The rains hits the water below, making large ripples that shimmer under the moonlight.

Will and I are both soaking. We're fully clothed, but keep our hoods down. I look awful with my hair like this, but the moment is too euphoric to care. This is what we wanted; to be in the rain together and feel it against our skin.

I hate the rain just like I hate the cold winter weather, but experiencing this with Will helps to take my mind off my freezing body that trembles and shivers. The rain pattering against my face feels weirdly amazing, and manages to pull the largest smile onto my cheeks.

I needed this.

I extend my arms and lift my head up to face the sky, closing my eyes softly. I feel Will's hand slither into my hold. Opening my eyes again, I look to my left and watch as he copies me.

I'm in love with his smile.

"I've always wanted to do this," he expresses.

"Why haven't you before now?"

"Never had anyone to do it with. Ryan and the others would rather die than willingly stay out in the rain."

A moment passes by. The sound of the rain colliding with the leaves on the trees and bushes makes it seem like we're lost in the jungle.

"Could you imagine falling down there?" Will asks, his attention now at the bottom of the quarry.

I follow his gaze, glancing back at the water. "It would be painful."

"Suppose."

"We should go swimming in the summer."

Will grins. "Why the summer?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Because it'll be warm."

"We should swim in it now."

I nibble my bottom lip and fixate on the dark water. "What if there's a crocodile?"

He snorts out with laughter, placing his hand over his heart as he does so. "This isn't Australia. Plus, if there were any crocodiles, I'd fight 'em for you."

"You can't fight a crocodile. You'd die trying."

"Better me than you."

I frown with narrowed eyes. "That's not funny."

He shows off a cheeky smile and holds out his hand for me, using his other one to wipe the rain from his face. "Fuck it."

I stare at his soft eyes, then down at his hand, down to the scary water, and back to him again. I reach out and hold onto his hand. "Fuck it."

Together, we run down the rocky hill, being careful with our steps and making sure not to slip on the rocks. He holds my hands and keeps me steady, calming me with supportive words as we climb down. When we're at the water's edge, we both look into the water. I don't know how deep it is, I can't tell in the darkness.

"I'm scared," I admit.

"Me too," he whispers, but with a smile still present. "Let's go in."

He whips off his shirt and trousers, leaving him in only a pair of boxers before he jumps in the water with a big splash. I flinch as the water splats against me, making me gasp because of how cold it is. I fiddle nervously with my fingers as I wait for Will to rise back to the surface.

"Will?" I call out, my heart thumping in my ears.

His body springs back to the surface, allowing air back into my lungs. He laughs and rubs his eyes before motioning me to join him.

"Come on, Smiley!"

I kick off my shoes and awkwardly peel off my wet clothes, refusing to watch Will's reaction to my body. I can't stand to see any judgment or disgust in his face, even though I know Will would never do that.

"Looking good, Smiley." Will whistles, causing my cheeks to redden more than they ever have before. Luckily he's not able to see in the darkness.

I cover my stomach with my hands and glare playfully in his direction. "Shut up."

"I'm serious. Now come on in. I'm missing you."

I'm hesitant at first, but after Will continues to hype up my confidence, I finally say fuck it and I jump into the water, immediately feeling like thousands of pins are jabbing at my skin.

"Fuck, that's cold!" I gasp, my teeth chattering.

Will swims over to me and wraps me up in his arms, bringing me some warmth from his body. I don't hesitate to wrap my legs and arms around him, using him as a hot water bottle.

I pull my head away and gaze into Will's eyes that reflect the moon. My lips pull into a small smile, and then suddenly we're both laughing together. For no reason at all. We're always doing that. Just laughing or smiling for no good reason.

"You're so pretty," he whispers, moving a strand of hair behind my ear.

My head dips as I smile and blush. He delicately places two fingers under my chin and lifts my head to face him again.

"Don't hide from me," he says.

"I'm not."

"What were you thinking about?"

My smile lines deepen. "That you're pretty, too."

His smile widens further, showing his teeth that are white beneath the light of the moon. He presses his forehead against mine and chuckles softly.

"What?" I ask, beginning to laugh myself.

"Nothing." He finishes laughing and sighs, staring into my eyes with such intensity. "I just really, really like you."

My heart springs to life beneath my chest, beating at a thousand miles per hour. My entire body tingles with what I believe are an explosion of butterflies; an effect of what Will's words have on me.

"I really, really like you, too," I admit in barely a whisper.

He brushes his thumb against my lips. "I love your smile. You should do it more often."

I shake my head suddenly. "I hate my smile."

"I know you do. But you shouldn't. Out of everyone in the world, your smile is the one I like the most. It's not only pretty in a physical way, there's just something about it that seems so real. Haven't you ever noticed that people smile when they see you smile?"

My head shakes once more.

"I've noticed."

Will strokes his fingers against my damp cheek, and leans in slowly for a single kiss before he backs away and leaves me stranded. My body is cold and empty without him, but before I can swim to him and feel his arms wrapped around my body once more, he splashes water in my face, almost drowning me.

I cough and gasp for air as I wipe the water from my eyes, trying to keep my head above the water.

While spluttering out with laughter, I splash him back. Although, mine is not at all as powerful as his. It still does a good job of covering most of his face. We carry on like that for ten minutes, splashing around in the freezing water, kissing one another, living our lives to the fullest. After Will lets me ride on his shoulders, we get out of the water and spend a long time trying to pull on our wet jeans and coats.

We wished to stay longer, but we were shivering and could barely feel our fingers because of the sheer coldness that consumed us.

We promise each other that we'll go swimming there in the summer.

* * *

Once Will has dropped me home, I rush straight to the bathroom to have a warm shower so I can wash the cold, murky water from the quarry off my body. There's a deep smile on my face the entire time I'm in there. All I can think about is Will. He's all I can ever think about.

After drying myself off and getting into a comfy pyjama set, I head down to the living room to greet my mum properly. We only said hello when I first walked in because I was soaking and dripping rain all over the floor and was in desperate need of a shower.

I sit down on the sofa with her, drying my hair with the rough towel.

"Did you have a nice time?" she asks in a tired voice.

"The best. We went swimming in the quarry."

Mum laughs silently. "I do like that boy. He's good for you."

"Thanks, mum."

The smile on her face suddenly falls slightly, shifting into a sorrowful one. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

I hesitantly nod my head. "Sure."

Mum drops her pen on the coffee table and turns her body to face me. Her eyes are red and puffy, showing me that she's been crying. Either that or she's extremely tired.

It takes her a while to build up the courage to get her sentence out. "You haven't been happy lately, have you?"

My heart fails to work.

I've been waiting endless years for this day to come, when my mother would finally see what I'm going through. I've been crying out to her for so long with no response back. I never managed to build up the strength to tell her up front, because I felt so ashamed and scared that she wouldn't believe me or would think of me as an attention seeker. So I decided to deal with it alone in silence.

"I've noticed. Deep down I've always known. I guess I just thought it was a faze, and I put it down as hormones." She rubs her head and takes a deep breath. "My dad was like that. He was such an amazing person, and I loved him so much, but he always brushed those sorts of things off. Pretended like everything was okay. I always promised myself that I would be different for my kids. Always promised that I would be there to help if they ever felt that way...I failed."

This is what I've wanted for so long. But now the time is finally here, and I'm just sat with a gobsmacked face, lost for words that are getting scrambled and mixed in my head. My throat is beginning to sting, warning me that the water works could make an appearance at any given moment.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," mum whispers, her voice breaking. "It was never my intention to ignore your feelings and make you feel worse." She gulps, inhaling another deep breath. "What I said the other week about always feeling unhappy. That's not true. Life comes with hard and difficult moments, but you get to decide your fate. You get to decide what road you go down. It's normal to feel down sometimes, but not all the time. Not to the point where it's a struggle to do normal tasks. I've spoken to Amy and Sean, they've told me how you've been feeling."

I'm thankful I wasn't the one who had to explain all the details, even though I feel slightly bad for putting that burden on my siblings.

"Honey, I think you're depressed," she says, stroking my hair.

I swallow the lump in my throat and nod my head, blinking away the tears.

"I've been feeling happier recently, with Will," I tell her truthfully.

She smiles, but it seems bittersweet. "That's good. That's great. But you need help if you want that feeling to be permanent."

"I know."

"So...how about we research some options tomorrow? We can sit down and call up a few places, see if they have any available spots for therapy? Is that something you would want?"

I nod my head. "I think so. I'd like to give it a try, just to see if it would help."

There's a slight look of relief that washes of my mum's face. She holds onto my shoulders and pulls me in for a hug which I don't pull away from. For once, my body relaxes and my eyes close as I embrace it.

I think I'm getting better with allowing others to touch me. I'm getting better with a lot of things, and it's all thanks to Will. He's taught me so much about my life and about myself. Slowly but surely, he's making me a better person.

I hope I'm doing the same for him.

"I'm sorry for not being there," she whispers in my ear, so genuinely upset and regretful.

"It's okay," I tell her, smiling over her shoulder when the realisation that I'm finally getting help suddenly hits me.

I'm aware that it's a long process and it's different for everyone, but I'm really hoping that it works for me. All I want is to be better and live my life freely without the interference of my own head and depressing thoughts.

"I love you," she says.

"I love you, too."