Part 264: Spinning

“Yes, Claire, we are going to play Spin The Bottle,” Libby smiled.

“Knew their was a reason I got outta bed this morning, “ Sawyer smiled.

“You better not have been smoking.” Kate pointed, playfully at him.

“Yeah, “ Jack smiled, “You had better not have been smoking, cause I ain’t kissing you.”

“I’ll cry about that when I remember how, Doc.”

“Needless to say,” Libby broke up their exchanges of playful insults, “This will be a very special game of Spin The Bottle. When you take a spin and it lands on somebody, you are more than welcome to kiss them. However, if it lands on someone you don’t want to kiss, you can say PASS or you can tell something to the person that you’ve wanted to tell them and having found the time or place.”

“And we are doing this . . .why?” asked Karleigh.

“Because you need to.” Libby said, smiling but yet a touch of sternes, “ Now, who wants to go first?”

“ME.” Sawyer raised his hand.

“No surprise there.” Seth chuckled.

Sawyer got up and leaned forward, grabbing the bottle and giving it a spin. Everybody watched to see where it would land. The bottle twirled and twirled then slowly came to a stop, pointing at Hurley. “Oh, Jesus, pass like hell,” Sawyer immediately said.

Hurley just chuckled along with everybody else. Libby smiled, seeing how it was already working, bringing laughter to them. “Let’s go in a clock wise motion. “ she smiled, “Seth, you are next.”

Seth leaned forward and spun the bottle. The bottle flung slightly to the right and then it slowly began to stop, right on Shanna. The group chuckled at the selection. Seth got up, walked over and behind her, kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks for being a great friend,” he smiled.

“I love you too, Seth,” she said, patting his arm.

“There we go.” Libby applauded, “Let’s keep this going.”

Charlie then leaned forward and took his turn. The bottle flipped and spun on it’s axis. It continued to turn until it stopped and the longneck pointed toward Hurley. The group laughed again. “What is this?” the large man said in protest but laughed about it.

Charlie extended his hand. “Thanks for always being there for me.” He said.

“No problem dude, “ Hurley said, shaking his hand.

Then it was the large man’s turn. He leaned forward and then twirled the bottle. It spun on it’s side, making a small screeching sound. As it turned and turned, it then stopped, almost as if on cue toward Joscelyn. “Rigged!!” Sawyer laughed, making the others laugh.

The young brunette tried to hide her embarrassment, by covering her cheeks. Karleigh massaged her friend on the shoulder, to help her with her moment in the spotlight. Hurley took a deep breath and walked over to her. As he leaned down, she felt like she was going to die of embarrassment. However, Hurley simply took her hand and kissed her on her knuckles. “That’s a gentleman right there.” Kate applauded him, as did the other girls.

Joscelyn felt special. Hurley was not like other guys; she never should have assumed he would force a kiss on her. As he sat down, she enjoyed looking at him and felt back about leaving him earlier in the day. Jack just shook his head and leaned forward to his turn, spinning the bottle. After it came to it’s stop, everybody giggled as it landed on Karleigh. Jack huffed as he leaned over and instead of kissing her, simply embraced her. “Oh, come on, stud,” she giggled, “I brushed my teeth this morning.”

Jack just laughed as he resumed his position. Karleigh then leaned over and spun her turn at the bottle. The bottle spun and in an amusing turn off events, it landed back on Jack. The doctor chuckled, trying not to be embarrassed. The rich New Yorker leaned up and gently took his chin, bringing it to her face. She slowly kissed him on the lips and then parted from him. Dutch just smirked, trying to show he was jealous. The doctor just sighed, marveling at the kiss he just received.

Clay then leaned forward and spun the bottle. The billionaire then leaned back, wondering how this was gonna turn out. The bottle spun and spun then landed on Charlie’s position. A hushed collection of whispers went over the crowd as Clay looked at the small musician. “I think you are a punk,” he said, “You have a shady past, I can tell. And I don’t think you deserve that you have.”

“What the bloody hell does that mean?” Charlie grunted.

“Now, now, Charlie,” Libby interrupted, “Clay said his piece, right or wrong. You must wait your turn.”

Charlie made a maneuver to get up and leave. However, Seth grabbed him by the sleeve and brought him back down. Everybody took a moment to allow Charlie the opportunity to collect him. Dutch then leaned forward to take his turn. He spun the bottle and then allowed it to come to a complete stop on Karleigh. “Can anybody say rigged?” Sawyer mentioned yet again.

Dutch got up and walked over to her. Karleigh looked at him with somewhat doe eyes, wondering what he was going to do. Was he going to kiss her or do something else? Dutch then kneeled down in front of her. “Hopefully this will be better than last time.” He mused.

The surfer then leaned in and kissed her. Dutch held on, gently taking her arm. Karleigh closed her eyes, and felt her heart race. The young couple didn’t even hear the collective grouping of WHOOOOS from the crowd. As they parted, Dutch slowly opened his eyes and Karleigh stayed where she was, eyes still closed. “Did I improve?” he smirked.

Karleigh slowly opened her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she licked her lips, “Did you say something?”

“I think that is a YES, Dutch.” Kate giggled.

Dutch smiled and went back to sit down. Karleigh gently bit her lip and playfully pushed Joscelyn, who tried not to giggle. Claire then smiled reluctantly and leaned forward to spin the bottle. The twirling commenced for a few seconds and then she gasped when it landed on Sawyer. The redneck smirked at his luck. Charlie slowly gripped his fists. Claire then got up and walked over to the southern man. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek, with Sawyer kissing her on her cheek in unison. “Gracias, Mamacita.” He laughed.

“Shut up,” she said, playfully messing up his hair.

Kate just shook her head, laughing to herself. Then it was her turn. The brunette leaned forward and spun the bottle. It twirled and spun, squeaking on its axis. Jack felt his heart race as it slowed down. However, the bottle continued to turn and then it landed on Seth. He managed to suppress a gasp before anybody else noticed. Kate smiled brightly for a second, then slowly stood up to go over to him. The young singer started to get flashback of his erotic dream with Kate and fell the immediate swelling of an erection. Kate kneeled down and kissed him near his right eye and hugged him. Seth returned the hug, trying to hold his breath from the result of his head being buried in his bosom. “Hey, break it up you two,” Jack laughed.

“Shut up, “ Seth grunted, “Can you see we are bonding?”

Kate laughed and finally let him go. The ground smirked as it had finally arrived at Shanna. Flower was with Andra so the redhead was a little happy she didn’t have to kiss her new companion. She wasn’t fully prepared to show her feelings to the group for Flower just yet. The redhead leaned forward and spun the bottle. It spun on it’s side and came to it’s screeching stop at Sawyer. The redneck flickered his eyebrows. Shanna blushed as she leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Everybody laughed and Seth waved his finger at her in amusement.

Sawyer then leaned up and spun his bottle again. The bottle’s label was starting to get scratched up from the spinning that was happening. When it slowed down, Sawyer just shook his head at his luck as it stopped on Seth. The young singer sighed like he was depressed. Then he tried to reach over and grab Sawyer. “Pucker up, you sexy redneck!” he laughed.

“BOY, GET UP OUT OF MY FACE!” he said, blocking him.

“No, seriously, Sawyer, I am sorry for what happened earlier today.” Seth confessed.

The southern man looked at him and even though he was still angry, he could tell the sincerity in the young man. “It was that damn important?” he asked.

“It was to Mandy. I was just there to help her out.”

Sawyer shook his head. “Fine but you owe me one and I will collect.” He said, shaking his hand.

“I guess I can live with that.” Seth replied, before stepping up to take his turn at the bottle.

The young singer then spun the bottle, allowing it to spin on it’s access. The bottle spun until it bumped a flaw in the metal it was resting on and then jolted and landed right side up. Everybody thought it funny that the bottle would be pointing up. Seth, however, thought it was the coolest thing he had ever seen. He looked over to Shanna, smiling. The redhead was curious what her good friend was thinking. The young singer looked skyward with almost a tear in his eye. “Thanks for everything, Brendon.” He smiled, “I will never forget you.”

Shanna smiled, wiping a tear from her eye. Only a few people knew what Seth was talking about it and thought it was touching how the bottle spin worked. Charlie then raised up and set the bottle back on it’s side, and then twirled it. It spun and spun, and within a few seconds landed on Clay. The crowd whispered a little, wondering the odds of it happening like that. Charlie flinched his jaw slightly and looked at the corporate mogul. “I think you are an uncouth moronic sycophant, “ the bassist hissed, “who is trying to worm his way into somewhere he doesn’t belong.”

“Duly noted.” Clay glared back at him.

Hurley wanted to break up the tension fast, so he reached up the spun the bottle. The bottle spun and spun again, and landed back on Joscelyn. “How the hell?” Sawyer grunted.

“I swear it’s not rigged,” Libby smirked.

Hurley just looked at the brunette he’d been enjoying spending time with her on the past few days. She looked at him with her soft eyes, wondering what he was going to do. “I . .uh . . .got in on good authority that talking to someone about one’s problems is a good way to heal past wounds, “ the large man smiled, “Above all else, I want you to trust me.”

Joscelyn just smiled. She said nothing, just lowered her head. Libby smiled, and wrote down a few notes in her pad. Jack waited a few seconds after Hurley made his sweet poem and then went up to spin the bottle. It spun and spun then landed on it’s side; pointing the longneck right at Kate. She gasped and smiled; wondering if it was rigged. Jack up and walked over to the brunette, who immediately stood up to greet him. Kate swaggered up to him, placing both her arms around his neck. Jack paused for a second, as Kate then leaned forward and kissed him. Sawyer turned his head, unable to watch. The doctor had been wanting to do this for weeks but never got the chance. Kate rubbed his hair as the kiss seemed to last for an eternity. As they parted, they offered no words. Kate kissed him on the cheek and then sat down. Jack staggered back over to his position.

Joscelyn took a deep breath and took her turn, spinning the bottle. The bottle spun and spun and once again, everybody whispered when it landed on Hurley. The brunette smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear. She looked over the large man, trying not to be so shy. “I do trust you.” She said, simply.

Hurley just shook his head. Karleigh then got up and spun the bottle. It twirled on it’s axis and spun until it landed on Dutch. The surfer had hoped the bottle would choose him but he never expected it to actually happen. Karleigh smirked as she looked at him. Then she got up and walked over to him, holding out her hand. Dutch paused for a second then took her hand, getting up. The rich girl from New York then started to lead the surfer away from the group. “Lovely game, Libby,” Karleigh said, “Me and Dutch are taking this up elsewhere.”

“Behave, you two!” Libby laughed, calling to him.

Dutch gave a playful frightened look as the rich girl pulled him into the nearby jungle. Everybody laughed. Joscelyn smiled, already knowing how much Karleigh enjoyed being in control of any situation. It was amusing to see her almost control Dutch like a little puppy and it didn’t seem liked he minded, either. Clay sighed as it became his turn to spin the bottle. The bottle spun and spun, and came to a screeching halt at Claire. The blonde giggled at the sight but Charlie said nothing; just fixated his hateful gaze up on the CEO. Since Dutch was no longer sitting between them, Clay scooted next to her. The Australian giggled he put his arm around her and then gently kissed her.

Charlie grunted as he got up and walked away. By the time Clay and Claire parted, the young Australian woman just realized that Charlie had left. Seth looked into the distance for his friend and then got up, and ran in the opposite direction. Libby slowly raised up. “Well, since four of our participants have left,” she sighed, “I believe that is where we will close things up. I hope this has been . . insightful for you all.”

“It actually has, “Jack stood up, brushing the sand off of his pants, “Thank you, Libby.”

The group then began to disperse. Sawyer grunted that he didn’t get a chance to kiss enough women. Kate made a joke that he would have be tortured again for her to kiss him. Joscelyn and Hurley began to walk off in the direction of the beach together. Shanna walked with Claire, slowly followed by Clayton. Libby jotted down a few notes, and then leaned up when she heard the presence of someone stepping in the sand.

Hal smiled at her as he walked up to the area of the metal where the bottle rested. The shrink tucked her notes away in her side pocket, smiling at him. “How did it go?” he asked.

“Better than I hoped,” she said, standing up, “A lot of people got their feelings out on the table, which is what needed to happen. Where they go from here, will be up to them.”

“Why do you do it, Libby?” Hal asked.

“Why do I do what?”

“Help people.”

“That’s why job,” she said simply.

“No, I don’t think so,” Hal took a step toward her, “You are no where near an office. You have no secretary. No one to file insurance premiums. No I don’t think this just a job for you. I think . . .it’s what you were born to do.”

Libby lowered her head, rocking her arms back and forth. “You read people well for a cop.” She smiled.

“I have to.” He winked.

“It was amazing, Hal. I didn’t expect it to turn out this well. If it almost as if . . .the bottle stopped where it needed to stop.”

“Maybe it did?” he shrugged.

“Oh, come on, Hal.” Libby scoffed with a smile, “Only stuff like that happens in fairy tales.”

“Then you should probably talk to Locke and Mia. They might just convince you that this Island is a magical place.” The cop told her.

“I was trapped in a bunker for over a month, Hal. No magic happened for me there.”

“That wasn’t your fault. You were just in the wrong place.”

Hal then looked down at his feet and saw the beer bottle. He then leaned over and spun it. Libby raised an eyebrow about what he had just done. The bottle spun and spun then slowly came to a stop, pointing the longneck directly at Libby. The strawberry blonde wondered how that happened. Hal smirked, as he slowly approached her. The therapist looked away and then back up at him. She then slowly raised her hand, touching his chest. They shared a comfortable stare for a moment and then gently pressed their lips against one another.


Ana-Lucia grunted as she moved through the jungle, hauling firewood. Kellye stayed with her, carrying her own load. The Latina stepped out into the sand, then looked at her right. She smirked seeing Libby and Hal in a lip lock, alone on the beach. The girl soldier behind her stopped as she did. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Ana-Lucia pointed in the distance. Kellye looked and when she saw Libby, she giggled. The Latina turned back, and started walking to the main area of Camp City. “Bout damn time.” She chuckled.