"You’re mad!" I yelled.
"Come on. Jump." Lorna cried, taking another step forward so that now the sole of her shoes where hanging over the side of the dock. I pulled her back.
"It’s freezing!"
"One…" She said, edging slightly forward.
"Lorna, come on. The water is miles below and you’ll freeze-"
"Two…." She said.
"Lorna!"
She looked at me with wild eyes and I saw something glint in them. Like wonder. Then she looked back out at the crystal blue ocean that spread below the wooden dock we were standing on. “Don’t do this.” I said. But it was too late.
Lorna screamed ‘three!’ and jumped off the dock, disappearing.
I immediately ran to the edge of the dock and screamed her name. There was no splash, no ripples of water. No movement.
"Crazy girl…" I muttered, taking off my shirt and shoes and jumping into the water.
The icy water hit me hard and I swam up for air when I heard the water move beside me and a loud scream of joy.
"WHOO-HOOO!" Lorna screamed, throwing her hands in the air. "Let’s do that again!"
"Lorna!" I screamed. "You idiot! I thought you drowned. Holy crap. Don’t do that again! Are you crazy? What the heck?"
Lorna stopped smiling and looked at me, then, as if she couldn’t be serious anymore, she burst out laughing. “Was someone scared?” She said in a mock tone.
"Yes! I was extremely scared!"
She grinned. “Scared for me?”
"I uh…….well….."
She ran her fingers through her slickly wet hair and laughed. “Thanks for jumping in to save me, Superman.”
"Look, I really don’t appreciate your sarcasm right now."
She laughed again and spread herself out in the water so that she was floating on her back. “It’s nice in here.”
"Were you scared?" I asked her.
"Scared? Of what?"
"Dying." I said in a complete ‘uh, duh’ voice.
"If I was a complete worrier then yes. But I don’t let fear stop me from doing things." Lorna replied, waving her arms up in down in the water as if trying to make snow angels.
"So you’re telling me you weren’t scared at all when you jumped?"
"Nope."
"But that’s insane! You can’t be fearless."
"As far as I’m concerned, fear does not exist in my world. Because there’s nothing to be scared of. Fear is just an emotion, not a lifestyle."
I laughed and shook my head. “You’re really something you know that?”
She smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
"I’ve never met anyone like you. Someone so fearless and carefree. You’re really inspirational." I said.
"The girl with cancer, inspirational? Ha."
"You are. I like you."
Lorna stood up and treaded the water and looked at me. “I like you too, Tristan Coleman.”
"But I still think you’re completely mad. And this water isn’t getting any warmer."
She laughed. “It isn’t is it?”
We swam to the dock and climbed up the ladder before collapsing on the dock. I handed my shirt to Lorna and she gratefully took it before slipping it on. I sat down beside her and swung my legs over the edge of the dock.
"How is it?" I asked her after a while.
She looked at me. “How’s what?”
"The cancer."
She looked away. “It’s getting worse…..the chemo isn’t working.”
I cursed myself for asking but I stayed visibly strong and just nodded. “You can get through it you know?”
"I’ve been battling it for five years, Tristan."
"You can still get through it. I know you can."
She smiled and then spoke. “Let’s not talk about it. Want to go get an ice cream?”
"Sure. I know this great place down the road called S-"
"Stevie’s fruit ice creams?" Lorna finished.
"Yes! It’s my favourite!"
"Mine too!" Lorna cried. "I always go there and get the same thing. Straw-"
"Strawberry and Banana burst?"
She laughed and stood up. “Looks like we have something in common.”
"Yes. Shall we?" I asked, gesturing for her to start walking.
She handed me back my shirt. “Even though you look better with it off, here.” She winked before walking off down the dock. I laughed and slipped on my shirt before running after her.
—-
After we had ordered our ice creams, we went to our spot on the hill by the park, still dripping wet. We got weird looks the entire walk there but either Lorna didn’t notice, or she just didn’t care.
"We could make a tree house up here." I said, looking up the branches on the tree on the hill. "We could sleep in it some nights."
"Great idea! Can you make tree houses?"
"I made a bird house in woodshop class?"
Lorna smiled. “You can definitely make a tree house then. One big enough for us both to lie down in and painted white.”
I laughed. “Sure. I’ll get around to it sometime…”
"Well, in the meantime we’ll have to lie on the grass." She said, sitting down on the fresh, green grass.
“If I lay here, If I just lay here-” I started singing when Lorna cut me off.
“Would you lie with me and just forget the world.”
"You like that song?" I asked.
"Like it? I love it. It’s such a beautiful song."
I smiled. “Forget what we’re told. Before we get too old. Show me a garden that’s burst into life.”
“Let’s waste time, chasing cars, around our heads.”
Her voice was truly magnificent. So floaty and majestic and she looked at me and smiled. “You know, this might just be the best summer I’ve ever had.”
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Fanfiction"Tristan, I'm scared." And then I froze. Just like the first time I met her, my body went into complete lockdown and my heart beat irrationally fast. Who would of ever thought three words could scar me? To anyone else, it would mean nothing. But to...
