The bag swung in Flick's grasp, and Damien stepped forward to anticipate its release into the air. When she snorted and passed the bag into his chest, he claimed it with both hands and felt around to check the camera was inside. "After all the run-around, you're just giving it back to me. Why now?"

    "I'm not giving it back to you," Flick answered, slipping her hands into her back pockets. "Miri should have her camera with her at her memorial. Even if I don't get to see it, it's what she deserves."

    As Damien approached, the audibly low rattle of the walkway revealed the fading strength of the stormy winds outside. "Not to assume anything, but..." he muttered as he swiped through his phone's photos again. He mused to himself until he stilled his scrolling fingers, reversing his device to show a map screen with a fixed address listed. The screenshot showed a cemetery across the breadth of the country from Porthdruro, far beyond anywhere Sally had been before. "I think after I've explained things, my parents won't mind you visiting Miranda."

    Flick's eyes locked onto the phone screen, and the delight that crackled in her face warmed Sally's cold, wet body. "For real? Like, they're not going to tell the groundskeepers to kick me out too, are they?" she asked, fingers flipping her plait off her shoulder.

    "I'll walk you to the site myself if I have to," Damien laughed, putting his phone away after Sally had made note of the address. "You should get the chance to see her grave too. Clearly, Miranda cared about you a lot more than me or our parents ever realised. I'm...sorry we didn't believe you, Scott."

    "It's chill, dude. I was being a brat too, remember?" A layer of raindrops trickled off the surrounding window as Flick stared through it. For once, no more water took its place, leaving nothing but thin streaks to tarnish the pebble-strewn beaches painted on the far side of the glass. As Sally moved to interrupt, Flick held her hand up. "No, I'll say it. I was petty and selfish and more bothered about sticking it to you guys than looking after Miri's memory. I guess I...just wasn't ready to let go."

    Sally took hold of the hand that Flick had released the camera bag from. "You weren't just being a brat," she said, squeezing her fingers between Flick's knuckles. A grin lit up her face as Flick turned to meet her eye. "Judging by how you described her to me, I'd say you did a pretty alright job of keeping Miranda's memory alive and well too."

    "You think so?" Flick squeezed Sally's hand back, a laugh leaving her lips. "Maybe I'm good for something after all."

    Slinging the camera bag's strap over his shoulder, Damien tapped his fingers against his thigh. "You've been good for more things than we've given you credit for," he said as he glanced outside, then cast his eyes down to his shoes. "You were a good friend to Miranda, whatever we said about you. That means something, so thank you...Flick."

    With her eyebrow cocked, Flick smirked at Damien as he drifted towards the door. "We're doing first names now? Careful, dude, I might start thinking you actually like me." She laughed and waved him away. "Move it, already! Miri needs her camera, remember? Don't keep your sister waiting, Damien."

    Damien bowed his head to step through the doorway, keeping a tight grip on the camera bag. "I'll get it to her, don't worry. Don't you keep her waiting for a visit either, alright?"

    As soon as Damien's footsteps whisked out of earshot, Flick dragged Sally by her hand down to the walkway, pulled her into her chest, and locked their lips together. Sally hooked her arm around the back of Flick's neck to catch herself as she fell, her fingers slipping through the girl's hair as Flick's tongue slipped its way into her mouth to meet her own. 

    Flick's clothes were still sodden with rain, yet that did not deter Sally from leaning into the damp pillow of Flick's chest, fiddling with the back of Flick's flannel shirt, or thinking about pulling that shirt off and casting it out the doorway. She did not even mind Flick's touch tracking down her front and along her waist, learning how sticky and weary every part of her body was on the way. It all made sense in the soft, hot embrace of their kiss.

    Their lips parted after what seemed like both hours and milliseconds. Flushed and bright-eyed, Sally noticed Flick's fingers resting on her thigh and struggled to muster more than a broken giggle. "What was that about?" she asked, rolling Flick's plait in her hand. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Not that I didn't like it or anything! It was amazing, just...why now?"

    "Why not?" Flick answered with a wink, sketching lines across Sally's thigh. "You're hella cute when you swoop in and save my butt, super Sal."

    "I don't know about that. I didn't really do anything special, after all," Sally said, casting her eyes down to the floor. "I just let you two say what you needed to say to each other and hoped for the best."

    "Yeah, and do you really think I'd ever have said a damn thing to that dude without you kicking my butt to do it?" With a quick jab of her finger into Sally's stomach that got her attention, Flick feigned a frown that soon broke into a broad grin. "You're a boss, Sal. You make things happen. Give yourself a break!"

    Sally tightened her grip on Flick's body to stop herself slipping away. Before her, Flick's face shone with more than the mere glow of the lighthouse beacon. She was just as gorgeous as she had always been, even after the storm's assault on her hair, skin, and makeup, yet there was another layer of beauty to Flick now. During their time in the lantern room, the fog of mystery in Flick's eyes had lifted slightly to reveal stars that beckoned Sally closer. To accept their offer and lose herself in the comfort of their light, she just needed to be honest.

    Brushing a speck of dirt from Flick's cheek, Sally took a deep breath and let her lips form the words that had been swirling in her head for so long. "I love you."

    Flick blinked twice and drew out her next breath. "Sal, I..."

    "Sorry! No, gosh, I'm such an idiot!" Heart straining to burst from her chest, Sally unlinked her arms from Flick's body and shot up, pacing several steps away. "I totally get it, I shouldn't have said that. I got carried away! You've just been through so much about Miranda, and I should've kept my mouth shut because you're leaving soon and – and I'm sorry!"

    "You done?" Flick asked, rising to her feet and stretching her legs. Before Sally could react, Flick locked her arms around her waist and planted her head on Sally's shoulder. "Because I was going to say I love you too, sailor."

    Turning to see Flick's eyes fixed on her face, Sally leaned into the girl's hold. "Really?"

    "Better believe it, bud." With one move, Flick spun Sally around on the spot and caught her in a tight embrace. "Seems like you're stuck with me now."

    "But you're leaving," Sally protested, scrunching up the section of Flick's shirt beneath her hand. "It doesn't matter what we say. If your aunt won't let you stay, you'll have to leave."

    Flick tilted her head, tossing her plait over her shoulder in the effortless way that stole Sally's breath whenever she saw it. "Guess I'm not done being honest, huh? Man, this 'opening up' stuff is hard work..." As she weighed up the words in her head, Flick fiddled with the hem of Sally's borrowed jumper, lighting up when an acceptable answer landed in her head. "I'll tell Auntie Pol about Miri, and I'll apologise to that Martin guy for borrowing his boat while I'm at it. That should keep me around a little longer, as long as you're chill with that."

    Sally's breathing slowed. Once again, she was thankful Flick held her up, as the strength dissolved from her legs at the sight of her girl's keen smirk. "I'd love to have you around, Flick," she whispered, letting her face drift forwards until the heat from Flick's breath tickled the curves of her lips. "I'd love nothing more."

    From the depths of Sally's soaked pockets, her phone unleashed an ear-piercing rendition of her ringtone. Fumbling to knock the ringer volume down to where it should be, she forgot to check who was calling before she answered. "Hello?"

    "Sally Gwendolyn Tremaine!" Her mother's voice snapped by her ear on a wave of rushing blood. "Have you fallen down a hole? Has the storm carried you over the ocean?"

    Answering Flick's questioning gaze with a mouthed 'Mam', Sally flicked her hair out of her face. "No, I'm still here."

    "Then where on earth are you? How've you managed to be gone for so long?" Before Sally thought of an answer, Julie continued on her tirade. "Martin Rowe himself has just rocked up on my doorstep, with your dimwit father and brother in tow. I thought you'd have more sense than them, but even they got back before you!"

    Sally held her phone away from her face and vented the low, heavy groan that had built up in her chest. "I've had a busy night, Mam," she strained to say as she replaced the device by her ear. "I ran into Flick –"

    A torrent of static claimed the line, and Sally looked out of the window to check if the storm had regained its full force. The resurgent voice over the phone revealed that the only storm raging on their conversation was the blue hail of curses leaving her mother's mouth. "Lass, if we've told you once, we've told you a million times! You're not to be seeing that girl!"

    "Give it a rest, will you, Julie?" her father's voice eked through the gaps in her mother's rage. "We've got company, and I've got a banging headache to boot. Last thing any of us needs is all this shouting, I think."

    Judging by the volume of her response, Sally's mother kept the handset by her face as she turned to face the others. "Jim, she's ran off with that trouble! Goodness knows where she's gotten to!"

    "She's in one piece, I take it?" Ronan asked, further from the phone than Jim had been. A grunt of assent thundered in her mother's throat. "Then leave her be, she's faring a lot better tonight than some of us. I'm sure she'll be getting herself home when it's safe. She's a smart lass, our Sally."

    The handset shifted in her mother's grasp. "Come straight home as soon as you're able, Sally. No more of this larking around, you hear?"

    As Sally moved to answer, the line went dead. She looked at her phone's black screen, sighed, and stuck it back in her pocket. "I think I should get back home. Mam's on the verge of shouting the house down, from the sounds of things."

    "No kidding. I heard the 'Sally Gwendolyn' from here!" Flick answered, shaking her fist in mock anger. "Do I get to call you that when I want you to do something too?"

    Sally slapped away Flick's raised hand, nestling herself into her girl's open side. "Only if I can call you 'Felicity Polina' when I tell you to do it yourself," she answered, resting her head by Flick's neck.

    Sucking air through her teeth, Flick winced and wrapped her arm around Sally's shoulders. "Yeah. No prizes for guessing what made me come to Auntie Pol over any of my other relatives." She turned her gaze down to study Sally's face, whose eyes were shut in a moment of ease. "Well, Sal, there is one thing I'd like to ask you to do. No pressure or anything, it's up to you, totally chill if you don't want to..."

    "I'm listening, Flick," Sally said, opening her eyes into a warm smile as she took Flick's fingers in her hands. "Whatever you need, just ask."

    "Would you come with me to see Miri's grave sometime?"

    A puff of cold air raced into Sally's mouth, and her eyes widened. After a second of thought, however, her smile returned brighter than ever. "I'd be honoured to."