Narcissus

Chapter Fourteen

A/N - Happy New Year! First chapter of 2019 :)

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"Four!" Rachel shouted, jumping up and down in glee as Finn scowled. They were skimming rocks, squinting in the sun as they bent down to search for more flat stones. Diya lay next to me on the grass, Ella resting her head on the brunette. It hadn't taken them long to admit they liked each other, and they were now dating, after a lot of convincing on Diya's part.

"You used magic, or something!" Finn declared as she stood in the black lake, having taken her tights off underneath her skirt.

"Nah, I didn't!" Rachel replied, also standing in the Black Lake, although her jeans were slightly wet as they were so tight she couldn't quite roll them up. We had already had our last lesson of the day, and Rachel claimed it was too hot, so we came down to the lake.

Rachel took her jacket off, as Finn examined a peculiar looking shell, and revealed an old crop top. It was one of Finn's Lacrosse jumpers from her previous school, which Rachel had more or less cut in half. Finn would have complained, however she seemed too transfixed on Rachel's abs. It was November, almost the dead of winter, and last week I had refused to take off my massive puffer coat in class, as I had been freezing. Now, however it was a Friday afternoon and we had been blessed with an extremely rare heatwave. It was almost worrying, the sudden change in temperature, and there were many news articles of the dangers of Global Warming. But we were young, and self-centred, and we didn't care. We just wanted to enjoy the weather.

"Slater! Come and skim a rock!" Finn called over, but I waved her off. I was enjoying sunbathing. We didn't get a lot of sun, so I wanted to make the most of it.

"I'm not having that!" Rachel shout, and I frowned as I heard footsteps. Before I knew it she had yanked me off my blanket, grabbing my wrists with Finn holding my ankles.

"Come on, Finn, let's put her in the water!"

"Diya! Ella! James! HELP ME!" I screeched, as James and the couple merely watched in amusement, fond smiles on their faces. Rachel and Finn ran into the water, holding me as I struggled.

"On three, we drop her, got it Rachel?" Finn announced as they waded into the lake.

"Don't you dare!"

"Three..." began Finn.

"Two..." Rachel cackled.

"ONE!" Finn shouted. I felt my body swing into the air, and just as I was about to hit the water...

My swinging body was stopped, and I was dumped back onto shore. Rachel and Finn quickly ran back into the water, not so far that they would get their clothes wet, but far enough that I couldn't get anywhere near them without getting my shoes wet.

"Oh, you think you're safe, do you?" I jeered, finding Rachel's water bottle on the grass. I ran back to the shoreline of the lake and began to aim the bottle, managing to get Finn directly in the face with a spurt of water and Rachel right on her chest. "That's what you get, dickheads!" I grinned and plopped myself back down on the grass.

Soon enough, one by one, everyone headed back up to Hallway House.

"I'll catch up in a bit, yeah?" I called out, and Rachel nodded before they began the trek back to the school. Propping myself up on my elbows, I surveyed the lake. It was relatively small, but gorgeous, with calm, inky water and a pebbly bottom. Students would often come down here, as it sat in a clearing and was surrounded by forest, only the tips of the highest turrets of the Stately Home visible above the trees, so it was private. It lay on the very outskirts of the school grounds, surrounded by rolling fields, and all you could hear was the uninterrupted sound of birds, trees and the lapping of the lake.