"September!" Tyler yelled.

I could barely 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, nearly inhaling the brackish water. The outside screams covered my faint, weak one, leaving me unable to attract attention.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed mine from above. I held onto it tightly, unaware of what exactly was going on. Then whatever was dragging me down—a shark, I suppose—released its monstrous grip.

Three Days Earlier:

"Stop," I said, giggling as Tyler tried to put cupcake batter on my nose. He laughed, scraping the hazelnut colored batter from his index finger to my cheek. "Tyler!"

In an attempt to get him back, I grabbed flour from the white paper bag and threw it at him, successfully hitting him square in the chest. He looked down at his black flour-splattered

shirt then back up at me. I laughed and wiped the white powder that remained on my hand onto his shirt.

"Oh, you're on."

He grabbed a handful of flour, slid his other arm around my waist, and set the white, dust-like substance on the top of my head. I squealed and tried to run for cover after I wiggled out of his grasp. He grabbed more flour and threw the handfuls at me, making me laugh when I was hit. Unfortunately, I could not fight back, as I took the dirty bowls off the table and placed them onto the counter so we wouldn't make a bigger mess.

Tyler looked at me, slightly bewildered, then continued to throw more flour at me. Once I was done, I turned the table over to its side and hid. Stealthily, I grabbed more, and threw it at him,

hoping the flour bombs actually hit him and not the floor or countertop.

"You can't hide forever, September," he said.

I poked my head up from behind the table. "Yes, I can."

Before I could duck behind my make-shift shield, Tyler threw a handful of flour. It seemed as if it were flying through the

air in slow motion before hitting me in the face. I coughed as clouds of white filled the air, making the familiar mushroom cloud.

"Not cool," I said, trying to wipe away the excess flour.

Tyler laughed and came up to me. Quickly, I grabbed more of the soft white substance and hid my hand behind my back..

"Is this what junior year gym class has been preparing us for all along?" he asked.

I shoved the flour in his face and laughed. "Yup."

Tyler laughed and tried to grab me. I screamed and laughed as I got up from behind the overturned table. He managed to grab me just as the front door opened and closed. We looked at each other, our eyes wide as we heard the deafening click, click, click of shoes.

"What in the world is this mess?" Mom asked, standing in the entrance to the kitchen.

The small room was a disaster. Not only had we been baking cupcakes for over an hour (which is a mess in itself), but we just had a full out war. Bowls filled with cake batter sat on the counter, along with egg shells (in the carton, of course), measuring cups, milk puddles, and flour everywhere. Tyler and I put our hands behind our backs, stood next to each other, and smiled weakly. I tried to hold back a laugh when I realized he still had the flour all over his face.

"Um...we kind of got into a flour war. We'll pick it up once the cupcakes are done," I said, barely able to hold back my laugh.

"You better or you won't go out tonight. You can count on that, Mr. and Mrs. Anniversary," she responded with a smile.

Today is our ten month anniversary. It's hard to believe; it seems as if we met just yesterday. My youth pastor kept nagging for us to invite new people. When I saw him, I took a chance; I was scared out of my mind. There I was, Junior year September Jones, actually taking a step into the world of embracing Christianity in this messed up society we sadly live in. But after I asked, I learned that I didn't really need to be afraid.

I walked up to him in the hall on his first day. It was a Tuesday; I remember that because every significant event that has happened to me has always taken place on a Tuesday—besides baptism, but that's a given.

My stomach was in knots when I approached him. Like any teenage girl, I always got butterflies in my stomach around cute guys. His eyes were a deep, clear blue; his brunet hair was perfectly messy. I told him about a pool party my youth group leader was having and asked him if he wanted to go. To my surprise, he said yes! He wasn't a strong believer at the time, but now he is. It was that simple act of reaching out to him that helped him in more ways than one. The night of the pool party, he asked me out. I was caught a bit off guard, but I said yes anyway.

"So, I'm guessing the cupcakes are for the pool party tonight?" Mom asked.

"Yup. We're going to decorate them once the last batch is done."

Ding.

"Which would be now," Tyler said, taking the cupcakes out of the oven; the aroma of mint and chocolate filled the room.

"Okay, but make sure you make them pretty, because no daughter of mine will make messy cupcakes."

"Oh, Mom. How could you possibly think so little of me?"

She laughed and wished us luck and went back to her room to take a shower. We turned off the oven and transferred all the cupcakes to the dining room table. Once I was sure she was out of earshot, I let out the laugh I tried so hard to keep in.

"You look ridiculous," I said, starting to grab napkins.

"Well, I'd say the same for you."

"At least I don't have flour all over my face."

"At least I don't have cupcake batter all over my face," he said.

I crossed my arms. "I don't have cupcake batter all over—"

Before I could finish, Tyler grabbed a handful of batter and shoved it in my face. He laughed as he moved his hand around, making sure there was no skin left untouched. Once he was done, I licked my lips and grabbed another napkin.

"You're lucky this is so good," I said.

"You're lucky this is so good," he mocked.

I rolled my eyes and headed into the bathroom to wash my face. Tyler followed behind me, stopping at the hallway closet to grab two washcloths. When he entered the bathroom, he handed me a pink washcloth, in which I gladly accepted. I covered it in water and began to wash off the batter.

"You missed a spot," Tyler said, using his washcloth to wipe away the batter-covered area.

"Now I know why I date you," I said, laughing.

He laughed and grabbed my washcloth and brought them both down to the washing machine. Is it bad that he knows where our laundry room is? When he came back to the kitchen, I had just left the bathroom. We met by the dining room table to decorate.

"Ready to ice these?" I asked.

"Yup."

We both grabbed a butter knife and a jar of icing. I grabbed chocolate—my favorite—while Tyler grabbed vanilla. I took a mint cupcake and began to ice it, all of my attention on the perfect icing method. Once it was completely covered in icy goodness, I took some white chocolate chips and arranged them into a smiley face on the surface of the cupcake.

"Do you like it?" I asked, turning to show Tyler.

"It's cute, just like you?"

"Shut up," I said, giggling.

We continued to ice and decorate cupcakes. We had three different kinds: chocolate, mint, and vanilla. They were either frosted with strawberry, buttercream, chocolate, lemon, or vanilla icing, topped with strawberries, chocolate chips (white or regular), blueberries, or crushed oreos.

A hundred cupcakes sat on my mahogany table, an arrangement of the colorful cakes sitting on clear platters. The house smelled amazing and the cupcakes looked that way, too.

"Done," I said, plopping down on the couch. Tyler sat down next to me, lifting my legs up so they were propped up on his lap.

"Excited for small groups?"

"Yeah, but I'm a little scared."

"Why?" he asked, laughing.

I looked at him and laughed. "Are you kidding?" I asked. "They're insane!"

"Right. But we are too." He looked at his phone. "We should probably get going."

"But we just sat down," I whined. "Five more minutes?"

"Sorry, but we have to go. You don't want to be late, do you?"

"No, I guess not."

I sighed and got up from the couch, picked up the cupcakes, and brought them out to his car. Right when I stepped outside, I nearly tripped over an uplifted root. Tyler quickly grabbed my arm and saved both me and the cupcakes from falling.

"Thanks," I said.

"Oh, no. I wasn't saving you. I was saving the cupcakes."

I looked at him and laughed. "Traitor."

"I may be the traitor now, but who is it when you drop the cupcakes?"

"Still you."

He laughed and walked down the driveway to open his trunk. I set the platter I had in my hands into the trunk and turned around to get more. The wind blew my hair from my face, making me feel like Pocahontas, however, I knew full well that was not who I looked like.

It took several trips to transfer the tiny cakes to the vehicle. With the final trays, Tyler walked backwards, holding a platter of cupcakes on a single hand. I laughed and watched him, smiling at his accomplishment.

"Show off," I said.

"Oh, I'm a show off?" he asked, putting the platter in his car. He then took my two trays and set them beside his.

"Yeah, you're a show off."

"We'll see about that."

He started to run after me. I squealed and ran to a tree in my front yard. As he grabbed my waist from behind, I laughed and screamed. He picked me up and carried me over his shoulder.

"Okay, little missy, we gotta go."

He carried me to his car and set me in the passenger seat. After I was seated, he began to put the seat belt on me. Before he could pull it over me, I grabbed it from him.

"I can do it myself, idiot," I said, laughing.

I pulled the seat belt so it sat over my chest and inserted it into the buckle. Once I heard a click, I looked up at him and smiled.

He got in on the driver's side and started the car and backed out of the driveway.

—————————

I am by David Crowder was blasting in Tyler's car. It was our favorite song because it is so uplifting. Tyler glanced at me, smiling, as I sang the chorus. It wasn't until last week that he told me this is the only music he could listen to. I wish I could do that, but I made a promise to One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer. Okay, I can stop listening to them, but their music is just so good! And it's not like their music is bad...all the time.

We made a left turn into a tiny neighborhood. Out of all the years I have known Madison—which is five years now—I have never been to her house. Madison has been my youth leader since seventh grade. To her, I am an open book, which isn't bad. In fact, it helps a lot when I have to talk to her.

The music from the backyard could be heard as we pulled into the driveway. I saw people jump into the pool cannonball style. Several splashes were heard, as well as bouts of laughter as we got out of the car.

"September!" Mackenzie and Ariel yelled simultaneously as they opened the iron gate and ran towards us. They wore their 5k shirts over their swimsuits with a pair of jogging shorts (Ariel green, Mackenzie blue, and mine pink) like me. We always twin when it comes to stuff like this. It's fun and I happen to find it really cute.

"Can we help you with anything?" Ariel asked.

I opened the trunk and nodded. "Can you help us bring in the cupcakes?"

"Sure."

Mackenzie grabbed two trays, along with Ariel, and walked up the driveway. Twenty cupcakes were on each tray, so I carried up one, as well. We heard cheers as Tyler and I walked through the black gate. Madison came up to me and gave me a hug once I set the cupcakes down.

"So, how long has it been?" she asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"Ten months," I smiled, looking back at Tyler. Some of the guys walked up to him, gave him that high five hug thing guys do (which I think is very strange, but then again, I'm not a guy) and they all walked to the pool. Tyler motioned for me to stand by him. I said bye to Madison and walked up to the group of church kids.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked.

"Do you want to jump off that rock and into the pool with me? Kevin said he wanted to get a picture," he asked, pointing to a big rock by the edge of the pool.

I don't mind jumping off huge rocks, just as long as I don't die.

"Sure."

We made our way to the big rock. Some people dispersed so we wouldn't land on them.

"Okay, on the count of three. One...two...."

Before he said three, he pushed me off the rock and into the clear blue water. I heard a lot of laughter as I was pushed and couldn't help but laugh myself. Splash! As I got back to the surface, I began to laugh and cough uncontrollably. Tyler jumped in and landed beside me. Water splashed me as he went underwater. When he swam up to the surface, I splashed him and pulled him under. We continued to splash each other as more people entered the pool.

"You guys are so cute," Tyler's friend, Kevin, said.

"Yeah, why can't I have a relationship like you guys?" Mackenzie asked, standing beside me, the water reaching her neck.

"Um...excuse me, but who wouldn't stop bugging me about dating him?" I asked jokingly.

Mackenzie blushed and splashed me.

"So, the beginning of the school year soon," Ariel began. "What will you and Tyler be up to?"

"Weird much?" I said, laughing.

"Well, we're just curious. I mean, this is your first time starting the school year with a boyfriend...." Mackenzie said.

"Oh, come on, there was last year."

"Nope," Ariel said, shaking her head, "that doesn't count. The school year had already started."

I started to get a tad bit annoyed. Is there a reason this was so important? I looked around for Tyler and silently prayed that he would save me from this complete and utter nonsense. Unfortunately, I didn't see him. I rolled my eyes and looked back at my two best friends.

"I don't know. I'm just hoping it will be a normal, stress free, drama free school year. You know what happened last year with Bethany."

"Ugh...Bethany," Mackenzie whispered, shuddering.

As I tried to stay afloat, something brushed against my leg which made me jump a little as goosebumps ran up and down my arms, legs, and spine. I tried to look for the culprit but was unable to do so as Kevin directed my attention towards him.

"What?" Kevin asked.

"Nothing," I began, "I just thought...it was nothing."

Before anyone could say anything, something grabbed my ankle and pulled me under. I had no time to scream before I was swallowed beneath the pool surface. As I looked around, I tried to stay calm, but fear bubbled within my lungs. Tyler looked at me and smiled. I swam back up, anxiety taking over my body. I began to cough uncontrollably as I came up for air. Everyone asked me if I was okay and I ignored them. Everything obviously wasn't okay.

Unable to control myself, I began to cry and quiver. Flashes of last night's nightmare came to mind. The red. The screams. The darkness.

"September, are you okay?" Tyler asked.

I shook my head and tried to get away from him. Harry and Ariel came to my aid, but I pushed them away as well. My anxiety took over and I couldn't breath as loud sobs erupted from my being. I closed my eyes and tried to stay calm. When I heard someone come towards me, I ran out of the pool and over to the fire. Tyler followed me with my towel. He wrapped it around me when I gave him the chance and hugged me.

"Hey, hey. Everything's okay. It was just a joke."

I cried into his chest. What was happening to me? As I continued to cry and calm myself down, I felt Tyler shoo people away and nod when they asked if I was okay.

"Hey, look at me," he said, holding my head up. "It was a joke. I didn't mean to scare you."

"You—you scared me," I stuttered. "I thought I was going to drown."

"Shh...it's okay. You're fine. Everything's fine."

I nodded and took a deep breath.

Mackenzie and Ariel 'awed' while Harry, who had just now decided to rejoin them, and Kevin smiled from afar.

"What made you so scared this time? You've never reacted this way."

I looked at him and tried not to cry again. With the nightmares keeping me up half the night, I never told anyone. I just brushed it off, but tonight, there was nothing I could do. Before I could make up an excuse, Robert interrupted by trying to get the group together.

"Okay, guys! Campfire!" Robert hollered.

Everyone gathered around, sitting on either log-like chairs or the grass. Kevin took more pictures while Harry got on his guitar. Harry is a good friend of mine and plays guitar on the worship team. He sat next me and began to play Oceans. We all began to sing and sway from side to side. Tyler grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around me. I smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

Once the song was over, someone mentioned a meteor shower. We looked up at the now black sky. Tiny streaks of white streamed across the sky. It was so beautiful and mesmerizing, it left me breathless. And by the looks of it, everyone had the same reaction as me.

"God is good!" someone yelled.

"Yes!" everyone responded.

Harry began to play Beautiful Things by Gungor. Before we knew it, we were all singing along as we watched the falling stars. The moment helped me calm down as I felt the adrenaline start to fade.

"Make a wish," Tyler whispered.

I looked up at him. "I wish I was safe."

"What do you mean? You are safe."

I set my head on his shoulder and listened to the crackling of the fire against the beautiful melody of the song.

"What do you think the school year is going to be like?" he whispered as he tried to change the subject.

I shivered as a cool breeze ran past us. Tyler fixed the blanket so I was warmer and hugged me, adding the extra warmth.

"I don't know. It will be interesting, I believe," I said, looking up at him.

He smiled and looked down at me. His smile always made me happy. It was like a new fairy was born, like in Tinkerbell except without a baby's laughter.

"What?" he asked.

"You just make me happy."

"You make me happy, too."

He lowered his head a little and kissed me. I smiled and closed my eyes as I listened to the music and focused on this moment. There was a bright flash, followed by a click! We both looked at Kevin and laughed.

"Dude, how many pictures have you taken?" Tyler asked.

"I don't know...a lot?"

"Well, let's be thankful for the memories," Harry said, setting his guitar down.

Harry grabbed Ariel's hand, who gladly accepted, and smiled. She giggled as Harry kissed her cheek.

"Sorry to mention this, but it's nine o'clock," Madison said.

"Aw..." Mackenzie whined.

"Well, this was fun," I said, getting up.

I handed Tyler back the blanket. He gladly took it from my outstretched hand and neatly folded it. Madison gave us all a hug, starting with Harry and ending with me. Robert put out the fire, while Kevin took a few more photos.

"Ready to go?" Tyler asked, grabbing my hand.

"Yeah."

We said bye to everyone and headed out to Tyler's car. As he started the vehicle, I smiled and thought about these past few months. He pulled out of the driveway, and started to drive back. It only took about five minutes for us to get back to my house. Once we drove into the driveway and opened the door, I realized we forgot to clean up our mess.

"Crap. Mom is going to kill me."

I ran into the house and to the kitchen and stood there. Everything was clean. On the wood table, which was now sitting up correctly, stood a note. Picking it up, I opened it and read it.

I hope you guys had a fun night. I cleaned the mess for you. Megan is in bed, so please don't wake her. I won't be home until ten. I love you. Mom.

I looked at Tyler, who shrugged. We walked over to the couch and turned on the TV. I set my head on Tyler's shoulder and took a deep breath. Before I knew it, I closed my eyes and fell asleep. I began to dream of summer and how it would end so quickly. As soon as the dream had started, it ended by turning into a nightmare, as I saw myself drowning in the water, red everywhere. I bolt upright, sweating.