"Woo!"

Alex flies through the air. His hands release grip on the rope swing connected to the full grown tree lining the edge of the lake. The scars from previous surgeries that line Alex's chest gleam in the sun as he plummets to the water below. Droplets of water hit my skin as I oversee from the pier.

Rebekah applauds, her hands clapping above her head as she watches Alex's head breaks through the water's surface. I can't help but watch as Alex makes his way over to the woman that's caught his attention. Rebekah's smile brightens up the lake as she wraps her arms around Alex's shoulders. Her dark skins pops against Alex's opposite pale white skin, almost matching the shade of her white one-piece swimsuit.

I join in on the applause. The heat from the sun against my skin feels amazing. The view is even better. The surrounding forest is beautiful, untouched from the hands of mankind. I forgot about how peaceful nature can be. Being around electronics, noise and -well - people can be so tiring. Just the serenity of being in such a quiet, peaceful place is wonderful.

Closing my eyes against the bright sun, I rest my head back down against a bunched up towel. The atmosphere of the lake relaxes me and I find myself slowly drifting asleep. Right before I finally fall, the heat from the sun is suddenly taken away. My once perfect beam of sunlight is taken away as something blocks the sun.

Throwing my hand over my eyes, I squint up at the culprit. His tan, muscled chest covers the sun from my sight. Beads of water drip down Elliot's body as he looks down on me.

"What are you doing?" I lay my head back down on the towel and close my eyes. "You're blocking my sun."

Silence meets my ears as the missing heat from the blocked sun returns. Moments later, a pair of strong hands grip my waist, and I'm thrown into the air. My eyes burst open and my stomach presses against Elliot's shoulder. Screaming obscene vulgarities, I watch as my tanning spot moves farther away.

Elliot laughs at my poor attempt of intimidation. "What's the point of coming here if you're just gonna sleep?" I pound my fists against his back. "I wanna see you wet."

"Elliot, don't you dare. I swear, I can't-" My argument is cuts off as my body soars through the air. When my body crashes through the water, all air leaves my chest. My body sinks and my arms rise above my head. Eyes wide, I feel them burn as the water makes contact with them. Something flashes before my eyes and any oxygen I had left leaves me as fear overtakes my body. A pair of searing red, hot eyes latch onto mine across the water. I push myself backwards, away from the nearing eyes. My head pounds from the lack of oxygen and my mouth open as I try to breath in the nonexistent air. Water fills my lungs and my body fades as those red eyes grow closer. Suddenly, I feel something curl around my wrists, and I'm pulled up and out of the water just as I black out.

"Chloe! Chloe, god damn it!" Pressure builds in my chest as cries reach my ears. "Wake up! I didn't find you just to lose you!"

Water travels back up and the pressure that once overtook my chest and lungs disappears. Arms wrap around me as I spring upward, the dirty lake water spilling from my mouth.

A hand lands on my back, gently circling. "Oh, thank god." A feminine voice whispers. My eyes slowly peel open and the bright sun burns against them. I squint them as they adjust to the bright light. Beautiful emerald eyes fill my vision. Elliot caresses my face as his own is clouded with worry and something else. Past Elliot, Alex comforts a sobbing Rebekah, her head resting against his neck.

"I'm sorry. I didn't even think that you might not be able to swim," Elliot apologizes profusely over and over. He brushes the wet tendrils of hair from my face.

"I'm so sorry, baby." Elliot quickly grabs a nearby towel and drapes it around my shoulder. Rubbing the towel furiously against me, he tries to bring back the warmth that I lost.

Hacking up the rest of the water, I place my hand against Elliot's. "It's okay, I promise. You couldn't have known," I make sure to look him in the eyes so that he knows that I'm truly alright. 

"But something weird happened while I was down there," Alex and Rebekah move in closer to listen. "As I was drowning, I saw something. It was like there was someone down there, watching me. I saw these red eyes," I look up to see any reaction from the others and shudder as the images flash across my mind, "I don't know, but I swear, whatever it was. It was coming towards me."

The sobs that had finally quit started back up as Rebekah takes in my story. Elliot's presence immediately darkens and he stands abruptly.

Rebekah looks up to Alex and whispers, "It's him, the one from my vision. They know we're here." Dread and fear overtake her and Alex pulls her in closer to comfort her.

"What the hell are you talking about? It's who?" My brows crease as I question Rebekah.

Her eyes widen, surprised that I had heard her. Rebekah opens her mouth to respond but her mind seems to quit as she has no idea what to say.

"Chloe, you nearly drowned," Elliot steps closer to me and his face calms, "There's no telling what your mind made you see down there." His arms open in attempt to hug me, but I pull back.

"You heard her!" My voice raises and I throw my arm towards Rebekah who is still wrapped in Alex's arms, "She said she knew him, that they were coming!" Exasperation rings in my voice and Elliot's face drops.

Before anything else can get out of hand, Alex steps up. "Hey, let's just get past this. You've been through a lot lately, Chloe." He places a hand on my shoulder, "It is possible that the loss of oxygen made you see things. Maybe even made you hear things," Alex nods his head back towards Rebekah and embarrassment riddles my body.

I drop my head, ashamed that I let my anger get the best of me. Nodding my head, I speak to the others, "You're right. I'm sorry," I flatten my lips as I think of a way to make up for everything. "How about we all go get some food? I'm starving. Almost drowning does that to a girl." I make sure to flash a smile to lighten the mood. Everyone lets out a dry laugh and we all clean up the mess we made.

***

After the debacle at the lake, we picked up our belongings and made our way to one of my favorite food places. Pop's Pizza has been my one and only pizza place since I was a kid. Paw would bring me here for any and every occasion. The greasy, thin slices were a comfort that I never knew I needed.

My mouth instantly waters as we pull up to the building. The familiar smell of garlic and cheese assault my nose. Forget drowning, I can't wait to stuff myself with this greasy, unhealthy mess.

The four of us take a seat at an empty booth in the back corner. I slid in first, followed by Elliot and across from us Rebekah and Alex do the same. Looking at us, we don't seem like much. Everyone is still pretty soaked from the lake; we all look like drowned rats.

A waitress comes to our table to take our order. When she reaches us, her nose turns up almost automatically and her face changes to one of helpfulness to complete disgust. She rolls her eyes as she mumbles, "What do you want?"

It isn't until Elliot speaks that she finally brings her head up to see who's speaking. Her eyes come back to life as she takes in the man in front of her. The waitress's eyes roam over his entire body, stopping at his chest that is only half way covered from his unbuttoned shirt. She even has the audacity to place her hand on his arm, and she repeats her question is a very sweet and high-pitched voice.

I narrow my eyes at her as she continues to drool over the body next to me. It's what happens next that surprises me the most. Completely ignoring the waitress awaiting his order, he turns into me and his arm wraps around my shoulder. My eyes widen at his touch and he pulls me into his side.

"What do you want, babe?" He mumbled against my temple followed my a quick kiss there.

I can feel the heat from the glare that is pointed in my direction. A small smile pulls on my lips as Elliot looks down at me, waiting for a response. A smirk matching my own has found its way onto his as well.

As I turn towards the fuming waitress, I place my left hand against Elliot's thigh, "Definitely nothing with too much garlic," I move my body in closer to Elliot, practically placing myself on his lap, "That would totally ruin what I have planned for us later."

My face hurts from the huge smile that grows on my face. The waitress's eyes bounce back from the two of us and her face reddens. Elliot, on the other hand, wraps his arms around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder as his eyes sparkle with mischief.

"You heard the girl," Elliot announces as he stares into my eyes, "We'll have just a large pepperoni pizza, not too much garlic." He sends a wink my way and I can't cover up the laugh that falls from my mouth.

He looks over my shoulder and raises an eyebrow, "That okay with you two?" I follow his gaze and find a shocked Alex and Rebekah quickly nodding their head in agreement. Oh shit, I forgot they were there.

The waitress angrily jots down the order and leaves without a word. I can feel my cheeks burn as a slowly pull out of Elliot's embrace and move back into my corner. Keeping my head down, I twiddle my thumbs as the table stays completely silent.

The tension is broken when Alex bursts out in a full blown belly laugh. He grips his stomach and tears fall down his face as the laughter continues. We all join in, unable to help ourselves as Alex calms himself.

"Wow," He says, wiping away tears, "That was fucking hilarious. Did you see that girls face?" He laughs again. "When you," He motions at the two of us, "I can't believe you did that." Alex flashes a huge smile, teeth and all, as he looks at Elliot and I.

Elliot turns his head towards me and gives me another wink, "Yeah, we make a pretty good team, don't ya think?"

Shaking my head, I pull myself up and move back closer to Elliot. His arm returns to its rightful spot around my shoulder and I look up into his emerald eyes.

"We make the perfect team."