All the hours

Chapter 5

                                                                                           Kaden 

Without a second thought, I leave all my worries behind and run towards the edge of the cliff, not hesitating a bit as curl up and throw myself off, and into the water.
Adrenaline courses through my body as I jump into the air, nothing but the water to soften my landing. The 20 feet drop is exactly how I imagined it. All excitement and anticipation as to when I'll hit the water.
My knees are pulled up to my chest and I have my arms wrapped around them as the cool water finally hits me, and I plunge deep into it. When I've finally slowed down in the water, I loosen my arms around my legs and swim up to the surface.
My first reaction is to laugh. I laugh as hard as I can, as the high of the jump washes over me. I swipe a hand across my head to push back the hair, and Ezra pops up next to me, from under the water.
He shakes his head to dry off the water, like a dog, and comes closer to me. "You good?" Little does he know I'd been waiting for that jump since the past 7 years. "Never been better."
Just as we both start to swim towards the shore, I hear Rayne's voice from above us. "You both okay?" Ezra cups his hands around his mouth and calls out, "Perfect."
As we reach the sand and sprawl out on it, we hear three crashes into the water, one after another. Soon enough, three heads pop out of the water, and I hear Malcolm whooping.
I prop myself up on my elbows and lean back, watching them all swim to us. Malcolm emerges out of the water and  collapses next to me. "Cool, huh?" I shift my head towards him and he says, "I almost lost my shit." Sounds like me the first time I made the jump.
I hear Rayne's voice in front of me and all my attention snaps to her. I didn't even notice her coming out of the water. My mouth opens and closes stupidly, like a fish, as I gawk over her. Water droplets run down her smooth stomach, and fall off her hair as she wrings them out. The moon hides behind her, and surrounds her with a sparkling silver glow, making her look ethereal.
"I haven't done that in a while. Thank god we didn't hit a rock." She speaks out, her voice breathy. Avery says something smart but I'm too distracted to figure it out. Rayne laughs it off and continues to get the water out of her hair.
"Our clothes are still up there," Ezra reminds us all, and I'm hit with realisation. We all will have to walk back up to change and get to our cars, when I can barely stand on my feet.
"Yes, they are, so get up lazy." Avery and Rayne start walking towards the steps which lead to the road above. Ezra pulls me up and we follow behind.
It doesn't take us much time to get to where our cars are parked and change. Soon we're on our way to the bonfire, located on the same beach, just further away.
I can hear the music blasting from a distance, and as we come closer I can tell by the sea of cars that this is going to be a big gathering.
We find a good enough parking spot, and I walk beside Ezra, who seems to know his way around. I take in the surroundings as we land on the sand. There are loads of people, and by loads I mean an entire city of people, all occupied in their different places. There are people dancing, some sit back on the bean bags by the fire and talk, some run around in the water, couples make out on the sand. It's a whole different world.
Ezra stops by a cooler and grabs us each beers. I crack open mine, thirsty from the cliff jumping. "There's Jason Elmer, remember him? You guys used to be close." Ezra points out a blonde guy in the middle of the crowd, who is surrounded girls, all who are ogling him and staring him down with stars in their eyes. There's even a few guys checking him out as they pass by.
That can't be Jason. The Jason I knew used to wear braces and had two friends. I was one of them. I immediately go around to say hi. Trying to avoid colliding into bodies, I make it towards him. Before I even open up my mouth, his eyes lock onto mine and he says out loud, "Shut the fuck up, it isn't." I laugh and hold out my arms. "It is" He leaves behind the people he was talking to and rushes up to me. He grabs my hand and claps my back, and I do the same. "Dude, what the hell. I thought you'd died or something. What are you doing here."
"I'm here for the summer. Rayne said there's a bonfire she wanted to go to, so here I am." He holds the back of his hand against his forehead, his face etched with surprise. "I can't believe it. Really. Where is Rayne? I need to ask her why she didn't tell me you're here."
Confusion clouds my mind as I wonder where she is. "She isn't here yet?" Jason shakes his head. "Trust me, I would know if she's here. The party doesn't start without Rayne Blackford."