FicWad

I am tired and irritable the following day having had little sleep the night before. I was kept awake by thoughts of Gerard, and why the heck I saw his image while I was riding the motorbike. I totally refused to think about Frank.

"You alright?" asks Jacob. He is driving us to a "secret destination", where he says he has a surprise activity for us to do.

"I'm fine," I reply. There is still no way I'm telling him what I saw.

"Cool," he nods, and continues driving.

That's one of the things I love about Jacob, he doesn't push you to talk about something when you don't want to. I totally appreciate his laid-back attitude.

"So, what is it that we are doing today?" I ask him, for the hundredth time.

He smiles. "You'll have to wait and see."

"Fine," I sigh.

We are driving along at a casual pace on a long, wide open road. I am enjoying the view of the ocean beside me. The clouds may be grey (as always), but the almost sapphire blue color of the water manages to lift my spirits.

"We're here," Jacob declares, and brakes abruptly at the side of the road.

"We are?" I say. "But we're sitting at the side of the road."

"I know," he smiles, getting out.

I follow him, feeling a little confused. "Come on, Stella," he says, taking my hand. "We're going to do something a little different today."

We walk to the edge of the cliff and look down. The water crashes violently against some seriously sharp looking rocks below us and I shiver. Man, I'm glad I'm not in there today. With my luck I'd probably drown.

"What are you up to, Jake?" I say. "Why did you bring me here? You're not going to push me off, are you?" I joke, feebly.

He gives me that same mysterious smile again. "No, I'm not. But you are going to jump."

I blink, not sure I heard him correctly. "What?"

"I said," he chuckles, "you're going to jump. It's called "cliff diving"."

"Well, I call it "suicide"," I say, backing off.

"Relax, Stella," he says, taking my hand. "You'll be fine. It's fun."

"How is jumping off a cliff fun?"

"Do you trust me?" he asks, his face taking on a serious look.

"Yes, I do. But I'm still not jumping. It's crazy."

"Sometimes crazy is what's right," he says.

"That theory is also crazy." I shake my head.

"We can stand here discussing what's crazy and what's not, but I'd rather be in there," he says, pointing at the water.

I still can't believe what he is suggesting. I mean, jumping off a cliff into the sea! That's insane! It's ludicrous! Gerard would totally disapprove......of course, Gerard would be completely against this sort of irresponsible behavior. Which means I have to do it. I'm an independent woman now, diving off a cliff should be a piece of cake.

"Let's do it," I say, fiercely. I pull up my sleeves and try to look fearless.

Jacob raises and eyebrow. "What made you change your mind so quickly?"

I shrug. "It sounds like fun."

"Whatever you say," he shrugs, and rips off his shirt revealing an incredibly ripped torso. I try not to stare at his body, but it's hard. It's just so damned toned! I wipe my mouth, seriously hoping I wasn't drooling.

"Take off your jacket and shoes," he instructs.

I do as he says, keeping my eyes firmly on the ground. It's so distracting when there's a half-naked man beside you. Trust me.

"Ready?" he asks.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I reply.

I close my eyes and say a little prayer: Dear God, please don't let me die. I know I'm an insignificant little squirt, and sort of annoying, and clumsy. In fact, the world would probably be a better place without me considering all the drama I cause, but I promise if you let me live I'll be good and stop ogling my gorgeous best friend. Amen.

"Let's do it," he says. Without another word he flings himself over the edge and is gone.
I watch him in horror-and a little admiration.

I take a deep breath. "Girl power!" I scream, and launch myself after him.

It takes about 0.03 seconds for me to hit the water, and I do, making a big splash. The water is freezing cold and almost paralyzes me. I realize I cannot move my body and immediately sink to the bottom.

Fear takes over my body and I kick furiously to gain some control. Unfortunately the current is too strong and overpowers me easily. All I can do is wave my arms around pathetically and hope Jacob rescues me. So much for Girl Power. I should just drown in shame!

"Help!" I scream. Opening my mouth turns out to be a big mistake as only bubbles come out and it fills with water instead.

I look around desperately but there is no sign of Jacob anywhere. Where did he go? Did he drown as well? I seriously hope not, else I'm screwed.

I flap my arms like they are wings and pray I somehow make it to the surface. I don't. I squeeze my eyes shut and open them again, hoping this is all a bad dream.

My eyes fall on a shadowy figure a few feet in front of me. I squint and recognize with an almighty jolt that it is none other then Gerard! He is floating right in front of me with a sombre expression on his face. I can't believe it. I peer around him but there is no sign of Frank. And just when I need a superhero too.

"Gerard?" I mouth. I swim towards him, believing he is real, but as soon as I get close to him he melts away. "No!" I cry, well, gurgle, in disappointment. I might as well drown.

In fact, that is exactly what is happening to me. I can barely breath-or see, for that matter. My body feels like it weighs a tonne and it's as though the water has reached my brain. I cannot think straight.

The urge to give in and float away is overwhelming. But I don't, I don't want to die under water dammit! That's so not cool. I always imagined myself dying at the hands of a zombie, then turning into one myself. Now that is cool. Well, sort of. Maybe. Okay, why the hell am I thinking of zombies when I am drowning? What the hell is wrong with me?!

Suddenly I am being pulled up towards the sky. Someone is pulling me up! Angels perhaps? Maybe I'm dead and am going to heaven?

I am held in strong arms and placed on what I assume is the ground carefully. Warm hands press on my chest gently. I manage to open my eyes and take a look at who is touching me. It's Jacob.

"Stella?" he says. "Stella? Can you hear me?"

I can, but don't have the energy to respond, so I stare at him instead. "Are you okay?" he asks me.

No. I nearly drowned, and, worse, am seeing the ghostly image of my ex boyfriend, who, by the way needs to smile more.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack," he says, and holds me close. I have to say, he looks awfully pale. But the fact that he is shirtless and dripping wet sort of makes up for it.

"Sorry," I mutter hoarsely.

"No," he shakes his head. "It was my fault. I should have known you wouldn't be able to handle the current."

"It's not your fault I'm a trouble magnet," I sigh, sitting up.

"I'm sorry, Stella," he whispers. "I thought I'd lost you back there."

"Forget it, Jake," I say shakily. I am trying to get Gerard out of my head, but it seems he wants to follow me everywhere-even near death experiences.

"I'm taking you home before you freeze to death," he says, and scoops me up in his arms. I rest my head on his chest, the warmth of his body is startling, especially since he has also been in icy cold water. It's very unusual.

"You're hot," I whisper, too tired to even sound curious.

"Thank you," he says, the smile evident in his voice.

"No," I say. "Your skin is hot."

I feel him stiffen a little. "Yeah, I'm a different breed," he replies lightly.

Is he trying to tell me something? Before I can contemplate further I am asleep.

Jacob's secret is going to be revealed very, very, soon.....