Drowning

Chapter 1

Kiara took the final step off the bridge, as her body plummeted through the air down towards the icy ocean water she finally felt something she hadn't in a long time. Happiness... freedom.... Peace. As her body hit the water the waves engulfed her, almost as if they were welcoming arms, surrounding her body in it's cold embrace, a final loving hold as it dragged her down. Kiara reached her hand out, if she just kicked her legs then she could reach the air but the hold the icy water had on her stopped her. She was so close but relaxing her body and letting it take her felt better.

"Don't do this..." his voice filled her mind. The memory of him caused her to widen her eyes and hesitate, almost willing herself to kick and swim to the surface but the happy memory quickly hurt her heart more then the water burning her lungs. She closed her eyes and let the water wash away her pain. Death was the easiest way to deal with the pain but life had a cruel sense of humour and wouldn't let her go so easily but at this moment she didn't care. As her sense of being started to drift her mind forced her into her memories. Memories of the good times to help with the pain of dying.

"1. 2. 3. Eyes on me" the sing songy voice of Kiara's teacher interrupted her much needed nap. Kiara shook her head trying to get rid of the drowsiness she felt after almost falling asleep at her desk.
"We have a new student! Please give a warm welcome to Luke Gallegan!" The teacher said making a dramatic motion to the door. Kiara lazily looked but her back straightened as the new boy walked in. He was tall and lanky with soft brown shaggy hair that almost covered his eyes. The class errupted in chatter as he stepped in. Kiara could see out of the corner of her eye, the popular girls straightening their hair and sitting in positions that showed off their best features. Kiara couldn't help but roll her eyes and wonder which one of them would catch his attention.

'The poor guy doesn't know what he's about to walk into' Kiara thought as she pulled out a book from her desk and started reading. Ignoring the world and being sucked into her own had it's perks, accept when you get interrupted. Especially when it's by the new guy taking a seat beside you. Kiara stopped reading but kept her eyes focused on the word she had last read when he took his seat. There were a few seats left empty, one at the front which she understood why he didn't take it. One beside the popular girls which is where she assumed he would go but he chose the very back corner, for some reason beside her. She used her peripheral vision to track his movements. He quietly got out his books and didn't make one move to talk to her which she liked but movement on the other side of the room stole her attention. The popular gawked at her and whispered to each other, she knew her peace was about to be disturbed.

"Where are you from?"
"What was your old school like?"
"Wanna come eat lunch with us?"
The poor kid was crowded, whenever there was a free moment in class one, or a group of girls would come up to their desk to bombard Luke with questions. Kiara tried her best to ignore them, kept her nose in her book but as the minutes ticked by she was starting to get irritated. One of the popular girls, Lindsay, took it upon herself to walk over to there desks and sit on Kiara's desk. Flipping her hair over her shoulder and giving Luke those famous puppy dog eyes.
"It must be so hard to move to a new town" Lindsay said trying to sound sympathetic.
"Ugh yeah" Luke mumbled.
"If you ever need someone to show you around I'd be happy to" Lindsay said slightly twisting to face him directly. Kiara's eyebrow twitched as she watched her notebook pages twist and crumble from Lindsay sitting on it and moving around. As Lindsay bombarded Luke with questions, he was clearly uncomfortable but Kiara's focus was on what used to be her nicest notebook.
"Will you get your fat ass off my notebook" Kiara whispered harshly as she ripped her book from underneath Lindsay.
"Hey! Break it up you two!" The teacher yelled from across the room. Lindsay huffed and walked back to her desk as Kiara tried to use her hands to straighten out the pages of her notebook.
"Thank you" Luke said as he fiddled with his pencil.
"It wasn't for you, she ruined my notebook" Kiara said as she stuffed her crinkled book into her desk.

The next day Kiara left her apartment bright and early ready to go to class and take a quick nap before it started. During her walk she had the sinking feeling in her gut that she was being watched. Halfway to school she finally decided to turn and look who it was. As she turned her eyes met Luke's who looked at her in surprise.
"How long have you been following me?" Kiara asked sharply.
"I.. i haven't.. i mean not that long... i mean.." Luke stumbled over his words as Kiara intensely stared him down.
"You're a weirdo ain't you?" Kiara asked and his face turned bright red.
"No! I just saw you and I wasn't sure exactly how to get to school so I followed you. Wait! I didn't follow you but I went in the same general direction as you because we are both going in to the same place that's all"
"Yup one hundred percent weirdo.... Come on" Kiara said as she began walking again. Luke jogged up to her and walked beside her. Grabbing his backpack he opened it as they walked and dug through it.
"Here" he said handing her a note book, she grabbed it greedily. The front cover was covered in glitter with swirls of purple, pink and red. Flicking through the pages Kiara rubbed a page between her fingers and felt that it was thick, high quality paper.
"What is this for?" Kiara asked suspiciously.
"For saving me yesterday... and because your other notebook got ruined" he said shyly with a shrug.

For the next couple days any time Luke was approached Kiara would rip into them. She turned into a white knight, well more like a feral bear. Insulting the girls when they got too close or tripping them if they tried to get past her to Luke. She was his saving grace. It didn't take long before the classroom went back to normal and Luke stopped getting harassed, instead he got to enjoy the quiet nature of sitting in the back of the class. Kiara had done it because she thoroughly enjoyed her new notebook but what she wasn't expecting was Luke trying to hang out with her more. He would follow her at lunch to the library or the sand pit or to the trees at the edge of the school grounds. It was annoying at first especially since she usually spent her days at school alone but the more he did it the more comfortable she was with having a friend, her first friend. Before he moved to the town Kiara didn't have any one to hang out with in fact she enjoyed being left alone. She could read and draw to her hearts content but now whenever she left her apartment there he was. It didn't help that he had moved into the apartment down the street from her.

After fourth grade they were inseparable, all throughout elementary school. They would walk to and from school, spend lunch together and even hang out at the neighbourhood park together. Luke got her into riding bikes and spending time at the local forest. He taught her how to skip rocks and catch frogs. Every summer they practically lived down by the creek. Picking berries and playing hide and go seek. These summers where some of Kiara's fondest memories of her and her first friend, though things changed dramatically when they got to highschool.