The Floaters [cake au] ✔

⌛ ➉ : fear. ⌛

Chapter 10: fear.

That day had begun very peaceful and mundane. Luke and I woke up huddled together on the sofa, my back stiff from lying in a strange position all night. He looked so very cute with his bed hair and tired eyes, and even more cute as he tried to sit up.

"It's okay, you can stay," I said quietly, stroking his jaw. He giggled and shut his eyes again whilst I continued to watch him, admiring his every feature. If only we could've stayed in that position for the rest of time...

"Calum! Calum open the door!!" someone shouted, banging hard on the door. Luke jolted and we both got up, heading to the door, and that was when I realised that person was Michael.

"Mikey, what's wrong?" I asked once I'd opened the door and saw the glistening tears dripping down his cheeks. "Mikey calm down and talk to me!"

His breath got caught in his throat but after a few moments he was okay to speak. "Jenna... Jenna's gone."

I stood still, not understanding him. "What do you mean?"

"She's gone Cal! She disappeared this morning – when we woke up she wasn't there and we tried searching in all the different places she would go but she's nowhere. S-she was saying last night how she should've tried harder to get you to stay with us... and then this happens..."

Luke gripped my shirt from behind and I turned slightly to see his face all worried and scared. "Well erm – did she wake up, do you think? Or did she move on?"

"I don't know Luke, why do think I'm here?!" Michael hollered, rage seeping through his veins, staining his face red.

"What do you want me to do, huh? I'm as helpless as you right now!"

Suddenly, he pulled me super close so our chests practically became one, and hugged me tight, placing his chin on my shoulder. "I'm afraid Cal... I'm afraid that one of us will wake up or die and not know about the other. Like we've been friends for as long as I can remember, and the thought of losing you is just too painful to bear."

"Hey, hey Michael I'm not going anywhere, okay? Now why don't you go back to the others instead of causing a ruckus over here?"

He shook his head adamantly. "I'm not leaving you. I can't risk it."

It was actually pretty touching to see Michael in such a state, since he was usually so tough on the outside. As a child, he was the type to pick on the other kids, stealing their money and provoking them; as a teen, he matured slower than the others and got into trouble a lot for his childish actions. Only recently did he realise he needed to step up his game in preparation for his future, however when he found there was nothing he wanted to do with his life, he turned to delinquency and harmful substances for solace.

I peeled him away from me and placed my hands firmly on both his shoulders. "That may be how you feel and I completely understand you, but I want to stay with Luke. So if you want to be by my side, you'll either have to come here or both Luke and I have to go to your place."

Luke however, protested. "No, Cal-Pal you need to go and be with your friends," he said quietly, which surprised me. I wanted him to want me to stay – in fact I needed him to want me to stay. That was what being together meant, wasn't it?

"Don't, Luke. I want us to stick together. Jenna going missing is even more of a reason why, don't you understand?"

His eyes appeared to be watering as he grasped my hands. "I... I've watched so many people grow close to me then leave. It won't be a big deal if it happens again..."

I couldn't believe my ears. Was Luke really telling me he didn't care if we never saw each other again? Is that what he wanted?! "Luke, you don't know what you're saying..." I hiccupped. "What about all the good times we've had together? Are you happy to throw that all away?"

"Of course not, but this is important to you. Michael's your friend-"

"And so are you! No, in fact I think I'm happy to say you're more than a friend. Don't you agree with me? Have the feelings I've been feeling for you all been fake or something? Is that what you think?" He didn't reply. "Because if that's the case then I'll gladly leave. Come on Michael, let's go back to the others."

~

I was such an idiot.

Literally, what had come over me? What had possessed me? Had I been in my right mind earlier?

My back slid down the door in the bathroom as I sobbed, covering my mouth with sleeve so nobody would be able to hear the gasps and hitches and noises coming from my mouth. I didn't even want to be in this house – the others had given me so many blank looks after I 'betrayed' them to be with Luke. It was so petty of them – if anything, I should've been mad at them. They were the ones who made Luke like this in the first place.

After washing my face thoroughly of tear stains and disgusting snot, I wiped it with a cloth and unlocked the door, heading out to face the others.

"You okay, Cal?" Michael asked. I nodded. "I didn't think you'd get so mad at Luke earlier. Though to be honest, he deserved it."

I frowned. "No, you're wrong; he didn't. I'm uh, going back there to apologise."

Michael stopped me, tugging on my sleeve. "Cal. Don't go. Stay with us – we need each other even more than usual now that one of us has left."

"He needs me too... he has no one, not even one person that likes him. The only place he finds someone to talk to is the laboratory and even there, he doesn't have anyone his age to socialise with. You could say I'm doing him a favour in a way."

Michael sighed, Jack scoffed, Ashton laughed. None of them were taking me seriously, were they?

"Look, you guys can think whatever you want, but I need to go back there."

"Fine, but tomorrow afternoon we're trekking up Death Mountain to confirm Jenna's death with the gatekeeper and pay our respects," Michael notified. "It's up to you but we'd really like you to come with us.

I looked at my feet, not having a clue as to what I should do.

Then, I caught sight of something glistening in the corner of my eye. I walked over to the flower vase by the wall mirror in the hallway, eyes landing upon a little lock of green hair tied together with golden string, as well as a pretty pearl rolling about next to it.

"Hey, were these things always here?" I called, beckoning the three over to take a look. Jack gasped when he saw the hair, immediately picking it up.

"This belongs to Jenna... it definitely does!" he exclaimed, on the brink of tears. "Why would she cut a piece of her hair off? A piece this tiny? And that's her pearl! The one she carried with her everywhere..."

For some reason I recognised the golden string used to tie the hair. Where had I seen it before? It was peculiar – it wasn't like me to remember such small details, but in this case it was bothering me like mad. Perhaps going up to Death Mountain would answer some questions? It was unlikely; however I wasn't going to throw away such an opportunity. Exploring this world was something I hadn't had the joy of doing quite yet.

"Okay guys, I'll come with you tomorrow morning. Jenna helped me a lot too, taking us to buy clothes and bringing me to the Voice Fountain that time – when are we leaving?"

"Eight am sharp," Ashton informed. "Any later and we won't get the early bus, meaning we won't arrive till midday and that's when the sun really starts doing its job. The heat gets unbearable and there are no trees to hide under."

I nodded. "Awesome. I'll be here at eight – for now, I've gotta go apologise. See you later okay?"

Michael gave me a quick hug before I left. The minute I stepped outside, I ran like the wind to get to Luke's. I had to apologise so badly, give him a hug, a kiss, anything – I just needed to see him and feel him and make sure he was okay.

***

kimmy xx