When Worlds Collide

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

I wake up on my own for the first time in a while. When I look outside my window though I see why. They're all out there splashing out on the lake, well three of them are. I stretch, crack my back, yawn a bit and stand up. I itch my chest and walk to my small closet.

It’s also pre-set with clothes; it’s just not a walk-in. I choose something comfortable and slip into it after deciding that I don’t need a shower quite yet. I also choose to skip breakfast- it’s almost past noon anyways. Not to mention the fact that I could probably do without some food for a bit…

Walking through the house I notice things I didn’t notice before. Like the knots in the polished wood that makes the house seem less perfect, in a perfect way, if that makes any sense. Or like how all of the curtains are a deep green that would normally make you wanna puke, but in this cabin in the middle of the woods, it fits in perfectly.

The door leading outside has three locks; a dead-bolt, one for a key, and a sliding/chain one up near the top. I walk outside and see Niall and Harry splashing around in the shallow water, while Zayn sits on the edge, trailing his feet in the water.

“Hey mate,” I say, and Zayn turns his head slightly towards me. He smiles a bit then turns back to the others.

“Don’t want those idiots to drown,”

“Hey, we heard that!” Niall says, pouting and crossing his arms. I open my mouth to reply but start laughing when Harry comes up behind him and tackles Niall to the water. Niall pops up and dunks Harry, and the cycle begins again.

I watch them for a bit before I strip off my clothes down to the boxers. “I'm going in,” I smile at Zayn and wade out into the water. I had winced at first, expecting it to be freezing, but it’s really warm. Not hot tub warm, just warm enough to have me relaxing right away. I steer clear of the two rough-houses and go towards the center of the lake. My guess had been right last night; the lake seems to be no deeper than five feet at its center.

I just decide to lay on my back and relax further. Of course, I keep an ear trained on Niall and Harry. It wouldn’t surprise me if they come up and jump on me or something. For now, though, I just close my eyes and relish in the warm water with the hot sun baking down on me.

Surprisingly, Harry and Niall leave me alone. Soon I hear them get out and the water stills. I crack an eye open and see that I've floated towards the far end of the lake away from the cabin. Closing my eyes again, I allow myself to relax fully.

Zayn stays out for a bit longer then he calls to me that he'll bring my clothes in. I wave an arm in the air, letting him know I heard him. Before he leaves, though, he says, “Liam might come out in a bit,”

This confuses me, why would he tell me? Instead of waving or something to let him know I heard, I just lay still. The water is almost therapeutic, actually. I feel myself drifting off to sleep, and every so often I force my eyes open. It would probably not be a good thing to fall asleep in a lake with no one spotting me…

“Hey, Lou,” someone says softly. My eyes pop open and I sit up, forgetting that I'm… in the water. So instead of actually sitting up, I end up pushing myself under.