It's been a few days since I asked Tyler to the pool party. Tonight was finally the night. It seemed to arrive quicker than I thought it would. A while after lunch that Tuesday, we exchanged numbers so we could communicate with one another outside of school. As I was getting ready for the party, Tyler texted me.

Hey. Just now leaving. Be there in a few.

Okay. :). Send.

I stared at the white screen. Was the smiley face too much? Of course it was. Gosh darn it, September. Why did I do that? Now he's going to think that I like him. But I do like him... Oh my gosh, I'm such a creep! I can't like a guy I just met! Well, I mean, I can, but...ding! My phone went off, catching me off guard. I jumped, nearly falling to the floor. Sometimes I have no celerity whatsoever.

Here :)

He sent a smiley face back! Does he like me, too? Should I send one back? No, that's too creeper-ish. Just calm down. Grab your bag and calm down.

I grabbed my panda bag and left my house. There he was, sitting in his car in my driveway. I think I'm going to be sick. Get yourself together, woman! Do you like this guy or not? Yes, I do. Then get in that darn car!

I took a deep breath and walked down the driveway. Tyler saw me, smiled, and waved. When I saw him wave and smile, I'm not going to lie, I got a little too excited to the point where my foot bent the wrong way and I fell flat on my face. Tyler looked at me, a concerned look sketched on his face. I got up, acting like nothing happened, took a deep breath and waved back. I'm almost positive I was a tomato by this point. When he looked away, I rolled my eyes. I am such a wimp. A very clumsy, stupid wimp. I got into Tyler's car, closed the door, and buckled.

"Hey," I said.

":Hey," he said, putting the car into reverse. He backed out of my driveway and put it back into drive. "That was some fall. Are you okay?"

My cheeks got warmer. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tripped over the hose...." Yeah, not really.

"Okay. Good to know you're alright. So from gathering information from lunch, Harry, Ariel, and Mackenzie are going to be there?" he asked as he drove down my street.

"Yeah. Good to know you'll know some people there, right?"

"Yeah. You have no idea."

It didn't take us long before we reached Abigail's house. She was one of my leaders and a great friend of mine. Her yard was surrounded by the typical white picket fence. The grass was a luscious dark green with flowers poking through clumps of blades. Her house was white with a light blue roof, door, and shutters. It looked like a house you would see in the movies. Tyler parked on the cement driveway and turned off the engine.

"So, here we are..." he said.

"Yup..."

"I guess we should...?" he motioned to the house.

"Oh, yeah." I opened the door, grabbed my bag and slammed it shut.

Splashes could be heard from the front yard, as well as screams and laughter. Tyler relaxed a little bit as we got closer to where the people were. I took a deep breath and opened the fence to the back yard.

"Tyler! September!" Ariel screamed and ran to us, followed by Mackenzie and Harry.

"Hey, man," Harry said, giving Tyler a high five.

"Hey."

A bunch of people came over to see who the new guy was. It was a little overwhelming, but probably more overwhelming for Tyler. He said hi to everyone and they left, knowing full well they would get nothing more.

"So, welcome to my youth group," I said, motioning to the group of teenagers.

"They're...nice."

"You can go ahead and say crazy,""I laughed, "because we really are crazy."

"We?" he asked.

"Yeah...we...unless you don't like crazy, because..." I said a little too quickly.

He laughed. "No, no. I like crazy."

I smiled and felt my cheeks heat up a little. In order to hide my uninvited blushing, I looked down.

"Do you...um...want to get in the pool?"

I looked up at him. "Yeah, sure." I set my bag down and jumped in, screaming.

Tyler jumped in after me, laughing. Once we both swam back up to the surface, we both laughed. Tyler splashed me and I splashed him back. We continued to laugh until I nearly tripped over a step. He caught me and I looked at him. His eyes were so blue and mesmerizing. We both stared at each other, stepping a little closer. He leaned down a little as I continued to stare into his eyes. Before anything could happen, Mackenzie splashed us, breaking us away from the moment and each other. I glanced at him and blushed.

As I turned around to splash Mackenzie, I saw Tyler get out of the pool from the corner of my eye. My heart sank. Is he not having fun? Quickly, I told Mackenzie I had to do something and followed him.

"Hey," I said. "Are you okay?"

He stood beside the table on the porch and looked at me. His once cheerful eyes were now filled with...sadness.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got a little..."

"A little, what?" I asked.

"Nothing."

He turned around and walked to the grassy area behind the pool. Following him quickly, I grabbed his arm in hopes of making him stop.

"Hey, wait. What's going on? Did I do something?"

"No, you didn't do anything. It's just..."

My patience level was descending. I looked at him and nearly threw up my arms.

"Just what? Because I thought you were going to..." I trailed off. How could I finish that sentence?

"You thought I was going to what?"

I looked at him, trying to hide my blushing cheeks with my hair. "I thought you were going to kiss me..." I winced at how that sounded. "And I know that's insane because we just met, and I don't know why I thought you would. I mean, I'm not even that pretty, and again, we just met..."

Then he kissed me. I was caught so off guard that I didn't know what to do. Then he stepped back. When he looked at me, I blushed.

"First of all," he said, "you talk too much. Secondly, you are beautiful. I don't understand why you think you aren't. Lastly, it is not insane, because I like you and I have since the day you literally fell for me."

I was left speechless. "You...you...kissed me...."

He laughed and pushed the hair out of my face. "I did. I hope you didn't mind."

I shook my head, my wet hair spinning around me.

"Well good, because I was wondering, if you would...like to...go out...? With me...?"

I smiled. "Yes, I will."

He smiled back and held my hand. "Good."

We headed back to the pool. He pushed me in and I caught him off guard by pulling him in when he wasn't looking. Mackenzie, Ariel, and Harry swam over to us.

"Hey, where were you guys? You've been gone for an eternity!" Mackenzie asked.

"No, we weren't." I said.

"Well, it felt like it."

Ariel noticed Tyler grab my hand beneath the water. She looked at us and crossed her arms. "You guys seem awfully chummy."

"Well...let's just say...we had a little talk...." I looked up at Tyler and smiled.

After that, they still did not understand. Rolling my eyes, I swam away.

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I woke up the next morning, feeling worse than tired: scared. Trying to go back to sleep did me no justice, as the nightmare continued to roam in my mind at night. In the middle of the night, I had turned to see if Tyler, Mom, and Megan were asleep—they were. In some ways, I was sad because I needed someone to talk to, but I was relieved that they weren't having nightmares like me, which led to my thought of why me?

When Tyler woke up this morning, as well as everyone else, he seemed fine. They all sat at the table in our room eating doughnuts or cereal. When I walked into the kitchen area, my hair a giant fur ball and pajamas all wrinkled, everyone smiled.

"Good morning, Sunshine," Tyler said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey," I yawned.

"Are you hungry?" Mom asked.

"No," I responded as I sat at the table beside Tyler.

"Well, after breakfast, we're going to the beach. So I suppose you should go get ready."

I nodded and headed back to my room. The dream seemed to escape my mind once I began to get ready. Sure, I dreamed about a shark over and over and over again, but I wouldn't let that get in the way of my having fun.

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The sand was warm as we walked to find a place to sit. The beach was crowded, and I wasn't surprised as to why. These were our last final moments on the beach before next summer. Megan rushed to a spot close to the water and stood there. Mom, Mackenzie, Ariel, Tyler and I walked over to where she stood and set our towels down. Mackenzie, Ariel, and Megan were the first to go out in the water. I sat down on my towel and took out my book. The sun beat down on my skin, making me feel warm.

"What are you reading, my little bibliophile?" Tyler asked.

I giggled and looked at him. "Bibliophile?"

"Yeah," he said. "I had to look it up. It made you smile so my mission is complete."

I threw sand at him and smiled. "Dork."

"So what are you reading?"

I put my bookmark in and set my book down on the sand. "It's called True Warrior. It's about a girl who goes hiking with her friends and loses her arm. Her friends end up bringing her to God."

"It sounds cool," he said.

"Yeah, it is. I am nearly done with it. I totally recommend the book."

Screams from children rang through my ears as they got hit by the waves. I couldn't help but smile at the sweet sound of joy erupting from the innocent human beings. Megan ran in, drenched from head to toe, kicking sand up in the air and to the sides with every step she took, along with Mackenzie and Ariel. They sat on their towels, completely out of energy.

"Man, September, Megan really loves the beach," Ariel said, out of breath.

"Yeah. She's a ball of energy," Mackenzie added, laughing.

I looked at Megan, who was smiling from ear to ear. I pushed the wet hair out of her face.

"Yup. That she is."

"Do you want to go out?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure," I said.

"Okay, just let me put sunblock on."

"Okay," I said. "I'll meet you out there."

I got up and walked to the water. The waves began to crash over my feet as I got closer to the ocean. I expected it to be cold, but it was warm. Walking out to the water, I smiled as I saw children splashing water at their family and friends. Before I knew it, I was waist deep.

"September!" Tyler yelled. He swam towards me, laughing. I began to swim away, the warm ocean waves hitting me. Turning around, I smiled. Tyler laughed and made his way to me. "Wait up!"

The water was a clear blue. Children were screaming and laughing as they jumped over and under and splashing in the waves. Mom waved at us, her video camera focused on Tyler and I. I blew a kiss and waved back. Tyler picked me up, catching me off guard. I screamed and laughed, telling him to put me down. Mom chuckled as she kept the camera on us. He then set me down. I splashed him, not knowing I had started a splashing war. He splashed me back a few times before the war was over. I won. We laughed and smiled as the waves knocked us down. Tyler jumped on me.

"Tyler!" I yelled before I was sent under the water.

I watched the bubbles float up as I laughed. He was going to pay. The waves looked cool as they curled over me. I never noticed how intricate they looked from underneath. Before I could grab his ankle, he swam away. I swam up to the surface, my head bobbing above the waves. Tyler was too far for me jump on him with no swimming involved.

My dirty blonde hair stuck to my face as the sun hit the intruding salt water. I kicked my legs back and forth trying to keep myself afloat. Tyler made his way back to me, along with my little sister Megan. She was grinning from ear to ear.

The waves splashed against me. Megan started to laugh as I was pushed under the water. Saltwater got in my mouth and I spit it out. She laughed harder as she made her way to me. I laughed, too, and waved at them. Tyler picked her up and set her on his shoulders, resulting in her to giggle uncontrollably.

"Hey, Little Monkey," I said.

"Tyler! Throw me in the water like you used to!" Megan said.

Tyler obeyed and tossed her into the water. Megan burst out from beneath the water, giggling. "Again! Again!"

The people around us began to disperse. As the sun got higher, noon got closer. We swam for a little bit until we heard a whistle. None of us bothered to look at the lifeguards. We thought we were fine as we swam in the designated area. Then it happened.

I was dragged under the roaring waves, my sister's screams ringing in my ears. I popped up, and saw the sun glistening against the ocean surface. Tyler reached for my hand. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough. What had me wasn't letting go.

"September!" Tyler yelled.

I could faintly hear the screams as the word "shark" left the mouths of the frantic vacationers. As I was pulled further down, fear washed over me. Bubbles danced towards the surface as I tried to scream for help, but the outside screams covered my faint, weak one. Tyler grabbed my hand from above. I held onto him tightly, unaware of what exactly was going on. Then whatever was dragging me down—a shark, I suppose—released its monstrous grip. As I burst out from beneath the water, I stifled a scream. Pain rushed through my right leg. I looked at my surroundings as they all began to blur together. Tyler began to swim to shore, pushing me before him.

As we headed for the comforting sand, several people ran to my aid, including two lifeguards and Ariel and Mackenzie. They held me so I was looking up at the sky. Megan ran away, crying for Mom. My body felt limp. The waves crashed against me, making me feel a bit sick. The sun was beating down on me; I could see each individual ray of light.

People continued to run out of the water. Some children screamed as parents gasped. I looked to my right. The water was blood red. A dark dorsal fin moved away quickly. I could see the tail moving from side to side as the wretched creature swam away from the shore. I looked back up at the sky, trying to catch my breath.

"Don't worry," a lifeguard said. "You'll be okay. Help is on its way."

I looked at her, trying to make sense of everything. She had brunette hair cut to her shoulders and deep brown eyes. Her light freckles speckled her face.

"What happened?" I asked faintly. "Where am I?"

The two lifeguards looked at each other, their eyes wide. I tried to read their minds, but found that I wasn't able to do so. They looked back down on me. Sirens wailed in the distance, coming closer and closer with every millisecond. My head began to ache and my body began to get cold. I'm so cold.

Soon, we made it to the beach. Everyone gathered around me, either trying to figure out what all the commotion was or see how badly I was hurt. I tried to remain calm, but it was hard to do. I looked over to my side, finding Tyler. He was holding my hand, saying something to me, but I could not make out his words. I tried to read his lips. I came up with "Stay strong," and "You'll be okay."

Slowly, I turned my head so I was looking back up at the sky. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on my breathing. They were sparse and shallow. Then I opened them again.

Everyone was looking down on me. They were so blurry. I couldn't make out what they were saying. Tyler's eyebrows were furrowed together, Mom's eyes were wide, Ariel's face was tear-stained, as well as Mackenzie's, Megan was nowhere to be seen.

I felt like I was moving. It took me a minute before I realized the ambulance was here and they were putting me on a gurney. I didn't even notice them arrive. A big group of people were standing around us, watching as the paramedics frantically picked me up and set me on the white surface of the gurney. I could faintly hear screams and cries.

I looked up at the now cloudy sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance, as raindrops began to fall from the sky. Tyler held my hand and I looked at him. He looked almost as scared as I felt. When they began to roll me away, he followed as quickly as he possibly could. I looked back up at the dark, gloomy sky. Raindrops fell on my face and body. Everyone seemed to stand in the place they were before as they watched them roll me away.

"September!" Mackenzie yelled. I have heard her yell before, but never quite like that. If it was able to, it could have sent shivers through my body. In fact, it could have done so, but I was incapable of feeling.

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. Some children screamed from the horrific sound of the storm. My eyes began to turn glossy. I tried so hard to keep them open. Am I dying? I thought. I can't be dying. I'm not ready! Thunder crashed again. The waves roared. Lightning flashed.

The wind began to pick up, my hair thrashing around me with every gust. Pain ran through my right leg. I faintly felt a pair of hands on it. Then there was yelling. They said, "She's losing too much blood," and "We need to hurry! Now!" Mom squeezed my right hand while Tyler squeezed my left. It looked as if they were crying, but I couldn't tell.

The rain came down harder and harder. I was scared out of my mind. The waves in the background didn't help. Then I felt nothing but peace. I Am started playing. I am holding on to you, I am holding on to you. In the middle of the storm, I am holding on, I am. Then all went quiet.

September... I heard a soft whisper in my head. Fear overcame me, then it became peaceful. September...do not be afraid...for I am with you...

You know when you're looking at the raindrops on the car window and the light shines through them, making it look like a kaleidoscope? That's what it looked like when looking at the sky, as my shallow breaths lefts my lips. I tried to fight, but it was so hard. My breathing quickened, then went back to its normal pace. Tyler, Mackenzie, Ariel, Mom and Megan all stood beside me. The paramedics put me in the ambulance, denying my family and friends access to entering. I needed space, they said. I could hear their cries and it broke my heart.

Then everything went silent. I breathed out my final breath. The back of the ambulance turned white then black. I heard laughter and screams. Confused, I focused on the ceiling of the ambulance. I saw a girl grinning from ear to ear. Her face was illuminated by the candles on the cake that sat before her. Everyone who sat at the table were singing: "Happy birthday, dear September. Happy birthday to you!" I could not believe my eyes. Then it changed to a different picture.

I was standing by Tyler in the grass. We were talking. The event of that day suddenly rushed back to me. Then I saw him step forward and kiss me. Our first kiss. Then it went on to the days of school where he threw his grapes at me or kissed me in the halls. We were always laughing. They say your life flashes before your eyes when you die and I didn't believe that until now.

Unable to gain enough courage to keep my head up, I turned my head to the left. It hit the side of the gurney and I saw white once again. It soon changed from a blinding white to beautiful, blues, greens, pinks, yellows. I saw myself spinning in a meadow, smiling and laughing. I stopped spinning and lied down on the soft ground beneath me and looked up at the sky. Then I saw nothing. Beeeep... I closed my eyes and was gone.