Someone Willing to Stay

Magnet For Danger

"A wish fountain? Do I look five years old to you?" Mel asks me as we approach the giant fountain in the middle of the floor.
     There are people buzzing all around us now, mostly older men and women and a few teenagers who decided to skip school like us.
     The fountain has three layers, with the top layer spurting a waterfall that floods down the bottom. I peer inside and see hundreds of coins on the bottom layer.
     "Come on, I'll even let you use my penny." I tease her.
     She rolls her eyes and looks at the water.
     "Fine, but I'm not telling you my wish."
     "Now I'm starting to think you are a five year old."
     My mother loves wishing wells. Every time she sees one she stops me and pulls me close to it, handing me a quarter. She throws hers in first, mumbling her wish to herself and then I throw mine in, pretending that I'm annoyed every time because I'm too old. But I make a wish to myself too.
     For the past year, all my wishes have been for my father to get better. For his cancer to mysteriously disappear.
     I hand Mel a rusty penny and she takes it from me, biting her lip in thought.
She takes the penny in both hands and brings it to her lips, like she forgets that I'm there and analyzing her every move. She whispers something to it and gives it a small peck before tossing the coin into the air and landing it on the very top layer of the fountain.
"That means your wish will come true." I tell her.
She looks disappointed and relieved at the same time.
I take another penny, squeeze it in my fist and throw it into the bottom layer, watching as it splashes into he water.
     Mel will trust me again.
I don't breathe until the coin has sunken to the bottom of the marble flooring.
"What'd you wish for?" She asks quietly.
"I would tell you," I say, "but according to universal wish laws, I can't." I sigh sarcastically and, sucking in a breath and shrugging my shoulders.
She scoffs and shoves me before her eyes widen. I watch her take a quick step back. Watching me. All I do is smirk. Her shoulders relax.
"I have to get you back now." I tell her.
"No, you don't have to."
I nod, acting like I'm taking her words into careful consideration before I take a quick look around me and run up to Mel, lifting her in my arms.
She gasps, "Mason put me down."
"Sure thing, Mel."
I take a few steps with her in my arms and smirk at her before dropping her like she had asked. Directly into the fountain.
There's a big splash as she lands, her body fully submerged. She sits up quickly and gasps, her hair matted to her forehead.
"Mason, why do you like trying to drown me so much?" She screeches.
Her clothes are clinging to her like a second skin, I'm trying be a gentleman but I can't help but admire her figure. She's beautiful.
"Help me you stupid jerk." She yells.
We've already caught the attention of everyone around us, they're all gawking at us.
"What's the magic word?"
"Help me now."
"So bossy." I reach my hand out and she grabs my wrist.
I go to pull her up but she pulls me down instead and I flip into the fountain.
     I feel the water surround me as it covers my skin. It's freezing.
     I gasp as I emerge from under the water and hear Mel launch into a fit of giggles.
     She's laughing so hard she has to grab her stomach to stop from shaking. I'm laughing too. We're just sitting in a fountain in the middle of the mall laughing so hard my stomach is burning.
     Everyone around us thinks we're insane but we don't care.
"You believed me." Mel pants in between bursts of laughter.
I grin, splashing her, "I was trying to be a gentleman."
She gasps and splashes me back.
"What the hell are you kids doing?" There's a mall security guard running up to the fountain at a very alarming speed.
Mel and I look at each other and she says the one word running through my mind.
"Run."
I jump over the fountain wall, landing on the floor. Water drips all around me in a puddle.
Mel holds out her hand and I grab it, pulling her up this time as she hops out of the fountain and we start running.
Our shoes are squeaking against the floor and we're leaving a trail of water as we run throughout the mall hand in hand.
"How do we get out of here?" Mel yells.
I turn around to see the security guard still running after us.
"Come on." I tell her.
I pull Mel's hand as we take a sharp turn towards the escalator.
It's going much too slow for my liking so I do what any logical person would.
I being to run down the stairs already traveling down. When Mel almost falls forward I catch her by her waist.
We keep running.
It reminds me of playing in my backyard when we were kids and how I would slow down so she could catch me when we played tag.
Of that night when I took her to the park and she told me so many things that I still can't make sense of.
We're constantly running away from something.
I'm running away from Florida, from Dylan and Dad.
I just wish she would tell me what she's running from. Why she's so scared to tighten her grip on my hand as we bolt into the parking lot.
"Drive!" She yells.
"We're not even in the car yet." I shoot back, fumbling with my keys.
Once I open my door and unlock her's, I'm speeding out of the parking lot before her door is even closed all the way.
We're panting heavily.
"Why am I always so close to being arrested when I'm with you?" She glares at me.
"I'm just a magnet for danger."