Book 1- Tainted

Chapter 18 : Earth Glow

I didn't get back to sleep, instead I decided to get ready for school. Harrod was none the wiser of my late night endeavors. He dropped me off at school like he did every other day. I found Adrian almost immediately as soon as I stepped out of the car. I waited until Harrod had driven away before I approached Adrian. 

      "Morning," he said when I stood in front of him. He kissed my cheek and my cheeks heated up, knowing that we were in a public area. I wasn't opposed to public displays of affection, I just wasn't used to them. 

      "Morning." I said back, as a shy smile made it's way onto my face.

      "I think we should do something today," he said out of the blue. I furrowed my brows in confusion. 

     "After school?" 

     "No, right now," he said and I scoffed. 

     "Adrian I can't skip school, my dad will kill me," I argued. 

     "Come on its just one day, he won't find out. You said he's out of town, right?"

     "Yeah, but—"

     "But nothing, I just want to spend today with you, don't you want to spend time with me?" He put out his bottom lip in a pout. He could be so adorable sometimes. I chuckled before placing a kiss on his cheek. I couldn't resist him even if I tried. He had me wrapped around his finger and I had a feeling he knew that.

     "Okay, fine. But if we get caught I'm throwing you under the bus," I grabbed the helmet off the seat of the bike. I slipped it onto my head, fastening the strap.

     "You wouldn't," he said rather smugly as a cocky smile teased his lips, "you love me too much," he kissed me full on, on the lips. My cheeks heated up, knowing full well that we weren't alone in the parking lot. But soon all those insecurities faded away and it was just Adrian and I.

      And who really cared if anyone saw us. People already knew we were dating. It was 2019, who really cared if two boys were kissing.

       "Let's go," he swung his leg over his bike, mounting it. He started the ignition and his bike roared to life.

       "Where are we going?" I asked as I sat behind him. I held onto him tightly as he eased out of the parking lot.

        "It's a surprise," he said over his shoulder as we sped away from the school. I couldn't believe I was actually doing this. I'd never ditched school before. However I wasn't half as worried about it as I should have been. Like Adrian said, it was just one day. And I honestly preferred spending my day with my boyfriend than in history class listening to Mrs Dully drone on. I was really excited on whatever he had installed. 

       He rode all the way to the outskirts of town, nearing Lake Bounty. He made the turn into the dirt road that led up to the lake. A few minutes later the lake came into view. The lake was sparkling blue, and it glistened under the risen sun. 

      Once we came to a stop, I swung my leg off the bike, landing on slightly wobbly legs. I getting accustomed to the bike rides and it's effects were becoming less severe. Of course Adrian swung his leg off the bike landing on steady legs, completely unaffected by the ride. 

      He took my hand in his as he nudged me towards the dock, "come on." I walked beside him with a questioning raised brow. 

      "Boat ride?" I asked and he nodded. At the end of the dock there was a solitary roll boat. Adrian got into the boat, and then waited for me to do the same. I had a million questions but I had feeling that he wouldn't answer any of them, so I did what was expected of me. 

      I swung one leg into the boat, it rocked a little bit and I thought it would topple over, "careful," Adrian said as he took my hand and helped me in. I sat down with a sigh of relief. I did it. 

      "Ready?" I nodded and he untied the boat from the dock. We set sail from the dock to the small beach on the shore of the other side of the lake. Adrian rolled as I was left with the most important task, navigating.

      It was a beautifully sunny day, a nice change from the recent cloudy days. The water was clear as I ran my hand through it.  The water wasn't half as cold as I had initially thought it would be. I stared at my wavy reflection before taking a deep breath.

     Suddenly Adrian stopped rolling, I looked up to meet his cute smirk and sparkling eyes. 

        "Need a break?" I asked, turning my entire body to face him, "I can roll the rest of the way," I offered but he shook his head. 

          "Just wanted to show you something," he said, mischief sparking in his eyes. He was up to something. 

         "In the middle of a lake?" I asked suspiciously, he just shrugged. He set down the pedals, then took my hands in his "close your eyes," he commanded and I obeyed without hesitation. 

           "You're not going to kill me and dump my body out here, are you?" I chuckled and he laughed along with me. 

         "No," I opened my eyes to meet his, they sparkled with amusement, "close your eyes," he chided but he was still smirking. 

      "Now relax, breathe in then breathe out, clear your mind. Focus on nothing but your breathing," as odd as his request was, I followed each order. I focused on my breathing, clearing my mind. I felt lighter. "Now think of the water, not as one body but as a million little droplets." I visualized the water as he described. 

          "You can open your eyes now," I opened my eyes slowly, but the moment they took in my surroundings, my eyes widened. I was awestruck as a million little water droplets floated around us. 

        "How?" I croaked out, looking around like a kid in a candy store. This was beyond beautiful. It was mystifying. The light reflected off each drop as they glistened. 

         "Magic," he said simply, as I reached out for one of the drops. 

         "You did this?" the droplet set in my palm. 

         He shook his head, "no, this is all you," he said and it took a second before his words registered in my mind. But when they did, my jaw dropped. 

        "What?" The droplets fell on us like rain. I giggled as I watched Adrian getting drenched, "sorry," I said unconvincingly. He huffed as he swiped away his wet hair from his face. 

        "I was doing that?" I asked, disbelief lacing each word. I couldn't do magic or at least I thought I couldn't. But now...?

         He grinned squeezing my hand slightly, "yup," he said, popping the "p." I just gawked at him as if he'd grown a third eye. 

         "Impossible," I said incredulously. 

         "It's very possible. I knew you could do it," he spotted me a smug grin. A smile worked it's way onto my face as I realized he wasn't joking. I did magic? I actually did magic!

          "I did it!" I said ecstatically, "I can't believe I just did that!" I leaned in kissing him. He kissed me with equal vigor. He was just as excited as I was. This was tremendous progress on my part. And it was thanks to him.

        When he finally pulled away from me, he had a wide grin that I mirrored as he rolled the rest of the way to the other side of the lake. We washed up on the small sandy beach. We got out of the boat, Adrian got out first and then helped me out.

      "Where now?" I asked as I straightened my clothes. He didn't answer, not that I expected him to. I'd learnt over the time I'd known him, he liked surprising me. And I actually liked him surprising me, most of his surprises where really nice. He took my hand and led me towards a path up the cliff.

        It was a bit of a climb, and I spent half of it complaining. I wasn't into physical activities, I wasn't built for it. Adrian found it assuming. He had fun laughing at my exaggerated struggle to get up the cliff. I followed behind him slightly out of breath. 

       "Come on, it's just a little further," he said leading me even further up the cliff. It was around noon now, and getting warmer by the minute. A bit of sweat trickled down my forehead and I swiped it away. Not that I wasn't enjoying this but where was he taking me?

        The moment we stood atop the cliff all my whining dissipated. The view was breath taking, you could see all of West Chapel.  The small town had never looked more astounding.  The hike was worth this view. But when I turned my head a little to the left I gasped. Before me was a checkered picnic blanket laid out and on top of it a cute picnic basket. The entire thing was lovely. I clasped my hands over my mouth hiding my wide grin. 

           "When did you have time to set this up?" I asked as I stepped towards it. He tugged my hand, pulling me closer to the blanket. He took a seat and I followed suit. 

           "This is so sweet," I sat next to him, a wide grin adorning my face. This was amazing. How did I get so lucky to have a boyfriend like him? I loved Adrian more than I thought was humanly possible to love someone. He made me happy.

We dug into the assortment of food he had prepared. It was delicious, and I enjoyed each bite. We talked, about just about everything. From school, to football, to even magic stuff. Time seemed to melt away, I forgot that the whole world existed. It was just Adrian and I. We talked long after we'd gone through all the food. It was just so much fun to be there with him, he made me laugh, he made me happy. In that moment I was happy. 

      "I love it when you smile," he said randomly. I blushed bright red.

      "You make smile," He cupped my chin tilting my head up before he connected our lips together. We kissed until my lips were swollen. I loved every waking minute of it. Today had truly been the perfect day.

***Hiya, hope you enjoyed the chapter. The book is sadly coming to an end. Just three more chapters to go. Don't forget to vote and comment.***