FALLINGFORYOU — The 1975

The wind of dusk pierced my torso and I hadn't even managed to remove an article of clothing yet, concluding that Charli's idea was the most stupid idea ever.

We stood at the ledge of a very tall cliff leading downward to a large river that we were expected to all swim in.

I felt my nerves pinch me in worry as I stood at the edge of the cliff—my fear of heights outweighing my decision of not participating.

"Are you guys gonna in jump or what?" Adrianna piped up laughing as she discarded her red tank top and denim shorts.

I turned to Benny; watching him observe her body with a lust of hunger aching from him causing my blood to fume.

I felt like I was going to punch the smug smirk balanced lopsidedly on Adrianna's lips, my hands automatically balling into fists as he didn't hide the fact that he was staring at her body now covered in only her undergarments.

"Yeah, lets hop in now." Charli also announced, everyone else peeling off their clothes to jump in—apart from me.

Benny threw his raven hoodie over his toned upper body and shrugged off his denim jeans, being left in his black boxer shorts.

I didn't bother allowing my eyes to rake his lusciously built body as I continued to think about the way his orbs dug into Adrianna's exposed torso, my burning fumes of jealous being hard to contain.

He began untying his shoes as he peered over his shoulder to see me seated on a rock, "you're not coming?"

"No," I replied monotonously, keeping my arms crossed over my chest.

He scrunched his eyebrows in confusion as he came closer to me, "why not?"

I knew I was being childish for getting so heated in jealousy, he wasn't even anything close to my boyfriend for god sakes. I just felt the feelings I had managed to swallow everyday begin to spill into my senses, the small yet undeniable attraction I held towards him resurfacing.

I swallowed my feelings as I studied him, not allowing myself to divulge into the childish crush I was forming on him.

I shrugged my shoulders in response to him, "I'm just kind of. . . scared."

"You're afraid of heights?" He asked, seeming baffled at my statement.

"Yeah, since I was little," I admitted weakly.

He snorted at my confession, "I don't need to be close to you to know you've obviously gone through worst than a little heights, Canada."

My eyes bulged from its sockets, surprised at how observant the boy actually was.

He made his way to the ledge of the cliff, turning back to gaze at me. Instead of leaping into the body of water, he strode towards me with a challenging demeanour radiating from him.

"Elena, you're gonna swim with me whether you like it or not," he declared confidently.

"Who made you the boss, Rodriguez?" I smirked at his newfound confidence.

"Because, you showed me how to have fun, I think it's time for me to show you how to have a little fun,"

I glued my eyes to the ground coated in bits of wood chips and patches of dirt as he continued to keep his gaze glued to me. "I can't Benny, I'm a chicken."

"No, you aren't,"

"You don't even know anything to redeem me as strong,"

"Okay," he nodded his head, biting his bottom lip. "I have an idea."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "what is it?"

"Think about it like this when you're jumping; if I've gotten through this long of my
life—doesn't matter what you've been
through—but still managed to be here, why should I be scared of a little heights?" His words stirring a strong pot of feelings in my abdomen once they poured from his vibrantly magenta lips.

"I uh–I don't know, you're right I guess." I murmured, rubbing my exposed arms as goosebumps arose on them due to Benny's previous statement.

I wanted to just scream out everything I'd ever hid from everyone at him; every masked emotion I ever contained to burst into flames. But I couldn't, it was selfish and as much as I told myself it wasn't true, Benny would disregard our friendship when it became too much for him to handle.

So like many other situations I faced, I simply inhaled an ounce of breath, stood up, and walked towards the edge of the cliff—shredding my once covered torso of clothing to now be bare in my vibrant ruby bra and black underwear.

I watched Benny's eyes rake my body in a different sense than he had observed Adrianna's; his eyes pooling with exquisite delight. I was confused at the expression painted across his features as he observed me as a piece of art much rather than a piece of meat.

"Elena," his wobbly voice whispered as he came closer to me, an undoubtably sense of tension sparking.

"Yeah?"

"You uh—you're really beautiful, don't let anyone convince you otherwise," his heavy breathing making my knees go weak.

I smiled bashfully towards the nervous boy that intertwined his fingers together while keeping his eyes glued to his bare feet. His mahogany cheeks pinching my lips upwards.

We stood at the edge to face the bodies of water below. My eyes bulged from its sockets as I stared at the group of friends we arrived with appearing as specs from where we stood; the thought of jumping almost sent me into cardiac arrest.

"Ready?" He asked, staring at my profile as my eyes scanned the river below.

"No," I croaked.

"It's okay," he grasped my hand between his. "Let's do it together."

My nerves would've calmed down if they weren't pulsing with electrical currents from the contact of his hand.

We slid our feet closer—hands intertwined—ready to dive into the large azure tinted river.

I took a large gulp before turning to a pair of emerald irises; his pupils expanding slowly as he kept his eyes locked on mine.

I did as he had advised me to as I reran the thoughts of my fathers brutal shackles and cruel hatred towards me as I felt the ledge I was once standing on disappear from my feet, my torso dangling in the air as we dove down.

The crisp air smacked my face aggressively, the only form of safety coming from Benny's calloused palms.

We plummeted under the deep and luscious body of water—my lungs gasping for oxygen as the adrenaline I suffered from rang through my senses.

I was met with a pair of eyes glowing under the ripples of water below—my vision slightly blurring.

We stared at each other as I sent him a
closed-mouth smile. My eyes scanned the depths of the water and peered over my shoulders to stare upon the surface that appeared to just be ripples of royal blue and sunlight blazing through the exposed areas.

I felt pure bliss as Benny kept his hand in mine, my raging heart was now beating from more than just the adrenaline.

My lungs could no longer contain the ounces of oxygen I kept inhaled, so I swam upward to meet the surface—my fingers slipping from Benny's.

I was met with faint gasps and vibrations of laughters from the group above as I exited the exhilarating depths of the river.

"Took you long enough," Zara snickered, balanced upon Brandon's back.

"I was kinda scared," I shamelessly admitted.

"Its okay, everyone's scared their first time," Brandon commented.

"If they are chicken shits." Piped up Adam, Hailey swatting his chest in defence towards me.

Benny soon dove up, the sun glistening upon his tanned body as droplets of sweat trickled from his disheveled curls of chocolate brown hair.

Charli and Adrianna took upon the same reaction as I did when their eyes also raked his torso, Zara appearing bored at the sight, and Hailey and Adam play fighting.

Of course, Peter was seen upon the shore with his body drenched in water while seated on the crumpled patches of grass smoking a joint. I contained the reaction of shaking my head toward the quiet boy.

"That was fucking great," the words spilling from Benny's voice.

"Yeah," I nodded. "It was actually really fun."

An epiphany sparked through him as his lips grew into a mischievous smirk, "you know what else would be fun?"

"Oh no,"

"Water fight!" He exclaimed, splashing water upon me aggressively.

The rest of the people just observed us in curiosity while keeping to themselves as we participated in our childish antics.

Benny attempted to drown me as his hands curled around my waist—burying us both underneath the surface.

I struggled from exiting his grasp, but I managed to almost escape of his attacks. Unfortunately, he had caught up to me and threw my half-naked torso into his arms as he carried me bridal style.

Our eyes locked again—the linear rays of sunlight casting specs of gold to pool in his irises. I felt my body tense as we became too violently close, his lips merely hovering over mine.

"Guys!" Adam shouted as he exited the river. "Can we get high now?"

My previous train of thoughts were interrupted as the words of the British boy replaced my previous intentions. I was dropped from Benny's embrace instantly as the entire group rushed towards the shore to embark in the addicting yet relieving habit of marijuana.

//////an\\\\\\

UN-EDITED AS ALWAYS
Idk how I feel about this chapter, but it's kinda just a filler tbh so it's okay.

Fun fact, this is actually the shortest chapter I've wrote for this book loool.

Anyways, hope you're all enjoying it!

I can't wait for specific scenes that pop into my head when I'm developing Benny and Elena's relationship, it's so hard not to just interrupt the slow process and write those scenes out OMG.

SORRY ABOUT MY RAMBLING BYE

-nr