Dying and Everything in between

25| Lost shores

─── ･｡•̩̩͙˚｡✧: *. .*:✧•̩̩͙･ﾟ｡───

As they waded back to shore, Lucas's eyes caught something in the distance. Rising against the blue sky was a jagged cliff, its rocky edge jutting out over the ocean. The waves crashed below it with a rhythmic ferocity, sending a fine mist into the air that sparkled in the sunlight.

"You wanted to bungee jump, right?" Lucas asked catching the towel Joy threw at him. 

"Uh-huh," Joy hummed, rubbing off the dripping water coming down her hair.

"See that?" He pointed toward the cliff. "Jump off that cliff then." 

"Like into the water? From there?" She asked and turned to look at the cliff, her stare matching his.

"No, into the sky. Of course into the water," He teased, turning to face her. "What do you say? Check bungee jumping off your list, the low-budget way."

"That's not bungee jumping! That's... just falling!" Joy exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

"Same concept," Lucas replied with a shrug. "Without the bungee part and the safety part."

"Look at you being adventurous," She mused, a mischievous grin toying at the corner of her lips. "I rubbed off on you." 

"You are a bad influence," He said, a smile following soon. "So you in?" 

Joy said nothing but grabbed Lucas by the arm and tugged him to walk towards the edge of the beach. Not that he needed the tug. This time he liked being selfish. Liked that when her hand wrapped around his arms, the first thought wasn't that he was going to die. It was that he was living. 

It was like this now-a-days. He knew his impending doom but most of his time didn't revolve around the what if's and what not's.  

His thoughts grew more selfish when her hand slowly drifted down from his arm to his forearm and now down at his wrist. He let her hand drift down more, her hand now in his. 

He could feel his heartbeat in his throat as they walked side by side, hand in hand in complete silence. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, it was rather pleasant as the sun beamed lower and lower, its warm shadows casted over them. 

"Can you handle climbing up there?" Joy asked, her gaze looking up there.

"I can." Lucas nodded, the wind feeling colder brushing across their huddled body. 

"Are you sure?" She asked, her hand slowly losing grip on his. 

"I know what I can handle, Jones." He answered, noticing her hand getting looser. He wanted to grip her hand tighter, like before but didn't want to risk looking desperate. And so, he let go of her hands entirely and started walking forward. 

The climb up was steeper than he had expected, the rocky path winding unevenly toward the top. Lucas could feel his legs protesting with every step, but he didn't complain. He could hear Joy behind him, her voice a mix of sarcastic commentary and the occasional grunt of effort. 

Soon, they reached the top of the cliff. The ocean stretched out endlessly below them, its surface shimmering like liquid glass. The waves seemed smaller from this height, their crashes muted by the distance. 

Joy stepped up beside him at the edge, her hands on her hips as she took it all in. "Okay, I'll admit... it's kind of amazing up here."

"I know right," Lucas said, glancing at her with a smirk.