Cascadia's Fault

Going Under

Tonight, though, the dream changed.

By now he knew, he recognized, he should be waking up, ready for the cold sweat. Instead, he heard laughing, an almost girlish giggle when his face was released in a flurry of feathers. He saw huge, golden eyes, too many of them to be coming from one person, laughing surrounded him, immersing him in its vibrations. Mixed with the screaming, he almost missed it. He twisted away, away from those eyes. Away from the fire blooming ever higher into the night and saw the ocean sucked away from shore until it disappeared completely.

Johnny banged his head on the bunk before the cabin monitor could wake up their bunk. His heart was making a valiant attempt to jump out of his throat and into his lap, as was his stomach. He swallowed. Twice. Audibly. Untangling his legs from the blankets and scrubbing at the bump forming on his head, Johnny swung around so he could more easily put his head between his knees.

Breathing through his nose, his heart slowed down, the blood made its way back into his head and he no longer felt like he was going to toss a couple of internal organs on the floor.

"Not a morning person, huh?"

He squinted at Tal. Debating the virtues of murder, decided he definitely didn't have it in him now and instead said, "I'm not sure this actually qualifies as morning."

Tal grinned, "True. My idea of morning is brunch, but nobody asked me."

Appreciating him, despite the conversation he'd had with CJ the night before, Johnny said, "Too bad we're too young for b****y

Mary's or mimosas. Right now, that might make it worth getting out of bed."

"Even if they don't live up to the hype, I'm willing to take one for the team if it meant they'd just let us sleep until after the sun rose."

Johnny finally smiled, felt the rest of the headache recede, "You're too kind, but I couldn't let you face that alone."

Tal held out his hand. Johnny gripped his forearm and allowed the larger boy to pull him up. He had to admit that it was strange to look up at someone. He felt Tal give him the once over then glance over his shoulder to his bed. Tal commented, "These beds are crap. My first summer here, I didn't get a good night's sleep until the day before I went home."

Allowing the misconception to hold, there was no way he was sharing what was going on in his head, Johnny nodded. CJ came over just then, fresh from the shower, and glanced between them. Obviously reserved, he went to his side of the dresser and began pulling on clothes, yanking on layers and boots before heading out the door.

Taking a good look at himself in the mirror while he did his duty against plaque, he realized his hair was practically standing on end – a real trick considering how long it was – and he had enough bags under his eyes to need a luggage rack.

Fantastic.

Rinse.

Spit.

Rinse the sink out like a good boy.

Johnny ran cold water and stuck his head under it, splashing and holding it against his face. Wringing out his hair, he shook it out, mopping himself up with the hand towel he'd brought. Not much of an improvement.

Now I just look like a drowned cat.

Ironic, really, when he thought about it.

Grabbing his coat, he was surprised to see CJ waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. Johnny slung an arm over CJ's shoulders, saying, "Hey, Minion, I'm starved. What's on your plate this morning besides breakfast?"

CJ looked at the ground, "Do you think I'm a dumb kid for what I said last night?"

Crap! Seeing me talk to Tal definitely bothered him.

CJ was still talking, though, "...you know, you can tell me. People say it all the time because I like to game, and I don't play football or other sports, and I don't listen to the right music. So, you can just say you're hanging out with me because of my sister or whatever, even though I don't think that's ever happened, either."

Crap, crap, and triple crap. Now what? Where's Jem when I need her? Johnny had stopped so CJ could finish saying his piece and could admit he felt a little stunned. He was pretty sure his mouth was hanging open.

Snapping his teeth together, Johnny sucked in a breath. "Okay, um wow. Okay. Wait, I already said that. Well, crap, CJ, yes, you're younger than me, and yes, I like your sister, but I like you, too. You're a smart guy, and I don't hang out with people unless I like them for themselves. I admire your loyalty and, frankly, you could probably kick my a*s if you really wanted, and that's pretty awesome.

You are not dumb, and if anyone ever made you feel dumb, then they're dumb because they obviously didn't take even two minutes to get to know you."

CJ was still staring at the ground, "But you were being nice to Tal ..."

Here we go. Here's the truth, I can deal with the truth.

The relief actually made his stomach hurt.

"Yeah, I was. And will be, too, because even if you don't trust someone, you can be nice to them. It's the only way to find out if they're worth trusting. This doesn't mean I'm going to tell him my deepest, darkest secrets," seriously not, "it just means we watch, and wait, and see what he does with the first stage of friendship. If he abuses it, we know he wasn't worthy of being a friend. That's all."

CJ finally met his eye, and Johnny felt all the weight of responsibility he realized Caz probably carried around with her every day. CJ wasn't like other kids. He wasn't slow or anything like that, in fact, he was likely too smart, which meant he saw everything, maybe even felt more than he should. That couldn't be easy for the kid. Or Caz to try to protect him from the teasing.

No wonder she about bloodied him on the bus.

Johnny could literally see the gears turning through CJ's head as he reasoned out all he'd said, taking it in and weighing it against his past experiences. He had to fight the urge to squirm, and then he had to fight down the urge to hunt down each and every bully who had ever made this boy feel stupid and give them the Icarus treatment.

Yup, falling a thousand feet would cure them quick.

Finally – finally! -CJ nodded and Johnny felt his stomach unclench. It wasn't an answer, but acceptance. He moved forward and gripped CJ's shoulder, "C'mon, Minion, there is still breakfast to be had and a day to be conquered. Or we're going to be conquered depending on how bad they decide to a***e us. I haven't had the guts to look at my schedule yet. I don't think I can before coffee."

CJ grinned, "Paddle boarding."

The look of horror he sent was very, very real. "That has to be illegal. Don't they have to wait until global warming hits a certain high? Or at least reaches this part of the country?"

Johnny felt the last bit of tension seep out at CJ's laugh, "Chicken. You get an insulated wetsuit."

"Wait! I'm not paddle boarding, am I?" Johnny felt a little sick again.

This time CJ clapped him on the shoulder, "You should pay more attention, my friend."

Johnny gaped at CJ's back as he went up the steps to the mess hall. A little more than an hour later, he was standing on the beach in a wetsuit with his sister, CJ, Caz, Tal, Noa, Lulu, and about ten other students wondering who thought it was a good idea to sign him up for this.

He couldn't deny Noa looked good in a wetsuit, her long body filling it out in all the right places, and she made every effort to pose prettily with her board and paddle. But there was Caz, tiny and curvy and paying no attention to any of them, focused completely on their instructor, and keeping her other eye on CJ.

Too bad water wasn't his strong suit.

Jem, on the other hand, was bouncing on her toes with excitement.

She would.

She sidled up to him and planted the board in such a way to hide them talking. "Did you make enough noise last night," she whispered.

"You were probably the only one who would have noticed."

"Maybe, but what were you thinking?"

He glanced at his twin. She looked uncharacteristically serious. That was never a good sign. "That I needed to get out. That if I didn't get out, I was going to punch somebody or do something more stupid."

Jem tapped her foot and scowled, "Like that wasn't doing the more stupid?"

"It's fine. Leave it."

"Don't do it again," Jem paused then smirked. "If need to punch somebody, see if Caz needs a new sparring partner. I'm sure she would be happy to hand you your ass."

"Shut up."

Her bawdy laugh filled the beach, causing the instructor to pause in his speech and glare.

Johnny had the satisfaction of watching her try to choke it back, shaking her head, she answered, "Sorry! I saw a seagull chasing another bird and thought it was funny."

The instructor looked as if he couldn't decide if he believed her or not but finally went back to his safety talk. Johnny leaned over, whispering, "Nice save. Complete crap, but nice save."