CHAPTER 26: Her fangs are still in her mouth

Ear-splitting. Everything is so loud that it takes me a good two minutes to close my eyes and bring my hands to my tortured ears. It isn't very cold and that just makes this whole swim-in-the-night thing easy. Maddie and the rest of the guys surround me, talking amongst themselves about anything and everything.

My eyes are currently fixated on the far end of the lake. A part of me longed to reach out there and let my curiosity get the best of me to discover what could be there. It's dark out there – I could only see black water – but the lights hanging on the trees framing the lake, illuminated the area we are swimming in. We aren't that far from the bridge and luckily, there aren't any restrictions on swimming at night.

My legs move slowly underwater and my arms flail gently to keep me floating. I don't pay much attention to what everyone is so excited about – I guess it was the alcohol that got to their head plus the fact that they would have a little extra fun this weekend.

In terms of sex, I mean.

Moving tents will be a nightmare.

I'm not that intrigued, it beats me, and instead of bothering at all to engage in conversations that mainly involved gossip and frequent flirting, I gaze longingly at the lake and sky simultaneously. The sky is clear and purely magnificent. The little stars covered it all the way down as I could see, the beautiful constellations scattered all over the dark background. The lake glistens in the light moonlight that managed to peek from the very few clouds which annoyingly only covered the moon. The ripples and waves aren't that strong as I see and it's serene all around us.

For once, I seem to be forgetting everything and everyone, all my worries and anxiety becoming obscure and emanating from my mind as of the lake is capturing them and keeping them away from me. I close my eyes and savor the moment, rare moments like this to be cherished.

I liked the loneliness the lake offered, I think. It's not the quiet and sometimes unbearable loneliness I had over the years. No. it's a calm loneliness – I know I sound senseless – one that I wouldn't let go for even the slightest bit of company. I could stay here all night watching the stars move slightly according to the figment of my imagination. I could watch them bring out a different and alluring shimmer to the sky. I could just be all alone.

As much as I love my peace and few moments of solitude, a deep voice breaks my reverie and I flip my hand in defense, a short gasp escaping my moist lips.

"Ow." Caleb rubs his nose slowly, his eyes narrowing at me. I manage to laugh a little, thinking of how funny it is that I hit his nose every time we meet.

"Your hand seems to be having an eternal bond with my nose." My stomach churns at his words and a foreign feeling settles at the pit of my stomach. I gulp at his shirtless form – he resembled a Calvin Klein model – and how the moonlight hit his caramel skin at the right places. His dark hair rose in spikes and small beads of water drizzled down next to his ear, tracing the outline of his sharp jawline as they ran down his neck and finally immersed into the water. His shoulder blades move along with his hands underwater and with every move, his peeking biceps retract. I shake my head, cursing myself for ever admiring his body.

"You should stay away then if you don't want to get hurt." A whisper escapes my mouth. I don't want to get close to anybody, it doesn't work that way for me. Why? I have no idea. Why does it feel like I said too much? Did I? I look at him and there it is – the intrigue, the slight concern and...pity?

Almost pity.

"I wish I could." A similar whisper, the same tone I used a few seconds ago and I'm left a little astounded. I shiver a little, probably due to staying in the water for too long. Caleb's eyes point at me, poking my conscience, asking the meaning behind my words. I want to look away; my mind pulls the strings like a puppeteer. But something in me is frozen, urging me desperately to look into his grey ocean as if it'll wash away all my problems, all my fear, and pain.

But I don't fight my mind and I lose. Just as always. I look away and so does he, the both of us realizing we were a little distant from the rest of the guys swimming.

"Shouldn't you be with your friends?" The nearest, and indubitably the lamest, question blurts itself out of my mouth and I almost slap myself at the awkward situation I created by staring at him in the first place. I avoid that by looking at the water around myself and playing around with my hands.

"Yes, but I find this more fascinating and peaceful." He states while looking at the sky and then turns toward me with an imperceptible smirk on his lips. But I did notice it. He's thrown so many smirks my way that I now possess the special talent of identifying even the undetectable smirks.

"It's a tranquil loneliness," I mutter whilst looking at the calm waters of the lake.

"Absolutely." A smile covers my lips as I look at him from the corner of my eye. Why am I so calm right now? I mean, Caleb Anderson is a few inches away from me and yet, here I am, floating alongside him, no usual harsh words exchanged between us.

Unfortunately, as I always seem to be against the universe motto, "Never let Summer be happy", my smile is quickly replaced by a scowl and my eyes widen at the sight of Veronica making her way toward Caleb. Luckily, she hasn't yet spotted me so her fangs are still in her mouth or else she would come hissing at me.

"Uh...I got to go." I quickly say to Caleb without even glancing at him, my body just focused on trying to hide behind some two guys.

"What...why?" I hear Caleb ask with surprise evident in his tone. I have no time to answer his question while Veronica is probably coming to have some lovey-dovey time with him. I clench my jaw at the thought of it and once again, I want to slap myself for the bizarre thoughts I've been having.

"Nothing! I should just go!" I mumble and think of a way to pass Veronica without been seen lest she creates a scene. Without even thinking twice, I hold my breath and delve underwater. My eyes close on instinct and I wonder if the lake's water would be good for my eyes. Two seconds later, my eyes open and I welcome the cold water embracing my eyeballs. I swim past the people until I see the wooden legs of the bridge. I quickly swim towards them, gasping for air once I come out.

Even 5 seconds of swimming tires me, damn it.

I quickly get out and I don't miss Caleb's gaze following me. I pick my towel that is on a small table near the bridge, next to some of the drinks. I drape it on my shoulders and smile at Maddie when she sees me. She mouths, "Are you okay?", and I smile at her while nodding.

No, I'm not okay.

This is not me. I do not run away from my problems. Well, most of the normal ones I face. What Veronica did to me, said to me, I agree it has scared me a lot, but only because it's one temperamental subject. I feel lost right now, thinking of how I'm running from Veronica just so she can't humiliate the shit out of me. This is so not me.

But I couldn't do anything else, I think. I can't just face Veronica because once she opens her mouth and starts spewing words that involve my-

That woman... I have no control over my emotions then. Everything comes back running to my mind; her, dad, our childhood...and everything else.

I look at Caleb and Veronica talking, away from everyone else. They seemed different although I couldn't see Caleb because his back was turned towards me. All I see is Veronica's perfect smile cutting through the chilly air surrounding me.

She's perfect. Yes. She is. Even though she's a bitch...but well, let's ignore that. The world won't ignore her perfect smile. The world won't ignore her perfect figure and style. It won't ignore her.

But it sure will ignore me. As it has always been.

With those paralyzing thoughts in my head, I take one last look at them. Caleb looks at me, a puzzling looks etched on his face. I still turn and run. I run towards the darkness that's slowly engulfing me. I have no idea where I'm going – it was opposite the campsite – but I still run fast. The long grass tickles my ankles as I run, my slightly wet slippers squelching on the ground with each step.

I don't care now. I don't care if he was looking at me. I don't care if his eyes always seem to be figuring me out. I don't care about his behavior now.

But deep down, I know that I'm only trying to convince myself.

***

I LOVED WRITING THIS CHAPTER SOOOOO MUCH!!

The feelings, the words...I'm dead. Ooofff... that damn chemistry. I tried my best here to think of all the feelings these two would feel...how two people who are emotionally attracted to each other would act. Hope you loved it just as much as I did! Tell me down in the comments!

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Adios!