By Your Side

Chapter 5: Are You Coming

Now here they were all over again, only this time it was at a water park. The one place where James' teenage urges had to be restrained to the highest degree. Nathan now looking up at James and Clare, his smug grin, only made James hate the boy even more.

"So man, you drove here today right?"

"Yea how'd you know?"

"You don't have a chaperone, my mom dropped me off."

The words left Nathan's mouth, and James didn't even hesitate to break into a smile, and he knew that Clare was likely thinking the same thing since he could see the same slight smile on her face.

"So what are you driving cheerleader's?"

"Just a Challenger."

"Just a Challenger! Dude that's sick."

Nathan had always had a thing for cars, wanting the highest end things yet had no motivation to work for them. However now seeing the boy's eyes light up in front of him, James' sentence came to an end, and he couldn't help but feel like he was more impressive than the coolest kid in school. Which wasn't hard since his mom still drove him around to his play dates. Yet with the new found confidence still building up in James, Nathan looked over at Hannah again and kissed her.

"So babe, want to get a corn dog or something?"

"Yea sure, be good lovebirds."

"We're not-"

Before Clare was able to finish her sentence, Nathan and Hannah were lifting themselves out of the pool and started walking toward the concession stand. The two of them didn't even look back, as Clare turned to James who was still watching the couple, walk away from them.

"So Australia? Are you coming?"

James snapped back into reality, only to see Clare staring at him. Her head hung low while she awaited his response to the question. Maintaining her feeling of unease, Clare felt like she already knew his answer.

"Oh yeah right, I think I will go."

"Seriously? Thank god. I couldn't imagine spending a couple days with the two of them."

"Two of them?"

"Yea Nathan's obviously going to."

Those five words were enough for James' heart to skip a beat. The very thought of not being able to make one final move on the girl he loved killed him mentally. The idea of the two of them kissing, and so much more played in his mind, and nearly plunged him into an aggressive state of depression that was worse then the one he was already in.

"Seriously?"

"Yea? Is that a problem?"

"No I guess not."

"Good."

Then conversation faded just like the waves that crashed against the edge of the pool. It was a subtle end to their dialog when James noticed Clare looking down at herself now as she stopped kicking the water.

"Is something wrong?"

"I just...do you like this outfit?"

"Yea it's different."

"Good different, or would you rather it be a skimpy bikini or something like Hannah's?"

"Whoa what? Where is this coming from?"

"Never mind."

Another minute passed, the sun's heat kept beating down on both of them. Seeing the solution to the problem, James was the first to take the liberty of hopping into the pool. When he got in, he began to tread water, until he was comfortable enough to look up at Clare who was still giving off a self-conscious vibe. Wanting to help her through this episode, he swam over to her and held onto the pool's edge, keeping her legs between his arms and against his chest while he made eye contact with her.

"Join me."

His words were stern yet maintained a caring undertone when he spoke to the girl, who was his undisputed best friend; however that didn't mean they always agreed.

"No, I'm okay."

"C'mon."

"No James."

"Please."

In Clare's voice, there was the slightest hint of laughter, as she watched the man she loved try and persuade her. Then before she could do anything, James wrapped his arms around the girl's clothed waist while continuing to make eye contact with her. She had stopped resisting him and began to let loose as she looked down into his eyes.

"James stop."

James gave her a mischievous smile like the one she had given him earlier, before managing to lift her up slightly and pulled her into the water with him. Her arms wrapping around his neck while her body sank into the water. The smile on her face was contagious now that she was eye level with James. Their noses were barely brushing against one another while James kept his arms wrapped around her, and to avoid floating away from him, she held onto his waist with her legs.

"I hate you, James."

"I know you do."

They began to drift to the deeper end of the pool until they finally stopped again. With James and Clare's limbs now bound together, they stayed close to each other, making them look like a perfectly loving couple while they stared into each other's eyes. A spark shot through the air, as they both watched and waited to see who would make the first move. Something in Clare's gaze told James that she trusted him and he tilted his head before moving his nose past hers.

In response Clare closed her eyes, knowing that their lips were on a collision course and would make an impact with each other any second now. Only there was a sudden gasp from the side of the pool, that destroyed the moment and caused the two of them to look over. Their brains high on love quickly got replaced with fear, since they were now looking at all of the jocks and cheerleaders who were now focused on them, waiting in anticipation.

"Kiss the emo, nerd."

The crowd began to laugh from the one cheerleaders comment, forcing Clare to disconnect from James and push away. The moment that he had created with her was now gone as he watched her swim to the opposite side of the pool. Giving the crowd of asshats one last look, he too was starting to feel self-conscious, but he knew someone needed help more then he did. Turning to face Clare, he swam over to join her on edge, praying that he could fix the damage that had been done.