POV: Skylar
"You okay?" Vida asks me.
I quickly look away from Jade who is off to the side of the river, just sitting staring at the water. She has her shorts on now and is just drying off all alone by herself. I guess she's ready to head back.
"Huh? Yeah," I smile.
"What's her problem?" Vida asks me.
"I..." I was going to say I don't know, but I do know.
I turn and look at Jade again, she looks up at me and I quickly look away again.
I don't like this. I don't like this horrible feeling I feel right now. I don't like that look she keeps giving me. I don't like the way she's been acting since Vida's gotten here. It's ruined isn't it. The good times are over. She's going to make me choose. She's going to cause a scene. I don't like this.
"I don't know," I finally answer and rest my head on my tube.
"What's your problem," Vida says.
"I don't want things to change," I say. "I want them to stay the way they are right now." I pick at the tube.
"Everything changes every day. Little subtle changes that slowly add up over time to a big change." Vida says.
I look at her then and frown.
"Just go talk to her." She urges.
"W-what?" I suddenly stand upright.
"Skylar come on, I'm not an idiot. I can see you are in love with her again. Just like when we first met."
"I'm not!" I deny.
"Skylar," she looks at me unamused.
I look nervously over to Jade who is now talking to her Dad.
"I'm scared," I whisper.
"Scared of what?"
"Scared I'm making the same mistake again. Scared it will go back to how it was before. Scared... of Jade Tate."
"Well, sometimes the only way to get over our fears is to face them." She says.
I turn to look at her again.
"You've spent all these months searching the country with Jade, did you find what you were looking for?"
"I wasn't searching," I scoff.
"You were, searching for something that was inside of you all along."
"No I-"
"Did you find it; do you know what you want now?"
I sigh and rest my head on the tube.
"What if what I want is impossible? Like there is what I fantasies a relationship with Jade again could look like, and then there is reality." I say.
"Do you take a chance on fantasy, or do you wake up and smell the reality and finally move on?" Vida challenges.
"I don't know," I look over at Jade who is now laughing at something her Dad said, her mom pushes her Dad into the water. "All I know is right now, I like things just the way they are." I smile.
"You are hopeless," Vida sighs and shakes her head.
"Could have told you that one," Oli swims over to us.
"Leave me alone," I splash her.
She slashes me back.
I giggle and soon the three of us are in a splash war.
"My hair!" Aphrodite complains, we accidentally splashed her.
She's the only one who hasn't gotten fully in the water. I narrow my eyes at her and smirk.
"Skylar no!" She sees me coming.
"Ambush!" Vida declares and the three of us swim over to her.
"No!" Aphrodite tries to paddle away.
"Got-cha!" I snag her tube.
"Stop it! If you push me in I swear to GOD!" She screams as we tip her over.
We all laugh as she comes up fuming and splashing us.
"You stupid jerk!" Aphrodite whacks me.
"I couldn't help it." I giggle.
"I don't know, I don't think she's wet enough," Vida says before scooping Aphrodite in her arms and body-slamming her back into the water.
I can't help but laugh loudly.
"Stop it! You guys suck!" Aphrodite throws a fit.
We all laugh.
"Are you guys torturing her?" Darleen swims over to us.
"Yes! Save me," Aphrodite swims over to her.
"Save you? Sneak attack!" She picks her up and slams her back into the water.
"That is it!" Aphrodite goes on the offensive.
We all swim away and laugh as she tries to catch us.
"Too slow!" Oli surprise dunks me before swimming off.
"Hey!" I chase her.
Soon we are all trying to dunk and splash and catch each other. Kenzie joins in on the fun.
I glance over at Jade and she is just watching us from the sidelines so I swim over to her.
"Come on," I call.
"Nah it's okay, I'm cold." She mock shivers.
I frown.
"Come on," I say again.
"No I'm fine, I'll hang with the oldies here," she motions to all the parents. "Go have fun."
I narrow my eyes and get out of the water before marching over to her and picking her up in my arms.
"Ah! Skylar stop! Skylar wait! My shorts!" Jade laughs as I take her to the water.
"Should have thought of that sooner," I shrug.
"Skylar!" She kicks in my arms. "No! It's cold!"
I throw her in.
"Skylar!" She screams.
I giggle.
She takes her now-soaked shorts off and throws them at me.
I throw them on the lawn chair to dry and when I turn to face her, her shirt hits me in the face.
She laughs.
"Hey!" I laugh before also tossing it to the side and running back into the water to chase her.
"Ah! Stop!" She tries to run away.
"Get back here!" I swim after her.
But then something bad happens. It all just happened so quickly. Jade lost her footing and got swept into the current. We are in the San Marcos River, and at the end of the river are these three little waterfalls. People slide down them in their tubes, but it's bad to go without a tube because at the bottom is a whirlpool that sucks you in and can easily drown you.
One second Jade was in front of me, the next, gone.
I quickly swim up on the bank again and look over the edge for Jade.
Lots of people sit on their tubes below but I don't see Jade popping up anywhere.
"Jade?" I call.
Nothing.
"Jade!"
Nothing.
My heart rate increases.
I jump back into the water and go down the waterfall myself. I get sucked in, and see Jade also there, struggling for dear life to swim up. I also get stuck, but I grab someone's tube and pull myself up.
"Everyone move out of the way!" I scream.
People go silent.
I take a deep breath before going under. I grab Jade's hand, she is now not moving. I tug and tug, but we are stuck in the whirlpool. I feel someone grab onto me and pull me up, some random dude. Finally, I get Jade up.
"Jade!" I shake her.
She's not moving.
"Jade!"
"Someone call 911!" The guy screams.
I drag her to land and lay her down on the ground before doing CPR.
"Come on Jade, come on."
"Oh my god," Aunty comes to look.
"Where's my phone, call an ambulance!" Darleen shouts.
"Jade!" I sob and keep doing chest compressions.
Everyone gathers around.
"Come on!" I scream.
I lean down to give her mouth to mouth and she suddenly jerks forward, coughing like crazy as water spews from her mouth.
"Oh thank god," I hug her.
She just cough and coughs and coughs.
I pat her back and help her lean forward to get the water out.
"Jade, are you okay?" Aunty kneels down next to us.
"Don't move, she could still dry drown." That random guy says.
"Paramedics are on the way," Kenzie runs over to us.
"I'm okay, I'm okay," Jade struggles to catch her breath.
Sprinkle comes to investigate and licks Jade to comfort her.
I just start sobbing.
"Hey, it's okay, she's okay." Aunty comforts me.
"She wasn't breathing and I got so scared," I sob.
"It's okay, she's okay." Kenzie rubs my shoulder.
"You saved my life," Jade says, finally catching her breath.
"Not me, him, he saved us." I point to that guy.
"I'm her dad," Jade's dad says. "Thank you, son," he shakes that guys hand.
"No problem. I've been coming to this spot for years. It can be tricky, so you got to be careful. I always keep my eyes peeled. A lot of newbies don't know how dangerous it is." The guy says.
"Holy shit, dude, that's Jade Tate," One of the guy's friends says.
Soon more people crowd around.
"Hey, hey, hey, give her some space." That guy forces everyone back.
Jade's mom helps her up and we lead her back to our spot by the riverbank.
I struggle to get myself under control, Oli comes and holds my hand while Mom hugs me to side.
"It's okay, everything's okay. No one was hurt, that's what's most important." She says.
Paramedics arrive and they check out Jade in their ambulance. Once they determine she's okay and not in danger of dry drowning they let her go.
"We should head back and get some rest," Darleen says.
"Yeah, Sprinkle is pooped anyway, poor baby." Kenzie holds Sprinkle.
"Yeah my hair is fried," Aphrodite complains.
"You okay?" I ask Jade.
"I'm fine, relax." She smiles at me.
I eye her in worry.
"Okay, everyone let's pack it up. That's enough excitement for one day. Let's shower and change and regroup for dinner." Aunty orders.
"Can you walk, should I carry you?" Uncle offers Jade.
"I'm not a baby, everyone chill. I'm fine." Jade laughs.
"You scared me," I admit.
"I'm fine." She grabs my hand in hers.
So we take the bus back to the parking lot and pile in the big party van we rented. So that way we don't have to take our separate cars everywhere.
While in the Van I sit next to Jade and rest my head on her shoulder, never letting go of her hand. She just rests her head against mine and runs her thumb up and down my hand to comfort me.
We get to the hotel and shower and change and just take a moment to breathe and take in everything that happened.
"I'm sorry, I had to take my shirt off. Look at these tan lines," Jade pouts, examining herself in the mirror.
I come up behind her and wrap her in my arms.
"Skylar, I'm fine. It's okay. I'm okay." She assures me.
"Don't scare me like that again," I mumble and bury my head into the back of her neck.
She turns in my arms to face me, brushing my hair back with her fingers. I lean into her touch.
"My heart is still racing," I admit.
My nerves are running on a 100. I feel one wrong move away from a full-blown panic attack. My hands haven't stopped shaking since.
"Look at me, do you really think I would dare leave this earth without my best friend? Without you, my soulmate?"
I smile and give a light chuckle.
"No way! If I'm going to burn in hell, you better come with me bitch." She playfully pushes me.
I giggle.
"I'm not going anywhere, it's going to take more than a sketchy river to get rid of me."
"You can't die," I say.
"Oh yeah?"
"I won't let you. Never. You have to live forever." I say.
"Forever? I don't know, that sounds like a lot." She teases me.
"Forever," I demand.
"Fine, forever," she rolls her eyes and smiles.
"K, remember you promised." I pull her into my arms once more.
"Well living forever by myself is boring. You have to live forever too then." She says.
"Okay, I will. Forever." I agree.
"Good. At least I won't get lonely."
I chuckle.
She leans in and pecks me on the lips. It's the first time she's kissed me in a while. Usually, I kiss her first. She pulls back slightly, her lips lingering near mine. I close the gap and kiss her again.
This kiss feels different.
Feels charged.
There are feelings behind it, understanding and love. This kiss isn't just for lust it's real. It's unlike any kiss we've ever shared. I wrap my hands around her face, pulling her in as close as possible. She wraps her arms around me.
Soon it's not enough.
I need more.
We stumble back until I fall on the bed with her on top of me. She kisses me feverishly, unbuttoning the top I just put on. I run my hands up her shirt, moaning as I feel her start to grind on me.
That's as far as we get before a knock on our door interrupts us.
We pause, struggling to catch our breath.
"Who is it?" Jade calls with a bite.
I playfully slap her leg.
"Don't you talk to me like that," Aunty calls.
We both sigh and I let my head fall back in defeat.
"It was your idea for a family reunion," Jade gets off of me.
"Coming!" I call, buttoning up my shirt again.
Jade walks over and opens the door.
"I was just checking on you, seeing what you wanted for dinner. Do you feel okay?" Aunty walks in.
"I'm fine," Jade complains.
"Uh, anything is good. I'm not picky," I say from where I sit on the bed.
"Emm hmm," She eyes the one bed we've been sleeping in.
The other bed is covered in our filming stuff and Jade's makeup stuff.
I blush and avert my gaze.
"Okay, go talk to Kenzie, discuss, go!" Jade pushes her back to the door.
"Emm hmm," Her aunt says again.
"Shh! Go!" She pushes her out. "We'll join you when everyone has decided."
"Okay, okay," She puts her hands up in surrender.
Finally Jade shuts the door.
I giggle but before I can even say anything Jade runs full speed and tackles me back on the bed.
"Ah! Jade!" I laugh.
"Now where were we?" she says.
"The walls aren't as thick as you think they are!" Aunty calls from the hall.
"Go!" Jade calls back.
I giggle.
"They are going to ask questions," I pout.
"Let them ask," Jade leans down and kisses me. "I won't tell." She says between kisses.
"Do you want to get back together?" I ask Jade between kisses.
She freezes up completely and stops.
I look into her eyes.
"What?" She asks.
"Nothing," I quickly say and avert my eyes.
"Uh no, what did you just say?"
"Nothing! never mind. Forget it." I quickly take it back.
"I heard you," She says.
"Then what did I say?" I challenge.
"You said something that I'm really hoping wasn't a joke right now, please tell me it wasn't a joke." She begs.
We sit in silence for a moment.
"Skylar," Jade begs.
I sit up and grab her hands in mine.
"Skylar I swear to god if that was a joke,"
"It wasn't," I say.
"So you want..."
"Only if you want," I say.
"I do want."
"Me too, I... I want that too." I say.
"You do?"
I nod.
"Are you being serious?" Jade's eyes water.
"Don't cry! Because then I'll cry and then we'll both be-"
"Shut the hell up!" She kisses me.
I fall back on the bed and wrap my arms around her.
"Wait," she pulls back after a few kisses. "Just to be clear, you and I, we're-"
"Yes!" I giggle before kissing her again.
She can't keep kissing for long because she breaks down into tears.
"Jade," I say in concern, sitting up again.
"I'm just so happy." She sobs. "I wanted this for so long, but I didn't want to pressure you or make you feel obligated. I just wanted to do it right this time." She explains.
"I... I was scared. Scared to let you back in, scared to go down this road with you again. I get scared that things will just go back to that bad place and that maybe I'm just a broken record, unable to really move on. I was so scared, but these past few months with you have meant more to me than our entire relationship. You came through for me, you let me take my time to get better and helped me in my darkest hour. You let me kiss you and hold you and never asked for more even though I know it must have been killing you."
"More than you could ever know." She whispers.
"Jade, these past few months have opened my eyes. Watching you wake up to join me on yet another crazy adventure, never complaining, or asking for more. Watching you give selflessly to me, to our cause time and time again. I... I fell in love with you all over again, and that scared me. But... I'm not going to let fear stop me from being happy. You are my best friend, my soul mate, my everything. You make me feel like I have a place in this world, that no matter where we go, what we are doing, or how we are feeling towards each other; when I am with you, I am home. You saw me, you saw my pain, and you listened. You waited, you... you're amazing. I love you."
"I love you too. More than anything in this world. More than work, more than fans, more than anything Skylar. And I'm so sorry if I made you feel like you didn't matter before. I am so sorry I was so selfish and enraptured by the fame of it all that I forgot about you. You kept asking for my attention and I just kept blowing you off. I'm sorry, so sorry." Jade sobs.
"I'm sorry too. I should have communicated better. I should have spoken up when I was hurting, not just brush it off. I should have stood up for myself and fought harder for us. I'm sorry I gave up. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm so sorry Jade, I promise I'll do better this time. I was just so angry and lost back then, I was immature, I'm sorry."
"I promise to do better too. From now on I won't just assume you like the same things I like. I won't just assume you will go along with whatever I want. These past few months have opened my eyes too. I feel like, watching you grow, watching you overcome all these hardships has educated me on who you really are. It's like I'm meeting you for the first time, and finally understanding who you are and what your place is in my life. I took for granted everything we had, but I will never do that again. I swear on my life. I will do better, we will be better. From now on, It's us, to the end. Forever."
"Forever." I agree.
She tackles me in a hug and I just hold her.
I just hold her.