Breaking Free

Chapter 6: Night falls

Diego's POV

I lay in my bed. It was, what, 3-4 AM now. Why couldn't I sleep? Why was I thinking about her? I've known her, what, 24 hours now? But, there's something about her. Class starts tomorrow. I should spend time with her. Why would she want to spend time with me though? I remember her so vividly. Wow, I'm going crazy. Why do I think about her so much? What is wrong with me? This is not normal. This is not...ok this isn't working. I need to distract myself.

I pulled myself out of bed and went to open the painted white wooden window. The blue and purple misty aura of night calmed me. There was a gentle wind. My eyes traced down each building then down to each grass blade. Then I stopped. A figure in the distance. Soft curls, a small but well-built frame, soft purposefully footsteps. What was she doing up?

I smirked. I knew exactly what I was about to do. I grabbed my rucksack and emptied it onto the bed. I grabbed a flashlight and my blanket, stuffing it in. Then, as quietly as possible, I shut the window and went downstairs to the kitchen. My mind glazed over the fact that I was basically stealing food as I grabbed two cans of beer, a packet of ham, loaf of bread, two apples, tin of olives, a packet of cheese. I could make this work. I stuffed it all in. Oh god, what was I doing? I ran upstairs quick as I could, and in the dark blindly rummaged around till I found two towels, perfect.

Downstairs. Sling the bag. Outside.

Alexa's (Via's) POV

I couldn't sleep. I don't know why. Too much running through my mind. I was gonna be so sleepy tomorrow, not good...for the mission. The mission, right. The grass was still damp and kind of muddy. But it felt good under my toes. The air was so fresh.

"Hey."

I turned around. I knew that voice.

"Diego"

Bathed in the porch light he ran his hand through his still perfectly neat hair, then he adjusted his glasses, then his hands went into his pocket than out. Almost as if he was nervous. But why would he be? He was wearing loose trousers and a shirt, pyjamas. He had his rucksack slung over his shoulder.

"Oli, hey... I wanna show you something, come on"

He began walking. I looked down at the dress/oversized shirt pyjama thing I found in my cupboard, totally inappropriate. Then I looked at him smiling at me.

"Yeh, sure. Why not?"

We walked a long way over fields and mud away from the university, talking the whole way. It was like we knew each other our whole lives. Everything just clicked. It was like a fairytale which I never wanted to end. The whole time I was smiling and so was he. It was so wonderful so perfect, I couldn't believe it.

Eventually, we came to some sort of wooden fence thing.

"Is this, I don't know, legal?"

He laughed, "It's all perspective"

"How exactly does that work?"

"You worry too much you know. Here I'll help you".

He had taken off his backpack and given me his hands like some sort of leg up. I smiled, put one hand on the top of the fence. Two quick strides and I was up balancing on the thin top of the fence. I laughed at his bewildered face.

"Ok spidey"

He followed me as I jumped off on the other side into a forest. There were birds and crickets singing and the sound of running water. He landed right beside me.

Our eyes held.

"You can climb, but can you run?" He rustled my hair then took off into the dark.

"Hey, no fair!" I chased after him. Not sure where he was but following the marks in the muddy soil, till I stopped, feeling water at my feet. I looked up and there he was, sitting on a rock and then I gasped. 

Behind him, cascading downwards, a waterfall, going into a lake underneath. And if things weren't perfect enough the sun was just climbing out from the horizon. Gold peeked out from behind the purple clouds, before slowly swirling round and round taking it all over. It lit the darkness of the lake. Crystal clear turquoise, with the shadowed patterns of the tree-leaves around it. A bird chirped.

I looked back at Diego to see he'd spread out the blanket from his bed across the dry part of rock and from his bag produced an assortment of food.

"Do you like it?"

"Are you seriously asking me that?"

We began to eat, and talk and talk and talk.

--

"I feel like I've known you my entire life..."

"Yea. Same"

"Do you have any siblings?"

"It's complicated"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I guess I...I have two but..."

I moved over to the side of the rock, legs dangling into the waterfall. All the food was gone.

"You guys not that close?"

"Yeah.. something like that..."

I turned around but instead of continuing, I saw him. A second too late as he pushed me and I grabbed on to him and screamed.

Diego POV

The sharp sting of water engulfed me then I looked up and there she was laughing. The sun had completely risen and highlighted every part of her smile. Her laugh sounded like bells.

"You weren't supposed to bring me in with you."

"Serves, you right, you just pushed me in. That's like dangerous and I don't have any other clothes. Like not ok!"

She was smiling the whole time and I couldn't help but smile back. We splashed around in the water, each trying to push the other one in and we just smiled. 

--

Alexa POV

It was 8 AM when we snuck back into the house, through the backdoor with towels around our shoulders. We'd dried off in the wind, laughing and running the whole way back, chasing the sunrise. And I just thought, how can two people have so much in common and I just wondered, was this real? And I really hoped it was...