Unknown Friendship

Chapter Seven: SkyDiving

Skydiving

Katie Gardner's POV

The whole thing was Katie's grandfather's idea, after he saw Percy jump off the roof for the first time.

She really didn't know how he could have only witnessed the act just that summer, after all the times that Percy had been at their home since she was seven. Seriously, they were nine now. It took two years to know that Percy had this weird obsession with the sky?!

It was ridiculous.

She groaned and followed the two to her grandpa's home. If only Percy hadn't leapt off the roof... again. If only Pops hadn't noticed it because Percy always jumped off the roof. If only her grandfather did not have his own personal airplane that he could fly.

She might as well write her will now.

"Katie, what's wrong?" her dad, who was behind her holding a video camera, asked.

She turned to face him, walking backwards. "What makes you ask that? And why're you holding a video camera? We'll be up in the sky, ya know."

He furrowed his brows. "Katie, you're avoiding the answer. What's wrong?"

Her nose twitched, and she blinked a couple of times quickly. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Percy bumped her shoulder, an evil smirk on his face-seriously, the smirk would make the devil jealous; that's how evil it looked. "Yeah, Butterfly, what's wrong?" he mocked, fingering the top of his sunglasses.

Katie glared at him. "Okay, ya wanna know what's wrong? Here's what's wrong-I'm about to die because of you."

His smirk only widened. "Now, what makes you say that?" He dashed off when she lunged for him.

Wimp.

She muttered under her breath about death-bringing best friends and stomped after her grandfather, who was opening the garage door. "And presenting... da da da dun!" he exclaimed, lifting the door to reveal one of those old timey airplanes that have a propeller on the nose and only two seats.

Two seats that don't have any way of keeping the riders in, besides seatbelts.

Great.

Katie forced a smile on her face and bumped Percy to gain his attention. She pointed, even though he couldn't see her finger, at the plane. "There's a propeller. It's this weird shade of yellow, almost brown like. The plane itself is red. And-" She looked at Grandpa. "Did you name it?" she asked him.

He nodded. "Irene. Named it like a boat. Painted on its side."

She continued, "Its name is Irene and the name is painted right over here." She dragged Percy over to the left side of the airplane, which had the name painted in a fancy script in gold.

Percy traced his fingers over the name, and then placed his palm on the old, peeling paint. "Let's get this thing up in the air!" A smile broke out on his face, and he leapt up onto a wing before seating himself in the back seat. For someone who was just skin over bone, he had some wicked moves.

Grandpa made a strangling noise in the back of his throat, like this somehow bothered him, but gave a tight smile and pulled up a ladder to the plane for him to use. He pointed at the seat Percy was in. "Katie, you can just sit in the same seat as Percy is. You're both small enough."

Percy winced slightly at the description, and she climbed into the back of the plane, not as gracefully as Percy and not bothering to use the ladder like her grandfather; besides, he was moving way too slow for her taste. "Move over," she ordered Percy. He grumbled to himself, but obliged her order.