Every Cliche in the Book

Just Friends

Alice stood at the edge of the cliff and looked at her friends. They all stood at the edge too, some looking excited and some looking terrified. This is it. They were all going to jump off a cliff.

She heard Alissa counting down from ten. As soon as everyone heard zero come from her mouth they all jumped off.

Alice, Rick and Erica were all in cannonball potions, Daniel, Derek, Alissa, and Kelly were all in diving positions and Charlie was in a belly flop position.

A loud smack filled everyone's ears as he hit first.

Before anyone could react they hit as well.

Alice smiled as she sunk in the cool water. It may be fall but can you blame her? It was a really hot day for fall. Plus the water was really nice. This was her second favorite cliff because if she jumped off this one she lived. The other one was prettier though.

She swam up to the surface and laughed as her head left the water. Her friends looked ridiculous with their hair wet and messy.

Alissa laughed as well and pointed at Erica, "Your hair is all puffed up and even frizzy. It's hilarious to look at! Like a messy lion's mane!"

Erica rolled her eyes, "It's not my fault. That's just how my hair reacts to air while wet. Everyone's hair is different. So you don't need to point out what my hair does just because it's not the same as yours."

"Erica. Why is it you spend most of your time acting like a stereotypical white chick in a movie but at times you're suddenly like this? You go from being as deep as a kiddie pool to the deep end of the public pool."

Erica giggled, "I have no idea what you're talking about. You're so weird, Alissa!"

Daniel raised an eyebrow, "I'm so confused whenever that girl says something. It's a fifty-fifty chance of hearing something smart or stupid. At least with Kelly, you know exactly what kind of reaction she's going to have towards something. It's always incredibly stereotypical or absolutely dumb."

Kelly just stared at the sky. She was just thinking. The sky was so big and blue, you could mistake it for a lighter ocean if you didn't know which direction you were looking at. She wished it was possible to swim in the sky. She wanted to touch the clouds and make the air ripple. It would be so much fun to travel through the air in such a way. Flying would be fun but swimming would be much more fun. She loves swimming and the sky.

Daniel tapped Kelly's forehead, "Earth to Kelly. What is even going on in that head of yours? Or is it just empty?"

Kelly smiled, "The sky is pretty."

"I don't know why I'd expect anything more intellegent than that. I'm sorry for having so much hope in that mind of yours."

Derek suddenly pushed Daniel, "Hey twin! You haven't really spoken to me that much for a while. How about we do something fun? How about I dare you to do something? That sounds fun right?"

Daniel looked annoyed, "I wonder why I don't spend a lot of time with you. It's not like you try to drag me into things I don't like. How about you dare Alice to do something, instead of daring me. Especially since I've never liked dares. They're stupid."

Derek looked at Alice, "Alice! I dare you to swim to the bottom and stare there for as long as possible before your lungs start to burn."

Alice smiled, "Okay! But you have to do it with me! We can see who lasts the longest and who is a complete wimp!"

"You're on!"

"Bring it!"

Daniel yelled, "Just go to the bottom already so you can get this over with!"

The two nodded and swam to the bottom. Alice was having trouble because her arms weren't the best at paddling but Derek didn't struggle in the slightest.

Once they reached the bottom they both grabbed on to a large rock to hold them in place. They knew that the air in their lungs would carry them upwards and back to the surface. The rocks made it easy to avoid floating though due to their large amount of weight. THey had learned this when they were in middle school together.

They always had challenges like this back then.

Alice clenched her eyes tight in an attempt to be able to focus on her lungs. She wanted to make herself hold her breath for a long time. If she got distracted, she might accidentally let out of the air in her lungs. Or even worse, breath in water and drown.

Derek on the other hand was staring at her. He wanted to run his fingers through her hair, that was swaying around in the water, and to pull her close. But he couldn't do that. She had to choose before he could do anything like that. If she wanted Rick, he'd be destroyed but wouldn't stop her. He wanted her to be happy no matter what. Even after all that she's done in the past and will most likely do in the future, he loved her with all of his cold, unbeating heart. She was one of the few people in his life that could make him happy by just being there. She didn't even need to do anything. Actually. it's probably good if she doesn't do anything most of the time. The girl did seem to have a habit of doing horrible things that lead to horrible consequences that weren't just for her, but for everyone around her even if they didn't do anything whatsoever and don't deserve to be punished. But somehow he still loved her and wanted to always be near her.

She was the most important thing to Derek.

Derek suddenly realized that his lungs felt like they were on fire and he accidentally let out all of his air in shock. He quickly scrambled back to the surface and took a deep breath. He started to cough. It hurt really badly. What was he thinking?!

Alice calmly swam back up and took a deep breath as well before grinning at Derek. She totally beat him. She was the best and nobody could deny it, not like they would anyway. She had no idea why Derek would think, even for a second, that he could beat her at anything at all. She was the most superior person in the group, hands down.

She laughed and hugged him, "Oh babe. Did you forget who wears the pants in this relationship? It's me sugar. I always beat you at holding my breath, so why do you always forget. I love you but this is just sad. I hope you aren't too upset about my flawless victory. What were even thinking about that would cause you to forget on focusing down there?"

Derek glared and pushed Alice away. He couldn't believe he loved someone as condenscending as her. She was horrible. Sometimes he just wanted to strangle her.

She grabbed his arm, "What's wrong sweetheart? Don't want any love right now? Did I hurt your pride? I could make up for it by giving you a special gift," she winked, "What do you say?"

Derek let out a growl as he pried her hand off of him, "Back off Alice. I just wanted to have a good time but you've gone too far. Not only are you acting like a stuck up snob but you're acting like I'm yours. I wanted to have some fun with my friends while in the water."

Alice looked shocked, "But Derek-"

He cut her off, "Don't you dare. Remember these words until you make up your mind, because I know you didn't and you're just trying to make yourself feel good. I want to hang out with my friends, which includes you. That is all you are to me until you make your choice. You and I are not dating."

Alice looked down.

Derek turned away from her, "We're just friends."