Luckily, no one took the volleyball net, and we were able to jump right into playing. Isn't the feeling of sand rubbing between your toes one of the best feelings? It's like putting your feet into those moon-sand products which were advertised towards children. But I definitely had my own box hiding underneath my bed.

"To make the game more interesting, we should bet something," Nate suggested, dribbling the volleyball in the air back to his hand.

"I guess, that's fair," I added, nodding in agreement.

"What should we wager?" Ambrose asked.

"If we win, can you guys leave?" Declan recommended, his expression cold as a carved stone statue.

"Oh, don't be so cruel, Declan," Nate winked. "I say whoever loses buys everyone ice cream."

"I'm good with that," I agreed.

"Whatever, let's get this over with," Declan commented, opening his hands wide for the ball.

Nate threw the ball, which Declan easily caught in his hands, and started positioning his palm behind the volleyball for some odd reason. Maybe I should've payed more attention in gym class so I would know something about sports. But we couldn't live with regrets we had to keep fighting forward.

Declan smacked his fist against the ball causing it to shoot up into the air and I swooned over how attractive it was when his bicep flexed. How did I get this lucky to find someone like him? His looks-- no, his body --no his everything could kill me with a single touch. My cheeks burned the longer I admired every single feature.

"Lana!"

BAM!

Gosh dangit.

Apparently, while I was gawking at Declan, I failed to realize the ball heading straight towards me. The volleyball was a poser; it looked as soft as a pillow but felt heavier than a flipping rock! Dramatically, I collapsed onto the ground, gripping my aching nose and checking for any blood. Luckily, my nose had stronger bones than I thought.

"Lana, are you okay?" Ambrose asked, his eyes glimmering with worry.

"Yeah, it was just painful and unexpected," I answered, rubbing my sore nose.

"Lana, you forgot the most important rule... No daydreaming," Nate said, keeping his lips as straight in line as he could.

The moment my eyes wandered towards Declan, his shoulders shook and his palm was covering his husky chuckles. At least someone found my pain enjoyable! This couldn't have gotten any worse. Universe, I'm asking for a little bit of mercy, here, please, and thank you.

"Are you okay to continue playing?" Ambrose asked, gently caressing my lower back.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I smiled, dusting the sand off my hands.

Because of my animated response, my body was buried in sand, which caused my skin to become irritated and extremely itchy. This is what you get for being melodramatic, Lana. Ambrose passed the ball over to me, my hands coordinated with my brain, and I didn't drop the ball.

Replicating Declan's stance, I positioned my hand underneath the poor beaten volleyball. It looked like a Charles and poor Charles did not want to get punched by my hand. Charles was basically screaming at me to save him from his pain and myself.

"Charles doesn't want to play," I said.

Nate's eyebrows knitted together. "Who's Charles?"

"It's the volleyball. Lana likes naming things sometimes," Ambrose informed. "Though I thought Charles was your penguin key chain."

"No, that's Pablo," I corrected him.

"You're something special, Lana," Nate snickered.

"Thanks, I like to think that." I smiled, clutching poor old Charles.

"Charles, can we please continue on with the game?" Nate asked, his hands clasped together.

I placed my ear closer to Charles, and he whispered, 'okay, I'll play.' How considerate of him, putting our wants before his.

"He said it's okay," I responded, craning my arm back.

Once I struck Charles, he flew into the air and instantly plunged to the ground before reaching over the net. Of course. Nate and Ambrose both released a harsh huff. Declan sighed and went underneath the net to steal the ball from our side.

"New game plan, Lana, let me hit all the balls," Ambrose proposed, and I nodded in agreement.

Declan smacked Charles over the net and Ambrose countered his hit. They kept going back and forth before Ambrose slipped on the sand, missing the shot. One Point for Declan. Ambrose started the hit and Nate spiked him. Another Point for the Avengers.

The score was two: eleven, Declan and Nate on the winning side. Declan struck the ball, and it whirled in my direction. I'm not sure if it was on purpose, but I ran forward and jumped into the air only to miss the ball completed.

"Lana! Did you forget the rule?" Ambrose breathed, his chest rising heavily.

"Geez, I was just trying to help." I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest.

"There's no point," Ambrose responded, sweat beads rolling down his sculpted chest.

"I'll love to continue watching Ambrose tripping over sand, but I'm getting pretty hungry. So ice cream?" Nate said, stretching his shoulder blades.

"Sounds like the perfect idea," I smiled, skipping joyfully around the net.

My torture was over! The best way to celebrate our losing streak was by indulging in the picnic Ambrose planned for us. Hopefully, there were egg, mayo, and cheese sandwiches-- I love those! I'll have to learn the recipe so I could recreate the picnic for Declan one day.

"I'll go grab my wallet," Ambrose yelled, jogging back to our umbrella.

"So Lana, how is living with Declan? I bet he's even more boring at home," Nate joked, ducking underneath the net and coming over to my side.

"Yeah, he spends most of the day reading and locked up in his room," I replied, giggling.

"Not surprised, he usually does that whenever we hang out." Nate chuckled, twirling one of my pigtails playfully.

"Lana!" Ambrose shouted, returning to us. "I have a quick question."

"Yeah, anything."

"I forgot my wallet... Do you mind paying?" Ambrose frowned, his eyes overflowing with disappointment.

"Of course not! Besides, I'm the reason why we lost anyway." I shrugged, grinning.

"Wait, Lana, you're paying?" Nate asked, a crease formed between his eyebrows.

"Yeah, we lost remember." I laughed, a slight expression of disbelief washed over me. Did he really forget already?

"I got it," Declan announced, pulling the twenty-dollar bill from his pocket.

My eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Why is it such a big deal if I pay?"

"Because a beautiful girl like you deserved to be treated out," Nate flirted shamelessly, continuously twirling my pigtails around. He was going so fast, I swore I would fly up into the air from all the traction.

My cheeks suddenly felt hot. "Oh, umm... Thanks," I muttered, ignoring Nate's strong hazel mesmerizing gaze.

"Great! Ambrose and Declan go buy the ice creams. Get me a mint chocolate chip," Nate demanded. "Lana and I are going to go for a swim." His eyebrows wiggled up and down.

"Peanut butter with chocolate, Lana?" Ambrose asked, surprisingly getting my order right without even asking.

"Perfect!" I smiled.

The small, wet pebbles that lined the beach sparkled in the lingering light of the sunset. The water was almost still, small waves occasionally hitting the beach with little force. Though as time continued passing, the waves picked up little by little. I reached down to pick a pebble up, running my thumb over its smooth surface.

"Is Meadow seeing anyone?" Nate asked, slicing the silence between us.

"No, at least not anyone to my knowledge," I informed, wondering if Meadow or Cata had spammed my phone with pictures of themselves.

I swung my arm back and flicked my wrist, watching the small pebble skip across the surface of the sea. Nate followed suit and managed to get the rocks further than I had. The waves rolled in with a soothing sound, the salty water a brief flurry of sand. Going in the water after a long sweaty game sounded like the best thing right now.

"Wanna race?" Nate offered, a mischievous smirk on his lips.

"Heck yeah!"

"Okay...1...2...3!" Nate shouted, and we both started charging towards the water.

The sudden coldness sent goosebumps up my arms, but I had to win. Especially this! I loved swimming, though I wasn't always the best; it was still one of my favorite activities. The waves suddenly became more frequent and stronger. I leaped in perfect timing in with the waves, swimming easily back to the top.

When I went up for air, I noticed how behind I was from Nate. Suddenly, a powerful wave washed over me and all the water poured into my lungs. Every nerve in my body screamed as the icy water submerged me. I started to helplessly flail my arms around and tried to make my way back to the surface. All the hysteria caused my leg to cramp up and make swimming a harder task.

Every time I managed to reach the surface, another powerful wave overcame me. At this point, I was sinking faster than I could seem to swim. The dark indigo water swirled around me, trapping me, keeping me from the oxygen I needed. The panic had me gasping for air, and I started choking on the water as I thrashed around uncontrollably to try and save myself.

I'm going to die. Oh, my gosh, my life is flashing faster than I realized. My father... he's going to be so miserable. I'm sorry for being so stupid.

Help me! Someone help me! Declan, help me!

As I struggled for more and more air, my vision became darker and blurrier until I felt nothing but darkness.

"Hey, Hey Lana, are you okay?" I heard a deep voice asked with desperation lingering in his voice.

"Of course she's not okay! You fucking idiot!" Another raspy voice cried out.

My mind felt fuzzy, and all I could see was darkness. I felt something press firmly down on my chest, over and over in a rhythmical fashion. The scene of Micheal from the Office giving the doll CPR flashed through my mind. The faint, distant sounds of voices around me grew louder, and noises of people shouting and hollering intensified.

Suddenly, I gasped for air.

Naturally, I rolled myself to my side and furiously coughed up the water that had been trapped in my lungs. My breaths were long and shaky as the air flowed into my lungs, providing me with the precious oxygen I've been craving.

"Declan..." I breathed.

"Oh, Thank God she's okay," Ambrose sighed with relief.

My head felt like it had been smacked with a thousand rocks and I slowly fluttered my eyes open, taking in the sight around me with a blurry gaze. Barely, I managed to make out blurry figures both kneeling and standing around me.

As my vision cleared, the first person I placed all my attention on was Declan.

His eyes were wide and bloodshot, water dripping from his cocoa brown locks to his glistening tan skin. On my other side, I saw Ambrose grinning down at me in relief, his face stained with tears from sobbing. Nate was pacing around back and forth as if he was deep in thought. Did he blame himself? He shouldn't, it was a freak accident.

"Did I almost drown?" I croaked out. My voice was raspier than usual.

Ambrose shifted his gaze, and the amount of worry that shone in his eyes was frightening. "Yes, Lana."

"How did I get out? I kept trying to swim back up, but my leg cramped up and the water was insane," I explained, reliving the memory of what had occurred.

"Declan pulled you out, Lana. We came back from buying the ice creams to see Nate swimming like a lunatic searching for you. I would've jumped in myself, but Declan forced me to watch the ice cream as he helped search for you. It took a while for him to find you... We thought..." Ambrose swallowed, bowing his head, his fringe covering his eyes. "We thought it might have been too late..." he trailed off in a trembling voice.

"I'm sorry, I made you guys worry," I stated, a deep cloak of shame overtook me. "Thank you, Declan," I whispered.

"No problem," he answered, the corners of his mouth lifted into a small smile, and he reached out to brush a strand of hair behind my ear. My skin tingled where his fingers brushed against it.

Excuse me while I go exploded!

"What about me? I have your ice cream!" Ambrose exclaimed, his eyes narrowing at Declan.

"Thank you for the ice cream, Ambrose." I giggled.

With a whine, I attempted to sit up but winced slightly when I moved my left leg, a stinging pain shooting up it. Declan immediately reached out to massage my foot, slowly dissipating the pain that had appeared.

"We should probably get you home," Declan advised.

"Bu-t-t our picnic," Ambrose whined, lacing his fingers with mine.

"She almost drowned. I think it's a better idea for her to go home and rest," Declan stated in a firm tone.

"Fine, whatever Lana wants," Ambrose replied, his eyes practically begging for me to go with him.

"I guess, I'll be fine for the picnic," I said, as I tried my best not to make any pained sounds, as I ascended to my feet.

I took about one step forward before my head started spinning, and my legs gave out underneath me. Curse my strength! Where has it gone? Declan quickly reached out and caught me before I managed to make it onto the floor.

"Going home it is," Declan singsonged.

Before I could get another word out, he wrapped his arms around my waist and swept me off my feet and into his arms like a princess or a bride. Then he turned on his heel and started walking towards the parking lot.

My heart hammered inside my chest and I wished I could photograph this moment forever. My cheeks began to scorch from our intense contact. I can't believe I'm snuggling up against Declan's broad, firm chest. Someone pinch me! I'm starting to wonder if my mind was hazy from almost drowning or because his warm body was pressed against mine.

Once we got home, Mrs. Novak babied me more than usual, and I was grounded because I attempted to get out from the couch without approval. Though I couldn't disapprove since Mrs. Novak baked my favorite-- Mac and Cheese.

Declan and I's moment ended faster than when waves overpowered me. Still, these small moments lingered in my heart, giving me hope for this to turn into something more. Because no matter where I went... Declan would always be there.

Well our girl needs to get some swimming lessons because the waves got her for a second ;) !! Thank god for all the boys around her lol!

Hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter!! I can't wait to read all your comments and read y'all roasting Declan ;)

Random question- do you guys have a favorite character ? Mine is obviously Lana ;)

Love you!!