i love you, but.. // lierra

6

Labyrinth - Taylor Swift

Fast forward to August, Cory is getting ready for school, his first ever year there; Calum and Sierra are getting ready for their last year at university and working part-time jobs again to save some money for the upcoming year; and Luke is spending his summer mostly doing charity or helping Cory get ready for studies as Calum is using all his spare time to work while he can.

The charity organisation that Sierra showed Luke a couple of years ago really liked having him around, so he started spending a lot of his time there. It mostly helps children and orphans, and Luke is great with kids—he is fun, he jokes around, and he makes the little ones forget about their problems and just smile, even if it's for a few hours. He also loves spending time with them because he sometimes feels like a kid too, and getting a chance to play with them, watch cartoons, or talk to them about how the grass feels funny on their feet is precious to him.

"Do you want to go to the beach today? It's the last sunny and hot days of this summer, so we might as well use them and spend some quality time by the sea." Luke suggests, finishing his breakfast.

"I do, I do! Let's go to the beach!" Cory exclaims, jumping up and down on the couch. "We can build a sand castle."

Calum smiles at the boy and nods in agreement too, arranging responsibilities for everyone so that they have everything they need there.

Luke's task is to call Sierra, after which he goes to pack his backpack. Taking everything just in case is in his nature—his head is always filled with what-ifs. He puts lots of sunscreen, water, food for Petunia, and all types of towels—to lay on, to cover his head, to cover his body, to wrap around himself if he loses his clothes, and one to actually dry himself. Zipping up the bag so that the dog doesn't steal the food, he then goes to Cory's room and helps him pack all the toys.

In thirty minutes, Luke's driving them to pick up Sierra. With Calum giving directions in the passenger seat, they want to try a new place that is more quiet and distant, and Sierra is sitting in the back with Cory, telling him all about the sea creatures.

"Can they bite me?" Cory asks, his eyes widening.

"If you go too far, they probably can." Sierra replies and sees the boy getting scared. "But we'll be sitting at the shore and building a sand castle with you, right?" she nudges him. Cory happily nods.

"Hey," Luke starts a bit offended, "you don't wanna go with us for a good swim?" he asks, eyes fixed on the road.

"Who's going to stay with Cory?" she replies, frowning.

"Okay, I'll rephrase it." he nods to himself. "Don't you want to go with me for a good swim further in the sea?"

Calum is never as adventurous as him, but Sierra often seems to follow anything Luke suggests, so he uses that opportunity to the fullest to do childish things he can't do with Cory yet.

"Yeah, about that.." she starts hesitantly, biting her lip. "I can't swim."

"Still?" Luke snaps his head to the back seat.

"Luke, eyes on the road!" Calum says in a firm voice, slapping his hand softly.

"Sorry." he says, turning back. "Sierra, you told me you couldn't swim years ago; I thought you'd learned by now." he shakes his head in disbelief.

"Well, I haven't." she shrugs. Not liking to admit she's not capable of something, she feels a weird tension in her stomach, and her mood goes down a little bit.

"Okay, I'll teach you then." Luke says, and suddenly Sierra's is even better than before. Just imagining his hands on her body—for educational purposes only—she gives him a genuine smile.