I always wondered what it would feel like to go to heaven. I imagined tiny, beautiful, white angels, and a paradise made up of fluffy clouds. Everything you wished for would appear in front of you right away as a sweet, soft melody in the background would sing peacefully.

But this...

I felt wet and disgusting, and there was the unpleasant sound of people yelling. As I tried to reign in my bearings, I felt something soft press against my lips. 

My eyes flew open in shock. 

Justin was pulling away from me, his eyes crazed and wild, and his breaths coming out short and jagged. I blinked in confusion and tried to grasp the strange situation in front of me. Our eyes connected, and he immediately grabbed my hand. "Hey. Can you hear me?"

Suddenly, memories rushed in, and I remembered where I was. My voice wouldn't work, but I managed to choke out a yes for Justin. He exhaled, closing his eyes and fell back. Soon, three more familiar faces popped up. Yuri...Catherine...Tristan. More unfamiliar ones began to appear in my line of vision as well.

"Are you alright?"

"What were you thinking?"

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

As shutting my eyes could block out the noise, I turned my head away from the questions. Suddenly, I felt someone grab my shoulders and put my head against their warm chest. I looked up to see Justin, glaring at the crowd who quickly backed off.

"Wait," I suddenly started, looking around. "Where's the boy?"

"Take care of yourself first," Justin bitterly said, placing a hand over my eyes and pushing me gently down on his chest again.

"But is he okay?" I croaked.

Justin sighed. I felt his chest go up and down. "Yes, yes. He's fine. Just rest for now."

I let myself relax against Justin's chest. Although I felt much safer in his arms, the muttering in the back was still as loud as ever and the wind didn't help either as it tousled my hair wildly in the air and made goosebumps crawl up my arm. 

Feeling my shiver, Justin pulled me away from him and said, "Sit."

I heard a rustle behind me, and then I felt his hands pull me back. Justin's arms enveloped me and hugged me close again. I placed my cold cheek against Justin's chest and realized that he had stripped his shirt off to give me more warmth. 

Badump. Badump. 

Stop. 

Badump, badump, badump, badump. 

Before I could scold my racing heart anymore, I felt a hand touch my forehead.

"We have to get her inside quickly. She could get hypothermia." 

Catherine.

"Follow me."

Curt.

"Can you stand?" Justin asked.

" ...Yeah," I grunted, pushing myself unwillingly away from his warm body. As I pulled away and got up onto my feet, a blanket covered my body. I looked up in surprise to see Jake and turned towards him to nod my head gratefully towards him. 

A big mistake.

I suddenly teetered forward; Jake caught me in surprise. My head began to pound loudly as the blood rushed to my head. I could feel my eyes beginning to close as I started to slip away. In the distance, I heard some arguing before the darkness covered me whole.

~~~

I woke up again, this time thankfully not falling and not wet. Glancing around, I realized I was in a room. My clothes were changed into loose clothes, and all I hoped was that Catherine, the only girl in this whole village, did it for me. 

There was the sound of the door opening and I pushed myself up to see Catherine holding a tray with some kind of objects and leaves with a bowl of steaming soup.

"You're awake!" Catherine cried in relief, putting the tray down on the counter next to me, almost spilling the soup to hug me.

"Ouch," I said.

"Oh my god. I had no idea what was going on. Justin had just reached the shore and suddenly started yelling on the top of his lungs and—"

"Wait, wait! Slow down. Tell me everything from the beginning."

Catherine took a deep breath. She turned towards the counter and began to pluck the leaves. "Justin quickly realized you didn't follow him and quickly dove back into the sea. We caught on that something was wrong and called over the group of boys trying to find the missing boy. Half of the group including Tristan dove in as well past the rock."

She took a deep breath and began putting the leaves in an empty bowl she had brought in with the tray. "The rest of us stood at the shore and just prayed that everything was going to be okay. Moments later, a group of them came back with a red-haired boy in their arms. Another moment passed...and Justin, Tristan, and Jake came back with you."

A silence fell over us as I stared silently at my hands. I thought neither of us were going to say another word before Catherine began bashing the leaves in a bowl with a wooden grinder.

"Why did you put your life in danger for that boy?" Catherine asked me with a bitter tone.

"I don't know," I frowned.

"You don't even know him!"

"I know," I said quietly, trying not to anger Catherine further.

"Well then why?!" 

I gulped. Catherine had finished mashing the leaves into paste and gave it a final punch before sending some flying into my face. I wiped the stuff off my face and smelled it.

"What is this?" I made a face.

"That boy," Catherine spit bitterly, not hearing me over her rage. 

I stared at Catherine, usually a laughing cutie like Yuri, now stabbing leaves as if it was their whole fault we had ended up in this situation.

"Why are you so bitter?" I asked.

"Why are you acting like nothing had happened?" she responded.

"Do you not like that boy?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you're acting like it?"

"I'm always like this," Catherine growled before shooting a glare at me. "You have to control that tendency of yours to act before you think."

"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I promised I'll try from now on."

"You can't just try! You almost lost your life!" Catherine screeched, standing over me.

Ohhhhh boy. I could literally see the fire coming out of Catherine's mouth, and the steam rising from her ears.

"Yes," I whispered, shrinking away from her.

She growled and continued pouring some liquid into the paste before mixing them. I reached out and unclipped her hair.

"Hey what are you—"

I shushed her and began to redo her hair into another waterfall braid. When I finished, I let out a sigh.

"Here's my apology okay?" I said, trying to look at her.

"You won't be able to get away with just that," Catherine huffed, even though she looked happier.

"Yeah yeah," I patted her. 

"Drink this," she ordered, holding out the steaming soup she just finished. I drank it and enjoyed the warm feeling traveling through my body. 

"Geez," Catherine muttered. "I now understand why Justin and the rest of the boys always worry about you."

"By the way," I said, changing the topic quickly. "Who was arguing before I fainted?"

"There was an argument about who would carry you back," Catherine grinned at me with a devilish look in her eyes. "But Justin won in the end because he wouldn't trust Jake."

I didn't get the devilish glint in Catherine's eyes, but before I could ask her, the door opened again, and we looked up to see Yuri enter.

There was a blur of golden streak before I felt the impact on me. Yuri had flung himself on me and was sobbing into my shoulder.

"Y-y-you suddenly d-disappeared! It was so scary! Everyone was yelling and I was yelling and Catherine was yelling and I yelled—"

"GET OFF HER! YOU'RE CHOKING HER!" Catherine yelled, trying to push Yuri off me. 

As Yuri silently sulked as he slinked off me, Catherine sighed and put her hand to her forehead. "What are the others doing?"

"There are some people outside who want to see Miss," Yuri said. 

"Why?" I asked warily.

"They all think you're a hero," Yuri grinned at me before catching my wary look and quickly adding, "But Curt and Jake are holding them off right now. The boy is also being treated by some other people as well. Tristan is going to visit Miss right after he checks up with the boy."

Yuri didn't continue and smiled up at me. I rose an eyebrow in suspicion. "How about Justin?" 

Yuri coughed loudly and looked away; Catherine quickly turned towards her tray and began unnecessarily adjusting it. I tilted my head. "What is it?"

"Well he's...taking a break right now," Yuri finally spoke up when Catherine didn't respond.

"Is he gonna come over and see me?" I asked.

"About that..." Yuri fiddled with his fingers. "He's a little...just a little...just a tiny bit...mad at you."

I was taken aback. " What? Why?"

"I don't really know," Yuri said quickly. "But he didn't seem very happy."

Biting my lower lip, I glanced at the ceiling. Yikes. I didn't expect Justin to be angry at me. Sure I swam the other way and risked my life for the boy, but I thought he would be more worried than angry at me. I've seen Justin when he was angry before and it wasn't exactly the best thing.

"It's okay, he'll come around," Yuri said. "Get some rest."

I turned my eyes to meet his deep green eyes and felt my heart do another weird, yet familiar tug. Yuri got up and gave me a peck on the head before leaving the room with Catherine.

Just as they left, Tristan came in afterwards and gave me a piece of his mind too. I was starting to get a little annoyed with everyone scolding me.

"Suddenly deciding to risk your life for someone you don't even know," Tristan shook his head. "You always act before you think."

I grunted. "I've heard that before."

"You're gonna hear that more than once today," Tristan shot back. "Don't give me attitude after you risked losing your life."

I stayed quiet, ashamed and looked away from him. "I'm sorry."

Tristan sighed. "Just promise me you won't do it again. And if you do...don't leave me next time to deal with Justin's cranky temper."

So he really was mad. Catherine and Yuri weren't bluffing. We stayed in an awkward but comfortable silence until I heard the bed creak and lift. Tristan stated that he needed to finish something so I was left in bed, quiet and bored. 

Throwing the sheets of blankets away from me, I swung my legs over and carefully stood up. I leaned a little weight on my right leg and felt that it was a little sore, but nothing else was hurting. I limped a little as I walked towards the door and opened it. There was nobody outside when I came out so I decided to take a little walk. I arrived at the middle of the section of the road and looked around.

I had just realized that there was a lot of tall trees that grew here. Even though the village was poor and didn't have much, the trees seemed to be healthy and very green. I wandered around, humming to myself when I felt a sharp pain on the side of my head. 

It was only for a quick moment though, and I rubbed the spot. It came again and this time, I realized it was something physical that was causing this pain. I looked around but didn't see anybody. Suddenly, a black hazy object shot at me and hit me right in the forehead.

"Ouch!" I cried, one of my eyes closed. " Who the heck..."

I looked around, but still didn't see anybody. Then I heard it before I saw it. Something came from my right, and I looked up to see the small object flying at me again. I moved out of the way and it bounced on the road. I realized it was a rock that was being thrown at me and looked to my right to see a familiar figure sitting on a tree's branch.

"What was that for?" I asked him, placing my hands on my hips.

He chucked another rock at me, and I dodged it easily this time since I knew it would come. I set my jaw, annoyed and picked up a rock from the ground before throwing it towards him. He caught it easily and tossed it into the air.

"Are you mad?" I asked. "Justin."

He threw the rock I had flung at him into the air and caught it in his palm. One of his legs were dangling from the branch while the other one was laid against the tree's branch. "Who said I was mad?"

"Tristan and Catherine and Yuri," I ticked off my fingers.

"I'm not mad," Justin said indifferently.

But I knew he was mad. Usually, Justin had a frivolous and annoying atmosphere around him but right now it seemed different. Also, his face was facing the opposite direction of me like he didn't want to see me.

I sighed. "I'm sorry."

He stayed quiet.

I pouted. "I know I didn't think before I acted. I'm sorry."

Justin stayed quiet. I trotted up underneath the branch he was sitting on and stared up at him. This time, Justin turned his head to look at me but didn't say anything. His expression was completely blank which frustrated me even more. Unlike Yuri or Catherine, Justin had a talent of keeping his feelings composed and out of sight.

I jumped on one foot and tried to grab his foot, but the branch was high and out of reach. Justin looked down at me in amusement. I shot him a glare. I hadn't realize, but this tree was much higher and its branches and trunk was much larger and thicker than the rest of the others.

"Can you talk to me now instead of ignoring me?" I said impatiently.

"Why are you angry at me?" he asked.

"I'm not angry," I hissed. I blinked. Oops.

Justin raised an eyebrow and smirked down at me. I was about to try and talk to him again when I heard someone yell my name. Turning around, I spotted Catherine looking around, trying to find me. I was about to raise my arm and call her over when I heard a whump behind me. 

I turned around just to be jerked to the ground and covered by arms against the tree's trunk. Without looking up to see who it is, I already knew it was Justin by his foresty-soap smell. I tried to struggle away, but Justin held me still. There was no distance between him and me as he enveloped his arms around me.

"Hold still," he whispered into my ear.

My chest started to feel very strange. My heart started to beat fast, and my cheeks felt like they were on fire. I couldn't even hear Catherine anymore as the blood roared in my ears.

As Catherine's footsteps faded away, Justin loosened his grip on me. I could finally breathe again, and my cheeks started to cool down. I scooted away from him a few feet away and touched my cheeks with may cold hands. I glared at Justin who looked at me innocently like what he just did was normal.

"What was that for?" I asked, bringing my legs up to my chest.

"You would go to Catherine, wouldn't you?" he asked.

"Obviously!"

"Well I needed some company."

"That's not my problem! Get someone else!"

I grumbled and began to get up.

"Aren't you being a little mean to the guy who just saved your life?" Justin asked me.

I stopped. 

"By the way," Justin frowned. "Did you push the boy towards me when you saw me?"

I frowned. Digging through my memories, I remembered grabbing the boy's hand and pulling him towards a shadow coming towards me. I glanced nervously at Justin, scared to tell him yes.

"So yes?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"No..." I said, looking away. "I don't remember, but I don't think so."

"You can't fool me," Justin snorted. "That looks tells me everything."

I sighed. "I'm sorry."

Justin stayed silent for a moment before asking, "Weren't you worried for your own life?"

"Of course," I said. "I really don't know what went on in my mind at the time except the strong urge to save him. That's all I wanted to do."

He pulled his knees against his chest and placed his elbow against his knee. Staring at me sideways with his chin in his hand, he shook his head. I stared back at him, mesmerized by the way his bangs swung from side to side and the way his eyes refused to let me look away.

"What am I going to do with you?" he let out a small smile. 

Suddenly, my heart began to pick up speed again, and I felt my cheeks flush harder than they ever had before. When did he get so handsome? 

Justin patted on the ground next to him. "Come here."

I almost immediately started forward in a trance before holding back for a moment. Justin was way too unpredictable to lower my guard around him but...

I glanced over at him warily again where he patted the ground again. Slowly, I scooted over to him and sat down a few feet away from him.

"What's with the distance?" he asked.

"I can't trust you," I said. I can't trust the way you make my heart race like it's on a marathon and the way you make my whole body hot.

Justin raked a hand through his bangs and sighed. "Just come a little closer."

Inching towards him, I stopped until I was only a foot away from him and tensed myself for whatever he was going to do. Justin moved around until his back was facing me. I stared at him in curiosity. All of a sudden, he fell onto my lap.

"Woah!" I squeaked in surprise.

"Shut up," he groaned. "I'm so tired after taking care of you. So troublesome."

"H-hey! Find another place to sleep! I'll lead you to—"

But Justin already seemed out. I gaped at him. I poked at his cheeks, tugged his hair, but he wouldn't stir. Sighing, I closed my eyes for a moment before reopening them and examining his sleeping face.

He really had a handsome face. Too bad it was wasted all on his smug personality.

Reaching out, I touched his bangs. His hair was always messy. Not only were his bangs all over the place and long, he sometimes had strands of hair that stuck out like bed hair. When I tried to push them down, they just bounced right up.

Smirking unconsciously, I leaned back against the tree's trunk and let my muscles relax. I closed my eyes and let my hand rest against Justin's hair contently. Suddenly, a huge wave of drowsiness washed over me, and I couldn't help but feel a little sleepy. Before I knew it, my eyelids drooped down, and the world slowly faded away.

~~~~~

School's really taking a toll on me ya'll sigh. I can't get wait to get out of this. Anyways, how did you guys like this chapter? Thank you guys for the constant support <3

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