Ari approached the group of boys and Michael followed closely behind.
"Hey, Ari," a boy with tan skin and dark hair smiled when he caught sight of her. "How's it going?"
A guy with quiffed blonde hair followed his friends gaze and smiled when he saw Ari. Across from them sat a boy with dark, shaggy hair and green eyes that were so shockingly bright that when he turned to look at Ari and Michael, Michael noticed their colour instantly.
"It's such a tiny village that everybody kinda knows everybody." Ari smiled at Michael sheepishly.
"Who's this?" The blonde glanced at Michael as Ari drew closer.
"This is Michael," Ari replied. "He's from America. He's here for the summer." Ari turned to Michael. "Well, I should probably introduce you to these idiots."
Michael smiled a little at this, and Ari gestured to the blonde boy and the one with tan skin. "This is Cake. Their real names are Calum-" she pointed to the tan one. "-And Luke-" the blonde one. "-but we call them Cake because they are basically one person. Like, you couldn't tear them apart with a backhoe."
"Since when are backhoes used to tear people apart from each other?" Luke smiled and rested his head on Calum's shoulder. "Shouldn't an instrument of such power be used for good?"
Ari rolled her eyes. "And also, they are so lovey-dovey that you might not want to get too close because it's kind of freaky."
"And she's so homophobic that you might not want to get too close because it's kinda freaky." Calum retorted.
"I'm not homophobic," Ari argued. "But no couples should act like they are joined not only at the hip but also by all other parts of their bodies at all times . Your sexuality has nothing to do with it."
"Whatever." Calum rolled his eyes before kissing Luke's cheek sweetly.
"Anyway..." Ari gestured to the boy with green eyes. "This is Wolfgang."
"My name is pretty unusual, I know," Wolfgang grinned, revealing dimples on both cheeks. "but she's not allowed to tease me about it because her's is way weirder."
"Hey, I'm named after a plant," Arugula held up both hands defensively. "Wolfgang doesn't even mean anything. It sounds like the name of some cult."
Wolfgang rolled his bright eyes.
"You know, it's only when I'm introducing them to someone that I realize how weird my friends are and how truly messed up my relationship with them is." Ari laughed, running a hand through her hair.
---
Soon, the pair left the ice cream shop and continued down the side of the road. Michael lost track of the amount of turns they made because apparently tiny villages can still be complicated mazes.
Arugula insisted that where they were going was 'a surprise'. Michael made sure to express his distaste for surprises, however, Ari would not be swayed; the surprise remained just that: a surprise.
They soon stepped onto a gravel path that was so skinny that they had to walk single file, and so closely surrounded by underbrush that when Michael held out both of his arms straight out, his fingertips brushed the low hanging branches of the balsam trees that densely lined it.
They continued down the path, and Michael heard something familiar. There was no mistaking the sound of so many tons of rushing water.
They continued down a set of fragile looking wooden stairs and stepped out onto a wide wooden observation deck.
Ari took another step forward, but Michael's legs were rendered useless by the sight in front of him. He had guessed it at the first sound of rushing water, but the enormous, huge, beautiful waterfall still took him off guard.
It made him feel so weak and helpless. The water was so powerful and strong, and Michael found himself wondering pointlessly what it would feel like to go hurdling over the edge, crashed around amidst the rushing cascade of water.
"It's beautiful, huh?" Ari smiled, seeing the look of awe on Michael's face. Michael couldn't respond. He took a step forward, and then another, feeling a spray of mist against his face. He gripped the wooden railing with white knuckles, because he felt that if he let go, his knees might buckle.
This waterfall reminded him how small he was. He was just one tiny, minuscule person on a huge, enormous planet that filled with so many things so much more significant than he was.
But he still mattered.
Didn't he?
"It's just so crazy," Ari sighed, interrupting Michaels purposeless train of thought. "Not very many people care about this kind of stuff any more." Ari turned towards Michael, an intense look on her face. "Did you know that it was recently proven that humans have shorter attentions spans than goldfish? Goldfish!"
Michael raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
"It's true!" Ari turned back to the waterfall and Michael swore he could see the mist rainbow reflected in her bright blue eyes. "it's just...so sad. Everyone is just so messed up nowadays. Sometimes I wish I could just erase everything and start again from the beginning. Mankind, I mean."
Michael definitely agreed with her. At least, he wished he could start again from before...it happened.
He felt the overwhelming sadness cast a shadow over him again, and he realized that until now, he hadn't even noticed that it had been gone.
Sorry, this chapter kinda sucks. It just wasn't working. But I promise they'll be better from now on. We introduced some of the characters and yaaaay Cake!
Thanks so much for reading!!!!!!
Loser_Luke
