Note: The only chapters I'm writing from Brendon's POV are the five ones that received the most votes from all of you. If you have any questions about any of the chapters not done in his POV, you can always comment your question, write it on my message board, or direct message me. x

The shrill sound of Hill and Corvey's horrified screams resounded throughout the chilly night air as I made haste of removing my jacket and tossing it to the side. They started barking orders at the rest of the team and I was fairly certain one of them called out to me, but I was over the edge of the cliff before they had a chance to finish their sentence.

My body's movements were instinctual, and I hadn't even had a chance to consciously register my actions before literally taking the plunge.

There wasn't time to drive down to the beachfront before going under to get her; she'd be gone before the Rovers even got to the sand. Her survival depended on action being taken immediately, and my subconscious knew that.

What my subconscious didn't know was how fucking freezing the water temperature was. Fortunately, I was on enough of an adrenaline high to not feel the initial shock to my system, and so I was able to navigate through the waters with my usual ease.

My first time going under, I couldn't see her anywhere. I resurfaced for some air, counting to five before going under again. They were an awful five seconds – my mind betrayed me by thinking of the worst-case scenario.

Fuck, I had to find her.

I swam around frenziedly for a solid twenty seconds before I saw her. She was deep down.

Too deep down.

I was sure that I couldn't swim that far with the limited amount of oxygen stored in my lungs, but fuck me if I wasn't going to try.

Her body seemed lifeless and showed no sign of slowing down its decline, which only spurred me on. I knew I had to get to her now, or else it would be too late.

Collecting all of the strength I could muster, I kicked out as hard as I could and started swimming towards her. She seemed so far out of my reach, and I was struggling to keep on going. My muscles were starting to pull from the constant movement and the ice-cold water, but I tried my hardest to ignore my body's cries of agony and just focus on getting to her.

Her. I had to get to her.

I would use my last fucking sliver of energy to make sure that she makes it out of this. I will save her or I will die trying.

An eternity later, I finally managed to get close enough to grab her. I clutched onto her motionless body desperately, feeling a few precious air bubbles escape my mouth as I proceeded to drag her up with all of my might.

I pulled her into my arms and as close to me as possible, starting to kick my legs and using the arm that wasn't holding her to try and manoeuvre to the surface. The burning in my lungs was getting stronger. If I didn't break through the surface soon, both of us would die.

There was no fucking way I was letting her die.

I hadn't kissed her yet.

I soldiered on, pushing through and pushing through until eventually, the crisp night air hit my face. I took a moment to catch my breath and regulate my breathing before gently lifting both of her limp arms and slinging them around my neck.

I watched as the moonlight danced on her skin and pulled her closer to me. "I got you," I whispered, "I got you."

I kept a firm hold on her as I swam us to the beach, gathering her up bridal style and carefully setting her down on the coarse sand. I brought one hand to her beautiful face and lightly brushed the stray strands of wet hair away before bringing my ear down to her mouth to check whether she was breathing.

She wasn't, and I felt my chest constrict.

"Shit," I grumbled, worry flooding through me. I hurriedly pushed away the sides of her jacket and pressed my fingers to her neck to look for a pulse. I found one and sighed in relief. She was alive; she just wasn't breathing.

Thank god.

Had she been dead, I would've flung myself right back into that miserable fucking ocean.

I moved quickly, placing my hands on her sternum and beginning to perform CPR.

"C'mon, (Y/N)," I growled, gritting my teeth as my hands continued pressing down on the bone in her chest.

I stopped after three pumps and moved to start mouth-to-mouth, hesitating only slightly – this wasn't at all how I'd envisioned the first time our lips would meet. But the kiss I was craving so desperately would never happen if she didn't start breathing soon, so I grinned and bore it, bringing my mouth to hers.

It wasn't technically a kiss, anyway.

Our first kiss would be fucking perfect.

I pulled back and waited, my own breath hitching in my throat as I waited for hers to resume. When it didn't, my anxiety levels skyrocketed from 'mildly concerned' to 'full-on freaking out'.

"No. No, come on. Come on." I repeated my actions, first on her chest and then on her mouth. I repeated it two more times, but she wasn't showing any signs of taking even the shallowest of breaths.

My hands started trembling out of fear of losing her, and I ran my numb fingers through my hair, tugging at the strands and shutting my eyes tightly. I was petrified.

She couldn't die.

"Fuck, (Y/N), don't do this," I pleaded, brushing the rest of her hair out of the way and frowning down at her still face, "Please."

I wiggled one arm under her head, lifting her up and pulling her closer, into my chest. I cupped the right side of her warm face, and gently brushed my thumb over her cheek as I looked down at her still face with imploring eyes.

"Breathe, baby. Please," I said softly, continuing to stroke her cheek. I hadn't even realised that I'd spoken aloud; my mind was running amok with thoughts of what would happen – what I would do – if she died here tonight.

Miraculously, a moment later, she started coughing and spluttering – her body trying to rid itself of the water lodged in her trachea. I swiftly lifted her up and to the side, so that the water could run out onto the sand, and tucked her hair behind her ear.

She was okay. She was alright.

A small sigh of relief slipped past my lips. Hallelujah.

Shit, that was terrifying. I don't think my heart has ever dropped that hard before. Not even when-

All of the water had been expelled from her windpipe, but she was still a shaking and gasping mess; I pulled her closer and comforted her.

Holding her safe in my arms was probably more reassuring to me than it was to her, though.

"Shh, shh, hey. It's okay, you're okay now," I soothed, once again cupping her face.

I could feel her body gradually relax and once she calmed down enough, she gave me a closed lipped, tired smile.

And, fuck it, I gave her one right back.

She was alive.

Right then, a team of S.H.I.E.L.D personnel, led by Maria, rushed over. They wanted to put her on a gurney so that they could wheel her back and have her checked out by the medical staff, but she refused.

"At least take this blanket," Maria insisted, holding out a scratchy grey piece of material, "You must be as frozen as an ice-block."

She shook her head in refusal. "No, it's alright. I'm not cold. I don't get cold."

Maria slowly withdrew the blanket and glanced over at me; her face conveyed her slight uneasiness – she wasn't aware of (Y/N)'s hereditary abilities in their entirety. I blinked at her in a silent request for her to not draw any attention to it.

Maria caught on right in the knick of time – (Y/N) had noticed and was about to question us – and spoke again.

"We need to get you two back to HQ," she said, "The Director wants to see you."

(Y/N) grimaced and my shoulders slumped marginally. "How bad is it?"

Maria cocked her head side to side and bared her teeth. "Let's just say... you guys would've been better off just staying in the ocean."

Well done, Urie. You're dead. Should've drowned yourself when you had the fucking chance.

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Thank you for reading x