A Trip To Remember

Falling

   Have you ever fallen? Have you ever fallen from so high you get that feeling in your stomach? Like you'll never stop? You have your eyes closed and you suck in a breath, ready to hit the water, but it doesn't come, just more emptiness. I've fallen. Feelings can feel like that too. It's the most relatable analogy. You can fall into the grief of loss, then depression, and you just fall until you almost lose yourself...
   Or you can fall in love.
   But the same outcome comes every time.
   At the bottom of every broken heart, every lost soul, every one who feels so lost it's hard to remember who you used to be, everyone who's giving up, there's hope at the bottom.

   My screams filled my ears and my stomach jolted with the feeling of exhilaration. I opened my eyes and looked down, and there seemed to be a lot more air between me and the ocean. Then I looked to my right, at Noah, who was watching me. Probably in case I pass out or something. I smiled and laughed at him.
Then I finally made that collision. A big splash that enclosed around us. I swam to the surface and broke through, flipping my hair over my head, out of my face.
   "You okay?" Noah asked with a smile.
   "Yeah! That was so...fun." I said gripping his forearms and then splashing him.
   "Glad you trusted me?" He asked still smiling.
   I turned around and looked him in the eyes grinning huge. The eye contact turned awkward until I cleared my throat and looked away.
   "Yeah yeah that was really awesome..." my voice fading out as he moved closer to me.
   "PRINCESS!" Sophia screamed at me from the shore. I flinched and looked up at her.
   "HURRY UP WERE GOING BACK UP. YOU TOO KNIGHT IN SHINING WHATEVER."
   I giggled quietly, turned around, and trudged through the water back to the sand.
   I ran up the rock climb as fast as I could and when I got to the top I found everyone in a crowd staring at me. I stopped short and looked around.
   "What...are you guys looking at?" I said laughing a little nervously.
   Caleb and Joseph looked at each other. Then they charged me and lifted me.
"WHAT NO NO STOP. STOP IT YOU ASSHOLES. NATHAN. ALYSA HELP ME." Nathan just shook his head and smirked and Alysa just laughed.
   "Sorry your on your own." She said grinning evilly.
   "Oh don't worry your going down too." Tyler said.
   "Wha-"
   Jayden and Noah grabbed her and they both carried us to the edge of the cliff.
   "NO STOP." We were screaming while thrashing hopelessly.
   "THREE-"
   "NO"
   "TWO-"
   "I SWEAR"
   "ONE-"
   "IM SERIOUS!"
   "LIFTOFF."
   We were hurled over board and I screamed my lungs out. I looked over to Alysa who had the most hilarious look on her face and I laughed until my eyes were tearing.
   "YOU SUCK." She yelled at our "friends".
We hit the water and salt water filled my mouth. I came up and gagged it up and laughed.
   "OK. JAYDEN IS SO DEAD."
   "Caleb...hohooo. He is going to wish he were dead." I said glaring up at the cliff.
   Alysa jerked her head in my direction suddenly. "Let's get em." She said with the most serious expression.
She waded out of the water and stomped up the shore and I followed, ready to kick some ass.
   "Have you and Caleb talked?" I asked her. I know that it hurt him when she met Jayden, but I only wondered if she talked to him or let him down easy.
   "About what?" She said looking at me quizzically.
   I gave her that 'come on' look. We stopped walking and she took a couple of seconds to open her mouth.
   "I don't know what youre talking about!" She said raising and dropping her arms with an 'I didn't do anything' expression.
   "Alysa. He liked you, he asked you to prom and now your with some other guy. It's killing him."
   She sighed and looked out at the water. She picked up a pebble and tossed it out on the water.
   "I never wanted this. I was clear with him what I wanted: to be friends. Nothing more..."
   "I understand completely but you have to understand this," I said putting a hand on her shoulder. "He's pathetic."
   She scoffed and rolled her eyes. 
   "I'm not taking his side! He shouldn't have put you in that position! On that I agree, so don't take that out on me. I'm just saying maybe have a talk with him, give him some closure. I know it's no your job but it'd only be right. And if your mad or something, then take it out on me, but don't get defensive and blame me." I said. And with that, I turned around and walked started back towards the rock.

   "Hey, where's Alysa?" Jayden asked when I reached the top of the rock.
   "She should be right behind me." I said shrugging my shoulders and turning around to look. She wasn't there.
   "Lys?" I called out walking toward the top step.
   "Yeah?" She answered. I released a breath I'd been holding. She always seemed to get into unfortunate situations at the beach.
   She appeared from below and climbed the top step looking down. When she looked up at us, she stopped.
   "What?" She asked confused.
   "Nothing." We all said shrugging.
   "Ok I think that we should maybe go get dinner or go back to the house. What do you guys think?" Tyler asked checking his watch.
   "Sounds good to me." Sophia said clapping her hands together.
   "Let's try order food in. I'm kinda tired." I suggested, stretching my abdomen.
   "Shall we jump on it?" Rianna said with a smirk.
   I sigh and looked at her with a mischievous grin. Some people groaned, others cackled.
   "YOU COME TO THE CARIBBEAN, YOU JUMP OFF A CLIFF." Sophia yelled.
   There was a round of muttered 'okays' and some giggles.
   We all linked arms and stood by the edge.
   "Ok the count of three." Caleb said.
   "ONE
    TWO....
   THREE!" We yelled in unison.
   Then we fell into what lay beneath.