ten years. [lrh]

thirteen.

twelve years later.

'I've done this heaps of times. Trust me.'

Amanda balanced on her toes, anxiously looking around her. The common public around them was blinded, too caught up in the tides below their feet. She had forgotten how much Luke thought through his plans before taking action. (He never did.)

'Almost there...' Luke muttered. As the wind sang louder, Amanda's grip on the ladder Luke was fumbling around on grew tighter.

'There are many other places with arcades,' she offered, watching Luke hack away above her. 'We can go tomorrow morning.'

'Nope,' Luke answered, his words muffled by the credit card he had lodged between his teeth. 'I'm winning you another penguin, here. Where I won it before.'

'But-'

'Calm down, bug.' Luke spat the card from his mouth and cleared his throat. 'I do this all the time, alright? I've never been caught. Relax.'

Just as Amanda opened her mouth to argue, the latch broke loose and Luke pushed the window in. The rungs creaked with every step and he climbed back down, triumphantly spreading his arms wide.

'We're a step closer to getting your penguin!' He announced. Amanda dropped her chin and stared him down in disbelief. She was committing a crime. Amanda Rainey, the assigned good girl, was committing a crime.

'Is this safe?' She asked. Luke rolled his eyes and gestured towards the ladder.

'As safe as you can get. Now come on, I'll hold this down while you climb up.'

'Who's gonna hold it for you?'

'No one.' Luke shrugged. 'As I said, I've done this countless times. I just let you help me because I knew if I didn't, you'd insist otherwise.'

Amanda crossed her arms, cursing under her breath.

'What was that?' Luke bent down towards her, cupping his ear ironically. She sighed and pushed past him, grabbing the sides of the wood without a second thought. The fabric of Luke's jacket grazed the back of her thigh and she kept still for a moment as the ladder shuddered from his new grip.

She started climbing again, and when she reached the top, the window had relapsed.

'Plan failed!' She called.

'Don't be stupid, Amanda.' Luke huffed back, giving the ladder a little shake. She gasped, hugging the highest rung. If she was going to die, it was not going to be from falling off a ladder a mere five metres in the air.

'Stop that!' She yelled. The whole thing seemed so wrong.

'Are you doubting me? You are, aren't you? Just give it a push, honestly.'

Amanda hesitated, before following Luke's orders. To her conscience's dismay, it opened easily, and she peered down, waiting for Luke to instruct her again.