Far Away

Chapter One.

Glistening water rushed up to meet me as I launched myself off the edge of the cliff, pushing hard with my right foot on lift off to put as much distance as possible between myself and the outcrop of rock. A whoop of joy escaped my mouth during the fall and I closed my eyes just before my outstretched arms broke the calm surface of the water. The rest of my body glided under straight after.

The adrenaline of cliff diving had never failed to cheer me up, no matter how badly my day was going.

It was silent down here, submerged in a glorious peace that surrounded me. No worries of homework, detentions, or getting grounded. Just the ocean and I, enjoying each other's company for a few precious seconds before I adjusted the position of my body, stroking my arms through the water to lift me up towards the surface. Sounds became less muffled again as I stuck my head above the water. "I'm ok!" I shouted up towards the top of the cliff, lifting an arm to wave up at the faces of my three friends.

The cliff wasn't the highest, but the ocean could be a dangerous enemy if you didn't show it enough respect. We'd all seen on the news that people had died doing it before; hitting rocks or not jumping out far enough away from the cliff. It didn't put us off though. We were a bunch of teenagers after all; longing to feel the rush of doing something dangerous. That's what being a teenager is all about. We knew how to jump as safely as possible, and the worst injury that any of us had ever sustained was that Jordan had sprained her wrist when she hit the water one time.

Swimming over towards the slope that we used as steps to get back up onto the cliff, I paused to tread water for a few seconds, watching Jordan as she dived off the cliff in the same way that I had, hardly causing a splash as she hit the water. A perfect dive. As soon as she surfaced again I climbed out of the surf and up onto the rocks, my arms shining as the light hit the water that ran down my skin.

"Holy shit Hayden." Jordan laughed as she climbed out beside my, squeezing water from her waist-length hair. "You look you're made of diamonds. Good dive by the way." She complimented me with a friendly smile, adjusting her bikini top so it didn't reveal too much, narrowing her eyes playfully as she caught me staring. "Come on, Franky's going next." She curled her fingers around my wrist and started pulling me up the slope.

I laughed and followed her up, rubbing the water from my hair with my free hand. As we arrived at the top I was instantaneously pulled into a tight bear hug, the force of it pushing the air from my lungs. "Buddy, that was a fuckin' good dive. Fuckin' brilliant! Wait until you see mine, it's gonna blow you away. You'll be talking about it for years. Your grandkids are going to sit beside you when you're on your deathbed, just so they can hear the story of my amazing dive for the last time." Kian had been my best friend since the first day of school, according to him. Cocky and up for anything, Kian had taken it upon himself to bring me further out of my shell and to introduce me to 'life on the wild side' as he liked to call it.

A cheesy grin plastered his face and he lifted his hands to cup his mouth, shouting encouragement to Franky as she took her run up, her boy-cut hair bobbing with each stride she took. Her long, slender legs easily covering the distance. Her dive was almost as good as Jordan's and it probably would've been if she hadn't added a somersault into it. "Nice one Franktastic!" Kian shouted down to her as she surfaced, lifting her hand victoriously in triumph. "Almost as good as what mine's gonna be!" He teased her, his sun-bleached hair blowing softly in the wind.

My mom described Kian as the older brother of the family, even though there were no blood ties between us. He'd treat our house like his own; walking in without knocking, raiding the fridge, sleeping over whenever he wanted.

We got into all kinds of trouble together, at one point it was on an almost daily basis. He had that amazing ability to make anyone smile, and he used it regularly. Whenever he saw anyone with puffy, tear-stained eyes at school he would always take time to sidle up to them with a reassuring smile on his face, offering an array of compliments that he truly meant, as he never lied to people. Every now and then he'd tell a crappy joke that was so agonisingly awful that they would have to at least crack a small curl of their lips.