High School Romance ✓

Untitled Part 16

CHAPTER 16

"We should probably go now," Courtney said. "You've wasted enough time already," she grinned.

"Me? You say I wasted time?" Blake smiled back.

"Yep, you, Sullivan." They started walking to the jewelers.

"In your dreams, Pennington," he said.

She rolled her eyes at him, then she had to smile.

When they got there, Courtney picked out a nice wedding band for Blake, and had it engraved to say, "I'll love you for always.-Courtney." Blake refused to let her pay for it (of course), even though Courtney protested that the girl was supposed to pay for it.

They went back to their houses. Courtney got a quick shower and both changed into a t-shirt and shorts. When they were ready, Courtney led Blake to the beach. The two of them kicked off their shoes and let the sand go between their toes. "We're going swimming," she announced.

"Okay," he said. Courtney waded into the water and Blake followed closely behind her. She shrieked when she touched the water; it was colder than she expected it to be. She took his hand and led him deeper into the water. Soon they were up to their shoulders in the lake. Courtney slipped and became completely emerged in the water. Blake panicked, for it was too similar to the last time. He went under the water and pulled her above the surface.

"Sorry, that was my fault," she said. Blake couldn't speak, so he just shook his head. "I know, it was too close to the last time, right?" she asked. He nodded. "Well, you have to get over this sooner or later. I pick sooner," she said. He looked at her, a question in his eyes. "We're going to jump from those cliffs," she pointed. She started swimming towards them. He didn't move. "Do you trust me?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, speaking for the first time in a while, "It's myself I don't trust." He started after her regardless of what he was thinking, which was that he wouldn't be able to save her and he would lose her again. They were soon on the shore. They helped each other climb to the smallest cliff, which was ten feet up. Courtney led them to the edge. She took his hand and said, "When I count to three I'm jumping, whether you come with me or not. One, two, three." They jumped together and hit the water simultaneously. "Okay, next one."

They jumped from the twenty foot cliff this time. The next cliff they jumped from was fifty feet up. Finally, she led them to the hundred foot cliff. "Are you sure this is safe?" Blake asked. Courtney shrugged. Her foot slipped and they fell before either of them was ready. They were forced apart by the wind. Courtney hit the water first and went under. Blake came right after she did. He dived under the water and pulled Courtney to the shore. She was unconscious again. Blake gently set her down on the sand.

Suddenly, she coughed. She threw up all the water she had swallowed. Blake helped her to her side so that she wouldn't drown in the water she spit up. Blake let his breath out and said, "No more." She knew what he meant: no more jumping from the cliffs.

"Agreed," Courtney replied. "I'm tired. Wake me up in an hour or so, so that I don't get burnt."

"Okay," he said. He watched her fall asleep, and continued to watch her when she was surely sound asleep. After what he thought was an hour, he woke her up by shaking her carefully.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Who are you?" she asked.

Blake held his breath. He knew he had to be patient with her this time. "I'm Blake Sullivan," he said.

"Oh. Are you related to my friend Taylor? You two look very similar," she said.

"You remember Taylor?" he asked.

"Of course, she's my best friend!" She looked at him like he was crazy.

"No, we're not related," he said, hurt by Courtney calling his sister her best friend.

"Oh, well I have to be going. I have to go meet my fiancé. He's Taylor's brother."

"Really? What's his name?" Blake asked, playing along.

"His name is Ethan. He engraved this ring for me. See? It says, 'I'll love you forever.-Ethan,'" she said.

"Oh," he said, thoroughly confused.

"I see you're engaged too. What's your ring say?"

"It says, 'I'll love you for always.-Ella,'" he read. What? I thought. None of this was making any sense, for me or Blake.

"Ella, the writer girl from school? The freshman?"

"I guess," he said.

"That's cute," Courtney said.

"Yeah," Blake said, thinking about what this all could mean. He didn't mean what he said at all.

"I really must be going. It was nice to meet you, Blake," she smiled politely.

"Yeah, it was nice to meet you too," he said. He did his best to smile at her.

She started walking away. Blake started in the opposite direction. He stopped, then turned around. On impulse, he ran towards Courtney and kissed her. She froze, pulled away, and smacked him across the face. "What is wrong with you?" she demanded. She stomped away then.

"I don't know," he muttered. "I think I must be going crazy." He started to follow her. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't know what came over me just then."

"It's okay, I guess. Ethan tells me I'm pretty hard to resist sometimes," she smiled absentmindedly at her mention of Ethan.

Blake looked disgusted, but turned away before she could notice.

"Tell me about it," he muttered under his breath. "So, why are you marrying Ethan?" he asked her.

"Well, he's my best friend's brother. He's been like family to me for a long time. He's really smart too. Did you hear he made Valedictorian?"

"No," Blake said innocently. "Really?"

"Yeah. Tell me about you and Ella," she prompted.

"I don't really know what to say about Ella," he said. "She's just different, I guess. I like that." Nice answer, I thought sarcastically.

"So, you just had chemistry, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, it's like that sometimes," she agreed.

"Yeah," he said again. "I'll love you forever," he muttered, unable to help himself.

She nodded, "That's what my ring says. Cute right?"

Blake sighed, "No, Courtney. I love you."

"Oh," she said simply, not comprehending his words.

"I love you. I'll love you forever," he said. He kissed her once more.

Right before she went to smack him again she said, "Blake! Blake Sullivan, wake up!"

He woke up with a start and sighed with relief that the whole mix up was just a dream. "You were supposed to wake me up, not the other way around," she laughed.

"Sorry," he said.

"It's okay," Courtney said. "Let's go home now."

Blake nodded and they picked up their shoes. Their clothes were plenty dry by now. They slipped the shoes on and walked back to their houses.

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