Almost an hour later, all energy was drained from my body and I was on the verge of collapsing under the August heat. My lips felt as dry as the Sahara, and all the moving around only increased my thirst. Going back to my seat on the bench, however, was not an option; given the fact that those large men still occupied the space right next to our belongings.
They did take turns gracefully entering the waters and testing its temperature, emerging minutes later with glistening torsos. Ariel and I thankfully had no reason to hide our bewilderment given our single relationship status, but Bella on the other hand had a really hard time trying to pry her eyes away from the interesting strangers while standing a mere foot away from her boyfriend.
Something about their air and presence was so dominating, I could not bring myself to stare at them for longer than a few seconds, an odd sense settling deep in my stomach that even if they couldn't see us, they could still feel our eyes on them. Their proud smiles showed that they knew exactly what they were doing as they so graciously ran their long fingers through their wet hair, pushing long strands away from their foreheads, their biceps flexing in the process.
They looked too good to be human. Which sounded as ridiculous in my head as it did out loud.
"I'm really tired," I whispered to Ariel and groaned, stretching my back while slightly jumping on my tiptoes and swaying in the water.
My fingers had started to look as old as a 100-year old's.
I could tell from the look in Ariel's eyes that she was just as tired, but refused to leave the waters for the same reason I did. She kept sneakily glancing at the men and huffing whenever she'd notice they were still in the same position.
"So am I. Are they ever going to leave?" She whispered harshly as she frowned in annoyance.
"What are you two whispering about?" Seth swam up to us, splashing us with some water in the process.
"Nothing." Ariel and I simultaneously replied.
We glanced at each other, wide-eyed. That was sure to grab their attention, idiots.
Noah then turned to us, sensing our uneasiness. "What's going on?" He asked.
Ariel groaned, unable to contain her exhaustion any longer. "We want to leave." She simply stated.
Seth stared at us confusedly, "you're not chained to us." He stated with a duh tone.
"I know, dimwit," Ariel rolled her eyes. "Its just that our stuff are right next to them and they're giving me the creeps." She shuddered, slightly nodding her head in the strangers' direction.
Noah glanced behind us and his frown deepened. "Did they do something?" He questioned with an overprotective tone.
I shook my head. "No. They just... they're kinda intimidating." I whispered, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks because of the absurd confession.
Seth chuckled. "You guys are such chicks. So what? They won't do shit to you guys as long as we're here." He started walking towards the shore, then stopped and glanced back at us. "Ya'll coming or what?" He raised a brow.
I looked at Ariel and she shrugged. Noah chuckled and started walking towards Seth as well. "Come on. We'll all rest down together."
Grateful for my friends' support and offer of protection, I rushed behind Noah out of the lake and away from the shore.
When my feet finally came flat against the land, and I could feel the gush of wind drying my body from the droplets of water, I nearly sighed in content.
He stopped abruptly and pointed at the benches on the other side of the lake, "go sit there. I'll get your belongings." He demanded and started heading towards the strangers, all of whom had their eyes set on us, watching our movements carefully as if we were ticking bombs on the verge of explosion.
When the two guards noticed Noah was getting closer and closer to them, they each took one step forward as if protecting the seated men; even though they didn't look like they needed much protection. Although smaller in size, the three seated men still held much greater power in their aura than both standing guards, combined.
Noah raised his hands up as if telling them that he has come in peace, with an amused look on his features. He reached out for our stuff and yanked them off the seats, turning around and heading back to us with his chin held high and a proud smirk on his lips.
I rolled my eyes at his slight show of arrogance and continued my way to the seats he pointed at earlier. I lied down and let out a deep groan, feeling my muscles finally stretch then relax after being stiff in the water for so long.
I closed my eyes once again, just absorbing in the delicious natural vitamin provided by the sun rays, feeling them sink deep into my skin and making me feel as if I was fresh out of the oven.
"Swear I'll rip their eyes out," Noah suddenly mumbled through clenched jaws. My eyes snapped open and I glanced at Noah in confusion, but the fire burning behind his eyes sent a cold chill down my spine. I gulped.
"W-what happened?" I whispered, noticing no one else was around us, since Seth and Ariel had gone off to speak to Elliot and Bella; so Noah's comment must have been meant to be heard by me.
He kept his narrowed eyes trained ahead of me as he continued sending death glares at whatever object was of his disapproval. "They're getting on my very last nerve."
I peered over my shoulder and was not surprised to see the same group of strangers staring right back at us with the same intensity and rage in their eyes. Their unsettling and suspicious interest in our little group of friends has started to get on my nerves as well.
I scoffed at their behavior. "What is wrong with you men? Stop waiting for the slightest opportunity to bite back." I rolled my eyes in annoyance, laying back on my seat. "Let them stare, so what?"
I heard a faint chuckle in the distance and was surprised to notice that the two men seated had heard my remark and were bearing amused smirks. The man in the middle though just simply smiled, his eyes shining with interest.
"What the crap are you laughing at?" Noah snapped a little too loudly. I jumped from my seat, shushing him aggressively.
"What is wrong with you!"
And to be honest, I don't know if I snapped because I was afraid they'd bite back, or because I didn't like the way Noah was attacking them when they'd done nothing but look our way.
Stare our way, corrected out an inner voice.
Was I seriously siding with complete strangers? The heat must really be getting to me.
"Drop it." I demanded, squeezing his hand a little too roughly.
His eyes narrowed down further, "they-" he began speaking but I interrupted him again.
"We should head in for the day."
His frown now turned into one of confusion. "What?"
"We'll probably be going out for lunch so we should go back in and freshen up, you know? We've been here far too long. The lake's not going anywhere, we'll come back tomorrow." I tried to convince him.
He seemed to want to argue but he bit on the inside of his cheek, and nodded reluctantly.
Just then, Seth and Elliot approached us, their tall builds and broad shoulders blocking the sun's rays. I was grateful to finally open my eyes completely without having to squint.
"So we're heading in for a shower and some rest. We'll start a bonfire at dusk, what do you say?" Elliot suggested.
I beamed, "that sounds wonderful."
Seth smiled proudly and turned to Elliot, "see, I told you they'll love my idea."
Elliot rolled his eyes and muttered a "whatever". He turned around and started heading towards Bella and Ariel.
I got up from my seat, grabbing my coverup and wrapping it around my waist. I gathered up my drying locks and twisted them into a messy bun on top my head, enjoying the slight gush of wind cooling the back of my neck.
"What's his deal?" Seth whispered to me, motioning discreetly towards Noah. I looked down at him to notice a frown still etched to his features, only his eyes were now set on the rippling water.
I shrugged, "PMS." I smirked when Noah snapped his head to me, his frown slightly softening when my joke registered.
"Walk away while you still can, Princess," he warned, but there was a playful smile on his lips.
"Or what?" I challenged proudly, knowing he couldn't do anything about my snarky comments. And Noah knew I was right as he refused to comment and just shook his head.
I leaned down and ruffled his dark hair, but in a sudden movement he had grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward so quickly that I lost my balance. I fell on top of him, almost kneeing him where it hurts the most. Our faces were mere inches apart, and my breath had hitched in my throat. My heart suddenly started to beat loudly in my chest.
He leaned in closely, just a couple inches away from me, and his warm breath fanned my face as he whispered, "go along."
I frowned in confusion, not understanding what he meant. I opened my mouth to ask him when I heard a sudden noise from my left that sent the hairs on the back of my neck standing. A cold fear settled deep in my neck, traveling down my spine. It sounded like a growl, only it was very low that I was surprised I even heard it.
I looked at Noah with evident fear in my eyes, but his features were as calm as he could get. Like he didn't even hear what I did.
How strong were the sun's rays that I have begun to hallucinate?
"Did you hear that?" I whispered, my hands going down to push hard on his chest so I can stand straight. I turned to Seth, who had his arms crossed on his chest and a faint smirk on his lips. "I thought you said the forest stops by miles?" I asked him.
His smirk vanished as he gave me a look of pure confusion. "Yeah?"
"Didn't you hear that growl? What was it?" I rushed, the fear still gnawing at my insides.
Noah was quick to stand to his feet now, gently grabbing my arm to turn me to face him. "What are you talking about, Nora?"
"I.." How could they have not heard it?
"Are we heading in, guys?" Ariel asked as she neared her bench and started collecting her things.
"Y-yeah." I muttered, deciding to let go of whatever it was I had imagined.
"You good?" Seth asked me, worry evident in his features.
I smiled, "yeah. I think it's just the heat getting to me."
I nodded; yeah, that made sense.
We turned together and started heading towards the inn, and a small voice in the back of my mind urged me to sneak one last glance at the strangers. I came to notice they were all leaning forward on their seats as if ready to pounce, their postures angry and stiff. The man in the middle, whom I had come to guess was their superior, was now grasping the ends of his bench with tight fists as if restraining himself, with eyes raging fire as he stared daggers at us.
I swallowed the small lump of fear that had grown in my throat, shrugging off the odd sensations that had traveled down the length of my body whenever I glanced at them.
I don't know who they are, or why they kept glaring us down, but they're definitely not to be messed with. I lowered my head to the sand and rushed my movements, wanting to get as far away from the trouble I sensed deep in my gut.