Take Me As I Am (Completed)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Dedication to @ILoveYouBetterNow! I love your username and yay for TFiOS!

  

Chapter Twenty-Four

"You need two people to go on this ride," the lifeguard informed me after we had reached the top of the flight of stairs. 

I stared at the girl for a second, before looking towards Cole. He shook his head quickly back and forth. "Sorry, dear, not wearing a swimsuit."

"Aw, c'mon! I did not just climb those stairs for nothing and I'm not waiting for Louis to come around." I crossed my arms and let a minuscule pout fly across my lips. I looked at the lifeguard girl, and immediately an idea spouted in my mind. "Why don't you go with me?"

The girl paused and stared at me like I had fifteen eyes. 

"Aw, c'mon. No one else is around." I persisted, really only wanting to get on the ride. 

"Uh, okay." The girl gave in, grabbing a tube and setting it right before the curve of the slide. 

I grinned victoriously towards Cole before clambering into the front of the little floatable device.

Once the red-clad girl behind me was settled, she pushed us off. I clutched tightly to the handles and laughed as we sped straight down. In the blink of an eye, we were going backwards. It went back and forth for a bit before we slowed to a stop.

"Okay, that was wicked. Thank you for going with me," I said to the lifeguard with a bright smile.

"No problem," she replied back with a matching grin.

Cole waited for me but the second I stepped out of the water, he spoke. "Gotta get you back to where the boy is, apparently you went missing."

"No, I didn't. I mean, you've been with me the entire time.  It's not like I ran off and joined the circus. Although I've always wanted to be a trapeze artist…." 

"Mhm, come on." Cole laughed a bit.

I waved at the female lifeguard and followed Cole.

"You're a very interesting person, Al." Cole stated as we spotted Louis, Talia, Teresa and the other camera men a couple hundred feet in front of us.

"Thanks, bro. I've been told that a few times," I laughed.

"I can see why the boys never stop talking about you."

I stopped walking to look at Cole with raised eyebrows and a confused expression. "What?"

"I film most of their interviews, the topic almost always comes around to you," Cole replied, taken aback that I hadn't know this. "Don't you watch the show?"