with. He nestled in, making himself more comfortable for our three hour flight that we had ahead of us. I just prayed that I could somehow keep him somewhat entertained for those three hours.

He turned his head towards me as the engine revved and we started hurdling down the runway, "You're not afraid of planes, are you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes curiously at the death grip that I had on my pocketbook.

"I'm just not a big fan of this part," I admitted with an embarrassed laugh. I probably seemed like such a big baby. To my surprise he reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling it away from my pocketbook. I felt the butterflies in my stomach release and begin to flutter, my heart stopping. Liam Payne was holding my hand. My cold, sweaty, hand. No big deal.

"Don't worry, love, it'll be alright," he assured me, keeping me calm. It was probably the sweetest gesture I'd ever seen a boy do. Why couldn't the male population just be a million Liam Payne clones? I smiled at him sweetly, biting my bottom lip, "Here! I'll distract you!" he chirped suddenly, shifting his body towards me a little bit more, our hands still connected. He launched into a frenzy of the most random questions for at least a good hour, and I answered them all. Even the one about what my biggest insecurity was, much to my dismay, to which I replied my height. Being the nice guy that he is, he apologized again for the short joke earlier.

He had let go of my hand when the plane got up in the air, "You can let go now," I said, "I think I'm alright," I could have sworn he seemed a bit reluctant to let go, but I shook that thought off, doing my best to not get my hopes up over anything. Especially since the boy had a girlfriend. That word made me twitch internally. Here I was practically in love with the boy, and he was in love with a tall and beautiful dancer, Danielle, her name was. Story of my life.

Liam pondered for a moment before continuing, "Who's your favorite artist, music-wise?" he questioned. I laughed at his expectant face, wondering whether or not it was a trick question and I was supposed to say One Direction.

"I swear, that's like asking a mother to choose her favorite child," I said, earning a chuckle from him. He thought I was being funny, but I was one hundred percent serious. I hated it when people asked me who my favorite musician was, only because I loved so many so much, "But I'll have to go with Ed Sheeran. The man is a genius," I finally answered, watching a relieved and satisfied look flash across his face.

"Well, for one: thank you for not saying One Direction," he winked, answering my internal question from before, "And two: I love Ed Sheeran. Lego House has got to be my favorite," He said. I found it funny that he had absolutely no idea that I already knew that, recalling when he had played it in one of his twitcams and admitted to loving the song. I wasn't going to tell him that I knew though and make everything awkward by confessing how creepy I was. I was on a roll here.

"I love that one!" I exclaimed, laughing at the memory, "But mine is Small Bump, it's beautiful. I'll hold you body in my hands, be as gentle as I can," I sang softly, glancing down at my lap. He looked at me, slightly taken aback.

"You sing?" he asked, with a somewhat bemused expression. I nodded slowly, blushing, hoping that I hadn't been pitchy or flat and I didn't realize it.

"Yeah, a little bit. I'm currently in the process of teaching myself guitar, which is a complete and utter failure," I muttered bitterly, thinking about that goddamn instrument that gave me headaches from frustration. He laughed heartily, resting his hand on his stomach.

"Been there, believe me! You'll get there though," He said, smiling, "And you have a lovely voice, just saying,"

Oh my- I can't even. My ability to 'even' was shot to hell. When Liam Payne tells you that you have a lovely voice, you don't have an 'even' anymore. You just don't.

I couldn't fight the giggles that escaped my lips, "Thank you so much!" I beamed, covering my face with my hands, "Oh, my goodness, thank you," I couldn't stop smiling and it was rather pathetic. A flash from outside my window caught my eye, lightning it looked like. I knew enough to know that planes weren't supposed to fly during storms, especially thunderstorms.

Suddenly, as if right on cue, the plane began to shake violently, interrupting our conversation. I clutched onto Liam's arm, disregarding the fact that I barely knew him, and looked around at my surroundings frantically, "The hell?" I squeaked, trying not to panic. My eyes met with Liam's suprisingly calm face..

"Don't worry, I-I'm sure it was nothing," He mumbled quickly, lightly tapping my arm, trying to reassure me. He didn't sound so sure, and that's what worried me. According to the other boys, Liam was always sure of everything. I watched him glance at Harry, and Louis, who's faces were shrouded with confusion and a small bit of fear, "It was nothing, lads," They were all trying to be brave for us girls, I could tell, and I wished they wouldn't. I wanted to know what was going on. We all listened intently when we heard the little ping on the intercom, indicating that the captain was about to speak.

"Good morning, everybody," he said in a sort of cheery voice, "this is your captain speaking. It seems that we have encountered a minor storm cloud and are experiencing a bit of turbulence. If you could please remain seated, and buckle your seat-belts for safety precautions, we can pull out of this in no time, and get you back to enjoying your flight. There should be nothing to worry about, thank you!" and with a click, he was gone. Turbulence, just turbulence. I sighed in relief, as did Liam.

"See? I told you that it was nothing," He smiled, eyeing my grip on his arm. I let go, no ounce of shame in me whatsoever. If I was going to die, I would want to die holding on to Liam Payne.

We chatted for a little bit more, except this time I was asking him the questions. I got more enjoyment out of it than I probably should have, considering I already knew most of the answers.

"Purple!" he answered happily, when I had asked him what his favorite color was. Already knew that.

"Toy Story is my guity pleasure, I'm surprised you didn't know that! It seems like every fan knows that" he laughed, when I had asked what his favorite kid's movie was. Actually, I did know that you're practically obsessed with Toy Story and that your best friend's name just happens to be Andy and you are constantly buying Woody dolls. But it's not like I wouid ever admit that. Especially to your face.

"Spoons, can't stand them," he shuddered when I had asked him if he had any strange fears, knowing exactly what answer I would get. I proceeded to tell him that I, too, hated spoons, and found them to be extremely useless and just plain weird. He seemed genuinely amused over the fact that he found someone who disliked the utensil as much as he did. I felt like the two of us were really connecting, maybe on our way to being friends. I felt a little pang in my chest at the thought. Why in the world would Liam Payne want to be friends with me? I wasn't anything special.

A huge tremor rocked the entire plane, causing Evelyn to shriek, and Zayn to finally wake up. I jerked forward in my seat, protecting my face from hitting the one in front of me. It felt like we had hit something, but I knew that was impossible with us being thousands of feet in the sky. The plane rocked again, and I felt my heart practically fall out of my butt. Liam's eyes widened in terror, as we listened to groaning and scraping metal mixed with frightened cries courtesy of Evelyn, Casey and Harry.

"I'm sure it was noth-"

"I SWEAR TO GOD, LIAM, IF YOU SAY THAT WAS NOTHING!" Louis erupted from the seats diagnol from us. In any normal situation, I would have fangirled over his sassy outburst, but this was really not the time. When we all heard the little ping again, the plane went dead silent, praying for some sort of explanation.

There was static on the intercom for a few seconds before the captain spoke, "Th-this is your captain speaking," he sounded nervous, terrified, "It seems that o-our engine has been struck on our ri-right side and we are headed downward. Please, brace for impact, and pray for-" he cut out then, but I didn't really care; I had heard more than enough. Our plane was done for, we were done for.

We were going to die.

Casey was the first to begin blubbering. She, being the idiotic person that she tended to be in situations like this, jumped out of her seat and scrambled over to Louis. Why? I really had no idea, honestly I didn't. He took her into his arms and motioned for her to sit down, but stopped moving completely when Liam spoke up.

"No, no, no, don't sit down in the seats," He jumped up, so frantic and yet so calm and authoritative. If we weren't about to die, it would have been a total turn on, the way he took control, "We need to get to the back of the plane so we won't take the brunt of the impact," He pointed towards the long metal bar that lined the back of the plane, resembling that of a ballet studio.

"Will that work?" Harry asked, holding Evelyn's shaking body against his chest. His eyes were wide and scared, making him look about five years younger than he was.

"We'll find out," he said, "Now come on, there's not much time," he ordered, ushering everybody towards the back of the plane. I sat there in my seat, frozen in absolute terror. This wasn't happening. God couldn't let good things happen to me without making everything go to shit, could he?

Louis and Niall carried Casey, who was beyond inconsolable, to the back of the plane. They, being the gentlemen that they were, shielded themselves in front of her, holding onto the bar with all of their strength. She leaned into Louis, darkening his Flying Start t-shirt with her tears, and wailed. I knew that crying wouldn't make us any less screwed, so I stayed as calm as I could. So calm that it freaked me out. I snapped out of my daze and unbuckled my seat-belt, standing up beside Liam. I watched as Harry and Evelyn rose from their seats as well.

"Harry, come on!" Evelyn shrieked, pulling the boy towards the bar. Harry was in a haze, much like I had been, and wasn't sure as to what he was supposed to do. The plane shifted and I stumbled forward, almost crashing to the floor had it not been for Liam grabbing onto my waist. He held me up and eyed me, concerned.

"Are you alright? Please be careful," He told me, steadying me on my feet. I nodded my head, walking around him and over to Zayn, who looked as if he was completely lost.

"Zayn, come on!" I shouted over the ear-splitting crunching metal, "ZAYN!" He looked up at me, his face so terrified that it broke my heart and made me realize how serious this was. I held out my hand to him, a boy that I barely knew, and pulled him out of his seat, "Go! Go to the back, now!" I shoved him forward, as did Liam, the both of us taking control and remaining calm.

"Cody!" Liam grabbed my hand, interlocking our fingers for a better grip and yanked me toward him. I stumbled behind him as we continued to put his rather genious plan into action. The plane began to tilt dangerously, earning louder screams from Casey, making walking an even harder task.

I saw Harry wrap his arm around Evelyn's waist, holding her as close to him as possible as the two gripped onto the bar. Zayn's head was bowed as he held on, praying, I assumed. Louis shushed Casey, begging her to stop her blubbering for God's sake, while Niall buried his face into her back.

I walked past Liam and tugged him forward, motioning towards Zayn. I got a good grip on the bar and laced my other arm around him, wanting to comfort him more than anything. He had completely shut down, and I knew how that felt.

Liam practically shielded my entire body from the front of the plane, his face close to mine, his breath in my ear. He was so incredibly selfless that it made me want to break down and cry, but I knew that I couldn't. He looked down at me, his brows furrowed in concern, and fear in his eyes, "We're going to make it, Cody, this will work," he said, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself rather than me.

The plane jerked again, shaking with a vengeance. My head would have slammed into the metal bar if Liam's arm wasn't around me. I heard Harry scream Evelyn's name, watching her limp body lurch forward, almost slipping out of his arms. I assumed that she had hit her head like I almost had, "LIAM!" he cried, helpless.

"Hold on to her, don't even think about letting go!" he hollered at the young, curly haired boy. Anguish flooded his face as he gripped onto her, reminding me of a little girl holding onto a doll. I caught a glimpse out of the window and saw water, and a lot of it. I finally began to panic; I hated deep water.

"Oh my God," I whispered, wanting to wake up from this dream, this nightmare. I fought against the tears that stung my eyes, not wanting Liam to see me cry. I had to be brave. I tightened my grip on Zayn and Liam, wanting to protect them more than myself. Praying to God, I begged him to spare everyone else, they had so much more to live for.

"EVERYBODY HOLD ON!" Liam screamed, hiding his face in the crook of my neck. I tried to prepare myself, but I didn't know what to expect.

Nobody knew what to expect.

The plane crashed into water that was rather shallow. All of the windows had broken, the glass shattering everywhere. Shards had flown in our direction, but Liam deflected them with his arm. You could barely hear our screams over the sound of bending metal, a sound that is a bit on the haunting side. A sound that you wouldn't be able to forget no matter how hard you tried.

Liam's idea had worked perfectly, the impact wasn't as bad as I thought that it was going to be. It was still bad, but I had expected a hell of a lot worse. Everyones bodies flopped when we hit the water. I practically broke my hand from holding on to Zayn, considering he had started to slip out of my grasp upon touchdown. Casey was unlucky enough to get hit by a piece of scrap metal that had flown in her direction, causing her head to bleed all over Louis and Niall's white t-shirts. Evelyn was still out cold, a large scrape on the side of her normally perfect face, a thin trail of blood leaking from it. Harry tried to wipe it away, only to have fresh blood appear seconds later. Lucky for me, I made it out with slight whiplash, thanks to Liam who made sure that I was alright and protected.

Everyone spoke in hushed tones to each other, asking if they were okay, hurt or if anything was broken.

"Does anything hurt? Did you hit your head? Are you bleeding?" Liam's anxious face ambushed me with questions, but I couldn't find my voice. My body was in a state of shock and I felt as if I was going to vomit. I shook my head, knowing that I needed to give him some sort of answer before he had an aneurysm. He sighed in relief, "Thank God," he breathed, holding me against his chest. I closed my eyes, feeling safe and content. I was okay, I was still alive, "Zayn? Zayn, man, are you alright?" he asked a bit louder so that Zayn could hear him. The dark haired boy raised his eyes and nodded his head, unable to speak either. I could see a tiny cut on his upper lip, but it wasn't anything serious. We were all lucky, so lucky.

Louis stood up, handing Casey over to Niall. He pet her head soothingly, telling her that everything was okay, that we were all fine. Louis walked down the aisle slowly, cautious and silent. He craned his neck and looked out the window, his eyes searching for something.

"Check her," Liam told the frozen Harry in reference to Evelyn, whose body was hunched over. I bit back the bile that wanted to escape my mouth upon seeing one of my best friends in that state. She looked broken. She looked dead. And it freaked me out.

"She's still breathing," Harry mumbled, brushing her hair out of her eyes and checking her scrape, "She just whacked her head really hard. I don't know what to do, Liam!" he cried, looking exasperated.

"We need to get off of the plane," I let go of Liam's hand and squirmed out of his grasp, against his better judgement. I walked over to Louis and stood beside him, eyeing the rest of the group. They stared at me, wide-eyed and confused.

"Are you crazy?" Casey wailed, fresh tears pouring out of her eyes. She coughed into her fist, causing Niall to tap her back to help her. Boy, was he eating her fragile state up.

"No, Cody's right," Liam said, looking back at me, "We can't stay on this plane. Especially when it's this damaged," I smiled at him, thanking him with my eyes for agreeing with me, "Lou, do you see anything out there?"

I watched as Louis's eyes brightened in the slightest bit, "It's a bit of a swim, but there's an island, just over there," he informed, motioning toward a large green outline in the distance. It was probably clearer and closer than it looked, my eyes were terrible. I heard Zayn sigh upon hearing that he would have to swim, considering he couldn't swim well at all. I shot him a sympathetic glance and Louis did the same, "It's our only chance," he sad sadly, shrugging his shoulders in a helpless sort of way.

"Come on, let's get going," Liam ordered, standing up. Zayn reluctantly rose from the corner, along with everyone else, and kept his eyes on the floor, somewhat embarrassed. Lou and I ushered everybody out the smashed in back door of the plane, Liam in the lead. Louis placed a comforting hand on the small of my back and pushed me in front of him.

"Ladies first," he said, smirking at me, causing me to laugh in spite of our situation. Bless him for trying to lighten the mood.

I heard a splash as Liam jumped out of the door, resurfacing and telling the rest to hurry. He held on to the side of the plane, offering to make sure everybody made it out alright. Throughout this entire situation, Liam seemed to take on the role of a superhero.

Niall was next, letting out a small, "whoop!" as he cannonballed into the water.

Zayn guided Casey forward and held her hand as she meekly followed after Niall, frantically swimming behind him as they started toward the island, which wasn't as far as I had originally thought. Zayn looked absolutely terrified as he stared at what awaited below him, "Come on, you can do it, Zayn," Liam encouraged, reaching out a hand, prepared to latch onto him if he needed it. He bit back his fear and flopped into the clear blue liquid, resurfacing with a gasp. He began to swim after Niall and Casey, surprising me at how well he was doing.

Evelyn was still unconscious, being carried by Harry, "How am I going to do this?" He pondered, looking at the small drop that he had to jump, "Lou!" he yelled, as Louis brushed past me, "Take her for a second," He handed my limp friend over to the smaller boy easily, as if she weighed nothing. I wasn't going to lie, it was rather impressive. Suddenly, the curly haired boy dived into the water, and flipped his hair out of his face so he could see what he was doing. The boys were right, he did look like a baby Tarzan, "Alright, send her down," I watched as Louis lowered her feet in first, before dropping her into Harry's ready and open arms. He briefly dipped under because of the weight, but recovered quickly and began to drag her to the shore.

Louis motioned for me to jump in next, and I nodded my head, bending my knees the way they taught us to do in those bus drills in school. Who knew they would actually come in handy?

I bit back a shriek when I went underwater, unable to touch the sand below me. I hated deep water, and like Zayn, I wasn't the best swimmer. Although from the looks of it, I was a lot better than him. Liam reached over and yanked me above the surface when I didn't come up by myself. I coughed and spit water out, "Here, come here," he said, pulling me against him. I latched onto his shoulder and floated beside him while Louis jumped in behind me.

Him and Liam immediatly began swimming forward, much like those swimmers in the Olympics, while I doggy-paddled behind them. If I fell too far behind, which in Liam's case was at least a foot of distance between him and I, he would wait, not wanting to abandon me or have me get swept away by a wave, while Lou trekked on. It was sweet, and I ignored the way my heart reacted to his caring personality.

After I had practically swallowed the entire Caribbean, I felt something under my boots.

Sand.

I stood up, feeling the weight of my leather jacket from the water, and sighed. Swimming was exhausting, especially when you were basically swimming for your life. Harry laid Evelyn down on the beach as she started to come to. She coughed and rubbed her head in pain, mumbling something that I couldn't hear over the crash of the waves. Liam took my hand into his own again and tugged me forward, trying to get me out of the water as fast as possible.

"Is everyone alright?" He asked, looking around at the scattered bodies on the beach. Casey was resting her face in her hands, Niall practically glued to her side even though she ignored his attempts to comfort her. Louis stood with one hand on his hip and the other on Zayn's back, who of which was bent over trying to catch his breath. I shimmied out of my heavy leather jacket, revealing my soaked white shirt. I ignored the uncomfortable feeling of my wet jeans and wrung my long hair out, nodding to Liam.

"Well," Louis said as Zayn stood up straight, "This was definietely not according to the plan," Niall erupted into a fit of laughter, causing a chain reaction with the rest of the group, except for Casey, who glared at Niall and then the rest of us.

"How can any of you be laughing at a time like this? We're stranded on a fucking island, not on some beach resort!" She shrieked, rising to her feet. She began stomping further down the beach, and I decided that it would be better to just let her go and blow off her steam. I knew Casey enough to know that trying to calm her down would be pointless because she was as stubborn as an ox. Louis, on the other hand, didn't, and took off running after her. I rolled my eyes and looked to Niall's flabbergasted expression.

"Was it something I said?" he questioned, quite confused as to how he contributed to her little outburst. I laughed, and shook my head at the blonde. Poor, naive fellow.

"Does anyone have any idea where we are?" Evelyn asked, beside Harry, her face crinkled in pain from her head. Liam looked around himself, as if he could try and figure it out.

"Well, we're on an island in the middle of the Caribbean, that is the extent of my knowledge," I answered, sarcasm flowing through my words as usual. Zayn chuckled, finding my comment funny. Evelyn, not so much.

"Thanks, smartass," she muttered, laying back down in the sand, "Can we just find a hotel or something?" she asked, causing everyone's ears to perk up. I crossed my arms over my chest, and met eyes with Niall, who I could tell was thinking the same thing as me. Sure, we could find a hotel, if there were any to find.

"Niall, and Harry, go grab Louis and head that way," Liam, said pointing to his left, "Zayn, you're going to stay here with the girls," Him and Evelyn nodded their heads in agreement, but I didn't. There was no way I was staying on the beach.

Right on cue, Louis was returning with Casey, who from the looks of it had calmed down. I wondered what he had said to her. Whatever it was, he would have to give me tips.

"No, I'm going, too," I demanded, refusing to be useless. I wasn't as helpless as the other two, and I didn't like being treated like I was. He sighed, closing his eyes in frustration, due to the fact that I was being difficult.

"Fine," he amended, turning his attention back to the group, "As I was saying: Niall, Harry and Lou, you're going to head that way and see if you can find anybody. Zayn, Evelyn and Casey will stay on the beach, and see if anybody comes. And I guess that leaves Cody and I to head this way," he said reluctantly, pointing in the opposite direction. I bit my lip, wishing we could have gone the other way. We were the ones who had to venture into the dark forest.

Louis grabbed Harry's shirt and yanked him away from Evelyn, doing the same with Niall, and started trotting down the beach. From what I could hear, he was humming some sort of song, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Zayn sat down where Harry had been and smiled at Evelyn, who frowned at the boy, unamused. Liam jerked his head in the direction of the forest, "Come on," he said, leading the way. I followed, my hair dripping down my back.

We walked for quite awhile, barely talking except for him saying, "Watch out for that step! Duck under that branch! Don't trip, please be careful, Cody!" and any other helpful little comments that eventually started to get on my nerves.

Before we knew it, we had been walking for two hours, not a soul in sight. We had made it to the other side of the island, the empty beach menacing and a cruel reminder of our sick twist of fate. I felt light-headed and I sat down on a large rock, burying my face into my hands. We were alone, there was nobody else on this goddamn island. There were no buildings, no huts, no hotels, not even a bathroom. I fought against the tears that I knew were coming. I didn't want to cry; it's not like it would save or help us in anyway. Liam stopped in tracks when he saw that I was sitting down, and he rushed to my side, searching my face.

"Liam, there's nobody here," I whispered, my stomach churning. Hearing myself say it out loud was even worse. He looked helpless as he glanced at the empty beach, "We're alone," I cried, allowing a single tear to flow down my flushed cheeks against my better judgement. He took me into his arms, and laid his head on top of mine, comforting me. In that moment, of him and I holding each other, we came to some sort of understanding.

We needed to keep everybody together as a whole. We had no idea how long we were going to be here but if we split up, we wouldn't survive. That much was certain. The both of us could feed off of each other's strength to keep the other one going. We could do this. We could survive.

Couldn't we?