Shh.. Secret Princess ;) (Under Major Heavy Re-Construction)

Part 16 - Meteor Showers and Light

A/N

1. Oh my gosh another author's note. O.O XD Haha...

2. I am planning on a book two, but it revolves around different problems, and this book is a long way from over.

3. Song on the side is "Vulnerable" by Secondhand Serenade... XD I love their songs..... ♥

4. I loved all your comments. Haha. Well, for all the people wishing C and A to get together, don't push your luck too far. But, this will, I think, make u happier...

So, I dedicate this to all Chancey fans.. ;)

Part 16

Anna's POV

I watched as Nate walked away as my friends hugged me. I was still wet, and I liked the feeling of water on my skin, but I don't think my friends do. I don't even know why they hugged me with me in this state. My hair felt weird on my neck, and I hated how it felt. I scrunched my face and stood up as they let go, praising me and all that. I sighed and rolled my eyes, a smile on my lips.

After I dried up and changed, had lunch and tried looking for our last two markers, to no avail, we had more 'buddy' activities lined up. Oh, joy. Note the sarcasm please. I groaned as I buried my face in my hands, sitting on the log. I don't know how long I can take ignoring him, seriously. I don't deal with confrontations like those kinds well, and I hate being the one to bring them up when the other person should've made it clear.

"Hey, you alright?" I heard Thane's voice ask, and I felt the movement of the log as I assumed he sat down.

I brought my head up and looked at his hair that was unruly and cracked a smile. I just find it funny whenever I see guys who usually have styled or fixed hair with messed up ones. He raised an eyebrow at me, a small smile on his lips.

"Yeah, fine," I said sarcastically and groaned.

Everyone else was having a blast talking to their buddies and discussing strategies for whatever the freak we were going to do later. I haven't even seen my buddy around at all this afternoon.

Thane chuckled softly and shook his head.

"I don't even know why you're giving him the silent treatment when you don't really wanna," he said, looking me in the eye.

I shifted my gaze to the bright trees and sighed.

"He might've had his reasons, An. Seeing you like this, not your normal, or whatever normal is for you, which is weird and childish but mature, uncaring and crazy, is really depressing. You should forgive him," he said, looking around.

He was second guessing himself, I could tell by the way his voice sounded in the end, He wasn't sure whether to meddle in or not. I know the silent treatment seems childish and weak, but it's the worst punishment I could give. I know people would rather have someone shout and tell them what the problem is than to be silent and leave them in the dark.

I leaned on his shoulder and closed my eyes, my eyelids looking sort of yellowish from the sunlight. The trees gave us shade, and the breeze was really nice. I heard him sigh, and I blocked out the chatters of the students and everyone, trying to filter out the sound of nature. I don't know how I do it, but I can focus my head to process only the sounds I'm looking for. I could hear the rustling of the leaves and crunching, the twigs snapping somewhere, the breeze making contact with the trees, making them bump into each other, the different chirps of birds far away, the sound of running water in the distance.

I love that sound, and I would never get tired of hearing it. I want to forgive him, I really do. But, me being the stubborn person that I am, I couldn't. You know, whenever I get mad, it only lasts after a minute, then I'm fine, but I pretend I'm still mad most of the time.

I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder, which I know would be Thane's. I leaned closer to him, loving the comfort of having a friend here. I felt him put his chin on my head, sighing on it. My best friend broke a promise, and he probably did it with concerns for the wicked witch. What else could he lie about for her in the future? And to me? It stung, it really did. Who was she to him? I wanna know, I really do, but I never have the guts to ask those kinds of things. I don't know why, but I just hate confronting people with their faults and stuff like that. Maybe I don't want to hurt people, but I'm not sure that's the entire case. I know how to fix and talk out other people's problems, but I never really fully know how to fix my own.

"We should get back now. It's about to start," he murmured on my head, making me groan.

I don't want to be near him at all. I reluctantly got up and walked behind Thane, heading to the middle of our camp site in front of the stage. Headmaster G had some activities for us, which I don't feel like explaining. They were activities like putting a head on your forehead and keeping it there while dancing, three-legged foot races, scavenger hunts and weird stuff like that.

I don't know how we finished all those activities without talking, but we did. Maybe it's because I knew what he meant when he did or looked at something, and he must've understood my gestures, too. We even won the three-legged race, which was easy seeing as he wasn't towering over me like most of the other buddies were.

We had already finished dinner, and we had a bonfire in the middle of the site. It was big, really big, and I liked the way it glowed. Everyone was around it, talking and laughing, telling stories or slyly flirting. The teachers were hovering around, just making sure we were all fine and all that stuff. We were packed there, trying to be as close to the fire but not too near to get burned, as possible. Thane sat behind me, Em and Keely by my sides, Liam and Sam next to Thane. Sky and Luke sat with Brynn and the others, making up to them for disappearing with me a lot.

The cool night breeze felt really good on my skin. It felt sort of heavy but nice. I could hear owls hooting and the sound of soft water moving and leaves rustling. I never get tired of these sounds. I love the night most especially. The fire was making my face glow, and it was moving because of the wind. I looked up the sky glittering with stars. I heard there was going to be a meteor shower earlier, but I didn't feel like telling anyone. If I did, a lot of people would know, and they wouldn't sleep, too. Call me selfish, but I like watching the night sky alone; it feels better than seeing a lot of people around you while watching.

Nate and Jamie sat a few feet from us, talking with their friends. I could tell he was distracting himself, he really seemed like it to me. Suddenly, I heard a soft strumming of the guitar faintly. Then it sounded nearer. I looked around, and everyone did, too. It was really a soft, slow but alluring melody.

"The world stops turning. And the skies start crying. Watch the stars come out and light. There isn't anywhere I'd rather be, than in your arms tonight. The feel of the wind so cool on my cheek, the owls hooting in the trees. I'd give you the world if I could, show you just how much you mean, to me. And the stars can't sum up, to how much love for you, I feel. I thought I'd tell you through a song, sing it with me all night long. And I'll take your hand and help you stand, dance with you under the moonlight."

I looked to my right and saw a junior, named Bret, singing, an acoustic in his hand, a few guys backing him up in singing. He was looking at a junior, too, a nice girl who I think is named Yssa. He had looks, I'd give him that, and his voice was rough and soft at the same time, so full of emotion and beautiful to my ears. Everyone was staring at them, and Yssa blushed crimson as he held her hand out to her. She took his extended tan hand, her small pale one in his. She was petite and had soft, black waves. The teachers gave them a smile, and some girls looked at him in awe.

Seriously, it looked so sweet, even though it was cheesy. I didn't recognize the song, so I guess he wrote it by himself, since it also had words describing, Yssa, of course, I assume. I stared at them, a small smile on my lips. Even if I don't like those things, the romance and all that, it was really heart warming to see a guy give effort like that. A lot of guys would never do that, especially not openly in public.

After the song, he went down on one knee, Yssa in front of him. He asked her to be his girl friend, and she laughed and hugged him, saying yes. From the talks circulating around the bonfire, they were friends since 1st grade, and they both had crushes on each other since they were younger. The teachers then nicely told them to pull away, you know, PDA. And they carried on sitting beside each other, and Bret was happy enough to continue playing with his guitar, everyone singing to the chords. Even if I can't sing to save my life, I sang along.

When everyone decided to call it a night, I went into my tent, changed into my bikini. Don't judge. I only brought it knowing I'd swim at night, without anyone seeing me. It feels more comfortable in the water than a one-piece sticking to my body, really. I wore a tank top and jean shorts over it, bringing a robe and a towel with me. When I was sure everyone was asleep, around 12 pm, I went out quietly and went to the waterfall. I know, swimming at night, no one with you, water dragging you along, it's insane. I know that. But I just have a weird sense of trust when it comes to water. I feel like no matter what, it will never be the reason for harming me. Plus, I know my guards would never let me out of their sight, especially not here. Dad made sure they understood how I love exploring the woods at unexpected hours, so they had shifts over me. They wouldn't tell me or let me know they're there, but they are.

I had my flashlight with me, and I made sure I sprayed insect repellent on my robe. I didn't want to put it on me, I hate the sticky, weird feeling on my skin, so I sprayed it on the robe. Mosquitos have weird taste in blood, they choose their victims, and I'm always one of them. I could be getting bitten everywhere, and the people around me wouldn't even have known there were mosquitoes til I tell them.

When I got to the clearing, the water was sparkling under the moonlight, and the ripples were slow. The sound of water calmed me. The silhouettes of plants looked beautiful, I've always thought that. And the stars weren't moving, meaning the meteor shower hasn't started yet. It's weird that they're called falling stars when they're not stars at all. But people probably didn't know that before.I slipped out of my robe and discarded my stuff on the dry grass. I knew the water wasn't too deep, I swam in here earlier when I--we  fell.

I slowly made my way to the edge of the water, putting my toes in first, feeling its ice cold state. I shrugged and put my feet in, making me shiver a little. I didn't mind it and dove in, instantly freezing, but I forced myself to get used to it, and I did.

After a few minutes of splashing and doing laps around, I heard a guitar playing. It sounded like my guitar. I know the sound of my guitar, and I'd recognize it anywhere. I looked around, my eyebrows scrunched. I wasn't worried, my guards were lurking around like creeps. Then I saw a faint light ahead, near my stuff. I submerged my head, only my eyes above water, waddling my feet to stay afloat. I saw a silhouette, which looked a lot like Chancey's. Yeah, I'm over it, I really am. I've been over it a long time ago, but I know he deserved to be given the silent treatment. Then, the whole place lit up.

I looked around, seeing torches on the trees around the water, two on the side of the waterfall. There were candles that started to float on the water on lily pads, which I don't know how I could've not noticed. My eyes widened, and I looked at him. He was on the shore, wearing shorts and a plain black t-shirt, looking straight at me, my guitar in his hands. He was slowly strumming a G chord, which I've always loved the sound of. He switched up chords, playing a song unknown to me. He looked serious, and his eyes glittered in the light of the fire around.

He scratched the back of his head, holding my guitar in his free hand, smiling sheepishly.

"Nie, I am so sorry. I lied, I hate myself for that. I tried not talking to you, but I just couldn't. I wanted to shut up, just so you can punish me well, and I thought I could've handled it. This trip wasn't that fun without talking to you, and I couldn't take it. I know you don't think apologies change anything, but I really am sorry. And I didn't really know how to explain things to you, I really didn't. If I have to beg, I would. You're my best friend, and I never want to lose you," he said, staring at me straight in the eyes.

He wasn't that far, but I submerged, holding my breath. My mind was blank, except for the thought that my mind was black. I had to crack a smile at that thought. I looked around the sparkling water, seeing silhouettes of rocks, but then I heard a splash. I closed my eyes, but then I felt the water moving. When I opened my eyes, my cheeks were still puffed, and I saw Chancey right in front of me, his chest bare and wearing swimming trunks. My eyes widened, and I turned around to escape, but he caught me by the waist, which was bare if I might add, and kept me in front of him.

I went up, un-puffing my cheeks, his arm still on my waist as he surfaced behind me.

"Annie, do you want me to beg? I know you don't, but I can't take it," he said, his voice cracking.

I looked up at the sky, both of us silent. Then, I saw movement, the light moving from right to left. And then I saw another and another. I widened my eyes, staring at the sky that showed the meteor shower. I don't know why I'm so fascinated by it, but I couldn't help but part my lips, gaping at the sky. I could see it all clearly, unlike in the city. Chancey's arm didn't move from my waist, but I payed it no mind.

A cool gust of wind swept, and I shivered slightly but otherwise did not stray my attention.